Xander's quiet for... a long time. Probably too long, but it's just that he's only quiet on the outside. In his head, there's a couple thousand voices that won't shut up, including some of the ones he used to imagine scuttling off into the shadows when Bridge did have his gloves off.

But the loudest one is himself, saying I've been keeping a running list of Worst Possible Ways Xander Could Screw This Up since, oh, a couple days before our first date? And lying to you is #3.