DISCLAIMER: I dont own any of these characters except Devin. All the other characters I'm just borrowing. They belong to Joss Whedon, WB, FOX, Mutant Enemy, etc. I'm only a lowly writer who doesn't have anything better to do than write fanfic:-)
This is my first time writing fanfic, let alone posting it. So bear with me. Any and all feedback is welcome. I can take criticism. Well, enjoy!
A chill went down Buffy Summers' spine as her and her friends, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg, were walking toward the doors of Sunnydale High School. She knew that feeling. Someone was watching her. She turned around, wondering who (or what) it might be. "Hey, Buffy, what's wrong?" Xander inquired. He always knew when something was bothering her. He guessed it was because he watched her so closely.He knew that she didn't feel the same feelings for him as he felt for her. He longed to be close to her, to be more then a friend; to dance with her. But he had asked her out once, and he didn't want to be rejected again, so he just sort of admired her from afar.
Finally, Buffy saw who was watching her. It was a girl, probably 14 or 15 years old, with dark hair and eyes. Very mysteriously looking, even if she was a little on the chubby side. "That girl over there is watching us," Buffy answered.
"Well, why would she be watching us," Xander asked, "Unless she knows you're the--"
"Shh," Willow hushed him. She knew what she was going to say."Don't say it out loud, here in public!" No one could know that Buffy was the Slayer. Too many people knew already. The more people who knew, the more people that were in danger. "I wonder who she is," Buffy said.
"Well, we may not know, but I bet Cordelia will," Willow replied, referring to the *slightly* snobbish May Queen, Cordelia Chase, who sometimes graced them with her presence. Of course, not where anyone could see her interacting with "the losers" as she so delicately put it.
"Yeah, maybe she'll join us in the library today," Xander said, "That is, of course if she doesn't have a pressing social engagement, like having lunch with the *entire* basketball so they can all drool over her while she talks about what kind of shampoo she uses." He was dripping with sarcasm. "That, of course, would be more important than helping us save the world."
Buffy and Willow laughed. Xander could be very witty at times. Or, *all* times; they couldn't remember a time he hadn't at least *tried* to be witty.The three headed for the school library, where Buffy's watcher, Rupert Giles, or Giles, as they called him, researched ancient prophecies while also handling the *very* minor job of being the school librarian.
What the trio didn't realize was that this girl knew everything there was about them, from Buffy being the Slayer to Willow's secret crush on Xander. She even knew about Buffy falling in love with Angel, her vampire friend, and how much pain she was in, considering her and her one true love could never be together. But that wasn't entirely true. The girl decided she would have to do some research on that.
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end part 1
So, whaddya think? Awful? Fantastic? In the middle? All feedback, good or bad, is accepted
and welcomed.
"Hey, Giles," Buffy called, as she burst through the library doors, bringing a burst of youth into the musty room. She knew he was in here, he always was. She sometimes wondered if he ever left. "Oh, sorry," she apologized for intruding. Nikki Calendar, the computer science teacher, was giving Giles a lesson on how to use the computer, which, if Willow didn't constantly use it, would probably be covered in a couple of inches of dust by now. Giles hated computers. He was very stubborn when it came to being taught new things, and Ms. Calendar had her hands full trying to teach him.
"Nothing to be sorry for, Buffy." Giles answered. "I wanted to get away from that dreadful machine, anyhow.So what are you here for?"
"Well, have you seen Cordelia today?" Xander asked. "We wanted to ask her about a new student."
"We haven't had any new students since last week, when the school reopened," Giles pointed out. The Hellmouth under the library had opened a few weeks ago, causing a monster that looked like it belonged in a cheesy old sci-fi movie. The damage from that, the previous earthquake, and Cordelia driving through the halls, had caused the school to close for a couple of weeks so it could be fixed up. Of course, all of the students were thrilled when they found out. Until they found out they would have to go to school for two extra weeks during the summer.
"Well, maybe we didn't notice her until now," Xander suggested.
"Probably not," Giles said. He knew they had had other things on their minds. That little demon, Colin, had been sending out the former master's minions to recruit more soldiers for his little army. He had big plans, and Buffy had only helped him by killing the master. He would have done it eventually if she hadn't. The power he had gained from th master's death was amazing. He still needed one thing to fulfill his power: the master's skeleton, which he had been very close to getting, until Angelus ruined his plans by taking the skeleton and hiding it in his apartment. Colin had vowed to get even with the traitor, one way or another, and had been sending his followers to kill him.Of course, they hadn't succeeded yet, but it was hard on both Buffy and Angel. Buffy because she wanted to help Angel, but couldn't stand being around him, knowing they could never truly be together. And Angel, well, someone was trying to kill him. That would be hard on anyone. Not to mention he felt the same way Buffy did.
