Chapter Five: Friends and Enemies

The next morning, Willow and Kennedy walked down stairs to see Faith and Tara sitting at the kitchen counter drinking coffee and talking.

"You're up?" Willow asked, sitting down next to Tara and frowning at her best friend.

"Yeah. I had trouble sleeping. I've been up for a while," Tara explained, not looking at either girl next to her as she spoke.

"Thin walls, Red," Faith said, a smirk crossing her features.

As Willow blushed, Tara turned her head and glared at Faith. "What?" Faith asked, feigning innocence.

"You know what," Tara said, hitting her arm.

"Tara, I am so sorry," Willow apologized, looking at her friend. "How much did you hear?" she asked, embarrassment and guilt clear in her voice.

"Not much. I walked out as soon as I figured out what was going on. I did not want to know about your sex life," Tara explained, looking over at Willow with a playful smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Willow nodded and touched Tara's arm. "Are you okay? You look upset."

"Yeah. Just tired."

"I'm really sorry, Tara. I didn't know that the walls were thin," Willow repeated, feeling extremely guilty for causing her friend's exhaustion.

Tara shrugged. "It's okay. I had some time to explore the house, and catch up with Faith."

"Faith?" Willow asked, turning to look at the brunette that was leaning against the counter.

"Couldn't sleep so I kept T company," Faith said by way of explanation.

"Oh."

Kennedy watched them all for a few moments before walking up behind Willow. "What are we doing today?" she asked, kissing Willow's cheek and wrapping her arms around her waist.

Willow just shrugged, looking at Faith and Tara. "Any plans?"

"Sleeping," Tara responded, smiling at Willow jokingly.

"Want company with that, T?" Faith asked, smirking at Tara rolling her eyes and Willow's sudden defensive posture.

"I think I can figure out how to sleep on my own. Thanks though," Tara responded, pushing her friend's shoulder slightly before walking out of the room to go get some much needed sleep.

When Willow turned to Faith, Kennedy slipped out of the kitchen and went after Tara. She caught up to Tara after a few steps and grabbed her arm. "We need to talk," she said, feeling angry.

"What is it, Kennedy?" Tara asked, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep.

"I want to talk about last night," she said glaring at Tara. "Were you spying on us? Putting your ear to the wall so you can hear what it sounds like when Willow comes? We both know it's the only way you'll ever hear it."

Tara stared at Kennedy in silence for a few moments as her words registered in her mind. "No. I wouldn't do that to her. I wouldn't listen in on anyone," Tara responded, angry at the accusation.

"Sure you wouldn't. If you did though, then I hope it hurt to hear her moan my name. I hope it cut at you knowing that I was the one causing those sounds to escape her," Kennedy snapped, smirking at Tara as she turned and walked back into the kitchen, leaving Tara confused and shaking from anger.

Back in the kitchen, Willow glared at Faith. "Did you really have to be so crude? All she's doing is taking a nap."

"It was a joke, Red. T knew it and laughed it off. She knows I wasn't serious," Faith replied, defending her earlier comment.

"A joke? You offered to go to bed with her, Faith. That is not a joke, that is a crude comment," Willow snapped, angry at Faith's bold words.

"Yeah? You think it's crude for me to say that, and yet you and Butch hang all over each other in front of Tara. Do you not even care that your hurting her every time you kiss or touch that bitch?"

"Kennedy is my girlfriend. Tara knows that. I don't see how its a problem if I kiss her," Willow responded.

"Not a problem? Tara has been in love with you for years and you're to busy seeing other people to even notice her. You're destroying her with ever new girl you choose over her," Faith snapped, angry at Willow for not seeing what was right in front of her.

"You expect me to believe that. What about the people that she dated? We both dated other people. Damn it, Faith. You and I dated before you left Sunnydale. So don't even go self-righteous on me," Willow reminded her.

"Yeah. We dated, and I screwed up a lot of things by ending things with you the way I did. I shouldn't have hurt you, but I saw the way T looked at you and couldn't hurt her. I ended our relationship as soon as I saw her feelings for you," Faith responded, feeling guilty as she thought about their past relationship.

"This isn't about that," Willow said, not budging. She knew their conversation had changed from the main topic and wanted to go back to that. "This is about the comment you made to Tara before she left."

"And it was a harmless joke. That's all it was. I'm not interested in her that way, Red, if that's whats bothering you."

Before Willow could answer Kennedy walked back into the kitchen. "What'd I miss?" she asked, feeling the tension in the room.

"Nothing. We were just talking," Willow said, turning away from Faith and looking at Kennedy. "Want to go out tonight?"

"Totally. I need to get out of this place. I feel so crowded here."

Faith lifted an eyebrow at Kennedy's words, but didn't say anything as she walked out to check on Tara.

A/N: Thank you Gimpy72 for helping me with this chapter by giving me ideas and helping to make sure it worked.

A/N2: For anyone who doesn't like how I made Kennedy act, then I'm sorry but I need her to be rude for this story. I have no problem with Kennedy, except that she dated Willow before Willow even had a real chance to grieve. So don't start bashing the fact that I had Kennedy act rude. This is one story where I'm making Kennedy the enemy. She is, after all, Cordy's little sister in this story.