"So Will, anything fabulously exciting happen today in this hell hole we call school?" Buffy asked when she met her auburn-haired friend in the library after school.

"Nice mood," Willow said sarcastically.

'Hey, I call 'em like I see 'em." Buffy countered with a grin. "I, of course, had a wonderful day due to my run-in with Principal Snyder."

"Another one?"

"Yeah well, some idiot told him about the whole career fair shooting incident."

"Oh no," Willow said, remembering the demon bounty hunter disguised as their friendly law enforcement representative. The woman had opened fire in a crowded room, aiming for Buffy and for Willow. < Oz saved my life, > Willow reminded herself. < He took a bullet for me. Very heroic of him, > she told herself.

"Yeah," Buffy said, drawing her back to the present. "I told him that the police lady's gun had just gone off by accident. It was all a horrible mistake. Faulty guns are a plague on society." She fluttered her eyelashes innocently, then continued. "You know that whole deal. I'm not sure if he bought it, but no detention for me. Which is always good."

"A detention free day is a good day," Willow philosophized.

"So you were going to say about your day?" Buffy prompted.

"I actually had a somewhat eventful day."

"Tell."

"Well let's see. Oz asked me out, so we're going out Friday."

"Get down with your bad self!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Oh, and I decided that it's about time I get over Xander."

"Oh, Will," Buffy said, giving her friend an impulsive hug. "I'm so proud of you." Willow returned the hug fiercely, blinking her eyes rapidly to drive the tears away. The two girls parted, and Buffy saw the tears that brightened Willow's eyes. "It'll get better," she promised. Willow nodded. Considerately Buffy pulled out a chair for the hacker to sit in.

"Thanks," the girl said. Buffy took the seat next to her and pulled it close to Willow's chair.

"I hope you don't mind me asking...but why this sudden change of heart?"

"I'm not supposed to tell."

"Secrets?" Buffy asked, even more interested at the mention of forbidden knowledge.

"Pretty much."

"No fair." Buffy said, pouting. "You can tell me anything."

"I know," Willow said. "But it's not my secret."

"It's Xander's secret?" Buffy guessed, making a huge intuitive lep. Willow nodded silently. "Ok, so you can't tell me...but I can still guess," said Buffy.

"It always seems to work on TV," said Willow doubtfully.

"Right," Buffy said with a nod. "He's joining the army?"

"Nope," Willow said with a smile. "You can't join the army until you're 18."

"Oh I knew that," Buffy said. "I was just kidding." She pondered thoughtfully for a minute. "It has to do with another girl?"

Willow nodded.

"K," Buffy acknowledged. "This is kinda fun, like charades, only without the trying to act stuff out. Ok, new girl?"

"Nope," Willow answered.

"Substitute teacher?"

"Worse."

"Ok, Xander doesn't know that many girls," said Buffy. "I mean know them well enough to hang out and stuff. There's me and you and Cordelia...and that's pretty much it actually. It's not me is it?" she asked. "He's not doing the stupid obsessed with Buffy thing again is he?"

"Worse." Willow said.

"Well it's not you...so that just leaves, Cordelia?!?" Buffy said, her voice rising as she spoke the name of the popular girl. Willow nodded, her eyes threatening to fill with tears again. < Stop it, > she ordered herself. < Stop crying like an idiot every time you think about them. >

"You're a pretty good guesser," she said to Buffy, who was staring at her in horror.

"But he hates her," she said helplessly.

"Apparently it's that kind of hate where you always want to kiss the other person," said Willow.

"I'm so sorry, Will."

"Hey, I'm ok. I really am." Buffy looked at her friend doubtfully. "I'm moving on."

"Well good for you."

"I'm going out with Oz on Friday."

"Isn't he the little cutie that got shot by crazy assassin lady?"

"That's him."

"He's totally into you Will, and he seems like a doll. You'll have a great time."

"And you'll help me get ready, right?"

"Of course...all my knowledge is at your service." The Slayer grinned at her shy friend, who smiled tentatively back.

