"You're cancelling patrolling because you're going on a second date?" Nadja asked over ice cream a few days later. They were going out to see a new action flick that was coming out and Beth had thought it the best time to tell Nadja about her newly acquired dating lifestyle.

"Yes," she answered. "My mum was totally cool with me skipping out."

"Of course she was!" Nadja cried. "She's jumping for joy that you're dating. You though, shouldn't you be squealing? Also why haven't I seen a picture of him?"

She shrugged. "He doesn't really do social media? He prefers to live his life and not vicariously through others."

"He sounds pretentious," Nadja remarked. "I mean, where else am I going to see videos of cats dancing to Tiktok trends? Do you like him, though?"

"I agreed to a second date, didn't I?"

Nadja snorted. "Lots of people agree to things they don't want to do. Like I agreed to see this dumb action movie with you, even though I want to see that period piece."

"Hey!"

"I'm just saying, if you really are about living the full teenage experience, you should be gushing over this guy," Nadja commented. "It's what the girls do in those movies you live vicariously through."

"Fine, fine, he's handsome, he's smart, he's set to take over a company in a decade or so, and he can hold a conversation," she listed. "There. Gushing."

Nadja blinked at her. "You read those traits off like they're rehearsed. Do you have your notes open?"

"Shut up," she grumbled. "He is a catch! Why would I turn down a second date with him?"

"Because you're interested in the dating aspect and not the actual boy," Nadja hypothesized.

"That's not true," she denied. "And even if it was, I mean I barely know him! Of course I wouldn't be super interested in him. Not yet anyway. I have to get to know him. I can't say no to another date just yet."

"Sure you can! It's very easy," Nadja told her. "N-O. No, Just like that. Now, repeat after me, nnn—"

"I know how to say 'no,' Nadja," she interrupted.

"And what about your whole 'special genes' thing?" Nadja inquired. "I thought you were worried about that."

She shifted in her chair, eyeing her milkshake. "My mum says I have to give people a chance," she explained. "That since you and Zack were okay with it, maybe other people could be okay with it too. In like the romantic sense. I'm gonna tell him—"

"While you're both dangling over a hole full of vicious demons?"

"—but not just yet," she finished. "I've got to suss him out first. And then tell him. And hope he doesn't scream or something."

"This is why I need a photo of him," Nadja decided. "If he makes you cry, I need to know who to take the hit out against."

"Nadja!" she cried, laughing.

"I'm serious!" Nadja continued. "I won't let some 'daddy's money' boy make you upset just because you're a little different than everyone else."

"I'd say more than a little," she corrected.

Nadja waved it off. "You look like everyone else, act like everyone else, eat like everyone else. And you know what they say about ducks."

"If things progress in that direction, I will tell him," she promised. "But we haven't even kissed. Not yet."

"Well, once he does kiss you, that should be what tells you if he's the guy for you," Nadja told her. "You should feel fireworks or something."

She snorted. "Everyone knows that's a bunch of made-up bull."

"Oh so says, Miss I-Live-My-Life-By-TV?" she retorted. "According to how you live your life, you're supposed to fall into total angst-love with him. Total Romeo and Juliet. Except nobody has to die at the end. Your father already hates him, so you're halfway there."

"There's no angst," she insisted. "He's too gentleman-y to make it angsty. I don't know about fireworks, but he gives me a tickly feeling in my stomach."

"That's called nerves."

"Besides, this doesn't have to be some big, be-all-end-all love relationship," she decided. "Jackie told me that I'm a teenager, which means I can love him one day and then forget him the next."

"I'd be careful about that," Nadja warned. "You might be like that, but if what you say is true, he's already got his career set for him. He's set for the rest of his life. That type is usually shopping around for a wife."

Beth coughed on her milkshake. "I am not getting married," she wheezed before clearing her throat. "No one is saying anything about marriage, alright? I am sixteen. None of that bollocks. It's been one date; we're not declaring our undying love for one another."

"I'm serious," Nadja told her. "My mom's friend's niece once knew a guy who was inheriting a hardware store. He was sixteen and already planning to marry a girl he was dating. Once they were eighteen, that was it. And while Bellevue's not necessarily a small town, it might still be something that was instilled in him growing up. Get a good job, have a nice car, and get a trophy wife."

"I'd make a terrible trophy wife," Beth told her. "I can't walk in heels and sometimes come home covered in demon guts."

