Smells Like Teen Spirit
Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.
ҲҲҲ
"You can't be serious," Faith said incredulously as Xander filled her in, "After I told her to drop it? Man, nosy bitch."
"She's curious," Xander said, "I think it's mostly because I mentioned her by name. If I hadn't, she wouldn't be nearly as interested."
"Ya got a point there, X," Faith said, bending over the table to send the 8-ball home, "I win."
"You suck," Xander muttered, handing her a five, which she gleefully took.
"Hey, don't look, boytoy, but guess who just came in," Faith said with a grin.
"I'm sure she's blonde," Xander muttered, "Or, at least bottle-blonde."
"Hi, everyone," he stiffened slightly, but unnoticeably as Willow walked up to them, "What's going on?"
"Not much, Red," Faith said with a grin, "You're looking mighty fine tonight, all spruced up for Wolfie. Don't she, X?"
Xander chose that moment to pick up his drink and take a long gulp, painfully aware of Willow's look, daring him to say anything at all.
"Is Oz here tonight," Xander asked after finishing his drink.
"He's not here yet, but he will be for the band," Willow said with a grin that spoke of her affection for the wolf in droves, sending yet another spike into his heart.
"Tell ya what, Red," Faith said, approaching Willow with a sultry look, "If ya want, me and you could be the groupies for tonight and cheer on the band in a more…vocal way."
"Eep," Willow eeped, turning red as she did so, "I think I'm…yeah."
She took off, heading for the bar to escape Faith. The Dark Slayer stared after her, laughing quietly to herself.
"That was evil, but so very good," Xander said, lifting up his hand, "High 5!"
Faith looked at him like he was the weirdest thing ever.
"Dude, no one 'high fives' anymore," Faith said, shaking her head and walking away from him, "Get with the times, X."
"Hey, the five will return, just you wait," Xander replied, still holding up his hand, "C'mon! …anyone?"
A random guy walked past him and slapped his hand.
"Thank you, Sir," Xander said, taking off to find Faith.
ҲҲҲ
Rhonda Kelley woke up with a headache as the banging on her door intensified.
"Hold your horses, I'm comin'," Rhonda said, looking through the peephole to see who it was.
She was pleasantly surprised to see it was Heidi, her friend from high school, along with a decent looking guy standing behind her. She didn't open the door automatically, though, as she felt that something was off with…IT. She shook her head, forcing IT away from her forefront, and opened the door.
"HEIDI," she shouted in girly joy.
"RHONDA," Heidi echoed with her, and the two hugged and jumped up and down in girlish glee before settling down, "Rhonda, this is my boyfriend, Jack."
Rhonda held out her hand for him to shake, but as she did so, she looked at his face clearly and gasped.
"Jack O'Toole," Rhonda muttered, "Wow…I haven't seen you since I dropped out."
"Yeah, it's been a while," Jack said, though he didn't really remember her.
"Oh, where are my manners," Rhonda said, entering her apartment, leaving the door open for them, "Let me make you some snacks."
"That's ok, Rhonda, we actually came her for something very specific," Heidi said, following her friend with a feral smirk, "We were wondering if we could get our hands on some of your…cookies."
"Oh," Rhonda was smiling now, smelling a sale, "How much?"
"Enough for ten people to get a big buzz," Jack said, following Heidi as she entered.
"Oh, wow," Rhonda said, her smile growing as she did so, "That's a tall order, practically all my supplies. I couldn't let that go for less than 500."
"Ah, c'mon, Rhonda," Heidi said, stalking closer to her, a smile on her face, "We're friends."
"S-sorry, Heidi," Rhonda said, backing up as she did so, feeling IT start to panic, "I can't do it."
"I don't think you understand," Heidi backhanded her, sending her down to the ground, and she leapt on top of her, straddling her and wrapping her hands around her throat, "You're going to give us all that you have, and while we're gone, you're gonna make more for us. Do you understand?"
"…Yes," Rhonda choked out, knowing well enough to back down for her own life, and she could feel IT do the same…and she could tell that Heidi knew that IT was backing down, too, from the smile on her face.
"Good girl," Heidi said, and she took a long whiff from her, "I like that fear. But, don't fret, the Alpha will make you whole again. Later."
Heidi licked the side of her face, then roughly bit down on her lip, easily drawing blood. She backed up to her feet, licking the blood from her lips, and smiled down at her. She kicked her once in the ribs, causing Rhonda to lose her breath for a while and black out for a moment.
"Remember," she heard, "Make more while we're gone."
ҲҲҲ
"Why didn't we kill her," Jack asked as he followed Heidi down the stairs, loaded with the cookies as he did so.
"She needs to learn her place in the pack," Heidi said simply, "When she's broken, then we'll kill her. She'll be more controllable."
Jack stared at her back, thinking to himself, before continuing to follow her, a frown on his face.
