Disclaimer: I wish I did but I don't own Labyrinth.
Author's Note: Hi! Well it's almost Halloween, so I thought I'd put another chapter up. Happy news, I've finished the story and the last chapter will be posted in a couple of days. Thank you to all the reviewers and those of you who may just be reading and not reviewing. I hope you like my story. Enjoy.
Halloween: Chapter Four
The night came on quickly, as did the nervous feeling in Sarah's stomach. Not because of her date with Derek, whom she still had not met or even seen, but because of what she had seen in that mirror several hours before. The images stuck with her, consuming her thoughts.
"Sarah, are you okay? You haven't really said anything since we left that costume place." Alice asked. Sarah could see the worry in her friend's eyes as they sat in front of Alice's mirror, getting ready.
"I saw something, Alice," Sarah replied, putting down her lipstick and standing up. "In the dressing room mirror."
Turning around in her seat, Alice watched Sarah pace back and forth, nervously.
"Sarah, sit down before you wear a hole in my carpet." Alice ordered. Once Sarah took a seat, she urged, "What did you see?"
"I saw me, Alice, but I was..." Sarah trailed off. Standing up, she walked back over to where her friend was and sat down. To be sure that nothing she was about to say would reach any unwanted listeners, she lowered her voice to a whisper, "I was in this dress, but..."
"But what, Sarah? You're not making any sense."
"There were other people in the mirror, dancing. And Jareth..." Sarah said, quickly. "He was there, too. I'm not making this up!"
"I believe you." Alice reassured, but her voice sounded strange to Sarah, "Is that all?"
"No." Sarah looked at herself in the mirror, remembering, "This dress, my dress, it wasn't just a costume anymore. It was a wedding dress, veil and bouquet of roses included."
"Sounds lovely."
"I thought so, too, at the time." Sarah's hands were shaking now as she thought about it, "It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I just didn't understand."
"Understand what?" Alice questioned her.
"I didn't understand what was going on! I just stood there and stared, I couldn't take my eyes away. But all those people! They were there for a reason, and so was Jareth." Sarah stood up and smoothed out the skirt of her dress. "I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why. I think it only came to me when he started walking toward me. It was my wedding."
"Your wedding?"
Sarah turned to her friend, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "I was going to marry him, Alice! I wanted to." Turning back to her reflection, she added softly, "I think I still do."
"Sarah, what are you saying?" Alice already knew what she was going to say, but she wanted to hear her say it. She knew Sarah needed to say it out loud.
Sarah's eyes connected with Alice's in the mirror, "I'm saying, I think I'm in love with Jareth."
"Is that such a bad thing?"
"Yes...no...oh, I don't know!" Sarah said, shaking her head. Turning around in her seat, a tear slid down her cheek as she whispered, softly, "I've never been in love before."
Alice was about to reply when a knock came to her bedroom door. She called, "Who is it?"
"Candy gram." A note was slipped under the door.
"My dad is so weird." Alice walked over and picked up the note. As she read it, she frowned, then crumpled it up and threw it down on her bed. "Sarah, you're not going to believe this!"
"You won the lottery?" Sarah attempted to laugh, but it came out more choked than anything. She hoped her friend would take the hint that she'd rather not talk about what she'd just confessed. Luckily for her, Alice understood.
"Do you think I'd get upset if I'd won the lottery? That would be great, not possible, but great." Alice replied, lightly. Sitting down on the end of her bed, she explained, "No, it's the guys. They've bailed on us!"
"Are you serious?" Sarah questioned, "So we're getting all dressed up for nothing?"
"It looks that way. Unless..." Alice smiled, deviously. She had that look in her eyes again.
"Unless what?" Sarah asked, cautiously.
"Unless we still go." Alice shrugged, "I mean, why not? Going dateless is not going to kill us."
"Yes, yes it will." Sarah replied.
"I'm serious! I think it'd be fun. We could take pictures of ourselves with some other guys there and show Greg and Derek just what they missed!" Alice flipped her hair, "They'd never have to know we went alone."
