Nusac

Chapter 42
Faith’s POV

Rage fills me I don’t know where it came from, it’s like it’s filling me to almost boiling point and focused in one direction.

“You would bring that up now wouldn’t you?” B manages to squeeze through her gritted teeth.

My shoulders tense in a shrug almost of their own accord. “Stop me.” It’s not a threat. I would have said it was more of a dare. Buffy is always one to take the bait.

Tonight is no exception. I can spot her right fist hurtling towards me before she even thinks about doing it. My left foot steps back, behind my right swivelling my body to the side so her fist travels harmlessly in front of my face.

I push my elbow deep into B’s gut and she doubles over. “Some things never change.” My knee travels skywards smashing into her face and she flies backwards, her back hitting off the wall. “Still hit like a girl B.”

Her knees bend as she slides down the wall behind her. Hugging her bent legs tightly to her chest.

I spin on the ball of my foot jumping up the small step to the very front of the shop and rip the door open so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t come away from the wall in my hand. The annoying bell above me makes me stop in my tracks and turn to glare up towards it. Every muscle in my body is screaming at me to just reach up and rip it from its mount. A couple of years ago I might have done just that.

Instead I level my gaze and pass beneath the threshold.

I turn on my heel keeping my gaze level. I begin to stride at an alarming pace, never really looking at anyone in front of me. The rage still burning me up from the inside out. As I pass, children playing in the street stop when they notice me. Trying desperately to avoid my gaze

I continue at this pace with my back ridged and my fists clenching and unclenching of their own accord. It’s all I can do to stop myself from lashing out at anyone and everyone around me for no other reason that they are in my line of sight.

I get all the way up the front porch steps of B’s house, without hitting anyone on my journey. It’s at this point that I realise I don’t have any means of getting inside. I need to cool off and the only way I’m going to be able to do that is if I’m left alone.

My fingers clench so tight I’m surprised I haven’t drawn blood; I turn again taking each step of the porch on my way down, turning down the side of the building and hopping over the wooden fence surrounding the back yard.

When I finally find myself alone I allow my finger to scrape through my hair, pressing heavily on my scalp. My fingers meet at the back of my head, my elbows bent with my arms surrounding my head. I let my knees bend, my fingertips pushing harshly into the back of my head, forcing myself not to scream in shear frustration.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I’ve never felt anger like that before. Not even when I woke up from my coma and found that the whole world had just moved on without me. Okay so maybe I’m lying, just a little. I may have felt rage like that with Abbas, but never for something that someone has done to me.

I’m pulled from my thoughts by the sound of the back door unlocking and creaking open. My nails leave my scalp as I lift my gaze. Red pokes her head through the slightly ajar door. “Hey Faith.”

Get away from me. Get away from me. Get away from me.

She pushes the door fully open and walks into the yard. She makes her way down the steps when she falters. There must be some sort of look in my eye ‘cause I can almost smell the fear just rolling off her. Instead of making her way over to the crazy lady on the lawn, she takes a seat on the top most step.

Her hands fold together in her lap and she just looks at me, with an unreadable expression on her face.

I don’t want company. I don’t want her to be here, see me when I’m like this. I’m trying to calm down and her presence is not helping. I resist the urge to drop my head back into my bent knees and in a bid to end the deafening silence between us I spit. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” It’s not the words themselves that knocks me speechless; it’s the tone of her voice. The very real, caring tone.

I compose myself a little not wanting to snap at her again. “You know me Red, I’m just Five by Five.”

Her lips curl upwards into a half, humourless smile at my words. “You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you say that since you’ve been back.”

I bring my legs out from under me sitting on the cold grass, pulling my knees up and wrapping my arms around them. I lean my chin against my bent knees. “No, I don’t think I’ve even said it in years.”

“Why?” What is she psycho analysing me now?

I slowly pull my shoulders into a shrug. “Didn’t need to.” They’re just words. They don’t mean anything, not to me, not anymore. They turned into something to hide behind years ago. I haven’t felt this need to just run and hide under my bed since I left home. I don’t know if I prefer this helpless felling or the seething anger and hatred it replaced.

Red tilts her head to the side as if trying to work something out about me. She either gets the answer she was looking for in my silence, or she gives up. “How are you feeling? Really this time.”

I shrug again. “I don’t know… it’s like when I sang back there, it was pulling something out of me. Making me feel things I hadn’t felt for years. About something I haven’t thought about for years. It don’t make any sense.”

She nods thoughtfully before saying. “Just as long as you don’t go psycho slayer on us.” There’s a small smile on her face and I can’t help but smile back.

My head tilts to the side as an almighty bang filters it’s way through the air. I’m about to go and investigate this new Armageddon when Red shakes her head. “Dawn, She and Buffy had a bit of a blow out when you left.”

