I was wondering the streets of Sunnydale with my head in the clouds. Dad was training Buffy which meant he was critiquing her skills as a Slayer. She hated it, but it's one of the many things that came with having a watcher, I guess. I looked up at the skies and smiled at the peacefulness. If one didn't know any better then they would say it was the perfect night. But not only did I know better but my mind was full of thoughts that probably shouldn't have been there. Thoughts about Angel. I knew what he was, part of my mother's parting gift. My mother was a Slayer and a witch. A very powerful witch. When she died it was in a car accident with me inside. I was only three at the time and I still had nightmares. The scars didn't help either. Father insists vampires were behind the car accident and the Watcher's Council did nothing about it. I might not remember anything from being so young, but I couldn't recall vampires.

"You're out late." I jumped and looked quickly to see Angel. I sighed in relief before smiling at him.

"Don't you know you shouldn't scare people like that?" I joked.

"Don't you know you should pay attention to your surroundings? Especially at night," he pointed out.

"Touche," I said. "Walk a girl home?" He smiled before nodding. We walked talking about nothing that was completely important. How my day was, how he slept, etc. It was nice being normal for a time.

The next day, I sat at the table in the library with Buffy sitting on top of it. Dad made his way to us from the stacks while leafing through a book. He filled me in on everything on the way to school this morning.

"That symbol on the ring... I believe it's the rune for fidelity, but, uh, it doesn't connect with any of the sects that I've studied," he told us while Buffy studied the ring.

"What about this?" Buffy asked showing him the ring. "On the inside. It's a sun and three stars. Haven't we seen that somewhere?"

"Let me see." Dad took the ring and looked at the symbol closely. "No, I-I don't think this, um, represents any..."

"Wait, it's right here," Buffy told him looking at the book he'd put down. "Sun and three stars. Yuck, check these guys out." She handed the open book to dad. "Told you it looked familiar."

"Oh, the Order of Aurelius. Yes, you're right," Dad commented looking through the passage he was reading.

"Ooo, two points for the Slayer, while the Watcher has yet to score!" Buffy cheered and I laughed. We heard the doors open and looked at see Owen walk into the library and approach us. "Oh!" Buffy slide off the table and fixed her skirt. "Owen! Hi!"

"What do you want?" Dad asked him rudely.

"A book?" Owen asked.

"Oh!" Dad said seeming to suddenly remember where we were.

"See dad? Even in America teenagers check out books and learn things from them," I said sarcastically.

"I was beginning to suspect that was a myth."

"I lost my Emily. Dickinson. It's dumb, but I like her around. Kind of a security blanket," Owen told us.

"I have something like that. Well, it's an actual blanket. Uh, and I don't really carry it around anym-more..." Buffy dropped her sentence awkwardly. "So! Emily Dickens, huh? She's great!"

"Dickinson."

"She's good also." I rolled my eyes at her as dad pointed to the stacks.

"Poetry."

"I didn't think I'd find you here," Owen told Buffy as they made their way up the stairs.

"W... Why not?" Buffy asked him.

"I, I didn't mean... I mean... I think you can read."

"Please tell me you have something life threatening so I can leave?" I asked him.

"How about your next class?" he asked me. "Or at least the homework for it. How late were you out last night?"

"I went for a walk. Alone," I told him trying to avoid his next questions.

"And you returned alone?" he asked me and I groaned.

"Oh, well, I love books. I mean, I really love books," Buffy told Owen and I couldn't have been happier for the pair of them to show up. Owen started for the book we'd been reading earlier.

"What's this?" he asked and I grabbed it, pulling it to me, as Buffy got between him and the book.

"Not this one," she said quickly.

"This one's mine. Lots of death, cults, etc." I said with a smile on my face. I visibly saw Owen gulp before dad took his book and headed to the checkout station.

"Oh, Emily Dickinson," dad read the spine.

"We're both fans," Buffy said.

"Yes, uh, she's quite a good poet, I mean for a..." Dad dropped his sentence as he took Owen's library card.

"A girl?" Buffy asked giving him a look.

"For an American," dad corrected before scanning the book and card.

"I'll, uh, see you in math... if I open my eyes at some point." Owen took the card and book from dad while looking at Buffy.

"Cool..." Buffy stared after Owen as he walked out of the library.

"The Order of Aurelius is a very old and venerated sect. If they're here, it's for a good reason," dad told Buffy once the coast was clear.

