Willow laughed at the concern in her friend's voice. "It'll be fine, Buffy. It's a very simple spell. I won't mess it up."

"I don't know," Buffy said, unconvinced. "I'm just not sure you should be using magic to spice up your love life." She thought for a moment, then chuckled. "I'm still not used to the idea that you *have* a love life, come to think of it."

Willow gave her a glare and stuck her tongue out playfully. "You're just jealous."

The comment made Buffy think of Angel. She felt a stab of pain, but tried to smile back at Willow. She wasn't very successful.

Willow noticed, and dropped the grimoire she'd been reading on her bed. "Oh, Buffy, I'm sorry! I should have thought before I said anything." She reached over to put her arms around her friend.

"It's okay, Will," Buffy assured her, leaning into the hug. "I'll be okay. It's just hard, y'know?"

"I know it is," Willow said. "I don't even want to think of how I'd feel if I lost Oz."

"What about Xander?" Buffy asked, pulling out of Willow's arms and looking at her with a serious expression on her face.

"What about him?" Willow replied, confused.

"You're losing him," Buffy told her bluntly. Willow started to reply, and Buffy cut her off. "I mean as a friend, Will. You never spend any time with him anymore. You're always with Oz, or me, or studying your spells. Pretty soon he'll be heading out on that trip he's been talking about forever, and you haven't spent more than five minutes with him since graduation."

"That's not true!" Willow said, stung by Buffy's words. Buffy gave her a look, and she went on, "Okay, I guess it is. It's just... weird between us, Buffy. I've known him since we were five years old, but sometimes I feel like we don't even know each other anymore."

"And why do you think that is?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know," Willow said. Buffy gave her another look, and she sighed. "Okay, I do know. The fluke. Everything's been different between us since we got caught kissing."

"No," Buffy said, shaking her head, "everything's been different since you started ignoring Xander so you could make things up to Oz."

"I did not!" Willow cried.

"Yes, you did, Will. When's the last time you two really talked? Just the two of you, I mean?"

Willow thought for a moment, then looked down at the bedspread, unable to meet Buffy's eyes. "Homecoming," she answered in a very small voice.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah," she said, softly. "That's not good, Will. You're drifting apart pretty badly. I think the last time I saw you two hug was when we realized you weren't really a vampire."

Willow shivered, remembering her undead double. "That was the last time, yeah. It's just... different now."

"I know it is," Buffy said. "You're back with Oz, and he's more important." Willow's head snapped up, and Buffy reassured her, "That's not a bad thing, Will. It's natural for you to feel that way. But you have to let Xander know that he's important, too. He's too good a friend to lose. You know that."

"Yeah," Willow agreed. "I know." She looked into Buffy's eyes. "Did Xander ask you to talk to me about this?"

Buffy smiled. "Yeah," she admitted. "He's been feeling pretty bad lately. He won't admit it, but I think you're the reason he's been delaying taking off on his trip. He misses you, Will."

Willow smiled back shyly. "I miss him, too. Okay, then. I'll call him tomorrow, I promise. We'll sit down and talk."

"Good," Buffy said, reaching over to hug Willow. "Very good." Pulling back, she asked, "Now, are you sure you want to do this spell?"

Willow giggled. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure."

"Do I want to know what it does?" Willow blushed, and Buffy went on, "That's a no, then. Just be careful, Will. Not just with the spell, either, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

"Protection, Will, that's what I mean. You'll make sure you're safe, right?"

Willow blushed even deeper. "Of course, Buffy! I, uh, I started on the Pill a few months ago. It just seemed like a good idea, you know? And we always use... you know," she finished, embarrassed.

"Good," Buffy said, relieved. "And on that note, I'm outta here. I'd wish you luck, but I don't want to get that involved."

Willow laughed. "I don't blame you. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Xander first," Buffy prompted.

"Xander first," Willow promised.

"Good," Buffy said. Then she waved and left Willow alone with her spell.

Willow smiled after her friend, then went back to sorting ingredients. "Okay," she muttered to herself, "one night of burning passion coming up."

"She said she's going to call you tomorrow," Buffy told Xander, smiling into the phone.

"Yeah?" Xander asked with a smile of his own. "How'd you manage that?"

"Well," Buffy teased, "I had to rough her up a little."

"It was for a good cause," Xander assured her.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed, her voice serious. "It was. I hope you two can work it out, Xander. You need each other."

"Yeah, we do," Xander said softly. "Thanks, Buff. I owe you one."

"Nah," Buffy said, "seeing you two friends again will be payment enough."

"Well, you'll be seeing it soon, if I have anything to say about it," Xander promised.

"Good," Buffy said. "Listen, I have to get going. Mom wants to go out to dinner. Are you gonna be okay?"

