Shoutouts: Scattered Logic: Thanks. Okay, The Hooded Crow is nice. That doesn't make me any less nervous!
Hooded Crow: *bows down in awe* I can't describe how wonderful your praise is. It's like, oh, I don't know, Orson Scott Card telling me to keep up the good work! This being only my second venture into fanficdom, I feel like such a newbie!
Lady Jamie: *grins* thanks. I like my version of Jareth too.
Cormak3032: Heh heh. Since I'm still 18, I have very, very strong memories of what it's like to be a messed up teenager. That helps to add to the Sarah/Karen dynamic, tho.
Redaura: *blushes* Thanks. I have to say that, though Jareth is as sensuous as they come, I don't recall there being much innuendo in the movie itself. Trying to keep it real (at least, according to me ^_^).
And to all the hordes of readers (or maybe just that small, cosy camp of coffee friends): Thanks. I cherish each and every review I get.
Don't Let Go
Chapter Six: 'Cuz We Just Met; Tell Me That's Okay
The cafeteria filled to the brim with hungry students, each blissfully unaware of the disappointment they would reap once the food was glopped onto their trays. The smarter students, those who were able to form conjectures based on repeated experiences AKA patterns, brought sack lunches. In a far, isolated corner, sat two girls. The corner was no less well-lit than any other part of the cafeteria, but it seemed to radiate a darkness of solitude and gloom. Then again, that might have been due to the high volume of black the people in that area wore. Perhaps the clothes absorbed more light than there was to go around. Whatever the case, two figures picked at their sack lunches undisturbed by the masses.
Sarah fidgeted nervously, and Canaret shot her a look. "Sarah, calm down. So he's gonna give you a paper. Big deal! Just keep your mouth shut, or at least try to be nice this time." Canaret laughed. "I can't believe you're so inept when it comes to talking to him! You're usually so good with words!"
Sarah placed her stubborn chin into her palm and glared at Canaret. "Oh, do be quiet. I can't help it!" She closed her eyes, her eyebrows coming together as she frowned. "My brain completely freezes whenever he's within twenty feet of me. Walking side-by-side was a heretofore unprecedented phenomenon!" She sighed with frustration and opened her brown eyes. "I mean, there's just so much going on, my brain's about to short-circuit!"
Canaret paused and glanced at her friend curiously. "What else is going on?"
Sarah opened her mouth, then shut it and shook her head. "Nothing much. Just...stuff."
"No, no, not 'just stuff.' I know you better than that." Canaret leaned in closer, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "So what else is distracting you from your painful obsession with the wonder-jock?"
Sarah started indignantly. "I am not obsess-"
"Hey, Sarah," Christian called as he squeezed through the crowd of tables and chairs, ignoring all the speculative looks he received as people realized where he was headed. He waved a paper over his head conspicuously, and the eyes of the students around him dawned with understanding. They returned to their food, disinterested. "I have the paper," he said as he neared their small corner of the room, his blue eyes glancing uncertainly about. Most of the people in this corner had a strong preference for draping black clothes and silver spikes and chains. Not exactly the decor he was used to.
Canaret waved him in. "Oh, don't worry, Christian. We don't bite." She grinned. "Unless, of course, that's what gets you off."
Sarah turned bright red and groaned as she dropped her forehead into her hand. Christian stared at Canaret with wide eyes, and licked his lips uncertainly. "right's, Sarah," he said, quickly turning to the object of his pursuit. "I brought the paper." He handed it to her, and she skimmed through the first paragraph.
She blinked. "You have a younger brother?"
He grinned. "Yeah. He'll be coming in as a freshman after we graduate." Sarah nodded absently, reveling in the new tidbit of information she'd collected about him. He stood there uncertainly, then smiled gamely. "So, do you have any siblings?"
"A brother." She shrugged. After a pause, Christian looked as though he'd speak, and she hastened to add,"He's -four."
Christian grinned. "Wow. That's a big age difference!"
