May 1994
Harmony Kendall’s 13th Birthday Party
Kendall Manor | London, England
“What is she doing here?” sneered Cordelia Chase. “I thought you said no losers would be allowed to your thirteenth birthday party.”
“My parents insisted that Puffy Buffy be invited. It has to do with her father being garnering the Ambassador position to the United States; and daddy wanting to align himself politically with the Halsey-Summers family,” squeaked Harmony.
Cordelia could only nod her head in understanding. Children of their breeding learned from an early age that politics played a great role in not only where you stood in their society but also how much money one was guaranteed to make with certain allegiances.
To the outsider, Elizabeth “Buffy” Anne Halsey-Summers, or Puffy Buffy by her peers, was an overweight tween undergoing the awkward stage that was puberty. She had about an extra 25lbs on her petite frame which Joyce tried to rationalized as baby fat. The truth of the matter was, Buffy would much rather sit in her room or in one of the many drawing or garden rooms at her disposal with a plate of Pepperidge Farm Brussels and read Art books and magazines.
If Buffy wasn’t reading, then she was trying her hands at different forms of art. This ranged from painting (water and oil), to clay pottery. Hank firmly drew the line at sculpting of any kind. She can admire the statues and metal work all day long, but she could not pick up the tools necessary for that form of art at the risk of her hands.
As much as her mother and grandmothers tried, Buffy was not interested in the latest fashions or having spa days. Buffy rationalized that her interest in the art would ruin any manicure that the women in her life would insist on. Joyce hoped that while she continued to love art the way she did, Buffy would one day begin to take interest or pride in her appearance. Until then, that duty fell on Joyce and Buffy’s grandmothers.
“This fete is becoming boring,” Cordelia commented.
The guys were hanging over by the food table – talking and drinking; while the rest of the girls were either in their respective cliques or sitting on couches looking as though paint was drying.
“Oh no,” cried Harmony. “I gave the planner the specifics of what I wanted for the party.”
“I can tell,” Cordelia replied dryly as she looked around at the pink cotton candy and unicorn theme. “But I have a way to make it interesting,” as Cordelia signaled for Harmony to come closer.
Buffy was absolutely bored. In order to stave off the massive urge to run screaming from the party, she walked the halls of Kendall Manor and inspected the paintings (mostly originals) lining the wall. Suddenly, Buffy felt as though someone was following her.
When she turned to look, no one was there. She continued on, but the feeling did not waiver. Every couple of steps, Buffy would turn and look around, but not see anyone. When she turned back to look at the sculpture of Artemis at the end of the hall, Liam Angelus popped out.
“You startled me,” Buffy gasped clutching her chest as she tried to get her breathing under control.
“Sorry,” replied Liam nonchalantly as though he was anything but. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Just admiring some of the artwork that Kendalls’ have,” Buffy replied.
“Oh.” Liam and Buffy stood there awkwardly for a couple of minutes. Neither knowing what to say or do next.
Sixteen year-old Liam “Angel” Angelus was the most popular guy in Buffy’s age group. Next to the princes, all of the girls wanted to date or been seen with Angel.
The guys wanted to hang out with him as he had access to all of the clubs and bars in London and the trappings that came with them. Based on the type of person he was, Buffy couldn’t understand why he was standing here talking to her.
As if he sensed her question, “I’ve been checking you out tonight.”
“Oh,” replied Buffy. Stupid girl, is that all you can say? Oh wait, he is speaking again.
“I’m sorry; can you say that again, please? I didn’t quite hear you.”
“I said, ‘you look lovely this evening.'"
This caused Buffy to blush and look away from Angel. "Th...thank you," Buffy stammered.
"Hey, they are playing my favorite song, " replied Angel as 'The Sign' by Ace of Base. "Come with me and let's dance."
Before she could decline the offer, Angel took hold of Buffy’s hand and escorted her back to the ballroom where the party was being held. As soon as they entered, all of the young folks started to murmur.
“I don’t believe this,” whispered one girl loudly.
Another girl “What is Angel doing with her ?”
One of the blokes joked loudly “Oi, Angel’s dated all of the pretty dames, so now he is reduced to dating livestock.”
All of the partygoers laughed at that statement.
To add insult to injury, one of the girls chimed in with “Look at her outfit and makeup. Puffy, who said you look good in that outfit...because they lied. You look like someone put lipstick on a pig.” This caused more laughter at Buffy’s expense.
As Buffy turned to look around at all the people laughing at her, she couldn’t help but notice that Angel was no longer standing next to her. Instead Angel had moved away from her and was now standing with Cordelia and Harmony laughing along with the others.
“You were right, Cordy, this is exciting,” laughed Harmony as all of the partygoers continued to watch tears stream down Buffy’s face.
Buffy ran crying from the room and out to the labyrinth gardens to be alone.
Standing off to the side, was William Giles intently watching the spectacle before him. Next to him was his girlfriend of two years, Drusilla.
tbc
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hi. This story is a repost. I did not like how the story flowed originally as I felt like it needed some more background. So instead of giving the story up all together, I thought I would just try again. This story will take some time to get rolling, so please bear with me.
Chapter End Notes:
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its characters are the property of Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy.