Walking out the door the next morning, Willow was in her own world as she
  thought about last night. The same scene kept repeating over in her head:
  Xander’s hesitant but final kiss and his words of a forbidden love between
  them.

  Her stubborn mind even refused to fully appreciate the good things that had
  come out of it. The kisses, the looks. All her brain could focus on was the
  pain, the regret. And maybe it was easier that way. Willow sighed, shaking
  away her thoughts. She didn’t want to think. Thinking about it would only
  make her miss him more. Besides, she had Oz to worry about. <Oz. The guy

  who is utterly sweet to you. The guy who treats you right. Remember him? >
  Willow sighed again. "What am I going to do now?" she asked herself out
  loud.

  Willow stopped to look both ways before she crossed the intersection. A car
  honked loudly behind her, and she turned to see Oz in his van. <Speaking of
  which…great, just what I need.>

  "Hi, Oz," she called, walking towards his van.

  "Hey. You want a ride?" Oz smiled easily at her.

  "Sure. Thanks."

  Oz looked at Willow closely as she got in. Something was odd. She seemed
  kinda down. "You okay?"

  "Huh? Oh, yeah. Just a little tired, I guess," Willow lied.

  Oz smiled. "Sorry I wasn’t at school yesterday. Forgot to set the alarm."

  Willow smiled back at him. "I missed you." <He’s cute, he really is. Maybe
  not as much as Xand—No! I can’t keep comparing them. Xander is only a
  friend. And that’s how it’s going to be.>

  They rode the rest of the way to school in comfortable silence.

  ****************

  "Buffy!" Willow called. It was their off-period, and she had spotted her
  friend heading toward the library.

  Buffy waited until Willow had caught up to her. "Hey Will." She noticed her
  friend’s subtle attempt at hiding her sadness. "What’s wrong?"

  "How’d you know something was wrong?" Willow asked, surprised.

  "Your eyes. They always give you away."

  "Oh," Willow said, as she debated on whether to tell Buffy or not. "Well,
  things are so…screwed up."

  "Why, what happened? I thought things were good now that you told Xander
  how
  you felt."

  "It *was* great," Willow replied. She sighed. "Until I remembered something
  I never should have forgotten."

  "Which is?" Buffy inquired.

  "Oz. As in my boyfriend, Oz." Willow felt like crying every time she thought
  about it.

  "Oh, no…what did you do?" Buffy asked her, concern clearly stated in her
  eyes.

  "I…I told Xander that we couldn’t be together. I basically broke up with him,
  before anything could ever begin!" She was crying now. The tears fell down
  her face, leaving salty trails down her cheeks to her chin.

  Buffy pulled her into a hug. "Oh, Will. I’m so sorry. Come on, let’s go
  sit." She led Willow to the library. Giles was in his office and never
  noticed them come in.

  Willow sat down in the chair, dejected. "Buffy, I’m so confused. I love
  Oz…but I love Xander, too, if not more. Is it possible to love two people at
  once?"

  Buffy looked at her friend and felt a wave of affection. "I don’t know, Will.
  I’ve only ever loved Angel. There was only him," she added sadly. Things
  with Angel were the same. He was still evil, still lurking around, waiting
  for the right chance to attack.

  Willow immediately forgot about her own problems and was concerned for
  Buffy.
  "Has he shown up lately?"

  Buffy sighed. "No…he’s backed off for now. Haven’t seen any signs of him in
  a few days. I’m glad for the break." Buffy shook her problem away, and
  concentrated on Willow again. "So you chose Oz over Xander?"

  Willow, who had, if only for a moment, forgotten her own problems, felt her
  heart tug painfully in her chest again. "Yeah…I guess I did."

  "Why exactly, Will? I thought you’d drop everything for Xander."

  "I, I don’t know. I guess because of Oz. And Xander has Cordelia. It would
  hurt them if we got together, y’know?

  "Maybe…but Willow, you’re only hurting yourself now," Buffy said quietly.
  "How does Xander feel about this?"

  Willow looked down at her hands. "He went along with it. I guess he wasn’t
  all that in love with me." She felt the tears sting her eyelids once again.
  "I never should have told him. I wish I never had."

  "Everything will work out, Will," Buffy told her. <I’ll make sure of it> she
  added silently to herself.

  The two girls continued talking, this time switching subjects. None of them
  ever noticed the guy standing in the stacks, silently absorbing what had been
  said.

  "What am I going to do?" Oz whispered to himself.