Chapter Nine: Ties of Love and Friendship

After the disaster that was dinner behind them, all the food put away and dishes cleaned, Arianna called her mother to say that she was spending the night at Mike's instead of heading home. The continuous fighting was taking a toll on her and all she wanted to do was sink into the obliviousness of sleep for a few hours instead of trudging all the way home.

Her mother had readily agreed, stating that she trusted Mike to be a gentleman and that Arianna was practically an adult, so she couldn't very well order her around anymore, anyway.

The underlying message/warning was crystal clear; she had free reign to do whatever she wanted, but she was expected to do the right thing and be careful. Arianna responded with an 'it's not Mike or me you should worry about' that probably had her mother's worry meter going haywire as she strongly considering coming over and making sure her child behaved in person.

For the one that was really pushing Arianna's buttons; both emotionally and morally, was Jareth and the way that he seemed to bring out the worst in her; she was already starting to feel bad for yelling at him over dinner. Now that she had time to look over her behavior earlier that night, she saw that he was right; she had been averting Mike's actions and getting on Jareth's case more often than her friend. Being rip roaring drunk or no, that kind of behavior for Arianna was simply inexcusable.

Falling backward onto her bed, Arianna tried to sort out, yet again, what she should do about Jareth and Mike, two of the most important people to her, one for far longer than the other.

First of all, she mentally kicked herself for not noticing earlier how Mike felt about her; not only could some of this trouble could've been avoided, she probably would've avoided hurting him so much every time she had complained about her boyfriend troubles to him.

Secondly, she had been way too easy with her kisses and caresses with Jareth, which probably explain why he had been so unexplainable with his emotions and how he felt about her. She needed to be more reserved and find out it he thought of her as a significant other or simply a lover; someone to help him, as her mother once put it, 'get his jollies off and put away for next time'.

Right now, Arianna wasn't really sure which one she wanted it to be, but she wished he would just make up his damn mind already…

Last, but certainly by no means least, was her new found ability as a Minida. She suspected that she had a latent talent for it before Jareth even showed up; she could tell sometimes what someone was going to say by the way their body moved before they spoke and everyone always told her she was the best at negotiating how to get out of trouble or cheer someone up, something she once took such pride in. That wasn't the problem here; the problem was what she was going to do about now, or what she could do about it now.

Supposing that Jareth's magic simply brought out what was lurking in her mind all along, Arianna was now struck with the thought of what would happen if he ever left her and went back to wherever he came from. The gift would probably disappear as soon as he did, and if she wanted to be true to her heart and herself, the thought of him leaving hurt a whole lot more than the thought of the loss of her newfound abilities.

Twisting over to her side, Arianna tried to calm her rapidly racing mind and get at least a few hours of sleep before she had to face another day of trying to follow her heart without breaking someone else's, but it wasn't co-operating and was racing from thought to thought, not giving her time to stop and study them for even a moment.

It finally stopped at a bitter memory that had happened only a few moments before, one which decided to clue her in, in the worst possible way, to how her 'best friend' and 'confidant' really felt about her.

-----0-----0-----0-----

"Hey, Ari, can I talk to you?" Mike asked hesitantly, speaking for the first time since the blow-up at dinner, catching Arianna as she made her way to her room. He hoped that she wouldn't flat out ignore his request or that Jareth wouldn't butt in. "Please? It'll only take a minute…"

Jareth, surprisingly, didn't growl, glare, or do any of his other posturing that usually followed an attempt by Mike to get Arianna alone. It was a shock and Mike would have grinned outright at his victory if Arianna hadn't looked after Jareth's retreating back like her favorite puppy just bit her.

"Yeah, sure," Arianna responded distractedly, still staring after Jareth's retreating form, "What do you want to talk about?"

Mike frowned in frustration, not really wanting to try to tell Arianna how he felt while she was distracted by the exit of a competitor for her affections. "Can you at least look at me when I talk to you?"

The surliness his voice took seemed to break Arianna out of her saddened stupor as she blinked a few times before turning to Mike with an apologetic smile before speaking. "I'm sorry, Mike, that was rude of me. What do you want to talk to me about?"

Mike knew that he should be mad at her for ignoring him so blatantly like that, but it was hard to summon up his anger when she looked at him like that. Sighing instead, he gestured that she follow him and made his way to a sitting room nearby.

It took a few minutes to get there and that gave Mike enough time to get suitably anxious about what the question he was about to ask his best friend, the that would probably change their relationship forever, even if-he prayed that she wouldn't-she refused his proposal.

Upon entering, Mike waited until Arianna had taken a seat before taking a seat on the table in front of her, uneasiness and nervousness making him rub his palms along the length of his jeans as he tried to smile comfortingly at her confused expression. "I'm not really sure where to start…"

"Start at the beginning," Arianna stated primly, grinning as her little quote electing a small, hesitant half-smile from Mike as well, "and when you get to the end, stop. See?"

"Well, here the start and end of it," Mike took a deep breath and closed his eyes, steadying himself for the rejection he was sure to get, but he needed to get this off his chest or he would explode.

"I love you, Ari."

