Worth the Fight (BTVS fanfic, Book Three)

Chapter 20 - The Prom

 At school, Oz, Willow, Buffy, Xander and I were sitting at a couple of picnic tables.

Xander was sitting on one of them. Willow and Buffy sat on the benches.

I sat on the other picnic table. Oz sat on one of the benches.

We were talking about dates for the prom.

Oz looked at Xander. "Anya, huh? Interesting choice."

"Choice is kind of a broad term for my situation," Xander told us. "See, it's either Anya or the sock puppet of love for this boy." He held up his right hand in a puppet shape, speaking in a silly voice. "I love you, Xander. I'll never leave you."

"Well, if Anya tries to get you killed, put me down for a big, 'I told you so'," I told him.

Xander spoke as the puppet. "Who's this Anya? Is she prettier than me?"

"She just better not try to cross me," Willow told us. "That's all I'm saying."

"Who you going with, Will?" I asked.

"Percy's taking me," Willow answered, smiling.

"Well, at least we all have someone to go with now," Buffy told us. "Xander's going with an ex-demon, I'm going with a vampire, and Zo's going with a werewolf, but I think that's a valid lifestyle choice. More importantly, I have the kick dress. 

Willow smiled. "Ooh, the pink one?"

Buffy nodded. "Angel's gonna lose it. But not his soul. He's gonna lose it. His it."

  •••  

We were in the library now.

"So, it was blue and sorta short," Buffy told us.

"Not too short," Willow told us. "Medium. And it had this weird, sorta fringy stuff on its arms."

Giles walked in. "What's that, a demon?"

"A prom dress that Will was thinking of getting," I answered. "Can't you ever get your mind out of the Hellmouth?"

"I'd be delighted to," Giles told us. "However, the day of the Mayor's Ascension is fast approaching, and we don't know what to expect."

"Well, what about the pages that Will stole from the Mayor's book?" Xander asked. "Look, she put her life on the line there, pal. Don't tell me they're useless."

"On the contrary, no," Giles answered. "We, uh, we know the Ascension refers to a human transforming into a demon, the living embodiment of an immortal. And graduation day, our Mayor Wilkins is scheduled to do just that."

Wesley and Cordelia walked in.

"Trouble is, we don't know which demon he is going to become," Wesley told us.

"There are thousands of species," Giles told us.

"So, it's safe to say we shouldn't waste any time of such trifling matters as a school dance," Wesley told us.

"Well, that's too bad, because I bet you would look was 007 in a tux," Cordelia told him.

"Except, of course, on the actual night, I will be aiding Mr. Giles in his chaperoning duties," Wesley told us.

"What?" Giles asked. "Excuse me?" Wesley gave him a look. "Fine, fine, fine."

I looked at Willow. "We'll get you a dress. You know, we should check April Fools."

"Don't go there," Cordelia told us. "I shop there."

"I myself am dipping into my road trip fund to procure a shiny new tux, so look for me to dazzle," Xander told us.