Chapter 12
As the sunray passed slowly in the quietly and peaceful garden at
the cemetery where the birds were singing and chirping in the trees, the rays
slowly made its way towards the fuzzy peach of Buffy's face. She rubbed her
eyes and stretched herself. As she slowly opened her eyes and rubbed her neck,
she noticed that she wasn't in her warm and fluffy bed. She woke up next to a
gravestone which she could hardly see the name of the restless body laying 6
feet beneath her.
For a few minutes, Buffy sat and laid her back on the gravestone, thinking
about what could happen last night. The way Greg spoke to her, but mainly about
the way Steve acted towards her. She didn't know what made him showed
compassion for her and wondered if it was a part of his evil plan on killing
her. From that point, she felt guilty for telling him everything about the way
she looked at her destiny and who she was worry about. Because of the
information she gave, she was afraid that he would use them against her by
hurting the one she loved and cared for just to get to her. Buffy sat up and
lowered her head between her legs and sighed deeply, before a few tears came
down falling down.
"Buffy?", she heard a familiar voice calling her out before she
looked up as a shadow appeared and blocked her from the sunlight.
"Andrew? Is that you?", the Slayer finally said.
"Yeah! Whom do you expect?", he laughed.
"But� hum� its daylight and you're outside under the sun�"
"Yup!", he said as he sat next to her, "Just catching some sunrays
and working on my tan. It's about time too! Don't you think I look too white?"
"But Andrew, maybe that you don't know this, but you're a
VAMPIRE!? You know creature of the night and can't come out in the daylight
cause it KILL them?!?"
"Correction my dear Buffy� I WAS a vampire! I'm a human now!", he smiled.
"Since when and how?", she replied, not knowing if she should be happy or in shock.
"Who cares! What matter is that I can finally come out of the
daylight in 219 years!". He looked at her as she raised one of her eyebrow.
"But anyways, Giles sent me to search for you here. Because, you didn't show up at school. Lee and the others didn't saw
you, called at your place and cell, but no one answered. They called Giles
after that and he didn't know where you're at also."
"Why worry? I can take care of myself!"
"Buffy! Stop playing you bad ass tough girl role! Ain't going to
work with Andrew Thomas Green!", he smiled.
"Anyways, after that, Giles received an
anonymous phone call saying to search for you in the cemetery. Giles couldn't
leave the store. So he sent me after finding that I'm not a vampire anymore.
Here! Feel my heart beat!". He took Buffy's hand and placed on his left side chest.
To much surprise, there was a heart pumping.
"But really Buff, I was send here for another reason." Andrew mentionned in
a serious tone before she took her hand off his chest. "And it is REALLY important for you to listen to me...
What ever you're feeling, don't deny it
or even ignore it. Don't mix it with what you're going to feel after you'll
hearing or seeing something that you don't want to believe. Cause it will only
cause pain and suffering for everyone and especially for you and your love�"
"Wait back up� 'for you and your love'? Andrew what do you mean?"
"Death and sacrifice are the ONLY keys for your REAL feelings and
happiness.", he continued while ignoring what she said.
"What?"
DRRRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!�
Buffy woke up by the ringing of her phone, on her night stand. She
wondered how she got back to her house, but mainly she felt that someone just
gave the beating of her life and couldn't feel every single bones and muscles
inside her body. She turned towards the direction of the sound of the phone and
reached for it.
"Hello?", she answered into a old and rusty voice.
"Buffy? Is that you?"
Rubbing her eyes, she replied: "Yeah?"
"Thank god! It's Karlie! You're alright sis?"
"Yeah... beside that I felt that someone gave me the beating from
hell!", she slowly laughed.
"What? You saw Steve again last night?", Karlie laughed.
A sudden change appeared on her face, she knew she have to lied,
but always feel guilty for doing it. "Strange as it may sound, but I didn't saw
that asshole last night."
"That's my sis! Always throw shit at everyone!"
"What? I don't want lose my bitching reputation!", she laughed
while lying back on her bed. "Anyways, where are you at right now Kaz?"
"Well, the others are outside eating their lunch and I had feeling
that I had to call you and all. We're kind of worry about you. You know?", she said while she looked at the others from an far away distance.
"Actually what happen to you exactly? And why didn't you come to school?"
"Honestly, I don't feel so good and my head's not in school
lately. Beside that, I got home too late and I over slept� I think."
After talking for a few minutes, Buffy told Karlie about the dream
she just had and asked if she knew the meaning of it and of what Andrew said.
Instead of bursting out laughing, for once Karlie seemed very serious about it,
especially when she heard the sentence 'Death is the ONLY key for your REAL
feelings and happiness�'. Karlie said that she would ask Lissy what it meant.
