"Okay," Xander said to himself as he took a seat at the bar. "This is going to work. You're going to make this work. You're finally going to ask her. And she's going to say yes. And it's going to be of the good."
"Big date?" the bartender asked. She laughed as he jumped, then set a coaster in front of him and waited expectantly.
"Hey, Linda," Xander smiled. "Sort of. Hopefully. Maybe."
"Well, good luck. What can I get you?"
"Coke?"
"Sure thing," she said, moving towards the taps.
<Yeah,> Xander thought. <Big date. Not tonight, maybe, but soon. Tonight we just break the ice a bit, let her know I'm interested. Make the first move. Gotta find the nerve, is all. Then when I walk her home - well, when she walks me home - I'll ask her out. She'll say yes. And then we'll have the big date. This is going to work.>
"Thanks," he said when the Linda brought his soda. He handed her a five and pocketed the change she gave him.
"Okay," he said again, more quietly, as she moved to serve other customers. "This is going to work."
"What's going to work?" Buffy asked, sliding up next to him.
"Uh, nothing," he said, turning and smiling at her. "Just something I was thinking about for school."
Buffy quirked an eyebrow at him. "You were thinking about school at the Bronze?"
"I was coming up with an, uh, an excuse I need to get out of a paper."
"That makes more sense," Buffy said. "Guess my whole worldview isn't askew after all. Where's Will?"
"Oh, she's home working on a project."
Buffy's expression grew worried. "We don't have anything due, do we?"
"It's for her English class," Xander assured her. "She has to compare two authors. She was thinking Jane Austen and George Orwell."
"Huh. How exactly is she going to manage that?"
"I have absolutely no idea," Xander said, "and I don't think she does, either. Hence her non-Bronzing tonight."
"Makes sense. Just the two of us, then?"
"Yep. Alone at last."
Buffy smiled. "Lucky me," she said with a sigh.
Xander chuckled. "Check out the enthusiasm. I think I'm hurt. Do you have any idea what an opportunity this is for you?"
Buffy's smile grew wider. "Private time with Xander Harris, you mean? It's true that many girls would kill to be in my shoes."
<I wish,> Xander groused to himself.
"I just hope I'm appreciative enough," Buffy went on. "I mean, a chance like this comes along only once in a lifetime, right?"
<Maybe more often,> Xander thought. Aloud, he said, "That's right, Buff. Alone with the Xand-Man. Not many women can claim that type of honor, you know."
"I'll bet," Buffy laughed, then said, "Seriously, though, this'll be good. Just the two of us. I hang out with Will alone sometimes, but you and me don't get to just hang out all that often. It'll be nice."
"Yeah," Xander agreed. "Nice."
<She likes the idea of just the two of us? Damn, maybe I really do have a shot here. Okay, get ready. Ask her if she wants to go see a movie, maybe get some dinner. Lead up to it, though, don't freak her out.>
"Definitely nice," he said. "Actually, it's good that it's just us tonight. I have something I need to tell you. Well, ask you, really, and it's better this way."
"What way?" Buffy asked, clearly not following him.
"Alone," Xander answered, getting ready. "With no distractions. I don't have to worry about being interrupted by bad guys, or school stuff, or Giles, or..."
"Angel," Buffy whispered.
"Especially Angel," he agreed. "Definitely don't want to be thinking about..."
He trailed off as Buffy walked away from the bar, clearly not listening to him.
Xander knew before he turned to look.
<Angel,> he thought, watching Buffy push her way through the crowd to him. <Great. Talk about timing.>
He watched them talk in the corner, hoping against hope that Buffy would wrap it up and come back to join him at the bar. His heart lifted as she turned away from Angel, but then he realized she was scanning the room instead of moving towards him. Seeing an empty table, Buffy took Angel's hand and led him to it. Soon, they were seated across from one another, engrossed in conversation.
Xander sighed and turned back to the bar. Sometimes it just didn't pay to try.
"How you doing?" Linda asked. She smiled at him sympathetically.
Xander tried to smile back. He failed. "Peachy. Hey, could you send something to that table over there?" He pointed to Buffy and Angel.
"Sure," she said, not asking him to specify which table. "What'll it be?"
"She'll have a Diet Coke with lime. Not too much ice. Give him... I don't know. A cup of coffee, I guess."
"How's he take it?"
"I have no idea. If I have to guess, I'll say black as the tortured midnight of his conflicted soul."
That earned him a laugh. "Diet Coke and a Goth Special. No problem. It's on the house," she went on, as Xander reached into his pocket.
"Thanks," he said, trying for another smile. No luck. "Hey, tell whoever brings it over not to tell them it's from me, okay?"
Linda looked at him for a moment, then nodded. Xander watched her prepare the drinks, then turned to follow her as she put them on a tray and walked out from behind the bar. She waved off a waitress who tried to take the tray from her, then made her way over to where Buffy and Angel sat.
Xander held his breath as she carefully placed the drinks in front of Buffy and Angel.
Neither of them so much as took their eyes off each other. Buffy nodded a vague thanks, took a sip of her soda and went back to their conversation.
Xander closed his eyes for a moment and snorted out a painful laugh. <Wow. I'll admit that expecting her to forget all about him and come running over to me was probably aiming too high. But not even acknowledging my existence? Damn. Guess I know how I rate.>
"Sorry," Linda said as she came back behind the bar. Xander nodded without opening his eyes, then heard her move off down the bar.
He sighed and slid off the bar stool. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a twenty and several singles. He thought about it for a moment, then left all of it on the bar as a tip. He smiled a goodbye to Linda.
<She's the best date I've had in forever, when you get right down to it,> he thought as he pushed through the crowd towards the exit. <And there's a horribly sad thought to keep me warm tonight.>
When he got outside, he paused to take a deep breath of the cool night air.
<Where next?> He thought about going over to see Willow, but decided against it. Instead, he started walking home. Country music beckoned.
<Just you and me tonight, Patsy. You're the one lady who's always there for me.>