Chapter 2

"Hi Mom. Yeah, I'm fine. I know, I'm sorry, but I had to come. I couldn't keep...hiding. No I promise I'm not going to see them. Or call them. You're my parents now mom, not them. No, no I haven't found Willow or Jesse yet. Okay, yeah I will. I love you too mom."

Alex hung up the phone, and lay back on the bed with a heavy sigh. He'd used his emergency credit card to get a room at a motel that wasn't completely skeevy, and then called home to reassure his foster parents that he was okay.

But was he? He wasn't sure. Not after what he'd seen and experienced tonight. Jesse was a Vampire. Jesse had tried to kill him. It bothered him that he wasn't more bothered. Oh he was very unhappy that Jesse was for all practical purposes dead, but the killing...It had been so long since he'd seen his friend, that they seemed to have grown apart.

And when he'd realized that, he'd suddenly felt a stab of fear, and ditched Buffy before they could find Willow. He wasn't so sure now he'd be able to face her. If he'd felt that way about Jesse, how could expect Willow to feel any closer to him? But that was stupid. He'd known that was a possibility. So why chicken out now? He decided that unless he chickened out tomorrow, he'd go by the school.

In the meantime, he flipped on the TV and flicked through the channels until he found a local news thing. He frowned. The stories seemed mostly about missing persons, and gang violence. Apparently there was a gang around these parts that had attacked the Bronze, and even the High School. The police were looking into a drug connection, possibly PCP.

Given what he'd seen at the bronze tonight, he had to wonder if there was something else going on. For that matter, he started to wonder if much of the violence in DC wasn't supernaturally related.

And that of course drew his gaze over towards his door. Locked, and bolted. And a chair propped under the handle. He didn't know if they could come in uninvited or not, but he wasn't taking any chances.

This was so not what he'd been expecting when he returned to Sunnydale.

So, this was Sunnydale High School. He remembered it seeming so much more imposing when he was a kid. Of course, he was a lot smaller then. And the world had seemed so much bigger. When you're in elementary school, your world was school, your friends, family, home, and the places you played. Everything else was strange and exotic. Another town might as well be another country.

So naturally the world of High School, with it's cars and larger population would seem like...well like another country.

Now that he was actually in High School, with kids from other countries, and with a driver's license and a part time job (which reminded him, he'd need to call his boss later), the world was a bit smaller. Less exotic.

Actually now that he really looked at it it looked like any number of high schools he'd seen on tv.

He crossed the street cautiously. He wasn't certain, but given the town's death rate, he suspected that like DC Schools, this place would not take too kindly to non-students on campus. He'd timed his visit for when he believed lunch would be. An extra teenager might be less likely to be noticed then.

As he went, he found himself looking at everyone, wondering which ones of them he had known once upon a time. In fact he'd gotten so wrapped up in that, that he completely missed Willow.

She did not miss him however. Of course she had been on the lookout for him as well, and was not distracted by all the other students. "Xander!"

Alex spun, unhappy that he'd been spotted first. He'd really hoped to be the first one to see the other, then he could prepare. Or even chicken out again. "Oof!" Apparently, Willow had not outgrown the glomp phase.

"Uh, hi Willow." Alex said awkwardly. "Uhm, it's Alex these days." He was trying desperately to ignore the fact that Willow's arms were around him, and that her body was pressed against his. He'd been dreaming about this for...well since he'd hit puberty if he was going to be honest with himself.

"Alex?" she said, her brow furrowed. "I don't know if I can get used to that. But you're here! What are you doing here? Where have you been? What have you been doing? Buffy said you saw Jesse are you okay? I mean, of course you're okay because you're here and not in the hospital, and oh my God did you see your parents? You can't go see them because you're dad's still totally scary and I'm so sorry I told your secret but I was scared and you didn't stay away all those years because you hate me do you? Stop laughing."

"I'm sorry." Alex said. "But I've missed that babble."

She smiled, slightly sheepishly, slightly embarrassed, and affectionately.

"I missed that smile too."

She was starting to blush, and then suddenly she disengaged herself. "Oz!"

"Pardon?" Alex frowned, confused. "The Wizard?"

"The me." said a voice. Alex turned, and saw that Willow was looking at a short red haired kid. He also noticed that Willow was now holding the boy's hand. On the one hand, he was hating the boy. On the other, he was glad the boy had showed up before Alex had had a chance to say anything that would have embarrassed him.

"Your name is Oz?"

"Xan...uhm, Alex, I don't know if I'll ever get used to that, this is Oz. My boyfriend."

To Be Continued...