"That was Owen!" Buffy said dreamily.

"Yes, I remember."

"Do you have any more copies of Emily Dickinson? I need one," Buffy told dad suddenly.

"Buffy, while the mere fact of you wanting to check out a book would be grounds for a national holiday, I think we should focus on the problem at hand," Dad told her exasperatedly.

"Right. I'm sorry, you're right. Vampires," Buffy said before looking down at her dress. "Oh. Does this outfit make me look fat?"

"You look great, Buff."

I was sitting next to Xander eating the lunch I'd brought with me. There was no way I was going to eat the food they served here. You couldn't tell what it was half the time.

"He reads Emily Dickinson?" I heard Willow ask. "He's sensitive, yet manly! Well, wait, you've never even read her." Buffy pulled out the book and set it down for Willow to see next to her tray. "You vixen!" They both sat and Xander held up some "food" with his fork.

"Has anybody given any thought to what this green stuff is?" he asked and I made a face.

"Hmm, I'm avoiding the subject."

"Aren't we all?" I asked.

"I think it's kale, or possibly string cheese," Xander said before letting the fork drop and turning to table. "So, Buffy, how'd the slaying go last night?"

"Xander!" Buffy gave him a look and he quickly looked guilty.

"I mean, how'd the laying go?" Xander corrected. Buffy gave him another look. "No, I don't mean that either."

"It went fine, thank you. There's some new hoidy-toidy vampire sect in town," Buffy told the pair.

"That's bad."

"Normally," I commented.

"Well, hey, they're bringing in the much-needed tourist dollars," Xander joked before seeing Owen. "Ooo, look at Mr. Excitement."

"Owen!" Buffy instantly smiled. "He's all alone! Maybe somebody should sit with him."

"Mm, just to be polite!" Buffy got up and Willow smiled after her. "Good luck!"

"Okay, what just happened?" Xander asked Willow as his crush walked to Owen.

"We were replaced by a boy," I told him.

"Owen's one of the hottest guys in school. You can't tell me you wouldn't want to date him if you could," Willow said.

"Sorry." I shook my head. "I got my eyes on someone else."

"Who?!" Willow asked shocked and I couldn't help but laugh at her. Since I'd been here no one had caught my interest, except Angel that is.

"You don't know him, but you might have seen him."

"Oh my god, it's Angel. Isn't it?" Willow asked me and I smiled.

"Angel?"

"The guy from the Bronze who gave her that warning last week," Willow reminded him.

"Mister Tall-Dark-and-Creepy?" he asked me.

"But I don't think it'd work between us." I played with my fingernails.

"What? Why not?" Willow asked kinda disappointed.

"Too many differences. That and I'd like to see him more than once a month and more than just when their's a warning for Buffy."

"But telling you could mean that he would rather talk to you," Willow offered.

"He said he didn't have much time," I corrected.

"And let you keep his jacket," Willow added.

"Like I said, too many differences."

Later in the hall, Buffy Willlow and I were walking talking about Buffy's big date.

"It's not that big a deal. It's just a bunch of people getting together," Buffy told us.

"It's a very big deal!" Willow told her.

"It's not!" Buffy lied with a large smile on her face.

"Buff, the first date is the most important," I told her as we ran into my dad. "Tell her."

"I'm afraid it's very big," dad told us.

"Thank you!" I said smiling before realizing what he said. "Wait, what?" We followed him into the library "What are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Boys!" the three of us said together.

"Yes, well, I'm talking about trouble. A violent and disturbing prophecy is about to be fulfilled," he told us.

"The Order of Aurelius," Buffy remembered.

"You were spot-on about the connection," Dad told her walking over to the table with us behind him. "I've looked at the writings of Aurelius himself, and he, he prophesied that the brethren of his order would come to the Master and bring him the Anointed."

"Who's that?" Willow asked her.

"Well, I-I don't know exactly, a-a-a-a warrior, but, but it says he will rise from the ashes of the Five on the evening of the thousandth day after the Advent of Septus," he told us.

"Well, we'll be ready whenever it is," Buffy said confidently.

"Which is tonight," he told her.

"Tonight, okay..." Buffy's eyes widened once she realized the conflict of interest. "Not okay! It can't be tonight!"

"My calculations are precise," Dad told her slightly irked at her tone.

"Nuh! They're bad calculations! Bad!" Buffy insisted.

"Buffy has a really important date," Willow told him.

"Owen!"

