"No, I don't know," Buffy hesitated.

"Not even for the opportunity to oogle boys?" She could almost see Willow's raised eyebrow over the phone.

Buffy scrunched her nose. "No, and before you ask, no, I'm not doing anything special."

"So you don't want to check out our new classmate?" Willow said teasingly.

"New student?"

"Yes," Willow said. "Angelus Marciano. I heard the teachers talking."

Buffy chuckled. "Angelus Marcino? Can you really be named that?" Thinking briefly, she then sighed. "Fine. I'll go with you."

Willow squealed. "Yes! Pick you up at two?"

Tapping her nail against the table, Buffy nodded. "Two. Great. See you then."

Buffy put down the phone and glanced at her watch. Half past one. She had exactly half an hour to change. It was the day for the Sunnydale Olympics, where all high school students could compete in different sports. She had intended to skip out, but Willow was...persuasive.

She had almost forgotten about the new student she had heard about, a bit busy with the latest crisis. He was rumored to be a real hunk, even if Snyder had pouted about him having been a gang leader in his old school before being expelled.

Buffy smiled grimly. What he did was probably nothing next to her burning down the gym of her old school. Especially as she supposedly did it without a reason. They should only known she'd fried a couple of hundreds of vampires that night too. And blocked the exits.

She put up her blond hair in a ponytail and pulled off her shabby tee and dirty jeans she was wearing to put on a pair of low-cut capris and a white tank top instead together with a pair of shoes. Then she put on a light jacket over it all.

"Time to go," she mumbled as someone knocked at the front door.

She hurried down the stairs, called a goodbye to her mother and opened the door. Outside, Willow stood, dressed in a green dress with her hair in a plait.

"Ready to go?" she smiled.

Buffy checked herself in the mirror.

"Yeah," she smiled back.

-#-#-#-

Buffy looked out over the stadium where the contests would be. It was a warm, sunny day, perfect for spending time outside. She and Willow had chosen to sit on the left side, close to most of the events.

It was still lots of students lining up to register themselves for some event, among them Xander. A little bit away, Cordelia was training with the cheerleading squad to support the contestants.

"There he is!" Willow suddenly whispered in her ear. "He's as hot as they said he was."

"Where?" Buffy asked, faking interest.

Willow pointed and Buffy followed her finger with her eyes. And a hundred feet away, deeply involved in a quarrel with Principal Snyder, a handsome, tall guy with short, spiky hair was standing, dressed in black track pants and a skintight shirt showing off his physique. His whole body was a slim, lithe killing machine, and he radiated a combination of lethal sexuality and extreme danger. A complete bad boy. If he hadn't been standing in the sunlight, she had thought he was a vampire.

"Whoa," she exclaimed. "He looks like a vampire."

"Yeah," Willow agreed with a far away expression on her face. "Without the suckage or the evil thing. I would date him."

Deeply inside Buffy agreed. She closed her eyes to get rid of the disturbing pictures running trough her head, but was soon interrupted.

"Summers, stop the sun bathing," a voice said acidly.

Buffy held back a sigh and opened her eyes to look at Sunnydale's very own principal. To her surprise, the new guy was standing beside him, with his arms crossed and with an arrogant look in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Yes?" she said softly.

Snyder snorted and gave her a look.

"This is Angelus Marciano," he said shortly. "He's new. Got expelled from his old school for gang fights. Summers, you get him on your conscience. You'll probably get along fine with your similar pasts."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Never," Angelus said shortly. "She's a girl.

"So?" Snyder said sourly. "From now and on, I want you two to behave yourselves. Especially you, Summers. It would be my pleasure to expel you from this school.

Snyder turned and strutted away while Buffy decided she really didn't like Angelus Marciano. 'She's a girl'?

"Keep your away from me," Angelus said harshly.

Buffy lifted her eyebrows and turned to Willow.

"OK," she said nonchalantly. "Willow, how many nights do you think Marciano will survive in Sunnydale?"

Willow gave her a cheery smile.

"Without you?" she asked.

Buffy gave her a look.

"Oh," she said thoughtfully. "With his looks? Three."

Buffy nodded and turned to Angelus.

"This is Sunnydale, Marciano," she smiled icily. "And much is going on here you don't have a clue about."

"So?" Angelus said nonchalantly. "I can take care of myself. But I doubt you can."

"So," Buffy drawled. "You came from LA, huh?"

"Yes," Angelus said shortly. "Why?"

