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

Colleen:            Buffy's successor both as the Slayer and as the guardian of the Hellmouth.

Jordan:             Psychic chosen by The Powers That Be to guide the Slayer with The Visions.

Holly:               The daughter of a human and a Sellar Demon.

Mike:               Something previously unseen on this Earth: A Living Vampire.

Dawn:              The ancient energy known only as The Key given a human form.

Aaron:              Although not the most powerful warlock in the world, this teenager has developed an impressive amount of power.

*****

            "Can I ask you a question?" Mike asked Jordan while bumping him a volleyball. They were in gym class practicing volleyball skills. Mike hated volleyball skills. In most ways Mike was just a natural born athlete.

            "Well technically you already did," Jordan said as he missed the volleyball. Jordan was not a natural born athlete. "But I guess you could ask another one."

            "What happened between me and Colleen last year," Mike began. "Does everyone think that it was my fault?"

            Jordan was a little surprised by the question. "Your fault?" Jordan repeated to himself for clarification. "No way."

            "And no one thinks that it was Colleen's fault either right?" Mike asked him.

            Jordan shook his head. "I don't think anyone really thinks about it as anyone's fault," he explained. "I think everyone pretty much sees it as a bunch of screwed up things that happened."

            "Okay," Mike said. "I was just wondering."

            "Why?" Jordan asked him.

            "I've been thinking about doing something," Mike explained to Jordan. "And I didn't want to do it if everyone thought I was some kind of creep."

            Jordan looked at Mike curiously. "Are you going to elaborate on that or are you just going to leave me hanging?"

            Mike gave Jordan his trademark smile. "Let's just say that I'm going to ask someone to the Homecoming dance and it's not going to be Colleen."

            Jordan realized what Mike was saying and it took all the strength he had inside of him to contain the large grin that was trying to get out.

*****

            "Okay there he is," Aaron said while he and Colleen walked through the crowded halls on their way to lunch. "So here's the plan. I'll distract him with some kind of glamour or something and you sneak behind him and knock him out. Then, we take him back to your house and tie him down while I find some sort of mind control spell. During that time you can use him as your sexual-"

            "Finish that sentence and see what happens to you," Colleen said. Aaron could definitely tell that there was something different going on with Colleen today.

            "Okay," Aaron said. "That threat was seriously lacking the usual Colleen flair. You're not seriously going to get yourself all worked up over a guy, are you?"

            "Of course not," Colleen said. "I mean, I'm just going to walk over to him and talk. Because he is after all new in school and he doesn't have any friends. And then I will casually bring up the dance and see how he reacts."

            "I'm going to attempt to be serious here for a second," Aaron said. Colleen gave him a flip look. "No wait, listen. You've kind of been in relationship purgatory here lately and no offense, but I don't think that you can really take another disappointment right now."

            "As refreshing as you being concerned for me is," Colleen said, "I'm not going to fall to pieces if some guy turns me down."

            "Okay," Aaron said. "Good luck."

            Aaron worked his way into the cafeteria leaving Colleen alone. Colleen took a deep breath for confidence and flipped her hair back. Casually, Colleen walked towards where Eben was standing beside his locker.

            "Hey Eben," Colleen said as she walked up in front of the quiet boy.

            "Hello," Eben said in a puzzled voice.

            "So how has your transition into Sunnydale High School been?" Colleen asked him while she walked beside him.

            "Um," Eben thought about the question. "Average."

            "And how has you know," Colleen thought about how to phrase her question, "work been?"

            Eben took a second to figure out what she meant. "Fairly busy," he said. "I suppose you've noticed that too."

            "Yeah," Colleen said. "You know, we have a system down for going out there. If you ever wanted to work with us we could always use your help."

            "I work better alone," Eben said simply.

            "Right," Colleen said. "It's just that you said that The Powers sent you a vision saying you were needed her. Maybe they meant that you were, you know, needed with me." Colleen quickly decided that what she said should have been phrased differently. "Us. Needed with us."

            "I don't think that's what they meant," Eben said. There was a pause while they continued to walk together.

            "So what are you going to be doing this Friday night," Colleen asked Eben as nonchalantly as possible.

            "Patrolling," he told her.

            "I see," Colleen said. "It's just that Homecoming is this Friday and all of us were going to go."

            "Well then I guess it's good that I'll be patrolling," Eben said.

            Colleen stopped him. She couldn't take it any longer. "Why are you being so cold to me?"

            "What do you mean?" Eben asked her.

            Colleen's eyes showed how hurt she was. "Eben," Colleen said, "I know what we did together didn't really mean anything at the time, but it was still special." Eben looked a little uncomfortable but Colleen continued anyway. "I mean, I don't really expect anything from you Eben, but it would be nice if you came to the dance."

