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Chapter 33

Young Buffy stomped into her room. She was not a happy little camper. Everything she thought she knew had just been turned on its head. Demons could be good. Demons could choose to change sides. Demons could be super hot and could go through rituals that changed them, and did that make them demons still?

Her life had been basically stolen from her by some all powerful beings and it looked like it was going to get even freakier than it was. She already felt like she had no control over her life, what had she ever done to the Powers to make them want to punish her like this? She just wanted to be a normal girl.

Older Buffy felt the now familiar wave of new memories sweep through her. All of the fears, concerns, and self-centeredness of the younger version hit her like a tidal wave. With the same impact came the realisation that somewhere along the way she had grown up. Maybe she could make the transition easier for the young slayer and by that make it less painful for herself.

“Stop,” Buffy firmly told her younger self. “I’m getting all your thoughts as soon as you think them. I need for you to listen to me for a while, okay?”

The girl pouted in displeasure, but seated herself on the bed anyway, grumbling as she did so. “Fine. But we seriously have to do something about the two Buffys name-y thing, ‘cause it’s gonna get uber confusing.”

“Fine. Call me…Joan.” Joan lifted an eyebrow, silently daring her to comment. When the only response she got was a small giggle, she continued. “You put so much importance on normal that it’s taken on a whole new meaning, and it’s screwed up my life because of it. The truth is that what you really want is to be able to go out when you want without the burden of responsibility. You don’t want to grow up. To you, normal means being a teenager and living a fun life without any worries butting in on Buffy playtime. Do you have any idea how shallow that makes you? Do you want to go back to being a Cordelia clone?”

At the look of indignation on Buffy’s face, Joan rushed to clarify her point. “That’s not normal. Normal means being responsible. Normal means dropping out of college when your mom dies and getting some sort of menial job at minimum wage to make sure your younger sister is taken care of. Normal is paying bills and hoping there is enough left over for food. Normal is pretending to be happy so that your friends don’t worry.” As Joan said the words to Buffy, she felt the last vestiges of her delusions about normal fade away.

She made her way over to the white-faced girl and knelt by her side. Taking hold of both of Buffy’s hands, Joan made her offer. “Why settle for normal? If you let me help, maybe we can both get something that is so much more.”

~*~*~

“The little slayer’s a feisty one, ain’t she?” Spike mused as he watched the retreating forms of the two girls. He had been captivated by the fire that he’d seen in the eyes of the young blond.

“You have no idea, mate,” William told him enigmatically.

“Um…can I ask a question?” Willow requested meekly, but clearly directing her inquiry to the more mature vampire.

Cocking his head slightly to the side, William looked at the young redhead curiously. Giving her a smile of encouragement, he gently urged her on. “Go for it, Red.”

“How come you’re not all growlly and scary? I mean, not that you couldn’t be, ‘cause I’m sure you could be…if you wanted to. It’s just that you’re not and you’re a vampire and um, well, shouldn’t you be?” Willow babbled nervously.

Spike chuckled at the young redhead. ‘Now this one could be bloody amusing’ he thought to himself.

William smiled as he received Spike’s thoughts. He did love it when Red got all flustered. “The growling and the trying to scare someone is all part of the bloodlust, pet. Spike and I have better control over that than the fledges you lot come in contact with. Truth be told, I’d probably still get that way if someone threatened one of you. I have a tendency to be a bit protective.”

“A bit?!” Dawn snorted indignantly, “You threatened to eat Bobby Miller if he so much as looked at me again!”

“He was trying to look down your top!” William retorted angrily. He was still brassed that the chip had stopped him from doing any real damage to the wanker. Little bastard was definitely lucky that day.

“I was wearing a sleeveless turtleneck shirt, you dweeb!” Dawn fired back. She was still pissed that the vampire had spoiled a perfectly sweet moment with a boy that she had been fixated on all summer.

“Yeah, well, he was still looking at things he shouldn’t be lookin’ at,” William muttered unrepentantly.

“Stupid vampire,” Dawn muttered in reply.

“Anyway, it’s not like the whelp wouldn’t have reacted in the exact same way if he’d seen it,” William really wasn’t about to admit to defeat at the hands of a cranky teenager.

“He wouldn’t have threatened to eat him!” Dawn snapped at the vampire, her hands on her hips and clearly in no mood to back down either.

“Who is Bobby Miller?” Joyce asked, amused at the blustering duo.

“Someone who is far too young for our Niblet to even consider dating now,” William replied smugly.

“Stupid time travel,” the sulking teen grumbled.

~*~*~

It was a subdued Buffy that returned to the living room with her older counter-part. She silently made her way back to her seat, not daring to look at anyone as she moved.

The older slayer watched her go. When the young girl was once again seated, she made her way to the side of her vampire. “I’ve decided to go with a name change also, to hold down the confusion factor. You can all call me Joan,” she announced.

William grinned as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “You want me to start calling myself Randy, luv?”

“Not if you ever want to feel that way again,” Joan snarked back just as quietly.

The rest of the room’s occupants were left to wonder about the look of amused shock on the vampire’s face.

“Private joke,” Joan mumbled before turning to Giles. “It might be best if you got it over with, Giles.” She knew that the watcher was not looking forward to telling the younger scoobies about Angel, but it had to be done.

“Er, yes, well…” Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them nervously, his mind trying to formulate the best way of explaining the situation. “I have avoided one particular individual’s place in the events of the last week because, quite frankly I have been at a loss to know what to say.”

“Angel,” Buffy said flatly. Images of the cursed vampire and how he had appeared to her during the Clear Sight spell came rushing back. Both slayers were assaulted by the memory that neither of them wanted to ever have to face again.





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