College Girl (Book Four, BTVS)

chapter 22 - Restless

We were at the my house.

Willow, Buffy and I were sitting on the stairs. 

Giles was standing in the doorway of the foyer and the dining room, eating snacks.

I looked at Buffy. "So, what about Riley? Is he gonna be okay?"

Buffy nodded. "It's just a debriefing. They're not gonna make him disappear, and they're not pinning anything on him. He's got Graham and a lot of the guys testifying he's the reason they're alive. He might actually get out of this with an honorable discharge."

"In return for his silence, no doubt," Giles told us.

"Oh, yeah," Buffy answered. "Having the inside scoop on the administration's own Bay of Mutated Pigs is definitely an advantage."

"It's like he's blackmailing the government," Willow told us cheerily. We looked at her. "In a... patriotic way."

I smiled.

Xander called from the dining room. "Dinner is served." Xander and my mom walked in. Xander had popcorn. "And my very own recipe."

I took a handful. "Ooh, you pushed the button on the microwave that says 'popcorn'?"

Xander shook his head, nodding to my mom. "Actually, I pushed 'defrost', but, um, Layla was there in the clinch."

"Didn't know you were on a first name basis with my mom," I told him.

We walked into the living room.

"Let the vid-fest begin," Xander told us.

Giles looked at Mom. "You sure you won't join us?"

"No, you guys have your fun," Mom told us. Buffy, Willow and I sat on the sofa. Xander sat on the floor. "I'm tired."

"Let me guess," I told her. "Another long day at the office."

"Of course," Mom answered. "But the five of you... I can't believe you're not exhausted. Have you even slept since..."

"Still feel a little bit too wired," Giles told us.

Willow nodded. "Mm. Yeah, that spell... That was--that was powerful."

"Don't think I could sleep," Buffy told us.

Buffy, Willow and I curled up on the sofa, blankets over us.

"Well, we got plenty of vids," Xander told us. "And I'm putting in a preemptive bid for 'Apocalypse Now', huh?"

Xander held up the video.

Willow frowned. "Did you get anything less heart-of-darkness-y?"

Mom smiled, putting down a bowl of peanuts.

"'Apocalypse Now' is a gay romp," Xander told us. "It's the feel-good movie of whatever year it was."

I wasn't buying it. "What else?"

Mom and Giles exchanged a smile.

Mom walked out, leaving.

"Don't worry," Xander told us. "Got plenty of chick-and-British-guy flicks too. These puppies should last us all night."

Xander started the movie.

Giles, Buffy, Willow, Xander and I fell asleep before the movie started.

                ••••      

I was dreaming.