Title: Change in Plans
Rating: PG
Pairings: None
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Spoilers: Season Two, Halloween Episode
Summary: On Halloween the Scooby Gang, go to Ethan's, the cheap new costume store on the block. They decide to keep what costume they are wearing for Halloween a secret from one another. Warning: My first story. P.S. I have recently edited this story.
Warnings: Allusion to violence.
Notes: Why does Willow always get the worst costume in these things?
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am not Joss but I do think that Summer Glau is awesome.
Willow should have seen this one coming. Snyder hated Buffy and would do almost anything to stop her from enjoying her life while in school. The fact that he was now going to be able to ruin time that normally was outside of school just seemed like a gift from the Hellmouth to him. The fact that they had happened to be in the halls near him and he was in charge of signing students up for the newest community service project certainly helped. That was how Snyder had roped her, Xander, and Buffy into bringing the kindergarteners Trick-or-Treating. That was October 29 in the halls on their way to first period. Now, it was October 30 and while Buffy already had an extremely good idea of what she was going as, a Victorian maiden for Angel, Willow had no clue what she wanted to go dressed as. The only thing she did know for sure was that she would have to pick a different outfit than her normal ghost because if Buffy saw it she could very well end up dressed like a common prostitute.
Willow was currently sitting at one of the tables in the quad. She was waiting for Xander and Buffy leave the school so that they could go to Ethan's before the store closed. They tonight only had tonight to get the costume because they had hoped illogically that they would not have to go and were afraid of what the store was going to have left for them to choose from. Hearing her name called Willow looked up from the Latin book that she had balanced open on her knees.
Coming her way was none other than her best friend, Alexander Harris, who everyone, even teachers, called Xander. The two had met in kindergarten when Willow had accidentally broken her yellow crayon. She had been so afraid that the teacher was going to be angry with her that she had burst out into tears. Xander had been great to her, hugging her little body to him and telling her that he would protect her from the teacher no matter what. It was only the natural progression in their relationship that in one year she would hit Mr. Harris, Xander's father, over the head with a baseball bat in order to save him from a drunken beating. They were the best of friends and Xander's carefree personality was a great offset for Willow's shy, worrisome one. Xander's disposition as it was allowed Willow to open up as much as she had since preschool.
The closer her Xander-shaped friend got to her the less conviction Willow had as to the identity of the teen. At the very least, the person coming toward her looked like her best friend. He was the right height and had many identifying characteristics of Xander. The deep red tint that covered his face from anger however was not something that she had seen very often. The closer he got the more worried she felt. Something or someone had really ticked off Xander and that someone had additionally given him a bruise under his left eye. Abandoning her book but grabbing her bag, Willow quickly ran to her bestest bud wanting to see how bad his injury was and if it would get worse without immediate attention.
"Xander, are you okay," a frantic Willow was looking him over with an intensity that was normally only used when one was looking at a pregnancy test.
"I am fine, Wills," Xander was holding back laughter the whole time Willow was frantically checking his eye to make sure that it was not scratched. Yet when Willow went as far as to check his pulse the laughter that was previously nothing but a huge smile became a loud belly laugh. "Honestly, Wills it is just a bit tender, the only reason that it looks so bad is that his hands were dirty from P.E." Upon a closer inspection, along with the help of a wet napkin, the skin was uncovered and the dirt washed away to give way to the lightest of bruises. Overall, it was not even worth mentioning.
Luckily for Willow before the moment could go from her caring for Xander to Xander making fun of Willow's overreaction to a simple bruise that would be gone in a few hours, Buffy arrived.
"Hey guys," Buffy called when she was still a few feet away from them. She either ignored or did not notice the few people standing around turn to look at her in the mistaken impression that she was talking to them. "Are you both ready to go pick out some costumes? The faster we get them the sooner this will be over for us. I still cannot believe Snyder can to do this. It's so not fair."
It was while they were nearing Ethan's that with the help of Buffy they were able to get the story out of Xander.
"Alright, alright Ladies, there is plenty of me to go around. It was Larry. We got in an argument and I called him gay. I am actually surprised he didn't hurt me more than he did. He only pushed me to the ground and dropped my bag in the trash left the changing room." The discussion stopped as they reached the doors and all thoughts of revenge against Larry for roughing their best bud vanished in the face of the serious task set before them. They needed to shop for a costume.
Inside Ethan's the store looked surprisingly well stocked with a wide range of options. Halloween was only a day away yet a good portion of the store was still filled. It made Willow wonder how the store must have looked fully stocked and in all of its glory. Just when they were about to let loose and find their costumes Willow grabbed one of both Buffy's and Xander's arms, pulling them back.
