~Chapter Twenty-Four~

To Undo What Has Been Done

A gray light shone in through the drawn curtains and gently woke Jack from a dreamless sleep. He moaned and yawned; his body felt as though it had had a long, comfortable rest and now he was ready for anything. As he twisted and stretched his body, he realized that he was bare against the blankets that covered him, and as he continued, he felt another bare body lying beside his. He turned over and saw Eve, still sleeping peacefully, her long, raven hair a mess upon the pillow. He jumped slightly as she turned over onto her back and moaned. Jack knew upon looking at her, that there would never be a day where he wasn't taken away by her beauty. Gently, he leaned over her and kissed her mouth, which grinned in her sleep. After a few moments of kissing her, he realized that he was being kissed back and allowed himself to be immersed into her mouth, her scent. Gentle caressing of lips turned into passionate digging of mouths and breath, and Jack found himself completely on top of her again, his increasingly stiffening rod positioned perfectly at her entrance. Before they could continue though, Jack pulled himself away from Eve, leaving her slightly groggy and confused.

"Jack?" she said sleepily. "Is everything alright?" Jack fell onto his back and sighed.

"It's just amazing." he said breathlessly. Eve turned onto her side.

"What is?"

"After all this time….but to me, it feels like just four years still, but even that seems longer than how it really is." Jack said, unsure if he was explaining himself properly. He looked at her. "You're no longer that young teenage girl I stumbled across on that full mooned Halloween. You're….well, you're an amazing woman, Eve. And it almost feels wrong to ask you to love me." he said quietly. He stared at the ceiling and felt Eve fall dramatically upon her pillow.

"Poor Jack," she sighed. "You think so little of yourself and I really don't understand why. Aren't you a king? How could you be so doubtful of your worth?" Jack shook his head, his long black hair brushing upon the pillow.

"Because you far surpass any monarchical title, Eve. You're more than you think." Jack insisted.

"So are you! How am I any better than you? Won't you just accept my love?" she implored. Jack turned from her.

"I'm nothing without you. But if I truly accept your love, as I have done before, how can I be sure that it...that you won't be ripped from me again?" he muttered. Eve was silent. "Especially now that Benjamin is in the picture." Jack added. Eve furrowed her brows.

"Wh-? Oh." she said, finally remembering who else was in her life. She pushed her hair from her face. "It's so weird to remember things from when I couldn't remember anything, and now to know absolutely everything from not only our time in Halloween Town, but our shared past! It is beyond confusing, but that doesn't mean that all things are." Jack turned back towards her and frowned.

"What do you-?"

"It'll be hard, and sad…..so very sad, because I do love him in a way, but…." Eve trailed off. Jack turned onto his side, concerned with what Eve was saying.

"But?"

"But….I do not love him like I love you….nor will I ever. We have great memories that we have built up together, but nothing like ours. Some girls may choose to leave the past behind and focus on an easy and less messy future, but how could I? I love you. I want to pick up from where we left off." she leaned in toward him. "If you'll have me." she whispered into his ear. Jack grinned before he could help it and turned Eve onto her back, he now hovering over her. He kissed her and grabbed her hands in his.

"Eve, I must ask you something…." he said through their kisses.

"What?" she breathed against his lips.

"Will you be mine, forever?...Eve, will you be my queen?" he whispered into her mouth. She pulled away from him slightly and stared into his eyes.

"Queen?" she whispered back. Jack smiled. Eve's eyes lit up. "Y-you really want to marry me?" Jack chuckled at her disbelief, but nodded. Eve grin reached from ear to ear.

"Yes! Yes!" she yelled as she went back to kissing him. "Ohhhhhhh...yeeessss..." Eve moaned as they began to toss and writhe within each other's arms and before they either of them knew it, they were making love again, more passionately and intimately than they had the night before, for now a king was making love to his queen.

oOo

It was later that afternoon that Eve realized she had missed her morning class and Jack giggled at her forgetfulness.

"It's all your fault I missed it, you know." she said scornfully, but in a playful tone. She then nodded noncommittally. "Not that it really matters now." Jack smiled and shrugged as he pulled on his jeans.

