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A month later, Buffy was starting to regret not taking her father up on his
offer to come to Los Angeles.

‘What was I thinking?’ she asked herself as she walked toward the Bronze.
‘An entire summer in one of the best shopping cities in the world with
nothing between me and the stores but Daddy’s credit card, and I decide to
stay here in this nothing of a town.’

Her summer would have been slightly more bearable if Willow hadn’t left a
week ago to visit her aunt in Seattle. Buffy had been dating Owen for the
past month, but it wasn’t serious for either of them, and she definitely
didn’t feel the fire that she and William had once had.

‘Stop thinking about him!’ Buffy chastised herself, refraining from smacking
herself in the head. ‘He’s off, living it up in Europe, probably sleeping
in that skank’s bed every night, and you’re still here, acting like you’re
pining away for him. Well that ends tonight.’

Buffy just wished she could believe that. She was making an effort.
Tonight she was bravely going to the Bronze by herself, and that was a step
in the right direction. She hoped so, at any rate.

Walking through the doors of the club, Buffy glanced around before
remembering that she wasn’t meeting anyone. This was a night for
independence, and she wanted to make the most of it.

She continued to tell herself that as she walked toward the bar and took a
seat at the far end, practically blending into her surroundings.

‘Way to be strong, Summers,’ she scolded herself.

“What can I get you?”

Looking up at the bartender as he offered her a smile, Buffy relaxed a
little bit. “Coke, please.”

“And put some rum in it.”

Buffy turned at the unfamiliar voice and saw a pretty brunette standing
beside her.

“I seriously doubt she’s old enough,” the bartender said with a playful
smile.

“Come on, Wes…for me?”

Watching as the brunette crossed her arms and leaned on the counter,
exposing her already exposed cleavage and batting her eyelashes, Buffy was
amazed when the bartender grabbed a rum bottle and added a splash to her
drink.

“Thanks,” Buffy said, turning her attention to the other girl. “But I’m
really not much of a drinker.”

“Yeah, I get that,” the other girl replied. “But obviously something in
your body needs uncorking or you wouldn’t be here looking like you just lost
your puppy.”

Buffy offered a soft smile, glancing down at the drink in her hand.
“Something more important than a puppy,” she murmured.

“Aaaah, you lost your man,” she said, plopping down on the stool next to her
newfound friend.

“Yeah,” Buffy replied. “But it was so long ago, and I just feel like I have
to get over it.”

“And you can’t?”

“You know, you’re awfully wise beyond your years,” Buffy teased with a
smile.

“I get that a lot,” the other girl said with a laugh before offering her
hand. “I’m Faith.”

“Buffy.”

“Nice to meet you, B. Now tell me about this guy. Hottie?”

“Yeah,” Buffy whispered, looking down as she bit her lip. “I love…I loved
him.”

“And he dumped you for another girl.”

“If you want the brutally honest truth. And I can’t believe I just told you
all that.”

“Don’t worry about it. You obviously need an outsider’s opinion.”

“And your opinion is?”

“Screw him. You just need a change. How long ago was this break up?”

“Six months,” Buffy replied skeptically.

“And how long were you together?” Faith asked.

“Since junior high.”

“Damn,” Faith replied with a long, low whistle. “Talk about long term. And
you still want the guy?”

“I want the guy I loved…not the guy he turned into.”

“But you want him to want you,” the brunette said with a knowing smile.

“I want to feel better,” Buffy admitted softly.

“I think I can manage that.”

“How?”

“Well, for starters, you need to finish that drink, and that will be an
excellent start.”

“And after that?”

A slow smile crept up on Faith’s face. “Trust me.”

* * * * *

Buffy’s eyes widened as she looked in the mirror of the dressing room. “NO!
No way! I’m not coming out there, Faith. Find someone else to be your
guinea pig.”

“Get your ass out here, B. I told you I was giving you a much needed
makeover and I meant it. Step one- getting rid of all those things that you
call clothes.”

“Those ‘things’ at least covered my body.”

“Why do that? You only live once- you might as well show off what you
have.”

“Faith, I’m wearing all leather. All leather, I might add, that costs more
than my entire wardrobe and barely covers me.”

“Perfect.”

Buffy glared at the obvious smile in Faith’s voice. “You know, when you
told me last night that you wanted to take me on a shopping spree, I thought
that it might actually involve shopping for things I could wear in public.

“Come out. Trust me, if it doesn’t look good, I’ll tell you.”

With a heavy sigh, Buffy opened the door. She watched as Faith studied her
for a moment, using a critical eye, before nodding and motioning for Buffy
to turn.

“I’m in a freaking leather halter top and mini skirt…if you can call this a
skirt. If I turn around, my ass is going to fall out.”

“You don’t have an ass,” Faith replied with a laugh before calming. “Look
at this, B,” she continued, grabbing the black pants and white shirt that
Buffy had previously been wearing. “Do you really expect to feel better
about yourself if you’re just a member of the crowd? I’m offering you the
chance to get noticed…actually, your dad’s credit card is offering that, but
I’m pointing you in the right direction.”

Buffy sighed heavily before looking in the mirror. She really did look
good. She just lacked the confidence to pull off the new look, but
apparently that was another purpose of this shopping day. “Where are we
going next?” Buffy asked with another resigned sigh.

* * * * *

Buffy emerged from the beauty salon, playing with her newly cut and dyed hair.

