~* Chapter One *~
~*~*~*~*~*~
She sat with her back flat against the wall, on the floor between her bed and the window, staring blankly at the wall across from her. Her legs were drawn up against her, her arms resting on her bent knee's and her hands dangling there motionless, in one hand, was a bottle of pills...anti- depressents. Her head was resting back against the wall, her hair pull back in a loose ponytail, a few strains from her face.
She sat there silently, watching the morning sun from behind her rising on the wall across from her, still clad in the clothes she'd slept in the night before.
Well, she hadn't really slept in them, just sorta lied around in them. It was a little weird for her to sleep during the night now. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd slept straight through the night without being woken for research duty, or to help out, or just because some demon was crashing into their home. Hell, she hadn't even been to school in a few weeks...and now she was in LA, she wondered briefly how Buffy would explain her absence to the principal and school.
She knew she was wallowing, but she was allowed to, wasn't she? She had just been shipped off to people she hadn't seen in years, her life was in shambles because once again, the life her sister lead, was affecting her, and she was...she was...
She didn't know what to call herself. She wasn't Dawnie. She wasn't who she would have much rather been then herself. She was just this shell of a person now. Empty smiles and laughs...empty everything.
She chuckled quietly to herself. It was really sorta funny if you thought about it.
She was supposed to be everything her sister wasn't and have everything she didn't. She was tall, and brunette and blue eyed...her sister was short, and blonde and green eyed. She had fashion sense, but didn't need it and loved school, her sister hated school and loved fashion, but didn't have it. Her sister had a destiny to save lives....and in her past, she had probably killed lives. Her sister lead anything but a normal life, and she was supposed to be living that normal life.
....And instead, she was here. Sitting on the floor of her new bedroom, locked away from the outside world.
She sighed and closed her eyes, blocking out her own thoughts for a moment. They were beginning to give her a headache. If she continued on like this, not pulling out the 'happy' her, Angel and co. would suspect something, they would tell Buffy and she didn't want that. She didn't want them to be told just so they could come swooping in being all hero-like. They weren't hero's when it came to her. They could look right over her and ignore her, forget her. They couldn't see the signs she'd set out just for them, they didn't deserve for someone else to point out their mistakes just so they could fix them.
"Dawn?" The teenager's eyes snapped open wide and she scrambled to stand up, quickly shoving her bottle of pills in between the mattresses of her bed. "You awake sweetie?" She could hear the soft voice of the brunette Texan she'd met the day before. Fred? That was her name, wasn't it? She wasn't mistaken....was she?
"Angel is up and making breakfast ... he asked me to come wake you up. Taco's would have been much better but it's way too early for that and we can have those for lunch anyways." For the first time, in a very long time, Dawn actually smiled of own free will. The older woman's obsession with Taco's was just...well it was amusing, and even her, with all her weird thoughts and empty smiles, could manage a genuine smile.
"I'm awake... Just give me a few minutes to get dressed and I'll come down." Dawn called through the door and waited until she heard the woman's footsteps leading away before she dragged her clothes from the dresser and walked into her bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.
It only took her minutes to change and run a brush through her hair before she was heading downstairs. She had dressed with clothes she hadn't worn a lot, that was all because her bags had been packed for her...before she even knew she was leaving. Another reason to hate being shipped off. No curtesy of being told why or where she was going until she was standing in front of the hotel.
She walked silently down the stairs, shoulders slightly slouched, trying to pull off the tired look, which wasn't too hard considering she would have been sleeping at home in Sunnydale right about this time....if she had still been there. A black top hugged her upper-body, short-sleeved, showing off the scars on the inside of her arms, black hip-huggers fit snugly to her legs and flared over her white tennis shoes that stood out against black clothing.
Another thing to hate her 'family' for. They hadn't packed her favorite boots. The thought along made her pout, but she pulled out of it and forced a smile to her lips as she came into the kitchen.
"Good Morning..." It came from all around her and for a split second, she felt at home, until a body roughly brushed past hers and she stared after the boy...the man...the older teenager. He was silent the entire time as he got a plate for himself, then sat down across from Gunn and Fred.
She stared at him a moment longer, but then snapped out of it as Angel pushed a plate into her hands and she found herself being ushered to the table. "Morning.." She muttered quietly, then frowned when she found herself being pushed down into a seat next to the other teen.
"Connor, you weren't around yesterday when Dawn arrived. Dawn this is Connor..." Cordy informed as she gestured to the two and that only made Dawn frown more.
So this was Angel's son. He didn't look a lot like him, same hair, he held himself in the same manner, but he looked smaller, and he had blue eyes.... Darla's eyes.
"So your the slayer's sister.....you don't seem any different from a normal person." He stated plainly.
"That's because I'm not any different.." She said dryly and turned ignoring him as she reached across to get the butter for her toast. She made a quiet shriek when his hand suddenly darted out and captured her wrist tightly though, "What's your problem." She basically growled, her eyes narrowing, but found he was looking at her arm.
"What happened?"
She blinked at the question and looked at her arm before snatching it away quickly, "Mind your own damn business." She said quietly, in a calm manner and for the rest of the breakfast, ignoring the boy next to her who hadn't asked any further questions.
How odd it was. No one in her family, save Spike, had noticed her marks...and yet a total stranger had picked up on them only moments after meeting.
