OC Fic : Strange Bedfellows (1/11)
Title : Strange Bedfellows
Author : Helen C.
Rating : PG-13
Summary : Julie makes a wish, and her wish is granted. An OC/Buffy The Vampire Slayer crossover.
Spoilers : Everything up to TDB is fair game.
Disclaimer : The characters and the universe of The OC were created and are owned by Josh Schwartz. The characters and the universe of Buffy the Vampire Slayer were created and are owned by Joss Whedon. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N : crack!fic if there ever was one. I wrote this because I just need to cross whatever fandom I'm involved in with the Buffyverse, and it was a fun way to explore, yet again, the roads not taken. Don't expect to see many of the Scoobies in this, though-I just used concepts and ideas, not characters.
The plot bears more than a passing resemblance to the BTVS episode The Wish. Please, don't sue, Joss-I'm not claiming ownership of the idea, but it was pure genius and I couldn't resist borrowing it to play a little.
A/N2 : Huge thanks to Joey51--it took courage to beta this monster all in one go, believe me.
Strange Bedfellows
Helen C.
Prologue
God that woman was boring.
Julie kept smiling and sipping her champagne, all the while wondering what it would take to shut the damn woman up, preferably permanently.
She just hoped she looked more interested than she really was. The woman (what was her name anyway? Sondra? Stella?) was a business partner of Caleb's, and antagonizing her would be a very bad idea, especially now.
"So, what do you think?" the woman-Diana, or Rita, or something else with an "a"-asked.
Julie, her smile firmly in place, nodded with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. "I'll be sure to ask Cal about it," she said, even though she couldn't remember what they had been talking about. Something about a chunk of land north of Newport, and a new development, and money and contractors.
Boring stuff.
Between that and the woman's heavy perfume, Julie's head was starting to ache.
It was just her luck to have been stuck in such a discussion.
The woman's only redeeming quality, it seemed, was the beautiful necklace she was wearing-it wasn't shiny or extravagant, but Julie knew enough about jewellery to recognize an old and valuable piece when she saw one.
It didn't quite make up for the shop talk, but it was something at least.
"It was a gift from my ex-husband," the woman told Julie.
"Beautiful," Julie replied, sincerely-probably the only sincere word she had said so far tonight.
"Thank you." Camelia, or possibly Hannah, smiled. "To be honest, I'm not sure why I keep it-it's not exactly a reminder of happy times, you know."
Julie nodded, her expression non-committal.
Beautiful jewellery or not, she didn't want the woman to start talking about her woes-Julie had enough of her own to worry about.
"But I just like it when people admire it," the woman added with a laugh.
Julie allowed her smile to widen and gestured vaguely around. "I need to…"
"Oh, of course, I wouldn't want to keep you."
Julie nodded again and put as much distance between herself and the woman as she could. She just didn't have the patience to deal with that tonight.
As she was looking around for someone interesting to talk to, her eyes fell on Marissa, who was leaning on Ryan's arm, giggling
Julie frowned.
The night kept getting better and better.
She approached the two just as Marissa said, "God, I wish we could go already!"
"Me too," Ryan admitted. "But Kirsten asked Seth and I to stay at least an hour, so…"
Julie gritted her teeth.
The boy was always so damn… polite.
Attentive.
Nice.
Always so eager to please Marissa.
Of course Marissa liked him, he agreed to everything she said.
Of course Marissa hated Julie, since Julie had to play the bad cop.
It was unfair, but it was her duty, and Julie wasn't one to skirt around her duties.
"Marissa, Ryan," Julie greeted.
Marissa rolled her eyes and pouted, while Ryan gave her a circumspect nod.
At least, the boy had the good sense to be wary of her-there must be some truth in Kirsten's claims that he was smart, then.
"How are you doing?" Julie asked, looking at Marissa.
"We were going to go," Marissa replied, with that defiant air she always seemed to have when she was speaking to Julie.
"You've barely spent half an hour here," Julie said, in her best Mom-voice. "Caleb will notice if you go now."
"Caleb doesn't care," Marissa replied.