            "Colleen," Eben said as he took a step away from her. "What we did was special to me too, more than you probably imagine, but that's all. It was a moment of relief. We're not like the other people in this school. What we do means so much. We have more responsibilities that any of them could ever realize. And sometimes we have to give up things that should be important to us for the greater good. The good fight."

            Colleen watched as Eben turned down the hall. She replayed his words in her head and considered them. She knew that there were sacrifices to be made, but she knew that Eben had it wrong. You can't cut yourself off from life.

*****

            "I can't believe this," Holly said. She sat in the passenger seat of Mike's Camry as he drove her home from school. "Mrs. Rogers really expects us to get all of this reading done tonight? This is so unfair. I don't even want to be in Honors English."

            "That's the price you pay for scoring well on standardized tests," Mike said as he drove.

            "Emerson," Holly said with disgust. "I hate Emerson."

            "Can't you just use the usually Scooby emergency technique?" Mike asked Holly. Holly looked at him curiously. "Copy off of Aaron."

            Holly laughed. "Believe it or not Aaron has even more biased opinions than me when it comes to literature."

            "No one can be more opinionated than you when it comes to books," Mike told her. Holly smiled at him. Over the summer Mike and Holly hand bonded since they were kind of "the new people." Sure, they had been there since almost the beginning in one way or another, but they weren't there for the actual forming of the group. They weren't really a part of the foundation. It allowed Mike and Holly to renew their once great friendship.

            Of course, what Mike didn't know was that Holly's feelings for him went beyond just friendship. Holly cared so much for Mike. She wanted to call what she felt love but she didn't think that was fair. In Holly's mind, love was a connection, a mutual feeling. There couldn't be love if only one person felt it.

            "So," Mike said trying to act casually. "Homecoming is this Friday."

            "Yeah," Holly said. "Colleen and I are going to go help Dawn pick out a dress tomorrow."

            "So you're going to be dress shopping," Mike said. "I see."

            There was something weird going on and Holly had no clue what it was. "Yeah," she said. "Why, what were you going to be doing tomorrow?"

            "Well," Mike said as he turned down another residential street towards Holly's house, "If everything goes according to plan I'm going to be shopping for a suit."

            Holly skipped a breath. In the back of her mind she thought that maybe Mike was going to ask her to the dance. This would be the way that Mike would ask someone. But Holly refused to let herself think that it was possible. "What's this plan of yours?" Holly asked, trying to sound as casual as was humanly possible.

            "Well it's basically this," Mike said as he pulled into Holly's driveway. "Will you go to the dance with me?"

            In one moment Holly's life suddenly made sense. In one moment it was like all the pain and the fear had suddenly been erased from her past. It was like everything had been one big test to see if Holly was strong enough to deserve this moment. Unfortunately, Holly wasn't able to contain her excitement.

            "Are you serious?" Holly asked Mike, sounding like a school girl who just found out that she was getting back stage passes to a concert.

            "I'd be kind of a jerk if I was," Mike told her. Holly gave a shy smile and wasn't really able to make eye contact with Mike anymore. "So is that a yes..."

            Holly turned to look Mike in the eyes. "Of course," Holly said with a grin.

            "Perfect," Mike said as Holly got out of the car. "We should make plans with Aaron and Dawn to double or something."

            "That sounds good," Holly said as she turned to shut the door.

            "All right then," Mike said with another smile. Holly smiled back and shut the door. Walking to her front door she turned back to make sure that everything was real. She looked at Mike and he waved and beeped the horn. Holly lifted her hand and gave him a wave too. Holly turned around and opened her door.

            All of Holly's life had been filled with pain, fear, and doubt. For the first time in Holly's life she had been able to not think about that for a moment. The problem with moments though is that they pass so quickly. This wasn't an exception. Holly stood inside her door and just stared at the window in her living room. Whenever something good happened in Holly's life there was always a down that was soon to come. Holly had learned from an early age not to get her hopes up, but for this she was trying her hardest to not think that way.

*****

            The school was dark and deserted as the two men entered at night. It didn't matter that it was dark because they could both see without much light. There was only a janitor who they made short work of. It was really more of a snack.

            The two intruders made their way through the building towards the library. Once they were in they found the book they were looking for. Setting it on a desk, they flipped through the pages till the one figure found a familiar face.

            "There," Cortez said to the other vampire. "This is the boy I fought. I knew that he looked to be around high school age."

            "And we picked the right school on the first try," the other vampire said to Cortez. "So what do we do now? How are we going to find this Living Vampire when school is in the day?"

            Cortez walked away from the desk we he noticed a sign on the door. "I think I have an idea."

