DISCLAIMER: The Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV show is not my copyright, this story is strictly not-for-profit and should not be bought or sold. However, this story was written by me, and while you may certainly store a copy on your PC to read or to keep in your personal fanfic library, I do ask that you not post this story online anywhere or modify it without my permission. Lastly, if legally you are not able to read this story for whatever reason(s), then by those laws, you are required not to do so. Now, without further ado...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Basically, this is a re-telling of the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It starts with mostly the same set of circumstances as does the show, though Buffy's back story in L.A. is different (as will be explained later on). However, make no mistake, this story is a LOT different than the TV show.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Buffy: A New Journey
By Jessica Knight
Episode 1: A New Beginning
Looking out the window, but not really seeing, she thought on her dreams the night before. Not a very promising start to a day, she mused to herself. Looking over to her mom, she thought about saying something, but before the words would come, the car stopped.
Buffy looked out the window again and saw, well, it was a school really, not a very big revelation there.
"Okay," her mother's voice broke her train of thought, such as it was.
"That's my conclusion," Buffy said absently.
"What?" Joyce looked at her with a bit of confusion.
"Idonknow," she shrugged "but here I go off to school. Have a good day mom, don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Okay," Joyce said with a bemused smile "someone's feeling a little better."
"What can I say? My outlook is bright, my future is doomed, what else is there to do but enjoy the moment?" Buffy replied reasonably and with a good amount of her own style of cheer as she got out of the car.
"Doomed, huh?" her mom replied.
"Yeah," her daughter came back, leaning in to look through the open car door window "but don't worry mom, I'll try to get through at least one day without getting kicked out. This I promise you."
"Well, now I feel much better," Joyce said with a bit of wry motherly sarcasm.
"You should mom, it's a brand new day. Who knows, maybe things'll go good?"
"I'm sure you'll do great," she said with hopeful confidence in her daughter.
"Girl's gotta try," said Buffy with a charming smile as she turned and walked off to her first day at Sunnydale high.
"Um, Hi. Buffy Summers?" Buffy asked as she opened the door to the school's administrative offices.
"Mm?" the woman at the desk mumbled absently, looking up after a moment of continued typing.
"I'm a new student, I should have an appointment," Buffy explained.
"Oh, right. I'm Alice. You can just go on back; door on the left," she smiled pleasantly then went back to her typing.
Um, okay, Buffy thought to herself, heading for the indicated door, which was open.
Knocking on the door as she entered. "Hello? I'm new-"
"Ah Come in, come in," said the man behind the desk, standing and motioning her forward with some amount of enthusiasm and pep as he went over to the file cabinet and retrieved a file.
"All right," she said easily, taking the offered seat. She decided to just let him talk first, fully expecting a troublesome fallout of some kind over her records.
Heading back to his desk, he started reading, "Buffy Summers, sophomore, late of Hemery High in Los Angeles. Interesting record, quite a career..." Taking a seat, he looked up at Buffy and she was suspired to see him neatly tear the sheet into four pieces.
"Welcome to Sunnydale! A clean slate, Buffy, that's what you get here. What's past is past. We're not interested in what it says on a piece of paper, even if it says..." he noticed something distinctive as he looked at the paper again. "Whoa."
As he started to tape the paper back together, Buffy just indulgently smiled to herself a little for a moment, then waited for him to go on.
"Um," the principal looked up at her with a questioning look. "You burned down the gym?"
"I'm afraid so," Buffy admitted, looking a little embarrassed. "So... how does that change things for me?" she asked, wanting to know up front what to expect.
Looking at her a moment, taken back by her honest question, his mood changed a bit. "It doesn't have to change anything Buffy," sighing a little, he looked down at the paper and made a decision. "Tell me I've got nothing to worry about here," he paused a little, his resolve wavering "and this goes in the trash can."
Giving him a genuine smile now, she assured him "Thanks, that means a lot..." looking a little abashed again "but all I can promise for sure is that I'll do my best not to. Is that good enough?"
Looking at her for a moment, again surprised that she hadn't tried to placate him or anything. She had an honesty and sincerity that just made him want to trust what she said, so he crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it in the trash. "I think it is at that," he smiled more confidently.
"Thanks Mr. Flute-"
"All the kids here are free to call me Bob," he said automatically as he got up to show her to the door.
"Bob," she corrected herself.
"But they don't," it was his standard line.
"Do you want them to?" Buffy asked curiously.
Looking at her, "Well, I suppose it would be nice," he said thoughtfully.
"Bob it is then. And like I was about to say, I appreciate the chance," she said offering him a handshake.
Taking the offered hand, "my door's always open," he said.
"Thanks," she smiled, already a little distracted by other thoughts as she headed out.
Headed back to his desk to finish the morning's paperwork, Bob shook his head a bit, thinking over his first meeting with his school's newest student. One thing was for sure, though he didn't quite know what to make of her, he was sure he'd hear the name Buffy Summers a lot more before the school year was through. Someone like that, they tended not to fade into the background. Or so he thought anyway.
Looking out the window of her first class, she absently noticed the wind rustling the leaves of a bush. Mhmm, Black Death... she thought with mild annoyance of what the teacher was talking about. Why can't they have classes outside on a day like this... I mean, would it really be such a shocking bad thing to teach people things like this in the fresh air? ...meh, people are so stodgy sometimes...
"You know, it's not the best way to get a passing grade," she heard a hushed voice say from next to her.
"Huh?" she gradually looked over at who'd said this, seeing the girl next to her looking at her with some amusement. "Oh, I guess you're right about that," Buffy confessed easily. "Just wishing I was outside I suppose."
"I can relate," said the girl, with understanding and a little of a smirk.
"Hehem," they heard from the front of the class. And looking in that direction, they saw a slightly annoyed teacher.
"Sorry," the girl next to her looked a bit abashed.
"It's all right Cordelia, just try to pay attention a little," said the teacher as she got back to her lesson.
Leaving the classroom, Buffy walked with her new acquaintance. "So I'm guessing your name is Cordelia? I'm Buffy. Thanks for letting me use your textbook and all. That was nice of you."
"No problem," Cordelia smiled back as they walked. "You can probably get one of your own in the library."
"Thanks,"
"So, you're from Hemery, right? In L.A.?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah, that's me all right." Buffy confirmed.
"Oh, I would *kill* to live in L.A. That close to that many shoes?"
"Shoes, huh?" Buffy smirked. "Well, I have to admit, Brentwood Center's got some quality footwear... if you don't mind the parking of course."
"Of course," Cordelia said excitedly, making sure to keep her cool. "My mom went there a few years ago, she said it was horrible. The parking I mean."
"Well, lots of people, small spaces. It's kinda like a different world," Buffy commented.
"It must've been so exciting living there," Cordelia said, visions of what she thought it would be like dancing in her head.
"It was that," Buffy admitted with a little of a knowing smirk. "Well, I think I should go look around a bit before my next class, make sure I don't get lost. So I guess I'll catch you later. It was really nice meeting you Cordelia," she said, extending her hand and giving her a smile.
"You too," Cordelia smiled back sincerely. "Say, would you want to come hang out at the Bronze later with me an my friends?"
"The Bronze?"
"Yeah, you should be able to find it easy. It's like the Only club worth anything around here. Not up to L.A. standards, I'm sure, but it's cool, an' it's the place to be if you go to this school," Cordelia explained.
"Sounds like fun. Guess I'll see you there," Buffy smiled as she went off, waving a bit to her new friend as she went.
"Great, see you there," Cordelia called back.
"Who was that?" a familiar voice asked Cordelia curiously.
Cordelia turned to see her best friend, Harmony Kendal. "Oh, that's the new girl, her name's Buffy, she's from L.A.."
"Buffy? What kind of a name is Buffy?" Harmony asked.
"Ionknow," Cordelia shrugged. "Maybe her mom was a deb and her dad was a hippy or something," she smirked in amusement, causing Harmony to laugh.
