Chapter 18 - My Brilliant Plan
The next day at school Buffy is very giddy. She hasn’t had the chance to talk to Faith yet, but the lunch hour is almost here and she’s excited. ‘Just ten more minutes of this stupid class and then I’ll get to talk to Faith.’ She didn’t have time to talk to her before school or at break because Willow needed to talk about her crisis with a boy she likes. ‘But I talked to her and now she’s fine. So I think I’m going to spend lunch with just Faith. We ate with Xander and Willow yesterday, and with her friends on Friday. I think Tuesdays should be our day.’
The bell rings and Buffy practically jumps out of her seat. Everyone looks at her like she’s on drugs or something and it makes her blush. ‘Ok, now they totally think I’m a freak.’ She doesn’t dwell on it as she makes her way towards her locker. She puts her books up and when she closes the small, metal door she jumps a little with fright. ‘I really wish people would stop doing that!’
“What’s the matter, B? Aren’t you happy to see me?” Faith asks and gives her best pout. ‘How can she be dead sexy, and totally cute at the same time?’ She smiles a very devilish smile and captures Faith’s bottom lip between hers and lightly sucks on it. The slightly taller girl inhales sharply in surprise. Buffy lets go of the soft, watermelon flavored body part before Faith can respond and she smiles a very innocent looking smile.
“I’m always happy to see you,” she says and gives Faith a little peck on the lips. They get a few cat calls from some of the boys around them, but those go unnoticed. “So, I was thinking we could do something after school today. See, I kinda told my mom I was going to have someone tutor me today and by tutor I meant hang out with you. She said that I have to be home by five. So, do you want to hang out after school today?” Faith smiles a little bit and gives Buffy a kiss on the tip of her nose.
“Lets see, go home and be bored or hang out with a very hot blonde who lets me kiss her? This is a toughie, I’m not gonna lie to you,” she says and with a mock-serious tone. Buffy smiles at her but she tries not to, and Faith can tell that the blonde is trying not to smile. “What?” The blonde just shakes her head no and bites her lips. “Come on, don’t make me force it out of you. I know where your ticklish spots are.” ‘She’ll do it too.’
“You said the word ‘toughie’. You claim to be this total badass, yet you used the word ‘toughie’.” She giggles a little bit as Faith rolls her eyes. Then the brunette starts to pout and Buffy smiles a little. “Awww, Faith, don’t pout. You know I can’t resist you when you pout.” This does nothing but make the brunette stick her bottom lip out even further. “Just remember you brought this on yourself.” The blonde kisses Faith very lightly at first but after only a few seconds their tongues have come out to play.
“God, would you two get a room?” they hear Cordelia Chase say in a very snotty tone. Faith pulls back from the kiss and takes in a deep breath. Buffy’s kisses always leave her a little breathless. She glares at the taller brunette and Buffy can’t help but roll her eyes. ‘Here we go again. It seems like all these two do is fight. They’re like little bickering kids. Maybe if someone put them in a time out they’d get along better?’
“Why, do you want a private showing since you obviously can’t take your eyes off of us?” The taller brunette scoffs at the shorter one and steps a little closer in a very threatening way. Faith tenses up and lets out a deep sigh like she’s preparing for battle or something. Buffy reaches out and holds onto Faith’s hand. If there is going to be a physical fight she’s going to try and stop it. The last thing she wants at this point is Faith getting suspended because of Cordelia.
“I told you this back in ninth and it was pathetic then, so it’s really sad that I need to remind you: I am not a dyke. So why don’t you and you’re little skanky girlfriend find somewhere else to slobber all over each other because it’s disgusting the rest of us.” Faith tries to step forward but Buffy holds her back. Cordelia notices and smiles a very evil smile. ‘Maybe I should let her go. Cordelia so deserves to get knocked the fuck out. No, because then Faith will get suspended and we won’t be able to follow through with my plan.’
“Woe Cordelia, you better get out of here because she’s really strong and I don’t know how long I can keep her from knocking your teeth out. Year book pictures are next week and I’m sure not even you can pull off a toothless hillbilly look,” Buffy says sounding very over the top, and she tries not to smile. She raises an eyebrow at the ball brunette and loses her grip on Faith’s arm. It makes the taller girl pale a little, but she tries not to show her fear.
“I’ll go, but this isn’t over. Your little psycho bulldog isn’t going to be around all the time. You better watch your back.” And she stomps off to join her herd of sheep that are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their leader. Buffy sighs a little and lets go of Faith. She turns towards the other girl and frowns a little at the angry look on Faith’s face.
“Hey, don’t be like that,” she says and gives Faith a little kiss on the cheek. She holds onto Faith’s hand again and changes the subject completely. “So, after school, where exactly are we going to hang out? We can’t go to my house or my mom will crucify us. Do you have any ideas? Because I’ve been racking my brain and I’ve got nothing.” She looks up at the slightly taller girl with a little pout on her face and Faith smiles. ‘She’s always saying I look cute when I pout. If it makes her smile maybe I should do it more often.’
“Don’t worry I know a place we can park. Are you hungry? ‘Cause I’m downright starving.” Buffy rolls her eyes a little and the two make their way towards the cafeteria. They eat lunch together, and the lunch hour seems to end too soon. Neither want to leave the company of the other but Buffy has gym and Faith has bio, and those classes on the opposite sides of the school. They do leave each other knowing that they only have two more classes before they can be together. ‘Why don’t I come up with plans more often? This one is so ingenious I’m surprised I didn’t come up with it sooner.’
The petite, bottled blonde waits very impatiently for her classes to end. The first one is easy to ignore because the teacher doesn’t call on the students very often, and even when he does it’s only the ones who raise their hands often. So Buffy is safe at the back of the class, doodling little hearts in her notebook with Faith’s name inside. Not only that but she’s writing her own name out in different various that she could use if she and Faith ever get married.
‘Let’s see, a hyphenation looks like it could be long. Mrs. Summers-Lehane. Yeah, that’s a little long. But we can’t both be Mrs. Lehane, that would get too confusing. Who says I have to take her last name? I could be Mrs. Summers and she could be Mrs. Lehane. Why am I even thinking about this? We’ve only been going out for a month and a week. Well, a month and a week this Friday. It’s a little too soon to be picking out china patterns and writing out my vows. Hmm, what would I say in my vows?’
The internal psycho babble went on like that for the rest of the class. When the bell rang she almost didn’t notice. The second class was tougher to ignore because this teacher is known for calling upon the students who don’t raise their hands very often to attempt to answer the question. This made it a little harder for Buffy to zone out and let the time fly, but she still managed. She was only called on once, and she did get the answer right, only because Willow whispered it to her, but it got the teacher off her back.
“So, are you ready for your tutoring session?” Faith asks and leans up against the locker next to Buffy’s. The blonde rolls her eyes a little and puts the unneeded books away. The only homework she has is history, so that’s the only book she’s taking home with her. ‘I know I told Mom I needed help with math, but I can just tell her that we used the other girl’s book. And what is her name? I need to come up with name because Mom will want to know.’
“Yes Faith, my mind is young and impressionable. So what type of knowledge do you plan on bestowing on me today?” she asks with a little bit of sarcasm. She can’t help but find it interesting that Faith lightly chews on her bottom lip, and eyes Buffy up and down very slowly. ‘Ok, make me feel more like dinner why don’t you,’ she thinks and tries not to blush at the very hungry look in Faith’s eyes.
