FF High School Reunion

["Christeen Demons" <Shyfox30@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

In answer to the listmum's challenge, I wrote this little peice.:-) Hey, I 
had a free hour or two on my hands.:-)

Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer belong to 
Joss...this story is mine.:-)


High School Reunion

?Tell me again why we have to go to this high school reunion? I mean, I 
haven?t even been here since I was a freshman. I can?t even believe that 
they sent me an invitation.? Buffy groused as she looked around at the 
overly decorated high school gym, which had seen a lot of renovation since 
she had almost burned it down almost thirteen years ago.
Thirteen...bad number. Buffy thought to herself, hiding a small shudder 
that went shivering down her spine.

?Come on. It?s not that bad.? Willow said, gently, taking her hand as they 
walked through the wide open gym doors. ?We were in the area, so it?s not 
like you could say you were too busy to come, and besides, don?t you want to 
introduce me to all of your old friends?? She asked, batting her eyes 
coquetishly at the Slayer.

?What? I couldn?t just say I was too busy slaying something?? Buffy asked, 
in a hushed tone, still not wanting to be in this crowd full of people that 
she barely even knew anymore. Hadn?t known, really when she had been in the 
same high school with them. ?And these aren?t really the kind of people I 
think you would like, honey.?

?You?re not ashamed of me, are you Slayer?? Willow asked in a jokey voice, 
though there was a hint of something that Buffy had tried hard to remove 
over the last ten or more years, insecurity.

?Never.? The amount of sincerity shining from the hazel blue eyes quashed 
any doubts the stunning red-head might have had. ?You?re the classiest 
person in this place. They?d be lucky to spend five minutes in your 
presence.? She grinned as she watched Willow?s cheeks light up in 
embarressment, chuckling quietly before she turned her attention to the 
throng of people who were mingling and dancing around the hard wood floor. 
She thought she recognized a few faces in the crowd...a teacher here...an 
old classmate there, but she wasn?t too surprised that old Hemry high school 
really didn?t hold an emotional tie for her.

Her life here had ended when she had become the Slayer, the people she had 
known slipping past her conscious awareness like ships passing in the night, 
and before she had known what was happening, she?d found herself in 
Sunnydale, making new friends and having experiences most people only had in 
their worst nightmares. Of course, the last
thirteen years hadn?t been only nightmares, it had been a wild kaleidoscope 
of dreams too. The hand tightening in hers reminded her of that fact, as she 
came out of her thoughts and back to the present where a familiar face was 
heading towards her at that very moment.

?Buffy? Buffy Summers...is that really you?? The shrill voice caused hairs 
to stand up on the back of her neck, and she found herself wanting to back 
away from the figure heading her way.

?Like, who else would I be?? She asked the giggling redhead beside her as 
the other woman drew to a stand still in front of her.

?Jen. You look...well.? The permed blonde hadn?t changed much, Buffy 
decided as she took her in. Still wearing clothes from the heighth of the 
fashion industry, she could only guess that her old class mate had become a 
model, or something to that effect.

?Buffy...I didn?t expect that you?d show up. I mean, you disappeared 
after...I mean, I haven?t seen you since what...the ninth grade??

?Yeah...it?s...been a while.? Buffy mumbled, grateful for the presence of 
the woman beside her, and the feel of strong yet gentle fingers rubbing her 
back.

?So, what have you been up to? I?m sure it?s been really interesting. I?m 
working for Maybelline now...but I was on those Lady Clairol commercials. 
Have you seen them, I?m sure you must have...and who?s this?? Before 
Buffy could even begin to frame an answer to the barrage of questions and 
commentary, Jen had moved her attention to the
redhead standing beside her.

?Umm...? Buffy searched her mind blankly for an answer to the question, 
seeing that her lover and wife of four years was stuck, Willow stepped 
boldly into the fray to help her along.

?Willow Rosenberg. I?m a...friend...of Buffy?s.? The tone in her voice 
gave hint to the fact that she knew of the past history between Buffy and 
the blonde, and to the fact that she was a little more of a friend to her 
than Jen had ever been.

Jen raised her eyebrows as if she didn?t know quite what to do with that 
information. ?Well...isn?t that...? She was about to say something else 
when Willow broke in, pulling gently on Buffy?s arm.

?Hey, I?m sorry. I?m terribly thirsty, and I saw some punch right over 
there. Buffy...?? The two walked off together, barely able to control their 
laughter as they left a flummoxed Jen behind.

?Hey, that was good, Will. If I had to come, at least I have you here to 
protect me.? Buffy said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

?Darned tooten?.? The flash of fire in her green eyes reminded Buffy all 
over again why she fell in love with her wife and mate in the first place.

?Drink?? Buffy asked, eyebrow raised as she headed in the direction of the 
punch bowl.

?Drink.? Willow nodded with an affirmative nod.

*****

On their way to the punch table they ran into another one of Buffy?s old 
friends, quite literally...at least Willow did, almost tripping over him as 
they were both headed in the same direction.

?Oh, I?m sorry. I didn?t see you.? Willow apologized as the guy turned 
around.

?Hey, pretty lady. I don?t remember you.? The guy was all smile, as he 
looked Willow up and down in her gorgeous red dress, and feeling pretty sure 
of himself as he flashed pretty white teeth.

