Chapter five- Secrets.

A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret

Cordelia and Dawn woke up with the sun again that morning and Dawn told Cordelia about what had happened the night before.

"I was so mad that you had already fallen asleep…I just wanted to strangle you or something!" Dawn said smiling.

"I'm glad you didn't." Cordelia said, putting her hands up to her throat. They both laughed.

"Everything's going so right with Connor! I've never been this happy!" Dawn said.

"I still don't understand why you guys are being so secretive about it though." Cordelia stated.

"Well…its just that Willow and Oz have something going and Angel and Buffy are just…well…yeah…and we just want to get everything settled…settled before we tell them." Dawn explained.

"Well you've been doing a good job of being all not obvious because everyone was wondering what had happened." Cordelia said. "I'm very proud."

"Thanks…hey that was weird." Dawn said, scratching her head.

"What?" Cordelia asked

"I just got this huge craving for Fanta…" Dawn answered.

The two girls exchanged a look then burst into laughter. They stopped for a minute as the sun peaked out over the water, shimmering on the waves. 'As many times as I see it…I don't think I'll ever get sick of it.' Dawn said to herself. Then the sun fully revealed itself and its cloak of pinks and yellows and oranges. Dawn was in awe.

"I have a couple bucks in my pocket," Cordelia cut into the silence of the magical sunrise, She felt around her shorts pockets. "We could head into town." And it wasn't a bad idea. Dawn had a craving for Fanta and they were dressed appropriately. They were both wearing tank tops and jeans shorts. Dawn's tank top was purple and Cordelia's was red.

"Yes…Fanta…" Dawn agreed. So the two took the nearest boardwalk that didn't lead up to someone's house and began walking in to town.

"So…how bout you and Xander?" Dawn asked.

"Well, not too much really, we talked a little and stuff but…" Cordelia said.

"Oh come on, turn on some Cordelia charm and that kid is won!" Dawn advised.

"You're younger then him and your calling him a kid…that's interesting." Cordelia joked. Dawn shrugged, smiling and pointed to a small Rite Aid. They nodded agreement and headed in.

"Hello and welcome to Rite Aid…do you need help finding anything?" the man behind the cash register asked.

"Uh, no, thanks though." Dawn answered.

"It's very early for two young girls to be out roaming about. Where are your parents?" he asked. The girls both started feeling nervous.

"In California…" Cordelia answered.

"Where are you staying?" he prompted.

"With some friends…" Dawn answered. She grasped Cordelia's hand tightly and they walked to the back of the store together.

"That guy is creepy." Cordelia said. Dawn let go of her hand and opened one of the doors and grabbed out a Fanta. Cordelia grabbed a starbucks chilled coffee…mocha. The two walked up to the register and put their drinks down.

"So where are you girls staying again?" he asked as he rung up the items.

"With a couple of friends…what does it matter to you?" Cordelia asked.

"Oh, it doesn't I was just wondering…its dangerous two young gorgeous girls like yourselves parading around while your parents are away. The total comes to 3.75." he said.

"I'm sure that we will be just fine." Dawn said. Cordelia handed him four dollars. Both girls picked up their drinks.

"Keep the change." Cordelia said as they literally ran out of the store.

"Oh my god that guy was really weird." Dawn said, still nervous and a little out of breath. They hadn't stopped running until they reached the end of the street and got to the boardwalk.

"I think we should head back home and just wait till later to go shopping." Cordelia suggested. Dawn immediately agreed and the girls walked back down to the beach.

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Buffy woke Willow up again with her sleep-talking. "And the puppy jumped over the moon." Buffy said and rolled over. Her arm flopped over the side of the bed.

Willow looked at the clock. It was seven. 'Well at least the sun is up this time.' Willow said to herself. She pulled herself out of bed and brushed her hair into a ponytail. She changed out of her sleeping clothes and into a short white skirt and black halter top. She opened the door and as soon as she did, Snoopy and Beans came scrambling in. Beans somehow managed to catapult himself onto Buffy's bed where he curled up on top of her and went to sleep. Snoopy on the other hand wasn't so easily satisfied. He went up to her hand. Licked it. Sniffed it. Licked it again. Bit it. Licked it again. And curled up under it, going to sleep.

