AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm ba-ack. Got chapter eighteen here for ya. Read and enjoy
the sappiness. :b
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Xander Harris walked slowly and dejectedly down the quiet street. The stars shone brightly in the clear, dark blue sky and the only sound was the scuffling of his sneakers on the cool concrete. He looked up as a red mustang pulled up beside him.
"Hop in," Kyle said, "What the hell are you doing out here anyway?"
"Anya kicked me out."
"Trouble in paradise?"
"No. The day before my wedding."
******************************** *******************************
"It's not funny!" Xander protested.
Rath and Michael were doubled over with laughter after hearing about Xander's untimely removal from his house by his fiancé the night before his own wedding. It was a riot.
"Wait 'til it's your turn, Anastasia," Xander grumbled. That shut them up.
"Hey!"
"Huh. The nickname still works. I gotta use it sometime," Zan said. The twins glared at him.
"So, what do you want to do?" Max asked. Pretty much all the guys were hanging out at the Guerin apartment. It was the new Crashdown, only with no cheesy alien memorabilia. When all the girls got together, all the boys met at Rath and Michael's place for a night of gory videos, sloppy eating and no nookie.
"I don't understand. Why did she kick him out?" asked Connor.
"The groom isn't supposed to see the bride before the wedding. It's a tradition," Spike answered. He was also kicked out of the Scooby mansion along with Giles, who opted to spend his time with Valenti and Wesley.
"Why?"
"Bad luck," Oz stated simply. Serena was with the girls so he had decided to hang with the guys.
Connor narrowed his eyes. "That's stupid."
"Don't I know it," Xander complained. "I wonder what they're doing."
"Come on, Xander, this is your last night as a free man. Stop sulking. We can get a little bachelor party action going," Kyle said, pulling a few beers.okay, three six packs.out of his duffel bag.
"Now you're talking!" Spike exclaimed, pulling a bottle of whiskey out of nowhere.
"Oh yeah. That makes a lot of sense. A drinking party half the people can't drink," Zan said.
"What do you mean? Only two of here can't drink. The rest of us are fine," Rath pointed out. Zan flipped him off.
"As it is drinking's the only pre-wedding ritual we can do anyway. We can't stare at naked chicks cause some people." Kyle looked at Michael, Rath and Alex. "Will give it away to their girlfriends. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to get my ass kicked by Maria and Isabel."
"Or Anya for that matter," Xander added. They all nodded. That would be bad.
"So what do we do?"
"Cards?"
"Too many people."
"TV?"
"Might as well."
"What's on?"
"Who cares?"
"I wonder what the girls are doing."
************************* ****************************
"I can so see the look on his face!" Maria said laughing.
Anya had just told them all the story of how she kicked Xander out of the house for good luck. All the girls were spread out in the living room, pizza boxes and ice-cream cartons littering the floor.
"Wow. I still can't believe you guys are getting married," Cordelia said, "I never thought Xander would be the first one of us to go."
"Our little boy's all grown up now," Buffy said wiping a fake tear away.
"Oh, he's not little," Anya informed them, smiling. They stared at her.
"Ew, Anya, too much information," Cordelia exclaimed tossing a pillow at her. It hit her square in the face. Anya threw it back, but it missed, hitting Serena in the eye.
"Ow. Okay that's it. Pillow fight!" Serena howled, clutching a pillow in one hand and holding her eye with the other.
An hour after the human/alien pillow war erupted, the girls collapsed in exhaustion.
"That's the first pillow fight I've had in ages," Serena said wistfully, her eyes closed as she fought to catch her breath. "My eye hurts like hell."
"Here, let me heal it," Isabel offered. A soft white glow surrounded her hands as she healed her eye. She opened her eyes, testing out the pain levels, before smiling her thanks to Isabel.
"Jeepers Creepers, where'd you get those eyes?" Dawn joked. They stared at her. "What?"
"Jeepers Creepers?"
"I was introducing Connor to cartoons, okay? He kept watching Looney Toons with Elmer Fudd and Sylvester."
"Ooooooohhhh," Maria sang in her best immature school voice.
"So, Serena, the eyes?" Dawn said, blushingly trying to change the subject.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your eyes. One's brown, one's grey."
"It's a Native American beauty secret. It's called." She paused for effect, pretending to look for spies. "Contacts."
Dawn pelted her with a pillow. "Duh. Why'd you change the colour? The grey's pretty."
