Who IS That Boy?

Title: Who is that boy? – five conversations about Andrew
Author: PuppyPooka
Fandom: BTVS
Pairing: Andrew/Oz (eventually)
Feedback: [e-mail] Please, this is my first fanfic series....
Disclaimer: BTVS belongs to the genius of Joss Whedon and the good people at Mutant Enemy. I’m just borrowing them.
Summary: This is the fourth in a series of BTVS season seven AU fics.
Spoilers: Up to ‘Potential’ or so... AU but related after that.
******************************************************************************


____
Buffy: “Well, Andrew... he’s our hostage, technically. He was involved in opening the Seal under the school; killed his best friend as a sacrifice to it. He’s not exactly dangerous, though, you know? We’ve had bigger problems lately – so, hey, good that you’re here. We can always use some extra muscle, and since you’ve got that werewolf thing under control... you do have it under control this time, right? Oh, okay, good. Well, anyway, I’m pretty busy here... I’ll talk to you later, alright?”
____
Dawn: “Him? Why do you want to know about Andrew? (Short pause). He’s kind of annoying, but pretty nice, considering... he was part of this group of geeks last year, kept trying to kill Buffy. It was kind of funny at first, but aggravating. Anyway, things got... messy. I don’t like to think about it much... Warren, he was kind of the leader of the group, he tried to shoot Buffy. He got Tara.... (long pause). Anyway, Andrew was in prison then, but he got out when Willow wrecked the building. I don’t really know why he came back, but Willow ran into him a few weeks ago buying blood at the butchers. He’s been our hostage since then. Mostly he rambles on and on about Star Wars and comic books. And he bakes. He says he’s evil, but he’s a big old wuss. I don’t know why we keep him around anymore; I’m pretty sure he’s harmless.”
____
Giles: “Well, Andrew was involved in a number of incidents around Sunnydale last year. I think he’s mostly a misguided young fellow. He seems sincerely interested in making amends for his actions, and he never complains about all the work there is to do in the house. He’s annoying, with his whining, but that’s become less frequent since we stopped tying him up.”
____
Willow: “Well... I’ve got a lot of mixed up feelings about him. I can’t look at him without thinking about... Tara. I know you don’t really want to hear about it, but... anyway, Andrew’s friend was the one who killed her, you know that, right? And I almost killed Andrew in recompense. I went really out of control; I didn’t even recognize myself. Huh... I guess you might understand that pretty well, actually. Sorry. Anyway, so Andrew reminds me of that time, which is why I try to avoid him. But he’s really just a nice guy who wanted to fit in and did some stupid things. I guess I can understand that. I just don’t really want to spend a lot of time with him. Besides, we have more important things to think about.”
____

Xander: “Oh, merciful Zeus, save me from Andrew! That kid gets on my nerves in the worst way. And what’s with that big gay ol’ crush he’s got on me? I mean, flattering, a bit, but *so* not my thing! That’s why I treat him the way I do. I figured he’d get the hint and back off. No luck yet, though. Which is even *more* annoying. If he would just stop sighing over me, he might not be so bad, but he won’t leave me alone. Any time I turn around, there he is, offering me cookies or watching me rebuild the windows. Look, Oz, do me a favour, alright? See if you can tell the guy to back off somehow? Or get him interested in something else? Somehow I got the feeling the other day that you wouldn’t mind that. (Laughs) Cause I tell it to you true, he’s going to drive me mad at this rate. I’ll give him this much: he does work really hard around here, the past few weeks, and it’s always the thankless tasks. Hell, he cleaned the entire bathroom this morning, *after* all the potentials had gone through there. It was a complete disaster area, and Andrew worked on it for like three hours. (Short pause, sound of coughing) Damn, but this is good weed. Thanks, Oz. It’s been, like, forever. Anyway, Andrew -- he’s a nice enough guy, I guess. Hell, if we’d met a few years ago, we’d probably be friends now. But I can’t handle the hero worship thing he keeps on doing, and, well... the classic term is ‘not my type.’ I just don’t want to be with him, and I can’t seem to make that clear without hurting him.”