Sarah ran up the stairs two steps at a time and made sure to slam the door hard behind her so her parents would know she had no interest in talking. She had kept the tears at bay, but once she was safe inside her room where no one could see, she let them stream down her face like rivers. Yet again, she had had an argument with her stepmother who wished she could be "more like other girls." Sarah heard it all too often; constantly getting asked why she didn't go out with her friends. It was as if her stepmother couldn't wait to get her out of the house. Sarah didn't even have that many friends to begin with and thinking about it just made it all worse. She wanted to stop crying, but she just couldn't. Burying her face in her pillow, she hoped to drown out the sound of her sobbing. A part of her wanted her dad to sit down next to her on the bed and comfort her, but it seemed as if her slamming the door had really made her point clear: don't come in. The other part of her was happy that no one came, because then she wouldn't have to use her voice which, inevitably, would only break midsentence. Of course, who said she would need to talk anyway? It would be nice if someone could just sit with her and gently stroke her back to make it all feel better. When thirty minutes had passed and no such thing had happened, Sarah lost her hope that it would.
It had been quite late already when she had rushed into her room and she never went back out, nor did anyone ask to come in. They probably assume I've gone to sleep. Sarah supposed it was a good idea and got ready for the night, putting her PJs on and brushing her hair by her vanity. As she did so, she brought out her music box from one of the drawers and let it play for her. She hadn't taken it out since she put it away all those months ago. The melody brought back all of her memories from the labyrinth. Most of all, she remembered the ball. She remembered Jareth. She stopped brushing and thought back on him. Sarah had never been sure of what to feel towards him. He had been intimidating and powerful, yet at the same time so gentle and captivating. "Goblin King," she whispered. "Jareth…" Without really knowing why she said it, the words escaped her mouth. "I need you." Her head turned to the window, expecting to see him standing there in all his glory and might. Alas, the only thing she saw was the full moon in the dark blue night sky. Sarah sighed, feeling slightly disappointed.
The room was slightly too warm for her liking, so she went up to the window and left it open by just a crack to let in some air before switching the lights off and going to bed. She kept her eyes open for a while, looking at the open window. You can come now. Any moment now. After a while though, it was nearly impossible for Sarah to keep her eyes open any longer and reluctantly, she closed them and fell asleep.
A barn owl landed on the window sill and squeezed itself through the small opening that led into the room of the sleeping girl. Once inside, the owl morphed into its human form to admire the beautiful girl who had called him. She truly was a precious thing. Even more so in slumber. Jareth wondered what she dreamed about this time. He had had the pleasure of entering her dreams once and it had been magical, up until the moment when she had decided to end it. Of course, it was her dream after all and her will was strong. He admired that quality in her. Actually, it was one of many qualities that had drawn him to her in the first place. She was so unlike many others. Like a sparkling diamond in a sea of plain, dull gems.
He stepped closer to the edge of the bed where she lay. Reaching out with a gloved hand, he removed some strands of hair from her angelic face and let it linger on her cheek for just a moment. She remained sound asleep. Bending down further, he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Sarah," he whispered and his voice was like a soft wind. He knew he had to leave. It had taken him some time, but he was starting to realize that she had a life of her own and if he stayed for as much as a second longer, it would only be harder for him to accept that. Therefore, he retreated to the window and spared her one last, longing glance before preparing himself to transform. However, he never got to that part.
"Jareth." He froze at the sound of his name coming from her lips and turned his head. Her eyes gleamed in the moonlight and they were pleading to him. "Please don't go." Sarah threw off her quilt and hurried over to his side where he could see her eyes clearer. He was trapped now. "Please," she said again, close to tears. He hated seeing her this way.
"Well, I guess I could stay for a little while," he said and stepped away from the window. Then they just stood there in silence, looking into each other's faces. Finally, Sarah did what she had craved to do for a long, long time. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, never wanting to let go. He was taken aback by her gesture and wasn't sure how to respond. But as if out of habit, his arms moved to rest on her back and he stroked it to let her know he was there and that everything was going to be all right.
"Why didn't you come when I called for you?" she asked and he looked down at her head nestled underneath his own. His right hand moved to stroke her hair instead.
"I was afraid," he said after a moment of hesitation. Sarah pulled back to look into his face again.
"Afraid?" she asked incredulously. She wouldn't believe it. "Afraid of what?"
"Afraid that if I came here, I would never want to leave." Sarah raised her eyebrows as realization dawned on her.
"Oh." She looked down, but he brought her face right back up.
"Sarah, you know how I feel about you. And I always will. Don't you forget about it."
"Of course not," she answered right away.
"Ever since you left, I have tried to forget about you, but that has proved to be an impossible feat. So instead, I have been forced to getting used to the fact that you have a life here in the Aboveground. And I have gotten used to it. Somewhat," he added and she chuckled softly. "Now, I don't know what you expected when you called for me, but you must have known that I can't stay."
"I know," she said with sadness in her voice. "I just needed to know that you were still there." He smiled at her and wiped the single tear rolling down her cheek.
"Sarah, I will always be there for you. As the world falls down."
A/N: Yet another Labyrinth one-shot from me! I've grown obsessed with it now. XD This fic ended kind of abruptly, but I'll let you guys fill in the rest. ;) I got inspiration from the song "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum. You might have heard it already, but if you haven't, I highly reccomend it! Hope you enjoyed it!