Chapter Twenty-Six: Disposable Girlfriends

"Come on Blake, I need to study." Joy insisted, pushing her boyfriend's wandering hands away from her body.

"You've been studying all night babe, give it a rest" Blake started nibbling at Joy's ear. "Besides, why do you even care about studying? I thought you hated school" He snapped her History book shut and shoved it off the table.

"Blake" Joy gave an exasperated sigh, pushed her chair away from the table and stood. "I can't handle you right now" She quickly gathered her books from the table and stuffed them into her bag. "When you feel mature enough to have me come over to study, then give me a call, but until then I'm going have to finish my homework alone at my own house."

"Come on baby doll" Blake reached for her hand. "You can study later! Right now, my parents are gone and we have the whole house to ourselves for the whole night if you wanted to stay..." He stood and drew her into his arms. "Don't you want to stay with me tonight" He kissed her neck. "I think we could have a pretty good time, don't you"

Joy rolled her eyes. "Blake, I'm not your baby doll, okay"

Blake grinned"Fine, have it your way, I'll call you whatever you want" He continued kissing her. "Just stay with me..." He put on his sweetest smile and kissed the tip of her nose. "Please"

Joy couldn't help but smile. He could be so cute when he tried, and there were times when she just couldn't say no to him. "If I agree to stay with you tonight, you have to promise me that I can have at least one hour to study in peace, without any distractions from you" She mock-glared at him. "Promise"

He nodded. "You can have two hours if you want! I'll make you dinner while you go and get all smart"

She laughed. "Fine. I'll stay"

"You won't regret it" Blake scooped her up into his arms and she gave into his passionate kissing for a few uninterrupted minutes before making him stop and begin dinner so she could finish her homework.

"Dawn I can't come tonight" Joy spoke quietly into the phone.

"What do you mean you can't come Joy" Dawn replied. "You promised Buffy that you'd come tonight! They've been waiting for you for a half an hour"

"I know, I'm sorry, but I can't make it tonight" Joy realized her voice had gotten louder and she quickly lowered it. "Please apologize to your sister for me. I didn't mean to make her wait for me, but something's come up."

"Where are you Joy? And why are you whispering" Dawn asked suddenly.

"Umm..." Joy hesitated. She peeked into the bedroom through the slightly opened crack of the bathroom door. Blake was sleeping soundly, tangled up in the quilts of his king size bed. She sighed. "I'm with Blake."

"What" Dawn gasped. "It's after midnight! Don't his parents care that you're staying so late"

"His parents aren't home." Joy explained slowly. "He asked me to stay the night with him."

"And you agreed"

"He asked so nicely, I couldn't just say no" Joy felt the need to defend. "He is my boyfriend, after all..."

"I thought the two of you were having problems." Dawn said.

"Well, what better way to help our problems than to spend a night together, right" Joy decided. "Besides, we've been together for a few months and we hadn't slept together yet. I figured it was about time."

Dawn gasped again. "Joy, I'm not sure that's the best reason to sleep with a guy"

"He's not just a guy Dawn, he's my boyfriend" Joy's voice was rising again. "I've got to go Dawn, I don't want to wake him up."

"Joy, come on" Dawn tried to talk some sense into her best friend. "Last week you didn't even want to go on a date with Blake and now you're spending the night with him! I don't understand you"

"You don't have to understand me Dawn" Joy was getting bored of having to explain her actions to her best friend. "Please apologize to Buffy and Rupert for me and tell them that I promise to come tomorrow night, okay? I have to go" she heard rustling coming from the bed and peeked out of the bathroom again. Blake had turned onto his back, his arms were stretched above his head. "Blake's waking up, I have to go! Bye Dawn." Joy hung up the phone. She glanced in the mirror quickly to smooth down her hair before returning to the bedroom.

Blake yawned and pushed himself up onto his elbows. He squinted in the dark bedroom. "What're you doing babe" He pulled back the covers and patted the space in bed next to where he was laying.

"I had to use the bathroom" Joy told him, strolling over to the side of the bed. "Did you miss me" Sleeping with Blake was funner than she had anticipated. She didn't know why she had waited for so long.

"Yea I missed you" He reached for her wrist and pulled her into bed. "Is this my shirt" He tugged at the baggy button-up shirt she had on.