"I uh.I just have issues with the grey ones," she said. "Bad memories." She paused, staring out the window. "My father had grey eyes."
"Your father?" Maria asked.
"Yeah, well, he left us years ago. Ancient history. Let's get back to celebrating." Maria, seeing that this was a sore subject, got back on Dawn's back.
"So...Dawnie. You and Connor, huh?"
"There is nothing going on with me and Connor," she objected quickly.
"Did I say that?"
"Yes."
"Okay, fine, maybe I did. So, come on, give me some details, girl."
"I swear. Nothing is going on! He's just.he's the only person in this group that's my age."
"Mm-hmm. Right. I believe you."
"It's true!"
"Believe me, you can't hide anything from Maria," Liz warned, "It's easier to just tell her."
"It's true! I-it's.okay, maybe he's a little cute," she admitted.
"Ha! I knew it! You like him!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do no-, ugh, whatever."
"I've seen him staring at you."
"Really? No. I don't care." Maria raised an eyebrow at her. "Really, I don- okay, maybe a little."
And so the teasing continued through the night. 'Twas the night before December.
********************************** ******************************
"Oh my god. I don't believe it," Isabel said to herself as Oz gave the toast at the reception. The wedding had gone off without a hitch. Nobody had cold feet, the guests showed up on time and most importantly, there was absolutely no supernatural interference. It was beautiful.
Meanwhile, Alex sighed in relief as the day ended. It was a lot of work, but they managed to pull it off. They went through hell to keep all the problems away from their own personal Nazi so that she wouldn't go berserk and fry them all. He sighed again as he remembered all the events of the day.
~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod."
That was Xander's mantra as he paced up and down the room, wringing his hands and sweating like a pig. The male half of the Scooby Gang looked on in silence as their friend slowly went insane.
"Xander, it's gonna be fine," Kyle said for what seemed like the billionth time.
"How the hell do you know? The step. It's like, big. Huge. Jennifer Lopez's ass size," he went to the mini fridge and pulled out an orange soda, promptly spilling it all over himself.
"Crap!" he exclaimed. "Man, see? I'm messing it up already. This is a bad idea."
"This is not a bad idea," Rath assured him, passing a hand over his shirt, removing the stain. "See? All better."
"Uh oh," Oz muttered.
"Uh oh? What uh oh? What's with the uh-ohing?" Xander was starting to get hysterical.
Oz simply showed them the layer of fur that was starting to cover his arm. "It's the nervous energy in this room. Xander's making me turn." His voice was getting more and more growl-y by the minute.
"Can't you do a chant or something?" Alex asked.
"It's not gonna work if he doesn't calm down. I have to get out of here."
"What? No, you can't leave. Who will be the best man? Isabel will kill me and Anya." He trailed off as he dozed off to sleep. Rath blew off the tips of his fingers like in a cheesy western. Oz closed his eyes and breathed deeply, chanting quietly under his breath. The fur started to recede.
"Good. How long does that last?" Alex asked.
"Until someone wakes him up, basically," Rath answered.
"Good, we'll leave him like that until it's time." Alex stopped to answer his ringing cell phone. "Hello? What! Nonono, Nicky, you can't." The guys gathered around to not-so-discreetly listen in to Alex's phone call. "But we have a gig in, like." he checked his watch. "Two hours. Where are we gonna get a new guitarist by then?" He listened for a little while longer before hanging up and pitching his phone across the room. Luckily, it landed on the couch and didn't break. "Why me?"
"What's up, now?" Michael asked.
"Nicky bailed on us. He says he has to baby-sit his little sister tonight."
"And.?"
"And, he's our lead guitarist, and we're screwed." He sighed and banged his head on the wall. "Hope Maria doesn't mind doing a drum and bass set."
"I can play," Oz offered. "Just tell me the chords and I'm good."
"You sure?" Oz nodded. "Okay, 'nother problem solved. That's gonna be it, right?"
'Michael?'
'Yeah. What's up? The Nazi getting on your nerves? I could get Rath to put her to sleep,' Michael replied telepathically.
'No, no. Izzy's not even in here. She went to check on the flowers or something. No. Anya's really hung over. A little on the "still drunk" side.'
'What?! What did you do last night? And while we're at it, how could Isabel not notice?'
