Title: A Simple Twist Of Fate

Author: Jane McCartney

Disclaimer: Despite numerous attempts to make it otherwise, none of them are mine. Joss and UPN and ME own 'em all.

Feedback: Don't make me beg for it. Oh hell, whatever: pleeeease? Pretty please? It'll just take a sec from ya!

Acknowledgments: Everyone who reviews and helps me. And my beta reader Starway Man. You rules, T!

Author's Note: AU. This chapter is practically a rewrite of "Welcome To the Hellmouth" with some changes and characters mixed around along the way. This story will deviate more in the following chapters.

Summary: For Buffy Summers, it took only a single glance to fall in love with the new student at Sunnydale High, Xander Harris. And with that look, she'd forever seal her fate as the Slayer.

***

The bell rang loudly and, even though it was only the first class of the year after several weeks of summer break, most students cheered happily at the noisy chime.

The academic halls rapidly got crowded with hordes of students stampeding out of the classrooms, all of them speaking loudly and all at the same time.

Jesse headed to his next class, which wasn't the same as Buffy's and Willow's. Waving goodbye to their tall friend, the two girls stopped in front of their lockers.

"Wow," Willow blurted out, looking a little dazed while she opened her padlock with the appropriate combination of numbers. "I can't believe how much I missed that," she then said, motioning to the room where they, not so long ago, had had Mrs. Dawson's first biology class of the year.

The petite redhead turned to the blonde with a brisk grin. "Wasn't it really cool when Mrs. Dawson started to talk about the medulla oblongata, and then she drew that sketch with its functions in the nervous system, and gave those shiny gold stars to the people with the most organized notes?"

"Medulla oblongata? Isn't that like, the name of that new band that was on MTV last night?" Buffy frowned, absently piling up a heap of books in her locker.

"But I feel kinda giddy, though. We're like sophomores now, ya know? It feels like there's this whole new spurty wave of knowledge waiting for us," Willow said enthusiastically.

"Hey! I didn't win a golden star," Buffy thought out loud in half- indignation as the realization hit her, closing her locker and clinching shut its rusted padlock.

Lost in her thrill over the semester's start, Willow didn't seem to acknowledge the blonde at her side for the second time. "Like we've finally transcended to this brand new level of wisdom, and the future looks bright and shiny and full of promise and-"

Willow trailed off when a group of guys that looked a couple of years older than them speedily walked down the hall, provoking a rowdy commotion in their yelling and getting the attention of some students, that just cheered along their enthusiasm.

"Yeah, seniors at last, dude! Let's go pick up some girls and beers - and then I say we go out and PARTY!" one of the senior students burst out cheerily.

The others got together, forming a circle and cheering loudly, "Beer, beer, beer!"

The 16-year-old girls' eyes followed the noisy group, until they turned a corner in the halls and disappeared, subsequently locking eyes for an odd moment.

"They, uh, seemed really excited about the future too," Buffy frowned, a little hesitant.

"See? It's the wave of knowledge thingy. It's, uh, really widespread," Willow jabbered unconvincingly.

"Oh," the petite blonde blurted out, nodding encouragingly. "Widespread learning. Like knowledge sprouting little wings and flapping into your brain, with the help of a little invigorating booze. Gotcha."

"BEER!" a loud, last cheer was yelled from the distant group, and a silence overpowered the two girls for a moment.

As if by unspoken agreement, both girls snapped out of the somehow awkward moment to tastefully change the subject completely. "Did you know we've got a new librarian too?" Willow commented off-handedly.

"Yeah, I heard that. I think his name's Gyles or something," Buffy replied.

"Giles," Willow corrected her. "He just started. He was a curator at some British museum, or, or The British Museum, I'm not sure. But he knows everything, and he brought all these historical volumes and biographies, and am I the single dullest person alive?"

"Probably," Buffy answered with a hint of mocking and a cocked eyebrow, seeming to give it a prolonged thought.

The red-haired petite girl shrugged and then said, "I guess we could check it out. I mean, I thought I'd pay a visit to the library - in comparison to our old one, this is like, the Queen of libraries! It's way bigger, even when the archives are still kinda scanty, but we've gotta go there!" she confessed, with a hint of uncontrolled glee.

"The library?" Buffy repeated, seeming slightly taken aback at the redhead's babbling eagerness.

Willow stopped and repeated slowly, half-uneasily, half-mockingly. "Library. Where the books live?"

"Oh, that dusty old room? I thought that was the place where students went to make out," Buffy retorted with light sarcasm, cocking once again an eyebrow. "Actually, I was trying to say I'll have to pass. No library time for Buffy, 'cause Mr. Flutie said he wanted me to be at his office when class was over and-"

"Oh please, spare me. Like Little Miss Bully and making out were compatible to exist in the same sentence," a mocking voice sneered sarcastically behind them, cutting off the blonde.

Circling the brunette, who was standing imperiously in the middle of the impeccably-dressed group, a gaggle of girls giggled.

"Cordelia," Buffy hissed, the corner of her lips twisting in a hostile smirk. "Feel free to choke on your own vomit, and die within the next five minutes. And if it's painful? An extra yay on my part."

Cordelia Chase locked hostile eyes with her, and then eyed Willow with a sideways disdainful glance. "Nice dress, Willow. Good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears."

"Uh, oh, my mom picked it out," the girl responded shyly, lowering her eyes and obviously embarrassed.

"No wonder you're such a guy magnet," the brunette scoffed.