"Stop trying to do that! You know it only works on Cordillera." Buffy mumbled and pulled her hand up under her. Willow shook her head and crept out of the room, closing the door behind her. She tiptoed downstairs, knowing that the only people that were awake were Dawn and Cordelia and they were out on the beach. She went down to the kitchen. Now the kitchen was hooked to the living room and was on the second story. Just for a little background information. She looked out the window over the ocean and saw the most extraordinary thing ever. No it wasn't Oz…it was dolphins. Tons of them. Jumping through the water. Willow stopped what she was doing to watch. A loud grunt from Turtle snapped her from her reverie. She rubbed her eyes and patted the dog on the head. The dog grunted again and clomped over to the front of the couch, beyond Willow's line of sight. She sighed and opened a cabinet to get some cereal. She couldn't find anything she liked, so she decided on a cereal bar. She picked it up and jumped over the back of the couch, landing on the sitting part. To her surprise she was greeted by a loud groan. She looked over and saw Oz peeking his head out from under some covers. Then it registered…she had just landed on Oz. She was mortified. She stood up immediately, tripping over Turtle and smacking her head off the coffee table. Oz jumped up and came to her rescue, helping her up and sitting her down on the couch.

"Are you ok?" he asked. Willow nodded, looking mournfully at the cereal bar on the ground, too embarrassed to look at Oz.

'Now he'll never like me! I just made a complete fool out of myself.' she complained to herself.

"Here." he said handing her the cereal bar. "But you probably need ice more than you need that." He walked over to the freezer and got her an ice pack and rapped it in a wash cloth.

"Thanks." Willow said. "Sorry about landing on you."

"It's ok. It was…well…variety is the spice of life…new ways of waking up every morning." Oz said.

"Yeah." Willow said, unsure of what to say. Then she noticed. His once red hair was different. "Your hair! Is brown!"

"Oh, yeah sometimes." he said running his hands through his hair.

"It's good. That hair color on you…looks…good…" Willow said, losing what she was saying.

"Thanks…so what are you doing for college." Oz asked, trying to make conversation.

"Well I have another year of highschool left to go, so…" Willow said.

"What about you?" "I'm not sure…everything sort of leads to jobs." Oz said with a 'deep in thought' expression on his face.

"Well..don't you have some ambition?" Willow asked.

"Oh, yeah! Yeah. E-flat, diminished ninth." Oz said, smiling.

"Huh?" Willow asked.

"Well, the E-flat, it's, well it's doable, but the diminished ninth…y'know it's a man's chord. Now, you could lose a finger." Oz explained.

Willow nodded pretending to understand. "So I'm just gonna get some animal crackers…" Oz said standing up

. Willow watched him. "We have animal crackers?"

she asked. "Yeah actually…I'm not sure where they came from…" Oz said, looking a little perplexed. He grabbed the box and walked back over.

"Animal cracker?" "No thanks."

Willow said. "So you play the guitar…are you good?"

"Well, not good, but not bad…Me and my band are spending a lot of time practicing." he said.

"Your band?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, Angel on drums, Connor is the bass, and Xander…Xander sings." Oz explained.

"Oh my gosh! Are you serious? He would never sing in front of me!" Willow exclaimed. Oz put a finger up to his lips. "Sorry." Willow whispered.

"Just don't want you to wake up the old guys…" Oz said and pulled out an animal cracker. "Oh, look! Monkey! And he has a little hat! And little pants!"

"Yeah…I see!" Willow said smiling.

"The monkey's the only cookie animal that gets to wear clothes, you know that?" Oz asked. Willow smiled brightly and looked from Oz to the cookie.

"You have the sweetest smile I've ever seen." Willow is taken aback by the compliment.

