A/N: Thanks so much, my most awesome readers, for your favorites and follows. Special thanks to Gloria and Wynni for their reviews of the last chapter.
Disclaimer: Nope, I Still don't own anything you recognize (and some that you don't).
The Blog of HisPreciousThing
November 20, 2011 – 12:06am
This has been a really long day. Between going on a three-hour, round trip to visit a strange guy I met online and being completely unprepared for what he told us, I can barely keep my eyes open. After we left the restaurant, none of us was ready to go home. Instead, Andy drove us to campus, and we walked around for a while. We didn't talk about what we'd heard at breakfast; no one really wanted to even think about it let alone talk about it. This was one of the first times where I've hung out with my friends and didn't say a word. At least we can report back to our parents that we got to tour the school and be honest about it.
After spending a few hours just processing everything – and, boy, was there a lot to process! – we headed back home. When we finally got back into town, the first task we had was sneaking Andy into my house. My parents don't exactly have a "no guys in the bedroom" policy…yet, but I don't think they'd be too cool with him being in here. Even with Becks in here, too. Becky and I headed up to my room and Andy agreed to climb the tree outside my window. What a trooper!
"Can you guys give me a hand?"
Sam and Becky ran to the window and each grabbed one of Andy's hands to haul him into the room. He brushed the bark and dirt off of his clothes, while shrugging off his jacket. Sam and Becky sat on the bed and waited for him to take a seat in the desk chair.
"So," Sam said, not sure how what to say.
"So," Becky echoed.
"So," Andy said, grinning.
"What a day," Sam sighed, rubbing her tired eyes.
Becky nodded, putting a comforting hand on her friend's back. "Yeah."
Andy decided to ask the obvious question, "what now?"
"We're going to have to come up with a plan," Sam suggested. "Things have gotten a lot more serious."
"I don't know," Andy hedged. "Can we really trust that guy? He seemed like a crackpot."
Becky frowned. "He seemed perfectly nice to me."
"Of course he seemed nice to you," Andy insisted. "You totally have the hots for him."
"What! No I don't."
"Uh, yeah you do," Andy replied.
"Sam, tell him I don't."
Samantha looked at her and shrugged. "I can't."
Becky threw up her hands. "I don't believe this. You two decide to hang out and now you're ganging up on me. I. Do. Not. Have. The. Hots. For. Him."
"Bye, Greg," Andy said, raising his voice to a breathy high tone. He started making kiss noises before he was hit in the face with a pillow.
"Guys!" Sam said, massaging her aching head. "Could we get back on topic, please?"
"Sorry," Andy replied. "I was serious before. How can we be certain we can believe him?"
Sam thought for a moment before she finally answered him. "There's one way to settle this."
Becky groaned. "Not him again."
"It's the only way," proclaimed Sam. "I wish the Goblin King would come to me, right now."
With a gust of wind, the Goblin King appeared before them. It was clear that he was not in the best of moods. Sam mused that he never seemed to be in a great mood when she called him. Tough luck for him though. If he wanted her help then he could put up with her constant calls to him.
"What now?"
Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head. "No hello?"
Jareth mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like "Press your luck and you'll be greeting the bog."
Sam chose to ignore him. "Whatever. Anyway, we met with the guy from the secret society."
"And?" Jareth said, picking some lint off his jacket.
"Ugh! Fine. He said that there's a hole in reality that could destroy everything."
"A hole in reality?"
Becky, Andy, and Sam took turns telling him everything they had learned from their encounter with Greg. Sam added things she had read from the Underground Crystal website, including their theory about Jim Henson. Jareth's face remained impassive through the whole exchange, though he would let out a snort of amusement every now and then. When they finished, they looked to him for a reaction. The laughter they received was somewhat unexpected, though Sam thought she shouldn't have been surprised.
"How positively pedestrian," Jareth sneered.
"So, it's not true?" Becky asked, looking at Sam for clarification.
Jareth grinned. "I didn't say that. It's a completely oversimplified explanation for something much too complicated to explain. At least to mortals."
"Can you at least try?" Andy asked, getting irritated with the Goblin King.
"You don't understand. I could talk for days and still be merely skimming the surface."
