Lost in Mystic Creek
Chapter 12
You are My Sunshine
"Thank you guys so much for doing this," Rory said, stepping forward to hug Joey. "God, I don't know what we would do without you."
"Hey, don't mention it, really," Joey stated, pulling away from her friend's tight embrace. "I have to practice as much as I can, with this one on the way." She patted her belly, smiling fondly. "And James is so cute. It's no problem."
Rory sat down on the couch behind her and pulled Joey down beside her. "Babysitting James can be a big pain, you know how he is."
"It's not your fault."
Rory scoffed, "Yeah. Say that a bit more convincingly please."
Joey giggled, but then paused when she thought of her last conversation with Rory. "Um…so, have we decided anything on the Kate front?"
Rory paled. "Right…god, I've been so busy with everything that I haven't even been the least bit worried that we have a fugitive on our street. And…" she paused, slowly taking a breath. "I even saw her the other day, rushing out of her house. I almost waved."
Joey sighed.
"What is wrong with me?" Rory whispered.
"Everything's been a teeny bit hectic around here," Joey reasoned. "Have you seen how many cars are on this street now? There seems to be a new couple moving in every day."
Rory laughed, forgetting about the Kate problem for a second. "I haven't seen any of the new ones out in daylight, except for the very rare occurrence of a car driving out of this place."
"So you haven't met any of them?"
"Just this one couple," she responded, furrowing a brow. "I invited them for lunch, and they just bailed randomly in the middle of it…'guess we scared them off."
Joey chuckled. "I can't believe that. You guys are pretty normal."
"Draco and Hermione," Rory said. "They're a bit weird themselves. James kept on going on about these plates…and about a wand of some sort…"
"Kids imagine things. Maybe that's what spooked them."
"Well, get used to James talking about it every single moment of the day," she laughed. "He can be pretty obsessive when he wants to be. I'm even thinking about walking over to their house and asking them about it."
Joey shook her head. "I'm sure it's nothing."
Rory nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. "So, what are we going to do about Kate?"
"What did Jess say?"
"He told me that she didn't seem dangerous." Rory crossed her arms over her chest. "But I think that it's just because he thinks she's--"
"Hot?" Joey stifled a laugh. "Pacey's practically drooling over her. I guess he has some kind of fugitive fantasy."
Rory laughed along with her friend. "Aren't you the least bit worried?"
"Oh, please. Like Kate would ever pay an ounce of attention to Pacey." Joey lifted her eyebrows. "I mean, have you seen Sawyer? I don't know, it's something about the accent."
Rory giggled.
"So…there has been no ultimate decision?" Joey asked cautiously.
Suddenly, Rory sighed, putting her head in her hands. "I just feel like Kate is our friend."
"So maybe we could talk to her…you know, together. Help her out. Convince her to give herself up. Tell her it'll be way better for everyone here."
"I'm not sure it's going to work, but I'm willing to give it a try," Rory agreed.
So after their agreement, they made their way to the kitchen, where they had left their men. Pacey was sprawled out on the floor, and James was straddling his chest, his little hand wrapped around Pacey's neck.
Jess looked over at the women from his place, sitting on the counter, smoking a cigarette. "Out of hand game of twister."
"James," Rory said sternly, hands on hips. "Off of Pacey. Now."
"Leave them alone, they were having some unadulterated fun," Jess said sarcastically.
"Come on, Hon," she told James, lifting him up and handing him to Joey. She knelt down next to Pacey. "Sorry about that. Whatever that was," Rory stated confusedly, blushing slightly as Joey helped her husband up.
"It's okay," Pacey replied, limping slightly. "He's a...just a bit overzealous."
"To say the least." Rory tossed a quick look at her son, who was now in Joey's arms. Suddenly, a gust of smoke came to her, and she coughed. "Jesus, Jess." She walked over to him, took the cigarette out of his mouth, and tossed it into the sink. "Do you have no common courtesy?"
"Pacey said I could take a quick smoke. No big deal," Jess mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Actually, I do find it a big deal," she fumed, biting her bottom lip. "And I'm willing to bet it's my opinion that counts." She grabbed him by the collar, forcing him to follow her out of the kitchen. "Thanks again, guys!" She yelled quickly.
Seconds later, a loud slam of the door was heard.
