Hello everyone and Happy October! I'm excited for this month, how about you? XD Anyway, thank you all for your wonderful reviews and expressing your enthusiasm that Eric is gone lol! I'm sorry to disappoint the Oogie Boogie Theorists (those who thought Eric was somehow involved with Oogie) but I certainly appreciated your ideas! If you ever have any predictions, please tell me! I always get inspiration from my readers ^_^

Acro: Patience my young one. Ah I like your theory, but alas Eric was just a jerk. XD Yes Amelia was "bossing Jack around" as you put it toward the end there. Glad you liked it!

PatworkAngel: Wow you placed bets? XD Nice! I feel kinda sorry for that random person lol! Well don't worry about being callous, Jack will help Amelia in this new chapter ^^

Anyway, as a special treat for you readers, this chapter is all one big Jack and Amelia moment! Enjoy~

Jack Skellington fed another log into the tower's fireplace and then sat down on his couch. He was in his usual nighttime attire, tan cap and all, as he stared absentmindedly at the bright orange and yellow flames. The grandfather clock in the corner of the room behind him gonged a half hour past nine. The skeleton man crossed his arms and sighed as he leaned back into the couch, his mind troubled.

It had been three days since he and Amelia had returned to Halloween Town, and he was growing very concerned for his dear friend. The first day back she locked herself in her room and did not come out, not even to eat. Jack had even offered to cook up some normal food, grated he'd use a spell instead of making it himself, but she declined. The next day, hunger finally wore her down and she came out and ate. She walked around the house but only for a short while before going back to her room in seclusion. Finally by the third she seemed to be feeling better, or at least making an effort. The sorceress left the house, strolled around town a bit for some fresh air, but avoided talking to any of the citizens who passed her. Despite the small, gradual improvements, it didn't seem as though Amelia would get out of her slump anytime soon.

In the three days' time, Jack made no motion to bring up what had happened between her and Eric, or anything remotely related to the human world for that matter. But something she said the night she decided to leave constantly replayed itself over and over in the back of his mind.

"Eric wasn't the first guy to try that."

'Something like this has happened to her before?' He thought to himself. He had managed to refrain from asking about it, knowing it was still too soon to bring up such a touchy subject. But anxiety was beginning to eat at him.

'Why didn't she tell me?' He mentally asked, but then the answer immediately came to him. 'She didn't want me to be concerned…'

Jack sighed and slouched as he put his face in his hands. After a brief moment he clasped them together and rested his forearms against his legs as he stared at the dancing shadows on the floor.

"She's just running away from her fears by coming here." He muttered to himself sadly. "But I can understand she'll need time to recover." He then continued mentally, 'A week, maybe more, but she can't avoid the real world for too long. I know that Halloween Town is a safe haven for her, but she can't remain here forever. What would happen if time unexpectedly resumed itself on the other side and she's suddenly missing?' he heaved another disgruntled sigh.

'I'm going to have to convince her to go back. No one can avoid their problems by running away. They'll just simply follow close behind.' He sat up a little straighter and gazed into the fire, 'But I guess…that will be a talk for another day.'

Soft footsteps were heard coming up the spiral staircase, Jack turned and saw a dismal-looking Amelia Brave, wearing her long black nightgown, enter the room. He didn't say anything, just watched as she silently walked over to the couch and sat down next to him. The skeleton man opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He was in an inner debate with himself but settled for remaining quiet and returned his gaze to stare absentmindedly at the fire. They sat in silence for several minutes before he let the question that had been eating at him finally break the stillness.

"Amelia…you mentioned that it wasn't the first time you had been in that kind of situation." He noticed her body stiffen and he hesitated before continuing. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but I just wanted to know what happened."

She didn't say a single word for such a long period of time that Jack thought she might not have heard him. But then she finally looked up to meet his gaze and saw the worry and concern in his hollow eyes. She turned away from him and remained silent for a moment longer before speaking.

"It all started toward the beginning of my last year in high school." She began, "Guys started talking to me more and I didn't know why, I just thought it was because they might actually be gaining a mature bone in their bodies. But…I found out the real reason." The young woman paused a moment before she continued.

"This guy who I had been dating for about a week decided that he had waited long enough and he tried to…" she choked on her words as a tear slid down her cheek. Jack's eyes widened in shock and felt something begin to boil deep inside him.

