-'Eye of the Beholder.'-
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman and Sad But True. Xander must remember that spells don't work exactly right on him, where before they were annoying, now could be catastrophic.
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.
A/N 3: okay, to explain empathy, if someone has empathy, they feel what you feel: anger, self-loathing, lust, happiness, protectiveness, fear... etc just any emotions that someone is having. Not to mention that if you feel too many things at once, you'll probably go nuts. And for the sake of argument and of this story, confusion is a state of mind, not an emotion.
A/N 4: A lot is going on in this part. I hope I covered it well.
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.
Timeframe: S2 AU "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.
///////////////////////////////////////////////
Xander was back in the dark room. "Oh great, where's cryptic guy and his chairs? I wonder if he wants to play yahtzee this time?"
A voice came from behind him. "You have to let go."
He turned to see the man standing and looking into space. Xander started walking towards him. "Yeah, I guess I should let go of Cordy, but I just wanted to let her know how it feels for once. Let her be the one used and thrown away."
The man disappeared into the darkness. Xander turned around. "Okay, we didn't talk about _this_ last time."
The man appeared to his left. "Unknowns change the equation."
Xander nearly jumped out of his skin. "JESUS! Don't do that!"
The man disappeared and then stood behind him. "Not only will things be different, YOU will be different. I have no way to know how or what changes will happen to you. This could jumpstart several different magics that you were exposed to and WILL be exposed to. God knows what could happen."
Xander's face fell. "Oh God, don't tell me..."
He heard the man's voice to his right. He turned to face him again. "Damn I just never thought that you'd actually get it."
Xander looked at him. The man wasn't even looking anywhere near Xander. He was just staring off into space. "You're not really here."
The man reappeared several feet behind him holding a glass of water. "...and we're technically not here, it still kinda helps you talk after a while."
Xander tilted his head and looked at the man. "You're an echo."
The man reappeared inches behind Xander, smirking with the same expression again. "Damn I just never thought that you'd actually get it."
Xander jumped back a little. "Yes we've been over that. So what's happening now, why are you here?"
The man appeared to his left. "YOU will be different. I have no way to know how or what changes will happen to you."
Xander sighed. "Yeah, I got that memo."
The man appeared before him and seemed to look strait into his eyes. "This could jumpstart several different magics that you were exposed to and WILL be exposed to. God knows what could happen."
The man then appeared right behind Xander and whispered into his left ear. "You'll remember bits and pieces now and then. But not all of it."
//////////////////////////////////////////////
Xander woke with a start. He turned over to look at the clock. 'Crap, its 7:06. I'm gonna be late.'
He jumped up and grabbed a pair of black jeans and a light blue Hawaiian shirt before running out the door.
//////////////////////////////////////////////
Xander growled as he ran. He didn't know what happened last night. It was like the first dream he had. He could only remember fragments. Trying to remember felt like trying to push cement through a funnel. He slowed as he saw Cordy and the rest of the popular girls walk into school.
Cordelia saw him coming and put her best game face on. "What?"
Xander straitened his back out and tried to appear confident, but he couldn't help but still feel hurt and angry. "Morning, ladies." He turned to Cordelia. "Some kind of weather we've been having, huh?"
Cordelia gave him a death glare. "What do you want? God, I already gave you back that S-mart looking thing."
Xander chuckled and leaned in to Cordelia. "Is this guilt or hurt...anything? 'Cause maybe on you it doesn't look that different."
Cordelia pushed him away and growled at him. "Are you going, like, stalker- boy on me now? Gonna be all 'please take me back, I cant live without you?' God you're pathetic." She pulled out her cell phone. "I'm gonna call the police if you don't get your Sears-shopping, blue-light-special ass out right now."
Xander felt his hurt melt away, being replaced by anger. He clenched his teeth and walked away. "Sorry, my mistake."
///////////////////////////////////////
Xander walked into the library to see Giles and Buffy. He took a seat at the end of the table. "I have a plan: I go into the warehouse and tell all the vamps about my life. They'll be so moved that they'll dust themselves."
Giles commented as he walked between the stacks. "While I'm sure that the recent... romantic troubles are grounds for self-staking, I don't believe that the vampires will give you a chance to speak."
Xander's head hit the table with a loud thud; his voice was still rough with anger. "Okay, then we'll still stick with plan A and just let them kill me."
Buffy got up and sneered at him. "Yeah. I heard about you and Cordy. I figured it was going to happen sooner or later."
Xander was surprised by the level of venom in her voice. "Hey, I knew that you and I weren't exactly on the same page when it came to Cordy, but you don't have to be mean about it."