*****

            "Are you serious!" Dawn shouted way too loud in the hallway the next morning in school. Aaron and Dawn sat with Holly in the lounge of the school. Everyone was just arriving and no one was extremely awake yet. People were staring at the three of them after Dawn's outburst but Holly didn't exactly care.

            "Yeah," Holly said with a grin.

            "That's so great," Dawn said to her.

            "Yeah," Aaron agreed. "I mean, it's not like we don't spend every other second together. Why should a dance be any different?" Dawn elbowed him in his ribs. "I meant that in a positive way," Aaron explained. "I'm sorry if my default tone of voice is sarcastic."

            "Don't listen to him," Dawn told Holly. "He's just a moron. This is going to be so great. We are going to get the best dresses tonight."

            While Dawn talked to Holly a group of girls in their grade walked by them. As they walked by they all looked at Holly and, without even trying to act like they were doing something else, pointed at her and whispered to each other. Holly didn't even have to hear what they were saying. Their faces all screamed "her?"

            "That's right Kirsty," Dawn said to the girl as she passed by. The girl looked back at Dawn. "Mike's going to the dance with Holly." Kirsty gave her a look that could kill but didn't respond. She just looked at Holly, rolled her eyes and laughed a little, and then kept walking.

            "I hate that bitch," Aaron said. No one disagreed with him.

*****

            Colleen sat trying to do her work. Even though everyone else in the class was busy talking because there was a substitute, Colleen was uncharacteristically trying to get the Spanish work that she was already behind on finished. After a few minutes of trying to put it out of her mind, Colleen finally gave in.

            "What?" Colleen asked Jordan, point blank.

            "Does it bother you?" Jordan asked Colleen with the utmost sincerity.

            "You staring at me?" Colleen asked sarcastically. "Yeah, it's starting to get old real quick."

            "You know that's not what I meant," Jordan informed Colleen.

            Colleen sighed and set her pencil down. She turned to Jordan and looked him in the eyes. "No, it does not bother me that Mike asked Holly to the dance. For about the millionth time we are not together."

            "I've never exactly heard you say that you are over him though," Jordan pointed out.

            "I am though," Colleen said. "Over him. I'm over him. Completely." Jordan wasn't buying it. "Okay so maybe that's a stretch," Colleen admitted. "I mean, Mike was a lot my firsts. He was my first date, first kiss, first love, first-" Colleen stopped abruptly and Jordan gave her a sly smile. "I mean, I guess a part of me will never really be over him. But that doesn't mean that I'm going waste the rest of my life sitting around pining over my first boyfriend."

            "Rest of your life and a couple months later aren't exactly the same thing," Jordan pointed out. "And if what Aaron told me is true than you were rejected yesterday. So I don't think it's stepping beyond my boundaries as friend to find out if you're okay with your ex-boyfriend taking your friend to the dance is cool with you when it is obvious to everyone that you wanted to go to this dance in a big way."

            "Let me break it down," Colleen said. "Holly is my friend. Mike is my friend. If Holly and Mike make each other happy then I'm happy for them."

            "Make each other happy?" Jordan questioned Colleen's choice of words. "It's a date, it's not like they're engaged or anything."

            "I know," Colleen said. "You know what I mean."

            "But I mean it's not exactly like what they're doing has to be this big romantic thing right?" Jordan asked Colleen. "It could go either way you know. It could just be two friends hanging out or it could be a serious date."

            "Yeah exactly," Colleen agreed. "It's their lives. We'll just have to see what they choose to do."

            "But back to the friends thing," Jordan said to Colleen. "Two friends can go to a dance together. I mean, especially if one friend has been dying to go to the dance and will probably do nothing but complain to the other friend all night if they are the only two who aren't going to this dance."

            Colleen looked a little shocked. "Jordan, if that was you asking me out it was a really lame attempt."

            "That wasn't me asking you out," Jordan corrected her. "That was me preparing for this next sentence. Do you want to go to the dance with me friend?"

            "You basically just said this is a pity invite!" Colleen said to Jordan.

            "Yeah," Jordan said. "I mean, I have to settle for you because all of these other girls are just waiting around for me to ask them." Colleen smiled a little bit. "Come on Colleen, it will be fun. It will be the Scooby Gang hanging out in a non preternatural setting."

            "I'm guessing you aren't going to take no for an answer?" Colleen asked Jordan.

            "Wow," Jordan said, "Spare no punches with my self esteem."

            Colleen laughed again. "Okay, but don't think that just because we're going as friends that you get out of buying me dinner."

*****

            "Are you guys as excited as I am?" Dawn asked with a little bit too much enthusiasm while she, Colleen, and Holly tried on dresses. "Because seriously, I don't think you guys understand how excited I am."

            "Oh we understand," Colleen said sarcastically while she still maintained a smile that revealed that she was happy.

