Chapter Three

The Bronze was bustling with people who were excited to party in the New Year. "So, you're really a demon?" Xander asked the pretty girl he had been talking with while he waited on his friends.

"Yes, Anyanka, go look it up." The vengeance demon replied. She had been a demon for over a thousand years and garnered herself quite the reputation but of late, something just didn't feel right to her. "Better yet, ask him," she pointed at Angel who walked in with Buffy. "He's a vampire with a soul. He used to be quite the evil man and Buffy Summers over there is a slayer who will be sadly mistaken if she thinks she can slay this demon."

"I was just looking for a dance partner," Xander shrugged. "I know all about Buffy and Angel. She is a friend of mine. I guess I need to move on and find another dance partner."

"Why is that, she came in with a demon, aren't you aloud to have some fun with one?" Anyanka asked as she darted her eyes around the room feeling a torn person within the area. She knew it would soon be time to go to work but she didn't particularly want to on this night.

"I guess I can but, you aren't going to go all evil and kill us all are you? Because that so would not be cool." Xander stated as he waved vigorously at Willow. She had slipped in and sat alone at a table with a soft drink.

"Of course not, senseless killing is so asinine; I am a vengeance demon." Anyanka clarified as she took Xander's hand and headed for the dance floor.

Xander looked around the room at his scattered friends. He hoped someone would notice him with this gorgeous lady and not see so fast that she was a demon. He saw Faith had arrived in shortly after Willow and had given several glances Buffy's way. He thought to himself that everyone must have a crush on Buffy minus the one she secretly wished would have one.

- - - - - - - -

The party was going along well but it was still early. Oz decided it was time to reconcile his relationship with Willow but he noticed she seemed preoccupied. He was about to walk over but saw that Willow was dancing with Faith and some other guys. He shrugged and took a seat with Buffy, Angel and Cordy for a while, while he scoped out the situation with Willow.

"Hey guys," Oz said as he made himself comfortable at the table that was filled with snacks and pitchers of soft drinks.

"It looks like both Willow and Xander are having a good time." Angel added as he handed Oz an empty glass.

"Poor Willow has to dance with Faith," Cordy snickered as she sipped her drink and ate a salad.

"That's what worries me," Buffy said as she watched the two teens that were having a nice time.

"It looks like Xander has a um, a nice looking lady also." Angel chose his words carefully as to not upset Buffy.

"Well I thought I might reconcile things tonight," was all Oz said as Willow and Faith came to the table.

Faith sat down beside Oz and Willow beside the slayer. "Will, I was thinking we could talk," Oz said softly.

"Oh I'll get out of the way then," Faith said in a mock tone. "Wolfie is ready to fix things so now it must be done huh?"

"No I don't think so," Willow said which garnered shocked looks from the rest of the gang as Xander and his lady friend walked up to them.

"We can wait till later then," Oz said quietly. He was confident he and Willow would have a nice reconciliation tonight but it seemed Willow was not up for that.

"Hi guys," Xander said as he took a seat next to his friend at the other end of the table. "This is Anya," he motioned at each Scooby as he introduced them to her.

Both slayers scanned the room for possible trouble as the others chatted. Cordy and Oz seemed a little uncomfortable at the attention their ex partners were paying to Faith and Anyanka. Oz had decided that Willow was afraid they would end up in some sort of confrontation so he would wait until things started to die down then speak with her. Cordy had decided the same thing as she didn't want to be without a mate and was certain Oz would fix things with Willow.

"Red, why haven't you talked with dog-boy?" Faith asked as they sat down with drinks.

"I don't know Faith," Willow said flatly. "I waited all this time and now I'm not so sure I want to fix things." Willow hadn't fully told the truth but knew fast was no way to move on serious topics with the slayer. She, in truth, enjoyed spending time with Faith and wasn't sure where she wanted to go. She was dealing with liking the slayer and the fact that Faith was a girl all at once and it would take her a little time to be certain. The one thing she was sure she didn't want to do was get back together with Oz. Her reasoning was, if she had feelings for another person and got back with Oz, they could end up in the same boat they were previously in and Willow did not want to do anything stupid.

"Well you all and your relationships are sure confusing," Faith said as she returned a smile from a guy at the bar. Willow noticed this and felt as though she was keeping Faith from something more fun.

"Um, you don't have to sit with me though Faith. I'm fine really," Willow offered though she felt her tummy tighten up. 'Get a grip Rosenberg, Faith is to hot to be attracted to the likes of you.'

