The week that followed arrived a lot faster than expected which brought a
smile to Willow, Buffy and Anya. Each one had experienced a tough week.
Buffy had had to force Dawn to go to school when she was obviously faking a
cold and a random, unknown demon had chosen Dawn as a virgin sacrifice on
Wednesday which Buffy had to take care of in the only way she knew how. It
involved a lot of blood, pain and death, but it was the demon that
experienced all that.
Willow had been so tempted to do magic to help that she had to lock herself
away in her room for most of the week.
Anya's week hadn't been a bed of roses either. Her Monday morning delivery
had been late for the third time in a month and she had argued with Xander
over the wedding, which resulted in him walking out of the apartment only
to return an hour later with an apology and a bunch of flowers.
When Friday evening finally arrived Xander drove the girls to the trains station to see them off. Their train was early so Xander and Dawn had to keep their good byes short.
"Have a great time" Dawn said as she gave Buffy a huge hug.
"I will" Buffy gently pushed Dawn away and turned to Xander.
"Xander, I give you permission to ground her if she misbehaves" Dawn frowned at the comment.
"What makes you think I'll misbehave?" Buffy shrugged, while locking eyes with Xander.
"I'm just taking precautions. I know you'll be good" Anya returned to the heart warming good byes with the tickets.
"I think we can board now," She said, handing Buffy her ticket. Xander took Anya by the hand and pulled her in for a body-crushing hug.
"Have a nice time," Xand whispered in her ear. Anya smiled and pushed him away.
"I will and I hope no demons rise and try to end the world" Xander wasn't sure how to take that so he just smiled.
"Thanks" He kissed her and gave her one last hug. Willow came back from the ladies room and slapped both Anya and Buffy on the back.
"Okay let's get out of this town and find some fun," Willow said cheerfully. Anya pushed away from Xander and everyone had one huge round of hugging before Anya, Willow and Buffy made their way over to the waiting train. Dawn and Xander stood by the car, waving them off.
"So, what do you want to do" Xander asked the moment the train had pulled out from the station.
"Well, it will be dark soon and sine we're all ready out side we might as well..."
"No" Xander said bluntly.
"Why not?" Dawn moaned. Xander turned to face Dawn and rested his elbow on the hood of the car.
"Buffy told me this morning that I had to keep you safe and out of danger, that means away from the big bad things that like to prey on young little girls" Dawn slumped against the car.
"That not fair" Dawn grumbled. "With Buffy away there's more chance of there being trouble and that means you and Spike need all the help you can get" Xander wasn't in the mood for arguing with Dawn, he knew how stubborn she could get and if he tried arguing with her it would only end up with one of them getting a headache.
"Get in the car" He said, pulling out his car key. "We're going home" Dawn crossed her arms and refused to move.
"You're no fun"
"You'll thank me when you aren't surrounded by vampires with one chewing on your neck, now get in the car" Dawn remained standing in her mood until Xander got in the car. She smiled slightly as she decided to change her tactics. She opened the car door and dumped herself down on the seat, slamming the door after her.
"Can we at least get some take away first. There's barely any food in the house and I'm starving" Xander started the car, but glanced over at Dawn, a little suspicious at the sudden change in mood.
"Sure, what do you want?"
"Anything, but pizza"
*
Xander drove around Sunnydale for over an hour searching for a take away restaurant that Dawn wanted to get food from, but she kept making excuses such as "I hate their food" or "I'm not in the mood for that" Xander was getting to the point where he was going to turn the car around, go home and let Dawn starve.
"Okay Dawn, I know what's going on and I'm tired of driving around" He said sternly "We're going back to your place" Dawn stared up at the almost pitch black sky.
"One more place, please. I promise I'll get something" Xander sighed.
"Okay, but I don't care of all they serve is rabbit heads drenched in pigs blood, we're eating there" Dawn nodded.
