Willow read her last e-mail and signed off her computer. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, three hours of
staring at the computer screen had left her feeling a little headachey, and her eyes felt scratchy with
fatigue. *Not an experience I am dying to repeat,* she thought to herself. But there was always so
much to do, it seemed like she could never finish it all. Every time she turned round it was another
e-mail or another disgusting occult occurnce to look up. Not that she was complaining. She loved
being part of Buffy's World but sometimes, like tonight, she felt like something was missing.
Something like..Xander.

She thought about him for a moment, tried to imagine him walking up to her, love in his eyes. She
tried to imagine him sweeping her into his arms. Usually the fantasy was the first thing to pop into her
head at some odd inoportune moment, but not tonight. Somehow every time she tried to conjure up
his face, all she could see was him kissing Buffy. She threw herself down on the bed, angrily punching
her pillow. Even after Buffy had flatly turned him down, he still loved her. Even after Buffy had
distinctly told him that she didn't think of him that way, he still thought there was hope. Or maybe he
didn't think there was any hope but it didn't matter because he just couldn't keep himself from loving
her.

*That's how it is with me,* she thought. *I can't even dream that he loves me anymore. All he sees is
her, all he thinks about is her.* Well there was only one way she could think of to change that, she
would have to become more like Buffy. *Of course he can't love me when she's around,* Willow
told herself. *She's so exciting, always running off to defeat some danger or other. All I do is sit at
home and stare at that stupid computer. She always looks gorgeous with her flawless make-up and
clothes, and I look like a reject from the Salvation Army.*

So Willow decided that there was only one way she would ever get Xander to love her, change.
************
She decided the first step would have to be shopping. She needed to buy a whole new wardrobe
and some make-up. As she tried on tiny t-shirts and short dresses in the fitting room she felt a little
uncomfortable. She felt naked, exposed and that was a feeling she hated more than anything. Still, it
was for Xander so she drew in a deep breath and marched up to the cashier. She bought some
pastel nail polish and some make-up. Blush, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, eyeshadow she needed it all.
This was going to leave her completely broke for a while but if it got Xander to notice her she knew it
would be worth it.

Luckily it was a slow weekend, no major disasters to research so she had time to practice. It took
her a while to get the make-up the way she wanted it. Her first try looked more like an Indian in war
paint than the glamour she was shooting for, and her second try left her looking like a kid trying to
play dress up. She was pretty happy with the final result though, she thought it made her look much
older. She also spent the weekend walking around her room in heels. After nearly twisting her ankle
several times and falling on her face once or twice she started to get the feel of it. Now if only she
could manage to walk from class to class without staggering like a drunk then it should be perfect.

She lay in bed for hours on Sunday unable to sleep. Tossing and turning she thought of Monday
morning and what people would say. She could only hope that she wasn't making a total fool out of
herself. Please don't let him laugh at me, was her final thought as she slowly drifted into a fitful sleep.

She awoke to the buzzing of her alarm clock. She had set it an hour early to give herself time to
prepare. So with the rest of the world still sound asleep, Willow began to get ready. First she
dressed herself in one of her new outfits, a bright blue dress dotted with tiny white flowers. She
stared at the hemline which ended high above midthigh. She felt like her underwear was showing all
the time but careful scrutiny in the mirror proved that it was just her imagination. They only showed if
she lifted her arms way above her head. She reminded herself not to reach up and turned to her
make-up. It only took her thirty minutes to recapture the look she wanted. White eyeshadow with a
light pink backround, reddish pink lips and a touch of blush. Her face felt stiff with the make-up on it
but she decided she liked the look as she put the last touches on her eyeliner.

She glanced at the clock, and quickly slipped on pair of high heeled black boots. She just barely had
time to do her hair. She used her mothers curling iron and clipped back the curls with a set of blue
barrettes. Then she grabbed her backpack and ran down the stairs barely stopping to snatch some
toast off the table. She ate on the bus, her stomach in knots that turned into fluttery butterflies as they
pulled up to the school.
Wanting to hide more than anything, she touched her face then her hair and stepped off the bus. She
could see Buffy and Xander near the school's entrance and walked over to meet them.

"So then I told him that if the dress had a stain on it before I bought it they had to let me return it
because it was totally defective." Buffy was saying as Xander stared into her face. From the blank
look in his eyes Willow had a feeling he had no idea what she was talking about. "Because I can't
wear something that's stained, you know?" Xander nodded blankly.

"Right, stains..bad. Hi Will." He glanced over at Willow as she walked to them. Then he just stared.
Buffy turned to greet her friend and when she saw her, stood still with her mouth hanging open. She
quickly pulled herself together and said hi.

"Nice outfit Willow," she said. She could tell that the new style was making Willow nervous so she
covered the awkward silence with chatter, hoping that it would make Willow more comfortable.
"Where'd you get it? I really like the patttern."

"Oh," said Willow. "Wet Seal.

"I love Wet Seal," said Buffy. Then she decided to take the subject away from clothes.

"So I heard there's going to be pop quiz in history."

"On what?" asked Willow. She hadn't studied much all weekend. In worrying about the quiz she
began to forget how strange she felt.

"I think they said it was on the War of 1812."

"Oh, ok." said Willow. "Shouldn't be a problem then." Buffy could tell that WIllow was beginning to
get her confidence back. The jangling of the bell broke through their thoughts and sent the group
scattering in different directions. Willow concentrated on not falling as she hurried to class. It was
going pretty well, even though Xander hadn't said much about the new look, or anything at all.

