Disclaimer: Me no own anyone from Labyrinth. They belong to Jim Henson Productions. Not making any money off of it. That's that so, enjoy it and please review!

Author's Note:I would like to take this time and thank the many people who are reading and keeping up with this fic. I would also like to thank the following people for reviewing my story: Fae Japser
Kenraie
Xelena-chan
Maya
jarethluva4lyf
dawn
Zhayne
Melissa Davis
Tael
Danalas
ACJ Leveille
Silver Space
bunniko
Celestia

Chapter 2: She Ain't So Lady Like


Sarah and Eva stopped dead in their tracks when they heard that familiar voice. Sarah slowly turned around and saw Mark grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"What the Hell do you want?" she glared.

"Oh, I don't even get a welcome home kiss?" He started waltzing forward.

"In your wet dreams," she said through gritted teeth.

"How'd ya know?" he laughed as he attempted to hug her. He was stopped by Sarah's surprisingly strong arms. Forcing his arms behind his back. She kneed him in the soft spot.

"You try that shit again and next time I won't be so merciful,"she whispered in his ear. She then threw him onto the ground and headed back to Eva.

"That's right. Walk away. You're just like your slut mother." Mark stood up and dusted himself off. Sarah stopped dead in her tracks. Did he just say what she thought he said? She turned on her heel and walked over to him.

"Oh no you didn't!" She was pissed "I can understand why you'd say that about my mom, but not me." He just smiled at her, knowing that he was getting to her. "At least I have a mom and I didn't kill mine."

All of a sudden she felt a hand fly across her face. She knew that she'd said too much, but she didn't care. She was going to kick his ass. She knew her black belt in karate would come in handy one day.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jareth was pissed off. How dare that little prick touch her that way. Jareth started t undo his seatbelt when A.J stopped him. He looked up at A.J with a questioning look.

"Look,"A.J said.

He looked to Sarah and smiled. She gave Mark a nose bleed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mark mustered up all of his strength and lunged at Sarah. She quickly stepped aside and laughed when he flew into the side of the wall. He turned around and attempted to grab Sarah, but her foot came in contact with his stomach. He doubled over in unbearable pain. "You little bitch."

He lunged at Sarah again and succeeded by knocking her to the ground. He held her hands behind her back and sat on top of her.

"Still filling up on Big Mac's I see,"she laughed as she threw him off of her.

He landed face down on the pavement and scratched his face up pretty badly, but he was up again in a flash. When he turned around he was staring down the barrel of a gun; also, Sarah was the one behind the gun. Her face was serious as she cocked the gun. He tried to move, but Sarah followed him with her gun.

"Jules, don't do anything stupid," he pleaded.

"Eva,' she called, not taking her eyes off of Mark.

"Ya?" Eva asked.

"Go in the back of my car and get the roll of tape." She forced Mark to his Camero.

Eva ran back with the roll of silver duck tape. "Now what?"

"Tie him up." She pushed the gun up to his head for a little security. Once Eva was done she and Sarah tossed him into the trunk of her. Sarah remembered that the gun was loaded and smiled. Without a word, she pointed the gun to the back seat of the car and pulled the trigger and laughed when she heard Mark scream like a little girl. The bullet shattered her back window and punctured the back seat.

"Come on and get in." She and Eva jumped into the car and took off.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jareth sat in awe. Was that the Sarah that he used to know? The sane Sarah who defeated his labyrinth 2 years ago. He was shocked and impressed at the same time. She kicked ass, literally. "Wow!"

"I know. She used to do that to me,"A.J laughed.

"She beat you up?"

"No, we were in karate together for three years before she left for England,' he explained.

"But that doesn't make any sense. I thought that she just started to go by Juliet?" He was very confused.

"No, she's always gone by Juliet. She wouldn't tell me her real name because she said she likes to keep people wondering."

"Hmmm,"Jareth thought. I thought I knew her well. I suppose not. "Hey you never told me why she went to jail."

"Oh, she was arrested for arson. Almost two years ago, her parents sent her to England so she could go to boarding school,"he related.

"Sounds like her parents." He looked at Sarah and saw her driving off. "Go after her."

"Alright. Anyway, she was at boarding school for about 6 months until she couldn't stand it anymore. So she set fire to her school," he explained as he took off after her.

"Oh," he thought some more. "What's the deal with her and the asshole in the trunk?"

"She and Mark were together for about five months before she dumped him and went to England."

"Why did she dump him?' He was determined to find out as much about Sarah as he could.

