See Prologue for disclaimer and details. Hello, all, welcome to the latest chapter of the story and a big grande thank-you (as always) to everyone's who's been reading and reviewing the fic. Guest and Megan, this includes you too! Now, we have a confession to make: we've failed. We tried and we tried, but we've failed. There was just no way we could incorporate The Pack episode into this story, without Xander looking and feeling like a criminal, despite the possession factor. And since that wasn't where we wanted to go in this story, we decided to duck the whole Hyena Spirit thing and refer to it only in passing (someone else went into the hyena house that day, read on and you'll find out who). Hopefully, we haven't channelled our inner Joss too much...
Part Eight: The One With The Angelic Face
Sunnydale, California
February, 1997
As Angel walked down the steps to his basement apartment in the gray pre-dawn light, the vampire found himself wondering just what he would do with his time today. Apart from brood about the past, of course. And brood about Buffy. And brood about Darla. And brood about...
Hmm, apart from mealtime it looked like his day was obviously packed after all. Well, such was his burden to bear after everything he'd done, both pre- and post-soul.
Angel quickly let himself into his home, and almost immediately felt a familiar presence. "I know you're there. You may as well come out."
A blonde female form detached itself from the shadows. "Miss me?" Darla taunted the ensouled version of her favorite childe.
"Not really, even though it's been a while. Figured you'd gone back to playing the Master's pet, again, and the old bat nose put you on a tighter leash than normal." Angel seemed remarkably sanguine about it all.
Darla bristled at the implication, even as she buried the idea that Angel might be right. Ever since the Anointed One had been created a thousand days after the advent of Septus and joined the Master, despite all the Scooby Gang's efforts that night to prevent it, Heinrich Nest had indeed curtailed many of the freedoms his minions had previously enjoyed. "Well. You're certainly one to talk about being leashed, precious."
Darla began to walk around the apartment. "Nice place, even if it's a bit on the austere side. I mean really, Angelus, you used to have better taste."
"I also used to be a soulless monster," Angel fired back in reply.
"True. Oh, that reminds me. Anything new about how the curse is flawed somehow?" The former whore seemed to be almost gliding across the floor.
"Hasn't exactly been a priority for me to investigate," the future Champion grunted.
"Yes, I suppose it wouldn't have been. Look at you: you're living above ground, like one of them. You're frequenting that human nightclub, like one of them. But guess what, my love? You're not one of them." She casually stopped by a window, and opened the blinds to let in a stream of sunlight. Angel immediately stumbled backwards to avoid the deadly rays. "Are you?"
"No. But I'm not exactly one of you anymore either," Angel growled, cursing himself for an idiot to have let her get way with that.
"Is that what you tell yourself these days?" Darla opened the fridge, and examined the bagged and bottled blood therein. "Not exactly living off quiche, I see. And please, I know my boy's still in there! I can still feel him, I always could. Hmm. Ever wondered what things would be like right now, if I'd never gotten you that idiot gypsy girl as a birthday gift?"
"For the first fifty years or so."
Darla smiled that predatory smile again. "Well, you wouldn't be making a fool of yourself with the current Slayer right now, anyway. And that poor little thing doesn't have a clue, does she? About what you are, or about the curse, or any of the rest of it. You're too gutless to tell her everything. Or else you think she won't understand. I suppose none of them could understand-"
The momentary glance from Angel was something almost everyone would have missed. But then, Darla wasn't 'almost everyone'. Her jaw dropped in surprise before she said, "My, my. So you have told one of them. But who..." Eventually the light dawned. "Oh! It's that delicious-tasting little boy you saved a few nights before the Harvest, isn't it? Now, that's not like you."
"How would you know? It was over a lifetime ago when we were last together, Darla. Back when you were still wearing kimonos." Angel wanted to steer the conversation onto a different subject. Xander may have been an irritating annoyance, but the kid also had his good points, like plenty of guts in a fight. He'd had to have that in order to enter into battle with a vengeance demon, and the male vampire didn't want his sire to focus on Harris in any way.
But Darla wasn't so easily distracted. "Why, Angelus? What's so special about him?"
"Nothing," Angel replied a bit too quickly. "He wanted to know why I wasn't trying to kill him when he realized I was a vampire, so I briefly mentioned it before I left that night. That's it, really."
The four hundred-year-old woman wasn't so easily fooled. "You never could lie well to me, dear boy. Maybe I should look your little friend up, for old time's sake. What was his name again?" She fought to remember. "Harris something?"
