Kirsty AKA KeoNewgo
haha Old finchy really told V where to go awesome!
Tara was so sweet, making sure Faith's actions were achnowledged .
‘Old Finchy’ another great name! *Yoink* May need to steal it! Great to see her get one right ! And yeah, Tara is a good friend and an honorable person.
The breast naming...by far, and I mean far one of the funniest scenes I have ever read! The interaction between the girls was brilliant. I could just see Tara with a lil' smile and Willow all bouncy and excited haha
I’m totally blushing – thank you!!!! Really appreciate your reading and taking time to F/B!
Robin AKA Lonelytara:I love that Mrs. Finch finally wasn't an idiot for once--Veronica deserved to muck those stalls and it was great that she acknowledged Tara's rescue of Veronica, and that Tara in turn acknowledged Faith.
Thanks!!!
The breast-naming was sweet and totally delicious (pun firmly intended)
PS--Super-flattered that you liked my breast names!
EDIT!-- I meant the breast names I suggested for your fic. Mine don't have names. LOL and
Are you
sure that ‘Jub-jub’ and ‘Svetlana’ weren’t . . . OKAY, just a joke!!!
SMGOVAN:Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Gotta love the sea and love.
Glad you like the names! Many thanks to all contributors and to you
for reading and commenting!
I'm sure Bitchy Chase and her mini me have a whole lot of nastiness in store for our girls in the upcoming chapters.
Put down that Chrystal Ball!!! You’re doing it again! And I’m sorry you are right . . .
BlondCavalier:Wow, I loved the breast-naming section! It was SO hilarious and sweet!
Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for ‘Mungojerrie’, ‘Rumpelteazer’, ‘Momo’ and ‘Binky’ – don’t know WHY Tara turned them down!
Glad you appreciated Tara acknowledging Faith’s share in the rescue!
Wimpy:Well, score one for the Finchmeister here for putting Veronica in her place.
About time!
That was so nice that Tara was acknowledged, and in turn did the same for Faith. Very nice touch. Faith cracked me up.
Yes, Tara did right by Faith and Faith is up to even more of her tricks – and I think you'll like it - stay tuned!
Maggie AKA Leonhart17lol Tara shot down my suggestions! Not that I blame her - those are pretty bad breast names....
Hey, I was pulling for ‘Morticia’ and ‘Gomez’ but Tara’s kind of picky I guess . . .
You and
Zampsa19752001 are on the same page, worried about Cordelia and Veronica’s conversation. So far it’s strictly download, but it could get worse . . .
Zampsa19752001:Yay for Mrs. F to send Bitch V to muck up the stalls and acknowledged that Tara saved Bitch V.
Bitch V *Yoink!* May be stealing that one! Thanks for wicked wit!
I hope Willow soon has an uninterrupted opportunity to return the "melting" favour to Tara...
Not half as much as she does! Seriously, Willow and Tara as well have a lot to learn about making love but the journey is part of the magic. Thanks for writing!
Laragh:Hahahahahahahahahaha @ Veronica getting mucking duty. Bitch deserves it.
I think you caught the essence of people’s feelings about this! Thank-you!
I can't even...the ENTIRE breast naming scene was so unbelieveably funny. Makes me wish I'd explored things more in mine!!
Well, I sat in for some “Lessons in Love” AND the designated chapter and LOVED your names,
S. and
M.J. were adorable and hilarious! Glad you got ‘Fibonacci’! ‘Pi’ is a gimme but ‘the golden proportion’ fits one of the threads running through this fic and will come up again. Thanks for reading and commenting – love your wit!
Vampyregurl AKA Heather:Your sweet
says, “yes, please!” and is picturing you on your purple velvet chaise lounge . . .
No melting in the cabin? Mmm, well Tara's reasoning is sound, besides would you really want a 7 year old walking in on you mid-melt?
Absolutely not! Hence, no cabin melting! However, Willow is a master of mathematics and she is working on this uh ‘problem’!
