And I was lovin’ it.

But drawin’ from my own past experiences, I knew that things could never stay good for too long before somethin’ would come along and fuck it up.

Enter Gwendolyn Post.

Man, sometimes I really hate bein’ right.

I guess I can’t be too bitter cuz things worked themselves out in the end, but still . . . it was the first bump in the road that B and I had since we had gotten closer.

So anyways, here’s what happened.

G-man had been actin’ as Watcher for me and B for a while at that point. On one particular night he was out on patrol with us, not really payin’ attention to what we were doin’. He’d look up from his book every now and then, but he knew we had it under control.

After taking out a pretty big group of vamps, I grabbed B’s hand like it wasn’t a big deal. She tensed at first but after realizing that G-man wasn’t lookin’, she relaxed and held onto my hand tight, giving me a wink and a little smile.

Yeah. My heart kinda stopped beatin’ for a second when I saw it.

But like I said before, I wasn’t gonna let my feelings get the best of me, so I gave myself a little punch in the chest to give my heart a jolt. B gave me a weird look, but before she could ask what I was doin’, we were jarred apart by the sound of a voice behind us.

It was Gwendolyn Post, comin’ all the way to SunnyD to tell me she was my new boss. I mighta been nice to her if she hadn’t started to point out flaws in our fightin’.

Whatever. I coulda kicked her ass while blindfolded and with my hands tied behind my back any day of the week. Right away, I didn’t like the bitch. Still, I decided to give her a chance.

Okay, it was more like a half-chance, but still, it was somethin’.

After a short meeting in the library, we found out that there was some demon after the Glove of Myhnegon. When G-man and Mrs. Post got into the business talk, I kinda zoned out, but I got the gist of the conversation: the glove was bad, and it couldn’t end up in the wrong hands.

I casually looked over at B to see if she was payin’ attention. Right away, I could tell that she was kinda distant again, starin’ off into space with a sad look on her face. I wanted to help her, but I don’t think the sight of two Slayers ‘cuddling’ would go unnoticed.

I mean, I wouldn’t have minded, but she probably woulda freaked.

So, fast-forward a little.

It was later that night and B didn’t show up for patrol, so I headed for the Bronze after a quick sweep of the cemeteries. I grabbed a drink and went to sit down, and that was when I saw Xander playin’ pool across the room. He looked wicked pissed. I almost didn’t wanna go over . . . figured that it really wasn’t a sitch that I wanted to get involved with. But still . . . it was B’s friend, so over I went.

He ranted for a minute or two before finally tellin’ me that Angel was back, which I already knew, but I still pretended to be shocked. Then he told me that Angel had the Glove of Myhnegon, and that he was him kissin’ B.

Exit the fake shock. Cue the real stuff.

I didn’t know which part of what he told me was gettin’ to me more: the part where Angel, the guy who she said was actin’ like a monster, had the glove, or the part where he was kissin’ B.

Not that she was mine or anything, but still . . . it kinda stung.

So Xander and I made a decision. Angel was a threat, and that threat needed to be investigated, possibly eliminated. With that in mind, we took off towards the old mansion.

When we got there Angel was in game face and was fightin’ Mrs. Post. Right away I assumed the worst, and I decided that Angel had to be eliminated.

I didn’t think that it would be a hard fight. He was just another vamp as far as I was concerned. Vampire. Slayer. Dead Vampire.

But then B jumped in, and things got ugly.

Real ugly.

I had B in my face tellin’ me not to stake Angel. Then I had Mrs. Post behind me tellin’ me that B was blinded by love and that I needed to kill him, Xander next to me eggin’ me on, and the Slayer in me wanted to dust him real bad. My human side was tellin’ me to listen to B and take a minute to think . . . but my inner Slayer won out.

Angel was gonna die.

But B wouldn’t let that happen. Not to ‘the love of her life’ or ‘soul mate’ or whatever other bullshit she thought he was to her.

She caught me by surprise when she threw the first punch and it caught on my left cheek. To tell ya the truth, I really wasn’t expectin’ her to actually thrown down with me. I shook off the aftereffects of the punch and just stared at her, a look of disbelief on my face. She gave me a pleading look, and I could tell that she didn’t wanna fight me over this.

But how could I let Angel live? My Watcher was layin’ on the floor bleeding and tellin’ me to kill him and get the glove, Xander was tellin me to kill him and get the glove, and most importantly, my gut was tellin’ me to kill him and get the glove.

So we fought. Hard.

Neither of us realized that Mrs. Post was up and back in action ‘til we saw the glove on her hand and she was tryin’ to zap us. And just like that, we were back to fightin’ side by side.

So, to make a long story short, Mrs. Post was an evil insane bitch and we took her out of the game fast and hard. I didn’t wanna stick around to see B go and coddle her vampire after all was said and done, so I high-tailed it outta there without sayin’ anything to anyone.

