Welcome to the Hellmouth
~Keysuna
~ ~ ~
The dream haunted her as she rolled over onto her side, closing her eyes from the harsh light that streamed through the window. Images she had seen before played in her head, whispering of a prophecy of which she already knew the ending of.
"Buffy!"
The voice jolted her up, and she rubbed the back of her neck in confusion as her eyes met the sight before her. Boxes stacked against unpainted walls in her room that was supposedly lost in an earthquake to which the rest of the town had been swallowed in. . .
"Buffy, are you awake? Don't want to be late for your first day!"
"Shit." Buffy whispered under her breath, throwing the blankets off her as she let her feet sink onto the carpet of her floor. The demon had sent her back to her first day of high school, to the harvest and pop quizzes, to a world of snotty cheerleaders and sadistic vampires. To her home, to her. . . mom. "I'm up!" She yelled quickly, hoping her voice carried down toward the kitchen.
There was a pause of silence, and for a moment Buffy thoughts something was wrong. "All right honey, hurry up."
~ ~ ~
The car ride to school consisted of Buffy rattling off a list of things she was going to accomplish, some known and some she would make certain of. Her mother gave her glances as she drove, smiling at her daughters enthusiasm.
"You sure about running for homecoming?" Joyce asked as she met her daughters eyes.
"Yep, and this time I'll be sure to not get into the limousine of the dead-" Buffy quickly clapped a hand over her mouth as her mother shot her a strange look.
Joyce gave a half smile of amusement. "This time?"
"Dream." Buffy covered. "I had a dream, a really weird dream."
Her mother shook her head and pulled up to the curb at the front of the school. "Here we are!" Joyce said excitedly and Buffy leaned over to give her mom a hug. When she had made her way down from her room that morning she had taken her mother in an embrace that almost stopped her breathing. She had been ecstatic at seeing her mother again, and the feeling still lingered as she broke apart to open the car door.
"Just keep thinking positive." Joyce gave her daughter a thumbs up and she stepped out of the car.
Buffy smiled and gave a quick glance toward the mass of people that had congregated onto the steps of Sunnydale Highschool. Her eyes caught a flash of someone trying to gain his balance on a skateboard, was that. . . no, it couldn't be, Xander?
"And Buffy?" Her mother brought her back to reality and the Slayer forced her attention back toward the car. "Try not to get kicked out."
Buffy smiled. "I promise." With a last grin she shut the car door closed and headed eagerly to where she had spotted her soon to be friend. Her eyes grazed the thong of students who moved through the cement sea like fish and although Buffy caught glances of people she knew, her sight failed to recognize anyone she was in dire need of conversing with.
Shrugging it off, knowing that she would encounter the scoobie gang later, Buffy pushed her way through the crowd in the direction of the principals office, wanting ample time to stop by the library before the first bell rang. If there was one thing she wanted to accomplish this year, it was passing at least Isome/I of her classes.
~ ~ ~
"Buffy Summers, sophomore, late of Hemery High in Los Angeles. Interesting record, quite a career..." Principal Flutie read off before tearing the paper in four uneven strips. Apart of Buffy hoped that he wouldn't actually bother to skim the paper this time. . .
"Welcome to Sunnydale!" He told her with a smile she had never learned to like. "A clean slate, Buffy, that's what you get here. What's past is past. We're not interested in what it says on a piece of paper, even if it says. . ." Lost to her hopes, he scanned the record. "Whoa."
Buffy winced as he begun to tape the paper back together. "I know it's not a picture perfect transcript. . . but I got an A in social history." She offered weakly.
His eyes met hers over his glasses. "You burned down the gym."
"I know, but it wasn't my fault, there were. . ." She had the strangest sense of deja vu and then realized that that's because she had actually done this before. "rats."
The principal sighed and leaned on his elbows to get closer to her. "Buffy, don't worry. Any other school they might say 'watch your step', or 'we'll be watching you'... But, that's just not the way *here*. We want to service your needs, and help you to respect our needs. And if your needs and our needs don't mesh. . ." He slid the transcript into the folder and shut it closed. "Why don't you go mingle with the other students. Try to break into the social jungle." He smiled at her, ending the meeting on what he thought was a high note as he dismissed her.
~ ~ ~
Buffy escaped the confines of the principals office with a breath of stale hall way air. As long as it had been, she still remembered every little thing about Sunnydale High, right down to the leaky drinking fountain right outside room 405. As much as she had hated school sometimes, Buffy was happy to be back.
That feeling lasted all of a second before she bumped into a girl as she started toward the library, spilling the contents of her bag to the floor.
"Oh, sorry!" She called out, dropping to pick up her stuff.
"That's okay." The girl responded quickly, hurrying to catch up with the boy she had been walking with.
Buffy sighed and started to gather her stuff. "I'll probably end up saving your life anyway." She sighed, her hand out to grab a pencil. The Slayer noticed a boy, squatting beside her, a shy smile on his face.
"Hi." He said nervously. "I'm Xander. . . I don't know you, do I?" The boy picked up a binder and handed it to Buffy who just stared at him.
It took her a moment to keep from cracking up at the sight of her friend. Or, soon to be friend. Apart of her wanted to take him into an embrace, but the rational side of her brain reminded her that the gesture might be a tad to strong for a first meeting. "Buffy, I'm Buffy, I mean, I'm new." She stammered out quickly, taking the offered binder. Her eyes met his gaze, and she noticed with satisfaction that he had both of them, she intended it to stay that way.
They gathered the rest of the stuff in silence and rose together, Xander standing awkwardly. "Well, uh, maybe I'll see you around... maybe at school... since we... both... go there."
"Great!" Buffy said a little enthusiastically. "Count on it."
The boy grinned and started to walk toward his class, watching Buffy over his shoulder and tripping through the students in the crowd. Smiling to herself as she hugged her binder to her chest, Buffy started toward the library.
