When Jack Met Sally

~Because their friendship wasn't developed enough in the movie~

Jack Skellington first met Sally the Ragdoll almost thirty years after he became the Pumpkin King and unofficial leader of Halloweentown. He was in the graveyard near the Spiral Hill, when a flash of red caught his eye. Bright colors were not something that you saw every day in a place like Halloweentown, so he immediately took notice. He saw her a little ways off, coming from the vague direction of Finklestein's castle, ducking behind random bushes and hiding behind the rare sparse tree. She was actually quite good at sneaking about, noted Jack, with a professional's eye. Nowhere near as good as he, of course, but then again, he was the Pumpkin King. He watched her in this fashion for almost ten minutes before she made it down the long hill and over the wall, effectively hiding her from anyone who might be watching up at Finklestien's. She paused a moment, then grinned and did a little victory dance. Jack paused, trying to come up with a word for the action. It eluded him for a moment, then he happened upon it—it was adorable. This was a rarity, someone definitely worth watching. He had no doubt that she was new in town (which was rare in and of itself) but she was bright and…he couldn't think of another word yet, he'd have to find some synonyms—adorable. It wouldn't last, he was sure, Halloweentown had a way of bleaching and shadowing things; nothing stayed bright and innocent for long. But while it lasted, maybe even beyond, Jack felt himself compelled to know her.

The girl in question started, interestingly, not for the town, but the cemetery. Jack slipped off the gravestone he was crouched on much like a vulture, and hid in the shadow as she cautiously opened the gate. She stopped just inside, glanced around, and, not seeing anybody, grinned again. She held her arms out from her body, almost level with the shoulders, palms up, and spun in a slow circle. She laughed then, an odd sound. A bit like bells, thought Jack in surprise. Oh well, if it wasn't a nice sound like a creaky gate or a crackling fire or something, at least it was interesting. The girl then began moving through the graves, twirling every now and again, breathing deeply, and sometimes laughing a little. She flitted, almost dancing, closer and closer to Jack's hiding place. He found himself shrinking back, further into the shadows, not wanting her to see him and stop. He began following her, sliding from shadow to shadow nigh invisibly. He didn't want to scare her, not yet, he wanted to keep watching, to see what she would do. But his desire to know her, know her name, where she came from, really anything, soon overcame his desire to stalk her anymore. He moved faster now, still hiding, and soon was behind a gravestone almost directly in front of her. He pulled himself on top of the grave stone and watched for another moment. He was about to leap in front of her, when she turned around again. He slid down the stone, and, instead of screaming at her or getting right in her face when she turned around (though he considered both) leaned against the headstone comfortably, stretching out his long legs. She could hardly miss him, and, he thought, it might even be scarier to turn around and see someone just standing there watching you when you knew very well they hadn't been there a second ago. What he didn't expect is that the girl would take a few steps backwards before turning around. The result was, as she turned, she got caught on his legs and tripped, one of her legs tearing off entirely.

"Oh!" said Jack folding himself in and leaning close, wanting to help. "I am sorry, I didn't mean to trip you! Are you quite alright?"

"Oh, you mean the leg, It's fine, it doesn't hurt, it happens all…the…time…" For she had looked up and seen his face, and it was clear from her expression she knew who he was. "You…you're the Pumpkin King!" she exclaimed. Jack gave a deep bow—not easy to do when crouched, and he very nearly fell over.

"Please, call me Jack," he replied. She nodded.

"OK…Jack," she wasn't looking at him now, instead she was intent on sewing up her leg.

"You know me," he said, "But I do not yet have the pleasure of knowing your name my dear." He may have sounded a bit patronizing, but let's hope he didn't mean it. In any case, she didn't take it as such, but instead gasped and apologized.

"Right! Sorry! My name is Sally." She offered a slight grin, and tucked the needle she had used to sew her leg back on behind her ear. "I should have said right away…" she trailed off, hoping he wasn't angry. He helped her to her feet, quite gallantly he thought, and waved a bony hand in the air.

"Nothing of it, you were distracted. So tell me, Sally," he glanced at her as if ensuring this was indeed her name, and, satisfied that it was, continued; "Where are you from? I haven't seen you around before, though it appears you have seen me." If it were possible, Sally would have blushed.

"It's just…" she glanced at Finklestien's castle. Would he be disgusted if he knew?...

