Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Amelia and she's just an extra who gets to say something.

Author's note: Thank you for your reviews. I wrote a long chapter because…uh…I don't know just enjoy and review!

Buffy walked up to her locker, Willow was standing by it. She smiled and waved when she saw Buffy.

"Hi!" she said happily.

"Hi, someone's very happy," Buffy said as she opened her locker.

"Well I've decided to take Oz's approach and look on the bright side. I should remain calm about this whole thing. Being expelled could be like some sort of higher calling,"

"That's what I thought," Xander said as he drew closer. Oz was with him.

"We're destined for better things," the petite teen agreed.

"We might be getting kicked out of here so we can be offered a place at an even better school." Willow said happily. Buffy looked confused.

"Wow, you guys seem to coping better than me. My mom's totally wigging," Buffy admitted.

"Hey, so are ours. My parents are kicking me out and selling everything I own," Xander said brightly.

"I'm grounded and will never see my laptop again," Willow said, she was smiling but her voice was beginning to waver.

"My mom's depressed and tried to kill herself " Oz said in his usual monotone voice.

"Yeah, we should look on the bright side," Buffy said happily.

"Always works for me," Oz commented.

"Yeah, and imagine always thinking your gonna die while your fighting Buff. The chances of dying suddenly increase," Xander added.

"Gee thanks," Buffy said dryly.

"What?" Xander asked.

"Everytime we fight a big bad ugly guy I think that it might just be the last time I fight,"

"No! Negative thinking is bad!" Willow scolded.

"I know. But it's just one of those things I have to do. The more I think the more relaxed and angry I become,"

"Well angry is good right?" Xander asked worriedly.

"Should be," Oz muttered.

"Yeah it is," Willow said confidently, "Right buff?" she asked, suddenly feeling unsure.

"Angry is good," she confirmed. "Angry brings out my inner demons and bye bye bad guy!" Buffy shut her locker and the four friends headed for the library of Sunnydale High.

Johnny walked down the corridor. How can getting lost in this place be so easy? He turned a corner and grinned triumphantly, he hadn't seen this corridor yet. He walked down it, looking into classrooms to see if he could see Buffy. He had no such luck.

A shrill alarm broke the even peace of the corridor and students poured out of the classrooms. Johnny found himself following the teenagers hoping that they might be all going into a canteen or any other place where he was likely to find his cousin. He deflated disappointedly as the crowds dispersed back into classrooms, leaving him alone again. He was about to leave when the administration office caught his eye. Johnny grinned and walked up to the spotless window.

A middle-aged woman was sitting in an office chair and flicking through a gossip magazine. Johnny was pleased to see that him and his friends dominated the front page.

"Excuse me, do you know where I could find a Buffy Summers?" he asked. The woman didn't even look up from her magazine.

"Buffy Summers," she echoed loudly.

"Who?" A woman at the desk behind her asked.

"Buffy Summers," Johnny answered. The second woman typed something into the computer in front of her.

"I'm afraid she has a free period. She could be anywhere." She said after a few seconds.

"Are you looking for Buffy?" Johnny looked away from the unhelpful secretaries to see a girl standing beside him. She wasn't tall and had dark brown hair that was pinned back into a messy bun. She wore a deep red dress and matching lipstick.

"You know her?" Johnny asked. Looks like Buffy might have some cool friends after all. There was something about the girl that shouted 'I have it all.'

"Of course, we share a few classes. She's probably hanging out in the Library or something, c'mon I'll show you." Johnny followed the girl down the identical corridors.

"Library? She hangs out in the Library?" Johnny asked in disbelief.

"I know, what kind of person chooses to hang out with an old English guy?" Johnny was speechless.

"I'm Cordelia by the way. Cordelia Chase,"

"Johnny Storm."

"THE Johnny Storm? As in member of the Fantastic Four?" Cordelia asked excitedly. Johnny grinned and nodded.

"And Buffy is your cousin?" she added in disbelief. Johnny nodded.

"I'm guessing she isn't very popular,"

"No and her weirdness is like, contagious. I know you guys are family and everything but you shouldn't spend too much time with her. Believe me, I know."

"What do you mean?" Johnny was confused.

"Well, I started dating her friend and all of a sudden I was hated. Whenever something weird happens Buffy has something to do with it. I heard she's getting expelled."

"What kind of weird things?" Johnny asked curiously.