"Alright, I-I'll just jump in my time machine, go back to the twelfth century and ask the vampires to postpone their ancient prophecy for a few days while you take in dinner and a show." Buffy gave dad a look.

"Okay, at this point you're abusing sarcasm," she told him.

"Buffy, this is no ordinary vampire. But we have to stop him before he reaches the Master," Dad told her.

"But... Cute guy! Teenager! Post-pubescent fantasies!" Buffy whined.

"Those will just have to be put on hold! The dark forces are aligning against us, and we have a chance to beat them back. Tonight we go into battle!"

That night we were in Buffy's room helping her get ready for her date with Owen.

"Pick!" I laughed at Buffy.

"Okay," Buffy said to Xander and Willow held up a minidress to her body. "do I wanna appear shy, coy and naive or..." Willow switched the dresses. "unrestrained, insatiable and aggressive?"

"Uh, y'know, Owen is a little homespun, he probably doesn't like that overly assertive look." Xander got up from the bed and went to her closet to look through it. "Oh, hey, here's something. A nice comfy overcoat and a ski cap!" He offered, holding them to her pink robed body. "The earflaps will bring out your eyes!" Buffy, Willow and I exchanged looks.

"Maybe I should mix and match."

"We'll find something," I told her as Willow nodded. I turned and started going through her clothes.

"Okay, guy's opinion." Buffy went to her vanity and grabbed two lipsticks from her desk. "Which one do you think Owen will like better? The red or the peach?"

"Oh, you mean for kissing you and then telling all his friends how easy you are so the whole school loses respect for you and then talks behind your back? The red's fine," Xander told her.

"Thanks. I'll go with the peach." Buffy put on the lipstick as Willow and I found the perfect dress for tonight.

"Here, put this on," Willow told her. The three of us looked at Xander who stared at all of us.

"You're not bothering me!" Willow sighed, turned Xander around and pushed him away from us.

"So, where's he taking you?" Willow asked her.

"Oh, I don't know. Where do you suppose young kids go on dates these days?" Buffy asked untying her bathrobe.

"Well, I read somewhere once that sometimes they go to movies," Willow told her.

"Movies! Interesting!" Buffy said putting on her shoes once her dress was on.

"I saw on the telly, a bunch of people our age went to a party," I told her.

"Wow! I never knew being a teenager was so full of possibilities!" Buffy said. Xander fumbled with something and we looked at him confused before the doorbell rang.

"That's Owen!" Buffy said excitedly.

Buffy opened the door to reveal someone very different from Owen.

"That's Giles."

"We need to talk," Dad told her.

"Buffy's not home." Buffy tried closing the door, but dad pushed it open and come into the house.

"My calculations may not have been as far off as I thought," dad told us handing her the paper.

"'Five Die in Van Accident'?"

"Out of the ashes of five shall rise the one. That's the prophecy. Five people have died!" Dad pointed out and Buffy gave him a look.

"In a car crash."

"I know it doesn't quite follow, but, but it's worth investigating," dad pointed out.

"The prophecy doesn't exactly say how the five will die," I pointed out.

"Exactly! Among the dead was Andrew Borba, whom the police sought for questioning in a double murder. Now, he may be the Anointed One. The, the bodies have been taken to, to Sunnydale Funeral Home, w-we can..."

"Giles, why do you wanna hurt me?" Buffy asked him and he looked at her confused.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked her.

"Hey!" We turned to see Owen at the door before he came in the house. "Uh, hi!"

"You have a date?" Dad asked her.

"Yes she does, but I will get back to my study date with Willow and Xander at the house after we see her off," I said giving him a look from next to Buffy.

"Wait, you're not getting off that easily," Dad said.

"Wow, you're really strict," Owen commented.

"Uh, Owen?" Willow drew his attention trying to think of an excuse for him to be separated from dad and Buffy so they could talk.

"Yeah, a couple of things about tonight," Xander said and they pulled Owen aside.

"Another date? Don't you ever do anything else?" Dad asked.

"This is the first date! There's never been a date, okay? This is my maiden voyage!" Buffy told him. "We don't even know if this is anything."

"No, we don't," dad agreed.

"And I haven't had a day off in a while."

"True..."

"And a cranky Slayer is a careless Slayer!"

"Buffy, maintaining a normal social life as a Slayer... i-i-is problematic at best," dad said trying to convince her to go to the funeral home.

"But not impossible," I told him.