“I thought today we’d focus on anatomy. If that’s ok with you,” she says with a little smile. Her voice is a little huskier then normal and Buffy can’t stop herself from shivering at the sound. She also seems to have lost her voice and all she can do is nod her head. “Well, if you have to be home in two hours then we better get outta here.” She holds onto Buffy’s hand and the two walk out of the school together, both smiling and loving life at the moment.
“This is it?” Buffy asks and looks around. They’re parked in a wooded area about five minutes outside of town. It took them fifteen minutes to get here, and it will take twenty minutes to get to Buffy’s house, and that leaves them with an hour and twenty five minutes to themselves. The blonde looks over at the brunette, and Faith nods her head. “Seriously? What if we get caught?” Faith lets out a little sigh and shuts off the truck.
“We’re not gonna get caught. Why, are you planning on doing something that’ll get us into trouble?” she asks with a devilish smile. She scoots closer to the blonde and Buffy giggles a little bit. The laughter stops when Faith starts leaving little kisses along Buffy’s slender neck.
“No, nothing that’ll get the cops called on us. But it’ll still be embarrassing if someone sees us,” she says, and her breath is already starting to speed up. ‘What is it about Faith that always leaves me feeling breathless?’ “Don’t leave a hickie or my mom will kill me.” Faith gives up on teasing the blonde’s neck, so she kisses her way across Buffy’s jaw line until she finally reaches her lips. She doesn’t kiss her right away. Instead she hovers centimeters away and looks into Buffy’s already dilating eyes.
“You won’t get in trouble if I leave it somewhere she can’t see,” Faith whispers and closes the distance between them. It isn’t long before Buffy starts whimpering because of the throbbing coming from between her legs. This is what Faith does to her even with a simple kiss. Just the fact that they’re all alone with no one around to walk in on them and spoil the moment is turning her on even more. They break apart for air and Faith starts kissing the little sweet spot right behind Buffy’s ear.
As the blonde is panting for air she can’t help but notice the hand that’s made its way onto her thigh, and is lightly rubbing back and forth, and very slowly making it’s way towards the hem of Buffy’s skirt. ‘She won’t try anything if I don’t want her to. I can trust her,’ she thinks, but her body tenses up on its own accord when her skirt is lifted about half an inch up her thigh. She puts her hand on Faith’s shoulder and lightly pushes her away. The brunette girl stops what she’s doing and looks at Buffy with a confused look on her face.
“Faith, you’re making me feel so...” she’s too embarrassed to make herself admit it, but Faith can tell by the bashful blush what Buffy is talking about. “But I’m not ready yet. And my first time isn’t going to be in a truck, or any other type of transportation vehicle.” She sounds a lot more defensive then she wanted too. ‘I hope she doesn’t think I’m a total bitch.’ Buffy’s eyes start to close when Faith gently caresses her cheek, but she forces them to stay open.
“B, you’ll still be a virgin if we go to third base. I promise I won’t go inside you, ok?” she asks and Buffy looks at her a little wide eyed. Then the brunette gives her a very playful smile and she has a mischievous look in her eyes. Buffy knows exactly what that look means and she internally groans. ‘She’s going to say something sarcastic. I hate it when she’s sarcastic and I’m trying to be serious.’
“Besides, I promised you an anatomy lesson, didn’t I? I got an A in that class so you’ll find me very knowledgeable.” Buffy tries not to roll her eyes, and luckily at that exact moment Faith kisses her so she closes them and then they roll without the brunette being able to see. Now that Buffy know that Faith isn’t going to take this too far, she starts to relax, and the heat is building between the two again. She feels Faith’s hands on her hips and she’s slowly being pulled forward. She pulls away from the kiss and she’s about to question the brunette, but she doesn’t get the chance.
“Lay back, B,” Faith whispers and scoots back, making room for the blonde. Buffy leans back against the passenger door, and slouches so her lower back is flat against the soft cushioning. Her legs are spread, one pressed against the back of the seat, and the other is hanging over the edge. It isn’t the most comfortable position in the world, but it’s the only one that will allow enough room for both girls, and still give Faith a good access to her nether regions. ‘I can’t believe she’s going to do this. No one’s ever done this to me before.’ She’s too embarrassed to voice that little fact out loud, so she just goes with the flow.
Faith leans down, and lies comfortably on top of the blonde. She knows the position Buffy is lying in isn’t very comfortable, but what she’s going to do will more then make up for it. She tenderly kisses the golden haired girl in an attempt to calm her down. She’s too tense, and Faith has a feeling she’s the very first person to send the blonde to third base. ‘So when she said she’s a virgin she wasn’t kidding. I guess no one told her that virgin means no penetration, not no touching whatsoever.’
Buffy moans into the kiss and she wraps her arms around Faith’s back. She’s never been this turned on in her entire life and she just wants Faith to hurry up and give her some release. But at the same time she’s nervous, and that nervousness is making her lightly tremble. ‘I hope Faith doesn’t notice. This is so embarrassing.’ She starts panting for breath when Faith pulls back and starts kissing her way down her jaw line, and starts sucking on her earlobe. That makes Buffy moan very deeply and Faith smiles.
‘She’s totally getting into it,’ she thinks and starts to slowly descend down the blonde girl’s body. She kisses all the exposed skin on the other girl’s chest. She runs her tongue over the little bit of cleavage showing, and she smiles when Buffy hisses in a breath. She quickly makes her way down the blonde’s body, and pushes the lilac colored skirt up. She places a hand under the blonde’s tight ass and lifts her to make just enough room to push the skirt up where it will be safe from getting wet, and showing evidence of what the blonde was really doing instead of being tutored in math.
Faith has to stop herself from laughing when she focuses on the blonde’s underwear. They’re a bright pink, bikini style, and have a picture of the little Hello Kitty on the front. ‘They’re so girly, just like her,’ she thinks and pull them down. The musky smell of Buffy’s dripping sex makes her mouth water and her blood flow faster as her heart speeds up. She almost can’t believe this is really happening.
Buffy lifts her butt off the seat a little so Faith can pull down her panties. She’s nervous, but her horniness is winning out. She gasps when the cool air hits her hot, usually concealed, body parts. She feels Faith slowly drag her panties all the way down her legs, and she’s forced to close them for a few seconds so Faith can take the material off. She has her eyes closed so she doesn’t see the brunette put them in the back pocket of her jeans.
‘Oh God,’ Buffy thinks, and involuntarily clenches tightly when she feels Faith warm breath brush against her nether lips. ‘My nether lips? What’s that all about? Why are you being so modest?’ she thinks to herself and moans when she feels Faith spread said lips apart with her thumbs. The anticipation is starting to get to her, and if Faith doesn’t give her some type of release soon then she might have to take matters into her own hand, with or without the other girl watching. She hears Faith take in a deep breath and she prepares herself for whatever it is Faith is going to do.
“Well, I promised a lesson. Now you’ll be able to say you learned something,” Faith says and Buffy’s eyebrows scrunch up. ‘She was serious about that? Why won’t she just eat me out like any normal person would? She’s right there, I can feel her breathing on me.’ “This is called the vestibule.” She feels the tip of Faith’s tongue tease her entrance. The feeling surprises her, and it makes her moan very loudly, and thrust towards Faith’s face. Then she feels Faith’s hands on her hips, so the brunette girl can hold her still.