As she walked down the hall, she checked a clock. There were five minutes until the first bell. She could check in with Giles and promise she would stop by again when she had a free period. The large push door stood before her and she took a breath before entering the library. It was time to make a first impression - again.
She entered a lifeless and still room that felt comfortable. The library had always been a safe haven for her, that is, when the hellmouth wasn't opening.
"Yoo, hoo, anyone here?" She asked, stepping further in.
It took the Slayer a moment to see Giles stepping down the steps toward her. "Can I help you with anything?" He asked, looking her over.
"Yeah, I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer." She put out a hand when he arrived near her. He was taken back a little by her bluntness, but took her hand in his in a half hearted shake.
"Rupert Giles. . . Watcher." He responded uneasily. "How did you know-"
"That your my Watcher?" She finished for him. "Lucky guess."
He was about to respond, but the bell rang and Buffy jumped. "Got to go, class, I'll stop by when I'm free."
She started for the door, but turned as she walked so she still faced him. "There's a thing coming, The Harvest, my memories a little fuzzy on the details but it was something to do with the Master walking again. Could you check it out?" Buffy pushed the door open with her back. "See ya."
As the doors swung behind her, Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them with the edge of his shirt. "Dear," He said to himself. "Oh dear."
~ ~ ~
Buffy heard the teacher rattle on about the Black Death, but didn't process the information. Even though she had just barely passed this class, she had picked up enough about the little disease throughout her school years to pass an exam without having to study, or pay attention in class.
She watched as everyone brought out books, turning to a page that Buffy hadn't caught. She turned to the girl next to her for help, and found herself face to face with Cordelia.
Cordelia smiled and Buffy forced herself to return the gesture as the girl shared her book with her. The Slayer kept her eyes lost to the page to avoid conversation, but as the bell rang, she noticed that Cordelia was talking to her.
"Hi! I'm Cordelia." She offered her hand, and Buffy begrudgingly took it.
"Buffy."
They walked toward the hall. "If you're looking for a textbook of your very own there's probably a few in the library." Cordelia told her as they left the class.
"I'll stop by there at lunch." Buffy told her with a fake smile as she waved a quick goodbye and escaped the girls presence. The Slayer knew she was being rash on her, from what she'd heard, Cordelia had actually matured in LA. What irritated Buffy though, was that Angel had confessed to her that he and Cordelia had had a *thing* that had actually evolved into nothing. But the fact that Angel had been infatuated with her. . . Buffy shook her head.
*And while all this was happening you were having mind blowing sex with Spike.* The nasty part of her mind reminded her.
But this a new life, I can fix it, all of it. She told herself and walked into her next class as the bell sounded through the halls.
~ ~ ~
Lunch came quickly, and Buffy ran out of her seat with the sound of the bell. She knew she should be heading straight to the library, but more of her wanted to introduce herself to Willow. Buffy let herself be carried by the sea of students moving toward the quad, and as she entered the sun drenched area, her attention was caught by a green dress worn by a red head.
"Willow!" She called out, waving toward the girl.
Willow looked up to meet the beautiful blonde and became nervous. "Huh? I-I mean, hi! Uh, did you want me to move?"
"No, I uh. . ." Buffy trailed, trying to think of something to say that would make this seem like a *chance* meeting. "Tutoring, you tutor, right?"
Willow brightened up at the comment and watched as Buffy sat beside her. "Yeah, that's me, tutor girl, I could *totally* help you out! Uh, if you have sixth period free we could meet in the library?" She smiled.
"Beyond good, I need to talk to the librarian anyway." The Slayer stated, watching the a nerdy Willow grin. It was hard to believe that someday she would handle the power to destroy the world, and Buffy nearly laughed at the thought compared to the sight in front of her. The two really did not mesh.
A tall boy with a painfully bright orange shirt came to stand in front of them, and feeling something behind her, Buffy turned to see Xander sitting on the wall the two girls leaned against.
"Hey." The boy in front of them said, dropping his bag.
Xander tossed his bag to the boy. "You guys busy? Are we interrupting? We're interrupting." He clarified for himself.
"Hey." Buffy said as Willow chorused her own hello. Where did she know this guy from. . .
"Buffy, this is Jesse and that's Xander." Willow told her plainly.
"Oh, me and Buffy go waaay back, old friends, very close. Then there's that period of estrangement where I think we were both growing as people, but now here we are, like old times, I'm quite moved." Xander babbled on as Buffy watched Jesse.
*What happened to you. . . * she thought. *Why can't I remember?*
"Is it me, or are you turning into a bibbling idiot?" Jesse asked in reference to Xanders almost incoherent speech. It brought Buffy's attention back to reality.
Xander blushed and averted the Slayer's smirking eyes. "No, it's, uh, it's not you." An uneasy silence fell over them, and Buffy felt Willow shift next to her. She knew that the red head was in love with Xander at this particular moment in time, and she also knew that Xander would embarrass himself to no end in trying to go out with Buffy. "So what do you do for fun, what do you like, what do you look for in a man, let's hear it." Xander continued as though nothing had happened.
"If you have any dark, painful secrets you'd like us to publish?" Jesse added, leaning in closer to her.
"Why don't we drive the conversation to something that's less Buffy centric." The Slayer stated awkwardly, trying to get more information on Jesse without seeming obvious.
Xander hopped down from the wall and came to stand by Jesse. "Well, not much goes on in a one Starbucks town like Sunnydale. You're pretty big news."
Buffy applauded herself. "Oh goody." Her gaze wandered to Cordelia as she pushed her way through the crowed and interrupted their conversation.
"Are these guys bothering you?" She asked, eyeing all three of them as though they were alien creatures.
The Slayer shrugged and stole a grin to Willow. "Only in the sense that we're talking."
"She's not hanging out with us." The red head said quickly, trying to save the reputation of her potential friend.
Buffy shot Willow a confused glance. She had forgotten how self conscious the soon to be witch was about her image.
