Name: David Marshall Abhrams

AGE: 16

DOB: 2 April 1981

Origin:

Like Buffy Summers, Faith Pryce, and some other members of the Scooby Gang, David Abhrams is not a Sunnydale native. Unlike the Slayers (and friends), who had no idea Sunnydale, California even existed, Dave knew of the town because his mother was born and raised there (and he had visited on more than one occasion).

David himself was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was Ohio born and bred, while his mom had moved there to attend college in Cincinnati and stayed on after meeting and marrying his father. David grew up and by the time he was ten, was hooked on superheroes, comic books, and action movies. He also liked science fiction and sword and sorcery-style tales (you can thank both Patrick Stewart and Ah-nold in his Conan role for that) and began moving away from comic books to paperbacks. David also inherited his father's love for classic movies and TV Westerns (David is more a fan of John Wayne/John Ford classics than Clint Eastwood "spaghetti Westerns," although he does like The Outlaw Josey Wales). He didn't get into role playing games like some people, although he liked the lines of novels they inspired. By the time he entered high school, Dave had nearly ten BIG cardboard boxes filled with books of all kinds, paperback or hardcover.

In late 1996, David's parents realized that they were moving apart and decided to file for divorce. While this understandably caused David some emotional conflicts, he at least realized that his parents weren't divorcing because of him, or for reasons that caused them problems. They were simply moving in different directions with their lives and this was the right choice for them. His parents asked him what he wanted to do, and he decided to stay with his mother. While disappointed, Mr. Abhrams accepted the decision with good grace and the divorce was finalized with a minimum of hassle (despite the fact that he's only visited his father sporadically in the last two plus years, both father and son remain close; Dave has even introduced Jessica to his Dad when he came to Sunnydale for a visit and they got along famously).

David found himself uprooted from Cincinnati and moved to the quiet suburb of Los Angeles, his mother's hometown. He found that he liked the small town atmosphere and acclimated himself with surprising ease. It helped that the high school had the curriculum he wanted; his parents had always supported his desire to become a teacher like Dad (unlike some parents who want their kids to grow rich, the Abhrams were a solid pair with values often called "small town" <in Mom's case> or "Midwestern" <Dad>). David's normally easygoing, Middle America demeanor also served him in making new friends, a challenge for most kids who find themselves in a new school.

One of those was a cute redhead in his Comparative Literature class, who went out of her way to make him feel welcome at his new school. Their mutual desires to become teachers and love of reading meshed them together quite rapidly, and within a couple of months they found themselves moving beyond a classmate or even friends stage. The disappearance of one of their group partners (who was one of Jessica's closest friends) rocked their worlds but had one hidden blessing; the two recognized their mutual attraction for each other and chose to start dating.

When Jessica began noticing Sunnydale's history of deaths and disappearances, David posted his own theory to her. The police claimed it was gang members on PCP, but he thought they were slightly off. His belief was that drug dealers in Los Angeles were trying to find a market in the suburbs and coming into conflict with each other or with a gang already in Sunnydale. There were gangs in town, and he had experience in these things from his school back in Ohio. Jessica believed that he had a point (even though it turns out they're way wrong).

The kids began their junior years in the same Lit classes thanks to their teacher, who knew they wanted to "follow in her footsteps." While the class was smaller than the others, they weren't going to complain, even though they found themselves as the only members of their group. It wasn't until December that a third member joined after he and Jess had a short debate about why the girl wanted to, as he put it, "slum with the commoners" (given that she spent most of her time with seniors). Once he was put in his place (by his own girlfriend), he showed he had the grace to accept that he'd misread Shaw and gave her the thumbs up to join (Dating Blues 2). He didn't regret the decision once he found out that Shaw shared more than his and Jess's love of reading, especially for his favorites, fantasy novels (although he's tried, without much success, to get her into sci-fi like Star Trek or Babylon 5 <he still can't figure out why she glares at him over the former>). The two non-literature topics he and Shaw found they mutually enjoyed were baseball (David, despite living near LA, is still a diehard Reds fan) and so-called "professional" wrestling (which makes Jessica cringe, but he does the same when the girls talk about girly things, so it evens out in the end). He and his girl got another partner after the New Year, a new transfer student from Boston. Having been through the whole "moving to California" thing a year earlier, David did what he could to help Faith adjust to her new lifestyle (although Faith's personality and wild side limited what help she did need). One thing he did appreciate (as she did) was that being from Boston, she wasn't a Yankee fan (both think there are too many of those already <see Prom Night for a weird yet relevant example>).

When the big news about Diana Tregarde hit, it was Dave's idea to avoid a romance story, although he wondered if he was going to have any chance of that, given three girls in his group that could outvote him. However, Shaw and Faith both supported his "Earth-type fantasy" idea and Jessica went along since she liked the idea of doing something different. They worked long and hard on their story and characters (David's was an ex-Navy SEAL), but had a great deal of fun with it (all four shared the same philosophy on that; if you're going to do it, have fun doing it. Otherwise it's not worth doing) (For Every Action). They eventually earned high marks and looked forward to their next challenge, which was finals, although David was hit hard (as was Jess) by the secret shared by their partners; two college boys had tried to drug and rape them (Soul Sisters). While Jessica's reaction was to offer emotional support, David's first impulse was to go kick the crap out of the guys for their attempted crime (a reaction similar to how he'd felt when he learned the truth about Faith's foster father).

