"Give it back!"

Barrel, who was taking a nap on the couch, jumped to his feet as Lock barged into the room, Shock going after him. The devil had her big hat, and the witch let her hair flow to the wind as she ran after her friend. The boy laughed nonstop, climbing on the couch and accidentally flipping it with his weight. The skeleton boy simply backed away, watching as the chase kept going through the treehouse. If it was fun to watch them argue, it was even more fun to watch them fight.

"I swear, Lock, when I catch you..." Shock hissed. "You won't have to use a mask anymore because you'll have NO HEAD TO PUT IT ON!"

All the witch got as a response was laughter. She was simply desperate to get that hat and put it back on.

They all had grown up a little since Oogie Boogie stopped existing. Though the process of aging was really slow in the holiday worlds, they probably were teenagers at that point. You could say Lock was 14, Shock was 13 and Barrel was 12.

Lock's appearance had changed a little. His hair still had two 'horns' and was dark red, but his facial features had changed almost completely. Now he had a real boy's face: sharp yellow eyes, a kind of pointed nose and thin lips. Well, he was what many people called 'handsome'. Some girls admired him, but he paid them absolutely no heed.

Barrel looked almost the same, but his face wasn't as childish. He was the Oogie Boy who less changed from the Halloween-Christmas incident to now.

Shock, however, was the one who changed the most. Her hair grew a little, some locks falling on her thin shoulders, and were wavy, silky. Her face now looked like a girl's face: her pointed nose was 'less pointy', her eyes were more expressive and bigger, and her lips were a little thin, naturally pink. She was definitely beautiful.

And now, her dumb cohort was running around with her large witch hat, smirking devilishly as he knew Shock was nothing without that hat. Lock didn't know the exact reason, but he liked messing with her anyway.

After some time running around the treehouse and going past the same rooms for at least three times, Shock stopped, breathing heavily, feeling weak compared to her friend.

"Seriously..." she let out, gasping. "Are you really going to run around the house until I rip your head off?"

"Well..." Lock pretended to think, pouting and looking away with a smirk. "Yes."

Shock sighed, plopping on the old couch, head almost meeting her knees.

"As expected from an Oogie Boy," she grinned behind her dark purple locks. "Lemme take a break, then."

The devil flattened, sitting lazily on the other side of the couch, with absolutely no enthusiasm at Shock's suggestion. He didn't know what exactly made him believe that stupid excuse, but he just did.

"Really..." he groaned, wanting to bring back the fun.

"Yeah, dude," she replied, staring at him. "I'm not the athletic type. Sorry if you are."

"You think I'm athletic?" Lock teased, knowing it could mean at least two things.

"Shut uuuup," the witch stretched her arms, lying down on the couch, cheeks a little pink. "You may even be a nice runner, but you're also a freaking moron."

"Remember, I still have your hat."

"I hate you."

Lock laughed audibly, knowing he won the discussion. He could steal her hat more often. Everything changed the day he found out she was powerless without it. She could still use some magic, but she hated to be without it for more than some minutes.

He suddenly couldn't stop noticing how pretty she looked without that weird hat. Lock had started seeing her as a woman months before, but he had never really paid attention to details such as a hatless Shock. And she looked even prettier without the mask. Oh, yeah, she wasn't wearing it. It wasn't needed. Not like he wanted her to...

The devil quickly shooed the thoughts, feeling his insides stir a little, cheeks slightly pink. Well, Shock was definitely... Shocking him.

Then, suddenly...

The witch got up in a split second and punched him right in the stomach, launching him to the wall, stepping on his belly to take her hat and bolt to her room without a word. The Oogie Boy definitely hadn't seen it coming. He coughed, belly aching as she just had to press her high heels on it.

"You may be fast, but I'm clever."

He heard the girl slamming the door that led to her room. Lock sighed, knowing the fun was over.

Barrel slowly walked out of his hideout, behind their enormous pile of candy, watching as his friend stood up and hissed, putting a hand behind his back, probably hurt when it met the wall. It was definitely fun to watch Shock and Lock interacting.

"Women!" the devil shouted, staring at the locked door, cursing under his breath as he felt his back ache. He turned to go to his own room, meeting a grinning Barrel on the way. "What are you looking at?!"

The skeleton boy chuckled a little, licking on a lollipop.

"Nothing..." he shrugged, looking away and back at Lock. "...Lovebirds."

The red-haired boy's muscles tensed up, and he sent a death glare to the younger boy, though it was undone as Lock gritted his teeth and his cheeks were a bright shade of red. He still frowned, hands forming fists.

"W-What the hell?!" he started walking, looking like his legs were paralyzed. "I-In your dreams!"

