Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted things I am writing about. Sorry for the delay! for whatever reason this chapter was hard to write. Thanks for sticking with me :D please review if you can it makes me super happy!
Chapter 9: You got your mother in a whirl
Sarah's intense focus on Francis was immediately broken when she got another text notification, "If you keep on making excuses you won't get to visit the Labyrinth and your friend Boggle"
Although she was staring down at her phone, she could still feel the heated gaze of Francis on her like a fire. Sarah couldn't shake the thought that maybe he was just another elaborate disguise by Jareth. It seemed possible. Well there was a quick and easy to test that theory. She wrote out a response to Jareth's message,"His name is Hoggle. And I will play again only if you tell me who Francis Bonhomme is."
Her finger hovered over 'Send' but before pressing, she looked up at Francis. He was a picture of boredom lounging in a chair across the room, holding a coffee in one hand and propping his head with the other. Lounging like that, he looked like a model posing for a GQ centerfold, or, Sarah swallowed back a lump in her throat, like a king posing for a portrait. His piercing blue eyes were still staring right at her. Without looking down at her phone, Sarah hit the 'Send' button. Francis's gaze was unrelenting. But even under its growing intensity, Sarah found that she didn't have to try too hard to stare back at his alluring face. Gorgeous eyes. Mouth-watering cheekbones… She wondered what he could see in her own face that could hold his interest for this long. Sarah forced back an automatic urge to check her face for remnants of food or unblended make up—she couldn't let Francis out of her sights for this experiment to work. The seconds continued to tick by but neither of them looked away. It seemed as though their bizarre staring contest would last forever. Finally, after some indeterminate amount of time, Sarah felt her phone vibrate.
Relieved, she darted a glance at her phone to check Jareth's response, "He's someone you need to avoid."
Well that theory didn't last long. Francis didn't touch a phone at all in the time her text and Jareth's response. So unless 'My King' was telepathically texting her, Francis and Jareth were two different people. But maybe Goblin Kings were telepathic? Good God she hoped not. If Jareth knew how often Sarah imagined the two of them trapped alone in a cold oubliette together and the only way for them to stay warm would be to generate ample body heat… Sarah trembled. If he ever found out about those fantasies, she would be forced to kill him just to avoid the embarrassment. Forcing her thoughts to get back on stable footing, Sarah also realized that if her costar and the Goblin King were the same people—it couldn't explain why Jareth was so adamant that she stay away from Francis. None of it made any sense. What was between those two?
She texted Jareth,"Why should I avoid Francis?"
"Because I say so." was Jareth's immediate reply. Sarah rolled her eyes. Typical Jareth obtuseness.
"What are you jealous or something?" she texted back.
"This conversation is beginning to bore me. Are you going to play our game or not Sarah?" Jareth demanded.
Sarah was amazed at how someone who was definitely older than her—his age was another subject she would have to do some sleuthing on—could act like such a spoiled child.
"Sarah!" Sarah's head whipped towards the stage. Charles was waving at her, trying to get her attention. Ron was gone—Francis was there instead, grinning at her obvious state of distraction. Charles continued calling her and waving his hands, "Sarah I need you and Francis to run through what we worked on yesterday if you please."
"Of course Charles I'll be right there," Sarah darted her glance back to the director and away from her mysterious costar. She stood up while hurriedly typing out one final message.
"I'll play later gotta work now" she sent it then tucked her phone into her back-pocket and headed for the stage.
Some time later, they finished rehearsals—and a bit ahead of schedule this time. Her interaction with Francis completely charmed Charles. The tubby man couldn't stop blubbering over the chemistry of his two leads in between runs, but Sarah found that their chemistry was merely routine to her now. It wasn't as electric as it had been in their previous rehearsals. When Francis whispered ardent proposals of love to her now, all Sarah could hear were the frivolous depictions of something so obviously scripted and unreal. When compared to her steamy encounters with Jareth, these so-called romantic scenes with Francis were nothing more than play-acting. Sarah was now absolutely certain that Francis wasn't Jareth. Jareth's mere presence was more electrifying than these tepid love scenes. Sarah headed for the back stage where Francis was putting on his jacket. She was starting to regret accepting Francis's invitation to go out, but it couldn't be helped. At least he had promised her answers. Francis smiled at her as she approached, blissfully unaware of her newfound lack of enthusiasm.
