Challenge #3

#82: Can You Hear Me?

"Come on Sarah! You promised to have fun!" Rachel whined, tugging on Sarah's hand to pull her out of the passenger's seat of her blue Honda Civic.

"Yeah, yeah, I can be miserable if I want to. It is my birthday," Sarah groaned allowing Rachel to pull her out of the car and toward the front door of the karaoke bar.

"You're gonna love this! I know you will, because this hunk who calls himself The Thin White King is singing tonight! Maybe if you're lucky he'll pick you to sing with him. He always picks a female audience member to sing the last song with him," Rachel's words all came out in a rush and a dreamy look crept across her face before she returned to Earth, pulling Sarah with her.

The karaoke bar was an underground establishment shaped like a long tunnel with a low ceiling. The bar was near the door, while the karaoke equipment was in the back. There were at least forty people crowded around the bar, badgering the two bartenders for drinks. Rachel led Sarah through the crowd to the karaoke section and found two seats at the end of a table. "Here, save my seat, I'm gonna go get us some drinks," Rachel said pushing Sarah down in one of the chairs.

There were another thirty-some people lounging around the karaoke section, apparently waiting for The King. Sarah settled herself back into her chair and wondered what the maximum limit of people was for the small tavern-like bar. Whatever it was, she was sure they were over it. A couple of minutes later, a brunette in a tank top and capri's walked onto the stage and grabbed the microphone. "Hey everyone! How y'all doin'?" The crowd roared approval. "Good, good! So I heard y'all were here to see a certain king?" The crowd roared again. "Well I won't keep all y'all waitin' any longer then! Here he is, the man we all love, The Thin White King!" She walked off the stage and Sarah saw a man enter stage left.

He had long blond hair tied back in a ponytail and was wearing a loose button-up shirt that was only buttoned half way. His dark pants looked to be leather; Sarah's perusal of him ended at his dark leather boots with a Cuban heel. He looked vaguely familiar… At that moment, Rachel came back with two Mojitos. "Ooooh! He's starting!" Rachel squee'd quickly taking her seat.

Sarah looked up at The King who now had his back turned to her. The music started and he began tapping his boot in time with the guitar and piano. Suddenly he turned sharply and started to sing:

Lord almighty,

I feel my temperature risin'.

Higher and higher,

It's burning through to my soul.

Sarah stared as his hips started to move. Much of the female populace in the bar was staring at the same thing.

Your kisses lift me higher

Like the sweet song of a choir.

You light my morning sky

With burnin' love.

The temperature in the room seemed to be rising and Sarah felt her cheeks go red as he turned to look at her. He was almost too handsome. Hell, anything that handsome couldn't be human! Not to mention those hips! My god! Those things seem to have a mind of their own! Sarah thought to herself.

It's coming closer

The flames are now lickin' my body.

Won't you help me?

I feel like I'm slippin' away.

It's hard to breathe,

My chest is a-heavin'.

Lord have mercy,

I'm burnin' a hole where I lay.

The last chorus seemed to pass swiftly and soon everyone was on their feet standing. Sarah now realized why so many people came to see this man. The King allowed a minute for his fans to whistle and clap before another song started. This one was a newer one. The first few strains of the guitar met Sarah's ear and she frowned, it was a Katy Perry song! With his deep voice, she didn't see how he was going to do this one. But then he started to sing, his eyes roamed the room and settled on her and her stomach jumped into her throat. The lyrics had been slightly modified.

I think you're pretty without any make-up on.

I think you're funny when you tell the punch line wrong.

I know you get me, so I let my walls come down, down.

Before you met me, I was a wreck

But things were kinda heavy, you brought me to life

Now every February you'll be my valentine, valentine

It was almost like he was singing the song to her. He moved across the stage with feline grace, a light following him, but his eyes never left hers. The smoldering look behind them was clear, even from halfway across the bar.

You make me feel like I'm livin' a teenage dream

The way you turn me on, I can't sleep

Let's runaway and don't ever look back

Don't ever look back.

The way his deep voice fit with the music almost made Sarah forget the original singer was a woman. It just sounded so much better coming from him, but then again, Sarah couldn't imagine a song at the moment, that wouldn't sound better coming from him.