Julie refrained from growling. Her daughter wasn't that impossible to deal with before Ryan had entered her life-just in time to witness that perfect life falling apart. No matter what Jimmy and Marissa and the Cohens said, the boy was a bad influence on Marissa.
Julie knew better than to antagonize him, though. Direct confrontation would only make Marissa even more unwilling to listen to reason-God damn teenaged girls and their rebellious streak.
"Marissa," she tried, just as Marissa grabbed Ryan's jacket and dragged him away with a whispered, "Let's go."
Julie heard Ryan protest that he needed to warn Seth, then the two disappeared in the crowd. Julie felt eyes on her and she flushed.
Everyone in Newport knew about the problems she had keeping Marissa in line.
Julie knew how this town worked-it was a small community, full of wealthy women who had little to do but talk about other people's falls from grace. Julie knew all too well that any material was worth some good little gossiping.
And of course, one of those hypocritical women was sure to walk up to her and say, "Is everything all right?"
Julie put on her smile again, turned to see who had talked to her, and barely refrained from grimacing.
What's-Her-Name was back.
Good Lord, could this night possibly get any worse?
"Everything is fine," Julie said, politely.
"Teenagers can be so troublesome," the woman said, her tone compassionate.
She seemed about to start patting Julie's back, and for some reason, that idea alone was enough to chill Julie to the bone.
"Yes," Julie hurriedly said, smiling bravely. "Well, clearly, that boy didn't help." She took a sip from her glass and shivered. "Agh, it's too warm." She started looking around for a waiter.
The woman ignored her last comment. "Yes, teenaged girls and their boyfriends…" She trailed off and Julie sighed.
"You wouldn't believe what she's been getting up to," she said.
The woman nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "If there's anything I can do…"
"No, I'm afraid not," Julie said. "Soon enough, she'll see that I'm right, and things will be fine then."
The woman smiled, seemed to hesitate then patted Julie's arm in a comforting way, before leaving her.
Julie shivered, frowned-it was unlike her to have such a reaction-and looked around for Caleb.
***
Julie didn't see the woman again until she was ready to leave. The crowd had thinned by now, and Julie was more than ready for bed.
Just as she was slipping out of the room, the woman walked to her.
"I'm still not sure what I can do," she said without preamble. "But… I really want you to have this."
She handed something to Julie who took it without thinking, saying automatically, "Really, there's no need-"
Then her eyes fell on the necklace and she shook her head. "I can't accept," she said firmly.
The woman smiled and insisted. "Sure you can. As I said, there are no happy memories associated to this. And it's supposed to be a lucky charm."
"A lucky charm?" Julie replied, unconvinced.
The woman laughed. "I know, it's a little silly. But, well… Really, I want you to have it. Consider it my thanks for accepting to talk to Caleb about that land."
Julie briefly considered protesting again, but she was too tired and she really wanted to go to bed now. "Thank you," she said graciously. "I really appreciate this."
The woman nodded. "Anytime, dear," she said, and Julie winced inwardly-she hated it when people called her "dear."
"Did you hear from your daughter?" the woman asked.
Julie let out an exasperated breath. "No," she said. "I swear, if she's not home in time for her curfew…"
"They're pushing the limits. It's only natural at this age," the woman said, with the philosophy of the person who had never had to live with a teenager.
"She was actually quite docile until recently," Julie replied. "But that boy…" She shook her head, feeling herself flush at the thought of all the problems Marissa had had since she had met Ryan-OD and therapy and facing down that lunatic with a gun. It seemed endless.
"Sometimes…" she whispered.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes?"
"Sometimes, I wish that damn boy had never come to Newport."
It wasn't the first time Julie said that-Caleb, who wasn't exactly Ryan's biggest fan either, sometimes complained that she was obsessed with the boy. Which she wasn't-she was merely obsessed with the influence he had on her daughter. That was very different.
The woman smiled and lowered her eyes. When she raised her head again, Julie screamed and took a step back. It looked like all the skin on the woman's face had been burned off in a fire.
"Done," the woman said, her voice a few octaves deeper than before.
Julie took another step back and bumped into someone.
