Part Four
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Jordan tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. What the hell was she doing? He chewed on the straw from his coffee - a disgusting habit, he knew, but he hadn't been able to break it. The caffeine from the first half of the drink had woken him up at least partially, but he was still truly exhausted.
A guy, eighteen or so, wandered in and sat down across from him. "Heya," the dark-haired young man said, too cheerfully for four-thirty AM.
"Um. Hi," Jordan replied.
"Ya waitin' for a girl?!" the guy asked, seeming excited. " 'Cause, y'know, cool, if you are, I'm just having a boredom thing and to put it bluntly, you're the only person sitting alone, so I figured."
"Uh-huh...um, yeah, I am waiting - for a girl, but not like in a girlfriend way." Jordan scanned the room around him, wondering if she had maybe gone outside, when Nicole walked stiffly into the caffeinated-beverage area, her anger obvious by the set of her jaw. Jordan waved to her, relieved, and she nodded. "There she is - see, the blonde girl over there."
Nicole came up next to the table. "Hey, Jordan." Her gaze moved to the other young man, and her eyes widened in shock. "Xander!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly.
"It's the Buffster!" Xander let go of her. "How are ya?"
"I'm...okay, I guess. How 'bout you?"
"Heading towards Sunnyhell - figured I'd stop by LA, see what's up with Cordy. Didn't think I'd see you here. Especially so early in the morning."
"How was your trip?"
Xander blushed, looking uncomfortable. "Well." He laughed nervously. "Um. It had nothing to do with washing dishes at a strip club..."
Nicole burst out laughing. "My God, Xander...I knew you were perverted - like, 24 hours a day - but a strip club?!"
Xander held up his hands in defense. "Hello! Not my fault - damn car." He looked now towards Jordan. "You know him?"
Nicole raised her eyebrows. "You jealous? And yes. He's a friend. Jordan, this is Xander - a friend of mine, the one I told you about. Xander, this is Jordan."
"You've been talking about me? Possibly in a sense of you wanting me?"
Nicole rolled her eyes. This, apparently, was old territory. "In your dreams."
"Nah, not mine...maybe Dead-boy's, though..." Xander shot back.
She just shook her head, stung by his careless words. "Don't go there, Xand." Hurt was all too obvious in her eyes, and Jordan was once again confused by his remark - and her reaction.
Xander realized, too late, how badly she'd been hurt by that comment. "Guilt. Sorry, Buff. Foot in mouth. Actually, feet in car. I should probably head out. I really seem to be pissing people off lately. So. I book. Witness me leaving." Without another word - surprisingly - Xander took off.
After studying the specks on the table for a moment, Nicole motioned towards the coffee bar. "I'm gonna grab something to drink."
Jordan watched her from his seat, wondering about the cut-short conversation he had just witnessed. Dead-boy? "So what was that all about? Did you find who you were looking for?" he questioned, going for casual.
Taking her seat across from him, Nicole nodded grimly. "Yeah. I did." She sighed. "I have a lot I need to explain to you...but only if you're gonna stick with me. If you're not - and trust me, this is the better thing to do - then I'm gonna deal with this myself. I'll put you in danger if I tell you, if you help me, and it's not my choice to make." She locked eyes with him. "It's only yours."
*oh you see
this place we've reached
it's everything we're not*
Jordan looked away, staring now into the masses of people just-barely moving to the music playing. He couldn't believe the amount of people here - it couldn't be any later than 5 AM...
*oh for now
the lives we lead
keep tearing us apart*
He shrugged. Locking gazes with her once again, he replied, "I don't know. I want to help you, I do. You say it's dangerous. I don't mind danger - hell, I spend most of my time in LA, I have to be used to it."
*but don't you know,
we're in too deep
'cause I can't lie to my heart*
"But this...this is different, y'know." Jordan looked away. his mind seethed. But he continued still. "I mean, I don't know what the hell that was last night. I'm not sure if I really want to, to be honest. But I don't think I can just ignore it."
*yeah, it's the choices we make
it's the rules that we break
that set us apart
yeah, it sets us apart*
"So. Decision?" Nicole prodded.
Jordan shook his head. "Nope. I don't have a decision. Not yet, anyway. This isn't exactly as simple as 'what kind of caffeinated beverage will I have this morning' - this is more of the 'life and death' variety. And I think I'm in. But give me till tomorrow."
*random twist of fate
but here we are again
rewriting destiny
that wasn't even there before*
Nicole grinned. "Thank you," she said.
"Huh?!"
"That's exactly the answer I wanted, you know that? Because to be honest, *I* don't feel like having 'My Story Hour' right now either. So I think it's pretty much perfect."
*and while you play emotional suicide
with your heart again
I'm always here to come back to
yeah, I'm always here to come back to...oh, oh*
"So we're cool."
She grinned again. "Very cool."
* * *
Meanwhile, Aurélie watched from the shadows. The Slayer was no fool. Aurélie had falsely assumed that since this Chosen One was considerably less apt to obey the Council's orders, that she perhaps would be less...dutiful.
That didn't appear to be the case.
She was stronger, perhaps, than Aurélie had thought.
But not for long.
Aurélie watched the Slayer and her new friend as they left the club, licking her black painted lips in anticipation.
Not for long at all.
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