Which is right there at the back of the classrooom, beside a boy that... might be asleep. Or might've been asleep just before the new boy arrived, at which point he opened his eyes to regard him—

—and double take, ooh, new guy's cute.

Theo quirks an eyebrow at the behaviour, but sits down and gets out a notebook. It's English, so he can't really fault the boy for trying to sleep through it.

Theo sits, and the boy smiles up at him. "Hello," he whispers, once class is going on.

Theo smiles too. "Hi," he whispers back, still writing notes.

"I'm Sadde."

"I'm Theo."

He looks over at Sadde's desk. Is he actually paying attention to the lesson, or is he just sitting there...?

Just sitting there. Definitely just sitting there. "This is not the best situation for conversation so I'll continue pestering you later," he whispers when the teacher gives him a look.

"Okay," he says agreeably, and continues note-taking.

And class wears on, and Sadde pays no attention to it and dozes off a little, and the bell wakes him up.

Well, Theo's been a good boy, paying attention in lessons.

It was terrible. Sleeping probably would've been a better use of his time.

Sadde agrees! "Hey there, new guy!"

"Uh, hi there, Sadde," he says. "I didn't exactly go anywhere?"

"I can see that," he says. "Welcome!"

"Thanks," Theo says, smiling at him. "What do you have next?"

"Bio," he says. "So, why are you showing up so late?"

"Yo new guy!" a jockish type echoes Sadde, then notices him there talking to Theo and looks at him with faint distaste. "You shouldn't waste your time with the freak."

Theo was just about to respond to Sadde when he was interrupted.

"Uh, yo," he says, but then, confused by the reaction to Sadde, he continues, "What do you mean?"

"Freaky faggot can't decide if it's a boy or a girl."

Sadde seems unbothered by this. "Clearly you do not possess the necessary faculties to understand and memorize what I tell you, so I won't waste my breath."

Theo looks confused. The boy looks pretty much like a boy, as far as he can tell, but he hasn't been here very long.

"What?" he asks, mostly of the jockish person.

"You'll see," he snorts. "It likes using big words to feel smart like I can't understand what it's saying. Anyway, I'm Brad. You look big, you play football? We kinda need more people."

Sadde snorts, too.

"I'm more of a soccer guy, actually," he says, frowning a bit at the use of 'it'. Surely that's not something Sadde wants?

This guy seems like a bit of a dick.

"Oh. Josh's the captain, you could talk to him."

"And unlike Brad here, Josh is actually not a steaming pile of skunk turd."

"Oi, watch your mouth, freak," he says, shoving Sadde a little, causing him to stagger.

"Hey, what the hell?" he says, getting between the two of them. He gives Sadde a look, very obviously conveying his disapproval of the provocation, even if it is just retaliation for earlier.

Brad glares at Sadde but raises his hands in a placating gesture.

Sadde, on the other hand, leers at Brad, licking his lips and eyeing him up and down.

"You're disgusting, Woods," Brad says, and stalks off.

"Okay, seriously?" Theo asks Sadde. "I know he called you a freak, but do you really have to try justifying it?"

"It's a defense mechanism, years of bullying will do that to a person. At this point the worst he can do is call me names and sometimes try to punch me, and then I do stuff like that and he and his friends back off. Can't catch the cooties, you see."

Well, that stopped Theo's annoyance dead in its tracks.

He starts to walk away. While he has Bio next too, and so he's probably got it with Sadde, he's not really jumping at the idea of continuing this conversation; he can just get directions from someone else.

That's alright. But Sadde has bad news for Theo when it turns out he's the only one without a partner. Guess who Theo will have to sit with?

Well, maybe the lesson won't require too much speaking between lab partners.

It mightn't, but Sadde's not the type of person that doesn't speak. "Sorry about the thing earlier," he says eventually.

"I get why you did it," Theo says back, not very helpfully.

He shrugs a bit uncomfortably. "Not the very best way to leave a good first impression to the cute new guy who doesn't actually have prejudices against me like the rest of the school."

Theo doesn't really disagree there. He smiles a bit at the 'cute' comment, but doesn't actually respond other than to shrug.

Okaaaay he won't press.

Bio bio.

Bio.

It's better than English, at least. At the end of it, Theo pulls out his timetable. "I've got math next," he says to Sadde.

"Geography. See ya," he says, and saunters off, looking uncomfortable.

