Chapter Two: Capoeira Without a Partner

"So, the deposit is already paid for and the view is great! It might even be better than my place."

Buffy had to agree, this apartment was nice. Too nice. "I...we...I can't let you get me this place!" As much as it pained her to let this place go, she had to put her foot down. "I haven't even been slaying and you're getting me this place?"

It had been two days since Buffy and the Mayor had come to terms. True to his word, Mayor Wilkins had gotten her reinstated in school, made her legal problems disappear, and wanted to get her this -very- nice condo. Not that Buffy had actually been back to school yet, mind you. No, big bad Slayer girl had been holed-up in the guest room at City Hall, which was more like a utility closet, hiding from the world.

Eventually, after many hours of trying to talk her out himself, the Mayor had to send in some of his bigger vamp "helpers" to drag Buffy out of the room. Buffy was actually pretty proud of herself for not dusting them out of habit. Reluctantly, she had only beat them senseless and admitted that she was being silly and promised to not be so pouty. Thus, how the blond currently found herself here in this fabulous apartment.

"Nonsense, it's perfect. The cometary is only a few blocks down the street, it's on your school's bus rout, and did I mention the view?" Wilkins made a broad motion to the giant bay window that was the highlight of the loft. "If you don't take it I just might!" he laughed.

Buffy tittered on her feet which was a sure sign serious Buffy was battling her inner valley girl. It was just one of many Buffy-isms the Mayor had picked up on over the last few days. "It's really not as much as you think it is. Lots of spooky things happen here and this place can't seem to keep tenants. The price is to die for." Finally he got a nod and he clapped his hands happily.

"Excellent!" The Mayor reached into his coat and pulled out an envelope. "And here is a little pay advance to get you settled."

Inside was a small plastic card and a set of keys. Buffy's eyes went wide at the credit card and she looked back up at the Mayor. He was already putting up his hands to forestall her objections. "Now, this is a non-argument. I've seen your bags, you have nothing! A teenage girl is supposed to have closets of clothes, right? You also need furniture and other things. I expect good work for this, though," he warned, "and good grades. Sick days can only get you so many excuses, you know."

Properly reprimanded, Buffy spent all of two seconds looking chastised before running around her new apartment. It was just so big! So much bigger than her room was. If her mom saw it...right, she wouldn't care anymore. That put a dampener on her enthusiasm but it didn't break the teen. No, two days of sobbing her eyes out in a closet she had exiled herself two was good enough.

"Glad you like it," Wilkins laughed. "So, I take it that you'll be going shopping for some furniture after school?"

That succeeded in dropping a cold bucket of reality on Buffy. "School? Now?" She turned around and looked at her watch, it was close to noon. "Classes are almost over...can't I just have one more sick day? It's almost summer!"

Wilkins shook his head and motioned to the door. "Come on, we'll lock the place up and you can come back later. You can catch your afternoon classes and get your finals retake schedule. It's already taken care of."

"Oh...yay. Finals that I didn't have time to study for." Alright, school wouldn't be that bad. Her friends were there, weren't they? It would be nice to see them again. And Giles! Giles would be there. He would be a rock in the storm. A tweed-covered rock, even.

Didn't make her any more confident. Unfortunately, all that inner monolog had distracted Buffy from making any sort of escape and now she was riding down main street in a limo.

Beside her, the Mayor was talking happily on a car phone. When he hung up, he chuckled to himself. "You know, fyarl demons and cell phones do not mix," Wilkins stated, "They end up getting all enthusiastic and then crushing it. Happens every time." He noticed that he was laughing by himself, not that he really cared, but his charge was looking a little depressed. "What? Not even a smile? Are you imagining it? A fyarl demon talking on a cell phone? That's funny!"

Buffy nearly jumped when the Mayor put a hand on her shoulder. "What?! Oh...yeah, fyarl demon." Had she ever seen one of those? Giles would probably know all about them or something. "You have other demons working for you?" the blond asked as she glanced at her new employer.

"They have to have some form of income," Wilkins responded. "If they aren't busy, demons are just like humans." Buffy recognized the tone and felt a lecture coming on. Unlike a boring book lecture, though, this sounded fairly interesting. The Mayor continued, heedless of the way Buffy was imagining him in a tweed suit, "If a demon has work, they won't be prowling the streets or acting anti-social."