"Could they get more dysfunctional?" Pacey inquired, making a gesture towards where Rory and Jess made their exit.
"She's just stressed." Joey shrugged it off, looking at James at the moment. "Hey, James, what do you want to do today?"
His eyes lit up. "Play more twister please."
"Aw," she tussled his hair. "He's so polite."
"Mommy says that I have to say please after every sentence, just in case," James recited proudly. "It's okay, right?"
"More than okay. I love how you say 'please'. It's a very nice adjustment around here," Joey said, glaring at Pacey.
James giggled.
"Here, Pace." She smiled, passing James over to her husband. "You have just won the lottery. While I'm out, you get to hang out with the coolest kid in the world."
James bounced up and down in Pacey's arms. "Really? I'm the coolest kid in the world?"
"Of course," she laughed.
"Uh, Jo," Pacey interrupted. "I might have a slight problem with that…uh, situation. Something in the form of a very big football game."
Joey rolled her eyes.
James's pool blue eyes watered. "You don't wanna hang out with the coolest kid in the world, Lacey?"
"Pacey," he corrected absentmindedly. "And of course I want to hang out with you, Kid, but it's just that--"
"Buts are for butts," James said, giggling slightly.
Joey nodded, grabbing her purse. "You heard him. Buts are for butts," she repeated, kissing him on the cheek before making a quick and painless exit.
Pacey sighed, putting James down. "Anything except for twister," he groaned, rubbing his neck.
--
It was only noon, and Pacey was already the most tired out he had ever been in his life. Ever. After spending hours playing hide-and-go-seek in the house, (two broken lamps later) they decided it would be better to move their little play date outside, where nothing valuable could be damaged.
"Guess what?" James made conversation as he skipped down the sidewalk, a foot in front of Pacey.
"What?" He asked tiredly.
James turned to look at his babysitter, widening his eyes slightly. "Okay, Bacey, but you got to promise to keep it a big, huge secret."
"Pacey," he only said.
"Draco's a witch!" James exclaimed.
Pacey stopped short, looking at the child with a confused expression. "He's a…witch?" He only laughed. "First of all, witches don't exist…and second of all, male magic-makers are called warlocks. Trust me, I know."
"But, Bacey, I saw--"
"Pacey," he interrupted, exasperated.
"The plates got all broken and he fixed them."
Pacey sighed, deciding to go along with it as much as he could. "Who's Draco? You're imaginary dragon friend?"
"No, dummy," James replied, rolling his eyes. "He's the new neidbor."
"Neighbor," Pacey corrected. "Is he really? The new neighbor?"
James nodded, eager to finish his story. "I was gonna give them cake, because Hermione really really likes cake, and then it just…" he paused, leaving Pacey at suspense. "BAAAAAAAAAM!" He yelled loudly. "They slipped off the counter by demselves and then Draco made magic."
"Let me guess…Hermione is his wife?"
"I think so," James responded, scratching the back of his small head. "And he took out this stick that made magic and fixed the mess."
Pacey raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that that was what really happened?"
"Yeaaaaaah!" James exclaimed, but then paused, looking down. "I mean…okay…maybe--"
"Draco isn't a warlock?"
He shook his head. "No. I made the plates go BAM. They didn't slip."
Pacey sighed, he would have to stop arguing with a three-year-old. It didn't look like he was going to fess up to the lying. "I'm having a hard time believing you, Kiddo. I mean, on the whole warlock thing."
"Fine," James drew out, grabbing Pacey's hand. "Then you can ask them yourself."
He dragged Pacey down the street and to Draco and Hermione's front lawn. Pacey took himself out of James's grasp and backed away from the lawn, clearly not liking the idea.
"James, we can't just barge into someone's home. They probably have things to do," Pacey reasoned. "Come on. Let's go back home…I'll even let you play twister."
James put his finger on his chin, thinking about his options. Twister or witches? "Err…" he mumbled, not completely sure. "But I really really wanted to show yooooooooou. It's sooo cool."
"I don't think it's such a great idea. I'm sure they want their privacy."
His eyebrows connected in confusion. "What's privacy?"
Pacey scratched the back of his neck, looking at the house. Despite himself, he wondered what was going on inside that house and if any inch of what James had told him was true. "It's when people don't want little kids butting into their business. They might want some alone time."
