SurfCity

Part 16 of the Summer Vacation Series

Disclaimer: I don�t own Buffy or any of them. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Author's note: Wwolfe gave me the jumping-off point for this story both by reminding me Buffy was originally an L.A. girl, and also by including some cool surf music on a mix tape he gave me (it�s a masterpiece of a mix tape, incidentally). Then Enigma gave me the percolating power by having me edit some of the juicier board discussions (especially regarding �Sanctuary�). A warning, though. Buffy doesn�t come off entirely well in parts. But I do think she�s consistent as she�s been drawn this season.

Archive- Sure, but email me and let me know where it�s going.

Feedback- Absolutely.

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Buffy strode smoothly and confidently over the sun-warmed sand, flanked by three of her oldest friends. All were only barely clad in bright bikinis, and Buffy had to admit she was enjoying the attention they were receiving from every male with a clear line of vision.

The beach was mobbed, which was hardly a surprise, since it was an absolutely gorgeous Saturday afternoon. And she could even relax from her chosen duty, having been assured by Giles that this was a season of inactivity for the creatures of darkness.

�Pledging Chi Gamma Tau has been, like, the most meaningful experience of my life,� Jennifer was repeating for the sixth or seventh time. �I mean, I can�t tell you about it, of course, but, like, it totally changed my whole perspective.�

The other girls nodded, and Buffy gestured to a small, unclaimed patch of sand. �How about here?�

�For what?� Nicole asked, her brow furrowing.

For a brief second Buffy wondered if she had actually asked the question in English. �To put down our towels,� she clarified.

�Not already,� said Jennifer, her disappointment clear.

�Oh, we�re forgetting,� Kimberly said. �Buffy doesn�t need to see and be seen. She�s got the steady boyfriend now.�

�Right,� Nicole said, nodding. �What was his name again?�

�Riley,� Buffy said, starting to feel defensive without really being sure why.

�Well, for the rest of us,� Kimberly said, �this is our last chance for a wild summer fling, so let�s walk a little more.� The other girls agreed readily, and Buffy followed behind, looking longingly at the perfectly good spots they were passing by.

After about an hour or so of aimless wandering, they had picked up a tail of fifteen or so young men, who, although trying to act cool, were expressing a keen interest in where the ladies finally set down.

At last Kimberly declared the spot they were standing on to be perfect, and Buffy gratefully dropped her towel and carry-all. Her friends spread out around her.

Buffy stretched out her towel and lay down on her stomach. This is probably *my* last chance for a summer sun-tan, she mused. Guess I better make the most of it.

�Hello, ladies,� a male voice interrupted.

Buffy squinted up into the sunlight. Three young men, surfer types, smiled down.

�Oh, hi,� Nicole said, ever the flirt, and Buffy sighed.

After about fifteen minutes into the mating dance, Buffy stood up. �I�m going down to the water for awhile,� she said.

The boys looked frankly disappointed, but Kimberly waved cheerily.

"Have fun," she chirped.

"I will," Buffy said, forcing a smile. "I won't hurry back," she added under her breath as she walked away.

She walked down to the edge of the surf, where the sand was smooth and hard, and she left shallow footprints that pressed the water out from underfoot. The tide was going out, now, and she had to walk slowly down to the water even as she continued along the shoreline.

She tried to stay just at the point where each wave would rush over the top of her feet, hissing and foaming before retreating again.

She couldn't believe her friends, if she could even call them friends anymore. Had she really been that shallow? Probably, she thought. Before being called, before Merrick, and Giles. Before Angel and Kendra and Faith and Riley. God, she'd had enough for ten lifetimes.

There was a time, not too long ago, she'd have traded it all to go back. But would she now?

With a start, Buffy realized she had walked far beyond the boardwalk section of the beach, and that, combined with the late afternoon hour meant this stretch was nearly empty. She should go back, she thought.

About a quarter mile further on was an outcropping of rock and a stone jetty. When I reach those rocks, she told herself, I'll turn back.

She reached the outcropping and stopped to look at the tide pools, the multi-colored creatures that dwelled there. A simple existence, she thought.

She looked out along the jetty and was startled to see she wasn't alone. Another woman stood not twenty-five yards away, her back to Buffy. She was slim and tanned, and her dark hair was tossed and tangled by the wind.

In fact, she sort of looked familiar.

As if she felt Buffy's eyes on her, she turned, and her face opened in shock at the sight of the slayer.

"Buffy?" she said aloud.

"Hi, Cordelia," Buffy answered.

"What are you doing here?" Cordelia asked.

