CHAPTER 44: White trash just wanna have fun

“This party is a mistake! I can’t go!” Willow exclaimed, wild eyed and holding on to the door handle of the car for dear life.

“What? Willow! What happened to brave, self-confident Willow who only a few hours ago was telling me how fun this party was going to be? I told Darla I was bringing a friend and she seemed so--well--eager to meet you… I think. Hard to tell with her.” Buffy said, frowning slightly. “Come on, you can‘t not come!”

“It was the fumes from the hair dye, that’s what it was. I wasn’t all there. I lost my mind for a minute. I didn’t know what I was saying.” She said without stopping to take a breath. Then: “Don’t look at me like that, missy. You can’t make me!”

“I wouldn’t make you do anything, Willow. You know that. If you changed your mind and don’t want to go, that’s fine.”

“But… You have that sad, disappointed look on your face. I can’t resist that look, you know that. I’ll feel guilty.”

Buffy gripped the steering wheel and looked straight ahead. They were parked in front of Angel’s house. About six or seven other cars were parked near the house, three of which hadn’t even bothered finding a parking spot, they’d just left their car on the front lawn. Rock music was blaring inside the house, effectively shattering the peacefulness of the night. People could be heard laughing and screaming inside, and it didn’t make neither of the two women want to leave the sanctuary that was Buffy’s car to go in there.

“Willow, do me a favor and forget about me and how I feel. You didn’t come here for me. You came here because you wanted to do something to help Spike.” Buffy said, choosing her words carefully. “If you changed your mind, if you don’t think it’s worth it, it’s your choice. I won’t force you and I won’t judge you. I’ll give you my car key; you can go back to my place and wait for me with Dawn. But I’m going in.”

Willow gave Buffy a half smile. “Cause you looove him.”

“Cause he doesn’t deserve to be in prison.” Buffy corrected stubbornly.

“Whatever you tell yourself to sleep at night.”

The red head sighed heavily, her eyes trained on the brightly lit house on the other side of the street. Determination replaced fear in her eyes. “As if I would let you go in there alone. I’m here for support and support I will provide. That’s what friends are for, right?”

Buffy smiled at Willow, relief obvious on her face. “Thanks, Will. I’m scared shitless too.”

“And you’re right; we’re doing this to save an innocent man from spending the rest of his life in jail. It’s for a good cause, right?”

Buffy nodded her head, trying to look more confident than she was. “Right.”

Of course she wanted to help Spike, but she still couldn’t stop her hands from shaking.

“Besides,” Willow continued, trying to convince herself, “if they never find our bodies, Dawn knows where we are. She can tell the cops.”

Buffy‘s jaw dropped. “Willow! Don’t say that!”

“Sorry.” The red head blushed, but grinned nonetheless, pleased with herself at making her friend squirm.

The blonde took a deep breath and unfastened her seatbelt. “Alright. Let’s go before we both change our minds again.”

They got out of the car and Buffy activated her alarm system, worried that they’d come out of the party to find her car gone. Not exactly the best neighborhood to leave such a pretty little car all by itself.

“Microphone? Check.” Willow said, placing a hand on her chest where the device Wesley had given them earlier was hidden beneath her white thank top. She then took her little purse and hugged it to herself. “Pepper spray? Check. I’m good to go.”

Buffy smiled and linked her arm with Willow. “Let’s go. And don’t worry; I’ll protect you with my life. I know tae kwon do.”

“Is this supposed to sound comforting?”

“Yep. I might be short, but I’m vicious. I’m like a mini pit bull. I bite and I don’t let go.”

This got a chuckle out of the very nervous Willow. They got to the front door, which was ajar. The two women looked at each other, then Buffy shrugged.

“Guess that means ‘come in’ then.”

She pushed the door open and as soon as they stepped inside, their senses were assaulted by a combination of smells and sounds they would have rather lived without. The cloud of marijuana smoke was so dense that just breathing made them feel dizzy.

