Spinning the Wheel 00 - Prolog
The bright Californian sun was blazing down on Sunnydale like it wanted to roast the little city, two hours away from any of the big shopping domes that made the life of a twenty year old woman worth living.
Instead Buffy Summers and her best friend Willow Rosenberg had decided to pay the local mall a visit and get some new shoes. Well, as far as shopping went when Buffy was on her ride, the pretty blond girl turned out with two new skirts, three tops and some other accessories. But no shoes.
Now they were sitting in the car Buffy's mom had lent them and they were driving down Sunnydale's main street. The radio was blaring some bubble gum pop and the two young women were singing along. Both horribly off key. But they didn't care, nobody was listening and even if, the music was so loud that anybody who was eavesdropping wouldn't have heard them anyway.
"So. are you coming to that Porter hall thing on Saturday or are you still on the mope-train?" Willow turned down the radio, looking at her friend.
Buffy shrugged. "I don't know yet. Maybe. Ask me again on. say. Friday."
"Buffy, you should really get over that guy. If that was really his point than he wasn't worth it anyway. It's eating you inside out and I don't have enough best-friend-time with you anymore. I'm the one who's suffering here." Willow put on her mocking scowl and Buffy smiled wryly.
She really didn't want to talk about what happened with Riley. She hadn't loved him the way he wanted her to and than he'd left. So be it. Nothing to talk about. But whenever she thought about it, she felt a pang in her heart. No matter how far she tried to push the pain away.
"Ok, than count me in. I'm not getting enough best-friend-time either. I can't stay home all the time. Mom's hyper-concerned and Dawn's a pain in my newly skirt-cladded ass."
Buffy shook in faked disgust and the two women giggled. Yeah, they really needed more time together. She missed the time when she was hanging out with Willow and Xander during High School. But now they were in college and Xander was working in the construction business and didn't have that much time for them either. It was a shame. Plus Willow, who had realised that she was playing for the other team a year ago, had a girlfriend, and they were hanging out a lot more often They were both living on campus while Buffy was still at home with her mom and her little sister. So they only met during classes or when they went shopping like today.
"God, I love that new shirt I bought. It's a blast." Buffy burst out when she thought about her new achievements.
"The pink one?" Willow asked. She was a little startled by the suddenout burst
"Yep."
"It's definitely an eye-catcher, that's for sure. You can wear it at the party."
"Oh yeah." Buffy thought about it for a moment. The idea about the party started to get better and better. She really did need some outdoor fun. "Will. do you think that Ben guy will be there ?"
"The medicine-man who's in your phyc class? I think so. He never misses a party. You like him?" her friend asked and a smile spread over her lips. She loved to hear about everything new on the love-boat and when Buffy was interested in a new guy, that was a bonus. She hated it to see her best friend suffering.
"I don't know. he's cute." Buffy shrugged.
"Just cute or cuuuute?" Willow put a heavy emphasis on the u and made a big gesture with her hands.
A slow smile spread over Buffy's face. Willow had caught her. She really thought that Ben deserved a lot more u's than a lot of other guys at college and after the disaster with Riley he seemed like a nicer guy.
"He's so sweet." Buffy blurted, making the same big gesture with her hand as Willow did before, letting go off the steering wheel for a second. The car leered to the left, almost leaving their side of the road, but Buffy caught it again before she could crash into somebodyor something. "Have you seen him when he chews on his pencils? That's so cute." Yeah, she sounded like the typical high school girl that she has been a couple of years before.
"You're looking for the little details, that's a major crush indicator." Willow exclaimed, nodding.
"I don't have a crush." Buffy tried to defend herself, looking at her friend and leaving the street unattended. "I just think he's a sweety, that's all."
"Buffy! Watch out!" Willow suddenly screamed, pointing out through the windshield, her eyes wide like saucers, her mouth gaping open.
Buffy's head wiped around, her high heel clap foot slammed on the brake. The tires screeched on the pavement and the car's back broke out. She caught again, but it was too late.
CRASH!
Something dark had appeared on the street before the car. Although Buffy had tried to stop in time, it was too late. The crash had been inevitable. Now, the car stood on the street, the tires had left a good portion of rubber on the asphalt.
Buffy stared through the windshield, her hands on the steering wheel. She couldn't move, she couldn't blink, she couldn't breath. Everything had stopped, the car, time. Everything.
Willow was the first who snapped back into reality and left the car. The redhead stumbled around the car, kneeling down in the front, disappearing from Buffy's sight. After a couple of seconds, she reappeared, staggered back to the car, grabbed her purse and roamed through it.
"Aha." She breathed as she found her cell phone and dialled. After a few seconds the connection was made. "Hello? Emergency? My name is Willow Rosenberg, we had an accident on. Resident Drive. Can you send an ambulance please? Thank you." She hung up. "Buffy?"
The blond didn't move. She was still staring ahead, immobile.
"Buffy!" Willow shook her shoulder and Buffy blinked.
"What?" she croaked, her voice dry and hoarse. "What happened?"
"You had an accident. Are you ok?"
Buffy shook her head to get a clear site. Then she looked down at her body. "Yeah. yeah. I think so. What's." She couldn't say it. She knew that she had crashed into something but she couldn't say it.
"Good. Get out of the car." Willow disappeared again, shrugging out of her cardigan and kneeling down in front of the car again.
