Cordelia blinked. What had happened? Where was she? She was lying in a bed, but where? It almost looked like her bedroom, but that was last year's wallpaper. Could her wish have actually come true?
She rushed straight to the mirror. Yes, she definitely looked younger, and the scar from that awful injury had gone. She pulled open a drawer, took out her diary, and checked the date of the last entry: Sunday the 9th of March, 1997. Today must be the tenth; the day she had first met Buffy. Her wish really had come true. Anya must have been a good fairy. This would be such fun.
Cordelia glanced at her clock: 7:30 AM, not long before she would need to leave for school. Soon she could start to work on her revenge. What should she wear? She couldn't remember exactly what had been fashionable two years ago, but being two years ahead might be a bit daring. After a moment though, she shrugged. no one would dare question her fashion choices..
Once dressed, she looked through her diary trying to remind herself what the current gossip was. Soon she was smiling, amused by how trivial it now seemed. For most of the last year she'd had much more important things to think about than who was dating who. She'd never quite stopped paying attention to the social scene but it had fallen into second place, especially after she started dating Xander. When Angel was haunting her nightmares, it seemed a little silly to be worrying about the right shade of lipstick. She had tried not to let her reputation slip — there wouldn't have been any point fighting if she didn't have a life worth defending — but when she had thought she had found real friends she had felt less need to hide her loneliness in a crowd.
Cordelia knew she deserved mass adoration, but compliments from people she cared about had proven as nice. Buffy's company had been nicer than Harmony's could ever be, but now she knew none of them had ever really been her friends. Real friends would not have betrayed her; they would have sided with her. Xander had just been using her, and after all she had gone through for him. How long had they been sneaking round behind her back?
Cordelia pulled her thoughts back to the present day. She'd get nowhere by mulling over past injustices; past, even though they hadn't happened yet. This whole time travel business was going to be very confusing. She knew much of what was going to happen, but she couldn't let anyone know she knew. Giles would probably object to her changing things and Xander would certainly be furious if he found out about her plans for revenge.
Besides, if she told them anything, they'd do everything differently and she'd lose her advantage. She did want to change things, but she needed to be in control of the changes.
What changes did she want to make? She supposed she could always do nothing, just try and stay out of trouble, but that seemed like a waste of her wish, and might not even be possible. It would be the easiest way to keep her popularity, but Marcie and Chris would still come after her, so she would still have to mix with Buffy and her loser friends. She'd probably get dragged into other weird things as well; she couldn't really stand by and let people die, not when she knew what was going on, not when she knew their names. Willow and Ms Calendar would have died on prom night without her, and she couldn't let that happen. Nor was that the only time she'd saved lives.
Of course, that had mostly been luck; she was no Buffy, just an amateur. Saving the world was Buffy's job, not hers. They had never really needed her. Being involved had brought heartbreak and almost death, though there were a few pleasant memories too. Others had been less lucky; Jenny had died because she knew Buffy. That was why Cordelia had avoided the weird stuff ever since the accident, until she'd been tempted by the chance of a wish.
Now though, she did have a special gift. She could make a difference. She could use her knowledge of the future to save the lives of those who Buffy had not been able to save, like Ms Calendar. Her eyes opened wide with sudden realisation; she could even keep Angel from ever losing his soul. She would have to be involved to do that.
Besides, if she didn't get involved in the weird stuff, she wouldn't be able to get her revenge on Xander and Willow.
What did she want to do to Xander? He deserved to suffer. She remembered the words of her wish, 'make all his friends reject him, leaving him miserable and completely alone,' and smiled. First, she would make friends with them all. Next, she'd trick Xander into falling out with both Buffy and Willow, so that she was the only friend he had left. Finally she would find some excuse to dump Xander, leaving him humiliated and completely friendless. The sooner she started the better. Perhaps she could get to Xander before he fell for Buffy. She might even be able to stop Buffy from falling for Angel. She should start today.
No time like the present, she thought, and laughed.
What were the problems? She'd have to hang with Willow, which would be bad for her reputation, but revenge was more important; revenge, and the chance to make the world better. Willow wasn't bad company either, despite her odd priorities. Cordelia could tolerate her for a few months while she set up Xander's punishment, then arrange something suitably humiliating for Willow.
She'd try her best to keep her status, but it would be difficult. She'd have to hide her involvement with Buffy from Harmony, and her knowledge of the future from Buffy without getting confused about who knew what.
If she had to make a choice, well, dumping Harmony would earn her major points with Willow and Xander, making it easier to punish them. Besides, she'd still be able to get her place at the top back whenever she wanted it. Harmony would never be more than a nuisance; never be able to stop Cordelia from regaining her rightful status.
She'd also have to be careful not to give her secret away. She wasn't quite the same person she had been eighteen months ago, which was only yesterday, but would anyone notice the change? Giles and Buffy had never met her before, so they wouldn't be able to notice anything odd. Xander might, but he would be easily fooled. Willow would be the hardest person to trick but, as long as Cordelia was subtle, Willow wouldn't be able to prove anything. She'd just have to try not to sound too knowledgeable, but Xander hadn't told her everything that had happened in Buffy's first few months, so she shouldn't have any problems acting surprised.
Cordelia glanced at her clock. 8:37 AM. She was going to be late for school. She dashed out of her room. At least she would still be in time for second period, when she had met Buffy.
