[ ] denotes thoughts
**********
Part Three
Sunnydale library
"So are you two done?" Xander asked as he walked up carrying Cordelia's books. "I think it's high time I showed her where her classes are."
Faith and Cordelia turned to him with wide grins plastered on their faces. Cordy noted the books in his arms and gave him her bookbag to put them in. Xander took one look at her and then her bag before sighing and putting them away.
"Good," she said when he finished. "Faith was kind enough to invite me to go a club tonight to give me a proper welcome. How come you didn't think of that?"
"Why would I want you to show up anywhere that I like to go?" he shot back with a raised eyebrow.
"Who wouldn't want my company?" Cordy commented and then added when Xander raised his hand. "You don't count, dork."
"Shucks," he replied snapping his fingers.
Cordelia turned to Faith. "Nice meeting you. I'll see you tonight. Come on, Xander, let's go see where I'll be stuck for eight hours a day."
The two headed towards the library doors when Xander spoke up. "Fine, but aren't you forgetting something?" Xander asked indicating her bag that he still carried.
Cordelia didn't even turn around as they pushed open the doors. "Please. Why should I carry that when I have you there to do it for me?"
"Cordy, I am not your pack horse."
"I know that," she snorted. "I'd rather have the pack horse..."
Their voices faded as the doors closed and they moved away, leaving Faith to shake her head at their odd friendship. [She's worse than I am with him,] she thought to herself. And that seemed to bother her for some reason. The Slayer wondered why the easy banter between the two struck an uneasy chord within her. [I'll worry about that later,] she stopped her ponderings when Giles stepped back out of the office.
"I take it they have left," he said going back to the table.
"Yes, the dueling duo left. Now we can get back to whatever you thought was so important," Faith said rolling her eyes as she sat.
"This is extremely important," the Watcher sternly told her. "The Night of St. Vigeous is fast approaching and.. and we must be prepared."
"What's so big about a new vamp holiday?"
"Just that vampires will be twice as strong as normal on that night."
"Oh. That could suck," she replied chagrined.
"Indeed. I wanted you to be warned about this in case it happened to be tonight. I have gotten information saying that it is on Saturday, but I haven't confirmed it yet. I.. I would rather you be overcautious for the next few nights than be caught unprepared," Giles warned.
"Fine, color me warned. I'll fill in the rest of the gang when I see them."
"I will continue researching this to try to verify the date. Perhaps Miss Calendar might be able to find something on the computer," Giles said as he started to head back to his office.
Hearing this, a wicked grin spread across her face before commenting, "So you and Ms. Calendar won't be needing our help for this. Just a quiet night of researching for you two, right?"
Giles continued not noticing Faith's expression. "Yes, I suppose so. It might be a chance for you to go out and 'relax' as you put it."
"Sure," she replied as she got up to leave. "We'll just leave you two alone to your 'research'. Later, G-man."
"Um... yes... No!" he called out as Faith's comments seeped in, but the Slayer was already out the door.
***
Later that evening, in the Bronze
"So you're telling me this is the only place to go around here?" Cordelia whined out looking over the small club.
"Pretty much," Xander answered after taking a sip of his drink. "Not much to do in this town: go to school, do homework, go to the Bronze..." [Slay vampires...]
Cordelia and the Slayerettes were all clustered around their usual table listening to the band that was playing that night. The Dingoes would have been playing this week but they decided to take the week off so Devon could go out of town to visit relatives. The band, Sheltered Minds, wasn't too bad. They mostly played slow ballads, but those who had dates didn't mind.
"Ugh, I can't believe this. I am going to kill Daddy when I see him again. There were so many places to hang in LA," she sighed finishing her rant. "So, spaz, have you learned how to dance yet or are you still dangerous to bystanders?"
"Dangerous? I'll have you know that I know exactly what I'm doing when I'm dancing. All my shots are aimed," Xander said with a grin.
"Yeah, right. Come on, gumby, I want to dance," Cordelia remarked getting up. "It's even a slow one. You can minimize casualties."
"Fine," he grumbled as he was led out on the floor with the rest of the gang looking on.
Willow looked like she wanted to join them, but she had noticed Faith's uncharacteristic silence and wanted to see if she was alright. Before she could say anything though, Faith spoke up. "Go on, I'm fine. I just have a few things on my mind. No big."
"You can talk to me whenever you need to you know," Willow quietly told her and then she dragged Oz out out to dance.
[Yeah, I know. But I'd like to have some clue as to what's really bothering me before confessing that I'm wanting to beat Cordelia senseless,] Faith thought sarcastically. [She seems to be ok, but something just doesn't feel right about her.]
