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Chapter 1: Looking into the mirror Buffy couldn’t understand how all this had happened or more likely why this had happened. Faith had woken up from the coma and somehow switched their bodies. It still freaked her out to look anything that gave away her reflection because it wasn’t her own face looking back at her. The cops had taken her away from her mothers house but she managed to escape, she also knew the Council was after her and she knew they weren’t going to just throw her into the slammer. She had sneaked into the Bronze and seen Faith dancing with a bunch of guys. Faith had talked with her friends and none of them even suspected that it wasn’t her. Since when had she been dancing with half the guys in Bronze while she was dating Riley. Sure she had danced that one time with Faith but that was long ago, before she had gone to the dark side. With pain in her heart, she left the Bronze and started drifting around the town. She stayed out of sight because she knew the police and council were looking for her without knowing that she really wasn’t Faith, but she wasn’t sure if the Council really cared anyway.
Buffy tried to get to her friends but it was no use. When she talked to them, they didn’t recognize her and she didn’t have any time to try to explain when Giles decided to call the council thugs. She had to leave with a hurry and the last place she could go was Riley, her mother wasn’t an option because she didn’t know her either when she was taken by the police earlier. When she arrived her dorm room, Riley was just leaving and he had the ‘just had sex’ face on. Buffy's heart crumbled once again, Riley hadn’t noticed a thing. She could see the love bites on his neck and she herself always stayed away from the neck, too much memories of Angel were brought by love bites. She felt herself give up. Why would she not let Faith have her life? Her life had not been living after Angel left, her friends just expected her to suddenly get over the love she felt for Angel, she knew Riley was just a pour substitute, she didn’t love him, she cared about him but didn’t love him. Giles lived his own life and wanted her to do the slaying on her own, get some responsibility. She was the Slayer, she kept saving the world again and again, how’s that for responsibility. Her mother kept reminding her how nice it was that she had found a normal living man to date. If only she knew that Riley wasn’t so normal, but it may not change much since Riley could breathe. She made her decision, Faith wanted her life, let her see what it was like. With that thought she stepped inside her dorm room. Faith was lounging on the bed and she had a bored expression on her face until she saw Buffy. “Well, hello, B. I’m surprised that you came here.” She got up and took few steps closer to Buffy with malicious smile on her face (or more likely on Buffy's face). “I know, you know that me and soldier boy got a little rump in the hay, so what, you’re gonna beat me to another coma?” Buffy smiled ruefully, which threw Faith for a moment. “That thought did cross my mind. But if he doesn’t notice the difference between you and me, it’s not really your fault”, Buffy answered and went to her closet without letting her guard down. Faith watched as Buffy started packing clothes and things into a large holdall. “What you doing there, B?” Faith asked with confidence in her voice which she lacked inside since she had no idea what Buffy was really going to do. Buffy closed the zipper on the bag and threw it over her shoulder. “You wanted my life, now you can have it. You can have the friends that expect you to save the world with a smiley face on, the watcher who wants you to carry the weight on your own because you need to learn responsibility, the mother who is oh so clad that you have a normal boyfriends that breathes and that slaying is just a phase, and the boyfriend that doesn’t understand that being a slayer isn’t just a fun hobby. You wanted to be me, now’s your chance.” “So what, you’re just going to leave? I don’t understand what you’re playing.” Buffy went to the door and turned around to look at Faith in her body. “Yeah, I’m going. You can have my life”, she said and opened the door. Just before she stepped out, she turned around and said: “Just stay away from Angel. My friends, my mother or my boyfriend may not notice who you are, but he will before you can blink. And if you try anything with him, I will know and what I did to you when you poisoned him will be like having a picnic on a sunny afternoon compared to what I’ll do to you if you try to hurt him.” With that Buffy left closing the door behind her and leaving a very stunned and confused Faith in her dorm room. “What the fuck just happened?” Faith whispered to herself.
