Being seen getting out of Edward's car was enough to cause rumors to spread rampant through the school. No matter how many times she explained that she'd just needed a ride, Sarah found herself endlessly barraged with questions. She was the only student who could talk normally to any of the Cullens and—more surprisingly—get a normal response back. Sarah herself didn't know what to make of that fact, especially as more and more people had questions about Edward. Maybe it was just that Sarah never thought of Edward as being special—at least not in the same way that others did. So, when her classmates pressed her for advice on how to befriend the Cullens, Sarah was at a loss. And maybe part of her did enjoy being different. While she'd never wanted to be an outcast, Sarah couldn't deny there was a certain kind of thrill in listening to how Edward spoke to others and the way he spoke to her.
But, it was all anyone would talk to her about. Edward, Edward, Edward. It was the first time since coming to Forks that Sarah wished for more Labyrinth in her life, if only to distract her from endless questions about Edward. Even people she'd never talked to before had approached her and, by lunchtime, Sarah was getting pretty snappish. It didn't help matters that Edward faced none of the same pestering. They all came to her.
"Edward Cullen is staring at you," whispered Jessica. Sarah groaned. She didn't know why she always ended up sitting next to the girl when she only ever said things Sarah didn't want to hear.
"Of course he is," Sarah muttered darkly. She wished Edward would do his part to make these rumors go away instead of dumping more fuel on the fire.
"Are you really dating him?" Sarah looked up with a start at Jessica's question, blinking rapidly.
"Where did that come from?" Sarah's tone was awash with incredulous laughter. Jessica leveled her with a disbelieving look.
"That's what everyone's been saying all morning," she told Sarah, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. "Why else would he be giving you rides to school?"
"Huh? That's because… yesterday. My truck…." Sarah made a helpless gesture towards the parking lot when she happened to catch Edward's eye. He was smirking. Sarah scowled. "It's not like that. I needed a ride to school because my truck was still here after the accident, that's all." Sarah looked back at Jessica, pointedly ignoring Edward. Jessica's expression wasn't much better, disbelief spelled out plainly. "I'm really not interested. Dating is the last thing on my mind."
"Like you wouldn't," muttered Jessica. That ought to have been the end of the discussion, but Jessica clearly didn't believe her. Sarah didn't know why she felt so desperate to deny a romantic interest.
"He's… not really my type," said Sarah. By now their conversation had caught the attention of a few other girls at the table, all looking totally scandalized by her words.
"What, gorgeous?" asked Jessica. Sarah rubbed the back of her neck.
"He's too… normal, I guess?" Well, no, that wasn't really it. Edward could hardly be called normal, but… he wasn't quite mysterious enough for her interest to go that far. If she was going to find someone, Sarah had the feeling he'd either be the most average man on Earth or someone a bit more like Jar—. Sarah swallowed hard, trying to ignore the commotion of the girls around her.
"Normal?" asked another girl, leaning in across the table with something twinkling in her eyes. "What kind of guys did you know in Phoenix?"
"Ah, that's not…. I didn't me…."
"You had a boyfriend, didn't you?" Sarah froze. She should have denied the words immediately and easily. After all, she'd been single for her whole life. Never once had she looked at any of the boys in her school and even wanted to be otherwise. They'd never had any appeal. There really had only been Jar—but it wasn't like that! Sarah blushed.
"I knew it!" said a girl. The others joined in, laughter filling the cafeteria as Sarah had to turn away. Her gaze flickered over to the Cullen table, but Edward was no longer staring at her.
Sarah couldn't have been more thankful when the bell rang so she could gather up her things and all but run to biology. She still hadn't fully tempered the flush of her cheeks: embarrassed at even having thought of Jareth in that situation. At her bio table, Sarah closed her eyes and focused on her breathing to regain her self-control. Suddenly she couldn't wait for Edward to arrive. Even if he set her on edge, at least he drove all Labyrinth related thoughts out of her head.
