TITLE: The Horror Of You

AUTHOR: Ragna (Obsessive-Compulsive Spike)
DISTRIBUTION: Sure, just tell me!
DISCLAIMER: Everything except what comes out of my pretty little head belongs to Joss and Mutant Enemy, and the song "The Horror Of You" by Spacehog.
RATING: PG
SPOILERS: Graduation Part 2.
FEEDBACK: Wanted. Needed. SEND IT!
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I wrote this while watching The Craft, and finished it as this song was playing on the movie. BTW, the person who Buffy fights and killed can be whoever you want it to be.

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PART 1
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Willow had left him, all alone.

Totally alone.

In the literal sense.

He tossed his headphones on and turned up the song so loud it could clearly be heard from those behind him. Lying down on the grass, he looked up at the stars.

He sat on the side of the road, pissed at her and the entire mess. She wanted Xander, and that was pretty obvious. He'd seen them together while he was on stage, siting in the back. The darkness covered them, but it was pretty obvious to figure out what had happened.

Well, and the fact that Willow told Buffy, and Buffy told him.

She couldn't deal with keeping the secret, hurting him by keeping silent.

She was good like that.

He noticed that when his thoughts turned to Buffy he felt warm all over. It'd been going on for a long time, actually. Probably since Willow and Xander were caught the first time by him and Cordy.

He watched her the next day, keeping his eyes off of Willow. She was depressed as well; everyone knew she and Angel had broken things off.

And she'd sat in the library, her eyes red and her hair messed up, and he just wanted to tell her everything would be okay, that life would get better and people would get who they deserved.

And when he watched her, her just felt warm all over. The feeling stayed when he tore his eyes off of her, when he started to think of her.

Maybe it was a good thing that Willow wasn't a part of his life anymore.

I mean, she hurt me. She used me and she hurt me, he thought to himself. And that thought pained him, hurt him so much that he just wanted to look at Buffy and feel all warm again. And not feel this coldness in the pit of his stomach, at the bottom of his heart.

Oz sat up at the slight moving of shadows. Buffy was fighting a vampire in the cemetary. He turned the volume on the CD player down, and watched the fight, pulling his stake out of his pocket

She punched the vampire a few times, the moves fluid and connected, no pausing or breaking in the fight. Just...motion. It was beuatiful, almost like a choreographed dance that had been performed over and over until it was second nature.

He watched, entranced and safe at a distance, knowing she'd win.

When the stake landed in the vampire's heart and the dust settled to the ground, she finally saw him. She looked at him for a few moments before moving towards him slowly.

He slipped the headphones off, not bothering to turn the music off.

"Oz..."

God, she looked like she was going to cry again. He patted the ground next to him and wasn't surprised when she rested her head on his shoulder, crying. He'd told her he'd always let her cry on his shoulder.

He didn't think she'd actually take him up on the offer.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly, still having tears fall down her face.

"Willow...she left for good."

"For Xander?"

"I honestly don't think so. I think he was a passing thing for her. Maybe like me."

She nodded, looking at her hands. "I...I had to kill him tonight."

Oz turned off the Diskman. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, starting to cry again. "I thought everything would be fine, that he'd be the one, and of course he's not."

Oz nodded, stroking her hair back. "Shhh...please," he said quietly. The crying slowed until it finally stopped, and she just had her head on his shoulder.

The two sat there, thinking about the horrors they'd seen that night, and knowing maybe they'd found the right one after all. Right under their noses.