Mighty good of the Finchster to give Tara credit for a job well done and even better of Tara to give Faith her dues, since Finchy conveniently left her out.
‘Finchster’ *Yoink*-able! As to the hero comment, very true! Tara told Mrs. Finch in the office that it took both her and Faith but, of course Faith works in the kitchen . . .
As to Mouse, possible ‘Breast girl in training’, Willow didn’t give her any instructions but hoped that bringing Mouse close enough to Tara would elicit the same result as before! As to the upcoming ‘shudder’ this one is all Cordelia. Fasten your seatbelt, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
Shel AKA FineyMcFine: That was actually supposed to be 'Moronica'...no thanks to my lousy typing skillz.
Hey, belated thanks for the name ‘Moronica’ – you bring your wit out to play and the story is the richer for it!!! See your name in action soon!
A big yay, FINALLY, for Mistress Finch supporting Tara instead of siding with the spawn of satan. It's about damn time! But just as I was doing a happy dance for her support, there she goes and only publicly thanks Tara...one step forward, two steps back. *sighs* Poor Faith.
‘Spawn of Satan’ and your thought about Veronica/Damien/The Omen – good one! (Definitely *Yoink*-worthy, stay tuned!) On the positive side, Faith gets some of her own back in this post . . .
Thank you for commenting on “Rosenberg’s Emporium of Ear Tickling” and Willow’s unbelievable cuteness. More of cute-Willow in the next post. Also that Tara acknowledges Faith’s share in the hero department. Yep, that’s why we love her (among countless other reasons!)
Glad you were touched by Tara’s reassurance and Willow’s recharge of her ‘Tara-love battery’ Thanks again for being so detailed in your feedback.
Now on to boob naming... what else can I say??
And I can only say, THANKS!!!
BeMyDeputy:
I wholeheartedly approve of campers named "Kate." It's a good, strong name.
Kate, I’m always grateful for an opinion from an objective third party!
<=right back at you!
I'm enjoying the story quite a bit. The girls are innocent and adorable; I totally back your justification of their innocence. One thing I like about deleted lines is that the writer gets to decide if they describe reality or not.
Thank you very much for enjoying the story AND supporting my view on their innocence. I am using the deleted line from “Family” that Tara was slow to speak, not as slow as Donnie states, however. This will be mentioned later . . .
I totally loved Willow's reaction to orgasm. A friend of mine once talked about how he was told that masturbation was this natural, normal thing that no one should be ashamed to do, but no one warned him of the consequences; he was pretty freaked out. Thankfully for Willow, she's got Tara there.
Couldn’t agree more! Very intense, perhaps a cautionary label . . .
I think one of my favorite things about this is to watch how your writing is getting steadily better. It makes me proud, because I like to think I helped.
Definitely! Specific help from the get-go included the link to the Buffyverse for shooting scripts and detailed criticism with your reasons for why you felt something worked or didn’t work. You were definitely generous with your insight and advice – still grateful for your time! And, yes, I write every day. When you give feedback like you did to Vazy you are at your shining best: clear and helpful and kind! Also, ‘Xena’ and ‘Gabrielle’ was a nod to that line of dialogue in QofH, laughter from one heart to another!
Oh, and I guess section nine. Possibly ten. Though the more I think about it, the more I realize I don't know how I write.
Cryptic much? Can you elaborate? I value your thoughts but need some clarification on this one. Thanks, again!
Rick AKA willowtaralover:You’re with the ‘in crowd’ on Veronica getting mucky-time! Glad you also liked “Rosenberg’s Emporium of Ear Tickling” – you and
FineyMcFine are together on that one! So you know “The Bad Seed” and fear there’s no lightning for little V – uh oh!
Tara looked straight into Willow’s eyes, “C-can’t you see inside my heart?” Her blue eyes shone in a way that Willow knew was just for her, “I love you Willow.”
