***

Before walking up the steps, Buffy Summers stood back and looked at the enormous size of her new high school. NOT! Sunnydale High had to be the dinkiest school she had been to yet, and to think that this was where she would graduate. She shook her head at the thought. Her mom promised. This was it. No more moving. After her parents’ divorce, her mom decided to uproot their tiny family of two and move to Sunnydale. Gee, what a place!

Everything here seemed so perfect…maybe even too perfect. Even the day was nice. It should have been raining to fit her mood, but instead it was sunny and beautiful. You’d think in November, the weather would have cooperated. Giving up all hope that something, anything, would change, she made her way to the front doors of the main building hoping to locate the office there.

Finally finding the office, she walked up to the woman sitting behind the counter.

“Hi. I’m Buffy Summers. I am transferring in from L. A.”

“Hello, Miss Summers. My name is Mrs. Eckleberry. I have your schedule for you. If you have any trouble, let me know. Willow Rosenberg will be here shortly to show you around. All of your previous credits transferred, so there should be no problem on that end.”

Buffy nodded her head, “Thank you. Should I wait…”

“Sorry, Mrs. Eckleberry. The bus ran late,” exclaimed the girl that had interrupted her, a girl with bright red hair.

“It’s fine, Willow. I just gave Miss Summers her schedule. Will you please help her find her way to homeroom?”

“Yes, M’am.” Willow looked at Buffy and smiled, “Hi! I’m Willow. Let me see your schedule, and I’ll show you around.”

Buffy handed Willow her schedule and watched as the girl’s face lit up. “You have homeroom with me. That means you must be a Junior, right?”

“Yep, that’s me. I can’t wait for next year, though,” laughed Buffy.

“I know what you mean. I have been looking forward to my Senior year for as long as I can remember, and since I have memories as early as 2, that’s a really long time. I just can’t wait to get to college. It has to be better than this…not that this is bad,” she backtracked. “Don’t get me wrong.” She paused to breathe and saw Buffy’s huge smile. “I’m babbling, aren’t I?”

“Yes, but don’t stop on my account. It’s nice.”

“Thanks. So, what do you want to know first? Classes, lunch, who’s who, extra curriculars, free time?”

“Hmm…I guess let’s start with classes. Where do I go first?”

“Actually, there’s our homeroom,” Willow said and pointed across the hall. Making their way to the room, Buffy took a deep breath and exhaled to calm her nerves. She had been to so many new schools, and yet she still got nervous the first day.

“You’ll be fine, Buffy. Everyone here is really nice. Well not everyone, but that would be a topic for later,” Willow soothed before she turned and walked into the room, leaving Buffy to follow.

She entered the room and looked at the different people, already categorizing them in her head. The popular kids, the nerds, the geeks, the freaks, the loners…always the same everywhere she went. But wait, stop. The popular kids seemed to be, in a way, split. The typical jocks and cheerleaders had a mix of what appeared to be normal, regular kids. This may not be so bad after all. She breathed a sigh of relief that she may indeed get to be just “Buffy” for once. It sucked to have to be “Buffy, the Cheerleader” or “Buffy, the Ditzy Blonde” or “Buffy, the Vapid Whore” or “Buffy, the Bitch” or her favorite title “Buffy, the Slayer”. She had earned that last title sticking up for kids being picked on by the so called popular kids.

“Hi, I’m Xander,” a boy said, interrupting her thoughts.

“I’m Buffy. It’s nice to meet you,” Buffy responded with a smile.

“I know. You’re the reason Willow was such a spaz last night. Between you and me, I bet she didn’t sleep a wink.”

“Why? She seems normal to me.”

“Oh! Well, she is…normal, that is. She was just very excited to get to show you around and be the tour guide of sorts. She gets that way sometimes.”

“Ah. OK. I was confused there for a minute,” grinned Buffy. “So, I guess you and Willow are friends?”

“Best friends. We have been friends for as long as I can remember. By the way, did she mention going to the Bronze later?”

“What’s the Bronze?”

“It’s only the best place to party and dance in town. Of course, it’s also the only place, but shhhhh…don’t tell anyone,” he whispered conspiratorially.

Buffy laughed. Sunnydale may just grow on her yet. “I need to check in with my mom, but I should be able to make it.”

The bell rang, and students began taking their seats. Willow motioned Buffy over to a seat near the middle of the room. “You can sit with me. I saved you a seat.”

“Thanks.”

