"i cant fucking believe this.. dunmped... on Valentines day no less..." Xander was muttering to him self as he walked thru the graveyard on valentines day night, not paying attention to his surroundings.
"what i wouldnt give to make her feel what she is puting me thru, do get a taste of what this is like..."
in the shadows not far from him is a being. one who came here thru his own means, who can see a kindred soul in the pain this young man is feeling. ˜odd... no matter how many worlds i walk i keep finding the very thing i ran from in the first place.˜
Xander is unaware that all of this nights demons and vampires have vacated the area becasue of the preseance of this new comer. if he did, and was in his right mind, he would have run to the hills soon after.
"god if you listening, let her feel what she has done." xander screams into the night with out warning.
˜oh brother, id better talk to this kid before he calls to someone who will take him up on that offer...˜
"hey kid, we should have a chat... you dont wanna be spewing that kinda crap out around here..."
Xander spun towards the deep voice that just spoke to him, and nearly needs new shorts, for what he sees is an Arch Devil, one of only a handful to wander the multiverse, and NOT something any mortal would want to be alone with.
"gwaa...." is the most coherant thing to pass his lips.
the AD grins at him, "relax X, i aint here for your soul or nothing. just thought maybe we could talk before you do something rash, and be like me............."
˜i am amazed it was this easy to get this kid.. no, Xander, thats his name.. to come with me to this place. then again, its not like anyone has told me no in a long time...˜
"so, X, let me see if i have this straight.. your all torn up about this cordelia fem dumping you on valentines day, so your walking around the town the HELLMOUTH is in and basically saying youd give anything for her to feel what your feeling. damn. that has got to be the stupidest thing i ever heard."
"well, i didnt expect anyone to actually be listening. i mean, im just the Zeppo. no one special.. just good for donut runs.."xan says in a truely depressed voice. the look on his face, his body language states it all. this guy has been hurt, and badly for far too long.
"now you cut that right there, slim. i do not wanna hear a pity party here. i have had my eye on you and your group for a damned long time, and ill tell you this, and ill say it once, so listen up. out of the group, yeah, your the and i quote, 'normal guy'. so what? that means what your doing is worth more than the others any day of the week. you got no powers, supernatural or natural to speak of, but what you do have is a lot of heart, and thats something thats lacking in your scoobies severly. anyone can learn to be a witch, a slayer is more of a curse than anything i can devise, and thats saying something, watchers aint worth the skin wasted on them as far as this ol devil is concerned, and dont even get me started on werewolves."
Xander blinks at this. ˜why is this thing tring to make me feel better?˜
AD growls slightly. "i heard that, monkey boy."
Xander gulps slightly, and figures ˜what the hell.. its not like tonight can get any worse...˜
"ok, so im the normal guy. ok. so i font have powers and flash dodads, or a bit of a problem with the moon. fine. what i want to know is why you brought me all the way to LA, to this bar, and whats in it for you?"
˜damn. i KNEW this kid had a pair.˜ "well, ill tell you what. you do me one thing, one tiny little thing, and ill answer all your questions with out hesitation. what do you say?"
"depends on what it is. i am NOT turning to the darkside for anything..."
˜jeez, and i thought i was a star wars freak when i was mortal...˜ "no, no, nothing like that, X. just ... sing... and ill answer and help you out a bit. "
˜huh? help me out? what the fuck is going on here???˜ "sing? me? you have GOT to be jokeing." Xander exclaims.
"nope. one song, your choice, then a few more beers, then we can talk serious."
Xander looks at the man sitting with him. "you are crazy."
AD grins and takes a sip from his brew. "yup."
˜what am i doing...˜ "ok. one song. then you spill. right?"
"thats the deal, X."
AD barely stifles a full blown belly laugh when the first notes blast out of the sound system at Caritas and he recognizes an old Bon Jovi song.
"Shot through the heart, and you're to blame, darling You give love a bad name..."
AD looks over to the Host, and sees mostly what he expected. Namely the host's mouth wide open and doing its level best to catch all the flies in the area. ˜this is going to be interesting.....˜ and he returns his gaze to the stage.
"An angel's smile is what you sell You promise me heaven then put me through hell Chains of love, got a hold on me When passion's a prison you can't break free"
˜I cant believe I am singing in a demon bar... what the hell has gotten into me?˜
The Host, Lorne, is dumbstruck. This kid's aura is a tapestry of pain and betrayal, yet still retains its white core. This should not be! The sheer horror he can sense in this young man should have driven over to the darker spectrum ages ago, yet he still holds on to his inherent goodness. But other than that, his aura is wide open. No destiny. No path that he must follow. Just sheer chance.
"You're a loaded gun ... yeah
There's nowhere to run
No one can save me, the damage is done"
AD looks around the bar for a moment, and realizes that the whole place seems to be almost catatonic with the sheer emotion radiating off of the boy on the stage. Even a few of the Vampires seem ready to find who ever caused this much pain and either look for justice, or possibly torture tips.
"Shot through the heart, and you're to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name
You give love a bad name"
˜Jesus, Mary, and the other guy, that geekling sounds like I did right before Lou showed up and offer me a job! Hmm... I wonder...the Boss said there was always a loop hole.... maybe if I...˜
"You paint your smile on your lips
Blood red nails on your fingertips
A school boys dream, you act so shy
Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye"
The bar stays almost transfixed until the man on stage finishes his song, then erupts in applause at his performance. ˜Huh. Seems the kid didn't realize he can actually sing.˜
"Ok, I sang, so..." AD cuts Xander off, "Yeah, we talk, or more to the point you ask questions then I talk, but I gotta talk to the man", points at the general vicinity of the bar, "over there first. Private business. I'll just be a few minutes."
"You ain't gonna bail are you? Just wanted to humiliate me in here then split are you?" Xander sounds angry. AD looks over to him real slow, "Xander, I can't go anywhere."
"Huh?" AD grins. "You have my car keys... "