Xander Harris and Cordelia Chase began their high school careers in completely different places, seemingly destined to cross paths only in passing. Cordelia was the queen of the "A" group – a cheerleader, beautiful, popular, self-involved ... you get the picture. Xander, on the other hand, was pretty much a nobody. He hung out with his only friends, Jesse and Willow, who were pretty much nobodys themselves. He was the kind of guy the people in the "A" group never even notice. However, fate had a way of bringing them together in this bizarre ‘burb situated on the hellmouth, and it all started with the arrival of Buffy Summers (Welcome to the Hellmouth). Buffy's from L.A. and seems to be the kind of girl that Cordelia wants in her "Cordettes." On Buffy's first day at Sunnydale High, Cordelia offers her some friendly advice, after Buffy passes Cordelia's test for her "coolness factor," and makes attempts to befriend her. However, Buffy makes a connection with Willow and Xander, and starts hanging around with them instead. Despite her attempts to be oblivious to the weirdness going on around her, Cordelia always manages to get caught up in each mystery plaguing Sunnydale throughout the first season. Additionally, Cordelia has a crush on Angel (don't we all, hehe), and does her best to put herself in his way whenever he's around to try and get him to fall for her. Obviously, it doesn't work, but Cordelia has been through so much with the Scoobies that she eventually gets involved in their efforts to prevent an apocalypse at the end of the first season, and learns that Buffy is the Slayer (Prophecy Girl). With this, Cordelia is now "officially" inducted as a member of the Scooby Gang. However, just because she's part of the gang does not necessarily mean that she considers herself *friends* with Buffy, Xander and Willow. At least not at first...

The second season starts with Cordelia still not quite accepting that she is part of the Scoobies. However, that seems to change when they save her from becoming the head for the Frankenstein Bride of Daryl Epps (Some Assembly Required). After that, she is pretty much resigned to helping them "save the day." In the mean time, Cordelia is still dating all the cute, popular boys she can, while Xander's love interests consist of a giant Praying-Mantis substitute teacher and an Incan Princess Mummy. However, about mid-season, Spike hires some assassins to go after Buffy to keep her occupied while he works on curing Drusilla (What's My Line? Parts 1 and 2). In the melee, Xander and Cordelia get trapped in Buffy's basement, and, after getting into a knock-down, drag-out argument, end up sharing a passionate kiss. An attempt to redistance themselves later on fails miserably, and they wind up in each other's arms again, following yet another nasty argument, thus setting the tone for their relationship. Although they are both ashamed by what they feel for each other, they continue to find secluded places to make out and continue their tryst in secret while constantly bickering both in private and in public. Finally realizing that maybe what they are feeling for each other is real, Xander makes an attempt to convince Cordelia to make their relationship public, but Cordy will hear none of it (Surprise). However, Xander and Cordelia are eventually caught making out by Willow, which forces their relationship out into the open (Innocence). This, of course, has a negative impact on Cordelia's popularity, prompting her decision to break up with Xander on Valentine's Day, of all days, and just after he gives her a present of a silver heart locket. Xander turns to Amy, a friend of theirs who is a witch, for a love spell to make Cordelia love him so that *he* can break up with *her* (Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered). However, the spell backfires, and instead makes every woman in Sunnydale *except* Cordelia fall for Xander. The spell is eventually reversed, and, after learning the extent to which she broke Xander's heart, not to mention the realization that dumping Xander to satisfy her shallow friends was simply not worth it, Cordelia gets back together with him. Their relationship continues as before, pretty much an even mix of witty diatribe and lustful passion. And when Cordelia sees Xander wearing a Speedo and finds out that he has joined the swim team, she decides that dating him isn't such an awful idea after all (Go Fish). The end of the second season brings yet another apocalypse to divert, and Willow lands in a coma after Drusilla leads a raid on the library to kidnap Giles (Becoming, Part 1). While Willow is unconscious, Xander keeps vigil by her side and ultimately confesses that he loves her just before she awakens and asks for Oz (Becoming, Part 2). We all assume he meant he loved her as a friend, but we'll see...

As season three opens, we find out that Willow, Xander and Oz have been taking on patrolling duties for an absent Buffy. Cordelia comes back from her summer vacation and she and Xander are so nervous about seeing each other again that they both act nonchalant and end up thinking that the other person has gotten over them (Anne). However, in typical X/C fashion, the truth eventually comes out when they end up sharing a passionate kiss after saving each other from a vampire attack. With that realization, the two become a *happy* couple once again. However, things start to take a turn around Homecoming when Xander and Willow are trying on their Homecoming outfits for each other. When Willow comes out looking beautiful in her black dress, Xander finally sees her as a girl and they share a tender kiss. They are overcome with guilt, but realize that they want to do it again. They are so guilty, in fact, that they support Cordelia's campaign for Homecoming Queen over Buffy's (Homecoming). Willow and Xander continue to battle being attracted to each other despite their obvious feelings for their significant others (Band Candy, Revelations). We also see that Cordelia has made the momentous leap of publicly displaying Xander's photo in her locker (Lovers Walk). Willow eventually decides to solve her romantic dilemma through a de-lusting spell on Xander, but Spike interrupts and kidnaps them, taking them to an abandoned warehouse. As they comfort each other about this dire circumstance in which they find themselves, they are drawn into yet another kiss. At that exact moment, Oz and Cordelia arrive to rescue them – and catch them in the act! As Cordelia turns to make a hasty exit after the sight of Xander's unfaithfulness, she falls through a rotten staircase and impales herself on a rebar. Xander immediately rushes to her side while Oz and Willow run for help. At the hospital, Xander attempts to make peace with Cordelia, who summons her strength just long enough to dismiss him completely.

