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Rating: PG-13
Summary: What would happen if two people from rival schools fell in love?
Disclaimers: Unfortunately, all the characters belong to Joss Whedon and UPN.
Pairings: Well now…. That would spoil the exciting middle part with the French Revolution.
Feedback: Good, bad, I’m open to all.
Note: Hasn't been beta read.... so there's probably a load of mistakes in here somewhere. Sorry.
Note 2: This isn't a continuation of my last one, but is kinda set in the same AU.
[/u]Altered States[/u]
Part 1
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Darwin High school
The crowd cheered as the football players poured onto the pitch. Willow Rosenberg got to her feet and began to whistle loudly. Her best friend, Faith, stood on her seat and started to shout towards the players.
Faith: Come on, Skapinceky! Lets kick some Razorback butt! Lavelle! Don’t get taken off for spraining your ankle this time, you girl!
Daniel Osborn merely sat there. Quiet, expressionless, staring blankly at the field.
Faith: Oz! What’s wrong! Get up and cheer!
Oz shrugged his shoulder and Faith sat down. Willow stopped whistling and also took her seat. Uproar came from the opposite side of the field as Sunnydale High’s team came out. Faith immediately shot out of her seat again and began shouting insults to members of the team.
Willow: Faith, for the love of god, I hate them as much as you but sit down. People are starting to look.
Scowling slightly at the few people looking at her, Faith sat back down. She folded her arms over her chest and nodded towards the field.
Faith: This is gonna be a good game.
Willow: If it lasts longer than three minutes.
Faith: If it doesn’t, then it’s gonna be a good fight at the end.
Willow: Hell yeah.
Oz: All out wars are Americans’ number two favourite ways to enjoy themselves.
Faith: What made it to number one?
Willow: You don’t wanna know.
Faith: Jeez, what kind of magazines do you guys read?
Oz: It was in one of yours.
Across the field in the opposite stadiums sat Buffy Summers, Tara Maclay and Alexander Harris.
Xander: You know, I don’t know why I bother coming to these games any more. Our team never wins and the game is usually over before it’s even started.
Tara: And in what twisted dictionary does that make sense?
Buffy: Xander, your opinion has nothing to do with the fact that you tried out for the football team and didn’t make it…. Does it?
Xander pressed his hand to his chest and did his best impression of looking hurt.
Xander: I’m shocked and appalled you would think me capable of such a thing.
Buffy rolled her eyes and Xander sigh, slumping back in his seat.
Xander: I’m bitter…. so sue me.
Tara: I know a lawyer who can help you with that.
Buffy laughed and Xander’s eyes widened and he grinned, as he looked out onto the field.
Xander: Ooh! The cheerleaders are out!
Willow nudged Faith and indicated a woman walking along the sidelines of the field.
Willow: Your girlfriend’s out.
Faith: She is not my girlfriend!
Willow: Then should you really drool over her so much then?
Faith: I do not drool! Jeez. Oh, hey, the cheerleaders are out.
Willow rolled her eyes.
Faith: What?
Willow: They just give you another excuse for drooling.
Faith: I have an eye for fashion!
Oz: Yeah, you’re other one is on the girl’s sporting the latest.
Faith: You guys are unbelievable.
Oz: You just can’t handle the truth.
The announcers voice boomed through the speakers.
Announcer: Team players, take your position. The game is about to start.
The players did as the announcer instructed and took their places on the field.
Faith: Here we go.
Oz: Where did I put that safety helmet?
Within minutes, one of Darwin’s players took off his helmet and threw it to the ground. He started yelling and pointing at one of the Sunnydale High players, who also took off his helmet and started walking towards the Darwin player. They started pushing each other and soon enough were throwing punches. A few other players joined in and in less than ten seconds every team member was fighting. People from the stands started flooding to the field, all wanting to get in on the action. Tara’s eyes widened as she watched.
Tara: Um, B-Buffy?
Buffy: Time to go.
As Buffy stood up, someone running past her knocked her back down. She hit the ground with a thud and Xander rushed forward to help her.
Xander: Buffy, are you okay?
