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rainbows-fanfics · 2 years

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Our Nightmare (Chapter 21)

Summary: Sally moves in with the man of her screams. But there is still so much she has to learn of Halloween Town, and what it’s like living with The Pumpkin King.

A sequel to Two Dearest Friends, where the Christmas incident never happens. But there are still many ends that haven’t been met, and much for these two dreamers to learn as they start to spend their deaths together.

Pairings: Jack Skellington/Sally, Dr Finklestein/Jewel

–

Note: This is a SEQUEL to my other story, TWO DEAREST FRIENDS. To read the original story, go here.

The Mayor of Halloween Town grins as he swipes his hand across a page, effectively signing the last document for that afternoon. He sorts the paper into its rightful place with a satisfied hum. He moves to address the next stack of paperwork, preparing to organize them. As he grabs one, a tall man enters the room and catches his attention. He looks down from his desk to find Jack Skellington ducking through the doorway, helping someone else through. He tilts his conical head at the sight of Sally Finklestein. He helps himself down to address them both.

He tips his hat politely. “Jack, you weren’t supposed to come in until later this afternoon. Is everything alright?”

“Perfectly terrible, Mayor!” The skeleton replies. “In fact, we’re here to ask you to call for a town meeting?”

“A meeting? May I ask what it’s for?”

“We have some big news to share with everyone.” He squeezes the ragdoll’s hand. “It’s important they make it, if they can.”

“..Big news? I haven’t heard anything like * this * in a long time!” He scrambles to grab his megaphone and collects his hearse keys. “--Expect everyone here in an hour! You can count on me!”

He rushes out of the room with excited steps. As soon as they’re alone, the Pumpkin King turns to his fiancée. She’s looking at the floor and fidgeting with her seams. He grabs her hands and brings her attention to his face. He pulls on the loose threads and fastens them while she’s not looking, offering a confident smile on his lips.

“It’s happening! Aren’t you excited?”

“I am.” She can’t help matching his keenness. It’s always contagious. “I’ve been preparing all morning. I’m ready for any questions, if they have them.”

“-That’s what I want to hear!” He winks proudly, moving to set the podium. “If you need to step out, I don’t mind. Just let me know…we’ll need a signal, won’t we? Wink at me two times if you’re getting-”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” She giggles. “If I’m going to be the Pumpkin Queen, then I need to get used to Town Meetings, right?”

“..Exactly right.”

He sets down a piece of paper with a prepared speech and some notes on it - in case Sally gets off-track. He’s already memorized it this morning. But he has a feeling they won’t need it - as this is something one speaks of from the heart( or lack thereof). Sally sits down in a chair as he prepares everything, waiting until they start. The longer time drags on, they can hear voices - sounds of claws scraping against the floorboards and footsteps frantically finding seats. In about an hour, it’s crowded behind the curtain. The Mayor finally steps in with a proud look plastered on his light face. He wipes some sweat off from his forehead.

“Everyone's here! There’s a full house there! I’ll be handling the spotlight like always, if that’s alright with you?”

“Perfect.” Jack situates himself at the coffin podium before looking at Sally. “-Are you ready?”

She takes a deep breath.

—-

Monsters are piled onto the Town Hall’s benches, shoved against one another in close proximity. This may be the fullest the place has ever been - Witches hovering on broomsticks from above, while little creatures and children sit on the floor in front of the stage. The Hanging tree and his Hanging Men are in the back like they usually are. The Halloween Town Band is pressed against the wall - along with Jack’s numerous friends scattered through the seats. They’re murmuring amongst themselves and squirming in impatience, perking up once the curtains are drawn. The Pumpkin King is finally revealed to their eager eyes.

They’re curious to see Sally Finklestein sitting in a chair beside him. She keeps her hands clasped politely in her lap, trying to avoid their stares. The room darkens as a spotlight becomes the only source of light. It’s guided to Jack Skellington’s thin figure by the Mayor’s careful hands, finally tearing the citizens’ gazes away from the lone ragdoll.

She sighs in relief.

