TITLE: Know Nothing
AUTHOR: Ragna (Obsessive-Compulsive Spike - SpikeGrrl1@aol.com; fourstarmaryfan@yahoo.com)
RATING: PG
CLASSIFICATION: Devon/Oz/Buffy friendship, mentions of Buffy/Riley, Willow/Graham, Xander/Anya.
SPOILERS: All of season four.
DISTRIBUTION: Any sites with my fic up; you all have unspoken permission. I write it, you can post it. Everyone else just keep my name on it and let me know.
ARCHIVED AT: http://www.angelfire.com/de/hellmouth/myfic.html
DISCLAIMER: If you don't recognize it, chances are it's my own creation. If you do, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kazui Sandollar, FOX and the WB own it or them. I'm just holding Spike and Riley hostage. Carolyn's got Xander, May's got Oz & Giles, Cathryn's got Ethan & Wesley, Melissa has Forrest, Shelly has Angel, and Gillian has Doyle. You may see them by appointment only.
FEEDBACK: Sorry I'm not home right now I'm walking in the spiderwebs so leave a message and I'll call you back...in other words, I want it. Don't care if it's onlist or not.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I answered Queena's wolfslayer challenge:
* The number 100 should have some kind of significance.
* Oz should just be returning from wherever it was he was. It can be in the near future or the distant future.
* Oz should discuss with Buffy where he's been and what he's been doing since he was gone.
* Buffy and Oz should kiss, whether it just be a friendly kiss or a romantic kiss is up to you.
* And just for kicks, there should be a reference to a Depeche Mode song. Ask me not, just write.
~*~*~*~*~

It was April 9, 2000...exactly one hundred days into the new year when he came back. About two hundred days since he'd left...

I bet you're wondering why I know the exact amount of days, don't you? I know he was Willow's boyfriend, and I know I have Riley...but I missed Oz. I mean, I'd try to play it off like I thought he was a jerk for leaving Willow, which he was, but the truth is, I missed him.

After that first semester, Willow and I drifted apart, class wise. She excelled, and got the hardest classes she could find. I guess that was her way of getting over and staying over Oz. And I stayed in more of the art related classes, the painting and drawing, the music appreciation, the creative writing...

It was in that class that I found out he came back.

Devon was in the class too. I guess he felt the need to write some of the Dingoes' songs, now that Oz was gone. For a pothead, he was pretty damn talented. I don't know if Oz leaving made him smoke more or less of the stuff, but whatever it was showed that Devon was more than a pretty face, and we slowly became friends.

On April ninth, Devon was late for class. I got a bit worried; unorganized as he was, he was never late. Especially for this class.

"Jess," I asked the teacher. "Do you know where Devon is?"

Jess nodded. "Actually, yeah. He needed to talk to you. Is it all right if you stay here for the first part of class and leave after the break?"

I nodded, puzzled. Devon wanted to talk to me? I wonder why?

***

The class usually went by quickly, but it dragged on that day, slowly. Too slowly; I was starting to get anxious, and it showed in my writing. Jess finally gave in and let me go before the break. I don't think I've ever grabbed my stuff faster than I did that day.

I knew where Devon would be. Since we became friends, we'd usually go get something to eat after class was out, over at the coffee shop just off campus. It was never very crowded in there, and most of the college kids avoided it unless it was jam-and-cram time.

And he was there, but so was...

"Oz?"

Oz looked at me. He looked...different. Rested, but almost like his soul had been tortured, and it lay just under the surface of his skin. His eyes looked sharp, there was still a gleam, but it had dimmed. He sat with a cup of warm coffee between his hands, his fingers idly tracing intricate designs on the cup.

"Buffy..."

He set the cup down, stood up and walked over to me. Devon looked almost on edge as Oz pulled me gently into a hug. I think Devon expected me to hit him, hurt him, throw him out of the room with just my pinkie.

Instead, I hugged him back. "You here to stay now?"

He nodded, quietly saying, "Yeah." And then he kissed me on the cheek.

He'd never done any of this, never shown me any type of comfort like that before. He had changed...I pulled away, smiling. He was going to stay...that was what mattered.

"So..." Devon said, waiting for us to sit back down. "I got you your usual, Buffy."

"Thanks, but I'm broke," I said, raising an eyebrow at Devon, who smiled back.

"Dude, I'm covering it," he said, grinning and shaking his head. He stared at Oz. "Hey, man...did you enjoy the silence?"

Oz grinned. "How'd I know you'd win the bet, even after all this time?"

"What bet?" I asked as my mocachinno arrived.

"Well, I bet that he couldn't use a phrase from every Depeche Mode song written in normal conversation. That was the last song he had to use. Man, I owe you a hundred, right?"

Devon shook his head. "Pay for all this and it's cool."

Oz nodded, turning and looking at me. His hair was black again, the blue-black I thought was interesting. "So...Devon's told me a little about what's been going on. What else has happened? With Willow, I mean. And everyone else."

I swallowed hard. "Willow...did you know she made me and Spike fall in love with each other? It was sickening!"

Oz grinned slightly. "A spell, I take it."

I nodded, taking a sip of my drink. "There's all sorts of stuff that's been happening. Spike's a semi-friend, now. Much as I hate to admit that. Xander and Anya hooked up totally, now. I mean, they live together. Willow..." I trail off for a moment.

"She's seeing this guy, Graham. He's one of my boyfriend's friends."

Oz nodded, the calm look he'd always had covering his face. I think he wanted to cry, but I couldn't be sure. Instead, he asked, "Is she happy?"

"Yeah, I think so," I said. "To be honest, I really don't know."

"That makes two of us," Oz said, cracking a small smile.

"Try three of us," Devon said, lifting up his glass. "To the people who know nothing." When we didn't raise our glasses, Devon rolled his eyes. "Come on...it's a toast."

Sheepishly, Oz and I raised our glasses. "To the people who know nothing!"

And then I looked at Oz, and he winked at me. I think we knew just a bit more than nothing. But for now, nothing was the best thing to know.