Chapter Two: Welcome To The Hellmouth Pt 1

She tossed and turned in her sleep, racked with nightmares. Mostly a disjointed collection of images. A homeless man wandering down an alley, then being attacked by something.

A disembodied voice saying " I'll take you... like a cancer. I'll get inside you and eat my way out."

A horrible white demonic face.

("Buffy!")

A pool of blood.

("Buffy!")

And roars coming out of the shadows.

"BUFFY!"

Buffy's eyes snapped open and she sat straight up in her bed, feeling a little disoriented as she tried to shake off the effects of the dream.

"Buffy, are you ok?" came a voice from the other side of the room. "You were thrashing around and moaning." It took her a moment to remember where she was.

Oh, yeah. Sunnydale. Kara.

"I'm ok, Kara,"she said. "Mostly. Just a bad dream." She decided not to tell her cousin, who she now shared a room with the content of her bad dream. Why open herself up to questions?

"I understand," said Kara. "I've had a few since Saturday." Saturday, they'd had the funeral for Uncle Jeremiah. Buffy suddenly felt selfish for worrying about her issues with getting kicked out of Hemry and everything. Alex had lost her father, and Kara her adoptive father for crying out loud.

Buffy looked over at Kara as she got dressed. There was something different about her adopted cousin. She seemed like a normal, if slightly quiet, teenage girl, but, sometimes, she didn't get a joke that anybody should get, or, the day of the funeral, she walked out of their room without her glasses, and seemed to do just fine without them. But, on the other hand, she was sweet, and seemed to really worry about Buffy having had to move to a new town like she did.

"Kara," said Buffy. "Things have gone so quickly since Mom got the call from Grandma, and neither Grandma or Aunt Eliza said anything then, so, this is my first chance to ask. How did Uncle Jeremiah die?"

Kara looekd troubled. "I don't know for sure," she said. "it was some sort of accident at work, but nobody will give us details. Dad worked for the government and the work he did was top secret."

"That would explain in," said Buffy, as Kara went into the bathroom A moment later, Buffy heard the shower running. She felt bad that Aunt Eliza had given up her room to Buffy and Kara, but it was NICE having their own bathroom.

She heard a knock on the door. "Hey, you two up?" came Alex's voice.

"We're up and Kara is in the shower, Alex," said Buffy, getting out of bed and walking to their walk in closet to pick out something to wear.

"Ok, Aunt Joyce just wanted me to check," called Alex. "She said to remind you you don 't want to be late your first day."

Buffy heard Alex walk off. "No," she muttered. "Definitely wouldn't want THAT."

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The five ladies had a quick breakfast of yogurt with fruit and granola before getting ready to all head out. Eliza had work and Joyce was scouting locations for the art gallery she was opening. Alex got a sad smile as she picked up her car keys. When her Dad died, she had gotten his car, as she was 17 and a senior in high school. On the one hand, it was a nice car, and she LOVED having her freedom, even if it DID mean sometimes carting Kara, and now Buffy who didn't even have her license yet, around.

But she'd rather have her Daddy back.

She cleared her throat. "C'mon you two," she called to Kara and Buffy. "The cab is leaving in a minute." Kara smiled as she and Buffy got up and the three girls exchanged hugs with their mothers and aunts.

"Have a good time," Aunt Joyce said to Buffy. " I know you'll make new friends right away. And honey...try not to get kicked out."

Alex winced when she saw the hurt look on Buffy's face, and readied herself for a blowout. Even her Mom seemed surprised at Aunt Joyce's words.

To her credit, Buffy just took a deep breath and said "I'll try."

The five of them said goodbye and the three girls left.

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"Ok," said Alex as they got out of her car at the student parking lot. "Buffy needs to meet with principal Flutie. Can you take her there, Kara? I jsut remembered I have to meet with Dr. Gregory about a biology question."

" I know the way," said Kara, rolling her eyes. "Buffy might be safe with me." Buffy chuckled. She'd alread ypicked up that alex was the ultra responsible big sister.

"Smart ass," muttered Alex. She looked to Buffy. "Don't worry, things will be fine. I'm sure thigns here are very similar to your old school." Buffy smiled her thanks as Alex said. "Ok, I gotta go. Have fun. Love you both. Go 'way." All three laughed as Alex went in one direction and Kara led Buffy in another.