After walking aimlessly for a bit and idly looking around, Buffy went on to her next class. Later still, the much hallowed tradition of lunch beckoned her like a siren. Ah, food, Buffy thought wantonly, how I do love you so.
Making a b-line for the snacks machine, she picked out the tastiest junk food available and let her quarters do the talking.
Being a Slayer totally rocks sometimes, she thought to herself as she retrieved her fifth purchase. No way I could eat like this without it, not without being some kinda super athlete or having to do much too much heath-club time. Poor ordinary people, she thought evilly as she carried away her booty, passing several of those ordinary people going about their normal lunchtime activates.
Not exactly feeling up to doing the socializing thing at the moment, she opted to go exploring a little bit more. Maybe find a place with a good view to eat her lunch in where she could put on her head-phones and relax for a while.
A few minutes later, after walking around a bit while munching on some of her snacks, she found a fairly nice spot off to the side of the school with something of a view. About as good as I can expect I guess, she thought wistfully, remembering the times in her L.A. school where she would go to her fav hideaway spot to think. Now that was a nice view. She pondered the possibility of finding a roof access later.
Going over to the spot she selected, she put down her book bag and was about to settle in when she noticed that she wasn't quite alone.
Looking over to where one of the school's many pillars had hidden the other girl's presence, she got up and went over to her.
"Hi. Sorry, I thought I was alone out here. I guess I'm not the only one looking for a little quiet space. I can leave if you want?" she offered with a little friendly hesitation.
"Huh? Oh no," the girl looked up at her momentarily "it's fine. I don't mind."
Looking closer, Buffy saw that the girl had been crying.
"Hey, are you alright?" Buffy asked softly. "Is something wrong?"
The girl turned to really look at who she was talking with. The girl in front of her wore a pair of black jeans and a white silk shirt, along with a small gold necklace and a suede jacket. She had wavy hair, about three or four inches past shoulder length, and a few strands of it fell loosely over her face... and yes, she also had some really nice shoes.
Something in her eyes, just made her want to trust this girl.
"No, it's just my mom ya know," she looked down as Buffy took a seat next to her. "She's... she's not very easy to live with sometimes." Looking up at her, "Sorry. My name's Amy, Amy Madison," she smiled over at the blonde haired girl.
"Buffy Summers," Buffy offered her hand for a light handshake. "It's nice to meet you."
"Um, Buffy?" Amy questioned the unusual name.
"Yeah," Buffy said a bit wryly. "I know."
"I haven't seen you around before I don't think, are you new here?" Amy asked.
"Yup, just got in today in fact," answered Buffy.
"Why'd you move?"
"Oh, um, well... I kind of got into a little trouble back home in L.A.... things got pretty bad there for a while... my mom and dad broke up, now it's just her and me out for a new start I guess," she sighed looking off into to the distance contemplatingly.
"Sounds like it might've been a tough time for you... I'm sorry if I brought up bad memories or something," Amy looked away a bit unsure of herself.
"No, it's okay," Buffy assured, putting her hand over Amy's to convey that it really was okay. "It wasn't easy, that's true, but it's okay now. I've got a whole new life ahead of me, I'm sure. New rules, new town... it might turn out great," she said cheerfully, "or it could be a disaster," she confessed wryly, "but I'm hopeful," she smiled over at her.
Amy smiled back, feeling a lot better despite herself. "Well, sometimes hope's all you have, right?"
"Maybe..."
"So is she nice?" Amy asked.
"Who?"
"Your mom, is she nice?" she clarified.
"Oh, well, I guess so, yeah," Buffy said thoughtfully. "I mean no one's perfect or anything, but yeah, she's always been nice to me... even though I can tell she fakes it sometimes," she said with a smirk. "I'm told I can be quite a handful at times."
"I bet," Amy smiled back at her.
"Hey, now don't get the wrong idea. I'm a great person, truly I am," Buffy mock defended herself.
"Oh I don't doubt it," Amy assured playfully.
"Well that's good," Buffy concluded. "I wouldn't want you to get a bad impression of me."
"Nah, the impression's a good one," Amy smiled halfheartedly over at her.
"You um,... you wanna talk about it? You're mom?" Buffy asked, sensing her companion's mood begin to sadden a little.
Looking back at her for a moment, Amy considered what to say. She liked this girl, and it had been a while sense she'd really had someone to talk with, it was... nice, just sitting around and talking with someone who genuinely seemed to want to listen to her. "Sure," she smiled a little "I think I'd like that."
"It's just," Amy began "she... I think she really doesn't like me much." A pause. "I mean, like, she thinks I'm a disappointment or something... does your mom ever think that about you?" she asked.
"Sometimes probably," Buffy admitted. "More so lately I'd imagine," she looked down at her lap a bit. "I guess it's natural for kids to want to please their parents... I mean... I know I don't like disappointing her, but I do some times. She tries to hide it, but..."
"Yeah... at least she does try to hide it," Amy said bitterly.
"Not your mom, huh?"
"Not even a little as far as I can tell," Buffy noticed Amy's hands squeezing into tense fists.
"What... why do you think she... I mean-" Buffy tried to find the right words.
"Cheerleading," Amy stated simply. "Stupid, pathetic, fucking, pom-pom waving cheerleading!" Amy said in disgust, shaking a little with the anger she felt. "I mean I do good in school, I stay out of trouble, I have goals..." she looked over at Buffy with searing eyes "I'm a good person! Or at least I try to be, but is that ever enough for her?!?!"
"I'm guessing not," Buffy said, now feeling a good dose of anger herself at the absent Mrs. Madison.
"Peh! Not is right! If I'm not wearing a skirt, skinny as a post, and bitchy as hell to my friends, I'm worthless to her," she said sadly.
Buffy was quiet for a moment. "Want me to punch her?" she asked.
"What?" Amy looked up at her incredulously, a bit of a blank look on her face.
"Yeah, ya know, like wham! Right in the face, my fist," she stated with clarity. "I'm really good at that ya know?" she assured her new friend.
"Punch her..." Amy said again, still not quite believing she'd heard this seemingly scary nice girl just say that.
"Just say the word," Buffy nodded confidently.
Smiling at this, Amy started to dissolve into a fit of giggles, which soon became a full blown laugh right from her soul.
Buffy joining in, the two girls just laughed for a bit together, letting the tension fade away.
Settling down, Amy looked over to her new friend. "Thanks. I think I needed that," Amy smiled.
"Any time," Buffy replied. "My fist and I are here to help," she smiled over at Amy.
Chuckling at this, Amy shook her head and said, "I don't know what good thing I did to meet you today, but I'm glad I did." She leaned over to bump Buffy's shoulder with her own.
"I'm glad I met you too," Buffy bumped Amy's shoulder back. "Say, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. You wanna get some lunch in before the bell?"
"Oh joy, lunch," Amy said unenthusiastically, looking over at her pack. "Salad, lemon wedge, and juice. This should be good."
Buffy just looked at her, "Your mom?"
"Yeah, it's my newest compulsory diet," Amy said resignedly.
"That's just evil!" Buffy exclaimed. "Now I really must punch her, just on principle," she grumbled.
That got another laugh out of Amy, "I usually just supplement with school lunch, no matter how inedible it is, but today I just..."
"Wanted some alone time..."
"Yeah, but I'm glad I didn't get it," she smiled back at Buffy just a little shyly.
"Tell you what, I've got plenty. None of it very healthy, very few ingredients you'd find on any diet plan," she grinned evilly at Amy. "Wanna share?"
"Love to," Amy said with obvious food lust.
"Great!" Buffy exclaimed as she pulled Amy to her feet and led her over to her pack.
"You know, I was a cheerleader once," Buffy commented as they went over.
"You lie," Amy contested as they took a seat and Buffy spread their fair out before them.
"God's honest truth," Buffy pledged holding up her hand as if she where being sworn in.
"No way," Amy said. "I wouldn't have guessed, you don't seem..."