"Bye," responds Theo. Then he looks around for where the math classrooms are, asking directions of people who look potentially helpful.

Then: Math, math, math.

And then: lunch.

Sadde is sitting on his own at a remote corner. No one's bothering him, but they're pretty much ignoring him completely.

Theo walks into the cafeteria, gets some pasta, then looks around for a place to sit.

... He didn't really make any acquaintances in math, and it doesn't look like anyone's exactly beckoning him over. He's doesn't want to just intrude on some group, either. So...

He walks over to the table Sadde's at and sits down. "Hey again."

Sadde looks up from where he's playing with his food with a fork and blinks. "Hi?"

"How was Geography?" he asks, then eats a forkful of pasta. Nom.

"Boring. I slept through it. How was math?"

He'd thought Theo was avoiding him or something after the crappy start, but he's rolling with it.

Another disapproving look.

"It was okay. Luckily I've already covered the topic before, so I don't have to catch up."

More pasta. Nom.

"Yeah, why'd you join so late?"

"Oh, my dad got transferred here for his job. He does statistics and risks and stuff, and it's got better opportunities in this area, so I told him I didn't mind moving."

"Statistics on how everyone dies a lot here?"

"Hm? Yeah, he deals with life insurance stuff too," Theo says, a bit disinterestedly.

He takes another bite of pasta.

...okay.

"Where are you from?"

"Portland. In Oregon."

"I see." Pick at food. Eat some.

Mm. Food.

"So. What's up with Brad calling you a freak?" he asks, very tactfully.

"Well, his semantics are wrong. I can decide whether I'm a boy or a girl. It just so happens that decision changes from one day to another."

"Oh. That's... interesting. I'm pretty sure I don't get that."

"Most people don't. So sometimes I'm a boy, sometimes I'm a girl."

"I mean, it's different, sure, but it's stupid for him to just start insulting you for it. I mean, you already know that, but I'm just saying."

"Yeah, I know that, but I mean. He-she, freak, faggot, I'm used to all of it since pretty much always."

Well that's pretty sad.

Theo continues eating his pasta, not really knowing what to say.

"You gonna join the soccer team?"

"Yeah, probably. You know, assuming they're not all terrible people. D'you play any sports?"

"They're not all terrible people. They're—teenagers. And I don't, really."

"Okay. Assuming they're not all heartless dicks. What hobbies do you have, then?"

"Books, mostly." That's technically true. "You?"

"Books are pretty good. Movies, too. Fiction or nonfiction?"

"Bit o' both. Don't really go out to movies much. Don't have many people to go with."

"Usually I watch them on DVD anyway. I only really read fiction, though. Non-fiction if I'm doing a research project, but that's only ever for homework, so it doesn't really count as what I do in my spare time."

"I'm a huge nerd."

"About any particular topics?"

"Oh, you know, math, physics," magic, "those things."

"Oh, cool. I'm not really into physics."

"It's really cool. I like figuring out how stuff works."

"Yeah, it can definitely be useful, but I just don't find it too interesting. Languages, though: I enjoy them."

"They're fine if you can do them. I can't."

"Oh well," he says, then finishes off his pasta.

"It's not that I don't like them, I'm just really bad at them."

"That's a shame," he says.

Alright. "What class do you have now?"

Theo checks his timetable. "Geography. You?"

"Government."

"Sounds like great fun. See you later," Theo says, then goes off to find Geography.

Government!

Geography. Rivers and icebergs and whatever.

Then Theo has: Gym!

And so does Sadde!

We meet again.

He gets changed for the lesson, then goes out and sees what they're doing today.

Basketball!

Sadde's eyes might rest on Theo for a bit longer than they strictly should, but you wouldn't notice that unless you were paying attention.

And it is time for people to pick teams.

Theo's not picked immediately, but he's definitely not picked last – he looks pretty athletic, so it seems people are guessing he'll be good at this.

Sadde's not as obviously athletic as Theo, but he's not a stickman either.

He does get picked last, though. And he's not on Theo's team.

Theo's actually pretty good at basketball. And he looks good while he's doing it, fluidly moving from one moves to the next, never double dribbling and mostly successfully navigating his way around the other players on the court.

People don't pass to Sadde, and he mostly doesn't interact with the game unless the teacher yells at him or the others, which causes token efforts from both sides for about two minutes before the status quo is restored.

And in the meantime, Sadde will be watching the hot new guy. Hot and... that's kinda freaky actually, there's definitely something weird there.

