Chapter 4: Surprise Guest
Faith sat in her art class about two weeks after she'd agreed to go to the dance with Buffy. It was nice and quiet, and she was able to concentrate, sitting on a stool in front of an easel, a pencil in hand as she sketched the outline for her painting. The teacher, Mrs. Decker, was pacing the room and examining everyone's pieces. She commented and critiqued whenever she felt the need to, and Faith was getting nervous. Mrs. Decker normally approved her pieces, but that could always change. This piece was a little different from what was normal for Faith.
So far, it was only a sketch. It depicted a nice, two-story house with a carpet of soft green grass in the background. A young woman was seated on the grass, holding a giggling child in her arms, in the middle ground. Another woman stood in the foreground, standing at a three-fourths angle, holding a video camera in front of her, with the screen flipped open. Even the little display screen had a miniaturized version of what was on the entire canvas, though much less detailed.
"Very interesting, Miss Lehane." Faith took a deep breath to calm herself; she'd almost jumped out of her seat. She tried to ignore Kennedy's chuckle from beside her. The teacher continued.
"It's quite unusual for you but very vivid. Do you plan for it to be a painting or...?"
"I'm gonna make it an oil painting," Faith said simply. "I think it will look great."
"I think it will too," Mrs. Decker said, and moved on. Faith turned to glare at Kennedy and her sister just giggled at her. The bell rang and they packed up their supplies before free period.
"So, you goin' to the dance with Buffy?" Kennedy asked her sister. Faith nodded. "Really??"
"Yes! Is that so hard to believe?"
"Yeah, it is," Kennedy said. "I went with Cordy to two of the dances last year, after we got together. Willow took Tara to the same dances that Cor and I went to. And you went, dateless to half an hour of the first one. Haven't been near one since."
"Yeah, well, dances aren't really my thing," Faith said.
"Seems like Buffy changed your mind on that front," Kennedy observed.
"B...she's different. She's special. With Leah...I was always the in-charge one, the 'boy.' With Buffy, it's not the same. Neither of us is really the 'boy.' We're just two girls falling for each other. Or I hope so, anyway."
"Yeah. Faith, I like Buffy. But it seems like she's almost a bit controlling. Whenever you don't want to do something, or you're not sure if you want to do something, she gets pissed and wins because you don't want her to be mad at you. I'm really not trying to be a bitch or anything, but...I kinda know what that's like. Cordelia and I were like that when we were first together. She wanted something, conjured up a pout, a tantrum, or fake tears, and I was immediately on board. And it won't stop until the two of you can actually communicate."
"We do communicate," Faith protested.
"Bullshit," Kennedy retorted. "She whines and complains and gets her way with you, and you know it."
"I wanna be with her," Faith said simply. She glanced at her watch. "I'm meeting her at the gym in a few minutes. She wants to talk about the dance. I'll see you later." And she walked off toward the gym.
When Faith entered the gym's locker room, Buffy jumped into her arms. She smiled and spun her around before kissing her softly on the lips.
"I missed you," Buffy said. Faith smiled, and Buffy grinned. "I love your dimples, baby. They're so cute."
"Thanks," Faith said quietly.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Buffy asked. "You're...even quieter than normal."
"I guess I'm just nervous," Faith said softly. "Never been to one of these dances before, especially not with such a beautiful date." Buffy blushed.
"We'll get through it together," the blonde said softly. "I wanna be with you."
"You look so amazing, baby," Buffy gasped, as Faith stepped out of her bedroom at the end of the barracks. They were the last ones left at their barracks, and the dance was starting in ten minutes.
"You don't look so bad yourself, B," Faith said, smirking.
"Ah, see! There's my Faith," Buffy said softly. They hugged and kissed for a long few minutes. "Come on." Buffy took Faith's hands and led her outside. They walked quietly to the dining hall. It was, of course, rid of the usual tables and the chairs were pushed up against the walls.
"Come dance with me," Buffy said, tugging at Faith's hand when the brunette tried to sit down. "C'mon Faithy, please."
Faith was about to consent when she spotted a familiar face staring at her. Her eyes widened and she took a deep breath. Buffy sighed and sat down next to her. She tried to cuddle up to her girlfriend, but Faith pulled away.
"Faith?" Buffy asked. "Honey, what is it?" She pushed some hair out of Faith's face and the brunette glared at her.
"B, stop it!" she demanded.
"Faith?" Kennedy came over and placed her hands on Faith's shoulders. "Relax," she hissed. "He'll be gone soon."
"Who?" Buffy asked. When Kennedy didn't reply, Buffy looked at Cordelia. The taller girl turned and pointed at the man Faith had spotted.
"Say hello to Colonel Lehane," Cordelia said.
Buffy looked to where Cordelia was pointing. "Oh, God."
