Chapter 16- Girlfight
Buffy went to sleep that night, her face flushed with anger and embarrassment. Her bras were hanging around the room, thawing. Thank God Spike had left before all of that happened. But everyone in the house knew about it. Darla had said that 'someone' put all of Buffy's bras in the freezer.' Too bad she was stupid enough to say that. They guys knew it was her because everyone in the house except her was friends with Buffy and would never do something like that to her
She woke up the next morning not feeling much different. But last night she'd been thinking of ways to get back at Darla. She's gonna pay for this. Buffy vowed silently as she put her bras away. And she couldn't help but go out in the middle of the night to get a little revenge.
But what she didn't know, was that Darla was planning as well. She was dead set on making the rest of Buffy's life a living nightmare. And with her ideas, she very well could...
Buffy and Willow walked downstairs together. Everyone except Darla was there, either watching TV, eating breakfast or playing with the dogs.
"Happy Fourth of July, sleepyheads." Xander said, grinning.
"It's July fourth?" Willow asked. Xander nodded. "Huh. I didn't even realize it."
Buffy just grunted and padded into the kitchen. Willow sighed and smiled apologetically and went to the kitchen to join Buffy.
"What do you want?" Willow asked, looking through the refridgerator.
"Nothing from the freezer."
"Agreed. How about cereal?" Willow asked.
"Sure." Buffy replied and sat down at the kitchen table. Willow joined her seconds later with two bowls of Lucky Charms and two glasses of orange juice.
"What are you going to do to her?" Willow asked.
Buffy knew good and well what she was talking about..."What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. And I know you, you're not going to let this go- And I don't blame you. I know you've been thinking about it." Willow said, grinning slightly.
Buffy grinned too. "Hmm...I never reveal my secrets. You'll just have to wait and see." She said slyly.
"Oh, come on! The suspense'll kill me!" Willow said, laughing now.
Buffy shrugged. "You'll see..." Both the girls giggled and headed into the living room when they'd finished their breakfast. Darla still wasn't there.
"Hey, do you guys wanna watch the fireworks over the beach tonight?" Cordelia asked. Apparently that's what everyone was talking about when Buffy and Willow were in the kitchen.
"They're supposed to be really good." Dawn added.
"Sure." Willow and Buffy said simultaniously, then giggled.
Darla finally came trudging down the stairs, looking like she'd been run over by a truck the night before.
"Sorry I'm late." Darla said sarcastically. "I couldn't sleep. Someone had music playing loudly all night." She grumbled. "But everytime I looked out the window no one was there."
"I didn't hear anything." Angel said, sounding curious.
Buffy suppressed giggles and just stared at her hands. Willow looked over at Buffy and nudged her. Buffy nodded her head slightly and the two girls tried to hold in their laughter. Last night Buffy went out and placed a portable radio outside on the ground, behind a bush, directly below Darla's window. The volume wasn't turned up high because she didn't want the neighbors getting mad. But the bass was turned up enough to keep Darla awake all night.
Darla glared at Buffy and Willow, who were trying not to smile and giggle. "Whatever, I'm getting breakfast." She left the room and went into the kitchen. Buffy and Willow burst into laughter- Quiet laughter, of course. Darla would hear them if they laughed in a normal tone. Everyone realized it was Buffy who committed the crime against Darla and smiled as well. Even Angel cracked a small smile. But he seemed too distracted to do much else.
Everyone decided to head down to the beach for a little while.
"I can't find my sunscreen." Buffy said as she searched the room for it.
"You can use mine." Willow offered after she finished putting it on herself.
"That's okay. I found it." Buffy said, retrieving the bottle from her suitcase. "I forgot I left it in here..." She applied all over and the girls were ready to go. Willow and Oz walked hand in hand along the shore, occassionally walking in the water or swimming in it.
Dawn, Connor, Cordelia and Connor threw a frisbee around and took turns wading in the water to get it when it fell in.
