The Missing Half
Chapter 14 – Sing-a-long With Slayers
(Faith's POV)
So now we're walking back up the steps to the Hyperion, still pretty wet. But we got what we went out for. B's holding our nifty new toy and we share a grin before pushing the door open.
Angel immediately shoots up from the couch he was lounging on and checks to see if we're ok.
He looks at Buffy's shoulder. "Buffy you're hurt."
"Nothing gets by you does it Angel." B replies. "It's not too bad, just a little scratch, it'll heal up soon."
"Yeah big guy, B here's a toughie. She kicked that winged brat's ass. Now if you don't mind, I'm gunna go freshen up and then it's party time. Wanna join?" Me and B talked about it on the way back from our adventure. We wanna go to that demon club tonight. Lorne's place. Caritas.
I feel so good right now. For once something is going right. We got something that'll one up us on the approaching hell thing and now I get to have a little fun. With B. Nothing can beat that.
"So B, whaddya suppose I wear tonight? Something sexy but simple. I'm not sure I want those demon boys to get pointy in their pants…assuming that they have the correct anatomy. I'm not sure how horny demons act…"
B got this amused look on her face before bursting into laughter. "Only you Faith, only you. Wear this." She pointed to a plaid ruffled midriff bearing tank top.
"Nice choice B. I'll just go change now." I walked into the bathroom and stripped off my dampened clothing. I put my new clothes on and admired myself in the mirror. Not bad Faith, looks like skintight jeans and this top will get the job done tonight. Perfect.
I walked out of the bathroom to see B standing there in fresh clothes as well. Damn that looks good. She's got a similar pair of tight jeans on and a swooped neck maroon silky shirt. We both put on our dancing boots and head downstairs.
When we get downstairs, we see that Lorne, Angel, and Dawn are dressed and ready to go as well.
Dawn runs up to us and squeals with excitement. "Yay! I'm so freaking hyped right now. I'm going to a demon club! With kareoke! It'll be my chance to shine! Ohhh Buffy, Faith, let's go! Hurry up!" The kid's practically bouncing off the walls.
"Jeez Munchkin chill! How much soda did Soulboy let you have? Cuz it's obviously been five thousand too many. Just wait a sec and me and big sis will be ready." Little D's bouncing in her seat now and the Buffmeister and I are grabbing our coats from the rack.
"Alright guys, let's motor." The five of us walk to B's car, and pile in. Angel at the wheel, Lorne next to him. Me and Buffy have the window seats and Dawn's in the middle. Gotta take the precautions so the kid doesn't jump outta the damn car in her excitement.
Angel and Lorne are deep in conversation in the front. Probably discussing the latest ugly in the demon world, so Buffy and I engage in our own talk.
"So B, how did college go? Did you do with the book-reading and stuff?"
"You know it's basically like high school, except the people there want to learn. They don't care so much about who's popular and who's not. As for the book-reading stuff, I might as well have been majoring in Absentee 101. I found it hard to make some of the classes, what with the never ending supply of Hellmouthy problems." B sighs and continues. "Not much I can do about it now. I'll tell you what though. I sure don't miss Kathy."
Buffy fails to elaborate so I'm sitting there trying to fill in the blanks…but to no avail. "Kathy? Expand."
"Oh, she was my roommate. I…took care of her." Her choice of words…did she kill her? Oh Hell! Did B kill somebody? If I was drinking something I woulda choked on it. And spit water all over D's face. Glad I'm not.
"Whoa hey there B you…took care of her? As in actually… ummm…uhhh…?" I'm at a loss for words.
"Oops…ya she was a demon. She tried to steal my soul, turn me into No-fun Buffy complete with kung-fu grip." Oooookkk.
"Shoulda mentioned that first B…gave me all sorts of wicked strokes there. So you went all no souly-ish… how was that?" This is should be interesting.
"Well, I drank all her milk. Made a mess too. Ummm…I stole her toenail clippings…I got my grumpy face on!" Haha. That has to be the most amusing arrangement of words I have ever heard come out of B's mouth.
"Oh oh now! That's real evil! Drinking all her milk? Trying to keep her from growing strong bones? Don't mess with No-soul Buffy, she'll leave an empty box of cereal in the cupboard or leave dirty dishes on the table." Buffy just laughs and changes the topic.
"So, before you came to Sunnydale, how long were you in high school?" Oh boy, personal question about my past. Gotta love those.
