Title: Another chance to start again
Author: Nathaly
Rate: R
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Joss Whedon, I only play with them
for my writing's sake.
A/N: This is my first Buffy fic so please bare with me, it's AU so you'll find that there are a lot of things missing from the original plot, including the whole slaying deal. I wanted to experiment with Buffy and Faith in a different situation, a different life if you will but don't worry, there's still pleny of good ol' action and angst.
Chapter one: A new beginning
Joyce Summers stepped outside to the porch and scanned her garden thoroughly until she found what she was looking for. Under the big oak tree sat her 7 year old daughter playing with a doll.
"Buffy!" she called out to her, "dinner's ready honey." The little head shot up as she looked at her mother.
"You know the rule mama, no dinner until daddy gets home." She answered playfully.
Joyce shook her head slowly, she had been having problems with Hank for a long time now and she couldn't stand it. She knew that she wanted a divorce but how could she tell her daughter that she couldn't live with her father anymore. Hank was Buffy's adoration since she was a baby, she didn't understand how or why because he had never been an affectionate father and was barely home for a couple of hours everyday.
She watched her daughter in silence, named Elizabeth Anne after Hank's mother. She was quite small and fragile, long honey golden hair, questioning hazel eyes and the most tender smile in the world. She called her Buffy because inspite of her petite form she was a brave little girl with excellent reflexes. She had been in karate since age three and was now starting also tae-kwon-do.
Suddenly a car stopped on the front and Hank stepped out, Buffy's face illuminated when she saw the object of her affection and ran towards him.
"Daddy!" She squealed hugging his knees.
"Hey Buff, how's it going?" He asked carrying her in his arms.
"Fine daddy, I was waiting for you so we can have dinner. It's all ready, right mama?" She asked Joyce as they approached her.
Hank and Joyce exchanged looks far away from the loving ones they shared years before. "Yeah, it's true." She answered finally and they entered the house.
That night after dinner and tuck time, Buffy lay in her bed playing with Chloe, her favorite doll because it was a present from her daddy. She was teaching her the fine art of having a bear as a husband when she heard the noise. It was coming from her parent's room and it was loud, it seemed like her parents were having another fight. They thought she didn't know but she could hear them fighting sometimes at night and it hurt her. But tonight the fight was loud enough for her to get frightened; she slowly got out of bed and tiptoed across her room, opened the door, crossed the hallway and stopped outside her parent's room.
She knew it was bad to eavesdrop but she couldn't help it, her mama and daddy were having a big fight and she wanted to know the reason. Her father was screaming something while her mother tried to get him to stop shouting; she could hear her saying that the baby was asleep and that he was going to wake her up. That was when her father said something that she'd never forget, something that would mark her life and haunt her forever.
"The baby, the baby, and well I'm tired of everything being about the damn baby. I'm tired of seeing that kid, tired of her laughter and squeals, I'm tired of her. And I regret the day you got pregnant, I should've forced you to abort her because I don't want her, and I don't love her. Everything was so much better between us before she was born, she ruined our marriage and now I don't love you either. I'm outta here and don't try to stop me or find me cause I ain't giving you money for that brat!" He yelled angrily, she could hear her mom trying to calm him.
"You don't deserve to have her as a daughter, how can you do this to her? She adores you." She reasoned with him.
"I don't give a damn, you can keep her." Buffy quickly ran to her bedroom and locked the door. She heard the door to her parent's room open and heard her father's heavy boots as he descended the stairs. She sat on her window and watched as her daddy threw his suitcase on the car and left.
Tears spilled on her cheeks as she felt her heart break in to pieces, her daddy left because of her, he had said it loud and clear, she ruined everything. Silently she unlocked the door and crawled under the covers, she knew her mom would come in to check on her like she did every night. She closed her eyes tightly and swore not to cry for her father ever again.
The next day her mom had explained that her father had to leave but that he loved her very much and he would miss her. She knew the truth but she wouldn't let her mom know so she nodded silently. Life continued it's course and her father's name was never mentioned at home, she never asked for him and so her mom didn't talk about him. And the days turned in to weeks, the weeks in to months and the months in to years and the little girl grew.
The silence in the room was disturbed by the loud ring of the clock; Buffy groaned in frustration and sat up. Today was her first day of school and she really didn't like it, in fact she hated school and everything associated with it.
She lazily got up and went through her daily hygiene routine, she changed in to a black miniskirt, white tank top and black sandals. She combed her long hair and put on make up, she had to admit that she had grown to be very pretty.
She grabbed her back pack and went downstairs where she found her mother in the kitchen. Joyce immediately smiled upon seeing her daughter; she admired the beauty in the teenager and felt very proud.
"Good morning honey, ready for your first day of school?" She asked brightly handing her a plate with French toast.
"Uggh, don't even mention it." She said in an annoyed manner.
Joyce smiled because she knew very well her daughter's bad temper, especially at mornings; Buffy was definitely not a morning person.
"Well, you better get used to it because you still have two years to go. I have to work now so I'll see you later, don't be too late please." She kissed her daughter's forehead and left in a hurry.
Buffy finished her breakfast in silence, she deposited the plate in the sink, grabbed her disc man and left. She hummed her favorite song while she walked; as she reached the school grounds she put her disc man in her back pack.
Boys and girls stared at the new face with interest, some secreted with their friends and others just openly stared. She didn't care; she was used to being center of attention so it didn't faze her a bit. Once she got inside she searched for the principal's office, she eventually found it and went inside.
