Checked for continuity, grammar, and spelling: May 2, 2011.

Chapter Eight: Anal-Retentive Librarians

Throwing her pencil down on the table, Sarah sighed. She had been in the University Library for hours surrounding herself with piles of books, stacks of note cards, and scattered papers. All week she had been working on the second draft of her Senior thesis, which meant rereading, backtracking, double-checking source material, and, in some cases, complete section revision.

Finally she had finished. And not a moment too soon, she thought. If I had to do one more page I think my head would have exploded. It had been slow going, she had been having difficulties focusing. Now it was time to let it rest for a week or two, and then she would type up the new draft, print it out, and start the process all over again. At this point, she had most of her content. All that was left was ironing out the kinks, though some kinks would likely end up rather large. Such was the way of things.

She stretched her arms over her head, arching her back, before leaning back in her chair. Then she pulled her hair out of its tight ponytail, tossing the scrunchee into her bag on the floor. As she massaged her scalp with her left hand, she flexed her right and tried to get the feeling back into her fingers.

Finally, she looked at her watch and realized the Library was to close in a half hour. I'd better put these books back so they are around for the next victim. Still, she took her time putting her things away, keeping everything organized. Then she stacked the books she had not checked out. In the process, her long hair became statically charged and she searched her pockets for her scrunchee to pull it back again before she realized it was now at the bottom of her bag underneath all of her things. Rather than digging it out again, she twisted her hair into a lose knot and fixed it in place with a pencil. There were still stray hairs wisping all over, but at least it was out of the way and not glued to her face. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she gathered the stack of books in her arms and headed for the shelves.

Thankfully, they were all from the same section so she would not have to run all over the place. She supposed she should let the Library staff take care of it, but they never put things away in a timely manner. She knew that, if she left it to them, should she need the books again in a few weeks they would not be found until after the paper was due.

As she balanced the stack in one arm and tried reshelving them with one hand, she felt the whole lot slipping. Just before they toppled to the ground, she managed to catch all but one, the top book sliding to the floor with a loud "thud."

"Shhh!" came the comment from the Librarian, whose desk was in full view of the aisle in which Sarah stood. Sarah rolled her eyes. While she understood and agreed with the policy for quiet, that woman would harp on you if you sneezed, whether out of illness or from the dust gathering on Moby Dick. She left the book on the floor until she finished with what was in her arms, then, shifting her bag, she turned back to where she had dropped it and froze.

Jareth leaned against the column in the middle of the aisle, holding out to Sarah the book she had dropped. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she said nothing. She simply stared at him in silence, not entirely sure what to do or to say. He stared back, taking advantage of the opportunity to observe her in close quarters rather than from a crystal and in a lit room rather than a dim foyer of a theatre.

Bereft of stage make-up, of make-up of any kind in fact, there was no one but Sarah in front of him. No character from a play, just Sarah. She looked tired; beginnings of dark circles were forming under her eyes. A pen was tucked behind one ear. She was clutching the strap of her bag so tightly her knuckles were turning white. The loose knot at the back of her head was falling away from the pencil holding it there and fly-aways framed her face. She looked slightly insecure, marginally worried, and vulnerable. The picture she presented made him want to smile, but he repressed the desire and continued to school his expression toward blankness. Instead, he pushed himself off of the column and took a step toward her. Reaching out with a gloved hand, he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Though she did not move, her eyes widened even more.

Finally, he spoke: "Are you going to blink?" Even though he whispered, Sarah could hear the sultry undertones of his voice.

After nine years and everything he's done, that is the first thing he says? she thought, preparing to give him a piece of her mind. "Are you going to disappear if I do?"

The shocked look on her face told Jareth that was not what she intended to say. Regardless, it made him wince. "No."

"Oh." She was not sure how to respond to the pained expression that flickered over his features. She still did not blink, continuing to stare at him.

This time, he did not bother to contain his smile. "Hello, Sarah."

"Hello." He held the book out to her once more and her gaze dropped to it. "Oh. Um. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She took the book, returning her gaze to his face. After another long moment she took a deep breath and slowly turned to the shelf. He will be gone again, she thought as she found the spot belonging to the book. I will turn around and he will be gone, confirming that I am simply working too hard and am hallucinating someone from a dream. Yeah. That's it. Turning, she found him still there, regarding her with a slightly bemused and knowing expression. They stood there in silence again, and then it clicked at whom, exactly, she was looking.

Jareth noticed her eyes suddenly beginning to smolder with a familiar, though not disturbing, anger. "You..." she began.

"Shhhhh!" came the reprimand from the Librarian.

Sarah realized she had inadvertently spoken at a normal level. Blushing furiously, she glared at Jareth whose expression had not changed. "You," she began again, whispering this time, "have some nerve coming here. You take my brother, make me go on a ridiculous quest, tell me that the whole thing was what I wanted, and mess with my mind and make me believe the whole thing was a dream. Then, after nine years of nothing, you shower me with the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen and leave them mysteriously unsigned, show up and let me see you and figure out it was you, and then you leave again without so much as a 'hello' or 'how've you been'. And then, after another month and a half of more nothing, you just waltz in, start picking up after me, and the first thing you say has to do with whether or not I blink." Sarah realized the piece of mind being delivered was not making much sense and decided to change tactics. "What are you doing here anyway? Here, at the University Library, of all places?"

Infuriatingly to Sarah, Jareth's smile grew. "I am here because it is where you are. And I have come to ask if you would do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner."

Her jaw dropped and she resorted to staring at him again. "You what?" she finally said, completely incredulous.

"SHHHHH!"

