The house is nice, and it’s surprisingly not all that small. There is a single hallways to my right, which I go down. The first room is her parents room, I can tell because of the large bed. There is another door to my left, which is a small bathroom. At the end of the hall, there is an open door to the right. I call out Liz’s name, but I get no response. When I walk into the room, I know that it is hers. The floor is clean, the bed is made, it is all perfect – just how she would want it. A warm soft desert breeze blows through an open window.
“Liz?”
“Out here.” Her voice is chocking, I wonder if she is crying.
I climb out the window, and see her sitting on the balcony floor. Her legs are brought up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. Her head is resting on one knee, and I sit down next to her in the same position, only I rest my head on her shoulder.
“Tough day?” I ask.
She only nods. She is crying.
I pull away from her a little, so I am no longer touching any part of her body. “Let me guess, it’s because of Max?”
She just nods once again.
“Michael asked me why I came here today.” I said with a small laugh that even startled myself. “He asked why I came here.” My dam broke sooner than I would have liked. A few tears fall from my eyes, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Liz lifting her head up to look at me. “It’s because of a boy. I mean, that’s what you’ve all been wanting to hear, right? Why I came here?” I look at her. “I see Max and Isabel looking at me everyday. He always watches me with interest, and her with fear. She’s afraid. Of me. Of anyone being close to her. They want to know what I’m doing here, why I’m interrupting their perfect little life. It’s because of a boy. So you can tell them that now. That I don’t know what they think, why they care so much, but I’m not here for anything else, just because of a boy.” The tears are falling faster now. And I can’t stop seeing it.
The demon knocked me over and rammed my head against the ground. I blacked out for a moment because of the force of the impact. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction after all. Riley tried to stop it, but it knocked him down like a rag doll. I saw Xander before it even registered in my head. I got up and picked up my discarded sword from my fall. Xander jumped in front of the demon, trying to give me time to catch up to the fleeing beast. It worked – only backwards. It gave the demon time to run away, and it gave me time to fall to my feet. The things hand just slid in him like the sea falling back into itself – complete with the lashing sound. Only the sound of splashing water was replaced by Xander’s cry of pain, and my scream. It took me only moments to throw the sword and nail the demon in the back of the head as he ran away, leaving Xander’s body on the ground.
I can’t see anything. My head is buried in my hands, and Liz is rubbing my back. She doesn’t even know. All she knows is that I’m here because of a boy, which really isn’t a lie anymore. A boy died, and that’s why I left. I could have thrown the sword sooner, but I froze. Which is why I’m leaving the Slayer and me behind to find a new me. One that won’t make any mistakes and that will want to stick around forever.
She is cooing over me, her hand rubbing my back. But I can’t take it, and in between her coos, I get up and run. I practically fall through her open window, and jump down the stairs back into the Crashdown. I decide to let the Slayer back just this once, just so I can get away. I hear her calling my name, screaming my name, her feet pounded after me. But I’m the Slayer, and I can outrun her. I reach the front door, and I try to push it open. I remember that I had locked it then, and I unlock the switch at the top. But it still won’t open. I need the key to unlock it all the way and I fall to the ground as she reaches me. She pulls me by my wrists so I face her and she hugs me as I melt down like the sun falling from the sky on a bright and shiny day.
The next day is like any other, only I find myself staring at Liz more. Last night, with her arms around me, I felt safe. Secure. I haven’t felt that since Angel. I never felt it with Riley, only with Angel, and now I’m feeling it again. But it’s different now. It’s stronger, like something I can’t even begin to describe. I see Max and Isabel come in. I glance at the clock above the doors, it is three in the afternoon – their normal time to arrive. I sigh and turn from the restaurant area. I do not feel like having a staring contest with Max again today. I do not feel like noticing how uncomfortable Isabel is around me. I do feel like ripping out someone’s throat, gouging out their eye balls, and eating them just to show them (haha) that I am not some wussy little girl who will put up with a load of crap. I felt real emotion yesterday and that scared me. It still scares me and I try not to shake. Liz notices my disappearance when the siblings enter, and she sighs. But I can tell by the determined look on her face that she is going to do something as she hastily walks up to them.
I walk back out into the cleared out café, no one is here but them, it is past lunch time on a Monday afternoon. I walk behind the counter, keeping my head down, but my ear open.
“Max, Isabel. Hi.”
“Hi.” Isabel says, he voice just as sweet as always.
I can feel Max’s eyes burning holes into my flesh, and I look up. Liz follows his gaze and sighs once again.
“You know what, Max? Just stop. Okay? She’s not some alien hunter who is out to get you, she’s not in the FBI, she is just a perfectly normal girl who came here because she needed to get away. Okay? Deal with it. And stop staring at her as if she is some science experiment. And if you continue to do so, you are not welcome here anymore. Now, what do you want to eat?”