"Stuck up?" Buffy questioned with a smirk.
"Yeah, that."
"Well, it was only for a little under three months, so I don't think there was time for the programming to take root," Buffy explained. "I just did it 'cus a... friend of mine, she was going to join too... it, um, didn't end well," she said wryly, a small note of sadness in her voice.
"Oh yeah? What happened?" Amy asked.
"Long story. I'll tell you later if you want," Buffy provided, eyeing her food with a small predatory glint in her eyes. "So, what's you're pleasure Amy?" she questioned, indicating the food in front of them.
Eyes a little wide, Amy said in astonishment, "You can't tell me you eat like this all the time?!"
"Well..."
"No way!" Amy said incredulously. "You'd.. I'd be like a house if I ate like this all the time. You look very much not like a house," she accused with slight suspicion, studying Buffy's athletically built form again and seeing not a trace of any extra fat anywhere she could see.
"I've got a fast metabolism!" Buffy shrugged sheepishly in her defense.
"Really," Amy agreed enviously.
"Yup, it seems like I can just eat and eat and eat, pretty much. My mom's a little freaked by it to tell the truth," Buffy supplied abashedly. "She wonders how someone my size can have room to put it all."
"She's not the only one," Amy said, shaking her head in maintained disbelief.
"Well come on, let's dig in!" Buffy prompted as she picked up a half of her fully decked out ham sandwich and sank her teeth into it with delight.
Looking as Buffy begin to make short work of the sandwich, Amy figured she'd best stake her claims while she could.
And as they munched contentedly away at their meal, Buffy took a slow sip of Amy's juice box, having sense downed the salad in five bites. She asked Amy "Hey Amy, do you wanna head over to the Bronze with me tonight?"
"Huh?" Amy looked up at Buffy as she swallowed a bite of Reece's Peanut Butter Cup with a delighted groan of pleasure.
"The Bronze," Buffy clarified. "This girl I met in my history class, she invited me to meet her and some of her friends there later. I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?" she asked hopefully.
"Oh, um, sure! That sounds great," Amy smiled. "Who are we meeting?"
"Um, I think her name was Cordelia. Do you know her?"
Silence.
"Cordelia? As in Cordelia Chase?" Amy asked again finding herself incredulous.
"Idonknow, I guess. I never heard her last name, but how many people can there be with a first name like that in a school?" Buffy shrugged. "Why?"
"Oh, um," Amy looked at her with a wry expression of her own. "No reason. She's just like the queen of the school or something."
"Queen of the school?" Buffy looked at her skeptically.
"Yeah, you know," Amy moved her hands a bit by way of exposition. "Like, most popular, has her own band of hangers on, known for being a royal bitch when she wants to be... oh, and unless the world has the hiccups, she'll be a cheerleader this year," she said with a crooked smile as she shook her head a bit. "What, you didn't know?"
"Nope, 'fraid not," Buffy said still a bit in wonder. "She seemed normal enough to me. A bit of a case of being slightly posh and a bear sized crush on all things L.A. but nothing as bad as all that... she seemed nice in fact."
"Huh, well whata ya know," Amy said, shaking her head. She didn't really know Cordelia very much herself, at least not lately anyway, she just knew what she'd heard about her. "You're really something else, ya know that Buffy?"
"So they tell me," Buffy smirked a bit sheepishly.
"I guess you never really know with people sometimes," Amy wondered.
"That's true," Buffy agreed. "So, you still wanna go?"
Amy looked at her for a bit, then smiled "Sure, why not."
They only had about ten minutes left on their lunch period as they walked together back into the school. Buffy had mentioned that she needed to stop by the library to request some textbooks and Amy had volunteered to show her the way there.
"So, what's your next class?" Amy asked. "Mine's English."
"Huh, me too. Two periods of it in fact," Buffy said as she looked at her schedule again. "Is this the one you have?" she asked showing the paper to Amy.
Taking the schedule, Amy looked over it and her face brightened. "Yeah, and it looks like we've got gym together after that too!"
"Really?" Buffy asked. "Awesome," she smiled over at Amy. "So what are the teachers like?"
"Um, I don't know. I guess they're okay," Amy thought about it. "Mr. Jenson, the English teacher, he's pretty easy going... if a bit annoying to listen to sometimes," Amy confided.
"Bad voice?"
"Well..." Amy smiled "it's not good, and I'd hate to hear him sing with it, but it's mostly just that he's dull."
"Ah"
"Yeah, it's not so bad though. He picks interesting assignments usually," Amy informed her.
"And the gym teacher?"
"She's a gym teacher," Amy said. At which Buffy chuckled.
Smiling over at her, Amy went on, "Yeah, it's like with used car salesmen or politicians or cops or something. The job must just attract a certain type."
Buffy chuckled some more, "you're pretty funny sometimes, ya know that?"
"Well, I do my best.... I've never offered to punch someone's mom, but I do okay"
"Hey," Buffy corrected in mock serious tones. "That was a serious offer. You just say the word and pow! Right in the kisser!" Buffy smacked her fist in her hand for emphasis, causing Amy to dissolve into giggles again.
"Hey common. I'd do it, really I would!" Buffy defended herself.
"Really?" Amy asked skeptically.
"Sure," Buffy said.
Looking at her curiously, Amy said, "Hmm, I can't tell if you're joking or not."
"Well you could always call my bluff and find out," Buffy said with a wicked mock-evil grin.
Amy just shook her head a bit at her new friend's antics as they came to the library door. "Well here we are, Sunnydale High library," she said as she opened the door and Buffy followed her in.
"It's nice," Buffy said absently as she looked around the room. "Nobody's here?"
"Hey yeah," Amy said as she looked around too. "Well, the librarian must be around here somewhere."
"Oh, there he is," Buffy pointed out as she saw an old guy in glasses and tweed approaching them from what looked to be his office.
"How could you tell?" Amy remarked in droll tones.
"I call it a hunch," Buffy said matter of factly, causing Amy to have to hold back another chuckle lest she risk offending said librarian.
"Can I help you find something?" the man asked in a reserved British accent as he came up to them.
"Yeah, my friend here's new to the school and she needs some textbooks," Amy supplied.
"Ms. Summers?" the man asked.
"That's me," Buffy confirmed. "Guess you where expecting me?"
"In deed," the man said smartly. "Now what books was it that you where needing?" he asked as he went around behind the desk.
"I'm not sure," Buffy said. "These are the classes I have," she handed him her schedule.
"Ah yes, I should be able to find you the appropriate textbooks then," the man confirmed as he ducked under the counter and rooted around the shelves there.
"So what are we on now in English?" Buffy asked Amy as they waited for the librarian.
"Oh. Shakespeare; but just A Mid Summer Night's Dream. Not Macbeth or something, thank God," Amy provided.
"Well, I hope I'll be able to get caught up soon. Foreign languages aren't my strong suite," Buffy playfully grumbled a little.
"Foreign languages?" Amy questioned.
"Well it might as well be," Buffy said logically.
"That's true," Amy conceded. "If you want, we cou-"
"Ah, here we are," she was interrupted by the librarian's reappearance. "I believe this is most of what you should need. I-I can't seem to locate a copy of the science text you'll need however. P-Perhaps you could stop by after school and I'll have found it by then?" he offered a bit haltingly.
"Sure, why not?" Buffy answered easily.
"All right then, after school it is then," the man smiled thinly in an immanently British manner.
"'k," Buffy said, studying the man for a moment. British people are weird, she thought, thinking of her impending Shakespeare assignments as well. Still, something seems kinda off somehow... she thought idly as she started to load the books into her bag.
"You where saying, Amy?" Buffy prompted.
"Oh right. Well if you want, we could get together after school to study and I could help you get caught up?" Amy offered. "You know, before the Bronze?"
"Sure, sounds good. Thanks Amy," Buffy smiled over at her. "It's really nice of you to offer, and I could definitely use the help," she said a bit wanly, not very confidant in her ability to learn Shakespeare flying solo.
