Tara walked through LAX trying to locate the car rental desks. She awkwardly pushed the large luggage cart through the crowds and sighed when she saw the sign for the rental company. The blonde said a quick prayer of thanks when she saw there was no one in line. Finally I get a break.
The experience at baggage claim had been painful. For some reason, one of her bags got put on a later flight out of Charlotte and hadn't arrived yet. Because a 3 hour layover isn't enough time for the baggage people to find the right plane. After spending 30 minutes describing the suitcase and filling in a long, incomprehensible "alternate baggage delivery" form so the airline representative could locate it, she was finally assured that the bag would be delivered to her hotel that evening.
The 10 minutes needed to sign the necessary papers for her rental car were few in comparison to the previous 22 hours of flights and layovers and lines. Before long, Tara had made her way to her car and loaded the bags into the trunk. As she walked to the driver's side door of the car, a thought scampered through her head - a thought that made her freeze in place and gasp. Oh please, God, no! Tara returned to the back of the car and hastily popped open the trunk. She frantically began opening bags and rifling through the contents. She sighed in relief as she felt the stack of envelopes buried at the bottom of the third bag. She removed the bundle and cradled it to her chest, as though it were the most precious and valuable thing in the universe. They are. Tara closed the trunk and resumed her trek to get behind the wheel. Once inside the car, she ran her hand along the ribbon binding the envelopes and smiled. If these had been lost, I don't know what I would have done. She gently placed the letters on the passenger's seat, secured her seatbelt, and began her drive to Sunnydale.
********************
Dear Tara,
I don't know when you'll read this. I guess it depends on when you find it. I'm going to put it in your backpack, so you may find it on the plane. Or maybe you won't find it until you unpack. I just hope you find it. I'll be sure not to hide it too well.
You're sleeping right now. I snuck away and I'm writing this in the bathroom so I don't wake you up. I really wish you were awake though. I want to talk to you and I know there won't be time in the morning. So, I'm writing this letter...in the bathroom...in the middle of the night.
There's so much I want to tell you, Tare. But, I don't know how. I mean, I know how to tell you...open my mouth and let the words come out. The problem is I don't know what words to use. I don't know how to turn what I'm feeling into words. There are so many words swirling around in my brain, but I don't know which words are the right ones to use. **sigh** I even babble when I write.
I know I've already told you this a zillion times, but I'm going to miss you so much. I don't know how I'm going to handle not having you around. I mean, you're my only friend. Okay, maybe not my only friend, but you're the only friend that matters. No one else understands me like you do. You know what I'm thinking even before I do. It's like...well...it's like, together, we're the same person. Together we're whole. Does that make sense?
So, I'm afraid I'm only going to be half a person without you here. That scares me, Tara. It really does. Cuz...what happens if I change? Okay, I know I'm going to change...and so are you...but what if I change so much, my half person doesn't fit with your half person anymore? Then we'll never be a whole person anymore and we'll spend the rest of our lives dealing with our half selves.
I just looked back at what I wrote. I'm not sure if it makes any sense. See what I mean? Everything is so jumbled up in my head. Maybe it's a good thing I'm writing this instead of talking to you. I can just picture the 'huh?' look on your face. And I don't know if I could say all of this if we were face to face.
The last month has been so hard. Every time I looked at you, I wanted to cry. And since I was looking at you almost all the time, I wanted to cry almost all the time. Oh! Not that looking at you causes crying for everyone! Cuz, you know, you're beautiful and all. So beautiful it makes me smile when I look at you...but also cry. UGH! I'm not saying this right!
Okay...when I look at you my first thought is "she's beautiful"...and that makes me smile. Cuz your eyes are so blue...like the sky or the ocean. But then I think "she's leaving me" and that makes me want to cry...the thought of you going away from me makes my chest hurt. Tara, does that mean my heart is breaking? Cuz I don't like that feeling.
