Buffy and I were patrolling, hunting two flesh colored demons with nasty twisted faces, and no mouths in the playground.

Buffy tripped on the edge of the swing set, falling to the ground. Demon 1 loomed over  her. 

I pushed Demon 1 into the pole of the swing set.

Buffy rolled to her feet. Demon 1 turned to Buffy. 

Buffy roundhouse kicked it in the face, making it fall to the ground, pulling out a knife. "You demons can't resist a run and stumble, can you?"

Buffy threw the knife at Demon 1. Demon 1 caught it.

I tried to stab Demon 2. Demon 2 backed away to make me miss. I pushed it into the swing set pole.

Buffy and I stood back to back, facing off with the two demons.

Demon 1 threw Buffy's knife back at her. Buffy caught it. 

Demon 2 ran toward me. I kicked him in the stomach. He ran closer. I ducked forward, making him roll over me onto the picnic table behind me, stabbing into his heart with my knife.

Demon 1 threw Buffy into a nearby tree, making her fall to the ground, running away, leaving.

I pulled the knife out of the demon's heart, turning to Buffy. "One down, one gone."

"Ah, it's okay," Buffy told me. I helped Buffy stand. "We'll catch him next time." I nodded. "Hey, you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.

"It's just, ever since Faith..." Buffy trailed off.

"Am I shaken up and resigned to the fact that my friend wants to kill me because people wanted to kill her so I could take her place?" I asked. "Of course. But I'm fine. Promise."

Buffy nodded. 

•••

The next day, Willow, Buffy and I walked into the school library.

"So scabby demon got away?" Willow asked.

"Scabby demon number two got away," I answered. "Scabby demon number one, big check in the slay column."

"I don't like this whole no mouth thing," Willow told us. "It's disquieting."

"Well, no mouth means no teeth," Buffy told us. "Unless they have them somewhere else."

We sat down at the table next to Xander and Oz.

Giles walked out of his office. "Here we go, we've been researching the, uh, mayor's forthcoming ascension."

"It's pretty riveting stuff," Oz told us.

"What do we know?" Buffy asked.

"What don't we know?" Xander asked. "Tell them, Giles."

"Based upon the supposed date, graduation day, and the Mayor being impervious to harm, I've cross-reference--" Giles started.

"He's a cross-referencing fool," Xander told us.

"And I've eliminated several possibilities," Giles told us. "It's not the ritual flaying of the demon Azarath nor the, uh... I don't know what's going to happen."

"That was kind of an anti-climax," Oz told us.

"We don't know anything?" Buffy asked. "The whole fake Angel thing was for nothing?"

"No, no, no," Giles answered. "If nothing else, Angel's charade has brought Faith's treachery to the open and this information on the Ascension will prove useful eventually. I just need to put it together."

I scratched my hand absentmindedly.

Wesley walked in. "Terribly sorry, I was detained. Official counsel business. Mr. Giles, you were speaking?"

"I was just filling them in on my progress regarding the research on the Ascension," Giles answered.

"Oh, and what took up the rest of the minute?" Wesley asked.

"Touche," Giles told him. "Of course, my work is un-official. I'm sure, however, with the resources of the Council at your disposal, you will have something to add."

"Well, I am pleased to state, with certainty, that the demon Azarath will not in any way be involved--" Wesley started.

Buffy, Willow, Xander, Oz and I stood, walking out of the library, leaving.

•••

Buffy, Willow and I were at Willow's locker.

I looked at Buffy. "So, have you talked to Angel lately?"

"Not really," Buffy answered. "Seeing him bad, even pretend bad, and with Faith..."

"He only kissed her for the greater good," Willow told her.

"I don't know," Buffy told us. "To the naked eye, it looked like fun. Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe he wasn't even tempted. I just wish I could be sure."

"As always, I advise you to ask," Willow told her.

"Think he'd tell me?" Buffy asked.

Percy and another jock named Hogan walked by.

