The Courtship of Buffy Summers

The following day didn’t prove to be any better or worst then the previous. Buffy was a little giddier about her date since it was only one day away. Her friends are still trying to talk her out of it but she’s choosing to ignore them. She is being cautions, she isn’t stupid or naive by any means. If people are spreading rumors that Faith gets around there’s a reason for it. In every rumor there is an ounce of truth.


‘But what’s true about this one?’ she asks herself as she changes for gym. ‘She might be a woman of the world or whatever the polite term for it is, but is it completely true? Does she have one-night stands and never date. Well she told me herself she doesn’t date. But does she pick up girls and just use them? It’s way too soon to ask her. I mean, awkward moment party of one. No, I think I’ll wait. I’m still a virgin and it’s not like I’m going to be giving that up anytime soon. I’m not going to just give that up after a couple of good dates, no matter how good they are.’


Buffy spins around when she hears the high-pitched scream from across the locker room. She has to bite her lips to keep from laughing at loud when she sees Cordelia standing in front of her locker and falling out of it are very realistic looking rats and spiders. They’re fake, however, made out of plastic and fibers. At least everyone in the room is hoping they’re fake. Buffy allows herself one small satisfied smile because she has a very good idea who is responsible for that.


‘So she didn’t resort to violence, that’s a good thing. I thought Cordelia was a dead girl walking. And I would’ve been partly responsible for it. I mean, I know I didn’t tell Faith that it was Cordelia who said it might be a bet but I implied it. I manipulated the situation so she would think that. Ok, enough of this moral stuff, it’s starting to get depressing.’


With the fiasco calming down, the girls head into class almost all of them talking about who would be depraved and stupid enough to pull a prank on the Queen of Sunnydale High. ‘My potential honey-bunny, that’s who,’ Buffy thinks to herself and smiles. ‘Is it strange that I’m proud of what she might have done? No, I don’t think so. And truth is in the eyes of the beholder or whatever, so I’m right.’ She stands in the line along the wall while the teacher does the roll call.


‘Why haven’t I seen her today? She didn’t pick me up and her car wasn’t in the parking lot. Not that I’m trying to track her down and we never made plans for the picking me up to become a regular thing, but it’s just weird. Her attendance is almost as good as Willow’s, except when she goes to L.A. And what does she do while she’s in L.A.? She can’t be a drug dealer, at least I hope she’s not a drug dealer. I don’t think it would be a good idea to get involved with someone like that. So I’ll just proceed with caution. I’ll be ready to bail the second things look shady.’


“Let’s see, she told me not to wear a dress or a skirt, so what do you think about this?” Buffy asks and holds up the light blue hip hugger jeans and the pink shirt. “Now I know it might get a little cold tonight so I’m going to wear this over the shirt.” She holds up the gray sweater. “I know it’s thin and I might get a little cold but I’ll deal because I don’t anything else that goes with this.” She looks at Willow and she can tell the redhead is a little uncomfortable.


“I think it’s the best choice so far. Everything else seemed a little too...revealy. I mean, have you seen some of the things girls our age are wearing nowadays? Whatever happened to leaving some to the imagination?” Buffy looks over at the pile of clothes lying on her bedroom floor. Half of the tops she’s worn to school, one of the jeans, and two of the shorts. ‘My clothes aren’t that bad. Sure, some of the shirts are cut a little low but it’s not slutty or anything.’


“Will, what’s really bugging you?” she asks and sits down on the bed next to the redhead. “Whatever it is you can tell me. I know you have a problem with my date with Faith and it’s ok to talk about it, I’m not going to get mad, I just want to understand.” ‘Bingo, she’s so guilty now,’ she thinks and puts the clothes down on the bed.


“You don’t know her Buffy. You don’t know her reputation. You haven’t seen the damage she’s done. When she sees a girl she likes it’s like she gets tunnel vision and all she can see and think about is that girl and getting into her pants. But after that it’s like they don’t exist.” The watery tone of Willow’s voice caught Buffy’s attention. “You just don’t understand what it’s like.” She definitely can’t ignore the tears that are building up in Willow’s eyes, especially now that they’re leaking out and landing on her comforter.


“Willow,” she tone is soft and low. “Faith did that to you?” ‘Please say no, please say no, please say no. I can’t date someone like that. Please say no.’ And much to Buffy’s relief Willow shakes her head no and wipes away her tears.


“No, not Faith. But someone like her. Same breed of person.” Her expression darkens for a second but then she looks up at Buffy with a little bit of determination. It’s starting to freak Buffy out. “I’m trying to be happy for you, I am. You’re new here and it’s great that someone asked you out, just promise me you’ll be careful? People like Faith will do or say almost anything to make you trust them.”


