DISCLAIMER: I wish... LOL, that was funny.
DISTRIBUTION: Ask.
SUMMARY: It's a whole new world and they must stay together.
RATING: PG
FEEDBACK: My muse has threatened to leave permanently if I keep over-working her
and don't feed her. So, please?
WORDCOUNT: 1024
NOTES: Written for the eight round of the Lyric Wheel. Thankyou to Luke (aka:
naughtyevil) for the lyrics. You can find them at the
end.
Short, Sweet &To The Point Runner-Up at The Potential Awards. Evil Award at The Dark Awards.
HIDE HYDE FOR A LITTLE WHILE
by Leni
Willow finally found her best friend at the Bronze, sitting alone in one of the darkest
booths of the club.
The usual swirl of colours she'd related to Xander since she learned the meaning of
'swirl' was nowhere to be found. For the first time she could ever remember he was wearing
dark clothes, making it even more difficult to detect him. But Willow looked down at her
own ensemble: sapphire skirt and a black blouse.
She chuckled.
It seemed that today the whole world had turned dark.
She walked faster towards Xander, finally noticing that he'd somehow gotten hold of a
beer. He looked around with such a lost look that Willow felt her own heart respond. She
practically run to him and when Xander noticed her, he stood up and crushed her into a hug
so tight that made her instinctively gasp for air.
"Oh Xander, oh Xander..." she murmured into his shirt, hugging him back.
They sat back together, with their arms still around each other. No word was spoken for a
long time, both teenagers staring at the empty seat in front of them. Willow didn't
protest when Xander put the half-full glass of beer on her side of the table, but merely
gulped most of it down. It was the worst way to deal, Willow knew the theory, but right
now it seemed like Xander's best idea ever.
Suddenly she felt Xander shifting at her side. When she turned around to check, he was
surreptitiously wiping a tear away, his lips shut tight and staring straight ahead as if
he and Willow were aeons apart.
She couldn't take the silence anymore. Her hands shot to grab his. When he didn't respond,
she squeezed it tightly to call his attention. This time it worked. He gripped her hand
strong enough to almost make her hurt, but Willow didn't pay it any attention. Then he
tried to loose his hand but the redhead held stubbornly onto him.
Xander finally relented and looked at her, grief written in bold letters over his
features. Willow answered with the look that had meant 'Talk to me' since she had
discovered that bruise on his wrist eight years ago.
"I just can't believe it," he finally began. "Why? Why not me? Why
Jes-" And he broke down as if he couldn't even say their friend's name.
"I don't know," she confessed, patting his hand reassuringly.
Xander laughed bitterly. "You always had the bright answers," he said, "No
wonder I can't even understand it at all."
"Oh Xander," she murmured again as she reached for his shoulder, as if she could
lend him her strength just by touching him. Willow thought that there should be a way...
"You weren't there today," Xander accused her, "Principal Flutie called us
both to his office but you weren't there..."
Willow bit her lips. She had failed her best friend, she knew it. But she also knew that
she'd make it up for him. She would. "I knew it even earlier, Xander. I wanted to be
at your side so very much... why do you think I've scouted half the town after midnight
looking for you?" She sighed. "But Dad wouldn't let me go, he was so worried for
my safety. I was the one to alert the police. Indirectly, but it was me."
Xander's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"We were supposed to hand in the Physics project today." Both smiled briefly
remembering that Willow had designed it and Jesse had only helped to build it. "But
he never came and I got worried... I called his parents and, well, you know the rest of
the story."
"You should have called me anyway," Xander muttered, swallowing the rest of his
beer.
Willow looked down. "It was too early to call to your house."
Xander remembered what his father had told her the last time she'd called. He laughed
again, though this time it sounded more like a sob to Willow's ears.
"Maybe I should have. I don't know. I wasn't thinking right," she continued.
"Yesterday we were together and laughing and making silly Physics homework and
today..." She glanced meaningfully at the emptiness in front of them. Somehow the
next seconds transformed the innocent hand on his shoulder into an awkward full-bodied
hug. "This is a whole new life, Xander. Nothing will be the same," she whispered
softly, "I don't know how to face it without you."
Xander nodded. "I know what you mean, Wills." He sighed and kissed her crown, a
sign of the untold promise that they would never be apart. "Today I feel like I don't
recognise myself," he confessed into her hair.
Willow scooted as close to him as she could, tightening the hug. It would be so ironic if
the darkest corner at the Bronze was where she finally could express her love. "I
know, Xander. I know..."
Indeed, Willow didn't recognise herself either.
Yesterday night she'd seen Jesse talking animatedly to a strange woman. Willow had
automatically feared that if things went well - as it miraculously happened to be going -
her friend would use it as an excuse to ditch school the next morning. There was no way
Willow would accept a low qualification, not because Jesse couldn't hold his hormones in
check. She had followed them, just to remind him of his obligations.
But soon after leaving the Bronze...
Willow grinned now.
Sure, she felt bad that they'd just killed her friend and left his body for the police to
find. But, unlike Xander, Willow had no interested whatsoever in exchanging their fates.
She had never liked lying to Xander, and apparently that hadn't changed after her own
transformation. But she hadn't been able to tell him the truth. Her friend was too hurt,
too confused and angry to hear her news right now.
Willow smiled. Things would be so much clearer in his new life.
"I'll make it better, Xander," she promised, caressing his hair soothingly.
He shook his head, clearly not believing her words.
Willow smiled again and her eyes flashed golden for a second.
"Oh yes, I will."
The End
04/04/04
Genius to fall asleep to your tape last night
So warm
Sounds go through the muscles
These abstract wordless
Movements, move move move move move.
They start off cells that haven't been touched before
These cells are virgins
Waking up slowly
My headphones
They saved my life
Your tape
It lulled me to sleep
To sleep, to sleep
Nothing will be the same
I'm fast asleep
I like this resonance
It elevates me
I don't recognize myself
This is very interesting
My headphones
They saved my life
Your tape
It lulled me to sleep
To sleep, to sleep
I'm fast asleep now
I'm fast asleep
My headphones
They saved my life
Your tape
It lulled me to sleep
To sleep, to sleep.
