Chapter 7

Dinner for Champions

Sarah stretched, her eye lids resisting as she opened them. Harsh sunlight flittered through the open curtains, and her belt buckle pressed into her side as she rolled over.

Crap, she realized, I fell asleep! Just as her head crashed back down on the pillows, not caring what time it could be, the phone rang. Her body almost jumped straight out of the bed, and she scrambled to the bedside table, her brown eyes wide and frenzied. The first time she picked it up, she nearly dropped it, but caught it just in time before it collided with the floor.

"H-hello?" Sarah asked, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Sarah?" Melody's voice echoed from the other side of the phone, "Hey, how're you?" A grin settled on Sarah's features, and she relaxed against a wall.

"Oh, hey Melody," she greeted, "I'm good. What's going on?" She could almost hear the smile in Melody's voice as she spoke. The other woman rambled on about certain things that had happened recently, not allowing Sarah to impute much, not that she minded; she only spoke when she felt like it. The smile slipped off of Sarah's face as Melody started talking about Jeremy, how his job was doing, and his behavior.

"He's been real moody lately," Melody said with a sigh, "Snappy, and such." Sarah sighed as well, sympathizing with her friend. Though she could didn't see it, Sarah kept a fake smile plastered to her face. She figured that if she looked happy, then she would sound happy. But Melody was always a hard woman to fool.

"Hey, Sarah," she said suddenly, "Is everything going alright? You sound sorta down." Sarah swallowed the rock in her throat, and coughed slightly. "Nah, I'm fine," she replied, shrugging. Well, you know, minus creepy strangers coming around and disappearing, she thought sarcastically. The other side of the line was silent for a moment.

"Hey, you wanna come over?" Melody asked sweetly, "I haven't seen you since that weird owl thing, and I've missseeeddd yyyoouuuu!" Sarah cringed as she replied, "Sure, sounds great!"

Moron! No, what have you done? But, she couldn't say no to Melody. Besides, she needed to get away from this apartment, what with Chris and that blonde weirdo. Melody quickly thanked her, and the line went dead.

In one hand, she nearly crushed the phone, and in the other, she tugged at her hair. A few strands came out as she pulled her hand away. "Shit," she muttered, banging her head against the wall, clutching the phone to her chest.

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Jareth wandered around aimlessly, stumbling like a drunken man. Stuck! In this world! He stopped abruptly, and shook his head. No, he would find a way out. That wasn't the only portal in this world, and he was a king! Surely, his subjects would come looking for him, and he didn't want them finding him in a horrid state.

For now, he would need to set up a temporary settlement. Maybe at Sarah's- no, she did not remember. She was a stranger to him. Suddenly, the memory of her, on the floor in agonizing pain flashed in his memory. What was that all about? Had someone possibly-? Suddenly, someone crashed into him, causing Jareth to stumble backwards.

It was a small girl, with large grey eyes, and a tangle of wild red curls that seemed to stick straight up. Her already pale face became deathly white, and her shoulders hunched together, making her small, frail body even smaller.

"I'm sorry!" the girl said, looking up at the man before her with fear. Jareth's eyes widened as he took in her features, and the bruises that marred her young face. They matched that of the young girl that Sarah had taken an interest in. His eyes narrowed, causing the girl to shrink back. What was her name? Mary, Marigold, Marie….. Matilda.

Matilda.

She scurried away before Jareth had an opportunity to speak, suddenly gobbled up by a crowd of suits and solemn faces. Jareth gritted his teeth, and exhaled loudly, an annoyed noise emanating from his throat. He really shouldn't get involved in mortal quarrels; he did not care. He did not care. I do not care, he told himself as he began to walk, huffing slightly.

As he passed by a window, Jareth was turned to inspect himself, and was stunned by the stranger staring back at him. He approached the glass to get a better look, just to make sure he wasn't confusing his reflection with some random mortal's.

No, this was indeed his reflection. Deep bags sagged underneath his eyes, and his skin held a slightly grey hue. His normally light blonde hair seemed dirty, limp almost. He raised a gloved hand to touch his face, trying to see if any of this was real. It was.

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"Hey Sarah!" Melody sang, encasing her taller friend in a bone crashing hug. Sarah laughed slightly as she hugged her friend back, wiggling out of her grasp. "Here's my kidney," she teased, holding out an imaginary organ. Melody's face broke out in a grin, her coal black eyes sparkling with merriment.

