A
Angelic
Guest
Authors note: "Obsessed With You" continued
Willow's Bedroom
"Willow. Honey, get up." Willow opened her eyes slowly and saw her mother standing over her bed.
"Hmm... Oh, right." She stretched her arms over head and let out a yawn. "What time is it?"
"It's 7:05. You're usually in the shower by now, but since I didn't hear the water running, I thought..." Mrs. Rosenberg's voice trailed off.
"Oh, I was so tired last night that I forgot to turn on the alarm clock." 'Not to mention that I had a fabulous dream about Xander,' she silently added. Willow smiled brightly at her mom as she got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
* * *
Ding-dong! Mrs. Rosenberg gave her daughter a questioning glance. "Who would be here so early in the morning?"
"I don't know, Mom," Willow returned her mother's glance. As the older woman headed for front door, the hacker turned her attention back to the plate of food in front of her.
"Good morning, Mrs. Rosenberg. Don't you look absolutely lovely today. Is that bacon and eggs I smell?" came a familiar voice.
"Xander?" Willow dropped her fork on her plate. She looked up in time to see Xander enter the kitchen with a smile on his face. His smile got bigger when he saw the plate of food in front of him.
"And how's my favorite redhead?" he asked as he sat down at the table.
"I, I'm fine. Just a little surprised to see you here, and this early. How's your head feeling?" She looked him over from head to toe. 'At least he looks well. There doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary with him,' she observed.
"Much better, thanks. Can I have some breakfast too, Mrs. R?" He turned to her mother and gave her a goofy smile.
"Of course you can. You know you're always welcome here and you're a part of our family." She smiled, shook her head and left the room. "Kids," she sighed.
"So, why exactly are you here?" Willow asked.
"Mmrurghrruphghmm" came his reply. He had bacon and eggs in his mouth.
"Xander, why don't you wait until you swallow that before you give me an answer."
Gulp. "I said that I wanted to walk with you to school, if you don't mind." He grabbed the glass of milk on the table. Two seconds later an empty glass replaced the full one.
"Of course I don't mind," Willow blushed. Her mind was rapidly thinking, 'Is it working or is he just being his goofy self?' "Is there anything else?"
"Actually, there is." She looked up in surprise as he quickly continued his sentence. "But I want to wait until were outside to tell you."
Willow grabbed her backpack with one hand and grabbed his arm with the other. She led him to the front door and yelled, "Bye, Mom!" The door slammed shut and Willow winced as it went SLAM!
Xander turned around when he heard the noise and saw Willow wincing. "Whoa, you should be a little more careful. The door may have feelings, you know."
She smiled at his joke and started to walk towards school. Xander was a few steps behind her when he suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Willow. We need to talk." His voice was serious now. She stopped and stared at him.
"What? Is something wrong?" Her heart was pounding a mile a minute. 'Is my wish _finally_ coming true?'
"No, nothing seriously wrong." Xander paused, trying to decide what to say next. "Uh... you know how I feel about Buffy? Well, something's changed."
"What?" she asked softly. 'This is it. It has to be.'
"I was thinking about everything last night and I finally realized something. I, uh... " He took a deep breath and thought told himself mentally, "C'mon Xander, tell her." The words came out in a rush. "It's not Buffy that I'm in love with. It's you." 'There, he said it.' Xander looked at Willow and saw she was frozen. Shock was all over her face. "Willow? Say something."
"I, I..." 'Okay Willow, he finally said it. Now don't say something stupid.' She found she was unable to speak. 'Take a deep breath, girl.'
Xander looked at his friend, watching her every move. She opened her mouth, but instead of saying something, she took a deep breath. "Say something Willow," he pleaded.
"I... love you too, Xander." Her face turned a brighter shade of her hair color. "I always have."
"Really?" The boy let out a breath he was unconsciously holding. "Willow, how could I have been so blind? Wait! Don't answer that. I already know the answer... Buffy."
