Chapter 23: Strained Normalcy

The weekend after her escape passed by without excitement until Sunday. Willow usually woke up on the living room sofa to the sound of her father making omelets or hash browns in the kitchen while classic rock softly played on the radio. They'd eat, Willow doing her best to not snap at her mother, before Willow and her dad would go to the video store and get old black and white movies. Her friends would stop by, with gossip and snacks, in the afternoon just in time for TRL. Sometimes they'd stay for dinner. It was all fine and dandy though there were moments when she look at her loved ones and wonder if the gap between them would ever close. It wasn't awkward, but she knew that no one knew what to say to her at times. Couldn't blame them, Willow didn't know what to say to herself either. It made for strained relations with her brain.

It was with this in mind that she decided that she couldn't live in her pajamas forever.

Willow hesitated to knock on her dad's cracked-open office door on Sunday morning. It had been wonderful hanging out at home, but she was getting cabin fever. Willow had spent enough time cooped up in a house. She wanted her life back to normal. It was easier to forget the last month and the cravings when she was busy. Willow needed to go back to school, she knew her dad wouldn't be a fan of that. She had come home different and she knew that this experience had changed him too. Willow got serious wiggins when he showed her where his gun was and how to load bullets in it. There was something more Rambo than mild-mannered scholar in his eyes when he explained where the safety was and how to turn it off. They didn't talk about it but she knew that he felt like a failure as a father.

"You can come in," her dad said.

She pushed open the door. "Heard me, huh?" She smiled.

"What's up, kiddo?" He turned around in his chair to look at her. A word processor program was up on his computer monitor. His massive desk took up the whole corner with its levels of shelves and drawers that were taken up by research books and photos of the family. The office was almost the same as before except for the empty gun rack on the wall.

She took a deep breath. "Well, two things. I was hoping to go back to school."

"Oh," he said, pushing up his wire-rimmed glasses. "So soon? You've only been back since Tuesday."

"I have to go sometime." She shrugged with a small smile. Hellmouth High wasn't her favorite place but she couldn't hide out on her couch with Bette Davis, Fred Astaire, and Shirley Temple forever. She had to face the music.

He nodded, frowning as he thought. "Why don't we make a compromise." He opened a drawer in his desk and rifled through it. Her dad pulled out two glossy brochures. "You can go back to school, but how about you go to the range with me sometimes and attend a self-defense class once a week?" He lifted his hands up holding the brochures parallel to each other. "I know you weren't excited about the gun and its clear that you can take care of yourself, but it would make your old man feel better."

Willow didn't need to think about it. In her lonely blue room at the mansion, she had often thought about how to get some Slayer moves. She refused to be a damsel anymore. Willow should have learned how to fight long before. "I think you're right." She sat on a stool by his chair. "I felt so helpless and I never want to feel that way anymore." Her voice sounded fervent and intense even to her own ears.

Her dad pulled her into a hug. "You're not helpless. You're a survivor just like the rest of the Rosenbergs. I'll sign you up." He let go. "What was the second thing?"

"Oh, I wanted to watch a movie with Buffy today at her place." She smiled and tried not to fidget because it was a big fat lie. One of her bigger whoopers. Willow had to call the Scoobies to a meeting and get it all out in the open. She heard Giles mention something to Jenny when they visited her in the hospital, but neither said anything to her face. Everyone had been tiptoeing around her kidnapping. She was sick of the questions in their eyes. "This afternoon. Popcorn and Xander with be featured as well."

Ira made a soft tight sigh, eyes moist behind his glasses, and smiled before nodding. "You're a tough girl. Let me know if you need a ride."

"Sounds super, Dad." She squeezed him before going off to call Buffy. Maybe they could get coffee before the meeting. Willow just wanted to go back to as regular a life a teenage girl could get on the hellmouth. She would if everyone acted like she was ready to crumble at any moment.