I do now know what she means by alien hunter or FBI agent, but I do not really care. A sly smile spreads across my face, and I head out back to take my break. I really need a cigarette.
Its poison enters my veins, and wraps around my lungs, threatening to pop them like bubbles if I continue to breath. I do. The door opens, and Liz comes out, a bright smile of accomplishment on her face.
“You scared the shit out of him.” I note, a mischievous grin appearing on my face as well.
“What can I say,” She says batting her eyes. “I’m a natural.”
She leans up against the wall next to me and sighs once again. “I just wish I could tell him to not look at me too.”
“Why can’t you?”
She plucks the cigarette from my mouth and inhales its nicotine goodness. She coughs a little and hands it back. “Can’t breath it in. Kind of like those.” We stand in a moment of silence. “We’ve been together, and it’s felt so right, but his destiny –“ She cuts off, she did not mean to say that, but now she has to cover it up. “I mean, not his destiny, but like –“
“I used to think I was destined to be with this guy, but it just wasn’t meant to be. At least, if it was, I somehow have to live with the fact that his destiny wasn’t ME.”
“I just thought that you’d think the whole destiny thing was corny.”
“No. Go one. I like to hear other peoples problems.” I flick off the end of my cigarette. “It makes me forget my own.”
“Right. Well, his destiny is with someone else. Only we both used to think that we were each other’s destiny. And then she showed up, and changed it all.”
“Who?”
“Tess.”
“Ah, Kewpie. Well, maybe it just came out wrong. Maybe they are supposed to be together, and you were supposed to see them kissing in the rain.”
She looks startled. “Who told you?”
“I think Maria let it slip when she was explaining to me why he, Michael, and Isabel were all assholes.”
“Ya. Well, it’s the truth. But you know what? Maybe they are each other’s destiny. So how do I know what mine is?”
“You make it.” I smile at her, let my precious fall to the ground, put it out with my foot, and go back inside.
When I go back inside, I can’t help but laugh. Max and Isabel are gone. Maria isn’t here today, it’s her day off. Michael is staring at me like I’m crazy. All I have to do is look into his confused face and I start to laugh again. She did it. She really scared Max Evan’s shitless and it makes me happy. The bastard hurt her, why doesn’t he deserved to be scared? She is a great person. She’s pretty, and smart, and more beautiful than anything else, even the stars at night when they cascade upon the moon. I can’t help but smile at her as she glides back inside, her face blushing ever so slightly as Michael stares between us. He shakes his head and hangs up his apron.
“We closing early today? No one is here. Even your father.” It thunders out as he speaks and I look outside, my laughter stopping, my thoughts of Liz Parker continuing.
“Fine. Just don’t tell my dad.” Liz responds. “You better go before it starts raining.”
“Ya, Max and Isabel mysteriously took off before closing time today after someone practically yelled at them earlier.” He teases grabbing his coat. He took off at a jog as he left the Crashdown, a few sprinkles of rain hitting the windows. He pulled his coat up over his head and ran out of site.
Buffy just gave off a small laugh and turned to Liz. “Mind if I stay awhile?”
“Not at all. Besides, it’ll give us some quality girl time.”
After we finished cleaning and locking up the Crashdown, we headed up into Liz’s room. We both laid down on the bed, our eyes glued to the ceiling. We had talked about Max and Tess a lot while cleaning up, occasionally talk of Maria and Michael slipped in, but not a lot. I breathed in the scent of the room deeply, it smelled like Liz. Her perfume, her lotion, her body, her hair, her everything. I liked it. It smelled good, and the idea of me being attracted to Elizabeth Parker startled me for a moment. It wasn’t that I was opposed to the idea, it was just kind of weird. Willow was supposed to be the one into girls, and I was supposed to be into dangerous guys like Angel and Riley. Beside me, Liz shuffled, and her arm brushed against mine. I twitched for a moment, the thought of her in my mind. Not a day had gone by since I saw Xander’s small pained childless face when I closed my eyes, but now, when I closed my eyes just for a moment, I didn’t see him. I saw her. Liz Parker. Her deeply tanned skin, her brilliant smile, the bounce she had when she walked.
“Buffy?”
“Ya?
“Do you ever just wish, that things were different, that you would just do daring things, and you wouldn’t care what other people thought?”
“I do all of the time. I did when I came here.”
She turned towards me, and I turned on my side, becoming a mirror image of her. She moved in a little closer to me. My eyes fell full of question.
“What are you doing?” My words weren’t hard, or that of hatred, but those of curiosity, confusion.
She only smiled at me, and moved her head closer to my own. “Making my destiny.”