Cordelia could barely believe it. Buffy had sat down next to her without even a flicker of recognition, more confirmation that she really had gone back in time. In just a few moments she would be rewriting history, for the better. This was wonderful. She didn't even have to bother listening to the teacher. She already knew it all. Cordelia smiled broadly, and watched Buffy.
"If you'll look at the map on page 63," the teacher said, "you can trace the spread of the disease into Rome."
Seeing Buffy frantically looking for a textbook, Cordelia offered to share hers. Buffy smiled gratefully, looking almost pathetically pleased. She seemed so young and innocent; Cordelia would never have guessed that the world rested on those shoulders.
The bell rang, and they stood up to leave.
"Hi. I'm Cordelia," she said, smiling, "and you must be Buffy."
What should she say next? She needed to sound like someone Buffy could like, without sounding like she knew too much. She'd have to lie too, something she always preferred to avoid, but she didn't have much choice. Perhaps she should try and stick close to what she had said the first time, if she could remember it. "You're from LA, right? I'd kill to live so close to that many shoes."
Buffy seemed slightly amused and began to speak, but Cordelia ploughed straight on. "I heard you had to leave because you'd burnt down a gym full of, um, rats".
Cordelia had almost slipped then, but Buffy couldn't have noticed. It would be best to change the subject though. "If you're looking for a textbook of your very own, there's probably a few in the library. I'll show you the way."
Buffy followed Cordelia as she headed towards the library.
"Seen the librarian yet?" Cordelia asked.
Buffy shook her head. "No, first day, remember."
She didn't know Giles was her watcher yet then. So many secrets, and only Cordelia knew them all. She smiled. Why not give Buffy a hint? "He's English. Lovely accent, but no style. Just started here."
Buffy looked nervous for a moment, then feigned indifference. Odd, Cordelia had thought Buffy would be pleased at meeting a possible watcher.
"Not like you," Cordelia said. "You've got style. But then, LA. You can skip the coolness test."
Buffy smiled. "Great. I hate tests."
"If you hang with me and mine you'll be accepted in no time," Cordelia added with a reassuring smile. That had sounded friendly, but Buffy wasn't looking too impressed. Cordelia groaned inwardly. By trying to sound normal, she'd ended up sounding shallow.
She looked around, trying to think of the best words, and spotted Willow. A few compliments here would make her look better to Buffy, and get her on the right side of Willow. Of course, since she didn't want to make Willow suspicious she'd have to be careful not to sound too friendly, but that wouldn't be a problem. Willow had stolen Xander's heart; she didn't deserve Cordelia's friendship.
"Hi, Willow," Cordelia said, nudging Buffy towards her, "This is Buffy. She's new."
Willow started babbling apologies and began to move away, but Cordelia grabbed her by the shoulder. She had forgotten how nervous Willow had once been. Fighting dark forces had really done wonders for her self-esteem, which was a mixed blessing. It had made her more useful to Buffy; it had also given her the confidence to seduce Xander.
"Willow's a lovely person," Cordelia said, with as much conviction as she could muster, "and the teachers think she's a genius, but hanging with her is social death. Just look at her clothes. Does that bother you?"
Cordelia looked at Buffy, who seemed quite embarrassed. Buffy began to speak, but Cordelia interrupted. She already knew Buffy well, so there was no point listening to her. Cordelia decided to continue complimenting Willow. She began speaking quietly, not wanting to be overheard.
"I do hope not. Willow is much better company than any of my sheep, despite her flaws," Cordelia said, carefully smirking just enough not to make Willow suspicious. "Mass adoration is nice but real friendship is better, if you can find trustworthy friends. I'm getting a little tired of being worshipped. Besides, being popular is hard work, and I'm sure Buffy has other hobbies to keep her busy."
Noticing that Willow was starting to look confused, Cordelia reviewed her last few words. There was nothing in them that should puzzle Willow, so it must be the unusually friendly tone. "I'm not just saying that because I'm frightened you could be competition either," Cordelia quickly added, before Willow could get suspicious.
It was the literal truth, though Cordelia knew it wouldn't be believed, but it should explain the subtle changes in her behaviour to Willow. She might be quite smart, but Willow didn't understand people well enough to see through Cordelia.
"Willow might have less fashion sense than the average corpse but she'll be a real help with your homework. She's a skilled hacker and amateur wi-, um, bitch. You could trust her with your life, but not your boyfriend. I'm sure she'd be a loyal friend to you, most of the time."
Cordelia paused thoughtfully. Watching her words was beginning to make her nervous and she was running out of compliments for Willow; best to cut the conversation short before she said too much. "Come on, Buffy. We've got to get you to the library."
Cordelia began to pull Buffy further along the corridor but before she could get away Willow spoke up, sounding annoyed. "Bitch? I've never, I mean, when have I — boyfriends?"
Cordelia smiled. It was good to see Willow showing a spark of self-confidence, even if it left her in an awkward position. She tried to think of something Willow had already done. "I was trying to save something in computer class. You said 'deliver', so I pressed delete."
Willow smiled briefly, then looked puzzled.
"But I didn't," Willow protested.
Cordelia winced. She'd been sure that had already happened. She turned to Buffy and said dismissively, "She's repressing. Now let's go. You can talk to her at lunch."
"This is the library," Cordelia announced. "I've got to go now, but I'll see you in gym, and at the Bronze tonight."
