[Reviews - 1326]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 6339 times

- Text Size +




Chapter 4 – Changes


Walking into the Magic Box, Buffy felt any semblance of a good mood slip away when she saw the new girl sitting there. She practically exuded power and it was obvious, to Buffy anyway, that she was the Slayer.

Walking further into the shop, Buffy felt her stomach drop when the Slayer turned around and her eyes lit up as they settled on Spike. Buffy knew that he was tense under the scrutiny of the other woman’s gaze and turned toward him with a soft smile, feeling butterflies flying through her stomach when he returned the look, only mildly irritated when Giles interrupted the small moment they were having.

“Good, you’re here. We can begin,” he said, walking out of the back room and offering Buffy a smile that she hesitantly returned.

“Hi, Buffy,” Willow said with a smile. “Hey, Spike.”

“Red,” he replied, nodding at her and Tara before focusing his attention on the girl sitting at the table next to Anya.

“Buffy, Spike- this is Aubrey the vampire Slayer,” Giles said, gesturing to the stranger.

Glancing at the other blonde woman, Buffy was surprised at the slight resemblance that they seemed to share. It was all superficial- merely some similarities of hair and eye color, since the other girl was apparently taller than Buffy. But it was a little unnerving to see Spike looking at her in a way that he’d never looked at Buffy, even though they shared a comparable appearance. She was only mildly relieved that he didn’t seem to be looking at her with lust in his eyes but with a mixture of curiosity and admiration of her obvious strength.

“Nice to meet you,” she said, giving them both a slight smile, which Buffy tried her hardest to return.

“Yeah,” she said, boosting herself up onto the counter and earning an irritated look from Giles. “You, too,” she said softly, ignoring the older man.

“Well, now that everyone’s here,” Xander said, looking at the newest addition. “Maybe you can tell us what apocalypse we’re about to face.”

“No apocalypse,” Aubrey replied, shaking her head. “The Council just decided that the Hellmouth had been without a Slayer for too long, so here I am.”

“So, no big nasty, then?” Spike finally spoke up, earning the attention of everyone in the room. “No demons made of stone, waiting to swallow the world? No Frankenstein/human hybrids? No Hell Gods?”

“Not that I know of,” Aubrey said with a nervous smile, shaking her head as she looked around the room.

“Sorry for the third degree,” Willow said, giving the other Slayer a gentle smile. “It’s just…it’s been a while since the last Big Bad threatened to destroy the world and I guess we’re feeling behind on our quota.”

“I get that,” Aubrey said with a nod. “I go a little stir-crazy if I can’t get out there and kick some vampire ass…no offense,” she added, glancing at Spike. “They kind of filled me in on your whole deal.”

“’S’alright,” he said with a nod. “I’ve dusted more than my fair share.”

“Where are you staying?” Anya asked, checking her nails without looking up at the group.

“The Sun Spot Motel,” Aubrey said.

“No, that’s silly,” Willow replied, shaking her head. “You can stay with us. There’s plenty of room.”

“I-I don’t want to impose,” Aubrey said, shaking her head nervously.

“No imposition,” Tara spoke up. “We have an extra room ever since Dawn moved out and it would be silly for you to pay money when we have the space.”

“I don’t want to keep you up when I come in from patrolling.”

“It’s not a problem,” Willow said with a smile, never seeing the sulking look on Buffy’s face.

“Speaking of which, they’re probably out in full force by now,” Buffy spoke up, looking at Spike. “We should probably head out.”

The hopeful tone in her voice went unnoticed by everyone in the room, except the new Slayer, who gave Buffy a soft smile of understanding at wanting to work off whatever frustrations she had on the demon population.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea tonight, pet,” Spike said, tilting his head toward Buffy. “It’s a school night.”

Spike was ready for a lot of things at any time, but the darkening of Buffy’s features was more than a little shocking to him. He never expected that kind of reaction from the girl who obviously held him in such high esteem.

“What’s wrong?” he asked in concern.

“I’m not a kid,” she replied softly, hopping down from the counter to stand in front of him. “I know that you always think of me as one, but considering it’s not even nine o’clock, I think it’s safe for me to stay up for a few hours.”

The adults in the room each exchanged glances as Buffy glared at Spike, all of them assuming that she was going through a typical teenage rebellion. Not one of them seemed to be reading into her actual feelings and emotions of the situation.

Waiting for a moment to see if Spike was going to say anything else, she could easily read the confusion in his eyes. With a frustrated sigh, Buffy turned and walked toward the door.

“Buffy!”

Stopping with her hand outstretched for the doorknob, she felt her chin quiver at the fact that the tone of voice was telling her to stop. And the voice was Willow’s.

“Yeah?” she asked, not bothering to turn around as the redheaded witch ran up to her.

“You really shouldn’t be out alone. Do you want me to walk with you?”

“No,” she replied in a hardened voice, trying to take a deep breath and get over the fact that every person in this room saw her as a kid. “I’ve been training to fight anything that gets in my way for the last seven years…I think I can handle walking home alone.”

“Alright,” Willow said, trying to appease the younger girl with a soft smile. “Be careful.”

“Always am,” she replied, walking out the door without a backward glance.

* * * * *

Buffy lay on her bed twenty minutes later, trying to find a cure for her boredom. She really shouldn’t have thrown a mini-tantrum during the meeting.

‘You want to be seen as an adult and then you isolate yourself by acting like a kid,’ she thought, throwing her stuffed pig Mr. Gordo into the air and catching him on every downfall before pausing to look at his squishy face. ‘And everything around you is babyish.’

Throwing the pig against the wall, Buffy jumped up from her bed and proceeded to take down the posters and childhood memorabilia from every available surface, tossing them all to the back of her closet before catching a glimpse of her clothes and letting a smile curve her lips.

Things were definitely going to change.



Thanks so much to: Rana, Caatje, Cordykitten, Spikes Sweety, starhawk, Elanor, Alicia, Tasha, jenny, Kimber, Celestria, samica, BuffyandSpikeForever, gypsy_jin, Renee, pj, Caitie, dreamgirl4eva, Laine, willowmouse & Amanda for reviewing!





You must login (register) to review.