A/N: You guys have been really cool with the reviewing and all. I so owe all of you major hugs. Now sit back and relax with this chapter. Enjoy!
CHAPTER 15
"Hi, Ms. Thompson," Buffy greeted with a smile as she entered the main office.
"Good morning, Buffy," Ms. Thompson returned the smile. "Good morning, Willow." She noticed the tall, red haired girl Buffy was with. "You two here for office duty?"
"Proud to serve our fellow student," Buffy replied.
"Yes, proud," Willow added with her usual awkward, cheerful smile. "T-that's why we're here 'cause we're so proud and dedicated and we would never have some other ulterior motive—"
Buffy nudged Willow in the ribs casually. "So what do you need us to do?" Buff asked Ms. Thompson.
"You know, some filing would be great. We're really backed up today," the woman replied. The cell phone that sat on Ms. Thompson's desk suddenly went off. She picked it up and glanced at it. "Sorry, girls. This is important. I'll be back in a couple minutes." She slipped out of the office.
The moment she was gone Buffy and Willow raced into the attendance office, which joined the main office. Willow sat down at the large computer and turned it on. Buffy stood over her shoulder.
"All right, Will," Buffy instructed. "Find out whatever you can about these kids. Old schools, dental records, the whole nine yards." The blonde thought for a moment. "What's that mean? Nine yards of what?"
"It's OK, Buffy. This'll just take a sec or two," Willow promised.
"And this is close to legal, right?"
"Very close."
"That's what I like to hear."
In the school cafeteria, Wesley made his way through a crowd of kids, carrying his lunch tray. Then he spotted Spike, leaning against one of the soda machines, a coke in his hand. Wesley very hesitantly made it over to the other British teenager.
"Hello, um, Spike, is it?" Wesley greeted. Spike moved his eyes to get a glance at Wesley then just nodded. "My name is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. That was quite the show you pulled today in English." Spike shrugged. "Class clown, I'd say. Well, if you're not eating with anyone would you like to join my mates and I?"
Spike looked at him and removed his soda from his lips. "Yeah, great. Could you move far, far away from me now?"
"Oh, well… yes." Wesley bowed his head in embarrassment and slipped away.
Fred, in a hurry to get to lunch, made her way down the hall of the first floor, heading for her locker. When she got there she saw a piece of paper taped to it. She glanced closely at what was on the paper. It was a picture of a stick figure girl.
"Like what I made in art today?" Fred turned to see Gunn smirking at her. "I feel it defines you so well."
Fred ripped the drawing off her locker. "OK. You have to stop doing this. What have I ever done to you, Charles?"
"Nothing." Gunn approached her, getting in her face. "Thing is, though, if a stick, you know, like yourself, roams in my hallway, chances are, I'm gonna step on it and snap it. And, you, Fred, are just another twig in my way. Don't like it? Remove yourself then." With that, Gunn walked off towards the cafeteria.
Fred buried her face into her locker and moaned lightly. She felt a strong hand on her shoulder and turned around with a gasp. It was Angelus, who stared closely at her tear-streaked face.
"I'm sorry," he apologized for startling her. "It's just… I heard what he said to you."
"Oh. Well…" Fred trailed off, wiping her eyes.
"You OK?" Fred shook her head. "You… you can't let people like that get to you." Fred released a few more tears, her breath hitching. "Hey, it's OK." He didn't know why but Angelus reached out and removed her hands from her tears. "You don't look like a stick to me."
Fred suddenly laughed lightly. "Thanks," she whispered.
"What's your name?"
"Fred. Fred Burkle." The petite girl released a sniff.
"I'm… I'm, uh…"
"What?" Fred smiled lightly at him. "Some type of angel?"
"Angel," Angelus repeated softly.
"That's your name?" Fred asked.
"No, yes- I… are you OK now?" he changed the subject quickly.
Fred nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."
Angelus looked her closely in the eye. "Listen, if you ever need to talk to somebody or… look for me."
Fred nodded again as Angelus turned and walked down the hall. "Thanks again… Angel!"
The tall teenager stopped. "Angel," he repeated again then hurried down the hall.
Meanwhile, back at the attendance office Willow still sat at the computer, typing away. Buffy peeked out of the door, keeping watch.