"These are actually incredibly comfortable…" he said to himself. He heard Eve giggle.

"Aren't jeans a little….erm, informal for you, Jack?" she asked. Jack grinned.

"You're wearing them." he said playfully. Eve looked down, looked back up and stuck her nose in the air.

"Theeeeeese….were in my backpack and I didn't want to wear my dress again…" she said in an exaggerated tone. Jack laughed. "Plus, it would be too conspicuous, you know?" Jack furrowed his brows and thought for a minute.

"You mean, because you would be wearing the same outfit as last night?...So, people would notice?" Jack concluded. Eve nodded. As she finished buttoning her pants, her face suddenly grew red.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Erm….I don't have an extra shirt, though." she whimpered. Jack look turned into a stare, and Eve grew even redder.

"Stop staring at me!" she demanded. Jack turned away and began to blush himself.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" he couldn't find words worthy enough to describe her beauty. He smiled, snapped his fingers and proceeded to dig into his closet. After moment, he pulled out a white button up shirt and a vest.

"They're a little small on me, perhaps they will fit you?" he said, holding them out to her. She took them and pulled the shirt over her head, then proceeded to wrap the vest around her.

"So...how do I look?" she asked happily. Jack grinned widely.

"Like when I first met you." he said quietly. Eve chuckled.

"The first time or the second time?" she teased. Jack smiled.

"The second time."

Eve straightened the shirt and vest out; it was slightly big for her, but she made it work.

"You don't think this is too obvious either, do you? Such as, this is obviously a guys outfit?" she asked, with some worry in her voice. Jack studied her look.

"Hmmmm...I'm not sure, but either way it's the best option. The dress, like you said, would be too obvious. By the way…" Jack said gently. "Where does Benjamin think you are right now?" Eve's eyes grew wide.

"Oh my gosh, he's probably freaking out! I never even text or anything! He's probably searching every-"

Eve's rant was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. Jack felt a shiver go down his spine and his eyes caught Eve's. They both knew exactly who was at the door.

"Oh my- what do we do?" Eve asked in a hurried whisper. Jack walked over to her and grabbed her hands, which were shaking.

"You just stay here, okay? Wallace and I will handle this." he said softly. Eve took a deep breath and nodded.

"It's just that...this is all happening so fast-and I don't….I'm not ready to tel-" Eve began to sputter, but Jack held her close.

"You don't have to do anything yet...just stay here." he said calmly. He felt Eve nod against his chest. He took a deep breath and headed out the door. Upon entering the hallway, he ran into Wallace, who seemed to have been standing right outside.

"Umm…" Jack only sputtered. Wallace gave him a serious look.

"You're dealing with that. I'll deal with her." Wallace said, motioning toward the door. As he went for the knob, Jack felt himself grab Wallace with massive force and give him a threatening look. Wallace's demeanor didn't change, but he simply nodded in understanding. Jack, gaining composure, nodded back and headed toward the front door. As he reached to turn the knob, he hesitated; he wasn't sure he could lie to Benjamin's face, so he really hoped that he didn't ask too many incriminating questions. Upon opening the door, Jack only felt shameful and anxious when he saw a very worried looking Benjamin standing there with his phone in his hand. Jack cleared his throat.

"Benjamin…" was all he could muster. Benjamin gave Jack a worried and slightly embarrassed look.

"This….I wouldn't have come here if I wasn't some sort of desperate." he said. Jack nodded and offered him a seat in the foyer, to which Benjamin shook his head.

"I'm looking for Eve. I know she helped you home last night, but no one has seen her since...not even Myra knows where she is." Benjamin sighed. Jack tried to show no emotion, but he was astounded that even Myra lied to Benjamin, which almost made him feel a little better about lying to him as well. Jack opened his mouth to say something, but the quick lapse of conscience he had just experienced left as quickly as it came and he was back to battling with his guilt and his lack of guilt.

