A/N: God you can tell I've been watching *way* too much Dawson's creek,
can't you? Yes, my enthusiasm for American teenage aimed television does
extend to that programme, that my parents deem trash. I just find it
hilarious that a TV show comments on how perfect, and TV like their
characters lives are. It just seems like poetic justice.
"So we'll all magically get into some non existent college, and be together?"
"This much angst can only ever be a TV show."
Anyways, thankee oh great reviewers, you do so much make my day. I love you, mwahmwah. Apologies, the lyrics in this aren't mine. Considering my music tastes, you can probably recognise them. Me, a rebel? Fat chance!
"So, you're gonna go?" Gunn asked casually, holding Faith's bag as she loaded it with various books. She raised an eyebrow.
"Why? What reason is there for me *not* to go? Extracurricular activity, gets my Mom, sisters and guidance counsellor off my back, and I still get to indulge in my *other* extracurricular activities," she laughed, turning back to her locker. Gunn caught her arm with a worried look.
"Faith, you're not still into that stuff are you? Because if I thought.you know how I feel about that shit," he said, anxiously.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, defensively. She held her arms rigid by her side.
"Faith, don't play dumb. The drugs. You were into drugs. Called it extracurricular activities."
"Which I swore I would stay off. For good. Shit, Gunn, don't you trust me anymore?" she interrupted, angrily.
"Of course I do. It's just, you're actin' the way you did before. And it's scary, girl,' Gunn laughed, but Faith didn't give an answering laugh.
"You know, maybe if I had friends who trusted me the first time around, we wouldn't be discussing this!" She answered, slamming the locker shut, grabbing her bag, and running off down the hall, leaving Gunn standing there.
"So, you've been yelled at by my little sister. Welcome to my world,' a dry voice said over his shoulder. He turned around to see Buffy standing there, a small smile flickering around her lips, clutching an armful of books.
"Buffy,' he replied.
"Gunn," she answered, tossing her hair. "Jeez, enough with the James Bondage type comments. Angel was *so* into that movie the other day. Total sexual innuendo,and.."
"Why are you talking to me?" he interrupted, wryly.
"To share the pain? Well, actually, we already do, but you're hooked on it. My little sis, I mean." With that, Buffy turned around, and left. Gunn cocked his head to one side, considered it, then stalked off the other way.
Faith knocked on the door, and it swung open.
"Hey," piped up a blond girl in the corner, fiddling with a set of drums. She stood up, and dusted her hands off on her jeans.
"I'm Lilah, by the way. This is my partner in crime, Lindsay, and Spike I gather you've already met. He's the real pussy cat of us all," Lilah confided.
"Uh, yeah. I guess," Faith replied, somewhat nervously. She glanced around. A set of drums, and a couple of guitars. A microphone. And the standard shade of magnolia boring paint on the walls. All in all, yet another room like any other in the school.
"Hi," Lindsey said, coming over. He was cute, in a floppy, blond way, with green eyes. "Welcome to practise."
"'Ello pet." She recognised the gravelly tones as soon as she heard them, Spike swaggering across the room. Lilah rolled her eyes.
"Spike equals British, we understand," she teased. Spike threw her a withering look.
"I see you've met the dregs of the school otherwise known as band members," he snarked. Lindsey shot him a look.
"Watch it, Spike. Or that Bio assignment? Ashes, boy, ashes." Spike grinned good-naturedly in Lindsey's direction.
"Lindsey, I'll lend you the lighter," he bantered back, tossing a chrome coloured lighter Lindsey's way.
"So..Did you want me to sing, or shall I leave you to party, wholesome teenage crap style?" Faith asked sarcastically. Spike grinned. "Well, there's other ways to party, luv, if the only way you know is *wholesome*, I'm sure I can teach you," he laughed softly. She raised an eyebrow.
"I doubt you could find the right place, let alone the right way," she tossed back. His eyes widened in mock shock.
"I'm wounded," he cried, holding his hands to his chest, and grinning wickedly. Faith rolled her eyes.
"Now that, pet, is Lilah's gig. Whenever I'm bein' what she calls, childish," he said meaningfully, towards Lilah. She sighed.
"Spike, grow up," she stated, as if finishing off an argument had many times before.
"Are we getting this girl to sing, or to finish you off in repartee? Cause either way, I have a guitar here," Lindsey dropped in, gesturing with his free hand at the guitar sitting in a corner.
"Right. What we gonna get her to do?" Spike asked briskly, business like once again. Faith watched him, faintly amused by his mercurial changes in character.