'Ava's been mind warping her,' she said matter-of-factly, 'I guess she tried the hangover cure. You know the one. Aspirin, sleep and a beer in the morning?' Michael shrugged. He seemed to remember Hank doing that. He never stopped at one beer, though so it couldn't have worked very well. 'Well, she didn't stop at one beer, let me tell ya. Anyway, Anya just puked all over her dress and she's acting like a raving lunatic, saying she's gonna summon some demon guy and get back her powers so she can exact revenge on Xander for putting her through this stress. So, Faith says Rath's good at these things?'
'I'll send him over.wait, why didn't Faith call him?'
'Ava can't keep the mind warp any more, so she went to distract Isabel. It takes mass concentration.'
'Right.' Michael stopped talking while he sent his brother over to the lion's den.
'How are things on your front?' Maria asked.
'Rath put Xander to sleep. The nervous energy was making Oz turn into a werewolf. Your guitarist isn't coming.'
'What?!'
'.so Oz is gonna fill in.'
'I am going to kill Nicky...'
'Yeah, well, it's fixed now. We're all fine once Izzy doesn't find out.'
"Michael? Michael! Snap out of it!" Alex yelled. The pressure of fixing everything and hiding his emotions from Isabel was heavy. This was way too hard. There was no way he was going through this crap again.
"What?"
"Xander's parents just called. They're stuck in the middle of the desert. Their car broke down. Mr. Harris says it looks like his wife is lookin' to make human barbeque. Lobster style."
"What?" Connor asked.
"She's gonna cook him alive," Spike explained.
"Aw, man. The wedding is starting in an hour. What next? Is Khivar gonna attack us now? How 'bout Pierce? He might as well come back from the dead and shoot us in the next five minutes," Alex was starting to get hysterical. Zan slapped him.
"It ain't even your wedding, Opie," he said.
"Since when do you call me Opie? The only person to call me that was.you're channelling Lonnie. Great," he threw his hands up in the air.
"Okay, sheriff? You go pick up the Xander's parents," Max said taking control. "Oz? Go get a guitar, find somewhere far away from Alex, Xander and Anya, do some chanting. Connor, go distract Isabel. Ask her questions about weddings or something." Connor nodded and ran off to find the Christmas/ Wedding Nazi. "The rest of us will try to calm Alex down."
Just then, Rah walked back in to the room. His hair, which he slicked back for the wedding, was sticking up everywhere, his shirt was untucked and he was sweating.
"What the hell happened to you?" asked Zan, holding back his laughter.
"A drunk Anya is not a happy Anya," he said, passing a hand over himself, fixing the mess. He flopped down on the couch. "I gotta teach you how to do it, baby bro, then you can do it next time."
"No thanks. Putting people to sleep is your job," Michael said shuddering. It would be a good power to have, but not if he had to through what his brother just did. Maria sent him images. Not good.
"Wuss," Rath said. "Hey, where'd everybody go?" He'd just noticed that half the room was gone. Max quickly filled him in on what happened. "Damn. This is gonna be hard. Sure you don't want me to put Izzy to sleep?"
"Not. Then she'll know something's up and we'll never hear the end of it." Rath shrugged. "Well, it'll be over in a couple of hours. What more could go wrong?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Luckily nothing else went wrong. After that, the event went on without a hitch. They woke the bride and groom, prepped them up and sent them on their way ten minutes before show time. They didn't have time to get scared again and they came out looking fresh and ready.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Xander Harris looked around the decorated hall in amazement. This was it. His wedding. He'd bet anything that three years ago, nobody in Sunnydale would have expected this. As he looked out at his friend relatives, he let a little bit of nervousness settle. What if he screwed this up? He'd never be able to forgive himself. Anya deserved more than that. His eyes settled on his parents. They didn't even seem to be fighting for once. What was that weird look on their faces? Was that pride? That was odd. He decided to look away before the perplexed look settled.
The whole congregation silenced as the music started up. The three bridesmaids, Buffy, Willow and Tara, started their walk down the flower- lined aisle over the plush purple carpet. They each wore long lilac empire line dresses that flowed elegantly to the floor. The halter bodice was a rich dark purple that matched their long gloves, which were a bit ridiculous as an accessory considering they were in the desert. Each carried a white bouquet of flowers, accentuated with tiny purple flowers. They looked beautiful.
As they got into position at the front of the room, the music changed and all the guests stood up to welcome the bride. Xander gasped as he saw the woman he was about to spend the rest of his life with slowly walk down the aisle. Giles was giving her away since they were all quite certain that her own father was long dead. She had a bright smile on her face and Xander could see that it was taking all her willpower not to drag the old watcher down the aisle faster.