The principal was a short, chubby man with gray hair and a mustache. He smiled when she entered and motioned for her to sit.
"Hello, you must be Elizabeth Anne Summers. I'm principal Flutie and I welcome you to Sunnydale High, hope you didn't have any trouble in finding my office." He smiled as he did his speech.
Buffy forced a smile to her pretty lips, "thank you Mr. Flutie, I had no troubles at all. And I'd be grateful if you'd just called Buffy." She added softly.
"That'd be no problem Buffy, here's your schedule and I'll see you around." He handed her the small piece of paper and went back to his work.
Buffy exited the office and read her schedule, she had homeroom and then trigonometry and she decided to skip homeroom. It'd give her time to get her books before her trig class; she strolled down the hallway until she reached the library.
It was big, old and had like millions of books in it. She went to the counter and rang the bell to make herself noticed; whoever was the librarian must be sleeping in boredom.
"Coming!" A low voice came out of nowhere.
Buffy frowned, that voice didn't seem to belong to the old woman with glasses and absolutely no social life she had expected. Then a figure stepped out of the small office at the back of the counter, Buffy was really surprised this time. It was a girl not much older than herself, decked in black hip huggers, a white tank top and sneakers. She had curly, brown hair cascading down her back, soulful brown eyes, pouty lips and a tanned complexion. Buffy couldn't kid herself, this girl was extremely beautiful.
Faith Addams had been doing inventory in her small office, she hadn't expected anyone since no one ever came to the library, so she had been surprised when she heard the bell. She yelled at the person that she was coming and closed the inventory book; she went outside to the counter and literally stopped breathing.
Waiting for her was the absolutely most beautiful girl she'd ever seen in her entire life. The short girl had olive skin and honey golden hair adorning her head, curious hazel eyes looked at her, the cutest little nose and the sexiest cherry lips. Clad in a black miniskirt and a white tank top, she also possessed the most incredible legs she'd ever seen, she liked everything but she was a sucker for beautiful legs like those.
"Hi.um I need books." The girl's voice was soft and she spoke in a deliberate manner.
Faith kicked her brain in to function and smiled nervously, "Sure, gimme the list and I'll get them for you." Buffy handed her the list and watched as the girl disappear behind the seemingly million book shelves.
Buffy sat on one of the tables confused, what this girl was doing as a librarian. She couldn't be much older than herself, she should be in school, and maybe it was just a part time job or something. One thing was for sure, the girl was extremely sexy, Buffy shook those thoughts of her mind when she heard the girl walking back to the counter.
She placed some books on the counter and wrote something on a notebook. Buffy collected the books and put them in her back pack; the girl looked up at Buffy and smiled.
"I'll need your name so I can give you a library card." Faith said to the pretty girl, she didn't know why she kept smiling if she knew that she'd probably never see the girl again. The kids of Sunnydale High hated the library and hated her.
"Elizabeth Anne Summers." Buffy replied dryly, a bit too dryly.
Faith looked up in surprise, the girl seemed annoyed at her but she hadn't done anything, or had she? She didn't understand the change in the blonde's attitude but nobody could, Buffy hated her name because it belonged to her father's mother and as far as she was concerned it was another reminder of the horrible man she had been trying to forget.
Faith did the work in her computer and then gave Buffy her brand new library card, "here you go."
Buffy took the card and their fingers touched, an electric shock went to both girls and they looked at each other.
"Um.thanks, bye." Buffy put her card in her back pack and rushed out of the library. Faith sighed heavily, there went the most beautiful girl in the world and she'd probably never see her again. She probably didn't know anything but the rumors would soon get to her ears and then she'd never come to the library again, just like the rest of the kids.
It was another reminder that she'd never get to live a normal life, that she'd never be able to put the past behind her and that was her punishment, she'd never be happy. Oh well, she'd better go back to her inventory if she wanted to get home early tonight.
Meanwhile Buffy sat in her trigonometry class; she couldn't help but think about the beautiful librarian and the butterflies she got when they touched. She still didn't know why such a young girl was the librarian.
Soon lunch time came and she grabbed her books and went to her locker. She felt someone behind her and turned to find two kids she'd seen in her trig class.
"Hi, you're the new girl. I'm Willow Rosenberg and this is my best friend Xander Harris." The girl in question had pale skin, red hair and blue eyes, the boy was tall with brown hair and eyes and a goofy smile.
"Please call me Buffy." She said simply and went back to putting her books away.
"We're going to the cafeteria because that's where everybody's going now." The boy stammered.
"It figures, that's what lunch time is for." Buffy replied crossing her arms on her chest. The boy's gaze fell on her generous chest and never left.
Willow nudged her friend's side to get him to react, "what Xander means is if you'd like to accompany us." She corrected for him.
Buffy looked between the both of them and thought 'what the hell'; she didn't have anything to lose.
"Sure." She said closing her locker and starting ahead of them.
When they were all seated with their respective lunch Buffy decided to clear her doubt about the mysterious librarian.
"Um.I gotta ask you guys something, it's about the librarian." She saw Willow squirm in her seat and exchange looks with Xander.
"What do you wanna know?" The red head asked.
"Well, how is it that such a young girl is the librarian, shouldn't it be some old person? And why isn't she attending classes?" Xander made a face and Willow nudged his side again.