Buffy rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book. "Well, I have to say 'I told you so Xander.' I mean, come on, the Princess Bitch? God, I never thought you'd actually sink that low. I didn't want to say anything, but we all know how that ended. I mean, you gotta _pay_ for those services."
Xander stopped her with his hand. "Okay, uh..." He looked around for a second to see any hidden cameras before shaking her hand. "Hi, I'm Xander, Xander Harris, have you seen a nice, sweet, cute little blonde running around by the name of Buffy Summers, because you sure aren't _her_."
Buffy growled and sneered at him. "Just because you got dumped by an egotistical bitch, don't go blaming it on me. I was trying to look out for you. Its not my fault you had to go for someone so totally out of your league."
Xander was about to shout that he didn't think he should be getting dating advice from someone that had sex with a vampire when he realized that Buffy could punch him into the next week. He sighed and looked at the blond slayer. She still had a slight grimace.
Buffy seemed out of it for a second before she smiled and looked into his eyes. "I don't know, I just heard that you and Cordy broke up, and I guess I was just surprised how glad I was." She reached forward with her hand and started playing with his shirt. She bit her bottom lip and leaned into him. "It's funny how you can see someone every day but not really see them. You know?"
Xander chuckled nervously and pushed her away. "Oh, yeah its funny. Hilarious even."
Giles appeared from behind the stacks. "Buffy, has there been an increase in the amount of risings as of late?"
Buffy sighed and leaned back as the British librarian interrupted her.
"I believe that because of the recent...ah, addition of Angelus, there should be a whole legion of fledglings that have been sired by Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla."
Buffy didn't even turn to face Giles, and continued to give Xander an increasingly lustful stare. "Sorry Giles, but I think I've only been getting the leftovers every night for the past two weeks."
Xander stiffened, and decided that he should be somewhere else. He looked at his watch. "Hey, look at the time."
Buffy looked at the clock on the wall. "It's about ten minutes till school ends."
Xander nodded as he backed out the door. "Yep, don't want to be late."
He shook his head. He was _not_ going down that road with her again. No way in hell. He turned around to see Amy walking down the hall and jogged over. "Amy, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Amy looked a little annoyed but stopped walking and turned around. "What do _you_ want?"
Xander looked back into the library. "I don't think the spell worked out right."
Amy rolled her eyes and continued walking. "Oh, yeah, it bombed. No biggie. Maybe next time a girl leaves you, you wont have to resort to magic. See ya later, loser."
Xander ran infront of her and stopped her. "No, I think the spell worked, but didn't do what it was supposed to. I mean, one second Buffy, _BUFFY_, was all angry and mean to me, the next she wanted to hop in my lap and smear chocolate all over me."
Xander smiled and stood there for a second. "Actually, maybe I should go back in."
Amy's eyes glazed over as she walked closer to him. "Xander."
He raised an eyebrow. "Amy?"
Amy smiled and looked up at Xander. "Well, we can always try again."
Xander gave her a questioning look. "I don't think doing the 'fuck with Xander's friends' spell again will help. I mean, look at Buffy."
He looked back through the library window and saw Buffy looking out at him with a lustful stare. Xander turned around to see if she was looking at someone behind him.
Amy walked a little closer to him. "I am still pretty new at this."
Xander turned to face her. "I know, it was wrong to meddle with the forces of darkness. I was just hurt, okay?" He looked back in to possibly see drool start to form at the corner of Buffy's mouth. "But I think I should probably go and let things die down maybe." Xander made a move to go away.
Amy stopped him with her hand. "Oh, we don't have to cast any spells."
Xander looked back into the library and saw Buffy staring out at him with her finger between her lips. He shook his head trying to clear it. "Uh huh."
Amy tried to get his attention. "We can just... hang out."
Xander looked at Amy. "What?"
Amy smiled. "Well, I liked spending time with you. You're so sweet. You know, it's funny how you can... you can see a person every day and..."
Xander felt a cold shiver run down his spine as Buffy walked out. "...not really see them."
Buffy walked over and stood between Xander and Amy. "Excuse me, Xander, but I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight."
Amy tapped her shoulder. "Do you mind? We were talking."
Buffy turned around and snarled as she took his right arm. "Yeah, well _my_ best friend Xander was just about ready to come back into the library for some _studying_"
Amy took a step forward and growled as she took his left arm. "That's funny, _my_ new friend Xander and I were just talking about hanging out later."
Xander felt the cold shiver flow through the back of his head. The girls' eyes glowed yellow as they both turned to him. "Xander?"
