New In Town
by Salix
Repercussions
[reviews]
Sorry it took me so long to update. Things have been very crazy around here lately. I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review.
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Buffy was sitting in her boring history class, listening to her boring teacher talk about...something. She wasn't too sure what. She wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her. She was pretending to take notes, but she was really doodling. It was a Wednesday two weeks after the big bad party she and Willow had gone to. Buffy still hated herself for what had happened. But she hated herself even more for what she was feeling now. She still didn't trust Willow one hundred percent.
She had seen the bruises that Quinn had left but she saw what she saw and it was Willow sitting on his lap, and getting pleasure out of what he was doing to her. She can deny it all she wants, but Buffy had smelt it. She had smelt how Willow's body has responded to what he was doing. She tried not to blame Willow and told herself that it was all her fault because if she hadn't have done and said those horrible things to her love then the redhead wouldn't have gone to him. But everyone is responsible for their own actions. Willow didn't have to go to him, and it didn't look like she was putting up much of a fight either. As much as the blond would like to forget her suspicions she just can't.
She was also still kind of worried about Cordelia. Well, not Cordelia herself, but worried that there might be something going on between Willow and the bitch. She had planned on confronting Cordelia the following Monday after the party but her parents had taken her out of town for a couple of weeks, and she wouldn't be back until that coming Monday. Buffy couldn't wait to pull Cordelia into an empty classroom and tell her to back the hell off. It was one thing she had been looking forward to all week.
Things were no longer peaceful in the land of Buffy and Willow. The two teens were tense around each other, and it was clear that there was more that needed to be said, but on the night after the party they both decided that since they had said their apologies and forgave each other that they would just leave the past in the past and move forward. But they were stuck. Willow couldn't get over the fact that Buffy had actually left bruises on her and came pretty damn close to smashing her head into a wall.
Being physically dominated like that was not something she was going to easily get over, she needed time and she was just glad that Buffy was respecting her space and even asked permission before she touched her, even if it was in a small way. The after affects of that one night had Willow skittish and nervous around the blonde. But there was a lot more that they had to deal with, things that they weren't expecting.
Apparently their voices had gotten pretty loud at that party and so the whole school had a good idea of what had happened. There were a lot of rumors, and most of them were complete lies, but a couple of them were pretty accurate. They had to deal with the stares from the other kids and people constantly asking Willow if she was ok, and if she ever needed to talk she could just go to them. It had her thinking that maybe she should have been assaulted years ago then maybe she would have more friends.
There is one person who had been forgotten in this whole ordeal. Someone who almost gets sick to their stomach at the thought of what happened. Xander was pissed off at the blonde. When he found out from the other kids what had happened he immediately found Willow and pulled her out of her class. They had a long argument, mostly it was Xander telling Willow to leave Buffy, and Willow convincing Xander not to try to hurt her. Xander would never hurt a girl out of anger, but what Buffy had done to Willow he felt like she deserved to feel some type of physical pain. It had him wishing that he were a girl so that he could kick her ass.
He's slowly starting to not hate the blonde, but he's going to be keeping a closer eye on her. He still doesn't trust her and he thinks that Willow shouldn't either. He knows that Willow is still a little timid around her, and he knows that in time that guard will go down and that Willow could get hurt again. He cringes at the thought of someone hurting Willow like that, and he knows that if Buffy ever did anything like that again then he'll show her what happens when you hurt Willow, and it isn't pretty.
Finally the stupid lunch bell rang and she was let out of class. She perked up at the thought of seeing Willow again. She had missed her this morning before school because Ms. Calendar wanted some extra help in the computer lab and Willow was the one who she called upon. Buffy felt proud that her little redhead was so smart that the computer teacher wanted only her help, but it was also a little irritating because she missed their good-morning-kiss. Now it was lunch and they would get a glorious forty-five minutes before their next class.
