Chapter Nine

Drusilla stopped drinking the second she heard footsteps coming towards her and Cordelia. "Time to start the party," she whispered as she tossed the body of the fallen prince aside. "Candy cane," she called over to Cordelia.

Cordelia looked up with the stereotyped deer in headlights look. "What is it, my love?" she asked as she tossed her body aside. She walked up to Drusilla and wrapped her hands around the woman's waist. "Do the stars speak of trouble?"

Drusilla nodded. "Trouble does not even begin to cover it," she said seriously.

Cordelia nodded back just as seriously. "What is it?" she asked again.

"We want to have a party," Drusilla whimpered, "but the White Hats are coming to stop it."

"The White Hats?" Cordelia questioned. "They're on their way right now?"

Drusilla shook her head. "No," she responded distantly.

"But you just said"

Drusilla put a slender finger up to Cordelia's lips. "Not on their way. They're here," she whispered as she pointed behind Cordelia's head.

Sure enough, the 'White Hats' were quickly approaching the two vampires. Buffy led the parade with her stake clenched tightly in her left hand. Her hazel eyes had only two targets in mindCordelia and Drusilla. As of that moment, the two vampires were huddled close together, making it a presumably easy kill.

Willow was running right behind her best friend. She had no visible weapons, but that did not mean she did not possess any. The boy, Xander, trailed right behind the two girls. Out of all of them, Drusilla figured he would be easiest to kill. He was already loosing his breath.

"Now," Buffy yelled as she lunged towards Drusilla. The insane vampire pulled away from her girlfriend's embrace and began fighting Buffy. She kicked the Slayer hard in the stomach with the heel from her boots. Buffy instantly fell backwards, but she jumped right back up and punched Drusilla's jaw. "Xander," she yelled, gesturing her head over at Cordelia.

Her friend nodded as he looked over at the woman he had once loved. "Cordelia," he said simply as he pulled her away.

"What do you want now, Xander?" Cordelia asked irritably as she tried to keep her focus on Drusilla. Her girlfriend was busy fighting the Slayer. They were pretty much head to head, and that worried Cordelia. She had faith that Drusilla could win, but she also had fought alongside Buffy. She knew how powerful the Slayer could be. "Well?" she asked as she kept her eyes focused on Dru. "I already turned you down. Face it, Xander. I have someone else in my life, and it's not you. It never will be you. Not again."

Xander nodded sadly. "I know," he said with a tragic sigh.

"No," Cordelia scolded. "You don't get to play the martyr here. You had your chance with me, and you blew it."

Xander nodded again as he retrieved the stake from his back pocket. "I know, Cordy," he said. "I'm a dope," he told her.

"That I will agree to," Cordelia told him. She felt Xander's arms wrapping around her thin body. "Wait," she began. "What the hell are you doing? You just said you understood that you don't have a chance with me!" she exclaimed in utter confusion.

"I know," Xander said again. "And I'm sorry," he concluded as he hugged her tightly. The stake was held in his left hand just above Cordelia's heart. The tighter his grip was on her, the further the small wooden weapon would go. "I loved you," he whispered into her ear before she disintegrated into ashes. Tears filled in Xander's eyes as he dropped the stake to the ground. He did not hear the sound of the wood hitting the asphalt. He was still shocked by what had just happened.

"No!" Drusilla yelled angrily as she noticed that her girlfriend was no longer there. She quickly pushed Buffy to the ground. The Slayer hit it hard, and the redhead went over to help her, but that was not Drusilla's concern anymore. She walked over to the boy. "You," she spat as she grabbed him tightly by the arm. She lashed her sharp fingernails out at his cheek, scratching him enough to make him bleed. "You took her away from me."

"I took her away from myself!" Xander yelled back at the vampire. "I loved her! You don't have a soul. You can't know what love is like," he snapped. He pushed Drusilla's hands away from his face. "Get away from me," he yelled before running down the street.

Willow looked cautiously after him. She started to follow but then stopped, turning back to Buffy. "Should we let him be?" she asked.

Buffy nodded as she pulled herself upright. "We still have three dangerously powerful vampires on the loose," she commented. "One of which is going to seek revenge."