FicWad

Willow sat alone in the library. She could not believe that it was already Friday morning. Tonight was the night of the big dance. The first week of school had just flown by. Could that be because of a certain blonde girl that she tried to spend every second that she could with?
Or could it be because she was trying to find out what exactly was going on with the blonde girl. Those reports that she had found on the internet really had her worried. They could all be just because she had bad luck or was a little klutzy. But it just seemed like there was more to the story than what was written. And if there was something more, she wanted to get to the bottom of it. She did not like the thought of the girl in any sort of pain. It might be the only for her to help Tara.
Another thing that she had found a little suspicious is the fact that she had found a phone number for a Henry Maclay, her father. There were not that many Maclays around, especially Henry's, so she had to assume that they were one and the same. Why had Tara told her that they did not have a phone? Had they just got it installed? All of this was making her more and more suspicious.
But the thing that had Willow the most worried was what had happened yesterday. She had noticed that Tara was suddenly wearing all these long sleeve sweatshirts. Even though it was now September and fall, the temperatures had been in the seventies. Not unusual for California, but it meant that the weather was not that cool and most were still wearing lighter tops. And Tara was wearing these long sleeve, heavy sweatshirts. When she had asked her friend (why can not she be more?) about it, she just said that she was cold blooded and often was cold when everyone else was warm.
And the final thing that had the red head so worried was that she noticed that Tara was having trouble using her left hand. Granted, she realized that the girl is right handed, but still, one usually uses the other hand for things. But not the last couple days. Was there something more to all of this? Or was it Willow's over active imagination.
"Hey." The sweet voice broke through all of her troubling thoughts. A smile was instantly on Willow's voice. "Been waiting long?" The two now met early in the library every day. For once, her father was not giving her a hard time about it. And Tara was more than grateful for the extra time she now gets to spend with her new friend.
"Hey!" Willow brightened immediately at seeing her. The one person that could brighten her day now seemed to be this girl. Xander had been able to do that for her in the past, but not so much anymore. "Not really." She closed the book that she had been pretending to look through. At least, she had been trying to read. But her thoughts had kept going back to Tara and therefore she could not really concentrate. She could never concentrate when the blonde was around. "Just trying to do a little extra studying. I'm being dragged to the dance tonight."
"Oh?" Tara's voice was very sad. The thought that Willow was going to the dance with someone other than her kinda hurt. But it was her father's fault that she could not go. And it made her very angry. But she would never tell will that. And she had long ago had learned how to keep her feelings on the inside and not let them show through.
"No date or anything." She looked into the blue eyes. Those eyes that she seemed to be able to get lost in and not even realize it. "Faith said it would do me good to get out on the town. I kinda been spending all my time at home. Xander thinks it's a good idea too. After all, the two of us used to Bronze it every night. Faith has her date with Oz, but he'll be playing with the band so she'll be alone a good deal of the night. I think she kinda wants someone to hang with. Although, she would never admit it."
Tara smiled. And she sighed. It was a sigh of relief that Willow was not going with anyone else. But yet, she also wanted her to be happy. And that was not looking so good if she were to try and wait for the blonde. With the way that her father was, Willow may have to wait a lifetime. "I'll be at home, doing my usual. That never changes."
Willow smiled back at her. But it was a sad smile. "Lucky you. Except that you get to spend time with your mom. From what you've said about her, she seems really nice. And I'm glad that you get to spend any of your free time with her."
"Me too." Tara seemed to brighten at the talk of her mother. That is why Willow brought the subject up as often as she could. "Not to dwell on it, but if Mom were better, Dad wouldn't treat me like this. But until she's better, I have to live by his rules. Not happy about it, but, can't do much about it."
The red head sensed something. Like the girl wanted so badly to tell her more. Something was definitely going on with her father. She so wished that the girl would trust her enough to tell her. Until that day, they could be nothing more than friends. "Gee, and I thought I had it bad 'cause my parents basically ignore me. Except to involve me in their arguments over which college I should go to. And I thought it was my decision. My mistake."
Tara laughed. And it was the sweetest sound to Willow. It did not happen very often. So it made her feel really good when it did. "Hello girls." Giles walked out of the back office. "I expect I'll see both of you tonight." He received funny looks from both of them. "I am chaperoning the dance tonight."
"Oh!" Willow smiled. "Well, me yes. Tara no." Again, she noticed the sad look on Tara's face. "You're gonna be stuck with just me, I'm afraid, Uncle Giles." He smiled in return. "I hope that it's all right that we meet here every morning. We kinda like the fact that it's quiet. And usually, pretty empty."
