Disclaimer: Any character that you've seen on the show is owned by Joss,
not me.
Colleen The new slayer and Dawn's teammate
Jordan New kid in Sunnydale who receives The Visions
Dawn Buffy's little sister and now on the basketball team
Aaron Dawn's friend who works at the Magic Box
*****
My name is Colleen Danvers. Happiness to me is a basketball. I have loved basketball since I was seven. I got it from my dad. I'm pretty sure that he had wanted a boy, but he got me instead. It was cool though. We did all the fun stuff though, like go fishing and work on his car. I was never really into any of that stuff, but I did it anyway because I knew it made him happy. There was one interest of his that I loved.
Sports. I love sports almost as much as my dad does. He's the sports editor for the local newspaper. Every Saturday we would sit on the couch together and spend the day watching everything that was on TV. My dad would tell me stories about all the things that he has done in his life. He played Division 2 basketball in college for his first two years, but then got hurt and had to quit. I think that's one of the biggest regrets in his life.
I practice everyday in my driveway. It was October and it was starting to get a little chilly outside. I zipped up my hoody and took another shot. The sun was about to set and my dad wasn't home yet. I was getting a little worried. Everyday my dad and I would shoot around for at least 15 minutes. It gave us a chance to talk because my dad always worried about me, especially after my mom left.
I don't like to think about that a lot. My mom just up and left one day. She just never came home. No note or anything. My dad thought that maybe something happened to her, but I knew better. I could tell how unhappy she was. She was just unhappy being here. I used to think that maybe it was something I did, but I could never believe that. My mother was just an unhappy person and one day she just decided that she had enough.
I looked at my watch. It was almost 8:00. I was starting to get nervous. Dawn was expecting to meet me at the usual spot half an hour ago. But I couldn't just leave without talking to my dad. I haven't done that in .well actually I have never done that. I look forward to my time with my dad as much as he does, maybe even more. Now though, I had important things that I couldn't just shrug off because I wanted to spend time with my dad.
By 8:15 I realized that I had to go. This was going to make it even harder to tell my dad the news that I knew I had to tell him. I knew it was going to crush him, but if I didn't tell him before I did it, it was going to crush him. I had the lies all worked out. I would say that I wanted to concentrate on my schoolwork this year and that maybe I would go back out next year after I adjusted. I guess this conversation would have to wait for another night
I was wrong. Just as I was on my way out of the driver my dad pulled in. He pulled out of the garage and I couldn't help but notice the hurt expression on his face.
"Where are you off to Seed?" My dad asked. Seed was his nickname for me. It's the pronunciation of my initials. C.D.
"I was just going to go down to the library with Dawn," I lied. "We're going to study for a test."
"Don't have any time for a little B-Ball first?" My dad asked. The knot in my stomach decided to triple tie itself.
"Sorry dad," I said. "I'm already late. We can shoot around tomorrow before school if you want."
My dad faked a smile. "Ok. Do you need a ride?"
"No it's OK," I said walking away, "I need to do some running anyway."
*****
"Where have you been?" Dawn asked me. She looked annoyed that I left her waiting in front of the gates of the cemetery. There's something about Dawn that drew me towards her over the summer. Like I knew that she would be good at basketball, but it was more than that. Like there was this feeling deep inside of me that I needed to be there for her.
"Sorry," I told Dawn, "I needed to wait for my dad to get home."
"Here," she said tossing me a stake. "I think tonight is going to be busy. I know I saw some vamps."
This is what Dawn calls patrolling. Some nights we dust a half dozen vamps and some nights we don't get any. I've gone by myself a few times, but usually I have at least Dawn with me. Or some nights it will be Aaron. Or Jordan. Or all four of us.
And then there are the times that Jordan gets visions. He's only had three thus far. One time it was during school and Aaron and I ditched to break up a demon attack at a construction site. That was pretty much my only encounter with a demon that wasn't a vampire.
We've only seen, as Aaron named her, the Gold Chick one other time. It was during another one of Jordan's visions. This time he saw a pack of vampires trying to take over a frat house down on the UC Sunnydale campus. All four of us weren't enough to go up against the vampires and it was looking bad for a little bit. That's when she showed up and helped. We've still never heard her speak though.
