Chapter 1 - Welcome to Hellmouth, Lima Ohio.
"Get your hands off her!" Sugar screamed, crossbow gripped hands. Her knuckles were white and moist, her eyes fluttering yet fixed on the figure.
"And what happens if I don't?" the figure jeered.
"I guess that leaves me with no choice." Sugar smiled as she pulled the trigger. The barbed arrow pierced through the air, lungin into the figure, causing him to burst into a pile of dust.
"Sugar you did it! You actually got him!" The captive gleamed with relief.
Meet Sugar Pierce-Lopez, Vampire Slayer. This was merely a daily occurrence for the 15 year old, but it wasn't always like this. It was simpler, easier. It all started when one of her moms got a job offer back in their hometown of Lima, Ohio.
"Mami, why do we have to move back to Lima…" Sugar groaned for the hundredth time while packing a box.
"For the last time Sugar," Santana exhaled sharply. "New York is getting too expensive, and your momma has found an amazing job as a senior dance coach. Plus, it'd be nice to go back to our roots… right Britt-Britt?"
"Mami's right Sugarbear." Brittany said, keeping her focus on the box in front of her, smiling.
The apartment was a ravaged wasteland plagued with boxes, clothes and furniture in unconventional places. The three women were spread out in separate corners of the living room, going through piles of belongings.
Sugar let out another lengthy groan, throwing a photo album into the box. She had just turned 15 and was having so much fun in the big city. Her moms were busy, both working in entertainment. Her birth mother, Brittany was an accomplished dance choreographer while her other mom, Santana was working on broadway as a background singer. They had explained something about getting older, an unstable work environment, having less energy... things Sugar was so tired of hearing about she barely paid attention to the topic. She had friends, she was popular, she spent her time shopping and going out to shows her parents were a part of. Why on earth her parents wanted to move back to Lima was beyond her. Didn't they care about my social life?
"Oi, mija!" Santana snapped at her daughter. "Less staring, more packing!"
/
Brittany laid in bed, tossing and turning, eyes wide open.
"What's wrong, Britt" Santana rolled over, lifting the eye mask off her eyes. She was groggy and barely awake. "It's 2am…"
"I just—" Brittany sunk into the bed. "I'm just thinking about Sugar, y'know. I think this is really tough for her."
"Britt. We talked about this." Santana propped herself up to look at her wife, whose eyes were the only things uncovered from the duvet.
"I know, but—"
Santana pulled down the blanket and planted a soft kiss on Brittany's lips. "Britt, we made this decision for the both of us. We'll finally get a chance to settle down, not worry about finding a new show or booking a new gig to pay the bills. We all have a chance to start over, reconnect with some old friends."
"Bring back the Unholy Trinity?" Brittany smiled. Quinn was the coach for the Cheerios at Mckinley High and they couldn't wait to see her again.
Santana let out a soft chuckle. "That's right. Although, I'm not looking forward to having to see the dwarf again."
"C'mon, she's not that bad."
Santana sharply exhaled. "I don't know what Quinn sees in her."
"Are you getting jealous right now?" Brittany gave her wife a devilish smile.
"Oh my god Britt, don't bring that up!" Santana flipped over, throwing a pillow at Brittany.
Brittany tossed the pillow back to her wife. "I'm just joking. Goodnight Santana."
"Goodnight baby."
/
August 15th, Moving Day
7:00am
The moving truck was parked outside the apartment filled with boxes and furniture.
"Ready to go Sugarbear?" Brittany threw her arm around her daughter, squeezing her softly.
"I guess so…" Sugar yawned, leaning her head on her mom.
"It won't be so bad, you'll get to meet lots of new friends, join clubs, meet some boys."
"Eww." Sugar shuddered. "I do not need boy talk from my gay moms."
Brittany refrained from bursting into laughter. If only she knew how many men both of them had slept with before finally committing to each other. Maybe a good story to tell when she was a little older.
"Come here my beautiful ladies!" Santana was pulling up the car from the parking garage, handing a garage remote to the concierge at the gate. "Won't be needing this anymore."
It took the entire day to drive from New York to Lima. Brittany's parents were waiting for them to arrive at their house to stay for the night, as the movers weren't expected to arrive at the new house until the day after.
"They're here!" Brittany's mom shot out of the armchair.
"I know I saw them!" Brittany's dad had a set of binoculars on, pressed against the glass of their front window. "I can't believe they're finally here!"
The both of them ran outside to greet their daughter as the car pulled into the driveway. Brittany ran out of the car with the keys still in the engine.
"Whoa, whoa whoa—" Santana looked very confused as to what her wife had just done. Sugar couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Mom! Dad!" The three of them jumped on each other into a massive group hug.
Santana managed to stop the car and her and Sugar exited, smiling at the parents.
"Sugarbean! Yeasty girl!" Brittany's mom yelled in excitement.
"Did grandma just call you yeast girl again?" Sugar looked at her mami in confusion.
"Just go with it." Santana said under her breath through her stiff smile. "Hello Whitney!"
They hugged and were shooed inside after gathering their bags. Brittany's parent's house was the same as it had always been, and Brittany's bedroom was as if she never left. After a long drive, taking turns at the wheel, eating nothing but burgers from fast food restaurants all day, the entire family was beat and wanted nothing more than sleep. Sugar could hear her parents giggling their way upstairs reminiscing about their teenage years while she made up a bed on the couch in the living room.
