Author: eena_angel2001
Email: eena_angel@hotmail.com or igrewal@sfu.ca
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Willow/Matt Hardy
Category: BTVS/WWE
Disclaimer: Don't own any of them. That privilege goes to Joss and
Vince respectively.
Spoilers: Season Five for BTVS. None really for WWE.
Summary: Challenge Response-Willow gets a job when the Scoobies are
strapped for cash . . .
~*~Part One~*~
She stared forlornly down at the papers in her hands. Bills, all of them were bills. And they were never anything but bills. How the hell did adults manage this all time?
Willow sighed and sifted through the letters in her hand.
Not one of them was good news. Not even one piece of junk mail. It was all bills. If only that Troki demon hadn't come crashing through the front door last week. The repairs were costing a fortune. Add that on to regular costs, and well . . .
Willow dropped the letters on the coffee table before sinking onto the couch with her head in her hands. She was so out of her league here. She had no business trying to take care of Dawn and the household. She had no clue as to what she was doing. None of the others helped either. Xander and Anya had moved into the house along with herself and Tara. Even between the four of them, they couldn't afford to keep this going. Not with the mortgage, bills, expenses, repairs, Spike, Dawn, and not to mention the wedding coming up soon. They were near bankruptcy.
Every fibre of Willow's being wanted to call Giles. To get on the phone and explained to the man what was really going on. Tell him all about the money troubles and hardships this entailed. Tell him how she had to drop out of school just to get a job so she could afford this. Tell him how she just didn't think she could handle this anymore. Tell him that beyond anything in the world, she wanted Buffy back.
But she couldn't do that. Giles had to go back to England, to the Council. The new Slayer was ill equipped to handle the Hellmouth and they needed Giles to train her. Willow was well aware that Giles had more important things to do than hold her hand while she struggled to grow up. But that didn't mean she was okay with it.
No, she was down right bitter and angry about it. They could not afford to keep this up. And if she couldn't come up with something soon, their lives were going to be torn apart. Willow wished there was a spell somewhere that would make all the bad things go away.
But she knew there wasn't. She had looked.
"Is something the matter my best friend in the whole wide world?"
Willow raised her head to take in the image of Buffy smiling down at her. No correction, the Buffybot smiling down at her."More bills," she muttered in explanation. That made the robot frown.
"Why do they send us more when we have not even paid the last ones?" she asked the redhead innocently.
"Because they're jerks," Willow grumbled, glaring at the piles of letters strewn around her. "They're all a bunch of jerks."
"Willow, I know it is not my place to say anything, but isn't this bad?" the bot asked her wide-eyed. "If we cannot pay our bills, won't that mean we're bankrupt?"
"That's exactly what it'll mean," the redhead sighed. Willow turned and buried her head into the robot's lap. She knew it wasn't Buffy, but it was close enough. The bot stroked her hair while musing aloud.
"One of us needs to get a job," the robot ascertained. "A really high paying job. I know! One of us should get a job on television. They always pay people on television lots of money."
Willow gave a hollow laugh before sitting upright.
"Getting a job on television is easier said than done," she informed the robot. "And we need something concrete right now."
"We need cement?" the bot asked obliviously.
"No, we need something that is solid and real," Willow struggled to complain. "We need to find a source of money and fast. But where we're going to get enough cash to take care of six people and one vampire, I have no idea."
The redhead sighed and started pacing.
"This isn't how things are supposed to be," she muttered, more to herself than the bot. "I'm supposed to be the smart one. I'm supposed to be the one with all the answers. I'm the big gun, as Buffy said. So why can't I keep everything from falling apart?"
"Maybe it's unfair for you to be the only one to keep things together," the bot suggested helpfully.
"Who else would?" Willow asked bitterly. "Xander and Anya chip in anyway, but they have their own life. They have a wedding coming up that they need to pay for. They can't live here with us for the rest of their lives. And if Mom and Dad weren't such pricks, I could get the money off them. But I can't access all my trust
funds until I'm twenty-five, or until I get married. And in case you haven't noticed, I don't even have time to date, let alone get married."
