AN: This is my first ever fan-fiction. I'm a long time reader. This story is a long-burn. We will see the characters in other relationships but I promise to not get into details with it. I'm hoping for this story to be about 25 chapters long. I'm also looking for a beta reader, so if you're interested please reach out to me on Tumblr

"You, you who smiled when you're in pain.

You who soldiered through the profane."

- Guardian Alanis Morisette

"Buffy!" Joyce yelled from the kitchen downstairs. This was Buffy's first day of school, her first day at a new job, all while new in town. They could not be late.

"Coming mom!" She heard Buffy call back.

It was safe to say that this move to the small town of Sunnydale hadn't been either of their first choices. Joyce wanted a healthy marriage, a successful career in LA, and a good male role-model in her daughter's life. Instead Buffy had burned down her highschool's gym, Hank and Joyce's rocky marriage finally caved in, and now they had to find a new life here in a town neither of them had ever heard of. Thankfully that unexpected job offer came through and maybe curating her own gallery would be worth all of this trouble.

"Promise me you'll have a good day." Joyce looked pleadingly onto her daughter.

"I will, mom."

"I think this is going to be so much better for us, dear."

Buffy just nodded her head. She could read between the lines. Don't get kicked out. Don't get into fights. Don't burn down the gym.

"Got it."

Buffy exited her mother's jeep and she was barely two steps onto the sidewalk when a boy zooming by on a skateboard crashed by her feet.

"Um, are you ok?" Buffy asked the awkward looking 16 year old laying on the concrete.

"I'm…. Xander. And you are?"

Buffy reached down taking the boy's arm and helping him up to his feet.

"Buffy." Her first introduction, the first person she's met. See, she could do this. A normal life. Normal friends. Normal 16 year old girl.

"Buffy…" The boy seemed to be testing her name on his tongue. "Nice. Well I'll see you around, Buff." Seconds later he was skating away.

That didn't seem so scary. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Buffy's first class. English. Finding a seat seemed to have been quite easy enough. No one stared at her, no one said anything to her. She could easily just get through the school year with no problems. She knew it.

"Now turn to page 136." The teacher called out. Buffy looked for a book and didn't see any extra available. The brunette sitting next to her pushed her book over to Buffy.

"Here, share mine."

Once the class bell rang Buffy was out the door with the brunette following shortly behind her.

"I'm Cordelia." A big smile plastered on her perfectly moisturized face. "You're new here."

"Is it that obvious?"

"It's a small high school."

"I'm Buffy, my mom and I just moved here from LA."

"LA… wow… to live that close to that many shoes. Why would you come here?"

Buffy was a bit stunned by the question. She hadn't thought to explain to people why she had left her old high school. What could she say? Her gym was infested with vampires and in order to kill them she had to set the thing on fire and then her parent's nasty divorce had wrecked her mother. So, they packed everything up and came here.

"Well, my mom…"

Buffy was interrupted by a book falling to the ground behind them. Both Buffy and Cordelia turned to see a young redhead scrambling to gather her things. Cordelia let out an annoyed huff. Buffy turned to look at Cordelia oddly, her demeanor seemed to have changed quickly.

"Willow watch where you're dropping your books. We're standing here," It was clear that Cordelia was some sort of Queen Bee and seeing her switch from so friendly to so impatient showed her true colors.

In an act of defiance Buffy walked over to the girl and kneeled to help her pick up her things.

"Oh…" A nervous voice came out. "You don't have to help me." The girl seemed meek and unsure.

"I want to." Once the girls were standing Buffy stuck her hand out to the girl. "I'm Buffy."

"Willow…" The redhead spoke her name but eyed Cordelia like a puppy dog about to get whacked on the nose. Buffy withdrew her hand.

Cordelia walked over and started to pull Buffy away. "Rule number one. Know your losers. Once you can spot them all by sight. They're much easier to avoid. Anyways, if you need to get a book of your very own for English, they have extras in the library. Just head down to the end of the hall, turn right, and your second left."

"Thanks." Buffy mumbled unsure of how to really feel about that whole interaction. Younger Buffy, shallow Buffy, had probably behaved the same way at one point, but now… knowing what she knew. Experiencing what she had experienced. She couldn't justify treating anyone that way.

