Sarah's POV:
"Sweet or sour?"
We laid on opposite ends of the couch facing each other, the TV quietly playing in the background. David held a beer in his lap, "Sweet. Cat or dog?"
The game had started nearly an hour ago. I'd put aside looking for tickets once the pizza had arrived, and it wasn't much longer after that we'd decided nothing good was on TV. So the questions started. We learned fairly quickly to avoid questions about family or the past, David being unable to answer. So we stuck to easy ones.
I squeezed a throw pillow to my chest, "Definitely dog. You?"
He nodded, "Dog."
I clicked my tongue, trying to think of another, "Okay, classical or rock?"
David laughed, "Rock, the good stuff."
He watched me and I smiled, "Your turn."
"Oh! Okay..." He thought before stretching over to the coffee table, reaching for the open pizza box. After grabbing a slice, he grunted, using momentum to fling himself back onto the couch. I smiled, "Very attractive."
He nodded, taking a bite, "Thank you."
Crinkling my nose in mock disgust I shook my head, "It's still your turn dork."
David sipped his beer, "Tap shoes or sneakers."
I laughed, "Tap shoes. They're more original."
He nodded into the bottle, "I see that. Hey," he looked up to me, "Are you sure you don't want one?"
I'd already turned a beer down once, but not just because I was underage. Unlike a lot of kids at school, I'd never had a drink before and was worried I wouldn't like it. That wasn't an experience I wanted to have in front of him. I was sure he wouldn't care one way or another, but he made me nervous in a way Jareth hadn't. David seemed more grounded, there was a sort of mystifying maturity that Jareth had lacked.
Shaking my head, I settled into my spot, "No, I'm good."
He nodded, "Not into beer?"
Of course. My luck hates me. I opened my mouth, unsure of how to answer. Should I lie and just say no? Was it even a big deal that I'd never had any? Maybe I should just say I'm a tequila drinker. Not wanting to dig a whole, I tentatively went with the truth, "I've... never had a drink."
He laughed, smiling, "Seriously?"
"What?" I kicked him, playfully defensive, "I'm only seventeen. It's not a requirement to illegally drink."
He frowned, his smile confused, "Wait. How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
I watched his smile drop, "Seventeen?"
Hit with insecurity, I nodded, "Yeah. What did you think?"
Blowing air from his lungs, David shrugged, "I thought you were like at least twenty."
I raised my eyebrows, incredulous, "Twenty?"
David raised a hand, "You bashed a guy's head in with a pipe. And then ran him over. I don't know, I guess it made you seem older."
I nodded, eyes squinted, "I appreciate your criteria for a twenty year old."
Laughing, he tossed the rest of his pizza into the box, "I just thought you were older."
His head turned towards the TV and I watched him. His shirt rested loosely over his torso, the fabric wrinkling and folding. My eyes rested at his collar, remembering the feeling of his skin. I didn't know why I'd done that, or even why I'd had the courage to. Somehow it had just happened.
David pushed himself lower into the couch, nearly laying all the way down. The urge to lay next to him fought inside me. I thought my feelings for Jareth may be boiling over onto David. Maybe it was just finally having time to rest that was pulling me towards him. Maybe it was the short hair. Maybe it was the jeans.
The thought that I'd never kissed Jareth came to me again. I wondered if it would be different than David. Not that I had any experience to base my expectations on.
David took another sip of beer. I wondered if he tasted like it. Turning back to me to say something, he stopped when he saw me staring. I blinked and looked to the TV, refusing to look back his way. I felt his eyes on me and rearranged my pillow, tugging at my shirt. Suddenly a thought hit me and I turned to him, "Do you know what we forgot to do?"
He smiled into his beer, "Pay for the tickets?"
Kicking him, I sat up, "Obviously, but we never got my clothes."
His eyes caught on the clothes I was borrowing, "Oh yeah."
I couldn't tell if his eyes lingered because as soon as I wondered, he looked up, "We can grab them tomorrow."
Setting aside the pillow, I moved to kneel. I sat on my heels, "Or we can go tonight and while we're there we can grab one of my dad's cards for the tickets."
David shifted, sitting up, "I don't know. I mean, we can go and grab your clothes but..."
He trailed off, uncomfortable. I shrugged, "I'm sure it'll be fine."
Unconvinced, he raised his eyebrows together.
"So maybe not fine," My eyes caught the TV before turning back to him, "But I kind of doubt you have the money for them."
He scoffed at me, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Pressing down a smile, I looked around, "I mean like, your place is super nice and everything-"
A pillow flew across the couch, hitting me in the head. I turned to him, mouth open in fake astonishment. David laughed, "That's for talking crap about my apartment."
"Oh yeah?" I grabbed the pillow he'd tossed at me, landing two solid whacks before he yanked it from me. Suddenly he was sitting up, and thudded me with it. I laughed dangerously, grabbing the pillow I'd set aside earlier, "Oh you better quit now."
David paused, smile on his face. Raising my pillow in threat, I tried to be serious. Without warning, he swung the pillow into my face, a dull thud spreading over my nose. I jumped at him, "You jerk!"
Pushing him onto his back, I planted myself on his stomach, thwacking him as squarely in the face as possible. He held his hands up, trying to defend himself, "Okay, okay!"
Panting, I held the pillow to my chest, "Who's the winner?"
David tried to give me a push, "Sarah, I can't breathe."
He grunted as I gave a small jump, "Who's the winner?"
His voice was strangled, "You are."
Smiling, I climbed off him and he took a deep breath, "You're heavier than you look."