This more than confuses me. “Why?”

She stands and makes her way over to me. I can feel the tension in my body very slowly starting to evaporate. She must sense this happening as she takes a seat, cross legged on the cold grass opposite me. She shrugs lightly. “Might be that we never told her that Buffy stabbed her best friend.”

I very nearly ask who else Buffy has stabbed since I’ve been away when I have to give myself a mental slap. “What?”

“Poor Dawnie.” Red shakes her head lightly lost in some bad memory or another. “You know she never once thought you were evil, not until the body swap.” Through the house I hear the front door open and close once more followed by light footsteps on the stairs.

“No, I don’t know.” I lean forward almost wiling her to continue. “Remind me.”

“She always thought you were always the cool slayer. It was like you had all this attitude that she could relate to and you always had time for her. Didn’t matter what it was. She needed to talk to someone you were there. She once told me she skipped school and headed over to your motel. She just needed to talk. I don’t know what you two talked about, no one did. Whenever anyone walked in on you, you’d both stop and look like a dear caught in headlights. Nothing big or monumental happened you two were always just really close.”

“Wish I had those memory’s.”

She looks right at me and her nose twitches, like she’s not sure if she wants to say something. She opens her mouth her decision made. “So does she.”

I have to force myself to ask my next question. “What did I do during the body swap?”

“Nothing.” She shrugs and I give her the mother of disbelieving looks. “Seriously. It was nothing you did. It was Buffy. When she was in your body she dismissed Dawn, like she does sometimes. It upset Dawn, like young teenagers do she changed her mind about you. Decided to believe that you had gone evil. She wouldn’t come out of her room for a week.”

“In that case Red why does she have a problem with me?”

“Well…” She hesitates trying to find the right words. “We didn’t really tell her that you two swapped bodies.”

“There’s a lot you don’t tell this kid isn’t there?” I can feel some of my rage returning making my chest tighten.

She shrugs, every muscle in her body preparing to run from me. “At the time it just seemed the easiest way to keep her away from you. It just didn’t come up again.”

“So I’m getting the blame for something Buffy did.” Figures. I guess it’s only fair. Trying to blame Finch on her and everything. Sounds suspiciously like karma to me.

“I’m sorry.” She does actually sound genuinely sorry.

I sigh, not a huge amount of sense arguing about it now is there. “It’s okay Red.”

The back door creaks open once again and Tara pokes her head around the wood. “Willow honey. I just need to go to the magic box and look at a book. Can you please just keep an eye on Dawn.”

“Sure sweetie.” Red says over her shoulder. Even from here I can see a small smile on her face at just the sight of the other woman.

Tara disappears behind the door. We sit quietly on the cool grass, I can hear as Tara shuffles around the house gathering her things. I hear her keys jingle just before the front door locks behind her. “You two haven’t changed.” I start with a smile on my face. Red furrows her brow at me as I continue. “It’s been two years and you two still can’t keep your eyes off each other.”

She smiles as a blush creeps its way up her cheeks. Dawn’s sweet high-pitched singing voice makes me look up to the first floor of the house. Looks like even Dawn got the singing bug. A smile speeds across my face… that is until a scream pierces the air and is immediately cut off. “Dawn.” I’m in my feet and at the back door before Red even realises what is going on.

I skid on the carpeted floor by the stairs latching onto the banister and pulling myself round. Using it up jump the first three stairs and make my way to the younger Summers’ bedroom at a dead run. I don’t bother stopping pushing my shoulder hard against the flimsy wooden door. It doesn’t put up much of a fight opens into the small room.

Empty. Can’t these demons stick around for a fair fight around here?

I inhale deeply though my nose, the air around me feels slightly charged. Closeting my eyes a push my senses out of me. Feeling the way the intruders would have gone. Even a teleport has a direction.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention and I turn on the ball of my foot making my way back downstairs.

Red is just getting to the bottom most step as a make my decent. “Dawn?”

I can feel the slayer in me trying to take over. I can’t let her, not just yet. My head twitches as I push the strong violent urge back down. “She’s gone.” I make my way into the living room and open the large weapons chest behind the sofa. Buffy made me put all of my weapons in here. I can tell you it almost filled it right to breaking point.

Hanging on the now open top of the chest is my favourite sword. Safely confined to its sheath. I gently unhook it and pull it out of the chest, the lid closes with a click and I take a moment to inspect my weapon. “What do we do?”

The redhead is almost frantic. I can’t have a frantic redhead hanging around my feet right now. “You go get Buffy.” I pull the blade out of it sheath a couple of inches inspecting the edge of the sharp blade.

“What will you do?” She asks already pulling on her coat.

The push the blade deep back into its sheath, content with how sharp my weapon is. I pull the leather around my waist to have it land neatly at my side. “I’m going to find Dawn.”