Apparition: 11: Dis information
by Timan
The man looked out over the full expanse of the great city of New York. He smiled to himself as he soaked up the view. He took a deep breath and walked back about seven paces. Focusing on the path ahead he bolted forward. At last minute he leaped and cleared the railing. The man laughed to himself as he hurtled rapidly to the ground the wind rushing through his hair and she bobbed and span around. He hit the ground at extreme velocity. For the longest time he just lay there. After a few moments he climbed back onto his feet and looked around. A big smile crossed his face as he looked back up to the top of the building
“That was friggin’ sweet.” Lloyd said.
Back onto of the building Naomi watched him jump and shook her head. He had this annoying habit of showboating that really got on her nerves but she knew all to well that talking to him about it was just a waste of time.
* POP! *
“Did you see that!” Lloyd yelled excitedly at Naomi “I was going to do, like, a swan dive but I decided to be risky and do the Triple twist instead!”
Naomi shook her head at him.
“You’re an idiot” she said annoyed
“Yeah, but I’m an idiot having a kick-ass time.”
“Oh my god,” Naomi said as she walked away from Lloyd, “Beth can you please talk some sense into this guy I give in.”
Beth didn’t reply. She simply leaned against the railing and stared out over the city. Occasionally she would sight quietly to her self, but and other action was completely absent. Naomi looked at her in concern she had been like this ever since that Alex guy stormed off after they told him about how Beth acts. Naomi and Lloyd looked at each other then walked up either side of Beth.
“Okay what is wrong with you? You’ve been like this for the last two days.” Lloyd asked
Beth didn’t reply. Naomi shot Lloyd a look then rolled her eyes.
“Ignore captain tact. Is this about that Alex guy? You’ve been moping around since he left.”
Beth looked at Naomi. There was something in Beth’s eyes that told her everything she needed to know. Lloyd looked at Beth completely confused.
“Is that all?” Lloyd continued, “C’mon Beth you’ve thrown guys away before what’s so different about the newbe?”
Naomi’s eyes widened she covered her mouth with her hands as she pieced together the truth.
“Oh . . . my . . . god. You’re in love with him aren’t you?” Naomi asked.
Lloyd looked at Naomi even more confused
“What?” he asked, “That makes even less sense. She only just met the guy right?”
Beth looked back out over the city. Naomi moved with her as much as she could to match her eye line. Her shocked expression changed to a sly smile.
“He’s the guy isn’t he? The one you kept popping off to see for the last year?”
Beth looked at her again in a way that agreed. Lloyd moved away from the railing and put his hands up in defeat.
“Now I have no idea what’s going on,” he announced.
“There’s a shock.” Naomi replied sarcastically
“Hey, I’m a dude, I’m not supposed to know this stuff. That’s what chicks are for.”
Naomi flashed him an angrier look and walked away from Beth. She grabbed Lloyd by the arm and moved him around the corner.
“This is our fault you know.” she whispered
“Our fault? You’re the one who compared her to a video store!”
“This coming from mister ‘don’t do it’,” Naomi snapped back, “We need to fix this.”
“I still don’t see where the problem is.”
“The problem, Lloyd, is over there leaning against the rail.”
“Okay, okay. Don’t go all that ‘time of the month’ on me.”
Naomi glared at Lloyd. She grabbed him roughly by the collar
“Come on let’s go.”
“Wait. What about Beth?”
Naomi and Lloyd looked over to their miserable friend.
“She’ll be fine,” Naomi replied, “I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”
“Alright. California here we come.” Lloyd replied
* POP! *
Xander, Buffy and Willow sat quietly on the sofas at the bronze. They were trying to absorb the information Xander gave them about what he saw in the factory.
“So . . . this Leyland guy was just selling kids lives?” Buffy asked
“Trust me when I say ‘uh huh’ doesn’t even come close.” Xander replied, “he had them all on display like he was selling cars.”
“That’s just gross,” willow commented, “I wouldn’t want to be driven around like some kind of me taxi.”
“Yeah well, we have to be on our toes guys. One of the demons is looked to ware Buffy like a snowsuit.” Xander continued
Buffy frowned. She didn’t like that idea at all. Xander sensed this and stood up.
“You guys want anything? On me.” he asked.
The girls looked at each other then at ghost Xander.
“Where did you get money from?” Buffy asked.
“Oh I wasn’t going to actually pay. I was thinking of phasing invisible and sneaking behind the bar.
Buffy smirked. She checked her money situation.
“It’s okay Xand. The Buffy bank is full don’t want to you to committing ghost robbery.” She replied
Buffy stood up and moved away from the sofa as Xander sat back down. Willow looked at him caringly. She moved in closer.
“So what’s it like being dead?” she asked
Xander looked at her curiously.
“It’s Kinda tingly,” he replied thoughtfully, “You’d think it would be cold but it’s really not. You could fry an egg on my head.”
He though about his last sentence and frowned.
“Please don’t.” he concluded
From the other side of the bronze Xander herd the familiar pop sound. Through the crowd Naomi and Lloyd moved swiftly until they were standing right in front of Xander and Willow.
“Dude you are one hard ghost to find.” Lloyd said
“We need to talk to you.” Naomi continued, “It’s about Beth.”
Willow looked at the two strange people in front of her and Xander with curiosity. Xander folded his arms and glared at them.
“Guy I thought you would have realize that I’m at the ‘don’t give a damn’ stage of our relationship.”
“Hey!” Lloyd snapped back, “We just popped all the way from New York for this!”
Naomi elbowed him and gestured to, the non-dead, Willow.
“Ah, in a bus, we popped here in a bus . . . for three weeks.”
Willow looked at Xander calmly.
“They ghosts to?” she asked
Lloyd looked at her stunned then quickly shook it off.
“Alright, this is the deal, we might have made a Tiny mistake about Beth.” He continued
Xander looked at the two of them in an angry curiosity.
“What do you mean by ‘tiny’? You told me she was gonna treat me like the latest release.”
“Yeah that, kinda, was wrong.” Lloyd replied awkwardly
“Would it save time if I just went insane now?” Xander asked
“No, listen, I think I can explain,” Naomi said insistently, “just promise you won’t freak out. . .”
Beth sighed to herself again. She had completely lost track of time by that stage and she didn’t care. She had just made one of the worst mistakes of her life. She wallowed so deeply that she didn’t notice the sound of footsteps walking up next to her or the gentleman who joined her in leaning against the railing.
“I remember the first time I was in New York,” Xander said calmly, “I was six, spent most of the trip in hospital after I got my foot stuck in a storm drain.”
Beth swung around in shock. She stares at Xander a long time just to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.
“A-Alex?” She asked finally, “what are you doing here?”
“Had a visit from a couple of spirits who taught me the true meaning of Christmas.”
Beth looked confused.
“You’re friends called on me back in Sunnydale.” He continued.
Beth looked around and realized that Naomi and Lloyd were missing. Xander looked at Beth seriously.
“Why did you do it?” he asked.
Beth looked down timidly.
“I don’t know.” she replied, “I’ve been drifting around so long I began to forget what was real and what wasn’t. I think that’s the reason for what happened.”
“And you didn’t tell me this why?”
“I though you think I was a freak.” She replied
Xander thought about this carefully.
“So you though ‘hey lets do the strip show instead that will definitely put me in the sane column’.”
Beth moved back to the railing and looked out over the city. Xander moved in next to her.
“Just tell me what’s going on.” he insisted.
Beth gave one last sigh and looked deep into Xanders eyes.
“Alright. I’ll talk . . .”
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