On a personal note, David looked for a summer job but was unable to obtain a position at the town library like Jess. His second choice was to work at Grandpa's hardware store, which would provide him steadier hours, even if it didn't get him the experience he wanted for his future as a teacher. Still, he knew the money would come in handy.

As his junior year enters the home stretch, David's solidly on the honor roll as he has been for the last two years. His relationship and feelings for Jessica continue to deepen (so much so that they plan on going to stay at her Nana's house in LA for a week during summer vacation). While they aren't going to have the bonus of working together this summer, David's happy with how his life is going and sees no reason to change much if anything about it.

Race: Human.

Description:

Unlike many of the students at Sunnydale High School, who have bombshell looks that you see on television, David is considered by most females to be closer to "cute" than he is to "hunky," "dreamy," or "I-want-to-have-your-baby!" gorgeous. David is attractive, but not in the way that Hollywood producers would offer him a contract to play a teenager on a WB series.

David's height and weight are normal by most standards. He's five-nine and weighs somewhere in the 160-180 pound range. He's in good shape overall but not overly muscular or developed. The "normalcy" of his physical dimensions is offset by what some (read: his girlfriend) consider his best traits; his hair and eyes, which are both brown in color. David's hair has slight bronze highlights that only show up in the right light, but it's very smooth (like the finest silk, according to Jessica <Hunter's Moon teaser>), while his eyes are a shade one often sees on antique furniture. While they aren't intense or penetrating, they do convey that David has a good heart.

While Jessica prefers the corporate style of dress, David seems to prefer comfort and serviceability to snazzy attire. Where his girl comes into school looking ready for a board meeting, David's favorite collar shirt or sweater, blue jeans, and comfortable sneakers (or dress shoes if dressing up for a special occasion) give him more of the "boy next door" appearance. Which, in actuality, fits David to a tee.

David doesn't have much in the way of distinguishing physical characteristics, but he does have one scar; four stitch marks above his right eye (hidden by his right eyebrow) caused by him not being fast enough with his glove at a baseball practice when he was in Little League.

Abilities (uncommon): David has no paranormal or mystical abilities, nor any known potential for wizardry or spellcraft of any sort.

Abilities (learned): Like Jessica, David has well above-average intelligence. While not in the class of school geniuses like Willow Rosenberg or Alison Jarman, David can more than hold his own in the Brains department. He currently carries a 3.33 GPA (which is good considering his course load is two-thirds honors classes). David hopes to get his grades a little higher by the end of his senior year since, unlike Jessica (who has two professional, lower upper class parents), he could use an academic scholarship to really take a burden off of his mother when it comes to college.

Unlike his girlfriend, who came into wanting to be a teacher after she entered high school, David has nursed this desire since he was nine or ten. Unlike some kids (since he had a teacher for a father), David knows that the job is rewarding in its own right and has no problems with wanting to follow in Dad's footsteps. David's class courses reflect this; like Jess, he stacks his schedule with honors classes, which are tougher and more challenging. While he doesn't (quite) have Jess's GPA or organization skills, his native intelligence allows him to hold his own. David has secured applications to some of the same colleges as his girlfriend (notably UCLA, USC, and UC-San Francisco and -Sunnydale), but has also decided to send applications to Arizona, Arizona State, and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (while talking to Jess about doing the same).

When working on literature projects, David's strengths are researching and categorizing diverse sources of information and presenting it in a way that others can easily follow (an example of this was for the "Tregarde Project"; David researched some of the legends and traditions of actual Earth mysticism to make their characters more realistic from a reader's standpoint, but also used common elements from fantasy works (from Tolkein to Ed Greenwood) to add that "magic" touch to make it unique on its own. When put together, his and Jessica's skills make them a crack team.

David is also a diehard baseball fan, having played in Little League and on the junior varsity in his freshman year of high school (in Ohio; he decided not to try out after moving to California). He's not major league material (and he's realistic enough to know it), but if he'd tried out for the Sunnydale High team, he might have been their starting left fielder. He still follows his favorite team (the Reds) despite having been in California for nearly two years.

David's collection of literature is larger than Jessica's (by four boxes at last count), but isn't quite as varied as her own selection. The areas of fiction that David likes the best are science fiction (he likes Harry Turtledove <the leading author of "alternate history" fiction today> and anything related to Star Trek), fantasies (particularly Tolkein, Zimmer Bradley, Piers Anthony, and also HG Wells), mysteries (he likes Robert Parker and Mickey Spillane), and Westerns (he's a Louis Lamour fan). As an extension of his love of certain books, David also loves horror and Western films. Unlike teens that go for the "slasher" type gore-fests, Dave is more a fan of the "classic" black-and-white films like Dracula, Frankenstein, or the Mummy, while his favorite Westerns include Big Jake and the Magnificent Seven (though he admits Young Guns kicked ass too).