"Hey! Cordelia!" Jesse came to stand a little to closely to the popular girl.
Cordelia scoffed at him. "Oh, please!" She returned her attention back to Buffy, ignoring the boy. "I don't mean to interrupt your downward mobility, but I just wanted to tell you that you won't be meeting Coach Foster, the woman with the chest hair, because gym was canceled due to the *extreme* dead guy in the locker."
The Slayer nearly jumped at that. "Shit, I forgot about that. . ." She muttered under her breath, gathering her stuff to leave.
"What, you knew there was going to be a dead guy?" Cordelia asked tauntingly, Buffy was surprised that the girl had heard her.
"I got to go." She said hurriedly, sliding her bag onto her shoulder. "I'll catch up with you guys later." The Slayer pushed herself away and toward the library. The two boys watched her walk away while Willow thought.
"What's her child hood drama?" Cordelia asked no one, before turning on her heel and heading back toward her clique.
Catching a quick glimpse of Buffy disappear into the hallway, Willow stood and rushed to follow her. Xander shrugged to Jesse, and the two sat down to enjoy lunch.
~ ~ ~
"He's not a vampire!" Buffy exclaimed as she pushed open the doors and saw Giles sitting at the desk, a book in front of him. "The boy, he wasn't turned."
The Watcher closed the book and stood. "You sure?"
"Course." Buffy pulled a chair out and sat in it, putting her legs on the table. "You find anything on The Harvest?"
Giles shook his head as if to clear it. "Actually. . . yes. I've been researching. It seems to be some sort of preordained massacre. Rivers of blood, Hell on Earth, quite charmless. I'm a bit fuzzy, however, on the details."
The Slayer smiled and moved her arms as if to ready herself. "Good, yeah, it's all coming back now. Big strong ugly vampire at the Bronze, and strong, did I mention strong? He's the head of it, think I can dust him before the Harvest actually starts." Buffy swung her legs off the table and leaned forward, thinking. "Oh my god, Jesse dies!"
"What?" Giles asked, confused at his new charges attitude and manner. Quite honestly, he was beyond confused and into unknown territory. He never did understand high school girls.
"Jesse, he dies." Buffy stood quickly. "Oh god. . . Darla, Darla kills him!" She begun to pace. "I hate Darla! Do you know that?" It was a question but she didn't give the Watcher a chance to explain, he wasn't sure if he could. "First she dies, and that's all fine and dandy, but then she gets brought back life *and* sleeps with Angel! They have a kid, did you know that? A kid!" Buffy fumed. When Willow had returned from LA, she had filled Buffy in on Angel's activities, including his love life. *Not that it matters anymore. . .* She thought with a wicked grin, *I can change all of that.*
Giles stared at her as she stopped her rant. "What on earth are you talking about? How do you know all of this?"
Buffy sheepishly grinned as the bell rang, saving her from having the explain at the moment. She had already decided she would let Giles know about the time traveling brigade, she just wasn't sure how to tell him just yet. "I'll fill you in later, right now I got to get to class, meet me at the Bronze tonight, nine-ish." With that she rushed out the door. The Watcher looked on as his Slayer left through the swinging doors, shook his head, and cleaned his glasses.
The Slayer came out of the library to find herself face to face with Willow.
"Hi." Buffy said breathlessly.
"Hey." Willow smiled, they started to walk down the hall. "I know this is going to sound really weird coming from someone you barely know, but. . . me and Xander and Jesse are going to the Bronze tonight, it's the local hangout, and I was wondering if you-"
"I'd love to." Buffy finished for her.
Willow's smile grew wider. "Great, I'll tell the guys, see you at 8? You know the way?"
The Slayer nodded. "Yeah, I'll find it."
Excited, the red head turned into her class, elated at having a new friend.
Buffy shared a similar emotion as she went to her next room until she realized something. Willow and Jesse were both picked up by vampires tonight. . . well, she'd just have to change that, wouldn't she? Wasn't that what this whole thing was about?
She'd been sent back to change the future, and tonight, that's what she was going to do.
~ ~ ~
Buffy felt the darkness close in around her as she walked the silent streets toward the Bronze. The Slayer tried to sort out what she was going to do. She had to keep a look out for Darla and the other vamp who would be at the club tonight, plus she had friendships to cement with Willow and Xander, along with keeping Jesse alive long enough to *become* a friend. After all of that, she still had to explain to Giles her little bit about knowing everything that was going to happen.
She brushed a hand through her hair. Buffy wasn't accustomed to the length of it, added the fact that she still had bangs took a little getting used to her. She felt heavier since she had lost so much weight after coming back the second time from deaths embrace and she made a mental note that her condition was healthy, even if it did feel awkward.
Something brushed up her spine as she continued toward the Bronze. A sense of the undead coming closer. Withdrawing a stake from her chest pocket, she waited until the demon was on top of her before turning, letting the stake come at chest point before looking into it's face.
"Is there a problem ma'am?" He asked in a cool voice, letting a hand go over hers in a motion to bring down the weapon.
Buffy was to stunned to move. "I, uh, hi." She stammered out, her voice caught at seeing her lover. . . her soon to be lover, hopefully. Regretfully, she backed away, there was to much of her that wanted to wrap her arms around him, and that would just be coming on a bit to strong for their 'first' meeting.
"Don't worry, I don't bite." He told her, misinterpreting the reasons for her movement. "Truth is, I thought you'd be taller, or bigger muscles and all that. You're pretty spry, though." He continued as though he knew the reason the earth turned.
Buffy grinned, that took him by surprised. "You here to help me?" She asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"If your willing to take it." He said calmly.
The Slayer nodded and started toward the club again. She felt him come up beside her, and unwillingly she shivered.
"Two vampires are at the club tonight, you know one of them." She filled him in, hearing the hints of music carry in on the wind. "Very, very well."
Angel looked at her strangely. "Darla." He sighed.