She was walking down the hallway, smiling to herself, when she felt someone grab onto her arm and pull her into an empty classroom and slam the door shut. She turned around and saw Cordelia standing there, looking very pissed off. Her arms were folded across her chest, she was breathing hard and a vein in her neck was starting to stick out pretty far. It looked like it would burst at any minute. Buffy had no idea why the brunette was looking so pissed. And so pissed at her, no less.
"Cordelia, I thought you weren't getting back until Monday?" Buffy asked, her voice angry but she tried to remain calm. She couldn't use her slayer strength of humans unless they were committing a crime that she was stopping or something. But she just wanted to hit Cordelia so hard in the face that you wouldn't be able to recognize her for months. She wanted to beat the truth out of her, she wanted to know if Cordelia had done anything with Willow that she should have done, at least not while the redhead is in a relationship.
"Well things change. Listen bitch, I heard what you did to Willow at Quinn's party. And I'm warning you now that if you ever do anything like that again I will kill you myself. I've known Willow too long to let some skank from L.A. come in here and ruin her," she said and stepped closer to Buffy. To any other girl it would have looked intimidating but Buffy's the slayer so humans don't really scare her a whole lot. Especially when she knows she could win in a fight with one hand tied behind her back.
"What is going on between you and Willow? Do you have a thing for her or something? Are you two fooling around behind my back?" she asked and Cordelia couldn't help but snort at what she had said. She rolled her eyes and she tried to keep her voice low in case a teacher walked by or something, but she did not try to keep her anger or disgust at bay.
"Yeah right. Just because I'm concerned about her doesn't make me gay. I'm into boys, all right? And Willow would never do anything like that to you. You don't deserve her, she is better then you by far and the fact that you even think she would do something like that proves my point. You don't' trust her, but you're the one who shouldn't be trusted.
"I'm only going to say this once so listen up. I learned a little something on my trip to New York. Turns out that in the late seventies there was a slayer there, killed by a vampire on a subway in 1977 but that's not the point. The important thing is that someone found a way to suppress her slayer side. Turns out that your precious Watcher's Council has some magic drug that will get rid of your slayer abilities for a couple of days. But the person that I talked to stole some in the seventies and modified it so instead of being normal for a week or so, you would be normal forever. He was going to use it on the slayer and kill her while she was weak but the vampire got to her first.
"The most important thing about this little explanation is that everyone has a price, and I figured his out, so now I have the magic drug. If you think that you can just show up in my town, at my school and think that I'm going to let you get away the kind of shit that you've been pulling then you've got another thing coming. Because if I find out that you hurt not only Willow but any person like you did at that party I'll use my little drug on you, make you a normal girl, and you know what that means don't you? No super slayer strength to help defend you. You'll be as strong as the average girl, which means I'll be able to take you in a fight. Watch your back Buffy." With that Cordelia turned on her heel and left the room, leaving a very stunned Buffy just standing there.
She shrugged off the stunned feeling and then made her way to the cafeteria. She quickly found Willow and Xander and sat down next to Willow. She ignored the glare that Xander sent her way. She pulled her lunch out of her backpack and started to munch on the apple she had packed. She thought about the things that Cordelia had said, the 'magic drug' she had bought from a demon no doubt. The drug could make Buffy a normal girl. She could finally be normal. She thought that it would be great, to get rid of this big burden of being a slayer, but then she thought: 'who'll keep Willow safe from the demons and vampires? No, normal's not good because then I won't be able to protect her.'
"Hey, what took you so long to get here?" Willow asked and held her hand under the table. She laced their fingers together and smiled. She was starting to become more relaxed around Buffy, even though she still has a way to go before she would be completely comfortable with her again. But they were getting there. It was a slow process but it was happening.
"Had a little chat with Cordelia," Buffy said and took another bite of her apple, not looking at either Xander or Willow. It made Willow very nervous. She knew that Buffy still thought something was going on between her and Cordelia, and she didn't blame the blonde. If she saw Buffy sneaking off with someone she would probably be suspicious too. That's why she had decided to stop talking to Cordelia in private unless it was something neither of them wanted others to hear.
