Chapter 1: Normal
“Dawn! Come on down, I’m making pancakes!” Buffy Summers called up the stairs to her sister.
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Dawn responded as she raced from the bathroom to her room.
“Xander will be here in fifteen minutes!” Buffy reminded her and went off to start the pancakes. Her boyfriend of two years, Riley Finn, sat at the counter drinking a glass of milk.
“You and pancakes?” Riley teased her and Buffy gave him a mock glare.
“I’ll have you know I don’t even burn them now,” She told him as she beat the mixture together. “I just have to remember not to mix the eggshells in.”
Riley laughed and then glanced at the clock, “Damn, I have to go.” He jumped up and grabbed his briefcase, giving Buffy a kiss.
“Bronze tonight?” She asked him.
“Yeah, I’ll be there. Have a good day,” He replied with a grin and walked out the door to his car.
Buffy let the smile fall from her face and grimaced.
“God I’m turning into a housewife,” She muttered and poured the pancake batter on the burner.
“Morning,” Dawn greeted her sister as she walked into the kitchen and sat down.
“Wow, look, I might actually have an edible breakfast,” She commented, “Where’s Riley?”
“He left already,” Buffy told her and paused, biting her lip, “Do you think I’m
housewife-y?”
Dawn shrugged, “Sure.”
Buffy’s eyes widened at her sisters’ words, “You don’t really mean that do you?”
Dawn was about to shrug when she saw her sister’s panicked expression, “No, of course not. I was just teasing you. Hey are those pancakes burning?”
Buffy raced over to the stove and took the almost-burnt pancakes off, putting them onto the plate in front of Dawn.
“When is Xander going to be here?” Dawn asked while she shoved the pancakes into her mouth.
Buffy frowned at her sister’s eating habits. “Soon, I hope. There’s a staff meeting and I really don’t want to be late.”
“Right, staff meeting. And how are you on the staff?” Dawn asked innocently and Buffy glared at her.
“I’m so on the staff. I’m an assistant guidance counselor. I’m hip, I’m young and I can relate to-”
“Buffy, chill. I was just kidding,” Dawn told her sister sympathetically. The doorbell rang and Dawn raced to go get it.
“Hey Xander!” Dawn greeted the brown-haired man cheerfully.
Xander Harris had been Buffy’s friend since she moved to Sunnydale at the age of ten. He, along with Willow Rosenberg, had become best friends instantly. She was still amazed they were as close as they’d been twelve years ago.
“Hey Xand,” Buffy greeted him as she entered the foyer.
“Ready to go?” Xander asked as Dawn went to grab her bag.
“Yeah, let me get my stuff,” Buffy told him and went to grab her nice leather jacket and purse.
“To the Xandermobile!” Xander gestured grandly to his car, making Dawn giggle.
“You didn’t really name the car that did you?” Buffy asked him.
“Hey, I don’t see me insulting Mr. Gordo’s name, do you?” Xander countered.
“Mr. Gordo’s a fine name for a stuffed pig,” Buffy muttered as she climbed into the front seat. “Besides, I was four.”
“No you weren’t,” Dawn sing-songed from the backseat and Buffy turned around to scowl at her sister.
“So we set for Bronzing tonight?” Xander asked.
“Yep,” Buffy replied then lowered her voice, “but, uh, are you sure you want Dawn with us tonight?”
“Yeah, sure, the whole gang,” Xander said with a smile and Dawn gave Buffy a raised eyebrow.
“Okay Dawn, you can come- but no drinking,” Buffy warned her. Dawn huffed but didn’t say anything.
Dawn and Xander were chattering about something, leaving Buffy to her thoughts. Mostly, she was thinking about her mom and how much she missed her. Joyce Summers had died a year before of complications from removing a brain tumor.
The loss had hit both girls hard, though Buffy had struggled a lot with having the added responsibility of being Dawn’s guardian since their dad was MIA. Last year had been rough, with Dawn’s newfound stealing fun and Buffy’s sticky financial situation. But thanks to Riley and her friends, Buffy was able to pay off her debts, get a job and most of all keep Dawn out of trouble.
