Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy.
"Buffy!" Willow called as she rushed over to her friends, Xander gazing at Buffy in concern, while Buffy continued to stare down the hall where Faith had retreated, frowning. "Uh, Buffy?" Willow waved a hand in front of her friend's face.
""What? Oh, hi Will" Buffy gave her slightly mussed friend the once over, raising an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
"I was gonna ask you the same thing" Willow frowned.
"Oh, it's fine. Just another minor Faith encounter" said Buffy. Willow glanced at Xander, neither of them believing that Buffy was completely fine, but the redhead had more important matters to deal with right now, like the fact that she looked like a total mess.
"Okay then. Uh, do you have a hairbrush or something, Buff? I fell asleep on the couch last night, and then I slept in.." she explained.
"Sure, I'll just go get it from my locker" said Buffy. "But Will, don't you have a sore neck or back or something from sleeping on the couch that long? It couldn't have been comfortable."
"Oh, my couch has good cushions" Willow lied. "Really comfy cushions." Willow's couch and it's cushions were no more comfortable than any other couch, but the shoulder of the girl she had shared it with was, and Willow didn't think she'd ever had a better night's sleep.
Later that day, Willow sat in the library during her study period, trying, and, quite unusually for her, failing, to concentrate on her homework. The reason for this was that she just couldn't keep her mind from wandering to Tara. While she hadn't paid much attention to it in her haste to leave that morning, Willow realised that the other girl had looked hurt when she rushed off so quickly, and maybe made to think that she had done something wrong. Willow didn't want to make Tara feel that way, she hadn't done anything wrong, and she didn't deserve it after all she'd been through. Willow, now deciding how she could try and make it up to her friend, put her pen down, finally abandoning her homework, and headed for the Witchcraft & Occult section of the library. In the past she had often wondered why a high school library would even have a section for that type of thing, but she was grateful for it now. She did have to admit though, that her decision to borrow some Magic books for Tara wasn't for the benefit of Tara alone. Now that Willow had mastered how to float a pencil, Tara had said she could teach her a few other basic spells, if she wanted. Willow welcomed this chance, as it gave her an excuse to be close to the other girl, but, she hoped, having to focus on the magic would keep her from dwelling on her growing more-than-friendly feelings. When Willow reached the section she was looking for, she stopped startled to find somebody already there. It was Faith, arranging the books on the shelves. Yep, that girl was just full of surprises.
"Uh, hi" greeted Willow, rather awkwardly.
"Hey, Red" Faith replied, obviously not as surprised to see Willow as Willow was to see her.
"So, whatcha doing there?"
"Arrangin' the books."
"I can see that" said Willow, confused. "But why are you arranging the books? You're not pulling some prank are you, because I will tell Giles.."
"I'm not playin' a prank, Red" Faith frowned. "I help out the G-man around here in my free periods."
"Oh!" said Willow, the information clicking into place, "So that was why you had Ta.." she paused, quickly catching herself, "My book."
"Yeah" Faith smirked, catching Willow's slip but deciding not to comment on it just yet.
"Um, no offence" said Willow, Faith's admittance of assisting Giles only confusing her further, "But you don't seem like the type to help out in a library."
"What makes you think you know what type I.." Faith began, scowling, but then stopped, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She had still been a little worked up from her fight with Buffy that morning, but she knew that Willow's comment had only come out of curiosity, so it would be unfair to take her frustrations out on her. "Giles is my.." she paused again, catching herself before admitting something she hadn't yet told anyone. "I just like the guy, okay? He's one of the only people in this joint who doesn't think I'm a lost cause. Besides, somebody's gotta help him. The only other kid who ever comes in here is you."
"Yeah.. How come I've never seen you in here before then?"
"I'm always in the shelves, aren't I?" Faith replied. "And usually, you're always buried in your homework." The brunette turned back to the shelves, continuing to arrange the books in their correct alphabetical order. "Go ahead and browse, Red. Don't mind me."
"Okay" Willow turned to look through the shelves herself, but it was a little awkward having Faith there. She picked out a beginner's book of spells for herself, and was wondering which ones to borrow for Tara, when the other girl spoke again.
"You know where she is, don't you?"
"Who?" said Willow, trying to feign ignorance to hide the panic that had suddenly gripped her.
"Don't play dumb with me, Red" Faith frowned. "I saw how angry you were with B outside the store a few days ago. You almost cracked it before I showed up." When Willow remained silent, not meeting her eyes, Faith sighed. "You don't have to tell me where she is. I just want to know if you know." Willow bit her lip, not knowing what to do, until she remembered her earlier conversation with Tara.
"Have faith in Faith.." she muttered under her breath.
"What?" Faith frowned.
"Nevermind, just something someone.. Yeah, I know where she is" Willow admitted.
"Is she safe?" asked Faith seriously.
"Yeah, I wouldn't let.. No-one's going to find her."
"You like her" said Faith, her trademark dimpled, cheshire cat grin spreading across her face.
"No I don't" said Willow a little too quickly.
"Yes, you do" Faith smirked. "You care so much about protectin' her, you get mad when someone insults her, and you blush a little whenever she's mentioned. You're blushin' now, actually."
"It's just a little hot in here, that's all" Willow rubbed at her cheeks as if to take the offending flush of redness away, but only succeeding in making it worse. "And she's my friend, of course I care about protecting her. What excuse do you have for caring so much?"
"That's a long story. Pretty complicated too" said Faith. "Who knows, maybe one I'll tell ya. But for now, I have to get back to work. See ya, Red." Willow frowned as the brunette disappeared around the next shelf, wondering how the hell a girl who she'd barely even talked to, and until recently, didn't even like (She still wasn't sure whether she liked her, although the caring about Tara's safety was a big tick in her favour), could have discovered more about her than even her best friends knew.