"Now I will. Thanks again, Buff."

"You're welcome. You'd do the same for me."

"I would. You know I would. Now go eat. And say hi to your mom for me."

"I will," Buffy said. "Bye."

"Bye."

Xander hung up the phone and smiled.

"It's gonna be okay," he whispered to himself. For the first time in a long time, he actually believed it.

Willow checked her bag yet again. The potion was still there. She took it out and looked through the clear glass at the contents. The cinnamon red liquid looked innocuous, but she knew just how powerful it was.

"One night of burning passion," she whispered, as she pulled the stopper out of the bottle and drained the contents in a single gulp. She put the bottle back into her bag and waited.

Nothing. She didn't feel any different. "Maybe I have to see Oz, first," she reasoned, and pushed the doorbell.

Immediately, Oz opened the door. He looked out at her and came as close to smiling as he ever did. "Willow," he said softly, a welcome and an affirmation as well as a name.

"Oz," she replied lovingly, smiling at him. She still didn't feel any different, though. Maybe it hadn't worked after all.

Oz reached out to take her hand. As soon as they touched, Willow felt liquid fire racing through her veins. Her body jerked as if electrocuted. Dimly, through the red haze that had fallen over her vision, she could see Oz do the same.

"Don't worry," she purred as she felt the lust and the love overcome her. "It's a spell. Burning passion with the one you love." She moaned as the heat infused her body. Nothing could feel better than this. Nothing.

She was immediately proven wrong as Oz shut the door and pulled her roughly to him in one fluid motion. Everywhere their bodies touched burned white hot with ecstasy. She could hear faint whimpers of pleasure, and had no idea if they came from Oz or herself. The last untouched part of her brain wondered how much better it would feel when they did more than just touch.

Then the fire completely consumed her, and she had no more time for thoughts.

Oz's faint snoring woke Willow up. She stretched contentedly and cracked open one eye to look at the clock. Ten AM. It had been six at night when she'd come over, and she didn't have a single coherent memory since then. Just a jumble of sensory impressions that left her grinning wickedly and a body that ached in places she hadn't known she'd possessed.

"Mark this one down as a success," she mumbled as she rolled over to cuddle next to Oz. He grunted softly and snaked his arm around her to pull her even closer. Within seconds, she was asleep once more.

It was almost five o'clock by the time Xander heard the doorbell ring.

"I got it!" he called out reflexively, even though he knew his parents were out of town for the weekend. He raced downstairs to open the door, but stopped with his hand hovering over the doorknob.

"This is Willow," he whispered to himself. "She's your friend. No matter what, she's your friend. You can do this."

He nodded firmly and opened the door. Willow stood there with an uncertain smile on her face.

"Hey, Will," he said, as casually as he could manage. He knew Willow could tell how nervous he was, but that was okay because he could see she was just as anxious herself.

"Hi, Xander," she replied shyly, stepping inside. Her eyes darted up to meet his, then lowered to the floor. Xander just stared at her for a moment, at a loss.

"Living room!" he cried. "Let's sit down," he went on more calmly when Willow's head jerked up in alarm.

"Yeah. That sounds good," she said, and followed him as he walked off.

Xander sat down at one end of the couch, and Willow took the other end. They sat there and stared at each other for what felt like hours.

Finally, Xander cleared his throat and said, "Thanks for coming over, Will. I... I missed you."

"Oh, I missed you, too, Xander," Willow said, with the first comfortable smile he'd seen on her face in months. "I'm sorry about everything," she went on. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Xander said. "It's okay. We're here together now, and we can work this out. Right?"

"Right!" Willow said. "We'll work it out. I know we will. I can't lose you, Xander."

Xander smiled and closed his eyes, touched by the emotion in her voice. "You won't lose me, Will. Never happen."

Willow smiled back at him and wiped at her eyes. "God, it feels so good to hear you say that, Xander." She bit her lip shyly and said, "Do you think... Can I have a hug? I could really use an old-fashioned Xander-hug right now. It's been way too long, hasn't it?"

"It sure has," Xander agreed as he stood up. "One Xander-hug, coming up."

Willow smiled happily as she stood up. Everything was going to be all right now. Buffy had been right, as usual. She couldn't lose Xander. He was too important. She was just glad Buffy had been around to warn her how close she'd come to ruining her oldest friendship.

But that wasn't going to happen. Not anymore. And never again, Willow vowed. Now that she and Xander were together again, she would never let anything stand in the way of their friendship ever again.

She giggled as she stepped into Xander's arms and let him squeeze her tight. She put her own arms around his body and squeezed him as hard as she could. And for one endless second, her life was just perfect. She had her Xander back.

