Author's Note: A Halloween Chapter, and number 13 to boot. Hope you enjoy!

I just want to say, the recent exposure of Joss Whedon's behaviour with several former colleagues on Buffy and Angel is an appalling revelation. It was humbling to learn that despite Whedon intending to write Buffy as a 'feminist parable' and to fight sexism and misogyny, that he himself could embody many elements of those awful qualities. Moreover, it is terrible that so many women we admired felt compelled to keep silent for so long, in fear of being blacklisted or otherwise having their careers affected. Still, Buffy as a work is more than Whedon himself, and what it means to us as fans is no less important.


Chapter 13: Off the Straight and Narrow

October was coming to an end, and the days were getting shorter.

Spike waited in the shadows of the trees as Dawn emerged from the Sunnydale Mall, splitting off from her group of friends and beginning to head off on her own.

Even after everything, she was still taking foolish chances.

Without making so much as a sound besides the gentle swishing of his long leather coat through the air, Spike stepped out onto the sidewalk behind Dawn as she walked. He reached into the back pocket of her jeans, fluidly withdrawing the shiny chain of a silver necklace and holding it up. Dawn span around on the spot with a gasp, before immediately exhaling in relief as she recognised him. Still, that comfort quickly disappeared when she realised what Spike was holding.

"Looks like you're doing pretty well for yourself," Spike observed wryly with a knowing look. "Yknow, considering no-one at home is bringing in any real cash..."

"I've been saving," Dawn shot back, just a little too quickly, with an obvious tremor in her voice.

Spike snorted. "Don't lie to me Dawn – you're pretty sodding bad at it."

Dawn's eyes narrowed, the look of innocence vanishing from her face. As she spoke again, she crossed her arms defiantly. "Why should you care anyway? You steal stuff all the time."

"Yeah, I do." Spike admitted casually, entirely nonplussed by her admission of the blindingly obvious. "But I don't give a toss. I'm the big bad, remember? No-one in this town could stop me if they wanted to. They're welcome to try..."

Dawn seemed unimpressed by his preening, turning away from Spike and beginning to stride away nonchalantly. "You didn't seem to care so much when we broke into the Magic Box."

"That was different," Spike countered, a little defensively as he moved to follow. "And in my defence – I'd take any excuse to ruffle old Rupert's feathers. And at least if I was there, I could stop you doing anything too stupid. Like releasing a troll, for example."

"Hey, that was Anya's fault! I'm not a silly little kid," Dawn insisted, though she snorted at his remark. "I haven't been caught yet, have I?"

"'Cept by me," Spike pointed out, now moving in step with the teenage girl. "But it's only a matter of time Dawn. You thought about what happens then?"

Dawn just shrugged.

Spike overtook her, moving to stand dead in her path. "Why you doing this?"

Dawn refused to meet his eye now. "Because I can. Just like you."

"No, not like me!" His raised voice made her jolt in spite of her attempts to remain detached. "You've got people who care about you Dawn. Buffy died to-"

Dawn cut him off harshly, not allowing him to finish that sentence. "I've told you - it's my life! What, are you going to tell on me?"

Spike grimaced. "I could, yknow. But here I was hoping you'd see sense before they catch on."

Dawn's eyes fell. "They're all too busy trying to protect me to notice anything."

Spike frowned, taken aback by the sudden change in her manner. "What are you talking about?"

"I always have to be protected," Dawn repeated." Mom, Buffy – now Willow, Tara – and you. They try to just keep everything away from me – like I'm in this... bubble. I thought at least that much would end after... after Glory, but... it's just the same. Now it's all desperately trying to keep my grades up, programming Buffybot for parent-teacher days, and trying to keep the truth of everything away from me! All so some strangers don't come and take me away, or I don't worry about anything." Dawn let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Don't you see, Spike? I'm not allowed to take any chances, to do anything that might possibly risk my carefully padded little life!"