They drove around the corner and came across a burger bar that Dawn had been to a few times with her friends after school. It wasn't a bad place if the only thing he liked was burgers, they didn't do much variety.
Xander parked out side the burger bar and jumped out, while Dawn took her time. He was eager to get Dawn back home and away from any possible danger, although she wasn't making it easy for him.
"Dawn hurry up" Dawn got out of the car and stretched her arms and back out. Xander clenched his fist irritably.
"No hurry" She said breezily. Xander was starting to regret agreeing to baby-sit it was becoming a pain.
Once inside the burger bar it took Dawn fifteen minutes to decide what she wanted and even now when they were heading back to the car she started to eat really slowly. Xander stood by her impatiently.
"Hurry up, we haven't got time for this" Dawn appeared not to hear; she just continued to eat her food as fast as some one with indigestion.
"If you don't hurry up I'm leaving you here with a sign saying free and easy grub for vampires and demons, get it while it's young" Dawn ignored Xander and glanced around for any signs of vampires or demons, unfortunately there didn't appear to be any. The only person in the vicinity was an old lady slowly making her way over to Xander and Dawn with the help of her walking stick. She was a small lady with sad, tired eyes and short grey hair hidden away under a knitted bobble hat, minus the bobble.
"Hello young man" She said to Xander with a sweet smile that showed her false teeth weren't fixed to the top of her mouth very well.
"Eh, hi" Xander said back with a small smile.
"I saw you yesterday and I saw something in you that I have to bring to your attention" Xand bent down so the old lady could reach his ear.
"What's that?" He asked. The old lady placed a hand on Xander's arm and leaned closer.
"They'll all betray you," She said in harsh, bitter tone, her gripe tightening and her smile dropping. "You can't trust your friends. They don't care about you" Her eyes flashed a maroon red, which went unnoticed by Xander. She let go of his arm and smiled.
"Have a nice evening" She said before slowly limping away, leaving Xander to stare in disbelief at what he had just heard.
"What was that all about" Dawn asked. Xander didn't reply straight away he just watched the old lady disappear round the corner.
"I don't know" He said, turning to Dawn as he spoke. "Get in the car we're leaving. Dawn waved her half eaten burger in the air.
"I haven't finished yet"
"I don't care" Xander snapped. Dawn almost dropped her burger, surprised at his tone. "Just get in" Dawn was tempted to questions Xander's sudden change in mood, but the look in his eyes changed her mind.
"Okay" She took another bite of her burger and got in the car.
*
The ride home was a lot quieter than the ride to the burger bar, Dawn had tried striking up a conversation with Xander, but he didn't contribute. Dawn was beginning to get a little worried, it wasn't like Xander to be so quiet, but then again he could be annoyed at her for being so slow. Although as she thought about it harder she remembered that the old lady they had meet had said some unsettling and quite frankly harsh things to Xander and chances were he was upset.
Once they arrived back at the house it was almost nine thirty. It was too early to go to sleep, so Dawn chose to put the telly on.
"I think there's a film on that sounds good" Dawn said as he perched herself on the end of the sofa. "It's about a boy who's forced to live in the city on his own after his parents kick him out" She glanced over at Xander, who was stood by the door, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. "Buffy said I could watch it," She added. Xander reacted as if he hadn't heard anything he just continued to stare. "Are you all right?" Dawn asked. Xander's head move almost automatically to face her, but his expression was still blank.
"I'm fine, I just need to use the bath room" He pushed away from the wall and made his way up the stairs. Dawn watched him, a look of worry on her face. It was only now that she was staring at him that she realised how pale he had gone.
The moment Xander entered the bathroom he went straight up to the mirror and stared at his reflection.
"You can't trust her"
Xander spun round to see where the voice had come from.
"You don't even know where she came from, she used to be a ball of energy. She was designed for opening the gates of Hell, who says she won't try it again" Xander closed his eyes.