“Don’t get too excited, B. I told you I’d leave that alone.” ‘And why did I tell her to do that? Oh right, I wanna stay a virgin. How stupid am I? That felt so damn good.’ She doesn’t voice any of that however. She lays still and concentrates on her breathing as Faith continues the little anatomy lesson. “This is the labia minora.” Buffy sucks in a deep breath and her hips try to buck as Faith starts to suck on one of Buffy’s soft, pink lips.
“Oh God,” she moans out loud when Faith switches to the other one. She grips onto the back of the seat and rolls her head back against the cool glass of the window. She doesn’t know exactly how long keeps up the gently sucking before she starts softly nibbling on the swollen, pink folds. The very new, and very pleasurable feeling causes her to buck as hard as she can towards Faith’s face. The brunette smiles to herself and releases the blonde. ‘If she thinks that feels good then she’s gonna love this.’
“And this little throbbing muscle is the clitoris.” ‘I know what it’s called, just get on with it,’ Buffy thinks and bites her bottom lip to stop herself from yelling out her frustration. ‘She wanted to eat me, this was her idea, so why does she have to drag it out? I think she’s a sadist and she likes torturing me like this, that’s why she’s dragging it out.’
All thoughts leave her mind when Faith’s eager tongue presses against her clit. All she can do is moan, and groan and grip onto the seat as the brunette slowly tortures her with a pleasure Buffy’s never felt before. Her legs wrap themselves around Faith’s shoulders when the brunette starts to lightly suck on the throbbing muscle.
“Oh God Faith,” she moans, and digs her heels into Faith’s back. Then she feels something building inside of her, like a coil being pulled back as far as it’ll go. It’s only matter of time before the pressure is released and the coil springs forward, and Buffy doesn’t know how much longer she’s going to last. “Faith...Faith...Faith...Oh God Faith!” Her back arches as far as it’ll go, and her fingernails dig into the upholstery, and calls out Faith’s name as her orgasm shots through her body. Her hips are uncontrollably thrusting against the brunette’s mouth as molten hot liquid gushes out of her.
Faith laps it up, and drinks it down and smiles to herself for a job well done. She takes her time cleaning the blonde up and enjoys every second of it. ‘God she tastes so damn good. How the hell does she taste so good?’ When she finishes lapping down all the come she can get her tongue on, she straightens out Buffy’s skirt the best she can and slowly crawls up the blonde’s limp, sweaty body. She holds herself up on her hands and knees, and hovers an inch or so above the recovering girl. ‘Damn, I knew I was good, but damn.’
“That was...” Buffy trails off as she tries to think of a word. She sighs when Faith starts to lightly kiss her neck. “Amazing. I’ve never felt anything like that before.” ‘Oh God, please don’t tell me she wants to cuddle and talk about our feelings?’ Faith asks herself and tries not to groan. But the blonde doesn’t say another word. Instead she stares at the ceiling of Faith’s truck and tries to get her breathing under control.
“Fooling around in your car, that was very ‘Titanic’ of us,” Buffy says with a little smirk on her face. She hears Faith laugh, and the brunette leaves one last kiss on her neck before pulling away to look at the blonde beneath her. Buffy looks into the dark eyes of the girl she’s falling for and her smirk turns into a gentle smile.
“Except we’re not gonna die in a couple of hours,” the brunette says and leaves a little kiss on the tip of the blonde’s nose. That makes Buffy giggle, but Faith’s word have brought her back to reality completely, and the playful demeanor changes in a heartbeat. ‘And here I thought only Dawn could do that.’ Faith looks at her watch and gives Buffy a little kiss.
“If you don’t get me home by five o’ clock there’s no guarantee that we won’t,” Buffy says with a small smile even though she’s completely serious. If her mother knew what she was really up to she’d definitely feel very murderous. Buffy looks down at her watch and sighs a very displeased sigh. “Which is in thirty minutes.” Faith gives the blonde a very deep kiss, and she notices that Buffy’s tongue isn’t as explorative as it usually is, and that the soft lips won’t fully press against hers. When Faith pulls back to see what the problem is the blonde has a very odd look on her face.
“I’ve never tasted myself before. The ick factor is very high right now. It’s like I just ate myself out.” Even though she’s the epitome of serious, Faith can’t help but chuckle at that thought. Buffy rolls her eyes and lets out a very exaggerated sigh.
“Oh you know you would if you could. Why do you think dogs are always licking themselves? ‘Cause it feels so damn good,” Faith says and uses her sexy voice on the last sentence and wiggles her eyebrows. Buffy rolls her eyes again and giggles a little bit. Then she pushes Faith up by the shoulders and sits up at the same time.
“Whatever dork, just get me home before my mom goes postal.” She leans over and gives Faith a kiss on the lips. “I would like to not be grounded sometime this year.” The brunette smiles and starts up the truck. The two drive across town in a very comfortable silence. They’re holding hands and Faith is lightly rubbing her thumb across the very smooth skin underneath it. When she gets a block away from the house she pulls over to the curb and puts the truck in park.
“I better let you walk from here or your mom will never believe you were at school getting tutored. A chick named Alicia tutors during the week, just tell your mom you were with her. And remember: two plus two equals four, x is the Roman numeral for ten, and the square root of a million is one thousand.” Buffy rolls her eyes and smiles a little bit. She leans over and gives Faith a little kiss goodbye, and slides out of the truck.
She straightens out her skirt and checks her hair in the mirror before she closes the door. Then she waves bye to Faith and blows her a little kiss. The brunettes laughs and shakes her a head a little bit, and then puts the truck into drive. She watches as Faith makes a U-turn and starts driving off in the other direction. The petite blonde is halfway down the sidewalk and only a minute from home, she has a large smile on her face and a little skip in her step, when she suddenly stops cold and her eyes widen. ‘I left my panties in Faith’s truck! I really hope her brother doesn’t find them or I’m dead.’
Chapter 19 - Her Heart-To-Heart
Faith pulls her rust bucket of a truck into the motel parking lot and quickly finds a spot. She has a smirk on her face that she’s been trying to get rid of on the drive over, but she can’t. She can’t because she finally got passed second base with Buffy. Sure they’ve been dating a month, but it happened a lot sooner then she expected. She figured the blonde would be a little more reluctant, and the fact that the first attempt for third led to the actual event gives the brunette high hopes for the future. ‘And she’s definitely not a natural blonde,’ Faith thinks as she hops out of her truck.
Despite the fact that the motels in Sunnydale are nothing but giant health code violations, Faith’s foster parents were only willing to pay for one of the crappy rooms. They didn’t feel comfortable having Faith’s ex-con brother staying at their house so they’re paying for a room until he gets a job and can pay for it himself. The brunette is pissed at her state appointed guardians but there’s nothing she can do about it.
‘As soon as I’m eighteen I’m getting the fuck outta there,’ she thinks as she walks towards the building. Tensions are now high in the Doriann household. Faith hasn’t spoken to them since the morning she woke up to Judy yelling after finding a strange man sleeping on the couch with Faith curled up in his lap. She’s still obeying some of the rules. She said she’d start behaving and she’s going to. ‘I don’t know why they’re being dicks about it. It’s not like he’s a rapist or anything,’ she thinks and knocks on the door and waits for her brother to answer.
