The Truth Hurts

Part 2

      "Willow, what are you doing here?" Angel asked, blinking the last of the
sleep out of his eyes.  "And why do you have two suitcases with you?"

Willow looked down at the ground, and mumbled something Angel couldn't make
out.

"What?"
      "Myparentsdecidedtogotoutoftownduringmystpringbreakandthehouseisgettingpainted
andIwassupposedtostayatBuffy'sbutthatdoesn'tseemlikeagoodideanowsocanIstaywithyou?"

Angel tried to understand what Willow had just said, surprised that she
hadn't felt the need to take a breathe through out her incredibly long
sentence.

      "Okay, one more time, but take it slowly.  And try to breathe this time."

      Willow took a deep breathe and looked at Angel.  "My parents decided to go
out of town for my spring break and while they are gone, get the house
painted.  I was supposed to stay at Buff's but that doesn't seem like a good
idea right now.  I don't have anyplace else to stay, so I was wondering if I
could stay here while they were gone."

      Angel was confused, and flattered.  "Not that you aren't more than welcome
to stay here, but why is staying at Buffy's such a bad idea?"  Willow looked
down at the ground, brushing her foot and blushing as she remembered what
she had walked in on.  She knew she should tell Angel what she saw, but she
didn't like the idea of hurting him with the knowledge that the love of his
life had so readily moved on with someone new.  Angel noticed Willow's
reluctance and took it as a sign that whatever had happened had hurt Willow,
deeply.  He felt himself wanting to know, so that he could protect her from
whatever pain she was in.

      "Well," Willow became, "Buffy didn't know I was coming over.  Her mom
hadn't had a chance to tell her because she was at the gallery all day.  And
I kinda walked in on something."

      "What?" Angel asked, afraid of what Willow might have seen.

      "Buffy and Xander," Willow said, not elaborately on what exactly the two
had been doing.  She could tell by the look on Angel's face that he had a
pretty good idea.  She could also see that the knowledge hurt him deeply.
"They saw me but I took off.  My parents hadn't left after dropping me off,
which surprised me,  so I had my dad bring me here.  I just don't think that
I would be able to stay there, not after seeing that."  Angel watched
helplessly as the young girl in front of him broke down and cried as she
remembered the scene she had walked in on.  He took her in his arms, cooing
soft words into her ear, trying to calm her.  She wrapped her arms around
his waist, holding him and he was surprised at the strength in her.

      "I knew something was wrong Angel," Willow told him, needing to say the
words that had been going through her head.  "I mean, the two of them have
been avoiding me for the past month. Even after Buffy and you broke up, I
didn't see all that much of them.  I just never put it together that the two
of them were with each other.  Why, Angel?  She knows how much I care for
him.  Why didn't they tell me?"

      "I don't know, Willow," Angel replied, his own hurt at Buffy's actions in
his voice.  "I don't know."

      "Is it me?  I mean, is there something about me that screams 'Hey, feel
free to walk all over me.  My feelings don't matter. Don't tell me anything
that might actually be important.'"

      Angel pulled away from Willow, only slightly, cupping her chin with one of
his hands.  "This isn't your fault, little one.  There is nothing wrong with
you.  The fact that they felt the need to cover up their relationship just
shows how selfish the two of them are.  Instead of giving you a chance to be
happy for the two of them, they decided that the best course of action would
be to ignore you and keep it to themselves.  This is them not giving you
enough credit for being mature enough to handle them together."

      "Oh, yeah, mature," Willow snorted.  "My running out on them was a real
mature thing to do.  I mean, it just proved to them how I wasn't able to
handle them together."  Angel shook his head.

      "No. I have a feeling that you ran out more out of shock that anything
else.  Think about it," Angel told her, "if they had come up to you in the
library and told you that they wanted to start dating, how would you have
felt?"

      Willow thought about it for a minute.  "Well, I guess I would have been
happy for them.  I mean, I know how much Xander likes Buffy and the two of
them are friends.  And after everything that has happened, I think they both
deserve to be happy.  Oh wait, I didn't mean it that way Angel," Willow
finished as she thought about what she had just said.  "I meant."

      "It's okay," Angel smiled, "I know what you meant and I understand.  But
see, this just proves what I was saying.  That if you had been told in the
beginning, by them, that they were seeing each other, than you would have
accepted it.  The reason you ran off, wasn't because of them together, but
because of the way you discovered it.  Anyone would have reacted the same
way."

      "Really?" Willow questioned, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes.

      "Yes, really," Angel told her.  "Come on, I'll show you where you can put
your things.  You can have the bed."

      "No, Angel.  I don't want to be too much of a bother," Willow protested.
"I'll take the couch.  That will be fine."

      "No, Willow, I'll take the couch.  I'm too much of a gentleman to make a
lady sleep anywhere other than the bed."

      "But you're too tall.  You'll cramp up major."

