Working for the Weekend 4
Part 1: Chapter 55 Yet Still Even More Fragments!
Part 2: Chapter 58 Yet Still Even More Fragments!
Part 3: Chapter 34 Yet Again Still Even More Fragments!
"So, how was it?" Willow asked Buffy as she took the seat next to her in class.
"What?" Buffy asked.
"How was-" Willow began.
"-Sex with Xander," interrupted a sandy-blonde girl named Sheila.
"Camping with Xander," Willow said quietly.
"Did he say..." Buffy trailed off, unsure what to say and wondering how she'd managed to misread him so badly if he was already bragging.
"You had three days alone with him in a tropical paradise," Sheila said. "That, plus the way you were walking..." she trailed off with a grin.
"The way I was walking?" Buffy asked.
Willow sighed. "You brought back tropical species, had a nice tan, and ... there was a certain swing to your hips," she hinted.
"Swing to my-" Buffy blushed bright red and looked around nervously. "Do you think anyone else noticed?"
"Everyone noticed," Sheila said cheerfully.
"There's kind of a Vegas thing going on," Willow said.
"Vegas thing?" Buffy asked.
"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," Sheila said. "I know me teasing you is almost the opposite of that, but I wanted to clue you in, because Willow is too shy to."
Buffy frowned. "So... Xander's going to pretend nothing happened?"
"Yes and no," Willow hedged.
"Yes and no?" Buffy repeated.
"He's not going to assume you want to be his girlfriend now," Sheila explained. "He's been burned by that before."
"Some girls have taken advantage of him," Willow said.
"Taken advantage of him?" Buffy asked, wondering when she'd become a parrot.
"Three days with no interruptions in a tense situation means you can lose your virginity and no one can fault you for it," Shelia explained. "But unlike most guys, he wants more than a quick roll in the hay, so the first couple of times he got his feelings hurt. Now, he won't assume you want anything more, unless you make the first move."
"Oh," Buffy said, relieved.
"The Vegas rule was made to make things easier on everyone involved. He's not likely to find a girl who'll brave peeing in the bushes for days at a time every week and it'll be unfair to expect him to remain celibate while over there," Shelia said.
"So what's the bottom line here?" asked Buffy, unsure of where this was going.
"If you want to be his girlfriend here in Sunnydale, you aren't allowed to get upset about what happens in the other place, and no one gets to hold it against you," Sheila finished.
"What if I like camping with him?" Buffy challenged.
"Then you would make him very happy," Shelia admitted. "Even Tanya doesn't like camping that much and she has every camping badge you can get."
The bell rang and everyone turned their attention to the front of the room.
After class...
"Is it just me or did she seem..." Buffy trailed off.
"Shelia's been watching Xander's last few trips," Willow replied. "Probably getting her courage up."
"So I wasn't imagining things," said Buffy. "Has he gone on a lot of trips with girls?" she asked, trying but failing to sound casual.
"Not on purpose," Willow said quickly. "Once or twice a month, some girl has grabbed him. He's kinda resigned to it now."
"That's... I'm not sure how I feel about that," Buffy admitted.
"So, how was your trip?" Willow asked, changing the subject.
"It was great!" Buffy enthused. "It was quite literally the best weekend of my life. It was like a cross between Club Med and a safari where you are the only guest!"
"It wasn't scary at all?" Willow asked.
"I've gone to scarier school dances," Buffy said honestly.
"I've always been too scared to go," Willow admitted.
"You wanted to go?" Buffy asked cautiously.
"Since I was nine," Willow said with a wistful sigh. She quickly pushed aside her melancholy mood. "But that's not important, what's important is: do you want to go again? Because Xander could really use someone who isn't afraid to go camping with him all the time."
"I'm not the camp-'em-and-leave-'em type," Buffy promised, "I fully intend to go camping every week."
"Good," Willow said with a bright smile that was almost completely unforced.
"Speaking of... where is Xander?" she asked.
"Debriefing with the conservationists," replied Willow. "He'll be here by lunch."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"The ground parrots are completely extinct, but there is a Dr. Hamond down in Costa Rica who is willing to claim he discovered them while on safari on Isla Nubar," said the Mayor, with a bright smile, to the young man. "The turtles will be a boost to the dwindling population, and as for the plants-"
"Tell me how to get a straight answer out of a botanist and I'll give you the key to the city," Xander finished the familiar joke.
"I heard the words hybrid, re-emergence, and divergent strain among their mad mutterings; so I think we can count that as a success as well," Mayor Wilkins assured Xander, making him laugh.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Xander entered the cafeteria and looked around, spotting Willow and seeing Buffy sitting next to her. His tentative smile was met by Buffy waving to him and patting the seat next to her. He waved back and went to grab a tray with a spring in his step that hadn't been there a minute ago.
"Did you see the way he perked up?" Willow asked.
"Yeah," agreed Buffy brightly, feeling much better about things now that she'd seen his response.
"Girls," Xander greeted them as he sat beside Buffy and set down his tray.
"Guy," the pair chorused and then burst out laughing at the expression on his face.
"Spontaneous or rehearsed?" he prompted curiously.
"Spontaneous," Willow replied.
Xander shook his head and grinned. "So, where's Jessie?"
"Off courting disaster," Willow replied before sipping her juice.
"I think she goes by Cordelia these days," Xander noted as he stabbed the mystery meat with a fork and it let out a little squeal. The three stared at his tray for a moment.
