14250/Do I Know You

Do I Know You
Date of Scene:	01 April 2022
Location:	The Bronze, Sunnydale
Synopsis:	Buffy runs into Alexander at the Bronze. Unfortunatly, she doesn't remember him either. New clues are picked up but more questions than answers.
Cast of Characters:	Phobos, Buffy Summers

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Phobos has posed:
    A Thursday evening in the Bronze and the place is alive. Hectic with the ebb and flow of a crowd that was appreciable though nothing compared to what it would be on the morrow. But for now, with the Thursday specials, they'd managed to draw in a good number of the local youth. Enough that when Alexander had arrived he actually had to take it slow to work his way through the crowd.
    And it was a good crowd.
    In the last half year he had stopped coming out this way as often as he had. Activity had fallen off, people had gone about their lives. Which, in some ways, was good. No news tends to be good news. And as the academic year progressed the people who wandered to the Bronze changed as it often did with the passage of time. But tonight Alexander had decided to try and reconnect, find some of the people he had spent time with before. Though so far, nary a one.
    Which didn't go to say he wasn't noticed. The tall blond youth had a way about him. Flowing through the crowd, an utterly at ease smile. When someone almost ran into him he lightly touched the young woman's shoulder and drifted her to the side. Her gaze lingered as he wandered past. At the bar a group of young men and women looked over and one asked of him. Nobody knew who he was. It had been that long.

Buffy Summers has posed:
One of the regulars came out from the hallway leading to the restrooms. It also led to the back door. Which had come in handy a few times. Tonight being one of them.

Buffy came out of that hallway, glancing down at the sleeve her jacket and brushing a little dust off onto the floor. She wore jeans, a lovely emerald green sweater that made her eyes seem more green, and that light leather jacket. The black jacket matched her boots. There were a few tools of the trade.

She headed to the bar and hopped on a stool there, raising a hand to get the attention of the guy behind it. He was with other customers but gave a nod of his head her direction so she turned to watch the crowd until he got a chance to help her out.

A few more people than there had been earlier. She scanned them, looking for any telltale signs they might be monsters in sheep's clothing. Or should that be people clothing?

Phobos has posed:
    And then there he was.
    A shark swimming in the shallows.
    The blond man seemed entirely settled with his surroundings. None of the symptoms of stress nor anxiety was there in the way he moved. Skirting the dance floor, walking around a few cliques of people standing around chatting. He looked older, on the cusp of being a latter twenty-something, probably a college student of a sort. Yet he didn't move with that awkwardness of one.
    Then he was moving toward the bar and that is when he saw her. Recognition lit his features. Such curious hazel eyes. Then he was walking across the way straight in her direction when he said, "Hey, Buffy. I've been looking for you."

Buffy Summers has posed:
The way the man moved through the crowd caught her attention. He wasn't really acting like a vampire. They tended to try to get someone alone, talking, then get them to go outside on the pretense of wanting quiet so they could talk properly. The normal sort of ploys. He wasn't doing that but it didn't mean he wasn't something else.

She ticked him off in her radar as one to keep an eye on along with the guy over to the far left who looked like he escaped from an 80s music video. Sometimes vampires were stuck in the time frame they came from and gave themselves away in that manner. So another to watch.

She turned to order her drink, which was just a soda, then turned back to the main floor just in time to see her first target walking toward her. Directly toward her. She turned slightly to position an arm on the top of the bar, putting her hand close to the inside of her jacket. And allowing her to double check behind her if someone was waving to him as he approached. No one seemed to notice him.

Then he was there and speaking. She considered him a long moment because honestly? She had no idea who he was. Never seen him before. She'd remember if she had. But the fact he'd been looking for her had her mind going to the last 24 hours. When she had arrived at the apartment she shared with... No. That was wrong. The apartment she used to share with Willow. She now lived with someone named Thomas Raith. The fact this man had been looking for her had her wondering if that was who she was facing.

"Looking for me? Ohh. Uhm well then hi! Here I am."

Phobos has posed:
    "It's been a while," He offers as he sidles up to a seat and settles into it. Whomever he was, he seemed to not have any fear of her, their relationship was one of trust in some form at the least. Considering that he turns his eyes away from her and gives a wave to the bartender...
    Who seemed to recognize him too as a smile was given in response.
    Then those curious eyes slipped back to her as he said, "Haven't seen you in a while." That's given as he looks her over and half-smiles, "You're looking well. Have you seen Faith around? Willow?" Since apparently he knew those two to some degree.
    After a few moments his own soda will be served up to him.

Buffy Summers has posed:
He knew some of her group. Willow was a good one obviously. Since Willow was her bestie, if she approved of this guy then he couldn't be all bad. If she approved of him. Which was a question. Knowing didn't mean approving.

