It was Psych 101 with prof. Walsh and Buffy was so bored and tired after the patrol the previous night, she fell asleep.

Willow just smiled when she saw her friend had her eyes closed, she just let her sleep even though she thought she was missing a pretty interesting lesson.

Willow's new friend, Riley Finn, was prof. Walsh's TA, and he also noticed Buffy was asleep, but he just discreetly smiled to Willow. He always thought the blonde girl was pretty peculiar, but also cute.

While Willow was taking notes, Buffy was dreaming...

Buffy's in class, bored to tears, when prof. Walsh calls out her name and asks her to come in front of the blackboard for a demonstration. Since she never even read anything, Buffy's worried, but she slowly walks there, wondering what she'll have to do.

A blonde girl with blue eyes stands there, waiting for Buffy to come closer.

"A demonstration, right?"-the blonde girl asks and helps Buffy lie down on professor's desk. Buffy thinks it's strange, but she plays along.

The blonde girl says her name is Tara, and looks Buffy deep into her eyes, giving her a cute crooked smile.

"This feels very strange…"-Buffy says, staring into Tara's eyes.

"Don't worry. If I kiss you, it'll make the sun go down."-Tara says, leans over Buffy and gives her a slow, but passionate kiss. Buffy kisses her back, and when she opens her eyes, still dazed from the kiss, Buffy realizes it's dark, and all the students are gone. There are just Tara and herself in the classroom, and Buffy walks out to see what's happening.

"Fortune favors the brave."-Buffy mutters to herself.

She sees a little girl who holds a box in her hands, and Buffy frowns when she hears the little girl sing a little nursery rhyme:

Can't even shout

Can't even cry

The Gentlemen are coming by

Looking in windows

Knocking on doors

They need to take seven and they might take yours

Can't call to mom

Can't say a word

You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard.

"Wakey wakey, Buff. You've missed a great lesson."-Willow said to her friend when Buffy opened her eyes. At that moment Buffy couldn't care less about the lesson, the only thing she could think about was the strange dream she just had. It felt so real, like one of those prophetic ones she sometimes had, so she just said: "Uh, just tell me I didn't drool."

She smiled to Riley when he came by to talk to Willow, and thought she should just go to Giles to see if he knew anything about these Gentlemen the little girl sang about.

"Will, I have to go. See you at the dorm later, ok?"-Buffy said and stormed off before Willow managed to say anything.

Buffy walked through the college hall when she heard a familiar voice and stopped, to see where it was coming from.

There was a girl from her dream, Tara, and she was hanging with a group of Wicca wannabes, as Willow sometimes called them. The blonde girl looked embarrassed when she asked: "D-do you here do any sp-spells?"

The rest of the Wicca wannabes looked at her like she just grew another head, and Cheryl, their leader, said in a mocking tone: "Yes, and then we can get our broomsticks and fly around."

Tara blushed and shut up, and Buffy decided to step in. "You know, guys, my friend does spells and I'm pretty sure she could turn you into frogs if I asked her to."

They just rolled her eyes at her and dismissed the meeting, but Tara stayed behind and said: "T-thanks." Buffy thought she had a really cute smile. "You're welcome. They just babble and have no idea what about anyway. Sorry they were rude to you. I'm Buffy."

"I'm T-Tara."

They shook hands and smiled, and Tara, who could see people's auras, thought Buffy's was the brightest and the most beautiful she'd ever seen, so she figured that girl must be special somehow. It made her wonder why a special person like Buffy would wanna even say hi to her. She always had problems with confidence.

"You know… There's one more reason I stopped here when I saw you… now, this is gonna sound weird."-Buffy decided to be honest, and she just hoped she wouldn't scare Tara away.

"We-weird isn't always b-bad."-Tara said, stuttering a little, and Buffy thought it was cute. It was so strange to her to think of another girl as really, really cute. Faith was the only other girl she liked to check out… because that girl was wicked hot.

"Ok, well… I fell asleep in class, and I had this dream. I was in class and you were there, professor said it was time for demonstration, and you told me your name and kissed me."

"I… k-kissed you?"-Tara asked, thinking she would never do it in real life. Not cause she wouldn't want it, cause Buffy was really beautiful… but cause she'd just be too shy.

"Yes."-Buffy blushed a little, and she added: "But, there was more. The sun went down and a little girl with a box in her hands sang a little song. It was really strange and when I saw you I thought it might be one of the prophetic dreams."

"P-prophetic dreams?"-Tara asked, lifting her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah. You probably think I'm…"

"Special."-Tara finished Buffy's sentence and smiled.

