Just A Little Magic
I - I'm Not Supposed to Be Here Today!
AN: This is just a little fun ficlet just to get in the spirit of the holiday, of course. I'll have to think of something fun for Xmas as well. Weee! LoL (I seriously hope someone gets the quote used for the chapter title *pouts*)
A big thanks to Aribelle and Jessica for betaing this for me.
Buffy sat cross-legged on her bed listening to music as she did some homework for one of her classes. She reached up and pulled her hair into a messy knot to get it out of her face as she worked. Homework was created by evil evil demons... it should be slayed... she thought to herself with a pout.
Her head went up when the door opened, hoping for a nice distraction and smiled when Willow walked in. She set her book aside and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
Willow smiled at her and shrugged out of her sweater while setting her notebook on her desk. "Class was boring. How goes studying? Any better?"
"Deathly boring..." Buffy made a face. "But lightened greatly by a call I got. Was waiting for you to get back so I could spill."
"Ooo, a call that can make studying better?" the redhead teased and walked across the room towards her.
"Well... Mom called to tell me that she was going to get out of town for the next couple weeks on business. She needs me to house sit."
"You're happy to be away from me?" Willow's brows furrowed.
She rolled her eyes. "So missing the point, Will. You can come, too. But, the point is... we'll have the house to ourselves for Halloween." She stood up with a wide smile. "So I was thinking..."
"Halloween party!" Willow's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands.
"Yeah... but I don't want steam coming out my mom's ears when she returns to find the house trashed... so probably just a tiny Scooby party." Buffy nodded. "Me, you, Xander, and Giles. You can invite Oz, and Xander can invite Anya. Mostly just us goofing around with lots of goodies and some uuber scary movies."
"Sounds great." She paused and bit her lip, then lifted a brow shyly. "Can we still wear costumes?" She held up her hands when Buffy started to sigh. "I know we had really bad luck with those in the past, but it's fun. And it's just going to be the six of us and and... well, I want to." She pouted, trying to win her friend over with redheaded cuteness.
"Fine..." Buffy sighed then eyed her friend suspiciously as she headed over to the closet to pull out some patrolling clothes. "You get Oz this way, don't you?"
"Guilty." Willow grinned and watched her. "You're going patrolling? Stupid question... it's dark and you're a slayer. Well, tomorrow though, can we go costume shopping? We'll go find a nice, non-evil shop and everything."
"Yes and I'm sure it'll say right on the sign 'Please come in. We're not evil!'" Buffy rolled her eyes and laughed, then headed for the door, slipping a stake into her pocket. "Sure, we'll begin our quest tomorrow for non-evil costumes. I probably won't patrol long. It's going to be quiet this close to Halloween and when I get back we can study a bit for Psych." She waved and slipped out the door.
There was a throng of people in the store pawing through the costumes in a last minute frenzy. Buffy held up a Renaissance style dress, sharing a look with her best friend before shuddering and shoving it back onto the rack. Really, she knew, better than other people, that just because there were bad people out there and sometimes bad things happened to her, well frequently happened to her, didn't mean she should be afraid to have fun.
So, here she was, talked into dressing in costume again. Definitely nothing of a frilly nature. Nope. She got gaggy just at the thought of it.
"You can be Xena?" Willow wiggled her brows and held up the costume she found.
"Or I could not..." Buffy took it from her and put it back. "Somehow that just screams geek... or geek's wet dream..."
"I'm a geek aren't I?" Said geek pouted slightly.
Buffy chuckled and put an arm around her. "A very loveable and cute geek. You pass for cool as far as I'm concerned."
"Yay me."
The slayer laughed and followed her. "Seriously, knowing my track record... it might be wise to pick a cool costume that I won't be defenseless in if some baddy tries something, you know? Not just the obvious 'I might turn into it', but also... some monsters just don't get the hint that it's my day off. I need something I can have a weapon as an accessory without anyone getting wigged... or I can hide a stake in some part of it."
"Ah, the coveted versatile costume of many uses." Willow nodded. "Well... you know, you can not go all with the geeky Xena costume... but still be a warrior woman or something like that?" She lifted a shoulder.
"Maybe..." Buffy bit her lip in thought as she looked over a wall of stuff. Maybe she wouldn't do the pre-assembled costume-in-a-bag thing. Maybe she would grab what she wanted and throw it together to make something unique. Hmmm... that had possibilities and it would be somewhat versatile. She smiled as she pulled a whip off the wall, considering the possibilities.
The next few days passed in a flurry of excitement over buying party decorations and decorating the house to the nines. They bought loads of goodies even though it was only a small group of them. They didn't care. They were just having fun going all out for the holiday and having a break from the hassles of college.
"I think that's it for now. The pizzas will be here in an hour and we have time to go slip into our costumes," Buffy smiled at Willow then turned to jog up the stairs.
She walked into her room and headed over to the bed where her costume was laid out. A smile played on her lips as she fingered the smooth leather and images filled her mind. Naughty images. She was lost in thought until she realized that a certain bleached man had become a major player in the fantasies. She shook her head to clear it, admonishing herself for going in that direction and quickly slipping out of her clothes.