I like the way I feel when you smile at me, though. My favorite smile is when only one side of your mouth goes up and you kinda half smile. I feel all warm inside when you smile like that. My chest hurts too, but it's not a bad kind of hurt. It's like, instead of my heart breaking in pieces, it's being filled up so much it's going to pop...like a water balloon. Okay, that wasn't a happy visual place, but...do you get it? I hope so, cuz I don't know if I could explain that again.
I just peeked in the bedroom. You're still asleep. There's enough moonlight coming in the window for me to see you. I sat on the floor next to your sleeping bag for a few minutes and watched you sleep. You were smiling my favorite smile. You must have been dreaming. What were you dreaming about, Tare? Do you remember? It must have been a nice dream.
I'm back in the bathroom because I thought about you leaving again...and I started to cry. I guess it's better that I cry in here instead of in front of you. I know you'd cry too. I hope I don't cry a lot tomorrow. I don't want all those people at the airport to see me crying. Plus, if my mom and dad see me crying, they'll baby me the rest of the day. I don't want them to baby me. You know how they can be.
Wow. I sure have written a lot. I read the whole thing and I still don't know if I said everything right. Heck, I don't know if I said anything right. But I know I wrote what was in my head. Maybe that's the problem. The stuff in my head almost never makes sense. But, somehow, you always seem to understand me. (How do you do that?) I just hope you understand me now.
Gosh darnit! I'm crying again. I can't seem to stop tonight. Usually I can hold it in, but not tonight. I think it's because it's all so real now. You're really leaving and I can't pretend that you're staying. It was so easy to pretend during the last month cuz we were always together. My mom called us hippies because she said we were "chronically joined at the hip." I think she just likes the word hippy because it reminds her of when she was younger. I still can't get her to take down that bead curtain she has over the door of the laundry room. It's too weird.
I'm babbling again. I'm sorry.
I think I am going to finish this letter now. I've been in this bathroom for almost 2 hours. (I'm glad no one needed to...you know...go.) Plus, I don't want to be away from you anymore. I've only got you for a few more hours, so I'm going to stay glued to you until you get on the plane.
I already miss you, Tare. Remember, I'm going to miss you every second of every day. I hope you'll miss me too. Write to me as soon as you can, okay?
Love and friends forever,
Willow Rosenberg (duh! You know that!)
CHAPTER FOUR Willow was perched at the edge of the bed, her right leg bouncing rapidly and her hands fidgeting in her lap. She looked around the guest room, making sure everything was back in order. Yep...all clean...Cleany McClean Clean even. She looked at her watch for the 5th time in as many minutes. Three hours...thre-e-e-e-e-e-e-e more hours. Her left leg began to bounce in counterpoint with her right. After a few minutes of bouncing and fidgeting - and an occasional twitch - the redhead made a decision and jumped to her feet.
"I have to get out of here," she said to the empty room.
Willow grabbed her wallet and made her way to the door. At the last second, she turned around and ran to the bed. She reached under the pillow and pulled out a laminated photo. After taking a moment to smile at the photo she held in front of her, Willow quickly placed a kiss on the image, returned it to its place under the pillow, and skipped out of the room.
********************
Dear Willow,
I found your letter when I got on the plane. As soon as the seatbelt sign was turned off, I went into my backpack for a pen and some paper so I could write to you. That's when I saw your letter...folded up neatly and sticking out of my notebook. So, no, you didn't hide it very well. Though I do wish I had found it when I was unpacking, because I would have been alone when I found it. But on the plane, Donnie kept trying to read over my shoulder and grab the letter from me. He's such a pain! Mom finally made him stop and he fell asleep. Dork. So now that he's sleeping, and Mom and Daddy are reading their books, I have time to write to you.
Your letter made sense, Will. I understand every word. And I know what you mean about finding the right words. I had the same trouble. I actually tried writing a letter to you before I left. I worked on it for a week. But I had to keep writing it over and over because I wasn't saying what I really wanted to say. Everything I wrote was so stupid. I still have them...I was gonna throw them away, but I changed my mind. Maybe I'll show them to you one day and we can laugh at how stupid they are.
