A/N: Okay, first things first, I must say 'Hey' to the Buffy Fanfic World! This is my first (obviously) shot at a Buffy fic, and to tell you the truth, I'm kinda nervous. Because I mean, come on, Buffy is like, freakishly amazing, and you...under no circumstances...can screw up Buffy. I'm under just a little bit of pressure here. That, and every remotely possible (and some ridiculously impossible) plot lines have been done at least once. Therefore, this story probably isn't that original...but I've looked through the stories and haven't found one that is too similar. Of course, some similarities are inevitable, because the series went off a long time ago, and I was 3 years old when Buffy first started. Yeah, I'm only 16 (almost 17! :D), so I had to watch the entire series and some of Angel to even begin to understand everything. So, I've done my homework, but I'm still worried about the story. Hence, I'm going to post the first chapter and then according to the response I get, I will decide whether to post the rest of the story. Hint: Hint: I LOVE reviews, including constructive criticism...but please don't be outright mean about it...

Also, as far as pairings go, obviously I'm a Buffy/Angel shipper. This story also has Xander/Anya and Willow/Oz. Tara is just a friend in this story (as she should have been in the series). And as far as Riley goes...I really, really, really, dislike him. I'm not going to completely bash him, but honestly...he was so obviously the rebound guy, and had absolutely no character...okay...done ranting again...ON TO THE STORY! :D

Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Buffy. Mainly because I was 3 during season one, am only 16 now, and if I did own the show...Angel would have punched Xander more, had more lines, and would have never gone all noble and left Buffy for her own good, because let's face facts...IT NEVER WORKS! Okay...done ranting...anyone still wonder whether I own Buffy?

A cold wind blew mercilessly, causing the blonde Slayer to wrap her jacket tighter around her. Buffy was perched atop a brand new, shiny headstone, rather impatiently waiting for another vampire to rise with the hope of 'life' again…whereupon she would promptly dash those hopes with the ever reliable Mr. Pointy.

"Oh come on," Buffy sighed exasperatedly, beginning to drum her fingers restlessly on the headstone. "I haven't got all day," the Slayer huffed, but then checked herself, "or rather night…"

Seeming to react to her chastening, the ground began to shift, freshly packed dirt breaking way, revealing a slightly disoriented vampire. Still dazed, the vampire looked up curiously as Buffy hopped down from the headstone, waiting patiently for him to rise. Who was this person?

"Who are you?" he asked, putting his thoughts into words.

"I'm sorry. I'm being rude. I'm Buffy." Buffy held out her hand for him to shake, noting with an amused smile how the vampire was now grinning wickedly, as if he had won…how wrong he was.

"Tom," the vampire replied graciously, seizing her hand and pulling her to him roughly. At the last possible second, Buffy took the hand that was behind her back and raised it to meet the vampire's chest.

Dismayed, Tom looked down at the stake in his chest. "No fair—," he began before he turned to dust.

Buffy grinned, "How rude of me…this is Mr. Pointy."

Laughing to herself, Buffy resumed her patrol. The only vampire that had been scheduled to rise tonight was the one she had just dealt with, but there were always more…the great joy of being on a Hellmouth. For Buffy, nightmarish fiends and other supposedly nonexistent monsters were her reality…though at times it did feel like a nightmare.

But she had her friends. Friends. How underappreciated most friends are. You don't truly realize how important they are until you come close to losing one of them, as Buffy only knew too well. She didn't care that she wasn't the norm for a Slayer. She had friends. She still lived a normal life (normal for her anyway). She saw her Watcher as her father. And she tended to flirt with the enemy…well…only one.

Buffy shook her head quickly, not letting herself think about a certain brooding, tall, handsome vampire. She tried not to think about him too much, but then she'd find herself feeling guilty for forgetting him.

Bad Buffy, bad, bad, bad Buffy. The blonde Slayer chastised herself. She was not going down that road again…it only made the faint ache in her chest flare painfully.

But she had Riley now. The normal guy…well, relatively. Her friends were happy for her, and they liked Riley. Buffy liked him too. He was sweet and compassionate and everything she could ever ask for in a man. She knew she could always count on him, and that eased her mind a great deal. Of course, that was kind of pushed to the limit recently. Angel showing up kind of caused some tension…

Buffy shook her head again, a wry smile tugging at her lips. Men. When it came down to it, they were all the same, whether they were alive or not.

Deciding that there was no one to be staked in this cemetery Buffy made her way over to Restless Cemetery, disregarding the locked gate completely, and jumping over the wrought iron in one leap. Honestly, could people just make her job a little bit easier?

Once again resuming her patrol, Buffy cautiously walked through the graveyard. Only five minutes into her patrol, her Slayer senses began to tingle. A thick blanket of fog had seeming conjured itself most inconveniently, making it difficult to see barely more than three feet in front of her. Buffy stilled when she felt her stomach clench in a tight knot, her warning that a vampire was near. Somehow, whether by Slayer intuition, or simply woman's intuition, Buffy knew that the vampire was old. It was not a young fledgling that had just risen. This vamp had been around a while.

"I've never been fond of people following me," Buffy called into the fog sounding thoroughly annoyed and petulant, "particularly vampires," she added.

"Forgive me Slayer," a silky baritone voice apologized from behind her, causing her to whirl around to face the new arrival.

Buffy felt her eyes widen slightly. The vamp was gorgeous. He was tall and slender, his chiseled muscles obviously those of a fighter. He had midnight black hair and piercing, hypnotic blue eyes, reminding her of Dracula. But Buffy knew not to let superficial things like this distract her.