TBC
~*~*~*~*~*~
She sat with her back flat against the wall, on the floor between her bed and the window, staring blankly at the wall across from her. Her legs were drawn up against her, her arms resting on her bent knee's and her hands dangling there motionless, in one hand, was a bottle of pills...anti- depressents. Her head was resting back against the wall, her hair pull back in a loose ponytail, a few strains from her face.
She sat there silently, watching the morning sun from behind her rising on the wall across from her, still clad in the clothes she'd slept in the night before.
Well, she hadn't really slept in them, just sorta lied around in them. It was a little weird for her to sleep during the night now. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd slept straight through the night without being woken for research duty, or to help out, or just because some demon was crashing into their home. Hell, she hadn't even been to school in a few weeks...and now she was in LA, she wondered briefly how Buffy would explain her absence to the principal and school.
She knew she was wallowing, but she was allowed to, wasn't she? She had just been shipped off to people she hadn't seen in years, her life was in shambles because once again, the life her sister lead, was affecting her, and she was...she was...
She didn't know what to call herself. She wasn't Dawnie. She wasn't who she would have much rather been then herself. She was just this shell of a person now. Empty smiles and laughs...empty everything.
She chuckled quietly to herself. It was really sorta funny if you thought about it.
She was supposed to be everything her sister wasn't and have everything she didn't. She was tall, and brunette and blue eyed...her sister was short, and blonde and green eyed. She had fashion sense, but didn't need it and loved school, her sister hated school and loved fashion, but didn't have it. Her sister had a destiny to save lives....and in her past, she had probably killed lives. Her sister lead anything but a normal life, and she was supposed to be living that normal life.
....And instead, she was here. Sitting on the floor of her new bedroom, locked away from the outside world.
She sighed and closed her eyes, blocking out her own thoughts for a moment. They were beginning to give her a headache. If she continued on like this, not pulling out the 'happy' her, Angel and co. would suspect something, they would tell Buffy and she didn't want that. She didn't want them to be told just so they could come swooping in being all hero-like. They weren't hero's when it came to her. They could look right over her and ignore her, forget her. They couldn't see the signs she'd set out just for them, they didn't deserve for someone else to point out their mistakes just so they could fix them.
"Dawn?" The teenager's eyes snapped open wide and she scrambled to stand up, quickly shoving her bottle of pills in between the mattresses of her bed. "You awake sweetie?" She could hear the soft voice of the brunette Texan she'd met the day before. Fred? That was her name, wasn't it? She wasn't mistaken....was she?
"Angel is up and making breakfast ... he asked me to come wake you up. Taco's would have been much better but it's way too early for that and we can have those for lunch anyways." For the first time, in a very long time, Dawn actually smiled of own free will. The older woman's obsession with Taco's was just...well it was amusing, and even her, with all her weird thoughts and empty smiles, could manage a genuine smile.
"I'm awake... Just give me a few minutes to get dressed and I'll come down." Dawn called through the door and waited until she heard the woman's footsteps leading away before she dragged her clothes from the dresser and walked into her bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.
It only took her minutes to change and run a brush through her hair before she was heading downstairs. She had dressed with clothes she hadn't worn a lot, that was all because her bags had been packed for her...before she even knew she was leaving. Another reason to hate being shipped off. No curtesy of being told why or where she was going until she was standing in front of the hotel.
She walked silently down the stairs, shoulders slightly slouched, trying to pull off the tired look, which wasn't too hard considering she would have been sleeping at home in Sunnydale right about this time....if she had still been there. A black top hugged her upper-body, short-sleeved, showing off the scars on the inside of her arms, black hip-huggers fit snugly to her legs and flared over her white tennis shoes that stood out against black clothing.
Another thing to hate her 'family' for. They hadn't packed her favorite boots. The thought along made her pout, but she pulled out of it and forced a smile to her lips as she came into the kitchen.
"Good Morning..." It came from all around her and for a split second, she felt at home, until a body roughly brushed past hers and she stared after the boy...the man...the older teenager. He was silent the entire time as he got a plate for himself, then sat down across from Gunn and Fred.
She stared at him a moment longer, but then snapped out of it as Angel pushed a plate into her hands and she found herself being ushered to the table. "Morning.." She muttered quietly, then frowned when she found herself being pushed down into a seat next to the other teen.
"Connor, you weren't around yesterday when Dawn arrived. Dawn this is Connor..." Cordy informed as she gestured to the two and that only made Dawn frown more.
So this was Angel's son. He didn't look a lot like him, same hair, he held himself in the same manner, but he looked smaller, and he had blue eyes.... Darla's eyes.
"So your the slayer's sister.....you don't seem any different from a normal person." He stated plainly.
"That's because I'm not any different.." She said dryly and turned ignoring him as she reached across to get the butter for her toast. She made a quiet shriek when his hand suddenly darted out and captured her wrist tightly though, "What's your problem." She basically growled, her eyes narrowing, but found he was looking at her arm.
"What happened?"
She blinked at the question and looked at her arm before snatching it away quickly, "Mind your own damn business." She said quietly, in a calm manner and for the rest of the breakfast, ignoring the boy next to her who hadn't asked any further questions.
How odd it was. No one in her family, save Spike, had noticed her marks...and yet a total stranger had picked up on them only moments after meeting.
TBC