The moment he pulled the chair out, Sarah was already turning to him. Today, at least, she wanted to be the one who spoke first. After this morning, who knew what kind of question he'd open with. Sarah tried to make her smile as approachable as possible.
"About yesterday," she started, though quickly pausing. Edward froze, not quite all the way into his seat. Everything about his actions yesterday and this morning as well as his posture now clearly told her not to ask. A smirk rose to Sarah's lips as she thought about what fitting revenge it would be to pester him with questions anyway. The idea made her almost gleeful. Edward gripped the chair so tightly she thought he might break it.
"Thank you," Sarah said. "Thank you for yesterday. With everything that happened I… sort of forgot to say it earlier." She saw Edward's grip on the chair loosen and he slid the rest of the way into his seat. Had it been a little unfair of her to draw the matter out like that? Definitely. Even while she was thanking him, Sarah was still playing the game. This time, she liked to think she was winning.
"You don't need to thank me," he said, though something about his posture still looked uncomfortable. He wasn't smiling at her in the usual way. He barely even looked at her. Sarah decided to let it go, flipping through her science book. She only looked up again as Edward suddenly jerked his head toward her.
"Can I ask you something?" She'd never heard him sound so desperate, but the words burst out of him like they'd been building for hours and he just couldn't contain them anymore. Immediately Sarah's brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed.
"You usually just ask whether I want you to or not."
"Seems like it's usually not," Edward commented. Sarah flicked her eyes back over to him, unable to argue his point. "But this time I really want an answer."
"Why?" Sarah asked.
"I did save your life," Edward reminded her, raising an eyebrow. Sarah's frown deepened.
"Okay," she relented, though she was studiously examining the diagrams in her science book. She was afraid of not being able to control her expression and giving something away. "What is it?"
"What did you see?"
"Huh?"
"Yesterday," Edward clarified. "What did you see after the accident? You were talking to something, telling it to go away. What was it?" Sarah's shoulders tensed, though she made sure to keep her smile up. She needed time to think of what to say to him; to decide how best to cloud the truth to make it give away nothing.
"Maybe I'm not used to Forks yet," she said. "I haven't been sleeping well. Don't ask me what I saw, even I don't know." Sarah thought it was a good enough answer, but Edward's expression told her that he wasn't satisfied. By now Sarah could read when a question was coming and she was getting better at damage control.
"I've been having nightmares," she said.
"What kind of nightmares?" His eyes were probing her again, but Sarah found herself laughing quietly under her breath. For a second she imagined telling him about the clocks and chicken and goblins, but Sarah knew he wouldn't ever understand. She shook her head.
"I don't know, the normal kind?"
"But what are they about?" Sarah looked at him carefully.
"Do you always remember all your dreams?" Edward pursed his lips, but he didn't say anything. It was a pity, a part of her wondered what kind of nightmares someone like Edward would have, but it wasn't as if he'd ever answered one of her questions. She wasn't surprised by his silence.
"It's the stress," Sarah said, letting out a laugh. The laugh was more for show than anything else, sounding neither amused or happy. "I guess starting a theater club right after moving to a new school wasn't the best idea. Maybe I was a little overzealous. There's so much to do. I thought I was handling it well, but maybe it's getting to me more than I thought." She smiled self-effacingly. Edward looked troubled, but there was no sign on his face that he didn't believe her words. It wasn't entirely a lie, Sarah supposed.
Edward didn't say anything more, but Sarah felt his eyes on her as class started. There was something different about his gaze than normal, but Sarah couldn't put her finger on what and she didn't have the energy to try. Instead she forced all her attention on fighting to bring the microscope into focus. She didn't succeed. Just a few minutes and Edward had pulled it away from her. Sarah sighed.
"What were you talking about at lunch?" asked Edward. For once he wasn't looking at her, Sarah noted. He was looking through the eyepiece of the microscope, carefully twisting the knobs to bring the slide into focus. It was taking him a lot longer than normal, and the longer she watched the more certain she was that he wasn't actually changing anything.
