From: "Kimela M Wilker"<kwilker@allina.com> Subject: BUFFYFIC: Barbie Incident [1/?]
TITLE: "The Barbie Incident"
AUTHOR: Kimela
EMAIL ADDRESS: kimela@writeme.com
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Zandarah (www.geocities.com/~zandarah),
all others please ask me first.
SPOILER WARNING: Nothing recent, but "Welcome to the Hellmouth"
(very slight)
RATING: G (so far, anyway)
SUMMARY: As Buffy and Xander head to the cemetery to rescue
Willow from a vampire, Xander recalls "The Barbie Incident".
This takes place during the Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest
episode, and during Xander & Willow's childhood.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Buffy & Co. Joss Whedon and the WB do. No
copyright infringement intended.
FEEDBACK is highly appreciated!
The Barbie Incident
[Fall, 1996]
I can't help but stare at her, she is so beautiful. So what
if she thinks she's a...a Vampire Slayer. There are worse things
a girl could be. And hey, she is willing to be seen in public
with me. That's a big step over the other girls of
Sunnydale...Willow excepted of course. I don't get this whole
"Willow left with a guy and if we don't find her there will be
another corpse in the morning" thing, but I'm more than willing
to follow this girl anywhere. Besides, if Willow really is in
danger...not that anything exciting or dangerous ever happens
here in Sunnydale.
I wish I had the guts to ask Buffy out. I want to ask her
before she gets a chance to meet anyone else-it's probably my
only chance at a date with her. I imagine that Cordelia and her
popular crowd will convince her of my undesirable status pretty
soon, and that will be it. Within a week, she'll find a snooty,
rich, jock and forget that I exist. Probably for the best
anyway. I'll probably never have the nerve to ask her anyway. I
don't deal very well with rejection. You would think that after
spending pretty much my whole life being labeled by Cordy and her
cronies as a loser, that I would be used to it. But I'm not. It
still hurts. Of course, I do my best to laugh it off, return the
insult, and pretend it doesn't faze me. Then I go home and
recuperate by drowning myself in the music of other people's
pain.
"Willow loves ice cream. They're probably heading over to
the parlor on Main," I finally answer Buffy's question about
where Willow would go.
"I don't think that's where he's taking her."
"So, just where is it that we're going?" I ask her, speeding
up my pace just a little to catch up to her.
"Where else would a vampire take a girl?" she replies. She
pauses, glancing at my face, which must have a blank expression
on it. "The graveyard."
Not exactly my idea of a great first date, but...okay, not
that this is really a date, or anything. One can always dream.
But why would she take me to a graveyard unless..."Do you really
think Willow is in danger?" I ask, doubt unintentionally
resonating in my voice.
She stops and turns toward me, staring into my eyes. She
has an extremely serious look on her face. "Yes," she answers
simply, and I believe her. I guess my face must reflect the
sudden fear I feel in the pit of my stomach, because her
expression softens. "Come on. We've got to go."
My best friend really is in danger? Obviously there is no
such thing as vampires, but maybe there's something...else. A
door in the far back of my mind tries to open, but I do my best
to force it closed. Unfortunately a few odd...were they really
memories or were they just a few made up childhood stories that I
had repressed?...thoughts enter my consciousness.
Buffy must notice my sudden wariness because she starts
gabbing, trying to keep my mind off of our mission as we walk
swiftly in the direction of the cemetery. "So I hear you and
Willow used to go out?" she queries.
"What?"
"She said something about you stealing her Barbie?"
The door is flung wide open, and the memories tumble forth.
[Summer 1985]
"Thank you so much for doing this, Kathy!" my mom expressed
her gratitude as she handed my overnight bag to her longtime
friend, Willow's mom, Katherine Rosenberg. "I really don't know
what I would have done if..."
"Don't be silly, Anna. You know we love having Alexander
over. Willow really seems to adore him. She doesn't really have
any other friends, so I think it's good for her to have him
around."
Mom let go of my hand and knelt down beside me. "Okay,
Xandman, you be good. I'll pick you up tomorrow after I get off
work." She wiped the tears off my face and smiled at me. Even
after she had explained to me (for what she claimed to be the
thousandth time) why she had to leave me behind, I still didn't
understand. I was only five. I didn't understand why she had to
go to work when everyone else's parents were at home. Willow's
parents were always home at night. It seemed more often than not
Mom had to go to work and leave me with whatever relative or
friend she could find to watch me. Weekends were sometimes
better because my dad would come around. Even then, he would
often try to find someone else to pawn me off on so that he
could...go out. "It'll be okay. I'll be on the day shift soon,"
she promised.
