"Never gonna be famous at this rate." Devon grumbled, wandering out onto his front porch. New neighbors were moving in and Devon wanted to see if the house had any new girls, or new lead guitarists, or better yet, a girl who played lead guitar. He draped himself on the railing in an attempt to look casual.

Dialing Mike's number, Devon watched movers drag a pretty fancy sofa in sideways. The phone rang for a while, then finally after the third ring Mike picked up. "Mike. Devon."

"Devon it's noon. You know I sleep till four on gig nights."

"Yeah. Okay, yeah, I get that. But that's just it. There's no gig tonight." A bed followed the sofa. Then several lamps disappeared into the house.

"Damn. Let me guess. Oz canceled on us." Mike was disgusted. "That guys turnin' into a real flake, Dev. I mean every time there's a full moon he turns invisible."

Devon smiled at the movers. They glared at him. Grunting and sweating a second sofa was hefted inside. "Mike that flake is our band. That flake writes all our songs. He's also my best friend. Sure he's weird. Artists are supposed to be eccentric. Think what he'll do for our image when we make it big."

Devon could almost hear Mike roll his eyes. "Right. But how we ever going to make it big if Oz never shows on a full moon?"

Devon grinned wickedly at the receiver. "Tell everyone he's a werewolf. Damn, Mike! Goth chicks eat that crap up. I gotta bail. I'm trying to get a look at my neighbors. Strictly musical you understand. Dingoes need groupies."

"Take a shower if it's that bad." Mike intoned. The phone hung up.

Devon glared at the dial tone.

One of those new beetles pulled into the drive. Devon tried to look relaxed, even as the rail dug into his backside. Long legs swung out of the open door. Devon leaned forward as the hottest blond he had ever witnessed stepped out into the sunshine. Devon was blinded by her.

Red dress, red pumps, red heels and dark sunglasses dimmed her beauty. Devon found he was staring. Funny thing was, he didn't care. A woman that beautiful deserved to be stared at, no demanded staring. She spotted him. Devon's heart nearly stopped. A smile brighter than the sun burned him. Then she did the unthinkable. She waved.

"Oh, I'm in love."

Devon fell off the railing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oz made an appearance the next afternoon. Devon attempted to be aloof. Talking to Jimmy, the drummer, and playing with his mike, Devon did a pretty good impression of an aloof guy but he was burning up. He desperately needed to tell Oz about his new neighbor. And that little bastard knew it. Devon could tell. His green eyes were decidedly cheerful. Devon fought the impulse for a moment longer. Oz just sat down and waited.

"I've met her, Oz." Devon's eyes widened for emphasis. He even drawled out the last sylable to ensure that everyone was watching him.

Oz grinned, then he asked solemnly. "The one?"

Jimmy smirked. Mike tumbled into a chair. This was a Devon moment, not to be interrupted. It was only to be seen and remembered for posterity. In other words, Devon had found his girl of the hour. Oz knew his part well. He sat calmly waiting for Devon to expound on the virtues of this lovely lady.

"Yeah. This time it's really her. Those other girls, they were nothing. This girl, no, this woman is the one." Everyone had amused looks. Deevon glared at them.

"She's a blond isn't she?" Jimmy inquired.

Devon's eyes glazed over. "She isn't a blond. She's the blond. The blond that makes all other blonds look like bad dye jobs. Her beauty nearly burned out my eyes. I could be blind here."

Oz nodded, still very solemn. "I think we should dedicate today's practice to Devon's dream girl."

Everyone cheered. That was the signal. The Devon moment broke up and everyone grabbed an instrument. Devon slid behind his michrophone. Chords rang out. Devon's garage was filled with loud music.

Two hours into it, Oz's girlfriend showed up. Devon hadn't noticed her at first. The redhead had just slipped into the garage and sat down. Then she flipped her wrist up to look at her watch. Devon caught the flurry of movement and wanted to growl at her. Oz also caught the movement. Devon watched him nod at the girl. She smiled, looking slightly worried.

