Parts: 11 - 16
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 11~
The redhead turned onto her side and glanced at the digital clock, 4:23 AM. She still couldn’t sleep. The fact that she only had a week to come to a decision not only bothered her, but also scared her. She didn’t want to make the wrong choice, though in this matter, which would be the wrong choice?
If only she knew. Willow froze still for a second, *she* didn’t know. But, maybe someone up there did, perhaps a trusted friend? Scrambling off the bed, she began to search around her room for a candle and a picture of Buffy.
After 15 minutes of searching, she found all of what she was looking for. She locked her door, not wanting any interruptions and moved to the middle of the room, sitting cross-legged. She placed a picture of Buffy in a bowl and a candle to its side. She lighted the candle and blew out the match. Holding the candle, she began to recite a spell.
“Heavens above, hear my plea
Bring me into contact with the one I seek,”
With those words, she used her candle to light Buffy’s picture. During the few moments of silence, green eyes stared at the slowly burning image. When the flames completely consumed the picture, the candle flew out of her hands and was suspended in the air above her. Her eyes widened in surprise as a small ball of light appeared in front of her. Quickly, it formed into the shape of a person and as the light faded away, Buffy appeared.
Willow restrained herself from jumping up to hug the blonde and stared at her best friend with teary eyes. “Buffy.”
Buffy smiled back at her with warm eyes, “Hey Will.”
After a short silence, Buffy spoke up again, pointing to the candle above Willow that was quickly burning out, “You only have a couple of minutes, Will.”
Willow cleared her throat, “I-I need your help.”
Buffy nodded for her to continue.
“D-Do you know why I was sent here?”
She let out a sigh and nodded, “It wasn’t a mistake. The spell was meant to screw up, you were sent here for a reason. I can’t tell you, though. You do know; you just have to open your eyes to see it.”
“I’m supposed to go back, right?” The uncertainty was clear in her voice.
“The choice is up to you.”
“But you said that I had to go back.”
“Things aren’t balanced there, you going back would fix that.”
Willow looked above her and saw the candle was almost completely burned out. Buffy saw the distress in the redhead’s eyes and put a hand over the candle, halting its movement.
“Look, don’t listen to what I have to say. I’m not allowed to tell you anything that they don’t want me to tell you. They’re very vague when it comes to these types of things. Trust your instincts, Will. Follow them. That’s how you’ll make the right choice.” Buffy cocked her head to the side as she felt a wave of emotion come off of the redhead. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Will. You do deserve it.”
Willow looked up and was about to reply when Buffy pulled back her hand, the candle disappearing, and the image of her best friend began to fade. “Smile for me.”
The redhead let out a weak smile and let the tears flow freely, no longer holding them back.
“I miss you.” That was the last thing that Willow heard before everything became dark again.
“I miss you, too.” Willow whispered. She looked out the window and saw the sky beginning to brighten. Turning her head back to stare into the empty darkness, she sighed, her decision made.
~^~**~^~
Willow groaned when she heard a knock on her door. She had finally fallen asleep only 2 hours before. The knocking repeated itself, insistently, and the redhead managed to get out of bed to answer it. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned as she opened the door, “Dawnie, I’m kinda-“ She looked up and instead of being a bright-eyed teenager, she saw William, warm smile and loving eyes in place, holding a tray of fresh fruit, glass of juice, and a red rose.
“Dawn’s downstairs with Faith and Xan. I wanted to surprise you with,” William held up the tray of food, “breakfast.” He moved into the room and put the tray onto the bed. Turning around, he caught the yawn that Willow was trying to hide. “Tired, luv?”
“I, umm, didn’t sleep that well.”
He nodded sympathetically and hugged her tightly. Willow savored the feel of his arms around her and leaned into his caress. Inhaling his sweet scent, she smiled softly, remembering Buffy’s words, she deserved this.
Willow moved out of his arms reluctantly and sat onto the bed, popping a strawberry into her mouth. “So, where are we going today?”
“We wanted to take Dawn to Universal Studios. She’s been bugging Xander about it for the past few months and yesterday, while babysitting, Faith lost a card game to her and so her prize is a trip to movieland.”
