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Same disclaimers/ratings apply.
After twenty-one years, I've noticed that my inner sarcasm comes out full force when I'm nervous. So here I am, talking to myself (more than usual) while I stare at my cellular phone. Willow's number has been dialed for the past five minutes but I have yet to press 'talk'.
In less than three weeks, I was primed to become the poster-child for things that go bump in the night and yet my nerves were going stir-crazy over a woman. Much less a woman that I just met at a bar, of all places. But I have to admit that I haven't been interested or intrigued by anyone or anything in over a year, and in some strange (or insane) way, meeting Willow was like a balance; a distraction to take my mind off the fear and confusion.
I take another, long look at my phone and press 'talk'. A half-ring later, Willow's voice greets me.
"Hi," she says, her bubbly tone makes me smile.
"Hey, I'm not calling too early, am I?" I ask, glancing toward the clock. Although it was 10:30 in the morning, it’s considered early to some people; Xander.
"No, I was up… bright and early," Willow says. I can sense her nervousness and it lessens my own butterflies.
The tense feeling I originally had starts to disappear as I slouch back into my couch, “Great. So, how are you?”
"I'm good. I just finished researching a few graduate programs.” If I was imagining things, which I do quite often, it seems like Willow’s voice takes on a hint of sexy huskiness as she continues, “Are you having a good morning?"
I clear my throat, killing the squeak that threatens to emerge when I speak, "Yes, I am. I'm looking forward to tonight." She doesn’t need to know that I’ve spent the majority of my morning running around the house, looking for an outfit suitable for a first date.
“So am I,” Willow says, briefly pausing, “And I was thinking of places where we can eat. Do you like Greek? Or maybe Thai?”
"I like both. Which sounds better to you?" I ask. I have been so preoccupied with selecting an outfit that I never thought about where we were actually going to eat. "Greek sounds good."
"Yeah? Great, I haven't had Greek in forever. Oh, and I was thinking maybe we could see a movie afterward...if you want." She trails off; the excitement evident in her voice has me smiling against the phone.
"That sounds great. But I have to admit that I'm not really up to date on what's playing." I hide the embarrassing fact that the last movie I saw in theater is already out to rent.
"There's that new action movie. The director likes to go a little overboard on sound effects but I hear it’s still a good movie,” Willow pauses and I can hear typing in the background, “I can look up the show times and get tickets online if you want to see it."
“Okay, great.” I tell myself that we can watch a silent, black and white film if it means sitting next to her in a dark room for two hours.
Our conversation ends after I confirm the time that I am to meet Willow at her apartment and other small details about tonight's date.
After I hang up, I immediately dial Xander’s number. I feel kind of bad for not calling him sooner but I'm quickly over it when he answers the phone.
"Yo!"
"Yo?" I repeat the word and think about checking my phone to be sure I dialed the right number.
"Yeah, yo! It’s what all the cool kids are saying." Xander says.
"Xander, I don't think anyone’s said that since the mid-90s. What are you doing?" I ask, hearing applause in the background, "You TiVoed "Dancing with the Stars" again, didn't you?"
"I can't help it; I'm addicted to cheesy dance shows." Xander almost whines on the other end.
"So I guess you don't want to hear about my date tonight?" I bait.
That certainly gets his attention as I no longer hear the television in the background. "So, I see that my plan worked?"
"Oh, you mean the not so subtle escape yesterday?" I ask, remembering the day before.
"Yep," Xander says and I know he's grinning like an idiot. "So where are you'll going?"
"A Greek restaurant off High Street and a movie afterward."
"Nice, I've been there a few times." He pauses, "Are you getting nervous yet?"
Of course I was getting nervous but I wasn't going to tell him that. Nervous Tara wasn't the Tara he knew. Then again, neither is Evil Spawn Tara. I still haven’t decided on how to break the news to my best friend...if ever.
"Hello?" Xander’s voice bursts my little daydream.
"I'm here and only a little nervous." What the hell, I may as well give him that little bit of truth.
"Well, let me know how it goes, okay?" He says, distracted by something.
"I will," I figure he wants to get back to his show, "I'll call you later." I tell him, hanging up after a similar response.
I have a little less than 8 hours before I meet Willow and I have no idea what to do with myself. I know I will spend a good portion of that time rummaging through my closet so there was no point in procrastinating as I head to the bedroom.
~~
"Was that Tara?" Buffy asks when Willow clicks her phone shut.
"Yep, we were making plans for tonight." Willow says, beaming at her roommate.
"You know, you getting a life makes me think that there's hope after all," the Slayer jokes, "I'm happy for you, Will. You should definitely do more with your life than fight demons, even if we do live on the Hellmouth."
"Speaking of which," Willow says, leaving her desk to retrieve a book from her nightstand, "I found a spell to help pinpoint the reason for the city’s rise in demon activity."
"How's it going to pinpoint it?" Buffy asks in confusion, "Is it going to tell me where all the demons are so I can kill them all in one go and take the rest of the week off?"
