Prompt 81 - When the cat's away - BtVS

[thismaz]

 Title: When the cat's away
 Fandom: BtVS
 Prompt: 81 - Grovel
 At: tamingthemuse
 Rating: Older Teen
 Summary: Part 20 of my pre-season one story.
 Word Count: 3,725
 Comments: Are greatly appreciated, loved and cherished.
 Previous parts:
 In reverse order, in tags here
 In my memories.
 Or, starting here with links to the next, at the end of each chapter.
 Disclaimer: here.
Now beta'd by the wonderful laazikaat

Warning (highlight the white area to see the warning text):

Vamp Xander story

20. When the cat's away

Friday night

An hour later, Xander had progressed from shocked, through depressed and was building towards angry. He'd moved from the floor to the couch, but he hadn't managed to figure out what to do next. He ought to go out and find Jesse. He ought to go and watch Angelus' place and follow him when he left. He ought to figure out what he was going to tell Spike, if Spike ever came back. Instead, he was sitting, numb and confused with his brain refusing to co-operate with any of the things he ought to be doing. And underneath it all, was a feeling of intense frustration and annoyance, a deep seated resentment at Jesse's attitude.

A faint noise outside caused him to look up, but the initial hope that it was Spike returning was dashed when the door opened to usher Jesse back into the living room. Xander jumped to his feet and was across the room in seconds. He grabbed the lapels of Jesse's jacket as he drove him back into the wall. "Where have you been?"

Jesse didn't seem to notice Xander's tone, didn't seem to notice that Xander was furious with him. Or maybe he didn't care. His mouth was turned down in a frown that looked remarkably like a pout. "Cordy's left, already," he said. "She's gone to Paris."

Stepping back, Xander let his hands fall away but Jesse stayed where he was, slumped against the wall. "How do you know they've gone?" Xander asked.

With a shrug, Jesse raised his face to Xander, his expression woebegone. "You think I haven't been keeping count? But I just lost a whole day! Why'd you have to wait so long? If I'd woken up one night earlier, I'd have been able to get her and turn her. She'd have been mine!"

Xander reached out again, his hand hovering above Jesse's shoulder, before he pulled it back. "And what if I didn't want her?" he asked. "Did you even think of that?"

Jesse shook his head. "No. I wanted her, so I thought you'd be okay with it."

In the face of such longing, Xander wasn't sure what to say. The anger was still there, but so was the desire to make Jesse happy, to have what he'd wanted when he saw Jesse in the street and decided to make him. He thought about the boy Jesse'd been and the way he'd stalked Cordelia for the last few weeks. She wasn't so bad, for a girl. It was just her air of superiority that had put Xander off, he thought. She hadn't interested him, but she'd been important to Jesse. "Yeah, well, maybe," he offered. "We'll not know now, will we? Anyway, she'll be back in a month." With an internal shrug, he dismissed Cordelia Chase from his mind and returned to the source of his own concerns. "But it didn't take you this long to check her house. Where've you been?"

Brightening at the reminder that maybe all he had to do was wait, Jesse answered, "I went to The Bronze. I thought she might be there, since she wasn't at home." A slow smile spread across his face and he straightened up. "I ran into that Harmony bitch." The smile turned into a grin. "Man, you should have seen her. She wouldn't spare a glance for the old Jesse, but me? I walked in and she was panting. I so rule!"

Stepping away from the wall, Jesse began to pace and his voice shifted again. "I got her outside, but a whole gang of vampires turned up and I had to run." He looked over. "They were huge and there were at least ten of them. They took Harmony off me and I hadn't even finished with her." There was the beginning of a whine now and it seemed that the injustice of the theft had completely overwhelmed his previous heartbreak. "They said I had no right here. What did they mean by that?"

It was Xander's turn to shake his head. "I don't know. Spike, my sire, hasn't had a chance to tell me much yet." He thought about it. "Maybe there's different hunting grounds for different gangs," he suggested. "Maybe you strayed into another gang's territory?"

"But how would I know?" The whine transformed into frustrated anger. "I only just woke up. You're supposed to know this stuff. How long have you been around? A month? A week? What?"

"Er, just over a week. But I've been busy. Spike wanted me to do something and he was concentrating on that." In an effort to provide Jesse some hope that things would get better, he offered, "Spike will know if there's gangs. He'll explain it. When he gets back."