Willow laughed and Angelus turned his intensive gaze to her. She stopped laughing.

"So you think you can take care of yourself?" Angelus said icily.

Buffy nodded.

"Show me," he said calmly. "Meet me in two contests, running and martial arts. If you can handle it."

Buffy smiled with the warmth of Antarctic.

"Just let me sign up," she said.

Willow groaned.

"This is not good," she mumbled.

Buffy jogged towards the table you signed up, where Giles and Ms. Calendar sat.

"Buffy Summers," she said shortly. "Running and martial arts."

Giles looked surprised at her.

"Buffy," he said doubtingly. "Are you sure this is such a good idea?"

Buffy laughed dryly.

"No," she said. "But I'll do it anyway."

-#-#-#-

Angelus sat down to wait for the contests to begin.

"So," he said easily to the red head next to him. "Who's my lovely opponent?"

The red head smiled easily.

"Buffy Summers," she answered. "And I'm Willow Rosenburg."

Angelus rose his eyebrows.

"Sheesh," he commented. "And I thought my name was strange. Willow? And Buffy What kind of names are that?"

"Ours," Willow yawned. "So, you were a troublemaker at your old school?"

"Yes," Angelus simply said. "That's why I got expelled. Why did Buffy get expelled?"

Willow shrugged.

"Probably because she skipped classes," she said.

Angelus frowned. You didn't get expelled for that.

"But it could be something else," the girl said. "Maybe that she burned down the gym."

Angelus eyebrows disappeared into his hair. That sexy, beautiful, snobby cheerleader girl burned down the gym? Something wasn't right here. Apparently, Buffy'd signed up now, cause she came strolling back to them with number nine in her hand. She ignored him and turned to Willow instead.

"Will," she said warmly. "Could you help me with the stickers?"

Willow nodded and rose.

-#-#-#-

Buffy recognized his interest as she put on her stickers. His eyes made her tremble as they went up her body. When he dismissed her as the usual cheerleader she almost felt relieved. But to her discomfort she also felt disappointed that he could dismiss her that easy when she couldn't stop thinking about him.

She let the thought go and put her hoodie away to start getting to the first event. As she reached the track, she stepped out of sight to stretch a little, using her slayer abilities. When they called for start, she was warmed up and easily took her place next to Angelus.

They were going to run one mile. It meant two and a half laps, which would mean they ran in heats. But as the rumors started bout hers and Angelus little bet, many had decided to not run, so it would only be one heat.

She inhaled deeply, and surprised herself by managing to smell a fragrance coming from her rival. A clean smell, combined with something rank she recognized as anger. It almost smelled as bad as hate and fear.

They made a sign for them to take their places, and Buffy strolled to the line. She started to inspect her nails as the others knelt beside her and seemed perfectly careless. But when the start came, she leaped from her position and easily took the head, running with a born grace.

Angelus soon came up by her side. He picked up the speed, and Buffy lengthened her steps a bit, still seemingly to jog. And she kept running by his side the whole time, until they reached the final lap. Then she put her powers to use and easily sped from the field, leaving them far behind.

Willow and Giles worriedly met her after her victory.

"Buffy," her watcher said worriedly. "You shouldn't be doing this. It's going to make people suspicious."

Buffy laughed.

"Don't worry," she said. "I don't use my full power. I'm not that stupid."

"You were stupid when you took up on Angelus bet," Willow said sharply. "This can blow your secret."

"Yes," Giles said. "This isn't the time to impress boys."

Buffy got angry.

"I'm not trying to impress Angelus," she said with a an icy calmness which surprised her friends. "He insulted me, he insulted all woman. How handsome he is don't matter. I will get my revenge. But as you want me to, I won't compete anymore."

-#-#-#-

Buffy took off the tight pair of jeans and the white shirt she had worn in school and picked out a few clothes from her wardrobe. She quickly dressed in a wide, black skirt which reached her to mid-thigh, a pair of knee-high boots and a tight black tank top with the text 'Killer Instinct' in big, red, bloody letters to put on a black jacket, arm herself with a couple of stakes and climb out through the window.

With an elegant flip she landed in the grass and ran towards the newest of Sunnydale's eleven cemeteries. Another night of hunting had taken it's beginning.

She could smell the fresh earth from the newly du grave even before she entered the graveyard. Someone impatient had already risen.

