Chapter Text
Chapter One
Tears of doubt
It was a quiet, warm evening in Halloween Town. Sally could hear the soft noise of leaves blowing through the wind as she watched crows fly through the sunset. She sighed, letting one of her hands drape down the outside of the window, while resting the other calmly on the sill. Her scarlet red hair blew gently in the breeze, and she could feel the cool air on the back of her neck. It was very peaceful.
Sally may be stuck up in her tower like she usually is, but she wasn't going to let that ruin her evening. Fortunately, It wasn't a problem to open her window, since the doctor always forgets to lock it.
She just needed some fresh air after a long, hard day of nothing but work and chores. Often, staring out the round window in her room was her only escape from the prison she's forced to reside in. The tower.
The doll sighed once more, letting her eyes naturally shift from gazing at the sunset, over to that one building she found herself looking at all too often: The Skellington Manor. Home of none other than the Pumpkin King himself, Jack Skellington. A blush formed on her cheeks that spread across her nose. She could see him up there, in his observatory, pacing around like he usually is, with his hands behind his back.
Sally had realized her feelings for him a long time ago. It was strange to think about...feelings...but, they were there nonetheless. She was just glad that her friend didn't seem to notice. The last thing she would want is for Jack to think of her as just another one of his "admirers". She didn't want that. She wanted to be friends with him. And she was glad they were- well, mostly. The only times they were really able to talk would be if Sally escaped from the tower- something she was still a bit uncomfortable doing. But, if the tower ever became too claustrophobic, which it did, then breaking the rules suddenly didn't sound so bad.
She gazed up at the figure pacing around in the tall building, wondering what he was doing. What he was thinking. She closed her eyes.
'Jack....'
Thump Thump Thump
Three loud knocks on her medal door, followed by a raspy voice from the other side.
"Sally? Are you in there? I'm coming in."
The Ragdoll gasped, quickly leaning out the window and pulling it shut. She then darted over to her bed, sitting down and folding her hands neatly on her lap.
She heard the lock come off her door, and in a few seconds, it opened, revealing a not-so-thrilled looking Doctor Finkelstein. He wheeled over to her.
Sally could see a few books placed on his lap, but she wasn't able to make out what was on the covers.
His eyes darted over her, eyeing the Ragdoll up and down while she sat there uncomfortably, hoping she didn't appear too suspicious.
"What were you up to, Sally?" He asked. She fiddled her hands nervously, glancing back towards the window.
"Oh....Just....uh..." She tried to think of an excuse, quick. Her eyes searched frantically around her room, noticing the unfinished dress lying on her table.
"...Sewing..?" She lied.
Unfortunately, the Doctor must have heard her tone of voice, as well as seen her glance out the window, because he looked over there himself, immediately noticing the view. He could see Jack up in his tower. He rolled his eyes.
"Don't lie to me, Girl!" He snapped. "You were watching Skellington again, weren't you?!"
Sally blinked. The reddish tint came back to her nose as she played shyly with her hair. How did he....?
She didn't want to lie again...but it would be embarrassing to admit! However, he was already onto her, so she may as well come clean.
"Uh..w-well..I....I did..see him up there..." She answered, biting her lip. Doctor Finkelstein shook his head disapprovingly.
"You need to let this nonsense go, Sally! Do you know how often I find you staring at him from your window!?"
"Oh, I can't help it, Doctor!" Sally's eyes went back over to the window. "I...I love him.."
"I KNOW you do! But you need to FORGET about it!" He huffed. "And the sooner you do, the better! You're just going to get your heart broken like EVERY other female in this miserable town!" Sally frowned, looking away.
The doctor sighed, taking a moment to calm down before wheeling himself over and placing the books on the bed next to Sally.
"Here. I brought these for you. Some more subjects for you to study. Some Algebraic concepts and...the scientific method." He pushed them towards her, then turned around, moving back over towards the doorway. "Get to work now, my dear. I'll be back to check on you before I head to bed." He opened the door, but paused before leaving. He turned to face her one last time.
"Sally...I mean it when I say that you need to forget your feelings for that skeleton. I don't want to hurt you, but, you need to hear the truth. Jack doesn't have time for you, and the probability of him sharing the same love for you as you do him just....isn't there. If you keep chasing after him, you're going to end up hurt."
Sally didn't reply. She just stared at the floor. The doctor frowned.
"I'll be back shortly.." He finished, and with that, he left, shutting the door loudly behind him.
Sally didn't move. She sat for a few moments in nothing but silence. There was an ache in her heart that wouldn't go away. The doctor's words stung her badly- because she believed him. She believed that he was right. That Jack was much too busy for her. That there was no way he could ever feel the same.
Her lips began to quiver. The more she thought about it, the more upset she became. She felt something wet on her face, and she reached up to wipe it off. A tear.
'I was foolish...utterly foolish for thinking I ever had a chance with someone...like Jack....'
More tears. Sally was fully crying now, and she felt no reason to stop. She angrily shoved the books onto the floor, then lied down in her bed, sobbing into her pillow. But no matter how hard she cried, or how many tears she wept, the pain wouldn't go away. And the sad thoughts would not cease.
——
Sally cried for what felt like hours, but she knew it hadn't been that long. Even once her system was all out of tears, it still felt like someone had cut her phantom heart into a million pieces. And in a way, they did.
The Ragdoll stood up and brushed her dress off, as well as smoothed down her hair. She was still sad...but there was something else there too. Sally was angry. Who was Doctor Finkelstein to tell her that she should give up on her crush? She was in a perfectly good mood before he showed up! Why did he always ruin these things?!
