An uncanny acquaintance
Jareth prided himself in knowing almost every aspect of Sarah's life. He knew where she went shopping, he knew what she liked to eat, and he knew when she was most likely to go running. It had been a necessity to know everything, to make sure that the plan he had formulated in his head over a year ago went as smoothly as possible. However, the most important information he would need tonight, was the pubs and clubs she was likely to hit, to drown her sorrows and maybe pick up a guy along the way. One thing was for certain, on a night like the one she was preparing for, Sarah always started off at the Tooth and Claw with Janice and Sophie. He knew what she was going to do because the second she had got on the bus the phone was out and her fingers made mincemeat of the keypad they were in such a hurry. It was a night for condolence, wild romance and drink; to make her forget the insult she had been dealt and possibly erase some of the pain now brewing in her heart. Eventually throughout the night, that pain would turn to anger, even hate, then resentfulness. Human emotions were so predictable. Musing over this topic the Goblin king began to analyse his own emotions throughout the whole ordeal. They had followed a similar path, but it had taken nine years, not hours, and now that resentfulness had turned into wants of revenge.
His hands clenched into fists and his knuckles turned white as Jareth fought to control his emotions, soon he told himself…soon.
Sarah had dressed herself up in the most alluring outfit she had in her possession, preparing for the night ahead.
She had curled her black hair and sprayed it with glitter to keep it in place and make it sparkle when she was out on the dance floor with the strobe lighting. She wore a black corset with red lace which tied up at the back and a pair of dark skinny jeans which hugged her in all the right places. She would take her red heels again, just because of the signal they seemed to give off and paint her nails a darker red in contrast. She was always careful with make-up, it was hard to find any foundation pale enough to match her natural skin tone which didn't make her look like a ghost, so she could only apply very small amounts. However the principle was the same with eye and lip make-up as well, keep it simple and don't look like you cake yourself in it every day.
Janice and Sophie had answered her texts pleading to go out tonight almost immediately. Each of them knowing the gravity of the situation for Sarah to ask for a piss-up night at such short notice. It was clear to both of them that something had gone down, now all three of them stood together by the grime covered wall in the Tooth and Claw nightclub, drinks in hand, sharing what had occurred to them recently. Of course, Sophie and Janice were just waiting for the reason as to why the night had been arranged, but, if they were honest, they already had a fair idea.
Sighing, Sarah started the story. "So, when I went out with the biology lot yesterday," They both nodded, knowing that she meant some of the people in her department that she had made friends with. "Well...Sam was, kind of, in one of the bars we went into..." Sophie and Janice waited patiently with silent anticipation as Sarah took a swig of good quality cider from the pint glass she was drinking out of. "So, I'm having a good laugh just dancing with this guy and Sam comes up, at first I tried to ignore him, but then he grabs my hand and yanks me to the side of the room. Then he had a go at me, asking why I hadn't returned his calls, calling me insensitive, and then..." Another swig of the foul smelling snake bite in her hand. "He just proclaims his undying love to me in front of everyone there and states that there will never be anyone else." There was subsequently a sharp hiss from Sophie and a muttering of something that sounded like "Twat." From Janice.
They both knew of Sam's activities in the past and the amount of pain he had caused Sarah in the time that they had been dating. Janice had developed a particularly open hatred for him whereas Sophie had adopted the evil eye policy. Either way, they both hated him.
However, it was now Janice's turn to speak. "So you walked away right? You left him without a backwards glance?" Sarah glanced at her scarlet feet and let the awkwardness of the question surround her. As much as she hated to say it Sarah still liked if not loved Sam, even through everything, and it would be all too easy to give the relationship another try. Even if she knew in her heart it was doomed to fail. "No, I left actually." The women on either side of her breathed synchronised sighs of relief. Then the inevitable question came "So why did you organise a drinks night tonight then?" Surprisingly though this time the words came from Sophie, but her curious eyes gave instant explanation. She knew there was more to it.
"Well..." She began nervously, ashamed or her own stupidity. "He said something that kind of got to me..."
"Which was?" Janice questioned carefully.
"I'll always wait for you, even if you don't want me to." Sarah quoted.
"You didn't believe him did you?" Sophie asked with an unreadable look. She has every right to be disappointed in me thought Sarah. I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, started the fan club and burnt down the factory and I STILL repeat the same mistake.
"No, I knew he was lying, but I went round today to his house to talk to him about it, clear the air you know." Sophie shook her head in disbelief.
"What happened?" Janice spoke bluntly; she was looking for a straight answer.
"I went over and he was with a blonde bombshell and I realised that I'm an idiot and I need to move on, so I called a meeting tonight to see if I could find myself a guy who I could maybe take home and ravish after getting hammered." She finished this sentence with a deep breath and waited for her friends to berate her foolishness. Instead she was met with squeals of joy as both Sophie and Janice hugged her at the same time.