He grabbed her hand and stroked it gently with his. "I was thinking about Buffy last night and it finally dawned on me that we will never be anything but friends. She will always love Angel and I have accepted that. Then I thought about you, Willow."
He looked deeply into her eyes. "You have always been there for me and I know you always will. We've been through so much together, especially since Buffy moved here. Anyway, the thought occurred to me that I don't know what I would do if I ever lose you. I mean Buffy's a great friend and all, but she's not you. Willow, you've been my whole world and always will be."
Just as she was about to respond to this news, Willow was then given her second surprise of the day. Xander had leaned forward and lifted her chin closer to his face. She closed her eyes and felt his lips land softly on hers.
After what seemed like an eternity, Xander pulled away slightly and looked at his best friend.
Willow opened her eyes. "Wow," was all she managed to whisper.
"Yeah. Wow, too," he said softly. He reach for her hand once more. "C'mon, we better get going."
The two of them headed for the school, holding onto each other's hand as if they have always been joined together.
* * *
School
Buffy sat on the bench frowning impatiently. She looked at her watch for the fifth time. "It's ten to 8. Where in the world could they possibly be?"
She scanned the groups of students heading toward the main entrance of Sunnydale High but she still saw no sign of her Slayerettes.
Buffy then felt a small tap on her shoulder. She quickly turned around and to her relief, it was Xander and Willow. "Where have you guys been?" The Slayer didn't notice that her friends were grinning widely at her. "I was getting worried." She stopped short when she saw that they were _holding_ hands. The blonde girl opened her mouth to comment but Xander spoke first.
"Sorry, Buff. Willow and I had to discuss something important. She can tell you about it. I gotta go. Mrs. Shaw wants to talk to me about my math grades before class. Wish me luck. Meet you in the library later?"
"Sure," Buffy replied, but Xander didn't hear her. He turned to Willow, gave her a quick kiss on the lips, and rushed inside the building. Willow smiled and turned to her openmouthed friend.
The Slayer quickly recovered her senses. "Okay, did I just see what I _think_ I saw?"
Willow nodded, grinning happily. "Yup, you sure did. And to prove it..." she pinched her friend's arm.
"Ow! Okay, so I'm _not_ dreaming." Buffy rubbed her arm lightly where Willow pinched her. A smile formed on her face. "Soooo, spill it girl. I want _all_ the juicy details. When did you finally tell him?"
"I didn't have to. _He_ was the one who told me," the hacker replied. 'With a little help from me,' she thought secretly.
The other girl was stunned. She was thinking about how crazy a day it is and the fact that it's only morning. First, she sees her two best friends just kissed each other and then she finds out that _Xander_ was the one to confess his feelings!
Buffy was truly happy for her friend but she couldn't help thinking it was just too weird. After all, Xander told _her_ he wanted them to have a relationship just a few days ago. Now, he's totally in love with Willow. She looked over at Willow, who seemed to be unaware of her surroundings. The Slayer thought about last night and felt a stab of guilt about ditching her friend while she went off with Angel. She told herself that Willow did deserve some happiness. Especially after the incident in the A-V room. But still...
It took the Slayerette a minute before she realized Buffy was calling her name. "Huh?... Oh, sorry, Buffy. I was thinking about something."
"More like _someone_. Willow, don't you think that all of this is just a little--"
Rrriinnggg! "Sorry, Buffy. We'll talk later, okay?" Willow practically ran to her English class, leaving an astonished Buffy standing there staring after her.
-----
"Now, class, please turn to page 195 of Oedipus Rex. We will be discussing..."
For one of the few times in her life, Willow Rosenberg was not paying any attention to class. 'I can't believe that it actually worked!' Visions of the kiss that morning replayed in her head. She smiled happily to herself as she remembered what Xander told her. "It's not Buffy that I'm in love with. It's you." The words that she had waited all these years to hear from him. Words that she never thought that he would say to her.