"Buffy, I typed into their files," Willow finally said. "The new boy, the tall one, his name is Liam O'Connor. He's a senior and left his school because of, well, let's say, problems. The other boy, with the blondish hair, his name is William Dalton. He's a junior had problems of the uber variety. And the girl's name is Druanne Dunn. She's a sophomore, who used to go to Catholic school."
"Is that it?" Buffy asked.
"Well, we could print out their records—"
"Uh-oh," Buffy interrupted her. "Ms. Thompson alert."
Willow immediately shut off the computer and she and Buffy sped out of the attendance office. Ms. Thompson released a sigh as she re-entered the main office.
"Sorry that took so long, girls," she apologized.
"Oh, it's fine," Willow said.
Buffy added, "We found ways to pass the time."
After school Buffy ran out to Gunn's father's car; the jaguar. Wesley and Gunn were already out there, fully ready to go home.
"Hey, guys," Buffy greeted. "Got info."
"All right. What you got?" Gunn asked her.
"Tall guy, Liam O'Connor. Punk guy, William Dalton. Girl, Druanne Dunn," Buffy told them.
"That's it?" Gunn asked her. When Buffy nodded the black boy snapped his tongue. "I been knew the boy's name was Liam."
"And William actually prefers to be called Spike. Not exactly a friendly fellow," Wesley said.
"Oh… well, you do better then," Buffy defended herself.
"I thought you had super Willow hack on yo' side," Gunn said.
"I did," Buff said. "But Ms. Thompson made a re-appearance before we could get to anything good." She folded her arms with a sigh.
"Let's try again tomorrow," Gunn said. "Come on." The trio climbed into the car and Gunn immediately drove off."
"Spike, Dru," Angelus called to his two companions, who headed the opposite of Gunn and his crew.
"Angelus," Dru acknowledged as her sire came to walk next to her, leaving her in-between he and Spike.
"I swear, this place is a pure, bloody marvel," Spike said. "I can't count the number of teachers I dropped cracks on today."
"This place is doing things to me," Angelus shook his head. "Things I would never do or say."
"I haven't gotten a reading, yet," Dru said. "I feel so empty."
"Could it be that lack of a soul, Drusilla?" The three teenagers turned around to see the man from the night before, looking at them.
"All right, spook," Spike said. "Erase your little hoodoo and let's all have a good laugh about this. Right after we gape a hole into your corpse."
"Can't be arranged," the man said. "You see, children, welcome to where you deserve to be."
"School?" Dru asked, having a blonde moment.
"Hell."
"You call this hell?" Angelus asked. "Books and little happy meals with legs walking around everywhere you look?"
The man chuckled. "Did you really think I'd leave you three killing machines with all these humans, ripe for the picking? You go anywhere near human blood and it'll be like fire in your mouths."
"He's a liar," Angelus told the younger vampires.
"Really? How do you think you resisted temptation today? Human instinct to survive." The man suddenly snatched a branch from a tree. "But in case that doesn't stop you…" He suddenly swung the branch out, planting it in Dru's chest.
She released a gasp of pain and suddenly dissolved into dust, blowing away with the wind.
"Dru!" Angelus and Spike exclaimed simultaneously.
All of a sudden, Dru's dust particles reformed back into her shape. "What happened?" she breathed, once whole.
"That was just a demonstration," the man said. "One stake, you're gone."
"What do you want from us?" Angelus demanded.
"More than anything, I want your lives," the man told them. "Sadly, though, even your deaths would be a waste. Your powers, your force, you are to use them for good."
Spike scoffed. "Would you listen to this wanker?"
"You will defend all those in danger and you will do it well. From this point on, you help the helpless."
"Wait," Angelus stopped him. "Help the—" But with a blink of an eye the man was gone, faster than speed itself. "Where is he?"
"When did he leave?" Dru glanced around.
"Help the helpless?" Spike echoed then chuckled. "And they say I'm a bad poet."
"You are but that's not the point," Angelus said. "Come on. Let's head to my place and try to figure out what's going on."
Dru started to walk with them then suddenly stopped. "Help the helpless…" What did that mean?
A/N: I'm really hoping I cleared up the last of the confusion. Please review!