Shopping With Jacqueline

I don't own anything but my OC's.

Jack Skellington speed-walked down the streets of London. The skeleton was lucky that he could visit his human friend so soon before Halloween. The Mayor was shouting and yelling hysterically that they needed to go over the plans for Halloween. Honestly, Jack thought he'd never get away. The Pumpkin King- clad in his disguise for going into the Human World- walked up to the doors to the large house and pulled the rope; Jacqueline's doorbell.

"Don't worry, James, I'll get it!" He heard a voice call from inside. Jack smiled widely and straightened his fedora.

One of the doors opened and Jacqueline Anderson stared up at Jack. She tilted her head in confusion. "Who're you? And why're you all covered up like that?"

Jack's eye socket elongated. Didn't she remember him?

Jacqueline suddenly smiled. "Could it be because you are a skeleton?"

Jack's smile came back as Jacqueline exclaimed his name and hugged him tightly. Jack gently hugged the Irish girl back; carefully stroking her hair.

Jacqueline released the skeleton and smiled up at him. "Nice to see you again, Jack. Last time I saw you, we were drinking green lemonade."

Jack chuckled at the memory of St Patrick's Day. "You too, Jacqueline." Noticing that she had a cream-coloured overcoat on, he tilted his head. "Going somewhere?"

"Just out shopping." Jacqueline replied, shrugging her shoulders. "You wanna come along?"

Jack grinned. Earlier, when he went to the Human World, he hadn't had the chance to visit any human shops; what with delivering the Halloween-themed Christmas presents. "Sure, why not?"

Jacqueline grinned and turned back to the inside of her house and called: "Bye, James! Bye, Laura!" before shutting the door. She leaned up to Jack and said: "I'm glad you came to visit, Jack, James was about to get a chauffer for me."

"What? Don't like chauffeurs?" Jack asked.

Jacqueline shrugged. "Not really, no." The girl took hold of Jack's hand and began leading him down the street.

…

The last thing Jack wanted was to be recognized. If he did, someone would call the cops and have him arrested. After all, who could forgive someone for ruining Christmas? Which is why, Jack supposed, he had panicked slightly when Jacqueline muttered: "Oh, God,". "What?" Jack asked.

"Him." She picked up her pace. "Just keep walking, Jackie, just keep walking…"

Jack stared at her, contemplating whether she was talking to him or to herself. It was hard to tell when their names were so similar.

"Jacqueline!" A masculine voice called.

Jacqueline sighed, seemingly giving up her escape and turned. "What d'ya want, Richardson?"

A boy, about Jacqueline's age, stopped his calling and running to stand in front of her. His hair was chestnut brown and his eyes were ocean blue. He grinned. "Jus' wondering how my favourite girl is."

Jack felt a pang in his ribcage. Who the heck was this boy? And why was he acting that way to Jacqueline?

Jacqueline's eyes narrowed. "Your 'favourite girl' wants you to pee off."

The boy only chuckled. He attempted to put an arm around her but he stopped when he saw that Jack was crossing his arms and, though he couldn't see Jack's face, he could tell he wasn't pleased with him. "Who's this?"

Jacqueline glanced nervously at Jack. "He's my…uncle, Jack."

"Seriously? He's huge!" He exclaimed, staring up at the disguised skeleton, who only smiled at the boy smugly.

"This is what happens when you drink your milk." Jack replied, making Jacqueline smile in amusement.

"Well, there goes my days of skipping milk…" The boy muttered, staring up at Jack. He turned back to Jacqueline. "I thought you weren't close with the rest of your family?"

"…Jack's different." Jacqueline replied.

"Why's he all wrapped up like that?" He asked, looking up at the scarf around Jack's face.

"…Allergic to light…"

"You can get allergic to light?"

"This is one of those moments when I tell you to pay attention during science class."

"Hey, Andy!" They heard someone call and turned. A few boys stood across the road, waving to the boy, who, Jack figured out, was called Andy Richardson. Andy waved back at them.

"Hey, guys! Hang on a sec!" Andy called and wrapped an arm around Jacqueline's shoulders, making her scowl. "So, wanna hang out sometime?"

"I'd rather eat the gum from under the tables at the coffee shop down the road." Jacqueline replied spitefully, knowing that that was the place teenagers decided to use as their 'gum dispenser'.

"C'mon, it'll be fun. We could-" He didn't finish as Jack had grabbed hold of the back of his shirt and hoisted him up so that they saw eye-to-eye socket.

The skeleton scowled beneath his disguise. "She said she doesn't want to." Andy gulped and nodded. Jack released the boy, who fell to the floor and onto his backside, staring up at Jack, who crossed his arms. "Now, run along to your friends, boy."

Andy nodded quickly and got up, brushed himself off and ran across the street- narrowly missing a car- and joined the group of boys; who began to whisper and murmur to each other, looking over at Jacqueline and her 'uncle'. Jack watched as they whispered and snickered. The skeleton shook his head and glanced at Jacqueline. "What a bunch of immature idiots, right, Jacque-" He paused when he noticed that she was staring at her feet. "-line?" Realizing it was because of the boys, Jack wanted nothing more then to go over to them, show them who he really was and unleash his banshee scream upon them; making them scream like little girls. Unfortunately, he couldn't, for he was in the Human World. But if they were in Halloween Town… Feeling pity build up in his ribcage, Jack gently grasped Jacqueline's shoulders and pulled her to him in a hug. He patted her back. "You don't listen to them, Jacqueline. They just can't realize how horribly brilliant you are."

"Dude, I think you've made her cry." Jack heard one of the boys say to Andy.

