A New Day
by bad shot
The Pack
[reviews]
A/N: /Indicates lyrics/
Chapter 5
"Oh, look. It's Buffy, and all her friends," Kyle said as he walked up to a Buffy who was just walking on a path alone.
"Guy's know is not the best time," Buffy said avoiding eye contact by looking at her feet.
"Did you ever wonder why nobody at all wants to hang out with you," Tor said egging on Buffy.
Buffy kept silent not even looking up at the four. The four then laugh seeing how easy Buffy was they walk away looking for someone a little bit harder.
"Careful! Her dad might beat you up!" Tor said sarcastically.
Buffy starts to walk away putting her hands in her pockets, and looking at the pavement.
"Buffy," Willow said running up to her, and tilting her chin up, "You know I want to be by you almost all the time. I just don't want you to get hurt," Willow finished pulling the blond into a hug, and stroking her hair.
"Hey guy's," Xander said as he walked up to the pair of Buffy, and Willow sitting on a bench.
"Hey Xand," Willow said casually. She was soaked up in happiness. She was with Buffy. Holding hands, and she didn't care they were in public. A year ago she would never have done that.
"You guy's just missed the Zebra's mating," Xander said excitedly.
"Ya I think it was to intense for Xand man," Faith said winking at the pair on the bench.
"Hey I resent that. They were just very good comic relief," Xander said rounding on Faith.
Willow smiled at Xander. As did Buffy although her smile was a little lack luster.
"Lance! How's it goin'?" Kyle said warming up on a new victim.
"Hey, Kyle," Lance said obvious annoyance all over his voice.
"So, is this like a, uh, family reunion?" Kyle said raising his eyebrows at Lance.
"No," Lance says trying to keep his mind on the sketch of monkeys he was doing.
"I think it's a family reunion. It's so... touching. Doesn't
anybody have a camera?" Kyle then pretends to have a camera, and take pictures of Lance, "Whapish!"
"Hey, does your mom still pick out your lice, or are you old enough to do that yourself now?" Rhonda asks. Stalking Lance from behind.
"Quit it, huh?" Lance says as Tor takes his notebook, "Hey! Guys, c'mon! It's got my notes in there!"
"What's going on here? I've had it up to here with you four! What're you doing?" Mr. Flutie says making his way over to the group.
"Nothing," Kyle says trying to lie his way out of trouble.
"Did I ask you to speak? Okay, I guess I did, but I want the truth. Lance?" Flutie says swerving his eyes to Lance.
"They weren't doing anything. Really!" Lance lets out a nervous laugh, "We were just playin' around."
"All right," Flutie starts away, but turns back, "I'll be watching you."
"You! Came through big time," Kyle says excitedly to Lance.
"Way to go, Lance!" Rhonda says patting his shoulder.
"Flutie's been looking for a reason to come down on us," Tor explained to Lance quickly.
"It's okay," Lance says trying to get away quickly.
"Come on, we're gonna check out the Hyena House," Kyle said urging Lance to come with them.
"But I think it's off-limits," Lance says trying to find a way out of this.
"And therein, my friend, lies the fun," Lance says laughing. They then all walk off towards the Hyena House.
Kyle, and his gang along with Lance make their way under the yellow tape over the entrance to the Hyena House.
"What are Kyle and his buds doing with Lance?" Willow asks looking at the group as they go into the Hyena House.
"Oh, playing with him as a cat plays with a mouse," Xander says jokingly.
"What is it with those guys?" referring to her earlier encounter with them (Which she avoided telling Willow about) and this new thing.
"They're obnoxious. Professionally," Willow supplies as an answer.
Well, every school has 'em. So, you start a new school, you get your desks, some blackboards and some mean kids," Xander says. Pretty much summing up their high school.
"Yeah, well, I'd better extract Lance before..." Faith starts to walk over to the Hyena House.
"I'll handle it. This job doesn't require actual slaying," Xander said making his own way into the building.
"You don't think we should follow?" Buffy asks. Not knowing these people very well she doesn't know what they would do to Xander.
"Kyle and those guys are jerks, but they're all talk. Mostly," Willow says vaguely.
"How about we go in then?" Faith said making her own way in.
"Sure," Willow says making her way in with Buffy reluctantly following, but unable to leave the redhead's side.
"Oh, hold it, hold it, are you blind, or are you just illiterate? Because hyenas are very quick to prey on the weak," the zookeeper says moving behind the group.
"Oh, w-we were just gonna take..." Buffy said nervously, but can't think of anything to say
"You're not going in there. Anyone that does is in a world of trouble," the keeper said.
No, no one's going in there," Willow says pulling Buffy back out with Faith following.