“Good morning, class. I trust your weekend was restful. I see we have a new student. I take it you would be Buffy Summers?” the teacher asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

“My name is Mr. Giles, though most students just call me Giles. I am also your school librarian; so after homeroom, please go to the library for your textbooks. Would you please give me your schedule so that I can initial it for you? Then please stand up here and tell us something about yourself.”

Buffy went to his desk and handed him her schedule. She turned to face the room and saw all of the faces looking back at her. “Hi, I’m Buffy. Yes, that’s my real name. Don’t ask. I couldn’t explain it to you if I tried. My parents were goofy or smoking something. At least that’s the only explanation I could come up with. Believe me, I’ve wondered for years.”

The class snickered. She smiled. This wasn’t bad. This she could handle.

“This is the sixth high school I have been to,” she continued, “but hopefully, it’s my last.” She paused not knowing what else to say.

“Thank you, Buffy. You may have a seat,” prompted Giles.

After that, homeroom seemed to fly by. Buffy was surprised when the bell rang.

“Are you ready to go to the library?” asked Willow.

“Yep. Let’s go.”

The pair headed to the library to get Buffy’s textbooks; then Willow took Buffy to her next class. “You have theatre next. I will meet you here after class.”

“No problem,” she replied and braced herself for her first real class of the day.

The class was already assembling when Buffy came into the room. She found a seat near the back that was empty and sat down. The bell rang, and the teacher followed the same routine as Giles had. After returning to her seat, the teacher handed out the new assignments for the week.

The assignment was to do a scene with shoes. No other instruction was given. They were supposed to come up with a scene and bring props to their next class to perform with.

Buffy reached down to grab her notebook from her bag and noticed the most amazing pair of blue eyes trained on her. When she stared back mesmerized, the guy attached to those eyes smirked, “Like something you see, pet?”

She cringed. Go figure, he was arrogant. With a sigh, she ignored him and turned and placed the assignment in her notebook. Shortly after, the bell rang and Buffy left the room to meet Willow.

Two hours and two classes later, Buffy was standing in the cafeteria line talking to Willow. “So far, all of my teachers have been really nice. I even made a friend in History. His name is Parker.”

“Really?” squealed Willow. “You made friends with PARKER ABRAMS? How did that happen? He only talks to us when he needs something.”

“Yeah. He offered to study with me to catch me up.”

“Wow,” breathed Willow, nearly speechless. “I just…wow!”

“We’re supposed to meet up at the Bronze later, too. I think I’m going to like it here, Willow.”

Buffy followed Willow to a table in the middle of the cafeteria and sat down.

Willow motioned to Buffy. “Hey, guys. This is Buffy. Buffy, this is Oz, Anya, Fred, Gunn, Faith, and you already met Xander. The guys over at the other end of the table are Angel, Riley, Cordelia, and Harmony. They are all jocks and cheerleaders.”

“Hi!” Everyone exchanged pleasantries.

“Where’s Spike?” Willow asked Gunn.

“He had to stay late in Math. He should be here soon.”

Lunch was interesting. The mesh of all of the diverse personalities was different from anything Buffy had ever experienced. Although all of them seemed completely and utterly dissimilar, when they were together, they all seemed to feed off of each other…like a jigsaw puzzle.

During a short lull in the conversation around her, Buffy looked up in time to see Parker walk by with his tray. “Hi, Buffy. See you tonight.”

“Sure thing.”

As he walked off, she turned back to the table to see blue eyes staring back at her. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“The question is, luv, what are YOU doing here. I sit here everyday.”

“Spike,” Willow chastised. “Be nice. Buffy, have you met Spike?”

“We haven’t been formally introduced, but I think we can skip that.”

“Are you sure about that, Goldilocks? I’d hate for you to feel like you’re missing out on something,” Spike leered.

Buffy rolled her eyes and joined back in the resumed conversation at the table.

The rest of the day went quickly for Buffy. By the end of the day, she was ready to go home. Willow met up with her at the front entrance.

“So, I’ll meet you at your house at 6 tonight, right?” Willow asked.

“That sounds good,” Buffy replied and turned to walk home. Her mom had to work until 5, so Buffy had to walk the mile and half to her house. She didn’t mind today. It gave her time to take in the events of the day.

As she walked, her thoughts drifted to the events of the day. The kids of Sunnydale High really surprised her. She seemed to fit in so well with “The Scooby Gang”, as they called themselves. If she hadn’t met Willow, she would still be trying to find her fit in the school. Yes, things were going great.