"Oh I'm happy to," Amy said happily as they left the library. "You're really nice to talk with... and I'm also kinda glad to have a good excuse not to be home 'til late, you know?" Amy admitted as the two turned to leave the library.
"Yeah," Buffy said sympathetically.
"We could go over to the Espresso Pump in town if you want? They've got really good snacks and coffee, and it's a great place to study," Amy informed.
"Sounds perfect," Buffy approved. "Just need to make a quick stop by here on the way and we'll be set to go," she said as they left the library.
Damn, thought the librarian in consternation. She'll be accompanied then as well. Now what am I to do?
In English class after lunch, the students where in a little of an uproar before the teacher called the class to attention. It seems that a dead body had been found in the girl's locker room earlier. This fact causing Buffy's Slayerly interest to pique a bit. So, once she had the opportunity during her class's period break to go check it out, she gave Amy an oblique "I have to go check something out, I'll be back in a bit," before she headed out on her investigation.
As she suspected from the description of the boy's wounds she'd overheard, he'd been killed by a vampire. A fact which Buffy thought did not bode well for her future allotment leisure time in Sunnydale. Still, she resigned to do a little digging around after she left the Bonze later that night. Gee mom, hope you weren't expecting me home early tonight, she thought wryly to herself on her way back to class. She really didn't like worrying her mom like this, but what else was she to do? Maybe I should just go home and then sneak out after she thinks I'm asleep? Buffy thought to herself as she headed back. Or I could always just tell her the truth about this and worry her on a scale not previously dreamt of... she immediately dismissed the idea, though she would rather have not had to.
As class was being let out, her English teacher handed Buffy a note from the school librarian, one Mr. Rupert Giles. Something about him being 'called away' or something. It asked her to pick up the book in the morning before classes instead, which in fact worked out perfectly.
Especially sense, on arrival, she and Amy found gym class that day had been canceled due to the locker rooms being declared a crime scene and all. So there was going to be some 'educational videos' shown to the students who where to have had gym class that period.
"So, wanna skip?" Amy asked off handedly as they where given the news.
"I'm up for it," Buffy replied reasonably.
"So, where do you think we should go?" Amy asked as they made their stealthy escape.
"Hmm... well, sense I'm new in town, could I convince you to play tourist with me for a while?" Buffy asked with a smile. "I suddenly have an urge to get lost, see the sights, and get to know my new home town a little."
"Sights?" said Amy with a bit of amused sarcasm. "Right. Come see Sunnydale, we've got plenty of really nice churches and graveyards. Oh! And there's a Starbucks!" she looked at Buffy wanly. "Sorry, not much to see here as far as sights I'm afraid."
"Yeah, well whatever it is, it's gotta be better than whatever they pull out of the school's video archives that those other poor shlubs are being forced to watch," Buffy said logically. "Lead the way!" she exclaimed cheerfully.
"So why so many churches and graveyards do you think?" Buffy asked playfully. "Do the churches at least have nice landscaping?"
"Um, Idonknow. I've never really looked at them very much, I'm not much of a churchgoer. And I don't know why there's so many... it's just kinda a weird town sometimes, ya know?" Amy said, her words growing a little distant as something hinted through her voice that Buffy picked up on.
"Mm, okay, so there was definite inflectioning going on there. What's the deal Amy? Is there something about this town that.. um.."
"No, it's... well... no one really seems to talk about it, but yeah, it can be... kinda... well, like today? Dead body in the girl's locker room... it's not as out of the ordinary as I'd think it might be other places," Amy confided skittishly.
"Not as out of the ordinary?" Buffy asked, not really getting the point exactly. "You mean there's, like, a high crime rate?"
"Not so much, not officially at any rate," Amy looked away a little.
"But unofficially?"
"I looked it up. Of the two? The death rate's higher," Amy looked at her soberly.
Buffy processed this little bit of information for a moment.
"It's a good thing I'm good at punching things then," Buffy said, seemingly in all seriousness.
"It could come in handy," Amy replied.
"I'll keep my eyes open," Buffy smiled over at her a little.
About a half hour later, they where walking down main street heading towards the Espresso Pump. Having found their tourist activates cut short by lack of places to see. Still, they'd had fun; something Amy really wouldn't have expected would happen touring her own home town. In fact, she found herself in a down right very good mood at the moment, an experience she'd sorely missed in her life of late.
"I should probably call my mom, let her know I'll be out late," Amy thought out loud.
"Think she'll be okay with our plans?" Buffy asked curiously, not really having an idea what Amy's mother's reaction might be. Strangely enough, she found herself not being able to relate to the woman. A fact for which she was grateful; the woman sounded like a psycho. A psycho that, truth to tell, she actually did have the urge to punch.
"Oh, she probably won't care. Of if she does care, it's not like anything I do ever seems to make her happy. So what's the difference?"
Buffy looked at her with sympathy.
"Besides, she's out showing a house today. So I can just leave a message and I won't have to talk to her," Amy said, her mood bright at the thought.
"Okay," Buffy said happily, indulging her new friend's good mood.
As Amy went over to the payphone they'd come upon, Buffy shivered a little involuntarily remembering the 'lunch' Mrs. Madison had given Amy. Jeeze lady, she's your daughter, not your pet rabbit... "even rabbits get carrots," she grumbled grumpily to herself, her mood now darkening a little. I wish she was a vampire, then I definitely could hit her, she thought with a certain amount of satisfaction at the thought.
"All done," Amy said cheerily as she retuned from making her call.
At which, Buffy's semi-dark and grumpy mood vanished, and a smile once again graced her features. "Great! Hey, I was thinking, do you wanna go by my house after a while? My mom will be home and I'm sure she could be convinced to make us a nice dinner? We could pick up the studying a bit there too before we go to the club?"
"Mm, you're inviting me to a real home cooked meal?" Amy said with obvious food greed.
"Yup."
"I'm so there," Amy said, impulsively giving Buffy a hug.
Taken a bit by surprise, Buffy none the less quickly returned the hug, greedily soaking up the momentary feeling of closeness. She smells so nice, Buffy thought wistfully, her thoughts getting away from her for a moment.
But all too soon for her tastes, the hug was over and Amy was pulling her along to the Espresso Pump and their study date.
God, please let her be into girls, Buffy thought bemusedly as she happily followed Amy along to the coffee shop.
Later at Buffy's house, Amy was contentedly munching on some roasted chicken in the kitchen with Buffy and her mom. Granted, it wasn't home cooked, it was from Safeway, but she wasn't about to quibble over details. She was just enjoying a very rare occurrence for her. A pleasant meal with family. True, it wasn't her family; but for roast chicken, if Joyce Summers had offered, she could've easily been influenced towards ideas of adoption.
"So your mother's in real-estate you say?" Joyce asked curiously as she got up to take her plate away.
"Mm-hm," Amy confirmed, swallowing her last bite of chicken. "She's, um, really good at it too," she glanced over at Buffy with an unsaid question in her eyes.
"Mm, well that's nice dear," Joyce said as she came back and retrieved Amy's plate, Buffy already having deposited hers in the sink a few minutes prior. "Maybe you and she could come over for dinner together some night?" she asked.
"Um, I.." A little panicked at this, but trying to hide it, Amy looked over at Buffy with beseeching eyes.
"Amy's mom travels a lot," Buffy blurted out, not really thinking it through. "She's uh, I mean she sells houses and stuff, all over. She might not have time or anything."
"Oh I see," Joyce smiled. "Well, you'll be sure to pass along the invitation anyway, won't you Amy?"
"Uh, sure!" Amy smiled.
"Well, look at the time," Buffy said all of the sudden. "Getting late around here. We should be studying. Wouldn't want to miss out on that, big dance club plans and all. Com'on Amy," she said all too cheerfully as she took Amy by the hand and started to lead her up to her room.