"This is the 90's. The 1990's, in point of fact, and I can do both. Clark Kent has a job. I just wanna go on a date," Buffy told him.

"Well, I, I suppose it was a fairly slim lead..." Dad said.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! And look, I won't go far, okay? If the apocalypse comes, beep me," Buffy told him holding up her pager.

"Is everything cool?" Owen asked as the other three joined us again.

"All set," Buffy told him.

"Well, bye. Don't wait up," Buffy said leaving quickly with Owen before dad stopped her again.

"Is something going on?" Willow asked dad.

"Oh, uh, probably not, no. I, uh, I suppose I'll just, uh, go to the funeral home in case, just see if anything comes up," Dad said leaving the house. I stared at him worriedly.

"This is bad," Willow told us.

"I wish it was just bad," Xander said.

"I going with him," I said going for my newest jacket.

"We should... go along," Willow said.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't trust that Owen guy. It's the eyes. Crazy!" Xander said and I gave him a look.

"Buffy can take care of herself, Xan. We need to go with my dad."

"He could get in trouble!" Willow added.

"Oh, he's gone, uh, it's, he's gonna be alright. He's like super librarian,y'know? Everyone forgets, Willow, that knowledge is the ultimate weapon." I gave Xander a look and he nodded before finally agreeing to go with us to the funeral home.

We got to the funeral home to see someone guarding the door. I stopped the other two before going around the building. We found a window with bars on it and went to it to see dad looking around frantically until he saw us.

"AH!"

"Giles, it's us!" Willow told him once we lifted the window so we could talk to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked us.

"We came to try and help you," I told him.

"We saw two guys going in after you. Are they..." Xander dropped his sentence, but we all knew the rest of the question.

"They are!" Dad told us looking at the door before looking back at us. "Uh, listen, you should get to safety."

"Can you get out the window?" I asked him and he tested the bars.

"I'm afraid not."

"Look, I hate to state the obvious, but this looks like a job for Buffy?" Xander asked him.

"Uh, she has her, her... beeping thing!" Dad said before looking around. "Um, no phone, of course."

"Look, we'll get her, just, uh, hang in there," Willow told him before she and Xander left.

"Do hurry," Dad told us worried.

"Stay safe," I told him before following the others to the Bronze.

"Work." I heard Angel say when we finally found Buffy with Owen and Angel.

"You work?" Owen asked Buffy.

"Buffy!" Willow said out of breath.

"Look at this! You show up everywhere. Interesting," Owen said staring at us.

"You don't know the half of it," Xander said pointing at Owen before moving his finger to Angel. "What's he doing here?"

"I guess it's the same thing you're doin' here," Angel told us.

"Uh, excuse me, what are any of you doing here?" Buffy asked off of us.

"Look, we gotta get to, uh..." I stomped on Xander's foot and smiled at the couple. "Uhhhh. We thought it'd be fun if, uh, we made this a double date!" He and Willow put their arms around each other.

"I didn't know you guys were seeing each other," Buffy told them.

"Oh, yeah, well, we knew it would happen eventually, so we figured, hey! Why fight it?" Willow asked with a large smile on her face.

"And you guys are thinking double?" Owen asked them uncertain.

"'Cause of..." Xander laughed nervously. "...the fun!"

"And you're here because of work?" Owen asked looking at Angel.

"Make that two of us," I told him.

"You work with Angel and Buffy?" he asked me and I nodded.

"Hey, maybe we should all go somewhere together," Xander suggested.

"Gee, that's so nice of you to ask, but Owen and I were, well, sort of... Owen and I," Buffy rejected.

"You know what'd be cool? The Sunnydale Funeral Home!" Xander told her and she just stared at him with a blank face.

"I've always wanted to go there!" Willow said emphasizing her words.

"The funeral home?" Buffy asked.

"Actually, that sounds kinda cool! Do you think we could all sneak in?" Owen asked.

"We were there earlier and saw some guys go in. They seemed to be hunting for something," I told her, trying to make her understand.

"Bite me!" Buffy said quietly. She looks at me and Angel and I gave her a pleading look. "Um, Owen, I gotta go."

"I thought we were going to the funeral home," Owen said.

"No, you can't. I'll tell you what. I'll be back in a little while," Buffy told him.

"Buffy..." Owen led her away from us, but that didn't stop us from eavesdropping. "What's the deal? Do you wanna bail on me?"

