I do not own the characters.
Cordelia took a deep breath to calm herself as she began to step out of her convertible. She took one final glance of herself in the mirror.
"Shoot," said Cordelia. She noticed that her nose was shiny. She grabbed her purse but in haste spilled the contents in her car and in the parking lot.
She grimaced in pain when she bent over to retrieve her items. She sighed in relief. Her makeup case was intact when she picked it up and began to powder.
Cordelia slowly breathed in and out to relax from her tense moment; she was still sore from her injury. Her left side was tender with the stitches while her heart ached from Xander's betrayal. She was through with him; no more tears she kept telling herself. Today was a new day as she walked across the parking lot.
Today things were going to be different. She was a new woman. Yes, she had caught Xander and Willow together but she was not going to let that get to her. However, every time that repulsive thought came to her she would swat that image away as if it was an annoying insect.
Cordelia walked with an air of confidence in her wine colored outfit with her high heels accessorized with an expensive purse up the steps of Sunnydale High. She put out her best smile. The other day she went to the mall initially to window shop but impulsively bought whatever caught her eye. With her father's credit card, she purchased a formfitting leather skirt with a matching jacket and top, and a Prada handbag with d'Orsay pumps. She felt so good afterwards without any guilt.
She was expecting compliments and looks but instead received snickers and stares. However, she felt bullet proof and ignored the jeers and sneers. Why should she care, she was Cordelia Chase the 'it' girl. She stood up even straighter as she walked through the hallway. A group of girls were passing by and she recognized her so-called friends, notably Harmony, and Cordette.
They stopped. Harmony greeted Cordelia with a faux hug and two kisses on the cheek. She introduced a new girl, Anya and brusquely pushed her out in the open. Anya suddenly felt slightly self-conscious and smiled shyly. Harmony said Anya's father owned a something called a 'Utility'. Harmony liked to be around people that had money and connections, and would do anything to look good at the expense of others.
"Too bad what happened with Xander," teased Harmony.
For once Harmony felt like she had the upper hand around Cordelia and showed her no mercy.
Cordelia looked at Harmony and considered her next words carefully. She wanted to say something nasty however, she was trying to raise herself and isolate herself from the losers. She was trying to get back with the 'in' crowd.
"Who's Xander again?" laughed Cordelia. "I'm am new woman . . . I'm ready to saddle up."
Then everyone in the group began to laugh falsely. The air was stifling and Cordelia chaffed in her new leather skirt. She shifted her stance as she braved the scrutiny from her peers.
"Is that purse a Prada?" asked Anya, as she admired Cordelia's purse.
"Yes it is," exclaimed Cordelia. She was glad to talk about something other than Xander.
"Most people wouldn't know a Prada from a knockoff if it hit them in the face," continued Cordelia with self-importance.
Harmony came back for a second round and swung low.
"So you're ready for a new stallion," asked Harmony, innocently.
"You bet. I'm ready for a new ride," said Cordelia, suggestively.
Harmony motioned Cordelia and group and pointed towards Jonathan. The freshman looked helpless as he was slurping his soft drink. He felt more powerless when they looked down at him. He kept slurping he didn't want appear anymore ridiculous and looked sympathetically at Cordelia. She closed her eyes briefly and felt a wave humiliation envelop her.
"He's safe and I'm sure he won't give you much trouble until he gets his driver license," laughed Harmony. Harmony motioned the group to leave however, Anya turned back.
"It was nice to meet you."
Cordelia took a deep breath and groaned. She had managed to survive her school entrance, but barely and she dismissed Harmony's pettiness. The day was still young and anything was possible. She looked at the bright side however, that thought quickly evaporated when she saw Xander from a distant. They both stopped, and looked at each other as if they were in a trance. Cordelia eyes hardened. She looked around to see if she knew someone that could occupy her during this awkward moment.
John-Lee, a football player, had just walked in and Cordelia called out for him. John-Lee silently cursed he did not want to be seen with a loser's castoff but his upbringing propelled him forward. Suddenly, he hated the world.
"Hi Cordelia," he said quickly and politely.
He hoped none of his football buddies were not around as he looked about surreptitiously. He wanted to stay with the team and hoped to play this year. Word in the street was that Cordelia was bad mojo and he wanted none of that.
Suddenly Cordelia had a wicked thought as she ran her tongue on the edge of her teeth. She could see how miserable Xander looked. You're going to suffer a lot more thought Cordelia as she wet her lips. She started to tilt her head at an angle and was showing her teeth. John-Lee cringed as he stood there with Cordelia displaying a mouth full of teeth.
"Do you see anything in my teeth?" asked Cordelia, as she tilted her head.
