Teachers Pet
~Keysuna
A/N: I'm much happier with this chapter then I was with the previous one. Let it all be known that I *hated* how The Witch came out, I'm just way to lazy to rewrite it.
One of my major fears is that out of my own stupidity, I'll leave out some major plot point or forget something entirely. If this is the case, *please* let me know.
~ ~ ~
"Your drooling" Buffy hissed at the half concise boy. Xander fidgeted slightly in his sleep before falling back into his half dream like state.
Dr. Gregory, the science teacher, continued the slide show with notice of the two inattentive students.
"Xander!" The Slayer whispered again, trying to gain his attention. The boy slowly rolled his head out of sleep, and blinked at Buffy. "You've got a little. . ." She continued, rubbing the spot on her own face where he was drooling.
He gave a dazed look at her, his mind still stuck in the false reality he had lulled himself into during class. As her eyes became persistent with his, he snapped out of it and wiped a quick hand over his mouth.
"Their ancestors were here long before we were. Their progeny will be here long after we are gone. The simple and ubiquitous ant." The lesson the teacher was trying to get across to his students were only lyrics to the background music of the humming projector.
Apart of Xander tried to pull himself back into his blissful dream when the light of the slide show turned off to be replaced by the harshness of florescent lamps. Dr. Gregory walked up the aisle, still talking. "Now. If you read the homework you should know the two ways that ants communicate."
He stopped at Xander's desk, and the boy felt his stomach seized. Dr. Gregory couldn't possibly think *he* knew the answer! Relief swept over him as the teachers attention shifted toward Buffy.
"Miss Summers." He stated, eyeing her carefully. Buffy tried to sink into her chair, wishing witch craft came with the Slayage deal. It would be so much easier if she could just disappear.
"Ways that ants communicate." Buffy repeated quickly, remembering that he was just a teacher. She could handle this, no super natural gifts required. Added that she was 22 years old. . . then again, the study of insects hadn't been included in her brief college education.
Dr. Gregory nodded. "Mm."
Buffy smiled weakly. "With other ants."
"From the homework." He prompted, an eyebrow raising at her loss of words.
The Slayer scrambled for something to say, and then her attention was caught by a quickly motioning Willow. Her red head friend was stroking Xander's back. Had Willow finally overcome her shyness and was making a move on her crush. . .? "Oh!" Buffy exclaimed. "Touch."
"Mm-hmm." The teacher sighed again, and the Slayer got the instinct impression he knew what was going on as Willow sniffed at Xander.
"Smell." She said with a smile. If she recalled correctly, last time she had said B.O., not exactly the scientific answer that the teacher was looking for. Score one for Buffy! She thought triumphantly.
There was a wry almost smile from Dr. Gregory. "Is there anything else Miss Rosenberg would like to tell you?"
Buffy hung her head in embarrassment as the teacher walked away. The bell rang when he spoke. "All right, chapters six through eight by tomorrow people." The class stood and the thong of students made their way to the small escape of the door.
The Slayer picked herself up and walked toward the door, but was stopped by the teacher. "Can I see you for a moment?"
Buffy sighed as she prepared herself for the pep talk by the teacher. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Dr. Gregory's interest in her, it was that he was going to replaced by a giant bug women very soon.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Buffy.
"Actually." She stated quickly before he could get a word out. "Can we walk and talk? I have to get a book from the library before my next class."
Dr. Gregory gave a slow nod, and followed her to the hall. The Slayer grinned ecstatically to herself, if she played her cards right, she'd keep all the good teachers alive.
~ ~ ~
"Uh. . . Mr. Giles, can I talk to you for a sec?" Buffy asked quickly, casting a quick glance toward the waiting science teacher. She had tactfully kept him from telling her what he had in mind, and instead had answered her trivial questions on praying mantises.
The Watcher looked up to see the pleading eyes of his Slayer. Sighing, he set the book he had been reading down, and took her to the other side of the library, where they could whisper without eavesdroppers.