"Aw, for me?" she said, "You shouldn't have! I'll go put it with your other kidney and spleen." She took the imaginary kidney, and raced off, laughing with childlike joy. As Sarah smiled, and made her way towards where Melody was, the creaking of floor boards grabbed her attention.

Her head turned, and the smile slipped off her face as her eyes locked with Jeremy's green ones. Even though his tanned face remained calm, his eyes widened when he saw her. He ran a hand through his curly blonde hair, and nodded in Sarah's direction.

"Evening," he greeted politely, his eyes searching her face. Sarah nodded back. "Good evening," she said back, smiling politely, despite the fact that she wanted to shake someone. His eyes flickered over to her cheek, the one which held the scar, causing Sarah's face to light up slightly.

They held each other's gaze for a few more seconds before Sarah turned away, biting her lip and began walking towards Melody. The short woman was standing near her mantel, looking for something. Sarah's grin returned as she took in the living room. It hadn't changed much since her last visit.

The beat up green couch which was probably just as old, if not older than its owner, still sat in front of the TV which only got around two channels. A rocking chair sat next to a large balcony window, the golden brown curtains held back by the back rest. The mantel which Melody was looking at held so many pictures and trinkets that Sarah was surprised that their cat, Kettle, hadn't broken any yet.

"What're you looking for?" Sarah asked with a chuckle, poking Melody in the shoulder. The shorter woman jumped, and spun around, a large grin on her face. A picture frame was held in her hand, and she shoved it into Sarah's hands. "I found this lying in one of the boxes downstairs," she explained, "Thought you might want to have it. I already have a copy upstairs."

Sarah examined the picture, and she smiled. It was her at fifteen, her eyes not focused on the camera, her younger brother, Toby, settled on her knee. He was wearing his striped pajamas, and she wore her vest, jeans and blouse. Though she disliked the reminder that this picture instilled, she thanked Melody, and tucked it under her arm.

As Melody prepared dinner, Sarah killed time with looking through scrap books, which Melody was extremely good at. She had more than Sarah could count, ranging from ones with five pages, to ones that she rewarded herself with a cookie when she was able to carry them across the room. As her attention soon wandered away, she found herself thinking about Jareth.

What the hell was that? she thought as she gazed upon a picture of Melody at seventeen licking ice cream off her fingers, that had to be the weirdest, be a dream randomest moment of my life. The whole owl to human thing had to be a dream. She suddenly felt a presence, and looked up to see Jeremy, leaning up against the doorway, a scowl on his face.

"What?" Sarah sighed, closing the scrapbook. Jeremy watched her for a view moments, then answered, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Sarah glared at him, but none the less, stood up and followed him out of the room. "Yeah, what?" she asked, a hand on her hip, annoyance dripping off of her words. Jeremy pursed his lips, not daring to look her in the face, as he often found his eyes wandering towards her scar.

"Have you told Mel yet?" she said just as Jeremy was opening his mouth. He shut it close, and shook his head. "Do you really think that's a good idea?" he hissed, "She'll flip on me. You've seen her mad." Sarah gritted her teeth, and ran a hand down her face, watching Jeremy wearily.

"Yeah, I know," she answered, "But, if you tell her, she just might forgive you; finding out would be a whole other story." Jeremy growled, his usually calm eyes flashing.

"You think I don't know that?" he snarled, "If it's so much better than her finding out, then you tell her. She won't be exactly thrilled with you either." Sarah's lip curled, a growl caught in her throat. Just as she was about to snap back at Jeremy, Melody suddenly appeared, her hair in a ponytail.

"Hey y'all," she greeted cheerfully, not noticing the tense atmosphere between the two, "Dinner's ready." Sarah changed her body language as best as she could, a smile placed on her face.

"It smells good," she complimented, following the shorter woman into the dining room, "Whatcha cooking?" Jeremy did not follow suit, instead deciding to slink downstairs to his office that really wasn't an office. But Melody's hand shot out like a snake, and she grabbed him by the arm.

"Oh no you don't, Oscar the grouch!" she called, "We're gonna have a nice dinner, all three of us." You could see the expression of "Oh shit," on the other two's faces, but Melody paid it not a thought. She grabbed an apron, and spun around, a large grin on her face. "Now, who wants spaghetti?" she sung, her eyes bright.

Eclipse: 'Ello! Thanks so much for reviewing the last chapter! It makes me happy!

Thanks to:

Rocky181

Lady-Kanami

Bowie'sMistress (I love your username, by the way. ;D)

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