A student walked toward them. "Hogan!" He shook Hogan's hand. "Great game, man."

Xander walked toward us. "Hogan Martin thinks he's so hot. Like we should all be awed by him 'cause he can put a ball in the net."

Percy and Hogan walked toward us.

"Hey, Xander," Hogan told him.

"He said my name," Xander told us. "He knows my name."

"Hey, Will," Percy told her.

"Hi," Willow told him.

"Um, look, I can't make the study session after school," Percy told her. "Um, can we do it fifth period?"

"Okay," Willow told him. "Did you finish the reading?"

"Most of it," Percy answered.

Willow used her disapproving school teacher voice. "Percy."

"I'll finish it at lunch," Percy told us.

"That's my little trooper," Willow told him.

"I don't know what you're doing to him," Hogan told her. "I actually heard him complete a sentence. It had a clause and everything."

"You're watching the game, right?" Percy asked.

"Wouldn't miss it," Willow answered.

"See you, Hogan," Xander told him.

The boys walked away, leaving.

Buffy, Willow and I walked down the hallway.

Buffy looked at Willow. "You're going to the game? I didn't know you liked basketball."

"I didn't, either," Willow told us. "But I really started getting into it. Especially now that we're in the championship. It's so exciting. 

I looked at Buffy. "Can you handle patrol tonight? I mean, we're all going. Oz, Xander, Will, me. Everybody."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. I think I can handle it. Last time I checked, I took a year off of Slayer-duty, and you took over. I think you take a night off."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"Why do you keep doing that?" Buffy asked.

"Doing what?" I asked.

Buffy looked at my hand.

I realized I was scratching at it, stopping in confusion.

•••

Giles and I sat in Giles' office.

Giles was reading a tome. "You touched one of the demons?"

I examined my hand under a magnifying lamp. "A good touch, not a bad touch. Anyway, it's been itching like crazy." I turned off the lamp, swinging it aside. "No big, just another problem for the good people at Lubriderm, right?"

Giles found a picture of the demons from last night, setting it down in front of me. "That's the demon in question?"

"In the disgusting flesh," I answered.

Giles nodded. "Hmm."

Giles took the book back, stepping away, reading it.

"What?" I asked.

"It says they can infect the host," Giles answered.

"Infect?" I repeated. Giles was still reading. "Giles! Infect?"

"Oh, um, infect the host with an aspect of the demon," Giles told me. "That's all it says."

"An aspect of the demon?" I repeated, taking the book, reading.

"It's rather terse, isn't it?" Giles asked.

"You mean like a part of it?" I asked.

"There could be any number of explanations for our hand," Giles told me. "A new fabric softner can cause irritation. In any case, I would advise not to attempt to track the one that got away. Let's minimize your exposure and let Buffy handle it."

"Yeah, let the Slayer take over for the Potential," I told him. "Part of the demon? I hope it's not the outside part."

•••

Outside in the quad, the gang was sitting on a bench off to the side. 

Cordelia and the cheerleaders were leading a rally for the basketball game. "HOGAN. It's Hogan. Go, Hogan!"

Hogan stepped into the open.

Everyone applauded.

"Is it me, or is this really lame?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know," Oz told us. "I usually enjoy lameness, and this is leaving me kinda cold."

Willow was reading the school newspaper. "Well, according to Freddy's latest editorial, 'the pep rally is a place for psuedo-prostitues to provoke men into a sexual frenzy which, when thwarted, results in pointless athletic competition'."

"And the downside being?" Xander asked.

"The school paper is edging on depressing lately," Willow told us. "You guys notice that?"

"I don't know," Oz told us. "I always go straight to the obits." He noticed me running my hands over my hair. "What are you doing, Zoey?"

"Nothing," I told them. Oz looked unconvinced. "Checking for horns."

I stood, walking away.