"That's fine, ladies." Giles could not help but smile. The little girl that he remembered from previous visits from England had been a shy girl with hardly any friends. It seemed that his niece had a very good friend now. "I'm happy that the two of you are together. Everyone needs friends."
"Yeah." Willow looked Tara in the eyes. "We're really good friends." Both girls blushed at the statement.
~~~~~~~
Xander and Anya had gone to The Bronze the night before by themselves. It never seemed that Willow wanted to go anymore with him. Maybe she had found somebody new. He hoped so. Faith was always doing her thing. And Buffy had made a point of spending all of her free time with Spike.
Not that he was complaining. Anya is a really different girl, he had to admit that. But she was so nice to him. And she did not put him down. In fact, she did not even try to change him. His goofy dances and all.
He was standing at his locker. After he had walked Anya home the night before, he had trouble sleeping. His thoughts kept centered on her. It had made for difficult time sleeping. And when he did sleep, all his dreams revolved around her in one way or another. Not that he was complaining. But the lack of sleep had him tired. And tonight was the big night of the dance. It was their official big night out. He only half counted the other trips to The Bronze as dates.
"Good morning." Xander looked up to see Anya smiling at him. "Are you ready for the big night?" She had a huge smile on her face. She could not hide her excitement.
"As ready as I'll ever be." He smiled back. If he were not going with her, if he were doing his usual going with Willow, he would not be as happy as he is to be going. Will was great, but she had never really been a date. This was time to spend with his girlfriend. Girlfriend! He was still having trouble with the concept of him having one of those.
"You sound a little, anxious?" Anya began frowning. "You still do want to go with me, right?" Even though she was a very self confidant young woman, when it came to dating, she was still a little unsure of herself.
"Definitely. Especially since I'll be going with the most beautiful girl in school." Anya smiled big. But it was suddenly shattered by another voice.
"I beg to differ, Harris." Both turned to see Angel and Cordelia giving them looks. "As usual, your loser self has got things wrong. Cordelia is the most drop dead gorgeous girl in school." Angel came up to Xander. He sent his fist flying, nearly hitting Xander in the head. Instead, there was the loud metal clanging as he hit a locker and hard. "So don't you forget about it. Understand?" Xander weakly nodded his head.
Anya watched the two walk off. "What a jerk!" She turned to Xander. "Are you all right?" She could see the look on his face. It was not of the good.
"Yeah, just peachy. Just another embarrassing moment brought to you by one Angel Addams." He shook his head. "Addams as in Addams family." Xander slammed his locker shut in disgust. It was bad enough that he had been humiliated by Angel once again, but why did it have to be in front of her?
"Who cares what the big dumb jerk thinks." Anya smiled. "You still think I'm the most beautiful girl in school, right?"
Xander smiled. "That jerk can't take that away from you."
"Well, that's what matters." She smiled even bigger. "Your opinion and nobody else's is what matters to me. Thank you for the compliment, kind sir."
"Just telling it like it is." Xander took her hand in his own. They began walking down the hallway together.
~~~~~~
"Can you believe that loser?" Cordelia was about to have a major league fit over what Xander had said. "In no way is that thing better looking than me. No one is."
"You got it babe." Angel kissed her on the cheek. "Why do you think that I put him in his place like that?" He laughed. "Although, harassing him is always fun. Any of that nerd herd is fun to torture. And they are so easy to torture. That's the only thing that takes the fun out of it."
"So, do you think we're gonna be crowned?" Angel gave her a funny look. "Best couple, or whatever they are calling it at this dance. Every one has something like it. And we've won before in the past. I can't believe they let me win when I was still in middle school."
"That's because they know the best when they see it." Angel's eyes followed Buffy as she and Spike walked by. He lingered after her for a few minutes.
"Angel." Cordelia looked at him and followed his gaze. He was at it again! He was checking out that loser, Buffy Summers. The one that had ditched her on the first day of school to sit with the nerd herd. "Angel!" Finally he turned to look at her. "You have got to stop checking that loser out. People are going to start and talk."
Angel looked at her, not understanding. At first. He soon realized that she had caught him checking out his brother's girlfriend. And that's what she had become. The two were now constantly together. It was sickening the way that Spike was lowering himself to date her. "I'm just trying to figure out what he sees in her. Not that I could figure out what he is up to."
"Why should it matter." Cordelia stepped in front of him. "You've got me. And you know I'm more than willing to please." She leaned up and gave him a long kiss. "And I'm the most popular girl in school. What more could one ask for?"
