Jareth had borrowed Sarah's car for his wooing of Toni. One just couldn't date without one, now
could they? Opening the door, he helped Toni inside and shut the door behind her. Climbing into
the driver's seat, he turned the key and the engine came to life. Almost ready to put the car in
gear, Toni broke his thoughts.
"Jareth, what did you mean by, you've given me the greatest gift'?" she asked, her voice soft and
sultry.
Jareth, caught off guard by the question, had no idea what she was talking about. Trying to cover
as best as he could, under the circumstances, he searched his mind for any excuse he could think
of. "Well, Toni, I was referring to the whole concept of giving in general." he replied, cringing
inwardly, knowing how awful that sounded.
"Wow, yeah, I know what you mean," she replied, putting Jareth in a state of shock. "Just think
though, if you hadn't written those letters, I'd be out with Mike tonight," she added. "I know this
great place we should go."
"Where?" he asked, still mystified that she bought that line of bull.
"Turn here," she pointed to the right and a small road off to the side that led to a wide-open
space, overlooking the whole city. Moving closer to him, she kissed his neck, already trying to
get a jump on the evening before they were even parked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah, not happy with how her night was going, climbed the hill that overlooked the point. Not
only could she see all the idiots parking below, but the city lights were wonderful from this view.
Pulling the tab on her soda, she took a drink from the can. Something familiar caught her eye,
and her mood disintegrated.
Her car pulled up in a vacant spot. "Great," she said then continued, "I hate you Jareth," she
muttered, her voice full of sadness and not knowing what to do now. Deciding to leave so as not
to spoil the rest of her evening, she got to her feet, but dropped her can when she spotted Mike's
car. "Oh no," she breathed, looking toward her car. By that time, Mike had already begun going
from car to car in search of Toni.
Sarah hurriedly made her way down the hill, her mind frantically searching for some way to stop
Mike from reaching her car. Running up beside him, nearly out of breath, she smiled as best she
could.
"Hi Mike," she said, trying to draw his attention. Didn't work.
"Hey Sarah," he uttered back, as he moved to the next car.
"What are you doing, Mike?" she tried again, still no go.
"Looking for Toni. She's out with some creep and when I get my hands on him, I'm gonna kill
him." he replied angrily.
"Forget Toni, you could do so much better Mike. There are plenty of girls out there just waiting
for the chance to be with you," she said, another car closer to Jareth.
Mike stopped to look at her. "Yeah? Like who?" he asked, eying her suspiciously.
"Well, like me." she answered quickly, regretting her choice in words, but would follow through
with it to keep Jareth and Toni in one piece. Grabbing his hand, she placed it on her chest. "Can't
you feel my heart pounding?" she asked, her eyes searching his.
"Got a pretty big heart there," he smiled.
"You want to go somewhere? Just the two of us?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure why not?" he replied, looking her up and down. "Let's go. You know, I've always
liked you Sarah," he said, wrapping his arm around her and leading her away from the line of cars.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What are we doing here Sue?" Robert asked, taking in the familiar sight of the town below.
"Just thought we could use the quiet to talk," she replied, looking over at him. Then all of a
sudden she shrieked in horror and squished down in the seat.
"What's wrong?" he asked, finding it a bit silly that a grown woman would be hiding in a place
like this.
"My daughter is in the next car," she squealed. "Get us out of here Robert!" she shrieked.
"But you're the one that brought us here Sue," he mused.
"Get down, I don't want her to see you!" she yelled, grabbing his shirt and yanking him down into
the seat. "I'll get us out of here and that will be that." she said, starting the car, and backing it out
without looking much further over the dash, making their great escape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike opened the door to his room. Motioning Sarah in, he followed her, shutting the door
quietly behind them. Walking over to the bed, he flopped down, not so gracefully, and stared at
her as she looked around the room.
Sarah, really out of place now, wouldn't look at Mike. She was thinking of some way to get out
of the mess she got herself into. Biting her lip, she decided to try chitchat.
"So this is where you live, huh?" she said, her eyes wandering across the detestable posters lining
his walls.
"Yeah," he grinned, then grabbed her arm and yanked her down upon his chest. "Well now, why
don't we just get down to it?"
"Mike, do you have a bathroom in this place?" she asked, trying to remain calm and collected. He
would just love for her to be afraid of him.
"Yeah, sure," he nodded to a door.
Sarah got up, and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. "I am so stupid," she
muttered, looking around to see what was there. Her eyes fell on a window. Her mind screamed
escape as her fingers undid the lock and she pushed the window open. Crawling out, she was
relieved to be free.
"Hey Sarah," Mike called, getting to his feet. "I don't think this is such a good idea. I mean, this
just doesn't feel right. I love Toni, God help me I don't want to, but I do. I just don't think this is
going to work out with us," he said, now standing by the door. He knocked softly. "Sarah?" he
said, grabbing the knob after no reply. Turning it slowly, he peeked his head inside to find empty
space and the window open. "Sarah?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth walked Toni up to the door, a smile upon his face at the fond memories of the night.
Although it was merely a make out session, he was gratified that things were moving along
smoothly, and he hadn't used his magic yet.
"I had fun tonight," Toni said, her eyes twinkling by the light of the moon.
"As did I," he replied smoothly.
"I have never gone out with someone like you before," she stated, her smile taking Jareth's breath
away.
"I am not like everyone else, Toni." he replied, pulling her closer. Pressing his lips against hers,
he relished the feel of her body close to his, until she pulled away.
