CHAPTER 5-A Fresh New Start
When the school bell rang, Willow grabbed her books. Unfortunately, before she could even get out of her seat, Paige was standing there- towering over her. She looked up at him and she wished fervently that he would just go away.
But he didn't go away.
He showed her the strand of her hair he had taken from her, brought it to his face, and he inhaled its scent. He smiled at her. Willow stared at him and she had no idea what Paige's game was, but she was frightened by it.
Paige silently regarded her for a moment. Then, he joined his fellow brothers and they left the classroom.
"Willow."
Willow turned her head.
Joshua was watching her with concern. "Willow, are you okay?"
"N-no!" She shook her head in disbelief as she looked at the doorway in which Paige had just disappeared through. She was trembling from the experience of having been bullied. "Wh-what's wrong with him, Josh? I-I don't understand. Why is he like that?"
"He's just a bully, Willow. He gets his kicks out of pushing other kids around. Like you and me." He paused. "He thinks we're weak."
"Weak? Uh, like...like new born baby chicks weak?"
Joshua shrugged. "He picks on kids like us 'cause he knows we really can't fight back."
Willow frowned. She was trying not to cry. "W-well, maybe we should find a way to fight back! I don't want to hate coming to class, Joshua. I like History!"
Before Joshua could respond, Willow took her books and her pack, and she hurried out of the room. She walked quickly and she didn't really care where she was going. She just wanted to get away from that classroom.
She saw an unoccupied water fountain and stopped for a drink. The water was cold and invigorating. It was fresh, and fresh was something she needed. A fresh new start- with first period History class behind her.
As she drank in the fresh, cold water, she was telling herself that everything was going to be okay in spite of Virgil Paige and his evil minions. The day could only get better from this moment on because she simply refused to believe it could get any worse.
* "Willow!" a familiar voice called out from behind her, proving her wrong. "Nice dress! Good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears."
Willow straightened as she turned and found herself looking at Cordelia Chase, Sunnydale High's very own Queen of Mean. Cordelia was not alone. A blonde-haired girl was standing next to her and she was regarding Willow with a look.
Willow almost gasped. It was the new girl. Buffy Summers.
"Uh, well," Willow stammered, "well, my Mom picked it out."
Cordelia smiled condescendingly at her. "No wonder you're such a guy magnet." She looked at her sternly. "Are you done?"
Willow glanced at the water fountain. "Oh!" she exclaimed. Then, she couldn't think of a single thing to say so she looked at Cordelia, and then she looked at Buffy. Abruptly, she hugged her books to herself, turned, and began to walk away.
She could hear Cordelia's cutting comments to Buffy about her as she tried to gain distance.
"If you want to fit in here," Cordelia explained to the new girl, "the first rule is to know your losers. Once you can identify them all by sight- -" she cast a withering glare at Willow just as the girl stopped at the entrance to another hallway, glancing sheepishly back at them. "--they're a lot easier to avoid." *
Willow saw the new girl looking at her.
Well, at least now she knew. Even if Buffy Summers had not burned down her old school's gymnasium, she still wouldn't see Willow as someone she would want to hang out with. Why was that? Willow asked herself bitterly. 'Cause the new girl wants to hang out with the Fairy Princess Cordelia Chase. Buffy Summers was a Cordette!
Willow was feeling badly as she made her way to her locker. As she opened it, she thought about climbing into her locker and closing herself inside. Would any one even notice if she were missing? As she fumbled about with the contents of her locker, two boys suddenly appeared, one on her left, and one on her right. For a panicked second or two, she thought Paige and his thugs had decided to make her wish come true and they were going to shove her into her locker.
It wasn't Paige or any of his companions.
It was Xander Harris and Jesse McNally.
"Hey there, Willow," Xander greeted from her left with his usual charm. "How is my number one, all-time favorite study buddy?"
"Don't listen to him, Will," Jesse replied from her right. "You're my favorite study buddy."
"Will, Jesse fell and cracked his head open. He's very delusional, as we all know. He's not himself. Just listen to him." He smiled at her. "I'm truly your biggest fan."
Willow looked from Jesse to Xander, and then she closed her locker in a most unlike-Willow way. She hadn't intended to, but when she closed her locker, she slammed it shut. Having surprised even herself, she jumped. Xander and Jesse glanced at each other with concern.
