DISCLAIMER: Joss, high priest of coolness, please take no offense that I have borrowed your wonderful characters. I don't own them, I don't presume to own them, don't sue or kill me, wonderful people at WB!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part One
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Willow's House)
Willow Rosenburg stared at the page of calculus homework, the theorems dancing through her mind in a calming, peaceful way. Few people liked school work, but she found it extremely relaxing. And after the week she'd had, she needed it desperately. Angelus had tried to kill Buffy, Giles was still really freaked out about Ms. Calendar's death. Everyone was under a lot of strain. "RRIINNG!" Willow picked up the phone, hearing Buffy's insistent voice over the line.
"So, we Bronzin' it tonight? Xander's bringing Cordelia, You can bring Oz, and I'll just sit in the corner and mope because I'm currently a social leper."
"Buffy, don't be so hard on yourself. You'll meet another guy."
"The only time I've met anyone in the past month is in a graveyard, and the conversation's usually pretty short, if you know what I mean. So, what time can we expect you?"
"I'm not coming. I've got Calculus homework to do."
"You'd miss a chance to be with Oz? That's a switch."
Willow blushed crimson. "He can't go either."
"Why? His band can't have a gig. There's no place to play other than the Bronze."
"No, it's not that. It's—"
"What?"
"H-his time of the month." Willow chewed her bottom lip as Buffy laughed.
"It's actually not, there isn't another full moon for two weeks, but tonight's supposed to be the equinox, and since Giles couldn't find anything in his books about it, Oz thought it would be better to be on the safe side, and, you know, stay in."
Willow could imagine Buffy sitting on her bed on the other end, chuckling to herself and thinking how pathetic she was to be dating someone like Oz. Willow didn't want to admit it, but she envied Buffy. After all, Buffy was the experienced one, whereas Oz seemed to lose interest past a few kisses. Maybe losing interest wasn't the right phrase. It was more like he was holding back.
She snapped back to attention. Buffy was talking again. "…Sure you don't want to go? We can drink cappuccino and be lonely together." Willow was about to decline, when Buffy went on. "Please? I need someone to be around for awhile."
Willow sighed, ever so softly, and answered. "All right, Buffy. I'll meet you there at seven?"
"It's a date! Now I've got to go find an outfit! Bye!" She hung up.
Willow's slipped the cradle into the receiver, and leaned back against her bed. It's hard to be best friends with Ms. Emotional Rollercoaster, otherwise known as the Vampire Slayer.
* * *
(Oz's House)
Oz bolted the door, slipping the key underneath it. When he was coherent again, he could pull it back through. In wolf form, his claws were too big to reach it. His father wondered if it was a necessary precaution. He'd heard of the family ailment, and while he didn't have it himself, he also knew that Oz had never before managed to get the shackles off and make it all the way to the door.
Still, Oz liked to be safe. After he heard he almost killed Willow, he spent all morning in a fog, trying to decide whether to cut school and move to Canada. He'd heard it was nice. Lots of trees. Open space. Fastening the shackles first around his feet, then his wrists, he thought about what if he and Willow got married and moved there. Subconsciously, he tried not to think about changing. It was easier when you weren't tense. Maybe they would have kids. Two, or three. Not that one wouldn't be great, but he'd been an only child, and he'd always been envious of his cousins, who came from a family of twelve kids. Yes, twelve. They lived in the mountains. These weren't the cousins that included Jordie, his family was in Northern LA He tried to reach them all week, to see what they knew about the equinox, but they seemed to be out at a family reunion. Oz puzzled over this, wondering why a family reunion hadn't included his family, and then he'd dismissed it as being the family on his aunt's side. Reclining back against the wall of the bare bonus room, he shivered, and drifted off to sleep. If he changed, hopefully, he wouldn't remember it.
* * *
(The Bronze)
Willow stirred her cappuccino idly with a cinnamon stick. Briefly, she glanced out to the dance floor, Xander and Cordelia writhing around in a dance that was just a step above the Lambada. Buffy, at Willow's own urging, was now out dancing with some guy named Todd. The music was giving her a headache, and she sipped the cappuccino with care. She shouldn't have bothered to come.
* * *
(Oz's House)
Oz jerked awake, trying to catch his breath. He'd had the weirdest dream. Probably because he'd spent the night as a werewolf trying to struggle out of clothes and shackles. But wait. Something was wrong. It hit him, as he unlocked the shackles. There was no sign of any trouble. No weird-looking saliva (ick, but hey, you've gotta take the bad with the good), no tears in his shirt, and he was in about the same position as he was before he fell asleep. Checking his watch, he chuckled to himself. It was only nine thirty at night. He hadn't changed a bit.
That settled the Equinox question, he thought. He wondered where Willow was, and then remembered she said something about turning in early. Sliding the key back from under the door, Oz let himself out into the office/library, mostly his because his father was a busy executive, and his mother was on a lecture tour on women's rights and empowerment. It always sounded to Oz like she was just a less commercialized self-help guru. Either way, they both were never around, and they bought him incredible presents to make up for it. Such as his guitar and amp. Sauntering into the bathroom, he looked into the mirror, checking his hair. The outfit didn't matter, but the hair always had to be good before he did anything. Slipping in an earring, he decided he'd head to the Bronze and see if Devon was there. Though he didn't think much of his best friend, he enjoyed the clear fact that they had nothing in common except for the band, and that, the more you thought about it, they were perfect foils for each other.
Rifling through a pile of semi-clean clothes, Oz found his car keys, before remembering that his van was in the shop. Tossing them aside, he decided to just walk. Which was probably a good idea, he thought… He had an odd, restless feeling he needed to work off.
* * *
(The Bronze)
Willow lifted her head off of the table. Her cappuccino was cold, and the Bronze was silent and very dark. Looking around, she ventured a word. "…Buffy…?" The walls echoed the name back to her, and suddenly, the double doors across the Bronze opened.
Angelus stood in the doorway, a stale wind flapping the tails of his trench coat. His eyes were cold steel, and he spotted Willow immediately. Baring his fangs, he stalked her, making his way to the booth with lightning speed. She tried to move, but her feet seemed glued to the table. In an instant, he was on top of her, jerking her head to the side, her v-necked shirt giving him easy access to her throat. Willow felt his fangs slide across her flesh, searching for a vein, she surmised. But the bite she expected didn't come. His fangs danced over her neck, his lips kissing her gently. "Willow…" He whispered, his lips meeting hers.
"Willow?"
Willow looked up, seeing only Angelus for a moment, then her gaze shifted.
"WILLOW?!!!" Buffy stood above her, growling, crossbow trained on Willow's throat. Standing next to her was a huge frog.
Willow saw her reach for the trigger, and shouted. "Buffy!"
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
