Cigarette Daydreams ♱ Angel {1}

02: suspicions and a dead body

I smile slightly, a little more uncomfortable than I'd like to be. Turning to the blond to my right though I break the awkwardness, "Buffy, this is Jesse," I say, pointing to Jesse. "And that's Xander," I deliver flatly, rolling my eyes to Xander.

Buffy smiles at my reaction and turns to Xander as he says, "Oh, me and Buffy go way back, old friends, very close. Then there's that period of estrangement where I think we were both growing as people, but now here we are, like old times, I'm quite moved."

"Nice Xander," my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Is it me, or are you turning into a bibbling idiot?" Jesse adds.

I turn to Xander. "No, it's not you," I smirk to Xander and see shamefully agrees.

"Well, it's nice to meet you guys, I think," Buffy says, seeming unsure.

Xander jumps down from the bench between Willow and me to his book bag he dropped there when he first sat down. As Xander is trying to dig something out of his bag Jesse says, "Well, you know, we wanted to welcome you."

"And to return this," Xander adds, pulling out something that looks like a stake. "The only thing I can think is that you're building a really little fence," he guesses as he hands Buffy the sharp looking stake.

Buffy laughs nervously. Noticing her change in behavior again, I can't help but watch her closely. What is up with Buffy? She seemed to tense when the librarian and now this stake is brought up. "No, um, a-a-actually it was for self-defense. Everyone has them in L.A. Pepper spray is just so passé."

Before I can question it, Xander runs his big mouth again. "So what do you do for fun, what do you like, what do you look for in a man, let's hear it."

"If you have any dark, painful secrets you'd like us to publish?" Jesse adds.

"Can you guys leave her alone," I snap, getting annoyed with all these questions.

Buffy chuckles and says, "Gee, everyone wants to know about me. How keen."

"Well nothing goes on much in Sunnydale," I tell the blonde girl. She seems revealed I'm the one talking over the chatterboxes in front of us.

Xander manages to speak up, "You're pretty big news."

"I'm not. Really," Buffy says flatly.

Unfortunately, this is the moment Cordelia decides to make her entrance. "Are these guys bothering you?" she asks Buffy, completely ignoring the rest of us.

Buffy shakes her dirty blonde hair. "Uh, no!"

"She's not hanging with us," Willow tries to safe Buffy humiliation of being caught with them—and me I guess.

Rolling my eyes, I glare at Cordelia. "We were just talking with her, not brainwashing her—don't worry."

Cordelia shoots me a glare in return as Jesse nears her. "Hey Cordelia," he says, trying to impress the Ice Queen.

"Oh please," Cordelia cringes at Jesse before returning her attention back to Buffy. "I don't mean to interrupt your downward mobility, but I just wanted to tell you that you won't be meeting Coach Foster, the woman with the chest hair," she says with bitterness, "because gym was canceled due to the extreme dead guy in the locker."

Buffy's eyes widen a little, as does all of ours. "What?" Buffy murmurs.

Sitting up straighter, I ask, "What are you talking about?"

"Some guy was stuffed in Aura's locker!" Cordelia says, extremely calm in my opinion when talking about a dead body being found. I mean, rumors spread a lot here. Maybe this so called 'dead body' is just a prank or something.

"Dead?" Buffy asks, probably having my same suspicions.

Cordelia waves her hands around while speaking, "Totally dead. Way dead."

"It's not just a little dead then?" Xander questions.

"Dead is dead Xander!" I exclaim.

Jesse steps a tad closer to me. "You know if you need a shoulder to cry on—or just to nibble on..."

Narrowing my eyes, I shake my head. "I'm good."

"How did he die?" Buffy breaks my attention on Jesse back to the dead body we're talking about.

Cordelia shakes her head. "I don't know."

"Well, were there any marks?" Buffy presses, seeming more eager to know about what's going on. I mean, what's a question like that?

"What?" I wonder, speaking out my thoughts. "Did he die of hickeys?"

Buffy shakes her head as Cordelia mentions she didn't ask. She starts packing up her lunch, looking freaked out. "Um, I gotta book. I'll-I'll see you guys later," she says before standing up and leaving the quad.

Something is up with Buffy, like she knows something about the dead body that others don't.

***

After leaving the quad, I swing my backpack straps around my shoulders as I walk down the hall. Willow needed to get to class early so I have ten minutes to spare until the bell rings.

"Lindsay, wait!" Xander's voice yells out behind me.

Sighing, I stop in the middle of the semi crowded hallway and look behind me. Xander is swerving his way through students to get to me. "What do you want?" I ask once he has reached me.

"Can you come with me to the library to get that math book I need?"

Crossing my arms over my chest I smirk at him. "Do you need help finding it?"

He scratches the back of his neck. "Maybe."

"Come on," I sigh as I walk into the direction of where it is.

We enter the library and I notice the front desk is empty—new guy most be somewhere in here. I follow Xander to the last isle so he can get his textbook. Leaning against the stacks of books, I stare up at the boring white ceiling. Xander has trouble finding it at first, but when he finally does he walks out to leave when I stop him. Grabbing the back of his shirt, I yank him back as Buffy storms into the library talking about the dead body. Xander hisses in pain, but I put a finger to my lips letting him know to be quiet.

The words vampire and slayer are thrown around—the information slowly taking it's time for me to process. Xander looks at me with the same confusion. The new girl is a slayer who kills vampire—just what Sunnydale needs.

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sorry I didn't put in the dialogue with buffy and giles. that scene would've been boring in my opinion just Lindsay would just be listening.

anyway, 8track for this novel is up on my 8track: dobbrien