“Don’t worry Willow, I promise.” The two share a hug and when they pull back Buffy glances over at the clock. “She’ll be here in twenty minutes, do you want to stick around or do you want my mom to give you a ride home?” She would rather have Willow leave now because she doesn’t want to feel guilty about leaving her when Faith shows up. And to her relief Willow stands up and picks her back up off the floor.


“No, it’s fine. I can walk. I only live a few blocks from here and I need to stop by Xander’s to help him with his math homework anyway. Have fun on your date, and call me as soon as you get home ok? I want to know everything, and I have my own phone line so don’t worry about waking my parents up.” They say their goodbyes and Willow leaves. Buffy took her shower when she got home and blew dry her hair so the only things to do are get dressed and put on her make-up. ‘I got the outfit and I’m going to wear pretty much no make-up. Little eye shadow, some cover up and some gloss and I’m done.’


“Buffy ” she hears her mother yell from downstairs. ‘Damn, time sure flew. I still need to tie my shoes.’ “Faith’s here ” ‘But I didn’t hear the bell, maybe she knocked.’ Once Buffy finishes tying her shoes she runs down stairs and sees Faith standing in the foyer holding a single red rose. Buffy’s breath hitches in her chest when she gets a better look at the brunette girl. ‘Faith really dolled up for this date,’ she thinks and walks down the last five stairs. ‘Her hair is straight and she’s wearing more then just black make-up. She must really wanna impress me. At least I hope so.’


“You look great, B,” Faith says and smiles, flashing her dimples and making the blonde blush. She smiles to herself, and makes yet another mental note about how cute the blonde is when she blushes.


“You look really nice,” Buffy says and smiles a little flirtatious smile. Joyce stands back in the living room waiting to be acknowledged as well as watching the exchange of words and body language between the two girls. She can’t help but feel like this little outing is more then just Buffy wanting to make a new friend. “So, Mom, I’ll be back by eleven,” Buffy says with a smile and gives her mother a little kiss on the cheek before leaving.


The sun is low causing the sky to be a beautiful assortment of oranges, pinks and a couple of purples. Venders call out to the people of Sunnydale daring them to play their games to win a prize. Children are running around hopped up on sugar from the cotton candy and other sugary treats the noisy and crowded fair has to offer. Couples walk hand in hand as the first stars start to appear in the sky. All in all the carnival is a huge success. Everyone is enjoying themselves for the most part, especially a certain blonde.


“So, what ride do you want to go on first?” Buffy asks and takes a look around. So far they’ve gotten something to drink, and walked around a little bit to get the lay of the land but haven’t played any games or gone on any rides. Then Buffy spots something out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, lets go on the Ferris Wheel.” Her voice is full of enthusiasm and childish glee.


“I was thinkin we’d hit the roller coaster first. Let’s wait for the Ferris Wheel ok?” Faith says and has to resist the urge to caress Buffy’s cheek when the blonde frowns. “Trust me on this, B. The Ferris Wheel is an after the sun goes down type of ride. So let’s wait, ok?” Buffy lets out a very disgruntled ‘ok’ and they make their way to the roller coaster. After a stomach turning, nauseating ride they walk around for a little while and Faith has an inner battle while Buffy babbles on and on about what it was like in Hemery.


‘I shouldn’t hold her hand that’s too fuckin girly, you got a Goddamn rep to hold up here. Yeah, but chicks like that kinda shit, right? I mean just look around at all these girly-girls holdin onto their guy’s hand. But this is just the first date so she might freak. You need to do somethin her voice is gettin so annoying I might kill somethin if she doesn’t stop talking soon.’


“Hey, didn’t you say somethin about a giant teddy bear?” Faith asks and Buffy stops talking and looks at her with a very happy look on her face. “That’s what I thought.” ‘Ok, now is the perfect time. There’s a crowd that we could get separated in so if she freaks out or asks what you’re doin you have a good excuse. And stop talkin to yourself in third person, it’s a sign of insanity,’ Faith thinks and casually reaches over and takes Buffy by the hand. And the blonde doesn’t freak out or ask what Faith is doing. Instead she lightly grips back and allows herself to be lead through the mass of people. On the outside she seems fine, relaxed and having a great time but the inside is a different story.


‘Oh my God, she’s holding my hand. And they are really soft I knew they would be. I’m going to have so many dirty dreams about these hands. No Bad, Buffy, no fantasizing about her. Didn’t we already go over this while she drove you to school the other day? You’re just now calming down from that roller coaster ride, no need getting yourself all worked up again. So stop it.’


