"What's going on guys?," Willow asked as she made her way over to a library table.

"Oh nothing, nothing Willow," Buffy said hurriedly as she shot Oz a suspicious look and cut their conversation short.

"Ummmm...I have to...go. See you guys later!," muttered Oz as he practically ran out the door. After he left so quickly without even saying hello, Willow was clearly upset.

"Seriously Buffy. What was that all about?," asked a hurt Willow. Buffy bit her lip and half-smiled nervously.

"Oh Giles!! It's so great to see you!," she said finally as Giles walked in with a stack of books.

"Good morning Buffy, Willow. Shouldn't you two be getting to class soon?"

"Yes!! Great idea Giles. Okay time to go now Willow," stammered Buffy.

"But Buffy, YOU want to go to class? Early?"

"Yeah I ummmm.. need to study and umm...do homework..and.."

"What?! Are you okay Buffy? This really isn't like you. And about you and Oz in the library I just want to know if..."

"Sorry I really gotta go okay? See ya later!," said Buffy as she sped down the hall, obviously eager to end the conversation.

Alone at her locker, Willow was left to contemplate the situation. *Buffy & Oz have a secret and I just know it, but why would my best friend and my boyfriend keep a secret from me?,* she wondered. Trying to shake the thought from her head, she grabbed her Advanced Composition notebook and headed for her first hour class being sure not to assume anything.

Finally, the bell rang at noon for lunch and everyone sprang up from their chairs. Willow calmly pushed through the crowd all the while searching for the ones she cared about. Just then, she spotted Oz.

"Hey baby!! I've hardly seen you all day! Have you been avoiding me or something?," she asked jokingly.

"Oh ummmm..no of course not," he replied,"but I really have to go now. We'll do lunch tomorrow?"

"Yeah ummm...okay sure," she replied, trying not to look heartbroken.

"Okay cool then. Bye!"

He kissed her cheek and with this, he was racing down the hall. Although upset, Willow suddenly cheered up with the sight of her best friend strutting down the hall.

"Hi Buffy. What are your plans for lunch today?"

"Oh I'm sorry Will. I'm training with Faith and Giles. But you're free to come watch or hang out with us if you want to."

"Oh thanks Buffy. Maybe I will. I'm going to find Xander now though so I guess I'll see ya."

*I can't believe this!! And all on the same day too!!,* thought Willow. *Oh well. I know that Xander will be free.*

Sitting at the lunch table and eating with Xander & Cordelia was probably worse than eating by herself. Or actually, she ate by herself while they groped. After eating, she walked down the deserted halls for awhile alone until she decided that helping Giles with research was better than being by herself.

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

School was finally over for the day and the weekend was yet to come. Willow put all of the books she needed to study into her bag and once again, surveyed the halls for Oz.

"Willow..ummm...can you get a ride home with Cordelia? I'm sorry. I'm just really busy right now," said Oz.

*Too busy to give me, your girlfriend, a ride home?* thought Willow.

Regardless, she agreed and Oz gave her a quick hug before leaving. Riding home with Xander and Cordelia wasn't exactly a treat either. Being with the two of them, so happy together, only made her long for Oz more as the loneliness sank in. As Willow walked into the house, she was met by her mother at the front door.

"How was your day honey?," she asked cheerily.

Enough was enough and with that, Willow ran up to her room and burst into tears. Seeing a picture of herself and Oz only made her sob harder as she thought about how horrible the day had been. Finally the tears stopped and she decided to take action. After putting on more make-up than she had ever allowed herself and a sexy white slipdress, she was ready to pay a certain someone a surprise visit.

After backing her comfy red Escort out of the driveway, she found herself speeding. A long wait at every stoplight gave her time to plan out what to say to tell Oz how she felt as she always did. Finally, Oz's house came into view and she pulled into the driveway.

*That's weird. I've never seen that blue car her before,* thought Willow as she walked up to the front door.

After knocking on the door with no reply, Willow decided to let herself in. She was going to voice a sweet hello when she saw it. Oz in the kitchen hugging a beautiful blonde girl and smiling. She kissed his cheek and he told her how much he had missed her and all Willow could do was stare as they tenderly embraced. With her eyes welling up with tears as Oz caught a glimpse of her, she ran out of his house faster than she had ever run before.

The tears impaired her vision as she struggled to jam the right key in her car door.

"Willow!," Oz called after her,"Willow where are you going?"

She finally found the right key but by this time, Oz was right behind her.

"Baby I'm so glad you're here! What's wrong?," he asked as he tried to wrap his arms around her as she backed away from him.

"Oz," she sobbed,"What is going on here? With Buffy? And breaking our lunch date? And that girl in there?"

"Oh Willow,honey, please don't be upset. I wasn't supposed to tell you but I have to now. This morning, I was telling Buffy the surprise that I had planned for you tonight. I want you to meet my whole family and have dinner with us. I was just going to call you when I saw you standing in the doorway."

Oz smiled and wiped away Willow's tears as he gently kissed her forehead.

"I missed you today and I'm so sorry that I couldn't be with you but I had to get everything ready for tonight. I wanted to make it special. For you Willow."

Just then, the blonde girl walked out of the house. Seeing Willow, she smiled brightly.

"You must be Willow!," she said. "Oz has told me so much about you!!"

"Willow, this is my sister Callista. She drove in from Colorado," said Oz as he pulled Willow in close to him.

Completely embarrassed by her own assumptions, Willow's cheeks flushed a deep red as she said hello. The three walked into the house and Callista went back to the kitchen to finish the cooking while Willow and Oz settled into the living room couch.

"My parents can't wait to meet you either. They're still at the store getting groceries though. They knew how important it was to me to make this perfect for you Willow."

Realizing how wrong she had been, Willow felt terrible.

*He worked so hard toget this for me. I can't even believe how sweet that was,* thought Willow.

"Willow?"

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I uh.. well I ummm.. you know..love you," he whispered into her ear. The couple stared into each others' eyes and Oz knew that she loved him too. Many soft kisses followed until Willow rested her head on Oz's chest.

*Surprises aren't that bad after all,* thought Willow as she snuggled against Oz. *Maybe it's time for me to have some surprises of my own*