FicWad

The shrillness of the alarm broke her out of a peaceful sleep. Willow sprang out of bed. She was so happy. Today was the first day of high school and she was officially a freshman. She had heard that high school was different than middle school. At least, she really hoped it was. Being picked on all the time was really no fun. She really should know. It had been going on ever since preschool. There was only one person that didn't pick on her and was actually nice to her.
Xander. Xander was a hottie. At least, that's how she used to look at him. But now, something had changed. They were still the best of friends. But something had changed about the way she felt about him. It was really weird. One minute she had this big time jonesing for him and than it was nothing more than we're good friends and that's enough for me, hope it is for you.
She quickly got dressed and ran down the stairs. The red head could hear her parents arguing yet again. She stopped to listen. Her eyes rolled when she realized that they were arguing about what college she should go to. Hello, only a freshman here. Granted there were a lot of colleges already wooing her. But they had been since she was in sixth grade. Back than, there had been talk about her skipping middle school and high school and going right to college. There had been long nights begging and pleading with her parents to let her just be a normal kid and go to middle and than high school. Sometimes she regretted it, if only because she had been so harassed in school.
But that was going to change. Starting today. She had a good feeling about that. Even with the fact that Cordelia Chase would be there. The thought of the bitch made shivers go up and down her spine. She was the most stuck up, self righteous person she knew. And the fact that Willow was a sweet innocent and plain looking person didn't help matters. In fact, it was the reason that Cordelia loved tormenting her so.
Willow sighed heavily. This was so bringing her down and she didn't want that. In fact, that's not what the day was about at all. It was about new beginnings. She and Xander would hangout. Maybe they would find some new people as well. Unlikely with the size of Sunnydale, but a girl could still dream. And if not, one best friend was enough.

The shrilling of the alarm clock made him groan. He had to restrain himself to keep from slamming the clock into the wall. Instead Xander slowly dragged himself out of bed. It was the first day of high school. Yay. That's how he felt. Not. Another day of torment lay ahead, of that he was sure. After all, besides his best friend Willow, everyone else got their jabs in at the geek. At least, that's how he thought of himself. In fact, the guy was very good looking. But that wasn't enough to cover up for his sometimes being a spaz. Just like his red headed friend he loved so much.
The only thing that brought him wanting to go to school today was that he could get out of the house and see his best friend. His parents had partied long into the night. It was hard to sleep when adults were singing 'Louie, Louie' all night long. He was seriously thinking about asking Willow if he could move in with her until they graduated from school. But that was probably not gonna happen.
Nothing good ever seemed to happen to him. Nothing ever seemed to go right, no matter how hard he tried. He had noticed Willow's feelings for him. But it had been too late when he had tried to act upon them. She had reluctantly told him that she just wasn't interested in him that way. She had been, but he had been a dummy and waited too long. Now both of them were alone.
Well, they did have each other. In the best friend sorta way they had each other. And that was enough. At least for now, it was. He wondered if there would be any new kids in school. It seemed that every year there was an influx of newbies to the school. He thought it was because they admitted anyone. They took in all those that had been expelled or those that had some type of troubling behavior. Sometimes he thought that he went to a form of juvenile hall and that was the reason that he was harassed every day. Or it could be the geek thing.
Well, he had to get his butt moving. Not that he cared about getting to school on time. That would never happen. He only cared about one thing. O.K., two things. One, he cared about getting the hell out of his house. And two, he couldn't wait to see his best friend.

The alarm went off, but she hadn't been sleeping. Not really, anyways. She had been too nervous to sleep. Here she was about to have a fresh start. Buffy remembered what had happened back at her old school, Hemry High back in L.A. Through no fault of her own, the old gym had burned down. It wasn't her fault that she had begun dating a juvenile delinquent and just happened to be there when he torched the place.
She remembered Pike fondly. Yes, he had burned the school down, well, the gym part. But he had also been so different from the other boys at school. They were all these spoiled rich kids used to getting their own way. Well, she was too, but that wasn't the point. They hadn't known how to have fun. She remembered the night that Pike had taken her in his van to the Hollywood sign. The stars were so clear. And it was so magically. But he had been a junior. And she was only an eighth grader. It was clear that it wouldn't work out.
