Chapter 13: Dance Magic
*****A Few Days Later*****
It was just a few more weeks until classes started for the year, and Buffy wasn't dreading it. Although the summer had been the best she'd had in years, she was looking forward to classes. Having gotten her freshmen year done, she felt a lot more confident even if Hearst was a new school. She still wasn't sure what her major was going to be, but Willow suggested she take a wide variety of electives to try different things. That meant she was taking a business class, an art class, and a criminal justice class. Testing had shown she was suited for a career in law enforcement, which she totally didn't agree with. However, she couldn't dismiss it out of hand as Giles had spoken with her recently about being open to possibilities.
She missed her watcher so much. When she told him that Hearst offered athletic classes as humanities credit, she could feel his frown over the phone. "I don't have you here to train me, Giles," she pointed out. She had opted for the fencing class as it had the fencing club associated with it. That sounded fun as she'd be around other people who loved sword play. Of course, she'd work hard to hide her light under a bush, but she could still be excellent without be supernaturally so. Giles wasn't sure she could pull it off, but she could totally. Already her new friends weren't suspicious of her, and Logan had seen her fight. It was hard to believe that Neptune didn't have any vampires to speak of. Giles speculated it was the lack of shadowed places and wealth of the 09 area as well as the nearby San Diego, where they preferred. He suggested she start patrolling San Diego, so she was going to do that. If she didn't get to kill something soon, she was going to climb out of her skin.
Buffy always thought she wanted to be normal, resenting the calling that caused her such upheaval. Now, though, she was forced to admit that being a slayer was so much a part of her identity. The excess energy wasn't as noticeable when she was patrolling on a hellmouth. When Willow picked her up to go over Logan and Dick's, she shared her frustration with her and Tara.
"Maybe you should try out for the cross-country team," Willow suggested. "They do all kinds of running."
Buffy's eyes brightened. "That's a good idea. No one will think me so odd on a team of runners," she said.
"I can look up what the highest runner speeds are these days, and we can work a bit on your pacing," Willow suggested. "That way you won't be crazy faster."
"That's a great idea!" Buffy said with a grin.
"There's always martial arts," Tara said. "I saw a dojo on Crawford when Will and I were exploring the other day."
"Really?" Buffy said. "Hmmm. I wonder how expensive it would be?"
"Probably at least a hundred bucks or so a month," Willow said.
"Or a lesson," Tara said.
Buffy grimaced. "Well, I do have a job through the summer. I can see if the guys know of one that might make more money when classes start," she said.
Dick and Logan had invited them for dinner at their place for the first time. "I can't believe they live in a hotel," Buffy said as they walked into the Neptune Grand.
Willow pushed the elevator button. "I know. It's totally over the top," she said.
"Dick told me that Duncan Kane, Logan's best friend from high school had been staying here first senior year," Tara said. "Logan stayed with him when Weevil's gang burned down his house."
Buffy blinked in dismay. "What? Weevil burned down his house?" she asked in outrage.
"I don't think he did it personally or was even there," Willow said quickly.
"There's a lot of things that have happened that we don't exactly know," Tara said. "Veronica's anger toward Dick at our lunch was so great, I could see it in her aura. He's hurt her in such a terrible way that it's scarred her aura."
Buffy frowned. "That's not good," she said. "They seem like such nice guys, but on some level, they're all villains—even Logan."
"Well, I think Veronica pretty much reformed Logan," Willow said. "I had lunch with him a few days ago, and we were talking about people who changed our lives. He said for him it had been Veronica, but she was always finding fault with him. He felt like he was never good enough, so he broke up with her before she could inevitably dump him. Then she wanted him back, and he couldn't say no. Then she dumped him when she found out he had hooked up with her arch enemy when they were broken up."
"She's kind of a judgmental bitch," Buffy observed. "But I'm trying to withhold judgement since our parents are clearly in the process of falling in love."
"Do you really think it's that serious?" Willow asked.
Buffy nodded. "I do," she said. "She came home last night from dinner with Keith, and she was practically glowing. Then she told me how she'd mentioned to Keith about a reoccurring headache, and he insisted that she make an appointment with a specialist. He gave her the name of a neurologist he had done some work for in San Diego. That he cared so much over what she thought was just a headache really meant something to her."
"That is so sweet," Tara said with a grin as they got off the elevator.
The door was open, and Dick asked, "What's sweet?" He'd been watching for them since Ratner called and told them his guests had arrived. He'd paid the rat to keep an eye out for three hot babes, and he hadn't disappointed.
"Buffy was just telling us about Keith Mar's courtship of her mother," Willow said.