Dawn's face contorted into an involuntary sob. "And I've tried – I've tried to do my best. Before she died... Buffy said to me that the hardest thing in this world was to live in it, but I had to live, for her. But this isn't living Spike! Just... staying at home, or in school, pretending most of the time that Buffy's fine, and everything's normal!"

Spike took Dawn's arm, guiding her under the trees and settling her down on the grass. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, sniffling as she rested her head against the trunk.

"At least this way, it feels I have any control over something in my life. This way, I'm not like Buffybot – who gets told exactly what she can do and when, then just gets switched off when she isn't needed."

"Your not like the Bot Dawn."

"How would you even know?" Dawn asked, oddly defensively. "It's not like you've even talked to her these past weeks..."

"I've got nothing to say to it," Spike derided, baffled by her reaction. "If I wanted to speak to an airhead blonde – I'd go find Harmony."

Spike considered Dawn for a moment, drumming his fingers against his coat thoughtfully. He had done what he could to keep Dawn on the straight and narrow, like Buffy had wanted. But it was clear enough to him that Dawn was determined to head down a more rebellious road, and it seemed likely he wouldn't be able to stop her. It was even less likely that the others would be able to either, seeing as they were all so blind to both what Dawn had been doing and feeling these last months.

In fact, if it wasn't for him watching over her – likely as not Dawn would have already met a sticky end. A new idea began to spring to mind. One that would allow him to continue to watch over the young girl, without sending her back to the mundane concerns that were obviously suffocating her.

"Look, I get it," Spike said finally. "I won't tell Wil and the Missus about what you've been doing – and I won't keep going on about it either."

Dawn looked up at him in disbelief. "You won't?"

"That's right," Spike affirmed. "But if you gonna keep making mischief, you may as well learn how to do it right..."

Dawn blinked, her face utterly confused. "I don't understand."

Spike's lips curled in a half-smirk. "I've learned a few tricks in my time. I could probably show you a thing or two – if you wanted."

Dawn's eyes widened in a combination of wonder and disbelief. "You'll help me?"

Spike nodded, reaching into his coat and retrieving a pack of cigarettes. He placed one between his lips before lighting up. "I'll help you. All I ask is you let me know what you plan to do, and pay attention to what I say, alright?"

"Alright," Dawn agreed, pushing herself slowly back onto her feet. "I guess we should start with tomorrow then, huh?"


The promised Halloween rush arrived exactly as Willow had predicted.

Almost from the moment Anya opened the Magic Box on October 31st, the Scooby Gang had been utterly swamped with customers. Although Anya stubbornly refused to leave her precious position at the cash register when so much currency was flowing so willingly into her coffers, Tara and Willow were sufficiently knowledgeable and experienced to answer almost any mystical or seasonal query without too much trouble.

That being said, Willow still found it challenging to refrain from calling out wicca stereotypes with a volcano of fiery passion, nonetheless Tara's calmer manner prevented any one situation from dangerous overflowing into a full-blown customer service incident.

Dawn and Xander similarly drifted from task to task, fetching and shelving, while Buffybot furiously bagged and wrapped every item brought to the till. She worked with her usual grin glued to her face, watching the rush of colourful costumes moving before her with childlike wonder. The only misunderstanding emerged when one goth teenager entered the shop dressed as a cloaked vampire, and Tara had to quickly grab Buffybot after she leapt over the bar, charging towards him with the unfaltering intent of driving a stake through his heart, the words 'Vampires of the world; beware!' already forming on her lips.

Eventually however, with the shelves almost bare and the cash register almost overflowing, the storm of consumerism finally blew itself out. As the long Autumn afternoon finally came to an end, the Scooby Gang lay strewn about in its wake, aching with exertion, but somewhat satisfied nonetheless. Anya was the notable exception to this, still standing behind the register and now with wads of green notes in either hand, fanning them with her fingers and waving them in the air as she danced wildly. Buffybot was trying to imitate her, to Dawn's great amusement, and before long all three of them were dancing absurdly behind the counter, as the others looked on with weary smiles and shaking heads.

