Author: ImmatureLittleGirl Email: immaturelittlegirl@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Joss Whedon and maybe other people, I'm not sure I just know that I don't own them...
Summary: Dawn goes to live with her father in LA and has to learn to live without her sister. Strange coincidences lead her to meet an interesting person. Dawn/Connor
Rating: PG-13 I guess.
AN: Sorry if I confused anyone, I fudged the timelines a little bit to make it work. It's somewhere in Season 6 of Buffy and Season 4 of Angel, I think.
PART 8
As soon as I burst through the doors after school, I rushed up the stairs to get changed for patrol. I hurriedly threw on a pair of baggy sweatpants and a comfortable tank top, before pulling out my duffel bag and packing together the few weapons I had accumulated over the past week. Angel had given me a crossbow the night before, encouraging me not to get too close to the demons and avoid hand-to-hand combat at all costs. Unfortunately, my aim needed a bit of work, so I would still have to rely on my old, trusty, stake for a while longer. Not that I minded getting new toys at all; the crossbow had actually been quite a bit of fun. I had also picked up a few daggers and knives, which had been dropped or discarded by the vampires and demons I had come across, over the course of the week.
I heard the phone start to ring just as I finished packing my bag together and quickly found the cordless phone tucked under my bed. I answered the call with a distracted, "Hello?"
"Dawn, its Buffy," she greeted, audible irritation in her voice.
"Hi, Buffy," I replied in a similar manner.
"I've gotten a few interesting phone calls in the past few hours, all regarding you. What do you think you are doing, patrolling the cemeteries in LA at night? And skipping classes, Dawn? Why are you doing this?" Buffy asked, still sounding annoyed but with a hint of worry creeping into her voice.
"I just missed a few classes, no big! And I told you that there was a lot of demon activity in LA, and you didn't even care! You didn't care that I was hurt by a demon! You don't care that innocent people are dying here in LA! You don't care about anyone but yourself!" I shouted into the phone, angrily grabbing my bag and pounding down the steps into the living room.
"I'm the selfish one? Dawn, exactly how do you expect me to fight demons here in Sunnydale and in LA at the same time? Angel and many other people are working to control the demon population in LA; I am the single person that is assigned to guard the Hellmouth, here in Sunnydale. My hands are currently very full with an evil demon, once again, trying to open the gates to hell. I wish I could run back and forth between LA and Sunnydale and kill all the baddies, but logically, we both know I can't.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I should have been more sympathetic about you being attacked by the demon. I'm sure it was very frightening, and I was worried about you and I did care, I've just been so busy with everything," Buffy confessed, the sheer exhaustion in her voice was audible, and for a moment a felt a bit guilty for calling her selfish.
"But you're always busy," I couldn't help from whining.
"Busyness is part of being the slayer, Dawnie," Buffy replied. Walking farther into the living room, I climbed into my favorite chair, curling my legs underneath me.
"So how did you find out about the skipping classes?" I asked curiously, deciding to change the topic.
"Dad called me. He sounded very aggravated. I think he said he was going to ground you, which is a good idea, because you need to stay in. It's a dangerous time right now, with the apocalypse nearing, and you could be targeted for several reasons. I don't want you wandering around late at night, hanging in cemeteries."
"Grounded? Like he would even know if I went out, he's never home to see," I grumbled, unhappily.
"I mean it, Dawn, stay in tonight!" Buffy commanded firmly.
"Yeah, ok," I agreed, reluctantly.
"I'm likely to be busy a lot this week, but I'll give you a call as soon as I get a chance. I have to go now, though," Buffy informed me suddenly sounding hurried.
"Okay, tell the gang I said hi," I responded. We quickly said goodbye and I hung the phone up on its recharge base. For a moment, I looked at my bag, but then looked back at the phone reminded of the promise I had just made to Buffy. Again I looked at my bag, thinking of all the innocent people that might die by the mouths of vicious hungry vampires tonight. Buffy would never have to know. I purposefully looked over the fact that Angel would be likely to tell her. My mind swayed between keeping my promise to Buffy and patrolling, and then I remembered the crossbow Angel had given me. The people of LA could always use an extra warrior, and I could always use a little more practice with my new crossbow!
