Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Title: You Don't Know Me Yet

Author: jazzman31

Rating: M

After Practice same day, around 6:30 pm

Giles dropped Faith and Willow off at Chase Manor, and then drove Cordelia and Buffy home with him.

"You don't look like you can play basketball as well as you do," Willow said as they made their way up the stairs to Faith's bedroom.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment, Red?" Faith asked, tossing her bags on the floor. She strode purposefully to her closet and tossed a pair of sweats and a baby doll tee on the floor beside her, then she went to her dresser and pulled out a matching bra and panty set.

"If you want to take it as such," Willow said. "So where's the bathroom?"

"Through the closet or through that door, whichever you choose," Faith said pointing to a door behind Willow. Faith's room was different from the other rooms. Her bathroom and closet were connected like the others, but everyone else's closet only had one entrance, through the bathroom. Willow disappeared through the door behind her, and was about to begin her shower when there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" she asked, opening the door a crack to hide her nakedness.

"I forgot to tell you where the towels are," Faith said.

"Tell me now," Willow said.

"Okay, turn around. Look to your left, and open the cabinet furthest away, and they should be in there, unless they haven't been replaced yet, and in that case I'll have to go down and get some."

Willow did as instructed, and found that there weren't any towels but plenty of wash cloths in the bathroom, and relayed the message to Faith.

"When you get back just put it on the rack, okay?" Willow called after Faith. Faith walked downstairs, and found Maria.

"Maria, where are my towels?" Faith asked.

"They weren't finished before I started dinner, so I just left them. They're probably finished now, I can get them if you like," Maria answered stirring the soup.

"No, I'll get them. What's for dinner?"

"Sopa de tortilla, con empanadas y arroz con frijoles y queso." (Tortilla soup with empanadas, and rice with beans and cheese.)

"Good, I was hoping it wasn't Italian night," Faith said sarcastically, (she loved Italian food, and wished that every night was Italian night) and disappeared to the utility room. When she finally located the towels, and got back to her room Willow was just finishing her shower. Faith opened the bathroom door just as Willow was stepping out of the shower. Faith, being who she is, slowly looked Willow's body over, and licked her lips hungrily. Willow blushed at Faith's open appraisal, and ducked her head. "Y'know, you should show a lot more of that skin, girl," Faith said handing Willow a towel. She turned her back to give the blushing girl a little privacy as she put the towels away, but turned back around after she was finished.

"Uh, Faith, what are you doing?" Willow asked, as Faith began taking her clothes off.

"Well, I'd kind of like to take a shower before dinner is finished. If you're uncomfortable you can get dressed out there, otherwise shove over so I can get in the shower," Faith said standing in all her glory. She smirked at Willow's wandering eyes, and put on a show of walking and deliberately brushed against Willow as she passed the paralyzed girl. When the water turned on, Willow was shaken out of her daze.

"Wow," she said to herself, and began dressing. By the time Faith finished her shower Maria was finished with dinner, and the two girls joined Dawn in the dining room.

"So Faith, is Willow your new girlfriend?" Dawn asked, and Faith shot her daggers with her eyes.

"I'm afraid we only met today, and I'm not sure she's my type," Willow said.

"Wait, you like girls too?" Dawn asked, bewildered. "What is this world coming to? First Faith and Kennedy, now you? Faith do you have any straight friends?"

"Dawn, knock it off," a voice said from the doorway.

"Sorry, Dad. When'd you get home?"

"Just now, and you young lady are in a world of trouble. Hello, you must be Willow, I'm Richard Chase, but you can call me Chase," Chase said extending his hand to Willow, whose mouth was hanging open.

"Y-you're the ... you're the ... mayor," Willow said, taking his hand.

"Yes, but I'm a father first, and then a mayor. Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked indicating the vacant seat next to her.

"N-no, not at all," she said, and then shot a glare at Faith, who just shrugged it off.

"So, how was everyone's day?"

"Great, the teachers at school are really nice to me, because you're the mayor and all, so don't make any bad decisions and I might have a chance of passing middle school," Dawn said bitterly.

"Well, we'll just have a talk about fair treatment tomorrow then," Chase said. "What about you, Faith?"

"It was okay, I guess. My English teacher doesn't like me," Faith said, with her mouth full.

