"Where are you taking me?" Selia Carver asked, drunk and tired as she followed a mysterious man. "Shit I better not be wasting my time with this guy" she thought. She had made out with some random guy the other night here to only find that in the light he didn't have much to look at. She wasn't even looking for much, just a hot guy to hook up with. She guessed that was asking a lot in this world.

It was just yesterday her parents kicked her out of the house. The reason they came up with was the kicker, though. Okay, sure, she had loads of marijuana stashed in her closet but it wasn't like she was smoking it… just selling it. They did say that they wanted her to make her own money and she was doing that, except she was using the money for other activities other than attaining a higher education. After graduating from Hemery High School a year ago, Selia really had no future ahead of her. She barely got away with graduating with her low credits. She planned on just taking senior year over again when a freshman, Buffy Summers, offered her a position in the gardening club. The odd thing about the occurrence was that quickly after she joined the club, it dismantled. She had only been to the meetings once and when she attended the second she fell asleep during it and didn't hear the news that the club would disband. After all that the school still counted it as credit, even for being in the club for about a day.

"Please be hot. Please be hot. Please be hot" she repeated in her mind. He led around outside The Bronze into a dark alleyway. She had a tough night. Her boyfriend just broke up with her that day and she had no reason why. She considered the fact that maybe it was because he caught her with another guy at restaurant but she quickly ignored the idea. Through the back door she exited out into a dark alleyway behind the club. It was very close to pitch black, the only light shining from the two lamp posts, one near her and another toward the end of the alleyway. The guy she followed was gone. She swore he was right in front of her. Something in her gut was telling her something was wrong.

"Uh, hello? Where did you go?" she called out, worried.

"I'm right here" the voice was eerie and sounded like a snarl suddenly she felt something bite into her neck and she screamed of fear and agony and everything went black.

"So you guys just talked?"

Willow and Buffy sat on a bench outside in front of school. "Yup. Just talked" Buffy replied before taking a bite out of her PBJ sandwich.

"Well what did you guys talk about?"

"Angel had some crazy dream about him biting me. No big deal. He's all worried he's gonna actually do it"

Willow's jaw dropped, "No big deal! That's a big deal" she paused and then said, "Dreams are usually thoughts of the unconscious… that means he was thinking of putting his lips to your neck" she smiled.

"Willow, please." She scolded.

Willow's smile dropped, "Sorry"

"Anyways, he's acting like I'm some frail little girl who can't take care of myself which is obviously not true because I'm the-"

"Slayer. Yeah Buffy, we know" She reassured her. "So I'm guessing you guys didn't do… you know?"

Xander came up behind them, "Do what?" oblivious to their conversation they were having before he arrived. He looked extremely different today. He had a serious case of bedhead hair. It went in every direction. His light blue button up shirt was inside out and the buttons did not match with their corresponding buttons. He had a quite visible red mark above his lip. Buffy took one look at him and laughed.

"That's a good look for you, Xander. Try actually waking up early enough to get dressed properly. It might help you in the future" She patted him on the back as she left Willow and Xander to head to the library

"Gotta talk to Giles. I'll see ya, guys"

Xander expressed confusion, "What were you guys talking about?"

"Oh nothing, important" Willow placed her thumb on the red mark above his lip, "What's that?"

"What's what?" He asked

"The red mark above your lip."

He nervous felt above his lip and dug through his mind to come up with a believable explanation for it.

"Oh yeah, I uh, kissed my aunt Margret this morning. She wears red lip stick"

Willow received a visual of an old lady kissing Xander on the lips and shivered, "Ew"

"Yeah don't worry, Willow. This guy doesn't have a hidden make out buddy or anything"

"Of course you don't, Xander" she smiled, "Xander Harris doesn't get the girl, he pursues the girl"

He looked at her dumbfounded, "Hey. Not true" he protested.

As Buffy entered the library doors she knew something was wrong. There were students in the library. Two of them, a boy and a girl stood behind the counter as Giles marked something down on paper.

"Sorry, can I get your last name again?" he said to the girl. She didn't look special. She actually looked really pain and simple. She wore a long brown skirt with a long sleeved blouse and white keds. She dressed like Buffy's grandma.

