Title: Before the Fall of Rome (9/?)
Author: Brooke
Email: yabbadabbadome13@yahoo.com
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I wished I owned the two Xanders' from "The Replacement" though. Buffy and friends are owned by Joss, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, The UPN and whoever else has rights to the show.
Summary: You remember all that crap that started post-puberty…yeah, it's great isn't it. It was when life started
Distribution: I don't know why anybody would want this, but if somebody does…sure.
Feedback: Definitely!! Tell me if it sucked or if you liked it. Whatever. Just write back!
Authors Note: Takes place in an AU season 1 where Buffy and Xander are best friends and Willow is the new girl as Sunnydale High. It is the beginning of their sophomore year and, as 15 and 16 year olds, hormones and feelings are taking center stage.
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"So, how'd it go?" the short man with an Irish accent asked when he saw Angel approaching him as he waited in the shadows on an alley behind a bar. "How'd she take it?"
"Take what?" Angel asked in a low voice.
"Your whole spcheel. You know…I'm a vampire with a soul, and I'm here to help you…"
"She took the vampire thing better than expected," Angel grinned, interrupting his companion. "I mean, I'm still here after hunting down a Slayer."
Whistler nodded at him. Angel was, in fact, still there. It only begged the as to why. He had thought that it was a bad idea from the beginning for them to make this trip to Sunnydale…he had told the vampire repeatedly to just let the girl be; but, as always, he went ignored. But now, he wondered since Angel hadn't been dusted, was there more there than he thought. Slayers killed demons without discretion…usually. Whistler wanted to find out how his equally as demonic friend managed to walk away from his encounter.
"I gave her the necklace." Angel continued as he leant back against the brick wall and let his head fall back against it. "I think she liked it." Not that it was about her liking it he chastised himself.
Whistler raised his eyebrows at him, "I didn't think it was 'possed to be a lovey dovey gift there."
"It wasn't." Angel assured too quickly. "I…It was…"
"You do know that this'll get you killed." Whistler told him directly, "This fascination with…"
Angel pushed himself into a standing position and turned his back to the other man. "I'm only here because something is coming. It's big and I don't want her to get hurt."
Whistler nodded as he noticed that Angel was walking away, heading out of the alley and back into the street. "Where you headed?" he asked at his back.
"I'm going to go find her," Angel shrugged, still not facing him, "Make sure she got in okay."
"It's wrong," Whistler called back to him. "What you're doing is wrong for you. If that's not enough, it's wrong for her."
Angel turned back quickly to face the other man. "Then why come here with me if you're so against it? Why bring me to her in the first place?"
The smaller man swallowed, "You were in a bad way…when I showed her to you- did it help? Did it help you find a purpose?"
Angel hung his head, "You know the answer to that."
"That's why then. I didn't do it so that you'd fall in love with a Slayer."
"Well that's what happened," Angel sighed out an unnecessary breath and turned back towards the street. "I'm going to go make sure that she's safe," he added simply as he turned the corner and headed out of Whistler's sight.
~*~*~*~
Buffy knocked once before turning the door knob and walking into Giles' house. "GILES?!" she called out, looking around as she wandered inside. "GILES?!"
"Buffy?" a voice questioned from the top of the stairs and she turned to see her Watcher descending from them. "What are you doing here?" he asked slightly worried, before his tone took on a more peeved tone, "And why don't you knock?"
Buffy fixed him with a small grin and shrugged, "I thought you'd be in," she said innocently, "I was right." She watched as he finished walking down the stairs before she plopped down on the couch in the center of the room. She had figured that she was stuck with this man as long as she was stuck being the Slayer, so she might as well be comfortable with him. "You of all people should know to lock your door here; I mean, jeez, ask for trouble much?"
