So here they were again. Twice in one day. It was strange, but given that meeting Tara was the least terrible thing to happen to her in days, Willow was willing to roll with it. And now they were sitting at a table under the trees, drinking mochas, which was a fine way to spend even the worst of days.

"So have you gotten to see the town yet?" Willow asked, setting her half-empty cup back on the table. She had gathered that Tara wasn't from the area, and she was curious about what Sunnydale would seem like to an outsider.

"Um… yeah, a little. There's, uh, s-some cool stuff around. Little shops and stuff." Tara fiddled with her own paper cup, then glanced up and seemed to notice the redhead watching her. She took a quick, nervous sip from the drink.

"Yeah, Sunnydale's pretty cool for a small town. I grew up here. Just graduated from the high school," Willow continued. Fond, nostalgic memories floated up in her head. Xander, Buffy, Giles. Cordelia. Jenny. Jesse. Oz. Her heart started to ache, and she quickly picked the coffee back up and drank a mouthful to distract herself. After all, she was with a new friend now, having a nice moment. There was no reason to dredge up even more sad memories. The blonde gave a small frown over her cup, her forehead furrowing.

"I've w-walked past there a f-few times. The, uh… the high school," she commented, still looking edgy.

"It used to be pretty nice. For a high school, at least. You know, before the, uh-" Willow paused for a minute, trying to remember the cover story they had used for their graduation day. "Gas main explosion."

She looked into Tara's eyes quickly, trying to tell if she seemed suspicious of the lie, but Tara blushed under her scrutiny and bowed her head over her coffee cup for several seconds, hiding her expression.

"N-no offense, but it k-kinda gives me the creeps."

Willow eyed Tara with renewed interest. If Tara was creeped out by the high school, maybe she could somehow sense the Hellmouth's presence there. She wondered if other people could, too. Maybe the locals were all used to it, but it would still give regular folks a wiggins. She would have to ask Giles.

"None taken. It is a bit on the creepy side now." Willow picked her cup back up and took another long sip of the rejuvenating liquid. The warm, sweet, bracing flavor grounded her. "So how about you? Where are you from?"

Tara shook her head with a shy, self-deprecating smile.

"N-nowhere you've ever h-heard of. S-Sunnydale might be small, but it's n-nothing compared to my, uh… my hometown."

"Just a dot on the map?"

"I don't even think it's on m-most maps."

"More cows than people?" Willow guessed with a teasing smirk. Tara glanced up at her face again, hesitating for a second before she finally relaxed and returned the smile.

"M-Maybe not cows. But p-probably more chickens," she admitted.

"I can't even imagine somewhere smaller than this. I think being so near to LA makes it feel extra dinky," Willow philosophized between sips. "So how'd you end up here?"

Tara peered at her through her eyelashes, a little slyly.

"S-Same way as everyone else. I applied. They accepted."

Willow grinned, realizing that Tara was now teasing her back, her pale pink lips pulling into a shy smile.

"Right, I forgot that's how that worked," Willow deadpanned. Tara's smile widened. She put the coffee to her lips again, and Willow noticed a flicker in her expression as she sipped, her smile tightening and one eye scrunching into a split-second grimace.

"I saw that!" Willow narrowed her eyes accusingly at the blonde, who had the grace to blush. "You liar!" She accused, unable to fully suppress her amusement. "You don't actually like it, do you?"

Tara gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged, not bothering to deny it.

"It's, um… a lot better than normal coffee. Sweeter," she admitted. "B-but still pretty bitter."

"Hmph," Willow grumbled, trying to look affronted, but finding the situation far too funny to pull it off. "I guess it's an acquired taste." She shook her head, chuckling at Tara's apologetic expression. "You could have just said you didn't like it. You don't have to sit there and drink it. I wouldn't have been mad or anything."

"You s-seemed so personally invested in mochas, I didn't want to l-let you down." Tara still smiled crookedly at her. "Besides, I don't hate it. It just… s-still has the coffee taste to it." She took another sip, again unable to repress a slight crinkle of her nose as she processed the taste.

"Fair enough." Willow took a long sip of her own and tried to imagine what it would taste like to someone who didn't usually drink coffee. "Well, don't bother finishing it on my account. I seem to recall promising to buy you something else if it didn't pan out."

Tara shook her head, pulling the cup towards herself, almost protectively.

"N-no, it's okay. I want to see if it gets better. You know, w-when I get used to the taste," she insisted.

Willow tried to read her expression, in case it was another white lie for her benefit, but she seemed to be earnest.

"Alright. If you're really sure."

Tara flashed her a more genuine smile, and Willow felt unexpectedly cheered by it, as though the dark clouds around her were lifting a little and letting in a ray of sunlight.

"I am."