As Mary walked off the bus and into the terminal she groaned mentally at the late hour.
1:13-Now I have to get all my luggage and shit, damn. Damn it all. The plane flight had been exhausting, she had gotten no sleep and her nerves were on the fuzzy side of frazzled from the kids who had been sitting next to her. They had thankfully been on a different bus going to some town south of LA.
The bus driver had a weird vibe about him, was bald, overweight, and looked like he had a very odd skin condition. He had seemed nice enough and she had to admit she liked him better than the guy with the wife and kids at the airport. To top it all off she couldn’t stop thinking about home and how she could never go back, not with how bad her addiction was getting. She didn’t know anyone who could help either.
Now she was standing in some strange bus stop in the middle of Oregon, and she still had to get her bags off of the bus, despite her problems.
She turned around to see that all the baggage had been unloaded onto the neatly kept platform. She gazed down the long road to see the bus drive away into the night. She rummaged through her dingy backpack and donned her denim jacket over her plaid shirt, purely for looks. It seemed unusually warm for Oregon, and definitely not jacket weather. It had been a security blanket of late, and she wanted to feel as secure as she could. Now she looked up at the stop name printed in yellow letters on a white sign. Sunnydale, CA. She glanced at her bus ticket. Back at the sign, and then the ticket.
Panic rose in her throat and here eyes widened as she realized,
DAMN IT! I got on the wrong bus! Following her first instinct she walked over to the nearest pay phone in a hurried manner, which was covered in an oily cleaning substance that she would not have been able to name. She frantically dialed home, and then laughed at herself as she hung up the phone before it even rang.
Like they’d believe me if I told them I got on the wrong bus, she thought bitterly as she remembered her father’s angry rant the day before she had left the house.
No they’d tell me that it was just part of me being defiant and… she didn’t even finish her angry thought as she picked up the phone book and flipping through it searching for a hotel. When she came along one that was cheap enough, she grabbed her suitcase and backpack and started walking down the poorly lit road. Maybe she could start a new life here, get off her magic kicks and have a few good swings at this “gay thing” before the magic consumed her. And from what she had read, it would.
*****
“Finally, release! I can’t believe…Oh God…I’ve been waiting for this all day!” said Buffy in satisfied tone as the vamp dissolved into many little dust particles as Mr. Pointy found a home. She smiled and the physical exuberance she felt. The double shift had been grueling on her, and she had to admit that the first kill of the night was always the best. It was what made her feel invigorated after standing in the “Double-not-really-Meat-Palace” as Dawn now liked to call it. Her patrols had been odd lately, with no major fluctuations in the population, either up or down. She furrowed her brow and glanced around for either Willow or Tara, whom had both volunteered to patrol with her.
“I got it! I got it!” Willow yelled as she ran after a vamp in tight jeans and a halter top with her holy garlic water spray-bottle. ”He’s mine!” she shrieked as she ran after him, spraying holy-garlic water fanatically. Buffy could do nothing but laugh at her friend’s antics. For all that Willow acted like a goof, Buffy had to admit that she was a cute goof.
Stop it kidding yourself, you had your chance. She sighed.
You had a chance with Faith too, and look what happened there. She shook her head dismissively. Nothing she could really do about it any of it now. A blinding white light and a hint of oregano in the air suggested that Tara was close by with her balls of sunshine. Buffy rushed over towards the light and found a very peculiar scene.
Tara had done the spell, however one of the dustees had not, well, dusted. She had become a master of nun-chucks in her spare time, and the girl must have caught a stray blow. The poor brunette girl had been knocked unconscious , and lay on the ground like a rag doll.
“I honestly thought she was a v-v-vamp! I didn’t mean to hurt h-her!” Tara was completely abashed at hitting a real person. Buffy looked at her sympathetically and smiled.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine Tara, “ she pointed at the girl’s cheek, “Look, not even bruising yet.” Willow strolled up to the two as they continued to examine their new friend.
“Hey guys, what’s with the sleepyhead? I mean she is sleeping isn’t she, she’s not dead, because I mean that would be so sad, and we don’t even know her, and where is she from, I’m babbling?” Willow asked in a very long run on sentence.
“I honestly can’t say Wills, but she has kick ass choice in clothing, “ Buffy commented as she noted the girl’s denim jacket, plaid shirt, and hip hugger jeans combo. They actually weren’t clothes to write home about, but the girl herself…
“We should get her to safety. She isn’t safe here.” Tara interjected into the middle of Buffy’s thought. With that patrol was called quits for the night, and Buffy hefted the athletic brunette into the back seat of Tara’s Explorer. (Although Willow and Tara always laughed and got this funny look about them when they said the name of the car.) The ride home was filled with nothing but worry for Buffy. She had no idea that this one person’s well being meant so much to her. As the car drove into the driveway of the Summers’ household Buffy tore her eyes away from the mystery girls features. Buffy carried the girl into the living room and laid her down on the couch gingerly. Tara walked over with a damp cloth and put it to the girl’s brow, her own two furrowed in concern. Buffy took it from her and gave her a push towards Will, who looked like she was going to pop under the current circumstances.
“You will call me if anything gets worse right?” Tara asked worriedly as Willow tugged on her sleeve with no abandon. Buffy simply nodded her head.
“You seem to have things under control. We’re gonna go-“
“Read.” Tara said quickly, and gave Willow a sultry look. Buffy rolled her eyes.
“Yeah. OK. Is that what they are calling it these days?” Willow shared a blush and shy smile with Tara as she dragged the still concerned girl out of the room. “No go on ahead, I mean I’ll be-“ the door to the girl’s room slammed shut ”- fine.”
I should stay down here until she wakes up, Buffy thought. Then her eyes widened and she smiled ear to ear at an even better prospect. She gathered the still knocked out girl up in her arms and walked up the stairs to her room, past the door where sounds of passion were being heard loud enough to wake the neighbors. She then laid the no name wonder under the covers. She pulled over her chair and wondered out loud “I wonder what your name is? Where are you from? I hope you’re as nice as you look.” She mumbled the last part as she fell into a dreamless sleep, with no nightmares of anything horrendous.
Shameless plug- Read my fic 7th Hellvan. It isn't half bad:)!
Edited by: Ittybittykitty at: 7/18/02 10:51:14 am