Darla had pulled Angel down on the beach blanket with her and was furiously making out with him. Then, she decided she was bored and sat up, reapplied sunscreen and layed out on the blanket to tan in her itsy bitsy teenie weenie... purple polka dot bikini...(gotcha... ;) )Angel walked over to where Buffy was sitting by herself with her knees tucked in to her chest and the water coming up, tickling her feet.
"Hey." Angel said, squating down next to her. She didn't respond. Angel could tell she was still upset about what happened at Sadie's yesterday. And he didn't really blame her...He just wished she could forgive him...
Out of nowhere, Buffy said: "I'm thinking of inviting Spike to watch the fireworks with us."
It was Angel's turn to be silent. He nodded, stood up and walked over to Dawn, Connor, Xander and Cordelia to play football with them.
Buffy glanced over at him and noticed that she was getting a sunburn. i That's weird. I just put sunscreen on... /i But she got the bottle from beside her and re-applied it. When Willow and Oz came back, Ox went to play football and Willow went to sit by Buffy, who was still by herself.
"How are you holding up?" Willow asked, nodding to Angel. Buffy just shrugged and Willow stayed off the subject, seeing that her best friend didn't want to talk about it.
"Whoa. Ouch." Willow exclaimed, looking at her sunburnt shoulders and back.
"What?" Buffy inquired.
"You're as red as a lobster. I thought you put sunscreen on." Willow said, clearly confiused.
"I did. I don't know what's up. I just re-applied it." Buffy said.
"Lemme see the bottle." Willow said. Buffy handed her the bottle and she inspected it. She opened it and smelled it. "This definitely isn't sunscreen." She replied.
"What?" Buffy asked, taking the bottle from Willow and smelling it.
"It smells like the coconut hand lotion in the bathroom." Willow said.
"You're right..." Buffy confirmed. She glanced up briefly and saw Darla giggling and looking in their direction.
"That bitch..." Buffy mumbled. "She must've switched it this morning when we were downstairs." Buffy said incredulously.
"That evil thing..." Willow scowled.
"I know! Let her have her moment of pride now. 'Cause I'm gonna get her back for this, don't you worry." Buffy threatened, glaring in Darla's direction. She put on some of Willow's sunscreen. Soon, she and Willow went over to join in the game of football.
Buffy nudged Willow lightly on the shoulder and motioned to Darla who was fast asleep. She and Willow stepped away from the game.
"Come with me for a sec. I know how to get her back." Buffy said, grinning. The two girls looked around in the sand and in the water until they found two very large- very angry- crabs. They walked over to the sleeping Darla. At the same time the girls gently placed the crabs on Darla. One on her stomach and one on her chest.
When the crabs started scuttling around and pinching her, Darla awoke with a jolt...and an ear-piercing scream.
"Get them off, get them off, get them OFF!" She jumped up and started swiping at her stomach and chest even though the crabs had fallen off long ago. Buffy and Willow had backed up into the football game before she woke up. But Darla knew, and shot Buffy an icy glare. Angel came over and Darla grabbed him and hugged him tightly then started making out with him again.
"Oh, goody- i This /i again." Cordelia sighed. "At least that's not me anymore."
The teens stayed on the beach for a short while after that. Darla was complaining that she couldn't stand it in the heat, yet she refused to go in the water. So everyone except Darla went into the pool. Then Darla decided to take a walk around the area.
"Be careful, girls have been going missing around here." Buffy said bitterly, half wishing she would get kidnapped...or even killed. Whoa...Maybe that's going too far. She decided. She didn't want her to get killed...Just get hurt alot. But Darla insisted that she would be fine and could find her way back. If not she had her cell phone practically glued to her hip at all times.
So everyone waved goodbye and Darla left.
Once again, Xander was trying to pull Cordelia into the pool and Dawn was trying to protect her. With no avail, of course. Xander pulled her in easily and swam around the pool with her slung over his shoulder. Everyone watched in amusement.
Somewhere in the area...