Theo's a bit too engrossed in the game to notice Sadde's staring, but yeah, it is a bit weird.

Eventually the game ends, and Theo seems pretty happy with his team's win, especially since he's getting at least partial credit for it. Maybe this new school won't be so bad, after all?

Won't be so bad indeed, especially if Sadde has such eyecandy.

"Good game," he tells the other boy.

"Thanks," Theo says back. "How was your match?"

"Bad," he shrugs. "You're really good."

"I'm okay, but I definitely wasn't the best there," he says, either modestly or obliviously.

"Uh, yeah, you kinda were."

"Really? You think so?" he asks. He's used to being pretty good at sports, but definitely not the best.

"Yeah! I was watching. It was kinda supernatural," he says, trying to see if that gets anything.

"Ha. I'm not sure it was that good," he says, laughing a little.

"Seriously, it was like you had a natural gift or something," he tries.

"Well, thanks," he says, smiling.

They go back into the changing rooms, then Theo heads for the showers.

"Seeya," Sadde says before he can go into the changing room.

Oh, right.

Theo gets congratulated on his play by a few more people, but then it's the end of the day, and Theo goes home.

The following day Sadde has AP math and then English. (She looks... more different than she should strictly on account of makeup and clothing... doesn't she...? ...nah, surely it's his impression.)

Theo has history first, which is okay, but he doesn't enjoy the essay writing.

When he walks into the English room and goes over to his seat, he doesn't quite do a double take, but he definitely looks at Sadde a bit weirdly, surprised by the change.

"Hi," he says, sitting down beside her.

"Hello."

"You look... different," he continues, getting his notebook out of his bag.

"You noticed, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. You have good makeup skills," he says, complimenting her abilities.

"Thank you! It's practically a natural ability."

The teacher starts the lesson, cutting off what Theo might have said in response.

Theo is, as yesterday, taking diligent notes, trying (and mostly failing) not to get too bored. What about Sadde?

Zzzzzz

That prompts another disapproving look from Theo.

Too bad Sadde's too unconscious to see it.

Oh well. It's not his fault if she falls behind and doesn't know all about the specific connotations of this single line of this really obscure poem.

Eugh.

Sadde has many opinions on this obscure poem! Sadly they all consist of the letter 'z'.

And eventually the lesson ends. Theo will nudge Sadde awake if she doesn't wake with the bell.

She does wake with the bell; this is a habit. "Hmng, have much fun with the nice poem?"

"I'm surprised you even know it was a poem."

"I'm telepathic."

"Haha. And I'm precognitive."

"Really? That's new, I thought only the Slayer had prophetic dreams."

"I'm sorry?"

"Never mind me," she giggles. "What's your next class?"

"French. You?"

"Latin."

"I thought you didn't like languages?"

"I had to pick one, so might as well pick one that originates a lot of others."

Not that this is her original reason, but.

"See ya," he says, then proceeds to French.

Beaucoup de mots. Less boring than English. Woo!

And afterwards: lunch!

Lunch!

Theo sees Sadde in the corner, but some of the people on his team in basketball yesterday wave him over, so he goes there instead.

"Hey," he says.

Sadde's not alone in the corner! There's someone talking to her there, too. That someone doesn't notice the new boy.

"Hey," one of the people says. "This is Theo, he's new. He kicked ass yesterday in gym, if we had a basketball team he'd totally be in it."

And someone else a couple of tables away definitely notices him.

"Haha," Theo laughs, smiling and generally being charming. "Thanks. The rest of my team was pretty good too."

He doesn't notice the girl, at least not more so than from just a cursory glance.

"Brad said you want to get in the soccer team?" the same guy asks.

Someone looks up, interested.

"Oh, did he? I dunno. I was just saying I'm more a soccer guy than a football guy."

"Well, the soccer team does need more people." He extends his hand to shake. "I'm Josh, soccer team captain."

Theo reciprocates. "I mean, I can try out, but I'm not sure I'll be that good – I didn't play for a team at my old school."

"What a better time than now to try new things, then?"

"Yeah, I guess it is a pretty good opportunity. When?"

"Well, tryouts are technically done, but since you arrived this late we could probably open an exception. How about you make training this afternoon?"

"Yeah, sure!" he says, sounding enthusiastic.

"Fantastic! I'm sure you'll do great."

He smiles.

Nom. Food.

And eventually lunch is over, and Theo has bio.

