Background: Season 2 - Angel has been told of his curse by Jenny, and has not slept with Buffy and therefore not turned evil. Oz is still in the background and may or may not make an appearance here. Giles is seeing Jenny, Angel is with Buffy and Xander is with Cordy. Poor Willow is on her lonesome. = thoughts, "" = speech.

1 Month Earlier Sunnydale Outskirts

Abandoned Catholic Church

The ritual to restore Drusilla had been thwarted, but only just. Fists flew and blood was spilt before Drusilla and Spike were trapped under the pipe organ that spanned one side of the wall near the altar.

Some time later Drusilla awoke amongst the debris to find Spike still unconscious. She belatedly noticed that her favourite piece of jewellery was also missing. Reluctantly leaving it behind somewhere in the ruins of the church, Dru carried Spike back to the factory basement they had been using as a hideaway.

Not two days later a young boy playing truant from his local primary school broke into the Church on a dare and found a nice silver necklace among the rubble. He sold it the same day to a local merchant for a few dollars so that he could fix up his old bike.

Present Day.

thought Xander. I had done everything right for once. For the first time I felt like I was almost a normal person, with a girlfriend and a better than slim chance of graduating from this hell-infested school. Then Cordy had sacrificed him over her friends and dumped him like last night's cold dinner.

Then later that afternoon Xander had caught Amy as she brainwashed the teacher into believing that her homework had been handed in. Now lying in his bed at night, a thought came to Xander that kept him awake for the next two hours as he plotted his revenge on the girl who had ground his heart into the dirt. It wasn't the vengeance kind of revenge, there was some malice intended, but mainly he wanted Cordy to feel what it was like to be treated like that, like some beetle that had crawled out from a rock and needed to be squashed.

Xander woke to his alarm at 7.15am, showered and dressed before making his way downstairs to the kitchen. As usual his parents were sound asleep recovering from last night's revelry. Xander knew better than to make too much noise while making breakfast. Although it was unlikely that any sound less than a jackhammer outside their window would wake them, he had learnt by now that mornings were best spent away from hung over parents, lest they take their frustrations out on him.

On the way to school Xander saw that the news from yesterday had found its way all around the school, and he tried to ignore the whispered laughter and behind the back finger pointing that increased the closer he got to Sunnydale High.

"Yeah, laugh all you want you cretins, I don't see you hanging with any girls" he said loudly to the latest bunch of three boys who were laughing at his expense.

Xander saw Buffy and Willow up ahead and turned right from the hallway to avoid them. Willow surely would spot straight away that he was up to something, and between them both they would undoubtedly find out what he was up to, and then talk him out of it. They could wrap him around their little fingers, especially Buffy - and he knew it as well as they did. So Willow and Buffy would have to wait until after he had spoken with Amy and done his special task for the day. As Xander was thinking about this he spotted Amy coming towards him and quickly reached out and dragged her into the closest classroom, which thankfully was empty.

"Xander, what are you doing? Let go of my arm" said Amy, who was getting more annoyed by the second.

"Hello Amy", said Xander calmly. "Been doing any witchcraft lately?"

Amy looked flustered, but quickly caught herself and started talking at 100 miles per hour "Xander you know it was my Mum who was the witch, she switched our bodies and.."

"..and I saw you hoodwink Mrs Stanton into believing you handed in your homework yesterday too" interrupted Xander. "C'mon Amy, I know it runs in the family. All I need to keep my silence is a small favour from you."

Amy looked at Xander suspiciously. "What sort of favour?"

"Well it would kinda involve a spell. A love spell"

"Oh no Xander. They are way too dangerous, trying to make someone love you forever is really complicated, and the effects can be unpredictable, plus.."

"Whoa, whoa there. Nobody said anything about eternal love here. All I want is for Cordelia to still have a thing for me so I can dump her and see how she likes it. It's about time someone taught her other people's feelings matter too."

"Well that makes sense" said Amy, as a wry smile came to her face. "I heard about what happened yesterday. For what it's worth, I'm sorry" she said sincerely.

"Thanks Amy, but there's no need for sorry. There is only one way Cordy is going to learn from this, and I intend to be the teacher for this particular lesson. Saddle up, class is in session" said Xander, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "When can we do the spell?"

"Well" started Amy, hesitantly. "Why don't you meet me here at lunch and we'll do it then. Oh, and you will need something of hers if it's going to work properly."

Xander broke into a wide grin as he thought of exactly what he could get from Cordelia so the spell could be done. It was fitting, and finally the gift he had chosen after hours of searching could finally be put to good use.

Xander's last class before lunch was History, and one that he shared with Cordelia. So when the bell went, he made sure he was out the door right behind her and followed her to the lockers. Once there Xander gathered up his remaining confidence and walked right up to Cordelia. "Hi Cordy."

Cordelia rolled her eyes and quickly scanned the hallway to make sure neither Harmony or Aura could see her talking to Xander Harris again. "What is it Xander?" she said harshly, "have you turned into stalker boy now?"

