Okay, here's the part I promised...It's not much...just a couple of scenes. Let me know what you think.:-) enjoy ***** One of Willow?s jobs was to keep a close eye on the Slayer, noting her movements, and reporting back to Merrick the girl?s schedule. She would be a lot less conspicuous then Merrick was, part of the reason that he sent her in his place. So here she was, sitting on a park bench at Hemry high trying not to be noticed as she observed Buffy?s pack of friends make their way to a table to sit. She noticed how quickly that particular table had been vacated, and assumed that it was the table the popular group sat at every day. "The environment. I?m telling you, it?s totally key. The earth is in terrible shape. We could all die." Willow wasn?t quite sure what Buffy was talking about...it sounded way too...Earth science for the popular cheerleader. "What?cha guys doing?" One of the guys asked, twirling a basketball in his left hand, as he joined them. ?Yeah, that?s what I want to know.? Willow thought, while noticing, in an abstract, kind of way, the jock that sat next to Buffy and received her welcoming kisses. ?Who?s that?? She wondered, trying not to get jealous, though it was difficult with her kissing him like that. "The end of the year dance." Nicole responded, sucking on a cherry flavored lollipop. "We have to come up with a theme." "It has to be a socially conscious theme." Buffy added, rolling her eyes in disgust at the lameness of her teachers. "Yeah. One that reflects the students growing awareness of, and involvement in the world around them." Answered a girl Willow hadn?t seen before...she was different from the rest of the group, more of a brain than a popular girl, and Willow figured that she must be the token brain...the one that probably did the group?s homework for them, in exchange for being allowed into the ?club?. Buffy hadn?t told her about her, and she found herself wondering why. The young student reminded her of how she was herself in high school, although she had never hung out with the popular group, and she found herself wondering how close the two had been, if at all. She had mentioned most of the other?s in passing...Jen, Kim, Nicole...she had explained how she had never really felt herself around them, like she had to put up a false front and never show how she really felt. It was quite apparent as she watched her with them now. "I still say the environment. That?s my suggestion." Buffy said, and Willow found she was proud of her for sticking to her convictions, even in this small way. Jenifer and Kimberly nodded in agreement. "Yeah." "What are the most immediate threats to the world environment right now?" "Uh...Litter." The jock suggested, and Willow swore she could smell the smoke coming from his brain from here. ?Well, that cinches that. She?s certainly not with him for his brain.? Willow thought caustically, feeling slightly ashamed of herself, but not being able to help it. "Forest Fires." Nicole offered, helpfully. "Bugs?" Willow almost choked as the word sprung from Buffy?s mouth, as it was she had to clamp her hand to her mouth and hope for the best. "Bugs, totally." Kim said. "Yeah, I hate Bugs." Jen echoed. ?What do they do, share the same brain?? Willow had seen the sheep phenomenon with Cordelia?s crowd, but this was beyond ridiculous. They were obviously just following "Queen" Buffy around and mirroring every word that she said. "Cassandra, write it down." Buffy and her boyfriend started kissing again, and Willow wondered if they were ever going to come up for air. ?Oh give me a break. I shouldn?t have to watch this. This is so unfair.? She complained to the Powers That Be, hoping her state of nausea wouldn?t get much worse. "Okay guys, what do you think about the ozone layer?" Cassandra asked, excitedly, and Willow knew instantly that this was a girl that she could get a long with. They might even have been friends if circumstances had turned out different. "Yeah. We gotta get rid of that." Willow almost fell off the park bench after hearing that one. ?It?s like she has no brain. What did she do...grow it after becoming the Slayer?? She thought incredulously. "No wonder Buffy doesn?t like talking about her Hemry high days." The bell signaling the end of the lunch period rang then and Willow noticed a man stop behind Buffy. "First bell, People. Time marches on." The man intoned dramatically, and Willow was instantaneously reminded of Principal Snyder, in a slightly more jovial way. "What?s your point?" Buffy?s boyfriend asked sarcastically. "Button it Kramer." The Principal said, before moving on. The girls hastily made plans to meet together later at some place called "Cafe Blase" to talk about the dance some more, and Willow had to decide whether to follow Buffy into the school, and risk getting caught by a teacher who would know she didn?t belong in that class, or go to the cafe early and find a good hiding spot. She decided on the latter course of action, not being ready to supply the teacher with an excuse of why there was a new student in her class, and besides she needed to buy some clothes, if she went around in the same thing day after day, Buffy would