Her outfit consisted of a corseted top made of soft leather, fishnet stockings, and knee high boots with dangerously high heels. She also had bought bat style wings and some gothic make-up, along with black coloured mousse that Willow was going to help her put in once she got dressed. She figured if she went out she could toss her leather jacket on over it and it would look like it was part of the costume, giving her a place to stash a stake or something.
She headed into the bathroom after she was dressed to do her make-up. Willow came in a few minutes later, grinning widely as she turned to shake her fluffy, little bunny tail at Buffy. She had chosen to be a Playboy bunny, which Buffy just noticed was almost the fluffy pink version of her costume. Both consisted of a strapless top, tights, and shoes. She chuckled to herself then held out the mousse.
They were halfway done when the phone rang. Buffy hurried into her room to snatch up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Miss Summers? I tried calling you at your dorm, but got no answer." An older woman told her, the voice familiar to Buffy.
"Oh, yeah, I'm staying at my mom's house this week and so is my roommate." She glanced over at Willow as her friend poked her head in, giving her a shrug.
"Regardless... This is Dr. Fisk. I was grading your paper that you turned in last week and would like to speak to you in my office. It is very important if you want to pass my class." The professor's voice was severe and Buffy frowned.
"Ma'am... it's Halloween and we're having a party here."
Willow heard this and frowned as well.
"Is some party more important than your passing? Surely you have an hour to spare to save yourself from failing my class."
She sighed. "No, it's not, I guess. Give me a bit and I'll be right there..."
"Thank you, Miss Summers." With that the professor hung up.
Buffy growled and slammed the phone down, glancing over at her confused friend. "Dr. Fisk just demanded I come over for a little chat... on Halloween night of all nights. Sheesh, I know some teachers don't care that they aren't the center of your universe, but good grief..." She continued to mutter as she stomped into the bathroom again.
The campus seemed deserted. Apparently everyone was off having fun that night except for her, Buffy thought woefully. Well, and that anal bitch of a professor... She muttered a few other nasty things as she walked down the hall, the click of her heals echoing eerily.
She paused at Dr. Fisk's office, looking down at the picture of the pretty brunette that accompanied an article by Dr. Gwyneth Fisk. Ugh, how looks could deceive... Buffy rolled her eyes and knocked on the door, then entering when she heard a voice calling to enter. This hopefully would go quickly or she would have to start waving around the stake in her pocket. It might not scare Dr. Fisk, but it may give her some leeway once she was pegged as insane.
Buffy entered and went to sit across from the professor, adjusting her coat and crossing her legs before looking at the older woman expectantly.
"Thank you for fitting me into your busy schedule," Dr. Fisk said disdainfully while glancing Buffy over.
Buffy pressed her lips together in irritation but refrained from shooting back with a nasty retort. "What did you need to speak with me about?"
"I was disappointed at the quality of the paper you turned in," she slid said paper across the desk towards Buffy. "You did not do sufficient research on the topic and what research you did was poorly cited. You should thank me for not reporting you for plagiarism." She gave a brief, acid smile before continuing. "Not to mention, a great number of the sources you did cite were not of scholarly quality. Seriously, a college student should be capable of better work."
"I've been distracted by other things recently. But, I'll try to buckle down in the future." Buffy lifted a brow. "Is that all?" Seriously, this couldn't have waited? Ugh, or it even could have been sent over an email or told to her over the phone. She was seriously just thinking this woman was a sadistic bitch.
"No, it's not." Dr. Fisk's frown deepened. "Yes, I noticed how distracted you have been lately. If you paid more attention in class you would be doing much better, I'm sure. Maybe you should think about cutting down on the partying. Maybe even getting a tutor."
Buffy nearly growled. She was not spending all her time partying. She wished she had that luxury and this woman... She didn't know her at all and how dare she make such assumptions. Ungrateful bitch. Buffy was out there every night, doing her part to save the world countless times... and this bitch was acting like she was some spaz! A smile nearly spread over her face as she imagined herself pummeling the nasty old broad.
"I'll try my best and look into the tutor," Buffy said tightly. "Now, if you don't mind. I need to get home." She stood before Dr. Fisk could interject anything else. "Have a good night."
Dr. Fisk quickly got up and went over to open the door. She gave Buffy a wide smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Have a Happy Halloween, Miss Summers. You look lovely."
Buffy looked at her as if she had sprouted horns and a tail, then brushed past her to hurry out. The new weight to her pocket was too slight to be noticed.
The others had arrived for the most part by the time Buffy got back to her house. It looked like Anya was the only one missing and Xander looked slightly anxious, hoping nothing was wrong. Willow was reassuring him, though, while trying not to flash him cleavage. Oz was munching a piece of pizza behind Willow, looking as mellow as usual in his house coat in his rendition of Hugh Hefner to go with Willow's costume.
Buffy shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it over the banister railing before turning to Xander. "Uh, are you supposed to be a... flasher?" She arched a brow and glanced him over.
He rolled his eyes and looked at Willow and Oz with a 'can you believe this is the slayer' look. "I'm a jedi, Buff... how could you think I was here dressed as a flasher?!"