"Shut up, she's harmless" Xander covered his ears in a vain attempt to block out the voice
"You don't know that and deep down you don't believe it. She was created for evil, a magnet for death and destruction and if it wasn't for her Buffy would never had died" Xander flung his eyes open and in a flash of rage smacked his fist into the mirror, shattering it into razor edged shards. He stared down at the broken glass in the sink, not even noticing that there was also blood snaking around one particularly large shard.
"You know what you have to do" Xander nodded hypnotically.
When Friday evening finally arrived Xander drove the girls to the trains station to see them off. Their train was early so Xander and Dawn had to keep their good byes short.
"Have a great time" Dawn said as she gave Buffy a huge hug.
"I will" Buffy gently pushed Dawn away and turned to Xander.
"Xander, I give you permission to ground her if she misbehaves" Dawn frowned at the comment.
"What makes you think I'll misbehave?" Buffy shrugged, while locking eyes with Xander.
"I'm just taking precautions. I know you'll be good" Anya returned to the heart warming good byes with the tickets.
"I think we can board now," She said, handing Buffy her ticket. Xander took Anya by the hand and pulled her in for a body-crushing hug.
"Have a nice time," Xand whispered in her ear. Anya smiled and pushed him away.
"I will and I hope no demons rise and try to end the world" Xander wasn't sure how to take that so he just smiled.
"Thanks" He kissed her and gave her one last hug. Willow came back from the ladies room and slapped both Anya and Buffy on the back.
"Okay let's get out of this town and find some fun," Willow said cheerfully. Anya pushed away from Xander and everyone had one huge round of hugging before Anya, Willow and Buffy made their way over to the waiting train. Dawn and Xander stood by the car, waving them off.
"So, what do you want to do" Xander asked the moment the train had pulled out from the station.
"Well, it will be dark soon and sine we're all ready out side we might as well..."
"No" Xander said bluntly.
"Why not?" Dawn moaned. Xander turned to face Dawn and rested his elbow on the hood of the car.
"Buffy told me this morning that I had to keep you safe and out of danger, that means away from the big bad things that like to prey on young little girls" Dawn slumped against the car.
"That not fair" Dawn grumbled. "With Buffy away there's more chance of there being trouble and that means you and Spike need all the help you can get" Xander wasn't in the mood for arguing with Dawn, he knew how stubborn she could get and if he tried arguing with her it would only end up with one of them getting a headache.
"Get in the car" He said, pulling out his car key. "We're going home" Dawn crossed her arms and refused to move.
"You're no fun"
"You'll thank me when you aren't surrounded by vampires with one chewing on your neck, now get in the car" Dawn remained standing in her mood until Xander got in the car. She smiled slightly as she decided to change her tactics. She opened the car door and dumped herself down on the seat, slamming the door after her.
"Can we at least get some take away first. There's barely any food in the house and I'm starving" Xander started the car, but glanced over at Dawn, a little suspicious at the sudden change in mood.
"Sure, what do you want?"
"Anything, but pizza"
*
Xander drove around Sunnydale for over an hour searching for a take away restaurant that Dawn wanted to get food from, but she kept making excuses such as "I hate their food" or "I'm not in the mood for that" Xander was getting to the point where he was going to turn the car around, go home and let Dawn starve.
"Okay Dawn, I know what's going on and I'm tired of driving around" He said sternly "We're going back to your place" Dawn stared up at the almost pitch black sky.
"One more place, please. I promise I'll get something" Xander sighed.
"Okay, but I don't care of all they serve is rabbit heads drenched in pigs blood, we're eating there" Dawn nodded.
They drove around the corner and came across a burger bar that Dawn had been to a few times with her friends after school. It wasn't a bad place if the only thing he liked was burgers, they didn't do much variety.
Xander parked out side the burger bar and jumped out, while Dawn took her time. He was eager to get Dawn back home and away from any possible danger, although she wasn't making it easy for him.
"Dawn hurry up" Dawn got out of the car and stretched her arms and back out. Xander clenched his fist irritably.
