Xander's eyes firmly glued themselves shut for a good few hours - only half an hour before the end of school was due to occur did the tired and slightly grumpy teenager force himself into an upright position to de-crinkle his clothes. Picking up the note and glancing at it with only a passing interested, he slumped sleepily into the kitchen to search through the cupboards for something decent to quench the hungriness that was devouring his stomach.

The Watcher apparently had a taste for breakfast foods, he discovered as he rooted through the shelves. He pulled out the sweetest looking box and poured himself a deep bowl of cereal and milk, and a thin glass of fresh orange juice. Lovely.

Setting himself down on the sofa, he placed the food and drink on the table and folded the bedding into a neat respectable pile. He didn't want Giles to think he was lazy, what with all the sleeping. He'd pretend he'd been up for a good few hours.

Then the question would naturally present itself; why didn't you come into school? He could almost hear the stern voice beside him. His rejuvenated mind quickly formulated a response - headache. All that 'studying' had left him with a throbbing headache. Of course. It was foolproof.

Content, he sat back in the chair and tucked in to his makeshift meal, waiting for Giles with far more anticipation than healthy.

--------

Oh, how the day dragged. Giles shuffled uselessly around the pretty much empty library, waiting for someone to take the least bit of interest in literature. Didn't happen, of course. Until Willow and Buffy appeared at the end of school after a very busy day did he have any human contact worth mentioning, and that only for a few fleeting moments as they had to leave to get ready for a night out at the Bronze.

Bloody teenagers. There were surely a thousand more important things than socialising at that loud and rowdy place, yet they insist on going. Giles couldn't stop them, of course- and he wouldn't dare try. Besides, it was important to get some relief time from the stresses of Sunnydale life. No one could keep up with the demanding cycle of research, slay and recover.

This didn't apply to him, in his mind - he was trained for this lifestyle. He tried his very best to keep up with everything at all times, but recently he found himself in dire need of a rest or something to take his mind off of everything. Jenny Calendar could perhaps help him with that - but since her 'betrayal' in Buffy's eyes, not informing them that she was of the Gypsy clan who cursed Angel all those years ago, now sent to watch over Angel and Buffy; he barely felt compelled to look at her, let alone converse.

He wondered vaguely if Xander had made it into the land of the non-sleeping yet, and with amusement he guessed not. There was no reason to suppose he had - Buffy confirmed that he hadn't made an appearance all day.

---------

It didn't take him long to get back to the house after school ended. There was nothing to keep him in the library, no research, nothing like that. He wasn't bothered - after the early wake-up call he could do with a good night's sleep.

Xander jolted in surprise when the key turned in the lock and the door opened. He quickly furrowed his brow and proceeded to look as pathetic as possible, a true actor in the face of a telling off. Instead of a stern face, though, a friendly smile greeted him.

"Sleep well, Xander?"

"I had a headache," the words shot out of his mouth before his brain had a chance to engage. His cheeks reddened a bit at the complete irrelevance of this proclamation. "…I mean, yeah thanks."

"I'm not going to scold you," Giles said with a small chuckle. "You needed the rest after staying up."

"I'm totally gonna sleep all night tonight though," he assured him. "Ready for school tomorrow."

Something strange was on Xander's expression, but Giles couldn't pinpoint it. Perhaps it was just the result of fatigue - after all, Giles had hardly mastered this boy's range of emotions to heart, yet.

"…Tea?" he offered, a small frown on his brow as he turned into the kitchen. He took his glasses off, rubbing them on his shirt before replacing them in their position. "Unless you would still prefer coffee. Or perhaps you'd like to get home."

"…Nah. If you don't mind I'll stay for a little while before I get home," he said, a tone in his voice that laid it out quite clearly the fact that Xander had absolutely no desire to be at his own house. "And tea is good…Or whatever you're having."

He seems almost eager to get it right, pondered Giles. Perhaps there is something wrong. This is unlike him… He decided not to pry, however, as it wasn't his business. Not until Xander mentioned something, or it became apparent that the boy was in danger- which he seriously doubted.

His mind on this, he almost forgot to add the milk to the tea - he was having absolutely no luck with hot drinks recently. It was getting to be a bit hazardous. When he considered the tea complete, with all the necessary ingredients, he approached Xander- who was holding the book once again in his hands - and passed him a mug.

"I'm thinking we should get this," the boy announced as the Watcher sat a polite distance away from him. He jabbed his finger cautiously on the page so as not to break the fragile paper, obscuring the view of a tiny circular gemstone in a locket, silver and gold intertwining to make a beautiful chain. "Search around, find out where it is. Could be useful."

"What it is?" Giles asked, leaning a little nearer to take a closer look. He squinted through his glasses to read the text beside it. "An amulet of Self-Invisibility. Ah. How very cliché."

"Handy trick, nay?" he grinned. "Imagine it. Total freedom."

"…Have you been feeling a little ignored recently, Xander?"

"What? No," he replied quickly. "I'm not doing a Marcie or anything. I just think it would be cool."

There was a little pause, as both of them considered it. An amused smile cropped up on Giles' face, and he shifted his glasses to rub and clean them once again. "Yes, then, I will admit the prospect of invisibility would be most intriguing."

"Imagine the possibilities, G-man."

"Don't call me that," he snapped, but it was half-hearted. From anyone else it would be extremely irritating but from Xander, it seemed almost…cute. Not a word often used in Giles' vocabulary. Especially not in such circumstances as these, when he had no puppies or kittens or other sickening sweet baby animals in mind. He turned his thoughts back to the matter in hand. "Yes, being invisible would open up a lot of doors. Of course it may be useful in some battles, although quite a few demons rely more on hearing and smell to-"

"Giles. Stop. Don't go all boring Watcher on me again."

