Dayshift 31: Sun Room (Shift 2)

[blurred_divide]

[Scoobies + Bella's epic field day: readystartgo]

Taking his pick between sun and no sun wasn't that hard of a choice, really. Angel ended up in the Sun Room on a couch near the back, facing the entrance to keep an eye on anyone coming in. And by the window. The window and its resulting sunlight was important

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[his_singer]

Run by someone? “Uh, I don’t know. I’d expect so … I mean, someone comes on each night on the radio saying things, so it must be him … right?” She was just as in the dark as Willow and the other two were - perhaps she should read the bulletin more often.

“And don’t worry, Anya. They didn’t really show anything too bad. Just … kissing and … kinda violence. A lot.” It had been an interesting scene, at least? She didn’t know really what to tell Anya; she knew it had been a bad choice, so what more was there to say about it? “Just don’t worry about it. I mean, it was years ago from my time, so I’m sure it’s pretty much forgotten. We all make mistakes.”

Oh, how she knew that one.

At least Angel appeared to be calm. “Oh, no. I was for a day, but my …” she had to pause in her sentence when she remembered the word fiancé - she couldn’t say that in front of Anya. That would only make things worse. “… boyfriend showed up the next day. Don’t worry, I’m totally fine. Plus, I have a pipe, so I can totally take care of myself if called for it.”

Not that Edward would ever allow her to be on her own, anyway.

[wishescankill]

"Oh right," Anya whined. This day was turning out even worse than yesterday. "You've got a boyfriend who loves and adores you and follows you into terrible places like this to protect you! Well Angel's all pathetic and alone and Willow's girlfriend just got shot, but shouldn't my - ha! - boyfriend be coming after me! He said he still loved me! Even after... even after he tore out my still-beating metaphor heart and squashed it in his metaphor hands, he... he said he still loved me. I mean, w-who does that?"

Just like with Luxord yesterday, the thought of Xander was making tears well up in her eyes.

A thought struck her, even worse than the idea of the Spike debacle being on TV. "They... they showed my wedding on TV, didn't they? Millions of people were... oh dear god, they..."

She just wanted to die. All this... this bullshit piling up on top of everything else wrong in her life. It had been bad enough back in Sunnydale, knowing that all her so-called friends hated her for turning back into a demon and forsaking the True Path Of Sunshine And Rainbows, but...

"Okay," she said, trying to gather herself together. She was determined not to let anyone else see her cry. "Okay, obviously we're dealing with people from different dimensions, right? In this tastefully hygienic girl's dimension--" she gestured at Bella, "we're a TV show, but in our dimension, we're real. Right? That's the only thing that makes sense, right?" It had to make sense, because something had to make sense or Anya thought she might explode.

[light_wicca]

"Anya, please," Willow said softly. The part about Tara had hit her like a punch to the stomach. Maybe the Willow Anya remembered had gotten better, but this Willow still had very fresh memories of that moment. Of that day. She'd been on her way to go get better when she appeared here. "I don't think... Xander knows where we are or how to get here. This isn't something you can just look up in Giles's books."

It was beginnning to hit Willow just what her life being fiction for Bella meant. What that meant people in Bella's world saw. "Does the show... is it only major events, or is it everyday life?" As weird and wrong as it felt, Willow could kind of imagine their life in Sunnydale as a TV show. Just a little bit. It didn't help very much.

"I think we're real," she said as firmly as she could manage in response to Anya. "But I think the fictional thing is... real too. It fits together somehow."

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"Oh." Angel nodded at Bella's response. "That's good."

Anya actually looked honestly heartbroken, but he wasn't sure what to say to her and so in the end, he said nothing. Matters of love...not really his area of expertise. He'd more than proven that to himself.

"Something like that," he said, sensing Anya might have a breakdown (well, more of a breakdown) if he disputed her conclusion. He felt real enough, anyhow, and he didn't think he could believe otherwise even if he'd wanted to. Which he honestly didn't. After all he'd lived through-and everyone he knew, as well-it was too much to consider that everything was actually false. Fabricated. And...used as entertainment.

[his_singer]

Bella continued to stare at the floor while Anya ranted, a frown crossing her lips at the mention of Edward coming and “protecting her.” “I’d rather he wasn’t here. To see him get hurt and know that it’s my fault …” her hands had started to fist at the thought, but she made sure to calm herself down. Her eyes were already starting to sting with unseen tears.