"So, I'm wondering, do the other cookie animals feel sorta ripped? Like is the hippo going, 'Hey man, where are my pants? I have my hippo dignity!' " he continued. Willow laughed. "And you know the monkey's just" with this he glanced at Willow and finished in a French accent, " 'I mock you with my monkey pants!' And there's a big coup in the zoo."

Willow laughed again. "The monkey is French?" she asked.

"All monkeys are French…you didn't know that?" Oz said, still holding the little monkey.

"No…" Willow said and burst into peals of giggles. Suddenly Buffy walked in, her hair a mess, two small dogs trailing after her. Her eyes were half shut and she walked into the wall.

"Ow." she moaned. She rubbed her face and moved to the right a little. She continued walked and stumbled over Beans. "Ow." she repeated.

"Buffy…are you ok?" Willow asked.

"The beans…baked beans…I'm gonna bake Beans." Buffy mumbled. With that Beans gave a small yelp and ran over to Willow, hopping up on her lap. "Woodstock." Buffy mumbled. She walked into the refrigerator and headed back up the stairs.

"I never asked for a Corona…maybe I don't want a Corona…I checked the fridge. Angel wants a Corona…so does Spike. I want a Corona." she mumbled as she stumbled up the stairs. Willow and Oz exchanged looks.

"I didn't know she sleep walked." Willow said.

"But the talking…that's normal?" Oz asked.

"I wouldn't say normal." Willow said and laughed.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000Twenty Minutes Later00000000000000000000000000000000000

"So why were you sleeping on the couch anyway?" Willow asked. They had clicked on the TV around ten minutes ago, but had continued talking over the cartoon voices.

"Well you see Xander and I, well we're sharing a room. And Xander snores. Now if you ever heard Xander snore I think that you would understand." Oz said.

"Oh no, are you serious? He's like a roaring bear when he sleeps." Willow said laughing.

"Yeah he's definitely loud. It always wakes me up." Oz said.

"Guys! We're home!" Cordelia called from downstairs as she opened the door. Then she remember that people might still be asleep. They walked up to the second floor where Willow and Oz were watching TV.

"Hey Cordy, Dawn." Willow said.

"Hi guys." Oz threw over his shoulder and put a hand up in the air as a wave.

"Whatcha watching?" Dawn asked as she plopped down on the couch next to Willow.

"Uh…Tom and Jerry." Willow answered. Cordelia took the couch that was across from Willow's. Dawn switched couches and sat next to Cordelia.

"Cat chasing mouse…fun." Cordelia said, studying her nails.

"Intriguing." Oz said followed by a curt nod.

"Fun." Willow repeated.

Three Hours Later

Dawn and Cordelia kept watching Willow and Oz, trying to muffle their giggles. Willow had fallen asleep first, Oz's arm around her, and her head on his shoulder. Only moments later Oz fell asleep with his head on top of Willow's. And so the two had stayed like that for the past hour.

"Oz is gonna have a crick in his neck when he wakes up." Dawn pointed out.

"Willow probably will too." Cordelia agreed.

"LA LA LA LA LA Fa LA! MI MI MI MI MI!" Xander sang as he hopped down the stairs.

"SHHHHH!" Dawn and Cordelia both admonished. Then Dawn pointed to Willow and Oz.

"Aren't they adorable?" Cordelia said. Xander chuckled as he looked at his cousin and his best friend.

"Yes they most definitely are…and since when does Oz have brown hair?" Xander said.

"We were just wondering the exact same thing…" Dawn said with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well I'm gonna go take a shower…I have 'creepy guy' feeling all over me!" Cordelia said and walked upstairs.

Xander plunked down next to Dawn and watched the two with her.

"Good morning girls and guys!" Jenny said as she walked down the stairs, still in a nightgown. "Who wants some grilled cheese for lunch?"

"SHHH!" Xander and Dawn scolded Jenny. This time Xander pointed at the couple.

"Aww! I have to take a picture!" Jenny said, and looked through her purse for her digital camera.

"Mom!" Xander groaned.

"Don't worry, I'll send it to her." Jenny said and snapped the picture.

