Disclaimer: I know it's been forever and a day, but alas, nothing's changed. I still do not own any of the original characters, but I have launched my plan to kidnap them and make them part of my collection forever! Mwahahahaha! *my muse comes in, sighs, and hits me over the head* So sorry. Temporary lapse of sanity for a moment, but hey, school has started again, wouldn't you be a little crazed? Anyway. Like I said, I still own none of the original characters but I do own mine! You should know who they are by now, and if you don't you haven't been paying much attention. Shame on you. As always, no one can play with my toys until I'm done with them and maybe not even then.
Author's Note: "Reeeaders!?! I'm Hoooome!" Why are y'all cowering in the corner? Really, y'all can come out now, I'm stable. It's says so right on my forged release sheet. *grin* As y'all can tell, I've been away for awhile, not really my fault, just one of those things. Anyway, I should be able to update semi-regularly now that school's back in session. And yes before you ask, I do have more plot-candy running through my head. My muse has been an absolute slave driver lately, giving me all these ideas and breadcrumbs to follow, and then laying out more before I have any chance to investigate the first trails. I could audition for Exorcist right now and get the lead role without breaking a sweat; my head's literally spinning that fast. Scared yet?…Oh and one more thing to all the faithful readers *Crickets are heard*…Okay that's just mean. As I was saying, To all the faithful, including my long-lost and much missed beta reader, I am about to send you into the twilight zone as far as the next three chapters are concerned. Things may get a little confusing, but if you'll hang in the saddle for the full eight seconds, I promise, you'll understand. So what are you waiting for? Me to shut-up? Honey if you do that, you'll be sitting here forever, so go on and don't pay me no never-mind, I'll be here when you get done….
"The Irony of It All"
Chapter Eleven: "Mud, flood, High water and…Aw Hell! Everything just broke Loose!"
Jareth felt the slight wind furrowing around his body as he, and his cousins transitioned. It was no great effort, and he was altogether used to it, but for some reason the somewhat roller coaster like sensations were suddenly very pronounced. He knew the reason, was of course the fact that he'd never quite made the trip with such an obstacle ahead of him before today, but the fact that he didn't quite no what to expect during this challenge made him more than a little uneasy. At least he knew his primary objectives:
- See the girl.
- Have an actual conversation with the girl. Preferably one where she refrained from screaming bloody murder.
- Convince the girl he loved her, would never have hurt her or her brother.
- And finally, the most important: GET THE GIRL.
'Is this what Sarah felt like facing me?'
- Probably not, he concluded. He was going into this fight to win Sarah's heart; she went into her fight already holding his.
Another consideration was that he was playing on her playground, not his. It would have been a large comfort to have this confrontation on his turf under his terms. Sarah was right, the rules did bend a lot more easily for him than for her, but that was to be expected. After all he was the only one in the game who knew what all the rules were. One of Mac's, (the red-head who was the closest thing to a sister that Sarah had) favorite sayings was, "You must first know the rules, so that you may properly break them." It was one of the few things they said to one another that actually made sense. For some reasons humans seemed to have the oddest sayings-
"Jareth?"
The contemplative monarch glanced up.
"We're here."
*******************************************************************************************************How much would you hate me if I left it right here? Really? That much huh? Well…we can't have that now can we? Okay, put down the breakable objects I'll continue, but only because y'all greatly outnumber me. ********************************************************************************************************
"Okay my centers take five, fly-and-base duos I need all of you to section off with you partner and go over the first, the third and the seventh break in the finale. We've got to have the Roman sets and Liberties in rapid consecutive order, or else the trinity move up front with my center triad is worthless. After that…"
It was right about there in Miz. Diedra's drilling that Sarah decided she could stop paying attention. For once it seemed like the centers were really getting a break. She would have smiled but that took effort and right now all of Sarah's was concentrated on just managing to draw sufficient oxygen into her lungs. While any normal person might think this a less than desirable situation to be in, Sarah was quite content. After all, so far she'd only thought about last night every ten minutes, as opposed to every ten seconds as was her earlier problem.
It was thinking of this benefit that suddenly made Sarah want to scream.
'I've got to think about last night, I've got to stop thinking about this morning, and I've got to stop thinking about Him! Him and his damnably gorgeous eyes that all the sudden didn't seem quite as cruel as they used to. He was right… "Your eyes can be so cruel…just as I can be so cruel…" Is this the reason he sang that? To make me wonder, or to make me realize…what? That the words could be reversed? His eyes could be so cruel… but what was I if the next line is "Just as I can be so cruel" I wonder, is that what he thinks I am? Cruel? I wonder if-'
"Hey Butterfly? Are you listening to me?" Sarah glanced upward to see Mac leaning on the vault, where Sarah was currently propped up against on the floor.
"I'm sorry Mac-"
Mac grinned before interjecting, "No you're not. Don't lie."
