OC Fic : Strange Bedfellows (3/11)
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 : Thanks to the awsome
joey51 for betaing this
Chapter Two
Julie spent the rest of the day in the graveyard, sitting in a daze.
Part of her was trying to accept the fact that her life had dramatically changed in the blink of an eye, and the other part was refusing what was happening and shouting that it was ridiculous, that things like that didn't happen, that Julie was just having an impossibly realistic dream and that she would wake up soon, and that things would go back to normal then.
There was an animated debate going on in her head, and Julie wasn't paying any attention to it-she just let the two parts of herself arguing it out, without choosing a side just yet.
Marissa's dead, part of Julie's mind chanted, horrified.
No, she's not, another part replied.
She is.
It's impossible.
But you saw the grave. You heard Kaitlin. You saw what happened last night.
I don't know what happened last night.
But the images of the woman's face, changing to that of a monster, were still vivid in Julie's mind.
Something had happened.
Denying it would be futile, and that was a weakness Julie couldn't afford right now.
Something had happened, and now the world had changed, and she didn't know what to do about it.
But she did know that she was going to do something about it.
***
Julie finally started to move as the sun was setting.
She slowly got to her feet, her muscles stiff from not having moved for hours.
She studied the headstone carefully again, making sure that the inscription on it hadn't changed.
It hadn't.
The feeling of unreality, that had started to abate as Julie absorbed the shock, came back in full force.
Marissa's dead.
Marissa's not dead.
She ignored the voices in her head; let them argue the point to dea-to the end, if they wanted to.
Julie had better stuff to do.
Like find out how she had ended up in this nightmare, and how she was going to get out of it
Making her way to the car, Julie tried to put herself in condition to face Caleb, and possibly Kaitlin, once she came home.
She needed to look normal-whatever the hell "normal" was for her these days.
She needed to be on top of her game.
She couldn't allow Caleb to find out that she was coming from another world, because Caleb didn't believe in such bullshit, and Julie didn't know what he'd do, but she was sure it wouldn't be good.
It wasn't the way their relationship worked; they weren't there for each other.
She was funny and beautiful and elegant, and it made him feel less alone.
He was wealthy and powerful, and it made her feel safe.
They didn't help each other with their problems-at least not with the problems that couldn't be solved by signing a check, and this problem clearly asked for a more elaborate solution than money.
***
At nine, she was lying in bed, wondering why she had been so worried.
Kaitlin hadn't come home yet.
Caleb hadn't come home yet.
It was just her and, well, no one.
When Caleb finally did arrive, she heard him climbing the stairs, yelling into his phone, "For God's sake, Kiki, when are you going to admit that-?"
Apparently, "Kiki" cut him off, and Caleb entered the room, his face red and his jaw clenched.
Julie grimaced-he looked worked up enough to explode.
He didn't acknowledge her at all, just sat on the bed and started talking again. "I'm not saying it's not tragic, Kiki, but you won't find your son by living in Berkeley."
Julie didn't react, even though his back was on her and he wouldn't have seen her, but a thousand questions started flowing in her head.
What had happened to Seth?
Why had the Cohens moved to Berkeley?-she shuddered at the thought.
No matter how much she had to fight to be a part of it, she couldn't imagine living anywhere but in Newport. She had thought that Kirsten felt the same way.
What had gone wrong enough to drive her friend out of Newport?
"Fine," Caleb barked into his phone. "Let me handle the family business on my own, then. But I'm telling you, one day, the boy will be found somewhere, and you'll have abandoned your life over nothing."
He hung up, and while Julie would have liked to believe that Kirsten had said goodbye to him, she knew better-Caleb had just hung up on her, she was sure of it.
"Cal?" she asked.
He started, and turned to her. "You're still awake?" he asked.
She almost rolled her eyes-even if she'd been asleep when he had entered the room, did he think she'd stay asleep with all the racket he'd been making?
"Honestly," Caleb said, "I don't understand my daughter sometimes."
"I know," Julie said, because she was sure she was supposed to know what had happened between them, and asking questions now would arouse Caleb's suspicion. "But with Seth gone…" she added, letting her sentence trail off.
Caleb shook his head, still angry. "Spoiled brat," he said. "He's my grandson, but honestly, what was he thinking, running away like that?"
"He's a teenager," Julie replied. "Who knows what they think most of the time?"
Caleb snorted. "Bullshit," he said. "He had everything handed over to him, and he threw it all away, and Kirsten and that damn husband of hers will never stop looking for him."
"You think they should?" she asked, cautiously asking a question she didn't have the answer to.
He glared at her. "I think the boy's dead," he snapped. "You know that, and I'm sure even they know that he couldn't have survived sailing to Tahiti on that thing he called a boat. I think it's time they grieve for him properly and move on, like I did."
On that, he went to the bathroom, leaving a stunned Julie behind.
Seth had run away too in her world, so that fit with what had happened here.
But he hadn't gone far before calling his parents, and he had come back eventually, bringing Ryan back with him.
Apparently, things had gone differently here; Seth had run away a lot sooner than he had in her world, if Kirsten and Sandy had had the time to move out.
Trying to figure what had happened and when it had happened was giving her a headache.
She sighed and lay back down, trying to find a way to ask questions without making Caleb suspect that something was wrong.
She pretended she was asleep when Caleb came back, but she spent a long time lying still, thinking about everything she had learned and how she could possibly learn more without these people noticing she wasn't the same Julie they had always known.
Dawn was rising when she finally fell into a fitful sleep.
