AUTHOR: Goddess Isa
EMAIL: goddessisa@aol.com
SUMMARY: Buffy spends a disquieting evening with her mother. And Angel.
SPOILER: Some Assembly Required
RATING: TV-PG
DISTRIBUTION: http://planetslaythis.homestead.com
DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to Poophead Joss. I didn't come up with that name for him, but it's *so* true. The BSB poopheads own the song.
"Buffy?" Joyce came downstairs and saw her daughter in a corner, hoisting pink Rubbermaid sweater boxes full of dolls onto high shelves. "Buffy, you're putting all of your Barbies away down here? You love those dolls."
"I know."
"You said sleeping with them under your bed made you think of home, and that you liked knowing they were there."
"I know," she stood up, brushing her knees off. "It's just....I've had a strange last couple of days. We had a science project and it sorta freaked me out." she shivered, remembering. "I just wanna get as far away from doll parts as possible right now."
"What kind of project was it?"
Buffy gulped. "It was......this guy tried to create the perfect woman - on paper." she added quickly. "It was sorta gruesome, gave me nightmares."
"Goodness, they shouldn't let things like that go on in a school."
"You can say that again."
"What happened to the boy?"
"I think they're sending him away," Buffy said, happy that she could actually tell her mother part of the truth, no matter how insignificant.
"I think you need some good, old fashioned Mom bonding."
"I don't know..I think I'm just gonna get a shower and go to bed."
"Oh, but Buffy, it's only nine o'clock."
She shrugged. "I'm tired."
"You want some hot cocoa?" Joyce asked. "With extra marshmallows?"
She was going to say no, say that she actually had plans to go find her vampire lover-to-be, but instead, she smiled. "Yeah, hot chocolate would be nice."
*****
After their snack, Buffy and Joyce watched two episodes of Ally McBeal that Buffy had taped and discussed who had the best hairdo (Elaine) and the worst (Georgia). Then they flipped through and finally, at eleven-forty, Joyce went up to bed and Buffy quickly scanned Hamlet for class the next morning. She ruled out doing her math homework and by twelve-thirty, she was ready to go. Joyce was snoring, so she just left through the front door, intent on coming back in through her bedroom window sometime before six. It helped to get at least an hour of sleep before going to class.
She found him at a popular vampire hang out, an abandoned club where they would go to play music and eat any humans that happened by. They usually cleared out when Buffy arrived, and tonight was no exception. She took out the one straggler and then smiled at Angel. "Been waiting long?"
"Just surveying the enemy," he told her. "Not too threatening tonight."
She smirked when she heard the song that was playing. "Boy bands?"
"No one is perfect." he smirked.
//Quit playin' games with my heart
(Girl, you tear up)
My heart
My heart
Quit playin' games with my heart
Everything I do
Is for you
So what is it that you can't see?
Sometimes I wish I could
Turn back time
Impossible as it may seem
But I wish I could
So bad
Baby
Quit playin' games with my heart\\
"Do you wanna dance?" Angel asked.
"No," Buffy said quickly. "Yes. No!" she shook her head, frustrated. "I don't know what I want."
"Well," he got up to leave. "You know where to find me, when you do."
And then he was gone.