See Part 1 for Disclaimer and other details. Thanks, as always, to all my reviewers. Well, we're getting towards the end now; there's only one more chapter after this to go, I'm happy to say. And so, hope you enjoy!
Part VII: Prom and Promises
Shadyhill Cemetery, Sunnydale. May, 1999
Four figures patrolled the cemetery that night. Two males, and two females.
The Chosen Two were out for a night of slaying, now that things had more-or-less gone back to normal after that business with Cordelia's kidnapping and near-death experience. Because after all, the vamps weren't taking any holidays around here, even though somewhat predictably things had started to slow down now that summer was just around the corner.
Another thing that was, unfortunately, predictable was the antics of their two companions...
"That's ridiculous. I never HEARD anything so ridiculous in my entire life!" Wesley hissed as they walked along.
"And just WHY is it ridiculous? Because the history books don't agree with me?" Angel snapped back.
"Because the French Revolution did NOT take place that way! And the Slayer of that time didn't just abandon her duties, to watch the executions!" Wes replied with a combination of annoyance and hauteur.
"Are we gonna have to have that argument again, about how inaccurate some of the Watcher diaries really are?" the ensouled vampire asked semi-wearily.
Not far away from the squabbling duo, Buffy and Faith kept an eye and ear out for anything threatening. The blonde Slayer was also monitoring the guys' conversation though, and shook her head. "Will you listen to those two? They're like a pair of little old ladies!"
Faith just smirked, as she sinuously padded along. "Well, at least it's free entertainment..."
"But they're always like that! I mean, when Wes said he wanted to accompany you tonight for the whole Slayer-Watcher thing like I used to do with Giles, I just KNEW this was gonna happen!" Buffy almost whined.
Faith glanced sideways at her. "Why's it buggin' you so much, B? I mean, apart from the whole 'annoying dummy arguing with my boyfriend' factor..."
Ms. Summers didn't get it. "Huh?"
Ms. LeHane just shrugged. "Could be wrong, but am I seein' a trace of the old green-eyed monster here?"
The older of the Chosen Two couldn't believe it. "What?"
"I'm just saying. The way Wesley and your boy toy talk so freely? Never really seen him do it with you. He's always too busy playing up the brooding, studly, 'king of pain' angle-"
"That's ridiculous!" Buffy exclaimed at once, leaping to conclusions. "I mean, Angel doesn't swing that way! I KNOW. And, come on – what would those two even have in common, if he did?"
"You mean, apart from all that stuff about vampires, and demons, and Watchers, and over 240 years worth of history that you don't really care about..."
The two Chosen paused and then looked at one another, and finally Faith could no longer keep her smirk to herself. The Summers girl's eyes went wide, and then she scowled at her companion after realizing how she'd been taken for a ride that way. "Oh, you...you..."
And all of a sudden, the obligatory vampire fight scene suddenly took place as a group of bloodsuckers showed up.
As battles went, it wasn't the hardest they'd ever had; these two girls had a rhythm now that in another time and place would have never existed, and before Angel and Wesley even had a chance to take part in the festivities – Buffy and Faith had each dusted their own target, and then simultaneously staked the last one in the back and in the front together.
"Why do they even bother anymore?" Faith said gleefully, stoked as always after a good kill.
"I rather suspect because the Mayor wants us distracted in the countdown towards the Ascension," Wesley put in, as he adjusted his glasses.
"Could be," Faith replied, as her mood dimmed a bit.
"I think we should get out of here," Angel muttered. "Patrol somewhere else, maybe. Unless you wanna go home and study for finals, Buffy?"
"Oh, right. Be that Buffy again, it's that time of year! Swell," the young woman said in annoyance, as the group moved off.
Sunnydale High, Sunnydale. The next day
Cordelia Chase was walking along, really hating her life. ( It wasn't supposed to be like this, ) she thought to herself angrily. ( Damn it, it's NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS! )
But her situation was what it was, and there was no way Ms. Chase could think of to change it. The IRS had now taken everything. The money, the house, the clothes, the trust fund – even her horse, Keanu! Basically, there were going to be no more shopping sprees with the Cordettes, and no more vacations in exotic foreign lands...
The Chase family, apart from her father who was soon headed to jail, now had to adjust to living poor.