Ooo

Willow took a deep breath before she followed Buffy inside Giles' apartment. All the scoobies were gathered to hear the real story of her captivity. The midsized apartment felt cramped with all those expectant eyes looking at her. Their nervous faces with the forced cheerfulness were enough to make her want to back away. Why was this a good idea again?

"Hey, guys." she waved and smiled but it faded when she saw him. Her stomach did even bigger flipflops. She hadn't seen him since... It became harder to think when he came into the room because her mind took her back to the morning after he turned back into Angel. The feel on his chest against her back, his blood on her tongue, the shivers that ran through her body, she felt the memories like a sensory echo that made goosebumps raise on her skin.

Angel walked out of the kitchen with Jenny Calendar in tow. His stoic face gave no indication that he felt awkward but she could see tension in his stance. When his eyes landed on her, he flinched before composing himself.

"I told you he shouldn't be here," Xander said, glaring at Angel.

"No, its fine." Willow sat down in Giles' recliner. She forced herself to accept it. It was fine, she repeated mentally. She'd give them the run down and then she could go back to curling up on her couch with Old Hollywood.

"I beg your pardon, but we were hoping for information about Angel's transformation." Giles asked as he set a cup of tea in front of her on the coffee table.

"Well, I'm not sure if I can help you. Angelus was feeding on me when it happened. I only knew it was Angel when he stopped and healed me." She shrugged, eyes lowered, remembering the fear and the thrall, and took a sip, hands shaking. "I was out of it."

Silences reigned as the Scoobies stared at either her or Angel. It was only broken when Buffy sneezed.

Willow made herself look up and scan the room. She had no reason to be ashamed, her mother's voice unexpectedly rang in her ears. It was true, she had saved herself and killed a vampire too!

Giles turned to look at Angel who leaned against the wall that partitioned the kitchen from the living room "Heal you? With his blood?"

Willow nodded, stopping that thought train before it left the station because it only led to a bad place.

Xander grimaced. "Gross."

"Tell me everything that happened." Giles paused, pushing up his glasses. "Angel."

"What?" Xander asked, standing between Willow and Angel, eyes darting.

"You fool." Giles had on his scary 'Ripper' expression and his fists were clenched. "Have you fed her since?"

Willow tilted her head up, willing herself to sink into the chair, tired already from her friends' fighting.

Giles sighed, taking a handkerchief from his pocket, and cleaned his glasses.

"Whoa, is anyone else in the dark here?" Xander threw his hands up.

Giles pointed his glasses at Angel. "This vampire endangered her life and could have turned her." His eyes narrowed. "And, lord knows what kind of side affects this could have."

Willow looked across the room at Buffy. They locked eyes. Buffy wasn't doing much better.

"Do we have to do it like this?" Buffy asked. "Willow, what did you tell the police?"

"Nothing. They looked at the bite marks and told me that they'd track some leads before going off on their merry way." Willow sighed and thought back to the vague excuses that Detective Ramirez had told her mother.

"Pillocks," Giles spat.

Willow shrugged, she had been angry too but its not like her lies would have survived a real investigation. She felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Jenny, and she smiled at the silent computer science teacher.

"Sunnydale's finest, everyone." Xander clapped mockingly. It was too loud in the tense living room.

"How did you escape?" Angel asked, speaking for the first time.

"I still don't know why Dr. Goodfang is here." Xander crossed his arms and glared at Angel.

"Its okay." Willow shook her head. "Luck, really. Penn was dragging me out the door to get back at you-"

Xander gasped in disgust. "Nice."

She shot him a look. "As I was saying, Penn wanted revenge and I was struggling. I don't know where I got the strength. Maybe it was the anger. He kept telling me how he was going to torture and dismember me, leave parts along the road, blah blah, and I snapped." She sneaked a look at Buffy and Angel, both looked stricken.

"Gave him the slayerette treatment, huh?" Xander said. "Cool."

"Xander, please." Giles' tone was dry and waspy.

"Not exactly." Willow looked down. "I sort of used magic to float a stick and stake him before running home. I guess I freaked out."

