Tree Hill Slayer

Chapter 4

Buffy headed home with Peyton and dropped her duffel in the girl's living room. Peyton had a really comfy home, but it was obvious to Buffy that the only people living there were a teenage girl and her father. And that said father hadn't been there in a while.

"Like the place?" Peyton said, "I know I'm probably taking a huge risk letting you stay here and everything, but it's been a crazy year. So make yourself at home." She disappeared down the hallway and a few seconds later, Buffy heard loud music come on.

For a second she thought about the Bronze and the way the music there used to be so loud that it pumped into her. She loved to dance there with Will and Xand nearby, laughing, having a good time. But she shook her head. The Bronze was in Sunnydale and she was in Tree Hill. She walked down the hallway and found Peyton's bedroom.

It had been a whirlwind day that had started in L.A. But now Buffy was so far from there. She was standing in the doorway of her new friend's bedroom looking at the artwork all over the girl's walls. The loud music sound like punk rock. Buffy didn't have the biggest musical knowledge, but she recognized the beat. And after she listened for a minute, she recognized the band.

"Cibo Matto?" she asked, over the music.

Peyton was sitting at her desk, tracing a comic of three girls talking in a coffee shop. Buffy could tell that one of them was her. She looked up when she heard Buffy's voice. "Wait," she said, amused, "You know who this is?"

"Yeah. They played at the.. The club in my old town."

"No way!" Peyton looked impressed. "In L.A?"

Buffy didn't want the other girl looked up their tour list and seeing that she was lying so she decided to come clean- about her old home anyways. "In Sunnydale. It's a town right near there."

Peyton shrugged. "Never heard of it."

Buffy couldn't say she wasn't pleased to hear that. She was glad that Sunnydale was a no name town on the other side of the country. "Yeah. It's kinda small. But we have a mall."

"Oh?" The other blond laughed and got up from her desk and headed over to her bed. "You're quirky," she said as she sat down. "But you're cool. So tell me about you. Tell me why you're here and not back there in Sunny-whatever-the-hell."

There were so many reasons really, Buffy thought. For one, she was tired of being a slayer. She was tired of having everyone count on her. And she was tired of having to worry about her friends being threatened or put in danger just by hanging out with her and the things she got involved with. She hated that in Sunnydale she had fallen in love with a vampire with a soul, then watched as that soul was ripped away from him, and he was allowed to go around torturing her and her friends and family. She had lost Ms. Calendar because of it. But most of all, she hated that because of the fact that she was the slayer, and her vampire boyfriend was well, a vampire, she had to kill him. She had to stab him through the chest with a sword blessed by a knight to keep Acathla from sucking everything into Hell. But of course, she couldn't tell Peyton any of that. She couldn't tell ANYONE any of that if she wanted any chance of having a normal life in Tree Hill. So she just said, "Bad break-up," and sat down beside Peyton.

Peyton leaned back on her arms. "Oh girl, I feel you there. Break-ups are the worst. Until recently, Brooke and I were sharing the same guy. Try that out."

The Slayer tried to look impressed, but of course, a love triangle was nothing compared to what Buffy had gone through. Nothing could compare really. Buffy had to KILL her boyfriend right as he got his soul back to keep the world from ENDING. And not just Buffy's world- but everyone in Tree Hill's worlds too. The entire world's world. And of course Peyton and Brooke and Haley from the coffee shop didn't have an idea about that. "That WOULD suck," she said to her new friend. "My boyfriend just became.. really abusive."

Peyton's eyes widened. "Oh my God, are you okay? Did you report him?"

"I'm okay now," Buffy assured her, "And he's taken care of. Don't worry."

"Is that why you know kick-boxing?" The artist asked her, obviously interested in learning more about the girl she'd just let move in with her.

"Yeah. But.. It's just something that comes in handy living in Sunnydale."

"Yeah? Is it a bad neighborhood?"

"Yes," Buffy said. "It's overrun with.. gangs."

She heard the front door open then and footsteps crossing the hallway and coming down the hall. She got up quickly, stood in Peyton's doorway, and then when the person sneaking in was close enough, she jumped, pined the intruder against the hallway wall.

"Shit!" Brooke yelled, "What the fuck!"

Buffy realized it was her friend and let her go. She backed up, unable to believe that she'd just done that and stepped back into Peyton's room. Peyton was bending over, laughing hard again.

"Oh my GOD!" Brooke said, and stepped in, "You usually go around attacking girls?"

"I thought you were a dem-" Buffy clamped her mouth shut. What had gotten into her? She searched for a word that sounded like the beginning of the word 'demon'. "A dim-witted intruder!" she finally chose.

"No!" Brooke said and looked at Peyton. "I'm Brooke!"

Peyton shook her head and caught her breath. "Buffy's a kick boxer from some bad town near L.A. She was just trying to keep us from getting assalted or something. It's cool. Sit down." Peyton got up and went back to her desk, but turned her chair around to see the others and Brooke took her place on the bed.

"I know it's kinda weird that Peyton leaves her door unlocked," Brooke said and rubbed her shoulder. "But did you have to shove me against the wall so hard? Sheesh, you coulda broken my shoulder."

Buffy frowned. She hadn't realized she'd used to much strength. But she said, "I'm sorry," and tried to look genuine. She would have to keep her slayer strength under control from them on. She didn't want anyone finding out about her powers.

"Brooke's fine," Peyton said, "she's just being a winey baby." She stuck her tongue out at her best friend.

"Shut up," Brooke said and rolled her eyes. Then she turned to Buffy. "So why are you here anyways?"

"Bad break-up," Peyton provided.

"Oh God," Brooke replied. "I'm sure I have you topped..."

"You don't," Peyton told her. "Believe me. Her boyfriend was abusive."

"Oh," Brooke looked at Buffy. She couldn't imagine why anyone would wanna beat up on Buffy. Buffy was gorgeous and had a really nice body. Brooke didn't feel bad admitting it to herself either. It wasn't weird for one hot girl to find another girl hot, right?

They were quiet for a minute, and then suddenly Brooke sat up straight and said, "I have an idea! Let's all get drunk and drink our problems away!"

Buffy wasn't much of a drinker..Or she hadn't been in Sunnydale. But she was in Tree Hill now and she was different person. Or she was trying to be a different person. Buffy Summers new better than to get drunk, because intoxicated, she couldn't slay vamps or protect her friends and family from demons. But Buffy Winters was not Buffy Summers. And so she found no reason not to accept the girls offer. She did need to stop thinking about everything and maybe drinking with Brooke and Peyton would allow her to do that.