"Just small things: robberies, disappearances, murders. You know I told her they found a dead body in the changing rooms and she asked me how the person died and if they had any marks on their body. I mean, weird much?" Of course that was over two years ago but Cordelia had a feeling that Johnny wasn't clued in about Buffy's destiny. Whenever someone was asking questions Cordelia knew it was best to play naive and cover the careless tracks the slayer often left behind. Even she knew that total chaos would erupt if Sunnydale knew that all their worst nightmares existed and could easily happen. Her best method was convincing everyone that Buffy was a morbid freak. She was helping her hometown and getting revenge at the same time.

Inside the library Giles was sitting at the table, reading a book and drinking tea.

"Hi Giles," Buffy said as the four went through the double doors.

"Hello," he muttered back distractedly.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked as she sat down beside him. Xander sat next to her while Oz and Willow sat opposite them.

"Just reading,"

"Is it about magic?" Willow asked excitedly.

"Uh…yes," Buffy's smile faded.

"Is their trouble?" she asked.

"No. I was just reading." Buffy snatched the book from Giles and looked at the front cover, knocking Giles tea over. Buffy ignored it and tried to figure out the writing.

"I'll get it," Willow said quickly. She screwed her face up in concentration and closed her eyes. Xander, Oz and Giles watched as the puddle slid back into the mug and the mug did a ninety-degree turn so its base was on the table. Buffy looked up from the book. Everyone was watching Willow in amazement and Willow wore a triumphant smile.

"What does this say?" Buffy asked.

"Uh…it's not important," Giles muttered.

"So why can't you tell me…unless you can't read it!" Buffy said with a mischievous grin.

"That doesn't work on me," Giles said in a bored voice.

"Damn," Buffy muttered. "Can you read it Will?" Buffy handed the book to Willow who studied the cover for a few seconds. Her face distorted to mix of confusion, surprise and horror.

"What?" Buffy asked worriedly. Willow looked up at her friends for a second before flicking the book open and scanning a few pages.

"What's it say Will?" Xander asked. He was beginning to get worried as well. Oz looked over Willow's shoulder but the Latin made no sense to him.

"It's about the dark arts," she said after a while. Buffy looked at Giles. "Mind control," the red head continued. "Giles what are you trying to do?" Giles snatched the book away.

"It's just a spot of light reading. Tea?" The older man stood up and made his way into his office. The teens looked at each other.

"The book was about controlling other people to do stuff, and affecting people's memory," Willow explained, watching Giles in wonder.

"Why would Giles wanna do that?" Xander asked. The four people went into deep thought; Oz broke the silence.

"He was trying to help us," he muttered.

"But how could that help?" Xander asked. Willow looked at Oz; she understood what he was saying.

"He was going to make everyone forget," she said quietly.

"Make everyone forget about our expulsion," Buffy muttered, catching on.

Giles appeared from his office, trying to look casual. Buffy stood up and ran over to the man and gave him a big hug. Giles looked taken back.

"You don't have to do that for us," She said happily.

"Yeah, we're totally fine with this thing," Xander said with a grin.

"This expulsion thing is like a higher calling for us," Willow announced proudly.

"You are all happy with this?" Giles asked.

"We have no choice," Oz replied.

"So you mean you are all perfectly happy to leave the school?" The teens nodded.

"We have to look on the bright side," Willow said happily. "If we didn't then Snyder would be happier about this whole thing,"

"Yeah, we could use that reverse thing. He realises how happy he's making us so he makes us stay," Xander pointed out. Giles laughed silently.

"That would never work," All heads turned to the doors to see the new speaker. Cordelia was standing there and she wasn't alone. Johnny was standing behind her.

"Your cousin has been searching all over the place. If you ask someone to come to he school you have to tell them where to meet you," Cordelia said to Buffy, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Willow and Xander.

"Sorry," Buffy said apologetically. "Did you get my book?"

"Yeah," Johnny's reply was short. He slammed the biology book down on the counter beside him. Buffy inhaled sharply as he put another smaller book on top of it. She snatched it up immediately and inspected the cover. The book was a pristine white with rose pink flowers on the cover. Buffy glared at Johnny.

"What are you doing with this?" she asked angrily.

"I don't know but you have some explaining to do," Johnny said in an equally angry voice.

"How about you go first. Did you read my diary?"

"Yeah, now maybe you could tell me what this is doing in your closet," Johnny pulled out a dagger from his jeans. The dagger gleamed dangerously, sunlight danced on the pointed blade. The hilt held a large ruby.

"You were snooping around in my room again?"

"That's not important Buff. What's all this stuff about vampires? Are you feeling okay?" Buffy looked from Giles, to her friends. Their expressions were all the same, grave and sympathetic, apart from Oz.