“Horrible afternoon, everybody! Thank you all for coming. There’s something important we want to tell you all!”

“Is it about Halloween?” A voice asks from the crowd. “There’s only 10 days left!”

“10 days! 10 days!”

Excited cheers sound from around the room. Grotesque monsters pump their hands and claws in the air, howling and screaming in anticipation. Jack holds his arms out to calm them down, ensuring it’s quiet before he continues on:

“-Right you are! But there’s no need to worry. Everything is going smoothly for the celebrations this year. We’ve called this meeting for something else… ”

The eyes in the room become inquisitive. He lets the silence drag on to emphasize the importance of the news, his grin growing wider the longer it carries on. Eventually, he moves a hand to gesture to Sally, where the spotlight follows and focuses on her. She tries to shield her eyes from the bright light.

“Sally and I are engaged..!” He finishes.

Series of shocked gasps come from around the room. He turns his skull to see their reactions. Many eyes widen as jaws simultaneously fall agape. The citizens’ attention comes to the woman, who uncertainly stands from her seat. There’s no sound beyond frantic whispering. She takes this opportunity to reach the podium, where Jack Skellington politely moves out of the way. She taps her fingers a few times before working up the courage to speak:

“Um…hello.” She leans forward, waving weakly. “As you heard, Jack and I are engaged now, so…that means I’ll be taking the title of Pumpkin Queen…I-I’m ready for your questions, if you have any?”

She feels like she’s doing terribly. She frowns at her fiancé. He gives her an encouraging thumbs-up. She turns back to the crowd, who look to be thinking to themselves. Children twiddle their thumbs as monsters murmur to each other, none brave enough to speak up just yet. After a minute of waiting, she grows uncertain and glances at the paper below her. The room is no longer silent, but it’s full of hushed whispers and people muttering to themselves. She isn’t sure if this is any better. So…she starts speaking:

“I know it may be…strange …to see someone like me as your ruler. I don't know everything there is, but…I’m prepared to learn. I want to take care of all of you, as you have welcomed me so kindly. I’ll be someone you can depend on - to believe in what’s right. I may not be the scariest like Jack, but I’ll bring everything I can to our Holiday. To make each one more horrible than the last.”

Her small speech earns admiring smiles. The room erupts into applause. She perks up at this response. Now creatures aren’t afraid to start asking questions - the small children upfront raise their little hands. Their fingers wiggle desperately as her eyes crawl over to them. She’s more than happy to call on a few.

“Will you be a nice leader?” The Mummy Boy asks. She nods her head.

“Yes, I will try to be.”

Ethan raises his hand. “Will you make sure we get lots of candy?”

“Of course.”

Adults start to raise their hands. Her attention moves to them, nodding in the direction of a ghoul sitting up front. He stands and tips his hat politely, fidgeting with his thin fingers as he uncertainly peers at Sally.

“How do you plan on ruling the town? And what will you contribute to Halloween?”

She thinks hard on her answer. “-I want to be orderly. I know how hectic things get every October, so I’d like to keep us all in one piece. Myself included!” She laughs at her own joke, earning chuckles from the audience. “As for Halloween, I’ll continue with my services as the town’s seamstress. I don’t plan on changing my job.”

The monsters look impressed with her answer. She responds to a few more inquiries from the crowd, until no more hands are raised. Everyone is satisfied. She brushes her hair back as the skeleton takes his place, patting Sally on the back. He whispers a compliment into her ear before turning to address his citizens.

“Thank you all for your support. I’m happy to know you’re as satisfied with this decision as I am.” He grins.

The Undersea Gal calls from her seat. “When’s the wedding!?”

He answers with ease. “-We’ll send out the invitations when we can, but we’d like to get through this Halloween first ! I’ll be teaching Sally about our Town and holiday in the meantime.”

They agree with this decision, promising they’ll be patient. Jack and Sally are sent a multitude of congratulations and horrible wishes their way, which they take with gratitude. Everyone is eventually dismissed. People gossip with each other on their way out. This time, the Witches and other women don’t pass Sally irritated looks as they leave - instead, they give ones of respect. The feeling is mutual this time around, as she smiles right back at them.

