Chapter nine – Underneath The Surface
Buffy was waiting tables, like she did everyday. She was at table eight serving Rona and Vi and catching up with them too, trying not to get into trouble by her boss Brian but he was hardly ever in to check on things and left thirty-two year old Ruth in charge and she wasn't scary, rather nice and friendly and easy going. Jayden had a shift there today and had about one hour left of the shift to go.
Jayden hadn't been feeling well the past day or so but he still turned up for work, he was a keen worker plus he wanted to really save up his money to get out of the town. He had lived his whole life nearly in Cherster. His sister ans brother had already had their chances to move away, even his parents and he was the only one left but one good thing was he got to live in the house.
Jayden leaned on the bench while he was waiting for some customers as his head starting to feel like it was throbbing. Ruth saw Jayden and thought he looked like he as in some pain.
Ruth walked up to Jayden, "If your not feeling too good, you can go home early, I won't tell Brian."
"No, No," began Jayden as he stood up straight, "I'll be fine for another hour until I go home. Plus it;s just about to hit peak hour and you'll need me here since Steven is stick and can't be here."
"Well it's really up to you but I don't want you dying in front of any customers, bad advertising for the place. Just imagine what Brian would say."
Jayden smiled and let out a little laugh and went off to serve table seven watching Buffy talking to two girls at table eight.
"Hey Buffy, I think that guy likes you."
"Oh not
you two."
"What?"
"I may have mentioned some guy from work to Willow and Xander and them and they think I like him."
"Jayden?"
"Yes Rona."
"The one staring at you for those past minutes?"
Buffy was silent for a second and then let out a sigh and said, "Yes."
"Seriously If a guy like that liked me I'd ask him out straight away. I mean look where we are living, I'm not paying you out Buffy but anyways there ain't many good guys in this town so gotta grab while ya can."
"I agree with Rona. Go for it."
"Vi and Rona, thanks for the nice suggestions and comments but he hasn't even mentioned anything like that to me or tried to and I don't want to misinterpret things he does or says."
"Who knows he might have mentioned something you don't even know it."
Buffy looked at Rona.
"Or he has tried to but got nervous, Guys can get nervous you know."
Buffy turned to look at Vi.
"I'll be going now to make you your order. I don't want to hear any more from you two," said Buffy pointing to them both with her fingers as she walked away still facing them towards the front counter and walked into someone.
Buffy had walked into Jayden and luckily he wasn't carrying anything but she knew what Rona and Vi would be thinking and talking about. Buffy sighed mumbled to her self, "so much for my waitressing skills" and then asked, "Ah, are you okay Jay?"
Jayden looked a bit disorientated.
"Ah maybe you should really be taking Ruth's advice about going home early, you don't look well," said Buffy as she put her reflexes to work and stopped him from falling over.
"No.."
Before he could finish the sentence Buffy moved him to the nearest seat and bent down to look up at him.
"No your not alright. Do you want me to drive you home?"
"Okay maybe I'm not alright. But I'm sure I'll be fine after I just sit here."
Buffy sighed. She had other customers waiting for her plus Jayden's now and walked off to finish her orders.
Ruth saw what happened and went over to Jayden while Buffy made Rona's and Vi's milkshakes and fries. Buffy sat down at the front bench counter after she had finished serving everyone she could to have a rest. She rested her head on the table part and starred over to Jayden's direction thinking about what Rona and Vi had told her earlier. Maybe he did like her, maybe he didn't. She thought he had a funny way of showing it. But what if he did fancy her? Did she like him back and was she ready for him? For a new guy in her life?
Moments later Jayden made the right decision to go home and Ruth helped him out to the taxi Buffy had called up for him. He probably wasn't in the best condition to drive home.
The trip home for Jayden was only at the most twenty minutes. He paid the taxi driver and the car drove away. As he went to walk down the path to his house Jayden nearly fell down in the gutter. The climax of the bad feelings and being unwell at work for the past few days was about to come. He staggered up to his front door and unlocked it. Jayden closed the front door behind him and put his back up against and it slid down till he was sitting on the floor with his back against the door. He felt like he might throw up but he didn't, he never even ran to the toilet just in case. It came as a rather sharp pain, not to the stomach, nor the hand but the head. Stab. A memory from the past, not the future or present bolted into the empty space. Blurry image of a young girl in a white dress looking rather pretty but Jayden did not have time to think about that. A man or thing with a disturbed face was in the surroundings as he let the girl drown to death. Stab. The memory left the empty space and a tear of confusion was released out of his left eye. The pain that he had felt earlier had disappeared. A picture of the girl remained clear in his mind. The unwanted memory gone. Was not his memory but Buffy Summers, waitress at Cuppa tea.
