Sunnydale, 5 years ago:

A pretty blonde girl disengaged herself from the passenger side of a Jeep. She was new, and in a small school like Sunnydale High School, new people stood out. She made it inside before being accosted by any of the male students checking her out.

Xander Harris, sophomore class slacker and clown, bumped in to the tiny girl with a nice tan, and shoulder-length blonde hair. It was due to a combination of his natural clumsiness and the fact that he was paying no attention to where he was going because he was staring at the new girl. She dropped her books and paperwork on the floor. Xander stopped to help her pick them up.

"Hey, let me help you with that."

"Thanks."

"Are you new here?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Maybe not to the casual observer, but I'm pretty… observant" Xander beat himself up a little for the inevitable repetition. "I'm Xander, and you are…"

"Buffy."

"Buffy?"

"Xander?" Buffy shot back.

"Okay, I hear ya. Xander is short for Alexander. I'm not cool enough to use the first half of my name as the abbreviation."

"Well, Buffy is short for nothing. My mom watched a lot of Family Affair when she was pregnant with me. It's better than if she was watching Lassie reruns, I guess."

"That's true. Can I show you to your class or anything?"

"Oh, thank you, but no. Someone is assigned to show me around. Do you know Cordelia Chase?"

Xander's eyes got a little bigger, and he turned several shades redder than he had been moments before. "I guess you could say that. We're…"

"We're not anything Harris" Cordelia had arrived in time for Xander's response. She turned to the petite blonde, "You must be Buffy."

"I must be."

"I'm Cordelia Chase, and we're going to class now" Cordelia directed the last part of the sentence at Xander as she grabbed Buffy's arm and walked her toward their English class. "I hear that you're from LA."

"Yeah, I just moved here with my mom."

Before Buffy could say anything more, Cordelia interrupted with a sigh. "I'd hate moving to Sunnyhell after living in LA." She rushed to add, "Not that I don't go to LA all the time, for shopping and stuff… mostly just shopping."

"Yeah, well, I'll adjust I guess." The two had entered the classroom, and Cordelia ushered her toward two open seats in the back.

"Mrs. Kroller is all right, but she hates it if we talk, which is why we're sitting in the back."

Mrs. Kroller began class, and Buffy sat up straight and paid attention.

"Hey Buffy!" Cordelia whispered.

Buffy ignored her until Cordelia started kicking her lightly on the ankle. Buffy turned toward her and hissed, "I want to do well, so can we please be quiet?"

Cordelia was taken aback and whispered, "Yeah, sure, whatever."

Cordelia had forgotten Buffy's whispered outburst by the time class ended. She escorted Buffy to the door and toward her next class.

"Do you want to meet up with me for lunch? I can show you the ropes and who to avoid."

Buffy showed no hesitation in responding in the affirmative. Cordelia left her at the door of her science class, and Buffy did not see her again until lunch.

In the courtyard of the school Buffy caught a glimpse of Cordelia waving to her. Cordelia grabbed Buffy by the arm again and steered her toward a small group of people. Buffy recognized Xander from before and a red-haired girl that had been in her morning classes. When Buffy and Cordelia approached the group Cordelia let go of Buffy's arm, and grabbed Xander's instead.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Cordelia asked Xander, as his eyes widened and face got redder for the second time that day.

"Sure" was all Xander could get out before Cordelia whisked him away.

"What was that about?" Buffy asked the red head.

"Well, every day about this time Cordelia and Xander head toward the janitor's closet. They think it's a secret, but everyone knows."

"Oh, that makes this morning make more sense." Buffy realized she hadn't yet met this fount of information. "I'm Buffy. I'm new here."

"I'm Willow." Willow set down her sandwich to shake Buffy's hand. "You've already met Cordelia and Xander, and Oz'll be here soon."

"Oz?" Buffy asked, as a red-haired man, not much taller than her, approached the two girls.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Oz is the guitarist in the greatest band in Sunnydale: Dingoes Ate My Baby." Willow boasted, and then quickly added, "and he's my boyfriend!" She realized that she sounded a little possessive and turned redder than Xander had earlier.

"Nice to meet you Oz, I'm Buffy."

"Buffy. Cool." Oz gave Willow a quick kiss on her cheek and sat down beside her on the bench.

Buffy looked around the courtyard, trying to notice everyone. Her eyes stopped on a tall, dark and gorgeous guy in a football jersey. She didn't notice that she was staring until Willow starting speaking to her.

"That's Liam"

"Huh?"

"That guy you're staring at? That's Liam, but everyone calls him Angel. He's the captain of the football team, and yes, he's currently single. He just ended a relationship with Darla, that'd be the blonde standing to his right. She still wants him, and they are so off-and-on that they're due to get back together anytime now."

"But they aren't together now?"

"No. He's a senior Buffy, and we're just sophomores, so…" Willow managed to sound hopeful as she shone some reality into Buffy's reverie.

"And 'Angel', what's that about?"

"Darla started calling him that, and she told everyone else to do the same. It just kind of stuck. I guess it's a little ironic for a guy who plays violent sports, but it's what we call him."

Buffy had turned around to face Willow during all the information giving that Willow was doing. She sighed a little and shrugged as she realized that she had a very small chance of actually dating Angel, and then noticed a change come over Willow's face.

"Oh my gosh Buffy. He's looking over here! Don't turn around" That warning was too late, as Buffy was already turning around to see whether or not Angel was really looking at her.

Buffy made eye-contact with Angel, and dared him to look away. Neither one broke eye contact for several seconds, until Xander and Cordelia returned and distracted Buffy.

"Whatcha lookin' at Buff?" Xander asked, trying to act casual and seem as though he had not just returned from making out with Cordelia. He followed her now-broken line of sight and spotted Angel. "Oh, pretty-boy Angel."

Cordelia looked down, seeming a little ashamed, before engaging Xander in a private conversation.

"Cordelia used to be really popular and part of that group, until…" Willow whispered and gestured toward Xander. "I think she's still pretty ashamed of us and Xander, hence the secrecy of their 'relationship', but she's hanging out with us in public, so you know that she can't be all bad."

Cordelia turned toward Buffy again and said, "So, you've met Willow and Oz right? Great. We hang out at the Bronze, it's really the only place in town that's decently cool. You should come with us tonight."

Buffy thought of the high likelihood of Angel being present, and told the group that she'd be there.