"Spike, Spike, Spike. I don't want to hear about Spike! I don't care about Spike!" Xander rocked back in shock at such sentiments, feeling an involuntary growl forming in his throat, but Jesse didn't seem to notice because he continued, "And even if there are gangs, we still need to eat." He resumed his pacing, staring at the carpet under his feet and ignoring Xander. "So we need to go somewhere they don't own." He looked up. "How about your parent's place? Or mine? We could get enough to last a week from mine."

It was as if Jesse's words released a desire that Xander hadn't known he'd been nurturing and suddenly he was excited too. "No, we'll save yours. We'll do mine!" Grabbing his leather jacket and pulling it on, he caught Jesse by the shoulders, turned him around and started bundling him towards the door, when a sudden thought made him stop short. "Wait!" he said, letting his arms drop to his sides. "Problemo amigo. Big fucking problemo. Spike said something about this - we can't get into a house unless we're invited." He watched Jesse gaze around the room. "A house where humans live," he explained. "There's some sort of barrier. They have to invite us in. Demons are different, no barrier on a demon's house."

"Invite us? That sounds crazy. Have you tested it?"

Xander shook his head. "I know we can get into a demon's house, but we never tried to get into a human one."

"So you don't actually know it's true?"

"Er, no, but Spike said it was. And if it is, it'll totally screw us if we're stuck outside and can't get in."

"Yeah," Jesse agreed, thoughtfully. "So what d'we do?" He turned away from Xander and went back to pacing the floor. "I know," he announced, "I knock on the door and get invited in to wait for you."

"And I'm stuck outside, while you have all the fun?" Xander retorted. "I don't think so."

"Got a better plan?"

Grabbing Jesse's arm, Xander pulled him outside. "I'll think of one, on the way."

*****

Crouching by the trunk of his dad's car, Xander watched as Jesse climbed the porch steps and knocked on the door. It was not yet eleven, so Xander doubted they were in bed, but it seemed to take forever before his mom answered. It was quiet on the street so Xander could hear the conversation clearly. "Hi, Mrs Harris." Jesse said, sounding perfectly cheerful and normal. "Is Xander in?"

Xander couldn't see anything from where he was hiding, but he heard the shocked surprise in her voice when she answered, "He's not with you?"

"No, I haven't seen him for a few days. That's why I got a bit worried. Are you sure he's not in? Can I come in and see?"

Her reply wasn't very encouraging for Jesse's lame idea. "Wait there," she ordered. She must have turned away, because her voice echoed differently, but it was loud enough so Xander could still hear what she shouted. "Tony! Jesse McNally's here. He's looking for Xander."

There was silence for a moment, then Jesse tried again. "Maybe he came home and you didn't notice? Maybe he's in his room, right now? Could I go and have a look?"

His mom didn't answer and when Xander peered cautiously around the end of the car he realised that she'd left Jesse on the porch, while she went to talk to his dad. Jesse had his hands up and seemed to be pressing against something in the empty doorway, but he suddenly dropped them back to his sides and stood up straight and respectful. Xander pulled his head back behind the car as his dad appeared. "Jesse?" His dad asked. "Are you saying that Xander's not staying at your place?"

"No, Mr Harris. I came to see if he was alright. I haven't seen him for a coupla days. I was just saying to Mrs Harris, that maybe he's in his room..."

"He's not in his room," his dad interrupted. His words were slightly slurred, but he appeared to be sobering fast. "When did you last see him, exactly?"

This plan sucked, there was no way it was going to work. Xander began to crawl backwards, as Jesse started to splutter out some story about last seeing Xander in the park on Wednesday, until he reached the sidewalk and the cover provided by next door's shrubbery, then he stood up. Taking an unnecessary but steadying deep breath, Xander walked into their view and started towards them "Hey, Jesse," he called.

His dad pulled the door wider and peered over Jesse's shoulder. "Xander," he yelled. "Where've you been?"

Before Xander could answer, his dad was pulled aside and his mom reappeared, echoing her husband as she exclaimed, "Xander! There you are! Where've you been? I've been worried sick. Come here, this minute!"

Hopefully that was enough of an invitation, because although Jesse had turned around and was watching Xander approach, he wasn't saying anything more to persuade them to let him in. "What's up, mom?" he asked.

"Xander Harris, come inside this minute!" As Xander reached the doorway, Jesse moved aside and that apparently caught her attention, because she added more quietly, "Jesse's here, looking for you. Now come inside both of you, I don't want to stand here holding the door all night and we don't need to have this conversation in front of the neighbours." She turned back to Jesse. "In fact, if you don't mind, dear, I think it would be best if you went home now. Xander and I need to talk." To Xander she added, "You could have phoned, if you were staying with one of your friends."

