*~*~*
Xander was startled awake by the feel of Buffy poking him in the side of the neck. "Wake up," she whispered accentuated by another poke before repeating the phrase again. His eyes opened and he look up blurrily towards the ceiling before turning his gaze slightly towards her face.
"I’m up, I’m up," he mumbled sleepily, trying to squint the sleep out of his eyes. "What’s the matter?" he asked after he regained his bearings.
"Nothing," Buffy said and earned his glare, "Jesse just kept calling…I told him we’d reschedule the Bronze get together…"
Xander raised an eye brow at her, "You answered my phone?"
Buffy was looking down and didn’t see his mouth turn into a slight smile, "Well it was ringing a lot…and you seemed so tired…"
Xander forced his grin away and tried to look serious when she turned her eyes back to his, "Did he say anything?" Xander was slightly fearful of what his other friend might think when Buffy answered in private line at…10:48 at night…and probably saying that he was asleep. He knew that Jesse had recently developed a tendency to pry for details about Xander’s relationship…or lack there of with the female faction of their group, and this situation would probably brook a good three days of questioning and lewd comments. It almost made Xander wish that half of the things that Jesse thought were going on between himself and Buffy were actually going on…that would literally make him a living legend amongst the male population at Sunnydale High.
Buffy shrugged her shoulders slightly, "He was just wondering if we were going to show…"
"He asked if we were going to show?"
"Well, he said ‘were in the fuck are you Harris?! I’m dying here, Paige is totally macking on some other dude and I need serious back-up’" Buffy repeated the conversation as best as she could remember. "Why?"
Xander shook his head, "I was just wondering…sometimes he…he might think the wrong thing…"
She watched him stumble over his words and narrowed her eyes at him, "You can call him back to tell him that you’ll be there…and clear up whatever…"
He caught her tone and wiped his hand over his face, "I’m just gonna stay here tonight. All of the sudden midnight strolls down Main Street don’t seem so choice anymore…"
"I could walk you on my way to meet Giles." Buffy told him.
"Nah," Xander refused, "I’ll just stay here…worry about you…change my shirt…" he looked at her suddenly with a small smile and Buffy turned, finding the wall very interesting. "I don’t remember you being quiet so spitty in the past…" he fingered a small wet spot on the right side of his shirt.
"Sorry," Buffy said quickly.
"Quiet alright. I just never figured you for a drooler." Xander joked, "I gotta say, it’s going to ruin a lot of my fantasies were we sleep together."
Buffy turned her head to him, "Well; now you’ve got the reality."
<If you only knew…> "Touché." Xander sighed and rolled his neck, trying to work out the kinks.
"I’m going to trail Jess and Wills home before I hit the Slayage…the Bronze closes soon." Buffy told him. She looked briefly around his room, her eyes finding a picture of them from the shore that summer on his desk by his door. They were on the deck in front of the pool and he was holding her piggy-back style on his back. She liked that picture, but she had let him have it after an hour of the puppy-dog eyes.
"Good idea," he agreed with her, "But what’ll the demons think when they fond out that the big bad Slayer is playing personal bodyguard to the towns teenage population."
Buffy shrugged, "Probably that they’ll still be able to get you. And since you’re more meaty that either Jesse or Willow, that it’s probably for the best."
"You won’t protect me?!" Xander asked in mock hurt, his eyes wide.
Buffy seemed to think for a moment, "If you pay me." She smiled in his face.
"How much?" he asked, smirk in place, "Cuz I don’t have any money…so if it’s a lot, I’m willing to let you use my body in reparations."
Enter tension stage right.
Buffy sat silent after his comment, not sure exactly what to say, and if he was even being as serious as she almost wanted him to be. In a process that had taken a couple weeks the idea of being with Xander didn’t seem like such a bad idea…she had reasoned it out initially that she would eventually have sex with someone, why not Xander? She knew him, she trusted him, she loved him…why not? But after further considereation it became about more than the common sense of the act and the choice of Xander…she wanted him…he made her feel all…weird sometimes, but a good weird, just a little bit tingly. And she liked that feeling…it was what she sometimes felt with Scott when they were hooking up, but she figured it was about more than that since she had never been in that kind of contact with Xander, but just the thought was enough to give her that feeling.
Xander suddenly became nervous too. <I don’t know why I said that! Shit!> "I was just joking…you know I don’t need you to save me…" he was tyring to lighten the mood so the joker came out to play.
<Don’t say that…don’t joke…> Buffy’s mind begged. She could say the right thing right here and they’re relationship could be changed forever. She could say one phrase and it would let Xander know that his friendship was not nearly enough, and that she wanted more.
But he was talking again… "So, you’re gonna head out then?"
Buffy nodded, "I should…get going. Giles’ll…I don’t know, do something English."
"Wouldn’t want that," Xander agreed quietly still fairly embarrassed. He sat up with her when she climbed off his bed…
"Alex…" Xander’s door came open just as Buffy’s first foot hit the floor and both teens turned to face his mother.
"Mom," Xander started nervously, "Hey."
"Oh," Jane Harris looked slightly embarrassed at having barged into her son’s room. "Buffy," she acknowledged in a surprised tone, "When did you get here? I didn’t hear the door bell."
"I, uh…"
"Dad let her in…you must’ve been in the basement." Xander cut in for her.
"Oh," Jane nodded, before turning back to her son, "Are you staying in tonight honey?" she asked him, her eyes flicking between the two teens as she tried not to look like she had just caught them climbing off of his bed. Best friends or not, they were teenagers, and of opposite sexes…Jane remembered all about the hormones flying around at their age.
"Uh, yeah Ma," Xander told her.
"Is Buffy going to spend the night?" she asked next, seeing the girl standing nervously by the window wearing a tank top and sweatpants, looking like she had just woken up…possibly and probably in her son’s bed… "You kids could microwave a pizza."
Xander forced a smile, "We’re okay ma," he assured, "Buffy’s on her way out."
Buffy nodded in agreement and headed towards the door.
"You aren’t going to walk her home?" Jane asked in a motherly tone, "It’s dark out."
"We know Ma. It’s called night…" Xander smirked.
"I’m alright Mrs. Harris," Buffy said, "It’s just a quick walk."
Jane nodded, her eyes still darting between that two of them as they shifted under her gaze. "Well, tell your mother I said hi," she said to Buffy with a warm smile. "And call when you get home, so we know you got there safely," she added, shooting her son a look.
Xander rolled his eyes while Buffy’s small smile died. Her mother and Xander’s mother were best friends…it was a huge part of why Xander and Buffy were too. It was why they had grown up together. Now Buffy had to tell her mother that Mrs. Harris said hello thus giving up that she had snuck out of the house and spent the last 3 hours at Xander’s. There was no possible way to avoid having to give up her cover because if she didn’t relay the message, Mrs. Harris would, most likely, bring up the fact that she had been over at the house…then Buffy would have to explain why exactly she was at the house with nobody, but Xander knowing. Either way she was screwed and even more grounded than she was when she left her room…and the whole trust issue…well, needless to say, she could see that going up in a huge mushroom cloud. Now, once her mother found out that Jane had seen her climbing out of her son’s bed, would she have to have a serious talk about something she really didn’t want to talk about, but her parents comfort level with her best friend was likely to become a flaming pile of rubble.
