There was a soft knock on the door and I heard Buffy's voice asking if she could come in. I wanted to say no. I wanted to so badly that I thought about barring the door with a chair so she couldn't come in here and ask the questions I was sure she was going to ask. It was why I'd slipped out of the Bronze without her earlier and come home without her. Mom was so pissed off that we didn't come home for dinner or even bothered to call her that she'd grounded me. The thing was though, the punishment wasn't what bugged me, it was the disappointment in her eyes when she said she expected more from me. Why? Why would she expect any more from me than all those other people who've come in and out of my life all those times before?

It was almost as bad as the look Buffy had given me when I flipped out back there.

I'd almost hit her.

Shit, that thought scares me so much. That I could just lose it like that and hurt someone close to me...closer to me than anyone's ever been. But, at the same time, it felt so good to let go and wail all out on someone. She was evil anyway, she was going to be staked no matter what so why couldn't I take out some of my anger on her? Buffy had just come at me at the wrong time. I was spaced out. I didn't know who the hell she was and the last thing I wanted to do was talk to her about what had happened. I'd done everything to avoid her. I'd gone into the Bronze, I'd danced, and I'd left before she saw me going.

She came home fifteen minutes after I did and probably gotten grounded like I did which meant she was supposed to be in her room, not outside of mine, wanting to check up on me.

"Please, Faith. I need to talk to you." I could just picture her. The look on her face as she's talking to my door. That look that said she understood me, that she forgave me, that she's there for me. So what did I do? I buried my face into the pillow, hoping she'd give up and leave me alone. But instead, I heard the door turning and I felt a weight getting on the bed next to me. She didn't talk immediately and I wondered what she could be thinking about. Her hand started running through my hair, her fingertips massaging the back of my neck and I felt like just curling up and dying cause she shouldn't have to make me feel better. I'm the one that messed up. But I couldn't make myself shake her hand off.

"You can talk to me about anything." Her voice was soft, gentle. "I won't judge you, Faith. Whatever happened back there, we can just pretend like it never did. It doesn't matter cause we won, right?" There was a forced chuckle and when I turned my face to look up at her, that sadness in her eyes which had always been there for as long as I had known her just seemed so much more magnified, so much deeper. Did I do that to her? Oh, fuck me if I did.

I sat up and pulled her into my arms, feeling her sink into me and I felt like everything would be all right if we just stayed like that and forgot all that other shit. "Can you tell how sorry I am?" I asked, hoping she really did. I felt her chuckling again but it was for real this time. I pulled back and I knew it was about time I gave something of myself up to someone who'd already done so much for me but it was just so hard to open up. Wanting to was one thing, actually doing it was another. "I, uhm...sometimes," I started over again, feeling like the words just wouldn't come out of my mouth. "Sometimes, I lose myself and it's like I'm watching myself but from a distance, y'know? And it's like there's something inside that makes me want to lash out, hurt whoever's in my face at the time and I can't stop." I wasn't looking at her. I was focusing on the pattern on the bedspread cause I didn't want to see what she must be thinking of me. Of how fucked up I was.

"Stop thinking that," she said, making me look up at her. How the hell? Was she reading my mind or something? "I know what you're thinking cause it's written all over your face." Oh. "I'm not going to pretend that I know everything that's going on inside of you right now but I just want you to know that I'm here, okay? I'll always be here for you because...because we're family now."

I think about that word. Family. I had a family once. And now I realize more than ever, staring as I was at Buffy, that I have a family again. She left my room after giving me another hug and I spent the rest of the night lying in bed, wondering how I could ever live up to this image she has of me. That night, I dreamed about her. My mom, I mean. I don't really ever dream about her...anymore. I wondered why I was dreaming about her now.

When I woke up the next morning, the clock on the desk said it was noon. I couldn't believe I'd slept so late and nobody bothered waking me until I remembered today was Saturday. I would've just rolled over and gone back to sleep but I heard laughter and loud voices from downstairs and that made me curious enough to get up.

When I got downstairs, Xander, Willow and Buffy were all on the couch acting like old buds. Xander grinned that goofy, cute grin when he saw me walking in. "Look who's coming in to join us," he said, his eyes looking a little too long at my chest. Typical guy behavior but at least he was one of the good guys.

