Out of the Blue

Chapter 2

By The Spooky Mulder

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Star Wars, or X-Men.


Two Days Later…

Andrew was sitting in the kitchen, looking down-in-the-dumps. Just yesterday Willow had been put under a spell and turned into Warren. This, of course, had confused Andrew greatly. Warren had been his best friend (besides Jonathan), and even though Andrew knew he was dead, seeing him had brought him hope. Of course, when he found out it was actually Willow that hope had been quashed.

At the sound of an opening door, Andrew looked up. "Oh, hi Dawn," he said, not able to keep the "pity me" tone out of his voice. "Hey," she replied, slowly walking over to the stool next to him. "How are you?" she asked. Andrew merely shrugged. "I'm great. Not the great that everyone felt after Darth Sidious was finally defeated, but great like when Wolverine finally found a place to call home."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "That's…good. So, I was wondering if you wanted to do something." When Andrew started at her without replying, she elaborated. "I mean, Buffy and Xander are at work, Willow's sleeping, and who knows where everyone else is…it would just be neat to go out and do something."

Andrew shrugged. "Okay. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could go to the Bronze?"

Andrew couldn't hide his surprise. "You'd want to go to a cool club, with me?" It's not like he didn't want to go, but even in high school no one had ever invited him to go to the Bronze. When he asked his brother Tucker once, his answer had been, "It's because you're so annoying, Andrew. No one wants to spend time with you." That was also one of the reasons Andrew was so fond of Warren (and Jonathan)- they had tolerated, even liked him at times.

"Well, yeah," Dawn said, starting to feel like this whole thing wasn't worth the trouble. Andrew stared at her for a second more, then said, "Okay."

As the two approached the bouncer, Dawn reached in her purse for the money. "No, I've got this," Andrew said, handing the money over before Dawn could. "Where did you get that?" she asked. Even though Buffy knew he wasn't evil, she still hardly ever let him out of the house. "Buffy paid me to mow the yard," Andrew replied, shrugging. "And this is on me. Drinks and everything."

For some reason, Dawn felt herself blushing. Even though this most definitely wasn't a date –with Andrew? Ew! – it was still really nice of him to pay for everything. In fact, Dawn couldn't remember a single date she had been on (not like there had been very many in the first place) where a guy had flat-out paid for her. "Thanks," she said. Andrew simply smiled and led the way inside.

"Wow. This place is like…" Andrew couldn't think of any words, so he just grinned. "I still can't believe that you've never been here," Dawn said, sitting down at one of the tall, round tables. Andrew sat down opposite of her. "I mean, Buffy tells me that when you guys were in school this was the coolest place to hang out." Andrew shrugged. "That's exactly why I never came. I wasn't the most popular guy around."

Dawn frowned. "That's still no reason not to come. I mean, you could have come with your friends or something." When Andrew looked down at his hands and didn't say anything, Dawn immediately felt guilty, and sad. "Oh, Andrew. You didn't have any, did you?"

He shook his head.

Dawn couldn't believe it. So what if he was annoying, and geeky, and weird? Everyone has at least one friend. Dawn felt the Summers' determination kick in. She was going to be Andrew's friend, no matter what. Just because he had been…misguided…didn't mean that he didn't deserve a friend in the small group of people he knew. And she was going to be that friend. "Come on," she said, talking loudly so he could hear her over the music. "Come where?" he asked. Dawn rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. "We're going to dance." Andrew's eyes widened. "Dance? I-I can't dance!" Dawn didn't reply; she just pulled him out onto the dance floor and let the music flow through her, guiding her movements. Andrew still looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but he eventually started to dance as well. He's not that bad, for someone without any experience, Dawn thought.


At the Summers' Residence…

Buffy and Xander walked through the door after a long day of work. "Dawn, I'm home!" Buffy yelled. She set her leather jacket on the couch and went to the kitchen. "Dawn?"

"Hey, Buff!" Xander called from the living room. Buffy turned around and went to Xander. "I found a note," he said, handing the paper to Buffy.

Buffy-

We went to the Bronze. Be back soon,

Dawn

"Does 'we' mean Dawn and Willow?" Xander asked. Buffy shrugged. "I guess." Buffy made two cups of coffee, and they sat down at the kitchen table. Five minutes later, Willow came down. "Hey, guys," she said. "How was work?"

Xander and Buffy looked at each other. "If you're here, then who is Dawn at the Bronze with?" Xander asked. Willow frowned. "I just woke up a few minutes ago. I didn't even know she wasn't here." Buffy stood up. "Let's go," she said.


The Bronze…

Andrew and Dawn had taken a break so they could get drinks. They both ordered non-alcoholic beverages and were sipping on them when Andrew broke the silence. "Why?" he asked. Dawn, surprised by his question, didn't know what to say. "Why what?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

Dawn set her drink down. "Oh, that. Well, the way I see it, you've paid for everything you've done. Everyone deserves a second chance." Andrew smiled. "Thanks, Dawn."

Dawn returned the grin. "Let's go back to the dance floor."

They had barely been dancing for two minutes when Buffy, Willow, and Xander entered the Bronze. "I don't see her," Willow said. They scanned the room. "There!" Xander said, pointing to a couple that was dancing. The guy's back was to them, but they could see Dawn. Buffy made her way through the crowd. "Dawn!" she said. She came up beside Dawn. "What are you…Andrew? You came to the Bronze with Andrew?"


A/N: I know, that's a weird place to end the chapter. I'm glad that there are a few people who like this. Oh, and just in case you were wondering- the reason Buffy was at work but Dawn wasn't at school is because it was a one-day holiday for the students. Thanks for reading! And PLEASE review. I know when people read this but don't review.