"Principal Flutie is a good guy," Kara was saying as Buffy took in her surroundings. Yeah, it was a lot the same as Hemry. There was what was clearly the drama club, being way gestury as they spoke. The jocks standing around, laughing and shoving each other like a bunch of meatheads, the brainy kids were already studying. A typical American high school.

So why did it give Buffy a wiggins?

"He's a good guy," continued Kara. "But he tries a little too hard for the whole "your principal is your friend" thing. But, at the same time, he tries for the discipline, you know?"

Buffy nodded and both girls looked up to see a dark hairedboy on a skateboard coming right towards them with obviously little or no control over the thing.

"Coming through, coming through," he shouted to the crowd which parted for him. "Not sure how to stop." He looked at Buffy and Kara. "Kara!" he called out. "Don't let me die!" As he said that, the skateboard came flying out from under him. Buffy managed to catch him before he hit the ground though. She looekd over and saw Kara holding the skateboard. She must have caught it in mid air.

Weird.

"HOW many times do i have to tell you not to try and ride this thing in a crowd?" Kara asked the boy, slapping the skateboard into his hands.

"At least one more?" said the boy with an endearing, lopsided smile. He looked at Buffy as Kara shook her head. "Thanks for the save." He said. "You must be Kara's cousin."

"Yeah, hi, I'm Buffy," she said, blushing a little under his scrutiny.

"Buffy, this is one of my good friends, Xander Harris,' said Kara. She pointed to a pretty, red haired girl who came walking up. The poor girl was wearing clothes that her mother had obviously picked out. Buffy felt immediately sorry for her, sensing she was kind of awkward. "And this is Willow Rosenberg," Kara continued as a another boy walked up. "Wow. The gangs all here. And this is Jesse Mcnalley. Guys, this is my cousin, Buffy Summers."

"Nice to meet you," said Willow, shyly.

"Yeah," said Jesse, trying to be cool. Any cousin of Kara's is...well, a potential friend of ours."

Buffy chuckled shaking her head as Xander turned to Willow.

"Willow!" he exclaimed happily. "You're SO the person I wanted to see!"

"Really?" asked Willow,beaming at him.

"Yeah," said Xander. "Remember our homework? Well, I kinda had a problem with the math."

Willow's smile got a bit less bright as she asked him," Which part?" Buffy and Kara exchanged a look, Kara nodding slightly at Buffy's unasked question. It was pretty clear that Willow was crushing on Xander.

Xander looked embarrassed. "The math," he answered. He looked at her plaintively. "Can you help me tonight? Please? Be my study buddy?"

Willow shook her head at him. "What's in it for me?" she asked him, clearly amused.

"A shiny nickel!" Xander singsonged, making it sound like equivalent to the city of El Dorado or King Solomon's Mines.

Willow laughed. "Ok. I'll help you."she said. "Do you have "Theories In Trig"? You should check it out."

Xander looked lost. "Check it out?" he asked.

Willow rolled her eyes. "From the library," she told him. "Where the books live."

"Right," said Xander. "I'm there! See? I WANT to change."

"Wait," said Jesse. "The books LIVE somewhere?"

All three girls just sort of rolled their eyes at him.

"Well, we better go so Buffy can make her meeting with Principal Flutie," said Kara. "We'll see you guys at lunch?" All three agreed as Buffy and Kara walked off.

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A short time later, Buffy found herself sitting across from Principal Flutie. She could already see that the middle aged man was caught somewhere between the old school of strict discipline and the new school of sensitivty. She hoped sensitivity won out when it came to her past.

"Buffy Summers," he said, looking at her transcript then at Buffy. Late of Hemry High in Los Angeles. You have an interesting career, Miss Summers. Very colorful." He smiled and did the very last thing Buffy expected him to do.

He tore the transcript into four pieces.

"Welcome to Sunnydale, Buffy," he said warmly. "You get a clean slate here. What's past is past. We're not interested in what this piece of paper says. Even if it says..." Buffy was just starting to hold out some hope as he looked down and read the paper. "...WHOA!. Ahem, er. We nurture the whole student here. The INNEr student." As he spoke, he took the four pieces of Buffy's transcript and lay them carefully on his desk, fitting them together. "Other schools might look at the incredible decline in grade point average...HERE we look at the young WOMAN with the incredible decline in her grade point average." He reached for his tape dispenser as he looked again at the transcript. "Other schools might look at the reports of gang fights..."

