Chapter 3. Here we go.

A thank you goes out to my beta, Neilie.

"speaking"

thinking

Buffy's P.O.V.

I trudged home alone. Willow offered to wait for me, but I didn't want her to miss her date with Oz. They really need to patch things up. I remembered how Cordy and Oz had walked in on Willow and my other best friend Xander kissing. And now Cordy hates Willow.

But Willow might be able to patch things up with Oz. He's a good guy.

Maybe.

If she's lucky.

I've had my own guy problems. Patching up is never easy. It doesn't work.

I know.

I've tried.

This line of thought was rather rudely interrupted by a couple in front of me, who I ran into.

Accidentally.

"Watch where you're going, idiot!" Alexander Harris, my best friend, yelled at me. "Oh…Buffy…"

I was disgusted. "Oh, God, Xander, get a room!"

He looked sheepish. "This…isn't what it looks like, Buff." His girlfriend looked affronted. "What do you mean "it isn't"?" Anya Jenkins had the uncanny ability to look over six feet tall when she was angry.

Xander looked slightly scared. "Ahn, not now." Anya sighed. "Well that's just great." Another sigh. "Call me when you decide this is what it looks like." She left us.

Woah, wasn't expecting that. Apologetic Buffy time. "Wow. Sorry."

Xander wasn't mad at me. He doesn't get mad at me often, 'cause he knows I can kick his ass. "Never mind. I'll talk to her later. So, what's up?"

I decided to tell him about my peer counseling adventure. "Ewwww peer counseling with Faith Lehane."

Xander looked shocked. "She's counseling YOU?"

How could he even think that? I'm not the one with the issues. "No…I'm counseling her."

Xander looked relieved, then his face fell. "Well, that's not much better. Ummm…she didn't mention me, right?"

I was confused. "Uh…no. Why would she?"

Xander looked at the ground. "Well, uh…" I would need to encourage him. "What? Did you, like, sleep with her?" He looked scared. Oh my God. He didn't—did he?

"Shmyfrst" he mumbled.

He sighed and looked at me. "She was my first."

"Oh…oh…oh…" I was shocked. "You and…Oh my God." This was a revelation. A big one.

We began to walk towards my house. Xander's was farther away.

"Yah. So…are we Bronzing it tonight?" asked Xander. I thought about the piles of homework I had to do.

"Sure." Stupid mouth.

Maybe Angel would be there.

The thing about small towns is that there is only one thing to do at night. That meant that EVERYONE was at the Bronze. Including Angel. Including Faith.

"…so I had to sneak out." I heard her say to some girl with long mousy brown hair, who was smoking something that I'm pretty sure was illegal. What's her name, what's her name? A boy's name…Tom? Fred! Fred, that's it.

I decided to put my two-cents in, 'cause, hey, Faith's not my friend.

"You snuck out? That's pathetic." I smirked at Faith as she whipped around to look at me. Her reflexes were almost as good as mine.

I could almost feel the anger radiating off her. "Oh, 'cause you're such the golden girl, B. Angel told me about all those times you snuck out to see him." She smirked at me. "Oh, and there he is now. Come on, Fred, let's go."

She and the girl departed in the direction of the door, just as Angel walked in. I saw him greet Faith and Fred, and Faith led him onto the dance floor while Fred stayed behind to talk to a boy with glasses who had just entered, who was Wesley Windham-Price, a guy I sometimes hung out with. Faith and Angel were dancing together on the dance floor. Their dance style was very risqué, but they still managed to talk while they were doing it.

I had to stop it.

I made my way across the dance floor until I was near them.

"What are you doing with her?" I yelled over the music.

Angel paused for a second, then looked at me and shrugged. "I'm allowed to hang out with whoever I want to."

And then he and Faith went back to dancing.

And I left the club, seething.

-end-

Good, bad? Review please!