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

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"Yeah. You said you didn't want to risk your tail to make sure that I didn't get killed again."

Lock nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Well… she ran out of tree poison two weeks ago."

I actually stopped walking to comprehend that. "But that means that none of the trees would…?"

"Yeah."

"And you've been…?"

"Lying." He admitted.

I blinked. Several times, in fact. "Oh. Um, why?"

Lock looked away from me, and this time I KNEW he was blushing. "Because… because I like you. Walking with you!" He corrected hastily, his face even redder. "I like walking with you."

"O-oh." I managed to get out, my face probably turning just as red. I swallowed down the blush, willing the heat away from my cheeks. "Then why didn't you just say so, you moron?"

Lock frowned at me. "Oh gee, I don't know. Mortal enemies, the mutual, unspoken 'we hate each other' agreement; Jack absolutely despises the three of us… need I go on?"

"Well…" I flustered. He put up a VERY good argument. "Jack can just deal with it, now can't he?"

This was obviously not the reaction Lock was expecting, because he stared at me for two-and-a-half minutes (seriously, I was timing) before smiling. "Yeah, I guess so."

Oh, and did Jack deal. The moment he saw me walk through Guillotine Gate with Lock, he stormed over, grabbed my shoulder and dragged me off.

Sorry, let me correct myself: He began dragging me off, but I then dug my heels into the pavement and nearly took off his arm before he stopped. Haha, disadvantage of not having any connective tissue; I'll pull his arm out of its socket before he can do it to me.

"Jack, would you stop and tell me what the heck is on fire?"

Jack crossed his arms firmly over his chest. "Aubrey, the only time I've ever seen you and Lock walking together without trying to kill each other is when I've got a firm hold on both your ears and you've ALREADY tried to kill each other."

I spread my arms out and did a little twirl. "Does it LOOK like I've tried to kill or be killed?"

"No, but-" I smiled at him evilly. "Don't give me that look. I thought you and Lock hated each other."

Biting my lip, I racked my brain for an answer. "Yeah… well… I've had a change of heart." Okay, lamest excuse EVER. "Besides, it's just Lock. How much trouble could I possibly get in?"

Jack inspected me for a moment before letting loose a sigh, shaking his head. "Alright, but if this is a trick…"

"You'll be waiting there with an 'I told you so' that I completely and totally deserve. I got it, okay?" I told him, running off.

Lock was looking from me to Jack suspiciously. "What was that about?"

"Jack doesn't like you." I told him.

"Well I KNOW that." Lock told me with a smirk.

"Hey Jack!" Lock called, running through the square with Aubrey hot on his heels. He waved a bony hand at them, glad for the small distraction from the Mayor's unstoppable planning. It had been about a month since Lock had started hanging around Halloween Town with Aubrey, and it really wasn't as bad as Jack thought it was going to be. Shock and Barrel had hardly even been seen lately, not even anywhere around town.

"Where are you two going?"

"Graveyard!" Aubrey called, disappearing around a corner after the red blur known as Lock-on-a-sugar-high. "Lock, slow down!" She called, running through the still swinging gates into the graveyard.

Lock, who had already made it up to Spiral Hill, sat down and grinned at her. "Problem?"

"Yeah, no more chocolate bats for you." She told him, sitting down next to him. Lock rolled his eyes, knowing full well that there was no way in hell that Aubrey was taking any candy away from him. "Doesn't that mask ever get annoying?" She asked, gesturing to it as it hung from his waist.

Lock shrugged, digging through his pockets. "Not really. Ah-hah!" He held his slingshot up triumphantly. "Pick a target."

Aubrey sighed and looked around at the gravestones. She finally pointed at the crest of the gate entrance. Lock smirked at her and took aim. "Watch and learn." There was a resounding 'ping' as the pebble hit the metal.

"I will never understand how you do that." Aubrey muttered.

"It's not hard."

She scoffed. "Yeah, for you maybe." She frowned as Lock stood up. "What?"

"I can teach you."

Barrel winced as there was another explosion from the upstairs torture chamber, a.k.a Shock's room. He was sorely tempted to go up there and ask what exactly what the hell it was that she was trying to make, but quickly thought better of it. Last time he went up to Shock's room to ask what she was doing, she quickly made it her business to beat the living shit out of him. So, he was going to sit down here, and pretend that Shock wasn't making something that had a good chance of being deadly and/or evil upstairs.

Well, try to pretend. He sighed and tossed another card at the dish he was using to keep himself entertained.

Then a door slammed. Barrel froze, the card in his hand slipping to the floor and through a crack. Looks like he'd be playing forty-seven pick up later… footsteps stomped down the rickety and all together not in great shape stairs of the Tree House. "Um, problem Shock?" Barrel asked innocently as she walked into the living room area. Haha, pun! You know, 'living' room? And they're dead?

… alright, I'm shutting up.

"We're going to the Witches Shop."

Barrel blinked. "Huh? Why?"

"Because I said so. Where's Lock?"