He does!

Theo walks into the biology classroom and sits at his table, getting out his notes.

And Sadde takes her seat beside him again.

"Hey. Planning on having another sleep?"

"No, bio's fun, and the teacher would slap me awake if I did anyway."

"... I feel like you might be speaking from experience."

"Yup!"

He frowns.

"Who was with you at lunch? I don't think we've been introduced."

"That was Willow! She's a sophomore."

"Oh, cool," he says, then starts paying attention to the teacher. He doesn't seem too engrossed, though, so he'll probably talk back to Sadde if she says anything.

"So I saw you taking to Josh. You gonna join the team?"

"Yeah – I'm gonna try out at practice tonight."

"Cool! You coming to the Bronze after?"

"Oh, I didn't realize people were going. Yeah, sure."

"It's really the only place to go."

"Yeah, but on a Tuesday?"

Shrug.

"Oookay."

And, if Sadde has nothing more to add: back to paying attention in Bio.

"I mean, not everyone goes every day, but if anyone's bored that's where they go, and the soccer team usually goes after practice, so."

"In that case, I probably would have turned up there anyway."

"Yeah but I was curious anyway."

Back to focusing on the lesson! Biology isn't actually that bad. Especially in comparison to English. Has it been mentioned that Theo hates English? 'Cause he does.

Sadde hates English class! She likes reading. And bio is pretty fun actually. She doesn't bother Theo again in class.

The English language is okay, especially if you get down to the technical details and etymology and stuff, and Theo likes reading, but talking about how the casually-mentioned red curtains foreshadow a brutal murder later in a book... That's usually ridiculous.

Eventually Bio ends. "What do you have next?" he asks Sadde.

"History! You?"

"Math. See ya, I guess."

"Bye!"

So, onwards Theo proceeds to math. Yay, math! Trig and... actually, just trig today.

At the end of the lesson, he goes to his locker, grabs his gym stuff, and goes to soccer practice.

And Josh is there, already in appropriate soccer garb. "Hey, Theo!"

"Hey!" Theo says. "I'm just gonna get changed – be out in a sec!"

So he goes off the the locker room, changes clothes, and is now back outside.

Other people arrive, change, and start stretching.

Theo is one of the people stretching! He doesn't want to hurt himself, obviously.

After everyone's done stretching, Josh says, "So, we're gonna warm up. Ten laps around the gym, to start."

Woo! Running laps.

Luckily, Theo's in good shape, so he's not actually that slow doing it.

"Good! You're in shape, new guy, that's good."

And then he suggests several other warmup exercises involving kicking the ball around and passing it to other people and other sorts of things soccer team captains are wont to do.

Theo is actually surprisingly good at them! It's like the basketball thing all over again.

"Well, I see what they were talking about! You're really good! We're gonna play a bit, now, do you have a preferred position?"

"I'm pretty good as a goalie?"

"Alright, then! We'll see how that goes. Jacob, you okay if new guy's goalie today?"

     "Yeah, sure," the one called Jacob says.

"Splendid."

And teams are formed, and a game begins!

Theo keeps watch for the ball, and manages to do well enough that the rest of the team is pleasantly surprised by his performance.

And at the end of practice: "Well, that went pretty well, I think! Theo, would you like a spot on the team? You won't be main team at first but if you keep at it like that I'm sure you'll make it."

"Uh, yeah, that'd be cool. Thanks! How often do you practice?"

"Three times a week: Tuesdays and Fridays after class, and Wednesdays during free period. We usually hit the Bronze after practice. You wanna come?"

"Yeah, sounds fun."

"Awesome!"

And Josh makes his way to the locker room after the other players.

Theo comes along too.

He has a quick shower and gets changed, then waits around for the other guys to finish.

And eventually they do, and they're on their way to the Bronze.

And eventually: the Bronze!

It's doesn't seem particularly exciting from the outside.

It's nicer on the inside. There's a band playing and tables and a bar and an upper level from which to watch the band. The place isn't particularly full today, but there are plenty of people who had literally nothing else to do. The team goes straight to the bar to get non-alcoholic drinks.

Someone's already there!

And someone else is with her!

Theo looks around when they get in, sees Sadde and her friend, and then follows the team to the bar.

And soon someone else shows up. "Hey, Josh, will you introduce me to your new friend?"

Josh laughs. "Sure. Theo, this is Cordelia. Cordelia, Theo."

