A/N: We're back!
Sorry this took so long. Life sort of happened (me with Co-Op and Tiff with Driver's Ed and stuff), but as promised, here is part 2.
The first scene is written by Tiff, the rest by yours truly, Leafsdude/David.
This chapter is longer, and will include more goodies, so it should be very enjoyable. But don't just take my word for it. Go and read it!
Spoilers: Nothing too heavy to note. We've made up Tara's mom's name on our own, just so you know. It was never mentioned in the show.
Disclaimer: I don't think Joss et al. is dumb enough to waste his time on some lowly creature having fun with his world that he so obviously messed up, so I'm not going to say anything to save me from that. However, because I respect the owners of the site, I'd just like to mention that I got a lot of the information for my stories from www.buffyworld.com/. Thank you guys for your wonderful transcripts, even if the fight descriptions suck! :)
Additional Thank You's: To Tiff/Willowbabe, once more, for actually accepting all my silly, somewhat stupid ideas, and giving me pointers on how to fix them. Also, I thank you for actually taking time out of your busy schedule to actually make this. I wouldn't be able to do this on my own, believe me! :)
Legend: Tara actually has thoughts in this chapter! They appear in italics. Nothing else to speak of.
The next day, Tara wandered around the Sunnydale High campus just watching the kids laughing and hanging out.
I wonder if here will be any different. Will I fit in? She asked herself, remembering her life before. She shook her head. This is my chance to start over.
She noticed a red haired girl drop her books on the sidewalk. She noticed a few people snicker and laugh, but no one went to help the girl.
She's like me, she thought sadly. The world's forgotten about her, too.
Tara started towards the girl but she walked off before Tara could say anything. Sighing, she turned and walked in the opposite direction into the school.
Tara wandered down the halls, each one looking exactly like the one before until finally she found the principal's office.
"I-I'm supposed to see Principal Snyder. I just transferred here." She told the secretary. Nodding towards an office, Tara walked in. A short, mean-looking man was sitting, and took a quick glance at her.
"Tara MaClay, transfer from Sacramento," he said knowingly, quickly pulling out a sheet of paper. "Impressive records but I notice there are no extra curricular activities listed here." Principal Snyder said sliding the glasses down on his nose. "I hope you are not one of those juvenile delinquents. People of your kind are not handled lightly here."
Tara hung her head. This is my new beginning. No one has to know about Sacramento.
"I'm not a j-j-juvenile delinquent," she said, still looking at the ground. "I-I like school. It's educational...and stuff."
"I hope that proves to be true Miss MaClay. You are dismissed," he said propping his feet up on the desk.
I never knew short bald men were that scary, she thought, shaking a little after her encounter.
Walking into the hall, she began to leaf through her books for her schedule. Just as she found it a boy tapped her shoulder. "Hi. I'm Xander. You new here?"
"Is it that obvious?" She asked. Normally new people scared her but this move was about new experiences and he seemed like a nice enough guy.
"What class do you have right now?" He asked.
"I think religion with..." Tara looked down at her paper. "Mr. Armstrong?"
"Me, too! C'mon." He led her down hall after hall, each one looking the same as the last. They ended up at a lounge area at the end of the hallway.
"Mr. Armstrong's pretty cool. He says we can't learn unless we're totally comfortable." Tara hid behind Xander and tried to sneak in as quietly as possible.
"Miss MaClay," Mr. Armstrong said softly, giving a reassuring look at Tara. "Welcome to my class. Would you like to come up here and tell us a few words about yourself?"
"H-hi. My name is T-Tara MaClay. I just moved here from S-S-Sacramento," She heard a person laughing in the back of the room.
"How long does it take you to get a sentence out, Stutter Girl?" Tara felt her cheeks burn.
"Miss Chase, I will not tolerate this type of behavior. We treat all people with respect here," Mr. Armstrong chided the girl, a little angry.
"Even the rejects?" The same girl said under her breath to her friends.
"One more comment, Miss. Chase," Mr. Armstrong said, pointedly saying her name, "and you'll find yourself in detention."
Tara still stood there uncomfortably in the front of class. Mr. Armstrong finally noticed her embarrassment.
"Miss MaClay," he said, grabbing her attention. "You can take a seat next to Mr. Harris."
Xander waved his arms and mouthed 'That's me!' Tara settled in and noticed the girl that was sitting next to her.
That's the girl that dropped her books today. But then she noticed Xander's arm draped around the girl. Maybe I was wrong, maybe she's not alone.
"Open your bibles to Songs of Songs, Chapter 4, and Verse 9," Mr. Armstrong stated as the class settled in. "Willow Rosenberg, would you begin?"
Her name is Willow. Tara made a mental note to herself.
"You have ravaged my heart, my sister, my bride. You have ravaged my heart with one glance of your eyes." Willow read, a little overly dramatically.
"Wow..." Tara whispered. Something about this girl wouldn't allow her to take her eyes off of her.
"Uh...Tara?" Xander whispered.
"Yeah?" Tara asked, starting at Xander like he was a million miles away. Shaking her head, she looked up at him again. "Sorry."
