Welcome To Your So Called Insanity by Hugs.And.Kisses (popular romance novels TXT) 📕

Chapter 6

Growth Spurt?

-March 15, 2002-

"AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" Lock and Barrel looked up as a scream of pure and utter fury rocked through the Tree House.

"Lock… what'd you do?" Barrel asked.

"Me?" Lock yelled. "Why do you think I did something?"

"Because you ALWAYS do something." Barrel replied, just as Shock ran down the stairs, a tattered piece of violet cloth in her hands.

"Which one of you did it?" She hissed, her eyes narrowed dangerously as they flicked back and forth between the other two occupants of the room.

"Um, Shock?" Lock asked, pointing at the violet in her hand. "Is… is that one of your dresses?"

"What happened to it?" Barrel asked, trying not to snicker.

"IF I KNEW DO YOU THINK I WOULD BE ASKING YOU IDIOTS?" Shock screeched. Lock and Barrel winced.

"It… uh… it looks like it ripped." Lock offered, trying to be helpful.

Shock's glare turned to Lock, and the devil gulped. "No. Freaking. Duh. You imbecile!"

"Did it rip while you were trying to get it on?" Barrel asked, curious. Lock looked at him like he was completely insane.

"Barrel, we've worn these costumes for over THREE. HUNDRED. YEARS. There is no way that they would just all of a sudden stop fitting." Lock's hand shot to his mouth as Shock and Barrel gaped at him.

Then there was a snicker. Then another, and another, until the other two members of Boogie's Boys were rolling on the floor laughing, Shock's anger forgotten. "Wha-what was THAT?" Shock giggled uncontrollably.

"Shut up!" Lock growled… or at least attempted to before his voice cracked again. Hence, the attempt at sounding scary just resulted in Shock and Barrel laughing harder. Lock glared at them and didn't say anything further, just sullenly crossed his arms and sulked for several minutes.

"Okay, okay. We're done." Shock gasped, still giggling slightly. Then, as if she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be angry at her two cohorts, she glared at them both. "But who messed with my dresses?"

"Shock, neither of us touched your clothes." Barrel sighed. He ran up the stairs, coming back down a moment later, holding up a pair of his black skeleton pants. Said pants were sporting a rather large tear in the… eh… rear area.

Lock snickered. "Someone needs to lay off the sweets." He muttered, just in case his voice was still acting weird.

"What did you say?" Shock asked.

"Nothing, just that Barrel needs to lay off the sweets." Lock repeated. "Hey, my voice isn't cracking- crap".

"You don't think that we could honestly be…" Shock started, stopping to glance at Lock and Barrel

"Maybe we should ask Sally to make us new costumes?" Barrel suggested. Both Lock and Shock grimaced at the thought of asking Jack's girlfriend for any favors, but it was obviously becoming necessary as Lock tugged at the sleeves of his shirt, which were about three inches too far up his arm.

"I guess… we don't have any other choice…" Shock groaned, stalking toward the door. Lock and Barrel followed after her.

Not long after, they ran into problem number two. "Ow, Barrel, you're on my foot!"

"Yeah, well Lock has his elbow in my side!"

"Oof! Don't hit me, Shock's already got me pressed up against the side of the cage!"

"Are you calling me fat?"

"YES!" The ensuing fight sent all three tumbling out of the elevator and back onto the rickety wooden platform.

Once all of the violent urges had been worked out of the three children's systems, they looked at the elevator. "There's no way it could've shrunk, is there?"

"It's metal stupid." Shock sighed, smacking Barrel with her mask. "It's been here way longer than us, so why would it start to shrink NOW of all times?"

"Guess we'll just have to go down one at a time." Lock muttered, pulling himself off the ground.

After another fight over who would go down first, the three set off toward Halloween Town.

"Aubrey, how many times have I told you not to slide down the banister?" Jack scolded.

Aubrey paused for a moment. "You've told me not to slide down the banister three hundred and twenty-seven times as of last week." She stated proudly. Jack shook his head.

"Behave for Sally, won't you?"

"I always do."

Jack smiled at her and tugged on her hair lightly. "I know. I just wish you'd do the same for me." He walked out, giving Sally a kiss on the cheek as he passed her at the door. He strode down the steps of Skellington Manor and out into the town square when three colored blurs ran past him. "Hold it you three!"

Lock, Shock, and Barrel froze. "Yes Jack?" They asked sweetly.

Jack frowned. "What did you three do now?"

"Us?" Lock asked innocently. "Why, nothing Jack."

Jack looked around and, seeing that nothing was falling down, broken, and there weren't any angry citizens, sighed. "Fine. But I'm keeping an eye on you three." He then promptly turned around and walked off. Great job at keeping an eye on them, Jack. Oops, sorry. Going back to telling the story now…

The trio waited until Jack was quite busy with the Mayor before continuing toward Skellington Manor.