Week went by, Buffy really had disappeared and now Faith was left to live her life. She had dropped out of college which shocked her friends and even more, her mother. And that is why she had been summoned to Buffy's mother's house with Riley. And speaking of Riley, she really was getting bored with him and a week with the same guy was her personal record. She sighed deeply and got up from the bed. She went to the closet and pulled out an outfit that would make her look sweet as possible, she didn’t want to hear one of Joyce's lectures. There was a knock on the door and soon after Willow peaked in. “I hope you’re decent”, she said and stepped in. “Yeah, Will. Nothing traumatizing this time”, Faith chuckled thinking the time when Willow had walked in on her and Riley while she was on top riding him. “Are you going somewhere?” Willow asked seeing what Buffy was changing to. “Yeah, mom asked me to drop by”, Faith answered while throwing her shirt to the floor and pulling on a light pink knit top. Willow looked away, flushing from the lack of modesty Faith showed. “What do you think you’ll be doing after that?” Willow asked. “I’ll hit the Bronze, do some dancing, some slaying, the usual.” Willow looked at her uncertainly. “You have been doing that a lot lately. Bronze. Slaying. Riley’s been missing you”, she said testing the ice. She had been stopped by Riley after class and he had told her how little time Buffy spent with him these days, she was always at the Bronze or slaying. Willow still couldn’t face Riley without blushing remembering what she had interrupted the other day. But still she was worried about Buffy, she had changed after Faith woke up, but she was sure it was just a passing phase. Faith turned to look at Willow, but she didn’t see doubt in her, just concern. “Girl just needs a little fun. And Riley is so boring”, Faith said and continued dressing. Willows face scrunched up into a frown, Buffy had never before complained that Riley was boring, he wasn't boring, he was normal, steady and dependable, not boring. Faith turned to look at Willow and sighed. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m taking Riley to my mom's house”, she said still feeling weird about calling Joyce her mom. But at that Willows face lit up, maybe she was getting over her phase and everything would be back to normal. “That’s great!”, she said with bright enthusiasm. Faith rolled her eyes but Willow didn’t see it since Faith was already on her way to the door. “See ya later”, Faith said and left the dorm room.
The dinner at Buffy's mom's house was uncomfortable. The food was good as always but that was a small comfort when Joyce kept bringing up dropping out of college, she really knew how to make a girl feel guilty. It wasn’t Faiths fault that she never had been interested in school, she never graduated from high school and she never even wanted to go to college, now that she wasn’t a fugitive anymore, she could live her life the way she wanted. But not if her new friends, mother or boyfriend had any say in the matter. “Maybe if you changed the college, you would feel more comfortable. The slaying must be a big distraction. Or maybe you could decrease slaying”, Joyce said hopefully. Faith sighed, she liked Joyce, she had always liked Joyce but she really could get on her nerves sometimes. “I can’t just stop slaying, I’m the slayer, I’m the only one who can do it”, Faith said and she deliberately ignored Riley since she thought he wasn’t that much of a help in slaying. He just wanted to use them as lab rats when she just decapitated them, patrolling was so much faster without him. “I know that, honey. When Faith came to town, I really hoped she would take that off your shoulders. But maybe there are more slayers, you are not the only one”, Joyce said clearly getting her hopes up. “There is just me and Faith”, Faith said, clearly Joyce didn’t understand the whole process of how slayers were called. “How can you be sure?” she kept on insisting. “Mom, I am sure. There is just me and Faith.” Faith wanted out of this conversation. Long ago Buffy had told her about facing the Master, whole getting bitten, drowned and revived, the whole shebang, obviously she hadn’t told Joyce and Faith was sure Buffy wouldn’t appreciate if she told about it. That thought made her stop, since when did she care what Buffy would think. Maybe it was after she had read the diary Buffy had forgotten to take with her, since she had read about her thoughts from coming back to Sunnydale after running away to the beginning of her cooperation with the Initiative. That thought made her sigh deeply, this whole regretting your past thing was not fun. Joyce turned to Riley. “Riley, maybe you could talk to her. Get her go back to studying and cut back the slaying”, Joyce said to Riley with her motherly voice. “Yes, Mrs Summers, I have tried to get her to extenuate slaying, there are other people, professionals who are capable to do it”, Riley said back like a perfect son in law. Just the thought of the Initiative made Faith want to giggle, capable professionals, what a joke. It was tough not to snort at that thought. Sure they liked to play Rambo but they weren’t real demon hunters, they didn’t even know what they were hunting if it wasn’t a vampire.