"Lunch?" repeated Sarah, brow furrowing. She tried to remember, but mostly she tried to figure out why Edward would want to know. "Gossip, I guess. Why?"
"It seemed very… energetic." That was when Sarah remembered. She dropped her head onto her hand and turned her face away to hide her rising blush. Of all topics, she couldn't think of one she wanted to discuss less; especially not with Edward. She cleared her throat awkwardly as she pretended to be paging through her textbook.
"What are we looking for again? Is it still mitosis or…." She continued mumbling to herself under her breath, hoping Edward would—for once—take the obvious sign she didn't want to continue the discussion. Her blush faded, though a faint pink hue still colored her cheeks and she only looked at Edward one more time throughout the whole class. He was smirking.
Time passed in much the same way. Her interactions with Edward continued to feel like fending off a friendly interrogation, though she'd never had the chance to confirm her suspicions. Every day he'd sit down at their table with the friendliest smile imaginable and Sarah would know what was coming. Edward had a knack for making his questions sound innocent, but Sarah always felt like she was tiptoeing through a minefield.
Neither Sarah nor Edward ever made any headway in their investigations, but even so, they kept going. By the time auditions rolled around, it seemed only natural that Edward would show up. Looking around the packed auditorium, Sarah had a sneaking suspicion a lot of people had only shown up for him anyway.
"He's here," whispered one such girl to her friend, pink-cheeked and trying to hide it behind her script. "He's actually here." Sarah had to repress a glare in their direction, trying to focus on the pair already on stage. Focusing was hard enough for Sarah as she found herself struggling with the uneasy feeling of listening to the lines she loved so much coming out stiff and wooden from nervous teens. Hearing the words spoken aloud was stress-inducing enough, let alone hearing them butchered. Sarah was on edge, waiting for Jareth to pop out at any moment. She hoped Edward's entrance would be a welcome distraction.
"Alright, cut," she called to the pair on stage, forcing herself to send them a smile. "That was great, but we're going to have to move on." They were both more than happy to shuffle off stage to join the whispers. Edward's entrance caused even more of a commotion than Sarah had expected and she stood to look. Not only had Edward shown up, standing out in the crowd as he always did, but he'd pulled Alice and Emmett along with. Despite the noisy undercurrent of whispers and gossip, Edward's eyes found hers and he grinned. He was already moving towards her before Sarah had a chance to say a thing.
"You're late," was all she said when he reached her. The whispers around them increased. It felt like every girl's gaze was on her and Sarah wanted to roll her eyes. Instead of being jealous, they ought to just talk to Edward, she thought.
"Sorry," Edward said, though not looking very sorry at all. Sarah sighed. A headache had already formed which—while it wasn't Edward's fault—he certainly wasn't helping.
"It's fine," she muttered, though it didn't sound like it was. Had it been anyone else, Sarah would have been more gracious. She didn't feel the need to be polite to Edward. Picking up her notes, Sarah added his name to the list before gesturing him to the stage. It was never a question in her mind that he would try out for the lead. Not in hers or anyone else's. "We're doing auditions for the leads in pairs. We're pretty close to done, so why don't you and Alice…."
"Oh, I'm not auditioning," came the voice and Sarah found herself freezing as she stared down at her notes. Had she ever heard Alice speak before? Or… any of the other Cullens for that matter? Though it wasn't a note about Edward himself, there was something strange about that, wasn't there? And maybe also something strange that Alice was speaking now.
"You're not?" Sarah asked finally, the pause awkwardly long before she looked up. Clearly it had been noticeable. Edward's eyes were burning with curiosity and Alice even looked apologetic. "Moral support then? Great."