The redhead grinned at his words, her tiredness forgotten, “Am I invited?”
“Of course, luv. But get dressed, we’re leaving in 15 minutes.”
“Alright, well, you go and shoo!” Willow waved her hand to further make her point, unable to hide the smile.
William walked up to her and grabbed her around her waist. He moved his head forward, ravaging her lips. When he finally let go of her, the redhead stumbled back slightly. Before he went out the door, he said with a grin, “Don’t take too long.”
Willow stared blankly at the closed door and put her hand to her lips. She was making the right choice. She knew she was.
~Part: 12~
The trip to Universal Studios helped Willow relax. But, it didn’t wash away her thoughts. Through the four times that she went on the Terminator ride due to Xander’s obsession with the movie, her decision was always there in the front of her mind, bugging her. It never stopped pestering her, even a soaked William didn’t help it. Nothing could chase away her thoughts.
Things were so incredibly perfect right now. Even Buffy seemed to have given her the blessing that she needed. But the words. It was the words that the blonde had said that got to her. ‘Trust your instincts.’
Her instincts were telling her to go back, telling her to leave, now, before she fell even deeper. She couldn’t stay here. Not with the guilt in her. She knew that if she did, the thought of the other Sunnydale being unbalanced would drive her near insanity, especially knowing that she could’ve fixed it all. True that Sunnydale had problems, but that was her home. This wasn’t.
But, then there was William. William who stole her heart away with his sweet words and love. William who gave her the care and respect that she had needed so badly. Her instincts may have been screaming at her to leave, but her heart was yelling just as loud, if not louder.
She was torn. Heart or mind? Which to choose? Knowing that either direction would lead to some type of pain. She decided to take the one that was less painful, the one that the pain would at least numb over time.
She had to leave.
~^~**~^~
The rest of the weekend passed in a blur. Willow spent the majority of her time in William’s arms, grateful that she was given a chance to experience something so rare firsthand.
When Sunday night rolled around, they were in William’s apartment. Xander had gone to Faith’s and Dawn was at a friend’s house, sleeping over and then going to school from there.
The redhead stared out the window at the bright stars that always seemed to calm her. She didn’t know why she was so nervous. There was just something about this night, something that was different. Something was going to happen.
William slid his arms around her waist and nibbled on her ear, “You alright, luv?”
“Fine,” Willow replied with a hitch in her breathing as William slid his hands up her shirt to caress her stomach. “Just thinking.”
He moved his lips down her neck, pushed the spaghetti strap out of the way and sucked on her bare shoulder, “Good things hopefully?”
She bit her lower lip and ignored the voice inside her head that was yelling at her, telling her not to go any further. She turned around and smiled at him, “Mostly.” She lowered his head and as soon as their lips touched, all other thoughts faded away.
William picked her up, she wrapping her legs around his waist. They moved to his bedroom, he managed to kick the door shut and keep his balance without breaking the kiss. He dropped her onto the bed with care and took off his shirt. Before moving forward, he looked into her eyes, “Are you sure, luv?”
Willow nodded hastily and stripped off her shirt. She pulled him down for another kiss and managed to unbutton and wriggle out of her jeans. Fumbling with his button, she let out a frustrated groan.
He looked stopped her and looked at her with a gentle smile, “Slow down, pet.”
She nearly burst into tears, seeing the look in his eyes. He wanted to make this worth it. That much she could tell. He truly cared about her, loved her even, and she was...
Willow stopped her thoughts and nodded. He unbuttoned his jeans and kicked them away and moved their bodies up on the bed. Together, they stripped their bodies of the rest of the clothes, never stopping the kiss.
Through the haze, William managed to grab at reality for a moment and reached into the drawer for a condom. Willow watched his movements through hooded eyes, she was actually going to do this.
She gasped when she felt him enter her with obvious care. It hurt. The pain slowly faded away with each thrust. Neither of them broke their gaze from the other. This wasn’t just a mere act of physical satisfaction. This was real. For the first time in her existence, she understood the meaning of ‘making love.’ This was it.
Throwing her head back, her body arched against his as she came. He soon followed, shaking slightly from the intensity of it all. She held his cheek in the palm of her hand and when their eyes met, she whispered the words that she finally admitted to herself and him for the first time, “I love you.”
