Nusac

Chapter 38
Faith’s POV

“You could quite easily be the most embarrassing person that ever lived.” I tell him when I’ve managed to pry my hand from off my face.

He just gives me a huge cheesy smile. “Why, thank you.” Why couldn’t I have normal friends? Friends that would be as embarrassed as me, by this. “Coffee?” He says pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the Espresso Pump.

I raise my eyebrow at his quick subject change. “Yeah go on then.” I step under the canopy of the packed coffee shop and position myself at the back of the line. “ ‘s long as you’re paying.”

He scoffs at me but still takes out the battered wallet that Giles lent him. “Say’s the millionaire.”

“I’m not a millionaire.” I try to keep my voice down. It’s technically Blood money. Form Wolfram & Heart and the mayor. Not something I really want to spread about considering he tried to eat the town.

He rummages around in the small leather wallet. “Not far off.” He mumbles. I know there’s money in there. I’m the one who gave it to him.

I clamp my hand around his shoulder to bring his mind out of his wallet. “You know how I like it. I’ll get a table.” He nods his head and I move away and find an empty table by the window. I drop my forehead into my hands in frustration. The song I sang back in the magic box running through my head. I can’t remember all the words properly. It’s like when you hear a song for the first time and only little bits like the chorus stick in your head.

How the hell is that going to be interpreted? I mean Pike got a big declaration of love from it. I dread to think what Nam made of it. I know it’s some sort of hocus pocus that’s making us all just burst into song. It has to be. I’ve never had that sort of urge to sing before.

‘I don’t want your sympathy just understanding.’ What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I sang it I should fucking well know.

A steaming hot coffee is placed in front of me pulling me out of my thought’s “you shouldn’t worry about it so much.” He’s not even looking at me and he knows I’m worried about something. He sets down his own coffee and begins to stir in the milk and sugar. “It’ll all blow over.”

“Yeah I hope so.” I say while picking up the sugar container and holding it over my drink. I like a lot of sugar okay.

“Well unless you leave her of course.” He says it so off the cuff that I’m not sure I heard him right.

“How can you…” ‘We’d be better off if I just took some time to try and understand you.’ The line rings through my head. That’s how he could say that. “Any chance she would be able to forget that line?”

He snorts at this. “Namine forget something? When was the last time that happened?”

“She’s going to kill me isn’t she?” I begin to stir the now sickly sweet coffee in front of me. “Slowly.”

He’s still got his Cheshire cat grin spread across his face. “Nah. She seemed to kind of understand when I asked her.”

I feel my forehead crease at this. How long was I running for? I was pretty sure that I ran straight for city hall. To be honest my mind wasn’t exactly on where I was going. Could have been running for days for all I know. “Just kind of get it?”

“Hmm.” He mutters with coffee in his mouth. “Understood what you were trying to say with it. Just not too sure where it came from.”

“That makes two of us.”

He shrugs. “Could just try talking to her.”

“That’ll be fun.” He’s right… again. He’s always right. “Is she still at the magic box?”

He shakes his head as he swallows his mouth full of coffee. Should really start talking to him when his mouth is empty. He glances at his watch before answering. “Buffy would have taken her and Dawn back by now. Getting close to sunset.”

I look up at the sky, I hadn’t even noticed how late it was. Nothing is said for a while. I just sit drinking my coffee trying to think of what exactly I am going to say to her when I go back.

“Personally I would start by trying to explain what you really meant.” I really, really hate it when he does that.

“Well then ‘Mr I know everything’ why don’t you tell me what I need to say?”

“Doesn’t work like that sweetheart.”

I give him the evil eye. He knows I hate him calling me stuff like that. “I don’t even know what I meant by it. I just…” I shake my head and let out a huff. “…It just all came out.”

Pike downs the rest of his coffee in one go. “Come on, longer you think about it the worse it’s gonna be.”

I hate this man.

It’s gone from dusk to dark by the time we reach the front door of the Summers’ house. On account of me dragging my feet the whole way. I have never prayed so much for a vampire or some sort of demon to spring out of the bushes. Just a distraction.

