Chapter Eight
Author's Note: Thank you to spoiledsquish, Kaylee C and Kristine R. for the reviews. I am so glad you are enjoying the story. Your feed back is great and I would just like to thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter. LA J
Chapter Eight takes place a few weeks after the last chapter. Buffy has been released from the hospital and is about to return to school.
Disclaimer: As always I do not own anyone in this story as of now, except Stacy (and at this point she is only mentioned and will most likely not appear again).
Also, I do not own The Simpsons nor the songs, "Beautiful" (it's a good song but Christina Aguilera had it first), "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones (don't own it either…I wish I could sing well enough to get one of her Grammies though) or "There's Gotta Be) More To Life" by Stacie Orrico (honestly, I'm not sure I even know the song. I'm using it because her name is Stacie, read till the end of the chapter and you'll find out why).
Thanks again for reading, please leave me a review. It makes me post quicker!!
"Buffy, do want to watch TV with me?" Dawn asked the night before Buffy returned to school. She was sitting on the couch with her feet on the coffee table watching a rerun of The Simpsons. She wanted to spend time with her sister. She missed her.
"No thanks, I'm going to get ready for bed," Buffy explained quickly as she ran up the stairs and into her room, where she had spent most of her time since her release from the hospital. It had been two weeks since the car accident. Buffy had been home for about a week and a half. Her doctors said it was a miracle that she wasn't killed in the wreckage. Amazingly enough, she was physically okay. She had no broken or fractured bones or eternal damage. Her doctors kept her in the hospital so long to make sure everything was all right with her.
Buffy grabbed her robe and went into her bathroom and locked the door. She wanted to be alone. Since she returned home form the hospital, she didn't want to be around people. She just wanted to be let alone.
After showering, Buffy wrapped her long, wet golden hair in a towel and put her lilac bath robe on and walked to her bedroom. She chose to wear a blue night shirt with matching blue shorts and crawled into her bed. She picked up a text book Willow had brought her and began to read. Buffy read and reread the story but could not contain the information. Her mind wondered.
"Buffy, could we come in?" Joyce asked her daughter. Both Joyce and Rupert took notice of Buffy's behavior and were worried about her. She wasn't her life-loving fun self.
"Sure, I was finished with my homework anyway. I'm getting ready for bed now, so can you make it kind of quick?" Buffy said as she took the towel out of her hair and began to brush it.
"Going to bed?" Rupert asked. "It's only eight o'clock, are you tired?"
Rupert, just shut up and let me go to sleep, I don't want to talk. Can't you tell? Just leave me alone, Buffy thought to herself. "Yeah, I am a little tired. Plus I want to be well rested for school tomorrow." Oh joy, school, she thought.
"Angel called while you were in the shower. He wanted you to call him back," Joyce said smiling.
"I'll just see him in the morning. I'll talk to him then. If you guys wouldn't mind, I would like to go to sleep now. I have to get up early for school tomorrow," Buffy said as she hugged both Rupert and Joyce from her bed. "Could you guys shut off the light please?"
"Of course sweetheart, good night," Rupert smiled as he shut off the light and then closed the door.
"I'm worried about her Rupert. This isn't Buffy. She isn't acting like herself." Joyce whispered to her husband outside Buffy's door.
"I know she isn't herself but she just experienced something traumatic. I don't think it would be fair if we expected her to act like her normal self. As matter a fact, I would be more concerned if she walked around like nothing happened. Darling, she had a dream about being in heaven with her dead friend. This is normal stuff after such a horrible experience." Rupert explained to his wife.
"I know but she isn't herself. I miss her." Joyce answered.
Rupert wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and held her for a moment. "If she hasn't changed in a little while then do you want to look into therapy for her?"
"I would like that a lot." Joyce said as her eyes widened. They continued talking as they went down the staircase.
God, they're going to make me see a shrink? Haven't I already been through enough? Why are they doing this to me now? And I didn't dream that I was in Heaven with Stacy, I was really there. Buffy thought to herself as she laid in her bed.
"Buffy, Angel is waiting outside," Dawn yelled up the stairs to her sister as she got ready for school herself. She finished putting her lunch box in her pink Jansport backpack. She zipped her bag up as waited for Rupert to take her to school.
"Thanks, bye," Buffy told her sister without waiting for a reply.
Buffy stepped off the porch and walked towards the SAAB. Angel got out of the car and met her half way on the lawn.
"Hi," Buffy said nonchalantly.