"Oh, he was abusive. Not only to Sarah, but to Eva."

"What does he have against Eva?" He furrowed his brow for the billionth time that day.

"She kept telling Juli-Sarah," he corrected himself. "to dump Mark. She told Eva, no that she had no reason to." He looked at Jareth's angry face.

"No reason? He was hitting her!" he spat out.

"I know, but she's so stubborn and caring at the same time. So, she seemed torn."

"Well, has she always been so..." Jareth was looking for the right words. "hard core? When I met her she wasn't."

"No, she went through a weird time. She kinda shut off and did what people expected her to. No, not people: Mark. She met him her freshman year and she was sucked into his gang shit. Ya know, booze and drugs."


"She's a druggie?" He was so surprised.

" Well, not really. She only does pot, but she could do worse you know. "

"Yeah," he said. "So how long have you two known each other?"

"Ever since we were five," he laughed.

"Really?" Jareth was getting jealous.

"Yeah, before her mom became famous, she use to be best friends with my mom. That's how Sarah and I met.'

"She went by Juliet then as well?"

"Yeah, her mom came up with that name. She told Sarah to go by it for her protection," he said matter of factly.

"Protection?" he asked.

"Yeah, in case Linda ever became famous, she didn't want the media to know her name. That way, nobody could harm her or her mom." A.J parked the car and realized that they were at Chestman's Point, otherwise known as "Make out point".

"Where are we?" Jareth looked around at his surroundings.

"Chestman's Point. Everybody comes up her to make out."

Jareth watched as Eva and Sarah pulled Mark out of the trunk. They pulled off his shirt and pulled out a set of markers.

"Jules, just out of curiosity, why do you have all of this crap in the back of your car?" Eva watched as she took a red marker and colored his lips and the she colored his eye lids blue.

"They're not mine. Karen's been using the car while I was gone. This is all of Toby's crap. And this," she smiled as she pulled out a dry cleaning bag out of the back seat. "is Karen's." She pulled out a green beaded frock and held it up in front of the moonlight.

The dress was hideous. It looked like a baby had puked up all over it. Of course it was Karen's; Sarah would rather die than wear anything that color. She just stuck to her regular attire of tank tops and baggy pants, but Mark sure would look lovely in this green dress Sarah decided. She and Eva pulled the dress over his head and started their makeover. When they were finished, they stood him up and looked at their handy work. Mark, who had been screaming like a banshee, calmed down to a low growl.

"You bitches are going to pay for this, I swear to God. "

"Oh, shut up." Sarah pulled put her gun and pistol whipped him over the back of his head, leaving him unconscience. They dragged him over to where the flag pole was at the top of the hill. When they reached it, they stood him up and tied him to it. "He's missing something,"Eva pondered. "Oh yes!" She pulled out a black marker and wrote the words "Looking for a good time? Call 555-7418" across the front of the dress.

"Come on, let's go." She didn't want to be there any longer. They headed down the hill and to Mark's awaiting Camero. "What are we going to do to his car?" Eva asked.

Sarah smiled. "I know." She got in and started the engine and drove it to the end of the cliff. She hopped out and searched for a large rock. When she found one she stuck it in front of the tire. She then got back in and started the engine and taped the excellorator down.

"Jules, don't,"Eva laughed. "Do you know how much those things cost?"

"No, but I can imagine." She once again stepped out of the car and shut the door. She walked over to the front tire and looked down at the tire. "Should she? Was it wrong of her? Who gives a damn!" She kicked the stone out from under the tire an d watched as the car went speeding into the awaiting bay below them.

Sarah turned and looked at Eva and smiled. Eva in turn looked at her in total shock."Jules," she shouted. "I can't believe you just did that!" Sarah frowned.

"God, get over it. At least I have a positive attitude about my destructive behaviors," she shouted back. "Let's just go."

They got back into the car and buckled up. Sarah turned the keys in the ignition, but the car wouldn't start. She tried again; nothing.

"Shit!"

"Now what?" Eva asked quietly.

"We walk," Sarah stated as she lit up a cigarette.

"Are you serious? It's at least 12 blocks away." Eva was pissed off and shocked.

"Are you that lazy?" she asked as she put on her leather knee high trench coat on.

"No," Eva pouted.

"Good. Then let's go."

They got out of the car and started walking down the deserted road. Sarah made sure that she had her gun close by, along with her cigarettes.

"Ms. Juliet, where do you think that you're going?"

