Chapter Five - The Revelation
Xander stood motionless. It was as if time stood still for him in that moment. Everything was still. Movement ceased to exist. Yet Xander was fully aware. He saw everything, felt everything and knew everything for that brief split second in the living room of the Summers' house. He flashed back through the time he was in China. He experienced it all over again. And all this because of the photo he saw in Willow's hand. Then as soon as it had started it was over. Reality regained control. Time began to tick again. Movement returned from its exile. Xander was shocked back into existence as if he had been a gunshot victim in ER. Sensation hit him like a tidal wave. He saw Willow holding the photo then he saw Buffy saying something to him.
".Have you been standing there?"
"What?"
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Err.the door was open so I just came in."
This answer confused everything including Xander but he was already pretty confused so it didn't bother him much. "Why do you have that?" He asked Willow.
"It was in the sofa."
Xander suddenly flashed back to last night and his twisting and turning. Crap, he thought.
"Who is it, Xander?"
He thought for a moment about whether he should tell them the story behind the photo. That moment didn't last very long. "Okay. Do you want me to start from the beginning or the good bit?"
The three girls looked at each other then Buffy answered for them, "The beginning."
So he started at the beginning, carried on to the middle, passing the good bit, then finished at the end. After he had said everything that could be said on the matter he laid back in the chair he was now sitting in and awaited reaction. No reaction came. The three girls were speechless. They had no speech. They just sat there, for they were also now seated, with a dumbfounded look on their faces. They couldn't think of anything to say, they were still digesting the story that had just been told to them. Occasionally one would look as if they were about to say something, causing Xander to lean forward in his chair, but then they would go back to looking dumbfounded, at which point Xander would returned to his original position. This carried on for about four to five minutes. That may not sound like a lot of time to you but you should try it some time. Anyway Xander found the silence almost unbearable as any red blooded male would. Eventually he snapped. "Say something! Oh for the love of God say something! I can't stand the silence. Someone say something! Anything! I don't care what. Just someone say something!"
Silence. A vein begin to grow in Xander' neck. His eyes started to bulge and his mouth developed a tiny tick. "Say something!"
By now the three girls were beginning to get a little worried, both for themselves and for Xander's sanity. However before one of them could say something Xander stormed off and into the dining room. This left the girls looking at each other more confused than ever.
"I think he's carried." Said Willow.
"He's got a lot on his mind." Said Buffy. "I mean you heard his story."
"That story was incredible." Chimed in Dawn. "Especially that good bit in the middle."
The other two girls nodded in agreement.
"I think one of us should go and see if he's okay. You know, not overcrowd him."
"I'll go." Said Dawn also before Buffy had finished.
And almost before Dawn had finished Buffy had replied, "Not you."
Buffy and Dawn simultaneously turned towards Willow. She looked back at them with a 'what, me?' look on her face. "What, me?" She said. "Oh, all right."
"Wait!" Shouted Dawn causing Willow to freeze in the uncomfortable position between sitting and seating. "Buffy should."
"Why, Buffy?" Asked Willow.
"Yeah, why me?" Buffy also asked.
"Because she's the Slayer." Said Dawn as if this was reason enough. Then she leaned towards her sister, for they were seating next to each other, and whispered, "And you can tell him I love him."
A look of terror gripped Buffy. "Do you really think this is the right time?" She whispered back.
"If you don't I'll tell him what you did to his Green Goblin comic collection."
Buffy instantly sprang to her feet. "I should go. I am the Slayer. This is a Slayer situation. Which means I should go because I'm the Slayer. So, I should go. Okay, going is what I'm doing." Then she went. This left Willow bewildered at what she had just witnessed.
Xander stood by the window in the dining room but he wasn't looking out of it because the curtains were closed and he had not bothered to open them. He saw Buffy enter. "Took you long enough."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Your storming out kind of took us by surprise."
"I did not storm out. I.I.I did something far more masculine than storming out which I cannot currently think of at the moment."
"Oh, right. You didn't storm out. Got it."
"Anyway, shouldn't you be asking if I'm okay?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. Then Xander relaxed his tense posture and said in a surprisingly gentle tone, "Look Buffy I have something to tell you."
"I have something to tell you."
"Oh. Right. Err.you first."
"Why should I go first?"
"Women always go first and." It was at this moment that Xander saw the terrifyingly 'pissed off' look in Buffy's eyes. "And I'll go first."
He paused in an attempt to compose himself, failing miserably. "Well, it's like this.this is how it is..Um.Well, you see, there was. Um.okay. Here it is. This is it..The thing is.Um, yeah."
"Xander?"
"Yeah."
"Take a deep breath."
He took a deep breath.
"And tell me what it is."
"I love you."
This was not what Buffy had been expecting. To say that she was shocked would, perhaps, be the biggest understatement since the innkeeper said to Mary 'I'd watch that kid of yours. He looks like trouble'.
Just then a brick smashed through the window hitting Xander in the back. He fell to the ground. Buffy jumped over him and pulled back the curtains to reveal a group of fifty vampires standing outside her house in bright sunshine.