"Did you scrape your fork against the tray, or was that the meat making that sound?" asked Buffy.
"I'm not sure and I don't want to risk it," Xander decided. "I'll just grab something from the snack machine later." He got up and dumped his tray, followed by the two girls.
"I've got a free period next, you?" Buffy asked.
"Ditto," Xander agreed. "But I'll be using it to catch up on this morning's work in the school library," he quickly added when Willow gave him a look.
"I just so happen to be heading that way myself," Buffy said. "My mom said I can continue camping with you as long as we practice safe... camping, and I read some books on geology."
"Geology?" Willow asked curiously as they walked through the halls.
"Geology," Buffy repeated. "The crystals I picked up to make a sun-catcher to commemorate... my first camping trip, turned out to be diamonds. So my mom doesn't mind me going as it's already paid for me to go to college, but she insists I should at least know what I'm picking up."
"Hoping you'll pick up more diamonds?" Willow guessed.
"More offended that I didn't recognize them," Buffy admitted.
"I doubt we'll end up in another diamond-studded cave any time soon, but it'll give us another hobby while we're over there," Xander replied.
"You guys sound like you're going to have so much fun," Willow groaned. "I wish I could go."
"Library," Xander announced, pushing open the door and holding it for his friends.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Giles spoke quietly into the phone, "Yes, I completely understand. No, I'll stay at my post. Slayer or not, this must be dealt with. I've located an independent hunter who'll assist me."
Buffy shushed Willow as they entered the library. Xander stayed quiet as he knew of her advanced hearing and saw she was concentrating on something. It was nearly a minute later before she spoke, "The librarian is a Watcher."
"A what?" asked Willow.
"You sure?" Xander asked.
"He was just talking on the phone with the Council," Buffy explained.
"The Council?" Willow asked, completely confused.
"We'll explain later," Buffy promised. "For now... pretend my name is Susan, Susan..."
"Bond?" Willow suggested.
"He's British, that'd give me away," Buffy said nervously.
"Harris...son; Susan Harrison," Xander offered.
"Too similar," Willow disagreed. "Susan Hanigan."
"That works," said Buffy with relief.
"Can I help you?" Giles asked, making the three jump.
"Just catching up on schoolwork," Buffy said quickly.
Giles nodded. "If you need anything, I'll be in my office. Just ring the bell on the counter."
"Will do," Buffy said brightly as he left.
"OK, so what is this about?" Willow asked quietly.
"Not here," Buffy said nervously, "my place, after school." She spotted a familiar book on the bookcase behind the counter and quickly retrieved it, shoving it in her bag. "It's the handbook," she explained.
"You can't just steal books!" Willow hissed in shock.
"I'll return it later," Buffy swore. "I just need it to show you and my mom."
Xander put his hand on Willow's arm. "Seriously, it's okay. I'll make sure it gets returned, promise."
Willow instantly calmed down. "OK," she said quietly.
"Study now, explanations later," Xander said, setting his backpack on the table.
'She's got it bad,' Buffy thought to herself.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The final bell rang and the three met up in front of the school as the student population buzzed about a body being found in a locker.
"Was the dead guy..." Xander trailed off.
"Yeah, but there was no blood in his mouth, so it's not a problem," Buffy assured him.
Willow blinked and stared at the two speakers in shock for a moment. "This better be a dilly of an explanation," she said.
"It is, and even with solid proof it's still insane," Buffy told her honestly.
"Like Xander?" she asked curiously.
"Very much like Xander," Buffy agreed.
Xander opened his mouth to say something when Jessie ran up and interrupted him, "Dude!"
"Dude?" Xander replied curiously.
"Dude," Jessie replied with a nod.
"Dude," Xander fired back with a grin, raising his hand up for a high five.
Jessie gave him a high five, said "Dude!" cheerfully, and split.
"Did I miss something?" Buffy asked.
"No, you really didn't," Willow said with a groan.
"We were speaking Dude," Xander replied with a grin.
"Speaking Dude?" Buffy asked with amusement as she led the two towards her home.
"A one-word, semi-telepathic language," Xander explained. "We have managed to narrow down the entire English language to just one word. Eventually we hope to eliminate the word altogether and become telepathic."
"I don't think it works that way," Buffy said amused.
"Dude," Xander said sadly, shaking his head.
Buffy quickly backpedaled, taking his hand. "I'm not saying it can't, just that I've never heard of it happening."
"Dude," Xander said in agreement, smiling and giving her hand a squeeze.
"So what did you two say?" Buffy asked.
"Ask Willow," Xander replied. "I'm betting she understood it, despite all her scoffing."
"Just because I understand you both doesn't mean it's working," Willow denied. "I simply know you both-and your habits and body language-well enough to pick up non-vocal cues."
"It is harder over the phone," Xander admitted.
"So what did they say?" Buffy asked.
"Typical male greeting, followed by plans to go to the bronze and... some stuff at the end," Willow admitted, blushing brightly.
"Stuff at the end?" Buffy asked, her curiosity piqued by Willow's blush.
"Not too sure of that bit myself," Xander admitted. "It was either, 'Going to go hit on Cordelia', or 'Going to take a long shower with extra hand soap'. The problem with telepathy is you always say more than you mean to say."
"It could mean both," Buffy suggested.
Xander and Willow looked at each other and burst out laughing.
I do believe you are right," Xander agreed, "and in that order, too."
"This is why I need girl friends," Willow said, shaking her head.
Typing by: Ordieth