Author's Note: Ok this is a one shot. Credit for the characters and theme goes to the brilliant movie Labyrinth and the brilliant musical The Phantom of the Opera. Hope you like! Criticism is always welcome of course. That's what makes us all better writers. On with the story!
Sarah stood in her costume, impatiently waiting for the leading soprano to get her act together. She didn't understand what it was with the stars of the show but they always seemed to be complaining and threatening to quit. As if they were really that important.
Ellie, her one and only friend she had formed since moving to New York City and joining the broadway cast of Phantom of the Opera stood next to her shaking her head. "Can you believe that?"
"It's not fair!!!" The Christine was whining. Sarah blinked surprised and laughed bit.
"Yeah, I can. God, she's whiney though." She told Ellie. "Girls like that should not be allowed to speak. I mean, how annoying does that sound?"
"Very annoying." Ellie agreed. Just then a stage curtain dropped onto the soprano. Many things all happened at once.
Ellie became a paranoid wreck shouting something about a real Phantom.
Christine wannabe was yelling something about her broken leg.
The manager began freaking because he lost his star.
A drunk stagehand fell from the rafters.
A store was robbed fifty miles away.
All of these things, with the exception of the store perhaps, made Sarah's head spin. In fact, she didn't even notice the crystal pushing against her foot for a full five minutes. She bent down and picked it up. Then she frowned. Oh, of course he would follow her here..
"Oh my God, we are totally doomed, I mean there's a real phantom, blah, blah, panic, phantom, phantom, phantom…" Ellie was still in hysterics. It's amazing how similar she is to her character, Meg, who also seemed to have an obsession with worrying about the Phantom. Sarah slapped her and she shut up.
"I have to go." Sarah told her.
"Now?" Ellie hissed back, confused. "But we just had break not even two minutes ago."
"Not that kind of go." Sarah groaned. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder about you. I'll be back, don't worry."
She left Ellie stammering something about phantom and made her way backstage. Once back there she began to yell for him. "Jareth! Show your creepy-eyed face!"
No answer. She stepped a little further back, into the dressing room area. "Oh Jar-bear, Jerry… where are you?"
A big fat man with a hairy moustache looked up from his duty mopping the floor. "Yeah, what?"
"I wasn't talking to you. Jareth!"
"What?" the hairy creepy man said again.
"I'm not talking to you!"
"Then stop yelling my name already. Jeez…" with those friendly words, he wandered off to do his job elsewhere, cause that's what they always do.
"Stupid Goblin King…"
"You called?" A voice rang out behind her.
"There you are…" Sarah began as she turned to face him. Then she frowned, then laughed. "Why in the world are you dressed like that?"
"Like what?" the Goblin King feigned innocence as he casually glanced over his Phantom costume. "I don't see a difference."
"You're dressed like the Phantom."
"Oh, so I am. Well, I best be off to my part then…"
"We already have a Phantom." she pointed out.
"Not anymore, he fell off the rafters remember?"
"That was the drunk stagehand that nobody liked."
"Really? Darn I miss again. The first time I hit some young woman… you wouldn't happen to be willing to play the Christine to my Phantom, would you?" He asked stomping around in his fancy costume.
"I'm not interested." She said even though she really was. It's just, you got to play hard to get or something you know? Plus Jareth is a really stuck up, pompous, arrogant, know-it-all, full of himself… well, you get the idea. Sarah didn't want to work with him.
"You ruin everything!" he accused.
"Why do you want to be Phantom anyways?"
"Because the ladies like him that's why. Have you seen all the girls who come pouring into the audience night after night to see him?" The Goblin King announced.
Sarah rolled her eyes and began to walk away. Jareth followed her, not wishing to be left alone. Now what was he supposed to do if his part was still taken? He asked Sarah who shot him a look and said, "I don't know. How bout you go home?"
"I don't want to…" he whined. He was worse than the Christine. Sarah got an idea.
"There's a small production going on in a little town far away from here. Take out their Phantom and be in that one. It would look less suspicious, then you can make you way back to Broadway." She said.
"What if I don't want to do that?"
"Then I'll say the words."
"What words?"
"Goblin Mum, Goblin Mum-"
"No, no, no!" Jareth tried.
"Please come here and get your son!" Sarah finished. There was a clap of thunder and the scent of lavender filled the room. An elderly looking woman whose makeup and hair looked like she just walked off the stage of a Rocky Horror production stood next to Jareth, who may I mention has similar makeup.
"So there you are!" She rasped in a little old lady voice.
"Hi mum" Jareth whispered.
She said nothing but took his hand and vanished with him in another clap of thunder.
To sum up the rest, the Broadway production went on as planned with Ellie filling in for the Christine, cause honestly Sarah didn't really have to voice for it. She did, however, get to play Meg which was really cool, I mean, Meg is a kind of big part too. Better than a chorus girl, at least.
A few months later after a series of bizarre accidents that almost wiped out half the cast, a small production of The Phantom of the Opera was performed in a little nowhere town. The guy who replaced the original Phantom was a big hit, but completely insufferable to work with. When interviewed after his successful performance, he told of his goal to make it on to Broadway.