"I think that our costumes should be a surprise. None of us should know what any of the others are wearing. That way it will be a surprise for tomorrow. If we don't tell each other now…" Willow's babble trailed off with a nervous giggle. The reason that she was saying this was because she was afraid that Buffy would not approve of her pick and force her into something that she would not be comfortable having to wear. "It would be … fun, right?"
"Sure, that would be awesome, Wills," Xander helped his friend out who seemed to be drowning. It also made him really want to know what her costume was going to be if she did not want anyone to see it until the last minute. Although with a look at Buffy and remembering how controlling she could be toward Willow Xander could almost see the pieces of the puzzle forming before his eyes. When the realization came to him he and Willow both shared a look.
Buffy nodded, not seeing the look that they had exchanged. "That sounds like a good idea. It could be cool. Just remember Willow, Halloween is about being someone you are not." Looking at Willow directly in the eye she seemed to be almost trying to drill in this information with her gaze alone.
Separating from each other, they all looked back as one to make sure that no one was trying to see if anyone in their group was cheating and peeking at.
Looking around Willow zeroed in on the employee of the store who was lurking behind the counter. While his location was almost obvious, he seemed to melt in with the background becoming practically impossible to spot unless you were deliberately looking for him. She walked over quickly and gently spoke, "Excuse me, sir. I was wondering if you would help me with something." What Willow was not prepared for was the store worker to jump a foot off the floor while letting out a curse in a British accent. The thought of Giles quickly flitted through her mind before she consciously pushed it out of the way. "I was wondering if you had a costume that would cover my face but not be a mask. I would like something that I would be able to breathe in please." Willow was almost embarrassed by her next request. "It needs to show some skin, but not a lot," Willow was quick to add the last part as fast as she could. She almost hoped that he would not understand her.
Ethan could feel the smile grow on his face after the initial scare. Before him was one of the Slayer's best friends and she was asking him for his advice. He could almost sense how good this prank was going to be. What did he want her to change into? Thinking deeply for a moment he came up with the perfect idea. "Well, Miss, I think that I have the perfect thing for you. It is right this way. Am I right in thinking that the other two young people that you arrived with are your friends? And that this is for the Sunnydale High community Trick or Treat program?"
"Yes to both. That's why we are buying them so last minute. We are also surprising each other with our costumes this year. My friend Buffy is a lot more outgoing than I am and I do not want to end up in a costume that I am too uncomfortable in." Willow gave a shy smile feeling weird about sharing so much about herself to a complete stranger. "I am really grateful that you are helping me find something."
Ethan gave a smile and stopped when they reached their destination. "Here it is." The outfit consisted of deep maroon genie pants with a gold band around the waist that met in the front to form half a diamond. This gold material also had a strategically placed gold beads embroidered with another piece of dark maroon fabric, the same as the genie pants draping from under the gold material. It swooped from the left hip and came around past the right side meet two inches away from where it began. The shirt was a tube top with a long sleeve for the right arm. The background would match the pants but this one had gold sunbursts and two thick bands of gold cloth on the bottom of the shirt, the neckline of the shirt and the elbow of the one sleeve. Finally, there was a small black vest, a maroon scarf to cover her hair and face, a gold choker, and a maroon and gold genie bottle.
"What is it, sir?" Willow was in awe of it. The only part of her that anyone would see of her was her stomach and her left arm. No one would be able to tell it was meek little Willow Rosenburg. Besides that, it was love at first sight,
"It is a genie costume." Ethan could see the stars of love on her face the moment her eyes locked on to the merchandise. "I assume that you want to buy it." Willow nodded.
Walking to the cash register with Ethan to pay for it, she stopped at the sight of a necklace and earring set. They were all simple. Two gold hoops, one with a fake garnet ruby one the bottom. The necklace was a gold colored chain with a diamond shaped setting holding a matching fake garnet ruby in the middle. Picking them up Willow picked up her pace to catch up with the British man.
After paying for the clothes Willow went to one of the seats in the front of the store, where she could not see either of her friends and waited for them to meet her with their picks.
When the three teens had all finished and left Ethan Rayne stood at his cash register, threw back his head and laughed. He had just sold the Slayer a Victorian maiden dress, talked her male friend into dressing as a Shaman, and the shy redhead as an enslaved genie. He could just taste the chaos that Janus would be able to enact with those kinds of outfits. With that in mind, Ethan switched the open sign to closed and waited for the last of the shoppers to leave so that he could get ready for his Halloween surprise. And they would be surprised.