Sunlight shines through the room as I wake up in the arms of the woman I love, her warmth making me feel safe. My eyes open to the most beautiful sight I've ever seen.
She's so beautiful.
Reaching out, I caress her face. The touch of my hand makes her stir and she opens her eyes, immediately smiling when our eyes meet.
"Good morning..."
She chuckles and puts her hand on mine while it touches her cheek.
"Morning..."
A single fake cough brings us out of the loving stare we've found in each other's sights. We look up and I feel like I'm gonna die. Buffy stands over us in her yummy sushi pajamas, arms crossed over her chest with a less than pleased look on her face.
"Good morning, Dawn... Faith..."
Faith and I look at each other for a second as I feel a little like I'm going to panic. My girlfriend keeps her cool though.
"Hey B... did you sleep okay? I know I did."
Oh that's not going to help the situation.
"I slept just fine Faith. Of course, I didn't realize that the waking up part would be such a problem. What with the breaking of the rules in the middle of the night and all."
"That... that was my fault Buffy. I, I couldn't sleep. I was scared and lonely and I thought maybe if I lay down with Faith that I might feel better. And I did."
Buffy looks at both of us silently for a while.
"But, we didn't... you know... there was no..."
Maybe I should just show her.
I pull off the covers to show my sister the fact that we're both fully clothed, or at least clothed enough that we didn't do anything to each other. The second the covers come off though, my sister looks away and scoffs.
"Dawn... I really don't want to see that."
"Look, we're both still totally clothed."
My sister slowly brings her look back like she's afraid of what she's going to see before realizing there's nothing to be scared of.
"There was no naughty touching. The only touching we did was holding each other all night."
She stays silent for a while and I honestly don't know that she's got something to say to that.
"Okay..."
Okay?
Before either of us can ask, Buffy turns around and heads for the kitchen. Faith and I look at each other, both of us with a slightly confused look on our faces. We get out of the makeshift bed we've been sleeping in, straightening ourselves out and then following my sister into the kitchen. When we get in there, Buffy is busy rummaging through the pots and pans like she does every morning for breakfast, except she's doing it with one arm.
Why didn't she yell at us? I was expecting yelling. But there isn't any yelling. She's just doing what she normally does. It doesn't make any sense. Shouldn't she be yelling at us?
"Buffy?"
My sister looks at me for a second before putting a pot under the tap and turning on the water.
"Hmm?"
"You okay?"
The pot fills up with water and then she turns the tap off.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"
Faith looks at me for a second before stepping in.
"Well, you're acting a little saner than I thought you would, B."
Buffy gives Faith a strange look.
"Why? Because I'm not freaking out about finding my sister in bed with her girlfriend?"
Her words make me kinda nervous and I rub my neck as I say what's next.
"Uh... pretty much?"
"I will admit that it's not on my top ten lists of things to see before I die... again, but the main reason I didn't want you sleeping in the same bed was because I was worried about walking in on the two of you while naked. So if you said there weren't any acts of nakedness, then I guess I don't have a reason to be angry."
Uh, all right... I didn't expect her to say that.
"It's a little disappointing to know that you both decided to disobey my rules. But otherwise, I'll be all right."
Faith puts her arm over my shoulders for a second and kisses me on the side of the forehead. After which she heads over to the table and sits down.
"Works for me, so what's for breakfast?"
My sister walks over to the fridge and rummages around for something.
"Eggs..."
She must really be okay with this whole thing. I didn't think she would be. This is the first time that I've asked Faith to stay over since we've been together, and usually when something like this happens, Buffy freaks out and yells and stuff. She didn't do that this time though. It's strange. Then again, I should probably remember that old saying, it's bad luck to complain about a good thing. Or I think that's an old saying. Maybe it's just something somebody said once. And having my sister not freak out over finding me and Faith in bed together is definitely a good thing. So maybe I'll just shut up and enjoy it.
Walking over to the kitchen table, I sit down in my usual seat, which just happens to be next to Faith. I reach over to Faith and put my hand on hers, which has her smiling at me.
"Yeah, I guess I could go for some eggs."
Buffy looks my way for a second with a disapproving look.
"Good, because if you want anything else you're making it yourself."
The two of us at the table kinda laugh at Buffy's comment. We enjoy a less than comfortable silence for a while as my sister starts making breakfast.
"So... Dawn, are you going to that college seminar after school?"