A scream rang out through the house as Sally ran a brush through Aubrey's silvery blonde hair. "I'll get it!" Aubrey yelled, running out of the kitchen. She peered out the window and grimaced when she saw her least favorite people standing on the step.

"Aubrey?" Sally called, stepping into the living room. "Who is it?"

"A trio of pain in the butts." She replied under her breath.

Sally walked past her and opened the door. "Oh, hello." She smiled. Aubrey glared at the three, who glared right back.

'Something's different…' Aubrey thought, examining the three.

Barrel broke off the contest first. "Sally, we need your help with something."

"What is it?" The rag doll asked. Barrel nudged Shock, who was still glaring at Aubrey. She hesitantly offered up her tattered dress.

Sally smiled. "I thought this might happen. Follow me." She walked into the kitchen, Shock and Barrel following. Lock, however continued to glare at Aubrey. Though it wasn't really a glare, it was more like a suspicious scan trying to disguise itself as a glare.

"Lock, come on!" Shock called from the kitchen doorway. He turned and walked out of the living room, and Aubrey suddenly realized what was so different about Lock.

He was taller than her.

After half an hour, the trio all had new (and fitting) costumes, which looked exactly the same as their old ones, if not less worn and torn. "Thanks Sally." The three of them called as they ran out the door.

Jack stepped to the side as Lock, Shock, and Barrel ran down the stairs. He stared after them for a moment, then smiled slightly and walked inside. "I'm back."

"He's taller than I am." Aubrey blurted out, still looking a bit shocked. "When did Lock get taller than I am?"

"Since he, Shock, and Barrel gained three years." Jack smiled at her and patted her head. "Oogie's dead now, and that means his spell is broken."

"But I thought you said that they'd been like that for over three hundred years. Shouldn't they look like, I dunno, Doctor Finkelstein?"

Sally let out a surprised laugh. "Aubrey! The doctor isn't that old." She paused. "I think."

Jack chuckled. "Aubrey, that wasn't very nice."

"What? He's got to be one of the oldest people in town." Aubrey muttered.

"That's not the point." Jack half-scolded. "And no-age spells are tricky. No one can really determine the outcome when it wears off."

Aubrey paused to think about this. "So… how old are they now?"

After a moment of thought, Jack replied, "Well, I believe that Lock and Shock are about your age, and Barrel is nine."

"That's not right!" Aubrey protested, stomping her foot. "They shouldn't be able to do that!"

Jack sighed. "Aubrey, magic isn't reasonable. You can't tell it what or what not to do." She pouted and sat back down on the couch next to Sally. The rag doll smiled and brushed Aubrey's hair out of her face.

"Aubrey, it's really nothing to get upset about. So they're a little older, what's the problem? Maybe they'll even grow up a little bit."

"I doubt it." She muttered, but smiled anyway. "But how can I tease them if they're all the same height as me?"

Jack and Sally just laughed.

Chapter 7

Unexpected Hero

-Skellington Manor; May 1, 2002-

"So…" Aubrey started, staring at Jack from across the table. "Have you asked her yet?"

Jack groaned. "Aubrey, not now."

"You've got to ask her eventually! I'll even help!"

"That kind of help I could do without."

Aubrey smiled, unfazed. "I'm sure that was supposed to be an insult in some way, but I really don't care."

Seeing as he wasn't about to win this battle, the Pumpkin King changed tactics. "Didn't Emily come to visit today?"

"Yes, she did, but you're changing the subject." Aubrey snapped, irate. "Jack, you have the ring, you've practiced the speech seventy-six times, you have GOT to ask Sally already."

The door creaked open. "Ask me what?"

Jack jumped up. "If you'd… like to go for a walk with me around town." He rushed. Aubrey rolled her eyes, hitting her head against the table.

"Ow…" She muttered, rubbing her forehead.

Sally peered around Jack. "Are you alright, Aubrey?"

"Fine." She chirped, ignoring the throbbing spot in the middle of her eyes. "I'm gonna head home early, 'kay Jack?"

He nodded, motioning her out. She kicked him lightly as she passed. "Ask. Her." She hissed before walking out.

Jack glowered at the back of the door before turning to Sally, a nervous smile on his face. "So, shall we?" He asked, offering her his arm. She smiled up at him and linked her elbow with his as they walked out.

Aubrey weaved in and out of the dead Hinterland trees, looking around. "Ugh, where did those stupid birds go?" She muttered, referring to the crows that constantly flew back and forth from the door and the rest of the Hinterlands. She sighed and stomped her foot. "Great, now I'm lost. Now what?" After looking around again, Aubrey lifted a hand, pointing in front of her and closed her eyes. "Eenie, meenie, minie, mo!" She opened her eyes to see that she was now pointing to her right. "That way it is then." She set off, not knowing that she was being watched.

Lock walked through the