Halloween

CHAPTER two A long, red dress

At morning break, Buffy and Willow got drinks.

 'How was your date last night?' asked Willow.

 'Bad,' said Buffy. 'I met a vampire on the way to the Bronze, so I was late. And I looked terrible.'

 'Was Angel angry?'

 'No, but only because of Cordelia. She does dates, not me.'

 'Cordelia? Angel doesn't like Cordelia.'

 'Willow, what does he like? Who is he? I met him a year ago, but I know almost nothing about him.'

 'Yeah, well, I don't have any answers,' said Willow. Then Buffy had an idea. She grabbed Willow. 'The Watcher Diaries!'

 'Yeah...' said Willow slowly. 'And they're Giles's books... in Giles's desk... and Giles is a teacher.'

 'You're right,' said Buffy with a smile. 'We mustn't take things from Giles's desk. It's wrong.'

 * * *

 Buffy and Willow looked through the doors of the library. Giles wasn't there. Willow stayed at the door and Buffy went in.

 Buffy walked very quietly to Giles's desk. 'Buffy!' said Giles. 'Good.'

 'Oh!' She turned in surprise. 'Nothing! Hi.'

 'What?' Giles looked at her. Was she a bit strange today? 'Now, about tomorrow night. Halloween is always quiet. Maybe we can try some new kicks...'

 'Giles,' Buffy stopped him. 'Don't you just have fun sometimes?'

 'I have lots of fun hobbies,' said Giles, and opened a book. Buffy looked at the door, at Willow. Her eyes said, 'Come in. Get the Watcher Diaries. Giles isn't looking.' Willow's mouth said, 'No!' Buffy's eyes said, 'Now!' Willow walked across the room behind Giles.

 'What hobbies?' asked Buffy. 'Well,' Giles started, 'I, -er... sometimes I clean my books. I enjoy that.'

 'One day, leave your books for an hour or two, Giles. There's a world out there. There's this cool place. You go in and sit down in the dark. There are pictures on the wall. They move. They tell a story...' 

 'Very funny, ha ha,' said Giles.

 Willow and the Watcher Diaries were back at the door.

 'OK, Giles, I gotta go. Bye.' She ran from the room.

 * * *

 Buffy and Willow sat in the girls' room. They read the Watcher Diaries.

 'Wow!' said Buffy. 'Look at her.'

 There was a picture of a beautiful woman in a long dress. 'Who is she?' asked Willow.

 'It doesn't say. But look! It says 1775 here. Angel was 18 then.'

 'She looks very rich,' said Willow.

 Buffy thought about Angel in 1775. He was young then, and a man, not a vampire. 'She knew him in the best part of his life. Lucky woman!' she said.

 'No!' said Willow. 'Life was terrible for women then.'

 The girls' room door opened.

 'Well, Buffy, you left poor Angel alone last night. ' It was Cordelia. 'He's so nice. But what's his story? I never see him around.'

 'Not during the day,' said Willow.

 Cordelia looked at Willow.

 'He's a vampire. Didn't you know?'

 'A nice vampire?! I don't believe you. You can't keep me away from Angel with stupid stories like that. Maybe you're the Vampire Slayer, Buffy, but I'm the Man Slayer around here.'

 * * *

 'It's so busy in here. You can't move!' shouted Buffy to Willow. They were in Ethan's Costume Shop. Most of Sunnydale's children were there too.

 'But it's better than Party Town!' Willow shouted back. Ethan's was new. 'I've got a ghost costume.'

 'And I'm getting some soldier clothes and a gun,' said Xander.

 'Halloween isn't my...' Buffy stopped. 'Hey! Look at that.'

 Willow and Xander followed Buffy to the back of the shop. There they saw a long, red dress.

 'It's the dress in the Watcher Diaries,' said Buffy. 'From eighteen-seventy-something.'

 '1775,' said Willow. She remembered these things.

 'I want it,' said Buffy, quietly.

 Suddenly there was a man next to them. It was Ethan Rayne and this was his shop.

 'Please,' he said to Buffy. He took the dress and put it against her. 'Ah! Beautiful.' The dress changed Buffy from a pretty girl into a very beautiful woman.

 'Wow!' thought Buffy.

 'Wow!' said Willow arid Xander together.

 Buffy woke up. 'I'm sorry,' she said. 'It's too expensive.'

 'No, no,' said Ethan. 'Forget the money. You must have it. It's so right for you.'

 'Great! Thanks,' said Buffy.

 Ethan Rayne smiled.

 * * *

 The old building was empty. No one lived or worked there now. It wasn't a nice part of town, so the vampires liked it.

 Spike walked up and down. 'Buffy,' he thought. 'Buffy must die. Drusilla needs more blood, but that Slayer makes it so difficult.'

 'Spike,' someone said quietly.

 He turned. His angry face was suddenly kind. It was Drusilla.

 'Do you love me?' she asked.

 'Come here, my beautiful one,' he said. He put his arms around her weak body.

 'Buffy's going to die soon, my love,' he said. 'Then you can drink all the blood in Sunnydale. And you can be strong again.'

 'Something is going to happen. I can see it. Buffy is going to be weak.'

 'What do you mean? Are there pictures in your head?'

 Drusilla closed her eyes.

 'Come on, my love. Talk to Spike,' he said. 'What's going to happen to the Slayer? When?'

 'Tomorrow,' answered Drusilla.

 'But tomorrow is Halloween. Nothing happens on Halloween.'

 'This Halloween is different. Someone new is in town.'