Jack followed her eyes. "Ah! Finklestien! So, he's finally created something that works! Took him long enough." She looked at him shyly.

"It just gets so close in there," she said quietly. "I just needed…some air." Jack glanced at her appraisingly.

"He doesn't like you to leave does he?" Sally froze. Would he turn her in? Hand her back over? Punish her in some other way? "It's alright, I understand." He grinned and put a bony finger up to his mouth. "I won't say anything if you don't." She was surprised, he was offering to help her defy her creator? He seemed to read her mind, again. "I never much liked him anyway, he almost never shares his talents with the rest of us, and certain things would be much easier if he did." Sally didn't ask what these "certain things" were, and he didn't offer any examples.

"What are you…"she stopped, then deciding she was in too deep to stop, continued; "What are you doing out here? I thought you'd have some sort of planning meeting or something going on." She was apprehensive, what if he'd thought her too foreword? But she didn't take it back or tell him he didn't have to answer if he didn't want to. He knew that already, he was the Pumpkin King. If he didn't want to answer it he wouldn't, he didn't need her permission to refuse to reply. She was more worried that he might get angry that she'd asked him such a personal question when they hadn't even known each other five minutes. But to her surprise, and to his, he just shrugged.

"It's quiet here, I just like to get away from it all sometimes." He glanced around. "Though sometimes the Mayor is quite inconsolable if I am gone too long." He grinned. "It's very funny, do you want to see?" She paused.

"I…I'd like to, but I probably shouldn't. If the doctor ever found out…" Jack nodded.

"Yes, he might get angry. But he wouldn't hurt you."

"How do you know? He is always threatening to take me apart. He is napping now, which is why I knew I could get away a while, he usually naps about two hours." Jack nodded. He was aware of this habit of the Doctor's. He had taken advantage of it once or twice when the Doctor had something he needed (this was before the time when all Jack had to do was ask and anything he wanted would be done, even by Finklestien).

"Well, if you ever want to get out again, use some Deadly Nightshade," he suggested. He grabbed a bunch of the plant from it's rather convenient location at the foot of the gravestone in front of which they stood. She gave him a smile, the first real smile she'd given him, and it gave him a little thrill. He'd seen it before of course, but this time it was directed right at him, and there wasn't a hint of awe or fear or jealousy in her eyes.

"That's brilliant!" she said, happily pocketing the plant. "I cook all his meals for him, it will be easy to slip some in his soup." She paused, then asked, "Does anyone else know that you come here?" Jack hesitated before replying.

"I think, actually, that Finklestien does know, though he's never said anything. If he like Oogie at all, he might even use it against me, but nobody really likes Oogie…"he trailed off. "He spies a lot from that castle of his. I think he's seen me come in here from time to time, he has a pretty good view of the front entrance from his castle, and my house isn't far." Sally looked nervous. "But hey, remember? I said I wouldn't say anything, and I won't. Even if he does come here, which he doesn't like to do, he has to stay in that chair more and more now, and it isn't and easy place to get to in a wheel chair, we'll see him before he sees us." That is when they heard a terrible cry.

"!" it screamed. Her eyes went even wider than they already were, and they saw the dark figure of Finklestien emerge from his castle and start barreling down the hill.

'He must really like you," commented Jack.

"He doesn't like to be apart," agreed Sally. "Will he come here?"

"If he saw me come in, he might. He'll want to know if I saw you coming down the hill, I've been here a while."

"Did you see me coming down the hill?" Jack nodded.

"You are kind of hard to miss." For the second time in less than fifteen minutes, Sally knew that had she any blood, she'd be red in the face as well as red in the hair. She ducked behind a smaller headstone as Finklestien arrived at the front gate and started laboriously inching his chair up the hill. Sally was hidden by brush and graves, and she fervently hoped that nothing was sticking out. She didn't move. Finkllestien looked up and saw Jack lounging against the gravestone, staring at him.

"I don't suppose," he wheezed, "you'd help me out?"

"I don't suppose you'd ask nicely?" shot back Jack. Finklestien growled and said nothing. It was almost five minutes before he sat, panting in front of Jack.

"I am looking for a girl," he finally gasped out.

"Aren't we all?" returned Jack breezily. Finklestien glared.

"I think you've seen her."

"Oh really? And why do you think that?"

