Aww you guys are just so awesome I thought I'd update early! And as an added bonus (for a limited time only!) I give you a longer chapter! Yes ladies and gentlemen, a whopping seven and-a-half pages on Word! *applause* Thank you, thank you.

XD Ok now that my dream as an advertisement star has been fulfilled, first off I'd like to truly thank all of you for your wonderful support throughout this series and honestly, I never dreamed it would go this far! I thought I'd take this moment to tell you how really appriciative I am of your wonderful reviews and critique. And a big thank you to those who have acted as my betas in the past, you know who you are ;) As well as the amazing artists whose designs were used in the stories :D And the biggest thank you to all of you readers out there for it is YOU who have kept me writing.

Sentimental moment over for those of you who like to skip this part XD On with the chapter! Oh and by the way, THIS is when things get INTERESTING!

The next night, Amelia and Eric walked down the sidewalk together, hand in hand, laughing at something they recalled from the movie they just saw. Though cliché, their date had been a nice one. He took her out to one of the finest restaurants in town and didn't let her pay a cent, no matter how much she insisted. At the movie theaters, she tried to buy popcorn just to tease him about what he previously told her not to do. Yet, for the young woman, it couldn't have possibly been more perfect. Their time together was so much like a dream come true, she double-checked several times to make sure she wasn't sleeping. But no, it was all real. Eric obviously had kept feelings for her after all this time just like she had.

"Amelia, there was something I was meaning to ask you." He looked to the young woman currently holding onto his arm. "I know you agreed to go out with me and all, but…was there ever something between you and that Jack guy?"

"Eh? Oh him? No," she laughed, "he's just a really good friend of mine who can be a little over-protective. He's like family to me."

The tall young man remained silent for a while as he recalled how the two had stared at each other when Jack had caught her when she fell the night before. However, he brushed the thought aside and glanced around before looking back down at her.

"Well, if that's the case, then there's something I need to tell you." Eric stated as he stopped their walking and turned to face her. Then, he took both of her hands in his. "Amelia, this has been one of the most amazing nights of my life. I finally got to spend time with the most wonderful girl in the world," he moved an arm to snake around her waist, "who I love."

She gasped and her gaze locked onto his. Her eyes searched his expression for any sign of doubt, but found nothing. He was serious.

"Eric…do you really mean that?" She breathed in shock.

"Of course I do." He let go of her hand and tilted her head up. "I want no one else but you."

Amelia's heart began to race and the pounding grew so loud she could swear anyone within a mile could hear it. This was the moment she had always fantasized about, but never in her wildest dreams did she think it would actually happen.

"Oh Eric…" A tear slid down her cheek as she suddenly wrapped her arms around him. "I…I've always loved you…" She finally confessed and she felt his embrace tighten.

"You have no idea how much I've wanted to hear you say that." He leaned down slightly to whisper in her ear, "I want to make you mine, Amelia."

"Huh!" She moved away from him slightly and looked at him in surprise, and slight fear. However, he pulled her back against him.

"My desire for you is too much to bear anymore," he said softly, "stay with me tonight."

"What!" She shrieked and pushed against his chest, but his grip around her only tightened.

"I know you feel the same way." His voice became harsh.

"Not in that way!" She fought against him but her struggles didn't seem to faze him much.

"You realize you have no choice!"

More frightened that she had ever been in her life, Amelia quickly brought up her knee and hit him hard. His grip around her body slacked as he doubled over groaning in pain. She jumped away from him and spun on her heel to make a run for it, but she felt a strong hand tightly grip her wrist.

"Let me go!" She shouted and swung her leg around to hit him in the side, but his other hand caught her. Realizing she was trapped, she used his own strength against him and kicked her other foot right into his jaw. With momentum, she was able to back-flip out of his hold and landed crouching on her feet. Before he could recover, she sprinted away as fast as she could, but much to her horror, she heard loud steps pounding against the ground not far behind. He was running after her and gaining fast.