But Buffy though it wouldn't be important and better kept their heads about
Balthazar's plan and she didn't want the others to get worry. After she
agreed with Buffy, Karlie knew that her best friend's dream meant something
really important, but she also knew that I was impossible to make Buffy change
her mind.
~* At The Warehouse *~
After he didn't succeed on getting any sleep that daylight, Steve
walked towards his punching bag. Though that all the hitting and punching would
help him with what had happen last night, but Buffy's face appeared in his
head. Every time he though of her and how depressed and unhappy she was, he
became weak and lose interest of fighting. He had felt something that he had
never felt in such a long while. Trying not to cost question from the others
vampires, he continued his training, while thinking about last night.
~ Flashback ~
After that silence moment between the both of them, he noticed easily weak
Buffy became. She wasn't moving nor seemed his presence was there. Knowing
where she lived, Steve helped Buffy towards her house. He put her in bed and
sat beside her while stroking his hands in her dark raven hair. She was looking
at him with stars in her eyes, something that he haven't seen for a while. The
way she was looking at him, she seemed like such an innocent child. As soon as he was
going to leave her, she pulled him by the wrist and asked for him to stayed
with her until she felt asleep. A part of himself knew that it was the perfect
opportunity to take her life, but another side of him was fighting, and it was
taking over him. She made a place for him to laid down and he pulled the cover
towards them. She surrounded her arms around him as he did the same. She rested
her head on his cold chest, not feeling his heart beat. Steve rested his chin
on the top if her head and looked down at her. He smiled. It was the first
time, since he was a vampire, that he had showed a warm and sincere smile. He
felt it was right. He looked at her for a brief moment, before glancing at his
watch. It was almost sunrise. He looked down at Buffy and she was sound asleep.
He slowly moved away, trying not to make a sound. As he walked away towards her
bedroom door, he turned around and looked at her again. He didn't do anything,
but smile. Soon after, he left Buffy's place and headed to the warehouse.
~ End of Flashback ~
Steve stopped immediately as soon as he felt a burning sensation
deep inside of him. With the single though of last night, the memories of his
life before he was turn into a vampire came running in his mind and how happy
he was before with his family and his long time lover, Gwendolyn.
Gwendolyn and Steve were sweet hearts since they were toddlers and their love
bloomed through out of the years. Until one unfaithful nigth, his love was bitten by a
vampire and he knew that it was impossible to bring her back after he saw the
vampire who bit her made her drink. Instead of being away from Gwendolyn, he
demanded to be bitten and be turned to a vampire also, so he could be with her
forever. A few months after been turned into one of the creature of the night,
Steve caught Gwendolyn in a middle of a fight with a certain female. Before he
could do anything, he saw the opponent staked his love into dust. From that
day, Steve had lost all love for everything and everyone. He would kill
anything and everyone who was in his pass, no matter if its allies or not,
beside Drusilla who he met a few months before his beloved turned into dust,
and get the revenge for Gwendolyn.
Drusilla noticed that Steve wasn't himself since he came back from the night
before. It was very surprising of him to came back a few moments before the sunrise.
She slowly walked towards him and put her hand on his shoulders, which
made him turned around. "What's wrong baby?"
"Nothing." Steve replied without bothering looking at her.
"You're upset aren't you? You're upset
about Buffy right?", she continued as Steve turned his head to look at her.
"Don't forget Steve. I could feel trouble
and I could feel what you�re feeling. It's about the Slayer isn't it?".
Steve only looked at Drusilla and hoped that she couldn't feel the
compassion for Buffy and his old feelings for Gwendolyn. "You didn't kill Buffy or one of the
Slayer and it upsetting you. Don't worry, love.", she spoke softly, "You'll get
her soon. Now you better get something to eat and have some rest. You need all
your strength cause Balthatzar need you and the others for tonight."
"Why?", he asked as he frowned and back away from her.
"He sent a few of his minions to get what Buffy and her
goody-goody crew had took the other night. He's absolutely sure that they'll be
coming to stop the ritual before its start."
"And that still doesn't answered why I need to be there for."
"He wants you and some of your so-called helpers for a look out in
case the Slayers and their friends showed up."
"Let me get this right Drusilla.
Balthatzar wants me and my vamps to look over that fat obese while his doing
his whatever ritual?"
"Steve? What is getting into you? You had never you insulted
Balthatzar before? Especially is his our oldest ally!". Her voice became angry, but yet concern.
"Oldest or not, like I give a fuck!" Steve said as he left
Drusilla sitting on the couch with a shocking look on her face.
Drusilla looked at Steve walking off somewhere, still in shock about
what he said about an old friend they had for centuries. She slowly looked down
and though for a moment about what could possible turn Steve bitter towards his
co-workers.
"I bet that bitch Buffy got to do with this. She IS going to pay
what she had done to MY Steve and beg for mercy. Like that Gwendolyn�", she
said in a lower voice.
Chapter
13