"Do you do this every night?" Dawn asked between laughs.

"Every time I close the cash register!" Anya declared proudly, "Behold the dance of capitalist superiority!"

Xander smiled wistfully as he looked at his girlfriend, though his face gradually became touched with sadness. He took a deep breath, as though he were about to jump to his feet and say something, but at the last moment he stopped himself, falling back into his chair and looking downcast at his hands.

"Well," Willow said as she clambered wearily to her feet. "I think it's about time we started heading back. From what we saw today, I don't think we want Buffybot roaming the streets when everyone starts Trick or Treating..."

"What is Trick or Treating?"

"It's when you bang on everyone's doors and demand free candy," Anya explained simply. "Personally, I think its socialist nonsense."

Buffybot nodded happily for a moment, before looking perplexed once again. "Then what is the Trick?"

"Well," Tara began. "The idea is that if they refuse to give you candy, you play a trick on them. For example... knock over their letter box, or umm... cover their house in toilet paper."

"And they are okay with that?" Buffybot asked.

"Not very often," Willow chipped in.

"But why are so many wearing such strange clothing?" Buffybot asked again, seemingly oblivious to the growing exasperation on her friends' faces.

Tara got to her feet. "It's just another Halloween tradition Buffy. People dress up as witches and wizards, as monsters and fairy tale characters..."

"Oh!" Buffy exclaimed, her eyes going wide in apparent revelation. "So – as you and Willow are both witches... you have come dressed as yourself!"

Tara snorted, managing to restrain a laugh though her smile widened. "I guess you could say that."

"Well," Willow replied, crossly crossing her arms. "At least what we're wearing is more accurate than those pointy hatted, warty stereotypes..."

Buffybot frowned at Dawn. "Why are you not dressing up?"

"Pffft," Dawn breathed disdainfully, rolling her eyes. "It's more of a little kid thing. I don't bother with that stuff anymore."

"Why? It looks very exciting. Look! Xander is a one-eyed scruffy man!"

Xander opened his mouth as though he were about to reply, but then closed his eyes.

"I'm a pirate."

"Oh," Buffybot said, frowning thoughtfully. "Where is your boat?"

"It's in the mail," Xander quipped, before motioning to the door. "Okay then gang – shall we?"


"Alright Buffy," Willow explained, plopping an enormous glass bowl down on the kitchen island. "When you hear a knock on the door, you take this bowl – and when they ask 'Trick or Treat?' – you hold it out for them to take, okay?"

Buffy nodded in agreement. "I will give them the bowl."

"No Buffy," Tara instructed. "We don't really have that many bowls to lose. Just the candy, alright?"

"Alright! But what if I run out of candy?"

"Xander managed to get hold of a decent supply," Tara assured her. "If the bowl gets empty, just come back in here and refill it."

"Other than that – usual rules," explained Willow. "Let Dawn or the machine answer the phone, and don't try to cook anything. If Dawn gets hungry, there are leftovers from yesterday in the refrigerator."

"And when will you be back?"

"By midnight," Willow replied. "The meetings have tended to last longer, now we've actually managed to talk some of the other 'Daughters of Gaea' to actually start trying spells... instead of yknow, smelling incense and sensing our own auras..."

"They still hold bake sales every Tuesday, though," Tara added.

"Oh yeah..." Willow remarked in amusement. "I for one am really hoping Nicole brings one of her empowering lemon cakes tonight..."

"See you later Dawn!" Tara called out as the two witches reached the front door, Willow waving at the younger girl seated on the couch.

"See you later mega-witches," Dawn said with a sly smile.

Soon enough, Buffy had settled herself on the couch beside her sister, quickly distracted by the flashing images on the television screen.

