"Buffy..." His voice was deeper, full of need. I gasped as he dipped lower, brushing my...

"Ooh, Xander!" I squealed as he...

"Buffy! Wake up!!"

"GAH!!" I jerked awake. Willow was shaking me. I decided not to kill her. I'm still not sure why. Instead, I gave her my worst glare.

I guess a glare through sleepy-eyes isn't as menacing as it might be. Or maybe Willow's Wicca training makes her immune. In any case, she ignored it and just smiled at me knowingly.

"Xander dreams, huh?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Beside her, Tara giggled.

I blushed furiously. "None of your business," I said with as much dignity as I could muster.

She wasn't having it. "Oho, sounds like you were having nekkid-Xander dreams..."

"I resent the implication!" I cried, as indignantly as I could, but I knew right away I'd never pull it off. The grins on Willow's and Tara's faces proved me right. All I could say was "Oh, shut up, the both of you."

Willow laughed. "Don't worry about it, Buff. I'll confess to having had a few nekkid-Xander dreams of my own. A lot of fun, aren't they?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but Tara beat me to it. "Yeah, they are nice," she said dreamily.

Willow and I looked at her in shock. "What?" she asked. Willow glared at her and started to say something, but Tara cut her off. "Don't worry, you're in them too."

Okay, that was more than I needed to know. But Willow smiled and hugged her girlfriend. "That's so sweet!" Sweet's not exactly the word I would've used, but what the hell.

While they were hugging, it occurred to me to wonder what they were doing in my room so early in the morning. "Hey!" They broke off their embrace and looked at me. "What are you guys doing here, anyway?"

Willow smiled. "We thought we'd get an early start on figuring out what you should wear when you ask Xander out. Your mom told us to come on up. She thinks you've slept enough for one night."

I sighed. "Of course she does. This is the woman who falls asleep on the couch at ten o'clock. Fine, then. What am I going to wear?"

"Well, why don't you go take your shower and get dressed, and Willow and I can look through what you have?" Tara doesn't make many suggestions, but when she does they're good ones.

"I can do that," I said. I hopped out of bed, grabbed some clothes, and headed for the bathroom. After brushing my teeth, I jumped in the shower.

And immediately started thinking about Xander. Something about being warm, wet and naked just made my mind focus on him, I guess. Focus on thoughts of him also being warm, wet and naked. *Not a good thing, Buffy. Okay, it is a good thing. A very good thing. But not right now.*

With considerable effort, I tore my mind away from thinking about him. Then I turned down the hot water and waited for the shower to cool off. That did the trick, all right. Soon, all I could think about was getting clean so I could get out of the shower and get warm again.

After I dried myself, I looked down at the clothes I'd chosen. A pair of ragged jeans and a ratty t-shirt, both of them covered in paint splotches from when we'd all helped Xander paint his apartment. That was a good weekend, and I smiled as I remembered it. He and Anya had been so happy then. I hoped that I'd be able to make him that happy.

*Stop being so negative. Of course you'll make him happy. If he lets you, anyway.* That last thought was not reassuring. I dressed quickly and hurried back to my room.

Will and Tara had half my wardrobe strewn around my room. They were going over it all with a careful eye. When I walked in, Willow looked up at me and giggled. "You should just wear that, Buffy. I bet he'd love it."

I looked down at myself. I looked awful. Comfortable, but awful. "No thanks, Will, I think I'd prefer something a bit less ridiculous. What have you guys got for me?" I asked as we all turned back to the clothes.

Not much, it turned out. Oh, I had plenty of clothes. But I needed something perfect, and none of them were perfect. We found a few things that might be good for my first date with Xander, and we put them carefully to one side for later perusal. But first we had to find me an outfit I could wear to tell Xander how I felt, to ask him out. And we weren't having much luck.

We had a good time looking, though. We went through my clothes for at least an hour, looking at this one, discarding that one. We talked about everything and nothing. Girl-talk. It had been too long since I'd indulged in a bit of girl-talk with Will and Tara. It was fun.

Mostly fun, anyway. At one point, when Tara left to use the bathroom, Willow came over to me as I held a dress up in front of me to check it out in the mirror. "What do you think?" I asked her. "Does Xander like blue?"

"Blue's one of his favorite colors. And I know he likes that dress on you. I think we have a winner." I smiled at her, then turned back to the mirror. "Buffy?" I looked up at her reflection in the mirror. She looked straight into my eyes.

"If you hurt Xander, I'll kill you."

Her voice was calm and pleasant, as if she were telling me the time. I couldn't say anything. I just looked into her eyes. I looked into her eyes and I knew she wasn't joking.

I couldn't say a word for the longest time. Finally, I nodded. "I know, Will. I'm not going to hurt him. I hope I'm not going to hurt him."

She nodded back, then smiled. "Okay, then. What kind of shoes do you think you should wear with that dress?"