Hopping up from the chair, I grabbed my bag and hurried into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water to bring with me. Looking around the kitchen, I tried to think of something else I might be forgetting. Running through everything I needed, I remembered that my dad would probably be wondering where I was, so I grabbed a pen and jotted down a quick note telling him I was out with friends. Now I just needed to get out of the house before he got home from work and decided to ground me.
***
It was colder than I had expected it to be in the graveyard, later that night. I walked carefully through the rows of graves, hugging my arms to retain as much warmth as possible, as I searched for some vampires in need of staking. I looked around to see if I could spot Angel, but he was nowhere in sight. I knew he was probably out there somewhere watching me, but after hundreds of years of practice, he had really gotten that silent-stalker trait down.
I scanned the cemetery once again, and was excited when I saw a vampire off in the far distance, wearing a bright red shirt. I quickly went through my bag to find my crossbow and eagerly prepared the bow for firing. Lifting the weapon on my shoulder I tried to align it with the vampire but discovered it would be almost impossible to hit him from my position low on the ground. I looked around for something to climb to give me a little height and a better angle, hoping that would help, and noticed the tree a few feet away from me. Tossing the crossbow over my shoulder, I hastily climbed onto a lower branch, earning myself a few scrapes and scratches in the process.
I watched as the vampire slowly made its way toward where I sat in the tree, apparently, completely oblivious to its impending death. Picking up the crossbow, I aimed for the night creature's chest, and once convinced I had a clear shot, allowed the wooden bolt to soar through the air, piercing its intended victim in the center of his chest.
I squealed in delight when I saw that I hit my target, but began to panic when the vampire did not explode into dust. I watched closely as the vampire stood once again, now looking around wildly. To my relief the vampire was, indeed, a vampire, which I could tell from the barely visible ridges on his face. I guessed the reason he was still intact was that I had missed his heart. I tried to load another arrow into the bow but the vampire was now stomping closer; too close to be shot with a crossbow. I realized I needed a change of plan, and quickly.
I decided to forget the crossbow, and threw it to the side. I clutched my stake tightly, and prepared to jump out of the tree, launching a surprise attack on the unsuspecting vampire. I pushed aside my nerves that were building and tried to remember all the pointers on fighting Angel had given me the night before.
Hearing the rustle of someone walking through sticks and grass beneath the tree, I decided it was time to make my move. I held the stake lightly between my ring and index finger, and tightened my grip on the limb of the tree I had been perched on. I swung down, kicking out at the figure that had been walking directly under me. The figure stumbled backward and fell, banging his head against a gravestone with a loud smack.
Regaining my balance, I gripped my stake and started toward the fallen figure, but froze when I saw exactly whom I had just attacked.
"Connor?!?" I gasped in astonishment. I hurried to kneel by his side, and he looked up at me, at first in surprise, before his eyes darkened in anger.
"Dawn?" he questioned, his voice dangerously low. I gulped nervously, and sucked in a deep breath.
"I'm so sorry, Connor. I didn't know it was you! There was a…" I trailed off trying to think of an excuse before remembering what I was trying to cover up. I looked around, but didn't see the vampire anywhere. "What were you doing out here? Are you all right?" I asked instead of explaining. I reached forward to try and look at his head, which he was holding gingerly.
"I was on my way home," Connor answered, yanking away from my touch while still glaring at me suspiciously. "What are you doing out here?"
"I was, uh…" I trailed off, completely stumped as to what to tell him. "I'm really sorry!" I told him again. His eyes widened in surprise as he focused on something in back of me, and I watched as he tried to reach out and grab me, just as I felt something else grab me from behind. I was yanked to my feet and spun around by the vampire wearing the bright red shirt that I had been stalking before.
"You're going to pay for this you little bitch," the vampire snarled, pressing the arrow I had shot at him into the skin under my chin. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, trying not to swallow, as the sharp tip of the arrow began to cut into my flesh. I took a few seconds to try and calm myself, before I dared to use my free hand to shove the vampire in the chest. His grip on me loosened slightly, and I used this advantage to try and scurry past him, slicing my jaw a bit in the process, and find the stake I had dropped a few moments ago. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to get very far; the vampire simply spun around and seized me by both of my shoulders, pulling me against him. I struggled against him, but found the attempt was futile; he was much stronger than I was, and I was no match for him strength wise.
