FIC: The Complex Lives... (Part 8)

["S.M. Cilia" <cilia@xxxxxxx>]

Hi!

Suffering from the flu this time, so I guess that means the entire 
staff of CLCQ has now gone down at one point or another.

I'm also way to sleepy to write anything clever, so here is the 
laterst update for CLCQ.

Updates and missing parts can be found at http://www.mmedia.is/~cilia

The Complex Lives of Cheerleaders and Quarterbacks
Cilia

Chapter Ten: Welcome to the Hotel California


Buffy lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling, cursing the fact 
that, due to math and morals, she was stuck in a singles room. Not 
that it was a bad thing, but some company would have been fun right 
about now.

"The celebrations were fun," she said to herself and rolled onto her 
stomach. The team had gone out for pizza--well, taken over a pizza 
place was more like it--and then gone dancing. Until Coach Landis 
had herded them back to the hotel and dutifully separated them by 
gender.

"Having Willow on my lap was nice." Buffy reminisced about getting 
to hold Willow on her lap due to a shortage of chairs. Then she 
giggled at the memory of Willow eating pizza with extra cheese that 
stretched out, ending with her biting it apart for Willow.

That pizza place trip was also the reason Buffy was now talking to 
herself and being generally giddy. Pouring a high-caffeine drink 
into a slayer on a post-game adrenaline high can do that.

"Yep, having Willow is pretty nice," she said with a satisfied smile 
while she scratched her tummy.

Just then, the door clicked. Buffy was instantly on her feet and 
ready to pounce on the intruder. She waited until the door closed 
and then she jumped, landing atop something very soft and feminine.

"Rough much, are we?" Cordelia asked from underneath Buffy, then 
giggled.

"Cordy? What are you doing here!" Buffy exclaimed as she stood up, 
hauling Cordelia up from the floor with her.

"Thought you might like some company," Cordelia said and leaned up 
against Buffy very suggestively.

"Cordy, we talked about--"

Buffy was cut off by Cordelia's lips as the cheerleader kissed her 
firmly. Using the fact that Buffy was taken aback by the suddenness 
of it all, Cordelia pushed the quarterback onto the bed and kissed 
her again.

"Cordy, stop it!" Buffy growled and pushed Cordelia off her, sending 
Cordelia to the floor. "Why do you keep doing that?" she demanded 
standing over the sprawled out cheerleader.

"'Cause I want you!" Cordelia shouted. "If Willow can have you then 
why can't I have you?" she asked.

Buffy sighed while rubbing her face. "Cordy," she said and kneeled 
down next to her. "It's not about Willow having me, it's about me 
loving her." she explained. "I love her, that's why I can't do this 
with you."

"But Willow doesn't even know you like her like that," Cordelia 
countered standing up and dusting herself off.

"Cordy, do you like-like girls?" Buffy asked with a firm resolve 
face borrowed from Willow. "And I mean any girls, not just 
quarterback girls?" she asked.

"I...I don't know," Cordelia admitted, looking down at her feet.

"Why did you come here, really?" Buffy asked sitting down on the bed 
and patting next to her.

Cordelia took the offered seat guiltily. "I wanted to be your 
girlfriend. Wanted to have you look at me, like you look at Willow," 
Cordelia said. She looked down and played with the hem of her 
skirt. "I wanted to find out for sure if I liked girls like you do," 
she explained with a little sob.

"Cordy, Cordy," Buffy said as she tried to think up something to 
say. "Throwing yourself at somebody...didn't we already talk about 
this?" she asked with a sigh.

"I know," Cordelia said with a blush. "I'm just not used to it, 
that's all. Not getting the guy--well, girl," she explained. "I can 
be a bit single-minded that way," she added.

"Cordy, why don't you go back to your room? This will all look very 
silly in the morning, so let's not add to it, okay?" Buffy offered 
and Cordelia nodded her head and stood. Buffy escorted Cordelia out 
of the room and, with a curt, "Goodnight," closed the door behind 
her.


~*~*~*~


Once Cordelia was in the hallway, she pounded on the wall and 
cursed. The confused and upset routine had failed to work; she was 
going to have to try something different. Then she heard the sound 
of a door opening. Turning, she saw Jennifer peeking out.

