TITLE: Darla's Childe (1/?)

RATING: NC-17

PAIRING: Xander/Darla; other characters and pairings

DISCLAIMER: Of course they don't belong to me, I wish they did; I'd treat them a hell of a lot better than the Crack head and the others.

SPOILERS: None

SETTING: The Summer before Welcome to the Hellmouth

DISTRIBUTION: Any list archives, anybody else, just ask.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

1) This is only one of several stories I've got working right now, and I hope to be posting them at semi-regular intervals until they are done. This is a very dark story, Xander is not going to be a hero in this, so, if Dark Xander isn't your cup of Joe, might as well leave now. My other stories are more Heroic Xander, or at least Neutral Xander, with pairings I haven't written before.

FEEDBACK: Of course, if feeds the muse, and helps me write faster.

The Bronze was starting to fill up on the Thursday before school started. Xander Harris was sitting at the table he usually shared with Willow and Jesse. They hadn't arrived yet, which wasn't unusual, they were never as anxious to get out of their houses as he was. He sat back, looking for familiar faces, but, the only person he recognized was one of Cordy's sheep. Aura he thought her name was, she was hot enough, but, a typical stuck up little rich bitch.

He drank his soda slowly, not having enough money to go wild tonight. 'As usual, any money I manage to make, working my ass off every day, mowing lawns, running errands, whatever, the fuckers take for their booze! I can't wait to get the hell out of here! Only three more years, and I'm getting out! I won't let this place eat me up like it did to the fuckers!"

Darla stood in the doorway, looking around for her night's entertainment, and not really being impressed by the current selection. 'Well, it's early yet', she mused, 'maybe somebody will catch my eye later.' Walking to the bar, she noticed somebody sitting at a table towards the back. His aura of anger was intriguing, as well as the darkness she felt in him. 'This one has potential; let's see if he's worthy.'

Walking up to the dark haired young man, she smiled at him and said, "Hi, I'm Darla, is this seat taken?"

Looking up, Xander was struck by the attractive blonde standing there. 'Hmmm, long hair, t-shirt, holy crap! No bra, and, is it cold in here? And tight jeans. Wow! Oh, she's waiting for an answer, seat, taken….' "Oh, no, not at all, sit, please, I'm Xander!"

'Oh, way to go, lunkhead! It's no wonder Willow and Amy are the only girls who will talk to you, as smooth a talker as you are! Well, she's sitting, that's a good sign.'

"So, Darla, are you a student at Sunnydale?"

"Actually, yes, I'm starting my sophomore year next week. My family just moved into town a couple of weeks ago. We moved here from San Francisco, and, it's quite a change! How about you, are you going to school here?"

After chatting for a while, Darla glanced at her watch, and said, "Shit! It's almost 9 o'clock; I've got to get going! Listen, Xander, I've enjoyed talking to you, and, if you aren't busy tomorrow, maybe you can come over to my parent's apartment and we can hang out, okay?"

"Uh, wow! Sure, that would be great; I'm not doing anything tomorrow. Where is your address?"

Darla laughed quietly, "You're not going to believe this, but, actually, I'm not too sure of the address, it's one of the apartment buildings on the edge of town. I can get there, but, I don't have the address memorized yet. Tell you what, here is my cell phone number, call me tomorrow after 10 o'clock, I'll give you the address then, okay?"

Taking the slip of paper, Xander sat there watching as she hurried out the door. He was still in a daze a few minutes later as Willow and Jesse walked up to the table and sat down.

As soon as the doors of the Bronze closed behind her, Darla put on a burst of speed, heading for Willy's to get something to eat. 'I've got too much to do tonight to waste time hunting, I've got to find an apartment and get it set up for tomorrow. That boy has potential, and I can't wait to see if I can't bring it out. I've got a feeling he could even rival Angelus!