More Than Who We Are: Part Ten
by Calie Johnston
Part Ten

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Jordan dragged himself into the kitchen, groaning inwardly when he got a look at the digital clock on the microwave. The neon green numbers blinked 6:15, which was the earliest Jordan had gotten up since he was in school. Sure, maybe a few times he'd had to go to work early if somebody was sick, or if he just couldn't sleep, but waking up before nine AM was a freak occurrence for him.

This was one of those nights he just couldn't sleep.

Those kinds of nights, nights when you didn't want to sleep for fear of what you might dream, were few and far between for him. When he was little, he'd have nightmares all the time, his father had made sure of that. Told Jordan stories of axe murderers hiding behind the school, of poisoned candy on Halloween, of stalkers on the internet when that came around. Jordan had always hated his father, but now he maybe understood the man a little better. He just didn't want to lose another son.

And now Jordan had to fear turning into his father...because he just didn't want to lose another friend.

Then again, if anyone was capable of killing this monster, it was Nicole.

he thought wryly as the girl walked into the kitchen.

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "You're up early."

Jordan forced out an uncomfortable laugh. "Uh, yeah. Couldn't sleep."

She nodded. She understood.

He felt almost dirty...he had *killed* someone. Okay, someone that wasn't exactly human, and was trying to kill Nicole, but still. Everything felt different. Jordan thought.

"It's hard. Not just the first time. Every time. It never gets easy," she said, almost reading his mind. "I've had to stake little kids, you know, these twelve-year-old kids who stayed at the park too late at night. There's a major guilt factor involved in that." She sighed. "You just have to remember that you didn't kill them. You destroyed their body, not their soul. With vampires, the soul is already gone."

He looked at her.

"Well, most of the time," she amended.

Jordan nodded and, hearing the toaster pop, walked over and grabbed the two pieces of toast out of it. He flipped on the radio, and threw one piece of toast to Nicole. Grinning, she caught it perfectly and took a bite.

Jordan smiled and imitated the motion. He laughed when he realized what the song was, spraying bread crumbs everywhere.

"Oh, ew!" Nicole exclaimed, jumping back from the counter.

He laughed again. "Listen to the song."

I'm broke but I'm happy
I'm poor but I'm kind
I'm short but I'm healthy, yeah
I'm high but I'm grounded
I'm sane but I'm overwhelmed
I'm lost but I'm hopeful, baby

Nicole giggled. "Hand In My Pocket..."

"We have some luck, huh?"

"Oh, I'll say..." She paused a moment. "Hold on!! My part's coming up!" she said with a grin. She coughed and belted out the next lines.

What it all comes down to
Is that everything's gonna be fine fine fine
I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving a high five

Jordan covered his ears teasingly as she 'sang'.

She slapped him playfully. "Hey! I'm not that bad!"

Jordan coughed, masking the words 'yeah, right'.

Nicole rolled her eyes, then held out her hand. "Dance with me?"

Jordan grinned and grabbed her hand, spinning her around the tiny kitchen.

I feel drunk but I'm sober
I'm young and I'm underpaid
I'm tired but I'm working, yeah
I care but I'm restless
I'm here but I'm really gone
I'm wrong and I'm sorry baby

Nicole tripped over a dish towel, landing hard on her side, and yanking Jordan down with her.

They sat on the floor laughing before the chorus came on. This time they both attempted to sing.

What it all comes down to
Is that everything's gonna be quite alright
I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is flicking a cigarette

All of a sudden the phone rang, and Jordan jumped up to get it.

Nicole grinned and stood up, brushing off her black jeans. "Ten bucks says it's the cops wondering what the hell we're doing up here," she joked.

Jordan was listening intently to the voice on the other end of the phone. His face and tone of voice were icy cold as he held out the phone. "It's for you."

She stared at him in shock. Who even knew she was here? Grabbing the phone, she asked hostilely, "Who is it?"

"Slayer," the voice on the phone hissed.

"What do you want, Aurélie?" Buffy cried angrily in response.

"You know my name, yet you know nothing at all..." Aurélie answered cryptically.

"I'm not gonna play your games! Neither of us will win this fight if all you do is torture my boyfriend and act creepy over the phone, you know?"

The vampire laughed. "You misunderstand me, *Buffy*," she replied, using the Slayer's name as power over her. "I don't have to win this battle.

"Because once I get you I'll have won the war."

Buffy's blood ran cold. "Where are you, Aurélie? Huh? You'll never get at me if you don't even tell me where you are!"

"Oh, Buffy...I would have thought you were smarter. I keep dropping you hints, but you don't seem to be getting the message." Aurélie sighed. "And it's getting late. Unless you show before dusk, I wouldn't bring your new friend along. Wouldn't want him to get caught in the crossfire."

Buffy was disconnected.

The radio kept playing.

What it all comes down to my friends
Is that everything's just fine fine fine
I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is hailing a taxi cab...