Sarah smiled sardonically. "Well, my parents got divorced, and my dad remarried."
"Oh." Christian's smile froze, and he glanced at Canaret uncertainly. She wasn't paying any attention however. She had a finger up in the air, and her mouth was counting numbers as she poked at something. "Um, I'm sorry to hear that. That your parents got divorced, I mean." He jammed his thumbs into the small pockets of his jeans. "Right, then, I'll see you. Thanks for helping with my paper." And he disappeared into the crowd.
Sarah didn't even look at Canaret as she stared reverently at the stapled sheets of text before her. "Are you popping the bubbles of blood again?"
"But they're so pretty," Canaret said dreamily, jabbing daintily at the air.
"...You really need to get off that medication." Sarah shook her head and reached out one careful hand to pick up the paper. She skimmed through the title absently. "He has a brother." Sarah took those words and tucked them away in the private corners of her mind. Christian was an older brother; she tasted that thought, trying to claim it for her own.
Canaret glanced at Sarah sympathetically. "Honey, you need to do more research about your object d'amour. And you're right; your brain does freeze when he's around. I haven't heard you that inarticulate since you decided to stuff marshmallows in your mouth to play the fluffy bunny game."
Sarah crinkled her nose at her friend. "Oh, be quiet." She placed a hand to her chest, feeling the thumping of her overworked heart. "I think my heart rate's slowing again." She blushed.
Canaret shook her head. "When you get it, you get it. How can you even like the guy if you know nothing about him?"
"Well..." Sarah trailed off and stared out across the cafeteria. Her gaze landed on the center, where all the good looking boys and girls gathered, their circle impenetrable save to a few selected people. "I don't know. I figure, if I like him this much before I know him, once I get to know him, I'll know what it is about him that, well, draws me to him." She glanced at Canaret. "Does that make any sense?"
Canaret shrugged. "In a weird way, yes. But then again, you always make sense." Canaret stared at her friend consideringly. "How'd you get to be so wise, anyhow?"
Sarah smiled ruefully. "I'm far from wise. If I were wise, I would have all the answers, and I wouldn't be so messed up."
Canaret grinned. "Well, when you figure out the world, let me in on the secret, okay?"
She had to laugh. "Yes, Canaret, when I figure out the world, I'll let you know." She turned her attention back to the paper and pulled out a pen from her backpack. She read through circling awkward moments and adding better possibilities for phrasing. As she read, though, her pen moved less and less and her eyes grew wider and wider.
"Sarah?" Canaret asked. "You all right?" She glanced at the paper dubiously. "Man, is what he wrote that bad?"
Sarah slowly turned her head from side to side. "No. It's just that...Well, read it." She almost threw the paper at her friend. At her friend's confused look, she said forcefully,"Go on, then, read it!"
Canaret looked skeptical but complied. When she finished, she raised her eyes to meet Sarah's shaken gaze. "Hell's bells, Sarah." Canaret waved the paper emphatically. "This is about you!"
Sarah paled, and swallowed hard. "You think so too, huh?" she asked in a neutral voice, willing herself not to tremble. Breathing was becoming a problem; when did she last exhale?
"Well, duh! It's practically got your name stamped all over it in neon orange!" Canaret grinned and leaned forward. She whispered conspiratorially,"Girl, I'm going to spell it out, in case you couldn't figure it out from that cute little story. He. Likes. You. Back."
The blood pounded frantically in Sarah's head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: *steps out from behind curtain* So, um, how's this working for everyone? Enjoying the trip? Because let me tell you, it's going to be a long one. I looked through the lyrics, and dammit, my professional pride won't let me cut corners. However, a couple of the lines are repeated, so I'm just going to cut a few here and there, bringing the total chapter estimate of this baby to 26 chapters. They're not going to be long ones, as I'm sure all of you can figure out from the length of each new part I put out. *grins* so...six down, twenty to go! *waves banner victoriously*