Smells Like Teen Spirit
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.
A/N: Sorry about the long delay, stuff happens. Enjoy!
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Xander walked into the library the next day, sighing to himself as he set his stuff down on the table. Oz was already there, strumming his bass guitar as he did so.
"Hey," Oz greeted him, "You ready?"
"Yeah, man," Xander said with a small grin, sitting down in the seat opposite him, picking up the bass guitar that Oz had brought.
"Xander, Oz," Giles greeted the two as he came inside, "Oh, having a little jam session, are we?"
"Teaching," Oz stated.
"Really," Giles seemed genuinely surprised to hear that, "Xander, you've never given any inclination towards learning a musical instrument."
"Well, gotta try and pick up A skill," Xander said, "I'm not gonna be able to rely on my good looks and charming personality all my life."
"Indeed," Giles remarked glibly, "I say, I wish I had known about this beforehand, I might've been so inclined as to join you."
"Still can," Oz said simply.
"…You know, I believe I can get a bass guitar from the music room," Giles said with a small smile, "Give me a few moments, will you?"
"Sure thing, G-Man," Xander said with a smile.
"Don't call me that," Giles shouted as he left the library.
"…Why're you doing this, man," Oz asked once Giles was out of earshot, "Honestly."
"…You and me have never been friends," Xander admitted to him, "I think that…if I'd known you better-"
"You could've stopped," Oz said, nodding, "But, it isn't about that…not really."
"…No, it's not," Xander said.
"You're trying to get over her," Oz said, "You love her."
Xander nodded, not even bothering to hide it.
"Give it time, man," Oz said, "For what it's worth…she's always been yours."
"No, she isn't," Xander said with some bitterness, "Not anymore. She's made that very clear."
"She feels guilty," Oz said.
"…Did you ever notice how easy she got off on it," Xander said, "I mean, you forgave her in less than two weeks. Cordy still hates me. And, when it happened, guess who got the blame for it? Not us, like we should have been…me. I got blamed, everyone blamed me, but no one really blamed her. Why?"
"…I wish I had an answer for you, man," Oz said, frowning slightly, "But, all I can say is…I always knew it was both of you. I just love her so much that I could forgive her."
"Whereas Cordelia didn't love me enough to even hear me out," Xander muttered.
"You and her aren't right," Oz said, "You know that."
"…Doesn't make it any better," Xander said.
"…I forgive you," Oz said, causing Xander to look up at him, "I kinda have to. I know how it feels to fall for her. There's no one like my Willow."
Xander smiled, noting the 'my,' and said, "No, Sir, there is not."
"Excellent, you haven't started," Giles said, coming into the room with a bass guitar in hand, "So, how shall we do this?"
"Start off slow, learning how to hit the notes," Oz said, strumming a little.
"Excellent," Giles said with a smile, sitting down amongst the two boys.
"Well, this is odd," the three looked up as Buffy entered the library, "It kinda reminds me of That 70's Show…only, none of you are high…right?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Oz replied.
"I did confiscate a bag of weed from a student today," Giles remarked, smiling to himself, "The boy knew where to get his supply. Very good stuff."
"So, how much have you smoked, you rapscallion," Xander said in a British voice.
"None, of course," Giles said with a smile, "I'm saving it for tonight."
"Can I get in on that," Oz asked.
"Hey, don't leave me out," Xander said.
"Of course, the more the merrier," Giles said glibly, turning to Buffy as he did so, "Would you care to join us, Buffy?"
"Are you serious," Buffy demanded, flabbergasted, "You're honestly going to let Oz and Xander smoke pot with you, pot that you shouldn't have to begin with because," she flipped out for a moment, "IT'S POT!!"
"Do calm down, Buffy," Giles said with a laugh, "You really must learn when someone is fooling with you."
"Yeah," Xander picked up, "C'mon, this is Giles! Do you really think he'd keep any pot he confiscated?"
"Well…alright," Buffy said begrudgingly, "But if you get arrested for possession, I'm not bailing you out."
"Agreed," Giles said with a chuckle, strumming his bass guitar as he did so.
"Good," Buffy said, satisfied, "Xander, can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure," Xander said, still laughing to himself, "Go ahead and start, I'll be back."
Xander and Buffy went into the stacks as Oz and Giles started playing notes. Oz looked back after them for a moment before leaning forward to Giles and saying, "We were joking?"
"No, not really," Giles said with a smirk, "Still, you're not smoking with me, young man. Lord only knows what that would do to a werewolf."
"True," Oz said with a small smile, "I might start trying to blow down houses in search of pigs."
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"Xander, you know you're my friend, right," Buffy said, seemingly nervous.
"Yeah," Xander said, thinking that this might be an apology for keeping him out of the fight two days ago.
"And, as friends, we don't keep any secrets," Buffy said, seemingly leading up to something.
"…Sure," Xander said, getting a bit antsy to see where this was going.
"So…is there anything you wanna tell me," Xander shook his head after a moment, "Really? Nothing involving you…and…Faith, perhaps."
"…Nope, not a thing," Xander said, shaking his head.
"…I saw you and her at her motel, and I heard what you said," Buffy said, displaying her trump card.
"I kinda figured that," Xander said with a small smile, "Buff, do I ask you about what you and Angel do? I'll answer it for ya: no, I don't. And, not just because I really don't wanna know what you and Deadboy get up to behind closed doors. It's mostly cause…well, not mostly cause, but a lot cause there's this great little thing called PRIVACY."
"But, you asked Faith to keep something from me," Buffy demanded, "What is it!!"
"Not telling," Xander said, "Now, I'm gonna go and rejoin G-man and Oz and play for a while, then I'm going to go to the Bronze and hang out for a while."
"But," Buffy started.
"No buts," Xander remarked, walking away, "Not unless you plan on mooning someone, in which case, I recommend Snyder."
Buffy went red at that, effectively ending the conversation.
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"So this Mr. O'Toole killed an innocent waitress, took her body back to her apartment, then resurrected her with voodoo magic," Mayor Richard Wilkins said after Mr. Trick finished his report, "Well…this kid sounds like a real go-getter! Why don't we see if we can accommodate him with a position on our staff? Say, mailboy/assassin?"
"As good of an idea as that is, it's not a good idea," Trick said, "The kid's unstable, and he's a zombie, so if he gets really banged up, it'll take a lot of magic to bring him back up."
"Hmm, an excellent point," Wilkins agreed, "Though, I do like that he's unbalanced. What are your recommendations, Mr. Trick?"
"Leave the kid be," Trick supplied, "He's got it out for that Harris kid that runs with the Slayer. Seems like a case of 'let them pummel each other and pick off what's left.'"
"Ah, an enterprising solution, Mr. Trick," Wilkins said, rising out of his chair, "That's the kind of thinking that I need in my cabinet, someone who thinks outside the box," Wilkins laid his hands on Trick's shoulders, causing him to stiffen up involuntarily, "Keep it up, Mr. Trick. And, for goodness sake, do something about your fingernails! I'd hate to have Jesus continuing cleaning up piles of dust in my office."
"Yes, Sir," Trick replied carefully, but enthusiastically.
"Excellent," Wilkins said, "Well, that certainly puts a bright spot on my day. Who's up for a root beer!?"