"Will do," Buffy tried to force her grin back in place.
Jane nodded and backed out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Xander waited a second before speaking. "At least she didn’t see us lying next to each other." He reasoned when he saw her stressing.
"Small favors," Buffy humored him. She really didn’t want to have to deal with her parents later, and she didn’t want to have to go slay things now. And things would be easier if she and Xander’s relationship would just fall into place so she could stop thinking about it. And if they were older she could just climb back into bed with him, like she so wanted to do, and it wouldn’t matter to anybody…not that if she chose to climb into bed with him anybody but the two of them would have to know anyway…But she was only fifteen…<Stop it Buffy!> she scolded herself <Just leave. The vampires’ll give you something else to focus on>
"Remember you promised to stay in tonight," she reminded him, and saw Xander’s gaze fall guiltily to the floor.
"I was hoping you forgot about that," he looked up at her with his head still bowed.
"Yeah, I bet you did," Buffy reached out and punched him in the arm lightly.
Xander tried to fight his wince at the overly friendly gesture, that seemed to be for both of their benefits, and succeeded until Buffy spoke again. "I’ll call you when I get in," she prompted, knowing that he would ask her to before she left.
He nodded briefly, "Well," he started, "If you… I mean…you could, if you want…"
Buffy looked at him confused and smirked, "Sentences, Xan."
"Yeah," he shook his head, "I don’t know…"
Buffy sighed. Every step forward was like taking two backward with them. "Alright, I call…"
"I liked sleeping with you," Xander blurted out, and didn’t bother to clarify the multiple meaning that could be construed with that statement. Buffy just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "I could set my clock…if your parents think that you’re in your room. When you’re done…with the vampires and such…you could come back here and I’ll wake you up early so you can go home." He got out finally.
Buffy looked at him shocked, trying to think of the correct answer for him. It seemed like he had had enough of the tap dancing routine they were engaging in daily.
Xander continued, "I haven’t slept that good in weeks…I couldn’t sleep because of you, and just then…I slept because of you…" he released a deep breath, kicking himself for even suggesting it. I t was completely unreasonable, and stupid. It was the worst idea in the world, no wonder he had thought of it. How could he ask her that…
If her parents checked her room it’d be her ass. That was all Buffy was thinking about. Her immediate mental response had been a screaming yes. Of course she wanted to spend the night at his place…and just sleep. That was all they would do, that was all they needed to do since the discussion portion of their relationship was still on life support. But if her dad decided to get the key and unlock her door and she wasn’t there, and hadn’t been all night…
If she spent the night with Xander…she was going to spend the night with Xander…
"Alright," she said quietly, "Leave your window unlocked…"
Xander’s head shot up, a childlike excitement seeping into his expression and voice, "I’ll wait up." He realized how foolish he must seem when she giggled at him and his smile turned embarrassed.
"It might be late when I get here," Buffy pointed out with a deep swallow.
"It’s okay," Xander assured, "I won’t be able to sleep till I hear from you anyway."
Buffy shook her head, "One day soon I’m going to want an explanation for comments like that." She told him without meeting his eyes, which she knew were focused on her.
"One day soon," Xander repeated her phrase, "I want to have the balls to give you one."
"Do you have one?" she asked with genuine curiosity and a sort of stare down commenced as they just looked at each other.
"I…"
Xander was interrupted by the sound of Buffy’s beeper going of. "Shit," Buffy muttered as she read the number, "Giles." She looked at him apologetically. "I told him to beep me when I should meet him…"
"You better go," Xander said in just above a whisper, "You’ll already be late if you follow Jesse and Willow."
"Yeah," Buffy agreed, "But I’ll see you after," she told him, crooking her neck to catch his eyes and they shared a smile. Xander nodded in agreement as he watched Buffy move to open his door. "Before I go," she stopped and turned to face him, "what were you going to say?"
Xander gave her a lopsided grin and looked almost shy. "I have an answer," he told her, "I’ve had it for a while. I’ve just been wondering if it’s the right one."
"Wondering?" Buffy questioned.
"Hoping," Xander corrected, "I hope it’s the right one."
Buffy to another deep breath, hesitating yet again as she went to open the door. "Can I have the Spark Notes version before I go…I mean, you never know…"
Xander shook his finger at her, "Don’t try to gain pity with the death card Buff," he scolded. Buffy fixed him with an exaggerated pout and looked up at him through her eyelashes. "I’d like to tell you the whole thing at one time," Xander reiterated.
"Fine," Buffy pouted one more time, "I’ll wait…"
"Just think of it this way," Xander said as she opened the door, "It’ll give you something to look forward to…a reason to live, if you will."
Buffy turned as she headed down the stairs and stuck her tongue out at him over the banister, "Just don’t forget the window Harris," she called back and walked out of his sight.
Xander fell back onto his bed and shut his eyes, a blissful smile on his face. Buffy was going to spend the night with him…the whole night in his bed. He had spent so much time thinking about that…and to think all he had to do was ask. Huh, who know that would be true? He was one step closer to having everything in his life fall into place…be absolutely perfect. He was one step closer to having Buffy. Now all he had to do was keep his promise to her and wait until she climbed back through his window…
*~*~*
"So Jesse was completely wigging because Paige was talking to hella guys, and I’m just like, Hello. Paige Durmot is the town bicycle…everybody, especially the football team, has had a ride. If I tried to get her I could. She’s such a total slut, which is why I thought he like her…I mean, I knew they were hooking up and Xander told me that they were hooking up, you know, but come on. Paige doesn’t do boyfriends…she’ll do another girls boyfriend, but she doesn’t make a habit of maintaining her own…"
Giles blinked again as Buffy spoke so fast it almost sounded like a high pitched hum. He cracked his neck and looked at the passing street signs <Almost there, thank bloody God, we’re almost there…> his mind said, the hum continuing in the background.
He had no idea who any of these people who his charge was talking about were and had no desire to have this sorted glimpse into their personal lives. He had briefly seen Buffy with the boys Xander and Jesse, and remembered something about her pointing out various girls in the cheerleading team photo, one of whom may have been this Paige…but he still had yet to actually care.
"And then he said that he had sent Willow to do some recon with the situation, you know, use her feminine wiles to try to divert the team…which I personally don’t think Willow is ready for, I mean, I’ve been working with her, wardrobe wise, but she’s not ready for all that attention from drooly teenage boys…but none-the-less, she was trying when he called. AND I think it might work, at least with one of them because Amethyst told me that Hope told her that Percy was kinda digging what Willow was offering, which is a total 180 from when she first got here…"
"What’s the matter with Willow’s dress?" Giles muttered. Willow, he had met. A quiet shy girl…nice. She seemed the most put together of all Buffy’s acquaintances. He almost felt Buffy’s look of disbelief boring into the side of his face and he turned to see her quickly.