Buffy smiled back, wishing she had more time to hang with Tara, but she really needed to talk to Giles about this dream. She didn't like her prophetic dreams, they usually meant trouble.

"I'm in a hurry, but it was really nice to meet you, Tara. Hope we can hang soon. I'm 214 Stevenson if you wanna come over sometimes."

"I'm Weisman Hall, 324. S-see you."-Tara said and Buffy said: "See you." and gently patted Tara's upper arm before she walked away.

Tara watched her leave, thinking she couldn't wait to see that girl again, even though she could bet that Buffy was just being polite and she wouldn't actually come over to hang with her.

When Buffy got to Giles', he was playing his guitar and singing 'Wish You Were Here' by Pink Floyd.

"Giles, you should definitely get a job."-Buffy said and startled her Watcher so much he almost dropped his guitar. She had to admit he was great at singing and playing his acoustic guitar. When she first met him, she never thought she'd someday want to describe him as 'cool'.

"Buffy… hello. Shouldn't you be in college? Umm, what are you doing here?"

"I wish I could say I've come to listen to a Pink Floyd concert, but… I've had a dream, and I think it might be one of the prophetic ones."

"I'm surprised you even know about Pink Floyd."

"So am I, Giles. Thought Slayer preferred bands like Backstreet Boys."-Spike walked into the living room and Buffy rolled her eyes and said:

"You should really keep Spike chained to a bath tub. Anyway, about the dream…"

Giles put his guitar away and started wiping his glasses, while watching Buffy curiously. He listened to her talking about her dream, and frowning slightly, because the little song she sang to him sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't remember.

"I'll look into it, Buffy. Can't even shout, can't even cry, the Gentlemen are coming by… The Gentlemen…"

"Look, I gotta go now, mom would kill me if she found out that I've been here but failed to visit her."-Buffy said and left, hoping Giles would call her back soon with some info.

Giles sat down at his desk to go through some huge dusty books, thinking he'd finally get some alone time with his books, when Anya and Xander burst into his place, arguing about how he didn't care about her feelings or her days, he was just interested in loads of orgasms.

Giles rubbed his temples and said: "I know you two talk about sex all the time, but why do you have to do it HERE?"

"I don't mind."-Spike said with a mouthful of Weetabix.

"So, G-man, what's up? Got anything demonic to research?"-Xander asked and took some of the Weetabix.

"No, not really. But, I have a favor to ask. A friend is coming later and I wish you would take Spike away for a few days."

Spike and Xander looked at each other in horror and yelled at the same time: "I'm not staying with him!" "I don't want him in my basement!"

Anya, who didn't seem to care about who Spike would or wouldn't stay with, asked: "Is it an orgasm friend?"

"Anya, that's the most appalling thing you could have said."-Giles said and rubbed his eyes before he placed glasses back on his nose.

"Oh my god, I don't want Spike in the way of MY orgasms!"

"I definitely don't want Spike anywhere near me!"-Xander agreed, but when he noticed Giles' glare, he figured he would have to let Spike crash in his basement for a few days.

"Hey mom!"-Buffy startled her mother, who was sorting out some of her gallery boxes, but when she saw her daughter, she left everything and ran to hug her. Now that she wasn't around, she missed her a lot, and it seemed that Buffy never had time to visit her anymore.

"Buffy! This is a surprise! Come in, you can have lunch with me now. I was just about to order Chinese."

"I'm ok, mom. Just wanted to say hi, I have to go back to college soon."

Joyce looked disappointed and she knew how to send Buffy on a guilt trip, so the Slayer just had to agree to stay for a meal. Her mother's frown turned into a smile immediately and Buffy smiled and managed to forget her weird dream for a moment.

Buffy planned to stay at her mom's for half an hour max, but she ended up staying till the evening, and she felt bad when she remembered the promise she'd given to Tara.

It was gone nine o'clock when Buffy knocked on Tara's door.

"You're surprised to see me. I promised I'd come over, but my mom wouldn't let me leave. She made me feel guilty for not visiting more often."-Buffy said when she saw a little surprised smile on Tara's face.

"Sorry, I'm n-not used to p-people t-that keep their p-promises. I'm h-happy you came."-Tara said and let Buffy in.

"You've been hanging with the wrong people then."-Buffy said and looked around. It was a nice room, although kinda dark. It was a simple room, but Tara made it comfy. There was a bed, with a dark green and black blanket on it, a little bookshelf that was filled with books and a few candles with vanilla scent, and a desk covered in notebooks and pencils.

