I Just Want To Be Normal

Peter knocked on the door. He was carrying a shirt that had been largely stained purple.

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She learned her lesson the hard way last night. After putting the brush back in the bottle, she walked across the room and gingerly opened the door.

"Hey! Still have a heartbeat?"

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"Yep!" Peter said. "I also have a shirt that could use some special detergent, if you'd be so kind."

"Oh, by the way, just so you know, I'm much, much better at keeping other people's secrets than I am at keeping my own," Peter said, sarcastically upbeat. "Just getting that out there. Absolutely no reason why."

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"Okay, in that case come on in." She stepped back and returned to her seat on the bed. "And shut the door behind you please."

As she got comfortable, she waved one hand over the other, immediately drying the polish she'd just applied.

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Peter entered the room and closed the door. "Okay, now that's cool," Peter said, noticing the polish trick.

"So, I'm an idiot and you're not the only person who knows I have powers anymore." Peter gave a somewhat world-weary grin. It would be more world-weary, but he was only 15.

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"Oh no, what happened?" She asked, and then raised an eyebrow. "Does this have something to do with the radio report? Something about a ninja and a marshmallow?"

"And give me your shirt. I assume you want it back to it's original color?"

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"Please," Peter said, handing over the shirt.

"Yeah, I ended up in the park, a crazy hooker - no, seriously, and she looks like Rory Gilmore - started shooting at me. And, yeah, there was the ninja..." Peter sighed. "Anyway, some people saw me fighting, and one of them told a few people. So. Yeah, I suck. How are you?"

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Isabel spread the shirt out over lap and started moving her hand over. Almost instantly the purple started to disappear wherever she touched.

"Should I ask why you were in the Park? No, nevermind, I think I know." She shook her head, "That wasn't exactly the safest thing you could do you know."

Purple dye removed, she folded the shirt neatly and laid it aside. "Who knows? Do you think they'll keep quiet? Is it a problem if they don't?"

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"It was stupid going to the park. I admit it," Peter said. "Been over that a few times already, and that was after beating myself up about it."

"Okay, who knows..." Peter counted off on his fingers. "Callisto, Bridge, Parker-who-isn't-me, and Rory. As well as the hooker and the ninja. And Dr Pevensie. I really wish that list were shorter." Peter sighed. "I trust all of them except Callisto. She's the one who told Parker and Rory. And it wouldn't be the end of the world if word spread, but I really want to avoid it anyway, you know?"

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Isabel got the whole beating yourself up thing. She'd done enough of it last night. "Okay, I won't say anything else. Just be careful.

"That's quite the list," she said. "And the only people I really know well enough to say they'll keep quiet is Parker and probably Rory. I don't know Cal or Bridge well enough to say either way. The others? I don't know them, and honestly hope not to meet them. They're all scary."

Her newly painted nails were suddenly interesting. "If it makes you feel better, you're not the only person that knows about me."

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"I've gotten to know Bridge a little. I completely trust him. It's the superhero code," Peter nodded. "He's trying to become a superhero. That's not a secret. And Dr Pevensie isn't bad. At least she better not be. I'd hate to find out that a crazy person is my therapist..."

"What happened with you?" he asked, becoming concerned.

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"Sorry, I have doctor issues. I try to avoid them whenever possible. Wait, there's a superhero code?" She laughed, "Sorry, but that's one of the funnier things I've heard today."

"I'm fine. Just my list got added to today. In addition to Angel, Lorne, the green guy at Caritas, now knows that I'm not from around here."

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"The code is unspoken, but it exists," Peter said.

"Well, that's not too bad. At least you're keeping it among people who aren't exactly normal themselves."

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"I guess. Did you know that Lorne can read your aura if you sing for him? I sang." She might have blushed just a bit when she said that. "I just wanted to get an idea of what I'm supposed to be doing."

"He says I shouldn't be keeping things secret, at least not here," she said quietly.

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"I didn't know that. And I will never use it. Karaoke is still bad," Peter said.

"So... Do you think you're going to take that advice and out yourself?"

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"It wasn't that bad. I didn't have to get up on stage. I just sang a verse of Mary Had A Little Lamb. Don't laugh! It was early. And I was tired."

Her head dropped and her hair fell in her face. "I don't know. Maybe I should. If I wasn't trying to hide things maybeicouldhavedonesomethingtosavevala," she mumbled.

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"Poor Isabel," Peter said. "At least it wasn't on stage."

"Wait, what was that? Save someone?" Peter hadn't heard the radio ~~but he could check for a podcast later if she didn't want to explain the whole thing~~.

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"I try to limit my public humiliations if at all possible," she said dryly. "And I'm still afraid of gremlins around this place."

"You didn't hear the radio? In a nutshell, the other Izzie, Janet, Vala and I were walking home from Caritas last night. Evil, bitch vampire grabbed Izzie, Janet and Vala charged in and saved her while I stood there like an idiot trying to figure out if there was anything I could do," she said in a rush.

"Vala got stabbed, Janet got bruised, Izzie got terrified and I'm fine."

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The only name he recognized was Janet's. Not that it mattered. It was still terrible. "God. That's terrible. Makes sense that you were sleeping in class today," he said. "Is this Vala person going to be okay?"

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"Parker says she is. I couldn't stay at the clinic to wait. Doctor fear. Plus, too guilty. If I'd done something..."

She flexed her hands, before studying them. "Michael can reach out a hand and just blast something away. I wonder if I could do the same. I thought about trying last night. Maybe I could stopped her before anyone got hurt."