"No! No... no... uh... You remember when you said I was like two different people? Well, one of them has to go. But the other one is having a really, really good time, and will come back. I promise." Owen nodded his head and she turned to leave. She then came back and kissed him full on the mouth. Then she really left with me, Xander and Willow behind her.

Once we got back to the funeral home, everything was quiet and we were able to walk through the front door.

"Which way?" Buffy asked us.

"The room's around back." We went to find my dad before turning a corner and hitting a dead end.

"Damn it!"

"This is so cool!" We all quickly turned to see Owen behind us.

"Uh, Owen! You can't be here!" Buffy said in fear.

"Oh, and I suppose you guys are allowed? What are we doin' here? Are we gonna see a dead body?" Owen asked excitedly.

"Possibly several." Buffy looked at us. "Guys, watch him." She ran back the way we came to try and find my dad.

"Is she mad?" Owen asked us.

"Oh, she just wants to make sure there're no guards so we don't get in trouble," Willow told him.

"Good thinking," Owen said before moving forward.

"Good thinking." We started to walk after Buffy and try to find a safe place to hide until the danger was past.

After walking for a while, we ran into Buffy who seemed to be looking for us.

"Is everything okay?" I asked her quickly, worrying about my dad.

"It is." I sighed in relief.

"And we'll be leaving?" Xander asked hopefully.

"We're not done lookin' around yet!" Owen said, wanting to stay longer than the rest of us. Of course, he didn't know about the deadly danger we were facing by staying here.

"No, he's right. So let's find a nice, safe, fun room to look around in," Buffy told us. She took Owen's hand and lead us down the hall back to the office.

"We tried the office here, but it's locked," Owen told her. She grabbed the door and broke the lock with her Slayer strength.

"No it's not!" she said before leading us all inside.

"Well, I don't think we'll find much in here," Owen said sounding disappointed by the plain room.

"That's the plan," Buffy said while looking around the room.

"Okay," Owen said before looking at her confused. "What?"

"I have to go now," Buffy laughed nervously. "Um, to the bathroom, I have to go to the bathroom. If you hear anything, like a security guard or something, just be really quiet," she told him before turning to us. "And barricade the door." She went back out into the hall and Xander closed the door behind her. The three of us started piling furniture in front of the office door immediately.

"What are you guys doing?" Owen asked us.

"Just in case someone comes by it gives us time to run and hide!" I told him as we continued working.

"Oh, my!" We turned around to see a dead body covered by a white sheet behind a glass window. I shared a worried look with Willow and Xander. "I read a lot about death, but... but I've... never really seen a dead body before." The body's hand moves and my eyes widened. "Do they... usually move?"

"Not the good ones," I said as we slowly moved for a closer look. The hand reached up and pulled the sheet off. The man from the paper, Andrew, sat up and faced us, his face was vampiric. He stood up and looked down at himself, flexing his hands before looking up at us.

"I have been judged!"

"What's goin' on?" Owen asked us. We backed away from the window slowly as Andrew approached the window and smashed it with his forehead causing me to jump.

"He is risen in me! He fills my head with song!" Frantically, the four of us began moving the furniture away from the door as Andrew stepped through the opening. "Pork and beans. Pork and beans!"

"Gimme that!" Xander told Willow taking something from her.

"I can smell you." We got the furniture moved and Willow opened the door for us and we all ran out with Andrew hot on our tail. "You're the chaff, unblessed. I'll suck the blood from your hearts, he says I may!" We ran into Buffy running down the hall.

"He's in there!" Xander told her pointing behind us.

"Uh, go! Get out!" She told us going after Andrew.

"She'll be okay. C'mon!" Xander said pulling Owen with him. We finally found the exit but were blocked by vampires, making Willow and me scream in fear. Xander grabbed Willow and pulled her around behind him as I backed away from it. Instead of attacking though, the vampire closed the gates on us. The hall was empty but we could hear Andrew singing.

"They want us in here. Why?" I asked curiously.

"Does it matter?" Xander asked me.

"Everything matters."

"I think he's coming this way!" We started running again before running into another dead end.

"Oh, God, this is too much! Somebody's gotta help Buffy!" Owen said running off.

"Owen!" Willow yelled before the three of us followed him.

I ran into the morgue in time to see Andrew about the throw Buffy to the ground.

