Disclamer: I do not own Labyrinth or The Green Bay Tree or David Bowie or his songs from which I tend to pull phrases from to name chapters and such. I also don't own the Tisch School but I did audition for their dance program. After passing through their technical audition I fell flat on my face in my solo performance which for some reason made them reconsider their admittance of me to their distinguished program. But it's whatever! I'm not bitter. Definitely gotten over it. Stupid slippery floor. I cry whenever I see wet floor signs. PS for reasons of my own (laziness-lack of fact checking-also I am so dependent on technology that I am virtually incapable of imagining a world without smartphones) I have modernized the timeline so that the events of Labyrinth the movie happened in 2008 ish I think (I avoid basic arithmetic) so Sarah is now 23 in 2016. Thanks to breathelabyrinth for pointing that out!
CHAPTER 1: Opening Doors and Pulling Some Strings
"At last! Now I am completely moved in," Sarah said to no one in particular as she placed a picture of her little brother Toby on the bookshelf in the living area of the flat she shared with two other girls: Masha and Melissa.
Masha was a junior when Sarah first arrived at New York University's incredibly exclusive Tisch Performing Arts college. The two girls were fast friends and even roommates for Masha's final year at NYU but then the older girl left for London to perform in an avant-garde theatre and dance troupe in Soho. Upon Sarah's graduation two years later, she received an amazing offer to play the female lead in a small West End production of The Green Bay Tree. Urgently needing lodging after an original living arrangement fell through, Sarah was overjoyed to learn that Masha and her current London flatmate, Melissa, had room for one more on the lease for their cozy, moderately-priced flat in Chelsea.
"Aw he's lovely," a passing Melissa admired Toby's picture from behind Sarah, then she continued on her short path to their tiny kitchen bundled up like a burrito in her robe.
"My brother Toby. He just turned 10," Sarah explained.
"I bet he misses you the poor darling," Melissa commented from the kitchen. Sarah found she was getting used to—and rapidly falling in love with the girl's charming Welsh lilt.
"Not as much as I miss him. I got to see him once a month when I was in college but it will be harder to spend time with him now that I have moved across the pond."
"Well at least there's always Skype! Right? Would you like some tea or coffee?"
"I do feel like tea—but don't trouble yourself I'll get it! Don't you need to head out?"
"Oh no, I got you girl! I don't have rehearsal until tonight." Sarah smiled and thanked Melissa who was putting a kettle on the stove. Even though she was a bit small for her profession, Melissa worked as a dancer in the same troupe as Masha. Sarah liked her new flatmate a lot. She was always very helpful. She was also very beautiful. Sarah envied the shorter woman's perfect dark complexion and silky black hair. Sarah made a quick note to herself to find out what kind of beauty products Melissa used.
"When do you start your play's rehearsals?" Melissa asked as she stood on her tippy-toes to shift through an over-crowded cabinet in search of mugs.
"The read through is in an hour actually, I was just just trying to finish decorating before I headed out."
"Oh right, do you want some help?"
"That's alright I just finished. Toby was my last touch," Sarah began tidying up her now empty moving boxes from the living room.
"You finished? What about that owl print on the table there? Aren't you going to hang it up? It's really cool! Where did you get it?"
Sarah looked at the print in question. It was a woodcut of a chubby but cute barn owl on a worn and old-looking piece of parchment. At the bottom it read in spacious lettering, CURMUDGEON.
"It is pretty cool," Sarah admitted, "maybe I'll find a place for it. I don't know exactly where it came from. I just found it in my stuff while I was unpacking. Must be a housewarming gift from my step-mom, she's been buying a lot of local artists' stuff lately most of it is just junk plus she knows that owls are my favorite animal." Of course no one knew exactly why Sarah was so fond of owls. Her teenage fancies were a very close-guarded secret that she only told to Toby, given his involvement, who accepted them as truth—as he did everything his older sister told him. The train of Sarah's thoughts was suddenly interrupted by a loud whistle in the kitchen. The noise soon stopped, and Sarah heard the faint sound of pouring water.
"Aw I don't think he's junk, he's cute!" Melissa slowly made her way to Sarah carrying two rather full mugs, "You should put him right over the couch in the living room. He'll be our mascot. We can even give him a name! Here tea's ready." She carefully handed Sarah the mug with the mugshot of a young Frank Sinatra on it. Sarah sipped at the hot liquid from the rim.
"Thank you this tea is perfect. And I love this mug. Maybe I will put the owl up. I'll see if Masha is into it later. I've got to go change real quick and then head out now, but we should grab drinks after your rehearsal!" Sarah picked up the poster and headed for her room making sure not to spill any tea.
Melissa shouted after her, "Yes we should do! I'll text you when I'm finished. Oh and good luck on your first day!"
