Chapter Eight: Underclass Hero

AN: anything you don't recognize is mine. The rest of the story is going to deviate away from what we've learned so far since the premier of volume three of heroes, so now it's pretty AU now.

Buffy

Slayer Central Noon

Four weeks. Four long, boring weeks, that is how long since we had seen a vampire. Ever since Sylar, or Gabriel-whatever-confronted me about tagging him, to be exact. The others speculate that Gabriel is behind the lack of activity, but I see no reason to believe he would take care of anyone or anything other than himself. But with it now being the middle of summer and no vampires, the lack of action is driving me up the wall.

"I'm telling you Faith," I pant out, pounding the punching bag within an inch of its life, "there hasn't been one vamp in a month. Don't you think that's a little odd? I used to wish for the day there would be a town without vamps to slay. But that was when I actually had a life."

Faith, keeping the punching bag in place, replied, "I take it you're still not going to consider that maybe Gabriel might have something to do with it?"

I roll my eyes and I take a break from the bag and walk over to where my bottled water is. "Why do you guys keep bringing this up? You even have Xander convinced that Gabriel is the one doing whatever to get rid of the vamps. Gabriel takes care of no one but himself and is a former serial killer who could snap any second."

"You refuse to accept the fact there is someone out there more equipped than us to handle the vamps. Lately, you keep going on and on about the guy about how he's sarcastic and a pig and rude and so forth. If I didn't know better I'd say you're falling for the guy," Faith says, crossing her arms with a look of triumph in her eyes.

I just gape at her like a fish out of water, "What?"

Faith shrugs, "Well, it looks it. B, you've been bi-polar about how you feel about the guy. I'd say you've got it bad."

"Whatever."

I wipe away the sweat on my face and head back up stairs. In my room, I strip out of my sweaty clothes and step in the shower. As the warm water hits my body, I thought about what Faith said regarding my feelings for Gabriel. Automatically, a warm, tingly feeling went down my spine all the way down to my toes.

"Ah shit."

1:15pm

Dressed in jeans and a zip up hoodie with my most comfortable sneakers, I stomp down the stairs to the foyer by the rec room where Faith, Dawn, and some of the younger slayers were watching TV. "Faith," I say, "just so you know, I hate you sometimes."

Faith just laughs, "I know you do, B."

Outside the house, I close my eyes and breathe in the air of what is a gorgeous day. Walking in the direction of The Book Store, I thought about what Faith had said earlier. It is true I have a bi-polar opinion of Gabriel. I cannot help but think that Gabriel could turn back into Sylar, but I cannot stop thinking about his annoying smirk and his gorgeous eyes.

I do not want to fall into this trap again. I know the gang recognize this trap, it is the same trap that Spike set up. I just do not understand why they are not pulling me out of it.

I reach The Book Store and I see the new girl, Claire, shelving new books according to genre. "Hey, Claire, how's your second week?"

Claire, whose wheat colored hair curled elegantly around her face, looked over and smiled, "Hey Buffy. It has been going really well. I can't thank Mr. Giles enough for giving me this job. Especially since I talked my dad into letting me live in an apartment instead of the dorm, 'Claire-bear, I'll pay the rent, just as long as you chip in for the utilities and groceries,'"

"I am impressed, you have a room mate?"

Claire shook her head, "No, but it's a school funded complex, so rents cheap for full time students. I'm just glad to be going to school out of state."

I frowned, "Why's that? Your hometown so bad that you wanted to go to an out of state school?"

Claire was quiet for a moment before answering, "It was just that there was this guy. He had this obsession with me, an obsession that followed my family from Texas to New York. My dad tried to get the police involved, but there weren't any physical evidence to get a restraining order. So I talked my dad into letting me apply to Ohio State."

"Damn," I said, cringing. "Sorry for bringing up a touchy subject. But I think it would a good idea to get a room mate."

"I know, I am just going to wait till classes start and see if there is anyone needing a place to stay."

"A better idea would be to see if the dorms still have any space available," Xander said, walking out of Giles's office with his tool belt around his hips and a tool box in hand. "Hey, Buffy. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it couldn't be helped."

Claire smiled, "You're fine, and it is good advise. I still have a couple months, I probably have a good chance. Hopefully."

"What was it that made this dude so interested?" Xander wanted to know.

"He thought I was special."

Blight Cemetery 6: 38pm

"I had a feeling I'd run into you here, Buffy," a voice says, startling me out of a daydream.

Gabriel.

"Oh, it's you," I reply, feigning disinterest, when in reality my heart started beating a mile a minute. When I see him smirk, I curse myself for forgetting his super hearing. Then I see that Gabriel wasn't alone.

