Hola! Guten Tag! Bonjour! Hallo! Konnichiwa! And the ever-popular, Hello Everyone! I hope you're all ready for an awesome chapter…because it may be a while before I can update again. Wait! Don't kill the author! Let me explain: I am getting my wisdom teeth cut out next weekend. So needless to say I'll be incapacitated for a while so the next update will be a bit belated.

So kind reviews full of your favorite scenes and what you liked about the chapter will be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!

Jack led Amelia into the dining room lit up by two candle chandeliers and in the center of the room was a long dark wooden table. On top of it was a placement setting for dinner for two with fine china plates and crystal glasses. The wall adjacent to the table was a large window overlooking the edge of the forest and the painted evening sky.

Jack, being the classic gentleman he was, pulled out a chair for Amelia and she gracefully sat down.

"Wow Jack, I'm impressed! You really did an amazing job." She said in awe as he took his seat across from her.

"Why thank you my dear." He smiled and snapped his fingers. In a sudden flash of light, the main course appeared on the plates before them.

"Ok now you're just being a show off." The young woman commented light-heartedly.

"Here I go out of my way to make you a nice dinner and all you do is insult me. I'm hurt Amelia." The sorcerer joked. She giggled and he suddenly found himself wanting to make her laugh again just to hear the sound.

"Well I didn't work my hands to the bone just to let the food get cold." He added.

"Then let's eat." She laughed again and Jack smiled.

They sat and ate in a comfortable silence, but as indiscreetly as she could, Amelia observed him curiously. If she hadn't believed that Jack once belonged in England's high society before, she certainly did now. His manners and etiquette made her own appear sloppy, which was saying a lot because she had been raised to be polite especially during dinner. He sat up straight, his elbows never touched the table, and even the way he ate was so graceful it was practically an art form. Feeling a little embarrassed about her own manners, though civil they were she tried to mimic him. Jack glanced up and noticed what she was trying to do. Amelia sat straighter but looked stiff and rather uncomfortable. She glanced down at her arms several times to make sure her elbows didn't touch the table, and ate extremely small portions of food at a time. As humorous as this was to him, he decided to keep his amusement to himself, settling for a grin instead.

"So, what do you think of the human world so far?" Amelia asked to break the silence that was beginning to feel a little awkward.

"Well, everything has certainly changed since the mid-eighteen hundreds." He laughed, "But I think I'm adapting quite nicely, I was able to find you last night."

"After being lost for nearly four hours." She retorted with a sly smile.

"Well I eventually found my way, didn't I?" He pointed out, trying to save some of his dignity.

"Yeah, after breaking down and getting a map." She snickered and he shot her a glare, but she just laughed more. "I meant to ask you something earlier today." She said after calming down.

"Oh? What is it?" he asked curiously, forgetting her previous comment.

"How did you manage to get money? I mean, it was very generous of you to pay for the hot chocolate, but how?" She paused, "Come to think of it, you paid for your drink at the Moonlight the first night you were here."

"Interesting story there." He chuckled, "Well, before I left for the human world, I gathered some of my money I had from when I was still alive. Don't ask me why or how I had it because for some strange reason I found a lot of my old things when I first arrived in Halloween Town." He rolled his eyes and shook his head, still baffled.

"Anyway, when I came into Samhain and grabbed the map," he then quietly muttered, "after getting lost," he continued normally, "I found an antique store that bought old coins, which thankfully was still open considering the late hour. The worker who helped me was quite shocked at all of the currency I had, more specifically, how old it was. So I sold it and got a good amount of modern-day cash that should suffice for a while."

"So that was the reason why you took so long?" She asked, now feeling a little ashamed.

"Partly, I was lost before I got the map, remember?"

"Ok, now I don't feel so bad for teasing you."

"Hey, I resent that."

"I figured." Amelia beamed. "So what's it like being alive again?"

"Well…odd for want of a better word." He answered. "It's been so long, I didn't realize how much I had forgotten about what it's like being human."

"What do you think you missed most about it?"

"Hmm…I'd have to say my hair." He chuckled ran his fingers through his dark locks. "I didn't mind, or even notice, being bald until now."