"I hope you like Fusion," he said a little excitedly. Before Sarah could answer, she felt a repetitive buzz coming from her left butt pocket.
"Hang on, someones calling" she said to Francis as she fumbled for her phone. When she looked at the display she was surprised to see that it was her mother.
"Sorry I gotta take this its my mom." She explained to Francis. He silently acquiesced as Sarah hurriedly exited the stage into the hallway to get some privacy.
"Hello mom?" she asked. But it wasn't her mother's voice that greeted her back.
"Um no. Sarah Williams? This is your mother's agent Eddie." Sarah's face fell.
"Oh um, right, Eddie. Hi. Is, uh, is something wrong? Why are you calling me from my mother's phone?" Sarah paced the hallway feeling a little agitated. Why was her mother's agent calling her out of the blue?
"Oh nothing's wrong Sarah, this is actually my phone that I'm calling from. You probably thought it was Linda since she always uses my phone to call you. I guess that awful blackberry of hers is for business contacts only." He chuckled in good humor not knowing his words stung Sarah. It's not very amusing to find out that a stranger has been in your phonebook as 'mom' for years.
"Anyways," Eddie continued when Sarah didn't respond, "Linda and I were hoping you could join us for dinner tonight at her apartment. Say around nine? Can you make it?"
"Umm yeah, sure I can make it," Sarah said completely forgetting Francis for the moment, "What's the occasion?"
"Oh you know just want to finally get to know by biggest client's daughter! Especially now that she's entering the business," Eddie chuckled conspiratorially, "Thought you could use some friendly advice from two old pros like your mum and me."
"Oh sounds great, yes I would," Sarah said, forcing herself to mimic his friendly manner. She was starting to feel incredibly stressed all of a sudden.
"Great! You know the place?" Eddie asked.
"Mm-hmm" Sarah answered. She should, it was her original plan to stay there before her mom flaked out.
"Good good! We'll see you at nine!" Then he was gone before Sarah could even say good bye.
She lowered her phone and sighed. This night was getting too complicated. She turned and headed backstage again to go cancel drinks with Francis. He was standing in the same place as when she left, but he looked much more somber now, standing there with his hands in his pockets and unblinking eyes. Sarah hesitated before speaking. It looked almost as if he knew what she was about to say—which only made it worse for her.
"I'm really sorry but I have to go see my mom tonight, can we do drinks another time?" she asked sweetly.
"Of course. Your mother is more important than drinks," he said flatly. Sarah wasn't sure if he was upset or not. "I'm sure you two need to talk." He continued.
Sarah looked at him, a bit shocked by his knowing response before she remembered that she had told him about her housing predicament with her mother. "We'll get drinks tomorrow." He stated then began to walk away.
"Thanks for understanding," Sarah said as he disappeared out the door. She felt a little guilty flaking on him and sad that she would have to wait for his answers. He was definitely acting weird, would he even want to answer her questions now? Sarah hoped she hadn't upset him too much. Then she began to worry about this strange invite to her mother's place for dinner. It was odd timing. She hadn't talked to her mom since moving to London. Could this be some kind of apology dinner for rejecting Sarah's request to live with her? Sarah took a deep breath then checked her watch. It was eight o'clock now. Sarah pocketed her phone then took off in the direction of home. If she were to take a cab to her mom's flat, she had just enough time to stop off at her place really quick to change into something more formal than jeans and a t-shirt.
