The Dangerous Type
Everyone knows that being sixteen and moving to a new town can be tough. Candace Farrell knew that even more than other girls her age. At first glance, she just looked like a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She only stood at about five feet tall and had shoulder length black hair. Her eyes were dark brown but when she was angry, they looked almost black. Candace had a secret. She could fight. She didn't just fight regular people, she fought supernatural forces. Superhuman strength and wooden stakes were her main weapons but not the only ones. Candace was a vampire slayer and she had just relocated to the most recently discovered Hellmouth in Canada.
As far as personality went, Candace was the perfect candidate to be a slayer. She was smart, quick on her feet, loud, confident, she did not mind being by herself, and determined. Sure there were times when she let her emotions get the best of her but that was part of what made her a good fighter. There were times when she needed to channel her anger in order to help her defeat her foes. One of her main flaws was that whenever she came across a guy that she was attracted to, she would just lose all confidence and control of her words. She and everyone around her referred to it as "word vomit". Candace was charming and knew how to get her way, especially when it came to her watcher, Andrew Wells.
Derek Venturi was the typical ladies man that got anything he wanted. He was tall and good looking and knew exactly what to say to the girls. It was as if charm oozed out of every pore of his body. A steady relationship with a girl was not his cup of tea. He was more of the date them and leave them type. In his own way, he was almost like a male version of Candace. Cocky was practically his middle name and he seemed mostly to enjoy tormenting his stepsister, Casey MacDonald. Little did he know, his life was about to change and so was his view on girls.
The first day of school
"Ok, Andrew, I get the point but I am at school now and the problem will have to wait until I get out." Candace said into her pink cell phone. "It's my first day of school and I don't want to screw anything up and make myself look even more obviously lost than I already am." She wasn't really paying attention as she walked down the hall. She just kept going on to Andrew.
Derek flipped through his comic book as he walked down the hall. Shoving one of his hands into the pocket of his leather jacket, he pulled out a piece of gum, unwrapped it and put it in his mouth. Turning the corner, he bumped right into someone, knocking both of them to the floor. "Hey, watch out!" He exclaimed.
"Dammit! Andrew, I'll call you back. Some jerk just knocked me to the floor because he wasn't paying attention to where he was going." Candace flipped her cell phone closed and shoved it into her pocket. Derek closed his comic book and stood up, noticing that he had actually knocked over a very pretty girl. "Oh, I am really sorry for knocking you over." He held his hand out to her. After a moment's hesitation, she took his hand and stood up, discretely checking to make sure she did not drop any weapons. "My name is Derek Venturi." He shook her hand. "I'm Candace Farrell." She gave his hand a squeeze to show her strength. Also, she was checking to make sure he had a pulse. "And, you were not paying attention." Grinning, she noticed he pulled his hand away. Briefly, he caught the sight of some bruises on her arm. "So, I'm guessing you fall down a lot?" He asked, looking at her arm. "What's that supposed to mean?" She looked confused. "Well, you've got bruises on your arm." He pointed out. "Oh, no, I'm a… I take up different kinds of martial arts. You, know, to keep my stamina up." She shifted her messenger bag slightly. "So, your hobby is fighting people?" He questioned. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." She looked into his intense brown eyes. "What's with all the questions? You nosey or something?" Laughing, he looked at her. "No, I just like to get to know pretty girls. Unless you have a boyfriend then I'll try to back off but I can't make any promises. That guy on the phone, he's not your boyfriend, is he?" Taking a step back she stifled a laugh. "Andrew? No way, he's just my wat… er boy."
I cannot believe I just told this guy that Andrew is my water boy. What is he going to say next? Surely, I can't say that Andrew's my watcher and I'm a vampire slayer and your school sits on top of a Hellmouth. He probably doesn't even know what a Hellmouth is. And why do they keep building schools on top of Hellmouths anyway? Candace's mind raced like crazy. She hated hiding her identity but she could not just go around telling everyone that she was a vampire slayer.
"Water boy?" Derek leaned up against a locker. "You keep in touch with your water boy? What sport?"