"Hey, Giles, snap out of it! Buffy said. He had gone into a trance, thinking about the events of the past few weeks. "What? Oh, sorry." Giles snapped back to the present time and place.
"So, do you know who this new girl is?" Willow asked.
"All I know is that she is Devin Walker, and she is 15, and she's a freshman." Giles was clearly upset about his lack of knowledge. "Why did you want to know?"
"She's been watching us," Buffy explained. "I think she might know."
"I might know what?" A new voice inquired. It was Devin. "That you're the Slayer? The one girl born into each generation with the strength and skill to fight vampires and the forces of darkness? Oh, no. I couldn't possibly know that." She said with a small smile.
"How did you find out?" Buffy demanded.
"It didn't take much work. Actually, it was pretty easy to find out--" she answered. Giles shot Buffy a stern look. She looked completely innocent and confused at how Devin found out. "--considering I already knew one existed," she went on. Buffy gave Giles a look that clearly said, 'see? It wasn't *my* fault'. Giles looked defeated as Devin went on. "I started looking for you after my parents died . Oh, not my real parents.," she assured when she saw the looks of concern around her."My sixth foster family, actually. My real parents deserted mewhen I was a year old. I really liked this couple, though, and I was with them for four years. That's the longest anyone's kept me yet. But last year, they were killed when we were on a camping trip," she continued sadly.
"How'd they die?" Buffy asked, somehow already knowing the answer.
"It was vampires. I saw them being killed. It was awful. I worked up the courage right then and there to grab a tent stake out of the ground and kill them. There were only two, so it wasn't that hard to do. Plus, I was raging. When I used to have a tantrum, no one could control me. I guess that's why I got sent back so much. They never sent me back, though. They were the only ones who could control me back then. So when they died, I went completely out of control. But I got therapy, and now I'm living in Sunnydale with the Walkers until they send me back or I graduate, whichever comes first. Anyway, I came here to check out some books on exorcism. Can you tell me where to find them?"
"Right over there." Giles pointed to a shelf. Devin went and supposedly lost herself in the world of books. She knew exactly where to find what she was looking for. She took a few books off of the shelf and listened to the conversation.
"Wow, that was harsh," Willow whispered, apparently overwhelmed by Devin's life story.
"Why do you think she told us all of that stuff?" Xander asked.
"Because, I've been looking for Buffy ever since that camping trip. I heard there were some strange happenings in LA, so I went there. Then, when I figured out it was you, I found out you had moved here. So, here I am. I want to help you guys fight the vampires." They were all surprised that Devin was listening, but even more so that she made it known. "My life ain't as bad as any of yours, though. Especially Buffy's. I've moved around for as long as I can remember. I'm used to my life, but all of you are new to your lives. Buffy only moved here about six months ago, and she only found out about her duties a little while before that. And Giles only became her watcher when she moved here. And Xander and Willow, you guys have known the same life for a long time, and now you're fighting undead monsters." She walked over to the counter and Giles started checking the books out for her.
Ms. Calendar, who had been quiet all this time, voiced what appeared to be everyone's question at the time. "How did you find out about all of this?"
"I have my ways," she answered mysteriously, and walked out with her books.
"What was that all about?" Buffy heard a new voice in the room. A very familiar voice. Too familiar. She looked up at the door to the library.
Angel stood there. Angel. She still remembered the first time she had met him. She hadn't liked him at the time. But, over time, she had fallen in love with him. Then there was that fateful night, when they had been kissing by her bedroom window, when he had revealed his true face. She could remember the fear, and pain, of those few minutes after she had found out what he was. She hadn't gotten any sleep that night, since he was all she could think about. Then, the next night, when she had gone to the Bronze to kill him, he told her his awful story. About 80 years ago, he had fed on a gypsy girl, and the Elders of her clan had restored his soul as punishment. He now had all the memories of being a ruthless, cold blooded killer. But, even though he had his soul, he wasn't complete. Buffy had awakened love in him. Love and passion he hadn't even felt when he was human. She knew it must be hard for him, knowing that he couldn't be with her, on top of feeling guilty for killing thousands of people. But it was also hard on her. Angel was her first true love, and losing that can be very hard on a sixteen year old girl. On top of being rushed into being the Slayer. It was hard on both of them, but she just wished it wasn't. She wished she could be a normal girl, and that Angel could just be the normal, older-guy-that-the-young- girl-falls-in-love-with. But she would never be normal, and neither would Angel. She sighed, accidentally out loud.
"What's wrong, Buffy?" Angel asked tenderly. He couldn't help showing concern for her. His feelings were just too strong to keep all bottled up inside of him much longer. "Nothing. I just...need to go." She ran out of the room. Angel wanted so bad to go after her, but he knew he couldn't. He knew she would be going outside, into the sun, where he couldn't follow. Giles sat him down and told him the whole story about how Devin ended up in Sunnydale.
