Title: Before the Fall of Rome (14d/?)

Author: Brooke

Email: yabbadabbadome13@yahoo.com

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. I wished I owned the two Xanders’ from "The Replacement" though. Buffy and friends are owned by Joss, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, The UPN and whoever else has rights to the show.

Summary: You remember all that crap that started post-puberty…yeah, it’s great isn’t it. It was when life started

Distribution: I don’t know why anybody would want this, but if somebody does…sure.

Feedback: Definitely!! Tell me if it sucked or if you liked it. Whatever. Just write back!

Authors Note: Takes place in an AU season 1 where Buffy and Xander are best friends and Willow is the new girl as Sunnydale High. It is the beginning of their sophomore year and, as 15 and 16 year olds, hormones and feelings are taking center stage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Willow was frightened. She actually couldn’t breathe for a few moments. It couldn’t be possible, what she was listening to Cordelia tell her friends…it couldn’t be real.

"Could you believe the nerve of that loser last night?" the head cheerleader said with a disgusted snort to her group.

"I know," Aura spoke glancing up from her nail filing, "Jesse McCormick! He’s not even a loser…he’s, like, two notches below loser."

"How dare he think he can just grab you like that," Blue recalled the incident while Cordelia nodded.

"Where does he get off…"

<Jesse?> Willow thought frantically. <Jesse…He’s…he’s de…dead.> The red head leant forward slightly, braving the snide comments that were bound to be directed at her from the group of popular girls. "Jesse?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

Cordelia’s head snapped around to face her and she rolled her eyes. "In my convo much?"

Willow ignored her and pressed again. "You said that Jesse danced with you last night?"

"Not that it’s any of your business since I wasn’t talking to you," the brunette bit out earning snickers from her crowd. "But, yeah. He came into the Bronze all ‘Look at me, now I’m a loser with fashion sense’ and told me to dance with him." She turned back to the other cheerleaders. "Can you believe that? He told me, Cordelia Chase, to dance with him.  Does he know who my father…"

"Last night?" Willow interrupted again.

Cordelia rolled her eyes again and turned to face her again. "Yes. That’s what I said."

"He…he…" Willow stuttered for the words ascribed to the painful ordeal. "He died…"

"I TOLD YOU!!!" Aphrodisia exclaimed with wide eyes. "I told you Buffy went to his funeral!"

The sound of the bell ringing signaling the end of first period startled Willow again and she stood up nervously, her hands shaking as she gathered her books. She really wished Buffy and Xander had shown up – but just like before, they were MIA.

She ignored the comments the cheerleaders made as she bumped her way past them to get out of the class room. She didn’t have time to care about displacing them – not when they had just told her that her dead friend was walking and talking, apparently reanimated.

Willow wanted to believe it was a cruel joke. Something constructed because those girls hated Buffy and her friends, but she couldn’t buy that. If that were the case, she settled as she walked out of the doors and into the quad, they wouldn’t have been so sketchy about including her into the conversation. And, well, none of those girls were smart enough to pull off such an intricate lie. But what else could it be? Who else could it have been? Cordelia had known, or at least been aware of Jesse for the better part of her whole life so she would have recognized him.

Either way she had to find Buffy and Xander. Even if it were a mean spirited joke about their friend they deserved to know from somebody they trusted first. Then they could all put a stop to it, or get the principle involved, or something.

Willow set her direction for the library first. If she couldn’t find Buffy in the halls, she always assumed that she was in the library now. She had walked by and spied her through the glass portals in the door enough to bet everything that it was where the blonde girl was, and hopefully once she found her Xander wouldn’t be too far behind.

She made her way across the grass, dodging clueless students who were wasting their first free period of the day, while working up explanations as to why everything was all the sudden so freaky here – why everybody she knew had a secret double life and she seemed to be in the dark about it.

"Willow!"

The red head stopped her trek when she heard her name and turned around to the direction she thought it came from. All of the sudden she wished she had turned the other way, had chosen to turn left instead of right, as her head jumped then stopped and sunk to someplace below her stomach. As she turned her head she realized that she didn’t have to go all the way to the library; the two who she was looking for were sitting mere yards away from her, and yet, unlike she was of them, they were completely unaware of her existence.

"Willow!" the voice called again and she shook her head to clear her thoughts before tearing her eyes away from Buffy and Xander sitting together on the bench by the fountain.

