"What.... Omigod! Xander, wake up!!" Buffy snapped back to reality when she heard Willow's scream. She kneeled down next to the unconscious and tried to shake him awake. The blonde haired girl grabbed his wrist. Relief flooded her when she felt a steady, strong pulse.
Next to her, Willow had grabbed Xander's other arm and was stroking it gently with her hand. 'Dear God, what have I done?? Xander, please wake up!!' she thought. 'I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to--' her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a movement from the body on the ground. "Xander?"
The unconscious boy had slowly started to open his eyes. He blinked several times in order to clear his vision. Slowly, two people came into focus. A redheaded girl and a blonde one.
"Wha... What happened?" He tried to get up but sunk back down as he realized there was a major throbbing in his head.
"You fainted and fell on the floor," Buffy replied.
By this time, Principal Snyder appeared. He saw a crowd had formed in one corner of the cafeteria and walked over. Two girls were kneeling on the floor next to a dark haired boy.
"Okay, what just happened here?" he demanded, addressing the blonde.
"Xander just... just fainted."
"Don't sue," the short, big-eared man said quickly. "Are you okay? What happened, son?" Now he turned his attention on Xander.
"I... I don't know. I was eating my lunch when I started to feel dizzy. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground and everyone is staring at me like, like I was naked." Xander regretted those words as soon as they came out of his mouth. He remembered the day when everyone's nightmare came true and how that particular nightmare became reality in class.
Willow thought fast, 'I can't let them know it was me.' Turning to face Sunnydale's version of Ross Perot, she said, "Maybe it was the school lunch that made Xander sick."
"Just what I need, a lawsuit," Snyder muttered under his breath as he got up and faced the rest of the students in the cafeteria. "Okay kids, show's over. Go back to whatever you were doing. Just don't eat the food!"
The principal headed over to the lunch counters and ordered the staff to stop serving the lunch. He then headed to his office, intent on calling the superintendant to discuss what to serve those damn kids. He forgot all about Xander and the others as the words "lawsuit" and "you're fired" fill his mind.
* * *
Giles had just finished putting the last of the books from the cart. He sat down in the chair closest to him, thinking how nice it was that no one else comes in here on a normal basis. The library was the only place in the whole school that had a sense of tranquility to it.
SLAM!! The library doors swung open and three teenagers walked in. Actually, it was more like two walked in, the third person being supported by the two.
"Oh bother! Who in the world would come in here?" The librarian rubbed his eyes and put his glasses back on. His eyes widened as he saw who was leaning on Buffy and Willow.
"Xander? What happened?" Giles quickly got up and dragged a chair over to where the girls stood. "Here, sit down."
As Buffy eased Xander into the chair, Willow explained, "We were all eating our lunch in the cafeteria and Xander was making a mess as usual." Xander glared at her but Willow pretended not to notice. "He was talking to me when he just fainted."
"Did anyone else see this?" Giles asked absently, thinking if any other similar situations occured.
"Oh, no one, except for all the students in the cafeteria and our dearly loved principal." came the sarcastic reply from the Slayer.
"Snyder? He was there? What did you tell him?" Giles head snapped up when he heard that his boss was there.
"Nothing much. Just that I fainted... Oh, yeah. Willow gave him this great story about how the school lunch may be poisoned. Way to go, Will. Never thought you could actually lie to Snyder in his face." Xander's head still hurt a bit but he beamed at Willow, pride clearly shown on his face.
Willow blushed. "It was... uh, nothing. I don't even know how I managed to do that. What if he finds out?" She was beginning to panic again. 'Detention, no suspension, or maybe he'll expel me...'
"Willow, chill. He won't know that. Besides, maybe the cafeteria food _is_ poisoned. Who would eat that trash anyway?" Buffy's tone indicated that she shouldn't be argued with. "What do you think, Giles?"
"Well, I don't know. Did you actually eat the lunch today, Xander?" The Watcher asked, his eyes studying Willow's crush very closely, looking for any change in the boy.
"Thank goodness, no. Willow here was kind enough to bring me some real food--potato chips and a delicious bottle of orange juice."
"Well, what about breakfast?"
"Oh, that was even better. Cold pizza with peanut butter and pickles on it. And a bottle of Pepsi." Willow's face had a disgusted look on it. Buffy's was almost identical. "What? _I_ thought it was pretty tasty."
"Why don't you girls go off to class? I'll watch Xander for the rest of the day. He can stay here until school's over. I just want to make sure he doesn't faint again." Giles picked up the girls' stuff and handed it to them.
"Thanks, Giles. At least I don't have to worry about him. Not until the end of school." Relief was written all over Willow's face. Buffy grabbed her arm and they walked out of the library together.
"Cool. No class. Let's see what fun I can have in here."
Giles turned around and gave Xander a stern look.
"Oh, no. You are _not_ going to wreck this library any further. Not after the lecture I got from His Majesty King Snyder about how much it will cost to rebuild this entire room." He gave Xander some old books. "_You_ are going to help me research some prophecies about what the Anointed One may do now that the Master's dead."
