Hide and Seek

Prologue



She was having a rough day. The diner was actually busy that day. Orders were being thrown at her like there was no tomorrow. The worst part was when she got slapped in the ass by hairy and extremely fat men. One day she was gonna snap, and it wasn't gonna be pretty. She shuddered as she approached the door to her motel room. Opening the door she sighed with relief that she was finally home. Yep. She was home. No, not in Sunnydale. LA. She ran away from home.
It wasn't like she had a home in Sunnydale anyway. Her mom practically threw her out. But that wasn't the real reason she ran. She ran because she sent her lover to hell. Angel. It hurt her so much to say it let alone think it. He was her lover, her first real boyfriend. She gave herself to him body and soul. As corny as it sounds, he taught her the meaning of love. It's an act, a feeling, and an emotion. Not just a word used in sappy love stories. It was something so special that could only be shared by two people that were meant to be. He gave her love. And how did she repay him? A sword in the gut! But that still wasn't the real reason for her leaving.

She left because of the guilt and relief she felt afterwards. It was like she no longer had to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. Buffy knew that whatever she had with Angel would never last. The struggle to stay together and do nothing more than look would kill them both. She knew that they couldn't follow through with the *look but don't touch* concept. That's why she felt...well, not exactly happy when she killed Angel. She felt...she felt...

Besides he was a vampire and she was the Slayer. They were from different worlds and could never be together. She still loved him though, and that's why it hurt so much.

Buffy shook her head. She had to get these depressing thoughts out of her head. She took off her shoes and shrugged off her jacket. Getting out of her waitress outfit she slipped into a white baby-tee and baggy sweat pants. It had been a long day. Finally, she got into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin, and waited till sleep embraced her.

* * * * *

Run.

That was all that went through her mind. Her brain was screaming at her muscles to go faster, but even with all her Slayer strength she still felt like she was running in water. She was too slow, way too slow. She was being chased through an alley behind her apartment building. She could feel him behind her. They had been playing this game too long. He was the cat she was the mouse. She escaped him for the last time, and this time she was gonna get caught.

"You can't escape me Slayer!"

The voice terrified her and she tripped falling onto her knees. //Shit! GET UP!// She was about to stand up when he grabbed her by the shoulders. He pushed her hard into the ground and straddled her.

"Look what you did to me whore!"

He was shaking her now. His face was oozing with blood dripping from a deep cut on his right eye. It was spurting everywhere and it began to spray all over her face.

"You're gonna pay child!" He screamed, shaking her more violently.

"No! Please!" She sobbed. The blood was dripping onto her lips. It was cold, bitter and salty. She spat it out but more came in engulfing her mouth.

Slowly, he began to lean towards her neck, but he stopped instantly screaming in agony. He loosened his grasp on her immediately. She took advantage of the situation and backhanded him. She took off. She didn't know where but she knew she had to keep moving. What stopped him? She looked down and saw her answer. It was the cross; a golden cross her watcher had given her. //Oh god. She's dead. She's really dead.//

She was still crying when she realised where she was. She didn't know how she got there but she was in a church. She was safe here. Right?

"My poor child! What happened?"

She spun around to come face to face with a nun. "W-What?"

"Your face. It's covered inis that your blood?" the little old lady asked. The old woman tried to touch her face but she backed away. "It's all right child. Let me help you."

"J-just take me to your washroom." She said shaking and covering her face with her hands.

The woman looked at her for a while before she finally turned around for her to follow. They walked down a long corridor with stained glass windows that showed the stages of the cross. (Jesus' crucifixion.) She hadn't been in a church since she was little. She didn't like it then anymore than she did now.

They finally stopped in front of a door.

"The restroom is in here." The nun said turning around to face her. She smiled weakly and stepped out of the way. "I'll be here if you need anything."

She gave the nun a fake smile and opened the washroom door. It was a small room about 5 x 12 feet. Everything was white, and there was a cross on the wall along with several prayers and pictures of God. There was a small tub, a toilet, a sink and a very small mirror. She stared at the room for a while and realised that this room was probably the best room she'd stepped into in a while.

