It was almost six thirty pm and Sarah was still searching through her wardrobe for a suitable dress. In about half an hour, her date would arrive to pick her up. Sarah had never been on a date before. She had no idea what to expect nor did she know how to act. She told herself that she was overthinking and tried to shake off her nerves. As the minutes passed, she finally settled on a simple red, strapless dress that she had only used once before at a party. Just as this was her first date, that one party had also been her first, so why not wear the same dress? She pulled on stockings first and then slipped into the red fabric. It stopped just above her knees and the top of it was shaped like a heart, revealing just a little bit of her cleavage. Then she sat down by her dressing table to curl her dark hair and apply some makeup. She was in the middle of putting on red lipstick when her father called from downstairs. "Sarah! Your date is here!"

"Coming!" she called back and checked herself in the mirror one last time before heading down to the hallway.

She had expected to see her date standing there with her parents, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?" she asked her father.

"Outside," he said and pointed through the window to a car that stood parked just outside the house. "It appears as if he doesn't want to come and say hello." Sarah's father had been skeptical about the idea of his daughter going out with a boy and it seemed as if he still hadn't changed his attitude. Sarah chuckled.

"He's probably afraid. Give him a break. He's really nice," she reassured her father, who just then noticed the dress she was wearing and, more importantly, what the dress was revealing.

"You're not going out in that, are you?" he asked. Irene stepped up to her husband and tried to reason with him.

"Robert dear, Sarah is not a little girl anymore. She's eighteen years old and this is what eighteen-year-olds wear." For once, Sarah actually appreciated her stepmother's input. Robert pursed his lips, then sighed and gave in.

"All right, fine. But for Christ's sake, put something more on or you'll get cold."

"I know just the thing!" Irene said and rushed up the stairs. When she came back, she gave Sarah a black shawl to put around her shoulders. "Here you go. It will look nice with the dress and keep you warm." Sarah wrapped it around her and was slightly surprised at Irene's kindness. They still didn't see eye to eye at all times, but their relationship was considerably better than it had been three years ago.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome." Irene smiled and Sarah returned the gesture. "Have fun now."

"And be back home no later than ten!" Robert called after his daughter as she left the house.

When she came outside, her date was waiting for her, leaning against the car, hands in his pockets. His dirty blonde hair was neatly combed back and he was wearing a black suit that looked just a little bit too big for him. Sarah figured it belonged to his father or perhaps an older brother. Either way, it was sort of endearing. "Hi, Jared," she said and he was beaming at her, completely in awe of her beauty.

"Hi, Sarah. You look beautiful." She looked down, timidly smiling. She was not used to compliments, so instead of thanking him, she answered with a compliment of her own.

"You don't look too shabby yourself." He laughed.

"Well, I try. Come on, let's go." He opened the door for her and she stepped into the car. It wasn't very big and because she was wearing high heels, her knees were pulled up quite high, but she tried to ignore it. "Time to take you for a ride," Jared said as he got in and started the engine. Neither of them saw the owl following the car down the street.

Jareth had been watching Sarah closely ever since she returned to the Aboveground and just three days ago, he had heard that she would be going on a so-called "date" this Friday night. Apparently, "dating" was the term the mortals used in favor of "courting." And Jareth didn't like it. Perched on a branch of the tree just outside the house, he had waited for her to come out and meet up with this youngling whom he had been watching since he arrived. He appeared to have no manners and no style whatsoever. That suit was way too big for him. It doesn't get any tackier than that. Sarah on the other hand, had been as astonishingly beautiful as ever. He had expected no less from her and it was hard to resist the urge to reveal his true form right then and there. More than anything, he wished he could have just talked her out of it, but once he heard her say the boy's name, things got more interesting. Jared and Jareth were basically the same name. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but the Goblin King had an inkling that this was not the case. Therefore, he decided to follow them.

