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Ch. 22: Drama Queens

"Ahhh. A deck of cards, a roaring fire, and a refrigerator full of beer. What more could a guy ask for?" Xander asked with a smile.

Though all three of them could easily imagine something more, something with soft curves and kissable skin, they all agreed wholeheartedly.

"This place is pretty awesome," Spike commented, nodding at their surroundings. It had taken them a little over an hour to reach the place, and they'd eased in quickly, gathering firewood, setting up their sleeping arrangements, and taking stock of what was there. The kitchen was much better stocked than they'd anticipated, courtesy of Oz's uncle, and the cabin was warm and inviting. "Thanks for letting us crash here this weekend." He handed out beers and then slid into his seat.

"No problem." Oz nodded back as he quickly shuffled and dealt the cards. "Xan?" And thus began their first round of poker.

--

"Do you think this color looks good with my skin tone?" Anya asked, eyes squinting at the blood red nail polish currently adorning her hands. "Do you think it's too goth?"

Buffy nodded as she blew gently on her own nails. "Yes, I do. I think it's hideous."

"God, don't be shy about your opinions, really. I mean, if it was so hideous, why didn't you say anything before?" Anya retorted, sarcasm dripping.

"Well, it's not like you would've listened. You wanted the color, so you put it on. It's not my fault it's hideous." Buffy shrugged and then continued to work on her own nails.

Anya stared at her in annoyance and then got up to retrieve the nail polish remover. "Someone's got a stick up her ass," Anya muttered as she walked the short distance.

Buffy heard her comments but said nothing. She really did feel bitchy—and the least of it was that on Valentine's Day she was sitting on her ass painting her nails instead of cuddling with her—a—any boyfriend. She tried to channel her anger into painting perfect nails.

Anya plopped down again and began rubbing viciously at her nails. "You know, it's not like your nails look all that great either."

Buffy gave her a dirty look. "I think they look fine." She pursed her lips and tried not to get involved in a silly argument fueled more by her discontentment with life and less by her annoyance with Anya.

"Well, I—"

Anya was interrupted by a doorbell. Both girls tried not to hope it might be boys, to hope Xander and Spike might have created some romantic gesture to win back their hearts. Anya scrambled up to answer the door and opened it as nonchalantly as she could.

It was Willow.

"Hey, guys! I came with Oreos and Godiva truffles!" she proclaimed, shaking a bag of goodies.

"Hey, there!" Anya said, hiding her disappointment with a bright smile. "I thought you and Oz had a—"

"No, we decided that, well, anyway, I'm here! Tell me what you guys are doing," Willow interrupted as she joined their girly gathering.

Buffy's face showed dismay as she asked forlornly, "Don't tell me you guys broke up, did you?"

Willow shook her head. "No, no, we're still together," she reassured them. "We're just not doing all that tonight."

Anya snorted. "If I had a boyfriend, I'd definitely be with him and not you guys."

"Gee, thanks," Buffy retorted.

All Willow's initial excitement at joining her friends slowly began to dissipate as she sensed the tension in the room. Bracing herself, she threw herself into the nails and chocolate and hoped for the best.

--

Up at the cabin, the night quickly created empty beer bottles, crumpled bags of chips, loud belches, messy cards, and drunken laughter—much to the enjoyment of the boys.

"Yeah, who's the man? Who's the man?" Xander slurred slightly as he gathered the pot. It didn't matter that the chips meant nothing; it was just about winning. When he had created a small pile in front of him, he smiled crazily and then slumped over them, the tears coming quickly.

"What's up? What's wrong?" Spike asked immediately, putting his empty beer bottle on the table. "Did something happen just now?"

Xander shook his head and continued bawling, wiping his nose and eyes on his sleeve. "It's just—it's just—" He began crying again, the innumerable beers loosening his hold on his emotions.

Spike and Oz shared a look of concern, but neither knew what to say. An uncomfortable silence began to grow, and Spike got up to get more beer in an effort to dispel the quiet.

Xander raised his head and breathed in loudly. "I miss her. I want her back." His brown eyes were red with pain.

Oz nodded in understanding and then put down his cards, acknowledging that the game was over and their night was turning towards different kinds of games.

Spike handed Xander another bottle, popped one for himself and stared at it morosely before launching into his own whine. "Fuck, I miss her, too." His mouth drooped in a sad pout.

The two boys brooded for a while, nursing their beers, when Oz finally said, "So do something about it."

Spike's face contorted with sadness as he began to share his feelings. "I didn't want to break up with her. I mean, everything was going really well, you know?" His voice began to quiver with emotion. "But she had to go and push me, and I was angry, and she was angry, and then it just happened. It's not like I wanted it. You believe me, don't you?" He looked up at both his friends in supplication.

Xander nodded sympathetically before wiping his nose on his collar. "Anya—she's so beautiful. She's so amazing, and sometimes I feel like she's too good for me. And so when we were together, her family with all their money and Anya with all her high expectations of me—I just felt like I would never be good enough. She'd always have to fix me up or hide my faults or something. I just couldn't take it anymore." He breathed in to combat the tears starting to form again. "But now I miss her so much. I could be a better man. I could—I just need her. Maybe she'll take me back?"

"Yeah, maybe Buffy will take me back? I didn't mean to be mean," Spike added, nodding his head in agreement. They both continued consoling each other as Oz looked on in bewilderment.

Finally, Oz clinked his beer on the table and faced both of his whimpering friends. "You guys are fucking stupid," he said in his characteristically calm voice. He held up his hand as both jumped to defend the other. "What I mean is, well, you guys are fucking stupid. You had girlfriends—you fucked it up. The question is not whether they'll take you back—they're just mad at you and want you to apologize. The question is HOW are you going to do it and stay smelling of roses? How are you guys going to get them back and impress them at the same time? That's the question."