Darla strutted into a local petstore, knowing exactly what she was looking for. And she found it too. She walked up to the register and placed a fairly large jar on the counter.
"Moths?" The man at the register asked.
"Yeah...I'm gonna feed them to my... parakeet." Darla smiled sweetly, having no idea what she was talking about.
"Okaaaay, good luck with that." The man said as he bagged the jar and handed it to Darla. She stepped outside into the sunshine. She needed to make another stop. To a drug store- Anything would do. So she stopped at the first Wal-Mart she passed and found what she was looking for quickly.
She then went to the 'ten items or less' line and placed the small box on the counter by the cashier. On the screen it read: 'Food Dye'. She paid and left the store quickly.
She wanted to get a salad or something to eat before heading back. i At least I don't have to eat left-over pizza again. That was gross. /i She thought with disgust.
Back at the House
"Mmm, good ol'e left-over pizza." Xander said as he piled slices of pizza on his plate. Everyone was out of the pool and getting pizza, chips and soda for lunch. After that, everyone was dry so they just threw clothes over their bathing suits, because they'd probably be getting wet again. Then they played video games in the basement.
"Ah, The Simpson's Road Rage." Buffy observed as she, Willow and Dawn came down the stairs into the basement. Cordelia was already there, playing the game and sitting next to Xander.
"Wow, this old guy is fast." Cordelia said.
"Hey, it's Ralph." Dawn pointed out, giggling as Ralph said 'Can you take me home? The leprechaun tells me to burn things.' Everyone esle laughed too. Ralph was the best...
Cordelia was good at the game too. She'd made over seven thousand dollars picking people up and dropping them off in the game. She i almost /i made more money than Oz. Almost.
When it was Buffy's turn Angel commented on how good her driving skills were. She never took her eyes of the screen.
"I'm going upstairs to practice." Angel announced, leaving the room.
Darla came into the house without knocking, so no one knew she was back. She slipped into her room to put her purchases someplace safe. Then she grabbed something out of her suitcase- Her poloroid (Thank you, angelsbabigiurl08. lol ;) )camera. Then she walked down the hall into Angel and Connor's room. She stopped momentarily to listen to the rythmic drum beats. Then she barged in with her camera, then seconds later the music stopped abruptly.
Everyone except Darla and Angel headed into the living room to watch a little TV. Eventually Darla and Angel re-appeared and joined everyone esle. Angel smoothed his slightly disheveled hair.
Very soon the teens got bored and started planning out the rest of their day. First, they would walk around all of the little shops down by the beach. Next, they would stop for something to eat, then they would go swimming under the stars until the fireworks started up, so it was a good thing everyone still had their bathing suits on under their clothes.
They were about to head out when Buffy remembered something.
"I need to call Spike." She said, pulling her cell phone out of her purse. She walked through the sliding glass door and out onto the pati to call Spike. A few minutes later she returned.
"Spike's gonna meet us by some of the shops near Sadie's. But he can't stay for the fireworks." Buffy announced.
The teens headed out and coupled up. Dawn with Connor, who was also with Xander to avoid suspicion. Xander was walking hand in hand with Cordelia, as were Willow and Oz. Buffy walked along with Willow, after Willow insisted that she wasn't infringing on the couple's together time. Angel and Darla brought up the rear seeing as Darla wanted to look in every shop because she'd find something 'so cute that she couldn't live without it'. Of course she dragged Angel into these shops with her, so the two were a good ways behind everyone else. But atleast they wouldn't get lost. There was a place Xander suggested they eat at, but it was about 5 miles down the beach, and you could find it just by walking the whole way on the sidewalk they were currently on.
Fifteen minutes into their walk, Buffy spotted Spike leaning up against a shop, waiting for them. She greeted him with a hug and a kiss- And she waited until Angel caught us, just to make sure he saw. He saw, and had to fight to keep his emotion in check.
