Chapter 27
She set the large bag on the bed, opened it and turned to face the wardrobe. Picking a few shirts and jeans she started packing when she heard the distinct sound of the front door opening. It was probably Harmony.
“Buffy!” An overly cheerful voice came from the living room.
“In here, Harmony.” Buffy shouted back.
Racing footsteps quickly drew closer.
“You’re never going to believe it!” Harmony squeaked entering the room and flinging her arms around a shocked Buffy.
“Harmony…?” Buffy frowned, trapped in the unexpected embrace.
“I’m going to LA!” She shouted hysterically as her hands held a grip on Buffy’s arms.
“LA?” Buffy repeated still a bit stunned, her mind kept asking: ‘Why is Harmony still touching me?’
“YES!”
“That’s great.” Buffy replied with little enthusiasm as she successfully pulled away from the frenzied ex-cheerleader.
“It’s not great. It’s AMAZING! And guess why?”
Buffy didn’t feel like guessing. She was tired, she wanted to go home and she really didn’t feel like listening to Harmony’s screeching voice.
“Why?”
“I got an audition for a part in a soap opera! AH!” She screamed and jumped up and down a couple of times.
“T-that’s great.” Buffy frowned.
“And it’s all because of Cordelia.” Harmony continued. “She got me the audition. Apparently, this woman from the cast owes her and Angel a big favour for saving her ass and Cordelia called it in.”
Buffy froze at the sound of Angel’s name, the rest of the sentence never really filtering in.
“I’m leaving today! The audition is tomorrow afternoon, which gives me plenty of time for some last minute shopping.” Harmony practically squeaked, too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice Buffy’s saddened expression.
‘Is everyone going to see Angel but me?’
“I’m just so excited!”
“I’m happy for you.” Buffy managed to speak with a weak smile. “So, how long are you going to be in LA?”
“I don’t know.” Harmony shrugged. “Depends on how the audition goes. But I’m probably going to spend Christmas over there; keep Cordelia company.”
“Do you have a place to stay?” Buffy asked, as she resumed packing. She had to hurry; her mother was going to be there any minute to pick her up.
“Yeah. Cordelia said I could stay with her and Angel.” Harmony replied nonchalantly as she left the room.
Buffy froze. It took a few seconds for her to shake off the initial astonishment. Swallowing hard, she tried to ignore her racing heartbeat as she walked into Harmony’s room.
“Angel and Cordy are living together?” She failed to sound unaffected by the situation as her voice faltered, but thankfully Harmony was too absorbed in her own world to even notice.
“Yeah,” was Harmony’s exasperatingly short reply as she stared at her opened wardrobe.
“Oh…”
“Yeah.” She walked over to Buffy and not too gently guided her out into the hall. “It’s been nice chatting but I need to pack so… Bye!” With that she closed the door and left a stunned Buffy standing in the corridor.
She stood wrapped in silence, a knot in her throat as if someone was gripping her larynx and squeezing it until she couldn’t breathe – Angel and Cordy… living together.
~*~
“Are you ok, honey?”
Her mother’s voice brought her back from her thoughts and she shifted her gaze from the passing pavement to the woman steering the wheel at her side.
“I’m fine, mom.” She replied weakly.
“You’ve barely said a word since we left the apartment. Is it the exam? Was it too hard?”
“No, the exam was fine. I’m just tired.” Buffy supplied the usual answer.
“Are you sure?”
Buffy nodded, her attention drifting back to the car window.
Mrs. Summers sighed. She knew her daughter well enough to know it was of no use pushing the subject. She would talk about it in her own time.
~*~
Christmas came and went almost unnoticed by Buffy Summers. She remained in her bedroom most of her time, either lying in bed or sitting on the windowsill.
Occasionally, she would stare at the top drawer of her nightstand – that was where she kept the small piece of paper with his phone number. She thought about calling him, but every time she picked up the receiver she would slam it back down. What was she supposed to say? ‘Hey Angel, heard you’re living with skanky Cordelia now. Glad to see how easily you got over *us*. Sorry I can’t seem to do that, but I’m very happy for you?’
A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts.
“Come in.” She said in a hoarse voice, shifting in her spot at the window.
Her mother’s head peered into the room.
“Hey, honey. Dinner’s ready.”
“I’ll be right down.” Buffy replied with a forced smile.
Mrs. Summers sighed as she walked into the room. It broke her heart to see her daughter sad, hidden up in her bedroom, having said barely a full sentence in the last two weeks.
She had tried to talk to her at least twice, once during Christmas lunch and the other just a couple of hours ago. It was to no avail. Buffy’s reply was always the same:
“I’m fine, mom. Don’t worry. I’m just a little tired.”
