Chapter 3: Notes and Jellied Brains Lead to Indirect Kisses
"Pst! Sally! Pass it back!"
Jack unsuccessfully tried to hold an annoyed facial expression, but he just could help but smile whenever the rag-doll glanced back at him with a frown. She looked positively adorable when she was frustrated!
"Stop passing me notes!" Scowling, she aimed and threw the crumpled piece of paper that Jack constantly pestered her to read at his skull. To her immense exasperation, his enthusiasm for her never seemed to end.
"Do you want to be my girlfriend yet?" Jack asked for the umpteenth time, opening the paper and showing it off to her. She could barely make out the "I LOVE YOU, PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!" at the center through all the crease marks from extensive crumpling.
"No! Stop asking me that!"
Jack sniffled mockingly, resting his head on his arm as Sally returned her precious attention to the teacher.
He remembered feeling so energized the day after they had met. Like he had promised himself, he would try to win her heart. That was his goal. But when he came to school and sat in his seat, he was amazed to find her ignoring him, despite the closeness of their desks. Oogie had been no help either; he and the other guys, sensing their opportunity, surrounded her, each one trying to win her over (although his best friend denied doing such thing.) Jack managed to eavesdrop that Sally had tried to switch out of the class but was not allowed to as her Entrance Exam score was too high (their current class was the most advanced.)
So she was forced to stay, and Jack was forced to take desperate measures...
...which involved extreme courting.
That had been all of three days ago, and as it was Friday, there would be no school for the weekends tomorrow. Perfect for a date!
If she ever argeed to it...
"Very well, class dismissed," called out Professor Corpse, waving his hand to the large doorway. "Please head to lunch now and we can continue later."
Jack, who had not been listening at all the whole period, lifted his head in surprise; the black chalkboard that stretched from one end of the wall to the other (and this was saying something because the classroom was luxurious and very wide) was filled with detailed notes, charts, and various timelines.
Damn, he wasn't even taking notes! The only thing he remembered writing were love notes for Sally, all probably ripped up and in her backpack.
But just as he was about to start copying them, the writing slowly faded away, not a trace of words left on the board in mere seconds. He groaned, rubbing his head. He could not fail Historical Halloween! With their final exam coming up, how exactly was he going to pass? If he didn't leave with full marks, his dad, the current Pumpkin King, would be very upset!
That was something he had successfully avoided for many years now. He wasn't about to start just yet.
"Ugh...I am so dead..." Jack rested his aching head on the desk, shutting his eyes. He considered wooing a few bookworms for the help until something lightly tapped him on his skull. Turning his skull sideways, he could only see a leather-bound cover facing him.
What the heck?
"Here, use this."
At the sound of Sally's voice, Jack quickly sat up. It was her! "Huh?"
"The notes." She opened the notebook that she was holding out to him. He didn't care to look at it, but he knew it was everything he had failed to copy down. "Once you finish, I want it back."
"Oh...well, fantastic! Hahahah..." Laughing nervously, he accepted the item and lifted it to his face. He could see that it looked like the ones Finklestein kept all his answer-keys in. Why Sally had one like it, he had no idea, but at the moment, he didn't care.
"I want it back," she repeated, giving him a weary look.
"You'll get it..." Gingerly, Jack sniffed the notebook. Ah, how it smelled like Sally! A hint of death, but the aroma of roses and chemicals lingered, making him breathe a sigh of content.
Sally, who had been watching the whole time, rolled her eyes and muttered, "Sicko."
"Mmm," Jack said dreamily, "love you, too."
"Good to know." She turned around. "Bye, Jack."
"Huh?" The skeleton saw her head for the door and wave to the Hanging Tree, the only guy who did not flirt with her. Perhaps that was why they were such close friends...
Together, the two walked off, leaving the Pumpkin Prince to himself.
Carefully slipping Sally's book in his bag, Jack slowly got up and stretched. He wanted lunch.
"Sally, would it be okay with you if we name our first born Jack, too?"
The rag-doll made no response. She decided that she was full and placed the half-eaten Jellied Brains onto her tray. Jack, who had finished his own meal, smiled at her. She took the hint, but was slightly surprised.
"You could have it, but wouldn't it be better to get a new one?"
"No, I'm too lazy to get up," Jack replied breezily, pulling Sally's food towards him. "And I'm not really hungry. I just want to eat from your plate with your fork."
