Chapter 1
Laying amongst the crinkled dead leaves, his limp form shuddered. Until now he'd tried not to be seen, being who he was the passage to hell had denied him entry. Not that he'd wanted to go there of course, but heaven seemed way out of his league. He tried to imagine her face if she saw him now, what he'd been reduced to. Trapped between three worlds, the only one where he'd ever felt remotely comfortable, unacessible. He thought about what she'd said, and questioned his judgement and whether there was any truth in Buffy's parting words. He stopped in mid thought and furrowed his brows asking himself stupidly, "What are you asking you for?...You don't bloody know".
Looking up he saw the last leaf fall towards his face, stopping abruptly about an inch from his face as if landing on some kind of forcefield that seperated him from all known worlds.
He sighed and rested his head on one side, a tear trickled down his face clouding his vision temporarily. He could see the blurred but otherwise distinctive features and outline of a young woman looking down on him, her red hair blowing against her face.
"Were the same y'know" she said to herself, but it was obvious that she was not only adressing herself, but him aswell. She knelt down in the wet grass beside him and looked him in the face, smiling she continued "We'll never be anywhere... Well...not if you don't count here" her smile broadened as she reached out and touched him tenderly on the cheek, then letting her hand procede on through his messy peroxide hair.
Chapter 2
The bus jumped, the red head at the back of the bus gave a start of surprise and toppled from her seat. She stood up quickly, alarmed by her own clumsiness and hoped that the action that she'd just performed had gone unnoticed. As she sat down she glanced to her left and promptly fell clumsily to her right upon seeing Buffy sporting a rather amused smile and surpressing what could only be a fit of the giggles.
Willow sat back up an fixed Buffy with an icy stare, that said quite clearly, 'explain yourself girl', she composed herself, "And WHAT, pray tell... is so amusing".
Buffy couldn't hold it in any longer, it starting out with a series of breathy snorts, which began to piss Willow off a bit. Buffy could obviously see the anger there because without a word she produced a mirror from her pocket and held it at such an angle that Willow not only could see her own reflection, but also the reflaction of the unfortunate person who's unsuspecting knee she had just been sprawled across.
She looked for a moment as though she'd just been slapped across the face and wanted to strangle her blonde friend. But then, when she'd obviously changed her mind, she rounded on the bespectacled librarian first giving him a big smile then mouthing with a look of pure disdain on her face 'Im so sorry', she so strongly resembled a goldfish that, what had started as a few breathy snorts from Buffy became loud endless howls of laughter.
Willow glared at Buffy then got up and shot off down the bus where she sat as close as she could to Kennedy and choked back with failure, the words; Oh my GOD! and buried her face in her girlfriend's lap.
Chapter 3
Kennedy had obviously just witnessed the goings on at the foot of the bus, because she didn't question, Willow's words of disdain.
She stroked her red hair back away from her face and asked her soothingly, "What were you dreaming about sweetie"?
"Nothing" she lied quickly as Buffy came up at the side of them with an apologetic look on her face. She didn't want to bring up the subject of Spike in front of Buffy. She had only just recently stopped obsessing about him and blaming herself for his untimely death, it had taken the help of every person on the bus to convince her that even if she hadn't broke up with him, he would still be dead right now.
Willow didn't really want to be the reason that she started blubbering again, so she fell silent once she'd confirmed that she hadn't been dreaming.
She got up and retreated to the back of the bus with Kennedy in close pursuit, leaving Buffy alone to talk to the remaining people at the front of the bus.
"How are ya holding up there Xander"? she asked remembering his hurt over Anya's death, "You Okay"?
Laying amongst the crinkled dead leaves, his limp form shuddered. Until now he'd tried not to be seen, being who he was the passage to hell had denied him entry. Not that he'd wanted to go there of course, but heaven seemed way out of his league. He tried to imagine her face if she saw him now, what he'd been reduced to. Trapped between three worlds, the only one where he'd ever felt remotely comfortable, unacessible. He thought about what she'd said, and questioned his judgement and whether there was any truth in Buffy's parting words. He stopped in mid thought and furrowed his brows asking himself stupidly, "What are you asking you for?...You don't bloody know".
Looking up he saw the last leaf fall towards his face, stopping abruptly about an inch from his face as if landing on some kind of forcefield that seperated him from all known worlds.
He sighed and rested his head on one side, a tear trickled down his face clouding his vision temporarily. He could see the blurred but otherwise distinctive features and outline of a young woman looking down on him, her red hair blowing against her face.
"Were the same y'know" she said to herself, but it was obvious that she was not only adressing herself, but him aswell. She knelt down in the wet grass beside him and looked him in the face, smiling she continued "We'll never be anywhere... Well...not if you don't count here" her smile broadened as she reached out and touched him tenderly on the cheek, then letting her hand procede on through his messy peroxide hair.
Chapter 2
The bus jumped, the red head at the back of the bus gave a start of surprise and toppled from her seat. She stood up quickly, alarmed by her own clumsiness and hoped that the action that she'd just performed had gone unnoticed. As she sat down she glanced to her left and promptly fell clumsily to her right upon seeing Buffy sporting a rather amused smile and surpressing what could only be a fit of the giggles.
Willow sat back up an fixed Buffy with an icy stare, that said quite clearly, 'explain yourself girl', she composed herself, "And WHAT, pray tell... is so amusing".
Buffy couldn't hold it in any longer, it starting out with a series of breathy snorts, which began to piss Willow off a bit. Buffy could obviously see the anger there because without a word she produced a mirror from her pocket and held it at such an angle that Willow not only could see her own reflection, but also the reflaction of the unfortunate person who's unsuspecting knee she had just been sprawled across.
She looked for a moment as though she'd just been slapped across the face and wanted to strangle her blonde friend. But then, when she'd obviously changed her mind, she rounded on the bespectacled librarian first giving him a big smile then mouthing with a look of pure disdain on her face 'Im so sorry', she so strongly resembled a goldfish that, what had started as a few breathy snorts from Buffy became loud endless howls of laughter.
Willow glared at Buffy then got up and shot off down the bus where she sat as close as she could to Kennedy and choked back with failure, the words; Oh my GOD! and buried her face in her girlfriend's lap.
Chapter 3
Kennedy had obviously just witnessed the goings on at the foot of the bus, because she didn't question, Willow's words of disdain.
She stroked her red hair back away from her face and asked her soothingly, "What were you dreaming about sweetie"?
"Nothing" she lied quickly as Buffy came up at the side of them with an apologetic look on her face. She didn't want to bring up the subject of Spike in front of Buffy. She had only just recently stopped obsessing about him and blaming herself for his untimely death, it had taken the help of every person on the bus to convince her that even if she hadn't broke up with him, he would still be dead right now.
Willow didn't really want to be the reason that she started blubbering again, so she fell silent once she'd confirmed that she hadn't been dreaming.
She got up and retreated to the back of the bus with Kennedy in close pursuit, leaving Buffy alone to talk to the remaining people at the front of the bus.
"How are ya holding up there Xander"? she asked remembering his hurt over Anya's death, "You Okay"?