She was wearing a long white dress with a fitted bodice covered in embroidered, hand beaded lace, held up with two thin diamante straps. She had a full-layered tuille skirt that fluttered elegantly over the floor. She also had while gloves and a light white veil, topped off with a tiara. She held a bouquet of lilac roses.wait a minute, roses don't come in that colour, do they? Xander looked over at Isabel questioningly. She just smiled and wiggled her fingers. Right. Alien magic. Anya finally made it down the aisle and ceremony began.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~
Xander squeezed Anya's hand as Oz finished his speech. It was really short. Oz never was one for words. Anya smiled up at her husband and leaned in for a kiss. Hundreds of years of being a vengeance demon and here she was, married to Xander in Roswell, New Mexico. She didn't know how she managed to get to this point, but she was the happiest she's ever been.
At the front of the room on the stage, the Whits set up their equipment. Oz was introduced to the drummer, who recognised him from when he'd seen the Dingoes in California the year before.
"Hey. We're the Whits," Maria announced, " We'd like to congratulate the couple." She winked as the gang laughed at her attempt at professionalism. " We want to invite you up for your first dance as Mr. And Mrs. Harris."
The group watched as Maria sang, the band played and the couple danced.
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
Yeah, that's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you
I'm sure you've heard these words before
And I know it's hard for you to trust them once more
You're afraid it all might end
And a broken heart is scared of breaking again
But you've gotta believe me
I'll never leave you
You'll never cry long as I am there
And I will always be there
You will never be without love
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth
Oh you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you yeah
"Ow, Xander, that was my toe," Anya complained.
"Sorry."
As long as sunlight lights the sky
Light of love will be found in these eyes of mine (these eyes of mine)
And I will shine that light for you
You're the only one, I'll ever give this heart to
What I'm trying to say is, nothing will change this (ahh...)
There'll be no time you won't find me there (find me there)
Cause I will always be there
You will always have all my love
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever (yeah)
When lies become the truth (ohhhh)
Well you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop loving'
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you
And when this world doesn't turn anymore
When the stars all decide to stop shining
'Til then I'm gonna to be by your side
Gonna be loving you forever
Every day of my life
Ohh...baby...
Well you know then baby
That's when I'll stop loving
That's when I'll stop loving
That's when I'll stop loving you
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth (truth... yeah)
Well you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop loving'
That's when I'll stop loving you (ohh...)
When winter comes in summer (yeah)
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth
That's when I'll stop loving (well you know then baby)
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop babe
I'll stop babe
Loving youWhen winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
Yeah, that's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you
I'm sure you've heard these words before
And I know it's hard for you to trust them once more
You're afraid it all might end
And a broken heart is scared of breaking again
But you've gotta believe me
I'll never leave you
You'll never cry long as I am there
And I will always be there
You will never be without love
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth
Oh you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you yeah
As long as sunlight lights the sky
Light of love will be found in these eyes of mine (these eyes of mine)
And I will shine that light for you
You're the only one, I'll ever give this heart to
What I'm trying to say is, nothing will change this (ahh..)
There'll be no time you won't find me there (find me there)
Cause I will always be there
You will always have all my love
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever (yeah)
When lies become the truth (ohhhh)
Well you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you
And when this world doesn't turn anymore
When the stars all decide to stop shining
Til then I'm gonna to be by your side
Gonna be loving you forever
Every day of my life
Ohh..baby..
Well you know then baby
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
"That was such a beautiful wedding," Liz commented to Max as she leaned against him, watching the happy couple dance.
"Yeah, Isabel did a great job."
"Xander and Anya are perfect for each other. And look how happy they are." She lightly fingered the soft lilac petals of the flowers she caught. " I hope our wedding will be this perfect."
"It will be," Max assured her, kissing her forehead, " In fact, it'll be better, because it'll be ours."
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth (truth... yeah)
Well you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you (ohh..)
When winter comes in summer (yeah)
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth
That's when I'll stop loving (well you know then baby)
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop babe
I'll stop babe
Loving you
******************************** *****************************
See what happens when someone without a romantic bone in their body tries to write a wedding? Did you like my sorry attempt at romance? Crap! Oh hell. The next part'll be better. Promise.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Xander Harris walked slowly and dejectedly down the quiet street. The stars shone brightly in the clear, dark blue sky and the only sound was the scuffling of his sneakers on the cool concrete. He looked up as a red mustang pulled up beside him.