A shrug. "I dunno."

Shock turned around, glaring at Barrel suspiciously. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"He left earlier and hasn't come back yet. He's been doing this for the past, like, month." 'Which you would know if you'd come out of your room more often.' He added in his head.

The witch let out a groan. "Fine, then we'll find him on the way. C'mon, Barrel."

"Here you go Shock." Hazel handed Shock a bag of ingredients Barrel didn't even want to ask about.

"Yeah, thanks." She muttered, handing her the soul coins. Hazel and Zoë were the only two people Barrel had ever seen Shock show respect to, and that's just because they were the elder witches and could zap her ass into a newt if they had half a mind to do so. Thankfully for Shock, Hazel and Zoë were both peaceful (most of the time) and didn't do much newt zapping. "Come on Barrel."

"Are we gonna go look for Lock now?" Barrel asked, scampering after her.

"Lock?" Zoë asked. "He's in the Graveyard." Shock and Barrel gave each other a questioning look before running out.

"What the heck's Lock doing in the Graveyard without us?" Shock muttered. Both slowed to a walk as they heard voices drifting over the fence and out into the square.

"Yeah, aim down your arm like that."

"Lock, I feel really stupid right now…"

"Well that's good, because you look really stupid too."

"Ah! Hey! Meanie!"

Barrel looked over at Shock, whose face was growing dark green with rage. "That… that sounds like…"

"Aubrey." Shock hissed between her teeth.

Lock laughed as Aubrey threw his slingshot at him. "Your aim still sucks!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Both whipped around to see Barrel and a very angry Shock standing there.

If Lock could've gotten any paler, he would have. "Er, Shock, I can explain-"

"Oh, please do. I REALLY want to hear this."

Lock's mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out. "Okay, so maybe I can't explain." He finally said.

Shock let out something that sounded like a very furious scream of rage and tossed her hands up in the air. "You are such a moron!" She turned on her heel and stomped out of the Graveyard. "Come on Barrel! We'll just leave Lock and his new friend alone!"

Barrel looked between Lock and Shock several times before running after Shock, stumbling over something hidden in the tall grass. "Shock, wait up!"

Lock glared after them before turning to Aubrey. "I've gotta..." He started apologetically.

"Yeah. Go." She said, picking up his slingshot and handing it to him. Lock pocketed it and turned to walk off. Aubrey looked down and saw something black and shiny in the grass. She picked it up carefully, looking inside. "What is all this stuff?"

A clawed hand took it from her. "Potion ingredients. They're probably Shock's."

Aubrey smiles suddenly. "Hey, maybe if you brought this back to Shock, she'd forgive you. A little."

"Shock's not to big on the whole 'forgive and forget' thing…" Lock murmured thoughtfully. "But, it might help." He bit his lip. "Thanks Aubrey." He hesitated, then leant in and pressed his lips to her cheek before running off.

Aubrey blinked, her mind hitting the brakes with a loud screech. Lock had just kissed her. On the cheek, true, but he had KISSED her. Shaking, she touched the spot, her face flushed hot beneath her fingers. But the spot still felt cold, and it tingled. Biting back a smile, Aubrey made her way back into Halloween Town, still touching the spot softly.

Barrel looked up as the creaking of the elevator chain reached his ears. It stopped after a minute, and the door opened, revealing Lock. Barrel blinked, quite astounded that he was stupid enough to come back after Shock's little performance, a fact which he voiced. "Dude, are you crazy or stupid?"

"What d'you mean?"

Barrel pointed at the floor above them. "Shock's going weapon hunting. She's going to kill you when she finds out you're here."

Lock smirked at him with that cocky, all-knowing look that Barrel hated. "Relax," He assured him, patting the bag at his side, "I come bearing gifts."

"Ooh, lemme see!" Barrel was scampering over at the word 'gift'. Lock kicked him away.

"Not for you, stupid! They're for Shock!"

"What's for me?" Shock asked, standing at the foot of the stairs with a mace in her hand.

Lock eyed it warily, holding the bag out in front of him like a flimsy paper shield. "Peace offering!" He cried, dropping the bag and diving behind the couch as a just in case precaution.

Shock walked over and peered inside the bag. "Hey, this is my stuff from the Witches' Shop!"

"Yeah, you dropped it in the Graveyard." Lock called, peering over their beaten sofa. He decided not to tell her that it was Aubrey's idea to bring it back. That would probably end badly. Actually, screw probably. That would end in a bloody mess for both parties.

Shock frowned looking from the bag to Lock several times before resting the mace on her shoulder and picking the bag up. "Yeah well, don't expect me to let you off so easy next time."

Lock let out a sigh of relief. "Hey, Shock?" He asked, following her up the stairs. "I looked in the bag and… well, those aren't your usual potion ingredients. What the heck are you making?"

The witch paused and grinned back at him. "Oh, nothing much. Just our surprise for next Halloween." Lock caught the underlying nastiness in her tone and grinned.

This was