Chapter Text
XXXXXX
Willow and Buffy had been in Shadyhill Cemetery for the better part of an hour. Willow watched from her blanket as Buffy paced, waiting for Mr. Esparza to rise all the while becoming more and more anxious about their first day on UC Sunnydale’s campus tomorrow.
“Anything?” Buffy questioned with a deep sigh.
Willow glanced down again at Buffy’s course schedule, “Ah, here’s one!” Willow exclaimed, causing Buffy to stop pacing as she read the course description, “'Introduction to the Modern Novel: A survey study of twentieth century novelists.” Willow glanced up at Buffy, “It’s open to freshmen, you might like that,” Willow offered hopefully.
Buffy’s hopeful face fell as Willow described the course, “Introduction to the Modern Novel?” she questioned before continuing on, concerned, “I'm guessing I'd probably have to read the modern novel.”
Willow put on her best supportive face, “Probably more than one.”
Buffy began pacing again, fiddling with the stake in her hand, “I like books. I just don't want to take on too much. Do they have an introduction to the modern blurb?” She asked reluctantly.
Willow looked back at the course catalog “Oh! Short story.”
“Well, that's good—” Buffy smiled, but her joy was quickly squashed.
“Oh, no. It conflicts with Psych,” Willow crossed it off her course selection.
“Maybe I shouldn't take Psych,” Buffy offered.
Willow looked up at Buffy in shock, “You gotta. I-It's fun, a-and you can use it as your science requirement,” she rushed, before she continued her pitch to convince Buffy, “Anyway, Professor Walsh is supposed to be great. She's like, world-renowned.”
Buffy had promised Willow they would take the class together and she didn’t want to disappoint her, but psychology sounded like it was going to be a difficult class. Not wanting to upset Willow she moved on as she began to pace again, “How do you get to be renowned? I mean, like, do you have to be 'nowned' first?” she quipped hoping to cover her worries.
“Yes, first there's the painful 'nowning' process,” Willow muttered half-heartedly as she continued to read the course catalog, “Wait! 'Images of Pop Culture.' This is good,” Willow offered a hopeful glance in Buffy’s direction before she continued, “T-They watch movies, T-TV shows, even commercials.”
“For credit?” Buffy asked in stunned disbelief and for the first time that evening a smile crept onto her face.
Willow smiled at her friend, “Isn't college cool?”
“How'd I miss that one?” Buffy asked as she moved to sit next to Willow.
“Well, you did sort of wait till the last minute with your course selection,” Willow admonished.
Buffy bumped her shoulder against Willow’s playfully before she responded, sarcasm clear in her voice, “Sorry, Miss I chose my major in playgroup.”
“That's an exaggeration,” Willow rolled her eyes playfully as she turned to look at Buffy, “I just, you know, think it's good to be prepared. Don't want to be caught unawares.”
As if sensing the opportunity for irony, Mr. Esparza’s hand shot through the fresh dirt of his grave while Buffy and Will continued talking.
“Well I've been busy! It's been a very slay-heavy summer,” Buffy attested, “I just haven't had a whole lot of time to think about life at UC Sunnydale,” Buffy trailed off.
“Do you think spending a month on the road with Dean might have had something to do with your lack of future thoughts?” Willow teased Buffy, bumping their shoulders again, “But college is exciting, though, isn't it?”
“Yeah, it's gonna be an adjustment,” Buffy answered honestly, becoming lost in her own doubts and fears about college still unaware that Mr. Esparza was making his way out of his grave.
Willow didn’t seem to notice the genuine doubt in Buffy’s statement as she continued jokingly, “Yeah, it's like, five miles away. It's uncharted territory.”
“Giles said I have to be secret identity gal again,” Buffy informed her sadly as she looked down to fiddle with the stake in her hand.
“That makes sense,” Willow reassured her, “But college isn’t the same as high school, I’m sure it will be easier to keep slaying from interfering.”
Mr. Esparza continued his silent approach. He was only steps away from the two oblivious young women. He smiled maliciously before he licked his lips as they continued to talk leaving him to remain unnoticed. He paused for just a moment, he was ready to pounce, when the stack of weapons behind the two girls caught his attention. He glanced between the two girls and the pile of weapons before he decided these two girls were not worth the trouble and he walked away silently to find another meal.
“It's gonna be tough, though... with a roommate,” Buffy countered worriedly. “I'm psyched about college. I just need to figure out how it's going to work with my extra-curricular activities. I mean, I just can’t let it take the edge off my slaying, you know?” Buffy finished, looking to Willow, hoping for her support. When Willow simply nodded, Buffy huffed in frustration as she turned to look over her right shoulder at Mr. Esparza’s grave, “Is this guy ever gonna wake up?”
Before Willow could answer, the sounds of a fight broke out to their left. Buffy jumped up grabbing her stake. She had only made it a few feet when the vampire had turned to dust revealing a familiar form dusting off his leather jacket.
“Dean!” Buffy shouted as she ran toward her boyfriend.
Dean opened his arms and Buffy rushed into his embrace. He enjoyed the feeling of her body against his for a moment longer before he pulled back and looked at her playfully, “You getting rusty without me, Blondie?”
When Buffy only answered with a confused look he glanced at Willow noting her confused look as well before he looked at Buffy more seriously, “That vampire was only a few feet away, you didn’t notice him?”
Willow shrugged, “I guess we got too caught up in college talk.”
Buffy sighed deeply. It seemed like college was already interfering with her slaying, but she shook that off and looked at Dean with a bright smile, “Just what are you doing here anyway?”
“You mean other than saving your bacon?” Dean teased earning an eye roll in response before he continued, “You really think I’d let my girl move into her college dorm without my help?” Dean chuckled as Buffy’s annoyance instantly disappeared as she squealed with excitement.
XXXXXX
“Are you sure your mom isn’t gonna mind if I don’t bring you home tonight?” Dean asked again as they approached his motel room’s door.
“No, we had a nice meal and I told her I was going to be out late with Will course selecting and patrolling. She planned to go to bed before I got home so she was well rested for move-in day,” Buffy reassured him.
“Good, I definitely didn’t make any plans for you to leave this room tonight,” Dean slid the key into the motel room door and pulled Buffy in with him. As he shut the door he pushed Buffy up against it for a searing kiss.
Buffy returned the kiss with equal fervor as Dean’s hand roamed her body. As soon as his hands found her rear, he lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. Dean trailed his lips from her neck to her collar bone.
Buffy had been so caught up in the joy of seeing Dean and the passion of the moment she hadn’t noticed before the room held only one bed, instead of the usual two Dean traveled with.
“Where’s Sam?” Buffy wondered aloud, pulling slightly away from Dean.
Dean stopped his exploration of Buffy’s body and placed his forehead against her chest with a frustrated sigh, “You want to talk about Sam now?”
Buffy chuckled before caressing her hands over Dean’s face resting along his jaw, forcing him to look up at her, “Not really,” she replied, in a lusty whisper, “I just hadn’t realized you came all alone.”
“He’s with dad,” Dean smirked before he continued, “I wanted you all to myself tonight.”
He didn’t give Buffy a chance to respond before he met her lips in an urgent kiss pressing Buffy against the door one last time before he turned them toward the bed.
Buffy was curled against Dean’s chest as Dean absently stroked her hair. Despite the feelings of pleasant numbness that were coursing through her body she felt her mind drifting to the worries of being unable to cut it with both college life and slayage.
Dean heard Buffy’s deep sigh. He moved his hand from her hair to chin to gently pull her chin up so he could look into her eyes. Buffy tried to hide it, but Dean could see the worry building in her.
“Babe,” he soothed, “what’s going on in that head of yours?”
Buffy met Dean’s caring eyes and despite her desire to not taint this wonderful night with her worries and fears, she knew she couldn't lie to him. “What if I can’t be the slayer and college-Buffy?” she asked, softly.
Dean gave her a gentle smile, “Then you’ll call me, unless it is for homework help, then you’ll call Sam,” he chuckled lightly as he kissed the top of her head, but when her mood didn’t seem to improve he became more serious, “I was needing to head out tomorrow after I helped you get settled, but if you need me to stick around–” Dean began to offer.
“No,” Buffy assured him, “You being here, now, and helping me move tomorrow is plenty. I’m sure I am going to be busy college girl and I don’t want you to feel neglected,” Buffy purred as she moved her way up to meet his lips.