“Step right up, that’s right, step right over here, knock down the bottles and win a prize ” the carny shouts out into the large crowd. It’s your typical set up for a carnival booth: stuffed animals behind the booth in sight but out of reach, a stack to bottles sitting on a table ten feet back from the front of the booth, a wire basket containing four baseballs on the counter area of the booth. The man himself is dressed in nice clothes considering he’s been on the road for the last two months. A red t-shirt and dark blues jeans, a little faded but still nice.


“Oh Faith, the pink bear, look at it, isn’t it the cutest thing?” Buffy asks in a very girly babyish voice. Faith looks over at the pink teddy bear that’s hanging in the booth. It’s the biggest toy there, very large, very pink but with a white spot on the stomach, and in the middle of the white spot is two interlocking hearts. “Ahh, Faith, it’s a Care Bear. I want that one.” ‘Of course you do,’ Faith thinks and tries not to shake her head. ‘The girliest one of the bunch. But whatever, as long as she goes home happy.’


“B, it’s almost as big as you are,” Faith says and they stop about five feet away from the booth. And Buffy looks at her with the biggest pout Faith has ever seen. ‘Chicks,’ she thinks as she rolls her eyes. ‘They think if they stick out a lip and water up their eyes they’ll get whatever the fuck they want.’


“I know Faith, that’s why I want it. It’s big enough to cuddle with when I go to sleep.” Faith raises an eyebrow and Buffy blushes. “And I can’t believe I just admitted that to you.” Instead of teasing her or smiling wider, Faith gently caresses the back of Buffy’s hand with her thumb and the blonde’s blush disappears.


“I did promise to try and win you a giant stuffed bear and that definitely qualifies,” she says and eyes the rest of the toys. All are small and meek compared to the giant Loves-A-Lot bear. ‘I bet I could get one of those at a toy store for way less then what I’m gonna pay to win it. And if I get it from a store I could spray my perfume on it and she’ll think of me when she cuddles up to it at night,’ she thinks and a small smile spreads across her face.


“Try your luck, knock down the bottles and win a prize,” he says and looks at Faith and then Buffy and then their joined hands and then at Faith again. He smiles really wide and starts to shout again. “You,” he locks eyes with Faith. “Try your luck and win a prize for your lovely lady.” ‘My lovely lady...I like the sound of that,’ she think and glances over at the blushing Buffy.


“How much to play big guy?” she asks as she walks up to the booth and the answer doesn’t make her happy but she hides her little bit of anger. ‘Five bucks for four fuckin baseballs. This is bullshit, I better knock those bottles over the first fuckin try. I hope they fuckin break.’ She throws the first ball and it’s a miss.


“Oh so close. Come on, you can do it,” Buffy says. ‘Might as well cheer her on. God, she looks so cute now that she’s all determined. I should have her play these games all night just so I can see that face.’ Faith throws another ball and knocks down two of the bottles. “Yay, just three more.” She knocks the down the rest and Buffy squeals with joy. Faith points out the bear she wants and the carny quickly takes it down and hands it to her.


“Alright B, here’s your bear,” she says and hands it to the very happy blonde. Buffy scoops it up in her arms but has a little trouble doing so. It’s hard to carry something that’s only nine inches shorter then you.


“Thank you Faith, I love it,” she says and leans over and gives Faith a little kiss on the cheek. She pulls back and smiles at her and then giggles when she sees the surprised look on Faith’s face. “Come on, let’s get something to eat. Only I’m paying. You’ve paid for everything else so far.”


“No B, I’m taking you out tonight so I’m paying for everything. The only way you’re paying for something is if I run out of money. So, what do you want? I’d go with the corn dogs, everything else looks passed it’s prime.” They start walking again towards the concession stands. The crowd isn’t as large so there’s no need for hand holding, but Buffy misses the feel of Faith’s soft hand in her own. ‘But I shouldn’t. She might want to make all the moves.’ But she goes against her inner voice and slyly takes a hold of the other girl’s hand and she’s met with no resistance whatsoever.


The sun has fully set and all the lights have come on. The rides look down right godly now that the flashing multicolored bulbs can be seen because the lack of the sun and everything seems surreal. The two girls walk along hand in hand, Buffy’s bear is firmly but gently tucked under Faith’s arm and they’re eating their third corn dog. Then Buffy looks over and spots the one thing she’s wanted to do all night.


“The sun went down about two hours ago, do you want to go on the Ferris Wheel now? You said it was a night time thing and it’s night time, so what’s stopping us?” Faith just nods her head so she won’t have to talk around the large bite of breading and something that tastes close to a meat product. By the time they reach the Ferris Wheel their meals are gone and they’re both very impatient to get on.