Angel briefly shook his head. "Darla, please." Then he frowned, "And for old time's sake, here's a freebie for you. I was there when the last demon woman who wanted to kill him ran off in terror, after one of his friends showed up. You might not be so lucky, given you've turned someone he knew."
( He's friends with the Slayer? ) Darla misunderstood the warning and ignored the rest of it. "So, is that it? You think he's another Holtz in the making? And you've taken the time to cultivate his friendship, in order for the child not to think of you as a target in the future." Darla suddenly looked disgusted, "Is there any depth you won't sink to, 'Angel'?"
Angel shrugged. ( If that's what she thinks, so much the better. ) "This entire conversation is completely pointless. And I think you know where the door is."
Darla began to leave. "By the way, about the Slayer? Eventually, I'm sure she'll discover your little secret; we both know it's amazing you've kept it from her for this long. So maybe you should confide in her, tell her about the curse like you did your little would-be demon hunter. Maybe she'll understand. Well, if she doesn't, you know where I am if you want to talk to someone about it."
A sullen and angry Angel silently watched her leave his apartment, wondering if indeed Buffy could ever understand how he'd once been the Scourge of Europe, and that the trail of corpses from those days numbered in the thousands if not more.
The Bronze, Sunnydale
Later that night
School was over for another day and a grand Sunnydale tradition was in progress. Namely the Bronze's fumigation party, where people got free drinks for catching the cockroaches before the place shut down for a few days in order to nuke 'em.
Alone in a dark corner of the club, Xander saw Willow and Buffy talking together as Jonathan joined them from the bar. He could easily guess what their subject of conversation was: the odds were that the two girls were talking about Angel, from the dreamy expression on the blonde Slayer's face. And like Darla before him, Harris found it amazing that she still didn't know the truth about that guy.
Okay, granted that Angel wasn't around much. In fact, he only showed up to talk to Buffy whenever there was something wicked brewing in the town's night life. But wasn't the Slayer supposed to be able to sense vampires? Xander was pretty sure he'd heard his undead acquaintance mention that once. So how come she didn't have a clue about Deadboy's real nature?
( Maybe it's the soul, ) Xander thought. ( Ordinary vamps ain't got one and they show up just fine on her Slay-dar, or whatever. So maybe its presence muffles his signal or something? )
Suddenly, Xander was distracted by the sound of Cordelia angrily ranting at some guy on the dance floor. He shook his head; her sharp tongue was probably going to tear the poor unfortunate's self-esteem to shreds. But that wasn't Xander's concern. His problem was that ever since her birthday, Queen C had been avoiding him like the plague.
Harris was sure that Cassandra and Dawn had noticed, and probably her parents had too. He just hoped Mrs. Chase didn't take that as meaning some sort of intervention was required now. He'd had nightmares recently of Mr. Chase roaring with anger after his wife had spilled everything, and literally drop-kicking him out of the house.
"Your friend appears pretty angry."
Xander congratulated himself on at least not yelping anymore these days, even if Angel's stealthy arrivals still always took him by surprise. "Look who's here, it's the Dark Knight himself! You know, I'd say all that's missing to complete the look is the hood and cape. No, wait, there's also the utility belt..."
Angel repressed any sign of recognition at the pop cultural reference, or the cynical comments. "There's a problem with her?"
Xander sighed as he glanced at Cordy. He had never had any male friends, other than Jesse, and so he'd had no one to unload on since McNally had departed this world; except maybe the creature standing next to him. "Angel, you're old, right? So, can I ask your advice about girls?"
The vampire remained silent for a while. Finally he said, "If that means what I think it does? Most of what I know about women and how I learned it, it would make you sick to your stomach to hear details. And when I was human back in eighteenth century Galway, I was a womanising drunk. Not exactly the pillar of the community, or even someone my family was proud of. Looking back on it, it's hardly surprising that Darla found me such an easy mark when we were alone together in that alley."
Xander's skin got goosebumps as Angel straightened up, "Which reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about her. Darla paid me a visit this morning."
"And?" Xander's feelings regarding that soulless vampire hadn't changed one bit, despite all the months that had passed.
"Your name came up during our conversation. Well, sort of. That means she might be interested in having another look for you, so take some extra precautions for a while. Are you armed?"
Xander briefly took out the stake in one pocket and the cross in the other. "Never leave home anymore without at least one weapon."