Finally Buffy collected all her shock-crushed-strength and opened her door. Her knees felt like they were filled with jell-o and she grabbed the door for balance, her whole body was shaking.
No, that couldn't have happened. She couldn't have had an accident right now. What if she had hurt somebody, what if.
"God, damn it, woman. I'm bloody alright. Leave me alone." A male voice came from the front the car and than Buffy saw it.
A wheelchair lay toppled on the street, one of the wheels still spinning slowly. Willow was crouched beneath a young man who lay a few feet from her car. His legs were twisted in an odd angle that just hurt from looking at it. And he was struggling against the red head's help. She had folded up her thin jacket and tried to put it under his head. He had a nasty cut on his forehead which was bleeding. His hands were bloodied, too, were they must've scraped over the pavement.
Now he was sitting up, his weight propped up on one muscled arm. With the other hand he tried to adjust his legs in a more comfortable position - mostly to the eye of any other person.
"You." He glared up at Buffy and now she could see his face and she just gasped. His blue eyes were sparkling furious with anger, his jaw clenched and his lips tightened over a stifled curse. "Can't you keep you bloody eyes on the street, damn it?" he growled, leaning over on the other arm, trying to come near the toppled wheelchair.
Oh please no. This couldn't be true. It wasn't true. She must be dreaming. She had crashed into a guy in a wheelchair of all things. Of course any crash that involved crashing into people was bad but this guy was sitting in a wheelchair. He couldn't walk. 'Great Buff. Big hit, really.' Buffy scold herself.
"Oh god, I'm so." she covered her mouth with her hand, unable to come with something reasonable.
"What? Sorry? Well, don't be. I don't need pity from people like you." He snorted, inching closer to his wheelchair but still not close enough.
"Ehm. Sir. I think we should wait for the ambulance. That wound looks really bad. Somebody should have a look." Willow tried to stop the young man, grabbing his shoulder but he shrugged it off.
"I said leave me alone. I don't need your help." He spat at Willow and the red head retreated.
The second he grabbed for the wheelchair, sirens blared through the street and the ambulance came around the corner, it's brakes screeching to a halt a couple of feet from Buffy's car.
Two guys in dark blue uniform jumped out of the back , one with a huge emergency suitcase in his hand.
"What happened? Who called us " He looked between the young man with the aggressive platinum blond hair, the red head and the still pretty shocked Buffy who could just stare at the scene.
"That was me." Willow answered as the other man knelt down beside them. "We crashed into his wheelchair. He has a wound on his forehead." She informed and the bleached blond guy shot her an annoyed look.
"Sir, let me have a look at that, please." Before the young man could answer the medical orderly grabbed him by the chin and turned his face toward him. "It's just a cut, no stitches will be needed. But we will take you to the hospital for a round about check."
As if ordered the other man stood and returned to the ambulance to get the stretcher.
"I don't need no check. I'm fine. Just tape me up." The blond guy said.
"Sorry, sir. I can't leave you like that. A doctor should have a look at you." With that he stood, too, and turned to Buffy.
"Miss, are you alright? You were the driver?"
"Yeah. I'm. I'm fine. Maybe a bruise or two but." She tried to focus on the man before her instead of the quietly cursing young man she'd hurt.
"Do you want us to take you to the hospital, too?"
"What? No. I'm alright, really. We'll just wait for the police, I guess." Buffy shook her head, she didn't really know what to think or say.
"As you wish."
Buffy stared as the two medical orderlies helped the young man up onto the stretcher. Now, he was swearing loudly, his British accent making it impossible to understand every single word. They put him into the ambulance, storing the wheelchair in the back, too.
"Miss, the police are on their way."
Buffy nodded.
"Buff? You alright?" Now, finally, Willow was at her side and pulled her into a tight comforting hug.
For a few seconds they just stood there. It felt good just to be hugged. This was all too much. The accident wasn't as bad as Buffy had thought before, but she still was the black figure - that turned out to be that a bleach wonder with a black leather jacket - disappearing under her car.
Willow released her slowly and stroked a strand of hair out of the friend's face. Tears were streaming down the blonde's cheeks.
"God, what did I do?" she breathed, her shoulder twitching with a sudden sob.
It felt like the reality was crashing into her just now. For the first time since she'd felt the car bump into something, the world felt real again. The colors had their normal intensity and the sound was in the right volume.
"It's ok, Buffy. Everything is going to be alright. The police will be here any second. It isn't that bad." Willow tried to smile comfortingly but failed miserably.
"I. I hurt a guy. god. I almost killed him." Buffy's hand went over her mouth again as she tried to stifle another sob.
"No, you didn't. He's going to be alright." The red head hugged her friend again.
The police finally arrived a few minutes later. One of the officers talked to the medical orderlies, the other one came up to the two young women. He took their addresses and the details about the accident. The officer was in his mid fifties and was eyeing Buffy suspiciously like she was accused of murder. Willow came to her help on one or another occasion and he shot her the same disgusted look.
He said that Buffy should stay in town in case anything came up after the accident. Yeah, she really felt like she'd killed somebody. But than, maybe out of a flash of fatherly sympathy, the officer smiled.
"I don't think that anything will happen. The young man doesn't seem to be hurt too bad, well. except for the wheelchair thing but that wasn't your fault, so."
Two weeks later Buffy was called into court.