AUGUST 1998
Willow walked into Angel's new apartment, letting herself in with the key he had given her. She saw him and smiled.
"Hey you." she walked over and moved up, kissing his cheek.
"Has Giles spoken to you yet?" he asked before she could sit.
"Not today. Why? What's wrong?"
"Buffy is back." he said, watching her.
"Really? That's great." She smiled. "It's about time. Why do you look worried?"
"I wasn't sure how you would react. She did leave you here to deal with her mess."
"Angel, she's my friend. I'm thrilled she's back. When did she get in?"
"Yesterday."
"Oh" Willow said, frowning. "She didn't call me..."
Angel looked at her. "She was here."
She nodded. "I can understand that. You two have a lot of unsettled issues."
"Willow" he said quietly, "she was here all night."
Willow stood, suddenly understanding why he was worried. "Oh...I ....think I'd better go. I should call her. No, I'll go see her..."
She walked out of his apartment, tears blinding her vision. Angel cursed softly as he watched the girl leave.
* * * * *
Willow pulled herself together and knocked on Buffy's door. She was surprised to see Xander answer it.
"Xander? When did you get back?"
"Monday. I've been meaning to call, but we were so exhausted. Maui was great. You'd have loved it."
"Yeah.." Willow said softly following him into the room. She saw Buffy and ran to hug her.
"Hey Wills. Great to see you." Buffy hugged her briefly before turning back to Xander and Cordelia. "So, as I was saying, I stayed in LA. It was the coolest. It was so nice to get away from everything and think."
"Buffy..." Willow said, "You're the slayer. You were supposed to watch over things here. You don't get vacations. At least, not three month vacations."
"Geez Willow. It was only the summer. Anyway, I knew you'd take care of things until I got back. Don't worry. I'll take over tonight. You can go back to the old library and help Giles research now. I am so in the mood to kick some demon ass."
"Did you know that Angel was back?" Cordelia asked the slayer.
Buffy smiled. "Yes. Giles told me. I spent the night with him. It seems that his new curse doesn't have that happiness clause. I love him so much. I am so thrilled to be back home. So, how was y'all's trip?"
Willow felt a sharp pain go through her. She might as well have been invisible. She quietly left her friends and went home. When she walked inside her room, she collapsed on her bed and cried. She had spent the summer fighting demons that she didn't have to fight. She wasn't the slayer. She had wanted to keep things balance so Buffy wouldn't have problems when she came back. Willow had known she would be back. Yet, had she heard a thank you? No. And Xander had been back three days and he hadn't called. She couldn't believe that he didn't at least let her know he was back.
And Angel...that hurt the most. Her eyes fell on the sketch he had made of her not two weeks before. It had been after....she felt tears coming back. He had acted as though it had meant nothing. He was back with Buffy. She had just been pushed to the side. She got up and moved the sketch to the bottom of her drawer. She noticed an envelope that she had put there earlier in the summer. Thinking back over what had happened that day, she pulled it out.
Early acceptance into NYU. She had refused it, feeling that she should stay in Sunnydale and help out. Now, she knew that it would be better if she left. Better for everyone. She couldn't see Angel and Buffy acting as though nothing over the last few months had happened. It would kill her. She found the number and called.
* * * * *
Willow had packed in five hours. She had everything she needed. She called Giles and left a message telling of her decision to start college a year early. She promised to call when she got settled in. She avoided mentioning where she was going. She planned to spend some time thinking before contacting anyone. She heard the taxi honk. She got her bags and left, locking the door behind her. She'd called her parents and told them. They had been thrilled. She knew they wanted to sell the house and move to Paris. Now, they'd have an excuse. She had made sure that all of her things were boxed and ready for storage. They promised that they'd store them until she could send for them.
She took one last look at her childhood home. Soon, it would no longer be hers. It seemed that nothing was hers anymore. She helped the driver load the car and got inside. She looked out the back window, tears in her eyes as he drove her away from her past and to her future.
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