Part 4
Not quite knowing what she was doing there, Willow surveyed the list of tenants that was situated next to a column of white buttons near the door to the apartment building. Finding the button labeled 'A. Harris',
she pressed it and waited for the reply.
"Leave me alone Spike." Came Xander's voice over the fuzzy intercom.
"It's me, Willow. Can I come up?" she asked her best friend.
"Sure you can. I'll just buzz you in." After a few seconds there was a faint buzzing noise, and Willow was able to open the door and walk up to Xander's apartment.
"Hay there Will. Sorry for thinking you were Spike back there." Xander apologized once Willow had arrived in his apartment.
"You're forgiven. What was with that anyway?" Willow asked as she took a seat next to Xander on his soft white couch.
"This place is just a couple of minutes from Willie's bar, so whenever Spike is chased from there by a couple of angry demons he comes here and practically begs me to let him in. The funniest part's when he goes all mad and threatens to get Harmony to beat me up." Xander explained lightly.
"What a terrifying threat that must be." Willow joked, then she added, "Er... Xander, do you have any ice-cream? I kind of need some right now."
"Sure. Is chocolate chip ok?" He asked as he stood up and headed over to the kitchen.
"Chocolate chip sounds great. Isn't this supposed to be the part where you ask me what I'm doing here at midnight demanding ice-cream?" She asked, just as Xander returned to the couch with a tub of chocolate chip and two spoons.
"Well I don't have to ask why you're here so late, as you knew I was helping Buffy patrol and wouldn't be back till at least eleven. Though I have to admit that the ice-cream does suggest that you weren't 'just passing'." Xander looked caringly at Willow.
As the two friends ate the ice-cream straight from the tub, Willow told Xander all about her phone conversation with her mom, and how she had to go home for dinner the following night.
"No wonder you seem so nervous. Do you think your mom's going to tell your dad, or wait for you to do it?" Xander asked once Willow had finished.
"I don't know. Either way I know it's going to be nerve racking, though I have to admit that speaking to Cordelia helped."
"You'll be fi... when did you speak to Cordelia?"
"After I got off the phone with mom. I needed to talk to someone who knew how tough it was to be judged just because of who you go out with."
"You guys judged me for going out with Cordy just as much as the Cordettes judged her for going out with me." Xander reminded Willow as they finished off the ice-cream and put the spoons in the tub, which they had placed on the coffee table.
"I remember. But I also remember that you became the envy of every guy in school. Whereas the only girl who envied Cordy was me, and if you haven't forgotten, that's what led to you guys splitting up." Willow pointed out, referring to when her and Xander strayed from Oz and Cordelia to (temporarily) become more than just friends.
"I see your point. How did Queen C react to your news anyway?"
"Naturally she was shocked at first, but after about a minute she yelled out 'Angel, Westly, Willow's gay!', and then asked me if gay women found her as attractive as straight men do."
"Sounds just like her. What did you say?"
"Of course we do. Then before she could ask if I had a crush on her I asked her for advice on how to deal with people's reactions to me and Tara."
"Do you? ...I mean, what did she say?"
"No I don't, and she said that at the end of the day, if my friends are going to disown me for going out with Tara then they're not worth it anyway, and that it doesn't actually matter what anyone else thinks."
"She's right you know. Also, it may help you to tell me all the details of your relationship with Tara, so you can figure out what to say to parents I mean." Xander suggested playfully.
"I don't think so some how."
"And why ever not?"
"Because, Alexander Harris, when you say 'relationship' what you really mean is 'sex life'."
"I still think it might be good for you to talk to someone about it, and I'm listening."
"And what makes you so sure that I really do need someone to speak to?"
"Well, when you go through something as major as..." Xander saw the 'do-you-think-I'm-stupid-enough-to-fall-for-that?' look on Willow's face and shut up.
As Xander cleared away the empty ice-cream tub, Willow looked over her shoulder at the clock on the wall.
"It's almost one. I should be getting home." She told him as he came back to the couch.
"Why don't you crash here? After all, it's so late it's early and you look kind of beat."
"Thanks, but Tara will just worry if I'm not back when she gets up tomorrow, and if I phone I'll just wake her up."
"Well at least let me drive you back. The streets of Sunnydale aren't exactly the safest in the world, especially when it's dark."
Taking Xander up on his offer, Willow helped him to look for his car keys. Once they'd found them, they headed out of the apartment and down the stairs that led to the small lobby.
As they walked out of the building and on to the street, they saw Riley walking towards them, his arm wrapped around a sobbing Buffy. Xander and Willow immediately ran to their friends.
"What's wrong? What happened?" They asked in unison when they had gotten to Buffy and Riley.
"It's her mom. Her and Giles are getting married in a week." Riley explained. Then, he added, "What's more, Rupert and Joyce are thinking of moving to England."