"Um... cause it's you?" She gave a lopsided grin then glanced around. "Where's Giles?"
"In the kitchen," he motioned in the general direction. "Probably picking leather out of his crack."
"Huh?" Buffy looked alarmed and hurried to the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks when she skidded into the room, eyes nearly bursting out of her head at the sight of Giles dressed like Frankenfurter. "My god, Giles!"
"Buffy," he smiled, looking up from getting himself a glass of punch. "I hope Dr. Fisk didn't give you too hard of a time. Is there anything I could help you with?"
"Um... what? I dunno... uh, might have you proofread my next essay, I guess..." She gulped and stared at him. "But besides that, the usual schmeel about me being distracted... but try explaining that I'm too busy saving the world to some egotistical teacher." Her mouth gaped for a moment then she found speech again. "Uh... should I be alarmed that my watcher is basically wearing a bigger version of my outfit?" Her brows went together and upward.
He looked down at himself and laughed. "I had this in my closet and just threw it on so I wouldn't be the only one here without a costume on."
"Okay... next question... WHY did you have that in the back of your closet?"
Giles just laughed and shook his head, laying his hand on her shoulder before passing her to head back to the living room.
She watched him walk off and continued to blink, still a little alarmed. That image was going to haunt her many a night. It was totally burned into her retinas... She pouted and decided to try to get used to it, heading over to the fridge to get herself a soda. She turned around and her eyes were drawn to the window where she saw a flash of platinum briefly in the bushes outside. A frown spread across her face and she set her soda aside.
Of course there was going to be more trouble tonight. Even if it wasn't a holiday she was a glutton for punishment. She headed for the backdoor with her resolve face on, knowing just who it was lurking around outside. It definitely wasn't Anya. She would just have to pound some sense into the peeping tom. Get the point across to leave her alone.
It was dark in Dr. Gwyneth Fisk's office now and she sat alone in the middle of the floor. She sat inside a glowing circle on the floor, dotted with black candles and dusted with various herbs. A book was open in front of her and she bent over it, reading the spell aloud then repeating it in a low voice. The language was some obscure, unknown one that probably hadn't been spoken in ages. She kept reciting the incantation, letting the magic in the room build and build until it spilled over in a rush. Her eyes blazed red. She lifted her hands and shouted something the same ancient language, her eyes flashing white as ripples went out from the circle. They traveled out of the office and across the campus, continuing across town like a sonic boom.
Buffy stepped out onto the porch then started down the steps, glancing towards the side of the house that was outside the kitchen. She still sensed him, so either he didn't realize he had been spotted or he wasn't smart enough to get his ass out of there before she laid into him.
"Spike... I know you're there..." she called out tiredly.
He stepped out, flicking his cigarette to the ground and grounding it out with his foot. "Figured you would." He looked up from his foot, gaze moving over her slowly. "Nice knickers, Slayer." He smirked.
She rolled her eyes. "Look, I had a really nasty night already. I just want to go back in there and relax with my friends. So just get the hell out of here before I decide to actually put forth the effort to stake your ugly ass." She said it without much conviction, leaning against the deck railing.
"Ohh...." He moved closer to her and looked down at her, tilting his head. "Would make my night t' go a round of dancin' with you. Especially in that get up, pet."
"Ugh, you're a pig, Spike," she took a step back away from him.
"Oink oink."
"Just... just go already!" She shoved him away angrily. "My mom isn't around for you to butter up, okay? Halloween is supposed to be a day of rest for creatures like you, so go rest and get the hell out of here! I just want to have a night with my friends where I don't have to worry about slayer shit or annoying vampires! Got it?" She shoved him again.
He frowned at her and pulled out another cigarette. "You're a right bitch tonight, Slayer. PMSing? Nah, would be able t' smell that. Got a bit of the sexual frustration? Need a good shaggin' t' loosen you up?"
Her fist crashed into his nose with a growl of rage.
"Shit, woman!" He held his nose, dropping his unlit cigarette. "Fine, goin'. Don' get your knickers in a twist." He turned and started around the corner of the house, muttering angrily.
She rolled her eyes and turned to head back up the stairs, but stopped as the ripple hit her. She shook her head after a moment and looked around, clearly confused. Her hands went to her head and rubbed her temples as they throbbed. Still, nothing looked familiar to her suddenly.
"What the-" she gasped and turned around.
Spike stopped and looked back towards her to figure out what the loopy bird was on about now. He stopped in his tracks, shocked by the physical changes that seemed to have happened in the fraction of a second that his eyes had been off her. There was an obvious tightening in his jeans... well, honestly, further tightening from the arousal he already felt when he first saw her standing outside in her sexy outfit.
"Buffy...?" he looked her over, slightly alarmed. This couldn't be good.
Her hair was longer and now obviously black for real, instead of just a bad dye job. Her skin was much paler than her usual light California Girl tan and her black make-up was even more startling, maybe just from the contrast. Her nails were long and black, talon like. The most startling difference and most obvious, was that now the bat wings were very very real and moving.
In fact, they fluttered in agitation and alarm when she spotted him standing there finally.
tbc...