"Hi Faith." Willow was in one of those two sizes too big sweaters she seems to like so much. Something's gotta be done about that girl and her confidence cause I know there's a body in there somewhere.

I sat on the armrest next to Buffy who placed her hand on my knee, giving me a grin. "Good sleep?" She asked.

"One of you guys shoulda woken me up," I said, running a hand through my hair. "Did I miss anything good?"

"Only the whole entire Saturday morning lineup of cartoons," Xander said, gesturing towards the TV. "But you're in time for Soul Train."

"Think I'll pass." I got up and walked into the kitchen about to get something to eat when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," I said, detouring towards the front door. The person I saw on the doorstep was about the last person I expected to see standing there. Cordelia, little Miss Cheerleader herself was standing there, looking like she wanted to bolt.

We stood there, staring at each other for a minute before she looked at me pointedly and asked, "Don't you have any manners? Aren't you going to invite me in?"

I smirked, moving aside so she could brush past me like a diva. I shut the door and turned around and she was all up in my face, asking me what I thought I was doing yesterday, that I'd probably single-handedly ruined her reputation, that I'd ruined her image and a lot of other bullshit like that. I was rubbing a hand over my face, wishing she'd just shut up for a second when Buffy walked out of the living room with Xander and Willow not too far behind her. Cordelia turned around with this horrified expression on her face and we were all just standing around staring at each other when she suddenly turned to me and hissed that she needed to talk to me alone. Emphasis on the alone.

Yeah, like I needed to spend any more time letting her walk all over me. I was just about to kick her ass --- and a really nice ass she has --- out the door when she friggin dragged me upstairs and into Buffy's room. She slammed the door shut and turned to me. I was all ready for another bitch session but she just went over to the bed and sat down, putting her face in her hands.

"What did you do to me?" She asked. Her voice was muffled but I could still hear the confusion and fear in there.

"What did I do to you?" I asked, just as confused. "Shit, I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about. I didn't do anything to you. Hell, I'd remember if I did." I think.

She looked up at me like I was the worst kind of scum and she slapped me before I knew what was coming. I grabbed her arm when she tried to just up and leave. I almost wanted to hit her back but, instead, I asked, "You can't just leave without telling me why you slapped me, not after laying all that shit on me." I let go of her arm when she started wincing. "I want to know what you think I did, okay?"

She looked like she was going to slap me again and I tensed, preparing myself. "You danced with me," she finally said, gritting her teeth as she folded her arms across her chest.

I had to let that thought sink in first. Yeah, she was right. We'd danced. But so what? I'd seen her on the dance floor when I was at the Bronze and she hadn't been dancing with anyone, just swaying to the music. "If you didn't want to dance with me, you could've just walked away," I said, watching her for her reaction.

"You...I...I couldn't..." She kept stuttering, trying to come up with something. Trying to come up with some reason she didn't, I guess.

If I waited around for her to come up with a reason, I'd probably be up here all day so I stepped right into her, smirking slightly when I heard her inhale a sudden breath. I put a hand on her arm and said, "Why don't you come and tell me when you've thought about it a little?" I gave her my most winning grin and let my hand reach around her to the doorknob. "See ya." I winked at her and went downstairs into the kitchen. I heard her walk down a couple minutes later, followed by the sound of the front door opening and closing.

Taking a bowl of cereal into the living room, I sat down, squeezing next to Red and Buffy. I could see they really wanted to ask but I wasn't sure who exactly would be the first to speak.

"Was that Cordelia who breezed in and out of here without insulting me once or was that just some hormonally charged teenage fantasy?" Xander. I should've known he'd be the first to put in his two cents.

"You have fantasies about her?" I asked, looking over at him and quirking my eyebrow. He ducked his head and shrugged. He was just too damn easy. I grinned and looked over at Buffy whose eyes were zeroed in on the TV screen.

"'Sup B?" I asked, shoveling another spoonful of cereal into my mouth. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," she said, almost cutting off my sentence before I'd gotten it out. Her eyes were still glued to the screen. For someone who insisted she was fine, she didn't really look it but I wasn't going to push her if she didn't want to talk.

