FicFan.org

Story Rating:

Cordelia took the time to look at the boy she remembered from a grown up perspective. Sitting across from her, he looked like a typical little kid, but underneath that was a sense of maturity at odds with his appearance. She was sure the others dismissed this duality as a side effect of whatever spell had been cast, but Cordelia knew better. The eyes openly regarding her were the same she remembered from the first time they'd met all those years ago. She'd known then that he was different than the other kids she'd played with in daycare before she started school. But she'd been too young to understand exactly why. It was part of the reason she'd antagonized him so much. Well that, and the fact that she enjoyed few things more than arguing with someone who could hold their own against her. It was a rare trait. Now that that look was leveled on her once again, she could see it though. Any other kid his age she'd ever met would be running back to the familiar as quickly as possible, especially after the encounter she'd witnessed in her vision. But Xander just studied her calmly as he ate his cereal in silence. He wasn't the least bit afraid of her. It was disconcerting. Even more so when she realized she wasn't all that surprised by that fact. She'd only seen Xander truly frightened a handful of times, and then it wasn't usually his own safety he was worried about. And even so, it took someone a lot scarier than Cordelia Chase to frighten Xander Harris, no matter what his age.

Xander for his part was desperately trying to figure out who this woman in front of him was. Her long dark hair tugged at his memories. He'd seen her somewhere before. She said they went to school together. Were they in the same class? He watched as her as she dug into her cereal with gusto. A strand of hair fell across her face and she blew the stray tress aside with practiced ease before eating another spoonful.

Xander's eyes widened. "CeeCee?" he squeaked.

Cordelia's head shot up at the hesitant question. She grinned, remembering the old nickname from kindergarten. Xander stared at her in shock for a moment, before a bright smile broke out on his face. "It is you!" he whispered. He jumped out of his seat at the table. "Spike!"

Cordelia had never seen a vampire move so fast, and that was saying something. "What is it, fledge?" he asked with obvious alarm. Seeing that expression on Spike's face made her giggle.

"Spike, it's CeeCee!" Xander exclaimed, literally bouncing with excitement. "She's in my class. I know her! I showed her how to tie shoes and when I got throwed off the jungle gym, she beat up Larry!" It was obvious from that statement that "CeeCee's" actions were legendary in the young boy's mind.

Spike turned his gaze toward Cordelia. "CeeCee?" he asked.

"Yeah," Cordy scoffed. "Cordelia Chase. CeeCee. Duh! It's my initials bleach-brain!"

"You beat up a boy!" Dawn exclaimed as she entered the kitchen, Tara at her heels. "That's awesome."

Cordelia smiled. "It wasn't the first time, and it won't the last. I couldn't let the creep get away with that. And it wasn't like Willow was going to do anything about it."

Outside Humanity, Chapter 9