"It was nice meeting you Ms. Summers. Thanks for dinner, it was awesome," Amy exuded as she headed for the stares following along behind Buffy.
"You're welcome," Joyce called out awkwardly at the two retreating girls.
Shaking her head a little, Joyce set about straightening up in the kitchen some more. Well, if she's going to date other girls, at least she picked a nice one this time, she thought pensively, still not at all used to the idea of her daughter's choice of lifestyle.
"Thanks," Amy said in a wave of relief as she plopped down to lay on her back on Buffy's bed. "You totally saved me down there," she sighed as she looked blankly up at the ceiling for a moment before she sat back up.
"No problem," Buffy said as she retrieved their books and stuff from their packs. "Saving damsels in distress is one of my all time favorite pass-times."
"And you do it so well," Amy commented drolly. "So, do you save damsels on a regular basis, or..." what am I Saying, Amy thought to herself, realizing where her thoughts where headed.
"Oh sure," Buffy said cheerfully. "It's like, my calling in life or something. But don't worry, most of them don't get invited over for chicken."
Amy kinda half giggled, half laughed at this, unreasonably charmed by her friend's silly talk.
"You're such a goof sometimes," Amy giggled.
"Well, yes that's true I guess," Buffy pondered as she sat next to Amy on the bed. "Teach me?" she handed Amy their English book.
Chuckling a little, Amy agreed, "Sure," she smiled. "Um, well, I think we're about at the middle of the play right now, but there's going to be a test, essay I think, once we're done with it. So I think we're going to have to start from the beginning."
"Do we have time tonight?" Buffy asked.
"Um, no. You're right, it's too long for that. We should just concentrate on the stuff that you'll need for tomorrow I guess..." Amy thought. "We could get together on the weekend for the rest of it if you'd like?" she asked hopefully.
"I like," Buffy said readily, "I like a lot," she smiled. "So where do you wanna meet? We could just study over here or-"
"Here's fine," Amy offered. "I like your house, and you've got a nice room... and your mom seems really nice too and..."
Buffy smiled. "You're welcome any time," she said, placing her hand on Amy's for a moment to further convey her intent.
"You... I am?" Amy asked, looking into Buffy's eyes. She didn't find any pity or compassion there as she thought she would, just, well, she wasn't sure, but she liked what she saw, a lot.
"Yup," Buffy assured. "It's a promise."
Amy was quiet for a moment as she looked down at her hands where Buffy's hand had recently touched hers.
"Thanks..." Amy looked over at Buffy. "It means a lot," she said sincerely.
About a half an hour later found the two friends sitting next to one another, their back resting against the headboard of Buffy's bed. Buffy's legs where outstretched in front of them and Amy's where tucked in under her, Amy's head resting on Buffy's shoulder as they looked at the same book.
"It was such an awesome show," Amy said. "I wish they had it on video."
"The way you talk about it, I wish they did too," Buffy said. "It sounds really different for a cartoon show."
"It kinda is," Amy admitted "but other cartoons are good too you know," she defended. "Didn't you watch any when you where a kid?"
"Oh sure. I watched My Little Ponies, and She-Ra, and Sailor Moon, and, um, let's see, Care Bears, and... and... well, I can't remember all of them. But yup, I watched a buncha cartoons," Buffy smiled in memory. "I wish I'd known about Gargoyles though, it sounds really amazing."
"Well, you gave them up too young was the problem," Amy said logically.
"Mm, maybe so," Buffy conceded. "Truth to tell, I haven't really watched much TV sense back then, so it wasn't just cartoons."
"No TV?" Amy set up a little in surprise, "but... what did you do?" she asked in wonder.
"Well, I'm pretty active I guess. I like to be out doing things if I can... but when I don't have anything else, I'll usually just read a book or something."
"Wow," Amy said simply.
"Ah come on, it can't be that strange, can it?"
Amy just smirked and looked at her, then said "Yes."
And upon seeing the look on Buffy's face at this, she immediately dissolved into a fit of giggles.
Looking up, she saw something of a pouty look on Buffy's face, which of course caused her to laugh all the more.
"If you're quite done now," Buffy said in mock impatience.
Looking up at her again, Amy valiantly tried to reign her laughter in. "Okay. Okay," she breathed. "I'm good. I'm good," she lay back and rested her head on Buffy's thigh.
"You know, it really feels good to laugh like this," Amy said. "Thank you."
"For what? Being such a goof that you can laugh at me all the time?" Buffy said, half abashedly, half mock-offended.
"No silly. You know, for being my friend and cheering me up and... and..."
"Yeah," Buffy said. "I know. You've kinda done the same for me," she looked downwards a little.
"I have?" Amy turned over on her stomach, supporting herself with her arms.
"Sure," Buffy smiled. "I mean, here I was: this new girl in a new town, feeling alone. Not a friend in sight... except for my mom I guess, but she doesn't count... and I luck into finding the best new friend I could ask for. Who not only cheers me up and makes me feel like I've got a place here, but offers to help me get caught up in school and takes me on a tour, and, and, well, it's just nice having someone I can really talk with, know what I mean?"
"Yeah," Amy sighed as she got up and took her place sitting next to Buffy and leaning on her shoulder again. "I know."
Looking down at Amy at the sudden silence, she saw tears falling down her face.
"Amy... Amy hey what's wrong? What is it?" Buffy said worriedly as she got up and tucked her legs under her so she could look into Amy's eyes.
"I don't know I, I just..." Amy moved forward and hugged Buffy tightly, burying her head in her friend's shoulder.
"It'll be all right," Buffy said softly, just holding Amy back, returning the closeness, offering whatever comfort she could as a few tears started to fall from her own eyes as well.
Amy had just felt lost somehow, but now, now here in her friend's arms, she felt safer than she could ever remember feeling in her whole life, and she just held on tighter, somehow afraid that if she let go, the feeling would disappear.
The two just stayed together like this as the minutes past, Buffy moving her hands soothingly over Amy's back as she whispered an occasional assurance to her.
As the tears started to slow, Amy became more and more aware of how close she was to the other girl. Buffy felt so good, so sold and strong, but also soft and gentle. It felt a little strange, but definitely good.
Moving slowly, she pulled back from Buffy a little, for some reason wanting to look into her eyes, and she did. They where so beautiful, she felt almost adrift, and she felt her hand raise almost of it's own accord, touching the soft cheek in front of her.
Before she knew what was happening, her lips where on Buffy's, her mind all but blank as the sensation of the kiss overwhelmed her every sense. She didn't know how long it lasted, but when it was over and she could breathe again she looked up into Buffy's eyes and her mind caught up with her. Amy pulled back in disbelief at what had just happened.
"...Amy?" Buffy said in quiet wonder, still a little dazed by the unexpected but not at all unwelcome kiss.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I... I don't know what I..." she looked around a little panicky, trying to get her bearings.
Suddenly needing some space, she got off the bed, irrationally afraid of what might happen if she didn't. She started to pace a little erratically, her mind clearly running a mile a minute. What would Buffy think of her? What did she think of herself? What had she just done. Why? Things where going so well, now they where all ruined! Those and a hundred other thoughts buzzed in her mind.
"Amy, Amy," Buffy said, getting to her feet and reaching out to lightly touch Amy's arm. "It's okay, I-" but Amy pulled away as if her touch had burned her and the words died in Buffy's throat.
"Buffy, I'm, um..." Amy looked away again. "Please don't hate me," she said in a quiet beseeching voice as she looked back at her.
"I don't," Buffy assured, again trying to touch Amy's arm for assurance. Amy jumped a little, but didn't pull away this time, which made Buffy feel a lot better. She's... She's just freaked out a little, that's all, nothing to worry about, she thought nervously in half-hearted relief, having been afraid she might have tripped into some kind of religious phobia or something equally as wigged, and that Amy would blame her, and, well, then some definite badness would ensue.
"I don't know why I did it, I.." Amy started crying again and sought comfort in Buffy's welcoming arms. "You just felt so, it felt.. I, I'm I," she started to sob.
