Chapter 12: Up Side Down

Jareth's mobile alerted him that he had a new text message soon after he stepped out of the shower. Drying himself off, he saw that it was from Sarah. He knew that she hated texting, so it must have been an impulsive decision.

Sarah: Would you like to meet at The Bean this afternoon?

Jareth quickly began to type out a response, but he reminded himself to slow down. He didn't want to come off as desperate, even though he probably fit the definition. Questioning every word he spelled out, Jareth erased and retyped words before settling on two.

Jareth: What time?

Sarah: Around 4:30?

Jareth: I'll see you then. Looking forward to it.

Walking in to The Bean, he saw that Sarah was already there. She must have stopped by The Strand earlier because she was reading a book as she approached her.

"Hello." Jareth said.

"Hello." Sarah said, closing the book as she invited him to sit across from her.

There were a few minutes of awkward silence before Sarah began talking.

"I saw you at the take away show. Thanks for supporting us."

"I must admit that the support is entirely geared towards you."

"Thank you, though. You didn't have to show up."

"But I did. It was nice to see orchestra players wearing anything other than black."

Sarah smiled at his compliment before continuing,

"Joe has a show lined up in the city before he heads out to Boston. He's asked Simon and me to play with him at The Town Hall."

"I'm assuming Simon is the violinist?"

"Yeah."

"That's quite the impressive venue."

"Well, Joe has been pretty popular with the indie college station crowds for years now. He's heading to Boston and Chicago before spending a few weeks in Canada."

"Did you teach him?"

"Oh no! He already graduated when I first started working there, but he donates to the school and volunteers his time. He's a good guy."

"Who gets to see the world doing the thing he loves."

"Yeah."

"Are you going to tour with him?" Jareth asked hesitantly.

It took Sarah a few seconds before she answered him. Those seconds felt like hours to Jareth.

"He's invited us to play in Boston and Chicago. The Canada dates are still up in the air."

"You should go." Jareth said, trying to disguise the hurt.

"You're assuming I said yes."

"One shouldn't waste such an opportunity."

"You're right, but I'm still on the fence about it."

"Why?" Jareth asked, not knowing if he should be sad or ecstatic.

"I feel like I'd be running away from my problems over here."

"You'd be running away from me, you mean?"

"Yes." Sarah bluntly stated before adding, "Plus, who will teach my classes? I've got my career to think about too."

"The tour dates would benefit your career too."

"So you're saying I should run away?"

Were they still playing the brutally honest game?

"I don't want you to give up something you want because of me."

Sarah stared at him in disbelief. It was as if he grew another head.

"What?" Jareth asked.

"The Jareth I knew in the labyrinth wouldn't be so selfless. He'd want me all to himself. He'd probably assume that Joe was into me."

"I won't lie, Joe would be an idiot not to be into you."

"I don't need you to constantly tell me how wonderful you think I am. I've changed a bit since we first met again. I'm not some fragile doll that will crack under strong hands. At least I can thank you for that."

"I'd wait for you. You know that, right? If you wanted me in Boston and Chicago, I'd be there too. All you'd have to do is ask."

"I don't want to talk about Joe and his tour."

"What shall we talk about then? They weather is rather lovely now that it's warming up a bit."

"I've been thinking about things between us, a little too much to be frank, and I think I'm ready."

"Ready for what?" Jareth asked before holding his breath.

"I want to slowly rebuild everything."

Jareth didn't care if she heard his huge sigh of relief.

"I want to go to dinner with you, catch a movie, sit silently and read books, all of that stuff. I want things to be like they were before we became intimate."

Shit, she only wanted to be friends. He tried to disguise his disappointment, but failed.

"But I want a grace period."

"Grace period?"

Some hope. Jareth thought.

"How long?"

Jareth hoped in his head that she wouldn't ask for anything longer than a month.

"I want three weeks, at least."

"Does this include the time you will possibly be touring?"

"That will only be for three to four days, so yes, those days would count hypothetically." Sarah said, as if negotiating was something she was born to do.

"That seems fair." Jareth said, even though his features didn't communicate that.

"I want this to be the time where I see and get to know Jareth, not Seth Carrington."

"But you already know me."

"No I don't, not really. I need to know if that arrogant and childish goblin king has grown up."

"Whatever you want is yours." Jareth replied, conceding to her request.

