Joss is God. God does some bad things sometimes. I'm talking about Surprise/Innocence, and the upcoming Cordelia leaving 'Buffy' deal. I'm still in therapy over that one. Anyway, like I was saying. Buffy The Vampire Slayer and all things affiliated with it belong to Joss Whedon, The WB, Mutant Enemy (Grr-arg) and anyone else who wants to get in on the action. Loveline belongs to MTV and all those other production companies that work for it. Bottom line; I own 2 cats. If you sue me, that's all you'll get. And maybe a pretty ribbon.
**
Cordelia opened the door to her apartment (compliments of daddy) and dropped her Nine West bag on the table. Continuing through the living room she entered her bedroom and dropped all her books on her desk. She came back into the living room and picked up the lipstick that had slid out of her bag. Cordelia flipped on the TV, and opened her fridge.
"Ugh! Absolutely nothing! I need food, and now!" Shutting the fridge door with her hip, she dialed the pizza place down the street.
"One small cheese pizza please... ok I'll be right down." Grabbing her bag and her keys Cordelia locked her apartment and headed down the hall. Stepping in the elevator, she waited patiently until the bottom floor. She smiled at the doorman and stepped through the door into the balmy June night.
"Just 3 more days," she thought excitedly.
"3 more days and I'm a college graduate!" Pausing for a moment she took in the warm breeze, the twinkling stars, and the velvet blue sky. She stepped into an alley, because it was a shortcut to the pizza place. For a second she felt a twinge of fear, like she was being watched. She dismissed it easily, taking comfort in the mace she carried in her bag. She had almost made it to the end of the alley when she heard a growl. Her face paled and her heart quickened. Cordelia spun around and her worst fear was confirmed. He had to be at least 6 feet, and built like a football player. She would have stopped to admire his body, had her eyes not been glued his face. The gleaming fangs, the yellow eyes, the ridges in the skin. She would never forget what a vampire looked like, no matter how hard she tried.
"Think, Cordelia, think!" Her mind raced. She was definitely NOT prepared for vampires in New York. Silently opening her bag, she produced the mace. But before she could move, the vampire roared and jumped. Cordelia screamed like there was no tomorrow. That was a very likely possibility, if someone didn't save her, and soon. Just when she had given up all hope, and said her prayers, the vampire got a strange look on his face.
"Oh.." Was all he managed to get out, before he exploded into a pile of ash. Coughing, Cordelia looked up to thank her savior, but the form was already retreating into the shadows.
"Wait!" she cried, scrambling to get up.
"Please, wait!" Her pleas were to no avail. Cordelia sighed and brushed herself off.
"Thank you." She murmured to the night.
"Why was I out here again..? Oh! My pizza!" Cordelia suddenly remembered.
Jogging out of the alley, she headed to the pizzeria, and got there just as the pizza was being taken out of the oven. She paid for it, and quickly walked home, being sure to take the street route. Under the bright glare of the street lamps, Cordelia felt a little calmer. To work off some of her pent up fear, she ran up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. By the time she made it to her apartment on the 4th floor, she wasn't as antsy anymore. She paused at the mirror in the hall and fixed her hair. Having hair that reached her waist didn't work in the summer, which was why she had an appointment to cut it all off the next day. She was going to get it cut to her shoulder blades, and have it layered. Using her little hand-sized brush she worked through the tangles caused by her run-in with Jo-Jo the dog-faced boy. (a.k.a. the vamp) When she was finally satisfied with her hair, she continued down the hall to her apartment. As she neared, she could see the form of someone, debating whether or not to knock. She stared at the back of him. She knew that build, that frame, that posture.
"Who is that?!" Her mind raced, trying to match it with all the guys she knew. Suddenly it clicked. Her mouth dropped open and she let out a little gasp. He turned around, startled and she nearly fainted.
"Xander.."
Xander gave her that smile that always made her melt.
"Hi Cordy." She smiled nervously as she fumbled for her keys.
"No one's called me that in years. Not since high school." Opening the door to her apartment she set the pizza down on the table. Turning around, she looked at him warily.
