Since I got such a nice response on it (even though everyone hated me because it wasn't complete), I decided I'd be nice and finish it for you guys. To everyone that reviewed, thank you--and even to those who just read it, even if you hated it. It's now a complete chapter, and if people like the completeness of it, yell at me some more and I'll work on a second chapter. I already have an idea for it, so if you like it, let me know, and, hopefully, I'll get to work.

Also, I edited some stuff, so even though the beginning is still the same, I've fixed a few small details. And yes, I realize that Buffy comments on Faith's cuteness many, many, many times, but please deal with me here. It's hard not to comment on it when there's someone that cute around, trust me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

Buffy stared blankly at the whiteboard, elbows resting on her lab table, her cheek in her palm, fascinated.

Letters and numbers danced before her, bleeding into each other, a mass of starry-sky blue smeared across her vision. In the fraction of a second it had taken for her to get off track, yet again, Mrs. Roth had already moved on. Buffy sighed. She was trying to pay attention, honestly, she was, but the more she pushed herself to focus, the less sense everything else made. What is it about Chemistry? she questioned inwardly. Nothing about it seems to make sense. Nothing at all.

She shook her head and attempted to focus once more as Mrs. Roth continued speaking. Okay, if I don't focus now, I'll miss the entire lesson, she berated herself. Adjusting her grip on her favorite sparkly pink pen, she put great effort toward deciphering the board. Where was I? Oh, right. Potassium. Okay. 'Potassium has nineteen electrons, and'--and what kind of word is potassium anyway? She studied the word on the board for a long moment, an odd expression having taken hold of her face. Eventually, she shook her head dismissively. Funky chemistry vocabulary. Hmm. Potassium. Po-tass-ee-yum… Pot-ass--

"Ms. Summers?"

Buffy jumped guiltily. "Huh?"

Mrs. Roth raised an eyebrow, frowning. It wasn't the first time she had caught the blonde spacing out during her class. "I asked you if you were finished copying the board," the older woman replied tightly.

Buffy blinked. It took her a moment to process the question, but it soon registered. Then the embarrassment settled in. God. It's almost like she actively plans to make me look like an idiot… she huffed inwardly, frowning as nearly half of her fellow classmates expressed their annoyance. Some shook their heads, while other rolled their eyes. Some were even so bold as to whisper about her behind her back. Okay, I can so hear you guys… She held back a resigned sigh.

"Oh," she answered simply. Why not secure her status as the dumb blonde?

Mrs. Roth held back a sigh of her own. "Well, are you?"

Buffy opened her mouth to reply, suffering a twinge of annoyance at the Chemistry Professor's condescending tone, but her words were cut short by a disconcerting shiver. Warmth trickled abruptly down her spine, almost seeming to pause and affect each vertebrae individually as it went. The nerves in her fingertips tingled as if her hands were atop a livewire, while spastic sensations shot from one synapse to the next all throughout her body, and her heart missed out on more than a few crucial beats. Her lungs exemplified a failure as well, catching and holding until Buffy had to swallow against her suddenly dry throat and let out a harsh exhale. Only one thing could evoke that sensation: a certain someone with wild chestnut hair and the deepest chocolate brown eyes ever imaginable--and that certain someone had just walked on campus.

"Faith…" the tiny blonde breathed quietly, forgetting for a moment that her classmates had ears.

Mrs. Roth paused at the board, the eraser in her hand poised at the ready. She glanced over her shoulder. "Pardon?"

Buffy's face grew incredibly hot, the tips of her ears burning as her slip caught up with her. Shaking herself free of the weakness threatening to render even her Slayer resistance useless, she inhaled deeply, swallowing the lump that felt almost the size of a cannonball in her throat. "Uhm, place," she corrected herself. "Lost my… place…" Her pen had abandoned her hand during her miniature seizure, and she picked it up slowly, nerves causing her hand to quiver visibly. She felt much like a patient recently diagnosed with severe brain trauma and motor skill deficiencies after a serious accident. That might not be far from the truth... she admitted.

