Checked for continuity, grammar, and spelling: May 3, 2011.

Chapter Twenty-One: Misunderstandings and Assumptions

They walked side by side, as close as they could get without touching, and in silence. Sarah was lost in thought, replaying the events of the afternoon over and over in her mind. For his part, Jareth was simply unsure of what to say, something of a novelty for him but an idea he supposed it would be best to get used to as time spent with Sarah increased. The silence, however, was not uncomfortable and did not need to be filled with meaningless small talk in order to pass the time.

It was a long walk back to campus, being as the park was in a completely different part of town, but Sarah knew the area well enough to take both all the shortcuts and all the ways to keep them from encountering many people. When they finally reached the campus, she turned to cut through the woods to the dorms.

When they reached the edge of the woods, her dorm in sight, Sarah finally spoke. "I, um, guess I owe you some sort of apology or explanation or something."

This caught Jareth by surprise. "For what?"

She looked sideways at him. "Well, for all that back there with the boys and... Sammuel."

"Ah. There is no need. It is perfectly understandable for you to have reacted as you did, and you are not to blame for the situation arising in the first place."

"But -"

"Sarah," Jareth stopped walking, turning her to look at him, "no buts. If anyone should apologize, it is I. I should not have left you in the first place."

"No. I mean, yes. I mean -" She cut herself off, shaking her head before trying again. "You don't understand. Sammuel and I were ... Well, we used to be a couple."

He watched as she resorted to pacing in agitation. "On the contrary, I do understand."

Though she heard him, his comment did not particularly register as she plowed on in her determination to say her piece, as well as her need to get things said. "And when we broke up... when I broke up with him... it was very, well, messy."

She was becoming more and more upset with each word, and he did not like it. "Yes, I know."

"And it was really hard and... and..."

"Painful."

"Yes. See, in regards to what was wanted out of the relationship, he and I were never really, I don't know, on -"

"The same page."

"Yes, exactly. And so, when it was over, we both, well -"

"Said unnecessary things."

"Right. Especially on his part they were very... hurtful. And considering what I did, I initially thought that -"

"That you deserved it. Yes, I know all about that. Though it is worth saying that such an idea is completely ridiculous. No matter what happened, there is no excuse for his disrespectful and deliberately cruel behavior." There never is any excuse for deliberate cruelty, really. "You deserve no less than genuine happiness, Sarah." And I can give that to you, if you wish it.

She was even more flustered than before. "Oh, um, thanks. And I know that. Ab-about Sammuel, I mean. But, that's not the point." She shook her head again, still determined to stay on topic. "It still remains that... that..." Sarah's mind caught up to how the conversation had just played out. "Hang on. How did you know all that?"

He shrugged elegantly. "I saw it."

That made little sense to her. "You ... saw?"

"Yes."

"So, what, you were there?"

"No, of course not. I was watching through a crystal."

"Watching through a... You were spying on me? On me and Sammuel?"

Jareth was suddenly on the defensive against Sarah's unexpected burst of anger, and he disliked this almost as much as her being generally upset. "I wouldn't call it spying. I was simply watching, merely seeing how you were. Frankly, I couldn't care less about Sammuel." He could not say the name without a hint of a sneer, which Sarah did not catch.

"Simply watching? What, the whole time?"

"No, only when you seemed to be extremely upset."

"And how would you know whether I was upset?"

His answer came as a revelation to himself even as the words left his lips. "I just knew. I always knew. Same as I knew when you were extremely nervous, or extremely happy, or any other high emotion."

Sarah vaguely wondered in the back of her mind if she would be taking this a bit more calmly had she not already been extremely high strung in the first place. "For how long?"

Again, he shrugged. "Since you fought the Labyrinth."

"So, let me get this straight. Not only were you spying, excuse me, watching me, for... nine years, but you were also, what, reading my mind as well to find out what I was thinking?"

Jareth could not see what the problem was and began to have a hard time controlling his own temper. The only thing keeping him in check was the knowledge that Sarah had already been through an extremely trying afternoon. "Don't be ridiculous. You have not granted me access to your thoughts."

She gave him an incredulous look. "Then how the hell did you know if I was upset?"

"I already told you. I. Just. Knew." He was speaking through clenched teeth and forcibly relaxed his jaw. "I do not know how or why, Sarah. For some reason after you returned Aboveground, any time you were upset, I knew. I did not know why, however, just that you were and the only way to find out was to look through my crystals."

This is totally outrageous and... kind of weird. "Did it never occur to you that what you would see was none of your business? That were maybe things you shouldn't have seen at all, certainly without asking permission first?"

"I promise you I never looked at anything truly, er," he coughed discreetly, "private."

"What happened with Sammuel was private!"

"That is not quite what I meant. However, you were just now telling me about it."

Sarah refused to think on what else he may have meant by 'private'. "That's different! I'm telling you. Voluntarily. Because I think you should know. Not because you think you should know."

"What difference does it make when I found out, or how? It doesn't change anything."

"Yes it does!"

"You cannot go back on what happened, nor can you take away what you felt."