"Good." Angel noticed Buffy leaving the club. "I gotta go. Be careful."
He vanished so quickly that Xander wondered whether putting a bell on that guy would actually have any effect. "Nice trick if you can do it."
Indeed. And it soon came to pass that Angel and Buffy encountered the Three after she left the Bronze: warrior vampires who were very proud and very strong, dedicated to the duty given them by the Master. And yet, they too failed to kill their assigned target, like all the other vampires before them.
The Three offered their unlives as penance, and as expected the Master had Darla kill them. And it was an excellent example for the Anointed One to learn from, in Nest's not-so-humble opinion. Collin was coming along well and his power was growing nicely. No doubt, soon the time would come for the Anointed One to fulfill the prophecy and lead the Slayer to her doom, in order to free the Master.
Be that as it may, though, Angel ended up stuck in Buffy's house for over twenty-four hours after they'd escaped the Three. And, after she brought him some food that night, and a somewhat amusing discussion regarding her diary took place, the inevitable finally happened.
Angel and Buffy kissed.
Unfortunately, on Angel's part, the sexual desire was mixed with the longing for that incredibly tempting and potent Slayer blood. And once the bloodlust could no longer be denied, the vampire went into his demon face and growled at her. Eyes bulging, Buffy almost screamed at the sight, but Angel left via the bedroom window just before Joyce came in.
( Damn it! Guess Harris was right after all. It's gonna be slay-now-ask-questions-later time from this point onwards. )
Sunnydale High Quad, Sunnydale
The next day
Cordelia Chase was in a state of shock. "What?"
Giles, Buffy, Willow and Jonathan looked around at her, fearing the brunette had overheard their conversation regarding how Buffy was in love with a vampire. But all Cordy cared about was that another girl was wearing the exact same dress she had on. "Where did you get that?"
As Cordelia pursued her target, she yelled, "This is a one-of-a-kind Todd Oldham. Do you know how much this dress cost? Is that a knockoff?" Queen C angrily checked the label once she caught up with the offending female, "This is a knockoff, isn't it?! Some cheesy knockoff! This is exactly what happens when you sign these free trade agreements!"
"Um, Cordy? I think people are beginning to stare," Harmony murmured into her ear, after looking around.
Cordelia ignored that. "I'm going to talk to that asshole Todd, you mark my words! And if he doesn't provide me with another one-of-a-kind dress, I'll somehow see to it his entire New York line gets completely blacklisted!"
As the cheerleaders disappeared inside the building, Jonathan had an idea. "Uh, about Angel? It just occurred to me, someone we know might know something." So a bit later, Xander was brought to the library for the gang to interrogate him about Angel.
Needless to say, that was a bad idea. As soon as Xander entered the library he sensed the confrontational atmosphere after seeing Buffy, Willow and Giles waiting for him. "What is this? My own personal Inquisition?"
"Xander..." Willow started to say in annoyance.
"Don't you 'Xander' me," the young man interrupted at once, much to the redhead's surprise. "You've refused to speak to me all year, Will. For something that wasn't my fault, or even necessarily a bad thing. But now you want to talk? Come on..."
Unfortunately, Miss Rosenberg stubbornly refused to admit that Xander had any sort of point here. The thought of him doing that sort of stuff with Cordelia Chase, of all people...it just automatically made her sick and defensive as hell. In Willow's mind, in a perfect world she and her crush should have gotten together years ago.
Still, the young woman wasn't also the resident school genius for nothing and so she quickly pulled out her Resolve Face. "We need to talk to you about something, so sit. Please?"
Xander scowled but was unable to resist. ( Damn. That's my Willow, I still can't say no whenever she asks for something. Even after all this time, and after how much we've drifted apart. ) "All right, fine. What's this about?"
"Uh, it's come to my attention that you know a certain individual named Angel-" the Watcher started to say.
"Really. Well, you'd be well advised to just forget it and get on with your life. Oh, gee, I wonder where I've heard those words before?" Xander snapped back at the Englishman.
Rupert tried but failed to quell his annoyance at the open hostility of this insufferable little git. But he needed answers so Giles continued on, "I'd like to ask a few questions-"
"Go ahead. Doesn't necessarily mean you're gonna get any answers."
"Xander!" Buffy exclaimed.
Willow almost couldn't believe this was the same boy she'd known practically all her life. She'd never seen him act so rude to anyone before. "Xander, what's the matter with you? Why are you acting like this?"