Giles rolled his eyes at her and watched with slight fascination as she lifted her feet and let them fall to the surface of the coffee table. Teenagers he scoffed to himself as he approached her, lifted her legs by the ankle and dropped them back to the floor. "I thank you not to put you shoes on my furniture and to not barge into my home. If I'd have known that my home would be a beacon for disrespectful children I would have ruefully declined this position," he said sarcastically as he walked past her and into the kitchen. Giles was mildly pleased that now he wouldn't have to search for her for their conversation, she had come right to him.
Buffy mimicked him to his back and stood to follow him. "Speaking of disrespectful," she started nonchalantly, "I met your friend tonight…"
"And I met yours," Giles stated as he started his search for his tea cup.
"Yeah, well," Buffy ignored him, not understanding his comment or caring to dwell on it for too long, "Yours was more of the stalky 'I'm gonna eat you' variety." She added drawing the man's attention. "I bet mine wasn't creepy."
"I'd beg to differ," Giles muttered, but then put it aside. "And I assure you that I have no idea what you're talking about."
Buffy narrowed her eyes at him as he poured hot water into his cup, "Oh come on," she smirked. "Tall, dark, and broody. Big ole' droopy forehead. Lotsa hair gel. Hot in a 'I have eyes' kinda way…ringing any bells?"
Giles stopped what he was doing and faced her silently before responding, "Not in the least." He stated, but his tone was off put by the curiosity in his voice. "You met this man where?" he asked before taking a cautious sip of tea.
"On patrol," Buffy said rolling her eyes.
"I thought I gave you the night off…"
"I got bored," she smiled a little. "Aren't you proud of me? I didn't even need you to make me do it."
"Quite," Giles huffed out and walked past her, back into the living room. Her comment flooded his memory of his conversation…or lack thereof, with Xander, and refocused him on what he really wanted to talk to her about.
Buffy let out an irritated sigh and turned melodramically to follow him again. "So I was on patrol and had, like, five kills, by the way…" she got a small nod and a brief proud grin from her Watcher in response. "And then I was all happy, because, yay me. Right? So then, out of nowhere, this Dark Avenger comes up and starts handing out jewelry." She finished and removed the necklace box from her jacket pocket and presented it to Giles. "I think he might have been evil." She added as he studied the cross through squinted eyes.
"Interesting," he mumbled to himself.
"Interesting?" Buffy questioned. "This guy is stalking me AND knows that I'm the Slayer, and all you got is interesting?"
Giles raised his eyes to her for a moment, "Yes," he said simply, "Interesting."
"And you don't know him?" Buffy asked again, worry creeping into her tone. If Giles had nothing to do with it, then he had sought her out on his own. Why would a vampire do that if he had shown no apparent interest in ripping out her throat?
"No, I don't." Giles restated as he handed the necklace back over to her. Buffy took it silently and placed it back into her pocket. "But I do suggest that you be on high alert over the next few weeks," he continued, "Your identity is becoming too well known…" Giles watched her head drop momentarily and knew he had her. He may not be an expert of dealing with children, but as far as he could see she had just given herself away. "Speaking of which," he broached the next subject. And Buffy's eyes snapped up to meet his briefly before focusing on the wall to his right as she shifted nervously from foot to foot. He had just, literally, watched all her previous confidence melt away, leaving him faced with a nervous little girl. "Your friend…the one I spoke with today…Alexander…"
Buffy knew that he was fishing for her to give herself up. She wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of that. That; and the fact that she had nothing to say. Deep down she knew that Xander would approach Giles, but all the same, she was hoping he wouldn't. She was hoping that he was just pulling some overprotective BS because he thought that she might need his protection; he did have a habit of rushing to the rescue of the damsel in distress types.
But apparently this, of all possible things, he followed through on. She wasn't supposed to have told him, and was counting on him to not rat out his new found knowledge to her Watcher, but he had. She, honestly, didn't know weather to love him more for worrying so much that he had sought Giles out and confronted him about her calling; or to hate him for not being smart enough to keep the goddamned secret.