I miss you too, Will, so much. I started missing you as soon as Daddy told us we were moving. Remember the day I told you? When we sat under the tree? I never told you this...I was late that day because of 2 things. I begged Daddy to let me stay. I asked him to talk to your parents and see if they would let me stay with you. But he kept saying no. We had a fight. I've never had a fight with Daddy before. The other thing that made me late was that I was crying so much. I ran to my room and just cried and cried. It took me a while to stop crying and wipe my face clean so my eyes weren't puffy when you saw me. So I understand about the crying too, Willow.
I pretended I wasn't leaving too. I pretended a lot! Even with all of the packing, I just kept pretending that I was going to stay there...with you...forever. I tried to imagine that instead of packing to move away that I was packing to move into a different house that was nearer to where you live. That way I could make believe all sorts of fun things that we would do. I tried to act as if it would all just go away if I didn't think about it. But it didn't go away...and I'm on this plane...moving further and further away from you. I think my heart is breaking too, Will. I don't like the feeling either.
We've been flying for over 3 hours now. Donnie is still asleep. I wish I had my camera with me. He's drooling. It would be fun to show a picture of him sleeping with his mouth all wide open and drooling to the girls he dates. Serves him right for being such a dork. Daddy fell asleep too. But Mom is still reading. She came over to me a little while ago to see what I was doing. I told her that I'm writing to you and that I already miss you so much. Mom smiled at me, but she looked a little sad...like there is something she's remembering that makes her feel bad...or like she's thinking about something she lost. It was weird. When I asked her if she was okay she just kissed me on top of the head and said continue with writing my letter. Then she went back to her seat. I'm not really sure what that was all about.
We start high school in a few weeks. Oh! I was so upset, Will. Donnie told me that the 9th graders are still at the junior high out there! So on top of me being upset that you and I can't go to high school together, I'm gonna have to spend another year in junior high! Luckily Daddy told me that Donnie was just teasing me. It used to be that way, but they changed it a few years ago. So I am going to the high school. Daddy smacked Donnie on the back of his head but Donnie still stuck his tongue out at me. I couldn't stop laughing.
Remember how we talked about going to high school together? I was really looking forward to taking classes together and stuff. But now I'm so scared. I'm not sure I'll know how to make friends without you, Willow. You've always been the outgoing one. I'm too shy. I mean, you were the one to stick up to Cordelia! I never could. Don't let her bug you this year, Will. Okay? Promise?
Ahh! I'm going to be starting at a brand new school in a brand new country. Now I'm really scared! I've never gone to school with other military kids before...Michael doesn't count cuz his family lives off the base too. And on top of it all, I'm going to be "the new kid." Donnie will be the only other person there I know...and he's going to be a senior. He'll probably pretend that he doesn't even know me. That would be so like him.
I've already talked to Mom and Daddy about finding me a math tutor. I don't know if it will help though. You're the only one who has ever been able to explain math to me so that I can understand it. What am I going to do without you? * sigh * I'll probably fail...or get a D. The only classes I'm not worried about are Art and English...oh...and history. I guess I'll just spend all my time studying...and missing you.
I've already said it so many times, but I really am going to miss you too, Willow. I do right now...miss you. And I'm going to miss you every second of every day, too. Just like we said that day under our tree. Will you still go to our tree? Will you take someone else there? Will you build little villages out of rocks and sticks like you used to do for me...so that I could draw them? I want to be under our tree right now instead of on this plane. I want to be anywhere you are right now.
I feel like I'm going to cry, Will. So I'm going to finish up this letter. Cuz I know Donnie will wake up if I start crying...and he'll just tease me...and Mom might get sad again. I'll cry when I get to my own room and can close the door.
I've decided that I'm going to keep a diary...I will write in it every day until I see you again. That way I can show it to you and you can read about what I did every day. Will you do that too, Willow? Then when we are back under our tree we can read each other's diaries...and it will be as if we didn't miss out on stuff because we were apart. Will you do that, Will? For me?
I will write to you again as soon as I can. I'll tell you about our new house and my new school. Be sure to let me know what school is like for you too, okay? I'll think about you all the time.