Giles nodded, writing a note down, his face growing more pensive. "I must consult the Sakaita codex," he murmured to himself. "did you use levitation or telekinesis?"

"Telekinesis. I had been practicing for awhile but nothing so dramatic."

"Okay, Willow is definitely my new hero, but what about Angel's skanky blood? It won't make her a vamp right?" Xander asked.

"No," Angel said quietly. Shame had overcome his poker face.

"Angel, all offense intended, but you're as credible as the National Enquirer." Xander snorted.

"He's right," Giles said, fingers gripping his pencil, knuckles white. "He's also made her addicted to vampiric blood, haven't you? She'll need it to the point of madness."

Angel nodded, expression taut.

"Now, that is gnarly." Xander grimaced. "She'll really have too?"

"I am still in the room," she said flatly with her arms crossed. "Angel told me it can be cured."

"Then lets slap some ointment on her and get her fang free." Xander clapped and rubbed his hands.

Willow stood up, shrugging away Jenny. "I guess I'm not needed." She walked to the door as she heard Buffy stand.

"Fang free? Good one, Xander." Buffy followed Willow out.

Willow half smiled at Buffy when the slayer walked out and closed the door. Sitting on a bench in the courtyard, she waved.

"Xander," Buffy said, miming strangulation, her voice hoarse from the cold she was developing. "He doesn't understand what he's saying most days and especially not now."

Willow shrugged. "Yeah, he does."

Buffy sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "How do you feel about this..." Buffy struggled for the right word before settling. "Thing?"

"I would have died so I can't say that I wish he hadn't. Adding blood to my diet hasn't been the best culinary experience though." Willow had too many thoughts that burrowed under her skin and she knew that she couldn't let it out here. Despite her dramatic exit, she knew she'd have to go back in and she didn't want to be crying when she did so.

Buffy nodded, looking down, playing with her thumb ring, before she asked in a trembling voice. "Its hard for you to have Angel there, isn't it"

Willow put her arm around Buffy and leaned her head on her friend's shoulder. "It is in some ways, but how about you?"

Buffy wiped her eyes and huffed a false laugh. "I look at him and I remember the love that burned in me then I just feel empty because its all gone. Even before I saw you in the hospital bed. I knew that we could never be and that all we would bring was pain to each other and those around us." She leaned her head against Willow's. "I failed you as a slayer."

Willow took her hand. "You didn't know. Everything that happened is on Angelus's head."

"I should have killed him for you." Buffy whispered. "If I was good slayer, I would have done that before."

"You did all you could." Willow straightened and stood up. "I don't blame you for anything." She smiled. "Soak in the calm because we gotta go back before hell breaks loose again." She led her friend back into Giles's apartment.

"Are you fellas done with discussing my life?" She asked as she walked over to the sofa where Giles and Xander looked at her with guilty faces. Angel looked at her and Buffy with pain that he quickly covered.

"Indeed." Giles cleared his throat. "Maybe this conversation would be better with less people." He glared at Xander.

Ms. Calendar rolled her eyes and shook her head. "What Giles is saying is that half of us need to leave." She patted Willow's shoulder and whispered, "Stay strong."

"Ya think?" Buffy asked with a snort. "Want me to take Boy-Cordy away?"

"Hey!"

"That would be best, I believe." Giles nodded.

"Fine, fine." Xander smiled sheepishly. "Still eating lasagna with you and the 'rents tonight, Willow?"

"Yuppers." Willow chirped, waving as the three left in a troop. She turned, serious to Giles and Angel. "When do we start the rituals?"

"Once Jenny and I finish the research, we'll proceed quickly." Giles frowned. 'I've read of the Lingering Kiss before and its supposed to be, well..." Giles took off his glasses to clean them on his shirt. "Intense."

Willow met Angel's gaze as she nodded. Oh, boy, was it intense.

"Sufferers of this affliction can be driven mad by the force of the cravings. I want to do more research however because the subject is shrouded in mystery especially the way it affects magical adapts. We can make out a feeding schedule." Giles wrote notes and nodded to himself.

