Moving On

Pairings: Buffy/Spike; Cordelia/Angel; Dawn/Connor; willow/oz(eventually); Xander/Talia

Rating: M eventually for some graphic scenes later on

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Talia, she's appeared in several of my Buffy stories. Joss owns absolutely everything else, this is strictly for entertainment purposes.

Summary: Buffy, Dawn, and Joyce move to Sunnydale after their parents get a divorce. Having to leave their friends, boyfriends, and familiar settings, the girls have a hard time coping. What happens when Buffy meets a specific bleached blonde that sets her on fire?

Chapter 1

Buffy and Dawn were completely sullen as they watched the movers bring in their belongings to the new house. Their mother was trying to lighten the mood by saying that they wouldn't have to share a bedroom anymore. To Buffy and Dawn, that was hardly a consolation. The two had always gotten along and didn't really mind the shared space. Moving from Las Angeles to Sunnydale was one of the hardest things the two girls had ever had to do. Buffy, who would be starting her Junior year in High school, had been forced to leave everything she loved behind. Being the captain of the cheerleading squad, she'd had to leave all of her friends behind, as well as the love of her life, Riley. Riley Finn and Buffy had met the first day of 9th grade and an instant spark was detected. They'd been inseparable from that day and now she was forced to be away from him.

Dawn was in a similar situation. She was more sporty then Buffy could ever dream to be and she thrived on the girls soccer team. Her sister was going to be a freshman and she was less than thrilled to be going to Sunnydale high that didn't have a female sports team. Despite her tom boyish ways, she'd met Andrew Davis in L.A. and he'd been her first boyfriend. As soon as he'd learned she was moving, he'd broken things off, saying they were too young for a long distance thing. Buffy swore that if Riley tried to pull that line, she was driving back just to kick his ass. Buffy and Dawn were sitting on the porch swing of 1630 Revello Dr, their new home. Joyce walked back out onto the porch and eyed her two daughters that were huddled together and silent. She crossed her arms and sighed.

"Guys, I know this is a big change from the city, but I think we can make this work." Buffy plastered a fake smile on her face, one that Joyce had become familiar with as she looked up at her mother.

"Of course we can, mom. This is going to be great, I know it." Dawn, taking the queue from her big sister, she copied the smile, causing a small ache in Joyce's heart. It wasn't fair to have their lives up heaved like it was. Dawn sighed before speaking.

"Yeah, it's gonna be great, mom, don't worry." Joyce smiled back, knowing she had to be brave for her girls.

"I've checked out the high school, and it has a wonderful academic program. Dawn, we'll find something in the community in a way of sports for you." Dawn shrugged and looked back down at her feet.

"That's okay, mom, I think I'm getting a bit old for the tom boy route. I'll just focus on my grades." Buffy slightly nudged her sister in the ribs, telling her to cut out the dramatics for their mother. Buffy looked back at her mother with another fake smile.

"We were talking and we've decided to get it over with. We'll go ahead and go to school tomorrow. Since the year started a week ago, there is no sense in delaying the inevitable." Joyce raised an eyebrow at her oldest, but didn't comment. She nodded her head and went back into the house. This was definitely going to be an interesting few weeks.

The next day, Buffy and Dawn walked into the front hallway of Sunnydale High with a grimace. It wasn't really anything against the small town and it's school, it just wasn't home. Buffy longed to see the familiar faces of Hemery and Dawn longed to see her friends as well. They'd gotten there early and had received their new schedules. Buffy's class came first, so when they got there, she turned to look at Dawn. The school was so small, already people were stopping to glance at the two new faces. Luckily, the two had the same lunch period, so they wouldn't be stuck in unfamiliar territory. Buffy looked down at her schedule and back up at her sister with a sigh.

"You know how to get to your class, Dawnie?" Dawn nodded glumly and Buffy new exactly how she felt.

"I think I can manage, okay. This is really it, huh? It feels like I'm stuck in a nightmare, Buffy." Buffy fought to keep her own emotions in check. How could their father do this to them? She reached forward and hugged her distraught sister.

"It's gonna be okay, Dawn, don't you worry about it. If you have any problems at all today, you let me know and I'll kick some ass." Dawn giggled at her sister's attempt to cheer her up.

"I'll be fine, we both will. Have fun at your first day of hell, Buffy." Buffy nodded and headed into her own classroom. When she got there, just about all of the seats had been taken. She walked up to the teacher and handed him her note from the office. This was her English class, and she could probably do okay in this one. He told her to pick an available seat and Buffy hid her need to groan aloud. She settled on a seat that was next to a Billy Idol wannabe. She sat behind a mousy looking redhead, who smiled politely at her. On the other side of her was a dorky looking brunette and behind her was a muscular kind of guy. Buffy kept to herself and didn't look at anyone as soon as she sat down. This was going to be a hell of a day. Once the class was over, Buffy tried to hurry and grab her things before anyone could speak to her, but she didn't quite make it. She was grabbing the book that the teacher had given her when the brunette spoke to her.

"So, you are Buffy Summers? We heard that you were coming sometime this week. Welcome to Sunnyhell high, I'm Xander Harris. The red head in front of you is Willow Rosenberg, our resident brain. The blonde guy on your right is William Giles, though he likes to be called Spike. Behind you is Angel O'Connor and his beloved, Cordelia Chase." The last girl he introduced, just rolled her eyes

"God, Xander, could you be any more dorky with your introductions? Don't mind him, he's our resident nerd." Buffy blushed slightly, but she didn't want to be rude to them.

