I am new to this board and to writing fan fiction and any and all advice is welcome.
Title: ?
Time: Around season three, but I've changed things.
Summary: An alternative way in which Willow and Tara could have met.
It was one of those Friday afternoons Willow loved. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and everything just felt right. She sat on a bench in front of the school waiting for Buffy and Xander to discuss their weekend plans.
"No Buffster yet?" Xander said plunking down on the bench next to Willow.
"Nope," Willow said.
"Maybe something's up? Some new big bad to fight."
"Maybe."
"You're real chatty today," Xander said.
"Hey guys," Buffy said,"Giles was being extra Gilesy."
"No problem Buff," Xander said,"So what's up for the weekend?"
"I have to patrol tonight, and my mom wants me to do some bonding with her. She thinks I'm spending too much time with Giles and Angel. No Cordy tonight?"
"She's going to L.A. for a shopping trip this weekend," Xander said,"You want to Bronze it with me tonight Will?"
"I have to go to the library. I have a huge paper. I'll be study-girl all weekend."
"As opposed to...," Xander said.
"I'm not that bad," Willow said.
"Face it Will, since Oz left for college and you two broke up all you do is study. You gotta get yourself back out there," Buffy said.
"I was never out there."
"But you weren't library on Friday night," Xander said.
"Well tonight I am," Willow grabbed her bag and stormed off. She didn't really know why she was mad. That had been happening a lot lately. Buffy and Xander just assumed she was upset that Oz had dumped her, but she had dumped him. They did't know that because she didn't want them too. The whole thing with Oz hadn't felt right from the beginning and him graduating and going to college was the perfect excuse to end it. So what if she spent every night in the library. She liked the library, lots of books, and no Buffy, or Xander, or Giles. She would have used the high school library if Giles ever left it, but the library at UC Sunnydale was great.
"Willow is that you?" Sheila Rosenberg asked.
"Yes, I'm home from school," Willow called back.
"Are you going to the library tonight or will you be here for dinner?"
"Library."
"Are you sure? We're having company, the Greens. You haven't seen Michael in ages, he's home for the weekend. You two were so cute together."
"Mom, I was seven," Willow said, "I have a huge paper, I can't stay."
"Fine, but he'll be disappointed. You two would make a great couple."
"Mom, let it go," Willow said walking to her room. She closed the door and flopped on her bed. She needed to get everything organized in her head so she would know what she needed to take with her. She certainly couldn't come back to get anything. She got up and paced around her room gathering things from here and there. Three felt a bit early to leave, but she didn't want to be at home. She was going to have to be at the library until at least ten to make sure that the company was long gone. "Seven hours, that's not so long," Willow thought.
The library was quiet as usual on a Friday night. A few students around, but mostly empty. She dropped her stuff on a table and gathered some books she would need for her paper, and a couple of books on Wicca. She had been more interested in it since Ms.Calendar's death and reading books at UC Sunnydale was the only chance she got. She knew her parents would not be understanding about it, and Giles would probably worry himself. She couldn't decide what to do first. The truth was the paper wasn't due for another two weeks; she just didn't want to hang out with her friends. She felt awful about that, but it was the truth. She didn't feel right inside and she couldn't explain it. Whenever she was with them she tried hard to be her usual cheery self, but often it ended as it had this afternoon with her storming off angry for no reason.
"Are you going to be long with that book?" Willow was broken from her thoughts by the sweetest voice she had ever heard.
"What?" she said.
" The book on the history of witchcraft, are you going to be long with it?" the voice came out stuttered, but it was still pretty. As was the girl it belonged to.
"I just got it, but you can look at it," Willow said.
"Are you in the Wicca group on campus?"
"No, I'm not a student here," Willow said extending her hand to the other girl, "I'm Willow."
"Tara," the girl said shaking Willow's hand, "Are you sure about the book. I mean if you just got it I can wait.
"No, I should be writing a paper anyway," Willow said, "The campus has a Wicca group." Sometimes it took some time for Willow's brain to register what was said.
"Yeah," Tara said.
"You must be a member. How long have you been practicing?"
"Since I was little," Tara said, "What about you?"
"Since a couple of weeks ago," Willow said smiling, "I'm just sort of finding out about stuff."
"Oh."
"Can you cast?"
"Spells. Some," Tara said. She wished she didn't sound like such and idiot when she talked. She wished she could control her stutter too.
"Really, I would love to learn. Right now I can levitate a pencil, but that's a little shaky."
"It's a start," Tara said.
"Do you want to sit down?" Willow asked motioning to the empty seat across the table from her.
"Sure," Tara had intended to check the book out and take it with her, she really didn't know why she was staying.
