"So, their new drummer is playing tonight, right?" Buffy asked, grabbing the attention of Willow, who'd been staring at the stage, waiting for the Dingoes to come on.
"Yeah!" Willow exclaimed, turning back with a grin. "It's her first show!"
"She nervous about it?" Faith asked, coming back to the table with a drink in each hand. She handed Buffy's to her, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend as she came to stand beside her. Buffy pulled her, their lips meeting briefly before she started to pull back. Faith resisted pulling away, lengthening the kiss. Dawn rolled her eyes at the brunette Slayer, turning back to Willow to find out more about the new drummer.
"Doesn't seem to be," answered Willow, causing the Slayers to break apart and turn back to the group. "She's kinda young for all this, but she seems pretty confident. I think she's more excited to finally get to show off than anything."
"How old is she is?" Buffy asked, intrigued.
"She's 17. Barely older than you, Dawnie," Willow replied, turning to smile at the younger girl.
"Damn. She's just a kid," Faith stated, earning an affronted look from Dawn. "No offense, kiddo. I'm just saying, couldn't the Dingoes have gotten somebody who, I don't know, was of age?"
"According to Oz, not anybody with her level of talent," Willow responded, understanding Faith's sentiment. "They almost didn't let her in, because she's so young, but she was the most skilled out of everybody who auditioned, and they need a drummer. Not to mention she'll be 18 in just a few months, so it won't be much of an issue then."
"Whatever you say. I just hope she has the stage presence to keep up with Devon. Boy seems like a lot to handle, and nobody likes a shrinking drummer," asserted Faith. At that moment, the music cut off and the band started setting up on the stage.
"Trust me," grinned Willow, "that won't be an issue." Faith cocked an eyebrow, but smirked in agreement when the new girl finally made her way out on stage.
Dawn's gaze, too, was fixated on the girl, and not just because they'd been talking about her. The girl exuded confidence, walking out onto the stage as though she belonged there. No one else in the audience would be able to guess this was her first gig. Not only did she have the physical presence to captivate the crowd, but her appearance was also striking. She had a lacy black bra showing through a mesh crop top, black leather pants, much like Faith's signature look, a studded belt, and practical combat boots. She walked out twirling her drumsticks between her fingers, strutting confidently to the kit and sliding into her seat in a way both graceful and eye-catching at once.
As the band began to play, Dawn found herself entranced by the drummer. Willow stared at Oz with adoration, and Dawn stared at the drummer with something much closer to lust. The girl had wild, untamed hair just a shade lighter than Faith's, and Dawn watched it fly about as she played, sometimes whipping around as she turned, sometimes bouncing up with the beat as though caught by a gust of wind. Dawn was aware there was conversation at the table around her, Faith and Buffy whispering to each other and Willow commenting on songs and Oz, but she couldn't bring herself to focus enough to participate. Her eyes kept wandering back to the stage, fixated on the drummer.
As the last song ended and the band filed off the stage to put away their instruments, Dawn's gaze followed the girl until she disappeared backstage. Finally, she tore her eyes away from the stage, shaking her head and focusing back in on the table around her. She realized all eyes were on her and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "What? I miss something you guys said?" she asked, trying to play off her lack of awareness.
Willow smiled at her, a teasing mirth in her eyes, but kept silent. Faith, however, let out a small laugh. "Oh, I think you missed something. But I bet you didn't miss anything about Miss Drummer Girl up there." Faith waggled her eyebrows suggestively, causing Dawn to blush. Buffy lightly swatted at her girlfriend's arm, but she was barely holding back a laugh of her own at the deer-in-headlights look on her sister's face.
"Dawnie," she said, trying to steer her expression back into a straight face, "it's okay if you liked the girl." She reached across the table to pat her sister's hand, realizing Dawn was still staring at her. Or rather, staring straight through her. Dawn's mind seemed to be lost in space. Really, she was trying to process what her sister had just said. Like her? Thought Dawn. I mean… I was staring at her… And I did keep thinking about running my hands through her hair when I was watching it fly about. And the way her stomach was showing in that top!… Dawn had to accept that her sister was right, and she had liked the girl on stage. With this acceptance came the gentle realization that she was not straight, something she found herself rather unsurprised to discover. Sure, she hadn't realized it before, but it's not as though she'd never considered the possibility. With Faith sleeping down the hall in her sister's bed, it's not as though she'd been ignorant enough to never question her own sexuality. She'd just never come to any conclusive answers. Now, it seemed she might.
Dawn was snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed Oz approaching the table and leaned forward to greet him. However, she nearly fell out of her chair when she noticed the girl following behind him. Dawn righted herself on her seat, glaring at Buffy for laughing at her. Buffy bit her tongue to stop laughing, hiding her face in Faith's hair to cover her grin. Dawn turned back in Oz's direction, pulling herself together as he approached the table. He planted a kiss on Willow's cheek, slipping his arm around her back, before turning to greet the rest of the girls.
