Buffy looked over at her mother who was staring ahead at the road. They were on their way to their new aparment, suitcases piled in the back of their car. Most people would need a moving van, but they had nothing big to bring. They didn't have any furniture. Mainly, because Joyce didn't want to bring with them any reminders of their life with her father. It was almost like she was trying to pretend it never happened.

Buffy sighed, and rested her head against the car window. The houses that they passed by weren't as bad as she had expected. Of course, they weren't mansions with twenty cars lined up outside, but they were nice. Livable. Cute. Cozy, Buffy thought. Just keep up that positive attitude and maybe this won't be so bad.

Tomorrow she was starting school. She hated the fact that she had to start in the middle of a semester, but she had no choice. Sunnydale High. I wonder how much that's going to suck. Well, no one knows me... So, maybe I can start over... Start new. No one has to know I was rich.

"Buffy, sweetie, we're here," Joyce said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Buffy opened her eyes, and looked up at the building before them. It was a brick building, with twelve floors. It was one of the nicest around, and didn't seem to have many problems, except for the odd broken window.

"I know it's nothing like our old home. But, what's a home, right? All you do is sleep there," Joyce said, placing an arm on her daughter's. "And as soon as I get my promotion, we'll upgrade. I'm sure we can find a nice house in the neighbourhood, so we don't have to pull you out of school again."

Buffy just nodded, and hesitated before undoing her seatbelt and stepping outside. She walked around to the trunk, and grabbed her four suitcases. Two big, and two small. Her mother gave her a confused look, not knowing she could carry that much.

"Are you sure you want to take all that at one time..." Joyce said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah... Um, no, I'm fine. Must be all those veggies," Buffy said nervously. "That or you know, clothes don't weigh much."

Joyce smiled, and handed Buffy a key. "Why don't you go up? It's on the sixth floor, room 625."

Buffy nodded, and took the key in her mouth before heading over to the doors. She was about to put one of her bags down, when the door opened. Confused, she stepped inside and smiled at the man who held it open.

"Thanks," she mumbled, the key still in her mouth.

"Do you need some help, that's an awful big load for such a little lady."

Buffy shook her head no, and walked over to the elevators. Placing one of her bags down beside her, she pushed the button, and waited impatiently, feeling uncomfortable under the man's eyes. Stop looking at me... Hurry up stupid elevator...

It opened, and Buffy hurried inside. She smiled at the man, as the doors closed, and when they did, sighed. Not even up to the apartment yet and already I've met a freaky old man.

She looked up at the numbers, lighting up as she got closer. 3, 4, 5, 6. Bingo.

The doors opened, and Buffy grabbed her bags before walking out. She looked down both sides of the hallway, and headed to her left. Their apartment was third from the end on the left side.

625. Home sweet home, Buffy thought, as she took the key from her mouth and opened the door.

Leaving her bags in the hall, she walked inside to investigate. The main room took up most of the space. It was big, with beige walls, matching carpet, and empty, which made it appear to be bigger. The kitchen was to her right, small, and seemed to be falling apart.

She moved forward, and to her right was a small hallway. Tilting her head, she walked forward, and stopped when she came to the first door on the right, the bathroom.

Looks like someone did some redecorating, Buffy thought, as she looked the room up and down.

It was a light pink colour, and the flooring looked to be new. The bathtub was one of those old types, with feet. Smiling, she turned to the room across from it, and walked inside.

It was fairly big, with beige walls, looking similar to the living room. This can be mom's room, Buffy thought, as she returned to the hallway.

There was only one room left, and it was straight in front of her. And, this shall be my room, she thought, walking ahead.

The room was small. But big enough to fit a bed, dresser and a few other things. The walls were a light shade of purple, and there was a large window on the right wall, the kind where you can sit and stare out (a/n: yeah, i don't know what they're called...lol).

I can work with this... Buffy thought. Definitely not what I'm used to... But, what was I expecting?

"Buffy?"

Buffy heard her mother calling her from the living room, and walked out. Joyce was standing there, staring at her daughter.

"Mom?"

"You can't just leave your bags out in the hallway honey."

"Oh. Well," Buffy said. "I never thought someone would take them... Did they? Did someone take my stuff? I will kill..."

"Luckily, no. But, if they would've, you would've learned a very valuable lesson, huh?" Joyce said. "So, do you like the apartment?"

Buffy sighed, and shrugged. "It's nice. Needs some work, but, nice."

"It's only temporary, so don't think about spending money on expensive decor."

Buffy nodded. "I know. But, we do need furniture. C'mon, can you deny me that?"

"I have to get to work now... But, tomorrow, while you're at school, I'll go and pick some out."

"But I should be there... You know, to make sure you don't make any life altering decisions," Buffy said.

"It's only furniture. And besides, don't think I don't know what you're up to Buffy Anne Summers. You're going to school tomorrow. You can't miss any more when you already need to be caught up," Joyce said. "Now, go get your bags from the hallway."

"What about the rest still in the car?"

"We'll have to get those when I come back. There's nothing you need, is there?"

"No," Buffy said. "What I need is a place to sit. And sleep. What about sleep? Hello, no bed."

"I'll drop by the house and see what I can do. Till then, stay up... Watch... Read a book," Joyce said, heading to the door.

"I don't own any!" Buffy called after her mother, but she was already gone. "Great. Stuck in a house with no T.V, no phone, no furniture... And I don't own a book."
It was eight o clock at night, six hours since Buffy had first entered her new home. She was lying on the floor in the living room, staring up at the ceiling, when she heard yelling coming from the hallway. Up in an instant, thinking maybe she could beat someone up, she headed over to the door.

Opening it, she stuck her head out, and looked down at the last hallway, three doors down from her. There was a boy, his back facing her, staring at someone inside the apartment.

"You lousy no good son of a-"

The guy closed the door, cutting the woman off, and turned around. Buffy let out small gasp, catching his attention.

"It's you," she said, pointing at him. "The guy from the cemetery."

"I prefer Angel," he said, walking past her.

Buffy started to walk after him, but ran back, realizing she'd left the door open. Once it was closed, she caught up to him.

"I'm Buffy," she said, but when he didn't say anything, she continued. "How long have you lived here for?"

"A few years. Since my dad died."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Buffy said, looking up at him.

"No, I'm over it."

"My dad, he left us. It's not really the same, but it feels like he died."

"Is that why you're here?" he asked, stepping onto the elevator.

"Yeah. Sort of. We were coming here before he left us too... He lost all of our money," Buffy said, following.

"And this is the best thing you could find," he laughed.

"Well, we want to savour the money we have... Buy things important with it," Buffy said. "Things that matter. Things that you don't just live in, but live on. You know, like food." Or furniture.

"You're not as bad as I thought," he said.

"Oh yeah? How so?" she asked, as the elevator doors opened and the two stepped out.

"You know... I just figured... That night in the cemetery. You were the same old stuck up rich girl... Like the one's that I know of."

"Wow, how stereotypical of you," she said.

"I know. And I admit, I was wrong to judge. I mean, look how I live."

"At least you're a nice guy. Where you live doesn't matter," Buffy said, and he smiled. "So, um, where are you headed? Cause, I'm not really sure, why I'm following... But, I'd like to know where I'm, uh, going."

"I just needed to get out of there," he said. "You can go back, if you want to."

"I should... My mom, she'll be worried if she comes home..."

He nodded.

"Well, Angel, it was great chatting with you," she said. "I'll probably see you later."

Buffy smiled before turning around, and jogging back up the street to their apartment.