Angel wrapped his arms around her. "A little brother that wasn't so damn embarrassing would be a good start."
~~~~~~
"I really can't believe that you and Angel are related." Buffy had overheard Angel's comment about knowing the best when they see it. "You are so different from him."
"And that's a good thing, right?" Spike smiled as he could not help but tease his girlfriend. And there was no denying the fact that the two were now an item. They had spent almost every second together since Tuesday. And tonight, he would be escorting her to the dance.
"You so know it." She could not help but smile. Her time in high school had already been very weird. One minute she was hanging with the most popular girl in school. The next, she was friends with those that were dubbed the nerd herd. And the next thing she knew, she had a boyfriend. Not a rebel like her last boyfriend, but a real decent caring guy. And that was weird. She had always fallen for the wrong guy before. Angel would have been more her type in the past. She wondered what had changed.
"I'm glad we've been spending so much time at The Bronze." She looked up at him. "Well, all that practice dancing. I want to look my best for you tonight. I'm not sure the steel toed boots will look all that good with the outfit I have planned."
"Oh really?" Buffy was almost drooling in anticipation of seeing Spike all dressed up. He looked good in anything, but to see him in something formal would be oh so hot. "So I'm going to be rewarded for all those dance lessens you've been giving me. And here, I thought those were just some wonderful dates. I see how you are. You had an ulterior motive all the time."
"Yeah, I did." He smiled at the look that she shot him. "What? My 'ulterior motive' was to spend as much time with a girl I'm beginning to care a lot about. Is that a crime?"
Buffy stopped in her tracks. He had said that he cared a lot about her. This was getting to be serious. And she was so loving it. She looked up into his eyes for a few minutes. "I'm beginning to care a great deal about you too, William."
He leaned down and kissed her. It was a sweet innocent kiss. It was Buffy's first real kiss. And she savored every minute of it. And so did Spike.
~~~~~~
Faith stood in the cafeteria. Oz was supposed to meet her here. They had not exactly had a whole lot of time to spend together. His band was getting more and more popular and that was leading to gigs all over the surrounding area. But they had promised to meet before school.
The clock was ticking away. It would not be long before it would be tolling the time for class to start. Not that the girl cared that much. She liked school and all, but it just was not her thing. She suspected that she was going to be a cop when she graduated. If only to avoid the whole college thing her rich parents wanted for her. She had not told any one that, except Oz. He had kinda raised an eyebrow.
He had said that the only reason that it even a little surprised him was because she kinda gave off the rebel vibe. At least in the not really caring about what others thought and liking to do her own thing way. Well, he did not exactly say it like that. After all, this is Oz. The man of few words. But when he spoke, he spoke volumes. And she really liked that about him.
"Hey." She turned to see Oz standing in the doorway. "Sorry I'm late. Band played late."
"It's cool." She made her way over to him. Usually if she had been seeing a guy even a day, she would have been all over him with the kissage by now. But Oz was different. Really different. And in a good way. He was special. She, for the first time in her life was developing feelings for a guy. Now that was strange. If Xander thought that, he would think that something majorly was wrong with her.
"Just not much time lately." He smiled at her. His instinct was to give her a kiss. And that was not like him. He liked taking things real slow. He always wanted to make sure that he and the girl really clicked before he kissed her. Was he already thinking that the two of them clicked? Only time would tell.
She smiled as she noticed he had red hair yet again. Ever since she had told him that he looked red hot, he had been keeping his hair the color that matched him. "True. And tonight will be more of the same. I think I've talked Willow into coming with us tonight. She says that when you get a break, she'll make herself scarce. That girl is something else."
He nodded. "She's sweet. Always has been." He smiled. "I just wish she had someone."
"So all of us can be paired up?" He nodded. "I know. Anya and Xander are all googly eye at each other. Spike and Buffy have been inseparable. Hell, even my big bro has a date. It seems that we've all been paired off but her and Tara. And I'm working on it. For the both of them."
"Oh?" Oz asked, a little surprise in his voice. "Care to share with who?"
Faith shrugged. "Let's just say that I know that the both of them have an eye on someone. I'm going to do my best to see that both of them get the hookup that they deserve."
Oz smiled. "So no one has to be alone."
Faith smiled back. "You so know it." The bell rang at that moment. "Damn! Well, I guess I'll see you tonight. I'll be the sexy looking one. Not hard to spot."
"Of that, I have no doubt." The two walked together to class. As they did, Faith slipped her hand in his. It was not a kiss, but it was still a bold move for her. No relationship had been even remotely serious. She felt that this one could be.
