A Regular Romeo
Summary: To Sarah, it's just a play. To Jareth, it's much, much more. The Bard knew the right words, after all. JxS
By Literary Litany
Disclaimer: Labyrinth is a work of Jim Henson, and Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare's. I claim only intellectual rights to the plot and original characters, and gain no financial benefit from this writing, only the warm fuzzy feeling reviews gets me.
Abby, playing the nurse with whom Sarah had the second most scenes, caught her arm after practice. "Hey, Sarah, can I have a minute?" She gave her a shy smile, the dimples on her prettily heart-shaped face impossible to refuse.
They lingered as the other actors rushed out into the blue-and-purple dusk. Sarah frowned when she noticed Abby was fidgeting. "What's wrong?" She asked, placing a concerned hand on the younger girl's shoulder. Abby grimaced.
"Look, I know I'm not… Well, I'm not you." She bit her lip. "I always get the character roles. The mother, the grandmother, the bawdy old nurse." Abby sighed, and Sarah shifted uncomfortably. Sarah always caught the ingénue, leaving the other girls with the lesser roles. Abby, a short, curly red-head with round, rosy cheeks and a figure a bit too full for her height, caught the worst of it, but had always born it with better grace than most of the girls, and treated Sarah like a respected friend.
"You'll get work easier than I will, if you continue after high school, Abby." Sarah said honestly, feeling apologetic and uncomfortable.
Abby just looked frustrated and waved her to silence. "That's not my problem. My problem is… Well, the ingénue always gets the guy." She ran a hand through her hair, a nervous gesture that made it clump about in a puff around her head. "Could you maybe… Point a few my way? I know you're going to get asked to the Prom about fifty times."
Sarah blinked. "Guys?" She felt her stomach churn. "Fifty?"
Abby looked sympathetic. "The football team's started a competition with the baseball team. They're all going to ask you. And most of the chess club's had a thing for you from the get-go. Not to mention all the Techies and the Drama-kids..."
Sarah felt her color draining at the staggering list, but Abby pressed on. "I don't want anything to do with the stupid jocks, but some of the others are nice guys and well… They shouldn't go alone. I don't want to go alone."
"How… did you hear about all this?" Sarah asked, still flabbergasted.
Abby shrugged. "I listen. It's easy when no one notices you're there. Who do you think you'll say yes to?"
Sarah found a seat where near they were sitting. She didn't need this. She didn't want anything to do with high school guys. She would be going to college next year, and it just wasn't smart to get involved. Not to mention the uproar it would cause if she picked a favorite.
It just wasn't smart. "I'm not going." She said, feeling a little more at peace with the idea. That would make fifty rejections a lot easier on her. Sarah looked up at the frowning Abby and offered a wane smile. "Who would you like pushed your way?"
Abby looked shy suddenly. "One of the gentlemen if you could. Maybe George from Chess club." She blushed. "He has such pretty blonde hair."
Sarah had long since lost her taste for blondes who played games. "If he asks, I'll be sure to mention you."
Abby threw her arms around Sarah in a surprisingly heartfelt hug. "Thanks a ton, Sarah. I owe you, girl. If you ever need anything from me, just call."
If you ever need…
Sarah brushed off the uneasy shiver that ran up her spine. Too much had been reminding her of that day in the Labyrinth recently. Too much seemed to be keen to distract her. She needed to get her head back into her work, the play. It was a scant week away, and although the cast seemed ready… Something kept telling her things would not go as planned.
Jareth smiled at his reflection. He looked much younger than usual, able to easily pass for a human of a mature eighteen years. The costume he had reluctantly dulled to appear more like something a young human would fashion, although it was still meticulously fit to display him to advantage. He still looked stunning in it. A regular Romeo, alright.
Things were going exactly as planned. His lovely Sarah spurned all advances by the opposite sex, although she retained contact with her overly-friendly co-star. Well, that wouldn't last long. He'd personally woven the spell around that upstart young buck, Andy, and it turned out more beautifully than he could have hoped. The lad didn't suspect a thing, and when the time came, when the fateful first production hit the stage, it would begin to take effect.
He hoped it would be as dramatic as it was meant, and therefore a better warning.
Regardless, he would enjoy the little revenge for the boy's wandering eye. That it fit perfectly into his plans was simply a bonus.
"My Lord, is the glamour sufficient?" The ancient, entrancing voice from behind him drew him finally from the mirror as he gazed appraisingly at what, to the untrained eye, appeared to be a young human boy in friar's robes.
"The spitting image of the actor." Jareth approved. "Are you ready for your performance?"
The ancient-young eyes flashed with amusement. "I am ready for something, My Lord. What it will be… We shall see."
Sarah closed her eyes as Abby, handy with a brush as well as a script, piled her long dark hair atop her head, and began to turn it into a cascade of curls. She didn't like watching the hot metal in the mirror so close to her face. Not that she didn't trust Abby, but… Well, she didn't. Certain things in her life had conspired to give her a some mild trust issues.
She was already in her costume, a beautiful green affair, from another era both in it's style and how it was made. Pretty as it was, going well with her eyes and flowing well over her figure, it had very obviously been repaired and resized too many times, the long-ago donation to the school from a local theatre's costume collection.
Most of the costumes were of the same quality, although maybe a bit less-used. She could hear the quiet buzz of nervous conversation that always began once the costumes and make-up came on. In the background, the stage manager, Laura, could be heard as she ran light checks and talked with the director.
Soon there was a hand on her shoulder, and she opened her eyes to see Juliet staring back at her in the mirror. "You look gorgeous, Sarah." Abby breathed proudly in her ear. "Break a leg."
Sarah gave her the calm smile that for her was the calm before every performance. The calm before the storm. "Thanks, Abby. You too."
Laura's voice, able to cut through any crowd, came from on stage. "Audience enters in five, people! Shut up and let's kick out an opening night!"
The buzz rose sharply for a moment before settling into an excited and anticipatory silence. The curtains slid shut and the sound of the auditorium door being locked open came as the audience began to filter in.
Sarah slipped out of the dressing-rooms, which wasn't more than the hallway outside back stage, and into the darkness of the wings of the stage. She found Andy already there, and looking more anxious than she'd ever seen him. "You okay?" She asked, eyeing the unusual pallor of his skin.
He turned to smile at her, and the expression improved his appearance greatly. "Oh, I'm great. Just a little bit of opening night jitters."
She nodded uncertainly. "Well, just don't let it get to you."
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Ms Williams. I remember the lesson." He shrugged. "No one remembers the first scenes anyway. They don't really pay attention until you make an appearance."
"That's not true!" Sarah protested, only to be shushed with a slicing look from Laura. She continued in a whisper. "Don't go screwing up the first scenes on my account."
"I wouldn't dare." He said solemnly, then grinned. "The only bits of my acting that have to do with you are the kiss scenes."
Sarah rolled her eyes and made a swipe at his head that he ducked with a laugh. Laura gave them a death glare and they drifted apart, he getting into his position for the first few scenes, and she retreating to the dressing rooms to help Abby with the rest of the hair and make-up, only to find nothing to do. Everyone was ready.
It was hard to remember why she'd been so anxious a week ago. They were ready for this play. What could go wrong?
Author's Note: I'm sorry. This chapter's a little on the short side, I know. I was going to go through another scene, but that turned out on the long side, and this was just too perfect an end to the chapter to pass up. When next we convene… Bum bum bum! Jareth makes his big debut!