"Spurned again?" Jennifer asked with a grin.

Cordelia suppressed the urge to punch the senior's lights out. "None 
of your business," Cordelia snapped back at the redheaded senior.

Jennifer just smiled. "Why don't you come in and we can talk," she 
offered and held open the door to her room. "The other girls all 
snuck out and I could use the company," she explained at Cordelia's 
dubious look.

"Sure, why not?" Cordelia groused. "Beats punching the walls in 
frustration I guess," she added while entering the room.

Once in the room, Cordelia was guided to a bed and they sat down. 
Suddenly all sorts of bells started going off inside Cordelia's 
brain and a plan formed. "Jennifer, are you like Buffy?" she asked 
in her most honest and innocent voice.

The senior blushed a bit. "Do I play football? No," she answered 
with a giggle as Cordelia moved closer to her. "Cordy, this isn't 
why I--" Jennifer started, but was cut off by Cordelia stroking her 
arm.

"Isn't it?" Cordelia asked and pushed her down onto the bed. "I 
didn't complain when you smacked my butt on the bus," she went on as 
Jennifer blushed.

"That's just teasing and admiring," she countered. "You're a 
straight arrow, C!"

"Why does everybody keep saying that?" Cordelia said with a huff.

"'Cause you are," Jennifer said and sat up again. "Your Sapphic 
longings are pretty much tied to your social ambitions," she went 
on. Further arguments were cut off when Cordelia kissed her quite 
tenderly and, for a moment, reason seemed to flee from her mind. 
Against her better judgement, she returned the kiss with equal 
fervor. Not that Jennifer was a saint or anything, but she didn't 
like to be played. Still, if Cordelia wanted to try playing for the 
other team, she was game. It beat watching TV, at least.

Cordelia smiled to herself as Jennifer pulled her down onto the bed 
and kissed her while caressing her body. But in the back of her 
mind, the voice of her conscience nagged at her. It asked her if she 
was doing this out of any longing at all, or just out of spite 
towards Buffy and Willow.


~*~*~*~


While Cordelia and Jennifer explored their sexuality, Willow was on 
a mission. That mission called for her to leave her room unseen, 
make her way past any obstacles without being noticed, gain entry 
into Buffy's room, and find a solution to the 'Buffy-Problem' that 
had been bugging her lately. Namely, where they were now and where 
they were going with their friendship/relationship.

The first part was easy: the girls she shared her room with were all 
sound asleep and not going anywhere, so she put a hotel bathrobe on 
over her pajamas, slipped into some comfy slippers, and snuck out of 
the room. 'Objective one completed,' she though to herself as the 
door clicked shut behind her.

Then she snuck down the hallway towards Buffy's room, her fluffy 
slippers making no sound as they touched the floor. A group of girls 
said quiet hellos to her as she passed them; they were very 
obviously sneaking back from the 'boy's-floor.' One girl even gave 
her thumbs up for good luck. 'That was easy,' Willow thought.

She walked silently through the dimly lit halls until she came to 
Buffy's room. 'Room 269, this is it,' Willow thought and raised her 
hand to knock.

Not knowing that she'd just missed Cordelia by mere minutes, she 
wasn't ready for the door being flung open and a very angry Buffy 
bearing down on her.

"Cordy, for the last time--" Buffy exclaimed before seeing who it 
was.

"Eep!" Willow squeaked, shrinking and blushing under Buffy's glare.

Buffy's expression turned on a dime: from very pissed off slayer, to 
pleasantly surprised, and then to a very loving look that made 
Willow's legs feel like Jell-O. Then, with her slayer hearing, Buffy 
picked up the sound of approaching feet. She quickly grabbed the 
stunned cheerleader, pulled her into the room, and closed the door 
just as the footsteps entered the hallway.

"Buffy?" Willow whispered while Buffy pressed them against the door. 
With her ear firmly against the door, her cheek was just touching 
Willow's.

"Shh!" Buffy strained to hear if anybody was still lingering out 
there, looking to catch them in the act or something.