            "Yeah," Holly said, with a similar happy expression. "I think we really got the point around the ninth time you asked that, but when you broke twenty you really drove it home."

            "Come on guys," Dawn said. "Think about it. We finally get to have a normal high school experience. And the best part is we get to all do it together."

            "Yeah Dawn," Colleen said as she held a blue dress up against herself while looking in the mirror. "We know. Do you think this will look good on me?"

            Holly looked up from the dress rack she was at and looked at Colleen's choice. "Oh wow," Holly said. "You should definitely try that on."

            Dawn looked over and nodded. "Yeah that will look really good on you." Dawn continued to rummage through the dresses until she came across and black and gold sequenced dress. "Holly, stop looking, found the perfect dress for you."

            Holly looked over to the dress in Dawn's hands. "Oh no," She said, stumbling a little with her words. "I could never wear that."

            Colleen looked over at the dress and then back at Holly. "Why not?" She asked. "I mean, it keeps up the whole gold theme."

            "Well it's," Holly paused. She figured that they would realize what was wrong with the dress.

            "Yes," Dawn said. "We have established that it is in fact is."

            "It's too revealing," Holly finally finished.

            "So," Colleen said as she took the dress off of Dawn and brought it over to Holly. She made Holly stand in front of the mirror and held the dress in front of her. "It's prefect for you Holly."

            "I don't know," Holly said.

            "Holly," Colleen continued, "If you walk into the dance wearing this dress I guarantee that it will make all those stupid girls in our grade just stop and stare and realize how dumb they were to ever think anything bad about your appearance." As Colleen talked she pulled Holly's hair back to help her get a better idea of what she could look like.

            "Would you girls like to try anything on?" A clerk asked as she approached the three girls.

            "Yes," Colleen told her. "I would like to try this on and she is going to try this one on."

            Although she still felt a little bit of reluctance, Holly was forced into the dressing room by Colleen.

*****

            "So what are we thinking?" Aaron asked Mike and Jordan while they were being fitted for their suits. "Is this going to be a limousine thing or just a usual car thing?"

            "Limos are more for prom," Mike said. "I say we just go with the cars."

            "Um," Jordan said as he rose his rand mimicking having a question in school.

            "Stop that," the tailor said to Jordan as he moved Jordan's hand back down.

            "Sorry," Jordan said to the tailor. He turned back to his friends. "I don't exactly have a car that I can drive."

            "No problem," Aaron said. "You and I can go in the Jeep and Mike and Holly can go in Mike's car."

            "Works for me," Mike said as he turned so the tailor can have better access to take more measurements.

            "So Mike," Aaron said, trying to pass off his inquisition as just trying to pass the time while he was fitted for his suit, "Jordan and I were talking and we were wondering a few things."

            "Such as?" Mike asked.

            "Well," Aaron said, "We noticed a few similarities between your date and your ex-girlfriend and we were wondering if this was some kind of trend."

            "Similarities?" Mike asked.

            "Well," Aaron thought of a way to phrase what he wanted to say. "They both have similar extra curricular activities."

            "Oh," Mike said. "I see. Well, Colleen's extra curricular activities aren't exactly what got me interested in her."

            "I think what Aaron was trying to get down to Mike," Jordan said to his friend, "Is that we were wondering if what you initiated here is intended to be along the same lines as what you initiated last time with Colleen."

            "Isn't anything left confidential in the Scooby Gang?" Mike asked.

            "Yeah," Jordan said. "Specifically anything that Aaron does in his free time."

            "Is this going to be allowed to be one of those things that is kept confidential?" Mike asked.

            "If you want," Aaron said. "But as friends, can you just tell us what's going on?"

            "I'll tell you this," Mike said. "You'll know everything by Friday night."

*****

            In the back of Holly's mind, she found it extremely funny that she was more nervous going to a dance then she was in any fight she had ever been in with any demon. In the rest of Holly's mind, there was no room for anything except for complete panic. She stood in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom, staring deep into her reflection. Holly wished that Colleen or Dawn was there to assure her that she looked good. Her hair was perfect, her dress looked incredible on her, and everything matched. But still, in the back of Holly's mind, she was worried that there was something that was out of place on her body.

            "Holly," Holly's mother said as she opened her door. "Are you just about-" Holly's mom stopped in stunned silence as she looked at her daughter. "Holly!" Holly's mom said with shock.

            "What?" Holly said panicked as she looked over her body trying to see what was wrong. "What didn't I do?"

            "No it's not that," Holly's mother said. "It's just that you look beautiful."

            Holly stopped panicking for a moment and looked at her mom with a smile. "Thank you," Holly said. She knew that they had to get out of the house soon.

            "Holly," Holly's mother said as she sat down on the end of Holly's bed. "We need to talk.