"But imagine marrying a slayer," Nadja asked her. "That's got a lot of power behind it. Political too. Think he'd ever want to be a politician?"

"He wasn't born in this country."

"I wasn't thinking president. Anyway, you should make sure you're on the same page about this. I can't help but get the feeling you're doing this as some sort of evasive tactic."

"And what, pray tell, would I be evading?" Beth questioned.

"I dunno, an individual's discovery of self-worth?" she suggested. "Some form of displacement as a defense mechanism? You know you have a lot of those, right?"

"I am dating him because I want to," Beth affirmed. "He is nice."

"As if that isn't the thing girls say when they're not interested in a guy," Nadja intoned. "If you really want to date, you have options, so you don't have to settle on a guy who you'd describe only as 'nice'."

"Like who? All the boys at St. Jude's seem a little wary of me, and that's before they would find out about the vampire stuff," Beth told her. "Jacob doesn't seem to mind. He literally asked me out after I showcased my slayer abilities. It's possible that he could be the one person who'd be okay that I have all these extra abilities."

"You'd be surprised about who'd be okay with that," Nadja muttered.

"And I'm not interested in anyone else in town anyway!" she added. "Jacob is fine. What I am doing is fine. Look, I'm doing normal."

Nadja sighed. "You don't need a boyfriend to be normal. Look at me, I don't have one and don't want one. Romance doesn't interest me at all. And am I not normal?"

"Well, to be completely honest, no, I don't think so," Beth replied and she scowled, "but I'm not either, so. And you know what I mean."

"I know that you think being accepted in an upward battle you have to fight, that you should take what you can get from whoever gives it to you," she explained. "There are so many choices out there for you. I'm sure living with a bunch of girls who treated you as less-than made you think you weren't worthy of anyone's love, but trust me, there are people out there who think you make the Sun rise every morning."

"Well, technically, the Sun doesn't rise, it—"

"I know what the Sun does," Nadja snapped. "What I am trying to say is that the amount of enthusiasm you have toward Jacob is less than what I'd want to see my friend have when she's dating someone. You have choices."

"I know," she replied softly, though she couldn't think of any at the moment. Jacob really did seem interested in her slayer abilities; he'd asked enough questions about it to prove that. And he really was sweet, and she could do with sweet. "Look, it's only a second date. Give me some time to really suss out my feelings here before you start making assumptions about how 'ga-ga' I need to be about him. It's too early to tell where things could lead."

Nadja let out a light exhale, still feeling like there was some piece she was missing. But she couldn't drop herself into Beth's mind to figure it out; she'd have to wait for her friend to figure it out for herself. In the meantime, she'd stop hounding her about it. She didn't think there was much she could do to change Beth's mind.

-.-

It was shocking how close Daniel lived to Beth. When he had told her the address of his home, she had been surprised to see it was located on a street or two over from hers. He had not once mentioned it, or even alluded to it. When she asked why he hadn't said anything, he merely shrugged, saying that it had never come up. She took what he said at face-value, knowing he meant what he said: it had never, not even once, crossed his mind as something worthy of mentioning. She prided herself on being able to read him so well. She had only known him for a few months and already she had the hang it.

She walked up to the address, using the stone steps as her pathway instead of rudely walking through the grass. Her parents hadn't raised an absolute monster. She stopped in front of the door, breathing hard. She had asked him if they could speak in private and he had extended an invitation to his mother's home. She planned on telling him about her "mixed heritage" and she hoped that by doing so in an environment she could leave, would improve the odds of this conversation ending at least without the gathering of pitchforks and torches. If she had to do it at her home, that'd have been weird.

Finding her courage (whatever little she had of it recently), she knocked on the door. A moment later, a short, friendly looking woman with a black bob haircut answered the door.

"Oh, you must be Beth," she greeted, motioning for her to come in. "Daniel's told be a lot about you."

"Really?" she asked, perplexed. She thought he'd talk more about her father.

"Well, no, actually," she admitted, looking disappointed. "He talks about your father more often—"

Ha, she knew it.

"—but he did say you were a slayer. I was so happy when the mayor finally threw up his hands and had one stationed here. This place is a demon-y mess. Not to mention that scandal at the schools two years ago. Can I get you anything? Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

She shook her head in the negative.