Oh...you wanted to know what I was dreaming last night. I wasn't dreaming, Will. Actually, I wasn't even asleep. I heard you get up and go to the bathroom. I thought you would be right back so I waited. I did fall asleep again for a few minutes, but then I knew you were back. I didn't hear you come in or anything, I just sort of felt you...and I just knew you were there. I kept my eyes closed though. I was going to wait until you got into your sleeping bag and then tickle you. But you didn't go back to bed...you just sat down and watched me. I guess I was smiling because I liked you looking at me like that. When you left, I knew you were crying...and I cried too. I did hear you come back the second time and get in your sleeping bag and I stayed awake until I knew you were sleeping. You have this cute little snore...that's how I knew you weren't awake anymore. I couldn't fall back asleep so I watched you for a little while. You're so peaceful when you sleep, Will. I'm not sure if you know this or not, but...you reached out and grabbed my hand in your sleep. You held it next to your cheek. I was able to sleep again.
Write to me soon.
Forever,
Tara
CHAPTER FIVE Buffy sat at her desk looking over the latest advertising mock-ups. Her drive to work that morning was blessedly uneventful - an achievement for which she was supremely grateful. Buffy was familiar with nearly every fire hydrant and light pole within the city limits...at least, the bumper of her car was. Being on a first name basis with half of the SDPD comes in handy sometimes though. Buffy internally snickered. Especially the cute ones.
It wasn't hard to get to know the members of the SDPD. Sunnydale was a decent sized town, but small enough for neighbors to still know each other. Granted, it was no L.A., but the city had all the major conveniences, a large university, a healthy economy, and was growing quickly.
She'd been working for Sunnydale Advertising, Inc. for about two months and was determined to prove herself as a competent employee. But today, her focus was less on being competent and more on being done. Her gaze shifted from the mock-ups to the picture of herself and Willow at the side of her monitor. Buffy couldn't hold in a loud giggle as she thought about her friend's whirlwind activities earlier that morning. Typical Willow - completely wigged when the wiggins aren't needed.
"Hey, Buffy, did you bring enough chuckles for the rest of the class?" The voice brought Buffy out of her brief moment of amusement. She looked up to see Xander Harris propped on the edge of her desk and smiled at the thought of their first meeting.
********************
Buffy met Xander shortly after she started at SAI. He was the assistant manager in the printing department and heard that the new account rep in client services was "a bona fide hottie." He felt it was his duty to introduce himself and welcome the new employee to the company. And Buffy did not disappoint - she was definitely a "hottie". As soon as Xander spied Buffy for the first time, staring at the company's vending machines with a puzzled expression, he approached the small blonde with his hand extended, intending to suavely introduce himself. Instead of "Hi, I'm Xander," all that came from his mouth was "schpadoinkle!" followed by a furious blush. It was a manly blush, but a blush, nonetheless. Buffy couldn't help but chuckle at the man before her and shook his proffered hand.
"Wow! That's one heck of a name," Buffy teased. "I'll bet you had a hell of a time learning to spell that."
A moment later, Xander regained the use of his brain and, realizing how incredibly goofy he must have looked, broke into a fit of laughter - a fit Buffy quickly joined.
"Xander Harris, actually...much easier to spell, but without the flashy charm," he replied as he let go of Buffy's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Xander. Buffy Summers."
At that moment, each knew it was the beginning of a great friendship.
********************
"Hey, Xan! What's up? You ducking out of working again?" Buffy smiled at the shaggy-haired man at her desk.
"Hey! I resemble that remark," he joked. "Actually, we're all caught up for a change. Just waiting on the finals for the arcade campaign from Denise. Then we'll be all ready for the Espresso Pump stuff next week."
"That's great, Xander!" Buffy was genuinely pleased for her friend. Though she teased him about avoiding work, she knew that Xander took his job seriously...too many people were counting on him and his department getting the work done right.
"So, Buff, what's with the giggles and the 'I'm remembering stuff' face? Anything you want to share?"
"Oh! I was just thinking about Willow. She was a bit on the nervy side this morning and I can't help laughing when I think about it." The smile on Buffy's face told of her affection for her oldest and dearest friend.
