Chapter Two: The Magic Box
Ron shifted in his seat and stole another glance at the man next to him. Ron couldn't deny the fact that he was cute. Not to mention this Xander fellow had a sense of humor, and it never hurts to have one of those. Yes, this boy was definitely cute.
Even though Ron had recently fought a war with a Dark Lord, he still managed to go through the trials and tribulations of teenage angst. It kind of amazed him how people died nearly every day and yet him and his peers still had the ability to flirt, stress, and question their lives. In Ron's case, he questioned his sexuality. And after a dreadful encounter with Draco Malfoy, in which he managed to have the first of nearly everything, Ron came to the conclusion that he was gay.
So, as he sat here, glancing at the adorable guy next to him, Ron had no questions in his mind. Except whether Xander was gay. Ron had made that mistake once before, now him and Harry were in turbulant waters. Sighing Ron turned back to the widnow and watched the scenery drive by. They had just passed the third cemetary when the silence was broken.
"Why are there so many cemetaries here?" Ron asked. He looked at Xander, who gave him an uncomfortable look. "I've seen about five since moving here."
"When did you move here?" Xander asked, obviously avoiding Ron's original question.
"Four months ago."
"Really? I'm shocked I haven't seen you before now, then. Not many people in a one Starbucks town, after all." Xander grinned at him. Ron faked a laugh, not even knowing what a Starbucks was.
They continued the drive in silence, neither really know what they should say. Finally, Xander pulled up to a small looking building with a large sign reading: The Magic Box. Both boys hopped out of the car and proceeded up to the door. Ron waited, holding the box of donuts, as Xander opened the door. When it opened, Ron gasped out loud. Xander looked at him. "You okay?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine." Ron muttered, slipping in behind the shorter brunette. Roon took a look around the store, snickering lightly at some of the more mundane items, but his eyes widened as he recalled a few others in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.
"Hey, guys!" Xander greeted. Ron followed him past a bookshelf to where the rest of the store appeared. There was a large table in front of shelves of magical books (Ron knew they were magical due to the power radiating off of them, not to mention the fact that he was standing in a magic store). Sitting around the table was a group of people, including the red-head that had helped him that morning with the computer.
"Ron!" Willow exclaimed, standing up to take the six-pack of coke from Xander. "What are you doing here?"
"Shopping, actually." Ron replied, not being able to push away the smile that appeared on his face. Something about Willow made him do that, though Ron wasn't sure what. Maybe it was just the way her aura felt.
"Oh?" An older man with a British accent asked, standing. "What can I help you with?"
"Come on, Giles, my turn!" A woman interupted him, pushing Giles to the side. "You got the last costumer! How am I suppose to learn if you steal them all?"
"Oh, very well." Giles sighed and sat back down next to Tara and another blonde.
"So, what do you want?" The woman asked bluntly.
"Uh, yes..." Ron dug into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. "I'm in need of some wormwood, prefferably a lot."
"Wormwood, huh?" The girl narrowed her eyes at him. Ron shifted from foot to foot under her gaze. Suddenly she broke out of it and bounded over to a shelf on the far wall. "We should have a two ounce vial left. Will that be enough? Or would you like to request more. We can order it for you!"
"No, that's quite all right." Ron replied as he followed the woman to the cash registrar.
"So, planning on sleeping forever or something?" The woman asked calmly.
"Anya!" Giles exclaimed. "That's quite enough. Stop badgering the customers." The man pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose before returning them. "I highly doubt he is planning on sleeping forever... Are you?"
"No, not at all." Ron laughed. "I'm just making your basic Dreamless Sleep Potion." He blushed and said under his breath, "I have nightmares."
"That will be fifteen dollars!" Anya piped up, grinning. Ron quickly pulled out his wallet and handed the money over to her.
"This is a nice shop you've got here." Ron told them. "Though, I'm shocked anyone would buy a crystal ball like that." He pointed at a ball which kept flashing from blue to orange. He leaned in for a closer look. "Wait a minute..."
The so called 'crystal ball' suddenly started flashing pink when Ron reached out to it. He jumped in suprise, slipped, and succeeded in falling into Xander. Xander grabbed ahold of Ron, but they both fell to the ground. Ron took a deep breath before sitting up, rubbing his leg.