"Hey," Angel said as he put his arms around her and hugged her.
Buffy hugged back but didn't really want to be touched. She just wanted to get into the car and go to school.
"Hey, we're going to be late, we should get going," Buffy told him as she pulled away from the hug and went into the car. Xander was sitting in the back seat. She hadn't seen him since she was in the hospital. She didn't really want to see him. She didn't really want to see anyone.
"Wil's with Oz, they were going to school together." Xander said. There was awkward silence between the two of them and he tried breaking it but it wasn't working. He wanted to make Buffy comfortable but he didn't know how and most of all, she didn't want comfort. She wanted to be left alone.
"You and Angel are going to the big dance on Saturday, right?" Willow asked at lunch. Before Buffy had a chance to answer Willow continued with excitement and glee in her voice. "Oz asked me to go! I'm nervous and I'm excited and you have to help me pick out something to wear. I want to make a good impression on him."
"He likes you too; you don't have to make any type of impression on him, be yourself," Buffy told her friend as she played with her salad which she wasn't eating. She realized that she was kind of harsh sounding when she told Willow that but she didn't care. Willow wouldn't take it personally.
Willow sat back. She knew that Buffy was still not herself because of the crash. How could she be? One of her friends died in the accident. Buffy told Willow that she died and she was in Heaven. Willow said she believed her. She wanted Buffy to feel better again but she knew she needed time. "Are you and Angel going on Saturday?"
"To what?" She asked irritated.
"The dance. Are you and Angel going?"
"Oh yeah, I guess so," Buffy mumbled.
"Good, it'll be fun." Willow said. She hoped that the outing would make her friend feel better. She actually prayed that the dance would make her friend a lot better.
"Right, fun, just what Buffy needs."
Before Willow had a chance to comment about Buffy's statement, one of Cordelia's friends approached Buffy and Willow.
"Buffy, I am so sorry about your accident, it's tragic. I'm sorry about your friend. Are you doing all right?" Harmony Kendall asked.
Harmony never made the attempt to talk or socialize with Buffy and her friends. At least not since Buffy began dating Angel. Harmony was mad because Cordellia was her friend and wanted Angel and she couldn't have him. Once Cordy and Xander began dating, Harmony was envious that Buffy not only had the most popular boy on campus but was also one of the most popular people in school herself. On that morning, Harmony was honestly concerned about Buffy because she was a friend of her friend.
"You know Harmony; you are the ninth person that has never made the time to talk or socialize with me prior to my accident, and now you suddenly want to know how I am doing? Why are you talking to me now? Why don't you go back and tell the gossip mill that I AM FINE!" Buffy yelled at Harmony. With that being said she stomped out of the cafeteria and left to go to the library.
"I was just trying to be nice. I didn't realize that I would upset her so much." Harmony said looking at the floor.
"Hey," Willow said as she looked at Harmony, "She's just going through something hard right now. I'm sorry she yelled at you." But she is right, Willow thought to herself, you have never made the time to get to know her or talk to her.
"It's just weird, her friend was our age and now she's dead. I can't imagine what it must feel like." Harmony said as she walked away.
Willow thought for a second. Buffy was one of her best friends and she didn't know what to do to comfort her. Willow just didn't know what to do.
"You want to dance?" Angel asked Buffy at the dance. She had been sitting on the bleachers in a daze for the whole forty-five minutes they had been at the dance. Angel didn't want to leave her side. He knew that she was still upset about loosing Stacy in the crash. She wouldn't talk about her experience. He just figured when she was ready to talk about it then she would. Until then he would be supportive and do what he could for her. If she wanted a star in the sky he would somehow make sure she got it. He just wanted to see her happy again.
Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" filled the gym. Couples were in each others' arms. Willow and Oz smiled as they swayed to the music, which neither one of them really liked. Xander and Cordy were laughing as they danced.
Buffy looked at all the happy couples. She then began to stare at the bleacher in front of her. "Maybe later, I'm not really in the mood now," she answered. She didn't know why she went to the dance. She didn't want to be around anyone. She just wanted the comfort of her bed.
Angel sat down next to her. He wanted to hold her in his arms and never let go, at least not until she was back to herself again. She was hurting and there was nothing he could do for her. She didn't want anything that he could give her. "What do you want to do? Do you want to get out of here? I can come back and get Xander."
"No, I told you I would dance the next song." She answered still looking in front of her.
"All right, but if you want to leave early let me know, we can blow this place off, okay?"
