Willow had just come out of Cordelia Chase's room and, surprisingly, a single tear was sliding down her cheek as she put a hand on Xander's shoulder. Xander looked up at his best friend, as a new kind of grief set in. He had lost a lot in the last week. The love of his life, Anya, had died in battle. And, in a bittersweet way, Andrew had said that her last words were about bunnies. That's my girl, he had said. But now, his first girlfriend whom he had loved. She was never exactly a model citizen, at least when he had known her, but she did not deserve this. Any of this.
He got up slowly and walked towards the door. Before entering he stopped and glanced at Angel. The glare that they had once always exchanged was replaced with looks of compassion and understanding. Xander turned back to the door and went in.
She looked so peaceful, almost like she was dead. He felt a pang. As peaceful as she looked when she had been impaled. He sat in the chair beside her. Tears welled up in his eyes as he began to speak. "Hey, Cor. How've ya been?" He looked down and grinned ruefully. "Guess that's a stupid question. So, I, uh, heard your were in love with Dead-Boy. Guess he has a way with women. Pretty sure it's a vampire thing anymore. Between him and Spike, there'd be no more women for the Regular Joes of the world." He moved a strand of her hair away from her face. "It's weird. I just noticed how much we've both changed. Physically, at least. Guess that makes me kinda slow in the head, huh? I mean, look at you now with the new hair and me with my one eye. Buffy suggested I go with the secret agent look. I think I'll just stick with my Xander-look. Plus, I think the eye-patch makes me look more exciting.
"I have good news. Me and the gang destroyed Sunnyhell. See? There's an upside to every situation. Yep. Everything that is or was SD is gone. Now, the only thing left is a giant crater. How people are gonna explain that, I don't know. There's a lot of bad that's happened, too. Like Anya died. You knew her, right? She was an ex- vengeance demon. 'Cause you know me. All I could ever attract were demons. That still doesn't explain you. I guess I'll never know." He took her hand in his own and choked back sobs as he continued. "Buffy finally told me about what you guys talked about while those demons and German guys hunted you both down during the Homecoming dance. You said that you thought you loved me. God, I wish I would've known. Maybe things would be different. Because I never got to say that I loved you. I hope you know have a place in my heart. I know you do. Just remember. you will always have a piece of me. And when you wake up, don't forget to drop a line, okay?"
He let go of her hand and got up from the chair hesitantly. He place a kiss on her forehead, then whispered, "I love you, Cordy. Never forget that. Goodbye."
Xander then left the room, tears flowing freely now. He walked up and put his hand on Angel's shoulder. "Take care of her."
Angel nodded in agreement. "I will."
Xander Harris never saw Cordelia Chase again.
*Cordelia: Yes. Thank you.
Xander: It looks good on you.
Cordelia: Well, duh.*
- "The Prom"