"Oh, hey Luke," she greeted confused. "What’s up?"

The boy stopped in front of her breathing hard. "I’ve been looking all over for you…"

"Well, did you try class?" Willow offered a somewhat uneasy grin. Even though Percy didn’t seem to mind hanging out with her, his friends were just as content to ignore the fact that she even existed, so the fact that he claimed to be looking for her was kinda wig worthy.

Luke offered her a short smile but then dove back into the conversation. "Yeah…have you seen Perc?"

Willow’s brow furrowed. "No…not since yesterday afternoon." She was suddenly worried. He hadn’t called her last night after he got home from the Bronze like he said he would, and he hadn’t called this morning… "Why?"

"He’s not here today." Luke told her. "He skipped morning practice. I just thought…"

"Didn’t he go out with you guys last night?" she interrupted him. Jesse had shown up from the dead and now Percy was missing…

Something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

"Yeah," Luke nodded. "But he left early…"

Willow’s voice dropped to almost a whisper but she tried not to convey the fear that was welling in the pit of her stomach. "I haven’t seen him. Did he leave alone?"

"Yeah," Luke nodded. "I think…I don’t know…"

"I’ll try to call him…maybe go talk to his parents…"

Luke exhaled loudly and nodded. "Cool. Look," he said as he backed away, "If you get a hold of him, tell him Coach is gonna have his ass."

Willow watched him turn and walk away, joining with a few of his team members before heading over to the ‘Team Bench’. "If I get a hold of him," she whispered and started back towards Buffy and Xander.

~*~*~

"Me llamo es Alexander…write that down," Xander spoke with his eyes closed against the bright sun.

"You write it down,"’ Buffy defied, even as she wrote down the sentence in his notebook.

"You said you would help me with my homework." Xander pouted and opened his eyes a little to squint up at her.

"I thought you meant like science or something," Buffy spoke down to him, "I don’t even take Spanish. AND I didn’t think I’d have to write down all your answers…"

Xander shrugged from his reclined position and shut his eyes again. They had mutually decided to ditch the broom closet about half way into first period and headed outside to sit in the sun. They had sat for a grand total of three minutes before Xander had decided to lay down, which was where he was now, resting on his back with his head in Buffy’s lap.

She had taken to occasionally running her fingers through his hair, which he had been enjoying, but didn’t want to relish in too much, since his increased enjoyment…well, their combined enjoyment, had been the reason for heading out for a breather in the first place. Luckily Buffy had maintained enough of a level head to avoid taking things too far in the most inappropriate place in the world – outside of her parent’s bed, and had, somewhat reluctantly pulled away.

So before Xander could suggest that they head back inside, he pulled it out. His homework. Not what had almost happened in the closet, but actual school books, and asked for her assistance with it. The homework. And Buffy was more than willing. Homework-wise.

Buffy read from the textbook that was resting on her relaxing friend’s stomach. "Alright," she sighed. "Number two…"

"Numero dos," Xander said in a deep voice that caused Buffy to giggle.

"Numero dos," she repeated. "Como se llamas tus padres?"

"You have the worst Spanish accent ever." Xander smirked.

Buffy’s brow furrowed. "I don’t take it…"

"You still live in California," Xander argued. "It’s like Mexico junior…"

"No it’s not." Buffy pouted. "If anything Mexico is our junior."

"You just think you’re better because you take French." Xander explained. "You actually need Spanish, you know."

Buffy shrugged, "Well, I’ve got you for that. You speak it."

Xander opened his eyes and tilted his head away from the sun a little bit. "You’ve got me?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You know I do," she teased. This was the first time since everything had happened between them, that they had openly appeared so coupley. Buffy had thought it would be weird – just announcing, through actions more than words, that she and Xander were together…sort of. Nothing was official or anything, but, this was making it safe to assume. "You’re wrapped around my finger."

Xander shot her a devious smirk. "Hmmmm…I recall it the other way around." He watched Buffy redden to a degree that he had never seen before and she pinched his side through his shirt.

"Owwwww!!" Xander tried to squirm away until she let up. "Don’t do that. I bruise."

"If you don’t want to bruise don’t be gross," she said with humor in her voice. "Now answer the question, so I can stop doing your homework."

"Why?" Xander yawned. "What’s your hurry? Going to third period?"

