Faith awoke in her small motel room, and for a moment, it was all a dream. Then the reality hit her, and Willow's screams, and the blood technically on her hands danced in her head, eating at her. Faith took a cold shower, and shook her head at herself in the mirror.
"It was not my fault." She told herself. "It happens every day… I didn't even know the guy! And Willow… she shouldn't have followed me." Faith closed her eyes briefly, and dressed for school.
Willow looked up as the girl entered the room. She swallowed. Faith looked… scary. Leather trousers and a tight fitting top accentuated her figure, and her hair hung loose about her face, not quite hiding the dark makeup and sullen expression.
"Hey Faith, how are you?" she asked tentatively.
"Five by five." Faith replied, dropping into a seat.
"So… about last night…" Xander began.
"Last night didn't happen." She cut him off.
"Faith…"
"It didn't happen." She repeated, her voice hard, showing no emotion what so ever. "Ok? Forget it. Get on with your lives, and forget it, like everyone else does."
"I can't forget it, Faith!" He retorted, more than a little annoyed, "Jesse was my best friend! Those things… we have to get rid of them, we have to fight them!"
"Wrong. I have to fight them." Faith corrected. "You have to be a good little boy, and pretend it never happened."
"Faith!" Willow exclaimed, "You can't just…"
"Sorry to interrupted your fascinating conversation…" Cordy said, walking by, "But those of us who…" She looked Faith up and down, "…have a dress sense would like to hear our-selves think."
"Oh, shit." Faith said in mock horror, "We should probably evacuate the town then, you're gonna need it real quiet."
Cordy fumed as everyone near enough to hear burst into laughter.
"You just made a big mistake." Cordy spat. "No one messes with Cordelia Chase!" She stalked off.
"I'm just shakin' in my boots." Faith murmured, eyebrows raised. "That chick has problems."
"Yeah." Willow agreed, but soon turned back to Faith. "Look… Faith… I get that this is your deal, and you don't want us… slowing you down… but we aren't just like everyone else. Everyone else hears the stories, and that's easy enough to forget. But we were there last night. We saw him die! I am not gonna just leave you to face this alone."
"You don't want to forget it? Then that's your problem." Faith said. She looked around, "Screw this." And she got up and left the room, just as the teacher walked in. But he saw the look in her eyes, and didn't stop her. He didn't even want to ask.
"G, find me somethin' to kill." She said as she strolled into the library and slumped on the table.
"Pardon?"
"A demon, vampire, anything… I need a fight."
"Shouldn't you be in class?" Giles asked, looking at his watch.
"Ya, so?" She replied, a look of genuine indifference on her face. He sighed,
"We don't have any major 'badguys' right now. But we need to find out more about this 'harvest'. There're plenty of books to go through if you're…"
"Screw that, G. I'm goin' hunting." She flashed him a dangerous smile, and made to leave.
"It's that boy, isn't it?" He said, stopping her in her tracks.
"What?"
"That's what's bothering you."
"No. Nothing's bothering me." He said nothing, and Faith found his silence more intense than the angriest lecture. "It's just… those other two…" she said eventually. "…They… last night, when I saw how they were… I couldn't lie. I couldn't increase their pain by giving them some crap they'd know was bullshit. But now… I know that in the long run, the lie would've been better, cos eventually they'd believe it, and … and now they wouldn't be buggin' me askin' how they can help!" Giles sighed. "Cos they can't help, G. They'll just get killed too. An'… the way the looked at me… Willow blames me." She finished quietly.
"No she doesn't."
"Yes she does! She said so!"
"In an irrational moment. It's not what she really thinks. It wasn't your fault, Faith."
"I know that." She snapped, her brow furrowing. "I know that already." She shrugged, "I'm goin' now."
"Faith! You should go to class."
"I don't care."
"You have to go, Faith, otherwise, questions will be asked. You have to maintain your cover."
"No one would notice anyway, G. No one does! It's too weird for ordinary people… so they turn a blind eye."
"Please go to class."
"Screw. That." She said, and strode from the library before he could say another word. Giles heaved a sigh, and wondered why he'd gotten the troublesome slayer.
Faith sat just outside the campus, hidden behind bushes, stripping strands of grass. She was very pissed off. She was Faith, the slayer; she needed no one, she owed no one anything, and yet, she felt guilty for storming out when Giles had asked her to go to class. Part of herself writhed at that, why should she listen to him? Why should she do anything he told her? She threw down the piece of grass she was holding and stomped off.
When Willow reached the chem.-lab for their next lesson, she was as shocked as the girl herself to find Faith already sitting at the back, looking pretty much sickened with herself. The small redhead smiled, and sat down beside her.
Even if Willow would never know it, that warmed Faith's heart a little. It gave her something that mattered, even though she would probably turn it down again soon enough. At least for the moment, the Slayer was not alone.
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Ok, so it was a little soppy too, but hey, what are ya gonna do? I write it as it comes to me…