"Whoa, Supergirl," Xander said as he and Jesse fell into step on either side of Willow. "Principal Flutie will have you on a year's worth of probation for locker abuse if you keep that up."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Quit calling me that, Xander. I'm not Supergirl." She sighed. "I'm just a girl, and-and there's nothing super about me."
"C'mon, Will!" Jesse put his arm around her shoulders encouragingly. "What are you talking about, girlfriend? Nothing super about you? There's plenty super about you!"
"Jesse's right," Xander agreed. "This kind of talk coming from you is just crazy talk. Where's it coming from? Did something happen between now and when I last saw you being happy?"
"Uh, well," Willow let out a sigh. "There's this phrase that fits me really well right now."
"What phrase is that?"
"'Your Mom dresses you funny.'"
Xander and Jesse looked at one another. Then, they looked at Willow.
"There's nothing wrong with the way your Mom dresses you," Xander told her, attempting to offer her reassurances.
Willow gave him a look.
"I meant that to be encouraging, Will. Not that your Mom actually dresses you." He paused. "Your Mom doesn't dress you, does she?"
"Xander, do you need a shovel for that hole you're digging for yourself?" Willow asked, frowning at him. "Let me know when you're done so I can push you in."
"It's not that bad," Jesse tried to assure her. "You look...nice."
"I-I look like a little catholic school girl, and there's nothing Jewish about that, you know!" Willow complained. "I-I look like I'm wearing a uniform and-and that maybe I'm in the wrong school. I look like anything but a 'guy magnet'. At least according to Queen C!"
"Cordelia doesn't--" Xander began.
Willow interrupted him. She was on a roll. "A-and on top of that, I can't even sit where I've been sitting since school began in History class! And- and that bully Paige took a strand of my hair! Why would he do that anyway? I-is he some kind of-of sick, twisted pervert or-or something? Does he have pictures of naked girls on his wall or-or something?"
Xander and Jesse glanced at each other.
"What does he want with my hair anyway?" Willow wanted to know. "Why couldn't he just take a strand of Diana William's hair? She would have let him!"
Xander waved his hands at her. "Wait a minute, Will. Slow down. Tap the brakes a bit and back up for a sec, would you?"
Willow looked at him. "What?"
"You said 'pervert', Will. That's a pretty big word for you."
She frowned sheepishly. "I'm-I'm sorry. It slipped out."
"What did Paige do to your hair?" Jesse asked.
Xander nodded once. "Yeah. And are we talking Virgil Paige or is there another Paige that crawled out from the sewers?"
Willow stopped walking and they stopped with her. She looked at them and hesitated. "Uh, i-it's nothing, guys. Forget I said anything. I-I was just having a, you know, moment."
"Willow," Xander pressed, "what did Virgil Scumbag Paige do to your hair?"
Willow looked from Jesse to Xander and she knew by the determined looks on their faces they were not going to leave her alone until she told them what they wanted to know. "Uh," she began, "well, he-he ran his hand through my hair, and-and he took a strand."
Xander glanced at Jesse. "Did he pull your hair?"
"Uh, well, no..."
"So he didn't hurt you?"
Willow frowned, but she shook her head. "No, Xander. He didn't hurt me. B-but it's not like he's my boy friend or anything. You just don't run your hand through a girl's hair just 'cause you want to. A girl still has rules, and he crossed the line, he did!"
"So, you're saying that all he did was run his hand through your hair. Like this?" Xander began to run his fingers through her hair.
She couldn't help it. She closed her eyes and a smile of contentment touched her lips. "Yeah...like that."
Jesse grinned at Xander as he ran his hand through Willow's hair from the other side.
"That-that feels good," Willow said dreamily. Then, she opened her eyes and tried to compose herself. "Uh, okay. Stop that or-or you'll mess up my hair." Her face was flushed. "Anyway, I-I kinda like it when you guys do that, uh, but not Virgil Paige."
Xander gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Ah! Think nothing of it, Will. Maybe he has a hair collection at home."
"Ewwww. That's weird." Willow regarded him. "You-you don't think I should worry?"
"Nah. Paige probably just wanted to wig you out, and you wigged. That's all it was." He shrugged his shoulders. "He accomplished what he wanted to do, Will. Don't let it bother you."
Jesse grinned. "Paige is a complete jerk, Willow. He's all talk."
Willow looked at them and hesitated. "Oh, uh, okay. I-if you say so, then there's nothing to worry about. I-I guess."