"You can't run from me!" A woman ran through a derelict, cold alleyway. After whipping out what appeared to be a long knife stabbed a demon-like creature right in the eye. Her vision turned white.
Sugar awoke from a car's bright headlights through the living room window. Lifting her head up, she rubbed her eyes. What a weird nightmare… Sugar thought to herself. She got up to use the restroom and got herself a glass of water. After laying back down on the couch and pulling a blanket over her head, she closed her eyes.
A piercing shriek rang through the sky as large bats swooped down, latching onto nearby townspeople. "Shoot it down, now!" A man yelled. The crossbow fired, stabbing the bat. Blood pooled on the floor below it. "Nice."
Sugar opened her eyes wide this time. Again? What's with these sudden dreams? She looked around the room frantically, trying to ensure the shadows around her weren't moving figures. She slammed her eyes shut and took a couple deep breaths, echoing a chant in her head, "Everything is totally normal" before eventually falling asleep.
Sugar woke up the next day exhausted.
"Good morning child, get enough sleep?" Santana was pouring a cup of coffee for her and Brittany. "You're lookin' a little busted today"
"Yeah, yeah" Sugar dismissed her mom, walking over to the fridge to pour herself some juice.
"You know we have a big day ahead of us, right?" Santana reminded her.
"Right."
Sugar was exhausted from the interruptions of her nightmares. The movers were scheduled to deliver everything to their new house in about an hour. Hopefully since she'd be in her own bed tonight she'd actually get a decent sleep.
The new house wasn't as bad as Sugar thought. It was small, but more than enough for the three of them. The house was a typical single family home, equipped with a living room, dining room, kitchen and three bedrooms upstairs. Brittany and Santana took the master of course, while Sugar took the next largest bedroom. The third they figured would have a guest bedroom/office space to make sure if any friends from New York were to visit they'd have a space for them.
Sugar was ecstatic about her bedroom. It was far larger than the one in their tiny cramped apartment in Tribeca. This room had a large window with a built-in bench overlooking the backyard. Brittany's parents had surprised her with a new vanity for Sugar as a housewarming gift. She was able to fit a lot in her new room, a bed, a dresser, a way bigger closet for clothes and her new vanity. This was really starting to feel like home, Sugar thought as she started unpacking her essentials.
School was just a week away and her momma was just about to start her new job.
"Sugarbear, we're just about to go, are you ready?" Sugar heard her momma yelling from downstairs.
They were about to go out to BreadstiX's newest business venture, Bronzestix, a more club-like restaurant that featured food as well as a dance floor.
"This is gonna be so much fun!" Brittany couldn't contain her excitement and started busting out some moves. Santana couldn't help but laugh as they started dancing together in the foyer. Sugar rolled her eyes as she grabbed her coat and the three of them were off.
Santana drove them down to the club which was moderately busy for a Thursday night. Santana sat on one end of the table while Sugar and Brittany sat at the other. They sat down and watched everyone, absorbing in the atmosphere. There were lots of teenagers, maybe around Sugar's age, but also a lot of adults, dancing, talking, eating.
Santana was on high alert as Sugar looked around at all the people. Brittany was folding a napkin into an intricate origami piece.
"There's a lot of boys in here, Sugarita." Santana's eyes were like a razer, scanning the area for any potential threat.
"Mami, you don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine." Sugar wasn't going to dare meet her mother's gaze.
"Hey, I'm serious." Santana said loud enough to get both Sugar and Brittany to look at her. "Listen, mija. I'm from Lima Heights, somewhere not too far from here, and you know what happens there?"
Sugar sighed. "Cosas malas."
"Exactamente." Santana crossed her arms.
"I think she's going to be just fine, Santana." Brittany reached over the table to hold her wife's arm.
Santana's cold body language melted with the warmth of Brittany's hand. "Maybe Britt, but look at her, she's already googling her eyes at those hunks of meat on the dance floor!"
"I'm right here…" Sugar rolled her eyes. Just like her mami.
"Fine, okay, maybe I'm overreacting." Santana lifted her arms in surrender.
Brittany turned towards her daughter. "Come on Sugarbear, let's show this town what we're made of."
Sugar smiled as Brittany grabbed her hand, the two of them dancing on the dance floor. Brittany was killing it and even had a crowd around her. She could hear Sugar yelling "That's my mom!" Santana stayed at the table and watched the two of them. I just don't want her getting hurt…
/
Walls bearing spikes narrowed in on the woman, looking around in panic. "Get me out of here!" She screamed. A nefarious laugh echoed through the room. "There is no escape for you… slayer."
Sugar woke up in a cold sweat. What was with all these dreams? No, nightmares! "Ugh" Sugar groaned audibly. School was tomorrow and she needed her rest. She was already so nervous about school she had a hard time sleeping in the first place. What was she going to wear? How was she going to make an impression?
Santana had called Quinn the day before and asked if her daughter Beth could walk Sugar to school. Sugar hasn't seen Beth since they were just kids, and that was such a distant memory. She hadn't seen Auntie Quinn in a while either, she came up to visit them in New York around 7 or 8 years ago and that was about it. Sugar couldn't believe she was actually living in Lima now and is just getting the opportunity to reconnect with all these old friends. It was going to be a major adjustment that's for sure.
/
