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BAKAMAN: I don't know if that's gonna happen. It might. We'll have to see. I know the others aren't going to find out for a long time.
Chapter 6. Bad Girl
Buffy was waltzing around like she cared about nothing. She was shut off on the inside and the demon was making it just that more easy for her to brush off her friends and her mother.
The others were completely puzzled as to her actions. She was walking around like she owned everything and cared about nothing. Least of all them.
Buffy was deconstructing inside. She had to set up a whole new frame of mind. She did care about her friends; but she didn't want to care just then. She wanted to let go.
Every time she thought of it she cringed. What if she were gone and her firends had no one to protect them? And her mom would have no one.
No, she would hold on; but she didn't have to like it.
"Buffy? You in there?" Xander was waving a hand in front of her face.
She shook her head a little. "Sorry. I was thinking."
Xander opened his mouth to say something elsel but Buffy spied Angel standing in a corner. He was just standing there against the wall gazing into the crowd. She knew how he felt now.
She didn't want to look at him. It reminded her of the war she was waging on the inside. She looked over at Xander. "You want to dance?"
"Sure." Xander shrugged.
Buffy didn't mean to be so seductive. She really didn't. But at the time torturing Angel was too much fun.
Xander didn't know what hit him. It was like a Buffy triggered sensory overload.
Willow was watching incredulously. She knew her friend was going through something; but she didn't understand why Buffy was doing this to Xander.
After the song was over Buffy led the way back to Willow who was still trying to reconcile what she had seen.
Buffy begged off after sending a meaningful glance at Angel. Then Willow got it. She'd been trying to gauge Angels' reaction. Trying to see if Angel still liked her.
WIllow glanced over to the corner to see that he had dissapeared. She didn't blame him.
She and Xander talked about it, and he had come to the same conclusion while they had been dancing.
"She's just trying to make him jealous." Said Xander bitterly. "I wish she would dance with me like that without him being here."
"Xand, something's going on with her. I don't know what; but something."
Buffy was stalking through a cemetary looking for something to beat up. It wasn't fair. Nothing was fair. The only guy she wanted was undead, and no one could know her biggest secret. Absolutely no one.
She was pounding the hell out of a newly risen vampire when a voice came from behind her. "This is the part where you stake him."
She staked the vamp as hard as she could, and turned her fury on the tall dark haired vampire.
"What do you care if I let loose a little energy?" She spat. She fought for controll over the demon and won. Her face remained normal.
"You were getting sloppy." Angel said, choosing not to rise to her bait. "That's the way to get killed."
"You'd know all about that wouldn't you?" She replied, deliberately choosing one of the snarkiest things she could think of.
For a second Angel looked a little hurt; but he plowed on, "You should know, the annointed is gathering the things he needs to bring back the master. If he rises again, I don't know if anyone could beat him."
Buffy smirked. "Let him come. I'll kill him just as dead as last time." She dissapeared into the darkness, for once leaving Angel the one confused.
Xander and Willow were at the library talking to Giles.
"Giles, something major is up with her. She's just not acting like herself." Willow was saying.
"Yes." GIles replied. "I noticed she seemed apathetic aand edgy. I fear she may have lingering psycological damage to work out."
"Maybe we should talk to her about it." Said Xander.
"Not just yet." Said Giles. "It might have the opposite effect we were hoping for. I'll have a word with her when I feel she is ready to talk."
"Giles! We need to talk!" Buffy sauntered into the library, twirling a stake in her hand. "Oh hey, I didn't know you guys were here."
"What is it, Buffy?" Asked GIles, cutting off any reply Willow and Xander might have made.
"I just ran into Angel in one of the cemetaries and he said that the annointed one is gathering things he needs to bring back the master."
"Oh dear." GIles said.
"Yeah I was thinking we might want to nip that in the bud." She said offhandedly, examining her stake closely for any flaws.
"Um, indeed." Replied GIles. "Do you think you could find out where they are? And we'll stay here and look up what the ritual entails."
"You got it." Replied Buffy. "Later."
She was gone as quickly as she had come. The remaining trio looked at each other and then got to work.
Buffy stared at the skeleton of the master. They had arrived in time to stop the ceremony. Her eyes never leaving the bones, she picked up the sledgehammer and began smashing them. She screamed out her frustraton with every swing.
After a few moments Angel stopped her and held her while she cried. She couldn't stop herself.
"It's okay." Angel said. "You don't have to be strong all the time."
'But I do.' She thought. The demon was silent. 'I have to hold it back. It can't controll me. It won't.'
The Next Day-
"What if they won't talk to me Giles? How I acted... I was so terrible to them..."
"Buffy. They understand. What you went through was something they can't imagine; but they were very worried about you. I'm sure everything will be fine."
The bell rang, and Buffy took a deep breath and walked to her classrom. She stopped at the door, took another breath and went in.
Willows face lit up in a smile when she saw Buffy.
'Well that's a good sign.' She thought.
"Hi guys." She said quietly.
"Hi. We saved you a seat." Said WIllow.
Buffy sat down and Willow immediately launched into a conversation about Cordelia. Buffy smiled as she listened to her frineds talk.
The annointed one stepped from the shadows, surveying the damage wrought by the teenage slayer.
"I hate that girl."
AN: Okay, you don't have to tell me that that chapter sucked. I already know it. LOL Sorry. I just had to get it out of the way. I hated that episode, and it put me in a bad mood. The only part I liked was the end with the annoying ones' lovely line. "I hate that girl." LOL That was very funny.