As for the story, well, I'm just watching the characters unfold. I'm actually really happy that people seem to be enjoying my portrayal of the characters. *blushes* This humble one will try her best!
And as for the situation with Christian/Sarah/Jareth, well...let's just wait and see, ne? Good lord, I just looked at the full lyrics of the song, and boy have I got my work cut out for me if I want to assign a line per chapter! Even if I use short chapters like the ones I have...
Don't Let Go
Chapter Four: It's Impossible Not to Be Overcome
It was a little later when Sarah managed to pull herself up off the ground. She looked in the mirror warily, but it was her that stared back out the glass. She relaxed and stared at the girl in the mirror. Her long brown hair was limp and damp in spots, and her eyes were puffy and red. An odd smile quirked her lips. "Those actresses on TV make crying look so elegant," she commented absently, and laughed weakly, dropping her head down. She leaned on the dresser table. When had things spun so out of control?
She lifted a heavy head towards the math homework still on her bed and stared at it, willing it to disappear. When it failed to comply she made her way to the bed and attempted to do it. Why was it that things never happened the way she wanted them to?
She was still pondering that question when she awoke the next morning and got herself ready for school. Running down the stairs, she saw her father getting ready for work. "Morning dad." Sarah flashed him a friendly smile as she grabbed a red apple to eat on the way to the bus.
"Morning sweetie," he answered automatically, glancing up from his newspaper. "Look, Sarah, before you run off-"
"Can't talk, must go!" Sarah said as she dashed out the door. "Love you, talk to you later!"
He stared as his daughter disappeared from view, his carefully thought out sentences crumbling to pieces in his mouth.
"See?" Karen said briskly as she got Toby ready for preschool. "That girl avoids real discussions with a determination I wish she'd apply to other things as well. A girl that age should at least have some male friends, and certainly more female friends than that one Goth girl she hangs out with." Karen wrinkled her nose distastefully. "Maybe I'm just a little too conservative, but that Canaret girl doesn't look like the best influence for Sarah. That girl owns absolutely no normal clothes. Probably even Satanic."
Her husband shot her a look.
"Okay, okay," Karen backtracked, waving her hands in defeat. "I know that nowadays we're all supposed to just smile as our children go through phases and whatnot, but forgive me for being slightly worried about Sarah constantly hanging around with a girl who thinks spikes and collars are the height of good taste."
He sighed. "Now, look, Karen..."
Sarah took a flying leap over Ms. Patelli's garden and landed on the sidewalk. She spied the bus just ahead and scampered over to the door just as the driver put his hand on the lever that closed the door. He eyed her and gave a toothy grin. "Running a bit late today, Miss Williams?" Sarah gave him an exasperated sigh and made her way to an empty seat as the bus jerked into motion.
Within a few hours, Sarah couldn't take it any more. Her teachers were all sniping at her, it seemed, and Canaret had skipped school again. Canaret didn't see much point in school, and occasionally cut class if she felt like it. She tried not to do it often because it meant that Sarah would have to fend off the loneliness by herself, which really didn't work so well. And today was a magnificently bad, bad day. To top it off, Sarah suspected she was PMSing.
During lunch Sarah went off around the gym and just sat there, rocking herself back and forth on the concrete, trying to ignore the world and how painful it was to experience. A football toppled head over heels across her line of sight, and she blinked.
"Oh, hey, Sarah," Christian jogged leisurely up. He averted his eyes. "Um, sorry to bug you. Tom has really bad aim." They stayed like that in silence for a few tense seconds. Then he bent down to pick up the football as Sarah reached out and picked it up. She handed it to him, and he took it, meeting her eyes briefly. He stood, and looked at her again, puzzled. "Sarah, are you okay?"
Sarah let out a long, shuddering sigh and smiled weakly. "I've had better days." His blue eyes caught hers, and time slowed to a gentle background thrum.
The spell was broken as a loud voice yelled,"Yo, Christian! Dude, what's keeping you?"