"Yeah." Buffy stopped and turned to him. "I'm meeting up with some people, just watch the crowd. If you see a vampire take someone into the night, make a signal."
"What kind of signal?"
The Slayer shrugged and stepped into the lights of the club. "Make one up."
She was surprised that he grabbed her back into the shadows. Buffy stumbled back toward him a little to close she found her face very near to his. . .
"Here." He softly pushed her way, and placed a steel box into her hands. "Take it, you'll need it."
Buffy grinned, and placed the gift in her pocket. "Thanks." With that she walked back into the scene of the club.
~ ~ ~
"Buffy!" Willow called, waving the blonde over through the mass of teenagers. The Slayer came to sit down beside the red head. "Your late." She clarified, taking a sip of her sprite.
Buffy pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sorry, got lost." She took a seat next to Willow and noticed Xander heading over.
"Hey, it's my two favorite girls." Xander said, sliding into the seat next to Buffy. "Your late."
"Yeah, I already got the memo." Buffy and Willow giggled.
The Slayer looked around, and saw Jesse talking to a blonde who sat in a hanging chair, talking in a seductive voice. Her eyes traveled around to find Angel, lurking in the shadows, his gaze intense on the same women. Buffy sighed, here was Darla. Angel acknowledged that they had both seen the vampire with a slight nod. The Slayer drew her attention back to her friends.
"I'm going to say hi to Jesse, be right back." She told the two, picking herself up and walking with the music to where Jesse flirted with the vampire. Darla turned before Jesse caught sight of Buffy.
"Buffy hey." The tall boy grinned at her as the vampire watched with annoyed eyes. "Buffy, Darla." He said, introducing them. "Buffy just moved here." He told the older blonde.
"Really." Darla said in a light tone that made Buffy shiver.
A silence descended them and Buffy felt eyes on her. She didn't need to turn to see who it was. "I better be going, see you around Jesse, nice to meet you Darla." The Slayer said, disappearing back into the crowd. She let the mass of people take her to Angel and slid up beside him.
"There's another vampire here." She whispered. "I just don't know where."
Angel nodded. "I'll find him." He paused as they watched Darla rise and exit the club, Jesse faithfully following. "You take care of her."
Buffy didn't bother to nod, just broke away from the shadows and trailed the steps of the vampire and human.
Willow and Xander watched as Buffy moved purposely out of the Bronze.
"I don't think she likes us." Xander declared glumly.
Willow shrugged. "I don't know, she seems nice enough." The red head rose and started in the same direction to where Buffy had gone.
Xander scrambled to her side. "Where are you going?"
"Following her." Willow said simply.
~ ~ ~
Darla picked up the boy because he had the same build as Angelus. Of course, he reeked of humanity and those dopey pick up lines he had used were nothing like the cruel tongue of her lost demon. The Master would be pleased with this offering though, he was young, strong, and a virgin.
Jesse followed without complaint our of the Bronze, trailing the beautiful women as she led him into the night. He could never score with the queen that was Cordelia, but he had just found himself a goddess.
They pair walked out of earshot of the club just as Darla begun to feel the edge of bloodlust build up. It gnawed at her stomach and with the boy at her side as a willing candidate for her dinner. . . the Master could wait. Darla slipped into game face, her features shadowed by the night. He stopped and she could hear his heart begun to race. She pressed a light kiss on his lips and then brought her fangs down to his neck, scraping the skin and feeling the blood quicken. . .
"That's my almost friend you going to eat."
Darla heard the words, but didn't have time to respond before she was hit over the head. The vampire fell to the ground and Jesse looked around widely, meeting Buffy's eyes.
"Huh?" He asked dumbly.
Buffy didn't have time to explain to him as Darla had already recovered and had jumped back up, neon eyes glinting in the light. The Slayer pushed Jesse away and blocked a punch the vampire threw. Buffy quickly side kicked the demon and fumbled for the stake in her chest pocket. . .
"Damn." She breathed, dodging a punch. She had dropped the stake when first meeting up with Angel and was now left without any weapons.
Buffy noticed in faint interest as they traded blows that Darla wasn't half as strong as she remembered. Of maybe Buffy's skills had just improved dramatically over the years. Just as she was about to resort to a hand made stake from the trash they fought around, she heard footsteps and her name.
"Buffy!" Willow shrieked, causing both fighters to turn their attention on the red head. Jesse edged his way to his friends, making sure not to gain the attention of the vampire.
The two circled each other, neither making a first move.
"Your strong." Darla noted.
"I'm the Slayer." Buffy gave a half smile.
The vampire nodded, her fangs glinting in the faint light. "Makes things interesting." With that she attacked, landing a punch on Buffy's cheek. Recovering quickly, the Slayer flipped backwards, using her speed to get the upper hand.
"Get back demon!" Giles stumbled into sight, a cross held out in his hand, and a stake held limply at his side.
Darla growled at the crucifix and locked eyes with Buffy. "We'll meet again."
"Count on it." Buffy smiled and watched as the vampire ran into the night.
The Slayer gave a smile of thanks to her Watcher, and turned to face the three huddled teens. She grasped for words.
"I can just be the first to say." Xander broke through the chilled air. "What the hell was that?"
Giles came closer to them. "It was. . . well. . . there was a. . ."
"Vampires." Buffy told the three. "Let's go to the library, we'll explain there."
Willow gave an uneasy nod and glanced toward Jesse. "Who's that?" She asked, referring in Buffy's direction.
Both Slayer and Watcher turned to see a semi battered Angel. "Hi." He said, looking around. "This a bad time?" He directed the question at Buffy.
"No. . ." Buffy sighed. "Look, we'll fill you in."
Jesse shrugged at the sight in front of him. A blonde girl breathing heavily from a fight with a demon, a librarian holding wooden weapons, and a dark man who seemed to blend with the night. Not to mention his two best friends shaken beside him. "Okay, let's go." He said, Sunnydale had always been a strange town.