Current Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record, currently a minor. Junior at Sunnydale High School in Sunnydale, California. Part-time employee at Abhrams Hardware in Sunnydale, California. David is not an Immortal, nor is he a Pre-Immortal.

Proficient weapons: David hasn't had any form of martial arts or combat training, and the thought's never really crossed his mind. If he were forced to defend himself, David's first choice of weapon would likely be a baseball bat (aluminum, of course).

Current beliefs:

David's lifestyle is the same as it's been all year. He doesn't have any problems or angst that make him wonder why life's so cruel, although he does have the issue regarding college money (but again, he has a year to handle it and it's likely the scholarship idea will reduce any monetary problems). He's already working 10-14 hours a week at the hardware store (he decided to get an early start and figures it'll save him that much more money).

David's priority besides school and his immediate family is, of course, Jessica. The two are more than serious but, unlike a lot of couples, haven't discussed sex (their unspoken agreement is, when they think they're ready, then they'll discuss that step). They both realize that they're happy the way things are and see no reason whatsoever to change the pace that they're proceeding at. David and Jessica both seem to be "one person" people, and it's part of the reason they fit so well together.

Like Jessica, David doesn't easily fall into any of your "typical" high school subtypes; Brain, Jock, etc. Unlike Jessica, who isn't picked on by the Popular Clique mostly because she has a fine combination of style, intelligence, and confidence, David "blends in" with the Boys' Version of the Popular Girls to a point. While he's more of a Brain than they are, they also know that it's only because he has other things that are more important to him (read: They know that if he wanted, he could have taken one of their spots on the baseball team, and they'd be on the opposite side of the Letterman's Jacket).

One of David's greatest strengths is that he's consistent in how he acts and feels. He was raised on "good old American values" and doesn't sway from them for any reason. Whereas Jessica's quietly confident, sure of herself, and shows it (even unintentionally), what people will "read" from Dave is a strong sense of honesty, fairness, and loyalty amidst the mild-mannered exterior (part of the reason Faith makes the Clark Kent comments, along with that Midwestern upbringing). But there is the one contrast to this nice, normal guy with the down to Earth personality; unlike Jessica, who doesn't seem to have the temper often associated with those of her hair color, David has a fiery side if pushed by something that violates his sense of morality. The examples of this are his reactions to the near rape of Shaw and Faith (Soul Sisters, Blast For The Past, Year To The Day <he literally wanted to rip them apart>) and Faith's history (he was pissed about her foster Dad and is happy that Faith has found "another Mom" in Mrs. Summers).

Like Jessica, David's a normal kid living life like normal kids should. He's a good guy who won't bail on his friends. And that's what makes him different from some of the "normal" kids at Sunnydale High School like Percy or the Popular Ones.

What is the one most important thing you can say about the character?

Like I put in Jessica's bio, David is something our heroes need; a friend outside the life of Section Seven that they can chill with on their nights off and who gives them the taste of what a normal life is like. For the girls he is friends with, it's for differing reasons. For Shaw, Dave and Jess give her someone to open up to when she doesn't want to involve the team (as in Working Girl) or in her own (junior) class to hang out with. For Faith, who grew up on the streets, the couple provides her with two things; one being pals outside the whole "Slayer" life and a pair of people who have no angle or ulterior motives, the other being people she knows are friends with her because they like Faith Pryce and not the Slayer.

The friendships with Faith and Shaw also highlight the emotional differences between the characters. The events in Soul Sisters are a prime example; Jessica reacted by offering her emotional support and being willing to talk to Faith and Shaw over what happened (the rape attempts, not Faith's brush with the dark side). David's reaction was less "supportive sister" and more "protective big brother who's going to kick the shit out of those sons of you know whats" who hurt the girls. If the boys hadn't been arrested, David wouldn't have cared that they were college boys; he would have tracked them down and tried to take out a pound (or two) of flesh for the Soul Sisters.

Jessica is the more confident of the two, at least outwardly, but David is just as comfortable with himself. A way that they show a "different but same" trait is in how they dress. Jessica shows the world the confident young woman she is with her wardrobe. David shows the laid back (in a Midwestern way, not an Oz way), easy going guy raised in Ohio. Though unlike Jessica, who doesn't have any traits she hides from the world, Dave does have a temper if the right buttons are pushed. It's not a "Hulk Smash" type of feeling, but focused by his values and own sense of right and wrong; he fully subscribes to the old adage, "You mess with my friends, you mess with me." He's shown it more than once when hearing about the tragedies or bad things that have happened to his friends, and Faith and Shaw appreciate it all the more because they know, at least where David is concerned, it's not about revenge or punishment (like it might be for them). It's about friendship and sticking together.

Something the girls gratefully accept and return in full measure.

Favorite quote: "It's not about getting there and enjoying it. It's about getting there the right way and helping others get there."

Nicknames: Dave, Davey, DA, J-Girl's Boy Toy (that one from Faith, but for some reason it makes Jessica blush just as much as David does).

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