Sunnydale: The Hellmouth
Summary: It's Sunnydale High, Hellmouth-central. A group of teens rule the school, but there is more to them than meets the eye. And when the new kid arrives, what secret is he hiding?
CHAPTER THREE Sunnydale High, 1999William left home the next morning, strolling casually down the sidewalk before crossing the road and continuing on his way. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see a familiar face.
"Buffy." He greeted the blond he'd met the night before.
"What do I call you?" She asked, a little uncomfortably.
"Um… William would be fine."
"Okay. Hi William.' Buffy smiled warmly at him and he smiled back. The two walked to school together and arrived just as the bell rang. The two teens hurried inside and sat down for role call just as the second bell rang. Angel and the others saw the two walk in together and waved.
"Hey." Angel said to them both. They smiled and spun around in their chairs. "You cool with all this?" He asked Buffy directly.
"Yeah, I guess." She replied uneasily. As the teacher entered the room she and William spun back around to face the front.
"Okay. Your usual role call teacher is sick today so I'll be filling in." The woman at the front of the class said loudly, her voice carrying all the way to Angel and the gang at the back of the room. "My name is Miss Slovak and I'll also be having most of you for English and History to fill in for your teacher. I'll tell you now that I expect your behaviour to meet a very high standard."
"Gee, she's a pro ain't she?" Gunn whispered sarcastically to Angel beside him.
"Did you say something young man?" Miss Slovak asked. Gunn looked up to find her standing in front of his desk.
"What? No, I didn't say nothing Miss." He replied.
"My name is Miss Slovak," she repeated, correcting him. "And yes, you did say something. I saw you and I heard you." Everyone in the room was beginning to get an impression of this woman: DANGER: STEER CLEAR.
"Sorry Miss…" Gunn corrected himself quickly by adding, "… Slovak." She smiled at him, strangely pleased.
"Thankyou young man. Your apology is accepted. Now, I'll read out the names of the people in this class and I want you to say 'present' if you're here. Easy?" There was a general nod and she began reading out the names of the people in the room. She scowled when she found that two people were away, and there was a clear and obvious flaw in her at this point. Buffy could see from the back of the room, as her head was at just the right angle, that Miss Slovak's eyes were glowing red.
What's up with this teacher? She thought to herself. There's something not right about her.
When the bell for class went, Buffy gave Miss Slovak a strange look as she walked out the door. The teacher wasn't even watching, instead was sitting at the desk at the front of the room scribbling over the names of the students who were away.
Out in the hall, Buffy caught up with Angel, William, Wesley, Gunn and Faith. They had all noticed the teacher's strange behaviour too.
"What do you reckon she is?" Gunn asked straight out.
"What?" William inquired. "What makes you think she's a what? Do you think she's not human?"
"Um, maybe the glowing red eyes, the unusual behaviour of the woman. She picked on me 'cause I didn't say her full name." Gunn answered. "I mean, come on. Something is seriously wrong with that woman."
"You think she's some kind of demon?" Buffy asked.
"Maybe."
"We'll call into the library at recess." Angel suggested.
"What makes you think we'll find our answer there?" Buffy asked. "Does the school really have books on demons?"
"Giles is the school librarian." Angel informed her. "We'll ask him."
Recess…The six teens loudly breezed into the library. No one was in there; no one ever went in there. It was probably a good thing too, lots of demon talk was exchanged in there during class time.
"Giles!" Angel called loudly, not seeing him anywhere. He suddenly poked his head up from behind the desk and emerged with a pile of half a dozen large brown books. "Ah, there you are."
"Good morning everyone." Giles greeted, mostly referring to Buffy and William. "So Buffy, um… do you think you'd be willing to train here with me at school? The others can play a role too if they wish."
"Uh, maybe later Mr…?" Buffy knew that everyone else called him Giles, but she didn't quite feel comfortable just coming out and saying it. Instead, she asked for him to tell her what he wanted to be called.