"Not exactly, although a demon GPS would be great." Willow briefly ponders the idea before continuing, "It’s more like a spell to determine if there are any leaks in the Hellmouth and what new additions are finding their way through."
Buffy shrugs and leans against Willow's doorframe, "I'm game. Do you need me to pick up anything from The Magic Box? I'm headed over there to see Giles."
After a quick glance at the time, Willow shakes her head, "No, I'll just come with you. I have a few hours to kill." If she doesn't find the right ingredients, the spell will just have to wait because there was no way she was going to miss seeing Tara again.
~~
Cocking her head to the side, Faith continues staring at an odd yellow and blue ornament before placing it back on the shelf. She had been walking the streets of Sunnydale until the small magic store on the corner caught her attention. And now, she finds herself looking at all the different trinkets as if they were foreign objects.
The door chimes, directing Faith's eyes to the two women that have just entered. Immediately recognizing one of the girls, she quickly focuses her attention on the first object in her line of sight…of course it would be a shrunken head.
"Hey Giles," Buffy says to the older man behind the counter before pulling herself up to sit on the very spot Giles had just cleaned.
"Hey Giles," Willow repeats the greeting and wonders off to the rear section of the store.
"Good morning, girls," Giles says, continuing to clean the glass counter until Buffy leans toward him.
"How long has she been in here?" Buffy asks and motions her head toward the dark-haired woman who has been staring at the shrunken head display for the past five minutes.
Giles stops cleaning and looks up at the woman that Buffy is motioning to. "About ten minutes, why?"
"There's something off about her," Buffy whispers. She was getting the same creepy feeling she had the night before.
"What do you mean by 'off'?" Giles asks. He hadn't noticed anything strange about the woman when she'd entered. Well, besides her attire, which he didn't believe was appropriate for the hot day they were having.
"I don't know; my Slayer-dar is going berserk." Buffy says, hopping off the counter to face Giles. “Either something’s seriously wrong here or my Slayer-parts are broken.”
“She looks perfectly normal to me, Buffy,” Giles says, managing to keep his voice low. “Was there anything off about your instincts during last night’s patrol?”
“Not really,” Buffy pauses, not wanting to bring up what she felt when she ran into Tara. Willow was probably right; the demon had likely run off during their collision.
“Well, if you truly believe that this woman may be causing your senses to go ‘berserk’, perhaps you should look into it,” Giles says, watching as the mysterious brunette leaves the store.
“Maybe. Or maybe I’m broken and should take the night off to fix myself,” Buffy says, enjoying the idea.
Giles, who simply shakes his head, returns to cleaning the counter.
Willow’s grumble reaches them first as the redhead approaches and leans, dejectedly, against the glass counter.
“Why do I bother,” Giles whispers to himself.
“I couldn’t find everything I need for the spell,” Willow says, looking down at the list in her hand. “I’ll have to order some of it.”
“Willow found a spell to see if any new demons have joined our wonderful community,” Buffy says, quickly filling in Giles.
“Is that wise? It may be too dangerous,” Giles adds.
Playfully shoving her best friend, Buffy smiles, “She can handle it. Oh! Did you tell Giles about your date?” She grins and ignores the sharp look that Willow gives her. “Willow has a date tonight with a hot blonde.”
They both count the seconds until Giles removes his glasses and begins to clean them. “That’s, uh, wonderful, Willow,” Giles says, fumbling a little when he puts his eyeglasses back on.
“Yeah, she’s great,” Willow briefly pauses, “I mean, I don’t know her that well yet but she seems great.”
Buffy smirks, seeing this as the perfect moment to tease her friend even more, “Don’t worry Will…with any luck; you’ll really get to know her tonight.”
Suddenly realizing that the shelves need to be restocked, Giles cannot move fast enough as he disappears into the back storage area.
“I’m going to kill you,” Willow says, smiling as she speaks.
“That’s what friends are for,” Buffy counters with a matching smile.
~~
I arrive at Willow's apartment just before eight. Luckily, I opted out of wearing anything that requires heels so the walk to her place wasn't a complete bitch on my feet. I give myself the onceover in the glass door to Willow’s apartment building, deciding that the long khaki skirt and light blue shirt and sandals was suitable for a first date.
A deep breath calms the flutter in my stomach as I buzz the apartment number Willow gave me. After a few seconds, I’m guessing that Buffy is the one holding the speaker button because all I can hear is Willow shrieking ‘she’s here!’ in the background.
The thought of Willow crazily running around the house (probably half-naked) has me giggling on the sidewalk like a schoolgirl.
My guess is correct when Buffy answers, “She’ll be right down.”
Shrieking. Greek cuisine. And an action movie. This is going to be a crazy night.
~~
Note: I wasn’t completely finished with the date scene so I posted what I had. Thanks for reading.
Last edited by onyxsundrops on Fri Jul 10, 2009 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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