Xander and Willow spent the rest of the day at the house even though, technically they weren't supposed to be there since Buffy and me were still grounded but I saw it this way. Whatever mom didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Buffy was still kinda out of it but she kept insisting that she was fine and nothing was the matter. I started thinking that maybe it was cause of Cordy since it was only after she came over that Buffy started acting all weird. Maybe she didn't like her or some other shit like that. I didn't know cause she wouldn't tell me.

The weekend passed way too quickly and, pretty soon, it was Monday again. Back to the same old grind. Same old classes. Same old boring teachers. But at least Buffy seemed to be back to her normal self again. Of course, that was before I walked into the library and found her in a cheerleader's uniform. I'd just walked in on Giles' lecture on how much of a waste of time cheerleading was.

"Maybe you can talk some sense into her," he muttered, walking back into his beloved stacks.

"So what do you think?" She asked, running both hands down her uniform and smiling expectantly at me.

I was just gonna open my mouth and tell her exactly how sexy she looked when Xander and Willow walked in.

"Holy shi--uhm, wow!" Xander's mouth was gulping air like a fish.

I looked back to Buffy and grinned. "I guess that pretty much sums up what I'm thinking too," I said, watching as her face lit up. The three of us walked her over to the gym where the cheerleading tryouts were taking place.

"How could you not get in?" Willow asked. "You're you know, the big S plus you've got cheerleading experience. They'd be nuts not to pick you."

"I guess you're right," Buffy said with a nervous grin. "But I still have butterflies in my stomach."

When we got inside the gym, there were a bunch of girls already standing around, some were going over their routines, some were just standing still, some looked totally confident but they were all there trying out for a spots on the team.

"Um, Buffy?" Xander was looking about as nervous as some of those girls. "I got you something. Kinda like a good luck charm." He handed her a bracelet with the inscription 'Yours Always' and then blushed when Buffy thanked him. If I didn't know better, I'd think someone had crushy feelings. He and Willow moved off to get seats.

"Are you sure you can stay and watch me?" Buffy asked, turning me around to face her. "Don't you have practice today?"

"Don't worry about it. I have practice every day but I'm only going to get to see you wow these people once." I gave her a wink. "So go wow 'em." She gave me a wide smile before I went over to the bleachers and sat down next to Xander and Willow and let my eyes roam around the room. I wasn't too surprised seeing Cordelia in the middle of a group of her cronies. I caught her eye for a minute and gave her a grin which seemed to really freak her out cause she turned away so fast, I think she almost gave herself whiplash. I had been wondering what her problem was ever since she'd come to my house and slapped me. It couldn't have been just me dancing with her cause it wasn't like I forced her to dance with me. Then again, maybe she was just a psycho but it was something interesting to gnaw on.

Then my attention turned back to the gym floor where some girl was starting her performance. "Damn, she's good," I muttered as she did some flips and splits that were absolutely phenomenal.

"That's Amber," Willow said. "I heard she turned down an offer of being a Laker girl." I couldn't say I didn't believe her cause this girl was really *that* good. But then she started smoking --- I mean really smoking and then she caught on fire. Damn, couldn't this weird stuff lay off for just one day?

****

Amber had gone down in a ball of flames and that's not really stretching the truth too much. To top it all off, I didn't even have a chance to try out before the fire department came roaring in although there wasn't much of a fire to put out by then. There wasn't much we could do besides research and I left that for Willow who was going to hack into Amber's files and see if she had had episodes of spontaneously combusting in the past. That had all been yesterday. Today was another day and I was determined to have my try out and make the squad.

The idea had burrowed into my head sometime during the weekend...some time after Cordelia's unexpected, unwelcome visit. She'd just barged into my house like some blue blood royal and dragged Faith upstairs to do god knows what. If their dance had bothered me, this incident was literally eating me alive inside. I couldn't deal. I just couldn't. Just thinking about them being together made me want to go out, find a vampire and stake him over and over again. And that was probably when the idea of trying out for the squad started forming in my mind. Not only was it something extracurricular, i.e. non-Slayer related activity, but I figured Cordelia would probably be trying out as well. And seeing as I couldn't exactly stake her, the next best thing was to beat her during the course of competition. Not as bloody but it would feel just as good. It wasn't very rational but then again, I wasn't really feeling too rational.

