My Life is Different Ch. 07

"She claimed she was on a mission," I added.

"What mission?"

"She says she has to rescue some guy named Hypnos."

"Hypnos is the name of a Greek god," Sam offered, "Do you think Faith went to Greece?"

Buffy, Xander and I all shrugged. Giles seemed to consider the question and then replied, "She might have gone anywhere."

Then; almost as if on cue; Giles's phone rang.

"It may take months, but we'll just have to be patient and wait until a clue turns up as to her whereabouts," Giles added as he held the receiver in his hand, then he said, "Hello," to the person at the other end of the line.

I was standing close enough that I could see Giles's facial expression change. Even before he said anything I could sort of sense what was going to happen.

"It's Faith," Giles said, sounding somewhat put out, and handing the receiver to me, "She would like to speak with you."

Giles had a very vexed look on his face, as if Faith had just made him the butt of some sort of well-timed joke and I struggled not to smirk.

I held the receiver up to my face and said, "Hello."

"Hey, Red," said Faith's familiar voice, "I ran into a snag, and I kinda need your help."

"My help?" I asked, "What can I do?"

As I spoke, Buffy stood very near and silently mouthed the words, "Where is she?"

I was able to decipher what Buffy was trying to say, but held off on asking Faith for her current location, and instead listened. Sometimes people are more forthcoming if you just stay quiet and let them talk.

"I need some witch mojo," Faith explained, "You're still a witch, right?"

"Sure," I said, "You need some kind of spell?"

Faith made some sort of noise of agreement and elaborated, "Hypnos is locked up in some big-ass house on Franklin Boulevard. I tried to bust in the front door, but there's some sort of mystic barrier surrounding the entire house. I was thinking maybe you could come out here and say some magic words, zap the house with a magic wand, give it the evil eye or whatever...make the mystic barrier go away. You can do that kinda stuff, right?"

Buffy was now getting frantic. She grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and wrote down the message, "WHERE IS SHE?" and shoved it in my face.

I ignored the pad and asked, "Is this a Norse Runic barrier, a Druidic barrier of protection, a witch's gate of uninviting, a Buddhist refuge spell or is it one of the shamanic sort of magic barriers?"

There was a long pause. Buffy gave me a frantic, impatient look as if I were committing some sort of felony by not asking Faith immediately for her current location, and I held up a hand with my palm out towards Buffy as if to signal her to be patient.

And finally Faith said, "Red, you remember who this is, right? This is Faith. When you say things like Druidic or shamanic, it sounds like your speaking in some sort of foreign language. I don't know shit about all this magical mystery tour stuff. That's your gig."

"Sorry," I said.

"All I know is, the barrier's about three inches thick and it seems to surround the entire house, the front door, the back door, the windows, everywhere that a slayer might try to sneak in."

I absorbed the information Faith was telling me, but it wasn't very helpful. What she was describing could be almost any sort of mystic barrier, and the less I knew about the barrier, the worse my chances were of knowing how to dispel it.

"Look, just get down here," Faith final said, "You take a look at it and figure out what kind of barrier it is."

"Um, and where exactly is there?" I asked.

"Cleveland," Faith replied, "Call me when you're at the airport. I'll pick you up. I've got a rental car."

"Wait! Call you? How am I supposed to do that? You never gave me a phone number!"

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. You can reach me at xxx-xxx-xxxx. You got that?"

I took the pen and pad of paper from Buffy and wrote down the phone number. I repeated it back to Faith just to make sure I got it right. It would have really sucked to fly all the way out to Cleveland and then realize I couldn't contact Faith because I wrote down her phone number wrong.

"Okay, got it," I told Faith when I was sure I had wrote it down correctly.

"Yeah, that's the phone number for the front desk. When you call just have 'em transfer you to room number 113. I'm registered under the name Lauren Stenroos."

"Lauren what?"

"Stenroos," Faith replied, "That's spelled S-t-e-n-r-o-o-s. That's the alias I've been going by since I left Sunnydale. Hypnos told me where I could get a driver's license and two credit cards under that name. The credit cards are pretty cool. When I woke up from my long-assed nap, I didn't have any money, so it was really nice of him to come up with a way for me to pay for stuff."

