Title: Up Over Everything (1b/?)

Author: Brooke

Email: yabbadabbadome13@yahoo.com

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I wished I owned the two Xanders' from "The Replacement" though. Buffy and friends are owned by Joss, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, The UPN and whoever else has rights to the show.

Summary: Part 2 in my "Romeverse". Can the Buffy, Xander and Willow put personal issues aside to fight and survive against a growing evil – one that can strike too close to home?

Distribution: I don't know why anybody would want this, but if somebody does…sure.

Feedback: Definitely!! Tell me if it sucked or if you liked it. Whatever. Just write back!

Authors Note: Takes place in an AU season 1 where Buffy and Xander are best friends and Willow is the new girl as Sunnydale High. It is the beginning of their sophomore year and, as 15 and 16 year olds, hormones and feelings are taking center stage.

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She didn't usually sleep in, but this morning Buffy just couldn't wake herself up. She had walked Willow home before heading towards Xander's house and she chalked up her wariness to the amount of energy that it took to fend him off on the way. He didn't do anything that she hadn't made a habit of reinforcing as of late, but he was more insistent that she had ever known him to be. The fact that he was doing all this while he was walking led  Buffy to label her aversion efforts as fending, because he was going after her like a dog who was trying to get at a ball behind its owners back – relentless, and well, pretty sad looking when it failed.

That was Xander last night, to a tee. She had taken extra time, and by default smoochies and some more focused groping than she'd ever experienced, to get the cause of his mood out of him, but had come up empty handed. His answers to her questions were as normal as his aggressiveness wasn't. He hadn't done anything weird that day, nothing that she hadn't witnessed him do herself; he hadn't eaten any funky foods; or sniffed any glue, he had added when he grew suspicious of her inquires. All in all, Xander was Xander.

But he wasn't acting like her Xander, and Buffy had stayed up for the better part of the night trying to pinpoint why on her own. She had thought about calling Giles, but decided against in since it had been two in the morning when the idea struck her, and she knew he'd be less than thrilled to hear her suspicious ramblings about her boyfriend.

All in all she had really fallen asleep about an hour before her father came to wake her up for school. He had asked if she was feeling alright and her initial answer had been no. It was a reflex. 'Do you feel alright?' 'No.' 'Do you need to stay home today?' 'Yes.' It was a script as old as time, and Buffy's father always played into it. Hank may not tolerate skipping school, but he couldn't spot a teenager faking sick to save his life. He had even left her to go get her orange juice and some cereal, but then Buffy realized that she didn't have time to be sick that day. She had to talk to Giles and she had to do it yesterday, so by the time Hank had returned she was up and dressed and ready to go.

He had reluctantly agreed to take her to school, still insisting that she looked a bit 'eh', which Buffy filed personally to take offense to later; and had given her a note to get out of practice to boot. If Buffy chose she would have a whole two extra hours in her day as an added bonus for her work fighting the undead. If Xander weren't all wonky she'd be in proverbial paradise. But he was acting wonky, and Buffy knew all the reading she was going to have to in order to figure it out definitely made the ladder obsolete.

Buffy raced up the steps of the school and headed straight to the library. She had called Willow before she left home and asked her to meet her in the library, and the red head had sounded surprisingly awake for 7:00 in the morning. The Slayer thought maybe Giles should research that too, because it was almost as weird as Xander turning into don Juan meets the Fonz over the span of twelve hours.

"Look out!"

Buffy heard Principle Flutie's voice shouting in a panicked tone from around the corner in front of her. She would have turned around if it weren't the quickest way to her final destination.

"It's gotten loose!"

Buffy stopped short when she turned the corner and saw what all the commotion was about. A little baby pig racing down the hall towards her, and she stooped down and caught him, picking him up easily. "Awww," Buffy lifted the animal up to look him in the face, and cooed, "You're a cute little guy, aren't you?"