Giles waited for her to respond in any way, but she didn't. "Did you tell him that you were the Slayer Buffy?" he asked outright while staring directly at her.
"No," Buffy offered in a quiet tone as if she were searching for the right answer.
Giles sighed and shook his head, "I thought you understood the importance of your anonymity? Do you understand what the consequences of this are? What could happen…"
Buffy's senses prickled up in defense. "It's a lot to deal with Giles." She fired at him. "I'm sixteen. You seem to forget that…"
"You're sixteen," Giles agreed with a nod, "Like so many Slayers before you. Yet, you seem to be the only one who feels the need to broadcast…"
"I didn't broadcast anything." Buffy denied in a steady voice. "I told Xander because he's my best friend. I tell him everything."
"You, dear girl, are lucky that I have let you associate with any of your friends." Giles told her and Buffy looked at the ground again. "Have you any idea how many regulations I have broken for you to maintain a semblance of a normal life? I put myself on the line for you Buffy, and this is how you repay me?"
"It won't happen again Giles," Buffy said quietly. "I just…he knew something was wrong and…"
"You're right," Giles cut her off, "It won't happen again. You are not to see this Alexander…"
"You can't tell me what to do." Buffy told him, now looking him dead in the eyes. "You can't tell me to not see Xander. You're not my father…"
Giles stared at her, "Good thing," he huffed out, "A marvelous job you do of listening to him as well."
Buffy's jaw set, "I didn't come here for you to lecture me," she told him and stepped around him to the door. "I came here to tell you about the man I saw, and I did…so bye."
"I don't want to tell you what to do Buffy," Giles said as she walked past him. He grabbed her arm and forced her to stop her path. "What he knows about you will cause him more harm than good."
She could feel her Slayer defenses rising up inside of her, an occurrence that rarely happened when she wasn't in the presence of a demon. "Are you threatening him?" she narrowed her eyes at him and jerked her arm away.
Giles' eyes went wide but his tone remained steady, "Not in the least," he assured her. "I'm just stating a fact. The general population is not to know about the Slayer because of the threat it poses for them. He will be in danger now. Danger that has nothing to do with me…"
Buffy let out a shaky breath, her guilt welling inside of her. "I didn't tell him about the Slayer, I told him about me. About Buffy. He doesn't care about the Slayer." She said with the utmost confidence despite the fact that Giles was confirming her worst fears about her telling him anything at all.
Giles just looked at her. He could see that she was worried about the boy- maybe even more so than about herself…a fact that would get her in trouble. "Which is why he is in danger. I can tell that he will fight for you, Buffy. And I can tell that you will fight for him. But you must remember that this…this calling is about more than teenage love. It's about the world…"
Buffy shook her head and grasped the doorknob, pausing before yanking it open. She shivered at the slight chill of the air as it rushed over the flush skin on her face, "Right now," she told him, not facing him, "It's about me. I want to fight for the world, I will…but I'll die for him." She finished in a whisper, "I won't let anything happen to him."
"I don't doubt that," Giles said to Buffy's back. "But you must understand that you and you alone are my top priority. I am willing to sacrifice…"
"You don't want to complete that sentence," Buffy's voice trembled from the low tone. "If you job is to make me slay and save the world, then by all means, knock yourself out and take me with you…but if I'm your top priority, Xander is now too. So don't complete that sentence because I'll walk away from this."
Giles wished that she would look at him, but he knew that she was afraid…confused…a variety of other emotions that she didn't want him to know anything about. "Well, at least take better care to not give him the wrong idea… he seemed to think that…"
"I'll talk to him." Buffy said as she finally stepped outside. She stopped when she reached the bottom of his stairs and turned her head slightly to face her Watcher over her shoulder, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way," she thought about what to say next, but settled quickly on the words, "but stay away from him."