The Halloween Town Band come to personally congratulate them, teasing the Pumpkin King on ‘what took so long’. They're happy for them and say they look forward to their wedding. The Hanging Tree expresses similar feelings when he speaks with Sally. Once their friends leave, the two are finally alone. He comes to the shorter figure and wraps his arms around her frame, digging his skull into her hair.

“You did wonderfully.” He tells her, moving back to brush the yarn from her eyes. “You’re going to take good care of them. I know you’ll be a great leader.”

She buries her face into his suit. “Thank you.”

—---

Sally observes the last-minute preparations for Halloween. The Town Hall is busy at this time. Jack and the Mayor work in every spare minute they have, to double-check everything on their lists and ensure all is ready. She offers help when she can, and is happy to organize and read things for them. Her fiancé tries not to overwork her right away and hands small things for her to check, which she is happy to do.

When Halloween comes, she assists the Mayor with organizing everyone to their places. She directs them on where to go while he reads their names off the papers. This process goes by quicker than it used to. He expresses his thanks for her help, and they get an early start on the celebrations. She joins in with the dancing and singing in the Town Square, surprised to finally understand the lyrics to their song. After a few years of listening to it…she knows what to say with them!

“Say it once, say it twice! Take a chance and roll the dice!” She sings. The Witches cackle overhead as they continue the song, flying on their broomsticks towards the moon in the night sky:

“-Ride with the moon in the dead of night!”

Jack Skellington joins the celebrations, by Sally’s side. They dance, sing, and laugh together - the creatures around them cheer. Spirits are incredibly high by the time the song is finished. They’re left jumping in excitement, waiting for the Mayor to hand out the awards and trophies. They sit together on the hearse as they wait. She rests on her scarecrow’s side. This time, there are no women reaching and screaming for him - he’s rightfully given his space with the love of his death. People look at them admiringly.

He holds her hand tightly, enjoying this new sense of freedom he’s never felt before.

—--

Their trip to the human world is taken early, meaning they have more time than usual to spend there. Jack’s elated to bring Sally with him again. Knowing how things went last time…he wishes for everything to go right. So he watches himself carefully that entire night, ensuring he’s not overdoing anything. He’s relieved to see her excited while he scares, asking him to do tricks and wanting to see what he can do. They go around scaring humans until they’re well into the night. They only have an hour before they have to return to Halloween Town.

Jack Skellington has an idea.

“Sally? Do you remember how I told you that you have scaring potential you don’t know about yet?”

She blinks. This was so long ago, but she remembers it as bright as day. “-I do. Why?”

“I think I’ve figured it out!” He grabs her arm and looks at the stitches with an interesting expression. “We can dismember your limbs!” At her confused look, he elaborates. “-Losing your arm doesn’t mean much to you, but if the same thing happened to *humans*, it’s quite deadly. They might faint on the spot!”

“So…it’ll scare them?” She asks with a growing smile.

She remembers when he first took her on a tour of Halloween Town. He got excited when she lost her arm in front of him. It was the first time she’d ever seen the childish excitement in his eye sockets - the same one he has right now. It brings butterflies to her stomach, in hopes that she can impress him and scare others like he believes she can do. He perks up, trailing his thumb over her thread.

“Exactly! I have the perfect plan…if you’re interested to try it?”

She grins.

. . .

Jack’s idea is genius. She never would’ve thought of something like this herself.

She’s sitting innocently on a pumpkin in a grass field, tending to her stitches and humming a song under her breath. She’s undoing them to loosen the threads as much as she can, so they will fall off easily once the time comes. She makes it look like she’s tending to them and trying to sew herself. She knits her eyebrows together as she pretends to struggle with one stubborn knot in particular, earning some concerned looks from some nearby humans.

One of them is a young girl, dressed as a bumblebee. Sally notices the stitching patterns on the costume, giving the impression it's homemade. Another is a boy her age dressed as a ghost with a sheet over his figure, while they’re joined by a smaller child wearing a cowboy outfit. They approach the ragdoll and she quickly averts her gaze, focusing on her arm and tugging at the long thread.

