[Reviews - 44]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 2510 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
A/N: This chapter is more about Xander and Buffy but fear not; Spike’s reaction to the love spell is in the next chapter!
CHAPTER FIVE

XXXXXXXXXX

Xander Harris drove toward Cordelia Chase's home on the rich side of town that night, a single flower wrapped inside some tissue paper on the seat beside him. He cursed himself for being weak; he had told himself over and over that day that breaking up from the Queen Bitch was the greatest thing he had ever done.

But as he had gone home after school, all he could think about was her: her butt as it moved back and forth when she walked; her sparkling brown eyes, even when she was angry with him or when she pretended not to like him, and her hands on his body when she copped a feel.

He thought about their last makeout session inside her Porsche. She touched him all over like he was a Greek statue that she wanted to bang in the worst way, and he had felt the same. They had come up for air after a very intense lip lock, but he kept fantasizing about what might have happened if they hadn't….

He pulled up across the street from her parents' house, checking his hair, which he'd slicked back a little, and his new suit, which was black and intense-looking on him. He breathed and sniffed the air to make sure that he had minty freshness.

**Okay,** he thought when he caught a whiff of the pizza he'd had earlier that evening, **maybe I need freshening up!**

He put some mints in his mouth and chewed them for a moment before repeating his breathing exercise. Satisfied a moment later, Xander exited the car and walked up toward the house. He rang the doorbell. A dour faced old man opened the door.

"Yes?" he asked with a New England accent.

Xander's face was a mix of panic and disappointment that Cordy hadn't answered the bell.

**Of course,** he thought, **naturally, they would have a butler! Doesn't everybody rich have one?**

"Listen, Jeeves…" he began in a flippant tone which he hoped hid his nervousness.

"The name is Jeffrey," the butler corrected.

"Yeah, sure," Xander said, "Jeffrey." The butler waited expectantly for Xander to provide a reason for his visit.

Xander shuffled a little, at somewhat a loss for words. Chickening out, he said, "sorry, wrong house."

"Are you perchance looking for Miss Cordelia?" the butler asked. The dark haired young man looked up and nodded.

"One moment, Mr…?" the major domo prompted.

"Xander Harris," Xander said, hoping against hope for a positive outcome.

The butler turned and walked away, leaving the door partly opened. Xander waited outside before he heard the butler suggest that he wait in the foyer.

"Thanks," Xander said, thinking, **well! At least I'm FOYER material!**

He sat down on a settee by the steps with the huge banister. They looked like something out of the movie Titanic, with their rail in the middle and their carpeted brown woodedness, he noted. He tapped his foot, and then was rewarded with Cordelia coming down them. She had a perpetual scowl on her face.

"What now?" she asked angrilly.

She saw the flower that he held in his hand. Her face lit up for just a moment when she noted that he'd remembered her favorite: red roses. Not wanting Xander to see just how much his simple gesture had affected her, Cordelia huffed.

"Are you gonna give me that, and then take it back to Walmart, like that cheap knock off you gave me yesterday?" she snapped. Xander glared at her.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" he asked, his eyes flashing. "Or is this a code thing, where you really want to hide the fact that you love me, but you can't quite say the words? 'Cause I gotta say, Cordy, that on you it doesn't look that different!"

"Love you?!" Cordelia bit back. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

Xander rolled his eyes, then said, "Oh, I get it, now! You decided to feel sorry for me instead of showing me how you really feel about me last night!"

"Well, someone had to!" she yelled. "It wasn't like any one else would! Unless, of course, you're telling me how you really feel by giving me a wilted, $1.98 flower of yours!"

"First of all, I spent at least half a day picking out the best flower out of hundreds of roses at a real florist's shop for you, to say nothing of coughing up most of my allowance getting this! Second, I'll have you know that I have not one, but two girls who really like me!" Xander replied, hoping that she wouldn't see right through him.

He thought about the only two girls who even gave him the time of day: Buffy and Willow, his two best female friends. Make that his only two female friends; okay, his only friends, unless you counted Oz..

