Sarah hated Fridays.
She had been all ready to go to sleep when her two friends decided "hey let's go club hopping!" she had been stuffed into a too short dress and too tall heels, and dragged along when all she wanted was sleep.
Which was how she found herself working on an essay for her comparative world religion class, typing on her cell, while her friends danced themselves silly.
"Is this seat taken?" A voice questioned while Sarah finished the conclusion on the parallels between Christianity and Buddhism.
"I don't own the place." Come her curt reply as she scanned the essay for any mistakes. Her professor, though quaky, was a grammar Nazis and Sarah refused to look the fool because she misspelled a word.
"Can I buy you a drink?" The voice continued to question while she cleaned up her phraseology to make the paragraphs run smoother. If there was one thing Sarah truly hated it was a paragraph that was choppy.
"Unfortunately, no I am the designated driver." When she had told her friends that, they had been too drunk to even realize that there was no car; they had taken a taxi. Sarah had not been about to correct their intoxicated mistake.
"Shame. One wouldn't hurt." Sarah debated if she should inform him that every ones brains worked a little differently and, while one alcoholic beverage may not intoxicate him, a drink could blur mental imagery and processing. As the daughter of a lawyer, Sarah had been witness to too many cases where a person claimed to have had only one drink.
"I am a cautious person." Sarah had not even looked at the man and, to be honest she, did not care. Ever since she had decided to become engrossed in her education and career, Sarah had had little to no time for anyone of the opposite gender, despite how attractive she may or may not have found them. Sarah had, at an early age, discovered that men were never worth the trouble. They were not complex beings, but they seemed to be the one puzzle she could never solve. Sarah had been, more than once, called a cold hearted woman because she could never understand what her friends or boyfriends felt. She either thought that they were fine or that they were a danger to themselves. Sarah was never able to determine what a person felt while they were feeling it, unless they informed her.
Which was why when she saw the man move out of the corner of her eye Sarah was not upset. They only thing she could feel was a mild relief that he would not be speaking to her for any longer time.
That, however, would not seem be the case. Before Sarah could tell what the man was doing, she suddenly found herself with the man's hand on her waist, her back pressed against his chest, and his lips against her ear. Her relief turned into annoyance for she had not implied that she wished the interaction to continue.
"The issue with being cautious is that it can ruin your life." The man declared as Sarah debated if he would be worth the breath to argue with. She could lay down the law with anyone, her father had long since informed her of her rights as a free and independent citizen of the United States. By the time she graduated high school, Sarah could win a debate against the most seasoned of lawyers, much to their dismay.
"Or save it." Sarah argued without missing a beat. She decided that the simple minded man would be unable to process the complexity of the law, considering he had so greatly misread her interest.
"A ruined life full of pleasures or a safe life without any." His hand played with the edge of the too short dress Anna had forced her into.
"I can see the choice you have made." Sarah said coolly as her mind played out the ways she could drop him onto his ass. Her step-mother, having been concerned that Sarah would no longer be living at home and having known how simple minded college boys think, had made Sarah take several years of self-defense. Sarah had, at first, hated the classes simply out of spite of her step-mother. However, after a few classes, found that she loved having the knowledge that, if it came down to it, she could rescue herself. She had long since killed the dream of being rescued by a Prince Charming.
"And I would love to change yours." He replied silkily as his hand slid up her inner thigh and he pressed closer to her so that his arousal was clearly evident against her back. Sarah tensed as she made to hit him in the gut with her elbow. She imagined the way that she would break out of his grip and sweep his feet out from under him. She had done such things before and was well experienced in such situations.
Only, before she could, he was no longer there.
Instead, Sarah found the man had been shoved by someone, or something, into a burly looking man. The man whom had proceeded to take such an opportunity by hitting man #1 in the jaw. The loud cracking sound which accompanied it made clear that man #1 would have a fractured, if not broken, jaw bone.
The fight quickly escalated until almost everyone was hitting one another. Sarah played her part as she calmly cleared a path of the crowded dance floor and found her two friends. Upon grabbing the two intoxicated girls, Sarah headed for the front doors.
To be greeted by police sirens. Instead, she shoved them out a side exit, and then the three girls hid beside a dumpster. Rachel leaned against the alley wall as Sarah held back Anna's hair so she could puke. Apparently Sarah was not the only lightweight among her group of friends.
"That was close, if we were arrested by the cops or even questioned it would mean the end of any scholarship." Sarah reminded them, ever the mother hen, and her two friends quickly sobered up...a little. After hailing a cab and making sure her friends were safely belted, Sarah finally relaxed. It would appear, so long as nothing disastrous happened before campus came in sight, that their night out would not be a complete failure. Sarah's goal every Friday was to simply get her friends to the clubs and back in one piece. Yes, she was the old crone of the group, and yes, Sarah rarely "loosened up", and no, she had not given in to her friend's urging to find a cute guy for the night.
Though she was called a prude by friend and foe alike, Sarah was determined not to allow a relationship, of any kind, come between her and her future. She knew that if she gave into her friend's commands and found a boyfriend her heart would only be broken. Sarah had watched her friends fall in and out of love, she was the one who brought the ice cream, alcohol, and sappy movies when such things happened, and Sarah was determined to not be the one with the broken heart. She had decided that casual dating was not for her.