            "Damnit," Holly thought. She had come so close to avoiding the talk that she knew her mother was going to try to have with her. "Mom," Holly said out loud. "We're going to be late."

            "Holly I need to say this," Holly's mom said. She looked serious. "I know that you and Mike have a lot of history and I know that Mike knows about your circumstances."

            "Mom," Holly said. She really didn't want to hear this.

            "Holly listen to me," Holly's mom almost snapped. Holly was a little shock and her mother composed herself. "I'm sorry Holly, I just want you to know that you need to be careful."

            "I know I do Mom," Holly assured her mom. "I've known for all my life. Tonight isn't going to be any different."

            "But Holly," Holly's mother said. "This is your first date." Holly's mom looked like she was going to start talking again but Holly cut her short.

            "No way Mom," Holly said. "You've reached your quota. You only get one The Talk a night."

            "I love you Holly," Holly's mother told her. "I don't know if you really understand that I really do love you and I want you to be safe and happy."

            "I know you do Mom," Holly told her. "I appreciate everything that you've done and I love you to. And I am. Safe and happy I mean. But right now we have to go. We're going to be late."

*****

            In the two years that the Scooby Gang had been friends with each other there was never really an occasion that would require all of their parents to get together. The Homecoming dance was going to be the first real situation in which the parents got to interact. No one was really looking forward to it.

            Everyone agreed that group pictures would be taken at Colleen's house. The six of them were standing in a line in front of the bushes of Colleen's house. Mr. Danvers, Colleen's dad, was at one end of the parents taking pictures. Ed Danvers had played basketball in college and looked the part. Despite being almost forty, he looked like he was still in pretty good shape. Like Colleen, he was also tall with dark hair. He wasn't an extremely social person. He had a few close friends, but when his wife left he didn't exactly start dating again. He had been a little nervous about all the other parents being there but he was doing a good job of being a host.

            Next to him were the O'Malley's. Aaron's mom, Ellen, was also busy taking pictures of her son. Ellen was a little taller then the average woman and unlike her son she had long blonde hair. Her husband, Jonas, was busy talking on his cell phone to a business client. Aaron looked identical to Jonas when he was younger. Their features were almost identical. When Aaron looked at old photographs of his dad it was like looking at a picture of himself. Ellen was happy to be able to be there for Aaron's dance. It upset her that she didn't get to spend much time with her son. Ellen was Jonas's secretary and had been before they were even married so whenever he left on business she went with him. Aaron didn't like to think that his mom has been his dad's secretary before they even dated because he really didn't want to know how they got together.

            Jordan's parents were very nice people. The Scooby Gang had only met them a few times but they liked them a lot. Jordan's dad was very tall and was a really funny guy. Jordan's shared a lot of the same features as Jordan. She was extremely good looking and Jordan told them that she had been an actress when she was younger. The Clarkes were very outgoing people who were very good at holding conversations.

            Xander and Anya were also there. Xander felt a little awkward in the situation because he was only six years older than the Scooby Gang and he was about twenty years younger than the other parents. Still, Xander tried his best to play the part of the parent. Anya was too busy being an overly excited parent. She made Dawn turn this way and that to make sure that she got all the pictures from all the angles that she wanted to get. Dawn was getting very annoyed.

            The last two parents, Tracy Nils and Mitch Dalton, didn't really talk to each other. They made sure to stay on opposite sides of the group and only said a few pleasantries when they saw each other. They had once dated and the relationship didn't exactly end in a good way.

            "Okay," Mike said, letting go of Holly's waist and stepping towards his car. "I think that we have enough pictures."

            "No we don't," Anya said. "I still have three more rolls of film."

            "Save them for another day Anya," Xander told her. "I think the nine you have are good enough."

*****

            There's something about the mystique of a school dance that lets the students at the dance see past its lameness and see something that escapes anyone who isn't a teenager. There is something about a school dance that inspires an almost indescribable feeling in a High School Junior. The mix of the anxiety and the anticipation, excitement over the possibilities you keep in the back of your mind and don't want to push them forward because you are afraid that you might jinx them. For once, the Scooby Gang was getting a normal night.

            Aaron held Dawn as close to his body as was possible. She rested her head on his shoulder and they moved with the slow melody that seemed to pulse through their bodies. Aaron leaned his face down towards Dawn's head. He inhaled her scent deeply and smiled. Dawn looked up to him and shared his expression.

            "This is nice," she said to him.

            "Very nice," Aaron agreed. They looked deep into each other's eyes for a moment. It was almost as if each of them could see into the other's soul. Aaron leaned into Dawn and kissed her very lovingly.

            "I'm in love with you," Dawn told Aaron as leaned into his shoulder again.

