Series Name: A Different Route
Disclaimers: I own nothing. No money is being made. (I wish, but who in their right mind would pay me for this?)
Author: Liv
Feedback[LiV@grlmail.com]: Always welcome. Good or bad opinions I don't care. Wanna flame me? BITE ME! But please, if you really wanna cus out my fic, drop me a line. But don't cry to me when I flame ya back. (What can I say...karma baby! :P)
Rating: I think somewhere between PG-13 to 14A and maybe even R.
Notes: This is my second Chapter of my Series "A Different Route." This is the sequel to Hide and Seek so it be a good idea to read the previous chapters first. The beginning of the fic won't make sense if you don't so read it! This takes place after Buffy leaves Sunnyhell and about a few weeks before she returns.
Spoilers: Stuff from the eps. "Anne"and "Faith, Hope and Trick."

PART 1 --- PART 2 --- PART 3 --- PART 4

Buffy woke the next day feeling an unknown presence in the room. She grabbed her stake from underneath her mattress and sat up on her bed slowly. It was around 6 in the morning but it was still a little dark for her to see anything. She crawled slowly to the end of the bed to see a dark figure lying on the floor in front of her tv. Suddenly she remembered who that figure was. She remembered the other night when she met the new Slayer. Faith. //How could I forget?//

She looked at the girl as she slept and the look on the other girl's face surprised her. Most people when they sleep, have a look of peace and serenity. The girl before her did not have that look of peace or serenity. Instead it was more like a look of uncertainty, failure, and worry. There was something wrong wasn't there? She bit her lip and felt guilty about her earlier thoughts of the other Slayer. But how could she help herself? Anyone would've thought 'slut' looking at the way the girl dressed. She looked at Faith's cloths and wondered how the girl managed to breathe in such tightness. She suddenly noticed something on the other girl's right bicep. It was a barb-wire tattoo. Suddenly new words were added to her vocabulary that described her sister slayer that included the word slut. Words like bad-ass and...

"What?" said a low raspy voice.

Buffy jumped and fell off her bed. She was startled by Faith's husky feminine voice.

"Huh?" Buffy said picking herself up off the floor. She had a look on her face like she was a child caught steeling candy from the bulk section of a grocery store.

"You were staring at me." Faith said with her eyes still closed.

"Oh. W-Well I was looking at your tattoo."

"Funky huh?" The brown haired girl got up and stretched in a cat like gesture. She yawned and looked at Buffy with lazy eyes. "What time is it?"

Buffy thanked the sudden subject change and looked at her clock. "Six-oh-two.... why?"

"Jesus girl why'd ya wake me up so damn early!" Faith moaned and layed back down on the floor.

"Your not exactly a morning person are you?" Buffy said mocking the other girl. She got up off the bed and decided to prepare for work. She headed toward the bathroom to her morning ritual of brushing her teeth, showering and etc.

"It's not that..... I just fell asleep less then two hours ago."

"Couldn't sleep?" Buffy called out from the bathroom.

"Yeah." There was a long pause before she heard the other girl continue. "I was watching an e-early bird movie special." She stuttered.

The tone of the other girl voice seemed weak and hesitant like she was hiding something, but Buffy decided to ignore it and not butt in on the other girl's business. She undressed herself and got into the shower. There was definitely something the girl was hiding. But what? Would it be that bad that she couldn't even tell her the truth? //Duh! That's why she hasn't told ya yet.// She felt worried and confused but also unsure of herself all at once. She was unsure about whether or not she should help the girl or not. Faith hasn't said anything to her up to now which meant she didn't want help. Then again the look on her Faith's face as she slept made Buffy feel compassion for her sister Slayer making her want nothing but to help her.

When she was done, she dressed herself up in her waitress outfit and dried her hair that she later tied up. She finally left the bathroom. "Ya know Faith. I'm gonna be gone all day at work so you could use-"

She looked up and saw that the other Slayer was already asleep in *her* bed. Her face still didn't show any sign of peace, but it didn't show any sign of worry either. It was asleep and resting. //Good.// Maybe she could help this girl. She was after all a Slayer, and Slayers stuck together. Right? Well there isn't a real answer for that since she and Faith were the only Slayers to have this experience. She sighed and checked her clock. It was 6:45. //Time for work!//

*****
It was around noon and Buffy was getting worried. She was at work and it had been thankfully not busy. The construction workers were finally done. Usually Reed would be here by now chatting up a storm with her while she was on her break. But he hadn't shown up today. She was hoping that he wouldn't be that mad at her for ditching him the night before. But from the looks of things, he must be pissed. //Poor guy. He had to spend the night all alone with a bunch of fat-//

"Anne!"

Buffy jumped again for the second time that day. //Geez! What's with people scaring the shit out of me?//

"Hi Reed."

"So like what happened to ya babe?" He walked up to her and gave her a quick hug then sat down in one the booths. "I said I'd be back in a jiffy and all of a sudden you bailed out on me. What happened?"

"Sorry about that. Something came up." Why wasn't she telling him about Faith? Was she hiding her? Why didn't she just-

"S'Okay. I hung out with a friend." He smiled at her seeing the guilty look on her face. "Don't feel bad. I had lots of fun."

Friend? Did he mean guy friend or girl? "Friend?"

"Yeah his name is Vince. He's an old friend. You haven't met him yet." He layed back in the booth and rested his head on his arms that were behind his head. He waggled his eyebrows and said. "Jealous?"

Buffy let out her breath she didn't realize she was holding and giggled. "Nah. Just worried that you'd hate me after what happened." She smiled and sat across from him relieved he spent the night with a guy. She still had hope that she could somehow make their friendship more then that. Reed was a great guy! He was funny, sweet, extremely yummy and a damn good dresser too. He was perfect. And best of all normal!

"Your too cute to hate girl!" He winked at her making Buffy blush.

She hated the way he would make her blush but she liked him a lot so in a way it was worth it. Now if she could just figure out a way they could go out on another date...

"But I feel really guilty about ditchin' you Reed." Buffy said initiating her plan. She was gonna have a date with him no matter what and she'd do anything to make it happen. Well, almost anything.

"So make it up to me!" He smiled. "Anyway ya want hon."

Buffy was practically beaming. He'd just given the opportunity to her on a silver platter. "We could go on a date!"

For some reason he didn't look too happy about the idea. "A date?"

//Uh-oh! Think fast Summers, think fast!// Plan A didn't seem to work. Where's plan B? "U-u-uh...." //Jesus girl! How long does it take for you to say a whole sentence?// "DOUBLE DATE!" She practically screamed. She was so loud she startled the poor guy and he sorta jumped back a bit in his seat.

"Double date?"

"Y-Yeah! Ya know....you bring a date worthy friend and I bring a date worthy friend and we...uh...we..." She started but just didn't quite know how to finish.

"Date?" Reed offered.

"Yeah!"

She looked at Reed's face and he looked like he was in deep thought. Shit. He was thinking. Not good. Not very good at all.

"I don't know Anne...." He started but she cut him off.

"You could bring that friend of yours from last night." Buffy offered. She hoped that this would change his mind. Did he really not want to go out with her?

"Anne....how did you...are you sure?" Reed said with a surprised look.

Why was he so shocked?

"Of course I'm sure. I'm sooooo fine with it."

Reed let out a sigh of relief. "Geez. I never thought you'd guess. I mean...I was so scared to tell you about it."

"No don't worry about it." She was so happy. He had feelings for her! Feelings that were so strong that he was so scared to tell her about. This was perfect!

"Yeah but-"

"You know what, I was thinking the same thing," she said as she blushed. She had to tell him how she felt too. She needed him to know that she saw something there between them.

"Really?" he asked with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah," Buffy sighed with relief that she could finally let it all out. "I was so nervous to bring it up, that I just decided to let it out that I've accepted it."

"Uh-huh." Reed said paying attention to every word that came out of her mouth.

"And I've accepted you!"

Reed smiled at her. "God I was so nervous to tell you," he paused, "it's cool how we both had the same feelings."

Buffy felt like she was in heaven. Reed had the same feeling for her and they were gonna show each other how they truly felt tonight! She looked into his eyes and he looked relaxed and happy. She smiled at him and felt the urge to kiss him, but instead she gave him a hug.

"I like you Reed."

"I like you too Anne."

Now if she could just figure who she would bring to the date.....

*****
Faith yawned and stretched out her sore muscles. She had slept the entire day and it was great. It had been a while since she'd had a whole bed to herself. It wasn't hers but it was still good. She didn't dream though. She could've dreamt about something, but she probably forgot about it. She was happy about it because as of right now she had bigger problems to worry about then her dreams attacking her when she slept. Her biggest problem was of course how she was gonna tell Buffy about Him. Kakistos. It pained her to say his name let alone think it, but she had to say it because she would have to eventually. But how could you tell someone that you let your Watcher die before your eyes. How could you say you got chicken and therefore killed your watcher. You couldn't.

//Shit Faith! Quit brooding! It's not gonna get you anywhere.// She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. Sleep. That's what she needed. Lot's of it too. She fluffed her (more like Buffy's) pillow with a punch or two and layed her head down. All the thinking she was doing was making her cranky. And crabby. And bitchy, and every other word in the dictionary that described how pissed off she was feeling. She *so* needed sleep and if she didn't get it now she was gonna burst! She was about to fall into a long and comfortable sleep when the front door busted open and some blonde ran into the room screaming her name.

"FAITH!"

"WHAT!" She screamed back.

"You're still sleeping?" Buffy said getting closer to the bed.

"Yeah. Your point?" Faith barked with a pissed off look on her face. She so wanted to sleep right now instead of chat it up with the other Slayer. She knew if she wasn't careful, she'd slip and tell Buffy EVERYTHING.