Then, everything went black.
Chapter One
Author : Helen C.
Rating : PG-13
Summary : Julie makes a wish, and her wish is granted. An OC/Buffy The Vampire Slayer crossover.
Spoilers : Everything up to TDB is fair game.
Disclaimer : The characters and the universe of The OC were created and are owned by Josh Schwartz. The characters and the universe of Buffy the Vampire Slayer were created and are owned by Joss Whedon. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N : crack!fic if there ever was one. I wrote this because I just need to cross whatever fandom I'm involved in with the Buffyverse, and it was a fun way to explore, yet again, the roads not taken. Don't expect to see many of the Scoobies in this, though-I just used concepts and ideas, not characters.
The plot bears more than a passing resemblance to the BTVS episode The Wish. Please, don't sue, Joss-I'm not claiming ownership of the idea, but it was pure genius and I couldn't resist borrowing it to play a little.
A/N2 : Huge thanks to Joey51--it took courage to beta this monster all in one go, believe me.
Strange Bedfellows
Helen C.
Prologue
God that woman was boring.
Julie kept smiling and sipping her champagne, all the while wondering what it would take to shut the damn woman up, preferably permanently.
She just hoped she looked more interested than she really was. The woman (what was her name anyway? Sondra? Stella?) was a business partner of Caleb's, and antagonizing her would be a very bad idea, especially now.
"So, what do you think?" the woman-Diana, or Rita, or something else with an "a"-asked.
Julie, her smile firmly in place, nodded with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. "I'll be sure to ask Cal about it," she said, even though she couldn't remember what they had been talking about. Something about a chunk of land north of Newport, and a new development, and money and contractors.
Boring stuff.
Between that and the woman's heavy perfume, Julie's head was starting to ache.
It was just her luck to have been stuck in such a discussion.
The woman's only redeeming quality, it seemed, was the beautiful necklace she was wearing-it wasn't shiny or extravagant, but Julie knew enough about jewellery to recognize an old and valuable piece when she saw one.
It didn't quite make up for the shop talk, but it was something at least.
"It was a gift from my ex-husband," the woman told Julie.
"Beautiful," Julie replied, sincerely-probably the only sincere word she had said so far tonight.
"Thank you." Camelia, or possibly Hannah, smiled. "To be honest, I'm not sure why I keep it-it's not exactly a reminder of happy times, you know."
Julie nodded, her expression non-committal.
Beautiful jewellery or not, she didn't want the woman to start talking about her woes-Julie had enough of her own to worry about.
"But I just like it when people admire it," the woman added with a laugh.
Julie allowed her smile to widen and gestured vaguely around. "I need to…"
"Oh, of course, I wouldn't want to keep you."
Julie nodded again and put as much distance between herself and the woman as she could. She just didn't have the patience to deal with that tonight.
As she was looking around for someone interesting to talk to, her eyes fell on Marissa, who was leaning on Ryan's arm, giggling
Julie frowned.
The night kept getting better and better.
She approached the two just as Marissa said, "God, I wish we could go already!"
"Me too," Ryan admitted. "But Kirsten asked Seth and I to stay at least an hour, so…"
Julie gritted her teeth.
The boy was always so damn… polite.
Attentive.
Nice.
Always so eager to please Marissa.
Of course Marissa liked him, he agreed to everything she said.
Of course Marissa hated Julie, since Julie had to play the bad cop.
It was unfair, but it was her duty, and Julie wasn't one to skirt around her duties.
"Marissa, Ryan," Julie greeted.
Marissa rolled her eyes and pouted, while Ryan gave her a circumspect nod.
At least, the boy had the good sense to be wary of her-there must be some truth in Kirsten's claims that he was smart, then.
"How are you doing?" Julie asked, looking at Marissa.
"We were going to go," Marissa replied, with that defiant air she always seemed to have when she was speaking to Julie.
"You've barely spent half an hour here," Julie said, in her best Mom-voice. "Caleb will notice if you go now."
"Caleb doesn't care," Marissa replied.