As soon as Ms. Miller turned around to write something on the blackboard, Willow quickly turned her head to look at Xander. The boy had been staring at her all morning as if she was a goddess. When he noticed her looking at him, he blew her a kiss. The object of his affection quickly turned back to the front of the room and let out a small giggle.
"Willow, is something wrong?" Ms. Miller gave her a concerned look.
"Umm, no. Everything's fine." Willow's cheeks were slightly pink as she answered her English teacher. Relieved, she continued on with the lesson.
The hacker wasn't worried about being in trouble. After all, she was normally a studious person and always did well in class. Ms. Miller would probably pass it off as a one-time occurence.
Willow looked at her watch and let out an inaudible sigh. 'Another 20 minutes to go and then it's off to French class!' She perked up at that last thought. Xander sits next to her in French and Mme. Sullivan said they will be practicing conversation in groups of two. Willow couldn't wait!
* * *
"Oh, Giles!! We need to talk." Buffy burst through the library doors and immediately dropped her bag onto the table.
"Must you always do that?" Her Watcher appeared out of his office, the Codex in his hand.
"Do what?"
"Make such a loud noise every time you come in here?"
"I don't think it's loud. Maybe the libraray is too _quiet_." Buffy sat down on the edge of the table. "Besides, we have more important things to worry about. Something's up with Xander."
"Not another possession I hope." Giles thought back to the hyena incident and gave a slight shudder.
"No, nothing like that. He's in love with _Willow_!" The slayer looked at the older man and waited for a reaction. To her surprise, he didn't seem disturbed by this.
"How nice. It's about time he knew how Willow felt about him." The part-time librarian looked at the blonde girl in front of him. "What? You don't think I noticed?"
"No, it's not that. Willow wasn't the one who spilled her guts out. It was _Xander_. Don't you think that's a bit weird?"
"I don't see what you're getting at--"
Exasperated, Buffy explained, "Ever since I moved here, Xander's had the hots for me. Granted, it took me forever to realize that, but that's not the point. Now, all of a sudden, he has the hots for Willow. Where did this come from? He's never thought of her as nothing more than a friend."
"He probably just realized that Willow is the girl he has been searching for but never realized it until now. Whatever the case Buffy, you should ask Xander or Willow about it." Giles decided to change the subject when in walked Willow and Xander. The male Slayerette had his arm wrapped around Willow's waist. Both of them had smiles on their faces.
"So, I see the rumors are true," the Watcher said. Secretly, he was slightly surprised but he didn't reveal that to the others. Giles had thought that Buffy was overexaggerating, but now, he wasn't so sure.
"Yup." Xander started to say something else but a thought crossed his mind. "Whoops! I left something in my locker. Be right back." With that, he ran out of the library.
"Okay, Will. Spill it." Buffy grabbed Willow's arm and lead her to a chair. The Slayer sat down in another chair with an eager look on her face. Giles, not wishing to hear all the details, excused himself and headed toward the stacks.
The auburn-haired girl waited until the Watcher was out of earshot before starting. "Xander showed up at my house this morning saying that he wanted to talk about something. He waited until we got outside." She took a deep breath. "Buffy, he told me that he never really loved you. That it was me he loved. It finally hit him last night." Willow's eyes were shining as she thought about the conversation that took place that morning.
"But Willow, how could he change that fast? One minute, I'm the girl he wants, the next minute, it's you. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that you guys are an item, but it's still very odd that he did a 180."
"I don't know. Maybe it was that bump he got on his head yesterday." Willow lied. 'Wow. I'm getting so good at this it's scary. At least they don't suspect it was me.'
"Maybe." Buffy still didn't buy it but she didn't want to upset Willow until she could be sure that it's something else.
"I'm back!" a voice called out. The girls saw Xander coming towards them, his hands behind his back. "And I brought something for you, Will." A bouquet of flowers appeared in front of Willow.
"Xander! You shouldn't have." Willow blushed. She took a deep breath and inhaled the wonderful scent of flowers. "Thank you!" she said and gave him a kiss in return. "Where did you get them?"
"I went to the florist's shop on the corner."
