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I think you all will enjoy this chapter...
Painting Extravaganza

Buffy set the last of the paint on the sheet on her bedroom floor. All of her furniture was set up in the middle of the floor and covered with old sheets her mom had given her. She was getting ready to paint. Julie and Juliet were supposed to come over and help her, but Julie had called earlier and said something had come up with Juliet’s mom and they were going to see her. Buffy could tell she felt bad, but told her that it was more than okay and that family was more important. To make up for the lack of them, Juliet had called James who had agreed to come over and help her. She was glad because she wouldn’t have to do it all herself, but was still a little unsure of him. It had been a few weeks since she had “met” him and they had become pretty good friends. Still it was a little weird to hang out with him alone.

She hadn’t seen him since her “date” a few nights ago. The night that was still on her mind. Julie had a son with Angel…or David. It had been a shock no doubt and she didn’t know what to think. Angel was here. But when he had looked at her, she hadn’t seen any of the adoration she was used to seeing. Not that he would have feelings for her here. He didn’t know her after all. It was still unsettling to her. And that dream was still on her mind. Everything was making sense and becoming more confusing all at the same time, and she only wished that she had someone to talk to about it. But all of her knew friends would think she was insane if she told them everything, and she didn’t want to lose them.

She heard the doorbell ring and proceeded down the stairs to the front door. She smiled when she saw James standing there in shorts and a t-shirt that looked like it had been painted in many times before.

“Welcome,” she said motioning him into the house. “So you ready to do some painting?”

“You bet I am.” She laughed and started up the stairs.

“Then follow me.” They went up to her room and headed over to where she had put the paint down.

“Fun fun.” He had his hands on his hips looking over everything.

“You know you really don’t have to do this.” He looked up at her.

“But I want to.”

“Yeah I’m sure that helping me paint my room was your perfect idea for a Saturday.” He smiled.

“I happen to enjoy painting.”

“Whatever you say.” She bent down and grabbed a screw driver. “Okay first we need to prime. I went ahead and filled in all the holes last night so they could dry.”

“Well aren’t you just the little painter?”

She smiled. “Yes. Painting should be my middle name.” He laughed at her.

“So what would you like me to do?”

“You could bring me that pan over there,” she said pointing. He nodded and went to retrieve it as she popped the lid off of the paint. She poured the primer into the pan and they picked up brushes and began applying it to the walls.

“So what color are we painting this room anyway?”

“Blue.”

“Blue?” he asked with a hint of distaste in his voice.

“Yes blue. Is there a problem with that?”

“No. It’s just…blue? Come on. You could do better than that. Why not red or orange?”

“Or I could paint it black and board up the windows.” He laughed and she did too.

“I suppose that could also be an option. Though I don’t think the dark side suits you.” It was an odd statement. Odd because it was opposite of what Spike used to tell her. He said she belonged on the dark side.

“You’re right. It really doesn’t.”

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“Well good work team. That only took us like 20 minutes.” James put his brush down and placed his hands on his hips.

“Don’t get too excited, that’s only the primer,” Buffy said doing the same. “We still have to let it dry before we can apply the actual color.”

“And how long will that take?”

“About an hour. Maybe a little less. Why?” (A/N- so I don’t know how long it really takes primer to dry…but lets pretend…)

“Well I don’t know about you, but I’m starved. So why don’t we go grab a bite to eat while we wait?” he asked more hopefully than he intended. He hoped that he wasn’t sounding too desperate. Though he still wasn’t too sure why being desperate was even a problem. It wasn’t like he was trying to pursue her.

“Sounds good. I’m actually starved. I skipped breakfast this morning.”

“Shame shame. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

“So they say.” They stood a moment longer.

“Shall we go?”

“We shall. But we don’t actually have to go anywhere. Mom bought sandwich stuff. She thought Julie and Juliet were coming.”

“Even better.” They went downstairs and into the kitchen. Buffy headed for the refrigerator.