( Stupid Daddy for not filling out those forms out right. And stupid Mom for not having anything hidden away, for a rainy day! ) she seethed silently. ( How did my life end up like this? To think, I don't even have a boyfriend anymore... )
It was worth noting as a mark of her character how the attack a few weeks ago by Lyle Gorch didn't even register any longer. Well, that night Xander and the others had gotten Cordelia to Sunnydale General and she had made a full recovery afterwards, so after the past three years – maybe that wasn't so surprising.
What WAS surprising though was how exactly she remembered that incident.
( He helped saved me, but then only came once afterwards to the hospital. I mean, geez, what does a girl have to DO to get Xander Harris's attention nowadays? Well, guess becoming a Slayer isn't enough to cut it anymore, what with the way he and Buffy are on the outs with one another – and the way he threw a pillow at Faith that night... ) the young femme cogitated.
"Hello, Cordelia."
"Eeee!" the brunette girl squeaked, jumping a little as Xander materialized beside her. She then stopped and faced him, saying angrily, "Don't DO that! I've told you before – make some noise when you walk, mister!"
Xander shrugged, "Sorry. Bad habit..." Then he frowned, "Cordelia, is there something bothering you? Something that you're not telling me?"
"What do you mean?" the cheerleader shot back at once, a small feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.
"It's just that I've noticed you've been acting kinda...angry, lately. And the other night when you were sleeping in the library after that research party? I heard you begging someone in your sleep not to cut up your credit cards. I was just wondering, what gives?"
"Don't ask," she shot back, the feeling of dread intensifying. ( I do NOT want his pity! ) "My personal life is none of your business anymore!"
"Fine. But I just want to help, if I can-"
"You want to HELP me?" Cordelia screeched out, suddenly at the end of her tether. "It's been over five months since you tore out my heart and stomped all over it, and NOW you want to help me? Do you have any idea what you did to me, you jerk?"
Harris just absorbed the vitriol undefensively, suspecting that whatever it was that had gone wrong in her life – was now making Cordy lash out like this. "I'm sorry about all that..."
"Oh, sure, and that makes it all better! Do you have any idea how many boyfriends I've gone through, ever since you sandbagged 'us' that day? DO YOU? Even kissing Wesley wasn't enough to make me get over what you did!" Cordelia ranted.
Xander raised his eyebrows in astonishment, which was a somewhat rare thing for him nowadays. "You and Wesley? Well, uh, I guess I always knew you liked older men...I mean, there's Angel, and there's also that demon frat boy from two years ago-"
"I'm not interested in ancient history right now," Ms. Chase hissed, definitely not in the mood for one of their verbal matches at the moment.
"Okay then, what about the present? Like, Prom's coming up. Who's taking you?" Xander asked her calmly, changing the subject.
Cordelia was caught a bit flat-footed. "I don't know. It WAS going to be Mashad Bolling, but please...that loser has eyes for anything in a skirt, and I want a guy who'll want to be there for me alone!" Then she hesitantly asked, "So, uh, who are you going with?"
Xander shrugged. "High school proms aren't really my scene, not anymore. I wasn't planning to attend-"
"WHAT?" Cordelia demanded. "How can you not want to go? It's the Prom, and we're seniors. You HAVE to go! It's like an unwritten law!"
"All right, fine!" Xander said, a bit annoyed – and wondering why she was acting this way. "I'll go rent a tux from April Fools-"
"Don't go there. I shop there!" Cordelia blurted out. Not wanting to admit that she had in fact gotten a job at the establishment, to be able to buy a Prom dress. One that last year, she would have turned her nose up at in disgust; but then, six-hundred dollar outfits weren't exactly her style anymore.
Xander just stared at her suspiciously. Then he said, "I gotta go. See you in class..."
Sunnydale High Library, Sunnydale. Later that day
Not long before lunchtime, Harris walked into the library to see Wesley and Giles looking at the Books of Ascension worriedly. "Hello, gentlemen. And I probably don't need to ask, but why the looks of impending doom and gloom?"
Wesley put down his glasses. "The Ascension is almost upon us, and we still haven't come up with a plan on how to defeat the Mayor. And God have mercy, but the only thing on anyone's mind right now is that blasted high school dance!"
"Ah. You and Rupert have been roped in to do chaperoning duty for the Prom, huh?" Xander asked knowingly.
"Tuxedos and all," Giles sighed in that distinctive British accent.
"Well, it could be worse."
"How?" Wes and Giles asked the boy at the same time.
"Snyder might have forced you to bring dates," Xander mused, as he checked out one of the books. "Listen, I need to make the time to obtain a tux myself...but for now, let's concentrate on the big A-day-"
Suddenly Willow and Oz came in, and looked a bit uncomfortable at seeing Xander there. "Uh, hi!" the redhead said simply.