"Not long. Well it was high school. You know. Cliques, crappy teachers, even crappier food. Kids mostly left me alone, cos the one time someone tried to screw with me, he ended up tied to the flagpole naked."
Buffy, who actually was drinking water, snorted and sprayed water all over the seat in front of her. "Are you serious? Faith…you tied him to the flagpole! You didn't try to beat his brains in? That's freakin' crazy. I woulda thought school-girl-Faith was still make-with-the-fists-Faith."
"Nah, it wasn't worth it. It's weird; I actually didn't hate all the learning itself. Just the people. They just irked me…they had no idea that all this evil was in the world, and they got to live normal lives, bickering about whether it was Britney Spears or Christina Aguilara who was hotter. And I got to spend my nights deciding which vamp was uglier before I dusted their asses. I just got tired of it. So no more school for me."
Buffy looks like she can relate. I mean of course she can, she went through the same thing. "Ya it's a bummer." She simply stated. "So you liked to learn?"
"Well, I liked to read, and write and stuff. I could lose myself in world's that didn't contain demons with three heads and other hell things. I wasn't a nerd or nothin', I just liked a good read." Never told anyone that before. Luckily B's the only one listening, Angel and Lorne are still talking and Dawn's singing along to the radio, completely in her very own world. "But don't go spreadin' that stuff around. It'd ruin my rep."
B grins devilishly. "Of course not. We wouldn't want that." Luckily, before the conversation can continue, we pull into the parking lot of Caritas.
Oh sweet victory. A club. Time to party. Dawn hurtles herself out of the car and zooms off into the club. Never seen the kid run so fast.
Me and Buff take our time. We ease our selves out of the car slowly, still a little sore from our earlier battle. My ribs are still not completely healed, but they're wrapped tight enough right now that I couldn't feel them very well anyways. I'm just glad the wrapping doesn't pooch my shirt.
A few moments later, we've entered the club, followed closely by Lorne and Angel. Dawnie waited for us by the entrance. Must be a little nervous about those demons in there.
So we walk in there, and the place is incredible. So many demons in one place, but not harmful ones. It's pretty chill actually.
"Hey B now isn't this different? All these beasties in one place and we don't gotta kill any of them! I like this."
"Yeah Faith, it is nice…cuz there's a helluva lot of them…good thing they're not packing..." B realizes her slip and tries to play it off. "…down six-packs of beer. Cos it might get ugly then."
I'm not letting her go that easy though. "Packing? Really B? Now tell me, should we view these guys as our homies, just chillen in this crib forizzle?" My over exaggeration of Snoop Dogg talk seems to embarrass Buffy and amuse her at the same time.
She winks at me. "Sure playa. Now whaddya say we go get some seats, and sign up for a kareoke?"
"Sure I'm down…whoa now kareoke! Maybe not so down. All these guys…me singing…just one more thing that'll ruin my rep!" I complain.
"Ya didn't seem so shy when you were singing this morning." Ahhh shit B got me there.
"Me? Shy? Never. You just wait." I go up to the place to sign in and mark my name down. If we're gunna do this, might as well go all out. I sign myself up for a not so hardcore song. This will be good.
B goes to sign up after me. "Hey B, no peeking. The song will be a surprise." I say. She obeys and signs herself in. Then we both go to find a table.
So, we're sitting here. Momentarily just pleased with the silence. B's one of the only people that I feel I can share a quiet moment with, without bein' all restless and fidgety. But tonight's not for quiet…it's for fun.
So I'm just about to open my mouth and break the silence when Lorne's voice speaks over the microphone. "Alright, Faith? You're up. Come give us some of that sweet voice of yours." The room claps politely and I walk up on stage. Here goes nothing.
The chords come on for the song. I take a deep breath, clear the nervous thoughts away and sing.
"I looked away/ Then I looked back at you /You try to say the things that you can't undo / If I had my way I'd never get over you / Today is the day I pray that we make it through / Make it through the fall / Make it through it all"
I'm swaying my hips along with the tune. Slowly losing myself in the music and sing the chorus.
"And I don't want to fall to pieces / I just want to sit and stare at you / I don't want to talk about it / And I don't want a conversation / I just want to cry in front of you / I don't want to talk about it / 'Cause I'm in love with you"
It's like being in the shower just me and the music. No one else in the room.
"You're the only one I'd be with 'til the end / When I come undone /You bring me back again / Back under the stars / Back into your arms"
I peer around the room as I enter the chorus again. People are looking at me. Not sure if they're enthralled or disgusted. Don't care. I sing the chorus, then continue with the bridge.
