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A/N: Whoops. I forgot the disclaimers in the last chapter. Well, if I had any share in creating the strange beauty that is the Labyrinth, I would be simply the most smug person on this planet. Since I'm not smug, (to the contrary, I'm quite pathetically humble) one can deduce that I have nothing to do with the Labyrinth. Translation to the suits: Please don't sue me!
On with the show!
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Don't Let Go
Chapter Two: It's So Incredible That We're Alone
The sky overhead was darkening rapidly with hints of lightning scattered in the distance. Sarah swung by the library to return a few books she'd checked out for light reading. Her social calendar was pretty empty, and books were a fine way to pass the time. Besides, going to the library put off the inevitable encounter at home.
The library shelves were dusty with lack of use, and many of the books had cracked spines and yellowed, jagged pages. Stepping between the wooden creaking shelves effectively transported Sarah to another world. The dampened colors reminded her of what had once been in the Labyrinth, despite her attempts to block out the thoughts. After all, wasn't it time she got over that? Shecouldn't even be certain that it had really happened. What if it had merely been some strange combination of stress and out of whack hormones, causing her to hallucinate? It was silly to hold onto such a fantasy world, and even sillier to have woken up in the real world with a very genuine sense of regret about the Goblin King.
Sarah pulled an aged book from the shelf and gently flipped through it, taking care not to rip the already loosened pages. The Goblin King was the single most silly thing about the whole business. As if-
"Sarah?"
Sarah jerked her head up, feeling her features freeze as Christian stared at her uncertainly. He lowered his backback to the grey carpeting and inhaled sharply, glancing at her from the corner of his blue eyes. Her mind went blank, and her throat was too constricted to let anything beyond a gurgled,"Hm?" out. She couldn't seem to move her body to face him, not with her legs as stiff as they were. Nothing about her appearance betrayed the fact that her heart had just broken a new speed record, beating away at her ribs like a fluttering bird searching for freedom.
He hesitated, then, as though grasping for some conversational anchor, asked with a nod at the book in her hands,"What're you reading?" He raised his gaze to meet hers, smiling uncertainly but gamely.
A lovely story about a family torn apart in the Civil War, with the mandatory love story imbedded and a tragic ending for one of the characters. I think you might like it. Wanna take a look? "I'm just looking," she said stiffly instead as she replaced the book onto the shelf, cringing internally at her response. She sounded like a cold bitch! Why weren't her brain and mouth coordinating for once in her life?
Christian waited, but when Sarah said nothing further, he gave a small smile and averted his eyes. "Right. Um, see you." He raised his hand up in a half-wave and strode away, hoisting his denim backback over his strong shoulder.
She watched him leave, and her throat finally loosened as he left her line of sight. While she was sorely tempted to howl with frustration, she settled for a heavy sigh. "Damn," she said quietly, and dropped her head against the musty bookshelves. "Damn, damn, damn." She groaned and pulled back a little and dropped her head against the bookshelves again. "Sarah, why can't you do anything right?"
Books held little appeal at the moment, so she retreated from the dim library and headed back home. The street was quiet enough as the clouds overhead rumbled. A few stray droplets of rain fell as Sarah stepped up the stairs and entered the house.
The inside of the house smelled of macaroni and cheese; Karen had been lazy again. Sarah sighed.
"Sarah, is that you?" Karen stepped out of the kitchen as Toby meandered around her legs. Sarah smiled at Toby, and his angelic face lit up. He ran to her and threw his arms around her legs. She bent at the waist and hugged him back, then fell into a crouch and looked at him in the eyes.
"And how's my Toby?"
"Good," the four year old finally said, after giving it some serious consideration.
Sarah grinned. "So you've been good, huh? What'd you do today?"
Toby gave this some more careful thought, then responded,"Played with Merlin. Went to the park with mommy." He smiled a dazzling, warm smile and hugged his sister again.
"Sarah," Karen broke in. Sarah raised her eyes and stared levelly at the woman, who looked uncomfortable. "Well, I was wondering how your day went."
"It was all right." Sarah dropped her gaze and let Toby have a smile full of unconditional love.
Karen hesitated, then added,"So school's going all right then?"
Sarah made a noncommittal noise.
"How about your social life? Anything new there?" Karen asked, fishing for something tangible from this stranger who shared a house with her.
Sarah gave Toby one final pat and gently shoved him towards the living room where his plastic toy truck awaited. She stood up and grabbed her backpack. "Karen, nothing new has happened," Sarah said wearily. "Trust me, my life is the same as it's always been. You don't have to ask me questions like that all the time."
"But, Sarah, I was just..." Karen sighed haplessly and ran a hand through her hair. "I want to know about your life, Sarah. I just feel like-" we're strangers.
"Karen, don't bother." Sarah headed towards the stairs.
"Don't just walk away from me, Sarah!" Karen exclaimed, and reached out a hand to Sarah's shoulder. Sarah wrenched away from her and glared at her. Karen's temper rose. "I was just trying to do my job-"
"Like I said, don't bother." Sarah's dark eyes became even darker. "No one's been my mother for quite a while."
"Now look here, young lady, I've put up with a lot from you, and I'm just trying to talk to you!"
"Then talk. Don't pry." Sarah pulled away and ran up the stairs.
"Sarah!" Karen yelled, then sighed with frustration. "That girl..."
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A/N: How did that go? I went and rewatched the movie over the summer, and I realized that Sarah is actually a pretty spoiled, self-centered girl, typical of a teenager. Her step-mother isn't evil, but the two clearly don't get along. I've read fics where Karen (or Louise, or whatever name people give her) is the step-mother from hell, and fics where Sarah and Karen suddenly get along great after the Toby/Labyrinth incident. I decided to see where I could go with the two, and I think it works. What do you think?