"Seriously?" I asked, "He was able to do that, even though he's a prisoner?"

"He's got skills, Red. He was able to talk to me for months while I was in a coma. He can do all kinds a stuff. And if I bust him loose, he'll be able to do even more. So, you gonna get your ass down here and help me got Hypnos out of his fix?"

"I'm on my way," I said.

"Thanks, Red. I owe you one."

I hung up the phone and Buffy looked at me like she was about to have a cow. Her eyes were wide, her face was turning red and her mouth was wide open as if she was about to start shouting at me.

"She's in Cleveland," I said.

Buffy visibly relaxed at that revelation and then I added, "She wants me to come up there and do a spell. There's some sort of mystic barrier that's stopping her from completing her mission. She wants me to undo the barrier spell, so that she can break into the place where that Hypnos guy is being held."

"Well, you're not going alone," Buffy insisted, "I'm coming with you."

"Wait. If Faith is asking you for help, does that mean you guys are friends again?" Sam asked.

Both Buffy and I shrugged our shoulders, and then I added, "Probably."

"So, she's probably your friend and you're dropping everything and traveling to Cleveland to help her out."

"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds kinda weird."

"If she's still our friend, we're obligated to help her," Giles explained, "And if she's not our friend, then she's probably gone back to committing acts of evil. If that's the case, we're obligated to stop her."

"Either way, somebody needs to go to Cleveland and see what Faith is up to," Buffy added.

* * * * * * * * * *

Bringing down a mystic barrier without knowing what sort of barrier it was, was going to be a problem. So, I decided to go to the Magic Box and see if they had anything that could help me out.

Ever since the Magic Box's previous proprietor had been murdered, the place was run by Jennifer Dark, and her brother Nathan.

"Jennifer," I said cheerfully, when I saw the slender, dark-haired woman behind the counter. She always had a smile for me, which actually earned her a lot of points in my book. Far too many of the people I'd met in Sunnydale were arrogant and dismissive and treated me like I wasn't worth acknowledging.

"Willow," Jennifer said, flashing me a cheerful smile, "Good morning!"

"How's tricks?" I asked her. It was sort of my standard amusing line whenever I greeted her or Nathan.

"I wave my magic wand," Jennifer said, "And customers appear."

Nathan and Jennifer were usually more creative than I was and had come up with a number of responses to my question. Jennifer's response this morning was new and different, and kind of clever. I liked it.

"I need your help with a project," I confided to Jennifer.

"What's up?" she asked, leaning forward and making serious eye-contact. Jennifer was an excellent listener. Weeks from now she would remember every word I said to her. It was almost spooky how good she was at listening to people and memorizing what they said.

"I have a friend up in Ohio," I began. "Her younger sister is dating a new guy, and my friend has never really been sure if he was trustworthy or not. And just this morning, she discovered that he has some sort of mystic barrier on his basement door. She's really paranoid about what he's hiding down there, and she asked if I could come out to Ohio and take down the barrier, so she can see what he hides down there."

The little white lies were necessary in my opinion. If I told Jennifer the truth, she'd end up worrying about me. She'd insist that it was too dangerous, and then she'd do everything in her power to keep me from going to Ohio...not that my life in Sunnydale is exactly safe.

"You think it might be a drug lab?" Jennifer asked, raising one eyebrow. She was a firm believer in the maxim that you should never mix drugs with magic. Magic was tricky enough when you were focused. Using magic while under the influence of crystal meth or cocaine or some of the other street drugs, could ruin your concentration and make spells go really wrong.

"You never know," I said, gesturing widely with my hands and increasing the emotional intensity of my voice, "He has a lot of money, but he doesn't seem to have a job! That's one of the reasons that my friend doesn't think he's trustworthy!"

"Hmmmmm," Jennifer said, biting her lower lips and taking time to think, "I don't normally advise snooping around in other people's homes, but in this case, it sounds warranted. Can I assume the barrier is a witch's gate of uninviting?"

"That's the thing," I said passionately, "My friend isn't a witch! She doesn't really know anything about magic, so she has no idea what sort of barrier it is!"