“Do you need any help?” The girl offers. She looks up, acting like she hasn’t seen them prior to this moment.

“Oh! It’s fine, I’m just trying to sew my arm back on. See?”

She presents her sewing needle to them. They look at it with curious eyes. The boy in the ghost sheet tilts his head quizzically when she brings it closer to her arm. It’s inches away from making contact. The skepticism is apparent in his voice.

“What is this? Some kind of gimmick? Lady, we don’t have any cash-”

Without warning, she punctures her skin deeply with the needle. This earns startled gasps and screams from the humans. She feels no pain, but pretends to wince - hand shaking as she tries to pull the needle out, failing in her attempts. The kids step back as the bumblebee girl narrows her eyes. She moves forward and rests a hand on her hip, laughing as she points at Sally.

“Ha! Nice trick, but we know that’s fake! If it was a REAL needle, then-”

She finally manages to pull it out, and the thread in her arm coincidentally falls with it. Her arm completely detaches from its socket and lands on the grass below them. She acts surprised while the children shriek at the sight. There’s no further word as they run off crying, refusing to look back. The ragdoll sits there in bewilderment as she watches them go.

Jack Skellington surfaces from nearby shadows, laughing at the sight. He picks up her arm and goes through the trouble of stitching it back on. She’s still staring at the spot the humans once were in. Once she comes to terms with the situation, her eyes grow big as an excited grin spreads on her lips. She turns to her Pumpkin King.

“Jack! Did you see that?” She asks giddily. “I scared them!”

“-That you did!” He helps her to her feet. “They didn’t see it coming!"

“That was amazing! It was so…fun! I-I feel excited, I-” She struggles to find the right words. “Is this what it’s like? To…to scare people?”

“Quite an experience, isn’t it?”

“My first scare!” She boasts proudly, twirling on her heels. She stumbles for a moment and he catches her upon instinct. She grabs his hands. “I want to do it again!”

He chuckles. “See? You’re plenty scary.”

She insists on doing it again, so he makes another plan. Like last time, he has her lure in the humans - making them curious as she stitches herself. Her appearance is enough to beckon them forward to get a better look. They’re fascinated with her doll-like features, at how real her stitches appear and the textured yarn hair sitting on her head. By the looks on their faces, they’re doubtful she’s even *real*. He takes their temptations to advantage - jumping out and screaming when they get too close. They run away, howling and scrambling to get away.

He and Sally laugh when they’re gone. She clings onto his figure as she wipes the tears from her eye, having a blast so far. She moves to press an intimate kiss on his lips. He’s taken by surprise but returns the affection - holding his ragdoll close in his lap.

She’s breathless when she pulls away. “Thank you. For showing me what it’s like to scare and…helping me.” She looks away, her skin now a light purple. “I never thought I could do this.”

“The Doctor may have built you for other things, but you have so many strengths, Sally.” He tightens his grip around her. “You’re talented. I’d like to scare with you every Halloween.”

“This is the most fun I’ve had in my whole life. I don’t think I want it to ever end.”

They look up to gaze at the night sky above them. They calm down from their exhilaration to enjoy the scenery - listening to the sounds of owls hooting and children running in the distance. The stars twinkle beautifully as they observe them. The screams and scares are a delightful noise. Sally nestles into his embrace as they sit there. He moves his hand gently across her face, melting at the way she leans into his touch.

He sighs. “I don’t want it to, either.”

—---

When November comes, Sally wants to be prepared. There’s a lot ahead of her, so she takes this opportunity to properly work out a schedule. On the weekdays, she plans to be in her seamstress shop offering her duties to the town. On the weekends, she joins Jack and the Mayor in the Town hall to assist them and learn how to properly manage Halloween. She becomes busy from this routine.

“The first couple of months are the busiest,” Jack informs, stapling papers and handing them to her. She puts them where she’s told. “We have to start over with the planning, so we get the important things out of the way first.”

“-You mean everything?” She sweats. He laughs and pats her head, bringing a wonderful feeling into her stomach.