"Hop in," Kyle said, "What the hell are you doing out here anyway?"
"Anya kicked me out."
"Trouble in paradise?"
"No. The day before my wedding."
******************************** *******************************
"It's not funny!" Xander protested.
Rath and Michael were doubled over with laughter after hearing about Xander's untimely removal from his house by his fiancé the night before his own wedding. It was a riot.
"Wait 'til it's your turn, Anastasia," Xander grumbled. That shut them up.
"Hey!"
"Huh. The nickname still works. I gotta use it sometime," Zan said. The twins glared at him.
"So, what do you want to do?" Max asked. Pretty much all the guys were hanging out at the Guerin apartment. It was the new Crashdown, only with no cheesy alien memorabilia. When all the girls got together, all the boys met at Rath and Michael's place for a night of gory videos, sloppy eating and no nookie.
"I don't understand. Why did she kick him out?" asked Connor.
"The groom isn't supposed to see the bride before the wedding. It's a tradition," Spike answered. He was also kicked out of the Scooby mansion along with Giles, who opted to spend his time with Valenti and Wesley.
"Why?"
"Bad luck," Oz stated simply. Serena was with the girls so he had decided to hang with the guys.
Connor narrowed his eyes. "That's stupid."
"Don't I know it," Xander complained. "I wonder what they're doing."
"Come on, Xander, this is your last night as a free man. Stop sulking. We can get a little bachelor party action going," Kyle said, pulling a few beers.okay, three six packs.out of his duffel bag.
"Now you're talking!" Spike exclaimed, pulling a bottle of whiskey out of nowhere.
"Oh yeah. That makes a lot of sense. A drinking party half the people can't drink," Zan said.
"What do you mean? Only two of here can't drink. The rest of us are fine," Rath pointed out. Zan flipped him off.
"As it is drinking's the only pre-wedding ritual we can do anyway. We can't stare at naked chicks cause some people." Kyle looked at Michael, Rath and Alex. "Will give it away to their girlfriends. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to get my ass kicked by Maria and Isabel."
"Or Anya for that matter," Xander added. They all nodded. That would be bad.
"So what do we do?"
"Cards?"
"Too many people."
"TV?"
"Might as well."
"What's on?"
"Who cares?"
"I wonder what the girls are doing."
************************* ****************************
"I can so see the look on his face!" Maria said laughing.
Anya had just told them all the story of how she kicked Xander out of the house for good luck. All the girls were spread out in the living room, pizza boxes and ice-cream cartons littering the floor.
"Wow. I still can't believe you guys are getting married," Cordelia said, "I never thought Xander would be the first one of us to go."
"Our little boy's all grown up now," Buffy said wiping a fake tear away.
"Oh, he's not little," Anya informed them, smiling. They stared at her.
"Ew, Anya, too much information," Cordelia exclaimed tossing a pillow at her. It hit her square in the face. Anya threw it back, but it missed, hitting Serena in the eye.
"Ow. Okay that's it. Pillow fight!" Serena howled, clutching a pillow in one hand and holding her eye with the other.
An hour after the human/alien pillow war erupted, the girls collapsed in exhaustion.
"That's the first pillow fight I've had in ages," Serena said wistfully, her eyes closed as she fought to catch her breath. "My eye hurts like hell."
"Here, let me heal it," Isabel offered. A soft white glow surrounded her hands as she healed her eye. She opened her eyes, testing out the pain levels, before smiling her thanks to Isabel.
"Jeepers Creepers, where'd you get those eyes?" Dawn joked. They stared at her. "What?"
"Jeepers Creepers?"
"I was introducing Connor to cartoons, okay? He kept watching Looney Toons with Elmer Fudd and Sylvester."
"Ooooooohhhh," Maria sang in her best immature school voice.
"So, Serena, the eyes?" Dawn said, blushingly trying to change the subject.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your eyes. One's brown, one's grey."
"It's a Native American beauty secret. It's called." She paused for effect, pretending to look for spies. "Contacts."
Dawn pelted her with a pillow. "Duh. Why'd you change the colour? The grey's pretty."
"I uh.I just have issues with the grey ones," she said. "Bad memories." She paused, staring out the window. "My father had grey eyes."