"I was able to get away." She finally said, and the skeleton man next to her mentally let out a held breath in relief. "I punched and kicked and screamed, I did everything I could and managed to outrun him. He was arrested and I gave up on dating after that. But…the memories kept resurfacing…and I had nightmares whenever I slept." Her hands, rested on her knees, clutched into fists as she fought back the urge to cry.

"Apparently…I was then seen as some sort of prize to be won among those idiotic guys at my school and kept getting asked out," she spat. "I declined every one of them, but there was one in particular who hated rejection. He…he tried to kidnap me." Her voice broke again and tears began to stream down her face.

"What!" Jack shouted in absolute horror.

"I escaped." She hastily said before the skeleton man next to her decided to go back to her world and kill the guy. "He didn't know I had learned self-defense after the first incident. But even then, I was lucky that he didn't know how to fight back."

"This whole thing with Eric…feels far worse than the others." She sobbed as she hugged her arms, "I had no idea he would turn out to be just like them!"

To his surprise, Amelia fell against Jack and clutched onto his nightshirt as she cried into his chest. Immediately, he wrapped his arms around her in a protective embrace as if to shield her from anything and everything that would cause her harm. He stroked her hair as she sobbed, trying his best to gently hush her, and just simply hold her in his arms. Despite his caring disposition, anger flared up inside him. He was more than ready to reappear in the human world and strangle those men who dared to hurt her. The only thing that kept him from doing so was the sorceress he cared for so deeply crying her heart out in his arms. After several minutes had passed, Amelia's eyes dried up and her sobs had silenced.

"I'm such a fool." She muttered, turning her head so he could hear, "I gave him my full trust while knowing next to nothing about him. I was stupid not to listen to you."

"No Amelia, you weren't." He corrected her, "You couldn't have possibly known what was going to happen."

"But you knew, and you tried to tell me…but I wouldn't listen. I was too infatuated with the idea of him actually loving me back…that it blinded me from everything else."

"He was your first love so it's only natural to do what you did. None of this was your fault. Besides, you hadn't seen him in years, which makes it all the more understandable." Jack decided not to mention that he knew what had happened on a particular Christmas Eve in her life. It wasn't his place to say, nor was he even supposed to know.

"That's…not entirely true." Amelia admitted and lifted her head but avoided his gaze. "I saw him not long after I had left Halloween Town three years ago. He had a girlfriend though, and he didn't recognize me at all. Not even when I told him my name…" She hesitated a moment before continuing.

"That night I made a promise to myself that I really should have kept. I would never give my heart to anyone ever again like I did for him. I was stupid to break it more than once."

"Amelia…" he was in disbelief of the words coming from her. "Please, do not blame yourself solely for what has happened to you. To make a promise like that would be difficult to keep, I know." His looked off to the side for a moment, "I made a similar promise when Elizabeth passed…But I let it go after a while." He returned his gaze to her, tilting her head up to meet her shimmering eyes. "I like to believe that there is someone out there for everyone. I think there is that special someone out there waiting for you, so don't throw your heart away. I really don't know if I my own rule would apply to myself because I died so young. Fate had something else planned for me and it brought me here." He then smiled.

"Personally, I'm glad it did, do you know why?" He asked and she shook her head in response. He chuckled a little and gently held the side of her face with his skeletal hand, "Because I got to meet you."

Amelia felt her heart swell, she was sure it skipped a beat, and she felt fresh tears begin to form. But then she did something Jack almost thought he'd never see again. She smiled. A true, heart-felt smile. He was taken slightly off-guard when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a grateful hug, but he was more than willing to return it.

"Thank you…Jack." She said softly as she clung to him. His arms around her tightened protectively and he rested his head against hers.

"You're most certainly welcome, Ami."

They stayed in each other's embrace in comfortable silence, neither wanting to let go. After a while, Jack felt her arms loosen but she didn't move.

"Amelia?" he asked and but heard nothing in response.

"Amelia?" He repeated, lifting his head. He blinked in slight surprise to find that the sorceress had fallen asleep. The skeleton man laughed softly in amusement and decided not to disturb her.

He couldn't help but notice that he liked her being in his arms. As long as she was with him, he felt as though he had the strength to keep her safe from all harm, including heartbreak. Then once again there was that strange emotion that appeared whenever they were together, only it was much stronger now. He gazed down at her serene face and it warmed his heart. She finally seemed to be having a peaceful sleep, something she desperately needed. But as she rested comfortably in his embrace, he took notice of how they fit together so perfectly, almost as if they belonged together.