"Alright then. Daniel's up in his room, last door on the right. He's probably working on some little personal project of his. He gets so caught up in those, he's completely dead to the rest of the world. Just give the door a knock and that should bring him back."

"Okay, thank you." She began to walk up the stairs, feeling apprehensive. His mother seemed so nice; what would she think when Beth ran out of here in a few minutes, or, at the very least, caused a lot of distress to her son?

On the second floor, she heard the faint sounds of video games. The little bleeps and bloops grew louder as she walked down the hall. She noticed a door partially opened, enough for her to see in when she walked past. She paused when she realized who was in the room.

He happened to look up as she passed and their eyes met.

"Samson," she announced, not believing her luck. She now remembered he had off-handedly mentioned he had a younger brother who had gone to St. Jude's, but it hadn't crossed her mind that it could be Daniel. Oh, of all the dirty, rotten luck.

"B-Beth?" he squeaked.

"In the flesh," she replied with a weak laugh.

He paused his game, standing up and walking over to the door. Wasn't he supposed to be in college? This didn't look like college. "You're Daniel's slayer friend?" he asked, astounded.

She nodded. "Yeah, found out last September. Big thing, actually. Anyway, how are you?"

"I'm alright, I guess. I'm glad to see you're alright though," he told her. "After you, um, went to that hell-thing."

"Hellmouth," she reminded him. "And yeah, was easy enough. Though, look, as much as I enjoy this little meet-up, I came here for your brother, so if you'll excuse me." She began to quickly make her way down the hallway.

"Wait!" he called out and she actually stopped. "You and him—are you, you know, dating?" He said the last word in a whisper, like it was dirty and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"No," she answered truthfully. "We're just friends."

He seemed elated to hear that. She recalled Nadja's claim that Jacob wasn't her only option, and Samson had seemed rather attached to her years prior, so she quickly added, "But that doesn't mean I'm not dating. I'm just not dating your brother."

He gaped at that, his expression crestfallen. She spun on her heel, very grateful to now have an opportunity to escape that conversation. She heard his door shut behind her and she let out a relieved breath. Great; it did seem like the story was true: once you're off the market, other guys start circling in. Where was this enthusiasm when she was single?

She stopped in front of Daniels' door, taking a deep breath before knocking loudly, remembering what his mom had said about him going off into his own little world.

"Come in," was the muffled reply and she opened the door.

Daniel's room was rather clean, save the desk area where he was currently sitting. That was covered in many papers, some of which had drawings on them and some of which had writing. She didn't want to pry, but it looked like schematics for something. Had she gone and accidentally befriended another Tech Nerd?

"Oh, hello, Beth," he greeted when he looked up from his work. He glanced down at the watch on his wrist, his eyebrows rising. "I hadn't realized what time it was. I apologize."

"No worries," she told him, waving off his concern. Not sure where else to put herself, she sat down on his neatly made bed. Wow, he really put her to shame. If she remembered correctly, she had a jacket thrown over her lamp, which Willow kept remarking was a fire hazard. Psh, grown-ups. Everything was a fire hazard.

He turned around in his chair to face her. "You said you had something urgent to speak to me about?" he said.

"Yes," she answered with a nod, crossing her legs and folding her hands on her lap. Hm, how did one go about this?

You know how I fight vampires? Well, you see, I am one—nope.

You see, there was this prophecy an—still crap.

Daniel. I'm part vampire. I still have a human soul, bu—

She groaned, dropping her head.

"From what I gather, this is very hard for you," he noted. "If you are not comfortable telling me just yet, I'm sure it can wait."

"No, it really can't," she sighed, standing up and walking over to the window. "The last two times I let it wait, it almost blew up in my face, alright? This time, I want to have the upper hand." She twirled on her heel, facing him with a serious expression.

"Daniel, there's a reason my dad is so strong and it's not because he works out a lot," she began, letting the words come out before her brain could sensor them and shut her up. "He's a vampire. Well, he was, but he's not anymore. I know it doesn't usually go that way, it's normally human to vampire, but there was this whole thing about a prophecy and a vampire becoming human again because he was a 'champion' or whatever—Anyway, he was a vampire, but now he's a human. Law-abiding and everything. But you see, he wasn't exactly human yet when I was born. There was also this other prophecy not unlike the other one, and it talked about a child. A girl. A girl born of a vampire and a human, someone who's halfway between both of those. Like a living vampire?"