Smiling somewhat tentatively Sarah countered, "I'm not lying…much. It's just I'm a little out of sorts today. I told you I didn't get any sleep last night, and we all know what a slave driver Miz. Diedra is." Sarah sighed, "I just-…I don't know Mac, I just don't know…"
Hiding the small spark of understanding in her eyes Mac squeezed Sarah's shoulder before sliding down the vault and sitting next to her best friend. Sarah didn't look up, she just bit her bottom lip and kept one hand on her forehead while she sorted through the memories replaying in her mind. She didn't have to say anything to let Mac know she welcomed the comfort, it was understood, and appreciated all the same.
"Butterfly? You wanna explain what you were talking about this morning? We both know it isn't just lack of sleep that's getting to you like this. You could go without sleeping for three days and still have the same single minded intensity that you normally do when dancing."
Sarah glanced up, "I haven't had a single misstep today! I don't-"
"I'm not saying that you've danced badly today, in fact it's been kinda of amazing, but it's not the same kind of passion that's been driving you all day long and you know it…It's been desperation. You've got something that's eating at you right now, and you won't tell me what."
Sarah once again looked at the floor. Mac was right, but she couldn't say anything about it right now, and especially not right here. Slowly she glanced up and met her friend's eyes. "Alright Mac, you win, but not here and not now. At home." Mac opened her mouth to protest and then saw the pleading note in Sarah's gaze, then she uttered one word.
"Please."
The quiet desperation behind that word stopped Mac cold. There was more to this story than even she knew, but that was okay. All that she didn't know, she intended to find out.
"Sure thing Butterfly, besides, the minute we actually started to talk our resident drill Sargent would probably behead us." Mac smiled before continuing in a teasing manner, "Of course in your case that might be an improvement."
Smiling in mock outrage Sarah countered, "Now Mac, you're getting confused again, after all I wasn't the one who-"
"Don't go there Sarah!"
The brunette continued as though she hadn't heard a thing, "got caught outside her hotel room in nothing but her towel because she left her keycard in her laundry and it melted in the dryer. The bellhop got some interesting pictures out of that particular incident, and he didn't even ask for a tip."
Mac hung her head as her cheeks burned. "I hate you. You're a horrible awful wretched person. It's not funny Sarah!"
Sarah only laughed harder, "Then why are you trying not to smile?"
"I'm not smiling Sarah, I'm trying…to look…" Mac broke off because she was laughing to hard. She smiled one last time before stopping to catch her breath. "You bitch. I ought to- oof!"
That was when Lynx, the resident alley cat, decided to jump on top of Mac's head and then curl lazily around both her and Sarah.
Sarah looked toward Lynx, who resembled some kind of a cross between a miniature cougar and a wild bob-cat. Apparently Lynx had taken some offense at the words about to be uttered by Mac and had decided, quite effectively, to shut the red head up.
Regarding the semi-feral cat's electric green eyes, Sarah raised an eyebrow. It was well known that of all the dancers at the gym, the only two the cat showed anything other than contempt for were those two, and often he took it upon himself to act as mediator between their mock fights. "You were saying..?"
Mac huffed, "You're positively sadistic do you know that?" (though no one would have been able to discern whether she was speaking to the cat or to Sarah)
Sarah smiled ruefully, not offended in the slightest, and apparently neither was her current champion (who changed sides as he saw fit). Picking up Lynx and cuddling against him as she thanked whatever deity there was that had allowed her to have a friend like Mac.
As the laughter passed and the slow easy silence returned Sarah returned to her frustrating thoughts, glad of the fact that soon she wouldn't be alone in trying to sort through them. Sighing she leaned over into Mac's comforting hug and laid her head on the red-head's shoulder. Mac couldn't read her thoughts exactly, but Sarah knew that Mac sensed her distress and wanted to help…
Sarah was wrong. Mac more than sensed her distress, and while she knew that what she was doing was more than a little unethical, as far as her best friend was concerned Mac was convinced that ethics didn't matter. So slowly, somewhat unsure of exactly to what extent Sarah would realize what she was doing, Mac reached out and touched Sarah's mind with her own.
It was over a heartbeat later. Mac had only amplified their normal link for the space of heartbeat just long enough for her to hear the one thought of Sarah's she needed to hear to confirm her suspicions.
'Oh Jareth-'
Sighing Mac wrapped her arms a little tighter around Sarah and just contemplated a way out of this mess. Her friend was hurting and it was going to be up to Jareth to fix this. 'So where the Hell is he?'
That was when Mac felt the slightest tingle run down her spine as a small breeze blew across the nape of her neck. There was only one problem with that:
There were no breezes in a closed building.
"Speak of the devil."
*******************************************************************************************************Author's Note: Okay. I know that this was evil of me, but I really couldn't help myself. Really. I'd apologize for this chapter being so short If I didn't like the way this one had turned out so much. And besides…at least this way I'll know that you'll read the next chapter.
On a more somber note, this chapter was completed on the thirteenth of September, two days after the terrorist attack. I don't care who you are, if you grieve, know that you don't do so alone. Ja Nae~ Lauralye