"Faith, are you in here?" asked Buffy, as she entered the girls locker room next to the gym.

Buffy could barely see through the steam. The air was laden with moisture; it was almost like being in a sauna. If it had been anymore humid, it would probably start to rain in the locker room. She wondered if the ventilation was broken again as, she breathed in the muggy air. Buffy started to feel uncomfortably warm and sticky in her stylish car coat.

Then Buffy heard a locker door slam shut and walked in that direction. "That you Faith?"

Then Buffy saw a nude woman in the mist. She recognized her; it was Faith and she was drying off. Buffy quickly averted her eyes to give Faith some privacy. She focused her eyes on the locker next to Faith but that proved difficult. Faith would pop in an out her view.

Faith shook her head at Buffy's prudish behavior and snickered, "So is this round two?"

"Round two?"

"You know a come back, a left hook. Another lecture coming from Miss better than thou. Telling me about the importance of an education. Or are we finally going to have a *talk*?"

Faith stopped talking; she realized she was starting to rant and rave, and now pace. She went back to toweling off. Buffy was about to correct Faith it should be holy than thou instead. However, Buffy was in no mood for this and wanted to get out this damp locker room as soon as possible. Without thinking, she wiped the dampness from her brow and silently cursed realizing she smudged makeup on her hand. She probably looked horrid as she sat quietly listening while Faith vented.

Moreover, Buffy didn't want to be drawn into Faith's bellyaching. Lord knows she had enough of that already and felt her life was looking up now. She was a senior and considered that an achievement in itself. Now if she could only pass the upcoming finals and graduate then she would be free of this high school nonsense. Furthermore, Buffy didn't have the time to get wrapped up with Faith's self-pitying, mood swings as she had another class shortly.

"Speaking of which, I realized that I forgot the book," interrupted Buffy, as she jumped in the conversation. "Giles said he gave it to you and you would give to me. So here I am, saving you the trouble of finding me."

"How nice of you, so you only came for the book," said Faith with a hollow voice.

Faith opened the locker and took out the book. She wished Buffy would acknowledge her but she knew that would never happen and what was the point. Faith could do no right while Buffy could do no wrong. With Buffy around her, her feelings oscillated from being on top of the world to being at the bottom of a sewer. She could deal with everything from love to hate and the emotions in between however, what killed her the most were the non-emotional responses such as avoidance or simply being ignored.

"That book is gibberish to me," continued Faith without much emotion. "Not sure how it can help."

She placed the book on the bench next to Buffy and turned away, and started to get dress.

"Yeah I can't read it either. Not sure how it will be help either but if Giles says it will help then I have to believe him," babbled Buffy. "I kinda wish he would translate it. Too bad there's isn't a cliff note version. You'd think he could be in the business of being a translator of ancient texts. He could make good money. Well . . . I guess I should find Willow she can do the translation. She's pretty nifty at using the computer."

As Faith listened to the Buffster banter, she chuckled inwardly. It was far better than the Buffysque like silence and the accompanying microscopic scrutiny. When she heard the words *pretty nifty* she almost laughed but instead turned back to face Buffy. However, Faith could not resist from smiling. It was so Buffy, one moment cold and then another moment hot. Buffy was so cute and yet she drove Faith crazy, and Faith had just taken shower.

Buffy caught the friendly smile and instinctively smiled back, and kept smiling. Faith you should smile more often, admired Buffy, instead of that smirk that you like to wear proudly. Smiling is so much more attractive. She also wished Faith would drop that tough bitch attitude and get some anger management or something. Then their eyes became locked onto each other but in a non-adversarial way in what seemed an eternity while the mist dissipated.

Buffy felt like she had stopped breathing and she wanted to reach out to Faith. She started to step forward but her knee knocked the book off the bench. Then they crouched down at the same time to retrieve the book but bumped heads instead.

"Ouch," they groaned.

"So is this how it's gonna be for us? . . . Always butting heads?" asked Faith, as she touched her sore forehead and seeing stars. She didn't realize that Buffy had such hard head.

"I hope not," said Buffy, as she rubbed her head blinking several times. She sat up and regained her composure. "But pretty soon it won't matter."

"What?"

"You know. The big day, when I graduate and go to college . . . then you can take over. Do it your way, the Faith way. You should request Giles to be your Watcher instead Wesley. . . Yeah he may seem overbearing at times but he's good people. You should trust him."

Faith became silent and groaned silently. Her stomach ached and involuntarily quivered, and had to sit down. She nursed her queasy stomach as she listened.

"Isn't it obvious we get in each other's way," continued Buffy. "I never wanted to be Slayer but this was foisted on me."