She spoke very quietly, "Newman. N-E-W-M-A-N"

Giles nodded his head in approval, "Thank you. You two are all set to go"

"Thank you" They both said at the same time in emotionless tone and left the library. As they passed Buffy, the girl gave her a peculiar glare. Buffy ignored it. Freaks.

"Since when do we actually have people come in here?" Buffy chided as she stepped over to the table and placed her back pack on the adjoining chair. Giles shook his head disapprovingly. He had to know her sarcastic remarks were only expressing of her lively personality by now.

"I'm glad you stopped by actually, I wanted to show you this" He said as he pulled out the Sunnydale newspaper. The date in the corner was that day. The headline read:

"Girl mysteriously murdered outside of club"

Buffy looked up at Giles with astonishment

"Keep reading"

She began to read the text:

"Selia Carver, 19 years old and a new graduate of Hemery High School, was found murdered in the alley behind the notorious night club, the Bronze, last night. Sunnydale medical examiner said that the wounds that caused Carver's death resembled an animal bite but cannot be determined until further tests are taken. Interestingly, the examiner also determined that Carver was raped shortly before death which leads to the fact that an animal bite cannot be the cause of death. Police are still investigating into the case but are focusing more on what would cause the puncture wounds than who murdered her at this time."

Selia. Buffy knew her. She didn't know her well but she heard stories of her. All the boys at Hemery high said she was easy. All the girls said she was stupid. She would always wear the ugliest skirts to school. They had ugly patterns, circles and swirls, and were always a certain shade of green. Buffy had a feeling green was her favorite color. It was only a guess though.

She did speak to her once… or a couple times. When Buffy had to deal with that ugly green fern demon she had to go undercover as garden club member to find out the secrets they were hiding. They didn't share information with her until she proved her loyalty by bringing the demon food: which were to be human. Selia was that human. But Buffy knocked her out and locked her in the broom closet to keep her safe while she fought the monster.

A pit formed in Buffy's stomach. Throwing her in the closet, that was all for nothing. She ended up dying. Something formed inside of her. It was anger.

"I knew her"

Giles was quick to answer, "Buffy, I'm so sorry…"

She looked up at him with moist eyes, "It's my fault. If I had gone out hunting…"

"Buffy, stop. You can't get them all"

"She was raped" Buffy said bluntly

Giles looked at her confused.

"Vampires usually go for the neck not the… you know" she continued

Giles' face lit up, "Well I can do some research to see if there has been any other cases like this one" He ran up the steps and began to look through the books on the bookcases". The bell rang.

"Okay you research and I'll go sleep during geometry. Sounds like a good plan" She left the library and ran into Cordelia as the double doors closed behind her.

"Oh Cordelia, hi" Buffy greeted her with more enthusiasm than she would have expected from herself.

Cordelia looked nervous. Her eyes were wide and her posture was very strained.

"Have you seen Xander?"

"No? You need him to do your biology project or something?"

She laughed sarcastically and not interested, "No that's what I have the nerds for. Duh"

Buffy put her hands in the hair in a sign of defeat, "Okay, well, if I see him I'll tell him you were looking for him"

After school Buffy stopped by Angel's underground studio suite. She had to speak with him, just to make sure everything with him was okay. From their conversation the other night Buffy knew he felt uneasy. She understood his worry but she had to reassure him that all it ever would be was worry and nothing would come out of it.

Buffy knocked slowing on his door and Angel opened it almost immediately. His expression was as if he expected her but his words were the complete opposite, "Don't you have school?"

Buffy pushed her way in, forcing Angel to step aside, "I get out at 3"

"Oh" he said digging his foot into the floor.

Buffy looked around his abode, realizing it was a little more messy than usual. Random things were strewn around. Angel's coats were laid over the chairs. His bed was not made which was very unusual because Angel was very conscious about making his bed. Even when he would enter Buffy's room he would have a fit about her bed not being made.

"Very clean, Angel"

He rolled his eyes and rushed over to chairs to collect his coats. Something was wrong with him. He was jumpy and he gave her that annoyed look and it wasn't his playful annoyed look he would give her when she spat out a sarcastic joke.