Dean returned the soft kiss, pulling her against him, “We definitely wouldn’t want that,” he murmured before deepening the kiss.
XXXXXX
“You do know that your house is 10 minutes away from here, right?” Dean asked as he set down the latest box.
“Only if you drive and I won’t have my handsome chauffeur with me every day,” Buffy pointed out before she placed a kiss on his cheek.
“I guess, we never did get around to those driving lessons I promised you,” Dean reflected on the month they’d spent together this summer.
“I don’t know about you,” Buffy whispered as she pressed her body closer to his, “I think we used our time more wisely.”
Dean’s mind immediately flashed to several of their stolen moments in the back of the Impala. Under the guise of driving lessons, they had taken the time to explore and learn every square inch of one another. Dean met her eyes with an equally lusty gaze, “I think you’re right, now why don’t you help me with these last few boxes so I can take you to lunch.”
“Mmm, now that offer is just too good to resist,” Buffy smiled brightly at Dean, “But,” she pouted, “I’m secret identity girl again,” she began to bat her eyelashes, “I can’t risk someone connecting the dots by lifting and carrying those heavy boxes,” before she beamed him with a smile that was far too sweet to truly be innocent.
Dean shook his head with a chuckle. He leaned down as if he was going to kiss her cheek, but rather whispered in her ear, “Lunch better end with my face in some delicious pie.”
Buffy blushed and Dean let out a hearty laugh as he pulled away with a peck to her cheek before he walked back out of the room to retrieve the final boxes.
XXXXXX
Joyce pulled Buffy into another hug as they stood in the Stevenson Hall parking lot.
“Mom,” Buffy complained as she shifted away, “you’re going to see me so often you’ll wish I went to an out of state school.”
Joyce sniffled and wiped the tears welling in her eyes, “Promise?”
“Promise,” Buffy smiled.
Joyce nodded at her daughter before turning her attention to Dean, “It was good seeing you again, Dean. Don’t be a stranger.”
Dean smiled brightly at Buffy's mom, “Yes, ma’m,” he nodded.
As Joyce turned away from the couple, Buffy pulled Dean into her arms, “I believe someone promised me lunch.”
Dean kissed her lips as he countered, “I believe someone promised me pie.”
XXXXXX
Buffy slowly opened up the door to her dorm room before peeking her head through. Kathy, her new roommate, was already asleep. She crept into her room, silently closing the door before she headed over to her closet. She quickly changed into her pajamas and made her way over to the bed and gently laid herself down.
Buffy found herself staring at the ceiling unable to sleep. She’d been hopeful that sleep would come easy after such a long day, but instead the sound of her roommate's snoring flooded her ears. Buffy shifted in her bed, moving her pillow to cover her ears.
Buffy had finally just started to drift to sleep when suddenly the room phone was ringing. Buffy flipped over quickly and answered the phone with a hushed, but harsh, “Hello?”
She watched Kathy reposition, but remained asleep undisturbed by the phone. She sighed with relief.
“Were you asleep, babe?” Dean’s apologetic voice came across the line.
Buffy smiled, “Not quite,” she whispered, “But my roommate is.”
Dean hadn’t really thought about how late it was when he’d called, but he wanted to hear about her first couple of days. He’d been worried about her. Despite her assurances, she had seemed so uneasy when he’d left to meet up with his dad and brother in Idaho.
“Would you like me to let you go?” he offered, matching Buffy’s whispered tone.
“No,” Buffy answered firmly, “I always have time for you,” Buffy glanced at Kathy’s form to confirm she was still asleep before she asked, “How are things going on your hunt?”
Dean smiled as he shifted in the front seat of the Impala. Leaning back and kicking his feet up across the bench seats, “There’s been a lot of research. Dad and Sam have definitely been in close quarters for too long,” Dean sighed, “But we finally figured out that we’re dealing with a Rawhead and that it is hiding out somewhere in the Boise National Forest. However, that means I am likely going to be reception free while we're tracking it down,” Dean informed Buffy before asking, “How’s the co-ed life?”
“It’s just peachy,” Buffy answered, trying to sound positive.
“Peachy, huh?” Dean probed, his tone making it clear he didn’t believe her.
Buffy sniffled, as a rush of tears flooded her eyes, “I’m not sure I’m cut out for this.”
“Sweetheart,” Dean soothed, but was cut off by Buffy’s sob. Dean sat up and readied himself to drive, but as he placed the keys in the ignition he knew he couldn’t leave. He was needed for this hunt. The Rawhead had killed at least half a dozen people in the last few months. Dean pulled his hand away from the ignition and slapped the steering wheel in frustration. Hearing her crying and being unable to pull her into his arms tore at his chest.
“I-I just don’t belong,” Buffy’s body shook as she tried to keep her voice and sobs low. “Willow’s in heaven and I feel like I can’t get my bearings. I got yelled at by a professor and I dropped a pile of books on my TA…” Buffy ranted.
“Have you tried talking to Willow or what about Giles?” Dean asked, hoping to direct Buffy to some sort of comfort.
“No, I don’t want to bug anyone,” Buffy answered sadly.
Dean was thankful that her sobs had subsided. Maybe she just needed to get a few things off of her chest. He hoped that would be enough because despite his deep desire to run right to her, he couldn’t because he had a job to do.
“Buffy, talk to Willow tomorrow. It’ll help,” he encouraged, not knowing what else to say.
“Okay,” Buffy muttered.
Buffy and Dean stayed on the phone for another hour or so. They talked about Sam and his dad. They gently reminisced about their summer adventures. It wasn’t until Dean could hear both the smiling and tiredness in Buffy’s voice that he had suggested that they end their call.
“I love you,” Buffy whispered, her voice filled with sleep.
“I love you too, babe,” Dean answered back before he ordered gently, “Get some rest and talk to Willow.”
He heard the phone click as she hung up the phone. He hoped that Buffy’s next few days would be better and that the next time he spoke with her, she’d be much happier. If not, he was definitely going to need to find a way to bring up another visit to Sunnydale without irritating his father. He sighed as he opened the door to make his way out of the Impala and back into the motel room. He also needed to get some sleep because he was sure his dad would be at their door for an early morning wake up call.
XXXXXX
Buffy’s conversation with Dean the previous night had definitely left her feeling better. She was also looking forward to Psych 105. Not only would she have a chance to catch up with Willow and Oz, but she was also excited that she’d see Eddie.
She stood outside the door for a minute looking around before she met Willow’s eyes. Willow was already sitting again in the second row next to Oz. Buffy glanced around the classroom. No sign of Eddie. She took her seat next to Willow placing her bag into the seat next to her. She continued watching the door waiting for Eddie to arrive so that she could wave him over.
“We still on for coffee?” Willow asked, drawing Buffy’s attention.
“Uh, yeah,” Buffy said a little distractedly. When she saw the slight look of cross hurt Willow’s face she quickly reassured, “I’m looking forward to it, really.”
Willow looked appeased before she continued excitedly, “This whole getting to do what we want without asking a parent thing is pretty cool, right?”
Buffy nodded as Professor Walsh entered the classroom, shutting the door behind her. The noise drew the attention of the students as she welcomed them all back to class before she started her lecture.
Buffy had done her best to stay focused on the lecture, it was all about the history of psychology and how it had become the science it was today, but Buffy was able to stop her mind from wandering to Eddie’s lack of attendance. He had seemed overwhelmed, but he didn’t seem like the kind of student who would simply cut class.
As the lecture ended and students shuffled out of the classroom, Buffy began looking around again. Both worried and hopeful that she had simply missed him in the crowd before class had started.
Oz took notice of Buffy’s thorough search of the lecture hall, “You looking for someone?” he asked, moving to stand in front of her.
“Yeah,” Buffy answered a little disappointedly.
Willow walked up behind Buffy, “You made a friend? Good for you,” she offered enthusiastically.
Despite Willow’s truly sincere, albeit slightly condescending remark, a look of hurt crossed her face again when Buffy had replied “Thanks, mom,” sarcastically. Buffy halted her search with a huff.
“I’m sorry, Will,” Buffy offered sincerely, “I’m just…” Buffy trailed off, not sure how to say what she wanted especially in such a public setting.
“It’s okay, Buffy,” Willow offered, understandingly. Willow had noticed that Buffy didn’t seem to be enjoying her initial days of college as much as she had been. She hoped they could talk about it over coffee, “You still want to go for that coffee?” Willow asked.