"Willow, may I say something?" the bot asked politely.
"Go right ahead."
"It's not your fault," the bot stated primly. "It's not your fault that Buffy died. It's not your fault that keeping Dawn here is such hard work. It's not your fault that we have more expenses than we have funds. And it's definitely not your fault your parents are pricks. Life is just like that."
Willow stared at the bot for a moment.
"When did you get so smart?" she asked laughingly.
"When you got to my programming," the bot replied smartly. "After all, the only things in my system before were the various means of giving Spike an-"
"Don't finish that sentence!" Willow cut her off, eyes squeezed shut. "For the love of all that is holy, do not finish that sentence."
"Okay," the bot agreed cheerfully, turning to scoop up all the bills.
"I'll go add these to the pile," the bot informed her, making her way to the kitchen. Willow watched her go, resignation overcoming her.
"I need a miracle," she muttered. The redhead turned her eyes up to the ceiling.
"Please?"
The sound of the door opening answered her plea.
"Hey Wills!" Xander declared, bounding into the room. "Guess who's favourite cousin just popped into town to wish him congratulations on his engagement?"
Willow sighed and turned to the happy young man.
"Xander, I got the mail-"
"That's right!" Xander interrupted, heading back to the door. "My cousin."
Xander came back into the room, dragging a person with him.
"Wills, you remember Randy right?"
Willow swallowed her frustration and forced a smile to her face.
"Hey Randy. Long time no see."
~*~Part Two~*~
"No."
Willow felt her eyes widen. She clenched her jaw and counted to ten.
"Excuse me?" she demanded icily.
"You heard me," Angel retorted. "I said no."
"You tell her Deadboy!" Xander cheered from the sidelines.
"Shut up Xander!" she snapped at the man. Willow turned angry green eyes to the souled vampire in front of her.
"Since when do I need your permission to do anything?" she asked him. "I'm an adult Angel-"
"Then act like one," the vampire cut her off. "How is this going to help? Leaving Dawn and the others like this. It's incredibly irresponsible of Willow."
"About as irresponsible as knocking up your ex at the expense of your soul?" Willow shot back at him. She pointed to the pregnant Darla, currently watching the altercation from the Hyperion lobby couches in great amusement.
"Have I mentioned how freaky that is?" Willow sidetracked for a second.
"Not for the past ten minutes," Cordelia answered with a giggle. The brunette turned to the silent vampire. "She has a point Angel."
"No she does not!" the vampire objected. "This is entirely different. She is just leaving Dawn and the others to fend for themselves-"
"What would you like me to do?" she screamed at him. "I'm not abandoning them Angel, I'm doing this for them! We don't have the money anymore Angel. We are out of money. We can't keep this up. They'll take Dawnie away and everything would have been for nothing. I know this isn't how everyone expected things to turn out, but if Buffy hadn't-"
The witch cut herself off, closing her eyes and fighting back the tears. Angel had the common sense to shut up and let the redhead continue.
"If Buffy were alive, maybe things would be different," Willow managed to get out. "But that is not the case. We've used up all the money Joyce left and the bot isn't exactly made for the workplace. We have to pay the bills Angel, and this is the best I can do right now."
The dark-haired vampire hung his head.
"I know," he finally whispered. "I know, it was unfair of me to insinuate you were leaving. But Willow, you'll be so far away and the things they make the girls do on that show-"
"Bra and panties matches," Xander called out from the corner.
"Lingerie matches," Gunn added.
"Spanking matches," Tara tossed in. All eyes went to the blonde witch sitting quietly across from Darla.
"What?" she asked innocently. "My brother loves that show. Always ended up watching it."
