Ch. 15

In fact, Adam had dragged his new dance partner out of the studio, and stood next to her in front of his shiny red mustang convertible. The other thing that all the boys in class hated him for.

As was his habit, he played with Sarah, spinning her this way and that in various, pseudo dance moves, keeping her slightly off-balance and off-guard with the constant motion. It was a favored tactic – keep'em spinning, and eventually they'll be powerless to resist and land in your arms.

Sarah had never enjoyed being powerless. In fact, anyone so much as presuming to have power over her, in any way, was abruptly brought back to reality.

She supposed it all started when her dad got remarried... but the whole Labyrinth thing (No, she would not acknowledge it. For all she knew it was all merely a product of her over-excited imagination) had definitely made her discover her character.

In high school she had signed up for cross-country, only to discover that it irked her to no end when the coach thought he could force her to keep running past the point of exhaustion. She supposed he meant to train her, but the mere thought that someone could just yell at her to keep running when she didn't want to was infuriating. By that time, she'd already learned that screaming "Its not fair!" in his face and crying about it would not make things better, so when the coach continued to push her, she discovered what it meant to be a rebellious teenager. If Jareth thought she was stubborn in the Labyrinth... In high school, Sarah learned the fine art of being obstinate.

Cross country was just the tip of the iceberg, but it was telltale. She would flat out refuse to run, if she got tired. She would do it to Coach Kuredka's face. She would look at him, as he ran beside her, trying to pace her: look him straight in the eye and break to a walk. If he yelled at her any more, she'd stop entirely. It gave her inexplicable satisfaction not to yield, no matter what.

If there was a meet scheduled, she'd delay getting her physical, so she wasn't qualified to run. She'd delay it anyway, because she didn't like being touched and prodded, but she'd be sure to make it look like an ill-concealed accident. She'd tell the coach she couldn't run for "feminine reasons" at least 3 times a month. Of course, he never called her out on it. The same sentiment applied to skipping school, if she felt like it - she would simply take off in broad daylight, drive to the nearest Starbucks and enjoy a good book. She couldn't even say how she developed such a taste for completely disregarding the rules.

So, needless to say, she was enjoying not giving into Adam's game, as much as she was enjoying seeing through it. The attention was flattering as well. What she wasn't enjoying, however, was that she had to work harder to stave him off now.

"Adam, cut it out!" Sarah said, breathless from all the pulling and pushing. Adam had pinned her to his car, in pretend dance position. At least it wasn't in Tango position...

"You're being really annoying!" she complained, twisting to get out. "I thought you wanted me to go to the dance to practice!"

"We are practicing, Kid," he retorted, forcing her into another dip and holding her there just to make her squirm. "Its boring to dance with the others all the time. Besides, its too hot in there."

Sarah glared at him and struggled out. She could feel that he let her go this time.

"Well I want to go back in, we're missing all the music," she snapped, annoyed at having lost control. "And I think the extra lesson is starting anyway."

With that, she turned around and stalked back into the studio, relief washing over her when she made her way through a group of giggling girls once again. It made her question her sanity a little.

Adam shuffled his way in after her, and saw her trying to look inconspicuous amongst the other girls. He looked her over again, pleased with her flushed cheeks and breathlessness. She wasn't one of the hot girls, of course, but she was definitely attractive. Now, Jenny – that one was fiiiiine. Sarah's body left much to be desired by comparison, but he'd enjoy playing with her anyway. She was much more interesting than the others. She wasn't easy. She refused to giggle and blush and squeal. This one was a challenge, and he liked a challenge now and again.

Her naivete was slightly problematic for Adam. Despite his coarse nature and complete callousness, he couldn't pretend that he didn't feel slightly funny about taking advantage of someone so naïve. The girl obviously didn't know what it was that he intended. Usually, they had a good idea by now.

Suddenly, he felt himself shiver. He took his eyes off of Sarah and looked around the room. Everyone was finishing up their swing, with the old teacher counting the beats and yelling at the guys to get their hands WHERE IT CURVES IN, NOT WHERE IT CURVES OUT!

He smirked at the images running through his mind at those words... and nearly flew straight into the closest wall, as someone pushed past him roughly, knocking him to the floor. He jumped up and balled his hands into fists, ready to teach that sonofabitch to mind their manners, but the tall, sinewy man clad in dancer slacks and a white button-down shirt was already half-way across the floor. Adam's eyes narrowed, as he watched the man disappear through a curtain on the other side of the slightly darkened studio.