Faith's mind was startled from it's wonderings by the figure that appeared by their table.
"Faith."
"Angel," she replied deadpan while still watching the dance floor. "What gloom and doom prophecy brings you out this way?"
"The Night of St. Vigeous is coming on Saturday, and I think the Anointed One is planning something," the vampire said looking her over. "But I think what has you so irritated might be more important at the moment."
"Xander's old friend from Hemery. Something's buggin' me about her and I don't know what," Faith frustratingly told him.
"Hemery?" Angel asked surprised. He turned to the dance floor to spot Xander dancing with a gorgeous brunette. "The one he's dancing with?" A nod answered his question. He looked closer as the two kept moving not noticing their observers. Angel turned back to Faith and saw her expression. "Hmm."
She looked over at him curiously. "Hmm, what? Do you see something I don't?"
[Quite possibly,] Angel thought. "No, I was just wondering how good a friend she is."
"Seem pretty close to me," Faith commented before going back to her observation.
When the song ended Cordelia went to the bar for something to drink. She tried to flag down the barman who was preoccupied with the other end. After a few minutes, she finally gave up on him and decided to just take Xander's when she got to the Scoobies' table. Cordy turned to go back to the others when she ran into a small blonde girl who walked up behind her.
"Sorry," Cordelia apologized and then started to leave.
"Hey, you know Xander right?" the girl asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Oh, um.. I was just.. y'know.. wondering what he was like before he moved here."
"Why do you want to know?" Cordelia asked as she looked the girl over.
"I just... Oh, never mind," the teenager replied walking away.
Cordelia watched her disappear into the crowd and then proceeded back to the table already forgetting the conversation. The guy stepping in front of her halted her movement.
***
"So what's Undead Man Walking want here for this time?" Xander tossed off as he came back to the table.
"Just about the Night of St. Vege that I told you about on the way here," Faith remarked as Willow and Oz finished their dance.
"So we're ahead of him this time? Cool," Xander grinned. "You seem to be slacking Deadboy."
"Why do you always have to call me that?" Angel replied frustrated.
"Why not? You should be flattered. I save most of my good barbs and put-downs just for you," the boy smirked as he sat next to Faith.
"Thanks," came the grudging reply.
"What about me?" Faith broke in with a questioning look.
"Ahh, but you get all my sexual innuendo. You can't have everything. Unless you ask," Xander said waggling his eyebrows.
Everyone laughed at his comment and a comfortable silence settled over the group as they listened to the band play another slow song.
"What about Cordelia?" Faith's quiet question was heard only by Angel and Xander.
"Huh? Oh, well, she gets..." he trailed off as he looked off into the crowd. "She gets.. a really pale guy leading her towards the back."
"What?"
"Faith, come on. I think she decided to troll for vamps on the way back to us," Xander said as he left to follow Cordelia.
"Damn it," Faith muttered trailing after him.
The two quickly flowed through the crowd to the back. Xander's senses were picking up the telltale scent of the undead when they entered into the darkened back room. They found the place deserted except for the Vamp holding a struggling Cordy. His hand was covering her mouth preventing her from calling out.
"Hey, moron, you should know better than to get take-out here," Faith snidely remarked. She drew out a stake as she closed with him. The vampire tossed Cordelia to the floor and shifted to his gameface.
Xander moved over to Cordelia to check on her knowing Faith could hold her own against a single vamp. As he knelt down to help her up, the undead odor got stronger and before he could understand why, he was struck from behind by the vampire who came in after them.
The blow threw him down upon Cordy, pushing them both to the floor. Xander tried to turn around to face the vamp, but the brunette's limbs were entangled with his. He was able to note Faith had dispatched her vamp but was too far away to help.
[Damn it, I just need another second to get out my stake and he's history,] Xander thought as the vampire leered above him.
He almost had the stake out when the vampire jerked and dusted, revealing a figure standing over them.
"Well, I see you're still playing with the undead, slick. And the Prom queen too."
"I don't play with the undead. They try to play with me, usually as a shot putt," he commented ruefully as he got up. "But I have gotten a lot better since you last saw me. That one just got lucky."
Xander turned to Faith and helped Cordelia stand. "Faith, this is one of my friends who tried to convince me to go into a life of crime," he remarked with a smirk, gesturing at the newcomer. The low level light in the room made the girl's already dark skin almost black. She had thick curly midnight black hair and light colored eyes that sparkled with humor at seeing her old friend.
"I'd like you to meet Max."
**********
End Part 3
***
In case you are wondering who Max is I mentioned her in A Slayer's Fate
when he stole the car, but that's it. You'll learn more as you go.