The Bluest Eyes in Texas

[XxLittlePileOcracKersxX]

"Funny shapes, or regulars?"



Willow had just sombered into the kitchen when she saw



Dawn facing her from the oven with a dripping spatula in



hand. She was so thrown by Dawn's question that she



instinctivly looked behind her to see if it was Buffy, not she,



Dawn was speaking to.



"It's only you and me, silly. Buffy spent the night at Riley's



last night - I thought I told you?" Willow took a minute to sit



down, careful not to make herself even dizzier than she



already was. "Dawn," she groaned, a sleepy eyed expression



on her face, "I was so..not with it last night. I can't remember



anything. What time did I even get in?" Willow rested



her arm on the island countertop, running a hand through her



already tossled hair before hearing Dawn mutter, "Mmbout



two er maybe three." Willow clamped her eyes shut and



mentally kicked herself in the face for having let Dawn alone



for that long period of time. Not that she couldn't handle



herself, Willow knew she could. But just.. anything could have



happened. It wont happen again, Willow promised



herself, fighting another wave of naseau rippling its way



through her stomach and up her throat. "Dawn, make me



funny shapes, ok?" Willow wasn't really in the mood to eat



anything right now, but the air around them was



uncomfortable, and the last thing Willow wanted was to have



her conscious picking at her throughout the morning. "Have



you seen the calender lately, Will-"



"Uhhuh." Willow didn't mean for it to come out crisp and



annoyed like it did, and she felt bad as soon as the words left



her lips.



"Oh.. ok. Just checking," Dawn said softly, turning the



pancakes at a weird angle. Forgetting all about her aspirin,



Willow folded her arms and rested her forehead. Not but five



mintues had passed before she heard the door open and shut



quietly, and a groan in the floor. The groan quickly hesitated,



then moved on, and a pair of fingertips found their way to



Willow's temples, gently forming slow circular



motions. "Mmmgood," Willow sighed, leaning into the touch.



She smiled at the smell of Tommy Girl. "How was Riley's," she



whispered, enjoying the swirling sensation of bliss around her



burning eyesockets.



"It was alright.. he had to leave early this morning, call of



duty and all. But he left me a rose on his pillow with a little



card on it. It was sweet, the card said "Just because It's



Wednesday." Willow frowned, her eyes still clamped shut.



"It's Mon-"



"It's the thought that counts," Buffy said quickly, kissing



Willow on the forehead and giving her an I-told-you-so glance



from the corner of her eye as she danced over to steal a



pancake. "Willow.. tonite iffh-"



"I know," Willow sighed. As amusing as it was, trying to



see Buffy talk around the small food particles flying past her



lips - Willow just couldn't stand one more person telling her



tonight was the full moon. Buffy swallowed her bite of food



and began to talk again.



"How's Oz been, you know.."



Willow nodded and told Buffy that Oz was alright, his promise



to her was kept, and the cure he was looking for was found in



a little voodoo shop near the outskirts of Tibet. "Well that's



good," Buffy said thoughtfully before shoving another tiny



peice of pancake in her mouth.



"Do you guys have everything set up? The cage, the



tranquilizer, the net.. if necessary?" Buffy and Dawn both



nodded, eyes wandering down to the puffy scar tissue on



Willow's right hand, above the webbing of her thumb. Quickly



sliding her hand under an armpit, Willow got up from her chair



and left the kitchen, Dawn and Buffy wincing as they heard



feet pound the steps in frustration and a door slam shut in



the distance.



"You think she's going to be alright?" Dawn looked at Buffy, a



sad expression on her face. Buffy nodded, unsure herself how



Willow would act the next three days, and an idea struck her.



"I dont know, Dawn. But I have a friend who just might."

Edited by: XxLittlePileOcracKersxX at: 12/22/04 10:44 pm

[Spikeizmine87]

Awesome start! I love the format this is written in! So much easier to read!! Definatly wondering where this is headed! Hope you write more soon!