"It doesn't matter," Willow interrupted. "It's a lot of money Angel, and I'm not going to be completely alone. Randy is going to be there with me. And I've known him since we were kids, not to mention the fact that he's Xander's cousin."
"Not my favourite cousin anymore," the man in question muttered, coming to stand next to his friend. "I don't know who I want to smack more. Him for suggesting the idea, or you for taking him up on it."
Willow gave him an exasperated look.
"Again, what would you like me to do?" she demanded, tone becoming angry once more. "The only other way around this is to get married. Is that what you want Xander? For me to marry out of convenience just to get my hands on my trust fund?"
"No," Xander muttered, shuffling his feet. "Just not excited about having Willowy goodies on display for the entire viewing nation."
"I second that," Angel put in. "Isn't there any other way?"
"If there was, I would have found it by now," Willow sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly. "I have searched high and low Angel. I've even tried to find a magical solution for everything. But it's not there. I have to take care of Dawn, for Buffy's sake. And this is the only way I've got available to me."
Tara got up from her spot on the couches and stood beside Willow.
"We should be grateful that she is doing this," the blonde witch stuttered. "This isn't just for Dawn, it's for all of us. Willow takes care of us and we should be supportive. It's because of her we keep the house, Dawn, I go to school, and Spike is taken care of."
"Let's cut Spike out of the equation and maybe that will make things better," Xander suggested brightly.
Willow rolled her eyes.
"Spike is not much maintenance," she reminded him. "The phone company is my biggest expense right now. I can't exactly tell Mr. Summers not to call because I can't afford to have him keep in touch with his daughter. And we need to take care of Spike. It's only between him and the bot do we keep that place under control.
And it needs to stay that way until Giles can bring the new Slayer to Sunnydale."
She turned back to Angel.
"This isn't an impulsive thing on my part," she pleaded with the vampire. "This has building for a while. The bills just keep coming and I can't keep paying them Angel. And don't even say you can help. You guys barely keep yourselves afloat and now you've got a child to add to the equation."
Angel rubbed his face tiredly.
"You're right," he mumbled. "You're always right. But I want it on the record that I do not like this."
"Duly noted," the redhead smirked. She let the vampire pull her into a hug and sighed.
"It's for the best," she repeated. "Besides, it's not like it's the end of the world."
"No, it's wrestling," Xander growled sourly. "It's worse."
~*~*~
"It really is for the best," Tara murmured to Xander as they watched Willow disappear into boarding area.
"Then why does every fibre in my body want to run in there and drag her back home?" Xander asked remorsefully, catching the last glimpse of his best friend that he would see in a while.
"Because you love her," Tara told him tearfully. "We all love her. But she loves us just as much. And she feels she needs to do this for us."
"If only things were different," Xander muttered emotionally. "If only we weren't so in debt. If only Buffy-"
"If only Buffy was alive," Tara finished for him. Xander nodded and she leaned her head against his shoulder. They stood there for a moment when an idea hit her.
"Maybe we can fix this," she whispered happily. Xander gave her a strange look and she pulled on his arm.
"Let's get back to Sunnydale," she urged him. "I'll explain on the way."
~*~Part Three~*~
"Thanks again Randy."
The tall dark-haired man just smiled down at the slender redhead.
"The least I could do," he shrugged, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "After all, you are my favourite redhead."
Willow giggled, wrapping her own arm around his waist.
"I thought I was your favourite person period?" she teased him. "But now you're discriminating on hair colour? My heart is breaking as we speak."
"Shucks Wills, you know what I mean," he replied, a faint blush coming over his features. "You're just plum one of my favourite people in the world. Just like Xander, although I get the impression I'm not his favourite cousin anymore."
"Ignore him," Willow waved off. "He's just upset at the prospect of Willow goodies being on national television."
"You guys would phrase it like that," Randy chuckled, shaking his head. "And I think the scary thing is, I know what you mean."
"We've rubbed off on you," Willow nodded knowingly. "How unfortunate for you."