"I thought she wasn't coming back until Monday?" she asked and looked over at Buffy, trying to catch the other girl's eyes but the blonde refused to look. She knew something was bothering her, something big because she never purposely avoids Willow's eyes like she is now. It made Willow's thoughts go to some bad places. She thought that maybe Buffy had hurt the brunette girl, maybe she had done something really bad and that's why she was fifteen minutes late.
"Things change. At least that's what she said. Look, nothing happened, not really. She pulled me into an empty classroom and told me that if I ever hurt you or anyone else ever again she'll kill me. Not that big of a deal, nothing to worry about. It wasn't anything I haven't already heard," she said and cast a guilty glance over at Xander. She looked down before he could catch her gaze and she continued to eat her food, needing a distraction from everything that was going on.
"Can't blame her for it, I'm just surprised that she threatened you. It's not like she and Willow are friends. They never even talk to each other, except for when Cordelia's ragging on us," Xander said, a little surprised that Cordelia had actually threatened the blonde. It just wasn't normal and the thought of it would take some getting used to. Buffy remained quiet, however. If Xander doesn't know that Willow and the brunette are talking buddies now it's not her place to say otherwise. She will admit, if only to herself, that it makes her feel a little better knowing that she wasn't the only one kept in the dark about Willow and Cordelia's new found friendship or whatever the hell it is.
"Are you staying after school today?" Buffy asked Willow. She finally looked over at the redhead, looking into her eyes for the first time that day. Willow nodded her head yes and continued to look into the deep hazel eyes that she loved to get lost in. "What time are you getting home?" Willow thought about it for a minute. She was supposed to help Ms. Calendar in the computer lab after school, last time she did that she didn't get home until six.
"Not sure, maybe around six. I don't really know what she wants me to do, so it depends on that. I'll call if I'm going to be any later then six though, ok?" she said and Buffy nodded her head. Then she saw the blonde girl get this little grin on her face, like she's planning something. Willow was confused at first, and her brows furrowed at the sudden mood change.
"Mom's going out of town, she won't be back until tomorrow night. I thought I'd plan a little surprise for you, since I know how you like them so much," she said and Willow just smiled. She does like surprises, but she couldn't help but get this tiny little twinge of nervousness at the thought of her and Buffy being all alone in the house for an entire night. But she chased it away because Buffy wouldn't hurt her, not again, not like that.
"Oh really, and what are you planning?" Xander asked, sounding defensive and suspicious. Buffy had to force herself not to roll her eyes. She knew that Xander didn't trust her very much, if at all, and she couldn't blame him for it. Even though he doesn't trust her she isn't going to ruin Willow's surprise. Even if it is just a quiet, somewhat romantic dinner and a present that she bought last week with her allowance, and most of the money she had saved in the bank.
"It's a surprise Xander, I can't tell you in front of Willow. I don't want to ruin it for her," she said and turned to face Willow. She noticed that their bodies had moved so that they were a lot closer together then they had been. She looked down at her body and then over at Willow's and waited for the redhead to notice as well. She got the reaction she thought she was going to get, Willow scooted away, only an inch or two, but she still distanced herself. Buffy knows that it's her fault and just three weeks ago they used to sit in each other's laps and be all touchy feely with each other during lunch and on their breaks, but not anymore because of what she did.
"So, I'll make sure to have it ready by six, will you call if you're going to be earlier then that?" she asked and Willow nodded her head. They continued to eat their lunches and talk some more. The tension between them started to go away, and they slipped into a nice, easy going conversation about their plans for the weekend. They agreed that they would meet at the Bronze on Saturday like normal, but then go to the park for a little picnic on Sunday.