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Angel was right. Buffy was headed for her house, where he couldn't follow until nightfall. She burst into the house, glad that her mom was at work. She really didn't feel like talking right now. She fixed herself a sandwich for lunch, but she didn't even feel like picking at it, so she went up to her room and turned on the radio. "Near You Always" by Jewelcame on as she reached into her closet and pulled out the leather jacket he had given her and put it on. It still smelled like him, since she had refused to wash it.She laid down on her bed and started crying. "Angel," she cried sofly. She wanted to be with him so bad. 'Why, then' she thought, 'did I run away from him?' But she knew why. It was just too hard to be around him. But still, it was too hard to be away from him. 'Why is this happening to me?' she thought. She remembered how he had stayed with him during those two weeks school had been closed. Her mom had been at a convention or something, so she didn't have to explain herself. She had been cold to him. Ever since the night of the Spring Fling. She hadn't wanted to be, but it was the easiest way she knew how to prevent talking to him. She had prayed every night since then that things would change.That he wouldn't be a vampire anymore, and they could be together. She wanted it so badly.When she had talked to Willow last week, the day that school had opened again, Willow had said to just enjoy the moments she did have with Angel, instead of an all or nothing deal. She shouldn't be mean to him just because they can't have a relationship. She had said just to be his friend, and just keep hoping for more. But Buffy didn't want that. She wanted her and Angel to be together forever. She drifted to sleep, dreaming that her and Angel were just normal human beings. She dreamed that they were older, and were married. It was just so beautiful, she never wanted to wake up. But she knew she would.
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end part 2
"Wow," Angel said after he had heard Devin's story. "She's got it hard."
"And now she wants to help Buffy slay vampires," Willow stated.
"But that's way too dangerous," Angel said. "I don't even like Buffy being out there, and it's her job."
"Yeah, well, she isn't going to give up," Xander said. "She's determined to kill all of them."
"Well," Angel said. "We've got bigger things to worry about."
"Like what?" Xander asked suspiciously.
"Well, you know that Colin has been trying to get the Master's skeleton, right?" He was answered with nods from the group. "Well, somehow, he got it. I can't think of how he got his hands on it." Angel was lying. He knew how Colin had gotten the skeleton. He had given it to him. The little brat had threatened to do the worst possible thing to Angel. He had threatened to hurt Buffy. Now, Buffy put her life on the line every day, and she could pretty much take care of herself. But that was with two or three normal vampires. But Colin could send up dozens of vampires to go after her. And he hadn't just threatened to kill her. He had threatened to make her one of them. He just couldn't imagine Buffy going through the kind of life he had gone through. Even if he could remember how to restore her soul, it would be awful for her, as it was for him. He couldn't let that happen to her. He knew he couldn't stop the little anointed one. He had more power than any other being on the face of the earth, now that the master was dead. He could call more vampires to Sunnydale that even a thousand Slayers couldn't handle. So he had had no choice but to give him what he wanted.
"Well, are you sure it's not just lost?" Xander asked.
"How can you lose a skeleton?" Willow asked skeptically.
"Well, I don't know! Can't a guy look on the bright side without getting criticized?" Xander said defensively.
"Sorry, Xander. I didn't mean to criticize you, I'm just used to expecting the worst." Willow apologized. She had been on edge lately. She had been wrestling now more than ever with the idea of telling Xander how she felt about him. She wanted to tell him, but she didn't want to ruin their friendship. Besides, she'd probably pass out before he answered her.
"It's okay, Willow. I've just been in a bad mood lately." Xander forgave her. She was the only friend he had, other than Buffy, ever since Jesse died. Now the only guys he could talk to were Giles and Angel, both of whom were ancient. Angel: literally; Giles: only in the eyes of a teenager. It was hard, but he always had Willow to talk to. She was like his only guy friend, only she was a girl.
"Well, what do we do now?"Ms. Calendar asked.
"I'll have to step up my training with Buffy yet another level. She must learn to be faster. Her strength will only get her so far against Colin." Giles answered.
"You mean that little kid vampire? He's so small." Ms. Calendar said.
"Size is hardly relavent here." Giles contradicted. "We are talking about the biggest power this world has ever seen. With the master's skeleton in his possession, he is infinitely stronger than Buffy. And who knows how many minions he has by now."
"Okay, Rupert. I get your point. And you know I would love to stay and listen to you rambling on about the end of the world, but I have a class." Ms. Calendar said and left.
"Is Buffy in a lot of Danger? Angel asked, obviously concrened about her well-being.
"Not for the moment," Giles assured him. "But if Colin tries to come to the surface, no one will be safe."
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end part 3