********
Monday evening
Danny and Buffy were at a local Pizza place, eating dinner. "So,
Buffy," Danny said after he'd devoured his third piece of
pizza. "Does Sunnydale High agree with you any more than Hemery?"
Buffy rolled her eyes at the memory. "Hey, so burning down the gym
wasn't my finest moment, but it _was_ an accident."
"Yeah. How was that again?" Danny asked.
"Prank gone wrong," Buffy said. "I was dared to break in and steal the
.... uh..." Buffy tried to remember what her excuse had been back
then.
"All-State Football trophy?" Danny supplied, his eyes dancing with
laughter.
"Exactly," Buffy replied. "And then I turned on one of the lights, and
there was a power outage, so I went down to the basement to check the
fuse box, and when I touched one of the switches, there was a spark,
and the spark turned into a flaming mess, and I freaked out and ran."
What had really happened was she'd lured a group of vampires into the
gym, locked them inside and then decided to sacrifice the building
for the good of humanity. But she wasn't about to tell Danny that.
Ever.
She looked into his eyes, and could see that he didn't believe her in
the least. Thankfully, though, he changed the subject. "Anyway, your
mom mentioned you were down lately when I called her last week to see
if it was still a good time to come. I almost thought I would be more
of a bother than a help."
"You're not a bother," Buffy replied. "I haven't had a really great
summer, that's all."
When she didn't add more, he said, "And you don't want to talk about
the bad summer. I respect that. If there's anything I can do for you,
I'm here."
"I know you are," Buffy said. "You're doing me a lot of good just
being here. Taking my mind of the normal Buffy-stuff, believe me it's
the best kind of way to cheer me up."
"Good," Danny said. "So you wanna go for a walk?"
"Uh, that's not a good idea," Buffy said. "Remember what I said about
the crime problem in Sunnydale?"
"Something tells me that between my black-belt and your.... self-
defense skills, we can handle the bad guys," Danny replied.
*That's what you think*
Against her better judgement though, Buffy agreed. "Okay, fine," she
shrugged. "But we'll stay in the better-lit areas."
"Fine with me," Danny replied. He put some money on the table, and cut
off Buffy's protest. "No arguing. Let me treat tonight. I get the
feeling that if Joyce still cooks as much as she used to, this won't
even begin to make us even."
Buffy sighed, but said, "Okay, but we'll rent movies tomorrow, and
they're on me. Deal?"
"Deal," Danny said with a smile and followed her outside.
***********
"I don't get what you were so worried about," Danny said.
Famous last words.
Well, almost.
"Hey!" was actually the famous last word he uttered as the demon
rushed him.
"Why can't you leave me alone when I'm trying to enjoy a normal
evening with a friend?" Buffy questioned as she pulled Mr. Pointy out
of her purse and tossed the purse on the ground. "Okay, done playing
now?" she asked, pulling the slime demon off Danny. "I'm the one you
were _really_ interested in, right?" she taunted.
The demon growled in reply, and Buffy staked him quickly. *They aren't
known for their intelligence, thank God* she thought as she
contemplated the body. *Way too many of the non-poofing bodies
lately* she wrinkled her nose in disgust. *I'm _not_ doing burial
detail right now.*
She reached out a hand to help her shocked friend to his feet. He
ignored her hand, instead asking, "What was that, and what is that?"
first pointing to the demon and then to the stake in Buffy's hand.
Buffy sighed in resignation, and sat on the ground next to him. "It's
a long story, Danny. Not even one you really want to understand
completely I'm sure. That is a slime demon. And this is a stake,
which is one of the few ways to kill them."
"How?"
Buffy didn't know what he was asking exactly, but she chose to answer
all possibilities. "It's just one of the more-colorful things about
Sunnydale," Buffy replied. "Demons like this town, and don't seem to
have any intention of finding another. I know it's bizarre, but when
it's something you live with every day, you get used to it. You learn
what items to use to kill them, and then you start carrying those
items to stay alive."
She hoped he would be happy with this explanation, and he seemed to
be. Either that or he was in too much shock to ask a lot of
questions. "Oh," he said. "Can we go home now?"
Buffy laughed. "Yes," she answered, standing and helping him to his
feet as well. "You can't say I didn't warn you. Sure, I didn't get
into details, but that's beside the point."
"Uh-huh," was all Danny could manage, still contemplating the fact
that he'd been tackled by a demon.