"So, I'm not sure if Willow and Tara mentioned anything," Dawn began casually, twiddling her fingers in her lap as Buffy quickly turned to face her. "But I was gonna go over to Spike's place tonight, bring him some stuff he likes. Sorta like a thank you for still helping us out all this time, despite... yknow, being a soulless vamp?"

"Oh," Buffy responded, a whirl of thoughts going through her processor. "They did not tell me that. I thought we were both staying here."

"Well..." Dawn mused. "You could come along? Come over to Spike's with me? He has a TV there, we could all hang out."

Buffy felt something she couldn't quite identify. The thought of Spike refusing to look at her, to talk to her, seemingly repulsed by her very presence was deeply distressing.

"Spike doesn't like me anymore," Buffy said. "I don't think he wants to see me."

Dawn looked sympathetically at Buffy, though she briefly averted her eyes when she continued. "I know it bothers you... you don't have to come if you want – I won't be on my own, and its Halloween anyway. Not even the monsters come out tonight..."

Buffy was grateful for that. She thought it over for a few moments, considering Dawn's words. Well, since Willow and Tara had told Dawn that this was okay – and considering what they had told Buffy about Halloween, it seemed to make sense. Perhaps that was why the two women had instructed her in how to hand out candy, instead of Dawn. Yes, it seemed to make sense.

"Okay," Buffy agreed. "Would you like me to walk you there? Should I have got Spike a gift as well?"

Dawn shook her head quickly. "No, I'm bringing stuff from all of us. And it's only a few blocks... there's no point in you just walking all the way for that, the streets are full of people anyway! So... you're okay with this?"

Buffy nodded. "Yes. When will you be home?"

"Dawn sprang to her feet. "It'll be a while – I mean, vampires are nocturnal, so I doubt Spike thinks about time like that. But don't worry, I'll be home before too late."

With that, Dawn walked from the living room, offering Buffy a little wave before opening the door and vanishing into the gathering night.

Buffy couldn't help but feel as though something wasn't quite right, but couldn't work out what.


Dawn felt a rush of satisfaction as she marched swiftly away from home, and down the suburban sidewalk. Everything had worked out just as she had hoped. She did feel a slight, creeping guilt about manipulating Buffybot, especially through what Dawn saw as her wounding over Spike's revulsion towards her. Still, no real harm was done. Dawn would be back before Willow and Tara got back from their wicca rituals, and none of them would be any the wiser.

Dawn turned down a slightly darker alley, feeling a cold chill pass over her as the shadows seemed to eye her from its dark edges.

"You get over the wall okay?" a voice asked boisterously, nearly giving Dawn a heart attack after her shoulder was grabbed from behind. To Dawn's relief as she span around, she saw Janice standing there in a grey turtleneck crop-top, elegantly exposing her waist above tight-fitting blue jeans. Her dark, wicked eyes and volcanic mane of auburn hair had their usual smoulder, and her lips were twisted into an amused, self-satisfied smirk.

"Yeah," Dawn replied breathlessly, the adrenaline fading away. "My sister thinks I'm going to visit... a friend of the family."

"Huh," Janice noted appreciatively. "The Mominator thinks I'm staying over at yours. Falling for that one... I mean, own a TV, right?"

Both girls laughed.

"So, where are we meeting?"

Janice twitched her eyebrows, a wicked expression on her face, her head swaying ever so slightly in apparent anticipation. "The park. Where all the monsters gather on Halloween!"

With that, Janice took Dawn by the arm, leading her out of the alley and down towards the shadowy treeline at the far end of the street.

Two teenage boys were waiting in the park, one perched on a picnic table whilst another swung madly from a nearby swingset. The one on the swings was large, built like a football player with a enormous forehead and what Dawn considered a slightly gormless face. Her impression of him wasn't improved when a half-crushed beer can smacked him in the face, causing him to nearly lose his balance.