Faith was more problematic. They weren't enemies but they weren't best buds either. Their difference of opinions on what it meant to be a Slayer prohibited that from happening. Him knowing her could be either way, positive or negative.

She regarded him in what she hoped was a neutral fashion but her confusion might be picked up on. Hadn't seen her in a while. Two days could be a while for someone she lived with. But if she lived with him, wouldn't he be asking where she'd been? Or maybe it wasn't that sort of relationship and she tended to go away from time to time.

"I saw Willow last night." Which was truth. She had a feeling if she mentioned her last memory of seeing Faith might not synch up with his. Not from what she'd learned when she looked at the date on her telephone this morning. "Haven't seen Faith." She guessed. It was a 50/50 chance of being right!

"You have Willow's number? You could give her a call."

Phobos has posed:
    "I do," He gives her a once over again, tilting his head to the side. There's a moment where he seems to draw his lower lip between his teeth as he considers her, but then just nods a little. "We might not be on the best of terms,"
    A confession he seems to feel safe to give, "Willow, I mean. Last time we hung out she..." A crinkle of his nose is given, "Well she summoned me by accident, and so I ended up in a summoning circle with that crazy barefoot mentor lady she has. That wasn't hugely pleasant."
    So he's a thing that can be summoned. Which means...
    The he adds, "Though I did see Faith after that, a good ways a bit. But you know her, she tends to run off whenever something shiny is in front of her." No fear of Faith either, since if that got back to her and she didn't like him... well that would be grounds for a thumpin'.

Buffy Summers has posed:
What. The. Hell.

Willow summoned him. First, why was Willow summoning things. Second, why did she have a barefooted crazy lady mentor. Third, what the hell was this person in front of her. If he even was a person! Summoning. That could be demons or gods in her limited experience. So which one was he?

He actually pinned Faith perfectly so that didn't give her much to work from. After all, she did tend to do what she wanted, even if it meant wandering out of Sunnydale for a while then wandering back in. But if Faith hadn't wanted to kill him--and she wanted to kill everything that wasn't human--then how did that work. Because he was other if he got summoned.

Obviously, the blond in front of her didn't think Buffy would be bothered by what he was sharing. It was more as though she already knew what he was.

Which had her going down that path to what Willow had said about her boyfriend. He was other. A vampire. White Court, whatever the hell that meant. Incubus.

"I see." She did not see! "Aren't you wondering why I didn't come home last night?" Because her mind was taking her down a very wrong path.

Phobos has posed:
    That took him aback as he stopped in the moment about to drink from his soda. "What? No." And he seemed legitimately puzzled, shaking his head a little. There was something about him, something on the edge of her slayer perceptions, something that might cause a hint of unease if only because it was not a hugely common feeling.
    "I mean, what you do with your time is your own." He continues down his own path, but then his brow knits as he considers... he hadn't been around for a while. Perhaps if he was more in the flow he should know something is going on. There often is in Sunnydale.
    So he asks, "Why? What happened? Did something go down?" There is a hint of curiousity to him. Perhaps even concern? Or some animal close to such a thing.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Now she was even more confused, if that was even possible. Although, if he was her boyfriend, maybe she didn't go to his place every night. Maybe she sometimes stayed other places. Or had her own apartment somewhere? She had checked her state issued identification card but it still had Willow's apartment listed on it. So that didn't help.

Maybe she wasn't as close to him as she'd been thinking. Supposedly she had been seeing him. Loved him. Had introduced him to her parents. Which was something she still had to figure out since her father was off in California. Unless he came in for a visit and got introduced? She hadn't called her mother yet because really, that would be utterly awkward. Oh Hi Mom, are you and Dad back together? Not a conversation she wanted to have until she figured more things out.

She had that feeling going on, the one that told her something was near. But if he was an incubus, that would explain it right? And he had the looks to be one. Or at least what she guessed one would look like. Maybe she should've googled.

"Something weird happened," she said, not lying but not revealing a lot either. "Last night when I was out." She didn't say patrolling though she probably could have.

She finally took a breath and turned on her seat to face him directly. "My head is a little fuzzy so I'm just going to be blunt." Fuzzy? Understatement of the century!

"Are you my boyfriend?"