When they called my name, I went out there and did an old routine I'd learned from my old school, only I added a couple more gymnastic moves to spice it up. I looked for Faith after I finished but I didn't see her anywhere and my mood just fell. Xander came up to me though. He'd been there every minute of the competition rooting me on and I told him exactly how sweet I thought that was.

"You're w-welcome," he said. "By the way...I was wondering...if you weren't too busy..."

I was listening to him talking. I really was but when I caught sight of Faith coming into the gym, I just couldn't concentrate anymore. "Xander, I'll talk to you later, okay?" I left him and hurried towards Faith who smiled as soon as she saw me.

"Sorry, B," she said, running a hand through her hair. That was her signature gesture which meant she was agitated about something. "Coach was really riding my ass for yesterday so she made me stay longer. Did I miss your routine?" I nodded. "Shit! I'm sorry. I really wanted to be here to cheer for you."

"It's all right, you couldn't help it," I said. "Xander was here so I still had a cheering section -- person. So, don't worry about it." She glanced behind me at Xander.

"Yeah," she said with a thoughtful expression on her face. I wonder what she was thinking? "Oh, by the way," she said, looking at me again. "Did Cordelia go yet?" Okay, now I really wished I didn't know what she was thinking.

"Uh, no, not yet." I followed her to the bleachers as we sat down to look at the rest of my competition. When Cordelia went on to perform, I glanced over at Faith and saw that she had this intense look in her eyes and a grin on her face. As soon as Cordelia finished her routine, Faith got up and excused herself as she walked up to the cheerleader and whispered something in her ear which made Cordelia drag her outside the gym.

"What's up with them?" I'd forgotten that Xander was even sitting next to me when he spoke up. "I've never seen anyone get to Cordy like Faith does. It's kinda neat to see."

I didn't say anything. I just continued to mopily look at the rest of the cheerleaders. But I didn't see them. What I saw was the mental image of Cordelia and Faith --- Faith and Cordelia. And when everyone had done their routine and all there was left to do was post the names of the people who had made the team, Faith and Cordelia still hadn't come back. Willow came by just as they were putting up the results. It turned out that I didn't make the team, not the first string anyway. But, of course, Cordelia did. I was so wrapped up in my failure that I almost didn't notice when Amy, another one of the try-outs, ran away, crying.

"What happened?" I asked. Willow turned to me and told me that Amy hadn't made first team either. "But that's still kind of over reacting a bit, don't you think? Or am I missing something fundamental?"

"Amy's mother was a cheerleader too. But she was like this perfect cheerleader and she won all these awards. We even have a trophy from her displayed in the case in the hallway. So, Amy's got a lot to live up to."

My mind started working again as I processed this new information. Since the Amber lead pretty much went nowhere, Amy was now moving way up in my list of suspects. We walked to the library to see if Giles had dug up anymore information. When I walked in, my eyes immediately found the two people I'd been looking for. Cordelia was seated on a chair as Giles and Faith hovered over her with concern on their faces.

"What's going on?" I asked, going over to the three of them.

Giles answered. "It seems there's been some type of witchcraft performed. A binding spell is my guess. Cordelia's vision has been impaired."

"I'm blind," Cordelia corrected with a hint of anger and fear. Xander went up and waved a hand across her face. "Whatever you're doing, stop it! I can smell your cheap cologne, Xander. Do you bathe in that stuff?" Xander backed off sheepishly. Since we didn't have any other suspects on my extremely short list, we all went over to Amy's house to confront her. Cordelia was in a good mood when we left because Willow had told her she'd made first string. When Faith had asked me if I'd made it, I'd muttered something about being an alternate and walking out of there before she could say anything else.

The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur as we were all caught up in the Nancy Drew routine. It ended with Amy's mom getting herself zapped into that trophy of hers in the school hallway and Amy getting her hijacked body back from her mom who had wanted to relive her youth a little too much. All in all, I'd say it was a productive afternoon, although no actual slaying was involved and Cordelia hadn't even said so much as a thanks when she'd left. I walked through the cemetery, having sneaked out to do my nightly patrol of the town. Faith had wanted to come but I'd given her some excuse about needing to have some time alone. I thought I saw a flash of hurt in her eyes when I'd said that but I might've just imagined it because it was gone just as fast as it had appeared.