~^~**~^~
William looked at Willow’s sleeping face with a small smile on his own. She loved him. He still couldn’t believe it. When she first told him that she came from somewhere else, he honestly doubted her. But now, he wasn’t so sure anymore. There were definitely differences in her. But none that were majorly drastic.
But, when she said the words. That was when he knew for sure. Before, they came with ease. But, just then, it was said with desperation and need. She was different. But, he was still hopelessly in love with her.
He knew that she was hiding things from him. It was in the little things that he noticed. And he still never questioned her about the whole Buffy issue. It just seemed to slip his mind. He was too caught up in the essence of her.
William sighed. He couldn’t help but feel that something was going to happen. Something to ruin it all. He pulled her body closer and placed a kiss on her forehead, whatever it was, as long as they were together, they would make it through.
~^~**~^~
Willow reached out a hand to the other side of the bed, frowning when she didn’t feel William’s body within reach. <He must’ve gone to take a shower.> She sat up in the bed and massaged her forehead.
She shouldn’t have done that. Indulging in a physical experience with him just made everything so much harder. But, she went and did it anyway. From that first kiss, she was lost. Before, she was usually capable of handling herself, controlling herself, but around him, she just seemed to lose that control, and it didn’t bother her as much as she thought.
“’ello, luv, glad to see you’re awake,” William kissed her softly and held her face in his palms, “I love you, forever and always.”
She was taken aback at the sudden declaration though she always knew it, the truth shone through his eyes. “I-I love you too, don’t ever forget that.” She heard her voice crack and scolded herself for it. She cleared her throat and gazed at him with intense eyes, “If anything happens, don’t ever doubt my love for you, ok? I will *never*, *never* stop loving you.”
“I know, Willow,” He smiled at her again, “Whatever comes next, we’re ready for it, *I’m* ready for it, I have you by my side, that’s all I need.”
Willow forced out a smile, “I’m-I’m umm.. going to take a shower, okay?” Without waiting for an answer, she rushed to the bathroom.
How could she be so selfish? She didn’t even consider William’s feelings into this, only caring about her own. He had given her the love that she wanted without a second thought, not caring if she didn’t reciprocate. But, she did, so desperately.
‘I have you by my side, that’s all I need.’ Willow turned on the shower and burst into tears. She let the hot water wash over her and gasped from the force of the sobs, “Oh, Gods, I can do this. I have to do this.”
She pounded a fist against the wall. If the choice was right, why was it so damn hard to make?
~^~**~^~
“Ok, class, I know it’s Monday and you all want to go back to sleep. But now is not the time to slack off. You guys will get it easy for the first minutes of class cuz me and Will are gonna spar. Pay attention.” Faith announced as she motioned for everybody to back away. She looked at Willow and noticed the distant look in the redhead’s demeanor. “Red?”
Willow looked up, her expression never changing, “Attack or block?”
“Block.”
Willow moved forward, faking a punch to the right and when Faith ducked to the left, she was on the receiving end of the kick that Willow sent in her direction. Faith stumbled back and looked up surprised, “Will, what are you doing?”
“Attacking,” She replied simply.
Faith’s brow furrowed in concentration but she didn’t have much to think when Willow came at her again. The punches kept coming, never stopping, left, right, left, right. Faith was so caught up in the blocking that she didn’t see Willow’s knee coming up, pushing her away. Before Faith could catch her balance, Willow did a roundhouse kick, sending Faith flying back onto the mat with a defeated ‘oomph.’
Willow wiped the sweat from her brow and looked at the rest of the class, “The attacks I just used were unexpected. This gave me the upper hand in the fi-“
Before Willow could finish the sentence she found herself sprawled on the mat. Faith stood over her body, smirking, “Nice try, Red. But you never gave me the chance to fight back.”
Willow did a back flip and looked Faith in the eye, “Let’s go.”
