Disclaimer:        Any character that you've seen on the show is owned by Joss, not me.

Colleen

The new slayer

Jordan

Psychic who receives The Visions

Holly

Half Sellar Demon

Dawn

The Key

Aaron

Currently exploring magicks

*****

            "Are you sure," Dawn asked Jordan in ninth period study hall. Jordan nodded to her. Dawn, Jordan, Aaron, and Colleen all sat at the same table in the library. Holly was making up a test she missed from being absent a few days before. Mike left study hall to go practice basketball. He got a lot of leeway like that with the season about to start.

            "I can confirm," Colleen said. "I spotted it in Driver's Ed."

            "And I checked the internet," Jordan told Dawn.

            "You can find that out on the internet?" Colleen asked.

            "Everything is on the internet," Aaron told her.

            "So are you sure we can do it at your house?" Jordan asked Aaron.

            Aaron nodded. "Yeah, my parents are out of town."

            Colleen laughed. "Are your parents ever in town?"

            "Well," Aaron said. "My dad's work takes him all over the state. And over to the other coast a lot. And England. And some other European nations. And some in Asia. And my mom usually goes with him."

            Jordan and Colleen stared at Aaron. Dawn already knew all this.

            "What does your dad do exactly?" Jordan asked Aaron.

            "Um…" Aaron said. "He does stuff with math for his company." Everyone just kind of stared at Aaron. "Sorry! I try to pay attention when he explains it to me but it's just so boring."

            "OK it's settled then," Dawn said. "We're going to have Holly's surprise party at Aaron's house."

*****

            Holly lay on her bed reading. She had her room exactly how she wanted it. Her walls were all painted black and her floor was hardwood. Her bed was very simple and she always made sure to make it when she left for school. Her room was always clean too. She liked having everything in order. Her walls had large book shelves filled with books. This was common with a lot of people's homes, but Holly had actually read every single one of the books at least once.

            "Holly?" Holly's mom walked into Holly's bedroom. She was dressed in a police uniform. "I'm going to work."

            "OK mom," Holly said not looking up from her book.

            "If you don't like the clothes you can take them back," Holly's mom told her. "I won't be offended."

            "No," Holly lied. "I like them." Holly hated the clothes. They were the typical Abercrombie and Fitch look that Holly really wasn't into.

            "Happy birthday," Holly's mom told her as she walked out the door.

            "Thanks," Holly said as her mom left. Holly stopped reading and just kind of stared at the book for a while until she heard the front door open and shut. She walked over to her mirror on her vanity. She stared at her reflection. She shifted into her demon form and took a long hard look at herself. She stripped off her t-shirt so she was just standing there in her bra. Her gold skinned form was much more physically attractive then her human form. As a human she was pale. She had pale white skin, pale blonde hair, and pale blue eyes. As a demon she had gold skin, bright gold hair, and bright blue eyes. She knew the truth though. She knew that within the beauty of the demon there was nothing but ugliness underneath. And since the demon was always within her she had that ugliness with her always.

            She wished that she didn't have that. She wished that she could just be a normal girl and have normal friends. She had tried to hard not to let people get close to her. She knew what would happen if they ever did. She knew that they would get hurt. It was what she had always known. She was told that since she was younger. But still, deep down, she wished that Colleen and Jordan and the others could be her friends. She wished that she could just come clean with them and tell them everything, but then what would they think of her.

            Holly was broken out of her trance by the phone ringing. She came close to not answering it. Who would even call her? Then she realized that it might be Colleen. Maybe she needed her help. Holly walked across the room and answered the phone.

            "Hello," Holly answered.

*****

            "She's on her way," Colleen announced as she hung up the phone.

            "What did you tell her?" Aaron asked as he walked out of the kitchen holding a bowl of chips and a bowl of pretzels.

            "I asked if she would come with me on patrol because I thought I spotted a vampire nest last night," Colleen said. "I told her we were meeting here."

            "Is Mike going to be here for the surprise?" Aaron asked.

            Colleen nodded. "Yeah, he should be here in about five minutes."

            "Mike's coming?" Dawn asked.