"Uh, hockey." Candace blurted out. "I treat my water boy like he's one of the team because he really is. We'd all be dehydrated and wouldn't be able to play if it weren't for him." Shut up, Candace. Stop babbling on and on. You're making a fool of yourself. Why am I babbling anyway?
"Hockey? I love hockey." Derek smirked. "I'm on the hockey team here. We don't have a girl's team but you should try out of the boy's team. I wouldn't mind seeing you out there next to me on the ice." Suddenly, the bell rang. Candace ran off without saying a word.
Stopping outside of her first class, Candace felt her mind fill with regret for just running off on the guy like that. A familiar voice popped into her head as she flashbacked to a conversation she had with a sort of mentor.
Flashback
(Two months earlier, London, England)
Buffy Summers sat Candace down on the couch in her office at the new Watcher's Council. Buffy was always a very pretty girl. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Having been a vampire slayer for more than ten years and being the only slayer for a long time, she could give Candace some good advice.
"We need to talk about what life is going to be like when you move to Canada to deal with the Hellmouth." Buffy looked at the girl opposite her.
"It's kind of intimidating." Candace shrugged. "Not only do I have to deal with a new school and new friends but I've also got to deal with the Hellmouth and the forces of evil. Oh, and Andrew."
"I'm not really worried about you dealing with the Hellmouth." The blonde pointed out. "You're good at being the slayer. It's the part where you have to make friends without spilling your secret that worries me."
"I used to be so good at making friends." Candace sighed. "But, ever since I've had to carry this secret with me, it's been hard. I see a cute guy and I just want to tell him everything about me. Of course then I end up babbling because I'm trying to keep this secret and I'm nervous."
"You just need to put yourself out there." Buffy said. "Making friends doesn't have to be hard. Be vague about things until you're sure you can trust the people around you. Friends are important. Especially, on the Hellmouth. If you have any questions or you just want to talk then you can call me. I know Andrew isn't the best person to get social advice from." Both girls laughed a bit.
"I think I can do that." Candace nodded. "As long as the guys in Canada are ugly."
The other girl shook her head. "Having relationships with guys when you're the slayer can be tough. But, if you find the right guy then things will work out. Oh, and if you meet any guys that wear leather jackets, check to see if they have a pulse before pursuing a relationship with them." They both stood up.
"So, is that it?" Candace asked. "Am I ready to go to Canada now?"
Buffy nodded. "I think you are. Good luck with everything and try not to let Andrew get on your nerves."
End Flashback
Shaking her head, Candace walked into the classroom. There was no way she liked this Derek guy. She was just nervous about almost spilling her secret to a total stranger that had a leather jacket on. "But, he has a pulse." She said to herself as she found a seat in the back of the class. The final warning bell rang and the teacher began going over the syllabus. Suddenly, someone walked into the classroom. "Nice of you to join us, Mr. Venturi." The teacher, Mr. Cunningham said. "Now take a seat and spit out that gum."
Mr. Venturi? Candace looked up and saw Derek walk over to the garbage can and spit out his gum before taking the empty seat next to her. Don't like him. You need to focus on being the slayer. Guys will just get in the way. But, Buffy did say it was alright to have a relationship with someone I can trust. Can I trust this guy even if it's only as a friend? She didn't realize that she was staring at him until it was too late.
Leaning over to her, Derek smiled. "Like what you see?"
"Arrogant much?" Candace shrugged. "And, I'm still trying to figure out what it is I'm looking at."
"And, I'm still trying to figure this out." He placed a book on her desk. "I think you dropped it when you fell. What exactly is a slayer?"
"You knocked me over!" Candace scowled. "And, the book is a work of fiction about a girl with supernatural abilities. I like that kind of stuff. It's kinda like your comic book." She turned back to pay attention to the teacher and ignored Derek for the rest of the class.
