Chapter 1- A New Life
~ Buffy Summers walked in Sunnydale High School for the first time and looked around herself at the throngs of students swirling around her. She caught parts of conversations between different cliques and was too intimidated to stop and ask someone where the front office was. Clutching her books to her chest, she timidly pushed her way thought the crowed hallways. When the first bell rang, the students groaned but all took their time making their way into their respective classrooms. Suddenly Buffy felt a bit panicked that she was going to be late to her first class. She turned herself in a circle, looking for someone that resembled a teacher, but found no one.
As she began to walk again, not looking where she was going, she crashed into a body. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, not even stopping to look at who she bumped into. She dropped to her knees to help pick up the books she had caused the other person to drop.
It was then that she looked at the other person. She had red hair and pale skin with a boyish figure. She wasn't dressed to kill to put it nicely, but Buffy wasn't one to judge. "It's ok," said the girl. Once they had collected the books, she introduced herself. "I'm Willow. Are you new? I haven't seen you around her before."
Buffy smiled shyly and brushed her blond hair out of her face. "Yea. I just moved her from LA. Today is my first day. I'm kinda lost though."
Willow laughed lightly. "You look a little confused. What are you looking for?"
Buffy pulled a piece of paper out of her bag and showed it to Willow. "I guess I'm supposed to check in at the office or something. But the office doesn't want to be found."
Willow nodded and handed the paper back to Buffy. "The office is on the other side of the school." The bell rang again declaring classes had started. Willow didn't seem to care. "I'll show you were they are."
"Thank you so much. But you're going to be late, are you sure you don't mind?" Buffy asked as they began to walk through the now empty halls.
"I don't have a first period," said Willow. "I was just going to go to the library and surf the web. Don't worry."
Buffy smiled and the two girls walked in silence to the office. When they reached the double door entrance, Willow turned to Buffy. "Here you go. Hope your first day isn't too crazy."
"Thanks," Buffy said. "I would have been lost without your help." Buffy was truly happy that Willow had helped her. While Buffy wasn't normally shy-in fact she was the totally opposite- being in a new setting was pretty unnerving to her.
"I'll be in the library during lunch too if you need a place to eat," said Willow. Buffy could tell by the way she said it that Willow was hoping that Buffy would choose to eat lunch with her. Buffy guessed that Willow wasn't Miss Popular. She was probably far from it.
"I would love that," said Buffy with a genuine smile. With a quick goodbye, Willow headed off to the library and Buffy entered the office. She quickly and politely talked with the lady at the front desk and soon had her schedule in hand. With directions on how to get to her first class, Buffy thanked the woman and headed off to history.
~
Her first class went by quickly, mainly because Buffy was only in there for about twenty minutes by the time she actually found the class. The rest of the morning was pretty uneventful. Buffy found her classes without too much trouble, and made a few acquaintances in her four morning classes. When lunch rolled around she made her way to the library, which she had found earlier that day. When she entered, she wasn't surprised to see Willow at a big table in the middle of the dim room, her laptop open in front of her.
"Hey," said Buffy as she walked through the double swinging doors. Willow looked up in surprise and smiled.
"Hey," she said, closing the laptop. "How was your morning?"
Buffy sat down across from Willow and hefted her bag into the chair next to her. She had at least three big textbooks in there along with a few notebooks. By the end of the day she was sure she'd have permanent back problems. "It wasn't that bad. I didn't get too lost and I didn't embarrass myself in any of my classes. So things were of the good. How was yours?"
Willow pulled out a brown paper bag and started to assemble her lunch that consisted of a PB&J sandwich and a Snapple. "The same as it always is. I skipped my third period to come here since I practically teach that class anyways."
Buffy's eye brows raised in surprise. "You teach the class?"
Willow nodded. "It's a computer science class, and the teacher, Miss Calendar, has had to miss a lot of classes lately. I'm not sure where she goes, but since I was getting above an A+ in that class, she asked me to just take over on days where she can't be there. She was there today so I didn't need to be." Buffy was surprised at how nonchalant Willow seemed about teaching a high school class as only a junior.