"When did you have time to get these flowers, Xander?" Buffy was suspicious. She didn't recall him having them this morning and the bouquet was too big to fit inside his bag.
"Oh. Well, I, uh, missed History class... but it doesn't matter. One cut won't kill me or anything." The boy shrugged it off as if it was not a big deal. He noticed that Willow was staring at him disapprovingly. "Okay, I promise I won't do it again. Forgive me?" He gave her a sad puppy face and Willow couldn't help laughing.
"All right. Just this once." She knew she couldn't stay mad at him for long. 'Besides, he did this just for _me_.' Willow then noticed that Buffy had been silent throughout this exchange. "Buffy, are you okay?"
"Yeah, sure. I was just thinking about something." The Slayer didn't want to let on that she was uncomfortable with all of this. "Besides, I didn't want to interrupt you two lovebirds."
"That's okay." The hacker looked at her friend curiously. Feeling a pang of guilt about leaving Buffy out of their conversation, she changed the subject. "Are we going to the Bronze tonight?"
"Of course we're going. Not like there's anywhere else to go in this town," Xander piped up. "Besides, we have the whole weekend ahead of us. Let's party!"
"I'll meet you guys there. Mom needs me to run an errand for her."
"Sure thing. Until tonight then." To Buffy's suprise, Xander grabbed her hand and kissed it. He then gave his arm to Willow, who took it giggling. She rolled her eyes at Buffy and waved goodbye. The Slayer smiled back to Willow and returned the wave.
As soon as they left the library, Giles appeared out of the stacks. Buffy turned to look at him, the smile gone from her face. "So, still think I'm overreacting?"
"I must say... it seems a little odd--"
"A _little_? Giles, they were practically all over each other! There is _definitely_ something weird going on and I'm going to find out what it is."
"Well, what are you going to do? You can't watch them all night."
"Wanna bet?" Buffy stood up, picked up her bag and marched out of the library.
Giles just stood there, shaking his head, knowing that as soon as his Slayer puts her mind to something, nothing is gonna stop her.
Willow's Bedroom
"Willow. Honey, get up." Willow opened her eyes slowly and saw her mother standing over her bed.
"Hmm... Oh, right." She stretched her arms over head and let out a yawn. "What time is it?"
"It's 7:05. You're usually in the shower by now, but since I didn't hear the water running, I thought..." Mrs. Rosenberg's voice trailed off.
"Oh, I was so tired last night that I forgot to turn on the alarm clock." 'Not to mention that I had a fabulous dream about Xander,' she silently added. Willow smiled brightly at her mom as she got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
* * *
Ding-dong! Mrs. Rosenberg gave her daughter a questioning glance. "Who would be here so early in the morning?"
"I don't know, Mom," Willow returned her mother's glance. As the older woman headed for front door, the hacker turned her attention back to the plate of food in front of her.
"Good morning, Mrs. Rosenberg. Don't you look absolutely lovely today. Is that bacon and eggs I smell?" came a familiar voice.
"Xander?" Willow dropped her fork on her plate. She looked up in time to see Xander enter the kitchen with a smile on his face. His smile got bigger when he saw the plate of food in front of him.
"And how's my favorite redhead?" he asked as he sat down at the table.
"I, I'm fine. Just a little surprised to see you here, and this early. How's your head feeling?" She looked him over from head to toe. 'At least he looks well. There doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary with him,' she observed.
"Much better, thanks. Can I have some breakfast too, Mrs. R?" He turned to her mother and gave her a goofy smile.
"Of course you can. You know you're always welcome here and you're a part of our family." She smiled, shook her head and left the room. "Kids," she sighed.
"So, why exactly are you here?" Willow asked.
"Mmrurghrruphghmm" came his reply. He had bacon and eggs in his mouth.
"Xander, why don't you wait until you swallow that before you give me an answer."
Gulp. "I said that I wanted to walk with you to school, if you don't mind." He grabbed the glass of milk on the table. Two seconds later an empty glass replaced the full one.
