Sarah woke up and immediately knew something wasn't right. She didn't own a leather couch; she also didn't own the fancy throw she was wrapped up with. Slightly adjusting herself, she saw the night sky of New York City out of the expansive window of the poshest hotel suite she had ever stepped foot in. This must have been the place Seth's firm was paying for.

She was still cold, but she stood up, noticing her heels were no longer on her feet. Walking towards the window, Sarah looked in wonder at the city she had called home. It was an easy way of avoiding all that she admitted to Seth earlier that night.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Jareth said as he approached Sarah.

She didn't have to look in a mirror to know she must have looked like a puffy faced mess.

"Yes." Sarah responded. "When I first moved here I had trouble falling asleep at night because the sirens of the cop cars and ambulances kept me up. I wasn't used to those sounds, but now I need them to fall asleep at night. It's like they're singing to me."

Sarah stepped away from the window and walked towards the couch. She began searching for her shoes.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to bother you. I'm sure you'd like to get to bed."

"Sarah, don't shut me out."

"I don't need your sympathy." Sarah angrily spoke.

"Darling, it's anything but sympathy." Jareth said, trying to stop her from searching for her shoes.

"Why did you kiss me?" She asked, not able to look him in the eyes.

Jareth forced her to look at him before responding, "Because I wanted to."

"I don't know what to think. I'm feeling all of these conflicting emotions."

"I can only imagine." Jareth said. "Please, sit down."

Sarah gave in and sat down, noticing a full glass of water on the coffee table next to her. He must have placed it there when they first arrived back at his place. She didn't notice him sit across from her, keeping a distance, but she knew that it was for her comfort more so than his.

"You know, you don't have to tell me anything. I just want you to stay here for the night."

Sarah noticed that Jareth traded in his usual smart sartorial choices with a pair of pajamas. He must not have been asleep; he looked as if he just happened to change right before she woke up.

"I can just sit here with you and we can be silent. I'll do whatever you want. You make all of the decisions here."

Jareth leaned back into the chair he was sitting in, but Sarah didn't move. Her body was tense, her hair strewn about.

"I'm so tired." She whispered.

"Then lie down and sleep."

"No, you don't understand. I'm tired of thinking that people won't be there when I need them. It's easy to push people away. It's like the abused dog that gets fooled one too many times. It can't help but strike out when someone shows it an iota of compassion." Sarah smiled slightly.

"You're not an animal, Sarah."

"I can't grow attached to you. I can't develop feelings."

"Why not?"

"Because you're a tourist whose time here will one day end. I like you a lot Seth." Sarah confessed as she wrapped the throw around herself.

The city lights allowed shadows to cover their faces as they stared at one another.

"I like you a lot too Sarah." His head rolled toward the window to look at the skyline before whispering, "I enjoyed every second of those two stolen kisses."

If this is where their conversation ended, then this would be it. She was here, and she had all of the power. The two observed the city for a few minutes. They didn't know that a new day would soon start. They didn't know that silence could be so loud. Jareth inhaled loudly and closed his eyes as he sank into the comfortable suede chair opposite her.

"When I was younger I loved fairy tales." Sarah started.

She didn't notice her friend turn his vision towards hers. She kept her eyes glued to the glass and what was behind it.

"There was this one story in particular that I was rather fond of. It was about a king and this great city filled with goblins and all sorts of creatures."

Jareth's heart stopped beating for a second.

"One night I was aggravated with Toby. You see, at that time he was just a baby and I wished him away to this supposed Goblin King who seconds later swooped in to take him away. I had to win him back, so I went through this huge labyrinth and I won. I made some wonderful friends, and even after I won Toby back and defeated the king and everything returned back to normal, I still had my friends who would come into my world. I carried on."

Jareth wanted to ask questions, but he couldn't help but hear her speak.

"My parents heard our conversations. No, scratch that. They heard me having conversations with myself. I swore and swore that they were all real. Dad thought I was schizophrenic. I can't tell you how many times I tried to tell them what I saw and experienced really happened, but it was like an out of tune record playing repeatedly." Her tears returned.