"It's nice to meet you." She heard a stifled laugh and a very British accent behind her.

"Well, you're not the talkative kind of bird, are you? It'll be a very nice contrast to this lot, I'll tell you that." The entire group turned to glare at him. Buffy finished grabbing her things and turned to look at them.

"Thanks for the welcome. I've got to find my next class." The jock that sat behind her perked up then.

"Oh, what class is that?" Buffy made a face, trying to appear social.

"It's History with Banks…my most hated subject." This got a few chuckles. Xander poked his head up then.

"That's totally cool, Spike and I have her next too." Buffy turned to look at the blond for the first time and was shocked at what she saw. He was very muscular, but on the slim side. He was absolutely gorgeous and Buffy found herself to be staring. She caught the smirk on his face, but thankfully, he didn't say anything. She followed her two new acquaintances to her next class in silence. She walked up to the teacher and handed her the paper she needed signed and was told to sit directly next to Spike. Xander sat on the other side of the room. Throughout the entire class, Buffy could feel Spike's eyes on her and made her flush in a way that she'd never felt before.

By the time lunch came around, Buffy was so ready to call it a day. She hadn't had another classes with any of the people she'd met in her first period and she was kind of happy about that. Something about the way Spike kept looking at her, was making her uncomfortable. She quickly found and empty table and placed her backpack in an empty seat for her sister. Spotting Dawn across the cafeteria, she didn't notice when Angel, Xander, Spike, and Willow came up to her. It was Angel who spoke for the group.

"Mind if we join you for lunch, Buffy?" Startled, Buffy turned her head to face the four friendly faces. She could do nothing but nod, and she glanced back over to see her sister coming towards them with a surprised look on her face. She came to a stop behind the chair that Buffy had been saving. She quickly removed her bag and the taller girl took her seat. Buffy smiled, very relieved to have her there.

"How have your first couple of classes been, Dawn?" Dawn sighed and shrugged.

"Okay I guess." Dawn looked around at the expectant faces and Buffy realized she was being rude again.

"Right, sorry about that. Dawn, this Angel, Xander, Willow, and Spike. Guys, this is my sister, Dawn." Xander smiled really big at her.

"Ah, little sis to the buffster, good to meet you, Dawn." Dawn giggled and raised an eyebrow at Buffy. Angel rolled his eyes and smacked Xander on the back of the head.

"Quit being such a tard, Harris, damn." Buffy and Dawn instantly relaxed and settled in for their lunch. They were about halfway through the period, when Buffy's cell phone started ringing. Completely embarrassed, Buffy reached for it.

"I forgot to turn it off." Xander shrugged.

"It's okay, you can have them on during lunch." Buffy was slightly surprised by that, but it was squelched when she saw that it was Riley calling her. Buffy smiled hugely at her sister as she flipped her phone open.

"Riley!" Hearing his voice, instantly calmed Buffy's rising anxiety.

"Hey Buffy, how are you settling in?" Buffy looked down and lowered her voice.

"It's okay, it's not too terrible. I miss you so much, this sucks." She heard him sigh with longing.

"You have no idea how much I miss you, babe. Tell me you got permission from your mom to come up here for homecoming." Buffy lowered her head even more to soak in his words.

"It hasn't really come up yet, but I promise I'll ask her." He was silent for a moment.

"Don't wait too long, Buffy, Homecoming is only two months away and I desperately need to see you." When she hung up the phone, she looked up to see everyone staring at her, including her sister. She was the one to break the silence, though.

"How's Riley doing?" Buffy shrugged.

"He wants me to go to Homecoming with him. I don't know if mom will go for that." Dawn made a face, and Buffy knew what was coming.

"You shouldn't give her a choice, Buffy, it's the least she can do after dragging us down here." Buffy winced at her choice of words. She looked back over at the group to apologize, but Willow stopped her.

"Don't worry about it, okay? I know how hard it is to be in a different school with people you don't really know. We don't take offense." Buffy smiled sincerely at her.

"Thanks, it's just this whole move has been rather sudden. We weren't given any notice of it at all." They all nodded and didn't say anything else about it. When the lunch bell rang, they all stood up to put their things away. Buffy found out that she had her last period, Science, with Spike. When she arrived to the class, there were a few open spots, including one next to Spike. The teacher didn't look up as he signed her paper and told her to pick an open spot. She looked around the room with dread and saw Spike smirk at her. She stayed in her spot until he removed his bag from the seat beside him and jerked his head slightly. Feeling enormously relieved, Buffy walked over to where he sat, not seeing the daggers that were shot in her direction. Once she sat down, Spike looked over at her.

"Thought I was going to have to write you an invitation, pet." Buffy blushed, but didn't respond to his comment. Spike sighed and continued to look at her.

"So, this Riley fellow…he your boyfriend?" Buffy looked over at him and saw that he was sincerely trying to get to know her.

"Yes he is, he's been pretty great about the whole move." Spike nodded politely.

"I think it's great if you think it'll work out for you. Me personally, I don't much like long distance relationships, what's the point? We're young and shouldn't be held down like that. What if you were to find someone that caught your eye? You couldn't do anything because you are previously committed to someone." Buffy's blush only deepened as she turned to look at him.

"I guess I can see your point, but I love Riley. He's the only one for me." She turned her attention back to the class and didn't catch when Spike smiled widely. She also didn't catch his mutter.

"We'll see about that."