Fiction
Consequences
by Bre
Email: Feedback
Disclaimer: I don’t own anyone, ‘cause if I did, then everyone would be happy, and together...
Distribution: Please tell me where, thanks. ASK!
Feedback: I’d like that.
Spoilings: "When She Was Bad" in Season 2 of Buffy
Author’s Notes: I was watching this episode the other day and I remembered what Cordelia said about Buffy losing all her friends if she didn’t knock the attitude off. Well, it happens. This takes place a few weeks after Cordelia confronted her. The Master was never coming back, the minions never tried, Angel kept getting the brush off, etc. Technically, Buffy’s being an uber-bitch. Half of this is from her POV. Also, Oz is known about earlier in the season.
Rating: PG to PG-13ish
Summary: Buffy’s attitude loses all her friends. Buffy’s POV.
Awards Won: Runner Up Best Episode Re-write at When The Sun Sets, Round 1 Winner Best Episode Re-write at The Seeing You At Bedtime Awards, Round 1 Winner Best Episode Re-write at the Spike Threw The Heart Awards, Round 7 Winner Best Buffy Fic at the Spike Threw The Heart Awards, Round 9
Before Classes - School Starts
Walking across the green lawn of Sunnydale High School, I scanned the grounds, looking for my friends, wondering where they could have gotten off to.
Today, I was once again dressed to kill. I found myself wearing a small black skirt, a plunging emerald green shirt and black platforms, my hair brought up by a small clip, my new sunglasses at the top of my head. That leather jacket my dad had bought for me graced my shoulders and I had a small, velvet black bag draped over my shoulder. One of the first things I noticed what that I was drawing the attention of many of the males on the campus and I pretended not to notice. But, of course I would. Why else would I dress like this? For Angel? Yeah, right. I’d moved on to the living, remember?
Suddenly, I stopped in midstep and realized that none of my friends were on the campus. Furrowing my brows and narrowing my eyes in confusion, I proceeded to the library, wondering what the hell they could be doing when we all usually meet out here.
"Alright," I said loudly upon pushing open the doors to the library, walking in, anger rising in the back of my throat. "Where is everyone?"
I saw Giles step out of the inner office, a book and a cup of tea in his hands, as usual. He was such a geek when it came to books. I stared at him expectantly and was surprised to see annoyance in his posture and I didn’t miss the glare he sent my way.
"Would you please quiet down, Buffy?" he asked in a gruff voice. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and put my hands up in a defensive manner. "There could be other people here, you know."
"So sue me," I bit out, offended that Giles would start talking to me like that. "I was just looking for Xander and Willow."
He sighed and I didn’t miss the way he sat down his cup of tea a little too loudly. "Buffy, if they were here, don’t you think you would see them?"
I stared at him as if he was an alien from another planet. "What crawled up your butt and died?"
I could distinctly see how his nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. Once again, he sighed. "Buffy, don’t. They aren’t here. Now, if you would please leave for your classes. Come back after that time and we’ll train."
With that, he turned his back and walked back into his office, clearly dismissing me. I huffed and turned around, already deciding that I wouldn’t be coming back. If he was going to act like this, I didn’t need to be around him.
Pushing the doors back open, I walked to my first class, planning on finding Willow and Xander during third period, where they shared their health class.
Third Period
I walked into the room, an air of confidence about me. I knew it for I exuded it. Stopping, I immediately spotted my friends, sitting in the back, four chairs surrounding them, empty. Neither one of them had their bags in any one of the seats, like they usually did when saving seats for me.
I approached them, stopping when they didn’t even look up at me. Lifting my eyebrows, I noticed the way they didn’t stop talking, closely, as if they didn’t want me to hear their conversation. Sighing, I sat down next to Willow and leaned over to talk to them.
"Hey, guys. What’s the what?" I asked, my voice carefully in check, not wanting them to hear my confusion, or my carefully guarded anger.
They glanced at me and both said their respective hellos, followed by ‘nothing’ from the both of them. Studying them for a second, they both turned to face the teacher, who had just started writing something on the board. The bell hadn’t rung, so I tried speaking to them again.
"Hey, you guys, you won’t believe what happened last night on patrol. You see, I was about to sta-"
I stopped abruptly when Willow waved at me to stop. She looked at me once, then looked forward. I took it as a sign to stop talking and look forward towards the teacher. That was how it was for the rest of the period. I spotted them talking to each other every once in awhile, never once asking me to join in on their conversation. They giggled and didn’t even look at me. Biting the inside of my lip, I rejoiced when the bell finally rung, ending one of my more boring classes.
I turned to talk to Willow and Xander only to find them halfway across the room, heading to the exit, still chatting about this and that, completely leaving her behind. Blinking, I stared after them and got up slowly, in a daze, wondering what the hell was going on. It had to be a joke, something they were doing just to get her a little loosened up. Or maybe it was a curse. Something a demon had done.