"Are you kidding me?" Buffy raised her eyebrows at the older man, "Who owns a brown corduroy dress? Who owns THREE of them? All together now, can we say ‘The Softer Side of Sears’?"
Giles just focused on the road, "Don’t you think that is a tad bit harsh? She is your friend…"
"And what kind of friend would I be if I couldn’t offer constructive criticism?" Buffy asked genuinely as the car lurched to a stop in front of a rather large and dark house. "And thank you for pretending to be halfway interested in the conversation this time." She added. "I know my life gives you a headache."
Giles reached in the back seat for his weapons bag before opening the door of his small car, "It is a tad monotonous, yes," he muttered under his breath as he stepped out into the street, "And you’re quiet welcome."
Buffy sneered at him as she stepped out of the passenger side onto the sidewalk. She had run home after she had left Xander’s and snuck back into her room. Her door was still locked so she gathered that her assumptions that everybody thought that she was still to emotional to deal with family were correct. Buffy made it a point to stomp downstairs, while still in her sweatpants, and get a glass of juice to show that she was still upset…and still home for that matter. If she wasn’t going to spend the night at home, an appearance to her parents at 11:15 would buy her the necessary time. She had stomped back up to her room and locked her door again before changing into a pair of black leather pants and a black tank top, as Giles had told her to dress accordingly, and climbed back out of her window.
At that point she was 20 minutes late, but the Bronze was closing…so she had run over there to wait for her friends to leave and then followed them to their respective homes. They lived fairly close to each other so it didn’t take to much extra time, and plus she was already late so it didn’t really matter anyway.
Then she had stopped by a 7-Eleven and gotten a frozen cappuccino…and then headed to Giles. And boy was he pissed. A fact which had prompted her excessive chatter, because, the way Buffy saw it, the more time she spent talking, the less time he would spend yelling at her, and hopefully after a few minutes he would forget that he was angry all together and focus on how to get her to shut up…and it seemed to have worked. Yes, Buffy was learning how to play Giles like a fiddle at the country fair, and soon, she knew, he would be helpless against her.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Giles thrust a short sword into her hands with an expectant gaze, "I trust you’ll actually be fighting the forces of darkness tonight, or are we just here to stare?"
Of course she still had some work to do…breaking down men takes time. Buffy rolled her eyes at him and then glanced back to the house. "Are you sure I have to do this…maybe you could call and verify that I’m actually this Slayer…"
"Buffy…" Giles exasperated, only to be met with a rather sorry pout, if he were to judge.
"I’m just saying," she started again, "Don’t you think that I should have gotten some sort of notice in the mail…a call from the Head Watcher…a plaque of some sort?"
Giles simply looked at her sternly, "I shall be timing you. There are about 16 vampires…"
"SIXTEEN?!" Buffy shouted and her Watcher winced at the loud noise and looked around the area to see if they had been heard. "You want me to kill sixteen vampires alone?!"
"If you will control your volume, please." Giles insisted in a harsh whisper. "And I have the utmost confidence that you can do this Buffy." He said and Buffy raised her eye brows at him, the hand that was not holding the sword coming to rest on her hip.
"That’s not what you wrote in that little diary about me you keep," she accused, "You said I was reckless and rash, and you wouldn’t be surprised if I kicked early in the game."
Giles just looked at her, "That was not for you to read," he said not even attempting to deny what she had said.
"Well I read…and you don’t think I can do this job, and you know what, neither do I. So let’s just call it a night, huh." She hoped her reverse psychology would work and tried to maintain a hurt tone even though she could care less if he didn’t approve of her slaying techniques.
"I think you have the ability to prove me wrong," Giles told her genuinely, "Whilst you lack the total discipline that I feel you need to be successful, you do have the strength and cunning and skill to be one of the best Slayers in history. And I intend to help you be such…I intend to make you prove yourself wrong."
<Dammit!> Buffy cursed mentally. Why’d he have to go and get all encouraging and Mr. Rogers on her. There was no way that she could walk out on him now.
<Got her at her own game Rupes.> Giles congratulated himself as Buffy stared at him for a moment and then turning with a sigh and trudging up the walkway of the house. "I’ll start the timer once you shut the door." He called out after her and Buffy waved her sword back at him dismissively and kept walking.
The house was huge, located in a very rich part of town…not that Sunnydale had a slum part of town, but, Buffy guessed, down by the docks left a lot to be desired. Giles had told her earlier that this particular home was owned by the leader of this gang of vampires…they had turned him to get a hangout of sorts. And once Buffy had killed three of their members they gathered that there was a Slayer in town and stepped up their recruiting methods, taking 5 new members the previous week. Giles had gotten a tip that this was where they were holding up shop and now it was time for the Slayer to step in.
Buffy steeled herself and gripped the door knob. This was supposed to be her final test before she was able to go out on her own patrols. The only problem she saw with that was that this was one hell of a test, and if she failed, it’d be the last test she’d ever take. That fact did little to comfort her since she’d always planned on dying in her sleep at the age of 87, or at least doing something remotely cool. If she died slaying, nobody would ever know that she died to save the world, they would just think she was murdered…if they found her body at all…<Stop thinking about this!> she chastised herself, <Just slay and then you can get beck to Xander. You’re going to make it through tonight because you’ve got to get your answer from Xander…>
She took another deep breath and nodded to herself, thinking of how nice it would be to fall asleep with him again tonight, trying to focus on anything but about what she was going to have to do…and before she knew it she had opened the door and was standing in the back of a large foyer area. There were two stairwells climbing the walls on either side of her, each next to a living room on one side and a dining room on the other. Buffy noted that the place was pretty well lit and clean to be a den of the damned and crawling with undead monsters.
She saw a couple of vampires moving about in the kitchen through the dining room and then looked to the side opposite, seeing about five sitting and watching TV in the living room…none of them even paying any attention to her.
"HEY JIM!!!!" a voice called from above her and the Slayer turned her head up abruptly to face it. A young man, probably in his early twenties, in full demonic vestige appeared on the overlooking sitting area on the second floor and looked down at her. They starred at each other for a moment and she shifted under his confused gaze before he started speaking again, "JIM!!!!"
"WHAT?!" another vampire with his game face on called back from the living room.
"WHERE’S MY STAIND CD?!"
"IN THE CAR!" Jim called back.