Just as Eric reached out to grab her, he was suddenly falling backwards after something had swiftly hit him square in the eye. Hearing the sound of a body hitting the sidewalk with a painful thud and a cry of pain, Amelia skidded to a stop and whipped around to see what had happened. She gasped in absolute shock. Jack was standing in front of Eric, towering over him as the man on the ground held his face in agony. Eric removed his hands to reveal the dark bruise beginning to form around one of his eyes. Hastily, he got to his feet and glowered at Jack, but then his angered expression faltered into complete horror. He was starring into the face of a skeleton.

"Boo." Jack said before throwing another punch at Eric, knocking him out-cold. He once again fell haphazardly onto the ground and this time he didn't get up.

The skeleton man's fierce glare melted into worry as he turned to face Amelia. She stood stunned with terror still written across her face. He hesitated a moment before approaching her.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked with obvious concern lacing his voice. Suddenly he found the young woman wrapping her arms around him and crying into his shoulder. He carefully returned the embrace, trying to comfort her knowing how frightened she was. He just held her as she wept. The skeleton man did not speak for his presence was enough.

Finally, the distraught young woman quieted her sobs but still she clutched onto him.

"Thank you…" she whispered, knowing her voice would crack if she even tried to speak any louder.

A few moments later, Jack donned his human disguise as Amelia recomposed herself long enough to call the police. Shortly after, an officer pulled up and loaded Eric's unconscious body into the back of his vehicle. As best she could, Amelia answered the officer's questions about what happened and Jack, being a witness, stepped in to speak for her when her voice broke. Soon after, the policeman drove off taking Eric away.

Jack walked with her back to her apartment, the sorceress never letting go of his arm.

"Amelia, there's something I need to say." He spoke suddenly, "I…knew what he was planning."

"Wha…What?" Her expression was a mixture of shock and disbelief. "But how!"

"In truth…I saw you with him the other day and I noticed something odd about his demeanor. So I followed him after he had left you. He joined up with a few of his friends, bragging that he had got you to agree to go on a date with him, and that it would be easy to…well…do what he was planning all along."

"W-why didn't you tell me!" She just didn't understand why he would let her walk into a trap like that.

"I did…or at least I tried."

Her eyes widened in realization as she recalled the afternoon of the day before when she had accused him of being over-protective. He hadbeen trying to warn her, but she didn't listen. Thus, Eric played her and she fell into his trap simply because her old affections blinded her from accepting anything other than what she wanted to believe.

The sorceress's gaze became transfixed on the ground passing beneath her feet. She was ashamed of herself for doubting her best friend who had only been trying to keep her from being hurt.

"I did the only thing I could do," he continued, "I watched over you. I didn't know when he planned on "trying something" so I've been with you the entire time. When he had stopped you earlier, I knew something was up, but I couldn't hear anything that was being said. And I couldn't risk getting closer or else I might have blown my cover. I would have stepped in sooner, but you were proving that you could handle yourself just like you said you could. I was certain you wouldn't need my help, but when you started running and he took after you, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands."

"I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't been there." She clutched him tighter as she fought back another onslaught of tears, "Thank you, Jack."

"I promised I would always be there to protect you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did."

He was glad that she was feeling better, at least somewhat, but he knew all too well that nightmares would haunt her for a while. Jack and Amelia soon came up to her apartment. She was reluctant to leave his side, but after a few comforting words from the would-be skeleton man, she finally released him and slowly walked inside.

"I promise you Amelia, from now on, I will make sure no harm ever comes to you." He whispered after the door was shut. The Atrum sorcerer turned around and stepped into the shadows. Dark silhouettes from the trees and buildings enveloped his body then melted into the ground before returning to their original forms. The skeleton-in-disguise had disappeared from sight.

When the traumatized young woman stepped inside her apartment, Claire quickly came up to her with a cheerful disposition, but it fell as soon as she saw Amelia's hurt expression.

"What happened?" The tall brunette asked with concern evident in her voice.

"Eric…he…" Amelia felt her voice begin to crack as tears welled in her eyes.

