Destiny's Call

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Four: First Date

Stepping into the Bronze, Aria smoothed down her pale blue skirt as she looked around for Jesse, moving her way through the club to try and find him. Buffy had gone over to Angel's right before she'd left, to talk to him so they could work through their stuff. Aria hoped that they did; it would be a shame that her two best friends were no longer speaking.

Moving around a couple that was making out on one of the tables, Aria suddenly saw Jesse sitting at one of the booths, a drink already in hand as he waited for her.

He looked even handsomer than usual. His brown-blonde hair was still set in his messy fashion that was an art form all on its own, but Aria loved the way that it looked on him. He wore his traditional leather jacket, but wore a nice shirt underneath and a pair of nice slacks.

Almost as though he sensed her coming, Jesse looked up and his blue-grey eyes immediately found her. He smiled as he stood up. "Glad you made it," he said, taking her hand.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late, I lost track of the time," she apologised. He shook his head as he led her back to the table.

"No worries, I actually just got here," he said with a grin. She chuckled as he took the seat across from her. "You look great," he told her honestly. "And that's almost insulting you, even."

Aria turned a violent shade of red and looked down. "I'm sorry, I . . . I'm not used to this," she said quickly, not sure what to say. Buffy had given her some 'dating do's and don'ts', but she completely forgot them. Just by the way that Jesse was looking at her made every word come out in moron.

"Not used to what?"

"Dating," she confessed, hoping that no one was listening to the two of them. "Boys and dating. Those were usually . . . not mixed with me. I barely even stayed in one school long enough to make any real friends, let alone date guys."

"Well, there's a first for everything." Jesse offered his hand. "Come on, let's go dance. Unless you object to dancing?" he added, raising an eyebrow.

She shook her head, taking his hand. "No, dancing's good." Please don't let me trip over my feet, she thought desperately to whatever higher power might be listening as he led her out onto the dance floor. Aria let out a slow breath of relief as a slow song started to play.

Jesse smiled as he guided her hand, placing it around his neck as he took her free hand, leading her in the dance as they stood close together, moving as one. Aria raised her head to look at him, terrified and enthralled at the way that he made her feel, as though she were everywhere at once, yet bound in a tiny human form.

"Where did you come from?" she whispered, staring up at him. "How did you find me?" Jesse only grinned as he twirled her.

"No one found you," he replied simply. "You found us. You guided us to you with this . . . beautiful light that comes shining from your heart. It was so bright and filled with love that we couldn't help but follow. And it led us to you."

Aria looked up at him before hesitantly laying her head onto his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart, closing her eyes at the sound. From his expression, he didn't seem to mind, just laid his head only hers, inhaling her scent as they slowly swayed together.

"Who are you?" she finally asked, looking up at him. "What do you really know about me?"

"All I know is that you're one of the most beautiful girls that I've ever laid eyes on," Jesse said honestly, shrugging as they continued to sway together. "And I know that you can take care of yourself and to be honest, that only makes me like you all the more." Aria blushed, lowering her gaze so that she was looking at his chest. "You've been pretty lonely, haven't you? You said that you went through a lot of foster homes. It must've been pretty lonely for you."

Aria looked down; it had been lonely for her. Usually, she hadn't been in one place long enough to make any friends and if she did, then she wasn't able to stay in contact with them. The few friends that she did, they had their own lives and couldn't really stay in touch with her for very long, especially since they lived so far away.

"It's not so bad, since I got to Sunnydale," she said softly. "It's been a lot better, since I came here. For the first time in my life, I feel like I belong somewhere, like I have a home."

"I'm glad." He looked up as the song came to a close and they pulled apart. "You wanna get out of here?"

She nodded and he took her hand, leading her out of the club. "Come on, I want to show you my favourite place in the world."

"Where's that?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," he answered with a shrug. Aria shook her head in delight as she followed him out of the club, heading out towards the parking lot, where she saw the same Harley that Willow had pointed out to her before sitting. She stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Uh . . . I can't ride that," she said, shaking her head. "I'll die."