            "Yeah," Colleen answered. "I figured it was OK."

            "Well yeah," Dawn said. "He's kind of an honorary member of the group. But he doesn't know about Holly's secret."

            "It's not like we're going to be talking about that tonight," Colleen said.

            Dawn flashed Jordan a look. Dawn had talked to him about the weird vibe she got from Holly about Mike. Jordan shrugged. Dawn gave a silent sigh.

*****

            Holly hurried to Aaron's apartment. She had changed into a sweats with a wife beater on underneath for when she made her change into her demon form. She took the stairs two at a time and knocked on Aaron's door.

            "Come in," Aaron said as he opened the door a crack and ushered her in.

            "Where is everyone?" Holly asked. "What's going on with the lights?" The room was pitch black.

             "SURPRISE!!!" Everyone shouted as Aaron flipped the light switch. There was a banner hanging from the ceiling that read "Happy Birthday Holly."

            "What?" Holly asked confused.

            "I can't believe you didn't tell us it was your birthday!" Colleen said to her as she gave her a hug. "Like we wouldn't find out."

            "Well um," Holly really hadn't expected this. "I mean I just didn't want you guys to make a big deal about it."

            "Well then you should have just told us about it," Jordan said as he brought out Holly's cake. He lit the sixteen candles. "Make a wish."

            Everyone gathered in a circle around Holly. She was excited. Even after she noticed that Mike was there she was excited despite herself. Maybe it made her more excited that Mike was there. She wasn't sure. She made eye contact with Mike. He held it for a second and then looked away. Holly tried to ignore the pain she felt inside. She turned down to the candles and concentrated on them. She knew what she wanted. She made her wish. All sixteen flames were extinguished.

*****

            Colleen and Dawn had gone in together on Holly's gift. They got her a new pair of leather pants because they knew she liked to fight in them. The stitching on the paints was all done in gold thread. They also gave her a white t-shirt that had the same gold stitching. At the bottom of the gift Holly found a framed picture of Colleen, Dawn, Aaron, Jordan, and herself that was taken one night after patrol. On the frame was written friends. Holly said thank you, but couldn't say what she really wanted to say. What she wanted to tell them was that this was the best gift she had ever gotten in her life.

            Holly opened Aaron and Jordan's gift next. From the small box Holly could tell that it was jewelry, something that she never wore. When she opened it she saw that it was a solid gold cross. There was a note in the box that read "For Protection."

            "Thank you guys very much," Holly said as she tried the necklace on. "This is really nice."

            "That's just half of the gift," Aaron said as he walked back into his kitchen.

            "Follow me," Jordan said as he walked after Aaron. Holly looked confused but she followed them anyway.

            "This is the rest of our present," Aaron said. "It's that we know."

            "And we don't care," Jordan added. Holly looked confused. Aaron held out an open book and showed it to her. The page was opened to a picture of a Sellar demon.

            "What?" Holly asked. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster. Her skin felt warm. She couldn't believe that this was happening.

            "We know why you don't want to be our friend," Aaron explained.

            "And we don't care," Jordan repeated. "We don't care about any of it."

            "We read about the Sellar demons," Aaron explained. "About how they feed off the energy of souls. About how every time they touch someone they feel they're weakness. How they can use people's weaknesses to control their emotions. Manipulate them. That's why you don't want to be our friend, right? That's why you said you would just hurt us?"

            Holly just stared at them blankly.

            "We don't care Holly," Jordan tried to explain. "Don't you get that? We know that you're capable of this and we're cool with it. Dawn and Colleen are cool with it too.

            Holly turned her gaze turned Jordan. They all knew. It was the moment she had feared for a long time. It was the moment she had feared since she first let the idea of becoming friends with them form in her mind.

            "How could you?" Holly asked, her voice full of emotion and about to crack into tears. Jordan and Aaron were taken aback. "How could you do this to me?"

            "Holly," Jordan tried to explain, "We were just trying to let you know that we understand-"

            "How could you understand!" Holly shouted. "How could you ever possibly understand?"

            "Holly," Aaron tried to cut in.