"Meet my best friend Willow." He whispered, looking over at the girl.
"H-Hi." Tara instinctively went into shy-girl mode.
"Hey." Willow said, trying to make conversation. "How do you like our school?"
"I-It's big." Tara mentally slapped herself on the head. It's big? That's all you could say?
"Look, we're going to go to this place called The Bronze. It's a hangout around here. Wanna come?" Willow asked.
"I-I can't. I have to go somewhere," Tara replied, sadly. She looked at them once more. I'm supposed to be trying new things. This is a chance!
"Maybe another time?" She quickly added, hoping not to seem too odd.
Xander and Willow exchanged glances. There was something going on with this girl.
After school had ended, without any more run-ins with the two from her Religion class, Tara walked off the school grounds, and in the opposite direction of home.
"Maybe they were just being nice because it was my first class," Tara thought aloud, thinking of how she didn't even see them in the cafeteria during lunch.
She took a right turn onto another street, this one a little busier, and continued walking towards her destination.
"But they were so nice. And-and that girl," Tara thought back to her. Willow.
She seemed so caring, despite the short time they'd talked. Shaking her head, she looked up again.
"She-she'd never care about me," Tara scolded herself. "She's already got that guy. What was his name? Xander?"
Looking to her left, she saw the top of a building. The rest of it was hidden, but Tara immediately knew what it was. She could feel it.
"Sunnydale Memorial," she said quietly. After walking a little while longer, she reached the front steps and in through the automatic sliding doors.
She walked up to the front desk, and waited until the secretary noticed her.
"I-I-I'd like to see Sky M-M-McClay," Tara said, softly.
"Room 220," the secretary said. "Second floor, to your left of the elevators."
"Thanks," Tara replied. She hadn't come here to visit her mother yet, since she had to do the unpacking for the day previous and she hadn't seen her mother since she had been transferred three weeks before the rest of them moved to Sunnydale.
Entering the elevator, Tara pressed the button marked '2', and stood, waiting to go up.
As the doors opened, she walked out, and into the hallway. Recalling the directions the secretary had given her, she went through the threshold.
Reaching the first door, she looked at the number.
"202?" Tara said aloud, a little surprised. Looking down the hall, she saw that it would probably be a good length before 220.
Looking around to see if there was anyone that could see her, she began a slow sprint down the hall. Turning around a corner at the end of the hallway, she checked the first door she ran into, and almost smiled.
"218," she said to herself once more, looking around eagerly. "220!"
After a couple of hushes, and an embarrassed blush, Tara walked in cautiously.
Looking around, Tara noted that the room was pretty big. In reality, it wasn't, but Tara hadn't really seen a large room before.
In the back she noticed a bed, and walked over slowly.
"Mom?" She whispered quietly, turning around the corner.
In the bed, she saw her mother's small figure under the blue hospital sheets. Her eyes were closed, and beyond the slight rise and fall of her chest, she showed no signs of life.
All hope quickly left Tara's eyes, and she looked sadly at her mother.
"A-are you comfortable?" Tara asked quietly. "I hope they've been treating you well."
Looking at her mother's face for any reaction, Tara's shoulders slumped when she saw nothing.
"W-w-well, I had school today," Tara said, raising her voice a little, hoping to add a happy sound to it. "A-and all the teachers were great, and there were these two people who were nice to me."
Stopping, Tara looked down, unsure of whether to continue. Looking back up, she took a deep breath.
"There was this girl, too," she said, quietly, flinching a little as if expecting her mother to shoot up and look at her in shock. "I-I know what you're thinking. B-but she's cute, and she's nice, and she's so much like me."
Sighing, Tara took her mother's hand and laid her head down on her chest.
"Mommy," she said quietly, like a child. "When are you going to wake up? I-I don't know if I can live without you much longer."
Hoping for a reaction once more, Tara closed her eyes when nothing came and quietly got up and turned out towards the door. A tear made its way slowly down her face, as she took one last look back.
"I need you," she said, quietly, before taking the final steps out of the room.
Tara was surprised when she got outside at how dark it was. She could feel the evil outside, too, though she was unable to pinpoint exactly where it was. It seemed everywhere, though strongest towards where the school was.
Shivering, she walked towards home. It was a pretty warm evening, even for California, but the evil she sensed wasn't doing her much good. Suddenly, she froze as she heard a growl in behind her. Turning around, she saw what looked like a normal person, until he walked into the light.
Looking at him in disbelief, Tara quickly turned and began running, crossing the street in an effort to lose him.
Stealing a glance behind her, she screamed slightly as she saw him still following, not losing a step.
Looking ahead of her again, she only barely stopped before running into a brick wall. As she turned her head around frantically, she found she had no escape.
T-t-this is it, Tara realized, closing her eyes, as tears flowed once more. Cowering, she waited for it to end.
A/N: Yup, that's the end for this chapter. I promise it won't stop there, though. I don't keep people hanging :)
Next chapter shouldn't take as long as this one did, but don't hold me on that.
So, until next time, happy reading!