A high scream cut trough the night, coming just a few yards away, and Buffy started to run. She could smell the sudden smell of fresh blood as she rounded Anna Morrison's grave, and when she came to the other side, a horrible sight met her. Spike, one evil vampire sired by the master in the early nineteenth century. He stood with a young girls body by his feet.Dark spots of blood stained his dark leather cloths ans his now human face was filled by her blood. His evil eyes glimmered as she came into sight.

"Slayer," he breathed with an evil smile.

"Spike," Buffy said with a cold smile. "You've just gotten your dinner I see."

The vampire shrugged.

"Breakfast actually," he said nonchalantly. "Dru and I had something else going on at sunset..."

"So?" Buffy taunted. "You played with her dolls?"

Spike's face twisted of anger and he vamped out and threw himself at her in anger. She easily stepped aside and gave him a hard kick in his back, sending him to the ground. Buffy took a few quick steps forward to finish him off, but one of his legs shot out, tripping her so she landed heavily on top of him.

"Umph," she groaned.

Suddenly she felt someone come closer to them, and a familiar voice rang trough the night.

"Someone there?" a deep sexy voice she was sorry to say knew to well after the past days.

Quickly Buffy looked up and spotted Angelus coming closer to her and Spike as Spike squirmed underneath her to get loose while a stake rested in her hand.

"Shit," she swore.

Then she gave the body a hard kick, sending it into the bushes and desperately tried to come up with a reason why she would be in a graveyard at half past eleven pm, laying on a guy with a stake in her hand.

She grabbed the first idea she got and kissed Spike thoroughly. A wave of disgust ripped her body as she felt the taste of sweet, warm blood on his lips, but she kept up the picture.

"Play along," she whispered against his lips. "Or you'll be a very dead vampire."

Threatening him, she placed the stake against his ribs. She felt him make a face, but soon enough he put his hands around her waist. Buffy let her hand tangle itself in his hair while the other rested on the stake.

The bushes on her left side parted and Angelus entered the place. She gave him a few seconds to look over the picture, the broke the kiss and created a blush on her cheeks as she sat up, still on Spike to keep the stake out of sight.

"Angelus!" she gasped with faked surprise.

"Buffy," Angelus said coolly and rose his eyebrows. So this is what you do in the evening.

She made her face blush harder as she pushed her hair out of her face.

"Eh," she said nervously. "Angelus, this is Sp-...I mean William, my boyfriend."

Spike gave her a funny look. She gave him an angry one in return.

"William," she said seriously. "This is Angelus, my new involuntary protege."

"Nice to meet you," Spike said with a dangerous smirk. "We'll meet again..."

Buffy pressed the stake harder into his side as she let out a smile.

"Don't count on it, sweetie," she replied through her teeth. "Angelus and me dn't spend much time together."

"So much better," Spike smugly said.

Buffy rose and made him rise too as she hid the stake with his movements covering hers.

"You should go," she said. "But trust me, we'll finish what we started..."

Spike smiled and disappeared. Buffy stared after him then angrily turned to Angelus.

"So, did you want anything?" she snapped.

Angelus gave her a cold laugh.

"I wouldn't have thought that about you," he said coldly. "What a fool you are. But, after all, what could you expect from a girl who burned down the gym at her old school?"

He turned and disappeared too, whistling, leaving Buffy behind, filled with fury and a muddy wish it had him she'd had to kiss...

-#-#-#-

When he saw that bad peroxide blond touching Buffy, he'd almost exploded. She wasn't his to touch. No one with bad intentions touched her. She was his!

Abruptly he realized what he thought and shook his head. Just tired, Angelus thought. Just tired.

-#-#-#-

Buffy stepped into the library, still trying to wipe the taste of Spike from her mouth.

"Damn," she swore. "Damn Angelus and damned be all his nightly walks in graveyards!"

Giles, Willow and Xander looked up in surprise from their work and looked at her.

"What?" Willow asked, confused.

Buffy gave her a grim smile.

"I met Spike yesterday," she answered harshly. "He had gotten a teenager and drained her. We fought, and he tripped me so we got on top of each other. Then, Angelus chose to come by, and to keep him from suspecting anything, I had to pretend Spike and I were lovers. And by every god in this damned world, this was the first and the last time I kiss a vampire!"

Xander stared at her.

"You kissed Spike?" he exclaimed.

"Yes," Buffy nodded sourly. "Just don't think I'll do it again."

-#-#-#-

Angelus had quit school. The new reached Buffy directly as she came there from Cordelia. He would get his education at home. Apparently his parents were very rich so he could afford private teachers. She guessed she should feel eased, but in truth it made her nervous. Now, he could be anywhere, whenever he wanted. And that wasn't good.

