Title: Alex

Series: Pretending Chapter Four

Author: Xandria

Rating: NC17+ Slash, het m/m/f, Xander/Spike/Anya

Spoiler: All Seasons of Buffy and the Pretender scattered throughout.

Fandom: Buffy / The Pretender

Summary: Xander is a genius, a Pretender, like Jarod. Years ago he was smuggled out and brought up to lead a 'normal life', in hiding. Xander tells Jarod a little about his life.

Warning: not this one. Swear words though

Archive: Ooh, if you like. Anywhere at all. Just let me know so I can look.

Date: Thursday, January 11, 2001

Notes: Web addy in my sig line will take you to earlier bits.

Feedback: Yes please. I love it. And it leads to more stories usually.

Notes: Thank you to Little Pinky and Anjxr for answering my questions, and to B3v and Marina for the Russian phrasing and the name especially.

Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine, they belong to Joss, and whoever owns the Pretender and that's that. *SOB!*. Heck, if I did own them, I'd be in Queensland with all the boys attending to my every little whim! {I can dream can't I?} The idea isn't mine either, it's from the Adopt A Plot Bunny Agency created by PEJA. The plot, however? That's mine *EG* and I have an army of feral Smurfs and rabid teddybears to back me up.

CHOCOLATE BOX

"I led them straight to you!"

"Well damn." Xander said mildly, a look of slight annoyance on his face. Jarod stared at him.

"You aren't exactly alarmed about this are you?"

"I have a few defenses that the Centre goons won't be expecting. It's just that I'm not ready to leave yet."

"Ready to leave?" Xander looked around him and stood up.

"Let's go back to my apartment and I'll explain it there." Jarod stood and followed him out of the coffee shop.

XANDER'S APARTMENT

Twenty minutes later they sat opposite each other at the table, glasses of orange juice in front of them.

"Since I was rescued from the Centre the people who took care of me impressed on me the idea that I mustn't be too good at anything. If I did, the Centre would find me and take me back, I would never see the sun, the stars, or go to the beach again. Not that they bothered to take me to the beach, Willow's family did.

"So I learned to hide what I was. That wasn't too hard, anyway. I worked out how to look at the
curriculum for a subject and studied that. By not bothering to do homework much, and pretending to not understand when Willow tried to explain, I managed to get by with an average of C's and D's. I wanted to do better in high school and made the mistake of saying that to Mr Harris." Xander paused and shuddered before continuing.

"That didn't go well. So I learnt what I could, when I could, in secret. I'd go into the library and read the textbooks, but have a comic in the middle in case I was caught. It would look like I was pretending to study when I was really not."

"But it was the other way around. So why are you intending to leave if you haven't already?"

"Well, while I was at school I played the slacker. I barely graduated and didn't even pass my SATs. Buffy and Willow did so I've been able to sneak into the University Library and read the textbooks there as well. A couple of years ago I decided to go on a road trip, to see what life was like for people who don't live on the Hellmouth."

"Hellmouth. Is that a special name for Sunnydale?"

"You could say that. I'll explain that to you later. Basically, during my road trip I learnt some things about myself. I leant how to be myself. Just before going, my final school year wasn't exactly easy for me. I'm not all that good at figuring people out when it comes to me personally. So I made a few bad choices. And my friends drifted away from me.

"But during my road trip I met people who didn't know the Zeppo Xander. Instead they met Alex. It was great to be free. And then I came back here and it was more of the same from my friends. The Harrises had moved me down to the basement as well. Never liked living all that closes to them anyway, they don't seem to understand the concept of personal hygiene.

"So I decided to work, to see what I could do. It usually took me a few days to learn all I could about one job before I moved on to the next. To my friends I said I was fired. I wasn't. Well, I actually was the once, but I got sick. That's why I'm back in construction again. There are so many different trades within the one industry. Carpentry, plumbing, electricity. And the engineering as well. I've learnt all I can from them but stayed. I like to build things and see a visible result."

"You said before you weren't quite ready to leave though."

"Well, no. I came back before because I thought my friends still needed me. They don't. Not really. And I've read all of Gile's books and been successful with quite a few of the...theories. For the last few months I have had only two reasons to stay."

"Giles. Would that be Rupert Giles?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Since I left the Centre I've been looking for my family. Once or twice I nearly have, I actually spoke to my brother. But the Centre has managed to come along and stop me. My brother's dead, and when I get close to finding a trace of my family it's stopped. Another thing I've been doing is justice. When I first got out I met this man, Todd, and he said to pay me back by doing some good for some one else. So I have."

"So what brings you to Sunnydale?"

"The Initiative."

END PART 4
tbc