"Come on in Xander," Mrs. Rosenberg invited. "Willow's in
the kitchen. We're making cookies! How does that sound?"
"Chocolate chip?" I asked hopefully. Maybe the night
wouldn't be so bad after all.
Willow's mom laughed and took my hand. "Willow insisted,"
she replied. "Go on in." She pushed me past her into the house.
I could hear her and Mom talking as I headed for the kitchen. I
paused just out of view and listened.
"Oh, Kathy, it breaks my heart to always leave him like
this. I just can't afford...Daniel has pretty much stopped
sending money. I'm going to have to pick up a second shift. I'm
just so tired!"
"If there is anything we can do...We can watch Xander any
time, you know. We really do enjoy his presence."
"Thank you, but...Well, no use dwelling on what we can't
change. I'll pick him up in the morning."
"If you want, we can watch him tomorrow. You go home and
get a good night's rest after work. Okay?"
"You know. That would be great...I work tomorrow night,
though. I should just..."
"Don't be silly. You come for dinner tomorrow night and
bring him another change of clothes then. We'll just keep him
for another night. You need the rest."
"Thanks. For everything. I'll see you tomorrow night."
I quickly retreated into the kitchen before Katherine caught
me eavesdropping. "Hey, Wills," I greeted her as I entered the
room.
Willow was standing on a chair, leaning against the kitchen
counter. Her long red pigtails were dusted with flour.
"Xander!" she called exuberantly, nearly toppling over as she
turned to see me. I reached out to steady her before she fell.
"We're making cookies! Chocolate Chocolate chip-your favorite!"
She handed a spoon heaped with the raw cookie dough down to
me. Despite what the other kids said, I really liked Willow.
She always knew how to make me feel better. I took the spoon
from her and stuck the whole wad of batter in my mouth. It was a
bit too much to eat all at once, but it was usually worth the
effort to make Willow laugh. Unfortunately, my timing couldn't
have been worse-Mr. Rosenberg came into the kitchen, to find out
what we were up to. Willow giggled as I struggled to swallow the
dough before he noticed.
"What's so funny, Munchkin?" her dad asked. She didn't
answer, but pointed at me, grinning. "Well, hello, Alexander!"
He smiled down at me. "Are you staying with us again?" I
nodded, still trying to swallow the lump of batter. "Well,
terrific. There's a game on tonight. Want to watch with me?"
My face must have shown my distaste for sporting events because
he laughed. "All right, I'll let you off the hook this year, but
if you're still around next year..." He ruffled my hair and
turned back to his daughter. She was wobbling on the chair. "Be
careful, honey." He reached into the mixing bowl and snagged a
finger full of the dough. "Don't tell your mother," he spoke in
an exaggerated whisper.
"Don't tell her mother what?" Mrs. Rosenberg called from the
doorway.
"Rats, foiled again," he sighed. Willow giggled as he
turned to his wife with a bashful look on his face.
"Did you at least wash your hands first?" she articulated
with mock anger.
He looked at her with feigned horror. "Salmonella!" he
gasped. She swatted him playfully.
I loved spending time at the Rosenbergs. I only wished that
my parents got along as well as they did. Hell, I just wished
that they would be civil to each other.
[Fall, 1996]
My thoughts return to the present as Buffy comes to an
abrupt stop. "Xander? Are you okay?" she asks, looking at me
with an odd expression.
"What? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine."
"What were you thinking about? You were really spaced!"
I briefly toy with telling her about...the incident. I want
to tell, but am afraid that she will only laugh at me and think
that I'm a total nut. If it hadn't happened to me, I would never
have believed it, either. I had tried to tell Willow once...it
was her doll, after all. But she only got upset and accused me
of stealing it. I decided then and there that I would lock that
memory away and never tell another soul-a vow that I have kept
for almost eleven years. Now was not the time to break it. "I'm
just worried about Willow," I lie.
Buffy nods. "I know. We're going to find her, though," she
promises. "Everything is going to be okay." I can only hope she
is right.
- -
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End of Buffyfic-digest V1 #67
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