Chapter Three
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 : Thanks to the awsome
joey51 for betaing this
Chapter Two
Julie spent the rest of the day in the graveyard, sitting in a daze.
Part of her was trying to accept the fact that her life had dramatically changed in the blink of an eye, and the other part was refusing what was happening and shouting that it was ridiculous, that things like that didn't happen, that Julie was just having an impossibly realistic dream and that she would wake up soon, and that things would go back to normal then.
There was an animated debate going on in her head, and Julie wasn't paying any attention to it-she just let the two parts of herself arguing it out, without choosing a side just yet.
Marissa's dead, part of Julie's mind chanted, horrified.
No, she's not, another part replied.
She is.
It's impossible.
But you saw the grave. You heard Kaitlin. You saw what happened last night.
I don't know what happened last night.
But the images of the woman's face, changing to that of a monster, were still vivid in Julie's mind.
Something had happened.
Denying it would be futile, and that was a weakness Julie couldn't afford right now.
Something had happened, and now the world had changed, and she didn't know what to do about it.
But she did know that she was going to do something about it.
***
Julie finally started to move as the sun was setting.
She slowly got to her feet, her muscles stiff from not having moved for hours.
She studied the headstone carefully again, making sure that the inscription on it hadn't changed.
It hadn't.
The feeling of unreality, that had started to abate as Julie absorbed the shock, came back in full force.
Marissa's dead.
Marissa's not dead.
She ignored the voices in her head; let them argue the point to dea-to the end, if they wanted to.
Julie had better stuff to do.
Like find out how she had ended up in this nightmare, and how she was going to get out of it
Making her way to the car, Julie tried to put herself in condition to face Caleb, and possibly Kaitlin, once she came home.
She needed to look normal-whatever the hell "normal" was for her these days.
She needed to be on top of her game.
She couldn't allow Caleb to find out that she was coming from another world, because Caleb didn't believe in such bullshit, and Julie didn't know what he'd do, but she was sure it wouldn't be good.
It wasn't the way their relationship worked; they weren't there for each other.
She was funny and beautiful and elegant, and it made him feel less alone.
He was wealthy and powerful, and it made her feel safe.
They didn't help each other with their problems-at least not with the problems that couldn't be solved by signing a check, and this problem clearly asked for a more elaborate solution than money.
***
At nine, she was lying in bed, wondering why she had been so worried.
Kaitlin hadn't come home yet.
Caleb hadn't come home yet.
It was just her and, well, no one.
When Caleb finally did arrive, she heard him climbing the stairs, yelling into his phone, "For God's sake, Kiki, when are you going to admit that-?"
Apparently, "Kiki" cut him off, and Caleb entered the room, his face red and his jaw clenched.
Julie grimaced-he looked worked up enough to explode.
He didn't acknowledge her at all, just sat on the bed and started talking again. "I'm not saying it's not tragic, Kiki, but you won't find your son by living in Berkeley."
Julie didn't react, even though his back was on her and he wouldn't have seen her, but a thousand questions started flowing in her head.
What had happened to Seth?
Why had the Cohens moved to Berkeley?-she shuddered at the thought.
No matter how much she had to fight to be a part of it, she couldn't imagine living anywhere but in Newport. She had thought that Kirsten felt the same way.
What had gone wrong enough to drive her friend out of Newport?
"Fine," Caleb barked into his phone. "Let me handle the family business on my own, then. But I'm telling you, one day, the boy will be found somewhere, and you'll have abandoned your life over nothing."
He hung up, and while Julie would have liked to believe that Kirsten had said goodbye to him, she knew better-Caleb had just hung up on her, she was sure of it.
"Cal?" she asked.
He started, and turned to her. "You're still awake?" he asked.
She almost rolled her eyes-even if she'd been asleep when he had entered the room, did he think she'd stay asleep with all the racket he'd been making?
"Honestly," Caleb said, "I don't understand my daughter sometimes."
"I know," Julie said, because she was sure she was supposed to know what had happened between them, and asking questions now would arouse Caleb's suspicion. "But with Seth gone…" she added, letting her sentence trail off.
Caleb shook his head, still angry. "Spoiled brat," he said. "He's my grandson, but honestly, what was he thinking, running away like that?"
"He's a teenager," Julie replied. "Who knows what they think most of the time?"
Caleb snorted. "Bullshit," he said. "He had everything handed over to him, and he threw it all away, and Kirsten and that damn husband of hers will never stop looking for him."
"You think they should?" she asked, cautiously asking a question she didn't have the answer to.
He glared at her. "I think the boy's dead," he snapped. "You know that, and I'm sure even they know that he couldn't have survived sailing to Tahiti on that thing he called a boat. I think it's time they grieve for him properly and move on, like I did."
On that, he went to the bathroom, leaving a stunned Julie behind.
Seth had run away too in her world, so that fit with what had happened here.
But he hadn't gone far before calling his parents, and he had come back eventually, bringing Ryan back with him.
Apparently, things had gone differently here; Seth had run away a lot sooner than he had in her world, if Kirsten and Sandy had had the time to move out.
Trying to figure what had happened and when it had happened was giving her a headache.
She sighed and lay back down, trying to find a way to ask questions without making Caleb suspect that something was wrong.
She pretended she was asleep when Caleb came back, but she spent a long time lying still, thinking about everything she had learned and how she could possibly learn more without these people noticing she wasn't the same Julie they had always known.
Dawn was rising when she finally fell into a fitful sleep.
Chapter Three