"Show time," Dawn said. There were two vamps that were quickly approaching them.
I tensed up a bit. I still had a little bit of trouble when I had to take on two vampires at the same time. I had gotten a lot better at it though. I could handle three at once. Well, I did it once. And they were new vampires. But I was getting better. Gathering my strength, I made contact with the taller vampire on the left first, giving him a punch to the jaw. I quickly turned my attention to the one on the left, giving him a roundhouse kick. He doubled back and held his gut. I ran and gave him a drop kick knocking him to the ground. I pulled out my stake and prepared to shove it through his chest when the other vampire grabbed my wrist and threw flipped me behind him.
"Oomph," I said intelligently as I hit the ground hard and the wind rushed from my lungs. The vampire still standing kicked me hard in the gut again, and I lay on my back looking up at him. I watched as the vampire grinned at me, but then suddenly the grin changed to an expression of shock, and just as quickly he exploded into dust. Dawn stood right behind the dust cloud looking satisfied. That's when I noticed the other vampire standing behind her.
"Duck!" I shouted and Dawn luckily reacted. I did a handspring into a kick and knocked the vampire back onto his back. "You just can't stay up," I told him as I sank my stake into his chest. Turning to Dawn, I said "thanks for the assist."
"No problem," She said as I stood up.
I let out a sigh. "I need to get better at this. I've been at this for like what? A month and a half now? I should be able to take out two vampires no problem. I'm sure your sister could."
"Buffy had Giles though to train her," Dawn said. "You just need more practice."
"It's like," I started, "like I have all this information in my head that I don't know how I got it. Like fighting techniques and stuff that I never learned, but somehow I still know them."
Dawn nodded at me. "Buffy talked about that before. I think Giles said that it was a 'subconscious pool of knowledge that all slayers have.' Like the dreams."
"I just wish that I could just use this information better," I told Dawn. The rest of the night was actually kind of dull. We went to two other cemeteries, but there were no other vampires out.
"So did you tell your dad yet?" Dawn asked me while we were walking home.
"Not yet," I admitted to her.
"You should probably tell him soon," Dawn said. "Conditioning starts next week. I told Xander and Anya today that I decided against joining the team."
"You did what?" I was shocked. "Why did you do that?"
"It wouldn't be fair if I got to play and you didn't," Dawn said. "But who knows, maybe next year we can both go out for the team together."
"I can't believe you're not going out Dawn," I told her. "You were getting so good."
Dawn shook her head. "Nah," she said. "I'm way too uncoordinated. I'm just tall."
*****
"I have an idea," Dawn told me while we were changing for gym.
"And that is?" I asked back while tying my shoes.
"I know someone who can train you," Dawn said. "Meet me at the usual spot at 6:00."
"And I'm thinking that you're not going to tell me anything more about this," I said back to Dawn. "Right?"
"Yep," Dawn said. "It's more fun that way."
We walked out of the locker room together and talked during attendance and while the gym teacher told us what we were doing that day. We had finally finished 'basketball skills' and had finally picked teams. Dawn and I were on the same team since she had managed to be captain and first pick.
"Who are we playing today?" I asked Dawn as we looked at the schedule.
"That would be our team," I heard a voice behind me. It was a voice that gave me this strange feeling in my stomach. Not that feeling of when a vampire was nearby. This was much more natural. Although I would never ever admit that to him.
"Oh great," I said to Mike, "and I thought I was going to get some real competition."
"You say that now," Mike teased, "but wait till we're on the court."
"And what?" I asked him back. "You'll foul me?" Dawn and some of our friends that were around us laughed. Even some of Mike's friends laughed. The thing is that Mike didn't even get embarrassed. He just kept smiling at me with his stupid smile with way too many perfect teeth.
"Maybe I will," Mike said.
*****
We were up by two and we had to change in another minute. There was no better feeling in the world than beating Mike for a second time. He stood at the foul point line idly dribbling while I guarded him. Every time I tried to get the ball though he managed to keep it from me.
"Tell you what Danvers," Mike said to me in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Let's make this more interesting."
More interesting? Than this? Impossible. "How?" I asked him.