Then she felt the heat racing through her veins, and she knew something had gone horribly wrong. Her body jerked as if electrocuted, causing her head to bend back and her arms to tighten around Xander. She barely felt it as his arms did the same, crushing the air out of her lungs.

She looked up into Xander's eyes. They were terrified, full of fear at what was happening to them.

"Spell," she grunted out as she felt the lust and the love overcome her. She sobbed in despair as she felt the heat and the passion infuse her. This couldn't be happening. She tried to resist, but the pull was too strong. Her willpower was burned out by the burning intensity of Xander's body against hers. She moaned as his hands moved over her body, caressing and searing everywhere they touched.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered as she felt her body yield to the bliss.

Then the fire completely consumed her, and she had no more time for thoughts.

Xander woke up slowly, as he always did. He smiled and stretched without opening his eyes. He'd never had dreams as intense as that before. He could only hope this was the start of a trend.

His outflung arm struck something soft and yielding.

"Mmm..." Willow muttered in her sleep, shifting to burrow against him. Her hand came to rest on his chest, tracing idle circles with her finger.

"Willow?" Xander asked softly, hoping against hope that this was still part of the dream. This can't be happening, he told himself.

"Xander," she whispered contentedly. "Oh, Xander, that was wonderful. You were..."

Suddenly she bolted upright in the bed. "Oh my God!" she screamed, then collapsed and started crying. She drew her legs up to her chest and tucked her head onto her knees as she sobbed.

Xander felt like crying himself, but he controlled the urge as he sat up carefully. He looked around for a blanket or sheet and found that they'd kicked them off onto the floor sometime during the night. Grabbing the bedspread, he covered Willow with it. She clasped it tight against herself and cried even harder.

"Will," he whispered. "It's okay, Willow. It'll be okay." She didn't appear to hear him. He sighed and looked around for something to wear. The clothes he and Willow had been wearing the night before were nowhere to be found, but there was a pair of sweat pants on the floor next to his bed. He pulled them on and sat down next to Willow.

"Will," he tried again, putting his hand on her shoulder.

As soon as Xander's hand touched her, Willow screamed. He pulled back as if he'd been burned, and Willow knew without looking that she had hurt him badly. She started crying again. It felt like crying was all she could do.

After what seemed like hours she heard Xander's voice.

"This will be okay, Will. I swear it'll be okay. You said it was a spell, right?"

Willow couldn't answer, but she nodded her head timidly.

"Okay, then," Xander said with forced cheerfulness. Underneath his voice she could feel something else, something more, but she didn't have time to decipher it before he went on. "Not our fault, right? We didn't do anything wrong, Will. The spell made us do it. Right?"

Willow sobbed. "It was my spell," she said, choking out the words through the tears.

"Oh," Xander said after a moment. "Oh. For, uh, for you and Oz?"

Willow nodded, her normal embarrassment overpowered by the circumstances.

"Why'd it go off last night, then?" Xander asked in confusion.

"I don't know," Willow wailed. "It was supposed to be one night only, and it was only supposed to work between two people who loved each other!" She started crying again, softer than before, but just as bitterly.

Xander was silent for a long time. Finally, he said, "I think I know what happened."

Willow brought her head up to look him in the eye. "You do?" she asked, wiping at her tears.

"Yeah," he replied, then swallowed nervously. "The thing is, Will... I mean, the thing is..." He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I love you," he said softly.

He opened his eyes to see Willow staring at him blankly. He chuckled painfully and looked down at the bed. "Yeah, I guess that doesn't make much sense to you, huh?" Willow shook her head dazedly, and he went on.

"I've been like this ever since Homecoming, Will. Ever since we kissed that first time. That's why I never even really tried to get back with Cordelia. I love you, Will. I'm *in* love with you."

"I didn't say anything," he continued, when it was obvious Willow wasn't going to respond. "I know you love Oz, and I respect that. I swear I do. I didn't want to get in your way. That's why I was going to go away for the summer, so I could try to get over you, and you and Oz could work things out once and for all."

"I couldn't lose you as a friend, though. I can't lose you, Will. You mean too much to me. So, I stuck around, hoping we could talk like we were going to last night before... Well, just before."

Willow simply stared at him, unblinking. He looked into her eyes and said, "Don't you get it, Will? The spell wasn't supposed to last more than one night. Something made it last longer. And it only works on two people who are in love."

"You and me, Will. We're in love with each other. I know I love you. And you must love me, or the spell wouldn't have happened, right? You love me, Willow. I never thought you could, but you do. You love me," he said, his voice full of awe and wonder. "Now everything is going to be good again, Will. You love me and I love you, and we can be together and..."