"What she said," Oz added calmly.
Luckily, Xander didn't seem concerned by their hesitant attitudes. "Let's grab a seat and get with the book learning! We got us a pure demon to find." He looked at Wes and Giles again, "You guys have narrowed it down a bit, right?"
"Well, there are – it come down to three distinct choices, in my opinion," Wes started to say officiously, slipping back into old habits.
"Wesley, for heaven's sake – it's two, not three! We can rule out the Old One known as Illyria, as those required rituals are well nigh impossible in this day and age! Even for someone like the Mayor," Giles shot back in exasperation.
Pryce shrugged. "Well, then, if we're left with only two choices? It's either the demon known as Olvikan, or the one known as Lo-Hash."
"Any firm candidate in mind to win?" the werewolf asked.
Wesley shrugged. "Myself, I think it's Olvikan. Lo-Hash is a four-winged Soul Killer, but not all that fierce according to my sources within the Council."
Giles suddenly seemed to have a thought, and headed off into the stacks. Wesley then looked at the others and asked, "Where's Buffy and Faith?"
"Uh, I dunno about Faith, but I think Snyder was making Buffy personally dance to his tune again. The big poop-head! Boy, I'm gonna be glad when we never have to talk to him anymore," the witch said, rolling her eyes.
At that moment, Giles came rushing back with a book in his hand. "Yes, yes...here we go, there's a reference to the legend of Ollokai, a fierce sixty-foot long snake. The name might be a bastardization of Olvikan, and the description fits..."
"Let me see..." Wes leaned over and grabbed the volume, ignoring the suddenly-pale faces of some of the teenagers. "Ah. A village near the site of a dormant volcano in Hawaii...yes, hmmm. This looks promising. And why does this also ring a bell, vaguely...?"
Suddenly, Xander went to grab the library's copy of the local newspaper. He pointed to a story on page 5 of the Sunnydale Press and said, "Local Professor Returns from Geological Expedition to Hawaii?"
"Of course!" both Englishmen said in unison.
"You two are gonna go talk to this guy, right?" Oz asked calmly, not really needing to hear the answer.
"Uh, and what's his name?" Willow added.
"Yes, and Professor Lester Wirth," Rupert said out loud. "He's right here at UC Sunnydale as I recall, which is only about five miles away. I think this should be our priority-"
"Agreed," Wesley said, as he went to get his coat. "And I suggest we hurry!"
Main Street, Sunnydale. A while later
Faith and Xander were making their way down the street, heading for the April Fools clothing store. "So, you sure you don't wanna attend this little gathering of hormone-filled guys and gals?" Harris asked his companion.
Faith snorted. "Please. Can you really see me at one of those things, these days? Last time I went to something like that, it was what – you guys' Homecoming dance? Man, I shoulda been there with Buffy, fighting alongside her in that Slayerfest competition! Might've been able to take care of that Lyle Gorch character, then and there...and saved Cordelia from getting her little love bite months later!"
"Water under the bridge," Harris remarked. And suddenly, he was reminded of when he had been cheating on that brunette girl with Willow, for no good reason...
( What was I thinking then? Yeesh. Hmm, wonder if Willow ever told Oz about all that? Kinda doubt it, the way those two are joined at the hip nowadays. Ah, well, wherever they go off to college, hope they have a long and happy life together... ) Xander thought to himself before saying. "So, Faith. Buffy's talked to you about life, post-high school?"
The LeHane girl gestured as they walked, "Yeah, yeah. How she's heading off to UCLA with G, and all that..."
"Right, so it looks like Sunnydale's gonna be your own private playground soon enough, once the Mayor's ass is toast. And ya know what? I already know that you're gonna do all of us proud," Xander said seriously as they finally arrived at the door of the clothing store.
Faith stopped him and looked at the guy with those big brown eyes of hers. And Harris could see a strange combination of joy, sadness and gratitude there. "You really mean that?"
Xander nodded. "I wouldn't say it, if I didn't believe it. You've come a long way ever since that bastard Kakistos chased you into town, Slay-gal. And I can't think of anyone better to guard the Hellmouth once Buffy takes over LA."
The dark-haired Slayer just stared at him. "Is there any way I can talk YOU out of your plans, roomie? I mean, you and me together here, one day we might be able to wipe out the bloods completely..."
"Wishful thinking, but thanks for the sentiment," he just smirked as they entered the shop.