"I heard you're still looking for people to work behind the scenes. I'd love to help out with the hair and makeup," Alice enthused, far more bright and cheerful than Sarah had expected. For another moment she could only blink, too used to Edward's hot and cold—and often suspicious—nature to know what to think about this genuinely nice seeming girl. "And we might be able to get Rosalie to help out with the costumes." That comment finally got Emmett to pay attention, though he was shaking his head. Sarah was pretty sure he didn't even realize he'd done it, and she took that to mean not to count on Rosalie's involvement. Three Cullens in an extracurricular activity was strange enough for Forks High School.
"And you…?" Sarah looked over at Emmett, but he was shaking his head again, saying something about moving boxes and set pieces. Slowly nodding, Sarah gestured them to seats at the back of the hall before glancing around. "Alright, well, we still have a couple more auditions to go and Edward still needs a partner." A pregnant pause followed her words, Sarah waiting with disbelief that no one had said anything as she shooed Edward to the stage. She almost asked again before someone finally spoke up.
"I'll do it!" a girl cried out. It was desperate and breathless, and immediately Sarah knew why the rest had paused. The poor girl was met with a barrage of glares as she tripped her way up the stairs. Sarah almost felt bad, though she had the suspicion Edward didn't share in that feeling. Mostly she just wanted to get this over with. She wanted the play over and done with so she could start a new one; something safer that she could act in, was that too much to ask? As long as the auditions ran smoothly today she'd be one step closer to that. As long as they ran smoothly….
"Cut," Sarah found herself calling for the fifth time in as many minutes, her head in her hands. She didn't know why she'd ever expected anything different; nothing ever went smoothly when Edward got involved. "Thank you. Who's next?" Even her attempts to be kind were dwindling, but her headache was only growing. Of course Edward was a shoe-in for the lead, everyone had known that from the moment he'd walked in the door, but the problem then became finding a girl who could not only act, but act with Edward. So far no one seemed capable of doing much more than either staring at him dreamily until they forgot their lines or shaking with nerves to the point they could barely speak. Sarah sighed.
As the next girl got on stage—proved to be as much of a train wreck as every other girl—Sarah got up from her seat and moved to the back of the room, sinking down next to Alice.
"Would you mind reading with him?" Sarah whispered to Alice. "It's not an audition or anything, I just want to get an impression of his style before I make any decisions, but it's been… difficult." Sarah spared another glance for the girl staring awed at Edward to the point she forgot all her lines. Alice looked over at her with a friendly smile and Sarah found herself with real hope. Hope that was very quickly dashed.
"I'm sorry, but I don't really feel comfortable getting up on stage." Though Alice's words were gentle and she gave off an impression that made it hard to think badly of her, Sarah wanted to squint at her the same way she often did at Edward. The Cullens were a lot of things, but Sarah found it hard to believe that a single one of them was shy. They all were well aware that they were superstars in this school. "Why don't you read with him," Alice suggested suddenly, with the air of having just thought of a great idea.
"Me?" Sarah repeated, eyes widening. She shot a quick glance back to the stage where she caught Edward's eye. If the distance hadn't been impossible, Sarah would have been convinced he was listening. "Wh… I can't." It was hard to tell what Alice's expression was in that moment, especially in the darkened auditorium, but Sarah decided not to look too deeply anyway.
"Well, why not?"
"I… I can't properly watch him if I'm up on stage with him, right? I need to see what kind of impression a member of the audience would get." Sarah didn't know what to make of the odd smile on Alice's lips, though the girl still gave off the impression of being open and friendly.
"Aren't there a lot of people who act and direct at the same time?" Alice asked innocently. By now, Sarah refused to believe any of the Cullens did anything without ulterior motives.
"But I'm not one of them," said Sarah. "This is my first time. I have to focus." And she would make any excuse that kept her off that stage. The more distance she could have between her and the goblin king—whether real or pretend—the better. Alice looked like she had more to say, but Sarah smiled as she turned back to the stage.
"Cut. Thank you. Next," she called yet again, and definitely not for the last time that day.