It wasn't until Sarah was sitting in a cab in her newest TopShop dress and shoes on the way to Kensington when she remembered Jareth and her promise to play with him. Happy for the distraction from her growing feelings of unease, Sarah pulled out her phone and challenged Jareth to a new round of Words with Friends. Determined to keep it rated G this time, Sarah played PACKET even though she could have played PACKAGE for more points. It was safer to sacrifice points right now since she wasn't sure she could mentally handle more suggestive word-sex with him in her current state. He countered her move a couple minutes later with SUBMIT. Well so much for keeping it clean. Sarah couldn't contain an excited giggle even though she should have been annoyed that Jareth managed to thwart her attempt to be decent and while getting more points than her in the process. Sarah froze when a thought hit her, she could easily beat him and keep it clean if she just cheated. Well, not exactly cheat. She could just get a little help. From the internet. After a quick internet search, Sarah was able to play ZING for a whopping 102 points. But no more than a minute later Jareth had thwarted her yet again by playing KAJEPUTS, which is apparently a word, for an insane 112 points. "That's it he's definitely cheating," Sarah declared.
"What's that luv?" the driver asked turning down his radio.
"Oh sorry just talking to myself," Sarah replied, realizing that she wasn't alone. The entire ride she was looking up some cheat to beat Jareth's latest cheat. By the time the cab had pulled up to her mother's pristine white, three-story building, their game was looking like an encyclopedia. They were both obviously breaking the rules at this point but Sarah still found it incredibly fun for some reason. She got out of the car, thanked and paid the cabbie then she passed through the gated garden. When she reached the door, she steeled herself for a moment before ringing the doorbell. Sarah quickly shoved a last-minute mint into her mouth as the door opened to reveal, not her mother, but a small barrel-chested man with a russet, slightly greying, hairstyle. He was wearing an ill-fitting long t-shirt and tight black pants and tennis shoes that were all way too young for him.
"Sarah! Yes it must be you—my goodness, you could double for Linda! It's me Eddie!" he proclaimed, like some long-lost relative, then he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, "Mwah! Please do come in Linda just stepped out quickly to pick up a few refreshments." The lively man ushered Sarah into the obnoxiously adjacent room. She felt silly in her dress as she took another look at Eddie's norm core look.
"Sit, sit!" He shouted gesturing at a strange-looking apparatus that was apparently a sofa, "I'll get you some champagne. I'm afraid that's all Linda has handy." Eddie explained then left her alone in the empty reception room. It was stylishly minimalist to a fault. There were no pictures, no pillows, no personality, no life. All the space-age furniture looked incredibly uncomfortable. Looking around her, Sarah felt a little bit better that she ended up in her cozy flat with Masha and Melissa. After testing the couch and chairs to find that they were indeed as uncomfortable as they were stylish, she ended up just leaning up against the blank wall and pulling out her phone to check on her game with Jareth. He had put down MESSAGE. Sarah looked up her best next move which was GOX.
A minute later, Jareth messaged her, "I warn you Ms. Williams cheating is a punishable offense."
Sarah smiled as she messaged back a slightly cryptic, "I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm playing fairly."
How could he possibly know or prove if she was cheating? Besides she was almost certain he wasn't playing completely fair either. Especially when his last word was WAHINE. Nevertheless, she was worried about what he might possibly mean by punishment. She hoped he was being flirty and not serious as she looked to the internet to find what move to make next. She still had yet to make sure that Hoggle was safe from bog-submersion. Just as she was entering CALATHEA Eddie returned holding two glasses of champagne. Sarah put her phone away and took the glass he offered to her.
They made a silent cheers and sipped their champagnes.
"Mm good stuff!" Eddie declared smacking his lips. Sarah couldn't tell either way, but she was sure it was something very expensive.
"So tell me about you!" Eddie boomed, his voice bouncing off of the stark white walls.
Sarah made some small talk with Eddie to pass the time, telling him about her education, her audition, and the play. She hoped her mother would show up soon when she began to run out of interesting things to say.
"So you're engaged?" Sarah nearly choked on her champagne at Eddie's innocent inquiry. She realized a certain ruby ring was still lodged on her left ring finger. She kept forgetting about that stupid thing.
"Oh no no no. this was actually a gift from my mom," Sarah rubbed the ruby, somewhat torn as to whether she should take it off or not. It fit that finger so perfectly it probably wouldn't fit any of her other fingers as well. But she wasn't sure it was worth giving off the wrong impression to strangers on to her relationship status.