She looks him up and down, now that she's socially allowed to, and grins. "What a pleasure."

"Hey! It's a pleasure to meet you, too," Theo says, smiling. He definitely noticed her checking him out; I mean, could she be any more blatant?

"So, tell me everything about you," she says, taking a seat next to him. "Where are you from?"

Josh laughs good-naturedly and then is caught in conversation with one of his teammates.

"Oh, there's not that much to tell, really. I'm from Portland and I moved because my dad got a job in the area," he says back in a friendly manner.

"That's interesting! What was life like there?"

"It was definitely busier – lots more people moving around."

"Must be hard getting used to small town Sunnydale."

"It's a little weird, yeah. How about you? Tell me about yourself."

...well, that's a first. "Oh, not much to know, just a small town cheerleader. But say, what do you like most about Sunnydale so far?"

"Probably the weather? It wasn't too bad back in Portland, but it definitely got pretty cold, so it's nice to have a bit of a change. And I don't believe it – there must be more to you than 'just a small town cheerleader'."

"Well, I also enjoy English, but you mustn't tell anyone."

He fake-gasps and says, "No, really? That's terrible!"

Then: "No, seriously. How do you stand it?"

"Well, I guess I just like using words like art and thinking about them like that. I want to be an actress, so I like getting really into those things, like I'm getting into a character, but not a character."

"Oh, cool! I'm not so great at that; I'm more into math and languages. They seem more straightforward and logical."

"I'm really bad at math!" she says, and then the music changes and she says, "Ooh, that's my jam. Come on, new guy, show me your moves!" And she gets up and starts pulling Theo towards the dance floor.

"Oh, that's too bad," he responds. Then, when she moves towards the dance floor, he follows along.

And she dances!

So does he! He looks surprisingly good as he does it, and he's definitely having fun.

She is clearly having fun, watching him dance. Maybe she's dancing a liiiiiittle bit closer to him than she strictly ought to. Oh well.

He hasn't really noticed it being too close yet. Maybe he's used to people standing close to him?

Daaance.

A bit closer maybe?

Hm, it's not too bad. He's not shying away or anything.

...won't this guy get the hint? Must he be gorgeous and clueless?

Dance dance.

He gets the hint now, and moves around to maintain the 'comfortably close' distance (which is closer for him than it is for most people). He's still not shying away, though – is he just being polite, or is he actually interested?

Dance.

Alriiight, then. The song ends and she says, "Oh, I just saw a friend, I'm gonna go over there." And over there she goes.

"Okay," he says, watching as she goes.

He looks around to see if there's anybody he sorta knows who he can go interact with without being rude.

Not someone he knows, but: "Your date ditch you?"

Oh, a random stranger. How interesting.

"Nah – she wasn't actually my date, just someone from my school," he says, turning to face said stranger.

"Well, maybe she didn't have very good taste. Oh, where are my manners, I'm Hans."

"I'm Theo," he says, smiling in response. "Bist du Deutscher?"

"Ja, aber wir sind nicht eng genug, um uns zu duzen. Wir könnten versuchen, das zu berichtigen."

"... I didn't get all that," Theo says in response, sounding a bit out of his depth.

He laughs. "I said that I am, and that we're not close enough to use 'du', but we could try to fix that."

Theo raises an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"You could treat me to a dance and we'll find out."

He smiles. Turns out he might want to try fixing it.

Hans is quite satisfied by that! And unlike Cordelia, he isn't trying to be alluring—he just is. For all Theo's grace, Hans' movements have an odd grace of their own, in an almost predatory way. Self assured, that's a better way to describe it. And he doesn't rub himself on Theo like Cordelia did.

Plus, he actually has good dancing skills.

Theo... might not mind being rubbed on by Hans. What with all the allure and grace and self-assuredness, and those dancing skills.

Theo's still pretty good at dancing, himself.

They'll be good at dancing with each other, then. Hans does have a better read on Theo than Cordelia did, enough to know that the rubbing turns out to be welcome.

Well, all Theo can say (well, think) is Well done, Hans.

Dancing is fuuuun.

It is! And Hans is a great dance partner.

At one point the band changes to a song that involves even closer dancing.

Oh wow. Even closer dancing.

Theo is really good at this closer dancing, and is really enjoying himself.

And eventually Hans whispers to Theo's neck: "Would you like to go somewhere more private?"

Okay. That's a thing. Theo isn't at melting point, but the answer is so totally, "Yes."