Willow sighed at the paranoid and overprotective slayer and lazily 
wrapped her hands around Buffy's slim waist. "How many Jolt Colas 
did you have?" she whispered into Buffy's ear.

"Uh?" Buffy asked, pulling her ear away from the door and looking 
into Willow's mischievously twinkling green eyes.

"I'll take a wild guess and say a lot," Willow said and slid from 
underneath Buffy.

"Oh, no. It's just...well...you see, Cordy...and Coach Landis 
and..." Buffy started to babble, then threw up her hands and looked 
at Willow again. "Wait. What are you doing here?" she asked.

Willow rewarded her with a punch on the shoulder. "I came to see 
you, dummy," Willow explained to the obviously scatter-brained 
quarterback.

"Oh, cool!" Buffy chirped with a goofy little smile. She took Willow 
and practically carried her into the room.

"So, Cordelia being a pain again?" Willow asked while sitting down 
at the foot of the bed and crossing her legs.

"Yeah," Buffy said, scratching the back of her head. "I kind of had 
to rebuff her a bit firmly earlier," she explained.

"Cordy: Rebuffed by Buff," Willow giggled and hid her smile with her 
hand.

"Wills," Buffy said and then paused. "Willow," she said sitting down 
next to the giggling cheerleader and taking her hand.

Willow stopped giggling instantly.

"I told her," Buffy stopped, her mouth suddenly dry, and she 
swallowed her fear. "I told her that I couldn't do anything with 
her," she paused again as Willow's eyes were desperately searching 
hers. "That I couldn't do anything, because of you," she managed to 
get out in a trembling voice and then she was lost in Willow's eyes.

"Buffy I--" Willow started and squeezed Buffy's hand. "I--" she 
stammered again, then she just gave up on words and hugged her 
friend with all strength. "Buffy, I'm scared," she whispered.

Buffy hugged her back. "Me too, Wills, me too," Buffy whispered back 
while stroking Willow's red locks.

"I'm happy too," Willow whispered with a smile and kissed Buffy on 
the cheek. "Happy that you would do that for me, that you'd be so 
strong for me, that you'd--"

Buffy hushed her with a finger and then kissed her gently on the 
lips. "Willow, you're my only one," Buffy said with a smile tucking 
at the corners of her lips. She held Willow so she could look into 
her eyes and was lost in them again.

Willow looked at Buffy for what seemed like the longest time: her 
smile and her twinkling blue eyes. Then, as if possessed by some 
mischievous spirit, she lunged at Buffy, giving her a firm kiss on 
the lips. Buffy's arms wrapped around her and pulled her close so 
their kiss lingered on.

Buffy and Willow tenderly kissed on Buffy's bed, holding each other 
while sitting on the edge of the bed. While in another room, there 
was a very similar, yet vastly different scene taking place.


~*~*~*~


With Cordelia and Jennifer, things were much more hurried and 
rushed. Sure, there was some tenderness, but there hung in the room 
a sense of an urgent fever to feel and to touch.

Cordelia started pulling off her top, but stopped halfway, as if 
interrupted by a sudden pang of guilt. 'What am I doing?' she 
thought. She looked over at Jennifer: already down to her bra and 
panties, running her hands over her body, watching her with 
smoldering eyes.

"Come on now, C, you've seen mine,' Jennifer teased at the straight 
girl's insecurity.

'I'll show her.' Cordelia pulled off her top and threw it, knocking 
over the lamp on the nightstand. "You want?" Cordelia asked, running 
her hands over her body.

Jennifer crawled across the bed, grinning at the head-
cheerleader. "I think the question is," she said, taking Cordelia's 
hands and placing them on her body, "do you want?"

'She's being so sweet,' Cordelia thought while letting her hands 
roam across Jennifer's body. 'God, I can't do this to her,' she 
thought as Jennifer moved closer and gave her a deep kiss.

"You're overdressed, C," Jennifer purred.

Cordelia froze when she felt Jennifer unclasping her bra.

"I can stop," the older girl said in a gentle voice, sensing 
Cordelia's discomfort.