Buffy sat down in her first period, trying to figure out why WIllow had decided to totally change her
look. Well whatever the reason, she thought, it was a really great look. Maybe Willow would lend
her that dress sometime.

Xander walked to first period in total confusion. He had known Willow since practically before they
were born. He had always been able to count on her, she was the best friend a guy could have. So
what was she doing? It just didn't seem like Willow in those clothes. It was like a totally different
person and she was HOT.
***

Willow pretended to work on her history pop quiz. She had finished within the first ten minutes of
class, but she didn't want to advertise that fact to her struggling classmates. She snuck a look around
the room. She would turn in her quiz as soon as somebody else turned in theirs. As she glanced
around the room her searching eyes met the stares of two boys. She immediately turned her attention
back to the finished quiz. She noticed Valerie get up to turn in her quiz and quickly followed her.

After placing her quiz on the desk she turned to walk back to her seat. It seemed like the whole class
was watching her. Heads turned, and as she walked by the many sets of eyes traced her every move.
*Why are all these people staring at me?* she thought. These people usually don't notice me the first
time much less give me a second glance. Even Jerry, the star center in basketball, and Kevin, the
captain of the soccer team, couldn't keep their eyes off her. *Oh God,* she thought, *something
must be wrong with my outfit, or my hair. What if my mascara ran, or my eyeliner is on wrong, or..?
Calm down Willow,* she told herself. There was obviously something very wrong, she would ask
Buffy about it in Science next period and hopefully she could fix whatever it was before Xander got
to class.

********
Willow hurried over to sit by Buffy at her lab table.

"What's wrong Will?" Buffy asked. "Aren't you going to sit next to Xander like you usually do?"

"Buffy," Willow said almost in tears. "They wouldn't stop staring and I don't know why and I have to
know what's wrong with me before he comes in and sees it..."

"Whoa," Buffy interrupted. "Take a breath or two, it's good for you."

"What's wrong with my outfit, or my make-up or hair," gasped Willow. "Hurry!"

"Willow, calm down. No hyperventalating until after we hear our homework assignment. You look
fine, ok? Better than fine, you look great."

"But they were all staring."

"That's the point of the outfit isn't it, to make people notice. Well they are. That's what guys do when
they see a pretty girl. It's that whole hormone thing."

"Oh," said Willow. " 'Cause I didn't really want other people to notice me, only him." She gazed
longingly at Xander as he entered the classroom two seconds before the bell. "How does he manage
to time it so that he gets here just those few seconds before the bell?" she asked dreamily.

"Luck." answered Buffy. "He has to practically run from the other side of the school. That's why he's
tardy so often."

"Oh, right." said Willow as she drifted to her usual seat next to Xander. "How was your weekend?"
she asked as she sat down.

"Oh good, weekend was pretty nice. No school then you know." Xander kicked himself mentally.
What the hell was he doing? You'd think he was talking to a gorgeous stranger. *This is Willow,* he
reminded himself. *Now stop staring and babbling like an idiot.* With an effort he dragged his eyes
from her face. He tried to listen to the teacher drone on about some kind of scientific thing. But they
had to share a book, and sitting so close to her made him really nervous for some reason. Her hair
was so shiny, and she smelled good too. Kind of like oranges. "You look nice today," he muttered.

"As opposed to how crappy I usually look?" Willow teased. But her heart thrilled at his complement.
He HAD noticed. It was all worth it.

"No," Xander protested. "I mean you look nice everyday. Only today you look more nice than usual,
because you look different and.." he trailed off trying to recapture his trian of thought.

"I know what you meant," she said deciding to put the poor boy out of his misery. He smiled
helplessly and tried to turn his attention back to the science lesson. It was hopeless.

"So are you going to the Bronze tonight?" he asked casually, he hoped.

"I don't know, it's Monday and I should study." She looked into his dissapointed brown eyes. "But I
don't really have to study so I guess I could."

"Goodie," said Xander happily. *Goodie?* he thought. *What am I talking about? When have I ever
used the phrase goodie?* "I mean I'll meet you there," he amended.

"Ok. Is Buffy going too?" asked Willow.

"Who?" Xander said dazedly.

"The girl you've been obsessed with since she came to this school. Is that ringing any bells? She slays
vampires."

"Oh, that narrows it down. Of course, Buffy. I don't know if she's going I haven't asked her."

"I'll ask her later when we walk to math." Xander nodded still staring at Willow. He jerked himself
out of his trance. *Buffy! Yeah, he had to talk to her. She was a girl and girls knew what other girls
liked in guys.*

Willow was getting a little worried about Xander. He had never acted so strangely towards her
before. It was like he was nervous, no it was like he was way brain dead. It must be that hormones
thing again. She'd just have to wait and see if he was actually falling in love with her or if he was just a
total space cadet.

Buffy looked over at her two best friends. She could tell that Xander was falling hard for the "new"
Willow. Now that she thought about this whole "new" Willow thing, she wasn't sure she liked it.
Xander appeared to have lost his brain along the way, and Willow's new look seemed awfully close
to Buffy's own look. The short dresses, the boots...it definitely seemed like Willow was becoming
more like Buffy. *Hey,* Buffy told herself. *Willow is allowed to wear whatever she wants. I mean
this is what's in style. Just because it's my style doesn't mean no one else is allowed to wear similar
clothes. I should be happy that Willow is finally getting her man. * Buffy nodded to herself. *I should
be happy, but I'm not.*

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