surely notice. ***** "Buff, I still don?t see why we have to invite every single Freshman." Nicole complained, although she could tell her friend was only partly listening. "Because it?s a school dance, it?s just a shot in the dark." Buffy explained, sarcastically. Something was nibbling around the base of her awareness...something...she scanned the dim Cafe? looking for...there...isn?t that... Before the thought was fully formed, Buffy spotted Kim and Jen walking into the Cafe? and Kim was wearing the yellow leather jacket that the teen had been ogling the day before. Jen was wearing a black one, and Buffy knew that they must have stopped at the mall before they came here. Whatever had been nagging her before was lost in the disgruntlement of seeing her friend in the leather jacket that she had wanted. Much to Willow?s relief, as she scrunched down further in her seat, determined to stay hidden behind the book she was pretending to be reading. Kim saw her exasperated look and questioned her about it. "I thought that look was over." Buffy said, snappishly, hurt that her ?friend? would go out and buy a jacket that she knew Buffy had wanted. "Well, it?s retro." Kim said, not feeling sorry in the least. "Yeah, retro." Jen copied. Kim noticed Buffy?s hurt and anger growing. "You can borrow it sometime." "Okay...maybe I will." Buffy said, though she wasn?t quite ready to forgive her friend for stealing her fashion idea, yet. Willow just slowly shook her head. It was like being present at one of Cordelia?s fashion shows. Willow smelled the two intoxicated men before she saw them, and noticed Buffy and her friend?s wrinkling their noses in disgust around the same time. They stumbled up to the counter, a few feet from where Buffy?s group sat, ignoring the cries of revulsion that sprang up from the blonde?s table. One of them pulled a handful of change out of his pocket and plunked it onto a waitress? serving tray. "What does it look like?" He asked, staring blearily into the waitress face. She sighed in disgust and counted the small amount of change on her tray. "Two coffees, or a hotdog. Nothing on it. Nothing inside. I?m Charlotte. I?m your waitress." The woman said, completely repulsed that she had to wait on these two losers. "Hi Charlotte." The one who had plunked down the money said, with a half attempt at a wave, then watched as she brushed past them to get the order. "You guys are thrashed." Buffy said harshly, examining the poor excuses of humanity that leaned drunkenly against the counter. "Are we?" One said to the other. "That would explain the slurred speech. Thanks." The other responded, as he tried to make conversation. "What?s your name?" "Buffy." "Yeah, it figures." He said, as if her name was explanation enough for her snobby behavior. "I?m Pike...this Benny. I?m, um, Pike." ?Pike...?Bad boy? Pike...the one she told me about. Oh boy...this isn?t going to be fun.? They?d had a rather long discussion one day of all the men Buffy had fallen for on the long road to Willow, and how they had all had a certain ?Bad Boy? quality to them...Parker, Angel, and Pike...they had all fit the bill. And it looked like Pike was the one who had started Buffy on the ?Bad Boy? kick. Willow was certainly not looking forward to seeing this part of Buffy?s past...but it wasn?t like she could do anything about it. "Pike isn?t a name. It?s a fish." As Buffy spared verbally with him, Willow felt herself sinking further in her seat. Pike and Benny?s eyes clouded over as the girl?s started laughing, then they started to put it all together. "Don?t we know you guys?" "Hey, wait a minute. You?re the guys from the movie." "We hate you guys." "Like we care, I?m sure." Kimberly said, sarcastically, laughing hysterically. Charlotte delivered the hotdog to the agitated men, Benny grabbed the hotdog while Pike took a large mouthful of bun. "You guys, your behavior...was shocking." Pike mumbled, with his mouth full. "Well, you just snuck in anyway." Nicole said, defending the group. "Hey Buffy, you hungry? I?ve got something for ya." Benny said, putting the hot dog at the crotch of his pants and lunging at Buffy like a horny sheep dog. Buffy had no idea what possessed her do it, but she picked up a knife off of the table, and slashed at the hotdog twice, slicing it neatly into three uniform strips. She could feel the stares of her friends as they looked at her in undisguised awe and not a slight twinge of repulsion. She could hear Pike gagging in the background as Benny mourned his mangled dog. Feeling rather self-conscious, not to mention nauseus, she rose from the table and made her way to the bathroom, leaving her bewildered friends behind. Willow watched her go with heartsick eyes, knowing that it had begun. ***** Buffy?s heart was beating rapidly as she stared at her refection in the mirror. Her stomach still felt tied in knots and she hoped that she wouldn?t throw up in here, she would never live it down...it was bad enough that she had freaked out there with the knife. "What is happening to me?" ...to be continued?
Disclaimer: Joss is god...he owns all I have borrowed in the name of seeking a good fan fiction piece...please do not sue.