"Yes." Buffy said with more conviction than necessary. "You can’t make me skip all my classes."

"It’s always your idea." Xander disagreed. "I said: ‘Hey that’s the beuurrgghh…’; and the mumbled part was your tongue back in my throat."

Buffy pinched him again, but Xander smiled through it this time. She leant over his face a little. "You’re just kissable, that’s all."

"Am I now?" Xander cocked an eyebrow. "You gonna back that up, in public and all?"

"Nope," Buffy chirped and sat back up. She closed Xander’s notebook and slip it into his back pack behind her.

"Well, Tease," Xander relaxed back into her lap. "Am I dateable.?"

"Hmmmm…" Buffy chewed on her lower lip while he watched her. "I guess."

"You guess?"

"You need a hair cut." She reasoned. "You’re too scruffy for me…"

Xander sent her a devious smirk, "Give you something to hold onto."

Another pinch followed. "You’re too, what’s the word here…"

"Handsome?"

"Moronic." Buffy settled. "And sophomoric."

"I am a sophomore." Xander said with a grin. "I’m allowed to be. So," he pressed, "I’m not dateable as is?"

Buffy shook her head no but kept her joking grin in place.

"But Jeff is?"

"Jeff asked…sorta."

"So, all I’d have to do is ask?" Xander questioned.

Buffy shrugged. "It’s a step."

"Well," Xander sighed. "I think I already asked and you said you had a date with somebody else…"

"Then don’t ask," Buffy shrugged. "No loss to me."

"Fine." Xander shrugged and shut his eyes. "I won’t."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Yeah." Buffy brought her hand back to his hair and began twisting it between her fingers, making it stand up. "And for the record, you, me and Willow were going to the Bronze. That’s not a date anyway. That’s how we usually go."

Xander spoke with his eyes closed. "I asked Willow to bring that guy Oz. It was gonna be a double."

"You can’t trick a girl into a date."

"Jeff did."

"Jeff’s a prick."

Xander nodded. "Doesn’t matter anyway. We’ve got bigger fish to fry tonight."

Buffy kept her eyes focused on his hair, "Yep. No time for dates. We’ve gotta keep Hell from coming to Earth."

Xander opened his eyes at the emotionless sound of her voice. "You’re not wigged about that? I mean, it sounds big. Bigger than big."

"We’re going to beat them." Buffy said confidently. "We’re going to win because I’m the best." Xander watched her pep talk to herself as she spoke to him. "They’ve said it too. First this vamp at that house I went to, and then Angel…"

"How would Angel know?" Xander asked immediately. "He trails all Slayers offering them a hand?"

Buffy looked him in the eyes and held his gaze. "No," she said quietly, "From what he told me, I’m lucky." He just kept looking at her waiting for the elaboration. "Angel…he…"

"What’s the matter?" Xander tried to smile. "Does he bite or something?" His smile died when he saw the serious expression on her face. "There wasn’t a door up there," he whispered. "He’s one of them?"

Buffy nodded. "He’s…he’s a vampire…"

"Isn’t it your job to stake him then?! Why is he still…"

Buffy cut him off before he could freak out more. If anything knew how to kill a good mood, it seemed to be Angel. "He said he has a soul…he wants to help…"

Xander looked into her eyes, trying to read how she was feeling. "You knew before then right? The night…the night at the hospital?"

Buffy nodded.

"Those things killed Jess and you let him live?" Xander moved to sit up, needing to face her to have this conversation, but Buffy moved her arm around his chest and pushed him back down.

"He can help Xander." Buffy told him, keeping her voice low. "He guarded me while I got Jesse to the hospital. He came to help Giles with the research today…he wants to help." Xander’s eyes darted around a little, not willing to accept what she was saying. "We can use him…"

"How does a vampire get a soul? I thought you said they lost them."

"I don’t know," Buffy told him honestly as he relaxed slightly. "But I do know that I’ll take advantage of it if it’ll keep my friends alive."

Xander sighed. "If it’ll keep you alive."

Buffy offered him a small grin.

"I won’t trust him," Xander spoke up again, his voice harsh.

"You shouldn’t. He’s a demon." Buffy told him seriously. "And the moment he lets that show, I’ll take care of him myself."