"Hey, if there's rubbing involved, I'm not objecting," he flashed her a teasing grin. Willow giggled and shoved at him a bit.
"You're a pervert," she informed him.
"Can you blame me?" he arched a brow at her. "When I last saw you, it was fuzzy sweaters and long floral skirts. This is quite a change. Where you've been hiding that figure?"
"I wasn't hiding," Willow protested, blushing slightly. "I just was being obvious about it. Anyway, all these girls have better figures than I do. I mean, just look at the frontal difference."
Randy laughed as Willow discreetly eyed Jacky's front as the black woman marched down the hallway.
"Well, I like you just the way you are," he consoled her. "And if you really want to rival the other girls in the frontal areas, there are all kinds of things you can use to even things out."
"Shut up!" Willow shoved at him. "The only thing I will ever stuff in my bra is stinky yak cheese, and that's only out of necessity."
Randy shot her a look.
"And this is me not asking about it," he gestured to his mouth, making a zipping motion. Willow giggled and wrapped her arms around his midsection again.
"So, what's up for tonight?" she asked, noting in interest as what appeared to be a gold man emerged from a locker room. Willow tried not to stare, but even that was too bizarre for her.
"Goldust," he whispered to her. "Best not to even venture there. But as for tonight, well Stephanie wants to meet you first."
"And Stephanie is?" Willow prompted.
"The Commissioner," he explained. "She used to be this big bitch way back when, and was head of the Alliance Invasion. But then she divorced her husband and had to leave television, which apparently made her wizen up a bit. And then when Vince and Flair started going at it, her mom Linda made her Commissioner, the
deciding vote in matters of the business."
"Okay," Willow nodded. "That made absolutely no sense to me."
Randy gave her a sheepish grin.
"I forgot you don't watch this show," he laughed. "Oh god, this is going to be a harder task than I thought."
"Well, start off slow and I'll try to keep it," she suggested, eyes focused on his face. Randy made a confused face and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Okay, let's start with the McMahons . . ."
~*~*~
Stephanie appraised the slender redhead in front of her. When Randy had suggested the idea to her, she hadn't been too keen on the idea. If he really wanted a manager, she should have picked one from the training camp. But Vince, in all his infinite wisdom, decided to let the girl in after Randy showed him a picture of her.
Beauty for sure, and a nice little body. The male fans would love her.
Willow shifted a bit uncomfortably under the woman's gaze. She was having a hard time fitting this woman to the screaming, whining bitch Randy had previously described.
"Well, I'm not too sure about this," Stephanie started off. "But Dad already allowed it. So for now, you can walk Randy to the ring. But I am keeping you out of matches until I can get you to the trainers. If I can get some measure of your abilities, then we'll see about moving you into women's competition."
Willow nodded her agreement.
"Whatever works for you guys," she assented. "I just need this job."
"Randy explained to me a bit of your situation," Stephanie revealed, eyes looking at the redhead in sympathy. "Very noble of you to take this on for your friend."
"We need to keep Dawn," Willow shrugged. "Been through too much this past year to lose her now."
Stephanie nodded, gracing the girl with a smile.
"I think I'm going to like you," she confided in Willow. "Have fun out there, but remember this. Stay out of action if you can. Until the trainers can give me any sort of rating on your ability in the ring, I don't want you to interfere too much. Best not to start a feud that you might not be able to handle."
"I appreciate the concern Miss McMahon," Willow thanked her, rising to her feet. "But you don't need to worry about me."
And she didn't. Willow didn't know much about wrestling, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt none of them were scarier than a hell god. And Willow had not only handled a hell god, she helped kick her ass.
~*~*~
"So, who is she?"
Randy smiled at Jeff's question.
"Her name is Willow," he explained to his tag partners for the night. "I've known her for like years. She grew up with my cousin Xander; she's his best friend. And one of my favourite people."
"She any good in the ring?" was Lita's question.