"I'm not inviting you in. If you can come in, you will, but if I need to invite you, I'm not. Get what I mean?" He laughed.
"Yeah, I get it." He stepped through the doorway, and she let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Taking off her cross she held it out to him.
"Hold this." He took it in his hand, and after a minute he opened his fist.
"No burns," he stated. She smiled,
"Good." He stepped towards her and opened the clasp of the necklace. Cordelia lifted her hair off of her neck and allowed him to put it back on her. While clasping the necklace Xander's fingers brushed Cordelia's neck. She felt an electric shock go through her. And it wasn't one of those static ones. It was one that's only felt when you have chemistry with someone...love.
"So, um, I just got pizza. Want some?" Xander looked down at her and she melted in his eyes.
"Sure." He said. Cordelia couldn't believe how great he looked.
"Must have spent some quality time at the gym." She mused. Cordy got some plates and put them on the table. Grabbing two cans of Pepsi she placed them on the table.
"I don't know if you like Pepsi but the only other thing I've got is water, so if you don't want soda then--"
"Pepsi's fine." Xander cut in, smiling at the fact that she was so flustered. He'd never once seen Cordelia flustered, in the 20 years that they'd known each other. It was comforting, to know that she really was human, under all that beauty, and sophistication, and...hair. He still couldn't believe how long her hair was. She looked amazing.
Four years at Cornell had done nothing to dim the sparkle in Cordy's eyes. Xander always loved her eyes. They were so warm and inviting, even when she was yelling at him. No matter how stoical her face was, her eyes always betrayed her emotions. And that night, when she had discovered him and Willow.. he could still remember the emotions her eyes had flashed through, even in the darkness of the factory. Shock. Pain. Betrayal. Anger. Fury. Heartbreak. Anguish. Hatred. It was like a slideshow. A slideshow of the pain he never knew he could feel. And then they were cold. They were so full of hate for him, and Willow. But she had eventually forgiven Willow, mainly because Willow hadn't been her boyfriend. Xander had. The last time he had seen her, she still had so much hurt, and pain, and heartache in those hazel eyes. It was unbearable. So a part of him had been relieved to see her go, to see her flee the pain of seeing him every day. She had fled, that was for sure. She had escaped to the other side of the country, away from him, and the Slayerettes, and vampires, and memories. 3,000 miles away, and he still thought about her every single day.
Cordy grabbed an elastic and tied her hair back. Xander grinned,
"Doesn't help much." She laughed,
"I know, I'm getting it cut tomorrow."
"So.." Xander began,
"What have you been up to since I saw you last?"
"You want to know what I've been doing for the past 4 years, in a nutshell?!"
"Yup!" She took a bite of her pizza, and the cheese stretched from her mouth to the pizza. Pulling it apart with her fingers, she grinned.
"Now that's good pizza!" Glancing up she saw that Xander was staring at her in shock, his mouth half open.
"What?" she asked self-consciously. He shook his head and smiled.
"Nothing. It's just that I never thought I'd see Cordelia Chase eating pizza with her fingers!" She laughed,
"Oh, that? I thought it was something serious. Well, anyway, after we left Sunnydale High, I spent the summer in Paris. Then I came here to start Cornell, in the fall. Daddy gave me this apartment, and I majored in psychology. Then, the summer of 2000, I went to that MTV thing in New Jersey with my some of my friends, and we met Carson Daly and," Cordelia started to giggle uncontrollably,
"we did karaoke to some song, I can't even remember the name...we were so bad!" Cordy wiped her eyes and calmed her laughter.
"Oh, God that was so much fun. So anyway, not a whole lot happened between then and now." Cordelia's eyes lit up excitedly.
"And.. I graduate in 3 days!" Suddenly giddy, she jumped up and started dancing around the room.
"I'm gonna graduate! I'm gonna graduate! I have a degree in psychologyyyyy!" As quickly as her happiness had come, it went, and she became serious.
