"Thanks for making dinner, Willow, you really didn't have to."
"It's no problem. When is your mother coming back?"
"Probably late tonight. She runs a restaurant in town." Charlotte put her plate in the sink and turned to Willow, who was finishing off her own sandwich. "Willow, I have a question."
"Shoot, Charlotte."
"Could you take away these Slayer powers?" Charlotte asked quietly. "You gave them to me, to other girls. Could you take them away?"
Willow shook her head, not saying anything for a few minutes. "It's not really like that. It's a bit hard to explain, Giles is much better at it. See, there are a lot of girls around this world who could be Slayers, but only one is chosen when the last Slayer is killed, but it's not like it cancels out their potential. It's random, who's called." she explained. "Why?"
"Because I used to be a mermaid," Charlotte replied, looking down at the floor. "And I… I wasn't responsible with it."
Willow didn't even bat an eye at her confession. "It's not the same thing, Charlotte-"
"No, you don't understand. I had powers too as a mermaid, but I had more than the others. I thought I was a 'super mermaid.'" Shame ate her up, but admitting this was therapeutic. She had been living with this secret for weeks, she had wanted to scream it to the world what she had done and that she was sorry, so, so sorry. "I was addicted to my power; I bullied Cleo, because I wanted Lewis, even though I doubt he even really liked me," Charlotte spoke faster now, her voice thick with tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes. "I thought I deserved him because I was powerful and when the full moon came I tried to take away the other's powers through force. I shouldn't be a Slayer, Willow," she finished, a tear rolling down her cheek. "What if I do the same thing? What if I actually hurt someone?"
Willow didn't say anything for a few minutes, but eventually put her hand on Charlotte's shoulder, and when she looked up, Willow gave her a hug, murmuring, "It'll be alright, Charlotte."
"How do you know?" Charlotte asked quietly. "I want to believe that this is a second chance, I don't want to mess this up."
"I'm sure you won't. You know what you did was wrong, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then why would you do it again?" Willow asked logically.
"You didn't see it though, Willow. I was… addicted to the power; I could do whatever I wanted."
Willow looked away. It seemed like she and Charlotte had more in common than she thought. She knew all too well how that power could feel. "Charlotte, I know what you mean, I was the same way once."
Charlotte looked at her incredulously. Willow? Lose control of her powers? She seemed so put together. "What are you talking about?"
Willow took a breath, and began to tell her about Tara.