Disclaimer: I own nothing except Audrey, Hallie and any other characters you don't recognise.

A/N: We have jumped 15 years into the future after the prologue. Everything is now in Aud's POV (and in first person. I'm not particularly an expert in the first person, so constructive criticism is even more appreciated than usual. Please review!). This chapter introduces Aud and Hallie, and to a certain extent, Nikki. Enjoy (and please, please review!). I realise there isn't much Scoobiness but I intended this to be a fic about Aud and how she sees everyone and everything around her. I hope you'll like it anyway.

A/N 2: Thank you to those who reviewed the first chapter. ESR: Thanks! And yes, aw daddie Xander!, Sabia: Thanks for reviewing everything I post!, xanya-forever: I hope you like this too (although there isn't much 'Xanya' going on yet)

Hallie's borrowed my make-up again. OK, perhaps 'borrowed' is not the most accurate word, since it implies actually asking for things. So maybe 'stealthily removed from my room in my absence' is a little better. Yes, definitely better.

She's got this party at The Silver tonight. There's this excessively rich girl in her class, like richer than Bill Gates, whose father can actually afford to rent the club for a whole night to give his daughter a birthday party. And I think Hallie feels the need to look like a slut even more than she did the last time she stole my make-up, because I've just noticed my liquid eyeliner is missing too. I swear, if dad sees her before she manages to sneak out, he's going to freak. I mean, last week, I saw her going to yet another party and I almost pulled a responsible parent on her and tried to stop her from going out looking like she was. And on that occasion, no liquid eyeliner was involved. Believe me, I do know a thing or two of the disasters that are bound to happen if a thirteen-year-old gets her way with liquid eyeliner, so I seriously don't want to see how she'll end up looking this time.

See, sometimes I worry that she might actually be a slut, rather than just apply make-up like one. OK, 'worry' is, again, not the most accurate word here. Maybe, 'concerned in an uncaring big-sisterly way that my bratty sister's sluttiness might have repercussions on me as well, in that mom and dad might decide to limit my freedom in the conviction that I might get up to the same things Hallie does, only in a more covert way' is a better description of how I feel.

God, I really hope she manages to sneak out before dad sees her face.

I can't believe how Nikki can be best friends with Hallie. Nikki is thirteen too, but she acts so much more mature! First off, she's very pretty without looking remotely like a slut. Also, she doesn't date a different member of the school's football team every week, which would be so clichéd teen movie popular girl! Thankfully, Nikki's a little more original than that. God, I wish Nikki was my sister instead of Hallie! At least I wouldn't have to see Queen Brat of Brattonia every single day. Speaking of, here she is at the door.

'Hey Aud, will you lend me your red lipstick? I think I've lost mine.'

Can you believe the cheek? She's asking for more make-up! One of these days I'm seriously going to kick her out of the house and have her deported to some poor country with no memory of her past life and force her to work in one of Nike's soccer ball factories.

But for now, I'll play around a bit.

'Sure. Do you think there might be some make-up eating demon in the house? 'Cause I've lost my black eyeliner too. And my eye-shadow set.'

'Really? I'm sorry. Maybe it's a female demon! Geez, and I thought moving was gonna protect us from all that demon-y stuff. Anyway, I'll look around and tell you if I find anything.'

What? I can't believe this! She's even smiling! She's pretending she knows nothing at all and that she'll help me find my stuff! Maybe I could open a nice portal and get her sent to an alternate reality populated by bunnies alone, instead of a dark, dank factory where she's forced to do child labour... Yes, that would definitely be a more fitting revenge. Because, you know, Hallie's got rabbit-phobia, like mom. Ridiculous, really, to be scared of bunnies, when you can be scared of praying mantises.

I guess I'll have to go on with this conversation now. I wonder, should I continue with the pretending or should I yell at her? And I can't believe I'm even asking myself this.

'Well thanks ever so for your generous offer to help, Miss 'my own make-up is not enough for me so I feel compelled to steal my sister's'!'

'Hey, I didn't steal, I just…you know, borrowed!'

See, now she's doing that little grin thing that makes me feel horrible if I'm mean to her. But I'm not going to fall for it this time.

'If this happens again, even once, the next time he visits I'm gonna tell Angel you like him.'

Oh yes! Go me! Now, the grin's gone and she's got that look of pure terror, the eyes wide open kind, like that time I put a cuddly bunny toy under her blanket when she was seven and we were still sharing that huge bed at the Academy. God, that was funny! And she's stuttering now. She does that only when she's very scared. Hee hee!

'W-What? No! You w-wouldn't do that. You wouldn't, right? Please don't!'

She's had a crush on Angel ever since he visited last year. Since Buffy broke up with Daniel, like two years ago, Angel and Spike have been visiting way more often than before. It's so funny, they're all supposed to be over each other, but the two vamps are still trying to win Buffy's heart, and she still gets all upset whenever they get here, because she can't make up her mind. As if her love life wasn't already messed up enough, Daniel (who, by the way, is a total hottie) is making a move again to get her back. It's kind of a 'Far From the Madding Crowd' situation, only with the more modern setting and the freaky supernatural elements. Personally, I'd choose Spike right away! Those cheekbones…I'd die for those cheekbones. With Spike around, I can't believe Hallie and Buffy can actually like Angel. Yes, he's nice and all, but that forehead! Every time I look at it, I have to, like, turn around and breathe slowly ten times, otherwise I'll just burst out laughing in his face! But Hallie thinks it's sexy…at least, she started thinking so last year. She had seen him before but she's just newly entered that 'boys aren't just there to pull my hair' phase, so she's noticed him only now. He, of course, just sees her as 'Xander's daughter', so Queen Brat has no chance at all. Plus, he's like three hundred! Or was it two hundred? Still, he's way too old. Spike, instead, is so much younger…mmm, Spike…

I'm getting a weird stare now. Or maybe it's still a scared stare?