"The Bronze?" Buffy asked.
"It's the only club worth going to in Sunnydale. It's in the bad part of town."
"Where's that?"
"A block from the good part of town. We don't have a whole lot of town. I'll tell you more in gym, after you tell me absolutely everything there is to know about you."
Buffy looked panicked, nodded vaguely, and stepped into the library, muttering under her breath.
Cordelia watched Buffy step through the library doors, wishing she could eavesdrop. She didn't want to disrupt Buffy's first meeting with Giles, but she'd almost kill to see it.
Instead, she sighed and walked away, towards her next class
Soon, she began to smile. Everything was going just as she'd planned. Everyone had been completely fooled, and she'd begun to work her way into Buffy's circle. She hadn't even had to lie much, not technically, but Cordelia couldn't fool herself. She had been dishonest, if only out of necessity. She wasn't scrupulously honest, but she had never liked lying; particularly not to people whose opinions she valued. If she wasn't honest with them, why would they be honest with her? It would be best to stick quite close to the literal truth. It might be technically dishonest, but it felt better than outright lies.
Halfway to her next class Cordelia paused. Someone was screaming, over by the gym — not that unusual, but it tickled a memory. Hadn't Aura found a dead body in her locker?
She needed to check. If she knew what was going on, she would feel safer, because she'd know what precautions to take. She might also be able to impress Buffy with her perceptiveness. Smiling, she hurried towards the screams.
Twenty seconds later, Cordelia stepped into the locker room and looked around. Half a dozen girls were cowering against the far wall. Aura was screaming hysterically but no-one was trying to calm her. The other girls all seemed to be on the edge of panic themselves. No teachers had arrived yet, so she would have to take command.
"Aura, take deep breaths and think about shopping. Remember, it's just a dead body. It can't hurt you. And you five, stop whimpering. Go and find a teacher."
The third period had just started, so all the teachers would be shut in their rooms. It would be a few moments before anyone arrived. Cordelia watched the girls leave, then turned to look at the body. She didn't recognise him, but he didn't look much older than her. If she wanted to know more she might need to touch it.
Did she really want to do that? Perhaps she could just tell Buffy about it, as she originally had. That wouldn't do anything for her image though. Before her role in Buffy's gang had been little more than that of Xander's girl, making it easy for them to drop her when Xander did. That had been fine before, but this time her needs were different. This time she would need to take a less peripheral role, making herself indispensable. She couldn't reveal her foreknowledge, but a willingness to get her hands dirty would certainly help. After all, Buffy was technically a necrophiliac and neither Willow nor Xander were strangers to the morgue. The more she seemed to have in common with them the easier it would be to position herself in the centre of their group, where she needed to be.
It had only taken Cordelia a few seconds to decide it would be useful to examine the corpse. She took three deep breaths then knelt on the floor beside it. Now that she was closer, she could see he had a large bite mark on his neck. She smiled, relieved it was something as normal as a vampire. Dealing with an unfamiliar weirdness while she was still adjusting to the result of her wish might have been a little too challenging.
She laughed, amused at her own thoughts. There weren't many people who thought of vampires as normal, but then she was no longer precisely normal herself; her little wish had made her almost as freakish as Willow. Cordelia took a second look at the corpse. There was no sure way of telling if it would rise but blood on its mouth would be a bad sign. Her hands trembling, she reached out to nudge the corpse so she could check.
"Cordelia?" Aura interrupted, "What're you doing?"
Cordelia frowned. She had forgotten Aura was still present. She stood and turned to face her. Aura was still pale with shock but she had stopped screaming. Cordelia decided to avoid the question since Aura would soon repress everything odd anyway.
"Good," Cordelia said instead. "You've calmed down. Let's get out of here."
Cordelia gently ushered Aura out of the locker room and had her lean against the corridor wall. Moments later, Principal Flutie ran round the corner. As he began, rather ineffectually, to take charge of the situation, Cordelia lost herself in nostalgia. Flutie had been such a nice principal, so much better than the odious Snyder. Half daydreaming, Cordelia went along with Flutie's inept instructions while imagining how she would save his life.
He soon dismissed her, telling her she would be allowed to miss the rest of her classes that day, because of the shock. She was free to do anything she liked; she could even go home.
Cordelia quickly ate her lunch alone. She needed to be free to interact with Buffy, so she didn't want to get entangled with her followers, but she couldn't eat with Willow's group this soon either. Much as she hated being alone, she needed to make some sacrifices.
The moment she had finished, she walked over to find Buffy. She soon saw her, sat outside with Willow, Xander and Jesse. Hadn't he died tonight? Talking to Jesse was going to be awkward.
Cordelia paused, trying to remember what he had been like; what they had all been like. Jesse had had a hopeless crush on her but she had barely noticed him. From what little she could remember, he had just been a poor copy of Xander. Keeping him alive would be her first challenge but Cordelia was sure she could manage. She had already got the measure of Willow, when they had met in the corridor earlier that day. Willow wouldn't be a problem. Finally Cordelia's eyes turned to Xander, and she groaned.
Xander was talking to Buffy, his every gesture radiating lust. It was already too late to stop Xander noticing her. Buffy had certainly worked fast. Xander looked younger and softer now than when she had last seen him. He didn't look brave enough to face down even a young vampire, let alone walk into the Master's lair. Still, she knew what potential he had, and how shapely a body was hidden under those ugly clothes.