Buffy didn't look back as she walked away from her Watcher's home. She had one more stop before she went home so she set her course for Xander's. Buffy laughed to herself as she realized that she wasn't nearly as busy when she wasn't grounded. Now all she had to do was decide how to get rid of her now exceedingly excess well of energy…she would either kiss Xander for caring so much, or strangle him for being such a huge macho pain in the ass. Whatever she chose she's work out the details on the way.
~*~*~*~
Jesse yawned and flicked off his TV, casting his room into darkness. Willow had left on her date an hour ago, Xander was in the shower, and Buffy wasn't answering her phone. He didn't have anybody left to call so he was sitting alone watching re-runs of Saturday Night Live on his couch in the basement.
He had thought about just going out to the Bronze alone earlier, just to meet some new people, but had decided against it. He thought that his depressed funk might show too much for people to actually want to talk to him, and his lack of dancing skills were bound to only be accentuated without Xander there to show him up or Buffy there to pretend like they were actually good at what they were attempting to do.
He didn't even want to think anymore because the more he did the stronger the urge to crash Willow's date got. He had no idea what to do, so he decided on the next best thing…nothing. He would do absolutely nothing.
Jesse McCormick was beyond petty teenaged lust. He didn't need a girlfriend. I don't even need regular friends he reminded himself somberly. He shook his head and studies the wall opposite him in the dark; what was he thinking…he had friends. He really did. It was just that this growing up thing was throwing them for a huge loop, and everybody was trying to deal- that's all it was. They wouldn't always have time for each other; and his grandfather had told him once that part of growing up is growing apart…of course his grandfather was a manic depressive alcoholic, so Jesse doubted how much of that advice he wanted to take to heart.
He lay back down against the pillows and shut his eyes, not quiet tired, but not wanting to keep them open. He was restless. Usually on a Saturday night it would be him, Xander, and Buffy hitting the Bronze, or the mall, or anything really, but they would goof off until he actually felt tired, but that wasn't the case tonight. Tonight, for the first time in forever, they were all doing their own thing, which for everyone excluding him had included going outside into the world.
Jesse stood up slowly and stumbled through the dark room towards the stairs, tripping a little over his empty pizza box. A walk would be good he thought Nice night, fresh air…it'll clear my head. He headed upstairs and grabbed his coat from the hook by the door, making sure to put his keys in his pocket before he locked the door behind him. He took a deep breath and rocked his head from side to side to crack his neck before he started down his street. He had done a lot of walking around recently- he thought it helped somewhat. Like that afternoon, on his way back from Willow's.
That walk had finally helped him settle on what his problem was and the best course of action to take to resolve it. He cared. Jesse didn't admit to that a lot. He liked people to think that he was ambivalent to a lot of things that happened around him. In fact, that afternoon was the first time in about a year that he had shown that much emotion…that much anger. The time before that being when he heard some of the guys on the football team talking shit about Buffy in the locker room freshman year- he had three days suspension for that reaction.
But today, Willow had gotten a reaction out of him. Something he wasn't expecting her, of all people to be able to do. So he had to admit that he cared about her. That left him with having to tell her.
He focused on the clear night sky that was dotted with stars as he headed down Ventnor Street, one of the ritziest neighborhoods in town. I think Cordelia lives on this street. he wondered to himself. He hoped he was wrong, because the last thing he needed was for the head cheerleader to see him out alone on a Saturday night just walking. She'd have him labeled a bigger loser freak by Monday for sure if she caught sight of him, and that was not something that he needed.
Especially not when he had to figure out how to talk to Willow. He was pretty sure that his social status at Sunnydale High wouldn't affect his chances with her, if he had any to begin with, but he didn't wan to have to put her in a more awkward situation by having to take more gigantic leap down from the Popularity King that was Percy Jackson to be with the likes of him.
Jesse made his way quickly down the street, almost breaking into a jog for a moment until he was able to turn the corner and slow his pace. He figured, as he jammed his hands into his pockets, that he should just tell her. He should take his own advice to Buffy and Xander and just get everything out in the open…but, now, he was just realizing, that it was easier said than done. He couldn't imagine being rejected by one of his newest friends; and their group dynamic was already in the crapper because of the 'Love Square'.