"What? I'm here. I'm good." Oz said, startled awake.

"Yeah me too." Willow said groggily, awakened by her pillow suddenly moving.

"Now look what you did." Xander mock-whined.

Jenny shrugged. "Ok and who wants some grilled cheese sandwiches?" Jenny asked again.

"I do." resounded throughout the room. Jenny began putting the food together as the teens watched some more cartoons. It was Dexter's Lab.

"Great some kid with a stuffy nose making stuff." Dawn said.

"Fun." Willow said.

"Intriguing." Oz said.

"Fun." Xander repeated. Just then Giles came rushing down the stairs in a tweed suit holding some books. He kissed Jenny on the cheek and grabbed a grilled cheese out of her hand. He stuffed the entire thing in his mouth.

"Library." he said through the food. He swallowed it all with a glass of orange juice and headed out the door.

"That Rupert…always such a bookworm. Hey, would you kids like to hear the story of how we met?" Jenny asked. There were multiple groans and Xander saying no thanks.

"But you used to love that story!" Jenny protested.

"No, really mom, its ok." Xander assured her.

"If you insist." Jenny said, placing her hands on her hips.

"I really do." Xander said.

"Ok…then I'll just finish lunch." Jenny said sounding a little disappointed.

"Ok." Xander said.

"Well it was when I was about twenty and Rupert was around twenty-seven-ish. I was working at a highschool. Sunnydale high actually, and I was the computer teacher. Rupert was the librarian. He spent all day in his musty library, having absolutely no life at all. Then I came around. And it was love at first—"

"MOM!" Xander yelled.

"Sight! We married the within the next year and had a little baby Xander. The End." Jenny said cutting her story short. She started working on the salad as the grilled cheeses…well…grilled.

Cordelia emerged from the stairs in her ocean blue bathing suit with a blue wrap around her waist and a green tank top over. Her hair was clipped up with a blue hair clip and a few dark tendrils framed her face. Her hair was still damp.

"Your turn, Dawn." she said. "Thank God! I was beginning to think I'd never get my turn!" she exclaimed. She jumped from the couch and bolted up the stairs. "What happened to you guys that you needed to shower so badly?" Xander asked suspiciously as she sat down next to him.

"There was a weird guy at Rite Aid and he just gave us a gross feeling." Cordelia said simply. "My God how long does this dumb show last?"

"Half an hour." Oz said, not really focusing on anything. He was in heaven. This girl that he was so amazed by was in his arms. And she wasn't moving. And he was happy.

"Well aren't you the king of stupid cartoon shows." Cordelia said and sighed loudly.

"How long do you think it will take for Dawn to shower?"

"Half an hour." Oz repeated.

"Is that your answer to everything?" Xander asked.

"Half an hour." Oz joked. "No, its just my estimate of a teenage girl's shower time. It's about how long Cordelia's was."

"Morning." Angel yawned as he came down the stairs. He was wearing a white muscle shirt and black pants. His hair was messy and he looked hot as ever. He stretched and sat down on the other side of Willow. He leaned back and propped his legs up on the coffee table.

"Angel, feet off the coffee table." Jenny warned, holding a knife. Of course she wasn't threatening him, she just happened to be cutting carrots at the time. Angel sighed loudly and removed his feet from the coffee table. For the first time in five hours, Turtle moved. He picked up his head and howled real loud then returned his head back to his paws. Moments later Fuzzball came running from downstairs, yipping all the way. He bounced all over everyone and then settled himself against Turtle. Buffy came down the stairs rubbing her eyes, followed by Snoopy and Beans. Both dogs were circling her feet and trying to trip her.

"Dumb dogs." she grumbled and sat down next to Cordelia. She had fixed her hair but was still wearing her pjs.

"Lunch is ready." Jenny announced. Everyone shuffled over to the table and began eating.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Upstairs 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Dawn came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body, and her hair up in a high ponytail. Connor stepped out of his and Angel's room to greet her. She almost yelped in surprise but held it down.

