Hello, all!

This is the Redshirt who Lived, back online. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a few months- real life ran me over with a semi truck and I've only just gotten back on my feet.

Anyway, welcome to my first foray into the work of Joss Whedon. I welcome reviews and constructive criticism, feedback- that sort of thing, I'm always looking to improve my writing. However, please, please don't flame- that old saying about sticks and stones? Absolutely not true.

Enjoy the story!

P.S.: I picture Rachel looking like Jaimie Alexander, except with a chin-length bob and a long, thin scar running along her jawbone.

Disclaimer: Joss is BOSS!

Episode 1, Welcome to the Hellmouth

Part 1: School

It was a bright sunny day at Sunnydale High School. The sky was that perfect cloudless California blue. Lush green plants lined the sidewalks, and the occasional palm tree provided shade. A terra-cotta tile path led from the street to the school, an attractive building with vaguely Spanish architecture. Benches lined the path, and students milled in front of the school, chatting amiably.

"'Scuse me, comin' through, pardon me, 'scuse me, whoa! 'Scuse me, not sure how to stop. Please move, whoa, 'scuse me…"

Rachel shouldered her bag as she turned around. She shook her head at what she saw- Xander Harris, one of her best friends, weaving through the crowd in front of the school on his skateboard. She loved Xander, she really did, but there were times when she wanted to toss that stupid skateboard of his off a cliff. Right after she'd borrowed it and showed him that she could skateboard way better than he, of course.

"Whoa." Xander's voice trailed off, and Rachel bit back a smirk. She'd been hanging with Xander since she was three, and she could tell that this was going to be epically funny.

Xander didn't disappoint. He completely zoned out, lost track of where he was going, and rolled right into the stair railing. The railing took him straight in the waist, knocking him on his posterior. Xander lay there, grunting in pain, while Rachel doubled over laughing. Once she'd gotten her breath back, she turned around to see who could distract Xander enough to make him crash into a railing. She hoped it wasn't Cordelia.

She saw a petite blonde girl in a dark red skirt and white T-shirt with a brown satchel slung over her shoulder looking apprehensively at the entrance to Sunnydale High School. Rachel didn't recognize her, so she was probably a new kid. Then Rachel chuckled wryly to herself. If she knew Xander Harris, he'd be all over the new girl like white on rice. He was like that.

Then, she noticed one of her other best friends, Willow, in the corner of her eye. Willow was a girl as slender as the tree that shared her name, with long red hair and open, friendly features. Rachel had known Willow just as long as she'd known Xander, and the smaller girl had become the little sister she'd never had. Willow walked up to Xander, stepping high to avoid tripping over his legs. Rachel sauntered towards them both, smirking.

Xander was pulling himself off the ground, wincing. "I'm okay. I feel good." Rachel rolled her eyes. Only Xander Harris would notice a pretty girl, collide with a stair railing, get the wind knocked out of him, and then announce that he was okay. Willow smiled down at him and tucked her hair behind her ear shyly. Rachel shook her head again. It was obvious that Willow was head-over-heels for Xander.

Just then, Xander caught sight of Willow and Rachel. "Willow! Rachel! You're so very much the people that I wanted to see!" He moved to get up, and Rachel grabbed his arm, pulling him upright. "Thanks, Rache."

Willow laughed at his antics. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. You know, I kinda had a problem with the math." Xander was always having a problem with the math.

Willow smiled. She was easily the smartest person in their little group, and always up for helping them with their homework. She was the reason Rachel was scraping a passing grade in French. "Uh, which part?"

Xander scowled contemplatively. "The math." Rachel chuckled.. "Can you help me out tonight, pleeeeease, be my study buddy?"

Willow pretended to think it over. "Well, what's in it for me?"

Xander fished in his pocket for a minute. "A shiny nickel!"

Willow nodded. "Okay. Do you have "Theories in Trig"? You should check it out."

Xander frowned. "Check it out?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "From the library, nimrod. Full of books? My uncle's sanctum sanctorum?"

