"I'm so glad we're doing this. I mean, it's been a while."

Mike snaked his hands around Tina's waist and her fingers tangled through his hair.

"Well, it's kind of hard to find any alone time when our extra curricular activities are fighting the forces of evil," he said, pulling back and wiping purple lipstick off of his mouth.

Tina frowned and shuffled in the passenger seat of Mike's car, parked in a clearing by the woods. "It's just... I feel so guilty."

"Why?"

"After everything that's happened to Buffy, I should be there, letting her cry on my shoulder."

"You spend ninety percent of your time helping Buffy. You're not a bad friend for wanting to spend some time with your boyfriend."

"Yeah, while her now soulless girlfriend is running around murdering people. I feel so selfish."

"This is all pretty confusing," Mike nodded with a sigh, "I didn't even know Buffy and Santana liked each other like that. Sam is pretty broken up about it... Damn, now I know what you mean about feeling selfish."

"It shouldn't be like this, right? We shouldn't have to feel so bad about being happy and in love just because everybody else is struggling. I mean, I feel like I can never talk about you with my friends."

"Okay, I get Buffy, but isn't Rachel over Finn yet? It's been months and I like the big lug, but he wasn't that great a boyfriend."

"It's not the missing him that's bothering Rachel, it's the not being able to miss him because he's always there. He keeps calling and texting and trying to get back with her. The only thing he hasn't bothered to do is rejoin glee club. I mean, the girl needs to mourn," Tina sighed irritably, "Look at me! I can't stop talking about them and worrying about them! I have to stop letting my life be clouded by other people! I am not a sidekick! When I'm not babbling about poor Rachel I'm raving about all-powerful Buffy!"

"You don't babble," Mike pouted, "Sometimes you run-un. Occasionally you yammer-"

"Look at us. We've got your dad's car. It's just the two of us. There's a big full moon. It doesn't get any more romantic than this. Once in a while, you just have to tell me to shut up."

Mike smirked. "I don't think anyone else would ever believe that you'd ever need to be told to shut up. Obviously you can't stop thinking about this because it's important to you. But, yeah, it'd be nice to spend some time with you without having to worry about the rest of the scooby gang..."

Tina smiled and leaned in to kiss her boyfriend when she heard the faint sound of rustling in the woods. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I thought I heard something."

Mike frowned. "Is Buffy sending some kind of distress signal that only you can hear?" he asked sarcastically.

The couple heard the booming scrape of metal being torn above them before they saw the swiping at them from above. They screamed and flattened themselves against the doors as the claw frantically tore at the roof of the car, trying to widen the hole. The claw retreated and some sort of wild animal stuck it's snout in, snarling angrily and staring with oddly human brown eyes.

"Get us out of here!" Tina screamed at Mike.

"Where are the keys?!"

Mike frantically felt around the floor of the car for a set of keys and victoriously jammed them into the ignition. Mike lurched the car forward, throwing the large animal off of the roof. He backed up and sped away into the night. Tina gasped for breath and looked at her boyfriend. "I told you I heard something."

xxx

Shelby was like an older Rachel, only more severe. Quinn had never gotten that good a look at her, especially after she found out she and Rachel were mother and daughter. It made perfect sense, though. Quinn watched her, her back arched as she leaned over the granite island counter, thick spellbooks laid out on the surface. Shelby was flying through them with a pencil in her hand, making notes and ripping out pages.

"Do you need something?" she asked without looking up.

Quinn had been hovering by the sink, not sure what to say or do. "Um, no... Do you?"

"Not yet," Shelby looked up and tried her best to give a warm smile, "I'm going to have to get through a lot of research before we get to anything serious. I'll let you know when I need you."

Quinn nodded. "Okay."

"If you like, you can go play with Beth for awhile."

"I think Sofia and Jesse have got it taken care of." Quinn turned her head, able to hear the faint cooing coming from the den. Who knew Jesse liked kids?

"I know it must be hard for you," said Shelby, twirling her pencil, "But it's less complicated when they're still young. You can still connect with her."