Throughout the entire conversation, Willow and Buffy kept scooting closer and closer together, until the redhead was pretty much pressed against the blonde. Neither of them noticed, it just seemed natural for them to be like that, and it felt good to feel the other's body heat up against the their own. When the lunch bell rang, telling all of the kids to go back to class, they noticed that their closeness but neither of them got uncomfortable about it. They looked over at each other, completely ignoring whatever it was that Xander was saying, and they smiled. Willow leaned in and surprised Buffy by placing a quick kiss on her lips.
"See you at home," she said and then left for class. Buffy licked her lips, tasting Willow's lip gloss and she smiled before she stood up from her seat and gathered her garbage. But before she could walk off Xander was standing in front of her, blocking her way. He was giving her a suspicious look, and she knew what was about to happen, but she tried to avoid. She stepped around him, and started to walk towards a trash can and he followed her.
"What are you planning tonight, Buffy?" he asked and continued to follow her as they started to walk out of the cafeteria. She tried not to roll her eyes or get mad. She should be able to plan a nice evening with her girlfriend without having to answer twenty questions. You wouldn't be in this position if you had kept yourself under control, she told herself. She took a deep breath, hoping that Xander would just go away. She really didn't want to put up with this. Not after that little chat with Cordelia.
"I'm going to order some take out from her favorite Chinese place and just spend time with her. I'm not going to try and seduce her, if that's what your thinking. She said she isn't ready and I'm not going to push her. Everything will be fine, ok? So please, don't worry," she said and walked into her English class before he could comment. He had his own class to go to so she should be safe from him in here. She forgot that she had this class with Cordelia, and she groaned because she knew that the entire time the brunette was going to be glaring at her.
Since she had the last class period free today, this would be her last class, and she was anxious to leave. She wasn't just going to order out, she was going to make sure that everything was on a plate or a platter and out of the containers, try to make things look nice. Then she was going to wait until they were done eating and then give Willow the present. She knew that the gift wasn't going to make everything ok, but she hoped that it helped get her point across: that she was sorry and she loved Willow more then anything.
She acted like she was paying attention to the teacher, she even turned the page of her book whenever she saw the kid sitting next to her do it, but she just couldn't concentrate on the reading. Her grades were starting to slip, she knew this, but she just couldn't make herself care. She just wanted to get this thing between her and Willow resolved and then she can focus on her schoolwork. Willow was more important, more important than anything, she knows that now, she understands it, and she's determined to fix the problems between them.
Finally the bell rang and she walked out of the classroom, almost being smashed by all of the other students. Sometimes she hates being short, but what can she do? She stopped by the library and told Giles that she would be too busy tonight to patrol, and when he asked why she answered: homework. Needless to say the watcher was very unconvinced. He tried to get her to tell the real reason, but after about fifteen minutes arguing he finally gave up and told her to take the night off, but that they would double their training session tomorrow. She agreed and then ran home.
She breezed through her homework. She knew that she wasn't going to get a very good grade on any of it, but she didn't care. This was going to be a special night and she wasn't going to let something as stupid as grades get in the way of it. When she finished her homework she went downstairs and did all of her chores. She ran back upstairs and grabbed her money out of the small side table by her bed and then headed out the door for the Chinese restaurant. Once she ordered the food she sat at the counter and waited for what seemed like forever until the man handed her the bag full of delicious smelling food, she smiled and thanked him, paid him and then ran home. By the time she got there it was almost five forty-five. She quickly set the table, placed the food out, got out a couple of candles, ran upstairs and changed into the dress that she wore on her and Willow's third anniversary. She picked up the rectangular shaped box and stuff it in between the couch cushions and then stood by the door for Willow to get home. She couldn't stop smiling, and couldn't wait to see Willow's reaction to all of this. She was hoping that it would be a good one, but she knew that it could go either way.