"I don't know, Alice. I don't really feel like going." Sarah rested her hands on the back of her chair, "The only reason I was, was because you told your cousin I would. Now that he isn't going, why should I?"
"Why!" Alice questioned, enthusiastically. "Did you not hear what I just said!"
"I know, but---"
"But what? Come on, Sarah! It'll be fun." Alice begged, "Please?"
Sarah narrowed her eyes at her friend. Unwillingly, she gave in, "Okay, but if when we get there, I change my mind, you have to let me leave."
"Deal." Alice smiled. She knew that once Sarah got there, she would have a good time and forget her troubles for a while. And she was right, for the most part.
Later that night, the two girls arrived at the school for the Halloween party. It was being held in the auditorium, which seemed the perfect place. It already had a very eerie look and feel to it, but with the help of realistic looking cobwebs, dark lighting, and a strategically placed fog machine, it looked like something straight from a horror movie.
Moonlight shone through the auditorium's skylight, illuminating a little section of the hardwood floor as students and teachers alike filed through the double doors. Sarah had always thought it strange that the skylight was the only window to the outside world in the entire building, but tonight it didn't seem strange at all. It was almost as if the architect had designed it that way for the sole purpose of that night.
"Can you believe this!" Alice exclaimed in awe as she looked around. The fog machine had created a hazy mist that slowly crept over the ground and wound it's way around their ankles. "It all looks so---"
Alice stopped in mid-sentence when she saw them. Quickly, she pulled Sarah out of sight.
"That lying snake!" she exclaimed as loud as she could in a whisper. Sarah was clueless. "I should never have introduced them!"
"What?" Sarah asked as they crouched behind some decorative barrels. "Who?"
Alice was livid, "My cousin and so-called boyfriend, that's who! They're right over there and Greg's with another girl!" Alice gestured to them, but when Sarah tried to look, "Don't look, they'll see us!"
Sarah looked anyway. Greg was on the stairs, leaning over the rail leading up to the balcony, with some girl Sarah didn't recognize. She didn't see Derek, though.
She felt angry for her friend, "Why shouldn't they see us? They're the ones who should be hiding!"
Alice looked out from behind her barrel, her eyes on the verge of crying angry, hurt tears. "You're right. We should go over there and---"
"Hold on, I have a better idea." Sarah flashed a wicked grin, then looked back at Greg and the nameless girl, "Derek doesn't know what I look like, does he?"
Sniffling a little, Alice shook her head.
"Good," Sarah nodded, "Could you point him out to me?"
"Why? What are you planning?" Alice asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Point him out and I'll show you." Sarah smiled mischievously.
It didn't take long before Alice spotted her cousin.
"There he is." she pointed toward the stage on the other side of the room.
Sarah turned her eyes in the direction Alice was pointing. The first thing that came to her mind when she saw him was that fear she had harbored about him being shorter than her. It seemed silly to her now, as he towered over most of the crowd. He had short brown hair, and despite the distance, she had no problem seeing that his eyes were blue, so very blue.
"Wait here and watch." Sarah told Alice, then started to make her way toward Derek. She had a plan, if only she could get his attention.
It didn't take long, he saw her coming toward him through the crowd. Smiling, she motioned for him to follow her to a less crowded area. Stopping next to one of the fire escape doors, she waited for him as he more than willingly followed. But, as the distance between them closed in, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that he was a hunter stalking his prey. His determined look unnerved her.
"Hi." Trying to hide her anxiety, Sarah smiled up at him when he finally made it through the crowd, "You're new here, aren't you? I haven't seen you around before."
He smiled down at her. She couldn't help but feel uneasy at the look he had in his eyes, "You could say that. I'm only in town for a few days."
"Oh?" Sarah asked, her eyes widening slightly as he reached out and tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. He took a step toward her. It was then that she realized just how dark it was in that particular spot, and he was getting a little too close for comfort. Is this really Alice's cousin? It can't be, I must have the wrong guy! Let's just find out. "So...do you have a name?"