Faith threw a punch at Willow but she caught it and twisted the brunette’s arm. Faith kicked her in the knee and the redhead released her grip on her arm. Then, she kicked Willow in the chest, sending her stumbling back. Willow moved forward slowly, catching her breath. She dropped down onto the floor and kicked out her foot underneath Faith’s but the brunette jumped up just in time. Faith grabbed Willow’s feet and flipped her feet first. Willow caught her balance and managed to land on her feet without falling. Faith threw a blow at the redhead’s chest but she caught her in the arm, pulled her forward, effectively making the brunette losing her balance. Willow then took advantage of the brunette’s temporary state of weakness and flipped her onto her back.
She stood over Faith’s body, “I win.”
~^~**~^~
Willow sat outside, enjoying the cool breeze blowing over her overheated body. She closed her eyes, reveling in the feel when a voice suddenly demanded, “What the hell was *that*?”
The redhead looked at her and asked, “What do you mean?”
“What were you doing?”
“We were sparring, Faith.”
Faith looked at her and let out a small laugh, “Sparring in front of the class does not involve dirty tricks. You don’t use your street fighting skills when we spar in front of students. That’s not what we’re teaching.”
“Sore loser?”
The brunette backed away and glared at the redhead, “We’ve both lost our fights, Red. But, that’s not my point!”
“Isn’t it?”
“What the hell is wrong with you? Did William piss you off or something?”
“Nothing,” Willow said sharply, “*Nothing* is wrong.”
“Bullshit, Red.” Faith retorted, “I get that you don’t want to tell me but hell, don’t take it out on me for whatever fucked up mistakes he or *you* made in your relationship.” The brunette walked away before Willow could reply.
The redhead sat there, tears stinging her eyes. She refused to let Faith’s words get to her.
~Part: 13~
“Faith?” Willow peeked into the exercise room, looking for the brunette.
“Yeah?” Faith didn’t look up from where she was sitting in a chair, reading over some papers.
“I’m sorry.”
Faith looked up, “Red, you don’t need to apologize to me. Half the time people do, they never mean it anyway.”
“I do mean it. I-I shouldn’t have done that. You’re right, I’m going through some problems right now and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
She sighed, “It was a two-way thing, Will, not completely your fault.” Faith studied the redhead for a moment, “What’s going on with you, Will? You’re not usually like this. You’ve gone through relationship problems before, especially through that whole Buffy period, but you guys got through it.”
Willow sat down on a beanbag chair and sighed, “Things are a bit different this time.”
“What is it, hun? You can tell me, that’s what I’m here for.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Willow,” Faith looked at her seriously, “You might be able to bullshit Xander and maybe even William but you can’t fool me. I see through you.”
The redhead smiled at her bluntness, “I’ve just been thinking a lot lately.”
“Bout what?”
Willow paused in her answer and then said softly, “Future regrets.”
“You know me, Will,” Faith started after a few moments of silence, “I’m usually not the kind to think now, act later. I go for it. And, yeah, that is fun at first but sometimes there are just consequences you have to deal with that you didn’t think you would have to before. But, you don’t want to over think it like you obviously are right now. Every decision comes with regrets, Red. That’s just the way life is. Just make sure you’re choosing what you really want and that it’ll be worth it.”
“But there are some things that you need to do because you have to, not because you want to.”
“I’m guessing whatever decision you have to make or had to make was a hard one. The hard ones are never fun. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go along with it. Sometimes you just gotta buck up and deal with it. Life is hard, it involves choices, but hey, we all move on.”
Willow stared at Faith and made sure she worded her next words correctly, “So.. the regret.. it’ll fade over time, right?”
“Yeah, it will,” The brunette said with full confidence, “It has to.”
~^~**~^~
The hours passed by slowly. Willow tried to act as normally as she could, not wanting to arouse any suspicion in William but on Friday he confronted her.
They sitting together in silence, Willow sipping her hot tea and reading a book while William read a magazine. He tapped his fingers against the arm of the chair and looked up at her, seeing if he could catch her attention. After multiple tries at this, he finally gave up and cleared his throat. Still no reaction. She seemed to be lost in thought. Again.
“Willow?”
No answer.
“Willow?” After not receiving a response for the second time, he got up at tapped her on the shoulder.
She snapped back into reality with a, “Yeah?”
“You promised me before that you would never lie to me, remember?”
Willow looked at him with calm eyes though instinctively she began to scoot away out of nervousness, “Yeah.”