"If we win," he said while he continued to smile at me and idly dribble, "you have to go on a date with me."
A date? He was asking me on a date? Every girl in the freshman class wanted to date Mike Dalton. And he was asking me?
"And when we win?" I asked him.
This time he talked in a voice that was only low enough for me to hear, "then you get to go on a date with me." I couldn't help but smile. It killed me to do it, but I broke my hard exterior. Well technically, he broke it.
The worst part was that he took advantage of it. In my momentary lapse of concentration, he dropped back to the three point line and before I could do anything about it he sunk a basket. As the ball bounced off the gym floor, the gym teacher told us that we could change now.
"The Bronze. 9:00 tonight. I'll see you there," Mike said and then left without even giving me a chance to argue.
I stood still for a moment and thought to myself "What just happened here?"
*****
"Mike Dalton?" Aaron asked at lunch time. Dawn just couldn't resist telling everyone about him. Bitch.
"You're such a bitch Dawn," I told her.
She laughed at me. "Oh come on. You know you're excited."
Yeah, I was excited. But what was this? I was Colleen Danvers. I had been labeled a tomboy since Kindergarten when I beat up a boy and made him cry. I was the Slayer for crying out loud! Why should I be excited about a stupid date?
"I can't go anyway," I said taking a bite out of my hamburger. "Patrol remember? I have to make the world safe for Democracy."
"I don't think vampires really care about our Democracy," Aaron said. "At least not as much as our pulses."
"And besides," Jordan threw in pointing at his head, "Visions. I can be our bat signal if need be."
"That doesn't change the fact that I don't want to go," I tried to lie.
Jordan shook his head while pointing to it again. "Psychic too. Remember?"
"Jordan!" I yelled at him. "I can't believe you would read my mind."
"I can't help it," Jordan said, "Especially when you're beaming out your burning feelings of love."
"I am not in love with Mike Dalton!" I yelled a little too loud. Everyone stared at me for a few seconds then laughed and went back to their own conversations.
"Inside voices Colleen," Aaron told me.
"So it's settled," Dawn said. "We're going to the Bronze tonight.
"Whoa whoa whoa," I said. "What's this 'we'?"
*****
"So where are we going?" I asked Dawn as we walked through the cemetery. Luckily today, my dad was home on time. I told him about the basketball team. He handled it well, and by well I mean that he went off the handle. I'm confident though that one day we will once again be on speaking terms.
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you that," Dawn said. She can be so evil sometimes.
We made our way through the cemetery and ended up at a crypt. Dawn knocked on the door and there was an English voice came from inside saying "come in."
We walked in and there was the most incredible looking man that I had ever seen in my life.
"Colleen this is Spike," Dawn said after she said hi to the man named Spike. "Spike this is Colleen, the Vampire Slayer."
*****
Training with Spike had been interesting to say the least. At first I was terrified because he was a vampire. I could tell by my slayer sense. But Dawn explained to me about Spike and everything he had done for her and that put me a little at ease. A little at ease that is.
Spike and I trained for a good hour and a half. He was impressed by my skills and Dawn filled him in on everything that we learned from The Powers That Be. He even told him what they said about her sister, which seemed to really get to Spike. Spike really didn't seem like he wanted to train me. It was more like he was doing this as a favor for Dawn. When we left he didn't make any appointment to see me again. He did however compliment me on how fast I was progressing.
On the way back to my house we ran into two vamps. I dusted one right of the bat without even having to punch him. The other one just required a quick duck followed by a leg sweep and then a stake right to the heart.
"See," Dawn said while giving me a little gold clap, "You're already doing better."
I stood up and tossed my hair over my shoulder. "I could have done that before. They were new." I paused for a second. "I definitely think that I am improving though."
*****
When I went home with Dawn to change and grab a shower my dad really didn't talk to me besides a quick 'hello.' When I told him I was going to the Bronze all he had to say was "home by eleven." While I was walking out the door though he caved and threw in a "have a good time."
"See it wasn't as bad as you said it was," Dawn said.
"Yeah it is," I told her. "Did you see him giving me any money?"
