"It's okay, I got it. You're, uh, Buffy, right?" the dark-haired girl, who seemed to have no problems at all with beating on a vampire, asked.
All Buffy could do was nod, not fully sure of how she should be reacting to this latest development. Sure, Sunnyville was the capital of strange things happening, but this was off the wall even by its standards. It got even stranger a few minutes later when, after introducing herself as Faith and Oz had remarked that this dark-haired girl must be a Slayer, the girl did indeed dust the vamp.
"Thanks, B," Faith said with a toss of her hair. "Couldn't have done it without you." She then walked right back into the club, leaving Buffy standing, completely at a loss.
"D-did that...?" Willow asked, motioning with her hands.
"I think there's a new Slayer in town," Oz repeated.
"You said that already," Willow pointed out.
Oz shrugged. "I thought saying it again might make it feel more real. But... not really."
Buffy blinked at both of them, her brain not yet forming words. What sort of beginning for a new school year was this?
It was never going to happen; Sunnydale would have a completely vampire-free day before it happened. Willow would date a girl before it happened. And when Buffy voiced these beliefs aloud she got looks from everyone that stated their views very clearly. Views that just so happened to clash far too drastically with her own for comfort.
"I'm not going to do it, Giles, and there is no way in hell that you are going to be able to make me," she said for the tenth time, folding her arms across her chest. "You may be my Watcher, but you're not in complete charge of everything I do."
"Has she been reading books again?" Xander asked in a stage whisper. "Because she's staring to use that whole sentence structure thing the teachers talk about."
Cordelia elbowed Xander in the side. "She's trying to sound smart, because she thinks that that will get her her way with Giles. Isn't that right?"
Buffy glared at the brunette. "I really don't like you right now."
Cordelia sniffed. "And what makes you think that I care? Or that you ever like me, for that matter. Because that'd just make my skin crawl."
"I take it back," Buffy growled, unfolding her arms. "I'll work with Faith so long as you get that... that thing away from me and out of my hair!"
"Like I'd ever want to be in your hair," Cordelia shot back. "You could probably find style tips from the 80's in there, it's so outdated." She slammed the book she had been reading shut and stalked towards the exit, stopping only when she realized that Xander wasn't with her. Glaring at him she gave her head a little jerk. Xander, looking like a very miserable puppy, gave Buffy an apologetic glance before gathering his own books and scurrying off after his girlfriend.
"Everything is going wrong!" Buffy shouted, throwing the nearest book at the wall. Giles, who happened to be standing by that wall, had to duck to avoid being hit by it. Judging by the dent it left in the wood it was a very good thing that he had done so. "Sorry, Giles, I didn't mean to-"
The British librarian simply held up a finger as he retrieved the book and checked for any damages. Upon finding nothing but a slightly bent cover he turned his glare on Buffy, who had good enough sense despite her temper to take a step back. "You never throw books," he said quietly. "No matter how upset you are, you never throw books." He cleared his throat. "Now, um, as to the matter with, ah, Faith. You have no, ah, no choice there at all. She is, uh, here and we have to accept that. Which, um, means that all of us, especially, ah, you, will have to make changes. Think of her as, um, your teammate."
Buffy's nostrils flared. "I do not want to think of her as my teammate!"
"And why is, uh, why is that?"
Buffy looked completely caught off-guard by that question. It definitely wasn't one that she had thought anyone was going to ask her, and thus she had no planned out response for it. This was obvious by how long it took her to attempt stuttering out an answer. "Because... well, b-because I shouldn't have to. I'm the Slayer here, and I've done pretty damn well on my own! Who does she think she is? Waltzing in like she owns the place and everyone should just stare and marvel at her and her accent and stories and... a-and the way she acts or moves, like she owns the world and all eyes should be on her." There was a slight flush working its way up Buffy's neck as she started to pace. "The way she flirts with everyone at The Bronze! You should have seen her the other night, Giles, working the room like she owned the place and everyone in it. One guy on each side and not the time to help me out when I actually needed it. No, no I won't let her help me on any sort of regular basis and that's final."
"That, well, Buffy that made no, uh, no sense at all," Giles pointed out as gently as he could.
"He's right on the money there, B," Faith remarked as she strolled into the room, plopping into a chair and lifting her feet onto the table. "Though I'd agree more if I knew what it was we're talking about here. What's the scoop?"
"There is no scoop," Buffy snarled, sounding even more irritated than she had when Cordelia was taunting her. "We were just talking about how-"
"About how you should, uh, patrol together, um, tonight," Giles interjected.
"Sounds groovy," Faith said, shrugging as she stood back up. "Time, place?"
"Midnight at the Bronze," was Giles quick reply.
"See ya then and there, B," Faith called over her shoulder, the door swinging shut before Buffy could say any of the things going through her head.
"I don't really like you right now," she finally managed to say to Giles, her heart not really in her glare.
Her Watcher simply patted her on the shoulder before going back to his books, leaving Buffy to try and figure out a good answer for the next time someone asked her why she didn't want to work side-by-side with Faith. At that moment, the one topping the list was how Faith just walked in and got things to go her way without really having to try. Although being called 'B' was running a damn close second.
"This isn't very interesting at all," Faith muttered, twirling her stake and fake thrusting it towards Buffy. "I mean really, B, after the last couple nights I thought there'd be more to it here than wanderin' and finding nothing. But I ain't seen nothing all night 'cept the trees, graves, and you." She glanced over at the other Slayer, noting how she clenched her teeth before replying. Looks like I am managing to get under her skin after all. Here I thought her calm might be unshakable.
"Some nights are less active," Buffy said. "It just depends on who decides to do what when, or who gets hungry. Looks like no one is tonight. I'm not one to go looking for trouble when it hasn't found me first." A hopeful look passed across her face. "If you're that bored you could always go back, you know, looks like I've got everything under control tonight."
"Awww, now why would I do that?" Faith asked, only just managing to keep the gloating smile off her face. This other Slayer wasn't as perfect as Faith's Watcher had always claimed she was! Maybe she would be able to find a way to measure up to Buffy after all, even if she was the Slayer who should never have existed. "Red told me stories about how you loved to patrol with that Kendra girl when she popped up for a visit, so why not me too? After all, I am her replacement."
"You are not her replacement," Buffy all but growled, turning to fix her glare on Faith. "I liked Kendra, she was a good person, and I don't want to hear you talk about her ever again."
Faith blinked, surprised at just how serious Buffy looked. "Alright, alright," she muttered, holding her hands up as though in surrender. "If you're gonna snap like a starved dog going after a bit of meat then I'll never bring it up again." She returned her stake to the holder on the inside of her jacket and shoved her hands into her pockets, determined to not say another word to Buffy until she spoke first. Sure, she wanted to prove that Buffy wasn't perfect, but she didn't want the blonde to hate her. Whoa, hold up there! Since when have I given a rat's ass if anyone hates me or not? Especially not someone as idolized by the Watchers as this preppy snip? Yet she did care...
After another twenty minutes, when the sky was beginning to get that faint tinge of light, Buffy broke the uncomfortable silence. "Breakfast?"
"That's what you eat?" Faith replied, unsure of what exactly was meant by the question.
Buffy rolled her eyes at her. "Yes, it is. But what I meant was, 'do you want to get breakfast with me?' It's an offer."
"You paying?"
"Yeah, sure."
It wasn't the best way to end the night, but it did leave Faith feeling a little less like she was completely despised.