"Faith," Chase scolded. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, he pretty much told me in not so many words."

"Is there a reason for that?"

"She fell asleep in class," Willow supplied.

"Thanks, Red," Faith said sarcastically, and Willow just shrugged it off.

"Faith, we talked about this," Chase began.

"I know, but that class is so boring, and because there are only two people in AP we have to suffer with the idiots," Faith said pushing her plate away.

"Hey, I'm not an idiot," Cordelia said as she sat down at the table, followed closely by Buffy, Spike, Angel, and Xander.

"Nice crib, Delia," Xander said, trying to impress Faith with his usage of slang.

"Thanks," Cordelia said. "Anyway, have you guys started on your project yet?"

"No, we've only been here long enough to shower, and eat, and now that we're finished, may we be excused?" Faith asked looking at her dad.

"I just got here, and you're ready to go already?" Chase asked.

"Well, I kinda just want to get this project thingy over with, so that I can practice."

"Well, that sounds reasonable, but stop by the study before you go to bed, I want to talk to you," Chase said.

"Yes sir," Faith said, and she got up, and motioned for Willow to follow.

"Nice meeting you sir," Willow said. "And you too, Dawn.

Willow practically had to run to catch up with Faith.

"What was that about?" Willow asked, once they were in Faith's room.

"Nothing, Red, just drop it okay?" Faith said as she crossed over to her bookshelf. She pulled four books off the shelf and tossed them onto the floor. "Let's get started shall we?"

"No, I want to talk to you," Willow said with resolve face firmly in place.

"What about?" Faith asked stretching out on the floor.

"About earlier, in the bathroom, when you not so discreetly checked me out, and then at the table with your sister."

"What about it?" Faith asked getting slightly annoyed.

"Do you like me that way?" Willow asked after a moment's deliberation.

"Does it matter?" Faith asked, turning over on her stomach.

"To me it does," Willow said moving so that she could see Faith's face.

"Why, Red, we only just met today, and I'm not your type," Faith said repeating Willow's words from earlier.

"I didn't think that it was any of your sister's business who I like, and I'm sorry that it came out so harshly," Willow was silent for a moment, and studied Faith. She studied her eyes, and the gentle slope of her nose. Mostly she studied her mouth, and wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips.

"Earth to, Red," Faith said, snapping her fingers in front of Willow's face.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, kinda zoned out there," Willow said snapping out of her daze.

"You do that a lot?"

"What?"

"Sit there with your mouth half open, and your mind as spacey as your open mouth."

"Not usually, no."

"Right. So, anyway, I was saying do you think that we should start with what I already did, or come up with observations on our own?" Faith said, getting back to business, and pushing everything else to the side.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were the mayor's daughter?"

"I'm not," Faith said.

"You call him 'Dad' don't you?"

"So, you call G-man 'Dad', what does that have to do with anything?" Faith asked getting upset.

"Nothing, I was just surprised to see him come in, and I didn't know he had this kind of money."

"What kind of money?"

"Well, you guys live in a mansion named 'Chase Manor', and you ride in a limo to school. Your stereo cost at least a thousand dollars, and you have all of those guitars which are about a thousand a piece not including the amps."

"He's a self-made man. He has several businesses that hit the billion-dollar mark, and he spoils us rotten. What can I say? I hate the fact that we live in this luxury, because I grew up with very little after he left. If he didn't actually send the item that my mom was supposed to use her alimony on, I didn't have it, and I really don't wanna talk about this right now, so if we're not going to work on the project I think you should leave," Faith said standing.

"I-i'm sorry, Faith. I didn't mean to pry," Willow said.

"Yeah, well you did," Faith said, angrily. "Look, Red, let me give you some advice, okay? Don't try to figure me out, because you'll just get confused and lost, and then you'll pity me, and I sure as hell don't want your pity. Got it?"

"Yes," Willow said, on the verge of tears.

"Are we going to work or what?" Faith asked impatiently.

"No, I think I should go and let you cool off a bit, I'll see you tomorrow at school," Willow said gathering her things.

"Fine, get out then," Faith said, pushing Willow toward the door. Once Willow was outside the door, Faith slammed it hard in her face, and Willow jumped. Willow turned around slowly and hung her head in defeat, and barely noticed five pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Are you okay?" Cordelia asked, her voice full of concern.