I lightly tossed my pillow at him, "Rude."
David pushed himself up, rubbing his eyes before looking to me, "So what do you want to do then?"
I brushed my hair back, "I kind of want to grab my clothes if that's okay. Your jeans are a bit long on me."
Nodding, he looked to the rolled up pants, "Okay. When we get back we can buy the tickets, do you know the earliest flight?"
I stood, "It's a series of flights. Last time it took me three airports, but I think I can get us there in two this time."
David walked around me, grabbing his keys from the counter, "Yeah, the less tickets the better."
The drive was long but not uncomfortable. I leaned my head towards the window, the night air blowing through my hair. It felt nice to just let it go wherever. The radio played quietly, muffled by the wind. Occasionally David's voice would sound through the music as he hummed along. I pulled my head further from the window, listening. For the first time since I'd been here, I heard Jareth.
We pulled into my driveway and I looked both ways, half afraid to see the mechanic patrolling my lawn. I looked to David and caught him scanning the grass as well. After a minute longer, we opened the doors, making our way to the front door.
I tried the handle, reaching under the doormat for the spare when it turned out locked. Pushing the door open, I flipped the light to our foyer and looked both ways, "I'm not sure if my parents are home."
I wandered into the kitchen and sure enough, Karen had left a note on the fridge.
Sarah,
If you're reading this, call us immediately. Your father has been beside himself. We need to discuss your behavior recently. Toby is staying at my mother's. Thank you for coming home, help yourself to the fridge.
- Mom
I scrunched my nose at the letter- mom. It's amazing what a few days disappearance will do. David stood behind me, reading over my shoulder, "Should you call?"
Not facing him, I shook my head, "After all this."
I turned away, leading him up the stairs. The floor squeaked under us and I kept looking for one of them to pop out, asking where I'd been and who was this guy. But no one came and we made it to my room in silence. Closing the door behind us, I suddenly realized I'd led David into my room. He looked around, his eyes lingering on the wall of teddy bears.
I brushed my hair from my face, embarrassed, "Those are the twelve knights of the round table."
David turned to me and I glanced at him before brushing past, "I'm just going to grab my stuff. I have a bag somewhere."
I sifted through my closet, grabbing hangers from my clothes, occasionally glancing David's way. He walked with his hands in his pockets, looking at the books on my shelf. Stopping, he picked up the small music box, staring at the figure in the white dress. I watched him, slowly slipping some shirts into my bag. He turned it in his hands, fingering the white fabric. Eventually he set it down and I turned back to my closet.
"What's this?"
I made my way to my dresser, glad he was entranced by the black and white poster as I emptied my socks and underwear into the bag, "That's the Escher room. It's where I saw Toby when I went to the labyrinth for the first time."
Resting my bag on the ground, I scanned the room for anything else I would want. David stood staring at the twisting stairs, "I was here?"
I nodded, "Do you remember it?"
He shook his head, "No."
I wanted him to remember something, anything. I looked to the music box, "I know I've already asked, but do you remember anything about the song you sang?"
He turned to me, his eyes landing on the music box. I could see him struggling to find a memory, and I turned away from the box, feeling bad for asking. Grabbing my bag, I moved towards the door.
"Blue?"
I looked back, "What?"
His eyes shifted between mine, "Was there blue?"
It was asked with the fear of being wrong. I nodded quickly, trying to keep the memory going, "You wore blue. Yeah."
I waited, hoping for more but saw it was already gone. He took a breath, looking away from me, "Are we ready?"
It wasn't lost on me that he was the first boy in my room. I nodded, "Yeah. Do you want to see my brother's room real quick?"
Still hoping to jog something, I lead him across the hall, opening the door for him. David poked his head through the door, nodding. I could tell nothing looked familiar to him and so backed away, closing the door, "He's at my grandma's right now anyway."
David pressed a smile, sensing my disappointment. He moved to go down the stairs but I stopped him, "Hold on, I forgot my book. You go and I'll meet you there."
Nodding, he started down the staircase. I hurried into my room, shoving the red leather Labyrinth book into my bag. I closed the door behind me, stopping again- my dad's card.
Leaving my bag outside their door, I slowly pushed it open, unsure if anyone was inside. I stepped quietly, listening to the rhythmic breathing in the bed. They were here. Sliding open my dad's drawer, I felt around until my hand hit his wallet. I slipped it from the drawer and crept back out. Guilt bit at me, but I pushed it away. I'd fix it later.
I'd hoisted my bag onto my shoulder when I heard David's raised voice from downstairs, "Sarah, your dad wants to talk to you."
I stopped, frowning. Confused, I turned back to the room and flipped on the light. Two figures groaned in the bed, Karen's eye mask had twisted in her sleep and she fumbled to put it back on. My dad sat up in bed, squinting at me, "Sarah?"
I turned, numb, and rushed from the room, my feet flying me down the stairs, "David! He's not my dad!"
From behind me my dad called my name, "Sarah!"
In the foyer, I looked both ways, adrenaline in my body, "David, where are you?"
And then he was barreling towards me, "Run!"
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Hello my lovelies!
I hope you all liked the chapter, it was certainly fun to write! ^-^
I know this chapter was a bit longer than normal but I have a feeling things are going to starting heating up fairly soon, I hope you're all as excited as I am.
There's not much in the way of updates, have any of you had any interesting experiences lately?
I feel like this is a bit of a boring outro, sorry. But who wants excitement when you can just have routine boredom!
Alright then lovelies, let me know how things are in life and what you like or dislike with the story. And, as always
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