"I got cold" Joy explained with a giggle.

"Couldn't you have put on your own clothes, Joy"

She laughed. "Sure I could have, but your shirt smells better" She kissed his bare chest. "You don't mind do you"

"No, it's just, that's my favorite shirt! It's also my nicest shirt" Blake explained. "I'd rather you didn't wear it."

Joy pulled back at his unusually harsh tone. "Okay...I didn't think it'd bother you so much" She quickly unbuttoned the shirt and tossed it on the ground. "Is that better" she asked sarcastically.

Blake instantly returned to his playful mood. "Yea, much better" He wrapped his arm around her bare waist and pulled her close to his body. "Now, where were we" He started kissing her shoulders.

"Actually, you were asleep." Joy wasn't in the mood to play anymore. He is so bi-polar!

"Well, I'm awake now" He nuzzled her neck with his nose.

"And I'm kind of tired now, Blake" Joy rolled over so that her back was turned towards him.

"Come on, one more time"

"Not right now Blake" She muttered. "I'm tired. Let's go to sleep."

"Joy, I thought we had a deal" Blake sat up in bed and rolled her over to look at him. "I let you have two hours to study, and I made you dinner, and I even let you choose the movie for tonight, and in case you didn't notice I'm not exactly a huge fan of Audrey Hepburn"

"What are you trying to say, Blake" Joy pulled the covers up under her chin. She didn't like how her boyfriend was looking at her.

"You owe me, Joy"

"I don't owe you anything" Joy laughed. "This is a mutual relationship, Blake. I shouldn't have to owe you sex" She frowned. "God, you act like you own me or something"

"We had a deal, Joy! I've waited for you to stop being so moral now for almost six months! It's never taken a girl that long to give herself to me" He grinned proudly. "Usually it only takes one date"

"Well, excuse me for having standards." Joy exclaimed angrily. "I'm not a slut Blake! I assumed you would have realized that"

"I did realize that Joy, I'm not trying to say that you're anything like that, but..."

"Yes you are" Joy pressed. "By saying that I 'owe' you, you're basically calling me your whore! Or your bitch, I'm not sure which. But, I'm not either of those things! Got it"

"Yea, I got it! Geez, why're you so uptight tonight" Blake tried to calm down his fiery girlfriend. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Whatever" Joy laid back down and rolled over onto her stomach. "I'm going to sleep."

Blake was silent. He was annoyed and he definitely wasn't satisfied, but he was silent. He let her fall asleep and then in the worst mood he had possibly ever been in, Blake eventually fell asleep as well.

"That was so not the night it was suppose to be" Joy complained to Dawn the next day in homeroom. It was the last period of the day and so far Joy had managed to keep her emotions covered up. "He was a complete jerk"

Dawn had her headphones on and she was doing her best to ignore Joy's whining.

"Aren't you listening to me"

"Sorry, should I be" Dawn asked sarcastically. "I'm sorry if I just don't care about your non-magical night of romance." Joy frowned at her friend. "You bailed on us, Joy"

"Look, I'm sorry I couldn't come last night. I already explained all that to you" Joy didn't see why this was such a big deal for you. Your sister's the slayer, it shouldn't effect you" Joy pulled out her cell phone. "If it's going to bother you that bad though, I'll call her and make it better right now. Is she at home" Joy waited for Dawn's nod and then dialed Dawn's home number. Buffy didn't answer. "Well, she doesn't seem to be home, but tell her I'll be there tonight, okay"

Dawn shrugged. "Yea, sure."

"Dawn I'm sorry, okay, what else can I say" Joy sighed. "I seriously don't think I've ever apologized this much for one mess-up" She scribbled down an answer to her trigonometry homework. "And it was a mess-up, trust me. I know I've had my doubts about Blake, but I never realized that he could be such a bastard"

Dawn sighed and relented to listening to her best friend's complaints. "I'm sorry that things didn't go as well as you had hoped, Joy."