And just like that, we were back to normal. I let myself be drawn into talking about shoes, but all the while I was thanking God that Xander had a friend like Willow. That I had a friend like Willow.

I smiled as I heard Tara come back into the room. Turning with the dress in front of me, I asked "Do you think he'll like it?" Then I froze. It wasn't Tara. It was Dawn. *Oh shit.*

Dawn smirked. "Do I think who will like it?"

I almost blurted out Xander's name, but I caught myself in time. "Out, you! And no one. I wasn't talking about anyone you'd know." I tried to make my tone as dismissive as possible, but even as I said it I knew she'd never believe anything that lame.

"Do you really think I'll believe anything that lame?" she asked. She seemed offended. Somehow I held in my remorse.

Willow turned to me. "Don't you think we should get Dawn's opinion on this, Buffy? It couldn't hurt." Her face was serious, but her eyes were dancing with evil glee.

"Oh, it'll hurt," I whispered through clenched teeth. "You won't believe how much it'll hurt, Will. I'll show you later." She blanched, but the pleasure that gave me was short-lived.

"Trying to impress a guy, huh?" Dawn was wearing her most wicked grin, the one she always gets when she's teasing me about boys. "Well, I'd be happy to give you my opinion. Lord knows, you need all the help you can get." Willow giggled, but shut up when I glared at her.

I closed my eyes and counted to ten. Unfortunately, Dawn and Willow were both still there when I opened my eyes again. Worse, Dawn had a speculative look on her face as she stared at the dress I was holding.

"That's a nice dress, I have to admit." I made a mental note to lock it up so she wouldn't steal it. She smiled as she went on. "Xander always liked that one." Her eyes went as wide as saucers, and she clapped her hand to her mouth. "Oh my God! It's Xander, isn't it? It's Xander!!"

God bless Slayer reflexes. Most of my brain was running in circles, screaming 'She knows! She knows!' but I heard myself say "Don't be silly. It's not Xander," as if he were the farthest thing from my mind. It was the most convincing lie that had ever come out of my mouth. I deserved an Oscar for 'Best Lie To A Nosy Younger Sister.' I barely concealed my sigh of relief as I saw disappointment flash across Dawn's face.

"Damn. That's a shame," she said. "I thought you'd finally come to your senses. But if it's not Xander, you're on your own. I have better things to do. See ya." She turned to walk out the door.

*YES!!* I barely held in a whoop of triumph. She'd bought it! We were out of the woods. I smiled at Willow, feeling mighty proud of myself.

Until I heard Tara coming down the hall from the bathroom. "Buffy," she called, "what about that blue dress? Doesn't Xander like blue?" She came in the door and saw Dawn. "Oh." Then the implications hit her. "OH!" Her eyes darted to mine, full of apologies.

I buried my face in my hands as Dawn whirled around so I didn't have to see the expression on her face. But I could hear her just fine. "YES!! I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! It's Xander!!"

She stopped talking, which I knew had to be a bad sign. When I heard Willow and Tara laughing, I cautiously raised my head to see what she was doing.

The most ridiculous dance the world has ever seen, that's what she was doing. She was bouncing around, waving her arms all over the place, a huge grin on her face. The way she was dancing made Xander look like Fred Astaire, for crying out loud.

"What...?" Words failed me, but Dawn answered the question anyway.

"This is my 'I knew it!' dance," she told me as she spun around and almost tripped over my shoes. "I knew it! I knew it! I KNEW IT!! Xander, Xander, Xander! La la la!!"

And on like that. I just stared at her, asking myself, yet again, how this lunatic could be my sister. It just wasn't fair. And the way Willow and Tara were laughing and encouraging her didn't make it any easier to take. I sighed, resigning myself to my fate.

"What in the world is going on in here?" All eyes turned to my mother in the doorway. Dawn did trip this time, but she bounced right up and kept on dancing as she answered Mom's question.

"Buffy's got the hots for Xander!"

Mom turned towards me and arched an eyebrow. "Is this true, Buffy? Do you have the hots for Xander?" There was no expression at all on her face, and she ignored Dawn's dancing and Willow's and Tara's giggles as she looked into my eyes.

I swallowed, then cleared my throat to make sure my voice would work. "Yeah. It's true."

Mom nodded absently, digesting the news. "So you want to, what, start a relationship with Xander?" I nodded. "This is Alexander Harris we're talking about, right? Dark hair, dumb jokes, stands about yea-high?" She held her hand up to about Xander-height. I nodded again. Willow, Tara and Dawn laughed. Dawn was still dancing, of course. I debated breaking her little legs, but figured that wouldn't have gone over too well, so I just looked back at Mom.

She sighed. "I know my memory isn't what it once was, what with the brain tumor and all, but I'd swear I told you awhile back that you should go out with Xander." She looked at me, waiting for an answer.