Mr. Flutie ran up to winded from the chase and stopped when he saw her coddling the pig. "Lordy, Herbert!" he breathed out hard and reached out to pet the animal in Buffy's arms. "Gave Mr. Flutie quite a scare, didn't he?" He withdrew his hand when Herbert began to try to wriggle free from the girl's arms and turned to address the students that were crowding the halls and watching. "Students, I'd like you all to meet Herbert, our new mascot for the Sunnydale High Razorbacks!"

The students eyed the pig in Buffy's arms and she held him up with a smile, turning his small form so that they all could see him, and applause broke out.

Buffy hugged Herbert back to her chest for a moment and the pig offered no resistance. "He's so cute," she told Flutie while ducking her face to look in Herbert's eyes.

"He's not cute," The principle argued back determinedly. "No! He's a fierce Razorback!" he added and received another round of clapping and cheers.

Buffy looked down at Herbert and then lifted her gaze back to the Principle, "He doesn't look mean, Mr. Flutie."

Mr. Flutie shook his head, "He's mean, he's ready for action! See?" He pointed at the small helmet and tusks that were tied to the pig's head, "Here are the tusks...", and then to a Styrofoam ridge tied to Herbert's back "And the scary Razorback!"

Buffy eyed the appendages skeptically, her eyebrows scrunched up but the just gave in. There was really no use arguing with Principle Flutie, trying was what ended her up being the chair person of the AV club carwash last year – and she wasn't even in that club, but her and all the cheerleaders had spent a Saturday washing cars for them in the parking lot. "You're right. He's a fine mascot and will engender school spirit."

"Uh," Mr. Flutie sighed at her enthusiasm, despite all the effort he had put in to get her to see it his was. "He better. Costs a fortune to feed him." He then turned his attention to the pig, "Alright, let's get you back into your cage."

Buffy smiled and moved to hand Herbert over, but the pig squealed loudly and squirmed in her arms when the man got close.

"Right," Mr. Flutie snatched back his arms at the flurry of movement and gestured to Buffy with his head. "This way." 

"Mr. Flutie," Buffy called as she hurried to keep up with him, trailing behind and holding the pig dutifully. "I really…I have to meet some one for…studying – a study group…" She only had a few minutes left before the homeroom bell ran, and now she was actually heading away from the library. Mr. Flutie had her playing Jack Hannah because he scared the living crap out of animals…

"See, the problem is you kids today have no school spirit," Mr. Flutie cut her off as he led her to the Faculty Room and stopped outside. "Hold on, let me get his outfit off."

"I am actually a cheerl…"

"Today its all gangs and drugs and those movies on Showtime with the nudity," Flutie continued ignoring her. He noticed Buffy's brow furrow and he jumped to continue, "I don't have cable, I only heard." Her expression still held a hint of trepidation but he kept talking, "When I was your age we cared about the school's reputation and the football team's record, all that stuff!"

"I care," Buffy objected. "We've been practicing…"

"Of course, when I was your age I was surrounded by old guys telling me how much better things were when they were *my* age." He turned and unlocked the room and opened the door for them to enter.

"Alright, lil piggy," Buffy said to Herbert in hopes of ending the conversation. He had wasted her time carrying the pig, and then again telling her how much she didn't care about school spirit. She had logged too many hours, that she didn't have, for this place to have it denounced because the Razorbacks sucked in field games. 

Buffy turned to enter the room but stopped when she saw hoards of students rushing inside. She glanced up and saw lightening streak across the sky and shook her head, at least now, she reasoned, the football team could postpone their loss. She heard the first bell sound and cursed under her breath, ready to just hoist the pig over, but stopped…

Xander walked calmly inside, adjusting a leather jacket that she had never seen on him before, seemingly oblivious to the weather conditions outside and immediately found Buffy's eyes over the droves of congregating students and held. He didn't even offer her a grin as he approached her – eyeing both her and Herbert for a long moment when he passed without saying anything. Buffy froze under the intensity of her friends gaze and the only reaction that startled her into action were squeals and frantic writhing from Herbert that Xander's presence seemed to cause.