This is such a beautiful little moment between the girls and the fact that Tara only stutters once show’s what a positive influence Willow is on her girlfriend
Tara IS stuttering less, good catch!
I like that Tara is acknowledged as being the one who saved ‘Moronica’ and the horses from serious injury and even possible death, and she in turn acknowledges Faith’s help and gets her up on the platform beside her. It shows how big and open her heart is. We should all have a best friend or sister like Tara.
Lover is okay, too . . . Tara did the right thing, which is why she is Tara!
Answer to your question on
how to play Marco Polo: The person ‘it’ wades or swims with eyes shut, trying to tag someone else. When the he ‘it’ person says, ‘marco’ then the other players must reply ‘polo’ which helps the ‘it’ person use the sound of the replies to tag someone. Simple and fun, still play it myself when I can find any takers!
Loved the scene where Willow and Tara are trying to name each other’s breasts. Personally I thought Pinky and Pointy were perfectly good names for breasts. When I get a girlfriend I’ll definitely give them that name.
Butting in girl, here! Check to see if they’re up for it, girls have opinions about breast names (or no names) – trust me!
[quote] I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a story as much since I read
LARAGH’S ‘Taking a bite outta the apple’. You can compare me to
Laragh any time – she’s one kind-hearted and talented lady! Thanks for writing and bring the pirates!
Title: How I met your mother*
Author: Ariel
Email:
blaziak@yahoo.com
Feedback: All feedback welcomed, specific input appreciated.
Rating: PG-13 for language and discussion of various behaviors
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, but I love to take them for a ride!
Summary: A/U before season 1, the summer after Willow's freshman year with a large dose of Queen Cordelia at her bitchy best and teen-aged angst.
*no connection to the sit-com of the same name
Thoughts are in italics.
Once more and always, feedback is golden and is loved and often listened to – thanks for reading and thanks for writing!
Part 15: The Court of the Star Chamber
Willow woke up, blinking into the semi-darkness, trying to snuggle back down into Tara’s arms and hoping to fall asleep again and avoid a night time ramble to the bathroom. She stretched out, sighed, took a few deep breaths and rested her cheek back on ‘Amor’ and realized that her bladder was definitely going to win this round. She sighed again, then did her best to slide quietly out of bed without waking Tara, pausing only to put on her robe and slippers before starting the trek.
After finishing, she left the bathroom, turned the corner and was immediately blinded by the beam of a flashlight. Her response was automatic, “Hey! What’s going on!” She threw a hand in front of her face to block out at least some of the glare.
“Willow?”
“Mrs. Finch? Is something wrong?”
“No. Just walking around and making a sort of bed check. Why don’t I walk you back?”
Willow shrugged agreement and a few moments later they were past the porch and through their cabin door. Willow climbed into her cot, suddenly grateful that she had never bothered to make the bed from the last time she had used it.
Mrs. Finch shined the light briefly near Tara, then left after a whispered “good night.”
A moment later, Tara opened a cautious eye, “Was th-that a nightmare or was M-Mrs. Finch actually in here with a flashlight?”
“Answer C: All of the above,” Willow said slowly.
Tara's smile crooked up sweetly and she and held the covers up for Willow to slide back into bed.
Willow answered the unspoken invitation with a shake of the head. “No. I think I should stay here for the rest of the night.”
Tara looked puzzled and a little hurt, but Willow stepped across the gap between their beds to give Tara a soft kiss and a warm hug. The blond pouted adorably, but was drowsy enough to acquiesce and return to sleep.
For her part, Willow tossed and turned on the less comfortable cot, missing her lover’s embrace and feeling strangely worried.
Willow was jerked awake in the pale light of morning by Veronica’s angry voice, “Get out of here, you little brat! This is MY bed!”
Willow jumped up, still in her pajamas to see Veronica trying to push Mouse bodily out of her bed. She helped Mouse onto the floor before addressing Veronica.
“Hey, it’s good morning time not bed boxing time. What’s going on?”