The one who threw the can however, couldn't have been more different. He was just as tall as the larger boy, but slender, with luxurious brown hair, a strong, angular face and hypnotic blue eyes. Justin.

Dawn was momentarily distracted from admiring him when the larger boy noticed them, launching himself from the swings and pulling Janice into a racy embrace.

"Hey Baby..." He drawled "What took you so long."

Janice pulled away from the embrace, her usual smirk having extended into a grin. "Had to stop for crimes and misdemeanours... Zach, this is my friend, Dawn."

Zach eyed her greedily. "Helloo..."

Janice smacked him in the arm playfully, and Dawn was surprised to find herself smiling in spite of herself. She had never had that kind of blatant, lustful attention thrust upon her, and to her own surprise, she felt a slight rush.

"Hey," another voice came. "I'm Justin."

He reached out his hand, and Dawn took it gently in hers. "I know... I've seen you around at a couple of parties."

"I've seen you too."

Butterflies.

Dawn couldn't seem to open her mouth again to speak, not even able to break eye contact with Justin as they just looked at one another, hypnotised.

"So..." Janice broke the silence. "What do you guys wanna do?"


The next few hours were a blur. Pumpkins were smashed, tires punctured and mischief made on every street corner. Their 'visit' with Mr Colinbach had felt like a close call, but now at least that was behind them.

Now they were tearing around in Zach's car, Dawn wrapped in Justin's sports coat and holding onto Janice for dear life as they drifted recklessly around corners, and showboated down the dark streets. Eventually, Zach wrenched the car off of the road surface, cruising bumpily to a halt under the trees.

With one last wink and a squeeze of Dawn's hand, Janice flung herself out of the car, laughing gleefully as Zach followed suit from the driver's seat.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't dude!" Zach jeered to Justin as he slammed the door, before Janice seized him for a desperate kiss.

She whispered something Dawn couldn't quite make out, before laughing again and charging off into the nearby undergrowth. Another moment, and they had both vanished from sight.

The silence was deafening. For a moment, neither Dawn nor Justin moved, and the only sound Dawn heard was the rapid beating of her heart.

"Mind if I join you back there?" asked Justin as he half-turned his head to face her, a cute little smile on his face.

Dawn shivered ever so slightly, though she hoped he didn't notice. "Sure. Might hurt your neck otherwise."

Dawn hoped her jest didn't sound as awkward and stilted as it seemed, but Justin chortled, his smile widening into an appreciative grin. A moment later he had climbed out of his seat, and slid into the back beside her, his arm resting on the parcel shelf mere inches from her shoulders. She could smell his cologne, a thick, musky scent that somehow made her feel a little light-headed.

"S-So..." Dawn Stammered, suddenly unable to think of a single thing to say.

"Yeah," Justin replied casually, seeming far more at ease than she was.

"It's... cold." Dawn managed to say, grabbing the thick fabric of the sports coat. "Do you want this back?"

Justin shook his head, never moving his eyes from Dawn. "I don't really feel the cold."

"What are you, Superman?" Dawn said with a rather fake sounding laugh, cringing internally at herself again. Why couldn't she just sound normal?

"No," he replied, leaning ever so slightly closer. "But I do have... a few special powers."

Dawn's heart felt as though it were trying to escape her chest. Just as Justin seemed as though he were about to attempt a kiss, she pulled away, banging her head clumsily against the window.

"Sorry," Dawn said foolishly, rubbing the back of her head.

To Dawn's surprise, Justin didn't look offended. He merely offered another of his sweet, rather gentle smiles.

"Do you want to go?"

"No," Dawn answered quickly. "It's just... what do you expect-"

"Shh..." he breathed, and the words died on Dawn's lips. "I just want to taste you..."

Before Dawn could even think, his lips were on hers, and she forgot her anxiety. The kiss was warm, it was soft, and she felt a rush of feelings she couldn't quite define surging through all through her body. It lasted forever, and ended far too soon.