Gathering her wits once more, Buffy sighed, looking at her nails, "So are we going to just stand here, or are we going to get to the fighting…I'm starting to get a little bored."

The vampire smiled, and Buffy immediately wanted to take a step back. There was just something wrong about his smile. How it was just an expression…it did not reach his eyes, not even in the wicked, cruel way. No, nothing reached his eyes. They were wild, yet calculated...she'd seen that look before. Angelus. He had worn the same look, and the thought made Buffy's stomach churn.

"We can't have that can we?" the vampire chuckled before tilting his head to the side, looking at her curiously. "I do wonder what he sees in you."

Buffy didn't answer. She was not about to play his games. "Um, do you think we can hurry his up? I was really looking forward to CSI tonight…"

"As you wish," the vampire shrugged, and then out of nowhere, his fist connected with her face, sending her flying back into a headstone that cracked upon impact.

Dazed, Buffy slowly got to her feet, but the vampire was already there, dragging her up by her throat. "He should have known better than to mess with me," the vampire told her. "There are always consequences."

"Wha—," Buffy choked, but her words were cut off by his vice like grip.

Fighting down the panic at not being able to breathe, Buffy kicked the vampire in the stomach as hard as she could. The vampire stumbled back and Buffy dropped to the ground coughing and greedily sucking in large quantities of air.

She rose to her feet just as the vampire did, and they began to circle each other, Buffy vowing to herself not to be caught off guard again. The vampire circled her like a predator circling its prey, and Buffy had never felt so small or insignificant until now. For once, she felt her confidence begin to fade…

No. No. She could do this. She would do this. This vamp was no different from the others. They all died the same way. Mr. Pointy. It was about time that this vamp and Mr. Pointy were introduced properly.

Filled with new confidence, Buffy launched herself at the vampire, sending a flurry of combinations of kicks and punches at the vampire. But he blocked them all with ease. Refusing to give into her doubts, Buffy continued to attack the vampire mercilessly, not once easing up to taunt him as she usually would another vampire. This fight was requiring all her concentration.

Finally, one of her kicks hit its mark and the vampire flew back into a mausoleum, creating a lightning shaped crack up the wall. Oh well, the Thomas family was just going to have to live with it. Enraged by his momentary loss, the vampire growled maliciously before launching himself at her.

Suddenly, it was Buffy that was on the defensive, barely moving in time to avoid or block his blows. How was he this fast? She could barely see his movements and was reacting mostly on instinct now. She also knew she was tiring quickly. It had been a good long while since her last fight with a vampire of this caliber, but the more she thought about it, the more similarities she was beginning to see in the vampire before her and Angelus…

Ducking a punch to her face (she was already going to have a bruise from the first punch she hadn't managed to avoid), Buffy glanced at the ground to see something silver glint in the moonlight. Picking it up quickly, she stabbed the vampire in the stomach, causing him to back away from her and howl in pain.

Rising to her feet again, Buffy saw that her makeshift weapon was a discarded crocheting needle. What it was doing by a grave, Buffy had no idea, but it was proving awfully fortuitous at the moment. Not willing to lose the advantage she had gained, Buffy was immediately sending another round of kicks and punches at the vampire, but the monster was now in a complete rage, returning the blows just as fast as she dealt them. Finally, he seemed to get tired of the hand to hand and simply reached for her and flung her like a ragdoll into a tall sycamore tree.

Buffy felt her head crack against the bark, and she dropped down to the ground groaning in pain. She was seeing black spots in her vision, and she felt a hot liquid running down the side of her face. Blood. The vampire's eyes were now wilder than ever and Buffy struggled to get to her feet, but she was not quick enough. The vampire pushed her roughly into the tree, pinning her, her head once again smacking against the trunk. She struggled feebly as the vampire's fangs moved closer and closer to her neck…but it was no use.

"This is going to be fun," the vampire whispered into her ear before she felt his fangs sink into her neck.

And she screamed.

Angel sat in Cordelia's apartment staring broodingly at the wall. It was almost midnight, and he had just returned from another patrol. Old habits die hard. He was sure that he was somewhere out there. A few nights ago, Angel had killed a female vampire. The difference was that this time, the vamp had been someone he'd known. Of course, naturally he'd heard about the majority of the vampires in the L.A. area, but most were inconsequential. They all knew who he was, so they usually gave him a fairly wide birth. Being a notorious two hundred and forty-four year old Master vampire did have its advantages.

But that wasn't what was bothering Angel. The vampire had been Maria. Angel shuddered. He knew that this couldn't end well. He would come. The Greek would come to avenge the death of his mate, and Angel had better be ready.

The sound of shattering glass jarred him from his thoughts, and he was immediately on his way to the kitchen. Cordelia's hands gripped the counter, her knuckles white. Broken glass and flowers lay in the floor, and Angel stepped over them, looking at Cordelia intently, waiting for her vision to pass.

Cordelia shuddered and looked at Angel with wide eyes, making Angel's stomach clinch. That look couldn't be good. There was fear and uncertainty in the young woman's eyes that made Angel nervous.

"What is it?" Angel asked almost hesitantly.

"Buffy," Cordelia answered and without another word Angel turned and was out the door.

Well? What do you think? Should I continue? Please tell me what you think! I try to respond to all my reviews, because let's face facts (again)...reviews play a huge part in any writer's muse...

Love you all,

ArthursCamelot