Dawn glanced at her cell phone again, pressing the volume button so the screen would light up. It lit up, only to show no new messages. Kit had promised she'd text Dawn about how her date went last night, but nothing. She was getting a little worried, maybe this guy wasn't what he seemed? Maybe he was a Hellmouth special? She shrugged her shoulders to herself, mentally shaking her head. No, she'd seen the boy in the sun, so not a vampire, and he seemed nice enough. Besides, Kit wasn't the most reliable person in the world, she probably just forgot or fell asleep or something.
Tossing her phone onto her bedside table, Dawn shrugged off her house coat and grabbed the towel laying on her bed. Time for a shower, and then school. If she kept worrying about why Kit never texted her last night, she'd go insane, and Buffy would kick her butt.
The sun was bright in the sky as Dawn exited the high school. It was a beautiful spring day, but she barely noticed as she rushed down the road. Her brow was furrowed and she was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Kit hadn't been in school today, and she wouldn't answer her phone. Dawn didn't have that many friends at school, and those she did, she was insanely protective of.
Kit's house was on Dawn's way home, so she planned on stopping by to see what was up. She reached the door of Kit's house easily, but knocking was another matter. She took a deep breathe, mentally preparing herself. 'It's okay. Kit knows what goes on in this town, she'd be safe. She's fine, just got mono from making out with that boy or something. Maybe she stayed out late with him and slept in? Her parents are never home, they wouldn't notice. Yeah.' Releasing the breath, Dawn raised her hand and knocked loudly three times.
After a minute of waiting, Dawn got anxious and raised her hand to knock again, but the door swung open just as she brought her fist down. Her eyes grew huge as she took in her friend, who had opened the door.
"Jesus, Kit! What happened?!" Dawn gasped, rushing forward to place her hands on Kit's white face. Her eyes were dark and sunken, her hair lank and unwashed, and her clothes had obviously been lived in for quite a while, even ripped in a few places, and, was that blood?
"Kit, what happened?" Dawn repeated when she got no answer. Tears started to run down Kit's cheeks and over Dawn's hands.
"He comes. In my dreams. He always comes, I can't sleep, or he's there. He's there, Dawn! Oh god, he's there and he won't leave!" Kit gasped, her knees giving out as she clutched at Dawns t-shirt, pulling her down with her. "He won't leave, not until he's killed me, killed us all! He won't even stop then!" The girl dissolved into gurgled sobs, muttering something Dawn couldn't make out.
"Kit, come on, it's okay! I can help, I promise I can. Let's just get you up, maybe sit on the couch while I call someone? Where are your parents?" Dawn asked, rubbing a hand over her friends back as her eyes searched the room for any sign of help.
"NO! HE'S COMING! You don't get it!" Kit screeched, catching Dawn off guard.
"Who? Kit, who is coming?!" Dawn asked frantically trying to keep her friend grounded. Kit suddenly went still in her arms, sunken eyes raising to look into Dawn's.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you. I shouldn't have remembered." Kit moaned, trailing off into incoherent babble as her eyelids drooped.
"Kit, who?" Dawn asked, shaking Kit lightly. Kit's eyes returned to Dawn's, tears welling up once more.
"Freddy Krueger." The name wisped past Kit's quivering lips, sending a shiver down Dawn's spine as the sound of metal slashing through air ran through her head.
"Come on, I'll call your parents and my sister, we'll figure this out, okay?" Dawn comforted her friend in an almost pleading manner, gently pulling at Kit's arms to make her stand. Kit stumbled to her feet, and let Dawn support her. They made their way through the hallways and into the kitchen, where Dawn sat Kit gently in a bar stool by the counter.
"Okay, where are your parents Kit? Do you know the number of their work?" Dawn asked, tapping her hand lightly of Kit's cheek as her eyes started to droop.
"No, out. Gone. No number, can't be reached." Kit mumbled, giggling almost hysterically at when she finished.
"Alright, I'm going to call my sister, okay? Just, sit here, sit tight all right?" Dawn said, checking that Kit wouldn't fall out of the stool if she left. When Kit was secure, she stood and walked over to the doorway, cast a glance back at her dishevelled friend, then stepped into the hallway.
Flipping open her cell, Dawn pressed the speed dial for '1' and placed the phone against her ear, praying her sister would answer. A breath whooshed passed her lips as her sisters voice answered though the phone, a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"Hellooo?" Buffy's voice asked for the second time.
"It's me. I'm at Kit's place, but Buffy something is not right. Kit's terrified, she looks like she hasn't slept in days. She wasn't in school, I thought I'd stop by, and I found her like this, like…god, Buffy, please get here now!" Dawn broke into a sob as the thought of her friend's terror broke through her calm.
"Dawnie, are you okay? What is it, demon?" Buffy asked, calm and demanding, yet gentle.
"God, I don't know, Buffy! I have no idea, she's just--please just get--" Dawn was cut of by loud screaming in the kitchen. She dropped her phone and turned, running as the blood in her veins began to boil with fear.
Dawn rounded the doorway into the kitchen, sliding to a stop along the tiled floor, eyes searching for her friend. A loud gasp escaped her lips as she watched Kit's body fall from where it had been hovering in the air near the ceiling and smack into the tiled floor. A beat later Kit's body hadn't moved, nothing had, and Dawn's brain kicked back in.
Rushing forward, Dawn threw herself onto the floor beside her friend, splashing in the blood that puddled there. Her eye's raked Kit's body, taking in the slash marks covering her from head to toe, pierced her left shoulder, her chest and neck.
Tears poured down Dawn's face as she cradled Kit's head. She was tapping her hand on Kit's dead cheek, lightly at first, then harder, making a slick, wet noise as she tried to rouse her friend. All thought for who had done this, if they were still there, Dawn's own safety had fled from her head as her only high school friend's body lay on the hard kitchen tile in front of her on the beautiful spring day.