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Author's Chapter Notes:
an update..don't faint....and enjoy
Buffy Summers pushed open the door of the library carefully. She didn't want to be here in this new school; her heart was in her mouth as she entered the echo-ey room and looked around for someone to help her. It had only been a few weeks since she had left that damned hospital and she was determined to make a good impression in Sunnydale.

'Hello: any one here?' she called out, not sure if she wanted an answer or not. The red haired girl, Willow, who had been asked to show her round had vanished back to class leaving Buffy alone and for some reason, if not afraid, then at least wary.

A tall, older man dressed in tweeds popped up from behind the counter: his glasses were slightly askew and there was a trace of cobweb in his hair, making it obvious that the area needed cleaning.

'Can I help you?' He was British from the accent, and very old-fashioned; she wanted to laugh at him but bit the inside of her lips to stop. Good impression, Buffy, she had to remind herself.

'Yes please, I'm new here and I was told you had some books for me? I'm Buffy Summers, just transferred in from Hemmery High in LA,' she told him, clutching her folder to her chest like some sort of talisman.

The man gave a huge grin. 'Wonderful,' he said, 'I've been looking forward to meeting you, Ms Summers: my colleagues have told me a lot about you.'

Buffy felt pleased, he didn't seem like he was going to give her a hard time; but when when the man slammed down a huge leather tome with the word Vampires emblazoned across the front she did what any self respecting girl would do - and ran.

It was the following day before she finally made it back into the library and faced the strange man again; she really hadn't wanted to go at all but each of her class teachers had been angry at her for not having the correct books with her. And who would have believed her if she'd told them what he'd done? No-one ever believed her.

She pushed open the door carefully and looked around. She seemed timid, almost frightened at entering and Giles felt like kicking himself. What a way to start a working relationship, scaring the girl away, really intelligent that one.

'I'm sorry I scared you Miss Summers. I'm Rupert Giles, your Watcher,' he told her, using a far more gentle approach than he had the day before. He'd been kicking himself all night for rushing things, but he had honestly thought that Merrick would have prepared her more carefully.

Buffy took a deep breath, and she nearly sobbed: it hadn't been in her mind! LA had been real and she had seen those dreadful creatures. She exhaled loudly, relief flooding through her body; Rupert Giles, the man Merrick had told her about, no wonder he had the books on vampires hanging around.

She really was the slayer, and it wasn't a nightmare. It wasn't a nightmare. It wasn't a nightmare. The words kept dancing around her brain bringing a sort of euphoria every time she thought them.

Giles was patient and kind as he explained about Slayers and her duty to the world. The chosen one, the protector of mankind. They spent most of the morning going over everything she should have known before she was ever called.

'I cannot understand why you weren't found earlier; normally, potentials are trained from a young age and when they are Called it is no great shock to their psyche,' he told her as he looked through the tomes in front of him as though they would miraculously give him the answer.

Buffy knew she had to come to terms with what had been said, with what she was. Her life was about to change for ever. She wanted to tell her mother, but after her experience with her father, and him locking her in that damned psychiatric hospital she didn't feel strong enough to face the conversation. She settled down quickly in the first week of school: her days were filled with schoolwork and helping her Mom rebuild their lives, her nights filled with staking Vampires and chasing demons. And any free time was used in training. Buffy and Giles were both amazed at the speed she picked up each and every weapon that was handed to her. It only had to be in her hands for a few seconds before she knew exactly what it could and could not do. Willow had overheard her talking with Giles one evening and had volunteered to help with research: it seemed she knew only too well what lurked in the dark places at night in Sunnydale. When training and patrolling got too much Willow would help tutor Buffy and even did her homework on occasion. Xander and Jesse were the goof balls of the group; the two men were almost inseparable, and the four of them had lunch together every day. Buffy was grateful every day for the fact that her friends had found out what and who she was.


Buffy looked around the Bronze she knew she needed a break; they had been studying for what seemed like days and her head hurt. If she took a breather from her French, perhaps a dance would do her some good?

She had spent a whole 12 minutes trying to pronounce her French, ugh, when Willow had finally allowed her to dance. This was Willow's tutoring method: ten full minutes of studying then one dance - and it worked. Buffy loved dancing, it was one place she felt free, the music echoing the beat of her heart and allowing her to be at peace. Swaying her hips in time to the beat allowed Xander and Jesse a good view of her attributes. They had both fallen a little in love with the strange new girl to their school. Xander had been introduced by Willow and was in the fortunate position of being able to call her by name and talk to her without getting yelled out.

Buffy looked around at the teenage crowd: they all seemed so young compared to her, shallow and superficial. Yes there had been a time in her life when the label meant more than the dress but now she was more worried about whether it could be washed well enough to get rid of demon guts. She battled her mind, keeping it away from the creatures that invaded her night, and kept it on the music, the music that gave her some peace, when a shout came from near the door that some poor girl was getting bitten outside. Buffy ran. Ran passed the doormen and into the alley where she found a tall woman fighting off a couple of vampires. At the far end of the alley she could feel rather than see another of those soulless creatures, but it didn't seem to want to join in the battle.

Buffy pulled a stake out from its hidden holder and leapt to the woman's right hand side, kicking the vampire away from her, and staked it before it had had time to recover its balance. The shower of dust covered her as she headed for the second one who took one look at the two women standing shoulder to shoulder and ran. Right into the arms of a slim-built man wearing a long leather coat. The man grinned and held the vampire up with one hand so that it struggled vainly to get free.

Buffy slowed down her approach. She could feel the vampire signature from both men and had to admit she was a little frightened; she hadn't faced down two like this before. She allowed her gaze to swing around the alley: there was noise coming from the open door of the Bronze and she knew Willow was close.

'Check the girl for me, please,' she said over her shoulder without losing eye contact on the blond-haired demon. He didn't seem to be coming closer but she'd been fooled before.

'She's fine, a little blood lost but no more than the blood drive take; a glass of OJ and a cookie will be all she needs,' the strange woman told her, moving slowly so as not to exacerbate the tense situation. Buffy fingered the stake she was carrying, still watching the two figures in front of her and trusting that Willow would warn her if anyone approached from the back.

'The name's Spike,' the vampire told her. 'What do you want me to do with the brain dead fledgling?' he asked in a bored voice as he looked at her with piercing blue eyes that seemed to see into her very soul.

'Kill it.' Buffy said, not really believing that he would, but that was exactly what he did, twisting the struggling demon's neck and ripping his head clean off, leaving a pile of ash to fall to the ground. The woman who had fought at her side wandered up and went to go to the other demon. Buffy put out a hand to stop her.

'He's not what you think,' Buffy told her, not wanting the stranger to become another victim in the battle.

'Yep, he is,' she laughed. 'He's exactly what I think!'

'He's a vampire, he's not your boyfriend!' Buffy had to make her understand.

'Well I agree about the not-my-boyfriend bit, and I know he's a vamp: but he's tamed.'

That got an indignant, 'Hey! Watch what you're saying or I'll bite you,' from the man who walked slowly towards them. Buffy gripped her stake more tightly, waiting for him to make the first move, poised to fight him off. 'Who are you?' She asked again; it seemed strange that he wanted to talk rather than attack, but she was taking no chances.

'As I said, the name is Spike - and we need to talk to your Watcher, pet.'





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