"Visiting my dad. I'm here at the beach with some friends. How's work going?" Oh, that was smooth, Buffy thought. Maybe I should have gone for real subtlety and tortured it out of her.

"Angel's fine," Cordelia said coolly. "You're not planning to visit him, are you?"

There was an odd proprietary tone in Cordelia's voice that got Buffy's back up, even though she was vaguely disgusted at herself for such an adolescent reaction.

"Probably not," she said breezily. "What difference does it make to you, anyway?"

"Let's just say that whenever Hurricane Buffy blows through town, it can take weeks to repair the damage," Cordelia said waspishly. "And you're not picking up any of the pieces."

Buffy was a little stunned. She'd barely seen Cordelia around Angel's office, and had simply assumed that Cordelia's position involved very little interaction with the vampire. But Cordy's words belied that assumption, told of a deeper, more complex relationship.

And why does that make me jealous? Buffy asked herself.

"You have no idea what I've been going through..." Buffy began, but Cordelia cut her off.

"Yeah, same old song," she said dismissively. "I hear from certain friends at U.C. Sunnydale that you're doing the naked pretzel with any guy who nods in your direction. And, for the record. You don't know what any of us are going through, either."

"Nice to see you haven't changed, Cordelia," Buffy snapped. "You have a regular appointment to have that tongue sharpened?"

"Whatever," Cordelia said, waving a hand. "Now if you'll excuse..."

And Cordelia suddenly collapsed, holding her head in her hands. Her face was drawn with pain, her teeth clenched.

"Oh, my God," Buffy said, rushing to the other girl's side. "Cordelia."

She helped Cordelia get shakily to her feet, and the darker woman was gracious enough to thank her.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah," Cordelia said, then added under her breath, "a little going away present." In response to Buffy's confused look, she said, "don't worry about it. It doesn't concern you."

Still unsteady, Cordelia started across the sand. �I�ll see you again, I�m sure,� she said, then turned her back and pulled a cell phone from her pocket.

Buffy watched her go, then turned back to watch the rolling waves.

What did you expect, she asked herself. That he�d come home after a long day of �saving souls,� or whatever it was exactly that he did, and sit alone in his basement apartment? That he would keep his emotions so private that even someone who saw him every day wouldn�t know what he was feeling?

Yeah, she realized. That was exactly what she�d expected.

Oh, God, she thought, maybe Cordelia�s right.

Buffy started walking back, then, realizing how late it was getting, broke into a run. The tide had turned, now, and the incoming waves crashed over her feet and legs and shifted the sand beneath her. She drew the sea air into her lungs and pushed her body, reveling, just for a minute, in the superhuman power that was her birthright.

But it didn�t take her mind away. Why does he do this to me? she thought. He�s over. He�s history. We�re not even friends. I�m even over the whole tortured, brooding thing.

I have Riley now. He�s safe, he�s good, he�s� human.

She had reached the part of the beach now where she�d left her friends, though it was much less crowded. Jennifer and Kimberly had gone, and only Nicole remained with one of the young men.

�God, Buffy, vanish much,� she called as Buffy approached. �We were ready to call the beach patrol.�

�Sorry,� Buffy said. �I lost track of the time.�

�Well the rest of them went up to some bar in Hollywood,� Nicole said. �I have to call Kimberly on her cell for directions��

�I�m sorry I made you wait,� Buffy said, �but I�m going to cal it a day.�

Nicole blinked in surprise. �Okay, Buff,� she said. �Call me.�

�I will,� Buffy promised. �I totally will.�

�Do you need a ride?� the young man asked.

�No, I�ll call my dad,� Buffy said. �But thanks.�

Nicole still looked confused as she led her young man away.

Buffy gathered her things, then walked up to the boardwalk, looking for a pay phone.

Once she�d arranged a meeting place with her father, she turned to face the ocean once more.

Yes, she thought, her life was different from other girls her age. And not just her, but Willow and Xander, Riley, definitely, even Cordelia. And, she admitted to herself, there was a certain ensouled vampire who she�d set on a completely different track.

But would she trade it?

That�s the million-dollar question, Reege.

She could have been happy never having been the slayer, could have been like her friends at Hemery. And why did that make her think that her calling had been a dodging of the bullet, instead of a hit?

Her thoughts strayed at last, as they had this summer, to her final confrontation with Adam. The spell, the binding with her friends. It had been frightening, true, but she had felt what it meant, really meant, to be the slayer, to be one with a history as old as humanity.

She wanted to think she�d never wish for a carefree youth again, but she knew she would. But now, for just this moment on this beach, she was content with what she was.

All that she was.

Part 17- Joss Whedon: An Open Fanfic
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