Xander nodded. "Right, I'm there! See, I wanna change…"

Rachel looked at him skeptically. "When pigs fly, Harris. When pigs fly." They walked in to find Jesse, the fourth member of their quartet, waiting for him. Jesse was a tall boy still growing into his long features, with a mop of curly hair.

"Hey, hey!"

Xander grabbed Jesse's hand and clapped him on the back. "Hey, Jesse, what's what?"

It appeared Jesse has been struck by the same madness as Xander. "New girl!"

Xander nodded enthusiastically. "That's right, I saw her. Pretty much a hottie!"

Willow smiled tentatively. "I heard someone was transferring…"

Xander completely missed Willow's contribution to the conversation. "So tell!"

Jesse frowned- he wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. "Tell what?" Then again, he was good for laughs.

Xander nodded. "What's the sitch, what do ya know about her?"

Jesse repeated himself. "New girl!"

Xander scowled. "Well, you're certainly a font of nothing!"

Rachel snorted derisively. "Boys. I don't know how the human race will survive if all it takes is a pretty girl to reduce you two to a pair of drooling Neanderthals."

Willow and Jesse peeled off on their way to their own classes. Rachel and Xander continued on, chatting animatedly. They both had World History II first thing in the morning.

As they passed Principal Flutie's office, the pretty blonde from earlier came out and walked right into one of Cordelia's minions and her boyfriend. The blonde lost her grip on her bag and dropped it. It fell to the floor, spilling its contents. Blondie looked apologetically at the minion. "Oh! Sorry!"

The minion looked at Blondie condescendingly. "That's okay." By which Minion meant that it clearly wasn't. She and her boyfriend walked on, chattering away.

Blondie looked dejectedly at the mess. "Oh…"

Xander started tugging insistently on Rachel's arm. "Come on!"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break, Harris. We're going to be late for class!"

Xander kept tugging. "Please, Rachel? That girl is the hottest thing to enter Sunnydale since Cordelia Chase. You're my wingwoman! It is your duty as wingwoman to help me win this girl's heart!"

Rachel sighed as she jerked her arm out of Xander's grasp. "Why do I even let you talk me into these things, Harris?"

"Because you love me?" This little comment earned him a whack upside the head. "Ow!"

Rachel and Xander went over to Blondie and offered to help her gather her things. Xander attempted to make conversation. "Can I have you?" Rachel snickered. Blondie shot him a confused look. Xander looked embarrassed as he realized what he'd said. "Duh…" He chuckled sheepishly. "Can I help you?"

Blondie smiled, and Rachel shook her head. Blondie would have Xander drooling at her feet in no time. "Thanks."

Xander tried for articulate conversation, this time with a little more success. "I don't know you, do I?" Rachel nodded. He was making progress. He'd said a complete sentence with no grammatical errors.

Blondie smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Buffy. I'm new." Rachel took the proffered hand, noting that Buffy was much stronger than she looked. Even stronger than Rachel.

Xander was gibbering, so Rachel sighed and made her own introductions. "I'm Rachel. Cro-Magnon over there is Xander Harris, but he also answers to Nimrod."

Buffy smiled. "Um, thanks." They finished gathering up everything.

Xander tucked his hands in his pockets and nodded. "Well, uh, maybe I'll see you around… maybe at school… since we… both… go there." Classic. Simply classic.

Buffy nodded as she stood up. "Great! It was nice to meet you." She started down the hall, and Xander's eyes strayed to her butt. Rachel whacked him upside the head again. Pig.

Rachel smirked at Xander. "We both go to school. Very suave, Harris. Very not pathetic. You'll be charming Cordelia Chase next."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Shut up. Hey, what's that?" Rachel had noticed a wooden stake lying on the floor. The stake was about a foot long and slender. It was sharpened to a fine point on one end, kind of like a knife. She hadn't dropped one, so the stake could only belong to Buffy. Dear Lord. Could this girl be a Slayer?

Rachel grabbed the stake. "Hey! Buffy! You forgot your stake." Buffy didn't hear her and continued down the hall. Rachel turned around and began sprinting towards the library. Her uncle would definitely want to know about this new girl who carried weapons for killing vampires.