Part Two
Willow stared at the computer screen in front of her but did not see the information that was displayed on it. Instead, she saw a quiet pond, a young woman, and a man with the face of youth. Her ears did not hear the instructions of the teacher. Instead, she heard the soft murmur of voices, a murmur punctuated not only by tears, but also by laughter.
Laughter. She hadn't thought she'd be able to laugh. Her heart's pain had seemed too great to allow for joy. Angel's suggestion of remembering the joy of being friends with the love of your life had worked. The pain wasn't gone, nor was it any less, but it was a little easier to handle.
"Who would've thought a vampire would know about the pain of the heart," she murmured to herself as her hands idly moved over the keyboard.
Willow smiled gently as she thought of the previous night. She and Angel had spent almost the entire night either talking or just sitting quietly on the park bench. Just before the sun had risen, they made a mad dash for shelter. Angel's shelter: his apartment. He had invited her to come back to his apartment that night so they could talk some more and she had decided to do so.
She was going to spend the night with a vampire! The sound of that statement caused Willow to giggle. "Spend the night! What a suggestive thought." Her giggles escalated to a full-blown laugh.
"Excuse me, Ms. Rosenberg, but would you care to share the joke with the rest of the class?" Ms. Calendar, the computer teacher, asked in her best Giles imitation.
Willow looked at her and thought then simply said, "Nope," and returned to her work.
Nonplussed Ms. Calendar walked back to her desk. She sat down and stared at Willow. The girl's behavior had her confused and worried. Willow was not behaving like herself. Ms. Calendar decided to talk to Giles about Willow's behavior later. The whole group was meeting in the library at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the current vampire situation. If she got there half an hour early she could talk to Giles about Willow without the others eavesdropping. Ms. Calendar nodded her head decisively then got back to her own work.
Giles looked up at the sound of the library door opening. As his head moved he spoke, "Good, Willow, you're finally..." His voice trailed off when he saw that his visitor was Jenny Calendar and not the young hacker. "Oh, it's you."
"Yes, Rupert, it's me. Since you brought her name up maybe you could tell me what has got her so distracted?" Ms. Calendar asked looking at the librarian in annoyance.
"Distracted, hmmm. I'm afraid I don't know what's wrong. But something must be wrong. She was supposed to be here a half an hour ago to get some information from that awful machine for me. She has yet to show up." A look of inspiration suddenly lit his eyes and he started to wander away, "Hmmm, I wonder..."
"You wonder... you wonder what, Rupert? Do you know what's wrong with Willow?" Jenny cried.
"Hmmm," Giles looked at Jenny and said, "No, not Willow, something else. Ta," then he walked off into the stacks.
"Ta! Ta! Oh, that insufferable man," she growled as she sat in a chair and waited for everyone to get to the library.
When Xander and Buffy walked in she suddenly realized what was wrong with Willow. Willow was feeling like a fifth wheel. She watched and listened as Buffy and Xander walked into the room together, hand in hand. They were both practically glowing and they wore ridiculous grins. They were talking at the same time but they weren't really listening to one another. The words they spoke were mirrors. What one said the other had already said or was just about to say. They spoke of love, the wonder of being in love, and the perfection of the one they were in love with. They were too sappy for words with their actions of newfound love.
"Poor Willow," Jenny murmured. "She must be devastated. Xander has a girlfriend and it's Buffy. She has no one to turn to for consolation. I'll talk to Willow after the meeting. She needs a friend right now and I can fill the job."
Jenny's plans were ruined though. Willow never showed up for the meeting and only Giles and Ms. Calendar noticed. Buffy and Xander were too busy thinking about other 'things' to notice anything that happened at the meeting. As soon as they all finished talking about the activities of the vampires, Buffy and Xander practically ran out of the library. The two were very eager to spend some time alone together. They never even noticed the absence of Willow.
"Do you think you could talk to Willow, Jenny? I think she needs a friend," Giles asked quietly, his worry evident on his face.
"I'd planned to but she didn't show up so I'll try to catch her after class tomorrow. Bye, Rupert." Jenny left the library; her shoulders weighed down by her worry for a favorite student.
End Part Two
Romantic Intentions
Memories of Love or Lust
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