Dawn took a deep breath, unable to express what she was feeling. "That'll put marzipan in my pie plate, bingo..." The words flooded from her mouth, unprompted.

Justin snorted. "What?"

Dawn flushed in sudden awareness of what she had said. "Umm... nothing. That was just... wow."

Justin grinned in realisation. "Oh... that was your first!"

Dawn felt mortified, immediately embarrassed by her lack of experience becoming evident. "What? No."

"It was!" Justin laughed good-naturedly. "That was your first kiss!"

"I-I've been kissed before!" Dawn insisted. "I kiss all the time – not that I'm a kiss slut, just... yknow, with the lips and the pressing together... expert here."

Justin just shot her a level, amused look, saying nothing.

"Okay, okay! I know, I know I suck, my lips are dry and my tongue's all horrible and sticky and I'm pretty sure I drooled on you so just tell me how terrible it was and-"

Then his lips were on hers again, and again her protests were forgotten.

"It was perfect," Justin breathed, before re-joining their lips.

The kiss was longer this time, their lips roaming and grasping at each other hungrily. Dawn's hand slid up Justin's arm until she was cupping his face, and he had a hand in her hair.

Justin broke the spell just long enough to say a single sentence:

"You are so beautiful."

And Dawn was lost again.


Buffy sprang to her feet as she heard the front door swing open, the sound of canned laughter from the television reverberating softly through the room. The door closed again, and Willow and Tara stood in the hallway, the latter helping the former remove her coat.

"Sweetie, all I'm saying is you could have handled it a little differently."

By the look on her face, Willow did not agree with this assessment. "Tara, she was being ridiculous."

"Maybe," Tara admitted carefully. "But she was clearly feeling a little... threatened by everything."

Willow's frown deepened. "Threatened? You think I'm threatening?"

"I didn't say that," said Tara. "But Willow... you're so far ahead of all of us. You use complex magic like it's the easiest thing in the world..."

"Tara, she stormed off because I suggested that we shouldn't be ignoring the celestial calendar because it might interfere with bake sales!"

Tara sighed, taking a moment to remove her own coat. "Nicole left because she's been leading the Daughters for two years, and now it's going through so many changes... starting to use magic, touching a greater power – I think she feels like she's losing control, and I can understand why. We should have reassured her..."

"Let's just forget it for now, okay?"

Tara blinked, looking a little hurt but nodding. "A-alright."

"Buffy," Willow said as she moved into the living room. "Everything go okay? Dawn's not already sleepin' is she?"

Buffy shook her head. "Dawn isn't here. She is still with Spike."

"With Spike?" Tara questioned, the momentary look of hurt on her face quickly replaced by concern as she spoke. "What do you mean, with Spike?"

Buffy frowned. Had they forgotten the plans Dawn had spoken of? "Dawn went to give him a gift. From all of us. She said you knew."

Willow and Tara looked at one another.

"Buffy," Willow began, "I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Dawn was supposed to stay with you tonight."

"No," Buffy insisted, running the memory files through her mind. "Dawn said she told you, but that you might not have told me."

"Buffy," Tara began gently. "I think Dawn might have lied to you."

Buffy didn't understand. That made no sense. Dawn had explained everything – Buffy had never anticipated she would say something untrue. Surely, Tara was mistaken "Oh, Dawn wouldn't do that. She is my sister!"

"Buffy it's not that simple," Tara explained, her voice caught somewhere between patience and strain. "We need to find her. If she lied about that, we don't know if the rest is true. She might not even be with Spike."

Just then, the phone began to ring. Willow quickly vanished from sight, though her words carried clearly into the room from the hallway.

"Oh, Hello Mrs... no, Janice isn't here... Have you heard from Dawn? No, we didn't agree to have Janice over. Well, how could we check up if we didn't k- ... never mind. Yeah, of course we'll let you know the moment we know anything. Alright, bye."