"So you have a...demon work program? You're like the Herbert Hoover of the underworld, Boss." This time, Buffy did laugh. She could just imagine all the vamps lining up for a blood line and paving the streets of Sunnydale at night.

Wilkins chuckled along with the blond and shook his head. The things the kids came up with these days. "Wait, did you call me Boss? You don't have to. Mayor Wilkins is practically my unofficial nickname these days."

Had she called him Boss? Buffy didn't even notice. "Well, it's true isn't it? I'm an employee just like the rest of the vamps and demons. Just, you know, not evil or insane." It was a little grating being on the same level as a vampire, though. Buffy figured it was her Slayer part rattling the ole' saber. "I don't plan on being there long, don't get me wrong. I have more work ethic than a hundred year-old vampire." At least Buffy imagined she did. This was technically her first job.

"Of that, I have no doubt. Here's my cell phone number if you need to reach me." Buffy gave him a look at that which he didn't return. "Have a good day, alright?"

The limo pulled up to Sunnydale High's main round-through and idled as Buffy piled out. The few students who were outside for whatever reason stared as the creepiest girl in school waved goodbye to whoever was inside and strolled inside. Well, more like slinked. She slinked inside. It was still a proud slink.

Luckily for her, classes were in session. Buffy got to the school office easy enough and was displeased to find that she had to come back in tomorrow, the weekend, to take her tests. Snyder wasn't around to get on her case and for that Buffy was thankful. He was bound to be all angry because someone went over his head for once.

'I don't have to make my next class...' Buffy thought. What was one more class? Giles...could probably probably use the company anyway. 'I could use the company.'

Predictably, Buffy found Giles doing what he always did when he was barely hanging on to his sanity; recataloging everything in the library. Judging by how many books were strewn about Giles was majorly wigging. Not that Buffy could blame him, not in the least. Miss Calender had...god, how had Buffy possibly forgotten anything that had happened, even for a moment? She felt so disgusted at herself.

"...Giles?"

The Englishman paused mid-reach and the tome that was in his hand fell to the floor. "Buffy?" The small girl was wrapped up in a hug before she knew what was going on. She tentatively returned it before sniffling a bit and having to stop to grab a tissue.

Allowing his Slayer to compose herself, Giles just stumbled back until he hit the table and sat down. "How, you...where have you been? We've all been worried sick."

That was not an easy question. Although he hadn't said anything, Buffy was sure the Mayor didn't want his dealings to be public knowledge. "I've been staying with a friend." It wasn't a complete lie. "I'm sorry I didn't call or anything, it's just been-"

"-difficult. I know." Giles smiled sadly at the girl and took a deep breath. "Are you alright, Buffy? I mean, well, you know what I mean."

Buffy nodded, unable to do much more than that at the moment. "What does it matter?" she responded, avoiding the question, "Angel is gone and I'm back. The world can start spinning again."

The librarian didn't let her off so easy, though. "Now, many people have been worried about you! With everything that has happened, we were afraid-"

"Giles, have you heard anything from...Buffy!" Willow, Xander, Oz, and Cordelia chose that moment to walk the library. Or, in Willow's case, hobble. The foremost two stopped upon seeing Buffy.

Cordelia, however, was far less timid. "See, Xander? There she is. Now will you stop moping so much?" She casually brushed past the sheepish Slayer and pulled out some homework. For as oblivious as she seemed, Cordelia knew that no one was going to be going anywhere for awhile.

Buffy braced herself for yelling or possibly violence, but the only thing that happened were four arms wrapping around her. Willow was nearly in tears while Xander didn't feel like he was letting go anytime soon. "Guys! Buffy has to breath!" the blond squawked. That, and Xander's cast was starting to poke. Reluctantly the girl was released.

"Where were you?!" "Are you alright?" "What have you been doing?"

The girl raised her hands to silence her friends and took another deep breath. She had been expecting something like this but the barrage of questions was nuts. "Guys, guys, it's only been two days. Take a step back." Once they were a safe distance away Buffy sat down beside Giles and motioned for them to continue.