Buffy smiled at Willow, “Yes, but can we make it later? I want to check on something.”
“Absolutely, just give me a call when you want to meet up,” Willow offered as she took Oz’s hand and they headed out of the lecture hall.
Buffy left the lecture hall and headed straight over to Dunwirth Hall. Something in her bones was telling her Eddie’s disappearance was something more than a case of the college jitters.
Upon arrival Buffy found an RA willing to help her, admittedly it had taken more flirting than she had wanted to gain access to his room. As the RA opened the door he began to talk to her about Eddie’s disappearance Buffy looked around his now empty room. Buffy’s mind replayed their conversation, she was having trouble believing that Eddie had just packed up and left. Despite his uncertainty he’d seemed so hopeful that they’d figure it all out.
The RA caught Buffy’s attention once more as he spoke about the common occurrence of freshman packing up and leaving without a word. She had planned to ask more follow-up questions, but when she spotted the note on the bed, she felt herself drawn to it. She picked it up to read it. The note seemed rushed and held none of the sweet yet unsure personality of the boy she had met. Something didn’t feel right about the note, but there didn’t seem to be any actual reason to believe something was wrong.
With a sigh she placed the note on Eddie’s nightstand when something in the slightly ajar drawer caught her eye. She pulled open the drawer and there laid Eddie’s copy of Of Human Bondage. There was no way Eddie would have left without it.
Buffy stood up from the bed and she knew her instincts had led her right into something fishy. Now she just needed to figure out exactly what it was. She needed the one person in all of Sunnydale who could put the pieces together.
XXXXXX
Buffy knocked on Giles’s door, but he hadn’t answered. Buffy frowned. That wasn’t like Giles. She’d seen his car in the parking lot so she knew he should be home. She knocked again before she pressed her ear against the door. The faint sound of music met her ears. Buffy reached for the door and tried the handle. The door clicked open. Buffy pushed forward as she called out, “Hello? Giles?”
Buffy entered as she peered into the living area shutting the door behind her. When she didn’t see Giles she called out again as she began moving toward the stairs. If he was up stairs he might not have heard her knocking.
“Rupert?! Is this blue cheese or is it just cheese that’s gone blue?” Buffy whipped her body around toward the feminine voice coming out of the kitchen. Her eyes went wide as she noticed an attractive black woman walking out of the kitchen wearing one of Giles’s shirts.
“You're not Giles,” the woman commented quietly.
“Uhm,” Buffy gulped, trying, but failing to keep the awkwardness from her voice, “You know the door was open, so I just…” suddenly Buffy worried that maybe she’d missed something and Giles had left, “uh, Giles does still live here, right?
The woman chuckled lightly before confirming, “He does.”
Buffy found herself unsure of what to say. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words formed.
The woman looked at Buffy a little more intently as the music turned off, “He appears,” she stated as Giles walked up behind her only wearing his bathrobe, “Rupert, you have a guest,” she informed him.
Giles's eyes widened slightly as he spotted Buffy, “Buffy! Hello.”
Buffy grimaced as she moved her eyes away from the couple before asking, “Is this a bad time?
“No!” Giles insisted as he stepped forward with the woman in tow, “Oh, uh, forgive me. This, uh... this is, uh, Olivia,” he explained, “She's, uh, an old friend, she's staying here for a few days.”
Olivia smiled as she gripped his arm, “Couldn't pass through sunny Cal without looking up ol' Ripper,”
Buffy continued to look at the two with barely disguised discomfort as Giles went on, “Buffy's a, uh, was a student of mine,” then he focused his attention back to Buffy, “How's, uh, how is university?”
“Pretty much the same as high school, in the sense that I need help,” Buffy reluctantly informed him with a pointed look.
“Ahh... help... yes,” Giles uttered as he caught on to the reason behind Buffy’s visit. He looked over to Oliva, and started to ask her to give them a moment, but was interrupted by Buffy.
“But, uh, this just looks like a bad time,” she said as she began to back her way towards the door, “I can just uh—”
“No, you guys talk,” Olivia stated, “I'll just go slip into something a little less comfortable,” she smiled teasingly at Giles before she turned to make her way back towards his bedroom.
As soon as Olivia was out of ear shot, Giles got straight to business, “So, uh, trouble with, uh, studies?”
Buffy frowned as she continued to back her way toward the door, “This is a bad time,” she repeated again as she turned toward the door hoping she could make a hasty exit.
“You keep saying that,” Giles stated as he brushed her arm forcing Buffy to turn back toward him.
“Well it looks pretty bad!” Buffy insisted with a harsh whisper, “I think someone had just a little too much free time on their hands.”
“I'm not supposed to have a private life?” Giles questioned her with a slight scowl.
“No!” Buffy whined, “'Cause you're very, very old, and it's gross.”
Giles gave her an amused smirk, “Well, before I succumb to the ravages of age, why don't you tell me what brings you here,” he insisted gently.
Buffy sighed, both with the displeasure that she hadn’t been able to escape and with the sense of relief that Giles would be able to help her, “There's this student missing.”
“Yes?” Giles prompted her to continue.
“Eddie,” Buffy explained, “He's supposed to have left school but... I just don't think he did. I met him outside last night, but when he didn’t show up to class I went to look for him at his dorm. The place was cleared out and then I went back where we met, it looked like there’d been a struggle.”
“And?” Giles asked cooly.
Buffy looked at him in shock, “And we need to stop this!” she declared, “Eddie's RA said kids disappear a lot. There could be a gang of vampires working the campus. We need research, an-an-and,” she puttered under Giles’ questioning gaze, “charts and stuff,” she finished now feeling unsure of herself.
“I-I still don't see where I fit in,” Giles told her, “You haven't described anything that you can't do for yourself.”
Buffy felt like a vampire had just kicked her in the chest. She couldn’t believe Giles wasn’t immediately jumping in to help her, “Okay, remember before you became Hugh Hefner when you used to be a watcher?” she questioned him in disbelief.
“Officially you know longer have a watcher,” Giles stated as he moved toward the counter to pick up a discarded drink, “Buffy, you know I'll always be here when you need me,” he attempted to reassure her, “Y-your safety is more important to me than anything but, you're going to have to learn to take care of yourself,” his tone became more firm, “You're out of school and I can't always be there to guide you.”
Buffy’s eyes quickly went to the floor as she fought back tears, ”I'm sorry I bothered you,” she said with a forced smile before she turned toward the door.
“Buffy, I…” Giles tried to stop her.
“Oh! No!” Buffy cut him off harshly before she again controlled the turbulent feelings of abandonment, “I mean yeah, you're... you're right. I can handle it, It's just that...I—” she stumbled as she tried to sound fully confident in herself, “I'm on it,” Buffy quickly opened the door and began to leave.
She closed the door as Giles quietly called after her, “I-I'm here if you need me.”
As Buffy reached the stairs leading out of the courtyard of Giles’s apartment she stopped and let out the desperate breath she’d been holding. She shook her head before she continued to make her way back to campus, but she made no attempt to stop the tears that streamed down her face.
XXXXXX
As night fell over UC Sunnydale’s campus, Buffy made her way out for a thorough patrol hoping to find more clues. During her time in high school she hadn’t been too involved with the on campus monster life. She walked down the pathway leading away from her dorm; she found herself growing frustrated by how many people were still out wandering campus. It was significantly more than had been out the previous night.
“Don't you people have homes?” she muttered to herself as she continued her visual search of the campus.
Suddenly she felt a small tingle in her gut and she turned her head to the right and there was Eddie walking off onto one of the lesser used campus paths.
“Eddie?” Buffy questioned quietly before she followed after him. “Eddie!” Buffy called out as she picked up her pace to chase after him, “Eddie, hey, wait up!”
“God, I was worried that something had happened to you…” Buffy said with relief as they came to a stop, but her hopes were quickly dashed when Eddie turned around and his face was deformed with the hard ridges of a vampire.
“And of course it has, 'cause you're a vampire,” Buffy sighed, “I'm sorry.”
Buffy didn’t have any time to truly feel her own guilt for not protecting the sweet boy she’d met the night before as Eddie lunged toward her trying to grab ahold of her. Buffy reacted quickly and skirted his grasp before she pushed him with enough force to throw him to the ground. Buffy used the time it took him to recover to pull her stake from her jacket.
Eddie being a newly turned vampire was impatient and dumb so he quickly charged Buffy straight on. This allowed Buffy the perfect opening to stake him quickly and with little effort.
