Just Messing Around
Chapter 3
Author: Joyce
Email: zinehall@yahoo.com
Disclaimers: Joss is King.
Buffy awoke to the sounds of kitchen cabinets banging. Can't that girl have some consideration for me. Buffy buried her head beneath the pillows. That didn't help because someone was now knocking on her bedroom door. Dawn opened the door. " When are you going to shop again? We don't have that much food. Janice's mom buys her six different selections of cereals. Why can't we have more?", she whined as Buffy tried to scrunch even further into the covers.
"Wake up, sleepyhead. You heard me. You weren't out all that late last night. I heard you bang the door when you came home. " Dawn was not going to be put off. "I'm a growing teenager. I need lots of food." She walked away leaving the door wide open.
"Fine," Buffy yelled. She could hear the cabinets once again going throught the open/close paces. "I'm coming downstairs," she said as she slowly grabbed her robe and walked down the stairs.
Buffy surveyed the kitchen. There were two boxes of cereal on the table. Dawn was looking back and forth between the two boxes trying to determine which was the lesser of two evils from the expression on her face.
"Oh, bloody hell," Dawn said as she picked up both boxes and simultaneously poured into one cereal bowl.
"Dawn..." Buffy started. Spike is a bad influence on us, she thought. What good would it do to reprimand her.
"What?" Dawn looked at the bowl. The combination of Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs and Trix did not look particularly appetizing but it was all they had. She poured milk over the cereal. The sight of milk turning brown and being swirled with rainbow colors did not look appealing at all. In fact it looked downright inedible. "Eww." Dawn was too polite to say anything else. It had seemed a good idea at the time. She picked up the bowl and poured the contents down the garbage disposer.
"Hey," Buffy said. "Don't waste food like that. Do you have any idea of how much those boxes cost?"
Dawn grabbed a glass from the cabinet and poured herself a glass of milk. Then she took chocolate Nesquick, mixed it into the milk, and gulped it down rapidly.
The doorbell rang. Dawn looked at Buffy. "No time now. Xander's here. Gotta go." Dawn left the kitchen and ran to the door. Xander was waiting patiently leaning against the doorjamb.
"Good morning, Dawn....Buffy".
Dawn grabbed her backpack and ran out the door. "Don't talk to her. She's a big grump this morning." This was said with a smile and a wave.
Xander gave Buffy a worried, questioning glance. Buffy smiled sending a message that she was ok. Xander sighed and waved goodbye. He was used to mornings like this now. Being an only child, he had never experienced the seemingly sibling rivalry which emanated from Dawn quite a bit. Ah, the joys of being an only child. Not. Xander's parents virtually ignored him leaving him to get himself ready and off to school. His parents problems were with each other like always and there was nothing that he could do.
Buffy went back to the kitchen, sat and placed her forehead on the table. Riley and Sam had seemed so happy. They were doing what they both loved and getting paid for it to boot while she was stuck at the Doublemeat Palace. God, how she hated that place. She imagined herself still in college and dating Riley. That would be a good, safe, normal option. Why had she taken him for granted? Why had she felt so bored at the time? Normal girls would have been ecstatic to involved with such a hunky guy? What was wrong with her? Why did she let him get away? This last thought niggled her brain. Why...
"Morning, Buffy." Willow appeared in the doorway. "How ya doing?," she asked with a wide smile, wide-eyed holding back from saying more.
"Ok, I'll bite. What's up, Will?"
"Xander asked me to be his best man! Wow, I feel complimented that he thinks of me as being such a friend that he couldn't ask a guy friend? You know, 'cos of the whole me being a girl and all. Plus I get to see Tara." Willow was now bouncing.
Buffy smiled. "That's great. Really happy for you, Will."
"Do you think she'll be bothered that I'm in the wedding party? "Cos she might not want to see me just yet. Maybe I should keep a low profile. I don't know what to say to her. " Willow had done the Rosenberg switch going from happy to anxious in the blink of an eye.
Buffy got up and rubbed her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, Will. You've been off the magic wagon for a while now. Something tells me she won't mind seeing you at all."
"Do you really think so?"
Buffy nodded. Willow started a coffee pot. Then she looked into the refrigerator looking for something more substantial that the cereal boxes still on the table.
Buffy winced. Inwardly, she wished Willow would contribute more to the household budget but she found herself unable to pour ice on her friend's good mood. She just smiled as Willow pulled eggs and sausage out. Oh, well, this would just require more overtime at the Doublemeat Palace.
Willow fixed her breakfast hurriedly and ate without even offering Buffy any. Must think I already ate, Buffy thought. Willow placed her dishes in the sink and left the kitchen. Hmmph. Not even an offer to wash up. Buffy resignedly washed the dishes and mused more on Riley and Sam.
Willow said goodbye from the door and was off to school.
Buffy just stood there. I will not cry. Must go to work in an hour. She trudged up the stairs and got ready for work.