"Daddy," she said, wishing he would have shown up and a more opportune time. "When is your
birthday, Jareth?" she asked.
"Saturday actually," he replied, a smile lighting up his features.
"Really? We should have a party then, don't you think? Call me tomorrow?" she kissed him
lightly. Jareth shook his head yes. "Promise?" she asked softly.
Jareth nodded and watched the vision of loveliness walk into the house, just before her father
walked by and growled at him. As the door shut, Jareth stood in thought. "Odd family." he
muttered, walking back to the car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, Sarah sat on her bed, looking through photographs when her phone rang. Picking
it up, she put the receiver up to her ear to find Toni on the other end.
"Hi Sarah, it's Toni," came the voice. Sitting in front of her mirror, she was primping herself for
the coming evening. Another date with Jareth.
"Hi Toni," Sarah replied.
"I have a big favor to ask you. Now you can say no, but it would mean an awful lot to me." Toni
started, rambling away as usual. "It's Jareth's birthday on Saturday and I was thinking we should
throw him a party. Now I can't have it here, not only is it bridge club night, but you know how
daddy is, he'd kill me. So I was thinking maybe we could have it at your place."
"Toni, no. I promised my parents," Sarah interjected.
"Come on Sarah, please, please. It would mean a lot. We're going out tonight, and I wanted to
surprise him." Toni implored.
"No, I can't" she replied.
"Please, you won't have to do a thing, I'll take care of it all. Please?" she begged.
"Oh, alright." Sarah conceded. She hated to hear Toni beg. Hanging up the phone, she could
hear her parents now. Sarah had a terrible feeling about the whole thing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth again picked Toni up for yet another date. When the door swung open, he found himself
staring at a goddess leaning against the doorframe. Regaining his composure, he smiled. "You
look ravishing this evening," he said, taking in her form.
"I should after all the trouble I went to just to find this outfit. You have no idea how many miles I
must have walked while shopping."
"I saw an interesting movie last night," Jareth started, just trying to make interesting conversation,
but was cut off by her insistent babbling. Jareth found himself wondering if there was anything
more important to her other than clothes. Even during the drive over, she talked nonstop about
stores, miles, money, fabric, this and that. Enough to drive a sane man batty.
As he sat there in the restaurant, he had lost track of what she babbled about now. How boring
this night was. Where was the fun, the excitement, the casual conversation? Bored beyond
comprehension, he sighed and glanced up to catch sight of Sarah. Smiling, he waved at her.
"Who is it?" Toni asked, pausing in her rambling just long enough to look. "Oh hi Sarah!" she
called, turning her attention back to Jareth. "Now take Sarah for instance, don't get me wrong, I
like her a lot, but she doesn't know the first thing about clothes. She would be so much more
attractive if she'd pay attention to what she wore." she stated. Taking another bite of her food,
she smiled. "Did you see that movie last night?"
Jareth finally perked up with interest. "Yes, that is the movie I was referring to earlier." he
smiled.
"God, those clothes were great," she began.
Jareth sighed. Here we go again,' he thought to himself.
Finally relieved when dinner was over with, he pulled into her driveway and she apologized for
making his evening a rotten time. Smiling, she kissed him softly and said goodnight, promising
that she'll make it up to him on his birthday.
Watching her walk to the house, he contemplated the insinuations of her last statement. Make it
up to him? What did she have in mind? Only a few more days until he would find out. Still
unsure of everything, Jareth made his way back to his castle. Sitting in silence, he pulled a drawer
open and pulled out a picture of Sarah and studied it carefully. His friend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hoggle, figured out that the fairy, little biting sucker that she was, wasn't the one that passed that
note along to him. He decided he would go the castle and talk to the laundry mistress and see if
perhaps she had a soft spot for him. With a smile and a soft chuckle, he trudged off through the
Labyrinth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah stood in her kitchen, cleaning up the messes that seemed to come from the guest. "Sure I
don't have to do a thing," she remarked sarcastically as one of the guests came wandering in.
"Hey there Sarah, nice party," he said, a smile on his face. "You sure are a good friend to throw a
party like this. Did you hear what Toni's giving Jareth for his birthday?" he chided.
"No, what's she giving him?" she asked, looking at the boy in front of her.
"Oh, maybe I shouldn't say anything. It is a rumor after all," he stated, noticing her edginess.
"Fine, don't tell me. I don't want to know." she replied, walking across the kitchen.
"It's just that, well, she's going to give him the gift every man would want," he stated, a pleased
smile upon his face.
Sarah looked at him as it dawned on her what he was talking about. As unbelievable as it
sounded, she knew it sounded just like Toni. Not wanting to think about it, she pushed it from
her mind and continued what she was doing.
Setting the cake out on the counter, she placed a few candles across the top. Who would have
thought she would be holding a party for him? Grinning, she grabbed knife and lit the candles.
Carefully carrying it out, she could hear everyone singing to him. Toni made him instantly known
by all her friends.
Sitting it down on the table, she moved back and watched as Jareth blew out the candles. He
turned to flash her a smile, before picking up the knife. Halfway through cutting the first piece,
Sarah saw Toni lean over and whisper in his ear, taking the knife from his hand. She watched
helplessly as Toni led him up the stairs to get his birthday' present.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At Toni's house, her parents were hosting the bridge club that night. It was time for the winners
to move up and the losers, back. Robert and his wife moved up to sit at the table with Sue and
Rick. Glancing around, Sue was nervous considering the last time she saw Robert she made a
fool of herself.