As caught up as she was in the theater club, Sarah hadn't really had time to properly think about much else. The closer the production got, the more time she was devoting to helping people learn their lines, sorting out sponsors from around town or working out technical kinks. Since the theater program had been shut down for so long, very few people knew much about how to run a show. Sarah herself only knew the basics. The only reason she knew anything at all was her unpopularity had forced her into backstage roles. Being a social pariah had surprising benefits, it seemed. Even so, it wasn't long before most of her free time was spent scouring the library and internet for how-to books on basic lighting and sound design as well as figuring out how to maneuver the curtains and set pieces.
The Cullens had become invaluable to this, seeming to—as she was coming to expect—know a lot about almost everything. Though Alice and Emmet had come to auditions, Sarah hadn't expected to see anyone but Edward come back. But there they were. Alice had taken over as de facto art director and was there every day, sometimes even before Sarah herself, bouncing around from one side of the stage to the other with enthusiastic direction. Occasionally she'd send bright smiles to the back of the auditorium where Sarah was surprised to find Jasper standing. Jasper never said or did anything, but Sarah would sometimes see him hovering by the door in the back and watching. Coincidentally it was on those days that the most progress was made by the theater troupe, a lightness to their spirits. Emmett also came often, a ready and helpful hand to do whatever was needed in the moment. Once—to Sarah's eternal shock—Rosalie had swooped in, dumped a pile of costume designs in Sarah's lap and sauntered back out.
As completely indispensable as the Cullens were, Sarah couldn't help but notice the rumors were only increasing. More than once while walking down the hallway she'd heard someone whisper 'that's Edward's girlfriend' as she passed. Even her friends smirked and teased, never once believing her numerous denials. It didn't take too long before Sarah was at her breaking point. Spotting Edward during rehearsal one day, she decided something had to be done.
"Edward," Sarah said, waving him over to the side of the auditorium. Edward looked at her curiously, but obediently followed after her. Sarah tried to ignore the whispers that it caused. "Can we talk for a second?" She didn't wait for his answer and all but pushed him into a storage room where they could talk without so many piercing stares. Even Alice and Emmett were staring. Sarah shut the door with a sigh.
"Is something wrong?"
"Look, I know you're trying to help and you mean well. I appreciate it, I do," Sarah said. "But… is this really okay?"
"Is what okay?"
"This," Sarah said, making a vague gesture. "All of this. The theater program. Not just you, but Alice and Emmett are here all the time. Then there's Jasper and even Rosalie…." Sarah shook her head and looked at him seriously. "You don't have to do this for me."
"You don't want us to be here?" Edward asked. "Ah… are we causing problems?"
"Huh?" She blinked at him. "Wh—no. That's not what I mea…." It was about then that the thought finally hit her and she found herself staring at Edward. The Cullens had always been curiosities in Forks, but Sarah had assumed they liked it that way. They kept to themselves because that was the way they wanted things, right? They would still be doing that now if it wasn't for Sarah forcing them. They wanted to be alone… right? Or had she taken that for granted, just like everyone else?
"That's not what I meant," she said at last, smile softer now. "I guess what I really wanted to say is that I appreciate it. I couldn't do this without you." Maybe she didn't always have to fight her battles on her own. "And, if you ever need me—for anything—you know where to find me. That's all." After a second, she reached up to pat his shoulder affectionately. Edward looked confused, but she left him there before he could ask what she meant by any of that. It was for the best, Sarah didn't know what it meant either. The more she thought about anything in her life, the more confusing it became. She liked Edward; that was the conclusion Sarah had come to. Sure, she believed he wasn't what he claimed to be, but neither was she.
While Sarah didn't know what to make of the Cullens' surprisingly enthusiastic help, the real headache was Jessica—the lead actress, a fact she regularly reminded them all of. In true diva fashion, she'd taken it upon herself to complain about everything from the lighting to the exact placement of props. Of course, she'd never voice those complaints to Alice or any of the other Cullens. Sarah had the pleasure of listening to them all.
