Chapter 17: Meeting the Family
As Sarah pulled into the driveway, Jareth changed his hair and outfit to the same one he had worn the night before, and waved a quick hand towards his hair making it short and spiky-looking. His eye-streaks disappeared and he flashed her a quick grin as he got out of the car.
The visit went surprisingly well. Sarah introduced Jareth to her father as "Jareth King," and smiled mischievously when he arched a quizzical eyebrow at the name.
Toby came rocketing down the stairs when he heard her voice. "Sarah!" he cried as he threw his arms around her. Though his father often bewailed his snotty teenage attitude, he and Sarah had always shared a special bond.
"Hey, kid!" she greeted happily. "My God, Toby, you're huge!" It was true; he was the same height she was now. "Here, I want you to meet someone. Toby, this is Jareth."
Toby glanced over at the blond, jeans-wearing man with his sister, and eyes widened. His mouth fell open. "Jareth?" he asked, incredulous. He blinked several times in shock.
Sarah and Jareth both shot him suspicious looks. He wasn't even two when he had last seen the Goblin King--he couldn't possibly remember him. Could he? "Hello, Toby," Jareth said quietly, brutally aware of Sarah's father standing nearby.
"Jare - Jareth," Toby replied with a jerky nod. He still couldn't tear his eyes from Jareth's face.
"Jareth. That's a... different sort of name. So, Jareth, where you from? You don't sound American," Robert Williams asked.
"Britain," Jareth replied, still keeping a watchful eye on Toby. It was the closest to the truth that the man would believe. The first fae who interacted with humans and learned their language had been in the British Isles; therefore every educated fae in the Underground spoke English like an Englishman.
"Do you go to school with Sarah? What's your field of study?"
"Political," Jareth said smoothly. "I am currently involved with a diplomatic project of some importance to the governments of several different countries." There now, he hadn't lied.
"Aren't you kind of old to be a college student?" Robert joked.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Jareth's a non-traditional student, like me, Dad." She used the college's term for older students.
Toby let out a choked laugh. "I'll bet!" he muttered under his breath. Sarah and Jareth both looked at him sharply, then at each other. Sarah's shoulders slumped. Toby knew.
"Toby, be polite," his father warned.
Toby rolled his eyes, but cleared his throat and asked, "So how did you two meet each other?" He sat back, smirking, obviously wondering how they were going to answer this one.
Looking straight at Toby, Jareth told him evenly, "I met Sarah once before, a long time ago, but we didn't get along then. We fought all the time. Then I recently went to a party on a dare, and Sarah was there. We resolved our previous misunderstandings and are trying to be friends now."
Sarah marveled at how every word Jareth spoke was the literal truth, yet he shaded it to sound normal. She jumped up. "Hey, Toby, I was going to take Jareth down to the park where we used to hang out. Want to come?"
"That depends," Toby said, rather sulkily. "Will I be coming back?" His tone was snide, and Robert sighed over his son's manners.
Sarah laughed nervously. "Of course you are, hon. I don't have room in my apartment to kidnap you!"
"Yeah, but if we're talking about kidnapping, I bet Jareth has a big house," Toby said stubbornly.
"Toby!" Robert Williams exclaimed, shocked at his son's rudeness.
"Which you're welcome to visit with Sarah anytime, but may leave whenever you wish," Jareth told Toby quietly in a low voice, so that the boy's father wouldn't hear.
"Okay then," Toby said. "Let's go."
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