"Well, it's never done that before." Giles commented. He reached over and picked up the ball, which was now glowing pure pink and humming slightly. "How odd... Of course, I only got it yesterday."
"You got a shipment in yesterday?" Anya asked, totally ignoring anything else Giles' comentary had held. "Why didn't you let me help stock! How am I suppose to learn-"
"If you steal all the work." The rest of the group finished for her. Anya glared at everyone and proceeded in pouting in the corner.
"Okay, back to the point!" A short blonde said, standing up. "What is that thing? Giles, if it's dangerous-"
"No, no!" Ron interupted from his spot on the floor. The entire group looked at him, taking a second to notice that he was actually sitting in Xander's lap -- and that Xander didn't seem to mind. "It's a Power Globe."
"Oohhh!" Willow awed. She stood up and grabbed the globe from Giles' hand. "Really? How does it work?"
"You concentrate your magical energy and direct it towards the globe, and it estimates how strong you are." Ron explained. Willow stared at the globe intently and second later the globe was glowing in bright green. "What does that mean?"
"It means your pretty darn powerful." Giles explained, taking the globe back and placing it on it's stand. "Now if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you would tell us who you are, Mister..?"
"Oh, Ron Weasley."
"Oh, good." Giles paused a moment. "You know, we have chairs."
"Er, sorry." Ron mumbled, finally standing and helping Xander to his feet as well.
"Well, I'm Buffy." Announced the short blonde. "You seem to already know Willow. That's Giles over there, Anya in the corner, and Tara is next to Willow. Then of course you have Spike, who I don't even recall inviting here."
"Oi, watch it." The bleached blonde replied. He had just entered from the back room and was standing next to a shelf filled with jars of different items. "I'm just here to get something, if you don't mind. I have a little mojo to do. Nothing to worry about. I'm not trying to end the world, so don't bother yourselves. And who's the new guy?"
"Uh, I'm Ron."
"So, what's your disfunction?" Spike asked calmly, opening a jar of pickled toad legs and sniffing them cautiously.
"What?" Ron asked, confused.
"Your disfunction." Spike repeated. "What's wrong with you?"
"What makes you think there is something wrong with me?" Ron questioned, glancing over at Xander next to him. Xander simply rolled his eyes.
"Well, there's got to be something, right? What are you? Demon? Werewolf? Warlock?" Spike continued, completely ignoring all the looks he was getting. "No one in this group of people are normal. Hell, Xander over there is as close as you can get, and he still has demons chasing after him and wanting to shag him to death."
"Hey! That was just once!" Xander exclaimed. Buffy and Willow both raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, maybe... five or six or possibly even twenty-seven, but that's not the point!"
"No, we've done it at least thirty-two times." Anya announced to everyone.
"Thank you, Anya." Xander replied.
"Your welcome. When can we do it again?" Xander chose to ignore her question.
"Demons?" Ron repeated. "Warlock?"
"Well, he's a quick one, isn't he?" Spike commented.
"Spike, just shut up, please?" Buffy said, shaking her head. She turned to Ron and sighed. "Don't mind him, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Trust me."
"Hey, now! I know what I'm talking about." Spike demanded. He pulled a leg out of the jar and slipped it into his pocket before returning the jar to it's location. He nodded to everyone and started heading out the back door.
"Spike! What exactly are you planning?" Buffy asked, following him. There was a muffled voice answering, then Buffy replied. "Go away, Spike! I don't want to know about it!"
The group of people watched as Buffy stormed back into the room. She sat down in her chair in a huff and pretended to be absorbed in the book in front of her. Xander turned to Ron and rested a hand on his shoulder. He barely noticed the blush rising at Ron's neck. "Look, Ron. I would tell you to forget everything that has been said here, but that would be a bit hard. Besides, it seems you know something about what we were talking about if you could identify that Power Globe thing."
"Damn." Was all Ron said. A moment of silence followed. Suddenly a small laughter started to fill the room and everyone turned to look at Ron as though he was crazy. And for all they knew, he could be. "And to think, I came here to get away from the whole magical conflicts!"