Buffy looked shocked at Faith's reaction and she had a deer in headlights look. Faith softened her look feeling rude and mean. Afterall, it was Buffy's bed she was sleep on. "Sorry B. Just catchin some Z's. Hadn't slept in a while and you interrupted me."

"Oh. Sorry about that." Buffy grinned softly sitting on the bed.

"It's all good. I get a little grouchy when I don't sleep enough." Faith said sitting herself up against the headboard.

"A little?"

Faith looked at Buffy a little offended but she saw the blonde smile indicating it was a joke. She chucked her pillow at the blonde and they both began to laugh. Faith suddenly noticed that Buffy was wearing a waitress outfit. She had the sudden need of teasing the other Slayer back. "Nice oufit ya got there!"

"Hey!"

"Hey!" Faith mocked in a high-pitch tone attempting to sound like the other Slayer.

"That's it! OUT!" Buffy teased.

"Whoa! Quit Spazzing! Just joking with ya." She waggled her eyebrows causing the other girl to laugh.

After the blonde had stoppped laughing she got up and sat right next to Faith and cleared her throat.

"I know we haven't known each other for that long...." Buffy started.

"And?" Faith was terrified. //Shit! She's gonna ask if something's wrong. Then your gonna blab out everything, then she'll know and she'll hate you and-//

"W-well....how do I put it?" Buffy paused looking like she was in deep thought.

Shit! She was thinking! Not good! Not good!

"Just say it B!" Faith said trying her earnest to sound confident. This was it. She was gonna have to spill everything no matter what. No more hiding, no more lies. Could she handle it? Could she let out all that pain and let someone help her?

"I need a favor." Buffy said looking down at her hands shly.

//Did she say she needed a favor?// Whew! She just wanted a favor. Faith let out her breath that she'd been holding for a while and smiled with relief. "Whatever Buff. Say it!"

"Would you go out on a date with me?"

"What?!"

"I mean a double date! Ya know you and I go with two other guys dating. Not you and me literally!"

"Oh!" Faith replied. For a second she thought that Buffy was suddenly dykin' out on her but she wasn't. Faith suddenly realized something. "Ya mean you got me on a blind date!?"

"Well sort of..." Buffy trailed.

"Shit B! When did I ask you to play match maker? Frig! When did I ever say I was looking?" She screamed.

"Please Faith!" Buffy begged. The girl was so desperate that she began to get on her hands and knees and beg. It was pretty pathetic. Faith almost felt sorry for the poor thing. Almost.

"Just this once Faith! You don't even have to like the guy or hold his hand or-"

"You not making it any better B!" Faith said getting up off the bed and running her hand through her dark hair.

"We're just gonna go to the movies and grab a pizza after, and maybe a little dancing." Buffy insisted.

Faith was pacing now. She was contemplating on whether or not she should go through with the date or not. She didn't know the girl but she wanted to help her. How could she resist when Buffy was giving her puppy eyes and looking so helpless? Maybe she could use this situation as a sort of black-mail.....

"Tell ya what," Faith began. She turned around and faced Buffy. "as long as he's not *that* nasty lookin' and expecting me to screw him, I'm in."

"Yes!" Buffy practically screamed and she jumped on Faith giving her a super big bear hug.

"Easy there tiger!" Faith said feeling a bit awkward. She never was the touchy feely type.

Buffy suddenly realized she was hugging Faith and finally let go of her. "Sorry."

Faith gave her a weird look and smiled. "It's okay. Just no more of that for the rest of the night k."

"I promise!"

They smiled at each other for a while and suddenly Faith realized something.

"So who's your date anyway?"

"Huh?" Buffy was a little taken back by the sudden outburst.

"Since I'm gonna be fending off some dork, I wanna know who *you* are gonna be stuck suckin' face with." Faith stated cocking her head to one side and crossing her arms.

"I'm going out with Reed tonight as a matter of fact... who said I'll be suckin face at all tonight?" Buffy said trying desperately to defend herself.

Faith gave her a "I know your dirty little secret look" making Buffy blush a bit.

"Well...maybe a little kiss here and there..." Buffy trailed shly.

"What are you so shy about! There's a slut in every little girl. Even you!" Faith teased. //Not so innocent huh?//

"Hey! I'm no slut. Just a girl likin a guy who has feelings for her and....and...."

"You want to take him for a *ride*?" Faith offered.

Buffy's face paled a little before she playfully hit the other Slayer in the arm. "Jesus Faith! Does your mind revolve around sex 24/7?"

"Don't forget food! I looooove food!" Faith grinned rubbing her arm where Buffy hit it.

"Ugh! You're just like Xa- uh...nevermind." Buffy turned on her heels and headed for the bathroom.

"Who's Xa?" Faith asked wonderin' if Buffy was talking about an old ex. She followed after the girl and leaned against the bathroom door frame awaiting an answer.

"It's...... no one really.....why do you care anyway?" Buffy said getting her cloths for the night ready.

Faith didn't answer at first, but when she was about to respond she realized that the door was shut.

"Uh...you okay in there Buff?"

"Yeah....just changin' out of my work cloths."

Faith knew she was hiding something. Normally when someone hinted in that it was none of her business she would back off happily, but for some reason she felt like she owed it to the other Slayer to help her in any way she could. After all she did take Faith from the streets without questions. //More like you invited yourself in.// Faith thought feeling like a major bitca.

She hesitated a little but asked anyway. "You wanna talk about it?"

Silence. That wasn't a good sign. Nope. This meant that Faith was butting into deadly chick territory, and if someone was doing that to her, she'd wanna kick their ass. //Nice goin' Faith. Start packing cuz you outta here.// She sighed and was about to walk away from the door when it flew open revealing a naked Buffy covered up in a red silk robe.

"He was a friend." Buffy practically whispered.

"Oh."

"A really good friend. He was one of the the few friends I had back home." Buffy added in the same volume as earlier.

Faith nodded feeling a little unsure of what to do. Not many people opened up to her like that without wanting a *favor* in return, so this was kinda new territory for her.

"We kinda had this fight. Me, Xander....Willow....." Buffy continued. She was looking down at the floor as she said these names and Faith felt bad for giving the other Slayer bad memories. //Wait a second...Willow? What kind of a shit name is that?// She shook her head and reminded herself to stay in topic. //Who the hell would name their kid Willow?//

"They were my best friends." Buffy choked barely keeping back the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes.

The guilt was beginning to eat Faith when she saw how much pain the girl before her was goin' thru. //Smooth Faith. Real Smooooth. She's gonna cry now cuz ya opened your big ass mouth!//

Faith put her hand on Buffy's shoulder and looked into her emerald eyes.

"Look Buffy....we don't have to do this right now. Besides we've got dates tonight remember? We don't want to be late now do we?" Faith said changing the subject in hope that the other Slayer wouldn't feel so down. "And you need to get that smokey diner smell off ya cuz it's so gonna send the guy screaming!" She teased hoping that the blonde would laugh at her little joke and not be too offended.

Faith waited a little feeling nervous as hell until Buffy finally looked up and smiled at her and playfully hit her in the stomache. Faith coughed a little surprised by the blonde's reaction but was happy to see the blonde wasn't so down. //Hell ya! It worked! Bonus points for team Faith!//

"Bitch." Buffy smirked, and for the second time that day she gave her a hug. //Damn is she ever the touchy feely type!// Faith tensed a little but hugged back.

"I thought you said you weren't gonna do that no more!" Faith smirked as they pulled away.

"Yeah well I lied." Buffy grinned and walked back into the bathroom closing the door behind her.

*****
"We're almost there!" Buffy smiled feeling giddy.

They were slowly approaching a theatre and she was practically dragging Faith through a crowd of people on a sidewalk downtown. It was a busy night but it was still young. Her heart was pounding so hard she felt it pump through her entire body making her body temperature rize instantly. This was finally it. This was her chance to a have a normal relationship with a great guy. A guy that was sweet, charming, funny and a damn good dresser too!

"Can you loosin' up the vice-grip a little." She heard Faith from behind her. She looked down at her hand and she suddenly realized she was gripping Faith's arm very tightly. She loosened her grip and smiled sheepishly and mouthed a sorry.

"But you gotta keep up the pace! I don't wanna lose you in the crowd!" Buffy said with a smile and continued to pull Faith through to the theatres.

"I sooo don't want to miss out on the fun!" Faith said sarcastically. She pouted a little teasing her and winked at her continuing to follow her lead.

She liked Faith. Yeah she only new her a little more then 24 hours but the girl grew on her. She was so laid back and cool. She lived on the edge. She also had a great talent in sarcasm that she would fit perfectly in the right situations. Faith was funny too. She made her smile a lot, and although they didn't do much together or just even know each other enough, she was fun to be with. Buffy felt comfortable around Faith. Almost as if she knew her, her whole life. Maybe it was a Slayer thing? Or maybe because deep down underneath that dark make-up and tight leather exterior was a great person.

Speaking of leather Buffy couldn't help but noticed that was all Faith ever wore. Leather. She smirked at her earlier confrontation with the brunette when she insisted that she wear something a little more conservative. She told Faith that she could borrow one of her outfits since she didn't have any cloths of her own. Course Faith completely ignored her and instead bought herself a red tank top and a pair of tight black leather pants and a dark blue denim jacket. Where Faith got the money for it boggled her mind, but she didn't bother asking.

Buffy stopped thinking about her outfit and checked out her own outfit. It wasn't too preppy but it wasn't too wild either. She a had a black tube top with a blue satin button shirt that she buttoned once in the middle showing off her chest and small washboard. She also had a black skirt that ended about three inches above knees and 2-inch black boots that reached up to just below her knees. "Hooker Boots" is what Faith called them but she just ignored her. She wanted to look her best for Reed. She wanted his head to spin and have his eyes roll back in their sockets when he saw her tonight so that meant she had to go a little extreme.