"Because Skellington, she'd have to come this way and you would have seen her coming down the hill!" he snapped. Jack paused as if thinking. If she'd had a heart, Sally knew it would have stopped.

"You don't mean Gertrude?" gasped Jack, apparently horrified. "Really, I mean, I always thought…but I didn't think you'd actually….Oh! That is NOT something I wanted to know!" After this little speech, both of them were sputtering a bit, Finklestien with impalpable rage and Jack was clearly, at least to Sally, trying not to laugh, but to Finklestien it must have looked like it was in disgust.

"NO! NOT GERTRUDE!" he said the name with as much distain as he could, because, to tell the truth, he had liked the youngest witch for quite some time, but he was quite horrified that Jack had noticed. He still harbored a boyish thought that, if he liked a girl, the best way to go about it was to pretend to hate her and think her disgusting. He didn't know that Jack hadn't actually thought he liked Gertrude up until that very moment, the horror in his voice Jack correctly interpreted as fear that Jack had found him out, not in the choice of lady. Which made it all the harder for Jack not to burst out laughing, he had just blurted the first name that came to mind, and Gertrude was such the opposite of Sally that she had seemed perfect. "I am looking for a creation of mine. A rag doll girl named Sally. She is yet unfinished and yet is always trying to run away and this time she has succeeded!"

"You actually made something…alive? And it worked? Well, good for you!" cried Jack jovially, as if he wasn't hearing it for the first time. "What does she look like?"

"Don't pretend you don't know!" Jack gave him a rather terrifying little grin.

"Not pretending. Now, I am in a good mood right now Finklestien," he pronounced the name as if it were something dirty or disgusting, like the color pink or a rainbow. Finklestein immediately sensed it, and the hairs on the back of his neck went up and he began to get nervous. "But if you insist of vexing me and insinuating things, and coming very close to insulting me," here Jack's voice went into a low, threatening whisper, and Sally could see why he was the Pumpkin King and not just a random citizen, "then I will be forced to act. I don't want to hurt you," this louder, "but I can. And, if you push me further, I might not be able to help myself." Finklestien growled, he was rather afraid, but refusing to show it.

"Is that a threat?"

"Or a fact, as you like," replied Jack offhandedly. "Either way, it is not a good idea to test my patience. Leave now or I will push you down the hill." Finklestein, muttering darkly, turned his chair around and started moving slowly down the hill. He had no doubts that Jack would push him down as promised. Jack didn't bluff. "Good luck finding her!" Came Jack's call after him. Finklestien reached the gate, and with a black look up at the waving Jack, pushed it open and started rolling toward town.

Sally came out of her hiding place. "Would you believe that he likes Gertrude?" asked Jack incredulously. "I never would have guessed. Though I guess it is good to know…"

"Would you really have pushed him down the hill Jack?" asked Sally anxiously.

"Yes. If he annoyed me enough, or insulted me. Or if he came close to finding you. I did promise." She nodded, but bit her lip, and looked a bit concerned. "It wouldn't have hurt him Sally," Jack said gently. "It just would have gotten him out of here faster. He has good control of that chair, and there aren't many bumps on the path. He might fall out, but even then, all that would be bruised would be his dignity." She glanced at him, still staring intently at her. "I don't hurt people Sally," he said. "Just scare them is all. The only person who really hurts people is Oogie Boogie. But we can talk about him another time. For now, I think it's best if you go home, and pretend that you were there the whole time and he can't have looked properly. You can usually find me in town, but check here first. Come see me again Sally," he grinned. She smiled too, and promised that she would.

And thus the friendship of Jack and Sally began.

AN: Is it any good? I just thought that the movie didn't really have enough of their friendship and that the romance was kind of (read entirely) out of the blue. The time period of this is quite a while before the actual story "Nightmare Before Christmas," and I just wanted to flesh out their relationship a bit more. It will probably stay a one shot unless people review it and want me to continue. If you ask me too, I will quiet enjoy writing more Jack and Sally stuff, and I want to see where this takes me anyway, through friendship into a romance that neither knows is reciprocated. If people are OOC, tell me, but keep in mind that Jack at this point hasn't been Pumpkin King for too long, and Oogie hasn't even been banished yet. I wouldn't be surprised it "Nightmare" was still a hundred years off. Especially the way Jack was talking. Please review or critique or flame. And let me know if I should continue (feel free to give plot ideas too)