“Hey big bro,” she says with a cheeky smile. He hates it when she calls him that, which is the only reason she insists on giving him that nickname. “I brought you some lunch. Figured you could use something to eat.” She looks up at him with a big smile on her face. The fact that her big brother is finally back in her life is still very surreal, but she loves it. She’s missed him more then words can actually express. “Well, it is like five something so I guess this is dinner. Aren’t you gonna let me in?”
“I kinda have company right now,” he says in a sleep roughened voice. Her eyebrows furrow a little bit, and she finally notices the fact that he only has the door open about an inch, and from what she can tell he’s only wearing boxers. ‘And he probably slipped those on before he answered the door.’ “Let me get dressed and we’ll eat outside, alright?” She nods her head but she doesn’t say anything.
‘Don’t get all jealous. He’s been in prison for eight years I’m surprised he waited this long to bring someone back. He probably already has and they just didn’t stick around. It’s not like he’s your boyfriend ‘cause that would be creepy, and disgusting on so many levels.’ Her internal babble is put to rest when her brother opens the door, fully dressed and looking a little tired. She tries to see passed him and get a glance of whoever is still sleeping in his bed, but he blocks her view.
They walk back to her truck and she lets the tailgate down. They hop up and she takes all the food out of the bag. She has more then enough for the two of them. She panicked at the drive thru because she didn’t know what her brother would want. The large variety makes him chuckle and shake his head. Faith looks at the guy she’s admired her entire life and she gets the ‘he’s just so great’ expression on her face. But then it changes to one of mischief and curiosity and he knows what’s coming.
“So, who’s in your room?” she asks and shoves a french fry in her mouth. He takes a large bite of his cheeseburger and shrugs his shoulders. “Oh hell no. If we have to eat outside like a couple of bums because of the chick in your room then you’re giving me details. What does she look like?” He does nothing but open his mouth and stick out his tongue, the very thoroughly chewed bite of burger looks far from appetizing in this form. Faith gives him a punch on the arm and chuckles a little. “Very mature.”
“Maturity is my middle name,” he says and takes a drink of his soda. Faith chuckles and munches on a few more fries. She never thought it would be possible for her to be so happy while doing nothing more then sitting on the very uncomfortable tailgate of her truck, and eating food from a place called The Doublemeat Palace.
“No it’s not,” she says and unwraps the ‘doublemeat special’. She has no idea what it is, but judging by the fact it’s from a fast food restaurant she’d rather not know. ‘Ignorance is bliss,’ she thinks and takes a small bite. “So, who’s the girl you were fucking?” The older boy sighs a very disapproving sigh at the language Faith used. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she says very sarcastically. “Who was the girl you were fornicating with?” He decides to give into his little sister’s curiosity just to get her to shut up.
“Her name’s Tonya, I met her at the Bronze last night.” Faith laughs a little bit, and takes another bite from her burger. She starts thinking back to her wilder days before she started seeing Buffy, and she can think of three girls named Tonya that she slept with, and she met all three of them at the Bronze. ‘So odds are we probably slept together. Lets just hope she doesn’t remember me. Nah, it’s impossible to forget me.’
“Oh,” Faith says and gives her brother a very playful smile. “She sounds like a keeper. When’s the wedding?” He rolls his eyes and she laughs at her own joke. ‘If you can’t amuse yourself you might as well be dead.’ She crinkles up the wrapper and tosses it into the bag, and vows to never eat at the Doublemeat Palace again. “I need to stretch out, I’ve been sitting way too long.” She slides off the tailgate paces back and forth from one end of the truck to the other.
Then she bends down to touch her toes so she can stretch out some of the restless muscles. ‘And Cordelia said I could never be a cheerleader. Not that I want to.’ What she doesn’t notice is when she bends down it causes some of the pink material to poke out above the hem of her pocket, and when she stands up straight it makes even more of the fabric stick out. She can’t see any of this, but her brother sees the flash of color out of the corner of his eye. It catches his attention and he can’t help but look. His eyebrows furrow a little and he reaches out and snatches the pair of girly panties from his little sister’s pocket.
“What the fuck?” Faith yells when she feels her brother’s hand on her ass. “I know you’ve been in prison a long time, but that’s no excuse for incest.” She turns around and her eyes widen a little in fear when she sees what her brother is holding. But then she relaxes and even cracks a smile. ‘He’ll be a total hypocrite if he gets pissed. He fucked a girl named Tonya he met last night, I’ve been dating B for a month. If anyone should be pissy it’s me.’
“Please tell me these are yours,” he says, his voice laced with anger, and just a tiny bit of disappointment. Faith’s smile gets a little bigger, and she tries to take them back, but the taller boy hold them out of her reach.
“No, they’re not.” She sounds very pleased with herself. “You wanna give ‘em back? I was kinda hoping to hold onto for a while, like a souvenir or something.” She laughs a little at how perverted that sounds, but she doesn’t really care. She’s never done anything like this before, but this is different. She’s actually dating Buffy, the blonde actually means something to her, and she wants something to remember all of the big moments that happen in their relationship. And what better way to remember the first time she went down on her then by taking the underwear the blonde was wearing at the time?
“You’ve only been dating her for a month, and you slept with her?” he asks and Faith’s eyebrows furrow in confusion at his anger, and in anger because of his tone. “I can’t believe you lost your virginity to that prep.” ‘Wow, I guess it’s really time I sat him down and explained some things,’ she thinks and sighs a very deep sigh. “I know I haven’t been around, but you’ve been visiting me since you got your licence. I’d like to think I taught you better then that.”
“Who are you to decide what’s better?” she asks and takes a step forward. She was going to sit down and calmly explain what she’s been up to since she moved to Sunnydale, but what he’s implying about the blonde is getting her really pissed off. “She’s better, alright? I’m the trash who’s chasing after her. I have nothing to offer this chick, and she’s still around. She really likes me, and I really like her. I know you wanna think that you know me, but you don’t. You know the little eight year old girl you saved from Mom’s husband. Because if you really knew me you wouldn’t be pissed off that I’m dating Buffy.”
Memories from her past start to jump forward in her mind, and she can’t make them stop. Her eyes start to well up with tears but she forces them back. She takes a couple of steps backwards, and turns around so she’s facing away from her brother. She has so much respect for him. She just wants him to respect her, to view her as an equal. Not some little sister he needs to protect. She hears Noah walk up behind her, and then feels his hand on her shoulder. She shrugs it off and walks back over to the truck. She wipes away the drying tears and sniffles loudly. She hops back up on the tailgate and takes a drink of her soda.
“You are not trash, do you understand me?” he asks and stands about six inches in front of her. To anyone else his size would be intimidating, but to her he’s just one big teddy bear, always has been, always will be. “She’s not better then you because she has money, and a big house, and all the stuff we never had. No one is better then you because of that.” She sniffles again and sets the soda down.
“And we’re not better then them ‘cause we’ve had it rough. Why are you getting so pissed off? I can take care of myself, it’s not like she can hurt me.” He sighs and sits down next to her. He doesn’t notice when she slyly reaches over and grabs onto the panties. She tries not to smirk as she slips them into her back pants pocket.
“‘Cause you’re my little sister. I don’t like the thought of anyone touching you.” She can’t help but roll her eyes and she scarfs down some more of the fries. No one can switch from one emotion to the other faster then the Lehanes. It’s a genetic trait to go from being angry as hell and on the brink of tears, to perfectly fine like nothing happened.