Rick tried desperately to hold his temper, but snapped at the thought of Robert, his friend, with
his wife. He attacked Robert with lightening speed. Before they knew what was happening, the
whole night had turned into a shambles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth, watched in anticipation as Toni shed her clothing. There before him was the vision of
perfection, eager and willing, but was he so willing? He watched her close the distance between
them until her lips brushed his. Jareth took a step back.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"You know, I was all set to ravage your body tonight," he started, then continued. "But I can't.
It just doesn't feel right. Not like this."
"What are they gonna think if we don't do it?" she replied, caring more about appearances.
"I don't care," he responded.
"Well I do!" she stated harshly as she pulled her clothes back on. "When we go back downstairs,
you act as though it was the best experience you ever had." she demanded as she pulled the door
open. Walking down the stairs, she put on a big smile and thanked everyone for making his
birthday so special.
Jareth walked down behind her and passed Sarah sitting on the steps. "Thanks Sarah," he uttered
quietly. She simply nodded and watched him go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth dropped off a fuming Toni. On her way inside, she heard her parents arguing, but didn't
pay it much heed. She rushed through the room, slamming her bedroom door behind her.
Feeling sorry for herself, she changed into something more comfortable, and went to the kitchen.
Sitting at the kitchen table, she dipped the spoon into the box in front of her, pulling out the cool
frosty ice cream from within. Eating it slowly, she tried to forget everything that had happened.
She felt miserable. She could still hear her parents arguing and wished they would just go away.
Suddenly the door burst open, but she didn't care. It was as though she were watching them from
a distance. She watched as her father pulled a paper from her mother's purse. Taking another
bite of the ice cream, she tried to ignore their little quarrel.
"Since when do you go around spying on people?" Sue asked impatiently.
"I do it all the time. It's my job, I'm a cop!" he shot back.
"But why me? Your own wife!"
"My wife. And just what is this then? Twenty years of marriage and this is what I get!" Rick
yelled, his anger rising by the minute. "If only for one brief moment I could feel your lips against
mine. Explain that to me!"
Toni stood up in disbelief, but her anger soon took control. "Daddy that's my letter, how could
you!" Toni cried, tears beginning to give away as she finally broke down.
"Your letter?" he asked, his voice softer now.
"Jareth wrote this letter to me. How could you read it?!" she screamed. Running to her room,
she slammed the door, her tears coming full stream now. Clutching the letter in her hands, she
threw herself on her bed, crying the tears she had held for so long.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth walked into the throne room, noting that Hoggle was there for some odd reason. Not
really caring why, he started toward the door when a peculiar phrase caught his ear.
"Oh comes now, you sure you didn't write me this?" Hoggle held the letter in front of him. "I
long to have your arms around me, and feel your body against mine." Hoggle gave her a smug
grin.
"That's my letter Hogwart!" Jareth bellowed, snatching it from Hoggle's hands. "I'm going to
have to hire a guard goblin!" he muttered, walking away. "No, that's probably how you got it in
the first place. Can't trust these stupid goblins to leave things alone, no of course not!" he yelled
until finally he reached his room and his heavy door silenced his complaints.
Sitting down on his bed, he stared at the letter, which had brought him nothing but trouble, then
silently dropped it into a drawer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah sat in the middle of the mess left over from the party. Feeling cheated somehow, she had a
box of ice cream in front of her. Swiping up the chocolate syrup, she drizzled it over the top.
Picking up a spoon, she prepared to take a bite, just to be interrupted by the doorbell. Setting it
down again, she got to her feet and walked to the door. Pulling it open, she found Jareth standing
on the other side.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a tired, bored voice.
"Are you busy?" he asked.
"Party's over Jareth," she replied.
"Can I come in for a while?"
"Why? What's wrong?" she asked, not up to conversation with him at the moment.
"Toni and I... I don't know, I think I made a big mistake." he replied, trying to make sense of
everything he felt.
"As fascinating as that subject is to me, it's late and I want to go to bed." she stated, starting to
shut the door, but Jareth caught it.
"Wait a minute. What are you so upset about?" he asked, noticing her hostile behavior toward
him.
"Oh nothing much. You see, I gave this party today for a friend. Only there was a big highlight
to the evening and I didn't know what it was. What it turns out to be is a couple of friends,
getting it on in my parent's bedroom." she said, each word showing the hurt. "Next time you're
going to do something like this, do you mind telling me first? Because I don't like being used."
she snapped.
"I didn't know it was going to happen Sarah," Jareth replied, taken aback by her hostility.
"Everyone else seemed to," she retorted, the anger still in her voice.
"Not much happened," he offered.
"Yeah, sure," she scoffed.
"Look, Sarah, nothing happened ok? I don't even know why I'm explaining this when it is not the
reason I came." he shot back at her.
"Am I supposed to guess?" she asked sarcastically.
"Would you go out with me sometime?" he asked softly.
"What?" she replied, scarcely believing her ears.
"I think we should go on a real date. You and I," he suggested.
"What happened to Toni?" she asked.
"I don't know what happened. It just was not what I thought it should be. I expected her to be
like..." he trailed off, searching for what to say. He caught her gaze, "you." he finished.
Sarah was speechless.
"You know we have a good time together, but it was not like that. So, she is beautiful, but you
can only look for so long. Because when you start listening, all the lights are on but nobody's
home. We have been friends for a long time. I like being with you more than anyone else." he
said, searching her eyes for some glimmer of a chance. "You probably do not feel as I do, but
perhaps we are overlooking something. So we should go on a date, just to see. What do you
think?" he asked, hopeful of a positive response.