~Keysuna
~ ~ ~
The dream haunted her as she rolled over onto her side, closing her eyes from the harsh light that streamed through the window. Images she had seen before played in her head, whispering of a prophecy of which she already knew the ending of.
"Buffy!"
The voice jolted her up, and she rubbed the back of her neck in confusion as her eyes met the sight before her. Boxes stacked against unpainted walls in her room that was supposedly lost in an earthquake to which the rest of the town had been swallowed in. . .
"Buffy, are you awake? Don't want to be late for your first day!"
"Shit." Buffy whispered under her breath, throwing the blankets off her as she let her feet sink onto the carpet of her floor. The demon had sent her back to her first day of high school, to the harvest and pop quizzes, to a world of snotty cheerleaders and sadistic vampires. To her home, to her. . . mom. "I'm up!" She yelled quickly, hoping her voice carried down toward the kitchen.
There was a pause of silence, and for a moment Buffy thoughts something was wrong. "All right honey, hurry up."
~ ~ ~
The car ride to school consisted of Buffy rattling off a list of things she was going to accomplish, some known and some she would make certain of. Her mother gave her glances as she drove, smiling at her daughters enthusiasm.
"You sure about running for homecoming?" Joyce asked as she met her daughters eyes.
"Yep, and this time I'll be sure to not get into the limousine of the dead-" Buffy quickly clapped a hand over her mouth as her mother shot her a strange look.
Joyce gave a half smile of amusement. "This time?"
"Dream." Buffy covered. "I had a dream, a really weird dream."
Her mother shook her head and pulled up to the curb at the front of the school. "Here we are!" Joyce said excitedly and Buffy leaned over to give her mom a hug. When she had made her way down from her room that morning she had taken her mother in an embrace that almost stopped her breathing. She had been ecstatic at seeing her mother again, and the feeling still lingered as she broke apart to open the car door.
"Just keep thinking positive." Joyce gave her daughter a thumbs up and she stepped out of the car.
Buffy smiled and gave a quick glance toward the mass of people that had congregated onto the steps of Sunnydale Highschool. Her eyes caught a flash of someone trying to gain his balance on a skateboard, was that. . . no, it couldn't be, Xander?
"And Buffy?" Her mother brought her back to reality and the Slayer forced her attention back toward the car. "Try not to get kicked out."
Buffy smiled. "I promise." With a last grin she shut the car door closed and headed eagerly to where she had spotted her soon to be friend. Her eyes grazed the thong of students who moved through the cement sea like fish and although Buffy caught glances of people she knew, her sight failed to recognize anyone she was in dire need of conversing with.
Shrugging it off, knowing that she would encounter the scoobie gang later, Buffy pushed her way through the crowd in the direction of the principals office, wanting ample time to stop by the library before the first bell rang. If there was one thing she wanted to accomplish this year, it was passing at least Isome/I of her classes.
~ ~ ~
"Buffy Summers, sophomore, late of Hemery High in Los Angeles. Interesting record, quite a career..." Principal Flutie read off before tearing the paper in four uneven strips. Apart of Buffy hoped that he wouldn't actually bother to skim the paper this time. . .
"Welcome to Sunnydale!" He told her with a smile she had never learned to like. "A clean slate, Buffy, that's what you get here. What's past is past. We're not interested in what it says on a piece of paper, even if it says. . ." Lost to her hopes, he scanned the record. "Whoa."
Buffy winced as he begun to tape the paper back together. "I know it's not a picture perfect transcript. . . but I got an A in social history." She offered weakly.
His eyes met hers over his glasses. "You burned down the gym."
"I know, but it wasn't my fault, there were. . ." She had the strangest sense of deja vu and then realized that that's because she had actually done this before. "rats."
The principal sighed and leaned on his elbows to get closer to her. "Buffy, don't worry. Any other school they might say 'watch your step', or 'we'll be watching you'... But, that's just not the way *here*. We want to service your needs, and help you to respect our needs. And if your needs and our needs don't mesh. . ." He slid the transcript into the folder and shut it closed. "Why don't you go mingle with the other students. Try to break into the social jungle." He smiled at her, ending the meeting on what he thought was a high note as he dismissed her.
~ ~ ~
Buffy escaped the confines of the principals office with a breath of stale hall way air. As long as it had been, she still remembered every little thing about Sunnydale High, right down to the leaky drinking fountain right outside room 405. As much as she had hated school sometimes, Buffy was happy to be back.
That feeling lasted all of a second before she bumped into a girl as she started toward the library, spilling the contents of her bag to the floor.
"Oh, sorry!" She called out, dropping to pick up her stuff.
"That's okay." The girl responded quickly, hurrying to catch up with the boy she had been walking with.
Buffy sighed and started to gather her stuff. "I'll probably end up saving your life anyway." She sighed, her hand out to grab a pencil. The Slayer noticed a boy, squatting beside her, a shy smile on his face.
"Hi." He said nervously. "I'm Xander. . . I don't know you, do I?" The boy picked up a binder and handed it to Buffy who just stared at him.
It took her a moment to keep from cracking up at the sight of her friend. Or, soon to be friend. Apart of her wanted to take him into an embrace, but the rational side of her brain reminded her that the gesture might be a tad to strong for a first meeting. "Buffy, I'm Buffy, I mean, I'm new." She stammered out quickly, taking the offered binder. Her eyes met his gaze, and she noticed with satisfaction that he had both of them, she intended it to stay that way.
They gathered the rest of the stuff in silence and rose together, Xander standing awkwardly. "Well, uh, maybe I'll see you around... maybe at school... since we... both... go there."
"Great!" Buffy said a little enthusiastically. "Count on it."
The boy grinned and started to walk toward his class, watching Buffy over his shoulder and tripping through the students in the crowd. Smiling to herself as she hugged her binder to her chest, Buffy started toward the library.