“So it’s safe to say you won’t want to hang around us when we’re together?” she asks with a little mischievous smile on her face. She knows she should be careful, at this point teasing him is like poking a hibernating bear with a sharp stick. Eventually the bear is going to wake up and kill you, it’s just a matter of dropping the stick, and running away in the nick of time. “If you can’t stand the thought of her touching me you won’t want to be around her.”
“Oh, I’m going to hang out with you guys. I wanna keep my eye on you, make sure she doesn’t touch you.” Faith rolls her eyes and picks up another one of the burgers. Now that the fight is over and everything is calm her appetite is calling out for attention. ‘Besides I said I’d never eat there again. I bought this food before I said that so it doesn’t count.’ As she goes to take a bite she feels herself being lifted off the truck by a very strong arm. Then she feels a hand on her ass and fingers digging into her pocket. She tries to struggle against it, but it’s like a Jack Russell fighting off a Rottweiler.
“You’re not keeping these,” Noah says and lets her go. He laughs at the pout on Faith’s face but he doesn’t give in to what she wants. He stuffs the pink underwear into his front pants pocket where he knows Faith won’t venture into. “I’m gonna burn ‘em when you leave, and you’re goin straight home. I don’t want you hanging out with Buffy anymore today.” The teenager just rolls her eyes and tries not to sigh. ‘Big brothers: can’t live with ‘em, and it’s illegal to kill ‘em.’
Chapter 20 - My Enlightment
“You know we probably shouldn’t be doing this,” Buffy whispers breathlessly and moans when Faith kisses her again. It’s been two days since the ‘tutoring session’. The blonde told her mother last night that although she learned a lot from Alicia she still needs some help. Now the two are parked in the same spot as they were before. Nobody else seems to know about this spot so Buffy feels relatively safe that no one will catch them. The only problem is the twenty minute drive back to her house.
This time the tutoring session has been moved to the bed of the truck. The cab is too cramped, and after Faith had to suddenly slam on the breaks this morning to stop from running over a dog that wander into the middle of her lane, her cup of Star Bucks coffee went flying forward spilling all over the place. The overwhelming smell still lingers on the upholstery and it was giving both of them a headache. Luckily the brunette just so happened to have a blanket behind the seat that they could lay on so their clothes wouldn’t get dirty.
“Why’s that?” Faith asks and takes a little breath before continuing the heated battle their tongues are currently having at the moment. She’s trying as hard as she can to control herself, but Buffy’s had to swat at her wandering hands a couple of times. Is it her fault that kissing the blonde turns her on so much? She wants to taste the blonde again, and this time hopefully get a little reciprocation. ‘Don’t wanna be a pig, but she’s got me so worked up I might spontaneously combust if I don’t get some release.’
“I feel bad about lying to my mom,” the blonde says and moans when Faith starts kissing the sweet spot right behind her ear. This is Buffy’s small attempt to try and make the brunette feel a little guilty so they’ll stop the grope fest and talk. Although they talk a lot at lunch and during their morning break, they don’t talk about anything important. Buffy still doesn’t feel like she knows Faith. She tenses up a little when she feels the brunette cup her breast.
This isn’t the first time in the last half hour that this has happened. Faith seems have to a severe case of ‘grabby hands’, and so far the blonde has swatted the hands away, but now she’s starting to change her mind. ‘Finally she’s getting into it,’ Faith thinks and gently presses her palm against the hardening nipple below it. Her other hand, which so far as been resting on Buffy’s side, slowly sneaks its way down to the blonde’s thigh. To distract the blonde a little better, she gives up her soft sucking on Buffy’s neck, and kisses her on the lips again.
Buffy moans at the feeling of Faith’s soft lips on hers, and she opens her mouth to deepen the kiss. She is a little distracted though, because she’s trying to come up with a better excuse as to why they should stop. If she felt bad about lying to her mom then things would not have gone as far as they went two days ago. When she feels Faith hand start to work its way up her thigh and under her skirt she comes up with the perfect excuse. She pulls back from the kiss with a small smile on her face and she grabs onto the hand that’s about an inch away from its destination.
“Oh no you don’t,” she says and lets out a little giggle at the confused look on Faith’s face. “The last time you took off a pair of my underwear I never got them back.” She grabs onto the other hand that’s still cupping her breast and she pushes it down to Faith’s side. She then scoots away from the brunette and sighs. She leans against the cab of the truck and can’t help but wonder a few things. “Faith, what happened to that pair of panties I forgot in your truck?” ‘Thank God she thinks she forgot them. She’d probably kill me if she found out I took them.’
“My brother found them and threw them away. First he said he was going to burn them, and I got a little creeped out and questioned him on it. But then he said that he was just joking, and he threw them in the dumpster. Sorry about that. I can buy you a new pair if you want,” she says with a sexy smile, and she wiggles her eyebrows a little. It makes Buffy giggle and shake her head.
“I don’t know. I really don’t think comfort would be at the top of your priority list.” She watches as Faith scoots towards her, but she doesn’t try to kiss her like Buffy thought she was going to. Instead, she leans against the cab of the truck so the two are sitting side by side. She reaches out and gently slips her hand into Buffy’s and laces their fingers together. They sit in silence for a few minutes, both just enjoying the company of the other. But then Buffy’s mind comes up with another question, and she can’t help but ask.
“Hey Faith?” she says with a little hesitance. ‘She probably won’t answer me. She never did before,’ she thinks. “How come you haven’t gone to LA? I know you went last month, but how come you haven’t gone there yet?” From what Willow and Xander have told her Faith goes to LA at least once, sometimes twice a month, and usually stays a couple days at a time. Buffy didn’t really believe them until she questioned the brunette on it at school and the information was confirmed.
“‘Cause I don’t need to go back anymore,” she says with a little sigh. ‘So, this is the real reason why she stopped what we were doing? If she wants to talk all she has to do is say so.’ Before the blonde can ask the question she decides to just give her the answer. “I was going there to see my brother, but he’s here now so I don’t have to go back anymore.” Buffy thinks about what Faith just told her, and something doesn’t add up.
“Why did it take him so long to move here? When he gave me that ride home he said he wasn’t around to see you grow up. How come he wasn’t around?” the blonde sounds curious, and not at all pushy, which is what she was afraid of sounding like. ‘I don’t want her to think I’ll get mad if she doesn’t tell me.’ She watches as Faith seems to struggle with what she should do. She gently strokes the back of Faith’s hand with her thumb to try and comfort her.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I won’t get mad if you don’t want to talk about it.” That makes Faith feel a little guilty. ‘She just wants to know more about you. She said in the beginning she wants a real relationship and all you’ve done is try to get down her pants.’ She sighs a very deep sigh as she struggles to keep the pain from her past under control. The last thing she wants to do is break down in front of the blonde. She turns towards Buffy with a very serious expression on her face.
“If I tell you this you have to swear to me you won’t tell anyone.” She looks deeply into Buffy’s eyes. “Don’t tell Willow or Xander, or your mom, or write it down in your diary if you have one. This doesn’t leave here, ok?” Buffy nods her head, but she somehow knows a simple nod isn’t going to be enough. She gently cups Faith’s cheek and softly strokes the soft skin.