-Rose

"You were everything, everything that I wanted, we were meant to be supposed to be, but we lost it. All the memories so close to me just fade away.."-Avril

[behindhereyes]

Great beginning....



I'm guessing the scar tissue on Willow is from a bite or scratch from Oz.... hmmm



update soonish



behindhereyes

Kim

"To the world, you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world"

[LizPuRR]

well you've peeked my interest.....cant wait to see what happens next.....

-----------------------------

and i'm not cocky, i'm confident...

[XxLittlePileOcracKersxX]

Setting: Sunnydale, with all its hellmouthish, hellbeasty glories

Spoilers: None. Totally AU (in the sense that Willow is not only a witch, with other issues - and Oz has a little surprise of his own )

Feedback: Whatever I need to fix, feel free to chime in - thnx!



Chapter 2: Oz will be Oz



Willow sat cross legged on her bed and twirled a loose mattress string between her fingers. If there had ever been a time where she felt the need to make something explode with just her thoughts.. well, now would be it. Anger coiled itself in a ball at the pit of her stomach, but for all the wrong reasons. She was angry at Oz for one, for not being there at that particular moment - for not flying through her window with a dashing red cape and a rose between his teeth, ready to hold her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be ok. But she suddenly felt stupid for feeling so selfish, needing him when he obviously did not need her. If he did, he wouldn't be practicing with the whatstheirnames.

Great work, Rosenburg. Not only have you given in to your self pity, but now your friends probably hate you for storming off like a total bitch.

Willow swung her legs over the bedside and leaned over, staring at the uprooted pink tissue that puffed slightly upward, resembling the trunk of a tree.

She remembered the night it happened.. Oz and herself had been out on patrol with Buffy, Riley, and Spike right after their encounter with Leptroi - a demon associated with the First. She remembered being extra careful, not to wander into any dark alleys or stumble into a loaded crypt.

She stuck by Oz, who (like always) had the calmest of calm attitude about him.

It wasn't supposed to happen like it did..



*Flashback*

"Ooh, look at the stars," Willow swooned, hooking her arm around Oz's. The air was too cold for comfort, the inside of Willow's nose feeling frozen everytime she took a breath.

"Keep focused.. I don't want you going off and getting attacked," Oz breathed, small puffs of smoke trailing his mouth.

They walked a bit faster, the crossbow at Oz's side bouncing and clanking against his hip as he took longer strides, glancing around the cemetary.

"You know," Willow said, her eyes wandering to the crossbow, "That thing's going to break sooner or later if we don't slow down."

"Can't slow down," Oz panted.

Feeling a little nervous, Willow let go of his arm and walked at a brisk pace beside him. "Oz, what's the matter with you? Why are you acting so.. strange tonight?"

Without giving her an answer, Oz broke into a swift jog, deserting his weaponry in the grass as he did so.

"Oz!" Willow shouted, trying to keep up behind him. When her lungs couldn't take the sharp intakes of cold air any longer, she stopped and watched him run into a nearby shed.

What in the hell is wrong with him? Willow thought as she turned, catching a quick glimpse of Buffy and Riley walking out from behind a tombstone.

"And so the duck said, 'that's not my ass!'"

Willow heard them chuckle and saw fingers entwine before they even noticed her in the pathway.

"Oh, Will - didja find something? You look upset.." Buffy gave her a concerning look, then briefly scanned the area. "Where's Oz?"

Willow told them both how her and Oz were doing fine, having patrol and looking at the stars, well she was more interested in the stars than he was, but then all of a sudden how he just kind of ran away from her and hid somewhere. Willow turned and pointed a finger towards the old church shed.

"He went in there. Buffy, I'm afraid something is wrong with him," Willow whispered, worry and confusion almost spilling over the rims of her eyes. Riley checked his hip, where most of his guns and ammo were kept, and cleared his throat. "We'll check it out Will. Just sit tight here for a minute."