The group walked for about three hours and looked in shops for about an hour and a half-total. Excluding Darla and Angel. Finally they made it to the place Xander was talking about. It was an old-fashioned burger place called "Johnny Rocket's" Buffy and Dawn immediately liked it, seeing as they had that thing about old-fashioned restaurants... The teens looked at their menus and picked out what they wanted.
Darla looked up from her menu, a look of frustration and disgust on her face. "Everything on this menu has a zillion calories. I'll just get a water." She announced. Everyone just kind of ignored her. Everyone finished eating their food and paid- Which the guys did of course, to be all gentlemanly and such. The Spike had to leave. His band was practicing a few new songs and he needed to be there. So he and Buffy said their goodbyes, with another kiss Buffy made sure Angel saw.
Then the nine remaining teens exited the restaurant just in time to catch a gorgeous sunset.
"Wow." Willow whispered in awe. Oz wrapped his arms around her waist.
"No matter how many times I see this, it i never /i gets old." Cordelia said, repeating what she'd said the second time she watched the sunrise. Sunrise, Sunset- they were both equally beautiful in her mind. And Dawn, who'd witnessed the sunrise and sunset on the beach with Cordelia, agreed.
Xander came up behind Cordelia and hugged her tightly, so she couldn't escape and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I love you." He whispered.
"I still love you more." Cordelia grinned.
Connor and Dawn stood beside each other awkwardly. Cordelia felt so bad for them, having to hide their relationship and all.
Darla was making out with Angel again, totally ruining the beautiful moment. But everyone ignored them. They were getting pretty good at that actually...
Buffy stood off to the side a little bit, alone. Dawn saw this and walked up to her sister.
"Hi." She said softly.
"Hey." Buffy returned. Even though she hadn't told Dawn about her and Angel, Dawn had enough sense to know what was going on. She moved closer to her sister and they stood together, comforting each other without words. Just knowing the other cared was enough.
"C'mon, let's hit the beach." Xander said. When everyone reached the water's edge the sun was almost set. Everyone stripped their clothes off, and the guys took yet i another /i moment to drool over the girls. Hey, they're guys, what'd ya expect?...
Angel tried not to stare...at Buffy. He wanted her so badly. Maybe she'd forgiven him...
"Hey." Angel tried for the second time that day to confront her. She nodded and smiled a little bit. "So...Have you decided if you're gonna let me out your heart back together?" He asked sincerely. She smiled bigger.
"We'll see." She said slyly, grinning widely now. Angel just encircled his arms around her for a moment, before releasing her and they both ran into the water together. She thought of Spike for a moment, but then looked over at Angel, who was smiling at her and her thoughts of Spike disappeared.
Then Darla came crashing into the water. She waded over to her and Angel. Instead of jumping on Angel, like usual, she just swam around. Then she jumped on Angel. Buffy swam over to where everyone was clustered.
"They're at it again!" Cordelia observed with a hint of disgust in her voice.
Soon, the fireworks started, and Darla and Angel joined the other teens. Xander was right-it was a brilliant, colorful display of lights, bursting in all sorts of different shapes and patterns. It was just another memory that everyone would take with them at the end of the summer. Xander managed to grab his camera out of his pants pocket during the fireworks and snapped a few pictures of them and his friends. The show lasted for about an half an hour. The teens stayed for another half an hour or so in the water, then walked home.
Everyone was glad when they made it home. They were exausted after walking so much and were all ready for bed. But instead of lying down in bed and going to sleep, Buffy was greeted with a horrible sight in her and Willow's room. She shrieked. "Darla!" She shouted angrily. Willow, Cordelia and Dawn rushed upstairs to see what was wrong.
When they saw what Buffy was staring at, they too were angry. There were at least thirty photographs on the floor around Buffy's bed, on her pillows, on and i in /i her suitcase, on her nightstand and even under the covers on Buffy's bed. A closer look at the pictures revealed that ALL of them were of Darla and Angel making out. It showed them in different positions and different angles. (Angel didn't notice her taking the pictures, ot he would've stopped...Can you blame him? he had his eyes closed...)
And so the war continued...