Her phone vibrated. That must be Jareth again. As nice as Eddie was, Sarah was getting a little bored just talking to him as they waited for her mom to join them. Her game with Jareth was much more interesting and satisfactory. Her phone buzzed again. Her hand was itching to check what he had sent her. Eddie must have noticed her impatience, "I'm going to call Linda, she must have gone to Cornwall for those refreshments."
He politely took Sarah's now-empty glass and headed for the kitchen area once more. Sarah smiled. At last! She was free to play with Jareth again. First she read his message, "If you can explain your knowledge of calatheas within the next thirty seconds, I'll give you a free turn." Sarah hurriedly searched the term and found out that calatheas were a tropical and popular houseplant. She quickly texted him "My favorite plant!"
But he rapidly responded, "Sorry Sarah you ran over the allotted time. You'll have to be quicker if you want to beat me."
"Ugh! Not fair!" Sarah shouted to herself. Just then she heard a strange clacking at the window near the kitchen door. Looking out she saw a familiar sight. It was a barn owl! "Jareth!" Sarah gasped nearly dropping her phone in astonishment. She had a brief moment of déjà vu as she stared at the flurry of dark feathers attacking the window. Sarah attacked the window latch but it was jammed. Could that be Jareth? Wasn't Jareth's owl-form lighter than that? This owl looked nearly black. When she finally managed to open the window the dark owl had disappeared. Instead, Sarah could make out an angry voice coming from the back garden. "Stop behaving like a child! Why else would you put 'Talk to Sarah about her contract' on the calendar?!" It was Eddie, and he sounded very upset, "If anyone is going to represent your daughter it should be me!" Was he talking to her mother? "OK fine, fine, I'm sorry I didn't check with you first." Sarah knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping but just as she was about to close the window she heard Eddie say a bit more calmly but still with some indignation, "What you can't bear your only daughter's presence for five minutes? She's been waiting for ages." Sarah felt like someone had just punched her in the gut. "Ok, I'm sorry. I'll make some excuse, I'll blame filming. That's what you usually do isn't it?"
Sarah closed the window then and took a deep breath. What did she just hear? Was her own mother avoiding her home just so she didn't have to see Sarah? When had their relationship deteriorated so much? Hearing Eddie approach the door next to her she hurried back to where he had left her. Struggling to maintain composure, Sarah made a convincing disappointed face when Eddie informed her that some emergency reshoot for her mom's tv show prevented Linda from joining them tonight.
By some miracle, Sarah managed to convincingly say "Aw that's too bad," without giving any sign of the suffering brewing deep inside her. Eddie continued speaking in an apologetic tone but Sarah wasn't really listening. He was probably saying something like her mother would call Sarah later, but Sarah knew that would never happen. She knew Eddie was lying. And she knew he was pitying her. That only made her feel worse. At that moment Sarah just wanted to get out of her stupid dress and she wanted to get out of that horrible sterile room and that horrible white flat.
"Then I should probably go now, I have an early rehearsal tomorrow." Sarah said, deadpan. She made her way for the front door as Eddie said behind her, "Shall I call you a cab?"
"No thank you I'm parked just outside," Sarah lied. But she wouldn't be able to keep her composure if she stayed in there any longer.
"Lovely to meet you, sorry for the mixup!" Eddie bear hugged her before she could get all the way out the door.
"No worries," Sarah mumbled into his shoulder, "Nice to meet you too." She broke free from his hug and rushed out into the night tears already streaking her face.
She was walking very briskly and trying to hold off the uncontrollable flow of tears with the sleeve of her dress. Not noticing where she was going, Sarah took the first right—right into a hardened chest.
"Might I ask where you are planning to go on your own at this time of night, and in such a sorry state my little calathea?"
Sorry to end in such a weird/depressing place this chap was getting too long. Fun stuff ahead though ;) which means I'll def update soon. This chapter title comes from Rebel Rebel XXX