"Oh, wow. Getting prepared to bring down that barrier won't be easy," Jennifer said, "Not if you don't know what sort of barrier it is."

I looked at Jennifer hopefully, and with wide eyes. In addition to being a good listener, she was also a good problem-solver. When it came to mystical dilemmas, she was usually quite adept at devising solutions.

She went silent for a while and her eyes sort of went all distant as she mulled over the problem. I waited patiently for about three or four minutes, while Jennifer thought it over. Jennifer's problem-solving process works best when you allow her to think in silence and don't interrupt her. Any talking would only work as a distraction, and would make it take far longer for Jennifer to come up with a solution.

The silence seemed to have a weight of its own the longer and longer I waited, however I knew better than to interrupt Jennifer. She had a brilliant mind, but you had to allow her to arrive at her conclusions on her own. You couldn't try to rush her, encourage her or cheer her on. That approach would only slow things down.

Suddenly, Jennifer stood bolt-upright, broke the silence and said, "I've got it!"

"Wait here," Jennifer ordered, and then she ran into the back of the store. She didn't tell me what her idea was, but she seemed so confident and enthusiastic, I was pretty sure her idea was a good one.

Several customers came in and started browsing while I was waiting. Nathan Dark showed up out of nowhere and started asking people if he could help them. Nathan was like that. One second he would be nowhere in sight. The next second he was standing right next to you. I've often suspected that Nathan had mastered some sort of invisibility spell and that he used it to spy on his customers and make certain they weren't shoplifting.

"The solution is right here," Jennifer finally announced, as she came out of the back with a small item in her right hand.

She reached across the counter and handed it to me. It looked like an antique level lock key.

"A key?" I asked, but even before the words were out of my mouth, I could feel the hum of magical energies emanated from the item in my hand. It was like the vibrations of dozens of guitar strings, all concentrated into this one tiny item, powerful energy concentrated into a very small place.

"It's called the apertor ex foribus," Jennifer explained. "We got it in an estate sale, after a wizard died up in Portland. It's a talisman that can be used to open a way that is closed. It should be able to help you take down any mystic barrier."

The item in my hand appeared to be made of iron. It was rare for something made of iron to be enchanted, but I couldn't deny the fact that this iron key felt almost like a living thing, its magic was so strong.

"How much?" I asked, and the vibrations of power from the key changed ever so slightly. The vibrations radiating from the key intensified and a surge of power traveled from my hand and through my arm. Just holding the apertor ex foribus made me feel stronger and more confident. I was really liking this feeling.

"Those things are pretty rare," Nathan said, suddenly standing right next to me, "It could be years before we get another one in stock."

"One-hundred and twenty dollars," Jennifer said.

For a college student; with no official source of income; one-hundred and twenty dollars is a lot of money. I flinched slightly when Jennifer told me the price, however I really, really wanted this thing. Anyway I could make some money tutoring other students on campus and fixing their computer problems when they downloaded a virus, or couldn't get their printer to print.

I counted out six, twenty dollar bills to Jennifer and she wrote me out a receipt. The hum of mystical energies seemed to intensify and become even more pleasurable after I became the key's official owner. It was almost as if the apertor ex foribus was alive and it wanted me to take it home.

* * * * * * * * *

I was walking home from the Magic Shop, when I ran into Buffy's mother. I had known Buffy's mother for years and she and I had always been friendly, however I had kinda begun to avoid her after Buffy and I had become lovers.

Maybe it was irrational for me to do that, but somehow making small-talk with Joyce seemed weird when I knew that I'd be going home and having sex with her teenage daughter later. It wasn't like I was doing anything wrong, but looking Buffy's mother in the eye and trying to act all innocent didn't really seem like an option when I knew what Buffy looked like naked and I knew how Buffy's sexual juices tasted on tongue.

"Willow," she said enthusiastically and gave me a motherly sort of hug. She made small-talk, asked me about college, asked me if I had everything I needed for my place off campus and next thing I knew, she was offering me a ride home.

I couldn't think of a logical reason to turn her down, so I let her walk me to her SUV, she loaded her groceries into the back and I put my seat belt on, while I waited for Joyce.