"Please, everyone else calls me Giles, so why shouldn't you?" Giles told her. They exchanged welcoming smiles and everyone sat down at various locations around the library. Banisters, chairs, the table and even the front desk were soon filled with the half a dozen teens in the small tight-knit group of new friends.
"So, what do you think of the new teacher Giles?" Faith asked after everyone was settled. She sat atop the banister leading up to the next level in the library as Giles paced around the open floor with a book in his hands.
"Oh, you mean that Miss Slovak?" Giles inquired. Faith nodded. "Do you mean to ask if I'm aware she's a demon?" They seemed a little shocked that Giles was so calm and upfront about the issue.
"Uh Giles, man," Gunn spoke up. "This chick ain't normal. What's her deal? Are you saying she is a demon?"
"Certainly. A rather uncommon demon, unfortunately, there's quite a bit we could stand to learn about her. However, I do know a fair bit about what she is already from past research."
"Well that's comforting." Angel muttered. Giles frowned and continued.
"Yes, I know that she is a demon. Yes, I know that she is potentially dangerous to the students here. Yes, I know how to kill her. However, I'm not going to kill her yet."
"Um, Giles, can I ask why not?" Buffy piped up.
"I suppose I owe you all an explanation then." Giles replied. "I'm not going to kill her because I believe that even though she is dangerous, she won't harm anyone until the Full Moon."
"What is she like part werewolf or something?" Wesley asked.
"Exactly."
"Wow." William commented, a statement hardly heard and not even acknowledged by anyone.
"Miss Slovak is a Gyrlschlamik demon. A creature that is part werewolf, part human and part evil-scaly-beast from the underworld." Giles finished.
"Nice." Gunn mused.
"So tell me again why we aren't kill her?" Angel asked.
"By the sounds of it she is dangerous." Buffy added.
"Yes, I agree with you that she is dangerous. I am aware of what she is capable of but I am also aware that any beast with at least some part werewolf will not savagely attack anyone until the Full Moon."
"How about attack even a little bit?" Gunn suggested. Giles frowned again.
"I am telling you what I know about this creature. It is strictly not to be hunted or slain, understood? My direct orders not to take down."
"All right, geez." Faith said. "We're only trying to work out how to stop this woman."
"Well you can't, not yet."
"And when can we?" Angel asked. Buffy looked hopefully over at Giles, for some reason wanting to get in on some of the action. Inside her there was a feeling that told her she was meant to be a fighter; a Slayer, even if she also felt like she had to fight against that feeling.
"We can kill her on the night of the Full Moon." Giles informed them.
"But won't she be at her strongest that night?" Wesley pointed out. "She'll be in her demon form, most likely, and we'll be less powerful than her."
"The only time that we can hurt her is on the Full Moon." Giles told them. "Last time I researched one of these demons I learnt that you cannot harm them unless they are in their demon form. And they don't take on their demon form unless there is a Full Moon."
"I get it," Buffy supported Giles. "I understand what you're saying. But exactly how long do we have to put up with her until there is a Full Moon?"
"Well, we're in luck. There's a full moon three nights from now." Giles informed them all. There was a general sigh of satisfaction as they all realised that within only a matter of days they would be able to thwart this evil for good. That rested easy with them, making the day go by quicker and leading straight to home time.
At the end of 6th period Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Faith, William and Buffy spilled out of the double doors with all the other students. They gathered underneath a large oak tree and prepared to head their separate ways.
"We'd better go find Giles." Angel told Buffy and William. "See you guys tomorrow."
"See ya." Gunn raised his hand as a simple wave and followed after Angel, Faith and Wesley as they headed to the carpark. William turned to Buffy.
"Do you want me to walk you home?" He offered. Buffy smiled. She liked this young blond boy. Although, she felt a little embarrassed for thinking he was a vampire back in the alley.
"Yeah, that'd be nice." The two walked off in the same direction they had come from that morning, and again discussed things of random topics along the way. They'd effectively known each other for a day and they could see that this was the beginning of a close friendship.
A/N: I've been asked about Willow and Xander… they'll still be here. I haven't forgotten them. Maybe next chapter… we'll see. Reviews are welcome. :P