Sarah stood there, taking in everything he had just said to her, and yet, she couldn't forgive him.
"Jareth, I think you just won the asshole of the year award." she said, slamming the door in his
face.
Jareth stood there a few moments, her rejection not registering. Finally noting that she wasn't
going to give him a second chance, he disappeared into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Jareth sat alone in the park. The first place he met Sarah. She wouldn't even
give him a chance. Sitting in self-pity, a shadow fell across his form. Looking up, he saw Toni
standing there.
"I just want to know one thing Jareth. Where's the man that wrote these letters?" she asked
angrily, thrusting them forward at him.
"Toni, I am sorry, but..." Jareth broke off, looking at the letters in his hand. "What are these?" he
asked.
"That's cruel Jareth, really cruel," she snapped.
"Where did you get these?" he asked, confused.
"From the man I thought I loved," she answered.
"I did not write these. These aren't what I wrote." he replied, looking at the black writing that
seemed vaguely familiar.
"You just wait until Mike gets his hands on you. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes," she
threatened, walking away in a huff.
Jareth disappeared, back to his castle. Pulling his letter from the drawer, he looked at all three of
them together. The writing was identical. "Sarah," he breathed. Pulling a phone from nowhere,
he quickly rang her home number, getting her stepmother.
"Is Sarah there, this is Jareth."
"Oh hi Jareth. She's outside helping her father load the car," Mrs. Williams replied.
"I have to talk to her," he persisted.
"We're leaving in like two minutes," she said.
"Sarah's leaving? Sarah's leaving me?" he asked, terrified of the future without her.
"Yes, she's leaving on the school afloat. She has to be at the harbor at ten," she replied, not
noticing the strain in his voice.
"I have to talk to her. I have to see her!" he pleaded.
"I have to go, they're honking. Bye." she said hanging up the phone.
Jareth heard the dead air on the other end and felt his heart twist in his chest. "NO!!" he yelled
into the phone before throwing it away from him.
Sarah's stepmother got into the car. "Oh Sarah, that was Jareth. He said to tell you goodbye,"
she said, fastening her seatbelt.
Sarah sank back in her seat. So this was it.
Jareth appeared in the kitchen of Sarah's home, glancing out the window, he saw the car pulling
out. Running out the door, he called after them in a futile effort to make them stop. He wouldn't
use his magic either. She had told him once that if it were meant to be it would happen. That it
couldn't be forced, so he would track her down.
Running to the corner, he tried to get anyone to stop. He was frantic to get to that harbor before
she slipped through his fingers. Car after car drove past him but none would give him the time of
day. Then a familiar figure met his eyes. "Mike!" he yelled in an attempt to get him to stop.
Mike pulled a U-turn and pulled up beside Jareth.
"You have to get me to the harbor, right away." Jareth commanded.
"I've been looking for you," Mike replied icily.
"Mike, you don't understand," Jareth said, taking a step back.
"Toni told me everything," he stated, advancing.
Jareth, feeling his future slip away, punched Mike as hard as he could.
"I think you broke my nose," Mike muttered through his hands.
"Are you alright?" Jareth asked, then seeing his keys in his hands, snatched them quickly. "I have
to borrow your car!" Jareth called, as he jumped into the convertible. Starting the engine, he took
off like a shot. Out onto the highway, in and out of traffic, Jareth made his way closer to his
destiny.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah's parents pulled up to the dock. This was it. She felt her world close in on her, but
wouldn't let it get to her. She would forget him in time. Pulling her things from the car, they
carried them to the boat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth found the exit, and quickly went off. Once he was there, he realized he had no idea where
the boat was docked, so he pulled up alongside a security guard and asked directions. Deciding it
was a bad idea to ask an old man for directions, he quickly pulled away.
Driving blindly, not knowing which way to go, he again had the chance to ask directions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah's stepmother took a picture of Sarah and her father, just before they told her to board.
Saying her last goodbyes, she kissed her father goodbye and climbed aboard the boat she would
spend the next year living on.
The boat, now untied from the dock, slowly made it's way out to sea. A faint honking could be
heard as though it were a million miles away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth drove straight down the wharf, around forklifts and boxes only to come to a complete halt
as Mike's car hit an obstacle. Climbing out of the car quickly, Jareth ran on calling out to her.
"Sarah!" he called, reaching the end of the pier. "Sarah!" he could still see her, so there was still
hope.
"Jareth?!" she called back, surprised to see him there.
"Sarah, I know you wrote the letters! Don't leave me! I love you!" Jareth yelled.
"What?!" she called back.
"I love you! Do you love me?!" he called out to her.
"What difference does it make?!" she yelled back.
"But do you love me?!" he asked again.
"Yes! Does that make you feel better?!" she called back.
"Yes!" he called back. Without warning, Jareth jumped into the water.
"Jareth!" Sarah screamed, running down the length of the boat to the stern. Standing at the very
back, she looked at Jareth still in the water. "Jareth!"
"Come on Sarah, don't leave me," he whispered.
Sarah stood there and looked around herself. Her future was at hand and here she was afraid to
take the plunge. Is this what she really wanted? Is this how she wanted her future to be? Feeling
a surge of energy, she knew what she wanted to do. Before anyone had a chance to stop her, she
jumped from the ship.
"Jareth!" she called, swimming towards him.
Jareth swam to her. Taking her in his arms, he was finally happy. "I was beginning to get worried
you wouldn't come back," he said, his forehead against hers.
"Of course I'd come back," she replied. "I love you."
Jareth smiled, bringing his lips to hers and kissing her passionately.