Veronica was nearly inarticulate with fury, “Her, that’s what’s going on! That brat, that rat or mouse or whatever she is! She has no right to get in my bed; I woke up and here she was!” Mouse stood by the bed, staring confusedly and rubbing her eyes. Then Veronica leaned forward into Mouse’s face to yell, “And stay out!”
Mouse started to cry and Willow sat at the table and let the littlest girl climb on her lap for cuddles. Tara meanwhile had thrown on a robe and approached Veronica.
“H-hey, Veronica. C-come with me on the porch.”
Veronica glared, but decided it wasn’t worth the fight and followed Tara to sit sullenly on the edge of the porch.
“Veronica. This is your bed h-here at camp and y-you get to pick who is in your bed. If you don’t w-want Mouse in your bed, then that’s okay and we’ll make sure she understands.”
Veronica frowned, clearly not expecting Tara’s support.
“But I w-want you to understand that Mouse is,” Tara decided to be cautious in what she shared, “w-well a bit small for her age. S-sometimes she gets scared or h-has bad dreams and she just climbs in with one of the other girls. D-devola kicks in her sleep, so Mouse doesn’t go there. B-bettina, C-connie and Towanda like their beds to themselves so she doesn’t go there. Kate, Lisa, and Debbie don’t mind if Mouse cuddles with them. S-so it’s your bed and you get to choose, but—“She looked at Veronica to make sure she had the girl’s attention, “you need to be n-nice about it and not push or start fights.”
Tara’s voice softened and she looked into Veronica’s eyes. “It’s hard to be the l-littlest one sometimes, so we need to be nice to Mouse.” She smiled at Veronica, “and it’s h-hard being new, so we n-need to be nice to you, too.” She put a hand on Veronica’s shoulder but the girl jerked her shoulder away.
“Th-think about your bed and let us know. L-let’s get ready for breakfast.”
Tara and Willow went through their morning braiding ordeal and allowed the girls to ‘play hair style’ and brush their long hair as a reward for getting dressed quickly. They were careful to make sure their stylists had clean and empty hands after Devola had accidentally stuck a licked sucker into Willow’s hair on the second day of camp.
Willow was at the head of their cabin’s breakfast line with Tara at the end while Jules stood nearby with her group. Jules caught Tara’s eye and grinned, “Good job yesterday. Had a kid with a sprained ankle to deal with, so I didn’t get to say it then.” Jules noticed that Tara was blushing, so the big girl laughingly turned her attention to Faith who was serving pancakes. “Hey, Faith! Good work on the rescue. You still giving away autographs?”
Faith blew a breath upward, trying to dislodge a strand of hair from her sweaty forehead, and smiled evilly. “You want an autograph?”
Jules grinned, “Sure, since you’re a hero and all!”
Before Jules could react Faith snatched her plate of pancakes from her, grabbed the squeeze ketchup bottle and autographed Jules' pancakes.”
“You put ketchup on my pancakes!” Jules' whiny voice was incongruous for such a tall girl and the laughter rippled around them.
Faith smiled again, “You can start back through the line, there’d only be about 42 kids ahead of you, OR you can just deal with it!”
Jules opened her mouth to speak.
“Move along!” Faith cut her off and Jules continued down the line, grinning at the joke in spite of her ruined pancakes.
Meanwhile, Tara was attempting to balance her plate, Mouse’s plate, and fix herself a cup of hot tea while Willow took Mouse into the kitchen to clean off an oatmeal spill.
Veronica sat down, noticing that Tara was across the room. “So what’s wrong with Tara anyway? Why does she talk like that?”
Lisa was matter-of-fact, “it’s just a little stutter, that’s all.”
“Well it sounds dumb.”
Kate offered a warning, “You better not call Tara names.”
“I can say whatever I want.” Veronica replied, “It’s a free country.”
Devola jumped in, “Cordelia called Tara names.”
“So what?”