"So, I have a question. You cheated on me, broke my heart, and we never spoke again, well, if you don't count the times I made fun of you. So, my question is; why? Why are you here now? What happened in California that made you cross the country to find me?" Xander sighed.
"I knew you would ask sooner or later. Well, I guess I'll just come out with it. Ever since we left Sunnydale High, there has been a part of me that has felt empty. And I finally figured out what it was that was causing me the pain. It was you. I finally realized that I never stopped loving you. You can hate me for everything I've done to you. You can stop talking to me, except to insult me. You can move across the country, and erase me, and Sunnydale, and everything in between, from your mind. But that doesn't mean I will ever stop loving you." By this time Xander had crossed the room, and was standing inches from Cordelia. Cordelia stared at him, her eyes brimming with tears. She was silent for a few minutes, and then whatever had been holding back the flow of anguish broke. Tears cascaded down her face, streaking black eyeliner with them.
"Who do you think you are?!" she sobbed.
"Do you think you can just waltz back into my life, sell me some heartfelt confession, and everything will be ok?! That is NOT how it works! You cheated on me! YOU wronged ME! Is this supposed to be some sort of forgiveness? Are you forgiving me?! Because that just isn't how it goes." Cordelia's sobbed helplessly.
"You don't get to forgive me. You did the wrong." Her voice was quiet now, the pent up fury had subsided, and now all that was left was grief.
"I loved you. I loved you like I never knew I could. And you used me. When I saw you two.. my whole world collapsed. I was 17. I'm 21 now. And I loved you like I have never loved anybody since. I forgave you, but that doesn't mean I can forget what you did. I have dreams where I see you two. And I wake up crying. I don't deserve that, I really don't." Xander hugged her.
"I know, you didn't deserve anything I did to you." He murmured soothingly. Cordelia allowed herself to be comforted by his arms.
"I don't know what to do. Part of me is still so mad at you, and so hurt by what you did. And another part of me just wants to forget, and get over it, and you. It wants to move on, and forget Sunnydale ever existed. But a teeny tiny part of me says 'You still love him, and you know it. Go back to him, and forgive what he did.' They're all so strong, and I just don't know what to do." Xander rocked her in his arms, not saying a word. They stayed like that for almost an hour. Finally, Cordelia wiped her eyes and looked up at him.
"Alright, a part of me won."
Xander held his breath. Whatever she said would determine his whole future. The course of his life rested on her words. He waited. Cordelia wandered around the kitchen aimlessly as she spoke.
"Xander.. what we had was great. There's a reason we were together that long. Underneath the groping in broom closets, and biting comments, we had something real, something serious. And we were just kids. We were teenagers, dealing with death, and men made out of bugs," Xander had to smile at that.
"and things that most people will never encounter in their entire lives. We did it at age 17. And so, amidst all that, we took comfort in each other. We kept each other grounded. Kept each other real. So imagine what we could accomplish now that we're adults. Imagine what we could have." Xander's eyes held hope.
"So, are you saying we can give it another try?" Slowly Cordelia nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, I am." Xander's face lit up in happiness. He grabbed her and swung her around. Cordy giggled,
"Alright hormone boy!" She stopped, and put her hand over his mouth.
"Shh. Do you hear that?" Xander listened closely.
"What?" his girlfriend led him into he living room, where the stereo was. Faintly, he could hear the opening strains of a familiar song. He frowned, trying to place the tune. He smiled softly.
"Our song." Cordy nodded and turned the volume up a little. She put her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.
"Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
We might have took the long way
We knew we'd get there someday
They said
"I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together
Still going strong
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss goodnight
Ain't nothing better
We beat the odds together
I'm glad we didn't listen
Look at what we would be missing
They said
"I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together
Still going strong
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
The one I want for life
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss goodnight
You're still the one..
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong too
You're still the one I want for life
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss goodnight
I'm so glad we made it
Look how far we've come my baby..."
As the last strains of the song ended, Cordelia sighed as Xander's lips found hers. Right now, she didn't have a care in the world. Because right now, Xander *was* her whole world. And that made her happier than she had been in years.
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