The walls were covered with posters of kittens and flowers, and Buffy thought it was cute. "I like your room. It's comfy."-she said and sat on the bed.

"Would you l-like some tea?"-Tara offered and Buffy accepted, because Tara had poured herself a cup and it smelled delicious.

"So, what have you been doing?"-Buffy asked, to start a conversation with this shy, but really cute girl.

"Just homework m-mostly. B-been trying to find more about the d-dream you had, but go n-nothing so far."

Buffy noticed that Tara stuttered a bit less now that she got more relaxed, and she was glad that she was making Tara feel better about herself somehow.

"Awww, thanks. I've asked a friend to check it out for me, but he hasn't been in touch yet."-Buffy said and thought it was strange for Giles not to get in touch hours after she'd left him. She didn't know that his friend Olivia was coming over.

Giles had been reading when Olivia showed up, but as soon as she got there, he closed his books and kissed her.

She eagerly returned the kiss, and they exchanged a few meaningless lines and headed to bed. Maybe Anya was right, maybe Olivia was an orgasm friend…

Buffy and Tara hanged out till very late, and Tara offered her to sleep there. Buffy accepted, and surprisingly, she didn't mind sharing a bed with a girl she just met. She felt very comfortable around Tara and felt good sleeping just in a t-shirt and one of Tara's shorts.

While all the Scoobies were soundly asleep (even Xander and Anya, while Spike was tied to a chair next to their bed), the Gentlemen-monsters from Buffy's dream, opened a little box and started stealing voices from Sunnydale's residents.

They needed the whole town to be completely silent so they could steal seven hearts without being heard.

Buffy had woken up before Tara the next morning, and she headed to the bathroom to clean up a little. She saw a few people in a hallway, who were, just like herself, still half asleep.

She looked at the mirror and concluded she looked better than she felt, and she yawned and went back to Tara's room. Tara was up then, and when they tried to say 'Good morning' to each other, no sound came out.

What the hell?-Buffy mouthed and caught her throat, thinking she must have come down with a cold. When she saw Tara couldn't speak either, she got really worried. Both girls went out on the hallway and gave each other alarmed looks when they saw people run around, panicking because no one was able to speak. Some of the people even thought they'd gone deaf.

Something weird was going on, and Buffy was sure that her dream was somehow related to it. She caught Tara's hand while walking around the campus, trying to keep her close and protected. She knew that Tara knew magic, but she still didn't wanna leave her out of her sight.

They passed by a man that was selling dry erase boards and decided to buy two of them, for ten bucks a piece.

As soon as Buffy got her board, she wrote: I THINK THIS IS SOMEHOW CONNECTED TO THE DREAM I HAD YESTERDAY.

Tara looked in awe when she wrote: SO, IT REALLY WAS A PROPHETIC DREAM… WOW.

I WISH IT HADN'T BEEN. THIS MEANS TROUBLE. WE HAVE TO GO SEE GILES-MY WATCHER.

YOUR WATCHER?-Tara wrote and looked at Buffy, confused.

THIS IS GONNA SOUND WEIRD, BUT… I'M A VAMPIRE SLAYER.-Buffy wrote, hoping Tara wouldn't think she's completely insane.

She felt relieved when Tara smiled and wrote: ACTUALLY, IT EXPLAINS A LOT. I HAVE NEVER SEEN AN AURA LIKE YOURS.

It was Buffy's turn to get surprised. YOU CAN SEE AURAS? WOW, THAT'S SPECIAL. I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS EVEN POSSIBLE.

I THOUGHT VAMPIRE SLAYERS WERE A MYTH.

WELL, YOU WERE MYTH-TAKEN.-Buffy wrote and smiled at her own pun.

When they got to Giles', the whole Gang was there. Plus, a pretty black woman that was sitting on Giles' lap. Buffy thought it was a good thing she couldn't speak, because she probably would have screamed in surprise.

HI, GUYS. THIS IS MY FRIEND, TARA.-Buffy wrote and Tara waved to the gang. They waved back, wondering when on earth Buffy managed to make a new friend.

ANYTHING ABOUT MY DREAM OR THIS SILENCE?-Buffy wrote on her board and her heart sank when Giles waved his head. Buffy didn't like mysteries and she just hoped she'd find out more about it all before really scary things started happening.

Xander jumped suddenly and turned up the TV volume. They listened to the newscaster say there was an epidemic of laryngitis in Sunnydale.

That's it? Laryngitis?-Xander mouthed, looking exasperated, and Buffy seriously doubted it wasn't a supernatural thing.

She put her determined face on and wrote: KEEP RESEARCHING. I SHOULD BE IN TOWN TONIGHT.