"Are you a student here?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, first year," Tara said, "Where do you go?"
"Sunnydale High," Willow said hoping it didn't sound as lame as she thought it had, "I'm a senior."
"What's the paper for?" Tara asked trying to keep the conversation going.
"History," Willow said, "I haven't really decided on a topic yet. I have two weeks to write it." I just keep sounding geekier and geekier.
"You sound like me. I always get my papers done way ahead of time."
"You don't think I'm a geek?"
"Should I?"
"I don't know. I just had this weird fight that wasn't really a fight with my friends and they were telling me that all I did was study. I just like to get things done. Plus I don't have anything better to do on a Friday night than sit in a library. Unless you count dinner with the Greens and their son Michael, who my parents want me to marry and I am so not interested in that. Maybe when I was seven, but what did I know then. I am so sorry sometimes I get started and I just can't stop."
"That's okay. I don't think you're a geek. I obviously have nothing better to do on a Friday night or I would be doing it. So who am I to judge?"
"I hope I didn't make you feel bad by saying that. I didn't mean to imply anything by that comment. I mean you could just be getting a book and going out on a date or something."
"No date," Tara said, "I really don't have anything to do tonight. I'm not even fortunate enough to have a paper to write."
"I don't really want to write my paper," Willow said, "I just didn't want to be at home, or with my friends. If you can understand that."
"I can," Tara said, "Have you had dinner yet?"
"No," Willow said.
"Let me treat you to dinner in the Grotto," Tara said.
"I couldn't," Willow said.
"Why not? It's just my student funds," Tara said.
"Are you sure you don't mind hanging out with a geek?" Willow asked.
"As long as you don't."
I wasn't sure I was going to write a part two, but I decided I would give it a try.
Title: ?,part two
Time: Still around the third season
Summaryn alternate way in which Willow and Tara could have met.
Willow crept up the walk to her house and as carefully as she could turned the key in the lock. Slowly she turned the knob and pushed the door in cringing as it creeked. She paused for a moment listening to any indication that her parents had woken, hearing nothing she continued forward, shut the front door, and locked it. Feeling her way through the dark house she headed for her bedroom. Halfway there she kicked a table that she could have sworn didn't stick out that far before. She quietly, but quickly hopped down the hall to her bedroom.
"Ow,ow,ow," she said once safely in her room. Willow dropped down on her bed and grabbed her foot. "I am so stupid and for so many reasons," she thought, "I can't believe I came in the front door when I have a door in my room. How idiotic can I be? That's what I get for not doing this more often. I can't believe I was out until three in the morning." She hadn't intended to be out so late, but it just kind of happened. Once she started talking with Tara it was hard to stop. It started with dinner, then a walk, and then she had ended up in Tara's room, and they just talked all night. It wasn't like talking to Buffy or Xander. With them she had to be someone. She had to be the Willow Rosenberg they had known for years. She was expected to do and say certain things and everytime she stepped outside the box, they questioned her. "Something must be wrong with Willow," that's what they would think, so she climbed back into the box. She was so tired of it, and admittedly it wasn't all their fault. She didn't have to always conform, but she did. Willow didn't know what was going on with herself. Lately all she could think about was how different she felt, but tonight with Tara she hadn't felt that way. She felt completely at ease. Everytime she said something that wasn't "Willow" Tara just acted like it was because she didn't know. It was wonderful, the whole night had been wonderful, but there was one little problem. Willow was attracted to her, physically attracted to her. It wasn't the first time it had happened, but it was the first time she had wanted to act on it. Normally she would talk to Buffy about this sort of thing, but this was defiantely not in the Willow box. "Now what do I do?" she thought,"I shouldn't be worrying about it. Tara probably didn't even like me. At least not like that." Willow turned over again, sleep was out of the question. She couldn't stop thinking about Tara, and she couldn't stop thinking about why she suddenly hated her friends. Maybe hate was too strong, dislike was much better. "I wish I didn't feel that way." She tried not to feel that way, but the more she tried the stronger the feeling got. She rolled over and looked at the clock, 7:04. "I might as well get up," Willow thought climbing out of bed. She heard a light knock on her door.
"Come in," Willow said stretching her arms above her head.
"Did you finish your paper?" Sheila asked peeking her head into the room. The room was disgusting. Clothes everywhere, books on the floor. This did not look like Willow's room.
"No," Willow said catching her mother's disapproving glare, "I was tired last night. I just dropped my stuff. I'll clean it today."
"The Greens cancelled, they'll be coming over tonight. I told them you would take Michael to the Bronze."
"Why?" Willow asked.
"You don't want to hang around us old people all night," Sheila said wondering why Willow was so upset, "It's Saturday night, you always go to the Bronze with your friends. What's one more?"
