"It was the Fourth of July..."

Xander pressed the doorbell button for a third time. Nothing
happened. He looked around. Willow was home, it was just
that she was upstairs, asleep, on her bed . A glance at his
watch said that it was quarter to seven. The party had started
at six-thirty!
"Oh for god's sake! WILL!! Come on! We're late!" Xander
yelled at her closed window in vain. She couldn't hear him.
Xander stepped back and evaluated his options.

1: Leave for the party without Willow. Nah, he wouldn't do
that to his best friend.
2: Wait patiently and miss half the party while Willow dozed
the evening away. No way!
3: Break into the house somehow. No, wouldn't work. The
Rosenberg family had a built in security system. He didn't want
to spend the Fourth of July in jail.
4: Run back home and call Willow on the phone. No, too lazy.
5: Throw rocks at Willow's window until she wakes up.

Xander chose option 4. He positioned himself under her
window and hurled a rock at her window. Xander cringed as
he heard the rock making a dent in the glass. He picked a
smaller rock and threw it. It bounced off with a Ping! Still no
Willow. He got frustrated and picked up a slightly larger rock
and hurled it with all his strength at her window while yelling,
"Willlow!!!" A shower of glass rained down on the yard.
Xander looked up at the shattered window with an "O" frozen
on his lips. "Oops...hehe...didn't know my own strength." A
groggy and surprised Willow stumbled to the broken window.
She squinted at the figure standing guiltily on the lawn.
"Xander?! What did you do to my window?" Xander shrugged.

"Uh, the door was locked, and you weren't answering. Sorry."
Willow sighed. Xander was like that, doing stupid stuff. Wait,
the party! She'd totally forgotten and fallen asleep.
"Oh, I'm sorry Xand. I forgot about the party. I'll be down in 5
minutes." Willow ran a brush through her hair and started out
the door. She paused when she saw her attire. She was still
wearing the dirty clothes she had been wearing earlier today
when a few vamps had decided to crash the library. Her shirt
was caked with mud.

Willow raced back to her dresser and fished frantically through
the various sweaters. It was too hot out for those. She banged
her fist on the wall. All of her tee-shirts were laying in a pile on
the floor, dirty. As a last resort, she flung open the door to her
closet. Willow spotted an outfit Buffy had given her for her
birthday. She hesitated. It was a bit more daring than Willow
was used to, but Buffy said stuff like that was good for the
personality. She shrugged and threw it on. It was a crimson
skirt and fitted deep blue top. Willow looked at her reflection
nervously and tugged at the hem of the skirt. It ended halfway
down her thighs. Xander's whining interrupted her frets.
"Aw, come on Will! We're gonna miss it all and there won't be
any good make-out, errr I mean, uh, conversation spots left!"
Willow rolled her eyes and bounded down the stairs to the
outside. Xander was already headed towards Cordelia's house.
That was where this "big" party was. The only reason the
slayerettes had been invited was that Cordelia was more or less
dating Xander. Undercover, of course. Willow had a nagging
suspicion that Cordelia was really starting to like spending time
in the library with them. It was certainly better than endlessly
jabbering about clothes and makeup with Harmony and the
rest of the sheep. Willow didn't blame her. She was actually
starting to not mind Cordy as much as she had before.

After about 15 minutes of fast-walking, they arrived at
Cordelia's house. It looked like the party was just getting going.
Music blared from large speakers placed strategically around
the house. There was already one couple making out on the
lawn. Xander dragged Willow to the door, where Cordelia was
greeting the incoming guests. She gave Xander an evil glare.
"You were SUPPOSED to be here 45 minutes ago!! Can't you
get anywhere on time?!"
"I had to wait for Will to get ready." Cordelia glanced at
Willow indifferently. She then proceeded to pull Xander
inside, leaving Willow to fend for herself.
She crept inside slowly, not sure of herself. This was one of her
first official parties, and she didn't know what to do. Bodies
were bumping all around her. She started to feel like a sardine.
Willow navigated the bodies, standing AND on the floor, to
make her way to a less crowded room. She leaned against the
wall and took a deep breath.
Suddenly, a girl came running through the room, chasing her
boyfriend. She bumped past Willow and splashed a fair amount
of her drink directly on Willow. The girl didn't even seem to
notice what she'd done, and went on playing whatever game
she was involved in. Willow just stood there for a minute, not
really knowing what to do. Willow pushed her way throughout
the house, looking for a bathroom. Finally she found one. It
was locked. She looked down at the quickly forming stain on
her shirt. She knocked. No answer. She knocked again, louder.
Still nothing. Willow got really frustrated. She pounded her fist
on the door.
"I really need to get in there!" The door peeked open a bit and
a disheveled looking Xander popped his head out.
"Oh. Uh, Will. Hey! You, you need the er bathroom?" Willow
motioned to the stain on her shirt. "Oh. Right. Uh, come on in."
He opened the door just wide enough so that Willow could
squeeze in, then firmly locked the door again. Willow took in
the scene: Cordelia, hastily straightening her clothes, while
trying to apply a fresh layer of lipstick. It was smeared all over
her chin. Willow blushed and hurried over to the sink. She
rinsed the drink off of her shirt, and stood awkwardly for a
moment.
"Uh, I think I'll just be going now. Yeah, uh, thanks." She
quickly made her exit. She could still feel the heat rising in her
cheeks. Oh well, at least Xander and Cordy were having a
good time...