After that first class with Derek, Candace was beginning to think that she just did not like him. What happened earlier that morning was just a brief misjudgment of character. Checking her schedule, to see what class she had next, she heard a scream come from down the hall. "Derek! This is just disgusting! A fake dead body in my locker!" Candace turned around just in time to see the body fall out of the locker and onto the girl who was screaming. Without hesitation she ran down the hall to help the girl not knowing she was being followed by Derek.
Pushing her way through a crowd of students that was forming, Candace made her way to the girl. Stepping between the girl and the body, she pushed it back into the locker. "Derek, that was the worst prank ever! A mannequin made up to look like a dead body. You are revolting." The girl with long brown hair and brown eyes said.
Examining the body, Candace noticed that it was no mannequin. It was the real thing. She also noticed the two holes in the guy's neck. "Damn." She whispered.
"I did not do this!" Derek exclaimed. "What makes you think I would do something like that, Casey?"
"Um, because you're always doing things like that to me." She shot back at him. Before long the two of them were in a shouting match.
Looking over at Derek and Casey, Candace actually felt a bit bad for Derek. He was getting blamed for something that she knew he didn't do. Finally, she closed the locker and stepped between the two, putting her hands up. Looking at Casey she said, "Derek didn't do this."
"Yeah! I didn't do it!" Derek shot Casey a look.
"Who are you? His new girlfriend?" Casey asked. "You must be new if you don't think that Derek could do something like this."
"I am not his girlfriend!" Candace glared. "I'm just saying that unless Derek is capable of murder then he didn't do it. This isn't a mannequin. It's a real dead body."
As soon as she said that a teacher came over to break things up. "Everyone go to class." It was Mr. Cunningham. "Except for you three." He pointed to Derek, Casey, and Candace. Everyone scrambled off to class, leaving the three students and teacher in the hallway. "Now, who wants to tell me exactly what's going on?" The teacher asked.
"Derek, here, thought it would be funny to put a mannequin in my locker that was made up to look like a dead body." Casey spat out. "And, he enlisted the help of his new friend to pretend that it is a real dead body."
"I haven't been near your locker!" Derek shouted. "I have nothing to do with this."
Candace watched in astonishment as the two argued. I guess Buffy was right. People on a Hellmouth have the tendency to pretend that supernatural things don't happen. They just make up crazy explanations for them. Mr. Cunningham was not sure what to do so he just watched the argument as well. Finally, sick of the arguing and Mr. Cunningham's lack of action, Candace opened the locker and let the dead body fall to the floor. So much for keeping a low profile. She thought. "This is a real dead body! No one could ever do a make up job that well on a mannequin." The other three just jumped back. Casey let out a squeal. Derek's curiosity got the best of him and he stepped forward and touched the dead body, "It feels like real skin." Mr. Cunningham looked like he was about to faint. "Derek! That's gross!" Casey screamed.
Finally, Mr. Cunningham spoke. "Casey, go to the office and have them call the police or something."
"Gladly." Casey ran off to the office.
"Derek, you get detention for touching the dead body." The teacher said.
"Why doesn't Casey get detention?" Derek asked. "It was in her locker."
"She didn't touch the dead body?" Candace asked.
"Yes, exactly." Mr. Cunningham nodded. "You've got detention as well, Ms. Farrell."
"This is wicked unfair!" A thick Boston accent popped out of Candace's mouth. "I'm the one who pushed the body off of her."
"You disturbed a crime scene." The teacher looked at the body.
"Why are there holes in the guy's neck?" Derek wondered out loud.
"You don't want to know." Candace muttered under her breath.
"Get to class." Mr. Cunningham said to the two students. "Once the police get here things will get sorted out." He took a step closer to examine the body. "Oh no. This is Mr. Keller, the librarian."
After a few moments of hesitation, Candace grabbed Derek by the arm and dragged him away from the scene. "Could you please tell me what happened just now?" He whispered as she walked with him.
"There was a dead guy in that girl's locker." Candace responded. "That's all I know."
