15 Minutes of Fame

Chapter 6

14Below, Santa Monica…

Buffy stood motionless; around her people danced and laughed, completely oblivious to the complete apocalypse that was happening. It was all crashing down; everything that she had believed in, had clung to, was suddenly deteriorating. Words escaped her, she opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out.

Then finally, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Riley searched frantically for an explanation. "I can explain everything," he said knowing it would sound incredibly lame.

"Oh you can? That's great!" Buffy spat sarcastically. "So you can explain how Iowa is in L.A.?"

"What are you talking about?" the other girl said. She wrapped her arm around Riley's waist. "Look chick I don't know what beef you have with my boy here but—"

"Your boy?" Buffy repeated. She wanted to tear the girl's head off and drop kick it across town, but she maintained her cool. "Did 'your boy' happen to mention that he leads a double life?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Well you see," Buffy said, her voice dripping with venom, "some days he's Riley Finn, just a simple jock from a small town high school. He has a girlfriend and stays at home with his mom and sickly aunt. But other days he's…whoever the hell you know him as. Point is," Buffy thought for a moment, "the point is, you can have him. I'm done!" Before either of the two could speak, she pushed around them and headed out the door.

"Hold up," the girl said, "was she trying to tell me that you two…were you two involved?"

"Faith I can explain," Riley attempted.

"Save it," Faith said. "I think Blondie was right. I'm done too."

Riley watched as the second girl walked away from that night. She left following the same path Buffy had taken. Riley watched them go, "Shit!"

Buffy hit the street outside and searched for her friends. 'C'mon guys. Where are you?' She tried desperately to hold back impending tears. 'He's not worth your tears. Don't cry over him,' she mentally coached herself.

"Hey," someone called out. Buffy recognized the voice: it was the girl Riley was with.

'What the hell does she want?' she thought bitterly. Buffy spun around, fully ready to take this girl on in an all out cat fight; surprisingly the brunette threw her hands up in surrender.

"Hey I don't wanna fight," Faith said defensively. "I just wanted to tell you that I had no idea he was with you. He never said anything about it—"

"Did you really expect him to?"

"Well…no not really," Faith answered. "But I'm just saying…I'm sorry, ya know?"

Buffy studied the girl in front of her. Her frame was small and curvy, not unlike Buffy's own, and her hair tumbled down just past her shoulders. It was straight for the most part except at the end where she sported some loose curls. She wore a tight pair of jeans and a tighter, white wife beater that showed just the smallest amount of her midriff.

"Apology accepted," Buffy said finally. "I'm Buffy."

"Faith," she replied reaching out and shaking Buffy's waiting hand. "So B, you from around here?"

'B? What is that? Since when are we close enough to use initials?' "I'm a student at UCLA. My friends and I just came down to the club for a good time."

"This probably wasn't the good time you were expecting, was it?"

"Not in the least," Buffy laughed; Faith shared in the good time as well.

"Buffy!" Willow called from just down the street. She sprinted a few steps before noticing the girl Buffy was speaking with. "Hey aren't you the girl that Ri—rides—umm—things?" Both Buffy and Faith gave the red head confused looks.

"If you were going to say 'the girl that Riley was with', go ahead and say it," Buffy laughed.

"You know? You saw?" Willow asked.

"Yeah," Buffy said. "But don't worry. Riley and I are so over with. But I think it's for the better."

"Oh definitely," Faith interjected. "He's scum."

Willow looked first at Faith then to Buffy, completely puzzled. "Uh does someone wanna fill me in here?"

"Faith had no idea that Riley and I are—were a couple. She dumped him too."

"It's a great night for girl power, a terrible night for Mr. Riley Finn," Faith joked.

Willow smiled, "Well if you're ready to go, Tara and Anya managed to get us a cab."

"Great," Buffy said and turned to Faith. "Maybe I'll see you again?"

"I hang out here a lot," Faith said. "Drop by some time."

"Sure," Buffy said. "I'll see ya."

"Later B."

NYC…

Xander burst into his room waving a newspaper about frantically. "Spike, you up? You gotta come see this!" When no one answered he knocked on the thick wooden door of the bathroom. "Spike!"

A sleep ridden Spike came out of the bathroom, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. His platinum locks were still messy from a sleepless night of tossing and turning. "What do you want?" he asked around the toothbrush.

"You have to see this," Xander said thrusting the paper at his roommate.

Spike turned around and went back into the bathroom. He returned seconds later, without the toothbrush, and turned to Xander. "What the soddin hell do you want?"

"You have to see this," he ordered.

Spike took the paper and glanced down quickly at it. "It's the Examiner. What is this all about?"

"Look inside Sherlock," Xander laughed. "Page 12, theater section."

Spike flipped through the pages and finally stopped and began reading. "The newest Broadway play Falling Upward debuted last night," Spike read.

"Keep going," Xander instructed him excitedly.

Spike sighed and continued, "Female lead Marion Stritmatter shone in only her third Broadway performance…yadda yadda yadda…what's the point of all this?"

"Gimme that," Xander said snatching the paper away. "While his actual time on stage was limited," he read, "newcomer William O'Conner, a student at the prestigious Academy of Theater and Arts, delivered a wonderful performance as the witty and charismatic servant Eliot. We'll be looking for bigger and better things out of this one, so keep your eyes peeled."

Spike was awestruck. "My name…my name is actually mentioned?" Xander nodded his head in confirmation. "Gimme that!" Spike said taking the paper from his roommate. He made his way back to his bed, rereading the passage to himself. "Do you know what this means?"

"Yeah, it means you've got a real shot at this. You got your foot in the door and now you're not going anywhere," Xander said. "Gotta say, I'm very jealous."

"I can't believe this," Spike said still staring at the paper in his hands. "I've got to tell Buffy."

'That's the first thing he thinks of? Oh yeah, he's in love," Xander thought, bemused. "So are you gonna email her?"

"Nah," Spike said. "Think it's about time I give her a call. You know, return the one from last night."



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