'She's so nice, I can't do this,' Cordelia thought, then she steeled 
herself, 'No. I want this, I need this.' She reached around to undo 
Jennifer's bra. "Well, you're overdressed too," she purred back. She 
yanked the girl's bra off and tossed it aside before leaning in and 
kissing her firmly. She let her hands roam over Jennifer's soft 
curves that were so different from the hardness of the boys she'd 
dated. 'This is kind of hot,' Cordelia thought when Jennifer pushed 
her down onto the bed. 'Wait, what am I thinking? This is a girl--
oh, that's nice, though,' Cordelia's mind raced. 'Girls are good 
too, almost as good as boys.' Then she felt Jennifer's mouth on her 
skin and her mind took a hike as her reptilian brain took over.

In the end, discarded pieces of clothing littered the room and a 
lamp, lying hazardously on its side on the nightstand, provided a 
dim light on the two girls rolling around half hidden underneath the 
covers.


~*~*~*~


Buffy was gently stroking Willow's flaming red hair and gently 
talking to her while the redhead lazily hugged her as they lay 
together on the bed. "You're the prettiest girl in school, you 
know?" Buffy smiled when Willow looked up at her with wide green 
eyes.

"I am?" Willow asked in a shocked voice. "But you and Cordy and--" 
she started to babble out a list of girls.

"No, you are," Buffy said firmly. "You are beautiful; it's an 
effortless beauty," she explained and the giggled. "Look what you do 
to me, I'm getting all eloquent," she said.

Willow couldn't help but to smile. "Giles would be so proud of you," 
she said with a smile and kissed her again.

"Ouch!" Buffy exclaimed.

The look Willow gave her was priceless: a highly raised eyebrow and 
a mix of her concerned and resolve faces all in one. "Ouch?" Willow 
asked. "Get kissed by a pretty girl and you say, 'ouch'?" she 
giggled.

Buffy fished for something behind her back and then pulled out the 
TV-remote. "Ouch," she explained and held up the remote for Willow 
to see.

"Oh, ouch," Willow nodded, her face softening instantly and a light 
bulb went on in her cute little head.

"Ouch," Buffy agreed with a smile and kissed Willow again, somehow 
managing to turn the television set on full blast.

"Ouch," Willow said with a giggle and covered her ears while Buffy 
fumbled with the remote to find the mute button.


~*~*~*~


In the other room, in the dim light, there were no eloquent words 
and no longing looks that spoke of love and friendship. There was 
just the moment and the feeling. Cordelia felt herself pressed 
against the mattress while Jennifer's hands roamed her body, 
unclothed and covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

"Oh my," Cordelia exclaimed, her hands finding Jennifer's hair and 
immersing themselves in its silken strands.

"You like it, C?" Jennifer asked with a flirtatious laugh and 
Cordelia groaned in response.

"Stop...teasing," Cordelia answered in a breathy voice.

"Very well," Jennifer said with a laugh and disappeared under the 
covers. Moments later Cordelia's eyes went as wide as saucers and 
she let go an almighty shout of, "Oh my god!" before thrashing about 
on the bed and holding on to the headboard.

Jennifer crawled up Cordelia's body to kiss her lips again, creating 
all sorts of emotions within Cordelia, 'Hmm, soft, tastes nice,' 
Cordelia thought while running her hands through Jennifer's 
hair. 'So much softer than Xander,' she thought while running her 
hands over the curve of Jennifer's hips. 'Different lines too,' she 
thought while Jennifer pressed herself against her.

"Cordelia, you there?" Jennifer said with a giggle and ran her hand 
down Cordelia's side.

"Hmm," Cordelia moaned and arched against Jennifer's hand. 'Her 
touch is so much softer than Devon's,' Cordelia thought, feeling 
Jennifer's soft fingers run over her skin blazing a trail of warmth 
and heat across her flushed skin.

"You sure you're not totally into girls," Jennifer giggled, kissing 
Cordelia again, the kind of kiss that just drags on and takes one 
away.

'Oh, my god!' Cordelia thought. 'Kevin never kissed like that or...' 
her train of thought trailed off when she felt Jennifer's hands move 
again and she gasped into the kiss. Then Jennifer released her lips 
and Cordelia's voice could be heard loud and clear as she proclaimed 
her feelings and opinions about the wonders of Jennifer's fingers.