"Well, we have 'reputation'," Lilah suggested. "It's pretty simple. And Lindsey needs to practise it," she shot toward the blond crouched over the guitar, pointedly. He ignored her.
"So what are the lyrics?" Faith asked. Lilah handed her a piece of paper.
"They're pretty simple. Like I said a basic tune, and some simple chords. Not that difficult!" she smiled. Faith scanned the lyrics and smiled.
"My kind of song," she commented, as they set up around her.
"Right, I'll count us in, then three chords from you, Spike, and then go ahead Faith!" Lilah added, as she hit a low beat.
"Five, six, five, six, seven, eight!" Lilah called confidently, and beat out a low, throbbing beat. Faith leant over the microphone, and began, a smile in her voice.
"I don't give a damn about my reputation,
You're living in the past, it's a new generation,
Hey, a girl can do what she wants to do,
And that's what I'm gonna do,
And I don't give a damn about my bad reputation, Oh no,
No, no, no, no, no, no, no,
Not me,
Me, me, me, me, me, me,"
She finished the verse, a broad grin across her face. She stepped back, as they came to an end. Lindsey grinned, as Lilah did.
"I guess you're in the band!" he said cheerfully. Faith slid a look over at Spike.
"Welcome to the band, pet," he replied. She smiled, and relaxed, happy.
"So.? Now you're one of us, you wanna finish off the song?' Lilah asked, with a lopsided grin. Faith tossed her hair over one shoulder.
"Uh huh. Does this band come with a name?" she queried, flicking through the lyrics once more. Lilah gave Spike a pointed look.
"Well, *someone* thought, 'sex pistols, the next generation' would have been good. However, most of us disagreed. So we're called Aurelias."
"And that works..how? I mean, the jump from the sex pistols to Aurelias is kinda big," Faith said straight faced.
"My summer job," Lindsey shrugged. "Law firm. Big on the hostile take- overs. It was the name of a file. Order of. Kinda pretty."
"Uh huh. Yeah, I guess it is," Faith agreed. "Ya wanna sing?'
"I couldn't think of anything *better* to do," he replied easily.
When faith arrived home, Buffy was sitting on the couch channel hopping.
"Where have you been?" she demanded, as Faith strolled in.
"Out. As in, not in the house," Faith explained, slowly, and with a hint of sarcasm.
"Why?" Buffy asked, petulantly. She flicked off the TV, and stood up against Faith.
"Why do you want to know? I don't ask you where you've been, when you come back from a *walk* with lipstick smeared over your face, and Angel has a dazed expression,' Faith pointed out, quite reasonably, she thought.
"Mom!" Buffy yelled. Dawn, walking through into the kitchen poked her head around the door.
"Cool. Less than sixty seconds," she dropped, conversationally, and carried on.
Faith raced upstairs, and crashed out on her bed, intending to do her homework. Instead, the phone rang. She and Buffy shared a private line, meaning, Buffy interpreted it as her own personal answering service.
"Hi. Buffy's not here right now. She's at the asylum, getting her medication," she answered moodily.
"Well that's good to know, if I wanted to talk to Buffy," an amused voice filtered through the line, "Bu' I don't. Actually, luv, it was you I wanted to speak to."
Spike. She smiled, and shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed.
"What do you want, Spike?" she asked, wryly.
"I need a date for the prom," he bit out sarcastically. "Aurelias. We're playin' at the Bronze, Saturday. Up for it?"
"Well, yeah,' she said, slightly taken aback. "Why?"
" 'Cause without a singer luv," she heard the humour in his voice, "We're stuffed."
"Fine. I'll be there," she answered and hung up.
"Who was that?" Dawn demanded. Faith grimaced.
"That was my boyfriend, inviting me to the prom. Only problem is, he's Angel's evil twin, and I have to kill Buffy," she replied sarcastically. "It was Spike, okay?"
"Spike? Interesting name," Dawn mused. Faith lifted her lip.
"Get out," she stated. Dawn rolled her eyes, and slid away from the doorway.
"So, Buff, what are we doing Saturday?" Willow asked, coming up, sucking on a Popsicle. Buffy sighed.
"Well, I found out that Cordelia has definitely left the squad. Anya is *so* pushing to get vice, so I have to deal with that. Cordelia groupies on *my* squad? I don't *think* so!" she made a little moue of distaste.
"And this has to do with Saturday because..?" Willow probed gently. Buffy gave her a small sneer.