Before she even realized it, she was walking up the door to her house. She went up to her room and put her books on her desk, then turned to her closet. Pulling out her black leather pants and a strappy, red, backless tank, she began preparing to get ready.

Buffy took a quick shower and was putting her hair up when her mom got home. “Hi, Buffy. How was your first day?”

“It was so cool, Mom. Everyone was so nice. I made so many new friends. They even invited me to go out with them tonight. I feel like I really fit in here.”

“Oh, Sweetie, I am so happy for you,” smiled her mother, who then reached over and hugged her. “What time are you leaving?”

“Willow’s picking me up at 6.”

“Ok. Let me know before you leave.”

“I will, Mom.”

Buffy had just put the finishing touches on her makeup when the door bell rang. “I got it,” she called as she ran down the stairs to get the door.

“Hi, Willow. Just let me tell my mom I’m leaving. Come on in.”

Buffy turned and headed to the kitchen. “I’m leaving. Willow just got here.”

“Ok, Buffy,” she said as she followed Buffy back into the living room. “You must be Willow,” she greeted the other girl. “I’m Joyce. You girls have fun tonight.”

The two girls headed down the street making idle chit chat. The walk was only about 20 minutes away. When they arrived, they paid the cover and went in. Xander had already grabbed a table near the far side of the room.

“You want anything to drink?” he asked.

“Nope. I’m just ready to dance,” Buffy replied.

“Ok. See you on the floor in a few.”

“Willow, are you coming with me?” she asked.

“Right behind you,” she grinned.

On the dance floor, Buffy let loose and danced to the music. Everyone in the “gang” started showing up and began heading to the dance floor. She paired off with Faith, as the music pumped through her veins. They made an awesome sight…light and dark, both bumping and grinding to the beat.

“Hello, luv,” a voice came from behind her. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Spike grabbed Buffy’s arms and moved in close behind her. At first she tensed, knowing exactly who was behind her. That is until the devil on her shoulder decided to play dirty. Buffy let herself relax and began grinding back into him. Spike let his hands drift down her arms to find her waist. Pulling her more snuggly against him, he kept his hands hard pressed to her hips and his fingers splayed over the taut stomach just above her pelvic bone. Their bodies meshed until you couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. He held her there as she moved slowly against him. It was sweet agony. Even bystanders could feel the heat radiating off of them.

Spike shuddered at the intimate contact she was creating. It was all he could do to continue letting her grind against him. His body screamed for him to hold her even more tightly against him, therefore, stopping her motion and allowing his body to release against her. The sweet torture continued as they danced like that until the song finally reached an end.

“Thanks for the dance, Spike,” Buffy said as she bounced off, seemingly unaffected, to the table, leaving him alone on the dance floor. Luckily, he had his duster to hide the straining erection she had felt pushing back against her.

“Hey, guys! I am so glad you invited me. This has been so much fun,” chirped Buffy.

“I’m glad you could come,” replied Willow. “That was some dance out there.”

“I was just having a little fun with him. He’s so cocky, I found it too hard to resist.”

Willow snorted from laughing so hard. “I can honestly say, I don’t think I have ever seen anyone play him quite like that. Usually, girls fawn over his every syllable. Where’d you learn to sexy dance like that anyway?”

“Oh, you know. L. A. clubs, here and there.”

“Well, I for one know that it wasn’t here,” she giggled. “Have you seen Parker, yet?”

“Yep! I saw him when I came in. He was talking to a group of guys by the bar.”

“That’s where he usually hangs out. He is friends with the bartender, so he gets free drinks.”

“Lucky dog,” popped up Xander. “They don’t even bother pretending to card me anymore. They just laugh out loud and ask what I really want.”

“Hey, Buffy!”

She turned, “Hi, Parker. We were just talking about you.”

“All good things, I hope. Wanna dance?”

“Sure.”

They headed to the dance floor and began dancing to the rhythm. It wasn’t long before Buffy felt him put his hands on her ass. She politely moved away and kept dancing. He did it again, and she called him on it. “Enough. We’re just dancing. Nothing more. What is your problem?”

“Isn’t that what you were doing with Spike earlier? *Dancing*? Come on, Buffy,” he cajoled. “You know you want to. You’ve been like a dog in heat ever since I met you this morning.”

Buffy moved away stunned, “What the hell are you talking about? I have spoken to you a total of 2 times before right now, and suddenly I am a dog in heat?”