"Of course, there's nothing to worry about." Xander grinned and he decided to change the subject. "So...have either of you talked to the new girl yet?"
Willow looked at Xander and frowned. "The new girl was hanging out with Cordelia Chase, Xander. She won't ever talk to you now."
"Yeah," Jesse agreed. "I saw her with Queen C and they looked kinda chummy."
Xander grinned. "Trust me, Jesse. When Buffy gets to know the real Cordelia Chase, they won't be so chummy."
Willow and Jesse both looked at Xander in surprise and simultaneously, they said, "Buffy?" They looked at each other.
With a touch of jealousy, Willow asked, "Y-you're on a first name basis with her?" She felt like her heart had just been torn in two.
"How did you get her name, man?" Jesse demanded. "You holding out on me?"
"She told me her name," Xander replied proudly, grinning happily. "I ran into her earlier and we talked. We exchanged words. We...we bonded. It was really nice."
"And lame."
Xander looked at him.
Willow frowned. She didn't like the idea of Xander wanting to focus his attention on another girl. Without thinking, she replied sarcastically, "Oh, that's nice, Xander! Did you run your fingers through her hair, too?"
Jesse looked at her curiously.
The sarcasm, however, passed right over Xander's head. "Buffy and I are not at that particular stage of our relationship, Will, but give us time. Eventually, we'll even begin at other stages that include...other things." He smiled knowingly.
Jesse snorted. "Dream on, pal." He smiled and cocked his head. "Wait 'til old Jesse here turns on the old Jesse charm. Then, she'll forget that you even exist."
Xander grinned and reached around Willow to pat him on the back. "Yeah, Jesse. Sure. That'll work."
"Hey! I have a killer charm!"
"Yeah, sure you do. Will and I have both been slain by it, too. Haven't we, Will?"
They headed for their next class as they started walking again.
"Xander, man," Jesse said, shaking his head, "if you've been slain by my charm, it only means that you got in the way. Any other explanation just scares the hell out of me."
Willow blushed upon hearing Jesse swear, but then she couldn't help it. She laughed as she pictured in her mind Jesse and Xander charming each other. Xander and Jesse just looked at her.
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TO BE CONTINUED--
When the school bell rang, Willow grabbed her books. Unfortunately, before she could even get out of her seat, Paige was standing there- towering over her. She looked up at him and she wished fervently that he would just go away.
But he didn't go away.
He showed her the strand of her hair he had taken from her, brought it to his face, and he inhaled its scent. He smiled at her. Willow stared at him and she had no idea what Paige's game was, but she was frightened by it.
Paige silently regarded her for a moment. Then, he joined his fellow brothers and they left the classroom.
"Willow."
Willow turned her head.
Joshua was watching her with concern. "Willow, are you okay?"
"N-no!" She shook her head in disbelief as she looked at the doorway in which Paige had just disappeared through. She was trembling from the experience of having been bullied. "Wh-what's wrong with him, Josh? I-I don't understand. Why is he like that?"
"He's just a bully, Willow. He gets his kicks out of pushing other kids around. Like you and me." He paused. "He thinks we're weak."
"Weak? Uh, like...like new born baby chicks weak?"
Joshua shrugged. "He picks on kids like us 'cause he knows we really can't fight back."
Willow frowned. She was trying not to cry. "W-well, maybe we should find a way to fight back! I don't want to hate coming to class, Joshua. I like History!"
Before Joshua could respond, Willow took her books and her pack, and she hurried out of the room. She walked quickly and she didn't really care where she was going. She just wanted to get away from that classroom.
She saw an unoccupied water fountain and stopped for a drink. The water was cold and invigorating. It was fresh, and fresh was something she needed. A fresh new start- with first period History class behind her.
As she drank in the fresh, cold water, she was telling herself that everything was going to be okay in spite of Virgil Paige and his evil minions. The day could only get better from this moment on because she simply refused to believe it could get any worse.
* "Willow!" a familiar voice called out from behind her, proving her wrong. "Nice dress! Good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears."
Willow straightened as she turned and found herself looking at Cordelia Chase, Sunnydale High's very own Queen of Mean. Cordelia was not alone. A blonde-haired girl was standing next to her and she was regarding Willow with a look.
Willow almost gasped. It was the new girl. Buffy Summers.
"Uh, well," Willow stammered, "well, my Mom picked it out."
