One Week Later
The gang, minus Buffy, was at the Bronze. Buffy was running late,
having to take care of some Slay-duty before getting to have
fun. She had promised to catch up with the rest later.
"Do you think someone should go out there and look for her?"
Xander asked for the tenth time in an hour.
Willow checked her watch for the tenth time in an hour. "She's
only an hour late. I'm still not really worried about her yet."
Cordelia was getting more and more exasperated by the situation.
*Here we go again. I'm his girlfriend, I'm right here, and he's
not even aware of me. He's still more interested in Buffy, even
when she's not around! Why?*
"Did I tell you guys that Daddy bought me a new car?" Cordelia
asked, trying to get everyone's attention back on her. "Xander's
seen it already, it's a ..." She trailed off, when she looked at
Xander. His mouth had dropped open stupidly, and Cordelia knew
the cause before she was able to follow his eyes.
*Buffy Summers* Cordelia's eyes narrowed, as she saw the Slayer
approach. *Yeah, she's real innocent* she fumed as she took in
Buffy's appearance. Buffy was wearing a mid-thigh length black,
leather skirt, a red halter-top, and black high heels. Her blond
hair was up in a perfect pony tail. *How the hell does she manage
to look like that after Slaying nasty demons?* Cordelia wondered.
"Hey, guys," Buffy said as she reached their table. Xander pulled
up a chair next to his, and Cordelia continued to fume.
"I want to dance," Cordelia said, and it was obviously not up for
discussion.
"Fine," Xander said, and followed Cordelia onto the dance floor.
They had been dancing for about thirty seconds when Cordelia
stopped suddenly. *I may be dancing with him, but his mind and
his eyes are elsewhere* she realized.
"What's wrong?" Xander asked.
"Outside, now," Cordelia said angrily. He followed her, a
bewildered look on his face. When they reached the side alley,
she turned on him. "I'm tired of this."
"Tired of what?" Xander played dumb.
"Your infatuation with Buffy," Cordelia sighed.
"Okay. A: You're wrong, and Two.... well, there's only A," Xander
said.
"You can't fool me," Cordelia replied. "You are in love with
Buffy Summers, I don't care how much you deny it, it doesn't make
it not true." She ran her hand through her hair, and added, "I
don't know why I thought that the summer apart would change
anything. I was hoping that you'd have come to your senses by now
and gotten over her, but you obviously haven't. And then I
thought that it wouldn't matter, because you and I are together
and it's not like she even thinks of you that way.
But it does matter. Because it's obvious to everyone who looks at
you how you feel about her. And what's worse, is that makes it
obvious that I'm just second-best. And I just can't tolerate
that. Staying with you like this, means risking my reputation in
this town. So the only solution is that we break up immediately.
So that's what's happening, I'm dumping you. And you'd better
make sure to tell that right," she warned, and walked back into
the Bronze in a huff.
"Oookay," Xander said. "I guess that was inevitable."
"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity," Buffy teased
as she walked outside. "So from the sudden departure of Cordelia,
can I gather that things aren't that great between you two?"
"We broke up," Xander replied.
"Oh," Buffy blinked at the suddenness of the revelation. His
expression was not giving her anything to go on, so she said,
"You're gonna have to help me out here, Xan. Is this a 'Yay'
breakup or an 'oh no' breakup?"
He smiled, and replied, "Somewhere in between. Cordelia and I
weren't meant to be together. Not when I--" he stopped himself
from saying something he definitely wasn't ready for her to know.
Buffy looked for him silently, trying to figure out what he
wasn't saying. "Fine," she shrugged. "Let's go back inside."
Xander nodded and followed her back in.
"Wanna dance?" she asked, turning back to him.
He closed his mouth, as he realized his jaw had dropped open at
the suggestion. He looked at her for a moment, hesitating.
She arched an eyebrow at him, misunderstanding his lack of reply.
"Forget I asked," she muttered and turned to walk away.