“I saw how you danced with Spike, Buffy. It’s obvious what you are looking for. I can give you that.”

“Whatever!” she shook her head and began to walk off.

Parker grabbed her arm and yanked her back to him. “I don’t think we’re done. You’ve started something here, and you are going to finish it.”

“I don’t think so. Let me go,” she hissed trying not to cause a scene.

“Now play nice if you don’t want your reputation to be…let’s say…less than savory.”

“I said, ‘LET. ME. GO!’” Buffy tried to pull her arm out of his grasp but couldn’t seem to overpower him.

“And I said to play nice,” he sneered. “Now, you will do as I say. I want what you’ve been showcasing all night, and I want it now. Let’s go!”

Parker pulled Buffy off the dance floor and out of the crowded club. As he pulled her behind him into the alley, her mind was a jumble of thoughts. She couldn’t seem to grasp what was really happening. This only happens in books and to other people. Taking both of her hands in one of his and holding them above her head, he slammed her against the wall and smashed his mouth to hers.

Buffy fought her gag reflex as she felt his tongue ram into her mouth. “Stop!” was all she managed before he hit her across the face.

“You don’t talk. You fuck. That’s all you are…a fuck for the night.”

She shook her head in silent disagreement.

“Oh, yes! You are going to. Just wait. I’ll make sure it hurts for you. You look like the kind who’s into pain.” He pulled her forward only to slam her into the wall again. “Now, where were we?”

Buffy began to fight in earnest now, truly believing that he would follow through with what he had said. “No! Please, no!”

He hit her again across the face. “Didn’t you learn the first time? You don’t talk.”

He ripped her flimsy shirt from her body and tossed it to the ground, leaving her bare to his eyes. “So small. What a shame. It will do, though.” He roughly pinched her nipple and reveled in the scream it brought from her.

Buffy couldn’t free her hands and couldn’t move away. She opened her mouth to scream again, and he once more shoved his tongue into her mouth. She felt him reach down to unbutton her pants. As tears began to fall unbidden down her face, she suddenly found herself staring at air.

Looking up, she saw Spike as he rammed Parker’s face into the concrete floor of the alley. “I think the lady said, ‘No,’” he managed to grind out behind clenched teeth.

Parker only laughed. “Lady? You mean the slut that dry humped you on the dance floor…the same slut that had you nearly shooting your load like some junior high schoolboy. That’s some lady. You want her as bad as I do. Probably more. You’re just too much of a pussy to take what she was offering.”

“No. He’s too much of a man,” softly interjected Buffy, finally finding her voice, “which is more than I can say about you…” Her voice lowered even further until it was nearly imperceptible, “…and more than I deserve.”

Giving him one final shove into the ground, Spike released Parker, “Stay the hell away from her. Next time, you won’t walk away.”

Buffy watched as Parker ran off. When he was out of sight, she slowly turned to face Spike. “Thank you,” she said and lowered her eyes to the ground becoming unsure, “and I’m sorry for how I behaved before.”

Hearing no response, she glanced back up to find Spike shrugging out of his duster. He put it around her bare shoulders and helped her into it, effectively covering her mostly nude form. “You need this more than I do right now, luv. Let’s get you home.”

“Thanks for walking me home,” Buffy said when they arrived at her house.

“No problem, pet,” Spike replied.

“So, I guess I will see you at school tomorrow.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you there.” Spike turned to leave when her voice stopped him.

“Your jacket…” she started when he cut her off.

“Keep it. I’ll pick it up tomorrow after school.”

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” she blurted.

“No, Goldilocks. I won’t tell anyone. Promise.”

“Thank you,” she whispered and went into her house.

The next morning, Buffy spent 30 minutes trying to effectively cover the bruises on her face. By the time she was finished, it wasn’t perfect; but it was good enough. As long as no one got really close, they shouldn’t be able to tell unless they knew to look.

She dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and jeans and pulled her hair up into a pony tail. When she was finally ready, she went downstairs for breakfast.

“Hey, Mom!” she said brightly.

“Hi, Buffy. Did you have fun last night? Willow seemed nice.”

“Yep. The Bronze is really cool,” she said thinking that at least that wasn’t a lie.

“I’m glad you are making friends. Maybe you should invite some of them over this weekend for one of your famous weekend bashes. We could go shopping tomorrow for food and stuff.”

“Sounds good, Mom. Thanks.”

When Buffy walked into school, she immediately zoned in on Willow. “Hey! Sorry I took off last night.”