"Oh, don't be a stupid head! They'll be so happy to see me!" He, obviously, had made up his mind, since he marched to the door. He looked back at Pacey and urged him to come with him.
Pacey sighed heavily, and started walking through the lawn and to the doorway. One thing he didn't want was to leave the kid alone with two strangers. "James--," he started, but stopped after the child had pressed his thumb against the doorbell.
"Come on!" James yelled. "Drac-o!"
"See…their not home. Let's just go."
Then, the door swung open to reveal a frizzy haired woman on the other side of the doorway.
James's eyes widened and he suddenly threw himself on her, clinging to her leg. He looked up at Hermione and smiled, wide. "Hermione! It's so wonderful to see you," he said in his best grown-up voice. He stood up from his place on her leg and stepped back next to Pacey.
"It's good to see you too, James," she replied politely, bending down to kiss his cheek.
James blushed.
Pacey looked at the woman, who was now standing up, and extended his hand awkwardly. "I'm Pacey Whitter. I live on this street," he greeted her. "I'm James's official babysitter for the day."
Hermione chuckled. "Do you usually baby-sit him?" This was the first time Pacey noticed her thick British accent.
"Not usually. I'm a family friend," he explained.
Hermione nodded, looking down at James. She ruffled his hair in a loving way. "So what brings you down to this side of the street?" she asked James.
"I needed to show Pacey." James got on his tip-toes and looked into the house behind Hermione. "Is Draco home?"
Hermione now looked nervous, walking out to the front step and closing the door behind her. "He's not, actually. He—he went out to…buy something." James nodded slowly. "And, uh, show Pacey what?"
James motioned for Hermione to bend down again. She did as he wanted. He leaned in close to her ear. "He's a warlock," he whispered with a sudden eagerness.
Hermione jumped back, hitting her head on the door. She winced in pain, standing up and rubbing the back of her head. "I…I don't know what you're talking about."
Pacey spoke up. "James has this idea that your husband is a warlock… you know. Male witch."
She laughed nervously at the irony of it all. Pacey, the normal Joe, was explaining to her, Hermione Granger (top witch of her class) what a warlock was. "I…I think I know what a warlock is. It's just a bit—a bit mad, isn't it?" She laughed nervously once again, a shaky hand to her forehead.
Pacey cleared his throat. "Jeez. What kids think these days. It's more than a bit…uh…mad. It's…uhm, the maddest!" He blurted out, now very conscious of how odd this conversation was getting
Hermione nodded heartily, feeling that Pacey wasn't a real threat. "Yes."
"But, Hermione," James directed, narrowing his eyes at the woman.
"I'm sure what you saw was a…" Pacey started.
"Mistake," Hermione finished. "Draco is just a normal bloke with normal…abilities. Normal. Ridiculously normal, actually. So normal, in fact, that it's frightening."
"See, James," Pacey stated, patting the child on the head. "Everyone on this street is normal. Just like Mrs…" he cut himself off, not knowing her last name.
"Miss Granger," she provided.
"Just like Miss Granger says. Save fairy tales for the books." Pacey glanced at Hermione one last time before extending his hand again. "It was very nice to meet you, Miss Granger."
"Hermione," she sighed, not so tense anymore. "Call me Hermione. It was also nice to meet you, Pacey Whitter."
Pacey flashed her a smile and grabbed a struggling James, turning on his heel.
"But, but, but!" James yelled. "Hermione! Draco's a witch!"
But there was no Hermione to be seen, as she had run back into her house.
James finally managed to escape Pacey's grip. "This is not fair. Hermione was so mean, and you--"
"I, nothing. It wasn't fair for her to have a little kid questioning if her…whomever he is…is a warlock. James, you have to understand that people don't appreciate you lying to them," he lectured.
"I didn't lie!" James exclaimed, his arms over his small chest.
"You have to accept the fact that all that magical stuff does not exist. There are no monsters, no witches, no warlocks, no creepy crawlies. Dead people aren't out to get you at night! Vampires don't exist. The only bad thing out there is bad people. Just..." He inhaled. "Bad people."
Before Pacey could tell James that they were going back home, James had ran past him and down the street.
"Jesus!" Pacey yelled, jogging after the child.
But James was quick, and he escaped the adult's clutches every time he even got close. James sped into the nearest yard, running into the back of one of the houses and up the back stairs. He yelled loudly, banging his fists on the back door.
