Nightmare Before Christmas Fan Fiction ❯ Black and Red ❯ Potion ( Chapter 1 )

Jack watched miserably as the Mayor gave his speech, though he kept a smile on his face. The Holiday leaders were nowhere to be seen. He had helped Sam on Independence Day again. He was getting good at it, too. He was actually getting good at everything: building fireworks, painting eggs, making love arrows, etcetera. But there was a problem. No matter how much he helped with the other Holidays, the leaders never came to help him with Halloween. It caused a hole in his very soul.

Jack knew he was viewed differently than the others. They didn't act the same around him. They didn't talk to him the same way. It really hurt, but Jack kept smiling, hoping they would notice him. After the last Fourth of July, the realization hit him that he didn't belong with them. They were all flesh, and he was all bone.

The Pumpkin King stood and made his speech then slipped away as the awards were being handed out. He walked up to his house and closed the door behind him. Pain tore at him. Thanksgiving was coming up next. Squanto would need help. Tears stung the deep set holes in his skull and he let them fall. He went up to bed and stripped off, putting his nightgown on. He yawned and lay down, tears still staining his bone cheeks.

He tossed and turned for three hours with nightmares, and not the pleasant kind. He eventually stood up and walked to his closet. He pressed a secret panel in the wall to reveal a few rows of potion. Each type of potion was held in a differently shaped vial. He picked up one of the ones that was black and red swirled. It was a very special potion that Dr. Finkelstein had made, and it was only given to Jack. The good doctor had tried it only once, and had stated that it wasn't for him, but he would make it for Jack if he ever wanted to use it.

Jack stripped naked and took a deep breath. He needed to get away. He needed peace and the freedom that came with the potion's effects. He tilted his head back as he down the potion then immediately looked in the mirror. He loved watching the changes. Red began to curl around his bones, fleshing out into muscles. Blue streaks went through them for blood vessels. While the muscles were still building, organs ballooned out and settled in their places. Once the rest of his body was in place, pale skin curled around it. He shuddered and let out a breath as the changes finished.

He stared at the naked human reflected back at him. He was still tall in a very creepy way. He couldn't help that, but the humans would accept him better with skin on. His eyes stopped on his groin. It was strange to see it. Not that he didn't have one in his skeletal form—after all he was a bone man, not just a skeleton—but it looked different. He sighed and picked out clothes from the back of his closet, slipping them on. It was black pair of trousers and a white shirt. Simple, but it was accepted pretty much anywhere.

He opened the elevator panel that was there for the doctor and went down to the very bottom. He would leave for a while to clear his head and sort through his emotions. That's what he needed. He paused before he went through the grave to the human world. Sally would miss him…But he hadn't been a very good friend lately. He knew she was waiting for him to propose, but he didn't feel right about doing it. He sighed. He couldn't deal with that. Not now. So he turned and slipped through the grave.