Strong Enough, by c.moody

wyoluvr@yahoo.com

Buffy sat down on the cold marble slab, checking out the name on the tomb as she did so.

*Marie Vallens, b. 1900, d. 1919. Consider yourself lucky* Buffy pondered the advantages of a short life-span, such as she looked forward to.

*Die young, less pain. Die old…more guys who can love you, kill your friends, love you, leave you, love you, and dump you. I’m sure there’s a pattern here.*

Buffy knew that what her mother, and Willow, and the rest of the gang had said was true. It wasn’t her; it was them. It was just her bad luck that Buffy had fallen first for a schizo vampire and then for a smarmy upperclassman. Life choices like that made her glad she could be alone.

The night air settled around Buffy like a security blanket. *yep, deep dark gloom, Mr. Pointy, and a few undead creeps to dust…sounds like a perfect night to me.* She rose from the slab, stretching out her arms. Maybe it was meant to be. Maybe she was meant to live alone. After all, it would hardly be fair to draw even more innocents into her world, when Buffy would probably not live through college. The slayer shivered as the coolness of the California night caressed her body.

And now, Buffy couldn't stop thinking about a certain blonde TA. Of all the possibilities she had conjured up in her mind while dozing her classes away, Riley Finn as Super-Military man was not in her top five. It was all so…normal. No prophecy, no slime-dripping demon, no vortex to hell…just a funny, sweet, blonde boy from Iowa who thought she was peculiar. That's all.

Buffy hadn't known what to say to Riley after her 'little' scream. What do you say to your potential love interest after you've just kicked demon ass and brought destruction upon them by screaming like a princess? Hey, how about those exploding heads? As she had stood before Riley in her dorm room, trying to actually look him eye to eye, she had just opened her mouth to say something, anything, when Willow had blown into the room, only to halt just short of her bed when she saw who occupied it. The silence in that room could have rivaled that of the last few days.

Riley had left quickly, muttering something about reporting in at his job. Willow apologized profusely until finally Buffy started laughing just to break the 'pregnant' silence. The witch joined her and that was that. To avoid the possibility of Riley coming back that evening, the slayer had jumped at the chance to patrol. If it was possible to have more thrills, Buffy really didn't want to know about it. Slaying was slow and now Buffy had way too many thoughts bouncing around. How/why/since when was Riley a NATOesque guy? And what about that kiss? A slow, sibilant sigh escaped from Buffy's pursed lips. She started out of the cemetery, pausing to look up at the clear California sky. Riley, like Angel, could defend himself from the perils of her vocation, but would he be willing to? Did she want him to? Buffy didn't want to dwell on that tonight; it was time to head back to campus and maybe catch a few undead jocks with their pants down.

~~~~~~~~~

Riley had no idea what this petite little girl was, but he knew he wanted to find out. He followed her, careful to remain in the shadows.