Willow was the first one to get a word in. "Are you alright, Buffy? We were worried." She shot a look at Xander that implied she was not happy with his choice of questions. He didn't look chastised.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's been...rough...but I got through it," Buffy replied. Two days spent sobbing in a broom closet? Rough wasn't the right word. "And, in regards to Xander, I was with a friend."

"A friend? We're friends! You couldn't call?" Xander asked. He was looking miffed.

Good for Buffy, she wasn't caring at the moment and ignored him. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't get in touch but...but...I'm not your business! I'm back, Armageddon has been all unarmed and is now just a regular safe geddon, and Angel is...dust. Drop it."

Unfortunately, Xander was never one to get the hint. "Drop it? You leave for two days, make everyone go nuts and expect us to just welcome you back?"

"Jesus, Xander! You're not my mother!" Buffy shouted as she jumped up from the table. She was clenching her fist and Willow interceded before her friend literally lost his head.

The young witch hobbled as best she could over to Buffy and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Sorry, Buffy. We're all just glad to have you back. Did you not get the hug? Hugs are good! Hugs are happy, non-violent!" Buffy calmed back down and smiled at the familiar Willow-babble.

"Xander does bring up a point, though," Giles, ever Mr. Serious, brought everyone back down to earth. "Have you, um, contacted Joyce? She was very worried."

Buffy huffed and plopped back down beside her watcher. "My mom kicked me out, what would she care?"

"I'll take that as a no," Giles mumbled. "Forgive me if this seems out of place, but are you...um...still a..."

"On the lamb? No, Giles, that's all been taken care of. No more threats of a bad wardrobe being held over my head." A happy smile eased onto Buffy's face as she thought about how fast that had been taken care of. "And I'm back in school. I'm all finals girl tomorrow."

On cue, the library doors leapt open and in stalked none other than Principle Snyder. The little troll did not look very happy. In fact... "You look like someone killed your favorite pet rat, Mr. Snyder," Buffy laughed.

The varying degrees of shock and horror ranged from quiet warning to full-on stuttering. Snyder didn't have eyes for any of them, though, and instead stalked right up to the smug Slayer with something akin to pure distiled hate in his stance.

"Summers," he growled, "I don't know what strings you pulled, I don't know who you fooled into buying your act, but...but..." the man was so angry he was literally shaking. "You can't do this to me."

Buffy's smile turned downright vicious as she gingerly hopped up and circled the sad little man. "But I did, didn't I? Right over your tiny, bald little head." The Slayer even patted it a few times before Snyder shoved her hand away. Buffy actually chuckled a bit and put her arm around the principle's shoulders and leaned in. "If you have a problem with it, you can always call our mutual...friend and bring up your concerns. I have the number to his private cell number, want me to dial for you?"

Unfortunately, Snyder didn't spontaneously combust. For a second, though, it looked like he was about to. "This isn't over, Summers. One day...one day the people will wake up and see you for the troublemaker you are."

"Yeah, until you do that could you leave? I have things to take care of. Bigger things than you need to be involved with." Snyder shook one last time before giving a glare at everyone present and stormed out of the library.

Before he left, though, Buffy called out to him, "You know, Principle Snyder, this is a special moment." The man turned on his heels and practically dared Buffy to continue. That just sealed the deal. "You finally realize that you can't touch me anymore. You can't do anything to me. These are the moments you want to savor. You just wish time would stop so you can just live them over and over again. You know all about those, right?"

The sheer power Buffy now found herself with was nothing less than intoxicating. Not that she'd ever been drunk, but it had to feel something like this. Heedless of the looks her friends were giving her, Buffy practically hopped up and down with happiness. Her heart was pumping faster than ever before and her eyes were wide and chipper.

"Okay...did I miss something here?" Cordelia asked, breaking the Scooby's silence and Buffy's victory dance. "When did you become Miss Bossy? And...how did you do that to Snyder? Can you teach me to do that to Xander?"

Buffy was only half-listening. She had never had real influence before, no real power. Either Giles was telling her what to do or her mother, or even her "one girl in all the world" kick. This wasn't the Slayer; this was Buffy Anne Summers.

"Hey, where did Xander go?"