“Why do you keep breaking that promise?”
She looked at him for a moment before looking down at her lap, <how is it possible he can see through me so well?> The redhead got up and began to walk away, with her back turned, she answered, “I’m not.”
“Then why won’t you look me in the eye?” He asked and then added, “Turn around, Willow. Tell me to my face that I’m wrong.”
She turned around, met his gaze, and said with a shaky voice, “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?” With every step he took forward, she took one back. “What is it, Willow? Why are you running away from me?”
The reality in his words caused her to falter for a moment. “I’m-I’m not.”
“Willow, this is me. William. You can trust me. I love you. I could never hurt you.” He ran a hand through his hair, “The other day, I meant everything I said. I would never- I couldn’t.”
She heard the desperation in his voice and bit back the tears, knowing she had to do this, “Things are just complicated, William. You can’t expect me to tell you everything. Every couple has to have its secrets. This is one of them.”
“Why Willow? Just tell me why? Is it because you don’t trust me? You don’t love me?” He asked, looking more vulnerable then she’d ever seen him before.
“No,” she said sharply, “I *do* love you.” The tears began to leak out of her eyes, “So much, so much that it hurts. When I’m away from you, I feel like a part of me is gone. And there’s this emptiness inside me. But, when I’m with you, everything is perfect. And everything else that’s wrong with my world just fades away and there’s only you. It’s always you, only you. And it always will be.”
“Then what is it?”
“I can’t tell you.” She began to back away, holding her hands out, “Please, just, please, leave it at that.”
“Willow,” He moved forward again, confused by her movements, “Let me help.”
“The best thing you can do is just leave it.”
“Please,” William walked towards her at a faster pace.
She saw his speeded movements and backed up against the door, “Don’t.” The redhead was full out crying at this time, the sobs wracked her tiny frame.
William gathered her in his arms and rocked her, “Let me in, baby. I’ll always be here for you.”
She looked up at him with teary eyes and kissed him softly, “I love you.” Satisfied with the small smile that she got in return, she pushed him away forcefully and he stumbled back, confused. She yelled out, “Dispercese.” The force hit William and he sank onto the floor, unconscious.
Willow ran into the room, somehow making it there without falling. She collapsed onto the bed, sobbing. Through her tear-stained gaze, she grabbed the spell book, herbs, and candle. With one last look at William, she whispered, “I’m sorry.” And then closed the door with a click.
~Part: 14~
She was shaking. There was no wind outside and it was warm. The sun was beginning to rise but she didn’t take any notice. She had been walking around the town for a couple hours, barely even noticing it. Her body was functioning on its own while her mind was elsewhere.
She hurt him. Emotionally and physically. This wasn’t how it was supposed to turn out. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was just a simple spell. Turn back time, prevent Buffy from coming back and therefore not causing the First to rise again. But, then everything just screwed up.
She told her secrets. First mistake.
She started becoming friends with Xander and Faith. Second mistake.
She grew closer to this Sunnydale’s Dawn. Third mistake.
But the worse of all, she gave her heart to William. And it wasn’t him that was tearing it out and stomping on it. It was her, she was the one who was causing all the pain.
A part of her was screaming out, ‘You can stop this. You don’t have to go back. They can deal, they’re strong enough.’ But, it just didn’t feel right. She couldn’t live with that her whole life.
Faith had said that pain from love and heartbreak would fade in time. She really hoped the brunette was right.
Willow glanced up and saw that by this time the sun had already risen. It was shining down on her, seemingly smiling at her. Without a reaction, she looked back down and continued walking.
~^~**~^~
“Yo, Willow, William, you guys, I’m back, Faith’s here too. You guys aren’t nekkid are ya?” Xander walked into the apartment yelling out his teasing words. He was about to start again when he noticed William’s unconscious body on the floor. “Holy crap! Will! Will!” Xander began shaking his best friend’s body frantically. “WILL!”
“Willow?” William moaned as his eyes fluttered open. He brought a hand up to his forehead, “Where is she?”
“Will, man, what happened to you?”
“Where is she?”
“Who, Willow? She’s not here.” Xander looked to Faith who was looking around the house, trying to find sign of anybody.
