Is This the End?

A/N:  So wow, I've had this story finished for a while, just didn't upload it...sorry.  Here you go.

 

Saturday, Buffy made sure that she was out of the house by 7:30 A.m.  Her dad had called back after she’d hung up on him, and he hadn’t been happy at all.  Joyce had answered the phone and told him not to worry about their daughter that she was very mature and knew what she was doing.  Buffy had left early just in case he’d come anyway.  She’d driven over to Willow’s house and they sat her front porch until Cordelia, Harmony, and Anya showed up.  Willow looked happier then she had in a very long time.  Her mother was still giving her a really hard time, but Oz was really there to support her.  They were going to go to New York as planned, and keep the apartment that Oz already had rented for them. Buffy was really glad that she was going to keep her best friend close to her, and she was happy that she was going to be a God Mother.  Willow had asked her pretty much right when she arrived, and Buffy almost started to cry again.  When Cordelia pulled up, she looked at the two of them and burst into tears.  Buffy jumped up, concerned for her friend.

“Cordy, what’s wrong, are you okay?”  Cordy waved her off and nodded.

“I’m okay; I’m just a little emotional right now.  I can’t believe we’re going to our senior prom tonight.  It seems like yesterday when you transferred in here as a freshman, and we befriended you.  You guys are my best friends in the whole world, and its ending!”  Buffy was alarmed.  Cordelia was never like this.

“Cordy, did something happen that you want to talk about?”  Cordy sighed.

“Not really.  I’m stuck here going to Sunnydale Community.  I can’t go to any of the colleges I applied to.  I actually applied to NYU like you guys, so we could go to the same school.”  Willow was shocked.

“You mean you didn’t get in?  I thought you’re grades were really good.”  Cordelia looked away.

“My parents can’t afford to send me to a good college.  They informed two months ago that I was stuck here.  I was so depressed and I didn’t want to bring you guys down.”  Buffy grabbed Cordy and locked her in a hug.  Willow quickly joined them, so it was a group hug.  Buffy let go and wiped her eyes, and stared at Cordelia.

“You know that if you study hard and keep your grades up, you can transfer with either a scholarship or financial aid.”  Cordelia laughed.

“That’s my goal, but it’s going to be so hard without you guys to cheat off of.”  This got a laugh from all of them.  Just then Anya and Harmony walked up looking really confused.  Anya tilted her head and gave them a cold look.

“We said that we weren’t going to cry until after the prom, guys!  It’s so totally going to ruin our faces.”

                    *******************************************

The day was going by so slow, and it was driving Spike completely bonkers.  Angel, Xander, Oz, Warren, and Spike were all at his house getting ready for the prom.  They’d hung out all day today because the girls were occupied and they were bored.  It didn’t take them a million hours to get ready for a stupid dance, so they passed the time playing Spike’s Xbox 360.  It still didn’t alleviate their boredom at all.  They silently agreed not to mention that this was going to be their last outing together as high school students.  It was kind of scary to think that they wouldn’t wake up and meet outside the school steps and shoot some hoops before classes started.  Angel was staying there with Cordy and going to U.S.C., and Xander would be attending UCLA with Anya.  He wouldn’t have his friends with him at school anymore.  Oz would be there, but everyone knew that he was going to be very busy with raising his kid.  The fact that Oz was going to be a father was weird enough.  When Spike looked at his watch and saw that it was 4:00 p.m, he swore.

“You gits weren’t keeping up with the time.  Now, we’ve only got an hour to figure out how these bloody tuxedos work!”  Xander chuckled.

“They really aren’t that hard to put on, it’s kind of simple.”  They all started at him, and he lowered his head.

“Anya likes opera and ballets, guys, give me a break.”