Cordelia tilted her head slightly, thinking. She was still slightly fond of Xander, despite his betrayal. She had loved him for nearly a year. That couldn't just be forgotten overnight, no matter what Willow had made him do. It was difficult to recall exactly what she had felt about him eighteen months earlier, but she supposed she had always been vaguely attracted to him. That was probably why he loomed so large in her memories of these days. He might have been a complete loser with no dress sense, which was why she had never consciously considered him before she got involved with Buffy's gang, but he was witty, charming and decent too.
Cordelia had sometimes even found herself almost looking forward to his insults. Compliments were easy to come by, and mostly empty, but Xander's insults had made her feel alive. No-one else had ever done that, until Buffy had arrived. She had often felt like a ghost, all surface and no substance, but Xander had made her feel real. There had been no romance in their spats, but there had been passion. Xander had been the only fire that could warm her soul, that could fill her with life.
It might have been a little unhealthy to have been so enamoured of insults, but he had been the only one who had seen beyond her surface. Even his hatred had been better than having no-one who cared about the real Cordelia. Her parents had never really cared and her fellow students had only seen her surface, but Xander had always been able to touch her soul, even when she hated him.
As Cordelia looked at Xander and remembered happier times, she realised it would not be easy to hurt him in cold blood. She had been quite angry when she had made her wish but now she'd had time to calm down she was having second thoughts. Cordelia had never been that malicious, and Xander was quite cute.
Cordelia did deserve revenge though. The memory of her humiliation should give her the willpower to go through with her plot. She had to befriend Buffy's gang anyway, if she was going to be able to save lives, so she might as well start with that, then see what happened. Xander definitely should pay for his crime but she would have months to think of a method less troublesome to her conscience. If she couldn't find such a punishment for him, she would always be able to fall back on her original plan.
Cordelia smiled. Perhaps, when Xander had suffered enough, she could accept him back, at least if he learnt to be properly respectful of her dignity.
Cordelia walked towards Buffy, listening to the conversation.
"Pepper spray is so passé," Buffy said defensively.
So Buffy hadn't told anyone about her secret yet. Cordelia frowned slightly. That would make conversation trickier. Cordelia sat down between Buffy and Willow. She decided to throw Xander a couple of compliments before she got down to business. If they thought she'd fallen for him it would be easier to join their circle and she'd be able to get a little pleasure from him before she dumped him. She'd just have to be careful not to move too fast.
"Buffy, you're doing well," Cordelia said, smiling insincerely. "You've been in school three hours and you've already got two wonderful friends. Xander may be a dumb loser with ugly clothes but he is also charming, witty and brave. Those two are the two nicest people in this school, after me."
"Xander can't be your boyfriend though," Cordelia added hastily, before Buffy got the wrong idea. "He's already got two girls chasing him. He doesn't need a third."
Cordelia noticed a confused look on Xander's face, then realised she had forgotten about Jesse. "Oh, and Jesse's adequate too."
Xander began speaking, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "To what to we owe the privilege of this visit, O Queen C? There are no mirrors here."
"Obviously," Cordelia retorted, "Nobody would ever wear your clothes if they'd ever been near a mirror. No, I'm here to tell Buffy gym's been cancelled due to the extreme dead guy in the locker."
"Dead?" Buffy asked, sounding concerned.
"Totally dead. Way dead. And - " Cordelia replied.
Xander interrupted. "So, not just a little dead then."
Cordelia smiled at his wit, then continued speaking. "He's got a great big bite mark on his neck, probably rats. I know doctors can work miracles, but he's permanently dead."
Buffy was looking interested.
"Rats? On campus?" Willow said, sounding worried.
"The cafeteria's been serving some very small chicken legs," Xander said, smiling suggestively.
Willow looked disgusted but Cordelia just ignored him.
"What else might be on school grounds that would bite people in the neck?" she said, deliberately not looking at Buffy. Trying to sound thoughtful, Cordelia continued, "I've never seen a corpse before. It was … odd, quite a shock."
"That why you're sitting next to Willow?" Xander asked.
Cordelia winced. She hadn't thought about that but had just acted out of habit. Still, the supposed shock would explain it. She'd just have to be more careful about her body language in future. Before she could reply Jesse spoke, sounding concerned.
"If you want a shoulder to cry on," he began, then leeringly added, "or to nibble on…"
Cordelia looked at Jesse, trying to decide how to treat him. He was going to die tonight, unless she could save him. She'd do her best, but she wasn't sure how he'd originally died, and she didn't have much time to think of a plan. She was confident she would soon be rewriting history as she saw fit, but right now she was just a beginner. Jesse might still die tonight and he didn't even know he was in any danger.
Cordelia stood up and gently ruffled Jesse's hair. "Tomorrow perhaps. Just don't let me find your corpse in my locker, ever. See you guys."
Cordelia walked briskly away from Buffy's group, heading for the library. She wanted to hear what Buffy would say about the corpse and accidentally overhearing that conversation might be a good excuse for her knowing weird stuff.
Cordelia quietly opened the library doors. The place looked the same as it always had, dim, musty and dull, not at all like she would have imagined the headquarters of a superhero to be. Giles was stood facing the shelves, doing librarian things. She crept past him, went upstairs, and hid herself in the rearmost aisle, after checking the shelves. None of the books were occult though, just dull tomes about ancient history.