Looking up she pushed her hair back. "That's part of the reason I fell asleep in class. I couldn't get to sleep once I got back here. I kept thinking of different things I could have done. Different ways it could have turned out."

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"Hey, I'm the king of guilt around here. It doesn't get you far. The important thing is that everyone is going to be okay," Peter said. "Try to figure things out from here on out if you need, but you can't blame yourself for not doing something you don't know you can do."

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"You're right. I know that. It still doesn't make it easier." She yawned, "I'm sorry. It's been a really long day. I think the only sleep I've gotten since yesterday was in class today."

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"Then you need sleep," Peter said, standing up. "Hey, if you want the notes from Government, I have all but about five minutes of it. You could borrow them."

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"Don't forget this," Isabel said, holding out the shirt. "And the notes would be great. I'll wander by at some point and get them. Right now? Sleepy..."

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"Thanks, Isabel," Peter said as he took the shirt. "Sleep now."

Peter left the room and closed the door behind him.

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Parker came by, tapping on the door with her knuckles. "Isabel? Is game night still on?"

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"Parker? Is that you?" Isabel called from her ever so comfy spot on the bed.

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Parker came in, then stopped at the foot of Isabel's bed. "Okay, you're not doing anything tonight. I can already tell."

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"I can get up. Really, I can!" But she didn't move from her nest of pillows and blankets.

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"Pffft. You didn't sleep at all last night, did you?" Parker pulled one blanket further over Isabel. "It's not important enough to lose rest over. We can do it next week, that's more than soon enough."

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"No, I didn't. But I did get naps in World Civ and Government. I thought that," YAWN!!! "Would be enough."

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"Hardly. You've had a shock, on top of no rest. You need more sleep to process it. I slept 14 hours straight after the first mess I had to deal with here." Parker hit the lights on her way out. "I will see you *tomorrow*. Okay?"

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zzzzzz......

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Xander came home after grabbing some leftover tookey und crunberry sooce-a from der... uh, the cafeteria for dinner, and gave Isabel a wave and a big grin as he came in. "Hey, roomie. Got a present for you." He blinked as he took a second look at her. "Whoa, you look beat. Out late doing stuff I'd totally do if I had more of a life?"

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Isabel yawned. "Sorry. Yes, it was a late night. But it wasn't particularly fun. We got attacked by a vampire on our way home from Caritas."

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Xander shut the door behind him, frowning at the unpleasant news. "We who? Is everybody ok? Which vamp? All of which I have the feeling I'd know if I'd stayed up to catch the radio last night - I've gotta start taping that."

Or... he wondered if they posted it on the website after the broadcast - this wouldn't be the first time he'd been walking around like an idiot not knowing things everybody else had known all day.

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Isabel ticked off names on her fingers, "The other Izzie, Janet, Vala, and I. It was the blond bitchy one. And yeah it was covered on the radio. Vala got stabbed and Janet got bruised up saving Izzie."

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"Darla. Not my favorite undead unperson, on my very long list of unfavorite undead unpeople." Xander shook his head as he unpacked his books from his backpack and stacked them on his desk. "Vala got stabbed, not bitten? Was she ok?"

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"I think she'll be topping the list of my unfavorite dead people for a very long time." Isabel wondered if the fact she used a word like 'unfavorite' meant that she really was that tired. Or that she'd been spending too much time with Xander.

"She was the first vampire I've met that was actually scary. And yes, Vala was stabbed. For some reason the bitch decided to pull a knife on Izzie."

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"It wouldn't be the first time she's used weapons, now that I think about it," Xander said as he fished in his bag for something that, wrapped in a plastic sack, crinkled when he grabbed it. "She went after Buffy and Angel with guns, back in Sunnydale. Right before Angel killed her, which would first on a list of annoying reasons that I can't say the guy never did anything I approve of."

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"You really don't like Angel do you?" Isabel asked with a yawn.

"Well, even with a weapon, Vala and Janet managed to get Izzie away. Unfortunately they both got hurt in the process but they're going to be okay. Plus Parker came in to help save the day. She had some kind of guy. It seemed like it hurt her. Darla that is..."

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"Parker vs. Darla? There's a showdown I'd have paid good money to see. Not much money what with the not having much, but some. Glad Vala and Janet are okay; Darla's hurt enough people I like."

Xander brought the plastic bag over to Isabel, and unrapped it. "In unrelated news, except for the people I lke part, today's shop project was to make something useful for somebody else, so I thought maybe you'd like a holder for your Tabasco. And any other kind of liquid mouth-defoliating substances you might collect; it should hold four bottles. Figured I could bracket it up on the side of the desk over the fridge, and you wouldn't have to have the bottle cluttering up shelf-space."

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{And then he spelled unwrapped right.}

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"She came in like hell on wheels. Or hell on Jimmy Choos at least. It was a sight to see." She nodded, "They will be, that's what matters."

Isabel watched as Xander unwrapped the sauce holder. "Oh, that is too sweet. Thank you."

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"If it doesn't actually work as a sauce-rack, which is fair 'cause it doesn't actually look like a sauce rack, we can always say it's an abstract sculpture we made in the art studio," Xander said, glancing at it. Then he reached for his laptop. "But hey, I was thinking of making sound-like noises with this thing, and you look like you're about to crash and burn - why don't I take it out to the common room and let you get some rest."

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"You wouldn't mind? I'm sorry, *yawn* it was just a long night and I really didn't sleep."

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"No problemo. Vampire attacks overrule watching downloaded ~~porn~~ Bitterwoman episodes any day."

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