Part 54 - Hopes and Fears
Wednesday Morning
8 am
Buffy stopped by Xander's house on the way to school. He usually met her at her
place, but when he didn't show up she figured he was running late. She realized
the reason he was running late as she got within fifty feet of his house. She
could hear the yelling from there.
"This is not what he needs when we're trying to plan for the biggest fight of
our lives," Buffy muttered as she approached the house.
"I'm leaving and you can't stop me!" she heard Xander yell.
"You wanna bet?" This from another male voice, which she recognized as Xander's
father.
There was a loud crash, and this was the last straw for Buffy. She rushed into
the house and saw Mary sitting in the kitchen crying. She continued on into the
living room in time to see Xander get knocked to the ground after being punched
in the face by his father.
"STOP IT NOW!" Buffy screamed.
Both men turned to look at her.
"Oh how sweet," LaVelle Harris sneered, turning back to Xander. "You need this
little slut to protect you, Alex?"
"ENOUGH!" Xander yelled as he got to his feet. "You can beat me up all you
want, but you will NOT speak to my girlfriend that way!"
"Xan," Buffy walked over in front of Xander and put her hand on his arm. When
he looked down at her, she said, "It doesn't matter what he says. You know he's
not worth it." She turned to look at Xander's father. "And by the way, Xander
doesn't need me to protect him, or anyone else," Buffy replied. "I know he's
dealt with you more than once, and survived it every single time. He's the
strongest man I know." Still keeping her eyes trained on the older Harris man,
she added, "Come on, Xan. Let's get out of here."
"Just give me a minute to talk to Mom," Xander replied. "Please?" he asked,
when Buffy hesitated and looked up at him worriedly.
"Fine," she sighed and walked back out of the house. Xander came out five
minutes later. "You okay?" she asked as they walked down the side walk, arms
around each other's waists.
"Yeah," Xander said. "He just found out that I'm looking at apartments. He
doesn't want to lose that extra money that I bring in to the house."
"Have you found anything yet?" Buffy wondered.
"Yeah. I'm hoping it will work out, so I can get out of that house for good.
But I'll look at it after graduation, though. There's no use making plans
unless we stop the Ascension."
"You mean 'until we stop the Ascension', right?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah, whatever," Xander shrugged.
"We will stop it, Xan," Buffy said. She did have hope they would and she needed
him to have that hope, too. Giles had managed to get quite a stockpile of
weapons together, including some pretty cool looking flame throwers. She and
the others had recruited twenty students already to help out with the fight.
Apparently most of Sunnydale High was already quite aware of the demon problem
in the town, so it didn't take much to convince them on that point. Buffy
didn't blame them for their attempts at pretending until now that their lives
were normal, she wished sometimes that she could do the same.
She realized Xander hadn't agreed with her earlier. She stopped and turned him
to face her. "Xander, it's all going to work out."
Xander hesitated a moment and then smiled. "I do believe you," he said. "Why
shouldn't I? You've never been wrong yet." He leaned down to kiss her. "So you
want to look at the apartment with me next week? Since you may be spending a
little time there yourself, if I take it."
"I 'may be spending a little time there'?" Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Well, I
should hope so," she replied with a frown.
"So is that a yes?" Xander asked with a grin.
"Yes, of course it is," Buffy replied and they continued down the street to the
school.
***********
Wednesday Morning
8 am
Buffy stopped by Xander's house on the way to school. He usually met her at her
place, but when he didn't show up she figured he was running late. She realized
the reason he was running late as she got within fifty feet of his house. She
could hear the yelling from there.
"This is not what he needs when we're trying to plan for the biggest fight of
our lives," Buffy muttered as she approached the house.
"I'm leaving and you can't stop me!" she heard Xander yell.
"You wanna bet?" This from another male voice, which she recognized as Xander's
father.
There was a loud crash, and this was the last straw for Buffy. She rushed into
the house and saw Mary sitting in the kitchen crying. She continued on into the
living room in time to see Xander get knocked to the ground after being punched
in the face by his father.
"STOP IT NOW!" Buffy screamed.
Both men turned to look at her.
"Oh how sweet," LaVelle Harris sneered, turning back to Xander. "You need this
little slut to protect you, Alex?"
"ENOUGH!" Xander yelled as he got to his feet. "You can beat me up all you
want, but you will NOT speak to my girlfriend that way!"
"Xan," Buffy walked over in front of Xander and put her hand on his arm. When
he looked down at her, she said, "It doesn't matter what he says. You know he's
not worth it." She turned to look at Xander's father. "And by the way, Xander
doesn't need me to protect him, or anyone else," Buffy replied. "I know he's
dealt with you more than once, and survived it every single time. He's the
strongest man I know." Still keeping her eyes trained on the older Harris man,
she added, "Come on, Xan. Let's get out of here."
"Just give me a minute to talk to Mom," Xander replied. "Please?" he asked,
when Buffy hesitated and looked up at him worriedly.
"Fine," she sighed and walked back out of the house. Xander came out five
minutes later. "You okay?" she asked as they walked down the side walk, arms
around each other's waists.
"Yeah," Xander said. "He just found out that I'm looking at apartments. He
doesn't want to lose that extra money that I bring in to the house."
"Have you found anything yet?" Buffy wondered.
"Yeah. I'm hoping it will work out, so I can get out of that house for good.
But I'll look at it after graduation, though. There's no use making plans
unless we stop the Ascension."
"You mean 'until we stop the Ascension', right?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah, whatever," Xander shrugged.
"We will stop it, Xan," Buffy said. She did have hope they would and she needed
him to have that hope, too. Giles had managed to get quite a stockpile of
weapons together, including some pretty cool looking flame throwers. She and
the others had recruited twenty students already to help out with the fight.
Apparently most of Sunnydale High was already quite aware of the demon problem
in the town, so it didn't take much to convince them on that point. Buffy
didn't blame them for their attempts at pretending until now that their lives
were normal, she wished sometimes that she could do the same.
She realized Xander hadn't agreed with her earlier. She stopped and turned him
to face her. "Xander, it's all going to work out."
Xander hesitated a moment and then smiled. "I do believe you," he said. "Why
shouldn't I? You've never been wrong yet." He leaned down to kiss her. "So you
want to look at the apartment with me next week? Since you may be spending a
little time there yourself, if I take it."
"I 'may be spending a little time there'?" Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Well, I
should hope so," she replied with a frown.
"So is that a yes?" Xander asked with a grin.
"Yes, of course it is," Buffy replied and they continued down the street to the
school.
***********