Oz stood, following, catching my arm to stop me. "You know, Zo, I don't even think Giles is right about you becoming like a demon. He's totally burnt. You know, dealing with Faith and the Ascension thing. Between you and me, he's not doing his best work."

"What if he's right?" I asked. "I'm suddenly going to grow this demon part and we don't even know what it is."

The cheerleaders continued. "TOM. It's Tom. Go, Tom!"

Tom stepped out into the open.

Xander, Willow and Buffy were still watching.

"They really are very good," Willow told them.

"Their spelling's improved," Buffy told them.

"You know, I look at all this beauty, all these healthy young women, and I wonder why I ever wasted my time on Cordelia," Xander told them. "I mean, look at her. She's no better looking than the rest of them. Oh, my God, he's looking at her!" Wesley was a distance away on the stairs, looking at Cordelia in awe.  "He's got his filthy adult Pierce Brosny eyes all over my Cordy."

Wesley shook his head, continuing up the stairs.

Buffy looked at Xander. "You're a very complex man, aren't you?"

Oz led me back toward the bench.

"It's just I'm scared, Oz," I told him. "There's this thing in me and I can't find it. I can't stop it. What if it changes me? Not just the way I look. All of a sudden I could be something that's not me anymore." Oz turned to face me, raising his eyebrows slightly. I realized. "And of course you would know exactly what that feels like. That's why it's so easy to talk to you."

"Yeah, well, I want you to talk to me," Oz told me. I nodded, looking away, still on the verge of panicking. "Hey." Oz pulled me closer. "It's gonna be okay. You are gonna be okay."

I nodded, only slightly reassured.

Oz kissed me reassuringly.

The cheerleaders continued "PERCY. It's Percy. Go, Percy!"

Percy stepped out into the open.

Willow cheered with the rest of the crowd.

•••

The next morning, Willow, Oz, Xander and I were walking into the lounge area.

"Could you believe it?" I asked. "Right at the buzzer. Three points for the win."

We sat down at the table.

"It was intense," Oz told us.

"Yeah, for a minute there, I thought you're gonna make an expression," Xander told him.

"Well, I felt one coming on," Oz told us. "I won't lie."

I smiled a small smile.

"Man, I've never seen anyone jump like Hogan Martin," Willow told us. "They should call him, the jumper."

"Or a name that isn't an article of women's clothing," Xander told us. "Hey, remember when--"

"Shh," Willow told us.

Buffy walked closer.

We fell silent.

"Hmm, quietness," Buffy told us. "We either lost, or we won, and you don't want me to feel bad."

"Well, yeah, it wasn't a really good game," Willow told her.

"Yeah, tall hoops, with thin tall guys," Xander told us. "What's the point?"

Cordelia walked closer to grab an apple from a nearby table.

"Pretty dull," Oz told us.

"Are you guys crazy?" Cordelia asked. "That was an incredible game. I've never cheered so hard in my life. I still have knee makes on my back." We gave her weird looks. "From the pyramid."

Cordelia walked toward her friends.

I looked at Buffy. "So, how was patrolling?"

"Well, I thought I saw a four legged demon," Buffy told us. "But it was just a dog."

"A weredog?" Oz asked.

"Regular," Buffy answered.

"Tough luck," Xander told her, looking toward Cordelia and her friends. "I wonder if she and Wesley have kissed."

"It really bugs you, huh?" I asked.

"What?" Xander asked.

"Cordelia and Wesley, smooching," I answered.

"Man, you read my mind," Xander told me.

I realized that Xander hadn't actually said it, in shock.

•••

I was walking down the hallway alone, accidentally bumping into a teacher walking out of his classroom.

"Whoa, there," the teacher told me. "You watch where you're going now."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Beach," I told him. "I will."

Mr. Beach: "Students. If we could just get rid of all the students."

Mr. Beach walked into another classroom.

I walked down the hallway in confusion.

Boy: "When I'm a software jillionaire, and you're all flipping burgers, who's the loser then?"