"What?"

"…Nothing," Xander sighed, giving up. He turned a few pages while Giles sipped at his tea with something like confusion. At the 'aha!' sound beside him, the Watcher very nearly sloshed his tea over his immaculately kept tweed. "Look at this, Watcher-man. You can't deny this would be fun."

"Amulet of Samasri," he read off the page. "What does it do?"

"It… Well, it 'grants your deepest desires'," he quoted monotonously off of the page. "Doesn't look like there's a side affect either."

"It is almost certainly not a purely innocent amulet," said Giles with a gentle shake of his head. "Nothing in such books are. Most magical things have problems tied to them."

"Do you think I'd be able to get hold of this?" enquired Xander with a waving motion at the page as if he hadn't heard a word Giles had said.

"I wouldn't advise it."

"Come on, what's the worse that can happen?" his voice nagging in its timbre. "All my dreams come true, happiness happens, the end. Right?"

"I sincerely doubt it would be that simple, or everyone would own one," he pointed out quietly. "Please don't attempt to get one of these items. It could be dangerous and I don't want to see you hurt. None of us do."

Xander didn't reply; instead, his eyes hovered over the page for a few more minutes. With a half-hearted smile he folded the book shut and placed it on the arm of the chair beside him. "Sure. No heart's-desires-getting for me today."

Giles passed him his tea in silence, deep in thought, as Xander stared wistfully at the beautifully decorated book. It took him a moment to realise the warm mug was in his hands, and after a moment of looking blankly at it he raised it to his lips to drink it courteously. It was quite sweet-tasting, as Giles had presumed he'd like a touch of sugar. Actually he preferred plain tea, but it was nice enough as he drank it almost in one long draught. Placing the empty cup down, he forced a smile and pushed himself to his feet.

"I'm gonna take off," he announced. "I'd probably better get home. …Could I borrow the book please?"

"Perhaps that's not the best idea," hesitated Giles, but upon the look on Xander's disappointed face he dropped his eyes and nodded. "Of course. Just… Don't try and find the amulet. Please."

But when he looked up again, he was already out of the house. The door was swinging to a close, and the book was gone with him.

--------

"Hey, Will," grinned Xander as he trundled happily through the library door the next morning. A quick glance around told him that Giles wasn't there, and Xander's mind became confused as to why he'd looked for him in the first place. Dismissing this, he turned his attention back to the redhead as she smiled at him.

"Hey Xan. Didn't see you yesterday," she said, as if there was no care behind the tone - of course, she had missed seeing him even for that long, but there was no way she could say that too him, however good friends they were. "Kinda quiet without your stupid jokes."

"I was busy being research boy."

There was pride in his voice, and for a moment he wondered if Giles had told them - he kind of hoped he had. It was a big deal to him, but if the Watcher hadn't told the others, surely that meant he didn't care as much for how much effort Xander had put in.

"I know. Great job on that by the way," replied Willow, and relief sped over him uninvited. "I couldn't find anything on the net that would be relevant. I thought I did, but it was about upping your 'self worth' or something and why would that burn you?"

"Yeah," smiled Xander; but it was a nervous smile, and Willow noticed. Before she could say anything though, he was speaking again. "Is Giles around? He said he wanted to talk to me."

"He didn't mention that," she frowned, but shook her head. "He's out for an hour. Gotta get a load of new books or something, I don't know. I'm only here to pick up my folder. You should probably get to class."

"Sure, of course," nodded Xander, walking a bit further into the library. "Just gotta find my best pen. You know, the one with the blue. I left it here the other day."

"Oh, well, do you want some help?" she offered, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she watched him.

"Nah, it's fine," he insisted. "Go to class, I'll be there in bit."

Willow faltered for a second, but as he started ducking under tables to search for it she rolled her eyes and left, folder clutched to her chest.

The moment he was sure Willow was out of the way, Xander headed to the more secure part of the library; where the more dangerous items were kept. The intense focus in his eyes would show anyone watching he had a purpose there; something to find, something to do. Fortunately for him there was no one around and Giles wasn't due back for a while yet.

It didn't take him long to find it. It was, after all, very badly hidden. There wasn't much that it didn't burn through, besides the marble. From the pile of things blocking it from view but not actually hiding it, Xander guessed Giles was having a few problems hiding the thing.

He leant over the pile, heaving the marble up with it upon it. It took most of his strength - Giles must be stronger than he looks, he pondered. He seemed to pick it up without effort. Images popped into his mind unbidden at this, and he quickly blocked them- it was creepy enough that he was thinking about Giles this much, he really didn't need to see the pictures his brain was providing him with.

Ignoring the almost instant ache in his shoulders and arms, he managed to move the heavy object to the table. He unfolded a piece of paper from his pocket, flattening it out beside the relic to read it. It was in his own handwriting, and obviously copied out of the book complete with a little sketchy diagram. He pulled a chair up beside it, scraping noisily on the floor, and perched himself on the edge of it. Eyes constantly lowering to the paper, he raised his hands as if to shelter the sphere.

A low hum filled the room, almost below the threshold of hearing. Xander's breathing became shallow with nerves and his voice hitched in anticipation as he spoke words he didn't understand from the paper. He glanced behind him, dark eyes flashing along with the sphere as the crackling of magic filled the room.

With a sound that was very much like air ripping, the light in the room flickered and Xander recoiled away from the sphere. Watching it anxiously for a second, a bolt of fright hit him and he turned on his heel- leaving the paper where it led and the sphere twinkling innocently on the table.

At that moment, Giles stepped out of his office where he had been watching in silence, a deep frown on his face.