"Hey." he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You scared me." Dawn whispered, holding her towel up with one hand and putting the other behind Connor's head.

"I'm sorry." he whispered and hugged her close. She felt nervous for some reason… Connor pulled away and looked her in the eye. She had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They were grey tinged with blue and green. Dawn looked back at Connor. His bangs fell in front of his blue eyes, but not enough that he couldn't see her. She used one hand to brush his hair away from his face. He watched her eyes, darting around nervously, trying to stay on his. His gaze strengthened and she finally calmed down. He leaned in a little closer and boosted her up a little. And his lips met hers in a passionate fuse. He backed her against the wall and the kiss intensified. Dawn pulled away, breathing deeply.

"Someone…might…see…" she whispered.

"No, they're all down there eating." he assured her and leaned in for another kiss.

"No…Connor…later…I have to get dressed…I'll be down in a minute." she said firmly. She flashed him a quick mischievous smile and went into her room.

He sighed partially of disappointment and partially of please. He turned and went downstairs to meet the rest of the teens. Dawn came down just as everyone was finishing up. She ate while everyone else changed. She and Cordelia were left at the table alone.

"Cordy…I hafta tell you something." Dawn said and went back to eating.

"Well you and me are gonna walk the dogs…Buffy's sick of Beans and Snoopy being permanently attached to her. And then we're gonna meet up with them here in half an hour to go shopping." Cordelia informed her.

"Ok…where are the guys gonna be?" Dawn asked. "Downstairs playing video games until we're done shopping then we're all heading down to the beach." Cordelia explained.

"Ok, works for me." Dawn said and finished up her lunch.

"Ok smelly puppies! Time to take a walk!" Cordelia called. Only Turtle and Fuzzball appeared.

"Well, wherever Buffy is you will find Beans and Snoopy." Dawn pointed out as she hooked the two dogs to the leash. Cordelia nodded and headed up the stairs. Buffy had locked the two dogs out of her room and they were clawing at the door.

"Come on you guys." Cordelia said. She dragged the dogs down the stairs and Dawn hooked them to the leash as well.

"Let's go!" she announced. Then the two of them started out on their walk.

"So what is it you had to tell me?" Cordelia asked.

"I think I'll make you wait until tonight!" Dawn teased.

"Are you serious!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"Yes I am." Dawn said smiling smugly. Cordelia slapped her lightly on the shoulder. Suddenly she felt chills running down her back.

"Is it just me or…" she started, but decided not to freak Dawn out. "Never mind."

"I feel like we're being followed…" Dawn said.

000000000000000000000000000000000000 Back At The House000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Willow came down to the living room. Buffy was up in their room rejoicing to be rid of the annoying dogs and took a nap. Where she slept-talked about grilled cheese and baked Beans. Willow was surprised to hear noises coming from in the living room. Oz was sitting on the couch strumming on his electric guitar, tapping his foot to keep the beat. He was resting his chin on the top and since there was no amp it was pretty quite.

"Hey." Willow said. Oz looked up at her and stopped playing the guitar, giving her his full attention.

"Hey." he answered. "Do you guys have like…a gig tonight?" Willow asked shyly, hoping that if he did he would invite her.

"Oh, no. Practice. See, our band's kinda moving towards this new sound where…we suck, so…practice." Oz explained.

"I think you sounded good." Willow said hopefully.

"Thanks." he said simply.

"I bet you have a lot of groupies." Willow said, suddenly feeling down. He probably had a girlfriend…or a groupie of his own…ew…

"It happens." Oz said nodding. "Now, I'm living groupie free nowadays. I'm clean."

"Oh." Willow said smiling. She felt her stomach twisting in knots as the silence became awkward.

"Ok, so I have a show tomorrow night and I'm kinda thinking about asking you to be there…and I'm kinda nervous about it, actually. It's interesting." Oz told her.

"Oh…well if it helps at all, I'm gonna say yes." Willow assured him.

"Yeah, it helps. It-it creats a comfort zone." he explained. Willow smiled brightly and he continued. "Do you wanna come to my thing tomorrow night?"