The older woman's eye twitched. The blonde was sure taking her time. She sighed audibly, as did nearly half the class, then inhaled a hopefully calming breath. "Do hurry, Ms. Summers," she commanded tersely. "We haven't got all day."

"Yeah… sure…" Buffy mumbled quietly. This time, Mrs. Roth's attitude didn't ruffle her in the slightest. She was too busy resisting the urge to physically shake away the lingering tremors caused by Faith's arrival to notice. That girl… I swear to God, she's only one heartbeat away from giving me a heart attack… she thought, still shaken. Why does everything inside me decide to just stop working whenever she's around? She played idly with her notebook and pen, scribbling something down that had absolutely nothing to do with Chemistry. I think I'm broken. All systems: a no. Every time I see her, I just crash! Bang. Ka-boom. She sighed. Maybe it's just some crazy Slayer thing, she thought hopefully, 'cause there's two of us and all…

Despite that thought, a large part of her--the part she intended to keep locked away in a metal cage equipped with steel doors and adamantine locking devices until eternity had passed a thousand times over and Big Papa Time decided he needed a break--knew different. It was also the part that she kept subdued with duct tape wrapped around its big, blabbing Buffy mouth, and the part that hoped endlessly that the other Slayer felt the same attraction and reactions that assaulted her daily. It was hard work keeping that part quiet, but she often told herself that if she ignored it for long enough, the voice would get tired of screaming. Oh, who am I kidding? It's me we're talking about here. 'Buffy Summers? Pretty girl, but stubborn as they come.' I so pity my mother…

The blonde continued scribbling thoughtlessly in her notebook. Eventually, Mrs. Roth just moved on without her.

When the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the class that never seemed to go right for her, Buffy took a moment to survey her handiwork. They were adequately detailed notes, for the most part, but apparently Chemistry took the slip near the end. She sighed. What a wonderful student I am. Her paper, in order of subtopic, read: Metals, Nonmetals, Metalloids, Noble Gases, Chemical Reactions--dropping to a brief exclamation of, 'OMG! Bananas! XD' after explaining how potassium reacted violently to water--then Faith, heart, heart, heart, heart, heart, heart, more hearts than she could count, and then an 'I heart Faith,' scrawled tidily in their midst. She rolled her eyes at herself. Great. Just great. She stuffed the paper into her notebook and gathered her things. If I start seeing her face on the periodic table, I'm going to scream.

She moved toward the gateway to freedom that always seemed too far away, slowed by her fellow classmates.

Willow caught up with the blonde just as she passed through the threshold of the door. "Hey, Buff," she said, but Buffy appeared not to have heard her. Willow frowned. Well... it doesn't look like she's just ignoring me... Something's obviously got her attention, judging by the look on her face, the witch reasoned. Still--best friend here! Raising a hand in front of the Slayer's face, she asked, "Anybody home?"

Buffy halted abruptly, regarding the pale hand in front of her face with infinitely shocked bemusement. What the…? She classified the obviously feminine hand as Willow's after a moment of analysis. Soon after, her brain caught up with the fact that the other girl had been trying to get her attention while she was lost in her own mind. In an effort to save herself, she latched onto the witch's question once she processed it, but of course, it just so happened that she interpreted it wrong. Visibly confused, she turned to face the redhead. "Of course no one's home. My mom's at work, Will. You know that."

The redhead sighed. "Apparently not," she muttered. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear she was crushing on someone, she thought, shaking her head. She's never this out of it unless there's a big man hunk to drool over… but Angel is gone and she hasn't said anything about a new potential interest--unless there's someone I don't know about! Is she hiding him from me? She better not be! I'm the best friend--I need to know this stuff! It's a best friend rule! Didn't she read the handbook? Finally, after pausing to think things through rationally, the redhead calmed down. Okay, I have no proof that Buffy's got a new boyfriend… but there's gotta be something! She sighed, tucking a lock of crimson hair behind her ear and adjusting her hold on her Chem book out of habit. "Are you okay, Buffy?" she asked hesitantly.