"There's a praying mantis that's out to eat Dr. Gregory." Buffy pulled in a breath as she caught a glance of the teacher. "Can you keep him distracted while I look for the bug?"
There was no need to argue her point, or ask questions. There was time for that later. He merely nodded.
"I, need a recording of bats." The Slayer said under her breath.
Giles nodded, slightly irritated at the command, but buried the emotion. "Right, one second." He left her presence for a moment and Buffy quickly let her attention drift toward her purse instead of speaking to the teacher. The sooner they talked, the sooner he'd be in danger.
The Watcher returned with a tape and player, and Buffy grabbed it. Smiling her thanks as she rushed out to the halls.
There was a confused look on the teachers face as the girl left and Giles scrambled for a believable story to tell him.
~ ~ ~
Buffy had found the bug girl in Dr. Gregory's room, rummaging through some of his files. She didn't wait for an introduction as the women turned to face her, just pressed the play button and watched in slight disgust as she literally blew up. The Slayer had taken precautions to be of safe distance before playing the insects death tune, and was far out of the reach of any bug guts.
The Slayer quickly slipped out of the room. She did not want to get caught and have to clean up the mess.
~ ~ ~
Buffy arrived at the Bronze later then she had wanted to. The talk with Dr. Gregory had gone well, and she looked forward to having him for the rest of the year. After the teacher left, she had filled Giles in on the death of a demon, he had only nodded in pale interest, and asked for certain details of the event.
As the Slayer searched the club for any familiar faces, she felt a pit grown in her stomach. The relationship she had had with the Watcher was not present in this new life. Then again, in her past one her motto had been 'Seize the moment'.
Now it was 'The mission is what matters.' Sure it was more productive, but it left her feeling lonely as she leaned against a pillar to listen to the band, but not really hear it.
"Buffy."
The Slayer whirled around with unnatural speed to look up into Angel's face. The emptiness she had previously felt lessened slightly at contact with his eyes. "Angel, hi." Her voice came out meek as she trailed his steps to a less crowded part of the Bronze.
When they stopped, he scanned the club, not resting on her as her gaze was on him. "Your cold." He said almost off handily.
"I'll be OK." She told him, rubbing her arms.
Angel shrugged off his jacket, and handed it to her. She smiled her thanks and slipped it on, noticing the three long gashes on his left arm.
She inwardly cursed. She had fooled herself into thinking that she was done for the day in terms of demonic activity. Of course, the presence of a clawed vampire had been lost to her memory.
"We're. . . uh, going to have to kill that thing." She stated awkwardly, motioning with her eyes toward the cut.
Angel followed her gaze to the gash. "It's dangerous."
"I can handle it." She sighed into the coat, and wrapped it tighter around her. Reigning in the energy to fight. "Can you help me track it?" It wasn't that she really needed the help, but she lusted for the company.
He hesitated before nodding, and they walked out into the night.
~ ~ ~
Whatever trouble Buffy had had when she previously encountered this vampire, didn't turn up this time around. They had taken their time tracking the clawed demon, not conversing, but the silence was comfortable. The Slayer had quickly taken it from behind with a sharp kick, and then landed a stake in it's back when it fell to the ground.
Dust on the soft earth of an empty park.
She and Angel has said their good-byes after that. Buffy had tried to give him back his coat, but he refused, saying it looked better on her.
And so the Slayer walked alone back to her home. Hugging the scent of the vampire closer to her body. The emptiness begun to creep on her again as she turned the street. Sure, she had saved more lives this time around, dusted more vampires and gotten better grades, but. . . she sighed into the night. Life had been fuller the first time. She had no relationship with Giles here. Her grudge from the betrayal before still lingered, and she couldn't seem to get over it. Even though she was reliving her life, she still knew everything she needed from him, so what use could he be?
On top of that, things between her, Xander, Willow and Jesse were staying two dimensional. Apart of Buffy was afraid that if she let them closer in, they would be hurt. It was her fault after all that Xander lost an eye.
Fighting back unexpected tears, and telling herself that she still had room for major improvements, she stepped up to her house, and let herself in.
At least things with Angel were going smoothly.