Buffy got worried about the baby’s health when she saw just how bad this little get together really was. The logical part of her brain was telling her that some people drink and smoke during their entire pregnancy without repercussions on the baby and that one night of being exposed to all this wasn’t gonna hurt the little one. But mama bear was worried. To stop herself from turning on her heel and leaving this place right away, she had to tell herself that if the baby had a say in this, it probably would want her to help its dad. So she stayed.

It wasn’t a big house, but it looked more spacious from the inside than it did from the outside. The front door opened on the living room. On the other side of the living room was a hallway with doors on either side of it--probably bedrooms and bathroom--and led to the kitchen at the back of the house. Everything looked like it had been decorated thirty years ago. Wall paper with orange and green patterns, brown shaggy carpet that had obviously seen better days, and faded paintings on the walls. The brownish green velvet of the couch and armchairs, where people were currently slouching, was torn and yellow stuffing was sticking out of the holes.

A low rumbling made Buffy turn her head sharply to the right. A Rottweiller was lying on a dirty ‘weclome‘ mat, his huge head resting on his paws. His constant growling was a clear indication the dog was not happy about the party.

"Shark! Shut the hell up!" A tiny voice yelled.

A child who couldn't be more than four years old kicked the dog with his little foot. The growl only intensified. The boy was skinny and wore old pajamas that had holes on the knees. His mousy brown hair was falling in front of his eyes in greasy strands. He turned his head to look at the two new comers with sharp brown eyes; eyes that Buffy could only describe as utterly evil.

"Who're you? You pissing Shark off. You know if I tell him, he can bite your arm right off? That'd be fun."

Buffy glanced briefly at her friend only to see that Willow had turned several shades paler.

"Angel! Your brat is bothering the two hot chicks that just walked in!" Some guy yelled while leering at Buffy and Willow.

Buffy took her bewildered eyes off the child just in time to see Angel himself walking towards them nonchalantly, a beer bottle dangling from his hand. He smirked at the two women and lowered his tall frame to pick his son up.

"Shut the hell up, Travis. You call my son a brat one more time and you and I are gonna have a go," he told the guy, his voice threatening.

"Teach him some manners dude, and I'll stop calling him a brat." Travis snickered.

Angel whispered something in his son's ear and put it down. The kid ran across the room to where Travis was talking to a young woman, and latched onto the man's leg.

"Argh! He bit me! Son of a BITCH!"

Angel laughed out loud, obviously proud of his offspring. He finally gave Buffy his attention. "So, you've met Connor. Isn't he adorable or what?"

Buffy forced a smile on her face. "The cutest." She turned to Willow, ready to introduce her, but Angel had already noticed the petite red head.

"And who do we have here?" He asked, looking her up and down and giving her a suggestive smile.

"This is my childhood friend, Lilian. She's visiting from out of town." Buffy lied, not wanting Angel or Darla to know too much about Willow. They had already decided to use Willow's middle name; it was easier to remember. "Lili. Cute name." Angel commented, but it was obvious that he couldn't have cared less about her name.

"Anne!" Darla's shrill voice could be heard over the loud music. Everybody looked in Darla's direction for a moment before going back to what they were doing.

Darla walked up to Buffy and gave her a quick hug. The display of affection was so fake it was painful to see. Buffy had a hard time stopping herself from rolling her eyes. She gave Willow a look over Darla's shoulder before the other blonde let go of her. "I'm so glad you came! This is gonna be such fun. You have to meet my cousin Riley. And my son, Connor."

"I already met Connor." Buffy hurriedly interrupted, already terrified of the little brat. That evil little thing might have rabies or something, and he bit.

"Oh, and is this your friend you were talking about?" Darla asked, switching quickly from one thing to another. Buffy suspected she might be high on something. "Isn't she sweet. Oh, Riley loves red heads. He'll just die when he sees you, honey."