Taking the last step, across the threshold, Xander cast a glance at Jesse over his shoulder and grinned, but his face was under control when he turned back. "Sorry, mom," he said, trying to sound contrite.

"Yes, well, come on in." Now that her momentary alarm for his safety was past, she appeared to forget about it. "You've missed supper," she said, "but there might be some pizza left, in the kitchen."

With a jerk of his head to Jesse, Xander smiled at his mom and followed his dad into the living room. "I'm sure we'll find something," he agreed.

*****

Saturday evening

Xander shoved Jesse's head off his shoulder as the faint tickling sensation he had come to recognise in the back of his mind signalled that the sun was setting. He looked around the room as he got to his feet and fastened his jeans. Jesse was curled up on the couch, where they'd fallen asleep watching TV. His mom's body was lying like a broken action figure, propped up in the corner and there was a small pool of smeared blood at her side. Looked like Jesse hadn't managed to finish that meal. Eyes bigger than his stomach, as she used to say. And his dad... he glanced around and smiled, yes, his dad was lying on the floor in the doorway, where Xander had finally brought him down by jumping on his back.

Turning back to the couch, Xander dragged Jesse to his feet and held him upright. "Rise and shine," he said, giving him a shake.

Jesse's eyes cracked open. "Oh, man, I'm still full. My belly's bloated." He allowed his body to slump as he relaxed his stomach muscles and ran a hand over the resultant bulge. "See?"

With a laugh, Xander let him go, giving him a shove so he fell back onto the couch and bounced gently a couple of times. "We need to head home," he said.

Jesse opened one eye and peered up at him. "What time is it?" he asked.

"Sunset. Come on. I'm going to see if there's anything I want from my old room. Get yourself together. We are so out of here."

He walked away, stepping over his dad's body and down the hall to his old bedroom. Jesse's voice followed him. "Why would you want anything?" he called. Xander ignored him.

But looking around the room, he had to admit there wasn't really anything here he wanted. The memories were too strong and they weren't the sort he wanted to treasure and keep. He wandered around anyway, turning over the comics scattered across the bed, picking up the shirt tossed over the back of the chair and dropping it again. He stopped for a moment and regarded the photos of Willow and Jesse and himself on the desk and thought about turning Willow. Except Jesse was not quite how he expected and, he realised with a shock, not quite what he wanted. They'd shared a few fumbled kisses and Jesse had cuddled up to him willingly enough. He'd even fallen asleep with his hand still around Xander's dick, but there'd been a passivity about him that had left Xander feeling vaguely frustrated, in spite of the fact that Jesse had brought him off. And he hadn't seemed to care that Xander didn't return the compliment. It was like he'd done it because it was expected of him. He didn't gasp and moan, like he had in Xander's imaginings. He didn't actually feel like Jesse. It was odd.

Dragging himself out of his thoughts, Xander shelved that problem for later and took a last look around the room. From the closet he picked out his other pair of jeans and a fresh t-shirt, then he turned his back on the trappings of his human memories and made his way to the bathroom for a shower.

It was disconcerting not to see himself in the mirror, but he managed to comb his hair by feel and it was good to wash off the grime and splatters of blood from the night before and have clean clothes. They smelt fresh; looked like his mom had done the laundry recently. Then he returned to the living room.

Pausing in the doorway, he contemplated the mess, wondering if he should tidy the bodies away, bury them, maybe. Jesse was up, but he hadn't made any attempt to tidy himself. Xander walked over to his mom and considered her, his head on one side. She didn't look peaceful, just broken. She didn't really look like his mom. Behind him, he heard Jesse wandering around. "We gonna go over to mine next, then?" he asked.

Xander didn't bother to turn around. "No, we're going home. What we do after that, well, it depends. But first we're going home."

"Aww, no, man. Come on. I wanna go see the 'rents"

Looking over his shoulder, Xander glared. "No! I want to go home and check."

"See if your precious Spike's turned up yet? You do that, man, I'm going to see how many of the family missed me."

Ignoring the jeering comment about his sire, Xander crossed the room and grabbed Jesse by the arm. "You'll do what I say, or I'll stake you."

Jesse wrenched his arm free and stumbled back a few paces towards the hallway. "Ha! Not if I get you first."