She watched the vampire on the second floor shake his head, turn and walk into one of the nearby bedrooms, generally confused about the whole situation. She remained where she was as the two vampires from the kitchen walked pass her carrying a tray of popcorn and, what she assumed was blood, in three cups. <This is unbelievable,> she sighed mentally as she followed behind them into the living room, <Slayer here, guys!>
Just as the second vampire moved to sit down Buffy slid a stake out of her back pocket and thrust it into his heart from behind, the howl he had as he turned to dust drawing the attention of the other occupants of the room. "Anybody order Chinese?" she asked with a perky smile as the all snarled at her.
"That’s her," on of the burlier member of the group said, "That’s the Slayer."
At the mention of ‘The Slayer’ Buffy heard footsteps on the stairs. "What gave me away?" she quipped, backing discretely out of the room to avoid getting boxed in. Unfortunately she backed right into the arms of another vampire, who must have been in the kitchen, and he held her arms tight at her sides as all the occupants of the living room approached her leering and laughing.
"Some Slayer," one who was probably around her age when he died laughed, "Gonna die so quickly. And she’s so tiny that there might not be enough for everyone."
They were all laughing, but Buffy executed a back head butt into the face of the one who was holding her. She was immediately let go and she heard him yell in a muffled tone, "SHE FROKE FY FOSE!!!"
Buffy turned quickly and swung the sword in her left hand hard and fast, slicing through his neck falling into a fighting stance before he could even evaporate into dust and she saw four more brethren rush to join the fight form upstairs.
"GET HER!!" Buffy heard a female voice yell from the second floor.
She grinned cockily at her attackers. "Yeah guys," she offered them a taunting grin, executing a jumping front snap kick into the chin of a vampire closest to her and then ramming her stake into his heart while his head was inverted in a lightening fast move, "Get me."
She heard about eight different growls that melted into one that gave her a quivery feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she ignored it as they all rushed her.
*~*~*
Xander cradled his cordless phone in the crook of his neck as he threw a tennis ball against his wall with one hand and caught it with the other. He was thankful that Jesse had called fifteen minutes ago because it helped to get his focus on something besides Buffy.
She’d been gone for about two hours.
In the time since she had left Xander had cleaned his room, changed his sheets, gotten something to eat, read his history homework, and gotten dressed and prepared to climb out of his window and go after Buffy about nineteen times.
But now with Jesse yammering in his ear about Paige he had something else to think about. He wondered if Jesse knew about his faux girlfriend half the things that he did. Buffy had told him all about the questionable moral standing of Jesse’s broom closet hook-up, and he thought briefly, that since Jesse seemed to honestly have some sort of feelings for the girl, if he should say something and possibly spare him some heart ache.
<Nah,> he shook his head, <This is much more fun when he’s fielding it on his own.>
"And then I sent Wills over to feel out the situation, you know," Jesse was talking excitedly as he always did, "And she focused on her task for, like, 4.5 seconds before she wandered of with Percy, of all the ass holes."
Xander knew why Jesse hated Percy. Not only was the guy the varsity football quarter back, but as such, it was not uncommon for him to get some ‘special attention’ form the cheerleading squad…it was like bees to honey with him and them, or so Buffy had told him, while constantly reassuring him that everybody but her on the squad saw sucking up to the football team as a necessary course of action. But none the less, while Xander didn’t worry about the guy seducing his Buffy, he had quite succeeded with the object of Jesse’s affection at a post game party last year…and he had seen the video to prove it.
"Way to go Wills," Xander smirked, "Buff said that she had heard stuff about Percy digging her…"
"So not the point," Jesse exasperated. "The point is that she’s fraternizing with the enemy."
"She’s taking him out of the picture," Xander stated optimistically, "He’s your biggest threat…well," he corrected, "one of your biggest threats."
"And you’re banging your dream girl every hour on the hour," Jesse shot back bitterly, using Xander’s momentary silence to refocus the conversation. "Plus, Wills is too innocent for him, she’s just going to get hurt messing around with his type."
Xander swallowed knowing Jesse was thankful that he was not there. After that banging his dream girl comment he had to know that he was in for the ass kicking of a life time. "So now this is about Willow?" he asked making sure his friend could hear his smirk through the receiver, "I didn’t know you cared, ya big sweetheart."
"I don’t care," Jesse said back quickly, "This is about me."
"Somebody’s jonesing on the new girl," Xander sang.
"Shut up Harris," Jesse bit out, "At least I’m getting some. When was the last time you stepped out of your Buffy fantasy world to even attempt to get some poon?"
Xander ignored him, "That depends, when was the last time you had you fill of fire crotch?"
"At least I’ve had my fill of some crotch," Jesse fired back, "A girls!" he added defensively.
"I don’t think you should count Paige’s, everybody’s had that." Xander continued to laugh.
"And I’m sure Scott has had plenty of Buffy’s." he said, going for the check mate, "Come on Xan, they went out for a year…you know he got some touch off of her…"
"I’m gonna break you’re fucking face," Xander said back, only half serious. He knew Jesse was trying to get to him, and that he knew just what to say to accomplish that. Jesse was the only one who knew how the idea of Buffy and her ex-boyfriend made him feel and he used it to his full advantage all the time.
*~*~*
"Hey this is Buffy. I’m not here right now so leave one and I’ll get back to you…unless this is Xander, in which case stop calling me."
* BEEP *
Willow hung up before the machine started recording and fell back onto her bed. Both Buffy and Xander had skipped out on the Bronze and apparently spent the whole time together. And, to top that off, Jesse had reported that after his third call to Xander’s, Buffy had answered the phone and said that he was sleeping.
She didn’t know what bothered her more: the fact that they had ditched the group for some alone time; or that they had apparently engaged in activities that would require Xander to have to sleep for a while afterwards.
She and Jesse both had wild imaginations and even after his half hearted confessions that both of his friends were quiet prudish and virgins they both were growing a tad bit skeptical at what was going on with them.
Luckily for Willow, Jesse’s crisis with Paige had offered her a little down time from scrutinizing Buffy and Xander’s plausible relationship. And the introduction of Percy Jackson had given her somewhat of a distraction.
She figured that if she had a boyfriend, preferably a hot one, that Xander would be pushed to the back of her mind. But, unfortunately she doubted that…Buffy had been dating Scott Hope, and to say that he was bad on the eyes would be to say that you can shove food up your ass and crap out your mouth…i.e.: you couldn’t…and he wasn’t. And yet, Buffy seemed inexorably drawn to her dark haired friend.
A part of Willow almost wanted to throw the fact that she could get Percy back in her cheerleading friend’s face. Percy didn’t want Buffy like Xander did, and therefore he was just hers. She held the distinct belief that even if Buffy did want Percy he would turn her down for her…maybe Buffy just wasn’t his type.
That was part of the reason that Willow had been trying to call her friend since she had gotten home. She couldn’t wait to tell her that Percy Jackson, the junior and varsity football quarterback, wanted to date her…Willow Rosenberg.
And she wanted Buffy’s help in figuring out why exactly.
