Baking When Nervous

[lockless_key]

Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean back against the counter and watch Andrew bustle around the kitchen. We never tied him to a chair, and it might've been a bad idea if it was anyone but Andrew. He wouldn't try to run. He's too scared of me. Besides, he's also too busy making cookies

Comments

[bond_wannabe]

I slide the trays of cookies into the now preheated oven.

"I bet you'll like this. It's a Wells family recipe. My grandma on my dad's side, she guarded the secret for like, decades, but then we figured out that it was written in her pantry cookbook, so we just jotted it down and she was never the wiser."

I sigh.

"If there's one thing I can say about my family. They sure can keep a secret. Like Tucker...I mean, what's he even doing?"

I run my finger along the bottom of the bowl and then stick the glob of dough into my mouth.

What is it about baking that makes me feel conversational?

"It's almost like a slumber party, we're baking and talking about b...stuff."

[lockless_key]

I look at the cookies as Andrew talks about the recipe. They're just cookies. They don't look any different from being secretively guarded for decades. Then I shrug. Cookies are cookies, and as long as he doesn't poison or burn them, it's all good. I mean, this is one of the better ways he could make himself useful.

"Except at a slumber party, you get to go home in the morning," I point out. Now that we've got him, we're not letting go of him. Especially since he could be dangerous to others out there. Well... maybe.

Then I remember what he'd just said. Tucker? "Wait... you haven't seen him?" I ask slowly. I thought Andrew was like, following his brother around like a lost puppy. That really can't be good, if Tucker's off somewhere doing his own thing. From what I picked up, he's pretty powerful.

[bond_wannabe]

"Oh no, not since the other night. He tried to get me to help him with some spell. So orb or something. It was fun and all to be involved with making magic with my brother and all...it was like he finally invited me to play Captain Kirk with him, uh...not that I really wanted to when we were kids. I'm just saying."

I take my oven mitts off and sit across the table from Dawn.

I figure the cookies will take some baking time.

"But honestly, I'm not sure he's that good a wizard. He's no Harry Potter. His spell just spelled of bad herbs that I had to smell, and like all the orb did was disappear. It didn't even float or like...reveal the future."

My eyes light up.

"Oh that'd be SO awesome if we could see the future in an orb. Like in the '13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'...remember that cartoon?"

[lockless_key]

I stare at the oven mitts as Andrew talks. God, he's the geekiest geek I've ever met. No wonder he doesn't have any friends. I already want to run screaming from the house from all his nerd references except I can't 'cause I'm guarding him and I'd be a pretty lame guard, wouldn't I?

Except I kinda like Harry Potter...

"Yeah," I answer vaguely to his question, mind still going over what he'd just said. He helped Tucker with a spell the other night? With an orb that disappeared? Vaguely, I remembered someone doing a spell with an orb, but that was a long time ago...

"Jeez, Andrew! The orb doesn't have to do anything for the spell to work! If it disappears, it could've released its magical energy to accomplish whatever the spell was trying to do!" I can't believe it, and this geek claims he knows how to do magic. It must've been a complex spell. And he doesn't know a thing about it. He really is useless.

"What kind of orb was it?"

[bond_wannabe]

"I dunno, I'm demonologist, not a spellcaster. I'm not good at remembering these things."

I place my cheek in my hand and concentrate. Squinting my eyes a little as I do so.

"Hmmmm...the Orb of...Metamucil? No. Thyroid?"

I grimace.

"I'm not sure. It was some thing that sounds like it would be an ingredient in like really cardboard tasting cereal."

I yawn.

"Thesulah, maybe?"

[lockless_key]

"It's not a medicine ball," I mutter, rolling my eyes as Andrew thinks. Honestly.... Thyroid? I stare at the oven, willing the cookies to bake faster, when something that Andrew says jogs my memory.

"Thesulah?"

I jump up and stare at him. I remember that from somewhere. I don't think the Scoobies used one of those when I was around... I mean, really around, but still, I have memories of things they didn't want to tell me, something really dangerous. Something that had Buffy really upset... I remember, she was pale, never slept, trained too much. I remember her warning me about Angel...

"The Orb of Thesulah," I repeat slowly to myself, hoping it'll propel me to the answer. "Used for... " Angel. Angel was dangerous. They had to get an Orb of Thesulah to...

"Ensoul a vampire!"

Finally, all those years of eavesdropping on the stairs paid off. I figured out something on my own without the Scoobies help!

Wait... ensoul a vampire? I turn and glare at Andrew. Which vampire did they ensoul, exactly?

[bond_wannabe]

"Thesulah! Yeah, that's the one."

