Diary of Dawn Summers, Early September 1999
Everyone thinks my sister Buffy is so great just because she's the Slayer. What? Like it's hard? She has a bunch of cool powers like super strength. If I had that I could totally kill vampires.
Nobody even notices me. I'm just Buffy's little sister to them. It's not fair. I'll show them, though, someday.
Buffy and her boyfriend are so into each other you have to yell and jump up and down just so they remember you're in the same room. Spike's cool though, and a total hottie. Buffy completely doesn't deserve him. He'll never notice me that way, though. I'm just his Nibblet. So not fair.
* * *
Buffy rolled her eyes as she realized Dawn took the last of the milk. She was about to turn and throw a fit when the doorbell rang. Spike! She hadn't seen him since yesterday. Her mom had insisted on a girl's night in. Buffy had slept in her own bedroom for the first time in months.
She bounded over and opened the door, planted a big wet kiss on her boyfriends perfectly kissable lips.
She felt Spike groan into her mouth and her own curved into a smile.
Breaking away, she asked, “Miss me?” coyly.
Spike was about to reply when he caught sight of Dawn attempting to casually saunter into the room with a cool, “Hi, Spike.”
* * *
Spike froze, his mind in overdrive. The teenage girl flickered in and out of existence in a shower of green spark. He closed his eyes and reopened them, memories that were not his own assaulted him.
He and this girl in a park on the swings.
He and this girl at Tara's birthday party having a cake fight.
Himself saving this girl from Angelus three years ago.
The girl laughing at his sarcasm, the girl listening on the stairs as he and Buffy made an alliance against Angelus and Dru. There were hundreds of memories.
“Spike? Spike, are you O.K?” The girl was gripping his arm, solid and very real.
Spike blinked, what the Hell was going on?
“Spike? Dawn, go warm up some blood, he looks sick.” Buffy said dismissively.
The girl, Dawn, fumed at being sent from the room and stomped off to the kitchen.
Spike walked over to the sofa and sat down. He wiped his hands over his eyes, “I'm alright, love. I think I just got a bit too much sun is all.”
Buffy sat next to him and played with his hands, clearly worried.
Buffy was fooled by the spell. And it was a spell it had to be. The memories were planted and they weren't real. But the girl was.
When Dawn reentered the room holding a steaming cup of pig's blood Spike looked quickly into her eyes and focused solely on her motivations and feelings. Was she a threat? Was she a wolf in sheep's clothing just waiting for the right moment to spring?
She was angry at Buffy for treating her like a child. She was worried about Spike and didn't want him to be sick. She was jealous of Buffy for holding Spike's hand. She wanted to be acknowledged by him because he hadn't said anything to her yet. Weren't they friends? Didn't he care about her anymore?
She was an ordinary fifteen-year-old girl.
Spike allowed some memories to fall into place so he could reassure her, “I'm O.K, snack size. I just had a rough time of it with moving big sis's wardrobe.”
Dawn smiled, “That would exhaust anyone. Are you going to take us to the mall? I need some stuff for school.”
“No! He's taking me to Giles' for training and then we're going to the beach!” Buffy's mouth was set in that crooked line.
Dawn rolled her eyes but grinned when she heard her mother's voice come trailing down the stairs.
“Buffy, Dawn needs some things for school and I'm too busy at the gallery today. Be a dear and ask Spike to drive you both.”
It was Buffy's turn to fume.
* * *
My sister is so annoying. She thinks just because Spike's her boyfriend she gets to hog him all the time. 'Spike's taking me to Giles', 'Spike's taking me to the beach!', 'No, you can't come Dawn.'
He hardly has anytime for me as it is. Buffy even hogs him away from Tara, his best friend.
Tara's so awesome; I wish she were my sister. Then maybe she'd teach me some spells and stuff. I asked mom if Tara could teach me some of the things she and Willow do together and she got all quiet and told me to go to my room.
You think the Slayer's mom would be a little more open-minded about witchcraft.
Although, she did try to burn Buffy and Willow at the stake a couple of years ago. I guess this is progress.
She totally accepted Spike as Buffy's boyfriend. She never liked Angel. But then who did? He was the biggest jerk ever and so not good looking.
I don't even think Buffy likes Angel anymore. Angel never liked me either. When he and Buffy were going out, he talked to me, like, twice. And then when Buffy went all after-school special and slept with him, he became Angelus and kidnapped me. I never bought the whole soul thing. I think it's stupid. Spike doesn't have a soul and he doesn't need one to be good. Even GOD says so, apparently because He forgave him and now Spike's all holy vampire or something.
SPIKE liked me before he even liked Buffy. He used to come over to see mom and me back when he first came back to town and Buffy was all uber-bitch.
It's so not fair that Buffy got him when I liked him first.
* * *
Spike smirked as Dawn fiddled with the radio. Buffy glowered at her sister, “If you reach over again, you'll pull back a bloody stump.”
“I'm so telling mom you said that.” Dawn flounced back into her seat.
Spike intervened before the fight got louder, “So what sort of things do you need for school, Nib?”
“I want a pair of Docs like yours, or maybe even higher, like forty holes or something.” Dawn grinned wickedly.
Spike laughed. It was so easy to forget the girl wasn't here yesterday. He could close his eyes and just ignore his knowledge and settle into the false memories.
But he couldn't. He knew they were false for a reason and he intended to find out what that reason was.
He just needed to fall asleep first.
* * *
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