"Hardly. I've just come to get my necklace back" said Xander, watching the last remaining shreds of his dignity flow out of his faded jeans and onto the polished floor below.

Cordelia turned in a huff, and hidden from view behind her locker door removed the necklace from around her neck while dishing out one final insult, "it figures. Anyway, I didn't like it in the first place, so you can gladly have it back" said Cordelia, her tone of voice not betraying her true feelings that she was upset to have to give it back, and upset that Xander had asked.

Xander reached out as he saw the flash of silver from behind the locker door, and quickly took the necklace from Cordelia. As he started to walk away he turned his head back to her and said "I'm going to melt it down to scrap metal, just the same as you did to me yesterday" and walked off.

Xander arrived in the classroom to find Amy already there. She looked pensive as Xander handed over the necklace that he had given Cordelia for Valentines Day, right before she dumped him.

"Are you really really sure you want to do this Xander? Love spells are tricky and sometimes have weird side effects" asked Amy.

"Yep. I'm sure. I want Cordelia to feel like she can't live without me. Then we'll see why people who live in glass houses have the shoe on the other foot" said Xander.

"Uh Xander, it's meant to be 'people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones'" said Amy with a smile.

"Yeah I knew that" Xander said defensively. "I think Cordelia has addled my brain. Can we just do the spell now Amy?" replied Xander.

Amy took the necklace that Xander had given her and opened her book to a place she bookmarked earlier. Amy whirled the necklace over a jar of potion she had put together quickly while she was waiting. Xander sat and listened as Amy mumbled a few sentences of a language he did not understand. Then Amy dropped the necklace into the jar containing the potion, and there was a flash of bright light and then, nothing.

"Is that it?" asked Xander.

"I think so" replied a nervous Amy. "Did you feel anything?" she asked Xander.

"No. But I'm not supposed to am I? Cordelia should be feeling an urge right about now." And with that he thanked Amy and headed out into the hallway to find the incomparable Cordelia Chase. thought Xander.

Xander rounded the corner of the main corridor and spied Cordelia up ahead at a table with her usual cronies. Without a care in the world he strolled right up to her, leant over and said in a soft voice "Hello Cordelia. Miss me?"

Cordelia stood up from the table to her full height and said in a very loud voice "Xander Harris leave me alone. Anyone would think you're stalking me. I swear you and the other two weirdo's you hang with belong in a laboratory."

Xander took a couple of steps backward looking quite bemused, which to the approaching figures of Buffy and Willow looked rather strange, almost like he hadn't expected that reaction from Cordelia. thought Willow.

Xander retreated with Buffy and Willow to the library so he could escape the funny looks he was getting from the remainder of Cordelia's fan club still seated at the table. Once they were safely inside Buffy said to Xander "Gee Xand, you really like causing pain and misery for yourself. First you date Cordelia, then after she dumps you you're still hanging around begging for more."

"That's harsh Buffy" said Xander. "It would be nice to get a little support every now and again."

"Xand you know how I feel about you and Cordelia. I told you that you could do way better. It upsets me to see that you are still clingy when it comes to her."

"Buff I am not clingy. And besides, it's not like I have girls lining up outside the door to date me" Xander continued with a sad smile "plus the only other girl I'm interested in isn't available right now" and he shot a quick look at Buffy while he said it. At the same time he missed Willow's face drop in sadness at his off the cuff remark.

By this time Xander was thinking that the love spell probably hadn't worked, and that was for the best anyway. He piped up as only Xander can, "lets forget Cordelia and other depressing matters of the heart. I'm here with my two bestest buds and tonight we are going to the Bronze to have a great time."

"We are?" asked Willow, unsure where this had come from.

"Yeah sure, we'll have a great time, and.."

"..and I have to patrol" interjected Buffy.

"..and I have an assignment to finish" said Willow.

"Great!" continued Xander in the same upbeat tone of voice pretending that he hadn't heard a thing. "I'll go to the Bronze by myself like the big loser I am then go home to listen to country music - the music of pain!"

Willow could sense the sadness in Xander's voice and leaned over to give him a hug. She made eye contact with Buffy and in the unspoken language that exists between girls Buffy got the message that they needed to cheer Xander up, and quickly.

Buffy came over to where Willow and Xander were seated and said "look, lets go to the Bronze tomorrow night. I'll clear it with Giles, and we'll all go and eat lots of chocolate cookies and dance the night away." The rest of the lunch hour passed uneventfully and the three Scoobies went their separate ways to class with a promise to meet back in the library after school for some research before Buffy's patrol that night.

Xander sat daydreaming through all his afternoon lessons, just imagining what would have happened if the spell had worked correctly. Time and time again Cordelia would come up to him, begging to be taken back, and he would reject her every time. Because of this he sat through class with a content grin on his face, and people assumed that he was already over yesterday's events when in fact he was far from it.