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The U in Us

“Yours?” Michelle asked confused. Buffy looked back at the girl.

“Well not mine. I just meant I used to have one just like it and they haven’t been out that long. At least not long enough to be with this stuff.”

“Oh. I guess someone must have dropped it in there then.”

“Yeah they must have,” Buffy replied her eyes still on the silver ring in her hand.

“So what are we gonna do with it?”

“I don’t know. I guess I could give it to my mom.” Michelle nodded.

“Okay.” She looked around. ‘Well that’s the last of it. Guess I can go now. It was nice to meet you Buffy.”

“You too. Maybe we’ll see each other around.” Even thought the girl was not her sister in this world she still remembered her as such.

“Yeah maybe,” she said walking back to where Amber was. Buffy looked after her. She seemed happier than she ever was when she was her sister. Though in that world there had been the problem of demons and vampires and apocalypses. She looked back at the ring in her hand. How strange that it would be here. A ring much like the one she had received in her dream world years ago. The one she’d kept even after it was over.

“Buffy.” She turned to see her mother standing there. “Are you ready to go?” Buffy slipped the ring in her pocket.

“Yeah.”

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“That was delicious,” Joyce said as they pulled out of the parking lot.

“I concur,” Buffy replied. “We should definitely do that more often.” The older woman smiled. She was so glad that her daughter was enjoying their time together as much as she was. They had missed out on so much.

“Mom. Can I ask you something?”

“Of course dear.”

“Do you think I’ll ever be able to be normal again? I mean, do you think that I’ll ever completely readjust?” Joyce looked sincerely at her daughter.

“Yes Buffy. You’re going to be fine. You just need some time. You can’t expect things to just happen. It takes some time.”

“I know, but I’m tired of waiting. I mean everyone treats me like a normal person, but I still don’t feel like one. I still think about things that happened in my dreams all the time. I keep thinking about the fake memories as real ones.”

“Well the doctors said that was normal. After what you went through. And for six years.”

“I know. I know. I just…I wanna feel normal.”

“You will.” Buffy looked out the window. She wanted more than anything to believe that, but something wouldn’t let her. Something in the back of her mind wouldn’t let her live this normal life. Something kept telling her it was wrong.

Buffy shook her head. She needed to stop this. ‘What happened to moving on and leaving the past behind,’ she thought to herself. She decided to change the subject.

“So my job hunting didn’t go so well today. I went to several places and none of them seemed too great.”

“Well you know I can always find you a job at the gallery if you really want one.” Buffy made a face and reached to touch the small bulge in her pocket. Why she had decided to keep the ring a secret from her mother she still wasn’t sure.

“Thanks mom, but I don’t think working around artifacts seems like my cup of tea. No offense.” Joyce laughed.

“Yes I forgot you don’t like those kinds of things anymore. But if you ever change your mind the offers always available.”

“I appreciate that.”

“What are mothers for?”

“Cooking good food and doing your laundry?” Buffy said with a smile on her face.

“Well besides that,” she replied smiling as well. Buffy laughed lightly looking up as they pulled into the driveway. Her smile faded when she saw someone on the porch. A James looking someone. She felt her heart begin to beat faster. What was he doing here?

“Looks like someone’s here,” Joyce said putting the car in park and shutting off the engine.

“Yeah…looks like,” Buffy said getting out of the car. The two women walked to the door.

“James,” Joyce said recognizing the man on her porch.

“Hey Mrs. Summers,” he said. He had his hands in his pockets and looked a little nervous.

“Would you like to come inside?”

“No that’s okay. Actually I just needed to talk to Buffy. About school.” He gave her a look that told her that was not at all what he wanted to talk about.

“Well good. I’m glad you two are going to the same college. Maybe you can be study buddies or something.” They both laughed nervously.

“Mom. I haven’t even gotten in for sure yet.”

“Bur you will,” she told Buffy before heading in. “Oh and James you are welcome anytime…you know that.”

“Yes mam. Thank you.” She nodded and closed the door.

“So what is this about school?”

“It’s not about school.”

“I didn’t figure that it was.” He shifted from foot to foot.

“We need to talk.”

“About what?” Buffy said trying to pretend she had no idea what he was talking about.

“About this.” He gestured between them. “About us.”

“There is no us James. There’s me and there’s you…and Juliet.”

“I know you don’t believe that.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’m tired of pretending there’s nothing between us. When I’m with you I get this feeling…I can’t explain it. And when we kissed…I know you felt something too. And I know that it freaked you out, and I’m sorry about that. And maybe this is all happening too fast but I can’t help what I’m feeling. And neither can you.” He had stepped closer to her. She looked at him and knew he was right. She did feel something for him and it did freak her out. But as usual she didn’t want to admit that. So she did what came natural to her when he was around.

“So what? You wanna kiss me? You wanna go out with me? You wanna dump your girlfriend of nearly seven years to take a chance on a crazy girl?”

“You are not crazy. I know that you’ve gone through a lot the last couple of months but…”

“You have no idea what I’ve gone through. You don’t know what it’s like to have people look at you and think ‘I wonder when she’s gonna crack and have to go back to the hospital.’”

“People do not think that about you. And if they do…then they’re the one who’s crazy.” She crossed her arms and looked at the ground.

“Look at me,” he said putting a hand under her chin. “I don’t just wanna kiss you. I want to know you. I want to know all about you and your life. What you want…what your dreams are. I want to know everything. And I promise you that I will here for you. If you’ll let me.” She found herself getting lost in his eyes.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“I know where to start,” he said leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. Buffy found herself responding to the kiss almost immediately. She grabbed his upper arms and his hands found her waist. The kiss lasted about a minute until he pulled back and put his forehead to hers.

“Now tell me there’s no us.”

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