The Slayer and the Caster (Angel Love Story)

Witch

Buffy and I are in the library getting lectured.  "This is madness!  What can  you have been thinking?  You are the Slayer!  Lives depend upon you!  I make allowances for your youth, but I expect a certain amount of responsibility, and instead of which you enslave yourself to this, this...Cult?" he says looking at us wearing cheerleading outfits.  "You don't like the color?" Buffy asks.  "I d...Do you, um...Do you ignore everything I say as a, as a rule?"  "No, I believe that's your trick," I say as Buffy skips in front of him posing.  "We told you, we're trying out for the cheerleading squad!" Buffy says.  I would have preferred gymnastics but I have to settle for this.  "You two have a sacred birthright, Buffy and Lily.  You were chosen to destroy vampires, not to...wave pompoms at people.  And as the Watcher I forbid it."  "And you'll be stopping us how?" I ask.  "Well, I...By appealing to your common sense, if such a creature exists."  "We will still have time to fight the forces of evil, ok?  We just wanna have a life, we wanna do something normal.  Something safe," I say.

In the attic of a witch you can see all of the flowers and herbs hanging upside down from the rafters as they dry and there are personal items with tags.  The witch moves around consumed with darkness.  She waves a pendant on a chain over the brew, then pulls it back.  She goes over to the rack and yanks off a doll hanging there by its neck on a wire.  

