Before any of them knew it, the months slipped by. There were no catastrophes, no dramas, life seemed pretty damned good. Faith and Robin had gotten engaged shortly after their girl’s night out. Buffy was Faith’s one and only bride’s maid; Gunn was Robin’s. Gunn and Buffy now talked regularly because they were planning a killer bachelor/bachelorette party together…even though the couple had made it clear they weren’t getting married anytime soon, staunchly refusing to set any kind of date whatsoever. But other than that, no life altering changes, no one dying, or exploding, or…anything.
It was the calm before the storm, Buffy just knew it. She took a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm down. She was graduating today. Today!
The ceremony was being held at twelve, but Buffy had been up since seven. She was a bundle of nerves, constantly straightening her robes. It wasn’t like she actually had to do anything: just walk across the stage, accept the diploma, and walk off the stage. Easy.
Buffy cast aside thoughts of her parents. She’d done everything she could. She’d sent them an invitation, called them a couple of time to drop hints about it…but she hadn’t gotten a straight answer. Knowing her parents, they were probably skiing in Switzerland right now. But whatever. This was a time to be happy!
Willow, Tara, Faith, Robin, Gunn, Xander, Lorne, Spike, William, and Riley were all going to be there. Anya was doing something vague, which in itself was odd. Anya wasn’t a vague kind of person. Giles had been invited, but he was the head of an international publishing firm, so his schedule was a bit booked. Buffy smiled when she thought about the older man. They’d grown close; she’d talked to him about a lot of things since meeting him at the house warming party, and he was genuine and sincere and…fatherly.
“Fifteen minutes, people! I need you guys in alpha order!” a voice hollered through the small waiting room. Buffy put on her cap, pinning it into place. This was it. She was ready to get her diploma and never do homework again!
************ ************ **** ************ ************
“Oh, where is she? Do you see her? I hope she’s not too nervous, she said she couldn’t sleep last night. But she’s got a beautiful dress and some killer shoes, so at least she didn’t have to worry about that! Oh, I bet she looks fantastic!” Willow babbled, searching for a sign of her best friend. And completely ignoring the fact that none of the graduates were in sight yet.
“Did you give her caffeine again, Glenda?” Spike asked with a long-suffering sigh.
“Nope,” she giggled, “she’s just on Willow.”
“We’d be rich if we could sell her in pill form,” Xander joked. Will stifled a derisive snort; this was Buffy’s day, and the least he could do was pretend to get along with the whelp. For her sake. Spike, apparently, had no such compunction.
“Think of that one yourself, Whelp?”
“It’s as original as your look, Billy,” Xander fired back.
“Oh my pretties! None of that! No fighting unless it’s over me,” Lorne chastised. Faith pulled a flask out of Robin’s coat pocket. She took a big swig before passing it to Spike, who looked at her with wonder and awe.
“I love you,” he murmured sincerely. She gave him a saucy wink and then wrapped one arm around her fiancée’s waist.
“Hey! They’re coming! Oh, they’re processing!” Willow squealed. They all turned to try and get the first glimpse of Buffy. The procession went by, professors first, then undergrads, and finally…Buffy. She was smiling brightly, beautiful, radiant…
“Effulgent,” Spike whispered in awe. A strong, warm hand slipped into his and squeezed quickly before it was gone.
Effulgent indeed, Will thought. Buffy looked beautiful. When they called her name, the entire row went crazy, cat calling and generally being obnoxious. But it was worth it to see her pretty smile.
************ ************ **** ************ ************
“Buffy! Buffy! Over here!” Buffy said goodbye to one of her classmates, heading over to a frantically waving and jumping Willow. All of her friends were looking on with amused smiles. Even…
“GILES!” Buffy ran up and gave him a huge hug despite his awkward stuttering. “You came!”
“Er..yes, quite. I-it obviously meant a lot to you, so I…made it a priority to get here. Congratulations.” Buffy felt tears misting in her eyes. She gave hugs to everyone, lingering a bit with Spike and Will. This was amazing! Everyone was…
“Wait…has anyone seen Riley?” The group exchanged glances with each other before settling on Xander.
“Hey, don’t look at me! I haven’t heard from him in a couple of days! I’m his friend, not his keeper!” he protested.
“Oh. Well, I’m sure he’s here, just, lost in the crowd or something,” Buffy said valiantly. But Riley never showed up, not even for the post graduation dinner at Buffy’s favorite restaurant. He didn’t pick up his cell phone all day either. She’d done a good job playing it off, but everyone knew Buffy was upset. The Twins escorted a subdued Buffy to their apartment.
“Pet…” Will started.
“Hey, thanks you guys,” she said softly. “This…this was perfect. Really. I’m just a little tired, long day and all. I’m going to go to bed, so I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yeah.” They watched her go, a dejected slump in her shoulders.
“I really hate that wanker,” Spike growled.
“You an’ me both.”
************ ************ **** ************ ************
Buffy had just changed into her night clothes when her phone rang. She picked it up without even checking the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“Hey Babe, it’s me.” Buffy sighed wearily.
“What is it, Riley?”
“Hey, don’t be like that. I’m sorry I missed your thing. I had this emergency at work, I’m in Arizona. I would have called but—“
“It’s fine, Riley. Really. I’m just tired.”
“Did you have fun?”
“Yeah, everything went really well. Everyone was there.”
“Great. Well, how about I take you out when I get back?”
“That…that sounds great,” she mumbled without enthusiasm.
“Alright. I’ll see you in a couple of days, then, baby. Love ya.” Riley hung up the phone and turned his attention to the naked blonde in his bed. “You free the next couple of days?”
Buffy sat on her bed for a few moments, trying to sort out a few things. What she needed to do was forget Riley for a minute and hang out with her twinlets. They always made her feel better. She climbed out of bed and hovered in the entrance way, wondering how to get over the awkward feeling. She’s basically brushed them off, and now…
“You just gonna stand there pet?”
“There’s enough room for three.”
She gratefully slid in between them, snuggling into their dual embrace. She felt all of her cares and worries slip away.
“So, what are we watching?”
“Equilibrium,” Will answered.
“Bloody brilliant film. See, this government has made it illegal to feel…”
A/N: only one more chapter to go. SCARY! But that means TWINLETS will be updated...and soon. And for those of you following my other fic, Haven...thanks. That one's kind of my baby ;)
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Only one more chapter to go!!!