Future past
Distribution: Anyone
who wants it can have it. Just lmk where you're taking it.
Classification: AU, fluff fic
Rating: PG
Summary: The new girl in school has a lasting impact on Xander.
“Hey, check her out.” Jesse nudged me, indicating a quiet girl
sitting by herself and looking around.
I gazed at her speculatively. “Has merit. I’d say an eight.”
“An eight?” Jesse scoffed. “Alex, man, you gotta get the numbering
system down. Eight is *good.* I said check her out, as in, look at
the new girl, not, check her out, let’s rate her. Come on, the girl is a
mouse. She’s probably a two.”
I shook my head. “Jess, you gotta look past the exterior. That
girl has ‘girlfriend’ written all over her,” I argued easily.
“Whatever, Alex,” Jesse laughed. His eye strayed to a foxy brunette
walking past us. “Now *her,* she’s definitely a ten.”
I looked at the girl he was referring to. “Not likely, man.
Name’s Cordelia, and she’s a regular bitch. Looks, maybe a ten, but
personality like a negative thousand. Trust me, you do *not* want to get
mixed up with that lethal woman.”
Jesse ignored me, as usual. “Later, Alex,” he called as he trotted
after Cordelia. I shook my head again. Jesse was my best friend, but
he was exasperating sometimes. Since I was now alone, I made my way over
to the redhead sitting unobtrusively near the fountain.
“Hi,” I said by way of greeting. She looked up at me, her eyes wide,
and then glanced around. “Yeah, you,” I grinned. I sat down.
“Name’s Alexander. People call me Alex. What about you?”
After the short introduction, I stopped. Normally I was a spaz case around
new girls. I used cheesy come-on lines and tried too hard to act cool.
Where was the sudden cool friendliness coming from? I jolted out of my
thoughts as I realized the girl was actually answering my question.
“Name’s Willow. People call me Willow.” She followed that with
a slight laugh and a shy grin. I could feel my face break into a huge
smile.
“All right, Willow, a girl with humor. I could get used to this,” I
joked. She blushed and I could feel myself warming to her. Finally,
a girl who didn’t reject me. I stood up and held out a hand.
Shyly, she took it, and I pulled her to a standing position. “So, where
do you come from, what grade are you in, and are you single?” I asked as we
walked along.
She turned bright red and I kind of liked how it matched her hair. “I
just moved here from England with my uncle, Rupert Giles, and I’m a
sophomore,” she answered. She didn’t look at me.
“And the last one. . .” I prompted, unsure of why I felt so uneasy at the
prospect of her already having a boyfriend.
“Single, fifteen years running,” she sighed. I brightened.
Before I could even open my mouth, she was talking. “So, Xander, how
long have you lived here?”
“All my life. And the name’s Alex,” I reminded her.
“Nope. It’s Xander now,” she informed me with a grin. I felt a
little tingly inside, a little glowy. She’d given me a name, a name she
made up just for me. . . “I know too many Alex’s. Mostly girls.
You don’t want me to think of a girl when I think the name Alex, do you?”
she asked, quirking her eyebrow.
God no, most definitely not. “Nah. Besides, I kinda like Xander.
It has a ring. Try getting Jesse to call me that, though,” I laughed.
Her face dimmed a little bit. “Jesse?” she asked quietly.
“My best friend. He’s the coolest *guy* I know,” I added, stressing
his gender. Her eyes smiled, although her lips stayed neutral. I
stared at her, fascinated. I’d never met anyone who could smile with
their eyes. “Everyone else in this town is a hypocritical sheep.
No one has a thought of their own.”
“I know what that’s like,” she agreed with a nod. We continued
walking until we got to her classroom. At least, I figured it was her
classroom because she stopped and stood outside the door. “This is my
classroom.” That answered that question. “I have to go now.”
“Talk to you after class?” I asked hopefully. I jerked my head to
indicate a class down the hall. “I’ve got computer programming next.
I’m thinking I might duck out of class early since I’m pretty sure I’m
gonna fail it anyway, so maybe I could meet you here when you’re done?” I
hinted. She shook her head.
“No,” she said simply. My face must have fallen, for she quickly spoke
up with, “Not if you’re going to leave class early to do it. I’ll
wait for you. But stay in class.”
I smiled, at the same time protesting, “What’s the point of staying in
class? I’m gonna fail. Why bore myself to death on top of it?”
“Because you’re not going to fail,” she replied easily. “I’m
really good at computers. I’ll help you.” My face surely
displayed my amazement. “What, no one has ever offered to help you
before?” she teased. My answer probably surprised her.
“Nope,” I shrugged. “No one’s ever cared.”
“Well, *I* care,” she said firmly. “Now, go to class, *stay* in
class, and I’ll see you after class is *over.* All right?”
“More than,” I replied. I bestowed her with the most charming smile I
possessed, and leaned over to give her a hug. “Thanks, Wills,” I said
quietly. “I can tell you’re going to be a good friend.”
“A good friend,” she sighed. I could feel her tug away from me a
little, and when I pulled back to look at her face, she was smiling resignedly.
“Go to class. I’ll see you after.”
“All right,” I agreed cheerfully. She slipped into her classroom and I
headed for mine. Whistling, I might add. I suddenly had a whole new
reason to want to be out of class. I glanced at the clock. An hour
and a half, and I’d get to see her. My new friend. My Willow.
My future.