* * *
Buffy stood outside Hemery High, wistful for a time when everything was so simple. Life had revolved around cheerleading, clothes, football games and which guy she was going out with that evening...not which demon she'd have to slay once it got dark.

There had been compensations for her life as a Slayer, but they were few and far between. Her friends, she supposed...her friends, who were far more heroic than she would ever be. They didn't have to fight the good fight, but they did, just because it was the right thing to do, not because of a sacred duty. And Angel...but the love she shared with him had come bundled with more pain than she had ever thought possible.

So, yeah. Few and far between.

Buffy kept walking, past the library, the new gym, the science wing. She reached the pile of rubble that had once been the school gym, and kneeled down on top of it.

She felt the dirt underneath the piles of rocks - - and looked for a weak spot.

Behind her, Jordan mirrored her actions, searching for a secret passage, or just a hole in the ground, whatever the case might be.

After close to a half-hour of fruitless searching, Buffy stood up. "I vote that one of us goes down to Starbucks and gets some coffee."

Jordan nodded. "I'm for it. Mind if I go?"

She shook her head. "No prob. Iced cappuccino?"

He started off the wreckage of the gym.

He never made it that far.

"Jordan!" Buffy cried, jumping down into the hole after him.


* * *
Aurélie grinned.



It didn't irritate her too much, though. She'd been waiting for a century, she could handle another few hours.

Waiting for a power she could gain only from taking a soul as strong as this Slayer's.

It wasn't just the girl's mere physical prowess that would win the constant battle of good and evil for the demons, it was her essence.

The faith, love, and friendship she gave and showed without doubt. Buffy was warier now, since the escapade with Angelus those few years back. Perhaps one would best suffice to say that it was the girl's pure humanity that made her so strong.

Interesting. Ironic, in a way, that someone who embodied so many of the good qualities of human beings would bring about the end of that species.

Buffy and her light-haired friend - Jordan, was it? - crashed down through the trapdoor in the dirt and rubble above.

And Aurélie knew she would have to wait no longer.


* * *
"Where is he?" the Slayer demanded.

Aurélie raised an eyebrow. "Pushy, aren't we? Patience, my dear girl, patience."

"Never heard of it," Buffy replied sarcastically.

The vampire shrugged. "I have one final deal to propose to you. I will return your beloved vampire. In return for your soul." Buffy opened her mouth to object, but Aurélie cut her off before she could begin. "Of course, that just means I take your soul the easy way. Now, we could do this the hard way...I truly do not care. Either way I get what I want."

"Making this the biggest catch-22 in existence," Buffy shot back.

Aurélie merely smiled.

The Slayer walked towards Aurélie, raising herself up to her full height.

"I won't deal with you. And you're wrong, because you won't get what you want. The good guys win, in the end. Duh. Didn't your mother ever read you fairy tales?"

The vampire rolled her eyes. She stepped forward then, slapping the Slayer viciously across the face.

"Hey!" Buffy protested. "Not fair play!"

Aurélie regarded Buffy coolly. "And just what do you consider fair play, Slayer? You've killed demons when they have no defense against you-"

"Because they're evil!"

"-which greatly depends on your definition of evil, I suppose. You've also killed one of your own, though. A Slayer."

Buffy hesitated.

"Oh, how sweet..." Aurélie said. "You think it's all right because you did it to save someone you *love*." Her voice grew harsher as she spoke. "I tell you this, Slayer. Hell doesn't care why you killed."

"No," Buffy said calmly. "But I do."

The Slayer stepped forward and hit Aurélie across the face, mimicking the vampire's earlier action. "And what about you? How many have you destroyed? My God, you're not even nice enough to kill these people, you just take their souls away and leave their bodies and their friends to deal with whatever they have left. Somehow I don't think I'm the one in the bad here." Aurélie began to speak, but the Slayer cut her off. "No! I'm on a - a rant thingy here. I mean, at least I know what love is."

The seething look on Aurélie's face convinced Buffy that she'd hit the insult jackpot.

"And I'm guessing you never did," Buffy said, feeling sympathy for this woman all of a sudden. Okay, so Aurélie obviously wasn't a good person by any possible interpretation of the word, but it wasn't entirely her fault that she had been changed... Buffy thought.

Aurélie shook her head. "You're a fool, Slayer."

The vampire grabbed Buffy violently by the collar. She ran her finger lightly over the scar on Buffy's neck. "And this, this is what you got in return for love?"

Aurélie's face changed suddenly.

"You are a fool," the vampire repeated, sinking her fangs into Buffy's neck.

The Slayer cried out in pain and rage, yanking Aurélie off of her. Aurélie's fangs left deep cuts in her neck.

Aurélie threw the Slayer back against the wall.

"I. Have. Won," the vampire hissed, leaving Buffy barely conscious in the corner.

In the ring of sunlight beneath the entrance hole, Jordan began to wake up. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes.

Swallowing, Buffy looked at Jordan, eyes huge.


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