"Vampire at the bar," Faith got to her feet. "I'll be back shortly."

-- - - - - - -

Midnight was fast approaching and most couples were dancing close awaiting the big kiss tradition. "So, do you think I should go find Wills? I mean they say I'm acting strange and maybe I am." Buffy offered as she danced with Angel.

"Buffy, for one night, relax and worry about everyone else tomorrow." Angel smiled at his girlfriend as he spoke.

"Well, she may be outside," Buffy pointed at the door where Oz was headed to. "Plus I think I have relaxed too much, that is the problem Angel. I've neglected my friends far to long."

Willow was outside alone when a drunken Faith found her. "Red, don't ya know it's not safe out here for cute little redhead's?" Faith asked with a smirk on her face. "Whaatcha doin' out here alone anyhow?"

"I'm not ready to get into things with Oz and I know he's going to want to get all snuggly and talk to ring in the New Year." Willow said in a small voice.

"Oh yeah? Seeing as you're not into the relationship bag right now, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the fun of New Years Eve." Faith said as the clock atop the bank struck midnight.

Faith then spun Willow around to face her and placed her lips to Willow's. Willow was surprised that she didn't resist, as was Faith. The non-resistance and booze enticed the slayer to keep going so she deepened the kiss and pulled Willow closer to her. Faith was never one to make the best judgments all the time but the booze made it worse. Had Faith not been so tanked on liquor she may have thought of the consequences this might entail. All such thoughts were far away however, as she explored Willow's mouth with her tongue.

It was in the midst of the kissing when Oz rounded the corner and saw the two. He stood motionless for a minute then broke for the Bronze. His face was a mixture of anger and disbelief as he butted in between Buffy and Angel. "Get out there and do something with Faith! She's all over Willow!" Ozes usually soft voice now held a fury few had ever heard.

"I'll take care of it," Buffy said and looked at Angel who fought off a smirk. He secretly had rooted for Willow to move on. He agreed that what she and Xander had done was wrong but thought it selfish of Oz to expect the girl to wait for three months while he figured things out.

Buffy raced out the door after she ordered Oz to stay with Angel. She looked all around the club but there was no sign of either teen. "Faith!" She shouted angrily but knew the brunette and Willow were long gone.

The question was where had they gone in such a hurry? Buffy didn't want to contemplate that thought at all, as she tried to think of where Faith might take Willow. "Damn you Faith!" She shouted into the night as rage boiled up within her.

-- - - - - - -

Faith kept up her kissing all the way to Willow's house. She held the redhead firmly in her arms though not tight enough to prevent Willow from moving away if she chose to do so. "You're not such a bad kisser Red." Faith said as Willow opened the door for them. She had wanted to say how stupid Oz was for not cashing in on some fun with such a good kisser but thought better of it. Her slayer energy was racing and there was only two ways to get it to settle down. Since Faith was in no mood to go kill anything, she hoped the other way would work.

"Um, do you want something to drink?" Willow offered as Faith took off her jacket. "We don't have anything alcoholic but we have Pepsi, juice and all that stuff."

"No thanks," Faith said as she lifted her gaze to Willows emerald eyes. They were eyes that held so much trust and innocence, loss and pain of non-acceptance. Faith knew right away, drunk or sober, she should not have looked into those eyes. Willow sat next to her and smiled then kissed her. The sexual desire won out once more and Faith began a trail of kisses from Willow's lips to the back of her neck.

Love and acceptance was once Faith's goal in life, one that she had long since abandoned. For a brief moment, Faith's old attitude of caring for others threatened to escape when she looked into Willow's eyes. She had a plan to stifle the feelings once and for all. Feelings that had threatened to creep in every time Faith was around Buffy and now tried to creep back to life in the presence of Willow. Faith's plan at first was to have some fun with a friend of Buffy's. Surely, that would stop her late night thoughts of the blonde slayer. Now the problem was how to stop the late night thoughts of Willow? 'That's easy Spenser, get laid then tell her she was being used.'

Faith moved Willow on her lap and rubbed her back gently as she kissed her. She felt how relaxed Willow was in her arms. It was as if Willow had entrusted all she had to the dark-haired beauty. Faith knew she should stop but Faith rarely did what she knew was best. 'If you stop now Faith, it will show weakness and you will be just like the others then you will get hurt.'

