Disclaimer: Nothing is mine and I am not trying to say that it is. That's what this is all about...

Chapter Eight

"Who's Gunther?" Buffy asked curiously as she tilted her head over at Rachel and Monica. Rachel's exasperated and slightly annoyed expression gave Buffy the impression that this Gunther person was not well liked.

"Well?" Anya asked curiously as she tapped her fingernails against the countertop.

"He's this platinum blond loser who has this enormous crush on me and can't accept the fact that I don't love him," Rachel answered.

"He also works at the coffee shop back home," Monica added.

"Home," Joey murmured softly to himself before grabbing a donut from the box Dawn had brought in.

Xander fought back the urge to start laughing out loud. Although he made no sounds, Willow could tell from the expression on her friend's face what was going on in his head. "What is it, Xand?" she asked curiously.

Xander smiled. "Now, is it just me or does this Gunther guy sound a lot like Spike?" he asked. "Minus the coffee place, that is."

"Shockingly, yes," Buffy agreed with her friend. "But Rach," she began seriously as she turned to face her the new Slayer. "We really have to get training," she pointed out as she and Giles began making their way to the back room of the shop.

Rachel nodded as she decided against groaning out loud. She then took her sweater off and placed it next to her purse at the table before following Buffy and Giles.

"Well," Chandler began in attempt to break the approaching uncomfortable silence. "What do the sidekicks do?"

Willow found herself growing angry at the comment. "Excuse me," she began as she moved closer to Chandler. "We are not the sidekicks," she continued with hints of anger in her voice. "We just help Buffy fight evil without having Slayer powers."

"Which is basically the definition of sidekick," Anya pointed out as she fished through the shelves with books for sale on them. After finding the most expensive one, she walked over and put it on the table in front of Ross. "The sidekicks buy the pretty books and look stuff up on how to kill demons," she answered plainly. "Kill the current demons, that is," she amended. "The current evil demons."

"Told you she was evil!" Willow blurted out loud at Anya's last comment.

"I am not evil," Anya argued back. "Nor am I a demon, but that's not to say that I couldn't be one. I could, but now I have Xander," she said as she smiled adoringly at her boyfriend.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said dismissively before turning her focus back to Ross. "Don't listen to the crazy woman over there. You don't have to buy the book," she assured him.

"But I can, right?" Ross asked.

"You want to buy the expensive one when there's other cheap ones?" Willow asked him curiously. "Well, if that's your prerogative"

Ross nodded. "It's intriguing," he said softly as he began reading the words on the page. "Demons share some things with dinosaurs."

"Oh god," Joey blurted out. "Don't get him started on the dinosaurs!" he warned. "He'll never shut up!"

"That's not true," Ross said in his defense.

Anya whipped the book out of Ross's hands. "If you are going to buy it, then you're buying it now," she informed the paleontologist as she walked back towards the cash register.

"Ok," Ross said excitedly as he followed Anya. He pulled out his wallet and prepared to pay for the book.

Dawn and Janice walked eagerly towards the Espresso Pump. Janice giggled and blushed slightly once the two of them were up close to the counter. Sure enough, there was a blond guy there.

"So what do you think?" Janice asked excitedly. "Is he not radiating in hotness?" she asked.

Dawn shrugged. "Seems a little old for me," she said honestly. Although technically, every man she had a crush on was older than her for she was not even one yet.

"So?" Janice asked. "We're not making marriage plans here. What do you really think?"

Dawn shrugged once more. "He's ok, I guess. Dylan from the varsity basketball team is hotter though," she admitted.

Janice nodded. "You got that right!" she said with a smile as she and Dawn grabbed a table. "What's with all the people inside that store your sister's friend owns?" Janice asked curiously. "That one guy who was eyeing the food looks pretty cute."

"That's Joey," Dawn said with a slight smile. "And he is really cute."

"Well, what's he doing here?" Janice asked. Unknown to either of the girls the blond guy was walking around behind them. He had stopped at the mention of the name Joey, just in case it might be that bastard lucky enough to be friends with his Rachel. He had heard that she was in this town.

"He's friends with Rachel," Dawn answered. "And I really don't know why Rachel's here," Dawn lied. She hated lying to Janice but she knew her friend could not handle the fact that vampires and whatnot were real. Maybe someday, but not yet.

"Rachel?" Gunther asked as he stepped in front of the two girls. "Unlimited free muffins and hot chocolate if it's Rachel Green and you tell me where she is."