Devon held the last note forever. It trailed out painfully then his air was gone. Relaxing against the michrophone, he waited. Only a few seconds to go now. Oz was putting down his guitar. Ten, nine, eight . . . Oz turned to face the band. Four, three, two . .

"I have to go."

One.

Mike turned off his base. Jimmy just laid his sticks down. They all watched Devon. Devon attempted to smile at the redhead, what was her name? Willow. Oz moved in front of her, just slightly. Then Devon did smile.

"Pack it up guys. We're done." Devon walked up the stairs into his house.

Jimmy and Mike followed him up the stairs. Devon tossed each a soda. He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his face. They all collapsed in the living room. Mike gave him a look.

"Don't start."

Mike glared. "Start? Dev, you saw what I saw. Oz is whipped."

"No he isn't." Devon replied, downing half his soda.

"He followed her out pretty quickly." Jimmy carefully sipped his soda.

Devon sat perfectly still for a moment. Then he lowered his voice. "Get out."

"C'mon Dev, even with out Oz, we can get some more practice in." Mike glared at the tall singer.

"Go home, Mike. I'll talk to Oz tomorrow."

Mike rolled his eyes. Jimmy just stood and followed him out. Devon watched them go. Oz was his friend. He wasn't going to let the guys talk about him like that. Maybe he'd just have a chat with Willow. Later. Now, he wanted to write a love song or something.

A soft knock interrupted his thoughts. Devon stood slowly. The knock sounded again. Devon sprinted to the door. Opening it, he was about to tell whoever it was where to go and that's when he saw her.

"Hi."

"Hi." Devon echoed. The woman was more beautiful than he remembered. "Come on in."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Devon opened a second can of soda. He couldn't believe it. His blond goddess was sitting in his living room on his crappy old sofa, looking unbelievable. Everything seemed to lead your eyes back to her. It was almost like she sucked up all the light. Devon was content to sit and bask in her beauty for awhile, but he was her host. He was her host because she had come over here to his house.

"I heard the music. It's good." Her voice was rich, almost like a G chord.And she was complimenting the band, which showed her knowledge of fine music.

"We do okay." Devon replied. He had to play it cool. It wasn't everyday a beautiful woman justs drops by to say hello.

She turned her full gaze on him. The shock of those startling blue eyes threatened to stop his heart. Her face was smooth, with almost no lines on it. It was as if she were made of porclean, well tanned porclean. Devon felt as if she were studying him too. Then she smiled again. Devon frowned. There was something dark in her smile. A second later it was gone. She was blindingly beatiful again.

"I'm Amanda Wheaton, by the way." Then she leaned in and her hand brushed Devon's chest. "I'm terribly rude, gabbing away here without even introducing myself! Forgive me?"

"Anything." Devon breathed. It was suddenly very warm in the living room. Then remembering his own manners, Devon tapped his chest. "Devon. I'm Devon." It disturbed him that he suddenly couldn't remember his own last name.

"Devon. It's a wonderful name for a singer. As I mentioned earlier, you're very good." Amanda moved to the edge of the sofa, her light blue blouse inches from Devon's fingers. It was made of a soft shiny material and almost begged you to touch it. "Do you think me too forward?"

"No." Her skirt slid up a notch as she moved even closer to him. Devon tried desperately not to notice. "Shy women are overrated."

That seemed to please her. Amanda sat back. Devon felt physical pain for every inch that seperated them. He wasn't used to falling this hard this fast for a girl, any girl. Then Amanda patted the sofa next to her. Devon was next to her before she had finished the gesture.

"Do you like me, Devon?"

What kind of question was that? "Yeah. I like you. You're beautiful."

"And I'd like to keep it that way." Amanda grinned.

Devon smiled back although he wasn't sure he knew what she was talking about. Then her arms slid around him. Shocked, Devon resisted the urge to jump. Instead, he smoothly encircled her waist with his own hands. His mind noted two things before shutting down in a wash of teen hormonal overload. One was that her shirt felt better than it looked and the other was that Amanda's lips felt even better than the fabric.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The alarm clock pounded into his brain. The noise was driving him crazy. He had to stop the noise. Devon's fist slammed into the clock and it crashed to the floor. Devon growled. The noise hadn't stopped.