?Jeffrey?? Buffy asked, nearly choking on the word as she took in the sight 
of her former boyfriend. He certainly hadn?t changed much, just as much of 
the former jock as he ever
had been.

?Buffy? What are you doing here?? Jeffery asked, looking back and forth 
between the two women, wondering what...if any..connection lay between them. 
If she knew Buffy he didn?t stand a chance.

?I got an invitation in the mail.? Blue eyes glared menacingly, as a hand 
snaked out around a nearby waist, claiming ownership. ?And I would 
appreciate it if you?d stop ogling my wife.? she said, under her breath, 
knowing Willow had heard it by the hitch of laughter in her breath.

?So...Buffy? What are you doing these days? Keeping busy?? Jeffery asked, 
his voice cracking as he noticed the air of menace that surrounded her. He 
backed up a couple of paces, giving the redhead her personal space back in 
the process and waited for an answer to a question he wasn?t sure the 
stunning blonde was going to answer. And she truly was stunning, Jeffery?s 
hormones noticed, in a small, sleek, satin number that showed a lot of bare 
skin.

Buffy weighed the pros and cons of answering him, then decided it couldn?t 
hurt to be cordial, being in unfamiliar territory after all. ?I?m a 
detective for the Special Crimes unit here in L.A.?

Jeffery?s eyes widened at that. She?d certainly come a long way from the 
bubble headed cheerleader he used to know. Certainly outclassed his job at 
the gas station he?d gotten after he blew his knee out playing football. 
?Wow...that?s great...I mean...that?s really great, Buffy. And...and what 
do you do?? He asked the gorgeous red-head by her side.

?She?s a hacker.? Buffy said, glibly, feeling Willow laughing silently 
against her.

?A what?? Jeffery asked, staring blankly at the chuckling red-head, who 
felt her need for a drink growing by the second.

?I really just deal a lot with computers...technical stuff.? She didn?t 
want to blow his mind by telling him what she really did. He probably 
wouldn?t understand it anyway, so she just let him nod his head at her 
dumbly, like he understood what she was talking about and let the subject 
pass.

?So...either of you wanna dance?? He asked, surprising them both, 
especially after Buffy thought she?d made the situation perfectly clear. 
Willow could hear the growl rising up in her wife?s throat and decided a 
quick escape was in order.

?Uh...no. Thanks anyway, but we were just heading for some punch. Right?? 
She looked back, catching the blue eyes with her own and waiting until the 
fiery edge she?d been sensing backed off a little.

?Oh yeah, right...I?d been heading that way myself.? The blue eyes shot up 
at him again, and he suddenly felt the need to be elsewhere. ?But you 
know...that water fountain way over there looks just as tasty.? He 
swallowed nervously, nodding at the two women as he disappeared into the 
crowd.

?I don?t know what I ever saw in him.? Buffy grumbled, staring after him. 
?Tell me again why coming here was such a good idea?? Buffy asked her wife, 
plaintively. Willow chuckled again, while resuming her hold on Buffy?s hand 
and pulling her again towards the refreshment table.

?Come on, hero. You can buy me a drink.? She said, glibly.

*****

Later, as they danced slowly on the dance floor, ignoring the looks and 
stares they got from the people around them, they were used to them by now 
anyway, Buffy had to reflect over the passings of the night. They had run 
into a few more of the Slayer?s old ?friends? during the evening, each had 
moved on to bigger and better things and had pretty
much left Hemry high school behind them. Buffy hadn?t been the only one who 
had changed over the course of the years, she?d probably been the one to 
change the most, but whether that was due to circumstances, the people that 
had come into her life and she?d grown to love, or the fact that she was a 
very unique individual known as the Slayer she
guessed that she?d never know.

She?d groused about coming here, complained until she was blue in the face, 
even as she?d been putting on her evening dress and Willow had been putting 
on hers, during the drive over here she?d thought half a million times about 
turning back, but now that she had endured the people of Hemry high, and the 
memories this place held for her, she was
grateful for the occasion.

It was almost as if she?d held a mirror up to her face, one that showed her 
a reflection of her past self so that she could compare it to the competent 
detective, wife, and world hero of today. It wasn?t so much so she could 
laugh at her old self or feel superior to the child
of yesterday, but to see how far she?d come. Willow knew that...that?s why 
she had insisted that she come. That was one of Willow?s many special 
features, the ability to instinctively know what was best for her, even if 
she didn?t know herself or even appreciate it at the time.

Willow...Willow had been something else, she reflected silently, as they 
circled around on the dance floor. She was the epitome of grace, class, 
style, beauty all wrapped up into one lovely red package. Every male here 
had asked her wife to dance, amidst looks of jealous rage from her own blue 
eyes. Willow had calmly turned them all down, choosing to
spend the night by Buffy?s side. And when the red-head had turned to her 
wife and smiled that beautiful smile, asking her if she wanted to dance, 
Buffy had felt her breath taken away, not able to do anything but smile and 
nod.

So...one final night under the roof of Hemry high, in the same Gym she had 
nearly burned down all those years ago, holding her dream in her arms, a 
dream she couldn?t have imagined possible back then, a dream she barely 
thought possible now. Only the warmth and comfort of Willow?s curves kept 
her belief alive as they danced slowly under fluerescent lights, completely 
oblivious to anyone or anything around them.


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