"Because *if* she is really gone, then Devin is free. And if he *is* I have to go Bronzing and show him what he stood up," Buffy said, her tone implicating that she thought Willow highly unintelligent to *not* follow her train of thought.
"Oh, okay," Willow smiled happily, as Buffy raked her fingers through her hair.
"Oh crap. Cheerleading practise. I got to go, Wills. Sorry!" she said apologetically, backing away. Willow nodded, and turned back towards the library. She had a tutoring session due.
As she walked into the library, her books clasped in her arms, she caught sight of a shadow over by the stacks.
"Come on over, I'm not gonna bite!" she called out happily.
"Willow?" Faith's voice was filled with shock.
"Faith? What are you doing here? I've got a tutoring session."
"Newsflash. You're tutoring me," Faith broke in. Willow's eyes widened.
"Uh, Faith, I think perhaps you'd be better off with another tutor. You know, someone you can actually stand.." she laughed nervously. Faith rolled her eyes.
"Willow, I can stand all of the popular crowd separately. Trust me, it's when the clique get together that bugs me," she laughed. "But still." Willow was uncertain.
"Look, I know you hate my guts since I told Xander about the crush thing when you guys were seven. But I got to pass this class to get Mom and Ms Perfect Blonde off my back. Please?" Faith begged. Willow slid into a chair.
"Let's hit the books," she replied decisively.
Faith let herself into the house, and stood with her back against the door, her head buzzing. She glanced down at the books, and mentally groaned. Algebra with Willow? Bad idea. The girl loved it as much as chocolate!
"Mom? Buffy?" she called. No one replied. Shrugging, she headed upstairs to her room, and dumped the books on the floor. Placing a CD in the stereo, she hummed along with the song, and picked some laundry up off the bed. Pulling open her underwear drawer, she turned over various items to make room for the new stuff. A small packet lay under a pair of panties, and as if in slow motion, she picked it up, her blood throbbing in her ears. She emptied it out onto her palm. Seven small, white pills. Staring at them, she felt the familiar need begin to start, and hurriedly, she shoved them back into the packet, and slammed the drawer shut roughly. She walked quickly out of the room, and slammed the door behind her.
A/N: Okay, Pleeease R/R. I know it's been ages since I updated, but net access has been down, and I needed to sort this out. BTW, the song, if you recognise it, is by Half Cocked, called Bad Reputation, and appears in both Shrek, and 10 things I hate about you. Both films I adore.
"So we'll all magically get into some non existent college, and be together?"
"This much angst can only ever be a TV show."
Anyways, thankee oh great reviewers, you do so much make my day. I love you, mwahmwah. Apologies, the lyrics in this aren't mine. Considering my music tastes, you can probably recognise them. Me, a rebel? Fat chance!
"So, you're gonna go?" Gunn asked casually, holding Faith's bag as she loaded it with various books. She raised an eyebrow.
"Why? What reason is there for me *not* to go? Extracurricular activity, gets my Mom, sisters and guidance counsellor off my back, and I still get to indulge in my *other* extracurricular activities," she laughed, turning back to her locker. Gunn caught her arm with a worried look.
"Faith, you're not still into that stuff are you? Because if I thought.you know how I feel about that shit," he said, anxiously.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, defensively. She held her arms rigid by her side.
"Faith, don't play dumb. The drugs. You were into drugs. Called it extracurricular activities."
"Which I swore I would stay off. For good. Shit, Gunn, don't you trust me anymore?" she interrupted, angrily.
"Of course I do. It's just, you're actin' the way you did before. And it's scary, girl,' Gunn laughed, but Faith didn't give an answering laugh.
"You know, maybe if I had friends who trusted me the first time around, we wouldn't be discussing this!" She answered, slamming the locker shut, grabbing her bag, and running off down the hall, leaving Gunn standing there.
"So, you've been yelled at by my little sister. Welcome to my world,' a dry voice said over his shoulder. He turned around to see Buffy standing there, a small smile flickering around her lips, clutching an armful of books.
"Buffy,' he replied.
"Gunn," she answered, tossing her hair. "Jeez, enough with the James Bondage type comments. Angel was *so* into that movie the other day. Total sexual innuendo,and.."
"Why are you talking to me?" he interrupted, wryly.
"To share the pain? Well, actually, we already do, but you're hooked on it. My little sis, I mean." With that, Buffy turned around, and left. Gunn cocked his head to one side, considered it, then stalked off the other way.
Faith knocked on the door, and it swung open.