"Ow Will!" He groaned in pain but then turned serious, "she can't go to this school because she's on parole, that's why she's working in the library." He explained.
"On parole? What did she do?" Willow squirmed again and looked around her.
"Well, rumor has it that she killed a man because he asked her out and she didn't like him." Buffy frowned in utter disbelief.
"That can't be true, why would she kill the guy if she could just say no?" The idea seemed absurd and stupid.
Willow shook her head but said nothing; Xander took a bite of his sandwich and proceeded to explain.
"She got here last year; principal Flutie said that she was starting a new life with us as a librarian. Of course her being so young and obviously hot, we found it strange that she would be the librarian and not a student." Buffy's thoughts went back to those soulful eyes and that tender smile.
Willow took it from there, "I personally asked Mr. Flutie why was that and he told me that she had been in juvie, she went out on parole because she was too young or something. When I asked him why she had been in jail he told me that she had killed a man but nobody knew the reason." She sipped from her apple juice.
Buffy frowned, "and how did you know she killed the guy because he asked her out?" Every time she thought about the idea seemed even more stupid.
"Cordelia Chase asked her why she didn't go out with anyone, she suggested that maybe they were afraid of her and she told her that the last time she'd been asked out she killed the guy. Then the rumor spread and since then nobody ever goes in to the library, except for the brainiest." Xander concluded.
Buffy was deep in thought, she still didn't believe the absurd story but what occupied her thoughts the most were those haunting eyes that conveyed all the loneliness the girl lived in.
"Where does she live?" She asked curiously.
"Nobody knows, she doesn't leave the library until really late and no one's ever seen her in the streets. Nobody ever gets near her; we are all afraid that she might go psychotic and kill us all." Willow said in a tiny voice.
Buffy sighed heavily, "that's so stupid, the poor girl must be so lonely and you're all treating her like she's dirt." She exclaimed indignant though she didn't know why.
"Worse than dirt actually, dirt doesn't kill." Xander said depreciatively.
Buffy couldn't take it anymore and stood, "well I'm not going to be like the rest of you and give her the cold shoulder, someone's gotta stand up for that girl and guess it's gonna be me." She said and left leaving a shocked Willow and Xander.
Buffy walked as quickly as she could to the library, the girl wasn't out of her teens and already she had to bear loneliness. Buffy knew loneliness, she experienced it a lot after her father abandoned her and it wasn't a good feeling. She pushed the huge doors open and entered silently; there was a majestic feeling about the place that she found appealing.
"Hello, anyone here?" She asked, her voice a soft whisper. It was stupid because nobody would hear her but didn't want to break the spell.
Faith had been concentrated dusting the books in the back shelves, those hazel eyes still in her memory when she heard the sound. She strained her ear and stopped breathing; there it was again, it was soft like a breeze reaching her ear. Somebody was in there with her and was calling out for her, who would be there asking for her? Nobody visited the library. She carefully stepped of the ladder and walked out to the counter. She couldn't believe it, the beautiful blonde from before was there again in all her glory. Maybe she had forgotten something and came to get it back or worse, somebody told her everything and now she came to ask her if it was true.
"May I help you with something?" Faith asked slowly, she wasn't sure how to act.
Buffy stood there looking at the dark beauty, gazing in to those deep eyes that could drown you.
"You probably don't remember me but I came this morning to get some books." She said with nervously.
'How could I ever forget you', Faith thought to herself, "Elizabeth Anne Summers." The name rolled of her tongue.
Buffy cringed at the sound of her name, even though it sounded not so bad when it came from the sexy librarian. Faith noticed this and started wondering what was happening, she remembered seeing that look that morning when she had asked for her name.
"Please call me Buffy." The blonde begged rather forcefully.
"Ok, Buffy may I help you with something?" She asked again, this time she noticed the blonde smile and what a smile it was the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen.
Buffy was uncertain for a while, she really didn't know what she was going to tell the librarian. 'Well stupid, find out her name as a first', her inner voice exclaimed.
"Are you ok?" Faith saw the strange look on Buffy's face and worried.
"Um.I just.came to say hi." 'Brilliant Buffy, you think you could swallow you foot any further.'
Faith smirked at the blonde's sheepish look; she was apparently struggling with herself.
"Hi." She said gaining a small smile from the blonde. 'God I love that smile.'
Buffy realized what a fool she was making of herself, "you must think that I'm such a dork. Coming in here and wasting your time on stupid things when you obviously have work to do, I'm sorry." She suddenly found her feet so interesting but she felt the girl's eyes on her, studying her every move.
"Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything stupid," she slowly approached Buffy and tilted her chin with one finger, "thanks for taking your time to say hi, it's been a while since someone other than the janitor and Mr. Flutie has said it." She said and Buffy could see the truth written all over her face.
"Really?" She asked her voice small.
"Really. By the way, my name's Faith Addams." She stretched her hand and Buffy shook it.
Buffy felt the electricity crawling up her skin and she let go, she didn't know what was happening with her. Faith studied Buffy curiously.
"So B, shouldn't you be in the cafeteria with the rest of the kids?" The brunette asked. Buffy was surprised when she heard her new nick name, but she liked it though.
"I was but.it wasn't so fun anymore." She kept the fact that she had wanted to see the lovely brunette again to herself.
Faith could read those hazel pieces of heaven Buffy called eyes, they conveyed all the feelings the blonde was experiencing, also the doubts in her mind.