“I swear on my life I won’t tell anyone, or write it down. It’ll stay between us.” She feels Faith lean into her touch, but then she pulls away. She sits with her back against the cab and she stares at her knees. She hasn’t let go of Buffy’s hand, but her grip has loosened quite a bit. She sighs again, and forces herself to open up. This is something that she’s never told anyone, not even Anna. She’s taking a very large gamble by opening up, and hopefully this will end in her favor.
“He wasn’t around because he was in prison,” she says and Buffy tenses a little bit. Before she can even ask why Faith keeps talking. “It’s my fault he got locked up.” The blonde gets the feeling that she should just be quiet. From the pensive look on Faith’s face Buffy just knows that she’s going to get the whole story so she shouldn’t interrupt. “Our dad died in a car accident when I was real little. Like a year old or something like that. Mom never really got over it ‘cause he was the love of her life.
“She started drinking when I was five, probably before that she just wasn’t as concerned about hiding the bottles. That’s when she started dating these loser guys. They never really paid any attention to my brother or me. All they wanted to do was get drunk and have sex with my mom. There as no other reason for them to stick around.” She pauses, and takes in a deep breath, hoping that it will calm her down a little bit. She notices that Buffy is softly caressing the back of her hand again and it makes her smile. It goes away when she continues the story.
“But then she started dating this real dick named Jeremy. Mom’s boyfriends never stuck around for more then a couple weeks, but he wouldn’t go away. He got kicked out of his apartment after he lost his job so Mom let him move in with us. He was always bossing her around, and when he wasn’t fucking her or hitting her he was sitting in his ugly recliner watching TV and drinking.” She pauses again, and Buffy uses her other hand to caress Faith’s arm, and not just the back of her hand.
“One night she worked a double shift to cover for a girl that called in sick. When she got home Jeremy started screaming at her because she wasn’t home in time to make dinner. She told him to back off so he slapped her. Noah jumped up and pushed him back and told him to leave my mom alone. Jeremy punched him in the face, and took off his belt and beat him with it. When he was done he put his belt back on and said ‘nice try, son, better luck next time’.” She pauses again and Buffy leans a little closer hoping that being close with bring Faith a little comfort.
“Noah never left me alone with him after that. He was afraid that he’d beat me too. But then Mom lost one of her jobs, and Jeremy wasn’t working so Noah had to get a job so we wouldn’t get evicted. I just turned eight, and my mom got me this toy for my birthday. Ya know those little dogs that bark a couple times then do a flip?” She stops, and smiles a little bit at the memory of the birthday gift. Her mom had saved up for weeks so she could afford it. She takes another deep sigh as she thinks about the next part.
“And one night, when my mom and brother were both working, I was playing with it in the living room and Jeremy was watching TV like he always did. He told me to stop but I didn’t. I told him that he wasn’t my dad so I didn’t have to listen to him. He jumped up and grabbed it out of my hand and slammed it against the wall. It shattered into a bunch of pieces and I started crying. Then I got scared and I ran into my bedroom. He chased after me and pushed me onto my bed. He held me on my stomach and lifted my nightshirt up. Then he took off his belt and he started spanking me with it.” Buffy gets tears in her eyes as she imagines what that must’ve been like.
“I remember screaming for him to stop, but he said I had to learn my lesson for not listening. I remember it hurt so bad, and he wasn’t just hitting me on the ass, he was hitting my back and my thighs, and I couldn’t stop screaming. I remember hearing this loud smack, and he fell on top of me. Then he got up and I moved back to the corner of my bed, and I saw Noah and he was hitting him with a baseball bat. I was screaming at him to stop, but he wouldn’t. He just kept hitting him, and hitting him, even after Jeremy stopped moving.
“I guess one of the neighbors heard me screaming and called 9-1-1 ‘cause the cops showed up and they handcuffed Noah and took him into the living room and made him sit down on the couch. They took me out to one of the cars and had me sit in the backseat. I remember looking out the window and seeing the EMTs taking Jeremy out in a body bag, and they put him in the back of the ambulance and when they left they didn’t turn the siren on. I watched a cop take Noah to a different car and put him in the back, and they took him away.”
She can’t stop the tears from running down her face. She tries to wipe them away, but they just keep coming. She feels Buffy’s arms wrap around her, and pull her close. She rests her head on Buffy’s shoulder but she doesn’t allow herself to openly sob. She’s quiet for a few minutes while she calms herself down. The blonde starts gently rubbing her back, and stroking her hair, and she doesn’t stop for a second. When the throbbing in her head stops, and her tears come to an end, she sits up and wipes the moisture off her face. She sniffles very loudly and she smiles a little when Buffy keeps rubbing her back.
“Noah was charged with manslaughter. His defense attorney said that he was too overcome with anger at the sight of seeing our mom’s boyfriend attacking me to really control what he was doing. And he was. He told me that he saw Jeremy hitting me and he lost it. He only got eight years, but it’s still eight years. I lived with my mom for a while but she couldn’t quit drinking and eventually social services caught on to it, and they took me away. That’s when I moved in with my foster parents. After a couple years we moved to Sunnydale to get away from the big city.” She goes quiet after that and Buffy has a feeling that share time is over.
“God Faith,” she says with tears still in her eyes. “I don’t know what to say.” The brunette looks over at her for the first time since she started telling Buffy about her past, and she can’t help but get a little smile on her face. “I can’t even imagine what that must have been like. Is that why your brother is so protective of you? Is that why he doesn’t like me?” Faith’s smile gets a little bigger and she reaches out and wipes Buffy’s tears away as they fall.
“Sort of. In LA the rich and the poor don’t mix well. Where we’re from a girl like you wanting a girl like me wouldn’t end well at all. He’s afraid you’re going to use me then dump me, and he doesn’t want me to get hurt. When I saw him I told him he needs to back off a little and he said he’d tone it down, so we’ll see.” Something else that Faith said doesn’t sit right with the blonde. She hesitates but then decides she should go ahead and ask.
“I’m from LA and none of the kids at my school are like that,” she says trying not to sound like she’s accusing Faith of anything. The brunette looks at her for a few seconds and gets a little smile on her face.
“You went to Hemery, right?” she asks and Buffy nods her head. ‘What does that have to do with anything?’ “Hemery doesn’t have poor kids, Buffy. It has rich kids and even richer kids.” Buffy’s about to protest but then she thinks about it. ‘Dammit, she’s right.’ “It’s ok, B, don’t stress about it. You’re not like that so it doesn’t matter.” ‘No, I guess it doesn’t. God, she’s been through so much. I wish I could make it better.’ She starts thinking of some different way she could make Faith feel better, when the brunette looks down at her watch. “We better go or you’re gonna be late.”
Faith puts the blanket back behind the seat, and they both hop in. The drive back to Buffy’s house is silent except for the radio. Buffy really doesn’t know what to say. ‘What do you say to that? Oh I’m sorry your mom’s boyfriend beat you and you had to watch your brother kill him and your mom couldn’t stop being a drunk so the state took you away. Yeah I really don’t think that’s going to cut it.’ She shifts around in the seat and is glad the radio actually works in this piece of junk.