~Keysuna
A/N: I'm much happier with this chapter then I was with the previous one. Let it all be known that I *hated* how The Witch came out, I'm just way to lazy to rewrite it.
One of my major fears is that out of my own stupidity, I'll leave out some major plot point or forget something entirely. If this is the case, *please* let me know.
~ ~ ~
"Your drooling" Buffy hissed at the half concise boy. Xander fidgeted slightly in his sleep before falling back into his half dream like state.
Dr. Gregory, the science teacher, continued the slide show with notice of the two inattentive students.
"Xander!" The Slayer whispered again, trying to gain his attention. The boy slowly rolled his head out of sleep, and blinked at Buffy. "You've got a little. . ." She continued, rubbing the spot on her own face where he was drooling.
He gave a dazed look at her, his mind still stuck in the false reality he had lulled himself into during class. As her eyes became persistent with his, he snapped out of it and wiped a quick hand over his mouth.
"Their ancestors were here long before we were. Their progeny will be here long after we are gone. The simple and ubiquitous ant." The lesson the teacher was trying to get across to his students were only lyrics to the background music of the humming projector.
Apart of Xander tried to pull himself back into his blissful dream when the light of the slide show turned off to be replaced by the harshness of florescent lamps. Dr. Gregory walked up the aisle, still talking. "Now. If you read the homework you should know the two ways that ants communicate."
He stopped at Xander's desk, and the boy felt his stomach seized. Dr. Gregory couldn't possibly think *he* knew the answer! Relief swept over him as the teachers attention shifted toward Buffy.
"Miss Summers." He stated, eyeing her carefully. Buffy tried to sink into her chair, wishing witch craft came with the Slayage deal. It would be so much easier if she could just disappear.
"Ways that ants communicate." Buffy repeated quickly, remembering that he was just a teacher. She could handle this, no super natural gifts required. Added that she was 22 years old. . . then again, the study of insects hadn't been included in her brief college education.
Dr. Gregory nodded. "Mm."
Buffy smiled weakly. "With other ants."
"From the homework." He prompted, an eyebrow raising at her loss of words.
The Slayer scrambled for something to say, and then her attention was caught by a quickly motioning Willow. Her red head friend was stroking Xander's back. Had Willow finally overcome her shyness and was making a move on her crush. . .? "Oh!" Buffy exclaimed. "Touch."
"Mm-hmm." The teacher sighed again, and the Slayer got the instinct impression he knew what was going on as Willow sniffed at Xander.
"Smell." She said with a smile. If she recalled correctly, last time she had said B.O., not exactly the scientific answer that the teacher was looking for. Score one for Buffy! She thought triumphantly.
There was a wry almost smile from Dr. Gregory. "Is there anything else Miss Rosenberg would like to tell you?"
Buffy hung her head in embarrassment as the teacher walked away. The bell rang when he spoke. "All right, chapters six through eight by tomorrow people." The class stood and the thong of students made their way to the small escape of the door.
The Slayer picked herself up and walked toward the door, but was stopped by the teacher. "Can I see you for a moment?"
Buffy sighed as she prepared herself for the pep talk by the teacher. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Dr. Gregory's interest in her, it was that he was going to replaced by a giant bug women very soon.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Buffy.
"Actually." She stated quickly before he could get a word out. "Can we walk and talk? I have to get a book from the library before my next class."
Dr. Gregory gave a slow nod, and followed her to the hall. The Slayer grinned ecstatically to herself, if she played her cards right, she'd keep all the good teachers alive.
~ ~ ~
"Uh. . . Mr. Giles, can I talk to you for a sec?" Buffy asked quickly, casting a quick glance toward the waiting science teacher. She had tactfully kept him from telling her what he had in mind, and instead had answered her trivial questions on praying mantises.
The Watcher looked up to see the pleading eyes of his Slayer. Sighing, he set the book he had been reading down, and took her to the other side of the library, where they could whisper without eavesdroppers.
"There's a praying mantis that's out to eat Dr. Gregory." Buffy pulled in a breath as she caught a glance of the teacher. "Can you keep him distracted while I look for the bug?"