            Aaron paused for a moment and stared into space. "I want to say something that won't sound lame or trite," Aaron explained to Dawn. "I mean, I want to really convey what I'm feeling right now and that's hard to do with a word that I've also used to describe my feelings towards the apple crisp that they serve in the cafeteria." Although Aaron couldn't see her face, he knew that Dawn was smiling. "But I guess I'm just going to have to say it. I'm in love with you too. I'll always love you."

            "Aw," Colleen said, actually impressed with how sweet Aaron could be. Aaron turned a bright shade of red.

            "Oh look what you did," Jordan said as he continued to dance with Colleen. "You embarrassed him. Aaron tried to think of an insult or sarcastic remark but he couldn't think of one. Dawn smiled at her boyfriend and got him an out by kissing him.

            "Come on Jordan," Colleen said as they began to move away while still dancing, "Maybe we should dance back to where we came from."

            Colleen and Jordan moved farther away from Dawn and Aaron to give them more privacy. Although they were slow dancing, they were doing it only as friends.

            "So are you having fun?" Jordan asked Colleen.

            "Actually," Colleen said, "I'm having a blast. It almost seems weird that this seems so odd to me now, you know? Like something like a dance could be what isn't normal in my life and what is normal in my life is so bizarre that sometimes I even have trouble believing it."

            "It's a nice change of pace," Jordan said to Colleen.

            "Eben has no idea what he is missing," Colleen told Jordan. Jordan noticed that slight sadness in Colleen's voice and was also able to sense on the longing that she felt.

            "I wouldn't be so sure about that," Jordan said as he pointed across the gym. Colleen looked where he was pointing and to her absolute astonishment, she saw Eben, in a suit, walking towards her. He was actually smiling. "I think I'm going to go sit down for a little bit," Jordan told Colleen with a smile.

            Elsewhere on the dance floor Mike and Holly were also slow dancing. Although they weren't as tightly embraced as Aaron and Dawn, they weren't exactly as far apart as a middle school dance.

            "I feel the need to say this, because I think that I know you fairly well," Mike told Holly. "And I am pretty sure that you have no idea how amazing you look right now." Holly blushed but she didn't respond. "I'm also going to make sure that you realize that when you walked in here you definitely made Kirsty think that she knew the reason why I asked you here."

            Holly smiled thinking that maybe the girls who had made fun of her all of her life were jealous not only of who was taking her to the dance but also of Holly's appearance. When Holly was younger and picked on in school her teachers used to tell her it was because that other kids were jealous of her. Until now, Holly had never thought that that scenario was possible.

            "But I think you need to realize that what Kirsty thinks she knows isn't right," Mike continued. "Although you are incredibly attractive, that's not the reason that I asked you to the dance. The reason isn't even that you're one of my closest friends, if not my closest friend. The truth is that I guess I really don't even know the answer. But I'll tell you what I do know. I know that whatever it is I feel, it is something that goes beyond friendship, and I really want to find out what it is."

            Holly looked at Mike. She tried to speak, but words couldn't really be formed. She started to panic. Although she knew exactly what her feelings for Mike were, she couldn't even begin to fathom how to convey them. Holly had to get away. She turned and ran to the bathroom.

            "Holly wait," Mike said as he went after her. Colleen spotted them as she moved towards Eben. She looked back as Holly ran into the girls' restroom. She quickly looked over to Eben and then back to Holly with a troubled expression on her face. Dawn also noticed the commission going on with Holly and flashed Colleen a look that let her know that she would take care of it. Colleen gave her an extremely grateful look and mouthed a thank you as Dawn ran off towards Holly, leaving Aaron walking over to where Jordan was leaning against the wall of the gymnasium.

            "What was that about?" Eben asked as he looked towards the girls' bathroom.

            "Forget about that," Colleen said. "What is this about?"

            "What?" Eben asked with an innocent smile.

            "Well," Colleen began, "For one you're here instead of out in some cemetery somewhere. For two you are in a suit. Where did you get a suit?"

            "It was my dad's," Eben told her. "And I'm taking a break between sweeps. The dance was just on my way to the next cemetery."

            "I see," Colleen said with a small grin, "So why did you decide to stop."

            "I was hoping," Eben said, "I mean, if your date doesn't mind, if you would like to dance with me?"

            "Eben," Colleen said, this time with an all out grin. "Are you jealous?"

            "No," Eben said, "Well I mean, not exactly. I mean, I guess-"

            "Just dance with me," Colleen told Eben as she put her arms around his neck. He moved his arms to her waist.

            "This doesn't mean that I anything has changed," Eben told Colleen. "People like you and me have more important things in our lives."

            "Yes we do," Colleen told him. "But all those things will still be there when this dance is over."