Sarah was suffering. Faking smiles seemed to be her preoccupation during the course of the night. Sure, Jared was sweet and all, pulling out her chair and so forth, but at the same time he was so full of himself. He would never stop bragging about his many accomplishments in life, as if thinking she would be impressed by it. He had been talking non-stop about football for approximately forty minutes when the dessert finally came, letting Sarah know that the date would soon be over. Chocolate ice-cream with strawberries was one of her favorite desserts. Sadly, she was already too satisfied to eat it all up.

Jareth was not able to follow them inside the restaurant nor was he able to spot them through any of the windows. He contemplated whether he should change into his human form and try to blend in with the crowd, but he was certain that Sarah would recognize him. So instead, he waited patiently outside until they came out again. When he first saw her face, he noticed she looked rather disappointed. Good. That meant something must have gone wrong or that she simply didn't like the boy. He watched as they got back into the car and followed them back to Sarah's home.

Sarah was determined to get out of the car as quickly as possible. She thanked Jared for everything, unbuckled her seatbelt and got out. No sooner than she had slammed the door shut behind her did Jared follow suit and stopped her from going inside. "Wait," he said and Sarah waited, albeit unwillingly. "I want to thank you."

"All right," Sarah said and shrugged.

"Thank you for coming with me."

"You're welcome." He didn't move and nor did she. His gaze wandered down to her red lips and she knew what was coming. She just wasn't sure if she wanted it. He leaned in closer, but she did not recoil. His lips were gently brushing hers now and she was panicking. One part of her just wanted to tell him to fuck off, but another part of her really wanted to know what it felt like. It seemed that the latter was about to prevail. She closed her eyes and whispered his name. "Jareth…"

Jared pulled back slightly and looked into her eyes. "What did you say?" he asked with furrowed brows. Sarah's eyes widened as she realized her mistake.

"Jared," she corrected. "I meant… I meant Jared. Sorry." Jared did not seem convinced.

"You know what, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. See you at school, I guess." Without another word, he drove off into the night and Sarah was left on the sidewalk, not quite understanding what had just happened.

Jareth had watched the whole scene unfold right in front of his eyes and he was about as shocked as Sarah, although at the same time very amused. So she hasn't forgotten about me after all. When he saw that they were about to kiss, he had been ready to swoop down and scare the boy off, but once his name had escaped her lips, he was like glued to the spot. It was as if she had cast a spell over him. Then again, he had always been spellbound by her and always would be. If only she would realize that.

Sarah opened the front door and took her heels off. Her feet were hurting from having worn them for so long. Robert and Irene came to meet her and they, like Jareth, also noticed the look on Sarah's face. "So, how did it go?" Robert asked.

"Not so well," Sarah answered bluntly, but without a hint of anger or disappointment in her voice. Robert and Irene exchanged a look of confusion.

"Why not?" Irene asked. "I thought you said he was a nice young man."

"Oh sure," Sarah said, "a stuck up nice young man."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" her father asked and Sarah shook her head with a satisfied smirk.

"More like the other way around." Robert laughed, but Irene didn't, although Sarah could have sworn she saw a smile tugging at her lips. They said goodnight and Sarah went into her room to prepare for bed.

She opened her window to let in some air and sat down on the bed to pull her stockings off. She tossed them carelessly into one of the corners where there was a pile of clothes waiting to be washed. Irene didn't like it when Sarah did that, but you're only a teenager once in your life. She would learn to be more responsible soon enough. She stood up from the bed and was about to unzip her dress when a very familiar voice stopped her. "Are you sure you want to do that, precious?" Sarah froze and turned round. Indeed, it was him. He was clad in his purple leather jacket along with grey, skin tight pants and tall boots, looking as majestic and smug as ever.

"Jareth."

"Hello, Sarah." He smiled and wished he could have had a picture taken of the astonished look on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, not quite believing what she was seeing. It had been so long. He merely shrugged.

"Oh, nothing much. Just making sure that boy wouldn't misbehave. What was his name again?" he added just to tease her and she instantly knew that he had heard her slip.

"Okay, I get it, you're all very amused by this, but I'm not! You've been spying on me!"

"I wouldn't call it spying. More like 'admiring from afar.'" Sarah sighed and rolled her eyes. Then she caught him eyeing her.