"What if I had a date?"
"Oh, Willow," Sheila said laughing, "Be ready at seven."
"I hate my life," Willow thought. Now she would definately need Buffy around tonight. There was nothing like a pretty girl to distract a college boy. Willow picked up the phone and dialed Buffy's number.
"Hello," Joyce Summers said, she couldn't imagine who would be calling so early.
"Hi Mrs. Summers. Can I talk to Buffy?"
"Willow? Do you know what time it is?"
"Oh, sorry. I wasn't paying attention," Willow said.
"I'll go get Buffy," Joyce said laughing.
"I can't believe I just called someone before 7:30 on a Saturday morning. Buffy's gonna kill me," Willow thought.
"Hey Will, this better be important. I didn't get in until one," Buffy said.
"Only one, I didn't get in until three," Willow said. It came much more like Cordelia than she had wanted.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.
"Why would something be wrong? I just stayed out late that's all. It's not a crime."
"You never stay out that late, that's all," Buffy said hoping it was the lack of sleep making Willow so testy, "I didn't mean anything by it."
"Forget it," Willow said deciding now was a good time to back track out of that conversation, "Are you going to the Bronze tonight?"
"Does Giles have clean glasses? Of course I'm going to the Bronze tonight," Buffy said, "Look Will, whatever it is, whatever I did let's just talk about it."
"There's nothing to talk about. Nothing's wrong," Willow said, "I have to go. Bye." Willow hung up the phone before Buffy even had a chance to say goodbye. Just what she had expected to happen happened. Buffy immediately thought something was wrong. Willow had said nothing was wrong, but clearly something was. "Now isn't the time to get into that," Willow thought. She grabbed a pair of jeans and tee shirt from her closet and hastily dressed. "Now is the perfect time for a trip to the library."
She sat down at the same table she had last night. This time she didn't go get any books, she just took out her notebook and tried to come up with an idea for her paper. "Ideas, topics, theories. I got nothing," Willow thought.
"Hey," Tara said slidding into the seat in front of Willow. After talking all night her stutter seemed to disappear. "Back so soon."
"Hi," Willow said a bright smile appearing on her face, "I didn't get much done last night. Why are you here?"
"Returning the book," Tara said, "I saw you and I thought I'd say hi, but if you're busy I can leave."
"No, I can't seem to think today. I have something on my mind," Willow said.
"Do you wanna go somewhere and talk about it?" Tara asked.
"Sure," Willow said. If she didn't talk about it she was going to explode. She put her notebook away and headed out of the library with Tara. They walked silently across the campus until they reached a small field. Several students were milling around, or studying in the early morning light. Tara pointed to a large tree and they sat down beneath it.
"So what's up?" Tara asked.
"You have no idea how happy it makes me that you didn't ask me what was wrong," Willow said.
"What?" Tara said a half smile forming on her face. Willow loved that smile.
"Never mind," Willow said, "It's my friends, or my family, maybe it's me."
"I'm not sure I get what you mean."
"All my life I've done everything I was supposed to do. They expect me to be there whenever they need anything. If they forget to tape a show, or they forget what the homework assignment is, I'm there. Old reliable Willow."
"There's nothing wrong with being dependable," Tara said.
"It's just that sometimes I don't want to be dependable. Sometimes I want to be the one who gets to stay out all night and do crazy things."
"I'm not seeing a problem. If you want to do something, do it," Tara said.
"If I did they would all want to know what was wrong with me. They think I don't do things like that just because I haven't before."
"You can't live your life for other people," Tara said wishing she had taken her own advice, "You'll never be happy that way. Trust me I know. You should talk to your friends about this. They probably don't even know that they're doing anything to upset you."
"You're right, they don't. Maybe tonight at the Bronze," Willow said leaning back against the tree. Tara laid back on the grass with her hands behind her head. Willow just starred at her. Willow started at her feet, trailing her eyes all the way up Tara's body stopping momentarily at her breasts before moving on. "She's absolutly beautiful," Willow thought, "I should stop looking." Willow knew she should most definately stop looking, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. It was like her hormones took control of her brain.
"Am I growing a third head?" Tara asked looking over at Willow. She could feel the other girl's gaze on her from the moment she laid down.
"What?" Willow asked.
"You've been starring," Tara said smiling. She was quite flattered by it.
"You noticed, huh?"
"It was hard not to," Tara said.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me."
"You don't have to be sorry," Tara said sitting up and placing her hand over Willow's, "and there is nothing wrong with you."
"I don't know what I'm doing," Willow said leaning in towards Tara.
"You don't always have to," Tara said closing the gap and placing her lips on Willow's.
) about Tara ( 
) in Normal Again 