Chapter 5: Chinese Food and Dreams

"What do you mean you're going out on a date?" Jareth asked, staring at Sarah from across the kitchen table.

"It means that, while it's none of your business, I'm going out with a person of the opposite gender for a couple hours tomorrow night for dinner and drinks," Sarah replied setting down her carton of Moo Shu pork.

Jareth frowned and took a bite of Kung Pao chicken. "Who is the lucky gentleman?"

She chewed slowly, taking her time before answering, "Todd, my ex-boyfriend."

He gave her a pointed look, his unasked question hanging clearly in the air, why?

"He said he's changed. I think everyone deserves a second chance." Jareth raised an eyebrow. "You blew your second chance by going through my things."

"Really? Is it that awful? If you would just tell me what's going on I might not have gone through your room."

"Don't you try to shift the blame around onto me! I politely asked you to stay out of my room and you didn't. You deserved my anger."

Jareth rolled his eyes and went back to his chicken. Sarah picked up her own container of Chinese take-out and continued eating as well. The previous night after her phone call with Todd, she'd finished putting away the groceries, made herself a bag of popcorn for dinner, and went to her room to read for the rest of the evening, determinedly not thinking about Jareth or anything to do with him. She'd gotten up that morning and gone up to the loft to find Jareth asleep in the lazy boy. She'd grabbed what supplies she needed to do some sketching and headed out to the park for a few hours of drawing and concept art. She was thankful that the work took her mind off of the tension back in the apartment.

After a satisfying sketching session, Sarah had headed back to the apartment to find Jareth in the kitchen looking for food. She'd taken pity on him and ordered Chinese take-out, not feeling like cooking. And now she sat across from him, picking at the rest of her Moo Shu pork, trying to avoid Jareth's gaze. There was something in the back of her mind that was reconsidering the date she'd promised Todd. It kept envisioning the kiss Jareth had pulled her into when she'd finished his portrait. Another part of her mind violently tried to shove the images away, but the Jareth side fought valiantly and soon she could feel her cheeks burning from a mere memory. She glanced up to see Jareth staring curiously at her, then quickly looked back down. She'd be damned if she would tell him what she was thinking at that moment.

"I still don't think it's a good idea," Jareth said ignoring her blush.

"I really don't care what you think at the moment," Sarah retorted.

"You haven't changed as much as I thought you had, little girl."

"What's that supposed to mean," Sarah looked up angrily at him.

"Spoiled, taking things for granted, and still unaware of the power of words. How little you have changed, Sarah, for you seem quite the same as when you first entered my kingdom."

Sarah sat frozen, her fork halfway to her mouth. Did he really mean what he said? Or was he angry with her? She gently set the fork back in the take-out box and stood from the table. "I'll be in my room. Please don't disturb me for the rest of the evening," she said as calmly as she could before walking away.

Once in the security of her bedroom, Sarah let out a frustrated growl and kicked at the chair in her room, which clattered noisily to the floor. Sitting on the bed she picked up the phone on her nightstand and violently punched in Jackie's number. The line rang three times before the young gallery owner picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey Jackie, it's Sarah."

"Oh hey, what's up, girlie?"

Sarah flopped back so she was lying on the bed with her legs dangling off the edge to the floor. "I think I've gone insane Jack…"

"Really? Little men in nice white coats come to visit?" she teased.

"No, Todd called."

"What? What did the bastard want?"

"A make-up date."

"Why that cheap asshole! Who does he think he is, coming back and begging you to go back out with him?"

Sarah remained silent.

"Sarah? Honey, you did tell him in no uncertain terms 'no', right?"

"Well… I…"

"SARAH ANNE WILLIAMS! What are you thinking?"

"I know, Jackie, but he said he's changed. He wants to make it up to me. All he wants is one date for me to judge him by."

"Sarah honey, you're right, you have gone crazy. What about that kiss you told me about from a certain Goblin King?"

"I found him going through the totes under my bed when I got home yesterday."

"And?"

"Jackie! Those are personal! They have stuff in there that I'd prefer him not to see! Is it too much to ask to stay out of my room?"

"Sarah I think you're over reacting a bit. I mean, think about it. You told him to stay out of your room, and from what you've told me about the Fae, they are devious, scheming, sly, and love to play tricks. You pretty much handed him a challenge he couldn't resist then slapped his hands when he won." Sarah wasn't quite sure what to make of this revelation. It was true, all of what Jackie said was true, but still, what about common courtesy? "Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"Hon, back to the Todd issue, I don't think it's a good idea. He's only gonna end up hurting you again. Maybe you should call it off."

"Jack, you didn't hear him. He sounded like he sincerely wanted to make it up to me. I'm gonna give it a chance and if he's still the rat-bastard he was before, I'll just tell him so and that'll be it."

The line was quite for a moment before Jackie spoke again, "Okay, but just remember if you need me…"

"I'll call. Don't worry Jackie. It's just one date."

"I'll trust you Sarah. Call me if you need to talk some more okay?"

"Sure, talk to you later."

"Later, hon."

Sarah sat up and hung up the phone then flopped back onto the bed.

o O o O o O o

Jareth regretted it almost as soon as he said it, but didn't take it back. He was still quite angry with Sarah for a reason he wasn't sure of at the moment. Since she'd found him in her room, she'd religiously avoided him. What was so bad about him knowing how her stepmother treated her? Admittedly it was awful that Karen was keeping Toby away from Sarah, but why didn't she want him to know about it?

Once Sarah'd left the room, Jareth pushed his Kung Pao chicken away and put his head in his hands, elbows resting on the table. He felt confused… and wrong. More and more now he realized how very wrong he felt without his magical power. It was still there inside him, but it was as if someone had put a wall between it and the part of his brain used to access it. In fact, that's pretty much what the council had done.