After just a few seconds, the door was answered by a tall man with dark hair. James pushed him aside and entered the house, pulling on the man's pants so he could close the door. "Come on! He's gonna get me!"
The man squinted at the child after closing the door. "Who?"
"EEEEEEEVIL Pacey!" He yelled at the man, a worried expression on his face. "He's gonna get me!"
The man raised an eyebrow. "Who? Do I know you?"
"No. But, you believe me, right? Someone has to!" James threw his hands up in the air, clearly infuriated. "Weird stuff does exist. I know it!"
"Weird stuff?" He asked in a state of bafflement.
"Like…monsters."
The man sighed, running a hand through his dark locks. "You mean…vampires." He quickly went into vamp mode, looking at the bewildered child cautiously.
James let out a scared scream and ran deeper into the house, quickly bumping into a female figure. "Ahhhhh! He's gonna get me! The vaaaaampire. It's evil. He and Pacey are going to kiilll me!"
The girl raised both of her eyebrows, tucking a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "Who…who are you?"
"James," he said quickly. "Now lift me up before the cold-blooded creature of the night comes!"
The girl complied, lifting him into her arms. "You sure know lots of big words, Mr. James." She bit her bottom lip. "I'm Bella. Please, please don't be scared."
James shook his head. "No. I'm not scareded of you. You're pretty."
Suddenly, the man that James was fearing came into the dimly lighted kitchen. "Uh, Bella—"
"Edward! Are you out of your mind?" Bella chastised. "The poor kid is scared out of his pants and you're in here looking like that!"
He came out of vampire mode and looked at Bella guiltily. "I honestly didn't mean to scare him, Bella."
"Well, you know better than showing him something like that to a little kid you just met!" She cried, holding on to James tighter than ever. Bella looked at James with a slightly worn-out expression. "Are you okay? My boyfriend didn't mean to scare you."
"Boyfriend?" He wrinkled his nose. "You kiss a vampire? That's sooo gross."
"Hey!" Edward complained.
"Has he ever bitten you by mistake?" James inquired, oddly fascinated by the whole situation.
Bella shook her head, putting the child down on the kitchen table. "I'm sure I would have noticed if he did. He'd be out on the street if he'd laid a finger on me." She smiled at James, brushing hair out of his eyes. "He's a good vampire. You have nothing to worry about."
"What if he hurts me?" He asked in a state of worry, shrinking away from Edward's view. "He looks mean."
"He's not," she replied quickly.
"I didn't think he would react this way," Edward jumped into the conversation. "He seemed to know something about it. I mean, he came talking to me about all types of stuff, some even worse than 'monsters' like me." He finished, emphasizing "monsters" as if he himself was a vile person.
Bella looked at him with a disapproving look. "Talking about weird stuff and seeing weird stuff are two completely different things. What if he goes around telling everyone about this…this…you."
"I'm a thing now, that's it," Edward mumbled under his breath.
Bella took a step towards him. "No, you're not. But you are a vampire and that means that no matter how nice you are, you will scare small children."
"I saw Draco!" James piped in. "He's a warlock."
Edward rolled his eyes, but Bella looked at the kid in fascination. "Do those really exist? I've only heard of vampires and, well, werewolves."
James giggled. "Did you kiss the werewolf too?"
Edward turned to Bella. "Did you?"
They were interrupted when they heard a knock at the door for the second time that day. Bella left Edward and James in the kitchen and rushed to the door. She opened the door just to see a man with brown hair leaning against the doorway, looking troubled.
"I'm very sorry to bother you, but I've lost a kid. His name is James. He's annoyingly blunt and obnoxiously loud," Pacey described the kid, extremely out of breath from running around the street. "About an inch tall."
"He's taller than an inch," Bella laughed.
Pacey let out a breath of relief. "You have him?"
"Yeah. He's so cute." She opened the door wider, allowing him to enter the house. "You're the father, right?"
"Babysitter," he said as he followed the girl into the slightly dark house. "And let me tell you, never again."
She led him into the kitchen where both James and Edward were standing, rather awkwardly. "Uhm…Edward, this is James's babysitter." She pointed to Pacey.
"Pacey Whitter," he offered, but then looked at James with a menacing expression on his face. "James Mariano, you are in loads of trouble."
