~Chapter Sixteen~

In which Jack rediscovers someone he has long forgotten…

Jack held his breath, waiting for Professor Disraeli to give him and Eve the exact line in the script to start from. He watched the professor anxiously, one hand on Eve's slender waist, the other clenched in a tight fist. Professor Disraeli continued to leisurely flip through pages of the script and Jack was almost positive he heard the professor humming to himself. He felt himself tap his foot again, beginning to get very nervous and a bit annoyed. Eve could feel Jack's aura becoming troubled and took it upon herself to pat the hand that gripped her waist. At this Jack calmed down a bit, feeling as though she really meant for him to feel better. Finally, just as it seemed that the professor had at last come upon the line he wanted Jack and Eve to start from the door to the theater opened loudly and Benjamin came walking down the aisle. He saw Eve and Jack embraced on stage and gave a confused look, but seemed to shrug it off a bit as he walked over to where the professor was sitting. He leaned over and whispered something very quickly to him. The professor nodded and Benjamin went to go take a seat near to where Eve had set down her things.

"Alright looks like we will have to finish this tomorrow. Congrats my boy you got the part. Eve you will have to go over your lines with both Jack and Benjamin, I want to see some work done by our next rehearsal." The professor said bluntly before gathering his things to leave. Eve made a face at Professor Disraeli, obviously not overly fond of what she was just told. Jack sighed and quickly removed his hand from Eve's waist, as he saw Benjamin looking at him curiously from afar. Eve walked off the stage and over to where Benjamin was and Jack who had also left his things by Eve's, followed quite miserably.

"Hey babe." Eve said to Benjamin as he sat there with his arms crossed. Jack winced at this.

"Hey." He replied, the tone in his voice not giving away his emotions. "What was….all that about?" he asked as he absentmindedly kissed Eve's cheek. Eve rolled her eyes.

"Just Disraeli being ridiculous again, but hey, Jack got the part!" Eve said happily. Benjamin's eyes got a bit wider.

"Oh! Disraeli was having you guys act a scene? Or was going to?" Benjamin mused. Eve nodded.

"What did you tell him?" she asked.

"Oh that Myra and Ivan are waiting for him in his office. I think they wanted to talk to him about their parts…anyways, that's great that you got the part Jack!" Benjamin replied. Jack had been staring at his book bag, lost in thought until Benjamin's words ripped him from them.

"Hmm? Oh yes! I'm quite pleased I got the part. I'm sure this will be very…fun." Jack stated mildly.

"Benjamin is playing Raul. He didn't even want to audition at first, but I got through to him." Eve said and winked.

"Looks like the three of you will be engaging in quite the love triangle then, huh?" a voice said from behind. Jack turned to see a very petite young lady walking towards him. She looked to be a bit younger that Eve and Benjamin, her hair was dyed a light brown and she was quite thin. She had a round face and her nose was a bulb in the middle of it.

"I thought you were meeting with Disraeli, Myra." Eve said as she put on her coat. Myra nodded.

"Yea, but then he just said to deal with the part he gave me, so whatever. But he did say I get to be your understudy." She remarked. Eve nodded acceptingly.

"Myra is playing Meg and I don't understand why she has a problem with it." Eve said playfully scorning Myra. Myra shrugged.

"I just don't feel I'm right for the part, but I guess Disraeli knows best." Myra stated sarcastically. Eve nodded in agreement with the sarcasm. She glanced at Jack who was tapping his foot again.

"Oh Myra, this is Jack, Jack Skellington. He just got the part of the phantom for the play!" Eve said happily. Eve thought this statement over. "But you obviously knew that, hence your statement earlier." She grinned embarrassedly. Myra studied Jack for a while, perhaps making up her mind on whether or not she liked him. Or maybe it was something else entirely. Jack extended his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you." He said graciously. Myra looked as if his hand was the last thing she wanted to touch. After a beat, she lightly grabbed his hand and released it quickly.

"Nice to meet you too." She said, the slightest twinge of fear evident in her voice. She gave Eve a worried look, but Eve didn't notice, she was too busy talking to Benjamin about something. Both Jack and Myra sighed at the lack of attention Eve was giving them.

"Well I actually have to go Eve." Myra said loudly. Eve turned away from her conversation, confusion plastered on her face.

"But I thought we were-"she began. Jack noticed the look Myra was giving Eve, which caused her to cut off her sentence. "Oh okay, I guess I'll see you later then?" she asked. Myra nodded and whispered something to her that Jack only heard a bit of.

"I need to tell you something…I will text you tonight."

Eve nodded and waved good bye to Myra. Jack nodded in her direction. She glanced back at him.

"Bye Jack." Was all she said.

oOo

Jack glanced at the ornate clock hanging in his room. The setting sun shown golden upon the time 6:45. Jack sighed. Today had not exactly gone the way he wanted. After Myra left, Eve was so preoccupied that she insisted to Benjamin that they had to leave right then and there. She congratulated Jack again and waved him good bye with Benjamin barely having time to as well as Eve pulled him along with her and out of the theater. Jack had searched through his phone (granted it took a while) and found Wallace's number. Wallace had managed to show him how to use the device a bit before he had left for the day. Within 25 minutes Wallace had arrive to pick him up and from there commenced in a silent car ride. At the door Wallace asked Jack how it went, to which he replied:

"Fine. I got the part."

