Smells Like Teen Spirit
Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.
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"Wow, sounds like you had one Hell of a night," Faith remarked as Xander pulled into a sports bar called Dave's Bar and Grill, "What's this place?"
"Sports bar my Uncle Rory likes to hang out at," Xander said, parking and turning off the car as he did so, "We're getting some real food. That cafeteria shit didn't fill me at all."
"I don't have money," Faith said, sounding slightly defensive as she did so.
"On me," Xander said, "Consider it a 'thank you' for not telling the guys I was there last night."
"…Ok," Faith said, getting out of the vehicle as she did so, "I don't want charity."
"It ain't," Xander said, opening the door for her.
Faith entered the bar and was assaulted with the smells of alcohol and meat, along with some vomit. She looked around quickly: the place was pretty much what any sports bar looked like, with TV's all over the walls with different games and events on, several pool tables spread out amongst the dining tables, a dart board, even a few tables set up for poker.
Xander and Faith sat down in a booth, both putting their feet up as they did so, and waited for the waitress to come. Shortly before an uncomfortable silence washed over them, the waitress came, setting down two menus for them.
"Welcome to Dave's Bar and Grill," she said, barely paying attention to them, "Can I take you…"
She paused as she looked at them, specifically Xander, and went pale as she saw him. Xander looked up at as he realized she had paused, and also paled slightly upon seeing her.
"Ooh, this should be good," Faith said to herself, smiling and putting the menu away as she sat back to enjoy the mayhem, "I assume you two know each other?"
"…You could say that," Xander replied, shaking himself as he did so, "Hello, Heidi."
Heidi Barrie shuddered at his voice, memories that had haunted her for years coming back in a single blow.
"Xander," she returned stiffly, with barely concealed anger.
"How've you been," Xander asked, "It's been a while…"
"Yeah, about two years," Heidi replied, raking a hand through her short blonde hair to compose herself.
"So, what's the what," Faith asked, ignoring common courtesy to have some fun, "You two exes? There some sordid story I wanna hear about?"
"We're not exes," Xander explained, or tried to, "Um…"
"We used to be friends," Heidi explained, evening her tone and directing her voice at Xander, "We had a falling out. Right?"
Xander stared at her for a moment, then nodded, saying, "Right."
"Um, can I say something," Faith interjected, and when they both looked at her, she said, "Do I look like an idiot? There's dirt, and I wanna hear it!"
"I don't know who the fuck you are," Heidi responded, slamming the menus on the table, "But, you can take your crap and shove it up your ass!"
"Heidi," all three turned as a balding man came up behind them, "These two giving you problems?"
"Yeah, yeah they are," Heidi said, practically growling, "I knew these two assholes in high school, and they won't stop flinging shit at me!"
"The Hell are you talking about, bitch," Faith shouted, standing up in her booth.
"Stop," Xander said, getting up and between the two, "Stop! Look, we'll get outta here. I'm sorry about this."
"…I think it would be best if you didn't come back here," the man 'advised,' turning to Heidi as he did so, "Come to my office when you get through cleaning your area."
"Yes, Sir," Heidi muttered, glaring at both Faith and Xander as she did so.
"We're going," Xander said, getting up as he did so.
Faith glared at Heidi for a moment, before shrugging and getting out of the booth, following Xander as he headed to the car.
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"What the Fuck was that, Faith," Xander demanded of her as they left the bar.
"That was me trying to have some fun," Faith said back, not liking his tone as she slid into her seat, "The bitch got defensive as Hell for no reason!! And she outright lied about it, too!!"
"So," Xander said back, getting into the car, "Did you ever think that, oh, I dunno, IT WASN'T ANY OF YOUR GODDAMNED BUSINESS!!"
Faith literally jumped back in her seat, seemingly trying to melt into his car. Xander glared at her for a long moment, before he noticed something. He'd thought that he'd seen it before…while he and Willow had been talking to her, while they'd…fucked…but, he could see it now…clear as day.
"…I'm sorry," Xander said to her, backing down and melting into his seat, letting her know that he wouldn't start again, "It's just…she's been through a lot because of…because of what happened to us."
Faith stared at him as she straightened up, falling back into her tough girl mask.
"That don't mean shit to me," Faith said, trying to be tough but showing weakness as she spoke, "You speak to me like that again, and I'll kill you."
"I'm sorry," Xander repeated, "It's just…do you remember hearing that I've been possessed before?"
"Yeah, by a soldier on Halloween, right," Faith asked, having heard the story from Willow.
"That happened, but it wasn't my first possession," Xander said, "My first possession…happened two years ago, at the Sunnydale Zoo. Heidi and her friends were the mean kids of the school…they cornered a kid and taunted him to death. I went in, got him out, and…"
"What happened," Faith asked, sensing the seriousness of the situation.