Quinn clenched her jaw. "I'm not sure I want to."

"Why's that?"

Quinn sighed. "I don't want to connect with her and then never see her again when you leave for Cleveland."

Shelby frowned. "Have you had a chance to talk to Rachel?"

Quinn looked down at the tiled floor, shiny under the morning sun. "Not yet."

"You don't think she'll agree to help me or Jesse."

"Are you reading my mind?"

"I don't have to."

"Well, not exactly. I think Rachel will agree to help me, but she won't like it. I don't want to do that to her."

"You're a good friend, Quinn."

"Thanks," Quinn flatly replied, "I have to get to school."

"Just remember that this is all for Santana. We need all the hands we can get."

Quinn nodded and left the room.

xxx

"And you're sure it was a werewolf?"

Buffy, Tina and Mike gathered around Mike's father's car, the metal roof shredded by what looked like a jagged claw.

"Six feet tall, claws, big old snout... Survey says: Werewolf," Mike nodded.

"Makes sense."

"It tried to bite us."

"The newspapers say that there were other attacks by a 'wild dog' in the area but so far it's only been animal carcasses, not people," said Tina.

"Was last night a full moon?" asked Buffy, "Or is that just a myth?"

"No, last night wasn't a full moon, but tonight is. If my studies are correct, werewolves transform three nights a month. The night before a full moon, the night of a full moon and the night after."

"It's a little worrying that your first thought after being attacked by a wild animal was to go home and study."

"Well, werewolves are one of the classics," Tina smiled, "It's pretty fascinating."

"I think you need a pet."

"Werewolves act on pure instinct, without conscience. They're predatory and aggressive-"

"In other words, your typical male."

"On behalf of my gender; hey!" said Mike.

"Our wolf-man could be a wolf-woman," said Tina.

"Either way, you're standard issue silver bullets should work," said Mike.

"No," Tina shook her head, "No bullets. This werewolf is still a human being every other day of the month. They might not even know about their... condition."

"This is reminding me a lot of my first case in Lima," Buffy frowned, "I never did solve that one. It still bugs me."

"You don't think that was a werewolf, was it?" asked Tina.

"Hopefully, because now that we know what it was, we can bring it back alive."

xxx

"Quinn!"

Quinn spun around in the crowded school hallways to Rachel's call and smiled at the girl as she rushed to her side in a pink babydoll tee, her brown hair bouncing at her shoulders. How much she really liked Rachel was still a secret, but it was freeing now that she had admitted it to herself and her best friends. Now, she didn't have to look at Rachel's white knee highs and try to make herself believe they were ugly rather than tragically adorable.

"How are you?" Rachel asked, sympathy in her brown eyes.

"I'm... fine. I mean, I'm not but... I'm trying to do all I can."

"Of course. I know how close you were to Santana and... I'm sorry you had to lose someone so important."

Quinn nodded, frowning sadly. Santana was her best friend and she wished she could be there to talk to. Her friendship with Jesse was beginning to improve, but he was nothing compared to having a sister you could laugh and bitch with.

"Well, about that. There's something I have to ask you-"

"There's something I have to ask you first!" Rachel smiled brightly, "My dads are leaving for their Rosie O'Donnell cruise this weekend, so I thought I'd do something I've never done before; throw a house party!"

Quinn wrinkled her brow. "Um... Don't you think it's kind of a bad time for a party?"

"Well, at first that's what I thought, but then I figured that's it's the perfect time for a party. Everyone's been so, understably, down lately. I just want to do something to cheer people up. So I invited everyone in glee club and I told Brittany to spread the word-"

"I don't think that's a good idea. Brittany knows a lot of people."

"The more the merrier. She needs it, too. I think she blames herself for what happened. The only problem is, I don't think Buffy's gonna come. There was a werewolf attack last night-"

"Wait, what?!"

"Yeah, a werewolf. Or, well, they don't know for sure that it's a werewolf. The newspapers have been reporting a wild animal."