As she walked down the hall, she checked a clock. There were five minutes until the first bell. She could check in with Giles and promise she would stop by again when she had a free period. The large push door stood before her and she took a breath before entering the library. It was time to make a first impression - again.
She entered a lifeless and still room that felt comfortable. The library had always been a safe haven for her, that is, when the hellmouth wasn't opening.
"Yoo, hoo, anyone here?" She asked, stepping further in.
It took the Slayer a moment to see Giles stepping down the steps toward her. "Can I help you with anything?" He asked, looking her over.
"Yeah, I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer." She put out a hand when he arrived near her. He was taken back a little by her bluntness, but took her hand in his in a half hearted shake.
"Rupert Giles. . . Watcher." He responded uneasily. "How did you know-"
"That your my Watcher?" She finished for him. "Lucky guess."
He was about to respond, but the bell rang and Buffy jumped. "Got to go, class, I'll stop by when I'm free."
She started for the door, but turned as she walked so she still faced him. "There's a thing coming, The Harvest, my memories a little fuzzy on the details but it was something to do with the Master walking again. Could you check it out?" Buffy pushed the door open with her back. "See ya."
As the doors swung behind her, Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them with the edge of his shirt. "Dear," He said to himself. "Oh dear."
~ ~ ~
Buffy heard the teacher rattle on about the Black Death, but didn't process the information. Even though she had just barely passed this class, she had picked up enough about the little disease throughout her school years to pass an exam without having to study, or pay attention in class.
She watched as everyone brought out books, turning to a page that Buffy hadn't caught. She turned to the girl next to her for help, and found herself face to face with Cordelia.
Cordelia smiled and Buffy forced herself to return the gesture as the girl shared her book with her. The Slayer kept her eyes lost to the page to avoid conversation, but as the bell rang, she noticed that Cordelia was talking to her.
"Hi! I'm Cordelia." She offered her hand, and Buffy begrudgingly took it.
"Buffy."
They walked toward the hall. "If you're looking for a textbook of your very own there's probably a few in the library." Cordelia told her as they left the class.
"I'll stop by there at lunch." Buffy told her with a fake smile as she waved a quick goodbye and escaped the girls presence. The Slayer knew she was being rash on her, from what she'd heard, Cordelia had actually matured in LA. What irritated Buffy though, was that Angel had confessed to her that he and Cordelia had had a *thing* that had actually evolved into nothing. But the fact that Angel had been infatuated with her. . . Buffy shook her head.
*And while all this was happening you were having mind blowing sex with Spike.* The nasty part of her mind reminded her.
But this a new life, I can fix it, all of it. She told herself and walked into her next class as the bell sounded through the halls.
~ ~ ~
Lunch came quickly, and Buffy ran out of her seat with the sound of the bell. She knew she should be heading straight to the library, but more of her wanted to introduce herself to Willow. Buffy let herself be carried by the sea of students moving toward the quad, and as she entered the sun drenched area, her attention was caught by a green dress worn by a red head.
"Willow!" She called out, waving toward the girl.
Willow looked up to meet the beautiful blonde and became nervous. "Huh? I-I mean, hi! Uh, did you want me to move?"
"No, I uh. . ." Buffy trailed, trying to think of something to say that would make this seem like a *chance* meeting. "Tutoring, you tutor, right?"
Willow brightened up at the comment and watched as Buffy sat beside her. "Yeah, that's me, tutor girl, I could *totally* help you out! Uh, if you have sixth period free we could meet in the library?" She smiled.
"Beyond good, I need to talk to the librarian anyway." The Slayer stated, watching the a nerdy Willow grin. It was hard to believe that someday she would handle the power to destroy the world, and Buffy nearly laughed at the thought compared to the sight in front of her. The two really did not mesh.
A tall boy with a painfully bright orange shirt came to stand in front of them, and feeling something behind her, Buffy turned to see Xander sitting on the wall the two girls leaned against.
"Hey." The boy in front of them said, dropping his bag.
Xander tossed his bag to the boy. "You guys busy? Are we interrupting? We're interrupting." He clarified for himself.
"Hey." Buffy said as Willow chorused her own hello. Where did she know this guy from. . .
"Buffy, this is Jesse and that's Xander." Willow told her plainly.
"Oh, me and Buffy go waaay back, old friends, very close. Then there's that period of estrangement where I think we were both growing as people, but now here we are, like old times, I'm quite moved." Xander babbled on as Buffy watched Jesse.
*What happened to you. . . * she thought. *Why can't I remember?*
"Is it me, or are you turning into a bibbling idiot?" Jesse asked in reference to Xanders almost incoherent speech. It brought Buffy's attention back to reality.
Xander blushed and averted the Slayer's smirking eyes. "No, it's, uh, it's not you." An uneasy silence fell over them, and Buffy felt Willow shift next to her. She knew that the red head was in love with Xander at this particular moment in time, and she also knew that Xander would embarrass himself to no end in trying to go out with Buffy. "So what do you do for fun, what do you like, what do you look for in a man, let's hear it." Xander continued as though nothing had happened.
"If you have any dark, painful secrets you'd like us to publish?" Jesse added, leaning in closer to her.
"Why don't we drive the conversation to something that's less Buffy centric." The Slayer stated awkwardly, trying to get more information on Jesse without seeming obvious.
Xander hopped down from the wall and came to stand by Jesse. "Well, not much goes on in a one Starbucks town like Sunnydale. You're pretty big news."
Buffy applauded herself. "Oh goody." Her gaze wandered to Cordelia as she pushed her way through the crowed and interrupted their conversation.
"Are these guys bothering you?" She asked, eyeing all three of them as though they were alien creatures.
The Slayer shrugged and stole a grin to Willow. "Only in the sense that we're talking."
"She's not hanging out with us." The red head said quickly, trying to save the reputation of her potential friend.
Buffy shot Willow a confused glance. She had forgotten how self conscious the soon to be witch was about her image.
