Confusing Competitions..
by phantom
The breath before the dive.
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Disclaimer: Not mine! All belongs to the mighty Joss and affiliates!
Chapter Eight.
Thursday Morning at Sunnydale High.
Anya is walking the halls with her usual beaming smile and nonchalant attitude to life. Dawn can be seen running to catch up with her.
"Anya guess what! I got a Valentine last night!"
"From Buffy's friend?"
Dawn nods excitedly.
"So I did good? They should hire me for a movie of Tom Cruise! Then I would get money! Lots of money!" the blonde states happily while remembering her great use of 'secret keeping' skills while delivering Dawn's Valentine into the redheads locker.
Anya's smile gets lengthens, widening her face about an inch more than is usually possible.
Dawn drops her ecstatic mood for a second to give her friend a shake of the head.
"Anya, you're doing that weirding me out thing again..."
--
Somewhere close by in another corridor...
A determined looking Buffy is walking out her classroom. She takes a look around to see if she can spot the redhead who's been running through her mind.
A soft cough disrupts her thoughts and she turns to see Scott standing behind her.
"Hey Buffy."
"Scott, hey. How have you been?"
"Good thanks. Listen, you know that thing we talked about at the Bronze that night? About the dance?"
Buffy nods solemnly while still looking around for Willow.
"Well anyway," says the handsome boy in front of her. "I was hoping if you'd take a look at this for me."
He hands her a heart shaped Valentine.
The blonde takes it with a beaming smile.
A few metres away, standing in the one and only spot Buffy hadn't managed to check, stood a young redhead with tears in her eyes.
--
At the lockers
Xander walks up to see a dejected Willow collecting her books.
'Oh no,' he thinks to himself. 'Not another depressed friend... what he heck is going on with these girls?'
Puffing up his chest and sliding up beside Willow slowly, filled with a manly urge to protect the girl he saw as family, Xander gives her an elbow nudge and a small smile.
"Hey Will, I missed you at lunch yesterday..."
He was cut off by the redhead who had just flung hersef at him and clung on for dear life.
Xander rubs her back while softly reassuring her.
"Hey... come on Wills it'll be ok.... I'm not exactly sure of what 'it' really is... but I'm sure it'll be ok."
He gives Willow his goofy smile, although it wasn't quite right as she could see the worry in his eyes.
Feeling a little better after Xander's hug and shedding a few tears of frustration Willow lets go and gives him a small smile of her own.
"Thanks Xand."
"Wanna talk about it?" Xander asks.
Willow shakes her head and to his credit he doesn't press on, instead choosing to change the subject.
"Ready to go to class? ... 'Cos I'd happily skip it with you, if that's what you really need." The boy says with a hopeful tone.
The redhead gives him a look.
"Can't blame me for trying right?" the cheeky attitude back in his voice.
Willow links her arm through his and they both walk off to class.
--
On a greyhound bus...
A tired looking Faith sits at the back with a frown distorting her features.
'God I'm tired.' She thinks to herself. 'Sitting on a friggin bus for hours...'
She smiles as a picture of Dawn enters her head.
'I've known that girl for the whole of, what? Eleven days? That would be two hundred and sixty four hours.' She adds fiddling with the calculator on her cell phone. And here I am, by myself, on a bus...'
She sighs and leans further back into her seat trying to get comfortable.
'Two hundred and sixty four hours... apparently the time it takes me to fall for a girl...'
Her thoughts are interrupted by her vibrating cell phone.
"Hello?"
"Faith?" says the caller. "I got your message last night, sorry I couldn't call sooner, been a little busy. Are you really on your way over here?"
"Yeah." The brunette says with a disbelieving shake of the head directed at herself. "I guess I really am."
"Love makes you do the wacky huh?" she hears through the cell phone.
"I can't disagree with you there."
"Well look, let me know where the next stop is and I'll meet you there. Better than having to double back."
"You have everything ready?"
"Of course! What kind of brother would I be if I didn't drop my business and everything else whenever my little sister decided to go all out for a girl?."
"She's not just a girl..." says Faith with a sigh.
"I know, I got that, I heard the message remember?" her brother says with a smile in his voice.
Faith blushes. Remembering that she had poured her heart out to a machine last night.
"I'll see you soon sis."
Faith smiled knowing that everything would be ok. Nothing felt better than fighting for something you really wanted.
"Thanks Angel." She said into her phone.
"Anytime."
--
Casa de Summers
Buffy walks into her house and takes a look around.
"Mom? Are you home? Dawn?"
Joyce walks into the living room and smiles at her eldest daughter.
"Your sister isn't home sweetie. She called and said she was staying the night at Anya's again. Something about making up outfits for the dance."
'What?' Buffy thought. 'But Faith is going with... who could Dawn be going with?'
"She said she was going to be a medieval lady. That sounds sweet. Don't you think that sounds sweet Buffy?"
Finally it made sense to the younger blonde.
'Medieval lady? Dawn was probably going on her own, that's why she was staying at Anya's tonight. She was matching her outfit to that of Anya and Xander's prince and princess.'
Inwardly Buffy felt happy for her sister. Dawn was confident enough to walk into the dance by herself. Buffy figured she would be snapped up pretty quickly by one of the jocks who had been too 'cool' to pour his heart out on a Valentine.
"Buffy?"
"Oh, yeah... that sounds sweet mom." She agreed.
"Are you still feeling tired Buffy? You don't look too good. I really think you should stay at home tomorrow."
"But the dance..."
"Exactly Buffy. Stay home from school so you feel better by the evening. I was once too you know." Joyce added with a nostalgic smile. "I know how important nights like these are."
Buffy nodded.
'If you only knew how important this night really is to me...'
Buffy made her way up to her room while making some decisions in her head.
'I might as well just stay home from school tomorrow... I'll show everyone how I really feel on the night. Forget talking about it...'
As soon as Buffy gets to her room she starts going through her c.d collection...
'God, where is that mix? ... it's gotta be here somewhere..."
--