Prompt 576 - Theme - Giles as the Big Bad - Dragon's Phoenix - BtVS

[dragonyphoenix]

Title: In a Corner of My Soul - scene from chapter 8: The Puppet Show

Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: 576 - Theme
Word Count: 634

 

Tucker's best buds had bought it in that mansion, attacked by who the hell knew what. Giles knew, that was for sure, but he wasn't sharing nothing. Ever since that night, Tucker had sat alone. There were kids who'd been friendly once, but they kept their distance now. In Sunnydale, you learned to be safe or you vanished. And so he trudged to class alone. History was boring. Miss Jackson was boring. Who cared what a bunch of dead guys had gotten up to?

He was completely unprepared when the hot chick from the night before slid into the seat next to him. “'Sup?”

She wasn't as hot as he remembered. He couldn't see her torso at all under that Dingos Ate My Baby tee, but her blue jeans were just as tight and as her hair flipped back he felt his stomach drop to his feet. “Uh, hi.” Shit, he was an idiot! Hi, that's all he could think to say? “How come I haven't seen you around before?”

Her smirk said sha remembered every detail of last night's make-out session in the graveyard. “You cut me to the quick. You've forgotten me already?”

Shit, no, he hadn't meant that. Meeting her, in the dark like that, how she'd shoved him against the walls of the crypt and thrust her tongue down his throat, it'd seemed like a dream. He didn't expect to see her at school. “No, no! Uh, you're Mandy, right? I just meant that school, it just doesn't' seem like your kind of thing.”

She grinned at that. “I knew you were smart. It isn't, and yet here we are. I'm gonna have to share your history text. Haven't bothered to pick mine up yet.”

It was the first time Tucker'd ever even talked to such a hot chick so of course Mitch and three of his minions had to budge in and ruin it. “Hey, pretty lady, don't encourage the loser. If you're that desperate for a seat, you can sit on my lap.”

As his buds laughed, Mandy rose to her feet. Something in her grin sent Mitch stepping away from her. “Uh, so haven't seen you around. What's up with that?”

“I'm new here. Wanna know why? Got kicked out of my last school from slicing a guy from his guggle to his zatch.” At the word guggle she touched Adam's apple and drew her hand down to his belly.

Mitch took two more steps back. “In your dreams. Like I'd soil myself with you. Bitch.”

“Shit,” Tucker breathed. “You are the coolest girl ever.”

She turned back to Tucker and Mitch faded into insignificance. She held out her hand. “Let's blow this dump.”

He'd hoped she'd lead him back to a graveyard and French him again. That was a theme he could live with, but they ended up in the Espresso Pump. She took her coffee strong and black and so Tucker ordered that as well even though he didn't like coffee all that much.

She lifted the cup toward her face and the steam rose like a veil between them. “You were pretty handy, killing that demon last night. How'd you know where to strike?” The purr in her voice was melting something in his brain.

“Uh, you know, I picked stuff up here and there.”

“Here and there?” Something in her voice had changed. He didn't know how he knew, but he was certain she was disappointed.

“Well, I sort of, uh, have a teacher, um, more of a mentor really.”

“Mmm.” He relaxed at the sight of her grin. “I like a man who knows what he's doing.”

Knew what he was doing? Shit. Giles hadn't taught him squat. He was gonna have to get the old geezer to teach him something stat.