Buffy slowly pushed open the door to her dorm room and stared into the room blankly. There were objects in front of her, but none of them registered. It faintly occurred to her to enter the room, but that seemed entirely too complicated for this day.
"You okay?" said Willow.
Buffy blinked in confusion. After what felt like a very long time, she realized Willow was sitting on her bed, with a massive textbook spread out over her legs and a pile of notes printed in five different colors. Buffy blinked again, and tried to remember the question.
"How did your classes go?" Willow asked.
Buffy sighed dramatically and finally moved her feet. She trudged into the room, dropped her bag, and proclaimed, "It was horrible. I hate college." She barely stopped herself from whimpering dramatically.
"No, you don't."
Buffy pouted. Willow was smiling her hooray-for-school smile. "Yes, I do."
Willow shook her head and shoved aside her massive textbook. She patted her bed. "Come here."
Buffy suppressed her joy at rooming with her best friend, and dragged herself across the room to collapse on Willow's bed. Lying down felt amazing.
She buried her head under Willow's pillow and spoke into the covers. "College is worse than high school. And boringer."
"It is not," Willow said, and pulled the pillow away from Buffy's grasp. Buffy thought about trying to get it back, but was too exhausted to move. Willow brushed Buffy hair from her face and Buffy did whimper. It felt so nice.
"You like college," said Willow. "It's fun. Say it with me."
"Nononononono. I don't wanna." Buffy was faintly embarrassed to be acting so childish, but rationalized that sometimes, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do.
Willow laughed softly and tossed the pillow on to Buffy's bed. She settled into a more comfortable position and began combing her fingers through Buffy's hair in a slow, steady cadence. "How was the exam?"
Buffy moaned and her eyelids closed against her will. She wasn't sure how long it took her to answer Willow, but she was pretty sure she had fallen asleep for a few moments.
"I don't want to talk about it," she slurred. She hoped Willow could understand her, because moving her head to speak more clearly seemed entirely beyond Buffy at the moment.
Willow smiled and patted Buffy's head. "Fine," she said, "but I have to study for my Chem test."
Buffy nodded. Willow's caresses felt wonderful, and the tension from the day seeped out of her. Just before she fell asleep for good, she mumbled, "Don't stop?"
Willow laughed again, and the warmth of it spread through Buffy. She never heard Willow's response; she was already asleep.