"Uh, er, Mr. Flutie..." began Buffy nervously.

Flutie raised a hand. "The students here are free to call Bob," he told her.

"Ok...Bob," said Buffy.

"But they don't," Flutie informed her in a tone that said they were free to call him that in name only. "Ever." He started applying tape to the transcript's pieces.

Buffy sighed and tried again. "Mr. Flutie," she said. "I know my transcripts are a little...colorful..."

"Hey," said Flutie. "we're not caring about that."He paused and got a thoughtful look. "Do you think "colorful" is the word? Not "dismal". Because, offhand, I'd go with dismal."

Buffy got defensive."It wasn't THAT bad!" she protested.

Flutie pointed to her transcript. "You burned down the school gym."

Buffy squirmed. "I did," she admitted. "But you gotta see the whole picture. That gym was full of vam...asbestos." She winced at her own attempt at a save.

Flutie wen tback into Mr. Sensitive mode. "Buffy," he said. "don't worry. Any other school they might say "watch your step" or "we'llbe watching you" or even "get within 100 yards of the gym with a book of matches and you'll grow up in juvie hall" but that's just not the way here. Here, we want to service your needs and help you to respect our needs. And, if your needs and our needs don't mesh..." He smiled blandly and slipped the freshly taped transcript back into her file.

Buffy sighed. Again.

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A few minutes later, more depressed than ever, Buffy left Flutie's office, and distractedly ran smack dab into another student, knocking her books out of her bag and all over the floor. "Oh! I'm SO sorry," she said as she knelt to start picking them up. "I totally wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's ok,' said a boys voice, and Buffy noticed he'd knelt down to help her. "I was a little distracted myself. I guess we were both at fault."

Buffy looked up as he handed her some of her books. They both froze as their eyes met. Buffy felt herself entranced. The boy was good looking, tall and with an athletic build. he had longish jet black hair and a mustache. But what captivated Buffy the most was his eyes. Green, kinda sad, with the weight of the world in them, yet, still with a spark of mischief. If Buffy were in a different state, she'd have realized he was just as entranced.

"Er," he said after a long moment. "I don't know you, do I?"

Buffy put the rest of her thigns in her bag and they both stood. "What? Oh, No," she said. "I'm new. I'm Buffy Summers."

The boy smiled. "Bill Gordon," he said, putting out his hand. "Is me. Hi." They shook. Buffy noticed he had quite a grip. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," said Buffy. Both stood there a bit awkwardly. "Maybe I'll see you around. Maybe at school. Since we both...go there." She winced.

"Er, yeah, that'd be great," he said. "Because I'd like to see more of you. Wait, not MORE as in, skin or anything, just, to see you more often." He too visibly winced. "I gotta go," he said.

"Me too,": said Buffy, her face flushed. "Bye."

"Bye."

They both turned and left.

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A short time later, Buffy sat in her first hour class, earnestly taking notes, trying to keep up.

"It's estimated nearly four million people died in that one four year period," said the teacher. "But the really of the Black Plague is that it started in Europe as what? As an early form of germ warfare. The plague was first found in Asia, and a Kipchak army actually catapaulted plague -infested corpses into a Genoese trading post. Ingenious. If you look at the map on page 63 you can trace the spread of the disease..."

Buffy sighed as the other kids started opening their books, and she was forced to look down to see her notebook. No textbook for Buffy. She looked around, helplessly. Fortunately a very pretty dark haired girl next to her took pity on her.

"Here,"she said, holding her book where they could both see it.

"Thanks said Buffy.

"And this popular plague led to what social changes?" asked the teacher.

The class ended and the girl came up to Buffy. ":Hi,"she said in a totally self assured way. "I'm Cordelia."

Buffy smiled at her. "I'm Buffy," she said. She thought she'd heard either Kara or Alex mention a Cordelia, but, she wasn't sure.

"If you're looking for a text book, there's probably a few in the library," said Cordelia helpfully.

"Oh, thanks," said Buffy. "And where would that be?"

"C'mon," said Cordelia brightly. "I'll show you."