"Ugh," groaned Jessica from the stage, causing Sarah to look up from the costume designs.
"Something wrong?" The question was reluctant, Sarah desperately wanting to ignore her. But this was already the seventh such noise and Sarah couldn't take it any longer.
"What's up with this scene at the end?" asked Jessica. Sarah set down the sketches and walked to Jessica, looking over her shoulder.
"The climax?" Sarah clarified, not sure what to make of the other girl's tone. Sarah didn't need to flip through her own copy of the script—she could have recited that scene by heart—but she did. The words 'you have no power over me' stared back at her, making Sarah sigh. If only life was simple enough that saying those words made it true. She'd come to learn that there were many kinds of power, and not all of them could be controlled. "It's a very important scene," she mused quietly.
"It's boring," returned Jessica indignantly. Sarah's disbelief was apparent on her face. Boring? Of all the words she could have used to describe the scene, that was not one of them. How could anyone have looked at the tension of that power struggle and find it boring?
"Boring?" Sarah repeated, unable to make sense of the word. "It's the most intense scene of the play!" This was becoming a personal affront to Sarah. Not only had this always been her favorite scene of her favorite play, but as one who'd experienced it more or less first hand, she couldn't imagine anything more exciting.
"That's just it," Jessica said, gesturing to the dialog, "there's nothing in the scene to show that it's intense. It's just talking." Sarah wanted to scoff, but she noticed the discussion had begun to draw an audience.
"What would make it really intense," Jessica continued, "is a kiss. Right…." She paused before pointing to a specific section of the dialog definitively. "Right here." Sarah was dumbfounded.
"A kiss?" she repeated. Jessica nodded impatiently. "Why would there be a kiss?" By now Sarah suspected Jessica's complaint had little to do with the advancement of the play and much more to do with her own desire to take advantage of being co-stars with Edward. In that light, the request was hard to take seriously. Even with the onlookers they'd amassed, Sarah didn't think anything off it. Jessica scoffed like Sarah's question was ridiculous.
"Well, she's in love with the king," Jessica responded matter-of-factly. The word 'duh' was clearly implied, making Sarah's shoulders tense before she even processed what Jessica had said. And then Sarah started to laugh. As the director she ought to have been more respectful, but how else was she supposed to respond to that? No one else joined in her laughter, all looking varying degrees of confused.
"In love with J—him? As if?" As she said this, Sarah looked around at the rest, expecting them to join in her amusement. They didn't. After noticing how quiet everyone else was, Sarah stopped laughing. Their confusion didn't make her feel better.
"She is, though," someone else said at last, leading to a chorus of agreement from the rest. Blinking and silent, Sarah wondered how it was possible all these people could get the script so totally wrong. Perhaps they hadn't read it enough times, she thought to herself. After all, this book was in some ways the embodiment of her childhood. Sarah was quick to shake her head.
"No, no. It's the Goblin King who's in love with her," she retorted, feeling silly that she had to explain what was already spelled out in the script. Someone coughed. Others shuffled on their feet.
"But it's the story of how she falls in love with him." And then came another round of agreement, even stronger than before. Sarah couldn't keep up with the arguments coming from people all around her, listening in shock.
"The dream sequence, that's her fantasy about being together with him."
"And the ending is only poignant because she's rejecting her own feelings in order to save her brother. That's what makes it a really powerful scene."
"Besides, the line about him not having power over her is just to contrast the fact that he does have pow—."
"Okay, okay," Sarah was quick to cut off the final argument before they said something she really didn't want to hear. "I'll look at the scene. I'm not making any promises. We'll test it out next week, alright?" Mostly she just wanted the crowd to go away so she could catch her breath. This play would be the death of her, of that Sarah was sure. Part of her thought that maybe she ought to read the play again with fresh eyes to see what they were all talking about, but another part was terrified. If she were to read it again and find out they were right…. Sarah could think of nothing more dangerous.