"Buffy!" Owen called out. "No!" He grabbed the tray and swung it into Andrew's back, stunning him. Andrew's knees buckled and he let go of Buffy. She staggered into an open body drawer door and fell down unconscious. Andrew turned and grabbed Owen by the neck and growled as he moved in to bite him. I grabbed one of the many urns and smashed it over Andrew's head making him fall to the ground. Owen went to Buffy as she woke up and was trying to get up.

"Did you see that? He tried to bite me!" Owen said helping Buffy to her feet. "What a sissy!"

"Can we go now? Please?" I nearly begged them. I never saw Andrew get back up until he grabbed Owen and smashed a body drawer into the back of his head, knocking him out. Andrew grabbed me and was about to bite me when I headbutted him to get his head away from my neck. He threw me into the drawers and I fell to the ground. I groaned before looking close by to see my dad unconscious. I crawled to him before turning to the fight.

"No!" Buffy called out.

"Dead!" Andrew said smirking down at Owen. "He was found wanting!" Buffy got Andrew solidly in the gut with a front snap kick. He rolled over the autopsy gurney and onto the floor. She ran around to the far end of the gurney. Andrew quickly got up and she pushed the gurney into his gut and then pushed down on her end to it pivoted up to hit him in the chin. He staggered back and fell. She jumped up onto the gurney and did a roundoff onto the floor as he got up. He swung widely at Buffy's face, but she blocked it. He tried again with his other arm, hitting Buffy solidly in the face and knocking her to the ground. She jumped up as he taunted her.

"You killed my date!" Willow and Xander chose that moment to appear in the doorway.

"Buffy! Owen's..." I looked at Owen to see him getting up.

"J-just give her a sec!" Xander said pulling her away from the fight. Buffy blocked another punch and then hit Andrew in the face with an open-hand punch. Blocking the second punch from him, she hit him in the gut with another open-faced punch. As he leaned forward from the pain, she kneed him in the gut and then shoved him backward into a counter.

"You killed my date!" I looked down as dad regain consciousness.

"Your turn!" Andrew said and I turned in time to see Buffy, but she sidestepped him and used his forward momentum to launch him into the air. He landed on the gurney, and it rolled over to the crematory. The gurney stopped when it hit, but Andrew continued to slide through the open door to the burning pit that had been turned on during the fight. I pulled the gurney away and dad slammed the crematory door shut. Andrew screamed as he burned and Buffy watched him through the small window. That was when she noticed Owen trying to sit up.

"Does anyone have an aspirin? Or sixty?" Owen asked.

"Owen!" Buffy went to him and crouched beside him.

"What happened to that guy?" Owen asked her confused.

"Oh... We scared him away," she lied.

"Oh, good. 'Cause, y'know, I would've..." Owen started saying.

"I know. Here..." she helped him to his feet as we watched them. "I'm sure this isn't exactly what you had in mind for our first date."

"Yeah!" He agreed, rubbing his head. "I was hoping maybe we'd finish at Ben & Jerry's."

"We still could..." Buffy tried salvaging what was left of her date.

"No, I, I, I think I'll just walk home." He started to leave before turning to her. "Uh, which way's home?"

"I'll get you there," Buffy offered.

"No, I'll, I'll go it alone," he insisted. Willow and Xander went to him to help him home.

"We'll make sure he gets home safely," Xander assured her before the pair led him away. Buffy watched them go and dad walked up behind her.

"Buffy, if I might, uh..." Buffy held up her hand to stop him.

"Don't!" She slowly walked out of the room and dad and I went home.

The next day at school, Buffy, Xander, Willow, and I were walking along the balcony with Buffy grilling the other two about their talk home

"Well, did Owen say anything about me on the way home?"

"Oh, you mean specifically about you?" Willow asked her.

"Or generally... i-in the area, in the ballpark, any sort of indication?" Buffy asked as we rounded the corner and started down the stairs.

"Well, in that case, no," Xander told her.

"But he was pretty incoherent, so we might've missed it," Willow said, trying to spare the blonde's feelings.

"You think?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"No." I hit Xander's gut and it winded him slightly.

"I knew it. I totally blew it last night!" Buffy said.

"No, see, what you need is a guy who already knows your deepest, darkest secrets and still says, 'Hey! I like that girl!' Someone like..."

"Owen!" Buffy said stopping us in our track.

"Well, heh... This is our stop." Willow pulled Xander with her the three of us left them alone. I turned and watched from a distance as she and Owen spoke, and it didn't look so pleasant. I sighed before going to my next class.