Rolling her eyes, she pushed her way past Jareth with a sigh. At the end of the aisle, she turned to find him looking after her, once again expressionless. She gave him an impatient look and motioned for him to follow her, then stalked off. Raising an eyebrow, he did so as she wound through the shelves to a wall with doors reading 'Listening Rooms'. After peeking in some of the windows, she found one that was empty and threw open the door. He entered close behind her, closing the door gently and leaning up against it. He watched as she struggled to get untangled from her bag and dump it on the chair with a thud. She turned and looked at him expectantly. He raised his eyebrow again.

"How does he do that?" she muttered.

"How do I do what?" he asked quietly.

Always look completely in control of every situation, as though nothing can ever break through that haughty exterior. Make me feel like an immature, awkward fourteen-year-old with one look. "Oh, never mind," she waved her hand, dismissive and frustrated. "Are you saying that you came all the way here just to ask me out on a d- ask me to dinner?"

"Yes." He paused. "Well, that and to... apologize."

His slight struggle over the last word broke through her surprise, and she realized with chagrin that she was staring at him slack jawed yet again. "Apologize?"

"Yes," he said again. Then he sighed and looked away. "I should not have... left the way I did that night at the theatre. I did not come all the way there simply to leave without speaking to you."

The acknowledgment dissipated most of the anger she had pent up for the last month and a half. Desperately, she tried to hold on to what was left simply because without it everything got too confusing. "So why did you, then?"

"I thought at the last second that it might have been a mistake. That it was too soon and you were not ready. And I... did not know what else to do at that point other than leave."

"What do you mean you thought I was not ready? Not ready for what? Am I now?"

"For a confrontation." He turned his eyes back to hers, holding her gaze intently and slowly walking toward her. "After I left and had time to think I realized my leaving had as much to do with myself not being ready for this as it had to do with you. Are you now? Am I? Perhaps. Does it even matter?" He stopped just over a foot away from her and shrugged casually, not one breaking eye contact. "It is too late to matter. Time grows short, Sarah. There is little enough of it to worry over whether or not we are ready for this. For here I am. And here you are."

Hah, she thought, so this isn't as easy for you as you act! For some reason, that thought was of little comfort. "Oh," was all she could think to say. "Well... um... I accept your apology." She got the feeling that he was extremely relieved. "But," she hesitated briefly, "what about... the whole thing with Toby?"

Jareth's eyes narrowed. "What about it? You did wish him away, Sarah."

"Yes, I know. I mean... what about... Why did you make me forget it really happened?" she rushed out.

He let out a short, slightly bitter laugh. "Those are the rules."

"Oh." She blinked.

She was about to say something else when the door was jerked open. Standing in the doorway was the Librarian. She sniffed at their obvious using of the room for purposes other than listening to Library media. "The Library is closing. You two will have to leave." Before either of them could respond, she sniffed again and swept away. Jareth stared in disbelief at the slowly closing door.

Sarah grinned at him as she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulders again. "Come on. We had better leave before she has to ask us again. That won't be pretty, trust me."

"I see," he said dryly. They walked side by side in silence, leaving the Library. Outside, dusk had fallen. They were the last ones to have left; no other students could be seen wandering this part of campus.

"You still haven't answered my question, Sarah." Jareth stared ahead as he spoke.

Startled out of her thoughts, Sarah did not know what he meant. "What question?"

"Would you like to have dinner with me?" he asked again with another grin.

"Oh right. When?"

"Tomorrow night, if you are free."

"I..." Her insecurity suddenly got the better of her and she blurted out, "Why?"

He stopped short and looked at her. "Why? Because I would like to see you again, to speak with you, to enjoy your company."

"Well, yes of course. I mean, no. I mean," she shook her head, flustered. "I mean why are you asking me? Surely there is someone else who-"

He interrupted her, "No one else. You are who I wish to be with, Sarah. Had I wanted the company of another, I would not have asked you."

"But-"

He interrupted her again, "It should be reason enough, should it not? If you do not wish to go, you can just-"

"No, no," she interrupted him this time. "I'd like that. It'd be nice. To have dinner with you would be nice." She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and the pen went flying. Reaching out a hand, Jareth caught it and held it out to her. She blushed, taking the pen. "Thanks."

"Of course. Until tomorrow then?"

"Alright - Oh. Where are we going?"

"A small restaurant called Clancy's."

"Ok." She smiled at him. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He made a slight bow then turned to walk away. A sudden thought occurred to Sarah. "Jareth?"

He turned again. "Yes?"

"Do you have a car?"

There was that knowing grin again. "No."

"Well, it'd be a bit of a walk and since you can't drive and I can't, well, fly... should we meet there?"

"If you like."

"Right. What time?"

And again. He really needs to stop doing that. "Seven."

"Ok. See you." She gave a small wave.

Looking around, Jareth saw that no one was around. "Until tomorrow," he said again, meeting her eyes once more. In a brief flurry, he was no longer standing in front of her. An owl swooped around her head once before flying off into the distance. She watched it, mesmerized, until it vanished.

Turning down the path, she started walking back to her dorm. Abruptly, she stopped and slapped her forehead. "I did not just agree to go out on a date with the Goblin King, did I?"

Yep, you sure did.

She groaned. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah," she muttered. "What are you thinking?"

Obviously you aren't.

"Obviously." She sighed and started walking again. "Well, I guess at least this way you can try to figure out what he is up to, what game he is playing this time."

What if he isn't playing a game?

"What do you mean, what if he isn't? Of course he is. He's the Goblin King."

And you are suddenly an expert on the Goblin King?

"Argh. I thought you were going to stop talking to yourself. Go find Aggie and talk to her instead." Checking the time, she started jogging back to her dorm thinking if she hurried, she find her friend and they could head for the Dining Room before it closed for the night.