Buffy's brow furrowed in confusion as she watched Xander pass, still not speaking, while she tried to keep Herbert from jumping out of her arms. 

"That's odd," Principle Flutie's voice brought her back to the present, and she lost sight of Xander when Flutie guided her with a light tough on her arm into the room. "I guess animals can sense weather first, huh lil guy?"

"Yeah," Buffy said distractedly.

"Well," Flutie said, shutting and locking the cage. "Hopefully it clears up so you can cheer us on this afternoon," he smiled brightly at Buffy. "Thanks," he added out of obligation but then said sternly. "Go to class."

"Yeah," Buffy sighed again and turned to walk out of the room. Not only had she missed Giles, she mused as she headed for homeroom, but something was defiantly up with Xander. She just hoped that Willow had gotten to the library and hopefully remembered enough about his odd behavior to gather some information form Giles. The Slayer turned the corner into her classroom and stopped dead in her tracks. It was Tuesday…

That meant gym first period… and in the rain, it meant…

~*~*~

"Dodge ball!" Coach Harrold exclaimed to the teens as the mulled around the gym. "Alright, it's raining, and all regular gym classes have been postponed," he held up a large red rubber ball. "Now, for those of you that may have forgotten the rules are as follows: you dodge."

"He's acting so weird," Buffy whispered to Willow while they both eyes Xander from across the crowd. He was talking animatedly with Kyle, Rhonda, and Tor, and would periodically look up form his conversation and catch Buffy's eyes. He seemed not to notice Willow at all when he focused on her and his gaze, at every turn, made Buffy turn hers away to focus back on Willow or the floor. "He sacred the shit out of that pig this morning," Buffy told her. "And he didn't even stop to say hi, he just looked me up and down and kept walking…he's acting totally freaked."

"I know," Willow agreed with a sad grin. "I called him last night to see if he wanted to go over his history notes, and he completely blew me off."

"No offense, Wills," Buffy shrugged, "But Xander's not big on books – he probably just…"

"And then the talking thing," the redhead started talking enthusiastically. "He's ignoring me too. He just walked right by me…he's colder," Willow added in a low voice.

"We have to talk to Giles, like now." Buffy insisted, casting Xander another look. She frowned when she saw him point at a girl in their class and break out in a loud laugh that earned the gazes of several surrounding kids.

Coach Harrold tossed the ball to Buffy, who was standing in the front of the group and her conversation with Willow was cut short, as she caught it. The coach caught her annoyed facial expression with a grin and blew his whistle. "Two teams!" he shouted and gestured with his hand, "Down the middle." He waited a moment while the teens scattered before whistling again and the class began throwing the rubber balls at each other.

Xander surveyed the other side of the gym, seeing Willow and Buffy standing close together off to the side. He caught a ball that was aimed at his head without even looking at it and threw it back across the court, nailing his first victim in the back – the sound of the hit echoing through the gym while the girl held her side in pain.

Buffy watched the girl limp off out of the corner of her eye and then turned to face Xander. She locked eyes with him and ducked a ball that whizzed past her head. She watched Kyle jump high over a ball that was aimed at his legs – he along with his friends were almost as alert and efficient in dodging the balls as she was, and they didn't have the Slayer reflexes working for them.

Xander side stepped a ball and zeroed in on the boy who had thrown it at him. He roughly snatched a ball from another boy on his team and hurled it across the court hitting the initial thrower dead in the chest with an almost evil grin.

Buffy watched his face, his intense concentration and her jaw set. He was trying to hurt them – his classmates – his friends. He was picking them off, calculating his next move before he even had a ball. The Slayer scooped an abandoned ball from the floor and tossed it fairly lightly across the room, hitting a girl in the thigh and sending her to the benches as the teams started to dwindle in numbers.