"Your father?" Maria asked.
"Yeah, well, he left us years ago. Ancient history. Let's get back to celebrating." Maria, seeing that this was a sore subject, got back on Dawn's back.
"So...Dawnie. You and Connor, huh?"
"There is nothing going on with me and Connor," she objected quickly.
"Did I say that?"
"Yes."
"Okay, fine, maybe I did. So, come on, give me some details, girl."
"I swear. Nothing is going on! He's just.he's the only person in this group that's my age."
"Mm-hmm. Right. I believe you."
"It's true!"
"Believe me, you can't hide anything from Maria," Liz warned, "It's easier to just tell her."
"It's true! I-it's.okay, maybe he's a little cute," she admitted.
"Ha! I knew it! You like him!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do no-, ugh, whatever."
"I've seen him staring at you."
"Really? No. I don't care." Maria raised an eyebrow at her. "Really, I don- okay, maybe a little."
And so the teasing continued through the night. 'Twas the night before December.
********************************** ******************************
"Oh my god. I don't believe it," Isabel said to herself as Oz gave the toast at the reception. The wedding had gone off without a hitch. Nobody had cold feet, the guests showed up on time and most importantly, there was absolutely no supernatural interference. It was beautiful.
Meanwhile, Alex sighed in relief as the day ended. It was a lot of work, but they managed to pull it off. They went through hell to keep all the problems away from their own personal Nazi so that she wouldn't go berserk and fry them all. He sighed again as he remembered all the events of the day.
~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod."
That was Xander's mantra as he paced up and down the room, wringing his hands and sweating like a pig. The male half of the Scooby Gang looked on in silence as their friend slowly went insane.
"Xander, it's gonna be fine," Kyle said for what seemed like the billionth time.
"How the hell do you know? The step. It's like, big. Huge. Jennifer Lopez's ass size," he went to the mini fridge and pulled out an orange soda, promptly spilling it all over himself.
"Crap!" he exclaimed. "Man, see? I'm messing it up already. This is a bad idea."
"This is not a bad idea," Rath assured him, passing a hand over his shirt, removing the stain. "See? All better."
"Uh oh," Oz muttered.
"Uh oh? What uh oh? What's with the uh-ohing?" Xander was starting to get hysterical.
Oz simply showed them the layer of fur that was starting to cover his arm. "It's the nervous energy in this room. Xander's making me turn." His voice was getting more and more growl-y by the minute.
"Can't you do a chant or something?" Alex asked.
"It's not gonna work if he doesn't calm down. I have to get out of here."
"What? No, you can't leave. Who will be the best man? Isabel will kill me and Anya." He trailed off as he dozed off to sleep. Rath blew off the tips of his fingers like in a cheesy western. Oz closed his eyes and breathed deeply, chanting quietly under his breath. The fur started to recede.
"Good. How long does that last?" Alex asked.
"Until someone wakes him up, basically," Rath answered.
"Good, we'll leave him like that until it's time." Alex stopped to answer his ringing cell phone. "Hello? What! Nonono, Nicky, you can't." The guys gathered around to not-so-discreetly listen in to Alex's phone call. "But we have a gig in, like." he checked his watch. "Two hours. Where are we gonna get a new guitarist by then?" He listened for a little while longer before hanging up and pitching his phone across the room. Luckily, it landed on the couch and didn't break. "Why me?"
"What's up, now?" Michael asked.
"Nicky bailed on us. He says he has to baby-sit his little sister tonight."
"And.?"
"And, he's our lead guitarist, and we're screwed." He sighed and banged his head on the wall. "Hope Maria doesn't mind doing a drum and bass set."
"I can play," Oz offered. "Just tell me the chords and I'm good."
"You sure?" Oz nodded. "Okay, 'nother problem solved. That's gonna be it, right?"
'Michael?'
'Yeah. What's up? The Nazi getting on your nerves? I could get Rath to put her to sleep,' Michael replied telepathically.
'No, no. Izzy's not even in here. She went to check on the flowers or something. No. Anya's really hung over. A little on the "still drunk" side.'
'What?! What did you do last night? And while we're at it, how could Isabel not notice?'