"I am well aware of that."

"Then why does this bother you so much?"

She gave an exasperated sigh and pressed her forehead with the heel of one hand. "You have been consistently spying on me for the past nine years, never once thinking that you might want to ask first, and you can still ask why this bothers me?"

"That is not entirely true."

"No?"

"The first few times were inconsistent and sporadic more than anything else and spanning a few years, actually. It did not become a regular occurrence until you came here." He waved a hand to encompass the campus.

"You really don't understand why this is bothering me?" He shook his head. "Jareth. You," she paused as she searched for the right way to explain. "You were watching me. And I didn't even know. It's almost like you have first hand knowledge on just about anything that has happened in my life that was important. And I... I don't even know what you know, what you've seen. You could very well know more about me than people I have told my - brief - life story to. Some things that have happened to me, or how I feel about them, I've never told anyone. Not my family, not even Agnes. And... and you're telling me that you already know. How else am I supposed react to that?"

"But if these are things that went on in public, where I could have seen them happen had I been walking by, how can you argue that they are private things?"

"But you weren't walking by! If you had been, I may have seen you as well and then had the option of telling you to go away. As it happened, there was no crystal or anything hovering over my shoulder for me to look at and go 'oh, someone is watching! What shall I do about it?'!"

Jareth considered. "I had not thought there would be an objection. It is common with us."

"Us?"

It was another unexpected question. "Yes, us. My kind." He paused before clarifying further, "Other Fae."

It had not occurred to Sarah that there might be more Jareths out there somewhere. "So, this watching business is completely normal to you? Your," she faltered searching for the word, "people do this sort of thing regularly. And no one bats an eye."

"Yes." Yet again, there was that shrug. "It is how we know what each other is doing for we rarely converge in groups outside of formal occasions."

"So you could be walking down the stairs to your kitchen and eat an entire double chocolate cake and your neighbors could be sitting in their living rooms just watching you do it, and that doesn't bother you? You don't consider that to be an invasion of privacy?"

"Well of course that would be. We never look in on each others' homes without specific invitation. In the Underground, anything that goes on outside one's home would never be considered anything but public. There are, I grant you, certain warding measures that can be taken when one does not wish to be seen."

"So ... you assumed that since there weren't any of these ... wards that I would not mind you ... watching me?"

"Yes."

"Magical wards?"

He thought for a moment what other sorts of wards there might be. "Yes."

"And I would have used these magical wards how?"

Jareth was briefly silent. "I confess I had not considered that."

She pressed her hand against her forehead again, moving to rub her eyes as well. "Right." With a sigh, she stood there regarding him for a full minute processing everything he had just revealed. "So, you never watched anything that went on in my parents' house?"

"No. Well, except for the morning when I was required to ensure your remembrance of the Labyrinth would be as nothing more than a dream."

Sarah supposed she could let that instance slide, considering the circumstances. "And inside the dorms?"

"Never."

"What about last week when you were looking in my window? How did you know when I would be back?"

"I had been waiting on that branch all day."

"Then how did you know which room was mine?"

"I can trace my magic, and you have the roses in your bedroom window. There was a door leading from your bedroom to that other room you have, so I assumed you would eventually see me if I stayed outside it."

"What made you decide to sit outside my front room instead of my bedroom?" Sarah asked without thinking, then realized she probably did not want to know the answer.

"That would have been rude and, er," he actually had the grace to blush, "intrusive."

"Hm." She pondered him for another few seconds. He looked embarrassed and contrite, and he was not bothering to hide it behind a cool mask of indifference. "Well, this doesn't make everything ok, you know. I'm still not sure how I feel about this. But ... I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"And there is apparently a great deal I must yet learn about Mortals." He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I apologize as well for intruding on your privacy. On my honor, it was unintentional."

It was her turn to grow embarrassed, though out of uncertainty as to how to react to the intensity in his eyes. She looked away, blushing. "I um, guess we should probably keep walking. Some residents might have seen us and are probably pressing their noses against their windows to see what is going on." She realized that this was admitting people did precisely what he did on a regular basis. "Not that I approve or appreciate it."

"Of course not." His voice was low, and amused, as he gestured for her to lead the way.

After reaching the steps, she turned to him. "Would you, um, like to come inside? It's too early for dinner, not that I could offer you anything even remotely appetizing, but we didn't have dessert and I have ice cream in my freezer." It was a feeble attempt in Sarah's estimation, but she wanted to offer some sort of truce. And she also did not want Jareth thinking she did not enjoy his company, for all that they had just had their first argument. This was a thought she brushed out of the front of her mind, however, for 'first' implied things she was not sure she could handle.

Jareth noted her still embarrassed state, but also took in the eagerness at her invitation, timidly expressed though it was. He knew he should not stay Aboveground much longer, but he knew he would not turn down an invitation at this moment for fear in disappointing he might give a wrong impression, no matter how vehemently he would state otherwise. "Yes, thank you."

Sarah could not prevent the gleeful smile from gracing her features. Indeed, she was scarcely aware of it as she unlocked the door and led the way to her room.