"Where'd you get the puppy?"

Gabriel sat down next to me under the buckeye tree and brought the puppy to his lap. "There was a lady giving away free puppies," in a conspiracy-type whisper, Gabriel continued, "Her son accidentally left the back gate open."

"Its adorable, what is its name?"

"This little guy's name is Bennet, aren't cha?" Gabriel realized he was borderline baby talking and stopped. "He was the runt of the litter, last one picked. All his brothers and sisters had already been adopted a few weeks ago, the lady was about to drop him off at the pet center. I thought why not."

I reached a hand out to let Bennet sniff it before allowing me to scratch behind his ears, "He looks like a retriever."

Gabriel nodded, "A retriever mix. The mother's a pure-bred retriever, but the vet's assuming the father's a mutt, couldn't tell further from that." We were both silent for the while, Gabriel letting Bennet walk around and exploring around the tree. "I'm sorry about that day. Implying that you have no control; I was the one egging you on and I'm sorry for that. With my ability, I know how things work. I know what to do and or say to get a certain reaction. You know? 'With every action there is a reaction'."

I blushed at his apology, "I am sorry, too. I should have trusted you that you wouldn't relapse. I shouldn't have been following you around the way I had been."

"Oh you enjoyed it," Gabriel laughed.

"Even after all these years, I'm not used to not having to do all the work," then I remember what I really wanted to talk to Gabriel about. "Hey, Gabe? Can I ask you about something?"

"You want to know about the lack of vamp activity," Gabriel states.

"Did you have something with it?"

"I might have done a little bit here and there in my spare time."

"Spare time? What have you been doing the rest of the time?"

"It doesn't include slicing people's heads, if you're wanting to know."

"Well, what have you been doing?" I pressed. "You declined Giles's offer to work at the bookstore, but you seem to not be having any financial problems."

"You really want to what I've been doing? Well, I roam the mean streets helping the helpless. To make ends meet, I hire myself out as a P.I. investigating cheating spouses and missing children. To atone my past sins, I go after villains of the night," Gabriel finishes, and he looks at me with a lopsided grin. But when his face fell onto my fist, that surely wiped the grin off.

"I don't know what game you're playing, but you're one sick bastard and what you said isn't funny," I fumed, getting to my feet.

"Buffy, it was just a joke. What is your deal?" Gabriel fumed back, without any humor in his eyes.

"Oh, come on, Gabriel, just think. You know how things react, what makes them tick. Think real hard about what you just said, Gabriel," if my life had been a cartoon, steam would be whistling out my ears right now.

After that realization dawned on Gabriel's face and the hard look in his eyes softened. "I get it," he says. "A former lover, and based on your reaction he was your first love, wasn't he? What I had said was him, verbatim."

"Well, almost."

"Oh?"

"He didn't go after cheating spouses."

Gabriel smiled, lightly. He took my hands into his and pulled me a couple steps closer. "Buffy, I really am trying. I don't want that life anymore. I had thought it had meant something, but it didn't. I don't want to turn myself in but I can't turn my back on it. Just…let me have this keep to myself?"

"Ok," I don't know what made me say it. But I could see the emotion he was feeling in his eyes. I didn't have to be a mind reader, or have intuitive aptitude to know that he was conflicted about the kind of person he is and the persona that he took on for so long.

I had forgotten about Bennet, he wound the leash around our legs, causing me to lose my balance and fell slightly, Gabriel pulling me to him, my hands landing on the small of his back and our chests touching.

"Have dinner with me?" Gabriel whispered.

"Yes," I whisper back, "But not tonight. I need to get home."

"Of course, yes," Gabriel says. We untangle ourselves from the Bennet's leash and we parted ways.

Slayer Central 7:50pm

"BUFFY WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" was the first thing that bombarded me as I walk in the door and Faith, Willow, Dawn, Xander, and Giles rushing at me, asking questions as to where I've been.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Guys, chill," I said. "What's wrong with you guys? I've been patrolling around Blight."

"You were with him, weren't you? I knew that guy was trouble!" Xander cried.

"Gabriel? Yeah I was with him. You know guys, I think you were right, he has been responsible for most of the lack of vamps----" Dawn cuts me off before I could finish.

"You remember that guy has been missing for the last six weeks?" Dawn asks.

"Yeah, but----"

"He's dead, Buffy," Giles butts in. "It's on the news, they found the body this morning."

"Do we know how he died? Vampires?"

"The top of his head was sawed off, Buffy," Faith says. "We're really sorry, but the guy's brain has been removed."

"You're going to have to find a way to bring Sylar in," Willow finishes.