Xander stood motionless. It was as if time stood still for him in that moment. Everything was still. Movement ceased to exist. Yet Xander was fully aware. He saw everything, felt everything and knew everything for that brief split second in the living room of the Summers' house. He flashed back through the time he was in China. He experienced it all over again. And all this because of the photo he saw in Willow's hand. Then as soon as it had started it was over. Reality regained control. Time began to tick again. Movement returned from its exile. Xander was shocked back into existence as if he had been a gunshot victim in ER. Sensation hit him like a tidal wave. He saw Willow holding the photo then he saw Buffy saying something to him.
".Have you been standing there?"
"What?"
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Err.the door was open so I just came in."
This answer confused everything including Xander but he was already pretty confused so it didn't bother him much. "Why do you have that?" He asked Willow.
"It was in the sofa."
Xander suddenly flashed back to last night and his twisting and turning. Crap, he thought.
"Who is it, Xander?"
He thought for a moment about whether he should tell them the story behind the photo. That moment didn't last very long. "Okay. Do you want me to start from the beginning or the good bit?"
The three girls looked at each other then Buffy answered for them, "The beginning."
So he started at the beginning, carried on to the middle, passing the good bit, then finished at the end. After he had said everything that could be said on the matter he laid back in the chair he was now sitting in and awaited reaction. No reaction came. The three girls were speechless. They had no speech. They just sat there, for they were also now seated, with a dumbfounded look on their faces. They couldn't think of anything to say, they were still digesting the story that had just been told to them. Occasionally one would look as if they were about to say something, causing Xander to lean forward in his chair, but then they would go back to looking dumbfounded, at which point Xander would returned to his original position. This carried on for about four to five minutes. That may not sound like a lot of time to you but you should try it some time. Anyway Xander found the silence almost unbearable as any red blooded male would. Eventually he snapped. "Say something! Oh for the love of God say something! I can't stand the silence. Someone say something! Anything! I don't care what. Just someone say something!"
Silence. A vein begin to grow in Xander' neck. His eyes started to bulge and his mouth developed a tiny tick. "Say something!"
By now the three girls were beginning to get a little worried, both for themselves and for Xander's sanity. However before one of them could say something Xander stormed off and into the dining room. This left the girls looking at each other more confused than ever.
"I think he's carried." Said Willow.
"He's got a lot on his mind." Said Buffy. "I mean you heard his story."
"That story was incredible." Chimed in Dawn. "Especially that good bit in the middle."
The other two girls nodded in agreement.
"I think one of us should go and see if he's okay. You know, not overcrowd him."
"I'll go." Said Dawn also before Buffy had finished.
And almost before Dawn had finished Buffy had replied, "Not you."
Buffy and Dawn simultaneously turned towards Willow. She looked back at them with a 'what, me?' look on her face. "What, me?" She said. "Oh, all right."
"Wait!" Shouted Dawn causing Willow to freeze in the uncomfortable position between sitting and seating. "Buffy should."
"Why, Buffy?" Asked Willow.
"Yeah, why me?" Buffy also asked.
"Because she's the Slayer." Said Dawn as if this was reason enough. Then she leaned towards her sister, for they were seating next to each other, and whispered, "And you can tell him I love him."
A look of terror gripped Buffy. "Do you really think this is the right time?" She whispered back.
"If you don't I'll tell him what you did to his Green Goblin comic collection."
Buffy instantly sprang to her feet. "I should go. I am the Slayer. This is a Slayer situation. Which means I should go because I'm the Slayer. So, I should go. Okay, going is what I'm doing." Then she went. This left Willow bewildered at what she had just witnessed.
Xander stood by the window in the dining room but he wasn't looking out of it because the curtains were closed and he had not bothered to open them. He saw Buffy enter. "Took you long enough."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Your storming out kind of took us by surprise."
"I did not storm out. I.I.I did something far more masculine than storming out which I cannot currently think of at the moment."
"Oh, right. You didn't storm out. Got it."
"Anyway, shouldn't you be asking if I'm okay?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. Then Xander relaxed his tense posture and said in a surprisingly gentle tone, "Look Buffy I have something to tell you."
"I have something to tell you."
"Oh. Right. Err.you first."
"Why should I go first?"
"Women always go first and." It was at this moment that Xander saw the terrifyingly 'pissed off' look in Buffy's eyes. "And I'll go first."
He paused in an attempt to compose himself, failing miserably. "Well, it's like this.this is how it is..Um.Well, you see, there was. Um.okay. Here it is. This is it..The thing is.Um, yeah."
"Xander?"
"Yeah."
"Take a deep breath."
He took a deep breath.
"And tell me what it is."
"I love you."
This was not what Buffy had been expecting. To say that she was shocked would, perhaps, be the biggest understatement since the innkeeper said to Mary 'I'd watch that kid of yours. He looks like trouble'.
Just then a brick smashed through the window hitting Xander in the back. He fell to the ground. Buffy jumped over him and pulled back the curtains to reveal a group of fifty vampires standing outside her house in bright sunshine.