Cordelia smiled condescendingly at her. "No wonder you're such a guy magnet." She looked at her sternly. "Are you done?"
Willow glanced at the water fountain. "Oh!" she exclaimed. Then, she couldn't think of a single thing to say so she looked at Cordelia, and then she looked at Buffy. Abruptly, she hugged her books to herself, turned, and began to walk away.
She could hear Cordelia's cutting comments to Buffy about her as she tried to gain distance.
"If you want to fit in here," Cordelia explained to the new girl, "the first rule is to know your losers. Once you can identify them all by sight- -" she cast a withering glare at Willow just as the girl stopped at the entrance to another hallway, glancing sheepishly back at them. "--they're a lot easier to avoid." *
Willow saw the new girl looking at her.
Well, at least now she knew. Even if Buffy Summers had not burned down her old school's gymnasium, she still wouldn't see Willow as someone she would want to hang out with. Why was that? Willow asked herself bitterly. 'Cause the new girl wants to hang out with the Fairy Princess Cordelia Chase. Buffy Summers was a Cordette!
Willow was feeling badly as she made her way to her locker. As she opened it, she thought about climbing into her locker and closing herself inside. Would any one even notice if she were missing? As she fumbled about with the contents of her locker, two boys suddenly appeared, one on her left, and one on her right. For a panicked second or two, she thought Paige and his thugs had decided to make her wish come true and they were going to shove her into her locker.
It wasn't Paige or any of his companions.
It was Xander Harris and Jesse McNally.
"Hey there, Willow," Xander greeted from her left with his usual charm. "How is my number one, all-time favorite study buddy?"
"Don't listen to him, Will," Jesse replied from her right. "You're my favorite study buddy."
"Will, Jesse fell and cracked his head open. He's very delusional, as we all know. He's not himself. Just listen to him." He smiled at her. "I'm truly your biggest fan."
Willow looked from Jesse to Xander, and then she closed her locker in a most unlike-Willow way. She hadn't intended to, but when she closed her locker, she slammed it shut. Having surprised even herself, she jumped. Xander and Jesse glanced at each other with concern.
"Whoa, Supergirl," Xander said as he and Jesse fell into step on either side of Willow. "Principal Flutie will have you on a year's worth of probation for locker abuse if you keep that up."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Quit calling me that, Xander. I'm not Supergirl." She sighed. "I'm just a girl, and-and there's nothing super about me."
"C'mon, Will!" Jesse put his arm around her shoulders encouragingly. "What are you talking about, girlfriend? Nothing super about you? There's plenty super about you!"
"Jesse's right," Xander agreed. "This kind of talk coming from you is just crazy talk. Where's it coming from? Did something happen between now and when I last saw you being happy?"
"Uh, well," Willow let out a sigh. "There's this phrase that fits me really well right now."
"What phrase is that?"
"'Your Mom dresses you funny.'"
Xander and Jesse looked at one another. Then, they looked at Willow.
"There's nothing wrong with the way your Mom dresses you," Xander told her, attempting to offer her reassurances.
Willow gave him a look.
"I meant that to be encouraging, Will. Not that your Mom actually dresses you." He paused. "Your Mom doesn't dress you, does she?"
"Xander, do you need a shovel for that hole you're digging for yourself?" Willow asked, frowning at him. "Let me know when you're done so I can push you in."
"It's not that bad," Jesse tried to assure her. "You look...nice."
"I-I look like a little catholic school girl, and there's nothing Jewish about that, you know!" Willow complained. "I-I look like I'm wearing a uniform and-and that maybe I'm in the wrong school. I look like anything but a 'guy magnet'. At least according to Queen C!"
"Cordelia doesn't--" Xander began.
Willow interrupted him. She was on a roll. "A-and on top of that, I can't even sit where I've been sitting since school began in History class! And- and that bully Paige took a strand of my hair! Why would he do that anyway? I-is he some kind of-of sick, twisted pervert or-or something? Does he have pictures of naked girls on his wall or-or something?"
Xander and Jesse glanced at each other.
"What does he want with my hair anyway?" Willow wanted to know. "Why couldn't he just take a strand of Diana William's hair? She would have let him!"
Xander waved his hands at her. "Wait a minute, Will. Slow down. Tap the brakes a bit and back up for a sec, would you?"
Willow looked at him. "What?"
"You said 'pervert', Will. That's a pretty big word for you."