"Old people love isn't sweet. It's gross," Dick said with a shudder.
"My mom isn't that old!" Buffy said in outrage. "She's forty-two!"
"That's middle-age since eighty is when most people die," Dick said.
Logan frowned as he heard the remark. "Why the hell are you guys talking about death?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing," Willow said dismissively.
"Dick was trying to say my momma is old," Buffy said with a glare.
"Dick thinks anyone over twenty-five is old," Logan said. "Welcome, ladies. We're glad you could make it."
Buffy gave him a hug and sat on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. "I can't believe you guys live in a hotel," she said.
"It's such a waste of money," Willow said, shaking her head. "Hotels are so overpriced, and this one is the most expensive in town. Why are you guys living like this?"
"We can afford it," Logan said.
"That's not the point," Willow said. "If you've been blessed with wealth, it doesn't mean you should just throw it away like this. Do something worthwhile with it. Or at least buy the hotel!"
Dick's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea! We could totally buy it with the money from our ass site!" he enthused.
"Your ass site?" Tara asked.
Dick grinned and shared how that came to be.
Buffy laughed. "You guys are crazy!" she exclaimed. "I just can't believe Mac created that for you."
"Mackie's got a gift," Dick said.
"She's also mercenary and pragmatic," Logan said. "My kind of girl."
"She told me how she got the money for her car," Willow said with a snicker. "She's pretty impressive."
"That she is," Logan said, smiling.
"If you'd seen how crazy those tests turned our school, you'd know how diabolical she is," Dick said with a grin. "I don't know if Beaver knew she was that devious."
That was the first time Dick had voluntarily mentioned his brother, but the girls didn't know the name Beaver and looked confused. "Who's Beaver?" Buffy asked.
"That's what I called my little brother Cassidy," Dick said.
"Why?" Buffy asked. "That seems like a strange nickname."
"It was because of when he was in second grade and had these two front teeth," Dick said. "He looked like a beaver."
"That's kind of mean," Tara said, frowning.
"Well, I was mostly a total ass to my brother," Dick said, looking grim. "I mean, you don't kill yourself because you come from a loving family, right?"
"Oh, Dick," Tara said, her heart hurting for him. He was sitting next to her on the couch, and she reached over and took his hand. When she'd went to his frat party with him a few days ago, he'd been so sweet. Introducing her as his lesbian friend with such pride. She couldn't even be embarrassed as he was clearly so stoked to have her at his side.
"Dick, Cassidy didn't jump because of you," Logan said. "I was there, remember? He wanted to kill Veronica because she had found out he raped her and had blown up the school bus. He was the reason our classmates died. Meg's dead because of him. Duncan's daughter has no mother because of what he did. Then he blew up a plane with several people on it. He was a mass murderer, and he took the coward's way out. You can't blame yourself. He planned everything—he was calculated. Those were his choices, and you are not responsible, Dick."
"And whose fault was all that? I'm the one who pushed him in the room with Ronnie when she was passed out and told him to have at it," Dick said with loathing. Buffy and the girls all looked horrified. "Yes, it's true. That's exactly what happened. Of course, I didn't dream he'd actually do it. I was just using yet another opportunity to put him down and humiliate him. I didn't know that he'd been sexually abused by his bat coach when he was kid and was all screwed up."
"No one did, Dick. He hid it well," Logan said with a grimace.
Buffy realized that Veronica had more than enough reason to hate Dick, and she didn't know how to feel right now. However, it was clear that Dick did feel a strong sense of guilt and shame. It reassured her that he acknowledged that his actions had been very wrong.
"That is really horrible, Dick," Willow said. "Now I get why Veronica was so mad at you still."
"Oh, that's not the only reason," Logan said. "I guess you guys should know everything now that Veronica's back. Dick put GHB in his girlfriend, Madison's drink, at that same party. He didn't know that she spit in the drink and gave it to Veronica, which is why she was so trashed at the party. None of us knew Veronica had been drugged."
"You were drugging your girlfriend?" Tara asked in dismay.
"It's not what you think," Dick said. "Madison and I sometimes took it together."
"But she didn't know you put it in her drink then, did she?" Willow asked.
"No," Dick said. "I was going to tell her later. When she clearly hadn't drunk the drink because she was in rare bitch form, though, I didn't bother. It never occurred to me that anyone else had drunk it."
"God, Dick," Buffy said in disgust. "You guys have some serious issues. I ought to kick your ass on principle."
"Yea, I know. I suck," Dick said glumly. "What's worse is Veronica blacked out and didn't know what happened."