Buffy went trough the day completely tense. It felt like someone watched her every step. But the day was normal, if you didn't count that she didn't check in with Giles. And two o'clock, when her mother slept, she got up, put on a pair of track pants and a black shirt to climb out trough the window, making no noise as she landed in the grass. Then she started to jog towards the closest graveyard.

-#-#-#-

He had followed her every move the whole day and had found nothing unusual. But as she got up two o'clock, put on some cloths, climbed trough the window and easily flipped trough the ground he started to understand it was something weird 'bout this girl. Normal teenagers who almost flunked PE in school didn't get out in the night, suddenly being elite gymnasts.

He got out of his hiding place and started to follow her quietly. She seemed to head for the graveyard, but that couldn't be her goal. So when she easily jumped over the wall between the road and the graveyard, she got him completely by surprise. What in hell would she do in a graveyard in the middle of the night?! She didn't exactly seem to be the type who robbed the graves.

To his surprise, Buffy did nothing. She just sat down on a head stone over a newly made grave and started to play with what seemed to be a thick stick.

"Hurry up!" she muttered to herself. "I don't have all night! I've got thirteen graves left, you know."

What? Who in hell was she talking to? And why was she visiting graves in the middle of the night?

As an answer to his questions, a digging sound was heard from Buffy's feet, and a pale hand came trough the surface, followed by a human.

Angelus felt sick. What in the world was going on?! Now the human was up, and Angelus recognized him as Dan Brooks, a class mate who died yesterday. A dead human?!

His stomach rumbled and he puked in the bushes. Dan turned towards the sound, and Angelus could see a terrifying, twisted face with glowing yellow eyes. Suddenly, he attacked and punched him so he flew into a tree. The air went out of him, and as he tried to breath, he could only watch as the monster closed in to him.

He closed his eyes and waited for his death as the creature bowed down o sink his teeth into his neck... But then, suddenly, the weight disappeared and he heard a crash. Angelus opened his eyes and found himself looking at Buffy, who had just thrown the monster into another tree.

"Haven't your mother told you it's not healthy to eat in the middle of the night?" she scolded the beast.

It crawled to it's feet and attacked her. She easily met him with a hard kick which sent him into the tree again.

"No," she mumbled. "Apparently not."

She got a stick from a pocket and took a few quick steps towards the beast to drive her stick into his chest. The monster exploded into a cloud of dust and Buffy nonchalantly dusted herself off. Then she went over to him with a cold expression on her beautiful face.

"So, Angelus Marciano," she said coldly. "Now you know Sunnyhell isn't such an easy place to live in at night. My advice to you is: go home and forget everything that happened. But don't go out at night alone. Your nightmares can come true. Literally."

Angelus rose and started to go home, leaving Buffy on the graveyard. But one thing was for sure. He wouldn't forget, and he would certainly not do nothing.

-#-#-#-

"So, he saw you with the vampire?" Giles asked.

"Yes," Buffy answered irritatedly. "And Marciano isn't exactly the most trustworthy person in the universe."

"So," a voice drawled from the door. "So that's why I'm here. Interesting."

Buffy slowly turned around with an icy smile on her lips.

"Marciano," she said with a nod. "Giles, you talk. I gotta go to class."

She exited and left Giles behind with Angelus, who put his arrogant smile away, and stepped out of the shadows. He was dressed in black slacks, a white shirt and a black jacket with a thick book in his hand.

"Mr. Giles," he nodded politely.

The watcher rose his eyebrows at his perfect manners. He didn't exactly fit in with what Buffy'd told him. Angelus noticed his look and laughed.

"I have manners, you know," he said disarmingly and looked after Buffy. "It's just that girl. She annoys me for some strange reason. I have a tendency to get rather touchy when she's present."

"So I've noticed," Giles said dryly. "Why are you here, Angelus?"

"Only Angel," Angelus smiled. "My father is also called Angelus, so I have a tendency to associate that name with my father."

"Angel," Giles tested. "Well, why are you here?"

"I'm sure Summers told you bout yesterday," he started. "It didn't take long for me to realize it was a vampire who attacked me. And when you realize that, it isn't hard to understand this city is filled by them after all these 'falls on barbecue forks' and such things. You and Summers fight them. I want to help."

Surprised, Giles looked up at him.

"Why?" he asked. "You should be scared to death."

Angel laughed.

