Chapter 4: Xander

******The Next Day******

Xander drove into Neptune with mixed emotions. The idea of leaving the hellmouth filled him with joy. The thought of a totally new town without much supernatural element was amazing. When the girls had decided to leave town, he'd been shocked. He knew Kennedy was a bitch supreme, but it wasn't like his girls to back down from a fight. He recalled Buffy telling him the previous Christmas Eve about her decision to basically quit slaying—at least full-time.

Flashback

Buffy's mother had invited everyone to her house for a Christmas Eve celebration. Everyone was there—even Kennedy and her watcher. However, Kennedy's snobbery had pissed Faith off when she'd made a snide remark about the Summers' house.

"Shut the hell up, Kennedy, before I break your nose!" Faith snarled.

"Faith!" Joyce said in outrage. "Do not threaten a guest in my home!"

"You can't be surprised that a street rat would have a gutter mouth," Kenney said with a smirk.

Joyce pinned her with a glared. "Young lady, I do not know what kind of behavior your parents taught you, but you do not insult the home of your hostess nor insult their other guests. If you can't be polite, you can leave," she said coldly.

Kennedy mumbled an apology but left shortly after.

"That's it, Giles. I'm done with this hell hole!" Faith declared. "If I stick around, I'm going to kill that bitch."

"Now, Faith, you know she is just spoiled," Wesley said. "You cannot let her taunt you."

"I'm serious," Faith said, glancing at Buffy. "I can't stay here anymore. This town doesn't need three slayers."

"I suppose you could go to Cleveland," Giles said. "There's a hellmouth there—although it is much smaller."

Faith jumped on that. "I'm so there!" she said.

"You cannot go without a watcher," Wesley said.

"So one of you needs to go with me," Faith said, looking between the two.

"Technically, the council doesn't employ me as a watcher," Giles pointed out.

Buffy finally spoke. "I think I'm done, too," she said, glancing at her mother. "Mom and I have talked about it, and I want to take a step back from slaying."

The group broke out in dismay, surprised at Buffy's announcement.

"I want to go to school out of town but not too far," Buffy said. "I would come back if Kennedy needed, but she can handle the day to day."

End of Flashback

Not long after Buffy's announcement, Faith and Giles left town as he won the coin toss. Although Kennedy had her own watcher, he and Wesley felt one of them needed to be on hand. The hellmouth had killed Kendra and Buffy. Also, Buffy promised to spend one weekend a month back in Sunnydale, working with Wesley. By the spring, Willow and Tara decided to go with Buffy, showing her information about Hearst, a small liberal arts college only an hour away. Things just fell together. Xander couldn't imagine living without his girls, but when he broached the topic to Anya, she refused to even consider leaving the hellmouth and her money.

Flashback

"Anya, don't you want a fresh start?" Xander said.

"This is my fresh start," she reminded him. "I'm human, and now I'm an important part of the work force doing my part to support American capitalism."

"It would be nice if you cared about me and our life together more than money," Xander said.

"It would nice if you loved me as much as you loved Willow and Buffy," Anya said flatly.

End of flashback

Xander knew that if he got the job working for the campus and moved to Neptune, he and Anya would be over. Although that thought did hurt him, he also knew that her unwillingness to leave a place that literally killed his friends was probably proof they weren't meant to last.

When he got out of his car, he walked to Willow and Tara's dorm, excited to see his girls. He hadn't gone two weeks without seeing them since last summer when he went on his road trip.

He knocked on the door to the dorm room, and Willow opened it.

"Xander! You're here!" she exclaimed, pulling him in for a hug.

"My interview isn't for a half hour, so I wanted to see you guys. Where's Tara?" he asked.

"She'll be back in a minute," Willow said. "She went to the bathroom."

"So what's going on?" Xander asked.

"We're about to go to class. Does Buffy know you're here?" she asked.

"Yes, she's supposed to meet me after my interview for lunch," Xander said. "So have you met your sister yet? Or your mother?"

Willow shook her head. "No, but Logan apologized for being a jerk yesterday and said he was going to call Trina," she shared. "He did warn me that Trina wasn't really the family type. She didn't even come home for his mother's funeral—sent a telegram."

