Chapter 1

So, now, I come to you

With open arms

Nothing to hide

Believe what I say

So, here I am

With open arms

Hoping you'll see

What your love means to me

Open arms.

Sarah and her four friends from college were coming back from a Journey concert, singing this song on the radio.

"Sarah, why did you pick that T-Shirt? You could've gotten the one that has Open Arms on it.", Brandi, who was driving, asked.

Sarah looked down at her shirt. It said Worlds Apart on it. It was from the Journey song Separate Ways. Sarah smiled. "It reminds me of someone.", she replied. Worlds apart, indeed.

"Oooooh.", Renee said from the driver's side of the backseat. "As in, a guy someone?"

"Sort of.", Sarah replied.

"Sarah, was he from England? Is that why you're sad?", Kayla asked, who sat right behind Sarah.

Sarah sighed. She had taken a trip to England just a little under a year ago, not long after she had gotten back from the labyrinth. Sarah realized, with a start, that it was exactly four years ago since that night."

"Sarah, you okay?", Brandi asked.

Sarah nodded. "I'm fine. I was just... thinking." She glanced up in the rearview mirror. Leanna was sitting in the middle of the backseat and was looking at her with a solemn expression. Leanna knew about him. About everything. She was Sarah's best friend. She didn't talk much, but she listened very well, and understood what it was like to live in fantasy, seeing as she read as much, if not more, than Sarah did.

Brandi looked in the rearview mirror. "Hey, Leanna! What's your favorite song by one of the most amazing band in the world?"

"I think I'd have to agree with Sarah on that particular matter.", Leanna said simply.

Renee shook her head. "You two really have odd ways of looking at stuff.", she said.

"Hey, guys. I've got a joke.", Kayla said suddenly. "Okay, so there's this boy."

"Really, Kayla? Wow. I never would've thought of that.", Leanna muttered sarcastically. That was another thing about Leanna. When she did talk, she either did it very well or was very sarcastic. Sarah stifled a giggled.

Kayla glared at her for a moment, before continuing. "His class is having show-and-tell. When the boy stands up for his turn, he draws a dot on the board. The teacher asks 'What's that?' and the boy says 'It's a period'. The teacher asks 'Well, what is so special about that?' and the boy replies 'I don't know. But this morning, my sister missed one, my mom fainted, my dad had a heart attack, and the boy next door joined the Navy'." Everyone burst into laughter. Everyone except Leanna. She didn't really laugh much, either.

After Renee and Kayla were dropped off, Brandi finally pulled up in front of Sarah's house. Leanna got out behind her. "Night, you two.", Brandi called before driving off.

Sarah looked at Leanna, and they broke out into a grin. "That was awesome.", Leanna said. "Thanks for convincing them to invite me."

Sarah laughed. "You're welcome. Good night, Leanna."

"Night, Sarah." She only lived down the street, or that's what she said. Sarah had never actually been to her house. The girl started off down the street before she suddenly turned around and asked, "Sarah, did you love Jareth?"

Sarah looked at her in surprise, processed what she meant for a moment, then smiled. "You know, I think I might've. I didn't think about it at the time, but I think I do."

Leanna nodded, then smirked. Sarah had never seen her do it before, but it was so painstakingly reminiscent of Jareth, Sarah caught her breath for a moment. "Sweet dreams, Sarah.", Leanna said, then walked off into the night.

Sarah thought that was very odd, but shrugged. Leanna was odd. Sarah really didn't know much about it, except she liked to read the same stuff Sarah did and she grew up somewhere a long ways away from their college.

And her eyes were two different colors, but that was surely coincidence.

Surely

At the moment, it was Spring Break, so Sarah was living with her dad and stepmom. She shook her head, fumbled to put the key in the lock for a moment since it was dark, and went inside.

That night, she dreamed. She dreamed she was still at the concert, but something was different. She was the only one in the audience, and Steve Perry was the only one on the stage. But something was different about Steve Perry was different too. She walked right up to the stage and looked. She gasped. His eyes were mismatched, and they stared into hers with a look of longing and pain Sarah had only seen one other person wear.

Steve Perry brought the microphone up to his mouth and started singing:

"Here we stand

Worlds apart, hearts broken in two, two, two

Sleepless nights

Losing ground

I'm reaching for you, you, you

Now, Steve Perry was flickering. Sometimes he was Steve Perry, and sometimes he was the Goblin King.

Feeling that it's gone

Can change you mind

If we can't go on

To survive the tide, love divides.

Someday, love will find you

Break those chains that bind you

One night will remind you

How we touched and went our separate ways.

If anyone ever hurts you

True love won't desert you

You know I still love you

Though we touched and went our separate ways."

Sarah jerked awake, and sighed. It had only been a dream. A dream, that's all. Then she looked around.

There was a tall man standing at the foot of her bed. He had mismatched eyes, mane-like hair that stood up in random places, and extremely tight pants. He had a very intense expression on his face, not unlike the one Steve Perry had worn in her dream. And then he started to sing:

"Troubled times

Caught between confusion and pain, pain, pain

Distant eyes

Promises I made were in vain, in vain, in vain

Didn't want you to go, but I wish you love

You'll never walk alone

Take care my love

Miss you, love.

Someday, love will find you

Break those chains that bind you

One night will remind you

How we touched and went our separate ways

If anyone ever hurts you

True love won't desert you

You know I still love you

Though we touched and went our separate ways."

He stared at her for a few more moments before saying, "My little sister has a way back, if you want to come back. I believe you know her." He walked around around the bed and touched her face. "And so we touch and go our separate ways.", he whispered and disappeared in a cloud of glitter.

A week later, Sarah opened the door to her dorm room. She lugged all of her stuff in. She looked at the bed that Leanna used to sleep in and sighed. If what she'd heard was true, Leanna had disappeared the night they had come back from the concert. It was then that she noticed something glittery on her desk. It was a crystal. It looked like one of his, and there was a note under it. It was written in Leanna's handwriting.

Big Brother says he loves you, wants you to come back, can't live without you, blah, blah, blah, all that jazz. He thought this lovely crystal could be of some use to you if you felt the same way. Frankly, I don't see why you would. He's a bloody pompous jerk. But you said tonight that you did, so here's your crystal. Just give it a shake if you meant what you said about my big brother.

Sarah sighed. What was here for her? Her family thought she was nuts. Even Toby kept his distance, ever since she tried to tell him what had happened. Everyone thought she was a freak. Her friends, the few she had, weren't all that great. But what was in the Underground for her? Her best friend and man who loved her. Hmm, tough choice. She grinned, picked up the little crystal and shook it.

"I'm coming home.", she whispered, and she was gone in a poof of glitter.

Yes, that is all. The end. I think this might be the first of many song fics I write, since I find stories in a lot of songs I listen to. Anyway, I hope you guys like it. I don't usually write oneshots. I like being elaborate. But I find I like it. Anyway, if it sucks, tell me. If it doesn't... Well, I'd like to know that, too.