She couldn’t bring herself to look at Anya, and instead simply nodded her head and muttered a simple “I’m sorry”.

Glad for the topic change, Bella turned her head towards Willow and gave her a weak nod. “Not everything is shown. Just important things. Nothing more than that, really.”

“I think we’re real too,” came her whispered response, her head starting to hurt. What really was going on? And what were they going to do? “It’s just like with Harry Potter. In your world, he’s a well-known character, right? Same goes for mine. But in his, he’s just himself. We’re all real.”

[wishescankill]

Anya had fallen into a bit of a reverie while the others were talking about Willow's baggage and that Harry guy and other stuff she didn't care much about.

"So," she said loudly, pulling herself out of it. "Now that we've gotten the fictional thing dealt with. As best as we can, anyway."

What now? She wanted to know everything, all about her and Xander and what happened and why and how come Buffy hadn't killed her when she'd obviously wanted to so badly, and where was Xander now and how did things end for her, and for her and Xander.

"I want to know everything," she told Bella sternly. "My story must have been brought to a satisfying narrative conclusion, as Xander's must have been. I assume he was almost as important a character as me, since we were dating for so long. So. How did it end for us? What's Xander doing now? Is he chewing on his own miserable guts or did I take him back after he tore out all his hair in the throes of remorse, not that I ever would take him back..."

Anya ran out of steam quickly. Talking about Xander hurt inside. But she wanted to know. "Why?" She whispered finally. "He never even told me why he did it. Why did he leave me?"

[light_wicca]

"Maybe we're just not real to whoever runs this place," Willow spoke up as the thought hit her. "Whoever it is, they can't be doing this just for sadistic entertainment."

There had to be a way to figure out what was going on. That computer upstairs last night... were there others? Others that she could actually decrypt?

Anya seemed a lot more interested in finding out what happened to them in the show. Willow bit her lip as she listened, trying hard to ignore the horrible parts about Xander. "Are you sure you want to know, Anya? What if we do escape, and you go back knowing the whole future?" Willow really didn't want to know what happened to her later, for several reasons. Although it was nice to know that whatever it was, she did get better. And she did get to see her friends again.

[blurred_divide]

"Well, actually..." They could just be doing this for sadistic entertainment, but Angel decided it maybe wasn't something Willow wanted to hear.

He shifted uncomfortably at Anya's words, bothered less by her questions than by how upset she was that someone she'd loved had left. Anya wasn't exactly her, but it still hit a little too close to home.

"We're all tired," he said quietly, noting that neither Bella nor Willow appeared very enthused by the direction of this conversation...and even Anya was subdued now. "We can talk about it later when our heads are a bit clearer."

[his_singer]

Bella expected this. Nodded her head, she turned and gave Anya a worried glance. “I think I should tell you in ... private or something. It’s … I don’t know if you want to hear …” a pause, and she turned to Willow at the comment of really wanting to know. “You honestly don’t care? About knowing your future?”

Her attention once again shifted back to Angel, and she soon found herself growing at least slightly calmer. “Yeah. Right now, everything’s just … a mess, really. We won’t get anywhere talking about all of the bad things.”

Bella felt bad about this whole thing now. Her head was starting to pound from all of the thoughts, and so she lifted her hands up to massage her temples. Confusing, that’s what it was.

[wishescankill]

Anya latched onto Angel's suggestion that they should continue this later. As much as she wanted to know, Bella would still be here tomorrow, and the less people who had to see her break down the better.

Willow was asking her something, but she couldn't care less.

"Yeah," she mumbled, wiping her palm across her eyes quickly. "I'll find you tomorrow," she said to Bella.

She wanted Giles. Even though he saved all his best Fatherly Advice speeches for Buffy, he'd at least give her a good hug.

Not bothering to say anything to the other Scoobies - what was there to say? - Anya climbed out of Angel's chair and walked towards the cafeteria, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

[Anya is gonz to lunch ^_^]

[light_wicca]

Willow looked down at the floor as Anya walked away, gripping the chair tightly. "I care," she said softly. "I just don't want to know. If - when - we do get out of here, I don't think it's right for us to know everything that happens to us." There were things she wanted to know, of course. She was physically trying to restrain herself from asking about Tara. Did she ever come back? Did Buffy ever fully forgive Willow for what she did? Probably not. And in the long run, Willow really didn't want to find out before it happened. It felt like cheating, somehow.

"It's lunchtime now, right?" she said a little louder, standing up. "I'm kind of hungry."