She was finally in a good place, so what was bugging her? Buffy couldn’t exactly place her finger on it, but for a while something had been missing from her life. Actually, if she was completely honest with herself, she would say the thing that was missing was passion. Not that she and Riley weren’t good. Everything was nice and safe. But that was the problem, she realized, it was just that… nice.
“Buff? We’re here?” Xander’s voice broke through her musings and she quickly exited the car.
“Thanks Xand, I’ll see you later,” She told him as she shut the door. Xander gave a wave before driving off.
“Remember,” Dawn said under her breath as she walked passed Buffy, “You don’t know me.”
“Of course,” Buffy nodded then looked at her watch, “Crap! I’m late!”
**********************************
Buffy walked into the Bronze with Dawn and surveyed the crowd, trying to find her friends. It was Friday night, and, of course, extremely crowded.
“I think I see them,” Dawn said and waved at a spot near the wall, “Come on.”
It really bugged her that her sister was taller than her.
They managed to duck through the masses and find Xander, Anya, Willow and Tara all sitting at a table.
“Wow, I’m impressed. How’d you secure an actual table?” Buffy asked.
“There was a little fight, no big,” Xander joked and motioned to the chairs, “Sit down. I’ll get you a drink.”
“A fruity thing,” Buffy told him and Dawn requested a coke.
“Where’s Riley?” Willow asked, tucking a stray strand of her red hair behind her ear.
“He said he’d be here. I kind of thought he’d already be sitting with you guys,” Buffy answered.
“Hey Tara,” Buffy greeted Willow’s friend. Tara McClay was quiet, but really sweet.
Tara gave Buffy a smile, “Hi, how are you?”
Buffy shrugged, “Good, busy day though, you?” Buffy leaned in closer to hear over the noise.
“I’m good, the sh-shop was busy,” Tara responded.
Tara and Anya, along with Rupert Giles, or Giles as they all called him, worked at the Magic Box. The store carried a variety of magic related items and books. It was a pretty cool place, and ever since Giles and Anya had co-bought the place, the gang had hung out there frequently.
“Hey, look who I found,” Xander said as he returned with their drinks. Riley stood behind him and gave everyone a wave, “Man it’s busy here.”
“No kidding,” Buffy responded as Riley gave her a kiss.
“You look nice today,” He said. Buffy glanced down at her outfit: black pants, red blouse and boots. Her hair had been straightened and she wore light makeup.
“Thanks,” She replied giving him a smile.
Just then a teenage boy approached their table nervously and Dawn gave him a bright smile, “Hi Scott!”
“Hey Dawn, I was, uh, wondering if you wanted to dance?” He said in a rush. It took Dawn a minute to make out his words, but then she smiled, “Sure!”
She stood up when Buffy pulled on her arm and gave her a look. Dawn pouted, “Please, it’s just one dance.”
Buffy consider it for a moment then relented, “Fine. But after this song, get back here.”
Dawn jumped up and followed Scott onto the dance floor.
“Weird to see Dawnie dancing with a boy,” Willow commented watching the teen go, “It seems like just last week she playing with her Barbie dolls. God that makes me feel old.”
Tara giggled at Willow’s pout and Buffy cracked a smile.
“She’s still just as annoying though,” Buffy reminded her.
The group chatted for a few minutes about their day and tomorrow’s shopping expedition. Buffy was in desperate need for a new pair of shoes, and Willow wanted to check out the new occult shop near the mall.
“For business purposes only,” Willow added after she earned a look from Anya.
Dawn returned from her dance, radiating happiness with flushed cheeks and bright eyes. She begged Buffy to let her go on a date with Scott the next day and Buffy agreed only because she hadn’t seen Dawn look that excited since before her mom died.
“You’re really okay with Dawn going on a date?” Riley asked, lowering his voice so only Buffy could hear.