Buffy and Riley started towards the shed, both silently whispering for the other to spread out, cover more ground so that whoever/whatever was causing Oz to act so strange would be surrounded.

Absentmindedly fingering the triggers of his guns, Riley slowly crept around the side of the shed wall - hearing whatever it was inside growl something ungodlike. "What in the blue hell.." Riley snuck to one of the windows that hung well two feet above his head, and making one swift jump he clung to the pane and lifted his weight so he could see just what it was that was inside.

At first, he saw nothing. Just some old tools, some crosses and an old lawnmower. Until he saw the black sillouette of something bigger than anything he'd seen in his entire career as Lt.

Losing his grip on the window pane, Riley fell to the ground, causing the shed walls to rattle a bit. He hesitated, and whatever loomed inside hesitated also. Attempting to take one slow step away from whatever it was in there, Riley almost put his boot to the ground when he felt the earth shake, and the entire shed collapse.

Buffy, just on the other side, screamed with her hands to her face as a creature stood on its full hind legs in front of them. In the distance, Willow was awe struck - whatever that thing was, it wasn't Oz.

It stood a good ten feet above Riley Finn's own head, the tuffs of fur on its body quivering in anger as Buffy continued to shriek. Its claws.. more resembled small butcher knives - on its hands and feet.

All together, the thing was monstrous.

Letting out a sickning, low rumble of fury, the beast turned bloodshot eyes in Buffy's direction, silencing her immediatly.

"Buffy! Buffy, Oh my goddess.." Willow screamed, terrified.

No sooner did Willow cry out her best friend's name than did the 'thing' resume the four legged position, now making its way towards her. "Oh goddess, help.. HELP!" Willow made a mad dash for the exit of the cemetary, the whole way her mind babbled on.

Where will I go if I DO make it out? What about Riley and Buffy..What about Spike? Wait.. I don't care about Spike.. oh Goddess oh Goddess oh Goddess...

When Willow reached the gates of the cemetary, she gasped and stumbled towards a locked enterance. "Who..what..oh, no," she said quietly, turning to face a full fledged killing machine sprinting in her direction.

Willow fought back the tears that still seemed to force their way out, her nose burning in fear, the urge to vomit and soil herself strong.

When the werewolf (she was guessing that's what it was) was but mere inches from her body.. teasing, taunting her fear that tickled its way up her spine, Willow held her hands to her face in a last attempt to live, and screamed when she felt knives dig into the flesh of her hand.

Gasping in pain, Willow watched as the werewolf howled painfully towards the moon, still gripping her hand, and the 16ft monstrous body morphed slowly back down to her beloved Oz.



*Back in Willow's room, present day*



There were tears puddled on Willow's lap, she didn't realize she had been crying.

"Willow.." Buffy's voice was like a dagger scraping its way up Willows spine, the silence collapsing around her in that one word.

"Willow, we're sorry.. please, come out - Dawn made more funny looking pancakes. I saved the one that looks like George Clooney for you," Buffy's desperation seeped into the creases of Willow's doorframe, and sitting up to wipe the wetness from her lap, Willow gently turned the knob and stared at her friend.

Buffy's lower lip jutted out in a forgive-me pout, and she leaned in to embrace Willow with a Slayer grip.

"Buffy," Willow squeaked, feeling her fingers go numb, "Air.. issue.." Buffy quickly released her and smiled awkwardly.

"Sorry. I'm just glad you aren't mad at me.. us." Her brow furrowed a bit. "You aren't, are you?"

Willow shook her head no and told Buffy she'd be down in a little bit to eat George Clooney.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen Dawn fanned a black cloud that formed over the pancakes with her oven mit and coughed. "Buff--*cough*--" choking, she turned on the oven fan and opened a window.

Buffy walked in and her lip curled upwards, waving a hand in front of her. "What in God's name are you KILLING child?" Dawn frowned and dumped her creation in the garbage.