"So what movie are we seein' tonight?"

"Huh?" Buffy said almost not realizing someone was talking to her.

"Wow. When you fall for someone you fall *hard*!" Faith shook her head and grinned. "You were thinking about him weren't ya?"

Buffy blushed like a little girl getting her first kiss and shook her head. "Can't get him outta my head!"

"Anyway.....what are we seein'?"

"Actually I was thinking that we should wait and decide with the guys."

"Are you kiddin me? They'll probably wanna see somethin' too sophisticated just to impress us. If we decide now they'll agree right away!"

Buffy looked at her new friend and shook her head. "And for some reason, I saw that comin'. Let me guess you wanna see something gory, horny and violent?"

"My three favorite plot lines! Ain't it great how we know so much about each other!" Faith winked at her and smiled.

Buffy chuckled a bit and continued to lead them through the crowd of bodies. They finally reached the theatres. They were a little out of breath and were breathing deeply looking for their *dates*. Buffy looked around the entrance. //Not here!//

"Maybe we should check inside?" Faith offered.

Buffy nodded her head and took Faith's hand and dragged her through another crowd of people. When they reached the main ticket area there was still no sign of their dates. //They should be here by now!// She took a quick glance around the room again and still couldn't find the familiar face that made her melt. She shook her head and lead Faith to the popcorn area.

"We might as well buy some popcorn while waiting." Buffy told Faith. The brunette nodded not really paying attention. She was busy checkin out the arcade. She looked at Buffy for permission and Buffy nodded her head with a smirk. //She's a two year-old trapped in a hooker's body!// Faith was about to leave when she spun on her heels facing her again.

"Wanna join me?" She waggled her eyebrows making Buffy smile.

"Nah! I'm not into that stuff. Never was actually."

"Oh come on! It'll be fun! Don't tell me you've never played video games before."

The younger Slayer looked at her waiting for an answer.

"Fine! Just a couple of rounds though. We still have to look for the guys k?"

"Yeah yeah whatever!" Faith squealed enthusiastically. She grabbed Buffy's arm and dragged her to the arcade room.

*****
"Where are they?" Buffy whined. She had been watching Faith play video games for almost ten minutes now. Faith was playing some combat game were she had to beat up a bunch of people to win some kinda title. She forgot the name but she didn't really care. Her life was based on beating up things that she didn't feel like spending her free time beating up computerized things.

"Shit! I lost! I don't know bout you B, but if they're not here in five, I say we blow this joint!" Faith said after losing her game. Faith grabbed her coat from on top of the machine and put it on. They began walking to the entrance to see if they're dates were there yet.

"So who is this friend of Reed's that I'm gonna spend my night with?" Faith asked walking beside Buffy back to the entrance.

"Um some guy he knows." Buffy answered a little curious herself. "He spent the night with him when I ditched him and met you."

"I see.."

"So what does he look like?" Faith asked from out of nowhere.

"Who?" Buffy said a little startled by the question.

"God! What does God look like?" Faith said sarcastically. "Reed. What does Reed look like?"

"Well...he's-" Buffy started.

"Right here!" said a loud masculine voice from behind the two girls causing both to shriek out of fear.

"Shit Reed you scared me!" Buffy said after she realized it was Reed. She gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "Where were you guys!"

"Sorry Anne! Traffic!"

Faith gave Buffy a weird look when Reed referred to her as Anne. Buffy whispered quietly that she would explain later. "That's alright! I'm glad you made it though."

"Me too! Uh.....Anne this is Vince!" Reed said pointing to a studly looking guy beside him. He was blonde and was very well built. Probably about a couple of inches taller then Reed. He had blue eyes and a broad chin. He looked like cross between Brad Pitt and Josh Harnett. Faith would definitely not be *too* disappointed. She lifted her hand and shook his hand. "Hi Vince! Nice to have finally met you!"

"Ditto!" Vince replied in a low sexy voice.

Buffy smiled and suddenly remembered Faith. "I-uh this is Faith!"

Both men held out their hands but all Faith did was look the two guys over and crossed her arms and smiled. She looked Buffy in the eye and gave her a strange look.

"Um...why don't we all buy our tickets?" Buffy suggested breaking off the uncomfortable silence.

"Good idea!" Reed said he grabbed her arm and began walking with her to the ticket booth with Vince and Faith following behind them.

As they lined up Reed whispered softly in her ear. "Um....Anne?"

"Yup!" Buffy answered cheerfully.

"I didn't... I didn't- *sigh*... I never knew you were the the type to score for the other team."

"What?" Buffy was lost. She had no idea what Reed was talking about. She turned around and faced him looking at him in the eye. He looked horribly nervous and confused. //What's going on?//

"What I meant was...." He sighed again rubbing his face in frustration. "....I didn't know you were a lesbian!" He said softly in a whisper and gesturing at Faith.

"WHAT! What gives you the idea that I am a Lesbian!" Buffy screamed a little too loudly causing several bystanders to give the four dirty looks.

Buffy grabbed Reed by the collar and dragged him to a corner. "What are you talking about?"

"You said to bring a date! I brought Vince and you brought....a girl!" Reed scrambled.

"Huh? Faith's not for me! Faith was for Vince!" Buffy said even more confused.

"Buffy!" Faith called from behind her. She ignored her and continued to look at Reed with a confused look.

He returned her look with a puzzled expression. "Buffy?"

"Forget that!" She screamed. "If you thought Faith was for me then who was Vince fo-" Buffy paused and the answer suddenly hit her. Vince was for Reed! Reed was for Vince! THEY WERE GAY! //You're an idiot! Good looks, extremely Sweet, fantastic dresser, spent the night with a guy?!?! Look at the signs blondie!//

Reed looked at her suddenly realizing that she had no idea that he was gay and she had a thing for him. He had a pained expression on his face that was filled with pity. "Oh Anne! I d-didn't realize you felt that way....I'm so so sorry!" He put his hand on her shoulder making her tense up and shrug his hand away.

"I'm sorry! I just...w-well....I'm sooo embarrassed....I" Buffy began to stutter. She turned around looking at Faith and Vince who had uncomfortable expressions on their faces.

"Let me explain Anne...er Buffy er...if I mislead you in anyway-"

"Ya know what...that's okay..." Buffy began to babble nervously. "I gotta think this through.....I...uh....I gotta go to the bathroom!" Buffy said before she dashed into the bathroom. She spun around on her heels and looked at the three of them. "It's a girl thing!" She paused nervously. "Ask Faith!" And with that she disappeared into the crowd leaving Faith alone with the couple.

*****
"So!" Faith piped in, shoving her hands in the pocket of her tight black leather pants.

"Yeah..." Said Reed with less enthusiasm. He walked up to Vince who gave him a rather tight hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. //Interesting...//

"You guys are gay huh?" Faith smirked rocking on her feet mischievously.

"Yeah so?" Vince said pulling away from Reed slowly.

"Oh Nothin!" Faith said as innocently as she could. Her thoughts however were far from it.

Nobody said a word for a while. They were just staring with blank expressions on their faces. Well actually the two guys in front of her were. She was smiling like a doped up junkie high on hash. The idea of the two guys before her being lovers was amusing her. //Stop it Faith! Get your numbskull head outta the gutter!// She cleared her throat and spoke breaking the silence between them.

"Ya know.." She started pointing to the restroom.

"Yeah." Reed replied sadly.

She felt sorry for the guy, but she couldn't help but laugh at the situation. She grinned quickly and headed into the washroom. She pushed the door open to reveal an empty room. //Must be in one of the stalls..//

"Buffy?" She called. No answer. She bent over a bit looking under the stalls when she recognized a pair of 'Hooker Boots' in the disabled persons stall. //A-ha!//

"Buffy I can see your feet!" Faith spoke loudly.

"So!"

Faith walked up to the stall and spoke softly. "Are you gonna let me in or am I gonna let myself in?" She asked rather forcefully.

She waited a little before she heard a click. She smiled and pushed the door open revealing a pouting Buffy sitting on top of a toilet seat. She was hunched over and was hugging her knees. She looked like a little girl pouting from a time-out. It was cute! She walked up to the other Slayer and crouched in front of her.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"No!" Buffy responded in a spoiled brat like manner that made Faith chuckle.

"Quit laughin!" Buffy barked.

"Sorry!" Faith said attempting to choke back the laughter. "So what's the what B?"

"Other then the fact that I'm such a loser?" Buffy said sarcastically. She sighed and continued looking into Faith's brown eyes.

"Ya know Buff, when you said that he spent the night with a guy I didn't know you meant that he spent it *that* way!"

"Me neither Faith! Me neither!" Buffy moaned. "What's wrong with me?"

Faith didn't know how to answer the question but before she could say anything Buffy interrupted her and continued on with her ranting.

"I'm such a freak! All the guys I like are sooo unavailable. They're Untouchable! Forbidden! Taken!" Buffy groaned. She got up off the seat and started pacing around the stall. "First I fall for a Vampire, then a gay guy! What next? A werewolf?!"

//Hold it!// Faith thought. Vampire? Did she just say she fell for a vampire? "Hold up Buff! Did you say...vampire?" What the hell was Buffy doing dating vampires?

"That's not the issue right now!?" Buffy whined.

Faith was lost. Buffy's earlier comment was sending questions to her head. Questions that began with why, how, when and specifically what the f*ck! Buffy was babbling on and on about how she was such a freak but Faith wasn't paying attention. Her head was spinning and Buffy's whining wasn't helping. She was starting to act like a total ditz and it was starting to annoy her.