In a moment, Willow had stormed back into the living room, her eyes flashing with a fury Buffy had never seen. "Janice is missing. Her mother said Janice told her she was staying over with Dawn tonight. Now they're both gone."

Willow turned to Buffy. "Buffy... we asked you to look after her!"

"Willow, don't..." Tara attempted to interject, but Willow was resolute, her hands waving at her sides.

"You didn't even offer to walk her over?"

Buffy felt overwhelmed, unsure how to process everything which had happened. "I did," she explained. "But Dawn said because it was Halloween that she would be safe. And since you said that I did not need to patrol, I thought-"

"Oh you thought?" Willow snapped, and Buffy clamped her mouth shut.

"Stop it!" Tara shouted, causing both Willow and Buffy's heads to turn. Tara almost never raised her voice, not for any reason. "This isn't helping anything – we need to find Dawn!"

"You're right," Willow conceded, though she looked no less angry. "Buffybot... just... just go and get Spike. If Dawn isn't there, he'll help track her down. I'm gonna call Xander, then Tara and I will check the Bronze."

Willow immediately stormed from the room again, leaving Buffy standing frozen to the spot, lost in a storm of chaos and contradictions.

Tara hovered silently for a moment, before taking a step towards Buffy, her arms crossed in a slightly vulnerable pose.

"It's not your fault. I mean... I don't blame you."

"I am to blame," said Buffy. "I... I upset Willow. I should have looked after Dawn. But I didn't go with her, because..."

Tara looked curiously at her. "Go on."

Buffy lowered her eyes. "Dawn asked if I wanted to go with her. But I did not. Because... because Spike does not want to see me. The way he looks at me – the way he does not look at me. It is... difficult."

Tara looked pensive for a moment, her brow knotted. When she spoke again, there was sympathy in her voice. "I think I know why Dawn told you what she did. When we find her... we'll talk about it, okay?"

Buffy nodded slowly.

Tara placed a hand on Buffy's arm. "Are you happy to go get Spike, considering... considering how you feel?"

Buffy hesitated a moment before replying. "Yes. We need him."

Tara offered a grateful smile. "Good luck. Hopefully this will all be over soon."


"Ow!" Dawn exclaimed, as a sharp pain dug into her lower lip.

"I'm sorry," Justin apologised in a sincere voice, though Dawn couldn't help but notice a certain hunger in his eyes.

Their kiss resumed, Dawn closing her eyes and losing herself to the sensation which filled her entire being, a warmth and a need that drowned out everything else. Then, without knowing why, her eyes flicked open almost of their own accord, and she found herself staring deep into bestial yellow orbs.

It was instinct. In what felt like a single motion, Dawn threw Justin against the door, kicking open her own with strength she didn't know she had. Dawn only just had the wits to slam the door after her, giving her precious seconds to get as far away as possible. She had to get away, find Janice and Zach, or someone. She heard another door open, and the sound of approaching footfalls behind her.

"Get away from me!" Dawn screamed, though before she could so much as reach the treeline a cold grip had seized her shoulder.

"Wait!" Justin shouted, spinning her around with such strength that Dawn was powerless as he grabbed her other arm with his free hand. "I thought we could hang out, or something?"

"Hang out?!" Dawn blurted incredulously.

"Yeah... I mean, you're not like other girls. You're different. There's something special about you. I knew it the first time I saw you."

She was looking into his eyes again. Those golden, hypnotic eyes that were hellish pits beneath the ridge of his grotesquely distended vampiric brow.

"I just... want to be close to you," he cooed softly. Dawn didn't even realise he had released his hold on her, until he was running the back of his fingers down her cheek. The only resistance she managed was to pull away slightly, but her legs may as well have been made of stone.

"Sshhh," he whispered again. "It's okay... it'll only hurt for a second."

Justin's mouth opened, revealing vicious fangs as he leaned in towards her neck, and Dawn's suddenly heavy eyelids closed of their own accord.