"Hey guys. Thought you ought to meet our new drummer," he said, gesturing to the girl, standing beside him with her thumbs hooked in her belt loops, elbows out, what could only be described as a cocky grin on her face. "Scoobies, this is Kennedy. Kennedy, Scoobies."
He left it at that, and Willow rolled her eyes at the conciseness of his introduction. Reaching around him, she stuck her hand out for the girl. "Hi, I'm Willow!" she said with a smile on her face as the girl shook her hand. "We met briefly the other day after practice, but I don't think I got the chance to introduce myself."
"Faith," said the brunette, shaking the drummer's hand like a challenge, with a vice grip the girl returned with a grin. Faith grinned back, impressed she didn't back down.
"I'm Buffy," the blonde spoke, rolling her eyes at her girlfriend's antics and elbowing her jokingly before shaking the girl's hand much more gently herself, smiling warmly.
"Hey," Dawn greeted, putting on an air of fake confidence, "Dawn." She smiled as she shook the other girl's hand, feeling the warmth of her firm grasp and keeping their hands clasped together a moment longer than was necessary. She felt a blush rising on her cheeks again as she pulled her hand back, but the girl just raised an eyebrow at her and grinned with a hint of mischief. Or maybe it was seduction. Dawn really wasn't experienced at figuring these things out, and the girl - Kennedy - was hard to read.
"Good to finally meet you guys," Kennedy grinned, looking them all up and down, almost as though she were sizing them up. "I've heard lots about you guys since I got to town. You're sort of legends."
Dawn noticing Buffy tense up at this and jumped in: "Don't believe everything you hear. People in Sunnydale have some pretty crazy stories they like to make up." Kennedy nodded, but Dawn could tell it was more to placate her than that she believed the town made up stories about them.
"So," Faith drawled, waiting for Kennedy to meet her eyes, "you're a drummer. What kind of music are you into?" Dawn recognized the double intent behind the question: small talk, and a demon check. If her music taste was suspicious or out-dated, combined with the fact that she was hinting at knowing more than she should, she'd seem likely to have nefarious intentions. Which would be just my luck, Dawn thought. However, Kennedy's eyes lit up at the chance to talk music, and Oz smiled at her enthusiasm.
"Alright, no offense to the boys in The Dingoes, I'm grateful for the chance to join 'em," she said, smiling at Oz, "but ultimately I want to start a riot grrrl group. That's what I'm into, bands like 7 Year Bitch and Jack Off Jill, Excuse 17. Bikini Kill's a bit too mainstream for my taste, but they're still a good example of the genre." Dawn was clueless, she didn't recognize any of the bands the girl had mentioned, but Faith leaned in, switching from suspicious to genuinely interested.
"I mean, Excuse 17 is more queercore than riot grrrl at the heart of it. More underground, yeah, but more subversive and political. May not be your cup of tea," Faith smirked, "but riot grrrl wouldn't be where it is without the contributions of queercore artists and zines. If you're gonna do riot grrrl, you gotta acknowledge your roots."
"Trust me, I know plenty about queercore," Kennedy said, voice practically dripping with her implication. "And if we want to talk acknowledging roots, you gotta take it all the way back to the female punk artists that laid the roots for both genres. Personally, I'd say the most foundational - and my personal favorite, for what it's worth - is The Runaways. Joan Jett's punk attitude and her ambiguous sexuality really brought some of this into the mainstream public eye more than anybody else did."
The conversation continued in much the same way, Faith and Kennedy going back and forth about their favorite musicians and talking genres in words that went over Dawn's head and names she didn't recognize in the slightest. Oz did, however, and he joined in, throwing in his opinions on bands and styles and Willow smiled at her boyfriend having someone to talk music with. Buffy smiled and nodded, enjoying discovering how passionate Faith could get about the topic, something she only rarely saw. Despite having no idea what was being discussed, Dawn realized she was hanging on every word the drummer was saying. Occasionally, Kennedy would make a joke and Dawn would force a laugh, unsure what she was laughing about, but Kennedy would smile at her and that was reason enough. At one point, Kennedy said something about a "smoking hot" musician and winked at Dawn, who's only response was to turn beet red as her sister sniggered under her breath at her embarrassment.
Eventually, Buffy glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was after midnight, and "We really ought to be getting home." Dawn sighed but knew she was right and put her coat on to head out. Buffy and Faith linked arms and led the group out, with Willow and Oz holding hands behind them, and Dawn lingered near the back, wondering what Kennedy's plan was.
"What about you?" Dawn asked, internally cringing that she was the one to ask, after staying silent all night.
"I'm not too far from here," Kennedy inclined her head, presumably in the direction of her house. "I'm just going to walk home."
