My first attempt at writing - set during 'Hush'. If I recieve some positive/constructive reviews I'll upload the next chapter.

Disclaimer - unfortunately, the only things i own are the spelling and grammar mistakes...

Enjoy!

Following their mockery of a wicca meeting, Tara had been unable to stop thinking about Willow. She spoke out in the group, giving Tara the courage to at least attempt to make herself heard for the first time in the entire year she'd been a part of that group. Nobody else had ever managed to make her come out of her shell, and she was determined to show Willow she was a potential friend.

That evening after the freaky laryngitis outbreak, she gathered a spell books inherited from her mother and looked up Willow's room number in the directory. She was 99% sure that Willow really was a witch, or at least interested in becoming one, so she didn't expect her to shoo her away like a crazy person, but Tara still worried. As she set off across campus, thoughts were flying around her brain like crazy bats; what if she had this all wrong? What if she messed up her one chance at a true friend? What if-

Her thoughts were cut short, however, when she noticed two monkey-like creatures wearing torn straitjackets lumbering towards her at an alarming speed. Her heart thudded against her chest as she saw two suited figures round the corner a little too smoothly... Oh Goddess! They were floating a couple of inches above the ground, eerily silent compared to their gorilla servants. Her eyes were focused on the gap between them and the ground, and she dropped her books in shock, raising her head to look at their faces. They had a fixed, terrifying grin on their faces; ecstatically happy, yet with no emotion whatsoever behind it. Staring at their pallid skin, black teeth and deep-set wrinkles, she was glued to the spot, and if the jangling of the buckles on their lackies' jackets hadn't roused her from her trance, she would have received impromptu open heart surgery right there and then.

Her first thought, terrified as she was, was to look for Willow, make sure she was safe. It was crazy, she'd barely even heard the girl speak, but she prioritised her safety above her own. She ran as fast as she could towards Willow's dorm, faster than she had ever run before, hearing the chiming of the servants close behind her. Her heart pounded, her muscles burned, sweat gathered on her brow as she ran up the flight of stairs taking them two at a time in order to reach Willow as fast as she possibly could.

Willow awoke in a cold sweat. She could still hear the horrible clanging and banging noise from her dream – wait – she really could hear it. What was going on here?

After falling asleep at her computer studying old legends to try and figure out just what is going on, she assumed they had given her a nightmare. But no, the noises definitely weren't only in her head. And they were getting closer.

Tara streaked towards Willow's room, continuing to bang on doors, hoping anyone would come out and be able to help her get away from these horrible creatures. Just as she reached a door, before even knocking on it, it opened, revealing another two of them, holding – Goddess! - a real human heart! She almost tripped over her own feet heading back towards the stairs, but her original pursuers had already reached the top and were floating towards her, almost calmly, scalpel in hand as if to say, you're next.

After quickly checking the noise wasn't coming from her laptop or anywhere else in the room, Willow headed towards the door. The banging had stopped, but she could now hear footsteps and the clanging noise was even louder. She could sense something was wrong, and she knew it wasn't Buffy, Xander or Giles in danger. So why could she sense so strongly that she absolutely had to go out there and help somebody? She opened her door...

Tara sprinted as fast as she could, narrowly missing the two creatures holding the heart as she turned the corner and collided with Willow.

Oh Goddess, I've ruined it now, she thought, as she saw Willow's silent yelp in pain. She grabbed Willow, pulling her to her feet, hoping she could run, that she wasn't hurt too bad, that she would give her another chance, that they could be friends...

Her chain of thought was, once again, interrupted by the jangling of buckles. She had almost forgotten about their unwanted guests. Luckily, Willow seemed to be able to run, so that's exactly what they did. They made it to the laundry room, but Tara could just tell that Willow was in a huge amount of pain, so they bundled into the small room, locking the door behind them. Willow hobbled over to a huge soda machine, and, though they both knew their effort was futile, they attempted to push it towards the door as the strange creatures began rattling the handle, but it was to no avail. Willow almost collapsed against a dryer and clutched her leg, staring intently at the soda machine. Tara immediately understood her intentions, and watched, amazed, as Willow made the machine shudder, but not move very far. She looked exhausted as a look of defeat raised in her eyes, and her whole face seemed to sink as she leaned back against the machine, giving up. Tara was having none of it.

She knelt next to Willow and looked intently in her eyes, telling her without words that they would get through this. Tara Maclay, the world's shiest girl, operated much better in silence, her stutter making her feel as if nobody would be willing to talk to her. She had gone through high school virtually friendless, always afraid to start conversations and unintentionally shunning those who started them with her, feeling as if she wasn't worth their time. This is why Willow felt so important – she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt as if she would be the one who would listen to her.

Again operating without words, she gently raised her hand towards Willow's, slowly, tentatively, and linked their fingers together. As their fingers intertwined, all of Tara's worries evaporated. She had been accepted.

They turned, as one, towards the vending machine, staring at it, and it flew like a cannonball towards to door, crashing against it, the glass on the front of it making a loud crunching sound. They turned to look at each other, amazed at what they had just achieved, breathless from the sheer intensity of performing a spell with somebody else. Tara gave Willow her shy, lopsided smile, and Willow relaxed, giving her a small grin. In that moment they became friends.