Phobos has posed:
    And in mid-sip Alexander freezes. She gets an /look/ from him that seems to state that it's clear to him she's lost it. Just those eyebrows beetling in the middle of his forehead as he frowns at the very edges of his mouth and blinks a few times quickly.
    And he actually stutters a little, so caught off guard. "N-no?"
    Then he leans forward, his head tilting slowly to the side, "Are you... do you not?" Which has him sort of /looking/ at Buffy. And then he _pokes_ her shoulder as if to make sure she's her. Or some sort of spell might react adversely to the power of his poking. But no, still Buffy.
    "I'm Alexander... your boyfriend is some other dude." Not her Xander, fo sho, but Alexander. "We're friends, you stabbed my dad?" Which might narrow it down oh so slightly. "John Aaron? Are you okay?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
"Well you don't have to act like it would be so awful! I mean, I'm pretty. And nice. I'm a great girlfriend!" Then her bluster was gone as she looked confused. "I think."

She did seem to relax a little now that she knew he wasn't her boyfriend. Maybe because she wasn't so worried about a faux pas. When he poked her shoulder, she swatted toward his arm but not in a violent way, more a 'stop poking me!'.

"I'm not myself. Well I am myself. I'm Buffy. But I don't remember a lot. Not anything recent." For a long long time from the phone display and what Willow had told her. "So I'm trying to figure things out."

She looked at him when he mentioned John Aaron. "Construction guy. Really big. Way too attached to his clothing items." She made sure no one was within earshot. "Found out who he really was. Summoned him once. He wasn't too thrilled about it either, come to think of it. Apples and trees and all that, right?"

She took a sip of her drink then considered him again. "Last night I went back to the apartment I used to share with Willow only to find out I don't anymore. And haven't for a long while. She let me sleep on her couch last night. And I'm apparently dating a vampire, incubus, something or other named Thomas. But I don't remember him either."

Phobos has posed:
    The tall blond with the hazel eyes watches her, listens to her, his gaze narrowing slightly. He follows along with her words, nodding slowly, still a little wary. Then his brows rise as she gets to the point about her finding out she had lost some time or memories.
    Another slow nod, then he murmurs. "Wow."
    A beat. Then he adds, "You are so screwed."
    Which has him actually smiling a little. But he shakes his head, "Do you have some sort of contingency plan for something like this with your handler?" That Giles fellow. He takes a deep breath, holds it, then nods. "I'd go talk to him."

Buffy Summers has posed:
"That would require a flight to England apparently," Buffy said with a puff of exhaled air to point out her frustration over that. "I had asked about him last night," she added to explain how she already knew that fact. "I can probably call him but Giles has a good reason to be there or he wouldn't have gone. I don't want him to feel like he has to rush back on my account, and he might if I'm in trouble." Because he'd done it before.

"There is no contingency plan. I just need to figure out who everyone is, what's going on. Then hopefully can figure out what happened to me. If it's just amnesia, although I don't remember getting hit on the head." Which made her faintly giggle cause she didn't remember anything. "Guess that would make sense if I did though, to not remember it. If it turns out not to be be amnesia, then I need to figure out what it actually was. Get Willow involved in trying to figure out if it was magic or something maybe."

Phobos has posed:
    "Well," Alexander says as he leans against the bar, sipping his drink and looking at her. "It's sort of his job, as a... you know. So I'd make that call. You're more vulnerable right now, and I know if something happened to you and you didn't want to inconvenience him... well he'd never live it down."
    That said he looks out across the room, frowning to himself. "And yeah I'm sure you're sort of a not entirely horrible girlfriend, but I'm spoken for. Though you totally were super into me when we first met." Though as he says that his lip twists up, amused as his eyes twinkle. And even with their limited time together so far she can /tell/ he's fibbing.
    Then he confesses, "Actually, Faith was more all... mrowr." Since Faith.

Buffy Summers has posed:
He was right. She already knew she should call Giles. She just hated doing it. But she'd already talked to Willow. Outside that, there would just be a few more Scoobies she might consult. Current or former. There might even be other people in the group she didn't know! She'd just have to work up to it. Like going to see her mother. All in good time.

For a half a second, she thought he was serious about her being into him. After all, he was gorgeous. Seemed personable. Buffy caught on when she saw that look then rolled her eyes before taking another sip of her soda.

That did sound like Faith. "Oh? Did you take her up on that?" Because what little she knew of Faith, she didn't do relationships. Just would enjoy her time and go on her way.

Phobos has posed:
    "No, actually." Alexander says as he looks sidelong at Buffy. "I mean... it was a strange time in my life. She made a pass, yeah. But then we became friends. I didn't know it at the time but I was in love with someone else and she helped me recognize it."
    Then he gives a nod, "And actually, I was in a bad way, totally was going to take her up on it. Sort of an angry thing because I felt the person I cared for was out of my league. But she actually gave me good advice and I ended up with the person I was in love with."
    "So." He then looks around the room, as if to make sure Faith wasn't in the area, "You should know that she's deeper than people give her credit for. I'd hate for you to lose that newly won respect she deserved. Thus why I am telling you. I owe her that much at least."