She got out of her daze and approached the sink. She looked at the mirror and choked back a scream. Her face was covered in *his* blood. Her hair was in tangles and coated with blood as well. She couldn't find any skin on her face that wasn't drenched with the thick fluid.

The queasy feeling that you felt before you barf began to settle in her stomach. She tried to hold it down but it was too late. She hadn't eaten in days making *it* mostly water. It didn't make it smell any better. She looked under the sink and thanked God for paper towels. She cleaned up her mess and began cleaning herself.

It took a while but she managed to wash out most of the blood from her hair. The blood came out easy off her face, but it still felt like it was there no matter how hard she scrubbed. Dirty. She was so *dirty.*

There was a gentle knock on the door and the nun asked her if she was all right.

"Yeah...I'll be out in a minute."

She looked at the mirror again. Her hair was soaking wet but reasonably clean, but her face was a little red because of how hard she scrubbed. She looked like a rat.

After what seemed like an eternity of staring, she opened the door slowly. The door squeaked with age making her jump a little. She looked around for the nun, wanting to say thank you but she was already gone. Probably bored from the waiting. She had to get out of here. Out of the church. Out of Boston. Just...out. But where? She knew the answer but could she really accept the help?

She walked back through the hallway she came in through. Stepping back into the chapel, she couldn't help but look at the view. The church looked so peaceful. Everything was shiny with perfection - the statue of the baby Jesus and his mother, the stained glass windows, the glossy pews. Hell, even the damn carpet looked perfect. Untouched. *Pure.*

//What the hell am I doing here?// She ran down the centre aisle and was about to bolt through the door when something caught her eye. It was a box. The charity box. Could she? No. She couldn't. She wouldn't. She wasn't gonna rip the plastic covering off the box. She wasn't reaching in and stuffing her pockets with cash. Nope. Then why was she reaching towards the box? //No. Don't do it. It's wrong//

* * * * *

Shit.

Not enough. Even with all that stolen church money she still couldn't afford to buy the fucking ticket. She sighed and left the ticket booth, walking away from the train station.

She walked out of the building and back into the night. She had to leave. She needed to leave. But how? She couldn't afford shit. She walked across the street dragging her feet along the sidewalk of a strip mall.

She passed by a couple of hookers who were 'negotiating'. Maybe she could... //No!// She'd been through that path before and the money never really was worth it compared to what she gave out. She shook her head and looked at the ground. What now?

She finally looked up and saw 24 hour pawn shop. Maybe she could sell something. She checked her pockets for anything and found herself disappointed. Nothing she owned was worth anything. Then she remembered. She brought her hand to her chest and grabbed her cross. It was pure gold. But could she give it up. It was the only thing left of *her.*

"I'm sorry." She whispered to herself and to the gift bearer.

* * * * *

"Back again?"

"Yeah. I got enough this time."

"Destination?"

"Anything leaving for Sunnydale?"

"Sorry Miss."

"Damn."

"But we do have one leaving for LA."

"LA?"

"Yes Miss."

"LA it is."

* * * * *

The sun shined through the worn out vanishing blinds of the '5 star' motel room. The light hit Buffy's eyes awakening her. It was morning. She groaned, groggily trying to remember what day it was. It was Sunday? She had a day off today.

She stretched under her covers and began thinking of what she could do. She had some laundry to do and she still had to run to the grocer for some food, but the rest of the day would be hers.

It would have been a good day except that she was gonna have to spend it alone. She missed *them.* A lot. When she wasn't brooding about Angel, her mind led to *them.* She wondered what they were doing, what they were thinking, and if they were all right. She wanted so bad to talk to them, and say that she loved them, and tell them everything about why she ran. But they wouldn't understand. No one could. How could they even comprehend the pain and burden she felt? She had to run. Her life was just gonna ruin theirs. They were her best friends and she didn't want them to carry her burden with her. Stress was her best friend now, along with anger, hate, envy and most of all loneliness. She was alone, *always* alone.