Faith became entranced by something in leather, and so Xander told her he'd be right back as he headed for the menswear section. When all of a sudden, the former geek saw something he found very difficult to accept was real.
And that was the sight of Cordelia Chase wearing a nametag.
( I don't believe it. What the hell, is she WORKING here? It's a sure sign of the upcoming apocalypse, if so... )
Xander watched as Cordy served a customer with a fake smile on her face, her body language indicating to him vast amounts of humiliation. Then as a more senior saleswoman came over and dismissed the former rich girl with a wave of her hands, Harris noticed the momentary look of abject misery and pain on Cordelia's features as she departed the scene.
Carefully positioning himself right in front of her, Xander then simply said, "Hello, Cor."
The one-time Queen C felt her eyes bulge out, at the sight of her ex. "What are you doing here?" she hissed in a whisper, looking around. "I thought I told you not to come to this place!"
"Right. And that was supposed to stop me from doing whatever I wanted?" Xander asked archly. He then pulled the girl over into one of the changing rooms, and closed the doors. "Okay, what's going on?"
"Like I said before, none of your damn business!" Cordelia snapped, trying not to yell.
"Cordelia..."
"All right, FINE! I'm working here in order to get a dress for the Prom," the young woman almost seemed to visibly deflate.
"Still not getting you. I mean, don't you already have the perfect dress for this shindig?" Xander asked.
"I've got nothing, okay? It's all gone. The dresses, the money, all of it. Just because Daddy made a couple of mistakes on his taxes. For the last twelve years! Basically, the government swooped in and stripped us of everything. Like a bunch of piranhas. My father's about to go to prison, plus my mother got drunk the moment she lost it all – and she's still yet to sober up! I don't even have a house to live in anymore, I..."
Cordelia Chase couldn't help it, she began to cry. Instantly, Xander took her in his arms and let her sob her heart out. "It'll be okay, Cordy, I promise it's gonna be okay somehow..."
"How? Tell me that, Xander, how is it gonna be okay? Every day almost, I'm here to tell the ugly and undeserving how to accessorize. Even on weekends! And it's not gonna be enough to pay for my dress, I can tell! I'm not gonna have anything worthwhile to wear to the Prom. Hell, I'm not even gonna have anyone to go with! And after high school's over, there's gonna be no more skiing trips to Aspen like last Christmas, or shopping stopovers in Beverley Hills. No chance to go to college, and meet a future lawyer or doctor who'll make me forget about you! There's just a dreary future, working some crappy minimum wage job-" Cordelia kept sobbing.
He held her tightly, comforting the tall brunette. But whatever Xander would have said in reply to all that was destined to remain forever unheard, as the sound of screaming filled the store.
Xander and Cordelia rushed out of the change room, just in time to see Faith wrestling some kind of demon dog and snapping its neck. "Banzai!" the Slayer yelled victoriously, even though she was trapped underneath her enemy's dead weight.
Assassin instincts, still present even after months of living with Ludlum's fictional ghosts of the past, made Xander do an instant sweep of the area. And his eagle eye caught someone at the window through which the hell-beast had jumped, looking annoyed instead of terrified.
Leaving his companion behind without a thought, Xander sprinted towards the other man – who, upon noticing he'd been discovered, turned around and ran for it himself.
"Xander!" "Wait up!"
Harris firmly ignored the two female cries, and kept running after his target. The chase lasted for a short while, and ended up in the alley across the road; the guy had made it to some sort of van, but before he could jump inside Xander tackled him to the ground.
"No, don't! Please. Please, don't hurt me," the guy whimpered.
"You should know that there are 215 bones in the human body. And I'll break however many of them that I need to before I'm done with you," Xander growled at him, cursing the fact that he was unarmed. "Start talking!"
"I, I don't know what-"
Then the guy screamed, as Xander unceremoniously broke one of his fingers with a savage twist. "Let's get something straight right now. I ask the questions, you provide the answers. Otherwise, you'll end up begging me to kill you to make the pain stop." He leaned over right into the other guy's face, his features a grim rictus of anger. "Understand?"
"Yes-"
Harris pulled both himself and the other guy up. "Name?"
"Tucker. Tucker Wells," the youth whimpered. "Please, don't hurt me-"
"What was that thing you unleashed into the dress shop just now?" Xander demanded. "And if you say you have no idea, I'll break two more of your fingers...just for starters."
