As The World Falls Down
by: Ismira Daugene
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I don't own it, not getting paid to write it.
Labyrinth characters (c) Jim Henson & Company.
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Chapter 1
Sarah rolled over in her bed trying to ignore the loud twittering of birds coming from the tree right outside her window. It was the first day of summer break and sleeping in was a requirement; however the birds were making it quite impossible. Sarah pulled a pillow over her head and groaned, then sat up in her bed glaring at the birds. She picked up the pillow and threw it at the window. It thudded and fell to the floor. She flopped back onto the bed for a minute before stretching and getting up.
Her feet hit the cool wooden floor as she stood. She trudged out of her room and down the hall to the bathroom she shared with her roommate. It was nice living in an apartment. As much as she loved her family, it was nice being on her own. She'd decided to stay in the apartment through the summer and planned on job-hunting to try to find a summer position. Money for rent was running short since her stepmother and father had only pledged to support her through her sophomore year of college. Sarah had just finished her sophomore year.
After a shower, Sarah got dressed and made herself a cup of coffee. Her roommate, Heather, was still sleeping, lucky... Sarah stepped out the front door to grab the morning paper she'd recently subscribed to then went to sit at the table in the small brightly lit kitchen and opened to the classifieds. She spent the morning like this, circling ads with a red pen. She was open to almost any job, just something to get her money. Around eleven Heather trudged into the kitchen, her medium length black hair sticking out at odd angles. "Morning sleepy head," Sarah greeted her.
"What are you doing up so early?" Heather asked rubbing her eyes then pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"The birds woke me up. First day of summer break and I don't even get to sleep in."
"That's a bummer."
"Yup."
Heather looked at the paper Sarah had marked up, "Any luck on the job front?"
"Not really, there's some potential at the supermarket and over at the tree nursery though."
"Hey, whatever you can get right?"
"Yup."
"So what are we doing for your birthday tomorrow?"
Sarah looked up in surprise, "I completely forgot my birthday was coming up."
Heather chuckled, "How old will you be?"
"Twenty-one."
"Well, I'd say that calls for some celebrating!"
Heather was already twenty-one. "I'll leave the planning up to you. Just don't get out of hand. Remember, I want to remember some of my twenty first birthday the next day."
Heather laughed again but agreed. Sarah and Heather spent the rest of the day discussing plans for the summer. Heather would be leaving the next week to go with her family for a week long vacation in southern Florida. Sarah's only plans were to get a job and work all summer long. Heather promised to bring Sarah back something from Florida to compensate.
The next day, Sarah woke up to the birds singing again. She was going to have to get earplugs or something if she ever wanted to sleep in. Heather surprisingly woke up shortly after her. She sang a short birthday song to Sarah then made the excuse that she needed to get some things at the grocery store and slipped out the door. Sarah waved her off then got up to answer the phone. "Hello?"
"SARAH!"
"Hi Toby!"
"Happy birthday Sarah!"
"Thanks bud! How are you?"
"I'm okay, I'd be better if you were here."
"I'm sorry buddy, but I told you, I'm staying here for the summer. I promise to come see you soon though okay?"
Toby seemed to pause for a while, "Okay… " he resigned, "Here, daddy wants to talk now."
"Okay, love you Toby!"
"Bye bye Sarah."
Sarah then spent the next half hour talking to her father and stepmother. They both wished her warm birthday greetings and both expressed how much they'd love to see her soon. Sarah made them the same promise she made Toby, told them how much she loved them, then hung up. It wasn't until later in the afternoon that Heather came back, the back seat of her small Ford Escort laden down with the weekly groceries plus some little extras. She'd picked up a small cake for Sarah and some wine coolers. Heather handed one of the wine coolers to Sarah and took one for herself. "Time to break in the old liver!"
Sarah smiled, clanked her bottle against Heather's, and then took a long sip of the fruity drink. "Mmm… not bad!"
"Of course it isn't, I picked it out."
Sarah laughed then took another drink. After they'd finished the drinks, Heather made dinner for them, herbed chicken with buttered noodles. By the time they'd finished dinner it was about seven o' clock. "Come on, I'm gonna take you to Brother's. It's a great bar down town," Heather said taking Sarah's arm.
Sarah allowed her to lead her out the door and down the street. The bar Heather led her into was open and cheerful. There was a small dance floor on the other side of the room along with a karaoke machine. Several patrons were already sitting at the bar along with a couple of people Sarah and Heather knew from school. "Hey Steve!" Heather addressed the bartender.
Steve waved back. "It's Sarah's birthday today! What can you do for her?"
"How about a free drink? What'll ya take?" Steve asked after taking a look at Sarah's ID.
"Umm… I haven't really had much experience with alcohol," Sarah muttered.
"She'll take a raspberry kamikaze. I'll take one too!" Heather spoke up beside her.
Steve nodded. Sarah and Heather took a seat at the bar next to Erin, Nathan, and Michael. All of who shared classes with Sarah and Heather. "Hey guys what's up?" Sarah asked sitting between Michael and Heather.
"Heather told us it was your birthday today, so we all agreed to meet here. It's Karaoke night you know…" Mike whispered conspiratorially.
Sarah laughed, "Well maybe I'll sing after a couple of these," she said picking up the raspberry kamikaze.
"Sarah! You don't sip a kamikaze. Kamikazes are shots, take it all in one gulp!" Heather instructed then downed her kamikaze to emphasize her point.