"Oh, but you can't let Xander know that you know. Because he told me not to tell."

"It dies with me," Buffy said in a mock whisper.

"Ok," Willow replied with a smile. "So what're you going to do this weekend?"

"Don't know," Buffy said with a shrug. "I'm thinking patrol. If Giles is nice and lets me off, then I'll go over to Angel's."

"Is Angel ok?" Willow asked worriedly, suddenly remembering Angel's part in the ritual they had broken up last night.

"He's doing ok," said Buffy. "He's still really weak, and the burns haven't healed yet." She noticed the striken look on Willow's face and hurried to reassure her. "He's going to be ok, Will," she continued on, perhaps reassuring herself as well as her friend. "Giles says it was kinda the same effect as massive blood loss. And it'll take a little while for him to recuperate, but if he gets some rest he'll be fine."

"Promise?" Willow asked, feeling about 5 years old. Buffy nodded solemnly.

"Ok, so what's today?" asked Buffy. "Thursday?"

"Good guess."

"Hey, it all kinda runs together in my mind," Buffy protested. "Anyway, that means your date is tomorrow night. How cool."

"How's Angel doing?" Giles asked, coming out of his office.

"He's ok."

"Splendid," Giles affirmed. Buffy nodded in response.

"So..." she began. "What's up with occult activity at the moment?"

"Surprisingly enough, not much," answered Giles.

"Yay! Time off for me?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"We can't neglect your training just because there's no immediate crisis," Giles declared.

"Why am I not surprised to hear you say that?" sighed Buffy.

"But, I do think that this will be a slow weekend. You shouldn't have to spend the whole time on duty."

"Is this compassion I hear, Giles? You're losing your touch." Buffy said with a grin. "Thanks though." She gathered up her books, ready to leave.

"I'm not done," said Giles patiently.

"I knew I wouldn't be able to get away that easily." Giles attempted to ignore her barbs and continued his lecture.

"We managed to stop the ritual," he began.

"And kill Spike and Drusilla," interjected Willow. Buffy held out her hand, palm outstretched, and Willow gave her a quick high five.

"You can't be sure of that," Giles corrected. "True they seemed to be dead, but did either of you actually see them turn to ash?"

"Well, no. But that organ was on fire," said Buffy.

"I made the mistake of assuming dead was dead with the Master," said Giles. "I'm not making the same mistake twice." He turned to Buffy, speaking intently. "I need you to go by the church and check it out. See if there are any signs of the pair." He spoke to both girls as he said, "If they're indeed dead then you have won a great victory Buffy, but we can't allow ourselves to get cocky."

"So I'll go by there now," the Slayer responded, throwing the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "Call me, Will," she said, pushing open the library doors and running into Xander on the way out.

"Hey Buff," he said.

"Hey Xander," she answered. "Are you wearing lipstick?"

"What?" he asked startled. "No," he said a little nervously, rubbing at his lips.

"I'll see ya; I've got Slayer stuff." With that Buffy walked away, not letting her smile peep through until she was out of Xander's sight. Then she grinned. Xander had been kissing someone, most likely Cordelia. She was sure of it, and he hadn't wanted her to know. < This could be fun, > she thought. < Just tormenting him a little. >

Xander entered the library, still rubbing at his mouth. Willow was at the computer, searching the web under Giles' direction. The tall boy slipped his backpack off and headed over to the pair at the computer.

"What's the research topic for the day?" he asked.

"Ah, Xander. I didn't hear you come in," Giles said startled.

"That's cause I'm wearing my sneak...ers." He looked at the librarian's face for a response. "You know, cause I'm sneaky? sneakers? sneak? Ok, forget it."

"We're trying to figure out what we're going to be facing next. Prophecies and stuff," explained Willow looking up from the computer. "Are you wearing lipstick Xander?"

"Yes," he said. "I watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show one too many times....no, of course I'm not wearing lipstick. That's crazy talk!" Quickly changing the subject, Xander continued to speak, "So are you needing help?"