"Oh no…" Claire breathed as her eyes went wide. "Did he…turn out like the others?"

Her distraught friend brought her hand to her mouth and nodded as fresh water droplets cascaded down her already red face. She felt the tall young woman's thin arms embrace her in a comforting hug to which she gratefully returned. Though racked with sobs, Amelia managed to tell Claire everything that had happened, but remembered to keep the skeletal side of Jack a secret. She finally finished as another wave of grief washed over her and she cried into her friend's shoulder.

"Hey now, it's ok, you're alright. You're safe now and no one is going to hurt you ok?" Claire said soothingly and she felt Amelia nod her head. "If that jerk even dares to show his face remotely near you again, or even me, I'll pound him into next Tuesday of next year."

The tall young woman guided her friend to her room for she knew that sleep would do her some good. Amelia settled down and Claire left her to get ready for bed. Within minutes, the sorceress was in bed, clutching her covers tightly to herself, and her mind finally began to rest.

However, that night, Jack's assumption came true.

"AAAAHHHH!"

Amelia awoke screaming in the early hours of the morning, she had dreamt of what would have happened had Jack not come to her rescue. Now, she sat up in bed and silenced her cry when she realized it was a nightmare. But then a tall shadowy figure suddenly entered her room carrying some sort of weapon. She let out another terrified shriek and then the lights suddenly flicked on.

"What on earth? Amelia?" A tall young woman asked tiredly having just woken up. It was Claire who had dashed into her room and had a baseball bat in hand ready to clobber whoever dared to break into their apartment. When she saw the room was void of any intruder, she sighed in relief and then sat down on the edge of her roommate's bed.

"Are you ok?" She asked, blinking away the remainder of sleep. Tears streamed down Amelia's face as she violently shook her head.

"N-no! I dreamt of what would've happened last night if Jack hadn't…" She put her face in her hands and sobbed. Claire put down the bat, moved to sit beside her, and put her arms around her shoulders. The distraught young woman cried until her eyes ran dry and only quiet sobs escaped her.

"Well as you just saw, no one is going to get to you, not as long as I'm around, and Jack too." Claire said comfortingly.

"Yeah…I'm sorry." Amelia muttered apologetically, ashamed for making such a fuss.

"Don't worry about it. But you're probably going to have nightmares for a while, hon." She said truthfully, "You just need to remember that it's not real. You're safe now, ok?"

"Ok." The light brunette sniffled and gave her dear friend another grateful hug.

"Try to get some sleep." Claire said as she released her. Then, she got off the bed, retrieved the bat, and flicked the lights off as she walked out of the room.

Amelia sighed in exhaustion and settled back down as she tried to go back to sleep. But she didn't know if precious slumber escaped her because she was still so frightened, or if she knew that lurking in the dark corners of her mind the nightmare was waiting for her to return. Whatever it was, the young woman could not fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. Tiredly, she glanced at the clock and saw that was about two o'clock in the morning. She had been awake for almost an hour now. Her gaze shifted to the window on the wall where the moon's light peeked through the thin lavender curtains. She simply stared at the soft glow for what seemed like an eternity before she sat up once again, a determined look on her features. Amelia swung her legs out from underneath the covers and planted her feet on the ground.

She got up and turned on the lamp next to her bed. The young woman winced at the sudden burst of light, but her eyes soon adjusted and her serious expression returned. She then walked over to her desk, grabbed her backpack, and unzipped it. She emptied its contents all over the wooden table, then went over to her dresser and pulled some clothes out of the drawers. After stuffing them into the bag along with some other necessities needed for a long trip, she opened her closet and dug out her sorceress costume that had been buried deep in the back. The Armonia snapped her fingers and her pajamas were immediately replaced with the long silver gown. She placed her pendant into its metallic holder at the base of her collar, then grabbed her silver circlet from its hidden spot in her chest of drawers and placed it around her head. The sorceress looked at her backpack which she had set on her bed and snapped her fingers. It suddenly disappeared in a faint cloud of smoke. Then, she clicked her lamp off.