~*~*~*~


Buffy's ears twitched. She stopped her gentle kisses and sat up on 
the bed.

A very concerned Willow rose up next to her. "Buffy, you alright?" 
she asked while the slayer looked around. 'She's making the "slayer 
face"' Willow thought while looking intently at the worried slayer. 
Willow knew every little facet of Buffy's face by now, having spent 
untold hours watching her.

"I thought I heard..." Buffy listened a bit closer, but it was 
gone. "Never mind, it's gone now," she said, then her eyes fell on 
the TV and she lunged for the remote.

"This footage was taken at a local high school football game earlier 
today. Keep your eyes on the Quarterback in the red and yes, that's 
her own hair," the announcer said.

Willow and Buffy stared dumbfounded at the TV-screen.

"That's right, folks! That's Buffy 'Supergirl' Summers; the starting 
quarterback for Sunnydale High's Razorbacks. In their complete rout 
of our local Toros, she completed an amazing 28 out of 30 passes for 
250 yards, leading her team both on and off the field." Footage of 
Buffy cheering the defensive team on was shown. "And, to finish it 
off, she gave her girlfriend--an Honor Roll student as well as a 
cheerleader--a kiss after the game."

Buffy and Willow watched as they kissed on the screen in slow motion.

'Oh, I remember that,' Willow thought and touched her lips. "Turn it 
off," she said, dreamily rubbing Buffy's arm.

Buffy reached out with the remote and the screen went blank. "Thank 
God this is only the local channel," Buffy said in a stunned voice.

Willow looked at her with a puzzled look.

"Can you imagine my mom seeing that?" Buffy asked.

Understanding dawned on Willow's face. "We could just stay here," 
she offered with a sincere smile and hugged Buffy reassuringly. "Oh, 
don't worry about it. It's not like it's on ESPN. And plus, your mom 
doesn't even watch that," she said.

Buffy smiled at her. "Thanks, Wills. Yeah, how bad could it be?" 
Buffy said and pulled Willow back down on the bed. "Kiss-age?" she 
asked.

Willow gave her a loving smile and promptly awarded her quarterback 
her kiss-age.


~*~*~*~


Cordelia lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling while Jennifer had 
drifted off to sleep, snuggled close to her in the aftermath of 
their hurried and frantic session. Although Cordelia looked calm and 
satisfied with her hair splayed wildly over the pillows, her mind 
was in turmoil. 'What have I done?' Cordelia thought to herself and 
looked over at Jennifer's serene face. 'Xander! I totally betrayed 
him,' she thought. 'And for what? Some mad scheme to get with Buffy, 
for what? ' she asked herself.

'Social standing,' her conscience answered her.

She gently slipped out of the bed and went about gathering her 
clothes. She hurriedly put them on before slipping out the door with 
one last look at Jennifer's sleeping form. Just as she closed the 
door and turned around, she heard two words that would be etched in 
her memory for a long time to come.

"You slut," Litni Speed said with so much frost in her voice that 
you could almost see her breath. The petite junior cheerleader 
appeared to have grown taller in her anger and her eyes shone with 
the same fire her mother displayed on the sidelines. And all that 
compact fury was focused on Cordelia.

Cordelia Chase was many things: a cheerleader, the leader of the 
pack, the sure win for the homecoming queen title, the Queen Bitch 
of Sunnydale High. Yet now she stood almost frozen. She'd hoped to 
sneak out of the room, but was now face to face with a very pissed 
off Litni. She felt very afraid of the junior cheerleader.

"Jealous, Litni?" Cordelia asked, falling back on being a bitch when 
faced with a new situation.

She was rewarded with a sound slap across the cheek. Buffy wasn't 
the only person with a strong arm, Cordelia found out, when the 
petite cheerleader grabbed her by the arm. "Come with me," Litni 
spat out and dragged Cordelia towards her room. "Everybody out!" she 
shouted.

Her roommates quickly fled the room for safer places and, after the 
last girl had rushed past them, Litni slammed the door and turned to 
face the head-cheerleader.

"You were saying?" Cordelia asked, hands on her hips and every bit 
the defiant bitch.