Devon sat up. The pounding was coming from his bedroom door. Devon stood shakily. The world swam around for several seconds before he gained his balance. Throwing wide his bedroom door, Devon growled, "I'll kill you . ."

Oz stood leaning on the door frame. A big grin was plastered on his stupid face. There was a flash of red hair behind him. Devon flushed red and slammed the door closed. He had been standing there in his briefs. He had been standing there practically naked and Oz's girlfriend had seen him. Oz was dead. Outside the door, Devon could hear the girl's embarassment. "Me-I go downstairs. To wait that is . . down. Bye." She stammered. Devon collapsed on the bed. The door opened.

"Why are you here?" Devon asked the ceiling, knowing Oz was wearing that stupid grin of his.

"Practice today." Oz replied, slightly puzzled. "I'm late?"

Devon glared at him. "Is there a point to your having an answering machine? I left a message canceling practice."

Oz frowned. "You never cancel band practice."

"And you never used to vanish on gig nights, Oz. Things change." Irritably, Devon whipped a fresh shirt out of the closet. Thrusting his arms purposefully into the holes, Devon glared at his friend. "Do you know I was supposed to have a talk with you today? Yeah, about band responsibilities and how you seem to be flaking out on us a lot. They think your girl friend has you by the balls. So we're supposed to talk about it."

Wearing a neutral expression, Oz tilted his head. "Are we?"

Devon frowned as he dragged on a pair of black jeans. "Going to talk about it?"

Oz nodded, still wearing a carefully guarded expression. Devon sighed. His friend resembled this old dog his cousin had. That ball of fur was always waiting for a blow. And no one had ever touched him in his life. But somehow that dog knew that eventually someone was going to come along and kick him. It was a weird expression to see on a person.

"No."

Oz relaxed. That easy smile of his returned. Now that Devon was properly dressed, he felt a lot better. "You're my lead guitar, Oz. Not to mention my best friend. Kill twenty people in a shopping mall and I'm still going to like you."

"Would you send me love letters in prison?"

"No." Devon rolled his eyes.

"That sounded a lot like a certain talk we're not going to have. I worry when you ramble on about nothing, Dev."

"Come on, let's go down and get your girlfriend a soda." Devon felt himself sway a bit as he went down the stairs. He felt so weak. Maybe he was coming down with the flu? Oz was standing carefully behind him. Devon knew Oz had noticed the swaying. Hopefully he could make it to the sofa without shuddering. Oz exchanged a worried glance with his girlfriend. Devon wanted to glare at them. He didn't have the energy, so he fell into his usual chair. The red head, Willow, was scrutinizing him. When he directed a glance her way, she blushed furiously. Devon flashed her his devilish grin. Oz glared at him.

Devon felt a desire to torture the girl a bit. After all, she had seen him in his underwear. So as nonchalantly as possible, Devon leaned forward and asked, "So, where were you all night that you didn't get my message?"

The look the girl gave Oz, surprised him. It wasn't the embaressed flush of a girl who'd spent all night making out with her boyfriend. Oz kept his face neutral. Neither spoke. Devon frowned. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. The silence stretched out awkwardly for a second. The door bell rang.

Devon jumped up to answer it. He left the couple nervously looking at one another. The door opened.

"Whoever you are, I'm going to kiss you!" Devon exclaimed.

Amanda stood stock still. "Oh, really?" She drawled.

Devon grinned. She stepped inside and wrapped her arms around him. Suddenly Devon felt weaker. It was as if thinking about her had been the only thing holding him upright. Now that she was here he could just let her hold him up. Her lips met his in a quick kiss. Devon almost passed out.

She nearly dropped him when she heard the voices. Amanda broke off the kiss. "Oh, I'm sorry. You have company. I'll come back later. When we can be together, alone."

She released him. Blowing him a kiss, Amanda ran back to her house. Waving from the front porch, She grinned and disappeared. It was a signal to Devon's exhausted body. He crumpled to the ground. He was vaguely aware of the loud thunk as he hit the hardwood floor.