"No!" He ran to Bella. "I want to stay with Bella and her boyfriend."
"Oh, I'm sure your mom and dad will be ecstatic with the arrangement," Pacey said with a roll of his eyes.
Bella nodded in agreement. "James, you really should go with Mr. Whitter. I'm sure your parents would miss you back home." She gave him a small push towards Pacey. "I assure you that you can come and visit any time you like."
James looked up at Bella with his big blue puppy eyes. "You don't like me anymore?"
"I like you very much, James. But I think you'd like it much better if you went home with Pacey and then came to visit whenever you pleased. Really. I'll even cook you something," Bella said pleasantly.
James had made up his mind, apparently because he had moved to Pacey's side reluctantly. "Thank you for your hospitalily."
"Hospitality?" Bella laughed.
"Yeah." He grinned and went over to Bella. "I won't tell," he whispered, so only he could hear.
"Thanks. We appreciate it," she responded in an equally silent manner.
So Pacey and James were on their way home. Pacey didn't even bother lecturing him on going into strange people's house, confident that he wasn't going to listen even if he lectured him a thousand times. Besides, nobody could hurt James even if they wanted to. But James was as happy as ever, strolling beside him, smiling at everything.
"Hey, Pacey," he said. "Can we go visit Mr. Sawyer and the lady of the house?"
"Uh..." Pacey thought back to when Joey had told him that Kate was a fugitive. After James had ran into strangers' homes, he doubted he wanted to put James in any more danger than he brought on himself. "I don't think that's the best idea."
"Is that because they don't want to talk to me?" James asked, sad. "I don't want Mr. Sawyer to be mad at me."
"He's not," Pacey assured the kid. "I'm positive nobody could stay mad at you for more than a few minutes, anyway. And I'll prove it someday, I swear."
James simply giggled, his face looking excited once again. "Today was fun."
"That's exactly what your going to tell to your mom when she asks. 'Today was fun' and…we can not mention Bella."
"But Bella was so nice. Mommy probably wants to bake her a cake," said James eagerly. "I love cakes! Do you like cakes?"
Pacey chuckled. "More than you know."
Out of nowhere, James started jumping up and down, his attention clearly leaving Pacey. "Coooooool! A car with no windows!" He pointed to the street where a blue car with black windows was driving down the street. It stopped in front of the house next to Draco and Hermione. "I wanna see it!"
"It has windows," he tried to explain. "They're just black." Now, since Pacey was closer, he could see that the windows were painted black, they weren't tinted. "This street just gets weirder and weirder."
A blonde girl with two grocery bags emerged from the car, a determined look on her face. She started walking up her steps, but dropped half of one of the grocery bags on the third step. Her curse could be heard from where James and Pacey were standing.
"She needs help!" James shrieked, running across the street and to the blonde woman.
"Never again," Pacey repeated under his breath before running after him.
"Hi, lady!" James bellowed from his place in front of her car. His grin went from ear to ear as he walked over to the woman who looked like she was in great turmoil. "Hiii," he drew, looking at her shyly.
"Hello," the woman greeted, searching behind her to see who was responsible for him. "What's your name?"
"James." He sat next to her. "What are you doing?"
"Being a total klutz," she responded, her green eyes glittering with the rays of the sun. "What about you, where's your mommy and daddy?"
James shrugged. "I'm with Pacey. He's okay."
She laughed loud, looking behind him where Pacey was running up to the two. "I assume you're Pacey." She stood up from her place next to the groceries, and extended her hand. "I'm new here…in the street, I mean. I'm Buffy. I babble."
Pacey smiled good-naturedly. "I'm Pacey, the person responsible for this disruption."
Buffy shook her head, looking at the child who was still sitting. "He's sweet. And I'm sure he'd just love to give me a hand with these groceries." James nodded quickly and started to pick up the goods. Buffy chuckled as she moved to help him.
As soon as the stairs were cleared, they were just left standing in front of her door.
"Buffy…that's weird." James was struck by this odd name.
Buffy nodded, bending down so she could be at eye level with James. "My mom had a very painful sense of humor." He laughed, although Buffy was sure that he had no idea what she was talking about. "James is a very nice name."
"Yup," he agreed.
Pacey cleared his throat behind them. "James, I think we should split."
Before James could answer, a CRASH was heard from inside the house.
"OH, BLOODY HELL!"
