Chapter Two: Jealousy

The gang had reconvened back inside the club, where Faith had joined them. Buffy watched the new Slayer as she tucked into a plate of hot wings and regaled them with a story of her calling. She sighed; thoroughly bored with the girl and the way she was captivating her friends. Spike, especially, had been ignoring her, his gaze never leaving the brunette.

Buffy was jealous.

'The whole summer it was, like, the worst heat wave. So it's about a hundred and eighteen degrees and I'm sleeping without a stitch on.' Buffy didn't even glance up to see Spike and Xander's eyes light up simultaneously. She did however catch Cordelia's exasperated glance. 'And all of a sudden, I hear this screaming from outside. So I go tearing out, stark nude, and this church bus has broke down, and there's these three vamps feasting on half the Baptists in South Boston. So I waste the vamps, and the preacher comes up, and he's hugging me like there's no tomorrow, when all of a sudden, the cops pull up and they arrested us both.' Buffy rolled her eyes as her friends started laughing.

Xander nodded intently. 'Wow, they should film that story and show it every Christmas.'

Cordelia turned, looking at him pointedly and folding her arms. He ducked his head and looked for support from Spike, who completely ignored him. Faith grabbed another hot wing and chomped down hungrily.

'God, I could eat a horse. Isn't it crazy how slayin' just always makes you hungry and horny?' The gang turned, looking to Buffy, who looked up and blushed.

'Well…sometimes I crave non fat yoghurt afterwards…' She trailed off.

A look of sudden revelation washes across Cordelia's face, and she smiles.

'I get it.'

Faith gave her a confused look, and the cheerleader raised a hand, proceeding to explain.

'Not the horny thing. Yuck! But the two Slayer thing. There was one, and then Buffy died for, like, two minutes, so then Kendra was called, and then when she died, Faith was called.' The rest of the gang stared at Cordelia like she was a moron, having figured that out about an hour after the rest of them. Faith nodded and Cordelia looked decidedly pleased with herself as Willow frowned.

'But why were you called here?'

'Well, I wasn't. My Watcher went off to some retreat thing in England, and so I skipped out. I figured this was my chance to meet the infamous Buff and compare notes.' Buffy smiled at her and Faith grinned back. 'So, B, did you really use a rocket launcher one time?'

'Uh, yeah.' Buffy seemed excited for a moment at getting chance to tell her own tale. 'Actually, it's a funny story. There was...'

Xander interrupted, his eyes still focused on Faith. 'So what was the, uh, story about that alligator? You, uh, said something... before.' Buffy sat back, annoyance crossing her face. Her gaze drifted to Spike briefly. Jealousy flooded her as she realised he had developed a thing for the new slayer already. He was unusually quiet.

'Oh, there's this Big Daddy Vampire out of Missouri who used to keep them as pets. So he's got me rasslin' one of 'em, okay? The thing must have been twelve feet long and I'm...' Xander raised a finger and leant in a little, interrupting again.

'So was this, um, ahem, also naked?'

Faith rolled her eyes in a teasing manner. 'Well, the alligator was.' She laughed and Xander nodded, his own grin covering most of his face. Spike chuckled and sipped from his drink, his eyes not leaving the brunette slayer.

Cordelia frowned and poked her boyfriend hard. 'Xander?' he looked towards her and she glared. 'Find a new theme.'

Faith made a hand gesture and continued speaking. 'I tell ya, I never had more trouble than that damn vamp. So what about you? What was your toughest kill?' Buffy looked up, stunned by the question.

Spike looked to her briefly, his eyes flashing and she knew he was almost reading her mind. Her hardest kill had been to stab Angel and send him to hell. She thought for a second before speaking.

'Um, well, you know, they're all difficult, I guess.'

Faith waited for a story and took another drink. Buffy fumbled for a story that would impress her, finally remembering one.

'Uh...Oh! Oh, do you guys remember the Three?

They all looked back inquisitively and Buffy remembered that she was the only one who had fought the Three.

'That's right, you never met the Three. Well, there was three...'

Oz interrupted, his gaze falling on Faith in a curious manner.

'Something occurring. Uh, now, you both kill vamps, and who could blame you, but, I'm, I'm wondering about your position on werewolves.'

Willow placed her hand on Oz's shoulder and almost proudly stated; 'Oz is a werewolf.'

Buffy jumped in. 'It's a long story.' She grinned and Oz shrugged.

'I got bit.'

Buffy sat back, defeated once more. 'Apparently not that long.'

The second slayer considered this for a moment for speaking. 'Hey, as long as you don't go scratchin' at me or humpin' my leg, we're five-by-five, you know?'

Oz nodded and patted Willow's hand. 'Fair enough.'

Faith sat back, a confident look about her as she gestured to the blonde slayer. 'The vamps, though, they better get their asses to DEFCON ONE, 'cause you and I are gonna have fun, you know, Watcherless and fancy-free.'