"In the ring? I don't know," Randy admitted. "But she can take care of herself. Don't worry about her, Wills is more than able to handle herself."
"Well, she better," Matt put in. "Because going in against the Un-Americans is going to be brutal. And we know they're not above hitting women. Stupid cowards."
Randy nodded, feeling nerves for the first time. Willow being man-handled by the Un-Americans. He knew full and well Willow had handled worse in her life, but it still worried him.And if the Un-Americans hurt Willow, forget about Xander.
Randy would kill himself.
~*~Part Four~*~
"You could have been seriously hurt out there!"
Willow shut her eyes and tried to maintain her cool. When she felt like she could, she opened her eyes to glare at Matt Hardy.
"I can handle myself," she muttered coolly. The dark-haired man just seemed to get more enraged at that.
"Okay, let's face reality for a moment," Matt exclaimed. "You are Willow, that was Test. Test is twice Willow's size and very ill tempered. But Willow, in all her wisdom, thought it would be best to clock the man from behind with the tag titles."
"He was bringing a chair into the ring!" Willow protested.
"It doesn't matter!" Matt shot back. "You could have only stunned him and then that chair shot would have been for you! Do you even know how lucky you were to make it out of there in one piece?"
"Apparently not that lucky because now my eardrums are taking a beating," Willow retorted angrily. "You're not my father. And just because he doesn't even care enough to tell me what to do, you don't inherit that right. I am an adult and if I do get into trouble with Test later, I will handle it."
"We will handle it," Randy amended, coming up to sling an arm over her shoulders. He gave Matt a cold look.
"I know what she did was stupid," he agreed with Matt. "But she's my manager and I'll yell at her about it. I know your heart is in the right place, but you`re just pissing her off. And Willow is not a picnic when pissed off. We`ll see you guys around."
And with that, Randy turned to lead the little redhead back towards their locker room.
"What do you mean not a picnic?" was the last thing they heard Willow say before the duo was out of earshot.
"Think you could have yelled louder?" Lita demanded of Matt as soon as they were out of sight.
"Don't you start," Matt muttered darkly. "Lita, you know how stupid that was of her!"
"And if I had done it-"
"I would have still been angry," he interjected. "Maybe less so because I've seen you in action. But look at that girl. She is a tiny little thing. You honestly think she could have taken a chair shot from Test?"
Lita faltered and then remained quiet.
"I didn't think so," Matt finished for her. "And I'm sorry that I yelled at her. Probably shouldn't have gone off on her like that. But I nearly had a heart attack when I saw her sneaking up behind him with the titles."
Jeff nodded his agreement.
"Felt the same way," he added. "But I think you were too harsh on her."
Matt sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Let's just get to the showers," he mumbled. "I'll go apologize to her after."
Lita beamed approvingly and lead the way to their locker room.
~*~*~
Lita was still in lead when they made their way to Randy's locker room for Matt's apology. The redhead stopped in front of the door and then raised her hand to knock. She still when snippets of conversation floated through the door.
"You want to know why this isn't working? Okay, I'll tell you," Willow sounded exasperated. "You're too big, I'm too small. It'll never fit in there."
There were loud grunt and groans, which Lita could only assume, were coming from Randy.
"You never know until you try," the man grunted.
"Randy, your equipment is too big," Willow replied. "It just won't fit in this tiny space."
Lita bit back a giggle. She turned incredulous eyes to the brothers behind her. Matt was slowly getting red in the face while Jeff was trying to smother his laughter behind his hand.
There were more grunts and then a frustrated growl from Randy.
"Give it up," they heard Willow exclaim. "It won't fit."
"It fit back at the hotel," Randy snapped back at her. "I know, maybe I'm putting it in the wrong way. There's got to be more room in the back."
Lita was practically dying when she heard a zipper being opened.
"Randy, this is ridiculous," Willow sighed. "Just hold on to it until we get back to the hotel. We'll find space for it there."