Leaning against a bookcase, Cordelia waited patiently for Buffy to come in.
Afer a few minutes she stiffened. Someone had just entered the library, and they were heading her way. She listened nervously as the footsteps got closer then sighed in relief. The person had gone into the next aisle. She picked up a book and peeked through the gap to see who it was, then smiled.
It was Xander. He was standing there, looking at textbooks. Unusual, Willow had probably forced him in here, which must have been how Xander had found out about Buffy the first time round. He'd accidentally put himself in an ideal position for eavesdropping.
As Cordelia was putting the book back on the shelf she heard Buffy's voice drift up. She couldn't quite catch every word, but Buffy was speaking loudly enough for Cordelia to get the gist of the conversation. To her surprise Buffy was claiming she didn't care about the vampires. That couldn't be true. If it was, she would have ignored the evidence completely, but here she was, telling Giles the bad news.
Buffy had always seemed so devoted to her duty; she was always there when evil threatened, and she hardly ever complained about the effects on her social life.
Cordelia would never have guessed Buffy had ever been reluctant to be the slayer, but she could clearly hear her trying not to get involved in weirdness. She sounded quite bitter about it, almost whiney. Cordelia remembered how Buffy had claimed she had once been popular, before she was chosen, and felt a brief pang of sympathy. Cordelia could easily imagine herself in Buffy's shoes; she would not have enjoyed being chosen. It had been a year though; Buffy should have accepted her destiny by now.
It sounded as though the conversation had moved into the corridor. Cordelia decided to sneak out of the library before Giles could get back. She didn't want to get stuck in there for half the afternoon; she needed to go shopping.
"What!"
Cordelia recognised Xander's voice, sounding understandably shocked. She quickly stepped up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Interesting conversation," she said calmly, "but I don't think we want them to know we overheard."
Cordelia tugged Xander out of the library and into the nearest broom closet. He seemed to be too shocked to put up any resistance, probably because of what he had just heard. Cordelia smiled. Seeing Xander in a closet had so many pleasant associations for her, despite his eventual treachery. Xander blinked and stood up straight, looking annoyed.
"You forgotten your pills today?" he shouted, then in a quieter voice added, "I don't know who seems crazier, you or Buffy. Willow said you were acting weird this morning but Buffy believes in vampires. Vampires! That's just too - "
Cordelia knew how to keep Xander quiet. He fell silent as Cordelia placed her left forefinger on his lips, her right hand by his ear and leaned forward, tantalisingly close, with a seductive smile on her face. "Keep it quiet. We don't want anyone to overhear this conversation. Let's look at this rationally."
Cordelia thought briefly. She needed to persuade Xander to overlook whatever subtle flaws in her act Willow had noticed and persuade him not to make a fuss about what he had just overheard. The second shouldn't be too difficult, since he hadn't the first time round. As for the first, well she could always appeal to his ego, or claim shock. Perhaps she could even do both. Cordelia stepped back slightly and began speaking.
"Giles also believes in vampires, and he wasn't surprised that Buffy did. He's English and Buffy's from LA so they can't have met before today. Principal Flutie wouldn't hire crazy people and Buffy seemed sane when she spoke to me. What're the chances that two crazy people arrive here the same week, and they both believe the same thing? It's either that or something weird's going on, perhaps not vampires, but something odd. Surely the best thing is just to watch and see what happens; it might be interesting. Telling people you think Buffy is mad won't get you a date with her."
When Cordelia paused in her speech, Xander interrupted. "I don't care what you think. You can't tell me what to do. If I wanted to tell people I would but I'm not like you."
Xander paused, looking worried. "I just wish I knew what it meant."
Cordelia gave Xander an encouraging pat on the arm. "Good. If she's got problems, she'll need friends like you and Willow."
They had only have been faking their friendship towards her, but she was almost sure that everyone else in Buffy's gang really had been friends.
Xander frowned, clearly puzzled. "That's the other thing. Why are you being so not Cordelia? You've given me almost as many compliments as insults."
Cordelia thought a moment, then replied, "Can you keep my secrets?"
When Xander nodded Cordelia smiled. She knew she couldn't trust him not to cheat on her but on everything else he was pretty reliable. He definitely knew how to keep secrets.
"Three reasons," she said, "What I told Willow this morning — you know about that?"
Xander nodded again.
"But I don't believe that," Xander objected. "You've only ever been interested in fashion and status."
"Can't a girl change?"
"Not overnight. It's just too weird."
"None of my so-called friends really care about me, not like you, Willow, and Jesse care about each other. I realised that months ago."
Xander looked embarrassed. "We're just friends," he insisted. "But why the sudden change? What's going on?"
Cordelia sighed. Perhaps she had been slightly too eager to ingratiate herself. It might have been easier to act exactly as she had done the first time until she saw a vampire, which would have given her ample excuse for personality changes, assuming she could have kept up the act that long. Pretending to be her younger self while manipulating people without making anyone suspicious was slightly harder than she had expected, but she would surely get the hang of it within a few days. It was too late to change plans now anyway.
"That's 'cause of the other two reasons," Cordelia replied. "Recently I've noticed a few weird things about Sunnydale, which is also why I was interested in what Buffy said."