"That's awesome!" Sophie cried excitedly while Janice started planning.
"Okay, we're gonna get another round then hit the dance floor, if you don't like any of the guys here we'll move on to our usual selection, that sound good?" They didn't wait for Sarah to answer as she was mercilessly dragged off towards the bar.
Sarah lost count of the number of shots she downed before they hit the dance floor. The only estimation she had was a lot, considering her depth perception and balance were exceptionally below par. She didn't care though, it was good to get out and be free again. Currently a guy with mousey brown hair was dancing with her, or more precisely beside her, holding her waist so that she didn't fall over while she waved her hands uncoordinatedly in the air. Sarah couldn't be sure if he was fit or not, and if he was honest she didn't care. Sophie and Janice were keeping an eye on things but all in all leaving Sarah to have a good time on her own. This night was about making her feel better, which she obviously did. It would just be how she felt the next day that wouldn't be so great.
When the song ended Sophie decided that Sarah was going to end up making a bad decision in the night if she carried on and so went to collect her from the guy she was dancing with. Sarah drunkenly waved and smiled at her approaching friend, too intoxicated to approach her independently. Sophie smiled sweetly at the man holding Sarah and said
"I think I should take her now if you don't mind, otherwise, no offense but she may be getting to know you a little too well." Seemingly disappointed the man reluctantly handed Sarah over to Sophie after seeing the look on Janice's face in the background, not wanting to stir up any trouble this early in the night. Sophie held Sarah by the waist and kept her upright as they made their way to the bar again. Once there against her better judgement Sarah ordered another round of vodka shots, although before she could pay for them a voice cut through.
"I'll get these if you like." The three women turned to observe the man who had spoken. He was sat beside them on a bar stool dressed in loose jeans, a shirt and a leather jacket. His hair was a naturally bright blonde, layered so that it was short at the top and got longer further down. Facially he was not bad looking: his features were pointed and defined but the structure was pleasing and it was evident from the first two buttons undone on his shirt that he had muscles on him, and defined ones at that. His clothes were a little old-fashioned and the hair cut left a lot to be desired, yet both strangely suited him, all in all Sarah could do a lot worse and Janice and Sophie glanced at each other, not needing to say a word to concoct a plan.
Sarah didn't notice the glance her friends shared though, she was too busy analysing the stranger. He looked like Jareth. No, he didn't just look like Jareth, at first glance he WAS Jareth, it was uncanny.
Running through the possibilities in her mind Sarah could draw no conclusion that was based upon feasible grounds, especially with her alcohol inhibited mind. She simply just could not process or address the situation. It was impossible for her to accept that the man only a couple of metres away was not the guy who haunted her memories, sometimes as dreams, sometimes as nightmares. Each time was a different situation with only one constant.
"Not at all." Janice's confident, enthusiastic voice cut through Sarah's thought track and brought her back to reality. The stranger smiled in response and passed a £20 note to the non-phased barman, then turning back he let his gaze settle on the raven haired beauty before him and drank in her look of curiosity. If she didn't remember him she certainly remembered what he looked like. It was then that Jareth recalled the experiment he needed to try out, this was the perfect place to test its effectiveness.
Feeling for the bond of magic that tied them together Jareth closed his eyes and gave it a firm tug. The result was instantaneous. Sarah felt a sudden insatiable need to be closer to the newcomer; it was so sudden and so powerful that she nearly fell off of her stool. However, Janice and Sophie were there to catch her and the three of them began giggling putting it down to drunkenness rather than anything else. When the initial shock had been overcome Sarah managed to act on the impulse, (and with the help of Janice and Sophie) get up off of her seat and walk with measured steps to the blonde man in leather, giving the illusion that she was more sober than she really was as she went. Sliding down into the seat next to him Sarah arranged herself so that their elbows were touching and flashed him one of her smiles. Enough for now she thought to herself.
It was 4:00am by the time the group of four exited the now almost completely deserted night club all of them laughing hysterically. One round of drinks had turned into several and Janice and Sophie were only just capable of standing. Sarah on the other hand had sobered up considerably, too much of her attention had been focused on the new comer and the questions she was asking him to bother to carry on drinking. The blonde man, seemingly unaffected despite the amount of alcohol he had consumed, took out a pen from what appeared to be nowhere and scrawled his number on Sarah's arm before pecking her on the cheek and telling her to call. It was just as they were turning away and waving goodbye that Sarah remembered an important question she couldn't believe she hadn't asked him.
"Hey!" She called after him. "What's your name?"
The man looked back giving them all a sly smile before saying "Jareth, look at your arm." And with that he turned down a side street and flash of blonde hair was seen before he became engulfed by the darkness. Sarah stared after him. Jareth? Unable to accept the information which had just been handed to her Sarah did the only thing she could think of to do. Pass out and deal with it in the morning.