She starts talking to herself, which kind of creeps me out, but it also reminds me of this episode of "The Practice" when Lara Flynn Boyle starts talking to herself, and then totally solves the case of the child molesting clown.

...I don't like clowns.

Dawn screams something out and I'm startled out of my inner-TV thoughts and look at her.

"Oh YEAH!"

I nod affirmatively.

"He did say something about soul, and confusing Buffy's friends..."

[lockless_key]

"God, Andrew, don't you ever pay attention!?" I could slap him. Seriously, I could. He's older and bigger than me but I could so beat him up right now. What an idiot! Doesn't he realize what he's messing with?

What he'd done?

"Confusing Buffy's friends! Ensouling a vampire!"

I'd been wondering why Spike hadn't come around. Was he freaked out by what happened the other night? Did he think that he shouldn't come around anymore, shouldn't see me because I'm too young or whatever? But now I have another theory, and it's even worse, if that's possible.

Andrew helped Tucker ensoul Spike.

"Andrew, you IDIOT!" I scream, glaring at him and start pacing around the kitchen. I could be wrong. I could be totally wrong and the Orb of Thesulah wasn't used to ensoul vampires... but Andrew just confirmed it... and I can hear Giles' voice in my head, talking about Angel's soul and the gypsy curse... and Spike was missing.

Shit.

[bond_wannabe]

I jump back. She just SPAZZED out. One minute we were there, baking cookies, and totally making a break through of friendship. It was like when Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman had dinner for the first time in that old series "Beauty and the Beast" that they showed in reruns on USA late at night, and that shouldn't be confused with the Disney movie...but I liked that too. The singing candlestick was SO cool. I could only wish I could have been as smooth as him, though he was really the dad from "Dirty Dancing", and how smooth is that?

and I...

...no Andrew. Focus.

Dawn's mad.

I stand up from my seat.

"Is that bad though? That'll make him a good guy for real? I mean, I didn't really know what Tucker was doing, but this can only be good. I remember reading about Angel. He's like Mr. Stalwart Champion because he has a soul. This can only be good, right?"

[lockless_key]

"There was nothing wrong with him to begin with," I mutter, glaring at Andrew. I don't think he can hear me, which is cool by me. Soulless Spike was good enough for me. He didn't need any fixing.

"Do you have any idea what happens to a vampire when he gets ensouled?" I ask Andrew, and my voice is higher than usual. That's 'cause I'm freaking out. And with damn good reason. "I heard that Angel wandered around for years all insane! We don't even know where Spike is!"

I cross the kitchen and stand in front of Andrew, pointing at him so my finger is right in front of his nose. "You don't EVER do magic without knowing what it can do!" I know I totally sound like Giles, but whatever. It's so true. "We need to do research! No... screw research, we need to find Spike!"

[bond_wannabe]

I stand up. Time for a serious moment.

"Look, I know you people don't take me seriously, and maybe you have reason to...but I'm not stupid, and I don't need to be talked to as if I was."

I cross the room, ripping off my baking apron and throwing it on the floor.

"Maybe I screwed up helping Tucker, I'll admit that. But don't sit there and tell me about magic and how to not do it. Listen Little Miss Mini-Buffy, you don't even KNOW magic, ok?"

I stand there for a second.

"So, do you want to find Spike? Or what? Cause now that you've got me all mad, I'm going to help you find him to prove I'm not that bad."

[lockless_key]

Mini-Buffy? "Don't you talk about my sister, you... jerk!" And I don't know magic? What? "And I know magic! I am magic!" Or did he forget that I'm not even human? I've been doing research with a Watcher and serious witches, and he's telling me I don't know magic?

I am SO going to kick his ass.

As soon as we find Spike, I mean.

I throw down my hands and start pacing around the kitchen, and remember about the oven. "We can't go anywhere," I say slowly. "The cookies aren't done." I don't know why I don't just leave Andrew here. Oh, yeah, 'cause he'll run away. Although I don't need his help... maybe I can use him as a shield if we get attacked by anything.

Or... something.

[bond_wannabe]

I sigh.

"Well, we can always turn the oven OFF if it is that big a deal for you to find Spike."

I sink into the chair.

"Look, I'm sorry I said stuff about your sister. I don't expect you guys to like me or anything, but I want you to know I don't really want to hurt anyone. Not really. I just get confused sometimes."

I look up. Andrew confession moment.

"I know I'm not cool, I know I'm not you guys. It's kind of hard to live your life when you are like the red shirted ensign on every Star Trek away mission. No one notices you, they're too busy looking at Shatner. You're only there to be the hapless victim to advance the plot. Do you know what it's like to be the guy no one notices?"

So yeah.

"I'm sorry what I did to Spike."