"This is a perfectly normal town," Xander objected. "Nothing odd ever happens here. No vampires, no werewolves, no zombies, no demons, just normal people."
Cordelia almost burst out laughing. "Now just imagine how Harmony would react if she learned I was interested in that stuff."
Xander smiled. "She'd make you a laughingstock."
"But I don't think you will, will you? And I know Willow's smart and you're, well —" Cordelia faked a shy smile. "Anyway I thought you two could help discover the truth without letting anyone else know what we're doing. It just took a while to get the nerve to approach you. I'm being nice to you, so you won't say anything, right?"
Xander nodded. "You've got a strange idea of nice. I'm not saying anything but if you want our help you should stop insulting Willow. She's sensitive."
Cordelia scowled. Even if she spent twenty-four hours a day insulting Willow it wouldn't even be one percent of what that girl deserved.
Unfortuantely, punishing her would have to wait until Xander wasn't in any position to object; he was genuinely fond of Willow, not just blinded to her many faults by lust. Probably, he'd always loved her like a sister. It was no wonder he hadn't been able to keep his hands to himself when Willow flaunted herself at him. She might play the innocent, but Willow knew how to get her way. Visions of Willow seducing Xander danced through Cordelia's head. Xander should have resisted though. She'd make him pay for that, punish him for being so weak-willed.
"Can't she cope with the truth? I don't like lying to people."
"There's a little thing called tact, you might have heard of it."
"Tact is just not saying true stuff. It's no better than lies."
"Are you sure you're human?"
"Yes," Cordelia replied firmly. "I'm as normal as anyone in Sunnydale."
Xander shook his head in disbelief. "Just be gentle. Stop hurting Willow and we'll try and help you. "
Cordelia smiled. Xander might only be humouring her but that didn't matter. He would soon be seeing the weirdness for himself, after which he would accept that the minor abnormalities in her behaviour were due to her shock at discovering that weirdness herself. She wouldn't need to use her third reason, which was a relief. Her being attracted to Xander would have been excuse enough for odd behaviour, and appealed to his pride, but it would have been an embarrassing claim to make and he probably wouldn't have believed it without more preparation. She'd better cut this conversation short though, before Xander could ask awkward questions.
"Thanks," Cordelia said. "If we stay here much longer we'll be found. I'll try and arrange somewhere we can meet discretely later. I don't want Harmony to know I'm talking to you. I know my crowd are shallow, but they're the only friends I've got. Flutie's given me the day off, since I saw that body, so I'm going shopping."
Cordelia hurried out of the closet before Xander could reply. She had a lot to do to prepare for the evening, and the mall would be the best place to start.
When Cordelia arrived home three hours later she spread her haul out on her bed. She looked at the odd assortment of purchases spread out on her bed; the jewellery, the almanac, and the large crosses, and then she smiled.
Cordelia knew she had no chance of killing even a young vampire single-handedly, but this equipment should be enough to stop the vampires killing her. All of the rings were embossed with crosses, which should make her punches sting, and the crosses on her necklace and earrings should make vampires recoil from her throat. A nice large cross would keep most vampires at a safe distance; well, most of the younger ones anyway, the rest would just knock it out of her hand. Cordelia checked the sunset time in her almanac, then went downstairs for tea.
After Cordelia had eaten and selected a stunning pure black ensemble to wear to the Bronze, she sat back and thought about her plans for saving Jesse. Xander had told her a bit about what had happened to him, but that had been nearly a year ago. She vividly remembered Buffy attacking her with a stake though. What had Xander said? Buffy had been looking for some vampire that had picked up Willow. Xander had shown Buffy the way to the nearest cemetery. When they had arrived they had found Jesse there with some other vampire. Xander had said her name, Darla or suchlike, and something else Cordelia couldn't quite recall. Well, it couldn't be that important.
The easiest way to keep Jesse safe would probably be to dance with him herself. With her in his arms no vampire would have a chance of luring Jesse out of the Bronze. However, the vampire would just pick another victim and her reputation would suffer. Cordelia didn't want to save Jesse at the expense of someone else's life.
No, Cordelia decided; she would wait till Darla had selected Jesse, follow them both out of the Bronze, hit the vampire with a cross to distract her from Jesse, then try and intimidate her into running away. Cordelia had bluffed vampires before; she was sure she could do it again. Most of them were just plain stupid. Cordelia would just need to be ready to run if Darla tried fighting. She might head for the cemetery, leading the vampire right into Buffy's stake, or she could just run back to the Bronze, but either way Jesse would be safe, and he would owe her his life.
Gaining an advantage like that was worth taking small risks for, and with her foreknowledge the risks would be small.
Cordelia dressed, put on her jewellery, slipped the cross into her purse, and stepped out into the night, completely confident of her inevitable success.
Cordelia sat at her regular table in the Bronze, half listening to her friends inanely chattering as she looked around. Buffy was talking to Willow, Giles was up on the balcony and Jesse was approaching Cordelia, but Xander wasn't there yet. Once he arrived, she'd know the excitement was about to begin. She would have to ditch her friends first though; she didn't want them following her when she tried trailing vampires.
Cordelia stood up, slipped past Jesse without a word, and moved onto the dance floor. The sheep tried to follow her there, but Cordelia had moved too quickly and lost them in the crowd. Cordelia glanced round the Bronze again, checking that nothing had happened. Xander still hadn't arrived yet but Buffy had gone to talk to Giles and Willow was talking to a suspicious looking boy in dated clothes. Cordelia wasn't sure, but the instincts acquired over a year with Buffy's gang told her the boy might be a vampire. It was mainly his clothes, but his body language was subtly off, too predatory.
