TITLE: Burgandy

AUTHOR: Ben Is Glory

RATING: PG-13

PAIRING: B/S

DISCLAIMER: Characters property of Joss. Damn you, Joss, damn you. Just kidding! I love you! Don't sue!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well this is my piece for NaNoWriMo. If you don't know what that is, I pity you, lol. Being that it *is* for NaNo, it will hopefully turn out to be 50,000 words. Yikes! A lot, I know. I'm hoping I make it. Also, this story is up at my NaNo site: , and if you want it ((for some odd reason :P)) then *ask* first. I probably won't turn you down, but ask anyway, kay? Also? Yay for AU fics, haha.

FEEDBACK: Definitamundo. It makes the world go 'round and me want to write more.

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The plane ride from California to New York was long. Buffy tried to sleep, but her mind was racing. This was it. Today was the day when she would leave home and go off to college. She spent her senior year busting her ass trying to get into a good college. Her dreams came true the day she got a letter in the mail from New York University. Welcome to NYU! it said. Buffy could finally relax; her future was set. She immediately began planning the rest of her life: go to college, major in English, go to grad school, become a famous writer. It all began to unfold in front of her. She didn't plan to find love.

After what seemed days, the pilot announced they were about to land. Buffy gathered up her things and sat staring out the window. She began to get nervous. What if I have a terrible roommate? she thought frantically. What if I can't cut it? What if I fail all my classes? What if I get lost and... She was interrupted by the plane landing and the pilot talking on the intercom again.

"We have reached our destination, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to New York! Please begin exiting the aircraft. Thank you, and have a nice day."

Slowly, she stood and began moving off the plane. She walked to the baggage claim and waited for her luggage. A woman with two little girls fluttered past her. She instantly thought of her mother and sister.

"Buffy?" Dawn called out to her older sister.

"Yeah, Dawn," she replied.

"I want you to have this, you know, before you leave." She handed Buffy a small box.

"What is this?" The older sister hesitantly opened the box. Inside she found a silver chain with a tiny charm attached. It was a small rhinestone studded horseshoe. "Oh, Dawn. This is beautiful. Thank you so much." She moved to hug her little sister.

Buffy smiled at the day old memory and reached up to her neck where the necklace lay. She played with it for a moment before spotting her suitcase. She managed to drag the bag with her outside to hail a taxi. "Easier said than done," she grumbled. After several minutes of waving and cursing at the cabs that wouldn't stop, her luck changed.

The ride to campus was quiet. Buffy gazed out the window trying to absorb as much of the city as possible. She had only been to New York once, and that was her trip to look at NYU. From the moment she saw the school, she knew it was where she would spend her college years. Everything was so perfect: the people, the classes, the city. It was everything the young girl was looking for.

Finally the car pulled up in front of the school, and Buffy paid the driver. "Thank you," she said quietly as she grabbed her belongings and shut the door. She took a deep breath and started toward Stevenson Hall where she would live during freshman year. Here we go.

Buffy opened the front door to the large building and stepped inside. Her room was number two hundred fourteen, so she figured it must be on the second floor. She walked up the small staircase on her right and immediately heard music. Loud thumping music. Loud thumping Cher music. Buffy automatically cringed. Please don't be coming from my room. Please don't be my room. And who blasts Cher, anyway? She followed the numbers up to her room and was pleasantly surprised when she put her ear to the door and was greeted by silence. She tilted back her head and mouthed "thank you" before opening the door. She poked her head in and found a tall, slender, redheaded girl unpacking. "Hi," Buffy said nervously.

The girl quickly turned around. "Hey," she said shyly. "I'm Willow. Are you…"

"Buffy," she answered.

Willow smiled. "Hi, roomie." Buffy smiled back and entered the room. "I took the left side," said Willow, motioning to the bed on the left side of the room. "I hope that's okay with you. If you want it, we can switch," she added quickly.

"No, that's fine. Really," replied Buffy. She set her suitcase down before plopping onto her bed.

"Tired, huh? Long trip?" the redhead asked.

"Yeah, actually. Where are you from?"

"California."

"Really?" Buffy's eyes widened. "Me too."

Willow grinned at the coincidence. "Maybe that's why we're roomies," she offered as she returned to hanging her clothes in the small closet by her bed.

"Maybe."

She sat down on her bed facing Buffy. "Alright. It's time for the roomie quiz," Willow announced.

Buffy gave her a confused look. "The roomie quiz?"

"Yes. Favorite sappy movie?"

"Okay. Um…" Buffy paused to think. "Steel Magnolias."

"Damn straight," said Willow.

"My turn. Favorite color?" the blonde asked.

"Purple. You?" she shot back.

"Burgandy," answered Buffy.

"Ooh, good choice," Willow commented. "Now for the big question. Boyfriend?"

Buffy's mind swirled back to high school and her one real boyfriend, Riley. He was sweet but boring. Corn fed Iowa boy. He couldn't handle her going to New York for college, thought she would become a "big city girl" and forget about him. So, he did what any normal eighteen year old boy would do; he dumped her. "No," she replied. "What about you?" She smiled playfully and waggled her eyebrows.

Willow couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah. His name is Oz. He goes here, too. You have to meet him." She stood up and fixed her long blue skirt. "Have you picked up your schedule yet?" she asked the petite blonde girl.

"No, not yet," Buffy said, standing up. "We should probably go do that." She picked up her book bag and followed Willow out the door. The girls walked down the steps and out the building. She turned to the redhead. "So, where are we going?"

"Two buildings down, I think. I heard somebody say that's where they were passing out schedules." The two girls continued walking. "What's your major?"

"English. I'm hoping to broaden my horizons as a writer. I'm moving toward writing more than just Dawson's Creek fan fic," Buffy joked.

The other girl laughed. "Good show," she pointed out. "Maybe we'll be in the same class. That would be neat."

"Totally," replied Buffy as they approached a huge mass of college students. "I guess we found where they're handing out schedules," she added sarcastically. "This could take a while."

-TBC-

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A/n: What'd ya think? Go review!