Buffy has stopped by her house before class to pick up a few things she'd forgotten to take to her dorms room.
"Dawn honey, are you're friends still coming over after school?"
"Yeah mom, we have a study group. Do you mind making food or something?"
"How many of your friends are coming?"
"Um, Megan, Keri, David, Ted, Alex, Melissa and Melinda." Dawn answers.
Buffy and Joyce turn suddenly to look at her. Buffy speaks first "This is co-ed?"
Dawn answers "Yeah, what's the big deal? We're going to be in the living room."
Joyce turns to Dawn "I'll be home when you get here but I have to leave for a meeting by 4:00"
Buffy chimes in "There's no way you're going to be here alone with boys."
Dawn starts to protest but her mother cuts her off "Your sister is right, I trust you but there needs to be supervision." Turning to Buffy she says "Please tell me you can come by, it will only be for about an hour and a half or so until I can get home."
Buffy is obviously unhappy but Dawn looks at her and says "Like mom said, it's not for long and this really is a study thing and we already made plans when I thought mom would be here."
"Ok," the slayer reluctantly begins "but all boys stay where I can see them, period."
"Thanks Buffy, thanks mom."
"Thank you Buffy, here's some money for the pizza and I promise I'll be home as early as I can." Joyce kisses both her daughters cheeks and leaves. Dawn walks out to wait for the bus and Buffy grabs the box of cloths that really don't seem to be worth the trouble this trip has ended up being.
…
The study session is going well with as much joking and talking as actual studying, but everyone behaving. Joyce has been giving the kids some distance but checking in periodically.
One of the guys, David, walks to the kitchen with Dawn to get soft drink refills for everybody. "So is helping me out part of the southern hospitality/chivalry thing?" She asks as she points to the soda.
"I guess that's part of it, I like being useful, and I appreciate the help catching up." She starts handing him the cups she's filled with ice. "So how big a change is California from Tennessee?"
"Not as big as I'd thought it would be. I guess I imagined everything being like Hollywood or LA. Not knowing anybody or where anything is are a bigger deal then it being a different state."
Dawn doesn't answer causing David to ask "What? Is something wrong?"
"You looked sad, like there's something you're not saying" she answers .
"My little cousins Ashley and Matt it's weird not getting to see them."
"Awe, that's sweet. How old are they?"
David takes out his wallet and shows Dawn a picture of him with his cousins. "She's 9 and he's 7" a little embarrassed he adds "I miss them." Dawn gives him a little smile that he takes as it's ok to change the subject. "The food is different" he said not sounding really enthusiastic then thickened his southern accent and spoke a little slower to add "and y'all talk kinda funny."
She gave him a little laugh "I've heard some of the other's saying y'all, not sure if that means you're a trend setter or maybe just contagious." He laughed and switched to a second two liter as he filled more glasses. "Where in Tennessee are you from?"
"Whitehaven, I doubt you've heard of it. It's south of Memphis not far from the Mississippi line."
"Yeah, the only places I can name in Tennessee are Memphis and Nashville. Nashville is like a real city, not just an amusement park or somewhere a lot of people sing right?"
This unintentionally gets a bigger laugh out of him. The thought crosses her mind that she really likes his eyes when he laughs.
"Yeah, it's a really city. There is the Opryland theme park and parts of downtown does kind of look like a county music carnival but it's an actual city with people living there and everything."
Neither heard the front door open but both turn as Buffy walks into the kitchen from the living room. The slayer immediately steps between the two teenagers and glaring angrily at David demands "What the hell are you doing here?"
Dawn is shocked that her sister is treating her friend this way. David starts to say something but Buffy cuts him off. "How dare you come near my sister?"
He answers startled "Sister? What are you talking about?" He looks back and forth between the girls but keeps his guard up in case this blonde stranger attacks him again.
Dawn ask "What's going on?"
"Get out of my house?" Buffy demands.
Dawn tries to be a peacemaker "Buffy this is my friend David from school. He's one of the people I told you was coming over to study."
David tries to help calm things down "I didn't know Dawn was your sister, I didn't even know who you were."
"Yeah, you just happen to make friends with the slayers little sister? You really expect me to buy that? Dawnie are you ok?"
"You're the slayer?" Then more to himself "That actually makes sense."
Dawn ask "How do you two even know each other?"
"He's the guy I ran into in the cemetery a few nights ago. Stake wielding, karate using stranger that expects me to believe he didn't know his new friend Dawn had anything to do with the supernatural, give me a break."
Dawn grumbles "Yeah, because there's no way someone would actually want to hang out with me unless it's about you."
"Aren't you a little old to be in her study group and why were you two alone in here? Dawn how do you even know this freak?"
"Dawn you and Melinda invited me remember. I swear I didn't know you even knew vampires were real." Turning to Buffy "I'm one grade ahead of Dawn but we have civics together. California state history isn't a big priority back in Tennessee."
"Then go back where you came from and didn't I tell you to get out of my house?"
"It's my house too and I invited him." This gets a glare from Buffy.
"My stepdad got transferred to be a manager at a factory here. It wasn't my idea. Dawn is my friend and there doesn't have to be any trouble."
"I don't like surprises or mysteries. I don't know how you move the way you do but I don't believe you being in Sunnydale is a coincidence and I really don't like you trying to use my kid sister. Oh and after the other night in the graveyard, yeah there kinda is a problem."
David runs out of patience "You mean the night you attacked me the night you let that vampire get away? If that thing hurts anyone else it's your fault, there blood will be on your hands."
"I've been protecting people from vamps long before you moved here, don't start lecturing me."
"Yeah, it seems like you're doing a hell of a job."
Joyce walks into the kitchen and sees the stair down. "What is going on in here?"
Buffy answers first "He does not need to be anywhere near Dawn."
Dawn and David both start trying to explain together which just sounds like a jumble. They both stop and he motions for her to speak.
"Mom, I didn't know this but David hunts vampires too and he's the guy that was chasing a vampire that Buffy had a um misunderstanding with. You know she thought he was a vamp and when she saved the actual vampire that she didn't know was a vampire-well you heard that whole story" Dawn continues speaking quickly to keep her mother or sister from interrupting
"David didn't know I was Buffy's sister or even know that her name was Buffy so when she walked in and saw him she thought he was here because of some demony fighting kind of reason when he's just here studying history. Can you please tell her to calm down."