As the vampire led Willow out of the Bronze, Cordelia had to restrain herself from following them. She knew Willow was going to survive; it was Jesse who needed her protection. Cordelia glanced up at the balcony. Buffy had clearly noticed the vampire and was hurrying after Willow. Jesse was talking to some girl. Cordelia turned to watch him, ignoring Buffy. That might be Darla he was talking to.
After a few minutes, the girl led Jesse out of the back entrance. Cordelia took one last glance around the Bronze, but Buffy and Giles had vanished. They must have left while she had been watching Jesse. Cordelia took two deep breaths and summoned her courage. She could do this. If she didn't, Jesse would certainly die. He needed her.
Cordelia made her way across the crowded dance floor and followed Jesse out of the Bronze, her right hand clutching at the cross inside her purse. The back alley was empty. Cordelia sighed; it had taken her two minutes to cross the dance floor and get out of the Bronze, giving Jesse and his vampire girl an annoying head start. At least she knew where they were going. Cordelia hurried after them.
Five minutes later, Cordelia paused at the end of an alleyway and peered left round the corner, not wanting to get herself ambushed. Jesse was about five hundred yards ahead. The vampire tugged him into an alley that, Cordelia knew, led straight to the cemetery.
Cordelia frowned. That would be the fifth alley this evening. Why couldn't Darla stick to proper roads? These alleys were making her clothes dirty. Still, she was gaining on Jesse. At this rate she'd catch up with them just before they reached the cemetery. Cordelia glanced right, but there was no sign of Xander or Buffy. Perhaps they'd already got there.
One minute later Cordelia stepped out of the alley, directly opposite the cemetery gates. Jesse was leaning on them, being bitten by Darla.
"Hey! Get your teeth off him, vampire," Cordelia shouted, hoping Buffy would hear.
Cordelia strode towards Darla, confidently brandishing her cross and radiating all the hauteur she could muster. Darla dropped Jesse, spun to face Cordelia, then laughed scornfully. "More for the Master."
Jesse struggled upright, rubbing his neck. "What?" he muttered, then saw Darla's true face. As he fainted, Darla grinned hideously.
"Run away, little girl. You might escape."
So Darla wanted to play with her food. Cordelia smiled. That made things easier.
Cordelia stopped three yards in front of Darla and spoke in a firm but quiet voice, "There will be no harvest here, not in my town. I will not permit you to open the hellmouth."
Seeing Darla look slightly shocked Cordelia smiled. Xander had told her a bit about the harvest once. With that, and everything else she knew, she would be able to bluff this vampire into submission. Jesse was unconscious, so he wouldn't hear anything odd.
"How?" Darla began, but Cordelia interrupted.
"I have faced vampires before, by the score. I've fought William the Bloody, terrified Lyle Gorch and killed an assassin of the order of Taraka. You don't scare me." Cordelia's voice was steady, her face showing no trace of her nervousness.
Darla laughed nervously. "You're bluffing."
Cordelia could hear distant footsteps now. Hopefully, it was Buffy, not more vampires.
"What normal child would know of the order of Taraka, of Acathla or the Judge? I've fought demons, zombies and werewolves. Run, Darla, before I rip out your heart," Cordelia said, sounding almost bored.
Darla gasped in shock and stared amazed at Cordelia, ignoring the fast approaching footsteps. "Where did you hear those names? You'll tell me everything, when you're mine!"
As Darla finished speaking she sprang towards Cordelia, fangs bared. Cordelia was knocked to the ground, but she managed to keep her cross in front of her face. Darla recoiled from it, lifting her head slightly. Just then Cordelia saw a foot kick Darla's ear. Buffy had arrived. Darla rolled off Cordelia and jumped to her feet. Cordelia stayed on the ground, too shocked at her narrow escape to do anything.
"Who the hell are you?" Darla asked, sounding confused.
"You mean there's actually someone in this town who doesn't know already? Whew, that's a relief, I'm telling you! Having a secret identity in this town is a job of work," Buffy replied, with a relaxed smile, then attacked Darla.
Xander pulled Cordelia to her feet, then went over to help Jesse up. Cordelia watched the fight, a spectacular flurry of kicks and punches. There was nothing she could do now except wait, and hope Buffy would win, but Cordelia had never enjoyed waiting. She had always preferred to be in control of events, rather than relying on others to help her. Self-reliance was important.
She couldn't really be sure but it looked to her like Buffy was winning. From the expression on Darla's face she thought so too. Darla knocked Buffy back ten yards and started to run away, but she seemed punch drunk, and she was limping badly.
As she staggered away, Darla looked over her shoulder, and stumbled into Cordelia.
Cordelia staggered backwards, but just managed to catch Darla's face with the cross.
Darla screamed, lost her balance and fell at Cordelia's feet. Before she could stand back up, Buffy jumped on her back and staked her.
As Darla collapsed into a cloud of dust Cordelia held out her hand to Buffy. "Spectacular, I guess you really are a professional vampire slayer."
Buffy grabbed Cordelia's hand and pulled herself to her feet. "You too? Has Giles been handing out leaflets?"