Now, she faced a new school. She had been part of the popular kids back in Hemry, what if she wasn't now? Would she end up hanging out with a bunch of losers. Knowing her luck, that's exactly what would happen. Maybe there was hope. She walked over to her closet. Her dresses were all so last year. How was she supposed to fit in with the popular kids if she had last years clothes? It appeared to be doomed.
Sighing heavily, she picked out what she thought was a devastating outfit. Only time would tell when she actually got to school. Maybe being here in the sticks of Sunnydale would mean that all they had was last year's styles. One could only hope.

Willow sat in the bright sunlight of the quad. She was alternating between reading one her favorite books and looking for Xander. He was gonna be late, as usual, if he didn't hurry. And that surprised her. She knew that his home life was even worse than her own. All her parents ever really did was argue. Xander's parents took turns getting plastered and than sometimes getting a little violent with one another. Luckily, they hadn't gotten violent with him, yet. She knew it was only a matter of time. That was one of her fears.
"Hey, brainiac!" Willow looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. "School hasn't officially started and you're already in the books. What's that all about?"
"Well, I had to do something while you took your time in getting here." The bell signaling the start of home room chimed. "See, what did I tell you. Now we'll have to wait until lunch until we can talk."
"Sorry, Will." He saw the little pouty look on her face. "I promise that I'll get here sooner tomorrow." She rolled her eyes at him. "All right, we both know that was a lie. But I will try to. I promise that."
"Well, that I can possibly believe." Both of them got up and started walking inside. Both of their eyes couldn't help but notice the two blonde girls standing outside of the principal's office. "Looks like we've got two newbies in one day."
Xander's gaze followed Willow's. His eyes nearly bugged out when he saw the one on the left. The secretary motioned to both girls. "Miss Summers." The one that had nearly made Xander drool all over himself got up. "Miss Maclay." The other blonde got up. Willow watched her intently. The girl let her hair fall into her face and kept her gaze towards the floor the whole time. There was something about her.
"Wow, now there was a hottie." Xander flinched as Willow smacked his arm. "What? She was really good looking. And you can't blame a guy for looking, now can you?"
Willow sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let's get to home room before we are both late."
Willow's eyes widened as the shy blonde walked slowly through the door. She looked like she didn't even want to move. That' s when she heard a familiar cruel voice come from behind her. "Hey look everyone, it's a big fat blonde dork."
The red head whipped her head around and glared at Cordelia. Cordelia simply ignored her. She turned to see that the girl was no longer in the doorway. "Mr. Crawford, can I go and see if our newest student is all right?"
"I think that would be a good idea." Mr. Crawford turned his attention to Cordelia. "Maybe you can undo the harm that Miss Chase so blatantly did."
"Harm?" Cordelia looked up from her group of sheep as Willow and Xander liked to call them. "I just told it like it is. I can't help if the girl can't take the truth."
Willow shook her head as she made her way to the door. She heard Mr. Crawford continue. "Miss Chase, if you keep up this behavior, you will not have any friends. I assure you of that, young lady."
"Whatever."
It didn't take long to find the blonde girl. There weren't many places to go in such a small school. The library was the first place that Willow had thought to look. And there she was, sitting at the table. Willow could tell that she was trying not to cry. And she thought that that was very sad. And also made her that much more mad at Cordelia. The librarian smiled at her. He was new, but already was well aware of Willow. The man in the tweed was her Uncle Rupert Giles. Everyone called him Giles. He had come over from England for a little while.
Slowly, Willow made her way up to the blonde. The blonde quickly turned when she heard Willow. "Hi." The blonde only stared at her. "My name is Willow. We are supposed to be in home room together. But the bitch had to open her mouth." That brought a little shy smile to the blonde's face. "I hate home room anyways. I prefer the classes where you actually learn stuff instead of just sitting there."
