Okay, big chapter. A lot of talking and little action, but a pivotal point in the relationship of Jareth and Sarah, along with a little background. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth or the Phantom of the Opera or any characters or lines from it. Don't sue.
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Sarah shot out the door of the studio theatre and out onto the street, followed closely by Jareth. She swung around, suddenly furious, "Thanks a lot you bastard! This is all your fault!"
"My fault," Jareth growled, his hand slapping his chest. "If you would only chill out a little and learn to take a joke we wouldn't be in this mess right now."
Sarah looked at him for a moment, trying to form coherent words, but her rage was clouding her mind. She finally threw her hands into the air and stormed off. Jareth turned and stormed off in the other direction. Sarah got about twenty steps before it hit her. Her rage was suddenly drained out of her and replaced with horror.
'Oh my god,' she thought, 'I just got kicked out of my show. I have been working towards this my entire life just to get kicked off because of some loser with a hot ass. I can't let that happen.' Sarah spun around and raced down the block towards Jareth.
"Jareth!" she yelled, trying to catch his attention. He ignored her though and continued walking. "Jareth!" she said again as she grabbed his shoulder, turning him around to face her.
"What!" he growled. He was still angry and not very eager to talk to her.
"Look," she reasoned. "I have worked too hard to get here to give it all up over some stupid feud. I'm willing to work all of this out, are you?"
Jareth looked at her for a moment. She looked determined. He realized, for the first time, what this show meant to her.
"This show really means a lot to you, doesn't it?" he asked.
"It means everything to me," she pleaded, her eyes showing sincerity and a little desperation.
"Ok," Jareth sighed. Sarah smiled. It was a nice smile, like she was seeing him for the first time.
"Thank you," she said softly. She led him into a nearby coffee shop, where she sat down on an overstuffed chair and nodded towards the couch across from her. Jareth sank down into the couch, unsure of where this conversation was going to take them.
"Well," Jareth cleared his throat. He wasn't sure where to start. "How did you get into acting?"
Sarah smiled, remembering, "I've wanted to be an actress for as long as I can remember. My mother was an actress and I guess I just inherited the gene. I was always the odd duck in school, always marching to the beat of a different drummer. Acting just gave me a place where people appreciated that about me. Even as I grew older and started to fit in more, the theatre always gave me a place to go and people who loved me however I was. How about you?"
"I'm not really sure," Jareth said. He thought back, trying to pinpoint a certain moment. "I was never into acting in high school. I wasn't really into anything in high school except music. I played the guitar and the piano and I spent all of my time in my room writing songs about pain and the chasm of my soul being bordered in darkness (A.N. Not my line. Aundrea, if you're reading this, that's for you). I guess I was emo before emo existed." He smiled. "I actually thought that the theatre was only for geeks and gay guys. After my family died though, the shock completely changed who I was and where I wanted to go in life. I literally woke up one morning, out of the blue, and decided that I wanted to be an actor."
"When did your family pass away?" Sarah asked softly, worried that she would hit a nerve.
"About six years ago. I was nineteen. My parents and my sister were on their way home from the mall or something when they were hit by another driver running a red light."
"That's horrible. I'm sorry."
Jareth smiled a little, "It's alright. To tell you the truth, I don't really remember them. I guess I kind of blocked out all of my memories from before they died. As a way to cope or something." He paused and a brief sadness passed in front of his eyes, breaking Sarah's heart. He looked up and smiled, the sadness pushed away, "So, you said your mom was an actress. Are you two pretty close?"
"No," Sarah said, her face becoming cold and bitter. "My mother left us when I was two. She thought that we were holding her back from her career. She'd call once or twice a year and make dozens of promises, but I only saw her maybe five times after she left. Then, when I was twelve, she died. She had cancer and never even bothered to tell any of us. That bitch...she knew for a year but never once contacted us, never once tried to say goodbye to me."
"I'm sorry," Jareth said, not really knowing what to say. "What about the rest of your family."
"I'm not very close to the rest of my family. My father remarried when I was ten and my stepmother and I hate each other. By the time I graduated from high school we were civil with each other, but neither one of us felt a need to see the other again. The only time I ever call them or see them is for my little brother Toby."
