A few days after her discovery in the records room Dawn sat in the student library researching Chase Collins. The information she had gathered so far disturbed her. The disappearance of Chase Collins had taken place around the time of the power surge that had sent her and the slayers to Ipswich.
In fact several things occurred during the time of the power surge and they were all linked to Spencer. The strange events started when a student was found dead in his car the night before school began. There seemed to be no forced entry into the vehicle and no suspect was ever arrested.
Shortly after Chase Collins disappeared and was presumed dead, finally Sarah Wenham left town not too long after the events transpired. There were just too many coincidences' packed into one for it not to mean something.
Dawn needed more information but to do so she had to poke around campus and get eyewitness statements. She needed to talk to their friends, but so far she'd been unsuccessful with Sarah's and she had no idea who was close to Chase while he attended Spencer.
But get that kind of information was out of the question if they wanted to remain anonymous and keep up the guise of regular transfer students. So here she sat searching the library databases looking for any information she could find.
"Hey Dawn," Dawn looked up at to see Kate's familiar face walking her way.
"Hey Kate what're you doing here?"
"Oh, you know trying not to flunk classes since I miss so many of them spending time with Pogue," Kate scrunched up her nose wincing, "daddy wouldn't like to find out about that. What about you?"
Before Dawn could click escape Kate was looking at her computer screen to catch a peek at Dawns work.
It was in that moment that Dawn knew she was onto something. Kate's eyes had darkened into a mixture of fear, loathing, disgust, and anger, her lip curling back into a sneer.
The look had come and gone from Kate's face so fast Dawn had to convince herself she had seen it.
"Did you know him Kate?" Dawn whispered watching the other girls expression closely.
Kate gave Dawn a tight smile obviously uncomfortable with the were this line of questioning was going.
"Who, Chase Collins? Nah I mean I know he transferred here at the beginning of the school year and it was all very tragic but." Kate shrugged her shoulders, "Can't say I knew the guy."
If Dawn didn't have a bullshit meter a mile long from all those years of Buffy trying to keep her in the dark it may have been easy to believe Kate. Hell she wanted to believe that her boyfriend and new friends never met Chase Collins and knew nothing of the power surge but things just weren't adding up.
Please don't let Caleb have anything to do with those dead kids.
"Why are you looking into him anyway Dawn?" Kate asked sounding suspicious.
"Oh, I was just doing some research on the town and this popped up. It just sounds so tragic that something like this could happen to a Spencer student." Dawn said, the lies just rolling off her tongue, "But I think I'm done here for the day I'll see you latter Kate"
"Huh, oh yeah see ya Dawn," Kate waved her off still seeming distracted.
Girls Dorm
When Dawn got back to her dorm room she found Caleb Danvers lying on her bed reading her copy of Solider of Fortune Magazine. When he heard her throw her bags on the ground he looked up over the magazine raising his eyebrows a crooked smile appearing on his lips.
"Solider of Fortune?" Caleb looked his new girlfriend up and down questioningly, "Why Dawn I never would've guessed."
She laughed and plucked it out of his hands, throwing it on the bed next to her's, "It's Eliza's, she's always leaving her stuff everywhere then she wonders why she loses it."
"Well then Reid had better watch out huh."
Dawn put up her hands, "Don't say I didn't warn you."
He laughed sitting up just enough to pull her right back down beside him.
They laid there like that for a minute, Dawn soaking in the glow of having Caleb there next to her, then she realized something.
"Hey," she eyed him suspiciously, "how'd you get in here?"
Caleb leaned down to kiss her, "Cally let me in, she said you weren't here but I was welcome to wait for you so I did."
She looked around the room, "Where'd Cally go?" Dawn had widened her eyes comically.
I hope that magazine was the only thing he found. Last thing we need is for Caleb to stumble upon the weapons chest.
"She had to meet Tyler so she just let me stay. I found the magazine and have pretty much been like this the whole time," Caleb said stretching his arms out as if to emphasize his meaning.
Dawn smiled, relieved at his response and laid her head on his chest enjoying the sound of his heartbeat, "Caleb,"
He was stroking her back now and Dawn had to control the urge not to purr, "Yeah Dawn?"
Dawn chickened out; she couldn't ask him about Sarah or Chase she just couldn't do it, "This thing that we have, it's nice."
Caleb smiled into her hair, "You're right Dawn, it is lets keep it just like this huh."
I hope for your sake we can Caleb
Outside same time
Eliza had been jogging around the school for the past hour in an effort to keep up her slayer speed.
As she was making her way up the outdoor stairs toward her next path she noticed a certain blonde haired boy. He was wearing his trademark fingerless gloves as he waved to her from the top.
Eliza's eyes narrowed as she puffed her way up the final steps towards Reid. "Yes Reid."
To keep her heart rate up she was jogging in place as they spoke, "I wanted to talk to you Eliza, do you have to do that?" Reid tried to pin her in place.
She nodded taking long, deep breathes, "It helps keep my heart rate up, I can't just suddenly stop."
Reid just stood there watching her bounce up and down I'm trying to tell her something and here she is distracting me!
"Eliza I know it's too late for apologies and that I'm not very good at the cause, well I'm Reid Garwin and I've never felt the need to apologize to a girl before."
Eliza made a motion with her hands for him to continue, slowing down her pace. "I want you to know that yeah I was jealous at the thought of you being with another guy after me. And I was ready to murder some of those guys I saw you with, they didn't deserve to have their hands all over you. Maybe you don't understand what it felt like, but."
She shook her head interrupting him, "At the time when this all started you're right, I didn't know what it was like to get jealous. I've never been close enough to a guy to let that emotion take me over. I have to admit when I saw you with those other girls I was beyond jealous though." Eliza had stopped pacing and stood there waiting for Reid to respond.
"Why didn't you just tell me that so we could've been through with this already?" Reid asked annoyed that they could've concluded this little fight awhile ago.
"I didn't want to be the one to give in first," Eliza smiled deviously giving him a peck on the cheek and started to walk back to the dorms.
"How 'bout we go out tonight and make up for lost time?" He shouted at her retreating form.
She turned around, walking backwards, "Sorry I have plans with Cally, rain check?"
Reid nodded, not bothering to care about all the shocked faces of those around them. He just knew what they were thinking, when does Reid Garwin go through so much trouble for a girl? The truth was for Eliza he'd do anything.