He brushes his lips very sightly against Theo's skin... then pulls away and starts leading him away.

Ooookaaay. Uhm. Well.

Theo follows, a little distracted from his walking by the god amongst men handsome guy in front of him. He has a quick look around; he doesn't want to seem trashy, obviously. Not that it'll get that far. Obviously.

No one's looking.

And eventually they're outside and Hans pushes Theo against a wall and starts nibbling on his neck.

Ohhh. Did he have to do that in one go? Really? Theo's knees are weak.

Yes he did! "Aren't you tasty," he growls.

"Unhhh. Th- thanks," he attempts to say, though it's interrupted by some groaning.

Walls? Such a thing. Nibbling? Also a thing. Theo's a little busy here, being all incoherent and such.

"I could eat you right up." He looks at Theo—

—and his face is suddenly distorted, with a horrible crunching noise, a mask of a snarl, and a mess of pointed teeth. "So I think I will." And he sinks his teeth into Theo's neck.

Okay, that was— "Aaaagh!" he shouts/screams —totally unexpected. He starts clawing at Hans, trying to get him off him, but quickly weakening from the pain.

"GODDESS HECATE, HEAR MY PLEA, STRIKE THIS CREATURE, MAKE IT NOT BE!" Sadde's voice is deeper than before, and her eyes are white and glowing faintly.

A beam of light strikes Hans out of nowhere, and he turns to dust.

Sadde falls to her hands and knees, panting heavily.

Theo collapses to the floor, one hand pressed against his neck.

She looks up. "You'll be fine, he barely drew any blood," she says, drawing in ragged breaths. "Fuck I shouldn't have done that."

Theo looks at her, incredulously.

She sits on the floor, putting her head in her hands. "He didn't draw too much blood, did he?" She looks at him again. "Are you alright? If it wasn't clear, that was a vampire, by the way. And now that I think of it we should both scramble." She tries to get up, fails, then starts trying again, using the wall to support herself.

Theo pulls his hand off his neck, notices the lack of ridiculous blood loss, and decides he's probably okay.

He turns to face her again. "Okay, so since when have vampires been a thing? And what did you do to it?" he asks, then he gets up, trying not to stumble from the dizziness.

"Killed it. With magic. They've been a thing since almost but not quite always." She gets up. "They shouldn't attack us inside, it'll be safer. I definitely cannot do any more magic to protect either of us, so let's go," she says, that last part between gritted teeth. "All it took was a pretty foreign face. 'Bist du Deutscher,'" she grumbles, loud enough for him to hear.

"Yes, it did, because I didn't expect him to be a vampire," he says, moving to follow her back into the club. He stays a careful distance back; his wariness of strangers has increased approximately twenty-fold, and he's not close enough to Sadde for her to be firmly out of that category. Even if she did just stop the bloodsucking vampire from sucking his blood.

Yes well he can deal.

And presently they're inside, and Sadde starts leading Theo upstairs.

Theo watches her start to move stairsward, considers, and then follows.

She finds a secluded corner that's still in view of the other people, with a few chairs and puffs, and sits on one.

And he sits down on one of the others.

So Sadde closes her eyes and...

...

.......

That's it actually. She's. Not doing much of anything else.

Theo watches her. Then watches her. Then keeps watching her.

Okay, well, if she's not gonna do anything, he's gonna go on his phone and write notes on what he can remember. It seems like something that might come in handy, seeing as how vampires are a thing.

...snore.

... Seriously?

He keeps writing notes, and then sees if she's still asleep when he's done.

Yup!

Okay. He sits there for a few more minutes, seeing if there's anything he's missed from his notes.

She is still asleep!

Ugh.

He can always corner her at school some other day, and it's unlikely that vampires will try to eat him again on his way home, so he decides he'll head downstairs, tell the guys he's going if he sees them, and then he'll leave.

The guys are dancing/chatting/not there. Josh is apparently telling people a hilarious joke or other.

Cordelia is dancing with friends!

If he sees anyone looking, he waves, then he's headed back home.

Has he tempted fate by thinking about how unlikely it is he'll be eaten? Will he actually be eaten?

Nah.

Well, in that case, he gets home and manages to act convincingly normal towards his dad.

Then he goes to his room and has a bit of a freakout over vampires and magic.

He's at school the next day, seeming no worse for wear.

English!

Sadde:

is asleep. Somehow more asleep than usual. Like, asleep before class has even begun.

