Chapter Seven: The Way
Giles was in a slight panick as he hurridly strides towards the library, his briefcase in one hand the newspaper, with its disturbing news, lodged in his other hand. Last night a young man, a student of Sunnydale High, had been killed, mauled by some creature.
It just happen to coincide with the night before the full moon. The first of three nights for werewolves to hunt.
He desperately needs to check on Oz. Make sure that the young man hadn't somehow escaped during the night.
Pushing open the doors he comes to an abrupt halt. Standing before him is a very determin looking Willow. To his aged eyes the redhead looks positively incensed.
"I'm not doing this anymore," she states sternly shoving the sheaves of paper at him. "You said you were going to teach me about magic, but all you've had me doing is meaningless research that you barely even glance at. I'm tired of it and I'm not doing it anymore. So either keep your promise and teach me or I'll go find somebody who will," she finishes with a slight hesitation. She had been working on what to say ever since Faith left and she didn't really figure out anything to say so she just made it up as she went along.
Giles lets out a hush breath as he mutters, "about bloody time." Willow gapes at the comment but Giles continues before she can say anything. "Do you have any idea how much time it takes to think up something obscure enough for you to research, but still relevant to the tenants of magic. Then have to translate the assignment," he gives a slight shake of his head, "I probably got less sleep then you have."
Willow looks mortified as she mutters, "then all that research was nothing but useless work."
"Not at all," Giles replies. "It was meant to introduce you to the basic precepts of magic, and since most spells aren't written in modern English, or whatever debased variant you Americans use. It also served to get you accustomed to a few of the ancient languages spells normally are written in."
Willow's expression changes from mortification to indignation during Giles explanation. "Why?" She asks in a soft, serenely calm voice.
Giles sighs lightly before he continues by saying, "magic isn't the playground of the timid. As you already informed me, your own foray has met with less then adequate results. In fact the only spell you were successful in completing has been the soul restoration. A spell you preformed under extreme conditions," he explains.
"Fat lot of good it did," the tiny girl mumbles dejectedly.
Giles gives his head a slight shake as he strides forward saying, "but it did." He tosses the briefcase and paper on the table. "It showed us that you do have the potential to be an extremely powerful spell caster. A witch, sorceress, what have you. But I also had to see if you would stand up for yourself. Most magic is performed under rather dull and uneventful conditions completely unlike the soul restoration. Since you've already proven you can work under stress filled circumstances... I needed to see how long it would take you to boil over under a low flame so to speak. Hence the nearly useless work you've been doing in the mornings.
"Also magic is volatile and for the most part it draws upon our baser emotions; anger, greed, jealousy, rage, envy. The trick is learning how to harness those darker emotions without succumbing to them. Plus there's also the chance of becoming addicted to the power that will course through your body. The feelings of euphoria is greater then any drug mankind has ever produce.
"For a personality such as your. Shy. Timid. It can be even worse then normal when delving into that kind of power. Especially if you've never confronted, or even admitted that you do in fact have those emotions.
"I've seen quite a few good and decent people, lost, if you will, to the dark side of their personality. If I believed, even for a moment, that you wouldn't be able to handle this endeavor I'd wash my hands of you this very instant. As it is you have some very strenuous work ahead of you. If you thought what you were doing before was hard work just you wait," he says finally finishing his long monologue.
Willow's eyes seem to brighten almost instantly as she figures out what Giles long winded speech means to her. "You mean," she stammers excitedly.
Giles give the slight redhead a slight smile before saying, "it would be my very great privilege..."
Before Giles can finish Willow slams into him throwing her arms around the librarian repeatedly saying, "thank you," over and over again.
Inside the cage Oz comes awake with a slight groan. After several seconds the young man remembers where he is and why he's there. Standing up he catches willow breaking her near death grip on Giles. "Hey," he says alerting everyone to his presence as he grabs his pant off the top of the gray filing cabinet.
Willow turns around beaming a brilliant smile at the him as she enthusiastically informs him of the news as she retrieves the key to the cage. "Giles agreed. He's going to be teaching me about spells and magic. Isn't it great?"
"Wonderful," Oz replies dryly.
Willow seemingly misses the undertone of the comment but Giles doesn't. Instead of saying anything about it though he asks, "Oz didn't get out of his cage last night?"
"Not since I've been here," Willow answers as she unlocks the cage door, "and Xander didn't mention anything," she adds as she pulls open the door.
