He Will Protect Her, She Will Save Him
3
Keira's POV
The next day I was sitting at my kitchen table and I sighed. I knew I had to go to work today. There was no getting out of it. I went back into my room and dumped the sheet I was still holding from this morning on the bed. I went and showered and managed to calm my nerves. I grabbed a black pair of trousers and a black top with white polka dots. It was a beautiful sunny day so I left without putting on a jacket.
I arrived at the school at 8 o'clock, half an hour before kids started arriving. I sat at the reception desk. It doesn’t technically open until 9 o'clock but I had other things to do before the phones started ringing. I rolled my eyes and pulled out my nail file. I had bugger all to do. I leant back in my chair and started shaping my nails and dreaming of red and amber eyes. I smiled softly to myself and was startled when the phone in front of me rang. I glanced at the clock and was shocked to see I had been day dreaming for 1 hour and 15 minutes. "Hello, Berry Lane Middle School, how may I help you?" I said into the phone. I responded in all the right ways to the mother who was informing me that her daughter was ill and couldn’t come into school. "Okay, I'll mark her absent. Thank you for letting us know," I smiled into the phone and then hung up. I called up the registers on the computer and marked Samantha Addison as absent.
I then went back to day dreaming. I only got about 5 calls a day, 10 maximum, but none of them were particularly interesting. "Good afternoon, Berry Lane Middle School, how may I help you?" I said for the third time. It was about midday.
"How may you help me? Hmm..." a man's voice said smoothly through the phone. I recognised the voice from hearing it over the phone so many times but I didn't know the face that went with it. "So many ways..." I frowned slightly. "Do you feel like going out tonight? For a walk through the park? Say, midnight?"
"No thank you," I said and hung up. I'd been getting calls like that ever since I started working here. I found it beyond weird. I got the same calls at my old place, it's mainly the reason why I moved jobs, but now it was like...whoever this person was...it felt like they were stalking me. And they were good at it. I'd never told anyone about it. Not that I had many people to tell anyway. I had Tom and Charlotte, sure, but I knew they'd think I was just paranoid. Who else did I have? No one. For some strange reason an image of the mysterious guy from the night before came into my head. I shook myself and carried on shaping my nails.
That night I sat on the sofa watching television. I stayed down there later than usual, scared of what might happen if I went up to my room. I rubbed my neck. Ever since the night before it had been hurting slightly. There were two pricks on my skin, identical to what happen what happened in my dream, suggesting that it was more than a dream. I didn't want to think about how the marks were made.
There was a knock at the door at 10.30 and I frowned. Who would that be at this time of night? I went and looked out through the peep hole and my eyes immediately met a pair of amber eyes. I opened the door hesitantly. "So, you do know how to use a door," I said lightly, not showing any of my fear. The man scowled at me and walked inside. I knew I should be angry that he'd just walked in, but I wasn’t. I watched him walk around my apartment. He looked out all of my windows. He looked on edge. "Excuse me?" I said as he gazed out my bedroom window. He turned to me.
"We have to leave. Now," he said.
"Excuse me?" I repeated. "You must be insane if you think I'm coming with you. It's the middle of the night and you've broken into my house 2 times...why should I trust you? I don’t even know why I let you in... I don’t even know why I didn't call the police two days ago..." He stared at me, frowning slightly.
"Are you done?" he asked me coolly and I scowled but nodded. "Good. Now, we have to leave."
"I'm sorry but did you miss all of what I just said?" I asked him. "I don’t even know who you are. I don’t know you're name..."
"You shouldn’t know my name," he said softly. He met my eyes and I stared back stubbornly and crossed my hands over my chest.
"I'm not going anywhere knowing nothing about you," I said.
"Jareth," he said and I looked at him. "My name is Jareth."
"And why are you here?" I whispered and I saw his eyes blaze.
"I'm you protector," he said reluctantly. He met my gaze for a long, quiet time, and then looked away sharply. "And you're in danger. We have to go now." I frowned at him and he turned and glared at me. "Now!" The anger suddenly in his gaze scared me and I stepped backwards. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to save you. Please come with me. Please." I heard the desperation in his voice and saw it in his eyes. I swallowed hard and nodded. He let out a breath and then came over to me and picked me up in his arms.
"What are you doing?" I asked him, fighting to get down.
"It's faster this way," he said and then we were moving at an impossibly real speed.
Jareth's POV
Holding her in my arms felt good. I knew it shouldn’t. I knew I shouldn’t want to hold her, to feel her against me. But I couldn’t help it. She felt, smelt, looked too good. I ran back to the warehouse. I knew we should go straight back to her father but I felt I should explain some things to her before I took her there. Lord knows what she'd think if I took her to that place. I set her down in the dark barn and she stumbled on unsteady legs. I reached out and held her arm to steady her. "I'm going to take you...somewhere, but first I think we should talk," I said and she looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes. I looked into them for a time but then mentally shook myself and led her to a plastic crate and sat her on it. "Keira, you are in danger. You've always been in danger, but recently...it's been growing. It was up to me to protect you, but it's getting more serious and you need proper protection," I said as I sat next to her.
"You...know my name?" she whispered. I knew she had heard the rest of what I said, she just chose to ignore it. "Are...you..." she jumped up. "Are you who has been calling me?"
"Calling you?" I repeated and she narrowed her eyes at me. I returned her steady gaze and she finally shook her head and sat down.
"I've been getting weird phone calls from some guy," she shrugged.
"How long?" I asked, immediately alert. If they'd found her it was only a matter of time.
"A couple of months," she said and I silently cursed. She was in even more danger than I had thought. It was a good thing I decided to take her. Tonight might have been the night.
