A/N: Moving right along...
HAUNTED
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"That's so sad! Why don't they want you? You're a great kid!"
Nigel hesitated, then said, slowly, and obviously painfully, "They think I'm crazy..."
"What?" Sarah exclaimed.
"I shouldn't... I don't want you to think I'm crazy too..."
"Nigel, don't worry. I'd never think that! Please, tell me!"
"All right. It all started about seven years ago. I think I mentioned that I have an older sister, Marie. But when I was nine, my mom had a baby boy, named Aaron."
Sarah listened intently, eyes wide. She was happy that he was finally opening up to her.
"Well, when he was eighteen months old, my parents decided to move him into my room, and, well, I was less than thrilled with this new arrangement. My parents were trying to teach him to sleep through the night, and he would scream for hours on end. I went through this for, like six weeks. I begged my parents to come and get him, and stop his cries, but they told me that it was for his own good."
"Go on. You still haven't explained why your parents think you're crazy," she said impatiently.
"I'm getting to that. Well, eventually I got sick of it. And one night, I was laying in bed, covering my ears with my pillow, but it didn't really work. I started yelling at him, saying the most awful things to him. I told him that I wished he was never born, god, just the most awful things, things that no ten year old should ever think, let alone say. And I remembered something that my great grandmother used to tell me when I was little. She would always warn me to behave myself, or the goblins would come in the night and take me away. I rolled over, pushed the pillow harder to my ears, and I told him: "I wish the goblins really would come and take you away right now. And then, his crying stopped. I was scared, so I ran over to check on him, but when I looked in the crib, he... he wasn't there."
Sarah's blood ran cold. She knew what was coming, but she kept her mouth shut.
"All of a sudden, there was a voice behind me. I'll never forget that voice as long as I live... that cold, cruel, mocking voice...'Hello Nigel,' he said. I turned around to face him. He was frightening, tall, with this big blond hair, and an almost evil smile.He introduced himself as the Goblin King. I begged him to give Aaron back, but he refused, telling me to go back to bed, and enjoy my freedom from him, but I was persistent, and he gave me a challenge. I had to run his labyrinth, and get to his castle in thirteen hours. I agreed, but I didn't last long. I couldn't find any turns, or anything. It just went on and on. I don't know how long I ran before I just broke down. I cried like a little girl. Then my time ran out, and he showed up again, laughing at me, bragging about how a stupid little boy like me could never hope to defeat him, and that's the last thing I remember before I blacked out. I woke up the next morning, My room was back the way it was before Aaron moved in. I went to find my parents, but when I asked them where Aaron was, they had no idea what I was talking about."
"Then what?" she asked, nearly breathless. She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. The knowlage that the goblin king had tormented Nigel as well made her feel even closer to him. She could see, for the first time, the pain and torment that haunted his silvery grey eyes.
"Well, when you're ten, you think your parents can do anything. So I very stupidly told them everything, hoping that they could fix it. They didn't believe me, they told me that it was a dream, and that I never had a little brother. My dad was less understanding than my mom, but after about a year of insisting that the Goblin King had taken my little brother away, they both turned pretty nasty. They sent me to shrinks, who pressed me about every detail of my life, trying to cast blame somewhere. They told my parents that there was nothing wrong with me, and by this point, I'd learned to keep my mouth shut about it, but my parents never could look at me the same way again. They stopped believing me, they took every chance they could find to tell me how crazy they thought I was. But I swear to you Sarah, I'm not crazy. I will stand by my story until the day I die. The Goblin King is real, and he took my little brother away from me."
Sarah wiped her eyes. She looked at Nigel, and patted his arm gently. "Nigel, I believe you."
"That's nice of you to say, Sarah, but I don't need your pity..."
"It isn't pity, Nigel. I really, honestly believe you," she said, staring deep into his eyes. He drew closer to her. She could feel a strange sensation building inside of her. She closed her eyes slightly, and closed the gap between his lips and her own.
She was instantly lost in a sweep of passion, unlike anything she had ever felt before. She had always imagined her first kiss, but no dream could ever compare to it. She didn't really love him, and she was fairly sure that he didn't really love her. She wasn't stupid, she was well aware that this was just a summer romance, and that no matter how long they lasted, they would probably never last forever. But right now, none of that mattered. All that she cared about was the heat of this moment, the enchanting spell of her first kiss.
It was over soon, and they slowly drew apart, the darkness hiding their beet red faces. They slowly got to their feet, and silently moved off into the woods, back towards town. Neither looked up, neither saw the jewel bright eyes watching them from the trees.
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The two teenagers walked down their street. The street lamps shadows over them. Sarah was deep in thought. She would like to tell Nigel of her own time in the Labyrinth, but dared not. He might think she was making fun of him. Nigel slipped his hand around hers, and gave it a little squeeze.
"Marie didn't think I was crazy, she tried to defend me. I think that she might have believed me, but by the time the thought had crossed my mind, I was too scared to ask. I thank god everyday that they sent me here. Aunt Marlow is so nice to me, she doesn't make fun of me like my so called parents," Nigel said, obviously still deep in thought. They approached her doorstep, still hand in hand. "And besides, when I came here, I got to meet you."
Sarah giggled. "Nigel McAlister, do you know what tonight has been?"
"Yes," he said, smiling, kissing her on the cheek. "Perfect."
He took off towards his own house. Sarah remembered something, and called after him, "Hey Nigel! Tomorrow is my parent's anniversary, and they're going out. Would you maybe like to come over, and babysit with me?"
"I'd love to. I'll see you tomorrow," he said, his voice taking on a boyish quality. Sarah went inside, and Nigel continued to his house. He went inside, and slipped off his shoes.
"How was your evening, Nigel?" his aunt called from the living room. He smiled to himself.
"It was... nice. I'm going over there tomorrow."
"Good for you."
"Well, I'm beat, I'm going to bed," he said, heading up the stairs. He slipped off his shirt, and dumped it down the laundry shoot. He went into his room, and flipped the switch. To his surprise, the light didn't come on. "Damn," he muttered. He walked inside. The door slammed shut behind him, and the lock clicked. He desperately tried to open it , but to no avail.
Then he heard a voice, a terrifying voice that made all his worst nightmares of the past seven years come alive again.
"Hello, Nigel..."
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A/N: And that's where I'm going to leave it off for three weeks, while I'm on vacation. Aren't I just the worst?
But maybe, if I have some pretty reviews in my in box when I come home, I might be inclined to update quickly...
A free Jareth plushie for all who for saw the little twist I introduced in this chapter...