Buffy watched sadly as Eddie turned to dust. Her feelings of guilt had begun to settle in when she heard a female voice call out from behind her, “The Slayer!”
Buffy whipped around to see a blonde vampire dressed in all black standing on a concrete platform. Before Buffy could say anything the vampire continued, “Wow, uhm, I heard you might be coming here,” several vampires came out from behind the bushes and surrounded Buffy as the blonde continued, her voice sarcastically unenthused, “This is, I mean, what a challenge! The Slayer!”
Buffy refused to let her discomfort get the better of her as she responded back, “And you are?”
“Ooh, I'm... I'm Sunday,” the vampire casually introduced herself, “I'll be killing you here in a minute or so,” she said with a nonchalant shrug.
Buffy scoffed at the brazen claim, “You know that threat gets more frightening every time I hear it.”
Sunday just continued to stare her down, unaffected by Buffy’s snarky retort. But the long haired vampire, who reminded Buffy of Shaggy from Scooby Doo, spoke up, “Uhh... are we gonna fight? Or is this just gonna be a monster sarcasm rally?”
“I'm in for a piece,” the female vampire that stood behind Buffy spoke up.
“Everybody gets to play,” Buffy stated, unable to keep out all the fear from her voice.
“Guys,” Sunday stated glaring at the group as she came down to stand in front of Buffy, “This is totally mine.”
“Ok, but you gotta share the eatin',” the Shaggy-esque vampire informed Sunday, “'Cause I'm thinkin' slayer's blood's gotta be Whoa! like Thai Stick.”
Buffy, who had been focused on Sunday, glanced sideways at the other vampire judgmentally, “I thought people were supposed to get smarter in college?”
Sunday smirked, “Yeah, I think you have a lot of misconceptions about college,” before she pointed at Buffy’s clothing as she mocked in true Coredelia-like fashion, “Like that anyone would be caught dead wearing that.”
Buffy should have known better, but she could stop herself from looking down at her own clothes. As Buffy picked her head up ready to utter a snarky reply Sunday threw a powerful punch directly to her face and sent her to the ground.
Buffy quickly moved to get up as Sunday attempted to kick her back down to the ground. Buffy blocked the kick as she stood up. Buffy threw a couple of quick punches, but Sunday managed to dodge and block them before landing another punch to Buffy’s face.
Once again, Buffy found herself on the ground. This time when Buffy started to get up Sunday executed a spin kick that sent Buffy back down to the ground with a groan of pain, but Buffy refused to stay down.
As Buffy got back onto her knees, she attempted to throw a punch into Sunday’s open stomach, hoping to buy herself sometime to get back onto her feet, but Sunday grabbed her arm and threw her back.
Buffy collided painfully with the concrete of the platform Sunday had been standing on when she’d made her presence known. Despite the pain and the wind being knocked from her lungs Buffy once again threw a punch at Sunday’s open side, but Sunday dodged it before she caught Buffy by the throat.
Sunday squeezed her hand tighter as she mocked, “Don't take this the wrong way, but–-” she paused as she punched Buffy in the face, “You fight like a girl.”
Sunday’s forceful punch had sent Buffy down and left her back open for attack. Sunday took full advantage of this to throw Buffy off the concrete platform and onto the grassy ground.
Buffy forced herself to her feet quickly, swaying slightly. As Sunday flipped off the platform, Buffy suddenly was reminded of her fights with Faith. Like Faith, Sunday was strong and visceral in her movements. Buffy quickly forced those thoughts away, she couldn’t afford the distraction of painful memories of her lost sister slayer, as she rushed toward Sunday.
Buffy kicked her foot out and landed a solid hit to Sunday’s gut, which she followed up with a roundhouse kick that Sunday managed to dodge, while leaving herself open to Buffy’s next kick to the face. Buffy tried to press her advantage and threw a quick punch aimed at her face, but Sunday grabbed her arm and threw her back onto the hood of a nearby car. Buffy pushed against the windshield to get up, but Sunday jumped onto the hood just behind her and kicked her in the back, sending Buffy slamming down onto the roof.
Buffy spun herself around on to her knees to throw a weak left handed punch, but Sunday grabbed her wrist before jumping onto the roof, pulling Buffy’s arm into the air. Sunday used her position to her advantage and brought Buffy’s elbow down onto her knee causing the joint to crack before throwing Buffy off of the car and onto the ground with a painful groan.
Despite the pain, Buffy stood up ready to continue the fight, but the pain in her left arm forced her to keep it clutched tightly to her chest. Buffy, noticing the movement around her, glanced at the other vampires who were surrounding her. Most of the fight they had kept their original positions, but were now beginning to move in with menacing smiles plastered on their faces.
Buffy knew she couldn’t win this, not tonight. Fear coursed through her system, but as she continued to survey the approaching vampires she realized they’d shifted just enough and no longer had her fully encircled. There was no one behind her. Without a second thought, Buffy took advantage of her opportunity; she turned away and fled.
Buffy stumbled and fell to the ground as she looked back once to see if the vampires were giving chase. She felt some relief in the fact that they didn’t seem to be, but she hurriedly picked herself up as she continued to run toward her dorm in pain and in fear. She did not want to give them even the slightest chance of catching her again.
XXXXXX
Buffy sat on her bed, her left arm tucked against her chest and she began to feel the shame of running away. She couldn’t remember the last time she had fled from a fight. Sunday didn’t seem particularly old, but she’d been strong. Buffy knew she had definitely fought older and tougher monsters, but she had lost tonight. There was no other way to slice it. Sunday had fought hard and powerfully in a way Buffy had not been expecting and she’d been beaten down for it.
She had attempted to straighten her injured arm several times, but the pain was excruciating. She knew she needed to get her elbow back in place so the injury could properly heal. She braced herself for the excruciating pain, before glancing over at Kathy one more time, who was once again snoring away. Buffy bit her lip as she forced her elbow back into place with a loud crack. Buffy muffled her scream as she bit down hard into her own lip causing it to split and bleed.
As the pain in her arm lessened and she shifted her arm to test the reduction of her elbow she began to feel lost and alone. Giles was busy living his life and she didn’t want to ruin Willow’s excitement of college life. She reached for the phone and called the only person she really wanted to talk to.
‘You’ve got Dean. If this is an emergency, page me your coordinates.’
Buffy sniffled as his voicemail picked up on the first ring. She quickly attempted to compose herself as she left Dean a message.
She hung up her dorm room phone disappointed. He had told her he’d likely be out of service, but that hadn’t stopped a part of her from hoping he’d pick up the phone. It was probably for the best she reasoned with herself. Dean was on a hunt and it wasn't like he could just pick up and come to Sunnydale. Like Giles had said, she was going to have to take care of herself now. She couldn’t always be relying on others; she needed to solve her own problems, Buffy thought as she pushed herself down into her bed.
Buffy had fallen asleep not long after, but she found herself waking up frequently from a mix of fear and pain. She had continued to lay in bed, until she’d finally heard Kathy leave the room for her morning classes.
Buffy was thankful she’d been able to evade her roommate’s attention by staying in bed. She hadn’t yet figured out an explanation for her injuries. She had hoped that noticeable injuries were not something she was going to have to try and hide often, but here she was in her first week of college with undisguisable bruises and cuts. Buffy sighed before she pulled herself out of bed.
Buffy was just leaving the dining hall when she spotted Willow and Oz outside talking with another student. Buffy had been tempted to go over to them, but then they’d realize that she’d been on the losing end of a fight and their carefree college days would come crashing down. She didn’t want that for them. Willow deserved this time and happiness. She needed to handle this on her own, she reminded herself as she turned and walked away.
Buffy wandered the campus as she found herself desperately needing to avoid her friends and her roommate, but she had no classes to attend. She decided a trip home might not be so bad. It would be nice to take a nap in her bed while she recovered and regrouped from the previous night.
Buffy hesitantly unlocked the back door and pushed it open, calling out for her mom as she closed the door. When she didn’t hear any response, Buffy both felt disappointed and relieved that her mother wasn’t home. A part of her wanted nothing more than to curl up in her mother’s arms and share how incapable she was feeling, not that she ever would because she couldn’t stand the thought of disappointing her mother. She’d been so proud of Buffy when she’d gotten into college, especially Northwestern University. It had broken her mother’s heart when Buffy had told her she wouldn’t be going away to college because of her duties as the slayer.