Sunlight hit Sarah's eyelids with all the force of a volley of fire arrows causing her to groan in agony before rolling over and burying her face in the feather pillow. She slowly became aware of another presence in the room and as curiosity got the better of her Sarah turned to face the person next to her, only to meet a mass of hair. Her eyes snapped open and she was met with the site of Janice's mass of brunette hair before the burning sunlight forced them to close again. Her head felt like it had been smacked against a heavy wooden door several times and the birds twittering sounded like air horns.
With her head buried in the covers Sarah thought about the night before and tried to organise her thoughts on it. She had all her memories up until about the fourth shot and after that things got blurry. Although she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was missing something really important, a key piece of information that shouldn't be overlooked. Shaking her head in frustration Sarah attempted to sit up and get a grasp of the situation, but did it too vast and a wave of nausea overcame her before she fell back onto the pillow. Opening her eyes a slither at a time she allowed herself to gradually get used to the all too bright sunshine which was dominant in her room. She was still dressed in the outfit she had worn last night, heels and all, no wonder I felt so awful I slept in a god damn corset she thought to herself. Janice on the bed next to her was in the same condition but had managed to kick her heels off. Sophie, who seemed to have drawn the short straw, was sprawled out in what looked to be a very uncomfortable position on the blue chair in the corner by the window; her back was going to hurt later. Sarah's room looked as if a hurricane had swept through it and the path of the carnage could almost be mapped out from the nights' events. Sophie and Janice must have jointly carried her to her bedroom, flung open the door. It looked then like Sophie had stumbled and fallen half onto the pine desk and then onto the floor, taking most of Sarah's research papers with her. Then Janice, clearly having lost balance must have fallen forwards, tripped over the rug and landed (all be it very luckily) on the bed where she passed out. Sophie must have then stumbled forwards until she got to the chair, then decided that that was a good place to camp and left it there.
Sarah smiled in gratitude to the both of them; it was great that she friends who were willing to put themselves through all of this for her benefit, and now a lesson had been learned, well and truly. She would cook them a big breakfast and they could ride out their hangovers in front of some movies, which seemed like a good idea.
Hopefully she was shot of Sam for good now and she could get on with her life, as this thought crossed her mind she decided a shower was much needed as she probably didn't look all that great or smell it either, she certainly didn't feel it. Gradually this time, Sarah sat up, removed her heels, manoeuvred herself off the bed and around Sophie, took some clothes from the chest of drawers and silently headed towards the shower.
Taking off the corset was a relief she hadn't known existed as her vital organs expanded again, taking advantage of the new found space they had. The bathroom seemed to have escaped the carnage of last night as it looked pretty clean and did not smell of anything ominous. Thank goodness for small mercies Sarah thought to herself as she stripped off the rest of the disgusting clothes she had slept in, stepped into the shower and prepared herself for the onslaught of water. It was merciless at first, each droplet like a pin on the scalp but soon the water worked its magic, Sarah's headache abated and she felt something close to human. She then set about washing herself with cranberry body gel which Sarah had received as a birthday present a while ago; the pattern was always the same, hands, arms, torso, hips, legs and then face. Except as she reached her arms she saw a phone number and confusion immediately filled her and she worked through her memories with a new force. Something important, something important, something important...but what? Filled with frustration Sarah began doing mini paces in her confined shower space searching through the ocean of memories lost to her. She must have met a guy; that much was obvious, but how could she find out who he was? The answer came to her instantly, flick through her camera images, if she met a guy he was bound to be in there. It was the fastest recovery shower Sarah had ever taken after that.
Her phone faithfully came on with the usual welcoming sounds and vibrations, showing Sarah that it had sustained no damage from her heavy night of drinking. Janice and Sophie were still both unconscious in her room, which didn't make a lot of sense to Sarah considering that she had drunk more than they had, but then again there was no way of knowing what had taken place in the blank patches of her memory. It was possible that those patches were lost to her forever and if there was no photographic evidence that anything out of the ordinary happened last night, all she had to go on was the phone number of a stranger. Although Sarah felt human now, her brain also felt like it was systematically pulsing against her skull; each pulse was a fresh pain. However, her stomach seemed to deem itself capable of digestion now as it started to rumble, requesting sustenance. Sighing to herself Sarah picked up her phone and headed downstairs, she could look at the pictures over breakfast.
It was green jelly, her ideal hangover cure that breakfast consisted of. Green jelly in a specific green plastic bowl with a very specific spoon. Every time. If she had this as a hangover breakfast she could get through the day. That was until she scrolled through the pictures and saw something so shocking it made her instantaneously drop her spoon. Jareth.