"Why is it off-limits?" Faith asks curiously.
"It's a quarantine. These hyenas just came in from Africa, so keep out. Even if they call your name," the keeper says cryptically.
"What are you talking about?" Faith asks pointedly.
"The Masai tribesmen told me that hyenas are capable of understanding human speech. They follow humans around by day, learning their names. At night, when the campfire dies, they call out to a person. Once they separate him, the pack devours them," the keeper says like an old storyteller.
"Cool!" Kyle says enthralled by the pit.
He and the girls walk up to the enclosure and look in. Lance stays back
with Tor behind him.
"I don't see any hyenas," Lance says peeking into the enclosure.
One of the hyenas growls and shows itself between some rocks.
"Okay! Now we've seen it," Lance says backing up.
He tries to leave, but Tor stops him.
"Looks cute," Rhonda said looking at the front most Hyena.
"I think it looks hungry," Kyle says moving towards Lance.
He and Tor grab Lance, "No!" Lance yells.
"C'mon, Spot!" Tor says to one of the Hyenas.
"C'mon, stop it!" Lance begs.
"Supper time!" Tor says. They drag him up the steps and lift him up to the bars.
"Guys! Stop! It's not funny!" Lance says looking down into the enclosure. They press him into the bars and down on his neck, "Ow! Stop it! It's not funny!"
Xander comes in, pulls their arms off of him and helps him away.
"Why don't you pick on somebody your own species?" Xander taunts Kyle.
"What, are 'you' gonna get in my face?" Kyle said stepping towards Xander.
The hyenas growl. Xander, Kyle and the others look at them. The hyena's eyes flash green, and then two of the kid's eyes do. The hyena's eyes flash green again, and two more kid's eyes do. Lance makes an anxious move to get away, but trips on a chair and falls. His notebook skids across the floor to the far wall. Kyle and the others turn, and laugh when they see him. Lance gets up, retrieves his notebook and rushes out. Xander turns around now, too, and his eyes flash green.
"Girls!" Xander said walking into the Bronze, and seeing them.
"Boy!" Willow says hoping Xander didn't make Buffy feel uncomfortable. After all she had finally managed to get the blond out to a public place right after the field trip, and got her to come over for a sleep over so she didn't have to go home.
"Sorry I'm late, I... just forgot that we were gonna be here. Hungry!" Xander says, and rams Buffy's croissant into his mouth.
"Xander, you still want me to help you with geometry tomorrow? We can work after class..." Willow says raising her eyebrows at Xander's behavior.
"Yeah. What is this crap?" Xander asks Buffy.
"Well, it 'was' my croissant," Buffy says to Xander.
"Man, I need some food! Birds live on this!" Xander says starting to get mad. Buffy and Willow look at each other and then at Xander. He looks back
and forth at them, "What?"
"What's up with you?" Willow asks, "Is something wrong? Did I do something?"
"What could you possibly do? That's crazy talk. I'm just... restless," Xander says eyeing Buffy.
"Well, we could go to the ice cream place," Willow suggests.
"I like it here," Xander says pointing to the table.
He looks up and scans the area a bit, and then leans toward Buffy and
sniffs her hair, "What?" Buffy asks starting to get self conscious.
"You took a bath," Xander stated.
"Yeah. I-I took one at Willow's before we came here," Buffy said nervously.
"That's okay," Xander said leaning back.
Willow and Buffy exchange another look, "And the weird behavior award goes to..." Willow says.
Xander sees Kyle and the others come in. Buffy sees them, too. "Reluctant Man", by Sprung Monkey, starts to play.
/Oh, Reluctant Man/
"Oh, great. It's the winged monkeys," Faith says coming over to them.
Kyle and company come over to them.
/Who's afraid to touch the world. Why are you hiding? What is
the base of all your fears?/
Xander stares back at them.
/Do you find yourself in a cold cruel world/
Kyle stops at their table, and he and Xander stare each other down.
/Dark and desperate, scared and lonely?/
They go around to another table that's occupied.
/Selfish Man. Who never gave to no one else. What are you
holding? Is it worth the price you pay?/
"Y'know, I don't understand why you're sitting at our table," Kyle says to the kid sitting at 'his' table.
/Cause your eyes they see just what you want to see/
"Yeah, shouldn't you be hovering over the football stadium with 'Goodyear' written on you?" Rhonda says to the kid.
/And I hope they're not staring blindly at me/
They all laugh. Xander was watching and laughs also as he turns back to Buffy. He stops laughing when he sees she doesn't think it's funny.
"Kid's fat," Xander simply says.
A/N: There. Sorry it took so long, but now I am going to start getting more out to you at one time. Please review, but nobody kill me after what I do next chapter.