Getting Off The Griefmobile
By Annakovsky
See part 1 for all relevant info and disclaimer.
***********
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
***********
Dawn had made Andrew come to the Mall St. Matthews with her to buy some new jeans for the fall. She loved being one of the girls making her boyfriend wait outside the changing rooms. She loved having a guy to carry the shopping bags when she was done. She loved holding hands as they walked over to the food court.
She was starting to feel weirdly protective of Andrew. Like if Buffy or Xander made fun of him, she would stick up for him. She made fun of him herself, of course, but other people weren't allowed to anymore. They didn't understand enough, didn't like him enough underneath the teasing.
Besides, the rest of them didn't see it but he was really pretty sensitive, pretty unsure of himself. Dawn didn't like it when he got that hurt look, that retreating, I'm-not-worth-anything look. Andrew was goofy and dorky and most of the time didn't even notice when people were making fun of him, he was that clueless, but sometimes... well, things hurt him, and she didn't like him looking that way.
They were standing in line at the cookie place and discussing chocolate chips versus macadamia nuts when someone called Dawn's name.
"Dawnie! Is that you?" Both their heads turned to see a familiar, loose-skinned, cheerful demon waving and walking towards them. The other people in the mall were giving him the sidelong, trying-not-to-look glances that made it obvious they thought he had some kind of disfiguring skin condition.
"Clem?" Dawn asked, starting to smile. Andrew looked confused as the two of them hugged, the big skin wrinkles on Clem's arms flapping happily. "What on earth are you doing here?"
"Well, I was just passing through the city on my way east. And I really needed a new pair of sneakers and I heard that the fourth season of Friends is out on DVD, so I thought I'd stop at the mall, and here you are! What a small world, huh? What are you doing in Louisville? Is everyone else here?"
"Yeah, yeah, we live here now. Me and Buffy and the whole gang. Oh, and this is Andrew. I don't think you guys ever met. Andrew, this is Clem."
"Pleasure," Andrew said weakly as Clem shook his hand.
"Likewise," Clem said. "Any friend of Dawn's...." He winked at her cheerfully.
"Oh my gosh, Clem, you totally have to come back to the house with us and see everybody!" Dawn paused in her excitement and was suddenly sad. "Well, everyone that's here, anyway." She blinked hard. "You heard about Anya, right? And... Spike." Clem looked sad too.
"Yeah, I sure did." He paused, looking down. "He was a good friend. Figures that he'd go out with a huge gesture. How're you all doing?"
Dawn shrugged. "We... I don't know. Okay. Buffy doesn't talk about it much. But things are... better than they used to be, I guess. I don't know. It's confusing." Dawn still didn't know how she felt about Spike these days. Who knew what had happened between him and her sister, and he'd died to save them and whatever, but... well, she tried not to think about it too much. Too many emotions.
"Yeah," Clem said. "And do you all know anything about... I've heard these rumors, everyone getting scared again."
"About the First?" Andrew asked.
"Uh huh," Clem said. "People are nervous. Constant apocalypses are wearing, you know? Put a lot of miles on my car fleeing the last one."
"Yeah," said Dawn. "We're all working on it, actually. Maybe you could help out. Willow and Xander just met with this demon last night to get a meeting with the Powers That Be and he wants this tablet that they're not sure is dangerous or not and they don't know what to do. When we left they hadn't gotten in touch with Giles yet."
"Giles?" asked Clem. They had all started walking towards the mall exit. "Where's he?"
"Oh, he and Faith are finding all the new Slayers – did you hear about how we created all these new ones? It was awesome, Willow..."
They kept up the update as they walked to the parking lot, and then Clem followed them back to the house in his new Beetle.
Dawn burst into the house. "Guys? You will never guess who we ran into at the mall." Willow, Xander and Buffy were all at the kitchen table, talking in low voices and looking worried. They looked up at Dawn's exclamation and smiled when they saw Clem.
After all the greetings and what-have-you-been-up-tos and what-are-you-doing-heres, they were all sitting at the table and Andrew was somehow serving them tea and homemade cookies.
"Wow, you've really got a keeper here, huh Dawnie?" Clem said, smiling at her as he took a cookie. She blushed and shrugged. He turned to the rest of them. "So what was the name of this demon that you met with?"
"Cal," Xander said.
"Cal? Hey, jolly guy, around my height, big Regis fan?"
"Yeah, pretty much," said Willow. "You know him?"
"He's my second cousin," said Clem. "Two or three times removed. So what'd he ask you for?"
"Well, Regis's autograph and then this tablet," said Buffy, passing him a piece of paper with the specifications on it. Clem looked at it carefully, then made an embarrassed face.
"Oh," he said. "Interesting."
"What's it for?" Xander asked.
"Well," Clem said. He paused. "It's got a spell on it that cures a... um... social disease."
"What do you mean, a social..." Dawn started to ask, before trailing off and looking grossed out. "Never mind, I get it."
"So it's not dangerous?" Buffy asked, business-like.
"Nope," said Clem. "But I don't know where it is, though I think I heard that it went into a private collection sometime in the '70s."
"Giles will know how to find it," said Willow confidently. "And he should call tonight."
"So in the meantime I'll call Angel to get him to tell Cal that the deal's on. Then Will, could you find the address and write to Regis's people for the autograph?" Buffy asked.
Willow nodded and started to get up and head to her laptop. "I'll see if I can find any information on that tablet, too," she said.
"I'll help," said Xander, following her. Willow glanced at him as they left the room, her expression unreadable.
They all began their work, the house now feeling energized and focused. Dawn and Andrew, left with nothing much to do personally, asked Clem if he wanted to play Monopoly.