"Of course I don't mind," Willow blushed. Her mind was rapidly thinking, 'Is it working or is he just being his goofy self?' "Is there anything else?"
"Actually, there is." She looked up in surprise as he quickly continued his sentence. "But I want to wait until were outside to tell you."
Willow grabbed her backpack with one hand and grabbed his arm with the other. She led him to the front door and yelled, "Bye, Mom!" The door slammed shut and Willow winced as it went SLAM!
Xander turned around when he heard the noise and saw Willow wincing. "Whoa, you should be a little more careful. The door may have feelings, you know."
She smiled at his joke and started to walk towards school. Xander was a few steps behind her when he suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Willow. We need to talk." His voice was serious now. She stopped and stared at him.
"What? Is something wrong?" Her heart was pounding a mile a minute. 'Is my wish _finally_ coming true?'
"No, nothing seriously wrong." Xander paused, trying to decide what to say next. "Uh... you know how I feel about Buffy? Well, something's changed."
"What?" she asked softly. 'This is it. It has to be.'
"I was thinking about everything last night and I finally realized something. I, uh... " He took a deep breath and thought told himself mentally, "C'mon Xander, tell her." The words came out in a rush. "It's not Buffy that I'm in love with. It's you." 'There, he said it.' Xander looked at Willow and saw she was frozen. Shock was all over her face. "Willow? Say something."
"I, I..." 'Okay Willow, he finally said it. Now don't say something stupid.' She found she was unable to speak. 'Take a deep breath, girl.'
Xander looked at his friend, watching her every move. She opened her mouth, but instead of saying something, she took a deep breath. "Say something Willow," he pleaded.
"I... love you too, Xander." Her face turned a brighter shade of her hair color. "I always have."
"Really?" The boy let out a breath he was unconsciously holding. "Willow, how could I have been so blind? Wait! Don't answer that. I already know the answer... Buffy."
He grabbed her hand and stroked it gently with his. "I was thinking about Buffy last night and it finally dawned on me that we will never be anything but friends. She will always love Angel and I have accepted that. Then I thought about you, Willow."
He looked deeply into her eyes. "You have always been there for me and I know you always will. We've been through so much together, especially since Buffy moved here. Anyway, the thought occurred to me that I don't know what I would do if I ever lose you. I mean Buffy's a great friend and all, but she's not you. Willow, you've been my whole world and always will be."
Just as she was about to respond to this news, Willow was then given her second surprise of the day. Xander had leaned forward and lifted her chin closer to his face. She closed her eyes and felt his lips land softly on hers.
After what seemed like an eternity, Xander pulled away slightly and looked at his best friend.
Willow opened her eyes. "Wow," was all she managed to whisper.
"Yeah. Wow, too," he said softly. He reach for her hand once more. "C'mon, we better get going."
The two of them headed for the school, holding onto each other's hand as if they have always been joined together.
* * *
School
Buffy sat on the bench frowning impatiently. She looked at her watch for the fifth time. "It's ten to 8. Where in the world could they possibly be?"
She scanned the groups of students heading toward the main entrance of Sunnydale High but she still saw no sign of her Slayerettes.
Buffy then felt a small tap on her shoulder. She quickly turned around and to her relief, it was Xander and Willow. "Where have you guys been?" The Slayer didn't notice that her friends were grinning widely at her. "I was getting worried." She stopped short when she saw that they were _holding_ hands. The blonde girl opened her mouth to comment but Xander spoke first.
"Sorry, Buff. Willow and I had to discuss something important. She can tell you about it. I gotta go. Mrs. Shaw wants to talk to me about my math grades before class. Wish me luck. Meet you in the library later?"
"Sure," Buffy replied, but Xander didn't hear her. He turned to Willow, gave her a quick kiss on the lips, and rushed inside the building. Willow smiled and turned to her openmouthed friend.
The Slayer quickly recovered her senses. "Okay, did I just see what I _think_ I saw?"
