She didn’t know what brought her here, or what it was that got her to stay.
She’d simply wanted a night out. A night away from her life. A few hours to be herself. A few moments where she didn’t have to be strong. A night away from normal.
It was funny how she wanted a normal life, and yet retreated from normal at the same time.
Normal for a Vampire Slayer was vamps, demons, and killing. But the kind of normal she wanted was college books, friends, and parties. She wanted a life that wasn’t hers. A life she could never even get close to.
So that’s what brought her here. That’s why she’d made her way to Willy’s bar. A demon bar. A bar normal for a Vampire Slayer.
Normal didn’t even exist. And she realized that now. Normal was something she could never obtain.
As she downed her third shot of alcohol, Buffy’s head was already spinning slightly. Buffy and alcohol? Unmixy things.
“Slayer, or, erm, Buffy,” Willy started, his voice suggesting how unsure of himself he was. Always having to watch out for a pissed off Slayer was kind of not easy. “You haven’t said two words since you came in…other than to order. Wanna say what’s goin’ on?”
He was treading on thin ice, and he knew it. He was making conversation, or attempting to, with a Slayer who looked kind of empty in the head at the moment. She just kept staring with that blank look on her face.
Empty eyes, once full of life, traveled from her empty glass to meet his. “What?” She asked, her voice a little hoarse. She hadn’t even heard a word he said. But something in her brain clicked and told her that he said something.
“What’s wrong?” Willy asked again.
“Oh,” she sighed out, pushing the empty glass aside. “Just needed to get away I guess.”
“Right,” Willy answered, trying to sound sympathetic.
Truth was, Buffy felt like shit. She suddenly felt like the evil she was supposed to kill.
A few hours ago, she had been the reason that Xander lost his eye, girls’ lives were taken, and now she’d lost the trust of all the Slayers in training.
She felt like she’d made the dumbest decision of her life. She’d taken a huge risk and gone to the vineyard. Which resulted in more pain and death than she was ready for.
After getting home…she couldn’t endure the looks of hatred, anger, and some even pitied her.
It was two bottles of beer later before Buffy was loosened up enough to talk. “So…I get these girls killed,” she told him in a slurred voice. The story had already started to be told to Willy a moment ago. “And then…Xander gets his eye all… gouged out.” Buffy cringed through her words, feeling guilt seep into her alcohol-filled haven. “And my friends…well, would you still be my friend if I did all this to you, Willy?” She giggled somewhat, a grin breaking out. “Of course you would,” she answered for him. “You’re a great guy, Willy.”
“Gee, thanks, Slayer,” he said, a somewhat uncomfortable smile forming.
“No problem, Willy…” Her voice had turned to a mumble. The small twinge of guilt was now taking over her drunken stupor. “I could’ve done something better though, right?” Her tone had none of the cheery effects it did only seconds before. “I…”
As her voice trailed into nothing, her eyes glazed over and her thoughts seemed to go miles per second. “I think I’ve ruined their lives, Willy…I think…I think that they should’ve never gotten involved.” She then slammed her empty glass onto the counter for effect. “Damn it! I should’ve never been involved. I hate being the Slayer…and I hate that there are vampires and demons. Because…it’s my job to kill them and I don’t stop until I’m dead…” She thought for a moment. “Then again…when’s the last time death stopped me?” A long sigh floated from her throat as she looked down at her hand. Small shards of the broken glass were stuck in jagged cuts, but she didn’t make a move to clean her hand.
“I just…” She looked up at Willy once again. “I just wish that all of us could’ve had normal lives is all.”
The bar was silent from that moment until the drunken Slayer stumbled from the barstool and headed out.
Tears formed beneath her eyelids, but she couldn’t let them fall now.
Normal would never come to her. It was time to go home and face the harsh looks from the people she’d always managed to hurt.
-----
Inside the bar, a young woman with short blond hair paid her tab and slipped on her coat as she walked out of Willy’s Place. The youthful woman only stared at the direction she knew the Slayer had gone. Suddenly, her face shifted into that of a demon as her hand came to clutch a glowing necklace. “Wish granted,” she said with a grin.
And as the clicks of the heels of the vengeance demon drifted down the road, the night was left in silence.
In this stillness a magic began to stir that would alter the world and the lives of those in it.
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!