"BUFFY!" Faith screamed.

"What?" Buffy said a little shocked.

"First of all...CHILL!" Faith said grabbing the blonde and forcing her to sit on the toilet seat. "Now breathe!" Faith said getting up and running her hand through her hair.

"But Faith-"

"Breathe Buffy. Not talk! Breathe!" Faith said trying to calm herself down. //This is silly!// They were sitting in a bathroom pouting about Buffy's miserable love life. Buffy's freaky, strange and bizarre love life. Faith thought about the situation and began to laugh.

"What?" the blonde asked, but Faith continued to laugh. "What!" Buffy asked a little louder clearly annoyed of her reaction.

Faith cleared her throat and smiled widely at the other girl who had a dumbfounded look on her face. "Look at you!"

Buffy looked at her cloths and started to feel herself out. "Do I have a stain? Did my boob pop out? Did-"

"No!" Faith chuckled. "I mean look at yourself! You could be having fun watching a movie right now with two cute gay guys and a kick ass Slayer but instead you're here brooding on top of a tiolet seat!" Faith pointed at her and grinned.

Buffy looked at herself and for the first time since she'd entered the restroom smiled. Then she let out a very girly giggle. "Yeah I guess you're right. I must look kinda pathetic right now huh?"

"A little?" Faith teased. Buffy was about to hit Faith when she ducked. "I *so* saw that comin'."

Buffy laughed a bit and shook her head. "You're too much! Ya know that?"

Faith smiled and for once she initiated the hug. //What am I doing?//

"Geez Faith didn't think you were cuddly type!" Buffy teased hugging her friend back.

"Well what can I say. You rub off like a fake tattoo!" Faith smirked causing the both of them to laugh.

//Geez Faith when did you become such a good girly friend?// Faith asked herself. She was so surprised at how helpful she'd been to the other Slayer. Friendship and and girl-talk wasn't exactly something she was familiar with since she didn't have many friends. Till now. //Is that what I am to Buffy? A Friend?// She didn't know for sure but she liked the idea of being Buffy's friend. It made her feel special.

The two girls continued to laugh and hug when some little boy came in with his mom and told the two to get a room. They turned around noticing that their washroom stall was still open. //That brat! Why I outta...No Faith! Control! He's just a kid. An annoying little son of a bit-//

"Come on B. Let's get outta here!" Faith stuck out her hand ignoring the brat.

Buffy took her hand and followed behind her smiling.

Suddenly a quick thought came into her mind as she opened the washroom door. "Oh B!"

"What Faith?"

"What's up with you and the undead?" Faith said just before they exited the washroom.

*****
"That was one fucked up movie!" Faith blurted as soon as the four of them left the theatre. They had just seen "Blade" and Buffy couldn't help but feel cheap! None of that stuff they said about vampires were true. And what was up with that whole Good vampire drinkin' his girlfriend's blood! That was soooo cliche and lame! That could never happen in real life. //I wouldn't even do that for Angel!//

"Yeah but it was still good." Reed smiled walking hand in hand with his Vince. It still made Buffy cringe a little to see the two guys in front of her all cuddlely and flirty, but it wasn't because they were gay. It was because she was stupid enough to fall for a gay guy.

"Indeed it was." Agreed Faith who was walking side-by-side with her. "Who would've thought people would fall in *love* with vampires? I mean, isn't it tough to get rid of that *cold* chill?" Faith said emphasizing on cold and nudging her in the side. She glared at her with cold eyes but the brunette just chuckled in amusement. //Ugh! She's never gonna stop buggin' me about it?// Buffy thought. Faith had been pestering her about Angel all night, but she hadn't said a word to her except that her dead lover's name was Angel. Course this made Faith even more curious. A vampire named Angel? It was tabloid material. That is if eveyone knew about vampires and demons and Slayers.

"So what are you people gonna feed me?" Faith asked winking at them. This answered Buffy's question in her head that had been buzzing around in there for a while. //Yup! I'm buyin'.// She smiled cheaply at the brunette and suggested the same resturant that she and Faith ate at the other night.

"Not that it wasn't fun or anything but, me and Vince kinda have to go tonight." Reed said sadly. "We kinda have other plans for the night."

Faith gave her a devilish look and waggled her eyebrows. She slapped her in the arm and smiled at the couple before her. "That's alright Reed. I guess I'll see ya tomorrow." She gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. She turned around and shook Vince's hand and smiled.

After the lovebirds left Buffy turned around to see a smiling Faith looking like she was holding back a laugh.

"You're one sick puppy! Ya know that?" Buffy smirked joining her fellow Slayer as they walked in the direction the the fast-food joint.

"I'm the sick puppy? I didn't boink an undead piece meat named *Angel*!" Faith teased nudging her on the shoulder.

"How did you know that we did *it*?" Buffy asked confused and cursing herself for slipping.

"So you *did* boink him!" Faith eyes looked like they were gonna pop out. She looked her over and smirked. "Never pegged you for a necrophiliac?!"

She gave Faith an icy glare and if looks could kill Faith would've been a pile of...well flesh.

"What? That's that correct name for you isn't it?" Faith teased.

"But you make me sound like such a freak!" Buffy whined.

"And isn't that what you are?" Faith said smiling evily.

Buffy punched her in the arm and shook her head. "God Faith. I'm this close to kickin you out tonight!" Buffy said while pinching her fingers together.

"You would kick out Little O'l me?" Faith said as innocently as she could muster in a higher-girly tone of voice.

"Yes I would! And I would enjoy it too!" Buffy stuck out her tongue and started to laugh. The other Slayer joined her and they continued to walk side-by-side like best friends to the restaurant.

Buffy looked at her sister Slayer and smiled. She was so happy that Faith was here. She didn't know how she could've survived the night without the other girl.

"What?" Faith asked noticing that she was staring at her.

"Oh nothin! Just thinking!"

"Bout what?"

"Just that I'm glad you're here and that if you weren't I'd probably still be in that bathroom right now moping and getting personal with 'Mr. Johns'!"

They chuckled at the thought of the blonde pouting in a bathroom stall and continued to walk. Buffy really was happy she met up with Faith. She made her smile. Ever since Faith showed up, (Next to Reed) Faith was the only reason she had to smile since she ran away. She was a great person to be with! A little sick. But overall a good person.

She looked at Faith who was smiling to herself and it made Buffy smiled just to know that the brunette was just as happy as she was. Buffy suddenly remembered the earlier events of the day when she woke up to see Faith lying on her floor. She remembered her face and the pain it showed. She wanted to help this girl. She owed it to her because of how supportive she was and how happy she made her feel. There was obviously something the younger slayer was hiding and it was up to Buffy to find out. She chewed on inner cheek as she devised a plan to figure out what was up with her new slayground friend. But how? Then Buffy had an idea. The only way Faith could trust her was if she opened up to her. Maybe if she told the other Slayer about Angel and her painful past Faith would tell her the real reason why she was there. She never did buy that 'comparing notes' excuse Faith had told her the other day for the reason she was there.

The duo came to an intersection and Buffy turned to Faith, "Faith?"

"Yeah?"

Buffy paused a little unsure of how to start her story. She had to open up to the girl. But how?

"I...."

"Uh-huh?"

"...well..." she she stuttered. //Get it out Buffy. Just tell her the truth. Tell her about your big love, big loss. Tell her about your demon lover already!//

"Yeah!?" Faith said a little annoyed with the stuttering.

"....um...." //nice one! Real smart. Get it out already!//

"Sometime this century B! The suspense is killing me!" Faith said crossing her arms.

"Sorry. I'll start over. Faith...there's a vampire behind you!" Buffy said seeing a herd of them sneaking around behind the Slayers. The vamps didn't seem to care that they were there though.

Faith spun around and was about to chase after them when Buffy grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her. "Hold it! First of all why aren't they attacking us?"

"Because they're busy carrying stuff now let me go so I can dust them!" Faith said jerking her arm out of Buffy's grasp and running into the crowd of vampires.

"Faith! Wait!" Buffy yelled. //Ugh! She's gonna get herself killed!// Buffy took a deep breath and ran after the other Slayer.

--------------------PART 2----------------------------------------------------------

"FAITH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. But the brunette completely blocked her out and kept on running.

//Move feet move!// Buffy sprinted as fast as she could to the younger Slayer and managed to tackle her behind a building to hide themselves from the horde of vampires.

"Oof!"

She was sprawled out on top of the brunette staring into deep dark chocolate eyes. Dark, flaming, pissed off Slayer eyes that is.

"What the Fu-" Faith started but Buffy covered her mouth before she could finish.

"Shh! Unless you want your ass kicked by me *and* those vamps up there, you better keep quiet!" Buffy barked.

Faith freed her mouth and smirked at the blonde that was lying on top of her. "Like you could take me!"

Buffy gave her an icy glare. "Yes I *could* but now's not the time!"

She crawled off the younger Slayer and pulled her up. "Now lets see what these vamps are up to?"

"Why don't we just kill them?" The dark-haired Slayer whined while dusting off her pants. "Jesus B. You ran pretty fast for someone with short-"

"I beg you not to finish that!" Buffy interrupted already recognizing the joke before it could ever be finished. She had heard enough 'short' jokes to identify them from miles away. "We can't *just* kill them because like you said earlier, they're carrying stuff!"

"So?"

//Geez. I thought I was the only blonde here!// Buffy sighed rubbing her hands over her face. "We need to find out whether or not these vamps have plans for world domination or whether they're just pissin' around."

"Oh!"

"Lemme guess, your main motto: Kill First Ask Questions Later?" Buffy teased.

"Hey. Whatever floats your boat is five by five."