Xander glanced to his team as they remained, the four of them left alone on their side of the court and then to the other side of the gym. He narrowed his eyes while he ducked another ball and considered his options. Greg, he recognized working from the corner of the floor; Link, standing near the back under a basketball hoop; Ryan, who had just tried and failed to peg Rhonda; Buffy and Willow…

Xander picked up a loose ball and watched Tor beam Link in the side of the head and the other boy fell to the ground hard. Four. His mind was counting it down. Only the strongest were left on his team; Buffy's only had one worthwhile person – had only ever had one to begin with. He juggled his ball, waiting, while Rhonda aimed at Buffy. He watched Buffy duck easily, setting an unwitting Greg up for the sacrifice, and cut his eyes to his teammate with a low growl. Three.

He felt Buffy's eyes on him the whole time. She was still playing, but as her team disappeared from around her, he could sense the change in her. He could smell it – the alert, he had her cornered and on the defensive. Xander let out a slight grin and threw the ball he was holding hard nailing its target with a sever accuracy, satisfied with the sound that his hit made reverberate through the room.

Two.

He shrugged his shoulders indifferently when his victim, a totally unsuspecting, Willow gave him a hurt and confused look as she walked off of the court holding the area on her back where Xander had hit her. She was weak he settled in his mind, If she wasn't expecting it, she was stupid, too. Not fit to be in Buffy's circle. Xander refocused on the game and caught another ball absently while he watched her move to the bench with hard emotionless eyes.

Willow sat down hard and crossed her arms over her chest while sending Buffy a quick look before settling in on glaring at Xander. The Slayer slit her eyes at her male friend who was still trying to get Ryan.

A loud smack followed by the resonance of Ryan crumpling to the hard wood floor signaled that Xander's side had succeeded in their goal, leaving Buffy alone on her side.

She stopped her bouncing movement and efforts to dodge anymore of their attacks and faced them all – Xander glaring into – not at her, into her for a moment. She prepared for him to throw the ball he was still holding – he had been merciless so far, why should he stop with her? Why should he not finish the game…

Xander suddenly turned and focused on Rhonda, leaving Buffy standing silent behind them, and motioned to the rest of his group. Buffy watched them move, fascinated, that they had been waiting for an order…his order, and they surrounded the dark haired girl. She backed up slowly, eyes wide in her face until they hurled their balls hard at her, hitting her repeatedly as she fell to the ground in defense.

"Never again," Xander growled down at the fallen girl before stepping back slightly, almost a dare for her to challenge him.

Buffy ran over and pushed her way between Tor and Kyle, who were standing idle watching her, and tried to help Rhonda up. The Slayer reached out to grab the other girl's arm, but she flinched away. Buffy quickly got to her feet while Rhonda stood and rushed out of the gym, not looking back at Xander, Kyle or Tor.

She lifted her gaze and locked with Xander's and he didn't move. Didn't flinch. Just matched her silently as if they were the only people in the room – and then he turned, without warning, and headed towards the locker rooms, leaving Buffy to watch his calm retreat with an angry stare.

Coach Harrold watched the display from the side lines and sucked in a deep breath, born of the sheer adrenaline from his spectating. "God, this game is brutal. I love it!"

~*~*~

Willow spotted Xander by the lockers when she walked into the hall, talking with Kyle and his new group of friends. Buffy had said that he was acting weird but only now did she grasp the full extent of it. The Xander that she thought she had grown to know over these past months would never set out to physically hurt her – wouldn't even think of doing what he had in the gym a few minutes ago, let alone doing it with a grin. She had decided to talk to him, maybe gather some more evidence of his behavior to be able to better pinpoint it when they researched it later, so she had changed quickly in order to beat Buffy to him.

From what she had already witnessed of Xander's behavior, what with his new associates, and general standoffish mannerisms, to what Buffy had told him of his interactions with her, she had drawn clear variances in the boy's treatment of those around him – long story short, Willow wanted to talk to him without the blonde present to see if it was her or if Buffy really was the only one safe from Xander's newfound temperament.

