After a few minutes of staring at her hands, Buffy dragged herself up. Willow. She needed to talk to Willow. She grabbed the phone, punching in the number with shaking fingers.
"Yeah?" Faith growled in her ear.
"Hey, it's Buffy." Duh, I'm sure Faith couldn't recognize your voice. "Is Will there?"
A snort came through the phone. "Nah, it's not like she lives here or anything." An angry voice sounded in the background. When Faith spoke again, her voice was resigned. "She's here. Hang on, B."
The wait wasn't long. "Buffy? Hi! Are you home? I met your new roommate. She seems…"
"Will!" Buffy interrupted. A shocked silence followed her outburst. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just…there's a problem with Tara."
"Already?" Willow's voice squeaked. "She's not another demon is she?"
Leaning her head against the wall, Buffy mumbled, "No. I'm betting she thinks I'm one, though." Hurrying to avoid the questions she was sure were on the way, Buffy continued, "You think we could move up the get together at the Bronze? There are some things you guys need to know about me and Tara."
"I guess so. We were just going to dinner before heading to the Bronze. You want to join us for food before fun?" Willow asked.
Did she want to have dinner with them? Buffy considered that. Willow pestering her with questions while Faith glared because she was interrupting their romantic dinner plans. "No." The refusal was firm. "I'm going to head by Mom's and say hi. She's been mopey lately. Can we meet at, say, seven instead of eight?"
"Seven it is. Um…Are you bringing Tara? I kind of invited her along," Willow mumbled the last few words.
"I don't think she's coming, Will." One more lie wouldn't make any difference at this point. Right? Buffy vowed to explain everything – even today's scene with Tara – when they met at the Bronze. "She…she said she had something else to do."
Willow's voice ended in a gasp, and a loud smack sounded. Buffy heard Faith grumbling in the background. "OK. Um…is…is that all, Buffy?" Willow cleared her throat. "'Cause, you know, things to do and all that."
More like Faith to do, Buffy commented to herself. "Yeah, that's it. Can you let Xander know…" The line went dead. "…about the change in plans, too?" she said to the dial tone. "Guess not."
Her next call yielded a message for Xander. Of course, knowing his mother, he'd never get it. She'd call again from home. Grabbing her Emergency Slaying Kit, Buffy ran out of the dorm, lengthening her stride as soon as she cleared the more populated areas. The trip didn't take long. She stood awkwardly outside the front door. Should she knock? She didn't live here anymore, even if she had a key. Deciding to cover all her bases, Buffy rapped her knuckles against the door a couple of times before using her key to let herself in.
"Mom?" she called out.
Joyce rushed out of the kitchen, smiling. "Buffy!" She grabbed a stunned Buffy in a crushing hug. "You're OK? Nothing's wrong?"
Wiggling a little against the tight embrace, Buffy shook her head. "No. Everything's fine." She cursed her mother's instincts. Joyce's eyebrows rose. "They are. All is good in Buffyland." The eyebrows didn't come down, and Buffy slumped against her mother. "Alright. You win."
"I usually do, honey." Joyce pulled away, leaving an arm wrapped around Buffy's waist. She walked them to the living room and sat down on the couch. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I mostly want to crawl into a deep hole and stay there," Buffy mumbled.
Pulling a leg up on the couch, Joyce turned to Buffy. "Sounds serious."
Buffy nodded. "Yeah. Way serious." She picked up a pillow, hugging it tightly to her chest. "Remember right before we moved here, we had this big argument?" Buffy kept her gaze on the floor. "You said a lot of stuff I didn't want to hear. Mostly about the way I was acting and my loser friends."
"Honey-" Joyce sat forward, a hand on Buffy's knee.
"You were right, Mom. So right." A tear slipped out. "My new roommate showed up this afternoon," Buffy went on.
Joyce's hand tightened on her knee. "Is she nice?"
"I don't know." More tears spilled over. "She ran out as soon as she met me." Buffy bit her lip, depression setting in.
"Buffy, I'm confused." Joyce gripped Buffy's chin, raising her head and looking into her eyes. "First, you mention a fight we had over three years ago and now you're crying because you're new roommate didn't like you? Honey, please tell me what's really bothering you."
"I don't think we have that much time." Buffy tried to pull away. Tried to get back some control. It didn't work. The fingers on her chin tightened in warning. Joyce wasn't going away. "OK. It's…it's kind of a long story."