Buffy shook her head in confusion. //Five by five?// "Uh...yeah...Come on we're getting off topic!"

She walked to the side of the building and peeked to the side searching for the pack of vampires. //Shit! Where'd they go?// She finally spotted them. There were seven of them. Two of them were carrying a box and the other five were obviously playing bodyguards.

"Come on lets follow them." She said as she motioned the other girl to follow.

The duo dashed towards a tree and hid behind it. They watched the pack move towards a magic shop called Merlin's. It was a tacky little store with a Wizard's Hat as a Logo. The name was painted in a bright orangey yellow color, and had green neon lights outlining the letters. What was worse was the picture of Merlin himself in a crystal ball smiling below the name. //I'll give you 5 stars for originality.// Buffy thought sarcastically. //Tacky, tacky, tacky…Hold that thought...What would they want in a magic shop...?// The vamps picked the lock and entered the building.

"That's a first." Buffy mumbled quietly.

"Huh?"

"Most of the time vamps usually barge in breaking everything in sight."

"Oh."

Buffy smirked. "Kinda like your style."

She watched as the younger Slayer grinned like Cheshire cat. "What can say, I'm action girl."

"Come on."

They hid behind a car in front of the store and watched the activities going on in the little magic shop. //Thank God for Slayer sight.// She watched as the vampires began to pack small bottles of clear liquid into the box that they carried. //Wait a second...isn't that holy water...?//

"Hey B?" She heard from behind her.

"What?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong here but, don't vamps hate holy water?"

"I was thinking the same thing..."

She turned around and continued to watch. One of them picked up a book. //A spell book? Man I wish Giles were here. He'd know what to do. Hmm...What *would* he do...screw that! Brute force is needed now!//

"Faith?"

"Yeah?"

"On three."

The brunette nodded.

"One-"

But it was too late. The younger Slayer didn't wait and she charged into the magic shop ready to rip into action. //Shit! I need a collar and leash on this girl.//

Buffy grunted and chased after the other Slayer, *again.*

She watched as the other Slayer threw her stake at one of the vampires that was holding the box filled with bottles of holy water. The stake hit home staking the vamp in the heart causing him to throw the box in the air. Seconds later bottles of holy water shattered all over the floor. The vamps that *happened* to be standing around the box were caught in the crossfire and were burnt severely. //One down six more to go.//

"Opps!" Faith smirked. "My bad."

And with that both Slayers launched an attack each fighting three at a time.

Buffy round-housed one vamp in the head and ducked in time to avoid a kick in the head. She did a 360 leg sweep tripping the vamp that dared to sneak up behind her. She rolled to the side quickly and staked the fallen vamp. She was about to get up when one vamp kicked her in the head like a punter on a football team sending her flying to the other side of the room. Her body shivered as a paroxysm of pain slithered over her, starting with her head. She looked up in time to see Faith stake another vamp and get kicked in the head in her direction as well.

"Oof!"

They were sitting side-by-side now facing a group of pretty much pissed off vampires. She was a little dizzy from the blow but she was still able to maintain consciousness. Two of the vamps that were still standing grabbed both Slayers and held them in front of what looked like the leader of the bunch.

"Look what you've done!" he whined in a hic accent.

"Do you want some *cheese* with that whine?" Faith teased.

//Quit with the bad-girl act or you're gonna get killed!// Buffy thought hoping to God that they somehow had a Slayer connection that would allow them to communicate telepathically.

The vamp looked furious. He was a nasty looking vampire. He had bright red hair that was cut short and kept under a 'Yankees' baseball cap. The vampire had green eyes when he was in human form but after he heard Faith's last comment he had morphed and his eyes turned into a lizard-like yellow. He had a square chin with red stubbly hair sprouting along his rough rigid face. He had a lanky frame that was way too skinny for liking and he wore the usual vampire wear of all black. He kinda reminded her of Mark Maguire. A paler, skinnier and uglier looking Mark Maguire from hell that is.

Buffy helplessly watched as he backhanded Faith across the face.

//Ouch…//

"You keep that mouth of yer's shut ya hear!"

He turned towards the other vamp that wasn't holding the Slayers. He was looking at the *spoiled* goods that were scattered all over the floor. "Do we have any bottles left?"

The vamp shook his head fast scared shitless making it obvious not to piss the *leader* off.

The leader turned his gaze back at the two Slayers and growled. "You've ruined our plans! Ya think I'm pissed? Wait till ya see what the Boss's gonna do to you!" He threatened.

"Aww! You're breakin' my heart!" Faith smirked mocking the vampire.

He punched her in the gut causing the younger Slayer to yelp in pain falling to the ground.

"Faith shut-up." Buffy said quickly and quietly hoping the girl would quit with the bad-ass act.

The bloodsucker smirked. "Ya know for a blonde yer pretty smart!" He chuckled slightly and crouched next to the brunette. "So tell me... 'Faith'..." he said emphasizing on her name, "...do you have anythin' *else* to say before I punish you from yer *rude* behavior?"

Faith raised her head slowly looking at the vamp with determined eyes.

//Oh-no! Faith don't do it! Your gonna get killed.//

The corners of Faith's mouth curled and she looked him over like she was sizing him up. She moved her face so that she was only a kiss away. "Bite me!"

Before the vamp had a chance to reply Faith head-butted him knocking him out temporarily. She grabbed the leg of the vamp behind her tripping him making him fall on his butt. She shot up fast and decked the vamp that was holding Buffy down freeing her.

"Come on B! Get back into the game!" Faith laughed attacking three of the vamps at the same time.

Buffy was surprised that they managed to get out of the situation alive. Faith was fast! Stupid, but fast. She shook off her amazement and got ready to stake some bloodsuckers of her own. //Speaking of stake…where's Mr. Pointy? // She looked around frantically trying to spot her prized weapon but she couldn't find it.

"A little help… here!" She heard the other Slayer grunt from behind. She needed to help Faith now but she still couldn't find Mr. Pointy. Suddenly a broom caught her eye and she lunged for it. She took the broom and broke it in half over her knee. She took the smaller half and threw it into the heart of one of the vamps her sister Slayer was having trouble keeping down.

It hit home and dust was everywhere. Faith mouthed a thanks and continued to fight off the last two vamps.

//Two? Where's the-//

"Gotcha!" She heard from behind her as cold pasty hands grabbed her in a choke hold position.

"Faith!" Buffy screamed trying to free herself of the nasty vamp that was slowly making oxygen become an issue. But the dark haired Slayer didn't seem to notice. She was too busy fighting the other vamps.

"Yer a Slayer aren't yah sweet pea!"

His breath smelled like a combination of cheap whiskey and dead rotting meat. It was an intoxicating smell and she had the urge to barf. She looked down at his hands to see that he was missing some fingernails. The nails that he did have however were grimy with black dirt underneath. //Eww!//

"I'm gonna like eating you!" he continued in his annoying redneck accent.

//Shit!// If she didn't escape now she'd be kickin' the bucket in the worst way: Being sucked dry by a dirty, dead, redneck with bad breath and a pukeworthy hygiene. Buffy took after Faith and head butted the vamp from behind.

"Ow!"

She coughed a little gasping for air as fast as she could. She felt a little dizzy but she could still see what was going on.

"Dangit! Why the head!" the vampire whined still dizzy from the blow. He staggered back slightly and began to rub his forehead.

Buffy grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the wall. She finally spotted Mr. Pointy lying beside a trash can and grabbed it. She was about to stake the vampire when her quick reflexes stopped her. //Can't kill him Buffy. You have to figure out his plan remember?//

Instead of staking him she spun her stake around and hit the vamp in the forehead with the blunt side. He fell to the ground but she grabbed him again and began to punch him in the face several times until he passed out. She turned her gaze back at Faith to see Faith get knocked onto the floor obviously having trouble with the last vamp. Buffy was about to help her when the brunette swiped her leg tripping the vampire and making him fall beside her. She grabbed the vamp's head with her feet and twisted his head with a loud crack shattering his vertebrate.

*CRACK*

The vamp laid there paralyzed temporarily as Buffy tossed Mr. Pointy at Faith. Faith caught the stake and finally staked the last vamp. She got up off the floor and strutted toward Buffy with a wide grin plastered on her face.

"Nicely diverted B!" Faith smiled and raised her hand ready to give Buffy a high five.

"Diverted? What part of 'on three' did you not get!" Buffy barked.

Faith frowned and shook her head. "Someone here needs to find the fun a little!" She said in a mocking tone.

"Fun? While you were living large on those vamps I was trying to keep 'Bubba' from living large on me!"

"Thought you could handle yourself? Didn't you say you could take me?" She crossed her arms and gave her an unimpressed look.

"What?!"

"I think you missed someone." Faith said changing the subject and brushing past Buffy toward the leader.

"No! You are *not* gonna kill him!" Buffy said grabbing Faith by the shoulder.

"And why not?" The brunette jerked her shoulder away from Buffy's grasp and stared into her green eyes. Faith was beginning to piss her off. Her whole devil-may-care attitude was starting to get a rise out of her but she managed to control. Barely. This *was* her friend after all. A pig-headed friend, but still her only friend at the moment.

"Didn't you hear what he said?" Buffy said as calmly as she could.

Faith looked at her with a blank expression awaiting an answer.

//Wow is this chick ever slow…//

"Let me refresh your memory Faith! And I quote: 'You've ruined our plans! Ya think I'm pissed? Wait till ya see what the Boss's gonna do to you!'" Buffy said in her best 'hic' accent she could muster.

"You're actually gonna believe that son-of-a-bitch?" Faith said pointing at the unconscious vampire.

"Yeah!"

"How do you know he's not lying?" The younger Slayer questioned crossing her arms in a child-like gesture.