He refrained from saying 'yikes' and suppressed his gag reflex as he peered at her teeth. Cordelia continued to shift her head in different angles with John-Lee's head following. He tried not to creep out as he tilted his head as he looked at her teeth.
"Are you sure you don't see anything?" repeated Cordelia.
"Yep, nothings there," replied Faith, as she tilted her head matching Cordelia's head position.
Cordelia was startled and abruptly stopped. Then she averted her eyes slightly and was breathless.
There is a god after all sighed John-Lee as he looked at Faith and instantly ignored Cordelia. This must be also his lucky day as he gazed at Faith and then at her curves. At least she wasn't baring her teeth as he smiled at Faith. To Cordelia's disappointment, John-Lee had his eyes trained on Faith. He had heard of Faith that she was the bad girl that boys dreamed being with. They were right. She was eye candy but the naughty version and he was anxious to put his hands in the cookie jar.
"Hey Cordy, how's it goin," said Faith.
"Fine," said Cordelia, curtly.
Faith had made the decision to talk Buffy after the debacle involving her recent Watcher. It wasn't easy for her to talk; she was more of a doer than a talker. However, some of her actions had contributed to a misunderstanding, which led to a confrontation with Buffy. Normally, she didn't care but this time it was different. She was still hurting inside and wanted to make amends. After the fight, Buffy had attempted to reconcile with Faith but she had been shut out by Faith's tough stance.
Afterwards, Faith regretted her actions and realized that Buffy and her friends had accepted her. She didn't have much in the way of friends. When she saw Cordelia, she sighed in relief; a beacon of hope. Actually, a red flag, as she gazed at the brightly clad woman in red in high heels. She looked like she was dressed to kill. Not bad considered Faith, she just needed to let her hair down.
Xander had watched this whole exchange from a distant. From his angle, it looked like Cordelia was kissing John-Lee. His heart crumbled and his shoulders sagged slightly. He could see Cordelia's eyes mocking him and he felt inadequate. However, that feeling changed when Faith had arrived. From his viewpoint, it now looked like Cordelia and Faith were kissing. Xander's expression changed to delight. He licked his lips and gave Cordelia two thumbs up. Cordelia panicked and realized her blunder, and shut her mouth.
He put his hands in pockets and grinned as he continued to watch the drama unfold. He could see that John-Lee was fixated with Faith. Then he saw him give a note to Faith and quickly left to join up with some jocks he knew. He also saw how miserable Cordelia looked and he shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
"Amazing and I wasn't even trying," said Faith, as she swished her hips. She stuffed the hastily written note in her front pocket. "I guess it pays to go to school."
Cordelia rolled her eyes and looked down at Faith. She could not believe this loose woman could score while she could hardly get an acknowledgement from a football player. Was she losing her touch? She had dressed to the nines but was bested by Faith who looked like she had rolled out bed from a sleazy motel.
"Have you seen Buffy?"
Always about Buffy, she was starting to hate that name. Buffy had been the source of problems ever since she arrived at Sunnydale High.
"No," snapped Cordelia. "What you do think I am? Her handler! Her babysitter!"
Cordelia wished Faith would make herself scarce; it didn't help her social standing to be seen with her either. She was beginning to wonder as an 'it' girl, if she was doomed to be a social magnet for losers.
Faith let Cordelia's outburst roll off her shoulders and was amused. Faith almost laughed aloud as she watched Cordelia's complexion begin to match the color of her outfit.
"This is yours," said Faith, as she took out a cylindrical object from back pocket. She dangled it in front of Cordelia.
"What?!" protested Cordelia. "It's not mine!"
Faith grinned and cocked her head to the side. "Whatever."
"You can get in trouble if you're seen carrying that."
"Your name and address is on it," said Faith, nonchalantly. "Found it outside in the parking lot."
Cordelia eyes opened wider when she saw her name. She swiped the object from Faith's hand and quickly threw it in her purse.
"By the way nice outfit – you look good in leather," smiled Faith.
Cordelia became even more embarrassed and for some inexplicable reason she started to blush. Then she felt a warm sensation between her legs. She became flustered and then angry, which made her blush become even more pronounced.
"Later C," winked Faith, as she turned and sauntered down the hallway.
Cordelia sighed in disgust.
"As if being rejected and scorned isn't enough, I get gawked by Faith," muttered Cordelia, as she watched Faith leave.
Most of the males stopped and smiled as Faith passed by; she gave them pause. Some of them took a deep breath while others adjusted their pants. Cordelia fumed; there should be a law against that as she watched Faith sway her hips down the hallway.
For most of the day, Cordelia kept to herself and attended classes without much fanfare. That afternoon she walked towards the courtyard for a break and hoped to clear her head. She kept telling herself this horrible day is almost over, she had one more class as she looked at her watch.