“That’s OK. Spike said that you made it home. I would have walked you if you wanted.”

“No biggie. I had a good time with you guys though. Thanks for inviting me. Oh, and my mom said I could have a weekend bash this weekend. Do you want to come?”

“Weekend bash?”

“Yeah. I sort of started having them a couple of years ago. Friday after school, we go to my house and eat junk and watch movies and play games and all that jazz until Sunday evening. Almost like a really long slumber party, but guys and girls can both come. I usually don’t have them right away when I start at a new school, but my mom suggested it. She always chaperones if that helps.”

“Sounds fun! Count me in. Who else are you going to invite?”

“I don’t know. Everyone in the group, I guess,” Buffy shrugged.

The two girls joined the others in the hall while waiting for the bell to ring. After an excited Willow spilled the beans about the party, everyone agreed to come.

“Where are we going?” Spike asked as he walked up behind Buffy.

“My house. Friday after school for a weekend bash,” Buffy filled in.

“Count me in, too, then.”

When Buffy looked up, Spike caught sight of the barely visible bruises on her face. “You OK, luv?” he asked so quietly only she could hear.

“Getting there,” she whispered back. To everyone else she said, “I’m going to my locker. See you guys in class.”

Tuning out the voices around him, Spike watched as she went to the other end of the hall. He didn’t miss the flinch when she took her books out of her locker and put them into her bag. “I’ll see you guys later,” he said to everyone and made his way to Buffy.

Buffy picked up her bag and swung it to her shoulder, hoping that she could make it through the day. As the bag landed on her back, she yelped. Before she could drop the bag, she felt it lifted from her shoulder.

“How bad is it?” she heard him ask behind her.

“I’m OK,” she said quietly. “I’ll be OK.”

“How bad, Buffy?”

“It’s nothing. Really,” she stressed. Spike looked at the back of her head when she wouldn’t face him and said, “I don’t believe you.”

When she finally turned around, she looked up at him and met his eyes defiantly. He grabbed her hand and pulled her outside of the school. Pulling her behind him down the sidewalk, he stopped in what looked like a doorway but was really little more than just an indention in the building.

“Look,” she started. “You don’t even know me. We just met. Why do you care?”

“I just do. How bad, Buffy?” he asked again.

“I told you, I’m OK.”

“And, I told you that I don’t believe you.”

“Well, that’s just too bad.”

Before she had time to react, Spike took Buffy’s bag and put it on her shoulder. When she screamed at the contact, he asked again, “How bad?”

“Bad, OK! My back is ripped into shreds from being thrown against a brick wall and then shoved against it and held there while some guy tried to rape me! Are you happy now?” she yelled. When only silence greeted her, she repeated, “Are you happy now?” As she began to lose what little she had of her composure, tears started falling down her face. She asked again as she covered her face with her hands, “Are you happy now?”

Spike put their bags on the ground and pulled her to him, lightly encircling her body with his arms. “Shhh…luv…It will be OK.” He kept murmuring quietly to her until she had calmed down.

When her tears slowed, she pulled back and looked up at him. “Sorry for losing it there.” Her eyes fell to his mouth and she leaned slightly forward. Ever so slowly their mouths strained closer to the other. Buffy’s stomach fluttered in response.

Spike was losing what little control he had as she looked up at him with huge, trusting eyes. Just as their mouths were almost touching, he released her completely. “It’s no problem,” he said resuming the conversation.

The silence between them grew before he said, “Turn around.”

“What? Why?” she asked confused.

“Turn around.”

Buffy turned around, and Spike reached for the hem of her sweatshirt. He lifted it slightly, just enough to see the damage that had been done. “I’ll beat him senseless,” he hissed in anger as he took in the extent of the damage to her back.

When he lowered her shirt, she turned around to face him. “It will get better. Just let it go. Come on, we have to get to class.” As if on cue, the first bell rang.

Not responding, Spike picked up their bags and followed her back into the school wondering why she was so willing to ignore this. When they got to Buffy’s class, he handed her her bag. “Will you be OK until lunch with your bag, or do you want some help?”

“It would probably raise fewer eyes if I do it on my own, thanks.”

“OK. See you in theatre then.”

“’K.”

Buffy watched as he turned and walked down the hall thinking that it was nice to have people care. Other than her mom, it wasn’t something she experienced often, especially with new people. Wondering if it was too good to be true, she shook her thoughts away. When she could no longer see him, she turned and went into her homeroom taking her seat.