//Okay she got me there. Think Buffy! Think!// Then she remembered.

"Oh yeah! Well…Remember the holy water?"

"So?"

"Vampires hate it and, and…"

//Come on Summers. Use that gray matter up there.//

"…the spell book!" Buffy finished remembering the spell book.

"Huh?"

"I saw them take a spell book!" Buffy exclaimed searching around the store for the book.

She finally spotted it under a shattered wooden table.

"Your work?" she asked smirking at Faith and pointing to the disaster.

"Opps?" Faith offered shrugging her shoulders cutely.

//Guilty as charged.// She shook her head and rummaged through the pile of wood and found the book. She ran her hand along the cover caressing the material. It was bound in some kinda of leather that was smooth and bumpy. It was the size of a phone book only a lot less thick. 'Book of the Dead' was etched at the front and sides in silver. //Again five stars for originality.// Buffy thought sarcastically. //Tacky much?// She picked up the book and was surprised at how heavy it was. It was also...warm?

"Book of the Dead?" Faith snickered from behind sounding unimpressed.

"My thoughts exactly..." Buffy trailed as she continued to examine the book.

Suddenly she heard moaning from behind her. She turned in time to see the leader vamp making small twitchy movements.

"Tie him up will you Faith. I think we need to play a little 'question and answer' game with him when he comes around." Buffy said still running her hands along the binding of the book.

"Aren't we a little bossy?"

"Just do it." Buffy barked. It was in a tone a lot harsher than she wanted, but there was some major bad mojo going on and she didn't have time to banter with her sister Slayer.

"Yeah, yeah take a Prozac will ya." Faith mumbled. She grabbed the vamp by the collar giving him a quick punch in the head and dragged him into one corner.

Buffy shook her head and sighed ignoring the younger Slayer. //I don't have time for this! I need to know what he's up to.// She was definitely missing the gang right now. They were the researchers of the whole Scooby operation while she...well killed stuff. She sighed and turned her attention back to the book. After what seemed like hours of staring, she sucked in her breath and turned to the first page.

The pages were yellowed with age and the paper was thicker than usual and had a rough texture to it. There were small squiggly lines all over the page written in blood red ink. She flipped through the pages quickly and each page was like the one before, squiggly and dark red. //Great!// It was written in some weird language. It looked like a cross from Greek and Arabic but for some reason she knew it was neither. //Could it be demon?//

Suddenly something caught her eye. It was a picture of a catholic priest. //Huh?// She examined the picture more carefully. The picture was drawn in black ink and was a little bit hazy, but she could still tell what was going on. It was an odd picture. The priest looked like he was baptizing someone in a river. It would've seemed normal but he was baptizing a demon. The demon was huge and looked like a spawn of hell like a 1980 slasher fic monster, yet it had human characteristics. The creepiest part was that there was a picture of a baby sleeping in its belly. It had to be a prophecy of some sort but she couldn't read a darn thing.

"So what's it say?"

She was startled by the sudden sound and dropped the book.

"Shit Faith! You scared me!" Buffy said grabbing the book off the floor.

"That bad huh? Lemme see!" Faith said snatching the book from Buffy's hands.

"Hey! Give it back!"

But Faith ignored her and continued to flip through the pages of the book.

"Jesus Buff! This is some damn fucked up shit!"

"Yeah I know! I was trying to figure out what it means when *you* interrupted me."

"If you love the book so much why here!" Faith said chuckin' the book at her. "Keep it!"

Buffy of course missed and the book fell on the floor again with a big thump.

*THUMP*

"Ugh!" Buffy groaned and picked up the book.

"Is she always that bitchy?" Buffy heard from behind her.

It was 'Bubba'.

"Glad to see you could join us!" Buffy said crouching next to the vamp that was tied down to chair.

"Yeah well don't be too glad cuz when I get outta this chair I'm gonna eat yer heart and chew on your eyeballs and-"

*SMACK*

Faith out of nowhere smacked the vamp on the backside of the head. She crouched in front of him and held his head between her hands. "You might wanna keep that mouth of yours shut buddy-boy before you really piss me off!" She flicked his nose, and quickly got up in time to see Buffy give her a puzzled look.

"What?" Faith asked. "He was getting on my nerves and the whole bad-guy banter was just too tacky. Even for me!" She gave an innocent *I didn't do it* look and a quick wink.

Buffy shook her head and couldn't help but smile at how funny the younger Slayer could be in shitty situations. Sure the girl was an idiot for jumping into the situation head first, but she still had the knack for bringing a smile to her face. Her mood lightened instantly.

"Just make sure you don't beat him up too much!" Buffy teased. "I want to be able to ask him questions with him answering them."

"Sure, sure." Faith said quickly. She grabbed a chair, spun it around and straddled it in front of 'Bubba.' She gave him an evil grin and waggled her eyebrows at the vamp.

He gulped in fear looking at Buffy like a dog with it's tail caught between it's legs making Buffy felt almost sorry for the poor excuse for a vamp. Almost.

Buffy smirked and began to pace in front of the vamp like a cop in a 1940 Humphry Bogart film.

"So…Bubba!" Buffy started but was rudely interrupted by the redneck.

"It's Benny!"

"Fine! Benny…" Buffy continued as she walked up to the vamp and looked him in the eye. He was sweating now. The sweat was poring down his forehead giving off his the smell of his dead stench. //Gross!// Buffy wrinkled her nose in disgust and shook her head trying to stay on topic. "…You're going to tell me everything you know about this book and why you and your *dead* lackeys were stealing holy water!" She finished tossing the book onto his lap.

"Like hell I will!" He barked in his annoying accent.

She had to scare him. It's always the same with vamps. They were stubborn and liked to put up a fight no matter how pathetic they were. Unfortunately, Buffy wasn't exactly the scary type. She sighed and began to pout. Suddenly she had an idea!

Buffy gave Faith a look that the brunette didn't exactly get it. It took a while for things to click in but the younger Slayer nodded finally understanding the look and played along with the act.

"Hey Faith?" Buffy asked in a light tone trying to sound as innocent as she could.

"Yeah Buff?" Faith answered in the same manner.

"Will it be a slow," she paused, "or a fast death for Benny here?"

"Oh I dunno…I'm thinkin' we should go *real* slow, ya know…give him something to think about when he's burning hell." Faith suggested calmly getting closer to the vamp so that she was looking at him in the eye.

He gulped again and tried his best to look tough but he was failing miserably.

//Damn! It's not working fast enough.// Buffy thought. Time was running out and the stupid vamp was trying his best to have a backbone.

"Got any matches B?" Faith asked out of nowhere without leaving eye contact with Benny.

"NO! PLEASE!" he shrieked.

//Nice touch!// Buffy thought with a smile.

*****
There was a deep silence between the three in Merlin's Magic Shop. It was an eerie silence. In fact, it was a type of silence that could only be achieved when you're in total shock. And that's exactly what happened…for the two girls that is. Both of them were staring at Benny with there mouths hanging open in a fish-like gesture.

Faith had faced many vampires before but they were stupid and never tried taking over the world. In fact her biggest trouble was a big Daddy vamp down at Missouri that kept alligators as pets. Here in LA, vamps were trying to take over the world!

It took a lot of threatening and even some beatings for Benny to speak, but the Slayers finally got him to snitch. Benny told them about a prophecy called, 'The Day Walker'. On the night of a new moon a vampire would drink the blood of pure hearts and would be invulnerable to the sun. Benny said that there was no such thing as a human being with a pure heart, so they needed newborn babies. But even babies were born with original sin. The only way you could be 100 % pure of sin is through baptism. This explained the holy water. Benny said his Boss already had over a dozen babies. All he needed was a priest and holy water and the prophecy would be complete.

This whole prophecy came as a total shock to both Slayers. They weren't expecting to fight some big bad tonight. It was suppose to be a *regular* slay.

Finally Buffy broke the dreadful silence with a stuttering question that was bouncing around in *all* their minds. "W-when will this take place?"

"Tonight darlin'. Tonight!" Benny smirked.

*SMACK*

For the second time that night Faith came out of nowhere and punched the vampire in the face.

"Ow!" He whined shaking his face in a attempt to make the pain lesson since he couldn't rub his face. "I was telling the truth!" Benny growled.

"I know." Faith said quietly staring at him in the eyes. The two continued to stare as if they were having a staring contest, each daring the other to blink. Benny gulped and blinked. Faith won but she was still staring at him as if she could find all the answers in the world by just looking into his eyes. She finally blinked. She got up and ran her hand through her dark mane of hair. She took a long drag of air and without warning left the magic shop leaving Buffy alone with the annoying vamp.

The night was still and cold. The usual noise of cop cars and midnight traffic was all around her but she didn't hear any of it. It was quiet. Now it was her turn to pace.

"Faith?" She heard from behind making her stop.

"Yeah?" She answered quietly without turning around.

"You okay?"

She didn't answer for a while and instead took a long needed breath of air. The night air was crisp and cool and exactly what she needed. She needed to clear her head. Everything in her head was getting messed up. First Kakistos, now this! It was exhausting. She needed time to take it all in. But like always, time was her enemy and there was no way she could ever stop it. //Suck it up Faith! You're with the big guns now.//

She sighed, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and finally spoke. "Yeah…I'm fine…" She started but knew it was just a big ass lie. "…It's just… 'Forest Gump over there kinda got to me!" she said pointing at Benny. "…Well that and… that was some pretty heavy shit back there ya know? Shit that I've never been through at all."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and tensed slightly before she relaxed. "It's okay Faith. I've been through that stuff before… A lot actually so you have nothing to worry about." Buffy said trying to make her feel better.