He was surrounded by pretty girls and could get anyone of them. Buffy had told her that he had already had Jesse’s kind-of girlfriend, and plenty other members on the squad are more than willing to help him ‘work out his post game tension’…so why’d he pick her?
But Buffy wasn’t home.
She had spoken to Xander briefly before she let him go to help sort out Jesse’s train wreck of a life, and he said that Buffy had left. And that was hours ago. Buffy was usually quiet full of energy, and Willow knew that she couldn’t possible be in bed at 12:55 on a Friday night. But she wasn’t answering her phone and she wasn’t with Xander…and Willow, dispite all her desires to best the other girl, was starting to have a major wiggins.
<Maybe I should call her parents line> she pondered briefly before deciding against it. If Buffy wasn’t home, she might be doing something…private. But why wouldn’t Xander know? Maybe…Willow sighed and gave up that line of thought. She had other things to focus on now besides Buffy’s life. Percy for one…
*~*~*
Giles watched as a female vampire broke through a top story window in a shower of broken glass, but evaporated to dust before she hit the ground. He could see shadows moving inside and could make out the faint sounds of a struggle.
He hoped Buffy was doing alright; she had already made it upstairs and seemed to be clearing out the house with a precise accuracy as Giles noted how the fight was moving from room to room. And to top that off, she was making excellent time, as she had only been inside for just under half an hour.
Giles sighed and glanced up and down the street from his position leaning against his car. This really was a peaceful town, he had realized quiet some time ago, despite what crawled around in the night. He could see how so many went so long without a clue as to what actually went on here. What he would never understand was how they could not question the unusually high death and disappearance rate in this small town…it rivaled some much larger cities.
<Americans,> he scoffed, <Ever naive…> His thoughts trialed off as he glanced back towards the house and saw the curtains in the bed room go up in flame, lighting the room a bright orange glow. Giles stood up, his eyes wide with concern…
*~*~*
This was the last room in the house Buffy had to clear, and thank God for that. Her muscles burned as she ducked a roundhouse punch from a teenaged vampire. He was a fledgling and she easily caught his arm, turned him around and plunged her stake through his back.
Through the cloud of his dust she could see a very large vampire standing and watching her through a door across the hall. He had been staring at her since she had vaulted the banister to get to the second floor…never attempting to enter the fight, but more studying her…and guarding that room he was in, she gathered. There was something in there that he didn’t want her to get to, and she doubted it was more vampires since her mental head count had just put her kill rate at 14.
Buffy’s leg snapped out in a sliding back kick into the stomach of the demon she was facing now, doubling him over as she caught him squarely in the stomach. But, he was quick to recover, at least somewhat, as he tackled her before she could react, driving them both to the floor.
She landed hard, the vampires extra weight on top of her driving all the air out of her lungs. Buffy fought to take a breath while she struggled to force the vampires head away from her neck, biting her bottom lip as she had to focus on the two necessary tasks at once. Luckily for her she managed to get her right foot up to his hip and she kicked out as hard as she could.
That move caught him off guard and he flew off of the Slayer and into an inn table by the window, landing hard on the several candles that were arranged there. His body broke through the wood of the table and he crashed to the floor sending the flames into the curtains, which started to flame as intently as his shirt.
But his life was over just as quickly because the Slayer had recovered from her minor set back while he had been trying to swat out his arm and when he looked up the last thing he saw was he delightfully smug grin before he turned to dust.
Fifteen.
Buffy turned slowly to face the one she knew was still behind her. "So," she started casually, "It’s just you and me, all alone in this big ole house. Whatever will we do with ourselves?"
"You’re good Slayer," he commented in a deep booming voice before he laughed right in her face. "You’re new, but good. But you want to know something? I’m better. Tell me," he asked looking her up and down, "How’d you come by this job? You’re younger than the last one and a lot smaller…"
He thought she was good, Buffy thought a little giddily. He’d obviously seen her predecessors and thought she could compete to them. "I’d really like to play twenty questions with you here, but, the house is on fire," Buffy nodded back over her shoulder. "I really should kill you and be on my way…ya know, after I check out what big secrets are in that room you’re in."
He laughed again and shook his head, not being phased by the fire in the least. "You’re welcome to try," he told her simply. "But," he started again folding his arms over his chest, "you should ask yourself what you’re in such a rush for…I mean, I can stand around and chat with you all night."
"I don’t try," Buffy challenged, "I do."
"Young and cocky," he said. "Buffy, Buffy, Buffy…"
"How’d you know my name?" She asked edging towards him and away from the spreading flames. She definitely had to act now, because the fire company would likely be arriving soon. There’d be no explaining this to her parents if she got caught in a burning house in the middle of the night, while she was supposed to be grounded.
He just looked back at her calmly, loving the apprehension that was ebbing on her features. "I know a lot about you."
"If I cared I’d ask for some info on you," Buffy stated watching the vampire’s fangs appear in a demonic grin through snarled lips, his thick neck tilting his head back as he laughed out loud.
"So funny, too." He commented with bright eyes, "So funny and in love," he added with a straight face. "With an Alexander Harris…what ever would the sweet innocent little Slayer’s daddy think if he knew that you snuck out of your room and into the boys arms?"
Buffy inhaled a sharp breath and narrowed her eyes at him. He knew way too much about her and her whereabouts, and her Xander. He was too calm and too close. She kept her voice defiant, even though she was actually becoming frightened of him. "I don’t think we’ll ever know." She stated and stepped further away from the crackling flames, now almost meeting him in the hall. "I won’t say anything and neither will he," she chose to try to act indifferent to him knowing about Xander and to not divulge any unnecessary information about him. "And you’re going to be dead in about forty seconds…"
"Or I’ll be watching you burn alive…" he smiled at her and Buffy felt a chill move down her spine.
"Well," she swallowed and readied her stake, "If that happens we go together."
"I have no doubt that I’ll se you in hell."
That was the last thing he said as Buffy launched herself at him, her punch to his face barely having any effect…except in her own hand which almost folded at the contact. <Dammit!> she cursed and tried again, this time steeling her left wrist before swinging. But it had the same effect and he laughed…
"Is that what beat all my minions?" he asked in wonder, "Well good, they were weak." He landed a hard upper cut that caught Buffy on her chin and lifted her off the ground, sending her back into the burning room.
Buffy choked on the force of the hit as she hit the floor and then again on the smoke filling the room. She had been fighting for about thirty minutes so her lungs were already working overtime, now with the smoke, they were screaming in her chest.
She flipped back to her feet and flew into a side kick and then an immediate round house to his face, snapping his head back.
His hand gripped his chin when he next looked at her. "You’re not going to kill me Slayer…not tonight. I’ll let you leave." He turned to go back into the room but Buffy kicked him in the back of the knee, sending him to the floor.
"I finish what I start," she growled at him and lifted her stake. But as she brought it down, he turned suddenly and caught her wrist, bruising it in a vice grip and she fought not to scream.