"Xander," she called when she reached where he was leaning and he pushed himself upright to face her. Willow stood up straighter when Kyle and Tor mimicked Xander's defensive stance and flanked him on both sides.

Xander cast quick glances over his shoulders and then turned to the redhead with a small grin that, if she read it right, held an odd sense of sadness in its depths. "Yeah, Willow," he sighed and reached for her arm, not grasping it, but more just guiding her away from the other two boys, as if he had been waiting for her. "We need to talk."

His comment caught Willow off guard and she followed him confused. "Alright," she faced him when they were a little ways down the hall. "What is it Xan?" she asked worriedly, "Is something the matter…with you?" She knew she was fishing, or perhaps even planting the idea in his head, but he had initiated the conversation.

"Yeah, kinda," he nodded briefly, keeping his tone somber. "See," he faced her with a pained look in his eyes. "I guess you've noticed that I've been acting a little different around you lately."

Willow nodded at his prompt. "Yes, a little – well a lot actually…"

Xander sighed and nodded, "I think, um... I think maybe it's because my feelings… for you have been changing. I mean, it's kinda of confusing, what with Buffy and all, but its…it's just all pretty clear now, you know?" He glanced up over Willow's shoulder and saw Buffy exit the girls' locker room and catch his eyes momentarily. He could read her questioning the situation from down the hall while she pretended to become enthralled in opening her locker. For a Slayer, he thought, she broadcast her feelings…mood, way too much. Anybody could read her like an open book – on tape.

He looked quickly back to Willow and saw her brow furrowed in confusion at his less than explanation. He began speaking again before she turned to see what he was looking at behind her. "And, well," he sighed again, while biting back a roaring laughter that was sounding though his mind. This girl was so simple. "We haven't been friends for that long, you know? And I've known Buffy forever. You just sorta walked in on it – I don't want to say spoiled…Look," he smiled good naturedly at the hurt expression that broke out on her face. He could taste the tears that she was staving off. "I know I can trust you Wills. It hasn't been long, but I think I can trust you to tell you what I really think…and I think I need to tell you something."

Willow looked at him expectantly not understanding at all what he was getting at beyond that fact that he had just told her flat out that she was imposing on himself and Buffy. That he had confirmed her biggest fear that she was their third wheel – that he didn't just break her heart.

Xander leaned in closer as if he were going to tell her a secret and Willow couldn't help the way that her heart sped up. He smiled at her nervousness, wondering if she possibly thought that he would give into what he knew she wanted. He wondered if she thought that there was a chance in hell that he would ever kiss her. "I've, um..." he hesitated for effect, "I've decided to drop algebra." He pulled back to look at her face with a smile in place, "So I won't be needing your after school math help anymore. Which means that starting today you can leave me and my girlfriend alone and, here's the added bonus, I won't have to look at your pasty face again."

Willow swallowed shakily as she took a step back from him, wincing at the high pitched barking laughter that erupted in her face. Her chin shook while she backed away from him hearing his friends join in his glee from behind him, before she turned and ran down the hall. She knew deep down that something was wrong – that she had only engaged him as a sort of experiment, but on the surface he had cut her deep. Crushed her – and she needed to get away from him. Willow hurried down the hall, not even stopping when she passed Buffy and the other girl tried to stop her with a gentle hand on her arm. She simply shook off the gesture and moved faster. She couldn't face anybody right then, especially Buffy and she was glad that she didn't chase after her as she headed away.

Buffy watched Willow pass her and disappear down the other hall, headed towards the science wing and she slammed her locker shut. Her eyes were blazing while she walked up to Xander who had rejoined with Kyle and Tor and turned him around forcefully to face her. The Slayer set her jaw and crossed her arms over her chest and Xander's laughter died immediately while he watched her. Waiting for her reaction – and if Buffy didn't know better, almost seeking her approval. "You gonna say something to me?" she asked him in a harsh voice.