She shook her head knowing that if she kept thinking these thoughts she was gonna start going suicidal. //Start? Shower. I need a shower.//

* * * * *

She was at the mall. The malls in a LA made Sunnydale's finest look like a thrift shop. They had everything here. Everything from Gucci to Gap and Levi's to Banana Republic. It was amazing. Of course it would've been more amazing if she had money to spend. Right now, the only thing she could afford at any of these expensive boutiques would probably be a scarf or black ankle socks. They would have to be on sale of course. She was dirt poor, so she did the only thing she could do at the mall. She headed toward the food court.

The food court was great. There were great assortments of food from all over the world. You could get anything there from Japanese sushi, to Caribbean meat patties, and who could forget the Scottish all time favorite...haggis!

The food was fantastic of course, but she settled for a burger at Micky Dees. She approached a young teenage boy about her age and ordered. He smiled at her and when she wasn't looking, she felt his eyes feeding off her body.

She sighed. Male hormones. //Ugh.// He was babbling about what was really in the McChickens but she wasn't paying any attention. That was another thing different about LA and Sunnydale. Since the population of LA was like 10 times bigger then LA, there were 10 times as many moronic males. Talk about raging hormones. They were all over her! Not that she wasn't flattered. It was cute at first but now it was just annoying.

It's not like she wore skin-tight clothes that barely covered 50% of her skin. She dressed pretty conservative. Like today for example, her outfit consisted of a purple spaghetti string tank top and perfect fitting jeans. She wore a red button shirt on top leaving it unbuttoned. It was very conservative, but she still looked like a hottie.

"Here's your McChicken, fries, and Diet Coke."

The guy finally gave her, her food tray and purposely brushed his hand against hers.

"So I'll see ya around gorgeous." He winked at her and she smiled weakly. //Men.//

Looking around the Food Court she noticed that there were no available spots for her to sit. She sighed. Suddenly some guy out of nowhere started waving at her. She waved back slowly and unsure. //Who the hell is that?// The guy kept on waving and gestured for her to come to his table. //Maybe I went to school with him when I was still at Hemery?// She argued with herself whether or not to join the stranger. She was kinda lonely and there were no other places to sit.

Besides, what did she have to lose?

Finally she took a deep breath and walked towards what could be a new friend or total embarrassment.

"Hey beautiful. We noticed that you didn't have anywhere else to go. Wanna join us?"

The guy had dark brown spiky hair with blonde highlights. He had a little stubble on his chin and he had the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. He had broad shoulders and a not so big but not too small frame. He was wearing a baby blue muscle shirt and black jeans. He was...yummy!

"Sure."

She'd never done this before but she had to get the depressing thoughts out of her head some how. Why not make a friend too?

"I'm Reed."

He got up and pulled out the chair for Buffy to sit. She grinned and sat down.

"This is Mike, Dillon and Joseph." He said pointing at a couple of guys that looked like college frat boys. They were clean cut and above average in looks.

"Now that you know our names, what's yours?" Reed asked waggling his eyebrows.

"I'm Anne."

* * * * *

She was on the train now. People were giving her dirty looks wondering how such a girl of her status could even afford a decent ticket. Nothing new. She was always getting looks. Mostly because of the way she dressed. What can she say? She had a fetish over leather and anything extremely tight. She sighed and leaned back on her chair. She sighed. She was finally leaving. No more pain. She didn't know exactly what she was gonna do or say to *her* when she got there, but she had a feeling things would get better. They had to.

What was her name again?

Oh yeah. Buffy.

* * * * *

It was Monday morning. And for once she felt great. She had spent almost all of yesterday with her new friends. It was a little weird having mostly guys for friends, but it was better than being alone.

She got home to her motel late. They had spent most of the day at the mall talking. Actually the guys did most of the talking. //More like bragging.// They were so trying to impress her. They offered to pay for everything she wanted. Normally, she'd pay for her own stuff, but she'd been so lonely that she liked the attention they gave her. Besides, she had enough leftovers from dinner to last her a couple more days.

Of all the guys she met, she thought Reed was the most tolerable of the guys.