"Oh! No! I can't!" Willow said slapping her hand to her forehead.

"Well, see, I like that you're unpredictable." Oz said nodding slightly.

"Oh its just, me, Cordy, Dawn, and Buffy all agreed that tomorrow night was our together night and…just…grr. I'm sorry. It's this girl thing."

"Oh, no it's ok." Oz said.

"But like, since you're playing maybe we could move the date and I could come. I'll work on it." she said smiling.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000In Town 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"I think I'm about ready to head back now." Dawn said nervously. They had walked all through town and the entire time they both had the eerie feeling of being followed. And plus there was the whole 'creepy guy' factor weighing in.

"Agreed." Cordelia said and they started back towards the house. The dogs were unusually quite.

"Well, if someone attacks us, at least we have Beans. He can just annoy the guy to death." Dawn joked.

"Yeah." Cordelia said. They hurried back to the house and the as soon as the dogs were off the leash, Turtle took his place under the coffee table and Fuzzball ran downstairs to greet the guys. And of course Snoopy and Beans were back at Buffy's door, clawing and just being annoying in general. By then, Willow was watching TV alone and Oz had gone downstairs.

"I'll go get Buffy." Dawn said. Cordelia sat down next to Willow.

"Cordelia…do you think you could convince Buffy and Dawn to do something for me?" Willow asked.

"Sure, what?" Cordelia asked.

"Well you know how we have that 'girls night' tomorrow?" Willow asked.

"Yeah." Cordelia answered.

"Well, Oz has a gig tomorrow and I really want to go…so do you think we could postpone it a couple days until Sunday?"

Willow asked. "Sure! I'll talk to Buffy before she heads to bed and Dawn and I have this thing where we talk every night, so I'll tell her then." Cordelia said smiling.

"Question." Willow said.

"Shoot." Cordelia laughed.

"When did you and Dawn become such good friends…I mean I'm glad you did because she didn't really fit in but…when?" Willow babbled.

"Uh, on the way here mostly, while you and Buffy were sleeping." Cordelia answered.

"Cool." Willow stated.

"Ok guys, lets get rolling!" Buffy said as she and Dawn came down the stairs.

0000Three Hours Later0000

The four girls walked home, arms filled with bags and extra jewelry around their wrists and necks. They had scarves tied around their heads, necks, arms, legs, everywhere. And as they walked the stumbled and giggled and talked and laughed. They finally reached the house, where they put all their new cloths away and new jewelry and make up on top of their dressers. They all went downstairs where Oz and Connor were having a vicious video game fight. Both of them were distracted as Dawn and Willow came into the room. Connor ended up winning, only because Oz's thumb got tired. Connor suppressed the urge to kiss Dawn on the cheek and felt a surge of anger for having to keep their relationship secret. But he couldn't yell about it either. He kicked a bean bag and decided he would just have to swim it off. The eight teens headed down to the beach and all split up. Dawn and Cordelia laid down to tan before the sun went down. Connor went to swim off his anger. Willow and Buffy alternated between playing Frisbee and swimming. Oz, Angel, and Xander splashed around and used the 'boogie boards' that they had brought from the house.

"Come on Dawnie please, please, pleeease tell me what happened." Cordelia whined.

"Nope." Dawn said, loving all the attention Cordelia was giving her.

"Don't make me tickle you!" Cordelia warned.

"Do you realize how wrong that would look?" Dawn joked.

"Who cares! Just tell me!" Cordelia said.

"No way. Not till tonight." Dawn said.

"Which reminds me…you know how we have the 'girls night' thing tomorrow?" Cordelia asked. "Shit!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Watch your language and what?" Cordelia asked, glad that she might get to know some little detail.

"I said that I'd go to a party with Connor tomorrow. Oz's band is playing and…"

"Who's Oz's band?" Cordelia asked.

"Well it consists of Angel on drums, himself on bass, Xander as the lead singer, and Oz on guitar." Dawn explained.

