Hellions

     "I haven't slayed anything in months... I feel so unsatisfied.." Buffy said to Spike.

     "maybe I can help with that.." he said with his arrogant smile and thick British accent.

     Just as their lips were about to touch, Buffy awoke to find herself wrapped in her bed sheets as if it was Spike's embrace. He had been gone for months but she dreamt of him often, usually of fantasies of moments they would never share.

      She walked downstairs to discover the fridge ajar and a figure occupying the frigid air. She became defensive and visually located all weapons but discovered it was just Xander. He stood with his arms full of sugary foods and his mouth stuffed with something that made it impossible for him to talk.

       Xander has had a difficult time trying to get over Anya, his fiance who had been killed many months before. Since then, he has tried to stay busy by creating new weapons, but when he feels low, he feasts. It appeared to be his coping mechanism.

       "Do you need help?"

       "No, but I have some new weapon designs." he said immediately after he swallowed the mysterious substance.

       Xander led Buffy to the living room where a lamp lit a small section up; a table with many papers were sporadically laid out. The weapon designs had been of basic weaponry; swords, knives, bows, and guns but with either mystical or mechanical improvements.

         "Can we talk about this in the morning Xan? My head is throbbing."

        He nodded and she gave him a smile as she walked up the stairs. She turned one last time to find him laying the snacks on the couch behind him.

      As she walked back to her room, she stopped in front of Dawn's room. The once boy band poster filled walls were now bare with vapid white paint. Where the floral sheets once laid, all crumpled were now nothing but a plain mattress. The room was nearly unfurnished and caused Buffy to feel an emptiness and a feeling of missing something.

      When she eventually made it back to her bedroom, she sat at the end for a moment and stared at her window. She flashed back to all the times she had crawled through the window to slay the elements of darkness. She also thought of the moments she had shared with Angel there. Eventually, her memories made her fall asleep.

     The next morning, Xander was standing against the counter and looking at Willow who was on the phone. Willow had been in what looked like an intense conversation. A British accent was heard on the other end of the phone. Buffy had a few flashes of Spike and some of his humorous yet annoying comments that she was strangely attracted to. She was brought back to reality when she heard her name being called. Willow held out the phone to Buffy.

       "Hi, Giles."

       "How is Dawn?"

       "She is staying busy with activities and Angel visits her every once in a while to check in."

       "ah, good...how are you?"

       Buffy remained quiet as she thought about what to say. Her heart has been broken more times than it should have been, her sister had to be sent to live near her ex-boyfriend, and any resemblance of a love life is restricted to whatever soap opera is on television.

      "staying busy. I have been training a lot."

      Giles giggled as they continued a friendly conversation. Within a few minutes, Giles had ended the conversation and Buffy hung the phone back on the wall. The morning seemed pretty normal until the phone rang again

      "Hello, we are looking for Buffy Sommers."

      "Speaking."

      "Oh, good, this is Miss Cathcross from the Rosethorne Bording School in Los Angeles. It seems that your sister...um... hasn't been to class the last three days. Her roommate, Lissa, hasn't seen her since the weekend. We just wanted to inform you, in case you knew where she was. Some people do not find this place to their liking and they leave without word."

       "I will be up soon. Thank you for the call." she hung up the phone not allowing Miss Cathcross to comment.

       Buffy filled in Xander and Willow before she began to pack. She hid her slayer weapons in a secret compartment in her suitcase and piled on multiple layers of clothes. Xander and Willow were waiting for Buffy at the door.

       "looks like the scoobie gang is back together..." Xander said with a smile as he placed his arm around Willow's shoulders.

       "excluding Giles." Willow said with a sad expression.

      "way to be an optimist... well... the peace was nice while it lasted. But nothing stays that way for long. Just like old times..."

      They all walked out of the house and got into the car and headed for Dawn's boarding school.