Buffy thought of what she lost being Slayer. All the miss opportunities she could never recapture the moment she became a Slayer. Forever gone. An ordinary normal life exchanged for that of a Slayer.

Her Mom had hinted several times that maybe it was okay to give up being Slayer. Sometimes when Buffy was restless in bed as she tried to sleep, she had those same thoughts. She had wrestled with those thoughts more and more lately. Could she walk away from all of this and let Faith take over? Would she become a saner person if stopped being a Slayer? Could she trust Faith?

"Really, I disagree B. Being a Slayer has been the best thing in my life," declared Faith, as she sat upright with pride.

This time Buffy was quiet and gave her a questioning look.

"B I have nothing going on in my life. I mean nothing. Unlike you I didn't have a future that was prepaid and preplanned; I don't see a future for me," began Faith. "Don't see myself as ever being a college girl either."

Buffy shifted uncomfortably on the hard wooden bench.

"Instead, I see myself being kicked out of the foster care system for good. Not that I ever cared. I'd probably end up dead in some gutter or if I'm lucky in jail. But that won't happen now that I'm a Slayer. Hell, if you and I weren't Slayers we wouldn't be having this conversation would we? You would be all Cordy-like . . . Not that there's anything wrong with that."

"How can you say that?" protested Buffy. "It's almost like you're throwing in the towel. Maybe, if you went back to school and at least try to make something of your life then it wouldn't be so bad . . . Faith you give up too easily."

"B you can really be naïve at times. Not everyone gets a Disney ending."

"Faith, I disagree I feel you're taking the easy way out."

Again, Buffy endured this ranting and raving as she shifted uncomfortably on the bench. She gathered from hints that Faith came from a less fortunate background. She was curious but never felt at ease to ask. Buffy smarted slightly at the Cordelia remark but conceded that Faith's comment was spot on.

When Buffy was a freshman, she had been a popular 'it girl' and looked down, and ignored those that were considered 'losers'. She lived in the right suburb in L.A. and had the right set of friends. Until that fateful moment when she was called upon to be the next Slayer, her life was practically mapped out.

Now and then, Buffy would have pangs of regret when she would see the Cordy-types flit around her. However, she wouldn't have traded what she gained, she had made some dear friends, Willow and Xander. She could give up being a Slayer but she could never imagine leaving her friends. Sometimes she envied her friends; they didn't have the burden she carried. They would never know what being a Slayer entailed.

Buffy looked back at Faith and wondered if she could just walk away from this. Would Faith understand and could she trust her? Could she bear letting go and part ways agonized Buffy? Faith if you were me what would you do she wanted to asked? When Buffy looked for answers in her face, she saw rage and resentment; she gripped the bench seat for support and held her breath.

Then, Buffy began to get annoyed as she continued to watch Faith's prancing and snorting, and tossing her hair. She wasn't the only one who had battles to deal with. Buffy wanted give a shout out to Faith and tell her off; instead, she glanced down at her watch. Faith paused for moment and felt she was now talking to a wall, and then resumed talking.

"Look princess I'm a Slayer and I'm somebody now. I'm not about to give that up."

"So what do we do now?" said Buffy, finally as she took the book and stood up.

"Well Miss College potential, study up and tell me what you've learned at the next patrol. You're the one with the brains."

"Okay I'll do that. Meanwhile Miss Self-Defense you better get some rest. I'd hate to see you when you're not at your peak performance. Looks like your workout buddy, Cordelia gave you quite a beating."

Faith narrowed her eyes. "You know me trying to help out. I aim to be more social and make friends."

Buffy shook her head in contempt.

"Oh what . . . you can have friends and I can't. Although, I have to question your taste in vampires. So how is your buddy, Angel these days?"

"At least I have friends," said Buffy vehemently and grasped her book very tightly.

Lifting her book slightly, Buffy almost hurled it at her but held back. However, Faith's smirk taunted Buffy even further. Buffy willed herself not to be provoked; all she needed was to pay another visit at Principal Snyder's office. Instead, Buffy held the book close to her.

"That's right B, you be good girl now."

Buffy stared back coldly and silently cursed.

Faith tilted her head backwards and closed her eyes. She could never win, Buffy always seem to have the upper hand. When she opened her eyes, Buffy had already left and she began to feel miserable. She sat there dejected not knowing what she should do but then she had an idea. She let it crystallized and she saw it as a glimmer of hope.

At the next patrol and so long as the Scoobies weren't around, Faith would talk to Buffy. Maybe by then Buffy would have calmed down a bit and would be more approachable. Before she left, Faith did a mirror check and then paused for moment drawing a heart placing initials inside it. She smiled at her handiwork and then left the locker room with a new purpose.

* * *

Thank you for reading this story.