Willow wrinkled her nose at the phase "feeding schedule." It made her feel like a pet snake that needed to be tossed a mouse once a week. "Speaking of magical adapts, when can I begin studying magic?" Willow neglected to mention she had already begun.

"This is not the best time for you to begin your training. Jenny would be the best to help, but your emotions are influx far too much to dabble in spell craft." Giles said it kindly but Willow couldn't help but be disappointed

Willow made herself not sigh before she asked, "Is that it? My mom is expecting me back soon."

"For now. Do you need a ride home?"

Willow nodded. "That would be good."

Giles tilted his head towards the door. "Angel, the courtyard should be shaded and I trust you can find your way back to the sewers."

Angel nodded, face betraying no sign that he heard Giles' acid tone. "Good bye." In a moment, the door open and shut, and he was gone.

She picked up her purse while Giles got his keys. Grateful to get out of Angel's gaze, she had felt his eyes on her even when he wasn't looking at her at all. Willow stepped out of the apartment into the sunlight and closed her eyes, wiping the tears before Giles saw, trying to warm herself up. Chills still ran down her arms.

Ooo

Willow ignored the glances that followed her down the hall, to her locker, and then into her first class. The teacher gave her a hug, but mercifully didn't make a fuss over her. More than a few people had quietly pulled her aside and told her how happy they were to see her. So many disappeared at the school that everyone had lost someone at some point. One only had to look at the yearbook's obituary section to know that. Willow was one of the few to come back. The scoobies often laughed at the famed Sunnydale amnesia, but she wasn't sure if everyone forgot. Her scarf didn't cover the marks completely and she could see some of her classmates look at them with an less than ignorant expression.

Willow took notes and answered a question, but she paid half a mind to the lesson. She was in her usual seat, she had her usual trapper keeper, and she was wearing one of the few outfits that survived her abduction, but it all felt off.

Willow had never looked forward to her free second period more. Leaving the classroom, her feet refused to go towards the library, she walked out into the courtyard after a moment of hesitation. Willow just couldn't be inside for another second. She wandered to the far edge of the campus, near the student parking lot, and sat under a tree. Willow tipped her face up enjoying the breeze. It was hard to believe that the mouth of hell waited underneath the small town on a beautiful day like this.

"Hey, Willow," Oz said, walking from the parking lot, smiling.

"Hey." She waved. "How are you doing?"

"The usual." He walked off the sidewalk and sat down next to her. "You?"

"Good all considered." Willow shrugged, staring out into the distance, a faint sound reached her ears like the scrape of metal on metal. "Its nice to see you again."

Oz smiled before he looked out in the parking lot. "Hear that?"

Willow stood to see what the ruckus was and the ruckus looked right at her. "Yeah, and now I see it too."

A grey reptilian demon, more like a komodo dragon on its hind legs than a snake, with slits for eyes and pebbled skin that seemed designed to blend into the high desert landscape, stared into her eyes as it raised an amulet. Two of its friends climbed out of a manhole in the middle of the parking lot after it. The demon with the amulet pointed at Willow and said "Witch." It hissed and flicked its tongue. "Wolfman," it said before yelling something in a hissing demon language.

She shared a glance with Oz before they bolted back to campus. Looking behind her, she saw them give chase before turning around. Willow and Oz didn't stop until they arrived, huffing from sprinting, in the library.

"Giles!" Willow shrieked.

"In the office with Principal Snyder," Giles said, emphasis on the principal's name, as he stepped into the threshold of the office door.

"Is librarianship different in England?" Snyder asked, tone dripping with acidic contempt. "This isn't the courtyard. No yelling."

Giles rolled his eyes up. "I'm certain there is a good reason."

Giles and Snyder turned with expect expressions on their faces.

"Um, well," she began slowly before blurting out. "I saw freshmen smoking funny cigars in the parking lot." The silent library, unlike her house, still felt the same and she couldn't help but calm down as she ran with her lie. She leaned forward and said in a hushed and shocked voice, "It didn't smell like tobacco."