"Hey," piped up a blond girl in the corner, fiddling with a set of drums. She stood up, and dusted her hands off on her jeans.
"I'm Lilah, by the way. This is my partner in crime, Lindsay, and Spike I gather you've already met. He's the real pussy cat of us all," Lilah confided.
"Uh, yeah. I guess," Faith replied, somewhat nervously. She glanced around. A set of drums, and a couple of guitars. A microphone. And the standard shade of magnolia boring paint on the walls. All in all, yet another room like any other in the school.
"Hi," Lindsey said, coming over. He was cute, in a floppy, blond way, with green eyes. "Welcome to practise."
"'Ello pet." She recognised the gravelly tones as soon as she heard them, Spike swaggering across the room. Lilah rolled her eyes.
"Spike equals British, we understand," she teased. Spike threw her a withering look.
"I see you've met the dregs of the school otherwise known as band members," he snarked. Lindsey shot him a look.
"Watch it, Spike. Or that Bio assignment? Ashes, boy, ashes." Spike grinned good-naturedly in Lindsey's direction.
"Lindsey, I'll lend you the lighter," he bantered back, tossing a chrome coloured lighter Lindsey's way.
"So..Did you want me to sing, or shall I leave you to party, wholesome teenage crap style?" Faith asked sarcastically. Spike grinned. "Well, there's other ways to party, luv, if the only way you know is *wholesome*, I'm sure I can teach you," he laughed softly. She raised an eyebrow.
"I doubt you could find the right place, let alone the right way," she tossed back. His eyes widened in mock shock.
"I'm wounded," he cried, holding his hands to his chest, and grinning wickedly. Faith rolled her eyes.
"Now that, pet, is Lilah's gig. Whenever I'm bein' what she calls, childish," he said meaningfully, towards Lilah. She sighed.
"Spike, grow up," she stated, as if finishing off an argument had many times before.
"Are we getting this girl to sing, or to finish you off in repartee? Cause either way, I have a guitar here," Lindsey dropped in, gesturing with his free hand at the guitar sitting in a corner.
"Right. What we gonna get her to do?" Spike asked briskly, business like once again. Faith watched him, faintly amused by his mercurial changes in character.
"Well, we have 'reputation'," Lilah suggested. "It's pretty simple. And Lindsey needs to practise it," she shot toward the blond crouched over the guitar, pointedly. He ignored her.
"So what are the lyrics?" Faith asked. Lilah handed her a piece of paper.
"They're pretty simple. Like I said a basic tune, and some simple chords. Not that difficult!" she smiled. Faith scanned the lyrics and smiled.
"My kind of song," she commented, as they set up around her.
"Right, I'll count us in, then three chords from you, Spike, and then go ahead Faith!" Lilah added, as she hit a low beat.
"Five, six, five, six, seven, eight!" Lilah called confidently, and beat out a low, throbbing beat. Faith leant over the microphone, and began, a smile in her voice.
"I don't give a damn about my reputation,
You're living in the past, it's a new generation,
Hey, a girl can do what she wants to do,
And that's what I'm gonna do,
And I don't give a damn about my bad reputation, Oh no,
No, no, no, no, no, no, no,
Not me,
Me, me, me, me, me, me,"
She finished the verse, a broad grin across her face. She stepped back, as they came to an end. Lindsey grinned, as Lilah did.
"I guess you're in the band!" he said cheerfully. Faith slid a look over at Spike.
"Welcome to the band, pet," he replied. She smiled, and relaxed, happy.
"So.? Now you're one of us, you wanna finish off the song?' Lilah asked, with a lopsided grin. Faith tossed her hair over one shoulder.
"Uh huh. Does this band come with a name?" she queried, flicking through the lyrics once more. Lilah gave Spike a pointed look.
"Well, *someone* thought, 'sex pistols, the next generation' would have been good. However, most of us disagreed. So we're called Aurelias."
"And that works..how? I mean, the jump from the sex pistols to Aurelias is kinda big," Faith said straight faced.
"My summer job," Lindsey shrugged. "Law firm. Big on the hostile take- overs. It was the name of a file. Order of. Kinda pretty."
"Uh huh. Yeah, I guess it is," Faith agreed. "Ya wanna sing?'
"I couldn't think of anything *better* to do," he replied easily.
When faith arrived home, Buffy was sitting on the couch channel hopping.
"Where have you been?" she demanded, as Faith strolled in.
"Out. As in, not in the house," Faith explained, slowly, and with a hint of sarcasm.
"Why?" Buffy asked, petulantly. She flicked off the TV, and stood up against Faith.
