BtVS Fic: Be Careful What You Wish For
Sep. 28th, 2016 06:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bk_forever
Title: Be Careful What You Wish For
Fandom: BtVS
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
badly_knitted
Characters: Cordelia, Anya, mentions Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, and The Master.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 780
Spoilers: The Wish
Summary: Cordelia hadn’t meant it seriously, it was just an idle wish…
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge #151: Wish at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BTVS, or the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon.
Catching Xander and Willow kissing had broken something deep inside Cordelia, and the way her former friends treated her in the aftermath just made it worse. She was being shunned and taunted, made an object of ridicule by people who used to look up to her with such admiration, people who used to want nothing more than to be her friend, part of her little clique. But now it was like she was nobody, an outsider who didn’t belong anywhere, and her heart ached even worse than the wound in her side. She’d never been so alone and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
‘I used to be important, respected, the most popular girl in school. All the boys wanted to date me, and all the girls wanted to be like me,’ she thought. ‘Now thanks to Xander Harris I’ve got nothing.’ The bitterness and the sense of injustice that welled up inside her made her want to cry; it was so unfair! But no way was she going to let on to anyone how miserable she was, she wouldn’t give her ex and his friends the satisfaction. She was Cordelia Chase and she was going to hold her head up high if it killed her. She’d show everyone!
Hurt in ways she never had been in all her seventeen years, Cordelia automatically looked for someone to blame. There was Xander of course, and Willow, but neither of them had even been worthy of a passing glance until they’d started hanging out with Buffy. Being friends with the Slayer made even losers appear marginally cooler than they really were.
The new girl, Anya, seemed to think Cordelia should want revenge of some kind against Xander, and maybe a part of her did, but his betrayal had only been the final blow. Now Cordelia thought about it, most of the blame for all the bad stuff that had happened over the last few years lay with Buffy; ultimately it had all been the Slayer’s fault.
“I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale.” Cordelia didn’t mean it literally, she was just lashing out; no one ever says something like that and really means it. But just at that moment it seemed as though Buffy’s arrival had been the start of everything that had gone wrong in Cordelia’s life. She couldn’t help thinking how much better things might have been if Buffy and her mom had just gone somewhere, anywhere, else.
What a difference a wish can make.
In the blink of an eye, everything around Cordelia changed. Anya was gone, so were most of the other kids, and the school quad was almost empty apart from litter and fallen leaves blown across the ground by errant puffs of wind. An eerie sense of abandonment hung over the place. The few people scurrying past her were dressed in drab, dark clothing. That was weird, but Cordelia could shrug it off, because when she stepped inside she found herself once again taking her rightful place as the most popular girl in school, her friends flocking around her, eager to share the latest gossip. Of Buffy, Xander, and Willow, there was no sign.
It should have been perfect, her wish made reality; instead, it turned out to be the worst kind of nightmare. Without the Slayer there to prevent it, a powerful vampire, the Master, had risen and taken control of the town. In an attempt to protect themselves, the people of Sunnydale had imposed a curfew. Nobody went out after dark, it just wasn’t safe, but even so people were getting picked off every night, killed or turned, and only a handful of the locals were trying to fight back, for all the good it did anyone. They were too few, too poorly equipped, and as ordinary humans, simply not strong enough.
They were brave though, risking their own lives to save Cordelia from certain death at the hands of Willow and Xander, both now vampires. Taken to the dubious safety of the school library, she tried to tell her rescuers, or more accurately to tell Giles who seemed to be their leader, that this awful reality was her fault, brought about by a stupid wish. She didn’t know if he believed her but even if he did, could what she’d done be fixed, the wish reversed? Or was it already too late to set things back the way they should be? As Xander and Willow drained her of blood, her final thought was that she’d probably never know. She’d doomed herself along with her friends, her family, and the rest of her hometown.
All because of a simple, childish wish taken seriously.
The End
Fandom: BtVS
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Cordelia, Anya, mentions Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, and The Master.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 780
Spoilers: The Wish
Summary: Cordelia hadn’t meant it seriously, it was just an idle wish…
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge #151: Wish at
fan_flashworks. Disclaimer: I don’t own BTVS, or the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon.