Girl: "Maybe I'll take French, I said. How hard can it be? French babies learn it, idiot."

Boy 2: "I swear, someday my pants are gonna fall right off."

Boy 3: "God, Zoey is so beautiful. I mean, look at that body. I can't believe she's with Oz. God, I'd love to shove her against that locker right now and just--"

I walked away quickly down the hallway.

  •••  

Giles, Buffy and I were talking in the library.

"Is this the thing?" I asked. "The aspect thing? Because I gotta say, if it is, it is way better than a tail. I mean, I have a hard enough time finding jeans that fit right."

"Zoey, slow down," Giles told me. "I'm not even convinced that this is genuine mind reading. You're most likely projecting your--"

"When we walked in a few minutes ago, you thought this about Buffy," I told him. "'Look at her shoes. If a fashion magazine told her to, she'd wear cats strapped to her feet.'"

Buffy gave him an offended look. "Giles."

"I..." Giles trailed off. "Um..."

Giles: "The demons are telepathic. I should have known. That's why they didn't need mouths."

"Of course, demons are telepathic," Giles told us.

"I know, you just told me," I told him. "That's why they don't need mouths. And you should have known."

"This is astounding," Giles told us.

"It was happening out in the hallway," I told them. "Principal Snyder has 'Walk Like an Egyptian' stuck in his head. And the boys at this school are seriously disturbed."

"How did this happen?" Buffy asked.

"It would happen only if subject came into contact with the demon's blood," Giles answered.

I looked at Buffy. "When I stabbed him."

Buffy nodded.

Buffy: "Pretty rookie move, but we're all allowed to make mistakes. God knows that I made about a thousand. She'll get better. I mean, I did."

"Thanks for the support, Buff," I told her.

"Wha--" Buffy started. "That is just creepy."

I nodded. "I know. It's weird, but, think about it. Think about what I could do."

"It could be very useful," Giles agreed. "You could anticipate your opponent's every move. Turn his plans against him."

I smiled. "Oh, way better than that."

  •••  

Buffy and I were sitting in literature class with Ms. Murray. 

Willow sat behind Buffy. Xander sat behind me.

Nancy, an annoying Miss-Know-It-All, was sitting on the other side of me.

Ms. Murray was walking around the room.

"Jealousy," I answered.

"Zoey, right," Ms. Murray told me. "Very good."

I looked at Buffy, smiling.

Buffy smirked, shaking her head.

Buffy: "Cheater."

Nancy: "I knew that."

"Jealousy clearly is the tool that Iago uses to undo Othello," Ms. Murray told us. "But what's his motivation? What reason does Iago give for destroying his superior officer?"

Nancy: "Cassio has my place. Twix my sheets. He's done my office."

"Well, he was passed over for promotion," I told them. "Cassio was picked instead and people were saying that Othello slept with his wife."

Willow: "Zoey did the reading? Zoey understood the reading?"

Xander: "When did she study? Was I supposed to study? Ms. Murray's kinda hot."

I looked at Xander weirdly.

Nancy: "I was gonna say Cassio. Uh, I hate her."

I smirked.

"Any other reason?" Ms. Murray asked.

"Race!" Nancy answered, blurting out before I could.

"Uh, good, Nancy," Ms. Murray told her. "Can't overlook that."

Freddy: "Look at them. Scrambling for the teacher's praise like pigeons for thrown bread crust."

I looked toward Freddy in confusion.

Buffy noticed, following my gaze.

Buffy: "Who's that guy?"

"Freddy Iverson," I answered. Buffy looked at me in confusion, realizing I had heard her question. "He writes those editorials for the school paper. He's sardonic, but I never knew how much until now."

Freddy: "Bread crusts. That's deep. I should write that down."

Buffy and I looked at Ms. Murray.

"There's something else at work here," Ms. Murray told us.

"Well, he, um, he sort of admits himself that his motive are... spurious," I told them. "He, um, he does things because he, he enjoys them. It's like he's not--he's not really a person. He's a... the dark half of Othello himself."