'Watcherless?' Buffy frowned.

The other slayer returned the expression. 'Didn't yours go to England, too?'

Giles stood at the end of the table with his hands in his pockets, reminiscing about the gathering as the Slayerettes sat watching.

'There's a Watchers' retreat every year in the Cotswolds. It's a lovely spot. It's very s-serene. There's horse riding and hiking and punting and lectures and discussions. It-i-it's... it's a great honour to be invited.' His tone turned bitter. 'Or so I'm told.'

Faith tried to make him feel better, tapping the chuckling form of Spike in the chair next to her. 'Oh, it's boring. Way too stuffy for a guy like you.'

Buffy smiled. 'Um, maybe I should introduce you again. Faith, this is Giles.' She emphasised by pointing at her watcher. Willow smirked and Spike's chuckles increased, seemingly infectious as Xander started grinning widely.

'I see him.' Faith folded her arms. 'If I'd've known they came that young and cute, I would've requested a transfer.' Giles removed his glasses as the room fell silent. Spike and Xander stopped chuckling, their faces masks of horror. Buffy's eyes were almost popping out of her head as she leant back.

'Raise your hand if 'ew'.' She raised her hand to provoke her own statement. Xander began to raise his, but at a look from the librarian, pretended to scratch his cheek. Spike joined Buffy in her blatant defiance, sticking his hand up as far as it would go.

'Well, um, uh, leaving aside for a moment my, uh, youth and beauty, I'd-I'd say it was, um, fortuitous that Faith arrived when she did.' He picked up the paper, placing his glasses back on his face. Willow shot up her finger.

'Aha!' She exclaimed loudly, making the others look at her in bewilderment. She sank in her seat blushing. 'Sorry. I just meant...' she shot up her finger again. 'Aha! There's big evil brewin'. You'll never be bored here, Faith.' The slayer in question grinned at her. 'Cause this is Sunnydale, home of the big brewin' evil.' Giles shrugged and put the paper in front of Buffy and Faith.

'Yes, well, I don't know how big an evil it is, but, uh, two people have disappeared from the Sunset Ridge District.'

The slayers quickly scanned the article, Spike leaning over Faith to get a quick look. Buffy sat up, trying to ignore the close contact between the two. Spike was unusually quiet, his attention focused on the new girl in town. Buffy couldn't deny she was jealous, but then she had no claim on Spike and no right to feel that way. Still, his obvious attraction to the girl was making her uncomfortable and their earlier conversation seemed to have caused a rift between them.

'Well, I'm good for patrolling. Late-ish, though. I promised Mom I'd be home for dinner.' She handed Xander the paper. Willow nodded toward Faith while looking at Buffy with big eyes. Buffy turned her eyes to Faith, and got the hint. 'Um, to which you're also invited, of course, dinner with us.'

Faith stood, and swayed a little. 'Dyin' to meet the fam. I'm in.' She stepped backwards, bumping into Spike. He raised his eyebrows and grinned a little. Buffy turned around, not looking at the two, jealously rising in her gut again.

'Great! Great, then we can patrol, also together.' She said, looking to Willow.

'Hey, don't you have that health science makeup?' The redhead asked, and Buffy's face fell.

'Oh, yeah. Actually, I could use a little coaching.'

Willow stood up with her backpack, smiling. Xander grabbed his things from the counter and looked at his friend. Willow turned to Faith, gesturing to herself and Xander.

'You know, you can hang out with us while she's testing. You wanna?'

Buffy mumbled to herself, realizing she'd just become invisible to them.

Xander grinned and nodded. 'Say yes and, uh, bring your stories.' Faith looked at Spike, her eyes glinting mischievously and she nodded. The blonde grinned back, thrusting his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels. It was a gesture used frequently, and it either meant he was pleased with himself or impatient.

Buffy sat back down, her face a mask of frustration. Spike hadn't even given her a second glance. 'You guys go. It's fine. Fine! I'll just... sit.'

Faith stuck her thumb up at Buffy. 'Okay. Hey, later.' She motioned to Giles. 'We will talk weapons.'

She followed Xander, Spike and Willow out of the library. Giles watched her go before turning to Buffy.

'This, um, this new girl seems to have a lot of zest.' He smiled at Buffy, who grimaced back.

'Don't.' The blonde stated. The librarian went quiet, turning away to pick up a text book, one hand coming up to remove his glasses. He chewed on them thoughtfully before turning back to Buffy, who was still glaring at the library door.

'I-I-I've been having a little problem with the, uh, binding spell for Acathla. I-I-I'm lacking the, the requisite details to perform it correctly. Now, physical location. Acathla was facing south?'