"Willow...isn't she your friend who lives in L.A.?"
"Yeah, she's in town for an important meeting...staying with me for a while."
"All nervy, huh? Must be an important meeting. Some big job thing?"
"No, not exactly," Buffy said as she noticed the time on her desk clock. "Tell ya what, Mr. Assistant-Manager-with-too-much-time-on-his-hands, take me to lunch and I'll tell ya all about it."
"It's not even 11am, Summers...and you want to leave your desk?" Xander teased the blonde by placing the back of his hand on Buffy's forehead, pretending to check for fever. "You feeling okay?"
Buffy playfully swatted his hand away and giggled. "Give it up, Harris. You've always wanted to take me on a date, so here's your chance."
Xander bounced quickly to his feet and bowed at the waist. Standing upright again, he offered his arm to his friend.
"Let us make haste, fair maiden and...um...make like a tree and leave...or something like that."
Buffy linked her arm with Xander's and grinned. "Lead the way, kind sir."
Thirty minutes later, Buffy and Xander were sitting at an outdoor table at a nearby café. Buffy moved the remains of her Caesar's salad around with her fork while Xander finished off his ketchup-covered fries.
"Wow!" Xander pondered as he chewed his food slowly. "So they haven't seen or talked to each other in EIGHT years? That's unreal."
"Yeah, it's a long time. I mean, they wrote to each other constantly - up until about a year ago - and Willow has written in her 'Tara Diary' every single day since Tara left. But that's it - no phone calls, no visits. They emailed for a little while, but that didn't work out."
"Unreal. I said it before, but it bears repeating." Xander shook his head and looked thoughtfully at the half-eaten pickle on his plate. "No phone calls? I can understand the lack of visits, but no phone?"
Buffy chuckled ruefully. "I know. I totally couldn't imagine not being able to pick up the phone to call my best friend. But, I guess Tara's family didn't have a lot of money and already had a lot of expenses. Willow's parents could afford it, but they said they'd rather buy Willow a computer so they could email each other. Plus, Willow could do her homework on it, maintain her diary and loads of other stuff. They called it 'an investment in her future.'"
"Whoa! Harsh! Makes me feel even more grateful for my folks."
"Oh, Will's parents were really nice, actually. They love Willow a lot. And even though her mom kept forgetting my name, they always welcomed me into their home. They were just busy all the time and Willow got lonely. That just made her miss Tara even more."
"Well, yeah, but she had you, Buff. Best friend to the rescue, right?"
"Sure, Xan...of course I was there for Will, but those two were BEST friends. Willow is the best friend I've ever had, and we'll be friends until we're old and gray; but even I knew I could never hope to have the status that Tara had in that department."
Xander looked compassionately at his friend and reached over to cover her hand with his. "I'm sorry, Buffy. That must be tough for you."
"What?" Buffy furrowed her brow in confusion, wondering what Xander was talking about. The realization suddenly dawned on her. "Oh! No, no! I don't feel neglected in any way! I know Willow loves me; she's never treated me as a 'lesser friend' in all the years I've known her. It's just, the bond she's had with Tara...well, was amazing...still is, I hope. No, Xander, being friends with Willow has never been tough." Buffy placed her free hand over Xander's and gave it a gentle squeeze to let him know she was grateful for his concern.
"That's good, Buff. You deserve to have friends who treat you well."
"Thanks, Xander. You're one of them, you know," Buffy looked pointedly at her friend to make sure he knew she meant what she said.
"Yeah, Buffy, I know." Xander smiled at the blonde and gave her a wink. "Now, tell me, how did you meet Willow, anyway?"
"C'mon, let's do the walk-n-talk thing again. We need to start back toward the office," Buffy said as she stood up.
"Yeah, work awaits," Xander mock-sighed as he stood up and placed $20 on the table.
Buffy walked up to the main entrance of Sunnydale High School with more than just a bit of trepidation. It was her first day at a brand new school and she was nervous. Bad enough being the new kid...now I'm the new kid who didn't start school on time. The school year had started 4 weeks earlier, but she and her mother had just arrived in Sunnydale the previous week.