"How about the cliff's notes?" Sam suggested.
"What in the devil are cliff's notes?"
Becky stepped in. "She means the highlights. Let's just talk about the things you can tell us. For one, is Jim Henson still alive?"
"That's a bunch of ridiculous nonsense," Jareth replied, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"So, he's dead?" Sam asked.
Jareth frowned. "Unfortunately."
"You actually sound sad," Sam said.
"Indeed," Jareth acknowledged. "I do have feelings. It was a very sad day when his soul passed. We mourned him for a year in my kingdom alone."
"I'm sorry," Sam replied. "I didn't mean to imply that you don't have feelings."
"Is there a hole in reality?" Andy asked, steering the conversation back to the reason why they called Jareth.
"In a manner of speaking," Jareth conceded. He took a moment to think of the best way to explain. "I suppose it would be easier to continue using that oversimplification than for me to come up with something better. Yes, there is a hole in the fabric the holds the realms together and apart. Usually, the veil can get thin in places which allow for mortals and fae to occupy the same space for a short period of time. However, when Sarah defeated the Labyrinth and Jim Henson accessed the vision of that event, it did somewhat tear a hole, for lack of a better term."
"Is that why you asked me to help you find her?" asked Sam.
"Partly," Jareth hedged.
"What's the other part?" Andy asked.
Jareth grinned. "I think I've shared enough secrets with you mortals today. Another time perhaps. So, other than theories, did this mortal you met with tell you anything about where to find Sarah?"
"Not really," Sam admitted. "He gave us a general idea of where to look."
"So you haven't gotten anywhere since last we spoke," Jareth surmised.
"We're not giving up," Becky promised. "It's harder than it sounds to find someone in our world. We don't have magic, just technology. The important point is we're closer today than we were yesterday."
"Which isn't much," Jareth scoffed.
Sam huffed. "Sheesh! Give us a bit of credit and at least a small chance."
"Call if you find anything useful," Jareth said, frowning.
With a twist of his wrist, he disappeared from the room. Torrents of blue and silver glitter swirled around, more evidence of his displeasure at their lack of progress. Waving her hand in front her face, Becky turned to the other two teens and shrugged.
"Asshole," Sam hissed.
Yeah, he's just a ball of optimism, isn't he? After Jareth left, we decided to get back online. Even though there were way less 'Sarah Williams' when we added 'New England' to the search parameters, it still produced way too many for us to find on our own. That's when Andy made a suggestion that will hopefully change everything for us.
Clicking along the keyboard, Sam tried another search on Google. Andy groaned as he watched the results pop up. 66,100,000! Slightly better than before, but still too many for them to go through. Both Becky and Andy continued to make suggestions for ways to reduce the amount of search results and Sam would enter them all. For a moment, they'd hold their breaths before heaving a collective sigh when they saw the number returned.
"I give up!" Sam cried, after an hour of searching. "This is hopeless."
"We'll figure out something," Becky said. "We have to."
Andy scratched his head. "Maybe we need to think about hiring someone to help us. You know. Like a private detective."
"You've been watching too much tv," Becky scoffed.
Sam's face lit up in a grin. "No, I think he's on to something. Private detectives have a lot more resources at their disposal than we do. It's worth a shot."
With a renewed sense of hope, Sam began tapping along her keyboard again. Into the search bar, she typed 'private detectives near me.' The search results began to pour in and she started looking through them. The first couple of names were listed as sponsored so she ignored them. Instead, she clicked on the link of the next one on the list: a Mr. Kennedy. Soon, his page began to fill their screen.
"Need help gaining an edge in a messy divorce? Want to find out if he's cheating on you?" Becky read aloud.
"Jesus," Sam laughed. "He sounds like a real nice guy. Let's see the next one."
Sam clicked the back button and headed into the search results to click on the next name: James Beckett, PI. "His picture looks nice."
"Who cares what he looks like?" Andy asked, rolling his eyes. "Can he find anyone?"
Becky punched her brother in the bicep, grinning at his grunt of pain. "Pest."
"Settle down, kids," Sam said. "It says that he can help you find missing people."
"How much does he cost?" Becky asked.
"It just says call for rates. Let's check out another guy."