Picking up the phone, Buffy held it between her ear and her shoulder, sitting down at the island.

"Hey, I'm back."

"Finally. And about this little charade you've put me in.. i'm being paid, right?"

"Of course you're being paid."

"Alright, then what's our circumstance."

"Circumstance?" Buffy shifted the phone from ear to ear. "Our circumstance is that we have a shewolf in our midst - it's the night before the new full moon, and I have no freggin clue how to tame a 16ft beast. That's what I'm paying you for."

"Hmm.. I'll check out what types of supplies I have, ask some friends, see if they know a little more about it than I do. Doubt it though, I've been tracking werewolves down for years. I'm the best, not to toot my own horn and all."

Buffy chuckled. "Aren't you the funny one. I'm glad we stayed in touch after high school, Tara. You're one hell of a friend. Thank you again for helping me out."

Tara smiled on her end of the phone. "You too, Buffy. You know i'm here anytime you need me. See you tonight - oh, and Buff?"

"Yeah?"

Tara dropped her voice. "Be ready."

Edited by: XxLittlePileOcracKersxX at: 12/22/04 11:06 pm

[onyxsundrops]

You've got me curious to see where this is headed. Great update, I look forward to reading more.



Yvonne

[Arwen276]

Nice start, I'm extremely intrigued!



Keep it up!!





~Arwen

Hear That Baby? You're My Always... Willow

[wimpy0729]

Hey LPOC,



Interesting start. Can't wait to see what's going to happen.



Of course, I'm thinkin Willow just needs to dump fur-boy and get ready to be swept off her feet. Yay for Buffy having a friend named Tara who is coming to save the day!



Wimpy

[numbered words]

Hmm



I gotta say you've sparked my interest.



-kristyn

[silentinformer]

Tara is a werewolf hunter does she have a little costume too like maybe cargos and skintight tanktop to fight in ... so is oz a werewolf too or is it just willow cause i don't remember if you put that in maybe it was just temporary possession



More soon if it pleases you



Silent

It's like I can't breathe, It's like I can't see anything, Nothing but you, I'm addicted to you



- Kelly Clarkson "Addicted"

[behindhereyes]

Julia



This story is great ! Now you just need to update it .







behindheryes

Kim

"To the world, you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world"

[Tempest Duer]

So Willow's a wolfie... and Tara's a wolf hunter? Or a wolf... tamer? Hehe... shackles and whips and stuff?

I got bitten by a drunk lesbian! Does that mean I'll turn into one?



~my friend Mary

[XxLittlePileOcracKersxX]

When Tara finally came by the house, Buffy was already on her fourth cup of coffee. As soon as she heard Tara's car pulling into the driveway, her mug was placed in the sink and she headed for the door.

"About time," Buffy grunted, her face contorting in a slight yawn. Teeth chattering against the wind, she held the door open as Tara made her way in with a large bag full of weapons and misc. antidotes.

"Thanks, B" Tara gasped as she hoisted the sack on her shoulder, bending down to pick up a dagger that had fallen out. Concern etched Buffy's face.

"Whats the dagger for?"

Tara shrugged and tossed it back into the bag. "You can never be too careful," she sighed as the sack dropped to the floor with a clank!, and she began sorting through her stuff. Buffy smiled, still worried of what it might come to. That if worse came to worse, Tara might actually have to kill Willow.

Tara's head jolted toward the steps when she heard a noise, her first instinct being to throw whatever she had handy at the unseeable. Moments later they heard a squeak and saw Willow frozen halfway down the stairs, a stake inches from her nose, logged in the wall.

"Gonna tell me what the heck's going on?" Willow asked Buffy shakily, eyeing the weapon that now seemed so close, Willow noticed, looking at it made her eyes cross.

Buffy sighed. A new hole in the wall would be her money. Not that she hadn't dont the same exact thing before, because she had to her mother hundreds of times. Whenever Joyce made a midnight journey up the stairs to check on Buffy, sound in bed, she'd get a large sword or stake thrown through the wall beside her instead. But still, her money...