Amelia laughed and Jack couldn't help but smile.

"So what does it feel like?" She asked curiously, "To be human again, I mean."

"It's…strange." He looked at his palm, "To actually feel the skin of my hand and the sensation of touch, it's taking some getting used to after being undead so long." He put his hand to his chest. "But to have a beating heart, that is what really makes me feel alive again. Its constant rhythm gives me a true sense of humanity."

She couldn't help but be fascinated by his words. Amelia knew she would never experience what he was going through because it was all second-nature to her. The young woman couldn't notice even if she wanted to. Plus, she had never been dead and so she was very intrigued with his unique situation.

"Wow…I can't even begin to imagine." she breathed in awe.

"It's nothing short of bizarre I can tell you that." He chuckled.

"So how long do you plan on staying?" Amelia questioned.

"Already trying to get rid of me I see." The well-dressed sorcerer joked.

"Ha, ha, you're hilarious." She retorted sarcastically, making him laugh.

"Well, I don't really know." He shrugged, "Just like how time stops in your world whenever you visit Halloween Town, time stops for me as well. It's just the other way around of course." A thought occurred to him and decided to be the one to ask questions.

"So what's the story behind you and Claire?"

"Oh, we're pretty much your typical best-friends-since-grade-school cliché." She giggled. "I was being picked on by John and the others, you remember them right?"

"The three vile miscreants we scared the living souls out of several years back?" he grinned with amusement.

"Yep, those jerks. Well, this happened before I met you." Amelia continued, "They were teasing me and I was on the verge of tears when Claire stepped in. Even then she towered over everyone in the school, including the boys." She laughed in remembrance, "Anyway, she threatened to punch their faces in if they didn't leave me alone. Naturally they fled and Claire and I have been best friends ever since."

"Doesn't seem like her personality has changed much." Jack said light-heartedly.

"Nope, she's still protective of me, except when it comes to dating." The young woman rolled her eyes.

"Oh really?" he arched a would-be eyebrow and smiled with amusement. "Care to explain?"

"Well, she's always trying to convince me to get a boyfriend and even set me up a few times." She rubbed her temple with an annoyed expression. "But a good example would be when she found out about tonight, my dinner with you that is." She felt a blush beginning to form and averted her gaze away from him. "She kept calling it a date, picked out my outfit, and actually managed to put makeup on me." A look of disgust crossed her features, and she finally dared to look back up at him.

"Still, no matter how many times I corrected her, she kept saying I was going on a date." She giggled, "Isn't that just silly?"

"Uh, yeah." Jack agreed, chuckling a little.

However, for both sorcerers, a small ache formed in their chests, yet they tried to push the thought to the back of their minds.

"But, she does have good taste." He suddenly said to break the tension, "You really do look beautiful, Amelia. You should dress up more often."

"U-um th-thanks." She stuttered and looked away as the splash of pink across her cheeks became a few shades darker.

They returned to a comfortable silence and continued to finish their meal.

"Simply amazing…" Jack said softly after a few minutes, gazing at the young woman across from him.

"Hm?" Amelia turned her attention toward him. He blinked and blood rushed to his face for he realized he had just said his thoughts aloud.

"O-oh, well I uh…" he looked away and cleared his throat nervously, "I-I meant that…it's amazing how far you've come from the little girl I used to know." He turned his gaze back to her. "You've grown up so much, physically and mentally." His emerald eyes softened, filled with an emotion that Amelia couldn't identify. "It astounds me how quickly you've become such a lovely young woman."

The makeup on her cheeks did nothing to hide the bright red blush that quickly spread across her face.

"U-uh th-thank you…Jack." She fumbled over her words, still in surprise. "I-I really don't th-think that I deserve s-such a wonderful compliment." Her gaze shifted to her plate in front of her as she felt her face heat up even more. Suddenly, an all-too familiar glow came from the pendant from around her neck. She hastily grabbed it to shield the light, hoping that the would-be skeleton man in front of her didn't notice. Shyly, she looked up at him and saw the strange look he was giving her.

"U-um I-I thought I might have noticed a scratch on it." She rushed through her excuse, focusing intensely on the pendant. The sorceress sighed in relief when the glow faded away, and then she removed her hand from it.