"Hey, hey, it's all right. You didn't do anything wrong," Buffy assured as she held on. "It's okay, really it is," she tried a little desperately to calm her friend down and reassure her.
"It.. it is?" Amy looked up at her, her eyes still watery.
"Yeah, it is," Buffy smiled in assurance.
"You're not, you're not weirded out by this?" Amy asked.
"No, no I'm not."
"Why not?!" Amy asked, all of the sudden overcome with feelings of being exposed and vulnerable.
"Why not?" Buffy questioned slowly, not quite understanding this twist in the conversation fast enough. "I, um.."
"You, you've, you're..." Amy trailed.
"Well, yeah," Buffy admitted, a little awkwardly, now catching on.
"Then you... then when we met you where like... it was to... it was a trick?"
Buffy just started for a moment, until recognition dawned. "No! God! No!" she exclaimed defensively, pulling away from Amy and feeling very exposed and hurt herself at the moment.
"Well it feels like it was. I mean you didn't tell me you where, it's-"
"No! It's not like that – Jeeze Amy, you... you really think I would..." she started to cry. "I wouldn't do that Amy," Buffy looked away.
"Then what?!" Amy pressed.
"It's not that easy you know," Buffy looked down at her hands as she sat back on the bed. "I didn't... I... how was I supposed to?... what did you want me to do?" She asked looking up at Amy beseechingly. "Be wearing some shirt that says 'Beware! I'm a lesbian'?"
"Well that would have been.."
"And You kissed ME!" Buffy exclaimed getting to her feet again. She was feeling a little outraged that Amy seemed to be trying to make her feel guilty about this. "I didn't... look, it wasn't some plot! It wasn't some psycho pick-up line, okay?! It wasn't for a date or, or, I wasn't looking for that! I'm just like any other person, I, people, I mean, it's like... God! I don't know... I mean, can't I just make a friend? Is it so wrong to just meet someone and be friends with them?!"
Amy looked pale "...I'm sorry I... I didn't mean, I mean I..."
"No, it's okay..." Buffy said, quickly coming to her senses upon seeing Amy's reaction. "I didn't mean you did something wrong or..."
"No, I did! You're right! You didn't do anything, I did! Here you where, being... and I.." Amy trailed off, going over to the desk chair and burying her head in her hands, her mind just not finding anywhere for her thoughts to go.
"No, I mean yeah, I wasn't trying to..." Buffy tried haltingly as she followed Amy and knelt down in front of her. "I mean, that doesn't mean... I... look," Buffy said, bringing her hand to Amy's cheek and coaxing her to look up "did you see me pulling away?" she smiled. "If you wanted to, if you wanted me, you're totally someone I'd want to kiss me."
Silence. "Really?"
"Yeah, really," Buffy said, moving forward and kissing Amy's hand, then looking up into her eyes.
And Amy looked back, and once again, she didn't see any deception there. She didn't see someone who would try to play with her and, and what she saw was someone she could trust. Someone she did trust, the same person who made her feel safe, who listened to her. She saw her friend.
Tentatively, Amy brought her hand and up to lightly caress Buffy's cheek, and she smiled. "Are you sure you weren't just trying to get me into bed with you?" she asked with amusement, never taking her eyes from Buffy.
Smiling, Buffy brought her hand up and cradled the hand that touched her cheek, brining her lips in to lightly kiss the palm of that hand.
"I'm sure." She smiled up at Amy a little wickedly, "but that doesn't mean, some time later on if you wanted... well, I wouldn't say no," Buffy blushed a little and looked away slightly.
Amy's mouth was suddenly very dry, and words where just not there as what Buffy had just said registered on her.
"...that's... that's good to know..." Amy said blankly, causing Buffy to giggle a little bit from the blank look her friend wore.
"Hey, what's funny?" Amy questioned, coming out of her daze.
"You are, silly," Buffy said, touching Amy's lips lightly with the tip of her finger.
Chucking a little at this, "Well, then I guess we make a really good couple then... together we make a silly goof."
"Ohhh," Buffy moaned. "That joke never leaves this room, okay?" she looked up at Amy with a silly look on her face.
"Okay," Amy said simply.
"Okay," Buffy agreed, laying her head on Amy's lap.
"So... is tonight a date then?" Amy asked out of the blue.
Buffy's head rose up and she sat back on her knees, looking up at Amy.
"Tonight?" Buffy asked in question.
"Yeah, tonight, at the Bronze? Is it a date?" Amy asked.
"Um well," Buffy got a lop sided grin on her face "if you want it to be?"
Amy smiled and got down onto the floor with Buffy, then leaned in and kissed her.
Buffy was spellbound, the deepening kiss blanking out most other thought as her heart just started to soar and the blood seemed to drain out of her head all together too quickly.
As the kiss slowly ended, and their lips parted, Amy stayed close, her breath softly ticking Buffy face as she said "I want it to be."
Buffy just sat there for a bit, looking into Amy's eyes. "Okay," she said softly.
"So it's a date then?" Amy said, stroking Buffy's cheek.
"It's a date," Buffy smiled.
At which Amy smiled back and then tucked her head into Buffy's shoulder and let Buffy's arms hold her, "Good," she sighed.
"Yeah..." Buffy said a bit euphorically. "Hey Amy?"
"Yeah?"
"This position would be a lot more comfortable on the bed you know," she said, referring to the fact that they where on the floor at the moment.
"Now see," Amy said playfully into Buffy's shirt collar "I knew you just wanted to get me into bed," she moved her hand and up and teasingly slid it over Buffy's left breast.
Giving a little half squawk, half-whimpering sound, Buffy removed the offending hand and said affectionately, "My but you have a dirty mind."
"Would you want me to?" Amy asked hungrily. "Have a dirty mind?" she started to kiss Buffy's neck softly, "because I could be convinced I think..."
Having a very hard time concentrating now, Buffy said, "I... I want I.."
"I love you," Amy whispered fervently into Buffy's ear.
"You lo-?" Buffy started.
"I want... I want to show you," Amy ran her hands over Buffy's body, through her hair, down her side, bringing one to her thigh, the other to her face tangled in her hair. "I want... to be close.." she breathed into Buffy's ear, "to you..." she kissed her and realized she was laying down. Buffy was lying under her, her thigh was between Buffy's legs, and it felt so right. Her mind was on fire, and all she could think of was Buffy, wanting to belong to her, prove that she loved her...
"Amy..." Buffy whispered, almost groaned. She could hardly believe this was happening, it was like some wonderful erotic dream she did NOT want to wake up from. Amy, she loves me, she thought dreamily.
Hearing her name, Amy was in a haze of sensation, and she moved over and up a little so their eyes could meet, and once they did, Amy was lost all over again. And soon they where kissing, again and again, softly, lightly, deeply, until they where both breathing hard and out of breath.
Amy rolled off of Buffy and they both just lay there breathing for a moment.
"Wow," Buffy breathed simply in wonder.
"Yeah, wow," Amy said looking blankly at the ceiling, her mind racing, her body humming, and her hormones barely under control.
"That was..." Buffy stated to say as Amy rolled over on her side and Buffy saw her looking at her.
"We could you know;," Amy said in half tentative, half lust-filled tones "get into bed together, I want to," she said quickly, running her hand over Buffy's stomach and liking the athletic muscularity she found there.
"Amy," Buffy whispered, turning over onto her side and looking her in the eyes. "We.. we shouldn't," she said, hating the words even as she said them. "It's too soon, we just met this morning and..." the words trailed off as she started to stare at Amy's lips.
"That doesn't matter," Amy said ardently, getting up and crawling back over to Buffy. "Don't you want to?...Don't you wan.." she looked down into Buffy's eyes and her voice caught in her throat.
"I want to," Buffy said, simply being honest. "I want you... more than anything."
