Buffy decided to take a detour and patrol the cemetery near her house before going home. She needed to think and a few rounds with the undead would help clear her head. She encountered three vampires and killed all of them without even breaking a sweat like she always did.
The last one was Macy Higgins, a former friend of Cordelia's who kept teasing Willow when they were sophomores.
"Buffy Summers," she said. Macy's bleach blonde hair was sprinkled with dirt and she was wearing a skimpy black dress and high-heeled pumps. "They told me you were The Slayer." Macy and Buffy circled each other waiting for either to make the first move.
"And they told me you died choking on Josh Kent," Buffy retorted.
"That is, like, so not true!" Macy cried. "He bit me while I was going down on him! And I bit him back, hah!" How typical that she should die that way. And now Buffy had another name to add on her list, now that she knew Josh was a vampire.
"Oh, my bad," Buffy said sarcastically. "Why don't you choke on this, then!" Buffy leaped towards her and landed Mr. Pointy straight in Macy's heart.
"You were always a bissshhh," was the last thing Macy Higgins said before dissolving into dust.
"That's like the ash calling me gray," Buffy quipped before heading back home. Even slayers tired out once in a while, and right now, Buffy was more than willing to become a vampire just to drop dead for a while.
She arrived home fairly late and saw that her mom was still up cataloging some pictured in the living room.
"How was The Bronze?" asked Joyce Summers.
"Fun," Buffy said quickly before retiring upstairs.
"Honey, someone called for you!" said her mom. "A boy." Buffy's ears perked up and she sprinted back down the stairs.
"Who?" she asked a little too anxiously. It was probably Xander, but her mom knew him. If it was Angel, she didn't know what to think.
"It was Gage Patronzi," replied her mom. "He's been calling back every five minutes for the last hour."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him that I'd tell you he called, but he kept on calling anyway." Her mom didn't sound annoyed. Only mildly amused. But Buffy's senses went on major alert. She was about to run upstairs and put her shoes back on when an egg timer dinged on the coffee table and the phone immediately rang.
"I wasn't kidding about the five minutes," Joyce joked. Buffy went to answer the phone and heard Gage's deep voice on the other end.
"Hello, Joyce?" Buffy held the phone away and stared at it like it was a snake. She shook her head and finally answered him.
"You and my mom are on a first name basis now?" she asked.
"Oh, hey, Buffy," said Gage. If she didn't hear him breathing, she would have thought the line went dead.
"I'm waiting for your bloodcurdling scream of terror," she said flatly.
"Um, I was just calling to see if you got home safe. I mean, you should've gotten home like half an hour ago."
"So that's why you started calling an hour ago…"
"Sorry about that," Gage said. "I was just checking-"
"To see if I got home safe. Yeah, I got it the first time. Now, you've checked on me. I'm safe. Goodbye."
"Wait!"
"What? I have to go do my homework."
"Need any help?"
"Gage, what are you doing?"
"I...I can't sleep."
"So take an Ambien or something. Warm milk, whatever. Whatever knocks you out."
"Can you…Can you talk to me until I fall asleep?"
"What? I…"
"Please…" He sounded so vulnerable…
"You might need the phone for an emergency."
"It's my private line."
"Someone might call me…"
"Do you have call waiting?"
"Yes, but-"
"So you're good. Now, talk about something else."
"You're not gonna let this rest, are you?"
"Nope."
Later that night…
"…so you see, cheerleading's not for me anymore…" Beep. "Gage, can you hold on? I've got another call."
"Okay, but don't forget I'm on the other line!"
"How could I?" Buffy muttered before answering the other call.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Buffy. Just got home from the library. What happened with Gage?" It was Willow.
"Oh you know, the usual. Angel bit him. Wanted to turn him into a vampire to get revenge on me."
"Wow, Angel's really desperate if he's turning more and more vamps."
"Yeah and you know the strangest thing…" Beep. "Oh, man. Will, I gotta go. Let's talk about this tomorrow. Gage is on the other line." Buffy started pressing buttons but she forgot how to switch the lines.
"Wait! Gage is on the other line? Why? Wait? Is that splashing I hear? You're talking to Gage Patronzi on the phone while in the tub! Naked!"
"No, I'm not. Will I gotta go. Bye!" She pressed a few buttons and heard something click but she wasn;t sure it was the phone. Maybe she was getting carpal tunnel.
"Hello?"
"Gage! I thought… How long have you been on the line?"
"Just in time for the splashing," Gage replied a little teasingly.
"Okay, I just needed to take a bath, okay? And since you wouldn't let me put the phone down…"
"Hey, fine by me. Splash and be naked all you want." She heard him chuckling and it sounded kind of cute on the phone. Cute? Wrong direction of thoughts.
"Okay, that's enough. Hanging up now!"
"Okay, okay. I think I can sleep now, anyway."
"See you tomorrow at school, then. And call if something goes wrong, okay?"
"Sure and oh Buffy," Gage paused. "Thanks."
"No problem." Then they said goodbye and Buffy heard the click of the phone. She was still holding it towards her ear when…
"Gage sounds kinda sexy on the phone…"
"Willow!"
"Oh look at the time! So sleepy, gotta go! Bye!" Click.
"I gotta find that phone manual," Buffy grumbled as she stood out of the tub. She thought about Gage as she got ready for bed. He wasn't such a bad guy, most of the time. She learned a lot about him tonight but she felt like she was holding something back. He didn't want to talk about the tournament but he loved talking about the old days when his training wasn't as rigid. Buffy knew just how he felt. They didn't talk about the present, just the past. Maybe it's because they both knew that it was better in that time when they were carefree and a little bit happy.
She turned in for the night and fell asleep thinking, surprisingly, about Gage Patronzi.