Oz groaned and jumped out of his Zebra van. He reluctantly
shut the door and slowly made his way up to the door. Oz
really did wish he had a bottle of Girl-be-Gone. He was plain
sick of mindless groupies hanging all over him. Maybe he
could hide... Oz shook his head. It was no use. It was like they
had a spider sense or something. They could smell him....He
trudged into the party and headed straight for the kitchen.
Avoiding all these girls was gonna make him thirsty, so he'd
better grab a few sodas now.

Willow's eyelids drooped. After standing in the same spot for a
good 20 minutes, she was getting plain bored. Watching people
dance and make-out, sometimes at the same time, was not her
idea of fun. She remembered the times when she was little,
when her and Xander would go watch the fireworks together.
Those were the days.... Willow felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Buffy!!!" Buffy looked a bit winded.
"Hey Will! You look great! So what's up with this party? Is it
any good?"
"Well, I'm not sure. Where have you been, anyway? Slaying
vamps?" Buffy nodded and swiped a chip from a chip bowl
being carried around the room. She looked around.
"Hey, where are Xander and Cordy?" Willow blushed and
bowed her head slightly.

"Uh, they're kinda....busy right now....in the bathroom...."
Buffy rolled her eyes and smiled knowingly.
"So Will, you're the picture of a party animal." Willow snorted.

"Yeah, a party animal that's been put to sleep." Buffy smiled
and led Willow outside. She too, was getting a bit
claustrophobic with all of the people jammed in there. The cool
air was refreshing. Buffy sat down on the grass, and Willow
plopped down next to her, careful keep her short skirt in a
decent position. "So what's up with Spike and Drucilla?" Buffy
exhaled and started telling Willow about her hectic day "at
work".

Oz crouched silently behind the large couch. He had to be
careful....they were looking for him. A blonde wearing spandex
pants prowled the next room, searching for her prey. In this
case, a certain lead guitarist was her prey. But he kept
disappearing. She came perilously close to where Oz was
hiding. He held his breath and prayed she was the airhead he
thought she was. She passed right by. He let out a groan. He
didn't know if he could survive much more of this. He actually
felt like he was being stalked by the Terminator.

Oz jumped up and hurried out the back door. The heat in there
was stifling. It was now 8:00. Only one more hour until the
fireworks start. Then he could go home. Oz looked around. It
was a pretty typical party. Couples making out, guys hitting on
girls, and dancing.
A jock stumbled past him, obviously drunk. He was stumbling
in a zigzag pattern. Then he just dropped down on the lawn,
with his arms and legs spread. Oz came a little closer to make
sure he was ok. The guy had a goofy grin on his face, and drool
was seeping out the corner of his mouth. Oz bent down to take
the guys pulse, but as soon as he touched him, the jock jumped
to his feet like a cat set on fire. He tripped back inside the
house, most likely for more beer, before Oz could get any
closer. He shrugged his shoulders. He strolled around the lawn,
looking for somewhere safe to crash. He came upon a nice
patch of lawn that was fairly isolated, due to all of the bushes
growing all over the place. He sat down partially behind one.

"So it turns out it wasn't a trap, and Spike had no idea what
Drucilla was doing. Weird, huh?" Willow nodded. Buffy had
just finished telling her about her afternoon of slaying.
She glanced at her watch. 20 minutes until the fireworks on the
water started. Cordelia's house was near the water, so you
could easily see them from her house. It was already dark,
even though it was July. Here in Sunnydale, the Hellmouth
seemed to affect everything, including the amount of sunlight.
In 15 minutes, it would be completely dark out. Willow sighed
and leaned back on her elbows. All through school, she had
wished and wished that she would be invited to a party like
this, but it turned out, they weren't all they were cracked up to
be. At least, for Willow. A figure came to stand in front of
them. Buffy jumped to her feet.
"Angel! What are you doing here? I mean, I'm really glad to
see you!" She embraced him in a tight hug. Willow remained
seated.
"Hey Angel."
"Hi Willow. Buffy. I was just in the neighborhood and thought
I would...drop by." Buffy grinned.
"Hey, you can watch the fireworks with us!!!"
"Actually, I know a great bluff we can go to....it's really nice.
Unless you wanna stay here..." Buffy hooked her arm through
his.
"Oh no. Lead the way. Come on Willow." Willow hesitated.
She didn't really want to impose on Buffy and Angel's time
together. And sitting out here under the stars wasn't so bad.
"Uh I'm gonna take a raincheck. I think I'll just stay here. I'll
watch from here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Go on! The fireworks start in 10 minutes!" Buffy
happily obliged, Angel leading her away. Willow was now
alone. She sighed and peered around. There were 4 or 5
couples making out on the lawn. She suddenly got
uncomfortable, the only one there just...sitting. She got up and
looked hesitantly at the door. She definitely didn't want to go
back in there.
So she circled around to the side of the house, which was more
secluded due to the bushes growing all around. Willow found a
nice patch of moss to sit on. She was tired. So she laid herself
down on the moss, looking up at the sky. The constellations
winked back at her. Orion's belt, Pegasus, the Big Dipper.
Willow smiled to herself as she silently named them all.