Willow: "Huh."

Xander: "Whoa."

Ms. Murray stepped out from behind her desk, approaching me. "Zoey. Really. Very astute. I said something quite like that in my dissertation."

"I know," I told her. "Uh, I mean... I agree. With that."

Buffy gave me an amused look.

I shrugged slightly.

"Yes, and doesn't that also explain Othello's readiness to believe Iago?" Ms. Murray asked. "Within seconds, he turns on Desdomona. He believes that she's been unfaithful. And we're all like that. We all have our little internal Iagos, that tell us our husbands or our girlfriends or whatever, don't really love us. But you never really see what's in someone's heart. "

•••

Willow, Oz, Xander, Cordelia, Buffy, Giles, Wesley and I were gathered around the table.

"She can read our minds?" Xander asked. "Our every impulse and fantasy?"

"Every one," I answered.

Xander: "Oh, God."

Cordelia: "I don't see what this has to do with me."

"I don't see what this has to do with me," Cordelia told us.

"Well, I think it's great," Willow told me. "Right? I mean, you actually have a superpower before you become a Slayer."

"Yeah, and it'll be fun," I told them. "Did you see Nancy Doyle's face in English class today?"

"Yeah," Willow answered. "She's super competitive, and you really showed her."

Willow: "She's hardly even human anymore. How can I be her friend now? She doesn't need me."

"No, I do need you," I told her.

"Okay, what are you talking about?" Cordelia asked. "Because you are so creepy right now."

"Um, I think there must be some precedence for occurrences such as this," Giles told us. "Uh, I'll research it. Wesley, can you give me a hand?"

"Of course," Wesley answered. "Where do you think we should start?"

Oz: "She can see everything. She can hear everything. She will see that she is everything to me."

I smiled a small smile.

Xander: "What am I gonna do? I think about sex all the time. Sex. Help. Four times five is 30. Five times six is 32. Naked Cordy. Naked Will. Naked Zoey. Naked Buffy. Oh, stop me!"

"God, Xander," I told him. "Is that all you think about?"

"Actually..." Xander trailed off. "Bye."

Xander stood, running out, leaving.

"Xander has just illustrated something," Wesley told us. "Chances are, you're all going to be thinking whatever you least want Zoey to hear. It's a question, of course, of mental discipline."

"He's right," Giles told us. "There are..."

Wesley: "Look at Cordelia. No! Don't look at Cordelia. She's a student. Oh, I am a bad man. I'm a bad, bad man."

I looked at Wesley in amusement.

Wesley noticed. "Excuse me."

Wesley walked into Giles' office.

"What's it like, Zoey?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know," I told them. "It's a little weird. But... Look, please, don't for a second think that I don't need any of you, because I do. I want to share this with you. It's like all these doors are opening to all these little worlds, and I can just walk right inside."

Willow: "Zoey is all of us. We think. Therefore, she is, and we cease to exist."

"No, don't think that," I told her.

"I can't help it, Zoey," Willow told me. "I'm sorry. I just can't."

Willow stood, running out, leaving.

I looked at Oz, Cordelia, Buffy and Giles. "Guess I won't be writing that book, 'Gaining Friends through Telepathy'."

Cordelia: "Whatever. I wonder when I can go."

"Whatever," Cordelia told us. "Can I go?"

"Wow, Cordy," I told her. "As always, you are a big, fat open book."

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you," Cordelia told me.

Wesley stuck his head out of the office. "Excuse me. Can you hear me thinking in here? I could go out into the hall."

I stood. "You know what? You stay. I'm getting a headache. I'll go."

I grabbed my stuff, walking toward the door.

Oz stood, looking at Cordelia, Buffy, Giles and Wesley. "If you don't need me, I'll be with the telepath."

Oz and I walked down the hallway.

All thoughts of everybody passing by was running together.

Boy: "She is so hot."

