Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.
Chapter 3: School Daze
Dawn woke up to the sound of someone calling her name. She blinked at met Connor's gaze.
"Connor?" She asked, her voice heavy with sleep and confusion.
"You need to get up for school, Dawn." He said, perching on the edge of the bed.
"School?" She repeated.
"You know. Big brick building with teachers and boring books?" Connor replied, a hint of sarcasm. He was trying not to stare at her. She even looked beautiful first thing in the morning. He paused as another thought struck him. "You do remember what school is, don't you?" He wanted to know, sounding serious. Dawn whacked him with a pillow in response, and they grinned at each other. She sat up and glanced at the clock, trying to ignore how his nearness was making her feel.
"Crap, I'm going to be late." She complained.
"Not if you hurry. Buffy already left and she said if you were late today, there was no way she would be able to save you from detention." Connor informed her. Dawn grimaced. Great, first bizarro world, and then detention in said bizarro world. "I'll tell you what…" Connor began. "You run up and get ready, I'll put some pop tarts in the toaster, and I'll drive you to school." He desperately hoped she'd take him up on his offer. He was tired of pretending he didn't exist.
"Okay, thanks." Dawn accepted, getting up. She walked quickly across the room and up the stairs. Connor stared after her until she was out of sight. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
*
Buffy leaned back in her chair. How she loved this chair. It was the perfect chair for a pregnant woman. It curved to her back in all the right places, and was tall enough that she could rest her head against it. It made her computer work a breeze. Her phone rang, and she snapped it up.
"Buffy Summers." She answered, still not tired of answering the phone that way. Truthfully, she loved her job. Granted, Principal Wood had hired her with no experience, and no education, but she'd proved herself in the almost year and a half that she'd been working there.
"Hey, Will." She went on, recognizing her friend's voice on the line. "Yeah, Dawn's fine, as far as I can tell. Running late for school as usual." Buffy paused, pushing a couple of buttons on her computer, and listening to Willow talk. "No, I don't think there have been any serious side effects. She'd have told me." She told her friend, frowning at the phone. "She would have told me, right?" Buffy asked Willow.
While Willow answered her, she clicked the mouse to print out a couple of reports, and then reached for a summons pass. "Wait, now you're forgetting stuff?" Buffy caught Willow's last comment, and grinned. Trying desperately not to laugh at her friend's groan of frustration, she finished filling out the summons pass. "Well, I'll talk to you later, ok? Say hey to Lindsey for me." Buffy said good-bye and hung up.
Buffy gestured for the student guidance worker to approach her. Once the student had entered the room, she handed him the pass.
"Deliver this as soon as the first period bell rings." She said. The student nodded, and left her office. Buffy leaned back in her chair a second time. Man, did she love this chair.
*
Dawn checked her hair one more time as she heard Connor honk. Dawn grabbed her books, double checked to make sure she had her class schedule, and raced out to Connor's jeep. It was dark blue, and Dawn was astonished that Buffy would have even agreed to by it in the first place. Angel must have given up something dear to win that argument.
They drove slowly through the streets of Sunnydale, making small talk, and before Dawn realized it, they were pulling up in front of Sunnydale High.
"Listen, if you want, I can pick you up after my last class." Connor told her, trying not to sound absolutely desperate to spend time with her.
"Sure, thanks." She replied, getting out of the jeep. Inwardly, she was ecstatic that Connor was paying her so much attention. Waving, Dawn headed inside.
As she walked down the crowded hall, glancing at her schedule for her locker number and combination, she heard a voice calling her name. Turning, she found Kit weaving her way through the crowd. Well, that hadn't changed, Dawn thought, meeting her friend with a grin.
"Hey Kit." Dawn greeted her.
"What's up, Summers?" Kit asked, falling in step. Dawn looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. Nope, ignored as always.
"Not a whole lot." Dawn said, evasive. She spotted her locker number and made a beeline for it, Kit following. Once her locker door was open, she motioned for Kit to lean in. Whispering, Dawn told Kit that she'd lost part of her memory as a side effect of a spell, and it took everything she had to keep Kit from freaking out.
"You call that not a whole lot?" Kit hissed, trying not to attract attention.
"Look, it's no big deal." Dawn shrugged it off, but inside, she was dying to tell Kit the truth. This wasn't her world, and Kit was not the Kit she knew.
"How's Buffy taking it?" Kit asked, trying to look casual as Dawn looked through her books to see what she needed for first period.
"She doesn't know." Dawn tried to remain nonchalant. Not telling Buffy about the whole mess was the hardest thing she'd ever done.
"Dawn!"Kit nearly exclaimed.
"I don't want her to worry about me, with the baby and all. She doesn't need the stress." Dawn shoved a couple of books in her bag. "Promise me you won't tell." She demanded. Kit sighed.
"All right. I won't tell Buffy, and I'll help you cover, cause God knows you're going to need it." Kit finally agreed. Dawn smiled at her friend gratefully, and slammed her locker shut. The girls turned to go to class, and came face to face with the one person Dawn was hoping didn't exist in this reality.