"What cha doing out so late?" a female voice sounded behind him suddenly. Jesse jumped and turned around quickly to face her. He hadn't even heard any footsteps behind him. "And all alone…" she noted with a half grin.
Not so bad was Jesse's first thought as he looked at her. His fear had dissipated when he realized that it was a girl, about Buffy's height and general size, blonde…she even has the innocent grin thing down, gotta love that in a chick. "Just walking," he tried to say calmly as he gestured around the street with his head. "It's a nice night."
The girl nodded at him and maintained her smile. "It is. No plans? Nobody waiting for you?"
Jesse sighed sadly, "Not a one. But don't take that to mean that I don't have friends," he added quickly. "I do. I have lots of them. We party…a lot. They were just busy tonight."
"Leaving you out here all alone," the girl shrugged and took a step closer to him, "Doesn't sound like such great friends."
"No," Jesse disagreed, "They are." He received a smirk in reply and suddenly found himself looking directly down into pair of clear hazel eyes. His voice caught in his throat and he gulped down a breath without stepping away, "Why are you out? No place to go? I find that hard to believe…"
"I was looking for you, I guess." She smiled flirtatiously at him.
Jesse laughed nervously, "Yeah. You found me…so; uh…what's your name?"
She tilted her head and glanced up into his eyes, "Darla."
He licked his lips and nodded all his previous thoughts rushing out of his mind faster than he could fail a calc exam. "Just the one name- kinda like Cher…or Ozzy…"
"What's your name?" she asked.
Jesse was thankful that she interrupted his babbling, "Jesse. I'm Jesse."
"Well, Jesse." She smiled at him and reached for his hand before turning them and starting a path down the sidewalk again, "You shouldn't be out here alone at night…there might be monsters," she giggled a little at the last part.
He cast a sideways glance at her and then looked down at their joined hands. Her's was so cold against his palm… "I'm not afraid of monsters," he grinned, "I laugh in the face of danger."
"Then it's a good thing I found you," she said as she lead him down the street, keeping her focus straight ahead. "I get very scared in the dark. I need a big strong man to walk me home."
"Well, I got the man part," Jesse joked nervously. "Where is home, exactly?" he asked after a moment, as she seemed to have a direction that she was head in. A direction that was farther and farther from his house…and the town.
"We're really close," she assured him, finally casting him a glance over her shoulder. She smiled, gaining his attention from his study of their surroundings. "You're not scared are you?"
He shook his head vigorously, "Me? What? Naw…it's just…it's getting late. I don't want my parents to worry…"
"Good." Darla smiled again. "I'd hate for you to leave me all alone out here," she said as she dropped her gaze and his hand, allowing her to take a few steps ahead of him. "Did you hear that?" she asked suddenly.
Jesse perked up and peered over her shoulder from behind, trying to see into the shadows in front of her. "No," he said worriedly, "What was it? Maybe this isn't the best place to be right now…" He hated the area down by the docks during the day. Nothing short of a million dollar prize for all sixteen year old boys named Jesse Schyular McCormick would get him down here at night…well, that, and it seemed pretty girls.
"It was a noise" Darla insisted, keeping her back to him. Not allowing him to see the devious smirk on her face as it changed. She looked straight ahead as her demonic visage appeared the ridges and fangs that marked her as a vampire becoming apparent.
"What'd it sound like?" Jesse asked unsure, wanting nothing more than to get out of there.
Darla whirled around quickly, her hands gripping Jesse's shoulders in a vice grip and not letting go as he gasped at her mangled appearance. His eyes wide as he tried, to no avail, to pull away as she titled her head and bares her fangs, "A scream," she said with a evil laugh as she buried her face in the side of his neck.
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The End Part 9