The devil slammed his door, the noise echoing through the house. Barrel sighed. 'When will they notice, huh?'

o o o o

In her room, Shock was standing in front of a broken mirror. She kept putting her hat, then removing it. Her face displayed concern and sadness.

In the end, she sighed, putting her hat beside her and plopping on her bed, still looking at the mirror. The witch stared at her hat, just debating in her mind how important it was for her to be wearing it everytime. Was it really needed? Did they prefer her hatless? Especially Lock?

The teenager hit her own head, trying to get the thought out of it. Why the heck was she thinking on what he preferred? To hell with him and his preferences! This wasn't for him, right? Taking the hat and caressing it, Shock sighed again, unsure of what side to take.

What was her take on Lock, though?

'I noticed he's started seeing me as a girl', she kept thinking, unable to stop it. 'but that doesn't mean anything, right?'

She let her body fall on the bed, looking at the ceiling, suddenly interested in the white paint. Her eyes stopped there, barely blinking.

'Do I actually feel something...?' Shock let the question haunt her, lazily combing her hair with her fingers. Maybe she just needed to convince herself it was nothing. She was thinking too much. There was absolutely no way she liked him and vice-versa. It was impossible.

Nothing is impossible, though.

o o o o

Lock paced in front of his bed.

He hated the fact he knew he liked her. He was bad at managing feelings. That definitely wasn't for him.

The red-headed just knew he had something growing for her in his heart. It was almost impossible to ignore it. The feeling was just there, anywhere he went and anytime. He couldn't avoid it. It had grown enough to take him over, and that was the thing he hated the most about himself.

He caught himself thinking on her tired face while he plopped on the edge of his bed and stared at the wall. It was just acting and she'd never make that face ever again, but... She was looking gorgeous in that moment.

Her expressive eyes, black pupils staring at him, perfectly-shaped eyebrows curved into an exhausted face. Cheeks a little pink, some sweat, lips trembling. Ah, her lips. Thin and pale pink, moist, probably soft and warm. Lock couldn't avoid imagining how good it would be if he ended up tasting them. He secretly craved for it to happen. So secretly not even the boy himself knew it.

Lock shook his head, leaving the thought unfinished. It was all wrong, definitely. He was completely wrong, probably crazy, and probably needing to visit a psychiatrist. He frowned, cheeks red at his thoughts. What the hell. He definitely wasn't the type of guy to act lovesick or think much about those issues, and yet...

The devil thought on the quickest way to stop being such a jerk and realizing he was blind and didn't like Shock.

'Shock is such an ugly girl' he began thinking. 'Always having that gross hair exposed whenever she takes her hat off. And that hat, too. Disgusting. Her laugh sounds like a horse dying. And her attitude? She needs medical help. That idiotic girl.'

Guilt hit him instantly and he didn't even have time to think of more insults, so he gave up. He just suddenly felt extremely bad for talking about Shock like that. He had never, ever thought of her as ugly, or gross, or idiotic.

Sighing loudly, the demon let his body fall on his bed. He turned his head to a corner of his bedroom, bags full of candy organized in a messy pile. Lock suddenly remembered how Shock loved candy, but no more than Barrel, and that she had stopped eating it for some reason. He had noticed how thin her body had become in such a short period of time.

If they lived out of candy and water, what the hell was she eating? Was she even eating? Did she create some sort of magic spell that let her body survive without eating?

The devil slapped himself for worrying about his friend so much.

In fact, he could connect the dots: she had become really thin, and she wasn't as energetic as before, becoming exhausted easily. Exhausted easily equals no fun. No fun equals boredom. Boredom equals a grumpy Lock. End of the equation.

He just knew what he had to do.

o o o o

Shock frowned at his sight, knowing he was probably going to steal her hat, or her diary, anything that was related to her. Why the hell was he so stubborn, and why did he like messing with her so much? It all ended in punches and a really hurt Lock, but he wouldn't stop.

And there was the devil, standing in front of her room, back pressed on the doorframe, probably still aching, and something behind his back. Ugh. She hated the fact her cohort was so experienced in making pranks. Though she was clever, it was always a surprise when it came to him.

"Go away," the witch hissed, still in bad terms with him. "Imbecile."

Lock didn't let himself feel hurt by her words. It was a surprise, since most discussions and fights didn't harm their connection to each other, but he still wanted to execute the plan. He cleared his throat.

"Look who's saying."

"Idiot."

"Eh, Shocky" the devil grinned, knowing the witch hated that nickname. "Don't be so mean. I'm here with good intentions."

The girl quickly placed her beloved hat on the highest shelf of her room, knowing he'd have to do some effort to get it, even being taller than her.