Everything was getting too confusing. And it was true. I needed some time alone to get my head together because, right now, everything was muddled up, especially my emotions. They were all over the place and I didn't know why. A soft rustling behind me made me turn around, a stake already in my hand. No matter how preoccupied I was, this was still a cemetery and this was Sunnydale so my instincts and senses were still very much tuned in even if my brain wasn't. "I don't have time for the stalking routine so just come out like a good little vampire." There was another rustling and then Angel walked out of the shadows. I lowered the stake but didn't put it away. "What do you want?"

"Why do you think I want anything?" He asked, coming closer. "I could've just been walking through and spotted you."

"Were you?"

"No," he admitted. "But I could have been." Great, a joker. I turned, putting the stake back in my pocket and continuing my patrol. I heard his footsteps following behind me and eventually, after a few moments of silence, he spoke again.

"That was very impressive what you did to Luke and Darla."

"Didn't you tell me that already?" I asked as he walked up next to me.

"I'm trying to start some conversation...I'm not too good at it yet." We lapsed into silence again and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. For a vampire, he was still pretty hot looking.

"You're not really like other vampires, are you?" I asked, sneaking another glimpse at him.

"What gave it away?"

"You're not trying to kill me," I said bluntly. "That's pretty different." I wasn't sure I heard it right but I think I heard a chuckle coming from him.

"You were thinking about something before I turned up," he said. I guess he wasn't kidding about the lack of conversational skills because that had been a pretty abrupt change of topic.

"Yeah, but not like I don't want to share it with you --- wait, that's right. I really don't want to share it with you."

"Fair enough." The conversation, what there was of it, pretty much stalled there but he still ended up walking me back to my house.

"Okay," I said, turning to him. "This has been...pleasant but you'll understand if I don't invite you in." He nodded and stood there as I climbed the tree up to my window. When I looked down again, he was gone which capped off a perfectly weird day to begin with. I crawled through the window and plopped down on the bed as soon as I got in. I laid there for a few more minutes before changing into my pajamas and, on the spur of the moment, I went across the hall to Faith's room and knocked on her door.

"Come in, B."

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked, walking over and sitting on the bed next to her. She was lying on her belly, leafing through a book.

She quirked her eyebrow as she looked up at me. "Who else wants to come into my room in the middle of the night besides you B?" She turned towards her book again and then just as quickly looked back at me. "What was with the vamp escort downstairs?"

"Oh, Angel?"

"You've gotta be kidding me," she said with a big grin as she sat up. "That's his name?"

"Yeah, pretty ironic, isn't it?"

"Pretty pathetic. So what's up with the two of you?"

"I don't know, he just decided to show up for patrol tonight and then he walked me home."

She gave me a skeptical look. "Are you sure he's not dangerous, B?"

I frowned as I thought about it. "I can't be a hundred percent sure but all he's done is help us so far."

Faith still looked unconvinced but she let it drop. I watched as she turned back to her book again, a hank of her hair falling forwards from where she'd tucked it behind one ear. I almost reached out to tuck it back for her but instead, I asked, "What are you reading?"

"The Odyssey. I've gotta get the crip notes in the morning cause this shit's boring." She tossed the book across the room where it landed on top of her bookbag which I've never actually seen her use. She turned over so that she was lying on her back. "So are you going to sit there all night or are you going to get in bed already?" She asked with a smirk, looking at me.

I grinned and crawled over her, slipping under the covers beside her. She stifled a yawn and turned off the lamp before getting under the covers herself. The first thing she did was wrap an arm around my waist and pull me close as she rested her head on my shoulder. I think I forgot to breathe for a second. She let out another yawn and then snuggled closer. "I hate books that make me want to go to sleep," she muttered, under her breath. I didn't say anything at the comment. I just enjoyed the feeling of being close to her like that. After a few minutes, I thought she'd gone to sleep but then she rolled onto her back again. I missed the contact immediately.

"Hey, B. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I said, rolling onto my side and resting my chin on her shoulder. I could make out her expression just fine --- one of those cool Slayer powers --- and she looked thoughtful.

"Do you hate Cordy or something?" The question blind sided me from out of nowhere. Why was she asking about Cordelia of all people? "B?" She prompted when I still hadn't answered.

"Um, no, why would you think that?"

"Cause, every time she's around, you act weird and spazzed out." I turned my head so I wouldn't have to see her face.