Girl: "I hate my body."

Boy 2: "I swear, I will scream from boredom."

Girl 2: "No one's ever gonna love me."

Girl 3: "What is I never get breasts?"

Boy 3: "I can't believe the test s today."

Mr. Beach: "Get rid of the students. It's that easy."

Girl 4: "What if I'm the last virgin in the world?"

Girl 5: "He has the cutest butt."

Nancy: "I hate her."

Oz taking my hand brought me out of it. "Hey. You okay?"

"No," I answered. "I'm starting to think that this isn't such a good thing after all."

"What do you mean?" Oz asked.

"I can hear everything," I told him. "And I can't shut it off."

"So it's a curse and not a gift," Oz told me.

I started to nod.

•••

I was getting food from the cafeteria line.

Girl: "It's gonna get better. Tell me it gets better."

Boy: "I hate school."

Jonathan: "Am I normal?"

Boy: "When am I ever gonna need to know Algebra?"

Jonathan looked at me. "Are you through with the mashed potatoes?"

Jonathan: "She doesn't even know I'm here."

Boy 3: "I want a car so bad."

Girl 2: "Come on. Come on."

I took my tray, walking toward a table.

Girl 3: "Didn't she wear that skirt yesterday?"

Boy 3: "She's okay."

Boy 4: "She has the sweetest face I ever saw."

Boy 5: "If I stand in just the right place, I can sorta see into the arm hole of her top."

Girl 4: "The test is today."

The voices blurred together into a pandemonium of thoughts that I couldn't make out. My head was pounding. I felt like I was going to get sick and pass out at the same time.

Sinister Voice: "This time tomorrow... I'll kill you all."

  •••  

I stopped where I was in shock, accidentally dropping the tray in my hands.

Everyone started to laugh and applaud.

I started to look around for the voice in their heads that would tell me who had said that.

Boy 6: "She's going nuts!" 

Again, the voices were too hard to make out, making me feel worse and worse and worse. It kept getting louder and louder and louder. I held my hands to my ears, but it didn't do anything to block out the noise. Everything was spinning and dizzying until I finally fainted, falling unconscious.

  •••  

I woke up slowly in the quad outside. Willow, Oz, Buffy, Giles, Xander and Cordelia were standing over me, hovering.

Willow: "I think she's waking up now."

Oz: "She's okay."

Giles: "Oh, thank God."

Xander: "Her eyes are opening."

Buffy: "Is she okay?"

Cordelia: "I'm cold."

"You all right?" Giles asked.

"I told them not to move you," Cordelia told me. "They probably severed your spinal cord."

"I'm okay," I told them.

Oz knelt behind me, helping me sit up, holding on. "Zoey..."

"No, really," I told them. "I'm okay. Listen, there's a killer in the cafeteria."

"See?" Xander asked. "I've been saying for years that the lunch lady's gonna do us all in with that Mulligan stew."

Cordelia hit him on the arm. "Xander."

"I mean, what the hell's a Mulligan?" Xander asked.

"Someone was thinking about it," I told them. "They thought, 'This time tomorrow, I'll kill you all'. We have to find them."

Oz helped me stand.

"Well, did you, uh, recognize the voice?" Giles asked.

"No," I answered.

"Boy or girl?" Willow asked.

"I don't know," I told them. "I mean, it was hardly human. It was full of so much anger and pain."

I started to walk away.

The others started to follow, the cacophony of their thoughts intruding.

I nearly fell again.

Oz caught me. "Zoey, you can't."

"No, we have to find them," I told them.

"Are you sure they meant it?" Oz asked.

"Yeah, I mean, who hasn't just idly thought about taking out the whole place with a semi-automatic?" Xander asked. Everyone looked at him. "I said idly."

"I know the difference," I told them. "He... she... whoever, they meant it. They're gonna do it."

Buffy: "She looks so tired."

Giles: "How horrible."

Cordelia: "I'm not getting any warmer."

