A Matter of Choice

Disclaimer : I don't own the BTVS or the Supernatural characters. I'm only borrowing them to have some fun.

That's my first fanficin English. It's a crossover with Supernatural. It happens a few years after s7 of BTVS and during s1 of Supernatural. I'm really waiting for yours reviews. Tell me what you think!

Dawn closed her book with a sigh of relief. Studying was over for today. She gathered her stuff and stood up. She was exhausted. These finals were going to kill her. Her last test was the following day and a new semester will begin. Just one little test and the torture will be over. She put the books on a trolley next to the librarian's desk. The woman behind the desk gave her a tired smile. It was almost midnight and the library was going to close anyway.

Leaving Herman Wells building, she tightened her collar for protection against the cold. It rarely dropped below zero in Indiana, even in winter. This mid-December was even warm, but for a Californian girl, it was freezing. She was living on campus at the University of Indiana for a year and a half now. After the collapse of Sunnydale four years ago, she decided she was too young to die. She didn't want this life, the one of a warrior. She was not one. She dreamed of a peaceful life, far away from the supernatural and the fight against the Darkness. It had taken time for her to realize that. When you are the little sister of the Slayer, it was hard to admit you didn't want to have anything to do with her fight. Even more so when said sister died for you. However, the blonde had taken the news with well. She too had dreamed of a normal life for her little sister.

Dawn had finished high school in Cleveland where she had lived at the HQ of the new International Watcher Council (IWC for short). It was a big and beautiful manor just outside the city which was also a boarding school for the new slayers. They were going to high school like any normal girls, but when they came home, they were trained to protect humanity but above all, for surviving the longest they possibly could in the violent life they were destined to live. They were also the guardians of the small Hellmouth in Cleveland which was nice compared to the one of Sunnydale. There was nearly no apocalypses and the Slayers cleaned the city of all the aggressive vampires and demons. During this time, Dawn had tried to stay calm and patient. It was hard to live in a house with dozens of girls, but when the girls in question were superhuman heroes and you are the one and only normal girl, it was Hell! Even more when your every move was watched because your big overprotective sister, who led said group of supergirls, had given the order to keep you out of trouble. That was a hard job considering your record. But hey! It wasn't like she asked demons to keep kidnapping her!

So, it was a relief to go to college. She stayed near Cleveland; after all, Ohio was a state near Indiana. The most important thing was that she started a new life. Her life. Far away from Slayers, demons, supernatural beings, apocalypses and all the things that had made up her life for nine years. She said goodbye to the little sister of the longest Slayer alive in all the slayerness history and hello to Dawn Summers, Californian student studying Linguistic Anthropology at Indiana University, in Bloomington. She had to call one Scooby each week to let them know she was alive and had not been a nibbled on or another human sacrifice to a demon. At first, being alone in a completely new place terrified her far more than the thought of being kidnapped. But she adjusted to her independence and she now knew that she could not live without it.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, approaching quickly. She saw an ambulance and several police cars driving up Seventh Avenue. She slipped her hand into her inner jacket pocket, feeling the comforting weight of her stake. 'What happened?' she thought as she quickened her pace. The vehicles had stopped in front of Weatherly Hall. Policemen were blocking the entrance and stopping the mass of curious students who were trying to see what happened. It was really strange. The campus was calm. Authorities were rarely needed, and when they were needed it was for nothing really important.

Dawn cleared a path for herself through the crowd. All around her people were whispering, trying to reassure themselves that it couldn't be anything serious. However, when two officers appeared, a somber expression on their face, they knew it was serious. One of them shook his head at the interrogating look a policeman was sending him. Girls began to cry when the officer took his radio and asked for the coroner. Dawn felt a shiver run through her spine. She had not been this close to death for months now.

Understanding she had no reason to stay, she walked back and went home. She lived in one of the apartments in the Ashton residence with five other students. They were doubling up in the three bedroom apartment. Kathleen, Amanda and Chloe were watching the TV and welcomed her when she entered.

"How was studying?" Amanda asked.