"Okay, fine." Buffy said quietly after a pause. "You should sit down, this could take a while."

Johnny sat down where Buffy had been sitting and listened intently as she told him everything. She started from the very beginning, when Merrick had first approached her. She told him about her adventures with Pike in Las Vegas and significant fights with demons and vampires in Sunnydale, from the Harvest to a close encounter with The First. Johnny was shocked. It wasn't really the truth he had been expecting and knowing that most of the people around him were directly involved with the supernatural was slightly scary. I am sitting in the room with a vampire slayer, witch, werewolf, watcher (whatever that is) and people who have been possessed a few times. Last night I was attacked by a vampire slayer and watched a vampire slayer make out with a vampire. This is really twisted. Johnny was speechless, he looked around him, everyone else seemed perfectly fine with hearing Buffy's story.

"Does Aunt Joyce know?" Johnny asked as he tried to process what he had just heard.

"Weren't you listening? Her finding out lead to the big argument when I ran away," Buffy said angrily. Johnny nodded slowly.

"So lemme get this straight. You kill Vampires like everyday," Johnny pointed at Buffy. Buffy nodded. Johnny turned to the others. "You make sure she kills things, you practise magic, you're a werewolf, you got possessed by hyenas and you," Johnny paused when he reached Cordelia.

"I'm not part of this freak show," Cordelia stated.

"Then why are you still here?" Xander asked.

"Because…" Cordelia looked around, everyone was watching her. She stood up, smoothed out her dress and walked off holding her head high.

Cordelia felt ridiculous, she knew better than to leave a room without a rude comment. As she turned the corner to her locker she saw a bunch of girls. As she got closer she realised it was Harmony and co. They were giggling and slowly edging their way towards her.

"Cordelia," Harmony greeted brightly when she saw the teenager. Cordelia glanced at the ditzy blonde in acknowledgement.

"Did you hear that the Fantastic Four are in town?" she asked.

"No," Cordelia replied sarcastically. Harmony stared blankly at her for a moment as if she was trying to work out whether she had just heard sarcasm. She decided to let the puzzle pass by.

"Anyway, Amelia says she saw Johnny Storm right here, today!"

"I know. I've already spoken to him,"

"You spoke to him," a blonde girl cut in. Cordelia immediately recognised her as Amelia.

"YOU spoke to JOHNNY STORM," she repeated in disbelief.

"Yes," Cordelia confirmed smugly. The girls looked at each other, unable to hide their amazement.

"Now excuse me but I have to go find an outfit for tonight. I have a date." Cordelia announced and walked off. She didn't really have a date but the idea of walking into the Bronze with Johnny would really make people jealous. I wonder how hard it would be to get that guy.

1630 REVELLO DRIVE

Ben sat back in the sofa, it was nice to sit down and relax. The tension between Sue and Reed had vanished and Joyce had calmed down. He flicked through the channels trying to find a decent programme preferably a replay of last night's big game. As Ben channel surfed he gulped down some Coca Cola and ate some extra large pretzels. As he flicked through an image caught his eye. It was the Fantastic Four. Ben paused to watch, although fame wasn't something he originally wanted he couldn't help but be interested in hearing people praise him.

Ben noted it was a small local news channel; the headlines flashing across the bottom of the screen were relatively minor. Ben listened to the newsreader praise the four as images of them flashed on the screen.

"And rumours are now flying around that the four are right here in little old Sunnydale. The youngest member of the team was seen outside Sunnydale High School. At one point he was seen with a young blonde who people have dubbed his latest flame." Ben chuckled; he loved watching the media get so excited over rumours.

"What's so funny?" Reed asked as he came and sat down next to Ben. Ben pointed to the TV screen. Reed studied it for a few seconds and his face fell. A reporter was standing outside the school, along with many others. All of them were eagerly awaiting Johnny's appearance.

"We have to get there now," Reed said quickly, he stood up and grabbed a jacket.

"Get where?" Sue asked as she entered the room with Joyce.

"Johnny's about to encounter a whole group of television reporters. If we don't get there we might end up with a whole bunch of paparazzi right here,"

"Reed's right," Sue said as she took her jacket.

"You can't all go," Joyce interrupted. "They'll recognise you and it will only make things worse,"

"That's true. One of you go," Ben said.

"Sue should go, she can control Johnny and sneak into the school unnoticed," Reed suggested.

"Come on, I'll give you a lift," Joyce said as she put down the magazine she was holding. Sue and Joyce grabbed some light jackets and left the house quickly.