She glanced out the front window and saw Willow walking down the sidewalk. She quickly lit the candles and then flipped off all of the lights. She was standing at the door when the redhead turned her key in the lock and then opened the door. The first thing she saw was a smiling Buffy, and she couldn't help but smile too. Then Buffy stepped forward before Willow could walk in the house and she covered the redhead's eyes with one of her hands and gently pulled her into the house. Willow smiled nervously, and Buffy picked up on her apprehension. She placed a small kiss on the redhead's cheek before speaking.
"Don't worry, nothing bad is going to happen. I just want you to get ready before you see the surprise," she told her, keeping her voice low. She moved around and held Willow from behind. Her hand never left the redhead's eyes as the other wrapped itself around the hacker's waist to rest on her stomach. She led the younger girl over to the stairs and carefully helped her walk up them. She didn't take her hand off of Willow's face until they were standing in front of Willow's bedroom door. She looked at Buffy with a little bit of confusion. She was starting to feel a little uneasy about this whole surprise thing. "I laid out a couple of things for you to pick from. But, just a suggestion, pick the green." She smiled and then leaned in a placed a gentle kiss on Willow's lips. When they pulled back they looked into each other's eyes and smile before Buffy went back downstairs.
Buffy watched as Willow rounded the corner and walked into the dining room. She was dressed in the green dress that she had worn on their three month anniversary, and her hair was pulled back exposing her yummy looking neck. She smiled when she saw the set up and she sat down in her chair and leaned over and placed a sweet kiss on Buffy's lips. Buffy's stomach was doing summersaults Willow looked so beautiful. The way the candlelight made her hair shine and her eyes glow. Buffy had to take a small sip of water just to cool herself down.
"So, do you like your surprise?" she asked and started to place the different types of food on Willow's plate. She knows exactly what the redhead likes. Memorizing Willow's favorite foods and how much of said foods she likes at one time was one of the first things Buffy did when they got together. She doesn't like to think about it because it sounds a little stalker-ish but at least this way Willow will never be disappointed when it's Buffy's turn to pick the restaurant when they go out on a date.
"I love the surprise. You look so amazing. This is just what we needed," she said and perked up a little more. She started to eat her food while she watched Buffy's reaction. The blonde seemed thrilled, and was smiling a very cheeky grin. They spent most of the time looking into each other's eyes while they ate the delicious food. They talked a little but not too much. They didn't want to ruin the atmosphere with talk of school and other non-important things. They would make a comment here and there about how beautiful the other is, and Willow kept telling Buffy that the dinner was great, and that Buffy should surprise her more often. The mood was very romantic, but also a little easygoing. Both of them were feeling very comfortable, and for once they were able to forget about the bad times and just spend quality time together.
When they finished eating they made their way into the living room. They decided to leave the dishes for later. They sat down on the couch, both of them nursing at the apple cider that Buffy had poured into the champagne flutes. Willow thought that it was a nice gesture, if only a little corny. They set their drinks down on the coffee table and enjoyed some snuggles on the couch. Willow was the one who initiated the kiss that led to the very heavy make-out session. But then Buffy remembered the best part of the surprise and she tried to talk around the Willow kisses.
"Willow." Kiss. "There's." Kiss. "Something else." Three more kisses. Buffy knew that if she didn't stop now she would never get what she needed to say out because Willow-kisses are just so distracting. Even if it is one of her favorite activities, she has to draw a line somewhere. She pulled back, and rested her hands on Willow's shoulders to help prevent the other girl from leaning forward and distracting her again with her lips. "There's something else, another part of the surprise." Willow smiled and got a little giddy. She waited with anticipation as Buffy reached in between the couch cushions and pulled out the gray box. The blonde smiled wide as she handed the box over to Willow. The redhead was a little stunned at first, not really knowing what to do. "Open it." So she did. She gasped when she saw the bracelet. It looked like a long vine of diamonds, linked together with platinum silver.