The strange feeling he had grew even more as he thought about wanting to be the one to protect her, to be the one she depends on, to be the one to soothe her in time of grief. How he felt so happy to be with her, how he wanted to talk to her just to hear her voice, how he wanted to make her laugh just to hear its angelic ring, and how much he loved the look on her face whenever she blushed. That mysterious emotion that he could not quite figure out, he finally did.

'I never thought it would actually come to this…' he thought to himself as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, 'I think I may be falling for you.'

But then he mentally slapped himself in the face.

'Great timing Jack,' he scolded himself, 'find out you actually have feelings for her when she's just been emotionally traumatized.'

He then gazed at her peaceful expression and smiled warmly as he thought, 'What on earth have you done to me, Amelia Brave?'

He glanced up at the clock as it chimed ten in the evening. He looked back down at the serene sorceress and sighed, 'I just don't have the heart to wake her.'

Jack reluctantly released a hand from around her frame and reached behind him to grab a pillow next to the arm of the couch. He then placed it on top of the sofa where he could rest his head comfortably against it. His arm returned to its former place securely around Amelia and soon the skeleton man drifted off to sleep.

The smiling jack-o-lantern sun slowly rose into the sky, its warm beams of light washing over the sleepy town of Halloween. The rays reached the windows of the highest tower and poured into the room where a skeleton and a sorceress slept curled up next to each other on a sofa in front of a long-since gone out fireplace. The sun's light warmed the young woman's body, gently rousing her from her quiet slumber. She lifted her head and gasped softly as soon as she realized where she was, and just whoshe was with. A bright blush splashed across her face, but she soon forgot about her embarrassment as she gazed up at the still snoozing skeleton man. The last time she saw him this close sleeping was when he was in her bed, snoring comically, snuggled up to a teddy bear. But now, he wasn't making a sound and she noticed how peaceful he looked. Had the Armonia been wearing her tear-drop pendant, it surely would glow its familiar blue light.

Then, he began to stir and the sorceress's blush returned as she tried to gradually move away from him without him waking. No such luck. It was as if the absence of her warmth was just enough to pull the skeleton out of his slumber and his eyes slowly opened. He blinked as he came to realize he was staring into the nervous and very embarrassed face of the young Armonia.

"Good morning Amelia." He said softly as he beamed down at her.

"G-good morning Jack." She fumbled a little, and then realized that she still had her hands rested against his chest. Her face turned several shades darker as she hastily moved away from him and avoided his gaze. The skeleton simply chuckled in amusement.

"S-sorry for…falling asleep on you." She muttered but then her eyes widened in realization and she looked back at him. "Why didn't you wake me up? I wouldn't have wanted you to end up sleeping like that because of me!"

"It's quite alright Ami." He laughed, "I didn't want to wake you up. You were finally sleeping soundly with no nightmares. I just couldn't." he admitted.

"B-but still, I would've understood." Amelia protested and rubbed the side of her neck. "The way you were sleeping didn't look all that comfortable."

"Nah," Jack waved it off, "I've been through worse, such as sleeping standing up in an upright coffin."

"You've actually done that?" She arched an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yeah, and that wasn't all too comfortable let me tell you." He grinned, "I would much rather sleep with my head on the couch instead of in a coffin."

"Ok," she giggled, "I guess if you insist."

"Besides, I really didn't mind us sleeping together like that." As soon as the words left his mouth a bright blush spread across Amelia's face, and an identical one would have appeared on Jack had he been in his human form.

"W-well uh…what I meant was…I-I…" he scratched the back of his head as he looked away from her, trying to figure out the right words to say in this rather awkward situation. "What I meant to say was…w-well I-I…um…I m-mean…"

"It was nice." She suddenly said. He whipped his head around to face her with a surprised expression, but she was staring intently down at the floor. "What you said was true, I hadn't had a decent sleep in a while." She smiled a little. "I-I guess I felt safe with you, a-and knowing you were there I could relax." The still flushed sorceress dared to look up at him. "So I guess I owe you another thanks."

"O-of course Amelia, n-not a problem." Jack scratched his head sheepishly before meeting her gaze. She smiled warmly at him, obviously very grateful, and he couldn't help but return it with a smile of his own.

XDDD Sorry, but I hadn't had a good Jack and Amelia awkward moment for a long time. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. Out of the whole story, and yes I have the whole thing planned out, this is one of my favorite chapters of all. Anyway, please tell me your thoughts ^_^ I look forward to your wonderful reviews! =D Be sure to check out the sneak peek! Oh, and there's a picture of the human version of Jack Skellington on the TNAB website in the gallery!