Buffy glanced over her shoulder
at her friends and smiled. Xander especially seemed uneasy, he shifted
his weight from foot to foot uncomfrotably. "What's taking so long?" he
asked finally.
"Relax, Xander," Willow
said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Lucky is talking to his friend.
He'll be out in a minute." As her voice cut off, the door swung open and
Lucky poked his head out.
"Come on in," he said,
and waved them in.
Buffy walked through
the door, Xander, Giles, and Willow close behind her. She saw Emily standing
beside Lucky inside and smiled slightly at them, then glanced around the
rest of the room. "That's them?" Buffy, startled, lifted her eyes hastily
to the source of the voice. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes
widened in wonder.
"Hi," she breathed.
"Yeah, that's them,"
Lucky said. He nodded in Buffy's direction. "This is Buffy Summers."
"Buffy?" Jason asked,
descending the steps toward her. Buffy only stared dumbly as he approached
her and her friends. He made a quick inspection of the group, then turned
to his sister and Lucky. "So, what do you need?" he asked.
"Uh-" Buffy said,
finally finding her voice. She lightly tapped Jason's shoulder, and had
to bite back a stupid grin when he turned toward her. "We need to ask you
a favor," she managed, then let Giles take over.
"We have a---uh---problem,"
Giles stammered, and removed his glasses nervously. He put them on again
quickly and smiled apologetically. "You might not believe this-"
"Vampires, right?"
Jason asked, and Buffy's friends stared at him in shock. "Unless Lucky
was pulling my leg."
The attention shifted
to Lucky, who was leaning casually against the back of Jason's couch. He
smiled slyly and locked eyes with Buffy. "Your secret's safe with me,"
he assured her.
"How did you-" Buffy
began.
"Oh, come on Buffy!"
Xander exclaimed. "Anyone could've figured it out! Why don't you just start
announcing yourself on bulletin boards or something?"
"Xander, stop it!"
Willow cut in, looking at him sharply. "He's right, though," she said,
almost regretfully. "You've been dropping hints all night. It was only
a matter of time before they figured it out."
"Oh, right!" Buffy
said in exasperation. "A lot of people would assume I was a *vampire
slayer*!"
"Slayer?" Lucky asked,
and raised an eyebrow. He turned to Emily in surprise, but she wore the
same puzzled expression. "I was thinking more along the lines of a ---hunter,"
he finished.
"A hunter?" Willow
asked, and stifled a laugh.
Buffy shook her head.
"I can't *believe* this," she said angrily. "Was I really that obvious?"
she asked. She started to pace across the carpeted floor.
Jason watched her
nervous pacing for a moment, then caught her arm and spun her around. Buffy
gasped in shock and felt her heart skip a beat at his touch. "What's a
vampire?" he asked.
Brenda looked down
at the coffin, and then up at Spike. "You've got to be kidding."
"It's a sort of----initiation,"
Spike said. We don't have any beds for you to sleep in, so this will have
to do."
"What kind of person
carries around coffins with them anyway?" Brenda asked. She smiled when
Spike glanced at her sharply. "Fine, I'll sleep in it. Pet," she said as
an afterthought and laughed, tossing her long hair. "Oh, this is too fun."
Carly watched her,
a slow smile spreading across her face. "Maybe this won't be so bad after
all," she said. "I never realized what a bitch you are."