"Wow! This is so good!" Elisa remarked, finishing off her french fries and reaching for the remainder of her cheeseburger. "So, what's for dessert? Twinkies? Ho hos?"
Xander grinned, "So you were paying attention to my 'ode to sugary goodness.'" He wiggled his eyebrows and Elisa laughed. She liked this guy. He could make her laugh when everything else seemed so awful. She still wasn't sure how to deal with the fact that her brother was now one of the undead, but for now, she just wanted to forget.
"I was thinking we could start with the 'Double-whammy, hot fudge brownie, ice cream sundae' and then follow that up with the 'Leaning tower of shortcake.' What do you think?" Xander announced. "That is, if you're up to it," he challenged. Elisa couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
"Are you serious?" she asked, looking at the table. There were plates stacked all around them.
"Oh, I'm serious all right. Prepare your sweet tooth." Xander smiled.
"Then I'm game. Bring it on!" Elisa smiled back. Xander motioned to the waitress. She made her way over to the table and he quickly ordered their dessert. The waitress raised her eyebrow and shook her head slightly, unable to suppress a grin. She was sure she was going to get a good tip out of these two.
Xander told Elisa tale after tale of his many adventures on the Hellmouth while she dug into her ice cream. "And this one time, I had to fight this guy who was made out of bugs. Totally disgusting. He broke down into these buggies to get under the door. But Cordelia and I had put glue on the ground to catch him and then we stomped on…" Xander noticed the look on Elisa's face. "And this is totally not something you want to hear while eating. I get that."
"No, I love hearing your stories. But can we try to stay a little off the insect-y or mucus-y stories for the moment?" Elisa pleaded to her companion.
"Fair enough. Well, how about the time we decided to go to prom?" Xander agreed. He began talking at a feverish speed, gesturing wildly to enhance the story.
"Wow! Prom, huh?" Elisa looked wistful. "I never got to do any of the normal-kid stuff back in my time."
Xander saw the opening he had been looking for. "Well, what stuff did you get to do? What was one of your favorite demon-fighting moments?" Xander figured he would get her talking, then maybe she would start to feel comfortable enough to confide in him. He didn't know what the others had found out. He only knew two things: she was a Slayer and she was Spike's sister. She even had that cool British accent going on. Hers just wasn't as pronounced. It was softer, sexier.
"Well, things weren't too different back then." Elisa began. "There was this demon called Zahora that had this long tail that…" Her eyes darted around the little café. There were only a few people left, but she felt uncomfortable. "Ummm…could we go somewhere, I don't know, more private?"
Xander nodded and went to the register to pay for their meal. He remained silent as he and Elisa gathered their things and got into the car. They had been driving around for a few minutes when Elisa urged him to stop the vehicle. She pointed at the park. "Can we go talk there?"
"Sure, it's almost daylight, so the creepies should all be underground by now," Xander said. They made their way over to the swingset.
Elisa sat on the swing and began to pump her legs back and forth rhythmically. Back and forth. Back and forth. She went higher and higher. The wind whipped at her face and she felt free. Free from her troubles. But they were still there. They weren't going to just go away. She needed help, and she was alone here. No, she amended, not alone. She had Xander. He could help. He had been through a lot himself, and he obviously had a history with her brother. She just had to open up first.
Xander waited patiently on the other swing. He could sense the Slayer's internal turmoil. He knew she would talk when she was ready. For now, he could wait.
After swinging for awhile, Elisa slowed and eventually came to a complete stop. She looked over at Xander. "I guess you'll need a little bit of backstory…"