"I think it was the wacky tobaccy, sir," Oz said, monotone with a twinkle in his steady gaze.

"Not on my watch," Snyder said, pushing passed Oz and Willow.

The three waited until the grouchy principal was gone.

"Three demons," Willow said. "One had a simple wood amulet that he was waving around. With a glowing ruby in it." She couldn't help but wish that her first return to the library could have been under less demonic circumstances.

"They came up from the sewer like they were looking for something," Oz said.

"They only said, 'witch' and 'wolfman', in English and the rest was in a snake-y demon language..\"

Oz looked at Willow, concern clear on his neutral face, before he said to Giles, "they pointed at Willow first as if the amulet had brought them to her."

Giles furrowed his brow at that before he went into his office to get a small leather notebook. "Tell me everything from the beginning with better description of the creature."

When they had finished and the third period bell rang, Willow found that she wasn't even surprised that her first day back included an encounter with the lizard king. Some things would never change.

ooo

Willow thought she would love how attentive her parents had been since she returned, but all the board games, crafts, and constant interest in her activities was driving her crazy. She waved off an attempt to lure her into family fun when she came home from school. Stomping up the stairs, she berated herself for snapping at her dad when he had been so cheerful as he held up "Risk" and asked if she wanted to take on her old man. Willow hadn't played it cool at all when she saw the game, remembering the first dark days of her captivity and how naïve she had been.

She sighed as she reached her room and went in. She'd gotten used to the oddly sparse room that was once her domain. It would never be the sanctuary it had been, but it gave her privacy from her parent's good cheer.

Willow ignored the sharp craving that seemed to affect her head to toe. It felt like every cell yearned for something that still grossed her out when she thought about it too long. Setting her bag down on the bed, she decided that she needed to get out of her funk and concentrate on anything else.

She picked up a spell book, covered with a geometry textbook dust jacket, from her shelf. It had survived the kidnapping unlike so many of her books. A cord of anger went through her, those books had been like friends for so much of her lonely adolescence, and they were destroyed in an evening.

Stupid Angel and his yummy blood, she thought, as she clutched her stomach, a hunger pang ran through her unlike any she had experienced before she drank his blood. She almost dropped the book. Shuffling to her balcony door, she tried to clear her mind of stray thoughts, concentrating on only the intensity of her emotions as she walked out and sat down. There were three shiny artificial pebbles, that had been in her fish tank before it had been broken, lined up on the bottom rung of the rail. She had a small routine that she did before studying magic. It reminded her that this wasn't all useless fluff- she had the power.

Murmuring the words to her favorite spell, she focused on lifting the one in the middle. They all shined, blue-purple, in the Californian sun. She channeled all her rage, confusion, and frustration, visualing it flowing out of her body like the book told her.

Nothing happened. The spark she had touched to make her escape eluded her. She frowned before re-reading the directions and trying again. A chill went up her spine as she prayed that she hadn't lost her magic.

A craving wracked her, she doubled over, feeling lightheaded. All day long it had only gotten worse. It had been hard to think of anything else but cool, thick blood...

Cringing, she shut the magic book and stood up. Thoughts of blood, drinking from Angel with his chest pressed against her back, and the red hot daze that following feeding, bombarded her. Willow took a deep breath and counted to ten before she walked inside and put the book back on the shelf. It had almost been a week since she had fed off Angel. Just thinking about it made her body ache in ways she couldn't describe to Giles. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she flopped back on the bed in the middle of her room.

Sighing, she got up and sat at her desk where math worksheets awaited her. The soothing toil of academia would take her mind off her troubles, she told herself with false cheer. Her desk was oddly empty on top with most of her knickknacks destroyed and the rest placed in the desk by her mother. She kept forgetting where her pencils were and had to dig around the drawers to find them before she began. She worked steadily through a week's worth of math before she lost focus and stared into space thinking bloody thoughts.

Willow touched the mark on her throat.