Buffy sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair. She pointed a thumb towards the house. "It's my boyfriend…he's a bit uncanny. Would you like to meet him?" She guessed it wouldn't hurt to introduce them to Spike, at least so they didn't think she was rude.
James nodded, in a state of excitement that Pacey clearly could not understand.
They entered the house, Buffy walking a few paces in front of them.
"Spike?" She called through the house.
Another CRASH was heard as a response.
"Luv?" his voice was shakier than usual, and Buffy found herself slightly worried.
Buffy turned to Pacey and James. "If you would excuse me for one moment…" she told them, walking deeper into the house.
Pacey watched her go and then turned to James. "Are you happy now, evil spawn of Satan? Breaking and entering once again?"
"Huh?" he asked, clearly confused.
Then, they saw Buffy return, with a slightly taller male figure. James opened his eyes wide, saying the first thing that came to his mind. "Wooooah. What's wrong with his hair? It glooooooows."
Buffy stifled a laugh, and all Pacey could do was shove James lightly.
"Name's Spike," he said, a scowl standing prominently on his face. "Hey, lil' bugger, wanna guess how I got the name?"
"He got nothing," she covered for him quickly, pinching his bicep. "He jokes. A lot. Very inappropriately most of the time. He apologizes."
"What are you, my narrator?" Spike grumbled.
Pacey nodded and extended his hand for what seemed to be the fiftieth time that day. "I'm Pacey Whitter. Nice to meet you." The only difference was, that he didn't even acknowledge it.
Spike scoffed, glaring at Buffy.
James only looked at Spike's hair. "I want my hair like that."
"No you don't," Buffy said, already fearing that they might be a bad example for the growing child. "It's a bad, bad color. Spike just has nothing better to do."
"You're really boosting my self-esteem here, luv," Spike shot back.
She gave him her best shut-up-or-big-pointy-stake-comes-your-way look. "You don't have self-esteem," she said between her teeth.
"Do you guys hate each other?" James asked in wonderment.
Buffy looked at Spike and then back at James. "There's been quite a debate at times…" That earned a menacing glare from Spike. "But we're in love." This earned a raise of an eyebrow from Pacey.
"Why is your name Spike?" the kid asked.
"Because I used to--"
"Play with spikes when he was a toddler," Buffy interrupted. "He would just love to dig those things into the sand…box. Sandbox. Do you like the sandbox?"
James wrinkled his nose. "Sandbox is for babies."
"Right." She nodded nervously.
Pacey shifted on his feet, looking even more uncomfortable than Buffy. "So…James…have we had enough? I think your parents are going to be home soon, and you don't want them wondering where you are."
"But--"
"Plus I think you've bothered these nice people enough for one day," Pacey continued, set on leaving. Spike nodded slightly in agreement. "Come on…"
"We'll walk you out," Buffy offered, following Pacey and James to the door. "Thanks for coming by, James. I really enjoyed your company, me and Spike haven't had people over since we moved here."
"For a good reason," Spike muttered under his breath.
Pacey smiled politely at Buffy and started opening the door. James walked outside, but then turned to Spike one last time. "Hey, my friends would think your sooo cool. You wanna come out and play?" He asked, pointing his thumb towards the outside, and most importantly the sunlight.
Spike squinted from his place next to Buffy. "There are some technical problems with that…err, situation."
"Yeah, he's allergic. To the sun," Buffy finished lamely.
"My face blows up to twice its size," he agreed.
James furrowed a brow, taking Spike's hand. "That's nuts. Only for two seconds." Then, without any warning, he pulled Spike out the door and under the direct sunlight.
"Spike!" Buffy yelled, running out there as Spike started to sizzle.
"OH, BUGGER!" He boomed, running back into the house. Both of his arms were on fire. Buffy shrieked, running to the kitchen and returning with a fire extinguisher. After the fire was out, Buffy sighed tiredly, checking him for any bad burns.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly.
Spike looked at his arm. "I look like your soddin' toast in the morning, but I think I'll live."
Buffy laughed quietly, almost forgetting that they had an audience. A very awe-struck audience. She looked at Pacey, who seemed to be opening his mouth and then closing it repeatedly.
James was the first to speak, as always. "He…he was on fire."
"He's, uhm, easily flammable," Buffy finally said, shrugging lightly.
