Andrew was still on the bed, his head buried in his arms, when he heard a soft knock on his door.
"Go away!" he shouted into his shirt sleeves.
"Andrew?" The voice was deep and slightly familiar.
"What? I said go away!"
"Andrew? This is Warren…Tucker's friend from the basement."
Andrew quickly lifted his head, causing the room to spin about as his tear-swollen eyes struggled to get used to the light.
"What, um…what do you want?" He checked his dresser mirror to see his eyes weren't as red and puffy as he had feared.
"I wanted to apologize for your brother."
Andrew wiped the snot from his nose onto the underside of his right shirt sleeve, then wiped the excess onto the back of his right pant leg before opening the door.
There he was. With his broad shoulders, arched eyebrows and that striking nose, Andrew thought Warren was not particularly handsome, but instead possessed an untouchable quality that rapt his attention.
"I'm sorry about Tucker," Warren said. "He treated you pretty harsh. I think he was trying to show off for me."
"Oh, that's OK," Andrew said, reaching his left arm behind his head. "He and I don't really get along, anyway."
"Well, that's no reason for him to treat his only brother like a jerk."
Andrew's eyebrows shrunk together. No one had ever made him feel like he shouldn't be treated like a jerk. In fact, he was suspicious that someone like Warren was making him feel like a human being.
"Why are you being so nice to me? Did Tucker send you up here?"
Warren took a step back and held up his hands. "Whoa! Tucker doesn't even know I'm up here…he thinks I've gone home. Really, I just came up here to apologize. If you want me to leave…"
"No!" Andrew said a little too quickly. "No, that's fine. I'm sorry I overreacted."
"It's OK. I understand…" Warren's voice trailed off as he examined the room's decorations. "People have treated me the same way."
"What, treated you bad?"
"Treated bad, teased, tormented…whatever you want to call it." Warren sat at the head of the bed and examined the book shelves. "I'm a geek too, Andrew. I'm not into pop culture as much as you apparently are, but let's just say I'd rather read a Linux manual than the sports page."
Andrew sat next to Warren, gazing at his strong silhouette. "You seem pretty cool to me."
"I think I'm cool, too," Warren said, turning to face Andrew. "It's the rest of the world that thinks otherwise."
"Bastards."
"You know it. Tucker knew it too."
Andrew shook his head. "What do you mean?"
"That's the reason I came over here today. Tucker showed me his plans for the hell hounds."
"The hell hounds? But Buffy destroyed them."
"I know. Destroyed by the Slayer. That blond bitch…typical California bubblehead."
"Yeah, typical," Andrew repeated. "Well, except for her super strength. That's not really typical."
"She hated that someone else other than her little clique could have so much power. So she destroyed it. She did it to Jonathan, too."
"Jonathan Levinson? What did he do?"
"He cast a spell that made him the best at everything. Academics, sports, business – you name it, he was its golden child. Until Buffy came along and figured everything out. She made Jonathan end the spell, then chewed him out for casting it! Said it was wrong to manipulate everyone's thoughts. As if bettering oneself had become a crime!"
"Yeah, I never knew improving yourself was wrong," Andrew repeated.
Warren smiled and put his hand on Andrew's shoulder. "I'm glad you think like me. I was hoping you would."
The touch singed into Andrew's blood, coursing clear down to his toes. He shut his eyes and let his mind sway in the moment.
"Andrew, how would you like to join me in taking on the Slayer?"
"Sure…" Andrew said dreamily. He then opened his eyes wide. "Wait…what?"
"Take on the Slayer. Become her nemeses."
"Her nemeses? But I thought demons were her nemeses."
"Well, they are," Warren sighed. "I mean human nemeses."
Andrew still looked perplexed.
"Let me put it in terms you'd understand. Superman has Lex Luthor. Batman has the Joker…"
"Professor X has Magneto!" Andrew chimed.
"You got it, Andrew. Now, whom does Buffy have right now?"
Andrew thought a moment. "Well, no one."
"Exactly. The balance of power is tilted too far onto her side." Warren drew his face close to Andrew's. "Now, don't you think it's time to tip the scales a little in our favor?"
Andrew stared at Warren, absorbing what he just heard. He thought about Tucker's plans for the hell hounds – how he wanted to get back at all the people who made fun of him. Andrew was right there with him, having known the sting of other people's words and actions even more than Tucker. He remembered feeling sad and disappointed each time he looked at the hell hounds' empty cages, which Tucker kept for weeks after the prom.
Tucker had told him Buffy won the "Class Protector" award that night, and how she later recruited almost everyone in the graduating class to fight the Mayor. Andrew thought no one could do that if they weren't popular.
And it was the popular people who made people like Andrew and Warren suffer the most.
"So," Andrew finally said. "What do you want me to do?"