"As do I," he lifted her up off the ground and Buffy glance briefly around the room she was now in. It looked like a children’s room, full of toys and painted brightly even in the dark.
And there was a child. He was sitting on the bed in pajamas, his knees drawn to his chest…
But then she was thrown back from the room, through the hall and back into the other room. She landed hard again, but this time the large vampire had followed her. He picked her up again before she could react properly, this time by the shoulder and she felt it dislocate under his hand, but she didn’t cry out, she didn’t have time.
Buffy flew backwards through the flames and out of the previously broken window and the cool night air assaulted her senses. "Next time." She heard her opponent whisper before she started falling.
She hit the ground with a dull crack as she landed on the shoulder he had picked her up by and her vision went black momentarily with the blinding pain, but she was quickly refocused when she began to smell the smoke emanating from the room that she had just been ejected from. Buffy was on her feet in an instant, shaking off the physical pain from her decent and staggering beck towards the front door.
Giles was already moving towards the spot where his charge had landed and he grasped her upper arm to stop her trek back into the house. "We must leave." He cautioned hearing fire trucks in the distant background.
"There’s a little boy in there," Buffy shook off his hand, but soon found that Giles had moved in front of her to block her path.
"Then I’m afraid that it is safe to assume that it is already too late for him." Giles said, reaching to turn her path again as the realization set on her face. "Now we must do going now, or else face have to explain this," he gestured to the fast burning mini-mansion behind them.
Buffy let herself be turned and she noticed the flashing lights approaching them. She couldn’t get caught at the scene of this ‘unexplainable’ fire. If she were the arson charges that she would face would be a walk in the park compared to the wraith of her parents. Giles was rushing her down the path to his already running car, leaving her to get in while he jogged to the drivers side.
Within seconds they were headed away from the scene of the fire, although nothing had been said.
"You did very well," Giles commented quietly after a few moments of silence.
Buffy didn’t even turn to face him as she ran the fight through her mind for the twentieth time since it had so abruptly ended. "I missed one," she said absently. "A grown one…and the boy."
She shut her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. The child, who could very well have been and probably was a vampire couldn’t have been more than eight years old. And he was dead. While she had been complaining about having to be the Slayer, he had been murdered. If she would have devoted more time to her patrol…been more alert…been a better Slayer…maybe…
"I’ll look into that," Giles broke into her thoughts. "Do you remember what they looked like?"
"Yeah," Buffy shook her head briefly to try to clear it, "The man…he was tall and fangy and strong." She seemed to stop, thinking of something else for a moment, "It was like he was guarding the boy…but he looked regular…the boy wasn’t a vampire."
Giles’ brow furrowed and he cast her a quick sideways glance, only now noticing that she wasn’t focused on the conversation that he intended on engaging her in. "That’s odd," he commented quietly. "You don’t think this child was a vampire?"
Buffy shook her head and spoke quietly, "No, not a vampire…something else maybe, but not a vampire."
"What do you think…"
"I don’t know, okay," Buffy cut him off harshly while keeping her eyes on the road in front of them, "I don’t know what he was…is…I don’t know."
Giles nodded mostly to himself and stared out of the windshield. She was obviously upset and he had to assume that it was the usual gripe over being the Slayer, however, he had the sneaking suspicion that maybe it was more. He knew form his training as a Watcher as well as from the extensive reading of previous Watchers’ journals that Slayers had to grow up much faster than others of their relative ages. Giles knew that Buffy was being exposed to things and situations that a normal teenager would most likely never have to deal with…most adults would never have to deal with, but what he was left to his own devises to figure out was how exactly she would cope with those things. He could only hope that she would let him do his job by her and help, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
"Would, um,how…how is your shoulder?" he asked after a moment of watching her stare out of the passenger window.
"Fine." She mumbled.
Giles nodded, "You landed fairly hard…"
"It’s fine." She bit out again. "I’m fine."
"Well," he made another attempt despite her tone, "I could check to see i…if it were dislocated. Perhaps wrap it for you…" He was headed towards his house and Buffy perked up when she saw that he had an obvious destination.
"Where are we going?" she asked suddenly, looking around the familiar streets of downtown Sunnydale. Her mind was jumping back and forth between knowing that she was unable to save the child back in that house, and had quiet possibly left him to die another, probably equally horrible death, and the fact that all she wanted to do now was get to Xander’s so that he could make it all better…make her all better. She was almost thankful for the sharp pain in her shoulder because it allowed her to focus enough on her surroundings to inquire about where exactly Giles was headed and wonder just how much longer it would take her to get where she wanted to be tonight.
Giles faltered at her sudden outburst, breaking her apparent code of silence. "I thought you would look through some texts…identify the vampire…"
"I’m really tired Giles." Buffy lied finally turning to face him, hoping that her eyes wouldn’t belay the anxiousness that she was trying to force out of her voice.
He nodded, "Alright." He thought for a moment, knowing that it was futile to force this particular Slayer to do anything, especially, he had learned quiet early on, when it involved books. "Shall I drop you off at your house?"
Buffy was focused on the view outside again as they drove past the street that would get her to Xander’s house quickest. "Yeah," she said sarcastically, "I’m sure my dad would love to meet you…at 1:45 in the morning as you, a 45 year old man drop off his 15 year old daughter. Yes, drop me off at home."
Giles turned to face her an exasperated look on his face only to find she was smirking back at him. "Yes quite," he cleared his throat, "Shall I drop you down the street then?"
Buffy shook her head, "Here would be good," she hoped she didn’t say too brightly.
Giles looked at the Main Street surroundings knowing that Buffy lived a good three miles from this particular point in town. "Drop you off here?" he asked confused.
"Yeah," Buffy said reaching for the door handle as Giles continued to drive. "It’s a nice night; I’d like to walk a little."
Giles slowed the car, "But you’re hurt a…a…and…"
"And I’m the Slayer," Buffy added her own end to the sentence. "You want me to patrol alone, I need to get used to walking back alone with my injuries, and how to take care of them myself."
Giles knew there was no use arguing as she seemed ready to jump out of the still moving vehicle. He had to wonder if she was telling him the whole truth, and if he even wanted an answer to his own question.
"I can still fight if need be," Buffy assured as the car slowed a little more, "And I’ll call you when I get in if it’ll make you feel better."
Giles sighed and stopped the car, "It would, thank you."
Buffy turned her face before she smiled and opened the car door.
"You did quite well tonight Buffy," Giles stated, a sense of pride in his voice, and she turned back to face him.
She let a smile creep onto her face, "Thanks."
Giles nodded and regarded her for a moment. "Well," he said as he watched her climb out of the car and into the deserted street, "You’ll call…"
"I will," Buffy assured. "Night Giles," she said before shutting the door, not waiting for a response.
"Good night Buffy," he responded anyway to the closed door as he watched her walk away before heading back to his home.