Oz steps through as he pulls his shirt over his head. "Why? What's up?"
Giles frowns slightly at that. Oz wouldn't have broken out and then come back, not unless it was to eat the person on guard duty. "A student was found relatively close by," Giles answers as he hands him the newspaper. "And if you were secured all night then it means something else is stalking Sunnydale."
"You mean aside from the normal plethora of vampires?" Willow asks Buffy's watcher.
Giles frown increases fractionally as he says, "there was no mention of blood loss or throat trauma."
Buffy pushes the wood and glass door to the school's psychologist office open and steps inside. After closing the door behind her she takes the couple of steps before she reaches the desk. So far Mr. Platt is keeping the chair facing the window with its back towards her. Smoke was rising from the cigarette between his fingers.
"Two o'clock. Miss Summers," he says without turning around.
Buffy smile as she says, "Buffy Summers, reporting for sanity." Her smile fades slightly as he continues to face away from her. A huge cloud of smoke rises over his head as he exhales. "Look... I know that I have to do this, and I-I'll cooperate, and I'll look at your ink blots and everything, but... I don't wanna talk about my life or my childhood or... anything, for that matter, actually. And, uh... I don't wanna be friends here."
Mr. Platt finally turns around, "we're not gonna be friends," he says as he smiles at her. "You have friends already... I hope," he continues with a wave of his hand. "Friends are a good thing," he adds taking a drag on his cigarette, "mm-hm." He crushes the cigarette out in an ashtray. "They like you, agree with you, tell you what you wanna hear," he keeps going as he reaches into his desk drawer groping for something unseen. "That's not what you need right now." He pulls out a can of deodorizer, "what you need is a trained, not too crazy professional who will always give you his honest opinion." He pops the top off of the aerosol can and gives a couple of sprays around himself.
Buffy just gives him an odd look but remains silent. "Which I offer." He looks back at her for a moment before gesturing to a chair. "Have a seat," he says capping the can and putting it away as she sits in the chair.
"Not too crazy? Those are your credentials?" Buffy inquires as she looks the older man over.
He gives her another almost disarming smile as he stands up and moves around the desk. "Look, Buffy, any person, grownup, shrink," he sits on the edge of his desk as he adds, "pope. Any person who claims to be totally sane is either lying or not very bright. I mean, everyone has problems. Everybody has demons, right?"
Buffy averts her eyes looking down at her hands as she answers by saying, "gotta say I'm with you on that."
"Excellent. So, the hope I bring you is. Demons can be fought. People can change. You can change. Now. Your turn," he says crossing his arms. "Let's start with why you ran away."
She looks up for a moment before she begins to fidget with her with her fingers as she leans back in her chair. She gives him a weak smile as she says, "that's a long story."
Mr. Platt shrugs as he says, "bore me."
"You know, I'm, I'm really over it. I-I'm moving on, I feel good, I'm, I'm even dating someone new," she sputters.
"All good things," he says gesturing widely, "but still, you're." He inhales deeply, "you're bringing me in at the end of the movie."
"I was dating someone. Uh, it-it ended badly. My mom and I were fighting, and I... kinda freaked," she tells him awkwardly.
"Well, tell me more about this guy. The Bad Ending Guy," he demands patiently.
"He was my first... I loved him, and then he..."
"Changed," he says when she fumbles for the word.
Buffy looks up in surprise as she replies, "yeah."
"He got mean?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't stop loving him. Look, lots of people lose themselves in love. It's, it's no shame. They write songs about it. The hitch is, you can't stay lost. Sooner or later, you... you have to get back to yourself," he tells her.
A secretive smile slips across Buffy's lips as she says, "I know. Its why I left when I did, but like I said... I've dealt with it, I'm in a new relationship. Everything's fresh... Different."
"Tell me about him," Platt encourages. "This new guy."
Buffy's smile broadens and her eyes take on a slightly glaze look as she breathes out a contented sigh. "Well..." She stops looking at him with a slight frown. "Nothing I... we talk about leaves here right? Not that I care or anything, but..."
"Its okay Buffy. As long as you don't tell me you're planning on blowing up the school... Or something along those lines, everything we discuss stays here," the large man assures her.
