*~Later, at the Bronze~*

  He waited...watched...calculated. In the midst of dancing bodies and
  dim lights, live music and hot drinks, he waited. They'd be here. It
  was Friday night in Sunnydale, where else would they go? And he'd be
  ready. Tonight was the night, he was making his move, executing the
  plan that had been carefully forming in his warped mind. It was show
  time.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Buffy was sitting at the table they always sat at, contemplating her
  drink. She was the first there, having walked. Willow and Oz were
  coming together, of course. Buffy smiled at the thought of her
  painfully shy friend finally getting a honey. Xander was coming later
  with-Buffy made and eww face-Cordelia. In the middle of her thoughts,
  the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She was being watched.
  Swiftly, she glanced around the crowded room, searching for whoever it
  was that was watching her. At the door, Willow and Oz were just coming
  in. Attributing her wiggins to hyped senses, she waved to them. They
  came over and sat down, and she soon forgot the weird feelings.

  Willow was having a really good time. Well, besides the fact that she
  was hanging with Cordelia, of course. But in a weird way, Cordy made
  Xander happy. And Xander was her best friend, so...she would ignore the
  fact that Cordelia had tormented them since they were five. And with
  some more effort, she could even ignore the sharp pang in her heart
  every time Xander looked at Cordelia with the look-the one of adoration
  he tried so hard to hide from her and everybody else. It was getting
  easier, the pang. Because of Oz. She glanced over at him; he was
  laughing at something Xander said. He was so cute...and so caring...and
  so into her. <And such a good kisser.> she thought, blushing. <Even if
  Xander ever fell in love with me, would I still want him?> she thought.
  <Whoa, where'd that come from?! Maybe I'm finally getting over him.>
  For a minute, she let herself think without the pretenses of old
  feelings. She was, she really was! Part of her said "Yea, finally!"
  while the other felt a kind of loss. After all, she'd lived 14 years
  with the feelings...

  "Willow? Earth to Space Girl.." Buffy interrupted her revelations.

  "Huh? Oh, sorry..." she blushed again, grateful for the dim lights.

  "We were saying we're gonna' leave." Buffy replied.

  "We?"

  "Yeah, Cordy's gonna' take me home." She made a face. "It's better
  than walking."

  "Are you sure?" Oz asked, and his heart swelled when Willow laughed.
  He loved the sound of her laughter.

  The Slayerettes parted ways in the Bronze parking lot. Oz and Willow
  were left alone.

  "Do you mind if we walk? My van is in the shop...again..." Oz asked.

  "No, I don't mind." Willow smiled at him. They started down the
  street, towards her house. Engrossed in each other, they never noticed
  the shadow that fell in behind them.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  "...so I told Devon 'Uh, man, that chord is like, not in a do-able
  place.' and he was like 'Yeah, whatever.' while looking straight into
  his mirror..." Oz was finishing a story about his latest band practice,
  while Willow listened. She loved listening to his stories. She watched
  him talk, watched the moonlight play over his now-red hair. With a
  start, she realized she was falling in love with him. Slowly, yes, but
  completely and totally. The knowledge filled her with a warm and giddy
  feeling...giddy enought to stop Oz and lean in a little towards him,
  while he leaned a little towards her...their lips touched, and for a
  minute, everything was perfect.

  Across the street, Angel decided he was done waiting. He'd been
  following Willow and her little boyfriend for half an hour. Their guard
  would be about gone now; it was the perfect time. Faster than even he
  could register, he was across the street and on top of Oz. All he had
  to do was knock him out, and his brilliant plan could go forward.

  Being hit completely by surprise, Oz was knocked to the ground. He
  found himself staring straight into the yellow eyes of Angel.

  "Willow, RUN!" he yelled. She so desperately wanted to obey, but she
  couldn't just leave him there. She looked around for something
  resembling a stake; found a pointy stick, and made a mad dash for
  Angel's back. He quickly slammed Oz's head on the pavement. He heard
  Willow behind him, and when she was close enough, he twisted around and
  grabbed her, pulling her hard up against him. He could smell her
  terror, and it thrilled him.

  For just a second, she didn't fight him, couldn't fight him. She stared
  into his eyes, detached, studying the way they glowed in the light of
  the street lamp. She let her gaze wander, and saw Oz on the sidewalk
  knocked out. She snapped back to reality, and put up the struggle of
  her life. Angel laughed, and slowly bent in to her neck.

  She felt the razor-sharp fanges pierce her skin, and she cried out in
  pain. <He just wants to weaken me...at least for now.> she thought,
  convinced by his slow draining of her blood. She fought harder, but
  where his fangs were still buried in her, the pain was almost
  unbearable. She felt her legs, then her arms go numb, and the edges of
  her vision got blurry. Finally, the darkness enveloped her completely. 

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