Now she understood. "Gross! If you want a kiss, don't get it like that."
"You won't kiss me, though. I want some sort of contact, so I'll settle for an indirect one." To prove his point, Jack scooped some of the brains onto Sally's fork and placed it in his mouth. He did not take it out, but grinned.
"Eww. That's sick, Jack." Sally stuck her tongue out at him.
Fork still in mouth, his voice sounded muffled. "If that passes through your lips again, it'll be mine."
Instinctively, she withdrew. "How? Will you cut it off?" He had sounded so serious, and her own father told her that a few times, that she did not get the joke. Was it really a bad thing to do that? It wasn't even as though it will hurt her; she was just too worried about the thought of having to ask her father to sew it back on.
"No, silly. I'll just get to suck on it when we kiss. Lots of girls let me have their tongues." He paused thoughtfully. "Hmm, we just had an indirect kiss, Sally-Doll!"
All of Sally's seriousness went away and she scowled. She blamed herself for asking; after all, did she really expect a decent reply that didn't involve girls? "I really believed you there, Jack. If that's the consequence of sticking my tongue out, then you'll never see mine again." 'Sally-Doll? What is wrong with this one?' she wondered tiredly.
"Ooh, meanie," sighed Jack, finally pulling the fork out of his mouth. He collected another scoop of brains and offered it to her. "I'll feed ya!"
"No, thanks, I don't want 'another' indirect kiss."
"Then how about—"
"I don't want that kind of kiss either."
"What do you want? Hugs? French kissing? Ooh, you want me, huh, Sally? Well, I'll be more than willing to—"
"I know what you're about to say, so just don't."
"Okay, so how about a date?" Jack's theory: keep asking Sally out in the most random of times until she is caught off-guard and agrees.
Once that was complete, he'd just hold her to her word. Simple.
"No. Really."
"Why not?"
Before she could reply the answer that was most obvious to her, a loud "squee!"' erupted from behind them. Then a pair of webbed fingers found their way around Jack's skull, covering his eye sockets. "Guess who, Jacky!"
"Hello, Sea," replied Jack with a small grin, placing his hands over the ones on his face. Sally quietly excused herself and, holding her tray, began to walk off. If the other two noticed, they did not say anything.
When she was pried off, Undersea Gal sat on her friend's lap. "Can I have a kiss?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him.
"Heh, sure." Just as Jack leaned in, he caught sight of Sally's retreating figure and pang of pain went through him. He had no idea what it was, but he could probably relate it to a mixture of guilt and embarrassment; shoot, how was he going to win her over if she didn't take him seriously?
He was only momentarily distracted when Sea yanked on his neck and firmly pressed her lips to his. As this was not something new, he complied, holding her close.
Sally looked back and smirked. Jack was being Jack again. She felt odd, as though she had lost something, but didn't. What was it? It's not as if she liked him or anything. He was Jack Skellington, for crying out loud! They weren't even friends, so how could she possibly return the affection that probably wasn't even real? Loathing, that's what she felt! Right?
Right?
Her smirk slowly faded as she continued to think. In fact, she was so deep into her thoughts that she did not notice Jack spot her and pull away from his classmate, horrified. But when she did see his shocked gaze, she blinked and spun on her heel. Oops. The rag-doll hurried off, pausing only to place her tray on the pile of dirty ones near the door. She could hear him calling out for her but did not respond.
Jack studied her every move and could not find a trace of anger in the way she had exited. So she clearly wasn't mad. But he was; it bothered him that now Sally probably thought she was nothing to him and that she really shouldn't accept his invitations. Damn, he had just lost a whole lot of points.
"Ja-a-ck!" complained the girl in his arms, tugging at him. "What happened?"
"I have no idea," he replied hollowly, looking at the seat Sally had once occupied. "I don't know anymore..."
A/N: Hehehehe, doesn't Jack look like the type to have the 'friends with benefits' type of relationship with the girls? No, he doesn't go that far (it will be explained in the next chpater).
Reviews would be epic! I really want to know how well this story is going so far and if I should continue or not. For all my errors, I apologize. It's really late right now and I'm listening to 'Hail to Mr. Oogie,' hahah. ]
(P.S. I am a die-hard JackXSally fan, so under no circumstances will I change the pairings. Just a warning for the confusing later chapters...)