Buffy frowned slightly at the question. Damn Will's perceptiveness… Ha! Big word! Go, Buffy! Attempting a confused expression instead of the agitated look of distress that threatened to cross her face at being found out so easily, she replied, "I'm pretty sure I am. Not missing any limbs, got all my fingers and toes…" She paused to inspect her extremities, flexing an impeccably self-manicured hand for effect. "I'd say I'm in pretty good shape." She offered a winning smile.

Willow shook her head, losing the battle against the grin that conquered her lips.

Buffy inwardly cheered. Yes! Score one for the Slayer!

However, the redhead noticed the Slayer's satisfied smile. Oh, you're not off the hook yet, Slayer, she warned silently. I'll get it out of you sometime, even if it's the last thing I do… But jeez, I hope not. That could take forever!

"Oh, hey--this is me!" the blonde stated, her stride broken as she came to a swift standstill.

The witch giggled. She paused alongside the blonde. "Yes. Third period English: 'a snore and a half,'" she quoted.

Buffy shook her head, face suddenly serious.

Willow raised an eyebrow. Since when has Buffy taken English seriously?

"No way," the blonde said ardently. She glanced around for her English Professor, monotonous, stern-faced, Mr. McCain before she continued, "More like seven. I can only count that high before the lights go out." She gestured to her head, referencing herself falling asleep. "Highest I've gotten is nine."

Sighing, the redhead rolled her eyes. I knew it was too good to be true. "You know, Buffy--"

"I know, Will," the blonde interrupted gently. "I know, believe me. I'm working on it. I promise." Earnestly emphasizing the last word, the blonde let out an inner sigh. Okay, so maybe I won't mention my below-C-average…

The redhead nodded as the warning bell rang. "Alright. I'll see you at lunch," she said, to which the Slayer agreed.

Buffy smiled as she followed the witch's retreating form with her eyes, waving to the dark-haired boy that awaited her at the other end of the hall. Oz nodded in return, which was the best acknowledgement she could hope for from the mellow guitarist, and Xander rounded the corner, offering his own grin and wave only moments later. The Slayer waved and smiled similarly.

Exerting all of the Slayer will power she could muster at the time, Buffy entered Mr. McCain's Hell Domain slowly. The stern old man raised a bushy, peppered eyebrow at her entrance, glancing up from his book, which was a literal stretch for a literature fanatic like him, and Buffy smiled hesitantly in return. He better not have heard my promise, or I'm in trouble…

However, instead of heading towards her seat, the tiny blonde meandered toward the professor's desk.

Mr. McCain raised pale blue eyes from his book questioningly. "Yes, Ms. Summers?"

"Can I go to the library?" she asked abruptly, thoughtlessly, afterwards suppressing a confused shake of her head. What?

The old man's brow furrowed. "Whatever for?"

"Well, I was hoping I could work on that essay that's due next week," Buffy replied, without even the smallest hint of hesitation. Oh, my God. Where is this all coming from? What happened to, 'I'm going to try harder,' huh?

The professor was rightly a bit dubious, as the blonde had never before shown a proactive attitude towards assignments in his class, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Retrieving the library pass from his desk drawer and making sure to search the girl's eyes thoroughly, he finally relinquished it. Buffy smiled and accepted the pass. "Take your time," he said. Not even a moment later, he added, "But please, be back by the bell."

"Sure thing," the blonde replied easily. She turned and headed out of the classroom, shaking her head as she disappeared from Mr. McCain's view. Autopilot, she thought blankly. I have autopilot. Rolling her eyes, she continued, Okay, so, maybe it's not such a pro-education autopilot, but… I have autopilot! Autopilot that doesn't fail and crash and burn!

