Chapter 16: Devil in Disguise?

It wasn't until they were driving away in the car that Dawn began to think there was more to their hasty exit than Xander's fear of principals' offices. He kept glancing in the rearview mirror.

"What's wrong?"

Xander glanced at Dawn before turning his eye back to the road. "Nothing," he muttered.

"Uh-huh. Not going there. You agreed to treat me like an adult. That means not hiding stuff from me, even the bad stuff." Dawn's determined face warned Xander that she wasn't going to let this one go.

"Alright," Xander said. "I just think it's a little weird that your principal knew so much about you. Admittedly, she could have seen our address when they were trying to contact me. But how would she know that Mrs. Parker and Amber give you a ride to and from school?"

Dawn's eyes widened. She hadn't thought of that.

"Throw in the fact that it was the second time we've seen that same tattoo since we've been in LA, and we've got a few to many coincidences to be coincidences."

"Third," said Dawn.

"What?"

"That's the third time I've seen it."

"WHAT!?" The car jerked sideways as Xander's grip tightened on the wheel. He brought the car back into the right lane before continuing. "When did this happen?"

"It was around the last of June. I was at the mall with Katie and Amber. This guy bumped into me and knocked my shopping bag out of my hand. He apologized as he got down and picked up stuff to put back in the bag. When he looked up at me, he stopped talking. He stared for a moment, then went back to gathering stuff up. He handed me the bag—that's when I saw the tattoo—and left without saying another word."

"Did he act like he recognized you?" asked Xander.

"Maybe. I don't know. I mean, I thought it was strange but Katie and Amber didn't give it a second thought. Well, they gave it four or five thoughts, but they didn't think it was weird."

"What did they think it was?"

"Katie said he was smitten with my charms and struck dumb by my beautiful smile."

"Huh?"

"Katie is a lot romantic and even more dramatic."

"Not a good combination in a teenage girl. What did Amber think of it?"

Dawn chuckled. "She said he could probably just see up my skirt from that angle and was drowning in his own drool at the sight of my panties."

Xander cast a reproving look at Dawn. "Sometimes Amber reminds me just a little too much of Janice."

"There's nothing wrong with Janice!"

"Nothing that a few years in jail wouldn't cure."

As Dawn opened her mouth to protest again, Xander went on. "About how old was this guy? Did he have any distinguishing characteristics?"

"I think you've been watching too many cop shows. But no, no distinguishing marks, other than the tattoo. He was fourteen, maybe fifteen, and dressed like any other guy there. He was alone, which is a little unusual, but he could have been meeting someone."

"Mmmm. Three people, two males, one female, all different ages, all with the same tattoo. Sounds like a research project in the making."

"But not tonight," said Dawn. "None of these people have tried to hurt me. One even saved me. And if the principal is in their group, they've known where to find me for a while."

Xander hesitated before conceding, "Okay. So, you still want to go to Amber's?"

"No." said Dawn. "I told her earlier that I probably wouldn't be coming. After all, we have plans for tomorrow."

Xander smiled as he reached over to cover Dawn's hand with his own. "I guess we do. So, do we need to go shopping?"

"Yes, we definitely need to shop."

"Then shop we shall." After Xander finished switching the necessary lanes, he glanced back at Dawn. "I think LA has it's own crisis day."

"Huh?"

"You know, how the major weird stuff in Sunnydale usually happened on Tuesday. I think LA's weird day must be Friday, or possibly Saturday."

Dawn just grinned