Devola enjoyed the drama, “Well, Tina the Warrior Pasta Princess over here shoved about a million pieces of macaroni up her nose, that’s what!” She grinned proudly, “Took three of ‘em to pull her off!”
“My cousin told me about what a little psycho Bettina is and what a bunch of weirdoes you all are!”
“Shut up, Moron-ica!” Towanda got into the game, “Cordelia had it coming!”
“’Moronica’!” Devola laughed delightedly.
“Quit calling me that!” Then Veronica turned to glare at Towanda, “Why did she ‘have it coming’?”
Bettina cut in, her flat voice firm, “Because she called Tara a bad name!” She gave Veronica an angry look, “and you’d better not talk bad about Tara or I’ll get you too!”
Veronica flushed angrily, “I’d like to see you try, you dumb little freak!”
For an answer, Bettina simply slid off her bench and ran around the end of the table while Veronica jumped up to face her.
Tara heard the commotion, set the plates and mug of tea on an unused corner of the buffet table and dashed over in time to step between the combatants before anything started.
“Tara!” Mrs. Finch was suddenly behind her and the director’s voice was quietly furious, “you and your group will stop this persecution of Cordelia once and for all! And there will be no fighting in the dining hall or anywhere else, for that matter! Do I make myself clear?”
“Y-yes, Mrs. Finch. N-no fighting.” Tara let Veronica sit back down, offering a pat on her shoulder then walked Bettina back to her seat and sat beside her.
Mrs. Finch continued, “Your girls are playing a game of softball with Carly and Cordelia’s cabin this afternoon. I hope this aggression will find a healthier outlet in the game!”
The director stood there for a long moment as if to say more, then turned abruptly and left.
The rest of the meal passed mainly in silence. Mouse’s suggestion of ‘Wonga’ became the swear word of the day and the little girl offered her first real smile of the morning when her word was chosen.
Mrs. Finch began the counselors’ meeting with little preamble, “We are re-arranging the day’s schedule, similar to our first day of camp. We are dividing the girls into four groups of similar ages for swimming, crafts, indoor games, and softball. I have assigned counselors and adult staff to various sections, check the board by today’s menu for your name to see where you go. While the program begins, I want the following girls to walk with me immediately to my office. Those girls are Carly Macready, Cordelia Chase, Jenilee Cooper, Juliet uh Jules Tulare, Mary Claxton, Willow Rosenberg, Tara Maclay, and Faith Lehane. That will be all.”
A moment later, Faith walked out of the kitchen with her apron off and the group walked silently to Mrs. Finch’s office. Mrs. Finch gazed at the semi-circle of young women crammed into the tiny space and noted looks ranging from confusion to nervousness. She sighed,
none of this will be easy.
“I recently received an anonymous report about a party held in the storage shed by the driveway the night before last.” She noted the stiffening postures, eyes widening in fear, and she sighed again. “You are here because you were all named as participants at the party. I was also told that there was alcohol and,” she paused, “inappropriate behavior between two counselors.”
Faith’s voice was defiant. “Where’s the proof?”
“Right here.” Mrs. Finch reached down under her desk and held up a plastic bag with three of the cups and the empty bottle of Jack Daniels inside it. “This was found inside the locked storage room. However, we will address that later. My first concern is the allegation of inappropriate behavior between the counselors.”
Willow and Tara were white faced with terror, sitting knee to knee as usual.
Tara looked down. She clenched her fists trying to stop her hands from trembling.
If Dad finds out. She swallowed and felt her fingers going stiff and cold with terror.
If Dad finds out, I’ll have to go to the hospital again. She continued to stare down at her hands then suddenly Willow’s hand was there, squeezing her hand tightly, trying to comfort her.
“Tara. Willow. The anonymous complaint was made about the two of you. It states that you kissed and embraced each other inappropriately. What do you have to say about that?”
Tara felt her stomach tighten. A part of her wished she could run out of the room and throw up, but she wasn’t quite sick enough. Another part of her wished she could lie, run or hide.
