The hallway on the second story was spookier than the one they had just left. There were less torches and the light seemed so important to Buffy right then. Just like before, the hallway stretched into one long corridor on both sides of them.

"Split up." Buffy said. "He won't hurt you; you've faced your nightmare. It will waste too much time if we go up and down this hallway together."

Xander reluctantly nodded and took the left side. Buffy went down the right side, trying out each door until one opened.

It was pitch black inside, but Buffy took a step inside anyway and fell about five feet. She muttered "great" as the door closed above her. But there was a faint glow coming from her right.

There seemed to be a corridor there. Soft orange light was coming toward her. Soon, she realized it was the fire from a torch ­ a torch being carried toward her by Julian.

"What's with the creepy torch and the dark room? You're not my worst nightmare, buddy."

"I can be. None of you actually drew your worst nightmare, well with the exception of your demon friend. If you haven't noticed, your subconscious betrays you here."

Buffy smiled. She was right, he can read thoughts somehow. "Why were you disguised as Willow?"

"That wasn't me. I'm not into cross-dressing, you might say. The blue glint in her eyes was a hint, and the last one you'll be getting at that. I can make anything happen; I was only being sporting since it was the first nightmare and all. I'm glad you caught on though. Some people don't."

"Um, right. And just why are we having this little meeting?"

Julian's smile was sinister in the glow of the torch. He placed the torch into a iron ring on one side of the room. Then he did something that Buffy had not expected. Julian traced what appeared to be one of those greater than or less than signs in the air and from that had another torch. He placed it into an iron ring across from the other.

"Is that supposed to impress me? Am I supposed to clap now?" Buffy asked.

"You really don't want me mad."

"Sorry, didn't know you were that touchy. What did you do?"

"In the Shadow World runes are our only source of magic. The rune I just used was Kenaz, which is the rune of fire and thus I created a torch."

"Oh right, those rune thingies." She knew she should have taken that book with her. Oops.

Julian was very close to her, but not touching. "Did you figure out my riddle?"

Buffy had forgotten to ask Xander about that. "What was it again?"

Julian began:

I am mindless, yet demanding.

I am fragile although I am solid.

I am more precious than your mind.

I see through you although I am blind.

Buffy thought about it. If she solved this riddle, Dawn could go home.

What is mindless and demanding? Spike. What is fragile but solid? A bone. What is more precious than my mind that can see through someone although it is blind? Love. No, not love, a heart. It is solid but can be broken, and unthinking but demands love.

Buffy smiled. "A heart. There, I solved the riddle, let Dawn go home."

Julian smiled back. "Sure you told me the answer, but I believe I asked for you to give me the answer."

"What? That's a little morbid ­ Oh. Oh, no. No, no, no, no. I am done with the whole bad boy, who happens to be a demon, thing. Wait, 'Give me your heart?' That is so incredibly lame."

Julian touched her hand. His touch was soft and warm, but also cold and frightening. His fingers caressed her fingers and she felt her fingers intertwine with his although she didn't really want them to. His face was inches away from hers, and she wanted to kiss him. Every inch of her wanted to kiss him. So, why wasn't he kissing her?

His other hand went towards her hair, but didn't touch. "May I?" He asked gently.

Buffy nodded. She felt him loosening her hair which had grown since the summer. His hand went through her hair. If he didn't kiss her soon she was going to go insane. And then it occurred to her.

Buffy ripped herself out of his grasp. "You're tricking me."

Julian smirked. "Maybe just a little."

"You can't touch me unless I allow it. When I tried to hit you earlier, I meant to make contact that is why you could touch my hand. I allowed you to touch my hair, and you were trying to make me kiss you. Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? I love you."

Buffy looked up at the ceiling. "Oh god, not again." She silently cursed Xander for figuring it out. "And what could have possibly made you realize this?" She said sarcastically.

Julian leaned up against the wall. When your friend, the witch, opened up the portal I saw you in the forest clearing and the light just radiated off of you."

"But you live in the Shadow World. Why would you care about light?"

"Because opposites attract. Light and shadows are opposites. Shadow Men are not supposed to fall in love, but I did. I am the youngest in an all male race. The elders always said I was foolish and a disappointment to them. While they sucked on the souls of their victims I merely avoided it. I was lonely. The last of my kind."

"Am I supposed to tear up? So you were lonely and you needed a chick. So why did it have to be me?" Buffy asked, arms crossed.

Julian's eyes flashed furiously. "Because you were a shining light in the middle of that dark night. There are other girls more beautiful, of course, but you are special. A beauty all of your own."

"Yeah well, light kills shadows and shadows kill light. And the comment about other girls being more beautiful than me really isn't earning you any points, so quit saying it."

Julian smirked. "Slayers kill vampires and vampires kill slayers. That never stopped you before. You've been with two vampires."

"One vampire. I only loved one. He had a soul. The other one did not have a soul. I used him. I was feeling depressed and he was my outlet."

"Some things change you know. The one who you say lacked a soul loved you as one with a soul loved you."

Buffy picked up mockery in Julian's tone and didn't like it. "What is that supposed to mean? It was lust. Soulless things do not love."

"It means that you think you know everything, when you really don't." Julian knew that Spike had gotten himself a soul and was hiding under the new Sunnydale High School which was almost done with repairs. Buffy wouldn't know this for quite some time.

Buffy laughed. "What about you. You think that you can make me love you? Spike, the other vampire tried to make me love him. It only drove me further away in the end and he left town."

"Oh, he left town just like Angel and Riley." Julian said.

"You don't have the right to know about them."

"I know everything. I've seen the people, and vampires, you cared about. I've watched them the way I've watched you for the past month or so. If you can love a vampire who's life is rooted in darkness because the light of the sun will reduce them into ash, you can love me."

"And aren't you rooted into darkness. What makes you so sure you can live in the sunlight."

"I'm not dead. I'm not a vampire. Sunlight just reveals my presence. In shadows I can be there and you'll never see me unless I want to be seen."

Buffy was getting bored. "And now what? You want me to just give up my life and settle down with you. You wanna have kids too, a little Jenny and Tom running around?"

"I do love the name Jenny. Tom, on the other hand, wretched name. You might want to rethink it." Julian said.

Buffy was outraged. "My God! All I want is a normal life with a normal boyfriend. I didn't ask to be a Vampire Slayer. I had finished my life and was happily dead and in Heaven. I get yanked out of there and now I am a demon magnet. My God, I'm the female version of Xander!"

Julian laughed. "Think what you want. You will be mine eventually, make no mistake about that."

The torches went out and Buffy was certain that he was gone. The door above her opened and Xander looked in.

"Buffy?"

"Right here."

Xander reached down and helped Buffy out.

"Did you face your nightmare?" Xander asked.

"No. Not really. Maybe." She hugged Xander. "This big spooky house is no fun. Let's win this game and go home."

Xander hugged her back.

"Yeah. Let's go."