That brought Buffy back to reality for a moment and she looked around for him. Finally, she saw him skulk back into the library.

"Got some water," he stated once everyone's gaze was on him.

Giles pulled off his glasses and started to clean them with a smile on his face. What just happened with Snyder didn't make any sense, but he was happy someone had finally put that sad little worm in his place. "Yes, well, it seems that your new friend has his uses." When he saw Buffy tense, the watcher put his hand on her shoulder and lightly squeezed. "Don't worry, I'm not, um, going to ask you about it. I'm guessing you can't say anything?"

"Sorry," Buffy whispered. "All I can say is...actually, I don't think I can say anything." There was that odd silence again. "Willow! Can you help me study for the finals? I'm gonna skip classes today so I can study, could you point out some books?"

The quiet girl nodded happily. "Sure thing, Buffy. You can come over to my house after school and we'll hit the books." She was happy that the awkwardness was gone for the moment. Too bad the bell rang, calling them all back to their classes. "You'll be here, right?" Willow asked Buffy as she and Oz started to exit.

Buffy smiled at her friend's badly-disguised anxiety. "Yes, Will. No more fleeing Buffy, only study Buffy." She turned to say goodbye to Xander, but found him already gone. Whatever, she couldn't deal with his being a brat anyway.

When the library was cleared, Giles went back to putting away his books. Conversation was light for the most part with a few words about their respective health post-fight. Buffy was happy that Giles had psychical recovered from his stay with Angel but the mental scars would probably be there for awhile. His would probably heal before hers did, though.

Another interesting thing to her was that Acathla was now serving a cigar Indian role at the Sunnydale museum. Without Angel around, he's practically harmless Giles reasoned.

Buffy made a note to smash up that demon at the first viable opportunity.

"So, are you going patrolling tonight after you study with Willow?" Giles casually asked. Buffy could tell it was a trick question when she made a non-committal answer and her watcher turned completely around to give her a lecture stare. "Buffy, I only ask because whoever you are staying with, not that I'm asking who that is, might discover your identity. Strange things seem to...gravitate towards you."

"I don't think he'll mind, Giles," Buffy giggled. "Besides, I'm not actually living with him, I've got my own place." She nearly cursed when the words left her mouth. 'Way to not draw attention to myself,' Buffy thought with a sigh.

Giles was about to comment on his charge's slip of the tongue when, for the second time, the swinging doors of the library charged open. "Oh for goodness sake, don't you children know how not to slam...the...door. Hello, Joyce."

The blond's head snapped up so fast a normal girl would get whiplash. She was already enveloped in a hug, though. "Mom! Mom, I can't breath!" Actually, she could but Buffy wasn't in the mood for more hugging.

"Buffy, I was worried sick!" Joyce didn't let go but she did ease up a bit. Soon she leaned back so only her hands were on her shoulders. "Where have you been, young lady?"

Now Buffy fully shrugged off the woman's hands and sat back. "Out saving the world, Mom. What I do nearly every night." She didn't want to be rude, but getting kicked out of her own house wasn't helping things.

Joyce, however, frowned. "Buffy, you have no idea how I went through, waiting for you to come home. Wondering if you were dead in a ditch or kidnapped. You...you don't get it!" Her voice was raised now and she was glaring. "You were kicked out of school, the police are still looking for you...what am I supposed to think?"

"Actually, I've been cleared of all charges," Buffy shot back. She rose from her chair and stubbornly stared at the bookshelves in the back. "And, I'm back in school. I have makeup finals tomorrow. Anything else?"

The tension in the room was nearly palatable to Giles who had seemingly been forgotten. He meekly stood off to the side, watching the confrontation unfold. Buffy was such a child in some ways, she just couldn't see the big picture. At the moment, though, she didn't look like she cared. Granted, he couldn't see her face but the way she was standing gave away her feelings. Tense, like a coiled spring. She was only like this when she was gearing up for a fight.

He was about to interrupt but Joyce exploded before he could. "Yes, there is something else! You just, just leave like a thief in the night and expect us all to just shut up and accept it? I didn't raise you like that, young lady."