The End ^_^
could they? Opening the door, he helped Toni inside and shut the door behind her. Climbing into
the driver's seat, he turned the key and the engine came to life. Almost ready to put the car in
gear, Toni broke his thoughts.
"Jareth, what did you mean by, you've given me the greatest gift'?" she asked, her voice soft and
sultry.
Jareth, caught off guard by the question, had no idea what she was talking about. Trying to cover
as best as he could, under the circumstances, he searched his mind for any excuse he could think
of. "Well, Toni, I was referring to the whole concept of giving in general." he replied, cringing
inwardly, knowing how awful that sounded.
"Wow, yeah, I know what you mean," she replied, putting Jareth in a state of shock. "Just think
though, if you hadn't written those letters, I'd be out with Mike tonight," she added. "I know this
great place we should go."
"Where?" he asked, still mystified that she bought that line of bull.
"Turn here," she pointed to the right and a small road off to the side that led to a wide-open
space, overlooking the whole city. Moving closer to him, she kissed his neck, already trying to
get a jump on the evening before they were even parked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah, not happy with how her night was going, climbed the hill that overlooked the point. Not
only could she see all the idiots parking below, but the city lights were wonderful from this view.
Pulling the tab on her soda, she took a drink from the can. Something familiar caught her eye,
and her mood disintegrated.
Her car pulled up in a vacant spot. "Great," she said then continued, "I hate you Jareth," she
muttered, her voice full of sadness and not knowing what to do now. Deciding to leave so as not
to spoil the rest of her evening, she got to her feet, but dropped her can when she spotted Mike's
car. "Oh no," she breathed, looking toward her car. By that time, Mike had already begun going
from car to car in search of Toni.
Sarah hurriedly made her way down the hill, her mind frantically searching for some way to stop
Mike from reaching her car. Running up beside him, nearly out of breath, she smiled as best she
could.
"Hi Mike," she said, trying to draw his attention. Didn't work.
"Hey Sarah," he uttered back, as he moved to the next car.
"What are you doing, Mike?" she tried again, still no go.
"Looking for Toni. She's out with some creep and when I get my hands on him, I'm gonna kill
him." he replied angrily.
"Forget Toni, you could do so much better Mike. There are plenty of girls out there just waiting
for the chance to be with you," she said, another car closer to Jareth.
Mike stopped to look at her. "Yeah? Like who?" he asked, eying her suspiciously.
"Well, like me." she answered quickly, regretting her choice in words, but would follow through
with it to keep Jareth and Toni in one piece. Grabbing his hand, she placed it on her chest. "Can't
you feel my heart pounding?" she asked, her eyes searching his.
"Got a pretty big heart there," he smiled.
"You want to go somewhere? Just the two of us?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure why not?" he replied, looking her up and down. "Let's go. You know, I've always
liked you Sarah," he said, wrapping his arm around her and leading her away from the line of cars.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What are we doing here Sue?" Robert asked, taking in the familiar sight of the town below.
"Just thought we could use the quiet to talk," she replied, looking over at him. Then all of a
sudden she shrieked in horror and squished down in the seat.
"What's wrong?" he asked, finding it a bit silly that a grown woman would be hiding in a place
like this.
"My daughter is in the next car," she squealed. "Get us out of here Robert!" she shrieked.
"But you're the one that brought us here Sue," he mused.
"Get down, I don't want her to see you!" she yelled, grabbing his shirt and yanking him down into
the seat. "I'll get us out of here and that will be that." she said, starting the car, and backing it out
without looking much further over the dash, making their great escape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike opened the door to his room. Motioning Sarah in, he followed her, shutting the door
quietly behind them. Walking over to the bed, he flopped down, not so gracefully, and stared at
her as she looked around the room.
Sarah, really out of place now, wouldn't look at Mike. She was thinking of some way to get out
of the mess she got herself into. Biting her lip, she decided to try chitchat.
"So this is where you live, huh?" she said, her eyes wandering across the detestable posters lining
his walls.
"Yeah," he grinned, then grabbed her arm and yanked her down upon his chest. "Well now, why
don't we just get down to it?"
"Mike, do you have a bathroom in this place?" she asked, trying to remain calm and collected. He
would just love for her to be afraid of him.
"Yeah, sure," he nodded to a door.
Sarah got up, and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. "I am so stupid," she
muttered, looking around to see what was there. Her eyes fell on a window. Her mind screamed
escape as her fingers undid the lock and she pushed the window open. Crawling out, she was
relieved to be free.
"Hey Sarah," Mike called, getting to his feet. "I don't think this is such a good idea. I mean, this
just doesn't feel right. I love Toni, God help me I don't want to, but I do. I just don't think this is
going to work out with us," he said, now standing by the door. He knocked softly. "Sarah?" he
said, grabbing the knob after no reply. Turning it slowly, he peeked his head inside to find empty
space and the window open. "Sarah?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth walked Toni up to the door, a smile upon his face at the fond memories of the night.
Although it was merely a make out session, he was gratified that things were moving along
smoothly, and he hadn't used his magic yet.
"I had fun tonight," Toni said, her eyes twinkling by the light of the moon.
"As did I," he replied smoothly.
"I have never gone out with someone like you before," she stated, her smile taking Jareth's breath
away.
"I am not like everyone else, Toni." he replied, pulling her closer. Pressing his lips against hers,
he relished the feel of her body close to his, until she pulled away.
"Daddy," she said, wishing he would have shown up and a more opportune time. "When is your
birthday, Jareth?" she asked.
