[The fireworks and the talking are almost too loud. Even more so after being targeted immediately upon her arrival by a woman with as many complaints as words of welcome. If Linda's commentary is accurate, Buffy silently thanks God that this year was quieter than normal. Words buzz around her, and she can't quite focus on any of them. She smiles anyway, until Linda's gone off to someone else.
Focus or no focus, she won't leave. There's a coziness to the scene, and she wants to be part of it. The longing and the distance, the sense of being a spectator, all feel familiar, although she doesn't understand why. So she's done what she can to contribute. She's brought homemade mint chocolate chip cookies, frosted with the red, white and blue of the day. Buffy brings them to what looks like a dessert table that's covered in the same colors. A giant, mishmashed edible flag, she thinks. Abruptly, to the next person who approaches the table--] Hey, it's a flag you can eat! [She brings back her tiny smile.]
[Later, Buffy wanders throughout the picnic. She tries to stop for a burger, but the arguing from...Jerry? Jerry and someone else over his cooking puts her off, just as much as the thought of the burgers being bad. She can't quite make herself stop at any more tables, though. Even her own cookies don't tempt her. After some halting attempts at chatting with anyone who'll approach her, she begins to head away from the festivities, absentmindedly dumping her sparkler as she goes. She doesn't notice the little sparks on the grass for a second. Then she frantically stomps them out, picking up the sparkler once more and hoping that nobody is looking in her direction.]
Buffy Summers | Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Focus or no focus, she won't leave. There's a coziness to the scene, and she wants to be part of it. The longing and the distance, the sense of being a spectator, all feel familiar, although she doesn't understand why. So she's done what she can to contribute. She's brought homemade mint chocolate chip cookies, frosted with the red, white and blue of the day. Buffy brings them to what looks like a dessert table that's covered in the same colors. A giant, mishmashed edible flag, she thinks. Abruptly, to the next person who approaches the table--] Hey, it's a flag you can eat! [She brings back her tiny smile.]
[Later, Buffy wanders throughout the picnic. She tries to stop for a burger, but the arguing from...Jerry? Jerry and someone else over his cooking puts her off, just as much as the thought of the burgers being bad. She can't quite make herself stop at any more tables, though. Even her own cookies don't tempt her. After some halting attempts at chatting with anyone who'll approach her, she begins to head away from the festivities, absentmindedly dumping her sparkler as she goes. She doesn't notice the little sparks on the grass for a second. Then she frantically stomps them out, picking up the sparkler once more and hoping that nobody is looking in her direction.]