And Willow, I got her into this. It’s all my fault. She forced herself to meet Willow’s beautiful green eyes which were bright with unshed tears yet full of love. She stared in wonder.
She’s scared. She’s scared just like me, but she’s not sorry. She loves me. She still loves me. The joy of it took her breath away for a moment then she inhaled sharply and knew that something golden would die between them if she lied in front of Willow now. Then she drew one more calming breath. Her blue eyes were shining as she stared straight into Mrs. Finch’s face and opened her mouth to speak.
Suddenly Jules' boots slammed into the floor as she stood up to her full height of almost six feet. “I brought the booze,” she said loudly. “I bought it and I brought it and I poured it. That’s it!”
Carly jumped to her feet. “I paid for it, it was all my idea!”
“Shut up, Carly!” Jules' eyes pleaded with her best friend to remain silent. “You know I’m telling the truth.” She stared around the circle. “I did all the pouring for me and Carly.”
“Who had the third cup?”
Jennilee smiled tremulously at Jules. “I did. We bogarted the whole bottle, didn’t let those babies have a drop!”
“Is that true?”
Jules gazed at every face around the circle and they each nodded, even Cordelia.
Mrs. Finch seemed relieved. “I appreciate your honesty. But that still doesn’t address the issue of the inappropriate behavior.”
Jules looked over and saw Tara square her shoulders and said quickly, “That was me, too! I grabbed Jenilee without saying a word, she didn’t have a chance to say ‘no’. It’s all my fault.” Her voice was soft when she looked into her girlfriend’s eyes, “I’m sorry Jenilee.”
Jenilee stared back, her voice harsh with suppressed tears. “You have nothing to apologize for!”
“Please, Jen. Please tell her the truth. Don’t let your kids down. Tell her.”
Jenilee looked away. “That’s the truth,” she said finally.
Jules looked at Carly, who glared defiance but Jules' gaze didn’t waver and finally a light died in Carly’s eyes and she answered dully, “Yeah. That’s the truth.”
Mary started sobbing and stood up and hugged Jules around the waist. Jules returned her JC’s hug then put her hands on Mary’s shoulders, moving her back a step so that their eyes could meet.
Then Mary turned to Mrs. Finch, her voice a whisper. “That’s the truth.”
Jules smiled, and dropped a big hand on Mary’s shoulder. “Thanks, Mare.”
Faith knew she was next in the circle and knew that Jules had saved her job. She stared bitterly at Mrs. Finch. “Yeah. That’s the goddamn, fucking truth. Fire me if you want to, I don’t give a shit!”
Tara and Willow merely nodded, the lie sticking in their throats.
Cordelia nodded, too, trying to remain inconspicuous.
Mrs. Finch returned her gaze to Jules. “You’re fired.” She said simply. “It’s unfortunate that this had to happen but I can’t overlook it. Pack your bags now. You live in town, I’ll get someone to drive you—“
Carly cut in, “I’m driving her. We’ve gone to this stupid damn camp since we were seven years old and she’s my best friend.” She looked hard at Mrs. Finch, daring her to argue, “Anyway, I know where she lives!”
Mrs. Finch nodded acceptance.
Tara found her voice, pleading with the bigger girl. “Jules, at l-least let us h-help you pack, okay?”
Willow tried to smile, “Please?”
Jules smiled at the two of them. “Sure, come on.”
“Me, too.” Mary was crying openly.
“Mare, no. Keep the kids out of the cabin, play with them, and explain it all later.” For the first time the big girl had tears in her eyes, “I can’t see ‘em right now, okay? Do this for me, Mary. Please.”
Mary nodded, not trusting her voice.