I'ma get your heart racing in my skin-tight jeans

Be your teenage dream tonight.

Let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans

Be your teenage dream tonight.

Sarah blushed at the implications of the lyrics and looked down. When she hazarded a glance back up, he was still staring at her. The song had ended and The King was now looking around the audience. So many women (and Sarah even saw a group of men) were bobbing up and down, their hands in the air begging to be chosen by this god of a man. The King smiled and made his way off of the stage into the crowd. He made a show of looking around before coming to a standstill in front of Sarah, his hand held out to her. She stared up into his face for a moment before accepting the hand.

There were cheers and groans as they made their way back up to the stage. He led her like a proper gentleman and handed her a microphone once they'd made it to the spotlight. Sarah put a hand over the microphone, "What are we singing?" she asked.

The King simply pointed to the little TV where the title screen for Lady Antebellum's Lookin' for a Good Time was showing. Sarah nodded; at least it was a song she knew. The king started:

"Hey whatcha drinkin' baby?" The intro music followed this.

"Girl you're beautiful,

You're 'bout near perfect.

But I bet somebody's already told you that.

Name your poison, name your passion,

Cuz a boy like me just couldn't help but ask."

Sarah saw her lines come up, "Keep on talkin' to me baby, I'm hanging on your everyword.

Keep those drinks a comin' maybe, we'll both get what we deserve."

Then together, "How 'bout baby we make a promise

And not promise anything more than one night.

Complicated situations only get worse in the mornin' light.

Hey I'm just lookin' for a good time."

They continued singing; The King smiling at her the entire time, almost causing her to miss her next cue for them to sing together:

"I sure love this conversation,

The band is good, the music's loud.

Would you get the wrong impression

If I called us a cab right now?"

They finished the last minute of the song, Sarah trying not to take the lyrics about doing a one-night-stand personal, but it was very hard to do so with an extremely handsome man singing directly to you, looking like he meant every word. When the last note had been played, the crowd clapped and Sarah hastily put the microphone down and rushed back to her table. "Oh my god, Sarah! I didn't know you could sing so well?" Rachel exclaimed once her friend had sat down.

"Yeah, well lets finish this drink and go shall we?" Sarah suggested. She really was not sure about The King. He seemed so familiar, and yet…

"Can I buy you another drink?" a deep accented voice broke through her thoughts.

Sarah looked up to find The King smiling down at her. Her eyes traveled over his body then snapped back up to his face, which clearly showed he knew she'd been checking him out. Sarah blushed and looked down. "Um, I've already got one."

"Hmm, yes it appears so, but it looks like it's nearly gone," he replied.

Sarah glanced at her glass to find that it was indeed nearly empty. She couldn't remember drinking that much, but figured she must have while she watched The King sing his first two songs. "Oh…"

"So, I repeat, may I buy you a drink?"

Sarah glanced back up at him then over to Rachel who was biting her lower lip in anticipation. "Sure…"

"Another Mojito then?"

"That sounds fine."

He smiled at her then turned and walked to the bar. Rachel leaned over toward Sarah, "Hey, I'm gonna go check out those guys on the other side of the bar."

"Why? I'm pretty sure they're gay."

"Yeah, but Mr. The King wants some alone time with you."

Sarah stared at her friend. "How do you know?
Rachel chuckled, "You'd have to be blind to not know."

Sarah blushed as Rachel rose and moved to the other side of the bar toward the group of men who'd wanted to join The King on stage earlier. Not a minute later, said King returned to sit in Rachel's seat, setting down Sarah's Mojito next to his own Long Island Ice Tea. "Thank you for singing with me," he started the conversation.

Sarah fiddled with a napkin, "No problem, it was fun."

"I haven't seen you here before."

"No, tonight was my first night. My friend Rachel brought me here for my birthday."

"It's your birthday then?"

"Yes, my twenty sixth in fact."

"My, aren't we getting up there in years?" he joked.

Sarah glanced over at him to see a large smile on his face. "You don't look so young either," she retorted.

"And just how old do you think I am?"

Sarah considered him, looking intensely at his face before answering. "I'd say around thirty or so." He scoffed. "What?" she asked confused.

"I do thank you for the compliment, my dear, but I'm afraid I'm a bit older than that."

