~~*~~*~~***~~*~~*~~
The room was a mess, books were piled all over the
coffee table along
with boxes and wrappers from various types of foods and beverages.
Xander
and Anya sat on the couch, cuddled together. It was obvious that
they were
whispering about things other than the demons they were suppose to
be
researching. On the floor, Buffy was sprawled next to her new
boyfriend,
Riley, who looked like weak little pretty boy from Iowa, that
needs his
women, namely Buffy, to protect him. Recently Riley had revealed
that he
was part of a secret government agency that captured demons to find
out more
about them and to protect the average human population. Giles,
the father
of the group, was going through books throughout the house, and going
between of his "children's" work. his girlfriend, Oliva, wasn't
in town
currently, but even in the mayhem of the research party, the sparkle
that
she brought to his eye was apparent. The only one alone was Willow,
who was
off to a corner of the room, curled up in a chair, using her laptop
computer
to look up the creature feature of the week.
When Willow had returned to her normal time, she
called her friends
almost immediately. She told Buffy that Spike had had a spell
put on her,
she said that he made her think she loved him, and that was why she
had run
away from Angel with him. Finally, the spell had worn off enough
for her to
see through it, and then it had taken months to get away from him and
back
to her normal time.
Her friends, unable to comprehend anyone, let alone
Willow, loving a
soulless creature like Spike, or for Willow anyone other than Oz, readily
accepted her explanation and took her back into their group.
Something just isn't right
I can feel it inside
The truth isn't far behind me
You can't deny
When I turn the lights out
When I close my eyes
Reality overcomes me
I'm living a lie
Giles eventually called the meeting to a close (after
growing annoyed
with Xander's talk about comics and food, and then the snoring) saying
they
had worked long enough. Buffy and Xander had both fallen asleep,
while
Riley became engrossed in the books, absorbing as much of their information
as he could, and Anya went on about how she had been a vengeance demon,
and
shouldn't have to do silly things like research.
Giving Giles a big, fake smile, Willow got up and
gathered her things.
I'll see you guys tomorrow then..." she said as she headed for the
door.
They all seemed to jolt up, all saying that they
could walk or drive her
home. Not being use to this sort of concern or attention from
them she
shyly smiled and shook her head no. "Don't worry guys.
I'll be find on my
own."
After a few minutes of intense argument and stress,
they decided that
Willow could walk home alone if she called Giles the moment she arrived
at
her house.
When I'm alone
I feel so much better
And when I'm around you
I don't feel
Since her travel to the past, she didn't know how
to be the person her
friends wanted her to be. She was older than they were now, even
if she
didn't look it. She had more experience in life than any of them,
even
Giles, and they still treated her like a child. She knew that
they were
still talking about her when she wasn't there, and she didn't trust
them at
all, but they seemed so caring.... It was like they loved her
still. Even
with all the problems she had with her friends, it felt wrong to lie
to them
and it felt wrong to act so happy for them when inside her heart
was
breaking.
Together
It doesn't feel right at all
Together
Together we've built a wall
Together holding hands we'll fall
Hands we'll fall
It felt like forever since Willow had left Spike.
That was the last
time her would had felt right or even good, and even that hadn't been
perfect. Walking through the streets, none of the demons dared
to mess with
her. They could smell the claim Spike had on her, the scent of
the Aurelius
clan's blood. As one of the stronger vampire clans, no
one ignored it,
even these days, when the line had fallen into the depths of disgrace.
This has gone on so long
I realize that I need
Something good to rely on
Something for me
When I'm alone
I feel so much better
And when I'm around you
I don't feel
Entering her dark, cold house Willow dropped her
bag and called Giles.
he sounded so relieved to hear her voice on the other end. It
made her feel
guilty to know how much worry she had caused them while she was off
with
Spike.
Together
It doesn't feel right at all
Together
Together we've built a wall
Together holding hands we'll fall
Hands we'll fall
Going upstairs, she prepared herself a bath.
Getting in, she let her
mind drift back over what had happened in just half a year's worth
of time..
at least calendar-wise here. She thought about how drastically
her life had
changed. She missed Spike so much, but she knew there had to
have been
another woman, or even other women. He hadn't wanted her, needed
her the
way that she did him, so he had gotten what he had needed from others.
Those thoughts were what started the sobbing.
My heart is broken
I'm lying here
My thoughts are choking
On you my dear
On you my dear
On you my dear
Getting out of the tub, Willow was still crying.
She slipped into a
lose silken night gown, something like Spike had gotten her in the
past, and
crawled into her bed. She fell into a fitful sleep, calling out
his name
unconsciously as she laid there.
When I'm alone
I feel so much better
And when I'm around you
I don't feel
Buffy had followed Willow home. She had already
lost her best friend
once, and she wasn't about to allow it to hapen again. She had
even broken
into Willow's house, well, not really broken since she had a key and
all..
but she had heard Willow sobbing, and even the calling out for Spike.
She
knew Willow well enough to know that Spike had broken her heart.
Leaving the house in a much more somber mood, Buffy
glanced around
spotting a blonde head in the bushes. It was Spike, heading for
Willow's
balcony. Keeping to the shadows, she watched as Spike climbed
up the side
of Willow's house using the terrace, and sat by her French doors, watching
her.
Part of Buffy wanted to run over there and kill the
vampire for the pain
that he had caused Willow, but another part knew that her friendship
with
the redhead was already strained and killing Spike would ruin any chance
of
things between them getting better. So instead, she walked off
to finish
her nightly patrol, trying to figure out what to do.
Together
It doesn't feel right at all
Together
Together we've built a wall
Together holding hands we'll fall
Hands we'll fall
The dark lady smirked, standing even further back
from the slayer. She
watched the tortured love, Willow's restless sleep, Spike's determined
pain
and Buffy's tortured confusion. She was ever so pleased that
the stars were
in accordance with her wishes.