Walking through the doors of the school library she had to admit, it was an impressive display of books, however like most teen-driven libraries it appeared to be empty.

"Hello." Buffy called out taking a few steps into the large main room. "Anyone here?"

"Hello." Came a distant British voice from behind a stack. Within moments a person became attached to that voice and a man walked out. He was tall, thin, had amazing bone structure. He looked more like a bartender than a school librarian. How did he even get in here? Did the administration know he was here?

"Are you the librarian?" Buffy asked in a tone that said who are you and what have you done to the faculty?

"I am. And you are?"

"New here."

"I am as well." The man seemed to show a sudden interest and a smirk graced his face. He was dressed in tight black trousers, a black t-shirt, with what looked to be a borrowed blazer. It almost looked as if he was trying to convince people he was to be taken seriously, but the bleached blonde hair made it difficult. He moved quickly around her to behind the checkout desk.

"I'm Buffy. My mom and I just moved here. So, I need things like textbooks."

"I know what you need…" He said as he leaned down and grabbed something from behind the desk. He then laid out a large book with the words Vampyre.

Buffy's eyes widened and she felt her stomach drop. No. She was here for a normal life. Normal girl. No more vampires.

"I'm not here for that." She said as she began to take a few steps back.

"Buffy. I'm Spike Giles. I'm your new watcher."

"Nope!" Buffy said flippantly. "I had one of those. He died." Her stomach twisted as she talked about the death of a man she cared for very deeply.

"I'm… I'm not doing that anymore, ok? I saved the school. I got kicked out. I lost people I love. My family went to ruins. I did my part. Give it to some other girl. I…"

"You are The Slayer." Spike said interpreting her. "The. As in, the only. It is your destiny to…"

"… to kill the vampires."

"Exactly. You've been a hard slayer to find…"

"I've heard that before." Buffy turned around to leave.

"So you know it's my job to train you, to take care of you, to prepare you, to…"

"To prepare me?" Buffy stopped, spinning around to face the shockingly young watcher. "To prepare me for what?" She took a step closer. "For a burden I'm too young to handle?" She continued to move towards him. "To fight the forces of darkness as a teenage girl? To lose those in my life I love the most?" She was now inches from him. "To die in a year or two?" Her green eyes met his blue ones. "Fine. Prepare me."

Spike stood there in shock. He knew that the life of a Slayer wasn't one that people would volunteer for, but he was raised with a Watcher as a father and it was viewed as a honorable life. Those who fought the forces of darkness were heroes. Hearing her break it down, hearing her pain, he felt pity.

"Buffy… I…" Buffy turned around and walked away, the doors of the library swinging shut behind her.

Xander spotted Willow eating her sandwich in the courtyard and swopped in sitting next to her. "Will! I have a question for you."

"Well. Hello to you, too."

"What do you know about that new Buffy girl?"

"Oh, Buffy! She seems really nice."

"Mhmmm…" Xander teased as if he knew something that she didn't. "And what do you think about the new school librarian."

"Oh, Mr. Giles? I heard that he's the son of Rupert Giles." She said as if that meant something but she could tell by the look on Xander's face that she was going to have to elaborate quite a bit. "Rupert Giles." She said again. Still nothing. "He is this big deal librarian and award-winning historian. He's won all kinds of prestigious titles and is very well-known among the academic community. I haven't seen the other Giles yet, but I hear he's kind of young."

"Not very librarian-y." Xander confirmed.

"Maybe he's the closest thing Sunnydale will ever get to a big deal. You met him?"

"Well met isn't what I would call it."

"Why are you being cryptic all of a sudden?"

"So, I stopped by the library in-between classes to find a book Jesse told me about…"

"You… at the library… getting a book."

"Whether or not the book had illustrations of naked ladies is beside the point, Willow. Jeesh. But I heard the strangest conversation between the two newest members of Sunnydale High."

Xander then proceeded to break down the entire conversation he had heard and once he was finished his friend looked at him as if he had two heads.

