ALL THINGS NEW - PART 8
Part VIII: Sunnydale, April 18 2000
Xander Harris was playing pool in the Bronze, as Cordelia Chase walked into the establishment and looked around in nostalgic wonder. < My God, I could swear this place hasn’t changed like at all... >
The brunette then spotted her ex-boyfriend, and went up to talk to him. “Xander! Hi...”
The former Zeppo smiled, and greeted her warmly. “Hey, Cordy. When did you get back to town?”
“Last night, I came to visit my mother...”
They talked for a while, before Cordelia spotted a four-month-pregnant Buffy – who was accompanied by Angel, as well as Spike and Faith.
She exclaimed in surprise, “SPIKE!! And that nutcase Faith – when she did get out of her coma? And why isn’t Angel-”
Xander clamped a hand around her mouth, and dragged her to a private alcove for them to talk. Cordelia of course hit him for it, “God, cave-man much!?”
The teenager just laughed, “Yeah right, Cor, and you’re just as pushy and tactless as you were in high school!” Then he sobered up, “Just not in the mood to talk to them right now, I guess.”
The former cheerleader got suspicious, and asked him to explain what had been going on since she’d last seen him. Xander sighed and said, “Back in February I was in the hospital, visiting a temporary work buddy? Didn’t have anything better to do, so I paid a little visit to Faith – to make sure she was still vegetating...”
“And?”
“Just my luck she woke up, and forced me to take her somewhere safe. Almost broke my arm, simply to make sure I was paying attention to what she was sayin’,” he finished up somewhat bitterly.
“Right, so then what?” asked Cordelia.
“I took her home to the basement, told her what’s been happening the last eight months. Then Giles comes around, wants me to help look for her; boom, she has a new hostage. Takes us to his place for whatever money G-man’s got, to skip town...”
Xander paused, then continued. “So then Buffy and Angel show up, and we got ourselves a Mexican standoff. Apparently, Buff’s just learned at the time that she was pregnant with Liveboy’s kid-”
“Big surprise,” Cordelia injected drolly, with a roll of her eyes. “Like they’d wait long...”
Xander smiled momentarily, before continuing the story. “Anyway, Buffy was in tears, didn’t know what to do – how could she have a baby, and still be the Slayer? No-win situation. That’s when Giles offers Faith a deal; since Buffy can’t be the Slayer anymore, she takes over...”
“Was he completely nuts or what?!” the young woman demanded instantly.
“Yeah, pretty much my opinion at the time. And you can imagine Willow’s reaction! But G-man did have a point, there was no one else – and we couldn’t just sink to her level, and kill Faith in cold blood to get another Slayer. Anyway if she agreed, he’d be her Watcher to get the Council off her back...”
Another momentary pause. “And at this point, some asshole Watcher hit team comes in to kidnap and/or kill our favorite rogue Slayer! So what happens next? They get their no-good limey asses taken down, and Faith agrees to give it a try.”
“And what about Spike?” asked the brunette girl in apprehension.
Xander smiled in true pleasure. “To quote Captain Peroxide himself, ‘Spike had himself a little trip to the vet, and now he doesn’t chase the other puppies anymore’. He can’t bite anyone; guy can’t even hit people! Gotta give it up for that chip in his head...anyway, nowadays, Bleachboy just does whatever the ex-Overbite tells him to do, in return for his blood and beer.”
Cordelia knew there was stuff he was leaving out. “Xander? Talk to me about whatever’s bothering you.”
The 19-year-old boy tried to look confused, but then sighed. “It’s just – things have really changed since high school, Cordy. Oz and Willow decided to shack up together during college, and basically forgot all about me. Buffy’s been busy with classes, and playing Barbie’s dream house with Angel. Giles is always with Faith, Spike finally moved out of my basement apartment-”
“WHAT?!”
“Ah, long story. But I guess what’s really bothering me, is that we’ve all drifted apart. I mean, I don’t even go to the Scooby meetings anymore. Remember last year, I was Key Guy against the Mayor? This year, I didn’t even take part in the battle against the Big Bad...which was some crazy machine/demon/human hybrid the government created. I just heard afterwards that all the army guys responsible were killed, before it was taken out...”
Cordelia slapped him upside the head, as a not-too-gentle wakeup call. “What are you doing?”
Xander was confused. “Huh?”
“Xander Harris, you are such a dope! I swear, I think you see only what you want to see...I mean, did you honestly think it would always be like high school? That we’d always be together, and save the world every week?”
“No, 'course not! Look, you don’t-”
“I don’t understand? Oh I do, obviously more than you!”
The young man looked annoyed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Cordy sighed, with no trace of the Champion she would have become present. “We’re the normal people Xander, who should try to have a normal life. Okay, if I see a vampire I’m not just going to ignore it – I can’t do that now, anymore than you can. But it’s not up to me to save the world, or you either! Look, I haven’t had it easy ever since I left Sunnydale or Angel left L.A., but I don’t regret for one moment leaving the Hellmouth behind...”
By some miracle Xander didn’t know what to say, as his companion continued quietly, “Last year after graduation, I told you I couldn’t live here anymore – and I asked if you wanted to come with me to L.A. You said no, you had to stay and help, be Buffy’s white knight or something...”
Her eyes seemed to bore directly into his. “So, has it been like you thought it’d be? And if not...when you look into the future, what do you see – more and more of what’s happened these last few months? Being Donut Boy or whatever, while everyone else moves forward and gets on with their lives?”
There was a big silence, as Cordy took a deep breath. “Look, I kinda owe you for the prom dress, so my invitation from last year is still open here. Like, for you to come to Los Angeles. I’m not saying it’ll be easy or everything’ll even work out, but it can’t be any worse than what you’ve got staying here...”
Xander thought about it for a long time. And the more he thought about it...the more the dark-haired guy suspected the 19-year-old girl before him actually had a point.
This Anya-less version of Mr. Harris remembered a day during the previous month, after he had been fired from one job at ‘Starbucks’ and another at a phone sex line operation. He had lain in bed all day undisturbed, and wondered where his life was going.
< If I did leave, what would I really miss? Willow and Oz’s fights? Getting so, so tired of them. Angel and Buffy, making doe eyes at each other? Could easily live without. Spike and Faith? Ha, that’s a laugh! And Giles doesn’t need me, even though for a while there he really was Bored Boy. And what the hell, the dating scene has got to be better in L.A. than around here... >
“Okay. When are we leaving town? Tonight, tomorrow night?” the teenager eventually asked.
Cordelia was shocked for a moment. “What? Just like that, so soon?”
Xander shrugged. “No job to quit. Not a lot to pack either, and my parents won’t even notice I’m gone if I don’t leave 'em a note. All I need is a few minutes to say good-bye to everyone, so yeah!”
Somewhat to his surprise, Buffy and Willow didn’t want him to go – but eventually, Xander talked them around. And thus, the former construction worker started off on his new destiny.
~~~~~~
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