Buffy just nodded and pulled a Diet Coke out of her bag. The two girls chatted about Buffy's past in LA while they ate. When the bell rang, they agreed to meet up outside of the school. Willow was going to show Buffy around the small town that afternoon. ~ A few days later Buffy sorted through her closet looking for something to wear. She was meeting Willow and a few other possible friends at a club called the Bronze. Buffy had been spending almost everyday with Willow and Willow's best friend Xander, and she was beginning to consider them actual friends. They were very different than her friends in LA. Buffy had been part of the in crowd. She had been the most popular girl in her grade, and every guy that met her wanted to be with her. Unfortunately, most of them only wanted to be with her to get with her. And Buffy hadn't really minded. But now Willow and Xander seemed like genuine people who didn't only like her for what she wore or how many guys she'd made out with.
Buffy pulled another outfit out of her closet, held it up to herself, and then threw it down on the bed. She used to be so good at this. Finally, after trying on three more outfits and realizing she had to be at the club in fifteen minutes. She decided on a short black mini skirt and a red top with a long black knit sweater. She told her parents were she would be and then left the house.
It was a short ten minute walk to the club and she simply followed the pulsating music coming from the large building. There was a line outside the club of high school and collage students. Buffy joined the line and looked at the people around her. She decided that this club was nothing like the clubs in LA. Normally I fake ID was required to enter those clubs, while to enter this one, eight bucks was all that was needed as the cover charge. Buffy handed her money to the bouncer and made her way into the club.
It was dimly lighted, most of the light focused on the band on stage. To her right was a bar and to her left were tables and couched filled with people. She made her way through groups of people, looking around for Willow. When she finally saw the red head waving at her from a table close to the stage, Buffy sighed with relief. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to find Willow in the packed club.
When she reached the table, she was greeted eagerly by Willow and Xander, and then introduced to Anya, Xander's girlfriend and Tara, a friend of Willows. Buffy squeezed into a chair in between Tara and Willow. Xander took drink orders and then left to retrieve them.
The group talked for most of night about random topics, laughing and downing caffeinated drinks. After about three hours, the group was joined by another person. Buffy looked up to see a tall very handsome man walking towards their table. He was dressed in all black, and is hard hair and eyes gave him a almost dangerous look. She swallowed hard and felt her heart speed up as her eyes locked with his. He looked at her almost curiously for a movement before he was greeted by Willow and the rest of the group.
"Angel," Willow said, "this is Buffy. Buffy, this is Angel. He graduated from Sunnydale High two years ago." Buffy and Angel exchanged hellos before Willow asked, "What are you doing in town? I thought you weren't coming back for another week?" As she spoke, Willow scooted her chair over to make room for Angel to pull up a chair.
"I am just bad for tonight and tomorrow," said Angel pulling his chair between Buffy and Willow. "I've got some things I've got to figure out with my family." He turned to Buffy and said, "So, are you new in town?"
"Yep," said Buffy doing her best not to let her voice shake. Angel was gorgeous. All she wanted to do was run her fingers through his thick dark hair and kiss his perfect mouth. But instead she talked. "I just moved here from LA. Where are you going to college?" She took a sip of her latte hoping to use the heat from that as an excuse as to why her cheeks were burning pink.
"Redlands College," Angel answered, reaching across the table to grab Xander's soda. Xander tried to stop him, but Angel pulled the drink out of his reach. "It's about two hours away from here." He took a sip of the soda, keeping his eye on Buffy over the rim of the glass. If it was possible, Buffy's cheeks got redder.
Thankfully Willow started a conversation with Angel and Buffy was able to just sit and back listen. She picked up on little facts. Willow and Xander had known Angel for years. Angel was a sophomore in college where he was studying music. He could play the piano like no other she was told by Willow. His family was one of the wealthiest ones in Sunnydale, and he was in town to help with dividing up the family's inheritance from his grandmother who had died a month ago. By the end of the night, Buffy felt she knew almost everything about the tall, dark, and handsome man she had just met hours earlier.