"See, that's what worries me. You're too accommodating. I feel like there's a catch - there's something in the fine print that I'm not reading correctly."

"You think I'm trying to trick you?"

Jareth quickly realized his mistake with the question. He had been tricking her all along.

"I get what you're saying." Jareth said. "I'll admit, my methods haven't always been stacked equally. Maybe some time away will help you figure out what you want."

"I know what I want. I just don't know if what I want is truly what's best for me." Sarah added.

"But we'll still be able to spend time together. I can hang my hopes up on that." Jareth said, smiling.

"Yes, but no intimacy," Sarah stressed, "it will only cloud our judgement."

"What?" Jareth asked, not trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"I don't want us spending the night at each other's place."

"Will I be able to visit?" Jareth's worried voice asked.

"Yes, of course, but the sleepovers need to end."

As much as he hated to admit it to himself, Sarah was right. Jareth reached his hand across the table to grab Sarah's.

"What about touch? May I still hold your hand?"

"Yes." Sarah said.

"Then I will respect your wishes." Jareth said.

"Thank you."

"I was completely honest admitting that I think you should go to Boston and Chicago. I will be lonesome, but it will force me to evaluate my own actions more than I already have." Jareth said solemnly.

And that was that. Jareth gave her the space that she needed. Jareth was never someone who was interested in social media, but he was guilty of looking up "hashtags" involving Joe Gonzalez, Boston, Chicago, and his tour. Gonzalez had a few accounts, and he wasn't shy about posting photos of his guest musicians, or "mentors" as he so eloquently put it.

One photo in particular always pulled at Jareth's heart. It was a photo of all of the touring musicians backstage right before they went out on the stage. Sarah wasn't looking at the camera, but she was caught unaware that the photo was being taken. All of the musicians had their arms draped on each other, but Jareth could only focus on Sarah's face. Her eyes were closed, but her full smile was radiant. There was joy on her face, and when he felt the loneliness reel him back in, he looked at that photo.

Three weeks, well, just more than two weeks. It was easy to count the time if Sarah wasn't in the city as a reminder. He wanted to call her, but he didn't. A part of him worried that she would forget about him, meet some roadie, fall for him, and decide that life on the road was what she wanted. After mapping out the scenario, Jareth would feel idiotic for wasting such energy. She told him she wanted him in her life. She wanted to turn his fantasies into a reality. He needed to learn how to let go. She was now in a state of beginning to trust herself, and that was what he hoped she would be able to do again someday. Just as Jareth had to evolve, Sarah too was on her own journey.

Jareth didn't know Sarah was back in town until Sarah knocked on his door one Wednesday evening.

"Sarah!" Jareth said. He hoped his mouth wasn't open for too long.

"May I come in?" Sarah asked.

"Of course! Forgive me, I wasn't expecting you to show up at my door."

"Is this not a good time?" Sarah asked.

"Anytime is a good time."

"Would you like to maybe go for a walk?"

"Where?" Jareth asked, not hiding the smile on his face.

"Why not this neighborhood? Given your title, I wouldn't expect anything less for a king." Sarah said.

"Let me grab a jacket." Jareth said.

Walking into the bathroom, he looked at himself in the mirror and smiled. He felt a sense of relief at knowing that this was his chance to truly make things right. She was going to walk this world with him, and while a part of him wondered about the happenings of his kingdom, Jareth didn't care about anything but forging ahead with Sarah.

The two walked a few blocks, Jareth listening to Sarah talk about her adventures in Boston and Chicago.

"We didn't get a lot of time for sightseeing." Sarah said.

"That's unfortunate."

"Yeah, but I don't think that kind of lifestyle is for me."

"Who doesn't love traveling?" Jareth asked, wanting nothing more than to lace his fingers through hers.

"Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it, but I don't want to live out of a suitcase."

"That's what touring the world is?"

"Yes. It looks good on paper, but I think I'd get tired of it pretty quickly. What's the point of visiting all of those cities if you can't actually explore them?"

"True."

There was silence between the two. The only sounds to be heard were those of their shoes hitting the pavement.

"I missed you, you know." Sarah said, looking down at the concrete.

"I missed you too." Jareth replied, not realizing that he was nearly in a state of panic. It was hard keeping his hands in his pockets.