**********
"You can go on up to my room," Buffy said as they entered the
house. "I need to make a quick phone call, and I'll be right there."
She walked into the kitchen, where her mom was cleaning up the
kitchen. "Hey, mom. So guess what? Poor Danny got attacked by a Slime
Demon."
"Is he okay? And is that what it sounds like?" Joyce asked with a
frown.
"Danny's fine, and pretty much, except worse," Buffy
answered. "Anyway, I didn't tell him about the Slayer aspect, but I
did explain that demons like Sunnydale."
"Why didn't you tell him?"
"Because I was breaking the rules telling you, Xander, and Willow,"
Buffy said. "The more people who know, the more dangerous it is for
them. Besides, Danny's going back to L.A. soon, and I don't want him
to worry about me." She went to the refrigerator to get herself and
Danny some cokes, and added, "I don't think I mentioned it earlier,
but thanks for inviting him. It's great to have a chance to catch up
with him and pretend to be a normal girl, for a little while anyway."
"I'm just glad it's cheered you up, Honey," Joyce replied with a
smile.
"It's what I was hoping for."
Buffy picked up the phone and dialed Willow's number. "Hey, Willow. I
was hoping you'd be there. I'm sorry to ask this, but there's a slime
demon in the park on 5th street.... Yes, it's dead.... Yes, I mean
dead-dead. It attacked me and Danny...well mostly Danny.... Yeah. I
left out the Slayer part, but I told him demons like Sunnydale....
Other than general shock, he'll survive.... Thanks so much Will, I
was hoping I could count on you guys for demon-disposal....Bye!"
She went back to the stairway to see that Danny was coming down again.
"Hey, I was coming up."
"I think I need to change," Danny said. "I smell like...whatever that
was. Would you be upset if we called it a night?"
"No, of course not," Buffy said. "Where are you staying?"
"I've got a friend who's going to UC Sunnydale, and he's there for
summer term. So he asked me to stay with him."
"Good, I'd hate for you to stay in a hotel. In fact, I wouldn't allow
it."
"Can I call you tomorrow?" Danny asked as she walked him to the door.
"Definitely," Buffy smiled at him. "See you later."
************
End Eight
Monday evening
Danny and Buffy were at a local Pizza place, eating dinner. "So,
Buffy," Danny said after he'd devoured his third piece of
pizza. "Does Sunnydale High agree with you any more than Hemery?"
Buffy rolled her eyes at the memory. "Hey, so burning down the gym
wasn't my finest moment, but it _was_ an accident."
"Yeah. How was that again?" Danny asked.
"Prank gone wrong," Buffy said. "I was dared to break in and steal the
.... uh..." Buffy tried to remember what her excuse had been back
then.
"All-State Football trophy?" Danny supplied, his eyes dancing with
laughter.
"Exactly," Buffy replied. "And then I turned on one of the lights, and
there was a power outage, so I went down to the basement to check the
fuse box, and when I touched one of the switches, there was a spark,
and the spark turned into a flaming mess, and I freaked out and ran."
What had really happened was she'd lured a group of vampires into the
gym, locked them inside and then decided to sacrifice the building
for the good of humanity. But she wasn't about to tell Danny that.
Ever.
She looked into his eyes, and could see that he didn't believe her in
the least. Thankfully, though, he changed the subject. "Anyway, your
mom mentioned you were down lately when I called her last week to see
if it was still a good time to come. I almost thought I would be more
of a bother than a help."
"You're not a bother," Buffy replied. "I haven't had a really great
summer, that's all."
When she didn't add more, he said, "And you don't want to talk about
the bad summer. I respect that. If there's anything I can do for you,
I'm here."
"I know you are," Buffy said. "You're doing me a lot of good just
being here. Taking my mind of the normal Buffy-stuff, believe me it's
the best kind of way to cheer me up."
"Good," Danny said. "So you wanna go for a walk?"
"Uh, that's not a good idea," Buffy said. "Remember what I said about
the crime problem in Sunnydale?"
"Something tells me that between my black-belt and your.... self-
defense skills, we can handle the bad guys," Danny replied.
*That's what you think*
Against her better judgement though, Buffy agreed. "Okay, fine," she
shrugged. "But we'll stay in the better-lit areas."
"Fine with me," Danny replied. He put some money on the table, and cut
off Buffy's protest. "No arguing. Let me treat tonight. I get the
feeling that if Joyce still cooks as much as she used to, this won't
even begin to make us even."