Xander swallowed and just continued to look at her before started laughing again and even more loudly than before, right in her face. Buffy took a small step back at the unexpected reaction and was about to say something when he matched her movement and wrapped his arms low around her waist. "I did us a favor," he said with a small, decidedly fake pity pout in place while he pulled himself closer to her.

Buffy slid her hands up and pushed at his chest in disgust when she felt him press his face into her hair and heard his audible inhale. "Let go," she protested bitterly and shoved him away.

Xander obeyed with a little chuckle, huffing out a dismissive 'whatever' as he stepped back. Buffy was about to speak again, calling him on his recent behavior, but before she could open her mouth she found herself staring at his back as he had turned back to the other boys.

The Slayer slit her eyes at him and turned, heading hurriedly down the hall the way Willow had gone. She had to find her before whatever was happening got too much more out of hand.

Xander faced his group…his pack, forgetting all about Buffy when his stomach growled. "I'm starving," he commented apropos nothing and pushed his way through the two of them.

Tor turned and followed him closely while Xander led them down the hall. "Shouldn't we find Rhonda first?"

Xander turned over his shoulder and shot the other boy a glare, a low growl emanating from his throat.

"She shouldn't have bitched off," Kyle commented darkly when Xander didn't answer. "If she wants to hang with us she's gotta get in line…"

"Right," Xander agreed, "Now, if she wants to apologize for her actions – we can work something out." Tor nodded obediently, casually sniffing the air. Xander noticed his brief inhales and mimicked the action, his stomach rumbling again when he picked up the scent.

He gestured with his head, remembering where he had first seen Buffy that morning, and stopped in front of the faculty room, reaching out tentatively and turning the door knob. All three boys scanned the hall to make sure it was clear before they slipped into the room and shut the door behind them.

Xander inhaled deeply through his nose, his eyes glinting with a devious mirth as they fell to the cage in the center of the room. "Shut those," he ordered pointing to the blinds on the two windows in the room, and his lackeys jumped into action, casting the room into dark shadows while Xander approached the cage first.

He bent down and licked his lips as the pig inside squealed and tried to get to the furthest reaches of the cage, only to find no escape as Tor and Kyle surrounded it as well. "Hey piggy piggy," Xander laughed a little at the squealing animal before cutting his eyes to the other two boys. "Let's do lunch," he growled, and the pigs nervous squealing intensified.

~*~*~

"Willow!" Buffy called running to catch up with her retreating friend. "Wills, wait up!"

"What?" the other girl huffed turning to face the Slayer. She knew that it was no use trying to out run her, since she had been told time and time again about her super strength, and had actually seen her in action when she was in a full out sprint. There was no escaping her for a normal girl.

Buffy stopped in mid thought, speaking without needing to catch her breath, "Are you alright?"

She couldn't bite back the tears that stung her eyes at recalling what Xander had said to her. "He was just so…cruel," Willow explained breaking down as everything rushed out of her. "I didn't know…he just…what he said – I had thought it before, but…"

Buffy nodded sympathically and wrapped her arm around Willow's shoulder, guiding her slowly down the hall. They were gathering a few stares, and there was no need for those who hadn't sent the earlier events, to know. Buffy didn't want to attract anymore attention to the situation than necessary.

Willow let herself be led and she wiped at the tears in her eyes. "I mean, I know you guys are close…and I'm new and everything, but I never thought that he felt…" she trailed off in a loud shaky exhale.

"Something is definitely wrong with him," was the only explanation Buffy could offer her friend. She knew that it didn't even really serve that purpose, but was more just something she said automatically to justify Xander's actions.

"Or maybe there's something wrong with me," Willow sighed out. Maybe, despite Buffy's insistence that he was acting 'wonky', it had more to do with her than she had ever anticipated.

Buffy turned to face her, confusion etched in her features, "What are you talking about?"

