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DISCLAIMER: They are mine. No, they aren't. They are mine. No, they aren'...
SUMMARY: S2, post-Phases. Willow forgets something important, then tries to make up
for it.
WORDCOUNT: 1213
THANKYOU: to Lucey, for giving me some ideas and hearing about my hectic life.
*SMOOCH*
DEDICATION: for FaithGirl because it's her birthday and she asked for W/O.
HOW TO... BE A GOOD GIRLFRIEND
by Leni
Willow knocked on the door, a nervous smile playing on her lips.
She knew she had been wrong. Very, very wrong. She could only hope Oz would forgive her.
Did he really have heart enough to forget about her transgression? Her fingers crossed as
the smile dropped and instead Willow bit her lip. She hated not being sure of an outcome,
that probably was why she likes sciences so much.
Sciences were exact, nothing like a serious relationship at all. She had discovered
in the hard way that relationships were difficult. Much more complicated than anything
Willow had imagined in the past. Oh, there were kisses and there were sweet words and
sometimes she felt they fit so perfectly that she couldn't believe she'd lived without
him. But most of the time, it was confusing. Their schedules never coincided, their tastes
rarely matched. Willow still wasn't used to the concept of being part of someone's
life, having someone care in that special way solely for you.
Things were completely different as to how she'd imagined back when she still pinned for
Xander. Mainly because the boys were so different. Oz couldn't possibly know that the tiny
scar in her knee was from when she ran after Jesse in second grade, reckless because he'd
taken her favourite teddybear -he'd threatened to paint a moustache on it! - and she
hadn't seen the steps until it was too late. Oz didn't know that she hated mint ice-cream
because it tasted like toothpaste, and why would someone want to eat toothpaste?
Oz was caution where Xander had always marched straight into problems. Oz was patience
where Xander was too curious for his own good. Yet, as different as the two were, Willow
still had a special place in her heart for both. But there was a problem, she never knew
where to draw the line between loving friendship and friendly love. It frustrated her to
no end when Oz walked seamlessly between them.
It was true that at first she had been attracted by his status as a guitarist. But
nowadays music just seemed to be a wall between them. Willow had always liked pop music,
romantic cliché lines which made her sigh and smile foolishly. Oz’s music was
exactly the opposite and sometimes she didn’t understand how such a sweet guy could
play songs like that. But then, why would such a sweet guy become an expert killer three
nights of the month? Willow had tried to climb that wall, she’d tried so very hard.
Being that good girl she was, she’d researched tirelessly for the things Oz mentioned
so much. At least, she’d hoped, she would be able to understand the foreign jargon he
and Devon used in front of her.
But things hadn’t resulted as she’d expected. Oz had just smiled at her antics,
and she could still swear that his eyes had been laughing. “Don’t worry your
pretty head about that,” he’d murmured before dropping a sweet short kiss to her
lips. Why didn’t he understand that she wasn’t just ‘worrying her pretty
head’? Willow just wanted to be a part of his world, to understand every shade of him
just as she understood Xander’s and Buffy’s. Willow wasn’t looking for
deep, meaningful discussions about 80’s vs. 60’s like the ones she overheard
when she went see the Dingoes practice, but she wanted to be able to at least understand
what they were talking about.
She knocked the door again.
But her annoyance at his behaviour was still no excuse for what she’d done the day
before. So she’d grabbed the few savings she had, resolutely walked to Blockbuster
and then to the bakery – no time to do it herself! - and finally here she was, ready
to ask for forgiveness and kiss him silly until he forgot what a bad girlfriend she was.
Willow shifted uncomfortably on her feet as nobody answered the door. She glanced at the
box balanced precariously in one hand and the smaller blue & yellow packet on top of
it. Maybe there wasn’t anybody home? It could happen. After all, Oz’ parents
were rarely home. His mother was always too busy at the hospital and Mr. Osbourne seemed
to live in his office in the next town. Willow knew for a fact that Oz practically lived
on his own, with his guitar and Chinese take-out as his companions. After she’d
discovered that situation, Willow had made sure to make a double batch of special brownies
and/or cookies on Saturday. It had always worked on Xander and it certainly never failed
to cheer her boyfriend up.
She knocked once more, crossing her fingers again. Now she only hoped that he hadn’t
gone out with his band mates. Willow would be so embarrassed if those witless boys had
remembered what she’d so stupidly omitted!
Willow groaned at the thought. She simply couldn’t believe she’d forgotten such
a special occasion!
True, yesterday had been a chaotic day... and she knew Oz would understand that because
he’d been on the middle of it too. But, wasn’t Willow supposed to be the perfect
girlfriend? She just should never forget things like that. Not even if evil demons had
been causing havoc in the town.
It had begun weeks ago, with an unknown demon hunting in the central parks. It had been
disconcerting because people disappeared in the middle of the day. Not even the in-bred
denial in the town could have missed something like that.
Finally some days ago they'd found the reason: It was a shapeshifter. After school hours
had been used to research it and only last afternoon had Giles finally run across the
right spell. After that it had been a race to obtain the right ingredients and have
everything ready before nightfall. Giles had cast the spell, grudgingly letting Willow
help with some necessary details. Willow knew that the grin she wore as she let some
powder fall in circles around him wasn’t appropriate for the situation. But she
didn’t really care, she had been so excited!
So excited that she’d forgotten that the best boyfriend on the planet had been born
exactly eighteen years ago.
Now she looked forlornly at her gifts. She could always put the cake in the fridge and
rent the movie for another day. She had herself so witty when she rented ‘American
Werewolf in Paris’...
Suddenly depressed, Willow managed three steps away from the door before it opened.
“Willow?”
Willow smiled as she turned around to greet her boyfriend. The words died in her throat as
she saw him only in his boxers. His wet – now blue – hair dripping onto the
towel around her shoulders. So that was why nobody answered the door... Oz had been taking
a shower. She gulped and managed something resembling a ‘Hi’. Not even when she
won the Science Competition in fifth grade had been so proud of herself.
Looking at her curiously, he nodded towards the packets in her arms. “What are
those?”
A ‘huh?’ escaped her before she could stop it, then snapped herself out of it as
she remembered why she was at his place in the first place.
“Happy belated birthday!”
Oz grinned and opened the door wider to let her in.
The End
10/03/04
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