Again the brunette stops a block away just in case Dawn and/or Mrs. Summers are already home. She turns off the radio, and looks over at the blonde. Buffy has a far away expression on her face and Faith wonders what she’s thinking about. She’s about to say something when Buffy finally looks up at her. The blonde looks deeply into Faith’s eyes for what feels like forever. Then she leans forward and kisses her. It starts out deep, and only gets deeper. Buffy’s never kissed Faith this passionately before, and the brunette is having a little trouble keeping up. Then they finally pull back for air and Faith has a small smile on her face.
“What was that for?” she breathes out more then she says. Her question isn’t answer, but she is silenced with another mind numbing kiss. Their breathing is coming out very strongly through their noses and the only sound is the heavy smacking of their lips as their tongues battle for dominance. They can both feel the heat rising as the world seems to fade away, leaving just the two of them. Both of them have completely turned their brains off and are thinking with their feelings, and their bodies.
“Ok, I need air,” Faith says as she breaks the kiss. She rests her forehead against Buffy’s and they pant against each other. “You know I wanna keep doing this, but you gotta get home before your mom comes looking for you. She’ll have to drive passed us to get to the school and if she sees us we’re dead.” Buffy nods her head a little, but then presses her lips to Faith’s. The kiss is soft, and tender unlike the others that happened just moments before. Then she pulls back and looks deeply into Faith’s eyes again.
“Pick me up tomorrow?” she asks and Faith nods her head. She leaves one last kiss on the brunette’s lips before she grabs her backpack and gets out of the truck. She waves goodbye when Faith starts to drive off, and the brunette waves back. She slowly walks home and tries not to think about the things that Faith told her. ‘Her brother is out of prison now, and they’re building a relationship so that’s good. I think she would have told me if her foster family was abusing her. So I guess things are getting better. And hey, I’m going home from the ‘tutoring session’ and I still have my underwear so things could definitely be worst.’
Chapter 21 - My Suspicions
“Mom this so isn’t fair,” Buffy says and follows her mom from the living room into the kitchen. “It isn’t my fault Dawn’s not old enough to go by herself. Why do I have to play tour guide?” It’s been two days since the bubbly blonde, and her darker counterpart had their little chat in the back of Faith’s truck. Since the chat happened on a Friday, and it’s now Sunday the blonde hasn’t had a chance to talk with Faith. She’s afraid the slightly younger girl might withdraw and regret telling her all of that personal stuff.
But that also means it’s also been five days since Dawn moved into the house. She’s made a couple friends at school, and they made plans to go to downtown Sunnydale where all of the shops are. The problem is Janice’s mom had to cancel because of work related reasons. Joyce understood because in the past she’s had to cancel as a chaperone because of work. But when she saw how upset Dawn got when she heard the news she called Janice’s mom back and worked something else out.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you tell Dawn on Tuesday that you’d give her a tour of Sunnydale this weekend?” ‘Crap, she heard that? I wasn’t serious I was just trying to make her feel better. I swear you say one nice thing and it comes back to bite you in the ass.’ “So I suggest you suck it up and ‘play tour guide’, if you want me to rethink the length of your groundation.” ‘She’s going to rethink it? Yes!’
“Ok, Mom, I’ll play tour guide.” Then a thought comes to her mind that’s so brilliant she wants to sit back and admire herself for the genius idea. “Look, I’m not complaining or anything, but if I have to spend all afternoon with a couple of fifth graders, then can I have a friend there too so I won’t collapse from complete boredom?” ‘Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.’ She watches as her mom thinks about it and by how relaxed she looks Buffy can tell the answer is most likely going to be yes.
“I don’t see a problem with it.” Buffy squeals and gives her mom a big hug, and a somewhat sloppy kiss on the cheek. She starts to run out of the room so she can call Faith’s cell phone and tell the other girl about her brilliant plan. “But it can’t be Faith.” She stops dead in her tracks and turns around very slowly. She has a look of shock on her face that Joyce is finding very hard not to laugh at.
“Why not? You said I can take a friend. Faith’s a friend. Yeah, she’s my girlfriend but she’s also a friend.” ‘Damn, why is Mom being so stubborn about this whole ‘no seeing Faith’ thing. It’s like she doesn’t want me to have any fun at all.’ She takes a couple of steps closer to her mother as she waits for an answer.
“Buffy, I know this concept is hard for you to wrap your mind around, but I was once a teenager. And I know that if Faith comes along you two might sneak off together and leave your sister and her friend by themselves so you and Faith can have some fun of your own.” ‘What exactly is she implying? Because I don’t like it.’ Buffy tries to stay calm but it’s pretty hard. ‘It’s like she doesn’t trust me or something.’ Well, you have lied to her in the past, she has her reasons for being suspicious. ‘That is so totally different.’ How? ‘Well for one Dawn wasn’t anywhere near us so there was no chance of us getting caught.’
“So you’re saying you don’t trust me?” she asks laying down a guilt card. “I know I shouldn’t have let Faith in my room and I’m being punished for that now. But you can trust me, Mom. I’m not going to sneak off with her and leave Dawnie and her friend alone. Sunnydale is small but it has it’s fair share of weirdoes.” ‘That’s right, play at her fears. Child abduction is something every parent fears.’ “And Faith can help me keep an eye on them so they won’t try to ditch us. Dawn’s done that before.” She can see the wheels turning in her mother’s head and she tries not to smile.
“Will all four of you fit in Faith’s truck?” her mom asks and starts cleaning the potatoes she’s going to bake for dinner. Buffy thinks about it for a few seconds. Will they fit in Faith’s truck? If four teenagers can fit inside it to go to a dance then two teenagers and two fifth graders should be able to.
“Yeah, we can all fit. And if we don’t we can always tie Dawn to the hood of the truck like a deer.” Joyce gives her daughter a very disapproving look and Buffy puts her hands up in mock-surrender. “I’m just kidding. This way we can be home sooner. I can have Faith drop Janice off at her house first and then she can drop us off here.” Then she gets another idea in her mind. She wants to bring it up because it has been a few days since they last talked about it, and Joyce seems to have forgotten all about it. ‘But I could be asking for too much too soon. She could reconsider everything. But it’s a risk I’m willing to take.’
“You know, Mom, if Faith is going to be playing chauffeur and babysitter then maybe we should invite her over for dinner as a nice way of saying thank you.” Joyce stops what she’s doing and gives her daughter a sidelong glance. “She’ll do it just to be nice, she doesn’t need any motivation or anything but it would be nice to show her how much we appreciate her help.” Buffy watches as her mom sighs and goes back to cleaning the potatoes.
“I guess.” Buffy squeals and starts jumping up and down in a very girly way. “But I have a few rules for you.” ‘Fuck, I knew there’d be a catch.’ “You two are not allowed to go upstairs together.” ‘Understandable.’ “And you will be on your best behavior, and that means no making out.” ‘A little less understandable.’ “And if Dawn wants to hang out with you, you won’t complain, or call her names, or tell her to leave.” ‘Ok, that’s going too far.’ “If you argue with me I’ll call Janice’s mom and cancel the entire trip, and neither of you will be going to the mall.” ‘And if she does that and Dawn finds out it was because of me she’ll freak out.’
“You drive a hard bargain, but ok. We won’t act like delinquents, and we’ll let Dawn hang out with us if she wants to. Thanks Mom, you’re the best.” She feels like she has to add that even though she doesn’t believe it’s true. She gives her mom another kiss on the cheek and scampers off to call Faith. The phone isn’t in it’s cradle, however. She searches the entire downstairs before she heads upstairs thinking maybe she left it in her room. It’s not in there though. It’s in Dawn’s room, and the ten-year-old is on it talking to Janice and they’re going on and on about how much fun tomorrow is going to be.
