Title: Convincing the Boy

Author: Caliadragon

Cartegory: AU/Pre-Slash

Pairing: None

Fandom: Buffy

Spoilers: Season 3

Warnings: Swearing and Willow bashing

Rating R?

Archive: Any list I send it to, those with prior permission and BC

Summary: The Scoobies think.

Sequel to: His Boy.

Thanks to Edi for the beta.

Convincing the Boy
by Caliadragon

Xander had been out of the hospital for three days and back to school for one before Willow started on him. She was feeling guilty and somehow that was Xander's fault. Xander was tired of being blamed for everything that went wrong. He wasn't exactly happy with his so called best friends and the man he had come to see as a mentor. Not one of them had even begun to visit him until he had started to heal.

What Xander didn't know was that his illness had started a major chain of events. Both Giles and Buffy had started taking a look at themselves and neither liked what they saw.

For Giles it was like waking up after being asleep for years. He saw what his life had become and was horrified by it. Perhaps the main reason he had ignored Xander for so long was because the boy called to him. The part of him that was Ripper ached to mould the boy, to change him into a fighter. He saw the same vitality and beauty in Xander that had always called him to Ethan.

When he thought of Ethan he wondered how he could have ever turned his back on the love he felt for Ethan. His heart ached for the man who had always been and always would be a part of his soul.

Buffy walked down the halls of the high school and wondered why it seemed like she was seeing everything again for the first time. Had she really gotten so lost? She had never wanted to be the Slayer, but she had come to accept that it was who and what she was.

With Kendra she had felt peace and happiness. It was different with Faith, though. The dark Slayer was heat and movement. She always felt like sin, all darkness and temptation. Buffy never felt at peace in her company.

What's more, she was remembering the time of Angelus and wondered when she had become so weak. So many had died because of her. she couldn't understand how she could have gone so long without staking the monster. It was easy to say it was because he wore her lover's face, but she knew that wasn't it. She just didn't know what it was.

Then there was Xander. Buffy wasn't as blind or as clueless as most people believed. Sure she wasn't a good student, but she challenged anyone to live her life and give a damn about school. Buffy knew that Xander lied to her. She also knew that something had happened between Xander and Angelus. What it was, she had no idea.

Buffy couldn't even be angry at him for what had happened. He had done what she had been too weak to do. Buffy felt that Xander would have been a better Slayer than she was. She missed her Xander. She missed the laughter in his eyes and the way he hugged her tight when her world seemed to be falling apart.

Buffy couldn't understand why she had turned her back on Xander. When they had first met she had fallen hard for the dark haired boy. He was so sweet and he didn't make her feel like a freak for being different. It was nice to have a friend like that.

Looking up she was distracted from her thoughts by the focus of them. Xander stopped in the middle of the hall as they caught sight of one another. He was startled when Buffy was suddenly across the room and wrapping her arms around him. He could feel her shaking. "I'm so sorry, Xander, please forgive me?" she said as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

Xander was shocked by the tears and the hug. He wrapped his arms around Buffy and felt a stone lift from his heart. "It's okay, Buff, let's go to the library and talk," he said gently.

She nodded against his chest and, with an arm still around his waist, she let him lead her into the library. Neither of them noticed Willow and the dark look that crossed her face.

Xander was hers! No one was going to take him from her. Xander was hers to do with as she pleased. She would just have to recast that spell on Giles and Buffy. Then Xander would only have her to cling to. That thing with Cordy was over, thanks to her. Now all she had to do was get rid of Angel. He wasn't affected by her spell. So he would have to go.

Across town Doyle looked over at his cousin and shook his head. Tears welled up in Oz's eyes and he nodded. Tonight he would go to Giles and tell him what he knew about Willow and the spells she had been using on all of them.

He had hoped Doyle's vision would change, but it hadn't. If Willow continued the way that she was, Faith would end up killing Xander in a week, because of one of Willow's spells on the younger boy.

The End For Now