"They have?"

"Yeah, and nobody's been harmed yet, but Buffy wants to patrol tonight and the party was kind of thought of with her in mind. Well, her and you."

Quinn smiled weakly. "Rachel, I... I'd love to come to your party."

Rachel balled her hands and grinned, ecstatic. "Great! Tonight at eight. The dress code is casual! Well, smart casual! You know what, just wear whatever you want, you look great in everything."

Quinn blushed and nodded. "Thanks, Rachel. I'll be there. Listen, I've got to go, um... Puck has my Biology notes and I need them back."

"Okay. Bye, Quinn," Rachel smiled and skipped off to her next class.

Quinn exhaled and shook her head. That perky pixie girl didn't realize at all how much she affected her. Quinn strode off, trying to stop her face from getting red and keeping her eyes peeled for a mohawk in a leather jacket. She spotted him at Lea Hamilton's locker, leaning over her with a flirty smile on his face.

Quinn strode over to the couple. "Beat it, Lea."

"But-"

"Bye."

"This is my locker-"

"Go!"

Lea Hamilton stormed off after giving Quinn a dirty look. "What was that, Fabray?!" asked Puck.

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

Quinn sighed. "There's something I have to tell you and I really don't want you to freak out."

"Come on, after everything I found out in the last couple days, you think I'm gonna freak out?"

"This is different. This is... personal."

Puck frowned. "Is this about you and Rachel?"

"What? No! How do you- Ugh, this is about you, Puck," Quinn leaned and said in a hushed tone, "I don't know if you know this, but there have been attacks lately, reportedly by a wild animal."

"And you think I did it?"

Quinn raised her eyebrows in surprise. "No. I mean... Wait, why would you think that?"

Puck sighed. "Look, Fabray, I know. You think you've been protecting me all this time, but I already know. I found out months ago."

Quinn gulped. "You know... what?"

"I know that I'm a werewolf."

Quinn shushed him and looked around at hovering bystanders. "You know?"

"Yeah. I also know that you should have told me a long time ago. I could have done something about it."

"So..."

"No, it wasn't me. I built a cage in my basement. Three nights a month, I sleep there and tell my mom and sister not to come down no matter what. I'm not an idiot, Blondie. I was gonna figure it out eventually."

Quinn frowned sheepishly. "So... there's another werewolf in Lima."

"Must be. Unless someone is sneaking me outta my cage and locking me back in in the morning, which I highly doubt because I probably would've killed 'em."

"Right. So I take it you won't be going to Rachel's house party tonight?"

"Berry's having a house party tonight?! Damn. I always miss the good stuff."

xxx

Will trudged through roots and patches of untended weeds, a duffle bag of weapons thrown over his shoulder. For every few trees there was a parked minivan containing two hormonal teenagers. Will wondered how a werewolf went unnoticed for this long as Buffy came into view, sprinting towards him through two parked Volvos.

"Anything?" he asked, hopeful, the early moonlight enough to let him see her face.

"Yes, and you won't believe it! Morgan Ru is over there making out with Azimio Adams but he's dating Dakota Bargis! And if she finds out..." Buffy trailed off as Will frowned, unamused, "Oh. Nothing. Not a werewolf in sight. You?"

"Nothing. Maybe we should ask some of these people..."

Buffy raised an eyebrow and looked back at the cars parked at a clearing in the distance. "Will, I'm pretty sure they haven't seen anything what with the windows being covered in steam."

"Right, right. Let's try this way."

Will and Buffy walked side by side and kept their eyes open wide for anything strange.

"So... How have you been?"

"What, since my girlfriend tried to kill me?"

"She was your girlfriend?"

"Not exactly. I mean, it was over before it began, really. I guess I'm... I'm struggling with it. I know I'm going to see her again and it's going to hurt-"

Buffy stopped, hearing a rustle through the bushes. She slowly turned her head, something catching her eye. She acted on impulse and lunged into the darkness, only for something to catch her foot. A net snapped up from the ground and lifted her into the air, suspending her from a tree. Will gasped as a man strode forward in a leather jacket and dark boots, a necklace of sharp canine teeth hanging from his neck. He raised a rifle at Buffy as she squirmed in the net.