Okay, so Theo can't corner them, at least not right now. If Sadde's still asleep in five minutes, Theo will try poking him awake, and if that fails, he'll try catching him at the end of the lesson.

Still asleep!

Ugh.

Yay, English. Totally no glares directed at Sadde.

Bell!

...this time Sadde does not in fact wake up.

... Theo decides to poke him awake.

He jolts awake this time, looking around in a daze. "...oh. Good morning."

"Morning. The bell's just gone, so we should probably get going, and by the way what the hell was that yesterday? You just fell asleep!"

"Uh, yeah. Um, too much magic?" He looks around and, well, no one's looking, just Theo, so as he stands up he just extends a hand towards his bag, which helpfully jumps towards him so he can grab it. He winces a bit when that happens, but slings it over his shoulder.

Theo watches it like he still doesn't quite believe it's actually happening. "Oh," he responds simply.

"Anyway, I have math, now. And, don't get the wrong lesson from last night, making out with hot guys is totally okay, just make sure they don't respond too badly to holy water, crosses, or sunlight. Speaking of which," and he reaches inside his bag to grab a crucifix and gives it to Theo.

Theo looks at the crucifix, looks a bit incredulous, then takes it. He asks, somewhat disbelievingly, "Seriously?"

He sighs and reaches inside his shirt to reveal the crucifix he's wearing. "Yes, seriously, it burns them. Wooden stakes right through the heart dust them, as well as beheading, setting them on fire, sunlight, and enough holy water."

"Right," Theo responds. He puts the crucifix on, hides it under his clothes, and then says, "Okay, well, now that that's over with, I guess I should go to Geography."

He doesn't actually move. He stands there blankly.

Sigh. "Yeah, I know it's a lot to take in, do you—I don't know, do you wanna hang out after school and talk about this? I promise this is only partially because you're pretty."

Blankly. Still very much blankly standing here.

"Yeah, that didn't work. Lunch, if you want to ruin your image, or library after school if you don't, how 'bout that?"

More blankness.

Then: "Um. I, what? No, yeah, we can hang, that's fine," he says, seeming a bit distracted. "Uh, wait, when? And where?"

"...either lunch or library after school," he repeats. "Are you alright? Is the blood loss still affecting you?"

"Um, yeah, lunch or library sounds good. Probably library? I don't know, it's just, things are a bit... confusing."

He checks his watch and says, "Yeah, see you later, I've got to get to Math." Then realizes what he said, and corrects, "I mean Geography."

He leaves to go to his next lesson.

"Yeah, alright."

To class he goes.

Geography. Theo's acting pretty distracted.

Math! Uncharacteristically, Sadde sleeps through it as well.

And then Latin.

And French for Theo. He's definitely distracted; he's uncharacteristically forgetting some of the basic grammar rules.

And then lunch.

Lunch!

Theo goes and sits with the soccer guys again, trying to seem less distracted. He's definitely better, but still noticeably not focused on the conversation at hand.

Sadde walks up to Theo after lunch: "You got anything planned for free period?"

"Yeah, Josh told me that the guys are doing soccer practice."

"Oh. Cool, have fun, then."

And off Sadde goes to the Sunnydale High library, surprisingly well-supplied with books on the occult.

And Theo goes to play soccer. Woo!

Then afterwards: Gym.

And Sadde's there again. More basketball! More being the last to be picked! Woo!

More not being the last to be picked!

He's not as good as he was last time, on account of distraction, but he's still good.

And Sadde is used to the thing that is gym, so while people aren't passing him the ball and he's generally not playing he can enjoy the view.

Theo actually notices Sadde looking some more this time, and seems somewhat pensive in response.

He's just about to pass the ball, still thinking about Sadde, when he fumbles it, seeming surprised by something. He quickly recovers and continues, but it was definitely noticeably weird.

Sadde notices it! And then the teacher tells someone to pass him the ball and they do and he does stuff with it then passes it to someone else then doesn't do much of anything for the remainder of the class.

And after class: "So what was that?"

Theo looks at him and seems like he might be about to respond, but then he grins, blushes very slightly, and turns away.

Sadde raises an eyebrow. "Did you just blush? That's kinda adorable."

More grinning. No response.

"That doesn't actually answer either of my questions!"

"I don't know if I blushed! Probably!"

Is Theo avoiding a topic? He might be, or he might just not want to be the first to mention it.