"He better be nice to you, or I'll have to teach him some manners," Xander said, punching one fisted hand into the other, causing Willow to giggle.

"It's okay," Willow said. "Buffy already threatened him pretty good."

Xander sighed. "Slayers get all the girls," he said.

Willow leaned against Xander, putting her head on his shoulder. "I really hope you get the job and move here. I don't want to not see you all the time," she said.

"Don't worry. There's other jobs," Xander said. "If I don't get this one, I'll just keep looking."

"Anya still refusing to join you?" Willow asked.

He shook his head. "No," he said. "She doesn't want to move."

"So what does that mean for the two of you?" Willow asked. "Will you do the long-distance thing?"

"Maybe," Xander said with a shrug. "But she thinks I love you and Buffy more, and I think she doesn't love me enough. How do you get past that?"

Willow wasn't sure how to answer. "I'm not sure," she admitted.

Tara came into the room and greeted Xander with a hug. "So good to see you," she said, meaning it. Xander had always been the easiest to be around as he just treated her like one of his girls, immediately accepting her place in Willow's life.

"Good to see you," Xander said with a warm smile. "So Willow tells me that you've been liking some dick since you been here."

Tara's eyes widened, and she looked at Willow, whose mouth was gaping like a fish.

"I said Dick, not some dick!" Willow said, choking on laughter.

Xander grinned and winked. "I know. I just had to go there," he said.

"You goof," Willow said, elbowing him. "His name is Dick Casablancas. He's Logan's best friends, and a real big surfer dude type. You'd hate him."

"Is he trying to get into your pants?" Xander said, wagging his eyebrows up and down.

Tara giggled. "He tried, but he just makes me laugh. I told him that Willow used to date a guy, so he should try hitting on her," Tara said.

Xander laughed, giving her a pleased smile. "That's my girl. Throw Willow under the bus. I knew you were one of us!" he teased.

"He said I look too much like Trina and shuddered," Willow said.

Xander grinned and then looked at his watch. "Well, ladies, wish me luck. Call me after your class, and I'll tell you where I'm at on campus," he said.

"Okay," Willow said. "Good luck."

"Good luck," Tara added.

Xander walked downstairs and found Buffy waiting for him. "How did you know I was here?" he asked.

"I knew you were coming for your interview, and I missed you," she said, giving him a hug.

"I missed you, too," he said. "Do you know where the maintenance facility is?"

"No, but I know where the closest campus map is," she said, pointing at the nearby one.

They went and looked it over, figuring that the building wasn't too far. There was a garage door open, and they went inside looking for someone in charge. A Latino man was working on a motorcycle.

"They fix bikes?" Buffy asked in bemusement.

Weevil looked up at the voice and blinked in surprise. Girls that looked like that did not venture in his work area unless it was Veronica Mars, but she was out of town for the summer.

"Can I help you?" Weevil asked, grabbing a rag to wipe his hands.

Xander smiled. "I hope so. I've got a job interview in about five minutes. Where do I go for that?" he asked.

"They finally going to hire someone? That's good," Weevil said. "I hope you get it. I'm Eli Navarro, but everyone calls me Weevil."

Xander held out his hand. "I'm Alexander Harris, but everyone calls me Xander," he said.

Weevil shook his hand and glanced at Buffy. "And what do people call you?" he asked her.

"Her name is Buffy Summers. She's a student here," Xander said.

"And everyone just calls me Buffy," she said.

"We're from Sunnydale," Xander shared.

"I'm sorry," Weevil said.

"You know about Sunnydale?" Buffy asked curiously.

"I know nothing good goes on there," Weevil said grimly.

"Not much," Buffy said.

"I had a cousin that graduated there a few years ago," he said.

"Well, if he made it out alive, we consider that a victory," Xander said with a wide smile. "I have to get to my interview."

"Go through that door. Ron is at the desk," Weevil said.

"I'll wait here for you," Buffy said. "Good luck."

Xander flashed a smile and went through the door.

"So how do you like Neptune?" Weevil asked.

"I love it. It's so much lighter than back home," she said.

"Since you came from Sunnydale, I get that," he said. "I heard your school blew up."