"No hurry" She said breezily. Xander was starting to regret agreeing to baby-sit it was becoming a pain.
Once inside the burger bar it took Dawn fifteen minutes to decide what she wanted and even now when they were heading back to the car she started to eat really slowly. Xander stood by her impatiently.
"Hurry up, we haven't got time for this" Dawn appeared not to hear; she just continued to eat her food as fast as some one with indigestion.
"If you don't hurry up I'm leaving you here with a sign saying free and easy grub for vampires and demons, get it while it's young" Dawn ignored Xander and glanced around for any signs of vampires or demons, unfortunately there didn't appear to be any. The only person in the vicinity was an old lady slowly making her way over to Xander and Dawn with the help of her walking stick. She was a small lady with sad, tired eyes and short grey hair hidden away under a knitted bobble hat, minus the bobble.
"Hello young man" She said to Xander with a sweet smile that showed her false teeth weren't fixed to the top of her mouth very well.
"Eh, hi" Xander said back with a small smile.
"I saw you yesterday and I saw something in you that I have to bring to your attention" Xand bent down so the old lady could reach his ear.
"What's that?" He asked. The old lady placed a hand on Xander's arm and leaned closer.
"They'll all betray you," She said in harsh, bitter tone, her gripe tightening and her smile dropping. "You can't trust your friends. They don't care about you" Her eyes flashed a maroon red, which went unnoticed by Xander. She let go of his arm and smiled.
"Have a nice evening" She said before slowly limping away, leaving Xander to stare in disbelief at what he had just heard.
"What was that all about" Dawn asked. Xander didn't reply straight away he just watched the old lady disappear round the corner.
"I don't know" He said, turning to Dawn as he spoke. "Get in the car we're leaving. Dawn waved her half eaten burger in the air.
"I haven't finished yet"
"I don't care" Xander snapped. Dawn almost dropped her burger, surprised at his tone. "Just get in" Dawn was tempted to questions Xander's sudden change in mood, but the look in his eyes changed her mind.
"Okay" She took another bite of her burger and got in the car.
*
The ride home was a lot quieter than the ride to the burger bar, Dawn had tried striking up a conversation with Xander, but he didn't contribute. Dawn was beginning to get a little worried, it wasn't like Xander to be so quiet, but then again he could be annoyed at her for being so slow. Although as she thought about it harder she remembered that the old lady they had meet had said some unsettling and quite frankly harsh things to Xander and chances were he was upset.
Once they arrived back at the house it was almost nine thirty. It was too early to go to sleep, so Dawn chose to put the telly on.
"I think there's a film on that sounds good" Dawn said as he perched herself on the end of the sofa. "It's about a boy who's forced to live in the city on his own after his parents kick him out" She glanced over at Xander, who was stood by the door, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. "Buffy said I could watch it," She added. Xander reacted as if he hadn't heard anything he just continued to stare. "Are you all right?" Dawn asked. Xander's head move almost automatically to face her, but his expression was still blank.
"I'm fine, I just need to use the bath room" He pushed away from the wall and made his way up the stairs. Dawn watched him, a look of worry on her face. It was only now that she was staring at him that she realised how pale he had gone.
The moment Xander entered the bathroom he went straight up to the mirror and stared at his reflection.
"You can't trust her"
Xander spun round to see where the voice had come from.
"You don't even know where she came from, she used to be a ball of energy. She was designed for opening the gates of Hell, who says she won't try it again" Xander closed his eyes.
"Shut up, she's harmless" Xander covered his ears in a vain attempt to block out the voice
"You don't know that and deep down you don't believe it. She was created for evil, a magnet for death and destruction and if it wasn't for her Buffy would never had died" Xander flung his eyes open and in a flash of rage smacked his fist into the mirror, shattering it into razor edged shards. He stared down at the broken glass in the sink, not even noticing that there was also blood snaking around one particularly large shard.
"You know what you have to do" Xander nodded hypnotically.
