Checked for continuity, grammar, and spelling: May 3, 2011.
Chapter Sixteen: Just A Stroll
Sarah was sitting on the front steps of her dormitory, concentrating on a small cube. She had it in her hands and was twisting it, lightly jingling the keys attached to it. Jareth smiled at the intensity of her look and was loath to disrupt her. However, his desire to speak with her overrode his desire to simply stand about all evening and watch her. Had he wished to do only that, he would not have needed to leave his castle. Indeed, it was his wish to move beyond mere watching that moved him to journey Aboveground in the first place.
Sarah had just gotten all of the yellow squares in their appropriate spots and was halfway through with the orange when a low cough startled her out of her concentration. She looked up to see Jareth standing before her, hands in the pockets of the light jacket he was wearing. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail and he was looking at her from behind dark sunglasses. He was wearing jeans again, looking quite natural in them for all that she had a hard time wrapping her head around such an idea.
"Did I keep you waiting long?" he asked her. Sarah merely shook her head, and he resisted the urge to chuckle at the lingering traces of wonder and bewilderment left in her eyes. "I transformed in the grove down the path. I thought it might be best not to simply appear on your doorstep."
That drew a wide smile. "True. I can just imagine the scandal that would have caused, especially depending on who saw you."
He grinned back at her, removed his sunglasses, and placed them in his jacket. Taking a step toward her, Jareth offered her a hand. "Would you care to join me for a stroll?"
Sarah nodded. A stroll? I wonder if he realizes how excessively formal he is being. She accepted his help to rise and once she was standing he released her hand. They walked in silence down the path leading toward the trees. Though the silence between them was not uncomfortable, Sarah found herself feeling slightly uneasy. She racked her brain for something to talk about. She said the first thing that came to mind. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."
"I noticed," Jareth chuckled. "I would have come in person, so to speak, but I did not think anyone who saw me sitting in the tree would have believed me to be inconspicuous."
She giggled. "Well, no. But I actually meant in general. Not that I mind," she added hastily. "I just was not... I mean, well... expecting it," she finished lamely.
"You did grant me permission to call on you again."
She looked up at him. "I-" she paused. "Oh."
When she did not continue, he glanced at her. A slight blush was appearing on her cheeks and she was deliberately focusing on her keys. "Oh?"
Sarah could feel herself getting warm. He's staring. I know it. "When you said 'call' I thought you meant, well, call. As in on the phone." When she heard Jareth chuckle, she glared at him. "You're laughing at me," she accused.
"Yes, I must admit I am." Amusement coated his voice in a rich, dark tone that sent shivers down Sarah's spine.
"Hmph."
He attempted a straight face. "There are not many telephones in the Underground."
She looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Not many?"
"Actually, there are none at all."
"Yes, well... That thought never really occurred to me."
"I noticed that as well." Sarah's sigh of exasperation only succeeding in causing Jareth to laugh even harder.
Realizing she had lost, and not desiring to lead herself right into further embarrassment, Sarah tried to change the topic. She could not get past the phone comment, however, and resorted to twisting her keychain in an unconscious nervous gesture.
Still smiling, Jareth caught himself staring at her again. This is going to get you nowhere, he told himself. Considering your justification for coming Aboveground again so soon was to speak with her, attempting to start a conversation in which you do not end up teasing her might be a good step. The sense of it prompted him to say the first thing that came to mind: "What is that plastic thing on your keys?" He could have smacked himself in the forehead. Aim for intelligent conversation next time perhaps.
Sarah looked up at him and blinked then looked down at her keys. There were three different 'plastic things' of which he might have been speaking. "Um, which one?" she asked. Jareth did not answer right away and she looked up. He was no longer at her side, having stopped a few feet behind. He seemed to be momentarily distracted with giving the sky a slightly pained expression of disbelief. If she had not known better, she would have guessed that he was embarrassed this time. "Jareth? Is... is something wrong?"
Roused from his disgruntled thoughts, he brought his gaze to meet her own. She looked to be mildly concerned. "I'm sorry. What did you ask me?"
"I asked if something is wrong."
"No, before that," he said around a smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. "And no, nothing is wrong."
"Hm." She gave him a look that clearly told him how much he baffled her. "Ok, then. I asked you which one."
"Which one?"
"Are you sure nothing is wrong? You seem rather distracted all of a sudden."
"No, no. I merely realized I may have said something ridiculous in an attempt at starting a conversation." He took a few steps forward to catch up with her and they continued walking. With a sigh, he added, "And at the risk of doing so once more, which one what?"
"Hm," she said again. Raising an eyebrow, she held up her keys.