When she got to the diner she was surprised at how packed it was already. She could already see a repeat performance from the other day. More ass-slappin, more dirty men, and more orders flying at her. It was gonna be another long day.

* * * * *

It was Thursday morning. Buffy groaned. All week had been chaotic. Apparently a new office building was being built a block away making the diner full of hungry construction workers. This meant one thing - Twice as many hairy, sweaty men and twice as many cat calls and slaps in the ass. It was wearing her down. Man was she losing it. But the week wasn't a total lost. Why? One word. Reed.

He dropped by the diner often and they hung out when she had breaks. After, they would stroll down to the park and talk. They talked about a lot of things. The topic would range from cars to movies and guesses why British people pronounced schedule as 'shedule'. It was totally retarded but they didn't care. They acted like nerds but it was great. It was...normal.

They were going on a date tonight. Well, not exactly. His feelings for her were not quite clear. He seemed to like her in a big brotherly way. Nothing more.

Besides, when he initiated their little rendezvous, he didn't exactly say, "Wanna go out with me tonight?" Nope. It was more like, "Wanna check out this club tonight? There's a whole bunch of fat chicks there that would just *die* if they see you wearing the exact tight outfit they're wearing. We could show off your cute petite body and make them all jealous!" Romantic? Hell no! But it was better then nothing. Anyhow, she'd at least get to spend some time with Reed, and maybe she could make something more out of their relationship. Who knew what the night would bring?

* * * * *

Five days. Five boring as hell days in a train full of snooty business people. It was exhausting, but it was finally over. They made it to their destination at exactly 6 pm. She almost felt like kissing the solid concrete of LA's train station but she used her better judgement and settled for kissing the conductor instead. She finally made it. Well, almost. She needed another ride to make it to Sunnydale but she decided to let it wait. She was after all in LA, so she might as well scope out all the hot spots.

She strutted down a street looking for a worthy club. Most of them seemed too *vanilla* for her liking but she settled for one. It was called The Back Alley.

She approached the entrance that was being guarded by an extreme-need-of-a-Jenny-Craig looking man. He was pretty hairy too. His dark greasy hair was tied in a cheap ponytail with strands of greasy hair falling to the sides. He had round sunglasses resting on his chunky head. Looking at his face she noticed wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes. They were dark and bloodshot. //Hmpha junkie.// Looking down from his eyes he had an extremely big nose covered with blackheads. Beneath the nose was a forest of stringy hair bunched up all over the place and sticky from the great amount of beer consumed. Finally she saw a stubbly, square chin. The beast was about 6'5 and his black button shirt was busting, desperately trying to keep his fat in. He was a huge guy and she felt sorry for the guy's shirt. Looking down she realised that his jeans weren't doing so good either.

"What'cha lookin' at?"

She glanced up at the ape and grinned slyly. "Nothin' much!"

He looked impressed. A little pissed but still impressed. He looked her over, his eyes feeding off her entire body. By the look on his face she could tell he liked what he saw.

"I.D?"

She smiled and swaggered up to him so that she was barely a kiss away. Running her hand up and down his chest seductively, she licked her lips in a cat-like gesture.

"Don't need one."

The moron gawked at her like a schoolboy witnessing his first porno. He shrugged her hand off his chest trying to gain back his composure, and he cleared his throat.

"Don't make any trouble."

"We wouldn't want that now would we?"

She grinned smugly, gave him a wink and entered the club. It was packed full of desperate yet attractive men. It was also packed with fat women. Women that wore tighter clothing then she wore, which in her book was overboard. Disgustingly, puke worthy was an understatement.

She held back her lunch as she passed by a woman twice her size belly dancing to some techno beat. She nearly fell flat on her ass when she saw the Missing Link's partner. He was a young guy about a few years older then her and was pretty good looking too. Talk about low standards. He was probably lookin for an easy fuck but this was ridiculous. She had no problem with casual sex, but it was a good idea to grab someone that you could stand waking up with. Not someone who was so revolting that you'd burn your bed after boinking.