As she made her way to the main office to pick up her schedule, Buffy made note of the other students bustling through the hall. They seem okay. No one is looking at me funny. There were teenagers everywhere - greeting friends, getting books from their lockers, making out with their girlfriends or boyfriends, generally making their way to class - doing the things one would expect at a typical American high school. Buffy entered the main office and approached the secretary at the main desk. The woman looked up and gave Buffy a rather toothy smile.
"Well, hello! You must be Buffy Summers. We've been expecting you."
Buffy instinctively returned the effervescent woman's smile and reached out to shake her hand.
"Yes, Buffy, that's me."
"Oh! Isn't that darling?! Buffy Summers...very nice ring to it." The woman then placed an index finger to each temple, stared intently at Buffy, and repeatedly murmured under her breath. After 20 seconds of this, she smiled widely once again and continued. "There! You are now a permanent fixture in my memory. I'm Mrs. Sloan, by the way."
Buffy giggled and said a quick, "Nice to meet you." Oh, I like her.
"Ah! Your schedule!" Mrs. Sloan quickly continued with her bubbly welcome. "You'll have six classes and one study period. Let's see..." The older woman lifted her reading glasses, which were hanging by a decorative chain around her neck, and looked at the schedule card in her hand. "Well, looks like your first class is Sophomore History. That's in room 117 - go down the main hall and turn left just before you reach the stairs. Room 117 will be on your left."
"Down the hall, left at stairs, room on left...got it. Thank you so much, Mrs. Sloan."
"Now, your teachers are expecting you and will have prepared a bit of extra work for you so you can catch up on what you've missed. Just chat with each of them after class." Mrs. Sloan noticed Buffy's shoulders slump and heard the girl's small whimper. "Oh, it shouldn't be too hard, dear. But if you need help, you just bring yourself back here and see me. I'm sure I can help you find someone to assist your studies. I know every student in this school." Mrs. Sloan beamed with pride.
"Thank you, again, Mrs. Sloan. I'll definitely come to you if I have any trouble."
"That's good, dear." At that moment, the bell rang. "Oh! That's the warning bell. You have two minutes to get to your class...off you go!" And with that, the woman nudged Buffy out the door.
The door to room 117 closed behind Buffy just as the final bell rang. All eyes turned toward her. Of course. So much for being discrete. The teacher stood up from behind his desk and walked toward Buffy. "Can I help you?"
"Um, yeah...yes...I'm sorry. This is my first day."
The balding man looked at the roster in his hand and then looked at Buffy. "Miss Summers, I presume." He raised one eyebrow and looked at her over the rim of his glasses.
"Yes, sir. Buffy. Buffy Summers."
"Very well, Miss Summers. Welcome. Please take an empty seat and see me briefly after class."
With a nod and a small grin, Buffy made her way through the rows of students taking a seat near the back of the room. Okay. Pretty painless so far. She turned her attention to the teacher as he began to speak.
"Okay, everyone...Chapter 3...Battle of Antietam."
Buffy watched as everyone around her pulled out their books and began to open them to chapter 3. She was just about to raise her hand when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Buffy turned around to see a petite redhead one row to her right and one seat back handing her a textbook.
"Here, you can use mine until you get your own." The redhead gave Buffy a small smile.
"Um, thanks. Wanna share?"
"That's okay. Go ahead. I don't need it."
Buffy looked perplexed. "Don't you need to look at the chapter, too?"
The redhead tapped her head with an index finger and explained. "Photographic memory. I've already read ahead through chapter 6. It's okay."
"Wow!" Buffy was impressed. "Well, thanks!"
"No problem."
Buffy wanted to say more but the other girl had already turned her attention back to her notebook. Buffy blinked once then turned back to listen to the day's lesson. A few minutes later, Buffy glanced back at the owner of the book. She seems nice. But...but there's something in her eyes...
When the bell rang indicating the end of class, Buffy gathered her things and returned the book to the redhead.