"You also kick me out when I need you most!" Buffy spun around in tears. "I had to kill Angel, do you get that?! I had to stab him through the heart and watch as he was sucked into hell!" Joyce had recoiled but her daughter wasn't done yet. "You don't care, though, you never did. Always thinking everything was my fault, that I was violent or a delinquent! You know why I got kicked out of my old school, mom? The gym was infested with vampires that were going to kill everyone! Even the people who kicked me out. All those nights you thought I was sneaking out? Saving lives, going on patrols, or stopping psychopaths. You have no idea, do you? No. Fucking. Idea."

Stunned, Joyce's legs buckled as she tried to fight off the hot flash that had just overtaken her. "That's...you never told me..." she whispered. "Buffy..." she reached out to put a hand on the girl's shoulder, but her daughter moved out of distance.

"Don't. Just don't." The Slayer looked scared, but resolute. "No one knows, no one can. They can just ask me if I'm alright and listen, but they can't understand. No one has to make the kinds of decisions I do every day."

"That's not true, we all care about you! Your friends were with me every day looking for you and Rupert was tracking down leads. We care about you so much, don't you see that? You should have heard Xander on the phone when he called me, he was-"

Buffy's eyes grew cold as she walked over to the book cage and leaned up against it for support. "Xander, of course he called you," she hissed. "All anyone cares about is that I'm not being 'their Buffy'. I'm not stupid, mom! I know you want someone more behaved as a daughter, I know Giles wants someone smarter as the Slayer, I know Willow wants a more understanding best friend, and I know Xander just wants someone to sleep with him. Guess what, though; I'm not going to change. I can't just give up my destiny and I can't change who I am. I have a life now for the first time in a long time. There's someone out there who appreciates the work I do, who doesn't understand but still thanks me for just being the Slayer."

The Mayor cared, of that much Buffy was certain. He was honestly thankful for everything she did. Other motives might be involved, but anything was better than this. Buffy would deal with them once the dust settled.

Joyce let out a ragged breath and stepped back until she was clear on the other side of the room, resting on the checkout counter. "Who is it? Who put all of these thoughts into your head?" she asked. "You've never acted like this, Buffy."

"Were you even listening to me?!" Buffy shouted, "No one is putting anything into my head! That's what all of you have been trying to do! For once, I'm thinking for myself. I'm being selfish. After dying once, killing the only person I've ever loved, and saving the world from being sucked into another dimension I think I deserve it." Finally, Buffy admitted it. She was doing this for no one else but herself. The world, her friends, her parents, everything be damned. She finally admitted it.

It wasn't a bad feeling.

The elder Summers, however, didn't see things that way. "Buffy, you will come home with me right now," she ordered. "This...everything can be sorted out. We'll go home, we'll talk. We can sort all this out and-"

"I'm not going home." It was a whisper, as if Buffy was saying it to herself for the first time. Louder, she repeated, "Mom, I'm not going home."

Slack-jawed and sputtering, Joyce took a few moments to try and compose herself but failed miserably. "You've only been gone a few days, you...you have to come back eventually." Even she could see that her daughter wasn't going to come around right now. There was so much she had to think about, so many things no one had told her.

Ignoring the way Buffy was poignantly ignoring her, Joyce sniffed one final time and tried to compose herself. Turning to Giles, she said, "Take care of her, alright?" She heard the snort from her daughter but didn't rise to it. Seeing his nod, she calmly left the room to its usual silence.

"I don't suppose I have to tell you that you were very rash," Giles commented. "You disappear for two days after nearly dying and you get angry with your mother for worrying." He saw Buffy shift a bit so she wasn't facing him and sighed. "Not only that, you have no experience living by yourself, or, or, paying bills. Do you even have a job?" Giles was in full disapproving lecture mode now. "No, you're just going to run out into the world with your new sense of independence without a care to the people who care about you. Is that being an adult? And here you are, not listening."

Giles moved around so he could see Buffy's face, ready to start driving the point even further but paused. He pulled the crying girl into a soft hug as she quietly sobbed into his jacket. "I'm sorry, Buffy."

The blond shook her and only cried harder before getting some words out. "She doesn't understand, no one does. What am I going to do now? I'm completely alone."

And, for once, Giles was devoid of advice.