Awkward silence was never a good friend of mine. It somehow seemed to fill the air surrounding me like a poison and I had the incredible need to fill it with babble because it felt like it was my primary occupation. I hated this silence with an inexcusable passion, but it just wasn't me either. No, this silence was very unpopular with everyone as well. Though this was true, everyone continued to let it conquer. I guess he was in office at this very moment. They don't like this awkward silence, but when on common ground their tense shoulders seem to relax.

As we entered into Giles' homey cottage, everyone who walked through the door let out a deep sigh. Faith dropped her bag, where the blueprints stayed while she walked to the backyard with spike to smoke a cigarette. Giles went into the kitchen and made a pot of tea. That meant it was just us three. Xander, me, & silence.

We stood between the living room and the kitchen, fighting with it. He gaped at me as I batter my eyelashes very pretty like. His hands slapped to his side as he jerked forward like I remember he used to do. "Wella.. It's just you and me now."

I crossed my arms. What was I supposed to say? This was a situation I never found myself in. For the past seven years all I did was fight and survive. I parted my lips to say something clever, something cute like 'Yeah? So what do you want to do about that?' But silence found its way to hold my throat. I wondered how Buffy balanced the two with ease. I kept forgetting I was in a battle with silence, fighting for my right to survive. But I've been defeated, it won the war and battle.

"Yeah," I started dryly, like my throat was deprived of moisture. I cleared my throat while I looked around for help. I looked for Faith but she was nowhere to be found because, of course, she was still smoking. I nodded my head in the direction to the basement as a last resort. "I'm gonna go take the blueprints back to Jordan. Let him know how to do everything."

He nodded with a stern-less look trying to seem focused on what we both should have been in the first place. He pursed his lips very quickly as he crossed his arms, mimicking mine. "I'll go hang out with Giles' so he could keep me up to date."

With no words I walked away toward the bag Faith placed on the floor. I heard him press his feet hard against the wooden floors step by step, making them scream with expression. I puffed out my cheeks, as I picked the bag up.

Passing by the kitchen, I can hear Giles speaking with Xander very seriously. As I almost passed the kitchen fully, I raised my head slightly, seeing Xander staring into my eyes. I felt my senses heighten. I made sure I passed the kitchen completely before I stopped in the middle of the hallway trying to catch my breath.

I felt the blood, surging into my heart and my cheeks. I chewed the inside of my lip, trying to prevent this smile that was itching to come out. 'You're here to save the world Dawn,' I thought to myself, 'Not go out with Xander Harris.' I shook my head as I inched toward the basement door.

"Jordy," I yelled playfully coming down wooden stairs.

Coming closer, I can hear the clicking of the mouses and keyboards. "Hey Dawn, how was the trip?"

I let out a dramatic sigh while coming closer to him, "Oh you know. It was okay." I tried to sound as dry as I could.

"Hmm, I bet it was." He curiously moaned as he swirled in his chair. He stopped the chair directly in front of me and smile. "Did you find anything out while you were in Hellmouth 3.0?"

I can feel the corners of my mouth raise, uncontrollably. "I brought the goodies!" I took the blueprints out of Faith's bag and placed them flat onto a table. "Xander said that these blueprints are like meshed together. There's something below the high-schools and it keeps going for like five levels. You just have to separate them."

He snapped his fingers, like he just had a brain surge and began to look at me. His lips moved away from each other but as he begins to speak he became more like a silent movie. The more I try to concentrate the more he seemed so far away. I held my breath, not able to comprehend then what was happening.

Silence put a hit on me.

"Dawn!"

But it wouldn't win.

I blinked my eyes and looked right at where I thought he would be. He was gone. I turned around to see him hunched over the blueprints with a frazzled look tattooed through his face. He didn't understand what was happening and I didn't have the slightest clue either. Something whispering to me that it was another time jump. But all of this just didn't make sense. If it was D'hoffryn, like I inferred, he'd show up soon like he did in the warehouse. But something just didn't add up. I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"Sorry, I zoned out. How long this time?"

"For like ten minutes." The tone Jordan used was something between annoyed and worried. "What's wrong with you?"

Before I could answer, my vision wiped itself away from me. I clenched my jaw and fist trying to remain calm regardless of any circumstances. "Jordan," I yelled while I looked around. It didn't feel like I was blind. It just felt like I was in a dark room. It took me a second to realize I was in the time jump. My first thought was to move, to find a way out.