"Would you just be helpful and turn around already?" Randy demanded. That did it. Matt grabbed a laughing Jeff and made a grab for Lita. They were leaving right now.
The redhead ducked his grasp, instead wrenching open the locker room door. Matt was livid, scrambling after her. Team Extreme went tumbling into the room, falling in a heap on the floor.
"Well, that was interesting," they heard Willow declare. "You guys usually enter a room by falling on your asses?"
All three looked up to see Willow and Randy, fully clothed, sitting on a bench and staring down at them amusedly.
"Whatcha guys doing?" Lita asked them suddenly.
"And no hello either," Willow arched a brow. "Interesting co-workers we have here."
Lita blushed and all three offered their greetings. Jeff jumped to his feet, coming to sit next to Willow.
"We heard some interesting argument outside the door," he explained to her. "What was going on?"
"Oh, Randy here is being stubborn," Willow rolled her eyes, waving in the direction of the tall man. "He doesn't have enough room for an elbow pad in his bag so he's trying to shove it in mine. And mine is way smaller than his, it's so not going to fit in there."
"It fit in there at the hotel," Randy shot back, going back to trying to shove the pad inside a small bag.
"Just hold on to it until we get back," she shook her head. "I'll get a bigger bag next time and then we'll have ample room for your stuff."
Randy sighed and dropped the elbow pad on the bench. Lita and Matt were still picking themselves from off the floor. Willow watched them in amusement.
"What are you guys doing here anyway?" she asked when the two had righted themselves. Matt blushed and ducked his head.
"I came to apologize," the man admitted. "I still think that was stupid of you, but I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I'm sorry."
Willow wrinkled her nose.
"Apology accepted," she replied with a small smile. "Just don't make a habit of it. Drives me insane when people try to tell me what to do. Get enough of that back home."
Matt nodded and extended his hand.
"Friends?"
Willow smiled wider and shook his hand forcefully.
"Friends."
~*~Part Five~*~
"Are you sure about this?"
Tara sighed and turned serious eyes to Xander.
"Yes, I am," she reaffirmed.
"And it will bring Buffy back, not some warped version of her, right?" Xander looked decisively worried.
"It will bring our Buffy back," Tara gave him a sympathetic smile. "I know you're nervous, but this will work. And then Willow can come home and everything will be okay."
Xander nodded and then let out a deep breath.
"This will make everything okay."
~*~*~
"Everything will be okay."
Willow stared at her reflection in the mirror. She kept repeating that exact same thing to herself every morning. But for some reason, she needed to hear it right now. Everything would be okay because now they had money. Her check had come in and the mortgage and bills were taken care of for another month. In fact, all the other bills were well on their way to being paid. Things were looking up.
So why did she feel so nervous?
Willow shook her head, frowning at her reflection.
"Nothing is wrong," she told herself firmly. "You just got off the phone with them. Nothing is wrong, everything is okay."
"And she does this every morning," came a voice from behind her. Willow spun around, eyes immediately going to the locker room door. Randy stood leaning against the wall, the Hardy brothers gathered behind him.
Willow went almost as red as her hair and then frowned at them.
"Knock much?" she muttered. "What if I had been changing or something?"
"Then I would have died of happiness," Matt chirped back playfully. Willow blushed harder, turning to face the mirror and studiously ignoring her companions.
"Perverts," she muttered darkly, hand immediately gripping the brush and yanking it through her hair. The hair crackled as she brought the brush through it. Nice satisfying crackles, letting her know she was indeed brushing it enough. She watched as strands went flying up after the brush had gone through. It was mesmerizing for some reason.
"Willow? What's wrong?"
She jerked. She had momentarily forgotten the others in the room. She glanced in the mirror, seeing all three men looking at her worriedly. Randy had come up behind her, hand on her shoulder. Willow shrugged, setting the brush down.