Xander just groaned and said, "And I thought class was bad."
* * *
Buffy and Willow walked into the library after school discussing how to improve Willow's wardrobe.
"C'mon Will, you _have_ to come over and try on this dress, it's you!" Buffy pleaded to her best friend.
"Buffy, you know that your clothes are just a bit too *revealing* for my tastes."
Before the Slayer could defend her wardrobe, a tall figure appeared in front of them.
"Xander! What are you doing? Get off the floor!" Willow was surprised to see the boy get down on his knees, his hands clasped together as if he were praying.
"You gotta get me outta here. I can't take it anymore!" Desperation was written all over his face.
"What? What is it? Vampires? Demons-- " Buffy reached into her bag and pulled out a very sharp stake. She took a defensive stance.
"No, worse," the boy pointed to the table where a stack of books lay.
The two girls gave each other a puzzled look and then stared at Xander.
"It's, it's those _books_ !! Get me away from them!"
Buffy gave Willow a look that clearly said, "He's _obviously_ his normal self again."
At that moment, Giles appeared out of some stacks near his office.
"Giles, what's going on?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing much... I just asked Xander to help me research some prophecies about the Anointed One after the both of you left."
Buffy and Willow then turned to Xander and glared at him. He gave them a confused look. "What? What did I do?" A brief pause. "Okay, so maybe I was exagerating a _little_ bit?"
Now it was the Watcher who had a bewildered expression on his face. "What is going on here? And Buffy, why in the world are you holding that stake in your hand?"
"Oh!" Buffy had forgotten about the stake. She quickly put it back in her bag. "Sorry about that. Our friend here made us think that he was being attacked by some big, hideous monster instead of those harmless books lying on the table."
Willow turned to the boy standing next to her. "Xander, it's not like those books are just going to jump off the table and eat you."
"Hey, who knows? After all, we _are_ living on the Hellmouth. You know, center of mystical convergence..." The others just glared at him again. "Okay, I'll shut up now."
"So, Giles. Did you find out anything new?" The blonde girl focused her attention back on her Watcher.
"No, not yet. It will take some time to translate the rest of the Codex into English. Why don't you go on home for now? I'll call you if I find anything important."
"Sure, let's go guys." The Slayer turned around and headed for the exit. Willow and Xander grabbed their books and began to follow her. The hacker turned to Xander and asked, "You comin' to the Bronze tonight?"
"Nah, not tonight. My head still hurts from this afternoon." Xander rubbed his head a little and grimaced when he felt a slight bump on the back of his head.
"That's okay. Buffy and I will just go the Bronze by ourselves. We can discuss girl stuff."
"Whatever. As long as it's not about me," Xander replied.
* * *
"So when are you going to tell him?" Buffy asked. She was twirling the straw in her Coke, feet tapping to the loud music playing all around them.
"I _can't_ tell him, Buffy. What if he laughs? Or even worse, he'll hate me and never speak to me again," Willow was not in a happy mood. She wished that Xander was here instead of at home.
"Will, he can never hate you. You're his best friend. You guys have known each other all your lives."
"I, I don't know," Willow wanted to drop the subject. 'I won't need to tell him if my plan works.' She looked up and saw that her friend was scanning the club as if looking for someone. "Looking for Angel again?"
Buffy stopped scanning and gave a small sigh. "When don't I? Willow, he's always on my mind. I just can't stop thinking about him. All I want is for him and me to be together. Forever."
"Well, what about the part of him that's a demon?"
"I know, I know. There's nothing I can do about it. I just wish..." The Slayer saw that Willow seemed somewhat spaced out. "Thinking about Xander, huh?"
"Yeah," the other girl replied. "I just wish that he feels for me what I feel for him. Sorta like you and Angel."
Buffy desperately wanted to cheer her friend up. She started to say something when a figure in the far corner of the Bronze caught her eye. "Uh, Willow, if you don't mind..." The Slayer got up and started to straighten her minidress.
Willow looked at her quizzically but she smiled when she noticed who had appeared in the club. "No, it's all right, Buffy. You can go. I think that I'm gonna go home now." Buffy started to protest but Willow cut her off. "I'm not really in a partying mood tonight. Not without Xander here. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
The blonde girl looked resigned. She gave Willow a hug and said, "Get a good night's sleep, Will. I'm sure Xander will be fine in the morning."
The auburn haired girl gave Buffy a small smile. "You're probably right. I'm just working myself up over nothing. Xander will be his normal self tomorrow." 'Then again, maybe not.' She picked up her coat and said, "Have fun. Tell Angel I said hi."
Willow walked to the exit of the Bronze. Just before stepping out, she turned around and took one last glance. In the darkest corner she could see the Slayer and her true love in a deep embrace, their lips locked together. The hacker smiled and walked outside.
Anyone who saw the redheaded girl walking home would have thought that she was the happiest girl they had ever seen. She seemed to be in a dreamy state and was humming "Lovefool" to herself.
'I can't wait. Only a couple of hours more... and then he'll be all _mine_.'
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