Joyce chuckled and moved back a little. "You know what they say, honey. Start from the beginning."
Tara gripped the paper cup in her hands and stared at the murky liquid. Why couldn't life get any better? Last year had been fine. She'd hidden away in her single-occupant room and studied. Tara smiled at the memory. No shouting or hitting. No demands to care for her father and brother. Just the luxury of her books and her magic.
Then the university's budget crisis had interfered, and she'd lost her work-study job. That's why Tara had given up the single room. And that, she told herself grimly, was when the real problem – Buffy Summers – had reentered her life.
"More coffee?" A cheerful voice broke into her thoughts.
Glancing up, Tara blushed and shook her head. "No, I'm f-fine." It was true. Or…it would be. Tara was good at being fine.
The young woman in the Student Union T-shirt was persistent. "You sure? I just brewed this." She peered into Tara's cup. "That looks like it's been there awhile."
"No, thank you." Tara forced her shoulders straighter and gave - the nametag said Tina - a small smile.
"Sure." With a wave of her coffee pot, Tina sauntered away. Tara watched her progress as she bounced from table to table.
The large Student Union was full for a Friday night. She checked the clock. Six thirty. Almost time for her to call Willow and her girlfriend about the thing at the Bronze. If only Buffy hadn't come back to the room first. Damn it. She'd actually been looking forward to getting out and meeting some new people. Her only 'friends' were the members of her Wicca group.
Tara wasn't so sure 'friends' was the right word.
This was getting her nowhere. Tara took one last sip of her coffee, grimacing at the cold, bitter taste and stood up. She had to find a place to stay for the night. The library was open late. And, since it was the weekend, there wouldn't be too much trouble finding a quiet corner to hide in.
The last rays of sunshine had already faded when she exited the union building. Right now, the campus looked deserted. Only a few students traversed the paths.
"Hey, wait up!" a voice shouted behind her.
Tara continued to walk, head bowed and book bag banging against her hip.
"Hey!" the voice said again and a hand grabbed her arm.
Flinching from the contact, Tara tried to jerk away. Her eyes flew up to check out her attacker.
The coffee girl from the union?
Tara relaxed slightly but continued to try to move away from the hand on her arm.
"Sorry." Tina smiled reassuringly and stepped back. She put her hands in the air in a gesture of apology. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"Th-that's OK," Tara lied. "I j-just didn't hear y-you behind me." Smiling at Tina, she spoke slowly, hoping to stave off more stuttering. "I'm headed to the library. What about you?"
Her response caused Tina's eyes to widen. "The library? On a Friday night?" A slender arm wrapped around Tara's waist, and Tina moved them off the path and across the grass in the quad. "I've got some friends at one of the houses on Greek Row. They're having a little party."
"P-party?" Tara froze. "I…I don't d-do parties." Parties meant people and talking. No parties.
"Hey, we don't bite." Tina's teeth flashed in the dim lighting of the pathway. "Come on. I promise it'll be fun."
Tara nibbled on her lip but let Tina resume their trek. Maybe it would be OK. Maybe, just this once, things would work out. "Which house?" she managed to ask.
"Tri Sigma." Tina leaned her head down, resting it on Tara's. It was too close, too soon.
Squirming, Tara tried to put some distance between them.
Tina's grip tightened.
That was it. Tara jerked against the arm holding her but couldn't break free. "Let me go!"
"That isn't part of the plan." Wrenching her around, Tina smiled down at her. "Too bad for the others you got cold feet. Good for me, though. I won't have to share."
Tara screamed when Tina's face shift into something out of a horror movie. She dug her feet into the ground, fighting to get away. She wasn't strong enough. Breath coming in hoarse gasps, Tara searched her memory for something, anything…An image of her mother and their attic room surfaced. Yes. That would work.
She stopped struggling and began to chant. Power sluggishly filled her channels. Opening herself more fully to the magical energies around her, Tara pulled in more. Her skin tingled with the influx.
"Hey, did one of you ask for an escort home?" a voice asked out of the darkness.
The interruption shattered Tara's concentration. The magic surrounding her splintered and then grounded in a rush. Dizzy and shaking from the strain, she stared at the slender brunette twirling a piece of wood in her hand.
"Slayer." Tina seemed to know her. She threw Tara to the ground and rushed forward with an inhuman growl. She managed three steps.
With a casual flick of her wrist, the other girl tossed the wood. It flew through the air like a bullet, lodging in Tina's chest. Seconds later, Tina disappeared.