“Alright B we can go on this but you have to close your eyes until we get to the top,” Faith tells her and Buffy looks at her with a little distrust. “Don’t worry, you’ll see why when we get there. But no peeking, ok?” Buffy agrees and Faith pays for the ride and they sit down in the seat and pull the bar down until it locks into place. “Ok, close your eyes.” Buffy does as she’s told and grips the metal bar very tightly when the ride starts to move.


“Don’t worry B,” Faith says and holds onto her hand. “I won’t let anythin bad happen to ya.” Buffy relaxes and enjoys the feel of Faith’s soft hand. ‘I know I said I shouldn’t but there’s no way in hell I’m going to be able to go home and not fantasize about her hands. They’re so soft but so strong at the same time. And this bear is really soft too.’ The bear is sitting on the other side of Buffy and she has her arm wrapped tightly around it.


“Alright, B, open your eyes,” Faith says when the ride stops moving. Buffy slowly flutters her eyes open and gasps when she sees the sight. She can see almost the entire town from the top of the Ferris Wheel. The lights are twinkling like a billion little stars and everything looks serene and perfect. “See, it was worth it, huh?” All Buffy can do is nod her head yes. Then she feels Faith let go of her hand and she looks over and watches as the other girl slowly lifts her arm into the air and lets it settle on Buffy’s shoulder. The blonde freezes for a second but then allows herself to melt against the brunette.


They sit in silence and just watch the lights of the town and the rest of the people down below. But then the ride starts to move again so the other people can have their turn at the top. And by the time the two girls get back to the bottom the little serene moment is definitely gone. But they’re still comfortable around each other and Buffy can’t believe how well this date is going. ‘Hopefully there will be a second,’ she thinks as Faith helps her out of the seat. They start to walk around again but then Faith stops and looks down at her watch.


“We need to get goin,” she says and smiles at Buffy. “If we leave now you’ll only be five minutes late.” Buffy rolls her eyes a little bit and sighs. Her mother is going to be mad. Probably not enough to ground her because it isn’t a school night and as long as she doesn’t come home drunk or on drugs or hours passed her curfew her mom won’t give her too much grief about being late.


The ride back to the house is filled with lighthearted chatter and plenty of laughter. Mostly about the other people who they saw at the carnival, and the gross carnies. But Buffy also makes comments about the good parts of the date that she liked the most. Like when they went into the house of mirrors, and the hall of illusions. She forgot how fun it could be just to go to a carnival, but she likes this one the best because she was with great company.


Faith parks the truck and then opens Buffy’s door for her and helps her out. She walks her to the door and they stand on the porch in silence for a few seconds. And in those few seconds Buffy can’t help but just look at Faith. She notices every little detail about her face and she can’t help but conjure up some fantasizes. She really wants to run her tongue along the little cleft on Faith’s bottom lip. She wants to gently rub her thumb against the barely there scar by Faith’s right eyebrow.


“I had a lot of fun tonight,” she says and subconsciously holds her breath when she sees Faith lean forward. This is the moment she’s been waiting for. She wanted to make the move herself but then she decided to let Faith do it since she’s been the perfect ‘gentleman’ all night long she figured Faith would be the one to kiss her, and she was right. It isn’t much of a kiss, it hardly qualifies as one. The brunette lightly brushes her lips against the blonde’s and Buffy barely puckers hers in response and then it’s over. Faith pulls back and smiles a little half smile and Buffy is left in a land of swirly feelings.


“I had fun too. Good night B. I’ll see you later, ok?” All Buffy can do is nod her head. The feel of Faith’s soft lips on her own has left her speechless. Words have no meaning so she doesn’t even try to use them. She watches as Faith walks back to her truck, hops into the driver’s seat then blows her a little kiss. Buffy smiles and does the same and then Faith starts up the engine and takes off down the street. The blonde stands there for a few seconds with a dreamy smile on her face and then she goes into the house to find her mom sitting in the living room watching T.V.


“How was the fair?” she asks and Buffy gives some vague reply and then heads upstairs. She goes into her room and closes the door and leans up against it and sighs heavily. ‘Best date I’ve ever been on,’ she thinks and hugs her bear a little tighter. She can still smell the fragrances of the carnival. The cigarette smoke, the food, a little B.O. but she can also smell Faith’s perfume from when the brunette held the bear for her. Buffy inhales deeply and smiles to herself. She puts the bear down and changes for bed thinking about the other girl the entire time.


‘Definitely going to be dreaming about more then just her hands tonight. Jeez, what is this girl doing to me? I’ve never had these kind of dirty thoughts about a boy after the first date. But I’ve never been attracted to anyone as much as I am to her. And her lips are so soft, I’ve never felt anything like that before, and it only lasted seventeen seconds.’ She crawls under her covers with a small smile on her face and she wraps her arms around the bear and inhales deeply one more time before drifting off to sleep.