She shook her head. These men were pathetic, but they all had something she wanted. Other then their dicks, she needed cash, and a drink. It also seemed that she had something they wanted too - a body that wasn't having heart troubles. All eyes were on her. Men and including several women.

She walked to the middle of the dance floor and began to cut loose. She loved dancing. She loved the way the music flooded her body filling her inside and out. Plus, she was one hell of a dancer. The guys around the floor began to ditch their lard-balls and were inching closer and closer to her. This was gonna be one fuckin' good night.

* * * * *

"Hey girl!"

"Hi Reed!"

Buffy had the biggest smile on her face. She was so happy to see him. This was it, their first date. Well, not really. She didn't care though. It was gonna be one hell of a night that she was sure she wasn't gonna forget. She suddenly realised that she was still smiling and mentally kicked herself for looking like such an idiot.

"Wow Anne. You look...fantastic."

That did it. She was blushing furiously now.

Her hair was up in a bun with some strands of hair falling softly to the sides and she wore a brown button down shirt. It was buttoned down enough to show some cleavage. It was tighter around her waist showing off her petite figure. She wore dark blue hip hugger flared pants and heeled boots about 2 inches thick. Not exactly dancing wear but still sexy.

"Thanks hon."

She grabbed his arm and shut the door of her motel room walking towards his truck.

He on the other hand was wearing a white muscle shirt, baggy blue jeans and black army boots.

"You look mighty yummy yourself." she thought.

"Huh?"

Did she just say that out loud?

"I-I-uh said you look mighty chummy yourself...ya chump!"

She punched him in the arm in a guy-like fashion, laughing cheaply. //Mighty chummy? Good one Summers. Real smooth.//

He looked at her weirdly and smiled.

"Don't worry. I'm not offended. I like compliments. They're welcome with me."

They got into his black Lexus truck and rode in silence, listening to the radio. When they got downtown they parked in front of a block full of buildings. All of them were clubs. They got out of the truck and walked down the sidewalk.

"Where are we going?"

"We're gonna dance girlfriend!"

She laughed at him and shook her head. //Did he say girlfriend...?//

"I know that. I meant which one?" She pointed to all the clubs and looked at him for the answer.

"Oh! Well it's a surprise." He held out his hand. "Trust me."

She grabbed his hand ready for him to lead. They walked down the sidewalk hand in hand and she felt giddy. She was holding his hand!

They passed by a couple of bars and stopped in front of one with a fat man guarding the door. She was about to read the name of the club but Reed pulled her quickly towards the door. They were about to walk in when the tubby, greasy haired bouncer stopped them.

"I.D?"

He was looking directly at her making her skin crawl. Was it that obvious that she was only 17?

"It's all right. She's with me."

Reed pulled out his wallet and gave the huge guy a twenty. The beast stepped out of the way and let them through.

They were in and she let out a breath that she didn't realise she was holding.

"Chill babe. We're here to have fun." Reed reassured her. "Come on. Let's boogie!"

* * * * *

Well Reed was right. The women here were fat. No wait, huge. No, make that enormous! And what made things worse, was that they wore clothing that was tighter then skin tight. She could count out each roll of fat they jiggled when they danced. There were more rolls there then there are at a bakery! She shivered.

"You cold?"

"Huh?"

"You were shaking there a bit."

"Nah...Just a little...." She looked around the room giving him a look.

"Told ya they were fat."

They were sitting at the bar. She didn't want to dance yet. The dance floor was crowded and she wasn't comfortable being around that many fat women. What shocked her most, was that there were a lot of pretty good looking guys in the club and they were dancing with...well...not so good-looking women. She wasn't trying to be mean or anything; it's just that it was kinda gross seeing *that* much fat jiggle. //These guys must be really desperate.//

The current song finally finished and a new song came on and it kind of reminded her of the bronze. The song sounded like Cibo Matto's Sugar Water. It was way too sexy for all those lard-balls to dance to. She was glad to see that the floor began to clear. A few couples were still dancing. Actually, more like a girl dancing with three other guys were still dancing.