Buffy nodded her head. Angel was such a good guy to put up with her and she knew that. She rested her head on his shoulder. Angel thought that she was going to begin to open up to him but the next song came on.
"I like this song, do you want to dance?" Buffy asked almost smiling for the first time in weeks.
Angel didn't want to jeopardize the moment so he returned her smile and said yes. They held hands until they reached the floor. There they wrapped their arms around each other. Buffy rested her head on Angel's shoulder.
Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why" echoed in the gym. As Angel held her in his arms, Buffy thought about the lyrics:
When I saw the break of day
I wished that I could
fly away
Instead of kneeling
in the sand
Catching teardrops in
my hand
The song reflected how she was feeling. She just wanted to get away from everyone, her mother, Rupert, Dawn, Angel, everyone. She wished she had wings she could spread wide and fly away. She was sick of people checking on her to see how she was feeling or if she needed anything.
Something has to make you run
I
don't know why I didn't come
I feel as empty as a
drum
I don't know why I
didn't come
As the song ended Angel pulled away from Buffy but was still holding her delicate hand in his. He said nothing to her. He only smiled and to his surprise she smiled back. She gave him a big smile and squeezed his hand a little harder. He really thought that she was starting to come around. He took her hand and led her over to her friends. They chit chatted with Buffy while Angel, Xander and Oz went to get drinks for everyone.
"Thank you," Buffy said smiling at Xander who handed her a Sprit. He nodded back and smiled. It made him feel so good to see one of his best friends smile again.
The six of them chatted about school and even gossiped a little about teachers for a while. Other people came over to them and talked with them.
Buffy felt great. She felt the best she had felt since her accident. She was laughing and actually enjoying herself, without feeling guilty.
"All right, we're going to end the dance with the hit "There's Gotta Be More To Life" by Stacie Orrico. Have a safe night and good night," the DJ said as he put on the song.
Buffy began to shake and cry as she ran out of the gym and away from her friends. She could not bare to hear the name Stacy, even if it wasn't her Stacy. She began to run to Angel's car and tried to get into it but he had locked all of the doors. His alarm went off. She just sat next to the car and began to cry hysterically.
Angel shut off the alarm and ran over to Buffy. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her as he helped her stand up. She grabbed onto Angel like she was never going to let go.
"Buffy, what happened? What's wrong?" He asked as their friends gather near them.
With tears flowing freely from her eyes, all she could say was, "I want to go home, bring me home. I want to go home."
Angel walked Buffy to her front door. She was still crying and didn't say anything as she unlocked the door. Once the door was unlocked, Buffy left Angel's side and darted up the stairs. She didn't acknowledge her mother or Rupert sitting on the couch. Once she reached her room she slammed the door.
"Angel, what happened to Buffy?" Joyce asked putting her book down and getting off the couch. Rupert too placed his book on the coffee table and walked towards the young man standing at his door.
Angel recapped the evening and didn't leave any detail out. He included that she was happy and he thought that she was going to talk to him. Angel also told them that she was smiling and seemed to be enjoying herself until the last song.
"What song was it?" Rupert asked knowing he was unfamiliar with the popular music.
"'There's Gotta Be More To Life' by Stacie Orrico."
"And when it came on she just flew out of the room?" Joyce asked making sure she understood him correctly.
"The DJ hadn't even put the song on. He just announced it as the last song and she was out of the gym before the song even came on." Angel explained.
"It has to be because of the name of the artist," Rupert assumed.
"Or it could have been the song on in the car when it crashed," Angel suggested.
"Possibly," Joyce said. "But you know, she hasn't said Stacy's name once since the she woke up from the coma. I'm going to check on her. Thank you, Angel." Joyce hugged her daughter's boyfriend as she went up the stairs to check on her daughter.
"Yes Angel, thank you for bringing her home. We'll talk to you tomorrow about her condition. Maybe you can stop over at some point tomorrow and see her. Right now I think we're going to check on her before we go to bed."
Angel nodded. He wanted to do something more than hang around to hear from his girlfriend's parents but there was nothing more that could be done. He nodded and got into his car and left.
Joyce ran back down the stairs. Buffy was asleep. She walked over to her husband and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her head on his chest. Tears fell from her eyes. She wanted her daughter to be happy and back to herself but it wasn't going to happen, at least not yet.
Rupert held on to his wife. He was fighting the tears that began to form in his eyes. "I guess we'll give Glory Murk a call on Monday."