"But she knew she woke up without any underwear on," Logan said. "When she tried to report what happened to the police, the sheriff didn't believe her, and Madison had wrote slut on her car since she was basically making out with everyone at the party. I was even drinking shots off her at one point."
"And she dated you?" Buffy asked in surprise.
Logan winced. "Yes, I know. Dick and I were both total jackasses—I was worse, though, because Veronica and I were real friends when Lilly was alive. She dated Duncan, and I dated Lilly. Lilly and Duncan were siblings, so the four of us spent a lot of time together," he said.
"And you all guys expected her to side with you against her father when he suspected the Kanes were covering up something in Lilly's death?" Willow asked, trying to piece everything together.
Logan nodded. "Yes, we did. All us have crappy parents, so we just didn't get it," he said. "We didn't get siding with a parent over your friends."
"I wouldn't either," Tara said. "Well, my mom was wonderful, but my dad is a monster."
"Your mom is dead?" Dick asked.
Tara nodded. "She died of cancer when I was sixteen," she shared.
"That sucks," he said.
Buffy's stomach growled, interrupting the moment. Logan laughed. "Okay, we totally need to get some food ordered," he said.
Logan passed out copies of the menus. "I hope you don't mind eating here. We could go downstairs, though, if you want," he said.
"No, this is fine," Buffy said. She looked over the menu, trying to get Veronica's story out of her mind. At first, she'd admired her, and then she'd come home and been such a bitch. Now she found out the girl how been through a real crucible and come out it stronger, and Dick and Logan had help hurt the girl. What was Buffy supposed to do with that information? It was old news, but to her it was new.
"There's a table on the balcony," Dick said. "Ratner brought an extra chair."
"Who's that?" Willow asked.
"He's our bitch," Dick said with a grin.
"He's at the front desk," Logan said. "He goes to Hearst. He's a year or so a head of us."
"He likes to make extra money," Dick said.
"Most people do," Buffy said. "I'm thinking of taking martial arts classes when school starts, so I'm going to need a new job. Veronica's going to be taking back her job. You guys have any leads?"
"I bet Ratner can hook you up," Dick said. "He likes pretty girls." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Ignore him," Logan said. "But Ratner would know if the hotel has anything. The front desk is a good place as you can get tips for doing things for guests. That's what he does. Serving in the restaurant would be bigger tips than what you're making at the Hut."
"Cool," Buffy said. "Maybe when we leave, you can walk me down and introduce me?"
"No problem," Logan said.
When their food arrived, they dug in. Logan was always amused at Buffy's singlemindedness when it came to food. Dick watched in awe as she ate her double cheeseburger and French fries. Then she started on her double chocolate piece of cake with relish, and he finally commented. "I think you eat even more than Ronnie," he observed.
"I'm sure I do," Buffy said with a shrug. "I have a very high metabolism."
"Does that go with your crazy energy level?" Dick asked.
Buffy nodded. "I'm thinking of taking up cross country," she said.
"That's cool," Dick said.
"I thought you were doing fencing," Logan said.
"That, too," Buffy said with a grin.
Logan shook his head. "You make me feel lazy," he said.
"She makes everyone seem that way," Willow said, giving Buffy a fond smile.
Buffy just stuck out her tongue and polished off her cake. "I wish we could go dancing. Weevil took me dancing, you know," she said.
"Don't remind me," Logan said in disgust. "The man is obviously nuts over you as I can't picture him going dancing with anyone."
"I love dancing," Buffy said.
"Well, I have music, and we can totally dance here!" Dick declared, getting up. He went into their living area and moved some furniture, and then he hooked up his music to a speaker. Looking smug, he grabbed Tara and began twirling her, which made her giggle.
Logan pulled both Willow and Buffy up, and the three danced to the fast music. Dick played several fast songs, and they danced, enjoying themselves. Then he threw in a slow song. Willow moved to Tara and told him, "My turn to dance with my girl." Dick grinned and surrendered her.
Logan used the opportunity to slow dance with Buffy, who was enjoying the relaxing time. Logan was a much better dancer than other guys she'd dated or danced with—it was nice. Dick went and grabbed a beer from his fridge.
When he came back to the room, he looked at his new favorite lesbian couple and grinned. They were clearly wrapped up in one another—it was both hot as hell and kind of sweet. It took him a moment to realize something wasn't right about them. That's when he saw it.
No f***ing way!
He blinked and put down the beer, taking a step closer.
Then, he looked again, and it was still the same.
Willow and Tara were not touching the floor.
They were floating at least a foot off the ground.
*****To Be Continued*****
Yes, I just had to do it. Thoughts? Thanks for reading!
