*~*~*~*
"He *annoys* me. Isn't that enough of a reason?" Willow exclaimed with a loud sigh. "I don't want to sleep with him! Can we drop it? I don't want a man at all right now. I have Faith and that's plenty for me." She turned over on the bed, away from Angel, Spike, and Faith.
Faith glanced up at the two vampires. 'There's more to it,' she mouthed. 'I don't know what yet.'
Willow picked up the phone and dialed a number. She waited patiently as it rang.
"Who is she calling?" Spike asked softly.
"My guess is Xander. She always calls him when she's upset, and she can't talk to me about it," Faith murmured. "Come on. Let's give her some time. Something is wrong, and we will just have to beat it out of Xander." The three turned and left Willow alone.
"Hello?" Xander answered groggily.
"Xand, Wills."
"Mmm. . .Willow, my pretty redheaded best friend. It's late. Why are you calling me?" At his place, Xander settled back down into the pillow, on the
edge of sleep.
"Buffy's back."
Xander shot up, wide-awake. "She's *what*?"
"She's back, Xander."
"What the hell is the bitch doing back?" Xander growled angrily. He was still angry that she had decided to leave and not come back.
"I don't know if she's staying. Spike threatened her and told her to stay away from his family, which, as you know, includes you, Delia, and Giles."
"Thank god. I really don't want to see her," Xander said. He was quiet for a few moments. "What's wrong, Wills?"
"Huh? What makes you think something is wrong?"
"Willow, I can hear it in your voice. Something is wrong, something more than Buffy." He settled against the pillows and got comfortable.
"I. . ." Willow looked around, making sure she was alone. "I've got big problems." She sighed. "They want me to sleep with Spike."
"And this is bad because. . .? I know that you want to, you've told me that more than once. Besides, sex with a man isn't bad. I mean, for a woman, that is. I don't know about for a man, cause I've never had sex before. I mean, with a man, cause me and Cordelia. . ."
"I *know* what you mean. Man/Woman sex, not woman/woman sex."
"See, Wills! I knew you were the smart one!"
Willow giggled, then sighed. "I don't want to sleep with Spike first."
"Ok, so sleep with Angel," Xander said. "I don't see why you are wiggin', it's that simple."
"I want my first time to be with Spike," Willow said, chewing on her bottom lip.
"Alrighty, Willser, here's the deal. It's like, late, and I'm sleeping, and you are making no sense. Either make some sense, or I'm going to sleep." Xander lay back down on his pillow, glancing over. Cordelia was sleeping peacefully beside him. He reached out and stroked her cheek.
"Ok, Xander. I'm being completely honest with you. I love Faith with all my heart. You know that. Right?"
"Of course," Xander said. He started absentmindedly playing with Cordelia's hair. "I know that you love her. We all know. It's sweet, and all that rot."
"You spend too much time with Spike."
"Sod off," Xander chuckled.
"*Anyway*, Xander, back to my point. I have. . .feelings for Spike. I can't explain them, but they drive me crazy! I mean, they are even worse than the ones I had for you, and you *know* I thought we were destined to be together. If. . .if I sleep with Spike, it will be more than just teaching Willow how to have sex with a man. It will be Willow falling head over heels in love with Spike. And that's so wrong on so many levels. Faith doesn't deserve that, and I don't want to love someone who doesn't love me back."
Angel, who had come back upstairs to get something out of the bedroom, stopped in shock. < She's falling in love with Spike? > Willow's sudden reluctance to be with the blond made sense. He turned around and quietly went back downstairs.
"Oh, god, Wills, that's harsh."
"I'm just going to die without knowing the touch of a man," Willow sighed.
"No, no, we will figure this out."
Willow yawned. "Ok, here's the deal. I'm tired. I need sleep. Meet me at the diner in the morning and I'll buy you breakfast, and we will talk more."
"You gotta deal, oh best friend of mine."
Willow chuckled. "Night, Xander."
"Night, Willow."
The two hung up and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.
*~*~*~*
"How can you *eat* that?"
Xander glanced up from his breakfast. "What?" he asked, swallowing his bite of pancake. "What's wrong with this? I'd think *you* would like it."
Willow's stomach churned at the sight of the food on Xander's plate. Chocolate pancakes were covered with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and chocolate chips. They were having breakfast at Sunnydale's newest restaurant, the IHOP. Xander loved the IHOP. The Scooby Gang spent many hours on the weekend in the corner of the 24-hour establishment, laughing and joking around about everything, relaxing after a long night of patrol.
"Xander. . .it's. . ."
"Chocolate, Wills," Xander said, nodding. "You like chocolate, remember?"
"Anyway," Willow said, changing the subject. "What do I do?"
Xander pushed his plate to the side to talk to his best friend. "Ok, so you think you are falling in love with Spike, hmm? Why? He's not exactly nice to you, Willow."
"I feel like an abused puppy. He pushes me away and then I come right back for more." Willow sighed. "And I can't stop thinking about how lean he is, how blue his eyes are. . .how much I would love for him to pin me underneath him and just. . ."
"Ravage you?" Xander asked, his eyebrow rising. Her softly spoken images were turning him on, as he was thinking of doing that exact thing to Cordelia. He glanced around. "Damn, too bad Cordy's not here."
"Alexander Harris, we are talking about *my* lack of a sex life, not your *all the time* one with Cordy. Please stay focused." Willow sighed.
Xander leaned forward and took Willow's hand. "Willow, you are my best friend. I love you, and I don't want you to get hurt. If you don't think it's a good idea to sleep with Spike, then don't. End of discussion. However, if you want to, but you think it will mess things up with Faith first, then talk to her. You know how persuasive those Slayers can be, and she seems set and determined for you to have the experience with a guy. Tell her how you feel, and why you are scared. She loves you, and she knows you love her, and the two of you will be able to figure out what to do."
"Xander, you are the best," Willow smiled. "Now eat those nasty pancakes."
Xander chuckled, diving right back into his breakfast.
*~*~*~*
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