"Saturday actually," he replied, a smile lighting up his features.
"Really? We should have a party then, don't you think? Call me tomorrow?" she kissed him
lightly. Jareth shook his head yes. "Promise?" she asked softly.
Jareth nodded and watched the vision of loveliness walk into the house, just before her father
walked by and growled at him. As the door shut, Jareth stood in thought. "Odd family." he
muttered, walking back to the car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, Sarah sat on her bed, looking through photographs when her phone rang. Picking
it up, she put the receiver up to her ear to find Toni on the other end.
"Hi Sarah, it's Toni," came the voice. Sitting in front of her mirror, she was primping herself for
the coming evening. Another date with Jareth.
"Hi Toni," Sarah replied.
"I have a big favor to ask you. Now you can say no, but it would mean an awful lot to me." Toni
started, rambling away as usual. "It's Jareth's birthday on Saturday and I was thinking we should
throw him a party. Now I can't have it here, not only is it bridge club night, but you know how
daddy is, he'd kill me. So I was thinking maybe we could have it at your place."
"Toni, no. I promised my parents," Sarah interjected.
"Come on Sarah, please, please. It would mean a lot. We're going out tonight, and I wanted to
surprise him." Toni implored.
"No, I can't" she replied.
"Please, you won't have to do a thing, I'll take care of it all. Please?" she begged.
"Oh, alright." Sarah conceded. She hated to hear Toni beg. Hanging up the phone, she could
hear her parents now. Sarah had a terrible feeling about the whole thing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth again picked Toni up for yet another date. When the door swung open, he found himself
staring at a goddess leaning against the doorframe. Regaining his composure, he smiled. "You
look ravishing this evening," he said, taking in her form.
"I should after all the trouble I went to just to find this outfit. You have no idea how many miles I
must have walked while shopping."
"I saw an interesting movie last night," Jareth started, just trying to make interesting conversation,
but was cut off by her insistent babbling. Jareth found himself wondering if there was anything
more important to her other than clothes. Even during the drive over, she talked nonstop about
stores, miles, money, fabric, this and that. Enough to drive a sane man batty.
As he sat there in the restaurant, he had lost track of what she babbled about now. How boring
this night was. Where was the fun, the excitement, the casual conversation? Bored beyond
comprehension, he sighed and glanced up to catch sight of Sarah. Smiling, he waved at her.
"Who is it?" Toni asked, pausing in her rambling just long enough to look. "Oh hi Sarah!" she
called, turning her attention back to Jareth. "Now take Sarah for instance, don't get me wrong, I
like her a lot, but she doesn't know the first thing about clothes. She would be so much more
attractive if she'd pay attention to what she wore." she stated. Taking another bite of her food,
she smiled. "Did you see that movie last night?"
Jareth finally perked up with interest. "Yes, that is the movie I was referring to earlier." he
smiled.
"God, those clothes were great," she began.
Jareth sighed. Here we go again,' he thought to himself.
Finally relieved when dinner was over with, he pulled into her driveway and she apologized for
making his evening a rotten time. Smiling, she kissed him softly and said goodnight, promising
that she'll make it up to him on his birthday.
Watching her walk to the house, he contemplated the insinuations of her last statement. Make it
up to him? What did she have in mind? Only a few more days until he would find out. Still
unsure of everything, Jareth made his way back to his castle. Sitting in silence, he pulled a drawer
open and pulled out a picture of Sarah and studied it carefully. His friend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hoggle, figured out that the fairy, little biting sucker that she was, wasn't the one that passed that
note along to him. He decided he would go the castle and talk to the laundry mistress and see if
perhaps she had a soft spot for him. With a smile and a soft chuckle, he trudged off through the
Labyrinth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah stood in her kitchen, cleaning up the messes that seemed to come from the guest. "Sure I
don't have to do a thing," she remarked sarcastically as one of the guests came wandering in.
"Hey there Sarah, nice party," he said, a smile on his face. "You sure are a good friend to throw a
party like this. Did you hear what Toni's giving Jareth for his birthday?" he chided.
"No, what's she giving him?" she asked, looking at the boy in front of her.
"Oh, maybe I shouldn't say anything. It is a rumor after all," he stated, noticing her edginess.
"Fine, don't tell me. I don't want to know." she replied, walking across the kitchen.
"It's just that, well, she's going to give him the gift every man would want," he stated, a pleased
smile upon his face.
Sarah looked at him as it dawned on her what he was talking about. As unbelievable as it
sounded, she knew it sounded just like Toni. Not wanting to think about it, she pushed it from
her mind and continued what she was doing.
Setting the cake out on the counter, she placed a few candles across the top. Who would have
thought she would be holding a party for him? Grinning, she grabbed knife and lit the candles.
Carefully carrying it out, she could hear everyone singing to him. Toni made him instantly known
by all her friends.
Sitting it down on the table, she moved back and watched as Jareth blew out the candles. He
turned to flash her a smile, before picking up the knife. Halfway through cutting the first piece,
Sarah saw Toni lean over and whisper in his ear, taking the knife from his hand. She watched
helplessly as Toni led him up the stairs to get his birthday' present.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At Toni's house, her parents were hosting the bridge club that night. It was time for the winners
to move up and the losers, back. Robert and his wife moved up to sit at the table with Sue and
Rick. Glancing around, Sue was nervous considering the last time she saw Robert she made a
fool of herself.
