Blondie

Party Favors and Jinxes

              Taylor had an average life. Key word; Had. Technically her sister too, had an average life. Both were popular at their school in L.A, great parents up until they started fighting. But when a man walked up to Buffy and her sister after they were released, claiming she was The Slayer, everything changed. And it only got worse for both their parents and the sisters, after Buffy burnt the school gym down, catching vampires there. 

    That was the last straw for their parents, so they filed for a divorce and Joyce, their mother, decided to move all three of them to a severely small town, just two hours away, called Sunnydale. Now none of them were particularly happy about it, but it was for the best. At least that's what they thought. And as for Taylor, she had aways figured that she was pretty average, even if she was popular at her old school. She never considered herself better than everyone else. In fact, she thought she was just like everyone else. Except, she wasn't. Anyone who even looked at Taylor, felt drawn to her. Of course, Taylor herself never thought anything of it. She thought she was just being nice. She thought she was just showing basic human decency by talking to the people that came up to her, everyone looking at her in awe. Even in L.A., people loved her. Adored her. And Sunnydale was no different. 

      The movers came and picked up the furniture and all three summers moved into their new home. Joyce enrolled the girls into Sunnydale high, and that's how they met Xander, Willow, Cordelia and the new librarian, Giles. And it didn't take Giles long to figure out that Buffy was the slayer, and he was her watcher.  In fact, as both girls stepped into the library to get their books, Giles practically bombarded Buffy with talk about the slayer, which freaked both of them out and they left swiftly. 

      Then a little later, Buffy went back and had a talk with him about her issues with being the slayer. But nevertheless, Buffy stuck to the job. She managed to keep her friends and her sister included. Willow and Xander knew about everything with Buffy. And that was the start of Giles training Buffy, who has been building up her strength and getting better at fighting. 

   Now, a year later, after Buffy defeated the master, the oldest vampire to live, and defeating a group of vampires who were trying to bring him back, which involved capturing Cordelia, who is now in on knowing about the supernatural, they're now in their junior year of high school. And as always after almost a month of being in school, there's a parent teacher conference. 

After the bell for dismissal sounded, Willow, Taylor, and Xander met up with Buffy outside who was just in principle Snyder's office, him making Buffy and a girl named Sheila decorate for parent teacher night on Thursday. And if they didn't, they would get expelled. 

"So, Snyder's got you guys making party favors, huh?" Xander says. 

"His two worst students." Buffy says. "That's what mom sees when she looks at me. A Sheila." She says and they all look to her grabbing a much older guy by his neck and kissing him. 

"Mom doesn't see you as a Sheila. She sees you as... is challenged a good way to put it?" Taylor asks her. 

"I don't think so." Buffy says, smiling and shaking her head. 

"Sheila's definitely intense." Xander says. "That guy with her, that's the guy she can bring home to mother." 

"She was already smoking in fifth grade. Once I was look-out for her." Willow says and Taylor fake gasps. 

"Willow you are bad to the bone!" Taylor says. 

"I'm a rebel." Willow says, carrying on the sarcasm. 

"It's not fair. I'm a slayer. It requires a certain amount of cutting and fighting. What's Sheila's excuse?" Buffy asks, rhetorical. 

"Homework. She won't do it. And most teachers respect that now." Xander says. 

"I wish I didn't have to do homework. Why couldn't I be blessed with the ability to know everything?" Taylor says groaning. 

"Because you already act like you do know everything." Buffy snickers and Taylor playfully swats her arm. 

"I do not!" Taylor says. 

"Do too!" Buffy says and they go back and forth with this a few more times until Willow has to break up the sibling's banter. 

"And keep away any sharp implements when you're working with her." Xander says, referring back to Shelia. 

"Do you think any of the other slayers had to go to high school?" Buffy asks. 

"It's no biggie. You'll have a nice soiree. The parents will love it. As long as nothing really bad happens between now and then, you'll be fine." Xander says, and the girls stop in their tracks and look at him. 

"Why the hell would you say that?" Taylor asks. 

"What? What'd I say?" Xander asks confused. 

"Because now something bad is going to happen." Buffy says.

"Nothing's going to happen." Xander said. 

"Not until some dummy says, "as long as nothing bad happens." Willow says. 

"It's the biggest jinx in the history of jinxes!" Taylor says. 

"What were you thinking? Or were you even thinking at all?" Willow says and all three girls walk away as Xander pulls his bag to his chest. 

"Maybe this time it'll be different." Xander says. But this is Sunnydale and that same night, a 1959 DeSoto Fireflite crashed into the welcome to Sunnydale sign. And who came out of that car, smoking a cigarette, would play a part in Taylor Summers life.