“It feels like it, but don’t fret! Things will mellow out over time…with your help, we’ll get through this quicker! That means more time to spend together. You want that, don’t you?”

She can’t argue.

They spend the next few months tending to the town. She joins Jack as they listen to the citizen’s scare ideas and rate their demonstrations, where they show the officials what they can do. Then she goes around Halloween Town collecting the extra materials from Halloween night, to return to their inventory. Other activities include helping monsters collect any bats and snakes that may have escaped, as well as jotting down any changes to the Halloween song.

. . .

It’s January when they finally have enough free time to end their days early. Sally & Jack retreat to the Skellington Manor to cool off from the day’s events. They find this the best opportunity to start planning their wedding - something they’ve both grown excited for, after being occupied with everything else. Jack is happy to start this process and spends a considerable amount of time talking about it with his fiancée.

“I think we should hire the Band for music,” Sally suggests. “They’ve been such good friends to us, and they’re very talented! I think they’ll do a wonderful job.”

“No question about it.” He writes this down. “And who were we thinking of inviting?”

“We’ll invite our friends, and my…family…” She feels strange describing the Doctor, Jewel, and Igor this way. It’s pleasant. “Anyone can come, really.”

“I think we’re better off inviting everybody to your coronation, with a little less people for our wedding.” He chuckles. “So it’s not terribly overcrowded. I know it can be overwhelming for you.”

She relaxes in her seat. “That’s a good idea.”

“-And what about your dress, dear? I have to prepare a suit as well…these things can be costly..”

She perks up with this subject. “I can make those! I’d love to sew my own dress. I can even make you a suit if you’d like!”

“Wonderful! That saves us on the cost.” He scribbles this down. Ideas begin to fill her mind on the details of their clothes. She wiggles around in her seat excitedly. “And what theme do we-"

*EEK!*

The couple is interrupted by the loud shrieking of the doorbell. Sally jumps in her seat while the skeleton drops his pencil with a sigh. He dismisses himself politely, moving to answer the front door.

The Mayor of Halloween Town waits on the doorstep impatiently, shifting his feet as he stands there. He notices Jack’s tall frame and jumps at how quickly he is answered. They’ve already finished their business for the day - what more does he need? The Pumpkin King tilts his skull at the sight - his arms aren’t filled with papers, nor is he holding his usual megaphone…it looks like he came here in a rush. He rests a hand on the door frame as he looks at his friend curiously.

“Mayor, what a surprise to see you here! Is there something you need?”

“Jaaackk….” He looks around, leaning forward as he wrings his hands together. “They’re in the Town Hall..!”

“..Who?”

“B-Boogie’s Boys!” He exclaims. "They came in demanding to speak with you! When I told them you left, they got upset and told me to come and get you! I don’t know what to do, I tried not to get you involved-”

“-The trick-or-treaters?” He stands up straight, looking in the direction of the Town Hall. “What on Halloween’s name would they want?”

“I don’t know! But, please, get to them as soon as you can! They’re always up to trouble. I have to get back before they get into anything!”

He doesn’t wait for a response before rushing down the steps. He bumps into innocent citizens in his way and mumbles apologies as he runs back to the Town Hall. His behavior makes Jack Skellington puzzled. He closes the door to grab a few things before he heads out. Sally notices him putting on his jacket and rushes over before he can leave.

“Where are you going? Who was it?”

“The Mayor. Apparently those three pranksters are at the Town Hall. They want to speak to me.” He huffs, buttoning his suit. “Can’t imagine what for, but I don’t think it’ll be good.”

She thinks for a moment. “Can I come with you?” He looks at her curiously. “It’s been so long since I've seen them. And I…want to know how they’re doing. Without Boogie around.”

“But why? They kidnapped you.” His ribs ache when her eyes droop sadly. “I don’t think what they did should be forgotten.”

“I know. But…we haven’t seen them around for awhile. They wouldn't have been causing trouble if we didn’t hear about it.” He hums indifferently. “I don’t want to give them the benefit of the doubt again. They lied to me. But…I-I just want to know .”