Ron shifted in his seat and stole another glance at the man next to him. Ron couldn't deny the fact that he was cute. Not to mention this Xander fellow had a sense of humor, and it never hurts to have one of those. Yes, this boy was definitely cute.
Even though Ron had recently fought a war with a Dark Lord, he still managed to go through the trials and tribulations of teenage angst. It kind of amazed him how people died nearly every day and yet him and his peers still had the ability to flirt, stress, and question their lives. In Ron's case, he questioned his sexuality. And after a dreadful encounter with Draco Malfoy, in which he managed to have the first of nearly everything, Ron came to the conclusion that he was gay.
So, as he sat here, glancing at the adorable guy next to him, Ron had no questions in his mind. Except whether Xander was gay. Ron had made that mistake once before, now him and Harry were in turbulant waters. Sighing Ron turned back to the widnow and watched the scenery drive by. They had just passed the third cemetary when the silence was broken.
"Why are there so many cemetaries here?" Ron asked. He looked at Xander, who gave him an uncomfortable look. "I've seen about five since moving here."
"When did you move here?" Xander asked, obviously avoiding Ron's original question.
"Four months ago."
"Really? I'm shocked I haven't seen you before now, then. Not many people in a one Starbucks town, after all." Xander grinned at him. Ron faked a laugh, not even knowing what a Starbucks was.
They continued the drive in silence, neither really know what they should say. Finally, Xander pulled up to a small looking building with a large sign reading: The Magic Box. Both boys hopped out of the car and proceeded up to the door. Ron waited, holding the box of donuts, as Xander opened the door. When it opened, Ron gasped out loud. Xander looked at him. "You okay?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine." Ron muttered, slipping in behind the shorter brunette. Roon took a look around the store, snickering lightly at some of the more mundane items, but his eyes widened as he recalled a few others in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.
"Hey, guys!" Xander greeted. Ron followed him past a bookshelf to where the rest of the store appeared. There was a large table in front of shelves of magical books (Ron knew they were magical due to the power radiating off of them, not to mention the fact that he was standing in a magic store). Sitting around the table was a group of people, including the red-head that had helped him that morning with the computer.
"Ron!" Willow exclaimed, standing up to take the six-pack of coke from Xander. "What are you doing here?"
"Shopping, actually." Ron replied, not being able to push away the smile that appeared on his face. Something about Willow made him do that, though Ron wasn't sure what. Maybe it was just the way her aura felt.
"Oh?" An older man with a British accent asked, standing. "What can I help you with?"
"Come on, Giles, my turn!" A woman interupted him, pushing Giles to the side. "You got the last costumer! How am I suppose to learn if you steal them all?"
"Oh, very well." Giles sighed and sat back down next to Tara and another blonde.
"So, what do you want?" The woman asked bluntly.
"Uh, yes..." Ron dug into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. "I'm in need of some wormwood, prefferably a lot."
"Wormwood, huh?" The girl narrowed her eyes at him. Ron shifted from foot to foot under her gaze. Suddenly she broke out of it and bounded over to a shelf on the far wall. "We should have a two ounce vial left. Will that be enough? Or would you like to request more. We can order it for you!"
"No, that's quite all right." Ron replied as he followed the woman to the cash registrar.
"So, planning on sleeping forever or something?" The woman asked calmly.
"Anya!" Giles exclaimed. "That's quite enough. Stop badgering the customers." The man pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose before returning them. "I highly doubt he is planning on sleeping forever... Are you?"
"No, not at all." Ron laughed. "I'm just making your basic Dreamless Sleep Potion." He blushed and said under his breath, "I have nightmares."
"That will be fifteen dollars!" Anya piped up, grinning. Ron quickly pulled out his wallet and handed the money over to her.
"This is a nice shop you've got here." Ron told them. "Though, I'm shocked anyone would buy a crystal ball like that." He pointed at a ball which kept flashing from blue to orange. He leaned in for a closer look. "Wait a minute..."
The so called 'crystal ball' suddenly started flashing pink when Ron reached out to it. He jumped in suprise, slipped, and succeeded in falling into Xander. Xander grabbed ahold of Ron, but they both fell to the ground. Ron took a deep breath before sitting up, rubbing his leg.