Around midnight the group decided that is was time to head home. Xander walked Anya home and Willow and Tara headed back to Willow's. Buffy was going to walk home by herself when Angel offered to walk with her. Buffy insisted she could make it home by herself, but Angel insisted he never let a pretty girl walk home by herself. Buffy blushed again but then agreed.
They walked in silence for a little while, before Angel asked Buffy how she was enjoying Sunnydale so far.
"It's a lot different than LA," she said with a laugh. "But it's nice. I've never lived in a small town, so it's a big change. But I nice change." Once again there was a long silence. Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and shivered a bit. Even though it was spring, there was still a slight chill in the air. Angel noticed this and slipped his leather jacket off and put it over Buffy's shoulders. She looked surprised, but said, "Thank you."
When they reached Buffy's house, they paused at the end of the driveway. Buffy's parents were used to her bringing home boys, but not boys in college. Plus she had just met Angel a little while ago. She wasn't about to invite him into her house at 12 o'clock in the morning.
"Well," she started, not quite sure what to say. She didn't want to say goodbye though. She wanted to spend the rest of the night talking with Angel, getting to know him better. "Thanks for walking me home."
"No problem," he said. "I was nice." There was another pause before Angel said, "I'd like to get to see you again before I go back to school."
Buffy's heart jumped in her chest and she smiled. "I'd like that." They both smiled at each other for a sec. "I'll call you."
"Ok," said Angel. He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her. "My cell phone number is on that. Call me tomorrow morning and we'll do something."
Buffy's smile grew as she looked at the business card. "I will. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Angel said softly. He watched as Buffy turned and walked to the front door. She turned around and smiled at him again before she entered the house. Angel turned to leave once the front door closed behind her. With a content smile on his face, he headed back to the Bronze to get his car. He didn't mind the walk, it gave him time to think about the beautiful girl he had just met.
~ Buffy Summers walked in Sunnydale High School for the first time and looked around herself at the throngs of students swirling around her. She caught parts of conversations between different cliques and was too intimidated to stop and ask someone where the front office was. Clutching her books to her chest, she timidly pushed her way thought the crowed hallways. When the first bell rang, the students groaned but all took their time making their way into their respective classrooms. Suddenly Buffy felt a bit panicked that she was going to be late to her first class. She turned herself in a circle, looking for someone that resembled a teacher, but found no one.
As she began to walk again, not looking where she was going, she crashed into a body. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, not even stopping to look at who she bumped into. She dropped to her knees to help pick up the books she had caused the other person to drop.
It was then that she looked at the other person. She had red hair and pale skin with a boyish figure. She wasn't dressed to kill to put it nicely, but Buffy wasn't one to judge. "It's ok," said the girl. Once they had collected the books, she introduced herself. "I'm Willow. Are you new? I haven't seen you around her before."
Buffy smiled shyly and brushed her blond hair out of her face. "Yea. I just moved her from LA. Today is my first day. I'm kinda lost though."
Willow laughed lightly. "You look a little confused. What are you looking for?"
Buffy pulled a piece of paper out of her bag and showed it to Willow. "I guess I'm supposed to check in at the office or something. But the office doesn't want to be found."
Willow nodded and handed the paper back to Buffy. "The office is on the other side of the school." The bell rang again declaring classes had started. Willow didn't seem to care. "I'll show you were they are."
"Thank you so much. But you're going to be late, are you sure you don't mind?" Buffy asked as they began to walk through the now empty halls.
"I don't have a first period," said Willow. "I was just going to go to the library and surf the web. Don't worry."
Buffy smiled and the two girls walked in silence to the office. When they reached the double door entrance, Willow turned to Buffy. "Here you go. Hope your first day isn't too crazy."
