Chapter 14
“I’m not one to hit girls, but I think I would make an exception for Harmony,” Spike stated and continued to run his fingers through her hair.
Buffy decided to go to his house instead of hers once she returned from school. She was just grateful that he didn’t have classes until later.
They were both currently sitting together on his bed.
“It’s tempting, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”
Spike sighed and really wished he could do something to make her feel better. “I’m sorry, Buffy. If any of those blokes give you anymore trouble, you just let me know and I’ll deal with them.”
Buffy glanced up at him. “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me, Spike. I can handle a few jerks. It’s my sister that I’m not handling so well. I bet if I told my mom about this, she wouldn’t even care. Harmony has always been her favorite. I never understood that. It’s not like she does anything important. I just can’t compete with her.”
“There’s no competition, love. You are a far better woman,” he claimed, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
Buffy smiled at the fact that he called her a woman again.
They just remained silent after that.
* * * * *
Buffy entered her house and realized that no one was home yet. She just went upstairs to her room and decided to lie down for a little while. She was lost in her thoughts and never noticed that someone came home, until she heard the voice in her doorway.
“When did things get so complicated?”
Buffy sat up with a start when she saw Harmony standing there, confused by the look on her older sister’s face. “What are you talking about?”
Harmony shrugged and sat down on Buffy’s bed. “Things weren’t always like this. We used to be closer, you know?”
Buffy nodded. “Yeah, that was before you went to junior high and became a bitch.” She noticed the look of guilt on Harmony’s face and was shocked by it, but she didn’t say anything.
“Okay, I deserve that. I know I haven’t been the best sister, but you don’t know what it’s like. There’s so much pressure.”
Buffy raised her eyebrows. “You think you’re under pressure? How do you think it feels to be me? I’ve been living in your shadow for so long. For once, I want others to notice me for me. Not because I’m Harmony’s sister. Not because I’m the smart girl that everyone can go to for tutoring, but just because I’m me. You don’t know what that’s like.”
Harmony let out a sigh. “I’ve always envied you,” she admitted softly.
Buffy was beyond shocked at this point. “Huh?” she replied.
Harmony took a deep breath before she continued. “I’ve always wished that I could be more like you. You’re really smart and sometimes I would give anything to be that brainy. To actually get good grades in school and know that Mom was proud of me for something that I really deserve. Not some stupid cheerleading trophy that doesn’t even mean that much. I would even wish to be more like Dawn and have the nerve to pull a stunt like that. She takes risks and I would give anything to be able to do that. I’ve never done anything exciting in my whole life.” A pause. “I never told anyone this, but Ryan dumped me for someone that was smarter. He said I was too shallow and self-centered. I didn’t really listen at the time, but I know he was right.”
Buffy was staring at her with a dropped jaw. She couldn’t believe this was her sister. Harmony had never opened up that much to anyone before. She thought about what to say. “Look, you don’t have to try so hard. You should stop worrying about impressing everyone else and just be yourself. Be the person that was there for me when we were kids. The person that used to always check for monsters in my closet, so I would be able to sleep better. I miss that person.”
Harmony realized how much everything changed as she looked at her sister. She felt tears in her eyes and quickly wiped them away, then did something that really took the other girl by surprise. She hugged her.
Buffy didn’t know what else to do, so she returned the embrace.
Dawn chose that moment to walk into the room. She gasped at the sight of both of her sisters hugging. “Whoa, did I somehow end up in an alternate universe?”
Buffy laughed and pulled out of the hug. She was about to respond, but their mother suddenly showed up in the doorway.
Joyce was just as confused to see all three of her daughter’s together, without any blood being spilled. “What’s going on in here?” she wondered.
No one knew what to say, until Harmony spoke up.
“Nothing, we were just talking. I realized that I don’t really know my sisters that well. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
Joyce seemed to accept it, even though she was a bit suspicious. She was about to leave the room, when Harmony’s voice stopped her.
“Mom, I wanted to tell you that Buffy wasn’t the one that posted my diary entries around school.”
Dawn figured that it was her turn to get in trouble, but Harmony took her by surprise.
“It was this girl in one of my classes. She has always had something against me. I made the stupid mistake of bringing my diary to school and I guess I left it in class. She must have found it.”
Dawn sighed in relief as they all waited for Joyce to say something.
“Oh, well I suppose you don’t have to be punished anymore then,” she commented to Buffy. “Why did you tell me that you were the one that did it?”
Buffy shrugged. “I just figured that you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Honey, you could have told me. I know you may not believe it, but I love you very much. I love all three of you the same. I could never choose one over the other. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I was.”
Buffy felt tears in her eyes and stood up to embrace her mother.
Joyce smiled and wrapped her arms around her daughter in return.
Harmony and Dawn then joined in on the hug.
It was probably the weirdest moment of Dawn’s life, but it also felt really good.
They all pulled out of the hug after a few seconds.
Joyce gave her daughters one more smile before she exited the room.
Dawn turned back to her sisters, with the confusion written clearly on her face. “Okay, I think I missed a very important conversation here.”
Buffy smiled and ran her fingers through her younger sister’s hair. “We’ll tell you about it later.”
Dawn nodded in acceptance. She then remembered what she wanted to say earlier. “You don’t have to worry about that rumor anymore, Buffy.”
“Why not?” she wondered.
A huge smile formed on the young girl’s face. “You guys missed out today. That’s already old gossip; they’re not even talking about the diary thing anymore.”
Harmony was interested now and waited for Dawn to continue.
“You know that guy, James Stanley?”
They both nodded.
“Well, he was caught making out with Ms. Newman in her classroom. I mean, how stupid can you get? He totally got busted by Snyder. It’s all anyone can talk about now. And I’m sure Ms. Newman can kiss her job goodbye. That kinda sucks, I liked her.”
They were both shocked by the news.
Harmony was the one that spoke first. “God, I always knew that guy was a perv.”
Buffy had to agree, which was something that she never thought would happen. She was just relieved that no one would be spreading lies about her anymore. She hoped this gossip would last for a while. She smiled when she gazed at both of her sisters, who were still talking about it.
Things were finally starting to look better.