"Me, too." She spoke so softly that the red head barely made out what she said. "My name is Tara." Willow held out her hand. Tentatively, the blonde offered her own.
Willow looked down at where their hands met. This was the first time that she had felt anything like that. It was like an instant connection. She smiled brightly at the other girl. They would be best of friends, she could just sense it. "So, what's your next class. Oh, you can sit with me and Xander at lunch if you want. First day and all and I'm sure that you haven't really met anyone. Besides me, of course."
There was a little redness in Tara's cheeks. "You're the first person I've met, besides the principal. It would be nice to have lunch with somebody I know." She swallowed hard like talking was difficult for her. "And my next class is math, with Johnson."
"Algebra?" Tara nodded. "Cool. That's my next class." She looked up at the clock on the library wall. "Well, home room is almost officially over. I don't think Mr. Crawford will mind if we go right to our next class." She hesitated for a moment. "By the way, I think that you are very pretty. Don't listen to what Cordelia has to say." Their eyes met for a moment causing Tara to blush even more.

Xander watched the blonde carefully. Miss Summers. He wondered what her first name was. And if she were as stuck up as the other beautiful people of Sunnydale High. He sighed to himself. Knowing his luck, she would probably be interested in joining her flock. Why everyone thought that Cordelia was so hot was beyond him.
The bell ending home room sounded. He kept his eyes on the blonde girl. So much so that he wasn't watching where he was going. He ran smack into a tall dark haired guy. "Geez Harris, walk much?" Laughter burst out everywhere. Including laughter from a certain blonde he had been eyeing.
"Sorry, Angel. Wasn't watching where I was going." Xander tried to move past the senior, when he felt a strong hand grip him. He found that Angel had a hold of him. "I said I was sorry. What else can I do?"
A wicked smile made its way to Angel's face. "There's a lot you can do. Like not exist, that would be a good start. You are such a dork, do you know that?" More laughter burst out around him.
"Leave him alone." Everyone turned to see that the new girl was no longer laughing. Instead, she was coming to the defense of Xander Harris. That was one way to ruin your reputation on the first day. "Look, I like a joke just as much as the rest of them. But this is getting out of hand. What right do you have to put your hands on him? Even if he is one of the biggest losers I've ever seen. Making fun of him is cool. Getting physical isn't."
Xander stared at the strange blonde girl. She was defending him, but yet, not really. She was lumping him into the geek category without even having met him. So went his life, sadly enough. No girl had ever tried to even think about dating him. Besides his best friend who had now moved on. Was the guy ever going to get a break?
"I agree with the new girl." Everyone turned to look at the person who had spoken. It was Anya Jenkins. She'd only moved to Sunnydale right before school had gotten out last year. But she was different. She had never been shy. "Words are one thing. Hands and physicality are another." She flashed Xander a quick smile. It seemed that maybe she was defending him.
Angel shook his head. "Are all you ladies geek lovers? 'Cause take a good look at Harris. He's one. That's for sure."
"And by doing what you're doing, I can assume you play football basketball or are just a plain dumb jock." Buffy glared at the tall handsome man. "I said that he may be a loser, but putting your hands on somebody is definitely not cool."
"And you know what cool is?" Angel looked her up and down. "I find it hard to believe that you know the definition of cool. Look at what you are wearing."
Buffy shrugged. "Sorry. But I didn't get a chance to raid the malls before we left L.A. so my clothes are a little outdated. What's your excuse? Especially the hair? It looks like you stuck your hand in an electric socket." She did an imitation of somebody getting electrocuted. Now there was laughter at Angel's expense.
"Stupid freshman." He turned to his buddies. One of them was a bleach blonde who had been eyeing Buffy with a great deal of interest. "This is why I tell you guys that freshman should be avoided like the plague. They just don't get it."
The bleach blonde shook his head. "I don't know, Angel. That blonde has a lot of spirit. And she's kinda cute. I'd be up for taking her for a test spin."
Angel shook his head. "Please. Spike, she's just a silly girl. Let her stay in with her nerd herd if she likes. We've got better things to do."