Hitting the back button yet again, Sam looked at the list of names. There were more names with local addresses. Who knew that there were so many private detectives out there? It was a little sad if you let yourself think about it too much. So many people looking for lost loved ones and cheating spouses. She hoped she didn't ever have to use one again after this. With a sigh, she clicked the next name.
"Bert Rodriguez, PI. This one says he's an ex-cop and he was a Navy Seal."
Andy whistled through his teeth. "Sounds badass. How much does he charge?"
"A hundred and fifty dollars! Holy shit!" Sam exclaimed, before slapping a hand over her mouth. She waited for her mother to knock on the door and was relieved when it didn't happen.
"It says starting at a hundred and fifty dollars," Becky pointed out.
"Thanks," Sam said, sarcastically.
"Maybe there's a cheaper one we can find."
Sam shrugged and went back again to the list. Tapping the left mouse button, she brought up another site. This one wasn't as flashy as some of the others that they'd seen. Seeing that the face staring back at her wasn't much older than they were, she had an idea that he might not be as expensive as the other one they'd just looked at. Again, there wasn't any listing for prices other than a plea to call for his rates. She took a piece of scrap paper and jotted down his name and number. This one seemed right, for some reason.
Sam rotated in her chair to look at her two friends. "I'm going to have to check to see how much I have in my account. I'm not sure how much I even have left from working at the theater this summer."
Becky patted her back, "I'll help, Sam. We're in this together."
"Me, too," offered Andy.
"Aw, you guys. Thanks so much for everything."
"That's what friends are for," Becky said.
"Through good times and bad times, I'll be on your side forever more," Sam sang as Becky giggled.
"Let's meet up at our place tomorrow and we'll pool our money," Andy suggested, interrupting the impromptu concert.
Sam smiled at him and he couldn't help staring at her. "That sounds great! I'll be over there around noon."
"Uh, sounds good."
"It's getting late," Becky announced, hiding a yawn behind her hand. "If it's ok with you, I'll just stay here tonight."
"Of course," Sam said. "Here. Let me get you something to sleep in."
While Sam rummaged through her sleep clothes, Becky gave Andy a pointed look. He frowned and shook his head watching to make sure Sam didn't see. Once Sam had located a set of pajamas for her friend, she handed them over to her, oblivious to the unspoken conversation that had taken place behind her. Becky excused herself to head into the bathroom down the hall.
Andy watched his sister leave the room before turning to Sam. "Well, I should probably be going."
"Thanks for all your help, Andy."
Andy shrugged, but Sam saw the blush that rose on his cheeks. He was really cute when he was embarrassed. Reaching out into the night air, he grasped the nearest tree limb and pulled himself out of the window. Sam watched as he turned back towards her room. His brow was furled as if he were trying to decide something before his face broke out into a smile. With a beckoning finger, Andy called her to come closer. His head was still framed by the window while the rest of him clung to the tree outside. Sam gave a questioning look before coming near. He wiggled his finger again, indicating that he wanted her closer. Perhaps he had a secret for her. Bending down, Sam's face came within inches of his. Closing the distance, Andy planted his lips on hers. The kiss was sweet and over before either of them could question it.
When he pulled away, Andy said, "Night, Sam."
"Night, Andy."
His head disappeared into the darkness, leaving her alone in her room. Her fingertips brushed her lips, feeling the absence of his warmth. The frantic beating of her heart was finally slowing, allowing her to return to a semi-normal state. It could have kept racing all night and Sam wouldn't have noticed; not really. With a grin, she sat on her bed and waited for her best friend to come back. Until then, she'd relive that moment over and over again. It wasn't every day that a girl got her first kiss, after all.
My very first kiss! Ok, maybe not my first kiss kiss, but my first REAL kiss. Joey Dillon at the 6th grade Sadie Hawkins dance totally doesn't count. AHHH! Sorry to get all gushy and stuff, but I can't help myself.
Well, we'll get to work on finding an affordable private detective tomorrow. Right now, I'm going to try not to let Becky know that her brother kissed me. Then, it'll be time to finally get to sleep. Sweet dreams!
TTFN
A/N2: Please send me a review and let me know what you think.