Julie refrained from growling. Her daughter wasn't that impossible to deal with before Ryan had entered her life-just in time to witness that perfect life falling apart. No matter what Jimmy and Marissa and the Cohens said, the boy was a bad influence on Marissa.
Julie knew better than to antagonize him, though. Direct confrontation would only make Marissa even more unwilling to listen to reason-God damn teenaged girls and their rebellious streak.
"Marissa," she tried, just as Marissa grabbed Ryan's jacket and dragged him away with a whispered, "Let's go."
Julie heard Ryan protest that he needed to warn Seth, then the two disappeared in the crowd. Julie felt eyes on her and she flushed.
Everyone in Newport knew about the problems she had keeping Marissa in line.
Julie knew how this town worked-it was a small community, full of wealthy women who had little to do but talk about other people's falls from grace. Julie knew all too well that any material was worth some good little gossiping.
And of course, one of those hypocritical women was sure to walk up to her and say, "Is everything all right?"
Julie put on her smile again, turned to see who had talked to her, and barely refrained from grimacing.
What's-Her-Name was back.
Good Lord, could this night possibly get any worse?
"Everything is fine," Julie said, politely.
"Teenagers can be so troublesome," the woman said, her tone compassionate.
She seemed about to start patting Julie's back, and for some reason, that idea alone was enough to chill Julie to the bone.
"Yes," Julie hurriedly said, smiling bravely. "Well, clearly, that boy didn't help." She took a sip from her glass and shivered. "Agh, it's too warm." She started looking around for a waiter.
The woman ignored her last comment. "Yes, teenaged girls and their boyfriends…" She trailed off and Julie sighed.
"You wouldn't believe what she's been getting up to," she said.
The woman nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "If there's anything I can do…"
"No, I'm afraid not," Julie said. "Soon enough, she'll see that I'm right, and things will be fine then."
The woman smiled, seemed to hesitate then patted Julie's arm in a comforting way, before leaving her.
Julie shivered, frowned-it was unlike her to have such a reaction-and looked around for Caleb.
***
Julie didn't see the woman again until she was ready to leave. The crowd had thinned by now, and Julie was more than ready for bed.
Just as she was slipping out of the room, the woman walked to her.
"I'm still not sure what I can do," she said without preamble. "But… I really want you to have this."
She handed something to Julie who took it without thinking, saying automatically, "Really, there's no need-"
Then her eyes fell on the necklace and she shook her head. "I can't accept," she said firmly.
The woman smiled and insisted. "Sure you can. As I said, there are no happy memories associated to this. And it's supposed to be a lucky charm."
"A lucky charm?" Julie replied, unconvinced.
The woman laughed. "I know, it's a little silly. But, well… Really, I want you to have it. Consider it my thanks for accepting to talk to Caleb about that land."
Julie briefly considered protesting again, but she was too tired and she really wanted to go to bed now. "Thank you," she said graciously. "I really appreciate this."
The woman nodded. "Anytime, dear," she said, and Julie winced inwardly-she hated it when people called her "dear."
"Did you hear from your daughter?" the woman asked.
Julie let out an exasperated breath. "No," she said. "I swear, if she's not home in time for her curfew…"
"They're pushing the limits. It's only natural at this age," the woman said, with the philosophy of the person who had never had to live with a teenager.
"She was actually quite docile until recently," Julie replied. "But that boy…" She shook her head, feeling herself flush at the thought of all the problems Marissa had had since she had met Ryan-OD and therapy and facing down that lunatic with a gun. It seemed endless.
"Sometimes…" she whispered.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes?"
"Sometimes, I wish that damn boy had never come to Newport."
It wasn't the first time Julie said that-Caleb, who wasn't exactly Ryan's biggest fan either, sometimes complained that she was obsessed with the boy. Which she wasn't-she was merely obsessed with the influence he had on her daughter. That was very different.
The woman smiled and lowered her eyes. When she raised her head again, Julie screamed and took a step back. It looked like all the skin on the woman's face had been burned off in a fire.
"Done," the woman said, her voice a few octaves deeper than before.
Julie took another step back and bumped into someone.
Then, everything went black.
Chapter One