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Fragment1 It had taken the better part of the afternoon, but, finally, the sound system was set up to Oz's satisfaction. With a happy sigh, Xander fled the frat house and collapsed in the front seat of the guitarist's van. The drive home was made in silence -- not an unusual event itself, but even Xander noticed Oz's tense posture and death grip on the steering wheel. "Don't ever say that to me again." "Huh?" At first, Xander was not even sure it was Oz speaking, but, finally, he remembered that they were the only two in the van. "What are you talking about?" "That crack about the disturbance in the force." "Um, okay." The silence grew between them once more, and this time Xander broke it. "What are you talking about?" Oz leaned forward, resting his chin on the steering wheel. "Did you actually see The Phantom Menace?" "Yeah. So?" Oz didn't answer, so Xander moved out of his seat to gently place his hand on Oz's shoulder. As if electrified, Oz jumped, jerking his shoulder away from Xander. "Didn't you think there was something... odd going on between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon?" Xander shrugged, settling back in his seat. "Yeah. They were so doing it." "And so do you see the problem here? I mean, you seem awfully fond of grabbing my shoulder." "What --" Suddenly Xander nodded. "Oh. Yeah." He opened the van door, preparing to climb out. "I didn't mean --" "Get back in." Xander obeyed. Oz sighed and moved out of his seat, climbing into the back of the van. "Come on. We need to talk." "Oz..." "Please?" Oz settled in, not glancing at Xander. Xander sat, staring out the windshield for five minutes. Then he shrugged out of his jacket and took what he realized was his rightful place next to Oz. In the back of the van. |