Shaking my head to clear the heavy thoughts, I headed out the door to my next class, wondering what was going on in the school.
Lunch
I found myself sitting by myself at lunch in the cafeteria, picking at the disgusting macaroni and cheese the lunch lady had made for everyone. I once again couldn’t find my friends. It was as if they had disappeared. I found I couldn’t even find Giles to ask him about what might be happening to everyone. About how everyone might be under a spell.
Looking up, I barely caught the knowing smirk that Cordelia Chase threw my way and I glared at her.
End of the Day
I found myself sitting outside in the beautiful weather at the table where we all usually met. Everyone. Willow, Giles, and Xander, and sometimes Oz, Willow’s potential boyfriend. But, no one was there.
Plopping down on the hard seat, I could have sworn I sat there for at least twenty minutes, watching people walk by me and give me strange looks and wondering where everybody was. No one showed. I didn’t even think about going to the library, not wanting to face her something-up-the-butt Watcher.
Clenching my teeth in pain at the thought that maybe her friends had abandoned her, I sat up taller and made my way home.
I was going to go to the Bronze. I knew that they would be there. They’re always there.
We’re always there.
Later that Night - The Bronze
I was dressed casually because I was supposed to be on patrol. Supposed to be. But I was here, looking for my friends, wondering where they could have gotten to. Upon entering and paying the little fee, I quickly searched the crowd, not finding any of my friends. None of them were there. Worrying creases quickly formed on my forehead and I pushed through the crowd of people. After ten minutes of endless searching, I finally gave up and turned around, only to come face to face with Angel.
He looked down at me grimly. I tried to smile brightly, but failed. "Listen, Angel..."
"You know what, Buffy, I, uh, have to go...bye." He turned around, started walking away from me. I stared after him, my mouth agape. What was going on?
"Angel..."
If he had heard me say his name, he made no sign of it and continued walking.
Cemetery
I was leaning against one of the many headstones in the dark cemetery, sitting in the damp grass, my mind focusing on everything that had happened during the day. First Giles, then her friends, then Cordy, and then Angel. Oh, God, Angel. How could I tell him that I was just being the bitchiest person in the world? That I had never gotten over him and didn’t really want to move on to the living. That they didn’t have the same effect on me that he did.
Sighing, I felt a tear fall down my cheek and I wiped it away angrily. I remembered the night that Cordelia had talked to me about my attitude and how I would lose my friends. I never actually thought that it would happen. But it did. And now I don’t have friends, didn’t have anybody. My Watcher was so distant and I can’t even explain to my friends what was going. That I was sorry.
Closing my eyes and swallowing roughly, I let a sob rip through my lips and felt more tears run down my cheeks. A feeling of deep loneliness settled in my chest and it was all I could do to stop from screaming in the night. Cordelia was right. What have I done?
Buffy gasped and sat up rigidly as she woke up, a tear rolling down her cheek and caressing her skin in the least comforting way. Swallowing, Buffy allowed herself to remember the way she had felt in that dream. How lonely. How horribly dreadful that she had acted in such a way that she had actually driven away her friends. She had only just seen them this night, would things turn out so badly? She hadn’t even seen Angel. Or Giles.
Looking up at a sound coming from her window, Buffy saw Angel standing inside her room, leaning on her window sill, staring at her.
"Hello." She herself could even hear the thin layer of ice she laid down in her tone.
His voice was calm and he was staring at her intently. "Can I come in?"
"Be my guest," she replied sarcastically, laying back down. She swallowed and remembered her dream, deciding that something should be done. But dread filled her at the thought of what might happen if she took the initiative.
"How was-"
"Angel..." She said his name softly and filled with pain and emotion. He looked up at her, startled at the tone of her voice. She smiled meekly. "I missed you."
Angel caught the whisper and felt something in his heart stir. She missed him. He smiled. "I missed you, too."
Sitting up, Buffy looked down at her hands, than back at him. "Can we talk?"
He looked a little taken aback and confused, but nodded nonetheless. Buffy scooted over in her bed and he got the message, walking towards her, sitting down next to her. He saw the tears before they came down.
Buffy let a sob escape her lips, wishing with everything inside of her that she wouldn’t treat her friends the way she had. She felt Angel awkwardly wrap his arms around her and she settled into his embrace, instinctively leaning into him and feeling him become more relaxed.
Clinging to the man before her, she cried and let out all of her bottled up emotions from the summer and what had happened with the Master and how she felt about everything. She let her dream slip out as well.
He lightly kissed the top of her head.
Maybe things would turn out differently. Maybe things would be alright.
The End