He began to fig it with his coats, picking one up looking at it and then put it down and picking up the other and doing the same with it. It was odd. Buffy went to his side, "Angel, are you ok?" she said as she grabbed his hand, placing her head on his shoulder. He was completely ignoring her.

Buffy pouted her lips and looked up at her broody boyfriend, "Angel, what's wrong"

No answer

"Angel… I'm not wearing any underwear" she purred seductively

He kept on fidgeting with his jackets and shirts.

"Angel!" she exclaimed, almost yelling. This time she seemed to get his attention

He snapped out of his creepy behavior and looked down into Buffy's eyes, "Oh sorry. I'm trying to change my dressing style up… you know put a little color into it"

Buffy looked down at the brown V-neck shit Angel was holding with confusion, "Uh yeah… well I guess brown is a 'color'. Yeah I was a little worried I had lost you…"

"Lost me? You will never lose me"

He gently kissed her cheek but right that moment he felt a surge of desire. He could feel the beast crawling out of him. He quickly turned away from her to shield her eyes from seeing his true vampiric form.

"He should probably go" he said in a sardonic voice

"Did I do something wrong"

His face eased up and he turned around facing Buffy, "No I'm just not feeling so good". He had to lie to her. He didn't want her to know that he was in pain.

"Okay! If you say so" she said in her cheerful voice that was followed with a light kiss on his cheek. As she opened the door to the outside world, Angel winced from the tiny crack of light that crept into his darken abode.

"One way or another, she's going to find out. She's going to see that you're a sadistic animal and she's not going to want you anymore. There's no avoiding it, Angel, you are destined to kill"

Angel ignored the beast inside him. Angelus would never return. He would make sure of that.

Xander, Cordelia, and Giles sat at the wooden table in Sunnydale High's library. It was 12:23 am but the time was being ignored due to the 'round the clock research on the murder case of Selia Carver. Giles quietly sipped his coffee as he turned the pages of an ancient book about vampires. Once in a while if he discovered something that was interesting enough he would take down notes on a small note pad. Just as Xander quietly closed his eyes to fall asleep Cordelia slapped her hand on the table, "I found something!" She exclaimed with glee. Giles urgently rushed to her side and looked down at the book as she read the lines, "There have been few cases of women being bitten and raped. Vampires usually take pride in the kill so the act of rape is rarely seen but in 1955 there was a case of a teenage girl who was found dead and with the phorensics was founded to be raped before being drained of her blood-" Giles stopped her from going on, "Thank Cordelia but I think I can read the rest. You and Xander should go home now".

"Did you hear that sleepy head?" Cordy said as she turned to Xander, "We can go home now. Come on let's go". Xander lifted his head off the table and nodded as he tried to wake himself up. Cordelia and Xander left Giles and as they were leaving school campus they saw Linda Henry, the school's swim and dive star lugging her bag on her shoulder and leaving too.

As they walked down the hallway, Xander called out to her, who was far ahead of them.

"Linda! Hey! What are you doing here?" He rushed to catch up with her and at first she was taken aback, "Oh I- Uh- Well… Coach gave me the key to the pool so I can train, you know, like in quiet" by the time she finished her sentence Cordelia had caught up to them. Cordelia smiled at Linda as a greeting.

"What about you guys? You guys know why I am here at 12:30 in the morning but there must be some reason you're here?"

Xander began very quiet and after opening his mouth to say something he closed it before giving her an answer.

"We help the librarian with organizing sometimes" Cordy said smiling, her smile fake, of course.

"Right" Linda said a little confused.

As they walked and talked the exited the main doors of the school Linda waved goodbye to them as she walked to her car across the street. Xander and Cordelia watched her from afar.

"Who would want to come to school when you weren't being forced to?" Xander asked dumbfounded

Cordelia looked at him like he was an idiot. He realized her glare, "Oh right… us"

"Sometimes I don't know about you Xander but you know what I do know?"

"What?" he asked.

"That I want to kiss you"

Automatically they passionately kissed ignoring that a black van had pulled up behind Linda's car. As Linda went to open up her car a man rushed out of the van, wrapped a gag around her mouth and yanked her into the van. As the loud slam of the sliding door closed Xander and Cordy stopped kissing and realized that Linda was kidnapped. But there was nothing they could do because by the time they rushed to the car the van was speeding down the street into the dark night.