Then her heart felt heavy when she saw at one of the picnic tables a group of people she now detested; it was the Scoobies. She was about to leave when she nearly bumped into Anya.
"Anya," exclaimed Cordelia.
Anya gave her friendly smile. However, Cordelia mistook the smile for a smirk and vented.
"Are you going to dump on me too," said Cordelia, defensively. "Oh let's see it's the dump on Cordelia day. I've been gawked at, ridiculed at, and scorned at!"
Anya was taken aback but her eyes opened wide when she heard the word 'scorned'.
"No, I'm trying to get away from Harmony. She's so annoying, always clinging at my side. Pathetic if you ask me."
Cordelia relaxed her stance. What a breath fresh air as she looked at Anya.
Faith ran her fingers through her hair as she approached the Scoobies; she saw that Buffy was with them. She had just met up with Giles and he was the only one who seemed to know where Buffy was.
"Hey B," said Faith, as she neared the picnic table.
Buffy's eyes beamed and her mouth move slightly eventually becoming her signature smile. Every time Faith called her that it provoked her slightly but not in a bad way. Instead it evoked her in a warm and fuzzy way. She reined in that feeling quickly. Buffy kept telling herself this was Faith's way of acknowledging her while at the same time announcing her presence as she watched the brunette next to her.
"Faith."
"Hi . . . Hey I wanted to talk . . .I umm," began Faith.
Then Faith stood still for a moment and then started to move about restlessly with her nervous energy. She had rehearsed what she wanted to say but now her tongue would not cooperate. She fidgeted and began to put her hands in and out her pockets.
"Buffy you're a good judge of character; you never passed judgment over me. . . . I mean most people don't give me a chance. And if they do they form a quick opinion and drop kick me," struggled Faith. "I just want to right things between us . . . being that we're Slayers."
Then Faith extended her hand for a handshake to Buffy. However, Buffy gave Faith a wholehearted hug instead.
"Me too Faith," replied Buffy.
"You must think I'm a total fu#k up."
"Actually no, I was thinking more as a misfit like me," said Buffy.
Faith was silent and moved, and became slightly choked up. She hugged Buffy affectionately.
"Ah . . . I'm sensing a group hug moment," said Willow.
She and Xander had scooted to other side of the picnic table to give Buffy and Faith some privacy but it was impossible not to hear the conversation.
"Ah Yes, forgiveness is such a beautiful thing . . . can you spread the love," added Xander.
Willow elbowed Xander. "It's can you *feel* the love."
"Oh Yeah I knew that . . . but I like the *spread* part too."
"You guys," said Buffy, as she held Faith.
Willow went next to them and huddled. Xander was about to do the same but felt someone was staring at them. It was Cordelia. He was at a loss but he regained his composure and had a wicked thought as he remembered this morning encounter with Cordelia.
He put his arms around the trio of women and jutted out his chin while grinning at Cordelia. I have three honnies can you top that as he winked at Cordelia.
"Yuck," said Cordelia, as she watched the group.
"Exactly."
Cordelia stared back defiantly at Xander.
"He looks desperate," continued Anya.
"And he's a loser trying to elevate himself by being around Buffy. Damm her it's all her fault, she's the one who started all of this."
"You should make a wish."
"I don't need wishes. I'm woman of action. Besides wishes don't work"
"You would be surprised," said Anya, as she toyed with the pendant with her fingers.
Cordelia's eyes caught the pendant and admired it.
"Is that a Gucci?"
"Oh no, it's much older and it's a family heirloom."
Cordelia was in awe of the pendant.
"It also gives me good luck."
Cordelia raised her eyebrows.
"Sometimes making wishes can be therapeutic," continued Anya, as she took off her pendant and gave it to Cordelia. "Make a wish."
"Really… Mmmm …Maybe I should make a wish," said Cordelia, as she put on the pendant.
"Let me see," said Cordelia, as she turned back facing the Scoobies. "I wish Buffy had never come to Sunnydale"
"Buffy?"
"Yeah Buffy. If it wasn't for her I would never had these problems," said Cordelia, as she rested her hand on her left side; she felt the stitches tug slightly.
"Yeah, I wish Buffy had never come to Sunnydale,"
"Are you sure?"
"You might as well add Faith to my list," said Cordelia, as she looked at Faith and Buffy with disdain. "I can't stand her either."
"Done," said Anya.
"What," said Cordelia, as she turned back?
Suddenly Anya expression faced turned into wizened, wrinkled aged woman and Cordelia gasped. Suddenly, Cordelia's legs felt wobbly and she wondered if there was an earthquake at Sunnydale High.