"I-erm, I was unconscious throughout the night after the club, so the last time I saw her was the last time you saw her." Jack lied. Benjamin hung his head at his words and sighed. After a second, his head sprung back up.

"But, Wallace was there! And maybe he knows where she went after she helped him take you home! Is he here? I was surprised when you opened the door instead of him." Benjamin asked excitedly. Jack frowned slightly. He could feel the slight twinge of insinuation that Benjamin was giving that perhaps Jack was entitled and too good to answer his own door. This made it easier for the next lie to slip out.

"No, actually he stepped out to run some errands...personal errands, though. Nothing to do with me." he said and all became quiet again. "Also, I can answer my own door...he's just closer sometimes…" Jack added. Benjamin ignored this and headed back for the door.

"It's not like her to not answer her phone...are you sure you haven't seen her?" he implored once again.

"No, but today is another rehearsal right? I doubt she would miss that. Also, perhaps she simply misplaced her phone." Jack offered quickly. Benjamin nodded absentmindedly and walked out the front door. Jack sighed as he pushed the door closed and then quickly ran back up the stairs to see what it was Eve and Wallace were talking about. He burst in the door and was caught off guard when he saw the two of them laughing.

"Wha-?" Jack stuttered. Eve gave Jack a soft look.

"Wallace was just telling me about himself...it's really quite interesting. Oh, he also said we should try keeping it down the next time we…..you know." she said, blushing a bit. Jack felt his face turn red.

"I thought-"

"Look, I have to sleep in this mansion too, Jack. I know it's a big place, but damn, you two are a bunch of loud-well, that's probably not a word I should say to describe what I mean." Wallace interrupted. Jack fell against the door.

"You seemed annoyed when I walked out of the room. What happened? You're not mad?" Jack asked. Wallace made a face.

"Mad? This is your decision together. I feel bad, yes, for that nice guy you just shooed away, but I understand that there are things here that he can't understand and that you two need to figure out. And also…..oh, what is that thing those youngsters say on Tumblr? Oh, yes, I completely ship you guys and would rather see you two be together. It's your destiny after all." Wallace said firmly. Eve and Jack made uncomfortable faces.

"Hmmmm...maybe that last part was a bit much. Oh well, I don't care. I'm going to start on lunch, or I suppose breakfast for you two. Come down when you wish, although I seem to recall the two of you have rehearsal today, right?" Wallace inquired. Eve and Jack looked at each other and nodded. Wallace grinned, shrugged and head out the door. No sooner than when Wallace left, Eve fell upon the bed, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"So, what happened?" she asked at the ceiling. Jack took a seat next to her.

"He's really worried about you." was all he could say. Eve clamped her hands over her face and moaned.

"So this is what it feels like to be a whore." she said in a muffled voice. Jack frowned.

"That's not justified, Eve." he said. "You are no whore, in fact, how can any of this be your fault?"

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that you feel like it's your fault instead?" she asked sarcastically. She looked up at him through two of her fingers. He shook his head.

"No….this is Oogie's fault." he said angrily. Eve sat up.

"Oogie?" she asked curiously and Jack nodded.

"Yes, he did this. He killed us, Eve, over a hundred years ago. He killed me before I could save you. He tore us apart again in Halloween Town, and he's caused all this hurt for all these people…..and all for what? Jealousy?" Jack sneered. Eve gave him a quizzical look.

"But, why would he harbor such hate towards us? Towards you?"

Jack hung his head, "Because he's my brother….and he hates me for it." Eve sprung up.

"What?!" she cried. Jack nodded shamefully. He looked at her expecting some sort of outcry, but Eve's expression was thoughtful.

"I don't care…" she finally said after several long minutes. "There is nothing you could have possibly done to make him treat you this way. And besides, he's gone, remember? You defeated him." she said gently. Jack nodded and sighed.

"Well, we still have to fix this….or rather, set it right. Undo what has been done." he said. Eve nodded. She leaned against his shoulder and Jack felt some of his stress melt away. He leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. It is unimaginable how much Jack Skellington and Eve Hallows relished being in each other's embrace; after all, they had been separated for over a hundred years.