"Because, thanks to past experience, I don't trust him," Harris replied, deciding to get up after pointing in Giles' direction.
"What past experience?" the Slayer demanded.
Xander then turned around, "I saw people get killed at the Bronze, the second night after you showed up in school. And Book Guy here told me to stick my head in the sand about that. And by the way, Buffy? Things are not okay between us, either."
The Chosen One looked down, wishing with all her heart that she could somehow erase those days she'd been possessed by that Hyena spirit. Or that she'd let Jonathan go into that quarantined animal house instead, as he'd initially suggested. Or something.
The former leader of the pack hated remembering how, as the possession had grown stronger, she had felt the desire for a mate. Angel wasn't around – she'd always been attracted to the guy – and it was afternoon during school hours, so the Slayer had cornered Xander in an empty classroom. Buffy had then said to Harris, "You're not Angel, but I can make do with you till I find him."
Needless to say, that had pretty much killed the mood as far as Xander was concerned. Being told you're simply a substitute for another guy will usually do that. But unfortunately Hyena Buffy had refused to accept 'no' for an answer, so she'd decided to try her hand at forcefully making Harris...perform.
Luckily a teacher had come in before anything too serious had happened, and told the two teens to either knock it off and get out, or he'd march them straight to the principal. Not that Principal Flutie would have been able to do much at that point, as he'd just become lunch for the other four hyena-possessed kids.
The official story later was that he'd been eaten by a pack of wild dogs that had somehow shown up on campus and then disappeared, without anyone seeing any trace of them. And no one seemed to take much notice of the fact that Kyle, Tor, Heidi, and Rhonda all eventually ended up in an asylum, after dining on principal du jour.
"So how do you feel about me?" Jonathan asked, figuring he might have a shot where the others didn't, and bringing Xander back to the present.
Harris shrugged. "You're okay, I guess. I mean if Willow's your friend, that's good enough for me."
Giles subtly nodded to Levinson, silently letting the male Scooby take point in the questioning of Xander Harris. ( Hopefully, we can now find out what this bloody prat knows about Angelus, if anything. )
Jonathan asked, "You mind telling me how long you've known Angel, then?"
"Nearly six months. We met the night before sophomore year started," Xander replied straightforwardly.
"What?" all four demanded, eyes wide.
Xander wasn't an idiot and he suddenly figured out what had happened. ( I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Deadboy's finally been outed as a bloodsucker! ) "Why do you want to know?" he asked the shorter boy.
"We can't tell you, so don't ask," Giles said firmly even as Jonathan opened his mouth to answer the question. Buffy and Willow nodded, wanting to keep Xander safe; not knowing he knew just as much as they did about Sunnydale's night life.
Xander said just as firmly, "Fine. But if that's the way you want to play it, don't expect me to answer any more of your questions." He quickly strode towards the door, ignoring the frustrated sounds the others made.
Buffy ran over and grabbed Xander's arm, "Hey, wait up! We're not done yet."
Harris slowly turned and glared at her. He growled viciously, "Get your hand off of me, Buffy. Right. The. Hell. Now."
There was no trace of friendliness in Xander's gaze anymore, as memories of his father's past actions and Buffy's hyena persona surfaced in the teenager's mind. Miss Summers could instantly recognize all the signs and gulped. If she wasn't careful, this could get real ugly real fast. "Please, Xander, we just want to know everything you can tell us about Angel!"
"Yeah? So basically you're telling me to choose between the guy who's saved my life twice, and the people who are currently acting like Sunnydale's KGB? Well, just so ya know, I don't need to be a genius to do that math," Xander snarled, finally yanking his arm away and storming out of the library.
Buffy made to follow him, but her Watcher called her off. "No, don't bother. I honestly doubt that he knows anything anyway, if Angel was acting the same way around him that he was around you."
Willow slowly shook her head. "This is so unlike Xander, Giles. I've never seen him act like that before."
"It's probably 'cause of me," Buffy said dejectedly, blaming herself. "I mean, you know, after I went all animal-queen-matriarch and stuff on him that day."
"That wasn't your fault," Jonathan insisted at once.
"Yeah, Buffy, darn tootin'. I mean if anyone's to blame, it's the creepy zookeeper who started all that in the first place," Willow said fervently.