"Hey! Cordelia!" Jesse came to stand a little to closely to the popular girl.
Cordelia scoffed at him. "Oh, please!" She returned her attention back to Buffy, ignoring the boy. "I don't mean to interrupt your downward mobility, but I just wanted to tell you that you won't be meeting Coach Foster, the woman with the chest hair, because gym was canceled due to the *extreme* dead guy in the locker."
The Slayer nearly jumped at that. "Shit, I forgot about that. . ." She muttered under her breath, gathering her stuff to leave.
"What, you knew there was going to be a dead guy?" Cordelia asked tauntingly, Buffy was surprised that the girl had heard her.
"I got to go." She said hurriedly, sliding her bag onto her shoulder. "I'll catch up with you guys later." The Slayer pushed herself away and toward the library. The two boys watched her walk away while Willow thought.
"What's her child hood drama?" Cordelia asked no one, before turning on her heel and heading back toward her clique.
Catching a quick glimpse of Buffy disappear into the hallway, Willow stood and rushed to follow her. Xander shrugged to Jesse, and the two sat down to enjoy lunch.
~ ~ ~
"He's not a vampire!" Buffy exclaimed as she pushed open the doors and saw Giles sitting at the desk, a book in front of him. "The boy, he wasn't turned."
The Watcher closed the book and stood. "You sure?"
"Course." Buffy pulled a chair out and sat in it, putting her legs on the table. "You find anything on The Harvest?"
Giles shook his head as if to clear it. "Actually. . . yes. I've been researching. It seems to be some sort of preordained massacre. Rivers of blood, Hell on Earth, quite charmless. I'm a bit fuzzy, however, on the details."
The Slayer smiled and moved her arms as if to ready herself. "Good, yeah, it's all coming back now. Big strong ugly vampire at the Bronze, and strong, did I mention strong? He's the head of it, think I can dust him before the Harvest actually starts." Buffy swung her legs off the table and leaned forward, thinking. "Oh my god, Jesse dies!"
"What?" Giles asked, confused at his new charges attitude and manner. Quite honestly, he was beyond confused and into unknown territory. He never did understand high school girls.
"Jesse, he dies." Buffy stood quickly. "Oh god. . . Darla, Darla kills him!" She begun to pace. "I hate Darla! Do you know that?" It was a question but she didn't give the Watcher a chance to explain, he wasn't sure if he could. "First she dies, and that's all fine and dandy, but then she gets brought back life *and* sleeps with Angel! They have a kid, did you know that? A kid!" Buffy fumed. When Willow had returned from LA, she had filled Buffy in on Angel's activities, including his love life. *Not that it matters anymore. . .* She thought with a wicked grin, *I can change all of that.*
Giles stared at her as she stopped her rant. "What on earth are you talking about? How do you know all of this?"
Buffy sheepishly grinned as the bell rang, saving her from having the explain at the moment. She had already decided she would let Giles know about the time traveling brigade, she just wasn't sure how to tell him just yet. "I'll fill you in later, right now I got to get to class, meet me at the Bronze tonight, nine-ish." With that she rushed out the door. The Watcher looked on as his Slayer left through the swinging doors, shook his head, and cleaned his glasses.
The Slayer came out of the library to find herself face to face with Willow.
"Hi." Buffy said breathlessly.
"Hey." Willow smiled, they started to walk down the hall. "I know this is going to sound really weird coming from someone you barely know, but. . . me and Xander and Jesse are going to the Bronze tonight, it's the local hangout, and I was wondering if you-"
"I'd love to." Buffy finished for her.
Willow's smile grew wider. "Great, I'll tell the guys, see you at 8? You know the way?"
The Slayer nodded. "Yeah, I'll find it."
Excited, the red head turned into her class, elated at having a new friend.
Buffy shared a similar emotion as she went to her next room until she realized something. Willow and Jesse were both picked up by vampires tonight. . . well, she'd just have to change that, wouldn't she? Wasn't that what this whole thing was about?
She'd been sent back to change the future, and tonight, that's what she was going to do.
~ ~ ~
Buffy felt the darkness close in around her as she walked the silent streets toward the Bronze. The Slayer tried to sort out what she was going to do. She had to keep a look out for Darla and the other vamp who would be at the club tonight, plus she had friendships to cement with Willow and Xander, along with keeping Jesse alive long enough to *become* a friend. After all of that, she still had to explain to Giles her little bit about knowing everything that was going to happen.
She brushed a hand through her hair. Buffy wasn't accustomed to the length of it, added the fact that she still had bangs took a little getting used to her. She felt heavier since she had lost so much weight after coming back the second time from deaths embrace and she made a mental note that her condition was healthy, even if it did feel awkward.
Something brushed up her spine as she continued toward the Bronze. A sense of the undead coming closer. Withdrawing a stake from her chest pocket, she waited until the demon was on top of her before turning, letting the stake come at chest point before looking into it's face.
"Is there a problem ma'am?" He asked in a cool voice, letting a hand go over hers in a motion to bring down the weapon.
Buffy was to stunned to move. "I, uh, hi." She stammered out, her voice caught at seeing her lover. . . her soon to be lover, hopefully. Regretfully, she backed away, there was to much of her that wanted to wrap her arms around him, and that would just be coming on a bit to strong for their 'first' meeting.
"Don't worry, I don't bite." He told her, misinterpreting the reasons for her movement. "Truth is, I thought you'd be taller, or bigger muscles and all that. You're pretty spry, though." He continued as though he knew the reason the earth turned.
Buffy grinned, that took him by surprised. "You here to help me?" She asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"If your willing to take it." He said calmly.
The Slayer nodded and started toward the club again. She felt him come up beside her, and unwillingly she shivered.
"Two vampires are at the club tonight, you know one of them." She filled him in, hearing the hints of music carry in on the wind. "Very, very well."
Angel looked at her strangely. "Darla." He sighed.