"You shouldn't be walking home alone at this hour," Dawn warned, thinking of all the supernatural threats lurking in the shadows. Kennedy opened her mouth to argue, but Dawn rushed to stop her with an offer. "Let us walk you home? I'm sure it won't really be out of our way, and there's safety in numbers?" Dawn grinned, pleased she'd found an excuse to spend a little more time with the girl, and Kennedy just shrugged, seeming to think it over for a moment.
"Why not," she finally agreed, sighing but lightly smiling back at Dawn. They hurried to catch up to the others and Dawn filled Buffy in, Buffy adamantly agreeing that Kennedy shouldn't walk home alone in the dark in Sunnydale. Kennedy just rolled her eyes, but told Buffy what street they were heading to, before slowing her walk to drift to the back of the group again with Dawn. Dawn smiled as she fell into step beside her.
"So," Kennedy started, Dawn's eyes jumping to her lips as she spoke, "Dawn, right?" Dawn nodded. "You've been pretty quiet all evening. Music just not really your thing, or…?" Kennedy trailed off, and Dawn shook her head, jumping to reassure her.
"No! I mean, yeah, that was it," Dawn shook her head at how stupid she must sound. "I don't really know much about music, even after years with Oz. Still, I didn't mind listening to you guys talk, you seemed pretty into it."
"Music's a pretty big deal to me. What about you, though? What are you into?"
Dawn scuffed her shoe along the ground, trying to come up with an interesting response. "I'm gonna sound totally lame for saying this, but history." Kennedy chuckled at her response and Dawn smiled good-naturedly. "I know, I know, I'm a nerd. Trust me, they tell me that plenty," she gestured to the group ahead of them.
"Fair enough," Kennedy grinned at her. "But history's pretty vague. I mean, I know a lot about the genres of music I'm into, but not so much in other areas. What part of history are you into the most? What are you passionate about?" She said passionate with a tone of voice that this time Dawn was sure was meant to suggest seduction, suggest a different kind of passion, and Dawn quickly looked at the ground, realizing she'd once again been fixating on Kennedy's lips.
"I guess I tend to favor medieval history," Dawn replied, a half-truth. Technically, she was interested in demon history and the origins of Slayers, but the vast majority of useful demon history tended to line up with medieval history, so it was close enough to the truth. If Kennedy pressed, she knew enough about actual medieval history to keep up conversation for a little while, at least.
"Medieval, huh? Like castles and knights and princesses in towers?" She asked, joking in the last bit, and Dawn giggled in amusement.
"Not exactly. Castles and knights, yes. Lots of interesting royalty and fascinating wars to study and -" Suddenly, Dawn was cut off, as they turned the corner and she found herself thrown across the alley, landing on a pile of wood pallets. She yelped, calling out for Buffy on instinct, who spun around and rushed towards her. Dawn, however, had her eyes glued to Kennedy, who was struggling against the hold of a vampire. She continued to writhe in his arms, trying to free her arms from where he had them pinned behind her back, between them.
Faith pulled her stake from her boot, but before she could make a move towards the vampire, Kennedy stomped down hard on his foot, her combat boots making for a heavy impact, and threw her head back to knock him backwards. She pivoted on her foot, using her left hand to throw a punch to his face to disorient him while using her right to throw open the snap of her drumstick pouch on her belt.
Faith had stopped in her tracks when she saw Kennedy fighting off the vampire, momentarily too stunned to jump in and help, and Buffy stayed crouched by Dawn, checking her sister for injuries and guarding her from the fight. Dawn wanted to get up and help, but she was half buried in broken pallets, and she had to admit, she was enjoying watching Kennedy fight. Still, thought Dawn, one of the Slayers ought to step in. Kennedy is outmatched and in over her head; she has no idea what she's dealing with. No sooner had Dawn thought this than Kennedy yanked a third drumstick from her pouch, one that was decidedly not for playing drums. It was a darker wood than the sticks she'd been playing with earlier, and the end of the stick was whittled to a point, rather than a rounded head. In what felt like the blink of an eye, she kneed the vampire in the groin to get him to keel over, pushed him against the nearby wall of the alley, and jabbed her makeshift stake into his heart.
The vampire burst into dust, and Kennedy simply turned back to face the group, twirling her drumstick stake between her fingers. As the others stood and stared in shock, Kennedy tucked the stake back into her belt and offered her hand to Dawn, who realized her jaw was still hanging open, eyes wide as she tried to process what had happened. Kennedy just grinned, "Did I forget to mention? I'm not just a drummer. I'm also a vampire slayer in training."
Dawn found herself overwhelmed by the urge to kiss the cocky grin off Kennedy's lips, and tried to hide how flustered she felt at the impulse. She shook her head, ignoring the desire, in need of more of an explanation before she could trust the girl. Still, she assured herself, I'll get to the kissing later.
(After all the explanations had been told, Willow would be the first to point out the similarities to Faith's first appearance in Sunnydale and the fight they'd watched when they met her. Faith laughed and responded with "I guess Summers sisters just have a thing for dark-haired girls with stakes," winking at Dawnie before pulling Buffy in for a kiss.)