Carly’s voice shook as she stared straight into Mrs. Finch’s eyes. “Jules is one of the best counselors this place has ever had, my dad even says so.” Her face flushed with anger, “Add
that to your bullshit anonymous complaint!” She paused, “Funny how this complaint comes up right after Tara gets called a hero in front of the whole camp!” She glared at Cordelia. “Whoever said that about Tara and Willow is just jealous of how Tara is the riding program leader and how great they’re both doing here at camp! There is nothing wrong with them and they’ve never done anything wrong!”
Jules nodded, “that’s all there is to it.” Then she turned and walked out with her head held high, followed by Carly, Mary, Jenilee, Faith, Willow and Tara.
After that, packing in Jules' cabin was mostly silent; everything had been said in the office. Then Jules gave Tara and Willow a hard, tight hug, a smile and a friendly push in the direction of the door. Then she called, “Hey, Willow?”
Willow turned in the doorway. “Yeah, Jules?”
“Not your fault okay.” She looked steadily into the younger girl’s eyes. “It was pretty rough in there.” Then her lips quirked with a ghost of her old grin, “Glad I could help.”
Willow managed a smile. “Thanks, Jules.” She ran back for one last hug, “thanks for that night . . . and for everything.” Willow stood out on the porch, trying to calm down while Tara lingered by the door.
“Tara?” Jules beckoned and Tara walked back in. “I had to. When I saw the look on your face,” she swallowed, “I knew how it was at home for you.”
Tara began shaking, “b-but h-h-how d-d-did—“ Jules put her hand gently on Tara’s shoulder, “I’ve seen that look before Tara.” She saw the pain and confusion lingering in the younger girl’s eyes. “In the mirror,” she said softly, “I’ve seen that look in the mirror.” She gave Tara the fierce and tender hug of one survivor to another; and then she let her go.
A moment later Carly followed them out onto the porch, along with Faith.
Willow gulped, “Are she and Jenilee saying good-bye?”
Carly nodded.
Tara looked around, “Anybody k-k-keeping an eye out?”
Faith folded her arms. “I got it,” she said roughly.
Carly spoke softly, “Hey, you guys. Jules had a choice and she made it.” She looked at Willow and Tara. “She wants you to do two things: keep loving each other and do not get busted.” Her face tensed with worry, but she managed a smile, “We’ll do our best to help on the not getting busted part, okay?”
Willow and Tara looked at each other and reached instinctively for each other’s hands, but their handclasp was cold and seemed to have lost its power to comfort.
“Th-thanks, Carly.”
“No problem, Tara. That’s what she wanted.”
Then the group broke up, leaving Faith to stand alone until Jenilee came out, brushing tears off her cheeks and Carly returned with her Dad’s truck keys.
[center]*******************************[/center]
It was the end of the day; a frozen aching day, a leaden march through the daily routine, complete with manufactured smiles and an imitation of happiness. Then, finally, it was over.
They undressed without looking at each other, with no question of sharing their bed that night. Then somehow they turned, as if pulled together by a force greater than themselves, and faced each other.
Tara saw the eyes that she loved, glittering green like an ocean made of tears.
Willow saw the eyes that she loved, burning blue with hurt like the center of a flame.
Then they both raised their arms slightly as if to embrace each other, but the weight of guilt and sadness pulled their arms straight down again and left them uncomforted. It was as if they were separated by a pane of thick glass that prevented human touch and love.
Suddenly their eyes locked and they breathed in at the same time. Then Willow’s right hand rose as if to press against the pane of glass, the gesture mirrored by Tara’s left hand so that both hands met, palm to palm. All their yearning, all their love was focused there, with hands and fingers pressed flat against each other. A long moment passed. Then fingers meshed, binding hands and hearts together again and more deeply than they had ever been.
what else can I say??
...but, Cordelia is a honking pile of dog shit!!! Please 
let somebody kick the shit out of her before the end of this story 
. This was a very upsetting update 
... If Bitch C remains in the camp and continues her "campaign" against Tara and other "losers" I hope Bitch C has repeated encounters with horse manure in the Back To The Future-style... I kinda hope Moronica leans from that and starts to redeam herself...