He looks at her for a long time, her eyes continuing to plead with his sockets. He eventually caves in with a frustrated noise. “-Fine. But if they lay a hand on you, I’m NOT going to let it slide.”

She presses a kiss on his cheek. “I know. Thank you.”

He exhales through his nose, taking her hand and clutching it close to his chest. He opens the door and patiently helps her down the steps. They make their way to the Town Hall, only to hear terrified whimpers. They follow the noise behind the closed curtains and notice three small children throwing rocks at a shaking figure sitting at his tall desk. The Mayor notices them coming in and weakly points in their direction.

“There! See? He’s here now! Leave me alone!”

Lock, Shock, and Barrel whip around. They find their King standing across from them, looking angry as he shoves his hands on his hips. Sally joins his side, sharing a similar expression when she crosses her arms. They drop the small rocks in their hands and approach the two, hiding their hands behind their backs. They bat their eyes in an innocent manner.

“Jaaaack!” Shock greets. “It’s great to see you!”

“How’s the family?” Lock teases.

“You’re looking thin!” Barrel adds.

“What are you three up to?” He asks, getting straight to the point. “And why are you terrorizing my coworker?”

“We were just passing the time ‘til you got here!” The small devil defends. The Mayor fumes in the background. “We thought you’d never show up!”

“--Answer his question.” Sally cuts in sternly.

“We wanted to say we’re sorry. We didn’t get a chance to tell you!” Shock drops her mask, and her cohorts do the same. “We know how busy you’ve been…”

“Sorry for what? Threatening, beating, and kidnapping Sally, then trying to feed her to your boss? It’ll take more than that for me to believe you.”

Barrel steps forward. “We know it was bad, but we were only following orders! The boss would’ve been mad if we didn’t get her!”

“-And we didn’t want to make Oogie angry…” Lock adds with a frown.

Jack Skellington looks at them with unimpressed eye sockets. The Mayor takes this opportunity to slip out of the room when they’re not looking. Sally’s harsh gaze falls when she looks at their faces. She’s never seen them this genuinely upset before. The frowns they wear look real…she doesn’t believe they’re faking it. The skeleton remains apprehensive as he stands up straight, tapping the side of his arm impatiently. They haven’t gotten through to him.

“We also wanted to…thank you, I guess.” Lock mutters under his breath. He perks up.

“Did I hear that right?” The devil rolls his eyes. He isn’t going to repeat himself. Jack quirks an eye socket. “-What for?”

“-For getting rid of Oogie!” Shock interrupts impatiently. She kicks some dirt with her boot.

He grows quiet at their confession. He’s a little confused why they’d thank him for killing their boss - an arguable ‘father figure’. But he wasn’t ever a good one, if he were to guess from their reactions. He expected the trio to resent him after what he did. It wasn’t his intention to kill him that night. Rage had blinded him, and he acted without thought. But knowing they want to thank him…makes him believe he did the right thing.

“...So we wanted to make it up to you. To show we’re sorry.” Barrel brings up.

“Yeah. We heard you two were getting married or something. So we can help with that, if you want.” Lock spits out.

Sally butts in with wide eyes. “Do you really mean that?”

“You can give us another chance.” Shock clenches her gloved fists. “We want to prove it! So you better give us something to do!”

Jack crosses his arms. “You three are going to cause trouble and I know it. There hasn’t been a single Town event where you didn’t prank someone or pulled a stunt. There’s a reason you’re banned from them. I will not have that at my wedding.”

“Aw, c’mon!” “Pleaaaase?” “We’ll prove it to you!”

Sally's in full agreement until she notices the looks on their faces. The way they’re on their knees, begging…like they truly care about this. The look in their eyes seems genuine and…different. They don’t hold the usual mischief like she’s seen before. She decides to test their words and firmly moves forward, stopping when she’s in front of the children. She leans down to get a better eye-level with them, making sure she has their attention with this next question:

“Are you three *really* happy now that Boogie's gone? You’re not lying about this?”

They nod their heads. Almost too quickly for her liking. “Of course!” “Yeah!” “Honest!”