I was fumin’ on the way back to the motel. I felt mad and betrayed, but most of all, I felt alone. I coulda been mad that she was kissin’ the guy, but that wasn’t it. I think I was madder at the fact that after several nights of sharin’ the slayer bond and getting’ close, she still chose to defend Angel and kick my ass in the process; she didn’t even take a sec to look at it from my point of view.

I mean, I knew that B didn’t owe me shit. I helped her out through a few rough nights, but so what? I didn’t do that to score points with her; I did it because I wanted to be her friend. It was that very thought that made me forget my anger and decide to just let the whole thing go.

I was tryin’ to be her friend.

So fast-forward again to the next day.

I’m sittin’ in my motel lettin’ the Slayer-healing take its course. I woulda ventured out to get somethin’ to eat or drink, but I looked like a big bruised freak.

Now, I don’t wanna sound like a baby or nothin . . . but B hits like a fuckin’ tank. The left side of my face was all swollen and bruised, a small memento of her killer right hook. She definitely has a lot of power for bein’ such a small girl.

Anyways, I’m sittin’ on my bed watchin’ TV and just relaxin’ when there was a knock on my door. I knew exactly who it was cuz I felt the slow tingle coursin’ through my body. After a minute, I yelled for her to come in.

She slowly walked in and closed the door behind her before walkin’ up and standin’ at the edge of my bed. I didn’t wanna look at her, so I kept my eyes focused on the TV. She was waitin’ for me to look at her, but after a minute passed and I still hadn’t addressed her, she decided to start.

“Faith . . . I’m sorry.” She said so quietly that I could hardly make out the words.

“Uh-huh.” I answered as I continued to stare at the TV, a bitter chuckle escaping from my throat. I didn’t mean for it to come out. I really wasn’t plannin’ on being mean or anything, but I suddenly felt all ‘woman scorned’.

She sat down on the bed and turned so that she could continue to look at me.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I really am.”

I laughed again, finally facing her. She looked so defeated and tired. I felt bad for her, but I just couldn’t let it go because she looked all sad and mopey. Yeah, I’ve got a soft spot for the girl, but that doesn’t mean that I’m gonna let it slide when she kicks my ass defendin’ her vampire.

“Okay, B. You’re sorry. Now tell me why you’re sorry.” I said bitterly as I folded my arms cross my chest and sat back against the headboard. I figured that if she got it right, I’d let the whole thing go.

She scooted closer so that she was sittin’ right next to me, only an arms length away. She paused for a moment, then spoke. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you that Angel found the glove and that he wasn’t planning on using it. I’m sorry that I didn’t see things from your point of view . . .”

Damn. She pretty much hit the nail right on the head there, but she kept right on going.

“. . .I’m sorry that I did that to your face . . .” she raised her arm up and gently touched the injured side of my face but I flinched at the contact and pulled away, furrowing my eyebrows at her. She pulled her hand away, looking a little dejected. “. . . and I’m really sorry that you don’t wanna be my friend anymore.”

She stood up from the bed and turned to face the window, looking like she was about to cry again. It melted the hard exterior that I had put up. I hated the fact that it was me who made her sad this time. It was my self-proclaimed job to make her feel better when she was hurtin’, not add to her misery.

So I scooted to the edge of the bed behind her and grabbed her hand, hopin’ to stop the waterworks before they started up.

“B . . . I never said I don’t wanna be your friend anymore. It’s just . . . I’m not real good with trustin’ people, ever since I was a little kid. Mrs. Post just added to the craziness of the whole sitch. I was a little pissed before, but I’ll get over it. In fact, I already am over it. So . . . please don’t be upset cuz of me, ‘kay?”

Something in my head was yellin’ at me, screamin ‘what the fuck is wrong with you, Faith? This sappy friendly shit isn’t for you! You’re an action kinda girl, remember?’

But I wasn’t tryin’ to listen to that voice. I was more focused on the slight pang in my heart when she gave me that little smile and squeezed my hand just a little harder.

“So we’re okay then?” She asked me with a small smile.

I squeezed her hand back and shot her my best dimpled smile. “Yeah, B. We’re five by five.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” She beamed, walkin’ towards the door and steppin’ outside.

“Uhh, B? Whatcha doin’?” I asked, stretchin’ slightly from my position on the bed so I could peek out.

“Sucking up.” Buffy yelled from outside before she walked back in the room with her arms full. “Figured that if talking wouldn’t convince you that I was sorry, I’d try and buy your forgiveness with goodies and entertainment.”

I looked at her arms and noticed a pizza box, a bag of cherry Twizzlers, the biggest bags of Skittles and Combos that I’ve ever seen, along with a bag of videos dangling from her left forearm and grocery bag dangling off of her right one.

I laughed. “I hate to say it B, but we coulda saved that whole little discussion if you woulda walked in with these in the first place.” I stood up to help her unload her arms, grabbin’ the pizza box and the stuff on top of it.

No sooner than I had put the box down on the bed did I feel her arms around me in yet another hug.