'Ohhhhhh crap.'
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman and Sad But True. Xander must remember that spells don't work exactly right on him, where before they were annoying, now could be catastrophic.
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.
A/N 3: okay, to explain empathy, if someone has empathy, they feel what you feel: anger, self-loathing, lust, happiness, protectiveness, fear... etc just any emotions that someone is having. Not to mention that if you feel too many things at once, you'll probably go nuts. And for the sake of argument and of this story, confusion is a state of mind, not an emotion.
A/N 4: A lot is going on in this part. I hope I covered it well.
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.
Timeframe: S2 AU "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.
///////////////////////////////////////////////
Xander was back in the dark room. "Oh great, where's cryptic guy and his chairs? I wonder if he wants to play yahtzee this time?"
A voice came from behind him. "You have to let go."
He turned to see the man standing and looking into space. Xander started walking towards him. "Yeah, I guess I should let go of Cordy, but I just wanted to let her know how it feels for once. Let her be the one used and thrown away."
The man disappeared into the darkness. Xander turned around. "Okay, we didn't talk about _this_ last time."
The man appeared to his left. "Unknowns change the equation."
Xander nearly jumped out of his skin. "JESUS! Don't do that!"
The man disappeared and then stood behind him. "Not only will things be different, YOU will be different. I have no way to know how or what changes will happen to you. This could jumpstart several different magics that you were exposed to and WILL be exposed to. God knows what could happen."
Xander's face fell. "Oh God, don't tell me..."
He heard the man's voice to his right. He turned to face him again. "Damn I just never thought that you'd actually get it."
Xander looked at him. The man wasn't even looking anywhere near Xander. He was just staring off into space. "You're not really here."
The man reappeared several feet behind him holding a glass of water. "...and we're technically not here, it still kinda helps you talk after a while."
Xander tilted his head and looked at the man. "You're an echo."
The man reappeared inches behind Xander, smirking with the same expression again. "Damn I just never thought that you'd actually get it."
Xander jumped back a little. "Yes we've been over that. So what's happening now, why are you here?"
The man appeared to his left. "YOU will be different. I have no way to know how or what changes will happen to you."
Xander sighed. "Yeah, I got that memo."
The man appeared before him and seemed to look strait into his eyes. "This could jumpstart several different magics that you were exposed to and WILL be exposed to. God knows what could happen."
The man then appeared right behind Xander and whispered into his left ear. "You'll remember bits and pieces now and then. But not all of it."
//////////////////////////////////////////////
Xander woke with a start. He turned over to look at the clock. 'Crap, its 7:06. I'm gonna be late.'
He jumped up and grabbed a pair of black jeans and a light blue Hawaiian shirt before running out the door.
//////////////////////////////////////////////
Xander growled as he ran. He didn't know what happened last night. It was like the first dream he had. He could only remember fragments. Trying to remember felt like trying to push cement through a funnel. He slowed as he saw Cordy and the rest of the popular girls walk into school.
Cordelia saw him coming and put her best game face on. "What?"
Xander straitened his back out and tried to appear confident, but he couldn't help but still feel hurt and angry. "Morning, ladies." He turned to Cordelia. "Some kind of weather we've been having, huh?"
Cordelia gave him a death glare. "What do you want? God, I already gave you back that S-mart looking thing."
Xander chuckled and leaned in to Cordelia. "Is this guilt or hurt...anything? 'Cause maybe on you it doesn't look that different."
Cordelia pushed him away and growled at him. "Are you going, like, stalker- boy on me now? Gonna be all 'please take me back, I cant live without you?' God you're pathetic." She pulled out her cell phone. "I'm gonna call the police if you don't get your Sears-shopping, blue-light-special ass out right now."
Xander felt his hurt melt away, being replaced by anger. He clenched his teeth and walked away. "Sorry, my mistake."
///////////////////////////////////////
Xander walked into the library to see Giles and Buffy. He took a seat at the end of the table. "I have a plan: I go into the warehouse and tell all the vamps about my life. They'll be so moved that they'll dust themselves."
Giles commented as he walked between the stacks. "While I'm sure that the recent... romantic troubles are grounds for self-staking, I don't believe that the vampires will give you a chance to speak."
Xander's head hit the table with a loud thud; his voice was still rough with anger. "Okay, then we'll still stick with plan A and just let them kill me."
Buffy got up and sneered at him. "Yeah. I heard about you and Cordy. I figured it was going to happen sooner or later."
Xander was surprised by the level of venom in her voice. "Hey, I knew that you and I weren't exactly on the same page when it came to Cordy, but you don't have to be mean about it."