She knew the real cause of Buffy’s current state. It was the same as always – Angel.
Though she had felt relief when her daughter had finally announced that she and the young police officer were no longer together, she had always felt a knot in her throat whenever she would see them together. For most of Buffy’s senior year she watched as the two tried to pretend they could be just friends, as the situation ate at Buffy, consuming her with anger and frustration until the night she hit rock bottom.
Joyce swallowed hard, remembering the fear of not knowing where her daughter was for over two days. She had been sitting at the kitchen isle, a cup of coffee in her hands, when she finally received Angel’s phone call, telling her he had found her. When he brought her home, Buffy was barely recognisable and completely intoxicated.
Later that night, after having put Buffy to bed, Joyce stayed up with Angel. They sat in silence for awhile before he uttered:
“I’m leaving the department. I can’t stay here. It’s not good for her.” He paused and met Joyce’s gaze. “I’m moving to LA.”
She met the news with mixed feeling, saddened for her daughter’s pain, but relieved to see the end of the agonizing situation. She felt certain this would solve most of Buffy’s problems. Sure it would hurt at first and it would take some time but, eventually, she would heal. At least that was what she thought at the time.
Now, over six months later, seeing her daughter starring blindly out of her bedroom window, she started having her doubts.
“So, are you all packed?”
Buffy nodded.
“You know, you don’t have to leave tomorrow. Classes only start in two days.”
“I know, mom. But I’d rather take a couple of days to clean up the apartment. Harmony’s probably back from LA. The place must be a mess.” Buffy explained finally getting up, her arms wrapped around herself as she left the room followed by Joyce.
~*~
She frowned when she realised that there was nobody there. Harmony still hadn’t come back, or maybe she was at her parents. Buffy really didn’t want to think about that anymore.
“No more LA. No more Angel.” She repeated her New Year’s resolution.
She was done moping around. She was young, in college and she was going to get a life and have some fun even if it killed her.
She spent the rest of the day unpacking and cleaning up the entire apartment. The only room she didn’t enter was Harmony’s bedroom.
She sat on the kitchen counter and admired her hard work. The place was spotless.
“Perfect.” She said just as the doorbell rang. “And Harmony’s just in time to mess it up.” She quipped, jumping off the counter and walking over to the door. She pressed the button on the intercom and spoke:
“Forget your keys, Harmony?”
“Um… It’s not Harmony.” A deep male voice was heard.
“Oh, sorry.” Buffy frowned.
“It’s the movers.”
“Movers? I don’t know anything about any moving.” Buffy replied a bit confused.
“Well, I have an order here from Miss…” He paused for a second. “Harmony Kendal?”
“Um… I-um…” Buffy struggled with what to do, when she heard her cell phone ring.
Her eyes drifted from the intercom to her bag and back again. Making a decision she pressed a button.
“Ok, come on up and we’ll sort this out.”
“Thanks, ma’am.”
Buffy’s eyebrows furrowed at the ‘ma’am’ as she walked over to her bag and picked up her cell phone. The word ‘Harmony’ flashed on the small screen.
“Hey, I’m glad you called-“
“Buffy?” Harmony cut her off. “It’s Harmony, I can’t hear you.”
She heard her roommate shout from the other side of the line.
“Harmony?”
“Buffy. Hey, are you at the apartment?”
“Yes.”
“Good. There’s a favour I need to ask you.”
“Would this involve opening the door so the movers could get your stuff?” Buffy asked slightly annoyed. This was typical Harmony behaviour.
“Oh my God, how did you know?” An amazed Harmony questioned.
“Because they’re here.” Buffy quipped.
“Oh, good!”
The doorbell rang.
“So, what did you buy this time? New bed?” She sighed, pinning the cell phone between her ear and shoulder so she could sip her iced-tea and open the apartment door at the same time.
“Oh, I’m not moving stuff in. I’m moving out.” Harmony explained.
“What?” Buffy asked as she gestured for the two men standing in uniform at the door to enter.
“I’m moving to LA!” She announced giddily.
“W-what do you…” Buffy forced a smile at one of the movers, holding up a finger. “One second.” Turning her back to the two men she hissed into the cell phone: “What do you mean you’re moving to LA? What about college? I thought you-“
“I’m quitting college. I’m taking up acting full time.”
“B-but…” Buffy stuttered.
Shocked by the news all she could think about was how she was supposed to afford the apartment on her own.
“I got the part I auditioned for before Christmas! Sure she was a coma victim, but there’s a rumour on set that my character’s coming out of it and she’s gonna play a major role in the plot! I might actually get a line!” She squeaked.