"Xander, you must have misheard. That's insane." Willow said shaking her head. That was when Xander spotted Buffy rushing through the courtyard and he hurried to catch her.

"Hey, Buffy!" She stopped recognizing the familiar boy.

"Oh. Hi."

"Have you met my friend, Willow." Xander motioned over to the red head and she smiled waving at them. Buffy then walked over to Willow with Xander by her side.

"I have actually." Buffy smiled, this girl seemed like the least threatening thing she had encountered in a long time and it was comforting.

"Where were you rushing to?" Willow asked as she took a bite of her sandwich.

Home. LA. Away from here.

"Oh just…"

"To fight some vampires?" Xander slipped in cooly. Buffy's eyes widened and her breath hitched.

"Was there some sort of bulletin? Or a newsletter? Did the administration slip a note into everyone's locker?" She was somewhat overreacting but the encounter with Spike Giles had thrown her for a loop. Xander looked at Willow with a look that said told you so.

"Maybe we can help." Xander stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No. You don't help. You stay indoors at night, and away from cemeteries. You don't help. I help. You forget everything you think you know about me." It was then that Buffy made her second grand exit of the day. It was barely past lunch and this day was far more exciting than she had ever hoped for.

Things seemed to quiet down in the second half of the school day, she got through Algebra, European history, and her poetry elective that she did not remember electing. Luckily, most of the teachers seemed to be on a 'no homework on the first day' kick so it seemed as if she'd have a quiet evening. One that she was in desperate need of after her run in with desperate-to-be-watcher and skateboard kid calling her out during lunch.

"Buffy!" She heard. Oh no. Nothing good today started with her name being called. She turned to see Cordelia walking gracefully down the hall. "I just wanted to let you know that a bunch of the girls and I are heading to the Bronze tonight."

"The… Bronze?"

"It's the best club in town… ok it's the only club in town. They also let anyone in… I'm not really selling this place but it's the only place to hang out that isn't a basement. I hope to see you there!"

Mhmmmm. She could go to the Bronze.

"I'll see you there!"

Normal. This is what normal girls did. Clubs. Girlfriends. She was on her way to a mundane life and she could not wait.

Wearing her best I'm a cool girl, be my friend outfit and after many promises to Joyce that she wouldn't get into any trouble Buffy walked the few blocks from her house to the club. She saw cute boys, sugary carbonated drinks, and a lot of dancing in her future. It was difficult to not let her brain slip to all of the intrusion today had brought into her life. New Watcher Spike. What kind of name was Spike, anyways? Also, he was way too young to be a librarian at a high school. What was he? 28? She would expect to see him as the cute bartender she flirted with to get a discount on drinks, not the man preaching to her responsibilities and destinies.

Buffy was about halfway through her walk when she decided to cut through an alley on Main street, she was only about a yard in when she felt an odd tingling sensation. Vampire senses.

"Come on out." She said in a bored huff. Perfect. What a way to cap off her highlight of a day. Buffy took a few more steps before hearing boots hitting the ground behind her. She spun, the stake she kept tucked away, at the ready. A man stood there, he was tall, broad, and dark.

"Whoa, whoa, put that thing away. I'm not a threat." The man said hands raised.

"Yeah, that was convincing." she said not lowering her prepared stance.

"I'm a friend. I came here to give you a warning."

"If it's about the intimate level of knowledge strangers know about you in a small town, I've had my full."

"It's about the harvest." The man said cryptically. "It's coming."

Buffy groaned relaxing her stance and tucking her stake away.

"Ok, so enlighten me. What harvest?"

"The Master. He'll rise on the day of the harvest, and with him, the world will burn."

"Cool."

"You don't seem to be taking this too seriously." The somewhat good-looking man seemed put off that this wasn't going to plan.

"Listen, I don't do that whole thing anymore. It was fun while it lasted. But… you know what? Why don't you handle it? You seem to know an awful lot."

"Because I can't. Only The Slayer can."

"Convenient."

"Listen. I'm just here to help. Take the warning and prepare yourself. I'll be back when I can be of more assistance."

"You didn't even tell me your name."

"It's Angel."

