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Surprisingly enough, Cordelia taking Fred out for the day became a regular thing every Friday. Fred wanted to complain, didn't want Cordelia to be giving up her plans to hang out with the crazy girl, but she found she needed the time outside. She needed the human contact. She was still struggling every other day. Yet she couldn't bring herself to leave her room without Cordelia telling her to.
Fridays were when she pretended everything was fine. She'd gotten to know Angel and Spike (Spike's real name was William Pratt; she'd asked, and he'd made her promise never to use it), if only in passing. They always seemed to be bickering about something. Angel was the kinder of the two, and he always tried to smile at Fred whenever he saw her. Kept inviting her to dinner with the rest of the staff. Spike was sharper around the edges, but meant just as well. They both looked too young to be married and run a hotel. As long as Fred smiled at them, surely they'd believe she was doing better. Cordelia certainly did.
"You should come to the Bronze with me tonight." Cordelia said one Friday on one of Fred's lighter days, where none of her smiles felt like pretend. "Meet the gang, Doyle will be there too." Cordelia still had not asked the poor bloke out. Fred had seen him only once in passing; as she was the only guest at the hotel, there was no need for the staff to constantly be rushing around tending to things.
Fred shook her head. "I'm not good with people."
"You're fine with me."
Fred bit back a response about how Cordelia wasn't that good with people either.
"Oh come on, it'll be fun! And its an all-ages club so it won't get too crazy."
Fred wasn't very good at saying no.
"You can leave if it gets too much."
Slowly, Fred nodded.
"Yay!" Cordelia clapped her hands in excitement. "We have to go shopping, and find you something to wear!"
Cordelia just liked finding excuses to go shopping.
---
The Bronze was loud. Too loud for Fred's liking. She stood next to Cordelia, so close that any socially aware person would be uncomfortable. Cordelia was too caught up flirting with Doyle to notice. It took all of Fred's willpower not to clutch Cordelia's arm like she was a child clinging to her mother.
'The gang', as Cordelia called them, were all really nice. Cordelia whispered little tidbits of knowledge to Fred about each person after they were introduced.
"Buffy has a main character complex." That remark was said loud enough to elicit the blonde to pull a face at Cordelia.
"Xander and I used to date. I do not recommend it."
"Faith is nice enough, but try not to get on her bad side."
"That's Willow and Tara, they'll introduce themselves later." The two girls seemed caught up in each other, giggling and staring into each other's eyes. Fred missed that feeling.
There was Giles from the apartment ad. Fred was thankful that Cordelia didn't pick up on the immediate anxiety the man gave her, but Giles distanced himself from her for the rest of the night, so perhaps he'd picked up on her nerves. In any case, Fred was glad to avoid further interaction. She knew he was probably lovely, but she wasn't in the right state of mind to let her walls down.
Anya from the magic shop was there, and recognised Fred. She waved, big grin on her face, and Fred couldn't help but wave back.
Fred lasted at least an hour, standing beside Cordelia and nodding along to the conversation every now and then, before her social battery fully drained. She had met so many new people in one night, after barely leaving her room for nearly a month. Wow, had she really been in Sunnydale for that long?
Cordelia offered to walk her home, but Fred could see she wanted to stay and talk to Doyle, so she turned her down. Besides, she figured having alone time in the fresh air would do her good. Cordelia's face became pouted with worry though.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" She asked.
Fred nodded, eager to get home.
Cordelia wasn't convinced. Looking around the group, Fred saw her concern mirrored in some of the others' faces. Great. One night's impression and apparently no one trusted her to walk the ten minutes it took to get back to the hotel.
"I'm tired too." Xander said, after a brief pause. He yawned in an obviously fake way. "I'll walk you home."
Cordelia rolled her eyes. Now it was Fred's turn to be worried. Xander seemed over-eager, his eyes bright with that look guys sometimes gave her. She didn't know what she would do if he tried to ask her out.
"Me too." Anya said firmly, a determined look on her face. Xander visibly deflated. Cordelia had told Fred that Anya had gone out with Xander too. Did she still have feelings for him? Or was she trying to save Fred from being alone with him?
"Good, well that's sorted." Cordelia patted Fred's arm. "Thanks for coming out with us."
Fred managed one last smile. She felt as if she'd hit her limit of smiles for the night. Possibly for the week.
She followed Anya and Xander out of the club, and let them do most of the talking. She couldn't understand most of what they were saying, as they kept talking over each other.
They reached the hotel.
"Night Fred, it was nice meeting you." Xander said, lopsided grin on his face, hands stuffed into his pockets.
"It was enchanting to meet you." Anya said, obviously trying to out-do her ex boyfriend. Her comment earned a scowl from him.
Fred had one last smile in her after all. "Thanks y'all for walking me home." She said, standing awkwardly at the door, waiting for the moment she could push it open. "And it was nice meeting you too."
That wasn't exactly a lie, they seemed good people. Fred just didn't feel worthy of their company. "Maybe I'll see you around."
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