The next afternoon, Jesse found himself by the courtyard fountain waiting for Xander and Willow. Frustrated, the gangly teen sighed as he looked back and forth for his absent friends, but they didn't show. But it wasn't like he didn't know where they would be – off with they're new love interests for sure. He could hear Cordelia laughing and mocking him where she stood gathered with her bimbo buddies. Simply he just felt alone.
"Hey McNally, where are your loser friends today? Did they find out who pathetic you were or maybe they didn't want to get any more infected?"
He stood silently casting his eyes away for the hurtful brunette, yet ever word she said was a bitter blow. Xander had called him last night to tell him that the new girl was now his girlfriend and Willow had seen him this morning for a few moments, but so left the moment she had seen the new boy she had the hots for.
Sadly nothing seemed to be turning out the way he would have liked. Turning quickly, Jesse did something he had never done before – he decided to skip school.
Willow huffed as she sat next to Spike in the library the afternoon. It turned out that everything had started going wanky since yesterday. The only semi positive thing that happened was Xander finally got himself a girlfriend – too bad it was that Buffy twit. He had called her late last night to tell her that they had met up again at the Bronze and she saved his butt while leaving. Apparently, Xander knew about vampires and slayers as well now. So since Spike and Buffy had drawn in innocent bystanders, Mr. Giles, their watcher, thought it would be best to tell them everything.
But Willow wasn't even really listening to the conversation that was taking place. She had her head in her hands think back on her own time last night in which she had told her mother about the new boy at school…
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- Flashback -
"Mom!" Willow cried. "I only just met him today, so its not like I planed to start a relationship or need a chastity belt! Hell, I don't even know I he likes me that way!"
Willow watched as her mother Sheila Rosenberg just gaped at her usually timid daughter's outburst. It had only been five minutes ago that Willow had come home gushing about William, whom was new to Sunnydale from England, that he was in a few of her classes and he actually liked her. But of course there was nothing that could stop her mother's complaining.
"But Willow dear, you know what boys are like…"
"No mom, I don't know. The only boys I know are Xander and Jesse and they are nothing like your view of boys. William is nice and he just moved here, so you can't judge him until you've met him" Willow snapped angrily, her face going as red as her hair.
"Fine, I won't judge the boy. But if he ever asks you out on a date, then you have to spend it here with your father and I first" her mother replied.
"But…"
"No buts Willow, now I have other things to do right now"
The red haired girl watched her mother turn and leave, the very action dashing all of Willow's happy hopes. What would she do if her mother kept up this act? She had figured that when she got home that her mother would be proud that she had found a boy that was worth it, but instead she had pulled a nasty on her.
"Fine… have it your way"
- End Flashback -
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"Hey Red luv, are you listening?"
"Huh?"
Willow snapped out of her own day-nightmare and turned to Spike. She was looking down at with an almost concerned expression on his face. It almost reminded her of the ones that Jesse and Xander gave her all the time when she wasn't acting like her normal Willowy self.
"I was… I was just thinking about something" she sighed.
"Well pet we need your opinion on something. Do you think it would be wise to let your other friend Jesse in on this too?"
Willow's eyes widened and she turned to see that Xander, Buffy and Giles were staring at her as well.
"I don't know…"
"We need a tie breaker. The whelp and I say yea and she-slayer and the watcher say nah. What's your verdict pet?"
She looked back to Xander to see that he was muttering under his breath from Spike having called him 'whelp', but when he say her, he began to nod enthusiastically.
"Then I'd have to go with yea" Willow nodded. "It wouldn't be fair to have to lie to Jesse, and if we are in danger by knowing the truth about vampires and slayers, then he would be just as much since he is our friend"
"Do you really think that's wise Ms. Rosenberg?" Giles asked as he removed his glasses.
"Yes I do. How do you think a poor vampire's dinner victim would feel if they had known first? Sure people might live in fear – that's bad, but at least they would know how to protect themselves. I know that since mass hysteria is a bad thing the public at large cant know the truth, but with the few people out their that do, it just helps to make the world a better place"
"Wow…" Xander whispered in shocked awe. "Nice speech Will"
"Can I say something?"
Everyone turned to gaze at a very frustrated looking Buffy.
"As much as I'm actually starting to like this idea, it's giving me the wiggins" she started, ringing her hands beneath the table. "But I don't want to get anyone I can trust hurt. I know that it would be their decision to help, but it doesn't feel right"
"Feel right?" Spike scoffed and turned to Buffy. "When do you think it will ever feel right? We are slayers luv, maybe you should read up on that. Slayers were born to be alone, separated from society and why do you think that is?"
"To protect innocent people that might get caught in the crossfire" she replied.
"Wrong. It's all about control pet. If the Watcher's Council separates a slayer from their family, then the slayer only knows what they have been taught – they will become faithful. But if they have a slayer born outside of the Potential fold, like ourselves, then they have a problem. Again it is the control – if the slayer is a wild spirit or rouge, then the only option of gaining that control is either by breaking the subject or by elimination"
Everyone gapped open mouthed at Spike's words. Xander and Willow were horrified, Buffy was outraged and Giles was ghastly pale.
"Th…that's not true" Giles stuttered. "It can't be true"
"But who do you know that?" Xander suddenly asked.
" I know because I spied on the other watcher that came with Rupert to my old home in London the day my mother was killed. I heard him talking on the telephone to another, his superior at the Council" he was smiling thinly as he turned to Giles. "The day we left England Rupes was the day I was suppose to be brought in to be broken. You see as a male slayer, I am a paradox – they knew that they would need to brake me if they were to have any chance at trying to turn me into a Stepford slayer"
Silence followed.
"So that is why we need allies. We need the people that will give us a reason to live and that is why we need Jesse"
Getting up from his seat, Spike left the library in with Willow and Xander on his tale. Jesse was their friend and to them any risk was worth it. As they reached the courtyard, they found no Jesse, but rather the remaining laughter of the Cordettes that still hung in the air. Willow rushed of to one of the school's eyes, a boy she knew by the name of Jonathan Levinson.
"Hey Jonathan… have you seen Jesse?"
The boy looked up startled at her from his place on the steps.
"He…uh…he just ran off a few minutes ago. Cordelia was saying some things and must have been too much for him" he looked around him for a minute before turning back to her. "Is it true?"
"Is what true?" Willow asked, a puzzled expression crossing her face.
"What she said to him? Did you really leave him for those new kids?"
The sun had just began to set and Jesse was still walking about town, his heart heavy was a strange feeling that he now longer belonged. He had seen both Xander and Willow numerous times during the day after he had left the school, but he needed time to himself – they could wait for him now.
As he turned the corner near the Expresso Pump, he slammed into a beautiful young woman coming in the opposite direction.
"I am so sorry" he gasped and helped her to her feet.
"Its okay" she gave him a saucy smile and brushed a strand of blond hair out of her face.
"Okay… well I'm Jesse"
Smiling, they shook hands.
"Nice to meet you Jesse – I'm Darla"
Okay now I know I said no more until January, but I thought that I would do this one up as a Christmas gift toeveryone's favoriteWayWard Childe. Hope it wasn't too short – tell me if you think that Jesse should still get vamped or not. Oh and please tell me if I'm getting at the important facts too fast. Well have a great Christmas and I'll see you all again in 2005! Later!