"You really think I would let you fall?" Jesse wanted to know as he tossed her a free helmet. She caught it, still hesitant. "Come on, you need to have a little more faith. Aria, I promise, I will never let you fall. There's no chance of that. I'd never let you go."

Maybe it was the way that he phrased it or the way the way that said it, but Aria reluctantly slipped the helmet on, buckling it before she climbed onto the motorcycle behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"All right, hold on tight," he instructed her as he gunned the motor. She shrieked as it roared to life and he gave a loud whoop as he put his foot on the gas, heading out of the parking lot and onto the highway. Aria laughed as her hair flew out from behind her and she watched the streets of Sunnydale fly by.

Jesse expertly navigated the streets, even though he, like her, was still a newcomer to this town, finally pulling into a sideway park, shutting off the engine and pulling his helmet off. Aria followed suit as she shook out her long mane, wondering where they were.

Taking her hand, Jesse led her through a lone path, the quiet woods whispering softly to one another as the two teenagers walked together. Aria laced their fingers together and Jesse tightened his grip on hers.

"Where are we going?" she wanted to know.

"You'll see soon enough," he replied.

Aria smiled, shaking her head as she glanced sideways at him. "Are you always this secretive?" she asked. He laughed as he helped her step over one of the roots that were growing right out of the path, probably tripping most people, giving her a small, enigmatic grin.

"I was actually going for mysterious," he said seriously. "This place is my favourite spot in the world. It's the one place that I can go here and be alone."

Aria frowned; if that was why he liked it, then why was he showing this place to her? "So why show me?" she asked now.

Jesse glanced at her. "I don't mind being alone with you," he answered, shrugging. Aria looked down, suddenly shy. It was just now dawning on her that she was in the middle of the woods with a boy that she had just met. Oh, she was in trouble.

"Here we go," Jesse said softly, suddenly stopping. Aria frowned, looking around them before looking back at him. "Now here. Just close your eyes," he instructed her. "Close them," he added. Aria, with a small smile, closed her eyes, allowing him to lead her past a few more trees and then she caught the smell of . . . water?

Spring water, she thought, and she could hear the sound of a small waterfall as he guided her, finally stopping her. "Now can I look?"

"Yes. Now." He sounded thrilled and she opened her eyes, gasping at the sight that met her eyes.

She was standing in a small clearing, where a crystal clear lake stood, so clear that she could see the pebbles at the bottom sparking like diamonds. There was a waterfall flowing in from the side, coming from a creek that led into the trees.

The trees all stood around them, not looming and threatening, but protecting them from any evil that might try and disturb their peace. Aria just stood there staring for a few minutes, before turning to look at Jesse, who was just standing there, watching her.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, incredulous. "What is this place?"

"Right outside the woods," Jesse answered with a shrug. "There's a path that leads straight to it, but for some reason, I haven't found anybody who comes here." He moved closer to her, taking her hand quietly. "You're the first person I've brought here, so as far as I know, we're the only two people who know about this place."

Aria turned to look at him. "Why show me? I mean . . . there are a thousand other girls who I'm sure would. . . . Why me?" she wanted to know.

"Because you're different," Jesse said, looking at her and cupping her face tenderly. "Because I feel this strange connection to you that I can't explain. It's . . ." He sighed. "It's like you've captured me in your spell. You've bewitched me, Aria Sawyer." He smiled as he pressed his forehead against hers.

Aria shivered as she felt a thousand emotions explode through her as she felt his body against hers, but it was more than that. It felt like there was this sudden click and she was suddenly complete and whole. She shivered again, this time wondering if she could involve him in her world.

Buffy had told her about the number of normal guys she had tried dating and that only ended up in tears. She eventually realised that they were in too much danger with her being the Slayer and had eventually ended up with Angel.

Could she expose Jesse to those same risks? Granted, he had fought well enough against her last night, but still . . . was it a risk she was willing to take?

Or was it not her decision? What if he was willing to take that risk? Aria didn't want to get him involved in the supernatural world, would rather let him live in that blissful ignorance and probably lead a much happier life, but she knew that people didn't choose this life. It chose them.