"How can you say that! He's gonna be a Day Walker!" Faith screamed jerking her shoulder away from Buffy's grasp.

"I know Faith-"

"No you don't! I'm new at this! I've never done this before and even when things were bad I had- " Faith stopped herself before she slipped. //Shit!// She almost said Kate. She sighed. She hated having to share her feelings but she had to. The only way she could solve any of her problems was by being honest and telling Buffy everything. She wasn't exactly gonna do the latter but she was gonna try with honesty. "I'm just scared, and I hate being helpless and feeling so pathetic. I mean look at you! You're like the legendary Buffy. The superstar!"

//There!// She got it out! It was a thought that lingered in her mind ever since she met the other Slayer. She didn't hate Buffy. But she *did* feel like a replacement, or a second stringer, or even just back up girl. She didn't want to feel this way because Buffy had been nothing but good to her. She sighed feeling like shit for treating her new friend like that.

Faith turned around and looked into Buffy's emerald eyes. "I-I'm sorry. I'm being such a jerk, I-" she started but was stopped by Buffy's finger on her lips.

"It's okay Faith." Buffy put her hands on both Faith's shoulder. She looked into her eyes feeling like she was gonna cry but she held back.

"I wasn't lying when I said I know what you mean Faith." Buffy continued. "I wasn't always Buffy superstar you know? I was alone too! The only person I had was my watcher...But then he died."

//What?// Before Faith had a chance to process the thought Buffy led them both to the curb sitting them down side-by-side.

"Being the Chosen One totally sucked. I had to live my life without friends because my job would endanger them. I was alone and had nobody but him. When *he* died I totally freaked. I gave up. I couldn't take it anymore. I just wanted it all to go away." Buffy paused there and began to take some long breaths of air. She looked at Faith and smiled weakly before she cleared her throat and continued her story.

"Then I came to Sunnydale. I thought I would just go there and forget everything; forget being a Slayer, but I couldn't. It was my destiny. I didn't like it but I couldn't hide from it. Sunnydale's where I met my new watcher Giles and my new friends-"

"Xander and that tree-girl?" Faith answered already knowing their names. She coulda said Willow but she knew saying tree-girl would rev Buffy up. She needed a laugh and she'd get it in anyway she could.

"That's them…" Buffy paused reminiscing on the good old days till she finally understood what Faith said. "Her names *Willow* by the way and if you dare make fun of her I will beat you to death!" said Buffy grabbing Faith by the shoulder and pulling her arm back for a punch in a playful manner.

"Hey I was only kiddin'!" Faith laughed putting her hands up in defense. "It's a nice name…" She lied. "…it's just …different!"

"She was." Buffy released her grip continued on in a trance like tone staring off into the distance. "They all were different in their own special way."

//Wow. The girl's got some real wacko friends!// Faith chuckled in her thoughts. She decided to keep that comment to herself knowing that if she let that part out she'd be pounded into a bloody pulp.

"They knew about my powers ya know?" Buffy continued putting her hands on her knees and looking at Faith.

"I thought you said that it would be dangerous?"

"I know but even though they knew they also wanted to help me. No matter how dangerous things were." Buffy paused looking back up at the sky as if she were searching for answers. "They would risk their lives for me." She paused again looking at Faith with a playful smile. "We were like the Scoobies. You know, from that cartoon Scooby Doo? Only without that whole dog thing."

Faith smiled at Buffy's cute analogy of her friends. She liked hearing the story of Buffy's life. For some reason if comforted her making her feel a whole lot better.

"So like…what happened? I thought you said you had a big fight?" Faith asked remembering the conversation she had with Buffy at the motel.

Buffy looked at Faith with a sad face that looked like it was just a second away from tears.

"Angel."

*****
"That's it." Buffy sniffed finally ending her story of Angel. She cried a bit through her tale but they were silent tears.

Faith was in shock. Everything Buffy said to her left her speechless. As if she didn't have enough in her mind she thought sarcastically. Questions were flying into her brain now and they all began with the usual how, what, and the most important one…why? Faith just couldn't believe how Buffy could've endured so much pain and still be alive to tell about it. Faith would've killed herself. The girl's torment was never ending and agonizing yet she still lives with a half decent smile on her face! Faith was still having a hard time taking it all in.

Buffy killed her lover. She killed the only person in the world that she held close to her heart for the survival of mankind. //Could I do that?// Faith knew the answer but she was still denying it.

"Faith?" She heard Buffy call but she didn't answer. She was lost in her own little world.

//What am I doing here?// Faith was disgusted with herself. Here she was pouting about her life thinking she had it all bad when really, Buffy's was just as bad too.

//Who do you think you are?// Faith asked herself. How could she just prance into another girl's life and think that she could help her when the girl clearly has problems of her own? How could she just think that she could just shove her issues into someone else's face and totally forget about. //Nuh-uh! Not gonna happen.// That was selfish.

"Faith?" Buffy called again a little bit louder and more worried.

"Yeah Buffy?" Faith answered feeling lower than ever. Buffy was the real hero. Buffy sucked it up in shitty situations while Faith got plasttered. Buffy *loved* people while Faith screwed them. It was horrible but true! Buffy was like an angel bringing love and happiness making everyone safe. Faith was like a disease bringing pain and death while getting off on killing vampires. Buffy saved the world while Faith killed her watcher. Buffy deserved to be called a Legend. She's The Chosen One.

"You haven't said anything. I'm getting kinda worried…are you okay?"

Faith didn't answer. She wasn't okay. She felt sick like she would throw-up any minute. She hated herself. She needed to run, and get out of Buffy's life before she could make it any worse. Buffy didn't deserve this. She deserved better. She needed to leave her. Not now though. Buffy needed help. Maybe she could after the whole 'Day Walking' vamp situation was over…

"Yeah." Faith lied. "I'm fine…it's just a lot to take in…"

"Do you wanna talk about it?" There was a double meaning to that question and both Slayers knew it.

//She knows!// Faith thought. //Buffy knows something is wrong. Dammit!//

"What's there to talk about?" Faith asked calmly getting up off the curb. She held her hand out and helped Buffy out. They stared at each other both knowing that it was a total lie. Brown eyes were soon locked with green.

Buffy was about to say something when they heard Benny whining. "Slaaayeeeeeeers!"

"Besides Buff…we got a prophecy to kill!"

-------------PART 3-------------------------------------------------

"So um...are ya gonna let me go?" Benny whined from the backseat of a taxi. He was sandwiched in between the two Slayers. His hands and feet were chained and both Slayers were sitting very close to him with a hand on both his shoulders. If he wasn't a vampire and they weren't Slayers, he would've considered himself the luckiest man alive to be squashed between a sexy pair of hotties.

"We'll see when we get there." The blonde answered without looking at him. She was staring out the cab window like a kid would do on one of those family trips. Subconsciously, she re-adjusted her bra and top tugging on them both. His eyes feasted off the view greedily and he snickered. He was about to make a smart-ass remark but he kept to himself when he saw both Slayers give him a dirty and deadly look.

He gulped and sank down deeper into his seat.

They had just come back from the blonde Slayer's motel. She wanted to change into something more athletic than her revealing top and mini skirt. She was now clad in white tennis shoes, black sweats and a gray baby-tee. //Tough!// He would have rather seen her doing flying kicks in her mini-skirt like his earlier confrontation with her at the Magic shop. *sigh* He turned his head to see the brunette Slayer in deep thought. She must've been doing some serious thinking cuz her forehead was crinkling slightly. She on the other hand, was still dressed in her red tube top, denim jacket and very sexy leather pants giving her that bad-girl look that he always found attractive. His mind began to wander into triple X-rated territory and he smiled to himself. That's when the brunette suddenly turned and looked at him. She saw the expression on his face and she gave him a 'Don't mess with me' look. His smile faded and he was suddenly feeling sorry for himself and wondering how he got into this mess in the first place.

It was about half an hour before that he blabbed out his Boss's plans of 'Day Walking' to the Slayers. Now they were heading to the warehouse in a taxi, or as far as the cab guy would drive them. Benny was so gonna get his ass kicked by 'Jakob'. No one messed with Jakob and got away with it. You see, Jakob was what you called the Godfather of vampires, only without the whole Italian accent thing. //I think he was Polish…// He shook his head getting off topic. Anyway, Jakob was smart. No. Make that a genius. The guy was like a mastermind. He had back up plans for everything, and even back up plans for the original back ups themselves. The guy was a great talker too. His diplomatic skills were so amazing that he had many followers. That's how Benny ended up in the clan in the first place. Sucked in by words that were like candy to a baby. But like all things, Jakob had a flaw. It was his temper. As soon as someone set that off, his IQ would go from Albert Einstein to a Neanderthal within seconds making every decision he made afterwards extremely violent.

This prophecy thing that Jakob had planned out…. Fuck it! Benny didn't want to be part of it no more. Sure, it seemed promising and flawless, but after meeting the Slayers, his fantasy of world domination came crashing down like a 747 without engines. //Since when are there two Slayers anyway…?// He shook his head. He didn't know and he didn't care because as soon as they got to the warehouse, he was definitely high-tailing it out of Dodge.

*****
Faith was nervous. She still couldn't believe Buffy trusted 'Forest Gump' enough to have him lead them to the warehouse himself. He was a vampire for crying out loud! He could be leading them to a bunch of vampires that would kill them the second they stepped out of the vehicle. //Wait a second…He *was* leading them to a pack of vampires that *were* probably gonna kill them!// She growled at the thought and she felt Benny tense beside her. She smiled at the power she had over the jerk, forgetting all about her worries, but it soon faded away when she remembered why she was pissed in the first place. No matter how much she wanted to scream at Buffy, "What the hell are you thinking!" she didn't bother. After all Buffy had been doing this Slayer thing a lot longer then she had and she must know what she was doing…right?