"Whoa…invite me!" Cordelia said. "Ok, Cordelia would you like to go to the party with me tomorrow?" Dawn asked.

"Heck yes I would!" Cordelia laughed.

00000000000000000000000000000000000In The Water000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Connor swam back and forth, making sure that Dawn was in sight. He was fighting with himself, part of him angry at Dawn, part of him defending her.

'Why do we have to keep it a secret?'

'Because Dawn cares about her sister and doesn't want to make her feel bad about your cold-hearted brother'

'But why should I be tortured for what my brother does?'

'Because you love Dawn.'

'Maybe I don't love her enough…maybe I should just break it off.'

'Don't even think that way, she's the best thing that happened to you and you're not going to throw it away.'

Eventually he agreed with himself and decided he was being a little too schizo. He swam to the shore and laid out a towel next to Dawn.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Back At The House000000000000000000000000000000

Jenny and Giles arrived home at about the same time.

"It feels like we never talk." Jenny said wrapping her arms around Giles's neck. She kissed him on the cheek. He set his books down and agreed with,

"We barely even look at each other." Jenny looked at him and they began kissing each other with a newly kindled love.

"It's…kinda…strange…that a…bunch of…teenagers…could help us…figure that out." Jenny said between kisses.

Giles agreed and they headed upstairs to their room, using their free time wisely.

(hey they're kind of old and I just can't write jenny/giles very well…don't sue!) 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 One Hour Later0000000000000000000000

The eight teens returned to the beach house, and were greeted by a dinner of spaghetti and more salad.

"Food!" Xander said happily.

"Spaghetti." Cordelia said. And the rest of the group expressed their joy with a various assortment of 'yum's and 'food's. They all ate quickly and Giles and Jenny were the first to head up to bed. Everyone heads out to the pool and Buffy is unfortunately followed by Beans and Snoopy and Fuzzball. Turtle just sits next to the pool, resumes position, and falls asleep. Cordelia didn't want chlorine in her hair, so she just sat on the edge of the pool while everyone else actually jumped in.

Except for Willow and Oz. Willow sat in a lawn chair and Oz stood by the door.

"Hey." Willow said, walking up to him. Actually she was walking to the door, but it might as well have been him.

"Hey," he said back and stepped aside so she could open the door.

"Guys I'm gonna go to bed." she called to the rest of the teens as she opened the door. Oz followed her in.

"Why are you going to bed so early?" Oz asked.

"Getting as much sleep as I can before Buffy comes." Willow explained.

Oz chuckled. "I should probably do the same." he agreed. Willow smiled and headed up to her room. Oz stood there and said aloud, 'What a girl.'

Angel and Buffy were both at the shallow end of the pool while Xander, Dawn, Connor, and Cordelia were splashing around in the deep end. Cordelia was shielding herself from water while kicking up a storm as she sat on the edge of the pool. Xander and Connor were trying to pull her in and Dawn was trying to protect her.

"So…I met someone yesterday…he's really nice." Buffy said.

"Really…what's his name?" Angel asked, trying to hold down any jealousy.

"Spike." Buffy answered, smiling.

"Spike." Angel repeated nodding.

"Yeah. He's so handsome and polite and he has a hot English accent—" Buffy started.

"Like Giles?" Angel asked.

"Ow, way to make that sound gross." Buffy said laughing.

"Sorry." Angel said, also laughing. But he was glad that she considered something about this 'Spike' guy gross.

"So why don't you tell me about Darla?" Buffy asked.

"Not much to tell." Angel answered. Buffy picked up on the 'don't wanna talk about it' vibes and let it go.

"So, you know, my band is playing tomorrow night and—" Angel began.

"You have a band?" Buffy interrupted.

"Yeah…I play drums. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come hear us play." Angel finished

. "Yeah that'd be sooo cool." Buffy said, exaggerating the 'so' a little too much.

"Yeah it would…well I'm kinda worn…to many video games…I'm gonna dream about those little dudes fighting tonight." Angel said and walked inside.

"Night." Buffy said to the empty space where Angel had been sitting. Dawn pulled herself out of the pool and walked over to Buffy who was sitting alone.