Aria looked up at him. "You don't want to get involved with me, Jesse," she whispered brokenly, almost pleadingly. "You really don't. You don't want to see my world."

"Maybe I want to take the risk," Jesse replied. And it was in that moment that Aria knew that she, too, was willing to take the risks. Living without love was no life at all. It was just empty and broken and it only took true love to mend the pieces.

Jesse moved closer to her and Aria couldn't tear her gaze from him as he bent over her. The next moment, she felt his arms wrapping themselves around her. She closed her eyes as his lips captured hers in a soft, gentle kiss that nonetheless was filled with passion and fervour.

In that moment in the woods, in that deep, secluded spot, nothing else seemed to matter. It was as though they were the only two people in the world.

--

"He kissed you?"

"Yeah," Aria answered as she lay on her stomach on Buffy's bed while the senior Slayer was brushing out her hair. "It was so amazing. I . . . it was everything that I've always dreamed about. Fireworks . . . it was like the Fourth of July. And he made me feel . . ." Aria shook her head, laughing. "Oh, god, I can't even describe it. It was perfect."

Buffy looked at her, suddenly grinning. "That was your first, wasn't it?"

Aria blushed violently and Buffy chuckled, coming over to sit down on the bed next to her, and she sat up, pulling her legs underneath her. "Well . . . I mean, this is crazy, right? I just met him, I shouldn't be feeling all of this stuff just yet. This is crazy, isn't it?"

"No," Buffy answered, shaking her head. "It was like that with Angel. I mean, yeah, I tried to ignore it at first, but the second that I saw him, I was hooked. And I couldn't pull myself away."

"Animal attraction," Aria mused. "Maybe. But still . . . I barely even know him." She shook her head. "And every time I talk to him, I just start talking like a moron."

Buffy shook her head. "Once your heart gets involved, it all comes out in moron, sis."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. So did you guys talk about seeing each other again?" Buffy wanted to know.

Aria couldn't help but grinning as she remembered his parting words as he dropped her off at her house on his Harley. "Yeah, he's going to meet me at the theatre on Friday. Providing there are no evil forces threatening to take over the hellmouth or destroy the world."

"And if they do, then we'll take care of it. You just enjoy your night." Buffy smiled. "Jesse Bryant . . . wow. And he knows about this stuff, too? Vampires and demons and everything?"

"Yeah." Aria shook her head. Jesse had told her that he wasn't as ignorant as the rest of Sunnydale. He knew full well what went on after dark and had killed a couple of vampires himself.

"Does he know?"

Aria shook her head. "I debated telling him, but I mean, I think that we really need to know each other a little bit better before I tell him about the whole Slayer thing. He knows that I'm a little bit stronger than most girls, but that's all he needs to know right now."

"Good point. Plus, Giles would probably kill you if you went around telling everyone that you know."

"Everyone I know pretty much knows. You, Willow, Xander, Giles, Angel . . . the only one who doesn't know is Jesse." Aria leaned back on the bed again. "Did anybody in L.A. know that you were the Slayer?"

"No," Buffy said as she leaned back with Aria. "It was pretty much me and my Watcher Merrick. And then he got killed by some vampires. Sorry, which I could help you with this, but . . ."

Aria only looked at her sister. "Don't worry about it. Besides, I think that this is something that I need to do on my own. No offence, but you're not me and Jesse's different than any boy I've ever met. This is one of those things where I have to learn on my own and then take a leap of faith."

"Sometimes, you land on your feet."

"Here's hoping, anyway."

Aria sat up as Joyce came into the room, telling them that it was late and they needed to get to bed. After saying goodnight to Buffy, Aria headed into her own room, picking up her sketchpad and sitting down on her bed, tracing images of her and Jesse's secret place, their personal solitude.

The one thing that she had turned to during her years of loneliness was art. She let herself be lost into it, thinking that maybe she would be able to escape the loneliness. The only thing that she managed to achieve, however, was high marks in art.

With a smile, Aria began drawing that beautiful clearing.