Buffy didn't like riddles, and she got frustrated because she couldn't make a sound, when she wanted to scream out loud.

Riley, who was just a TA during the day, happened to be a part of the Initiative, a military based facility beneath Sunnydale, that captured demons and made them unable to hurt humans. Prof. Walsh was his boss, and when Sunnydale's citizens woke up without their voices, they knew, just like Buffy, that it wasn't because of laryngitis.

Something supernatural was going on, and Riley was worried that a lot of people would get hurt. He worried that Willow might get hurt. He liked her even though he knew that she'd just recently broken up with a guy she really loved. And it was strange how easy it was just to talk to her, and hang out…

She was so smart and cute, different than other girls on campus. Definitely different than her best friend, Buffy, who Riley thought was really peculiar, although cute. He knew his friend Forrest thought she was hot and would have liked to see her in the buff. Buffy in the buff. It sounded funny…

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard computer's 'voice' say what Prof. Walsh had typed: YOU WILL HELP MAINTAIN ORDER. DRESS AS CIVILIANS. A MILITARY PRESENCE WOULD ONLY INCREASE PANIC.

Riley was a great soldier and as soon as he heard Professor's order, it was the only thing he could think about. He pushed Willow in the back of his mind and decided to concentrate on the mission.

He lead his team, including Forrest and Graham, outside, to research and see if they could eliminate any threats. He wasn't expecting to run into Willow in front of the bookstore, though.

He stopped two men from having a fight when he saw her and just walked towards her, wishing he could call out her name. She noticed him and smiled, and he thought that smile could fix absolutely everything…

They both mouthed: Are You Ok? and hugged each other quickly before running into different directions when they heard glass shattering nearby.

Willow was holding a book and as soon as she got in her dorm room, she opened it to start reading. It took her a moment to notice Buffy, who was reading as well. It was strange to see her best friend read, and Willow mouthed: Anything?

Buffy waved her head and closed the book, deciding it was time to sleep. Maybe something would change in the morning.

Olivia woke up in the middle of the night to have a glass of water, and when she approached the window and looked outside, she jumped back and would have screamed if she'd had any voice to do so- there were some ugly creatures FLOATING around the house.

There was no way she'd go back to sleep, so Olivia took a pencil and started drawing that creature with a shaky hand.

While everyone at Buffy's dorm was soundly asleep, including herself, Gentlemen floated through the halls until they got in front of the room 118. A boy was asleep in there and they knocked on the door. He opened it, still sleepy, rubbing his eyes, when he realized those things in front of his door weren't his friends, but some creepy looking monsters.

Screaming was futile when they pushed him on his bed, held him down and started cutting his chest with a scalpel… They needed seven hearts and they were about to get their first.

When Giles woke up and saw Olivia's drawing, something clicked in his head and he knew exactly where to look for the answers. He picked his book FAIRY TALES, still not believing it was happening. He had to tell Buffy about it, so he started drawing pictures that would help him explain everything to her.

Buffy was in her room, with Tara, who came over for coffee, when Giles knocked on her door and urged her to meet him in one of the empty classrooms that had projectors. The rest of the Gang was sitting there, waiting, when Buffy, Tara and Giles got there. They all nodded and waved to each other and Giles stood in front of the blackboard and placed his first drawing into a projector.

WHO ARE THE GENTLEMEN?- said the question on the wall, but no one knew the answer; they all just shrugged, so Giles changed the sheet , and it said:

THEY ARE FAIRY TALE MONSTERS. There was a poorly drawn Gentleman on the sheet . WHAT DO THEY WANT?-was the question that Giles asked next, and Willow, always the nerd, waved her hand in the air, showing to her chest-they wanted hearts.

HOW DO YOU KILL THEM?- Xander wrote what everybody wanted to know. Buffy gesticulated she should try staking them, but everybody gave her strange looks because it looked like she was… doing something else.

When Buffy realized what they were thinking, she pulled a stake out of her bag and everyone smiled, relieved her idea was way more innocent than theirs.

Giles' drawings explained weapons couldn't kill the Gentlemen, but Princess' scream killed them all. The problem was everyone was mute and obviously couldn't scream. Buffy slumped in her chair and looked at Tara, wishing she could act like the big bad Slayer now that everyone needed her.

Feeling all down, Buffy walked Tara to her dorm and decided to go out for a walk to clear her head. Tara decided to try to find a spell she could perform without actually speaking the words out loud.

When she finally found the right book, Tara ran out to find Buffy. She knew she could help her with a spell, or her best friend Willow could give her a hand since she was an experienced witch.