"They told you about me, didn't they?" It was a simple question but Buffy got really nervous.
"Um.I.they.uh."Buffy was finding it hard to breathe. Faith noticed the blonde's struggle and put a calming hand on her shoulder.
"It's ok B, that's no news. It happens every year, the old students tell the new ones about the psychotic killer that works in the library. I'm used to it." She explained softly.
"Is it true?" Buffy asked in a little voice, she was suddenly embarrassed by her question. 'It's not any of your damn business'
Faith hadn't told anyone about what really happened; she let everyone jump to their own conclusions simply because it was easier for her to ignore them. But there was something in the blonde's eyes that caught her attention; it was real interest not just a need to know the gossip. Buffy wanted to know if it was true and Faith found it so easy to trust this girl even though they had just met.
"You really wanna know?" She asked slowly.
Buffy debated whether she should or shouldn't answer for all of.5 seconds. Curiosity won over reason, that and the desperate need to know more of this girl standing in front of her.
"Yeah." She answered finally.
Faith nodded and motioned for her to sit on one of the long tables, after sitting beside her she took a deep breath, it would be the first time she ever told anyone her story.
"I guess I should start from the very beginning so you can understand everything. It's a long story and I don't want to keep you from your classes, it is your first day after all." Faith found herself anxious to tell her story, that hadn't happened with anyone before.
"Please tell me. I don't care about classes, tomorrow's another day." Buffy's voice was determined and it was the sweetest sound Faith ever heard.
She cleared her throat, "well, I was born in Boston, in the south and in the worst part of Boston. My mother was a known hooker with a heroin addiction, to this day I still don't know why she had me, and I was just a mistake like she always said. Ever since I was a kid all I knew was maltreatment, she would beat me up, call me names and even hurt me really bad a few times. I went to school just to escape the harsh reality that was my life, but my mother decided I could be useful for other things so she became my pimp." Faith gulped to try and won the memories from engulfing her.
"Your pimp?" It couldn't be what Buffy was thinking, could it? 'No, that'd be to cruel, no parent would do that to their child,' she thought.
"Exactly. She would round up all her 'clients' and take them home, there she would give them turns on me for money, money she'd use to buy drugs." Faith could still feel the rusty hands slapping her butt, the weight that threatened to asphyxiate her, and the pain she felt afterwards when she couldn't even walk.
"Faith." The brunette seemed to go back to those times because her face was contorted with pain.
"There were 9 or 10 at times, if business was good there'd be 12 or 13. I felt so horrible, I couldn't get up from the bed and I felt like I was going to die from so much pain. For my mother of course it was never enough, she needed more and more money every time and I had to get it for her. I was 12 years old when I got in to this gang, we used to rob houses, cars, stores, everything. I was the youngest one of the group and they took care of me, they were like my family but they didn't know what my mother made me do."
"Why didn't you tell them? I'm sure they would've helped you." Buffy wondered out loud.
"Because I couldn't let anybody know what my life was, I'd be to ashamed to even bring up the subject."
"It's not your fault Faith, you shouldn't feel ashamed." Faith smiled a little at Buffy's attempt to comfort her.
"When I turned 13 my mother fell in love with her heroin supplier, he moved in with us and that's when everything got worse. He would beat my mother to unconsciousness and then abuse me until he couldn't anymore. I dropped out of school because the bruises were so noticeable that everyone would stare; besides I had to stay home and be the wife for him while my mother slept through her heroin haze."
"Oh God Faith, that's horrible." Buffy felt so sorry for what she had to go through, it didn't seem humanly possible to survive to that.
"When I turned 14 I couldn't stand it anymore, one day when I came home from robbing a store with my gang I found him strangling my mother. I knew she didn't love me but still she was my mother and it hurt to see her like that, so I yelled for him to stop. He did but only to start beating me, he was about to strangle me when I grabbed a baseball bat that was lying on the floor and hit him hard on the head. He fell off of me but I was too enraged, I kept hitting him until he stopped breathing. Then the police came and took me in, they sent me to juvie for a year, they let me go because it was in self defense but on the condition that I had to work and study. Mr. Flutie was very nice to me and accepted me a librarian, the rumor quickly spread about me so I decided not to go to school here; I'll take the tests when your class graduates. Then I'll go to college and make myself of a career, I came here to start a new life but in this school it's impossible, to everyone I'm just a lunatic who killed a guy just because he asked me out. That's why nobody ever comes in to the library, they're afraid of me." She exhaled softly and turned to look at Buffy.
The blonde smiled weakly at her while she ran her hands through Faith's dark curls.
"So what do you think now?" Faith needed to know.
Buffy drew in a breath, "I think you're the bravest person I've ever met. None of this was your fault and I think it's highly unfair that people won't give you a chance to start again, God knows you deserve it more than any of us." Faith couldn't believe her ears.
"Are you for real?" She asked surprised.
Buffy smiled widely at this comment; at that moment she knew she needed to be this girl's friend. She couldn't stand seeing her in any more loneliness.
"I guess I am. "Friends?" She stretched her hand and waited anxiously for a response.
Faith knew at that moment that the blonde would be an important part of her life; she just didn't know how important she would be.
"Friends." She said shaking the small hand, feeling the electric chock through her body.
'Oh boy'
Hey so what did you think, please let me know because the continuation of this fic totally depends on the reviews I get. So loved it, hated it just review please and gimme any suggestions, I'll be glad to put them to good use.
