TITLE: Class Protector
AUTHOR: Ragna (writinggoddess@aol.com)
RATING: FRC
CLASSIFICATION: Xander/Other, Spike/Other
SPOILERS: Um...Grad 2 in mention. Set after Just Another Day... in my fic series.
DISTRIBUTION: Sure, just keep my name on it and let me know.
DISCLAIMER: If you don't recognize it, chances are it's my own creation. If you do, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kazui Sandollar, FOX and the WB own it or them. I'm just holding Spike hostage. Carolyn's got Xander, May's got Oz, Cathryn's got Ethan, Nikki's got Giles and Shelly has Angel. Gillian, for the hell of it, has Ewan McGregor. You may see them by appointment only. The song is "Wide Awake" by The Philosopher Kings.
FEEDBACK: Sorry I'm not home right now I'm walking in the spiderwebs so leave a message and I'll call you back...in other words, I want it. Don't care if it's onlist or not.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is dedicated to Carolyn. This is the song she danced with her crush object with, and somebody spiked her punch. So I gave her a Xander story.
***
Gaby sat at the table, sighing slightly. Her silver prom dress glittered. Guys occasionally asked her to dance but most knew that she was with Xander Harris.
Unfortunately, he wasn't there with her at the moment. Some big slaying problem. Her uncle was supposed to have been chaperoning, but he was needed there more, so her sister had taken over. And even she had a date; a very reluctant Spike. Very reluctant.
Gaby sat there with a bemused look on her face as she watched Alex laugh at him as he resisted the temptation to strangle one of the high schoolers there. She wasn't chaperoning the school at the moment; she was chaperoning her date. There was a bit of irony to that.
She glanced at her watch again and sighed. She wanted Xander to be there with her, but he was off saving the world. Again. And she was left out. More because her family was bound and determined to give her a normal life. Or as normal one as possible.
Casting a glance back towards her sister, she noticed there were two vacancies. Ten to one the two of them had either snuck of to a deserted corner somewhere in the school. Maybe they'd gone to the library, but she doubted it.
The class president stood up, signaling for the DJ to stop. Everyone looked up at Tim, wanting to find out who got what awards.
After a long list, he paused. "Two years ago, we gave out a special award to Buffy Summers. And she helped a lot of us live past that years graduation. Last year, we did not present the award."
He looked at the side of the stage and nodded. "This year, we're proud to have another class protector." Gaby glanced up and saw her sister smiling in the far right corner.
"And it will be presented by one of those graduates." Gaby's eyes to the stage and she saw Xander standing there, looking a tad uncomfortable in the tux he wore. Her smile grew so big it almost hurt her face. Tears fell down her cheeks as Xander spoke.
"Well, I can't say I'm not biased about the receiver of this award. She happens to be my girlfriend, but most of you already know that. I'm glad all of you decided to recognize her. We all know there's some weird things that happen in this town, but she helps to fight them."
He looked at the piece of paper he held in his hand. "She's special, more special then I can describe. You may have seen her out at night, looking for the things that go bump in the night. And when she finds them, she keeps them away."
He looked around. "She doesn't do it alone; she has help. You might have noticed the motley crew she's around all the time, and that we're always so quiet about what we do. But she...she wants all of you to be safe, and that's why she is a class protector. That's why she is who she is."
He took the award from Tim and smiled at Gaby. "So, I'm extremely happy to give this award to Gabriella Giles, class protector for the class of 2001."
Gaby walked up to the stage and took the award to a thunderous amount of applause. Xander lifted her up onto the stage and kissed her in full view of everyone in the room, adding more thunderous applause to that which she had already been given.
***
There was one more...well, two more awards to be given out: Prom King and Queen.
Gaby stood there on the floor, her head on Xander's shoulder, holding her small golden umbrella lightly. "I feel so happy," she said quietly.
"You should. It's an important award."
She smiled and looked up to the stage as Tim announced the Prince and Princess. "And...the Prom King is...me," he said with a grin as Alex, who had been given the task of handing out the crowns, put his crown on his head.
"Now, the moment all of you have been waiting for. The Prom Queen for the 2001 Prom is..." There was a silence so still that if someone had dropped a pin it would have been heard loudly throughout the room.
"Gabriella Giles."
She was in shock, in pure shock. Xander moved her forward to get the award. She smiled brightly as she got the crown placed on her head, promptly turning around and hugging her sister tightly.
"Normally, the King and Queen dance together, but we're going to dance with our respective dates tonight," he said with a grin, helping Gaby off the stage.
"I don't dance well," Xander muttered sheepishly.
"I don't care," she said, stepping into his embrace before they pulled apart to sway to the song.
"Did you know I was going to get the class protector award?" she asked, putting her head on his shoulder again.
He nodded. "Yeah. We planned it as a surprise. There wasn't really a big threat to the world. It was just a minor one that a phone call took care of."
She laughed. "A phone call? To who?"
"Angel, actually. He took care of it all yesterday."
She pulled back and looked at him. "So...you weren't here because you were going to surprise me?"
He nodded. "That's also the reason the awards were given out earlier than the previous years. So we could have a small bit of the prom together."
"Oh. So who all was in on it?"
"Alex and Giles, mainly. They threatened Snyder with bodily harm unless he let her be in charge of the prom things this year. He relented when Alex said she'd have Spike beat him up. He's been wanting to do that for months."
Gaby snickered slightly. "Ah. That explains her always glancing at her watch and ducking out right before the awards."
"So," Xander asked quietly. "What are your other plans tonight?"
"I was invited to a few parties, but that's all." She shrugged slightly and looked at him. "Why are you asking?"
"Well, I have a limo outside as well as some other things for you. As a 'I'm-sorry-I-wasn't-here-before' thing."
She smiled. "I think I like that better. What were you planning on doing with me?"
"Taking you to Coronado Island for the weekend."
Gaby looked right at him. "I've always wanted to go there."
"I know. It's costing me a lot of money, but you're worth it."
She kissed him as the song ended, and she was so happy to be there right then that she didn't care what the others around her thought.
***
Standing in the corner, the rest of the Scooby Gang watched.
"Alex, you do know that Xander is using his own money for this, right?" Buffy asked, and she nodded.
"Yeah, the college money. I know. He'll have a sponsor next semester, though, so he'll be fine."
"Who?" Willow asked.
"A friend," she replied. They moved away, dancing or walking around watching the teenagers. Alex jumped slightly as she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders.
"Sorry to scare you, love."
"No problem," she said, putting one of her hands on Spike's.
"Did you tell them about Angel?"
She shook her head. "I just said it was a friend. That's enough."
"I'll have to admit, my sire does have some useful things." He rested his chin on her head lightly.
"Aren't you glad I dragged you here?" Alex asked, watching her sister on the floor.
"You didn't drag me here, love. I did relent." He smiled. "I also had a bit of fun."
She turned around. "You didn't spike the punch, no pun intended?"
He shook his head. "No, love."
"Did you hurt Snyder?"
He gave her a bemused look. "I was sorely tempted. The man is a troll."
"Then what did you do?"
His bemused grin turned into a smile. "I got to be with one of the most beautiful women in Sunnydale and I made the troll green with envy."
Alex laughed and hugged him. "You're priceless."