******
TBC...
******
By Annakovsky
See part 1 for all relevant info and disclaimer.
***********
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
***********
Dawn had made Andrew come to the Mall St. Matthews with her to buy some new jeans for the fall. She loved being one of the girls making her boyfriend wait outside the changing rooms. She loved having a guy to carry the shopping bags when she was done. She loved holding hands as they walked over to the food court.
She was starting to feel weirdly protective of Andrew. Like if Buffy or Xander made fun of him, she would stick up for him. She made fun of him herself, of course, but other people weren't allowed to anymore. They didn't understand enough, didn't like him enough underneath the teasing.
Besides, the rest of them didn't see it but he was really pretty sensitive, pretty unsure of himself. Dawn didn't like it when he got that hurt look, that retreating, I'm-not-worth-anything look. Andrew was goofy and dorky and most of the time didn't even notice when people were making fun of him, he was that clueless, but sometimes... well, things hurt him, and she didn't like him looking that way.
They were standing in line at the cookie place and discussing chocolate chips versus macadamia nuts when someone called Dawn's name.
"Dawnie! Is that you?" Both their heads turned to see a familiar, loose-skinned, cheerful demon waving and walking towards them. The other people in the mall were giving him the sidelong, trying-not-to-look glances that made it obvious they thought he had some kind of disfiguring skin condition.
"Clem?" Dawn asked, starting to smile. Andrew looked confused as the two of them hugged, the big skin wrinkles on Clem's arms flapping happily. "What on earth are you doing here?"
"Well, I was just passing through the city on my way east. And I really needed a new pair of sneakers and I heard that the fourth season of Friends is out on DVD, so I thought I'd stop at the mall, and here you are! What a small world, huh? What are you doing in Louisville? Is everyone else here?"
"Yeah, yeah, we live here now. Me and Buffy and the whole gang. Oh, and this is Andrew. I don't think you guys ever met. Andrew, this is Clem."
"Pleasure," Andrew said weakly as Clem shook his hand.
"Likewise," Clem said. "Any friend of Dawn's...." He winked at her cheerfully.
"Oh my gosh, Clem, you totally have to come back to the house with us and see everybody!" Dawn paused in her excitement and was suddenly sad. "Well, everyone that's here, anyway." She blinked hard. "You heard about Anya, right? And... Spike." Clem looked sad too.
"Yeah, I sure did." He paused, looking down. "He was a good friend. Figures that he'd go out with a huge gesture. How're you all doing?"
Dawn shrugged. "We... I don't know. Okay. Buffy doesn't talk about it much. But things are... better than they used to be, I guess. I don't know. It's confusing." Dawn still didn't know how she felt about Spike these days. Who knew what had happened between him and her sister, and he'd died to save them and whatever, but... well, she tried not to think about it too much. Too many emotions.
"Yeah," Clem said. "And do you all know anything about... I've heard these rumors, everyone getting scared again."
"About the First?" Andrew asked.
"Uh huh," Clem said. "People are nervous. Constant apocalypses are wearing, you know? Put a lot of miles on my car fleeing the last one."
"Yeah," said Dawn. "We're all working on it, actually. Maybe you could help out. Willow and Xander just met with this demon last night to get a meeting with the Powers That Be and he wants this tablet that they're not sure is dangerous or not and they don't know what to do. When we left they hadn't gotten in touch with Giles yet."
"Giles?" asked Clem. They had all started walking towards the mall exit. "Where's he?"
"Oh, he and Faith are finding all the new Slayers – did you hear about how we created all these new ones? It was awesome, Willow..."
They kept up the update as they walked to the parking lot, and then Clem followed them back to the house in his new Beetle.
Dawn burst into the house. "Guys? You will never guess who we ran into at the mall." Willow, Xander and Buffy were all at the kitchen table, talking in low voices and looking worried. They looked up at Dawn's exclamation and smiled when they saw Clem.
After all the greetings and what-have-you-been-up-tos and what-are-you-doing-heres, they were all sitting at the table and Andrew was somehow serving them tea and homemade cookies.
"Wow, you've really got a keeper here, huh Dawnie?" Clem said, smiling at her as he took a cookie. She blushed and shrugged. He turned to the rest of them. "So what was the name of this demon that you met with?"
"Cal," Xander said.
"Cal? Hey, jolly guy, around my height, big Regis fan?"
"Yeah, pretty much," said Willow. "You know him?"
"He's my second cousin," said Clem. "Two or three times removed. So what'd he ask you for?"
"Well, Regis's autograph and then this tablet," said Buffy, passing him a piece of paper with the specifications on it. Clem looked at it carefully, then made an embarrassed face.
"Oh," he said. "Interesting."
"What's it for?" Xander asked.
"Well," Clem said. He paused. "It's got a spell on it that cures a... um... social disease."
"What do you mean, a social..." Dawn started to ask, before trailing off and looking grossed out. "Never mind, I get it."
"So it's not dangerous?" Buffy asked, business-like.
"Nope," said Clem. "But I don't know where it is, though I think I heard that it went into a private collection sometime in the '70s."
"Giles will know how to find it," said Willow confidently. "And he should call tonight."
"So in the meantime I'll call Angel to get him to tell Cal that the deal's on. Then Will, could you find the address and write to Regis's people for the autograph?" Buffy asked.
Willow nodded and started to get up and head to her laptop. "I'll see if I can find any information on that tablet, too," she said.
"I'll help," said Xander, following her. Willow glanced at him as they left the room, her expression unreadable.
They all began their work, the house now feeling energized and focused. Dawn and Andrew, left with nothing much to do personally, asked Clem if he wanted to play Monopoly.
******
TBC...
******