“Hey could you get the plates? There in the third cabinet.” He nodded and proceeded to do just that. Buffy retrieved ham, turkey, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise from the fridge and set them on the table. She then grabbed the bread and some knives out of the drawer. James laid the plates on the table.

“How about drinks.”

“Oh yeah. Umm…there are some sodas in the fridge.” He went to open it.

“There’s Coke and Diet Coke.”

“Diet please.”

“Sure thing.” He grabbed the drinks and sat down at the table. Buffy returned with napkins and sat down beside him. She opened the bread and handed him two pieces. They made their sandwiches and ate them over light conversation. They talked about James’s band and how he was planning on starting school in the fall. Then they talked about Buffy and what she was planning on doing with her life. It seemed everyone wanted to talk about that. First her mom, then Julie, and now James. But honestly she was happy for someone to talk to about it who understood. He had taken a break after high school working odd jobs and playing at local clubs. He hadn’t been ready to decide his future, which was exactly how she was feeling now. She’d only been out of the hospital for around a month and a half. She was still trying to adjust. For a moment she thought about telling him about her other world and how crazy this all seemed but decided not to. She didn’t need him thinking she had relapsed.

After lunch they headed back up to her room and began painting again. Their conversation seemed to take on slight flirtyness. They would make little comments to each other and then smile. He would purposely bump into her causing her to mess up, and she would do that same back to him. They continued talking and laughing until the room was finished.

“We’re all done.”

“Now can I say how incredibly awesome we are?”

“Yes.”

“We are so incredibly awesome.”

“Duh.” He smiled at her as she threw her brush down and wiped her forehead with her sleeve. She really was beautiful.

Something possessed him then. Something to strong to ignore.

“Hey Buffy.”

Before she knew what was happening he bent down, stuck his brush in the paint, and slung it in her direction. It hit her square in the face. She wiped her face and gaped at him.

“I know you did not just throw paint on me.” He put his finger on his chin.

“I think I did.” She got an evil look on her face.

“Then I believe you have just declared war.” She picked her brush back up and dipped it in that paint. He tried to dodge her but she managed to get some in his hair. His mouth dropped open.

“Not the hair. Now you’ve done it.” She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. They both dropped back down to get another dip in the paint, and she ran to the other side of the furniture. He chased after her. They both managed to get some paint on the other and when they reached the buckets Buffy was the first to pick one up.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh I would.” He ran at her and she slung the paint at him. He recovered more quickly than she had anticipated and came for her. She threw the bucket down and squealed and she ran from him. He caught up to her after she’d made a few loops around the furniture and had played the cat and mouse game. When he did he grabbed her around the waist from behind and half carried her back to the paint. She managed to free herself from his grasp to grab the brush before he could.

“You don’t wanna do this Buffy.”

“Don’t I?”

“Definitely not.” She slung it and him but he avoided it and grabbed her again. This time he stepped on a spot of spilled paint and slipped taking them both to the ground. Laughter consumed them for a moment. Then she pushed herself up on his chest and looked at him. She found herself staring into blue. She remembered getting lost in those eyes. James was having similar problems himself. She was covered in paint, and yet he still found her incredibly beautiful. They stayed frozen unable to look away from each other. Both of their minds were racing. Then slowly they began moving closer. They were mere inches apart.

“Buffy!” The voice from downstairs cause them both to immediately get up off of the ground and get as far away as they could from the other. “Buffy, I’m home,” Joyce yelled.

“Okay mom,” she yelled back looking at James out of the corner of her eye. He was shifting nervously. Joyce knocked on the door before opening it. She was about to make a comment on the room when she noticed the condition of her daughter and neighbor.

“It looks like you two got more paint on yourselves than on the walls.”

“We had a little paint war,” Buffy said keeping her voice as innocent as possible.

“Looks like it.” She shook her head and looked around. “It looks good though.”

“Thanks.”

“Seems you two make quite the team.” They looked at each other nervously.

“Yeah, I guess we do.”

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