They were all over the girl and she was all over them. The girl's hips swayed in sync with the music, her hands caressing her own body and the guys that surrounded her. She had dark chocolately brown hair that hung past her shoulders in soft curls. Her eyes were dark brown and she had full pouty lips that were covered in dark a burgundy lipstick. She wore a white tank top that was tight enough to show off her voluminous curves and the tightest leather pants she had ever seen. Her choice of footwear was a pair of black army boots.

The girl moved to the music as if it was flowing through her. //What a slut! I bet she's already-//

"Anne!"

Buffy jumped and nearly fell off her chair.

"Whoa. You zoned out on me there."

Reed looked at her strangely. He shook his head and smiled.

"Sorry. I got a little distracted-"

"Looking at the sexy chick on the dance floor."

"What?! I sooo wasn't looking-"

"Don't worry Anne. She caught my eye too. She's the only girl in here that looks good in tight clothes." He paused and they both turned their gazes back to the brunette.

"Hey, I gotta go visit the little boys room. Be back in a jiffy." Reed said interrupting the silence. He grinned, making her blush and left. //What's up with you?//

The song was coming to an end and Buffy watched the girl walk away from her groupies. She was walking toward the bar now. More like strutting to the bar. Suddenly a guy stepped in front of her and started talking to her. //Who's that?//

The guy was caressing the girl's arm now. //Slut.// She couldn't stop thinking how much of a skank the girl was, but she also couldn't help feeling pissed at how violating the guy was to the dark haired girl. She looked at the guy more closely. He looked about ten years older then the girl. It was disgusting. //Cradle stealer. Baby snatcher.// If looks could kill this guy would've been dog meat by now. Make that dust. The guy was a Vamp. //Oh no!// They were leaving now. She had to stop him.

She jumped off her stool squeezing past a bunch of fat chicks. She went through the entrance but she couldn't find them. She was panicking now. She heard a noise from the side of the building and she ran. As skanky as the girl was, she was still human and innocent and didn't deserve to die no matter how many guys she'd already boink. //Please be ok, please be ok.//

She hadn't slayed in a while but she still remembered the basics.

She reached the side of the building just in time to see the vamp shove the girl against a wall.

What she saw next made her heart stop.

* * * * *

She was shoved up against the wall of the club. Boy was it her lucky night. She needed to burn some energy and slaying always did it right.

"Quit struggling." The bloodsucker screamed.

He was about to bite her when she backhanded him. He loosened his grip from her and he staggered back slightly. Taking advantage of the situation she kneed him in the crotch. She smiled when she heard the vamp howl in pain. Her brief victory was shortened when he punched her square in the face.

//That'll teach you for celebrating too early.//

She recovered from the punch and blocked several more blows her opponent threw at her. //Okay, this is getting boring.// She grabbed her stake from her back pocket and blocked a kick to the face. The demon threw a right at her that she caught with her hand. She twisted his arm making the vamp face the other way and finally staked him in the back. Dust filled the air and she smiled.

"That was fun."

She dusted off her clothes and looked up to see a pretty little blonde gawking at her. She had silky blonde hair and dark green eyes. She also had a cute nose and adorable lips...that were sorta hanging in shock. //Shit.// She saw her stake the vamp. //Caught in the act. Dammit girl. You're an idiot.// She suddenly realized she was staring. And yet, the blonde was staring straight back at her.

The deep silence that they shared that seemed like an eternity, which was really thirty seconds, was finally broken by the brunette.

"Who," she paused. "Who the hell are you?"

The words seemed to break the trance that the blonde seemed to be in.

"Shouldn't that be my question?"

They stared at each other for a while. They were only a few feet away from each other.

"How did you..." the blonde started, pointing at the pile of dust.

"Forget about it. You didn't see anything."

She walked pass the blonde but the girl grabbed her by the arm.

"You know what that was?"

//Who is this girl?// Brown eyes met green and suddenly a thought came to her head. //It can't be...//

"Buffy?" She asked hesitantly.

"How did you know my name?" the girl asked slowly releasing her grip from her arm.

She found her. She finally found her.

"I'm Faith."