Catching Xander and Willow kissing had broken something deep inside Cordelia, and the way her former friends treated her in the aftermath just made it worse. She was being shunned and taunted, made an object of ridicule by people who used to look up to her with such admiration, people who used to want nothing more than to be her friend, part of her little clique. But now it was like she was nobody, an outsider who didn’t belong anywhere, and her heart ached even worse than the wound in her side. She’d never been so alone and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
‘I used to be important, respected, the most popular girl in school. All the boys wanted to date me, and all the girls wanted to be like me,’ she thought. ‘Now thanks to Xander Harris I’ve got nothing.’ The bitterness and the sense of injustice that welled up inside her made her want to cry; it was so unfair! But no way was she going to let on to anyone how miserable she was, she wouldn’t give her ex and his friends the satisfaction. She was Cordelia Chase and she was going to hold her head up high if it killed her. She’d show everyone!
Hurt in ways she never had been in all her seventeen years, Cordelia automatically looked for someone to blame. There was Xander of course, and Willow, but neither of them had even been worthy of a passing glance until they’d started hanging out with Buffy. Being friends with the Slayer made even losers appear marginally cooler than they really were.
The new girl, Anya, seemed to think Cordelia should want revenge of some kind against Xander, and maybe a part of her did, but his betrayal had only been the final blow. Now Cordelia thought about it, most of the blame for all the bad stuff that had happened over the last few years lay with Buffy; ultimately it had all been the Slayer’s fault.
“I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale.” Cordelia didn’t mean it literally, she was just lashing out; no one ever says something like that and really means it. But just at that moment it seemed as though Buffy’s arrival had been the start of everything that had gone wrong in Cordelia’s life. She couldn’t help thinking how much better things might have been if Buffy and her mom had just gone somewhere, anywhere, else.
What a difference a wish can make.
In the blink of an eye, everything around Cordelia changed. Anya was gone, so were most of the other kids, and the school quad was almost empty apart from litter and fallen leaves blown across the ground by errant puffs of wind. An eerie sense of abandonment hung over the place. The few people scurrying past her were dressed in drab, dark clothing. That was weird, but Cordelia could shrug it off, because when she stepped inside she found herself once again taking her rightful place as the most popular girl in school, her friends flocking around her, eager to share the latest gossip. Of Buffy, Xander, and Willow, there was no sign.
It should have been perfect, her wish made reality; instead, it turned out to be the worst kind of nightmare. Without the Slayer there to prevent it, a powerful vampire, the Master, had risen and taken control of the town. In an attempt to protect themselves, the people of Sunnydale had imposed a curfew. Nobody went out after dark, it just wasn’t safe, but even so people were getting picked off every night, killed or turned, and only a handful of the locals were trying to fight back, for all the good it did anyone. They were too few, too poorly equipped, and as ordinary humans, simply not strong enough.
They were brave though, risking their own lives to save Cordelia from certain death at the hands of Willow and Xander, both now vampires. Taken to the dubious safety of the school library, she tried to tell her rescuers, or more accurately to tell Giles who seemed to be their leader, that this awful reality was her fault, brought about by a stupid wish. She didn’t know if he believed her but even if he did, could what she’d done be fixed, the wish reversed? Or was it already too late to set things back the way they should be? As Xander and Willow drained her of blood, her final thought was that she’d probably never know. She’d doomed herself along with her friends, her family, and the rest of her hometown.
All because of a simple, childish wish taken seriously.
The End
Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2016-09-29 10:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-09-29 11:10 am (UTC)Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2016-09-29 11:29 am (UTC)Like most characters like Cordelia, they are not as superficial as everyone thinks. Thank goodness.
Cordelia: God!. What is your childhood trauma?!