A bigger part of Buffy became thankful her mother wasn’t home as she moved through the quiet house. She wouldn’t have to explain her injuries. She never liked her mother seeing evidence of just how violent and dangerous slaying could be, but also how could she explain that not only was college not going so well, but neither was slaying, the very thing she was destined for?
As Buffy turned the corner at the top of the stairs she was met by her mother, “Buffy?” Joyce questioned with surprise.
“Hi,” Buffy replied with a tight smile.
Joyce pulled Buffy into a hug as she asked “Honey, how are you?”
“I'm okay,” Buffy lied, hugging her mother back with her uninjured arm.
“How's college?” Joyce questioned, but then quickly took note of Buffy’s injuries and shifted her focus, “You've been fighting.”
Buffy immediately felt the disapproval in her mother’s voice, “Oh, uh, they started it,” she explained before heading toward her room.
“Just as long as you're being careful,” Joyce eased, following after Buffy, “I-I really didn't think you'd show up here for a while,” she rushed to explain.
Buffy paused and glanced at her mother due to her odd behavior before she continued toward her room, “Oh, I didn't have classes today, and everything's just been so hectic I figured it'd be nice to come and crash for—” Buffy stopped mid-sentence as she stared at her room filled with wooden packing crates. She pulled her eyes away from the crates and met her mother's eyes with a question filled look.
“Oh, well yeah,” Joyce muttered, “You know, I-I didn't think you'd be back for a couple of weeks. Uh, but I didn't move anything,” she reassured her, “It's still your room.”
“You filled it with packing crates,” Buffy observed in shock.
“Yeah, but I didn't move anything.”
“If it's still my room, shouldn't I still be able to fit in it?” Buffy questioned.
“Well it's just for a couple of weeks while we do inventory at the gallery,” Joyce tried to explain again, “I just really didn't think you'd be back so soon.”
“Neither did I,” Buffy whispered to herself before she shot her mother with what she hoped was a pleasant smile, “I’ll just head back to campus then,” Buffy hugged her mother again with her uninjured arm.
It struck Buffy as she made her way back down the stairs everyone in her life was doing well except her. Willow and Oz were enjoying campus life and Giles had a new girlfriend. Her thoughts were interrupted as she entered the kitchen and the phone began to ring. Buffy became hopeful, maybe it was Dean.
“Hello?” when no one spoke she repeated, “Hello?” again she was met with silence “Dean?” she questioned. Then the other line went dead with a click. Buffy shrugged, placing the phone back in its base before she left out the back door.
XXXXXX
Buffy slowly made her way back to her dorm. She braced herself for time with her roommate as she opened the door. But as Buffy walked in she found herself stunned. All of her stuff was gone. Just like Eddie’s room there was nothing on her side of the room except for a note placed on the bed.
Buffy sunk down onto her mattress to read the note:
This is all just too much for me. I have decided to take off.
Sorry I didn’t have time to say goodbye, but I need to be by myself.
Good luck this year,
Buffy
Buffy for just a moment felt a flare of anger and prepared herself to kick Sunday’s ass, but then she felt the twinges of pain in her left arm. Who was she kidding? she thought, Sunday had handed her her ass.
Buffy sighed in defeat. Maybe this would be for the best. Maybe this was exactly the sign she’d been looking for. She should have known better than to think she could have had it all. Buffy tossed the note back onto her bed before she left her room, probably for the last time.
Buffy had wandered around campus and then the town until she’d found herself outside of The Bronze. The pull of familiarity brought Buffy in.
As she entered the busy club, a melancholy voice and a slow rhythm met her ears. This wasn’t the usual music stylings of The Bronze, but Buffy found herself appreciating how it mirrored her own mood.
Buffy unconsciously began to look for familiar faces. She sought out Willow, Xander, or Oz, even knowing they wouldn't actually be here. She brushed up against one of the tables and she was suddenly transported back into a memory.
It hadn’t been long after Willow and Xander had discovered she was the slayer. Sunnydale still hadn’t really begun to feel like home until she’d entered The Bronze after being invited out by Willow. When she’d entered Willow had immediately greeted her with a large smile and waving arms to direct her to that table.
Buffy found herself longing for that again, but as she glanced around again, there was nothing that made her feel at home. Instead she just felt the speed in which the world was changing and moving on without her. Buffy turned to head back out of the Bronze when a familiar voice stopped her,
“The whole world in front of her and she comes back to this dive.”
Buffy’s eyes widened in surprise and she spun around quickly. “Xander!” she hugged him with her uninjured arm, “When did you get back?” she asked as she pulled away.
Xander smiled at her sheepishly, “A couple days ago.”
Buffy swatted his arm, “You freak of nature. Why didn't you call me?”
Xander shrugged with a smirk, “Well I knew you guys were starting the whole college adventure and I didn't want to, um, you know... help you move.”
Buffy rolled her eyes slightly, but didn’t let that dampen her mood, “I missed you,” she offered before she excitedly asked, “How was your trip? Where’d you go?”
Xander shifted uncomfortably, “There's ya know, some purple mountains majesty…”
Buffy grabbed his hand and pulled him down onto the couch next to them before she continued her questioning, “What'd you do? What'd you see?”
“Well…” Xander started, but immediately trailed off.
“Tell me!” Buffy demanded.
“Grand Canyon” Xander offered.
“You saw the Grand Canyon!” Buffy said with wonder, “Dean and I had hoped to make it there, but it didn’t happen. I did get to see Mt. Rushmore though.”
“Well, I saw the movie 'Grand Canyon,' on cable,” Xander admitted, “Really lame…”
“Huh?” Buffy questioned with a look of confusion.
Xander sighed, “Basically, I got as far as Oxnard and the engine fell out of my car, and that was literally,” Xander informed Buffy as a look of horror crossed her face. He smiled softly and squeezed her hand before he continued his summer story, “So, I ended up washing dishes at 'The Fabulous Ladies Night Club' for about a month and a half while I tried to pay for the repairs. No one really bothered me or even spoke to me until one night when one of the male strippers called in sick,” at Buffy’s barely restrained smirk Xander firmly stated, “and no power on this earth will make me tell you the rest of that story,” when Buffy only chuckled slightly, but didn’t press for more details he continued on again, “Suffice to say I traded my car in for one that wasn't entirely made of rust, came trundling back home to the arms of my loving parents, where everything was exactly as it was except I sleep in the basement and I have to pay rent. So how's college?” Xander asked in hopes of keeping his friend too distracted to ask about ‘The Fabulous Ladies Night Club’.
But Buffy was not going to be so easily deterred as she asked with a laugh, “Male strippers?”
Xander gave her a playfully stern look as he repeated his earlier statement, “No power on this earth.”
“Okay,” Buffy held her hands up in mock surrender, “College is good,” she answered coolly.
Xander, while not always the most emotionally observant human locked right into her lack of enthusiasm, “Okay, uh, once more with even less feeling,” he prompted her.
“No, really!” Buffy attempted again, “I-I mean, Willow's in heaven and Oz has this really cool house off campus with the band—” she trailed off, unable to maintain her false happiness.
“And yet you're sitting here alone at the Bronze looking like you just got diagnosed with cancer of the puppy,” Xander confronted gently.
“It's just... there was this vampire and she took me down, and I just…” she paused, before she sighed sadly and hung her head ashamed, “I don't know how to stop her.”
“Then where's the gang?” Xander asked before he continued, “Avengers assemble! Let's get it going!” Xander started to stand.
“No,” Buffy stopped him, “I don't want to bug them. I mean they're just starting school and they don't need this,” she finished softly.
“Okay Buff, what's the 'what' here?” Xander pushed, unsure why Buffy seemed so unwilling to call for a night of scooby slayage.
Buffy didn’t want to meet his eyes. Xander had always been one to hold her up on a pedestal and judge her when she didn’t meet the mark and she certainly wasn’t hitting the mark. But as he continued to stare at her, she gave in, “It's just, what if I can't cut it?”
“Can't cut what?” Xander asked in surprise, “Slaying?”
“Slaying, everything,” Buffy admitted.
“Buffy, this is all about fear,” Xander offered, “It's understandable, but you can't let it control you.”
Buffy found herself in awe at how mature Xander seemed after his summer away. She felt herself sadden, yet another thing that had changed.
“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to anger,” Xander paused trying to correct his stumble, “No wait, hold on. Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to the dark side. Hold on, no, umm,” Buffy found herself smiling, nope, this was still the same Xander. He tried again, “First you get the women, then you get the money, then you... okay, can we forget that?” Xander asked desperately.