There was no need to argue her point, or ask questions. There was time for that later. He merely nodded.
"I, need a recording of bats." The Slayer said under her breath.
Giles nodded, slightly irritated at the command, but buried the emotion. "Right, one second." He left her presence for a moment and Buffy quickly let her attention drift toward her purse instead of speaking to the teacher. The sooner they talked, the sooner he'd be in danger.
The Watcher returned with a tape and player, and Buffy grabbed it. Smiling her thanks as she rushed out to the halls.
There was a confused look on the teachers face as the girl left and Giles scrambled for a believable story to tell him.
~ ~ ~
Buffy had found the bug girl in Dr. Gregory's room, rummaging through some of his files. She didn't wait for an introduction as the women turned to face her, just pressed the play button and watched in slight disgust as she literally blew up. The Slayer had taken precautions to be of safe distance before playing the insects death tune, and was far out of the reach of any bug guts.
The Slayer quickly slipped out of the room. She did not want to get caught and have to clean up the mess.
~ ~ ~
Buffy arrived at the Bronze later then she had wanted to. The talk with Dr. Gregory had gone well, and she looked forward to having him for the rest of the year. After the teacher left, she had filled Giles in on the death of a demon, he had only nodded in pale interest, and asked for certain details of the event.
As the Slayer searched the club for any familiar faces, she felt a pit grown in her stomach. The relationship she had had with the Watcher was not present in this new life. Then again, in her past one her motto had been 'Seize the moment'.
Now it was 'The mission is what matters.' Sure it was more productive, but it left her feeling lonely as she leaned against a pillar to listen to the band, but not really hear it.
"Buffy."
The Slayer whirled around with unnatural speed to look up into Angel's face. The emptiness she had previously felt lessened slightly at contact with his eyes. "Angel, hi." Her voice came out meek as she trailed his steps to a less crowded part of the Bronze.
When they stopped, he scanned the club, not resting on her as her gaze was on him. "Your cold." He said almost off handily.
"I'll be OK." She told him, rubbing her arms.
Angel shrugged off his jacket, and handed it to her. She smiled her thanks and slipped it on, noticing the three long gashes on his left arm.
She inwardly cursed. She had fooled herself into thinking that she was done for the day in terms of demonic activity. Of course, the presence of a clawed vampire had been lost to her memory.
"We're. . . uh, going to have to kill that thing." She stated awkwardly, motioning with her eyes toward the cut.
Angel followed her gaze to the gash. "It's dangerous."
"I can handle it." She sighed into the coat, and wrapped it tighter around her. Reigning in the energy to fight. "Can you help me track it?" It wasn't that she really needed the help, but she lusted for the company.
He hesitated before nodding, and they walked out into the night.
~ ~ ~
Whatever trouble Buffy had had when she previously encountered this vampire, didn't turn up this time around. They had taken their time tracking the clawed demon, not conversing, but the silence was comfortable. The Slayer had quickly taken it from behind with a sharp kick, and then landed a stake in it's back when it fell to the ground.
Dust on the soft earth of an empty park.
She and Angel has said their good-byes after that. Buffy had tried to give him back his coat, but he refused, saying it looked better on her.
And so the Slayer walked alone back to her home. Hugging the scent of the vampire closer to her body. The emptiness begun to creep on her again as she turned the street. Sure, she had saved more lives this time around, dusted more vampires and gotten better grades, but. . . she sighed into the night. Life had been fuller the first time. She had no relationship with Giles here. Her grudge from the betrayal before still lingered, and she couldn't seem to get over it. Even though she was reliving her life, she still knew everything she needed from him, so what use could he be?
On top of that, things between her, Xander, Willow and Jesse were staying two dimensional. Apart of Buffy was afraid that if she let them closer in, they would be hurt. It was her fault after all that Xander lost an eye.
Fighting back unexpected tears, and telling herself that she still had room for major improvements, she stepped up to her house, and let herself in.
At least things with Angel were going smoothly.