I didn't like that quote at first but looking back at it later on, I now find it funny.:D
no subject
Date: 2016-09-29 07:07 pm (UTC)High school is a horrible time, trying to fit in... Although I never fit in and didn't really try, just tried to avoid the 'cool kids' who tended to be worse than Cordelia.It's amazing kids survive it!
no subject
Date: 2016-09-30 12:48 am (UTC)I can relate to that, being bullied back then, even by those who I thought were my friends felt like the end of the world.
Buffy the show was a metaphor for bullying and surviving it.
no subject
Date: 2016-09-30 12:07 pm (UTC)I wish bullying could be eradicated, but kids can be very cruel.
no subject
Date: 2016-09-30 01:02 pm (UTC)There were talks about a "Buffy" reboot.
Sarah Michelle Gellar said it would only worked if the whole concept was updated in regards to cyberbully.
The source of why kids become bullies has to be dealt with beforehand. Some are bullied at home, while others just need an attitude adjustment.
Some of these kids will bring that attitude into their adult lives which is worrisome.
Maybe it needs to be a topic educated at schools to at least raise awareness for the fact that it shouldn't be tolerated.
no subject
Date: 2016-09-30 07:06 pm (UTC)I don't think I'd like a Buffy reboot - the original could never be bettered!
no subject
Date: 2016-09-30 11:58 pm (UTC)They have a no bullying policy in TAFE. It can happen anywhere.
Me too. I liked the message at the end of the series of Buffy that every potential slayer, is the slayer.
Buffy was able to retire from the burden of being the choosen one.
Despite the fact that Buffy and Faith were in agreement that they didn't get on because theres only suppose to be one at a time. The conflict between them was a result of Faiths own insecurities.
no subject
Date: 2016-10-01 10:05 am (UTC)We all have potential to do great things, we just need the courage to try.
Bullying can happen at work as well as at school or college.
no subject
Date: 2016-10-02 11:08 am (UTC)Did the Buffybot get destroyed?. That could have been another option.
You should consider putting your words of wisdom on a T-shirt.:)
no subject
Date: 2016-10-02 04:13 pm (UTC)I don't remember what the eventual fate of the Buffy-bot was, but I think it probably did get destroyed.
no subject
Date: 2016-10-03 01:37 am (UTC)Too bad. She was a funny decoy although it was icky how she came to be. I liked how she profiled everyone "Terminator" style and got Giles name wrong.:D
no subject
Date: 2016-10-03 10:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-10-03 11:48 am (UTC)Yes, you got the name right. Spike made him build it when he was obsessed with the real Buffy. I'm glad his feelings because more sincere.
no subject
Date: 2016-10-03 06:09 pm (UTC)I still prefer Buffy/Angel though. I liked Spike best when he was bad.
no subject
Date: 2016-10-04 07:47 am (UTC)Someone did a fanvid of Angelus stalking Buffy.:D
Buffy/Angel was doomed from the start but I did like how they try to handle the conflict within them being together or apart.
They have both been obsessed with Buffy. Angel without a soul stalks and torments her. Spike without a soul torments her then stalks her. It just varied.
It was good that Buffy got loyalty from Spike but he was way funnier as a baddie. I liked the part where he couldn't attack anyone because he had that chip in his head.:)
no subject
Date: 2016-10-04 10:13 am (UTC)I liked the dynamic between Spike and Dru, they were such a great couple.
Buffy and Angel were doomed, but I wish Angel could have been made mortal and stayed that way. The episode of Angel where he was mortal but had to get himself switched back was just so heartwrenching =(
no subject
Date: 2016-10-04 11:06 am (UTC)I'm glad that scene ended lighly because that started out quite disturbing the way he attacked poor Willow. I knew he liked her in that pink number.:)
Giles: What are you going to do, lick me to death?
Dru was cool. She ended up crazy because she was still psychic but without a soul. If I leave out the whole killing Kendra thing.
They could have been any happy couple if they had met under normal circumstances. Forbidden love is so tragic.:(
I think losing Angel made Buffy scared to commit to Riley. She only learned her mistake when he already moved on.
no subject
Date: 2016-09-29 01:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-09-29 07:15 pm (UTC)Thank you!