"Yeah." Buffy stopped and turned to him. "I'm meeting up with some people, just watch the crowd. If you see a vampire take someone into the night, make a signal."
"What kind of signal?"
The Slayer shrugged and stepped into the lights of the club. "Make one up."
She was surprised that he grabbed her back into the shadows. Buffy stumbled back toward him a little to close she found her face very near to his. . .
"Here." He softly pushed her way, and placed a steel box into her hands. "Take it, you'll need it."
Buffy grinned, and placed the gift in her pocket. "Thanks." With that she walked back into the scene of the club.
~ ~ ~
"Buffy!" Willow called, waving the blonde over through the mass of teenagers. The Slayer came to sit down beside the red head. "Your late." She clarified, taking a sip of her sprite.
Buffy pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sorry, got lost." She took a seat next to Willow and noticed Xander heading over.
"Hey, it's my two favorite girls." Xander said, sliding into the seat next to Buffy. "Your late."
"Yeah, I already got the memo." Buffy and Willow giggled.
The Slayer looked around, and saw Jesse talking to a blonde who sat in a hanging chair, talking in a seductive voice. Her eyes traveled around to find Angel, lurking in the shadows, his gaze intense on the same women. Buffy sighed, here was Darla. Angel acknowledged that they had both seen the vampire with a slight nod. The Slayer drew her attention back to her friends.
"I'm going to say hi to Jesse, be right back." She told the two, picking herself up and walking with the music to where Jesse flirted with the vampire. Darla turned before Jesse caught sight of Buffy.
"Buffy hey." The tall boy grinned at her as the vampire watched with annoyed eyes. "Buffy, Darla." He said, introducing them. "Buffy just moved here." He told the older blonde.
"Really." Darla said in a light tone that made Buffy shiver.
A silence descended them and Buffy felt eyes on her. She didn't need to turn to see who it was. "I better be going, see you around Jesse, nice to meet you Darla." The Slayer said, disappearing back into the crowd. She let the mass of people take her to Angel and slid up beside him.
"There's another vampire here." She whispered. "I just don't know where."
Angel nodded. "I'll find him." He paused as they watched Darla rise and exit the club, Jesse faithfully following. "You take care of her."
Buffy didn't bother to nod, just broke away from the shadows and trailed the steps of the vampire and human.
Willow and Xander watched as Buffy moved purposely out of the Bronze.
"I don't think she likes us." Xander declared glumly.
Willow shrugged. "I don't know, she seems nice enough." The red head rose and started in the same direction to where Buffy had gone.
Xander scrambled to her side. "Where are you going?"
"Following her." Willow said simply.
~ ~ ~
Darla picked up the boy because he had the same build as Angelus. Of course, he reeked of humanity and those dopey pick up lines he had used were nothing like the cruel tongue of her lost demon. The Master would be pleased with this offering though, he was young, strong, and a virgin.
Jesse followed without complaint our of the Bronze, trailing the beautiful women as she led him into the night. He could never score with the queen that was Cordelia, but he had just found himself a goddess.
They pair walked out of earshot of the club just as Darla begun to feel the edge of bloodlust build up. It gnawed at her stomach and with the boy at her side as a willing candidate for her dinner. . . the Master could wait. Darla slipped into game face, her features shadowed by the night. He stopped and she could hear his heart begun to race. She pressed a light kiss on his lips and then brought her fangs down to his neck, scraping the skin and feeling the blood quicken. . .
"That's my almost friend you going to eat."
Darla heard the words, but didn't have time to respond before she was hit over the head. The vampire fell to the ground and Jesse looked around widely, meeting Buffy's eyes.
"Huh?" He asked dumbly.
Buffy didn't have time to explain to him as Darla had already recovered and had jumped back up, neon eyes glinting in the light. The Slayer pushed Jesse away and blocked a punch the vampire threw. Buffy quickly side kicked the demon and fumbled for the stake in her chest pocket. . .
"Damn." She breathed, dodging a punch. She had dropped the stake when first meeting up with Angel and was now left without any weapons.
Buffy noticed in faint interest as they traded blows that Darla wasn't half as strong as she remembered. Of maybe Buffy's skills had just improved dramatically over the years. Just as she was about to resort to a hand made stake from the trash they fought around, she heard footsteps and her name.
"Buffy!" Willow shrieked, causing both fighters to turn their attention on the red head. Jesse edged his way to his friends, making sure not to gain the attention of the vampire.
The two circled each other, neither making a first move.
"Your strong." Darla noted.
"I'm the Slayer." Buffy gave a half smile.
The vampire nodded, her fangs glinting in the faint light. "Makes things interesting." With that she attacked, landing a punch on Buffy's cheek. Recovering quickly, the Slayer flipped backwards, using her speed to get the upper hand.
"Get back demon!" Giles stumbled into sight, a cross held out in his hand, and a stake held limply at his side.
Darla growled at the crucifix and locked eyes with Buffy. "We'll meet again."
"Count on it." Buffy smiled and watched as the vampire ran into the night.
The Slayer gave a smile of thanks to her Watcher, and turned to face the three huddled teens. She grasped for words.
"I can just be the first to say." Xander broke through the chilled air. "What the hell was that?"
Giles came closer to them. "It was. . . well. . . there was a. . ."
"Vampires." Buffy told the three. "Let's go to the library, we'll explain there."
Willow gave an uneasy nod and glanced toward Jesse. "Who's that?" She asked, referring in Buffy's direction.
Both Slayer and Watcher turned to see a semi battered Angel. "Hi." He said, looking around. "This a bad time?" He directed the question at Buffy.
"No. . ." Buffy sighed. "Look, we'll fill you in."
Jesse shrugged at the sight in front of him. A blonde girl breathing heavily from a fight with a demon, a librarian holding wooden weapons, and a dark man who seemed to blend with the night. Not to mention his two best friends shaken beside him. "Okay, let's go." He said, Sunnydale had always been a strange town.