A/N: I own nothing. Joss owns all, that evil bastard.
"Get us out of here!" Xander said. The hairy arm tore another hole in the roof.
Cordelia searched frantically for her keys. "Where are they? Where are they??" She was panicking now.
"We need to get moving NOW!" Xander shouted.
"Found 'em!" Cordelia fumbled as she tried to start the car up. When the engine finally revved up, she floored it.
"Thought I heard something," Xander muttered as they drove away.
"And you're sure it was a werewolf?" Buffy asked.
"Well, it might have been a Wookie, but as this is Sunnydale and not Tatooine, I'm going with werewolf." Xander had his arm around Cordelia as they explained what had happened last night.
"It was awful," Cordelia moaned. "It was like being in a horror movie. Then again, that's pretty much par for Sunnydale."
"At least you escaped unhurt," Giles inspected the damage to Cordelia's car. The roof was completely torn through – not that Cordelia would have a problem paying for repairs. "However, I fear that the werewolf will be back with next month's full moon."
"What about tonight's full moon?" Willow piped up.
"Pardon?"
"Well, last night was the night before the full moon, traditionally known as… the night before the full moon."
"Then the accepted legend that werewolves always prowl before the full moon might be erroneous! I need to consult my books." Giles walked away.
"I'll hack the SPD, look at the police reports from last night, see if I can find any pattern," Jenny left after Giles.
"And we'll… go to class," Buffy frowned.
Maybe this was why Kendra studied.
Three boring classes later, Willow and Buffy met up for lunch.
"So," Willow asked, "how are things with Angel?"
"They're… good," Buffy replied, a little hesitantly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well… everything's different now. Before, I was like any other girl. I lived at home with my mom, and I saw my boyfriend whenever I could. Now I don't see him, I live with him. He's a part of my daily life. He's the first thing I see when I get up, and the last thing I see when I go to sleep."
"Isn't that what you wanted?" Willow smiled.
"It is… but it's not what I thought it would be. We don't spend every minute we're together kissing." Or other things. "We have to live our lives. I still have to get up and go to school in the morning. I still have to eat. I still have to patrol in the evening – and now I'll be working as well. And I can't get away with not doing homework anymore." Buffy lowered her head for a moment. "So, how about you and Oz?"
Willow's smile faded.
"Oz and I are kind of in a holding pattern," she said glumly, "only without the holding… or anything. I mean, he said he was gonna wait till I was ready, but… I'm ready! Honest. I'm good to go here."
"I think it's nice he's not just being an animal," Buffy tried to point out a positive side.
"It is nice. He's great. We have a lot of fun. But I want some smootchies."
"Well, have you dropped any hints?"
"I've dropped anvils."
"Don't worry. He'll come around," Buffy assured her. "What guy could resist your wily, Willow charms?"
"At last count? All of them. Maybe more."
"Well, none of them know a thing. They all get an 'F' in Willow."
"But I want Oz to get an 'A.' And, ooh, one of those gold stars."
"He will."
"He'd better hurry. I don't want to be the only girl in school without a real boyfriend. I mean, you're engaged. That's like, boyfriend squared."
"Well, what about Cordelia?"
"What do you mean? She has Xander."
"Yes, but all they do is fight and make out. And in my experience, it doesn't count unless you actually care about each other."
In the courtyard, Cordelia found Harmony perusing the latest copy of Vogue. Surprisingly, her current boyfriend, Larry, was absent.
"Harmony!" she called.
"Hey, Cordelia," Harmony sneered.
Cordelia ignored the sneer. "We need to coordinate outfits for the dance."
"Oh, are you and Xander wearing matching outfits?"
"What?"
"Well," Harmony stood up, "a girl's got to look good for her geek."
"Shut up, Harmony." Yes, Xander was a geek, but he was a hot geek. "Anyway, I'm wearing red and black, so you need to switch -"
"Red and black? Is that what Xander likes? Or what he's paying you to wear."
That caught Cordelia's attention. "Say that to my face!"
"I said," Harmony got right in Cordelia's face, "is that what Xander's paying you to wear, you whore? What are you going to do about it?"
"Me? Nothing. I was just trying to distract you so my boyfriend could get behind you."
Harmony turned around just in time to see Xander's fist on a collision course with her face. She crumpled to the floor like a blow-up doll with a hole in it.
"Nobody calls my girl a whore."
"Thanks." Cordelia took Xander's proffered arm as they walked away.
"You know, that's going to mess up your plans for the dance."
"Oh, I'll coordinate with Buffy."
Buffy walked into the library to find Jenny poring over a map of Sunnydale.
"So, any progress?" she asked.
"Yes, actually," Jenny looked up from the map. "I went over the police reports from last night, and I think I've managed to trace the werewolf's path."
"And?"
"Well, it seems as if the werewolf started here," she pointed to the makeout spot where Xander and Cordelia had been attacked, "and moved through the center of town, eventually hitting the Fish Tank. Looks like it did a lot of damage there."
"Think we should check it out, Giles?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, actually. I've been having a problem finding solid information on werewolves."
"Really?" This was new – Giles not having information.
"I would have thought you'd have dozens of books on werewolves," Jenny inquired.
"I do. Unfortunately, they are quite contradictory. The Codex Noctis, for instance, states that werewolves can only be harmed with silver weapons. But the Watcher's Diaries have multiple accounts of slayers fighting werewolves with conventional weapons. Some sources claim that werewolves retain their minds, others that they become animals in wolf form. If I could see the result of this attack, it might help me pin down the truth."
"Let's go, then."
Giles had never been to the Fish Tank before. By reputation, it was the kind of place he would have enjoyed going to in his youth – and a place that he would have forbidden Buffy from ever going to unless she had a supernatural reason.
But as Buffy did have a supernatural reason, Giles gave her a ride.
"'Closed for repairs'," Buffy read the sign on the door. She then calmly kicked it, reducing the door to firewood.
"Buffy, was that strictly necessary?" Giles asked.
"Relax. They'll assume the werewolf did it."
She was probably right.
The place was wrecked – confirming his fears about the strength of werewolves. The werewolf had barreled right through the eating area, leaving several upturned tables, broken chairs, and one shredded couch in its path.
Fortunately, there had been no fatalities – or even serious injuries. The werewolf clearly wasn't very fast.
"Buffy, any luck?" Giles called. She came over, holding a video tape.
"I think I found the security footage. We should take a look –"
"Who goes there?" came a voice from the stage.
Giles had seen a lot of things in his life. Monsters, demons, magic, and far too much death. But the man pointing a gun at him was still rather scary.
Bloody Americans and their guns.