Takes place in Fade - What if things had gone a little...differently at Mr. Durbin's party?

Your lighter, a familiar voice told Janie.

I know that voice.

Whatever. That voice is gone now. All is left is Mr. Durbin above Janie, fingering her black lace bra admiringly. Well, admiringly was an understatement. His eyes showed desire, and his mouth showed hunger, what with the drool practically oozing out. Finally done apreciating her bra, he then unclasped it, as if he were well specialised in this sort of thing.

And it's off in an instant. Janie's amazed at how quickly it was taken off her and flung across the room, but decides to ignore it. It's just one of the crazy little things that's been happening all night long. It all started after the small meat balls. The small buzzing in Janie's ears. The light thrill in her stomach.

All was soon forgotten when Mr. Durbins lips touched hers. Electricity shot through their mouths, and throughout their body. There were so many things going through Janie's mind at that moment but her thoughts were disrubted by tiny sounds. Janie's mind couldn't process so much at one time - atleast not right now. Something was going on with her head. And her body.

Moans. They were moans. Not just Janie's and not just Mr. Durbins, but someone else's, and they were coming from next door. Janie found this exciting. She tried to get up.

"No," Mr. Durbin, Dave, Janie remembered the name only vagually, ordered. It was more of a slur. "We stay here."

Janie didn't want to stay in Mr. Durbin's room, because the sounds seemed so inviting, but it just came out in a low mumble. Certantly one that Mr. Durbin couldn't understand. Besides, he had a firm, warm -and sweaty- hand on Janie's arm. And then she noticed that his whole entire face - no, body - is sweaty. It's moist and slick, and in a sudden second, it's irresistable. She takes his face in my hands and crush his rough mouth to her own, not caring whether or not the force of the kiss hurt her lips. Janie needed him. Badly.

It felt like her body was on fire. Every touch Mr. Brooks left on her body was a spark that he left behind as if his fingers were blazing with hot wax. Tingling pricks were engulfing Janie's skin, both bare and unexposed. There was something inside her that felt like this before. But maybe not as exhilerated and astronomical. She felt like this with someone...someone she knew. No, someone she knows.

And it was all over. He lay on top of Janie, naked and damp but Janie did not care about that. She was still overwhelmed with that nice feeling Mr. Durbin had left in her.

Your lighter! That same encouraging voice from earlier inspired Janie. What the hell...what the hell was it talking about? What did it want her to do.

Wait...her lighter? Those words tugged on something at the end of her brain...Something she knew was important.

"I need a smoke," Janie whisper.

Mr. Durbin takes his head out of her chest. "Huh?"

Janie shoves him off her with strength she didn't know she had and tells him with a much more firmer voice, "I said, I need a smoke."

Mr. Durbin doesn't get angry or fustrated that Janie had pushed him off her. He seems hardly fazed. Probably has something to do with the fact that Three more girls came dancing through the door, half naked.

Janie doesn't acknowledge them all that much. Well, she does seem a bit envious that other girls are sharing him. Whatever. Janie wanted that damn smoke. She marched over to where her bra and underwear lay on the ground and clumsily put on her clothes, ignoring the sounds behind her taking place on the bed. She finds a short, silky blue robe hanging on the door and decides to slip it on. Afterwards, Janie walks over to her jeans, pulling out the lighter she had recieved recently...but can't seem to remember who from. Janie was certain that she didn't smoke. She soon finds something else hidden deeper within the same pocket. A mobile.

Bring that too.

Yes, Janie agrees. She considers it to be useful.

With the phone in her left hand, and lighter in her right, Janie makes her way through the hallway, walking past the kitchen whilst ignoring girls kissing other girls. When she opened the sliding glass doors, wind immediantly whipped around her, swishing her hair around in itself. Janie's feet somehow carried her across the cold deck floors to the end, where she place her phone and lighter on the ledge. Mr. Wang emerges from behind Janie, sliding his hand onto her waist beneath the robe. Kisses are placed on her shoulder, neck and jaw.

Coach Crater's voice comes through. "Miss Hannagan," he slurs. His hand touches her other shoulder.

"Would you get me a ciggarette?" Janie asks of him. Or more demand.

Janie thinks he's gone off to get one, because she hears no more from Crater.

Mr. Wang starts planting his sloppy kisses on Janie's lips and she feels his tongue slip in. The kiss is messy and wet, and doesn't reach Janie's high expectations at all. She has standards, you know. She pulls back almost instantly. Or, well, as fast as she can. Her brain wasn't functioning as well as it used to at the moment. For all she knew, they could have been kissing for hours.