"You have a little brother?" Jareth asked and was glad to see the smile return to Sarah's face.
"Yeah, he's my half-brother. He's ten. I used to hate him. He was a spoiled, whiny brat that I always had to baby-sit. But then I had a dream once that I had almost lost him and it scared me so much that I realized how much I loved the brat. Now I would do just about anything for him."
"That seems to be the way siblings are," Jareth said. "We think we hate them and they make it so easy for us to think so, but in the end we would fight our darkest fears and give up our heart's desires to save them."
They looked at each other and smiled, a mutual understanding binding them. Jareth felt a cool chill creep up his spine. He was forgetting something. Something in their conversation had triggered some type of feeling or memory, he just couldn't figure out what it was. He assumed that it had something to do with his sister. Sarah had a slightly odd expression on her face too, like she was trying to remember something as well. An uncomfortable silence was falling over the two and the odd feeling started to freak Jareth out. He had to change the subject.
"Well, hopefully your career won't make you turn out like your mother."
Sarah's eyes shot open and she looked shocked. Horrified, Jareth mentally slapped himself. It was the first thing that came to his lips and as soon as he said it he knew what an asshole he was.
He expected Sarah to slap him and yell at him, which he deserved, but instead, she cried. He looked up to see tears in her eyes and it made him feel even worse. He never wanted to make her cry.
"Sarah, I..."
"No," Sarah said, cutting Jareth off. She stood up and grabbed her purse. "I was just starting to think that you might be a nice guy deep down, but you really are an ass to the core."
Jareth shot up, trying to stop her, "Sarah, please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I just said the first stupid thing that came to me without thinking." It was too late though, Sarah was already out the door. Jareth sank down on the couch and buried his face in his hands.
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Sarah stormed down the street, tears streaming down her eyes. She couldn't believe he'd said that. What made it worse was that she had thought he was different. She thought they had a moment, a connection and she had seen the genuinely good person inside of him.
She stopped walking. For the second time that day Jareth had made her stop in the middle of a busy sidewalk and reevaluate her thoughts.
'Maybe he really is a good person. Yes, he shouldn't have said that, but he seemed genuinely horrified at what he said. Besides, Jareth says a lot of stupid things.' Sarah sighed, her sigh turning into a low growl of frustration. 'Fine, I'll give him one more chance, but if he messes up, we're finished. I don't care if I get kicked out of the show.' Sarah turned around and started back towards the café.
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Jareth was still sitting with his head in his hands when he sensed someone sitting down in the chair across from him. He looked up to see Sarah. Her face was streaked with tears, making his heart clench. She looked at him.
"Don't you think I've thought about that?" Sarah asked. "For years I have been terrified of turning out like her. She is everything I hate and don't want to be. But being with my little brother has taught me that family is more important than anything. More important than my dreams, my fears, or any petty feelings. I would never put my children through everything that my mother put me through."
"I know that Sarah, I really do. I never meant to hurt you," Jareth sputtered, trying to fix things.
Sarah stared at him, her expression stone cold, "Maybe you didn't mean to hurt me, but you did. I was actually beginning to think that you were a nice guy"
Jareth jumped off of the couch and got down onto his knees, leaning over the table, pretty much begging at this point.
"I am a nice guy. I really am. All of these stupid comments, I never meant any of them. I was just trying to piss you off. I'm actually not like that, not really anyways. Please Sarah, just give me another chance."
Sarah felt confused, "Why do you suddenly care so much? I had to beg you to come here."
"I know, but I never wanted to hurt you or make you cry and I want to make it up to you."
"Ok," Sarah sighed. Jareth smiled. He sat back on the couch. Sarah closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, a big smile appeared on her face.
"So, Jareth, whom I have never met before in my life, tell me about yourself."
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Yes, this chapter is done! I'm sorry if it was long and/or kind of choppy, but I had to cover quite a bit of ground in this chapter. I'm also sorry it took me so long to write it. I've been really busy. I'm also going to be really busy for the next month or so, so I don't know if I'll be able to post another chapter for a little while. I will try though. Thank you all for your reviews, I love them and I love you all for sending them. Thanks.