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“This is not a good idea.”
Faith’s staring at Buffy like she’s finally lost it, and Faith’s pretty sure she has. Because Buffy Summers has not only asked her to be her date to Homecoming, but she’s also asked Faith to campaign for her in her bid for Homecoming Queen. And this is by far the most ridiculous idea Faith’s ever heard.
“C’mon, Faith, it’s a great idea,” Buffy says, doing her best puppy-dog eyes from where she’s sprawled out on her stomach at the foot of the bed. “Obviously I want you to be my date, and this is just a tiny bit more work on your part.”
Faith levels her with a flat stare before turning back to the coffee maker. “Yeah, of course I’ll go to the dance with you. But I’m still missing the part where the whole campaign thing is a good idea. I don’t even go to your school, for fuck’s sake.”
“No one cares,” Buffy says, trying her best to shrug despite her head sitting on her palms. “And everyone at school knows you after you saved Harmony Kendall from that vamp last week. The ‘badass goth girl’ is all she’s been talking about. So everyone either loves you or absolutely despises you for not letting Harmony die.”
“Okay, first of all, your school thinks I’m goth?” Faith spins around from the kitchen counter with what she guesses is a fairly horrified expression. “I’m not fucking goth. Have they never met a goth chick before?”
“We’re talking Sunnydale here, babe. Goth means vampire or witch or a generally powerful being. You’re powerful, therefore, goth.”
“That’s fucking dumb,” Faith says, turning back to the coffee and shaking her head. She carries a cup to Buffy, sitting next to her on the bed with her own drink. “Don’t spill coffee on my mattress.”
Buffy listens and sits up, though she grumbles a fair bit in the process. “Sunnydale’s not the smartest city, if you’ve noticed that by now.”
Faith rolls her eyes, hiding her smile in her coffee. “Anyway, if half the school hates me, how will me being involved help you win?”
“It’s just the really anti-Harmony people who hate you,” Buffy explains. “Michelle’s probably going to get the popular vote, and Cordy might still be able to use some of her leftover power to get in there. But the really anti-Harmony people are all nerds, so they’re obviously going to vote for Holly. Which leaves me with everyone in between. And those people think you’re a hero. Which is why,” she concludes, “I need your help.”
Faith blinks, furrowing her brow. “What?”
Buffy sighs. “School politics bad and hard, you make school happy.”
Faith rolls her eyes again. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
“Yay!” Buffy says, jumping off of the bed and narrowly avoiding spilling her coffee. She sets the cup on the side table gingerly and quickly hugs Faith, pecking her on the lips before she runs for the door. “I’ll call you!” she says, and then she’s disappeared.
Faith laughs to herself, finishing her coffee and taking the cups to the sink. She has absolutely no idea what she’s just signed up for, but it’s not like she can say no to Buffy.
It’ll be fun, right?
“This looks… fun.”
Faith looks over her shoulder to find Xander watching her paste poster after poster in every hallway in this giant ass building. Why do high schoolers need such a big school?
“Not the word I would use, but okay.” She turns back to the posters, sighing as she picks up another stack from the ground. “You just gonna watch?”
She can see Xander raise his hands in fear, stepping away from the wall. “I wouldn’t want to bother the school celebrity.”
Faith picks up another stack of posters, spinning to face Xander. “The school celebrity insists.”
His eyes widen comically as he frantically tries to come up with an excuse. “Y’know, Manifest Destiny is really calling my name, so… bye!” He disappears around a corner, and Faith turns back to the posters, shaking her head with a smile on her face.
How the hell did she end up here?
Faith’s worried.
They’re just about to announce this year’s queen, and Buffy’s very much not here. And she’s definitely supposed to be here for this part.
Faith’s really fucking worried.
“Where the fuck is Buffy?” Faith hisses at Xander, Oz, and Willow, all four of them looking from the stage to the entrance frantically.
And then their eyes all widen as the two prospective queens force their way through the crowd. Their dresses are torn, they’re both covered in dirt and grime, and Buffy has a large gash on her arm that’s seeping blood.
“I’m gonna go with mud wrestling,” Oz says.
“What the fuck did you do?” Faith asks Buffy, and she’s proud to say it comes out only a tiny bit hysterical.
“Long story,” Buffy sighs, choosing to squeeze Faith’s hand instead of kissing her due to the large amount of dirt streaked across her face.
“Got hunted,” Cordelia says, moving closer to Xander.
Buffy’s eyebrows raise slightly as she huffs a laugh. “Apparently not that long.”
Faith doesn’t exactly pay attention to the rest of the conversation, tuning the words out and focusing on the warmth of Buffy’s hand in hers. It’s a bit embarrassing how anxious she’d gotten, but Buffy’s here, and she’s safe now, and that’s all that matters.
“Hey,” Buffy whispers, watching Faith. “I’m okay.”
Faith smiles at her, squeezing her hand back. She turns to the stage as they announce the winner.
“Hey, I believe we have a first for Sunnydale High. We have a tie.”
Faith looks back at Buffy, who’s turned to smile hopefully at Cordelia. Buffy’s hand tightens around hers, and she rubs circles with her thumb in support.
“The winners are Holly Charleston and Michelle Blake!”
Buffy and Cordelia’s smiles drop faster than a vamp dusts, and they stare at the stage disbelievingly. Faith doesn’t think it fully sinks in for them until Michelle Blake starts crying on stage, and then they roll their eyes, turning to leave.
“Let’s get out of here,” Buffy says, and they all file outside, no one saying a word.
“Well, what do we do now?” Xander asks tentatively.
No one has an answer for that, and they fall into a somewhat tense silence. Faith breaks it, suggesting, “I say we go and get drunk, but I don’t think anyone will go for that.”
They look around at each other, and Cordelia shrugs.
“Why not,” she announces. “Let’s get drunk.”
They all look at Buffy, and she sighs. “Let’s get drunk.”
Of course, that means that Buffy and Willow watch as everyone else drinks in Faith’s motel room. It’s fine, though, because Faith has the best girlfriend, and she doesn’t care if she didn’t win stupid Homecoming Queen.
“I’m sorry you didn’t win, and it was a stupid contest,” Faith slurs, curling up in Buffy’s lap after everyone leaves, and she starts dozing off as Buffy runs her fingers through her hair.
And before she slips fully into sleep, she feels Buffy press a kiss to her forehead, murmuring, “I love you too.”