"I admit I was when I first found out that some creatures of the dark existed," he said. "But I've gotten used to it."

Giles frowned.

"What creatures have you stumbled upon?" he asked. "Vampires is the most common. It's strange you don't know 'bout them when you know some tales isn't just tales."

Angel grimaced.

"My brother, Antonio, is a werewolf," he said in a pained voice. "And my mom's a psychic. Do you know how irritating it is to be told I'm going to fall in love with a slayer? I mean, I'm not going to marry a murderer."

Giles hid a smirk. Angel's mother seemed to be a true psychic if Angel just looked at Buffy as he just did. He couldn't wait to see how far the two of them would go before they admitted the attraction playing between them.

"What make you think you could be of any use for us?" he asked. "We're already five in the group. Buffy's a fighter, Willow's a hacker, Cordy and Xander..."

He paused as he tried to remember what they did. Then he gave up.

"...tries to help," he continued, "and I'm into mythology, history and such. I research the creatures we stumble upon."

Angel nodded.

"I can fight," he said. "And I've studied mythology and history since I was in elementary school. Plus I can read and speak Latin, Greek, Gaelic, Italian and Romani fluent."

"How?" Giles asked curiously. "I've never met any teenager who speak more than two languages fluently.

Angel laughed.

"I learned Greek in my last school while studying Greek mythology," he said. "Latin I learned when I was in a catholic school. Mom's from Ireland, dad's from Italy and is a gypsy who didn't want to be a gypsy. Not hard. I've heard the three languages all the time since I was a little boy."

Giles gave him a genuine smile. He really liked this boy. And if he could fight, he would be a valuable member of the group, especially as he spoke two languages he didn't speak himself. But they had to be able to trust him.

"I would gladly make you a part of this," he said seriously. "But I have to know, can I trust you to keep quiet about this and not betray us?"

"Yes," Angel said calmly. "I swear by God I will not betray you.

Giles nodded, satisfied.

"Good," he said. "Then there's a few things you should know. Sit down, Angel. This will take a little while."

Angel obeyed, and Giles started to talk.

"Into every generation, a Chosen One is born," he started, knowingly leaving the word 'slayer' out. "She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. That one is Buffy. She was born to fight the vampires. We are just her helpers. Since the beginning, there's been a watcher for every Chosen. He educates her in the art of killing vampires and teaches her bout the forces she's fighting. I'm Buffy's watcher."

Angel nodded.

"I understand," he said. "Even if it's hard to believe, I know it's true."

"Buffy was called to be the Chosen when she was fifteen," Giles continued. "Then she lived in Los Angeles. Immediately, she was drawn into a war between the vampires and the humans. The ´vampire master, Lothos, was going to rise, and then the world would be doomed. With the help of her watcher then, Merrick, and her boyfriend Pike, they defeated him. But it cost them. Merrick died, and soon also Pike went away."

"When she came here, she was determined to forget all about vampires and the darkness to be a normal girl. But no, she'd gone to live on a hellmouth, the natural portal between hell and earth. And she got into another fight with a master. Accidentally, two of her friends got to know about her secret identity and they started to help her. And with the help of them, we managed to kill the master."

"After that, it was calm in Sunnydale for awhile, but then two of the Master's sired children came into time. Spike and Drusilla. Two extremely evil vampires with an enormous strength. It's them we're fighting now."

Angel frowned.

"Didn't Buffy speak about a Drusilla when she talked with her boyfriend?" he wondered aloud.

Giles smiled as he noticed Angel's slip up.

"It was Spike you met with Buffy," he told him. "They'd been fighting when you came into the game. So Buffy pretended Spike was her boyfriend so you wouldn't suspect anything."

A satisfied look flashed over Angel's face, so fast Giles wasn't sure he saw it. Then his face became neutral once again.

"I wanted to give you this," he said camly and handed him the book he carried.

Giles took it and looked at it. To his surprise it was one of the existing two copies of 'Niahwarhar Syrphetighy', the Demon Prophesies.

"Were did you get this?" he exclaimed. "This is one of the two copies existing of this book, and the other's in hell."

Angel smiled sadly.

"Family secret," he answered. "But I've got to go. When can I meet the others?"

"Come tonight at eight," Giles proposed. "I'll see to everyones here."

Angel nodded and headed towards the door.

"Bye," he called back. "See you tonight!"

Then he disappeared, leaving a grinning Giles behind. He couldn't wait to see Buffy's face when she found out Angel was a part of the gang.