Tears started to form in Amy's eyes, and she collapsed onto Buffy, burying her head in her shoulder as she had before, a bright smile on her face. "I love you," Amy said again softly, almost in amazement at the words, relishing the feel of Buffy's arms wrapping around her.
A pause. "I love you too," Buffy said it like a promise, and to her it was. It was a solemn oath that she would protect the heart of this one girl who seemed to give it to her so freely.
On hearing this, Amy stopped breathing and just froze where she was in Buffy's arms. Disbelief, fear, longing, desire... sanctuary... these where the thoughts and feelings racing through her. But of all this, one thing she new with perfect clarity, she Really wanted to kiss Buffy again.
And so she did, moving slowly until their eyes met and her lips brushed over Buffy's lightly, and just as she was about to dip in, those lips rose up to meet hers and Buffy's hand was tangled in her hair. It was such a heady feeling, and one Amy was soon to loose herself in.
This was a slow, languid kiss, and when Buffy felt Amy's tongue seeking hers, she welcomed it eagerly. The kiss turned into a long string of kisses, deep and longing, only broken long enough to suck in hasty gasps of air.
Finally, exhausted and overwhelmed by the intensity, Amy collapsed onto Buffy's shoulder and half hummed, half groaned in satisfaction next to her ear.
"So." Buffy said rather breathlessly "Can I consider you my girlfriend then?"
Amy started to giggle helplessly at this, and she finally sat up a little so she could look Buffy in the eyes again. "Yes." she said as she bent down to kiss the tip of Buffy's nose "you can consider me your girlfriend... as long as I can consider you mine."
"Oh, I think I just amply demonstrated that I'm yours alright," Buffy said rather wryly, thinking of how easily Amy seemed to be able to have her way with her.
Chuckling into Buffy's hair, Amy said a little bashfully, "I guess you did, huh? Who knew I had it in me?" she said almost in wonderment at what she realized she'd just done.
"Well, I don't know the answer to that, I just know I really enjoyed finding out for myself," Buffy replied with a bit of a saucy grin.
"Oh, you did, huh?" Amy said, nipping a little playfully at Buffy's ear.
"What? You couldn't tell?" Buffy asked playfully.
"Um, well.." Amy said shyly. "Yeah, I could tell," she finished softly.
"Good," Buffy spoke just as softly.
"Good," Amy repeated contentedly, holding Buffy to her almost possessively.
"It.. it might be a problem though," Buffy said a bit worriedly as something occurred to her.
That got Amy's attention. "What could be?" she looked at Buffy not understanding, and now a little fearful.
"Us," Buffy said. "At the Bronze."
"At the..."
"People. Lots of people, they don't react well-" Buffy began.
"To people like us," Amy finished, recognition dawning on her; the evidence clearly stating she was a person like that.
"Yeah... is that a problem?" Buffy asked.
"I... I don't know," Amy answered honestly, rolling off of Buffy and sitting against the bed, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to think. "Is it a problem for you?" she asked, looking over at Buffy who had gotten up and was sitting cross-legged in front of her.
"Not really," Buffy answered. "I mean yeah, it's not easy to deal with sometimes; sometimes it can be a real bitch," Buffy confessed, her mind drifting back to some rather unpleasant memories. "But I'm not about to let it stop me from being who I am," she said resolutely as she locked eyes with Amy. "Especially not when I have a chance at being myself with someone as completely amazing as you," she said with quiet honesty and feeling.
Silence. "That was... that..." Amy went over and hugged Buffy soundly. "You are the best person I know," she whispered "and by far the most romantic," she pulled back and locked playful eyes on Buffy "and so beautiful," she said softly, tracing the angle of Buffy's face. And you're mine, she thought as a smile grew on her face.
"I don't care." Amy stated simply.
"You don't?..."
"I don't," Amy affirmed. "I don't care, you're mine, and I won't let anyone make me pretend you're not."
Buffy got a kinda weird cocky grin on her face that seemed to hint of danger. "Well, okay then," she agreed, getting to her feet and offering Amy a hand up. "I guess we better get ready to go then, Cordelia's expecting me soon you know."
"Oh and won't that be a fun time," Amy said drolly as she took Buffy's hand and got to her feet.
Around fifteen minutes later, Buffy and Amy where headed out to the Bronze. Amy leading the way as they walked and talked about things as they went.
Paying the cover charge, they entered the club and Buffy looked around a bit.
"Well that band is unfortunate," Buffy remarked in her usual wry tones she used for things such as this.
Wincing a bit at the group of guys up on stage, "Well, I wasn't going to say anything in case you liked them;," Amy confessed "but yeah, that is pretty bad isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"They usually have better bands than this I think," Amy assured. "A year or so ago, Jewel played here."
"Really?" Buffy said looking over at her in surprise.
"Yeah, I went to see it with a few friends, but we where stuck in the back of the room," Amy told. "That was the biggest thing to happen here I think."
"Not much sense?" Buffy asked curiously.
"Oh, well, there've been a few notables I think, no one as famous as that though," Amy confirmed. "Ehm, hey Buffy?"
"Yeah?" she asked, looking over to Amy again.
"Looks like Cordelia's spotted you," Amy pointed out, just having noticed the other girl heading their way along with Harmony and, um, well, she didn't really know the names of the others to be honest.
"Oh, you're right. Guess we should go say hi?" Buffy asked with that same silly/cocky kinda grin.
"Guess so," Amy said with a resigned sigh, not expecting great things out of their meeting at all.
"You sure you're up for this?" Buffy asked in concern.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Amy smiled softly, holding Buffy's arm a little closer to her.
"Hi!" Cordelia greeted. "You made it!" she smiled.
"Yeah, not a bad place," Buffy said by way of conversation.
"Oh! This is Harmony," she introduced "Kayla, Bethany, and Annabelle. Guys, this is Buffy."
"Hi," – "Nice to meet you," – "Hey," – "Hi," the four girls greeted almost at once, Buffy doing her best to answer in kind.
"So, what do think of the band?" Cordelia asked.
"Um," Buffy started "they're, they're okay," she said, with less than complete sincerity.
"They're awful, I know. I'm sorry," Cordelia apologized with her usually blunt exuberance.
"It's okay," Buffy said with a chuckle.
"So who's this?" Harmony asked, indicating Amy who had been watching with cautious amusement, not having thought to try speaking before now.
"Oh, this is my new girlfriend, Amy," Buffy introduced easily, hiding her trepidation well as Amy swallowed some air the wrong way in surprise at Buffy just coming out and saying it that way.
"You're girlfriend," Harmony repeated slowly.
"Yup," Amy said in confirmation, quickly regrouping and feeling more daring now, and also kinda smiling a little at having caused that confused look on Harmony's face. "Girlfriend." It was nice to finally feel like she had a place somewhere again.
"Oh, well, that's nice," Cordelia smiled all too brightly, seemingly not just a little surprised, but trying to cover it unsuccessfully.
"I think so," Buffy said with a charming smile, as Amy suddenly dissolved in a fit of giggles. The absurdity and awkwardness of the situation just somehow very funny to her at this moment.
"Oh, so you where joking," Harmony said in relief.
"Not really," Amy said between giggles. "It's just- sorry," Amy said trying to get her laughter under control. "It's just so awkward and you're just standing there like-" and she started to laugh again, causing Buffy to chuckle a little to.
"Hey!" Harmony said in outrage at what saw as these two trying to make fun of her.
"Well," Buffy said helplessly "she does have a point"
"Fine!" Harmony huffed. "Come on girls, let's just go and let the LESbo's have their little laugh," she sneered at them and turned to walk away.
Kayla, Bethany, and Annabelle went with her. Cordelia, for her part, at least had the grace to look embraced and shrugged apologetically as she turned to go with her friends.
"Well, that went better than I expected," Amy said happily, definitely riding an emotional high and enjoying it quite a lot.
"Yeah," Buffy said, touching Amy's nose affectionately. "That was kinda fun wasn't it," she admitted.