"What?" she said and he couldn't believe why she even had to. She was more beautiful than ever and completely mesmerizing. He could feel himself slowly crumbling beneath her power over him. Being this close to her was dangerous, but he simply could not resist.

"Nothing," he said. "Just taking the opportunity to admire from up-close for once."

He closed the distance between them and let his hand come to rest on her cheek. It was warm and not surprisingly so, as she was evidently blushing.

"Stop," she said, but it did not sound convincing.

"But you don't want me to stop."

"How do you know what I want?" He had to smile at her stubbornness.

"I've always known what you want, remember? And I can still give you what you want, Sarah. All you need to do is say it. Say it and you shall have it. It's not too late." He would give her everything she wanted without hesitation. She deserved the entire world.

Sarah sighed once more and tried to come up with the best way to explain it. "There is a difference between 'want' and 'need,'" she said, looking straight into his eyes. "I learned that in the Labyrinth. I…" She stopped herself. Was it foolish to say it? Would it make her weak? "I wanted to stay, but what I needed was to get Toby. I needed to get Toby home." There. She said it.

"And you succeeded. He is safe. There is nothing stopping you now." Why couldn't he just understand that it wasn't that simple?

"Look, I know what you're going to say. I know what you want. Haven't you thought about that maybe you're taking for granted that I want the same things as you?" Jareth was growing impatient. Sarah would not give in so easily.

"If you won't tell me what you want, then what is it that you need?" he asked and the question caught her off guard. She had no answer for that. At least not at the moment.

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. You're only afraid to say it, even though you said it just before." Sarah wasn't following.

"Said what?"

"My name."

She wanted to tell him that it hadn't meant anything. But then she would be lying. Maybe the fact that she had said "Jareth" instead of "Jared" wasn't just a slip on her part. She had been so lost in the heat of the moment that when push came to shove, she had unveiled her deepest desire. When she had closed her eyes back there, all she could see was a pair of blue, mismatched eyes. They were the same eyes she was looking into right now. She closed her eyes again and she could still see them. She parted her lips ever so slightly and that was all the confirmation he needed. Finally she was opening up to him. Bringing her face closer, he leaned in and let his lips caress hers.

Sarah had no idea just how much she needed it until she felt the taste of him. His lips were softer than she had expected and much gentler too. It was not a forceful kiss, but a soft and tender one, for which she was grateful. She had never been kissed before. At least not in a way that counted. There was that one time in kindergarten, but that was nothing compared to this. This was real and she hated admitting it, but she was enjoying it far too much than she should have been.

For years now he had longed to feel her touch. For years he had been watching her, entranced by her beauty and her very soul. For years he had agonized over not being able to have her by his side and now that he finally did, he never wanted it to end. He was so lonely. With her, everything seemed brighter. Suddenly, she pulled away and touched her lips with her fingers. "I shouldn't have done that," she whispered, more to herself than to him. "I shouldn't have let you. You have no…" Her words were faltering. Come on Sarah, say it already! Problem was, she didn't want to say it. Jareth could see the struggle inside her and he decided not to push her.

"You don't have to say it," he said with a sad smile. "I already know it." He backed away towards the window and continued to speak as he did so. "I would give you the world, Sarah. Just say it. Say my name and I will come for you." And just like that, in the blink of an eye, Sarah was looking at a white barn owl and forlornly watched it fly away with her heart.

A/N: So here's another Labyrinth one-shot from me. (A little mor action in this one, but no less angsty I suppose XD.) I just couldn't get the idea out of my head how Jareth would react at finding out that Sarah had a date. Of course, we all know he wouldn't particularly fancy the idea, haha. I was also inspired to write this when I read a quote from David Bowie about what his favorite scene in the movie was. This is what he said: "The scene where I, as Jareth, part from Sarah. It's so sad, I think, because Sarah really likes Jareth, but she must get her baby brother, Toby, back safely, so she has to reject all Jareth's pleas for companionship in his pretty lonely world." Really David, are you trying to kill me? It really is sad and ugh, this movie. Just... this movie. XD