"Sit down!" Litni ordered, borrowing her mother's coaching voice 
while pointing at one of the beds.

"Or would you like me on my back?" Cordelia asked stretching her 
arms above her head.

"Sit down or I'm walking out that door and making two stops: First 
one at my mom's room and the second at Xander's. And yes, I know 
about Xander. I'm not blind as the rest of your followers," Litni 
said. The girls engaged in a staring contest that ended with 
Cordelia sitting down on the bed with a frown. "And you're one to 
talk. At least I'm not the latest notch on Jennifer's belt," Litni 
spat.

Cordelia's face started to fall. 'Xander, Jennifer, Xander, what was 
I thinking?' she thought to herself while Litni's blue eyes drilled 
tiny holes into her head.

"You thought you were so smart," Litni went on while Cordelia 
absorbed the events of the past few hours. "'Buffy's not playing 
along? Let's try Jennifer.' Well, news flash, Chase," Litni 
exclaimed. "Buffy loves Willow and one floor down from here there's 
a boy that cares for you very much. Way more than you deserve right 
now, I might add," Litni raged on. She could hear the squad-leader 
sobbing now. "Oh, spare me the water works," she said in a disgusted 
tone of voice.

"I just wanted--" Cordelia tried to answer.

Litni stood her ground. She was determined to get the point across, 
no matter what kind of two-by-four she had to use. "You just wanted, 
what? To try it with a girl? Well, that's over and done with," Litni 
lectured. "So tell me, Chase, what did you figure out? Did it give 
you any insight into how to get Buffy? Did you learn something about 
yourself?" She drove the final nail into Cordelia's coffin, "Was it 
good?"

"I-I--" Cordelia stammered.

"You what, Chase?" Litni asked kneeling down next to the 
cheerleader. "You learned what, Chase?" she asked, a bit more gently 
but still keeping an edge to her voice.

"It was just...with Jennifer, it was...you know, but..." Cordelia 
tried to form her thoughts into words, but they just turned into a 
lengthy sobs.

"It wasn't the same as when you kiss Xander was it? It was just 
the 'thing', just the sweating and petting," Litni said what 
Cordelia couldn't put into words.

"Sweating and petting?" Cordelia asked with a small laugh while 
wiping away her tears. "That's a new name for it."

"My mom used it when she thought I wasn't listening," Litni 
explained. "So, you any wiser now? After you little Sapphic sojourn, 
I mean?" she asked.

"I think so," Cordelia answered honestly. "I know it's a part of me 
now, but..." she trailed off.

"But?" Litni asked.

"I was wrong in trying to steal Buffy like that and I think I should 
go back and talk to Jennifer," she said.

Litni placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "There's hope for you yet, 
Chase," she said in her best coach-voice. "There's hope for you 
yet," she repeated and Cordelia smiled at the young cheerleader who 
somehow seemed so much wiser than her years.

"Litni?" Cordelia said before she left the room and looked at the 
younger girl with a little-girl-lost look on her face.

"Yes, Cordelia?" Litni replied giving the head-cheerleader a 
comforting look.

"Thank you for being honest with me. Very few people are and...well, 
thank you," Cordelia said.

Litni smiled at her. "That's my job," she said. "Now go talk to 
Jenny and remember Xander."

Cordelia gave a firm nod before leaving the room.

'Way to go, Speed,' Litni thought to herself. 'Dishing out advice 
while you stammer and drool over the person you want the most and 
lose fifty IQ-points at the sight of him.'

She shook her head before opening the door. She called out to her 
friends that were lingering nearby. "Storm's over, guys. You can 
come back in," she shouted with a smile and was mobbed by three very 
gossip-eager cheerleaders. Before she shut the door, she spotted 
Cordelia knocking on Jennifer's door.


~*~*~*~


Willow snuggled closer to the sleeping Buffy while glancing at the 
clock's green numbers. It was almost time to return to her own room 
so she'd be there when Coach Landis made the wake-up rounds.

"Buffy, wake-up, I have to go," Willow said, gently shaking Buffy's 
shoulder.

The slayer muttered something about 'soft Willow' and pulled her 
closer. "Don't go," Buffy said sleepily, her eyes opening just a 
slit.