Sarah glanced up at a square old building that looked as if it had been left standing after the Great Fire of London by some mistake, forgotten, nestled between modernist storefronts and restaurants. Sarah thought the ancient stone edifice even looked oddly scorched in places as she ascended the stairs to a great wood door that looked as if it belonged to the entrance of a gothic mansion. She debated knocking, but the giant metal knocker looked like it hadn't been touched in centuries. Instead, Sarah grasped the large circular knob protruding from the door's middle and pulled with all her strength, but the door did not budge. She quickly tested to see if the knob rotates, it did not. Of course not, she berated herself, it is wood and quite obviously fused to the door. Gently placing her bucket bag on the ground, Sarah grabbed a hold of the knob again, and with slight regret at her choice in high-heeled boots, put her right foot on the wall beside the door yanking with all of her strength, desperately trying to force the door open. Thinking she felt something almost give way, Sarah picked up her left foot and placed it to where she had a foot on either side of the door as she leaned off of the knob so that she could use her weight to force the stubborn door open.
"Come on! Nearly there," she grunted and yanked when all of a sudden she felt a strong presence behind her and a pair of long arms encased her. She gasped as large hands eased hers from the knob and a cool voice whispered much too near her ear, "You push."
Immediately Sarah's back fell to the stranger's chest which moved closer and gripped her hands tighter in response, as if to protect her from falling which she surely would have with her feet still perched on the wall.
Affronted by the extreme invasion of space and slightly annoyed at being caught making a bonehead mistake by a stranger, Sarah planted her boots firmly on the ground and stepped out of the strong arms and firm body that had surrounded her, "Yes, thank you," she said sternly and without looking at the man behind her she quickly pushed the treacherous door open with ease. Mustering an appearance of self-confidence, she walked purposefully through the doorway, past the security desk and elevators and straight up the stairs. Trying to avoid the grabby man who had witnessed her foolish mistake with the door, Sarah took the shallow steps two at a time thankful for her long legs. Honestly did the stranger need to be so feely? He could have just politely told her she needed to push. And why does a door even have a knob if it is supposed to be pushed not pulled? She angrily mused to herself on the way up. Now slightly out of breath as she reached the third floor, she went straight to a desk where a teenage looking receptionist sat watching videos on his tablet.
"I'm Sarah Williams I am here for the GBT read through," she announced.
"CHARLIE! She's here!" the youth shouted without looking up from his tablet. Behind the desk a door opened and a rather flustered, slightly overweight man appeared. Sarah immediately recognized him as the stage director of the play who auditioned her in New York.
"My name is CHARLES," he practically growled at the boy, "And must you shout?" he admonished more quietly as he made his way towards Sarah. The teenage boy took no notice of his chastisement. "Sarah my dear girl you made it!" Charles gushed and leaned to kiss her cheeks, "Great to see you again! How are you settling into London?" He didn't pause to let her answer and instead ushered her away from the desk towards a hallway. "Insolent boy, my sister's horrible son," He whispered to her while glancing behind them, "She insisted I give him some position in the production but he is absolutely useless." Turning back to Sarah he cried, "Oh please forgive me my dear! I meant to tell you that you look positively radiant! Even more beautiful than you were at your audition. And I didn't think such a thing could be possible!" Charles continued to sing her praises. Although she would normally find such empty adulation annoying, currently Sarah found the bubbly man's enthusiasm an odd comfort to the slight nervousness she was finally beginning to feel.
At the end of the hallway, they turned through a doorway and into a small room where the table read was obviously about to take place. A long table was nearly full of a dozen or so friendly faces of other cast and crew and Charles led her to the center of the table where three chairs remained empty. He sat her down in the chair farthest to right as he grandly announced, "My dears, I'm am overflowing with excitement to introduce to you the latest addition to our merry family!"—Sarah looked around and smiled warmly at the kind faces around her—"our very own Helen Hayes," Charles paused for effect as Sarah tried hard to appear as regal as he made her sound, "straight from New York City!" he was now nearly shouting, "Ms. Sarah Williams!" He burst into applause and the rest of the table followed suit. Sarah smiled at the sound, one she longed for since her childhood when she dreamed of being a celebrated stage actress. She was too busy smiling and soaking up the attention to notice a late arrival to their party. She vaguely heard Charles announce, "Oh good Francis is here now, Sarah you must meet Francis he is to play your beloved Julian!"
Sarah's smile faded as she heard a familiarly sultry voice say, "Oh but we have already met, haven't we Sarah? Your bag I believe?" Slightly confused now, she turned but only saw her bucket bag hanging in the air in front of her face. She hadn't even realized she'd lost it! Then it dawned on her, Oh god the door! Her costar is Mr. grabby? When she snatched back her bag she finally looked at the man currently standing above her, her gut constricted into a knot and even though her lungs suddenly refused to work she managed to give a suitably dramatic gasp,
"Jareth!"
Voila! End of first chapter! Please let me know what you think or if I have made a huge error(s) somewhere (I am newb)! This story is dedicated to David Bowie (einer meiner helden). It seems that re-watching his films and listening to his music on a loop isn't cathartic enough for me I am going to have to write a few fanfics. So stay tuned for more! Also FYI the title of this ff comes from Station to Station and the title of the chapter comes from Golden Years.