Cordelia cut to the chase with her usual sharpness. "Oh?" she asked, crossing her arms and frowning. "How are Buffy and Willow, anyway?" she asked snidely.

Xander got in her face then. "What makes you think they're the only girls in my life?" he asked.

When Cordy gave him a stare as if to say, "oh, please, you're kidding, right?" Xander withdrew the rose and stepped back.

"You know, I was right the first time," he said in a low voice. "I told myself that this was a bad idea, and I've decided that as of now, we're very much of the unmix-y crowd." He turned away and left.

Cordelia held out her hand, wishing for a moment that he would come back so that she could say how sorry she was, but she slammed the door as she beheld his retreating back. When she heard the sound of his engine (at least she thought it was his,) she cried a single, angry tear.

**Idiot!** She thought, though she didn't know if she meant him, or herself.

Cordelia went upstairs to her lonely room and flung herself on her bed. She saw the picture of Xander and herself, and she put the frame down so that she didn't have to look at it. Then, she lay on her back and looked up at the ceiling, wondering how, or even if, she wanted to make things better between them.

XXXXXXXXX

Buffy walked through the cemetery, hoping that Angel or Spike would show up itching for a fight, or perhaps some other demon so that she could get in some practice fighting for the real thing. She was rewarded later when a purple demon came up, hissing and snarling, its lavender tongue flinging out at her.

"You know, I've gotta ask you: is that the only weapon you've got in your arsenal or are you just trying in vain to impress me?" she asked, faking a yawn.

The demon crouched, then it drew itself to full height as if it were experiencing a moment of indecision.
A drop of its spittle hit Buffy's leather jacket on the upper arm.

"Slayer…" it started saying.

"Yep, that's me," Buffy returned, kicking it in the knee.

The demon went down, but came up a moment later and grabbed her with two, beefy, purple hued arms. It squeezed, flinging out its' tongue as though it was kissing her on her cheek.

"Eww!!" Buffy said, adding, "have you ever heard of controlling yourself on the first date?"

She struggled for a moment, then elbowed his rib. When the demon cried out, Buffy kicked it to the ground. She whipped out a knife from one of her jacket pockets and jabbed in in the demon's side. Purple blood spewed out.

"Been working out, huh, Slayer?" the demon asked, not with sarcasm, but in awe as though he admired that. "Looks good on you."

Buffy's response was to twist the knife a little harder. The demon cried out, backing away.

"I don't see why we can't make it work, Slayer…" the demon said, not making any sudden moves. Buffy looked at it as though it had escaped from the loony bin.

"Well, let's see…" she quipped, "for one thing, you're ugly." She let loose a kick toward the unwounded side of the demon. "For another, hello: demon, you. Slayer, me. I kick you guys to Hell, so I'm not thinking long term relationship."

The purple hued monster threw a punch which solidly connected on her jaw. Buffy winced with pain. Using a harpoon she had fished out, she hit it with all she had.

"And, by the way," she finished, "I hate deep purple demons who hit me in my face!" The Slayer shot the arrow into its heart. The demon screamed its death cry, then slumped to the ground forever silent.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When she reached the library to ask Giles some more questions about Angelus, Buffy didn't see her Watcher, but Xander instead. He was slumped over some demon books and tomes but looked totally confused, twisting one book to and fro.

"Hey, Xander," Buffy greeted. "Where's Giles?"

"He went to home to grab some food and some books," Xander reported. "I met him as he left."

"Oh," Buffy said, sinking down on a chair.

Xander took in her winded condition and walked out of the library. A moment later, he came in with a water drenched paper towel and pressed it to her face.

"Thanks," she said, grabbing the towel and holding it to her cheek. "Does it look bad?"

"Nope," Xander said honestly. "Looks like you're on the recovery train."

"So, you're here because of Cordelia, right?" Buffy asked. Xander looked at her, and then he smiled. The Chosen One thought she'd never seen the grin he suddenly aimed at her. It was part adoring, and part lustful.