*****
Sometimes my dad tells me that your high school years are the best years of your life. I usually roll my eyes at him. But tonight, with me in my tight jeans and my t-shirt that doesn't quite meet the top of my jeans and being the envy of every girl in our grade, I couldn't help but be happy.
Mike looked amazing, but that was a given. His hair was perfect. His skin was perfect. His clothes were perfect. He looked like he had just walked off from a magazine shoot for Abercrombie and Fitch. He has this amazing ability to say exactly the right thing to make me smile with the fewest amount of words.
We were dancing to a fast song. That's right, Mike actually was willing to dance. I looked around and I could see Dawn, Jordan and Aaron dancing in a group on the other side of the dance floor. I made eye contact with Dawn and smiled at her and she got a very excited expression on her face and gave me a double thumbs up. Aaron grabbed his chest and got a fake loving expression on his face and Jordan just laughed. I laughed and Mike looked at me and smiled a little more.
"Is it safe to assume that you are having a good time?" Mike asked me.
"Yeah," I said, and then decided that it was my turn to tease. "This is a great song."
This time Mike laughed. "And I hope that you are enjoying the company as well."
I nodded and gave him another smile. "So is the best bet you ever won?" I asked Mike.
"I once won a hundred bucks when I bet against my dad on a boxing match that he didn't know was being rebroadcast." Mike told me with a smile and I laughed for the hundredth time that night. The song we were dancing to ended and a slow song started. Even as a lot of the other people on the dance floor moved off, including Aaron, Dawn and Jordan, I found myself putting my hands on Mike's shoulders as he grabbed me around the waist. He leaned in close to my ear and said "this definitely beats that though."
I pulled in closer to him and couldn't believe my life at this point. I felt like I was dreaming and that there was no way that life could be this good. I knew that someone was going to wake me up any minute. That's when life did wake me up. I opened my eyes just in time to see Aaron walking towards me. The panic was evident on his face.
All I could do was think about how quickly a night could turn around and try to fight against the pressure that was building behind my eyes.
*****
Author's Note: OK, this is part 1 of 4 of Identities. Hopefully, it will give you a better idea of how these characters think and feel. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Colleen The new slayer and Dawn's teammate
Jordan New kid in Sunnydale who receives The Visions
Dawn Buffy's little sister and now on the basketball team
Aaron Dawn's friend who works at the Magic Box
*****
My name is Colleen Danvers. Happiness to me is a basketball. I have loved basketball since I was seven. I got it from my dad. I'm pretty sure that he had wanted a boy, but he got me instead. It was cool though. We did all the fun stuff though, like go fishing and work on his car. I was never really into any of that stuff, but I did it anyway because I knew it made him happy. There was one interest of his that I loved.
Sports. I love sports almost as much as my dad does. He's the sports editor for the local newspaper. Every Saturday we would sit on the couch together and spend the day watching everything that was on TV. My dad would tell me stories about all the things that he has done in his life. He played Division 2 basketball in college for his first two years, but then got hurt and had to quit. I think that's one of the biggest regrets in his life.
I practice everyday in my driveway. It was October and it was starting to get a little chilly outside. I zipped up my hoody and took another shot. The sun was about to set and my dad wasn't home yet. I was getting a little worried. Everyday my dad and I would shoot around for at least 15 minutes. It gave us a chance to talk because my dad always worried about me, especially after my mom left.
I don't like to think about that a lot. My mom just up and left one day. She just never came home. No note or anything. My dad thought that maybe something happened to her, but I knew better. I could tell how unhappy she was. She was just unhappy being here. I used to think that maybe it was something I did, but I could never believe that. My mother was just an unhappy person and one day she just decided that she had enough.
I looked at my watch. It was almost 8:00. I was starting to get nervous. Dawn was expecting to meet me at the usual spot half an hour ago. But I couldn't just leave without talking to my dad. I haven't done that in .well actually I have never done that. I look forward to my time with my dad as much as he does, maybe even more. Now though, I had important things that I couldn't just shrug off because I wanted to spend time with my dad.