"My parents asked about you the last time I saw them."

"What did you say?"

"I lied and told them that you were busy. They don't need to know the rest of it."

"Your brother figured out who I am."

"Did he?" Sarah asked, not too surprised. "He's too clever for his own good sometimes."

"You're not upset?"

"Was he upset?"

"More so with the the fact that your parents sent you away."

"Don't you think it's funny how kids can so easily forgive and move on?"

"I never really put much thought into that idea."

"Have you ever wanted them?"

"Kids?"

"Yes."

"Of course, but one must take care of other things first. I could never just marry some random person from my kingdom."

"Marriages are arranged in the Underground?"

"In some cases, yes. Usually it happens when an heir is needed for the throne. If one is lucky, he or she will have some say in the process."

"Have you ever had to consider such a thing?" Sarah asked, looking at Jareth.

"I managed to put it off long enough. If I were back there, I would have someone breathing down my neck."

"What about the stasis?"

"It's only my kingdom. I haven't been summoned for any dire emergency, so I've always assumed that everything is fine."

"You must miss it."

"The simplicity of it all, yes."

"But?"

"It's all meaningless." Jareth replied, looking ahead.

"What is?"

"It doesn't matter unless you are there with me, so I'd rather be here with you."

Jareth was afraid to look at Sarah while admitting such things. He was still afraid that she would only be able to see him as a friend. The two continued to walk, the sounds of cars and life around them did all of the talking.

"The thing is, I believe you… right now." Sarah said before continuing, "I think right now this is enough for you, but eventually you'll want to go back. It's not fair to Hoggle and everyone else in the underground. They shouldn't suffer for me."

"But they're not suffering. They are simply frozen in time."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better about your situation." Sarah said.

"My situation? I thought this was our situation." Jareth said, slightly perplexed.

Sarah stopped walking, not knowing quite what to say.

"I'm putting pressure on you." Jareth said.

"No, it's not that. It's odd looking at it in a plural sense." Sarah said as she continued walking.

"Well get used to it because I'm not going anywhere." Jareth said jokingly as he took the initiative and grabbed Sarah's hand.

"Where's Seth?" Toby asked.

"He's here." Sarah lied.

She offered to take care of her stepbrother so her parents could have a date night in the city. Sarah's father scored tickets for a new production of Anything Goes, and it was nice to have the Williams clan make the trip out to see her. She treated him to ice cream that afternoon as her parents readied themselves at their hotel.

"He's not really here." Toby said.

"He's busy with work."

"Did you have a fight?"

Sarah wasn't surprised to hear this from her stepbrother. The pause after the question gave everything away.

"You don't need to be concerned with that."

"Why do adults always say those kinds of things?"

"Because little kids like you shouldn't have to deal with adult problems."

"I'm not a baby." Toby said as he dug his spoon into his chocolate treat.

"I know, but my problems are my problems. You shouldn't worry about me."

"So where is he then?"

"We just had a bit of an argument." Sarah finally acknowledged.

"About what?"

"Something stupid and irrelevant." Sarah said, knowingly lying to her brother.

Toby, deep in thought, looked at his step-sister. He knew something was up, but chose not to instigate things any further.

"He really likes you." Toby said before taking a bite of his treat.

"Oh really?" Sarah jokingly said.

"He wants to take care of you."

"I don't need anyone to take care of me."

"We all need someone to take care of us sometimes."

"How do you know so much?"

"I'm a genius!" Toby said with confidence as he reached for a napkin.

"Yes you are!" Sarah said, smiling at the boy she once wished away.

"So do you love him?" Toby asked.

"I think I do."

"Then why isn't he here?"

"Toby, things aren't always as simple as they appear to be."

"But you love him."

"He wasn't completely honest with me." Sarah admitted, hoping that her brother would forgive her earlier fib.

"I remember him. I remember everything."

Sarah nearly dropped her spoon as she stared at her brother.

"So you knew it was him all along?"

"Yes, but I kept it a secret because he said he wanted to give you your dreams back."

"And you trust him?"

"Yes." Toby bluntly said.

"Why should I trust him, then?" Sarah asked.

Toby took a few seconds to think about his answer while twirling the plastic spoon in his hand. Sarah, slightly entertained by his thought process, watched as he mulled over the question.

"Because he loves you." Toby replied.