"Well if you want to cross-reference this prophecy with the one in the Codex..." suggested Giles.

"Let me rephrase that," Xander responded. "Are you needing help that doesn't involve heavy-duty reading?"

"You could reshelve those books," said Giles, pointing towards a towering pile in the corner.

"I could..." agreed Xander. "But I just remembered that I have to go home and clean the garage." Giles smiled to himself as Xander continued. "So how long are you planning on staying, Will?"

"Actually, I'll go with you." She turned to Giles. "The searches aren't really turning up anything..."

"By all means, go, go."

"Bye Giles," the pair chorused as they left the library.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Xander and Willow walked together in comfortable silence up the driveway of the Rosenberg house. Willow unlocked the door and let the two of them in.

"Mom?" she called. "Dad?" There was no response to her queries. < They probably won't be back from work for at least an hour, > she realized. She placed her backpack on the floor and caught up with Xander, who was grabbing a soda out of the refrigerator. She snatched a bag of Cheetos out of the pantry and led him into the den. There, she settled into the couch; and Xander sank down beside her as she flicked on the television.

"So?" she asked finally.

"So what?"

"What happened at school?"

"Let's see. I failed a math test, I slept through history, and lunch in the cafeteria sucked."

"I meant with Cordelia," Willow said.

"Oh that..."

"Yeah that."

"Well, I guess it went ok."

"You guys talked about it?" Xander nodded, digging his hand into the bag of Cheetos.
"And?" Willow prodded.

"And I was right. Neither of us want this to get out. We agreed that it would be bad for both our images. Hers as Bitch Queen of Sunnydale High. And mine as the loser who hates the Queen."

"So you're forgetting about everything that happened and nipping whatever might be in the bud?" Willow asked, already thinking she knew the answer. Xander hesitated a moment before answering.

"Yeah?"

"Really?"

"Alright, fine. You're relentless Will, you know that? You would've made a great interrogator during the middle ages with the rack and the burning pokers..."

Willow waited quietly for Xander to stop his stalling. He noticed her calm appraisal and brought himself back to the subject at hand.

"Every time I talk to her we end up kissing," he explained. "It's this horrible, unavoidable thing. Like an allergic reaction. Only instead of making you break out in hives or whatever, it makes you kiss this person that normally you would never dream of kissing." Willow nodded in what she hoped was an understanding manner. "And every time I kiss her it's like part of me is just screaming...Idiot!...but the other part of me is totally into it."

"Well," Willow said slowly. Then she continued, determined to make good on her decision to let Xander go. "I think you should stop fighting it." It was painful to say the words. But it got easier as she went on. "You have to admit that Cordelia has been helping us out a lot lately. And she's not all bad." Xander snorted doubtfully. "Sure she's shallow and self-absorbed a lot of the time. But when it comes down to it, she does the right thing. She thinks about others, and she's part of the club now."

"I don't know..." Xander began. But he knew that Willow was right. Cordelia had changed, not completely, but something had happened to her on that night the summer before when the Master had risen from his underground prison. Her boyfriend at the time had been murdered by vampires. That was the kind of thing that could shake a person up...make them reevaluate their life, become a born-again Christian, or help the local Slayer fight the undead. Cordelia seemed to have chosen the latter. Since then she had continued to change. Or maybe she had always been this person she was becoming. But now the mask she had always worn was starting to slip.

"Xander," Willow said firmly. "We don't get to choose who we fall for. I only wish we could. But that's not how it works. If you care for someone you care for them...you can't change that just because you'd rather care for someone else."

"When did you get to be so smart?" Xander asked wryly. "So what're you saying? I should stop trying to deny it and give this thing with Cordelia a chance?" Willow hesitated for a long moment before answering.

"Yes," she said simply. With that one word, she began to let go of all the hopes and dreams she had carried for so long.

"Are you sure?" Xander asked.

"I'm sure," she said, passing him the Cheetos.

"I guess you're right," he said finally, grabbing a handful. "As always." She grinned knowingly and took a handful of Cheetos herself. "I'll call her later." As he spoke, the phone rang shrilly on the end table at the edge of the couch. Willow flopped lengthwise to reach it and snatched the receiver up on the second ring.