'Mm-hm.' Buffy nodded, pointing to three invisible spots on the table Acathla, Angel, me.' She jabbed her finger through the air, as if impaling all three spots. 'Sword.' She looked up at him as he replaced his glasses back on his face.

'Now, see, that's what I thought, but I...' Buffy stood up, interrupting him.

'Giles, look, I've got makeup tests to pass, missing people in Sunset Ridge, and a zesty new Slayer to feed. Next time I kill Angel, I'll get Spike to video it. God knows, he'd love that.' She pulled her backpack on and headed out of the room without a look back.

Giles watched her go, confusing marring his face as regards to his Slayer's blunt attitude.

'And over here, we have the cafeteria, where we were mauled by snakes.' Willow pointed towards the door and Faith nodded. Xander and Spike trailed in the background. The tour was obviously intriguing Faith and she smiled as Xander butted in.

'And this is the spot where Angel tried to kill Willow.' He pointed to a spot in the hallway.

Spike jumped in as they approached the lounge area. 'Oh, and over there in the lounge is where Drusilla and her gang nearly massacred us all on Parent-Teacher night.'

Faith smiled as they carried on along the corridor. Willow ran ahead a little and turned, pointing to the stairs. 'Oh, a-and up those stairs, I was sucked into a muddy grave.'

The group pulled to a stop and Xander turned to Spike, raising his hand in a joking gesture. 'And they say young people don't learn anything in high school nowadays, but, um, I've learned to be afraid.' He smiled and Willow giggled as Spike returned the grin, Faith laughing slightly.

'You guys are a hoot and a half. If I'd had friends like you in high school, I... probably still would've dropped out. But I might've been sad about it, you know?' The three gave her an understanding smile and she grinned back. 'Hey, so what's up with B? I mean, she seems wound kinda tight. Needs to find the fun a little? Like you three.'

'Well, um, she...' Willow started and Faith noticed the frown on Spike's face. She decided to drop the subject and saw a drinking fountain behind the gang, which provided an escape. She pointed toward it.

'Oh. Water.'

The three turned as she walked past. Cordelia approached behind them and threw the slayer a dirty look. Xander had begun babbling to Willow once more.

'Oh, and then the alligator story! She's got something, doesn't she?' Cordelia snorted as she faced her boyfriend.

'What is it with you and Slayers? Maybe I should dress up as one and put a stake to your throat.' Xander grinned and took her arm.

'Please, God, don't let that be sarcasm.'

Faith turned as she finished her drink and bumped straight into Scott, who had just emerged from a nearby classroom. The brunette yelped a little and then apologised.

'Oh. Excuse me.'

'Sorry.' The new slayer eyed him curiously. 'I know you from somewhere.'

Scott recognised her and smiled. 'The Bronze. You're friends with Buffy, right?'

Faith held out her hand and Spike watched her body language. She was obviously flirting with the guy. 'Yeah. I'm Faith.'

The boy took her hand firmly and smiled again. 'I'm Scott. Nice to meet you.'

'Nice to meet you!' Faith said, with a slight jerk of the hips. She ended the handshake just as Buffy came hopping down the stairs and joined the now five some.

'Well, I'm two for two with makeup tests. Proud, yes, but also humble in this time of...' She noticed them all watching something and turned. 'We're looking at what?'

She turned and saw Scott talking and laughing with Faith.

Cordy snorted and turned away. 'Does anyone believe that is her actual hair colour?' She rolled her eyes in disbelief and walked away.

Willow leaned into Xander. 'I haven't seen him laugh like that. Hey, maybe Faith and Scott could hit it off.' Buffy frowned at her friend. 'I mean, if you're done with him.' She paused again, not noticing the wild grin that had spread across Spike's face and was fast becoming a rampant chuckle. 'Not that you used him.' She furrowed her brow and shut up while she still could. Buffy glanced at Spike whose grin disappeared immediately and she then looked back to the two brunettes.

'Well, I... hadn't definitely one hundred percent said no for all time. It's just, you know... You don't enter into these things lightly, you know. There's, there's repercussions to consider and...'

The three exchanged a look and Buffy caught it.

'Why am I seeing a look?'

Willow sighed. 'You really do need to find the fun, B.'

Buffy looked at the red head in surprise.

'Uffy.' The girl finished, a blush tinting her cheeks.

The blonde frowned and then sighed, heading over to the new slayer and the student. She plastered a smile on her face. 'Hey!'

Scott didn't look at all phased by her appearance. 'Hey, Buffy! Uh, Faith has been telling me tall tales.'

The blonde's smile widened and became obviously faked. 'She's funny.' She took Faith's arm. 'And she's leaving. We have to go.'

The disappointment on Scott's face was obvious. 'Oh...'

Faith waved at him and smiled. 'Bye.'

Buffy pulled her away and down the hall. Faith gestured back as they walked. 'He's a cutie. Is he seeing anybody?' Buffy ignored her and continued down the hall.