She had long since discovered that if she was going to have a relationship, then it would not be something that only lasted for a few weeks, a month at best. If she was going to commit, then her partner would have to as well. Though, such thoughts were silly since she knew that few college boys would ever decide to settle down. For them it was a life of a constant party, but for Sarah it was a life of building her future.
After all, Sarah had a plan. She would get her Masters in Library Science with a duel major in both business and communication and information. Once that was completed, Sarah planned to be hired in as a cataloger to the local library in her hometown, where she was well known, and do her writing on the side. She currently worked in the university library and spent any free night putting in extra hours. Sarah was determined to have enough saved by the time she graduated to find an apartment and to have an emergency fund in case of the worse happening. In her experience, if something could go wrong then it most likely would. Sarah, though she loved her family, would rather burn in hell then have to ask them for money. She would visit them and continue to spend time with them, but she refused to move back into her father's house. Sarah knew herself and she knew that if she got comfortable, then she would not want to move back out.
No, Sarah would rely on no one but herself and she would keep moving. To stop would be to admit failure and she refused to fail. Sarah would graduate from college with a nice savings account, find an apartment in her hometown, get a job at the quiet little library, and spend her nights writing with the occasional opening of a wine bottle. She had long ago discovered that adventure was not worth the trouble. Instead, Sarah had learned that she liked quiet, bland, and secure.
The ten minute drive went by quickly and soon she was paying the fare, she would normally make the girls do it but they were both too out of it. The girls parted ways outside of their respective dorms and each returned to their different rooms.
Sarah's dorm was, relatively, new. Which simply meant that the air conditioning, occasionally, worked (normally in the winter) and that the lights only flickered when it got dark out. Still, a window ac helped in the summer heat and a flashlight took care of any unexpected light failures. Sarah would always take the stairs, after all, if the ac and lights could not even work then she did not want to tempt the elevator.
Like everything else in the building, her door only work half the time. Sometimes, if she was really lucky, the door would open smoothly and she could be inside in seconds. Other times, the door would stick in the frame and one would have to hold the key at an angle while hitting the door with ones hip. Such actions typically resulted in bruising and a noise complaint from the neighbors, it would also take more than a few seconds. Sarah had, however, gotten quite good at it and could, on a good night, get her door open in under a minute.
Despite the shabby building, Sarah always kept her little room clean and well stocked. While she did have a roommate, the other girl spent her weekends with her family, and Sarah was pleased to have the room to herself. The little living area had, blessedly, an attached bathroom but nothing else. The two girls had opted against stacking the beds, they were both clumsy and did not wish to take such a risk, which left little area for actual living. Though it was cramped, Sarah would not have it any other way.
Their bathroom actually did work, all the time, and Sarah relished a quick, hot, shower before changing into an old hoodie and tank with sleeping shorts covered in little boats. Her roomie always teased Sarah about her bodies ability to never make up its mind. At any given moment, Sarah could be either freezing or burning.
It was only as she tried to set her phone alarm that Sarah realized she had set it on the bar when the fight first broke out. As she looked through her bag and clothes, Sarah discovered that she had not picked up the phone on her way out.
So much for a non-disastrous night. While Sarah was not a person who could not live without a cell, she actually did have her important numbers memorized, the electronic made life easier and she had work in the morning. If she wanted her cell back without being dragged out clubbing by her friends, she would have to retrieve it immediately.
It was only about 1:30ish and the bar should still be open, even after the fight. Changing out the shorts for jeans and boots, Sarah ran to get a taxi. By the time she reached the club, the door was locked, but one of the crew was still cleaning.
"What?" He asked sharply as the door opened to her incessant pounding. Sarah had always been highly determined and she would not have a trip wasted because someone ignored her.
"I left my phone in here and was wondering if I could look for it." Sarah questioned in her kindest tones. She knew that a guy would be more likely to agree to something if she acted appropriately, despite the annoyance she may have been feeling.
"Sure, as long as you don't mind me vacuuming." He said as he let her in and she made way for the bar in the back. After searching behind the bar and on the bar; Sarah got to her knees and began searching around the stools. She grimaced at the mess of gum and spilled alcohol. Honestly, Sarah thought, people became such louts when intoxicate. Not that she was any better, but at least she had the decency to only get drunk in her own room. If she was going to make a mess then she would clean it up the next day and not make some poor schmidt do it.
Upon finding that her phone was not under any of the stools, Sarah decided to look once more before calling it a loss. She had hoped that someone would have found the phone and given it to the worker, but her hope had been killed when the employee had not mentioned that a phone had been found.
The employee stopped the vacuum right as Sarah came face to face with two boots, polished to such a shine that she could see her own startled reflection in them. Only then did Sarah realize, with the sinking sensation in her stomach that indicated she was about to find herself in a complication, that the vacuuming did not stop, time had.
A/N: Just a short chapter to start my new Labyrinth Fanfiction. Next chapter should be longer though I cannot promise anything. Except Jareth, I can promise Jareth. Also as a fair warning I LOVE dark Jareth though I often fail at writing him seeing as I am only a sophomore in high school. Which is also a fair warning for horrible grammar and many spelling mistakes.
Enjoy!
A/N: Though this fic is not yet finished, though I do intend to finish it, I have decided to go back and rewrite everything just to make it a little better. I will most likely update the newest chapter sometime next week and I apologize for my long break from this story.