A/N My stories can be inspired by stories other people have written or be sparked or expanded ideas from earlier stories I, myself, have written. In case you haven't noticed, only one of my stories is a superpowered Xander, the Immortal Choice series and that's for a good reason, I see no reason to overpower Xander, just make him even with the rest of the characters in Buffy. It was how he was originally supposed to be after all. This story is no different, he won't be overpowered, but he also won't be normal.

In Saga of the Nameless, the Grimm stories and the Protectors series I introduced Xanders that were already part of groups fighting the darkness in Sunnydale. In this story, Xander will also already be aware of what goes on after dark in Sunnydale, but it's because this Xander has a connection to the night, not because he's actively fighting.

My research has uncovered an interesting fact, Danny Strong, the actor who played Johnathan Levinson, auditioned for the role of Xander Harris. And you've got to admit, Johnathan looks more like a bullied High School nerd would look like. I've only read one story where Johnathan was Buffy's friend and part of her group, not Xander. Nicholas Brendon looks like a jock, so in this story, Xander's popular and a jock, a jock with a huge secret that could put him at odds with the Slayer. No, he's not a vampire and yes, I am going to write a Xander vampire story. I just refuse to write multiple stories at once so I have a list of story ideas and I try to stick to that list. Occasionally I go off list, like with A Perfectly Normal Family because it was a palate cleanser after writing the Grimm stories, which actually were grim in tone.

As always, this is also a Xander/Cordelia story and maybe as one guest reviewer accused me of being, I am a bit obsessed with that pairing, but I'm not fanatical about it like Bangal or Spuffy fans tend to be. I just think, as a pairing it makes a lot of sense and I still maintain it was the healthiest relationship on both Buffy and Angel. Willow and Tara were great until the mind raping, which I think was inevitable given Willow's personality and Fred and Gunn were great too, much better than Fred and Wesley. ;)

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Willow Rosenberg sat beside her friend Johnathan Levinson and watched the Cheerleaders, led by Cordelia Chase, a Grade A Prime Bitch, in Willow's opinion, cheering at the Pep Rally for the football players. She sighed loud enough for Johnathan to hear her.

"Problem, Willow?" He asked.

"They're cheering for Xander, only they're spelling Alex."

"He hasn't gone by Xander since we started Junior High and he tried out for the football team on a dare and got the running back position. And boy can he run, fastest guy on the team."

"That's just it, he used to be Xander, one of my best friends and then he joined the football team and so did Jesse and all of a sudden they're hanging out with the jocks and cheerleaders and it's like he became a totally different person. He's dating Cordelia, for gods' sakes! Since Junior High! How can he put up with that bitch?!"

"You ever notice that you never rant about Jesse dating Aura for just as long, just Xander dating Cordelia?" Johnathan, who's intelligence was on par with Willow's, observed. "And Jesse was our friend too, until he joined the team and became one of the jocks, instead of one of the nerds."

"You know why." She said miserably, her unrequited crush well known to her friend.

"He never saw you that way, Willow and you know it, you're too smart not to have. When we were kids he treated you like a sister, now you're his math tutor and that's pretty much it. At least he doesn't bully us like some of the jocks do. You're going to have to get over this crush, it's going nowhere and just causes you pain."

"I know. At least I do in my head, but my heart just doesn't want to let go. Maybe if I could meet someone new - but I know everyone in school and none of them appeal to me like Xander does."

"Yeah, but new people do move here, so maybe someone new will catch your interest. At least try to be open to the possibility, okay? You're my friend and I don't like seeing you miserable. Xander doesn't want to change how he feels about you, so you're going to have to change how you feel instead."

"Maybe you're right, okay here's my Resolve Face." Willow did indeed look resolved, determined. "Any new guy that moves here, I'll try to see if I could be interested in them. While trying to get over Xander."

"You might start by not calling him Xander anymore, he's been Alex for years now and you're really the only one who calls him that. He lets you get away with it because he thought of you as a sister when we were kids, but it's not who he is anymore. He's Alex, a football player, which is why the Cheerleaders are spelling out Alex."

"Logical and depressing, but here's me working on it. Alex."

"It's a start." Johnathan encouraged her. "I did hear that someone new is starting soon, a transfer from Los Angeles, but it's a girl."

"Well, it's possible she could end up being our friend, did you hear her name, when you were listening to gossip?"

"Buffy something, I missed the last name."

"And I thought Willow was a weird name. Who name's their kid Buffy?"