She found herself standing, frozen, outside the library sooner than she expected, staring blankly at the doors, immobile, a striking paralysis gripping her bodily. Her mind was racing--losing the marathon against her heart, but racing nonetheless--teetering on the jagged edge of overheating and backfiring. Despite that, the rational notion of actually entering the library had yet to occur to the little blonde Slayer. She was much more interested with the seemingly pterodactyl-sized butterflies performing daring aerial dives and swoops within her stomach. That, and the fact that she didn't like how openly the oaken doors appeared to mock her courage. I'm not afraid to go in there--stupid door! You don't know anything. I'm a Slayer. I'm not afraid. I'm just--hey, I am so not nervous! Just… a little… anxious? Yeah, that's it…

The tiny Slayer took a deep breath. She could feel Faith's presence like a palpable force on the other side of the door. A million and one different sensations and emotions bombarded her. Warmth, love, longing, need, strength, power, seduction all blended into one enormous mass of tension in her stomach, and her first instinct was to flee like a bat out of hell before it consumed her completely. Amazingly enough, she managed to keep from running. Okay, Buffy, you can do this. It's fine. It's just Faith. She rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatedly and running a shaky hand through her hair in agitation. Yeah, it's just Faith all right… Faith; the one who makes you feel like this in the first place! Ugh. Just go. Now.

Boldly, she pushed the doors open and strode in.

I hope I look okay, she began inwardly, but before that single thought could escalate into another inward rant, she was startled by a sudden, hollow thud, flinching minutely at the noise, which seemed almost the equivalent of a door slamming to her sensitive ears, and scanning the library quickly for the source. After a moment, she realized that it was Faith.

The brunette Slayer had flinched as well, but for a different reason. Visibly tensed, she sported a muted, but noticeable grimace of discomfort, the six-and-a-half pound book she had been previously holding having fallen from her hand to crash down rather violently upon her toes. Miraculously, she managed to swallow her groan of pain by clenching her jaw tightly. Biting down hard on her lower lip, she exhaled slowly through her nose and forced an uncomfortable smile to cover it.

Through her pain and strained smile, she ground out a tense, wavering, and completely embarrassed, "Hey, Buffy."

The blonde grimaced in sympathy, but the intense urge to smile nearly won out. Oh, my God, she's so cute! Even when she's in pain. She could plainly see the smothered agony lingering in Faith's expressive chocolate eyes, though it was obvious that the other girl was working hard to hide her discomfort. No, especially when she's in pain--and trying so hard to cover it up… Eventually, the smile did defeat Buffy's frown as Faith groaned and dropped ungracefully to one knee, moving the offensive book to the side and tenderly massaging her injured foot, able to keep herself from whimpering out loud by sheer power of will.

Before she had even taken the time to think about it, Buffy was hurrying toward the other girl, joining her on the floor, letting out an oh-my-god-you're-adorable type of, "Awh," along the way. Reaching out, she let her hand fall to rest on top of Faith's gingerly. Dark mocha eyes lifted slowly, intense above a pained grimace, finding a pair of shimmering, iridescent hazel awaiting her, alight with the blonde's sad amusement. Buffy exhaled a shallow breath. Oh, God. She's going to be the death of me… she thought. Why does she have to be so cute? Sighing inwardly, she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" she asked, offering the embarrassed Slayer a soft smile of her own.

As some of the feeling returned to her toes, Faith nodded slowly, though she was much more focused on the tiny smile the blonde was sending her way. God, she's beautiful… She's perfect… She's… She swallowed the lump in her throat, eyes caught on the almost teasing, but innocent glint in her eyes. She's going to be the death of me, she thought, unconsciously mimicking her fellow Slayer. "Just… surprised me is all," she said quietly, surprised she remembered the question to answer it. Just as she was about to resume the task of rubbing her foot, she paused, glancing down. Suddenly, the blonde's hand was very heavy on top of her own. The warmth began to seep into her skin as a near-blistering heat. I'm going to die, she thought. My hand is going to combust, my heart is going to explode, my lungs are going to collapse, and I'm going to die. I'm going to die, and it'll be amazing. God, I love this girl.

