The Cure:
Disclaimer: Do I need to state the obvious? I'm not Joss, I'm not Mutant Enemy (although my partner might disagree), I don't know the Kuzuis, and I have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with Fox and/or WB... and besides, suing me would be like, well, like a Slayer falling in love with a Vampire... you can try and try, but ya ain't gonna get nothin' out of it but pain... (i.e. I'm not making any money from these stories, thus, I have no money -- although I do have a job-- so don't bother suing.)
ALIGN="CENTER">ANYHOO... the story picks up more or less at the beginning of "Graduation Day, Part 2"... so if you haven't had the pleasure of even seeing a poor internet bootleg of the ep, this is a MAJOR spoiler. Of course, if you haven't seen it, you wouldn't know that until you HAD seen it... but I digress. The rest of the Ep doesn't happen, and it would appear most of Season Three didn't happen, either. No mayor, bare mention of Faith, no Ascension, etc.
Chapter Two
"I'm sorry, Buffy. But Willow promises she'll make it up to you. I have the address where she is watching that band." Mrs. Rosenburg said band like it was a dirty word. It did have four letters...
"No, that's okay. I'll talk to her tomorrow." Buffy said, and turned to walk away, suddenly depressed.
"Okay, I'll tell her!" Willow's mom said cluelessly, and went back in the house.
Buffy felt kind of lost. She looked forward to the evenings she and Willow spent together -- they were the last bits of her old life that she still had... The girls watched movies and pigged out, did each other's hair and make-up, and just generally acted like the young women that they were supposed to be.
Buffy shifted the stack of videos in her arms as she walked, and wondered what to do next... Xander! Xander would definitely be home. Since he and Cordelia broke up, he hardly went out anymore unless it was with Willow and Buffy or to work... and since Buffy turned, he hardly even did the former...
She was at his door before she knew it. He answered.
"Hey," he said to her, not sounding even the least bit glad.
"Hi. Watcha doin'?"
"Watching TV. I thought you were with Willow?"
"Change of plans. She went to watch Oz play in Santa Paulo."
"Figures. You want to come in?"
Buffy brightened a little. "Sure!"
"I invite you." Xander said formally, and stood away with a dramatic sweep of his arm to allow her to pass.
Buffy shot him a look. "'Do you want to come in?' is fine, Xander." she snapped. He shrugged.
He hadn't felt the same toward her since she turned. When their nightmares came to life a few years ago, and Buffy had been a vampire, it had been different. Xander knew she was really still living Buffy underneath, easily restored when the nightmares were banished -- like his clown. But now? Now she was the walking corpse of the Buffy he'd loved. Now she belonged more to Angel's reality than to his own. And considering how he felt about Angel...
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't accept Buffy in the same way. He felt uncomfortable around her all the time, in the same way he always had around Angel... but without the jealousy... and he knew that it showed.
"Ho Ho?" He offered, grabbing a box out of the cupboard.
"Sure." Buffy said, ripping open the plastic and gulping down the snack in a couple of bites.
"Who, easy there, Buff. You'll make yourself sick." he regarded her with a curious look, "Or will you?"
Buffy shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I don't think my stomach works the same way anymore, since I don't really have to digest."
"Want another one?" She nodded, and he joined her. They finished the box in silence. Maybe Buffy wouldn't get sick, but he sure thought he might. He didn't know whether it was the ten Ho Ho's, or the way he felt around her that was tying his gut up in knots. He didn't even know what to say to her...
"So... uh..." he mumbled, "What's up? I haven't seen you in a while..."
"It's been like, two days, Xand."
"Oh, yeah, well... what have you been doing?"
Buffy stared at her friend in confusion.
"Xander, what's the matter with you lately? You've been acting like I'm somebody you hardly know!"
He stopped in mid-chew.
"Aren't you?" he said.
"That's harsh." Buffy responded, her voice hurt.
"Well, jeeze, Buffy, what do you want me to do? I mean, you're a vampire, for chrissake. A bloodsucking creature of the night, you know? You're one of the things we hunt..."
"I hunt." she reminded him.
He sneered at her. "Oh, yeah. Right. It's all you."
They sat in angry silence for a moment.
"I'm still me..." Buffy finally said softly.
Xander examined her face for a long moment.
"That's what I keep telling myself, too. But it doesn't work. You're not Buffy -- you're...Dead Buffy, with a creamy demon filling!" he tossed the Ho Ho box aside for emphasis.
"How can you say that? I thought we were friends?" Buffy cried.
Xander felt anger overcome him. "I was friends, with BUFFY! I mean, I loved you! But you... that Buffy... she's dead! Angel killed her! And now you're someone else, with this whole new existence that I don't understand, and I don't know how to be around you..."
He felt guilty to see the hurt pout cross Buffy's pretty features. But this was the truth -- and it was better than the tense limbo they'd been living in over the past few months...
"Oh." She said, tears threatening her green eyes. She concentrated hard on the fistful of torn plastic wrappers in her hand.
"I don't know what to say, Buffy. I don't know you anymore. And honestly? After everything that's happened? I don't know if I do. Want to, I mean...know you..." he stumbled over the words, regretting them as soon as they were out of his
mouth.Anger, hurt, and confusion washed over Buffy. She was up out of her chair and on her way to the door before anything else could be said. Xander jumped up to block her way.
"Buffy, don't..." he pleaded, "I didn't mean it..."
"Yes you did!" her anger flared and she shouted at him, "You did mean it! This is just like you -- jealous to the end! You're jealous," she poked him in the chest with her finger, "...because now I'll live forever, with no responsibilities, and no cares!"
Xander gave her a wilting look, a cruel smile on his mouth, "Oh. Yes. That's it. I'm jealous. Jealous that I don't want to kill people and suck their blood... jealous that I can't ever go out during the day or set foot in a church again. Jealous. And no cares? I'd say where your next extra-rare victim is coming from is a care... but I imagine Angel's probably got that covered..."
Buffy slapped him. She turned on her heel, shoving Xander out of the way, and fled down the walk. Fled from the sudden urge she felt to cut Xander down in cold blood, where he stood. She ran from the desire to kill him.
He stared after her.
"Nice job, Xand. Good performance... points deducted for patience and compassion...." he turned and walked back into the house.
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