Buffy had finished her shift by now at Cuppa Tea and had arrived home to Willow cooking dinner while Dawn and Kennedy were having some childish fight. Buffy left Willow to handle that and had walked upstairs to lay down but before she made it to the bed she had accidentally tripped and fallen over a piece of clothing left on the floor in the hallway near outside her door way and her back was now against her bedroom door. Buffy slowly put her hand to her ankle where it seemed to be hurting but then the hand like instantly without an order rushed to her hand to hold it when it started to hurt. No headache, an unwanted memory. It was step back in time inside the head to a memory but in a way more than that. She was going over the moment in her head but it was like she was watching it from someone else's view or experience but at that moment when Buffy's head was hurting she did not have time to think about it thoroughly.
Buffy is frozen with fear. The Master waits a moment longer and then
bends down and bites her at the base of her neck. He drinks a few sips
and lets her go.
"Oh, God! The power!"
Buffy falls to her knees.
"And by the way..."
Buffy falls face down into the pool of water.
"I like your dress."
He steps over to the edge of his confines and pushes against the field.
He forces his hand through, and his confines break down in a burst of
light and energy. He starts up and out of his lair.
Cut to the tunnels. Angel and Xander see the light coming out of an
adjoining tunnel.
"What was that?"
"It's too late. He's gone up."
They break into a run for the Master's lair. Angel gets there first,
looks around and spots Buffy. He scrambles down to the floor and rushes
to her as Xander reaches the lair's entrance. Xander stops and stares at
Buffy in the pool. Angel reaches her and quickly pulls her out of the
water. He holds her and tries to listen for breathing. Nothing. He looks
up at Xander.
"She's dead!"
Xander looks down at them and swallows hard.
Half an hour later, Buffy has made her own way to her bed and Willow has called out to her that dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Kennedy and Dawn have stopped the childish behaviour and are talking about just general things. Buffy's phone in her room rings and she hesitates to pick it up but does anyways.
"Hey Bu-ffy, I need to talk to you."
"You sound serious Jayden. What's the matter? You feeling any better?"
"Oh I'm better from what I was at work and that when I went home but something else has come up."
"Oh and um what is that?"
"I know you died."
Buffy was shocked. She really was. How could Jayden possibly know anything about her dying at any point in her life. She had no idea how he got the information and she knew none of the people that knew would tell a stranger or someone they didn't know well. She also didn't know which time he was referring to.
"No I didn't," said Buffy. She didn't know what to reply with.
"You can't get out of this one."
"Well what is your proof?"
There was a silence.
"At the moment I can't tell you that information but I know you died and your friend Xander was there."
"How? Tell me how you have come to this conclusion? You just can't say something like that out of the blue."
"Maybe I should be asking the questions. Yeah I know people survive after drowning, mouth to mouth but you looked like you were dying, the real thing."
"What? What the hell are you talking about?" asked Buffy who was very angry and confused.
"Okay that may have come out the wrong way."
"Yeah maybe it did," said Buffy in reply and then she burst out with, "You have the nerve to say something like that to me especially if it's true you like me. What the weirdest way to show me you do."
"Who told you I like you? Was it Ruth?"
"Don't change the topic like that? I thought this was a serious topic?"
"But you brought up the liking thing and yeah I like you and that's why I want to know more about you and why I know you died or drowned or whatever. It is all very confusing, if I only I could explain what happened but I can't because..."
"Why can't you? It would make things that slight bit easier to understand and less confusing."
"I wish I could but not right now. I need answers. You'll ask me questions right now which I can't answer plus more and the questions will pile up."
"Well one thing I guess we can agree on is we like each other," said Buffy with a soft shy voice.
"Well at least that's a start but please tell me something about this serious matter Buffy. I can't go to sleep tonight without thinking about it, about you."
"I just want to know why, how you know this thing."
"Were you about to admit what I know was true?"
"Maybe."
"Well it looks like we won't be happy without the others answer."
"I've had a long day."
"So have I."
"A busy, confusing one."
"Me too."
"I'm hungry."
"I have a sore ankle."
"Someone's on the other line."
"Well that isn't the same for me."
"Can we agree on talking about this over lunch?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
"Well I just did and don't push it."
"Okay I won't."
"Promise me you won't investigate this further. I'll," Buffy took a deep breathe, "I'll explain everything tomorrow."
Buffy couldn't believe what she had just said. Maybe she really did have feelings for Jayden. Maybe her heart said what she couldn't tonight on the phone.
"I promise I won't. Where and when tomorrow?"
"Two o'clock, Millards."
"Millards, the old creepy park?"
"Creepy park?"
"You haven't lived here as long as I have. Weird things have happened here that have happened no where else. You wouldn't believe the stories that have been passed on around here about what has happened in the past."