Her smile brightens back up instantly. Personally she really couldn't care less if everyone knew about her relationship with Faith. She'd just assume shout it from the rooftops, hire a plane to fly a banner proclaiming Buffy loves Faith, Buffy and Faith together forever, or something equally corny over Sunnydale for months on end until everyone got the point.
At the same time she didn't want to deal with the ignorant, or belligerent people of Sunnydale High. Namely Principal Snyder.
Still if she had her way it would be rooftops and planes all day long.
"It's like this. He is a her," she tells him and waits for the fallout. A fallout that evidently wasn't coming as he simply looks at her expectantly. "We met, kind of unexpectedly, but everything just clicks between us."
"Did you meat her in LA?"
Buffy shakes her head saying, "it was a couple days after I got back to Sunnydale. She's got the cutest little smile, which takes a lot of work on my part to see, but it's worth it. Especially the rewards afterward," she adds absently with a dreamy little smile blossoming on her lips. Suddenly her cheeks turn a light shade of crimson as she realizes how what she just said must have sounded like. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry... I didn't mean..."
"Buffy," he begins silencing her by laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Its all right. I want you to feel comfortable enough to say whatever you feel is necessary. This time here is for you, to help you deal with your problems, but it isn't going to work if your not honest. Besides, there isn't anything you could tell me I haven't already heard before."
The tiny blonde looks up as if to say wanna bet, but wisely keeps her mouth close.
"Hey guys," Buffy cheerfully greets the library full of people as she walks in through the double doors. A chorus of hey, what's up, and how are you doing from nearly half a dozen different throats fill the room.
"So what the crazy doctor say, are you certifiable?" Xander questions her.
"She hangs around with you X doesn't she?" Faith inquires as she looks up from her text book with a devilish glint in her eyes.
"Yeah," Xander responds as a thought occurs to him. "But she's dating you," he teases lightly then swallows hard at the gleam that suddenly appears in the brunette's eyes.
"Now all we have to do is figure out which one makes her crazier," Cordelia remarks with a thoughtful look.
Xander looks up at her with a slightly hurt expression covering his face. "You do remember you are dating me?"
"But everyone knows this is my rebellious relationship that my father doesn't want me to have with someone completely unsuited for me," Cordelia informs him cheerfully.
Xander opens his mouth, then closes it. Opens it again.
"I wouldn't," Oz remarks languidly from the other side of the table. Xander looks over at the short redhead this week. "You lost. Just admit defeat and move on. It's the safest thing for you to do right now."
Buffy grins at Oz's lazy monotone delivery as she reaches Faith's side. "Missed you," she says placing a hand on her shoulder. She bends down as Faith tilts her head up towards her. One set of soft, lush lips capturing the other in a deep kiss that ends suddenly with Xander's startled yelp of pain.
"What was that for?" He questions Cordelia as a pair of irritate slayers look towards him.
Cordelia shifts her gaze from him to the two smaller girls. "You do that deliberately, don't you?"
"What? Your trying to tell me I can't kiss my girlfriend?" Buffy questions with a soft growl.
"For Xander's sake, it might not be a bad idea," Oz comments dryly.
"Screw that," Faith replies in a huff. "Queen C can beat him to death before I give up my honey. Maybe he'll get lucky and she'll knock something back into place," she finishes with a small smirk.
Buffy beams proudly at Faith's statement. She looks on the verge of sticking her tongue out at the guitar player as she plops down in the chair beside her girlfriend. "What's got you in such a kill them all mood?"
"Algebra," the brunette growls, "what else?" She gives a slight shake of her head a moment before adding, "I'll take a pack of starving vamps over math homework any day of the week."
"That's because you enjoy staking vampires," Buffy informs her.
"That's the entire point," Faith responds. "I like doing things I enjoy," she adds in an overly suggestive tone.
Buffy's color deepens noticeable but she keeps eye contact with the younger girl getting lost in her deep brown eyes. The two continue to gaze at each other for several minutes before Giles clears his throat breaking whatever spell the two young woman in love were under. Buffy's blush brightens more from that then from Faith's earlier remark. "Anything more on last nights killing?" She asks breathlessly.
"Not as yet," Giles answers with a slight frown as he wipes the lenses of his glasses. Finishing up he slips them back over the bridge of his nose as he continues, "but until a full autopsy can be done we won't be able to ascertain if anything was removed from the body. Which would lead us to a particular demon and the ritual they may be performing."
"That's why the four stooges..." Faith begins.