"I was, but we called it quits for the last time," Xander said, never taking his dark eyes off of her.

Buffy shrugged, saying, "Well, if she can't see all of the wonderful things you have, then it's her loss."

Xander nodded enthusiastically. "Darn straight," he agreed. "Anyway, I don't really care. I'm moving on."

"Good for you," Buffy praised, thinking, **at least until the next time he sees Cordelia.**

He scooted the chair he'd sat in closer to Buffy, then turned so that they faced each other. He grabbed her in a hug. Buffy returned the gesture, glad that her friend was at least trying to deal. Xander didn't pull apart. In fact, by her estimation, he was trying to get closer. She broke contact with him, and when she looked at him, he still wore a dreamy expression on his face.

"I was thinking…" Xander began, "how do you feel about lap dancing? I find that very comforting, don't you?" Buffy got up suddenly from her chair.

"Okay…you do know who I am, right?" Buffy asked, getting extremely nervous. "I mean, Xander, I'm glad you're the Emancipated guy and all, but I don't think moving on with me is the right thing to do."

The dark haired young man didn't even give any indication of having heard her. "I really thought I'd be more upset about Cordy," he told Buffy, "but once I saw you here, I couldn't believe how happy I was about how things turned out."

"Uhh…" Buffy murmured, wondering what to say to her friend.

Her spider sense was going into overdrive despite there not being a vampire or a demon nearby. Something was definitely wrong. The Slayer backed away, trying to distance herself from Xander. He moved slowly, but he advanced toward her.

"It's kinda funny, you know?" he asked. "Like I never saw you before, the way you were meant to be seen."

His hand reached out to her. Buffy opened the door leading to the hallway, and ran right into Giles.

"Oh, Buffy!" the Watcher and Librarian exclaimed.

He held up a plastic grocery bag in one hand, and some books in the other. Buffy grabbed Giles' arm and steered him out into the hallway. Xander made no move to follow, but looked through the small window on the door.

"Giles! There's something going on with Xander!" the Chosen One cried. "I think he's under a spell. A-and, it isn't just him! Some purple demon tried to cozy up to me!"

The Watcher put down his items for a moment in front of the door and walked with Buffy toward a classroom. They went inside and she switched on the light.

"What kind of spell do you think Xander or the demon are under?" he asked, removing his glasses and chewing on them.

"I dunno; they acted weird," she answered.

Giles gave her a look as if to ask, "weird for Xander or a demon, or for any red blooded American teenager or monster?"

"Both went all…lovey-dovey on me," Buffy said, relating some of what had happened.

Giles put on his glasses, saying, "Hmm…this could be significant. What you encountered was a Ra'sha'hoo demon. They mark their potential mates by slinging acid on their person. Perhaps yet another mind game from Angelus to keep you on your toes?"

"With demon guy, maybe, but with Xander?" Buffy asked.

Giles looked to her for any more information, but none was forthcoming. He then blinked like Xander had done.

"Maybe we should research this more," he said in a low voice. Buffy thought she heard a more husky voice that time on her Watcher.

**Not again!** She thought.

"We could go to my flat," Giles said, giving her the same, idiotic, smitten grin Xander had. "I could reveal more about Angelus, or I could tell you some other deep, dark secrets…".

"No!" Buffy commanded.

Giles' response was to simply beam at her in complete adoration.

"Maybe you and Xander should research this more," Buffy ordered, "while I see if Angel or Spike, or somebody knows anything about this!"

"I love it when you are forceful, Buffy!" Giles commented. "It's not for nothing that you are the Chosen One. But I really think I should come with you."

"No, no…" Buffy said, "go back to the library and sit with Xander. Don't do anything until I get back, okay?"

Giles frowned, not wanting to leave Buffy's side, but he did as he had been told. While he and Xander sat researching, Buffy pulled out her cell phone, hoping that she could contact Amy even as she also went to the mansion in search of Angelus and Spike.






You must login (register) to review.