Cordelia kept a running dialogue going as the two made their way to the library. "So you transferred her from Hemry in LA?" she asked Buffy. "You're Alex and Kara Danvers cousin, right?

"Yeah," answered Buffy.

"Oh, I would kill to live in La," Cordelia gushed. "To be that close to that many shoes! Why did you move here?"

"Because my Mom moved here," answered Buffy. "I mean, I came with her, but, it was her choice. See, my folks split up, and my Mom wanted a "fresh start".Then Uncle Jeremiah died and Mom and Aunt Eliza thought this would be a good place for that."

Cordelia nodded. "Well," she said. "If you hang with me and mine, you'll be accepted in no time. Of course, I do have to test your coolness factor. You're from LA so we can skip the written, but, let's see...vamp nail polish?"

"Over?" Buffy guessed, still trying to figure out if Cordelia was joking about the written or not.

"SO over," said Cordelia. "James Spader?"

Buffy giggled. "He NEEDS to call me!"

"Frappacinos?"

"Trendy but tasty."

"John Tesh?"

"The Devil."

"Well, that one was pretty much a gimmee,"said Cordelia. "but you passed."

"Oh, GOOD," exclaimed Buffy, as if she were relieved. The two of them walked up to a drinking fountain, which was being used by none other than Willow.

"Hi Willow," said Buffy brightly as the girl stood back up. She started to smile, then saw Cordelia and looked like a deer in headlights.

"Willow, nice dress!" said Cordelia. "It's good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears!"

Buffy winced both at Cordelia's sudden viciousness and at the hurt look on Willow's face.

"Well, my mom picked it out," said Willow, almost apologizing."

"Well, it's no WONDER you're such a guy magnet!" said Cordelia witheringly. She indicated the fountain. "You done?"

"Oh,"said Willow, looking at the floor and moving aside.

"You wanna fit in around here," said Cordelia to Buffy, moving up to the fountain. " the first rule is know your losers". Once you can identify them all by sight, they're a lot easier to avoid." She bent down to get a drink as Buffy unhappily watched Willow leave. She desperately wanted to say something to Cordelia, but, she had remembered what Kara, it turned out, had said about her and Buffy figured this was not a girl she wanted to make an enemy of the first day.

"-and if you're not too busy catching up," said Cordelia a few minutes later as they approached the library. "you should come out to The Bronze tonight."

"The who?" asked Buffy, confused.

"The Bronze," answered Cordelia. "Didn't your cousins tell you about it? It's the only club worth going to around here. They let anybody in, but it's still the scene. It's kind of in the bad part of town."

"Where's that?" asked Buffy curiously.

Cordelia laughed. "About a half a block from the good part of town. We don't have a lot of town."

Buffy chuckled a little. "Well, I'll try. Thanks."

"Good," said Cordelia. "I'll see you at gym and you can tell me all there is to know about yourself."

Buffy shook her head as Cordelia left and muttered. "Won't that be fun?" She walked through the library doors.

The library was huge, filled with dark wood and streaming sunlight. it was also empty. Not a single student. She wandered further in and called out "Hello? Is anybody here?"

A hand reached out from behind her, touching her shoulder and startling her. She spun around to see a middle aged man with a certain quiet intensity. He was good looking in a "your Dad's cute for an old guy" kind of way.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Oh, er, I was looking for some books,"Buffy answered. "I'm new."

"Miss Summers?" he asked. Buffy noticed he had a British accent.

"Good call," said Buffy feeling a bit nervous. "I guess I'm the only new kid."

"I'm Mr. Giles," he said. "The librarian."

"Great," said Buffy. "Do you have..."

"I know what you're after," interrupted Giles. He led her to the check out counter and pulled out a book sliding it over to Buffy. It was a huge, leather bound tome with a single word set in gild across the cover.

Vampyr.

Buffy recoiled and stepped away from the desk, eyeing Giles suspiciously. "That's NOT what I'm looking for," she said.

"Are you sure?" asked Giles looking confused.

"I'm way sure," said Buffy, backing further away and exiting the library as he turned his back and put the book away.

Can't they just leave me alone? she thought to herself.

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A/N: I wasn't going to use my Bill Gordon OC in this story, but, I got an idea for him that I liked too much to pass up, so, since Buffy had already met Xander, used the "you forgot your stake" scene to introduce them to each other. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please read and review.