"Sorry, itza reflex" Tara said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck in guilt.

Willow swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.

"Well, let's get to know each other!" Buffy said, trying to break the tension that had formed in those last few minutes. She clasped her hands together and looked from Tara to Willow, making a slight gesture with her hand toward Tara.

"Willow..this is Tara." She watched as Willow's mouth opened a little, as if to speak, but she finally managed to say, "Nice to meet you."

Tara nodded politely and held a hand up, signaling Buffy to 'stop' before she could finish the introduction.

"Buff, this is obviously the Willow i'm looking after. Seeing as you called her Willow, the introduction kind of ended right there for me." Buffy smirked. "Yeah, this is the dangerous one."

Tara looked up, amused at the thought. Willow was wearing a fuzzy pink sweater with a 'Mr. Smiley' on the front, and a flowered skirt with yellow sandels. She looked more like a kindergarten teacher than a dangerous hellbeast.

Willow's cheeks burned. She felt like a child being talked about while still in the room. Poor defensless Willow, she mimicked silently, can't hurt a fly. Can't take care of herself like a Slayer.. or werewolf hunter.

Tara's pocket began to vibrate, and she took out a shaking cell phone to check the caller ID.

"Fuck me," she sighed, flipping it open.

"What is it Deidre?" She huffed, glancing at Buffy and making a face. "Wha...when?" Tara's brow furrowed and she shook her head in disappointment. Putting a hand on her hip - to keep her from punching it through a wall - she turned her back on Willow and Buffy.

"I can't Deidre, I'm working. Well...then if..." Tara sighed and shut her eyes, obviously defeated by whomever she was speaking with. When the phone went dead, Tara grabbed her bag and faced Buffy.

"I have to go, B. Another werewolf attack down at the University. My roommate just told me it's killed 13 professors and half a dozen kids so far." She paused. "They don't know where it is, or if it'll come back, so i'll just -"

Buffy interrupted, panicked. "You can't leave me alone with Willow!" She turned around and gave an apologetic look to her friend, who seemed to be almost in tears.

"I'm sorry to say that Will...but you know what you're turning into. We all saw Oz that night, I had no idea he'd been keeping it from us for so long...now you..." Tara held both hands in front of Buffy, telling her to slow it down.

"Woah there, B. Calm your horses and yank the reigns, no need to worry here - i'm taking furry woman with me."

Buffy's stomach stopped knotting and her face softened. "Be careful. The two of you. I can't go losing both of my best friends in one night, it'll kill me."

Tara gave a crooked smile and hugged Buffy with her bag of ammo banging at the hip. "If I don't come back," she mused, "I'm either way dead, or I stopped to grab a coffee."

Buffy giggled, which is what Tara intended on making her doing, but it was a worried giggle. "You heard me," she said, finger poking Tara in the chest playfully.

When Willow and Tara had situated themselves comfortably in the SUV, Tara messed with the radio station until she found one she liked, and rocked her head to 'Breaking Benjamin'.

Willow grimaced. "You like hard metal?"

Tara shrugged a shoulder, starting the ignition. "Gets the blood flowing," she said.

Before long, Willow began singing along with the words. "Hey," she shouted over the sound system, "you were right!"

"Of course I am," Tara smiled at Willow, then looked back at the road. When her music began to skip and get old, Willow rummaged through Tara's CD's in the glove compartment. Tara decided to make conversation - the music was the only thing breaking silence their first 20 minutes down the road.

"So, who's this Oz fella' I heard Buffy talking about?"

She glanced over at Willow, who was pretending to read a list of songs on the back cover of a Red Hot Chili Peppers CD. "Is he a boyfriend or something?"

Willow set the CD down and looked out the window. "Or something. We're just friends," she confessed. "He's the one who changed me."