"Just because I don't hate her doesn't mean I like her either...but if you want to be friends with her...it's fine with me." I think I actually choked over those last few words.

Faith took a deep breath as she moved her arm to wrap it around me. "Do you know what I was thinking the first time I saw Cordy? I was basically thinking the same thing the first time I saw you too. You're both different from that bunch of sheep you hang out with. There's actually someone in there worth knowing and I wanted to crack Cordy's act so I could get to know that person. But she's turning out to be a real hard case."

"Oh." That was the only thing I could think of saying. She thought we were alike?

"But if you don't like her, then I can just forget the whole thing."

"No...it's not that..." I was starting to feel guilty about hating Cordelia and I hated that. "Look, Faith. Why does it matter if I like her or not? She's your friend. If you want to hang with her then you should just do it."

"It matters cause you're the most important person in my life, B. Don't you know that? And if something upsets you, it upsets me as well." I was shocked at what she'd just said and, at the same time, warmed over completely by it. For the rest of the night, I laid there, listening to Faith's heartbeat under my ear until I fell asleep.

****

I jogged off the track, my lungs feeling like they were burning, fighting for every breath. The sweat was just rolling off of my face and I shut my eyes to stop the stinging saltiness.

"Faith," Coach's voice boomed out my name as she came up behind me and slapped me on the back. Sometimes, I don't think that woman knows her own strength. "Great practice today. You're going to knock their socks off on Sunday. I know this is your first meet but don't be nervous. I haven't seen anyone as good as you...well, just don't be nervous." She punched me this time on the arm and walked off to yell at someone on the other side of the track. I think that's her way of encouraging me. At least I hope that's what that awkward attempt at closeness was.

I looked around as my breath started coming in easier. Sunnydale.

God, what a fucked up town. How long have I been here? Three, four months? And in that time, I'd seen more weird shit than some people do in their whole entire lifetime, even if they lived to be a hundred and fifty. In that one month, one cheerleader was blinded, one was set on fire, Xander had dated a suped up praying mantis, Xander had turned into a pig eating hyena demon, the Principal had died under 'mysterious' circumstances, the Master Vampire was still trying to break out of his prison to wreak havoc on the world and that was on top of the daily dosage of vamps I saw when patrolling with Buffy.

But if someone were to come up to me and ask if I'd trade in this life for another, I would've said a quick and firm no before I grabbed that person and kicked their ass all over this field. Cause, for the first time in a really, really long time, I was happy. Totally and completely happy. And I'll be damned if anyone was going to try and mess with that.

Willow and Xander were two of the coolest people I'd ever met and I was proud that they called me their friend. Mrs. Summers, mom, was nothing but good to me and never treated me like I was anyone but her daughter. Sometimes, when I looked at her, I wondered what she could possibly have seen in me to want to adopt me. But whatever it was, I am so glad she saw it. Giles...Giles was Giles, a tweedy, stuffy Watcher. But I knew he cared about all of us in his own stuffy, English way. Maybe more than he's supposed to.

And then, of course, there's Buffy. I can feel the grin spreading across my face just thinking about her. I remembered back to that night when I'd told her she was the most important person in my life and I could feel her smile against my skin. That hadn't changed. In fact, I think she means even more to me now, if that's at all possible. She's not just my friend, she's not just my adopted sister, she's the only person I think I could ever open up to...if I ever decided to open up that is. She's someone who makes me want to wake up in the morning just so I can see her face and talk to her. Usually, I don't even have to get up for that cause she's in my bed already.

I walked over to my duffel bag which I'd dumped off to the side and took out a towel, wiping the sweat from my face and neck. It was pretty sweet having something outside of demons, witchcraft, and vampires to spend my time on, not that it wasn't fun and all but spending 24/7 on that stuff would make me go crazy. I don't know how Buffy does it. That's also another thing I love about the girl. She's as tough as they come and she handles anything this freaking town can throw at her. I seriously don't know how a dinky town like Sunnydale even survived for as long as it did without her.

After I showered and changed into something a little less soaked with sweat, I wandered over to the library where the gang always hung out. It was like our unofficial, official headquarters. Kinda like the batcave, only without the cave or the bats or the super cool equipment. They were all in there. Xander, Red, Giles, and Buffy, all hunkered down researching about another demon who'd threatened to end the world. I'd lost track of which one it was this time but it didn't matter cause whatever it was, Buffy was gonna kick its ass. I had absolutely no doubt about that at all.