"Thanks," Buffy said. "I would have been lost without your help." Buffy was truly happy that Willow had helped her. While Buffy wasn't normally shy-in fact she was the totally opposite- being in a new setting was pretty unnerving to her.
"I'll be in the library during lunch too if you need a place to eat," said Willow. Buffy could tell by the way she said it that Willow was hoping that Buffy would choose to eat lunch with her. Buffy guessed that Willow wasn't Miss Popular. She was probably far from it.
"I would love that," said Buffy with a genuine smile. With a quick goodbye, Willow headed off to the library and Buffy entered the office. She quickly and politely talked with the lady at the front desk and soon had her schedule in hand. With directions on how to get to her first class, Buffy thanked the woman and headed off to history.
~
Her first class went by quickly, mainly because Buffy was only in there for about twenty minutes by the time she actually found the class. The rest of the morning was pretty uneventful. Buffy found her classes without too much trouble, and made a few acquaintances in her four morning classes. When lunch rolled around she made her way to the library, which she had found earlier that day. When she entered, she wasn't surprised to see Willow at a big table in the middle of the dim room, her laptop open in front of her.
"Hey," said Buffy as she walked through the double swinging doors. Willow looked up in surprise and smiled.
"Hey," she said, closing the laptop. "How was your morning?"
Buffy sat down across from Willow and hefted her bag into the chair next to her. She had at least three big textbooks in there along with a few notebooks. By the end of the day she was sure she'd have permanent back problems. "It wasn't that bad. I didn't get too lost and I didn't embarrass myself in any of my classes. So things were of the good. How was yours?"
Willow pulled out a brown paper bag and started to assemble her lunch that consisted of a PB&J sandwich and a Snapple. "The same as it always is. I skipped my third period to come here since I practically teach that class anyways."
Buffy's eye brows raised in surprise. "You teach the class?"
Willow nodded. "It's a computer science class, and the teacher, Miss Calendar, has had to miss a lot of classes lately. I'm not sure where she goes, but since I was getting above an A+ in that class, she asked me to just take over on days where she can't be there. She was there today so I didn't need to be." Buffy was surprised at how nonchalant Willow seemed about teaching a high school class as only a junior.
Buffy just nodded and pulled a Diet Coke out of her bag. The two girls chatted about Buffy's past in LA while they ate. When the bell rang, they agreed to meet up outside of the school. Willow was going to show Buffy around the small town that afternoon. ~ A few days later Buffy sorted through her closet looking for something to wear. She was meeting Willow and a few other possible friends at a club called the Bronze. Buffy had been spending almost everyday with Willow and Willow's best friend Xander, and she was beginning to consider them actual friends. They were very different than her friends in LA. Buffy had been part of the in crowd. She had been the most popular girl in her grade, and every guy that met her wanted to be with her. Unfortunately, most of them only wanted to be with her to get with her. And Buffy hadn't really minded. But now Willow and Xander seemed like genuine people who didn't only like her for what she wore or how many guys she'd made out with.
Buffy pulled another outfit out of her closet, held it up to herself, and then threw it down on the bed. She used to be so good at this. Finally, after trying on three more outfits and realizing she had to be at the club in fifteen minutes. She decided on a short black mini skirt and a red top with a long black knit sweater. She told her parents were she would be and then left the house.
It was a short ten minute walk to the club and she simply followed the pulsating music coming from the large building. There was a line outside the club of high school and collage students. Buffy joined the line and looked at the people around her. She decided that this club was nothing like the clubs in LA. Normally I fake ID was required to enter those clubs, while to enter this one, eight bucks was all that was needed as the cover charge. Buffy handed her money to the bouncer and made her way into the club.
It was dimly lighted, most of the light focused on the band on stage. To her right was a bar and to her left were tables and couched filled with people. She made her way through groups of people, looking around for Willow. When she finally saw the red head waving at her from a table close to the stage, Buffy sighed with relief. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to find Willow in the packed club.
When she reached the table, she was greeted eagerly by Willow and Xander, and then introduced to Anya, Xander's girlfriend and Tara, a friend of Willows. Buffy squeezed into a chair in between Tara and Willow. Xander took drink orders and then left to retrieve them.
