Title: Wolf Pack
Chapter Title: The Teacher
Author: Baby Blues
E-mail: purely_blissful@hotmail.com
Rated: NC-17
Disclaimer: Not mine, but the story is.
Summary: Buffy becomes a substitute teacher for a day as Angelus silently watches her from outside the class.
Dedication: To Lea, my Lae-Lae, who’s here this Thanksgiving break! I love you, babe!
Excerpt:
~Buffy: So . . . Can anyone tell me any general facts about wolves? . . . Yes?
Student: The relationship between the pack members . . . Even through the constant rage and fights, they always stick together . . . Fighting the fight . . . surviving the world.
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Buffy stared down at the piece of paper she clutched tightly in her hand as she pushed herself through the throng of students who crowded the halls of Sunnydale High. Loud chatter and laughter echoed mightily through the passages as she continued onwards with much struggle, much like a fish swimming against the tide.
The bell suddenly rang and seconds later, she was alone in the middle of the hallway with the last echoes of young voices leaving her lost within the school.
"Amm . . . “ she looked around and could’ve sworn there were crickets chirping around the corner. With a heavy sigh she muttered, “Welcome back to high school,” and looked up at the numbers of each of the classes to find the one she was to teach.
Back in Pennsylvania, she had gone to the public elementary, middle school, and high school for a while, but she was mostly taught at the mansion with the others and by Wesley. And through all those few months she went there, she should know how to find a class in such a fairly sized high school. It shouldn’t take an Einstein to figure it out!
She was growing frustrated. Not only because of her lack of knowledge in where her class was located, but because of the time she had spent crying over Angelus in bed all night. She wanted to hit herself . . . ‘Get over it, Buff . . . It’s not you had a good chance anyways.’
“Having problems, Miss Summers-Giles?” an eerie voice behind her asked, causing her to shiver from trepidation.
She turned around and was met with the principle’s cold gaze. “I can’t find my classroom,” she said truthfully, knowing that if she let her pride get in her way she would be lost within the school halls for centuries after.
“It’s the one to your left,” Snyder replied coldly.
Buffy looked up and found room 214, right in between a group of lockers with stickers and the school logo covering the ripe cherry color it originally was. “Right,” she said with a tiny laugh, “I knew that.”
“I’m keeping my eyes on you, Elizabeth,” he said, purposely using her real name, and pointed at his eyes, “I see all, thus I know all,” he added harshly and disappeared as quickly as he materialized.
Buffy glared at his back and childishly stuck her tongue out at him. Feeling a bit foolish at her display, she shook her head with a sigh. “It’s too early in the morning for this,” she muttered under her breath before taking a deep breath and gazing at the door that would lead her inside the class.
"Here goes nothing,“ she breathed and stepped into the room.
The class immediately ceased all conversations the moment she stepped inside. A single paper airplane flew towards a young man in the front row, hitting him in the head, but he continued to stay still as all eyes landed upon their substitute.
“Holly shit,” one student muttered as jaws dropped and eyebrows rose.
Buffy smiled nervously as the students assessed her. She didn’t know what she would expect from a group of young men and women three years younger than her. They would either see her as a responsible adult or a teenager like them. Yet with her attire of a simple white blouse, a black skirt that reached her knees, a pair of black high heels, a silver watch, and thin wired glasses, she hoped she looked more like a grown up.
But in the eyes of the student who sat opened mouthed like fishes out of water, she looked more like a movie star than a teacher.
“Hello, class,” she greeted cheerily and turned to face the chalkboard. “My name is Elizabeth Summers-Giles,” she said, writing it down in her big loopy handwriting, “You can call me Buffy.”
“You’re our substitute?” a girl asked with most comical expression on her young face.
Buffy nodded.
“For real,” a young man murmured in awe.
Buffy smirked. “Mr. Callahan will be returning tomorrow . . . ”
“Damn.”
Buffy’s eyes narrowed in amusement. “Until then, open your books to page 253 and we’ll begin our lesson for today. I‘ll take roll at the end of class just in case people are coming in late.”
A collective amount of groans and complaints scattered within the room followed by a few giggles and whispers.
A young boy raised his hand.
“Yes?” Buffy asked, an eyebrow quirked up in question.
“How old are you?”
Buffy laughed.
The boy blushed. “I mean, you look pretty young to be teaching and all. Too young in fact,” he explained.
