Chapter Ten

Threats, Questions & You Wish!

The next day Buffy woke up early feeling pretty good.  The conversation that she had with Angelus last night played over in her mind and she smiled because she knew that he was slowly coming around to seeing things her way. 

She also felt much more confident about his feelings. Now that she knew that he didn’t resent her for them she was relieved.  She hadn’t realized how much baggage she was carrying around because of that. And she was just happy to finally be free of it.

So feeling like a new woman she dressed and went to see what Giles was up too.

Walking to the Watcher’s Council she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, she was too busy thinking about Angelus, so she bumped right in to Faith.

“Oh Faith.” She nodded and went to walk around her.  

“Buffy?”

Stopping, she slowly turned around. “What?”

Faith looked at the arrogance on the other woman’s face and snarled at her “You know you pack quite an attitude for someone in a new place.”

Buffy stared her down, her eyes as cold as a December morning and she took a step closer so they were practically nose to nose “You now what Faith, you’re right I am. And you know why that is?’

“Because you’re a bitch?” She sneered at her.

Buffy smirked at her “Well that’s true but beside that, it’s because unlike you, I’ve actually had to work for my calling. I’ve had to make sacrifices to save the world and the people I love. I have time and time again had to deal with shit that you...” she poked a finger in her chest “couldn’t ever possibly begin to comprehend.”

She snorted “So what?’

Buffy angled her head “You know I knew a Faith in my dimension and we didn’t get along to good either.  But at least she worked for her calling and wasn’t just a whore.”

“Excuse me?”

“No I won’t excuse you Faith. I’ve spent months excusing your other dimensional self and I am not going to waste my time on you anymore.” 

She took another menacing step forward “Except to tell you this…” she leaned in and their noses practically touched “You stay away from Angelus, he’s mine.  You won’t look at him, you won’t think about him, you won’t talk to him, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t touch him. Do you understand me?”

Faith chuckled “Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?  Besides he wants me in his bed, he told me.”  So she was lying, so what, Buffy didn’t know that. But the show of bravado was false because she actually was a little frightened of this Slayer.  She could smell the power radiating off of her but there was no way in hell she would show it.

Buffy chuckled then pinched her check “Faith you’re so pathetic. Now if you remember all that we might have a chance at becoming at least civilized with one another.”  She turned away and started walking down the hall. “Just remember what I said.”

Faith watched her walk away dumbfounded in a matter of seconds Buffy had insulted her, threatened her, patronized her, and blew her off, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

In the end she decided that health wise she may be better off just leaving her and him alone.  Because the more she saw her and the more she heard about her, the more she appeared to be the One.  And if that was the case Faith didn’t want to get on her bad side.

Oh well she guessed she would just have to fill up her days with annoying Cordelia again, she smiled that was always fun.

**

Buffy walked into the library to find Giles sitting at the table thoroughly engrossed in a book. “Well I can say this, in my dimension or this dimension, you are definitely the same.”

She sat down next to him and put her feet up on the table.  “What’ch’ reading?”

Giles startled out of his thoughts looked up “Buffy, I’m sorry what did you say?”

She rolled her eyes “I said that it’s nice to know that you are exactly the same here as you were in my dimension.”

If you only knew, he thought to himself. “Yes I umm…what can I do for you Buffy?”

“I want to talk to The Master.”

His eyebrow raised, he wasn’t expecting that. “May I ask why?”

She shrugged “I just want to ask him some questions.”

“Well you know you can ask me, I am privy to everything that the Master knows.” He smiled kindly at her.

She eyeballed him “Okay I want to know about the prophecy.”

The smile was instantly gone and he got up quickly shuffling his papers together “I told you about it already.”

Yes he was definitely hiding something. “No there’s more to it then that and I want to know what it is?”

“Really Buffy I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit.”

He stopped his shuffling and looked at her. “Excuse me?”

“Look there’s always more then what’s right in front of you, prophecies are never that simple Giles, come on.  I’m insulted that you would even think I would just merrily go along with everything you and that old kook was saying and not question it?”

“Buffy I don’t know what you are talking about. The prophecy was told to you the exact way that we told everyone else.”

“Yeah that’s what worries me.”

Now he took offense “What is that supposed to mean?”

She stood up “It means that you two are up to something that you aren’t telling anyone about and in my experience that can mean only one thing…bad things for Buffy.”

She started to walk toward the door. “I’ll give you sometime to think it over, talk to him, tell him I want to know what’s going on. We’ll chat later bye!”

She breezed out of the room as quickly as she had entered it and Giles was left standing there.

***

Walking down the hall she was thinking that she really had to talk to Giles about this vampire/human-sleeping problem.  She wanted to help Willow out and knowing Giles was definitely keeping something from them she figured that this could be another stupid farce made up for some dumb reason.

As she turned the corner she was suddenly grabbed from behind and swung into a room.

“Hello Slayer.”  Riley, great, just what I needed.

“Riley, what are you doing?” She eyed him curiously she hadn’t seen him since the feast and she really didn’t want to talk to him. 

He stood with his back against the door blocking her exit and let his eyes wander down her tight body.  He was practically salivating with thoughts of just taking her here and claiming her.  “I saw you talking to Giles and just wanted to say hi.”

He stepped away from the door and walked closer to her. 

“Really well Hi I have to be going now.”  She went to go around him, but he stopped her with hand on her arm.

“Why in such a hurry?  Why don’t you stay? We can talk…” He toyed with a strand of her hair that had fallen over her face. “…get to know one another.”  He sniffed her and she backed up.

That was strange, Riley thought, she smelt different today but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“You know I’d love to really I would but I’m meeting Willow in a few minutes.”  She backed away some more, she didn’t really want to hurt him but she would if she had too.

He smirked at her “Willow is meeting with The Master right now.”

She is?  “Well I know that, I’m meeting her after.”

He suddenly grabbed her by the arms and hauled her up close to him “Let’s not play these games Slayer.  I want you.  You smell so delicious.” He took another whiff. “I can smell your fire, the passion inside you and I want to taste it.”  His hand wandered down to her breast and squeezed it.

She abruptly pushed him off “Riley I don’t want to hurt you, so don’t try that again.”  She went to leave but once again he blocked her path.

Riley was baffled, she couldn’t be rejecting me; I am the envy of all vampires!  “Don’t toy with me!  I know you want me too. I can smell it.” 

“Please what you smell is revulsion. Now let me pass.”  She shoved him and he flew back hitting the wall.

He couldn’t believe it no on treated him like that. Women fell to his feet vying for attention from him. “You can’t just reject me like that Buffy. Do you know who I am?” 

Buffy was not impressed “Yea you’re a big bad master vampire…ohhh I’m so scared.” She left without a second glance at him.

God, what an asshole!