The group talked for most of night about random topics, laughing and downing caffeinated drinks. After about three hours, the group was joined by another person. Buffy looked up to see a tall very handsome man walking towards their table. He was dressed in all black, and is hard hair and eyes gave him a almost dangerous look. She swallowed hard and felt her heart speed up as her eyes locked with his. He looked at her almost curiously for a movement before he was greeted by Willow and the rest of the group.
"Angel," Willow said, "this is Buffy. Buffy, this is Angel. He graduated from Sunnydale High two years ago." Buffy and Angel exchanged hellos before Willow asked, "What are you doing in town? I thought you weren't coming back for another week?" As she spoke, Willow scooted her chair over to make room for Angel to pull up a chair.
"I am just bad for tonight and tomorrow," said Angel pulling his chair between Buffy and Willow. "I've got some things I've got to figure out with my family." He turned to Buffy and said, "So, are you new in town?"
"Yep," said Buffy doing her best not to let her voice shake. Angel was gorgeous. All she wanted to do was run her fingers through his thick dark hair and kiss his perfect mouth. But instead she talked. "I just moved here from LA. Where are you going to college?" She took a sip of her latte hoping to use the heat from that as an excuse as to why her cheeks were burning pink.
"Redlands College," Angel answered, reaching across the table to grab Xander's soda. Xander tried to stop him, but Angel pulled the drink out of his reach. "It's about two hours away from here." He took a sip of the soda, keeping his eye on Buffy over the rim of the glass. If it was possible, Buffy's cheeks got redder.
Thankfully Willow started a conversation with Angel and Buffy was able to just sit and back listen. She picked up on little facts. Willow and Xander had known Angel for years. Angel was a sophomore in college where he was studying music. He could play the piano like no other she was told by Willow. His family was one of the wealthiest ones in Sunnydale, and he was in town to help with dividing up the family's inheritance from his grandmother who had died a month ago. By the end of the night, Buffy felt she knew almost everything about the tall, dark, and handsome man she had just met hours earlier.
Around midnight the group decided that is was time to head home. Xander walked Anya home and Willow and Tara headed back to Willow's. Buffy was going to walk home by herself when Angel offered to walk with her. Buffy insisted she could make it home by herself, but Angel insisted he never let a pretty girl walk home by herself. Buffy blushed again but then agreed.
They walked in silence for a little while, before Angel asked Buffy how she was enjoying Sunnydale so far.
"It's a lot different than LA," she said with a laugh. "But it's nice. I've never lived in a small town, so it's a big change. But I nice change." Once again there was a long silence. Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and shivered a bit. Even though it was spring, there was still a slight chill in the air. Angel noticed this and slipped his leather jacket off and put it over Buffy's shoulders. She looked surprised, but said, "Thank you."
When they reached Buffy's house, they paused at the end of the driveway. Buffy's parents were used to her bringing home boys, but not boys in college. Plus she had just met Angel a little while ago. She wasn't about to invite him into her house at 12 o'clock in the morning.
"Well," she started, not quite sure what to say. She didn't want to say goodbye though. She wanted to spend the rest of the night talking with Angel, getting to know him better. "Thanks for walking me home."
"No problem," he said. "I was nice." There was another pause before Angel said, "I'd like to get to see you again before I go back to school."
Buffy's heart jumped in her chest and she smiled. "I'd like that." They both smiled at each other for a sec. "I'll call you."
"Ok," said Angel. He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her. "My cell phone number is on that. Call me tomorrow morning and we'll do something."
Buffy's smile grew as she looked at the business card. "I will. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Angel said softly. He watched as Buffy turned and walked to the front door. She turned around and smiled at him again before she entered the house. Angel turned to leave once the front door closed behind her. With a content smile on his face, he headed back to the Bronze to get his car. He didn't mind the walk, it gave him time to think about the beautiful girl he had just met.