Nyctophilia 🕸️The Nightmare Before Christmas 🪦

Chapter 1

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Applause and cheers echoed through the air as the beings of Halloween town celebrated their successful Halloween. Jack Skellington, Pumpkin king, stood on top of the fountain, bowing to the inhabitants of his town with a smile gracing his skull. Blair, Pumpkin queen, Jack's wife, stood to the side with her ragdoll friend, Sally.

"Whee! It's over!" The witches cackled, throwing their hats up into the air.

"We did it." The clown exclaimed, pumping his fist.

"Wasn't it terrifying?" The werewolf asked, laughing.

"Great Halloween, everybody." The mayor praised.

"I believe it was our most horrible yet." Jack stated, stepping down from the fountain.

"He says that every year." Blair whispered to Sally, causing the ragdoll to chuckle.

"Thank you, everyone." Jack continued.

"No. Thanks to you, Jack. Without your brilliant leadership—"

Blair rolled her eyes at the mayors words, sending Sally an exasperated look. Blair disliked how everyone worshipped Jack and ignored her. They were supposed to have to same amount of power and responsibility but Jack was everyone's idol while she was just his wife.

"Not at all, Mayor." Jack dismissed, glancing in the direction he knew Blair was standing in.

"You're such a scream, Jack!"
"You're a witch's fondest dream."
"You made walls fall, Jack."
"Walls fall?"
"You made the very mountains crack, Jack."

Blair rolled her eyes at the creatures words, glancing behind her when she heard the sound of Dr. Finklestein's wheelchair. "Sally, go." She nudged Sally away, but it was too late.

Dr. Finklestein grabbed Sally's arm and pulled her towards him. "The deadly nightshade you slipped me wore off, Sally."

"Let go!" Sally exclaimed, trying to pry his hand off of her.

"You're not ready for so much excitement." Dr. Finklestien stated.

"I assure you, Doctor, she was perfectly fine. She was with me." Blair told him, placing a hand on Sally's back to subtley comfort her.

"I appreciate that, Blair, but she's just not ready." Dr. Finkelstein turned back to Sally, tugging her arm. "You're coming with me!"

"No, I'm not!" Sally pulled on the stitch of her bicep, causing it to unravel. Her arm came loose which sent Dr. Finkelstein tumbling out of his wheelchair.

"Come back here you foolish oaf!" Dr. Finkelstein yelled as Sally and Blair rushed away.

They ran back to the fountain, catching a glimpse of Jack, who was backing away from the towns creatures.

"Ooh, Jack. You made wounds ooze and flesh crawl."

"Thank you. Thank you." Jack exclaimed, dodging the hand that reached out to touch him. "Thank you very much."

"Hold it!" The mayor yelled using a megaphone, gaining the attention of the creatures. "We haven't given out the prizes yet."

Jack used this as an opportunity to quickly rush away from the crowd.

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Sally sat against a grave, inspecting her unstitched arm as Blair stood beside her, glancing around.

The gate to the graveyard creaked open, causing Sally to gasp and duck behind the grave as Blair hovered over her. They peak over the top of the stone to see Jack wondering into the graveyard.

Jack strolled over to a dog's grave, patting his leg. Zero, Jack and Blair's ghost pet, emerged and glanced around him. He spotted Blair and stared at her for a moment before following after Jack when Blair gestured for him to ignore her.

Blair and Sally watched as Jack wandered around the graveyard, singing. But only one line caught Blair's attention, if she wasn't a decomposing corpse, her stomach would have dropped.

"There's something out there far from my home, a longing that I've never known."

Jack longed for something more than the life they shared, he longed for something different, something new. Blair didn't want that, she wanted routine, she wanted normal, she wanted nothing to change.

Sally was conflicted, she wanted to comfort her friend and she felt sorry for Blair, but she too longed for something different.

Blair cleared her throat, "The deadly nightshade is over there."
Blair pointed towards the other side of the graveyard, "take as much as you want. I'm going to..." She gestured towards the gate that Jack had left out of, causing Sally to nod and smile softly at her.

Blair followed after Jack, calling his name. He turned, a shocked expression on his skull before he smiled. "Blair, I was just looking for you. Did you enjoy the celebration?"

"Jack... what's going on? What was all of that singing in the graveyard?" Blair questioned, stepping closer to him.

Jack sighed, "Halloween is the same every year, it always has been. Don't you think it's time to change something, experience something different?"

"I like what we have, I don't want anything to change."

"I do!" Jack exclaimed, "I want something different, I don't want the same thing we always have."

"That's too bad, Jack. The creatures of this town worship you, they idolise you. You can't just decide that you want something different and then leave. You're the Pumpkin king, you have responsibilities and it's your duty to take care of this town." Blair argued.

"You're the Pumpkin queen, Blair. Why is it only my duty? My responsibility? Why do you never do anything?"

Blair flinched back at his harsh words, her face morphing into a scowl. "Because they don't respect me! I am merely your wife to them, nothing more. I do more for this town than I should, and it's never appreciated." She inhaled deeply, "I'm going to go home, you can either join me or you can take a walk and come back when you've thought about what's best for this town."

Blair held out her hand towards Jack, who stared at it before breathing deeply. "I'm going to take a walk."

Lowering her hand, Blair nodded and turned back towards the graveyard. "We need you, Jack, we all do. I hope you know that."

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"What's this?"

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