Faith didn't like this situation one bit, but there was nothing she could do. //Except maybe this…// She squeezed the vampire's shoulder with enough strength to break a normal human being's bones making Benny squeal and squirm.

"ARRGH!"

The cab stopped with a screech and both the cabby and Buffy were giving her a quizzical look.

She shrugged her shoulders innocently. "He forgot his Preparation H."

Buffy smirked while Benny gave her a hateful look. The cabby just shook his head and continued to drive. The cabby was an old guy. He looked like one of those grandfathers that would make you sit on their lap and tell you old war stories. He was balding on the top and Faith swore she could almost see her reflection on it where the stars were shining.

The cab finally came to a stop. They were at city limits now. Their ride was over. //Looks like we'll be walking the rest of the way…//

Buffy got out first and dragged Benny out with her while Faith followed behind them. She shut the door and grabbed onto Benny, making sure he wouldn't run while Buffy paid the cab fair. The cabby looked at the three of them and it looked like he suddenly noticed that Benny was chained up. Both Slayers got frantic. Buffy was about to say something but the cabby held up his hands.

"Hey whatever gets you off is none of my business. Frankly, I don't give a shit. I'm just a cab driver." He waved a half-hearted goodbye and took off.

Faith couldn't believe what she just heard and began to laugh. Hard. She was about to stop but when she saw the look at Buffy's face it just made things worse and she began to laugh even harder.

"Hardy, har, har." Buffy spat, obviously not impressed.

Faith started to calm down and shook her head at Buffy. "Someone needs to lighten up a little!"

"Yeah!" Benny added.

*SMACK*

Faith came out of nowhere again and whacked him in the back of the head.

"Nobody asked for your input!" She barked giving him a dirty look.

Now it was Buffy's turn to laugh. "Now *that* was funny!" Both Slayers began to laugh while the vampire just stood there pouting from the abuse.

"Come on. Let's go!" Buffy said after a long and enjoyable laugh. She grabbed Benny and shoved him to the side of the road.

The two Slayers and the vampire were walking on a dirt path with only the stars to guide them through the night. It was pretty chilly out and Faith was glad she had a jacket on.

Faith followed behind Buffy and Benny and was amused by the sight. Benny was moaning about how mean Buffy was while Buffy was threatening him saying that if he didn't shut-up, she would 'accidentally' trip and stake him the back. Faith smiled, enjoying herself for a while. Suddenly, her smile faded and she found herself missing the other Slayer already. Maybe she didn't have to leave. Maybe, after all this prophecy shit was over, she could tell Buffy everything and then things would get better…//Stop it Faith! You're being selfish!// She sighed. What was she thinking? She couldn't stay. Staying would just ruin Buffy's life and make it worse than it already was. There was no other choice and even if there was, she didn't deserve it.

She ran her hand through her dark hair, feeling trapped. She was making the right choice…wasn't she?

*****
Faith was up to something. Buffy could feel it. She knew Faith was lying when she said she was fine back at the Magic shop. //Liar.// It was so obvious. She looked past her shoulder to see Faith slouching and staring at her feet while she walked. Buffy wanted to so much to help her but there was nothing she could do about it. She had to concentrate on stopping a prophecy. Buffy sighed. *Again* her duty as a Slayer was getting in the way of her life. She was feeling helpless and trapped because of her obligations. Maybe after this prophecy thing was over things would get better. Maybe then she could finally talk to Faith…

Buffy was deep in her thoughts when she crashed into Benny.

"Oof!"

"Watch where you're walking Blondie!" Benny growled.

As soon as those words left his mouth Faith grabbed him by his throat and had him dangling in the air with a stake to his chest.

"Why don't you watch what you're saying you dead piece of meat!" She threatened, glaring into his eyes making him gulp in fear.

"Faith, let him down. It's okay." Buffy said, putting her hand on the other Slayer's shoulder.

Faith grunted before throwing Benny back onto the ground.

He started to wheeze a bit and was coughing slightly.

"What are you wheezing for? Bloodsuckers can't breathe!" Faith snarled crossing her arms and cocking her head to one side.

"Yeah…well it's a bad habit!" He whined, rubbing his throat where Faith's hands held him.

"Pussy!"

"Faith, that's enough!" Buffy said trying to avoid a little brawl. Faith's choice of words kinda shocked her considering how vulgar they were. //Then again why should I be…// She was also a little surprised at how protective the other Slayer was but that was probably because Faith hated Benny. "Calm down. It's okay."

"Yeah, yeah." She mumbled running her hand through her hair. She was still pissed off.

Buffy shook her head and turned to Benny. "Why did you stop in the first place?"

"Before you rammed into me I was going to say we're here!" Benny growled, picking himself off the ground.

"What do you mean *here*? I don't see no fucking warehouse!" Faith barked.

Benny raised his chained hands and pointed at a hill. "It's over there sugar plum! Behind that hill."

Buffy grabbed Faith before the brunette could show him how much she liked the name 'sugar plum'.

"He's just being an ass." Buffy reassured the girl, trying to calm her down.

"A big fat hairy *ass* with stretch marks!" Faith scowled giving Benny a threatening look.

Benny just ignored her and turned to Buffy. "Well it's been fun, Slayers, but I think it's time for me to go so if you could just take these chains of-"

"Not so fast Benny!" Buffy interrupted him. "We don't even know if you're telling us truth or not."

"What! Are you calling me a liar!"

Buffy shook her head and grabbed Benny. "You're coming with us to make sure the place will be packed with vampires. If it is I'll let you go, if it isn't…well lets just say I'll stick you in a room with Faith and let her deal with you!"

"But I'm telling you the truth!"

Buffy just ignored him and shoved him in the direction of the hill.

"You know Buff, if you weren't just talking to a vampire there, I'd say you sounded like my pimp." Faith whispered and chuckled from behind her.

Buffy shook her head at the younger slayer and sighed. The girl had sex on the mind 24/7.

The trio finally reached the warehouse. It was huge. It was made mostly of bricks. Some of which were wearing from LA's acid rain problem. The windows were boarded up with cheap slabs of wood and were nailed down by tarnished, iron nails. The building was decorated with graffiti in bright colors like red, green, and orange, but even with all those bright colors, the structure still seemed to have a dark aura surrounding it. But there was something missing to the whole picture that Buffy couldn't quite get.

Benny was standing in front of her and fidgeting. He turned around and faced her. "I got ya here already can I go now?"

"NO!" both Slayers screamed in unison.

"Whoa." Benny replied, raising his hands in defense. "Some people need to calm down."

"What's the rush Benny? You not telling us something we should know?" Faith questioned, getting into Benny's space.

"No, of course not! I told you everything, I swear!"

Buffy sighed in frustration ignoring the old banter between the two. There was something wrong, something missing with the warehouse. And then it came to her. The lights weren't on. Sure, vampires hated the sun but from what she remembered they still needed light to get around. This meant one thing: The place was empty. She took a closer look at the building and saw no movement or any sign of life in the structure. The bastard lied to her! She turned to Benny who was still fighting with Faith and decked him.

*WHACK*

He fell to the ground and both he and Faith were a little shocked with her outburst. He picked himself up, rubbing his face. "What the hell was that for?"

"The damn place is empty!"

"What?!" Both Benny and Faith screamed.

"No lights meaning no vampires, meaning no vampires fulfilling a prophecy, meaning you LIED!" Buffy screamed pointing at the warehouse.

"Whad'ya mean they're not here?!" Benny screamed again in disbelief, looking at the warehouse.

"Am I ever gonna kill you!" Faith growled, grabbing a hold of Benny's collar. This time Buffy wasn't gonna stop her. She handed Faith Mr. Pointy without hesitation, ready to sit back and enjoy the view.

"STOP! WAIT! I REMEMBER!" Benny shrieked.

"Remember what?" Buffy asked.

"I remember where they are!"

"Puh-leeze!" Faith sneered.

"Wait! I remember him saying something about going to a run down apartment building downtown, something about making it a big surprise or-" He rambled but was interrupted by Faith.

"Yeah right!" She raised her stake again.

"NO!" Buffy and Benny yelled in unison.

Faith grunted. "Why not?"

"He could be telling us the truth." Buffy reasoned.

"He lied to us before; what makes you think he's not lying now!"

"Um, I didn't lie, I just forgot."

"Why don't you shut your fuckin mouth!"

"Make me!"

"Shut-up! Both of you!" Buffy barked. She was getting frustrated and the banter between the two was getting to her.

She put her hand on Faith's shoulder and tried prying her away from Benny, but she just wouldn't budge. Buffy sighed and tried her best to whisper to the brunette. "Look, we don't know for sure if he's lying, but if we kill him now we won't know what apartment building it is if he *is* telling the truth."

Buffy stared into Faith's dark eyes wondering if any of her words were making some kind of penetration into the brunette's brain. Faith just stared back obviously not liking the idea.

The dark-haired girl let out a breath of air and finally let go of the redneck. "Fine. Whatever…"

Buffy sighed and looked at Benny. "Okay Benny this is your last chance." She grabbed the vamp and yanked him in front of her again.

*****
"This is it?"

"Yup!"

Buffy looked at the building in front of her. Run-down was a definite understatement on the condition of the apartment building. It was a wreck! The place looked like it got a visit from a pyromaniac that went wild with a flame-thrower. Since the place was made mostly of concrete it was still standing, but barely. Charcoal covered the entire outside of the building giving the place a barbecued look.

"Where is the ritual being held?" Buffy asked with her eyes not leaving the object at hand.

"At the penthouse." Benny spat, rudely. "Now will you let me go now