Title: Obsession
Author: SlayerWillow

Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss and the WB. No copyright infringement intended.

What was this obsession with this girl he hardly knew? Of course, he planned on getting to know her quite well. He figured the main reason he picked her was because her looks reminded him of his first true love, Cordelia. Cordelia was, in his eyes, the epitome of beauty. Her straight black hair had hung down to her waist. Her big brown eyes reminded him of chocolate. As far as he was concerned, she was perfect.

They first met when they were juniors in high school. It wasn't love at first sight or anything like that. they just started hanging out with the same people. The more they hung out in the same group, the more he began to like her. He didn't know how to act around her or what to say. Finally one Friday night they ran into each other at The Bronze, but there was no group of friends this time. Somehow he managed to ask if she wanted something to eat. Cordelia had said yes. At that moment he felt like he was the luckiest man alive. They headed over to a small restaurant and managed to make conversation. Slowly his nerves settled down and they had a really great time. He asked for her number and promised to call the next day.

Saturday night at six the phone rang at Cordelia's house. She ran and grabbed it before anyone else could get to it. It was him! She had never felt like this over any guy before. Okay, so she said that about every guy, but this was different. She hoped he would ask her out tonight. On the other end of the line he didn't know what to say. He really liked her, and if he didn't think she would say no he would ask her to marry him right now. After a half-hour of chitchat he finally asked her if she wanted to go out. She had said yes. From there things only got better, as far as he was concerned at least.

Cordelia felt differently. Around the end of summer he had started acting weird around her, as if he had to control everything she did. No matter where she was or who she was with he wanted to know every little detail. By about the middle of their senior year she decided enough was enough, and broke up with him. Unfortunately he didn't agree and would not leave her alone. Every time she talked to a guy he would show up and say something about them being a couple. Cordelia tried to explain to him that she did not like him anymore and that they should both move on with their lives. Naturally he didn't agree, for a few days that is.

Suddenly he seemed to almost disappear from her life. She saw him at school every now and then, but he didn't hang around like he used to. Cordelia doubted if she would ever figure this guy out. One minute he won't leave her alone, and the next it's like she doesn't exist. Oh, well, at lease she could actually date someone now. She already had someone in mind too. His name was Xander. They had been talking on and off for a while now but had never really hooked up, mainly because of her ex. After they did get together, they were a pretty happy couple.

Learning that Cordelia had hooked up with someone else nearly killed him, but he couldn't let it show. He tried to get over her because he knew he couldn't get her back, but nothing helped. He was overcome with jealousy and finally decided that if he couldn't have her, then no one could. He and Cordelia were destined to be together, but she just couldn't see it that way. Instead she broke up with him and decided to date someone else. He decided he should enlighten her and make her see it his way. And if that didn't work there was always a back-up plan.

Cordelia and Xander were getting along great. She was excited because prom was coming up in one short week. The only problem was her ex. He had decided to start bothering her again, trying to make her see the light and all that nonsense. She didn't let it get to her too much, and Xander was very understanding about the whole thing. At least prom was soon and it would be a night to forget all her worries and totally relax. Cordelia just hoped that her ex didn't try to screw it up.

He had been watching, listening and planning. He had already scored a gig as the waiter at Cordelia's favorite restaurant, a sure bet for prom night. It was hard for him to make this decision but he knew it was the only way. He had tried talking, begging, even threatening and nothing seemed to work. He knew this would work and then Cordelia would be his forever. He thought maybe he should talk to her some more yet he didn't think it would do any good. No, the best bet for him was to stick to his plan, that way the element of surprise would be in his favor. Of course he had to be very careful if everything was going to go as planned.

Finally it was the night all of his dreams would come true. Cordelia would be his forever. He was proud of himself for planning this. Most people would never have been able to get that last ingredient that he had needed. After arriving for work he was totally confident. The restaurant wasn't crowded, so he was sure he would be serving Cordelia and Xander. About an hour before closing time he began to get worried. This was his only chance, he knew he wouldn't be able to go through with it if it didn't happen tonight.

Fifteen minutes later they strolled in. Cordelia looked absolutely divine in her prom dress. For a moment he had doubts, but he managed to push them away. Walking up to their table to take their order Cordelia looked absolutely shocked when she saw who it was. Xander even asked if her if she wanted to go somewhere else, but she decided to stay. He didn't make any kind of a scene, simply took their order and acted polite. After their food was ready he took out the final ingredient in the corner. Serving the fine white powder proved to be easy, she had ordered Fettucine Alfredo. After serving the food all he had to do was wait.

One month later everyone graduated from school, or almost everyone that is. Cordelia couldn't attend the graduation ceremonies because she was very ill. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong, and everything they tried failed to help her. They were running out of time.

Having previously been accepted to NYU to study film he had nothing to worry about. After graduation was over he drove to the LAX airport and jumped on his flight. He wanted to arrive at the beginning of summer so he could get a job and settle in before school actually started. After hearing about Cordelia's death from his parents he sent her family a letter of condolence.

School was going great and he had met some really nice people. One girl in particular had caught his eye. She had short black hair, and gorgeous brown eyes. They were going out this weekend. He hoped this relationship would work out better than the last one. If not he would think of something, he always did.