"Then don't just stay there, frozen with that stupid grin."

Shock was so bitter, probably another side effect from the lack of candy. Lock sighed, rolling his eyes at her bossy attitude, dropping a large bag of candy on her rug and turning around to leave her room. He had had enough. There was no patience left for her bitterness, and he didn't want to act like some lovestruck idiot. The demon was better than that. He couldn't allow himself to be weak.

Her surprised voice stopped him, though, and he saw the witch walk to the bag and scan it with her eyes.

"Just what the hell is that?"

He decided to stay at her door and at least explain it wasn't some prank.

"You blind?" Lock replied coldly, trying to fight back her sharp behavior. "Candy."

Shock's attitude changed in a split second, as she picked some candy from the bag and found her favorite brands, bringing each element close to her face, gaping.

Her cohort watched her, a smile forming on his face, somehow pleased he'd done something nice. Her reaction was beyond his imagination, as he'd thought she'd kick him out of her room and insult him in more than eighty ways.

The girl put her hat back and covered part of her face with it, frowning, cheeks slightly red. Now that was entertaining.

"Damn it..." Shock mumbled, acknowledging her weakness. "I hate you..."

"Oh, well," he crossed his arms, shrugging. "Me too."

"What do you expect to get by doing this?"

"Oh, I hadn't imagined I could get a reward," Lock smirked. "Do tell me the options!"

Shock silenced herself by unwrapping a gum and munching on the candy, knowing anything she could say could become a dirty sentence for Lock's ears. Sighing, she walked closer to her friend, frown on her face. Putting the gum aside in her mouth, she spoke.

"Do you mean you brought me tons of candy for absolutely nothing?"

"I wouldn't say I expected nothing," the demon stated, staring deep into his friend's eyes. "Maybe a compliment or two, a hug, a 'thank you', or even..."

Shock raised an eyebrow, cheeks going red again, turning around to walk to her bed and shoo him.

"Idiot."

Yet, she was stopped as Lock held on her arm and turned her around in a perfect axis, pulling her to him.

"Wait what are you doing-"

He felt a sudden wave of nervousness hit him, and his face didn't fail to match the color of his hair in instants. Even so, he kept acting 'cool'. Bringing his face closer to hers, he whispered, smirking:

"Won't you just stand still?"

The moment was just perfect. He simply closed his eyes as his lips met hers softly.

Shock was hit by a wave of emotions, widening her eyes as she felt the two break the barrier. She couldn't lie; she had hoped for it to happen more than once. Shyly, she pressed her lips against his and put her hands on his shoulders, eyes closing in the end.

Lock suddenly felt like he ruled the world. It was what he expected, only so much better. Her lips were soft and warm, and the gum had given them some sort of sweetness. He knew she'd probably just punch him in the face and never talk to him again, but it was too late. He felt passion overcome him, and the demon decided to strenghten the kiss. His hand landed on her thin waist, the other caressing the witch's face and becoming entangled with her hair.

For a moment, he believed he was forcing his beloved into a kiss, but he soon realized both wanted it. He was happy and afraid of her reaction, of what would become of their relationship, if she was going to throw him out and many other negative things that could happen.

They pulled away slowly, Shock looking him in the eye for some instants but breaking the eye contact when she realized what had happened. Lock rubbed the back of his neck, trying to maybe find an excuse and bolt to his room without further explanation.

However, the girl broke the silence.

"Um... Thank you."

Lock was about to ask 'for what', but he was sure it wasn't for his demonstration of passion.

"Y-You're welcome... I guess."

And he ran back to his room, slamming the door and falling on his bed, probably giving himself more pain. What the hell had just happened?

Remembering the kiss, the Oogie Boy smiled and brought a pillow to his face, screaming in it.

o o o o

Shock ate some candy, sitting on her bed, thinking about what she had dared to do. She looked at the bag, now half full, trying to find a reason to have kissed her cohort.

"Bet this goddamn candy has some kind of drug."

Or maybe she was in love. She didn't know what to believe in.

"Idiot..."

She stood up and punched the candy bag inside her full closet. Thinking more of it, maybe he was cute. A cute idiot. Maybe she didn't really hate him. He kind of looked cute with those smirks...

The witch plopped on her bed and muffled a scream on her pillow. She wasn't the type to simply accept her feelings.

o o o o

Barrel sat on the couch, licking a lollipop, beaming.

"Both are idiots, but idiots that look cute together."

He laughed a little, even though he was talking to himself. He had accidentally watched them. Lock was dumb enough to be a lovesick idiot right when Barrel was awake.

"Now and forever."