The next day I was sitting at my kitchen table and I sighed. I knew I had to go to work today. There was no getting out of it. I went back into my room and dumped the sheet I was still holding from this morning on the bed. I went and showered and managed to calm my nerves. I grabbed a black pair of trousers and a black top with white polka dots. It was a beautiful sunny day so I left without putting on a jacket.
I arrived at the school at 8 o'clock, half an hour before kids started arriving. I sat at the reception desk. It doesn’t technically open until 9 o'clock but I had other things to do before the phones started ringing. I rolled my eyes and pulled out my nail file. I had bugger all to do. I leant back in my chair and started shaping my nails and dreaming of red and amber eyes. I smiled softly to myself and was startled when the phone in front of me rang. I glanced at the clock and was shocked to see I had been day dreaming for 1 hour and 15 minutes. "Hello, Berry Lane Middle School, how may I help you?" I said into the phone. I responded in all the right ways to the mother who was informing me that her daughter was ill and couldn’t come into school. "Okay, I'll mark her absent. Thank you for letting us know," I smiled into the phone and then hung up. I called up the registers on the computer and marked Samantha Addison as absent.
I then went back to day dreaming. I only got about 5 calls a day, 10 maximum, but none of them were particularly interesting. "Good afternoon, Berry Lane Middle School, how may I help you?" I said for the third time. It was about midday.
"How may you help me? Hmm..." a man's voice said smoothly through the phone. I recognised the voice from hearing it over the phone so many times but I didn't know the face that went with it. "So many ways..." I frowned slightly. "Do you feel like going out tonight? For a walk through the park? Say, midnight?"
"No thank you," I said and hung up. I'd been getting calls like that ever since I started working here. I found it beyond weird. I got the same calls at my old place, it's mainly the reason why I moved jobs, but now it was like...whoever this person was...it felt like they were stalking me. And they were good at it. I'd never told anyone about it. Not that I had many people to tell anyway. I had Tom and Charlotte, sure, but I knew they'd think I was just paranoid. Who else did I have? No one. For some strange reason an image of the mysterious guy from the night before came into my head. I shook myself and carried on shaping my nails.
That night I sat on the sofa watching television. I stayed down there later than usual, scared of what might happen if I went up to my room. I rubbed my neck. Ever since the night before it had been hurting slightly. There were two pricks on my skin, identical to what happen what happened in my dream, suggesting that it was more than a dream. I didn't want to think about how the marks were made.
There was a knock at the door at 10.30 and I frowned. Who would that be at this time of night? I went and looked out through the peep hole and my eyes immediately met a pair of amber eyes. I opened the door hesitantly. "So, you do know how to use a door," I said lightly, not showing any of my fear. The man scowled at me and walked inside. I knew I should be angry that he'd just walked in, but I wasn’t. I watched him walk around my apartment. He looked out all of my windows. He looked on edge. "Excuse me?" I said as he gazed out my bedroom window. He turned to me.
"We have to leave. Now," he said.
"Excuse me?" I repeated. "You must be insane if you think I'm coming with you. It's the middle of the night and you've broken into my house 2 times...why should I trust you? I don’t even know why I let you in... I don’t even know why I didn't call the police two days ago..." He stared at me, frowning slightly.
"Are you done?" he asked me coolly and I scowled but nodded. "Good. Now, we have to leave."
"I'm sorry but did you miss all of what I just said?" I asked him. "I don’t even know who you are. I don’t know you're name..."
"You shouldn’t know my name," he said softly. He met my eyes and I stared back stubbornly and crossed my hands over my chest.
"I'm not going anywhere knowing nothing about you," I said.
"Jareth," he said and I looked at him. "My name is Jareth."
"And why are you here?" I whispered and I saw his eyes blaze.
"I'm you protector," he said reluctantly. He met my gaze for a long, quiet time, and then looked away sharply. "And you're in danger. We have to go now." I frowned at him and he turned and glared at me. "Now!" The anger suddenly in his gaze scared me and I stepped backwards. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to save you. Please come with me. Please." I heard the desperation in his voice and saw it in his eyes. I swallowed hard and nodded. He let out a breath and then came over to me and picked me up in his arms.
"What are you doing?" I asked him, fighting to get down.
"It's faster this way," he said and then we were moving at an impossibly real speed.
Jareth's POV
Holding her in my arms felt good. I knew it shouldn’t. I knew I shouldn’t want to hold her, to feel her against me. But I couldn’t help it. She felt, smelt, looked too good. I ran back to the warehouse. I knew we should go straight back to her father but I felt I should explain some things to her before I took her there. Lord knows what she'd think if I took her to that place. I set her down in the dark barn and she stumbled on unsteady legs. I reached out and held her arm to steady her. "I'm going to take you...somewhere, but first I think we should talk," I said and she looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes. I looked into them for a time but then mentally shook myself and led her to a plastic crate and sat her on it. "Keira, you are in danger. You've always been in danger, but recently...it's been growing. It was up to me to protect you, but it's getting more serious and you need proper protection," I said as I sat next to her.
"You...know my name?" she whispered. I knew she had heard the rest of what I said, she just chose to ignore it. "Are...you..." she jumped up. "Are you who has been calling me?"
"Calling you?" I repeated and she narrowed her eyes at me. I returned her steady gaze and she finally shook her head and sat down.
"I've been getting weird phone calls from some guy," she shrugged.
"How long?" I asked, immediately alert. If they'd found her it was only a matter of time.
"A couple of months," she said and I silently cursed. She was in even more danger than I had thought. It was a good thing I decided to take her. Tonight might have been the night.