The Missing Half
Chapter 5 – Mall Rats
After making sure Dawn could fend for herself at home, Faith and Buffy left for their shopping trip around 10:30. First stop: Sunnydale Mall.
Faith and Buffy made their way through the mall with ease, their slayer reflexes allowing them to easily dodge the masses of people. Although Faith and Buffy tried to walk through the mall acting like two girls going on a shopping spree, their thoughts prevented them from doing so. 'Why did she let me back in? Why is she making this so easy? What about the rest of them? Xander, Willow...they're bound to be a lot less forgiving than Buffy…I don't understand. She should be kicking my sorry ass as far away from the Sunny D as possible. Instead she's offering me her home, and taking me shopping. Why?' Faith thought to herself as she gracefully moved through a thick throng of people.
Meanwhile, Buffy had a few thoughts of her own. "Why did she come back? Even though she said Cordelia told her she was needed here...why does she actually want to help? She could have used this as an excuse to get out of jail free. I want to trust her so bad. I want to make up for what I didn't do to help her in the past…but if she does anything to hurt my friends and family…'
The two continued to walk the length of the mall. Finally, Faith broke the silence. "Hey B. I gotta get some new clothes. Soul Boy gave me some money for my trip back here. I can't exactly live on one change of clothes. Since I don't really own anything, I gotta start new. So what do you suggest?" Buffy looked at Faith and for the first time realized that she was not dressed in her usual leather on leather. Instead, she had traded in the skintight material for hip hugging jeans and a small tank top. Buffy thought she looked, well, Buffy thought she looked good. Damn good. In addition to the clothing change, she had discarded the heavy black eyeliner and dark red lipstick. 'She looks younger...and older? Buffy you're not making any sense to yourself. Ugh, just think about something else, tigers. Ya tigers...they're all, umm tigery? Buffy just answer her already! She asked you a question...is it possible to babble in your head? Hmm ya i guess it is. The question goddammit! Just answer her!'
"Well, I know this vintage clothing store, you might like some of the stuff there. We may as well check it out. It's only a few blocks from here. Let's go." Buffy finally answered. 'See? Words! They came out of my mouth!' Buffy triumphantly thought.
The two slayers left the mall and walked to the store. On the way there, Faith noticed a small jewelry shop and knew she needed to get something there. Alone.
Luckily, Buffy gave her the opening when, a few moments later, she announced that she was thirsty. "Ugh, my mouth is completely parched. I'm gunna go grab something to drink. Would you like anything? A soda? Some water?" Buffy asked.
"Sure B, a water sounds good. I'm just gunna look around a bit," Faith replied pointing to the jewelry store. Once Buffy turned to get the drinks, Faith walked into the store. She looked quickly at the necklaces and immediately saw one she liked. It was a silver necklace with a heart on it. Simple, but something Faith could make more personal. She asked the jeweler if it could be engraved. He nodded and asked what she would like to have put on it. She explained what she wanted and he told her it would be ready in a few hours.
Just as Faith was leaving the store, Buffy returned, drinks in hands. She handed the water toFaith and opened her Diet Coke. "Aaaahhh," Buffy sighed. "It's amazing how one sip of a carbonated drink can work so much magic on a dry throat. Tell Willow she can put her magicks away, diet Coke is the only potion for me."
Faith snorted into her bottle of water. "Wow B, never knew you could get so excited over a soda. But hey…there are bubbles in it! So that explains it all. Well, after patrol I can see it maybe getting ya all worked up. When you're all H and H. Isn't weird ho it works B? Nothing compares to that post-slay feeling. The heat of the fight. The poof of the dust. Mmmm hmm good ol' slaying" Faith stopped abruptly and laughed at the open mouth gape Buffy had worked her face into.
"Wow Faith. When you babble, you really babble. Now how about we actually go into the store. You know, as opposed to standing outside of it scaring away all the potential customers," Buffy teased Faith lightly. She still wasn't sure how hard she could push Faith without making her snap.
