"Are you guys sure we wanna do this?" Willow looked around for confirmation.

"Hell yeah," Jesse replied emphatically. "I'm not gonna sit inside like a scared little kid...I wanna be able to go out and have fun!"

"Besides," Xander added, "we've never had any problems at the Bronze. Ouch! Damn it!" He glared at Jesse.

Jesse glowered back at him. "Thank you *ever* so much for jinxing it there, Xan! Geez, why don't you just *advertise* for trouble!?"

"I *so* didn't jinx it! Tell him, Willow!"

Willow just sighed. "I'm not getting involved in this...again!" She handed a squirt gun to William, who stared at the object curiously. "Holy water," she explained to him, then passed out similar items to Xander and Jesse.

"Hey Wills, do we wanna know where you got this from?" Jesse snickered at the mental image of Willow sneaking into some church and siphoning out the containers of water.

"Oh, hush," Willow scolded. "Did you guys bring the stakes?"

"Yep." Xander unzipped his backpack and let a pile of the sharp objects clatter onto the table. "See Willow, I told you me and Jesse would learn something useful in that shop class!" He grinned proudly.

"Great. That about does it. Except...William, got your stuff?"

William nodded and produced three lighters, which he passed to Willow. "Da always has extra of these. He says he's quit smoking, but he still has a fag occasionally."

Xander choked. "A-A what?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "A *cigarette*, Xander. That's what they're called in England."

"Oh." Xander chuckled nervously. "I just...um, I thought you meant...never mind." He took one of the lighters, flicking it on experimentally. "So," he said loudly in an attempt to cover his embarrassment, "What good are these little things gonna do?"

William smiled and took out another lighter. With his other hand, he pulled out a travel size bottle of hair spray. He backed up a few steps, flicked the lighter on, and spritzed the tiny flame.

"Woah!" Jesse and Xander jumped back, gaping in awe at the ball of fire that was produced.

"The only problem," William explained clinically, "is that it takes both hands to do." He shrugged. "It's the best I could come up with this quickly, though."

"Works for me." Jesse snatched a lighter and held a hand out for a bottle of hair spray. He stared at the items with just a tad too much excitement on his face.

"Don't go pyro on us here, Jesse," Willow said with a fond grin.

"What???" Jesse gave her an innocent look, then stuffed the lighter and hair spray into his pocket.

Willow sighed. "Boys," she muttered softly as she shook her head.

"Geez Jesse, way to make like the homicidal maniac." Xander punched his shoulder lightly. Then, he ever so nonchalantly grabbed his own lighter and hair spray and tucked them away. He cleared his throat. "So, let's get going!"

~~~~~~~~~~

"See? I told you nothing would happen there. And you guys were worrying!" Xander threw an arm around Jesse's shoulders as they walked down the alley away from the Bronze.

"Willow!" Jesse whined. "He's doing it again! At this rate, we'll be lucky to get home alive!"

"Well, it probably doesn't help that the two of you are advertising our presence to anything that might be out there! Stop making such a racket!" Willow glowered at the rambunctious boys, who pouted at her, but fell silent.

"You have a lot of experience with that, don't you?" William spoke quietly to her as they quickly made their way down the street.

Willow snorted. "They're just a couple of big kids, really." Then she smiled softly. "I love 'em, though. Wouldn't know what to do without them."

William glanced ahead. They'd managed to fall back a little from the other two, so he took a chance and asked her quietly, "You...you *really* like Xander...don't you?"

Smiling sadly, Willow answered, "Is it that obvious." She sighed. "I...I've had the biggest crush on him for *years* now. But...he never notices. I mean, I know he cares about me. It's just, I think he sees me like a sister, you know? And...I don't know how to ever get him to see me as, well, *me*."

"It...it must really hurt. To think about him ever being with...someone else." William stared fixedly at the pavement as they continued walking. Willow was fast becoming one of the closest friends he'd ever had, and no matter how deeply he felt about Xander, he couldn't bear the thought of hurting Willow by being with him. Not that he though he stood much chance anyway, no matter what Jesse had said.

Willow sniffed softly. "Yeah. A little." She shrugged. "Ok, a lot. But...he's my *friend*. And, no matter what, I just want him to be happy. Even if it i-isn't with m-me." She wiped at her eyes, then continued brightly, "I just hope that whoever he ends up with can love him like he deserves."

"Yeah," William agreed under his breath.

A high-pitched shriek wrenched their attention back to their companions. They immediately reached for their weapons when they saw Jesse sprawled out on the pavement. Over him was a man -- vampire? -- who had his arm around Xander's throat, and was glaring at them with yellow, glowing eyes.

*****