"If for a moment we could focus back on Angel," the British man interjected tiredly. "Buffy, obviously we need more information about that particular vampire. And given how Mr. Harris has shown himself to be less than cooperative with regard to that, I was thinking maybe it's best for you to just go directly to the source."
"Yeah, but how do I find the guy? I mean, Angel's like the Invisible Man when he wants to be," Buffy replied.
"Just patrol like normal? If there's a fight, he might show up to save you like he did with the Three," Willow suggested.
"Unless this was all just some kinda ploy by the Master, and now the next time he sees you...Angel tries to kill you?" Jonathan looked uncomfortable even saying that.
Buffy opened her mouth to instinctively deny it, but then shut herself up. She knew that even though Angel had never hurt her, he was nonetheless a vampire. The enemy.
Giles had spoken to the gang earlier about how all the undead hunted and killed people, it was what they did. That even though they looked human, they weren't. So although her heart rebelled against the concept, Buffy knew that Jonathan might be right, that eventually it was gonna end up her Slayer and him dust pile.
Chase Manor, Sunnydale
Later that night
Xander was reading the latest Wonder Woman comic when he started to indulge in a rather amusing fantasy about how Cordelia's ass would look wearing the Star Spangled Banner. He quickly shook himself, ( Damn it, stop that! She's not your girlfriend, and never will be. ) Harris then hesitated, ( Well, I guess. )
He knew Cordelia was out on a date with Owen Thurman tonight. ( It's just, I know darn well that she's only doing this to get back at Buffy for dating Owen first. Not to mention try to make me jealous. Which, God help me, might actually be working. Man, what is with those two vixens? And girls in general, while we're at it? )
The teen was interrupted in his thought processes when he heard a rapping on the balcony door. ( Who the hell could that be? ) Xander strode to the door. His bedroom was on the second floor of the mansion and it was past sunset, so no one should be on the balcony right now. ( Unless... )
Xander's suspicions were confirmed when he saw Angel's face at the door. Harris opened up and went outside. "Hey. What are you doing here?" The young man could guess, but wanted to hear it direct from the vampire.
Angel couldn't help but notice there had been no offer to invite him into the house. ( Kid's still playing it smart, good. ) "I need your advice on what to do about Buffy."
Xander nodded. "She knows you're a vampire now?" Off Angel's look he went on, "I had a little chat with her and her pals about you earlier today, so it doesn't take Albert Einstein to put two and two together. And you know how some people hate to say, 'I told you so'? Not me. I told you so, pal. Right from the start too, if you remember."
"Not helping, Harris," Angel growled.
"Yeah, yeah. Look, tell me what happened exactly and maybe I can help you figure something out. I mean, what have you got to lose at this point?"
The ensouled vamp shrugged, and quickly related all the details. Xander couldn't help feeling a little jealous over his rival's success for Buffy's affections, but he quickly squashed that as well as he could. ( She's definitely still jonesin' for Angel, so may as well face it. The mysterious stranger has won the fair maiden's heart, which means it's time to just forget about her already. ) "Okay, I've got an idea."
"What is it?" Angel asked.
"You and Buffy have a little pow-wow, preferably in a neutral location. Y'know, convince her that you're no threat to the locals," Xander shrugged.
"It's not that simple. She's a Slayer. I'll never be able to convince her that a vampire's no threat to anyone human, her Watcher will see to that," Angel replied gloomily.
( Well, there's nothing else I can think of. ) "Maybe. But what if I act as the intermediary?" Xander asked.
"Huh?" Angel didn't get it.
"Trust me." Xander went back inside, picked up the phone and dialled 411. Angel's vampiric hearing allowed him to hear the mortal saying, "Hello? I'd like the listing for Summers, please. Uh, I don't know, how many female names are there in Sunnydale? Right, Joyce. Yeah, 555-0193, I got it, thanks."
"Xander..." Angel called from the balcony, having figured out what was going on but helpless to intervene.
"Just gimme a sec." He paused, dialled again and then said into the phone, "Buffy? Yeah, this is Xander Harris from school. Look, Angel's here at my house-"
A loud blast of noise instantly erupted from the phone's receiver, causing the young man to jerk his head back for a second. "Hey, calm down! I just wanted to tell you I spoke with him, and he wants to meet with you somewhere to explain what happened last night. Y'know, white flag deal. I was thinkin' maybe the Bronze? I know it's closed tonight, but..."