Willow nodded, grinning happily. "Yup, you sure did. And to prove it..." she pinched her friend's arm.
"Ow! Okay, so I'm _not_ dreaming." Buffy rubbed her arm lightly where Willow pinched her. A smile formed on her face. "Soooo, spill it girl. I want _all_ the juicy details. When did you finally tell him?"
"I didn't have to. _He_ was the one who told me," the hacker replied. 'With a little help from me,' she thought secretly.
The other girl was stunned. She was thinking about how crazy a day it is and the fact that it's only morning. First, she sees her two best friends just kissed each other and then she finds out that _Xander_ was the one to confess his feelings!
Buffy was truly happy for her friend but she couldn't help thinking it was just too weird. After all, Xander told _her_ he wanted them to have a relationship just a few days ago. Now, he's totally in love with Willow. She looked over at Willow, who seemed to be unaware of her surroundings. The Slayer thought about last night and felt a stab of guilt about ditching her friend while she went off with Angel. She told herself that Willow did deserve some happiness. Especially after the incident in the A-V room. But still...
It took the Slayerette a minute before she realized Buffy was calling her name. "Huh?... Oh, sorry, Buffy. I was thinking about something."
"More like _someone_. Willow, don't you think that all of this is just a little--"
Rrriinnggg! "Sorry, Buffy. We'll talk later, okay?" Willow practically ran to her English class, leaving an astonished Buffy standing there staring after her.
-----
"Now, class, please turn to page 195 of Oedipus Rex. We will be discussing..."
For one of the few times in her life, Willow Rosenberg was not paying any attention to class. 'I can't believe that it actually worked!' Visions of the kiss that morning replayed in her head. She smiled happily to herself as she remembered what Xander told her. "It's not Buffy that I'm in love with. It's you." The words that she had waited all these years to hear from him. Words that she never thought that he would say to her.
As soon as Ms. Miller turned around to write something on the blackboard, Willow quickly turned her head to look at Xander. The boy had been staring at her all morning as if she was a goddess. When he noticed her looking at him, he blew her a kiss. The object of his affection quickly turned back to the front of the room and let out a small giggle.
"Willow, is something wrong?" Ms. Miller gave her a concerned look.
"Umm, no. Everything's fine." Willow's cheeks were slightly pink as she answered her English teacher. Relieved, she continued on with the lesson.
The hacker wasn't worried about being in trouble. After all, she was normally a studious person and always did well in class. Ms. Miller would probably pass it off as a one-time occurence.
Willow looked at her watch and let out an inaudible sigh. 'Another 20 minutes to go and then it's off to French class!' She perked up at that last thought. Xander sits next to her in French and Mme. Sullivan said they will be practicing conversation in groups of two. Willow couldn't wait!
* * *
"Oh, Giles!! We need to talk." Buffy burst through the library doors and immediately dropped her bag onto the table.
"Must you always do that?" Her Watcher appeared out of his office, the Codex in his hand.
"Do what?"
"Make such a loud noise every time you come in here?"
"I don't think it's loud. Maybe the libraray is too _quiet_." Buffy sat down on the edge of the table. "Besides, we have more important things to worry about. Something's up with Xander."
"Not another possession I hope." Giles thought back to the hyena incident and gave a slight shudder.
"No, nothing like that. He's in love with _Willow_!" The slayer looked at the older man and waited for a reaction. To her surprise, he didn't seem disturbed by this.
"How nice. It's about time he knew how Willow felt about him." The part-time librarian looked at the blonde girl in front of him. "What? You don't think I noticed?"
"No, it's not that. Willow wasn't the one who spilled her guts out. It was _Xander_. Don't you think that's a bit weird?"
"I don't see what you're getting at--"
Exasperated, Buffy explained, "Ever since I moved here, Xander's had the hots for me. Granted, it took me forever to realize that, but that's not the point. Now, all of a sudden, he has the hots for Willow. Where did this come from? He's never thought of her as nothing more than a friend."