"I was with Xander when- " Cordelia began, but Buffy interrupted her.
"I've still got to rescue Willow. Did you see where she went?"
Cordelia pointed into the cemetery. "They were heading that way, towards a mausoleum."
Buffy ran into the cemetery, Cordelia following her. Xander and Jesse took one look at each other, shrugged, then followed the girls.
Arriving at the mausoleum moments after Buffy, Cordelia looked inside and saw her fighting a large vampire and Willow slumped on the floor, looking dazed. Cordelia hesitated then stepped inside, holding her cross firmly with both hands, and walked cautiously towards Willow, giving a wide berth to the combatants.
Xander ran into the mausoleum, took one look at Willow, screamed her name, and dashed recklessly towards her.
"Get her out," Buffy shouted.
"Don't take her far," the vampire added, then laughed.
Willow looked barely conscious so Cordelia and Xander dragged her to her feet and pulled her out of the mausoleum. Once outside Cordelia looked at the other three. Jesse was leaning against the mausoleum wall, still weakened by Darla's bite. Willow didn't seem to have been bitten, but she did look in shock. Xander was coping best, but even he looked panicky. Cordelia had expected better from him.
Cordelia was confident Buffy would win her fight since she'd won the first time, and this time Darla wasn't there. Still, she didn't want to hang round the mausoleum. More vampires might have arranged to meet there.
"Got to go fast, before more vamps come," Cordelia began, her voice commanding. Xander tried to speak, but she overrode him. "No time. Xander, help Jesse. Stay with me. "
Xander began speaking but she ignored him. Cordelia didn't have time to argue. Instead, she grabbed Willow by the arm and began to walk briskly towards the gate, cross still held in her right hand. After a year in his company Cordelia was confident Xander would follow her. Willow was still only half conscious so Xander would want to stay near her. He'd also want to get Jesse out of danger and into a hospital, but the graveyard only had one exit. Xander might not like it, but he had to follow her.
One minute later Xander caught up with her and began arguing. Jesse was leaning on him like some drunk, but at least he was upright. They would never have been able to carry Jesse out of the graveyard.
Before long Willow had recovered enough to speak. "We'll get the police. It's just a few blocks up."
Cordelia smiled. Willow really was naive if she expected the police to be any help. She'd soon learn better.
"Um," Xander said nervously, "what about them?"
Four vampires were standing there, not far in front of them. Cordelia didn't remember Xander telling her anything about this. She knew there was no chance of winning a fight and she couldn't use the same bluff on these vampires as she had on Darla because the others were listening. Unless she could think of something else to say fast, that only left one option.
"Run," Cordelia shouted, then sprinted back towards the mausoleum, where Buffy was. She had barely covered fifty yards when a vampire grabbed her from behind, pinning her left arm.
Cordelia kicked backwards with her left leg, trying to trip the vampire, while punching back over her shoulder with her right hand. She grazed the vampire's cheek with her cross-embossed rings, making it audibly wince, then brushed its face with her wooden cross.
The vampire screamed and stumbled backwards but kept a firm hold on Cordelia's arm. Cordelia was yanked off her feet and fell backwards, with her left arm behind her. The vampire, caught off balance by Cordelia's fall, fell forwards on top of her, trapping her left arm in a painful position.
Cordelia squirmed under the vampire, but before she could escape the vampire stood up and stamped on her right wrist, making her drop the cross, then grabbed her right arm and began dragging her away.
Tucking her legs up, she dug her high heels deep into the soft soil, determined to try anything to slow the vampire down and give Buffy time to rescue her. She kept tugging at the vampire, trying to break free, but it was too strong for her. Just as she was cursing Anya for getting her into such danger, the vampire gasped in surprise, dropped Cordelia and collapsed into dust.
Buffy helped Cordelia to her feet, then pulled out another stake.
Cordelia looked around. Willow was standing nearby and Buffy had just run off to rescue the others.
"You OK?" Cordelia asked.
Willow looked pale, but she nodded. Cordelia walked back a few yards to pick her cross up, then winced. Her wrists were feeling painful.
"You OK?" Willow asked, then looked surprised at what she had just said.
"My wrists hurt. That vampire stamped on one and I landed awkwardly on the other."
Willow winced in sympathy. "Probably just badly bruised. If they swell up, see a doctor."
Buffy walked back towards Cordelia, closely followed by Xander.
"The vamps have all run off," she began.
"Where's Jesse?" Willow asked.
"I was too slow for him," Buffy said, clearly despondent. "Once they reached the road … "
Cordelia groaned and stopped listening. Her intervention had meant Darla died earlier, so Buffy had been able to rescue three people rather than the two she'd been able to manage the first time round, but she hadn't managed to save Jesse. She would have to do better next time.
Next time? Cordelia hesitated a moment. This night hadn't gone too well and she was almost tempted to back out while she still could, but her reasons for involving herself in the weird stuff were still sound. She didn't have much choice, it would help her get revenge on Xander and she could save the people Buffy had failed, such as Principal Flutie and Ms Calendar. There would be a next time and it should be a glorious victory for her.
"Cordelia!" Buffy waved her hands in front off Cordelia's eyes, trying to catch her attention.
Cordelia blinked then spoke, "Let's all go home. We will talk about this in the morning."
"That's what I've been saying," Buffy replied. "I'll walk you all home. Who lives the closest?"