Chapter 3
Friday morning, Buffy was woken by her mother’s loud yell.
“Happy Birthday Buffy!”
Buffy opened her eyes sleepily, and glared at her mother. She looked at the clock next to her bed and groaned.
“Don’t be so grouchy. It’s your birthday!”, her mother told her, leaning against the open door.
“Yeah, it’s my birthday. You woke me up ten minutes early. I could have really used those ten minutes!” Buffy grumbled, throwing the comforter over her head.
“Well, lay there for ten more minutes, but you better be downstairs in forty-five minutes.” Joyce told her.
“Fine.” Buffy huffed from under the comforter.
Joyce sighed, and left the room.
Buffy pulled the comforter off of her head and stared at the ceiling. She was startled when Joyce popped back into the room.
“God, mom. You trying to kill me? On my birthday, no less. ”
Joyce chuckled.
“Don’t forget to tell your sister happy birthday.”
Buffy rolled her eyes.
“Mom. We were born at the same time. I doubt we’d forget.”
“Well, just thought I’d tell both of you, considering the fact that neither of you ever speak to each other.”
Joyce left before Buffy could reply. Buffy sighed, and rolled out of bed.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy came down the stairs, a little perkier than she was earlier. She walked into the kitchen where Anya and Joyce were standing. Anya was babbling about money again, while Joyce tried to cook. Joyce looked up at Buffy when she walked in.
“Feeling better now?”, she asked, flipping a pancake.
“Yep.”
Buffy took out a plate and grabbed some of the chocolate chip pancakes her mother had made.
“Ooh, birthday pancakes.” Buffy said, munching happily.
Joyce smiled at Buffy. Anya sat down next to Buffy with her own plate.
“Happy Birthday Buffy.”
Buffy looked at Anya and smiled.
“Thanks, Anya. Happy Birthday to you too.”
“So, how does it feel to be eighteen, girls?” Joyce asked, joining them.
Anya shrugged.
“I don’t feel any different than I did yesterday.” Buffy said.
Joyce chuckled.
“Anya, Buffy and I were going to have a little birthday celebration tonight. Just the three of us. We’ll watch movies, and have cake.” Joyce told Anya.
“And don’t forget the ice cream.” Buffy said.
“And ice cream. What do you say? You never did tell me what you wanted to do.”
Anya shook her head.
“Actually, I invited some of my friends over. We pretty much had the same idea you did. If that’s ok with you.”
Joyce looked at Buffy, who was pushing her food around the plate.
“What about your sister?”
Anya looked at Buffy.
“You can join us, Buffy. It’s your birthday too.”
Buffy sighed.
“Sure. That’s fine with me.”
“Great!” Anya said, happily.
The girls finished their breakfast, then headed for school.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Anya walked over to the others, who were sitting under “their” tree in the quad.
“Hey guys. Hi Xander.” Anya said, greeting the others, while giving her boyfriend a kiss.
“Happy birthday Anya.” Xander told her.
“Where is my present?” Anya immediately asked him, looking around.
“I’ll give it to you later.” Xander said.
“But I want it now.” Anya pouted.
Xander leaned over and whispered in Anya’s ear. Spike shook his head and chuckled, knowing what he was telling her. The rest of the gang looked just as amused.
Anya grinned, then pouted.
“Why can’t I get it now?”, she asked.
“Because now is not the time. Or the place. Definitely not the place.” Xander said, turning a little red.
“Ok.” Anya replied, defeated. Then she whipped around to face the others.
“Did you guys get me presents? You better have gotten me some.”
“Of course we did. But you’ll just have to wait till lunch.” Willow said, from her perch on Oz’s lap.
“I guess that’s ok. As long as there are many gifts.” Anya mumbled.
“So, what did your mum get you?” Spike asked.
“Not sure yet. But I think it’s money. I hope it’s money.” Anya replied.
All of a sudden, Xander’s face lit up and he waved.
“What are you doing?” Spike asked him.
“Jesse’s back.”
Jesse joined the group under the tree.
“Hey guys. What’s the what?”
“Hey Jesse. Welcome back. How was your trip?” Willow said, giving him a hug.
“Hey Will. It was ok. Except the plane ride. I hate planes. New York was way too cold for me. I like my hot air.” Jesse replied.
“You certainly let out enough hot air whenever you speak.” Spike said, smirking.
Jesse playfully smacked him in the chest.
“You hit like a girl, mate.” Spike said, chuckling.
“Yeah, well, at least I don’t scream like one.” Jesse retorted.
Spike’s smirk faded, and he stood up straight.
“Hey. I wasn’t expecting your dumb ass in my closet during the middle of the night. And I thought I told you never to bring that up again.” Spike scowled, referring to a prank Jesse had played on him.
“Ha ha! Whatever.” Jesse replied, laughing.
Spike was about to reply when Xander intervened.
“Alright, kids. Chill out.”