By 8:15 I realized that I had to go. This was going to make it even harder to tell my dad the news that I knew I had to tell him. I knew it was going to crush him, but if I didn't tell him before I did it, it was going to crush him. I had the lies all worked out. I would say that I wanted to concentrate on my schoolwork this year and that maybe I would go back out next year after I adjusted. I guess this conversation would have to wait for another night
I was wrong. Just as I was on my way out of the driver my dad pulled in. He pulled out of the garage and I couldn't help but notice the hurt expression on his face.
"Where are you off to Seed?" My dad asked. Seed was his nickname for me. It's the pronunciation of my initials. C.D.
"I was just going to go down to the library with Dawn," I lied. "We're going to study for a test."
"Don't have any time for a little B-Ball first?" My dad asked. The knot in my stomach decided to triple tie itself.
"Sorry dad," I said. "I'm already late. We can shoot around tomorrow before school if you want."
My dad faked a smile. "Ok. Do you need a ride?"
"No it's OK," I said walking away, "I need to do some running anyway."
*****
"Where have you been?" Dawn asked me. She looked annoyed that I left her waiting in front of the gates of the cemetery. There's something about Dawn that drew me towards her over the summer. Like I knew that she would be good at basketball, but it was more than that. Like there was this feeling deep inside of me that I needed to be there for her.
"Sorry," I told Dawn, "I needed to wait for my dad to get home."
"Here," she said tossing me a stake. "I think tonight is going to be busy. I know I saw some vamps."
This is what Dawn calls patrolling. Some nights we dust a half dozen vamps and some nights we don't get any. I've gone by myself a few times, but usually I have at least Dawn with me. Or some nights it will be Aaron. Or Jordan. Or all four of us.
And then there are the times that Jordan gets visions. He's only had three thus far. One time it was during school and Aaron and I ditched to break up a demon attack at a construction site. That was pretty much my only encounter with a demon that wasn't a vampire.
We've only seen, as Aaron named her, the Gold Chick one other time. It was during another one of Jordan's visions. This time he saw a pack of vampires trying to take over a frat house down on the UC Sunnydale campus. All four of us weren't enough to go up against the vampires and it was looking bad for a little bit. That's when she showed up and helped. We've still never heard her speak though.
"Show time," Dawn said. There were two vamps that were quickly approaching them.
I tensed up a bit. I still had a little bit of trouble when I had to take on two vampires at the same time. I had gotten a lot better at it though. I could handle three at once. Well, I did it once. And they were new vampires. But I was getting better. Gathering my strength, I made contact with the taller vampire on the left first, giving him a punch to the jaw. I quickly turned my attention to the one on the left, giving him a roundhouse kick. He doubled back and held his gut. I ran and gave him a drop kick knocking him to the ground. I pulled out my stake and prepared to shove it through his chest when the other vampire grabbed my wrist and threw flipped me behind him.
"Oomph," I said intelligently as I hit the ground hard and the wind rushed from my lungs. The vampire still standing kicked me hard in the gut again, and I lay on my back looking up at him. I watched as the vampire grinned at me, but then suddenly the grin changed to an expression of shock, and just as quickly he exploded into dust. Dawn stood right behind the dust cloud looking satisfied. That's when I noticed the other vampire standing behind her.
"Duck!" I shouted and Dawn luckily reacted. I did a handspring into a kick and knocked the vampire back onto his back. "You just can't stay up," I told him as I sank my stake into his chest. Turning to Dawn, I said "thanks for the assist."
"No problem," She said as I stood up.
I let out a sigh. "I need to get better at this. I've been at this for like what? A month and a half now? I should be able to take out two vampires no problem. I'm sure your sister could."
"Buffy had Giles though to train her," Dawn said. "You just need more practice."
"It's like," I started, "like I have all this information in my head that I don't know how I got it. Like fighting techniques and stuff that I never learned, but somehow I still know them."
Dawn nodded at me. "Buffy talked about that before. I think Giles said that it was a 'subconscious pool of knowledge that all slayers have.' Like the dreams."
"I just wish that I could just use this information better," I told Dawn. The rest of the night was actually kind of dull. We went to two other cemeteries, but there were no other vampires out.
"So did you tell your dad yet?" Dawn asked me while we were walking home.
"Not yet," I admitted to her.