I shuddered as he licked the cut along the underside of my jaw; panic setting in, once again. As I felt his fangs dig into my neck, and begin to suck the blood from my body, dozens of thoughts began to spin through my head. I knew Buffy was going to be so mad at me. And where was Angel when you needed him?
I tried to struggle, wanting to at least go out with a fight, but the more I fought, the deeper he dug his fangs, and the more pain it caused. Suddenly, he yanked his fangs away from my neck, as his face contorted in agony. I watched as he exploded into dust and blew away with the wind. Connor was poised in an attack stance, holding the stake, in front of me. I stared at him for a moment in shock, before stumbling, feeling a bit lightheaded.
Connor took a step forward, placing one hand on my waist to steady me, and another hand on the side of my face. He carefully looked at my bite mark for a moment, before pressing his hand against the wound to stop it from bleeding. His eyes connected with mine and for a moment we stood completely still, staring at each other, before Connor leaned forward pressing his lips against mine.
My heart began to race with panic as I realized what had just happened and what was now happening. I took a step forward, wrapping my arms around his neck, partially for support, partially to deepen the kiss. The thought occurred to me that this was likely to be the last thing I should be doing at the moment, but I had been caught up in the moment, and couldn't seem to care.
A long minute or so passed before we both lost our footing tumbling to the ground, not breaking the kiss. I knew both our intentions were completely, or at least almost completely, innocent, but from prying eyes we might have appeared to be in a compromising position, as we continued the make out session lying in the grass with Connor hovering over me.
"What in the hell do the two of you think you are doing?" a loud booming voice shouted angrily, causing the both of us to pull apart slightly, to see whom the voice belonged to.
Connor sat up slightly and rolled his eyes, while I nearly died of embarrassment on the spot as I looked up to see Angel glaring at the both of us expectantly. "What did it look like we were doing?" Connor asked flippantly. Angel's eyes squinted a bit in anger, and I tried to think of something, anything, to say that would calm him down.
"You had better hope you weren't doing what it looked like you were, otherwise you are both going to be in more trouble than you can imagine!" Angel shouted.
"And what could you do about it?" Connor asked, raising his voice a bit as well. The both of us sat up completely, Connor moving a foot or so away.
Angel remained quiet, a forlorn look crossing his face for a moment. He tried to come up with a threat, but apparently failed. "You're both hurt," Angel commented more calmly, instead.
"I'm fine," I whispered, looking down at my own bloodied hands. I began to shiver, again being reminded of how cold it was outside. Connor's anger subsided some, as he crawled a bit closer to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. A moment of silence passed before I heard Angel sigh with irritation.
"As if you hadn't gotten into enough trouble today. Do you have a daily quota you have to meet?" Angel questioned, clearly annoyed. I was hurt a bit by his comment at first, but soon confused by Connor's reaction.
"Now that you mention it, yeah, actually I do. As a matter of fact, everything I do is in the hopes I will piss you off," Connor replied sarcastically in annoyance. He stood up easily, and then crouched down to try and help me to my feet.
"You're only going to get yourself killed one of these days. The both of you. If either of you could just take some advice on occasion, you might figure out that you don't know everything, yet." Angel took another step closer to us.
"Huh?" I asked quietly, glancing between Connor and Angel in confusion, neither seemed to hear me though.
"We don't need your help," Connor snapped, causing Angel to halt his approach.
I looked over at Angel, who was now giving me a concerned look, and noticed that my eyesight was suddenly very blurry. The world began to spin and I suddenly wished I were still sitting. I felt my knees buckle and someone's hands reach out to grab me just before the world went dark and I passed out cold.
***
TBC!
AN: Sorry, I know this chapter was a little shorter than the others; I hope it's still okay though. Let me know what you thought of this chapter or if you see any errors that could use fixing.
About an hour and a half after writing this story, I actually passed out too, kinda ironic huh?