Through her whole little speech, he hadn't said a word. His expression remained passive throughout the whole thing and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She kept going though, if just because she had already started and might as well finish it.

"I'm that girl, Daniel. I'm not entirely human. I've got vampire abilities on top of this slayer thing, which is why I'm so good at it. I've got all this extra strength to help me along. But I swear I'm not a vampire. You've seen me out in the sun and everything! And I don't kill people, promise! There's this whole thing about me having a human and demon soul or whatever, but what I'm trying to say is that I'm as safe as any other person. Well, any other slayer."

She let out a breath, the words finally out of her. She didn't know if she had explained herself well, as this was the first time she'd been able to have this conversation, but only his response would tell her that.

When he didn't say anything, she grew antsy. "Could you say something, please?" she pleaded. "I know I kind of dropped this on you, but a response would be really swell."

"Can I tell you something in return?" he asked and she nodded, thrown-off by how calm he was still acting. "I would be lying if I didn't say I already somewhat knew," he revealed with an almost bashful shrug.

She stared at him. And stared.

"Now would also be good if you responded," he prompted, throwing her words back at her.

She blinked and then shook her head. Response. Yeah. She could do that. "Say what?" she said.

"I think I already knew," he explained. "I mean that only in the sense that you telling me this information only confirms something that I had long-suspected: that you were different, and had been holding onto some big secret for a while. I believe you were expecting a much more volatile response?"

"Well, yeah," she told him, sitting down heavily on his bed. "The general response hasn't been this good. I don't even think my parents responded so calmly, and my dad was a vampire."

"He does make more sense now," he told her with a nod. "I always got that dark past from him."

"Got that?" she murmured, confused. "Daniel, how are you so blasé about this?"

"I'm different, like you," he told her.

"Your dad's a demon too?"

He laughed. "No. I mean that I have abilities too. Or, at least, that's what my mom says. Sometimes I can feel things, things that I shouldn't. I can best explain it as a 'gut-feeling,' but it's more certain than that. I knew from the moment I met you, that there was something special about you, and I could sense that your father had a much longer history than either of you let on. I'm not really sure how to explain it beyond that, as sometimes I don't really understand it myself. But I can feel things about people. Emotions, personalities, and the like."

"You mean like aura reading," she suggested, wrapping her own head around it. "You can 'sense' things about people."

"Yes, but aura reading usually involved seeing colors and when I look at you, you look like you," he told her. "It's just a feeling I have."

"Huh," she stated dumbly. "I don't know where to go from here, honestly. Out of all the different scenarios I went over in my head, this was not one of them. I underestimated you, Daniel."

He smiled. "Many people do that," he told her. "But I am happy you finally feel confident enough in me to confide in me. I can understand that it was not easy for you."

"Oh, you don't even know the half of it," she muttered. "Or, maybe you do. Exactly how much into me can you read?"

"Not very," he assured. "It's very superficial. I can see what makes up a person, but not what made it. And it's not words stamped across my mind, 'GIRL IS HALF VAMPIRE,' but a feeling. Just a feeling, Beth."

"I can't wait to tell my dad this," she decided. "He might say 'I told you so,' but he doesn't get the opportunity to say that often, so I'll let it happen. And you're all cool with him being a usedta-vampire? He did kill people. Like a lot of people. He was pretty infamous. He's good now, and he's very sorry, but I do know that it's something that freaks people out."

"If the Powers That Be granted him another chance, who am I to judge?" he asked. "Besides, I like to judge people not on what they've done, but what they choose to do with the knowledge that they had committed a wrong. And I sense that your father has done a great deal to repent."

She smiled softly. "You're a real good person, Daniel, you know that? People may think you're weird, but I think you're just the bestest."

"Does this mean I'm now an official member of your team?" he inquired. "Your Watcher spoke of IDs?"

She laughed. "Even Nadja doesn't have one of those. But yeah, you're official. I think you've been official for a while."

He smiled. "Then I cannot wait to help you avert an apocalypse, Beth."

She couldn't help but grin back at him. It looked like things were looking up for her. For once, she wasn't being rejected by her peers. Sure, he was odd, but that only meant he'd fit in all the better.

"I should go now," she told him. "My parents can't cook to save their lives and we need to eat, so the task falls to me."

"Have a good evening then," he replied. "And I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

She nodded before leaving his room, a small smile still on her face. Maybe her life wasn't so bad after all.