The crash of the door flying open interrupted the incipient argument and Xander watched, mouth agape, as Spike stormed into the room. Without slowing his step, Spike's left arm lashed out and he back-handed Jesse, sending him flying into the wall. Xander barely had time to take in the sight of him sliding to the floor, where he settled in an ungainly heap, very similar to that of Xander's mom, before Spike was on him. He dithered, not sure if he wanted to throw himself into Spike's arms or run like hell and as a result only managed a few dancing steps to the side, but Spike was too fast anyway. He caught a fist full Xander's hair with his right hand and dragged him forwards, forcing his head down at the same time, until Xander's legs buckled and he collapsed to his knees, sending jarring shocks of pain through his knee caps. Spike planted his right foot on the back of Xander's calf to hold him there and jerked his head back. He loomed over Xander, who gazed up at him through watering eyes. "Where's Angelus?" Spike growled.

"You came back," Xander gasped, too relieved to realise he wasn't answering Spike's question.

"'Course I came back. Where's Angelus?" He gave Xander's hair another tug, pulling his head further back, and Xander screamed, fearing his neck would break.

Apparently realising that Xander couldn't answer if he couldn't get any air into his lungs, Spike relaxed his hold slightly. "Don't make me ask again, pet," he warned.

Drawing a ragged breath, Xander managed to gasp, "He was at home, when I last checked."

Giving Xander a shove, as he let go of Xander's hair, Spike lifted his foot from Xander's leg and planted it squarely in Xander's side, pushing him over and holding him there. "And how long ago was that?" he asked in an overly reasonable voice.

He really should have studied his math better at school, Xander thought, since even the ability to count appeared to have deserted him. "Um, er, yesterday?" he suggested.

"You don't sound too sure of yourself there," Spike observed. "Which night was it you ran into this fool and decided, on a whim, to forget your task and turn him?"

Desperately trying to piece together his last few days, Xander gasped. "That was the next night. I finished what you left in the larder, so I had to go hunting." Spike continued to look at him and Xander's panic increased. "Today's Friday, and that was yesterday. So I saw him yesterday, I mean... it might have been the day before."

Spike stood up and regarded Xander, the expression in his eyes making Xander want to curl up into a ball and hide. "Today's Saturday," Spike corrected. "You came here yesterday. So you haven't seen him since Thursday? Or is it Wednesday? And now he's missing. Well done, pet." He reached down and hauled Xander to his feet, holding on to his upper arm to prevent him pulling away, not that Xander was thinking of doing any such thing, and turned them both to face Jesse.

Jesse cowered back against the wall. 'Grovelled' a voice noted in Xander's head, 'That's the word.' It was a girl's voice, instructing him, but he couldn't place it. Then he did: Cordelia Chase, looming over him, much as Spike had just done, after Mitch Fargo knocked him down in the school hallway.

Spike looked Jesse up and down and gave a 'humph' of disgust. "What part of laying low do you call this?" he asked Xander. "You're too young to turn anyone. But since you did, what the fuck are you doing arguing with it? You don't ever let a minion defy you. Not ever."

Turning in Spike's hold and grasping his upper arm with both hands, Xander clung to him. "He's not a minion, Spike. I made him. He's my childe. And I was just telling him he couldn't go and kill his parents, until we'd been and checked if you were back." A new thought occurred to him. "And you are. And I'm so glad, because I was getting really worried that your sire wouldn't let you come back and I was going to come home, as soon as I got him to tidy himself up. Because I really, really wanted to know you were safe. And how did you find us, anyway?"

Spike turned his head to regard Xander and his gaze softened slightly. "You're my childe, that's how I found you. He's a minion. How long did it take him to wake?"

"Er, he woke up last night." Spike raised an eyebrow. "Um, after one night. But he said he was always faster than me, and he was, because with the long legs, he could always run faster, so I figured..." he trailed off in the face of Spike's continued look.

"Pet," Spike shook his head, almost regretfully, "that's why he isn't a childe. You spent three nights absorbing who and what Xander was. When you woke up, you were confused because you had so much to process." He toed Jesse's leg disdainfully. "This one is just a low level creation. Has the memories, but none of the feeling. You're a childe. My childe. He's cannon fodder." Finally he released Xander's arm and Xander slumped with relief.

Spike in the meantime turned on the spot, taking in the mess. "Still, since he exists, might as well make use of him." He jerked his head at Jesse. "Get up. We're going hunting." And turning back to Xander: "Angelus is gone. He's not home and he's not been there for at least two days, so get your arse into gear, we need to find him, before he gets into any more trouble."