"I have to, but we can have a sleepover when we get home. You can 
hold me all you want," Willow said.

Buffy smiled a lazy smile at her. "I want to hold you always," Buffy 
said honestly.

Willow started to feel gooey again. "That would be a bit of a 
problem, but a very nice problem," Willow answered and kissed 
Buffy. "But a bigger problem will be Coach Landis finding me here. 
She's nice and all, but this is a major no-no," she explained.

Buffy reluctantly started to untangle herself from the, indeed, very 
soft Willow. "Spoil sport. Smart and cute, but a spoil sport," she 
admitted with a grin.

Willow got out of bed and readjusted her pajamas. "I'll save you a 
seat on the bus," Willow said, bending down to give Buffy a 
goodnight kiss. "We can snuggle all the way home," she added and 
then gave Buffy a final lingering good-bye kiss.

Buffy really wanted to say it, but again, couldn't find the words, 
so she watched Willow leave the room.

The redhead blew her a final goodnight kiss, framed by the light 
pouring in from the hallway.

Then, just after the door clicked shut, she said it. "I love you." 
Then the Sandman's spell swept over her and she dreamt of white 
picket fences and a little girl with mismatched eyes.


~*~*~*~


Willow stumbled back to her room in a haze with a silly smile on her 
face. The 'Buffy-Problem' was still a problem, but it was a very 
nice problem.

'She's my friend, but we're also very girlfriendy,' she thought as 
she touched her lips.

'Wait! Is Buffy my girlfriend? We had snuggles, kiss-age, touching,' 
she thought and giggled. Then looked around and threw her arms into 
the air. "Buffy is my girlfriend!" she shouted and then ran to her 
room, giggling.

Shortly afterwards, a head peeked out of a room and smiled. Coach 
Landis shook her head and slapped the back of her hand, chastising 
herself mentally. 'Bad chaperone, naughty chaperone,' she thought to 
herself with a giggle. She closed the door to her room, planning on 
collecting on a bet with her wife.


~*~*~*~


The next day, a very tired group lined up for the buses. They were 
ready to get on board with no protests over spilt genders or the 
general unfairness of life; most just wanted to head back home and 
hopefully be ready to wake up for school on Monday. Several things 
were noteworthy that morning, though. Things had gotten stranger, 
yet somehow clearer during the night spent at the hotel.

First, Willow Rosenberg was walking hand in hand with Buffy Summers. 
Nothing new there, but there was something very different about the 
way the redheaded cheerleader carried herself around the 
quarterback. There seemed to be a profound shift in her stance and 
the looks she kept stealing at the sleepy quarterback spoke volumes.

Second, Cordelia Chase seemed somehow softer as she spoke quietly 
with Jennifer, and then the two would steal occasional glances at 
the team mascot.

Finally, Litni Speed could be seen talking shyly to Wild Bill, 
shuffling her feet and giggling at his jokes.

Shaking her head, Coach Landis herded the sleep deprived teens 
aboard their respective buses. As Litni passed, she placed an arm 
around her daughter's shoulders and drew her aside for some mother-
daughter talking about that tall boy with the roguish smile.

Willow snuggled close to the napping Buffy while the buses sped 
towards Sunnydale and home. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, 
she looked up to see Cordelia smiling down at her.

"She's all yours now, Willow," Cordelia said. "And, I'm sorry," she 
added, then left to take her seat next to Jennifer.

'She's mine,' Willow thought with a smile and looked over at the 
sleeping quarterback.

Basking in the afterglow of victory, new friendships, and a stronger 
sense of team spirit and pride, the 'Backs sped towards home. Nobody 
fully knew what awaited them, but a phone conversation taking place 
at that very same moment--between the KGTV sports editor and his 
high school buddy at ESPN--would insure that, once the team returned 
home, they'd be in for some surprises to say the least. Along with 
their family and friends.  So, once home, it would be time to face 
the music and dance for the team's most beloved player and her 
cheerleader. And they'd better dance fast and dance well and make 
damn sure it pleased the crowd.


TBC...





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Willow: "It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
Buffy:  "I kinda love you."
                     'Choices'

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