She frowned sheepishly. "I'm-I'm sorry. It slipped out."
"What did Paige do to your hair?" Jesse asked.
Xander nodded once. "Yeah. And are we talking Virgil Paige or is there another Paige that crawled out from the sewers?"
Willow stopped walking and they stopped with her. She looked at them and hesitated. "Uh, i-it's nothing, guys. Forget I said anything. I-I was just having a, you know, moment."
"Willow," Xander pressed, "what did Virgil Scumbag Paige do to your hair?"
Willow looked from Jesse to Xander and she knew by the determined looks on their faces they were not going to leave her alone until she told them what they wanted to know. "Uh," she began, "well, he-he ran his hand through my hair, and-and he took a strand."
Xander glanced at Jesse. "Did he pull your hair?"
"Uh, well, no..."
"So he didn't hurt you?"
Willow frowned, but she shook her head. "No, Xander. He didn't hurt me. B-but it's not like he's my boy friend or anything. You just don't run your hand through a girl's hair just 'cause you want to. A girl still has rules, and he crossed the line, he did!"
"So, you're saying that all he did was run his hand through your hair. Like this?" Xander began to run his fingers through her hair.
She couldn't help it. She closed her eyes and a smile of contentment touched her lips. "Yeah...like that."
Jesse grinned at Xander as he ran his hand through Willow's hair from the other side.
"That-that feels good," Willow said dreamily. Then, she opened her eyes and tried to compose herself. "Uh, okay. Stop that or-or you'll mess up my hair." Her face was flushed. "Anyway, I-I kinda like it when you guys do that, uh, but not Virgil Paige."
Xander gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Ah! Think nothing of it, Will. Maybe he has a hair collection at home."
"Ewwww. That's weird." Willow regarded him. "You-you don't think I should worry?"
"Nah. Paige probably just wanted to wig you out, and you wigged. That's all it was." He shrugged his shoulders. "He accomplished what he wanted to do, Will. Don't let it bother you."
Jesse grinned. "Paige is a complete jerk, Willow. He's all talk."
Willow looked at them and hesitated. "Oh, uh, okay. I-if you say so, then there's nothing to worry about. I-I guess."
"Of course, there's nothing to worry about." Xander grinned and he decided to change the subject. "So...have either of you talked to the new girl yet?"
Willow looked at Xander and frowned. "The new girl was hanging out with Cordelia Chase, Xander. She won't ever talk to you now."
"Yeah," Jesse agreed. "I saw her with Queen C and they looked kinda chummy."
Xander grinned. "Trust me, Jesse. When Buffy gets to know the real Cordelia Chase, they won't be so chummy."
Willow and Jesse both looked at Xander in surprise and simultaneously, they said, "Buffy?" They looked at each other.
With a touch of jealousy, Willow asked, "Y-you're on a first name basis with her?" She felt like her heart had just been torn in two.
"How did you get her name, man?" Jesse demanded. "You holding out on me?"
"She told me her name," Xander replied proudly, grinning happily. "I ran into her earlier and we talked. We exchanged words. We...we bonded. It was really nice."
"And lame."
Xander looked at him.
Willow frowned. She didn't like the idea of Xander wanting to focus his attention on another girl. Without thinking, she replied sarcastically, "Oh, that's nice, Xander! Did you run your fingers through her hair, too?"
Jesse looked at her curiously.
The sarcasm, however, passed right over Xander's head. "Buffy and I are not at that particular stage of our relationship, Will, but give us time. Eventually, we'll even begin at other stages that include...other things." He smiled knowingly.
Jesse snorted. "Dream on, pal." He smiled and cocked his head. "Wait 'til old Jesse here turns on the old Jesse charm. Then, she'll forget that you even exist."
Xander grinned and reached around Willow to pat him on the back. "Yeah, Jesse. Sure. That'll work."
"Hey! I have a killer charm!"
"Yeah, sure you do. Will and I have both been slain by it, too. Haven't we, Will?"
They headed for their next class as they started walking again.
"Xander, man," Jesse said, shaking his head, "if you've been slain by my charm, it only means that you got in the way. Any other explanation just scares the hell out of me."
Willow blushed upon hearing Jesse swear, but then she couldn't help it. She laughed as she pictured in her mind Jesse and Xander charming each other. Xander and Jesse just looked at her.
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TO BE CONTINUED--