            "You could never understand!" Holly shouted and turned to leave the kitchen. She ran into the family room. Colleen and Dawn stood looking alarmed.

            "So you know now," Holly said to them. She was about to lose the battle with her tears. "Now you know the truth. That I'm a demon." Holly shifted into her demon form. Everyone looked shocked and turned to Mike. Surprisingly, Mike didn't look shocked. "Don't worry about him," Holly said sadly, "He knew before any of you. He's always known the truth. That's I'm a soulfeeder."

            Now everyone's shocked expressions turned towards Mike. Mike wasn't wearing his usually happy expression. His expression was uncharacteristically serious.

            "Did you tell her yet?" Holly asked Mike. "Did you tell her what happened?"

            Mike shook his head. "You know I would never do that."

            Tears slid down Holly's golden cheeks. There was a long silence.

            "So is anyone else really confused right now?" Aaron asked. Colleen gave him a glare that could have killed. "Sorry," Aaron said.

            "Just tell them Holly," Mike said. "It's not as bad as you like to believe it is."

            "How can you say that?" Holly asked Mike. "We were best friends once and now you don't even talk to me. How can you even say that it's not that bad?"

            "You stayed away from me," Mike told her. "You made the decision. I was just doing what you made me believe you wanted."

            Holly just shook her head. She looked around the room at all the concerned expressions that were facing her.

            "Give them a chance Holly," Mike told her. "Let them make up their own minds."

            Holly sat down where she stood. She shifted into her human form and wept into her hands. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Jordan smile at her. She stared into his eyes for a moment with the secret she had kept for so long just about to spill out. Jordan nodded towards her.

            "My father was a Sellar demon," Holly began. "I never knew him. My mom was just his victim. A Sellar demon is a type of lust demon. They cause people to become attracted to them. By touching someone, they gain insight on how to manipulate them and take advantage of them. Through touch, I can see everyone's emotional weaknesses and I learn how to take advantage of them."

            Holly paused. She looked up expecting to see everyone's outraged expressions. She only saw concern in their faces.

            "Go on," Dawn told her.

            "The Sellar demon feeds on the energy of souls," Holly continued. "Once they manipulate their victim they have sex with them. Once they are finished they are then able to feed on them. This usually ends with their victim dying. However, when he fed on my mom there was a complication. He had impregnated her. Somehow, during his experience with her, he had developed some real feelings for her which allowed him to impregnate her. When he realized that he couldn't feed off her he got really pissed off. He left her nearly dead. My mom never really got over that event.

            "My mom was seriously changed by what happened. Instead of trying to work her way up in the police force she stayed on night duty. She wanted to make sure that if there were any more Sellar demons out there that she could stop them. When she realized that she was pregnant, she began to research the dark arts. She didn't want to have an abortion incase her daughter was human, but if it was a demon she would be ready to control it."

            Holly paused again. Everyone remained silent.

            "My mom's family was very ashamed of her," Holly continued. "They are all very religious people and to this day they still don't really get along with her. When she eventually had me and saw that I was human she knew that she couldn't every hurt me. She loved me from the moment she saw me. She never showed me anything but love. However, she knew what was inside of me. She knew what I would be capable of. She used the spells she learned to protect people from me. She cast a spell on me to try to protect me from my demon heritage.

            "They didn't always work though. I was five when I first realized my demon form. My mom was completely freak. She explained to me that I had a demon inside of me and she cast a spell to turn me back into my human form. She told me that I had to control the demon inside of me. She told me that she loved me, but I could never let the demon out. She told me that I was better than the demon. I realized that that there wasn't a demon inside of me. I was the demon. I was both demon and human. My mom's spell could bring back out my human side but I was always able to go back to my demon form. My mom eventually calmed down. She even began dating. At one point she became engaged…to Mike's father."

            There was another pause.

            "This was when we were seven," Holly explained. "My mom and I moved in with Mike and his father. Mike and I were both really young but we became good friends. We became so close that I even shared with Mike the secret that only my mom and I knew. I never thought that Mike would tell my mom."