"Yeah, just peachy. The question you should ask is 'how is she?', and the answer would be psycho," Willow said.

"Hey, not to defend psycho bitch or anything, but she's had a rough life. The best thing is to never ask about her childhood, her mother, her father, or pretty much anything personal unless it is directly related to music or dance," Cordelia advised. "Don't worry, she'll come around tomorrow, and she'll apologize. Give her a little bit of hell, but if her eyes start darting around stop, because she's on the edge."

"Thanks," Willow said.

"Hey, Wills, are you gonna ride back with Spike?" Buffy asked.

"Probably, but I don't really want to stay here too much longer."

"James can take you home," Cordelia offered. "I'm not sure how much longer we'll be but, Xander has to be at home by nine, so we'll see. It's seven-fifteen right now, if you don't want to wait I'll get James."

"That would be great Cordelia, thanks," Willow said, and forced a smile of gratitude.

"No prob, you want me to talk to her for you?" Cordelia tossed over her shoulder.

"If you want," Willow shrugged.

"I will. James, yeah, can you take someone home. 1630 Rovello Drive. Okay, thanks. He's waiting for you downstairs in the main hall. Just go down these stairs and he should be there," Cordelia said. Willow walked down the stairs, and got into the car. She sat up front with James in the Rolls Royce, and was silent the entire time.

"You shouldn't take everything she says to heart. It's just a defense mechanism. Give her time to get really comfortable with you, and you'll get along just fine," James said before Willow got out of the car. She thanked him, and went into the house unnoticed and tossed herself on the bed. She lay there staring at the ceiling for three seconds before the tears began to fall. She curled herself into a ball facing away from the door, and cried herself to sleep.

Study in Chase Manor

Chase had just sat down to go over the reports, when there was a knock on the door.
"It's open," he called.

"Hey, you wanted to talk to me," Faith said sitting in a chair across from his desk.

"Finished already?"

"We decided to postpone until tomorrow."

"Oh, well. So, what's the deal with the two of you?"

"Nothing. If there was even a chance of that it is ruined now," Faith said bitterly.

"What happened?"

"What do you think? I messed it up, just like everything else. I am just not good with dealing with people," Faith said.

"Yes you are. What about Kennedy?" Chase asked, naming her former girlfriend. Ah, yes Kennedy. Kennedy who cheated on her with her only other friend, and a boy at that.

"It's not the same," Faith said simply, not wanting to reveal all of the goings on in her love life.

"Why not?" Chase asked.

"It just isn't, okay?" Faith growled.

"That's not a reason."

"Kennedy was there when all that shit happened, and already knows what it was like, Willow doesn't know, and I don't want her pity. I don't want her to know me like that, okay?"

"Why not, Faith, you are an exceptional young lady. If she is to get to know you, then she needs to know all of you. Not just what you feel she should know."

"Well, that's why she won't know me. That shit isn't a part of who I am, it doesn't determine what I'll be like," Faith said angrily, her eyes flashing wildly.

"Faith, your past helped make you who you are," Chase said gently.

"And what am I? Fucked up? Queen-C is right I'm a psycho. And that's what Willow thinks of me now. I just can't do any fucking thing right."

"Faith," Chase said, kneeling in front of her. "You have done a million things right, if you asked me."

"Well, I didn't, so piss off," Faith said, attempting to stand, but a firm but gentle hand on her arm held her in place.

"Now, Faith, I don't usually interfere with your life, but this time I have no choice. I want you to march upstairs and write Willow an apology note, and have James stop by the store and pick her up a gift of some kind. You have the power to change things in your life, if you would just let people in."

"Fine, but I'm not going to therapy tomorrow," Faith said.

"Yes you are," Chase said.

"It's scheduled during practice," Faith protested, her voice an octave away from whining.

"That's your problem. Go this week, and I'll talk to your coach about practice, and next week you can reschedule your therapy."

"Fine, whatever, can I go now?"

"Not yet," Chase said.

"What now?" Faith scowled.

"I want a hug. I missed you guys today," Chase said, wrapping Faith up in a bear hug. Faith resisted as usual, and then stormed out of the study, and all but ran to her room. She slammed her door, and threw herself on her bed and cried herself to sleep the second night in a row. When, oh when, would she learn to keep her emotions in check?