"Hey. You wanna walk down on the beach or something?" Dawn asked, seeing the sad expression on her sister's face.

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Buffy said standing up.

"Cordelia, sorry I can't keep you from being pulled in any more…me and Buffy need some sisterly time!" Dawn called over to her.

"Ok. And can you ask her about the postponing of the thing?" Cordelia asked as she warded off Xander and Connor.

"Sure!" Dawn answered and she and Buffy began to walk away. Of course Snoopy, Beans, and Fuzzball tried to follow. Dawn sighed loudly and she and Buffy walked into the house. The air conditioning had the whole house freezing and the dogs rushed in after them, shaking off everywhere.

"Oops!" Buffy said. As soon as the three dogs, not including Turtle were in, Buffy and Dawn raced back out, shutting the door before any of the dogs could get out. They walked down to the beach. Connor decided that since Dawn had left, he didn't really want to be in the pool anyway. He was feeling guilty that he hadn't talked to Dawn since he kissed her and decided that he just needed to get some sleep before he got angry again.

"It's getting late, I think I'm gonna head up to bed." he said and got out of the water. He walked inside, making sure that none of the dogs got out, and went up to his room.

"So its just you and me." Xander said slyly.

"Yep." Cordelia agreed. "And Turtle." The moment that Cordelia had let her guard down, Xander grabbed her and pulled her into the pool with him. They stood together, their arms around each other in perfect silence. And they just looked at each other. Suddenly, Xander moved in and kissed her. They weren't going out or anything. He just acted on impulse and kissed her. He pulled away and they let go of each other, retreating to opposite sides of the pool, feeling rather awkward indeed.

"I'm just gonna head up to my room now and wait for Dawn." Cordelia said and got out of the pool, heading inside. Turtle followed her and Xander was left alone. He sighed loudly.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that." he said to himself. He got out of the pool and went inside to watch some TV before he went to bed. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to pay any attention to what was on.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000At The Beach 00000000000000000000000000000000

Buffy and Dawn walked down the beach.

"Yeah… and Spike is so hot! I mean, he likes me and I like him, but we're just to nervous for either of us to ask each other to do anything!" Buffy exclaimed. They walked in silence for a while, avoiding the water.

"So what about you and Connor. One day you're all over each other and the next. Bam. nothing." Buffy observed.

"It happens." Dawn shrugged.

"Think we should head back now before we get lost?"

"Yeah probably." Buffy agreed. She gave Dawn a light shove. It wasn't as light as she thought. Dawn tumbled into the water.

"Hey!" she yelled and grabbed Buffy, yanking her in with her.

"Oh great, now I'm all wet again!" Buffy mock-whined. The two pulled themselves out of the water and tried to keep as much sand as they could off their feet. They finally arrived back at the house.

"Night Dawn." Buffy said as she walked into her room.

"Night Buffy." Dawn said also walking into her room. She was so ready to go to sleep. Unfortunately she had a Cordelia. And that Cordelia wanted to talk. She suddenly found herself wishing she had just told Cordelia earlier.

"We kissed!" Cordelia exclaimed as soon as Dawn shut the door.

"Ohmygosh! When?" Dawn asked with a new burst of energy.

"As soon as you and Buffy left, Connor just got bored and went to bed, and then he pulled me into the pool and we just kissed!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"That is soo cool!" Dawn said. The famous 'Summers' expression.

"Ok, now what's yours?"

"Ok, well when I came out of the bathroom earlier, Connor was there to greet me and we kissed!" Dawn shared.

"Wow, lot's of kissing going on today huh…Wednesday…weird." Cordelia observed. They both burst into laughter.

"Well I'm pooped." Dawn said and pushed Cordelia off her bed. Cordelia landed on the floor with a thump. Dawn crawled under the covers and was asleep in an instant. Cordelia sighed, annoyed that she couldn't tell Dawn how scared she was that any relationship between her and Xander was ruined. She climbed into her own bed and turned off the lights.