Buffy on the other hand knew that Giles knew where she lived so she headed in the direction of her home until she couldn’t see his tail lights anymore before she turned around and headed towards Xander’s. She fought off the urge to run for a moment, and then realized that it was probably for the best as the fast pace at which she was walking was even causing her a slight pain in her arm. But even at a walk she was sure she could make it to his place in under ten minutes…ten minutes and then everything would be alright.
*~*~*
Xander was still on the phone with Jesse working half heartedly to assure his friend that Paige was not at all interested in being the football team’s plaything, even though she already was, and both knew it, when he heard the familiar sound of weight moving on the roof outside of his window.
But this time it was different.
Earlier Xander had been sure that Buffy had been outside his window for a period of time before he actually heard her. Which left him slightly embarrassed and even more intrigued as to how much of him she saw exactly, since she had never given him an exact answer as to how long she had been there. But this time there was no attempt to maintain silence. It sounded like she literally dropped down onto the roof.
Xander shot up off the bed momentarily tripping over his shoes as he stumbled towards the window. He tossed the cordless phone, leaving Jesse in mid-sentence, to the bed and pushed up on the window pane, a blast of cool air rushing in from outside. He looked around briefly, "Buff," he called after a moment of seeing nothing.
"Over here," he heard a quiet, almost pained whisper and he turned his head to the hall window. Xander saw Buffy sitting against the wall on the far side of the window; her left hand seemed to be gripped onto her shoulder. As he climbed out of the window himself and steadied himself against the small slant and watched as Buffy made no move to face him or move towards him.
"Buff, are you alright?" he asked, his voice full of concern for his friend and he thought he heard her sniffle and saw her body shake slightly. Xander started to make his way towards her, but stopped when he saw her stand to her feet, still holding her shoulder.
Buffy walked over to him demonstrating an ease that Xander knew he could attribute to her new supernatural powers and he wrapped his arm around her to guide her into his room. She ducked her head as she climbed down over his window ledge and inside so the she couldn’t see her grin at his chivalry. Buffy watched Xander do a quick visual sweep of the street before entering the room behind her and shutting the window behind him.
"Are you alright Buff?" he asked again as she stood with her back to him, he could see that she was finding his floor very fascinating.
He saw her nod her head slightly, slowly turning to face him, "Yeah…"
"Is your arm hurt?" he asked approaching her and studying her swollen shoulder. He ran his fingers over it lightly and didn’t notice Buffy shudder at the contact.
"I think it’s dislocated or something…I fell on it pretty hard…" she whispered as she remembered seeing the child on the bed, but being thrown from the house before she could reach him. She heard Xander huff out a small laughing breath and look her in the eyes for the first time since she had gotten there and then his laugh faded into a surprised gasp. Buffy knew that she had taken some hits but hadn’t had the opportunity to study them or cover them properly before she reached his house. Now Xander stood before her, tilting her head to the side to examine what she assumed was a pretty nasty shiner on her left eye. She remembered getting hit there vaguely, not that it hurt all that much anymore.
Buffy watched as the concern in his eyes clouded over with an anger that was rarely present in him and then felt his hand drift up from her shoulder to her chin. Xander bit his lip slightly and Buffy saw that when he withdrew his hand there was a fairly decent amount of blood on his fingers…Maybe she got punched in the mouth a few times, too.
"I’m sorry it’s so late," she whispered as he continued to touch her face lightly, "I was going to just have Giles drop me back off at home…"
Xander didn’t say anything as he walked pass her and into his bathroom. Buffy turned to follow him with her eyes and saw him return to her with a wet cloth in hand. He gently wiped the remaining blood from her chin, "Don’t ever apologize for coming to me." He told her quietly.
Buffy nodded slightly and murmured, "Thanks."
She let him finish cleaning her up noting how carefully he avoided putting pressure on any of the bruises he could see. "What about your shoulder?" he asked as he finished, "I can get ice." She watched as he shifted nervously from foot to foot.
"I think I just need to pop it back into place," Buffy offered seeing how her condition was affecting him more so than herself. She stood up from the seat at his desk and moved in front of him, "Can you just hold it in place?" she asked taking his hand and placing it on her upper arm. Buffy was all of the sudden glad that this was a suitable remedy for the pain lancing through her side, as otherwise she would have been solely focused on the warmth of Xander’s hand on the bare skin of her arm, or the slight tremble of his fingers as he did exactly what she asked of him, or the accelerated breathing coming from the both of them.
"Ready?" Xander’s voice rasped with quiet uncertainty as Buffy set herself to relocate her shoulder, a process both expected to cause more than a little discomfort. She nodded and shut her eyes, "Hold it tight."
Xander’s grip tightened under her command and he watched as she bit her lip and then thrust her upper body forward. He winced at the audible sound that occurred as her joint popped back into place, but didn’t question if it was better as a relieved grin spread over his friends face.
Buffy sighed and rotated her arm around in wide circles, trying to work out the remaining pain. "That’s so much better you wouldn’t believe it," she commented with her eyes closed, "Thanks."
Xander cast her a grin watching as she stretched with her eyes closed, "Not a problem. Always happy to set a friends arm without proper medical training."
Buffy stopped and turned to face him finding that he was watching her. She laughed slightly when he noticed her looking at him. "Well, better you than Mr. Giles, right?"
She watched Xander’s face drop and then twist into a disgusted frown.
"I swear," he started shaking his head, "If that old guy ever touched you, I’d…"
"You’d what?" Buffy asked amusement clearly present in her voice. She waited for a moment for his response that didn’t come. "Exactly," she smiled in his face, "He’d set my shoulder and you’d order a pizza…just like you would do anyway."
Xander raised in defense, "I’d kick his ass…" he defied, "I’d kick his wrinkly old British ass."
"Sure you would Xan," she shrugged and began looking around his room. She suddenly turned to face him, "Why are you dressed?" she asked, noticing for the first time that he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans and it was well past 2 in the morning.
Xander looked down, realizing what Buffy just had and shrugged, "Well," he started, "I spent a few hours trying to talk myself into keeping my promise to you," he said not meeting her eyes. "So all I did was get dressed in preparation to rush to your side…and then I got distracted by Jesse…" Xander laughed and looked to the phone on the bed, "Jesse who I was still on the phone with…"
Buffy looked at him with wide eyes as he leaned down and picked up the long ago discarded phone and put it to his ear for a moment. "And he hung up," Xander confirmed with a nod and then sighed, "I see some serious groveling in my weekend plans."
Buffy laughed lightly and fell into a seated position next to where he stood, and leaned back on her elbows, "What was he talking about?" she asked just to fill the silence as her fingers toyed with the strings of his blanket.
Xander looked at her in disbelief, "It’s Jesse." He stated matter-of-factly, "If he’s not talking about chicks, he’s not talking."
"So Paige." Buffy concluded in a bored tone.
"Among others." Xander shrugged, knowing that it would get her attention. One thing he had learned about girls from being her friend for so long was that they loved the gossip.