The blonde Slayer inwardly kicked herself. Of course you surprised her, Buffy, you idiot! You came bursting in here like you were in a friggin' nineteen-hundreds western saloon, for Pete's sake--what the hell did you think would happen? It's not like she'd be in here waiting for a shootout, guns drawn and tumbleweeds rolling! Frowning in mild embarrassment, Buffy avoided the brunette's eyes, trusting Faith's Slayer hearing to catch her when she mumbled a barely audible, "Sorry."

Faith shook her head. "It's okay," she muttered in return, glancing up briefly. However, she found her eyes fixed in a stare with a warm pair of hazel eyes, and she was unable to look away. Stop staring, Faith, she commanded herself. You're going to freak her out.

Buffy wasn't in any better shape than her brunette counterpart, having a hard time of getting herself to look away from the deep, deep brown eyes that were only a few inches away. The urge to lean forward was so intense that she almost began to move. Oh, my God, she thought incredulously. You were about to kiss her! Stop it, Buffy! You're going to scare the poor girl away! God, she has such enticing lips… Ugh. Stop it! Shortly thereafter, she decided that she argued far too often with herself to be considered healthy.

"So, Giles set you to work, huh?" the blonde asked suddenly, seemingly out of the blue. Wait--what? Oh, no! The autopilot! It's back! She frowned, shaking her head. I'm starting to think it's going to get me in trouble one day…

Faith blinked, momentarily forgetting about her nearly-amputated toes. "Huh?"

Buffy fought to hide her smile at the other girl's dumbfounded look. In her mind, her infatuated grin wasn't muted in the slightest, the unabashed inner crushing-girly-girl Buffy gushing, Could she be any cuter? Covering quickly, the easily-embarrassed outer Buffy gestured toward the book. "That's Giles' 'since you're in my library, do something productive' book," she said. "He pulls it out if he even gets the tiniest feeling that you might have time to relax--especially if you're sleeping. Trust me. I've had it literally tossed at me several times." She inwardly flinched at the memories, but she shook them away. God, if I was any more spastic, I'd be bordering on coming down with the Rosenberg-Babble Syndrome… How much of a dork am I? she almost pouted. But I can't help it! She's so cute! How could anyone look at her and not fall completely in crush with her? It's impossible. Especially with that look on her face...

The brunette didn't seem to notice Buffy's dilemma, glancing down at her foot. "Oh, right…" she muttered, realizing that she should be retrieving the book. Hastily picking it up before Giles' super Text-In-Distress sense kicked in and he came bursting in, much like Buffy had, to whoop some Slayer ass, she brushed it off, holding it listlessly in her hands. She turned back to Buffy sheepishly, finally registering the blonde's words. "No, I… I was just… bored. I don't think Giles even knows I'm here yet. I haven't seen him at all this morning." She held back a sigh. Smooth, Faith. Very smooth. Idiot. Inwardly shaking her head, she directed her last thought at the oblivious blonde beside her, pondering her answer. Why can't I think when I'm around you? she asked silently.

Buffy cocked her head to the side in confusion. Giles always knows when someone's taking up space in his library, she thought. He's almost creepy that way. However, as she was pondering his whereabouts, she realized that she couldn't feel anyone else in the library with them. Huh. Oh, well. Snyder must have dragged him to a meeting or something. She brushed it away altogether, letting the oddity of the situation slide.

"Well, you know Giles," she said, shrugging dismissively. "He's probably off somewhere."

Faith nodded silently. She gave her foot a last get-well-soon rub. Finally confident that her toes would be able to withstand the pressure of her weight, she slowly worked her way into a standing position, testing her weight on her injured foot. Buffy didn't bother to move, too intent on making sure that she could stand. Faith looked down at her, able to feel the same pterodactyls using her stomach as a bounce house as Buffy had earlier. She resisted the urge to press a hand to her stomach in an attempt to physically calm it, lest the other girl think she was injured there as well, offering the smaller Slayer a helping hand instead.

Buffy offered a small smile, accepting the brunette's hand happily, almost to the point melting inside. Okay, so it's creepy to obsess over touching her like this, but I don't care.

