Tears welled up in Buffy's eyes. "You can't do this one thing for me?" the man asked, slamming his hand on the desk counter.

"No, sir. I can't fully refund you for your toaster and I don't want to go out with you." Buffy said, voice quivering.

"I have a name you know."

"Yes, I know. Your name is Riley."

Riley crossed his arms. "Stop being a bitch. I want my $100 and one date with you." He held up his hands. "One date to convince you to go out for a second."

Buffy took a deep breath. "You obviously bought this toaster from a different store. I can't give you a refund."

Riley grabbed her arm. "But you can still go out with me. I'll be waiting outside the store for you."

Buffy shook out of Riley's grip. "Stop it."

"You're asking for it."

"I'm wearing a polo shirt and khakis."

"Your makeup screams 'prostitute'."

Buffy was formulating a comeback when a dark-haired girl leaned across the counter. "This guy bothering you?"

Riley turned to face the girl. "This is none of your business."

While he was distracted, Buffy nodded frantically to the girl. The girl winked. "Don't worry, I got ya, Blondie."

In one swift movement, the girl kicked Riley in the shin. She took a step back and threw both her hands in the air triumphantly. "You wanna take this outside, army boy?"

Riley shot her an icy glare before storming out of the store, toaster tucked under his arm. "This isn't over."

"Damn right it's not."

The girl turned to face Buffy. "Do you want me to wait here until after your shift is over so you can get to your car safe?"

"No, that's fine." Buffy gave her a smile. "I do appreciate it though."

The girl nodded and walked away. Buffy couldn't help but feel bad. But she was the Slayer. She couldn't just kick some guy's ass because he was being derogatory. Especially not at her job. Maybe when he confronted her outside but not during her shift and not in the building.

And the way that girl jumped to her defense... Well, it was kinda hot. Buffy mentally kicked herself. She didn't get the girl's name or number. Buffy could only think of one way to find out who the girl was. "This is a missing persons report. If you're a brunette with a, uh, flirty, violent tendency, please report to the customer service desk immediately. Thank you," Buffy announced.

She turned off the microphone once she was down. That ought to do the trick. A minute passed. Then ten more passed. Buffy started to lose hope. The girl could've already left or maybe she didn't think the announcement was about her. Buffy started to panic; this girl sparked a flame in Buffy that she hadn't felt in ages. She couldn't lose her already. Buffy was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice the person standing in front of her. "You called?" the girl asked.

Buffy's heart started to race. "Yeah," she said. It felt like she had cotton in her mouth. "I didn't catch your name."

The girl grinned. "Faith. And you're Buffy."

Buffy glanced down at her name tag. "Yep."

"And I'm guessing you want my number too?"

Buffy nodded, her face flushing red. Buffy slid a sticky notepad across the table. Faith pulled a pen out of her pocket and scribbled down a number. "Meet me tonight at the Bronze. 8 o'clock." She started at Buffy, biting her lip. "Let's see how good of a fighter you are," she murmured.

"What's that-"

"You know what I mean, Buffy Summers," Faith interrupted.

"How did you know my last name?"

"Let's just say I've heard things about you." Faith winked and sauntered away, arms full of unpaid store merchandise.