'Ava's been mind warping her,' she said matter-of-factly, 'I guess she tried the hangover cure. You know the one. Aspirin, sleep and a beer in the morning?' Michael shrugged. He seemed to remember Hank doing that. He never stopped at one beer, though so it couldn't have worked very well. 'Well, she didn't stop at one beer, let me tell ya. Anyway, Anya just puked all over her dress and she's acting like a raving lunatic, saying she's gonna summon some demon guy and get back her powers so she can exact revenge on Xander for putting her through this stress. So, Faith says Rath's good at these things?'
'I'll send him over.wait, why didn't Faith call him?'
'Ava can't keep the mind warp any more, so she went to distract Isabel. It takes mass concentration.'
'Right.' Michael stopped talking while he sent his brother over to the lion's den.
'How are things on your front?' Maria asked.
'Rath put Xander to sleep. The nervous energy was making Oz turn into a werewolf. Your guitarist isn't coming.'
'What?!'
'.so Oz is gonna fill in.'
'I am going to kill Nicky...'
'Yeah, well, it's fixed now. We're all fine once Izzy doesn't find out.'
"Michael? Michael! Snap out of it!" Alex yelled. The pressure of fixing everything and hiding his emotions from Isabel was heavy. This was way too hard. There was no way he was going through this crap again.
"What?"
"Xander's parents just called. They're stuck in the middle of the desert. Their car broke down. Mr. Harris says it looks like his wife is lookin' to make human barbeque. Lobster style."
"What?" Connor asked.
"She's gonna cook him alive," Spike explained.
"Aw, man. The wedding is starting in an hour. What next? Is Khivar gonna attack us now? How 'bout Pierce? He might as well come back from the dead and shoot us in the next five minutes," Alex was starting to get hysterical. Zan slapped him.
"It ain't even your wedding, Opie," he said.
"Since when do you call me Opie? The only person to call me that was.you're channelling Lonnie. Great," he threw his hands up in the air.
"Okay, sheriff? You go pick up the Xander's parents," Max said taking control. "Oz? Go get a guitar, find somewhere far away from Alex, Xander and Anya, do some chanting. Connor, go distract Isabel. Ask her questions about weddings or something." Connor nodded and ran off to find the Christmas/ Wedding Nazi. "The rest of us will try to calm Alex down."
Just then, Rah walked back in to the room. His hair, which he slicked back for the wedding, was sticking up everywhere, his shirt was untucked and he was sweating.
"What the hell happened to you?" asked Zan, holding back his laughter.
"A drunk Anya is not a happy Anya," he said, passing a hand over himself, fixing the mess. He flopped down on the couch. "I gotta teach you how to do it, baby bro, then you can do it next time."
"No thanks. Putting people to sleep is your job," Michael said shuddering. It would be a good power to have, but not if he had to through what his brother just did. Maria sent him images. Not good.
"Wuss," Rath said. "Hey, where'd everybody go?" He'd just noticed that half the room was gone. Max quickly filled him in on what happened. "Damn. This is gonna be hard. Sure you don't want me to put Izzy to sleep?"
"Not. Then she'll know something's up and we'll never hear the end of it." Rath shrugged. "Well, it'll be over in a couple of hours. What more could go wrong?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Luckily nothing else went wrong. After that, the event went on without a hitch. They woke the bride and groom, prepped them up and sent them on their way ten minutes before show time. They didn't have time to get scared again and they came out looking fresh and ready.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Xander Harris looked around the decorated hall in amazement. This was it. His wedding. He'd bet anything that three years ago, nobody in Sunnydale would have expected this. As he looked out at his friend relatives, he let a little bit of nervousness settle. What if he screwed this up? He'd never be able to forgive himself. Anya deserved more than that. His eyes settled on his parents. They didn't even seem to be fighting for once. What was that weird look on their faces? Was that pride? That was odd. He decided to look away before the perplexed look settled.
The whole congregation silenced as the music started up. The three bridesmaids, Buffy, Willow and Tara, started their walk down the flower- lined aisle over the plush purple carpet. They each wore long lilac empire line dresses that flowed elegantly to the floor. The halter bodice was a rich dark purple that matched their long gloves, which were a bit ridiculous as an accessory considering they were in the desert. Each carried a white bouquet of flowers, accentuated with tiny purple flowers. They looked beautiful.
As they got into position at the front of the room, the music changed and all the guests stood up to welcome the bride. Xander gasped as he saw the woman he was about to spend the rest of his life with slowly walk down the aisle. Giles was giving her away since they were all quite certain that her own father was long dead. She had a bright smile on her face and Xander could see that it was taking all her willpower not to drag the old watcher down the aisle faster.
