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It's a moonless night where the shadows rule. A lone figure approaches the Rosenberg house and looks through the French doors into Willow's room. The person doesn't move, just stands in the shadows.....watching and waiting.
Willow is sitting in her room working on her computer, oblivious to everything else, including the shadowy figure lurking outside. She's staring at her computer screen, letting memories of the past overwhelm her.
"Dear Diary:
It's been five years since my life changed forever. I thought the changes brought by Buffy's arrival were bad enough but the changes that have happened since that night are more devasting. Before, I had my friends to help me through; it's different now. Everything is different. I suppose I should start at the beginning.
Buffy was determined to stop Angelus and Dru from opening a vortex to hell, and knew that she would have no choice but to kill Angel. I was equally determined to re-curse Angel and give him back his soul, so I sent Xander to tell Buffy to try to stall. I performed the ritual and was sure it had worked. However, Buffy never came back after successfully stopping the vortex from opening. She left her mother a note saying she was leaving, so at least we knew she was alive. But we were all left with many unanswered questions. What happened? Did the curse work? Did she leave with Angel? What happened to Spike and Dru? These were questions we needed to know the answers to, but only one person had those answers---Buffy. Giles decided it was his responsibility to track down his Slayer. He left after school ended and the last I heard from him, he was still searching. Buffy obviously didn't want to be found and was staying one step ahead of her Watcher.
Spike and Dru disappeared that night. I heard from Buffy's mom that Buffy had invited Spike into their home. She heard them talking about some kind of deal. What kind of deal? But since the two vampires disappeared, vampire activity has been at a low. However, Giles warned us it wouldn't last, because sooner or later a new evil would arrive to take their place.
Since that night, I have been thinking a lot about Angel. I want to believe he's alive---no, I need to believe. My feelings for Angel have changed since I performed the ritual and in the years since. I can't exactly say how they've changed and I may never know unless Angel comes back. Could I have fallen in love with him? Or is it a normal occurrence, considering I was the one who did the ritual? Only talking to Angel will help to sort through these emotions. Where is he?
As for the Slayerettes, we kind of self-destructed. The events of that night and the secrets that were revealed afterwards tore us apart.
My preoccupation with Angel destroyed my relationship with Oz. At first he was very supportive and tried to help me figure things out. But after I graduated, Oz wanted me to leave town with him--I said no. I knew in my heart that I had to stay in Sunnydale. Oz will always be special to me and I wish him the best. He wasn't happy about it but he accepted my decision.
Cordelia left town after graduation to attend school in New York. She wanted to get as far away from here as she could. Her relationship with Xander deteriorated our senior year. Cordelia accused him of still being in love with Buffy. He denied it, but who really knows.
Xander. The boy who had always been my best friend grew into a man I didn't know. He had always been the one person I could trust. But when I learned of his betrayal, that trust was forever destroyed. During one of many arguments, Xander let it slip that he had never told Buffy I was going to perform the ritual again. He said he did it to save Buffy. I know better. He did it because he saw it as a way of getting rid of Angel. God, how could he have betrayed us like that!
I stayed at home and attended a local community college. Xander also decided to stay at home. It's not like it used to be; too much has happened. We still talk occasionally, but only meaningless chitchat. He can't accept my desire to find out happened to Angel, and I can't forgive his deception. I don't think we'll ever be best friends again. We've grown up a lot since our carefree days of innocence. But we've grown apart these last five years."
A noise outside snaps Willow back to the present. She walks over to the doors and looks outside. Nothing but shadows. But as she's about to turn away, one of the shadows moves.
Willow carefully opens the door.
"Hello? Who's out there?"
A figure emerges from the darkness. Slowly the person's face becomes visible.
"Hello, Willow."
Willow steps back in shock.
"Angel?"
"Willow, we need to talk."
Willow stands in the doorway watching Angel. <Did the spell work? Or is this some trick of Angelus?>
Looking at the man, Willow decides to trust her intuition.
"Come in Angel."
Angel enters Willow's bedroom.
Willow watches him as he sits down on the bed. <What now?>
THE END