And from their walked into his room and locked himself in for the next four hours. Wallace knocked around 4 asking if Jack cared for any tea. Jack said no thank you and rolled over on his bed, his mind horribly troubled. He had gotten a strange feeling from Myra and wondered if the feeling was mutual. From what he could sense, Myra was not an ordinary human. She had something lying deep within her. Jack wondered if Eve knew about it. Jack had been staring off and on at the journal on his nightstand, unsure if he wanted to read it again. It was now 6:55 and Jack had mulled it over and reached for the journal. He removed the satin book mark and turned the page. To his surprise he noticed that the next page was dated almost a month later. He read:

Dearest Journal,

I'm quite at odds with myself, so I should just explain myself right now. The new patron arrived about a week ago. I am now quite ashamed of how I went about guessing on what he would be like. His name is Jack….Jack Hershel Skellington. He is the son of Charles and Vera Skellington, the wealthy ship tycoons who came from England about three decades ago for the better ship market taking place in New York. And although I was right about him being from great privilege and luxury, he seems quite grounded. He is a tall man, of a firm, subtly muscular build. His hair is jet black and a bit unruly and long as if a barber was a thing of myth to him. His eyes are as dark as the darkest night and his smile leans to one side. Make no mistake….I find him quite handsome….but I should never think to pursue him or attempt to be courted. As I have said before, the rich think of no one but themselves and understand nothing outside their own worlds and although I believe he is quite level headed, I am sure this logic rings true for him as well. Although…I had the chance at accidently running into him the other day, a litter of easels in my arms. I ran into him entirely by accident and when I did, my load fell everywhere. He gasped. At first I thought he would go off on me for bumping into him, but he reaction was quite….unexpected….

"I am so very sorry miss. My mind was off somewhere else and I did not see you there! Please permit me to help you retrieve your things." He offered gently to me. But this was not all….

In the middle of Jack's reading his mind began to blur and his vision grow dark. Before he could even guess at what was happening, his head became unbearably heavy and he faded from consciousness.

…

"Where am I?"

He could see an empty stage behind him, in front of him laid a cluttered back stage area. He could hear footsteps approaching from behind. No sooner had he began to turn, he came into contact with someone holding a heavy box, its contents now all around the floor.

"I am so very sorry miss. My mind was off somewhere else and I did not see you there! Please permit me to help you retrieve your things." Jack found himself saying. He looked up and saw her looking right back.

"Eve."

She shrugged away and quickly went to retrieve her things. Jack rushed quickly to help her, although she seemed not to want his assistance.

"I'm very sorry sir…I should have been watching where I was going." Eve muttered.

"May I say I'm glad you did or else we might never have met!" Jack replied gently and happily. Eve slunk away even more and looked only at her feet. Jack grinned.

"Please excuse me….if I may?" he offered his hand to her. She hesitated, but eventually took it. Jack couldn't help but feel a slight pull. "My name is Jack. Jack Hershel Skellington. Might I inquire as to who you might be?" he asked politely. Eve's cheeks began to turn red.

"I'm Evelyn Hallows. Um, Evelyn Anne Hallows, but everyone calls me Eve." She whispered. Jack was breathless.

"Eve. What a beautiful name if I may say so." Jack hesitated. "I do hope we run into each other again….soon." he said, his eyes smiling gently upon Eve. Eve finally looked at Jack face to face and gave a small grin.

"I hope so too." She said, but her voice sounded unsure.

…..

Jack was startled awake by a sharp knock at the door. He lifted his head gently off the bed remembering how heavy it had felt earlier. The journal was sprawl besides him on the bed. He must have passed out.

"Mmmmmm…" he groaned, holding his head. "Mmmm…okay, just a minute." He said as he lifted himself heavily from the bed. He unlocked the door, beyond surprised to see Wallace standing with Myra at the door.

"This young lady says she knows you and wants to talk to you about something." Wallace said dubiously. Jack, although shocked, felt that it might be to his benefit to talk with Myra because he had quite a few questions to ask her himself.

"Erm, yes I know her…come in won't you, Myra?" he offered. She nodded and slid past Wallace who was eyeballing Jack, clearly curious as to his actions. "Don't worry." Jack whispered to him. Wallace sighed, nodded, and then closed the door behind him. Jack turned to face Myra, who seemed to be very tired. Her eyes drooped and she even closed them for several second before opening them again. Jack offered her a seat on the bed and she happily accepted.

"So, Myra, how may I help you?" Jack asked politely. Myra looked around the room as if she knew exactly where she was. She glanced at the journal lying on the bed and seemed to scoot away from it a bit. Finally she sighed and looked at Jack.

"I know why you're here Jack." She said bluntly. Jack raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you-?"

"I know you're here for Eve. I know you are going to kill her."