Xander and Spike stared at Oz, as if he were the Great Wizard and had all the answers. Mouths open, they nodded for him to continue.

"Now I'll help—and I'm not doing it just for you. I have a girlfriend, and your women are screwing things up for her and me because she feels bad for being happy. That just won't work for me, so I'm helping you out. And, of course, because we're friends and pals before gals and all that," he added with shrug. "Anyway, I have to know that you guys seriously want this to happen. You seriously want your girlfriends back?"

Spike gravely replied, "Yes. I want her back. I really want her back." Xander merely nodded vehemently with his eyes filled with hope.

"Okay, then first, you gotta sign something that says you want it, because I'm not about to let you guys go to sleep drunk with promises and wake up with no recollection of this conversation. He grabbed a pad of paper near the phone and scrawled a few words. "Okay, this says that you guys agree to do whatever it takes to get your girls back. Now, sign here."

Grabbing the pen, Xander signed with care before passing it on to Spike, who signed with flourish.

Oz nodded. "Okay. So here's what we'll do."

--

"Ugh. I can't believe this is how I'm spending my Valentine's Day," Anya muttered as she reached for the nail polish remover yet again.

Buffy, who'd gotten fed up with her constant mutterings, finally burst out and said, "God, what is your problem? This was your idea! Why do you have such an attitude? I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you!"

"What? What are you talking about? Are you blaming me for your break-up? Because everyone knows he dumped you because of that huge pole up your ass," Anya retorted, her face burning with anger as she finally vented her suppressed emotions.

Buffy began to fume. "If it weren't for your stupid 'pity me poor me Xander's gone boo fucking hoo' speeches, I wouldn't have tried to find out from Spike what had happened, and we would be together right now!" Buffy yelled, her voice rising in hysterics.

"You stupid bitch! Xander still loves me! He just needs some space right now, but we're going to get back together!!" Anya screamed, her eyes beginning to fill with tears and her cheeks completely flushed with rage.

"Shut up! He doesn't love you! How could he love someone who nags and picks and only cares about money and appearance!" Buffy yelled back, her own tears carelessly running down her face.

"Don't blame me for Spike. How could he love a cold-hearted, selfish bitch like you? He was probably dying from all the nasty mean things you always said to him. At least I know I treated my man right," Anya blurted out, sniffing loudly.

"Guys, guys! Please stop fighting!" Willow interrupted, her own tears making her voice quiver in fear. "I can't take all this fighting, and you're just saying things that you'll regret later!"

At the same time, both Anya and Buffy turned to Willow and yelled, "Shut up!"

Buffy's eyes widened, and she glared at Anya and said, "Don't tell her to shut up! What did she do to you? You're just not satisfied until everyone around you is miserable!"

"What? You're the one who treats her like shit. Like she wants to hear about all your problems. No one cares! No one cares about how Spike dumped your ass!"

"Like anyone cares about your superficial, annoying princess act? Just because you're rich doesn't mean you're better than the rest of us!"

"Please stop," Willow cried out, her hands trying to separate the two girls who were closing in on each other.

Anya yanked her arm away and muttered, "Fuck you all! I hate you!" She turned and stomped away.

Buffy snorted with disgust, grabbed her bag, and stalked out, mumbling, "Stupid bitch," as she left the house with a slam.

Willow just sank to her knees and let her tears overtake her.

--

When Monday morning came, Buffy took a few calming breaths and readied herself to apologize to both Willow and Anya for her terrible words. She wasn't sure what had possessed her, but she was sorry regardless. Entering the cafeteria, she looked over to their table.

It was empty.

Four years of friendship, laughs, fears, memories—never once had that table been empty on a school morning. The thought filled her heart with despondence; before letting the tears fall, she turned away and headed for the library.

Blinking back the tears that were becoming too frequent, Buffy swiftly walked through the halls, hoping no one would stop her or say hi; she just wanted to be alone to deal with the emptiness she was feeling.

As she pushed open the door to the library, she ran right into a black t-shirt. Her heart sank as she smelled his familiar scent.

"Are you okay?" his voice asked gently. Spike could tell something was wrong immediately, and his plan for a reunion suddenly flew away at the sight of his girl looking so unhappy.

Buffy bit her lip, and her body contracted in an effort to keep itself from completely falling apart. The one person she'd been wanting to see for so long—just not today, not at this moment. Buffy shook her head and simply kept walking. It was too much to deal with, and she pushed forward to hide herself in the stacks of the library.

Spike watched her back and tried not to be miserable at her blatant dismissal. He breathed in deeply and went searching for Oz for advice.

Heading to the cafeteria, he found Xander and Oz just getting to their familiar spot. "What's up? I just saw Buffy, and she looked awful."

"Looks like the girls got into a little spat this weekend," Oz responded.

Xander's eyes widened with surprise. "Really? You mean, like, they broke up with each other?"

Spike chuckled a little before letting the seriousness of the situation sink in. "So, is Willow okay?"

Oz furrowed his brow a little before answering. "She's seen better days. I'm sure things will pass, but there were some hurtful things said. We may have to revise our plan."

Spike nodded. "I'll do whatever it takes."

"Me, too," Xander added.

"Maybe we can get your girlfriends back and help them patch up their problems at the same time?" Oz suggested, his face full of thoughts.

"Let's do it. I hate seeing Buffy unhappy."

The three guys began talking softly, planning their way to happiness.





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