Buffy sighed, but said, "Okay, but we'll rent movies tomorrow, and
they're on me. Deal?"
"Deal," Danny said with a smile and followed her outside.
***********
"I don't get what you were so worried about," Danny said.
Famous last words.
Well, almost.
"Hey!" was actually the famous last word he uttered as the demon
rushed him.
"Why can't you leave me alone when I'm trying to enjoy a normal
evening with a friend?" Buffy questioned as she pulled Mr. Pointy out
of her purse and tossed the purse on the ground. "Okay, done playing
now?" she asked, pulling the slime demon off Danny. "I'm the one you
were _really_ interested in, right?" she taunted.
The demon growled in reply, and Buffy staked him quickly. *They aren't
known for their intelligence, thank God* she thought as she
contemplated the body. *Way too many of the non-poofing bodies
lately* she wrinkled her nose in disgust. *I'm _not_ doing burial
detail right now.*
She reached out a hand to help her shocked friend to his feet. He
ignored her hand, instead asking, "What was that, and what is that?"
first pointing to the demon and then to the stake in Buffy's hand.
Buffy sighed in resignation, and sat on the ground next to him. "It's
a long story, Danny. Not even one you really want to understand
completely I'm sure. That is a slime demon. And this is a stake,
which is one of the few ways to kill them."
"How?"
Buffy didn't know what he was asking exactly, but she chose to answer
all possibilities. "It's just one of the more-colorful things about
Sunnydale," Buffy replied. "Demons like this town, and don't seem to
have any intention of finding another. I know it's bizarre, but when
it's something you live with every day, you get used to it. You learn
what items to use to kill them, and then you start carrying those
items to stay alive."
She hoped he would be happy with this explanation, and he seemed to
be. Either that or he was in too much shock to ask a lot of
questions. "Oh," he said. "Can we go home now?"
Buffy laughed. "Yes," she answered, standing and helping him to his
feet as well. "You can't say I didn't warn you. Sure, I didn't get
into details, but that's beside the point."
"Uh-huh," was all Danny could manage, still contemplating the fact
that he'd been tackled by a demon.
**********
"You can go on up to my room," Buffy said as they entered the
house. "I need to make a quick phone call, and I'll be right there."
She walked into the kitchen, where her mom was cleaning up the
kitchen. "Hey, mom. So guess what? Poor Danny got attacked by a Slime
Demon."
"Is he okay? And is that what it sounds like?" Joyce asked with a
frown.
"Danny's fine, and pretty much, except worse," Buffy
answered. "Anyway, I didn't tell him about the Slayer aspect, but I
did explain that demons like Sunnydale."
"Why didn't you tell him?"
"Because I was breaking the rules telling you, Xander, and Willow,"
Buffy said. "The more people who know, the more dangerous it is for
them. Besides, Danny's going back to L.A. soon, and I don't want him
to worry about me." She went to the refrigerator to get herself and
Danny some cokes, and added, "I don't think I mentioned it earlier,
but thanks for inviting him. It's great to have a chance to catch up
with him and pretend to be a normal girl, for a little while anyway."
"I'm just glad it's cheered you up, Honey," Joyce replied with a
smile.
"It's what I was hoping for."
Buffy picked up the phone and dialed Willow's number. "Hey, Willow. I
was hoping you'd be there. I'm sorry to ask this, but there's a slime
demon in the park on 5th street.... Yes, it's dead.... Yes, I mean
dead-dead. It attacked me and Danny...well mostly Danny.... Yeah. I
left out the Slayer part, but I told him demons like Sunnydale....
Other than general shock, he'll survive.... Thanks so much Will, I
was hoping I could count on you guys for demon-disposal....Bye!"
She went back to the stairway to see that Danny was coming down again.
"Hey, I was coming up."
"I think I need to change," Danny said. "I smell like...whatever that
was. Would you be upset if we called it a night?"
"No, of course not," Buffy said. "Where are you staying?"
"I've got a friend who's going to UC Sunnydale, and he's there for
summer term. So he asked me to stay with him."
"Good, I'd hate for you to stay in a hotel. In fact, I wouldn't allow
it."
"Can I call you tomorrow?" Danny asked as she walked him to the door.
"Definitely," Buffy smiled at him. "See you later."
************
End Eight