"Well, it's never done that before." Giles commented. He reached over and picked up the ball, which was now glowing pure pink and humming slightly. "How odd... Of course, I only got it yesterday."
"You got a shipment in yesterday?" Anya asked, totally ignoring anything else Giles' comentary had held. "Why didn't you let me help stock! How am I suppose to learn-"
"If you steal all the work." The rest of the group finished for her. Anya glared at everyone and proceeded in pouting in the corner.
"Okay, back to the point!" A short blonde said, standing up. "What is that thing? Giles, if it's dangerous-"
"No, no!" Ron interupted from his spot on the floor. The entire group looked at him, taking a second to notice that he was actually sitting in Xander's lap -- and that Xander didn't seem to mind. "It's a Power Globe."
"Oohhh!" Willow awed. She stood up and grabbed the globe from Giles' hand. "Really? How does it work?"
"You concentrate your magical energy and direct it towards the globe, and it estimates how strong you are." Ron explained. Willow stared at the globe intently and second later the globe was glowing in bright green. "What does that mean?"
"It means your pretty darn powerful." Giles explained, taking the globe back and placing it on it's stand. "Now if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you would tell us who you are, Mister..?"
"Oh, Ron Weasley."
"Oh, good." Giles paused a moment. "You know, we have chairs."
"Er, sorry." Ron mumbled, finally standing and helping Xander to his feet as well.
"Well, I'm Buffy." Announced the short blonde. "You seem to already know Willow. That's Giles over there, Anya in the corner, and Tara is next to Willow. Then of course you have Spike, who I don't even recall inviting here."
"Oi, watch it." The bleached blonde replied. He had just entered from the back room and was standing next to a shelf filled with jars of different items. "I'm just here to get something, if you don't mind. I have a little mojo to do. Nothing to worry about. I'm not trying to end the world, so don't bother yourselves. And who's the new guy?"
"Uh, I'm Ron."
"So, what's your disfunction?" Spike asked calmly, opening a jar of pickled toad legs and sniffing them cautiously.
"What?" Ron asked, confused.
"Your disfunction." Spike repeated. "What's wrong with you?"
"What makes you think there is something wrong with me?" Ron questioned, glancing over at Xander next to him. Xander simply rolled his eyes.
"Well, there's got to be something, right? What are you? Demon? Werewolf? Warlock?" Spike continued, completely ignoring all the looks he was getting. "No one in this group of people are normal. Hell, Xander over there is as close as you can get, and he still has demons chasing after him and wanting to shag him to death."
"Hey! That was just once!" Xander exclaimed. Buffy and Willow both raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, maybe... five or six or possibly even twenty-seven, but that's not the point!"
"No, we've done it at least thirty-two times." Anya announced to everyone.
"Thank you, Anya." Xander replied.
"Your welcome. When can we do it again?" Xander chose to ignore her question.
"Demons?" Ron repeated. "Warlock?"
"Well, he's a quick one, isn't he?" Spike commented.
"Spike, just shut up, please?" Buffy said, shaking her head. She turned to Ron and sighed. "Don't mind him, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Trust me."
"Hey, now! I know what I'm talking about." Spike demanded. He pulled a leg out of the jar and slipped it into his pocket before returning the jar to it's location. He nodded to everyone and started heading out the back door.
"Spike! What exactly are you planning?" Buffy asked, following him. There was a muffled voice answering, then Buffy replied. "Go away, Spike! I don't want to know about it!"
The group of people watched as Buffy stormed back into the room. She sat down in her chair in a huff and pretended to be absorbed in the book in front of her. Xander turned to Ron and rested a hand on his shoulder. He barely noticed the blush rising at Ron's neck. "Look, Ron. I would tell you to forget everything that has been said here, but that would be a bit hard. Besides, it seems you know something about what we were talking about if you could identify that Power Globe thing."
"Damn." Was all Ron said. A moment of silence followed. Suddenly a small laughter started to fill the room and everyone turned to look at Ron as though he was crazy. And for all they knew, he could be. "And to think, I came here to get away from the whole magical conflicts!"