Sarah did as instructed. "Wow, that stuff is good! Can I get another?"
"Sure! Drinks for the birthday girl are on us right guys?" she said looking at the other three who all nodded.
Three more kamikazes, two shots of tequila rose, a few rounds of Jello shots, and one shot of straight whiskey (taken on a dare) later; Sarah was trying to pick out what song she wanted to sing at the karaoke machine. She finally settled on "Gimme Gimme Gimme" by Abba. The first strings of the guitar burst from the speakers.
Half past tweleve
And I'm watching the late show in my flat all alone
How I hate to spend the evening on my own
Autumn winds
Blowing outside my window as I look around the room
And it makes me so depressed to see the gloom
There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer
As Sarah sang, a tall blond man entered the bar. He wore a leather jacket over a black t-shirt, dark leather gloves, fitted black denim jeans, and boots with Cuban heels. His soft white blond hair was set in a kind of rocker's fashion, floating everywhere and coming down to his shoulders. He sat himself at a table, ordered a Jack and Coke then watched the girl on stage who was struggling between fits of laughter to get the lyrics out. He thanked the waitress as she set down his glass.
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Sarah struck a pose, as the last notes of the song were played then stumbled toward the edge of the small stage laughing. She felt her stomach fly into her throat as she stepped off the edge of the stage unexpectedly. A strong pair of arms caught her and she landed against a rock hard chest. "Whoa there, you should watch where you're going," a velvet smooth voice said.
Still in his arms, "Thanks, I will," Sarah thanked him then burst out laughing again at seemingly nothing.
"I was going to offer to buy you a drink, but it seems like you've had plenty of them already," the stranger said still bracing the girl.
Sarah looked up at the tall man, barely able to make out his blond hair and blue eyes. The smell of leather and spiced peaches greeted her as she took a deep breath. Something tugged at her memory in the back of her mind, but she ignored it and straightened out of the strangers embrace. "I've only had a few shots. I'm all goo… gooooo… good," Sarah said staggering back to the bar stools where her friends were laughing, holding onto their sides for fear of them splitting.
"I can see that…" the man mumbled putting his hands on his hips.
Sarah plopped back on the bar stool as the song "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson came on the speakers. Nathan pulled Erin to the dance floor and Mike offered his hand to Heather. Sarah smiled as her friends attempted to moon walk and failed miserably. A black leather gloved hand was offered toward Sarah. "Since it would be a bad idea to intoxicate you further, would you care to dance instead?" the velvet smooth voiced stranger asked.
Sarah accepted the hand and was led out onto the dance floor. He put a hand at the small of her back and took her right hand in his left. "I over heard your friends say it was your birthday today, twenty-one I'm guessing?"
"Yes, how'd you know?"
"Lucky guess."
"You're pretty good with the whole guessing of the games thing aren't you?"
"You could say that."
Sarah laughed again.
"You look quite beautiful when you laugh," he complimented.
"That's wonderfully sensitive, especially from a man who wears such tight pants."
"It forces all the blood to the heart."
Sarah stopped dancing she was laughing so hard. The stranger led her back to his table, supporting most of her weight since she seemed unable to, then sat her down.
"There, less likely to fall over if you're not standing in the first place."
"Thanksss," Sarah replied still giggling.
The stranger hailed down a waitress, "Can I get a glass of water for the lady?"
"Sure thing," the waitress said before rushing off.
Sarah looked at the dance floor where her friends were still dancing, only now it was to "Look Away" by Chicago. "What, may I ask, is your name?" the stranger drew back her attention.
"Sarah," she replied.
"A lovely name. I take it you go to the University here in town?"
"Yep."
"You aren't going to remember a word of this conversation tomorrow, are you?"
"Nope!"
The stranger laughed, a wonderfully light and airy sound. At that moment, Heather walked over to the table. "I think it's time to go home Sarah."
"Do we have to?" she complained. "I was jus' gettin' to know… umm… whas your name?"
"Jareth."
Something tugged again at the back of Sarah's memory, but she couldn't quite remember it. "Yeah, that's it… Jareth. I was jus' getting' to know Jareth here."
"Sarah, I think if we stay too much longer Jareth will be getting to know you a little too well. No offense sir."
"None taken," Jareth replied.
Heather pulled Sarah up by the arm and toward the door. Nathan, Erin, and Mike followed. Eight blocks later, Heather led Sarah through their apartment door and into her room. Sarah fell asleep almost as soon as her body hit the bed. Heather pulled off her shoes and put a spare blanket over her before opening the window half way. "You're gonna want the fresh air come tomorrow morning," she muttered before leaving the room.
The cool night breeze drifted in the window along with a lean barn owl and a whirlwind of glitter. Once the glitter cleared, a man stood where the owl had. He was tall and looked remarkably similar to the stranger from the bar, except that he was dressed in black breeches, black riding boots, a leather breastplate, black kid leather gloves, and a midnight blue mantle with a high collar. He looked at the unaware girl lying on the bed and quietly moved toward her, sitting gently on the edge of her bed. He placed a gloved hand caressingly on her cheek and bent over her, brushing his lips against hers. He pulled back and ran his hand through her hair. He stood, "Happy birthday Sarah," he whispered quietly.
Then in another whirlwind of glitter, the man was gone and the owl was swooping out the window.
Thank you for reading. I hope you've enjoyed this first chapter and will leave a review to let me know what you thought of it.
Keep your eyes open for the next chapter!
Thank you!
Ismira Daugene