The Truth Hurts
-o0O0o-
Author's Note:
This story is for my friend chee-wit. It's late. It took me forever to think of something to write. It's also short. The rating is for...hmm...things implied but better left unsaid.
We had a contest during NaNoWriMo, and whoever wrote the most words in 30 minutes got to give a prompt to the others in the writing group. We each had to write a story of at least 300 words in answer to the prompt. Here was my prompt:
Prompt: Jareth gives Sarah the gift to see into people's character. Sarah discovers she doesn't like being able to see people's thoughts and dreams for the truth can be quite ugly and horrifying than lies.
-o0O0o-
While she couldn't be 100% certain, she'd collected enough evidence over the last 24 hours to come to the conclusion that everyone, everywhere, was a liar. Nobody said what they really meant to say. Everyone had ulterior motives. And while she was aware, somewhere buried deep in her subconscious, when she was lying to herself, it became nearly impossible to ignore.
The reason for this realization was leaning oh-so-smugly against the sill of her bedroom window. He also happened to be the one person, contrary to her many accusations, who was not a liar.
Sarah glared at him from across the room. "Take it back, Jareth."
"It hurts, doesn't it - the truth?"
"You've made your point, now take it back."
He raised a brow. "What did you learn from my gift, I wonder?"
What had she learned? She learned things about her friends that she could never unlearn, no matter how much she wished she could. She'd never be able to look at them the same way again. Ludo, Sir Didymus, Hoggle—
"Oh, god." Nausea tickled her stomach and she rubbed her hands across her face in a vain attempt to scrub the images from existence. Her hands settled in her hair and she pulled tightly. "Why would Hoggle be using me to make you jealous?" She slid a sideways look at Jareth. "That's not real, is it? Please tell me that's not real…"
Jareth smiled that sharp smile that always made her feel she couldn't believe a word he was about to say, even though she knew now that she could. "Perhaps you should ask Hoggle. You're bound to find out the tru—"
"I can't handle the truth!" She untangled her hands from her hair and faced him directly. "Jareth. You have to take this away."
"You know…," he pushed away from window and walked toward her, "I don't think I will."
She shook her head disbelievingly. "I hate you."
He tsked and smiled condescendingly at her. "Come now, Sarah. We both know that's not true."
Sarah made a sound of disgust and turned away to pace the length of the small room. Deciding denial wasn't going to help in this situation, she stopped and glared at him with a hand on her hip. "Okay. Fine. But let me give you a basis for comparison here. Just because I want to eat chocolate every day instead of broccoli, doesn't mean I should."
When his smile stretched, she realized she'd revealed more than she had intended, though she was beginning to suspect that it didn't really matter, that this "seeing the truth" thing he had dumped on her was something he lived with every day. Which was why, year after year, he kept coming back.
"She finally speaks the truth." He stepped closer, lifting a hand toward her face. "And how does it feel, Sarah? Are you relieved? Are you finally ready to end this charade and accept what I am offering you?"
She stepped back. "I'm not going anywhere with you. This doesn't make your truths more palatable than their lies."
"Ah." He titled his head, amusement glittering in his eyes as his hand dropped to his side. "More time, then." He began to fade as he did every time he left her.
"Jareth!" She reached out for him only to grasp at empty space. She ran to the window and threw it open, her eyes finding and fixing on the shape of an owl silhouetted against the waning moon. "Jareth! You can't leave me like this! Jareth!"
She watched him fly away until she couldn't and then slumped against the wall beneath the window. Shit. How was she going to survive a whole year of knowing the truth? She'd barely made it through the day.
She entertained two possibilities. The first, it was going to drive her mad and she'd agree to anything to make it stop. And, the second, she'd hunt him down, even if it meant facing the Labyrinth again, and make him take it back.
Deep down, she knew the truth.
-o0O0o-
Author's Note:
I know it's not much of a story, but thanks for reading! Please, leave a contribution in the little box. ;)
Disclaimer: Labyrinth (c) Henson & Co.