"You should probably tell him soon," Dawn said. "Conditioning starts next week. I told Xander and Anya today that I decided against joining the team."
"You did what?" I was shocked. "Why did you do that?"
"It wouldn't be fair if I got to play and you didn't," Dawn said. "But who knows, maybe next year we can both go out for the team together."
"I can't believe you're not going out Dawn," I told her. "You were getting so good."
Dawn shook her head. "Nah," she said. "I'm way too uncoordinated. I'm just tall."
*****
"I have an idea," Dawn told me while we were changing for gym.
"And that is?" I asked back while tying my shoes.
"I know someone who can train you," Dawn said. "Meet me at the usual spot at 6:00."
"And I'm thinking that you're not going to tell me anything more about this," I said back to Dawn. "Right?"
"Yep," Dawn said. "It's more fun that way."
We walked out of the locker room together and talked during attendance and while the gym teacher told us what we were doing that day. We had finally finished 'basketball skills' and had finally picked teams. Dawn and I were on the same team since she had managed to be captain and first pick.
"Who are we playing today?" I asked Dawn as we looked at the schedule.
"That would be our team," I heard a voice behind me. It was a voice that gave me this strange feeling in my stomach. Not that feeling of when a vampire was nearby. This was much more natural. Although I would never ever admit that to him.
"Oh great," I said to Mike, "and I thought I was going to get some real competition."
"You say that now," Mike teased, "but wait till we're on the court."
"And what?" I asked him back. "You'll foul me?" Dawn and some of our friends that were around us laughed. Even some of Mike's friends laughed. The thing is that Mike didn't even get embarrassed. He just kept smiling at me with his stupid smile with way too many perfect teeth.
"Maybe I will," Mike said.
*****
We were up by two and we had to change in another minute. There was no better feeling in the world than beating Mike for a second time. He stood at the foul point line idly dribbling while I guarded him. Every time I tried to get the ball though he managed to keep it from me.
"Tell you what Danvers," Mike said to me in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Let's make this more interesting."
More interesting? Than this? Impossible. "How?" I asked him.
"If we win," he said while he continued to smile at me and idly dribble, "you have to go on a date with me."
A date? He was asking me on a date? Every girl in the freshman class wanted to date Mike Dalton. And he was asking me?
"And when we win?" I asked him.
This time he talked in a voice that was only low enough for me to hear, "then you get to go on a date with me." I couldn't help but smile. It killed me to do it, but I broke my hard exterior. Well technically, he broke it.
The worst part was that he took advantage of it. In my momentary lapse of concentration, he dropped back to the three point line and before I could do anything about it he sunk a basket. As the ball bounced off the gym floor, the gym teacher told us that we could change now.
"The Bronze. 9:00 tonight. I'll see you there," Mike said and then left without even giving me a chance to argue.
I stood still for a moment and thought to myself "What just happened here?"
*****
"Mike Dalton?" Aaron asked at lunch time. Dawn just couldn't resist telling everyone about him. Bitch.
"You're such a bitch Dawn," I told her.
She laughed at me. "Oh come on. You know you're excited."
Yeah, I was excited. But what was this? I was Colleen Danvers. I had been labeled a tomboy since Kindergarten when I beat up a boy and made him cry. I was the Slayer for crying out loud! Why should I be excited about a stupid date?
"I can't go anyway," I said taking a bite out of my hamburger. "Patrol remember? I have to make the world safe for Democracy."
"I don't think vampires really care about our Democracy," Aaron said. "At least not as much as our pulses."
"And besides," Jordan threw in pointing at his head, "Visions. I can be our bat signal if need be."
"That doesn't change the fact that I don't want to go," I tried to lie.
Jordan shook his head while pointing to it again. "Psychic too. Remember?"
"Jordan!" I yelled at him. "I can't believe you would read my mind."
"I can't help it," Jordan said, "Especially when you're beaming out your burning feelings of love."
"I am not in love with Mike Dalton!" I yelled a little too loud. Everyone stared at me for a few seconds then laughed and went back to their own conversations.
"Inside voices Colleen," Aaron told me.
"So it's settled," Dawn said. "We're going to the Bronze tonight.
