The last thing Xander wanted to do this morning was go to school, but here he was. He needed to see the others again, needed them to confirm that this was real. Because it felt way too much like the kind of nightmare where suddenly you're naked in front of the whole class. But when first period started, Buffy's, Willow's and Cordelia's desks were still empty. As Mr. Wilson tried to teach them about the Crusades, he thought back to last night; how they'd stayed behind in Giles' apartment, waiting for Buffy and Giles to get back... and then the phone ringing. He had answered it, so he was the one who had to relay Buffy's news to the others.
"She was too late. Giles is dead."
Giles is dead. He'd have to ask Willow about that when he saw her; he was pretty sure there was a noun or a verb or... one of those things missing in that sentence somehow, because it didn't make any sense.
After the class ended, he walked down the hallway hearing people whispering about it all around. The computer teacher was dead, she'd been found in the librarian's flat, and then he'd gone missing before the cops had time to investigate... everyone was drawing conclusions. When he got to his locker, Willow was there waiting, Oz beside her with his arm around her shoulders. He tried to put on a brave face.
"Hey, Will. This has got to be the first time I get to class before you do, you slacker you." Then they hugged, and he had to support her even though his own knees felt ready to buckle at any second. "Shhh, Will... it's OK. It's OK."
"No it isn't." She looked up at him, her eyes red – she obviously hadn't slept. "They're dead, Xander. It's not OK. How can you even..." And she started crying again, pulling Oz into the hug and holding on to the two remaining men in her life to keep from falling apart. At some point Cordelia joined the hug, uncharacteristically silent.
"Wow, check it out. Geeky group sex." That tone and the accompanying giggles from her sidekicks, of course, signalled the arrival of Harmony. "I mean, really. It's gross, but you can't help looking."
Xander glared at her. "Don't you have class?"
"Actually, no I don't. Computer class got cancelled. And when they arrest that weird foreigner for murdering Miss Calendar, I'll be sure to thank him for th-"
It happened too quickly for anyone to stop. Suddenly Harmony was on the floor with a nosebleed, Cordelia standing over her with clenched fists.
"HEY!" You could almost hear the rusty cogwheels in Harmony's brain trying to make sense of this. She looked to the former Cordettes for backup. "She hit me!"
Cordelia didn't answer, except by staring even more intently at her one-time best friend, unknowingly baring her teeth. Xander stepped up and put his hands on her shoulders. "Let it go, Cor. She's not worth it." Cordelia refused to move at first, then turned to him and put her head on his shoulder.
Harmony got up, wiping at her nose. "You... you FREAKS. I bet you even helped him kill her."
Xander didn't even look at her. "Just concentrate on walking away, Harmony. If you keep talking, you might lose count of the whole right foot-left foot thing."
The cheerleader shot them a last icy stare, then turned and walked off with her head high, her crew trailing behind her. The four friends stood there, arms around each other, trying to ignore the stares from everyone else.
Of course, they found Buffy in the library, the place where you could still sense Giles' presence. From the looks of it she'd been here all night, running on vending-machine coffee as she frantically pored over the huge pile of books on the table. She barely seemed to notice when they walked up to her.
"Hey, Buffy." Willow figured it was up to her to put on best-friend face. "Whatcha reading?" Buffy didn't answer, so she picked up one of the books. "Tales Of Daemonic Infestation In The Balkans During The Reign Of Mattias Corvinus, huh? Any good?"
"I... I don't know, it's... I've never read all these. I should have paid more attention. He knew all this stuff, he was supposed to teach me... is this even English?" She gestured in frustration at the tome in front of her, hand-written in some archaic alphabet. "I flunked History, I have NO clue where what or who the Balkans are, and I'm supposed to do this by myself now?"
"You're not by yourself, you know that. And you don't have to do this now. It's OK if you want to take a break..."
"But I can't. Not yet. I have to... I need to..." She wanted to stop and grieve, she really did, but there was no time right now. She surprised herself by laughing, a nervous snort that was almost a sob. "One girl in all the world, remember? She alone has the power to fight... I was ten minutes late and he died, I have to get better, faster, stronger, smarter, but I don't know how... And Angel is out there killing people and I don't know how to stop him..."
Willow and Xander exchanged a worried look. This was not good. "Buff... no one's asking you to do Giles' job. Don't you think the council will send a new watcher?" The words were out of Xander's mouth before he had time to think about them, and hurt him almost as much as they obviously hurt Buffy.
She shook her head violently before she had time to think about it. As if anyone could just replace Giles. "I... I'm not sure how that works. So far, we're the only ones who even know that he's dead, and I have no idea how to even get in touch with them. I think they're in England somewhere." She sighed. "Maybe it's for the best if they don't. I mean, this is the second watcher I've gotten killed... maybe they should just give up on me." She pushed a couple of books off the table and almost broke down... then clenched her teeth and choked the tears back, forcing herself to be all business. "So what's going on in the real world?"
"Buff..."
"No. We have to focus here. Angel is going to pay for this, and if you're really with me, you'll help me. What's happened since..." She looked at the clock on the wall and was surprised at how late it was, almost lunchtime already.
"Everybody seems to agree that Giles..." Xander had to clear his throat. "That Giles killed Miss Calendar and then went on the run. And since everyone knows we hung out with him..." He glanced around the library. "Weird that the police haven't been here, you'd think it was the first place they would look."
"I guess maybe they–"
Buffy's reply was cut short as the doors flew open and principal Snyder stepped into the library, looking even more furious than usual. "My office, Summers. Right this second."