They finally arrived at Derek's next class. In a state of shock, he just wandered in and took a seat. Candace, on the other hand, headed to the girl's bathroom. When she got there, she pulled out her cell phone and called Andrew. "Andrew Wells: Watcher extraordinaire." She heard him pick up. "Andrew, it's Candace. We have a huge problem here. There was a dead guy in a locker and he had two holes in his neck. And, of course, I had to be there when everything went down."
"What do you know about the victim?" Andrew asked.
"Just that he's the librarian and he was drained of his blood." Candace explained.
"I'll look him up and come by the house as soon as you get out of school." The watcher told her.
"Yeah, about that, I'm going to be late." The slayer said. "I've got detention because I touched the body and disturbed a crime scene. I didn't know I was in a CSI episode."
"Don't worry about being late. Just continue the day like you have no idea why there would be a dead body on campus." Andrew informed. "Oh, and good luck." They both hung up and Candace exited the bathroom.
Finally, she made her way back to where the incident happened. Noticing that Mr. Cunningham was too occupied with trying to set up a really big barrier to keep the students away from the body, she let out a sigh of relief. When she made it to the body, she started to examine it to see if there were any signs the let her know how this happened. Bending down, she searched through the man's shirt pockets when she heard someone clear her throat behind her. "What are you doing?" Candace looked up and saw Casey standing there.
"I guess I could ask you the same." Candace stood up.
"I was just… I don't know." Casey had a sad look on her face. "Why would anyone want to kill Mr. Keller and then put his body in my locker? I just want a reason."
"People can be messed up in the head." The black haired girl said. "Are they going to send you home? This has to be a traumatic experience for you."
"I can't go home." Casey replied. "It's the first day of school. I can't miss the first day of school."
"Somehow, I think your teachers would understand." Candace gave her a shocked look. This girl is more worried about it being the first day of school than she is about the librarian's blood drained body in her locker.
"What about you?" The taller girl questioned. "Are you going home? You seem really calm about this whole thing."
"I'm just very curious." Candace lied. "I know it's morbid but I've never seen a dead body before." Yeah, just keep lying to the girl.
"He's this way." Both girls heard Mr. Cunningham tell the police.
"I think we both need to get to class." Casey said and they both parted to their respective classrooms.
After history class, it was lunchtime. Stepping into the cafeteria, Candace could tell that everyone was talking about Mr. Keller and how she stepped in to push the body off of Casey. It seemed as if every table was full so she decided to just go sit out in the hallway. Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the arm. Looking up, she noticed it was Derek. "I need to talk to you." Great, more questions about the dead guy. She thought. Derek pulled her into the hallway. "That was so awesome! You just jumped in there and pushed that guy out of the way. Ok, I'll admit, seeing it fall on Casey was funny and I would have liked to savor that moment a bit longer. And, then when you just opened the locker and let it fall again, I couldn't believe it. You are the coolest girl ever!"
Staring at him, all Candace could do was ask, "What?"
"So, you wanna go out sometime?" He asked her.
"Are you freaking mental?" She glared at him. "Your school librarian was killed and stuffed into a girl's locker and you're asking me out?"
"So, is that a yes?" Derek questioned.
"It's a big fat no!" Candace stormed off.
Derek stood there dumbfounded. Was I just rejected? No way. Derek Venturi doesn't get rejected by girls. She's just traumatized by what happened this morning. Either that, or Casey has gotten to her. "Casey! What did you do?" He walked into the cafeteria and over to his step-sister.
"Besides get mauled by Mr. Keller's corpse, I did absolutely nothing."
"I'm talking about Candace." He glared at her. "What did you tell her about me?"
"I didn't say anything to her about you." Casey gave him an annoyed look. "I can't believe you. You were hitting on her, weren't you? There was a dead guy in my locker and you were still trying to pick up a girl. You are the most disgusting person I know, Derek!" She stood up and got her stuff to leave.
"Yeah, well, I didn't wash my hands after I touched that body." He wiped his hand on her sleeve.
"Gross!" She exclaimed as she ran off.
The rest of the day seemed to go by slow for Candace. However, it was uneventful. That is, if you count being whispered about and stared at every time you entered a classroom as uneventful.