"Derek." he replied, moving ever closer.
Okay, so it is him. Now what? She hoped she knew what she was getting herself into. One thing she did know, she was definitely going to tell Alice about this later. Her friend couldn't possibly know what kind of a person her cousin was turning out to be!
"Umm..." Sarah started as she spotted the patch of moonbeam on the floor, courtesy of the skylight. She took a step toward it, but he held her back. Looking up, she smiled innocently, all the while the wheels in her mind went a million miles a second, "Dance with me?"
For a slight instance, a coldness came over her as he stared at her. She could have sworn she saw anger flicker in his eyes. When she looked again, it was gone, as was the forward guy who had just been there.
"Sure, I'll dance with you." he smiled and held out his hand to her.
What is with this guy? Sarah thought to herself as they started to dance. One minute he's coming on to me, the next he's...
"Derek, why don't we go back that way?" Sarah tried to keep the slight panic she felt, out of her voice. He was leading her away from the light.
He didn't answer her, but kept going in the opposite direction. Pulling her closer, he held her tighter.
"Where are we going?" Sarah tried to pull away. His hands were starting to hurt her. "Let go, I don't want to dance anymore."
He didn't let go, and she finally saw where he was leading her: the exceedingly dark alcove which harbored another set of exit doors.
"Let go." Sarah tried to pull away again, but he still held tight. She wondered why nobody seemed to notice her distress or try to stop him. It was like they couldn't see any of it.
They were almost to the alcove when Derek stopped dancing, but he still kept an iron grip on Sarah's arm. Where is Alice when I need her!
"Does Alice know what kind of guy you are, Derek?" Sarah asked, without thinking. She realized her mistake when she saw the terrifying look in his eyes.
"Alice?" he sneered, those blue eyes burning through her. "How do you know Alice?"
Sarah had to think fast, but couldn't come up with anything. Why wasn't Alice watching them like she had told her to? "She's my best friend."
"So you're Sarah?" Derek's grip weakened enough for her to take her arm back from him.
"Yes. The girl you stood up." she replied, rubbing her arm gently. Looking up defiantly into those blue eyes, she added, "I'm actually grateful that you did, though."
"Oh? And why is that?" He smiled at her, but it wasn't the same kind of smile he had given her before. This one didn't even look human.
"If you hadn't, I would have been stuck with you all night."
"Well then, if I had known what you looked like, I never would have stood you up." Leaning down suddenly, he dragged her to him, their faces inches apart. His eyes lingered on her's long enough to see the disgust in them before he pulled her the rest of the way, kissing her hard.
Sarah used all of her strength trying desperately to push him away, but still he would not let her go. Tears left hot trails down her cheeks as the music blared in her ears. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be. How could nobody be seeing this?
He held on tightly for what seemed like forever. Finally though, he backed off, looking down at her with a satisfied smirk, "Now, that wasn't too bad, was it?"
Rage swept through her and, without thinking, she swung her hand as hard as she could, connecting it with the side of his face. However, rage turned to horror when seconds later, murder appeared in his eyes as he touched his already reddening cheek with the tips of his fingers.
He grabbed her arm once more, but before he could do anything, something happened. The sound of shattering glass and loud screams echoed throughout the room as the music was cut off. People were rushing to the exits in a panic. Everywhere was chaos.
Wiping the remaining tears from her face, Sarah was thankful. The unexpected commotion gave her the opportunity to break free from Derek's iron grip and she watched as he was lost in the crowd surging out of the auditorium.
In all the confusion, it was hard to tell what had happened, but she could hear the crunch of glass as people ran underneath the skylight. Had something come through it? She scanned the floor for the object, but came up with nothing except the glass that lay shimmering in the moonlight. Looking it over, Sarah felt a chill go through her when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the reflection of a man looking down at her. Her eyes traveled quickly from the floor to the skylight, but she knew he would be gone. He always was.
Jareth...