Confusing Competitions..
by phantom
Arrows! Arrows Everywhere!
[reviews]
Disclaimer: Not mine! Whedon owns all!
Chapter Six
Dawn and Anya at school the next day.
"Ok Anya, remember what I told you. Go over there and put the Valentine in Buffy's friends locker ok?"
The blonde smiles and nods expressing her understanding. "We're being secretive! I like secrets! And also money!"
Dawn rolls her eyes at her friend.
"Anya, sometimes I really don't get you, you make with the weird and creepy thing a little too often. Now hurry up before someone accuses me of doing something wrong again. What is it with this school?! That last issue wasn't even my fault!"
Anya nods again and pats Dawn on the back.
"Are you upset that you got caught skipping class Dawn? It's ok. Spike said he'd give you his notes for that class anyway."
Dawn shivers at the thought. "Did you forget our rules about Spike again?"
"Rules about Spike... oh yeah!" says Anya pleased with herself for remembering. "Do not mention Spike, do not talk to Spike, ignore Spike, stay away from Spike..."
"Stop saying Spike!" says a frustrated Dawn.
"Did someone call for me?" says someone standing directly behind them.
Dawn's eyes go wide and she covers her mouth.
"Hey Spike!", says Anya, turning around. "How are you?"
"Yeah, good thanks Anya." He steps up closer and smiles a little. "Hello Dawn."
"Uh, hi Spike." Dawn says while motioning for Anya to go and deliver the Valentine.
Anya shrugs and walks off while humming the mission impossible theme song... 'Hmm, friend of Buffy's locker...' Anya takes another look behind both her shoulders to make sure she does everything 'secretively' before sliding the Valentine through a slot.
"Done." She says and walks back off to find Dawn.
---
Buffy and Xander get to their lockers.
"Hey wasn't that just the girl you were dancing with the other night Xand?"
Xander takes a look around and shrugs indicating that he didn't see her.
"But if you mean the girl I think you mean... you should know that she's gonna be my date for the dance!" he announces excitedly.
Buffy beams and gives him a half shoulder hug. "You go Xand!"
"What about you Buffster?" asks Xander hinting. "Got anyone special in mind?" he wriggles his eyebrows and smirks.
"Don't do that!" Buffy laughs and hits Xander on the shoulder. "It's like you're doing a Faith impression or something... speaking of Faith, what is she up to?"
Xander shrugs again. "No idea, said she had to stop by and see someone special so I left her to it."
Buffy nods, inwardly wondering what the brunette was up to, and more importantly in her mind, where the redhead was...
---
Somewhere close by...
Dawn was leaning against the corridor wall wondering when Spike would stop comparing her to flowers, the sunset, the moon and whatever other facets of nature popped into his mind.
'Please someone save me!' she thought, finally drawing the line at Spike's last sentence which likened her eyes to the vastness of the sea... 'come on now, how cliché was that...' thought the youngest Summer's.
"Well hello there Spikey. What are we up to today?" said Faith putting her arm around Spike and winking at Dawn who couldn't be happier that Faith and Willow had just shown up.
"Hey Dawnie." Said the redhead.
"You have no idea how glad I am to see you guys."
"But...," started poor Spike. "I thought we were having a moment!"
Willow smiled at him sympathetically as he sighed and walked off minus the bounce in his step.
"Soo... do I get a thank you or what?" said Faith leaning into Dawn only to pulled back by her red headed friend.
"Will! What the..." Faith stopped mid-sentence as she caught a sight of Snyder walking towards them.
"Ms. Rosenberg... I hope you are keeping an eye on these two trouble makers, I wouldn't want have to triple Ms. Summers' detentions... again." Growled Snyder as he walked past.
"Another detention Dawn?" asked Willow.
Dawn shrugged. "Don't tell Buffy will you? She'll just give me her 'not amused' look."
Willow smiled at the mention of the blonde's name. It was a smile that wasn't missed by either of the brunettes but they both fought the urge to tease the redhead about it.
"Don't worry Dawn, I won't tell..." said Willow finally shaking herself out of her Buffy induced stupor.
"But that doesn't mean I won't..." said Faith with a wink and a smirk. "Speaking of which... haven't you got something to tell me?"
Dawn furrowed her brow and then shook her head. "I don't think so... have you got something to tell me?" she asked with a smile of her own.
Faith shook her head and shrugged. "Ah well, maybe you will later on..."
With that said she took the redhead by the arm and headed off to her own locker.
"Uh Will?" Faith said as they reached their destinations.
"Hmm?" answered the redhead, lost in her own Buffy-filled thoughts.
"You did deliver the thing didn't you?" Asks Faith.
"I'm sure Faith, I put it right under her pillow."
Faith nods and smiles. "She prolly just hasn't gotten it yet."
The redhead nods too, wishing that she had a little of Faith's confidence. With a sigh, she enters in her locker combination and was surprised when a Valentine falls out of it as soon as the door opens.
Faith leans over and raises her eyebrows and laughs.
"Looks like B got tired of waiting for ya Red."
Willow hurriedly opens the Valentine, happy because it seemed to be made out of the same material that was lying around Buffy's room last night.
"Come on, come on! Just read it already!"
Willow nods smiling happily and reads it aloud: "Hey you! Sorry this took so long, my artistic skills aren't as great as they used to be, I dropped art pretty quickly... anyway, you probably already knew that I was gonna ask you to the dance but just to make it official... I thought I may as well send this. Please meet me at my house at 7pm on Friday night. Love, your favourite brunette."
At the last line, Faith and Willow look at each other with furrowed brows.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me..." says Faith with her arms crossed over her chest.
Willow was feeling suddenly faint headed as some unwelcome phrases were entering her mind... "Willow! Hey, uh.. God, Dawn left such a big mess in my room... I can't believe I let her use my art supplies in here!" she remembered Buffy saying... "Love, your favourite brunette" she thought in her own head...
"Oh, God" she said aloud. "Dawn's my Valentine."
Faith's head snaps up at the mention of the name. For the first time since they met, Willow and Faith stared silently at each other.
A/N - finally, it seems we're getting somewhere... *sigh* sorry the setting up took so long!