Not Long At All

Chapter Six

David's POV:

      The drive over was quiet with Sarah staring out the window and me bobbing along to the song in my head. I was waiting for her to say something. Instead, she readjusted her seatbelt.

      By the time we got to the store I had forgotten she was there, and didn't wait for her as I climbed the few concrete steps leading to the door. A slam grabbed my attention and I turned back, seeing a slightly peeved Sarah. She half-jogged to meet me, "Do you even know I exist today?"

      Unlocking the door, I pushed past it and turned on the lights, "You're quiet today."

      There was no response and so I turned to her, seeing that she was giving the store a thorough scan. The small square room was full of cd's and records. Sarah walked to a wall lined with a limited supply of guitars and other instrumental accessories. Frowning at the yellow and black walls, she faced me, "Does anyone actually ever come here?"

      I made my way past a short book shelf stuffed with sheet music and behind the counter, "Not too often, but you get a few music weirdos. Just enough to keep things together I guess."

      "So this isn't your store?" There was a hint of what sounded like relief.

      "No. I work for some old guy. He's just about ready to kick it though." I slid my jacket off, just catching her reaction. I realized I may have sounded too nonchalant and hurried to smooth my words over, "No! That's not what... I think. No, he's old and that's... he said it himself... one time. Just repeating."

      I turned away from her to hang my jacket, rolling my eyes at myself. Sarah drew me back to her, "Do you play guitar?"

      Leaning against the counter, I saw her fingering one of the guitar strings and I shrugged, "A little. A bit of piano too."

      Sarah walked across the uneven floor, careful to find each step. I laughed, "It's weird. The layout? They put steps and platforms everywhere. Reminds me of that poster we have."

      Turning to see where I was pointing, she stopped when her eyes met the black and white picture of dozens of intertwining staircases. I looked in its direction too, but my eyes settled on the girl instead. There was something about her. Her hair fell around her shoulders, the ends causing the Peter Pan print to fade out in weird places. She was young, much younger than me it seemed.

      I dropped my gaze as she turned back to me, danger tinging her words, "Is that... the Escher room?"

      Her tone caused me to look up and I nodded, "Something like that. I never remember the..."

      Our eyes met from across the store and I trailed off. She was so familiar. The feeling seemed to grow every time I looked at her. Her eyes were so deep and brown, a sort of sad something that lay deep in them. They were... I realized I was staring. She knew it too. A warmth of embarrassment crept up my neck before I finally tore my eyes away.

      The room was quiet, save Guns and Roses quietly screaming away Paradise City in the speakers throughout the store. Sarah stepped towards me, "We need to talk. About everything. I know what's happening. Sort of. You need to too."

      I shifted my jaw side to side, trying to prepare for the insanity about to come from her mouth. The young girl sat on the edge of one of the stairs on the floor, patting the space next to her. Hesitantly, I made my way over, planning my escape route should she snap or something.

      We sat nearly side by side and I scooted over to provide more space between us. Sarah picked at Peter Pan's brown foot, "Okay. So maybe about a week ago, I was left alone with my baby brother. I was really upset and so I started telling him this story... About a Goblin King."

      We sat for what must've been over an hour. Her words painting images from a fairy tale book. Goblins came. Hoggle was killing fairies. There was a worm. Thirteen hours. One told the truth, the other lied. So I cut Ludo down.There was these orange things, fireys. And his name was Sir Didymus, he had a sheep dog named... You gave me the peach. It was beautiful. I don't remember the lullaby. The Escher room, like the poster over there ... You have no power over me.

      With each sentence I began to realize the damage of this girl's sanity. She pushed forward. I went back. You had this boot. You sung all the time. The dark magic caused me to... Each had these things to find. Bog of eternal stench. I never loved you back. We were out of time. One more left. I realized it was you. I woke up. Hoggle told me what happened. People trying to kill us.

      Sarah turned to me, "David?"

      I was caught. Stuck in a situation no one prepares you for. I grabbed her hands in mine, "Sarah. You're confused."

      She gave a tug away from me, but I kept her hands still, "You need to go home. Call your parents, they know how to take care of you."

      Anger gave her strength and she yanked herself from my grip, "No. It's real. You're the Goblin King, and you juggle glass orbs, and you love to sing, and you love glitter, and you love pillows, and you love your labyrinth, and you love me!"

      She was standing now, tears cornering at her eyes. She was blocking my escape route. Even if I could get around her, I'd seen what she could do with a pipe. I stood to face her, "It's okay. Just breathe."

      I could see her agitation growing and so I took the only step I could think of. She was still going on about the Labyrinth and a bog of forever stench. Grabbing her by the shoulders, I gave her a small shake, "Sarah. I know."

      The silence was instantaneous and she stared at me, "You believe me?"

      My eyes shifted between each of hers and I nodded, "I just. Need time. All of this. It's crazy."

      I hurried to finish when she pulled away from me, "It seems crazy. But I believe you. Just give me a minute to process everything."

      The girl seemed almost completely calm and she nodded, "But you still don't remember anything?"

      Not wanting to bite off more than I could chew, I shook my head, "No. I'm sorry I don't remember. But I'm David now, not Jareth."

      She nodded again, pulling me into a hug, "We're going to figure this out."

      Her hold on me was tight and I hesitantly put my own arms around her. It was going to be okay. She stays the night, and I call a Sanitarium or Asylum to pick her up. If all went well, she'd be gone by morning.

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Hello my lovelies! ^_^

How are you all enjoying the story so far? Any questions, comments, requests? 

Also, I just got The Cursed Child and... 0_0 Ith so bootiful ^-^

Anywho, I think my writers block is starting to ebb away so yay!

Word of the week: Dogmatic (adj)- to be very stuck in one way and stubborn to change. 

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