Oz scrambled to his feet as the curious stares of the
others in the room traveled between him and the young
woman near the door. Anya's eyes, sparkling with
gleeful wickedness, caught Spike's for the briefest of
moments before moving on to Ivy.
"I--Ivy," the wolf stammered softly.
The pretty brunette smiled shyly at him, "I know I
should have called first, but I didn't have a
number--"
"We haven't met," the slayer said brightly and
gestured as she introduced her friends, "I'm Buffy.
This is Riley, Xander, Anya, Willow, and that's Spike.
I take it you know Oz pretty well. Where did you
meet?"
The brunette's eyes rested briefly on Anya as she
recognized the name of her secret ally. None of the
others seemed to notice the surreptitious exchange,
and she quickly returned her gaze to Buffy.
Oz was at her side in two strides, curling his hand
around her upper arm, "I think we should talk alone--"
"Nonsense," Buffy interrupted. "You're more than
welcome to stay. Come have a seat."
Oz groaned inwardly, his desperate eyes following the
two women as Ivy was led to an armchair. She smiled as
Willow offered her one of the cans of soda from the
coffee table.
"I think it's probably a little warm," the redhead
apologized.
"I'll get some ice," Riley spoke and went to the
kitchen.
"So, how do you know Oz?" Xander asked.
"We met a few weeks ago. I live in a little town, not
too far from San Diego. He stopped at the restaurant
I
work in--"
"San Diego?" Willow asked. "You met him before he came
back to Sunnydale?"
She nodded, "He told me he'd been traveling around for
awhile. We spent some time talking, and--"
Oz shifted his weight from one leg to the other, "I
don't think they're really interested in hearing
about--"
"How did you even know where to find him? How did you
know he was here?" the slayer's questions drowned out
Oz's protest.
Anya tensed imperceptibly at the unexpected inquiry
and shot Spike a frantic look as Ivy, also rattled by
the question, blinked in silence as Riley came back
into the room.
"Probably that flea-trap of a van he drives," Spike
suggested with casual sarcasm.
The brunette latched onto the excuse and nodded her
head, "He told me he lived in Sunnydale. I drove
around for a bit and saw his van parked across the
street."
"You came all the way here to see him, after a
conversation in a restaurant?" Xander asked.
"It was more than just a conversation. We--"
"Ivy," Oz barked. "I don't think you should--"
"Why not?" she pushed herself up off the chair. "I'm
not ashamed of what we did, and don't even try to tell
me that you are! That night at my apartment was
special--to both of us! These are your friends! Why
shouldn't they know?"
"He spent the night at your apartment?" Willow asked,
her voice low and steady.
"Yes," she nodded, having no idea who she was
addressing. "It was wonderful. But when I woke up in
the morning, he was gone. He's all I've been able to
think about."
The redhead rose to her feet, eyes blazing, as she
rounded the coffee table to glare at the wolf.
"You bastard," she hissed. "All these weeks you've
been driving me out of my mind! Going on and on about
how sorry you were! How it would never happen again!"
"Willow, it's the truth! I--"
"Liar," she snarled. "All that time, you were trying
to make me feel sorry for you, trying to make me
believe how alone you had felt--"
"Wait a minute," Ivy spoke. "She's the one? She's the
girlfriend you left behind?"
"That's me," Willow nodded and turned her eyes back to
Oz. "Let me see if I've got the timeline straight. You
screwed her. Snuck off in the morning. And headed
straight back to Sunnydale to tell me how much you
missed me. How'd I do, Oz? Is that about right?"
"Willow, please," he reached for her arm, but she
stepped back and grabbed hold of Spike's hand as he
came up beside her.
Oz took a step toward her, and Buffy placed herself in
his path and gave him a shove, "Stay away from her."
"This isn't any of your business, Buffy," he told her.
"Like hell!" she snarled. "You weasled your way back
into our favor. You actually had us believing we could
trust you again, that you were sorry for what you
did!"
"I am sorry!" he insisted.
"Like hell. You're sorry you got caught," Xander
spoke. "You left Willow right after you got pelvic
with one woman, and then you show up and try to get
Willow back right after you got pelvic with somebody
else!"
"He left you because he cheated on you?" Ivy asked
Willow.
"Yes," she nodded. "Not that I give a damn, anymore."
The brunette looked scathingly over at Oz, "You told
me you both needed time to sort things out--to figure
out what you wanted. You never told me you left
because you'd screwed around on her. I thought what
happened between us meant something! Even though we'd
never met before, and it was just that one night, you
were so sweet and so careful, and you made me feel
like somebody. But that isn't what it was at all, was
it? It was nothing to you! I was just a convenient
body, just another free lay. Bastard. You ought to be
neutered."
Spike snorted at the unintentional double-entendre the
young woman had hurled at the wolf. Oz's eyes moved
from one angry face to another, lingering on Willow
who was now leaning against Spike's back, his arms
wrapped around her. The wolf turned on his heel and
stomped over to the door. He flung it open, and Buffy
growled and took off after him.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" she
demanded as she followed him out onto the porch.
"I've heard enough," he snapped back.
"You haven't heard anything," she informed him coldly.
"But you're about to."
End.