Buffy gave a half shrug, “Not really, but she looks so happy. Besides, I plan on giving him a full interrogation.”
“That’s my girl,” Riley chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her. His comment stirred something in her, and she turned so he only caught her cheek. She ignored the hurt look on his face and turned to Anya and Xander who were whispering.
“Hey, watcha talking about?” Buffy asked.
“Well,” Xander began and stood up, “I- no, we have an announcement to make.”
Anya looked up at him in surprise and stood up as well, “Now?”
He looked at her with pure adoration, “It’s the perfect moment.” Anya grinned and held his hand, while Xander addressed the group.
“Anya and I are engaged.”
There was a moment of silence and then Dawn squealed and jumped up to hug the newly engaged couple. “Oh my god you guys! This is so awesome!”
Then Buffy overcame her shock and stood up to hug the couple as well, “My god, I can’t believe it!” She hugged Xander extra long and whispered in his ear, “You guys are made for each other. I’m so happy.”
Xander squeezed her tight in recognition of her words.
Willow finally snapped out of her own shock and hugged both Anya and Xander tightly.
Tara and Riley, who were not as close as the rest of them, smiled and congratulated the couple as well.
“We’re having a May wedding and I need everyone’s help in organizing this. There’s so much to do!” Anya said giddily.
“That soon?” Buffy asked with a frown. That was less than five months away.
“We’ve already been going out for four years and we’ve been secretly engaged for a few months now,” Anya informed her.
“Secretly engaged?” Buffy asked with a pointed look at Xander, who blushed.
“According to Xander, it wasn’t ‘the right time’ or some nonsense like that,” Anya said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
“I’m just looking forward to our high school group to be back together,” Xander said thoughtfully and Willow nodded, “I miss Fred and Wes.”
“Who?” Tara asked quietly with a confused expression and Willow gave her an apologetic grin, “Sorry, I forgot you haven’t met them. They’re some friends of ours from high school. They live in LA and work with Angel and Cordy.” Tara nodded as she recognized those names.
Riley wrapped an arm around Buffy, “So who was the whole group from Sunnydale High again?” Buffy winced at Riley’s jealous undertones at the mention of Angel’s name. He knew Angel had been her first boyfriend and Buffy had led him to believe he’d been the first guy she’d had sex with. Thank god no one knew the truth.
“Oh,” Xander began, completely ignoring Riley’s sarcasm, “There was me, Willow, Buffster, Gunn, Wesley, Fred, Lorne, Angel, Cordy, Anya,” He paused to give his fiancé a kiss on her nose, “Oz and Spike.”
“Spike? Who’s that?” Riley asked Buffy.
“Nobody,” Buffy said quickly and suppressed the weird feeling in her gut at his name.
“Come on Buffy, he’s not that bad,” Willow said with a little smirk.
Dawn, who had been looking around for Scott, piped up, “Spike and Buffy always fought. It’s like you put them in a room full of people and somehow they would find each other and attempt to tear each other’s throats out.”
Buffy could feel a blush working its way up her face, “We weren’t that bad.”
Willow sighed, “Oh sweetie, need I bring up the ‘Ice Cream Incident’?”
Buffy shook her head adamantly, “No, don’t you ever tell anyone about that!”
Dawn smirked, “I know!”
Buffy whipped her head to her sister, “How do you know?”
“I was there Buffy,” Dawn told her in a ‘duh’ tone of voice, “You ‘accidentally’ hit me with a glob of cookie dough ice cream.”
Riley raised his eyebrows, “Sounds like I missed a party.”
Buffy groaned, “I was grounded for a month after that. Please no more talk! I’m begging you, Wills!”
Willow held her hands up in surrender as everyone else snickered at Buffy’s mortification, “Fine, no more!” The redhead agreed.
“Still,” Xander said, bring them back to the original topic, “It’ll be good to see everyone again.”
Yeah, Buffy thought, just peachy.
With Spike Giles around, who knew what would happen.
praises, constructive criticisms and any ideas are great!
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!