"Wanna know who you are / Wanna know where to start / I wanna know what this means / Wanna know how you feel / Wanna know what is real / I wanna know everything / Everything"
I sing chorus again. Almost done now. I'm completely into the song now, giving it everything I have.
"And I don't want to fall to pieces / I just want to sit and stare at you / I don't want to talk about it / And I don't want a conversation / I just want to cry in front of you / And I don't want to talk about it / 'Cause I'm in love with you"
Last part now…I look directly at B, who's sitting down at the table, tears shining in her eyes.
"I'm in love with you / 'Cause I'm in love with you /I'm in love with you / I'm in love with you"
The song ends and I feel so drained. That song was like a full on confession. I just left myself vulnerable for all these people in here. All these demons. And B.
Can't take it back now.
(Buffy's POV)
That. Was. Amazing. End of story. Faith's voice is so beautiful. And this song was something different for her. Not her usual edgy stuff. And it felt so weird. Like she was singing for me. The way she looked at me at the end. It brought tears to my eyes. Faith is so…so…so amazing. Only word I can think of right now…was she singing to me? Was she?
The room's full of applause. Faith just stands here smiling, her gaze never leaving me. Next thing I know, she's walked off the stage and she's standing next to me.
"Faith…I---"
"Buffy Summers? Your turn babe!" Lorne calls from the stage. This will have to wait.
Now I'm on stage. More than a little nervous. I'm not much of a stage person. All the people out there. Kinda gives me the major wiggins. So I look at Faith who gives me the thumbs up. Confidence boost thank you.
The song starts right out and I'm singing, singing like I do when I'm in my room all alone.
"Broken, this fragile thing now / And I can't, I can't pick up the pieces / And I've thrown my words all around / But I can't, I can't give you a reason"
It's easier if I just look at Faith. Concentrate on her only. So I sing to her. The rest of the song is a blur except for her deep eyes staring back at me.
"I feel so broken up / And I give up / I just want to tell you, so you know / Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you / You are my only one I'd let go / But there's just no one that gets me like you do / You are my only, my only one / Made my mistakes, let you down / And I can't, I can't hold on for too long / Ran my whole life in the ground / And I can't, I can't get up when you're gone"
Before I know it I am at the second chorus. Lost. So lost in those eyes.
"Here I go, so dishonestly / Leave a note, for you my only one / And I know you can see right through me / So let me go and you will find someone /Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you / You are my only one I'd let go / But there's just no one, no one like you / You are my only, my only one / My only one / My only one / My only one / You are my only, my only one"
The song ends and more tears blur my vision. I close my eyes for a brief second, relieved that it's over. When I reopen my eyes, Faith's gone.
(Angel's POV)
Buffy's singing up there and the whole time her eyes are on Faith. She's giving her the look. The one I gave her so many times when we were together. I turn to Lorne who's finished doing his reading of them. It still amazes me that he can find out so much about a person through a song.
"So Lorne, what's the verdict?"
Lorne looks up at me and pats my shoulder. The he responds.
"They're in love"
I knew it.
(Faith's POV)
Why does Buffy keep looking at me? This whole time she's had her eyes on me. Is she messing with me? Cuz she's not singing to me…why would she be? She could never feel that way about me. I'm a murderer.
Buffy closes her eyes and I jump up from my seat. I gotta get some air. I'm so confused, everything in my head's so messed up right now.
I've wanted to be with her…all this time…she can't possibly want to be with me too. Maybe Angel was standing behind me. That must be it.
Guess the fresh air did some good…set things straight in my mind. B could never be singing for me. It makes no sense. I gotta take a few deep breaths…prepare myself to talk to---
Shit.
She's standing right there. Buffy. Musta seen me leave. Oh crap oh crap oh crap. What the hell am I supposed to say?
(Buffy's POV)
I saw her duck out the back entrance. I walk briskly off the stage and follow her. What's wrong? Is she ok? Why'd she leave?
Then I see long dark hair blowing in the wind a few yards out. She's standing there. Looking wigged out.
She turns around and gets a super-surprised look on her face when she sees me.
She looks so desperate…so scared.
Then she grabs my hands.
(Faith's POV)
Oh god. We stand there. Looking at each other. And before I know what I'm doing, I've taken B's hands in mine. I look her straight in the eyes.
"Buffy. I think, I think that I'm in love with you."
Now I've really done it.
A/N: Look at what we've got here…a confession. More importantly though…how will Buffy react? ;)