"It was my fault, I guess" Joy didn't really believe that but she didn't know what else to say. She couldn't admit that perhaps Dawn had been right. "I shouldn't' have made him wait so long"

"What" Dawn exclaimed. "You honestly think that things would be better between you two if you had slept with him months ago? That's twisted" She wrinkled her nose. "You wanted Blake's respect, besides you're not a slut, your boyfriend just needs to realize that! If you ask me, he's the sleaze." She noticed Joy's pout. "Joy, what's up? You've never worried about pleasing him before. Usually you care only about yourself, and I mean that in a good way even though I know it sounded rude..." Dawn bit her lip.

"I know what you meant." Joy assured her friend. "So, do you think I was wrong to sleep with him at all"

Dawn shrugged. "I don't really like to judge, Joy. What you decide to do in your life with your relationships is completely up to you. Besides, we're not exactly on the same level when it comes to guys, you know."

"What do you mean" Joy asked. She assumed she knew Dawn's status with her boyfriend, but they had never exactly confronted the subject.

"You know that I haven't exactly done much with guys..." Dawn stated. "I mean, Colin and I haven't ever done the sort of things that you and Blake do. And I haven't done anything with any other guys either."

"I know that Dawn" Joy assured her friend. "I don't see why that's exactly relevant, though."

"I'm just saying that you've had more experience with me, I would never know how long you're supposed to wait in a relationship, or for that matter what age is good for a first time" Dawn smiled.

Joy frowned. "Umm...Dawn, Blake wasn't my first time"

Dawn hesitated"Oh, of course not, I mean, I assumed..."

"You thought that last night was my first" Joy grinned. "Wow, I've never realized that I portrayed the 'virginal' type." Joy laughed. "That's flattering, I guess."

"Have you slept with a lot of guys" Dawn asked slowly. "I'm sorry, that's none of my business"

Joy was surprised at Dawn's blunt question but she supposed it was about time for that conversation to be brought up. "I'm not a slut or anything Dawn."

"I know that" Dawn exclaimed. "I never thought that about you"

"Good, because I'm not" Joy shrugged. "My first time was about a year ago, with Henri."

"Oh, of course, I forgot how serious the two of you were."

"It was weird at first, you know, I worried that I was too young or that I wasn't ready, but after a while it just became regular and sweet." Joy shrugged. "I'm sort of surprised I made Blake wait for so long actually. Whatever, we did it now, and I kind of wish I hadn't."

"Because he was a jerk" Dawn had always known that Blake was the jerk type. She had known him for a lot longer than Joy had. But she did have hopes for his turning around when he had started dating Joy.

"Not just a jerk, but a complete bastard" Joy shook her head. "I should have known better! He's never been steady, he's always changing his mind about things. I never know what he's thinking or how he's going to respond to things." She sighed. "He's a crappy boyfriend, or maybe I'm a crappy girlfriend. I don't know anymore" Her eyes started tearing. "Why am I being so emotional! God, this whole week I've been an emotional wreck! It's got to be PMS or something, but still" Joy wiped at her eyes trying not to let anyone else see her tears.

"Joy calm down" Dawn took her friend's hand comfortingly. "You're a great girlfriend, and I'm sure that Blake doesn't mean to be such a crappy boyfriend..." she grinned and Joy smiled. "You guys are just having a difficult time with your relationship right now, but I'm sure you'll be able to work things out eventually."

Joy sighed. "I'm sure you're right" she added softly. "I hope."

"Okay, that's it! Forget training tonight, you are in need of some fun" Dawn glanced at the clock and started packing her homework up in her book bag. "In a few more minutes the bell is going to ring and we are going to haul ass out of this stifling school and prepare for a night of partying" Joy tried to smile but she couldn't let herself be as lighthearted as Dawn was. Dawn noticed her apprehension. "Joy, come on, it's Friday, you don't have cheer practice, and we're going to celebrate without any worries about boyfriends."

Joy nodded"Fine." She followed suit in packing up her schoolwork. The bell rang and the girls bounded out of the classroom and down the hall. "I just have to make a quick stop at my locker, okay" Dawn followed Joy until the young slayer came to a sudden stop.

"What's wrong, Joy" Dawn came to her friend's side to see what had stopped her.

"I don't understand...I thought that he..." Joy lost whatever she was trying to say. A few yards in front of them Blake was leaning against the lockers, bracing himself with his hands against the metal, and his arms were positioned on either side of a girl. Joy couldn't tell who it was at the moment, but she could hear the giggle and she could see the grin on Blake's face. Joy felt sick. "But last night we..."