"He loves red heads if they have dicks, sweetheart." Angel commented, chuckling at his own joke.

Darla turned around and punched his arm. Hard. "Shut the fuck up. I'm talking."

She smiled at Willow as if nothing had happened. "What's your name again? Anne told me on the phone, but I'm no good with names."

Willow opened her mouth, but it took a moment before she finally manage to get the words out. "I... My name's Lilian."

Darla smiled uninterestedly. "Cute. You girls ready to party?"

Buffy smirked, slowly getting back into character. "Always."

Angel had already lost interest and left to talk to other people, but not without a parting wink to Buffy, and lecherous grin to Willow.

Darla put herself between Buffy and Willow, hooking her arms with theirs and leading them to the kitchen. "God, my husband is such a dirty pig. He's lucky I love him because sometimes, I could just kill him." She chuckled happily, as if she'd told the joke of the century.

Buffy tried to hide the shiver that ran through her at the callous comment. Willow gave her a worried look from the corner of her eye. Darla didn't notice the two women’s discomfort. She led them to the kitchen table, telling the three girls already sitting there to get the hell out. Then she went to the counter where an assortment of liqueur bottles was on display. She picked up the bottle of Tequila and poured it into a couple of shot glasses, then put them down in front of Buffy and Willow. She put a lemon on the table and, with what looked like a professional butcher knife, she slashed the fruit into quarters.

Willow laughed uneasily at the violent display coming from a potential murder accomplice. "Geez, what did the poor lemon ever do to you?"

"What can I say," Darla said with a sly grin. "A girl's gotta pass her aggression somewhere. Better the lemon than you, no?"

"Uh... Yeah. Definitely."

Buffy was shifting uncomfortably on her chair, realizing she wouldn't be able to get out of this one. Her idea had been to drink beer. That way she could go to the bathroom, empty it in the toilet and fill the bottle up with water. But she had no excuse to get out of this shot of Tequila.

"I'm not really a fan of Tequila..." She attempted lamely.

"Come on, Anne. Who doesn't love Tequila? And it's just a shot. It will be swallowed before you know it."

She gave Buffy the salt shaker and waited for her to do the shot. Buffy licked her hand, sprinkled some salt on her wet skin, then took a deep breath and did it. She swallowed the bitter alcohol and bit into the lemon wedge.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Darla and Willow did the same, then, Darla reached for the bottle again.

Buffy stopped her. "I'm still hung over from last night, I think I'll stick to beer if you don't mind. You know what it's like... Besides, Lilian and I had a few before coming here. I wouldn't want to pass out on your couch after being here for like half an hour."

The other blonde woman laughed. "Alright. But we'll do more shots later, OK?"

"Sure."

Darla motioned to the fridge. "Help yourself. The beer's in the fridge." Then she poured Willow another shot. "You're up for it, right?"

Willow nodded. "Damn straight I am." She said, the Tequila already loosening her up.

They did another shot while Buffy went to grab a Budweiser out of the fridge. She took a couple of sips for show, leaning her back casually against the counter. A tall man walked into the kitchen. His sandy blonde hair was in disarray; he was wearing a jeans shirt over a white t-shirt and blue jeans that were a little bit too short for him. He grinned goofily at Buffy, his eyes lightening up with interest. "Hi!"

She smiled politely. "Hey."

"Anne, Lili, this is Riley."

Darla stood up and put her arm around her cousin's shoulders. "He looks innocent, but don't let it fool you--he's a little pervert. Aren't you, Riley?"

Riley blushed and Buffy couldn't help thinking that he looked like an idiot. "Stop it, Dar. I am not. I'm a good guy."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

He sat awkwardly next to Willow and Buffy was relieved that he seemed more interested in engaging in conversation with her friend than with her. She felt selfish for thinking that way because it meant Willow was the one stuck with the cousin, but she really wasn't in the mood. She pushed away from the counter she'd been leaning against.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, then we need to do something about this music, Dar. Crank it up or something, get this party started."

