Separated: Who knows what could happen?
by AmyNY
Why don’t you go your way and I’ll go mine
Live your life and I’ll leave mine
Baby, you do well and I’ll be fine
Cause we’re better of separated…
Separated – Usher

Chapter 1: Who knows what could happen?

“Life is a series of surprises, and would not be worth taking or keeping if it were not.”

WILLOW’S HOUSE, L.A., CALIFORNIA

Willow parked her little jeep in the garage and went to the trunk to get the groceries out. The day was pretty blurry and she was a bit annoyed because she had to go to shopping today. But what can you do, people need to eat. So, she picked up the bags and put them in one hand while she was closing the trunk with the other. She coursed herself for forgetting to bring the umbrella because now she had to go to the house on the rain and she knew that the groceries will get wet.
But now there was nothing she could do so she closed the garage door and started walking towards the house as fast as she could with hands full of bags, but then she suddenly stopped, few feet before the house seeing that someone was sitting at her front porch.
No, it could not be. The person who was standing there…it just couldn’t be him, Oz. She looked as hard as she could, while the rain fell on her face, not wanting to believe he was really there. But she knew deep down that it’s not her imaginations playing tricks on her. It was really him there.
He looked a little older, with a few wrinkles around the eyes, but except that he was the same old Oz. His deep blue eyes looked even more beautiful. His hair was a bit messy but that it matched up to his personality perfectly. Only thing that was different was his clothes. He was wearing some washed out jeans and white T-shirt with a black coat over it.
The bags with groceries just slipped from her hands and she didn’t even blink. She just stood there, on the rain looking at him not believing that what she was seeing was true. It was like she was at the High school all over again and he was waiting for her there, on the porch like he did so many times before. But no, the time HAS passed, years actually, and although he still had that same smile that could make everything right she knew that it wasn’t. Time did pass; he did leave her years ago, for a good reason but yet… And although she tried to forget all about it, seeing him there again, it was…strange.
Oz looked at her and then got up from her front steps and started walking toward her slowly with expressionless look on his face. She still didn’t move although her clothes were almost all wet. He came pretty close to her, only centimeters between them and she could feel his breath. And when he looked at her eyes she finally managed to snap back to reality.
She looked at his eyes and finally spoke, so quiet that he barely understood her, “Oz”
Although there were a lot of things standing between them and although they were not a couple as they used to were, they were not even friends, but she didn’t care. She came even closer to him and gave him a hug while the tears started fallin’ down her face. She hadn’t seen him for so long and that was the least she could do.
He whispered into her ear, “I told you I’ll be back.”
At that comment she just couldn’t resist but to smile. It was so amazing that although they were apart for so long and there was that unpleasant “not knowing how to behave” thing there he still found a way to make her smile.
She finally broke their hug on the rain and looked around realizing that all of the bags were spread all over the road. And that pretty much all the groceries were wet. Few years ago if Oz appeared on her front door she would probably slam them right in his nose but not now. Now, she was older and she understood things better. She knew that people make mistakes, hell, she made it more than once, and that she needed to give him a chance, not just for him but for herself.
So, she said simply, “You wanna come in, change that wet clothes and maybe get a coup of nice, hot coffee?”
He smiled at her, “How can I refuse such a generous offer?”
She picked up what was left of her groceries and went to the house together with Oz. She entered the hallway and put her coat on the little chair that was placed there.
She pointed with her hand to the left, “Ok, there is the living room. So, make you self at home while I go make us coffee, alright?”
She walked up to the kitchen with bags in her hands.
Oz started walking to the living room, and than turned around, “Hey, Will?”
She stopped ant turned, too, “What?”
“Thanks. For all.”
“Hey, that’s what friends are for. Plus, you and I have a lot of talking to do.”
“Yeah, I know.” He said and started walking to the living room.
Oz went to the room that Willow instructed him to. He walked inside and sat on the small white sofa that was placed near the fire place. He was pretty amazed by the room. It was small, but so comfy. It was so…Willow. There was a cabinet with a lot of books placed on the left. And on a few shelves were pictures. He got up and walked to see what it was. It was a photo of the gang, together with Willow. They all looked happy but it was obvious that the photos were at least a few years old.
On one shelve he found something pretty familiar: Sunnydale yearbook, Class 99’. On the front cover was written “The future is ours”. He almost forgot how carefree and simple their High school days were. Hanging out with the Scoobies, investigating about demons and monsters, patrolling...
