DISCLAIMER: If you don't recognize it, chances are it's my own
creation. If you do, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kazui Sandollar, FOX and the WB
own it or them. I'm just holding Spike and Riley hostage.
Carolyn's got Xander, May's got
Oz & Giles, Cathryn's got Ethan & Wesley, Melissa has Forrest, Shelly
has
Angel, and Gillian has Doyle.
You may see them by appointment only.
SPOILERS: All of season four.
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By: Ragna
It was April 9, 2000...exactly
one hundred days into the new year when he came back. About two hundred days
since he'd left...
I bet you're wondering why I
know the exact amount of days, don't you? I know he was Willow's boyfriend, and
I know I have Riley...but I missed Oz. I mean, I'd try to play it off like I
thought he was a jerk for leaving Willow, which he was, but the truth is, I
missed him.
After that first semester,
Willow and I drifted apart, class wise. She excelled, and got the hardest
classes she could find. I guess that was her way of getting over and staying
over Oz. And I stayed in more of the art related classes, the painting and
drawing, the music appreciation, the creative writing...
It was in that class that I
found out he came back.
Devon was in the class too. I
guess he felt the need to write some of the Dingoes' songs, now that Oz was
gone. For a pothead, he was pretty damn talented. I don't know if Oz leaving
made him smoke more or less of the stuff, but whatever it was showed that Devon
was more than a pretty face, and we slowly became friends.
On April ninth, Devon was late
for class. I got a bit worried; unorganized as he was, he was never late. Especially
for this class.
"Jess," I asked the
teacher. "Do you know where Devon is?"
Jess nodded. "Actually,
yeah. He needed to talk to you. Is it all right if you stay here for the first
part of class and leave after the break?"
I nodded, puzzled. Devon wanted
to talk to me? I wonder why?
***
The class usually went by
quickly, but it dragged on that day, slowly. Too slowly; I was starting to get
anxious, and it showed in my writing. Jess finally gave in and let me o before the
break. I don't think I've ever grabbed my stuff faster than I did that day.
I knew where Devon would be.
Since we became friends, we'd usually go get something to eat after class was
out, over at the coffee shop just off campus. It was never very crowded in
there, and most of the college kids avoided it unless it was jam-and-cram time.
And he was there, but so was...
"Oz?"
Oz looked at me. He looked...different.
Rested, but almost like his soul had been tortured, and it lay just under the surface
of his skin. His eyes looked sharp, there was still a gleam, but it had dimmed.
He sat with a cup of warm coffee between his hands, his fingers idly tracing intricate
designs on the cup.
"Buffy..."
He set the cup down, stood up
and walked over to me. Devon looked almost on edge as Oz pulled me gently into
a hug. I think Devon expected me to hit him, hurt him, throw him out of the
room with just my pinkie.
Instead, I hugged him back.
"You here to stay now?"
He nodded, quietly saying,
"Yeah." And then he kissed me on the cheek.
He'd never done any of this,
never shown me any type of comfort like that before. He had changed...I pulled
away, smiling. He was going to stay...that was what mattered.
"So..." Devon said, waiting
for us to sit back down. "I got you your usual, Buffy."
"Thanks, but I'm
broke," I said, raising an eyebrow at Devon, who smiled back.
"Dude, I'm covering
it," he said, grinning and shaking his head. He stared at Oz. "Hey,
man...did you enjoy the silence?"
Oz grinned. "How'd I know
you'd win the bet, even after all this time?"
"What bet?" I asked as
my mocachinno arrived.
"Well, I bet that he couldn't
use a phrase from every Depeche Mode song written in normal conversation. That
was the last song he had to use. Man, I owe you a hundred, right?"
Devon shook his head. "Pay
for all this and it's cool."
Oz nodded, turning and looking
at me. His hair was black again, the blue-black I thought was interesting.
"So...Devon's told me a little about what's been going on. What else has
happened? With Willow, I mean. And everyone else."
I swallowed hard. "Willow...did
you know she made me and Spike fall in love with each other? It was
sickening!"
Oz grinned slightly. "A
spell, I take it."
I nodded, taking a sip of my
drink. "There's all sorts of stuff that's been happening. Spike's a semi-friend,
now. Much as I hate to admit that. Xander and Anya hooked up totally, now. I
mean, they live together. Willow..." I trail off for a moment.
"She's seeing this guy,
Graham. He's one of my boyfriend's friends."
Oz nodded, the calm look he'd
always had covering his face. I think he wanted to cry, but I couldn't be sure.
Instead, he asked, "Is she happy?"
"Yeah, I think so," I
said. "To be honest, I really don't know."
"That makes two of us,"
Oz said, cracking a small smile.
"Try three of us," Devon
said, lifting up his glass. "To the people who know nothing." When we
didn't raise our glasses, Devon rolled his eyes. "Come on...it's a
toast."
Sheepishly, Oz and I raised our
glasses. "To the people who know nothing!"
And then I looked at Oz, and he
winked at me. I think we knew just a bit more than nothing. But for now,
nothing was the best thing to know.
FEEDBACK: Sorry I'm not home right now I'm walking in the spider webs so leave a message and I'll call you back... @ SpikeGrrl1@aol.com or fourstarmaryfan@yahoo.com in other words, I want it.