"No matter what, still meeting at Millards Park, no matter what creepy stories exist in Cherster."
"Some aren't just stories you know."
Buffy quietly answered, "I'm sure their not."
"Well I better let you go, the other person on the line probably is getting mad and I'll try not to think about it tonight."
"Good. Take care. See you tomorrow."
Jay hanged up the phone in the hallway, "She likes me, but she admitted she died. I always fall for the weird ones."
"Hello, who is it?" asked Buffy.
"God Buffy, you really need to take a course at talking on the phone for short periods of time and saying goodbye quickly."
"Well I'm on the phone now and talking to you now Giles so that should be all that matters, right?"
Giles sighed, "Anyways I have some important news for you?"
"Wow, today is just filled with important news."
"Huh?"
"Oh never mind, um work related stuff."
"Ah okay then. Moving on. Willow's research from the other week pulled off and we had definite leads in Italy, England and Scotland. I'll being going to each place myself but first spending time in England."
"Would have suspected you would have liked to spend time in the mother country."
"Hmm, and I'll be sending over Andrew first off to Italy to check things out there."
"Andrew?"
"Yes."
"Andrew? Sorry but this is a shock to me. Why not Xander? Or Robin? Or Rona and Vi?"
"Woah slow down with the names. Andrew. I chose Andrew because he seems eager, has the potential for a job like this, has nothing much else to do except at the moment bother Xander all day long. Do you really want him around annoying Xander, annoying you?"
"Okay you may have thought this out better than I have. You have some good points."
"I did consider sending out one of the others Slayers but then I decided not to. I don't think it's the right time yet to be sending them out all around the place, well at least for now. When I'm done in England I'll head over to Scotland then to Italy back to England then home. My trip will have me away from Cherster for a few months. I know this is something you don't like me doing, going away but I will be back Buffy, it's not like I'm going away and never coming back."
"When will you be leaving?"
"Quite soon actually. On Monday."
"So that leaves you what, five days at the most left before you go?"
"Yes, that's right. That's the soonest I can go, plus I have a few things to organize while I'm gone and I have to get Andrew ready for his trip and make sure he knows what he is doing."
"What happens if everything falls to pieces and goes wrong while your gone again?"
"Buffy try and be optimistic, nothing will ever be like it was once before. Anyways Cherster has been quite dormant, awfully not active while we have all been here and it doesn't necessarily mean a ten times more worse evil thing is waiting for us, it could actually mean nothing at all. I have faith n you Buffy that even if something may go wrong you can handle it."
"You mean nothing is clouding my judgement right now?"
"Nothing. Now I have to go Buffy. I have a lot of paperwork to do, you understand?"
"Yes, I better be leaving you to it then. Anyways Willow will have dinner ready now waiting for me. Thanks for calling. Talk to ya later Giles."
"Take care Buffy. Goodnight."
Both hanged up their phones.
Buffy walked down stairs to see what was going in in the kitchen. Willow was serving up the dinner and Kennedy and Dawn were cleaning up in the kitchen and setting the table. Willow turned her head to see Buffy come in the room, "Who were you talking to on the phone?"
"Oh just Giles. He rang me to tell me that he's going to England soon."
Willow looked worried and stood still. Kennedy looked scared by Willow face expression.
"What's wrong Will?"
"It's just that last time Giles went away for a long time,"
"I know," said Buffy cutting in, "I already had this conversation with Giles and he convinced me nothing will happen and if it does I can handle it, we can handle it."
Buffy walked up to Willow to comfort her, "He's only going for a few months anyways and he's sending Andrew off too so that's a plus."
"Xander will be happy."
"Yeah he will. Hey speaking of Xander did he ring back yet?"
"What was he ringing back for again?"
"I asked him to ask Robin if he and Faith would like to go out for dinner with us three next week."
"Oh yeah that. Nope. Haven't heard back from him. Maybe you'll have to call them up yourself. If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you speak to them in the first place?"
"Xander had just mentioned to me the other day he had to talk to Robin about something so I thought it was easier if he asked then."
"Okay."
"Hey! Aren't I invited to this dinner thing?"
Willow turned Kennedy, "No. I'm sorry but your not meant to get offended by this. It was just going to bet he original gang."
"So no girlfriends allowed or something like that? Robin isn't original criteria if I'm not. And what about Faith?"
Willow turned to face Kennedy with the baking dish in her oven mit hands, "No there isn't a no girlfriend policy, but if your going to get worked up and be so jealous over something so small, I may think different of you."
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
Buffy and Dawn stood still in silence watching.
Kennedy threw her hands up in the air, "Suddenly I'm not so hungry." Kennedy walked off, grabbed her coat and slammed the door and walked out off into the street.