"I was put on so many medications; it was like I was an experiment to see what worked and what didn't. Depression. Multiple personalities. Anxiety. Those were just a few words tossed around. I couldn't function properly. I had to be home schooled my senior year. Then one day, I just decided that I no longer wanted to be here."

"What do you mean?" Jareth asked, fear in his voice.

"I thought I was insane because everyone else around thought it so. I heard the voices of those goblins, I danced to their songs, but I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't anymore."

Sarah reluctantly rolled up the right sleeve of her sweater. Jareth removed himself from the chair and dreaded every step that took him to Sarah. He tried to contain his gasp when he saw the two inch scar over her vein on her forearm. Dropping to his knees, he now understood why she always wore longsleeves. Sarah didn't notice him gently grab her arm and trace his fingers along the rigged scar, as if his touch could somehow erase all that led up to it. Still, she didn't appear to notice his closeness.

"Toby accidentally found me, and my parents sent me to the hospital. I don't remember much from my time there. It was a fog. I only remember a fog. I… I think I even had electroshock therapy, but I'm not too sure. But there was Mischa. He kept me alive."

It was all becoming clear now. Her sudden disappearance now had an explanation. The inescapable fog in his crystals. All of it was now beginning to make sense. Trying to process everything, he noticed Sarah now looking at him.

"That's why I can't live in a fantasy world of fiction. I read those stories during my whole childhood, and look what it led to. I couldn't distinguish fiction from reality, and I'm so afraid to trust myself because I did back then. I thought I was so sure back then and look where it sent me."

Jareth was washed over with guilt. She hadn't avoided him all those years ago. She was being punished for winning his game. The realization forced him to look away from her gaze, his hand still grasping her arm.

It was here that he could reveal everything. He could apologize for everything and promise to do everything in his power to make up for all of her suffering, but his gut told him it wasn't the right time. Their friendship was still too new, and Jareth's selfishness came back. He wasn't ready to potentially lose her forever. What if he revealed himself and it drove her over the edge? What if she refused to see him anymore? There were too many what ifs and not enough promises of reassurance.

"I won't blame you if you run away, you know."

"Why would I do that? Haven't you figured it out by now?" Jareth whispered as he brought his lips to her right knuckle.

A fresh wave of tears fell from Sarah's eyes as Jareth moved to pick her up and carry her to his bedroom. Jareth gently placed her on the bed and began to tuck her in.

"What about you?"

"I'll sleep on the sofa."

"No, I'll sleep on the sofa. This is your place."

"Sarah, I insist. In the morning we'll have breakfast and I'm highly looking forward to going back to The Strand. I need you rested up for that adventure."

Sarah smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"For what?" Jareth whispered back.

"For seeing me, seeing past everything."

Jareth never let go of her hand as he sat on the edge of his bed. As was normal with their relationship, he was close, but not that close. He turned his head to the side to see that she closed her eyes. He didn't have to tell her that he would stay there until she fell asleep. When he could feel the cadence of her breathing, Jareth reluctantly released her hand and walked towards the sofa.

He didn't bother grabbing a blanket. He wanted to feel slightly uncomfortable. It was the most he could do to punish himself for the crimes he felt he was guilty of. Her time in the hospital and her suicide attempt were his fault. He shivered slightly and stoically faced the internal trial happening in his mind. Just when he thought he might actually deserve her, the truth had a way of coming in and ruining the small joys he experienced in her presence.

After three hours of turmoil and guilt, Jareth frustratingly stood up from the leather sofa and walked back towards his bedroom. Sarah was still asleep, her body hardly moved since he left her, and it was the only place he felt some ounce of solace.

Climbing into the bed, Jareth wrapped an arm around Sarah, but didn't press his body into hers. He desperately wanted to cling to the hope that it would one day happen, but now he wasn't sure about anything anymore. Fear and worry were two things he was slowly becoming acquainted with.