She grunted and took Xander’s hand, getting to her feet and brushing herself off.
Buffy: I will be when I find out who that guy was and kick his ass.
Xander: Lets just get out of here first.
Willow, Faith and Oz stood up and took in what was happening below them.
Willow: Okay…. It’s never been this bad.
Faith: Maybe we should get out of here.
Willow: How? The exit’s blocked by the mob of crazy, enraged, mostly drunk high school students.
Oz: We could sprout wings and fly out of here.
They both gave Oz a strange look.
Oz: Or not.
Faith: Come on. We’ll fight our way through. With all the other fighting going, nobody with even notice us.
Willow: Which means we’ll get trodden on or trampled to death.
Faith: Come on!
Jumping over the row of seats in front of them, they made a beeline for the stone steps that led down to the field.
Madness scattered the field. A high school football match had turned into world war 3. Buffy, Xander and Tara made their way from their stands.
Xander: And you’re sure the only way out is through that?
Xander nodded towards the huge group of students and Buffy sighed.
Buffy: For the last time, yes. Now, we can either stay here all night and freeze to death while, we wait for these idiots to stop fighting or we can fight our way through and go home to our nice cosy beds.
Xander: Fine.
After slight hesitation, they made their way into the madness. Xander was immediately thrown to the floor and trampled on by three boys. He grunted in pain and somehow managed to get back to his feet. Looking around, he realised he’d lost Buffy and Tara.
Just great.
Xander: Guys?! Buffy! Ta-
He hit the floor hard and his face twisted in agony. Xander stood up, his jaw clenched and grabbed the shirt of the guy that had pushed him with one hand, and punched him with the other. The guy fell to the floor in a crumbled heap.
Xander: Do I have “Welcome. Please wipe your feet” written across my forehead?!
The guy shook his head frantically.
Xander: Then don’t treat me like a doormat!
Faith, Willow and Oz had all managed to stick together. Faith had had a close encounter with a guy in her year and a baseball bat, Willow was yet to be pummelled and Oz had knocked out one of the footballers who had tried to hit Willow, to both her and Faith’s surprise. They stood in the midst of it all, looking around for a way out. Faith ducked as a Sunnydale student took a swing at her and she thrust her knee into his stomach. Cries of pain and angry shouts surrounded them on all sides. Faith grunted in frustration and started pushing people out of her way, creating a path for them. Suddenly, Willow saw a fist coming towards her face and she realised she wasn’t going to be able to move out of the way. She hit the floor with a sickening thud and held her hand to her nose. Pulling her hand back to look at it, she found it covered in blood. She lifted her gaze and started looking for Faith and Oz. That’s when she saw her. A blonde girl she didn’t recognise was standing among the fighting. She had a large cut above her eye and held her left arm close to her chest. Time seemed to stop for a second, it was only when Willow noticed three girls running towards the blonde did she move again. Getting to her feet, she started to run, pushing people out of her way, her sights set on the girl. Willow took a giant leap and pushed the girl out of the way. They both hit the floor and rolled towards the sidelines. Willow’s head hit the bottom of the stands as she stopped rolling and it took her a second to realise that someone was lying on top of her. Opening her eyes, she fell head first into pools of blue. Time stopped for the second time that night, and they looked at each other. Silent. For a moment not noticing the madness around them. Willow’s arms were still wrapped tightly around the blonde and her brows were furrowed with concern.
Willow: Are-are you okay?
The girl nodded and got up. As she stood, Willow’s arm slid down from the girl’s back, along her arm and their hands met, linking momentarily. Their eyes met again and they didn’t notice that the mob of fuming students were getting closer. The blonde girl backed away, releasing Willow’s hand.
Tara: Th-th-thanks.
Willow was about to ask her to wait, but the girl was gone before she had chance to say anything. Her mind was a complete blank now. She couldn’t even remember why she’d pushed Tara out of the way. Hadn’t she been more concerned with getting herself out of there? She lay there, on the cold hard floor, her hand still tingling from the contact.
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Ginner ~ A happy, fluffy, slightly neurotic, purple kitten from the planet Twong.
Gotta love Willow and Faith being best buddies... 
