The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Prince and the Orphan - Fanfic Story 3

Chapter 18

--Jack's POV--

I looked down at Kayla. She had fallen asleep on my lap, and her breath was quiet and slow.

I couldn't believe we'd kissed.

I smiled, glad that she felt the same way about me that I felt about her.

Were we a thing now? I didn't know. I guess she'd have to answer that question.

As the sun began to rise over the town, doorbell rang, and Kayla's eyes flickered open.

"What was that?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Someone's at the door," I said.

"Was that your doorbell??" she demanded. "Why does it scream??"

"We're in Halloween Town, child," I said. "I gotta get up."

She lifted her head, and I stood up. She immediately laid her head back down and fell back asleep.

I brushed the dirt off my suit and rushed to the door. I opened it.

"Sally, hey," I greeted.

"Did I wake you up?" she asked. "I rang the doorbell without thinking."

"No, I've been awake," I replied. "You're fine. I was in the bathroom."

I just had to keep her out of my bedroom. She was going to meet Kayla, anyway, but I didn't want her to right away.

"Come on in," I said.

Sally entered the house, and I shut the door.

"So how did you leave the house?" I asked.

She rocked back and forth on her feet.

"I may or may not have sneaked Deadly Nightshade into Dr. Finklestein's tea," she admitted.

"Wow," I said. "You were desperate. Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to see you," she said.

"At six in the morning?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," she replied. "I had the sense that something was wrong."

"No," I lied. "Nothing's wrong."

She would find out that Father was dead, too, but I didn't want her to know immediately.

"You sure?" she demanded.

"Yep, totally sure," I said.

I heard Kayla crying upstairs.

"Hang on just a second," I replied.

I rushed upstairs to my bedroom.

"Kayla, what's wrong?" I asked softly.

"My shoulder!" she whimpered. "It hurts! It hurts so bad!"

"Sssh," I said. "Relax."

She shook her head and gripped her shoulder.

"Don't tell me it's bleeding again," I said.

She shook her head again.

"It just hurts," she replied. "Who was at the door?"

"My friend Sally," I said.

"Oh," Kayla said. "Do...do you think she'd wanna meet me?"

"Yes, but not right now," I replied.

I turned and walked back downstairs. Sally was staring out the window.

"I'm back," I said.

"Why is it so quiet?" Sally asked. "Where's your dad?"

My heart skipped a beat.

"You'll find out," I said.

She turned to me. "And why can't you just tell me now?" she demanded.

"I don't wanna talk about it," I replied truthfully.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Come on, Sally," I sighed. "You know when I say that I don't want to talk about something you shouldn't push it."

"Yes, but you've been saying that ever since your birthday," she said. "I'm getting tired of it. You know you can trust me.

"Sorry," I replied. "Some things I just can't bring myself to talk about."

She rolled her eyes.

"You've been very snippy lately," I replied.

"So have you," she said. "And you were gone for months."

"Yes, but it wasn't my fault," I said.

--Kayla's POV--

I flopped down on the pillows and whimpered. My shoulder was killing me.

I could hear Jack and his friend talking, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

Soon enough, Jack was coming back upstairs.

When he opened the door, he looked frustrated.

"Everything okay?" I asked, wiping the last of my tears away.

"Yes," he said. "My friend has been being snippy lately and she's pushing me to talk about what happened when she knows she shouldn't do that these days."

"Oh," I replied. "Why is she pushing it, then?"

"I don't know!" he groaned, burying his face in his hands. "This is getting so stressful." He paused, then looked up at me. His eyes, which had a spark of strong negative emotion in them just moments ago, were now filled with sadness. "You know what I just realized?"

"What?" I asked softly, almost afraid to ask.

"I...I'm an orphan now," he whispered.

"Jack," I sighed.

He began panting and shaking.

"Sssh," I whispered. "Ssh, ssh, ssh. It's okay. I know how it feels."

"In a way, you're better off than I am," he said. His eyes were filled with anger now--so much anger that it scared me. "At least your dad didn't hate you!" he cried, slamming his fist on the desk in the room.

I jumped up and ran over to him, embracing him tightly. I didn't say anything. He needed to relax, but if I told him that it would only make matters worse.

The hug wasn't working. He started hyperventilating.

"Jack," I said, letting go of him. "Look at me. Look at me!"

He obeyed.

"Stop it," I ordered. "Get a hold of yourself. Breathe."

He closed his eyes and began taking deep breaths.

--Jack's POV--

"That's it," Kayla said.

"I don't know w-why I'm getting s-so worked up," I sighed, my voice quivering.

"You have every right to be angry," Kayla replied, "but you can't let it win over you, okay?"

I nodded and opened my eyes.

"Did I scare you?" I asked.

"Not to the point I felt like you were about to attack me, if that's what you're asking," she said. "But it doesn't matter. It's just because I've never seen you that angry before."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

"I think I'm starting to see why people say I'm like Father," I said, "although it makes me sick as hell. Pardon my language."

"You're fine," she said. "And you're nothing like him. Yes, you get angry easily, but you'd never hurt anyone. Not on purpose, anyhow."

"I know," I said. "I need to work on how pissed I get."

I looked out the window and spotted Sally outside. My heart pounded when I saw that she was staring up at me and Kayla.

Uh, oh...