Willow huffed out a breath and stopped walking just as the reached the swing library doors. "C'mon," she spoke in a low, guarded tone when Buffy faced her, "He's not picking on you. He's just grabby, you said…and sniffing you a lot." She paused when Buffy didn't deny what she had said, "I don't know, maybe three isn't company anymore."

Buffy raised her eyebrows, "You think this has something to do with me?"

"Of course," Willow exclaimed, stating the obvious as far as she was concerned. "He said…" she choked on the words momentarily while the heartless sentiment in which they were delivered flooded her again, "He said that I was cutting in on you guy's time – that it was better just you and…"

"No." Buffy cut her off forcefully. He probably had said that to her. Hell, the way he was acting, he had meant it too, but that was just another aspect of whatever it was that wasn't her best friend. He would never hurt anybody like he had Willow – and he would certainly never go out of his way to hurt Willow specifically. Whether Willow knew it or not, Xander had had her back since the first day she had started school. It had been Xander's insistence that they even hang out with her at all, and he continued to stand by his decision to have her as a friend.  Xander had seen something in Willow that he felt that he needed to have around, and that was part of the reason that Buffy had felt so threatened by her at first. Xander may hang off of her every word, but he was enthralled with Willow for reasons that not even he could name.

"That still doesn't explain why he's hanging out with the dode patrol." The Slayer's mind set off on a tangent of all the possible causes for Xander's behavior. "Something's going on. Something weird."

"What're you gonna do?" Willow asked with a slight sniffle when she saw the determined look in her friend's eyes.

"You go try to find him," she told Willow and immediately saw her defenses rise. "You don't have to talk to him," Buffy amended, "In fact, don't talk to him at all…just…try to keep him in your sights. I'm gonna talk to the expert on weird…do the book thing." Buffy turned and pushed open the swinging doors to the library, stopping when Willow spoke again.

"You are?"

Buffy grinned at the mocking expression on the other girls face and shrugged as she walked inside the library, "GILES!!!!!!"

~*~*~

Giles paced around the room, trying to organize while Buffy talked at him. He could have sworn that the girl had class, but she didn't seem to be thinking twice about it since she had hardly taken a breath since she had entered his quiet zone, screaming as usual.

"So, Xander's taken to teasing the less fortunate?" Giles asked absently, filing a returned book, his back to the teen.

Buffy nodded enthusiastically even though he wasn't looking at her, "Uh-huh."

The Watcher turned and headed back to his check out desk. "And, there's been a noticeable change in both clothing and demeanor?"

"Yes," Buffy repeated, glad that he was at least humoring her. "He was wearing this jacket this morning – a leather one. I've been all through Xander's closet and I've never even seen it before."

Giles nodded, letting her words pass him by. "And, well, otherwise all his spare time is spent lounging about with imbeciles," he asked again as he sorted through the card catalogue.

Buffy nodded slowly a deep frown setting in her features, "It's bad, isn't it."

Giles looked up for the first time and met her eyes. He set his face in stone and spoke in a serious voice, "It's devastating," he huffed out coming from behind the desk to face his young charge, "He's turned into a sixteen-year-old boy. Course, you'll have to kill him."

Buffy scowled at the British man. He was always so funny now – always with the sarcasm in the face of world threatening danger. "Giles, I'm serious," she insisted with wide eyes.

Giles sighed at her expression and let any follow up joke fall, and insisted, "So am I. Except for the part about killing him. Testosterone is a great equalizer. It turns all men into morons. He will, however, get over it."

 "I cannot believe that you, of all people, are trying to Scully me," Buffy argued excitedly and followed him when he walked past her and continued to put books away. She reached out and grabbed one of the books out of the stack he was holding in one of his arms, "Get your books!" she ordered. "Look stuff up!"

Giles snatched the book back from her and she let him have it, "Look under what?"

Buffy let her shoulders slump and she looked at the floor, "I don't know," she exhaled deeply, "That's your department."

Giles shook his head and set all of the books he was holding on a shelf, and then leaned back against the oak rail of the second level of the room. "The evidence that you've presented me with is sketchy at best."

