"Remember the discussion on dream interpretation. Your dream was real. And I need to talk to you about it Yeah, B. That'll work."
They'd followed Tracy Jackson enough to know that she was the slayer that the Coven identified. She was also a freshman journalism student who refused to believe anything the New York Times wouldn't print. They shared the Wednesday discussion session for Abnormal Psych, and Buffy tried to get Tracy's attention by recounting the details of one of the slayer dreams she and Faith had both recently had. A wince indicated it was familiar to Tracy, but she wouldn't comment. Later that week, Faith had seen the girl walk right past a Chaos Demon as if antlers dripping slime was a common occurence on the North Side. Buffy feared the girl might be exhibiting a degree of denial that would have put many Sunnydale residents to shame.
So Buffy spent two hours on the phone with Willow, and half-hour getting background information and deciding what to do.
Tracy Jackson, from Cambria, California. Member of the swimming team. Taking Dr. Tierney's class. Lives in the campus dorms. Exemplary High School transcript and no criminal record or hint of trouble. Still dating her high school boyfriend, Jimmy MacKenzie, who was also in her psychology class.
"She's totally close minded. If I tried to talk to her, she'd just blow me off. Completely. I'm not used to that, but I figure you must be... No Wesley, that wasn't an insult. I just meant you must have been trained for dealing with this sort of thing. Still not an insult. Willow finds you ruggedly handsome, and she's gay. Does that make you feel better? So anyway, this girl is practically unapproachable. Right, the scythe. Because walking around campus with a shiny red axe will certainly get her to open up... ugh. What am I supposed to do, seduce her boyfriend and get him to do the talking thing for me? Oh."
Buffy had talked to Jimmy a few times in discussion group. He seemed like a nice, normal kid, who was just concerned about his girlfriend. And he was a bit more open-minded about things. Meeting Buffy for lunch at Giordano's he continued the story. Something had happened with her at the end of the school year. Tracy never explained what it was, but something was different with her.
"She gets these nightmares, and she barely sleeps. She was vegan for three years, but now she eats ribs like nobody's business. We used to talk about everything, but now she's starting to get so closed off. It's funny. My parents warned me about going to the same school as her, like we were going to turn down Scholarships to one of the best schools in the country. But with this distance between us, maybe they were right. I can't tell whether she needs me more, or whether I should just let her go..."
And Buffy wondered if that's what it was like for Hank back when she was still in LA. It didn't help that Jimmy had such familiar blue eyes or that same clueless concern. All issues on the side, Jimmy and Tracy seemed like nice kids, and he did want to help her. And Tracy would need friends of her own that could be there for her.
She'd have to find another way. It wasn't her place to tell Jimmy. That ultimately fell to Tracy. Instead she left him with a promise to see what she could do about getting Tracy to open up.
"I think I know what your girlfriend was going through. It happens to the best of us. She's at a point in her life when she's finds herself changing and she doesn't know how to deal with it. And instead of facing herself, she's withdrawing. I don't think she really wants to shut you out. She's just scared and confused. I can't tell you what that means about your relationship. Just let her know that you are there for her, but try not to put pressure on her either. Hopefully, she'll get through it."