Rick tried desperately to hold his temper, but snapped at the thought of Robert, his friend, with
his wife. He attacked Robert with lightening speed. Before they knew what was happening, the
whole night had turned into a shambles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth, watched in anticipation as Toni shed her clothing. There before him was the vision of
perfection, eager and willing, but was he so willing? He watched her close the distance between
them until her lips brushed his. Jareth took a step back.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"You know, I was all set to ravage your body tonight," he started, then continued. "But I can't.
It just doesn't feel right. Not like this."
"What are they gonna think if we don't do it?" she replied, caring more about appearances.
"I don't care," he responded.
"Well I do!" she stated harshly as she pulled her clothes back on. "When we go back downstairs,
you act as though it was the best experience you ever had." she demanded as she pulled the door
open. Walking down the stairs, she put on a big smile and thanked everyone for making his
birthday so special.
Jareth walked down behind her and passed Sarah sitting on the steps. "Thanks Sarah," he uttered
quietly. She simply nodded and watched him go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth dropped off a fuming Toni. On her way inside, she heard her parents arguing, but didn't
pay it much heed. She rushed through the room, slamming her bedroom door behind her.
Feeling sorry for herself, she changed into something more comfortable, and went to the kitchen.
Sitting at the kitchen table, she dipped the spoon into the box in front of her, pulling out the cool
frosty ice cream from within. Eating it slowly, she tried to forget everything that had happened.
She felt miserable. She could still hear her parents arguing and wished they would just go away.
Suddenly the door burst open, but she didn't care. It was as though she were watching them from
a distance. She watched as her father pulled a paper from her mother's purse. Taking another
bite of the ice cream, she tried to ignore their little quarrel.
"Since when do you go around spying on people?" Sue asked impatiently.
"I do it all the time. It's my job, I'm a cop!" he shot back.
"But why me? Your own wife!"
"My wife. And just what is this then? Twenty years of marriage and this is what I get!" Rick
yelled, his anger rising by the minute. "If only for one brief moment I could feel your lips against
mine. Explain that to me!"
Toni stood up in disbelief, but her anger soon took control. "Daddy that's my letter, how could
you!" Toni cried, tears beginning to give away as she finally broke down.
"Your letter?" he asked, his voice softer now.
"Jareth wrote this letter to me. How could you read it?!" she screamed. Running to her room,
she slammed the door, her tears coming full stream now. Clutching the letter in her hands, she
threw herself on her bed, crying the tears she had held for so long.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth walked into the throne room, noting that Hoggle was there for some odd reason. Not
really caring why, he started toward the door when a peculiar phrase caught his ear.
"Oh comes now, you sure you didn't write me this?" Hoggle held the letter in front of him. "I
long to have your arms around me, and feel your body against mine." Hoggle gave her a smug
grin.
"That's my letter Hogwart!" Jareth bellowed, snatching it from Hoggle's hands. "I'm going to
have to hire a guard goblin!" he muttered, walking away. "No, that's probably how you got it in
the first place. Can't trust these stupid goblins to leave things alone, no of course not!" he yelled
until finally he reached his room and his heavy door silenced his complaints.
Sitting down on his bed, he stared at the letter, which had brought him nothing but trouble, then
silently dropped it into a drawer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah sat in the middle of the mess left over from the party. Feeling cheated somehow, she had a
box of ice cream in front of her. Swiping up the chocolate syrup, she drizzled it over the top.
Picking up a spoon, she prepared to take a bite, just to be interrupted by the doorbell. Setting it
down again, she got to her feet and walked to the door. Pulling it open, she found Jareth standing
on the other side.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a tired, bored voice.
"Are you busy?" he asked.
"Party's over Jareth," she replied.
"Can I come in for a while?"
"Why? What's wrong?" she asked, not up to conversation with him at the moment.
"Toni and I... I don't know, I think I made a big mistake." he replied, trying to make sense of
everything he felt.
"As fascinating as that subject is to me, it's late and I want to go to bed." she stated, starting to
shut the door, but Jareth caught it.
"Wait a minute. What are you so upset about?" he asked, noticing her hostile behavior toward
him.
"Oh nothing much. You see, I gave this party today for a friend. Only there was a big highlight
to the evening and I didn't know what it was. What it turns out to be is a couple of friends,
getting it on in my parent's bedroom." she said, each word showing the hurt. "Next time you're
going to do something like this, do you mind telling me first? Because I don't like being used."
she snapped.
"I didn't know it was going to happen Sarah," Jareth replied, taken aback by her hostility.
"Everyone else seemed to," she retorted, the anger still in her voice.
"Not much happened," he offered.
"Yeah, sure," she scoffed.
"Look, Sarah, nothing happened ok? I don't even know why I'm explaining this when it is not the
reason I came." he shot back at her.
"Am I supposed to guess?" she asked sarcastically.
"Would you go out with me sometime?" he asked softly.
"What?" she replied, scarcely believing her ears.
"I think we should go on a real date. You and I," he suggested.
"What happened to Toni?" she asked.
"I don't know what happened. It just was not what I thought it should be. I expected her to be
like..." he trailed off, searching for what to say. He caught her gaze, "you." he finished.
Sarah was speechless.
"You know we have a good time together, but it was not like that. So, she is beautiful, but you
can only look for so long. Because when you start listening, all the lights are on but nobody's
home. We have been friends for a long time. I like being with you more than anyone else." he
said, searching her eyes for some glimmer of a chance. "You probably do not feel as I do, but
perhaps we are overlooking something. So we should go on a date, just to see. What do you
think?" he asked, hopeful of a positive response.
Sarah stood there, taking in everything he had just said to her, and yet, she couldn't forgive him.