“We have to find her,” William said decidedly, “We have to find her now.”
“Dude, what happened?”
William looked at him with sad eyes, “She wasn’t lying.”
“About what?” Xander asked confused.
“Remember that story I told you about how she was acting a bit off?”
“You mean when you said that she thought she was from another Sunnydale?”
William nodded.
“She wasn’t lying about that?”
William shook his head in response, “We have to find her. She’s going to do something.”
Faith leaned against the wall and whispered shakily, “She’s going to go back.”
“What?” William demanded, “How do you know?”
“Xander told me about what happened.” Faith began and then quickly added, “I already figured most of it out, I’m not as dense as everyone thinks I am. He filled in the rest of the holes.” Faith sighed, “Willow was talking to me about it the other day. Not the exact topic but she said something about future regrets and making tough choices. She was really frustrated and she just took it all out on me. I knew something was off.”
“She is,” William sighed, “That was why she wanted to make sure that I knew she would always love me.” He looked up sadly, “Where’s Dawn?”
“We just dropped her off at Janice’s. She’s staying there the whole weekend. Something about a school project.” Faith answered.
William looked around, “We have to find her.”
“And do what?” Xander asked, “What can we possibly do?”
“We can stop her.”
“Why were you unconscious?” The young man asked suddenly.
“She-She.. threw something at me. I think it was a spell or something like that.”
“Right, well, if she’s really this almighty witch, what makes you think we can actually stop her?”
“We have to try!” William nearly yelled. “I can’t give her up. I can’t lose her!”
Faith looked sadly at William, “She didn’t want to make this choice, Will. Maybe it’s best if you just let her go. You know she wouldn’t do this unless she had to.”
“She doesn’t know what she’s thinking. She’s not stable. She’s making the wrong choice!” William said desperately, “Please, Xan. You have to help me.” He paused and then whispered, “I can’t live without her.”
Xander gave William a hug and patted him on the back, “I’m sorry.”
William pushed himself out of his arms and stared at him with a look of disbelief.
“I’m sorry,” Xander said again.
Faith looked at William and tried once more, “William, don’t.”
“No! I’m not going to give her up that easily.” He stalked to the door, opened it and with his back turned against them he said, “I love her. That’s worth everything.”
~Part: 15~
Willow watched the sun slowly set and hung onto the image of that last glimpse of its rays. She didn’t want today to end. Despite the pain, she knew that when the sun set and the moon came up in it’s place, things would change. Then, for sure, she would leave. Leave Faith. Leave Xander. Leave Dawn. Leave William.
Blocking out her thoughts, she headed towards the Summers’ house, silently praying that nobody would be there. The spell had to be done in the place where she first arrived in the dimension.
As the house came into view, she couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. The tears began to bunch again at the corners of her eyes. She swallowed and closed her eyes tightly, not allowing herself to cry. She couldn’t, she didn’t have time. She couldn’t fail. Things had to work out. This was the way things had to be.
She opened the door, walking inside, and let out a sigh of relief when she saw nothing but darkness. She was alone.
~^~**~^~
William stalked the streets of Sunnydale, looking from left to right, not caring about anything else. He had to find her. He couldn’t lose another person from his life. Suddenly, he stopped walking, feeling something wash over him. The feeling was familiar on a certain level but he couldn’t place exactly what it was.
“Home.”
He whipped his head around when he heard the voice. His blue eyes skimmed the area, finding nobody suspicious. He looked up and for a second, was lost in the paleness of the moon. Reminding him of the glow that Willow had when she was under the moonlight. That night, at the beach when she was staring into the sky, just watching it. Thinking.
“Go.”
William turned around again. What the hell was messing with him? Had he really pushed himself over the edge? Why was he hearing voices and who the hell was it? He continued to look around, not caring if he looked ridiculous to others. “Who are you?” He yelled.
“Go. Go to her.”
William froze. Somebody knew. What was going on? Was it a spirit? Was it God? What the hell?! Giving up rational thought, he focused his mind on only one thing, “Where?”
“Home.”
His thoughts raced, where was home? He couldn’t make a mistake about this. Somewhere deep inside, he just knew that if he made a wrong turn here, he would fail. Where did she consider home? Buffy. The Summers’ house. That was where she was.
