Disclaimer: Xander belongs to Joss Whedon, and he will never, ever be mine.
Out of the Blue
So, this is it. This is how I'm going to die.
I never thought it would be like this. So quick, so out of the blue. I've seen things you wouldn't believe. The demons I've faced, the vampires and the apocalypses I've fought and beaten. My vengeance demon girlfriend, the rerun of Angelus, Mr Killing Spree himself, the kidnappings, the hours upon hours locked in a closet with Cordelia Chase. I've been through them all, and while I'm not the person I used to be, I think they changed me for the better. They made me stronger, mentally, more aware of the world, and the bad things that can happen in it, and more confidant in my ability to face anything and come out of it alive.
I thought, if I ever thought about it at all, death would find me in one of Sunnydale's many, many cemeteries, or in some filthy back alley. I thought I would die in battle with my throat ripped out, or some internal organ removed by one of the ancient swords we were always researching over at the Magic Box, or at Giles's.
Let's just say, I never thought I'd die for the sake of a Twinkie.
"I don't think he's going to be okay." Some moron points out from above me. There's a fair size crowd all the way up there. They're staring down at me, watching me bleed to death on the floor of Sunnydale's one and only gas station. I try to tell them the floor is filthy and someone should have washed it weeks ago, and that they probably ought to throw out the potato chips, or at least wash off the blood before it congeals, but when I try to talk I can only feel a sucking in my chest. There's a wheezing noise too, and it takes me a second to realise it's coming from me.
My entire life, from the second grade sleepovers at Willow's, to Buffy coming and showing us that there is true evil in the world and most it lives in Sunnydale, to stopping my best friend throwing the universe into oblivion, it all came down to some desperate junkie with a gun and a badly timed need for sugar.
Things are getting blurry now, and the copper taste in my mouth is getting so strong. It'll all end soon. I guess no one sees it coming, not in the end. Whether it takes weeks or seconds to come, death is a surprise, because it's only supposed to happen to other people. But it's happening to me now, and I can't stop it. I wonder how they'll remember me.
I just hope it's with a smile.
Out of the Blue
So, this is it. This is how I'm going to die.
I never thought it would be like this. So quick, so out of the blue. I've seen things you wouldn't believe. The demons I've faced, the vampires and the apocalypses I've fought and beaten. My vengeance demon girlfriend, the rerun of Angelus, Mr Killing Spree himself, the kidnappings, the hours upon hours locked in a closet with Cordelia Chase. I've been through them all, and while I'm not the person I used to be, I think they changed me for the better. They made me stronger, mentally, more aware of the world, and the bad things that can happen in it, and more confidant in my ability to face anything and come out of it alive.
I thought, if I ever thought about it at all, death would find me in one of Sunnydale's many, many cemeteries, or in some filthy back alley. I thought I would die in battle with my throat ripped out, or some internal organ removed by one of the ancient swords we were always researching over at the Magic Box, or at Giles's.
Let's just say, I never thought I'd die for the sake of a Twinkie.
"I don't think he's going to be okay." Some moron points out from above me. There's a fair size crowd all the way up there. They're staring down at me, watching me bleed to death on the floor of Sunnydale's one and only gas station. I try to tell them the floor is filthy and someone should have washed it weeks ago, and that they probably ought to throw out the potato chips, or at least wash off the blood before it congeals, but when I try to talk I can only feel a sucking in my chest. There's a wheezing noise too, and it takes me a second to realise it's coming from me.
My entire life, from the second grade sleepovers at Willow's, to Buffy coming and showing us that there is true evil in the world and most it lives in Sunnydale, to stopping my best friend throwing the universe into oblivion, it all came down to some desperate junkie with a gun and a badly timed need for sugar.
Things are getting blurry now, and the copper taste in my mouth is getting so strong. It'll all end soon. I guess no one sees it coming, not in the end. Whether it takes weeks or seconds to come, death is a surprise, because it's only supposed to happen to other people. But it's happening to me now, and I can't stop it. I wonder how they'll remember me.
I just hope it's with a smile.