Chapter Nine: Crazy Talk

Previously in Beauty Within...

"Willow!" Buffy snapped, watching her best friend. "Calm down. She's inside. We will find her, and you will talk to her. Now quit panicking every five minutes."

"Sorry," Willow whispered, looking down at her feet in shame. "Okay. I'm calm. I'm ready."

"Good. Now lets go before I lose my mind."

"Wait, Buffy!" Willow said, grabbing her friend's hand before she could start walking inside. "What if she hates me?"

Buffy sighed as she looked into Willow's panicked green eyes. "She won't. It's too hard to hate you. Now come on. Lets go get your girl."

"But..."

"Will."

"Okay, okay. I'm coming," Willow responded, hearing the sternness in Buffy's voice.

They walked into the gym, looking around for any signs of Tara in the large room. Buffy winced slightly when Willow grabbed her hand in a death grip, squeezing her fingers so tight that no blood would flow through.

"Will," Buffy said, trying to pull her hand away from the panicked redhead.

"Sorry," Willow replied, releasing Buffy's hand as she stared across the room into the eyes she had loved for years.

Noticing Willow's distracted look, Buffy followed the redhead's line of sight and smiled softly when she saw Tara was looking back at Willow. "Go get your girl," Buffy told her, pushing her friend slightly in the direction of the blonde.

"Thanks, Buff," Willow whispered, before walking over to where Tara was standing. "Hi..."

"Hi," Tara said, frowning at Willow. "I'm surprised your talking to me. You kinda ran away from me yesterday without an explanation."

"Um...yeah. I kinda read into things people say and find alternate meanings. So when you told Xander he wasn't interrupting anything, I thought you were saying that I didn't mean anything to you or that you were still hiding everything, and I panicked. Then I started panicking earlier because I didn't think you'd be here and I wanted to talk to you about everything, but you are here. I mean, of course you here, who else would I be talking to right now if it wasn't you. Oh, and then I started panicking again cause Buffy said you saw me panicking and I was afraid you'd think I was crazy, which now I'm almost positive you do. Um...do you think I'm crazy?" Willow babbled, her eyes wide with fear as she stopped her panicked ramble.

Tara stared at Willow in silence, processing Willow's words, only to watch the redhead's eyes widen even further before she lowered her head and started to walk off. After taking one step, Tara reached out and grabbed Willow's arm, turning the redhead to her before crashing her lips to Willow's.

"I do think you're crazy. But you're also cute, sweet, and extremely adorable," Tara said, once the kiss ended.

"Really?" Willow asked, smiling brightly at Tara.

"Yes," Tara admitted, leaning in to kiss Willow once more, wrapping her arms around the redhead's neck and pulling her closer.

Willow smiled into the kiss, enjoying the taste and feel of Tara's lips against her own. They stayed like that for a while, holding each other close as their lips and tongues fought for dominance.

"Wanna come up for air anytime soon, Will?" a familiar voice said, causing them to pull apart and Willow turned to see a very familiar face.

"Hey!" Willow exclaimed, turning from Tara to grab the short man into a hug. "How have you been? How are things going with the band?"

"Things are good. Band is still working on taking off. I'm good," the red haired man told her, keeping his answers short and causing Tara to stare in confusion.

Seeing the two look at each other in curiosity, Willow gave an embarrassed laugh before gesturing between the two. "Tara, Oz. Oz, Tara," she explained, feeling embarrassed for not introducing them earlier.

"Nice to meet you, Oz," Tara said, giving him a small smile.

"Likewise," Oz told her, returning the smile before looking at Willow. "I'll catch you later, Will."

Willow nodded and hugged him again. "See you, Oz."

After the short man walked off, Tara lifted an eyebrow at Willow. "Oz?"

"Oh, um, Daniel Osborn. He goes by Oz though. He and I met in college and found out we both went to school here. He graduated with our class, but only barely cause he missed a lot of class and stuff," Willow explained. "Turns out we both have a passion for computers. Though I made it into a career and he is working to get a music career going."

Tara nodded in understanding, giving her a small smile. "Never went down that road?" she joked, lifting an eyebrow in amusement.

"Sorry, but no. Need I remind you that I have been out since high school?" Willow said, giving Tara an amused smile.

"No, you don't," Tara responded, leaning in to kiss the redhead softly. "Wanna dance?"

"Um...are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, me plus dancing equals big spazz. I don't want to make you look bad," Willow told her, feeling nervous at Tara's request.

"Sweetie, if you don't want to dance, you can just tell me. I'm not worried about looking bad on the dance floor," Tara announced, stepping towards the redhead. "I just want to hold you close and move to the music."

"Um...I...uh..."

"Wow, Will. I've never seen you speechless. What'd you do to her?" Xander asked as he walked over to the two women with Buffy and Anya following behind her.

"She probably offered to give her orgasms," Anya guessed, smiling brightly at Willow and Tara.

"Still the same as you were in high school, I see," Tara said, a blush coloring her cheeks as she looked at the bottle blonde.

"Of course. Why change myself unless I want to?"

"Fair enough," Tara responded, smiling at her old friend.

A/N: Thank you Gimpy72 for all the help with this story and my others.

A/N2: I hope everyone is enjoying this story. Please Follow/Favorite/Review. :)