"If he hurts you…"

"I’ll kill him." The Slayer said. Not Buffy. The Slayer. Xander literally watched the change in her eyes as she darted between the two.

Xander nodded. "Good." He swallowed and grasped her hand that was now resting idle on his stomach and intertwined their fingers, holding them up in front of him. "I like this," he said randomly, but completely sincere in his change of subject.

"Yep," Buffy agreed watching him. Not caring who might see them. She actually hoped Scott might, just because maybe then he might leave them alone.

"So after this…Harvest," Xander spoke a little unsurely. "Would you want to…"

"Want to what?" Buffy grinned while glancing to her left.

"To go…to the Bronze?"

"We do that anyway."

"As friends." Xander said quickly. "We could go more togethery…if you want."

"Alone together?"

Xander nodded. "And if you wanted to do that…I would feel more comfortable about asking you to Winter Fest…"

"Are you asking me to those things?"

Xander shrugged. "I dunno. Are you accepting?"

"You haven’t asked." Buffy smiled as she felt his thumb rubbing lightly over the back of her hand.

"Well, if I did…we’d be like, dating. Like boyfriend and girlfriend. Like we talked about before…"

"Are you asking?" Buffy repeated.

"Yes." Xander said quickly, not looking directly at her.

"Yes what?"

"You’re a brat, you know that?" he shot up at her and earned an innocently sweet smile. "Fine," Xander snuggled down further in her lap and held her hand tighter while he met her eyes. "Buffy," he took a deep breath. "Do you want to…uhmmm, go…"

"GUYS!!!!!"

Both Buffy and Xander’s heads snapped up to see Willow rushing towards them across the quad.

"What’s the matter?" Buffy asked at the panicked look in her friends eyes. "What happened?"

"Something weird is going on," she told them. Willow was working hard not to focus on the fact that Xander was lying in Buffy’s lap and holding her hand comfortably. They, after all, didn’t seem to care, as they had not changed their positions.

"What?" Buffy asked tensing, tugging on Xander’s hand so that he sat up, and he complied. "What’s going on?"

Willow’s mind was racing, trying to word the muttled facts she had and be able to voice her would be suspicions. "Cordelia," she decided to start from the beginning, "She said…she said last night…"

"What happened?" Xander pressed at her obviously distraught tone. He just hoped he sounded sincere more than pissed, because truth be told, he was tittering on the edge of both.

"She said Jesse was at the Bronze." Willow spit out.

"What?" Buffy stood to her feet, a most serious expression in place.

"I believe her," Willow breathed out, looking directly into Buffy’s eyes. "I wanted to think it was a joke…"

Xander’s breathe had caught in his throat. The boy he had bumped into…the one he had thought was Jesse the previous night…

He watched the fear in Willow’s eyes. The mixture of fear and pain in Buffy’s. And he had seen Jesse the night before, and he was terrified. "He’s one of them?" he asked shakily as he stood up next to Buffy.

The Slayer was in place behind the mask of vacant eyes.

"One of who?" Willow asked confused.

"Cordelia saw him?" Buffy asked instead. "At the Bronze?" Her mind was working ferociously. Angel said that they would need an army – the Bronze could provide that. If that was where the Harvest was going down – he could have been involved in casing it…

He was her friend. Her best friend. And she had let him die. Let him be turned into…into a monster. Who knows how many murders she had let him commit. How many people died at the hands of the body of her best friend now turned evil. Buffy’s chin shook. "We need to go to the library," she said uneasily while not focusing on either of her friends as she grabbed her bag from the ground.

"And Percy," Willow said again as she watched the two gather their things to go inside. "He’s not here today…nobody has seen him…"

"Library," Xander reiterated to her and let his hand fall to the small of Buffy’s back, guiding her along a little bit. He looked back over his shoulder and spoke to Willow. "We’re going to work this out. Don’t worry," he assured.

Willow nodded and Buffy spoke. "Giles’ll know what to do. He’ll tell us," she still couldn’t completely focus on anything other than that Jesse was a vampire. Evil. And she’d have to kill him before he hurt anybody…himself…

"The librarian?" Willow questioned, jogging to keep up with the quick pace they had set.

"It’s a long story," Buffy said distractedly. "And you’re going to have to hear it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The End Part 14d

TBC....

:: Back To Brooke's Page ::
:: Back to Author's Page ::
:: Slightly Over The Edge ::