"He probably just realized that Willow is the girl he has been searching for but never realized it until now. Whatever the case Buffy, you should ask Xander or Willow about it." Giles decided to change the subject when in walked Willow and Xander. The male Slayerette had his arm wrapped around Willow's waist. Both of them had smiles on their faces.
"So, I see the rumors are true," the Watcher said. Secretly, he was slightly surprised but he didn't reveal that to the others. Giles had thought that Buffy was overexaggerating, but now, he wasn't so sure.
"Yup." Xander started to say something else but a thought crossed his mind. "Whoops! I left something in my locker. Be right back." With that, he ran out of the library.
"Okay, Will. Spill it." Buffy grabbed Willow's arm and lead her to a chair. The Slayer sat down in another chair with an eager look on her face. Giles, not wishing to hear all the details, excused himself and headed toward the stacks.
The auburn-haired girl waited until the Watcher was out of earshot before starting. "Xander showed up at my house this morning saying that he wanted to talk about something. He waited until we got outside." She took a deep breath. "Buffy, he told me that he never really loved you. That it was me he loved. It finally hit him last night." Willow's eyes were shining as she thought about the conversation that took place that morning.
"But Willow, how could he change that fast? One minute, I'm the girl he wants, the next minute, it's you. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that you guys are an item, but it's still very odd that he did a 180."
"I don't know. Maybe it was that bump he got on his head yesterday." Willow lied. 'Wow. I'm getting so good at this it's scary. At least they don't suspect it was me.'
"Maybe." Buffy still didn't buy it but she didn't want to upset Willow until she could be sure that it's something else.
"I'm back!" a voice called out. The girls saw Xander coming towards them, his hands behind his back. "And I brought something for you, Will." A bouquet of flowers appeared in front of Willow.
"Xander! You shouldn't have." Willow blushed. She took a deep breath and inhaled the wonderful scent of flowers. "Thank you!" she said and gave him a kiss in return. "Where did you get them?"
"I went to the florist's shop on the corner."
"When did you have time to get these flowers, Xander?" Buffy was suspicious. She didn't recall him having them this morning and the bouquet was too big to fit inside his bag.
"Oh. Well, I, uh, missed History class... but it doesn't matter. One cut won't kill me or anything." The boy shrugged it off as if it was not a big deal. He noticed that Willow was staring at him disapprovingly. "Okay, I promise I won't do it again. Forgive me?" He gave her a sad puppy face and Willow couldn't help laughing.
"All right. Just this once." She knew she couldn't stay mad at him for long. 'Besides, he did this just for _me_.' Willow then noticed that Buffy had been silent throughout this exchange. "Buffy, are you okay?"
"Yeah, sure. I was just thinking about something." The Slayer didn't want to let on that she was uncomfortable with all of this. "Besides, I didn't want to interrupt you two lovebirds."
"That's okay." The hacker looked at her friend curiously. Feeling a pang of guilt about leaving Buffy out of their conversation, she changed the subject. "Are we going to the Bronze tonight?"
"Of course we're going. Not like there's anywhere else to go in this town," Xander piped up. "Besides, we have the whole weekend ahead of us. Let's party!"
"I'll meet you guys there. Mom needs me to run an errand for her."
"Sure thing. Until tonight then." To Buffy's suprise, Xander grabbed her hand and kissed it. He then gave his arm to Willow, who took it giggling. She rolled her eyes at Buffy and waved goodbye. The Slayer smiled back to Willow and returned the wave.
As soon as they left the library, Giles appeared out of the stacks. Buffy turned to look at him, the smile gone from her face. "So, still think I'm overreacting?"
"I must say... it seems a little odd--"
"A _little_? Giles, they were practically all over each other! There is _definitely_ something weird going on and I'm going to find out what it is."
"Well, what are you going to do? You can't watch them all night."
"Wanna bet?" Buffy stood up, picked up her bag and marched out of the library.
Giles just stood there, shaking his head, knowing that as soon as his Slayer puts her mind to something, nothing is gonna stop her.