"Will!" Buffy screamed.

The man wrinkled his brow in confusion and poked Buffy with the end of his rifle.

"Ow!" she exclaimed.

"Hey!" Will called and ran forward, but the man pointed his gun at him. Will stopped still and lifted his arms in surrender.

"Who are you?" demanded Will, "What are you doing here?"

"The name's Goolsby," the man smirked, "Dustin Goolsby. And I'm the one with gun, meaning I get to do the interviews."

"Before we make the introductions, could we do something about this 'me being in a net' thing?" asked Buffy.

Dustin pulled a knife from his soft leather belt and cut into the rope net. Buffy fell through the hole and to the ground with a loud thud. Will leaned down and helped her untangle herself from the frayed net.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I could have done without the poking," she replied.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed," Dustin winked at Will.

"Excuse me?"

"It's good to get the fruit while it's fresh."

Buffy stood and stared at the dark-haired man. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"What? A guy and a girl alone in Lover's Lane at night is nobody's-"

"That's not what this is, you pervert!" Buffy fumed, "We're hunting a werewolf."

Dustin snickered, his eyes travelling between Will and Buffy.

"Yeah, it's pretty funny if you don't believe in werewolves-"

"No, it's funny to think that you two could catch one. I mean, this guy looks like he's auditioning to be a librarian," he laughed, nudging the tip of his rifle at Will, "And you. You're just a girl."

"Believe me, she's more than qualified," Will frowned.

"Uh huh. Let me ask you something, sweetie. How many of these things have you taken down?"

Buffy shuffled on the spot. "As of today?"

Dustin grabbed his necklace of teeth. "I tore a tooth from the mouth of every werewolf I've ever killed. The next one will bring me to an even dozen."

"Wait, you just kill them?"

"Well, that's the thing. Their pelts sell pretty well on the black market in Sri Lanka and it's kind of hard to skin them when they're alive."

"You hunt werewolves for sport?" Will asked incredulously.

"Oh, no, I do it purely for the money."

"And it doesn't bother you that they are people for twenty eight days of the month?" asked Buffy.

"You know what? It does bother me. A lot. That's why I only hunt them during the other three," he said, smiling widely.

Buffy glared at him as he started to pack away his net and trap. Dustin Goolsby would have a handsome face if he weren't so smarmy.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm on a tight schedule. Do you have any idea where the teenagers in this town get together?"

"You're looking for a party?" asked Buffy, wrinkling her nose.

"I'm not, but the werewolf is. They're suckers for the whole sexual heat thing."

"Well, wish I could help, but..."

"You don't know squat? What a surprise." Dustin rolled his eyes and trekked off as Buffy turned to Will.

"The Bronze?" he asked.

"Uh-uh. Rented out for the night for a fortieth birthday party. But I think I know where to look. We just have to get there before mein fuhrer."

xxx

Rachel stood by the door, her green dress billowing as guest after guest poured in and headed to the kitchen for a drink or to the basement to get in line for karaoke. The party had been in full rage for almost an hour and Rachel hadn't been able to enjoy any of it. Brittany knew an alarming amount of people who were up for a party, some of which she didn't even recognise from school. People crowded around, eating snacks in the sitting room and spilling into the dining room.

She would be darting through rooms, making sure people weren't vandalizing her house, but she thought it rude not to greet her guests. Still, she was getting tired of taking people's coats and she wanted to have fun downstairs with Quinn or Tina before they retired to their own houses.

"Hey, Rach."

"Hel-" Rachel looked up at all six feet of Finn Hudson, dressed in a smart peacoat, "What are you doing here?!"

"It's nice to see you, too."

"What? Sorry, I mean; hello, Finn. I didn't know you would be here tonight."

"Brittany invited me," he said over the music, "She said it would be okay.