            "I was seven!" Mike said in defense of himself. "I thought you were lying. I could barely even read at that point. How was I supposed to comprehend that when I could barely even read at that point in my life?"

            "I had to comprehend that," Holly said coldly. "After that something happened between my mom and Mike's dad. They broke up. My mom kind of went back to her bad times again but she eventually came out of it. She never dated again though. That's when I swore that I would never get close to someone again. I wouldn't let me mom think that I would hurt anyone. I knew that I could never have friends again."

            Holly was still crying. She had been crying throughout the entire story.

            "I still wanted to be your friend," Mike told her. "I told you that. But you wouldn't even talk to me."

            "My mother forbade me from talking to you," Holly told Mike.

            "She also forbade you from telling anyone that you were a demon," Mike pointed out.

            "And look what happened when I first disobeyed her," Holly answered back. "I lost my best friend. I lost all of my friends."

            "If friends mean that much to you," Jordan asked Holly, "Then why do you keep pushing us away."

            "You know why," Holly said to him. "I just explained why."

            "Have you ever fed off of someone's soul?" Colleen asked Holly.

            "Of course not!" Holly answered. She was shocked by Colleen's question.

            "Then why would you just start with us?" Aaron asked Holly. "We already knew that you were half demon."

            "Because it's in my nature," Holly explained. "Don't you see? I can never get close to you when it is my nature to hurt anyone who gets close to you."

            "It doesn't matter," Dawn told Holly. "Being of demon lineage might be what you are but it doesn't dictate who you are."

            "You've fought by our sides," Colleen said to Holly. "You've done everything you could to be good. Why would you just give in and try to hurt us?"

            "It doesn't scare you?" Holly asked. "What I'm capable of?"

            "What you're capable of?" Colleen asked. "I could rip your head off and I'm supposed to be worried that you'll try to sleep with me?"

            Holly felt her lips slowly curl into a smile. Jordan was the closest and he hugged her, followed by Colleen.

            "Group hug!" Aaron said as everyone now hugged Holly, even Mike.

            "We love you Holly," Dawn told her. "We're here for you no matter what."

            Holly looked at all of them. She once again made eye contact with Mike. This time he didn't break it. He just looked back at her and smiled.

*****

            "So that was some party," Aaron told Dawn as she helped him clean up. "I mean it wasn't exactly the way I thought it would turn out but it was still nice."

            "Yeah," Dawn said. Dawn didn't say anything but she thought about what she said. She thought about how she believed that what you are doesn't dictate who you are. She hadn't told her friends yet that she was the Key. She knew she should. She knew that if Holly had been brave enough to come clean that she should have followed her lead. But she also knew what happened last time.

            "Are you listening?" Aaron said. He had hoped that he would get a chance to talk to Dawn alone that night. He wanted to tell Dawn how he felt about her, but she was barely even paying attention. Maybe tonight wasn't the right night.

*****

            "I thought I had it rough," Colleen said. "I was about to throw a pity party for myself because I find out that my mom is a vampire."

            "That's still major," Mike told her. He walked with her on patrol.

            "But Holly has been through a lot more," Colleen answered. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

            "I didn't think it was my place," Mike answered her. "Look what happened last time I told someone about it."

            "So did you and Holly ever consider each other brother and sister?" Colleen asked Mike.

            "I care about her a lot," was Mike's answer.

*****

            Jordan walked Holly home. They talked. For the first time they really talked like friends. It made Jordan happy that Holly had finally accepted them as her friends.

            "I hope you had a good birthday," Jordan told her when they got to her door.

            She smiled at him. "It was the best."

            "See you tomorrow," Jordan said.

            "Good night," Holly answered. She shut the door and Jordan walked home. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry that she didn't get her wish. But he didn't want to embarrass her. He didn't mean to read her mind, he usually wasn't able to. But now he knew the truth. He knew that Holly was in love with Mike.

*****

Author's Note: Please, if anyone is reading this tell me what you think. I'm starting to get desperate! If you like it or hate it I don't care. I just am wondering if anyone is reading this. Sigh…I know I'll just keep writing either way. Thanks for reading.