Someone knocked softly on her door. "Willow?" It was her father.

"Come on in." She said. "I'm just going through a pile of Trig."

"Sounds tricky," he said as his eyes were drawn to the open balcony before he strode over to it and closed the door. "I'm making homemade pizza."

"Yay." Willow smiled for her Dad's sake. "Do you mind driving me to the school library?" Her smile faltered. "I just can't concentrate."

"How late is it open?"

"Midterms are coming up so its open until nine all March long." She sighed. "Midterms, ugh."

"You'll do fine. I'll drive you to the library after dinner." He patted her on the shoulder. "Need any help in the mean time?"

"Maybe a change of scenery would be good." Willow picked up two worksheets and got up as she grinned. "I can supervise your pizza making. We wouldn't want a repeat of last Saint Patrick's day and the boiled dinner fire."

Her dad laughed. "I blame your mother's crockpot."

Willow giggled and followed him down the stairs where they pretended everything was alright and that they were a happy family.

The nightmares of blood and strong arms holding her as fangs pierced her throat felt more real than family dinner, the car ride to school, and her dad's cheerful conversation as they walked into the library. She shivered from the memories. Concentration was futile when her whole body trembled at the thought of giving in and asking Giles to make the call.

Once her Dad had left after talking to Xander, Willow walked to Giles in the stacks and murmured the words she had been avoiding for days. "I need Angel."

She looked away from his concerned gaze and went back to finish the homework she brought while she waited for Angel. Puzzling through math was better than listening to Xander at that moment.

"Xander, we shall begin the rituals tomorrow," Giles snapped. "How many times can I tell you that Jenny has preparations to do tonight? In any case, you should go home and rest up. I believe you mentioned an early chemistry test."

"Oh, no, I'm not leaving if the unholy dead is going to be within a hundred yards of Willow," Xander declared.

Angel cleared his throat as he walked down the stairs from the upper stacks which had an exit closest to the nearest underground tunnel. Dressed somber as a funeral, he looked over them with an expression of restrained depression.

She couldn't help but imagine him bleeding.

"Speak of the devil himself." Xander said as he stood up at Angel's entrance. He put his hands in his baggy corduroy pant pockets and leaned back on his heels with a smirk that was more like a snarl. "We were just talking about you. All bad, of course. What'cha been up too?" He crossed his arms over his striped shirt. "Besides all the kidnapping and the killing."

"Good evening," Giles said, with more disdain and hate in packed into two words than in all Xander's sentences combined, pulling a small cross out of his gray tweed jacket pocket.

"Can't we skip the menacing small talk?" Willow asked, standing up, trying not to stare at Angel. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her self, the swirl of emotions that ripped through her were as tiring as the testosterone display before her. "You guys can do that later." She finished, quieter, not meeting any of their eyes, wishing they would stop looking at her. She felt like an after school anti-drug special with her legs shaking in anticipation of her next hit of that red stuff. Willow wondered if Angel thought about it as much as she did and sneaked a peek at him.

He nodded as he stepped closer to the group while still keeping his distance from her. His gaze was downcast, but she made contact with him as he looked at her from the corner of his eye. Guilt filled his expression.

"Ah, yes, then let us go to the work room," Giles said chagrined as he led them to his small, tidy office.

"Not you, Xander," Willow said as she kept behind Giles. "I don't want you to see... You ought to study."

Xander snorted and glared at Angel, but backed up. "I understand, Will, now I'll go try to understand chemistry."

The part of her that was lost to the craving wished she could order Giles away and finish what she and Angel had started in the mansion.

0000

Angel was glad that his duster had such deep pockets so he could keep his clenched fists hidden. He had barely heard Xander's comment over the sound of Willow's rapid heartbeat. Angel couldn't find the gall to be angry at the boy's words or Giles's contempt, he expected much worse and the bulk of his attention had been focused on Willow in any case. He could tell she struggled to remain calm. It had been six days and eight hours since she had been fed last. Her will was a marvel. She must have been ravenous. He forced himself not to follow that train of thought.