ҲҲҲ
"So, c'mon, spill," Buffy demanded as she kicked the vampire in the face, "What's up with you and Xander?"
"Oh, will you drop it, B," Faith said back, punching her vampire in the face then ducking to dodge a slash from its sword, "I'm not gonna tell you!"
"Oh, c'mon," Buffy said, staking her vamp, "You know I'm just gonna bug you till you confess!"
"Well, bug all you want, I'm not," she grunted and staked her vamp, "Telling! I don't do that shit."
"…Ok, but what about other kinds of dirt," Buffy asked, "Like, oh, you and he did it!"
"Whoa, you wanna know about that," Faith asked with a leer, "Wanna take a ride yourself, B?"
"Oh, God, don't do that," Buffy said, walking up beside her, "I love Xander, just…not like that. But, y'know, I am curious. How was he?"
"Well, he wasn't bad," Faith remarked, remembering the night, "He did pretty good for a virgin, and he brought me off three times in thirty minutes."
"OK, not that detailed," Buffy said, cringing.
"Well, these are the facts, B," Faith said, "You don't want 'em, don't ask for 'em."
"Hmm," Buffy hmmed before turning to look around, "Wonder who they were."
"Dunno, but those swords were wicked sharp," Faith said, massaging her arm where one of the vamps had sliced her, "Think we should pick 'em up?"
"Probably not a bad idea," Buffy said, looking around, "Um…where'd they go?"
"Dunno," Faith said, looking around herself, "That's weird."
"Oh, well," Buffy said, "No biggee. So, are you and he goin' steady?"
"I don't go steady, B," Faith said, walking on as she did so, "It ain't me."
"Ok, so, what did he want you to keep from me," Buffy asked, smiling at Faith's groan, "Does he have a crush on someone?"
Faith couldn't help it. For that tiny moment, a flicker of emotion came across her face, and Buffy caught it.
"He does!" she exclaimed, "So, who is it? Do I know her?"
"B, drop it," Faith said sharply.
"So, I know her," Buffy said, thinking to herself, "It's not me, is it?"
"Get over yourself, B," Faith remarked with a sigh, "You really won't drop this, will you?"
"No, you got me curious, I gotta know," Buffy said with an all too happy smile, "So, it isn't me, is it you," Faith stared at her, "Ok…oh, God, it's Cordelia, isn't it? Oh, poor guy, he still can't get over her, even when he knows she'll never take him back."
Faith sighed, hoping that that was it…unfortunately, Buffy took that sigh to mean something else.
"It's not Cordelia," Buffy asked, causing Faith to groan out, "So, who else could…it…oh, no," Buffy looked at her sharply and whispered, "Willow?"
Faith sighed, deciding to end it and prayed that Xander forgave her, so she closed her eyes and nodded her head.
"Oh, my God," Buffy said quietly, "Xander's got a crush on Willow."
"Um…not quite," Faith said, knowing she would regret this, "He's…kinda…in love with her."
"WHAT," Buffy said loudly in surprise, "Xander…Willow…love."
"B, you alright," Faith asked as Buffy suddenly sat down on a bench.
"Xander's in love with Willow," Buffy whispered to herself before looking up at Faith, "How long?"
Faith sighed and sat down beside her, saying, "Long time, since Fang went bad."
"…wow," Buffy said to herself, "Y'know…everything makes sense now."
"What," Faith asked.
"Xander's not the type to cheat on someone just cause he's lusting after someone," Buffy said, "I mean, the guy managed to keep his hands to himself when I was under a love spell, and considering that I came onto him dressed in a raincoat and nothing else, that's pretty damn impressive."
"Really," Faith said, ignoring Buffy's ego for the moment, "I did not know that."
"But, now, knowing that Xander's had these kinda feelings for her for a long time…it just clicks," Buffy said, "Wow…this is not gonna end well."
"How do you know that," Faith wondered.
"Romance on the Hellmouth," Buffy said with a sigh, "It just doesn't end well. Look at me and Angel, and sometime I'll have to tell you about Moloch."
"…Ok," Faith said, "So, if it fits, why did Willow do it?"
"She told me that she found it exciting, knowing that everyone could find out at any moment," Buffy explained.
"…So, she used him," Faith concluded, more to herself than anyone else.
"No, no," Buffy came to her defense, "Willow would never use him like that."
"B, the guy's in love with her," Faith exclaimed, "She had to have picked up on that. And, even if she didn't, it still doesn't change the fact that he loves her and she doesn't love him. Damn, X just can't catch a break."
"Yeah, I've noticed that his love life sucks worse than mine," Buffy said, feeling sad for him, "Still, dramatic improvement with you. I heard you say you'd think about backtracking, whatever that means."
"Not while he's still in love with Willow," Faith said, "I don't replace anybody, I'm not some filler."
"Well, he can't be all that in love with her," Buffy said, "After all, he did sleep with you."
"…Yeah," Faith said quietly, a frown on her face.