Buffy Summers has posed:
She was looking at him as though he was talking the crazy talk. The idea of Faith helping someone with their relationship? That did not compute. Faith was all about Faith. Not anyone else.

"She has times I've wondered. But then she goes and does something annoying and I forget all about it." She shrugged. "Maybe she was helpful and I am glad you found the person of your dreams. I ..."

This was going to be so complicated. "Hopefully I can do the same when it comes down to it. Not remembering this Thomas person, I'm not sure how that is going to go. I mean I am supposed to have loved him. I guess just see if it happens again. Open lines of communication. I'm going to have to let him know what's going on obviously."

Phobos has posed:
    "Hm," Alexander slouches to the side, holding his drink in one hand and looking thoughtful. "I've met him a few times before, I believe. He seemed..." There's a time where those hazel eyes distance, gaze wandering across the crowd before he looks back.
    "A little shy? Or quiet? I mean usually lots of craziness was going on, so it might have been overwhelming. But I never really talked to him. He did seem interested in talking to you but it was always somewhat muted. At least from my perspective." A small shrug is given.
    "But... I mean, if it was love, and you guys worked on that level, then should be ok to meet and talk to the fellow. Maybe you'll feel that vibe." His eyes distance, head tilting to the side as naturally he empathizes with her and puts himself in her place.
    "If it was myself and Natasha... if either of us lost our memories. Or both of us did? I like to think we'd still have that connection. But I can't say for sure."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy listened, eyes on the drink in her glass. The dark soda over ice. But she was paying attention and nodded as he spoke, glancing back oer at him as he mentions feeling that vibe perhaps.

"I know that sometimes when people have amnesia, it comes back. Often with stimuli. So perhaps seeing him might be a trigger. Nothing else has been so far."

She smiled at the end of what he said. "You sound like a romantic with notions like that. This Natasha is a lucky gal. Got to admit, little bit surprising considering who your dad is. Though he wasn't anything like I would've expected either. So I should stop making assumptions about gods, obviously."

Phobos has posed:
    "Ehn," His smile was wry as he looks out across the way, "If you knew her you wouldn't think it much of a stretch." Since she's super evil. But then he looks back, "You actually met her once, after a big fight. With a..."
    He clears his throat, crinkles his nose, then says quietly. "With an excrement demon. So. Yeah, wasn't the best of circumstances." That said he looks around the room and frowns.
    "I usually don't come out this way much anymore. But felt the impulse tonight. Was nice to reconnect with you. Even if it was super weird." He confesses that last bit while he makes a face at her sidelong.
    "I hope you are able to figure stuff out, and hey if you end up with him again then that's cool." Though he doesn't seem hugely enthused. Like a guy who has no horse in the race, but doesn't see the outcome as positive nor negative.

Buffy Summers has posed:
"I think I'm glad I don't remember that."

Excrement demons. Was not something she wanted to even consider. She hadn't faced one of those before in her current memory. Buffy added, "I'd be good never remembering that. Or doing it again, for that matter."
Shehe picked up her drink and quickly finished it off. "I appreciate that. Maybe you were here so you can help figure it out. You've already helped me some." She knew who he was and that he was not her boyfriend. Knew he was the son of Ares. Knew Willow was able to summon him though barefooted crazy mentor needed to be addressed with Wil later. Lots of little things to add to the puzzle that was Buffy Summers.

"I probably should get out there. Took out a bunch of vamps on patrol last night. Hopefully that means tonight won't be crazy but not counting on it."

Phobos has posed:
    "Go on, I'll be around. You have..." A pause then he half-smirks, "You had my number. But now no idea. So good luck." Because apparently he wasn't going to give it to her. Unless she asked mebbe. But even then.
    "I'll be here for a bit longer." He lifts his hand, "Take care of yourself, Buff."

Buffy Summers has posed:
"Oh!" That was a good idea. Only he didn't realize it was even an idea.

Buffy pulled out her phone, putting her finger on the screen and unlocking it. It was an older model android phone it looked like. The background picture was of her with Willow and Xander, hamming it up at the camera.

She went to the contacts and skimmed through then frowned. "I don't seem to have it. Was I angry at you and deleted it? Cause...amnesia doesn't affect a phone." She frowned a little then hit the add contact. "May I get your number?"

Phobos has posed:
    "You were often angry about something or other," Alexander offers, but his smile is a wry thing for now, not entirely serious. "But sure, here." As he says that he reaches into the inner pocket of his jacket and produces his phone, lightly touching it to Buffy's so the contact information flits back and forth easily enough.
    Once that's done he makes a small sound of a 'hnh' then adds, "That's weird. Anyways, seeyas."