"I feel weird for some reason," she admitted. "Like something's going to happen. Something really big. It`s bugging me."
Willow returned to frowning at her reflection. Her eyes took in her tense stance and worried features.
"Something not right is about to happen."
~*~*~
The blonde muttered darkly as she put the car into gear. Her blue eyes snapped behind her for a brief second before she viciously pulled the car out of its parking spot. Her tires squealed as she changed gears and then stomped on the gas. The car shot of the parking lot, leaving spot billowing behind it.
She hit the road and continued to drive rather erratically. She was going way too fast, but like that even mattered. Not like it would kill her.
"Slow down pet," came the command from next to her. "We'll be home soon enough. No need to leave half our tires on the highway."
"Since when are you lucid enough to make sense?" the blonde snarled at her companion. "I'm the one with the license and I will drive however I damn well please."
"Do not speak to me in such a voice," her dark-haired companion snapped back. "I was killing men for less before your parents were even born."
The blonde snorted.
"Like that impresses me," she shot back. "So what if you're like all old and stuff? I'm the one with the license and the car, not to mention the plan. If it hadn't been for me, you would still be in that dark sticky jungle doing that slime thingy."
"I rather enjoyed my time there," the brunette murmured happily. "There were so many people there. Such fun to chase them through the trees before pouncing and ripping their throats out. Me and my love used to do that for fun. Until she warped him."
The blonde rolled her eyes.
"I'm well aware you have some sick and twisted relationship with that dog, but do you need to reminisce so much?" she made a face. "I really do not want to hear the stories of how you two lived it up way back when. Makes me lose my appetite."
"You're a sorry excuse then," the brunette frowned. "To be put off by a bit of blood and gore. What kind of killer are you?"
"One who appreciates cleanliness," the blonde replied. "I like killing, I just don't like having blood and guts sprayed everywhere. It would ruin my outfit."
The brunette rolled her eyes.
"Oh you children," she sighed. "You have no respect for the old ways."
"Well maybe you geezers should get in touch with the new ways," the blonde snapped at her. Sirens and lights from behind her brought her attention back to the road. She swore loudly, pouting furiously.
She pulled over to the side of the road, waiting impatiently as the police officer approached her car. She rolled down the window at his knock.
"Do you realize how fast-"
He never got to finish that sentence. She grabbed him by the collar, pulling him through the window and into her lap. Her fangs sank down into his neck seconds later, draining the man right then and there.
Once empty, she shoved the body back outside. She reached for a tissue, wiping the blood off her face. Then she started the car once again and pulled back out into traffic. The brunette sat giggling next to her.
"I told you to slow down."
Harmony growled, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
"Shut up Druscilla."
~*~Part Six~*~
"Are you sure?"
"Yes Willow," Dawn repeated for the fifth time. "Everything is fine and we're all okay. No major bad on the horizon. The Hellmouth is kind of behaving itself."
"That town never behaves itself," Willow retorted. "If it does, that's just some sort of trick. You guys need-"
"It's not a trick," Dawn interrupted. "Spike and the Buffybot are taking care of the nasties. We're all safe and sound and you have nothing to worry about. Not even the bills anymore, cause that pay check you sent so took care of all of that."
"I don't know . . ."
"Don't worry," Dawn insisted. "I mean, Xander is working and Tara's at school and I'm with Anya at the shop most of the time-"
"I don't like the sounds of that," Willow replied nervously. "Maybe I should head back for-"
"And break your newly signed contract?" Dawn interjected. "Come on Willow, you of all people should know how stupid of an idea that is."
"The last thing we need is a legal dispute," Willow agreed with a sigh. "But you're sure everything is all right?"
"Positive," the blonde girl replied. "Just sit back and wrestle. We'll be fine here. Oh, and try to avoid those bra and panty dealies. They make Xander uncomfortable. Every time they announce one he starts going on and on about the derogatory portrayal of women on this show and then we can`t shut him up. But other than the occasional heart attack on his part, we`re fine."
