Disclaimer: I do not own anything Buffy the Vampire Slayer related. Those go to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, etc, etc, etc. I merely write these stories for my own pleasure. And maybe yours

Please review! And criticism is very welcome.

Chapter One: Welcome to Cleveland

Welcome to Cleveland. The home of the Cavaliers, the Cleveland Clinic, and the biggest goddamn Hellmouth on this side of the world.

Say what?

As I walk down one of those dark alleyways that snake in between the main streets, I'm really hating this place right now. Reminds me too much of fuckin' Boston. And of what happened to me in Boston.

Don't get me wrong or anything, the slaying is wicked awesome. Plenty of things with claws and teeth and stuff, enough so me and B don't have to fight over who gets to dust (or slay) them. But on a night like this, when the moon's too bright for the vamps to show their faces and I can hear the drunken shouting from outside the bars, it burns like hell. A really, really hot hell.

What next, Faith? You wanna turn into the next Sylvia-fuckin- Plath? Hey, tell those guys at the prison that I actually did read that fucking book. Guess it wasn't such a waste after all.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I was spilling my guts on how much I hate this place. It repels me like something worse than the bathroom after twenty teenage Slayers have already been in there. Honestly, if it wasn't for Buffy Summers, I'd be on the next Greyhound out of Cleveland.

Heheh. Guess my secret's out.

She thinks I stayed here cause G-man asked me to. Cause it annoys Red, and pisses Kennedy off. Maybe even because I like it here, that it reminds me of where I grew up in.

Bullshit.

I stayed because it'd hurt too badly not to. To not see her face every day, or feel her arm brush against mine when we're on patrol, sending little waves of electricity through me.

Faith, you're doing it again. Shut the goddam poet up already.

Maybe it's just lust, craving something, the one thing that I want and can't have. The forbidden fruit, if you will. The buzz after slaying something especially big and spiky makes me want to just grab her and fuck her against the nearest gravestone. But that would be asking for a fist in the face and her undying hatred. And to have Buffy hate me again? That would be more than I could take.

I've never wanted anything more than a good fuck. Strictly get some, get gone. No guilt, no pity, no regrets in the morning light. Because once you let yourself care, once you let a stranger through the door, it's a weakness. And I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I'd never be weak again.

So, yeah, I guess it is more than lust. Because I sorta care what she thinks, how she feels about me. To call it love would be going too far, but I'm gonna hafta wait and see how things turn out.

But if you know me, you know I'm not gonna wait long. And if you know Buffy and her inability to keep a boyfriend, I won't have to wait very long till I get my chance.

Well, there it is. Please let me know if you want me to continue this and make it into a series. Thanks!