The Queen Slayer {2}

The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret

CLEVELAND, OHIO

Buffy wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and let herself grieve the loss of her best friend, but that wasn't an option in her life. Not even an hour after she had fallen apart letting Stefan comfort her, Giles had called her asking for her to come by Cleveland.

That was two days ago.

Two days of training, meeting the new wolves who had joined them here, meetings with demons and warlocks. Nothing but work, not a single moment to relax the rage in her stomach at the constant empty feeling in her soul.

The Bonnie-shaped hole.

A hole that nothing would ever fill.

Bending down in front of the youngest Slayer who was only 13, Buffy offered her kind smile, quickly helping her readjust her stance before moving back in front of the group, her smile straining against her skin. Truthfully, she had done nothing but fake it since she had arrived, she hadn't wanted to upset the kids so was playing a part. Only letting her true self out once all the girls had gone home or gone back to their rooms within the house.

Luckily, Buffy's studio apartment within headquarters was on the top floor, away from all prying eyes that relied on her.

She couldn't fall apart in front of these kids, they relied on her and needed her to be strong for them.

So as she demonstrated the block they would be using next with Rona, she buried everything down into the depths of her mind. Shoving her emotions into the back of her mind like she had done for most of her life, putting her own feelings on hold to ensure others would be okay.

Rolling under Rona's arm, Buffy tried to force Bonnie's face from her mind.

The witch was haunting her every thought.

She saw her everywhere she went, hallucinating her best friend smiling brightly and waving at her like she was still breathing. Like she was still happy and alive.

Buffy had to force all of the grief, heartache and guilt from her mind until the session was over. It was her coping mechanism. She resorted to violence hence the constant training and patrols she had been on since arriving while her friends back in Mystic Falls went through their forms of grief.

Elena had thrown herself into researching this whole Hank and Grayson Whitmore thing, while Caroline was trying to focus on Tyler being back and how they moved forward.

Violence was Buffy's choice of distraction from the torturous pain.

Damon who had joined her not wanting her to be alone right now, given he knew how much losing Bonnie meant to her was perched beside Giles on the porch, both of them with glasses of bourbon in their hands as they watched Buffy help the group of girls with the basics in self-defence.

The young slayers and wolves watched her intently as they held onto her every word.

With all Slayers and wolves, it was mandatory for them to take the basic self-defence classes. While it was easier for the wolves given that they now lived in Cleveland, their pack settled in with the Slayers, for some of the younger Slayers, they were sent to headquarters to train before going back home to their families.

The basic training sessions were basically a mini summer school which ran all year long.

Unlike Caroline and Elena who had their partners to lean on, Damon had practically forced himself into her abrupt last-minute trip to Cleveland, knowing that she would need the support.

Plus, he wasn't going to complain about a break away from Mystic Falls, with some violence and endless amounts of Giles's booze.

Just as Buffy demonstrated a sharp kick which would bring a more powerful enemy to their knees, Giles raised his bourbon to his lips before letting his eyes focus on Damon who winked over at Faith who shot him the middle finger before focusing back on Robin.