"Hey Faith." Xander was the first one to look up. "Pull up a chair and join the party." He patted the one next to him, giving me an inviting grin.

"Thanks a lot, Chuckles," I said, sitting down and pulling a heavy, musty book towards me. If they're not heavy then they're musty and if they're not musty then they're heavy. I honestly don't think this library has any books of the thin and new category. After about fifteen minutes, which was pretty much average for me, my eyelids started feeling heavy and I felt myself nodding off. Before I knew it, someone was shaking me and waking me up. I opened my eyes and saw Buffy standing over me with a smirk on her face.

"Have a good sleep?" She asked, resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands.

"The goodest," I said, making sure I wasn't drooling on myself again. That happened *one* time and nobody would let me hear the end of it. "Where is everybody?" The library was empty except for the two of us. Even Giles, who I was beginning to think lived here, was gone.

"Xander and Willow dragged Giles out of here, kicking and screaming to get some pizza," she said with a crooked grin.

"Okay," I said, leaning back in my chair and looking at her in confusion. "So why aren't we with them?"

"Because," she said, straightening up and pulling me with her. "We promised mom that we'd be back for dinner. Don't you remember?"

I followed her out of the library. "Y'know, I think I've been researching too hard. My brain's melting or something." She looked back at me like I was shitting her but I just put on my innocent face until she walked back to me and punched me on the arm. "You keep that up, B and I might just stop researching all together." She gave a little groan and dragged me out of there. I don't think she's taking my threat too seriously.

"Guess what?" She asked excitedly as we walked down the empty hallway.

"Um, they found Snyder dressed like a transvestite and soliciting himself to some truckers?" I guessed, referring to our new Principal who looked like a troll and acted like one too.

"No, be serious," Buffy said but I saw that smile creeping onto her face. "We're going to be spending summer vacation with my dad in LA. Isn't that great?"

I looked over at her and she had this big, happy grin lighting up her face. "We?"

"Yeah," she said, her smile faltering a bit. "Don't you want to go?"

"It's not that, B. You know I'd love to go with you. I mean, can you imagine me spending vacation here without you? I think I'd go crazy by the first day." She shot me another bright smile. "But...I don't know. Does your dad want me there? I haven't even really met the guy."

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. He really wants to meet you and anyway, you two will love each other. He's just as goofy as you are."

"I'm not goofy."

"Uh huh." She turned her head away and I'm sure she's smirking at me right now.

"I'm not," I said again and I definitely heard some kind of a chuckle that time. "So, who are you going to take to the dance?" Really nice segue there, Faith. Could I sound like more of a dork? Shit.

Buffy whipped her head around to look at me again. "Dance?" She looked like someone had flashed her. "The dance next week?"

"That'd be the one...I was just wondering cause I wanted to know who the lucky guy was." That wasn't exactly true. I wanted to find out so I could threaten to break every bone in his body if he tried doing anything that Buffy wasn't ready for, which, if it were up to me would be anything beyond holding hands.

She shrugged as her eyes wandered down to the floor. "I wasn't going to go."

"What? C'mon B. I know there must be a bunch of guys that must have asked you."

"A couple," she admitted. "But it's just so hard to relate to them. We live in the same town but we might as well be living in different worlds. I mean, what can I talk to them about? The kind of demon I slayed last night? Whether it had two eyes or three? I don't think that applies as polite, after dinner conversation in the normal world. And the only two guys who know about that other side of my life are Giles and Xander. Just thinking about going to a dance with either one of them makes me want to go ewwww."

"I don't know, B. I think Giles is pretty hot for an old guy." She made a face at me. "But seriously, I can't let you skip out on the fun just because we can't find you a decent date in this dipshit town."

"What are you saying?" She asked, squinting at me.

"I'm saying..." I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "We can just go to the dance together."

"Is that your roundabout way of asking me to the dance with you?" She asked with a teasing grin.

I matched her grin for grin. "Is that your roundabout way of accepting to go to the dance with me?" She tapped a finger on her chin and looked around thoughtfully for a minute. "C'mon, B, stop jerking me around." She finally turned towards me again, a wide grin spreading across her face and the word 'yes' slipping from her mouth.