"I think we're done now," Janie tells Mr. Wang's stoned face. And before she knows it, her fist is connecting with with his face, blood spurting out of his nose. He falls to the ground.

"Where's my joint?" Janie demands from Coach Crater who's hurrying through the door. True to his word, he had white stick in his hand. He handed it to her, totally ignoring Mr. Wangs limp body on the ground at her feet.

"About time," she muttered, and snatched the joint from his fingers, while Crater occupies himself by kissing her exposed cleavage. She grabbed the lighter off the ledge, and flicked the metal top open, and waited for the flame to appear.

And waited, and waited.

"Why isn't this lighter working?" She demand, fustrated.

Crater barely looks up from her cleavage.

"Get me a lighter," she tell him.

He looks up at Janie with confusion. "W-what?"

"I said, get me a lighter."

And crater goes and gets her a lighter. Janie watches him walk off, and turns her attention back to the lighter in her hand, irritated as to why the damn thing aint working.

"Work, you fucking piece of shit."

Then a vibrated buzzing sound catches her attention and she whips her head up at the sound. It's her phone, humming and slightly moving on the ledge. Janie stares at the strange item for a long moment, moves forward, tempted to try and find out what was going on but just when Janie is about to touch the phone, Coach Crater is calling her.

"Buffy! Got your lighter."

Janie ignores the stupid man and watches, as the phone falls over the edge. She hastily stumbles to the edge, peering over the ledge. The phones alight, and easy to spot in the dark soil and small green bushes. Something in Janie's mind wants her to pick up that phone. Perhaps she should...

"Here's your lighter," Coach Crater whispers in her ear. Janie leans back into him, not interested in the phone anymore, but her ciggerette. Wait, why did she need a cigerette again?

Whatever. She's already here. Might aswell smoke one.

Janie snatches the lighter off Crater and throws her other one over the edge, so it can join her mobile. She flicks it until, finally, her joint is alight. Janie inhails it, loving the taste and feel of it all. Untill, that is, she remembers something.

Janie.

Does not like.

To be called.

Buffy.

She freezes at the realization and grows cold with hate and fustration. It wasn't like Crater noticed. He was too busy trying to get his hands under her robe.

Janie takes another drag, before yanking Crater's arm off her.

"I don't like that name," she sighs, looking up into the sky whilst still gripping Crater's wrist tightly. "Not one little bit."

When Janie looks at Crater, he has a cocky expression on her face.

"Well," he begins, "I'm sorry, Buffy."

Janie narrows her eyes.

And yanks at his arm. She hears a crack.

She sticks the the joint in her mouth, holds in with her teeth, and grabs his shirt firmly. Closely.

"Say it again," she tells him. "Go on. I dare you."

He did look a bit alarmed when she grabbed his shirt, but now he looked entertained. He even laughs.

"Buffy."

In one swift movement, Janie twists him around, kicking him in the kidneys. He falls to the ground, with a thump. Groaning.

Janie takes her joint out of her mouth and amused, she inhales once again.

"Who's laughing now?" Janie claims.

Suddenly, the joint is taken from Janie's fingers, and she's twisted into the arms of Mr. Durbin's.

"Hello Janie," his lips murmer before planting themselves onto Janie's with so much force, she almost stumbles back.

But before Janie could even begin to kiss him back, his ripped from away from her, thrown onto the ground.

"Janie!"

That voice! Janie had heard it a million times before...

"Ca-" Janie managed to say, but knew there was more to it. "Cabel?"

Cabel ran to Janie, burying her face in his arms. She was too shocked.

"Janie," he whispers into her ear, and pulls back in one second. His eyes scrutinize her robe and bare legs, darkening and stepping further away from her.

Something must be wrong.

"No," Cabel breathes, shaking his head in disbelief before turning back to Mr. Durbin who's being handeled by other, familiar men. "You son of a bitch!"

Cabel lunges at Mr. Durbin, punching and beating him until he's pulled off him by others. Janie has no idea what's going on. She watches as if she didn't know him. As if she didn't care. Cabel is pulled into the other room.

"Janie," a voice whispers, but this voice belongs to a woman. Hands grip Janie's shoulders. "It's alright. It's going to be alright."

It's then that Janie realizes she's crying. Tears are leaking out of her eyes, and a strange sound is escaping from her mouth.

Until darkness overcomes her.