A/N: This is my first Buffy fic so please bare with me, it's AU so you'll find that there are a lot of things missing from the original plot, including the whole slaying deal. I wanted to experiment with Buffy and Faith in a different situation, a different life if you will but don't worry, there's still pleny of good ol' action and angst.
Chapter one: A new beginning
Joyce Summers stepped outside to the porch and scanned her garden thoroughly until she found what she was looking for. Under the big oak tree sat her 7 year old daughter playing with a doll.
"Buffy!" she called out to her, "dinner's ready honey." The little head shot up as she looked at her mother.
"You know the rule mama, no dinner until daddy gets home." She answered playfully.
Joyce shook her head slowly, she had been having problems with Hank for a long time now and she couldn't stand it. She knew that she wanted a divorce but how could she tell her daughter that she couldn't live with her father anymore. Hank was Buffy's adoration since she was a baby, she didn't understand how or why because he had never been an affectionate father and was barely home for a couple of hours everyday.
She watched her daughter in silence, named Elizabeth Anne after Hank's mother. She was quite small and fragile, long honey golden hair, questioning hazel eyes and the most tender smile in the world. She called her Buffy because inspite of her petite form she was a brave little girl with excellent reflexes. She had been in karate since age three and was now starting also tae-kwon-do.
Suddenly a car stopped on the front and Hank stepped out, Buffy's face illuminated when she saw the object of her affection and ran towards him.
"Daddy!" She squealed hugging his knees.
"Hey Buff, how's it going?" He asked carrying her in his arms.
"Fine daddy, I was waiting for you so we can have dinner. It's all ready, right mama?" She asked Joyce as they approached her.
Hank and Joyce exchanged looks far away from the loving ones they shared years before. "Yeah, it's true." She answered finally and they entered the house.
That night after dinner and tuck time, Buffy lay in her bed playing with Chloe, her favorite doll because it was a present from her daddy. She was teaching her the fine art of having a bear as a husband when she heard the noise. It was coming from her parent's room and it was loud, it seemed like her parents were having another fight. They thought she didn't know but she could hear them fighting sometimes at night and it hurt her. But tonight the fight was loud enough for her to get frightened; she slowly got out of bed and tiptoed across her room, opened the door, crossed the hallway and stopped outside her parent's room.
She knew it was bad to eavesdrop but she couldn't help it, her mama and daddy were having a big fight and she wanted to know the reason. Her father was screaming something while her mother tried to get him to stop shouting; she could hear her saying that the baby was asleep and that he was going to wake her up. That was when her father said something that she'd never forget, something that would mark her life and haunt her forever.
"The baby, the baby, and well I'm tired of everything being about the damn baby. I'm tired of seeing that kid, tired of her laughter and squeals, I'm tired of her. And I regret the day you got pregnant, I should've forced you to abort her because I don't want her, and I don't love her. Everything was so much better between us before she was born, she ruined our marriage and now I don't love you either. I'm outta here and don't try to stop me or find me cause I ain't giving you money for that brat!" He yelled angrily, she could hear her mom trying to calm him.
"You don't deserve to have her as a daughter, how can you do this to her? She adores you." She reasoned with him.
"I don't give a damn, you can keep her." Buffy quickly ran to her bedroom and locked the door. She heard the door to her parent's room open and heard her father's heavy boots as he descended the stairs. She sat on her window and watched as her daddy threw his suitcase on the car and left.
Tears spilled on her cheeks as she felt her heart break in to pieces, her daddy left because of her, he had said it loud and clear, she ruined everything. Silently she unlocked the door and crawled under the covers, she knew her mom would come in to check on her like she did every night. She closed her eyes tightly and swore not to cry for her father ever again.
The next day her mom had explained that her father had to leave but that he loved her very much and he would miss her. She knew the truth but she wouldn't let her mom know so she nodded silently. Life continued it's course and her father's name was never mentioned at home, she never asked for him and so her mom didn't talk about him. And the days turned in to weeks, the weeks in to months and the months in to years and the little girl grew.
The silence in the room was disturbed by the loud ring of the clock; Buffy groaned in frustration and sat up. Today was her first day of school and she really didn't like it, in fact she hated school and everything associated with it.
She lazily got up and went through her daily hygiene routine, she changed in to a black miniskirt, white tank top and black sandals. She combed her long hair and put on make up, she had to admit that she had grown to be very pretty.
She grabbed her back pack and went downstairs where she found her mother in the kitchen. Joyce immediately smiled upon seeing her daughter; she admired the beauty in the teenager and felt very proud.
"Good morning honey, ready for your first day of school?" She asked brightly handing her a plate with French toast.
"Uggh, don't even mention it." She said in an annoyed manner.
Joyce smiled because she knew very well her daughter's bad temper, especially at mornings; Buffy was definitely not a morning person.
"Well, you better get used to it because you still have two years to go. I have to work now so I'll see you later, don't be too late please." She kissed her daughter's forehead and left in a hurry.
Buffy finished her breakfast in silence, she deposited the plate in the sink, grabbed her disc man and left. She hummed her favorite song while she walked; as she reached the school grounds she put her disc man in her back pack.
Boys and girls stared at the new face with interest, some secreted with their friends and others just openly stared. She didn't care; she was used to being center of attention so it didn't faze her a bit. Once she got inside she searched for the principal's office, she eventually found it and went inside.