Sarah and Eva stopped, thinking that it was the school's principle. Mr. Charles' voice. She turned around and saw that it was her old friend, A.J.

"A.J!" she screamed and threw her arms around his neck. "I thought you were Mr. Charles."

"Nope, he died", A.J informed her.

"Oh, how sad," she laughed. "What the Hell are you doing out here at this time of night?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he lied.

"Oh nothing," she led back. "My car's on empty."

"Need a lift?" A.J looked at Eva and smiled, while she in return blushed.

"No we'll walk," she informed him. She saw how A.J looked at Eva and she didn't like it. She knew how much they liked each other, but she didn't like the fact because she hated change. She didn't understand why they would want to ruin a perfectly good friendship with a thing called love.

"No, I insist," A.J replied.

"No, we're fine," Sarah argued.

"Well, at least let me give you a flashlight." He ran to the car and pretended to look for a flashlight.

"What are you doing?" Jareth asked.

"Being a good Samaritan," A.J replied, as he grabbed the flashlight from the glove box.

"I mean, by offering them a lift?" he snapped.

"Again, I say, being a good Samaritan and trying to get you some points."

"Why? She hates me," Jareth said in hushed tones.

"Oh, cry me a river," A.J replied as he got out of the car.

"Thanks, A.J," Sarah smiled as she took the flashlight.

"What are friends for?" He smiled back at Eva.

She rolled her eyes at them once again and then grabbed Eva's arm. "We gotta go. Bye."

"Alright," he smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"A.J!" Eva snapped at him for nearly ruining the surprise.

"What?" asked Sarah ,confused.

"Nothing, let's go." Eva and Sarah walked on.

A.J smiled at then and walked back to the car.

"What's tomorrow?" Jareth asked.

"Halloween," A.J stated as he revved the engine.

"So?" Jareth waited for A.J to continue.

"Sarah's birthday,"A.J said slowly.

"Really?"

"Yes, her seventeenth birthday." he pulled out of the dirt road. "There's going to be a big surprise party at her house tomorrow night, and we're going."

"No," he said simply.

"Yes, we are. Now shut up and buckle up."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Come on, Eva. Hurry up," Sarah whined as she jogged in front of Eva, trying to hurry her.

"You know, I'm surprised that you can run at all with the amount of weed you smoke," Eva laughed. "Besides, why are we going in such a hurry?"

"Because I'm cold and I want to go home."

"Alright, look, there's a gas station up there,"Eva pointed out. They walked to the gas station and called Eva's dad.

"Hi daddy!" Eva sucked up. "We're kinda stuck here at the AM/PM station in Greensville." Eva pulled the phone away as he dad started to yell. She then placed the phone on the receiver and said, "He's on his way. I think we should have gotten a lift with A.J."

"I know you do. You're in love with him," Sarah stated as she sat down on the sidewalk outside and waited.

"I am not,"Eva scoffed and sat down next to her.

"Yes you are. Admit it! What happened between you two when I was away?" She ran her fingers through her hair.

"Well, Jules, it's sort of complicated. It just sort of happened, you know," she smiled.

"Yeah, sure," Sarah replied sarcastically.

"Come on. Can't you just accept the fact that we like...maye love each other?" she poked Sarah.

"No, why? Why can't we all just be friends like old times," she groaned.

"Things change; people change,"Eva stated. "Get used to it."

"I don't want to,"she whined. "How do you guys know what love is anyway? You're 17 years old and he's 19. That's way too young, Eva."

"Okay, say for example that you were to fall in love. I wouldn't doubt it," Eva lectured.

"But I'm not. Eva make me a promise now, you swear?" Sarah pleaded.

"Okay, what?"

"Promise me that you'll never change on me. Please. I couldn't stand it if everyone started to change around me, especially my best friend." Her eyes were sad and Eva knew that she had been hurt a lot of times.

"I promise I won't change, but Jules, you've changed too," she said in a matter of fact tone. "Now, I want you to promise me that you won't change anymore than you have."

"I promise also," she swore. "God, I'm turning into an old sentimental sappy girl. Slap me."

"Sentimental? No. I think that you are just fine the way you are." Eva hugged her.

"Thanks for being my friend Eva."

"What are friends for?"

"God, he's rubbing off on you," she laughed as she realized A.J said those words earlier. "So tell me about you and A.J."

"Like what?" Eva giggled.

"Well, now, what are this young man's intentions? Is he going to college? Does he have a future?" Sarah mimicked Eva's father.