      "Willow," Angel warned, not even finishing his sentence.  Willow saw the
look on Angel's face and deemed it similar to her "resolve face".  She knew
that no matter what she said, Angel wasn't going to change his mind.

      "Fine, I'll take the bed," Willow relented, "but that doesn't mean that I'm
happy about it."  Angel grinned as he picked up Willow's suitcases and
placed them on the bed.  She watched as she rearranged his things, giving
her an empty drawer and some space in his closet.

      "Here, you can put your stuff in this drawer," he told her, "and there's a
phone jack over in that wall that you can use for your laptop.  I know you
can't live without your computer."  Willow smiled at him.

      "You know me too well."

      "I would offer you something to eat but…." Angel stated, leaving his
statement open.  Willow understood.

      "That's okay," she replied.  "I mean, why would you have people food when
you don't eat it and that so came out the wrong way.  I'm sorry."

      "Willow you never have to apologize to me for anything you say.  You can't
offend me," Angel assured his guest.  "Maybe, after you get settled in, we
can go shopping and get you some supplies."

      Willow brightened at Angel's assurances and offer.  "I'd like that, Angel."

      "Anytime, Willow.  You've been a good friend to me, even knowing what I am
and what I am capable of."

      "Yeah, well, you make it pretty easy to like you.  And, right now, you seem
like the only friend I have."

      "I'll always be your friend, if you like."  Willow smiled at Angel.

      "I'd like that a lot."

      "Good, then let's get you unpacked."

      "Thanks, Angel, for everything," Willow told the vampire.  Angel smiled at
the red head, grateful for her friendship.  He felt bad for her at the
discovery of Buffy and Xander's relationship and was determined to make her
stay with him as enjoyable as possible.  Besides, he had to admit, he missed
sharing his home with someone else.  He missed having someone around and was
glad that Willow trusted him enough to want to stay with him.  This was
definitely going to be an interesting two weeks.

           ***********************************************

      "Buffy."

      "Mom, what are you doing home?"  Buffy called from the living room, where
she and Xander were making out.  They had briefly stopped when Willow had
entered and had tried to go after her.  When they couldn't catch up with
her, they decided to just leave a message on her machine, apologizing for
not telling her about them.

      "I thought I would bring home some snacks," Mrs. Summers replied as she
entered the living room.  'Oh, hello Xander.  I didn't know you were here."

      "Thanks mom," Buffy said, "but what's up with the sudden desire to feed me
junk food?"

      "I thought since Willow was coming over, that you girls might like them,"
her mother responded.  "Where is Willow anyway?"  Buffy and Xander looked at
each other, a guilty expression on their faces.

      "Willow, why would you think Willow would be here/" Buffy asked.

      "Her mother called and asked if she would be able to stay," Mrs. Summers
explained.  "They had to go out of town suddenly and decided to get the
house painted while they were gone.  Willow is going to stay here with us
for the two weeks they're going to be gone."

      "Oh my god," Buffy exclaimed.  "That's why she was here."

      "And why we couldn't find her at her house," Xander chimed in.  "What have
we done?"

      "What are you two talking about?"

      "Willow was here earlier," Buffy told her mother.  "She walked in on me and
Xander and took off."

      "Why would her seeing you and Xander make her upset?" Joyce questioned.  As
she saw the guilty looks on the two teens faces, she knew. "You never told
her about the two of you."

      "No," Buffy admitted, while Xander shook his head.  "We didn't want to make
her feel like a third wheel when we were together."

      "So, instead, you ignored her," Buffy's mother stated.  "Mrs. Rosenberg
told me how Willow seemed more lonely now.  Buffy Anne Summers, I am
disappointed in you." Joyce turned to Xander.  "And you're supposed to be
her best friend.  How could you do this to her?"

      "We didn't mean to hurt her," Xander whined.

      "And yet you did.  Now what do you plan on doing about it?"

      "We tried to find her," Buffy repeated.  "She wasn't home."

      "Well, where else would Willow go if she didn't want to be near the two of
you?" Mrs. Summers didn't bother to hide the disappointment in her voice at
the actions of her daughter and Xander.  The teens in question looked at
each other and spoke at the same time.

      "Giles."  Mrs. Summers looked at them confused.

      "You mean, Mr. Giles, the librarian?  Why would Willow go to him?"

      "Well, ummm," Buffy tried to think of an explanation to give to her mother,
"she volunteers in the library and kinda looks up to him.  He gives her
advice and stuff."

      "Isn't that a bit unusual for a teacher?"

      "Well, he's British and since Willow's folks always left her alone, she
spends a lot of time in the library," Xander explained.

      "But, he's harmless," Buffy added.  "I'm sure that's where Willow went.
We're going to go check it out.  Come on Xander."  Buffy grabbed Xander's
arm and drug him from the house, leaving a confused Mrs. Summers behind.
 

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