She was wearing a long white dress with a fitted bodice covered in embroidered, hand beaded lace, held up with two thin diamante straps. She had a full-layered tuille skirt that fluttered elegantly over the floor. She also had while gloves and a light white veil, topped off with a tiara. She held a bouquet of lilac roses.wait a minute, roses don't come in that colour, do they? Xander looked over at Isabel questioningly. She just smiled and wiggled her fingers. Right. Alien magic. Anya finally made it down the aisle and ceremony began.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~
Xander squeezed Anya's hand as Oz finished his speech. It was really short. Oz never was one for words. Anya smiled up at her husband and leaned in for a kiss. Hundreds of years of being a vengeance demon and here she was, married to Xander in Roswell, New Mexico. She didn't know how she managed to get to this point, but she was the happiest she's ever been.
At the front of the room on the stage, the Whits set up their equipment. Oz was introduced to the drummer, who recognised him from when he'd seen the Dingoes in California the year before.
"Hey. We're the Whits," Maria announced, " We'd like to congratulate the couple." She winked as the gang laughed at her attempt at professionalism. " We want to invite you up for your first dance as Mr. And Mrs. Harris."
The group watched as Maria sang, the band played and the couple danced.
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
Yeah, that's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you
I'm sure you've heard these words before
And I know it's hard for you to trust them once more
You're afraid it all might end
And a broken heart is scared of breaking again
But you've gotta believe me
I'll never leave you
You'll never cry long as I am there
And I will always be there
You will never be without love
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth
Oh you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you yeah
"Ow, Xander, that was my toe," Anya complained.
"Sorry."
As long as sunlight lights the sky
Light of love will be found in these eyes of mine (these eyes of mine)
And I will shine that light for you
You're the only one, I'll ever give this heart to
What I'm trying to say is, nothing will change this (ahh...)
There'll be no time you won't find me there (find me there)
Cause I will always be there
You will always have all my love
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever (yeah)
When lies become the truth (ohhhh)
Well you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop loving'
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you
And when this world doesn't turn anymore
When the stars all decide to stop shining
'Til then I'm gonna to be by your side
Gonna be loving you forever
Every day of my life
Ohh...baby...
Well you know then baby
That's when I'll stop loving
That's when I'll stop loving
That's when I'll stop loving you
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth (truth... yeah)
Well you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop loving'
That's when I'll stop loving you (ohh...)
When winter comes in summer (yeah)
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth
That's when I'll stop loving (well you know then baby)
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop babe
I'll stop babe
Loving youWhen winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
Yeah, that's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you
I'm sure you've heard these words before
And I know it's hard for you to trust them once more
You're afraid it all might end
And a broken heart is scared of breaking again
But you've gotta believe me
I'll never leave you
You'll never cry long as I am there
And I will always be there
You will never be without love
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth
Oh you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you yeah
As long as sunlight lights the sky
Light of love will be found in these eyes of mine (these eyes of mine)
And I will shine that light for you
You're the only one, I'll ever give this heart to
What I'm trying to say is, nothing will change this (ahh..)
There'll be no time you won't find me there (find me there)
Cause I will always be there
You will always have all my love
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever (yeah)
When lies become the truth (ohhhh)
Well you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop loving you
And when this world doesn't turn anymore
When the stars all decide to stop shining
Til then I'm gonna to be by your side
Gonna be loving you forever
Every day of my life
Ohh..baby..
Well you know then baby
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you
"That was such a beautiful wedding," Liz commented to Max as she leaned against him, watching the happy couple dance.
"Yeah, Isabel did a great job."
"Xander and Anya are perfect for each other. And look how happy they are." She lightly fingered the soft lilac petals of the flowers she caught. " I hope our wedding will be this perfect."
"It will be," Max assured her, kissing her forehead, " In fact, it'll be better, because it'll be ours."
When winter comes in summer
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth (truth... yeah)
Well you know then baby,
That's when I'll stop lovin'
That's when I'll stop loving you (ohh..)
When winter comes in summer (yeah)
When there's no more forever
When lies become the truth
That's when I'll stop loving (well you know then baby)
That's when I'll stop loving you
That's when I'll stop babe
I'll stop babe
Loving you
******************************** *****************************
See what happens when someone without a romantic bone in their body tries to write a wedding? Did you like my sorry attempt at romance? Crap! Oh hell. The next part'll be better. Promise.
