Bruises Fade
By buffy1
Summary: AU Buffy is a girl with a troubled past when a prophecy sends her to the Hellmouth.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, etc. etc.
Chapter one
Buffy walks the quiet streets of Sunnydale, looking every inch the typical blonde teenage girl. This town didn't seem very different to her. Just looked like every other southern Californian town. But she knew different. There was something about the town that was…wrong. Something that set it apart from the others. That's probably what brought her here. She'd soon find out.
She soon came to what appeared to be the bad part of town Not that there was much of a town anyway. Buffy stayed alert as she walked through an alley. Being the chosen one is not an excuse to be flippant. Her brief stint through the bad part of town ended when she came to a club called the Bronze. It seemed to be very busy considering how many people go missing every night. She goes into the crowded club and looks around. It appeared that this club was only popular with the teenage set 'Figures'.
Buffy rolls her eyes and turns to leave. She wasn't really into the party thing, not for a long time. That part of her was gone. She walks out of the club into the fresh air, intending on walking to her current, sure to be temporary, home, when she hears a male voice speak "I know why you're here"
Buffy turns around to address the person with a frown on her face. She sees a middle-aged man, with greying hair, glasses and a tweed suit. She frowns at him, thinking him just an old crazy person, possibly senile "And why is that?"
The man moves closer to her "You're here to stop the vampires" Buffy frowns harder and finally notices his British accent, and she realises who he is "Oh you've got to be kidding me!" She glares at him "Look, watcher guy. I know what you're trying to do, but why don't you just drop it. I've been here before and trust me…it doesn't end well. So why don't you just give up, call it a night and head back to England where the rest of you guys come from."
The watcher walks closer to her "I'm afraid I can't do that"
Buffy glares at him and crosses her arms "Why not?"
The watcher continues walking to her "Because it is my destiny, as it is yours to hunt the vampires"
Buffy rolls her eyes and starts to walk away "Whatever. I've had enough of this. You can tell your damn council that I'm not playing anymore and they can get someone else to do their dirty work"
The watcher runs after her, "Wait!" he catches up to her, stepping in her way "At least, consider." He pulls a card out of the pocket of his tweed jacket and offers it to her "My name is Rupert Giles. I want to help. If you change your mind…call me"
Buffy slowly and hesitantly takes the card from him and she puts it in the pocket of her leather jacket, where it would most probably be forgotten. Either that, or shredded in the middle of another fight, "I'll think about it." She pushes past Giles and continues to walk to her quiet, lonely home.
Buffy quietly enters the small abandoned building, sure not to be seen by any of the town's citizens. The last thing she needs is people asking questions. Especially the child welfare people. After her last experience she'd had more than her fair share.
She sits down on an old crate that she had covered up with old material, and looks around her makeshift home. She sighs. Either stick around and get in serious trouble or leave and have some sort of freedom, if that is possible. She sighs again and gets up and goes over to the crude bed she'd put together. Maybe if she slept things would be clearer. She lies down and closes her eyes, and slowly drifts into an uneasy sleep.
To be continued…
Please feedback! If you do I'll post quicker, and I mean that. I'm already five chapters ahead and I intend to stay that way!