The dinner was over, conversation stayed in the topics of college, slaying and how nice and normal Riley was. Faith could just see the underlining that Joyce was just happy that it wasn’t Angel, that Buffy had a nice, normal, breathing boyfriend who could give her grandchildren in the far away future. At the door Joyce kissed them both on the cheek, told Buffy to visit very soon and that she hoped to see Riley with her. “Riley, please try to talk to her”, Joyce whispered to Riley thinking that Faith/Buffy couldn’t hear her even though she could clearly. Riley promised he’d try his best and after that Joyce went back inside. Riley came to stand next to Faith and took her hand in his. “I’ll walk you to your dorm”, he said, again he was playing the big man who had to walk his girlfriend to her doorstep. “No need, I’m going to the Bronze and after that do some patrolling”, she said and started walking thus releasing her hand from his. Riley hurried after her, his expression telling that he wasn’t happy. “Again? This is the fifth night you’ve gone to Bronze.” “So? You keeping score?” she asked without slowing her pace. She really wanted to get rid of him and have a good night, maybe a hot guy to rub against before going hunting. “But Buffy... We haven’t spent so much time together lately. You’re always at the Bronze or slaying and you say you don’t want company while doing it”, Riley tried. “Because I can do it so much faster and easier on my own”, she answered, she was bored. “Since when?” Riley asked clearly not getting the message. Faith stopped and looked at Riley in the face, his greasy looking hair hanging over his eyes.“Truthfully when I’m slaying, you are just on the way. There is a reason why Slayer slays alone, because others are just a distraction and *on the way*. I have been doing this for some time, it isn’t a choice, I was called, I’m the only one. To you it’s just a hobby, a way to be a hero. Well, I was made to do this and I am the best. And I am so getting bored with you”, she said, turned around and kept walking. “What do you mean?!” Riley yelled and ran after her, apparently this time getting her meaning. “I’m bored, you just don’t do it anymore. Let’s face it, you were just the rebound guy. You don’t understand the first thing about me and you belittle my calling. It’s not gonna work. So let’s just get it over with. I will give you the old cliché”, with that she turned around and said with a fake sincere voice: “It’s not you, it’s me. But I’d like us to be friends.” He looked stunned, his mouth hanging open and he really did look like a fish on dry land. She gave him a smile, petted him on the shoulder and said: “You’ll get over it.” With that she started walking, leaving stunned Riley standing on the sidewalk.
Faith had had a good time at the Bronze, she had found a cute guy to rub against which his girlfriend didn’t appreciate. After that she hit the cemeteries and dusted four vamps. So it had been a good night. “I heard you broke up with fish boy”, came a familiar voice from behind her. “Yeah. News here sure travel fast. How’d you know?” Faith asked taking a cocky position placing her hands on her hips. Spike looked at her appreciatively and answered: “Heard soldier boy crying about it to his army buddies. It’s about time you dumped that nancy boy.” “Well, he was starting to bore me. And I don’t like to be bored.” She looked him up and down and he was starting to feel like piece of meat under her eyes. “Would you like to be my rebound guy? All that slaying got me horny”, she said taking a step closer to Spike which made him take a step back from her. “Are you okay, slayer?” he asked slightly nervous, she sure was acting strange. “I’m just fine”, Faith answered licking her lips, her eyes traveling over his body. Spike was starting to feel like the prey which he technically was but never in this sense, not with Buffy. “Slayer”, he tried to protest and took a step back. Faith was about to take a step closer to Spike when a hand grabbed her ankle. She looked down and saw a vampire try to rise from it’s grave. “Now is not the time”, she said, pulled the vampire from it’s grave and staked it, all in one motion. She was dusting off the vampire from her clothes while she said in a seductive voice: “So, where were we?”
She lifted her gaze and noticed that Spike was gone. She looked around her but it appeared that she was alone. “Well that’s a first”, she said to herself and started to walk away from the cemetery unfulfilled. And on top of all that, she was certain she would get a lecture from Willow once she heard her dumping Riley.
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