Crap... I was kinda hoping she'd forgotten about that.
When I don't say anything, both Buffy and my girlfriend look at me. Unfortunately, Faith is the first to speak.
"There's a seminar after school?"
"She didn't tell you?"
Faith shakes her head and I know I'm in for it if I don't say something.
"Well, you know, it's... it's for... for Stanford, and you know how I feel about going there."
Buffy sighs heavily while she puts a pan on the stove and turns on the burner under it.
"It's a good opportunity Dawn."
Not this again...
"I know it's a good opportunity Buffy. But I really don't want to go there. It's too far away and I wanna stay close to home."
This time Buffy groans in frustration.
"Faith, would you please tell your girlfriend that she should go to this seminar?"
My eyes meet my girlfriend's for a second as Faith looks back and forth between me and Buffy.
"Uh, I dunno B. My girl's pretty smart. She can probably figure out where she wants to go to school on her own."
Thank god for Faith, she can back me up.
The look on my sister's face tells me she's not all that happy to hear Faith say that.
"So you're okay with your girlfriend throwing her life away?"
Why does she always have to say it like that?
"I'm not throwing my life away Buffy. When are you going to stop saying that? It's not like I'm avoiding college all together and getting a job at a burger place."
As soon as I say that I want to stab myself with a pen. Looking up at my sister, her expression doesn't make that stabbing feeling any better.
"Thanks Dawn... thanks a lot."
God I probably couldn't have said a more terrible thing.
"I'm sorry..."
She looks at me with a glare and I can't help but look down at the table shamefully.
"You know, I did that for you Dawn."
Could the world end right now please? I'd really appreciate it.
"I know..."
"If I hadn't done that, we wouldn't have survived. They would've foreclosed on the house and thrown us out on the street."
"I know... I know... I'm sorry Buffy. I didn't mean it like that. You know that I REALLY appreciate everything you did for me in Sunnydale. It was... it was stupid of me to say that. I'm sorry."
There's a long moment of silence in the kitchen when none of us know what to say. Thankfully, Faith has an idea.
"Look, Dawn... Stanford is a great school, and you're not really giving it a chance unless you go to this seminar. So I think you should go."
Maybe she's right. I haven't really given Stanford a chance.
"All right, I'll go. I'm sorry."
My sister sighs in relief slightly.
"Thank you Dawn."
All I can do is smile nervously while my sister goes back to making breakfast.
I don't know that I'll want to go to school there any more than I do now, but I guess I should at least give it a chance to show me what it has to offer. It's the least I can do for my sister.
* * *
I lean against the wall in front of the class room where the seminar is going to start in a few minutes. Running a hand through my hair, I take a long, deep breath.
This is so not where I want to be. I don't really want to go in there and listen to how great Stanford is. I don't want to go to Stanford. Just because it's got the best of every course that I would actually want to take and includes one of the biggest occult libraries on this side of the Atlantic. That doesn't make it the best school for me. There are so many more factors in figuring out what school I want to go to. Like the fact that it's three states away. Going away to college and living in a dorm room with a bunch of other people isn't my idea of fun.
I had my fill of group living quarters when I shared my room with all those potentials turned slayers for all those months in Sunnydale. If I have to go through something like that again, someone's gonna get their ass decked in no time flat. There's no way I'd be able to handle that. Not that living in a dorm would be the same as 35 girls living in three bedrooms, but I'm still not exactly jumping for joy at the idea. And the worst part of it all would be that I wouldn't be able to see Faith as much as I do now. We wouldn't be able to make love almost every night, and fall asleep in each other's arms the way we do.
Looking up at the clock on the wall nearby, I notice that the seminar's about to end, so I move away from the wall to wait to go in.
When we touch each other or hold each other all night, it makes me feel so safe and warm, especially at the times when I need it the most. The idea of losing that really isn't something I want. If I went away to school, Faith and I would only be able to see each other every once and a while. Thanksgiving, Christmas, maybe Easter. I don't think I could handle being away from Faith that much. After everything we've been to each other, I couldn't do that. I just... I couldn't. I'm going to a college in the area so that I can come home whenever I want and be with Faith.
It's really the only option that makes sense. But, I promised Buffy that I'd go to this thing and at least listen to what they have to say. So I guess I have to go in and sit through an hour and a half of people rambling on about how great Stanford is and all they have to offer, which I completely already know. Boy is this going to be the most boring hour and a half of my life.
