*** Previously:

Tara walked alongside Willow who was lost in thought, more than once she had to stop her…

'What are we to each other?' she wondered.

Were they involved? Sure they had kissed; the memory made her smile. They had done a little more than kiss that one time… but did that mean she could she call Willow her girlfriend? Had they reached that far? It was confusing, Tara hoped that Willow might think about her that way. Lover? Ooh, that was a huge decision that they'd both have to talk about, eventually. Hopefully?

'Buffy where are you. Please come back, I need you… here,' Willow silently pleaded.

***

A few days later:

The gray clouds drifted in the sky, interspersed with pink underneath, giving a somewhat dark cotton candy appearance.

They moved across the sky as a steady breeze accompanied them, rushing them along.

Traffic was heavy, it always was. Cars steadily made their way on the street, lights cutting into the impending darkness.

A passing car breaks the silence as a commercial blears from its speakers.

"….no money down…"

People walk on the sidewalks at a steady pace, either heading for the relative safety of their cars or heading home.

If you looked overhead, you might possibly see an airplane cutting through the darkening clouds.

You can smell the approaching rain in the air.

She noticed all of this in a five-minute time span.

'It's getting colder,' she thought, as she hugged herself. Once more she wondered what she was doing out here, standing in the shadows, careful not to be seen.

She thinks quietly, glancing quickly in the sky as a single engine plane announces its presence to anyone who would care.

The orange-yellow tinted street lights come on, throwing its illumination, but no warmth her way.

She steps back, once again blending with the shadows.

She cups her hands in front of her mouth and slowly blows false warmth into them. False, because once she stops, her hands will once again remind her of the cold.

She begins to rub her hands on her pant legs, creating a slight friction that warms the palms of her hands more than anything else.

'A few more minutes, then I'm leaving,' she tells herself as she waits patiently.

Her head jerks up as she hears voice approaching her hiding place.

"Um… I'm not sure, why?"

"I was wondering if you might want to…"

That was all she was able to hear. She stepped out of the shadows and watched as the two young women walked together, their shoulders touching briefly.

"Will," she whispered.

Buffy knew that she had to do something, quickly. Shaking her head, she stared at the retreating figures until they had left her sight.

She and Spike had finally come to an understanding; she stayed and he shut up. Of course fighting a couple of demons helped his disposition immensely.

She had spoken with Giles as she said she would. She loved him dearly, but she couldn't burden him with the situation she found herself in. She would have to deal with it.

She began her trek back to Spikes', taking her time and she thought about things she had discovered.

She knew the feelings that coursed through her body, she recognized them after much soul-searching.

Love.

She was in love with Willow.

She begrudged each moment Willow spent with Tara. She wasn't at all certain how far they had gone and could only hope that the relationship was still in its infancy.

The thought of Tara holding… touching… *kissing* Willow made her blood boil. She knew she had to calm down, she couldn't afford to alienate her friend.

But how could she get Willow to choose her instead of Tara.

Perhaps she could find something out about the other teenager.

'Will, I'm only trying to help,' she could already hear herself saying.

She would be the one who would comfort, her shoulders would be the one used to lean on.

"I can't do that, not to Will," she muttered to herself as she neared Spike's home. "I'll have to show her, prove it to her," she said.

***

"Are you sure?" Tara asked as they neared her dorm room.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I brought it up, and I wouldn't bring it up unless I was sure," Willow replied.

"Okay."

Tara opened the door and allowed Willow to enter first, looking down the hall; she had had the oddest feeling that someone had been watching them earlier, prior to shutting her door behind her.

END