"Well, why did you?"

First to mention? First to mention what? Also everyone else is either hitting the showers or leaving.

"I just remembered a thing someone said to me. Don't worry," he says evasively. "I'm gonna go get changed. See you in the library?"

"Something someone said to you that made you blush? Riiiight. Anyway, I'll actually wait here until everyone else's changed and then change, myself, since we're staying."

"Okay," he says. "See ya in a bit then."

And off he goes to shower and change.

And after everyone's done that and left, Sadde does the same.

Theo's already in the library, playing on his phone.

Sadde walks in and takes a seat.

"So," Theo says. "Vampires. Magic. Anything else you care to spring on me?"

"Well, a lot of texts mention demons, hells, werewolves, faerie, angels, gods, and all that, but I've only ever really seen vampires, and as far as I know calling for gods is just a way the incantations sometimes work. I'm also definitely not betting on the existence of souls and the afterlife. Or afterlives, depending on the author."

"Oh. Right. Demons, hells and stuff. Obviously. So how'd you find out about the magic?"

"That is a long, depressing story into which I would not like to get right now. Suffice to say that I did and have been trying to get enough out of it that taking out a single vampire doesn't leave me like that. It's been slow going."

"Oh, okay," Theo says, feeling a bit guilty. "So why is it still not well known? Is there some evil group silencing people who try to let the world know? I mean, I'm sure the vampires want to kill anyone who might make their prey have better defenses, but how do they get to everyone who knows before they tell the world?"

"Beats me. Chesterton's Fence, I'm not touching it or trying to spread it around until I understand it better and am powerful enough to not be crushed by the first witch who dislikes the way I look."

"Sounds reasonable, but what's Chesterton's Fence?"

"That. The principle that you shouldn't do policy reforms until you understand why the current one exists. It's not an end-all be-all, of course, but when it comes to magic and vampires and demons and gods, I think understanding how it is that the whole world doesn't know about it is pretty important."

"Oh, right, yeah. Sounds like a good principle. And I'm just the latest unfortunate victim in a series of vampire attacks? ... Wait, is that what the barbecue forks thing was about? I thought it was just a ridiculously unlikely statistic!"

"...yes. To be fair, it is ridiculously unlikely, Sunnydale is sort of an outlier when it comes to vampires."

"Oh, good, so I've not just been living a lie and actually ignoring all the weird supernatural stuff that's going on just around the corner. I mean, I didn't think I was, but suddenly I get bitten by a vampire and find out that they're a thing, so I kinda had to wonder."

"Well, maybe."

"Huh?"

"I mean, it's not impossible your old neighbours were in fact werewolves or some such, these things have pretty much always existed. Also, remember the part where I said you were pretty?"

Theo might be starting to blush again. "Uh, yeah, it's possible that they were. And maaaybe."

He blinks, and smirks. "Wait, is that what you were blushing about, earlier? Did thoughts of me distract you from the game?"

Turns out, while Theo does blush, it's not really freaking obvious, it's just somewhat noticeable. So instead of blushing furiously, he's just slightly red.

"Uh. N-no? Maybe. I didn't realize what you'd said until I thought back on it, okay!"

"Hmm, I'll explore the implications of that later, I think. Anyway, back to the point, in addition to being very pretty, you're very—graceful?"

Still slightly red. "Uh. Thanks?"

"You're welcome, I suppose, but I meant it's kinda odd, eerie even. And some people apparently are born with weird kinds of magic, like, say..." He looks over his shoulder, they're still pretty isolated from the librarian downstairs, so—

"This."

"Uh," he says in response for the third time, continuing his eloquence. "Oh."

"Unlike general magic, this is a free action, I don't need to, like, prepare potions and spells back at home for quick activation or stuff like that."

"Oh. Ok," he says. "But I don't think I get your point."

"My point is that you're basically a sixteen-year-old Bolshoi ballerina, and I have no idea if this is that kind of magic or not but it could be."

"... Bolshoi ballerina? Not the point. You think I'm magic?"

"I dunno, you could just be nonmagically all that, but you stand out, and in my experience that often comes with magic of some sort."

"... Wouldn't I know if I were magic?"

"If all your magic does is make you look hot no matter what you do, maybe not."

Raised eyebrow. Return to redness. "Is that a thing?"

"...which part?"

Even redder. Why, it might almost be in the realm of regular blushing by this point!

Does he really have to say it? "... Magic doing that."