So, students were disappearing on campus. Buffy wondered if this was something she should go to Giles about, she wondered if she wanted to go to Giles about it.

It had been a week since the disaster that Buffy had termed their non-date. She had avoided Giles since then to give them both a chance to get over what she decided had been a brief spell of mutual insanity. Now she decided that a week was enough time; she was ready to be normal with Giles again. After the overwhelming new-and-strangeness of college, she felt that she needed something that was normal.

xxx

When he saw Buffy for the first time since their "date," Giles felt his stomach give an unpleasant lurch, but overall, he thought he handled himself well. He was just as glad that she saw Olivia in his apartment, saw that he was interested in someone who wasn't her. It would make acting as if he never was interested in her much easier. Even now he was beginning to deny to himself that he had ever felt anything more than a slight crush for Buffy. And Giles encouraged her to work out the problem on her own, so that she would be less dependent on him, and he could start being less dependant on her. Yes, Giles thought, leaning against the breakfast bar, that wasn't so bad.

"Did you help her?" Olivia asked, coming up behind him.

"I don't know." Giles said, but Olivia's question had triggered a new wave of guilt. Dammit, Giles, you're still her watcher. What if she does need help?

"And are all your former students in the habit of walking into your apartment, looking for your help?" Her tone was part teasing, part honest curiosity, and just a little bit jealous.

"What?" Giles turned to her. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Um, no. No. Buffy, she, uh, sh-she's my, um... I-I-I'm a friend of her family."

Good show Giles. Very convincing.

Olivia appeared to believe him, however. She nodded, accepting. "You should watch out for her, if you want to stay friends with the family."

"What?" It sounded as if Olivia was warning him to keep his distance from Buffy.

"She has a crush on you," she said plainly. "Not good for friendships."

Giles blinked. "Sh-she can't. She's eighteen."

Olivia shrugged. "I was nineteen when we started."

"I didn't know that."

"How old did you think I was?"

"I didn't really think about it." Giles was somewhat disturbed by the revelation. "Anyways, I was younger then too."

"I'd still go for eight-years-later-you."

"Well, that's you. To Buffy I'm 'old' and 'gross.'" He had already surmised this from how she acted after the movie. Her saying as much to his face only confirmed it.

"She was being defensive. I think she was upset to see me with you. She was jealous."

"She can't be." Giles insisted, despite the fact that Olivia's analysis did strike him as quite possibly accurate.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "If you say so. I'm just saying be careful. Don't encourage her."

"I never would."

Never.

xxx

"Hi. Where's Oz?" Buffy asked Willow as she sat down next to her in the cafeteria.

"Practicing. Gig tonight. Where've you been?"

"At Giles'." Buffy said, with a practiced kind of casualness, and took some fries from her friend's plate.

"How's he doing?"

"Good." Buffy said brightly. "Really good. He had a, um, a girl there. Wearing his clothes." Buffy's demeanor seemed to visibly melt into bad-moodiness.

"Oh." Willow said lightly, adding a second later, "Oh. Um, well, good for him. Right?"

"Yeah..." Buffy nodded.

"Yeah... but?"

"I thought he liked me." Buffy said, sad and confused.

Willow looked even more bewildered. "What happened to him being all old and fatherly?"

"He still is, I just... I don't know..." Buffy sighed, frustrated with herself and her own feelings. "I just want him to like me."

Willow didn't know what to say. They sat in silence, until Willow caught sight of the clock. "Oh, I gotta go Buffy..."

"But, I'm all mopey. You can't leave me here to mope alone."

"I have class," Willow said apologetically, and dashed away.

Buffy slowly got to her feet and meandered back to her room. She felt like everyone was leaving her.