As Cordelia heals from her wound, she burns all Xander's photos. On her first day back at school, a new girl named Anya is the only one who is not harassing her for having dated Xander Harris (The Wish). After a run-in with vamps outside the Bronze lands Cordelia in a pile of trash, she insists she has had it with the Scoobies. She happily accepts Anya's gift of her necklace the next day at school and speaks the fateful words, "I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale." Immediately, Sunnydale becomes Bizarro Sunnydale and Cordelia is quickly killed by Vamp Willow and Vamp Xander. Of course, we all know that Giles breaks the spell in the end and things return to normal, with no one being any the wiser -- well, for now, anyway. Since the break-up, Xander and Cordelia's encounters have been strained, the witty banter that previously occurred between them now seems clearly pained. Cordelia seems to take immense pleasure in insulting Xander every chance she gets.

Things begin to turn around for Xander in The Zeppo. Having borrowed his Uncle Rory's 1957 Chevy Bel Aire, he is recruited by bully Jack O'Toole to help bring back Jack's recently deceased gang members (Jack being recently deceased himself and brought back by his grandfather). He ditches the guys when he realizes they intend to initiate *him* into the gang by killing him and then bringing him back. He then runs into Faith and assists her by slamming into an assailant with his car. Grateful for the help, and excited by the rush of the fight, Faith takes Xander back to her room and has her way with him – tossing him out of the room, pants in hand, when she's finished. He then discovers that Jack's gang is planning to build a bomb, and, being a new man after having lost his virginity, persuades the gang to tell him where it's hidden, eventually saving the day. After his "strange night," Xander is now able to deal with Cordelia's snipes, secure in his role in the buffyverse.

Faith's new watcher, Wesley, arrives, and he and Cordelia are instantly attracted to each other, to the chagrin of our beloved Xander (Bad Girls, Enemies, Earshot). Meanwhile, Anya, the still-mortal-bound ex-demon who created Bizarro Sunnydale in The Wish, recruits Willow to help her with a spell to bring her amulet back, but Willow's involvement causes a misfire and Vamp Willow from Bizarro Sunnydale is brought to the real Sunnydale (Doppelgangland). After taking The Bronze hostage, and much flirtage with a very confused Xander, Vamp Willow is captured by the real Willow and locked in the cage in the library while the real Willow goes to The Bronze to save her friends. Vamp Willow awakens in Willow's fuzzy outfit and tries to convince an unsuspecting Cordelia to release her. Thinking this is Willow, Cordelia lectures her captive audience about boyfriend-stealing, but eventually relents. Vamp Willow steps from the cage and gives chase to Cordelia until Wesley intervenes. Eventually, the Scoobies subdue Anya and Vamp Willow and force Anya to perform the ritual to return Vamp Willow to her own reality.

Shortly before Senior Prom, Xander spots Cordelia in a dress shop as he is passing by the window. Deciding to take this opportunity to tease Cordelia, he enters, but discovers that she has been reduced to working retail to earn her prom dress because her father has lost all of his money (The Prom). However, further discussion is halted by the appearance of a pack of Hell Hounds trained to attack the formal-wear attired. Buffy unselfishly volunteers to take care of the problem so the rest of the gang can attend the Prom. In a moment of realization, Xander finds that he still cares deeply for Cordelia and cannot see her suffer. He rises to the occasion by not revealing Cordelia's "shame," and dips into his road-trip fund to purchase her prom dress. Anya has asked Xander to the Prom because she seems to be drawn to Xander despite blaming him for her mortality. Also, Wesley asks Cordelia to dance at the prom, one more step in *their* mutual attraction. However, they finally get a chance to act on their attraction, but the resulting kiss is really, really bad, instantly quelling whatever feelings they had for each other (Graduation Day, Part II). After standing together to battle the Mayor's Ascension and once again averting an apocalypse, the Scoobies end their high school careers as a close-knit group. Despite everything that has happened to them, they realize they are lucky to have each other as friends.

After Graduation, Cordelia goes off to L.A. to pursue an acting career, and Xander takes off on a cross-country road-trip to "find himself." Neither ever really discusses their tumultuous relationship with the other ever again. I guess only time will tell if the history of this passionate and tragically doomed couple will lead to a future together.