"Pretty name." Buffy said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I'm Buffy."

"Nice to meet you, Buffy. Watch your back." And that was all the man said before he walked away.

Buffy walked through the door of the Bronze. It was a cool place: dark, live music, a bar, and plenty of space. She looked around a bit to try to spot Cordelia or anyone else she recognized. She didn't see anyone at first but when she noticed Willow she smiled and walked over sitting next to her at the bar.

"Nice place."

"Oh! Hi, Buffy."

"Hey! Are you waiting for your boyfriend?"

Willow almost choked on a cracker. "A… boy… no. I don't really date."

"Why not?" Buffy asked as she smiled at the bartender ordering a coke and sliding over a five-dollar bill.

"Oh, I'm not so good with the boys… and the words… I'm just… not good at that."

"Ahh Will, you're young and pretty. Just go up to a boy you think is cute and say 'You're cute, let's get ice cream.'"

"And what's it, that's all it takes."

"Totally." Buffy said as she took a sip of the drink in front of her. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"Other than total and utter rejection?"

"You know what my philosophy is… I mean… do you want to hear my philosophy?"

"Oh yes! Please."

"Carpe diem. I mean I saw it on a billboard at the mall once. So not original, I grant you, but true. Seize the day, because tomorrow you might me dead."

"I like that…" Willow said taking in the words of her seemingly much cooler new friend. It was then Xander and another boy walked up.

"Buffy, this is Jesse." Buffy stuck her hand out shaking his hand.

"Hi Jesse. It's nice to meet you. I'm new."

"I've heard." The tall, sweet looking boy said.

"I'm sure you have." Everyone seems to be hearing things.

Buffy slid from her chair. "I told Cordelia I would find her, so I'll be right back." The boys watched as Buffy walked away, clear interest in their eyes. She walked around the bottom floor of the club for a bit before heading up the stairs. She spotted Cordelia and her friends but when she caught the popular girl's eye and waved Cordelia looked away pretending as if she hadn't seen her. Buffy's face fell and a familiar feeling of rejection became present. Ok. So maybe that whole stay away from losers thing she had she was really passionate about. She brushed it off and instead took the opportunity to check out the top part of the club. It was a lot smaller, but it had a nice view of the band and the people dancing below.

Buffy stood against the railing, watching as all of her classmates and what she assumed to be college students danced to their heart's content. They seemed so innocent, so unknowing, so delusional. In this quiet moment she felt that familiar vampire sense go off, she spotted a man in a very outdated outfit. However, her senses had been off lately. Trusting them didn't seem like the right move. She felt a presence come up from behind her, but it was unthreatening and warm. She turned her head to see Spike standing next to her leaning against the railing.

"They have no idea what's out there." He commented.

"Lucky them."

Spike was quiet for a moment. "It's not easy knowing the things that we know. It never gets easier. I'll never pretend to you that it'll get easier."

"Could you?"

"Could I what?"

"Pretend."

Spike's eyes met hers and in that moment he saw the world in her eyes. Trauma, fear, pain, burden, maturity, innocence. It was a lot for one person to be at once. Buffy's eyes lingered on his, something about him made him feel safe. As if he would help her escape this terrifying fate she knew lay in front of her.

"How did you get into all of this? Was there a flyer on a bulletin board or something? Men Who Like to Watch." She teased trying to lighten the mood.

"My father was a watcher. He actually trained the two Slayers before you. I grew up learning from him. Since you were an… unconventional Slayer to say the least and didn't have the same upbringing as the others. They figured an unconventional watcher could be of use. Besides, I have much more training than many of the others."

"Your dad… the watcher. He took care of two Slayers before me?" She repeated his words.

Spike nodded. They were quiet for a beat.

"What happened to them?" Buffy asked almost pleadingly, her eyes looking ahead at the kids dancing below. He knew. She knew. A Slayer's lifespan was traditionally a short one.

Spike took a deep breath. Pretend.

"Well. One won the lottery and is throwing back mojitos on a beach in Maui. The other wrote a book that became a bestseller and she is now married with 2 and half children."

"Liar."