Swirling in and out of conciousness. Devon heard a garbled conversation. "I don't know. A blond woman, she's his new neighbor or something. . . only new person around." Oz sounded upset. Devon tried to focus.

" . . . Giles. You have to go." Willow leaned over him and placed a cool hand against his forehead. Oz blurred into two very worried looking guitarists. Devon tried to reassure him, but no sounds escaped him. Both Ozes turned to the crowd of Willows swirling in and out of focus above him. "I can't just leave him here."

The Willows glanced at their watches. Then they stared down at him. Very deliberately they spoke, "You have to go. I'll stay here with him. But you have a very important some place to be. Go."

Oz converged into one figure. Defeat in every movement, Oz stood up. "You gonna be okay?"

The Willows nodded sagely. "We're good here. I'm a big girl. I know how to dial 911. And I can do stuff."

Then Oz was gone. And he was alone. With Willow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Willow blurred in and out above him. Her voice sounded so far away. "Devon. Can you hear me?"

Devon nodded. His muscles protested. Laying flat seemed to be the most wonderful sensation in the world. Maybe he just needed some sleep and what did they give you when you had the flu? Soup. Yeah, he wanted chicken soup. And those little crackers.

"Are you on something?" The portable phone appeared in her hand.

On something? "Flu?"

Willow frowned. "You don't have a fever. You are pale." Her voice was thoughtful. Switching tracks, Willow asked, "Was that your girlfriend?"

She started dragging him back into the living room. Devon grunted a bit, but he couldn't stand up or even help by inching himself along. Then she laid him down in the center of the room. Devon frowned.

"Wouldn't I be better off on the sofa?" Distracted, Willow mumbled. "I don't think so."

Devon watched her glance around the room. Then she disappeared into the kitchen. Hopefully she was making soup. Because that's what he needed. Maybe she could bring him back a soda. Crackers would be good with some hot cocoa and little marshmallows . . .

Willow came back in with something in her hand. It was a salt shaker. Devon frowned. He hoped she wasn't going to salt him. A soft knock sounded. Willow turned. Panic flashed across her face. She opened the salt shaker. A second knock followed the first. Willow sprinkled salt around Devon in a circle.

The knock turned into pounding. Devon could hear Amanda outside. She was calling his name. Devon pulled himself up on to his elbows. "Amanda?"

Willow was pretty nervous. The expression she wore was intense. Pacing, she muttered. "Where's Buffy when you need her?"

Wood screamed in pain and the door shattered to the ground. Willow yelped. Amanda burst into the room, her blue eyes smoldering. Willow skittered back towards Devon. Amanda grabbed the red head and tossed her into the far wall. She slid into a corner, a small whimper escaping her.

Devon crawled onto his knees. Amanda turned a beautific smile Devon's way. Her hand reached for him. "Devon, honey."

Willow's soft cries were muffled by the furniture. It was as if she were having trouble breathing. Devon wanted to see if she was all right. Oz would kill him. Amanda called his name again. Longing poured from her beautiful lips. Something in him burned to answer her, but Willow in the corner . . .

"Come here Devon." Amanda got down on her knees. She was only a few short steps away.

Her eyes dazzled his senses, so brilliant. The world sat in those ice blue orbs. Devon slid forward. Salt touched his fingers. Confused, he remembered Willow pouring the little trail around him. Why?

Willow staggered to her feet. "Don't." She cautioned, leaning against the sofa. Little flecks of blood touched her lips, oddly matching the darker spots in her red hair. Strength shone beneath her fragile stance.

Devon was frozen. Amanda leaned amazingly close to him. He could feel her breath, warm on his face. All she had to do was slide forward, slide into the circle and he could be in her arms. Desperately, he wanted to fall into her arms. Amanda's arms still reached for him. She was torturing him. He needed her to touch him.

