Christmas Eve
'What are you doing?' It was the Christmas holidays, and Cordy was bored - stuck at home all alone. She'd gone for a walk - not being old enough for her license yet - and got herself totally lost. Which was kinda embarrassing in a town as small as Sunnydale. Now she found herself completely turned around and wandering the neighbourhood where the poor people lived. Xander Harris lived here - she knew that because he was out in his front yard, putting up a tent - on Christmas Eve. Hence her question.
'Oh - uh ' he looked shifty, embarrassed to be caught out. 'Hey Cordelia.' She just arched an eyebrow at the tent, silently asking her question again.
'Right - yeah - I like to sleep outside on Christmas Eve,' he told her with a shrug. 'I do it every year, get my Christmas cookies and comic books, grab a sleeping bag and just look at the stars, commune with nature you know?'
From inside the house came sounds of raised voices yelling. And then the sound of something smashing. Xander looked even more uncomfortable. 'Well it was nice talking to ya, but I'm sure you have somewhere to be.'
'I wish I'd never married you!' a woman's voice screamed. 'You ruined my life!' More things were thrown, or at least that's what it sounded like.
'Yeah,' Cordelia said to Xander, backing away a little. 'Well … Merry Christmas …' more things smashed inside the house, '...I guess.' She walked away, hitting the more respectable part of town when she got onto Revello Drive. From there it wasn't too far back to her own home.
No one greeted her when she entered her house and yelled her hellos. Daddy was probably still at work, even though it was Christmas Eve. her mom was … who knew? Watching T.V in one of the rooms, somewhere? Getting her nails done?
Cordelia wondered if her parents would even notice if she took a sleeping bag and went to camp out in the yard over the holidays. She wondered if Xander's parents even realised he escaped outside to get away from them. But then that was getting perilously close to finding common ground with Alexander Harris, and she swiftly changed the directions of her thoughts - maybe the housekeeper had left some Christmas cookies in the kitchen ...