Dedication:  To Tazzy, for being my inspiration.  I love you, girl!

*****

~Part 1~

Willow stared blankly into her closet, the clothes hanging on their proper
hangers mocking her silently.  She sighed heavily and flopped back onto her
bed.  "Nothing to wear," she murmured.

Finding a new resolve, she grabbed her keys and wallet and made her way to
the door.  'I'll just go buy something, then!'

As she opened the door to the small western shop on the edge of town, she
suddenly was amazed that she'd found the place at all.  She'd only seen one
shop like this before, in Oklahoma with her parents.  The brightly colored
shirts screamed at her from the racks, and the boots sat neatly on the
shelves.

"Hiya, miss.  Can I help you find somethin'?" a tall, slender woman asked.
She was decked out in full cowgirl attire, including a tan cowboy hat.  Her
white plastic name tag was partially covered by her straight blonde hair, but
Willow could make out the name "Jules" in black ink lettering.

"Yeah.  I'm going to a party.  Well, kind of...  It's more like a theme night
thing.  And I have nothing to wear!"  She punctuated her last sentence by
bringing her hands up by her shoulders and shrugging.

Jules laughed and said, "Well, miss, let's see what we can do for ya, huh?
Now, what are you looking for?"

*****

After two hours of trying on various outfits, boots, and hats, Willow finally
decided on a sky blue shirt with little red piping around the breast pockets
and tight fitting dark blue jeans.  Her boots were a light tan that matched
her smallish hat perfectly.  Stepping out of the dressing room for the last
time, she spun around, smiling at Jules' laughter and applause.

"The fellas'll be trippin' over themselves to get to you, Willow!" she cried
joyfully.  Over the hours, she and Willow had talked about everything from
schools to boys, from music to movies.  "You'll tell me how tonight goes,
won't you?"

"Of course, I will!  How much is all this going to cost?" Willow asked,
suddenly unsure of her funds.

"Hang on, I'll ring it up."  Jules slid behind the register and started
punching buttons.  "$135.68, but I'm going to give you my discount which'll
knock it down to $115.33.  Cash, check, or charge?"

Willow sighed.  Her mother was going to wig.  The credit card was only for
emergencies.  'Well,' she decided, 'This qualifies as an emergency for me!'
"Charge!" she said confidently.

"Great!" Jules replied, swiping the card through the scanner and waiting for
the receipt to print.

Willow silently thanked her mother for putting the card in her own name so
she didn't have to fake her mother's signature.  She signed the receipt and
smiled at Jules.  "I'll be back in a few days to tell you all about it.  Is
that okay?"

Jules beamed, "That's great!"

Willow grabbed her packages, thanked her new friend, and started for home,
the light tan hat resting gently on her fiery, red hair.
 

*****

Willow sighed, centering herself to knock on the door of the crypt.  She
didn't really know why she was here, or why she wanted Spike to go tonight.
Her knuckles rapped lightly on the cool stone, and she waited for him to
invite her in.  At his beckon, she opened the door, quickly shutting it
behind her to keep as much of the sunlight out as she could.

"Well, well, what bring you 'ere, Red?" the bleached vampire asked, smirking
around the cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"I, well...  That is...  I was wondering..." Willow sputtered.

"Well, spit it out.  I haven't got all day."

Willow reared her head back slightly and scrunched her nose at his words.  "I
was just wondering if you'd like to go with me to the Bronze tonight," she
said, the words tumbling out of her mouth.

Spike raised one scarred eyebrow and shot her a questioning glance.  "And why
do you want me to go?  Why not Slutty or that twit, Xander?"

"They declined," Willow replied, a sad tinge to her voice.  "Besides, I'm
sure they've got better things to do."

"I can't imagine what," Spike said sarcastically, but sincerely.  His
affections for the red headed witch had grown in the time he was chained to
Giles' bathtub.  She never treated him like he had the plague, and deep down,
he appreciated the small gestures of compassion she showed him.  "I'd love to
go, pet.  What time should I pick you up?"

Willow giggled and replied, "Pick me up?  Well, about 7:30.  That okay?  The
sun will be down by then."

"Sounds like fun, Red.  What's the attire for this evening?"

She blushed as she thought of Spike in full cowboy dress.  "Do you have any
blue jeans?"

*****

"I can't believe I'm actually letting you do this," Spike grumbled almost
good-naturedly.

"It'll be fun.  I promise," she said absently.  She quirked her head to one
side and smiled.  "You look great!"

"I look like a bleedin' poof."

Willow laughed and checked her watch for the millionth time.  She surmised
that she had just enough time to run home, shower and do a few things before
he picked her up.  "I've got to run.  I have my clothes at the dorm, and I
need to do a few things before tonight," she said, still grinning.

"7:30, and you bloody well be ready!" Spike groused.

"Oh, I will!" she swore, holding her hand up in Scout's Honor.

*****

Willow twirled around one more time, inspecting all angles in the mirror.
Deciding that she looked all right, she turned back to her desk, her eyes
scanning the make-up strewn over the top.  Her nose scrunched at the rather
small selection.  *Pitiful.  And to think, that's all of it!* she thought.

Checking to make sure that she was not being watched -- a silly move since
she was alone in the small dorm room -- she made her way to Buffy's dresser.
She slid open the top drawer and began shuffling the various items around.
Lipsticks, mascaras, eyeshadows, and all kinds of other things rattled as she
sifted through the mess.  Finally spying the colors she was searching for,
she plucked them out and shut the drawer.

The soft brown eyeliner slid gently over her eyelid, hinting at a color, but
not drawing a lot of attention to the color itself.  Willow removed the cap
and twirled the matching lipstick up and applied it swiftly.  Blotting, she
smiled at the mirror.

*I look good!*

She never would say something like that out loud, but in the safety and
comfort of her own mind, she had long ago decided that she could get away
with it.

A loud knock at the door pulled her out of her self-admiring.  Her cheeks
flushed with slight embarrassment as she opened the door to reveal a still
slightly annoyed blonde vampire.  Spike smirked and drawled, "Nice threads,
Red."

She smiled and reached behind the door to grab her jacket.  Carefully locking
the door behind her, Willow could feel Spike's eyes on her, watching her,
studying her.  Her smile only increased in intensity as she turned to face
him.

"Ready, pet?"  He held out his arm for hers.  Gingerly, timidly, she reached
out and took the offered escort.  Together, they walked out of the dormitory
and into the crisp night air.

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