"Nope, just my imagination." She laughed sheepishly while he smiled, chuckling softly.

"You know, I'm glad to see that you're still wearing the pendant." He said warmly.

"I hardly ever take it off." She giggled, "It's special to me."

"Oh right, it's the Gem of the Armonias." He recalled.

"Actually," She looked away, "it's special because you gave it to me." The pink tint returned to her cheeks and she dared to meet his deep green eyes. "You're my dearest friend."

"As you are mine, Amelia." He said as his signature smile crossed his lips. "You have no idea how thankful I am for the day you dropped in our most atrocious holiday."

"Actually I might…I know my life was never the same after I found the Holiday Doors." The sorceress beamed, "I would never want to change any of that."

"And to think it's really been ten years since then!" He exclaimed happily.

"I know it's unbelievable." She giggled.

Amelia and Jack carried on casual conversation for the rest of the evening, but even then, Jack's earlier surprising words still rang in her mind. Just the way he spoke made the sorceress feel as though there was some underlying meaning, but she couldn't figure out what.

After the dinner was finished, the skeleton-turned-human escorted his guest back to her car.

"Thank you for inviting me, Jack." The sorceress said turning to face him and smiled warmly, "I had a wonderful time."

"It was my pleasure, Miss Amelia." He then gently took her hand in his, "Jusqu'à ce que nous réunissions de nouveau, mon cherie." He spoke with an almost natural French accent.

"Are you trying to be smooth?" She asked with amusement lacing her voice.

"Maybe, is it working?" His smile formed into a smirk.

"Depends, what did you say?"

"Till we meet again, my dear."

She giggled, and admittedly his charm worked successfully. She shyly avoided his gaze as she felt a light blush splash across her cheeks. He didn't know why, but Jack found himself stepping closer to her. He lifted her chin with his other hand so her ocean blue eyes met his emerald colored ones. Time seemed to slow and neither noticed the light glow emitting from the sorceress's pendant. Amelia's heart began to race as he leaned in toward her, the space between them slowly beginning to disappear.

But then suddenly, he stopped as his senses returned and realized what was happening. He noticed her slightly surprised expression, but she hadn't tried to push him away. Still startled by his own actions, it took him a moment before he remembered how to speak.

"Come by again soon?" he asked lamely, still a little flustered.

Amelia blinked, as if snapping out of a daze, and was a little taken aback by the question. Unbeknownst to either of them, her pendant had returned to normal.

"Definitely." She said with a bright smile. Jack quickly let go of her and stepped back nervously, avoiding her gaze for a moment.

"Well then," he looked back up to her and offered a smile of his own, "Goodnight Amelia."

"Goodnight Jack." She gave him a curt nod and beamed. With that as her final goodbye, she climbed into her car and backed out of the driveway. The disguised-skeleton man watched her as she drove away into the distance.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Jack was back inside the house with his forehead and clenched fist slammed against the wall. "What on earth possessed me to do that!" He moved to sit on the couch and rested his head in the palms of his hands. He heaved a deep, troubled sigh.

"'Come by again soon?' Of all the idiotic things to say!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. He huffed and leaned back against the couch, crossing his arms.

"What was I trying to do before that anyway?" He glared at the opposite end of the room, "Kiss her?" Suddenly his eyes went wide as his arms dropped to his sides. "I-is that…W-why would…?" he whispered in total disbelief.

"What if…What if that was what I wanted to do?" He slouched and put his hand on the side of his head as looked down at the floor, unsure of what to make of the whole ordeal. After a few minutes, he leaned back with his head rested against the back of the couch. He stared up into space, absolutely lost until a thought ran through his mind.

'Could I possibly…have feelingsfor Amelia?'

*Plugs ears as readers start screaming* Ok well sorry but I got to go, don't look for me next week! Wisdom teeth getting cut out and what not heh heh *sees mob running at her* OK GOTTA RUN! *flees*

*Hides and sneaks back after mob has run past her* Pssst! A big thanks to Crimson who translated that line from English to French for me because I don't know French. So thank you so so much! *hears mob yelling that they found her* OK SEE YA! *dashes away to safe house*