The flat, no-nonsense tone of a professional killer almost made Tucker crap in his pants. "They're called hellhounds, they're-they're demon foot soldiers. Please believe me, I know it sounds crazy but-"
"Shut up, I believe you. All right, why did you do that? Unleash a hellhound here and now, I mean..." In his mind, Xander was already wondering if this guy was the human acolyte of some higher-level demon, and if so what that implied.
But Wells just said hollowly, "It was a test, to see if the conditioning worked."
"Conditioning?" Harris demanded, as he threw Tucker against the side of the vehicle and put a hand to his throat.
"No, please! All right, look, I was planning to unleash a bunch of them at the Sunnydale High Senior Prom...the plan was for my fiercest babies to kill everyone in a tuxedo, and I'd finally get revenge on all the people who made my life hell in high school. Make 'em pay for that!"
Xander shook his head in disgust, as he hauled Wells upright from the car. ( He's just a petty, incompetent asshole. This guy is too pathetic even to be called evil by this town's standards! )
"Come on, Tucker. We're gonna go for a ride, and you're going to take me to wherever you've got the rest of your devil dogs stashed. See, sorry to have to tell ya this, but they're all gonna have to be put down before the dance. And by the way, if we don't get there within half an hour, tops? By the time I do track down their hiding place...you're gonna be the condemned man's last meal, so to speak. Is that clear?" Xander said in a way-too-calm voice.
Tucker just nodded, scared out of his wits by the look in the eyes of this...this maniacal lunatic, that held him prisoner.
April Fools Dress Store, Sunnydale. Not long after working hours
Cordelia sighed, as she packed up for the day. Tonight was the Prom, and yet she couldn't seem to muster up any excitement about that.
She and Faith had lost track of Xander as he'd vanished out of the store earlier, chasing after...someone. Then they had gone back to the library to tell the rest of the gang what had happened...only to have Harris later stroll through the doors, and tell them all that the hellhound problem had been solved.
Naturally of course, everyone had started asking questions, but she couldn't stay; Cordy knew that she had to get back to work, in a futile effort to try to obtain her Prom dress.
Curiously enough, Xander had also started asking himself questions during that meeting as Ms. Chase left the scene. Like where Bourne ended, and he began. The lines had become so blurred now that even the teenager himself had trouble figuring that out.
Doing things like that to Tucker Wells was something Xander knew he would have been incapable of, before Ethan had enspelled him for the second time. And the boy also knew that he was gonna have to do something drastic now to figure out who he really was, all his efforts over the last half-year having obviously proved insufficient.
In any case, just as Cordelia was about to leave her workplace, one of the other salesgirls called out, "Hey! Don't forget your dress. Aren't you wearing it tonight?"
Cordelia said grouchily, "As much as I hate to admit it, I haven't finished paying for it yet."
Her work colleague shrugged. "Well, somebody did."
That shocked the Chase girl out of her mope-y mood. "What? Who?" She looked at the receipt, but there was no name there. "Uh...so there's no problem if I take this?" the brunette girl tried to focus on priorities.
"The answer would be, yes. And if madam wishes to get changed, her carriage to the Prom awaits."
Cordelia whirled around, and stared open-mouthed at Xander in his tux. "You...?"
"I promised you that it was gonna be okay somehow, didn't I?" Harris said with a small smile, one that instantly made Cordelia want to hug him, as well as a lot more. "Now go on, hurry up and get changed – I took the liberty of dropping by that place near the docks you're staying at, and grabbing everything else you'll need for a perfect Prom. I mean, it's fine to be fashionably late and all, but we don't want anyone to be able to accuse you of committing a social faux pas either, do we?"
A huge smile on her face, Cordelia quickly embraced her ex; then she turned around and ran for the change rooms – and in record time, she was ready to go. Hair, makeup and the perfect Gucci shoes and purse to match, in place. "I'm ready!"
Xander stuck his arm out, and with a feeling of pure joy Ms. Chase slipped her hand in and accompanied the young man outside. Then her heart almost stopped beating, at the sight of a genuine horse-drawn carriage waiting for them.
"Xander, what is going on here?" the young woman demanded, her hazel eyes huge. "How the hell can you afford all this?"
"Ancient Chinese secret, grasshopper," Harris smiled mysteriously. Not wanting to mention the ten thousand dollars he'd discovered in Lyle Gorch's rental car, that had been appropriated for his future plans. "Besides. What's magic without a bit of mystery?"