“So, how do you like it, B?” Faith asked, handing her some of the shopping bags they had acquired.

“I like my highlights,” Buffy shrugged. “But I don’t know how sure I am about this haircut.”

“It frames your face perfectly,” Faith replied. “I love it.” Buffy sighed. “So, I have one last stop I want to go to with you before we call it a day. What are you doing tonight?”

“Owen and I are supposed to go out to dinner and a movie,” Buffy said, and Faith looked at her.

“Who’s Owen?” Faith asked.

“My boyfriend,” Buffy answered quietly.

“Since when do you have a boyfriend?” Faith asked.

“I told you about him, didn’t I?” Buffy asked, and Faith shook her head. “Oh, I could have sworn I did. Maybe not.”

“No, I think I would’ve remembered,” Faith said. “But wait, you were depressed at the Bronze over some ex of yours, right?” Buffy nodded. “Why wasn’t your boyfriend around? He’s not as good as the one you miss so much?”

“Yeah,” Buffy answered honestly, looking down.

“Well, it seems to me, B, that if this Owen guy isn’t what you want him to be, maybe you should move on,” Faith suggested. “You know, see the sights and try to reel in a replacement fish.” Buffy looked at her friend with a peculiar expression. “Sorry, I tend to mix really lame phrases together. But you get my point, don’t you?” Buffy nodded. “Now, what’s this guy like?”

‘He’s not like William, that’s for sure,’ Buffy thought, suppressing the urge to frown. ‘I have to stop comparing every guy to him. There’s no one else like him…and I don’t think I want there to be another William in my life.’

“Well, he’s intelligent, fairly good-looking, sincere, very compassionate and sweet…” Buffy trailed off.

“So what you need is a bad boy,” Faith said. “And I’m sure we can find you one of those.” Buffy’s thoughts flickered back to the night at the Bronze when she had seen the hot brunette at the bar.

‘Yeah, he fits the rebellious image alright,’ she thought.

“Are you telling me I should dump Owen for some guy who might not be what I’m looking for?” Buffy asked.

“Buffy, you’re seventeen- it’s about having fun and not settling down with someone just to say you’ve got a boyfriend,” Faith replied. “You’re supposed to play the field and have a good time, not settling for one of the good guys. It’s not like you’re looking for marriage- go out and have fun.” Buffy took a deep breath and nodded.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she said. “It’s time for me to go out and experience new things.”

* * * * *

“Faith, I don’t know how my dad is going to react to seeing a bill from Victoria’s Secret on his credit card statement,” Buffy said, looking at the pile of lingerie Faith was carrying around. “I don’t need any of that stuff. I mean, really, how many mesh thongs does a girl have to have?”

“They’re five for twenty-five dollars,” Faith replied. “You can’t go wrong buying them when they’re that cheap.”

“But I have tons of stuff at home,” Buffy said, slightly blushing when Faith picked up a sheer white nightie. “No, put that back.”

“Oh, come on, B,” Faith grinned. “Don’t you want to look all innocent and virginal when you’re seducing some guy?” Buffy blushed even more and crossed her arms.

“I don’t want it,” she said. “And besides, I’d have a good time explaining that to my mom if she ever saw it.”

“What? Your mom doesn’t think you ever got bouncy with your ex-boyfriend?” Faith asked.

“Faith!” Buffy said, playfully punching her friend’s arm. “Do you have to be so loud?” Faith laughed and handed Buffy the lingerie she had collected. “She’s going to flip out anyways when she sees the new wardrobe you bought for me.” Faith smiled.

“She wants you to be happy, doesn’t she?” she asked. “And if wearing those clothes makes you happy, then that’s all that matters, doesn’t it?” Buffy sighed and headed towards the cashier.

‘Who says I’m happy in those clothes?’ Buffy thought as she handed everything to the girl behind the cash register.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” Buffy said, shrugging.

‘She’s still going to flip out,’ she said to herself as she watched the prices show up on the screen. ‘Oh god.’

“That’ll be $274.96, please,” the employee smiled. Buffy paled as Faith handed the girl Buffy’s father’s credit card.

“Thanks,” Buffy managed to say as the girl put everything in a bag. She signed the store’s copy of the receipt and quickly left before she decided to return everything.

‘Dad’s going to kill me,’ she thought.

* * * * *

That night, Buffy and Faith showed up at the Bronze, Buffy in one of the new outfits she had bought earlier that day. Thankfully, Joyce hadn’t been home when they left, so Buffy didn’t have to explain her wardrobe…yet.

“So, how did your conversation go with that Owen guy?” Faith asked as they walked towards the bar.

“What guy is happy about being dumped?” Buffy asked quietly, sitting on one of the barstools. “But he’ll be okay. He took it as a shock, which it was, but I’m sure he’ll move on in no time. It’s not like we were that serious or anything.” Faith ordered them both Cokes and snuck a silver flask out from under her skirt. “Faith!”

“What?” she asked, smiling. “I knew Wes wasn’t working tonight, and since you deserve a celebratory drink, I figured it’d be on me, in a manner of speaking.” Buffy giggled as Faith poured a liberal amount of liquor into her soda. Both girls picked up their drinks and looked at each other. “To new beginnings.”

“To new beginnings,” Buffy agreed, clinking her glass with Faith’s before drinking some of her soda.

‘To a new way of life,’ she thought, swallowing the liquid with a smile on her face.





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