"Ah. The cube. You were twisting it earlier on the stairs as well."
"It's a mini Rubik's Cube." At his response of a blank look, she went on. "It's a puzzle. Let me see if I can explain this one... Okay. There are six sides on a cube, right? On a Rubik's, each side has nine squares, so fifty-four squares total, and each square is one of six colors. The cube itself is sort of, um, mechanical I guess because it is made up of twenty-six mini-cubes stuck together to form the big one. The puzzle is to twist the sides in an attempt to get all nine squares of each color onto matching sides of the whole cube." She demonstrated once then offered it to Jareth. "According to some, the number of twists it takes corresponds with your level of intelligence. Or at least, if you can solve it under a certain number, it is a sign of genius."
"I see." Taking it, he gave it an experimental twist. "Have you ever solved it?"
"Well, no. And I've had the stupid thing since I was a kid. Someone once tried to convince me to simply take the colored stickers off and solve it that way. Another offered to take it apart and put it together with the right colors in the right spots. But that just seems to defeat the purpose. And I refuse to look in the booklet for the cheat. I gave up on ever figuring out the trick to it, because there is a trick to it, years ago and hadn't really bothered with it since. I mainly kept it on my keychain because it gives me something to do with my hands when I'm nervous. I can sit around and twist away without ever really looking at it since I'm not out to solve it. Aggie laughs that one day I'll solve it by accident and then mess it up again without ever knowing."
"And were you nervous when you were sitting on the steps earlier?"
"When I was - oh. Actually, no. A few weeks ago I thought I'd try again."
"Why?"
She gave an embarrassed chuckle and shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose you could say pure stubborn arrogance prompted it."
He looked at her quizzically. "I don't follow."
"Well... I was sitting in my room one afternoon and it caught my eye. And suddenly I thought, 'Hell, if I can solve a stupid labyrinth at the age of fourteen, then I can certainly figure out a stupid cube puzzle'." Once again, color flooded her cheeks. "Anyway, I figured I'd try again."
"Stupid labyrinth, hm?"
Though she heard no malice or offense in his tone, Sarah glanced sideways at Jareth. He was regarding her with an arched look, though amusement was still playing across all his features. She shrugged again and stuck her hands in her pockets, looking forward once more. "I was still mad at you at the time."
"Ah." He offered the keys back to her and she took them, half expecting to find the Cube solved when she looked at it. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction if he had, she looked around instead.
By this time, they had made it into the centre of a large, wooded park bisected by paths and trails. Technically, it belonged to the part of campus referred to as the Residential District, for the various halls were found at spread out points along the edge. With the exception of the Cross Country team members who could be found at any given time jogging around, and students who wanted to take the short route from halls on opposite sides when running late, people were rarely seen there. If they cut through the park at all, it was more frequently on the outer routes instead of the central areas.
When they turned the next bend, Sarah stopped. Jareth halted as well and turned to her, questioning with a look. She smiled at him. "This is one of my favorite spots," she explained as she walked off the path to one of the benches that edged the pond. "I have yet to figure out why they decided to make a pond out here, especially one with a fountain, considering hardly anyone comes out this way on a regular basis. Personally, I love it. But not many people seem to have my penchant for wandering around in the middle of parks all alone, I suppose." She sat on the bench and kicked her heels, looking out over the pond.
Jareth approached her to lean on the bench. Regarding her, he asked, "And what drew you out here, to this spot?"
She smiled wistfully. "The silence and solitude it offers, I suppose. There are not many places I can go to get away and be alone, especially on campus. If ever I have a problem, I know I can always talk to Aggie about it. But sometimes I just want to sit and think, not talk. After walking through these woods enough times, I figured out that this really is a great spot. It's out of the way enough that I won't be happened upon by people who would stop for small talk, but it's close enough that I could be found if anyone needs me that badly."
Turning to look at Jareth, she found his face nearby. He crouched behind the bench, elbows propped on the back and chin resting on folded hands. The intensity of his gaze, however, belied his casual demeanor. Suddenly caught in his eyes, Sarah lost whatever she intended to say next. The heavy, slow beating of her heart drowned out the ever-present sound of the fountain and, later, she would wonder if time had somehow managed to pause.
"Beep beep beep!" They both jumped when her pager went off. Sarah pulled it out from where it was clipped to her jeans and looked at it. She sighed heavily. "Duty calls, it seems."
With a smile Sarah thought was nearly wistful, Jareth stood. "Then I shall see you to your dorm." He gestured grandly in the direction of the path.
"Thank you," she said quietly as she rose as well. Side by side, not quite touching yet each hyper aware of the other's presence, Jareth walked Sarah back to her dorm.