“Whoa, B,” I said with my arms in the air, “what’s goin’ on girlfriend? I already told ya that we’re five by five.”

“I know . . . I guess I was just afraid since yesterday that we wouldn’t be able to do this anymore. Just wanted to make sure that it was real.” She said, her arms still tight around me. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her in return.

“Nahh, I won’t take this away from ya, B. Not as long as I know it makes ya feel a little better. I’ll be here for ya ‘til my luck runs out or ‘til ya find somethin’ better.”

Yep, I really said that. Don’t really know where it came from, but I think it made both of us tense up just a little. After a minute or so of silence, she finally spoke again.

“The pizza’s getting cold. Maybe we should eat now.”

“We? You’re gonna stay and eat with me?” I asked, half expectin’ her to run off to her vampire right away.

“Yep. We’re gonna gorge on comfort food and 80’s Brat Pack movies, and I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer.” She said with a pouty little smile. I think she was expectin’ me to toss her out, but I had no intentions of doin’ that.

“Sounds good to me, B. Now let’s dig into this food before you wuss out, Skinny.”

She playfully smacked me in the arm before settlin’ down on the bed next to me. She reached over the side of the bed and pulled up the grocery bag which held a whole shitload of different kinds of drinks.

“Aww, B, YooHoo!” I beamed as she tossed me a cold bottle of the chocolate drink that I loved so much.

“Only the best for my Faith.” She joked.

But that just got me thinkin’. Her Faith? Since when? How come nobody told me I was her Faith?

Not that I minded or anything. But still . . . a girl likes to know these kinda things.

Anyhow, an hour later, we had devoured the entire pizza and the whole bag of cherry Twizzlers. We were both laying back against the headboard of the bed, the bag of Combos resting on my stomach and the bag of Skittles on B’s.

“I feel like such a cow.” B groaned as she tossed a few more red skittles in her mouth. She would only eat the red skittles, so the rest were discarded into an empty paper bowl for me.

It was kinda cute . . . the dye from the Skittles had kinda stained B’s lips, makin’ them look redder and cuter than ever.

“Aww, you’re not a cow, B. You’re fuckin adorable right now, especially with that little red ring around your mouth.” I said playfully before I tossed a few Combos in my mouth, chewing loudly.

Before I could defend myself, I felt my body being pelted with the Skittles from the paper bowl.

“I’ll give you ‘adorable’!” She said as she fired Skittle after Skittle at me, laughin’ as she watched me try to defend myself.

“C’mon, B! Stop!” I said through giggles as I raised up my pillow to block the barrage of candied goodness.

That’s right, I giggled. I know, I know . . . what the hell was wrong with me?

Somehow, she managed to pin me against the mattress, one arm keeping my hands down while the other tickled my sides. Ticklin’ was worse than the skittle attack. I’m hella ticklish, and I always buckle under tickle-pressure.

She musta sensed that she had the upper hand, cuz she was suddenly leanin’ over me and makin’ demands.

“I’m not ‘adorable’ Faith, I’m bad-ass. Just cuz I’m little doesn’t mean I’m adorable.”

I scoffed, and she tickled me even harder. I began beggin’ her to stop.

“I’ll stop, but only if you say ‘Buffy is bad-ass and she can kick my ass any day of the week’.”

I laughed.

“Yeah, B. You’re about as bad-ass as Tinkerbell.”

She tickled me even harder and I felt like I was gonna pee in my leathers.

“Say ittttttt!”

I finally had enough. “Alright, alright! ‘Buffy is bad-ass and she can kick my ass any day of the week!’ Now get off me, cow!” I said playfully.

She finally stopped ticklin’ me, but she didn’t move from my body. Instead, she threw a pillow to me so that I could prop it under my head, and she lay down on her back so that her head was restin’ on my stomach.

“Now that that’s over with . . . what do you wanna watch?” She asked casually, actin’ as if her position was no big deal.

“Umm . . . I don’t care B. You pick.” I said and I tossed her the remote.

And that’s how we spent the rest of the night before we went out for patrol: sprawled out on my bed watchin’ infomercials, sheets and blankets tossed carelessly around us as we lay in a pool of Skittles and Combos. She kept her head on my stomach the whole time and I couldn’t help but play with her hair as it draped across my abdomen.

We laughed and talked a little, but mostly we just sat there in a comfortable silence, lettin’ the Slayer bond do all of the healin’ that we couldn’t work out verbally.

And just like that, we had gone from awkward the night before to bein’ totally comfortable around each other again. I tried to ignore the little pang I felt in my chest every time she smiled at me, cuz I knew that those kinds feelings weren’t good for either of us at that point in time.

Not between two friends.

Still, the more time I spent with B, the more I felt it and it made me kinda scared.

Scared, not because I felt it . . . but because I didn’t know how long I’d be able to keep things up without actin’ on my feelings or gettin’ myself hurt in the process.