“So, what’s happened since I’ve been away?” Jesse asked.
“You were only gone a week.” Xander said, chuckling.
Jesse shrugged.
“You missed the encounter with the Cordettes last night at the Bronze.” Oz said, speaking for the first time since they had been there.
“Yeah. I ran into Buffy, and she was, like, ‘that’s ok’ and then she asked me who I was with, and I almost got to introduce her to everybody.” Willow said.
“Almost?” Jesse questioned.
“Yeah. Cordelia and the others interrupted and insulted us, like usual. Then they left.” Willow answered.
“Huh.” Jesse said, shaking his head.
“She ran into me on my way back from the bar. I think she just left them.” Spike said.
“Bet you enjoyed that.” Jesse said, smirking.
“No comment.” Spike answered, simply.
The bell rang, and they headed off to class.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy stalked through the hallway on her way to lunch. Her day had been horrible since she stepped onto the Sunnydale High quad. The first thing Cordelia did was snap at her for deserting them at the Bronze. Then, they went on about their
normal lives, oblivious to the fact that it was Buffy’s birthday.
The last thing she expected from them was gifts, but a simple “Happy Birthday” would have been fine. At least she would have known they thought about her.
‘Friends, my ass. I should really consider finding new ones. Ones that care.’
Her thoughts went to Willow and her friends. Buffy shook her head.
‘Who am I kidding? That’s never gonna happen. They hate me. And they have good reason to.’
She opened her locker, and threw her books in. She sighed, and violently slammed the door shut. She turned around abruptly and ran into Spike.
“Is there a bloody sign on my forehead that says ‘tackle me’?”, he asked.
“Well, you were in my way.” Buffy said.
“You didn’t even see me!” Spike countered.
“Then you should stop being so…sneaky! Yeah, if you weren’t so sneaky, I would have seen you!” Buffy said, making up the first excuse she could think of.
“Well then, luv, I guess I’ll go sneak my way to lunch.” Spike said, smirking. Buffy glared at him and continued stalking down the hallway. Spike watched her walk away. He shook his head, then made his way to lunch.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy made her way through the crowded cafeteria to her usual table. She sat down next to Harmony.
“Hey guys.” Buffy greeted.
“Hey Buffy. You talk to Angel today?” Harmony asked.
“No. I haven’t seen him actually.” Buffy replied.
“Oh.” Harmony said, and turned back to Cordelia, who was talking about the latest trends in Europe.
Buffy sighed and scanned the cafeteria to see if anything interesting was happening. Angel and his friends sat a few tables over, mostly football players. There was a small group, or trio rather, towards the back that she only knew as geeks, members of the science club and really into Star Wars. She spotted Anya and her friends sitting at their usual table. They were throwing confetti on Anya, while she squealed. They were all laughing and obviously having a lot of fun. There was a small cake on the table with candles. Buffy’s face fell when she realized they were celebrating her birthday.
“What about you Buffy?”, she heard Cordelia say.
“Huh?”
Cordelia rolled her eyes.
“I asked if you were going to the Bronze tonight?”
“Uh, no. I have plans.”
“Plans? What plans?” Cordelia asked.
“Family plans.” Buffy stated.
“So. Ditch them.” Cordelia snapped.
“No, I won’t.” Buffy replied.
“Whatever.” Cordelia said, turning away from her to face the other girls.
Buffy shook her head and stood up to leave.
“Where are you going?” Cordelia asked her.
“To the bathroom.” Buffy replied, walking away before Cordelia could speak.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The gang, well, pretty much Xander, Willow, and Jesse, threw confetti on Anya. They were all laughing at the mess they made. There was a small cake sitting on the table, with green frosting, Anya’s favorite color, the color of money. There were eighteen candles, which Anya had blown out.
“So your mom said it was ok if we came over tonight?” Willow asked.
“Yep. Oh, uh, I kinda had to invite Buffy, since it’s her birthday too.” Anya replied.
“That’s ok.” Xander said.
“She insults me and I will get very angry.” Jesse said, remembering that most of his experiences with Buffy had involved a lot of insults and teasing.
“She won’t. I’ll talk to her.” Anya said.
“Ok, then. What time do you want us to be there?” Spike asked.
“Um, maybe seven. That sound ok?” Anya replied.
Everyone agreed to meet at the Summers’ house at seven, promising to bring lots of gifts.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy sat in one of the bathroom stalls. She was crying, upset because no one seemed to remember her birthday.
‘Another Buffy birthday gone bad. I should really stop celebrating this cursed event.’
Buffy came out of the stall and walked over to the mirror and examined her reflection.
‘Now I’m all splotchy.’
She sighed looking at her face, and splashed some cold water on her face. She heard the bell ring, and stared at the bathroom door.
‘No one will miss me.’
She waited until the hall was clear, and left the bathroom. She gathered her things, quietly left the building and headed home.
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