Willow's gaze lingered on him once they settled into Giles' office. The watcher and she stood on the other side of his desk. She looked as if she wanted to eat him alive.

Alone in the empty mansion, Angel had done little but think about Willow, Buffy, and what to say to either. None of those well-thought out and polished sentences came to his mind with her eyes boring a hole in his neck. Guilt hung around his shoulders as heavy as a anchor.

Giles cleared his throat. "I suppose we should begin."

Angel pushed his sleeve up when Willow's quiet words stopped him.

"We should use a cup." She bit her lip as she looked into his eyes. Those green depth glimmered with warning and he knew she was thinking of the last time. She had drunk from him with abandon, her hot hands gripping his forearm closer, and he knew it would be worse this time. Or better, his mind thought, traitorously.

"She's right," Giles said, eye darting between the two, as he picked up a yellow mug from his shelf. Handing it to the vampire, he settled into his desk chair. "Proceed."

Willow gulped as she angled away from the watcher and focused on Angel.

He cut his wrist with a flick of his fingernail and let the blood drip into the 'kiss the librarian' mug.

Willow's breath deepened. He handed her the cup when it was a third full. She grabbed it, with both hands and gulped it down, struggling to maintain her composure. Panting, she thrust it back at Angel.

He was taken back by her wild eyes and his reaction to her. They both wanted more. Angel knew he'd never regain his redemption if he kept thinking this way.

"Thanks," she said, quick and high pitched.

"I should go then," Angel murmured, clutching the mug awkwardly, before he set it down on Giles's desk next to a crystal orb paperweight. The cut on his wrist had already healed.

"That would be for the best," Giles said. "Oh, but it would be appreciated if you hear about Chloriani demons or their nest to pass the information along."

"This far from Utah?" Angel asked, wondering why the spirit suckers would travel this far west.

"Unusual, but they were on campus. Willow saw them with the werewolf boy, Oz."

"Oz is a werewolf?" Willow asked at the same time Angel asked, "They were after Willow?" His eyes went instinctively to where his claiming mark was covered by her shirt.

"No." Willow huffed. "I just saw them." She crossed her arms, the hunger dimming from her face.

"We have yet to determine that." Giles leaned back in his chair. "It is something of a mystery. They wouldn't leave the Great Colony except under duress."

"They're lackies, maybe. Someone might be looking to fill the power vacuum." Angel shook his head. "The mayor won't take kindly to another warlock in town, but if its a vampire..." He stopped his musings. "I'll look into it."

"What? The mayor is a warlock?" Giles sqawked.

"And, Oz is a werewolf," Willow said in disbelief. "How random. Is the bakery going to be run by leprechauns next?"

"He founded the town for demons," Angel said, confused. Didn't everyone know that the mayor and his cohorts keep the town's secret under wraps? It took an elaborate conspiracy to keep the wider world unaware of the daily mayhem in Sunnydale. "Also, leprechauns don't exisit."

Giles nodded, grim expression on his face. "It does make sense. What else have you learned about the underground?"

Willow snuck out of the library office once Giles began to talk shop. She grabbed her math worksheets and settled down to kill time until she could call her dad to get her. The math problems swam in front of her eyes as she tried to concentrate. She felt as hyped up as if she had drank a couple of espressos and gone on patrol with Buffy. Willow tried to ignore Angel's exit but she couldn't stop from watching him leave.

Xander was even less easy to ignore especially his loud conversation with Giles.

As she listen to Xander and Giles talk about her as if she wasn't there, Willow stared at her pencil. That elusive spark, the kernel of magic within, called to her like an itch under the skin. Murmuring the words to the telekinesis spell with the intent to raise the pencil, it shot straight up and shattered against the ceiling, raining down shards of yellow #2 pencil.

"What was that?" Giles asked from inside his office.

Willow jumped back in her chair, mouth agape, as her eyes darted from the pencil mess to the office. Chilled, she told herself that correlation didn't mean causation. "Nothing."