DISCLAIMER!!!! Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, and all the characters, from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" aren't mine. They belong to Joss and Mutant Enemy. I'm jealous, but what can I do? All other characters, and the story itself are the sole property of ME, and my imagination. Please send all comments on the story to ME! Thank you and come again!
Buffy was leaning against the sink in her kitchen, listening to her mother lecture her, yet again, on her schoolwork. "I mean, you spend all that time studying with Willow, and you still just seem to get by in your classes." Her mother went on. "Perhaps we should consider a professional tutor…"
"Mom!" Buffy said offended. "I don't need another tutor! Willow does like an amazing job!"
Joyce put her coffee cup down in the sink and started to rinse it. "I'm not saying Willow isn't helping, but maybe you need someone who isn't your friend. Who isn't worried about being tough with you." She said as she finished rinsing the cup and put it up to dry. "Perhaps I can arrange something with a teacher at school…"
The Slayer rolled her eyes. "Mom, the teachers at school have better things to do then tutor me." Buffy stopped and thought it over for a second. "Well maybe they don't have better things to do, but I don't need another tutor!" she said finally, sticking her bottom lip out and doing her best little girl pout.
Her mother looked at her from the other side of the kitchen where she was putting on her purse. "Buffy, I really don't want to argue about this right now. I've got a plane to catch." She turned to face her daughter, a look of acquiescence on her face. "Look, we'll talk about this when I get back from San Francisco. We'll work something out, Ok?"
"Ok!" Buffy said, happy that she could claim a quasi-victory in the argument. "Have a good time! And remember!" she yelled as her mother began to walk out the front door. "Don't leave your heart in San Francisco!"
Joyce stuck her tongue out at Buffy and then left. Buffy went to the window and watched as her mother jumped into a cab and drove off. Buffy resisted the urge to pull a "Home Alone" and scream in happiness. Instead, she walked joyfully into the kitchen prepared to make herself a large bowl of chocolate fudge ice cream. She stopped as she was removing the Ben & Jerry's from the freezer and remembered the last time she went out to slay on a stomach full of ice cream. "There was definitely an ickness factor afterward…" she murmured to herself.
Her ice cream hopes dashed, Buffy stomped angrily upstairs to her room. Her anger grew as she saw the dress she was going to wear to the Bronze tonight hanging in her closet. It was a short yellow sundress with spaghetti straps, which in Buffy's opinion looked amazing on her. Or would have, if I could wear it! She thought angrily. But nooo, I have to go on patrol with the Terminator! She gave the dress one last look before pushing it aside and looking for something more patrol worthy. She finally decided on a pair of black jeans, a white button-up shirt, and a black suede vest. The outfit was complete with a pair of black, knee-high boots. Buffy gave the ensemble an appraising look. "Slaying worthy, yet fashionable." She remarked with a firm nod.
Stretching, Buffy felt the muscles in her shoulders ache slightly from her fight with Eddie. Deciding that the best remedy for this was a long, hot shower, Buffy headed toward the bathroom. Turning on the water, she began to remove her clothing. She paused after she had taken off her shirt. Faint bruises could be seen on stomach and tops of her shoulders. They were fading quickly, but they were still there, reminding her of the strength of Eddie's fists. If he was testing me, then he was probably holding back, she thought as she lightly fingered one of the bruises on her stomach. I should be glad that he didn't uses all his strength. If he did, I'd probably be covered with bruises. Putting Eddie and that afternoon's excitement out of her mind, Buffy finished taking the rest of her clothes off and climbed into the comforting warmth of the shower. She stayed under the water for, what to her seemed an eternity, letting the hot water untie the knots in her back and wash away the pain in her shoulders and ribs.
When she was done, she quickly dried herself off and went back to her room to change. Buffy took her time getting dressed and fixing her hair. When she was finally finished, she looked at herself in the mirror to inspect the complete product. "Not bad, if I do say so myself." Buffy commented to her reflection with a smile. "And I do say so!"
The Slayer checked her watch and saw that it was almost 6:30. She had half an hour before she was supposed to meet up with the others at the Bronze. Looking around the room for something to occupy her time, Buffy found that there was very little to do in her room. A brief notion of doing some homework crossed her mind. "Yeah right," she said as the thought was forgotten. When nothing else came to mind, she decided to call Willow.
As she dialed her friends phone number, she wondered if she could convince Willow talk to Xander about what was bothering him.
As Willow and Xander's lips touched for the first time, there was a knock on the front door. Both teenagers stopped and looked at each other for a moment, dazed. The knock was repeated and followed by a "Willow?" The voice belonged to Oz.