With this newfound knowledge, he ran towards the location, not caring about anything else. Nothing else mattered. Not the pain in his heart, in his body, in his mind. The only thing in focus was her. It was always her.
~^~**~^~
She looked around her room and rechecked everything. The door was locked, the circle of herbs was perfectly placed, and the candle was laid in the middle of the circle along with a lighter. Everything was ready. All she needed to do was begin.
With shaky hands, she grabbed the lighter and lit the candle. She had to do this.
“Autem Achere Desidio Raynhe”
A force, a barrier of sorts began to grow around her and she felt it all around her.
“Nazel Acclinis Lyreo”
She felt the power begin to enter her and dropped the candle. It floated in front of her. Opening her eyes, she saw the barrier, the hazy images, and… William.
~^~**~^~
By the time he got the house, he noticed a light shining out of Willow’s room. Something about it told him that it wasn’t normal. Running into the house, he bounded up the stairs and tried to open the door. Locked.
“NO!” He yelled. “No, not now!” He began to ram his right side into the wooden barrier. He couldn’t let something as simple as a door stand in his way. He was beyond pain, beyond rational thought; the only thing that mattered was getting inside because she was there. With a renewed faith, he rammed into it once more. One second, he was outside the room and the next he was lying on the ground, ignoring everything else except her. She was like a Goddess. Lifted up in air with swirling lights surrounding her. She was so beautiful.
He caught her eye and with a groan, he pushed himself up to his feet and ran towards the barrier. When he reached it, it threw him back a few feet but he caught himself before he fell. He couldn’t get through to her. She was only a few feet away but it seemed like a million miles.
Finally letting the tears slip he yelled desperately, “Willow, please. Don’t do this. Don’t leave me.”
~Part: 16~
William. He was there. Standing, looking as gallant as ever. She faltered for a moment, the barrier’s force fading slightly and took in his handsome face. The love in his eyes that were tinted with desperation. For a moment, she wanted nothing more then to drop her hands and stop the spell, but she couldn’t. She had to do this.
She brought her hands together, ignoring his pleading calls. Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth together and forced herself not to care. Not caring about the fact he was standing a few feet away from her, professing his love. Not caring that she was giving up the one thing that she truly loved in her entire existence to do the right thing. Not caring that in a way, she was destroying a part of herself.
“Crilina Maiset Audetem Lenise”
She raised her hands up and felt the power consume her entirely, pushing away everything else she was feeling. She opened her eyes once more and saw him, standing there still, never wavering, the defeat evident in his eyes.
“I love you.” She managed to say before everything around her began to swirl into black.
~^~**~^~
Willow opened her eyes, unclear as to what had happened. She couldn’t remember anything. Where was she? *Who* was she?
Her green eyes opened and she registered the familiar surroundings. She stood up but immediately regretted it when she felt everything spin around her. She was weak, fatigued. Confusion covered her and she looked down at her hands and caught a glimmer of light reflected from the moon.
She looked at the ring on her finger and twisted it, reading the words. ‘True Love Waits.’
Suddenly, everything hit her at once. The spell, Buffy, William. The way he looked that night. The sound of his voice. She couldn’t breathe. The sobs that wracked through her were too painful. Pushing herself off the bed, she gripped the table that was in front of her and saw a picture of her and Tara together. She opened one of the drawers. It was filled with bottles of holy water, crosses, spellbooks, and stakes. She was home.
She let go and fell to her knees. Rolling her hands into fists she pounded against the side of the mattress, trying to get all the feeling out of her. She didn’t want to feel so much. She wanted it all to just go away. She wasn’t supposed to feel this much. It wasn’t possible. It shouldn’t be.
Getting off the floor, she pushed herself onto the bed again. She got under the covers and closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to be barricaded by memories and images of.. him. Still crying, she tried to go to sleep.
But, she didn’t.
She continued to cry for the next hour, her sobs going from loud to soft. Soon, they grew to a quiet gasping.
Again, she closed her eyes, hoping to block everything away. After a few more minutes, she finally drifted off to sleep due to the lack of energy in her weak body.
Maybe, tomorrow, things would be fine again.
The End