                          *************************************

Buffy was really nervous, which was stupid, because it was just a silly dance that they were getting to go to.  The five of them had gone to their own prospective houses, because their mother’s were portrait freaks.  Buffy’s mom was completely freaking out and crying all over herself.  Connor had come over to keep Dawn company for the evening.  Dawn was sitting on the steps watching her sister in a very sad way.  Buffy walked over to her and sat down next to her, which caused Dawn to give her an indignant look.

“Buffy, are you crazy!  You’re totally going to wrinkle your dress, what are you thinking!”  Buffy giggled.

“You are so weird, do you know that?  What’s wrong with you?  You look so sad sitting over here all by yourself.”  Dawn sniffed and leaned her head on Buffy’s shoulder.

“You’re going to your prom, Buffy.  I don’t know, I guess a part of me always thought I’d get to go with you.  In two months, you’ll be leaving Sunnydale and I won’t be able to see you anymore.”  Buffy sighed and put her arm around her shoulder.

“Dawnie, you know that’s not true.  You can visit me on the holidays, and I’ll totally be back for the summer breaks.  Not to mention, web cam, telephone, texting...” Dawn laughed.

“Okay, I get the point.  It’s still not going to be the same as walking in your room without permission and bugging you face to face.”  Buffy hugged her once more and let her go to stand up.

“I know, Dawn, but I’ll always be your big sister, and I’ll always be a phone call away.”  A tear slipped down Dawn’s cheek, which she quickly dashed away and pulled Buffy into a hug.  There was a flash of a camera, and then Joyce started to sob.  Buffy and Dawn let go of each other to run over to their mother.  Buffy was the one to speak, though.

“Mom, what on earth is wrong with you?”  Joyce just waved her away.

“ It’s just that you two didn’t used to get along at all, and now you’re like...oh, just pose together so I can have some pictures.”  They indulged their mother and let her take pictures for a full ten minutes, until the doorbell sounded.  Buffy ran to the front door with relief.  Apparently, she was the last stop because everyone was there.  Spike grinned at her and held up a corsage for her arm.

“You look so beautiful, Buffy.”  Buffy let him slip the flower on her wrist and quickly gave him a kiss.  They endured another five minutes of Buffy’s mom taking pictures, but they weren’t too put out about it.  They all piled in the stretch and looked around at each other.  They knew it was close to being over.  Once the graduation party was done, they weren’t going to be the “ popular crowd” at Sunnydale High school anymore...they were going to be adults.

 

000ooo0o0ooo0o0o0o0

 

The dinner before the Prom was much tamer than any of them had expected. The wave of sadness had hit them all, and they all realized that t his was their last big thing together. Soon, Willow and Oz were going to be parents. Buffy, Spike, Oz, and Willow would be leaving for the other side of the country, while the rest of them stayed behind in Sunnydale. Angel and Cordelia were going to try to transfer to New York within a semester or two, but that would still leave Xander, Anya, and Harmony behind. The fact that Harmony was even there with them was a happy occasion, but they could shake the feeling that their friendships were coming to an end. Buffy was about to say something to the group, when she looked up and saw her parents standing in the doorway of the restaurant. Buffy's mouth literally dropped open as her temper started to go through the roof.

"Oh, you have got to be freaking kidding me!" The other's followed her gaze and gasped. Her father had a lot of nerve showing up like this. Buffy excused herself from the crowd and went outside to meet her parents. Her mother gave her an apologetic look.

"I tried to stop him from coming here, honey." Hank threw her mother a vicious look.

"I have a right to see my daughter whenever I damn well please, Joyce." He turned his attention to his daughter.

"You wouldn't let me talk to you today, so I'm afraid I had to interrupt your little party." Buffy crossed her arms.

"Whatever you have to say to me, can wait until next week. I'm here with my friends on probably the last thing we'll get to do together before we go to college. You have absolutely no right to come here like this." Hank scoffed.

"You're my daughter, Buffy, I have every right. I just wanted to tell you that there is no way that you're going to NYU. It's absolutely too far for us to keep an eye on you, and you're not going, that's final." Before Buffy could say anything, Joyce spoke up.