"I love you too, Mike-"

Mike's eyes snapped open before Arianna's sentence was even finished and his face split into a wide grin as his heart leapt at the thought of his best friend feeling the same way he did. Still floating around the world on his high cloud, Mike only caught the end of her sentence.

"-you're one of my best friends… Mike? Are you alright?"

Mike smile faltered as he realized that Arianna thought that he meant that he loved her the way that one friend did another, the way they said they loved each other when saying good-bye, only with actual meaning on Mike's part.

Hanging his head, Mike sighed again before insisting, "No, Ari, I mean I love, love you, as in actual love."

Gazing at his lap, Mike missed the look of shock that crossed Arianna's face as her eyes widen as she looked at her 'best friend', the 'buddy' that just admitted that he loved her. He did, however, heard the little, slightly smothered, gasp of surprise that followed.

Well, this is going better than I thought. Mike thought surly, raising his head as he tried to salvage one of the biggest mistakes he made. At least she isn't storming out on me, saying I was just being her friend as an excuse…

Pushing the dark thoughts of the first and only secret he ever kept from Arianna in their long friendship away, he instead focused on the problem at hand; keeping Arianna's companionship, if not her love, for him intact.

-----0-----0-----0-----

Jareth was lying on his bed, twirling a crystal globe around his fingers, the motion was both calming and allowed him to clear his thoughts for a few minutes as he thought of the powerful emotion that now had him in it's deadly grip:

Jealousy.

It was that emotion that made him stomp off after dinner when Mike had requested that he have a moment with Arianna, it was that emotion that had him sulking on his bed for the past half hour, and it was that emotion that had him in such a quandary over the object in his hands that minute.

The crystal flowing across his knuckles in its soothing rhythm had a double purpose; it could be used as a viewing mirror and Jareth was having a very hard time keeping himself from using it to do just that and spy on the conversation that Arianna and Mike were having.

On the one hand, he could make sure that Mike could not try anything that his Arianna did not want to try, not that he didn't believe that she could handle herself, it was just the thought of it sicken him. It was only the warning of what would happen if Arianna would say and do to him if she found out he had spied on her and, knowing his passionate Minida, she would find out.

On the other hand, the thought of Mike, a healthy, red-blooded male with something on his mind more intimate than friendship, being alone in a room with his Arianna made him see red and also made him grip the crystal orb in his fist so tightly; that the sudden heat that flared from it almost burnt his hand and it was only his quick reaction time that saved his palm.

Tossing the orb in the air, where it hung as if it had been strung on an invisible string, Jareth shielded his eyes from the blinding light that was still emitting from it before the glow finally died down; allowing Jareth to finally be able to see what his crystal was trying to show him.

It was the interior of a small, darkened room lit by a flicker of candlelight that illuminated two seated figures talking in muted voices. Apparently, the crystal had picked up on his mutinous feelings and decided to show him what he so badly wanted to see without him even asking for it.

Watching as the two conversed, Jareth immediately felt guilty for thinking that his Arianna would allow Mike to try anything and the fact that he didn't trust her enough to allow her a moment alone with a friend that he was sure she had long before he had even entered her life.

Waving his hand in a sharp, cutting motion in front of him, the crystal's glow dimmed and went out as it dropped into his hand, filling Jareth's heart with the guilt of his doubt. It had taken him almost an hour of concentration to create that crystal and what was the first thing he decided to do with it??? Spy on his… lover? …friend? ...a sparing partner? Arianna was the simplest thing to call the female that drove him up the wall far more than Sa-

Shaking his head sharply, Jareth pulled his thoughts away from the ebony haired female that had thwarted him in his own kingdom. Not only was not fair to compare the two when they were nothing alike; he had sworn that, the instant she left his world, he would cease thinking about Sarah Hansen.

Falling onto his bed, Jareth closed his eyes and told himself that it was Mike he didn't trust and that his Arianna was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, it was just his possessive streak that made him want to storm to where they were talking, throw Arianna over his shoulder no matter what she or the brat said, storm back over to his room, throw her on the bed and-

Throwing his hand over his eyes and groaning as his body reacted to the last scene his mind was showing him, Jareth was surprised to find himself relieved that Arianna wasn't in the room with him; he wasn't sure what would happen if she reacted either way to that thought.

It was also a good thing he had decided to dim the crystal, for the scene that came next would have surely made him strongly reconsider going through with his plans, and an added one or two…

-----0-----0-----0-----

Mike sat there, hands clenching his knees as he stared into Arianna's face as she tried to process what he had just told her. After a few moments of awkward silence, he couldn't take the quiet anymore. "Please say something, Ari; it wasn't that much of a shock… was it?"

Shaking her head, Arianna softly replied, "No, it wasn't that much of a shock… I should have guessed, you and Jareth were at each others' throat too much for it just be mutual dislike… I just-"

"I'm not saying that you have to answer now," Mike interrupted, reaching forward and clasping Arianna's hands between his own, a burning heat overcoming him as he ignored the way that her body tensed at his touch, "I just wanted to tell you how I felt… I'm sorry it took me this long to admit it."