Christian blinked and looked away. He lifted the football and hollered back,"Keep your boxers on, man! Give me a sec!" He turned to Sarah and grinned good-naturedly, tossing the football from hand to hand. "I gotta go. But, um," he looked at her seriously,"I hope whatever it is gets better soon."
Her voice caught in her throat even as he turned away and jogged back to his friends. Thank you, she wanted to say. I think I'm in love with you, she also wanted to say. The words wouldn't come forth and all she could do was watch stupidly as Christian was enveloped by his friends, strong hands pounding stout backs and husky voices raised in laughter. She dropped her head to her knees and made a small, whimpering noise.
"Sarah, your pitiable inability to work that sharp tongue of yours is simply astounding." She jerked her head up to meet the Goblin King's cruelly laughing eyes. "And to think that I considered you an equal."
"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked quietly, her eyes darting to the distant playing field that suddenly seemed so close. "You'll be seen."
He laughed and raised one patronizing finger. "I.." He paused as he dropped into a crouch by her side, and continued with a lazy smile,"Don't think so." His mismatched eyes slid over to the playing field and back to her face red with crying. "You see, humans have this delightful little ability to rationalize anything. Either they'll see me and assume I'm some harmless maniac," his smile widened, revealing sharp, dangerous teeth,"Or they just won't see me."
Sarah nodded slowly, trying not to let her body stiffen. "What do you want?"
The Goblin King's gaze darkened, and his gaze seemed to go right through her to some far off distance. "The question is rather," he said softly,"as always, what do you want?"
"I thought I told you I wanted you to stop watching me." Sarah's voice trembled.
The Goblin King waved that aside. "Yes, yes, I'm well aware of what you said yesterday. What I'm more interested in is what you really want."
Sarah swallowed hard. "I will not make a bargain with you, Goblin King." He stiffened at her formal title for him, then relaxed and smiled seductively.
"Oh, I want no bargain with you, dear Sarah." He added in a high, dreamy voice,"Chances are you'd break your word, at any rate."
She flinched. "I'm not that untrustworthy."
The Goblin King pinned her with a steady look. "But your words are dangerous," he said softly.
She could barely hear him over the steady thudding of her pulse. "Why do you care what I want?" she asked finally.
The Goblin King smirked. "Why, Sarah, I'm not telling if you don't tell first." She looked away, and he chuckled. "But then, that's hardly," he licked his lips,"fair." Sarah flinched. "I already know what you want." She turned to face him again, caution and interest warring across her face. He leaned his face close to hers, and suddenly she realized that they were breathing in time, inhaling and exhaling together. An almost soft expression danced across his face before it was replaced by distant amusement. "But I won't tell you what you should know already."
Sarah couldn't move. If she so much as breathed out of sync, so much as batted an eyelash too quickly, he would move away and not kiss her. And she didn't know which she wanted more: To kiss him or to not kiss him. His lips were so close she could feel the air tingle between hers and his.
He broke the spell by gently blowing at her lips, and pulled back, a sultry look on his face. She almost reeled back in her shock and confusion of emotions. She looked away and tried to get her ragged breathing back to normal. She turned a fierce look upon him. "Goblin King," she spat,"my business is none of yours. Leave me be!"
"I'll help you."
Sarah's mind skidded to a halt in the middle of the tirade it was formulating. "Huh?"
The Goblin King smirked and nodded towards the field. "This is simply too pathetic. I can't have the person who defeated my Labyrinth be so...painfully inept at social affairs. If word got out, I would be known as the King who lost to a truly, truly inept foe."
All the square pegs weren't fitting in the round holes. "You're going to help me with him?"
"I know you'd much rather I stay out on the sidelines and watch," he raised one silencing finger to Sarah's half-started protest,"-And watch," he emphasized,"As you live happily ever after with your boy. I know you expect me to rage and bluster, be some conniving villain, or perhaps quietly acquiesce to your desires.
"Well, my dear," he said, tilting his head up to the sky dreamily,"I'm exhausted from living up to your expectations."
And he was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: ...*peeks out from behind hands* Is anyone there?