"Whoa whoa whoa," I said. "What's this 'we'?"
*****
"So where are we going?" I asked Dawn as we walked through the cemetery. Luckily today, my dad was home on time. I told him about the basketball team. He handled it well, and by well I mean that he went off the handle. I'm confident though that one day we will once again be on speaking terms.
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you that," Dawn said. She can be so evil sometimes.
We made our way through the cemetery and ended up at a crypt. Dawn knocked on the door and there was an English voice came from inside saying "come in."
We walked in and there was the most incredible looking man that I had ever seen in my life.
"Colleen this is Spike," Dawn said after she said hi to the man named Spike. "Spike this is Colleen, the Vampire Slayer."
*****
Training with Spike had been interesting to say the least. At first I was terrified because he was a vampire. I could tell by my slayer sense. But Dawn explained to me about Spike and everything he had done for her and that put me a little at ease. A little at ease that is.
Spike and I trained for a good hour and a half. He was impressed by my skills and Dawn filled him in on everything that we learned from The Powers That Be. He even told him what they said about her sister, which seemed to really get to Spike. Spike really didn't seem like he wanted to train me. It was more like he was doing this as a favor for Dawn. When we left he didn't make any appointment to see me again. He did however compliment me on how fast I was progressing.
On the way back to my house we ran into two vamps. I dusted one right of the bat without even having to punch him. The other one just required a quick duck followed by a leg sweep and then a stake right to the heart.
"See," Dawn said while giving me a little gold clap, "You're already doing better."
I stood up and tossed my hair over my shoulder. "I could have done that before. They were new." I paused for a second. "I definitely think that I am improving though."
*****
When I went home with Dawn to change and grab a shower my dad really didn't talk to me besides a quick 'hello.' When I told him I was going to the Bronze all he had to say was "home by eleven." While I was walking out the door though he caved and threw in a "have a good time."
"See it wasn't as bad as you said it was," Dawn said.
"Yeah it is," I told her. "Did you see him giving me any money?"
*****
Sometimes my dad tells me that your high school years are the best years of your life. I usually roll my eyes at him. But tonight, with me in my tight jeans and my t-shirt that doesn't quite meet the top of my jeans and being the envy of every girl in our grade, I couldn't help but be happy.
Mike looked amazing, but that was a given. His hair was perfect. His skin was perfect. His clothes were perfect. He looked like he had just walked off from a magazine shoot for Abercrombie and Fitch. He has this amazing ability to say exactly the right thing to make me smile with the fewest amount of words.
We were dancing to a fast song. That's right, Mike actually was willing to dance. I looked around and I could see Dawn, Jordan and Aaron dancing in a group on the other side of the dance floor. I made eye contact with Dawn and smiled at her and she got a very excited expression on her face and gave me a double thumbs up. Aaron grabbed his chest and got a fake loving expression on his face and Jordan just laughed. I laughed and Mike looked at me and smiled a little more.
"Is it safe to assume that you are having a good time?" Mike asked me.
"Yeah," I said, and then decided that it was my turn to tease. "This is a great song."
This time Mike laughed. "And I hope that you are enjoying the company as well."
I nodded and gave him another smile. "So is the best bet you ever won?" I asked Mike.
"I once won a hundred bucks when I bet against my dad on a boxing match that he didn't know was being rebroadcast." Mike told me with a smile and I laughed for the hundredth time that night. The song we were dancing to ended and a slow song started. Even as a lot of the other people on the dance floor moved off, including Aaron, Dawn and Jordan, I found myself putting my hands on Mike's shoulders as he grabbed me around the waist. He leaned in close to my ear and said "this definitely beats that though."
I pulled in closer to him and couldn't believe my life at this point. I felt like I was dreaming and that there was no way that life could be this good. I knew that someone was going to wake me up any minute. That's when life did wake me up. I opened my eyes just in time to see Aaron walking towards me. The panic was evident on his face.
All I could do was think about how quickly a night could turn around and try to fight against the pressure that was building behind my eyes.
*****
Author's Note: OK, this is part 1 of 4 of Identities. Hopefully, it will give you a better idea of how these characters think and feel. Any feedback would be appreciated.