“Thanks for the Dadaist pep talk,” she teased gently, “I feel much more abstract now.”
“The point is, you're Buffy,” Xander tried to reassure her.
There was that pedestal Buffy thought as she sighed, feeling the weight of it all again, “Yeah, maybe in high school I was Buffy.”
“And now in college you're Betty Louise?” Xander scoffed.
“Yeah, I'm Betty Louise Plotnick of East Cupcake, Illinois. Or I might as well be,” Buffy said sourly.
Xander moved off of the couch to crouch down in front of her, “Buffy, I've gone through some fairly dark times in my life, faced some scary things, among them the kitchen at 'The Fabulous Ladies Night Club,'” he joked lightly before he became more serious, “Let me tell you something, when it's dark and I'm all alone and I'm scared or freaked out or whatever, I always think, 'What would Buffy do?' You're my hero,” Xander told her honestly.
Buffy still felt the pressure of living up to his expectations, but the sincerity of his admission made her smile softly.
“Okay,” Xander began to admit before Buffy could say anything, “sometimes when it's dark and I'm all alone I think, 'What is Buffy wearing?’—”
“Can that be one of those things you never, ever, tell me about?” Buffy interrupted him desperately.
“It's a deal,” he said with a smile as he stood up, “Now, let's put this bitch in the ground! What do you say?” he asked as he held his hand out to her.
“I think I say thank you,” Buffy offered genuinely as she put her right hand into his so that he could help her up from the couch.
XXXXXX
Willow and Oz were cuddled on her bed in Fischer Hall. Her roommate was thankfully out and Willow wanted to take full advantage of this time alone. Willow shifted on the bed so that she could join their lips in a sensual kiss.
Willow was again shifting herself to pull herself into a more intimate position with Oz, when her dorm room phone rang, interrupting the moment.
Willow sighed, shooting Oz an apologetic look as she reached for the phone, “Hello?” she answered with a breathy voice.
“Willow?” came an unknown female voice.
“Yes, who is this?” Willow questioned as she sat more upright on her bed. Oz shot her a questioning look, but Willow shrugged as she waited for a reply.
“Umm, hi. This is Kathy, Buffy’s roommate,” she she clarified, “Uhh…I don’t know how to say this, but um, I think Buffy’s runaway. Th–”
“What?!” Willow interrupted in a panic, “Why would you think Buffy’s runaway?”
Oz immediately was off the bed and was putting his shoes on while he waited for Willow to finish the call.
“There’s a note,” Kathy explained.
“Okay, I’ll be right over,” Willow informed just before she hung up the phone.
“Buffy’s missing,” Willow told Oz in a panic.
“I gathered,” as Willow moved toward the door. Oz stopped her, “Should we call Dean?” he asked.
“Yes!” Willow yelped, she couldn’t believe that she’d almost forgotten about him, “If anyone will know where she is it will be Dean.”
Willow quickly dialed his number, but it immediately went to voicemail. She sighed before she left a quick message as she slipped on her shoes.
“Let’s go,” Willow said as she hung up the phone. She grabbed Oz’s hand and pulled him out the door.
XXXXXX
Willow rapped on Buffy’s dorm room door before letting herself and Oz in without waiting for an answer.
Kathy looked a little stunned, but she figured it was because Buffy’s friends were concerned. She gave them a soft smile as she handed the note to Oz, “I came home and found the room empty. The note was just laying on the bed. It seems kind of weird,” Kathy explained to Willow.
“Yeah, weird's a pretty good word for it,” Oz confirmed, trying to calm down Willow before he quietly examined the note.
“Buffy wouldn't just take off, th-that's just not in her nature,” Willow paused, when she realized what she had said wasn’t true. Buffy had taken off before. “Well except for that one time she disappeared for several months and changed her name,” Willow quickly tried to reassure herself as she rambled on, “But there were major circumstances then. There's no circumstances now.”
Willow looked to Oz for confirmation, but before he could speak up Kathy interrupted, “Does Buffy have a history of emotional problems? 'Cause on my request form I was pretty specific about a stable non-smoker,” she whined.
Oz ignored Kathy and focused on Willow, “I don't think this is her handwriting,” he offered as he turned the note around for Willow to inspect.
Willow ignored him, too lost her in her own panic, “I bet there were circumstances! Oh God! I should have insisted we had coffee,” Willow sank down onto Buffy’s bed, “We've been so wrapped up in our own petty lives that... that we totally missed the circumstances. We're bad friends!” she moaned, throwing her hands up in resignation.
Oz gave Willow a comforting smile, “Let's think this through. Buffy–”
“How can you be so calm?” Willow interrupted him angrily.
“Long, arduous hours of practice,” Oz quipped before he continued more seriously, “Now either Buffy took off, or she was robbed, or—”
“It's a prank!” Xander announced as he walked into the room interrupting Oz.
“Xander!” Willow shouted and stood up excitedly at the appearance of her oldest friend.
Xander smiled and walked into the room with arms spread wide, “How are my guys?” He questioned before he wrapped Willow in a hug. He released her and immediately hugged the other woman in the room. Mid-hug he realized his mistake, “I don't know you, do I?”
“No,” Kathy laughed as Xander continued to hug her.
“This is very intrusive, isn't it?” he asked, unsure of why he had continued to hug this woman.
“Little bit,” Kathy answered as Xander released her from the hug, stepping away from her he introduced himself before he turned toward Oz,
“Do we hug?” he asked, holding his arms out slightly.
“I think we're too manly,” Oz said before giving a slight nod to his head to welcome Xander back from his trip.
Willow looked on at the people in front of her when she realized Xander had come in talking about a prank, “What's the prank, Xander?”
Xander looked at her confused, “Prank?” Then suddenly he remembered why he was here, “Oh, the room,” he pointed to the empty side of the room, “Well some friends of Buffy's played a funny joke and they took her stuff. And now she wants us to help get it back from her friends who sleep all day and have no tans,” he emphasized by giving Willow a pointed look.
“Oh!” Willow exclaimed a little too dramatically, as she realized Xander was talking about vampires, “Those friends!”
“Funny guys,” Oz confirmed his understanding of the situation.
Xander quickly moved around Buffy’s bed and noticed her weapons chest was indeed missing, “They took the chest,” he gave Willow and Oz a knowing look before he continued, “Well, let's go and get to our friends. It's nice meeting you Kathy,” Xander said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.
Willow and Oz followed behind Xander, closing the door before Kathy could reply.
XXXXXX
Dean flopped onto his hotel room bed, while Sam had gone across the street to pick up their dinner and as their dad went about reallocating the weapons between the Impala and his truck. Dean closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the moment to himself when he remembered his phone had dinged several times as they had returned to town. He pulled his phone from his pocket and noticed he had several missed calls and two voicemails.
‘Hey Dean,’ came Buffy’s voice. Dean could hear the sadness in her voice as she spoke. ‘I don’t know why I called. I guess I hoped…’ Buffy’s voice drifted off and Dean could have sworn he heard a hiss of pain. ‘...Nevermind. I hope your hunt is going well,’ and then she hung up.
Dean felt uneasy after hearing that voicemail. Her sadness seemed beyond the struggles of adjusting to college life. He considered ignoring the next voicemail to call her back immediately, but decided it would be best to listen as it might have been her again.
‘Dean, it’s Willow,’ her voice sounded rushed, ‘Buffy’s missing or left. There’s a note. I’m not really sure what’s happened. Have you heard from her?’ Willow asked, panic clear in her voice. ‘Please call me back.’
Dean was off the bed and grabbing his bag before the voicemail had even finished. He’d call Willow on the way. He was just about to head out when his father walked through the door.
John looked at his son accusingly as he noticed the bag in his hand, “You going somewhere?” he asked harshly.
“Buffy’s missing,” Dean replied, stepping forward trying to get past his father who was blocking his path to the door.
John didn’t move, but rather continued to look at Dean. He’d been hoping his son would continue with an explanation, but instead Dean’s frustration flared.
“Dad, Buffy’s missing,” Dean emphasized again, trying to prompt his father to move out of his way.
But John held his position, “How long has she been unaccounted for?”
“Don’t know, sir,” Dean answered tersely, “I got a voicemail from her and she didn’t sound right. Then there was a voicemail from Willow saying she was missing. I was going to call for more information once I was on the road,” Dean explained, making a move to get around his father, but he wouldn't budge.