A look of surprise passed Willow's face, which was quickly replaced by one of panic. "Oh my God! It's Oz!"
Xander practically jumped backward off the couch, retreating across the room. He was visibly sweating and his hands were shaking. "What do we do?" he asked in a whisper.
Before Willow could answer, the phone on the other side of the room started to ring. Both Willow and Xander turned to look at the phone. Oz knocked on the door again. "Willow, are you in there?" He had raised his voice.
Xander felt as if his heart would burst as he switched from looking at the door and the still ringing phone. Oh Jesus! began to repeat though his mind as panic racked his body. "What are we going to do?" he asked Willow a second time.
Willow felt like a deer in the caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. "You…you get the phone! I'll get the door!" she blurted out.
"No! You get the phone, I'll get the door!" With that Xander jumped over the couch and ran to the door.
Willow watched as Xander raced across her living room toward the door before running over to the phone and picked it up in mid ring. "Help," she said into the receiver. "I mean hello?"
"Willow?" Buffy's voice answered her. "Are you ok? What's wrong?"
"Buffy!" Willow said as she tried to look at the front door. "W-wrong? Nothing's wrong. Why would anything be wrong?" She tried her best to sound calm.
"Well I thought you said, "Help" when you picked up the phone…" Buffy's worried voice said. "Are you sure you're Ok?"
Willow couldn't see anything but Xander's back at the door. "Yeah, Buffy everything's super! What's up?" she said as she strained to here what Oz and Xander were talking about.
There was a moment of silence before Buffy answered her. "Well, there are two reasons I called." The Slayer said finally. "First is, I was wondering if you and Oz could pick me up on your way to the Bronze."
Willow watched as Xander moved aside to let Oz in. "Yeah sure. Pick you up. The Bronze." She said into the phone.
"The second thing was, well I was thinking that you should talk to Xander about…well you know! Tell him everything is cool between the two of you…" Buffy's voice said into Willow's ear.
Willow saw Xander wave Oz toward where she was standing before he left without looking back, closing the front door behind him. "Yeah sure. Talk to Xander. We're cool."
"WILLOW!!" Buffy shouted into the phone, snapping her friend out of her absent mindedness. "Have you been listening to me?"
Willow practically jumped when Buffy voice shouted at her through the phone. "Sorry Buffy, yeah I was listening." Oz was walking across the living room toward her, a worried look on his face. "Uh, Oz just got here, I gotta go. We'll stop by to pick you up. Bye." Willow hung up the phone before Buffy could respond.
"Hey, honey," Oz said as he stopped in front of his girlfriend, his worried look still on his face. "Are you Ok?"
Willow tried to give Oz a cheerful smile. "Yeah, I'm fine! Couldn't be better!" she told her boyfriend in a high voice. She looked over at the front door. "What happened to Xander?"
Oz turned to look at the door as well, a puzzled look briefly upon his face. "Well I'm not exactly sure." The sometime werewolf said in a voice that matched the look on his face. "He answered the door and started talking a mile a minute about how great it was to see me, and how he much he was looking forward to tonight. I asked him if he wanted to ride with us to the Bronze. He gave me this look as if I just asked if he were gay or something. He mumbled something about having something to do then left." Oz turned back to Willow. "It was definitely weird."
Willow laughed a little too loudly. "Yeah, weird. Xander' s weird alright." She laughed again.
That worried look came back to Oz's face. "Are you sure you're Ok?"
Willow looked at Oz, her eyes giving him every ounce of honesty that she could. "Yes Oz, I'm fine." She attempted another smile.
Oz looked at her skeptically, not believing her, but not wanting to push. "So, who were you on the phone with?" He said trying to change the subject/
Willow practically collapsed with relief, mentally thanking Oz. He knows something's up, but he doesn't want to push me. "On the phone? That was Buffy, she wanted to ask if we could stop by her house and pick her up." She said, this the smile on her face wasn't forced.
Oz jingled the keys to his van. "No problem. Was that it?"
Willow remembered Buffy pleading her to talk with Xander. To tell him that everything was cool between the two of them. Buffy didn't know that things between Willow and Xander weren't cool. In fact, things were the exact opposite of cool. They were hot. Willow looked deep into Oz's eyes, giving him the biggest smile she could muster under the circumstances. "Yep! That's it! All she wanted was a lift!" Then she took Oz's hand and walked out of the house.
Chapter 12 | Chapter 14 