"At our graduation," Buffy said grimly.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I can't exactly say the same thing," she said. She looked at the bike. "So is that your bike?"

Weevil nodded. "I'm on my lunch break, so I'm using some of the tools here to do some adjustments," he said.

"Cool," Buffy said. "I used to have a boyfriend my freshmen year that had a motorcycle. I always wanted to drive it, but he wouldn't let me."

"Ask your boyfriend to come back with you at five, and I'll let you ride it. I get off at five," Weevil offered.

Buffy grinned. "I don't have a boyfriend," she said. "Xander's my best friend. Xander and Willow. Willow is going here, too. She is in the dorms with her girlfriend Tara. I'm living with my mom. She bought a house in Neptune." Well, look at her—she's a regular chatty Kathy. All her slayer energy seemed to go straight to her mouth these days. It was just that Weevil was different from the other guys she'd met both back home and different fron from Logan and Dick. Some part of her wanted him to like her.

"Are you in the 09 zip code?" Weevil asked. The girl was too friendly to be an 09ers, but if she was loaded, she'd soon change.

Buffy snickered. "Yea, I heard all about the 09 versus 02 rivalry this town has going on," she said. "I'm not an 09er. I was a little princess when my parents were married back in L. A. But not anymore."

Weevil smiled, liking the girl a lot. "Well, I'll still be happy to let you ride my bike," he said.

Buffy gave it a longing look. "It's not a good idea," she said. "I don't have a license. My friends and mother say people are safer if I stay a pedestrian."

"Seriously?" Weevil said, surprised. "That's kind of messed up. Your friends shouldn't give up so easily on you."

Buffy laughed, appreciating his remarks. "I met this girl on campus a few days ago. She said she'd teach me how to drive," she said.

"It's not a hardship teaching a pretty girl how to drive," Weevil said with a wink. "I'd be glad to do it myself."

Buffy wasn't sure if he was seriously flirting with her or not, but she still appreciated the kind words. "Thank you for the compliment," she said.

"Compliment? Who's getting compliments?" Xander asked, reappearing.

"Back already?" Buffy asked in surprise. "All compliments are mine."

"Ron says as I had no criminal record, I was already better than employees he had," Xander said with a smirk.

"That's a dig to me," Weevil said. "He hates that he didn't hire me, but the Dean did. I have the criminal record."

"Really? How cool is that! Buffy's got a criminal record, too, but luckily, no convictions, so she could still get into school," Xander said with a wink.

Buffy shot him a dark look. "Shut up, Xander," she said.

Xander just smirked. Then he looked at Weevil. "What did you get charged for?" he asked.

"Murder," Weevil said, waiting for their condemnation.

"Hey, so did Buffy!" Xander said with a wide grin.

Buffy growled. "Xander!" she exclaimed.

"What? Obviously, you didn't do it," Xander said. "Weevil didn't either, so no worries."

"How do you know I didn't?" Weevil said in surprise. People he'd known for years never managed this easy acceptance, and it took him entirely off guard.

"Two reasons," Xander said. "One, the school is a private liberal arts college full of really uppity people. No amount of connections would get you hired if you were a convicted murderer. Two, I have a gift. I can tell when someone is evil. You're not."

Weevil was very surprised—so much so that he didn't know what to say.

Buffy sensed his discomfort and spoke, "So let's go get some lunch."

"Sure," Xander said. He waved at Weevil. "I'll see you in a week."

Bemused, Weevil watched the two leave. He had a feeling that the duo's presence on campus would be felt by more than just him.

The beautiful blonde didn't look at him with distrust—neither did her friend.

Only Veronica Mars had ever given him such instant respect, but even V, sometimes handled him with kid gloves.

He and V, though, were destined to never be more than friends even though he sometimes which she hadn't followed after Lilly Kane quite so much.

Somehow, he didn't think Buffy Summers would toy with the male population the way Lilly did. It was amusing that she, too, had a male best friend like Veronica.

Weevil knew, though, the new guy wasn't a marshmallow the way Wallace was. No one that survived Sunnydale could ever be.

After all, it took a lot to survive on the mouth of hell.

*****Chapter End*****

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoyed reading it. More to come. Reviews are the best way to show your appreciation, so take a minute and type one in!