“Alright runt I need the phone. Say goodbye to your little friend.” Buffy can tell that Dawn is going to argue with her, but her mother’s words from earlier come floating into her mind. ‘She won’t be able to say no once I tell her what mom said.’ “Look, Mom said if I don’t behave then she won’t let me go out tomorrow, and if I can’t go out then your little shopping trip gets cancelled. So say goodbye to whoever you’re talking to, and hand over the phone because if Mom hears us arguing then we’re both screwed.” The ten-year-old preteen thinks about it for a few seconds but knows she doesn’t have any other options.
“Janice I have to go. My sister’s about to throw a fit. I’ll see you tomorrow at school. Bye.” She hangs up and hands the phone to Buffy. “You have a cell phone, you know. Why didn’t you just use that?” Buffy rolls her eyes and starts dialing the number, and walking away from the younger girl at the same time. “And haven’t you ever heard of knocking? You always freak out whenever I go in your room without asking first.” Buffy has to bite her tongue to stop herself from fighting back.
“Hello?” Buffy hears when Faith finally answers her phone. ‘Wait, that’s not Faith’s voice. Who the hell is answering Faith’s phone?’ “Hello anyone there?” The girl pauses and waits and Buffy tries to recognize the voice, but she can’t. She has no idea who has answered her girlfriend’s cell phone. “I’m hanging up if you don’t say anything in the next three seconds.” That snaps Buffy out of her little shock.
“Sorry, is Faith there? This is Buffy.” ‘Why did I tell this chick my name? Oh well, doesn’t really matter now.’ The blonde has never felt this kind of panic before. It’s an odd mix of fear, anger, and denial. Fear that Faith might be cheating on her, anger that Faith might be cheating on her, and denial because Buffy doesn’t want to believe that Faith might be cheating on her. ‘Don’t jump to any conclusions. Just wait until you talk to her about it.’
“No, she isn’t. But I’ll tell her you called.” Before Buffy can say anything the girl hangs up. Buffy presses the end button and stares at the phone for a few seconds. ‘Did that really just happen? Did someone else really just answer Faith’s phone and then hang up on me? And she sounded a little breathless. What was she doing?’ Even though she keeps telling herself not to jump to conclusions, they jump to her. Images of Faith doing things with other girls that would cause them to be breathless start popping into her mind. And these aren’t the harmless fantasies she sometimes has when she’s bored.
Buffy wants to call Willow and rant to her about it just to get it off her chest, and hopefully get some best friend reassurance, but she can’t do that for two reasons. One, if her mom catches her talking on the phone and she isn’t asking Faith if she’ll give the girls a ride, then she’ll be grounded for even longer. Two, if she calls Willow and tells the redhead that she thinks Faith is cheating on her then she’ll get a fat ‘I told you so’. And having this rubbed in her face is the last thing she needs right now.
“Are you done on the phone yet? I need to call Maggie,” she hears Dawn say from her bedroom door. ‘Crap, I forgot to shut the door.’ “What’s wrong?” Buffy didn’t even realize that she had tears in her eyes or that her face was getting a little blotchy. She also has the whole Rudolph thing going on. Buffy sniffles and wipes at her eyes. Then she hands the phone to Dawn and lays down on her bed.
“I’m fine. I just don’t feel so good right now.” It isn’t a lie, she doesn’t feel good. If Faith is cheating on her then everyone at school is going to find out about it. Which means Willow and Xander are both going to be singing the ‘I told you so’ song. Being wrong is a horrible feeling. Being wrong about trusting someone is even worst, especially when you were warned. “Will you tell Mom I’m not hungry and I don’t want to come down for dinner?” Dawn is about to leave when the Summers’ stubbornness starts to kick in.
“Come on, Buffy you can tell me. I’m sure it’s not that horrible anyway.” ‘She probably just can’t decide what outfit to wear tomorrow, and she wants to look special for Faith.’ Dawn sits down on the edge of the bed and is surprised that her older sister hasn’t yelled at her to get out, or called her runt and said that she won’t understand because she’s too young. ‘Everybody thinks I’m too young. But I’m not stupid, I get stuff.’ To her surprise Buffy actually rolls over on the bed and faces her. More tears have appeared in her eyes, but she refuses to let them fall.
“Close the door,” the blonde says and sits up a little bit. She leans against her headboard and watches as Dawn jumps off the bed and quietly closes the door. Then the adolescent runs back over, and sits back down on the bed, this time closer to the blonde instead of being right on the edge. ‘I need to talk to someone just to vent, and if Dawn thinks I’m letting her in on a big secret and only trusting her with it then she won’t tell anyone.’ The blonde sighs a little and wipes at her eyes again. ‘My makeup is so screwed.’
“You can’t tell anyone about this, ok? Not even Mom.” Dawn nods her head and swears on the life of her hamster that she won’t tell anyone. And she does love that hamster. “I called Faith’s cell phone to ask if she’ll give us a ride tomorrow so we won’t have to walk to the mall.” ‘I can’t believe Mom said she could do that. This is such crap.’ “And someone else answered her phone. I don’t know who she was, but she said she’d have Faith call me back and then she hung up. She sounded like she was in a hurry to get off the phone.” Being only ten Dawn doesn’t fully understand why her sister is so upset.
“Maybe she was just busy.” Buffy can’t help but laugh a little bit at Dawn’s naivety. ‘That’s what I’m afraid of. That she was busy having sex with my girlfriend.’ Buffy sees that Dawn looks a little frustrated and she knows it’s because she laughed.
“I’m sorry, Dawn, I didn’t mean to laugh.” The younger girl knows that Buffy is serious because she actually said her name. She didn’t call her Dawnie, or brat, or runt. “It’s just, her being busy is what I’m afraid of.” She knows she needs to explain it better because her ten-year-old sister isn’t going to get it. “She sounded a little breathless, so I think she was busy, and by busy I mean I think she was doing something with Faith. Like making out, or having sex.” She watches as Dawn’s big blue eyes get even bigger.
“What are you going to do about it?” she asks and Buffy just shrugs her shoulders. Infidelity is what broke her family apart and she’ll be damned before she lets her sister do nothing when she thinks her girlfriend might be cheating on her. “Buffy you can’t let her get away with it. If she’s cheating on you then you have to break up with her.” Buffy looks into her little sister’s eyes and really looks at her. ‘When did she get so grown up and knowledgeable? I guess I was too into myself to really pay attention.’
“I’m not going to let her get away with it. But that girl could have been anyone, doing anything. Just because she sounded breathless and answered Faith’s phone it doesn’t mean she was cheating on me. I’m just overreacting because Faith doesn’t have a very clean past, and I know that her being faithful to me has got to be hard for her.” Dawn wants to know exactly what Buffy is talking she has a feeling that her sister won’t tell her even if she asks nicely. “I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow. And you can’t be mean to her. If you treat her like a criminal then she’s going to suspect something. So be nice, ok?” Dawn nods her head and sighs a little. ‘I hope Faith isn’t cheating. I don’t really like Buffy, but I want her to be happy. And so far Faith has made her happy. If she’s cheating then Buffy will never be happy again.’