"Well, now." Kirstie nearly drawled. "What have we here?" Kirstie moved in front of Dawn. "So freak, who was the hottie who dropped you off this morning?" She asked Dawn, her tone haughty.
"None of your business, Kirstie." Dawn replied, glaring at the girl.
"Ouch." Kirstie said sarcastically, giving Dawn a look that indicated the popular girl found talking to her demeaning. "Anyone that hot is my business." Kirstie went on, in a tone that implied Dawn was an idiot. Jealousy shot through Dawn. Connor was hers.
"In your dreams." Dawn told the girl, before she could stop herself.
"And what's that supposed to mean, freak?" Kirstie threatened.
"That unlike you, he has a brain." Dawn said, the sound of her voice like ice. "Come on, Kit, let's go." Kirstie stepped into her path a second time. Dawn regarded her with a look would have shaken the most intimidating vampire to the core. "Do you really want to fight me?"
Kirstie stared at them, flabbergasted, as they walked around her and down the hallway.
"You'll always be a freak, Summers!" She called after Dawn. Everyone in hearing distance turned to see what was going on. Dawn whirled around, causing Kirstie to visibly flinch.
"Yeah, tell me something I don't know." Dawn replied saucily, before turning back around and walking away.
*
"So basically, you're telling me that your sister is a worry-wort, and you feel like you're being smothered?" Buffy asked, staring at the student in front of her.
"Pretty much." Dawn said, playing with the frayed corner of one of her school books. Getting a summons to the guidance office in first period had been bad enough, but it was also a class she shared with Kirstie, so it had caused double the embarrassment.
"I'm don't mean to smother." Buffy apologized. Dawn smiled at her sister.
"I know that you're worried about me, Buffy." Dawn replied. "But you don't have to be. I'm done playing around with magic spells when Willow's not around. You need to spend your time thinking about your baby instead." She told Buffy. The blond smiled in response, and patted her swelling belly.
"You know that I worry about you no matter what." Buffy said.
"Sure you do. But you don't have to stress out over it, ok?" Dawn scolded.
"Ok, as long as you're sure you're fine." Buffy agreed. They were silent for a moment.
"Actually, Buffy, since I'm here..." Dawn began. "Do you think it's possible that I could switch a couple of my classes?" She asked. Buffy looked concerned.
"Are you flunking, Dawn?" Buffy demanded, sounding agitated.
"No, nothing like that." Dawn answered. "There are just a couple of classes I'd like to take."
The rest of school that day passed in an uneventful blur. Dawn was relieved when she and Kit met up after her math class, and began the trek to her locker.
"Are you sure he won't care?" Kit asked for the tenth time.
"I'm sure." Dawn answered, tossing books into her book bag. She had a ton of homework. "Why the wig? It's just a ride home."
"It's just...I've never actually met Connor." Kit revealed. Dawn stared at her friend.
"What?" She nearly whispered. Kit squirmed uncomfortably.
"You two don't normally get along very well, and you never have friends over." Kit explained. Dawn slung her bag up on her shoulder and shut her locker. She was bothered by this information but didn't let it show. "I was shocked when I saw him drop you off this morning." Kit went on.
"He knows about the whole memory thing." Dawn replied as they headed toward Connor's jeep. She looked up and spotted something that made her nearly stop dead in her tracks. Kirstie was just in front of her, headed in the same direction. "Unbelievable." She spat, speeding up the pace towards Connor.
Dawn and Kit arrived just behind her, and Dawn prided herself on the fact that Kirstie hadn't heard them approach.
"Hi." Kirstie said, leaning on the door of the jeep. Connor panicked. He hated it when girls hit on him.
"Hi." He replied, trying to sound uninterested.
"I'm-"Kirstie began
"...A total bitch?" Dawn finished for the girl, gleefully interrupting. Kit's mouth dropped. Kirstie turned around and found herself face to face with Dawn. Connor was speechless. "Hey, Connor, I told Kit we'd take her home." Dawn said to him, pointing to her friend and ignoring Kirstie. Connor nodded, unable to remember how to make his mouth form words. Kit climbed up in the jeep as Dawn gave Kirstie another look, before brushing by her and getting in the jeep as well.
"Sorry, Kirstie." Dawn said as Connor started the jeep. "Guess you struck out."
The trio in the car was silent until Kit spoke up.
"Wow, Summers. I can't believe you told off Kirstie." Kit began. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes..." She trailed off and sat back in the seat.
"I can't either." Connor agreed, finally speaking up.
"I guess this memory loss thing is kinda freeing." Dawn replied, not looking at them. The truth was that she was tired of taking crap from Kirstie. It ended now. Somehow the subject traveled to different topics, and they laughed and joked as Kit gave Connor directions to her house. Once Kit had been dropped off, Connor pulled out of the drive.
"Where to now?" Dawn asked, wondering if she'd made any plans for that night.
"The Magic Box. We go there every day after school." Connor said.