Buffy shook her head. "But I'm worried about him," she insisted, trying to convince him that her Slayer instinct should be reason enough to sound the alarms. "He's not…"

"I understand that you're worried about your friend, Buffy, I really do," Giles tried to sympathize. "But I must point out that people, specifically teens, are prone to…"

"He's mean, Giles," Buffy cut him off, not wanting to hear another 'evil teenager' speech that day. "He made Willow cry. Cry," she reiterated. "I've known Xander my whole life and he's never made anybody cry purposely…well, Cordelia that time in the seventh grade, and Jesse two years ago when he broke his arm…but that was it. Until today."

Giles shook his head and stood up, heading back down the steps to the main floor, Buffy still stating her case behind him.

"AND…oh, he's all extra grabby," she pointed out, "Even Wills noticed that."

"Again," Giles exasperated, "I must point out, with no offense to you personally, but a teenaged boy given a chance…"

Buffy rolled her eyes and snorted in minor disgust, "Please never relate your insight into the mind of a teenage boy to me ever again," she pleaded and Giles shook his head, but she quickly got back on track, "And he's been sniffing me…like a lot. AND…h…he scared the pig this morning."

Giles gave her a skeptical look and Buffy's constitution withered. "Well, he did..." she pouted.

"Buffy," the older man insisted, trying to calm her down as she was obviously agitated. "Boys can be presumptuous and cruel. They opportunists as far as the opposite sex is involved," he fixed her with a stern look and the Slayer focused on the tiled floor again. "And as far as is other recent actions… boys tease, they, they, they prey on the weak. I-i-it's natural teen behavior pattern."

Buffy had been dejected, trying to formulate another argument in the mist of Giles' rebuttal when something she had heard peripherally stood out to her. "What did you just say?" she demanded her head snapping up to meet the Watcher's eyes.

Giles swallowed and tried to recall what he had said offhandedly, "Um, they tease," he shrugged.

Buffy shook her head, "They prey on the weak." She shut her eyes in attempts to draw the memory from her subconscious, "I've heard that somewhere bef..." And then it clicked in her mind – the zookeeper… "Xander has been acting totally wiggy ever since we went to the zoo," she told Giles, eyes wide with her revelation. "Kyle and all those guys, they went into the hyena cage with Willow – Xander went in after them…" It had to have something to do with that, it just had to, and she remembered the laugh. The high pitched cackle that had become stable in any almost conversation that she had with him since that afternoon, and it clenched her conviction, "And that laugh..."

Giles looked at her confused at what she was implying, "You're saying that, uh, Xander's becoming a hyena."

Buffy shook her head, still trying to make sense of it all, "I don't know." She shrugged and faced his with a hopefully questioning half smile, "Or been possessed by one? But not just Xander, all of them…"

"Well," Giles considered his Slayer's recollection, trying to piece it together with her, "I-I-I've cer-certainly never heard of, uh..."

Giles was cut off when the swinging doors burst open and Willow ran in, trying to catch her breath, "Herbert!" she panted, her wild eyes searching Buffy and Giles' expressions, "They found him."

Buffy frowned at her friend's panic and squeaked out, "The pig?"

Willow nodded, "Dead. And also eaten. Principal Flutie's freaking out."

Buffy turned to Giles, a mocking 'I told you so' expression glued on her features, "Testosterone, huh?"

Giles swallowed hard and headed to his office, taking off his glasses and cleaning them as he moved hurriedly about the room.

"What're you gonna do?" Willow asked him concerned after sending Buffy a confused look. She was still in the dark about this whole situation, but obviously while the mascot had been getting turned into an early lunch they had made some headway.

Giles shook his head, almost ashamed for downplaying Buffy's initial assessment of the situation. He had wasted too much precious time arguing with her over the side effects of puberty instead of doing his part to help, and now things were dying as a result. "Get my books." He sighed, "Look stuff up."

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The End Part 1b