As soon as I opened my mouth, she cut me off. "In fact, I'd swear I've told you on numerous occasions over the years that you and Xander would be a good match. And I'd swear that every single time I've mentioned that, you've said that you just don't feel that way about Xander. Am I remembering that correctly?"

"Yes," I admitted. "You were right, okay? I have feelings for Xander, and you were right. You were right and I was wrong. I admit this freely. Now would you PLEASE tell Dawn to stop doing that stupid dance?!"

Mom smiled at me. It wasn't a very reassuring smile. "Of course I will, darling. All you had to do was ask." She turned to Dawn. "Dawn, honey, you have to stop doing that dance."

Dawn didn't even slow down. "This is my 'I knew it!' dance, Mom."

Mom smiled. "I know it is, Dawn, but it's bothering your sister and you have to stop. Please? For me?" Wonder of wonders, Dawn actually stopped. Mom's smile widened. "Thank you, honey. I know how much you like your 'I knew it!' dance, and I'm sorry I made you stop."

She turned to me, and her smile was evil - EVIL! - as she went on. "Instead, perhaps you'll be so kind as to join me in my 'I told you so!' dance." With that Mom started her own little dance.

Words cannot describe the 'I told you so!' dance. Even if they could, I believe the Constitution of the United States would prohibit me from giving a full and accurate description on the grounds that it would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

It resembled nothing so much as an unholy fusion of the Twist, the Cabbage Patch and the Funky Chicken. Mom was bouncing all over the room like a drunk who'd found religion. If the 'I knew it!' dance made Xander look like Fred Astaire, then the 'I told you so!' dance made the 'I knew it!' dance look like Swan Lake. And it only got worse, as first Dawn, then Willow, and finally Tara, joined my mother in her dance of mockery. My room looked like an episode of that show Laugh-In that Dad always liked to watch. Very interesting. But stupid.

I just leaned against the wall and prepared to wait it out. To pass the time, I mentally sorted through all the ways I could kill them, starting with the most painful methods.

I was wondering where I could get the teak skewers necessary for the Tartar Toe Torture that Giles had told me about the week before, when Mom stopped dancing and threw her arms out to get everyone's attention.

"Stop!"

Gradually, Willow and Tara and Dawn stopped dancing. Dawn was the last to stop, of course. Mom smiled at them. "Thank you for joining me, ladies, but I believe our work is done. I'm sure Buffy has gotten the message by now." She turned to me and raised an eyebrow in question.

I sighed. "Yes, Mom. I got the message."

"And what would the message be?" I should've known she wouldn't let me off easy.

I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming. "The message is that you told me so." She started to open her mouth for another question and I went on. "You told me that I should go out with Xander."

Mom nodded her head and smiled. "Very good, Buffy." Her smile softened and she came over to give me a hug. "Seriously, I think this is a good thing. You two are going to be so good together. When's your first date?"

I blushed. "I haven't asked him out yet."

She blinked. "Why not?"

"I don't know what he'll say."

Mom smiled in understanding. "I know that one, all right. Then what are you girls up to? Why are your clothes all over the place?"

Willow answered that one. "We're trying to find the perfect outfit for Buffy to wear when she asks Xander out."

That got another blink out of Mom. "Don't you think that maybe you're trying too hard? I think you should just ask him the next time you see him. And I'd say what you're wearing now would be fine. Keep it casual."

I snorted. "Mom, no way am I asking Xander out wearing Salvation Army reject clothes. I love these jeans and this shirt, but I'm not fit to be seen in public, much less by Xander."

Mom smiled again. There was something in her eyes, though, something I couldn't identify before she started speaking again and it was gone. "Okay, Buffy, if you say so. I'm going to head downstairs and start on lunch." She looked around the room at all of us. "Is grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup okay with everyone?" We all nodded, and Mom started for the door. "Dawn, why don't you come downstairs and help me while Buffy, Willow and Tara get back to planning the campaign against Xander?"

I was sure Dawn would want to stay and bother me, but she didn't. "Sure thing, Mom." As she walked out the door she called over her shoulder, "Don't forget the moisturizer, Buffy. You're getting old enough for wrinkles to be a problem."

She was lucky I didn't have my crossbow. I put her out of my mind and turned back to Willow and Tara. "Okay. Where were we?"

We were still arguing over which shoes I should wear with the blue dress when Dawn called us down for lunch a few minutes later. I threw the two pairs that were leading the field onto my bed and we all went downstairs. Just as we were about to enter the kitchen, there was a knock at the front door. Mom looked up from the stove. "Buffy, could you get that?"

"Sure thing, Mom." I turned around and headed for the door. Behind me, I heard Mom and the others following, but I didn't think anything of it. I reached the door and swung it open to see...

Xander. Standing there and smiling at me. Standing there looking at me in my ratty clothes. The clothes I didn't want him to see me in.

*Mom, you're a dead woman.*