She still feels a little unconvinced. “Really? You don’t feel any other way about this..?”

She keeps eye contact with them, never breaking their stare. Shock is the one to cave in, looking at the floor and shrugging. “I mean, we’re disappointed and all, but we’ll get over it. We’ve been trying to!”

“He was scary,” Barrel mutters. Lock nods in agreement.

“He hit us a lot. If he didn’t do that, then he threatened us. We didn't like it, but we couldn’t say anything…but now that he’s gone, it doesn’t happen anymore.”

Pity hits her hard. Her phantom heart grows cold hearing this. She wants to embrace them. But she remembers what happened. She can’t forgive them right away. They’ll have to prove that they’re really sorry for what they’ve done. Boogie may have been the manipulator behind it all - but they need to rebuild their reputation in town. They’re guilty of their own wrongdoings. And she…wants to give them that chance, as stupid as it may seem.

“Alright. You three can help, if you promise you’re serious about this.”

They look happy with her approval, smiles lighting up their faces. “We are!”

Jack groans as Sally returns to his side. He doesn’t argue - he’ll respect her decision. She *is* the one they wronged to begin with, and needs approval from. He’ll have to go along with this - but he’ll make sure things still go as planned. So that these three won’t get in the way of anything. The last thing he wants is trouble on the most anticipated day of his death.

“Can I be the ring bearer!?” Barrel asks, jumping up-and-down. Jack is quick to shoot down this idea.

“No. Zero has that job. You can be…an usher.”

“An usher?” He tilts his head.

“You lead people to their seats and help them leave when the time is right,” Sally explains, remembering what she’s learned about weddings. Barrel looks indifferent with this idea, but agrees anyway.

“What about me?” Lock asks impatiently. The skeleton thinks about it.

“...You’ll be a page.” He grins. “You open doors for people, fetch them what they want, and run any errands we may need on the big day.”

“Aw, what!? You’re making me an ERRAND BOY!?”

“If you want to make it up to us, then that’s what you’ll be.” He continues with a challenging smirk. “-Unless you change your mind..?”

He opens his mouth to object. Shock smacks him upside the head with her hat. He goes to punch her until he notices the looks on Jack and Sally’s faces. He lowers his fist and pouts, turning away from everyone. He mutters a ‘fine, whatever’ under his breath, earning proud looks from the skeleton and ragdoll. They move their attention to the witch, who bashfully looks away under their stares. They think for a moment.

An idea pops up in Sally’s head. “Shock, would you like to be a flower girl?”

“Flower girl?” She scrunches up her nose. “That sounds dumb!”

“It’s not! It’s wonderful, really. You get to toss petals from wilted flowers down the aisle. I know a lot of little girls who would love to do it…! What do you say?”

She glances at Lock and Barrel, who giggle and tease her in return. It sounds so…girly! But they didn’t get ideal positions, either. Hers sounds a lot more important than their jobs. For this reason, she smirks in triumph and agrees - making Sally delighted as she stands back. The three children put their masks back on and say goodbye to them, running out of the room and inevitably encountering the Mayor again. He hollers at the sight of them - but they pay him no mind for once, leaving the Town Hall without a further exchange.

Jack and Sally share an uneasy glance.

“Do you think we can trust them..?” She asks quietly. She feels guilty for accepting their help without consulting him first. He shrugs in return.

“They won’t be handling anything valuable, so it should be fine.” His expression changes as he rests a hand against her cheek. “-You didn’t have to do that, you know. You’re not obligated to give everyone second chances if they’ve wronged you.”

Her eyes lower. “If I’m going to be the Pumpkin Queen, then I want a fresh start. I don’t want to be a cruel leader…I’d rather believe in the good of everybody.”

He rests his forehead against hers and intertwines their fingers together, sighing as he closes his eyes. ‘She’s too good for this world,’ he thinks.

#the nightmare before christmas #nightmare before christmas #jack skellington #jack x sally #jack and sally #oogie boogie #lock shock and barrel #tnbc #tim burton #disney #fanfiction #fanfic #our nightmare #the mayor of halloween town

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