“T-that’s great.” Buffy replied a little less enthusiastically. “But what about your father? I thought he wanted you to get a degree.”
“Oh, he’s ok with…”
Buffy pushed her finger in her ear, straining to hear her roommate on the other side of the line.
“What did you say?”
“I said my dad is… with it.”
“God, I hate these things.” Buffy growled at the cell phone as she turned to face the two men patiently waiting in her living room with a weak smile on her face.
“What?”
“Harmony, are you there? You’re breaking up.”
“Buffy?”
“Yes. I can hear you now.”
“I said my father almost had a fit when I told” cut “…but my mom had a nice little chat with him.”
Buffy didn’t know Mrs. Kendal all that well, but from the few times she had met her she imagined that the talk hadn’t been either ‘little’ or ‘nice’.
“T-that’s good. But what about…? Harmony? Are you-” The annoying beeping of a busy signal cut her off and Buffy growled, fighting the urge to throw the stupid electronic device out the window.
She inhaled sharply, pausing when she noticed the two men still standing in front of her.
“Sorry. Um… Do you have a paper or…”
The shorter man, obviously the brains of the operation and the one she had spoken to through the intercom, handed her a sheet of paper.
“Thanks. Um… the stuff is… follow me.” She said walking around the couch and into the hall. Opening the door that led to Harmony’s room she added: “I guess it’s…” Her eyes scanned the sheet in front of her. “…everything that’s in here.”
The two men nodded and began working while she picked up her cell phone, said a little prayer and dialled Harmony’s number. She suppressed a growl when the busy signal came back on. Maybe she was trying to call her back.
She waited a couple of minutes and tried again. This time she got Harmony’s voicemail.
Sighing, Buffy plopped down on the sofa.
“Great, first week of the new trimester and I have to look for a new roommate.” Her fingers came up to press against the bridge of her nose as she pondered what to do next.
She had tried to call Harmony a few times after the movers left, but it was to no avail. For a fraction of a second the thought of calling Angel crossed her mind. After all there was a good chance that Harmony was still staying at his and Cordy’s place. But the idea was promptly rejected. No way was she calling him.
“Goes against New Year’s resolution.” She thought.
Plus, she still had some time left. Rent wasn’t due for another 3 weeks. At least she hoped that Harmony had paid her part of the rent for the month of January.
~*~
Buffy walked briskly down the sidewalk, glad she had her day off from the coffee shop today. It had been the first day of classes and she already had a tone of work to do. Professor Walsh was definitely the devil’s minion, or possibly the devil herself.
“Three chapters by tomorrow? The woman has to be joking.” Buffy mumbled, hugging her coat against her chest as she walked against the harsh wind.
It wasn’t raining, not yet at least, but the cloudy sky and the cold air were a sure sign of a storm brewing.
It was five in the afternoon and she still had to work on the ad for the roommate and read the chapters for the next day. But first she was going to take a long bath.
On one hand it was great not having Harmony as a roommate anymore. She didn’t have to worry about anyone eating all of her food and leaving empty containers in the fridge and the cupboards. No more cold showers because there was no one there to use up all the hot water and no more unwanted guests just bursting into her apartment and keeping her up all night.
She smiled at herself, stepping out of the elevator.
This was actually turning out to be a good thing. What she really wanted was to be able to afford the apartment on her own, but since she couldn’t have that, at least she could have the next best thing and choose her own, non-annoying roommate.
‘Yes.’ She thought to herself opening the apartment door and stepping inside. ‘This is going to be great!‘
With a grin on her face, she strutted into the living room, throwing her bag on the couch.
“Ouch!”
She jumped at the sound of a male voice coming from behind her. Turning around, she froze, her hands still clinging to the lapels of the coat she was taking off.
“Spike?”
Her eyes widened at the sight of the bleached man sprawled on the sofa.
“Evening, luv. You wanna be more careful where you throw your stuff. I might not look like it, but I’m actually very tidy.” He replied taking one last puff from his cigarette before putting it out in the ashtray on the coffee table.
“What are you doing here?” She growled.
“And nice to see you too.” He said sarcastically as he stood up from his spot on the couch. “I see the New Year has brought out the softer, nicer side of you pet.”
“Give me your key.” She demanded, outstretching one hand, palm up, while the other remained on her hip.
“What’s that, luv?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Harmony’s moving out. That means you don’t get to have an extra key. Fork it over.” She said with a satisfied smirk.
She was going to get rid of Spike.
‘Yep. This is definitely turning out to be a great thing.’ She decided.
“Actually, because Harm’s moving out I get to *keep* the extra key.” He retorted.
At her frown he added with a grin that tugged at the left corner of his lips:
“I’m moving in… roomy.”