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Notes: This was the first fanfic I ever wrote and was written in November 1997, which makes it a second season AU now.
Willow stared at the reflection in the mirror. "I don't know, Buffy," she said.
"It looks perfect," Buffy answered. "Drew will be drooling all evening." 'And hopefully he'll talk to Xander, in great detail, when he gets home.'
"But it doesn't look like me," she said, eyeing the flared mini and halter top combo.
"Willow," Buffy groaned, collapsing on the bed in exaggerated agony.
"I have an idea," Willow said, "How about I keep the skirt and wear this top instead." She held up a less revealing shirt that was a little tight and still sexy and flattering.
"Deal," Buffy said smiling. 'It was so smart of me to put her in that halter top so she'd go for the other one.' "You are going to knock this guy off his feet."
Buffy spent the next hour arranging Willow's hair and doing her makeup. "Well, I better go, he'll be here soon, have fun."
"Bye Buffy. And thanks."
"See you." ----- "Willow, Drew is here," Mrs. Rosenberg called.
Willow came down the stairs. Mrs. Rosenberg's eyebrows went up when she saw the mini, but she said nothing.
"I have to work the late shift tonight honey, so I'll call at one to be sure you got home okay," Mrs. Rosenberg said. Willow stifled a giggle at the pointed look her mother gave Drew.
"You look great," he said. "Really great." Drew could hardly believe his eyes. He had thought Willow pretty but tonight she was well — *Wow*. ----- Xander had gone outside to shoot baskets in the fading light, but found himself repeatedly slamming the ball against the garage door instead. He wondered what Drew and Willow were doing on their date. 'I can't believe she agreed to go out with him. She hardly knows him. Doesn't she remember what happened last time she got involved with a guy she hardly knew? Why is she being so stupid?' Xander checked his watch. It was 10:30 p.m. 'Three hours, they've been out three hours. How long does it take to watch a movie? What are they doing?' A brief picture of Drew and Willow kissing and then ... flashed through his mind. 'Willow wouldn't, would she? But she's so sweet, she might get herself into a situation she can't handle. So what if this guy's my cousin, I don't know anything about him. What if he's some kind of playboy who goes around seducing girls and then dumping them? He moved in on Willow pretty fast.' Xander slammed the ball so hard, the reverberation echoed like a gunshot.
"Xander, what are you doing out there?" his mom called.
"Sorry," he called back. He held the ball in his hands, examining where the last slam had caused a few paint chips to flake off. 'Why am I getting so upset about this? Why should I care if Willow kisses some guy?' Jealousy swept through him then with such an intense rush that it was impossible for him not to identify the emotion.
'I'm jealous,' he thought, letting the idea deepen. 'I'm jealous because ... because Willow shouldn't be kissing any guy unless ... it's me?!' The thought was so new and yet it had the ring of truth about it as if it had been there working on his subconscious for a long, long time.
'I like Willow. No, no I *love* Willow!' With that thought came another, ten times more devastating. 'But I'm too late and now she's dating Drew. My cousin. Who's living with me. I can't say anything. I have to be happy for them. What if Willow laughed at me? It could ruin our friendship. Look how awkward it was between Buffy and I when I asked her to the prom. And what I felt for Buffy was nothing compared to how I feel about Willow. Willow's been my friend forever, if she felt anything for me she would have let me know by now. I have to pretend I like the idea of Drew and Willow together. But I can't do that! I have to. If he hurts her, I'll kill him.' There was nothing more for him to do except walk into the house and sit silently in his room, ticking off the hours until Drew came home. ----- Drew walked Willow to her door, gently holding her hand with his. They paused at the porch. It had been a great night. They had had a lot of fun and both had liked the movie--a sci-fi action flick with a romantic sub-plot. Afterwards they had gone to The Bronze and talked and danced. For the first time in a long time, Drew hadn't thought at all about his parents.
Willow fished out her keys. Tonight had been so much fun. Drew reminded her a little of Jesse; they had the same sense of humor. She hadn't stopped laughing all night. She looked up and her eyes caught on Drew's, he looked so serious all of a sudden. 'He's so cute,' she thought, taking in his sandy hair and his strong features every bit his own except his eyesÑthey were an exact replica of Xander's. 'Xander has the most gorgeous eyes.' His lips touched hers and an electric spark jumped between them. 'Forget Xander, this is Drew and *he* likes you.' That thought carried her into her dreams later that night. ----- Drew came in at fifteen 'til one with the most satisfied look on his face. Xander choked, "How, how was your date?"
"Wonderful, incredible. I've never met anyone who was so smart and funny all at the same time," he said as he started to get ready for bed. "And Willow is the best kisser. Where did she learn to kiss like that? Or is she just naturally passionate?" he said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"I don't know," Xander swallowed, remembering ... ----- Seventh Grade, September
"Sarah Martin is so hot this year," Jesse said.
"She's cute, but no one looks better than Marissa Evans," Xander said, "Besides Marissa winked at me at lunch."
"Dream on, I hear she's got a crush on an eighth grader. Besides there's no way she's going to go out with you. You've never even kissed a girl before," Jesse said, secure in the knowledge that he and Katy Chang had shared six kisses in the fifth grade. "I bet you don't even know how."
"I do so," Xander replied, stung.
Jesse smiled. "You just need some practice is all."
"Yeah," Xander said, thinking hard.
That Afternoon
"Willow, will you kiss me?"
"What?" she said, staring at Xander as a blush crept up both their cheeks.
"There's this girl I like and I want to make sure I know exactly what to do. That is, I really like Marissa, but Jesse says she won't go out with me unless I learn to kiss. So I need to practice with someone and you're the only girl I can ask."
"Oh."
"So will you?"
"I guess so."
"Great," Xander said leaning in and pressing his lips to Willow's for a second.
"Um," Willow looked at the ground. "I think you're supposed to open your mouth."
"Ew, why?" Xander asked.
"I don't know, but I think that's how it works." He leaned in for another try. They passed an hour that way with Willow coaching Xander until he had perfected a technique and felt comfortable. ----- 'I was such an idiot back then,' Xander thought. 'How could I have passed up such an opportunity?' ----- Buffy was on Willow the moment she walked into the school. "So how'd it go last night?"
Willow beamed, "Great. I didn't realize how funny Drew was. And he knows a lot about science," then she gave a purely wicked smile. "And he can kiss."
Buffy's eyes widened. "You kissed! Oh, we do have a lot to talk about."
Willow chatted on about the date. "So are you going to see him again?" Buffy asked, finally.
"We're supposed to go out again next Friday."
Buffy suddenly turned serious. "And what about Xander?"
Willow sighed, carefully considering her words. "I still like Xander, but ... I can't wait for him forever. I know it's not fair to Drew to think about Xander so much, so I'll just take it slow, but I had fun last night and it's nice to have someone like *me* for once."
Buffy gave Willow a smile and squeezed her hand sympathetically. "Xander's a fool for not noticing you, Willow. You deserve a little happiness. There's nothing wrong with having a little fun."
Willow returned the smile, glad to know Buffy understood.