Chapter 5
Putting Up With The Rain
Author's Notes: I've been really busy with my site lately, and I haven't been writing so much. I published another short Dawn fic yesterday, but I was in the mood to update. So…
Chapter FourPutting Up With The Rain
Dawn wiped her eyes again and sat up on the couch. She was still alone. Buffy was still gone, and she hadn't called. She's probably with that stupid Angel guy, Dawn thought. Stupid Buffy and her stupid boyfriend.
"Everything's stupid!" she said aloud. "I hate the whole stupid world and every stupid thing in it."
She paused. "I'm going to kill myself!" she screamed at the wall, knowing full well that she never really would. But she felt a little better. "I'm going to die and you'll all be sorry! And I'll make a will and leave everything to Willow. Oh, and Xander and Mom. But stupid Buffy won't get anything. Because she's stupid."
She sniffled and wiped her eyes again, because she was still crying. She couldn't stop. "No body loves me," she sang, trying to cheer herself up. "Everybody hates me, I guess I'll go eat worms." Unfortunately, she made a very wrong song choice and ended up feeling even more melancholy than she had before.
"Oh, the sun'll come out…tomorrow…" She tried again, and her voice cracked. She cleared her throat to try to get rid of the lump stuck there, but it wouldn't go away.
Dawn knew what she was supposed to do. She was supposed to apologize to Buffy when she got back. But what Dawn was supposed to do and what Dawn had to do were two entirely different things. And what Dawn had to do was call Willow.
The doorbell rang and Dawn got up to open it. Willow rushed in and hugged her. "What's the matter, Dawnie? It'll be okay, whatever it is—"
Her kindness made Dawn start crying all over again, and she cursed herself for it. She'll probably think I'm a big crybaby, Dawn thought, and the last person who doesn't mind having me around will go away, too.
"I'm sorry," she said, wiping her eyes.
"For what?" Willow asked. "For crying?" She looked at Dawn and realized that was the truth. "Don't be. Everybody cries sometimes. I do. It helps me feel better. When you cry, it's kinda like you get rid of all the bad feelings. Your tears wash them all out."
Dawn nodded and gave her a watery smile.
"Someone, I think Dolly Parton, said 'If you want the rainbow, you'll have to put up with the rain'," Willow continued. "It's just a rainy day for you, Dawnie. But soon the sun'll come out and there will be a beautiful rainbow and it'll be worth all the rain." She smiled. "Do you get what I'm saying?"
Dawn nodded. "But I'm all mixed up. I don't know whether to feel sad or guilty or mad at Buffy. I mean, I feel all three."
"Why, exactly?" Willow asked. "You never really said."
"We got in a fight."
"Over what?"
Dawn didn't want to say "Over you," because she didn't want Willow to feel guilty, or like she was owned by the Summers sisters. So she just said, "Sister stuff."
Willow wasn't going to rest, though, until she found the source of the problem. Buffy was her best friend, and Dawn was a pretty sweet kid. She didn't want them to be fighting. "Well, I don't have a sister," she reminded Dawn, "so you'll have to clarify what 'sister stuff' really is."
Dawn looked down and mumbled, "Wegotinafidovoo."
Willow scrunched up her face. "Come again?"
Dawn sighed. "We got in a fight over you," she said quietly, almost ashamed. "Buffy wants her own friends and her own life, but I really like hanging out with you. Especially since Buffy's always off on her own."
"Well, I have to say, I'm kind of flattered."
"Huh?" That was the last thing Dawn expected Willow to say. She expected her to be mad, or at least scold her for treating people like possessions.
"In case you didn't notice," Willow said, smiling gently, "people don't tend to fight over me. Do you know how bad I wish sometimes that I had boys fighting tooth and nail for a date with me? Or how badly I wish Xander was one of them?" She sighed sadly. "No such luck, Dawnie. Seems we're kind of like the outcasts. And outcasts have to stick together."
The front door opened and Buffy came in. "Willow," she said flatly, then announced, "I'm taking a shower and going to bed." Before anyone could reply, she was upstairs.
Willow got off the couch and smiled at Dawn. "It can't rain forever, Dawnie," she said, then grabbed her coat. "Do you still want me at your birthday?"
Dawn nodded.
"Okay, then," Willow grinned. "See you later."
Dawn smiled slightly and repeated to herself, "It can't rain forever." She stood up and trudged upstairs. "And it won't."
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mistymidnight