She wasn't dancing.
That struck Jeremy as odd. Why would you come to a Halloween dance, wearing a full-skirted ballgown, if all you were going to do was sit on the sidelines and watch?
Jake nudged him, and pointed to her. "See that beauty?"
Jeremy nodded, too bored to really care.
"She's going to be mine." Jake smiled, and Jeremy didn't like the look of that smile. It was all teeth.
"Are you feeling all right?"
Jake turned to him, still smiling. "Never better." Jeremy felt his throat tighten inexplicably. You're being silly, he told himself. This is just Jacob. You've been friends with him since primary school. It's not like he's going to rape her or something. It's just a game. Even if he does seem a bit...strange.
The song, loud and raucous with heavy bass, ended, and something that sounded like a music box waltz took its place. "Who chose this crap?" Jeremy muttered.
"Oh, you just hate dancing." Jake smiled again, his eyes lighting up oddly. Was it just his eyeliner that made them look so far away? "That's it. I'll ask her to dance."
Jeremy wasn't sure why he followed Jake across the floor to where the girl stood, watching the dance. But he did. He arrived just in time to see the girl's face blanch at something Jake had said, and then, she'd grabbed Jeremy and they were part of the whirl and swirl on the dance floor.
Jeremy found that, once he stopped tripping over his own feet, it wasn't hard to waltz. Within a minute, he felt confident enough to stop looking at his feet and transfer his gaze to the girl's face.
She was looking back over her shoulder at Jake, who, when he saw them looking, waved. She shivered a little, and swivelled abruptly back to Jeremy, whose breath caught in his throat. Jesus. He hadn't noticed that she was beautiful.
She saw him staring slack-jawed, and laughed nervously. "Um, I'm Sarah," she said pointedly, obviously trying to break Jeremy's lack of concentration.
Jeremy shook his head, trying to dispel her spell, and mustered a grin from somewhere. "I'm Jeremy," he replied.
Sarah nodded and continued with the small talk. "Great song, don't you think?"
Jeremy nodded back, trying not to laugh.
"I love David Bowie." A blush rose hot and bright to her cheeks, and she looked quickly away from Jeremy, at the ceiling. "I mean, his music. I don't love David Bowie, because I've never met him and that would be silly!" She laughed, forcedly, and Jeremy laughed too, utterly charmed. He decided in that instant that he would give glam-rock another chance.
Jeremy, as you perhaps can tell, was hopelessly and utterly in love.
It had been twelve long months, only a year. Jeremy was in love and lost in confusion. Sarah had taken to him, and they were dating, had been for nearly a year. Yes, Sarah liked him back, but he seemed to have had terrible luck ever since he'd met her. His socks and keys and wallet were forever going missing, his electricity had become increasingly unpredictable, and he'd even had his identity stolen. He'd been dive-bombed by owls twice, and was still seriously wondering how it had happened. He hadn't thought there were owls in the city. Then again, he was rather clueless when it came to the animal kingdom.
Sarah, of course, hadn't noticed, even though Jeremy'd once been attacked by an owl while he was walking her to her door. In fact, she was so oblivious that Jeremy wondered if she was ignoring his bad luck on purpose.
All in all, it almost seemed as if something wanted him to keep away from Sarah. It was downright depressing. In any other circumstances, he might have proposed by now. Not to Sarah. Not until his luck changed. He was worried, given his luck, that she might turn him down. But he couldn't stand this waiting.
So he sleepwalked miserably through his day, misplacing keys and wallet and, in a coup de grace of epic proportions, his pants, agonizing over whether or not to bring a ring to his dinner with Sarah that night. Finally (this would be shortly after the pants incident), he decided he would grit his teeth and bear the bad luck if it meant having Sarah beside him for the rest of his life.
The bell above the door jingled out the first few notes of a music box waltz as Jeremy walked into the jewellery store. His feet made no noise on the carpet, and the door shut with a low hiss of hydraulics. This place was a hushed temple of wealth.
No one was behind the glass counter. Jeremy cleared his throat twice, then rang the little bell on the counter. No one answered. Jeremy gave up, and began to study the rings under the counter's glass top.
He slowly became aware that he was not alone in the jewellery store. A low guffaw, a wicked cackle, a rustle behind his head, a flicker of motion in the corner of his eye... Jeremy spun around, and the sensations ceased. He was alone again.
But not quite alone. Someone stepped out from behind one of the mirrored display cabinets scattered tastefully about the floor, despite Jeremy's certainty that there had been no one there moments before. Pressed to describe him, Jeremy wouldn't be able to. He was sort of...well, kind of...sort of... On a few counts, Jeremy was sure: he was tall, and blonde, and his eyes were icy. He was imposing and frightening – and somehow, he reminded Jeremy of the night he'd met Sarah, how his best friend had acted so strangely.
"You're shopping for a ring." There was a sneer in the stranger's voice. Jeremy found dislike welling up inside him.
"Yes," he said defensively.
The stranger shook his head disappointedly. "You've ignored my warnings, blithely continued with your courtship. I shall give you one last chance. Leave Sarah alone, or suffer the consequences."
A spark of defiance flickered into a tenuous flame. "No," Jeremy said.
The stranger cocked his head to one side. "No?" he inquired, mockingly. Something chattered in the haunted space of the jewellery store.
Jeremy stood his ground. "No. I love her, and you can't scare me off." The absurdity of the situation struck him suddenly. "Who are you, anyway? This little brother she speaks so highly of?"
The stranger laughed brightly, then abruptly stooped. "No."
"Who are you, then?" Jeremy insisted, finding his courage again.
The stranger's beguiling face darkened with anger. "Don't defy me, Jeremy."
"Who are you? Why're you so set against me? What's your deal with Sarah?" Jeremy pressed.
The stranger's eyes flashed menace. Jeremy quailed, his unfamiliar feelings of rebellion dying slowly. When the stranger spoke, it was curt and final, as though he was quite through with Jeremy and would not be persuaded otherwise. "I'm a friend."
He turned and walked to the door, then stopped and pointed back at Jeremy. "And if you propose to her tonight, I shall personally drop you headfirst into -" He checked himself, regained his perfect composure. "Trouble," he finished, then swung the door open. The little bell above it danced out its merry tune as he left the store.
"Hello?" queried a feminine voice from behind Jeremy. He turned to see a middle-aged woman wearing more jewellery than absolutely necessary and a plastic smile. "Were you looking for something in particular, or just browsing?"
"Uh – no, no thank you. I was just leaving," Jeremy mumbled.
The lady pursed her lips disapprovingly. "Well, come back soon," she admonished him.
"I might." Jeremy grinned sheepishly. He didn't want to leave without at least showing intent to purchase – he didn't think he could face this lady's wrath. "I rather like that engagement ring with the ruby, but I don't know."
The lady's eyes sparkled. "Ah, I see," she chirped understandingly. "Cold feet?"
Jeremy swallowed. "More like I want her to love it completely. I'm not stalling, just...considering."
The lady nodded. "Well, I hope it works out for you."
"I do too," Jeremy said honestly. "I do too."
AN: *is going through Jareth withdrawal*
This is out of order with the rest of the drabbles, but I wanted to write about Jeremy's difficulties wooing Sarah. I don't think the Goblin King would just let him date her without any consequences.
This was inspired by the song "Girl All the Bad Guys Want". Just so you know.