That alarm clock just didn’t know when to quit.

Hitting the snooze just didn’t cut it, and even when it was turned off, it still managed to find a way to beep its way into Stormlight’s mind. Finally, she gave it up, picked it up, and hurled it against the nearest wall at about the speed of Mach10. With a few final, defiant—if not somewhat sickly—beeps, the alarm clock fell silent. But it had already done the damage, as Stormlight was by then wide awake.

She moaned and turned over, slapping a feather pillow over her head and burying herself further under the covers. "What a dream," she moaned through a jaw-cracking yawn. "Feels like I was running the hundred yard dash. Repeatedly!" Stretching stiff muscles, she cracked one eyes open, noting the stream of light that managed to squeeze its way past the dark green blinds. "What time is it, anyway?"

Of course the clock was no longer of any use, so she turned on her television. The Sailor Moon theme song—with its obnoxious little-girl voices—greeted her ears. She winced. Much as she loved Sailor Moon, she couldn’t help but wonder if some of those theme-song girls (or maybe all of them), had been leftover rejects from some other television show. Like…say…Barney and Friends?

Realizing that she was running really late—she should have been up an hour ago!—she got to her feet…and abruptly sat back down again as a wave of exhaustion hit her. "Well, this is familiar," she muttered. "There is no way I am going into work today!" She picked up her phone to dial the work number, leaving a short message on the answering machine. She’d barely taken off the entire year; they could get long without her for one lousy day.

That done, she crawled back into bed and stared up at the ceiling, thinking about her dream. The characters of FY had been in it. And so had Jareth and the Labyrinth. She could recall the events so clearly! Jareth taking her into the Labyrinth…waking up to find Hotohori and the other Seishi there…the Kelpie…the final battle… She had never had such a lucid dream before! "Too bad it didn’t actually happen," she murmured, sitting up in bed. No use trying to sleep now. She turned on her computer and sat down before it, determined to write the dream into a story before it faded from her memory. She was surprised that it hadn’t already. Dreams never lasted long with her, unless they made a big impression.

Well, this one sure made one hell of an impression, she thought ironically as she opened a Word doc and began to type. She could still remember the very realistic feel of Hotohori’s arms around her…not to mention that kiss Jareth had laid on her. Grimacing, she shook her head and laughed humorlessly. "I have so got to get me a boyfriend…"

But first, she was gonna have to thank Jareth for giving her such great inspiration for the story. A dream. Heh. Who would’ve thought it? When he’d smacked her with that crystal, she’d thought for sure she was doomed! Leave it to him to play such a nasty joke on her, obnoxious fae…

It was ten o’clock before Stormlight looked up from her typing, realizing that she was hungry. She saved the file and wandered into the kitchen to grab a snack, and then wandered back into her room again to eat it. She froze in the doorway upon seeing Jareth sitting in her chair, reading over her freshly-typed story. "What are you doing here?" she grumbled. "Can’t you learn to use the front door like normal people?" She still felt a little peeved at him for causing such trouble, even in a dream.

"‘She barely noticed when the Goblin King arrived in a swirl of glitter, so intent was she on the television screen before her, which was flashing with images of colorful, animated characters playing out a drama before her eyes.’ You’re off to a very good start," Jareth commented, snatching an apple from her plate and biting into it. He swallowed and grinned mischievously. "Tell me…why third person?"

She blinked at him. "Why…what?"

"Why write yourself in the third person? You are the one telling the story, after all. Why not write it in first?" he asked.

She frowned at him. "I just felt like it," she replied defensively. "Got a problem with that?"

He held up his hands. "Just curious. No need to get your fur all ruffled."

"Thanks for stopping by. There’s the door. Don’t let it hit your ass on the way out," she mumbled, munching on a carrot stick.

"I never use doors, remember?" he teased.

"Details, details," she retorted, then stopped and blinked. Now why was that familiar? Shaking her head, she shooed him off her chair and sat back down to stare at the screen. After a moment, she cleared her throat. "Um…kinda hard to type with you breathing down my neck," she stated bluntly. "Can’t you go…kick some goblins or something?"

He sniffed. "I know when I’m not wanted. I’ll be off then, but remember…I’ll be checking up on you! Don’t let it all be for nothing." He vanished in a puff of glitter.

Stormlight whirled around in her seat, staring at the spot he’d been standing. Her brow furrowed. "What the heck was that supposed to mean?!" she shouted after him. A faint chuckle was her only reply.

"Chill out, girl, he’s just trying to get to you," she told herself. She looked at the picture of the Seishi hanging on her wall in front of the computer. "It was just a dream. It had to have been! Cartoon characters aren’t real people!"

Are they?

Growling, she deliberately turned back to the computer and prepared to write. Just as she started on the next paragraph…the phone rang. "Aaaarrrrgh!" she yelled, yanking on her hair. "Of all the…!" Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone and managed a normal-sounding hello.

"Yes, may I please speak with Miss Shauna Houser?" a deep voice on the other end of the line asked.

"This is she."

"Miss Houser, I am calling on behalf of the First National Bank in regards to a recent purchase that was made on your bank card. Has your card been lost or stolen recently?"

Stormlight blinked. "Noooo…"

"I see. Are you aware that you recently made a five-hundred dollar purchase on this card when, in fact, you have less than a hundred dollars in your account?"

There was a loud thunk issuing from the other end of the line, and the manager blinked. "Miss Houser?" he inquired.

"I’m fine!" Stormlight squeaked, scrambling up from her sprawled position on the floor. "Um…could you tell me…exactly where this purchase was made again?"

"A place called…" The manager paused, and when he spoke again his tone sounded as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was reading. "…The Goblin’s Head Inn."

. . .

"JAAAARRRREEEEEETTTTTHHHH!"