Chapter 3: Deceit
July 5, 2003
"Dawn, what are you doing here so early?" Xander exclaimed as he shuffled into the kitchen.
Dawn made sure Xander saw her eyes roll as she turned toward him. She continued whipping the eggs in the bowl without pause as she looked him over. He looked tired and his eye was a bit red, but he didn't look too bad for someone who had polished off a bottle of Scotch. A slight frown pleated her forehead as her thoughts continued. *Now how am I supposed to know what someone who finished a bottle of Scotch looks like?*
Xander finally continued, "I thought you were going to sleep late, shop and have lunch at the mall."
"They had some family stuff come up, so they brought me home early," Dawn said, as she gazed directly into his eye. She didn't feel the least guilty. She was telling the truth.
"Oh, okay. What are you making?" Xander said.
"French toast. Want some?"
"Sure. Nothing I like better than having a woman slaving over a hot stove," joked Xander.
Dawn rolled her eyes again. "You better be glad Buffy and Willow aren't around to hear you. You would be in soooo much trouble."
"And only when the distance between me and the dynamic duo can be measured in states and oceans would I even think it. With the scary amount of mojo those two are connected with, they might even pick up that far."
Dawn hmmphed and turned back to her cooking. Her cooking had improved over the last few months with Andrew's help. There were only a couple of nights she and Xander had sat down over one of her meals, and decided quickly that pizza delivery was a good idea. They still ate takeout most of the time since almost all of Xander's cooking skills involved breakfast or a takeout menu.
"Did you have plans for today," Dawn inquired.
"Not really. I had a couple of ideas I thought I'd try to get down on paper. Was there something you wanted to do?"
"No. I'll just finish up my homework and do some laundry. We could watch some movies later, if you like."
"Sure thing, Dawnie. I'll even spring for Chinese."
"Great! Now, how do you want your toast? Slightly burnt or really burnt?"
Author's Note: You will notice the unattractive use of asterisks. Apparently, all italicized text is converted to plain text when it is uploaded. The asterisks are to denote thoughts.
July 5, 2003
"Dawn, what are you doing here so early?" Xander exclaimed as he shuffled into the kitchen.
Dawn made sure Xander saw her eyes roll as she turned toward him. She continued whipping the eggs in the bowl without pause as she looked him over. He looked tired and his eye was a bit red, but he didn't look too bad for someone who had polished off a bottle of Scotch. A slight frown pleated her forehead as her thoughts continued. *Now how am I supposed to know what someone who finished a bottle of Scotch looks like?*
Xander finally continued, "I thought you were going to sleep late, shop and have lunch at the mall."
"They had some family stuff come up, so they brought me home early," Dawn said, as she gazed directly into his eye. She didn't feel the least guilty. She was telling the truth.
"Oh, okay. What are you making?" Xander said.
"French toast. Want some?"
"Sure. Nothing I like better than having a woman slaving over a hot stove," joked Xander.
Dawn rolled her eyes again. "You better be glad Buffy and Willow aren't around to hear you. You would be in soooo much trouble."
"And only when the distance between me and the dynamic duo can be measured in states and oceans would I even think it. With the scary amount of mojo those two are connected with, they might even pick up that far."
Dawn hmmphed and turned back to her cooking. Her cooking had improved over the last few months with Andrew's help. There were only a couple of nights she and Xander had sat down over one of her meals, and decided quickly that pizza delivery was a good idea. They still ate takeout most of the time since almost all of Xander's cooking skills involved breakfast or a takeout menu.
"Did you have plans for today," Dawn inquired.
"Not really. I had a couple of ideas I thought I'd try to get down on paper. Was there something you wanted to do?"
"No. I'll just finish up my homework and do some laundry. We could watch some movies later, if you like."
"Sure thing, Dawnie. I'll even spring for Chinese."
"Great! Now, how do you want your toast? Slightly burnt or really burnt?"
Author's Note: You will notice the unattractive use of asterisks. Apparently, all italicized text is converted to plain text when it is uploaded. The asterisks are to denote thoughts.