Andy shrugged and grinned. "I do have that affect on women."

Anger boiled in Jack's ribs. At that moment, Jacqueline gently pushed Jack away. "I don't want them to see…" It took a moment for Jack to realize that she meant that she didn't want them to see her sadness. Jack nodded and grasped her hand, leading her down the street.

"See ya later, Jackie!" Andy called to Jacqueline.

Jack growled angrily and muttered: "I'm about to do a very rude hand signal to him…"

This earned him a giggle from Jacqueline.

…

"…Ok, two bags of sugar, three boxes of eggs…Got it, Jack?" Jacqueline counted the things off of her shopping list. She looked up at the skeleton as he examined the short, fat bag of sugar.

Jack nodded and placed the bags and boxes in the trolley. He waved at a couple of girls, who had stopped to stare at Jack. Being taller then everyone else was quite amusing but he supposed it was a good thing he was so tall. After all, how would Jacqueline get the chocolate from the top shelf?

"You know," Jacqueline spoke, clutching the trolley's handle bar. "I've always wanted to ride in one of these…Oh, well."

New idea for Jack.

As Jack and Jacqueline paid for the stuff, Jack stared out the window at the car park. It was almost empty, save for a few cars parked here and there. The two exited the shop, Jacqueline pushing the trolley full of bags. A gust of wind blew Jack's fedora from his head. He jumped up to try and catch it, needing it to cover the top of his skull. It blew away from him and he chased it, trying not to draw attention for himself. The black fedora landed on a seat and Jack dived for it, grabbing it and putting it on his head. He sighed in relief. "That was close…" He sat up and looked around. He was sitting in a small, red van. An odd, unmoving man sat next to him; not blinking. A smile was plastered- no, literally painted on his face. Jack poked the man before turning to the little, plastic steering wheel. The skeleton poked the coin slot. A wide smile developed on his face. "What an odd little contraption…What's this?"

Jacqueline placed her hand on her forehead. "Oh, no…"

Just then, Jack began to sing:

What's this? What's this?

This van is very red!

What's this?

Is this man dead?

What's this?

I can't believe my eyes, I must dreaming-

Naturally, Jacqueline took the opportunity to cover Jack's mouth. "Jack, please, you began singing that in the shop. Isn't that enough?"

Jack chuckled uncomfortably. "Oh, yeah…Uh…I'm stuck…"

…

As Jacqueline and Jack (who they managed to get out of the kiddie ride) walked out of the car park, Jack's plan came into action. Quickly, he picked Jacqueline up and put her in the shopping trolley. "Jack, what're you-"

"Hold on!" Jack exclaimed, grabbing the handle bar and pushing the trolley out. Jacqueline managed to move so that she didn't crush any of the delicate bags. Jack ran down the street, pushing the trolley as he did. The Irish girl laughed cheerfully as Jack let go. The trolley whizzed down the street. Her smile faded. "Uh…Jack, how do you stop this thing?"

"Don't worry, Jacqueline, I'm coming!" Jack called, running after her. He raced down the street and, with a swift grab, took hold of the handle bar. Jacqueline breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, that was fun." Jacqueline said, looking at Jack with a grin.

"Oh, dear." Jack muttered. "We've stolen a shopping trolley…"

Both of them looked at each other before laughing.

…

Jack sat on the edge of Jacqueline's bed. He glanced at her nervously, no longer wearing his disguise. "Jacqueline," He began slowly.

"Yeah, Jack?"

"Why was Andy…treating you like that? He was flirting with you."

"He's an idiot."

"His he…His he your boyfriend?"

Jacqueline stared at him with wide eyes. "Heck, no! I hate him!"

"Then why does he treat you like that?" Jack asked.

Jacqueline sighed. "Because everyone's getting to that age where they think relationships are best. They think that, if you're in a relationship, then you're cool. And me, being the wallflower, the weirdo, I'm basically all the guys' target. To see if they can shatter my shell. Andy's just one of them…"

Jack saddened. The poor girl, being everyone's target. He reached across and pulled the girl into a hug. "Ignore them, Jacqueline. Ignore them all. You don't need a relationship. After all, you're friends with the Pumpkin King from Halloween Town! What could be better?"

Jacqueline smiled and hugged the skeleton tightly. "Thanks, Jack. You're right. And thanks, you know, about what you did to Andy."

"My pleasure. Really, it was." He added, earning a laugh from his friend.

…

Jack put on his fedora. Jacqueline had fallen asleep hours ago and he'd sat there and checked on her. Finally, it was time to go back home. He sighed and opened her bedroom door, shutting it gently. "Bye, Jacqueline. See you next time." The skeleton, clad in his disguise, placed his hands in his pockets and left his friend's mansion.

…

Author's note:

Wow, you guys seen to really like these one-shots I make about Jack and Jacqueline. I wrote the first one out of boredom, the second cause, well, it was St Patrick's Day, I had to celebrate and this one cause, well, you guys like them.

Thanks to a request from blackrose, I will bring out a story called 'How Could You Forget Me?'. Don't worry, friend, I haven't forgotten about it. I've been so busy with Cobwebs Tend to Want Revenge on Halloween that I couldn't find the time to write it. But, anyway, it's about Jacqueline, five years later, falling into Halloween Town. The problem? She's forgotten Jack! So, now, Jack has to remind her of who he is. But what happens when Oogie Boogie finds out there's a human in Halloween Town? Oops.

Jack's line: "I'm about to do a very rude hand signal to him…" is what I usually say whenever I'm about to put up my middle finger…Heh…

Yes. Jack sings every time he discovers something.

Hope you've enjoyed this one-shot.