Xander shut up and listened for a while. Finally he responded, "Y'know, Buffy, I don't recall enlisting in the army and taking some oath to just blindly follow your orders like that! Be at the Bronze tonight or not. As far as I'm concerned, it's totally up to you." The young man then hung up and went outside again. "You heard all that?"
"This is a mistake," Angel replied, shaking his head. "I'm sure of that much. The Council will have ordered her to kill me on sight by now."
Xander shrugged. "Maybe, but I think we both know our girl doesn't just follow orders like some kinda robot. And despite what happened today in the library, I'm also thinking Buffy has a brain and does what she thinks is right. Why else would Jonathan and Willow be helping her?" He shook his head. "No, just go there and give it your best shot. Okay, make sure you've got a safe way out so that if I'm wrong, you can make with the hasta and get the hell outta Dodge if you have to. But come on, dude, you owe Buffy an explanation at least. A chance to understand the truth about you. Wouldn't ya say?"
Angel looked torn, recalling the orders of Robe Boy before he silently nodded and vanished. Xander returned to his bedroom, locking the balcony door behind him. Then he headed down to the kitchen to get something to eat.
On his way down, he heard Dawn and Cassandra singing Helen Reddy ballads in the Chase girl's bedroom. For some reason, the sound of "I am Woman, hear me roar" gave him a chill and Harris suddenly wondered whether he should go to the Bronze as well. Maybe Buffy would try to stake Angel straight off the bat, and Deadboy would need someone in his corner.
But if he left the mansion, that meant leaving Dawn, Cassandra, and Cordelia all alone here if Darla should happen to show up.
( Nah, forget it. Angel can look after himself, and I don't have a sacred duty to save everybody out there like the Slayer does. My sacred duty is to take care of my little sister. And Cassie and Cordy as well. If that damned bitch does show her face, I'm the only one around here who knows how to deal with her. )
Xander quickly made and ate his sandwich, before he returned to his room and took out the battered old suitcase underneath his bed, a souvenir from when he'd first moved in here. The teenager unlocked it and examined all the hand-made stakes, holy water, and crosses he'd collected over the last few months. He had even acquired a silver knife from somewhere best left unmentioned.
He was ready for battle. Xander just hoped there would be no need for it tonight.
The Bronze, Sunnydale
The following evening
It had been a hectic twenty-four hours, to say the least. Instead of the Chase manor, Darla had shown up at the Bronze whilst Buffy and Angel had been in the middle of their little summit meeting. Things had gotten more than a little chaotic when the female vamp went way totally gun-happy.
Luckily, Giles and the Slayerettes were present to distract the soulless demon and in the ensuing fight not only did Angel get shot, multiple times, he staked his own sire for the Slayer when there was no other choice.
His inner Angelus had howled in fury at Soul Boy's actions, and elsewhere the Master had also thrown a temper tantrum as he'd felt his favorite offspring die through the sire-childe link. But Collin had calmed Nest down, and later things had pretty much gone back to normal.
But, from a couple of Darla's remarks, Buffy and her posse now knew that Xander knew everything.
That was why tonight, at the Bronze's annual post-fumigation party, after talking to and kissing Angel goodbye, Buffy headed straight for Xander; who was sitting alone in his usual alcove. He'd felt it was safe to come here to keep an eye on Cordelia, as Dawn was currently away in Los Angeles with Mrs. Chase and Cassandra on a shopping trip. Willow and Jonathan quickly followed Buffy, as the Slayer slid into the table seat across from Harris and glared at him.
"I'd say hi and please sit down, but it looks like you already pretty much trumped me on that one," Xander said cynically.
Buffy kept glaring at him while Willow and Jonathan sat down as well at Xander's gesture. The Chosen One said, "How long have you known?"
"Hello, Xander, how are you? Pretty good, Buff, how about yourself? Oh, not too bad. Even though I'm flunking History, because I've cut class just about every day this semester," the male teen did a lousy imitation of the Slayer's voice.
"Hey, I've been tutoring her! And Buffy will pass History this year, even if I have to sweat blood to accomplish that," Willow piped up, and then looked incredibly embarrassed when everyone briefly stared at her.
"Don't try to avoid the subject, Xander. Last night, when Darla got staked, we learned that you know all about the things that go bump in the night. So why didn't you ever say anything?" Buffy demanded.
( She's dust now? Damn, wish I could have been the one to do it, but at least Jesse's been avenged. So rest in peace, buddy. ) "Why didn't you?" Xander fired back.