"Cordelia, why don't you just get lost?" Buffy walked in the front of her friend, and getting threateningly closer to the taller girl.

"Hey, don't violate her personal space, you geek!" Harmony advanced one step and half-whined bitchily, turning to Cordelia and adding, "Now you'll have to, like, disinfect your clothes!"

Buffy retreated a step away from Cordelia, and rolled her eyes. "Harmony, do us all a favor and for once in your life, have an original thought. Who knows?" she smiled with sugarcoated sarcasm and crossed her fingers, hopeful-looking. "Maybe, your head will explode."

"Oh, you, you big fashion reject!" Harmony tried to curse Buffy as a rebuttal.

"That's it? That's the best you can do?" the petite blonde snorted, turning to her red-haired friend. "She just doesn't seem able to get on board with the whole original thought idea, does she?"

Despite the intimidating eyes of the popular girls upon her, Willow smiled hugely at the words; still, she kept a minimum safe distance though, hiding slightly behind Buffy.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, and sighed deeply. "C'mon, girls, charity time's over. My skin's already kinda getting itchy from the nerd-y atmosphere here anyway..."

Spinning on her heel, the brunette girl walked down the hall, as her sheep followed her eagerly.

And, turning one last time, already some feet away, Cordelia sent a feigned grin at Buffy. "By the way, that red cap you were wearing earlier? Very nice," she said sarcastically and walked away, as the loud, chortling laughs of her friends erupted into the hall.

***

On her way to Principal Flutie's office, Buffy opened her bag, rummaging through it to confirm that she'd have the right books for her next class when a strong bump made her loose the grip on the bag, spilling its contents onto the floor.

"Oh! Sorry!" the blonde apologized quickly.

"That's okay," the girl she had crashed into answered nonchalantly, turning around and walking away, her arm linked with a boy's into the hallway.

"Way to go, Summers!" a passing-by student exclaimed loudly, and some laughs of a brief gathering of students around her followed the shout.

"Oy," Buffy whispered after a snort and a sigh, looking down at the mess.

A student who had just left Mr. Flutie's office, and had witnessed the collision rapidly crouched by Buffy's side, helping the girl to gather her things.

Too stunned to speak at first, Buffy felt her heart starting to race to an almost impossible speed inside her chest. The warm, intense brown eyes, staring at her in that charming, unique way.

Right. Into. Her. Soul.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Shush, heart! Not really the time to be Goofy Buffy here!

A little shaky inwardly, Buffy pulled a lock of hair behind her ears, fighting to keep her coolness factor intact. "Thanks for having me," she said, but noticed her words and babbled quickly, "Helping me! Thanks, uh, for helping me."

Gee, way to go, Summers! Coolness factor's death, 10:01 a.m.! the girl rebuked herself, mentally slapping her forehead.

The boy's following smile melted her insides. "Not a problem... okay, that'd be the part where you tell me your name."

"Oh! Buffy. Name's Buffy Summers," she elucidated with a smile.

"Xander," he retorted. "Is, is me. My name, that is. I'm, uh, I'm new here. But all the odd looks that everybody's giving me as if I was some green little man make it pretty much obvious. I guess you don't get a lot of new kids in small towns and please someone tell me when did I start to be such a babbling idiot?" at that, he frowned.

The petite blonde chuckled. "I'd hafta say after the little green man thing." After a brief moment of silence, that Buffy noticed with some surprise wasn't an odd but a comforting one, she added, "But don't worry. I've got a friend that does it all the time too."

Xander smiled. "Think I should be going now. Being late to your first classes isn't exactly gonna make you the teacher's pet for the rest of semester," he said, seeming a little uneasy.

"Right, uh, I'll see you around then... maybe at school... since we, ya know, both go there and all," Buffy replied.

"Sounds like a logical plan," the dark-haired boy replied with a charming grin, and before walking away, looked at the blond-haired teenager one last time. "It was nice to meet you."

"I also think so. I mean, meeting you, not me," Buffy retorted, not for the first time that day wishing she could just dive into a hole and permanently drag the cover behind her. "It was nice to meet you too," she amended more lucidly.

Her hazel eyes locked with his dark ones for a brief instant that seemed to last for a lot longer than its actual duration, as that flush of adrenaline that was starting to become too familiar at the new boy's sight, Xander. His name's Xander, she corrected mentally, made her heartbeat immediately accelerate.

Xander started down the hall after that, and Buffy, standing utterly still, groaned to herself. "We both go to school? Very suave. Very not pathetic."

And that was when she noticed the object lying on the floor.

"Hey!" the blonde called, picking it up and eyeing it curiously. "Hey, I think you dropped your... stake!" she completed with a frown.

"The only thing I can think is that you're building a really little fence," Buffy said to herself a little uneasily, still with her eyes glued at the pointy piece of wood.

Xander turned back and rejoined her, suddenly seeming nervous. "Ha, no, um, a-actually it's for self-defense. Everybody has 'em in LA. Ya know, pepper spray is kinda girly and all..."

The 16-year-old boy, without uttering another word, grabbed the stake and sped off down the hall, leaving a confused Buffy behind.

"That was... weird," the girl frowned, and walked away.

"Pepper spray? Nice going, Harris. Very not suspicious," the dark-haired teen, walking in the opposite direction, rebuked himself at last.

*** OK, sorry I took so long to update. Initially, this would be just a two- chapter thing, but I think it'll be a little longer. As long as you people keep sending me your reviews! (Low shot, I know...) Anyway, please, review me!