"Alright, now that's just about enough. I've let you run her though today, because I thought you were going to be a decent human being about things. Buffy is eighteen years old, and you can't tell her what to do. You lost all rights to that when you stopped calling her, writing her, and all that jazz. You're the one who cut the ties, Hank, not her. She was devastated when you started cancelling on her and stopped the phone calls. I was the one who had to try and explain to the girls why you didn't want to be in their lives anymore. Furthermore, you're not paying for college, I am. Buffy is going to go back into the restaurant to be with her friends. If you have anything constructive you want to say to her, you can say it next week." Buffy gave her mother a big hug and went back into the restaurant. When she got there, everyone was waiting for her to explain. She just smiled.

"Guys, lets ditch this place and go to the park. It's been very depressing since we walked through the doors." Angel smiled.

"We haven't gone to park since last year…sounds like fun, let's go."

When they finally got the ballroom where the Prom was being held, The Girls immediately headed for the bathroom, leaving the guys alone. When they got there, they immediately started to ball. Buffy grabbed the girls into a sort of group hug, and didn't care that her make-up was pretty much ruined. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"Guys, this isn't the end, you know it. We're going to stay in touch with each other, hook up during the summer. We have to, that's just all there is to it." Cordy started to laugh.

"We definitely will, because this can't be the end of our friendship." They were all giggling, when they heard a voice they didn't like. Drusilla walked out of the bathroom stall with a smirk on her face.

"Oh, this is just too priceless. You guys are delusional enough to think that you're going to stay in contact with each other. It's like an episode of freaking 90210." Buffy straightened up then.

"Oh, Dru, back off, we're not getting into this tonight. I'm going back out to my fiancé, and we're going to enjoy tonight without you." Drusilla wouldn't be put off though. She stepped up and got in Buffy's face.

"Blondie, you've been on my last nerve since you got into town. You think that you're little Miss popular, but you're nothing but trash. Tonight, I'm going to settle this with you. You actually got me into trouble at school, you stupid twat." The girls formed a line and Harmony actually spoke up.

"If you and your girls wanna try to ruin our night, go ahead. You'll just get the beat down you know is coming." Dru smirked.

"I see you still can't fight your own battles. I'll see you soon, Buffy." When she walked away, Buffy just shook her head.

"Okay guys, who has the make-up? We have to repair the damage we just made with our crying fit we just had." Cordelia started laughing and dumped the contents of her purse on the counter. Willow's mouth dropped open.

"Honestly, Cordy, is all that necessary?" Cordy giggled.

"Apparently it's needed tonight."

---

The guys were all sitting at the table they had picked out, not really saying anything. They knew that the girls were going to be awhile, because they had all gotten a little teary on the drive to the ballroom. Angel finally sighed and slapped his hand on his knee.

"Okay, I guess I'll be the one to break the ice. This is the end, isn't it?" Spike sighed.

"It certainly feels like it, mate, but I don't think it is. I mean us guys, we've been friends since middle school, do you honestly think that's going to change? Sure, for most of the year, we'll be in different parts of the country, but we'll still be best friends." Oz let out one of his rare chuckles.

"Please stop guys; I'm starting to choke up." This got them all to laugh. Xander sighed.

"I know we should have talked about it before now, but we're guys…we don't do emotional. It's definitely going to be weird when you guys leave for New York…and Angel, you're going to be joining them soon. I'll be left here to play hoops with Anya." Angel groaned.

"Dude, if you really wanted to, you could come with us. Your grades are just as good as ours. If it's a money thing, that'll only hold you back for the first year. I can go to New York now, but I'm not leaving Cordy. I'm actually going to propose to her tonight…is that corny?" Xander burst out into laughter.

"We're all getting married! I proposed to Anya before we go into the limo tonight!" This got them all going again. They calmed down once the girls returned and had a blast at the Prom. Sure, it would be sad when they separated, but it totally wasn't the end of their friendship.