a/n: I know, I need more ideas for this story...

Nightmares

I bolt upright in bed, breathing hard. The horrifying images that tortured me behind my eyelids now dance before me in the darkness, so I hurriedly jump up and hit the light switch. Immediately, the room is flooded with the warm light of the light bulb. The ceiling fan also begins to turn, helping to cool my overheated body.

Do you ever have those sort of nightmares? Where it seems as though every frightening image you've seen in the past, whether it be on TV or on a movie or you read it in a book, combines with every childhood nightmare you had and comes back to haunt you? These are the kinds of nightmares that cause you to shake slightly as you go to sleep, burying yourself in the covers with the hope that maybe the bad dreams can't find you if you cover your head with the blankets. You thrash and moan and turn in your sleep, and wake up sweaty because of the fear that is rushing through you.

This is what I am in the process of recovering from. I lean against the wall, running my hand through my hair. It's damp. I'm wide awake, due to the adrenaline that has yet to leave my system, but at the same time weary.

The nightmares are getting worse.

Sighing, I lean back against the cool wall and dare to close my eyes.

"Icho, what in heaven's name –?"

My eyes fly open and I see Jareth standing before me, clothed only in loose, knee-length breeches. He looks about as surprised as I am.

"Jareth, what are you doing here?" I demand, not bothering to speak softly. My parents are out of town; I'm alone in the house. "And why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Not that I'm exactly complaining…

"You woke me," he says, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. "What exactly did you summon me for at such an hour?"

"But…I didn't summon you…"

Both of us are extremely confused. My room is on the smallish side, so I have to scoot around Jareth to sit on the bed. As he turns to let me through, he catches sight of the clock on my stereo.

"Icho," he asks me, "Why on earth are you awake at this hour?"

I bite my lip. I guess I should tell the truth. "Nightmares."

He's concerned. "About what?"

Now, as a lot of people who know me will tell you, I'm not much of a talker when I'm tired. And I'm often grumpy when not having gotten enough sleep. So it's really not my fault for being short-fused with Jareth. After all, he was the one intruding here.

"It was probably about you," I say, scowling at him. "I was probably screaming at you in my dream and you mistook it for me summoning you."

Most people would be hurt by this, but the goblin king is only curious. "Why would you be so angry with me?"

"You have to ask?"

"Quite honestly, Icho, I don't understand this at all. I mean I can understand you being perturbed that I've appeared here against your wishes, but it was you who summoned me, whether you were conscious or not. What have I done to deserve your venom?"

I can see he's sincerely asking, so I sigh and turn to face another direction. "You left me," I say. "Like, after you kissed me, you just left. The last time I saw you was like forever ago. At the car wash. So what did you just take off after you got what you wanted? Why is it that every man in my life just wants to take advantage of me?" A tear falls from my eye. I wipe it away, frustrated, hoping Jareth didn't see it.

He comes and sits on the bed with me, too close. I stiffen, feeling the heat radiate from his bare (and muscular) torso. He doesn't notice my reaction to his closeness. Instead he gazes into my eyes, the blue and brown orbs still concerned.

"Tell me what your nightmare was about," he implores.

Thinking back, I instinctively pull the covers around myself securely. It's a warm summer night, but the safety of being covered overrules the comfort of coolness.

Jareth sees this, and he furrows his eyebrows. "It's been nearly two and a half years," he says, "You were sixteen then, you're eighteen now. You're still having nightmares about those men?"

He's referring to two escaped convicts that had tried to rape and murder me when I stumbled upon their hiding place when I was sixteen. Another tear falls from my eye as I nod.

"Have you…talked to anyone about that experience?"

I frown at him. "Well, my parents wanted me to go to counseling, but I wouldn't let them send me," I say. "I'd lied enough to the police about the events of that day, I didn't want to lie to a shrink. Besides, they can only help you if you tell them the truth. They'd lock me up if I told them anything about you."

He can't argue with that. "You could have talked to me," he says, "If you were overly traumatized or had nightmares or some such."

"You?" I scoff. "Jareth, you've got this break-the-car-wash-to-get-a-kiss-and-then-take-off-and-don't-come-back thing going on. Why would I want to talk to someone who's going to kiss and leave?"

He takes my face in his hands. "Icho," he says seriously. "You know that I would never let anyone ever hurt you. And if I've hurt you, well then I don't deserve to be here right now."

"Bit late for that," I sniff, and then stifle a yawn.

"You need to go back to sleep," Jareth says, and moves away from me. "You're exhausted."

I glance at the clock. "Probably just have the same nightmare again," I mutter bitterly.

The goblin king scoots over again and puts his arms around me. He's so warm. "Would you like me to stay and comfort you?"

"Ew, no thanks," I say, pushing him away. "Already had enough of you taking advantage of me. Already had enough of everyone taking advantage of me. It's gonna happen in my dreams again, no point in having it occur in real life."

Still, the tears threaten to return as Jareth moves away. His face is unreadable.

"Well," he says, "I guess I should be going then."

Shrinking away from the thought of having to face the rest of the night alone, I gather myself. "Jareth, wait."

He turns to me, raising an eyebrow.

I look down, ashamed. "I mean, it's just that my parents are out and…and well, you're not fully clothed and…"

"Am I?"

I look up. Jareth now has a flowing white poet shirt on over his breeches. I guess there is something in my face that speaks of my fear of the nightmare returning, for his face softens and he comes back to the bedside.

"Just…don't wanna be alone," I mumble.

Without speaking, the goblin king gathers me into his arms and we both curl up in the bed. His body is curved protectively around mine so that I can feel him breathing behind me. He kisses my hair once.

"Sleep, my dear Icho," he breathes.

Immediately, peace floods me and the softest clouds surround me. I barely notice that Jareth has turned off the lights as I drift into a peaceful and dreamless sleep.