"Uh-huh," Amy said, leaning into Buffy's shoulder.
"Of course we're probably gonna catch seven different kinds of nasty over it in school tomorrow morning," she said, her eyes narrowing in the direction the five girls had left in.
"Mm," Amy considered. "Well, if worse comes to worse, I can always just punch Harmony in the face," she said logically.
Blinking, Buffy turned to look up at her, then quickly covered her mouth as she started to laugh helplessly.
"Come'on, lets dance to this awful music," Buffy said, still chuckling as she took Amy's hand and led them out onto the dance floor, Amy following along with a charmend smiled on her face.
Sitting at a table a little later, after having danced for a few songs, and getting quite a few more stares than anyone else there had; but they weren't hassled by anyone, and most people tended to ignore them once the shock value wore off a little. They'd even had to fend off advances from a couple of over-eager and over-confident football players a few minutes ago.
"Can you believe those guys?" Buffy asked. "I mean, what is it with boys sometimes?" she asked in annoyance.
"I thought it was kinda flattering," Amy admitted sheepishly.
"You did?" Buffy questioned, a little surprised.
"Well, yeah"
"I'm not having a three way," Buffy said quickly, her face setting in certainty. "No way."
"Buffy-"
"And For SURE not with a guy!" Buffy said, her mind going places she did not at all want it to go.
"Buffy," Amy repeated, looking all too amused.
"Yes?"
"You are just so cute sometimes," Amy smiled, looking at her adoringly.
"I am?" Buffy said, her ego taking notice at getting stroked a little.
"You definitely are."
"You're not going to convince me to-" Buffy was interrupted by Amy's finger covering her mouth.
"No threesomes, and For SURE not with a guy," Amy repeated. "I think I can live with that," she smirked.
"Oh." Buffy looked at her embarrassed "Well, yeah.."
"Does that mean you might consider another girl though?" Amy asked saucily.
"Amy!" Buffy exclaimed.
"That's me," Amy smiled impishly.
"You have such a dirty mind sometimes," Buffy affectionately admonished.
"Hey, I'm not the one who's mind went to the threesome place in the first place," Amy stated logically, enjoying the slight blush that her words got out of Buffy.
"Well, I don't like to share," Buffy looked away. "I-I guess I got a little jealous. Sorry," she looked down, embarrassed.
Amy was finding herself completely charmed all over again. "You where jealous," she repeated quietly, and when Buffy looked up, she saw Amy looking at her with a dreamy look in her eyes.
"Amy?" Buffy asked, her blush deepening a little.
"Oh, huh?" Amy shook herself out of her daze. "Sorry, got lost there for a moment," she smiled sheepishly.
"And where exactly were you lost in?" Buffy asked teasingly.
"I was, um," Amy looked away, then focused a steamy gaze on Buffy "just imagining what a twosome would be like," she blushed a little.
"Oh," Buffy said simply, her thoughts going to a place she entirely wanted them to go, and, truth be told, she wanted her body to go along for the ride as well. "I like twosomes," Buffy said brightly.
Narrowing her eyes in playful suspicion, Amy said "You do, huh? Now I'm starting to get jealous. Just who else exactly do you want to ha-" she stopped talking as she saw Buffy stiffen up and dart her eyes quickly to the couple who had just passed behind her.
"Damn," Buffy said under her breath, duty calls. "I um, I gotta go for a little while. I'll be back soon," she looked over at Amy and placed her hand over Amy's. "Just wait here for me, 'k?" she said as she turned and slipped through the crowd.
Caught flat-footed, Amy looked after her in disbelief. What in the hell... she thought to herself, getting up and following after her girlfriend, paying no heed at all to Buffy's instruction to stay put.
Outside of the back entrance of the club, Amy caught sight of Buffy at the end of the ally. She was looking in both directions, and then she suddenly bolted right. Amy took off down the ally after her.
When she got to the end of the ally, she saw Buffy running after a guy who was carrying a girl over his shoulder. Eyes wide, Amy continued her pursuit until Buffy had caught up with the guy at the edge of a cemetery.
Amy stopped cold when she saw the guy, who was dressed like he came out of some 70s TV show, toss the girl onto the ground and turn to face her girlfriend. The guy lunged at her, but Buffy side stepped in a flash and caught the guy in his mid-section, flinging him to the ground. He was trying to get to his feet when Buffy kicked him hard in the face, but he rolled with it and got to his feet in a fluid motion. Then unexpectedly, he darted for the girl he had discarded before, who was still reeling a bit from her impact on the ground, but Buffy tackled him to the ground before he got there and... and stabbed him in the chest with something... and then he, like... disappeared and there was this weird faint sound in the air when he did.
Shaking her head out of the trance she seemed to be in, Amy rushed over to where Buffy was checking over the fallen girl's head and asking if she was all right.
"Buffy..." Amy said, all of the sudden halting in her tracks.
"Amy?" Buffy looked up in surprise at hearing her girlfriends voice.
"Behind you," Amy said with trepidation.
Looking over her shoulder, Buffy saw a group of seven vamps closing in on them. At seeing this, she got right to her feet and assumed a defensive position between them and the two she wanted to protect.
"Well, some on!" Buffy growled menacingly at them. "Who's in a hurry to die?" she challenged.
Some of them held back a little at this, while three surged forward at the challenge. Buffy flipped one over her shoulder and into another, then wheeled on her feet to face the other, getting a hard punch in the face for her trouble, but the next second Buffy had landed a strong right cross with her full weight behind it right to the vamp's jaw, knocking him to the ground with a thud. Seeing this, one more of the vamps closed in on Buffy as well, while the remaining three bypassed the fight and headed for Amy and the other girl, Amy having been headed towards Buffy to try to help her.
One of the vamps that went after Amy knocked her down and pinned her to the ground. Amy heard a shout as she struggled to get free but couldn't and the man with fangs over her was closing on her neck. But before he could do anything more, he was yanked backwards like a rag doll and Buffy jammed her stake into his chest, turning without even looking at Amy in order to face the five vamps who where heading towards them.
Having to keep any of them from getting past her for more than a few seconds at a time, the fight was a lot harder for Buffy; but in protecting Amy, she had strong motivation to win and the focus to be deadly and efficient in her fighting style. Within the first few seconds, one was dust, then a moment later, another followed. A third was coming at her from behind while her attention was on the other two, and seeing this, Amy made a mad grab and tackled the vampire woman around her legs, toppling her over. Looking up, Amy felt a rush of air to her left side that was one of the remaining vamps being thrown to the ground head first a few feet away from her. Looking back at Buffy, Amy didn't have time to register anything but a quick flash of intense light before she was knocked on her back by a wall of air.
A moment later, she came to her senses and dizzily realized someone was pulling her up roughly by her arm, but opening her eyes, she only got a puff of dust in her face as Buffy staked the vamp lady who was in the process of trying to kidnap her.
The last two vamps where a memory as they made haste to get someplace else. Probably scared off by the big flashing light effects, Buffy thought to herself, much as she would have preferred to think it was because of her terrifyingly impressive fighting skills.
"Amy, are you okay?" Buffy asked consolingly, checking her girlfriend over for any obvious wounds.
"Yeah I-" Amy tried to clear her head, which was still a bit groggy. "I'm alright, my arm hurts a little but... Buffy?"
"Yeah?" Buffy said a little abashedly, realizing what this situation must've been like for Amy.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, um, well, I'm, um," Buffy tried to think of something, her mind drawing a blank.
"You're like a super hero or something," Amy said, bewilderedly.
"If I am, then so are you," Buffy said affectionately, thinking of how Amy had rushed in after her and tried to save her.
Amy looked up at Buffy in confusion, then looked over her shoulder. "Hey, who's that?"
Buffy looked and didn't quite believe what she saw. "Faith?" she said quietly.
"Hey B," said the girl who was wearily picking herself up off the ground. "Amy, nice to see you. 'been awhile," she said with a little of a tired smile.
The End