The principal was a short, chubby man with gray hair and a mustache. He smiled when she entered and motioned for her to sit.
"Hello, you must be Elizabeth Anne Summers. I'm principal Flutie and I welcome you to Sunnydale High, hope you didn't have any trouble in finding my office." He smiled as he did his speech.
Buffy forced a smile to her pretty lips, "thank you Mr. Flutie, I had no troubles at all. And I'd be grateful if you'd just called Buffy." She added softly.
"That'd be no problem Buffy, here's your schedule and I'll see you around." He handed her the small piece of paper and went back to his work.
Buffy exited the office and read her schedule, she had homeroom and then trigonometry and she decided to skip homeroom. It'd give her time to get her books before her trig class; she strolled down the hallway until she reached the library.
It was big, old and had like millions of books in it. She went to the counter and rang the bell to make herself noticed; whoever was the librarian must be sleeping in boredom.
"Coming!" A low voice came out of nowhere.
Buffy frowned, that voice didn't seem to belong to the old woman with glasses and absolutely no social life she had expected. Then a figure stepped out of the small office at the back of the counter, Buffy was really surprised this time. It was a girl not much older than herself, decked in black hip huggers, a white tank top and sneakers. She had curly, brown hair cascading down her back, soulful brown eyes, pouty lips and a tanned complexion. Buffy couldn't kid herself, this girl was extremely beautiful.
Faith Addams had been doing inventory in her small office, she hadn't expected anyone since no one ever came to the library, so she had been surprised when she heard the bell. She yelled at the person that she was coming and closed the inventory book; she went outside to the counter and literally stopped breathing.
Waiting for her was the absolutely most beautiful girl she'd ever seen in her entire life. The short girl had olive skin and honey golden hair adorning her head, curious hazel eyes looked at her, the cutest little nose and the sexiest cherry lips. Clad in a black miniskirt and a white tank top, she also possessed the most incredible legs she'd ever seen, she liked everything but she was a sucker for beautiful legs like those.
"Hi.um I need books." The girl's voice was soft and she spoke in a deliberate manner.
Faith kicked her brain in to function and smiled nervously, "Sure, gimme the list and I'll get them for you." Buffy handed her the list and watched as the girl disappear behind the seemingly million book shelves.
Buffy sat on one of the tables confused, what this girl was doing as a librarian. She couldn't be much older than herself, she should be in school, and maybe it was just a part time job or something. One thing was for sure, the girl was extremely sexy, Buffy shook those thoughts of her mind when she heard the girl walking back to the counter.
She placed some books on the counter and wrote something on a notebook. Buffy collected the books and put them in her back pack; the girl looked up at Buffy and smiled.
"I'll need your name so I can give you a library card." Faith said to the pretty girl, she didn't know why she kept smiling if she knew that she'd probably never see the girl again. The kids of Sunnydale High hated the library and hated her.
"Elizabeth Anne Summers." Buffy replied dryly, a bit too dryly.
Faith looked up in surprise, the girl seemed annoyed at her but she hadn't done anything, or had she? She didn't understand the change in the blonde's attitude but nobody could, Buffy hated her name because it belonged to her father's mother and as far as she was concerned it was another reminder of the horrible man she had been trying to forget.
Faith did the work in her computer and then gave Buffy her brand new library card, "here you go."
Buffy took the card and their fingers touched, an electric shock went to both girls and they looked at each other.
"Um.thanks, bye." Buffy put her card in her back pack and rushed out of the library. Faith sighed heavily, there went the most beautiful girl in the world and she'd probably never see her again. She probably didn't know anything but the rumors would soon get to her ears and then she'd never come to the library again, just like the rest of the kids.
It was another reminder that she'd never get to live a normal life, that she'd never be able to put the past behind her and that was her punishment, she'd never be happy. Oh well, she'd better go back to her inventory if she wanted to get home early tonight.
Meanwhile Buffy sat in her trigonometry class; she couldn't help but think about the beautiful librarian and the butterflies she got when they touched. She still didn't know why such a young girl was the librarian.
Soon lunch time came and she grabbed her books and went to her locker. She felt someone behind her and turned to find two kids she'd seen in her trig class.
"Hi, you're the new girl. I'm Willow Rosenberg and this is my best friend Xander Harris." The girl in question had pale skin, red hair and blue eyes, the boy was tall with brown hair and eyes and a goofy smile.
"Please call me Buffy." She said simply and went back to putting her books away.
"We're going to the cafeteria because that's where everybody's going now." The boy stammered.
"It figures, that's what lunch time is for." Buffy replied crossing her arms on her chest. The boy's gaze fell on her generous chest and never left.
Willow nudged her friend's side to get him to react, "what Xander means is if you'd like to accompany us." She corrected for him.
Buffy looked between the both of them and thought 'what the hell'; she didn't have anything to lose.
"Sure." She said closing her locker and starting ahead of them.
When they were all seated with their respective lunch Buffy decided to clear her doubt about the mysterious librarian.
"Um.I gotta ask you guys something, it's about the librarian." She saw Willow squirm in her seat and exchange looks with Xander.
"What do you wanna know?" The red head asked.
"Well, how is it that such a young girl is the librarian, shouldn't it be some old person? And why isn't she attending classes?" Xander made a face and Willow nudged his side again.
"Ow Will!" He groaned in pain but then turned serious, "she can't go to this school because she's on parole, that's why she's working in the library." He explained.