Xander: "I bet it was Hogan."

Willow: "Who could it be?"

I grabbed my head in pain. "Shut up. Uh, I'm sorry. I--It's just, can you guys not think so loud? Or, so much?"

"Zoey, you should go home," Giles told me.

"I--I'll take you home," Oz told me.

"Yeah, okay," I told them sarcastically. "No."

"Yes," Buffy told me. "Look, we'll go back to the cafeteria. Make a list of everyone who's there. We will find the killer before lunch tomorrow."

"We'll do it, Zo," Willow told me.

I reluctantly gave it. "Yeah. Nancy was there. She's scary. And, uh, oh, teachers, too. Mr. Beach, he thought something about getting rid of all the students."

"Come on," Oz told me, leading me away from them.

The others walked away toward the school.

"I can't shut it out, Oz," I told him. "It's like this invasion of my head. It's like there's these strangers walking around in there. It's just a... Look at this. I can't even be around people anymore. Not that they're really clamoring to be near me anyway."

"Wesley and Giles are looking for a way to help," Oz told me. "You'll be okay, even if you can't get rid of it."

Oz got me to my car.

I leaned against it to keep standing, looking at Oz. "Thank you."

Oz nodded. I leaned my head against his chest, trying to shut it out. Oz held me standing comfortingly.

•••

I was at home, lying in bed in my room.

Oz sat at my bedside. "There you go."

"Thanks, Oz," I told him. "Listen, maybe you can go back to the school and help them figure this out. Please."

Oz nodded. "Of course. Besides, don't wanna be hurting you with my thoughts." I smiled a small, sad smile. Oz kissed my forehead, pulling away. "I'll be back before you know it."

"When's your mom supposed to be back?" Oz asked.

"She has a nightshift," I told him. "Thank God. I know how bad that sounds, but..."

"I get it," Oz told me. "You don't have to explain."

"Thank you," I told him.

Oz smiled a small smile, nodding, standing, walking out, leaving.

I sighed, feeling depressed and useless.

  •••  

After dark, I stood at my bedroom window, which was open.

The range of my power had grown enough to where I could hear the thoughts of everyone on the street.

Man 1: "I should have just quit. No job is worth it."

Woman 1: "Look at him smiling, like he thinks I don't know about her."

Man 2: "She doesn't know a thing. I can't believe I'm getting away with this."

Woman 2: "I'm going to tell him we're going to have a baby. Oh, I'm so happy."

Man 3: "One more drink. That'll do it."

Baby: (Baby voice babble.)

I couldn't take it anymore, closing the window, walking toward my bed.

Man 1: "20 years with the company."

Woman 1: "You think I can't smell her perfume?"

Man 3: "It's just a little drink."

Man 4: "He shouldn't even be the boss."

Man 3: "The bottle's almost empty, anyway."

Woman 4: "I should've had a promotion a long time ago."

Woman 1: "Wait till next time he comes home smelling like that."

Woman 2: "It's a boy."

The thoughts blended into one long, rambling, incoherent stream.

I laid down, curling up under the covers, pressing a pillow to my head.

  •••  

The next morning, I was lying in bed, tossing in my sleep, being brought out of it through the neverending, incoherent thoughts.

The only thing I knew what was happening was someone was making me drink something horrible and nasty, thrashing and kicking, not knowing what was happening.

I heard Buffy's voice. "Giles!"

•••

I slowly woke up, noticing my mom at my bedside holding my hand. "Mom."

Mom smiled in relief. "Thank God. Are you all right? Do you hear thoughts?"

"No," I answered, relieved that the only thoughts I could were mine. Buffy, Giles and Wesley walked in. "Did you find the killer?"

•••

Buffy and I walked into Freddy's office at the school.

Freddy was sitting at his desk. 

Xander, Oz and Willow were standing nearby.

Cordelia was sitting on the desk. "We have no shot. The killer could be anyone. We lose."