I keep running through what I want to say in my mind and each time I get to a shouting match. Even when I don’t say anything. By the time Pike drags me up the porch steps I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m never going to be able to explain this. He pushes against the door, which always seems to be open and hangs up his coat.

He walks into the living room and takes a seat between B and Dawn. He takes the popcorn off Dawn’s lap and takes out a handful. How this guy eats so much and stays so skinny is beyond me. “What we watching?”

“10 Things I Hate About You.” Dawn answers without taking her eyes off a very hairy and singing Heath Ledger. After all the singing today I don’t know how they can watch it. Girls will be Girls I suppose.

Pike snorts at their choice of move. “Chick flick.” Even though he has made this comment with an almost sneer in his voice. He makes no move to get up. Instead he dips his hand back into the popcorn and glues his eyes to the screen.

I’m kinda hoping that I’ve lost Namine to the world of chick flicks. However I’ve never seen her even look at a man so I hardly think it’s likely. I place my hand lightly on her shoulder and she looks up at me from her seat. “Hey Nam.”

“Good evening.”

Not exactly the wording I would have used but at least she’s still speaking to me. ”Can I have a word Nam. In private.”

She nods at me, pushing against the arms of the chair and walks past me to the kitchen. I follow close behind and watch as she gets herself a glass of water. She takes a seat at the island and patiently waits for me to speak.

Couldn’t have made this easy on me and started me off? I wrap my hand around the back of my neck and try to rub away some of the tension. ”What happens now?” I internally cringe at me lack of tact.

She takes a deep breath through her nose before she answer’s ”I was hoping that you would tell me.”

I run my hand down my face trying to think of something to say, something that’s going to make all of this better. ”I don’t know” I say and I sit down at the island opposite her.

”There seems to be a lot of things you don’t know.”

My head shoots up so I can meet her gaze. ”And what is that supposed to mean?” I can feel just a little bit or rage climbing it’s way up my throat.

She looks me dead in the eye before she speaks. “Maybe we’d be better of if you took some time to try and understand me.” How was it that I knew she’d remember that line.

For some reason I can feel that anger boiling over in my chest. ”Convenient you would remember that line.”

”That particular line hurt the most Faith.” You’d think it would be her words that cut me down. It isn’t, it’s the ice in her eyes and the edge to her voice. ”Why don’t you just finish what you started in the magic box.”

She pushes back her seat a little more violently than I would have liked and pushes open the door to the basement slamming it behind her.

That couldn’t have gone worse. I lower my forehead to the cold faux marble counter and cover my head with my arms. Why can’t I just say what I feel and be done with it. I guess it would kinda help if I actually knew what I feel.

The door behind me opens and closes again before I can turn to face her. At her feet is a small leather bag that we brought back with us from Nusac. I feel my forehead crease in confusion. ”What’s this about?”

”What does it looks like?” She says rubbing her hands together nervously. ”I’m going home”

My chest actually hurts. What the fuck is that? “Alone?”

”You have made it painfully obvious that you do not want to carry on with… whatever the hell it is we have been doing and I am not going to be waiting around for you to realise what you are throwing away.” She says, her voice low and bubbling with anger. With that she walks past me to the front door.

I don’t know why I do it but I grab her arm as she reaches for the door. I don’t get any warning before my hand starts burning.

“What the fuck Nam!” I shout pulling my hand away from her with lightening speed.

”You do not get to talk to me like that anymore!” Now we’re both shouting. I half expect everyone to come rushing in to make sure I’m not being killed.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” I ask looking into her eyes.

”Nothing is the matter with me Faith." Why is it that when someone uses your name in an argument it is so much worse.

“Then why wont you listen to me, let me explain?” I try to make myself sound more compassionate but I think the shouting drowned that particular tone out of my voice.

”There is nothing to explain!” I see her take a deep breath. I see a tear escape her eye and run down her chin. I hate myself all the more knowing it was my fault, I made her cry. ”You said all you needed to say in that song.”

”I did not! I said I wanted to understand!” I make my way over to her pushing myself into her personal space. ”How am I supposed to act when I don’t know who you are?! Don’t know how you think, what you feel?! I don’t even know how you see things, What you believe in?! ”