"It's your fault," Willow whispered, cutting him off.

"What?" Xander asked, praying that he hadn't heard her right.

"It's your fault!" Willow screamed, sitting up and throwing the blanket off. "It's all your fault! This never should have happened. It was supposed to be just me and Oz! I don't want you to love me! I love Oz, Xander, not you! I've never loved you! This never would have happened if you'd just gone away like you should have. Damn you, Xander," she pleaded softly, "why didn't you just leave like you were supposed to? Why couldn't you just get out of my life before you ruined it again?"

She looked up at Xander. His face was stone. "I... I didn't know you felt that way," he said woodenly. "I'll just..." he trailed off, gesturing to the door. Willow turned away from him as he stood up and walked to the door. She felt his eyes on her for a long time before he left.

It wasn't until she heard the front door close downstairs that she started crying again, and she didn't think she'd ever stop.

When she woke up, she was in her own bedroom. It was a dream, she told herself, but knew it was all real when she turned over and looked up into Buffy's concerned eyes.

"Are you okay, Will?" Buffy asked. "Xander called and said you needed me. I went over and brought you home. What happened?" Her eyes told Willow that she already knew.

Willow had thought she was all cried out, but fresh tears stung her eyes. "The spell," she whispered.

Buffy nodded sympathetically. "I figured. What happens now? And where's Xander?"

"What do you mean? You said he called you."

"Yeah," Buffy said, "but I don't know where from. It sounded like a pay phone. What happened, Will?"

"He told me he loves me!" Willow sobbed, and collapsed into Buffy's waiting arms.

When she regained control of herself, Willow looked up at Buffy in horror.

"Oh, God, Buffy, the things I said! I didn't mean them, I swear I didn't mean them. I was just so scared and angry. But I didn't mean them! It wasn't his fault!"

"Calm down," Buffy soothed. "What did you say?"

Willow closed her eyes in shame. "I told him I didn't love him, and that it was all his fault. And that I didn't want him to love me. Oh, God, I told him he should have left! I told him I didn't want him around to ruin my life anymore!"

"You... told him that?" Buffy asked, and Willow knew she was keeping a tight rein on her emotions. She nodded and opened her eyes to look at Buffy.

"I told him that. But I swear I didn't mean it!"

"I know, Will," Buffy assured her uncertainly. "I know. We have to find him. You have to tell him the truth."

"I know," Willow agreed. "But what do I tell him?" she begged.

Buffy shrugged helplessly. "Tell him you love him, but only as a friend. Tell him you're sorry for the horrible things you said. He's Xander, Will. He'll forgive you."

"Do you really think so?" Willow asked hopefully. When Buffy nodded, she asked, "But do I deserve to be forgiven?"

Buffy didn't answer for a long time. She looked down at the floor and said, "He'll forgive you."

"Yeah," Willow said, crying again. "Yeah."

Xander's car was gone when Buffy and Willow got to his house. Willow looked at Buffy, who said, "It was gone when I came to get you. He must not be home yet, I guess."

"I guess not," Willow said. "Should I leave a note or something?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know what to do, Will. Yeah, I guess a note is a good idea. Just tell him to call you. Or maybe I should leave one and tell him to call me, huh?"

"Yes!" Willow said. "That'd be better. You can tell him I was wrong before I talk to him. I don't think he wants to talk to me right now, and I don't blame him."

"Okay, then," Buffy said. "I locked the door behind me when we left. Do you have your key?"

Willow nodded and dug out her keyring. Choosing the key to Xander's house, she opened the front door. "Where should we leave the note?" she asked.

"In his room, I guess," Buffy said, unsure how Willow would take the idea of going back up there.

Willow simply nodded and headed upstairs. When they got to the door to Xander's room, she stopped dead in shock.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, moving past Willow to see.

Xander's closet door was open, as were all the drawers to his dresser. Most of his clothes were gone. His bed was made, and three envelopes lay on it.

"Oh, God," Willow whispered in despair.

With a sinking heart, Buffy walked over to the bed. One envelope had her name on it, one had Giles' name, and the last and thinnest had Willow's name. She picked that one up and turned to give it to the redhead.

Willow took it with shaking hands and tore it open. Her eyes glanced at the single page for just a moment before she collapsed to her knees, sobbing in despair.

Buffy dropped down next to her and opened her arms. Willow scrambled into her embrace and buried her head against Buffy's shoulder. Her tears were hot against Buffy's neck, and her arms held the Slayer in a grip as tight as a vise.

With one hand, Buffy gently stroked Willow's back. With the other, she took the letter out of Willow's hand and held it up where she could read it.

Willow,

There's so much I want to say, but I guess it all comes down to this.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

Goodbye.

Xander