Oz's head snapped up. He heard rustling in the bushes about 10
feet from where he was sitting. He gulped. Had they found
him? The groupies? Only one way to find out. He wasn't going
to give up this nice little niche for a false alarm. So he silently
crept in the direction of the rustling. It was coming from
behind a large Rhododendron bush. The rustling stopped. Oz
could hear soft breathing. He slowly parted the leaves, careful
not to make too much unnecessary noise. His breath caught in
his throat. It was a girl. She was stretched out on a velvety
patch of moss. Her fiery hair was haloed around her head, and
her features were bathed in moonlight. She was smiling, the
sweetest smile Oz had ever seen. She seemed to be gazing at
the stars. Oz had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life. He
was awed. Suddenly, a burst of light erupted from the sky. Oz
nearly gave himself away. He had forgotten about the
fireworks. The girl sat up and watched the bursts of fire in the
sky. Likewise, Oz couldn't take his eyes off of the girl. The
colorful hues of light coming from the sky created an ethereal
effect on the girl's fair skin. He had to remind himself to
breathe.

Willow sat, watching the fireworks happily. She felt a twinge
of sadness that Xander and Buffy weren't here to share it with
her. But they were both with people they loved, so she
shouldn't be sad. Willow blinked. Yes, they both had someone
to love now. Would she just be left as the 5th wheel? No,
they'd known each other too long to let that happen. She went
back to concentrating on the sparks of fire lighting up the sky.
It went on like this for a good half hour, with Willow watching
the sky, and Oz watching Willow. When the last fireworks
went off, and the sky went dark again, sadness and regret
washed over Oz. He didn't even know her name, and soon she
would go home. She would go home, leaving him wondering
who this angel was. Willow sighed. The show was over.
Nothing really left to see. This didn't mean that the party would
be over, of course. The party would probably keep going for at
least a few more hours. But Willow certainly wasn't planning
on staying that long. True, her parents were out of town for a
few days, and no one would care, but she mostly came to
watch the fireworks. Now that they were over, she didn't really
feel compelled to stay. She wasn't really the die-hard socializer
anyway. A warm breeze teased her hair. The July heat was
making her drowsy again. Maybe she would lay down for a
few more minutes before she left to find Xander....

Oz watched as the girl lowered herself back down onto the
moss, and drifted off to sleep. She reminded him of a nymph,
the kind you chance upon in an enchanted forest.

                     ~*~*~*An hour later*~*~*~
"Willow! Hey Will! Where'd ya go to? Willow!!" Xander
yelled over the heads of about 100 party-goers. He had just
gotten out of the bathroom with Cordelia. A glance at his
watch told him he'd missed the fireworks. Oh well. He had
been busy making his own fireworks....with a certain brunette.
He almost blushed at that thought. Almost. Xander decided
Willow wasn't in the house anymore, and checked outside.
There were quite a few people lounging on the grass, and in the
bushes. He tried again. "Willow!" Xander circled around to the
other side of the lawn, where the thicker shrubbery was.
Willow was jilted awake by hearing her name being called.
"Willow! Hey Will!" She sat up groggily. She could make out
Xander's form trudging through the shrubbery searching for
her.
"Xand! I'm over here."

Oz grinned to himself. Willow. What a fitting name. At least he
knew her name now.

Xander walked over to Willow and started to make up an
excuse about why he didn't watch the fireworks with her. She
interrupted his stilted jabberings with a smile.
"It's fine. I watched them by myself. They were really great.
Too bad you missed them. But I'm sure Cordelia made up for
it." Xander feigned innocence and surprise.
"Why, Willow Ann Rosenberg!! I'm shocked!! You think me,
MOI, I, would be doing something like THAT?! Such
thoughts!" Willow giggled and got to her feet.
"I don't know about you, but I'm going home. This partying
business is hard work!"
"Pshaw! You probably haven't worked half as hard at partying
as I have. Admit it. You haven't even danced yet tonight, have
you? Huh?" Willow ignored that comment and dragged Xander
out of the foliage. It was going to be a long walk home.

Oz's smile got bigger. He repeated her name in his head.
Willow Ann Rosenberg. Willow Ann Rosenberg. Willow Ann
Rosenberg. He had a feeling he wouldn't be able to look at
another girl for a long time. And frankly, he didn't want to. He
had found the one he wanted. He wanted Willow Ann
Rosenberg. The beautiful angel sitting underneath a sky lit by
blazing colors. He walked slowly back to his van. Sometimes
the best things in life come unexpectedly. Oz didn't doubt he
would see her again. He had her name, and an image of her
permanently emblazoned in his memory. The rest, he would
worry about later.