What the two didn't know was that one Queen Bee was eyeing them from the nearby table making a lot of judgemental faces while talking with her friends.

"We need to start your training…"

"I know, I know, the harvest."

"The harvest? How do you know about that?" Spike was taken aback, he had just heard from the Watcher's Council this afternoon that the latest prophecy was translated.

"Your friend told me."

"What friend?"

"You know, the tall dark guy in the alley. Not a cool place to sneak up on a girl but…" She shrugged. "It was ok." He hadn't been too hard on the eyes. "Is Spike a nickname?"

"Guy in an alley? Buffy. Were you at least carrying a stake?"

"Of course I was, and you didn't answer the question."

"Yes, it's a nickname."

"Where'd it come from?"

"I'm not telling you that."

Buffy groaned rolling her eyes just in time to see Willow walking through the doors with a man that made her vampire senses go off.

"Oh no…"

"What's wrong?"

"Seize the day." She mumbled before hurrying away, Spike close behind. The two weaved through the club, catching the attention of both Xander and Cordelia and when they burst through the back club doors there was no sight of Willow. Xander followed after them and Cordelia looked at her friends. "See, they're obviously weirdo freaks."

Buffy ran her hands over her face in a sudden amount of stress as the two stood in the alley. This was her fault. She told Willow to go off with this guy, it was her job to save her, if anything happened to her it was all Buffy's fault. As if sensing she was spinning out Spike gripped Buffy's shoulders forcing her to look at him.

"Buffy. Breathe." Buffy took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. "Close your eyes." She did. "Another breath." Deep breath in, deep breath out. "Where are they?"

Buffy's eyes opened and she turned north towards the cemetery. "This way." Just then Xander came out of the club and Buffy saw him shaking her head.

"I can't worry about you too." she said but Xander seemed stubborn.

"She's my best friend."

Buffy didn't have the energy to fight him, "Just don't die, ok?"

The three were running towards the cemetery just in time to see the vampire in an outdated outfit about to sink his fangs into the unsuspecting redhead. Buffy didn't have to think she ran up pulling the stake from the waist of her jeans. Xander went to help but Spike grabbed his collar holding him back. He gave him a look that said let her take care of it.

Just then Willow realized what was happening and she screamed just as Buffy plunged the stake in the vampire's back. She was so quick that he had barely registered her presence. Willow ran into Xander's arms and Buffy fell to the ground, dust settling around her. Spike walked over and helped her up.

"That was good, a bit of a sloppy stake but it did the job."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Everyone's alive, right?"

"Not quite." They heard a feminine voice just above them and all four heads looked up to see a blonde vampire in a school girl's outfit standing on the roof of the crypt. She was holding a dead body by the neck, dangling it off of the roof.

It was Jesse.

Willow screamed and Xander looked away. Spike and Buffy had their eyes locked on the vampire.

"Message from The Master." The blonde sing-songed. "The Master will rise and the world will bleed. Prepare yourself Slayer." She threw the mangled drained body of Jesse down to their feet and Buffy flinched, turning her eyes away burying her face against Spike. The vampire seemingly disappeared into this air. Spike took a moment to collect himself, the body in front of him being a hard one to look away from. He pulled her away and did the same for the other teens guiding them back towards the Bronze.

"I'll drive everyone home." Spike said, "And I'll call the police so they can come get your friend." Seeing this type of thing never got any easier.

Spike had dropped Willow and Xander off at their homes, the whole way explaining to them the importance of keeping Buffy's secret. Neither seemed like the types to expose such things and after the night they had shared he had a feeling they'd have a vested interest in making sure nothing stood in Buffy's way to protect them.

Now it was just Buffy and Spike and he was taking her home guided by her directions.

"It wasn't your fault." He told her looking over, the look on her face communicated a world of guilt.

"You saved the person you had the ability to save. No one had noticed Jesse was gone." She remained silent.

"The vampire population here is dense and active. We are on a hell mouth and they are attracted to this area. Things like this will continue to happen. So, we can work to stop it, together, as a team. Or we can let them rule."

Buffy was quiet for a moment before speaking.

"Will we kill them all?"

"Every single one."

"Liar."