John sighed, meeting his son's determined eyes with a stern look, “Dean, don’t start losing your head over some girl. We’re nearly 900 miles away and you don’t have any details.”
Dean’s anger had been stewing, but hearing his dad refer to Buffy as “just some girl” was not something he was going to stand for, “Dad, I have enough. I–” Dean seethed, but was interrupted by John.
“You’ve been distracted this whole hunt,” John accused harshly before he managed to pull back his temper, “I like Buffy, I really do, but Dean, but you can’t let her cloud your judgment like this,” his father lectured, “You’re better than this–”
Dean was about to fire back when Sam walked through the door. He noticed the tension in the room immediately. As he looked between his brother and his father, he noticed that Dean was holding his duffle bag.
“Dean?” Sam questioned with concern, “What’s going on?”
“Buffy’s missing,” Dean answered, his voice firm and gruff as he stared down their father.
“Let’s go,” Sam answered, wasting no time in placing the takeout boxes on the small table in the room before he pushed past their father heading for his own bag, “I can be ready in just a second,” Sam informed his brother as he threw clothes into his own duffle bag.
“You’re not going,” John ordered again.
Sam’s head shot up in anger. He knew his father didn’t like him going anywhere near the hellmouth, but there was no way he wasn’t going to help Dean look for Buffy. He’d really come to like her in the time he’d spent with her this summer. He hadn’t thought he would. He’d thought she’d be like Dean or like their dad. Gruff with a hard exterior, but she hadn’t been. Instead she was kind, gentle, and open. The best part was she didn’t treat him with kid gloves the way his father and Dean tended to. Sam focused on his father with a steely glare, ready to voice his objections, but that was when he realized their father wasn’t talking to him, but Dean.
“The hell I’m not!” Dean raged.
Sam had never heard his brother yell at their father like this and he quickly moved to back up his brother, “Dad, we’re going,” Sam said firmly as he stood behind Dean, “Now move.”
John huffed before he turned and walked out the door without further acknowledgement of his sons. He knew better than to battle the both of them. Things with Dean and Buffy were clearly getting out of hand, but he wasn’t going to be able to convince Dean of that tonight.
Dean was out the open door in an instant. Sam had remained still, in shock, until he heard the sounds of both the truck and Impala engines roaring to life.
“Sam!” his brother called, snapping him from his thoughts.
Sam walked out the door, closing it behind him. He noticed his dad’s truck was already leaving the parking lot and headed for town. Sam sighed, apparently his dad was going to be drowning his troubles tonight. Sam quickly slid into the passenger seat of the Impala. His door had barely shut when Dean flung the car in reverse and sped out of the parking lot.
They’d been on the road for several minutes before Dean took out his phone and handed it to Sam, “I need you to call around and see if there is any news on Buffy. Start with Giles,” he directed.
Sam took the phone from his brother’s hand and quickly found Giles’s number in the contacts and placed the call.
“Hello?”
“Umm, hi this is Sam, Sam Winchester,” Sam started, suddenly a little nervous talking to Buffy’s watcher.
“Ah, yes, Dean’s younger brother,” Giles said before his tone became more concerned, “Is everything okay with Dean and your father?”
Sam was shocked that Giles thought something was wrong with them when Buffy was missing, “Ummm… No, Dean and my dad are fine. I was calling to check on Buffy,” Sam explained.
“On Buffy?” Giles replied, confusion in his voice, “She’s not here.”
Now Sam knew for sure something wasn’t right. It seemed like Giles had no idea about Buffy’s disappearance, “I’m going to pass the phone to Dean, one second,” Sam said hesitantly, pulling the phone away from his ear.
Dean’s look demanded him to give him an immediate explanation, “Uh, Dean, I think you need to talk to him. I don’t think he knows about Buffy.”
Dean ripped the phone from Sam’s hand and put it to his ear, “Giles?”
“Yes, Dean. Is everything alright?” Giles asked again, this time there was worry in his voice.
Dean sighed with frustration, “I got a voicemail from Willow. She said Buffy is missing and asked if I knew where she was. I was hoping you had news.”
“Buffy’s missing?” Giles questioned.
“It appears so,” Dean answered, “I am on my way, but I’m about 850 miles out.”
“Dean, I’m going to go to campus immediately and sort this out,” Giles rushed, Dean could hear the older man gathering his things, “I’ll call or have Buffy call when I get the situation sorted,” Giles promised and hung up the phone before Dean could reply.
“He really didn’t know she was missing,” Dean looked at Sam with confusion and frustration. Dean slammed his hands against the steering wheel as his feelings of worry surged through him again. He pressed his foot more firmly against the gas, but the roaring engine did little to soothe him.
XXXXXX
Xander had left only a few minutes before while Buffy stayed holding her position on the sky light. There was a creaking of the glass and Buffy shifted her weight, but luck was not on her side as the glass beneath her shattered. Buffy fell into the room below, surrounded by Sunday and her gang.
Buffy groaned as she rolled as she shifted so she could stand. Small cuts formed on her hands from the shattered glass that was scattered all over the floor. She picked herself up and took in the vampires around her, “Ohhh…” she uttered to herself as she came to terms with the troubles of her situation.
Sunday stepped forward taunting Buffy as she tossed away the shirt she was holding, “Say, don't I know you from... beating the crap out of you?” she jeered.
Buffy looked around the room, quickly noting the number and location of each vampire in the abandoned fraternity house. “I just thought I'd drop in,” Buffy quipped, trying to buy herself some time, “Get it? Drop in?” Buffy frowned and tried again, “Boy, tough room,” she mumbled her eyes darting around the room.
“I must say, you've really got me now,” Sunday mocked as she and several other members of the gang moved forward towards Buffy. “I mean, it's a diabolical plan, throw yourself at my feet with a broken arm and no weapons of any kind,” Sunday mockingly gasped, “How am I going to get out of this one?”
“You’ve got a nice set-up here, but you made one mistake,” Buffy countered confidently despite her true inner feelings of doubt.
“Yeah?” Sunday smirked, “What was that?”
“Well,” Buffy faltered, “I'm not actually positive, but statistically speaking people usually make at least—”
Sunday, tired of Buffy’s ramblings, punched her in the face which sent Buffy back down into the pile of glass. Buffy groaned as she felt the glass once again cutting into her flesh. She made a move to get up, but she was kicked by one of Sunday’s lackeys.
As Buffy dodged another kick she rolled onto her stomach and spotted her weapons chest. Buffy began to crawl for the chest when Sunday stepped in front of her holding her ‘Class Protector’ award.
“Oh, and this,” Sunday taunted, drawing Buffy’s full attention to the gold umbrella as she twirled it in her hands, “This is my favorite item.”
“You don't want to touch that,” Buffy warned dangerously.
Sunday dropped the umbrella from her hands in pretend shock before she smiled maliciously and stomped her foot down breaking the handle. Buffy glared at the vampire. Sunday moved away from the discarded umbrella in a flash to stand over Buffy. She grabbed her by left arm and pulled it straight back.
“You know this arm's not looking so good,” Buffy screamed in pain as Sunday forced it behind her back even more, “It might have to come off.”
Buffy pushed aside her pain as she looked at Sunday with deadly intent, “You want to know the truth? I only need one,” Buffy stated as she flung herself up to throw a wide punch with her right hand.
She smiled when her fist connected with Sunday’s face sending her to the ground. Buffy and Sunday rolled to their feet at the same time. Sunday took a defensive position as Buffy pressed forward to attack. Buffy quickly landed a roundhouse kick to Sunday’s face, sending her flying over a couch in the center of the room. Buffy ran forward not wanting to give Sunday the chance to recover, she threw herself onto the couch in order to flip Sunday over onto the coffee table that sat in front of the couch.
As the coffee table shattered, Buffy stomped her foot through a large piece of the table top and used it to kick Sunday in the face and send her flying back into several boxes of clothes.
“This is startin' to suck,'' the Shaggy-like vampire lackey uttered as Sunday jumped to her feet, her face vamped out.
As Sunday lunged for Buffy and so did another vampire in Sunday’s crew. Buffy avoided their grasps and grabbed a tennis racket from the pile of junk. She quickly moved to step onto the arm of a chair. Buffy took advantage of her slightly elevated position and landed a jumping roundhouse kick to Sunday’s face.