"Oh really? And just how old are you?"

"Don't you know you never ask a man his age?" he smirked.

"I thought that was a lady…"

"Mmm, perhaps that was it. So would you like to get some fresh air? It's getting a bit stuffy down here." Sarah gave him a suspicious look. "I promise we'll stay just outside the pub."

"I guess," she replied rising from the table, Mojito in hand.

The King grabbed her other hand and led her through the crowd, up the stairs, and out into the cool night air. He stopped by the door and set his drink down on the windowsill. Sarah mimicked him and leaned back against the brick wall, still warm from the day's heat. "So how old are you?" Sarah asked, glancing over at the man beside her.

"Six hundred twenty-eight years old."

She playfully hit his arm, "Come on!"

He looked over at her, his face serious. Sarah's brow furrowed in confusion and she pushed herself off the wall to face him properly. "What do you mean?"

He remained silent, simply waiting for something, what Sarah didn't know. She stared at him in the dim light of the streetlamp and her eyes grew large, as he seemed to change before her. His hair grew wilder, his face was more angular, and his eyebrows swooped up at the ends. Markings appeared around his eyes as well, a dark triangular shape that went from the corner of his eye to almost touching the end of the swooping eyebrow. Sarah backed away a couple of steps. "Who are you?" her voice trembled.

"Do you not know, my dear Sarah? Have you completely forgotten about me?" his voice was soft and even, but his eyes alluded to the hurt he felt inside.

Sarah studied him intensely, her eyes roving over his alien features until she got to the pendent that had appeared on his chest, nestled in the V of his shirt. The crescent shape drew her eye, along with the symbol in the middle; it was almost like a double symbol of eternity, two figure eights lain on their side, one slightly higher than the other. Her eyes widened and shot back up to his now mismatched eyes, one pupil larger than the other. "You're… him," she stuttered, echoing her proclamation from the past.

A small smile flitted across his thin lips. "Who, my dear?"

"The – the Goblin King… What are you doing here?"

"I can't enjoy myself at a karaoke bar?" he asked crossing his arms.

"No… I mean, of course you can, but…" she trailed off.

"But what, Sarah?"

"But why here?"

The corner of his mouth twitched, "Because you're here."

"What?"

"Because you're here, because I have no power over you, but you have all the power over me. Because I can't stay away."

"You… those things you said… when I won… I didn't hear them before, but…"

"Do you hear me now, Sarah?" his eyes pleaded with her.

"I – I do." He waited for her to continue, prayed for her to continue, but she merely continued to stare at him. He could see her mind working behind her eyes, the way her brow furrowed, how her eyes softened and glanced away. "I don't know what to say," she commented meekly.

"Then don't say anything," he whispered moving closer to her. "Let me do the talking."

He advanced on her until they were only inches apart. His eyes never left hers; her chest heaved as heat coursed through her body when his hand touched her arm. She saw his face lower towards hers and the thought that she should turn away crossed her mind, but the order never left her brain. His lips brushed across hers; gently pressing down as though he was afraid he would break her. His hand on her arm tightened and his other hand moved to cradle the back of her head. Sarah was mesmerized by him for a moment before she started to respond, her free hand moved up his side to rest on his shoulder and her other arm moved so she was holding hands with him.

She tugged on him to bring him closer, his body not quite touching hers, but she could feel the heat radiating off of him. He broke away for a moment, drawing in a deep breath despite her protesting moan. "Sarah…" he murmured, a broad grin on his face as it swooped back down to placate her need with a quick, but no less intense kiss.

"I hear you Jareth, I can hear you now," she said, her hooded eyes gazing up into his matching ones.

"I'm glad," he replied smiling down at her.

o O o O o O o

And here's one-shot number three in the one hundred themes challenge. (To see the full list of themes check out jdbfangirlharem over on yahoo groups.) I thank you for reading and request you leave a review with your thoughts. Reviews are much appreciated and may be rewarded with cyber cookies (since I am too poor to ship actual cookies to all my readers… )

Labyrinth (c) Henson, Froud, & Lucas

Burning Love (c) Elvis Presley

Teenage Dream (c) Katy Perry

Lookin' For a Good Time (c) Lady Antebellum