"Mike, please let go of me for a second, I can't think clearly with you in my personal space…" Arianna tried to pull her hands out of his grip, not liking the dark gleam in Mike's eyes, but he was having none of it, "Come on, Mike, you're hurting my hands! Let go of me, NOW!!"

"I can't do that," Mike denied heatedly, trying to make her see, trying to get through to her that he loved her and that the only way to help get rid of the stabbing pain in his chest was for her to say that she loved him as well. "Not until I show you how much you mean to me…"

That was the only warning she got before he savagely pulled her against him and crushed his lips against hers in a bruising kiss that had her gasping in shock, which only made things that much worse…

Taking her gasp as an invitation, Mike thrust his tongue down her throat in an effort to deepen the kiss, but instead, after a few minutes of struggling, had it bitten down upon. Very hard, enough to draw blood, in fact; enough to make the burning sensation disappear completely.

"Fuck!" Pulling away, Mike grabbed a tissue as Arianna pushed even further away from him and ran toward the door. Seeing her flee from him like he was some kind of stalker hit him like a spear of ice. "Arianna! Wait!"

Her hand was on the door and she turned toward him, making Mike hope for a second that he'd be able to explain he had no idea what had happened, how he had come to be bleeding and why Arianna was so scared of him. It was quickly dashed by the cold glare his best friend sent his way, made even more heart-wrenching by the hint of tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"I will never," Arianna stated, her voice low and every word cutting through Mike's heart, "ever, love you. I am going to my room, I am locking my door, and if I even think I hear you messing with the lock, I will scream so loud, Jareth won't even consider asking questions, he'll just kill you."

Slamming the door in his face before he could even explain didn't hurt as much as her words just had. Mike spat into the tissue he clenched in his hand, tears and blood mixing on the cloth as he whispered, horrified at what just happened, "Oh my god… What did I do?"

-----0-----0-----0-----

Arianna shifted on the bed, unable to rest after remembering that particular moment in time. She was strongly reconsidering calling her mother and having her come to pick her up, just to put some distance between her and Mike. It was only the look of utter disbelief on his face after she bit him that made her decide to stay; that, and the fact that she had no idea how she was going to explain Jareth's presence to her mother...

Did Mike really not remember what had just happened between the two of them? He had always been a terrible liar, and he looked absolutely flabbergasted that she was running away from him in fear. Maybe she had done something wrong, said something she shouldn't have...

A loud creak resounding from outside her door made Arianna bolt upright in the bed and stare at the entranceway of her room as she silently willed her heartbeat returned to normal speed, a residential pain still residing after it slowed down and sped back up again when the floorboards shifted again.

Arianna couldn't stand it anymore; she had to know who was standing outside that door. Slowing past the lump in her throat, she jumped out of the bed, ran toward the door and pulled it open...

...reveling a sober Jareth standing on the other side, hand raised in the act of knocking on her door. His face registered a moment of slight surprise before his eyes narrowed on her disheveled form in concern.

"What happened?"

Arianna didn't reply, or really say much of anything; she just threw her arms his neck and buried her face in his chest, shaking with relief as Jareth wrapped her up in her arms in an almost impulsive reaction. She needed to be held in those strong arms right then, unsure of their relationship or not, it felt good to have him hold her...

After a moment's thought, Jareth closed the door behind them, clicking the lock as well. Arianna tensed as she heard the lock's click echoing around the room, which made Jareth's eyes narrow even further as his grip also unconsciously tightened. "Arianna, you need to tell me what happened."

Arianna didn't want to talk about what had happened, she wanted to forget it, push it as far away from her memory as possible. So, instead of responding to Jareth's demand, she just pressed her lips against his, effectively ending his interrogation as she pushed even closer to him, hands slipping under his shirt and running the tips of her fingers across his back.

Jareth could tell that Arianna was trying to distract him from whatever had happened between her and Mike, but at that moment he didn't really care. Right now, Arianna needed him, needed him to touch her and hold her, and he was only too happy to agree.

"I need… to feel you..." Arianna sighed, Jareth's lips traveled from her face to her neck, making little waves of pleasure shot through her body from head to toe as she tugged the bottom of his shirt upwards. Her earlier fear was gone; Jareth would never hurt her and she could hear the passionate thoughts running through his head in perfect tandem with her own. "Your skin... against mine..."

Jareth stopped his ministrations and looked at Arianna's wide, desperate eyes as she leaned forward to pick up where Jareth left off; but before their lips could once again connect that blissful way that warmed them both, he lifted her up, unlocked her door, and began to carry her bridal style down the hall.

"What are you doing? Where are we going?" Arianna, asking between kisses to Jareth's neck, making it awful hard for the Goblin King to concentrate on walking instead of ravishing the girl in his arms.

"You're going to sleep in my room," Jareth answered, trying to banish he images that came with that thought. He couldn't take advantage of Arianna until he found out what had happened between her and the boy. If he had touched her..."I'd feel better if you stayed with me."

Arianna snuggled closer to Jareth's chest, content with the destination, even if her original plan had been thwarted. Right now, she needed to comfort and closeness, and Jareth offered both. She was content to lay with him and deal with the repercussions in the morning.