Buffy immediately backhanded the tennis racket into the face of the other female vampire that tried to attack her from behind. The tennis racket broke as it made contact with the vampire’s face and sent her flying over the couch. Buffy smirked as she looked down and realized she was left with a very usable stake in her hand.
Sunday again stepped forward toward Buffy, as several of her lackeys headed for the door, trying to escape. But as they flung open the door, there were the Scoobies. They charged in with crosses and weapons in hand, quickly throwing themselves into the fight. Sunday attempted to throw a punch, but her fists were batted away by Buffy and she was sent sprawling onto the floor.
Buffy moved and stood over her, much like Sunday had done just moments before, “When you look back at this, in the three seconds it'll take you to turn to dust,” Buffy informed her coolly, “I think you'll find the mistake was touching my stuff.”
Sunday with a sudden burst of speed jumped to her feet and charged at Buffy. Buffy attempted a back handed punch, but Sunday blocked her. As Buffy attempted a punch with her left arm, Sunday took advantage of the slower swing and caught her arm, bending it backwards causing Buffy to groan in pain.
“What about breaking your arm?” Sunday growled as she cracked Buffy’s arm again, “How'd that feel?”
Buffy bit back her groan of pain as she quipped, “Let me answer that with a head butt,” before powerfully sending her forehead into Sunday’s nose. The vampire staggered backward as her nose broke.
Buffy squared off with Sunday again, “And for the record,” Buffy taunted as she made a show of making a fist with her left hand, “The arm is hurt,” she clarified by sending a powerful left handed uppercut to Sunday’s jaw that sent her flying backwards, “Not broken,” she finished with a shrug as Sunday crashed to the ground.
Buffy stepped forward to finish Sunday off when the gang came up behind her.
“Hey, Buff. Need a hand?” Oz offered.
Buffy smirked, twirling the makeshift stake she held in her hand, “No thanks,” Buffy spun around sending the stake flying into Sunday's heart as she stood. “I'm good,” Buffy turned her back on Sunday, glancing around the room. Finally as Sunday turned to dust as she spotted her 'Class Protector' award still on the ground. She bent down to retrieve it.
XXXXXX
Buffy had felt some, but not total relief from her insecurities about being both slayer and a college co-ed as the gang helped her carry her belongings back to her dorm. However, when Giles had arrived armed and ready to face an army of demons, Buffy felt much of the weight that had remained on her shoulders dissipate.
Despite the late hour, when Buffy had opened her dorm room door, her roommate Kathy wasn’t there. It was odd, Kathy definitely wasn’t a night owl, but she wasn’t going to complain.
Once the boxes of her belongings had been delivered to her room, most of the gang had left quickly, but Willow had stayed. Buffy wasn’t getting out of this situation with some quality best friend time. They chatted and shared how the first few days had been. Willow apologized for being too absorbed in her own things to realize how much Buffy had been struggling. Buffy apologized for not coming to her and telling her about what had been going on.
It had gotten to be quite late by the time that Willow had finished helping Buffy unpack some of her things and make her bed. She glanced at the clock, she realized it was probably time for her to head back to her dorm, when suddenly a realization struck her and she let out a sudden high-pitched squeal.
Buffy looked at Willow with a mix of confusion and worry, “Everything okay, Wills?”
“Dean!” Willow squeaked.
“What about Dean?” Buffy asked, suspiciously.
“I may have called and left a message about you running away and us not being able to find you,” Willow explained quickly.
Buffy sighed, “Oh,” as she bit her lip nervously. She couldn’t be upset at Willow for calling him. If she’d truly run away, Dean was definitely the obvious choice in knowing where she was. Buffy just hoped that Dean was still hunting his Rawhead and she could leave a message to ease his mind. Then hopefully he wouldn’t have too many questions about how this whole situation had occurred.
“I’m gonna go,” Willow offered, breaking into Buffy’s thoughts, “You’re mostly set back up and you can try to get a hold of your honey.”
Buffy smiled as Willow drew her into a hug and suggested, “Let's get breakfast tomorrow and finish our best friend catch up.”
“Of course,” Buffy replied as Willow moved toward the door, “I wouldn’t miss it.”
XXXXXX
Dean glanced at the clock in the Impala, they’d only been on the road for a few hours, but had already covered nearly 300 miles. Dean continued to grip the steering wheel so tight his knuckles had turned white. Dean glanced over at his brother, who was sleeping, he was tempted to wake him up to have him call Giles or Willow again, but what would be the point.
Sam had tried calling Willow’s and Giles’ numbers several times, but no one had answered. When Sam’s calls had gone unanswered, he’d turned his attention to Dean. He’d tried several times to ease his mind about what was happening in Sunnydale, but after he’d been met with silence and then some hostility he’d eventually given up on trying to talk with his brother.
Sam hadn’t realized that he drifted off because the next thing he knew he was being startled awake by the shrill ring of Dean’s phone.
“Buffy? Are you okay?” Dean asked as he muted the Metallica playing on the radio.
“Yeah, sorry, I take it you got Willow’s voicemail,” Buffy apologized, “I hope you weren’t left worrying for too long.”
Dean eased his foot off the gas as he asked with deep concern, “What happened Buffy?”
Buffy sighed, “A couple of really crappy days, but the big thing was a vampire gang on campus. They’ve been targeting freshman students for a while now. They kill the student and then steal all of their things. They’d leave a note behind so people would assume they’d run away and left the college.”
Dean relaxed, but he could tell that wasn’t the whole story, “Why would they target a slayer? Wouldn’t that kind of guarantee a slaying?” Dean prompted as he pulled the car over to the side of the road.
“Yeah and it did,” Buffy avoided the question, “I mean a few of the vampires fled, but most of the group and their leader have been dusted.”
“Buffy,” Dean prodded again as he got out of the car signaling for Sam to stay put, “Why did they go after you?” Dean leaned against the trunk of the Impala as he waited for Buffy’s response.
Clearly Dean was not going to let this go. “Well…” Buffy started, “A couple of crappy days included me getting beat down pretty good the first time I faced off with them,” Buffy felt ashamed, “After they dislocated my elbow, I ran. Sunday, that was their leader, definitely didn’t think I was much of a threat after that.”
Dean could hear the emotions building in Buffy’s voice and he hated to push her more, but there was more to this story and he needed to know, “Buffy, why did everyone think you were missing if you were facing a group of vampires with that M.O.?”
Dean’s heart broke as he heard Buffy start to cry. “Baby,” Dean soothed, “please tell me.”
Buffy’s tears grew louder as all of the feelings of the past few days came rushing back. She shared how she had been feeling lost and isolated the past few days. How she’d attempted to go to Giles and then how she’d been too worried about ruining Willow’s college dreams to seek her help.
Dean attempted to calm her down, making several soothing sounds as he listened to her story. But as he listened, he grew angry at her friends and her watcher for distancing themselves from Buffy. He could have strangled them all, but that wouldn’t help her.
“Buffy, Sam and I can be there in about seven hours,” Dean informed her, as he started to head back toward the driver’s side of the car. He may not have been able to strangle her friends, but he could definitely wrap Buffy in his arms and reassure her that if nothing else, he would always be there for her.
“No, Dean,” Buffy reassured him, “I’ll be fine and you’re needed where you are. Plus, I don’t want to cause problems for you with your dad,” she sighed softly, “Let’s stick to the plan,” she insisted, “You are going to visit if a hunt brings you close and if not, you’ll be here for Halloween.”
“Buffy…” Dean started, but he stopped. Buffy had made up her mind and she didn’t know that he’d already had the showdown with his dad for her. Dean knew telling her would only make her feel worse so he shifted tactics, “Alright,” he conceded before his tone became serious, “But, if you need me, you call. I don’t want you thinking about anything else, you just call, got it?”
“I promise. If I need you, I’ll call. No waiting,” Buffy responded honestly.
“Good,” Dean replied as he slid back into the driver's seat of the Impala, “Now you need to get some sleep. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Alright, you get some sleep too and tell Sam hello,” Buffy yawned, “I love you.”
“I love you,” Dean repeated back before he hung up the phone.
“So, she’s okay?” Sam asked his brother.
“Yeah,” Dean answered as he started the engine back up, “Let’s go find a place to crash.”
“We’re not going to Sunnydale?”
When Dean shook his head no, Sam questioned anxiously, “What are we going to do about Dad?”
Dean sighed, “I’m not sure, but I’ll call him in the morning and get it all sorted out.”