Faith's mind flashed back to that same look in Willow's eyes that she used to have, a look of longing and desire to be loved. Faith had replaced that look with a cold one as she had traded in those types of thoughts for numbness a long time ago. Something stirred inside the slayer when she looked into Willow's eyes, something she felt for a few days but was able to shove aside.

She, through the heavy make out fest, was able to regain her composure enough to hide those old emotions tucked away deep inside her until they went away again. She knew from experience that, once you let the walls down, you got hurt. Faith had been hurt enough in her life to know that she never wanted that feeling again and wondered just why this cute young lady with such a vibrant personality had felt that same hurt she long since tried to get out of her own life.

Willow felt Faith's strong energy envelop her like a soft wind. She felt as though she were being swept away from the world and all the hell it had to offer as Faith moved on top of her and gently eased her back on the sofa. She knew she shouldn't be doing this before she even got the chance to know the slayer but her head was in such a spin that there was no turning back.

Faith's kisses grew more passionate as she fought her inner-self, one side urged her to go on with things as always and the other pleaded for her to stop and not hurt this girl. A soft moan from Willow helped fuel her raging desire to continue on and she moved her mouth to Willow's breasts.

- - - - - -

Faith awoke the next morning with Willow in her arms. She had screwed up the part of her plan she'd always followed to the letter. Get laid and get gone as soon as she showered, or kick them out, whichever was appropriate. She looked at the redhead who was still sleeping peacefully. 'Fuck you've got to get out of here Faith.' She then rose and started to dress.

Willow awoke and saw Faith readying to leave. She couldn't believe the slayer was going to leave without talking to her but thought Faith may have felt bad over what happened last night. Willow planned to assure the slayer that it was a mutual thing and she shouldn't take the blame for anything. It seemed as though Faith was far off though as Willow tried to speak to her. "Faith," Willow said for the third time. A look of panic was displayed on her face. "Did I do something?"

"No Red, not at all, it's me," Faith quickly stood. Faith decided she had to keep sheltered from hurt at all cost. "I guess I should be on my way."

"I don't understand, what happened? I mean, we had a nice time last night or I thought we did and, well," Willow blushed a little.

"Red, I don't know what you're looking for here but I'm not into the closeness deal, y'know? I'm into a little fun then get gone, no strings attached."

Willow had resigned herself to the notion she was very attracted to the gorgeous slayer but knew Faith had many issues. She also knew she had to think fast to keep Faith around. "Faith, I'm not looking for anything but just someone to hang with and the kissing wasn't so bad either. If I was looking for something I would have worked things out with Oz. Being around you showed me how nice it could be to have a carefree spirit and I want that. I don't want to have to worry about who is cheating on who, does he really love me and so on." Willow surprised herself at the ease in which she lied to the slayer. She wanted to know Faith better but knew she couldn't appear to be coming on to strong or Faith would be gone. She lied with hopes of gaining Faith's trust somewhere along the way and maybe then something more could happen.

Faith studied the redhead intently for just a few seconds. "Red, it's not in you to be non-caring like me. You're a good person who cares about her friends and all that jazz."

"You don't care Faith? I care about you as a friend but love you? That's not happening because it's not what I'm looking for and I know you're not in with that." Willow tried again but couldn't look in Faith's eyes.

"Look, if I'm the reason you didn't hook back up with dog-boy, you should rethink it cause that's not cool and I'm not the person to lean on." Faith thought she saw through what Willow was saying but second-guessed herself. If Willow really was only looking for some fun, that'd be great because Faith wanted to have a little fun with her. The problem was that Faith felt she could want more and that Willow already did want more. She couldn't allow herself to go there, never.

"Faith, Oz and I had a great thing; do you really think you're that good, that you could make me forget just like that?" Willow decided that if she riled the slayer up a bit, Faith might take the challenge to show how good she was. This would buy her the time she needed to find a way to reach the slayer.

"I dunno Red," Faith shuffled her feet. "I am just gonna get out of here while we still have a friendship."

Faith, I'm not upset. I just thought we could have a laugh and not have to worry about the troubles of life." Willow tried again having realized this slayer was not stupid by any means.

"Red one thing everyone likes about you is your honesty, never ever give that up for anyone," Faith opened the door and stepped outside. "We're not worth it, especially me."

Faith's last words echoed in Willow's head as the slayer walked away. What she couldn't figure out was how she was going to get through the thick walls life had caused Faith to build around herself. Sadness overtook the shy redhead as she pondered just what was so bad in Faith's life to cause her to push the thought of having anything good out of her mind.