The small red headed girl was studying philosophy. She was always joyful and her brown eyes were sparkling. She shared a room with of Dawn. All the girls started school at the same time. They were really different but they got along very well. Kathleen was a tall and slender brunette who lived for sports. She was strict and authoritarian and was the group dietician. Chloe wanted to be a journalist. At first sight, she appeared shy and reserved with her long blond hair, her pale complexion, but she hid a fierce determination and an irritating stubbornness. Two girls were absents: Sandra Lee, a young Asian painter who was kind and dreamy – except when she was painting – and Karen, an African-American, future lawyer, and was always partying.

Dawn took of her shoes and her jacket as she entered the room

"Someone's dead," she said.

All three girls turned their head towards her, giving her all their attention.

"Are you kidding?" Chloe asked.

"I wish. The cops were there. An officer called the coroner. If the victim was alive, he wouldn't have done that."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. We'll see tomorrow in the newspaper. I am exhausted so I'm going to hit the sack. Night guys!"

She went in her bedroom, changed in her nightclothes, prepared her bag for the following day and slid under the covers. Like every night, she kissed the portrait of her sister that sat on her nightstand, hoping that Buffy wouldn't die tonight. She set her alarm and quickly fell asleep.

µ

David Guetta's latest song was resonating in the living room while on the floor, Kathleen was doing stomach exercises. Chloe was sitting at the table, eating while studying. Sandra was in the bathroom. Dawn helped herself a cup of coffee, thinking of the exam she had to take in an hour. She was reminding herself of her lesson. In four hours, the semester will be over. Just one little exam first. Then, she will go back to Cleveland for Christmas before coming home for New Year's Eve.

Kathleen finished her exercises and stood up, putting away her foam-rubber mattress. A groan was heard from the corridor and Karen appeared, disheveled and obviously exhausted. Only her eyes seemed awake and were flaring with anger. Without a word, she walked to the hi-fi and turned it off before facing her roommates.

"It's eight am for God's sake!"

"So what?" Kathleen asked.

Dawn and Chloe shared a look full of meaning: it was time to run. They were used to this scene. It was the same, nearly every morning. Kathleen, sportive, will get up early, turn on the music and do exercises. This annoyed Karen, the party animal, who had only been sleeping for a couple of hours. And they will fight, before making up a few hours later.

"They're arguing again?" Sandra asked, entering in the room.

She already knew the answer. The African-American glared at her.

"Some people sleep in the morning!"

"And others wake up early because they have a class. It's sooo unfair!" Chloe complained.

Dawn laughed at this. The door opened and Amanda entered, livid.

"Debbie's dead."

That killed the mood instantly.

"Debbie? Debbie Claymore?" Karen asked, wide awake now.

"Yeah."

The redhead threw the newspaper on the table. The youngest Summers took it and read. On the front page, there was a photograph of the building where a stretcher was leaving. Debbie. In the bottom right corner, a portrait of the young woman was printed, chubby and full of life. Dawn rapidly read the article. It seemed that Debbie killed herself. According to the police, she had taken sleeping pills before drowning herself in the bathtub. She lived in one of the individual apartments alone. Karen snatched the newspaper out of Dawn's hands. Reading it, her face contorted into a grimace.

"This is bullshit! She would never have killed herself!"

"These things happen Karen," Chloe said softly, putting a hand on her roommate.

But Karen freed herself abruptly.

"No! She was one of my friends! She loves life! Loved. She would never ever kill herself. I saw her yesterday at this party. She was with Henry but she decided to leave early because of an exam she had today."

The students did not know what to say. They didn't know Debbie, but Karen and she had classes together. Dawn watched the hour. She would have liked to have stayed for her friend but she could not be late to her exam. Debbie's death was strange but, like Chloe said, these things happened. Who could say that they really knew a person? University was stressful. Some gave up. Rare were the ones who killed themselves. But, it did happen.

"I'm sorry guys but I have to go."

"No problem Dawn," answered Kathleen. "Good luck for your exam."

"Thanks!"

She took her coat and her bag and left. Passing by Debbie's apartment, she saw a little altar had been set. A portrait of Debbie smiled at the by-passers while flowers piled up around. It was sad, yes, but death was a part of life. It was a rough lesson she had learned a long time ago. She buried Debbie's suicide in a corner of her mind and concentrate on her exam.