Her lips touched mine lightly at first, as if she was afraid that I would push her away. But when my lips welcomed hers, and kissed hers back, our tongues began to slightly dance. She tasted good, better than I ever would have thought, and my body bounced every time our tongues touched and caressed. Our hands entwined in each others like fine lace, and when they were free, one of my hands cupped the side of her face, and the other fell upon her waist. Her tongue fell along side mine and I pulled back as my lips crowded around hers. Her eyes were questioning, wondering whether to move on or not. I leaned in in answer, and slid my hand underneath the bottom of her skirt, and rubbed her thigh. My whole body screamed at me, it told me to do more. It wanted more. I felt my breasts rub against hers, and I let out a small moan into her mouth. She kissed my cheek and neck. Her mouth fell to the nape in my neck and I moved beneath her, she felt so good. So right. Her hands ran under the bottom of my uniform, slowly moving them upward, and in no time at all, I moaned her name out in ecstasy.
I woke up to a knocking sound. At first I was confused, but once I sat up, the velvet sheets of Liz’s bed uncovering me, I remember where I was. I remembered what had just happened. But then the knocking was there again, and I realized it was coming from the window. I felt my body stiffen, the cold air hitting my naked self, and the thought of someone seeing me. Us. But the shades were drawn, and beside me, Liz stirred. Neither of us need to say a thing as I quickly found my bra and underwear on the ground, putting them on, I saw Liz doing the same. The knock came again, and I heard the window slightly beginning to open. Liz’s shouting stopped the movement.
“Just a minute, I’m, uh, I’m changing! Hold on!” She called out.
I picked up a uniform and slid it on. Liz slide on hers, and as I buttoned up the top buttons, I gasped. Liz was heading towards the window when I grabbed her arm and spun her around towards me. She let off a little gasp as I put my hand down the front of her uniform, but all I did was undo her pin. The one that read ‘Buffy’. I quickly handed her her own and grabbed my shoes and socks as I tip toed out of her room and into the hallway. I heard the blinds being pulled opened and I panicked about where to go. I finally opted on going into the bathroom, the room nearest Liz’s. I quietly shut the door, and put my ear up to the wood, listening to what was going on in Liz’s room.
“Max.” Liz breathed in heavily, relief filling her that he hadn’t seen anything.
“Hey, Liz.”
“Hey. What, what are you doing here, Max?” He hair was a mess as she let him into her room. She quickly looked at herself in the mirror and frowned.
“You were…changing?” He asked her.
She turned to him and nodded. “Ya.” She unconsciously scratched behind her ear, trying to think of something to say to him, what lie to come up with. “I was just, uh, taking a nap, and I was in my pajama’s and when I heard you knock…I just was going to change. Never know who it may be knocking at your bedroom window.”
“Ya. Listen, Liz, I wanted to come by and apologize for being so weird about Buffy. I went downstairs, but the doors were locked, so…”
“Ya. You know, no one was coming by, and Michael wanted to take off before it really started to rain that hard. So. Is it, is it raining now, Max?”
“No. It stopped about an hour ago.”
“An hour ag…oh.” She looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was seven p.m. She and Buffy had been out for awhile. “I guess I just didn’t really noticed how late it was…”
“Ya. So, I just came by about the apology.”
“Oh, right right. Well, uh, she’s not here. To apologize to though, so…”
“I wasn’t really going to…I mean, I could, if you want, I just…I thought I would let you know that I didn’t mean any harm. I was just worried. About you.”
“I can take care of myself Max.”
“Well, with your parents gone and everything, I was just making sure that you were, you know, okay.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and fidgeted where he stood, putting his weight on one foot and then the other.
“My parents have left me alone for two weeks before. They’ll be back next Tuesday. You don’t have to worry about me, Max. I’m fine. I am perfectly able to take care of myself.”
“I know, I know. I just…worry about you and stuff. We never really see each other anymore.” He put his hand on the side of her neck, she flinched at his touch and pulled away. “I was just…you had bruise.” He motioned on his own neck. “On your neck. Just figured I would get ride of it.”
She reached up and touched her neck.
“It, uh, it’s gone now.”
“Oh…thanks.” She managed to smile at him, but she secretly wanted to kill him. Buffy had kissed her neck, probably given her a hickey, the only evidence of what had happened probably, was now washed away, by none other than the man she wanted least to know about it. “I must have gotten it from a tray or something when I was carrying it on my shoulder. Delivering food to some people downstairs…it’s a real dangerous job.”
“Has it ever happened before?”
“I – I don’t know. I don’t think so, but I never really took notice…”
“Oh. Well, I better…uh, get going.”
“Ya, you should.” She realized her words were harsh, and in a way she wanted to take them back. “I mean, I have to get stuff ready for tomorrow, so…”
“Ya.”
“Bye.”
“Bye, Liz.”
“Bye, Max.”
She sighed and closed the window and blinds once he was gone and down the ladder leading up to her balcony. She sat on the edge of her bed and faced the closed blinds. She heard Buffy come out of her hiding place, and drop her shoes on the bedroom floor. Liz felt it as Buffy climbed onto the bed behind her, and she leaned into her.
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