"Hello?" she asked breathlessly.

"Uh...Willow," the person on the other end guessed.

"Yeah," Willow answered while sitting up.

"It's Oz."

"Oh hey!" she said, as she placed the voice with a face.

"I was calling to make sure that we're still on for Friday."

"Oh definitely."

"Cool."

"Uh huh," Willow said awkwardly. She hated talking on the phone with people she didn't know well. It was too hard to fill those painful silences.

"So I was thinking about where we could go, what we could do. And here's the thing, my band is playing at the Bronze on Friday. But it's an early set. Starts at 8, and we shouldn't play for more than an hour. They have an actual real band set up to follow us. So I'm thinking you could meet me at the Bronze and we can either hang there or decide what other fun thing we want to do."

"Sounds like a plan," said Willow. "A good plan," she amended quickly.

"Well, I guess that's settled."

"Yep."

"You're not a phone person are you?" Oz suddenly asked.

"Not really," answered Willow, a little embarrased. "I get nervous, and then I get quiet..which is really a bad thing on the phone where you have to talk."

"Then I'll let you go," Oz decided. "We'll talk face to face, live in person tomorrow."

"Ok, bye."

"Bye, Willow." She hung up the phone thoughtfully. She was surprised that he had noticed how uncomfortable she was. *Ok, so that wasn't too surprising,* she decided after thinking about her half of the conversation for a moment. But it was surprising that he would mention it...and that he would hang up to put her out of her misery. < Pleasantly surprising, > she thought to herself. There was one other pleasant surprise too; the more she found out about him, the better she liked him.

"So who was that?" Xander asked curiously, breaking into her thoughts.

"That was Oz," she responded.

"The guy from the band?"

"Yep, he's in a band."

"So why was he calling?"

"We're going out on Friday."

"You're going out!?" Xander exclaimed. "Like on a date?"

"Yeah, on a date."

"Geez, Willow. Are you sure you should do this? I mean you've known him how long?"

"Xander," Willow said, interrupting her friend's tyrade. "He's a nice guy. And he really likes me. And he took a bullet for me, for God's sake!"

"Oh sure...he pulled the old *save her life* routine," protested Xander, working himself up into a frenzy, even as he wondered why he was reacting this way. "Girls always fall for that! Now you'll feel like you have to repay him, and he'll take advantage of you...this can only end in pain, Will." Willow just laughed.

"Xander, you remain the King of Overreacting," she stated, tapping him on the nose with a cheesy finger.

"Thank you," he said solemnly bowing his head. "I am proud to wear the title." The front door opened and Willow's mom called her name.

"In here, mom," Willow called back.

"I should go," said Xander, grabbing his bookbag. "I'll see you tomorrow." He headed for the door, taking time to say hi to Mrs. Rosenberg, and then he was outside walking towards home. He hated to admit it to himself, but this thing with Willow and Oz was really bothering him. He wasn't jealous of course. Why would he be? He wasn't interested in Willow that way, and he didn't begrudge her a boyfriend. And yet, it bothered him. A lot. He buried the thoughts. He would think about it later.

Willow sat thoughtfully on the couch for a while after Xander had left. Her eyes stared at the images that danced across the television screen but her mind was on Xander. He had seemed almost jealous to hear that she was going out with Oz. < No, > she decided. < He wasn't jealous. He was just looking out for his best friend, nothing more. And now he's on his way home and he would get home and call Cordelia and they would... > Willow shook herself abruptly. This was going nowhere. There was no point in dwelling on the two of them.

Deliberately, Willow turned off the tv and headed for her room. There was homework to do, and e-mail to read, and certainly no extra time for pining over hopeless love. Especially when there was a not so hopeless love staring her in the face. < Friday night, > she thought to herself. < That's when we'll see if I can really get on with my life. > Oz's grin peered at her from the recesses of her memory, and she felt a touch of happiness.

CONTINUES