He opened the yearbook on the first page. He read a couple of lines. “Will, you’re the best. Thanks for being there for me and for being such a good friend. See you at collage; you sure will have to tutor me again, right? Luv ya, Buffy."
“I’ve known you since kindergarten. We went together to elementary and high school and if it wasn’t for you I don’t know how I would pass all these exams. Really. You were the only person who put up with me through all these years and you were always there to get me out of trouble. You are the best! Xander.”
“Look, Will, I didn’t really know you that well, but I just wanna say sorry for all that times I put you down. I realized that you are not that bad and that with my little help with the clothes and all you could be pretty cool. Cordy.”
Suddenly, Willow came into the room carrying two cups of coffee. She saw him standing there and she put the cups on the table. “Hey, coffee’s ready. Whatch ya doin’ there?”
He looked up, taking his look from book, to her “Just going through some old memories, nothing special.”
Oz closed the yearbook and placed it back on the shelve. Then he went to the sofa and sat there, next to Willow. He took his cup from the table and drank a little bit. The rain was still fallin’ outside.
“So…” she started the conversation to quit all that tension between them.
He put a cup on the table and sat back on the couch, “Yeah?”
“How come you came here now? Why?” she asked, eager to here the answer that was complete mystery to her.
“It’s kind of a long story.”
“I have plenty of time.”
He knew that she was very stubborn and that she wouldn’t let him get away without the answer, “Ok, well after I left Sunnydale I wondered around for a while until I met this professor that works on the University of New York and he helped me understand al this wolf thing and all. And two years ago he finally managed to find a way for me to get rid of it so now I’m just an ordinary guy. And last year I decided to come and visit you cause I really missed you but I found out that Sunnydale is now just a huge hole so I got to the dead end there. But few months ago I bumped into Xander and so he gave me the address.”
“But why, after all this time you…” she said, her voice trembling at the end.
“I don’t know Will. All I knew was that I need to see you, that’s all. I mean, I do realize that things have changed and that we have changed. I don’t expect anything from you. All I wanted to do was talk. Because the way I left…I couldn’t let things stay like that between us.”
“I agree and maybe we can be friends but anything else…” she looked at his eyes, seeing how disappointment he was after she said that.
“I understand that.” he said, knowing that nothing else could be said at this moment.
“Because things have changed. A lot. First of all, I’m kind of gay now and…”
Oz almost got up when he heard that, “What? I think I didn’t hear you quite well and…”
“I’m afraid you did. And it’s true. I had a relationship for almost two years but she died and well...”
“I just can’t believe it.”
She looked down at the floor looking for Good knows what, “It was a shock to me but now I manage. And I don’t know that for sure cause when I’m around you…I don’t know it’s different. You were the first guy I ever dated so it’s maybe cause of that.”
“So you’re saying that nothing is possible between us.”
“That’s the point. When it comes to you, I’m not sure. And you bumping in here after all this time, saying that you still think that we…I don’t know. I need time to think about it.”
“I’m ok with that. “
“We’ll see about that yet.” she said.
“I understand that if you have changed, that we can’t be and all but I want you to know that I love you and if nothing else I want us to be at least friends, ok?”, trying to convince not her, but also himself that that was enough for him.
“I want that, too.”
“What else’s new in your life?” he asked, curiously.
“Well, I work as a teacher in local High school and I bought this house after Sunnydale went down and all. Everything is pretty much good.”
“What about the gang? What are they doing?”
Willow looked at him, surprised at his question a little, “Gang?”
“Yeah, you know the Scoobies?” he answered.
“Frankly, I don’t know. I haven’t seen them in ages. “
He was pretty surprised by her answer, “That’s a little weird. I thought that you guys will stay together forever. You were always hanging and stuff.”
“We kind of fell apart since Buffy and Downie moved at her dad’s place and Xander went to New York. He stayed with his mom and soon started to work for some construction company. Of course, Giles returned to London to work with the young slayerettes with the help of the council and the rest of the gang is in L.A but I’m not sure where exactly.” she took her cup and drank a little coffee. Her throat was totally dry of all the explaining.
Oz still couldn’t process all that information, “I know that people often go to different paths. I mean you and I definitely have but you guys…I wouldn’t believe if you didn’t tell me yourself.”
“We’ll it happened.”
“I should probably go now. It’s pretty late. Anyway, I’m staying at Palace hotel so if you want we can go out for a coffee sometime, you know to talk. I don’t know anyone here, so…”
“Absolutely, I’ll call you.”


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