'Aud? Sis? You wouldn't, would you? I'm sorry, I-I'll never, ever take your make up again, ever! Did I mention your hair looks great today?'

I think I might let it go, just this once. She's doing the butt-kissing thing, it's actually quite funny. A little more glaring should do the trick. Oh, and some bitch-queeniness.

'My hair always looks great. Now leave my room and come back only if you're bleeding to death and there's no one else in a hundred-mile radius to save you. I'm not telling Angel anything on two conditions: I want my eyeliner and my eye shadow back before you leave, and I want to see your make-up when you're done. If you look too much like a hooker, you're not leaving this house. Is that clear?'

I've got her mad now! She's doing that funny thing with her eyes, where the left one starts twitching and the right one narrows slightly. It usually means she's repressing anger. Or that she's confused. See, she doesn't have normal body language. She's a freak, really!

'Yes, it's clear. Mom.'

Mom, huh? She still isn't leaving, though. Why isn't she leaving?

'Why aren't you leaving?'

'You still haven't given me your lipstick.'

What a brat.

I really would have let it go this time, but her party's in an hour and Hallie still hasn't brought my make-up back. I need it! I'm going out tonight too, it's not like I don't have a life. We're all going to the Fishtank, me and 10 other WiTs. Albert asked me. I have a feeling he likes me. Yesterday, I caught him staring at me in Demon Physiology class, and that's got to be the fiftieth time that happens, so I'm thinking there's a pattern here. I'm dragging Julie along too, since I know Albert well but I'm not that close to his friends and I want someone not to share an awkward silence with. Plus, Julie told me she likes Graham, this impossibly square-jawed friend of Albert's, so if she comes with she might get a chance to get to know him, and I'd get to play matchmaker! Too bad Andrew isn't coming...which I understand, because he's like 20 years older than us and way cooler. I bet he's going out with his girlfriend. That bitch. I swear I'll murder her one day. I'll tell my Slayer (if they give me one) that she's a demon. That should do the trick. But then Andrew would be all miserable! No, I can't do that to him. God, this is a dilemma.

I bet they'll have sex tonight. That bitch.

I really should get going, I'm meeting Julie, Albert and two of his friends at the Academy (they all live there) in an hour and then we're going to the 'Tank, and I still have to do my make-up, not to mention my hair. I think it's time to go to Hallie's room and get back what I rightfully own.

I wonder if Nikki's here already. Buffy's giving her her evening Slayer workout instead of Faith while she and Mr. Wood are away getting three Chinese Slayers. Nikki's staying with us and I'm guessing she finished workout early today to get ready for the party. She's probably in Hallie's room, and she'll definitely be reasonable enough to help me get my stuff back. Yes, I can hear their voices, she's there. And there's someone else. I think it's Jessica, one of Hallie's school friends. Hallie, doing her best to avoid anything supernatural, has decided to go to a normal school rather than attend the Academy. Which I don't get. She might not be a Slayer like Nikki (I guess some things just run in the family) but she could have trained to be a Watcher. With all the Slayers in the world, there certainly is no surplus of Watchers!

Well, there's nothing I can do about it anyway. Apart from knocking and exacting sweet vengeance, (which I have yet to come up with a way to do), for her usurpation of my precious cosmetics. I am evil incarnate. Hear my evil laugh.

'Yes? What do you want?'

'Just my stuff back.' Oh, there they are. Nikki, Jessica and there's more! Sam and Kathy too. I think I know what to do to piss lil' sis off… 'Hey girls! How are you all? You going to the party too? Halfrek's been talking about it all week!'

There, I did it! Hallie's expression is priceless. I can tell she's mad, she's doing that eye thing for the second time today. Serves her right, though. I am so evil!

I guess I should explain. 'Hallie' is just a nickname. Her full name is actually Halfrek. Apparently, one of mom's vengeance demon friends was called Halfrek, and she got killed. Mom never really talks about it, but I think they were really close. Anyway, we've almost always called my sister just Hallie and she hates it whenever someone calls her Halfrek. I can't blame her, really! She gets really embarrassed (not to mention mad) when we do that in front of her friends. I used to do it all the time when we were little, but then mom and dad got all mad at me and told me to stop. Huh! Like I ever would lose such an opportunity to annoy her! So now, whenever she pisses me off, I just call her Halfrek and watch her cringe! I told you I was evil incarnate! Demon child me (literally).

I swear, if metaphors were real, she'd have smoke coming out of her ears right now.

'Here you go. Now get out.' God, she's really furious! Well, at least I have my make-up back. She's shutting the door in my face as I wave to the girls and give Nikki a wink which she returns with a grin.

Well, that was fun. Having a bratty sister does have its positive sides.