"Thanks again. I really appreciate the loaner." Buffy smiled at the other girl.
"Like I said, not problem, really. Do you want to keep it overnight?"
"Oh, no, that's okay. I'll get all of my books today after school." Buffy smiled sheepishly and asked, "Um, do you know where I go to do that?"
The redhead chuckled as she retrieved the book from Buffy and slipped it into her bag. "Yep. The one place no one ever wants to go - the library. It's all the way at the other end of this hall - past the stairs."
"Wow! Thanks...again...you've been very helpful. I'm Buffy Summers."
"Willow Rosenberg. Nice to meet you." Willow looked at the clock. "We should probably get going - don't want to be late next period. Want me to walk you to your next class so you don't get lost?"
"Oh, that's okay. I have to go see the teacher, anyway. They all have extra work for me so I can play 'catch-up'. But, maybe I'll see you around?" Buffy gave Willow a hopeful look. I could really use a new friend...I think you can too.
"Well, you'll definitely see me in here tomorrow morning. But, yeah, we'll probably bump into each other. The place isn't that big. See ya later." Willow smiled once more at Buffy, and then turned to walk to her next class.
"Bye!"
It was another two weeks before Buffy found Willow alone. She saw the quiet redhead every day in history class, but there wasn't an opportune time to chat. Willow always seemed to be tutoring someone in something during lunchtime and after school. One day, Buffy finally saw Willow sitting alone under a tree in the school courtyard. Since her first day at SHS, when Willow was so nice to her, Buffy was determined to become friends with her. She just hadn't had the opportunity to talk with Willow more than a quick greeting every morning in class. It's now or never, Summers. Get over there and make a friend.
Buffy walked toward the tree where Willow sat. She noticed that her potential friend was bent over what looked like a journal, writing furiously. Every once in a while, Willow would pause and her brow would crinkle in thought. Then she would return to her writing. Buffy stopped for a moment and reconsidered her plan. Maybe she doesn't want to be bothered...No. No! I'm going to go over there and talk to her, darn it. She resumed her walk and when she reached a reasonable distance - not too close in case she was intruding, but not so far away so that she had to yell - she made her presence known.
"Um, Willow?" The redhead snapped her head around quickly with a frown, as if wondering who dared to interrupt her quiet time. Buffy took a hesitant step backward and quickly began her apologies. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you. I'll just go...away...we can talk another time."
"No! I'm the one who should be sorry, Buffy." The redhead looked embarrassed, yet pleased to have company. "You don't have to leave. I was just so lost in my own world that hearing my name startled me. Um, you can sit down if you want to. It's okay." Willow smiled at the blonde and moved some of her things out of the way.
Buffy let out a small sigh of relief and sat down across from Willow. "Thanks. You know, trying to catch up with you when you're not talking to someone else is almost impossible. You're like Little-Miss-Popularity."
"Not quite," Willow laughed as she replied. "More like 'The-Only-Person-Gullible-Enough-To-Tutor-Everyone.' I'm definitely not popular."
Buffy noticed that Willow didn't seem bothered by a lack of popularity. She was comfortable with her social position at the school. "Well, popularity isn't everything, anyway. As long as you're happy with yourself, that's all that's important," Buffy stated and gave a quick nod to reify her assertion.
Willow giggled and then with an air of conviction said, "I couldn't agree more."
The girls spent a few moments in comfortable laughter. She can laugh! I guess she needs a friend more than I thought. Once the laughter subsided, Willow continued their conversation.
"So how are you doing with that extra reading and homework, Buffy?"
The smile left the blonde's face. "Er...um...various sounds of hesitation..."
"Buffy, you really need to get caught up, you know. Midterms are coming up in a few weeks."
"I know, but, I've just never been one for doing extra work. It's hard to get motivated." Buffy knew she could get caught up if she just put in the time and effort. But she found that she got bored easily. Sitting around for hours, doing nothing but reading, wasn't exactly her definition of a good time. Buffy liked having fun.