Buffy rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book. "Well, I have to say 'I told you so Xander.' I mean, come on, the Princess Bitch? God, I never thought you'd actually sink that low. I didn't want to say anything, but we all know how that ended. I mean, you gotta _pay_ for those services."
Xander stopped her with his hand. "Okay, uh..." He looked around for a second to see any hidden cameras before shaking her hand. "Hi, I'm Xander, Xander Harris, have you seen a nice, sweet, cute little blonde running around by the name of Buffy Summers, because you sure aren't _her_."
Buffy growled and sneered at him. "Just because you got dumped by an egotistical bitch, don't go blaming it on me. I was trying to look out for you. Its not my fault you had to go for someone so totally out of your league."
Xander was about to shout that he didn't think he should be getting dating advice from someone that had sex with a vampire when he realized that Buffy could punch him into the next week. He sighed and looked at the blond slayer. She still had a slight grimace.
Buffy seemed out of it for a second before she smiled and looked into his eyes. "I don't know, I just heard that you and Cordy broke up, and I guess I was just surprised how glad I was." She reached forward with her hand and started playing with his shirt. She bit her bottom lip and leaned into him. "It's funny how you can see someone every day but not really see them. You know?"
Xander chuckled nervously and pushed her away. "Oh, yeah its funny. Hilarious even."
Giles appeared from behind the stacks. "Buffy, has there been an increase in the amount of risings as of late?"
Buffy sighed and leaned back as the British librarian interrupted her.
"I believe that because of the recent...ah, addition of Angelus, there should be a whole legion of fledglings that have been sired by Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla."
Buffy didn't even turn to face Giles, and continued to give Xander an increasingly lustful stare. "Sorry Giles, but I think I've only been getting the leftovers every night for the past two weeks."
Xander stiffened, and decided that he should be somewhere else. He looked at his watch. "Hey, look at the time."
Buffy looked at the clock on the wall. "It's about ten minutes till school ends."
Xander nodded as he backed out the door. "Yep, don't want to be late."
He shook his head. He was _not_ going down that road with her again. No way in hell. He turned around to see Amy walking down the hall and jogged over. "Amy, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Amy looked a little annoyed but stopped walking and turned around. "What do _you_ want?"
Xander looked back into the library. "I don't think the spell worked out right."
Amy rolled her eyes and continued walking. "Oh, yeah, it bombed. No biggie. Maybe next time a girl leaves you, you wont have to resort to magic. See ya later, loser."
Xander ran infront of her and stopped her. "No, I think the spell worked, but didn't do what it was supposed to. I mean, one second Buffy, _BUFFY_, was all angry and mean to me, the next she wanted to hop in my lap and smear chocolate all over me."
Xander smiled and stood there for a second. "Actually, maybe I should go back in."
Amy's eyes glazed over as she walked closer to him. "Xander."
He raised an eyebrow. "Amy?"
Amy smiled and looked up at Xander. "Well, we can always try again."
Xander gave her a questioning look. "I don't think doing the 'fuck with Xander's friends' spell again will help. I mean, look at Buffy."
He looked back through the library window and saw Buffy looking out at him with a lustful stare. Xander turned around to see if she was looking at someone behind him.
Amy walked a little closer to him. "I am still pretty new at this."
Xander turned to face her. "I know, it was wrong to meddle with the forces of darkness. I was just hurt, okay?" He looked back in to possibly see drool start to form at the corner of Buffy's mouth. "But I think I should probably go and let things die down maybe." Xander made a move to go away.
Amy stopped him with her hand. "Oh, we don't have to cast any spells."
Xander looked back into the library and saw Buffy staring out at him with her finger between her lips. He shook his head trying to clear it. "Uh huh."
Amy tried to get his attention. "We can just... hang out."
Xander looked at Amy. "What?"
Amy smiled. "Well, I liked spending time with you. You're so sweet. You know, it's funny how you can... you can see a person every day and..."
Xander felt a cold shiver run down his spine as Buffy walked out. "...not really see them."
Buffy walked over and stood between Xander and Amy. "Excuse me, Xander, but I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight."
Amy tapped her shoulder. "Do you mind? We were talking."
Buffy turned around and snarled as she took his right arm. "Yeah, well _my_ best friend Xander was just about ready to come back into the library for some _studying_"
Amy took a step forward and growled as she took his left arm. "That's funny, _my_ new friend Xander and I were just talking about hanging out later."
Xander felt the cold shiver flow through the back of his head. The girls' eyes glowed yellow as they both turned to him. "Xander?"
'Ohhhhhh crap.'