"Wait," Xander grabbed his arm, stopping her. "That wasn't a no,
it was just a let me recover from the surprise."
"Oh, then let's dance," she smiled. She grabbed his hand, and
they walked onto the dance floor.
You're just too good to be true.
Can't take my eyes off of you.
You'd be like heaven to touch.
I wanna hold you so much.
At long last love has arrived.
And I thank God I'm alive.
You're just too good to be true.
Can't take my eyes off of you.
When they found a spot, he moved toward her, and then stopped,
looking completely lost. She stifled a giggle, saying, "I'm not
going to beat you up, Xander. It would kind of defeat the purpose
of my asking you to dance." He smiled apologetically, and she
took his right hand and placed it on her hip. "Keep it there or
you lose it," she teased him, smiling as he blushed again. He
took her right hand in his left, and she leaned her head against
his chest as they began to dance.
I need you baby, if it's quite all right,
I love you baby, you warm a lonely night.
I love you baby. Trust in me when I say It's OK:
Oh pretty baby, don't let me down I pray.
Oh pretty baby, now that I found you, stay.
And let me love you, baby let me love you
Before they could enjoy their dance for too long, Buffy noticed
Cordelia dancing nearby with another guy. What had drawn her
attention was the fact that the guy looked.... pale. Buffy
watched them as he led her out the side door, and looked up at
Xander, a worried expression on her face.
"Trouble?" he asked.
"I don't think that guy thrives on sunshine," Buffy replied,
stepping back. Xander nodded, and followed Buffy.
"Where'd she go?" she wondered, as she looked around the dark
alley.
"Maybe they wanted to make out?" Willow offered hopefully,
appearing behind her with Oz. She had noticed Buffy and Xander's
departure and had followed. Having enjoyed the normal night, she
was hoping for the lesser of two evils in this situation.
"Even if we _have_ been broken up for all of ten minutes, I doubt
Cordy would do that," Xander replied.
"Hey!" they heard Cordelia yell nearby. Oz handed Buffy a stake,
"Do you want to do the honors?"
"Of course," she replied, and then they all jumped as a crash
sounded from the same direction as the yell.
"Okay, I take it back, Xander. That's not what making out sounds
like. Unless I'm doing it wrong," Willow said.
Buffy ran to where the sound had come from, and the others
followed. She found Cordelia, pinned to the wall by the boy she
had left with, who was now in game face.
"He was nice earlier," Cordelia said. "But... help?"
Buffy grabbed the vampire by the neck and pulled him off
Cordelia. He fell to the ground, but got up quickly and ran at
her. She grabbed his arm and twisted it, flipping him over onto
the ground on his back. She yawned, boredly, then reached down
and grabbed him by the collar, staking him quickly. When she
straightened up, brushing the cloud of ash off her clothing, she
grinned at the others, "That was fun."
"Thanks," Cordelia said grudgingly. "I'm leaving now. Too much
fun for one night," she added, glaring at Xander as she walked to
her car.
**********
20 minutes later
Xander was walking Buffy home, and he chuckled suddenly. At her
questioning look, he said, "Oh, I was just thinking. I'm walking
you home, and if anyone who didn't know you saw us, they'd think
I'm protecting you or something. But it's so the other way
around," he grinned at her.
"I'm glad you're not threatened by that," Buffy teased.
"What? Threatened by the fact that you're stronger than me and
could kick my ass in a second flat? Nah, I've gotten over it," he
replied.
"Don't make me have to prove it anytime soon and it will be our
little secret," Buffy said.
"Sounds fair to me," Xander said.
They reached her house, and she smiled at him and said, "I'm
sorry we got interrupted."
Xander looked at her in confusion, not following, so she
explained, "Our dance."
"Oh, some other time?" he said, hoping he didn't sound too sure
of himself, and also hoping he didn't sound too pathetic.
"I'm holding you to that," Buffy replied with a smile, and walked
inside.