A buzzing sound wrapped itself around me before I could move. The sound became louder and thicker, until it became clear.

"Dawn!" Giles said my name forcefully. I turned around toward the stairs to see Xander, Giles, Jordan and Faith staring at me.

Faith took one step to me as she crossed her arms. "D, are you okay?"

I brushed my hair back with my hand as I avoided Faith, looking at Jordan. "How long this time?"

"This time?" Giles said confused as he took his glasses off.

"About 20 minutes now." He said while he looked at his watch. His eyes locked with mine, "Is this another power you have?"

"Power?" Giles repeated, slightly annoyed.

I feel the mist accumulating within my eyes "It's these God Dammed Time jumps!"

"But why is it only affecting you?"

I didn't know.

& I couldn't tell them because they faded from me again. Before I could respond to Giles it all started to happen again. It all happened to me. I tried to swallow down the ball that was forming in the back of my throat, but everything just seemed so impossible.

All of my life, I just wanted to be normal. I wanted to go to school, and graduate. Have a family who invites friends over for thanksgiving and Christmas eve; but I still couldn't even have that. I didn't want any of this. But of course, you're born into the family you have. It's not something you could choose. This was so hard to take in.

But I wouldn't let them win.

I looked around me, but it looked like I never left. It felt like it was the basement, just different. But something then dawned on me...

If this was D'hoffryn he would've showed his face... Unless it wasn't him.

I tried to move but it felt like I was paralyzed. Every inch I moved my leg, the more my sides hurt. I clenched my side.

"What do you want from me?" I screamed, listening to my echo. Feeling my hands and legs vibrate as if I were in the freezing cold.

But I knew I was just angry.

Soon after, I heard slow footsteps approaching me.

I closed my eyes, feeling one tear traveling down my face. I concentrated on my breathing until I felt a long fingernail softly caress my tear.

"Do you like my machine, my dear?"

I spoke through my teeth. "What the hell are you doing?"

He walked around me, standing closer. "Well! I'm doing what any Villain would do. I'm giving you a taste of what's in store. Are you enjoying my little game?"

I remained silent. I opened my eyes to see nothing but a blurred black vision in front of me. It walked around the basement slowly. I closed my eyes again to see it better and this somehow calmed me down.

He chuckled darkly. "It's fine, you don't have to speak, Dawn. I just want you to prepare yourself because I don't think it would be a fair fight if you weren't prepared. You can run to that Librarian watcher of yours and to that tortured slayer but you can never be prepared for your death, right?"

I opened my eyes again and clenched my jaw. I tried not to move, because with every inch I hurt internally. It took a few steps until it was behind me. He kissed the back of my neck and I felt my stomach turn in every disgustingly way possible.

He caressed my arms from behind, as he whispered into my ear. "You are still a young woman, Dawn. You have a lot to learn about life and especially your friends. Everything you think I am, I'm not. Everything you think you know about them, you don't."

The ball in my throat bounced up until I could force it down. I looked around this vacant room and felt my lips move. I tried to push out a voice from within me, but all I could feel was a whisper.

"Why me? ...Why can't they see you?"

I felt his lips press to my ear.

"Because I am inside of you.

I am inside of your head.

I. Am. You."

I opened my eyes quickly, to see Giles and Faith over me. I feel my eyes trying to find a purpose while they looked around bewilderingly. I feel my body shock and water spewing out of my eyes. Someone grabs me tightly cradling me back and fourth. I grab their forearm to see who it was as I tilt my head up a little.

"It's going to be okay, Dawn. I'm here." Xander said. His eyes becoming glassy as he rocks me back and fourth.

Giles kneels down as he grabs my face and speaks to me as clear as I could hear him. "Dawn, what happened."

My eyebrows furrowed toward my hairline as I couldn't respond to him with nothing but tears and screams. I let go of Xander's arm as I touched my head violently. "He's in my head, Giles. I can't get it out."

Slowly, I felt my thoughts fade. Everything I knew is just gone. My mind has turned into mush and i'm trying to remember everything.

Giles' voice started to trail off.

Eventually it just became pictures with no sound.

I couldn't think correctly, so even in my head everything seemed like nothing but a dark warehouse.

Silence...

Awkward silence was never a good friend of mine.

It always had a way to drive me crazy...