Faith merely smiled and nodded then walked into the vintage clothes store. The two girls rummaged around the clothes, trying things on, relishing the time they had away from the horrors of the Hellmouth. Buffy helped Faith pick out a few outfits Faith could wear throughout the week. Faith didn't want to blow all the money Angel had given her in one store, so they bought their clothes and made their way to the exit.
Suddenly Faith stopped, turned to Buffy, and said, "Hey B, do you think you could go grab me that whitev-neck i was looking at earlier? I'm gunna go…I just gotta go do something real quick."
"Sure Faith, Be quick. I'll see you in a few minutes!" Buffy smiled and went back to get the shirt and silently wondered what Faith had to go do.
Meanwhile, Faith went back next door to the jewelry store. Once there, she asked the clerk if her necklace was done. He nodded and handed it to her. She smiled when she saw the engraving, paid for the necklace, thanked the man, and walked out of the store. 'Perfect timing," Faith thought as Buffy exited the clothing store. Buffy looked quizzically at Faith who was smiling, wondering what the girl was so happy about. Faith just kept on grinning and grabbed her bags.
…………………
Shortly after three o'clock, the girls made it back home. Faith had and whole new wardrobe and Buffy had a few new outfits herself. In addition to the clothes, Faith had the necklace and a blank journal for Dawn. The two ran to their rooms to put their stuff away, and Buffy went to the bathroom to freshen up while Faith went back downstairs to get a bite to eat. Although the girls were still on a happy high from the shopping spree, they were both dreading the encounter that was bound to happen between Faith, Willow, and Xander. 'It's gunna happen sooner or later,' Faith thought. It figures it would be sooner.
Willow and Xander opened the door to the Summers' house. Willow walked through the entrance and the first thing she saw did not make her happy. In fact, it made her kinda pissed. As Willow laid hereyes on the dark Slayer, her eyes turned deep black and magick crackled throughout her body. With one swift flick of her wrist, she sent Faith flying into ceiling directly below the bathroom where Buffy was residing. Faith hit the ceiling with a solid thump and caused the floor beneath Buffy's feet to shake. Buffy sprinted downstairs just in time to see Willow release her hold on Faith and let her fall back to the ground below. Faith's head bounced off the linoleum with a resounding crack. As Willow reached out to repeat her actions, Buffy screamed at her to stop.
"Willow what the Hell are you doing? Leave her alone!" At Buffy's words Willow's eyes shifted back to their normal color and the energy left her body. The anger didn't.
"Leave her alone? Buffy, she's a murderer!" Faith painfully picked herself up and felt the back of her head where a sizeable lump had formed. She winced at Willow's choice of words.
Xander spoke up for the first time since laying eyes on Faith. "Buffy I am giving you two minutes to explain yourself before I take a hammer off my handy-dandy tool belt and smash that bitch's head in. Tell me right now why she is here and why we are not beating the crap out of her."
Buffy looked at her two old friends with a fire in her eyes. "Kitchen. Now. The trio walked to the kitchen, leaving Faith standing in the center of the room with nothing but the rhythmic pounding in her head.
As soon as Buffy reached the kitchen, she turned to her friends and offered them the explanation they deserved. "Ok. Well, as anyone with eyes can tell, Faith's back. Cordelia had a vision, and the Council released Faith from jail. Why she came back. I don't know. How long she's gunna stay. I don't know. Whether we should trust her…let's just say I'm toying with that one myself still. Look, I'm not asking you guys to be buddy buddy 'let's go play in the sandbox together' buddies. Just give her a chance. We won't know if she's truly changed if we don't. The minute she screws up, she is out of here. And I won't be mad if you say I told you so. Let's just hope it doesn't happen. Please guys. You don't have to be nice or anything, just don't beat her up. God knows she's been through enough." Buffy said the last part with a guilty frown on her face. She remembered how she had hurt Faith when she first saw her. 'It won't happen again'. Buffy thought to herself, 'I won't let it.'