A/N: Is this story so bad that no one can bear to leave me any reviews? I'm guilty of reading and not reviewing myself, but now being the writer, I see how discouraging that is. I'd just appreciate a little feedback, let me know what you think. Thanks so much for reading!

Ch. 8 Bad Laughter

Jareth stared at Sarah in shock as she laughed uncontrollably. He felt himself growing angry. Was it possible that she hadn't grown up as much as he thought? He had just bared his heart to her, and it had sent her into hysterics. He watched as she leaned forward, her head in her hands, shoulders shaking with laughter.

"What, may I ask, is it you found so amusing about what I said?" he hissed at her with ice in his eyes.

Sarah sat back up wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, trying to forcer herself to stop laughing.

"God, Jareth, I'm so sorry," she gasped as another giggle escaped from her, earning her an even icier glare from Jareth. No, not Jareth, she thought. Right now, he is every bit the Goblin King. And she knew she deserved his anger, too. The man had just made himself extremely vulnerable to her, and here she was laughing like a maniac.

Suddenly the laughter left her. "Jareth, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am, I swear, I wasn't laughing at you. It was just one of those things, where what I was feeling was more than I could take, so I just started laughing. And you know how it is sometimes, when you start laughing and can't stop, especially when you're not supposed to be laughing in the first place.." her voice trailed off as she saw that the icy glare wasn't melting. Somehow, she doubted that Jareth often found anything funny.

She closed her eyes for a second before she continued. "It was either burst out laughing or burst into tears, and somehow it seemed easier to laugh. If I cry, then I'm letting out everything I've been feeling for the last decade. Jareth, I've built a wall around my heart so that I don't get hurt. I stop myself from loving anyone because I just can't do it. You will never know how much I tried to forget about you, to just find a good guy, get married, the whole deal. But I couldn't. You were always there, you know it's true if you really did sense every time I thought of you."

By now, Jareth's glare had softened somewhat. He was hurt that she had laughed after he bared his soul to her, but he supposed he could understand how it happened. He'd rather deal with a laughing woman than a crying one, that's for sure.

But with everything she said, she still didn't say what he wanted to hear. He'd known for years that she still thought about him, that wasn't news to him. What he wanted to know was how she felt about him. He didn't want to just ask her. That might put pressure on her to answer how she knew he wanted her to. He didn't want that, he wanted her to tell him she loved him by her own free will, when she felt ready to.

Sarah was looking at him, all seriousness now. She wisely kept quiet while he thought over what she'd said. When he turned his now thoughtful gaze on her, she held her breath.

"Sarah, I understand. Don't think I'm pleased with your reaction to my confession, but nevertheless, I understand."

Sarah let out the breath she'd been holding. She grabbed his hand, saying, "I'm so glad you don't hate me, I was scared you'd never want to talk to me again. I'm so sorry Jareth. I'm sorry for how I acted tonight, I'm sorry for how I acted ten years ago, I just want this night to be over so we can start fresh."

"Very well, Sarah. We'll speak again in the morning." Jareth's voice wasn't as warm as it had been before her hysterical outburst, but neither was it cold. She was thankful for that.

"I guess you can sleep here on the couch, my apartment only has one bedroom."

Earlier, he would have made some suggestive comment about sharing her bed, but now he just wasn't in the mood.

"That's fine," he said shortly.

Sarah went to the hall closet to gather some spare pillows and a blanket for him. She left him to arrange his nest on her couch while she changed into her pajamas.

As she brushed her teeth, she wondered if she had completely ruined his feelings for her. She sincerely hoped not, because then she would have no release for her own feelings.

"Why didn't you just tell him, you idiot?" she asked herself, spraying the mirror with spots of toothpaste. "Three simple words…I love you…is that so hard to say?" But somehow it was. She just wasn't ready to move to that level yet with Jareth, never mind for now the fact that he apparently was. She just wanted to go to bed and hope that everything worked out okay in the morning. She was too tired to deal with this anymore tonight.

She headed back to the living room to say good night to Jareth, only to see that he was already sleeping. He looked so beautiful, and so peaceful.

"Good night, my love," she whispered softly as she looked at him.

After a moment, she turned and went into her room.

Jareth waited until he heard her door close before he opened his eyes. He knew it was foolish, but feigning sleep was easier than facing her at that moment. He heard her soft good night. My love. She had called him her love. He only wished she would have the courage to say it when she thought he was awake.

He turned on his side and closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would bring a better day.