While Joyce was driving, she had to keep her eyes on the road, and that made me feel less nervous. The less eye-contact Joyce and I made, the less guilty I would feel.

Then, when I had finally gotten to a point where I felt relaxed, Joyce slowed down, stopped at a red light and said, "By the way, Willow, I actually do know that you're having sex with my daughter."

"Oh, dear God," I exclaimed and thought about getting out of the SUV and running away, "Buffy actually told you?"

Joyce's mouth stretched out into a thing smile and she said, "Not exactly."

There were a few seconds of very uncomfortable silence and I touched the release button on my seatbelt. The light was still red and if I was going to run, it might be a good idea to do it while the vehicle wasn't moving.

Finally Joyce broke the silence by saying, "The past few months every time I talk with Buffy, she can't have a conversation without mentioning your name. She knows your birthday, she knows your class schedule, she knows the names of all of your teachers, she knows the grade you got on your last psychology quiz, she knows your waist size, she knows your inseam, she knows your favorite movies, your favorite authors and she knows your favorite kind of coffee from the Espresso Pump."

I gave Joyce a nervous sideways glance and said, "Well, we live together now. You can learn a lot about a person when you share the same living quarters."

"M-hmm," Joyce said skeptically, "You also live with a girl named Terri. Buffy has mentioned her name only twice in the past two months, and she has no idea what Terri's class schedule is."

"Well," I began and tried to think of something to say that would poke holes in Joyce's hypothesis.

"Willow," Joyce said in a friendly, comforting voice and she gave me another of those sidelong glances, "I don't have any problem with you having sex with my daughter.

"You don't?" I blurted out, and then I let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"You're a very nice girl, Willow," Joyce said, focusing her eyes on the road again, "I've always liked you. And now that Buffy is that age, she could certainly have chosen somebody far worse than you to have sex with."

I let out another sigh of relief and took my thumb off of the release button on the seatbelt.

"The only problem I have," Joyce added, "Is that I know you used to date boys. I remember you and that boy Oz were involved for over a year."

I wasn't sure where she was going with this, but I started feeling nervous again.

"Willow, my daughter is utterly obsessed with you. She worships the ground you walk on. And if you don't feel the same way-if God forbid, you're viewing this as some sort of college experiment thing-and you break up with Buffy so that you can go back to Oz or some other boy-Buffy would be devastated."

"No, I wouldn't do that," I protested, "I love your daughter! I feel just as strongly about her, as she does about me! I'm totally devoted to her! I'm not going to dump her as soon as college is over and go back to dating boys! Buffy is everything to me!"

Joyce parked the SUV in front of my home and killed the engine. She gave me a very serious look and said, "I really hope that's true, Willow. Buffy may be a slayer, with supernatural strength and reflexes, but she's got a heart that's just as soft and vulnerable as the heart of any other nineteen-year old girl."

"Joyce," I insisted, "I worship the ground Buffy walks on! I'm not going to do anything to hurt her!"

Joyce gave me her serious-mom look and then she asked me, "What's Buffy's waist size?"

Without hesitation, I said, "Twenty-five inches."

"What's Buffy's shoe size?"

"Six and a half."

"When is Buffy's birthday?"

"January, the nineteenth."

"What's Buffy's favorite movie?"

"Heathers."

Joyce asked me about a dozen more questions about Buffy, and Joyce seemed pleasantly surprised when I knew the answers to every single one of them.

She asked me not to tell Buffy about our little talk, but said she'd be keeping in touch and making certain that both Buffy and I were happy. It occurred to me that somewhere in there, Buffy's mother had given me her blessing. She had no problem with me having sex her daughter.

As I walked into the house, I found myself strutting and overcome with self-confidence. I'd never had anyone give me their blessing to have sex with one of their children before!

* * * * * * * * * *

Of course, once Buffy's mom gave me her blessing, I felt somehow obligated to find Buffy, wrap my arms around her and hold her like I'd never let her go. I mean the very idea that I would leave her after graduating from college! Buffy wasn't just a phase! She wasn't just me experimenting with lesbianism! She was the real deal! She was my forever-girl!

I went into the house and searched each room for my girlfriend. I finally found her in our bedroom, packing a suitcase.