A/N: I know I said this was Faith/Buffy but it's going to be a long time getting there. Buffy's with Riley…and Faith has a love interest of her own. There's also going to be a little Willow/Tara pairing. Thank you for bearing with me.

Peace

Part 2

It was 9:30 AM: too damn early for class, yet class there was. A blonde sat towards the middle of the room, smack dab in the center of her row, next to a redheaded friend. The friend was jotting down notes enthusiastically, on a notepad to the side of a discarded laptop. It would seem she was having computer troubles, as her writing seemed frustrated. Despite that factor, she still didn't deter her attention from the teacher in front of the class: Professor Maggie Walsh.

The blonde was a different story. Her chin was tucked downward towards her chest, which rose and fell steadily with her breath. Her right hand loosely held a pencil, but it didn't move. As a brunette stood in the doorway watching this class she was supposedly in, a smirk crept across her features when that certain blonde slumped further down in her seat.

"The human psyche is a mystery," Walsh was saying. "You have read the works of several philosophers and great thinkers of this world. John Locke was one such philosopher. In the Essay Concerning Human Understanding Locke examines the nature of the human mind and the process by which it knows the world. Repudiating the traditional doctrine of innate ideas, Locke believed that the mind is born blank, a tabula rasa…"

Walsh cleared her throat and directed her gaze to the back of the lecture hall where the brunette stood. "This tabula rasa is an interesting concept. Interpretation may vary, but in laymen's terms it refers to the mind as an empty blackboard at birth. As life progresses we as human beings are granted with the gift to fill it with what we will. Locke said it was the five senses that filled our inner blackboards with the knowledge we gain. And then we use that knowledge to explain what has no true definition: time, space, infinity, etcetera," she coughed once more to clear her throat again.

"Wonderful work, I must say, Miss. Rosenberg," she smiled briefly at the redhead before looking back at the brunette. "That, class, is analysis. That is looking into human nature. 'We explain what we don't know with what we do know,' Miss. Rosenberg. How would you, say, explain the unknown arrival student standing in the back of this room? We don't know why she's here; she has no books. What would you say?"

The brunette blinked slowly as the class turned, questioningly, towards her general direction. "I'm sorry, Professor, I just…" Walsh cut her off with a wave of her hand.

"Unless your name is Rosenberg, then please let my student express herself freely. Willow, use Locke's reasoning to come to your conclusion," the professor prodded.

The redhead spoke up, stumbling over her words at first. She hadn't expected to be called upon. "Well, judging from her confusion and wariness, I-I'd guess that she is a transfer," she glanced at the blonde who'd just been jolted from her sleep. "I'd assume she just only arrived a day ago, and that would be the reason for her lack of supplies, Professor Walsh."

The whole class was looking to the brunette for clarification. "What's up? I'm Faith Dormer. I flew in from Boston last night and got here at four o'clock this morning. I haven't had the time to even think about getting class materials, let alone the time to get me a caffeine fix," the girl smirked at the laughs she got from the students. "I just came today so I'd know where this place is and see what the teacher's like. You know, I was kinda hoping for one of those young, hot, new guy teacher types, but the world ain't perfect, ya know?" More laughs broke the silence.

"Welcome to Sunnydale, Miss. Dormer, but I'm obviously not the strapping young lad you were hoping for," Walsh's rare show of sarcasm sent chills through her class. "Furthermore, I hope you will understand when I ask you to not show you face in this lecture hall again until you are properly prepared. There is no excuse in my class, Faith. You may have just arrived in town, but class materials and books are listed under the course description. You had time to get it, you just felt lazy," a bell sounded. "Class is dismissed until we meet again on Wednesday. Faith, if I see you, I expect to see your books with you."

Faith grinned as the class moved passed her and out the door. "It's all five by five, Professor. I got it under control. This year won't be boring, I assure you," she winked and took her leave.

Visit me once again in my far away home.
This isn't where I'm from,
But it's where I belong.

With you in my arms I can see the sun,
And the flames don't burn my eyes.
When I'm gone you can find me again.

Peaceful surrender to your holy land,
God let me find your way to the calm.
God let me find your way.

Peaceful arms that surround me tight,
Let me kiss the lips of your body soft,
You are who made you, you are.

Be my shield from the chaos and pain.
Dance with me in the lightning storm,
And let our electricity run free.

A soft strumming came from the campus courtyard. Students lay on blankets, eating sandwiches, enjoying picnics. Back in Boston it would be below ten degrees with a wind chill. Faith was still adjusting to the change in climate, but she wasn't complaining.

She sat propped against a tall oak tree and fiddled with an acorn in her hands. The newcomer was fixated on the auburn haired guitarist. She's the same chick from the airport. Damn. We both could have saved cash if we'd shared a ride…Faith mused about something that didn't quite matter. Her opinion remained unchanged: the girl was good, and her words were sweet.

Faith was never really an acoustic fan. She much preferred heavy rock, some metal, with some classic rock thrown in. But hearing this stranger, who was so passionate in her amateur endeavors, gave the brunette new insight. This new place ain't so bad, she thought. That Walsh has got to lighten up though. I might be able to help with that. Hey look, it's that Willow chick from Walsh's class and her blonde sleeper friend.

Faith pushed herself to her feet and began to make her way towards the two other young women, slinging her leather jacket over her shoulder. "Mind if I make myself welcome?" She sent a seductive gaze over to a man who was sitting with them. He looked goofy: cute, but goofy. As she sat down with them at their blanket, a new song reached across the grass. This one was slow, haunting, and lonely.

I'm away, away, away from everything I knew.
Ooo, help me make my knowledge new.
My memory is too full of things I lost.
Help me make my mind a tabula, tabula rasa.
Give my life a clean slate, because I need room for you.
I need room for you and the new family this place brings.

A/N: This was short, but you'll get used to all of my stories and chapters being not too long. Tell me what you think!