~~~~~
The bell rang indicating the start of first period. Wesley walked into the library. He had not really had a chance to talk to Fred about their plans for the evening. And he was more than just a little nervous about it. He wanted to make sure that she had not changed her mind. The poor guy had never really had that much luck with women before.
He finally found the young lady working in the book cage. The place that all the students returned the books that they had checked out. She was gathering the mornings deposits. She looked up and an instant smile was on her face.
"I'm glad that I caught you." Wesley took some of the books from her hands. There were several. "I wanted to talk about this evening, if you don't mind."
The smile quickly faded. "If you've changed your mind about going as my date, I totally understand. We can just go as two chaperones. That is all it should be. After all, we're supposed to be setting an example for the young ones and I do understand if you don't want it to be a date..." She trailed off when she looked up at his face. He was smiling.
"I'm sorry to have given you that impression." The smile grew. "I was just wanting to know if you would like to accompany me to dinner before the dance. Really make a night of it. But if you don't want to consider this a date, I will totally understand that myself."
"Oh!" Fred's eyes grew big. "Of course I want this to be a date. You've been really nice to me, not that we've seen a whole lot of each other this week. But I really want this to be a date if you want this to be a date."
Wesley could not help but laughing softly. "I'm taking it from both our dizzying statements that we both want this to be a date. So back to my question, would you care to have dinner with me before we go dancing?"
"I'd love to, Wesley." She smiled big. This was her first date ever. She was now twenty years old and Wesley was the first guy to ever ask her out. She was beyond happy. She was about to burst she felt so good. "I'm really looking forward to it. What time? And are we going separately?"
"If you'd like, I'd be happy to pick you up." He smiled nervously. "You'd have to give me your address and hopefully telephone number. And I'd say around five thirty. It won't give us much time as the dance starts at seven. But we will also need a little time to get ready after school."
Fred nodded. They had made their way over to the counter. She picked up a blank piece of paper and wrote down all the directions to her apartment and her number. "It's really not hard to find. Not much town here to get lost in, now is there?"
"Well, the UC-Sunnydale campus can be quite the puzzle, even with a map." She laughed a little at his joke. "I shall see you tonight at five thirty. I must go. Miss Calendar wanted to see me before her second class started. Until tonight, sweet lady."
Fred stared after him. 'Sweet lady?' Wow! This was becoming something. She could just feel it. And she was thrilled beyond the telling of it.
~~~~~
Fred had not seen or heard Miss Calendar walk in the library. She had smiled as she watched the two so nervous around one another. It must be wonderful to be that young and falling in love. And she could tell that the two were falling in love.
She made her way into the office where Giles usually kept himself. Sure enough, he was going over the latest shipment of new arrivals of texts for one class or another. He never heard her so she cleared her throat.
"Oh!" He dropped one of the texts on his foot. "Bloody hell! That stings." He reached down and began rubbing his foot.
"Sorry about that." She could not help but laugh. "It's really not funny." She continued to laugh.
"And yet, you continue to laugh at my expense." Giles also burst out laughing. "I thought that you had class at this time?"
"So, you're going to the trouble of keeping up with my class schedule." Jenny smiled as he began to squirm. "Relax. I was just teasing. I know that as the librarian that you have to know all the teacher's schedules. It was still funny to see you squirm like that."
He sighed heavily. "Did you need something from me?"
"More than you know." Giles began turning a deep shade of red at her statement. "But this is official business. I need another one of my text, for 'Basics of Computers'. Just got another new transfer today."
"And you couldn't have sent a student after the text?" His blushing had gone away a little.
"I could have." She moved a little closer to him. "But than how could I have not passed up this excuse to see you. We are still going to show those young people how to have a good time, aren't we Rupert?"
The blush came back full. "Well, yes. As well as I can." He found the text that she had asked for. "Here you go, my dear."
"My dear?" She smiled as he began fidgeting. "I'll see you at the dance, Rupert." She turned and made it to the door before she turned around again. "I hope that the book didn't do any damage to your foot. And you might just want to bring your dancing shoes. You're in for the night of your life, Rupert."
If it were possible, he turned an even deeper shade of red. Jenny could not help but think of how cute he was when he blushed. She would have to keep him blushing all night long.

AN Sorry to keep you in suspense over the dance. But I'm not sure exactly where to go afterwards. I kinda know what's going to happen at the dance. I know I keep asking for suggestions, but I really like them. I've written whole stories around one character so please feel free to share.