"What others? Buffy asked sitting up, "Is he finally moving onto someone else? Someone not slutty?"
Xander turned and pretended to straighten the mess on his dresser, "I believe he mentioned something about one Willow Rosenberg," he feigned disinterest.
"What?!" Buffy’s voice was a quiet yell of disbelief, "Jesse wants Wills?!"
Xander turned quickly to face her, "I believe the boy does," he grinned, "He just doesn’t want to admit it yet."
"Oh my GOD!!!!" Buffy said looking at him with wide eyes, "I can’t believe it…that is so great, and with Spring Fling coming up…they could go together…"
"Whoa there pander," Xander held up his hands, "Let’s slow this paddy wagon down." Xander fixed her with a stern look, "You can’t tell anyone this…Jess totally flipped out when I tried to call him on it. If word got out it could get messy." He tried to remain totally serious but his resolve faltered as he watched Buffy pull her patented ‘I’m gonna get my way’ pout.
"But she’s so much better for him that Paige…if she were the one he was scamming on, do you realize how much easier our lives would be then?" Buffy pointed out.
Xander nodded in agreement, "But even if he were to admit it, now Percy’s in the picture. He’s totally gonna bogart the Willow front…"
Buffy sighed and dropped back into a reclined position on the bed, "He’s always taking Jesse’s girls…he’s like Lex Luther to Jess’ Superman…only more losery."
Xander swallowed hard and made a grunt in agreement. To tell the truth he was having a really hard time focusing on what she was saying as his brain was stuck on a ‘look at her boobs in that shirt loop’ as she lay flat on his bed in her form fitting black tank top. He was glad she was studying the ceiling and not looking at him as he pictured himself on that bed with her…his mind placing her in that very position, but in much different circumstances…different hot sweaty situations involving him on top of her, beside her, below her, inside her… "So you wanna shower or something?" he husked out and Buffy sat up fixing his with a curious look at his tone.
Xander cleared his throat as she spoke. "Is this a subtle way of telling me that I stink?" she laughed with threatening narrow eyes that held a gleam of a joke behind them.
He sputtered for his words, "No," he spoke quickly, "No, I just…thought, you know…"
Buffy stood up and moved towards his bathroom, "About me in the shower?" she asked over her shoulder.
<Yesyesyesyesyes> "NO! I mean naw, just…hot sweaty f…fighting," Xander was trying to sort through his thought rapidly, "I thought you…"
She fixed him with a warm smile that acted as much to disguise her discomfort as his own as she wondered just what was running through his mind as his mouth rebelled against him. "It’s alright Xan," she assured, "Towels are in there?"
Xander nodded again, "Where they always are."
Buffy bit her bottom lip and shook her head, "I’ll be back then," she told him, unsure of what else to say. They were both just standing there looking at each other and then turning towards the walls and the floor when one of them noticed that they were staring for too long. "Alright…" Buffy looked around the room once more and then entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
Xander huffed his breath out loudly once the door shut and he ran his hand warily through his hair. <Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea…> Sure he had wanted he and Buffy to do the sleepover deal – still wanted, actually – and he was glad that she had come back from her patrol with only minor injuries, and her being there gave him the peace of mind in knowing that she was alright and would be as long as she was right there next to him…but, this was getting ridiculous.
He must be the hugest ass in the world because what he wanted…there was no way that it could ever happen.
Xander set about straightening up his room idly and changing into comfortable sleep clothes, tonight deciding that it would be best it that consisted of long basketball shorts and a new, non-Buffy drool, tank top.
He had this sneaking suspicion that Buffy wanted exactly what he wanted or at least something very close. He had to assume that she hadn’t thought about them in the same particular fashion that he had…but then again, if she had…that would be pretty cool, and yet oddly hot at the same time…
But that, although mentally exciting for him, was beyond the point. They were stuck in this vacuum where they couldn’t say what needed to be said without the guise of a joke, and they couldn’t do what he wanted them to do because…it was weird…and a little uncomfortable – not as uncomfortable as having a hard-on thinking about her laying next to him while she was actually laying next to him and resting her leg on it – but uncomfortable nonetheless.
His mind wandered to the fact that the water was running in his bathroom…where Buffy was all wet and soapy and naked, and completely unavailable because Xander was quiet sure that he couldn’t just start making out with his best friend, and he knew that he really couldn’t just go open the bathroom door to do so. His perfect freshman year was already shaping up to be a sucking crap-fest because of this…and now Buffy had this whole Slayer thing to deal with, which meant that he had the whole Slayer thing to deal with, and that whatever either was feeling, it would have to be put on the backburner, from what he understood, for the sake if the world at large.
But that couldn’t last forever. This couldn’t last forever. There was no way that two people could just feel around this imaginary bubble of more than friends for a lifetime, which was apparently how long Buffy would be the Slayer. He was certain that they would be forced to deal with it, and possibly very soon, and while he couldn’t wait, the possibility of getting everything, he realized, that he had ever wanted, and had had it right under his nose his whole life, was great…it was also scary.
The water in the shower stopped and he look towards the door. Buffy would come back into his room soon all clean and fresh smelling, probably with her hair still all wet and falling around her face in a way he found cute even before he was willing to accept that he felt that way about her…and he would have to pretend that she was just a regular girl. And she wasn’t. Xander had always, his whole life, known that Buffy was special. Then he felt it even more-so when his feelings delved beyond simple friendship, and now, the cosmos were agreeing with him. He could completely understand why she was this Chosen One Girl, she was that for him…but he wished that it would stay only just for him, mostly for her sake. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she could handle the whole Slayer deal, Buffy was tenacious beyond words and had always been strong, in his eyes, if only recently in the physical sense…but there was more of a inner concern he felt at her having to do this.
When Xander had gone out on the roof to get her, she had just been sitting; staring out into space…she looked so small to him, and so broken. He couldn’t imagine how she’d gone so long feeling like that with out telling anybody…without telling him. And when he had gotten her inside the look in her eyes was so haunted. He had spent an inordinate amount of time studying her eyes, those grayish-green crystal clear orbs and tonight, as he had noticed a lot recently, they were clouded. Xander hated to think what Buffy had to do was taking the person who he had grown up with away…he hated that the innocence that was always ever present in her had been fading, and he had just earlier that night found out why.
He wanted to help he deal with it all. God, how he wanted to talk it all away and bring back ‘Summer Buffy’, the last time he saw that unadulterated smile and giddy laughter for days on end, and the time when he could find her any time of day and just talk to her; but he couldn’t. And maybe it was too much for her, and maybe it was only going to get worse, and maybe she didn’t have time for petty feelings and dealing with guys anymore. Maybe that was why she broke up with Scott. Xander didn’t even want to purpose something like altering the state of their friendship with out absolute certainty that it would happen and work out…he didn’t ever want to lose her…and right now, maybe asking that of her would be too much, and hurting her was the last thing Xander would ever do.
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