Buffy, Xander, and Anya watched them all walk away. Xander turned to the two girls. "Thanks. I, uh, appreciate it." The warning bell sounded. "I think we need to get to class. I'll see you lovely ladies later." Buffy simply waved and took off for her class. Anya stared after Xander for several seconds before she went to her class.

Willow sat by herself in the cafeteria. She kept scanning the crowd for Xander and her new friend Tara. The two had sat next to each other in Algebra. Tara was as smart as Willow, at least when it came to math. She began waving as she saw the blonde. The girl's face turned bright red. Willow couldn't help but think how shy the girl was. Or was it something else?
"Hey, Tara." Willow smiled at her brightly. The blonde sat down right next to her. "You have any trouble finding your other classes?" Tara simply shook her head. "That's good. I'm glad you were able to find your way around. Listen, you'll have to give me your phone number. Or I could give you mine. Seeing that you're new in town, we'll have to get together and I can show you the sights of this little town."
"Phone number?" Tara's eyes filled with fear. There was no way she would scare off her new friend with a glimpse of her home life. "I don't have a telephone. But we could if you want do the tour thing."
"It'd probably be with Xander as well." Tara's eyes widened. "Xander's cool. Well, cool like me anyways. We've been best friends since kindergarten. We still hang out a lot together. He'll love you, I promise. And if not, we can ditch him and go by ourselves."
This brought a little laugh out of the blonde. Willow couldn't help but smile. She had done that. She had made the girl laugh. But why was it so important that the girl was happy? It was just a little weird. But that would describe her life. Lonely. Weird. One of a kind. Only with Xander to talk to.
Speaking of Xander, "Hey Xander!" Xander quickly made his way over to where the two girls sat. "This is Tara. She's new here so be nice or I'll get a little grumpy with you."
"Nice?" Xander smiled big. "Since when haven't I been nice." He looked at Willow. "Don't answer that. Besides, I'm the coolest guy at Sunnydale. I get to have lunch with not one, but two hot looking chicks. How cool is that?"
Willow rolled her eyes at her best friend. She turned towards Tara. "I'm sorry. He's always like this. You'll get used to it. Underneath is a pretty neat guy." She turned back to Xander. "If only you'd let that guy out more often, we'd all be happy."
"Speaking of new girls." Xander looked at Willow. "Oh, we weren't really, were we? That's O.K. I just had to tell you about Miss Summers. Sorry, still don't know her first name. But she stood up for me with Angel. Well sorta. She still said that I was a loser. She just didn't like the fact that he put his hands on me. In a manly threatening way, I assure you."
Willow started to laugh. "Well, she can't be totally bad if she stood up to Angel and his groupies." Her eyes caught sight of Cordelia with the same Miss Summers in question. "Or maybe she is." The other two turned to look where she is. "I hate Cordelia Chase. You should have heard what she said to Tara. The bitch."
Xander snapped his head back around. "Will, language. I didn't know you had it in you." He smiled big at his best friend.
The red head shrugged. "She just made me so mad. It looks like she has another sheep to add to her herd. How sad."
The three sat in silence for most of the rest of the lunch period. They didn't realize that the blonde in question kept staring at the threesome. Cordelia kept going on about the cool factor. And how at least one of the newbies was among the cool ones. There were just too many nerds in the world. There needed to be less of them.
But Buffy barely heard what she was saying. Her thoughts kept going to the three. They seemed genuinely happy being together. She hadn't felt that since she had hung out with Pike. And Pike was no longer an option. She was stuck in Sunnydale while he was still in L.A. never to be seen again.
The blonde looked at Cordelia. She shook her head. The girl didn't even stop once to ask someone else's opinion. Hers was the only one that mattered. Buffy knew it would be the death of her social life, but she just couldn't sit there and listen to the stuck up ramblings of Cordelia Chase.
She quickly got up and headed for the three. Cordelia's protests fell on deaf ears. As fast as she could, she made her way over to Willow, Xander, and Tara. "Can I sit here?"
Three curious faces stared up at her.