Buffy, Willow, Xander and I walk into the gym as right before tryouts begin.  "Giles didn't approve, huh?" Willow asks.  "He totally lost his water.  We haven't seen a vampire in over a week.  I'd say he should get a girlfriend if he wasn't so old," Buffy says.  "Buffy, he's not that old," I say.  "Well, we're behind you."  "People scoff at things like school spirit, but look at these girls giving their all like this!" Xander says looking at Amber stretch.  "Ooo, stretchy!  Where was I?" he asks.  "You were pretending that seeing scantily clad girls in revealing postures was a spiritual experience," Willow says.  "Who said I was pretending?  Oh, hey!  Here's a good luck thing for tryouts," Xander says handing Buffy a bracelet.  Since we've been hanging out it was obvious that Xander had a crush on us.  I fortunately nipped that in bud a while ago by telling him that I only liked him as a friend.  "What's this?" Buffy asks him.  "What's that?" Willow asks surprised and a little hurt.  "Oh, how sweet!  'Yours Always'," she says reading the writing.  "I-i-it came that way, really, they all said that!" Xander exclaims making me roll my eyes.  "Just look at that Amber.  Who does she think she is, a Laker Girl?" Cordelia says to us.  "I hear she turned them down," Willow says.  "Ok, listen up!  Let's begin with Amber Grove.  If you're not auditioning, move off the floor," Joy, the leader of the squad, says.  "Amy!  Hi!" Willow says to a blonde girl.  "Hi!"  "I didn't know you wanted to be a cheerleader!  You lost a lot of weight," Willow says.  "Had to."  "Do you know Buffy and Lily?"  "Hi," she says to us.  "Hi."  "Hello," I say.  "Oh, how I hate this, let me count the ways," Amy says.  Amber starts her routine that's very athletic.  After doing a split spin and a jumping double spin she lands.  After that she launches into and aerial and a cartwheel.  Everyone starts to watch her.  "She trained with Benson.  He's one of the best coaches money can buy," Amy says to us.  "They have cheerleading coaches?" I ask.  "Oh, yeah!  Don't you two have?  I train with my mom, three hours in the morning, three hours at night."  Seems a little extreme to me but who am I to judge.  "Hmm, that much quality time with my mom would probably lead to some quality matricide," Buffy says.  "Oh, I know it's hokey.  But she's really great."  I see Cordelia look away from Amber angry.  "Hmmm!"  Buffy, Xander and I look on amazed at what she can do.  That is until her hands start to smoke.  "What the...?" Buffy says.  "She's on fire," I say.  "That girls on fire!" Willow yells.  "Enough of the hyperbole!" Cordelia says not even looking.  Soon Amber's hands start to catch on fire.  She drops her pom pops and screams.  "Buffy, the banner!"  She jumps up and gets it while I run over to Amber.  Buffy knocks Amber over and snuffs out the flame with the banner.  "It's ok, you're gonna be...ok.  God!" I say to Amber trying to comfort her.  After all of that we all meet up in the library.  Buffy paces while Willow, Xander and I sit.  "We've been slaying and shooting magic at vampires for more than a year now, and we've seen some cringeworthy things, but...nobody's hands ever got toasted before," Buffy says.  "I imagine not," Giles says.  "What about me?" I ask referencing the first time fire came out of my hands.  "You're different."  "Um, if I remember correctly you screamed your head off," I say.  "So, this isn't a vampire problem," Buffy says.  "No."  "But it is funky, right?  Not of the norm?  If you're not like me?" I ask.  "Quite.  Spontaneous human combustion is, is rare, and, and scientifically unexplainable, but there have been cases for hundreds of years.  Usually all that's left is a pile of ashes," he explains.  "That's all that would have been left if it hadn't been for Buffy and Lily," Willow says.  "So, we have no idea what caused this.  That's a comfort," Xander says.  "But that's the thrill of living on the Hellmouth!  There's a veritable cornucopia of, of fiends and devils and, and ghouls to engage," Giles starts to say getting a little to excited.  He notices us staring at him.  "Pardon me for finding the glass half full."  "Any common denominators in cases of spontaneous combustion?" Buffy asks.  "Uh, rage.  In most cases the person who combusted was, was terribly angry or, or upset."  "So maybe Amber's got this power to make herself be on power.  It's like the human torch, only it hurts," Xander says.  "Maybe,  We need to get the skinny on Amber.  Find out if she's had any colorful episodes before," I say before Buffy and I start to go.  "That means hacking illegally into the school's computer system.  At last, something I can do!" Willow says excited.  "I'll ask around about her," Xander says.  "You guy's don't have to get involved," Buffy says.  "What d'ya mean?  We're a team!  Aren't we a team?" Xander asks.  "Yeah!  You two are the Slayer and the Caster, and we're, like, the Slayerettes or the Casterettes!" Willow says.  "I just don't like putting you guys in dander," Buffy says.  "Neither do I," I say to them.  "Oh huh, I laugh in the face of danger.  Then I hide until it goes away," Xander says.  "Ok, just walk softly, at least until we know a little more.  I mean, what if Amber isn't causing these problems herself?" I say.  "Well, then we have to determine who or what did, and, uh, deal with it accordingly," Giles says.  We get home and see the kitchen filled with wooden boxes and crates and notice mom trying to open one.  "Hey!" Buffy says to mom.  "Hi, how was school?" she asks us.  "Mm, a reverent joy.  What's all this?" Buffy asks.  "It's for the tribal art display." "That's so cool!" I say actually interested.  "We had tryouts today," Buffy says trying to get moms attention.  I sometimes worry that mom doesn't pay much to Buffy when it comes to something positive.  Lately it's just been pointing out what we've done wrong.  I know that it comes from a place of caring and worrying about us.  But, for Buffy it's just frustrating.  "Oh, great!  How'd it go?"  "Neither of us got to actually try out.  There was an accident.  Pretty fierce competition, though."  "Oh, I know you'll do fine.  Keep on plugging, just have to get back on the horse," Mom says not paying attention.  "Do you think she would notice if I told her I got a boyfriend?" I ask Buffy joking since mom's not paying any attention.  "Mom?" Buffy asks.  "Yeah?"  "What were we trying out for?"  "Oh, uh...Some activity?  I have no idea, I'm sorry," she says stopping what she was doing.  "That's ok.  Your platitudes are good for all occasions," Buffy says a little hurt.  "I'm distracted.  Got a lotta inventory to go through here.  This is my Gallery's first major show.  You know, it might not physically kill you two to give me a hand here," she says holding her clipboard.  I grab the lid of one crate and tear it off.  "It was cheerleading," Buffy says.  "Oh good!  I'm glad you're taking that up again, it'll keep you out of trouble.  And what about you Lily?  Did they have gymnastics?"  "Nope.  So, I also tried out for cheerleading."  "We're not in trouble," Buffy says offended by moms comment.  "No, not yet."  Mom finally looks up and sees she's hurt Buffy.  "I mean, you stopped cheerleading and gymnastics just before the trouble, so it's good you're going back.  Oh, dear," she says looking into a crate.  "What?" I ask.  "The fertility statue, you don't need to see it," she says closing the lid.  "Y'know, there's this girl, Amy, and um, she trains with her mom, like, three hours a day," Buffy says.  "Uh-huh."  "Sounds like her mom's pretty into it."  "Sounds like her mom doesn't have a lot to do," mom says walking out of the kitchen.  We look in the box she closed.  "Jeepers!"  "Now, that's just gross," I say scrunching my face.  We go upstairs and into my room.  Buffy sits on my bed while I take out my homework.  "Does it not bother you that mom acts like that?" she asks me.  "I've just learned to go with it at this point," I say.  "But, she's always so focused on the negative and when we try to do something normal it's like she doesn't even care."  "Buffy, unlike others we're not normal.  Hell, I'm further from normal than you are," I point out.  "So, no it doesn't bother you?"  "It comes from a good place Buff."  "And how can you tell?"  "Well, whenever something happens that she feels will get us in trouble or hurt I just get this feeling.  Almost like I can sense what she's feeling or thinking."  "Well, that one's new."  "Trust, me I'm not happy with getting new powers all of the time."  "I should probably let you do your homework huh?"  "Please," I say with a smile.