TBC
Chapter 3
Author: Joyce
Email: zinehall@yahoo.com
Disclaimers: Joss is King.
Buffy awoke to the sounds of kitchen cabinets banging. Can't that girl have some consideration for me. Buffy buried her head beneath the pillows. That didn't help because someone was now knocking on her bedroom door. Dawn opened the door. " When are you going to shop again? We don't have that much food. Janice's mom buys her six different selections of cereals. Why can't we have more?", she whined as Buffy tried to scrunch even further into the covers.
"Wake up, sleepyhead. You heard me. You weren't out all that late last night. I heard you bang the door when you came home. " Dawn was not going to be put off. "I'm a growing teenager. I need lots of food." She walked away leaving the door wide open.
"Fine," Buffy yelled. She could hear the cabinets once again going throught the open/close paces. "I'm coming downstairs," she said as she slowly grabbed her robe and walked down the stairs.
Buffy surveyed the kitchen. There were two boxes of cereal on the table. Dawn was looking back and forth between the two boxes trying to determine which was the lesser of two evils from the expression on her face.
"Oh, bloody hell," Dawn said as she picked up both boxes and simultaneously poured into one cereal bowl.
"Dawn..." Buffy started. Spike is a bad influence on us, she thought. What good would it do to reprimand her.
"What?" Dawn looked at the bowl. The combination of Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs and Trix did not look particularly appetizing but it was all they had. She poured milk over the cereal. The sight of milk turning brown and being swirled with rainbow colors did not look appealing at all. In fact it looked downright inedible. "Eww." Dawn was too polite to say anything else. It had seemed a good idea at the time. She picked up the bowl and poured the contents down the garbage disposer.
"Hey," Buffy said. "Don't waste food like that. Do you have any idea of how much those boxes cost?"
Dawn grabbed a glass from the cabinet and poured herself a glass of milk. Then she took chocolate Nesquick, mixed it into the milk, and gulped it down rapidly.
The doorbell rang. Dawn looked at Buffy. "No time now. Xander's here. Gotta go." Dawn left the kitchen and ran to the door. Xander was waiting patiently leaning against the doorjamb.
"Good morning, Dawn....Buffy".
Dawn grabbed her backpack and ran out the door. "Don't talk to her. She's a big grump this morning." This was said with a smile and a wave.
Xander gave Buffy a worried, questioning glance. Buffy smiled sending a message that she was ok. Xander sighed and waved goodbye. He was used to mornings like this now. Being an only child, he had never experienced the seemingly sibling rivalry which emanated from Dawn quite a bit. Ah, the joys of being an only child. Not. Xander's parents virtually ignored him leaving him to get himself ready and off to school. His parents problems were with each other like always and there was nothing that he could do.
Buffy went back to the kitchen, sat and placed her forehead on the table. Riley and Sam had seemed so happy. They were doing what they both loved and getting paid for it to boot while she was stuck at the Doublemeat Palace. God, how she hated that place. She imagined herself still in college and dating Riley. That would be a good, safe, normal option. Why had she taken him for granted? Why had she felt so bored at the time? Normal girls would have been ecstatic to involved with such a hunky guy? What was wrong with her? Why did she let him get away? This last thought niggled her brain. Why...
"Morning, Buffy." Willow appeared in the doorway. "How ya doing?," she asked with a wide smile, wide-eyed holding back from saying more.
"Ok, I'll bite. What's up, Will?"
"Xander asked me to be his best man! Wow, I feel complimented that he thinks of me as being such a friend that he couldn't ask a guy friend? You know, 'cos of the whole me being a girl and all. Plus I get to see Tara." Willow was now bouncing.
Buffy smiled. "That's great. Really happy for you, Will."
"Do you think she'll be bothered that I'm in the wedding party? "Cos she might not want to see me just yet. Maybe I should keep a low profile. I don't know what to say to her. " Willow had done the Rosenberg switch going from happy to anxious in the blink of an eye.
Buffy got up and rubbed her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, Will. You've been off the magic wagon for a while now. Something tells me she won't mind seeing you at all."
"Do you really think so?"
Buffy nodded. Willow started a coffee pot. Then she looked into the refrigerator looking for something more substantial that the cereal boxes still on the table.
Buffy winced. Inwardly, she wished Willow would contribute more to the household budget but she found herself unable to pour ice on her friend's good mood. She just smiled as Willow pulled eggs and sausage out. Oh, well, this would just require more overtime at the Doublemeat Palace.
Willow fixed her breakfast hurriedly and ate without even offering Buffy any. Must think I already ate, Buffy thought. Willow placed her dishes in the sink and left the kitchen. Hmmph. Not even an offer to wash up. Buffy resignedly washed the dishes and mused more on Riley and Sam.
Willow said goodbye from the door and was off to school.
Buffy just stood there. I will not cry. Must go to work in an hour. She trudged up the stairs and got ready for work.
TBC