Behind Spike, Jesse scrambled to his feet, but his obvious fear didn't seem to be enough for him to keep his mouth shut. Perhaps it was because Spike was no longer looking at him. "I wanna go see the family," he whined.

Spike turned back and glared. "I don't care if you want to go out and slaughter all the bloody tribes of Israel, first you're coming with me!" He reached out an arm and gave Jesse what appeared to be a gentle tap across the cheek, except that Jesse's head whipped round in reaction to the blow. "And if you do well," he added. "I might just let you live."

Continued here.

Comments

[lilithbint.livejournal.com]

Oooo...
I've been really lax about replying to this but I am really enjoying it and love the little snippets of the vampire life.

[sparrow2000.livejournal.com]

Spike's back! I don't know whether to say 'yay!' or 'gulp!' and I suspect Xander is thinking the same thing at the moment.

"But how would I know?" The whine transformed into frustrated anger. "I only just woke up. You're supposed to know this stuff."
Oh dear, they may be evil creatures of the night now, but they'e still two confused teenage boys, trying to work out the rules and how they fit in - pets them.

I loved Xander using his mum's rant to get the invite into the house ""Xander Harris, come inside this minute!" I can hear the voice of mother's everywhere!

Great use of the prompt!
Hmm I can't wait to see how Spike's going to deal with this situation - how will Xander get back in his Sire's good graces? How will Jesse adjust to being a minion? Where is Angel? Did Dru come back with Spike? All these questions and many others will hopefully be answered on the next episode of... *g*

[dangerous-47.livejournal.com]

Dude, he turned Jesse? Damn. lol. :)

Anyways, hhheee. Very nice. :D

*Thumbs up*

Heh.

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

Now Jesse's dealing with a real master vampire something tells me he won't last long. Where in the world has Angel gone? Mystery very good for the soul. :) Of course, the fact that he's missing is just pissing Xander's sire off more.

I love that the race doesn't go to the swift. Who's the shadow now Jesse?

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thank you, both for reading and for telling me you are enjoying it.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

they're still two confused teenage boys ... - pets them.
But very carefully, right?

I can hear the voice of mothers everywhere!
Heee, me too. Thanks.

All these questions and many others will hopefully be answered on the next episode of...
*thoughtful voice* Hmmm, *reluctant voice* well, *teasing voice* maybe...
*g* Perhaps not all of them, but certainly some.

Thanks, hon. Catch up with you later.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Hi Dru, yes, he turned Jesse last week.
Thank you.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

something tells me he won't last long
I honestly am not sure how long he'll last *g* It could be centuries, potentially. Jesse is taking form as I write and although I know the general direction of this story, he is one of my major unknowns. I guess I'll not find out his fate, until it is too late to change it (if I even want to).

just pissing Xander's sire off more
Yeah, but they are mercurial in their moods, vampires (or at least these ones), so he might not stay mad.

Who's the shadow now Jesse?
You know, I was desperately trying to find a way to use that line, it is such a good one. It seems so out of character, compared to the rest of Jesse's speeches, that it really points up the difference between the vampire and the boy, for all that a lot of canon vampire-Jesse's lines are very similar to human-Jesse's.

Thank you for reading. And thank you, as always, for commenting.

[laazikaat.livejournal.com]

That was so good, love the bits of vampire lore, the difference between a childe and a minion.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thanks hon, I'm so pleased.

[smwright.livejournal.com]

*chuckles* Oh, Jesse. Well, a young boy's mouth will get him into trouble, but sassing Spike is perhaps not the best use of sarcasm in this case. I've no doubt he'll learn soon enough.

As for Xander... what a lesson in his turning of Jesse. He seems to have realised that having a minion (wow, didn't see that distinction coming though I should have) isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's a little sad, but then so was his letting go of Jesse and Willow early in this story. So, perhaps that's as it should be.

Now, off to the hunt! I always did enjoy a good hunt. ;) I have absolutely no worries that you'll provide excellent fare for that!

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think Jesse's in for an education about what a real, grown up vampire is.
I'm not sure, right now, how Xander will react to the realisation of why his feelings about Jesse are not as he expected. It will be interesting finding out, although I suspect the return of his sire will also be a bit overwhelming of any other feelings.
Thank you for the vote of confidence. I will do my best to live up to it.

[smwright.livejournal.com]

You will... I'm positive!

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*g* Thanks