“I’m twenty, not married, living in the mansion on Crawford Street. I‘m a natural blond, blue eyes, 5‘3 . . . anymore questions?” she asked sarcastically.
The class was silent and the boy looked flushed as he sank lower in his chair. She smiled, knowing that if she handled them with shyness, they would believe they could walk all over her. Her father once taught her that to handle a pack, you must have a firm hand . . . yet a gentle touch.
And with that, she turned to write some notes on the black board beneath her name. “Alright, what’s this unit about?“
“Carnivores,“ people mumbled.
She smiled. “This time with less enthusiasm,“ she laughed, “Alright. Carnivores . . . someone want to tell me a little known fact about carnivorous animals?”
No one raised their hands and Buffy smiled knowingly. “If I don’t get volunteers, homework will be assigned for tonight.”
A few finally raised their hands. “Yes . . . “ she looked down at her clipboard at the seating arrangements, “Emily?”
“They prefer eating meat.”
“Yes,” she said with a nod, “Anyone want to give me an example of carnivorous animals?”
“Wolves,” someone replied.
Buffy’s eyes twinkled as she leaned against the teacher’s desk, white chalk leaving a powdered trail on her tanned hands. “Alright,” she said, beaming slightly at the turn of topic. Now wolves she knew . . . knew like the back of her hand. “So . . . can someone tell me any general facts about wolves? . . . Yes?”
“The relationship between the pack members,“ the young man answered. “Even through the constant rage and fights, they always stick together,“ he explained, “Fighting the fight . . . surviving the world.”
Buffy smiled. “Very well put . . . Mr. . . . Billy Ford.”
The boy grinned.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Angelus crossed his arms against the doorway and listened to the lecture she was having presenting about wolves. He had to smile at that, the way her voice beamed with pride and excitement.
Her voice sounded sweet and intoxicating in his ears, making him lean against the locker with his eyes closed and a groan escaping his lips. He knew that he shouldn’t be here, it was school hours and only those who were known as ‘Visitors’ by the principal were allowed within the school. But he just couldn’t help it, he had to see her, and explain a few things . . .
Angelus watched the eager students and chuckled softly at the young males who gawked at her like a peace of meat.
“Within the pack, there’s an alpha male and an alpha female. Those two would be seen as the leaders, but between the male and the female, the male would still be the most dominant,” she explained,
“Yeah!” a few of the young men cheered, giving each other high fives. The ladies rolled their eyes, including Buffy herself.
He watched with curiosity as she suddenly stopped mid-sentence to stare at the door, Angelus stepped out of site, but she couldn’t be fooled. They were after all bonded by the Moon Goddess, neither of them could shut it off or turn away from it. Their connection would be there until one of them died.
The door to her class opened and Angelus waited for the following . . .
“What the hell are you doing here?” she hissed.
Angelus smirked. “What? I can’t say hi to my girl.”
“First of all, I’m working. And second, I’m not your girl,” she glared at him.
Angelus sighed. “Listen . . . about yesterday.”
She held up her hand. “I don’t care. It doesn’t matter,” she said, pain clearly visible in her tone as she went back inside her classroom.
But Angelus would not be defeated that easily, and he stepped in. “Buffy . . . “
“Heeeelloooo,” a girl in the front row drawled as she eyed him with appreciation, biting on her pen with a seductive look on her young face.
Angelus quirked an eyebrow and ignored her. “Can you at least just let me explain.”
Buffy smiled weakly at her students and turned to glare one more time at Angelus who sat on the teacher’s desk looking quite smug.
“I think you should leave, Mr. O’Connor,” she said tightly, “As you can tell, I’m a little busy here.”
He looked at the class. “You guys don’t mind me being here, right?” he asked, crossing his arms against his chest.
No one spoke, but most of the girls nodded their heads in enthusiasm.
Buffy sighed and rubbed her temples impatiently. “Can we please do this another time?” she asked weakly.
Angelus smile slowly turned into a frown as he noticed for the first time how tired she looked, and nodded. “Are you alright?” he asked softly.
“I‘m fine,” she said with a sigh. “Can you just go? Please?”
“Okay, I’ll see you at home,” he said, jumped off the table and leaned in to give her a kiss. But Buffy quickly pulled away and walked towards the chalkboard, her back towards him.
He sighed, hurt at being rejected, and walked out of the room, leaving a stunned class of juniors behind.
Continue to Chapter 18: The Talk
Back to Chapter 16: The Cafe