"On parole? What did she do?" Willow squirmed again and looked around her.
"Well, rumor has it that she killed a man because he asked her out and she didn't like him." Buffy frowned in utter disbelief.
"That can't be true, why would she kill the guy if she could just say no?" The idea seemed absurd and stupid.
Willow shook her head but said nothing; Xander took a bite of his sandwich and proceeded to explain.
"She got here last year; principal Flutie said that she was starting a new life with us as a librarian. Of course her being so young and obviously hot, we found it strange that she would be the librarian and not a student." Buffy's thoughts went back to those soulful eyes and that tender smile.
Willow took it from there, "I personally asked Mr. Flutie why was that and he told me that she had been in juvie, she went out on parole because she was too young or something. When I asked him why she had been in jail he told me that she had killed a man but nobody knew the reason." She sipped from her apple juice.
Buffy frowned, "and how did you know she killed the guy because he asked her out?" Every time she thought about the idea seemed even more stupid.
"Cordelia Chase asked her why she didn't go out with anyone, she suggested that maybe they were afraid of her and she told her that the last time she'd been asked out she killed the guy. Then the rumor spread and since then nobody ever goes in to the library, except for the brainiest." Xander concluded.
Buffy was deep in thought, she still didn't believe the absurd story but what occupied her thoughts the most were those haunting eyes that conveyed all the loneliness the girl lived in.
"Where does she live?" She asked curiously.
"Nobody knows, she doesn't leave the library until really late and no one's ever seen her in the streets. Nobody ever gets near her; we are all afraid that she might go psychotic and kill us all." Willow said in a tiny voice.
Buffy sighed heavily, "that's so stupid, the poor girl must be so lonely and you're all treating her like she's dirt." She exclaimed indignant though she didn't know why.
"Worse than dirt actually, dirt doesn't kill." Xander said depreciatively.
Buffy couldn't take it anymore and stood, "well I'm not going to be like the rest of you and give her the cold shoulder, someone's gotta stand up for that girl and guess it's gonna be me." She said and left leaving a shocked Willow and Xander.
Buffy walked as quickly as she could to the library, the girl wasn't out of her teens and already she had to bear loneliness. Buffy knew loneliness, she experienced it a lot after her father abandoned her and it wasn't a good feeling. She pushed the huge doors open and entered silently; there was a majestic feeling about the place that she found appealing.
"Hello, anyone here?" She asked, her voice a soft whisper. It was stupid because nobody would hear her but didn't want to break the spell.
Faith had been concentrated dusting the books in the back shelves, those hazel eyes still in her memory when she heard the sound. She strained her ear and stopped breathing; there it was again, it was soft like a breeze reaching her ear. Somebody was in there with her and was calling out for her, who would be there asking for her? Nobody visited the library. She carefully stepped of the ladder and walked out to the counter. She couldn't believe it, the beautiful blonde from before was there again in all her glory. Maybe she had forgotten something and came to get it back or worse, somebody told her everything and now she came to ask her if it was true.
"May I help you with something?" Faith asked slowly, she wasn't sure how to act.
Buffy stood there looking at the dark beauty, gazing in to those deep eyes that could drown you.
"You probably don't remember me but I came this morning to get some books." She said with nervously.
'How could I ever forget you', Faith thought to herself, "Elizabeth Anne Summers." The name rolled of her tongue.
Buffy cringed at the sound of her name, even though it sounded not so bad when it came from the sexy librarian. Faith noticed this and started wondering what was happening, she remembered seeing that look that morning when she had asked for her name.
"Please call me Buffy." The blonde begged rather forcefully.
"Ok, Buffy may I help you with something?" She asked again, this time she noticed the blonde smile and what a smile it was the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen.
Buffy was uncertain for a while, she really didn't know what she was going to tell the librarian. 'Well stupid, find out her name as a first', her inner voice exclaimed.
"Are you ok?" Faith saw the strange look on Buffy's face and worried.
"Um.I just.came to say hi." 'Brilliant Buffy, you think you could swallow you foot any further.'
Faith smirked at the blonde's sheepish look; she was apparently struggling with herself.
"Hi." She said gaining a small smile from the blonde. 'God I love that smile.'
Buffy realized what a fool she was making of herself, "you must think that I'm such a dork. Coming in here and wasting your time on stupid things when you obviously have work to do, I'm sorry." She suddenly found her feet so interesting but she felt the girl's eyes on her, studying her every move.
"Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything stupid," she slowly approached Buffy and tilted her chin with one finger, "thanks for taking your time to say hi, it's been a while since someone other than the janitor and Mr. Flutie has said it." She said and Buffy could see the truth written all over her face.
"Really?" She asked her voice small.
"Really. By the way, my name's Faith Addams." She stretched her hand and Buffy shook it.
Buffy felt the electricity crawling up her skin and she let go, she didn't know what was happening with her. Faith studied Buffy curiously.
"So B, shouldn't you be in the cafeteria with the rest of the kids?" The brunette asked. Buffy was surprised when she heard her new nick name, but she liked it though.
"I was but.it wasn't so fun anymore." She kept the fact that she had wanted to see the lovely brunette again to herself.
Faith could read those hazel pieces of heaven Buffy called eyes, they conveyed all the feelings the blonde was experiencing, also the doubts in her mind.
"They told you about me, didn't they?" It was a simple question but Buffy got really nervous.