The Armonia moved to stand in the center of her room and closed her eyes. The dark shadows cast from the various objects around her began to twist and curve, then slithered on the ground to where she stood and completely enveloped her body. Her silhouette melted into the ground and the shadows returned to their original forms. The young sorceress had vanished.

The shadow cast by the old, once abandoned and now newly redone house suddenly became darker and rose from the ground. It morphed into a familiar form, then melted away and returned to normal. Amelia had resurfaced from the darkness behind Jack's new home. Stealthily she sneaked around the house and peeked into the windows, most of which had the curtains drawn. But she came across one in which the drapes were pulled back and sure enough there was a skeleton man snoozing peacefully in his room. Normally, Amelia would have laughed at the comical way he slept, not to mention his choice for the interior design, but this was not any other ordinary night. Not that sneaking around in the early hours of the morning was ordinary.

The young woman tapped on the window, but the slumbering skeleton didn't wake. She knocked on the glass again, this time a little louder, and still nothing. Huffing a little, she waved her hand in front of the window and then heard a faint click. Carefully she lifted the window just enough so she could slip inside. Just as she was about to get her other foot through, she lost her balance and landed on the ground with a rather loud thud.

"Eh, wha? What? Who's there?" Jack asked sleepily as he reached over to find the switch to the awkwardly bent lamp next to his bed. He finally found it and an eerie yellow light filled the room. His eyes widened in shock and he arched an eyebrow in confusion when he saw Amelia getting up from off the floor, dusting herself off.

"Amelia? What are you doing here at this time of night?" He asked, fighting a yawn and got out of bed.

"Get whatever things you brought with you." She said firmly and met his gaze with a serious expression he had never seen before. "We're leaving."

"W-What!" Jack was fully awake now. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"I'm going with you back to Halloween Town, and it might be a while before I decide to return." She explained with such a stern tone that he immediately knew she wasn't messing around.

"Why? I-I'm afraid I don't understand." He scratched his head.

"I'm tired of the pathetic men here simply using me to get what they want!" she suddenly shouted, but then lowered her gaze to the floor, her voice barely above a whisper. "Eric wasn't the first guy to try that."

"What!" Jack staggered back a few steps, nearly falling over in shock.

"Listen, I don't want to talk about it anymore. Can we just go?" her voice started to break. She lifted her distressed gaze to meet his, her eyes shimmering from the tears that began to form. "Please…"

Jack sighed and looked away as he thought for a moment, but then glanced back at her and nodded in agreement.

"Alright."

After that, the two sorcerers hardly spoke another word to each other as they left the house and made their way through the thick, dark forest. Jack, in his usual pinstripe suit, led the way while Amelia followed quietly behind, her gaze transfixed on the ground beneath her feet. They walked down the old winding path further into the woods until they came to a circle of tall trees with oddly colored bark. They moved to stand in front of the trunk with a picture of a jack-o-lantern with a wicked smile. Jack grasped its nose and turned it like a door knob and it opened, revealing the tree's hollow inside. A faint howling sound came from deep beneath the earth and rapidly grew louder before a gush of black wind burst through the trunk. It encircled the sorcerers, neither showing any sign of fear, and then it pulled them into the tree. The pumpkin shaped door slammed shut, no trace of the two sucked inside had been left behind.

Ok lets see if I can comment in chronological order. *Ahem* So obviously you all knew that Eric was indeed up to something, but I bet you didn't expect THAT now did ya! Ok...yeah I'm sure a lot of you did, I'm horrible at being vague. Anyway, naturally Jack stepped in just in time to save her like always! But poor Amelia, what a traumatic experience, hence the chapter title. Moving on, Eric is now officially gone since he's in the slammer, and *GASP* What's this! Amelia is running away! *GASPS again* This isn't the first time such a horrific event has happend to her! Just WHAT is this crazy insane authoress planning! Tune in next week to find out ;D

Please review and check out the sneak peek! =D