******
End 26
(Song Lyrics were "Too Good to Be True" - the Lauryn Hill version)
The gang, minus Buffy, was at the Bronze. Buffy was running late,
having to take care of some Slay-duty before getting to have
fun. She had promised to catch up with the rest later.
"Do you think someone should go out there and look for her?"
Xander asked for the tenth time in an hour.
Willow checked her watch for the tenth time in an hour. "She's
only an hour late. I'm still not really worried about her yet."
Cordelia was getting more and more exasperated by the situation.
*Here we go again. I'm his girlfriend, I'm right here, and he's
not even aware of me. He's still more interested in Buffy, even
when she's not around! Why?*
"Did I tell you guys that Daddy bought me a new car?" Cordelia
asked, trying to get everyone's attention back on her. "Xander's
seen it already, it's a ..." She trailed off, when she looked at
Xander. His mouth had dropped open stupidly, and Cordelia knew
the cause before she was able to follow his eyes.
*Buffy Summers* Cordelia's eyes narrowed, as she saw the Slayer
approach. *Yeah, she's real innocent* she fumed as she took in
Buffy's appearance. Buffy was wearing a mid-thigh length black,
leather skirt, a red halter-top, and black high heels. Her blond
hair was up in a perfect pony tail. *How the hell does she manage
to look like that after Slaying nasty demons?* Cordelia wondered.
"Hey, guys," Buffy said as she reached their table. Xander pulled
up a chair next to his, and Cordelia continued to fume.
"I want to dance," Cordelia said, and it was obviously not up for
discussion.
"Fine," Xander said, and followed Cordelia onto the dance floor.
They had been dancing for about thirty seconds when Cordelia
stopped suddenly. *I may be dancing with him, but his mind and
his eyes are elsewhere* she realized.
"What's wrong?" Xander asked.
"Outside, now," Cordelia said angrily. He followed her, a
bewildered look on his face. When they reached the side alley,
she turned on him. "I'm tired of this."
"Tired of what?" Xander played dumb.
"Your infatuation with Buffy," Cordelia sighed.
"Okay. A: You're wrong, and Two.... well, there's only A," Xander
said.
"You can't fool me," Cordelia replied. "You are in love with
Buffy Summers, I don't care how much you deny it, it doesn't make
it not true." She ran her hand through her hair, and added, "I
don't know why I thought that the summer apart would change
anything. I was hoping that you'd have come to your senses by now
and gotten over her, but you obviously haven't. And then I
thought that it wouldn't matter, because you and I are together
and it's not like she even thinks of you that way.
But it does matter. Because it's obvious to everyone who looks at
you how you feel about her. And what's worse, is that makes it
obvious that I'm just second-best. And I just can't tolerate
that. Staying with you like this, means risking my reputation in
this town. So the only solution is that we break up immediately.
So that's what's happening, I'm dumping you. And you'd better
make sure to tell that right," she warned, and walked back into
the Bronze in a huff.
"Oookay," Xander said. "I guess that was inevitable."
"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity," Buffy teased
as she walked outside. "So from the sudden departure of Cordelia,
can I gather that things aren't that great between you two?"
"We broke up," Xander replied.
"Oh," Buffy blinked at the suddenness of the revelation. His
expression was not giving her anything to go on, so she said,
"You're gonna have to help me out here, Xan. Is this a 'Yay'
breakup or an 'oh no' breakup?"
He smiled, and replied, "Somewhere in between. Cordelia and I
weren't meant to be together. Not when I--" he stopped himself
from saying something he definitely wasn't ready for her to know.
Buffy looked for him silently, trying to figure out what he
wasn't saying. "Fine," she shrugged. "Let's go back inside."
Xander nodded and followed her back in.
"Wanna dance?" she asked, turning back to him.
He closed his mouth, as he realized his jaw had dropped open at
the suggestion. He looked at her for a moment, hesitating.
She arched an eyebrow at him, misunderstanding his lack of reply.
"Forget I asked," she muttered and turned to walk away.