"Um.I.they.uh."Buffy was finding it hard to breathe. Faith noticed the blonde's struggle and put a calming hand on her shoulder.
"It's ok B, that's no news. It happens every year, the old students tell the new ones about the psychotic killer that works in the library. I'm used to it." She explained softly.
"Is it true?" Buffy asked in a little voice, she was suddenly embarrassed by her question. 'It's not any of your damn business'
Faith hadn't told anyone about what really happened; she let everyone jump to their own conclusions simply because it was easier for her to ignore them. But there was something in the blonde's eyes that caught her attention; it was real interest not just a need to know the gossip. Buffy wanted to know if it was true and Faith found it so easy to trust this girl even though they had just met.
"You really wanna know?" She asked slowly.
Buffy debated whether she should or shouldn't answer for all of.5 seconds. Curiosity won over reason, that and the desperate need to know more of this girl standing in front of her.
"Yeah." She answered finally.
Faith nodded and motioned for her to sit on one of the long tables, after sitting beside her she took a deep breath, it would be the first time she ever told anyone her story.
"I guess I should start from the very beginning so you can understand everything. It's a long story and I don't want to keep you from your classes, it is your first day after all." Faith found herself anxious to tell her story, that hadn't happened with anyone before.
"Please tell me. I don't care about classes, tomorrow's another day." Buffy's voice was determined and it was the sweetest sound Faith ever heard.
She cleared her throat, "well, I was born in Boston, in the south and in the worst part of Boston. My mother was a known hooker with a heroin addiction, to this day I still don't know why she had me, and I was just a mistake like she always said. Ever since I was a kid all I knew was maltreatment, she would beat me up, call me names and even hurt me really bad a few times. I went to school just to escape the harsh reality that was my life, but my mother decided I could be useful for other things so she became my pimp." Faith gulped to try and won the memories from engulfing her.
"Your pimp?" It couldn't be what Buffy was thinking, could it? 'No, that'd be to cruel, no parent would do that to their child,' she thought.
"Exactly. She would round up all her 'clients' and take them home, there she would give them turns on me for money, money she'd use to buy drugs." Faith could still feel the rusty hands slapping her butt, the weight that threatened to asphyxiate her, and the pain she felt afterwards when she couldn't even walk.
"Faith." The brunette seemed to go back to those times because her face was contorted with pain.
"There were 9 or 10 at times, if business was good there'd be 12 or 13. I felt so horrible, I couldn't get up from the bed and I felt like I was going to die from so much pain. For my mother of course it was never enough, she needed more and more money every time and I had to get it for her. I was 12 years old when I got in to this gang, we used to rob houses, cars, stores, everything. I was the youngest one of the group and they took care of me, they were like my family but they didn't know what my mother made me do."
"Why didn't you tell them? I'm sure they would've helped you." Buffy wondered out loud.
"Because I couldn't let anybody know what my life was, I'd be to ashamed to even bring up the subject."
"It's not your fault Faith, you shouldn't feel ashamed." Faith smiled a little at Buffy's attempt to comfort her.
"When I turned 13 my mother fell in love with her heroin supplier, he moved in with us and that's when everything got worse. He would beat my mother to unconsciousness and then abuse me until he couldn't anymore. I dropped out of school because the bruises were so noticeable that everyone would stare; besides I had to stay home and be the wife for him while my mother slept through her heroin haze."
"Oh God Faith, that's horrible." Buffy felt so sorry for what she had to go through, it didn't seem humanly possible to survive to that.
"When I turned 14 I couldn't stand it anymore, one day when I came home from robbing a store with my gang I found him strangling my mother. I knew she didn't love me but still she was my mother and it hurt to see her like that, so I yelled for him to stop. He did but only to start beating me, he was about to strangle me when I grabbed a baseball bat that was lying on the floor and hit him hard on the head. He fell off of me but I was too enraged, I kept hitting him until he stopped breathing. Then the police came and took me in, they sent me to juvie for a year, they let me go because it was in self defense but on the condition that I had to work and study. Mr. Flutie was very nice to me and accepted me a librarian, the rumor quickly spread about me so I decided not to go to school here; I'll take the tests when your class graduates. Then I'll go to college and make myself of a career, I came here to start a new life but in this school it's impossible, to everyone I'm just a lunatic who killed a guy just because he asked me out. That's why nobody ever comes in to the library, they're afraid of me." She exhaled softly and turned to look at Buffy.
The blonde smiled weakly at her while she ran her hands through Faith's dark curls.
"So what do you think now?" Faith needed to know.
Buffy drew in a breath, "I think you're the bravest person I've ever met. None of this was your fault and I think it's highly unfair that people won't give you a chance to start again, God knows you deserve it more than any of us." Faith couldn't believe her ears.
"Are you for real?" She asked surprised.
Buffy smiled widely at this comment; at that moment she knew she needed to be this girl's friend. She couldn't stand seeing her in any more loneliness.
"I guess I am. "Friends?" She stretched her hand and waited anxiously for a response.
Faith knew at that moment that the blonde would be an important part of her life; she just didn't know how important she would be.
"Friends." She said shaking the small hand, feeling the electric chock through her body.
'Oh boy'
Hey so what did you think, please let me know because the continuation of this fic totally depends on the reviews I get. So loved it, hated it just review please and gimme any suggestions, I'll be glad to put them to good use.