"I'm right there with you, hon. Angel's been taking care of the music. He doesn't exactly have the best taste. The man is hopeless."

"Like most men." Buffy added, laughing.

She went to the bathroom, hurriedly closing the door and locking it when she saw little Connor coming her way. She leaned against the door and closed her eyes for a moment. They hadn't been there for more than half an hour and already the night seemed endless.

She quickly emptied the beer bottle and filled it up with water. At least, that was one less thing to worry about. Although, to be fair, alcohol was the least of her worries as far as threats were concerned. There were still psycho murderers, a brat with sharp teeth and a dog that could bite her arm off. Not to mention most of the trailer park trashe living on the street had shown up to this stupid party. The place was packed. And none of these people were people Buffy would voluntarily hang out with. She had to remind herself this was for Spike's sake. She could endure a few hours of torture for him, couldn't she?

She washed her hands, looked at the hand towel, then changed her mind and wiped her hands on her jeans. She wouldn’t touch that thing if her life depended on it. It looked like Angel might have jacked off and wiped his hands on it. She shivered in disgust.

Buffy walked out of the bathroom and went back to the kitchen to check on Willow. She was in the middle of a conversation with Riley. Buffy gave her a questioning look, trying to find out if she was OK in there by herself. Willow nodded discretely and Buffy went to the living room where the party was raging. People were talking loudly, laughing, some of them were sitting at a fold out table in a corner playing poker or some other card game. Darla was sitting on the floor with Angel. She was bending over the coffee table. She looked up from what she was doing and smiled at Buffy.

"Want some?"

Buffy looked at the coffee table. In front of Darla were a few lines of white powder. Coke. Buffy swallowed hard. Thinking fast, she smirked.

"No thanks. What do you think I was doing in the bathroom for so long? Already had enough. Gotta pace myself ya know."

Darla and Angel laughed.

"No need to hide to do that kind of shit in here, sweetheart.” Angel said with a wink. “We're very open minded people... As you can see."

Buffy grinned. "I wasn't sure if you guys were down with this. But obviously, you are. Now I know."

Buffy walked up to the stereo system and looked at the CDs. She picked one, Nine Inch Nails, and put it on, cranking up the volume.

Bow down before the one you serve
You're going to get what you deserve...

She went to take Darla's hand and helped her to her feet, then led her to the side of the living room. The two women started dancing; a repeat performance of their night at The Fish Tank.

Soon, other people joined them, staying at a respectful distance from the two hot blondes. All eyes were on them, men drooling and women looking envious.

After an hour of dancing, joking around with Darla and drinking her beer/water, Buffy decided to go check on Willow.

She walked into the kitchen, only to find that the only person in there was Angel. The guy was already drunk and could barely stand. Buffy frowned.

"Angel? Where's Wi... Lilian? Did you see her?"

"Who now?" He asked stupidly.

"My friend, Angel. Where is she. She was in here with Riley earlier. You know... The short red head? Did you see her?"

"Oh, her. Yeah, I saw her."

Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes. "Angel, focus. Where is Lili?"

"She went out the back door with Darla's dumb cousin a little while ago. She looked pretty fucked if you ask me. I mean, you HAVE to be to leave with Riley."

Buffy paled. "Why? Is he OK? Is she safe with him?"

"Geez Anne, you have to stop worrying so much. Riley's a creep, but your friend can take care of herself. A swift kick in the balls if he gets too frisky and he‘ll back off."

"No, Angel. No. She really can't. She's not like us." She motioned between Angel and herself to illustrate what she meant. "Lilian's a good girl. She's not that tough. Is she safe with Riley, yes or no?"

Angel seemed to sober up. He frowned, his bushy eyebrows drawing together. "Uh... probably not."

"Fuck."

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CHAPTER 45: Blissful oblivion

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