It started getting dark and Tara walked fast through the deserted streets. It seemed that nobody wanted to be outside after hearing about horrible murders that had happened in Sunnydale the previous night.

She heard some noise and turned around. She let out a silent scream when she saw those monsters Giles had talked about. She ran as fast as she could, and dropped her books, not caring about anything but staying alive and getting to Buffy.

Buffy was out, patrolling, when she heard stuff breaking and falling and ran into that direction. She narrowed her eyes, trying to sharpen her vision, and she gasped when she saw Gentlemen floating about. Then she was jumped by their henchmen, who were quick, but fortunately, not good at fighting.

She easily snapped one henchman's neck, but the other ran away, surprisingly fast, and Buffy started chasing him.

She stopped abruptly when she saw Tara run like she was being chased by the devils. Her heart almost stopped when she saw the Gentlemen chase Tara, and she ran as fast as she could to get Tara to safety before they could harm her in any way.

Tara was so out of her mind when Buffy caught up with her and grabbed her hand, she almost hit Buffy in the face. When she saw who it was, she smiled and Buffy pulled her into a quick hug, before they ran off, holding hands.

It was amazing and pretty unbelievable how fast those creatures moved. Buffy felt like they were just inches away the whole time, no matter how fast they ran. They ran to Stevenson Hall and hid in the cafeteria. They sat on the floor, trying to catch a breath and Buffy squeezed Tara's hand, happy that she managed to protect her.

You have to stay here. Please.-Buffy mouthed and Tara looked at her like she thought she lost her mind. Buffy looked so determined and worried, and she just had to nod, to promise her she would stay safe. Her heart was beating like crazy when she mouthed back: What are you gonna do?

Buffy mouthed: I will kill those bastards, it's what I do. Stay here.-she looked into Tara's eyes and wished she could tell her how much it would hurt if anything happened to her. She needed Tara to understand that she just wanted her to be ok… so she suddenly pulled the girl into a kiss.

Tara was surprised, but she returned the kiss, blushing a little. The kiss was short, but deep, and Buffy smiled shyly to Tara before she ran out and locked Tara inside, hoping it would be enough to keep her safe.

She looked for the Gentlemen and realized they were heading somewhere-to a tower. And Buffy followed them, thinking she just had to end it all somehow.

Thanks to her Slayer speed and strength, Buffy climbed on the top of the tower easily. Her eyes widened when she saw five full jars there, but the Henchmen jumped her before she could react. She switched into her Slayer mode and started kicking and punching the annoying Henchmen that were obviously trying to keep her away from something.

Buffy looked around and noticed a box she had seen in her dream.

I have to destroy it- Buffy thought and ran towards it, when the Gentlemen appeared out of thin air and stabbed her in the arm. Pain shot through her, but Buffy had to keep going. She'd done too much to end up dying alone at the top of this tower.

She managed to jump to the box and hit it with a hammer. She remembered Giles had told her about the Princess whose scream had killed the Gentlemen and she screamed… and continued screaming her lungs out until the Gentlemen's heads exploded-literally.

Buffy continued sitting there, breathing hard, so happy that her voice was back, and it was over.

She walked downstairs, slowly, when Riley ran to her and asked: "Buffy? What are you doing here? Are you hurt? I heard a scream, and got my voice back somehow, and now you're here."

Buffy looked at him, just as surprised to see him. He had a gun and was dressed as a soldier. It wasn't Halloween anymore and Buffy figured that Riley wasn't a Joe Normal that she thought he was.

"I've just… had a walk. What's up with the stun gun?"-Buffy eyed him suspiciously and Riley said: "Uh… paintball. Want me to walk you home? It's not safe out here."

"I can take care of myself, but thank you."-Buffy said, and hurried to her dorm, not giving a damn about Riley and his outfit. She just wanted to make sure that Tara was ok.

She was so relieved when she found Tara just where she'd left her, safe and unhurt.

"I'm back."-Buffy said and sat next to Tara.

"You made it. We got our voices back. You really are special."-Tara said, feeling pretty amazed by the blonde Slayer. And, her lips started tingling when she remembered the kiss.

"I'm The Slayer. It's my job to fix things when no one else can."-Buffy said, looking humble and kinda sad.

Tara had no idea what to say to her, so she kissed her. A kiss spoke louder than any word.

Both girls looked a bit dreamy when they broke the kiss… They just stared at each other for a moment, and then Buffy said: "So… I guess we should talk…"

"I guess we should…"-Tara agreed and smiled. They kissed again, figuring the talk could wait a bit more…

THE END.