Eva, until now, was laughing at Sarah's impression.

"Yes, Eva, what are his intentions?" came a man's voice from behind her. Sarah turned around and looked up at A.J.

"I don't know. You tell me,"Sarah scoffed."You seem to know so much." A.J smiled. "Are you gonna get her pregnant, A.J?" Sarah asked in a high pitched voice with a fake kindness behind it. She punched him in the arm. "Huh? How 'bout it A.J? Ya gonna knock her up? You da man!" She still was using her squeaky voice.

"Sarah!" both A.J and Eva exclaimed at the same time.

"What?" Sarah asked innocently. " We're all mature adults here. Anyway, how'd you get here A.J?" She smiled at him, knowing that he was behind them the whole time with his head lights off.

"We ran out of gas,"A.J lied.

"We?" Sarah questioned.

"I mean we as a society," A.J tried to cover up his mess. It's like the queen says 'we are not amused',"A.J faked an English accent that made Jareth grimace.

"What's up with the third person thing?" Sarah asked.

"Force of habit," he shied away. "We'll we'd love to stay and chat, but we must be going now."

"Knock it off you dork,' Eva laughed.

"Well, bye." He walked back to his car and got in. "I'm not playing your little messenger anymore Jareth. Tomorrow night you're talking to her or I swear to God, I'll be really pissed off."

"Okay. God! Sorry," he defended himself.

"Good, now get out of and pump the gas. You're pissing me off,"A.J stared at Eva.

"But-" He was cut off by A.J.

"Later," A.J said as he sat back in his chair.

"You suck." Jareth snacked up A.J's sunglasses and put them on. He walked as quietly as possible to the back of the car and tried not to be noticeable, but how can you be when you're wearing sunglasses at night and the bright lights of the gas station weren't helping either. He glanced in Sarah's direction and noticed that she was looking at him.

**Shit** his mind screamed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Who dat?" Sarah pointed to the suspicious character.

"Yeah, who is that?" Eva joined her friend's gaze.

"Come on. Let's go find out." She stood up and headed towards the car.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Seeing Sarah quickly approaching his car, A.J got out and was ready to protect his bud. He looked at Sarah and raised an eyebrow, questioning why she was there.

"A.J, who's that guy sitting shot gun?" Sarah pointed accusingly at the man sitting in the passenger's seat, burying his face in a magazine.

"Oh, that's just my friend," he stated a little too quickly for Sarah's taste.

"Tell me something, A.J: that's not prison lingo is it?"

"No, Jules! I can't believe that you'd think such a thing. I've got a girlfriend." He was pretty pissed off at Sarah's assumption that he was gay.

"Alright. God! Don't get your tighty whities in a twist. I was just looking out for Eva." She tried to calm A.J down to a speaking state. "So, who's your friend?"

"Nobody." A.J finally found the ground highly interesting.

"Oh, come on, A.J. How stupid do you think I am? What's so secretive about him that he has to wear sunglasses at night?" She pointed to Jareth once again.

"I know you're not stupid, Jules. I'm just not at liberty to discuss this issue anymore." He started to leave, but was stopped by Sarah's hand on his shoulder.

"A.J, you know that I'm not a force to be reckoned with, for I could easily kick your ass. Watch your back, because if you hurt Eva protecting your pal, I swear to God, you'll get it. " Her face was enough to convince him that she wasn't lying.

"I understand, Jules, but how am I going to hurt Eva by protecting my friend?" That part confused him a bit.

"A.J, I've never known you to keep any secrets from me or Eva. So if you are infact gay and keeping it from Eva, I swear I'll..." She couldn't think of anything bad enough to say. "Just watch it."

"Alright," he replied.

"Ok, have a nice evening," she smiled and walked back over to Eva.

He was shocked at her quick change of attitude. Girls private school must have really changed her. He had never known Sarah to make up so quickly after a fight. No, she was one who held a grudge until the other person came crawling back to her. Thinking back, he remembered a time when in 3rd grade, he and Eva buddied up for a field trip, leaving Sarah with Billy Sherman, a kid who smelled like spoiled milk. It took a week's worth of jelly beans just to get her to talk. Yes, England had definitely made a huge impact on her. Shaking his head, he got into the car and looked at Jareth.

"Jareth?"

"Yes," he asked, uncertain of A.J's tone.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Sarah definitely has some serious issues." With that he started the engine.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So, who was that?" Eva asked, watching Sarah sit down.

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me."

"Hmmm," Eva pondered."Well, I'll find out."