"Maybe it's not what it looks like, Joy" Dawn tried to comfort Joy.

At that moment, Blake leaned into the girl against the lockers and their lips meshed together.

"Yea, I'm sure it's nothing." Joy rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Joy" Dawn gasped at the display in front of them. "He's such a jerk" Blake moved his arm enough for the girl to be identified and she shook her head. "Katie, of course. We should have known it was her! She's such a skank"

Joy shook her head. "It's not her fault, I'm sure. It's Blake. He's the loser. She's just the pathetically dumb cheerleader who doesn't know any better."

"Do you want to beat him up? Because if it would make you feel better, you can. I won't tell anybody." Dawn suggested.

Joy was still trying not to cry but Dawn's suggested made her smile. She shook her head. "No, he's not worth it." In the next moment though the girls witnessed Blake's hand take its place on Katie's backside as he went in for another kiss. "You know what? Screw it! He's worth every drop of blood I'm going to wring out of him" Without waiting for Dawn's response, Joy rushed forward and grabbed onto her boyfriend's arm. She yanked him away from Katie and through him hard against the lockers along the opposite wall.

"Joy" Blake's eyes widened at his girlfriend's rage. "What're you doing here..."

"You mean here at school? Or here breaking up your little make-out fest with Katie" She was screaming and every student in the halls had their eyes on her.

"Joy, calm down, baby..."

"I am not your baby" Joy punched him hard in the face, a little harder than she had intended, and blood instantly spurted from his nose.

"Bitch" Blake yelped as he covered his obviously broken nose with his hands.

"And I'm definitely not your bitch" She punched him hard in his stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

"Joy! Stop it" Katie was screaming hysterically. "Leave him alone"

Joy spun around and glared at Katie hatefully. The redheaded cheerleader instantly silenced and cowered away from the ferocious blonde.

Blake tried to defend himself verbally. "It wasn't what you think, Joy" He lied. "We were just talking! Come on sweetheart, you know I really care about you"

"Like hell you do" Joy punched him again and he shrieked. "In case you aren't smart enough to figure it out, we are so over" She kicked him one last time before storming off down the hallway, pushing past all the staring students. "Dawn are you coming" She called over her shoulder to her friend.

"Right behind you" Dawn was trying not to laugh as she passed the whimpering jock and caught up to Joy. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you're going to be in for that" She whispered as they tiptoed past the principle's office and ran outside towards the parking lot.

"I've been in trouble before" Joy shook her head as tears burned her eyes. They weren't exactly sad tears though, the truth was she couldn't care less about losing Blake. They were more tears of hate or at least anger. She couldn't stand the way she had let him play her.

"Joy" Dawn tried to catch up with her friend's fast pace. "Wait up" Dawn managed to catch up with the speedy slayer as she fumbled with her car keys. "Joy" Dawn stopped her.

"What" Joy shouted. She didn't mean to reply so loud or so harshly, but she was so upset that she couldn't help it. "I'm sorry, I mean what" She asked more softly.

"Are you okay, Joy" Dawn asked with genuine concern.

Joy took a deep breath. "I'm fine, Dawn."

"Well, you know, I was just asking because you just beat the crap out of your boyfriend back there, and that's not something that happens everyday" Dawn reminded her best friend.

"I'm fine, Dawn" Joy shook her head. "And he is not my boyfriend" Her eyes were watering, but Dawn couldn't tell if it was with sadness or anger.

"Alright, we're going to my house and we are having a serious girls' night." Dawn decided, going around to the passenger side of Joy's car.

"I'm not sure if..." Joy started to protest.

"Nope! I don't want to hear any of your excuses. Whether you like to admit it or not, you're going through something tough right now and you need your best friend to cheer you up. And, I know you're not my sister's biggest fan, but if there's anyone who has experience on bad break-ups, it's her." Dawn persuaded.

Joy nodded. "Fine. I'll go with you, but I'm not in the mood for any of your sister's training talks."

"Deal" Dawn smiled. "I'll make sure she is aware of that."

"This sucks." Joy decided as she drove out of the school and towards the Summers' house. "I never thought I'd be running to your sister for cheering up."