DISCLAIMER: I do not own the BtVS characters, those are Joss Whedon's & Co. I do not own RENT or its characters; those belong to the late Jonathan Larson. The places in New York are actual places. The University of New Orleans and buildings mentioned on campus are real places. You should really consider coming to UNO for college. if you are interested (end plug). The plot of the story is mine, it's not original, but it's mine nonetheless.
It was the second week of the semester at the University of New Orleans and Buffy was already stressed out. Three theater classes, two advanced writing classes, and a part time job at a restaurant might not have been the wisest thing for her to do. She was reading over her lines for one of her classes when she ran into someone.
"Oh my god," she gasped. "I am so sorry." She looked up into the face of a guy that fell out of a magazine. He was tall and muscular, like a football player, and had the most amazing, wavy brown hair to match his eyes. She was pretty sure her mouth was hanging open. She saw his mouth forming words, but she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying until he put his hand out for her to shake.
"I'm Riley Finn, by the way."
She snapped out of her trance and shook his hand. "Buffy. Buffy Summers."
"So Miss Summers, are you new to UNO because I'm sure I would remember seeing a pretty face like yours around campus." He turned to walk in the direction Buffy was going.
She laughed. "I'm actually just starting my third year here. I'm a theater major. And you?"
"I'm a senior business major." He paused before continuing. "Well no wonder I haven't seen you anywhere on campus. You're probably one of those kids that live in the Performing Arts Center."
"Yeah, that's me." She fought back the urge to giggle like a school girl. "I'm what you would call a Jack-of-all-trades when it comes to the theater. I can and do take part in everything behind the scenes and on stage." They were at the front doors of the Bienville Hall dormitory. Buffy turned to look up at Riley. "So do you live on campus too?"
"Yeah. I live over in the Privateer apartments."
"Oh, cool. Well, thanks for walking with me, Riley. Maybe I'll be seeing ya around campus."
"Yeah, no problem." He licked his lips slowly. She tried not to drool. "So, I was wondering if maybe I could get your number. That way seeing you around could happen more often."
Buffy was dancing the Snoopy dance in her head. He liked her and wanted to see her again. She stopped herself before she said yes. The painful memories of her last four boyfriends made her think twice. "I don't know." She looked at her beat up Chucks and sighed before facing Riley again. "I'm not big with the handing of my number out to people I just met." She needed to go slow and make sure Riley really liked her. As cliché as it was, she wouldn't let herself dive headfirst into another relationship without testing the waters.
Riley laughed as he shook his head. "I understand. How about this. If you're free tomorrow afternoon, we could meet in the University Center and have lunch. My treat. We can get to know each other and if you're comfortable with it, we can exchange numbers afterward."
Buffy couldn't believe how sweet Riley was being. "I get out of class at two tomorrow and I'll have a couple of hours off before work."
"It's a date then. I'll see you around two."
Buffy remembered the day she met Riley like it was just yesterday, not the long and painful three and a half years ago it really was. The first two years of their relationship was practically perfect. He didn't cheat on her like her first boyfriend. He didn't pressure her to have sex like her third boyfriend. When they did have sex, he didn't dump her the next morning like boyfriends two and three did. And he most definitely was not an extremely closeted gay that strung her along for a year as a beard like her fourth boyfriend did.
The only arguments they had were about her plans to continue with the graduate program to get her MFA. When Riley was offered a better job in New York, he proposed to her and wanted her to come with him. Buffy couldn't believe that he loved her that much. She had been to New York almost a dozen times and always wanted to live there. They came to an agreement on her education after that. She had three months of school left. He went to New York and they planned out a Central Park wedding for mid-May after graduation. He wanted her to enjoy being his wife without having to work or worry about school. She knew his parents were old fashioned. His dad worked in the army for 30 years to support their family. She thought it was sweet of him to want to be able to do the same for her, especially since his job was paying him more than enough to make it possible. She could always go back to school after a year or two.
They had a large, three bedroom condominium on 49th Street. Buffy loved being a few blocks away from Broadway. Married life in New York seemed perfect for a few months.