He sighed and rose from his seat in the kitchen. He put the left over food in the fridge before heading up the stairs to the loft. Once there, he started to pace. The light from the setting sun bathed everything it touched in a golden pink. Jareth felt so confused and didn't like it. He wasn't used to feeling confused; he was used to knowing what to do and how to do it. He didn't understand Sarah or why she was so intent on hiding her past from him. True, he was kind of a stranger to her, but he'd been living with her for the past week and a half, didn't that count for something? He threw his head back and growled. Why did she have to turn his world upside down again? There was something inside him that was starting to rear its head again. It had been forcibly put to sleep after Sarah had left his kingdom ten years ago, but now it would not be subdued. Now it was awakening from its slumber and was yearning for more of her sweet kisses, more of her pressed against him, more of her innocent looks.

Jareth threw himself into the Lazy Boy recliner and grabbed Sarah's copy of the fifth book in The Belgariad series, Enchanters' End Game and settled down with the book to try to take his mind off things.

o O o O o O o

Jareth lay in the Lazy Boy, completely and blissfully relaxed. His eyes were closed, his arms rested on the armrests, his legs lay uncrossed on the footrest, and his body was reclined in peaceful repose. He took a deep breath and could smell a sweet scent, like lilac and honeysuckle. He smiled and let himself sink deeper into the chair. The sweet scent was getting stronger, as though it was moving closer. A gently brush of fingers touched his arm. He opened his eyes to see Sarah, leaning over him, a shy smile gracing her face. He smiled back at her and moved slight so there was room for her to sit next to him. She shook her head and held a hand out to him. Curious, he took it and she led him to the middle of the open loft. As if from nowhere, soft music started to play and as if drawn by some unknown force Jareth began move with her to the waltz-like tune and to sing softly… "Do I love you because you're beautiful?

Or are you beautiful, because I love you?"

He paused for a beat then continued.

"Am I making believe I see in you,

A girl too lovely to be really true?

Do I want you because you're wonderful?

Or are you wonderful, because I want you?

Are you the sweet invention of a lover's dream?

Or are you really as beautiful as you seem?"

Sarah twirled slowly with him then replied with a refrain of her own.

"Am I making believe I see in you,

a man too perfect to, be really true?

Do I want you because you're wonderful?

Or are you wonderful, because I want you?"

Jareth joined her in the next verse, their voices rising in harmony.

"Are you the sweet invention of a lover's dream?

Or are you really as wonderful as you seem?"

The soft orchestral melody drifted to a close and the two swayed slower and slower until they stood still, merely embracing. Sarah rested her head on Jareth's chest and he placed his chin on top of her head. The feeling inside him was warm and his heart felt fit to burst with the love he felt for the mortal girl in his arms.

Sarah pulled back and looked up at him with a look in her eyes that made it clear what she was thinking; no words were necessary. Suddenly, her smile turned to a frown, her brow furrowed, and she bent double as though in pain. Jareth held onto her so she wouldn't hit the floor. He gently helped her to sit. "Sarah, what's wrong?" his voice was full of concern.

Sarah opened her mouth to answer, but blood spilt from it, disabling her ability to speak. Jareth's eyes grew large and his breathing hitched. "Sarah!"

Sarah continued to vomit blood, Jareth held her close, unsure of what to do. He knew nothing about mortal medicine and without his ability to use magic, he could do little. So he held her close and prayed she would stop soon. Tears were forming in his eyes as he watched the blood pool. It inched across the wooden floor, seeping in between the boards and into the grain. Jareth stared, transfixed at it as it began to form letters. He frowned, what the hell is this? he asked himself.

The blood crept along, the letter 't' was followed by a 'r', 'u', 's', and finally an 't'. Jareth stared hard at it. Trust?

"JARETH!"

Jareth jerked awake. Startled, he shook his head and stared at the brunette who'd so rudely woken him. "Sarah?" he asked looking her up and down to make sure she was all right. He noticed she was dressed up in a knee length navy blue dress with a square neckline and short sleeves. A wide belt hugged her waist and matching earrings, necklace, and high heels completed the ensemble.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm leaving for my date with Todd. There's leftover Chinese in the fridge for your supper," she turned to leave.

"Sarah," Jareth called to her.

She turned, her hair swirling around her face as she did. "What?"

"Just… just be careful."

Sarah gave him a strange look, but nodded once before leaving. Jareth leaned back in the recliner and let out a long exhale. His dream had been vivid, almost like what some of the Fae called a 'telling dream'. He glanced to the wooden floor where what seemed only moments before Sarah had been bleeding to death. He shivered and got up to make himself some tea.

o O o O o O o

Hey everyone! I am so sorry for how long it took me to get this out and for how short it is. I really do have a good excuse though. School has started for me and I'm taking some really heavy work-load classes. One of them is Shakespeare, and while there's a lot of work to do for the class, it's giving me all sorts of ideas for plot lines. We just finished A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing, the first time I've read both.

Anyway, once again, I'm sorry. And I cannot even promise to have the next one out within a week because I suspect the homework isn't going to get lighter. I'll try to write on the weekends. Thank you for being so patient!

Disclaimer: Labyrinth (c) Henson & Froud

Lyrics for Do I Love You from Cinderella(c) Rogers & Hammerstein (video's of the song can be found on youtube… go look it up if you don't know the song. It's really quite beautiful!)

And once again, thanks to I'Like'Cheetos aka Figarro-Luv on DeviantArt for beta'ing!