"Come to me, Devon. I think the girl is hurt, not thinking clearly. Drive us to the hospital. Then she can be healed and we can be together." So soft and persuasive . . . There was something he needed to remember. Had he known it,seconds earlier? Devon felt disconnected like someone had removed a part of his brain. Across the room, Willow was inching forward. Her hands were arced and her lips were moving. A flash of her being tossed across the room lashed the backs of his eyes.

"You hurt Willow." It felt both wonderful and terrible to say those three words. Something of reason came back to him. A little strength returned too. Devon sat up. Slowly, he climbed to his feet.

Anger flared in her eyes. "Step out of the circle, Devon.

One foot moved forward out of the circle. Startled, Devon pulled it back. It was too late. Amanda grabbed the foot. Neatly flipping Devon on to his back, Amanda began dragging him out of the salt circle. Pain shot up through his back.

Willow tossed a ball of light at Amanda's feet. Shrieking, Amanda raked Willow's face with perfectly manicured claws. Devon got back into the circle. He needed to help Willow. Willow glared at him. "Stay in the circle."

Another ball of light exploded out of the red head's hands. This one hit Amanda square in the face. Screaming, Amanda fought to cover her face. Between the fingers, Devon spotted demonic yellow eyes and skin like dried out leather.

"What the hell are you?" Exploded out of Devon's mouth.

Willow looked panicked. She ran for the circle. Amanda snatched her out of the air. Hefting Willow like an errant kitten, she hissed. Her hideous face was inches from Willow's. A rough shake forced a moan out of Oz's girlfriend.

"I'm an equal opportunity killer. I'll drain you first than you won't be able to protect Devon."

Willow's hands started describing shapes in the air. Another rough shake stopped that. Amanda yanked on Willow's shoulder length hair. Devon winced in sympathy. Green eyes met his and he could almost hear Willow's thoughts. "You're safe in the circle."

Amanda growled. Light burst from her eyes and surrounded Willow. "I usually like to have a little more fun with my victims first. You, however will get no pleasure from me."

The light flashed all over Willow's body. The red head bit down on a scream. But light burned into her mouth and she screamed. Devon launched himself at Amanda. All three of them tumbled to the hardwood floors. Willow rolled free. More blood was dripping from her mouth.

Than Amanda crowed triumphantly. Devon realized leaving the circle might have been a really stupid idea. Her hands latched on to either side of his face. Her lips scracked into a rigor mortis smile. "I'm going to love you to death."

Pressing her rotten lips against his mouth, ellicited an un manly shriek out of Devon. Scrambling, he tried to break her grip. Lethargy gripped every one of his limbs. Weak and nearly helpless, Devon could only watch as Willow climbed to her feet.

Something rocked both of them. Amanda crashed painfully into Devon. A sharp pain in his chest forced his eyes downward. Gore soaked a chunk of sharpened wood sticking out through Amanda's chest. It had scraped him pretty good. His eyes met Willow's. She must have rammed that thing straight through Amanda's heart. Her green eyes were cold for a second, then warmed as Amanda tipped backward. She shattered into a thousand shards of glass. The carpet glittered with her remains. The stake settled to the carpet. Devon followed it. Willow sat heavily on the sofa. She glanced down at the chunk of wood. "Never leave home with out it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day found both Willow and Devon curled up on opposite ends of the sofa. Exhausted, Devon had let Willow practically toss him on to the sofa before she collapsed too. They had both fallen fast asleep.

Devon glanced over at Willow. She was so not what she seemed. Devon had thought she was just a plain little thing his friend had pity on, but she wasn't. Her red hair actually hinted at her fiery personality and strength. And Devon had seen first hand what she could do. Her eyes opened and even in a sleep filled daze, they burned with intelligence.

Sighing, Devon leaned back. He wasn't sure if any of that had really happened last night. It all seemed too crazy. Most people didn't have glowing eyes and shatter when staked. It was too much for a lead singer to take in, all in one morning. Plus he was still exhausted. It was better just to forget about it. Although that was hard to do with his new found respect for Oz's girlfriend. She was far from the girl next door. He just hoped Oz wouldn't kill him when he found them asleep on the couch together.