Tara's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

"Yeah, after that...I just kind of lost touch with him. I guess he was a crush, a very very long time ago, but that was in kindergarten...and i'm over it." She paused. "Do you have... I mean, are you dating anybody?"

Tara smiled. "Guys have never really liked me, never asked me out on dates when I was a kid. I was always the shy one who stuttered and hid behind her own hair. It was sweet for a while, until I started to gain more confidence...and yeah."

Willow was curiously interested. "So, you've never been kissed?"

Tara let out a short laugh, then covered her mouth with the palm of her hand to excuse the sudden outburst.

"Hun," she said, "I've been kissed many different times, on many different occasions, in many different places."

Willow frowned. "But you said guys never..." she stopped and formed a small 'o' with her mouth. "Ohhh," she said, understanding. "Just so we're on the right page, we are discussing how you prefer women over men, right?"

Tara smirked. "Always have."

Willow crossed her arms, not knowing exactly what to say. "Well...I don't have anything against it, i mean gay is super - i've thought of kissing girls myself, like when i'm in the mall and I see a girl that looks kinda cute I say to myself, 'Wow self, that is one cute girl!' and then try to imagine her kissing me...which now that I think of it sounded alot less lesbian in my head a minute ago."

Tara again gave her crooked smile and peeked over at Willow who was looking troubled.

"Do you...do that often?"

Willow turned to face Tara, feeling she'd just made an ass of herself. "Do what?"

Tara shifted gears. "Babble without knowing you're doing it"

Willow's face began to burn. "I...did I babble? I didnt mean to, just something that creeps up on yours truly, and-"

"You're doing it again."

Willow shut her mouth and decided not to open it for the rest of the trip.

"It's alright, don't be embarrassed," Tara mused, tapping Willow's hand. "It's kinda cute, actually."

Willow began to smile, tickled at the fact that this big tough werewolf hunter just called her cute - but right as her lips began to spread into a silly grin, a wave of sickness came over her, and instead of a smile her face contorted in pain.

Tara noticed the change and frowned. "Hey, if you'd rather me not hit on you-"

Willow grabbed Tara's arm and squeezed, her insides churning madly.

Realizing the situation, Tara kicked it into first gear and sped down a backroad towards her home. The last thing she wanted was another werewolf killing the rest of her mourning classmates at the scene of a previous werewolf attack.

"I'm," Willow grunted, her nose starting to ascend into a large, wolf-like snout.

"I know," Tara said, changing gears and gritting her teeth. "Just hold on for one more minute, damnit...almost there..."

Willow's breath became ragged due to her pain, and as her body convulsed against Tara's seat, she began to violently rip her own human flesh from her body, revealing thick tuffs of fur underneath. "Can't ...wait!" Willow screamed, it slowly turning into a deep howl as the length of her body increased greatly, becoming too large for the small SUV and she stretched out her arms, breaking the roof of Tara's car clean off.

"Aww, c'mon!" Tara moaned, furiated that her new car had been already ruined. As she tripled their speed, Willow hanging out the gaping hole of the roof, Tara watched Willow spring from the car with ease and hit the ground running, heading for Texas University. Using all her strength in twisting the steering wheel, Tara donutted and spun in a 180 degree turn, facing the opposite way in which they were just heading she accelerated in a path toward the college, in hopes that this time she wasn't too late.

[willohand]

this is just

[Tempest Duer]

Never thought of Tara as the type to like metal.



And Willow... should not be a dangerous hellbeast. But hey, that's what she gets for spending time with Oz, right?

I got bitten by a drunk lesbian! Does that mean I'll turn into one?



~my friend Mary

[JulesP600]

Excellent



This is a great story.



Jules s

The only way to have a friend is to be one

[XxLittlePileOcracKersxX]

Hey everyone, i am really sorry i havent updated in like, forever, i am just so busy with the little one and havent had the time to myself to sit and write anything. I will try soon!