AN: This is a story about what if Dracula wanted the Key instead of the Slayer. I changed around the whole timeline of Buffy, soplease read thisso you won't become confused. Dawn's 16, almost 17. She did a thing in season 6 and snuck out and got with Justin (All The Way). Buffy is with Riley. Hmm, and though this talks about the key, no one knows what it is. And I don't think I'm going to go into it. And please excuse the wayy out of character-ness that is Joyce.
Um, I think that's about it. I know I should be working on Kidnaped, but I'm really stuck, le sighe. Anyway, enjoy!
The sun was high in the sky as Dawn laid down her beach towel. The hot rays beat down and her and she moaned a little. It feels good to have heat caresses her body. It was amazing how easy she retreated to vampire hours. Not that she minded, it just meant more time to hang out with her only friend-Spike. But it was times like these that she admired being human. She could get rid of her ghastly pale appearance or just relax.
Buffy's foot kicked up sand up onto Dawn's limbs. She wiped her face and glowered at her older sister.
"Sorry," the blonde said distractedly while throwing the football back at Riley. He caught it and gave a smile.
"Go Buffster," Xander cheered with a mouth full of Cheetos.
Dawn gave a huff and walked down to the ocean to rinse off the sand that stuck to her sunblocked-arms. Squatting, she brought up the water and washed away the rough particles. At least she got a free exfoliation, she thought to herself while getting up from the sand. With her arms wet, she took off her sleeveless, crocheted sundress and patted at her arms.
Xander's eyes went wide when he saw Dawn de-robe.
"Stop staring," Anya chided while slapping him in the chest. Orange crumbs went everywhere as he choked on his Cheetos.
"Not starin'. Appreciating'," he replied and brushed off his mouth.
"You don't appreciate my sixteen year-old sister," Buffy snorted while sending a death glare at the dark haired man.
"Almost seventeen!" Dawn piped up, but was ignored when Xander started to talk again.
"Well just look at what she's wearing!" Xander stuttered, trying to find an excuse. "She's way too..."
"Exposed," Buffy finished after looking up and down Dawn.
The brunette girl laid down on the towel and nuzzled against the terry fabric.
"It's a bathing suit. Chill you guys," Dawn said and gave a secret smile.
Her mother had always done the shopping for her. Closets filled with fluffy, frilly, and fuzzy proved it, but she went with Janice to the mall the other week and purchases happened. She decided that she liked Victoria's Secret and bought an all new swim suit and lingerie collection. The suit she wore today was her favorite. It was a halter top that tied at the front of her breast and a matching, blue print, hot shorts that went way below her belly button, almost past her hip bones.
Buffy rolled her eyes and continued the game of football with Riley.
If Dawn had a say in it, she had grown up over the Summer. A bony figure now held curves in all the right places. Her face lost its baby fat and left a thin, well defined one in return. Wavy hair with natural honey blonde highlights touched below her shoulders with bangs that framed around her face. She looked more mature, more like the way she felt inside.
A sigh came to her lips as she watched the couples around her. Everyone had someone. Xander had Anya; Willow, Tara; Buffy, Riley. She was just the third party. She didn't have anyone.
She did have Spike, though, and she kept the blonde vampire to herself. He was her best friend, even if he didn't know it. Sometimes, when she was fighting with Buffy or didn't feel like being home when they both fought, she'd sneak out of her window and visit him. He'd let her curl up next to him in his bed. He'd then put his cold feet against her and she'd scream and hit him.
"Where's my burger?" Buffy squawked, driving Dawn out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, man, I'm starving. Cow me," Riley said and Dawn threw him a weird look. He then sat down in a beach chair and brought Buffy down to sit on his lap.
"The, uh, fire's not cooperating," Xander panted, annoyed. "It's comforting to know that I lack the culinary finesse of a caveman."
Anya gave him a reassuring smile and a peck on the cheek.
"Ignis incende," Willow chanted at the logs.
Suddenly, a flame bursts from the wood and nocks Xander back into the sand. She gave him a playful smirk and helped him up.
"Willow, check you out! Witch-fu," Buffy complimented, amazed with what her redheaded friend just accomplished.
Tara puts her hand around her girlfriend, proudfully. She had been practicing her witchcraft hard lately. It was good to finally have a result.
"It's no big," Willow blushed. "You just have to balance the elements so when you affect one, you don't wind up causing..."
A loud crack of thunder boomed in the sky as dark clouds appear from nowhere. Lightening starts to light up the sky and rain begins to pour. All the girls shrieked and grabbed objects to cover their hair.
"Oh my god!" Xander yelled, grabbing his snacks and heading for the car.
Dawn wrapped her towel around her body and picked up all the stuff that most everyone had left behind. It was just rain, she figured, and placed all the objects in the back of the SUV. When she got into the car, she tried to ignore the sinking suspicion of someone calling out to her.
"Dinner was great, Mom," Buffy smiled and put her napkin back on the table. Dawn nodded, her too full of noodles to say anything.
Buffy pushed her chair back.
"Hey, you up for dessert? We could, uh," she thought, "take a drive, get some ice cream. Do the mother-daughter thing," Joyce suggested with a nervous smile.
The blonde gave her a lopsided smile and stood up.
"You know I would, but I kinda have to get out on patrol."
She gathered the dishes in front of her. Dawn, still stuffing her face, gave her older sister an evil look. Her mom wasn't even paying any attention to her.
"But...it's 8:30," the older woman countered.
"Well, vamps don't really care what time it is. You know, dark equals dinner bell."
Buffy carried her dishes into the kitchen and then walked back out with a jacket on and a stake in hand.
"We'll go out next time, okay? When we didn't get this weird solar eclipse." She gave her Mom a kiss on the cheek. "Duty calls. Love you." And she was out the door.
Joyce sighed. Dawn took a drink of her water and gave her mom a smile.
"We can go out for ice cream," the brunette suggested.
Joyce shook her head and stood up from the table.
"No, it'd be best not to go out with the vampires out," she said and went into the kitchen.
Dawn groaned and slammed her head down on the table. She would never be as good in her mother's eyes as Buffy was. She was just the result of a broken condom, as her father had told her many of times. Besides, she wasn't a slayer. Slayer's got everything.
"I'm going to sleep," Dawn called from the stairway. Joyce replied with an okay and went back to clearing the dishes.
The run to her room was quick as she locked the door behind her. Still wearing her sundress, she slipped it off and put on a pair of low rider jeans and a black top. It stretched over her breast tightly, which reminded her that she needed more shirts. Putting on a pair of boots, she shimmed her way out the window and onto the ground.
A proud smile was on her face as she snuck out silently; she had gotten better. The brunette needed to see Spike, needed to get cheered up. Needed him to run his fingers through her hair and tell her that he cared.
Hmm, next chapter is Dracula action. This is a very fun story to write. Read and review, kiddies.