"I could help you if you want." Willow's eyes suddenly got very wide. "Oh...not that I think you're stupid and can't do it by yourself or anything...I'm not being all 'tralala I'm so smart so I should be helping you'...I mean...if you don't want my help you just have to say so...but I'd be willing to help you...get motivated...if you want."
Buffy couldn't contain her laughter. "That's the most I've heard you say since I met you, Willow. How do you do that without breathing?"
The redhead chuckled; she seemed glad that she hadn't offended Buffy. "It's a gift. Though, I will admit, that's the first time I've babbled in a long time."
"Well, you do it well. And thanks for the offer, but I don't want to impose. You are already helping enough people, I don't want to ask you to add me to your already large burden."
"You didn't ask, did you? I offered. Besides, I never said I would be tutoring you. I said I would help you get motivated. We could study together if you want. Do you have your schedule with you?"
Buffy dug into the bottom of her bag and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper. She flattened the sheet out on her thigh before handing it to Willow.
"Oh, cool. I can definitely help you with these. I've taken these classes already," Willow said as she eyed the schedule.
"You mean, you're a junior? Why are you in Sophomore History then?" Buffy asked in confusion.
"Oh, no. I'm a sophomore, too. I, um, I took these classes in summer school." Willow shrugged and continued. "People say I'm an over achiever, but I just get bored during the summer so I go to school. Next summer I'm going to take some courses at the community college, too...that way I can get college credit before I even get to college...and I can graduate early. So if I want to go to graduate school, it won't seem like I've been in school forever and I can get to my career faster...and you must think I'm the biggest geek alive..."
Buffy fell over onto her side, laughing uncontrollably.
"See? I'm right. You're laughing at me." Willow crossed her arms over her chest and mock glared at Buffy.
"No...no...I'm...not." Buffy struggled to contain her laughter, wiping away the tears from her eyes. A few moments later, Buffy gained enough control over herself to sit up and look at her new friend. "Honest, I'm not laughing at you. It's just, well, I like talking to you. You do make me laugh, but in a good way, not in a 'laughing-at-you' way. You're fun."
Willow blushed at the compliment and returned the blonde's smile. "Thanks, Buffy. I like talking to you, too."
"So, when do we study?"
"We were pretty much inseparable after that." Buffy said with a smile as she and Xander continued their walk back to the office. "Thanks to Willow, I studied more than I ever did before. Not because she forced me to or had to tutor me, but because it was just fun hanging out with her. So, I didn't mind studying. It was nice to have her around when I was stuck on a math problem though." Buffy shuddered slightly at the thought.
"So, how did, er, does Tara fit into all of this?"
"Well, eventually, Will told me all about Tara...about them being best friends for so long, about their letters, about the diary they were each keeping - that was what she was writing in when I went up to her that day. I heard so much about Tara; it felt like I knew her. Sometimes Willow would read Tara's letters to me. And other times she would let me read her letters to Tara."
When Buffy started to giggle, Xander raised one eyebrow and looked at her. "What's so funny?"
"Well, a few times, Willow would let me write stuff in the margins of the letters she wrote to Tara - just for fun. I guess it was her way of introducing me to Tara - letting one best friend say hello to the other."
"Sounds like you two had a lot of fun together."
"Definitely. We still do. You see? Tara was already a force in her life when I showed up. There was no way for me to compete with that and I didn't want to...I didn't need to. There's enough room in Willow's life for me AND Tara." Buffy smiled as she thought about the size of her friend's heart and Willow's capacity to love.
Xander smiled, too, knowing that Buffy had a friend she could rely on. "That's great, Buff. I can't wait to meet her."
"Oh you will, Xan...you will," Buffy chuckled as the two entered their office building.
Xander walked Buffy back to her desk. "Thanks for the chat, Buffy. I had a good time. I'll catch up with you tomorrow, okay? You've gotta let me know how their meeting went." Xander grinned widely and bounced on his toes in excitement.
"You got it, Harris. Thanks for lunch. Now get going and go try to do some work." Buffy gave her friend a good-natured wink as he walked through the door, heading back to his office. Buffy settled down to work, glancing at her watch.
I wonder what Willow is doing now?