"We still have a few minutes," Buffy told us.

They turned to face us.

Willow looked at me in relief. "Zoey."

"You're okay," Oz told me. "Can you hear thoughts?"

I shook my head.

"Just when I wasn't thinking about sex," Xander told us.

"Okay, here's the new plan," Buffy told us. "We're going to get Snyder to evacuate the school. I just hope the killer's not waiting outside."

Cordelia read from a letter off of Freddy's desk. "'By this time tomorrow, you'll all know what I've done. I'm sure you understand that I had to do it, and that although death is never easy, it's the only way.' God! Doesn't anyone write in to praise the cheerleaders? We are so unsung."

Willow took the letter from Cordelia. "Jonathan! Oh, I had him in my grasp. Slippery weasel."

"Split up," I told them. "Find him."

  •••  

Everyone split up to look for Jonathan.

Buffy was looking outside in the quad.

Willow looked in the library.

Oz looked in the classrooms.

Cordelia looked in the student lounges.

Xander looked in the cafeteria.

I looked in the hallways, hearing Xander yelling from the cafeteria. "Rat poison! Rat poison!"

I ran into the cafeteria.

Xander tripped over a chair, falling to the floor.

The lunch lady ran toward Xander with a meat cleaver, trying to slash into him.

I caught the lunch lady's wrist. "Okay, let's calm down."

"Vermin," the lunch lady told us. "You're all vermin. You come in here and you eat, and you eat. Filth!"

"I don't see this being settled with logic," I told her, pulling the lunch lady's arm forward, twisting her wrist back, making the cleaver fly across the room, rebound off the wall and clatter to the floor.

The lunch lady tried to punch me. I ducked, punching her twice in the face, making her back away, kicking her twice, finishing off with a reverse roundhouse kick, making her fall over tablets and a student, falling to the floor, unconscious.

I looked at Xander.

Xander was still terrified on the floor.

•••

Jonathan was never going to kill anyone. He was going to kill himself. Buffy stopped him just in time.

The next day, Willow, Buffy and I were walking up the first set of steps of the quad together toward the balcony.

Willow looked at Buffy. "So, you're feeling better about Angel?"

"Well, we talked," Buffy told us. "Yeah, I feel better now."

"See?" Willow asked. "That's how it should work." She looked at me. "What about you?"

"Nothing but quiet," I answered. "Nobody in here but me." I looked at Buffy. "Jonathan, how's he?"

"Pretty crappy," Buffy answered. "His parents are freaking. He got suspended. And toting a piece to school, not exactly winning him a place with the in-crowd. But I think he's dealing."

"That's good of you to check up on him," Willow told her. "It's nice."

"Well, it's nice to help someone in a non-slaying capacity," Buffy told us. "Except he's starting to get that look. You know, like he's gonna ask me to prom."

"Well, it would probably be good for his self-esteem if you--" Willow started.

"Oh, come on!" Buffy told us. "What am I, Saint Buffy? He's like three feet tall."

I smiled.

We stopped on the balcony overlooking the quad, leaning against the railing.

I let the smile fade, shaking my head. "You know, I never really noticed it before."

"Notice what?" Willow asked.

I scoffed softly, shaking my head. "You have all this pain, all these feelings. Our lives suck beyond the telling of it, sometimes more than we can handle, and it's not just ours." We looked over the quad-crawling with students. "Every single person down there are too busy with their own pain. The beautiful ones... the popular ones... the bullies... everyone. If you could hear what they were feeling... the loneliness, the confusion... It looks quiet down there. It's not. It's deafening. I guess what happened to me really... made me open up my eyes and see all the pain that is really going on in everyone's everyday lives."

Buffy and Willow had been listening somberly.

"You're getting wise in your old age, Zo," Willow told me.

I scoffed. "Moment's over." Buffy, Willow and I started to laugh, smiling. "We are so unbelievable."

We continued to laugh, feeling a lot better than before.