The two friends sat there and remembered the old times while there waited for Eva's father. It was a special time shared by the two best friends who would look back ten years from then and cherish the memory.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next morning, Sarah woke up to the soft sound of rain landing on her balcony. She always loved the rain. Since she was a child, she'd run out into the rain and head for the old tree house at her favorite park. Deciding to carry on the tradition she finally rolled out of her warm bed.

She threw on a pair of baggy jeans, her favorite billabong sweatshirt and her heavy Adidas jacket. She headed downstairs quietly, so not to wake up her dad, Karen, or Toby. She hadn't seen any of them since she got home and she didn't plan on it now. She threw open the heavy front door and was greeted with the scent of fresh rain. Yes, indeed. It was Halloween. That also meant that it was her 17th birthday.

Nobody had waken her up to wish her a happy birthday or bring her a special breakfast in bed. She wasn't disappointed or upset, in fact it was what she had expected. She never knew Karen or her dad to throw her a party or make big deal of her birthday. To them, it was just another day to mark off on the calendar. The only two people that cared about her were A.J and Eva. Every year, they'd go all out to ensure Sarah the best birthday and every year seemed to top the last.

On her 15th birthday, they had kidnapped her and taken her to Disneyland for a week, which upset her parents. She still remembered the priceless looks on Karen's face when she came back with bags of souvenirs and other weird knick knacks. That was, of course, before she had been shipped off to boarding school. She loved A.J and Eva as her own siblings and thanked God she had such good friends.

She finally reached the park after 10 minutes. She walked slowly to the treehouse across the park. She was in no particular hurry to get anywhere quickly. She smiled when she reached the old treehouse, sitting in the crotch of the huge oak tree. She climbed up the steps carefully as not to get any splinters. While slowly progressing her way to the top she wondered if the old wood would support her weight. She heaved a relieved sigh as she safely reached the top of the tree house. She smiled and got nostalgic when she looked around the old "castle" that she, A.J, and Eva had spent so may hours in.

She sat down and looked at the wood that had so many carvings in it's once soft surface. Her eyes finally found the one unique carving that she hadn't seen for two years. It was a big circle that read:

Eva
A.J.
Juliet
Best Friends For Life

She recalled the day they carved that into the tree because it was the day her mother walked out on her and her father.


Seven years ago...

It seemed like a normal Saturday in June, but things hadn't been normal in the William's house for a while. Little ten year old Sarah sat in her room, playing with her Barbie dolls when she heard a lot of yelling coming from downstairs. Curious as to why her parents were fighting, she crept downstairs and sat at the bottom of the stairs, watching the scene before her.

"I'm not going to live in a small town anymore, Robert. I'm going to be big," her mom yelled as she grabbed her bag. Her dad grabbed the bag and threw it across the room, which in turn, knocked down a family portrait.

"What about Sarah?" Sarah had never seen her father this made before. His face was red and it scared her.

"I can't take her with me. When I've saved up enough money, I'll come back for her," her mom explained.

"If you walk out that door, you'll walk out of her life for good."

Linda Williams couldn't say anything in response. Without a word, she picked up her bags and walked out the front door. Sarah panicked. She couldn't let her mommy leave her alone. She ran to her mommy and clutched her legs tightly.

"Mommy, please don't leave me," she wailed.

"Sarah, honey, don't make this harder than it should be. I promise when I get more money, I'll come back for you." Her attempts at calming her daughter failed.

"No mommy. Don't leave me! Please!"

"Sarah, I have to go. I love you." With that, she picked up her bags and drove off. Sarah sat there on the plush carpet totally heartbroken. Her mother had done the unthinkable to her and her dad. She was still shocked at her own mommy dearest would do that to her. Then something happened to Sarah.

She couldn't breath.

She started to panic. She felt as if all the wind had been taken from her and she realized that she was hyperventilating. Her dad rushed over to her and held her, rocking her back and forth. He dialed 911 and was now waiting calmly for the ambulance. He sat there and comforted her. "Shhh. It's alright. Everything will be alright." He was actually saying it to calm himself more than his daughter, for he too needed something to ease his battered ego.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sarah snapped back into reality not wanting to think about any more bad memories. She was shocked to find tears rolling down her cheeks. Sarah Williams didn't cry. She made other people cry. She hadn't cried in years, why start now? To her surprise, she found that she couldn't stop crying when she tried to. So she gave in. Sarah Williams sat there in the treehouse, a fallen victim to tears.


t.b.c.....