Staring at her ex-boyfriend – and fervently wishing with all her heart that Xander was still hers, in every sense of the word – Cordelia just silently got into the carriage, and they made their way to the dance.
Sunnydale High, Sunnydale. Later that night
The Prom was in full swing, by the time the former couple got there. There were more than a few murmurings about Cordelia Chase showing up with Xander Harris of all people, but for the most part the senior class just ignored the odd pairing and partied like it was 1999. Which technically, of course, it was.
"Xander, you came! I thought you weren't coming," Willow said with a beaming smile on her face, hanging off Oz's arm. The musician himself was clad in a tuxedo that highlighted his 'rocker rebel' image.
"I had a promise to keep to a lady. And I have this thing about keeping my promises," Xander said simply. And in his mind, a memory quickly came to life about Bourne's last battle with Carlos...
The four teenagers wandered around, and mingled. And soon enough they came upon Buffy, who was apparently alone. "Hey guys," the Slayer said simply.
"Carrying the banner for the Chosen Two tonight?" Xander asked, trying to be friendly despite the distance that had grown between them.
"Yeah, Faith's out patrolling. And before you ask...Angel's not here, he's not gonna be coming."
This remark was news to the X-man. "Why not?"
"Well, uh, he broke up with me recently," Buffy replied, suddenly looking like she was making an effort not to cry.
Cordelia quickly steered him away, and Xander just watched as Willow and Oz seemed to comfort Buffy. Albeit weakly. Shaking his head, as Cordelia went to get some punch Xander headed over to the chaperone table, where he saw the older British duo. "Rupert, Wesley. How are things going tonight?"
Both men seemed pleased to see him. "Ah, Xander, there you are. We missed you earlier – congratulations on dealing so efficiently with that particular demon menace," Wesley said at once.
"Thanks," he replied. "So, how did it go with Professor Wirth?"
"Even better than expected," Giles was actually beaming in pleasure. "He found something on his expedition – a carcass, buried under an old lava bed close by that dormant volcano."
"Let me guess. Our boy Olvikan?" the male teen inquired.
"The good professor posited that it might in fact have been some heretofore-undiscovered dinosaur. But according to the data he showed us, for all practical purposes – I'm certain it's our demon in question," Wesley had a smile on his face.
Xander raised an eyebrow. "And this gives you a happy, why?"
"Think about it, Xander. As a human, the Mayor is supposedly invulnerable, according to what Buffy says Mr. Trick boasted about. But Olvikan was killed by that volcano back then. That means once he ascends, Richard Wilkins will become vulnerable once more. In his demon form, we can kill him!" Rupert almost looked like the cat that ate the canary.
"Right. So all we need is another volcano spewing out a million tons of lava. The Council can arrange that?" Harris asked cynically.
"Can't I leave you alone even for ten seconds? It's Senior Prom, Xander – will you PLEASE get your mind out of the Hellmouth for once?" Cordelia looked annoyed as she came over and handed her date his drink.
"Sorry," Harris smirked as he took a sip.
"Miss Chase – Cordelia – may I say, y-you look utterly spectacular this evening," Wesley stumbled through the compliment, somewhat nervous around the brunette beauty given their history.
"Thanks," Cordelia smiled. And for the first time EVER – there was something about her smile that reminded Xander of Marie St. Jacques, how happy she'd looked when proof had finally been found that her lover wasn't one of the bad guys after all.
Xander shook his head, dismissing that as the boy called Jonathan Levinson then took the stage to start handing out the 1999 senior class awards. And to everyone's surprise and delight, Buffy was given the final award of Class Protector, which seemed to make up a little for the Angel miss-age.
"You're not upset about failing to get the award for Class Clown, are you Xander?" Willow asked the guy, when she and Oz came over.
"No, Willow. That part of my life ended a long time ago, and I'm...different now," Harris replied calmly.
"The only constant is change," Oz said with Yoda-like wisdom.
"Ain't that for sure!" Cordy suddenly said. "Look!" She gestured over towards Buffy, and everyone noticed Angel in a tux talking to her.
"Guess he changed his mind about coming," Willow observed, happy for her best friend.
"Well, people have a way of surprising you like that," Xander added. "Miss Chase, may I have the pleasure of the next dance?"
The young woman's classic megawatt smile instantly appeared. "You may, Mr. Harris!"
As they led the group onto the dance floor, Xander knew that Graduation and the Ascension were only days away. But for tonight at least, that didn't matter; because it was his job to make this an evening to truly remember, for his dance partner.
To Be Concluded in Part 8