*****

            Dawn looked through the bath room. Surprisingly, it was deserted. It was still a little early in the evening for girls to be in their crying. She looked underneath the stalls and saw a set of feet in the handicapped one. She walked towards it and knocked on the door.

            "Holly?" Dawn asked. "Is that you?"

            "No," Holly said between sniffles.

            Dawn took a look around the bathroom again. There was still no one else in there. She closed her eyes and a swirl of green encircled her. She disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the closed door.

            "Liar," Dawn said as she looked at her friend.

            Holly sniffled some more and wiped her eyes on some toilet paper. "I can't believe this," Holly told Dawn. "I'm crying in the bathroom. I hate girls that cry in the bathroom."

            "Yeah I noticed that," Dawn said as she squatted to be eye to eye with Holly. "What's wrong?"

            "Mike said that he has feelings for him," Holly explained to Dawn between sniffles.

            "Oh wow," Dawn said. "Well, do you have any feelings for him?" Holly continued to cry but she nodded a yes. "Well that's great," Dawn said to Holly. "I mean, normally it would be, but I'm getting the feeling that it isn't in this scenario." Holly started crying harder. "Holly seriously, what's wrong?"

            "It's just," Holly tried to put what she was feeling into words. "What if this isn't real? What if this is just something I did with my demon powers? What if his feelings aren't real?"

            "Holly," Dawn spoke from her heart, "You have so much control over your powers, more control than I have on mine. I have no doubt that what Mike is feeling is real."

            "But every time I touch someone I can read all their weaknesses," Holly said. "I know how to manipulate people."

            "So," Dawn said. Holly looked at her confused. "Just because you have the power doesn't mean that you use it. And even if it happens on accident, then it's not your fault. Having a power and choosing not to use it takes more strength than anything else."

            "But what if," Holly looked down at her shoes. "What if I hurt him? What if I hurt him like my father hurt my mother?"

            "You know you won't," Dawn told Holly. "It's not who you are."

            "I don't want to hurt Mike," Holly told Dawn.

            "You won't," Dawn told Holly. "And Mike knew all about all of this when he told you how he felt, which means that he knows that's not who you are either." Holly smiled a little and looked up again. Dawn took her hand and helped her up. "Come on," Dawn said. "Let's get you cleaned up."

*****

            "When we came in we had dates, right?" Aaron asked as he, Mike, and Jordan stood outside the girls' restroom. "I mean, I wasn't imagining that was I?" Aaron looked over to Colleen dancing with Eben. "Figures, Colleen still gets to dance."

            No one acknowledged Aaron's comment. Jordan looked over at Mike. Mike hadn't taken his eyes off of the restroom door since Holly had gone in. Jordan could sense his distress, not that it took psychic abilities to see it.

            "What happened?" Jordan asked Mike.

            Mike paused before he responded. "I told Holly how I felt about her."

            Aaron's face reflected his shock and he turned his attention towards Mike and Jordan's conversation.

            "Oh," was all Jordan had to say.

            "Yeah," Mike said. "I guess this isn't really a good sign."

            Jordan bit his tongue. He knew exactly how Holly felt about Mike and had known longer than anyone else. He thought about telling Mike but knew that it wasn't his place.

            About ten minutes after Dawn and Holly had gone into the bathroom they were back out again.

            "Hey," Mike said to Holly.

            "Hey," Holly said back to Mike, first avoiding his look and then returning it.

            "Hey," Aaron said, with a very serious tone of voice. Everyone looked at him and he pointed across the gym. Coming in from the doors of the gym were Cortez and at least a dozen other vampires.

            "You have got to be kidding me," Dawn said.

            "We need to get everyone out of here," Mike said. "We need a distraction or something."

            Everyone looked around for something as the first few students noticed the vampires. Jordan spotted the fire extinguisher thirty feet from him. With a slight squint he pulled the alarm with his mind. The gym erupted in chaos as sirens went off and students hurried to every exit.

            "Dawn," Holly said. "Get us outside."

            "I'll give Colleen a heads up," Aaron said as he gave Dawn's hand a quick squeeze before he made his way through the mass hysteria towards Colleen. "It's a good thing we practice so everyone remains calm during these situations," Aaron said sarcastically to himself as his friends disappeared in a green light.

            As Aaron reached Colleen she was already aware that there was something happening beyond just a fire. Her Slayer Sense was like vampdar.

            "What's going on?" Colleen asked.

            "We have a Cortez situation," Aaron told her. He pointed to where Cortez was making his way through the panicked students.

            "Great," Colleen said. "It's a good thing that my main priority in a dress is combat maneuverability. I just need to get a stake from my purse."

            "Got you covered," Aaron said as he pulled two stakes out of his inside coat pocket. Colleen took one and he offered the other one to Eben.