"Four? I thought there were only three," Cordelia questions in confusion.
"That's because everyone forgets about Shemp. But there were actually six stooges," Xander tells her sounding like a connoisseur of fine wines.
Buffy looks at Xander, then at Faith with worry glistening brightly in her eyes. "Is this something I should be concerned about?" She inquires playfully.
"Not a fan of the stooges, huh?" Faith asks. Buffy gives a slight shake of her head causing the brunette's face to light up as she says, "have to see what I can do about that," in a challenging tone.
"I believe what Faith was referring to before she became so easily distracted was that Willow, Xander, Cordelia, and myself were going to break into the morgue to see if we can pin down the cause of death," Giles finishes.
"I could think of better things to pin down," Faith remarks directing a broad grin at the watcher. "But hey, whatever gets you off," she finishes with a tiny unconcerned shrug of her shoulders. Satisfied with reminding everyone that no gets to insult her, no matter how slight, without becoming fodder for her rather crude, often biting wit. Turning back towards Buffy, while Giles sputters slightly, she sees the petite blonde holding back a small smile. Giving her girlfriend an apologetic roll of her shoulders she says, "I got wolf duty tonight. Red gave those damn sad puppy dog eyes and I caved."
"She gets everyone with those things," Buffy replies knowingly.
"They don't bother me," Cordelia informs them.
"That's because you lack a conscious," Xander remarks absently. Cordelia's reaction is as swift as it is painful. The palm of her hand connecting solidly with the back of her boyfriends head. "Ow!" He shouts slouching down in his chair.
"Feel like a little training?" Buffy questions Faith as she stands up. She didn't really have to ask the question knowing what her girlfriend's answer was going to be.
Faith jumps out of her chair with a joyful, "would I," escaping from her lips as she tosses her algebra book to the table, forgotten even before it lands on the dark surface. "A little bit of Sparring is just what I need to build up an appetite for your mom's supper," she remarks grabbing hold of Buffy's hand.
Buffy smirks with a lot of amusement at Faith's nearly childlike energy. "I doubt if you need to do anything to build up an appetite," the blonde remarks as Faith drags her along. "I think it only comes with two settings. Empty and emptier."
Faith spins around on her girlfriend. It was a word she enjoys hearing a lot, even in the confines of her own mind, and often repeats it to herself when nobody is around to hear what a dork she actually is. She hates the fact that everyone is seeing her make a fool of herself, seeing how soft and childish she is when she isn't able to maintain the tough girl act now that Buffy is there.
Now they could all see what she is truly like.
Only with Buffy at her side she doesn't seem to care, not as much anyway. She had never thought she would be able to say that, but it was true. With Buffy by her side everything was nearly perfect. She could leave her past in the past and concentrate on building her future. That was what being with Buffy meant to her. It was something that made her fall that much more in love with her each and every second.
"What?" Buffy asks as she looks deep into Faith's chocolate eyes. At the tiny little glint of something she can only think of as hope.
"Just wondering what I did to deserve you," she murmurs softly before moving forward to capture the blondes luscious lips in deep, searing kiss.
________________________________________________________________________
The Way - Fastball
They made up their minds
And they started packing
They left before the sun came up that day
An exit to eternal summer slacking
But where were they going Without ever knowing the way?
They drank up the wine
And they got to talking
They now had more important things to say
And when the car broke down They started walking
Where were they going without ever knowing the way?
Anyone could see The road that they walk on is paved in gold
And It's always summer, they'll never get cold
They'll Never get hungry
They'll never get old and gray
You can see their shadows Wandering off somewhere
They won't make it home
But they really don't care
They wanted the highway
They're happier there today , today
The children woke up
And they couldn't find 'em
They Left before the sun came up that day
They just drove off
And left it all behind 'em
But Where were they going Without ever knowing the way?
Anyone could see The road that they walk on is paved in gold
And It's always summer, they'll never get cold
They'll Never get hungry
They'll never get old and gray
You can see their shadows Wandering off somewhere
They Won't make it home
But they really don't care
They wanted the highway
They're happy there today , today
Anyone could see The road that they walk on is paved in gold
And It's always summer, they'll never get cold
They'll Never get hungry
They'll never get old and gray
You can see their shadows Wandering off somewhere
They Won't make it home
But they really don't care
They wanted the highway
They're happy there today , today