She's coming here? Why? Not that Tara wasn't excited to see her best friend or anything. She was very happy about that…except for the part where she meets Willow and figures out that the Oh-So-Wonderful Will is actually a female.

I'm not sure I'm ready for that. Tara thought. She needed to process the situation. Or, she could let Amy and Michael process it for her.

"My friend Faith says she's coming to see me on Friday from Sacramento." She supplied the information to the room.

"Oh, that's cool. Can't wait to meet her." Michael stated, taking a break from bickering with Amy.

"Yeah, I guess." Tara couldn't hide the worry in her voice. Amy noticed what was wrong immediately.

"Oh, I get it," she said with a knowing smile. "You're afraid she'll figure out that your Dearest William has breasts."

Tara blushed and nodded in defeat of being read so easily.

"Don't worry, Faith sounds really cool from what you've told us. Amy assured.

"Actually, from what you've told us, she sounds a little butch herself…if you know what I mean." Michael added

"Oh, believe me. She likes men. A lot." Tara countered his suggestion

"You should have told her about Willow from the start. Amy said to her worried friend. "Besides, she'll have to know now that you're going to sweep Willow off her feet and make her your girlfriend."

"Amy…" Tara shook her head at the ridiculous notion. "W-we don't know that yet. And yeah, I know I should have told her. I guess I just thought she might, you know, freak or something."

She knew Amy was right. It was just hard to imagine coming out to Faith. Especially after she'd already made up a fictitious boy to cover up. Maybe it won't be so bad. The blonde mused, She probably won't even meet Willow. But Tara knew Faith would stop at nothing to meet the boy that stole her best friend's heart. The truth would have to come out eventually.

A sudden boldness took over Tara, the same one that took over moments ago when she agreed to "make a move" on Willow.

"I th-think I'm going to tell Faith when she gets here on Friday. She's going to want to meet William, so hopefully telling her will stop her from doing anything too h-horrible or embarrassing."

"Good idea, Tara. I'm sure Faith William be fine with it." Amy said.

"Hey, maybe she can join us in helping you woo your lady love" Michael batted his eyelashes at Tara as she threw a balled up piece of paper at his head.

The three of them laughed, but although she had been filled with a new sense of hope, Tara couldn't help but worry about her friend's possible reaction to the fact that Tara had been madly in love with a girl all this time.


Tara anxiously waited for Faith's promised call when she got home from Amy's house. She needed to find out how long the girl was staying so she could plan the best time for telling her about Willow. She sat nervously on her bed, phone by her side. She jumped a bit when it rang a few minutes later.

"H-hello?"

"Hey T! What's going on? Did ya get my message?" Faith asked.

"Um, yeah, I did."

"So, how pumped are you? Gettin' to see your bestest bud for the first time in months!" Faith sounded really enthusiastic.

"I'm so excited. I've missed you. How long are you staying, by the way?" Tara waited for an answer from the other end.

"Just 'til Sunday night. Oz has a gig in a nearby town, so I asked him to give me a lift. So, you'll be seeing him for a bit too when he drops me off at your place."

"Aw, that's great! I've missed him too!" Tara grinned into the phone, momentarily forgetting her minor distress over the situation.

"Yeah, Dawn wanted to catch a ride too, but her mom wouldn't let her."

"Oh, that's too bad. But it'll be great seeing you. I can't wait for you to meet my friends, Amy and Michael." Tara said

"and…"

"and…?"

"Oh come on, T. You know you have to introduce me to that William guy." Faith said what Tara was dreading.

"Right…William. Well, I don't know if he'll be around this weekend." Tara lied

"Oh, I'll find a way to meet the dude, Tare. I won't leave 'til I see him." Faith was really determined.

Tara gulped then laughed nervously. "Hah, well, okay Faith. Guess I'll see you on Friday then. Can't wait. Bye."

"Okay, T. Late-" Tara hung up quickly. She began wringing her hands nervously.

"It's okay. It'll be okay. It'll be fine. It'll be more than fine." She reassured herself.

She was startled when her phone rang in her lap. It was Michael.

"Hey Michael." She answered.

"Tara! Hey! So, guess what! Buffy wants to go out!"

"With you?"

"Well, sort of." He started "I was talking to Xander, and he said that Buffy really liked hanging out with me today! She wants to do it again, according to him." He was almost out of breath, he was so excited.

"Oh, that's great Michael. Good for you."

"And for you" he added

"M-me?" she asked "W-why for me?"

"Well, Amy said it might be better to stick with group outings for a while before making my move, so I don't come on too strong."

"Okay…"

"Xander said he talked to Buffy and your girl and their totally up for another mall trip next Saturday! So, I can make my move and you can make yours! It's perfect!"

Saturday? Oh no…

"Faith's coming next weekend! I told you!" Tara said quickly into the phone

"So, bring her along. It'll be fine. Hey, I'm gonna go, Xander's calling me on the other line. Bye" and with that, he hung up.

Tara fell back onto her bed. Of course. She thought Why do these things happen to me?

She sighed, reaching over to her nightstand and pulling out that adorable picture of Willow from the drawer. She looked at it for a moment, smiled, and placed it back in it's hiding spot.

This weekend would not be easy.