"…All five of us were possessed…by hyenas," Xander said.
"Those things from the Lion King," Faith wondered.
"Yeah, but worse," Xander said, his voice raw with emotion, "I did some things while I was possessed…things that I wish to God I could take back…but, Heidi and her friends got off worse than I ever could imagine."
"What happened," Faith asked again, transfixed by his state of mind.
"…They…killed our principal," Xander said, a tear coming to his eye, "They ate him…"
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Heidi walked out the back of the bar a little over an hour later, cussing up a storm as she headed for her car. That brunette bitch had gotten her fired, and she had needed that job so badly! It was hard as Hell to get a job without a high school diploma, let alone when you have as much emotional baggage as she did.
She closed her eyes, opening them up quickly as she saw his face again.
Life hadn't been easy for any of her friends since…IT happened. They'd all dropped out, made their way to different places. Kyle was in LA, doing gay porn to get by. Tor was the only one that she didn't know about. He'd disappeared about a week later, never to be seen again. Rhonda, though, was the only one to get anywhere. She had studied to become a chemist before IT happened. With that background, she'd gotten into the Sunnydale drug business shortly after. Far as she knew, Rhonda didn't use, but you could never be sure. The drug, though, was something else. It was part ecstasy, part something else that she had no idea about. She'd found a batch of it in her mom's house, back when she was dating some guy named 'Ted,' mixed in with some cookies. One night, they'd shared some of those cookies and spent the rest of the night in a daze. They weren't powerful, not by a cookie, but they'd each eaten at least ten in a go.
Her drugs sold fast, and they technically weren't illegal because they were created with stuff that could be bought over the counter. At least, they weren't illegal yet. With the drug money, Rhonda had been able to buy a place in town, and had gotten a job as an assistant manager at one of the mall stores, courtesy of the owner who was a regular user. Still, Heidi didn't mind getting high on occasion, but she was very wary about crossing the law. After all, she was a…
She didn't continue that thought, choosing instead to pull out a cigarette, lighting it as she did so. She leaned against her beat-up lemon car and took a few, long drags of it, before sighing and dropping it, stepping on it as she did so.
She got into her car and buckled up, preparing to start it when she felt something cold and sharp touch her neck.
Oh, God, she thought to herself.
"Keep silent and you won't die," a grim, but familiar voice whispered to her.
Risking it, Heidi looking into the rear mirror, and gasped as she recognized the face.
"O'Toole," she muttered, "What the Hell-"
"Didn't you hear me, bitch," Jack muttered, pressing his second-favorite knife into her neck, "Shut up, only speak when spoken to."
Heidi kept silent, silently praying for her life as…IT rattled in her mind, begging to be let loose.
"Harris and the girl," Jack whispered, "What did they say to you to get you so riled up?"
"It's a long story," Heidi said, hoping to make him get bored and leave.
"Time is all I have," Jack whispered, pressing the blade harder into her neck, drawing blood, "Talk."
Heidi gulped before quickly launching into her story. All the while, Jack kept silent, his gaze changing from contempt to surprise to resentment until, finally, he settled for a morosely satisfied look.
"He cost you your job," Jack whispered to her, "He cost you your friends. He cost you your future. He made you a murderess. You must hate him."
She did. She didn't even try to deny it, merely kept silent, which was enough of an answer for O'Toole.
"Don't you want vindication," Jack whispered to her.
"Yes," Heidi said, even thought IT was telling her to be subservient, to bow to the will of the Alpha…she had rage, though, and that rage was enough to block it out, "What did you have in mind?"
Jack took the blade from her neck, letting her rub it as the blood started to slow. He leaned up to her and gently kissed her neck around the blood, chilling her to the bone.
"You want vengeance," he whispered, "I want vengeance for what he did to me and my friends. Are you in?"
"…Yes," Heidi whispered, out of anger, fear, and hatred, "Yes."
"We'll kill him," Jack whispered to her, reaching down to the seat as he did so, "And any who get in our way. Agreed?"
"…Yeah," Heidi muttered, "What do you got planned?"
"First things first," Jack whispered, "You and me gotta get on the same page."
"And, how do we do that," Heidi asked.
"…You gotta die," Jack moved faster than she thought possible, plunging the needle directly into her neck, filling her body with poison as he pressed it into her. Within minutes, she was dead. He got out and opened the front door, easily lifting her body and carrying it to the trunk. He opened it with her keys and placed her roughly inside. He closed it up and got back inside, cranking it up as he did so. He tossed her registration back into the glove compartment, grateful that she was the only Heidi in the employee parking area, and easily pulled out the driveway.