            "No thanks," Eben said as he took his own stake out. "I have my own."

            "You two try to take out as many as the other vampires as you can," Colleen told the boys. "I'll go after Cortez."

            "The others are outside taking care of the perimeter," Aaron told Colleen.

            Colleen nodded. "Okay, let's do this as quickly as possible. I definitely don't want to even try to explain this to the rest of the school."

            Colleen split off from Eben and Aaron as she spotted Cortez. She timed her attack so she hit Cortez right as he walked past the door for the locker room and she managed to get him inside.

            "Hello," Colleen said as she kicked Cortez in the face. "We haven't met. I'm the Slayer." She punched Cortez in the side of the head and then again in the stomach before she swept his feet out from under him with her legs.

            However, right as Cortez hit the ground he was right back up again. "The Slayer?" Cortez asked Colleen. "And the Living Vampire and the Slayer shall have known each other." Cortez quoted from an unknown source. Cortez attacked Colleen and managed to hit her in the face.

            "I don't know what you're talking about," Colleen lied as she dodged one of Cortez's blow, grabbed the back of his knee, and managed to kick him in the face. "I think you need to check your source on that."

            "It's a very reliable prophecy," Cortez said as he caught Colleen's leg as she tried to roundhouse him. He used her momentum to swing her and then send her crashing her into the wall. "And in case you were wonder, 'know' is 'know' in the Biblical sense, if you know what I mean."

            Cortez approached Colleen but he had to narrowly avoid a burst of flame. Shaken his arm to put the flame out, he looked at his attacker and recognized him.

            "Looks like you're about to rejoin the rest of your friends," Eben told Cortez. "Where is it that you vampires go after you are dusted?" Eben helped Colleen to her feet.

            Cortez looked through the window on the door and couldn't see any vampires in the gym. He turned his back for a moment but then quickly spin kicked Colleen and Eben knocking them both down. Before they could get back up, Cortez had run off.

*****

            Eben walked up to where the Scoobies were sitting at a picnic table outside of the school. The police and fire trucks were at the scene. According to the student body, they had been attack by a gang on PCP.

            "Any luck?" Colleen asked Eben as he sat down at the table.

            Eben shook his head. "No sign of him anywhere."

            "I wish we knew what he was looking for," Dawn said. "I mean, what is a Living Vampire anyway?" The Scoobies had decided to cover for Mike until they were sure that they could trust Eben.

            Eben thought abut saying something, but then thought better of it. "Yeah," was all he said. He looked to Colleen, and without saying a word he vanished in a blurry cloud of mystic smoke.

            "I hate it when he does that," Aaron said with Dawn sitting on his lap.

            "I can't believe he showed up," Jordan said.

            Colleen nodded in agreement. "I don't get him."

*****

            "Well that was the most interesting dance I've ever been to," Mike said as he and Holly walked towards his car.

            "Yeah," Holly agreed. "Of course, it was also the first dance I've ever been to."

            "It was also the best dance I've ever been to," Mike told Holly. "Well, I mean before the vampire attack."

            Holly smiled. "Mike, I'm sorry I freaked earlier."

            "It's okay," Mike told Holly. "It's just that I want you to feel comfortable with me."

            "I do feel comfortable with you," Holly told him. "I just don't want to hurt you."

            "Holly," Mike said. "No offense, but I think I could take you."

            "Not like that," Holly said. "Mike, I'm a Sellar demon. It's in my nature to hurt people who…" Holly couldn't finish her sentence.

            "You're only half demon," Mike told her. "And hello? I'm not exactly the poster boy for human either."

            "It's different for you," Holly said.

            "How," Mike said. "Because it's not in my nature to hurt people?"

            "But you're not a demon," Holly pointed out.

            "And neither are you," Mike told Holly. He stopped and looked Holly in the eye. "Holly, we're special. We're both one of a kind. And what's more, we both have souls. I know that you would never hurt me. Ever."

            Holly looked down at her hands and saw that Mike had them in his own. It took her a while before she could look into Mike's eyes again. "Where do we go from here?" Holly asked him.

            "How about here," Mike said as he leaned in and gave Holly her first kiss.

*****

Author's Note: Wow, first of all, I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to write. I didn't have a lot of free time lately. On top of that, this chapter was just so long. I probably should have just split it up into two episodes, but oh well, I have a lot of ground to cover this season. Anyway, it's time for the more important news. I have launched my own website containing all of my stories! So go check out my site (The URL is in my author profile. Just click on my name at the top of this chapter.) and make sure that you still review on here! Seriously, review, it will make me feel better because I'm sick right now. I'm also dying to know what you thought of this chapter. Thanks for reading, and expect an update a lot sooner then it took to do this last one.