- - -

"I don't think I'm ready for this," Buffy sat at a table with a worried look on her face. Across from her Giles tried to assure her.

"Everything is set," he told her. "The slayers are here, the teachers are here, and the school is finished. Everything will be fine."

"Well what if there's an earthquake? Or what if there's zombie-ghosts haunting the school, or Andrew sets the kitchen on fire, or all the teachers come down with some strange disease and no one can teach, or…"

"Buffy, breathe," she was cut off by Xander. "We've checked everything at least three times."

"I know," she pouted. "It's just that when there's a chance for something to go wrong, it usually does."

- - -

By the time Spike arrived in Pine Grove the sun was just about up. He pulled the Viper up to the front of a large stone building and got out. As he climbed the front stairs he noticed a sign hanging above the front doors that read 'Summers Academy'. He took that as a good sign and went inside.

The hallway he entered was very calm and quiet. Strange, he thought, since school must be starting soon. As if on cue, a shrill bell sounded throughout the halls and the front door swung open. A flood of excited teenage girls poured in and within seconds Spike was surrounded. He fought his way to the right and jumped into the first door he saw, sighing with relief when he was safe.

"Spike?" He heard from behind him, and immediately recognized the voice.

"Oh, for the love of…" Spike began.

"Spike?" Andrew repeated and ran towards Spike, touching his shoulders. "It's you. It's really you!" He hugged Spike, sobbing. "My therapist thought I was holding onto false hope, but... I knew you'd come back. You're like... you're like Gandalf the White, resurrected from the pit of the Balrog, more beautiful than ever. Ohh... he's alive, Frodo. He's alive."

"Yes, it's uh, nice to see you, too," Spike said awkwardly, trying to be polite, before pushing away from Andrew. Andrew stepped back, sniffled, and straightened his clothes.

"Uh, so what happened? Last I heard you went all pillar of fire down in the hellmouth."

"Yeah, I did. But then I shanshu-ed." Spike explained.

"You lived and died?" Andrew asked, confused by the language.

"Hey, how'd you know that?" Spike asked, surprised.

"Master of demon languages, remember?" Andrew replied, pointing to himself.

"Right. Well, that's sort of right. It's a prophecy; turned me human."

"Human? Spike that's great!" Andrew moved to hug Spike again, but was pushed back. He composed himself and restated, "Uh, I mean, that's cool." He leaned back against a table, trying to act cool, and knocked over a stack of books. Spike rolled his eyes as Andrew rushed to fix the books. "Does Buffy know yet?"

"No, that's why I'm here. Do you know where she is?"

"Oh, yeah. She's around here somewhere." He motioned to the door and Spike followed. As the two left the classroom, Vi and Rona noticed the bleached blonde immediately and started talking about it. A couple of girls next to them heard them talking, and soon word of Spike's return began to spread.

- - -

A/N: sorry for the short chapter. i just wanted to get something up, but hopefully i'll get more done soon. thanks for the great reviews!