"Okay, then," Willow still sounded a bit unsure. "Love you."
"Love you," Dawn replied. "Talk to you later."
"Bye Dawnie."
"Bye Willow."
And with that Dawn hung up the phone. She glanced down at it for a bit before turning around to face her companions.
"She knows something's up," she informed them primly. "Maybe we should just tell her."
"No," Tara shook her head. "She would just try and stop us. We have to do this Dawn. If not for the rest of us, but for her mostly. Willow's too young to be carrying all of us on her shoulders, along with the guilt of losing a best friend. Bringing Buffy back would only solve our problems."
"I agree and I want Buffy back but," Dawn sighed, shaking her head. "I don't like lying to Willow."
"None of us do," Xander told her, slinging an arm around her thin shoulders. "But we have to. Just for now. Can you imagine how happy she'll be when we tell her we got Buffy back?"
Dawn gave him a little smile, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I know. I know."
~*~*~
Willow turned off her cell phone, ending her call with Dawn. But she failed to put it down, instead glaring at the machine.
"She's lying to me," Willow said out loud.
"How do you know that?"
The question caused Willow to jump, reminding her of the others in the room. Both Hardys, Lita, and Randy were looking at her expectantly. The redhead shrugged, placing her phone in her bag.
"First of all, she didn't give the phone to Xander, even though I know he's there," she started. "It's after seven and he gets home around six. And Xander is always anxious to talk to me, unless he's hiding something from me. The boy can't lie to me at all, and I can tell right away when he's about to. So that leaves one question. What the hell are they doing over there?"
"You worry too much," Randy told her. She frowned at him, sticking her tongue out at him in a rather immature fashion.
"I also think too much, but that's never a problem," she retorted snidely. "And I know something's off. I just can't tell what it is."
"Maybe they just have a surprise for you," Matt suggested. "And they're waiting to tell you some great news."
Willow paused, thinking his words over. It was a definite possibility and would account for her friends' weirdness as of late. Then she made another face, lip pouting slightly.
"I hate surprises."
~*~*~
Harmony parked the car rather crookedly, jumping out of the vehicle almost immediately after pulling the keys from the ignition. Druscilla followed at a much slower pace, looking at the car and frowning at her companion.
"Did you really have to do that?" the older vampire asked sarcastically, lip curled back in disdain. The blonde snorted, tossing a glare to the raven-haired vampire.
"I didn't have to," she replied snidely. "I wanted to. There's a big difference there."
"You've spent far too much time with my Spikey," Dru scolded the fledgling. "This is one of his bad habits."
"He's got worse ones," Harmony assured her. "Like all those stupid Sex Pistons records and the Billy Idol look. God, he should get his dead ass out of the eighties. I mean, we're in the twenty-first century now. He should at least keep with the times."
"He's a rebel," Dru replied dreamily. "He always was. Except of course, when he was human. He was just a knob back then, but a rebel after that. Oh, how he would get Daddy all mad and then they would fight over their Princess so gallantly."
"Sounds like fun," Harmony sneered. "But again, let's focus on the present. Your Daddy is gone, Spikey is neutered and domesticated, and we have some serious revenge to do here."
Druscilla shook herself physically, as if bringing herself back to the present.
"Yes, the stars sing for blood," the vampire murmured. "Blood of the Slayer."
"Well the stars can have the blood of someone else," Harmony retorted. "We're drinking the blood of the Slayer. Now come on, we don't have all night to be standing out here. The sun is almost up and I don't not like having my outfits singed."
Dru offered her companion a dreamy smile, extending her arm. Harmony sighed, rolling her eyes as she linked arms with the other vampire and started steering her across the street. Their car stood forgotten where they had left it, smashed into a garden. A sign lay bent over on its trunk, calling out a welcome to all travelers.
Welcome to Sunnydale.
~*~To Be Continued~*~
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