"Oh, right..." Rachel sighed, "Maybe... maybe it's not okay, actually."

"You want me to leave?" he asked, taken aback.

"Look, normally I would let you stay and just spend the night avoiding you, but I really need this night, Finn. I just want to have fun."

"That's not that hard. We used to have fun together all the time."

"That was before. I'd really just be more comfortable if you left."

Finn frowned, disappointed. "Are you seeing someone else?"

"What? Finn, no. That's not what this is about."

"I thought if I gave you time, you'd get over this."

"I have gotten over this. I just don't want to see you. Is that so unbelievable?"

"I just don't see why it'd be torture to be in the same building as me."

"I'm in the same building as you everyday! At school, seeing you flirting with the girls in our class to try and make me jealous! This is my home, Finn, and I don't want to you here. This night is for my friends, okay? We've been through a lot of stuff lately a-and... Quinn needs me-"

"Quinn?! You are such a hypocrite, Rachel. Quinn lied and cheated her way through sophomore year and you're still at her beck and call."

"No, I'm not! And Quinn is different now!"

"Is there something wrong?"

Finn and Rachel turned to see Quinn standing near them with a red plastic cup in her hand and denim jacket over her party dress, her hair down and curled around her shoulders.

"Quinn," Rachel seemed to sigh in relief.

"This has nothing to do with you," Finn said venomously to the blond.

"I heard my name," Quinn said calmly.

Finn sighed irritably. "Quinn, I'm talking to my girlfriend. Can you just...?" Finn gestured for her to leave.

Quinn raised an eyebrow and scoffed, dropping a hip and putting on her best cheerleader pout. "Your girlfriend? You sure you don't want to rephrase that? Because it was to my belief that you cheated on Rachel and she royally dumped your ass. Or am I living in a parallel universe where you're not a douchebag?"

"You can't say a lot, Quinn, you did a lot worse."

"You know what, Finn? I am so sick of you throwing my past mistakes in my face. It's getting so old. I screwed up, a lot, but you know what? I owned up and I learned. But you? You are here begging to not only be forgiven but be praised, and for what? You haven't done anything to deserve Rachel. The only thing that's happened since Halloween is the passing of time and you somehow becoming even more annoying. You cheating on Rachel was the best thing that ever happened to her because now she is not held back by your lameness. You are a walking pile of mashed potatoes."

Finn's mouth hung open and he looked at Rachel once more. "Whatever..." he mumbled.

He backed away and left the house, completely dejected. Rachel looked at Quinn, her mouth a wide oval. "Quinn... that was amazing."

Quinn frowned. "Yeah, well, I guess I still have some bitch left in me. You can lead a horse to water."

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with having to be a bitch once in awhile," Rachel smiled fondly, "I have a confession to make."

"Yeah?"

"This night was planned with selfish intent."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, of course I want you and Buffy to be able to take your minds off of what happened to Santana, but I was mainly thinking of myself. I needed a pick-me-up. I've been in a rut lately, with Finn bothering me and everyone else has been so busy... I don't want to complain because it's nobody's fault, but..."

Quinn frowned. "You've been feeling ignored."

"I guess so. God, I'm so self-obsessed."

"No, you're not. I'm sorry you feel... neglected. I mean, I totally get it. I haven't been that great a friend to you, either. I've been completely avoiding you-"

"What? You have? Why?"

"Oh, um..." Quinn's heart started to beat harder. It was there, on the tip of her tongue. I love you. "It doesn't matter anymore. We're friends now and we're gonna... do friend stuff. And it'll be great, okay? Don't think about Finn. Finn doesn't matter anymore. We're gonna 'Thelma and Louise' it."

Quinn handed Rachel her red plastic cup. "Drink this." She turned and held up her arms. "Spin the Bottle!" she yelled into the crowd of partiers and the partiers cheered back.

Up next: Spin The Bottle and confrontations...

a/n: Anyone have any idea who the werewolf is or who they'd like it to be? Reviews are always encouraged :)