"Oh my God. Buffy...this...wow," she said and Buffy took pride in the fact that she had rendered the redhead, queen of the babble, speechless. She picked up the bracelet and took the box away from Willow, closing it with a loud snap. Willow smiled, the smile where the tip of her tongue sticks out between her teeth. She held out her right wrist and watched as Buffy carefully put the bracelet on her. When it was clasped, she held out her wrist and took a look at it. It was just so pretty, and it contrasted with her skin very well. Then Buffy turned serious. She took Willow by the hand, her thumb was resting on top of Willow's hand, her fingers on the redhead's palm, and she used her free hand to gently trace unseen lines around the hacker's knuckles.
"I don't want to put a damper on things, tonight has been wonderful. But I just want you to know how truly sorry I am. I never meant for any of that to happen. I know that you're still not one hundred percent comfortable around me, and I understand. I want you to know that I'm deeply, head over heels in love with you. If you'll let me I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how happy you make me feel. You were right, when you said that love isn't just about sex, and I know that when we're both ready it'll happen. I don't want you to feel pressured or rushed. I just want you to feel loved and like you're the happiest person in the world, because that's how you make me feel everyday. So Willow, can you forgive me? Can we finally put all of that behind us? Can you trust me again?"
They had tears in both of their eyes and Willow sucked in a deep breath and held it for a minute or two. She needed to think about this for a second. Buffy was asking her to do something that she hasn't really been able to do, not since that night. She loves Buffy, with all of her heart, but she hasn't said the words since that night, she hasn't fully trusted the blonde. She looked down and watched as the blonde continued to draw invisible circles around her knuckles, and how her thumb was softly rubbing back and forth. She looked into the eyes of a very nervous slayer, and she knew the answer right then and there. She leaned forward, and pulled Buffy into a lip-bruising kiss. When they parted for air, they noticed that Willow had pulled Buffy into her lap, and she had her arms around the blonde, gently rubbing her back. They rested their foreheads together as they caught their breath.
"I love you. I love you so much that it hurts sometimes. I know you're sorry for what you did and I know that you'll never do it again. These things take time. It's going to take me a little while longer to get over this completely. But I'm going to try harder, a lot harder. But we've got to trust each other. What you said, it works both ways. I know you still suspect that there's something going on between Cordelia and me, but there's nothing. And you have to believe that I would never ever, ever do anything like that with anybody. I love you, and I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize that."
She waited for a few minutes as Buffy digested her words. Then the blonde opened her eyes and smiled. She nodded her head, agreeing that they would both work on their issues, and try a lot harder at it. Then Willow pulled her into a soft, gentle kiss that seemed to last forever. It felt like their first kiss, they took things slow, testing the waters a little bit, trying to think of what the other would want. When they parted for air, they looked deeply into each other's eyes and smiled.
"I love you," they said at the same time, and then giggled. Willow leaned forward and placed a little peck on Buffy's lips and then she turned half way around, and picked up the T.V. remote. The atmosphere was a lot less romantic, but it was still nice. They felt like they could finally breathe around each other again, like the eggshells had finally been cleaned up. "How does snuggling with the occasion kiss while we watch some sappy romantic comedy sound?" she asked and flipped the channel over to the movie channel and saw that the perfect movie was on.
"That sounds perfect," Buffy said and nuzzled Willow's neck. Right now she felt like skipping the T.V. part and just snuggle and kiss a little. Willow-snuggles is just one of the many fun activities she likes to do with the redhead but right now in this very moment it was her favorite. She felt Willow tighten her hold on her and she nuzzled the redhead's neck. She didn't want to leave this spot. She was in heaven right now and she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Instead of saying how she was feeling and possibly ruining the moment, she snuggled in closer to Willow, bringing her feet up and bending her legs so that she was laying against the other girl as they watched the sappy romantic movie playing on the T.V. in front of them. She watched as the blushing bride walked down the isle, her father leading the way, and then there was a shot of the groom, looking very glowy, and she thought to herself: 'I want that. Someday I'm going to marry Willow and she'll be the most beautiful bride that ever existed.'
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So what do you think?