The people in the seminar right now open the door and start filing out of the room. Suddenly, I realize that I'm in exactly the wrong place to get in. People are walking out into the hallway like a river splitting off in two directions at once.
Uh-oh... I'm caught in the middle. This is even less the place I want to be right now. I should really get out of here before someone...
Just then, someone does what I was hoping they wouldn't and bumps into me, throwing me off balance slightly. I manage to keep from falling over though and I turn toward the girl who almost knocked me over, who hasn't even stopped to see if I'm all right.
"Hey, watch where you're going will ya?"
As I'm yelling at her, someone else knocks me in the shoulder from behind me and it kinda spins me around a bit in the madness.
Damn it...
"Uh, okay... as I was just about to say to that other p-..."
Almost on cue, another person bumps into me, knocking me over. But as I'm on my way down, someone grabs me and pulls me back to my feet. Their arms keep themselves around me protectively while people pass around us.
"You should really watch where you're going. Otherwise you're likely to get trampled in the mob."
My eyes meet his as I look up at him with a smile, giving him reason to smile back. He tilts his head slightly toward the opposite wall.
"Come on, let's get you to safety."
This guy who just saved me keeps one arm around my stomach, holding me firmly as he turns against the 'current' of the crowd and helps me get out of the way of everyone. We eventually make it to the opposite wall behind the door. I look around when he lets me go, feeling good.
"Thanks... I don't know how I got out there like that."
"No problem, I'll take any opportunity to save a damsel in distress."
He smiles at me and for some reason I feel really good about it, smiling back.
"Well, I'm not really a damsel in distress, but I still appreciate what you did."
"Like I said, it wasn't a problem."
The crowd starts to thin out a little as we continue to stand there together.
"I'm Craig by the way."
He holds out his hand to me and I take it, shaking it gently.
He's got nice soft hands, but a firm grip. Probably because it looks like he works out pretty good.
"Dawn..."
His smile turns into a little bit of a grin.
"I know..."
He knows?
"We have chemistry together."
What?
"Sorry?"
"Chemistry? I sit three rows back and 2 seats over from you."
Oh... you know, I thought he looked familiar.
"Oh, right... yeah, I know you."
"It's all right if you don't, not many people do."
"I can't imagine why. Especially with you saving people and all."
When his grin gets even bigger, I can't help but blush.
"Yeah well, saving people isn't exactly my day job."
There's a silence between us while the crowd thins out more.
"Maybe you should try it. Seems like you might be good at it."
Craig chuckles.
"That's a good idea. I might just add it to my list of college courses to take."
He's funny.
It has me chuckling a little.
"So... are you going to this seminar thing too?"
"Actually, no. I wish I was, but I don't really have the grades to get in. I was just on my way to class and saw you needed help. So I thought I'd lend a hand."
We move away from the wall as we notice that the crowd has thinned out to an acceptable level.
"Oh... well thank you. I think I'm good now though."
Slowly, I make my way towards the door.
"I'll see ya around?"
"Sure... uh, hey Dawn..."
I turn around to face him when he calls out my name.
"Yeah?"
"Um, I was wondering. Maybe if you're not doing anything tomorrow... or sometime after tomorrow. Would you... do you...? I was wondering if maybe you wanted to maybe go to the same place at the same time together and... you know, have some fun?"
Oh my god, is he asking me out?
"Like, on a date?"
He nods nervously.
"Uh, yeah..."
Oh my god, he actually is asking me out. What do I do?
"Well, I... um, thank you very much Craig. You seem like a very sweet guy and all but... I'm... I'm seeing someone."
"Oh..."
The expression on his face tells me he's disappointed and I feel bad. So I do the only thing I can do.
"I think she'd probably get jealous if I went out with someone else."
"Right, yeah... of course."
He gets even more disappointed, which doesn't help the fact that I feel bad.
"I'm sorry."
"It's all right. I understand. Just thought I should ask. I'll, see ya around Dawn."
Then he turns around and heads down the hall.
"Bye..."
Holy crap was that awkward. I feel so bad for him. He really does seem like a nice guy. If I wasn't dating Faith, who's the love of my life, I might actually have said yes. But I am dating Faith, so it wouldn't be right.
The bell rings and I know the whole seminar thing is about to start. Turning to the door, I go inside.
Well, at least I have something to think about during the seminar now.