Once word got around that we were going to the dance together, there were immediate plans made to doll us up all nice and fancy. Mostly plans made by mom and Red who got way too excited about it if you asked me. They dragged us off to some hoity toity dress shop on Saturday and made me try on about a dozen dresses with all the appropriate ooh's and ahh's in between. I don't think I've actually worn a dress since I was six but that was for a funeral so I don't think it counted. It felt strange to be trying on so many different ones now all of a sudden and having to twirl and pose in front of people. I finally just put my foot down and told them that if they didn't just pick one, I was outta there cause this was just insane.

So I ended up with a strapless, black dress, cut low but not too low. "Classy" was the word Willow used. I looked over at Buffy who was just staring at me. "B?" Her eyes dragged themselves up until they focused on my face. "What d'ya think?" She nodded and kept nodding until I walked back into the dressing room. For some reason, as soon as they'd picked out a dress for me, they almost pushed me out the door. But I wasn't going to complain cause I didn't want to sit through another hour of dress shopping even if Buffy were going to be the one modeling this time.

By the time they came home two hours later, I was halfway through a big bag of potato chips and a 2-liter bottle of soda. Red came in with a big grin on her face. "What's up with you?" I asked, stuffing another chip in my mouth.

"Nothing." The way she said it made me do a double take.

"You're hiding something," I said, staring at her. She started squirming uncomfortably and that's when I knew it was something big. But before I could grill her about it, Buffy came galloping downstairs, hopping over the back of the couch and taking the chips from out of my hand.

"Aren't athletes supposed to be health conscious?" At least that's what I think she said. Wasn't too sure with her mouth stuffed like that.

"And who told you I was an athlete?" I asked, grabbing the bag back.

"You're meet is tomorrow, right Faith?" Red asked from her seat. "We'll be right there in the stands cheering for you. Xander even has some homemade signs."

I tried not to wince but failed miserably. "Whoopee," I said drily, glaring as Buffy stole the chips again.

After dinner, Buffy and me went out patrolling through the usual vampire haunts. We were supposed to meet up with Xander and Willow for some Bronzing as soon as we got done but it was so dead around town tonight that we were going to cut it short. Buffy was twirling her stake around in her hand as she explained the many ways in which she thought Snyder was out to get her.

"I'm telling you," she was saying. "He has some personal agenda against me. It's like every time he sees me, he gives me this *look*." She squints her eyes up and squares her jaw, tilting her chin up slightly trying to impersonate the *look*. "And I know he's just thinking up more evil ways in his tiny, reptile brain to make school a living hell for me."

I chuckled at her attempt at an impersonation. "Anybody ever tell you you're paranoid? Snyder has it in for everybody."

She was just about to reply when she clamped her mouth shut again and looked all around in that way that I've come to be way too familiar with. There was some kind of baddie nearby and those hyper Slayer senses of hers have just kicked in. Even though Buffy can usually handle it solo, I take out my stake just to be on the safe side. But the only baddie that steps out of the shadows like he was one himself was Angel. Did I ever tell you that I didn't like this guy? That's not exactly right --- I *hate* this guy. It's either the way he slinks around like he has something to hide or the way he acts so much like stalker guy around Buffy. Either way, this guy grates on me like sandpaper.

He stands there looking at the two of us with this brooding, tortured expression. Shit, doesn't this guy have any other look or would that stress his facial muscles too much?

"I need to talk to you," he says, looking at Buffy. I roll my eyes. I can't help it. Every friggin time he shows up, it's always to see Buffy to talk about this demon or that monster or whatever. It's obvious he's just jonesing for a little Slayer quality time. But if he thinks I'm going to leave and give him some alone time, he doesn't know me too well. I stand there as he gives his latest report about the happenings around the Hellmouth, otherwise known as Sunnydale, and then leaves, disappearing back into the shadows.

"That guy creeps me out," I said, not caring if he heard from where ever dark little place he'd taken himself off to.

Buffy raises her eyebrow at me and smirks. "Don't think I haven't noticed how you roll your eyes every time he drops by."

"I was that obvious?" I grinned with satisfaction. "Good."

Buffy gave me an exasperated look before pulling me in the direction of the Bronze.

*****