"Why do you want to know? I don't ask you where you've been, when you come back from a *walk* with lipstick smeared over your face, and Angel has a dazed expression,' Faith pointed out, quite reasonably, she thought.
"Mom!" Buffy yelled. Dawn, walking through into the kitchen poked her head around the door.
"Cool. Less than sixty seconds," she dropped, conversationally, and carried on.
Faith raced upstairs, and crashed out on her bed, intending to do her homework. Instead, the phone rang. She and Buffy shared a private line, meaning, Buffy interpreted it as her own personal answering service.
"Hi. Buffy's not here right now. She's at the asylum, getting her medication," she answered moodily.
"Well that's good to know, if I wanted to talk to Buffy," an amused voice filtered through the line, "Bu' I don't. Actually, luv, it was you I wanted to speak to."
Spike. She smiled, and shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed.
"What do you want, Spike?" she asked, wryly.
"I need a date for the prom," he bit out sarcastically. "Aurelias. We're playin' at the Bronze, Saturday. Up for it?"
"Well, yeah,' she said, slightly taken aback. "Why?"
" 'Cause without a singer luv," she heard the humour in his voice, "We're stuffed."
"Fine. I'll be there," she answered and hung up.
"Who was that?" Dawn demanded. Faith grimaced.
"That was my boyfriend, inviting me to the prom. Only problem is, he's Angel's evil twin, and I have to kill Buffy," she replied sarcastically. "It was Spike, okay?"
"Spike? Interesting name," Dawn mused. Faith lifted her lip.
"Get out," she stated. Dawn rolled her eyes, and slid away from the doorway.
"So, Buff, what are we doing Saturday?" Willow asked, coming up, sucking on a Popsicle. Buffy sighed.
"Well, I found out that Cordelia has definitely left the squad. Anya is *so* pushing to get vice, so I have to deal with that. Cordelia groupies on *my* squad? I don't *think* so!" she made a little moue of distaste.
"And this has to do with Saturday because..?" Willow probed gently. Buffy gave her a small sneer.
"Because *if* she is really gone, then Devin is free. And if he *is* I have to go Bronzing and show him what he stood up," Buffy said, her tone implicating that she thought Willow highly unintelligent to *not* follow her train of thought.
"Oh, okay," Willow smiled happily, as Buffy raked her fingers through her hair.
"Oh crap. Cheerleading practise. I got to go, Wills. Sorry!" she said apologetically, backing away. Willow nodded, and turned back towards the library. She had a tutoring session due.
As she walked into the library, her books clasped in her arms, she caught sight of a shadow over by the stacks.
"Come on over, I'm not gonna bite!" she called out happily.
"Willow?" Faith's voice was filled with shock.
"Faith? What are you doing here? I've got a tutoring session."
"Newsflash. You're tutoring me," Faith broke in. Willow's eyes widened.
"Uh, Faith, I think perhaps you'd be better off with another tutor. You know, someone you can actually stand.." she laughed nervously. Faith rolled her eyes.
"Willow, I can stand all of the popular crowd separately. Trust me, it's when the clique get together that bugs me," she laughed. "But still." Willow was uncertain.
"Look, I know you hate my guts since I told Xander about the crush thing when you guys were seven. But I got to pass this class to get Mom and Ms Perfect Blonde off my back. Please?" Faith begged. Willow slid into a chair.
"Let's hit the books," she replied decisively.
Faith let herself into the house, and stood with her back against the door, her head buzzing. She glanced down at the books, and mentally groaned. Algebra with Willow? Bad idea. The girl loved it as much as chocolate!
"Mom? Buffy?" she called. No one replied. Shrugging, she headed upstairs to her room, and dumped the books on the floor. Placing a CD in the stereo, she hummed along with the song, and picked some laundry up off the bed. Pulling open her underwear drawer, she turned over various items to make room for the new stuff. A small packet lay under a pair of panties, and as if in slow motion, she picked it up, her blood throbbing in her ears. She emptied it out onto her palm. Seven small, white pills. Staring at them, she felt the familiar need begin to start, and hurriedly, she shoved them back into the packet, and slammed the drawer shut roughly. She walked quickly out of the room, and slammed the door behind her.
A/N: Okay, Pleeease R/R. I know it's been ages since I updated, but net access has been down, and I needed to sort this out. BTW, the song, if you recognise it, is by Half Cocked, called Bad Reputation, and appears in both Shrek, and 10 things I hate about you. Both films I adore.