As Buffy grasped her hand, the brunette took a deep breath. Why do I do this to myself? she asked herself, trying her best to ignore the tingling sensation that spread like wildfire through her hand at the contact of skin against skin. It seemed to her as if the blonde was a being made of fire, molten heat, and one day she would burn her completely--though she wouldn't have much of a complaint were that to happen. She sighed. I'm in so much trouble.

Stepping forward gingerly after regretfully letting the blonde's hand drop from her own, the brunette limped slowly toward the table she had been aiming for before the blonde had entered the library. She placed the book on the table, exhaling a sigh. Stupid book, she muttered inwardly, turning back to look at her silent counterpart.

Buffy frowned as she watched Faith walk to the table, acutely aware of the limp in her step. Good going, Buffy. You hurt her. She sighed sadly as Faith turned to face her. Idiot. The biggest idiot in the universe. That's what you are. "I'm really sorry about your foot," she reiterated, grimacing, embarrassed and dejected.

Faith shrugged dismissively. "It's okay," she assured her, offering a hesitant smile. "It'll be good as new in a few minutes."

Buffy nodded agreeably, though the assurance didn't help her mindset much. Good job, Buffy, she continued berating herself. Bravo. Bravo.

Don't frown, don't frown… Faith urged silently, but it didn't seem to help, as the blonde's brow began to furrow, her bottom lip pouting just the slightest bit. A wave of disappointment washed over the smaller Slayer, her withdrawal written clearly on her body. Oh, why do you have to frown? Faith thought desperately. I hate seeing you sad. Frantically, the brunette searched for a solution. Make her smile, you idiot! she commanded. How in the world do I do that? Uhm… jokes! Yeah. Jokes work. What jokes? The Slayer spoke after a moment of fruitless contemplation, figuring she could just work as she went, and if anything at all the tinier Slayer could just laugh because she ended up making a complete fool of herself.

"Hey, come on, B, it's okay," she attempted softly, raising a gentle hand to Buffy's elbow and hoping to the Powers That Be that the blonde didn't mind. Buffy raised sad hazel eyes to the awaiting dark chestnut pair. She was secretly reveling in the other girl's touch once more, the pterodactyls having returned as well, but she was sure not to let her face betray what that little inner Buffy was threatening to expose. Faith smiled hopefully at the tiny Slayer. Remember, just make a fool of yourself. She'll laugh at that, right?

"I mean, if worse comes to worst I could just cut it off and become a pirate or something," the brunette admitted easily, though the idea wasn't truly as appealing as it sounded. "A peg leg wouldn't be too bad…" she continued, shrugging, "and I'm sure I could find an eye patch somewhere around here…"

Buffy laughed quietly, shaking her head. That a horrible idea... but she's trying so hard to make me feel better, she thought. Not that it's not working or anything, 'cause I think that smile would have worked all on it's own... She studied the awkward grin that had commandeered the brunette's lips. Cuteness like that should be illegal. And so should mindless ogling. After inwardly reprimanding herself, she decided to speak. Now that I've wasted forever just staring at her, you know, I might as well answer her. She probably thinks I'm some kind freak. Ugh. "I don't think you'd have much fun slaying with one leg and one eye…" she said quietly.

Faith nodded thoughtfully. That's true--but she laughed before. She laughed! Sure, it was a tiny laugh, but she's a tiny girl, and... shut up, Faith. She laughed! It worked!

The brunette shrugged dismissively. "Well, yeah… but with a wooden leg, I could sharpen it," she proposed, ignoring the fantasticality of it. "One drop kick and poof! Dust."

Buffy continued to laugh. "Good idea," she admitted, chuckling to herself, but she sighed inwardly. Great. She watched Faith shrug awkwardly once more, smiling to herself. She's cute and funny. Just my luck. As Faith laughed nervously, the blonde bit her lip. If you weren't crushing before, you definitely are now. Buffy Summers, you are in so much trouble.

So, is it better now that it's finished?