Author's Notes:

So no major plot changes yet. That'll happen in the next chapter [I promise!]. Lovely. So remember that I don't own all this, just the OCs and everything else is the brilliance of Joss. Yay! Enjoy, and thanks.

Teacher's Pet

So we have this new teacher in biology. I already kind of hate her. She's kind of pretty, I guess, but all the guys in the class totally loom over at her, including Xander.

Andrew decides to discuss it with me over lunch.

"Why aren't you asking Xander out?" he asks.

"Because I know he wouldn't go for someone like me," I answer. "I mean, the only one I know in their newly found trio is Willow, and I know she's liked him for, like, years, and he hasn't gone for her."

"But that's Willow, not you," Andrew says.

"Think about it, Andy! Willow and I are both on the lower caliber of this school. I mean, Xander is into the cheerleaders. He's never even noticed me until, like, last week."

"Well, he'll notice you if you ask him out."

"Doesn't matter. He's totally gawking over that new Bio teacher. So whatever. Forget about it."

Andrew and I were leaving when I crossed by Xander, Willow, and Buffy.

"…I'm going over to her house tonight, Buffy. You can't convince me otherwise," Xander was saying.

"Xander, please," Buffy begs.

"Hi, Kavitha!" Xander says.

"Oh, hello," I say. I'm sure that he just said hi to me to avoid discussing whatever he was discussing with Buffy. "Um, what's up?"

"Nothing much. Working on some Bio tonight. See ya." He leaves.

"Is there some sort of problem?" I ask Willow.

"Kind of," Willow says. "Not really."

"Is there any way I can help?"

"Well, the biology teacher is a praying mantis," Buffy says. "So unless you want to get involved with all that, I don't think you can help much."

They begin to walk, but I stop them. "Hold on a minute. Praying mantis? Vampires? What's going on here?"

Buffy and Willow reluctantly look at each other. "Do you want to tell her?"

"Well, she did have a vampire encounter once before.

"You mean those big, annoying guys at the Bronze?" I ask.

"Yes… those were vampires."

I laugh. "You guys are so amusing. Anyway, I'll see you around."

They look at each other again, and then just shrug it off before leaving.

"Do you think they were serious?" Andrew asks. "Because they sound pretty serious. What if they weren't joking?"

"We'll find out tonight," I say.

"What d'you mean?"

I smile at him. "I mean we're going to follow them."

"What? Are you insane?"

"Think about it! If I follow them, and it's all a big joke, then I would've been right. And I don't have to embarrass myself if I believe it and it's not true."

"But what if it is true?"

I laugh again. "C'mon, Andy. Vampires? Please."

Andrew shrugs. "You never know."

So Andrew walks me home and I decide to change into something a little more stealthy. "What's stealthy?" I ask to myself. "Black. Black is stealthy." I don a pair of black skinny jeans, a black t-shirt, and an old black beanie I found lying around.

I called Andrew again. "So are you ready to go?"

"What?" I hear him say along with video game sounds in the background. "What're you talking about? Go where?"

"To spy on Buffy and Willow!"

"I'm not coming!"

"What d'you mean you're not coming?"

"I mean I want no part in this."

"Oh, come on!"

"I'm serious, Kav. I'm not coming. Sorry." He hangs up.

I groan. "Stupid Andy." I throw the phone onto my bed. I go downstairs and decide not to look at my parents while I leave. "Bye, mom, I'm going out to study I might be home late but don't worry about me I've got my phone if you need me see you later okay bye." I'm out the door.

I decide to go to the school library first: that's most likely where they'll be. I circle the school building until I'm at a high window on the outside. I stick my ear extremely close to where the gap between the window and the wall are, and listen with all of my might.

"…and his mom says he's not home," Willow says. "But he didn't say where he was going."

"He's gone to Ms. French's house," Buffy says. "We need to find him before she… mates with him."

"Mates with him?" I repeat quietly.

"We have to go find him," Willow says.

They begin to leave the library. I circle the school again, and follow them. I stay a safe distance behind, but I make sure that they don't see me. They stop at a house. By the time I find a good hiding spot to listen in on the conversation, I only really catch half of it.

"…Yes, I'm Ms. French, the subsitute Biology teacher," a little old woman at the door says.

After a bit more of their conversation, which I can barely hear, is over, I see the trio of people leaving again. They say some stuff, and do some stuff, and then they're following this shadowy guy to some other house. I don't question it, and carefully trail behind.

As they approach another house, the guy they've been following disappears somewhere, and they break into the house.

I follow them in, and then I believe it. After all, seeing is believing. A giant praying mantis keeping high school boys—including Xander—in cages.

Then the fight starts. Buffy is like a superhero or something. She's punching and kicking and then the mantis is dead.

"What… the hell…" I say. Unfortunately I say it just loud enough for the rest of them to hear me.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asks.

I feel nervous and I don't know what to say. I can't just say that I was following her, I can't just say that I thought she was lying.

"I-I'm sorry…" I say. I run off as fast as I can before they can get a chance to say anything back.