Chapter 4: Conflicted Feelings of All Sorts
Finally, Christmas came.
Christmas wasn't really Sarah's favorite holiday so it passed as a blur for her.
She didn't remember much because she had been spacing out most of the time. "Team Jareth" and "Team Tyler" were constantly bickering in her mind. Team Jareth constantly reminded her of everything Jareth had done for her and what he meant to her. Team Tyler claimed that she and Jareth were only friends who had no other feelings for each other. It was a weak argument, but Sarah just didn't want to think about the consequences of what she had agreed to. With any luck, she could just go on this date with Tyler and go back to the Underground without Jareth ever knowing.
However, in her "spacing" state, she did remember that Irene and Dad gave her a beautiful leather jacket which she found ironic because it resembled the one that Jareth had. It also resembled the one that she had given to Toby.
After talking with Jareth about it, he agreed to have a miniature jacket made for Toby. It was an exact replica of his. Toby instantly loved it and put it on. Of course, he would have loved anything Sarah gave him.
Toby had given her a blank sketchbook for drawing in and another sketchbook full of his drawings. Toby was a talented artist. He drew all sorts of creatures such as elves, vampires, trolls, gargoyles, fairies, and, of course, goblins.
The last picture had really surprised Sarah. It was a picture of a man with wild blonde hair and mismatched eyes. It was so realistic that Sarah could have sworn that Jareth was really looking into her eyes.
When she questioned Toby about it, he said that he had had a couple "dayvisions" about this man and had found him so interesting that he just had to draw him.
Sarah wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or not, but she decided to just brush it off and continue to enjoy the time she had with her brother.
Toby, however, still hadn't told her everything about what he had seen that day at the mall.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Sarah was frantic. She had no idea what she was going to wear!
She looked through all of her outfits again, exasperated at her lack of time.
Throwing clothes all over her floor, Sarah, still in her robe, searched for the perfect outfit.
Team Jareth was smug. If this were Jareth taking you out, you know exactly what you'd wear and why you'd wear it.
Yeah, she knew what she would wear. She could see the image in her mind. Her black, silky dress with a split, revealing one long, lustrous leg. It hugged all of her curves in all the right places and revealed just enough cleavage, but would still give his imagination some time to play. She would wear her black sweater (the one with the intricate, red roses embroidered on it) with the dress and her black heels. It was snowing outside and she would be freezing cold, but he would be worth every minute of it. And as for why she would wear something so enticing … well, normally, whenever she thought of this part, forbidden fantasies ran wild through her mind.
She could just see the look on Jareth's face.
He would be awestruck, but would try to hide it by acting "cool" and playing the part of the badboy, Goblin King. He would give her a once over and then declare, "You look beautiful, my darling … but there seems to be something missing."
At this point, he would produce a crystal from thin air and turn it into a red rose. Placing it behind her ear, he would whisper, "There. A beautiful rose for a beautiful woman. The only accessory missing from your lovely ensemble."
Of course, she would blush and then they would …..
No!
She had to stop thinking such thoughts! They were friends only! Nothing more. …. Right?
Once again, Sarah found herself wishing that she were back home. Maybe in the library by the fire, reading some sort of novel while Jareth sat in his chair and read his own book, glancing up to watch her at least once every two pages. She could almost feel the warmth of both the fire and his gaze upon her.
….. AAAAHHHH!!!!! NO! She was doing it again!
She sighed as she heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" she called.
As she turned to face whoever had entered her room, she saw Irene. Her step-mother smiled knowingly and asked, "Having outfit problems?"
Sarah grinned sheepishly. "You could say that. I have no idea what to wear."
"What kind of style are you searching for?"
"Well, I'm not sure exactly. Guys here are so much different than guys in … France. And Tyler ... well, you remember Tyler." Sarah smiled, slightly embarrassed. Irene had always been the one to insist that she and Tyler would date eventually. Even back in kindergarten, she had said that.
Irene nodded and strolled over to Sarah's pile of discarded clothing. After searching for a few minutes, Irene turned to Sarah and handed her a cream-colored turtleneck, powder blue jeans, and black boots. "How's this?"
"It's perfect," Sarah beamed. The outfit wasn't too sexy and open, but not too safe. She hugged her stepmother and thanked her. "Thanks Irene. I really appreciate it."
Irene nodded, smiled, and left the room. Sarah got dressed, fixed her hair, and grabbed her purse.
As Sarah was looking into her mirror for the last time, she heard a knock on her door that was all too familiar to her. "Come in, Toby!" she called.
As she suspected, it was Toby. He walked into the room and, once again, was strangely blunt with her.
"Sarah, are you sure you should be doing this? I mean, going out with Tyler." Sarah didn't know what to say. She settled with,
"Toby, what's gotten into you? I thought you liked Tyler?" Sarah was confused. Toby had seemed to like Tyler when he had been with them at the mall, but now he was looking at Sarah like she guilty of something.
"I do. But" - he paused - "but I just have this weird feeling like you shouldn't be dating … Tyler."
Sarah wasn't sure what he was talking about. Team Tyler passed it off as Toby being jealous of his sister spending time with someone besides him. Team Jareth, however, knew better. Toby wasn't like that and he had to have some other reason.
"Toby, what do you …" Sarah began, but she was interrupted by the doorbell. Sarah and Toby glanced towards Sarah's bedroom door simultaneously and could hear the door being answered.
Voices drifted upstairs and Sarah's eyes widened. "Oh my … He's here! … He's … Oh my … He's here! Crap! Crap!" Sarah looked at Toby and asked "Do I look okay?"
Dad's voice came up the stairs "Sarah! A certain, handsome young man is down here to pick you up." Tyler's heart-warming laugh followed it.
"I'm coming!" Sarah called. Toby looked at his sister with the same conflicted look that she, herself, had been wearing since that day at the mall.
"Toby, are you sure you're all right? I can ask Tyler to give me a few more minutes so we can talk about this."
Toby forced smile and shook his head. "N-No. Go ahead and have fun. My imagination is just running away with me again." He gave his sister a hug and left the room, still as confused as ever. Before leaving, he made sure to say, "You look beautiful, by the way."
Sarah wasn't convinced that Toby was okay, but he obviously needed some time to himself.
She came down the stairs, looking as beautiful as always. Tyler didn't look too bad himself.
He was wearing a red, long sleeved shirt with blue jeans. He wore black cowboy boots and a jean jacket lined with fluffiness. His hair was slicked back and hardened with gel and his smile could make the most stuck-up woman's knees tremble. (A/N: lol I had no clue how to describe Tyler at all or his jacket. Just go with it =D)
He was to die for, but Sarah still couldn't suppress the sudden feeling of surprise and disappointment at seeing Tyler looking up at her and smiling instead of another with wild blonde hair and mismatched eyes.
A/N: There ya go! Hope you enjoyed it. Sorry I didn't put the date in here but it'll be in the next chapter along with some Toby and maybe some Jareth if I can work him in.
Special thanks to Alexandraya, zotlot, Vampfreak666, notwritten, Nanci'sNeko, magialuna, and vickster223. I appreciate your reviews more than you know!
Thanks a bunch! Writing the next chapter right ..... now. x]