'He may be my creator, but that's about it! All he did was show up to my room to tell me that I should stop fawning over the one I love so dearly....and then he gave me more WORK!!'
She angrily kicked one of the books as hard as she could. It slid across the floor and hit the wall right underneath the window. She crossed her arms and huffed, sitting back down on her bed.
Her eyes traveled around her room while her head fuzzed. Sally knew she should probably study like she was told to, but that was the last thing she felt like doing at this moment. Her eyes soon came to the book she kicked, before shifting upwards until she was staring at her window.
The want to escape the tower suddenly hit her like a truck.
She got up slowly, and made her way across the floor to the window, reaching up to wipe her eye, which was still damp from her tears.
It was dark outside now, as the sun had already set. Sally wasn't sure what time it was, but she didn't care. She didn't care if the doctor came to her room and found her missing. She didn't care how much trouble she'd be in when she got back. She didn't even care if it meant she had to sleep on the street. She just needed out.
Carefully, she opened the window, peering down at the ground below. This wouldn't be the first time she jumped from this specific place, but, the impact of hitting the ground was something to get used to. Not that it hurt her, it was just, a bit of discomfort. Especially since her limbs usually came detached on impact.
After making sure she had a spool of thread in her pocket and a needle tucked behind her ear, she took a deep breath, preparing herself.
For a second, she hesitated, but one look at the dark, metal, closed in, lonely, cold room behind her was enough. She turned around, and jumped.
The fall was exactly how she remembered and exactly what she expected. Only a mere second after hitting the ground, Sally opened her eyes and sat up. Her left arm had come off and her right leg detached from the knee. After quickly sewing herself back up, she tucked her needle back into place and stood up. With her hands behind her back, she slowly wobbled down the familiar path, unsure where she was going, but letting her feet take her there.
——
She hummed a sad toon as she went along. The atmosphere was very eerie, as it typically would be this late in Halloween Town. The air was cool, and there was a light breeze still that pushed softly against the hair on her back.
Sally was very grateful to be outside. It felt like a major relief. Several weeks had gone by since she last escaped, anyway. Taking in a breath, she continued on.
Though she wasn't walking for very long, or very far. She began dragging her hand along the wall as she went, only stopping when the wall suddenly turned into a gate. A rather...familiar gate, with a pumpkin shape on display at the top. She looked up.
Sure enough, her feet had taken her exactly where she could've guessed they would. The home of Jack Skellington.
It came as no surprise to her that she ended up here.
After what the Doctor had said, she wanted nothing more than to call out to Jack, run into his loving arms and hold him in a tight embrace telling him how much she loved him, and prove Finkelstein wrong by listening to Jack say that he feels the same.
But she can't.
That would never happen.
Sally's heart began to hurt again, and she tried to think of something else.
Every single one of her leaves was aching, telling her to run through that gate and up the stairs. She wanted to ring his doorbell. She wanted to see him.
And yet she stayed put.
The lights in his house and observatory were both off. He must have been in bed by now. The last thing Sally wanted to do was disturb him...some friend she would be.
Her eyes were glued to his home, her feet stuck to one single spot on the ground. She sighed, resting her body against the gate.
"Oh, Jack..." she cooed, "Oh, how I wish things didn't have to be this way. I wish you knew how miserable I am without you. You're the only one who's ever made me feel more than empty in my sad, pointless existence. If only I could tell you, my dearest Jack. Tell you how much you mean to me. Tell you....how much I love you..."
She yawned as she finished her sentence, sliding down the gate until she sat on the ground. She placed a hand on her chest where her heart would be.
The moon was high above her in the sky now, and it was getting very late. She was tired.
After one last glance back up at his observatory, the doll laid her head back, closing her eyes. A single tear ran down her face as she slowly began to drift off to sleep.
——
Despite every light in his home being off, Jack Skellington was very much awake. He was laying in bed, on his side, staring blankly into the darkness. His loyal pup Zero was sound asleep in his own bed a few paces away, but Jack was having some trouble.
Their last Halloween had truly been their greatest- everything went significantly better than planned. As good as that was, this meant that there was even MORE pressure on the King to try and top it. Which he was finding very hard so far.
Everyone is always expecting the best from him, and it was his duty as king to make sure that every Halloween was even more horrible than the previous ones. But Jack's mind was really drawing a blank today, and he was now losing sleep over being counterproductive.
His skull flew angrily off his pillow.
"GAH! This is HOPELESS!"
Zero yawned from his bed, blinking his eyes open to gaze at his master. Jack rubbed his eye sockets.
"I'm not going to get any sleep like this...and a lack of sleep will only make things worse for me tomorrow..." He threw the blankets off him and stood up, stretching.
"Maybe a short walk will do me good...the night air might clear my skull..."
He trudged into his closet to change out of his nightclothes and into his regular suit- just in case he came across anyone else who might be out. Most people weren't but, you never know.
Sighing, we walked down his staircase towards the front door. Zero came up behind him.
"....arf..?"
"Don't worry, Zero" he patted his head. "I won't be gone long.."
And with that, Jack opened his door, and headed off.
But he didn't get very far.
He passed through his gate with ease, and paused, taking a moment to adjust his coat sleeves, when movement and a flash of red in his peripheral vision caught his eye. He turned his head to look.
His eye sockets widened as he saw the small, huddled up, sleeping figure of one of his closest friends, on the ground next to his gate.
.....Sally?