Oogie's Muse (Jack Skellington x Reader)

32 - Spiral Hill by Starlight (HALLOWEEN SPECIAL!)

Halloween special

The time was ripe. A few hours more and Grim would have a date with (Y/n). A date, (Y/n) was embarrassed to admit, she was excited for. It took her hours to rifle through her closet to pick out an outfit that befitted the three s's - stylish, sophisticated, smart. An hour more to find a striped hoody that could fit over her outfit as a disguise until they would meet. Fifteen minutes, the most important process, to try to squash the metal butterflies squirming in her stomach. The time called when she needed to fetch some shoes left in the dining room - the same tattered Converse that she wore to the Halloween Ball what seemed like ages ago - and descend the stairs. Sneakily, she crept iut of her room.(Y/n) was alarmed to notice a figure at the foot of the stairs shadowed by the soft glow of the spiderwebbed chandelier. It was Jack.

The realisation made her pause her step, her knuckles white as they clenched on the handrail. A cool panic  swirled at the pit of her stomach. The meeting with Grim would be in a few hours - suddenly the dress enrobed beneath her striped hoodie felt hot and prickly against her bones. Or was that the guilt that devoured her soul?
Rightening her pace, she ambled down the stairs. A façade needed to be kept or else the game would end with her being caught. The light now glazed the rims of his tie - a petrified bat with gleaming ruby eyes that hinted at its bloodlust. The pressure of its gaze seemed to slice into her and, no matter how she tried to shake it, it sunk into her like a vampire's fangs. Bedecked in a suit that reflected the Pumpkin King's dark glamour; across his torso were narrow white stripes tautened like the branches of a winter tree. A petunia, a carroty orange, sprawled its slender petals out of the breast pocket of his jacket. The sum of his parts was handsome, admittedly, but a lunatic's gleam danced in the darkness of Jack's eyes.
"Hello, my dear." Jack mused whilst he eyed the curve of her lip nestled above the gentle dip of her chin. (Y/n) felt his steady gaze across her lips and, abashed, smiled. Zero, the ghost dog, was seated obediently by his master's flanks - his smooth spectral shape glistening against the narrow white stripes of Jack's suit like the swirls of the Milkyway galaxy splattered across a dark universe.

Upon noticing (Y/n) trailing hesitantly down the stairs, the little ghost dog abandoned his post at his master's feet and scrambled across the slates of onyx tile to yip at her legs. Crouching down on her haunches, (Y/n) embraced the wriggling canine with her long skeletal arms.
"Hey, boy. Who's my special spectre?" (Y/n) cooed.
Zero lapped his phantasmal tongue across her bones. She shivered from the ghost's touch and released him from her grasp. Instead of scuttling back to Jack, he cantered to his dog basket besides the fireplace and settled into it - readying himself for a nap. (Y/n), overcome by fondness for the dog, once again stood tall and paced towards her fiancé.
"Hello, Jack." (Y/n) recognised.
The skeleton's mouth twitched into a mischievous smile - a knowing smile that told of its secretiveness.
"Are you ready, sugar skull?" Jack asked, reaching over and surrounding her wrist in his grasp.
Overwhelmed by a sense of confusion, but still unable to deny him a giggle for the sweet nickname, she gave his hand a compassionate squeeze.
"For what? Did I forget something today?" (Y/n) asked, partly to herself and partly to Jack, "It's definately not Halloween. That's in a few weeks."
Jack smiled at his bewildered fiancé.