"Wait," Xander grabbed his arm, stopping her. "That wasn't a no,
it was just a let me recover from the surprise."
"Oh, then let's dance," she smiled. She grabbed his hand, and
they walked onto the dance floor.
You're just too good to be true.
Can't take my eyes off of you.
You'd be like heaven to touch.
I wanna hold you so much.
At long last love has arrived.
And I thank God I'm alive.
You're just too good to be true.
Can't take my eyes off of you.
When they found a spot, he moved toward her, and then stopped,
looking completely lost. She stifled a giggle, saying, "I'm not
going to beat you up, Xander. It would kind of defeat the purpose
of my asking you to dance." He smiled apologetically, and she
took his right hand and placed it on her hip. "Keep it there or
you lose it," she teased him, smiling as he blushed again. He
took her right hand in his left, and she leaned her head against
his chest as they began to dance.
I need you baby, if it's quite all right,
I love you baby, you warm a lonely night.
I love you baby. Trust in me when I say It's OK:
Oh pretty baby, don't let me down I pray.
Oh pretty baby, now that I found you, stay.
And let me love you, baby let me love you
Before they could enjoy their dance for too long, Buffy noticed
Cordelia dancing nearby with another guy. What had drawn her
attention was the fact that the guy looked.... pale. Buffy
watched them as he led her out the side door, and looked up at
Xander, a worried expression on her face.
"Trouble?" he asked.
"I don't think that guy thrives on sunshine," Buffy replied,
stepping back. Xander nodded, and followed Buffy.
"Where'd she go?" she wondered, as she looked around the dark
alley.
"Maybe they wanted to make out?" Willow offered hopefully,
appearing behind her with Oz. She had noticed Buffy and Xander's
departure and had followed. Having enjoyed the normal night, she
was hoping for the lesser of two evils in this situation.
"Even if we _have_ been broken up for all of ten minutes, I doubt
Cordy would do that," Xander replied.
"Hey!" they heard Cordelia yell nearby. Oz handed Buffy a stake,
"Do you want to do the honors?"
"Of course," she replied, and then they all jumped as a crash
sounded from the same direction as the yell.
"Okay, I take it back, Xander. That's not what making out sounds
like. Unless I'm doing it wrong," Willow said.
Buffy ran to where the sound had come from, and the others
followed. She found Cordelia, pinned to the wall by the boy she
had left with, who was now in game face.
"He was nice earlier," Cordelia said. "But... help?"
Buffy grabbed the vampire by the neck and pulled him off
Cordelia. He fell to the ground, but got up quickly and ran at
her. She grabbed his arm and twisted it, flipping him over onto
the ground on his back. She yawned, boredly, then reached down
and grabbed him by the collar, staking him quickly. When she
straightened up, brushing the cloud of ash off her clothing, she
grinned at the others, "That was fun."
"Thanks," Cordelia said grudgingly. "I'm leaving now. Too much
fun for one night," she added, glaring at Xander as she walked to
her car.
**********
20 minutes later
Xander was walking Buffy home, and he chuckled suddenly. At her
questioning look, he said, "Oh, I was just thinking. I'm walking
you home, and if anyone who didn't know you saw us, they'd think
I'm protecting you or something. But it's so the other way
around," he grinned at her.
"I'm glad you're not threatened by that," Buffy teased.
"What? Threatened by the fact that you're stronger than me and
could kick my ass in a second flat? Nah, I've gotten over it," he
replied.
"Don't make me have to prove it anytime soon and it will be our
little secret," Buffy said.
"Sounds fair to me," Xander said.
They reached her house, and she smiled at him and said, "I'm
sorry we got interrupted."
Xander looked at her in confusion, not following, so she
explained, "Our dance."
"Oh, some other time?" he said, hoping he didn't sound too sure
of himself, and also hoping he didn't sound too pathetic.
"I'm holding you to that," Buffy replied with a smile, and walked
inside.
******
End 26
(Song Lyrics were "Too Good to Be True" - the Lauryn Hill version)