"Jareth, I think you just won the asshole of the year award." she said, slamming the door in his
face.
Jareth stood there a few moments, her rejection not registering. Finally noting that she wasn't
going to give him a second chance, he disappeared into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Jareth sat alone in the park. The first place he met Sarah. She wouldn't even
give him a chance. Sitting in self-pity, a shadow fell across his form. Looking up, he saw Toni
standing there.
"I just want to know one thing Jareth. Where's the man that wrote these letters?" she asked
angrily, thrusting them forward at him.
"Toni, I am sorry, but..." Jareth broke off, looking at the letters in his hand. "What are these?" he
asked.
"That's cruel Jareth, really cruel," she snapped.
"Where did you get these?" he asked, confused.
"From the man I thought I loved," she answered.
"I did not write these. These aren't what I wrote." he replied, looking at the black writing that
seemed vaguely familiar.
"You just wait until Mike gets his hands on you. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes," she
threatened, walking away in a huff.
Jareth disappeared, back to his castle. Pulling his letter from the drawer, he looked at all three of
them together. The writing was identical. "Sarah," he breathed. Pulling a phone from nowhere,
he quickly rang her home number, getting her stepmother.
"Is Sarah there, this is Jareth."
"Oh hi Jareth. She's outside helping her father load the car," Mrs. Williams replied.
"I have to talk to her," he persisted.
"We're leaving in like two minutes," she said.
"Sarah's leaving? Sarah's leaving me?" he asked, terrified of the future without her.
"Yes, she's leaving on the school afloat. She has to be at the harbor at ten," she replied, not
noticing the strain in his voice.
"I have to talk to her. I have to see her!" he pleaded.
"I have to go, they're honking. Bye." she said hanging up the phone.
Jareth heard the dead air on the other end and felt his heart twist in his chest. "NO!!" he yelled
into the phone before throwing it away from him.
Sarah's stepmother got into the car. "Oh Sarah, that was Jareth. He said to tell you goodbye,"
she said, fastening her seatbelt.
Sarah sank back in her seat. So this was it.
Jareth appeared in the kitchen of Sarah's home, glancing out the window, he saw the car pulling
out. Running out the door, he called after them in a futile effort to make them stop. He wouldn't
use his magic either. She had told him once that if it were meant to be it would happen. That it
couldn't be forced, so he would track her down.
Running to the corner, he tried to get anyone to stop. He was frantic to get to that harbor before
she slipped through his fingers. Car after car drove past him but none would give him the time of
day. Then a familiar figure met his eyes. "Mike!" he yelled in an attempt to get him to stop.
Mike pulled a U-turn and pulled up beside Jareth.
"You have to get me to the harbor, right away." Jareth commanded.
"I've been looking for you," Mike replied icily.
"Mike, you don't understand," Jareth said, taking a step back.
"Toni told me everything," he stated, advancing.
Jareth, feeling his future slip away, punched Mike as hard as he could.
"I think you broke my nose," Mike muttered through his hands.
"Are you alright?" Jareth asked, then seeing his keys in his hands, snatched them quickly. "I have
to borrow your car!" Jareth called, as he jumped into the convertible. Starting the engine, he took
off like a shot. Out onto the highway, in and out of traffic, Jareth made his way closer to his
destiny.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah's parents pulled up to the dock. This was it. She felt her world close in on her, but
wouldn't let it get to her. She would forget him in time. Pulling her things from the car, they
carried them to the boat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth found the exit, and quickly went off. Once he was there, he realized he had no idea where
the boat was docked, so he pulled up alongside a security guard and asked directions. Deciding it
was a bad idea to ask an old man for directions, he quickly pulled away.
Driving blindly, not knowing which way to go, he again had the chance to ask directions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah's stepmother took a picture of Sarah and her father, just before they told her to board.
Saying her last goodbyes, she kissed her father goodbye and climbed aboard the boat she would
spend the next year living on.
The boat, now untied from the dock, slowly made it's way out to sea. A faint honking could be
heard as though it were a million miles away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jareth drove straight down the wharf, around forklifts and boxes only to come to a complete halt
as Mike's car hit an obstacle. Climbing out of the car quickly, Jareth ran on calling out to her.
"Sarah!" he called, reaching the end of the pier. "Sarah!" he could still see her, so there was still
hope.
"Jareth?!" she called back, surprised to see him there.
"Sarah, I know you wrote the letters! Don't leave me! I love you!" Jareth yelled.
"What?!" she called back.
"I love you! Do you love me?!" he called out to her.
"What difference does it make?!" she yelled back.
"But do you love me?!" he asked again.
"Yes! Does that make you feel better?!" she called back.
"Yes!" he called back. Without warning, Jareth jumped into the water.
"Jareth!" Sarah screamed, running down the length of the boat to the stern. Standing at the very
back, she looked at Jareth still in the water. "Jareth!"
"Come on Sarah, don't leave me," he whispered.
Sarah stood there and looked around herself. Her future was at hand and here she was afraid to
take the plunge. Is this what she really wanted? Is this how she wanted her future to be? Feeling
a surge of energy, she knew what she wanted to do. Before anyone had a chance to stop her, she
jumped from the ship.
"Jareth!" she called, swimming towards him.
Jareth swam to her. Taking her in his arms, he was finally happy. "I was beginning to get worried
you wouldn't come back," he said, his forehead against hers.
"Of course I'd come back," she replied. "I love you."
Jareth smiled, bringing his lips to hers and kissing her passionately.
The End ^_^