"I'm the Slayer!" Buffy exclaimed.
"So?"
"Uh, secret identity thing and all that," Jonathan said hurriedly, seeing Buffy momentarily gape at the question.
"And yet, Jon-boy, you and Willow here obviously know what's what. Have done right from the start, I'm guessing? So what's the big deal, if now you know that I do too?"
Buffy was getting frustrated. This wasn't going the way she'd expected at all. "Look. All I want to know is, have you been fighting vampires on your own? Because if so, it stops right now. These things are dangerous, Xander!"
Harris's eyes narrowed to slits. "Gotta say, Buff, the commanding general thing – not exactly loving it here. Reminds me a bit too much of what happened in that classroom that day, when you thought you could make me do whatever you wanted." Buffy looked upset as he went on, "And yeah, I've killed a vampire and fought a demon or two in my time. Who do you think it was that staked Jesse right here in the Bronze, that night when you went to town on all those bloodsuckers?"
"You what?" Willow whispered, her eyes wide as she remembered the events of the Harvest. ( And he never said anything? All this time, we've been wondering what happened to Jesse after he was vamped – and now I hear that Xander killed him? )
"Yeah, Will. Sorry, but it had to be done. So, guys, what's the deal? Are you saying you want me to join your little Scooby Gang, or what?" Xander asked.
Buffy was rather confused. "Huh? Look, Xander, I just don't want you to get hurt."
"And I'm not looking to get hurt, believe me. But I also intend to keep my little sister safe at all costs, Buffy. And just so you know, if one day that means I have to die so that Dawn gets to live? That's something I honestly don't have a problem with."
Willow was surprised to hear that, but not as much as Jonathan and Buffy. She remembered, when Xander's mom had died and his dad had gone to jail, how the owner of her heart had said his only priority anymore was Dawnie. The redhead simply hadn't realized just how seriously he'd meant it.
The meeting quickly broke up with nothing definite decided, but as the Rosenberg girl was about to leave Xander said softly, "Willow? Please stay. There's something I wanna talk to you about. In private."
The Chosen One and the male Slayerette left after Willow indicated it was okay. "What is it?"
"How long are you gonna keep holding what happened last summer against me?" Xander asked point-blank.
Uncomfortably reminded of his involvement with that particular brunette enemy, Willow scowled at Xander. "Is this some sort of attempt to convince me that Cordelia's changed, that she's worthy of you or something? Well, forget it!"
"No, it's not that. I mean, Cordy isn't the monster you think she is-"
"Are you kidding me?" the young woman interrupted, sounding incredulous. "Have, have you forgotten everything that she's said and done to both of us since kindergarten?"
"Again, no," Xander kept his voice level. "But it's kinda funny how all you know and judge her for is the act Cordy puts on for her adoring public. Because that's what it is, Will. It's really just an act. And I know that, 'cause I've seen what she's like in private. Cordelia isn't the evil bitch you think she is – at least not with Dawn, Cassandra and me. She's often funny and kind. And when we're alone-"
"ACK! NO! I don't want to hear it!" Willow shuddered in horror and heartbreak, thinking Xander had been about to say what a great kisser Cordelia was or something equally gross.
"Fine. All I'm saying is, I know what the real Cordelia's like, and she's not some demon from Hell. There's a human being in there underneath the surface, one who has the same kind of hopes and dreams as the rest of us. I'm just hoping that one day, my oldest friend and her can be in the same room without hating one another," he said passionately.
Willow's heart sank all over again. She understood what Xander was really trying to say. It was a subtle version of the 'I hope we can still be friends' speech, because at no point during the conversation had the guy said anything about the love that she had felt for him all these years. ( Maybe Xander's given up on both Cordy and Buffy by now, but he still doesn't feel the same way about me that I do about him. God, I'm doomed to be the only girl in school without a boyfriend! )
Knowing nothing as yet of the young man named 'Oz', Willow got up and said, "It's just...painful. You know, knowing that she gave you something that I can't. Or at least, th-that you don't want from me."
"Willow..." Xander said pleadingly.
"It's okay, Xander," the redhead said, backing away. "I just...I'll see you at school on Monday." Then she left.
( Great, perfect, I've broken her heart all over again. How do I keep getting myself into these things? ) Xander asked of someone up above.
Robe Boy could have told him, but then that particular mage wasn't around tonight for him to do so.
TBC...
