Work Text:
Make A Move
by Lucinda
"You do realize that it's obvious, right?"
The voice startled Willow, who had been sitting in the corner of the library with the details of the latest English assignment and a book of 19th century English poets. She glanced up, blinking at bit at the fact that the new girl, Buffy, who had just moved here from Los Angeles, was looking at her.
Cautiously, Willow asked, "What's obvious?"
"You have a thing for the skateboard guy. Xander, wasn't it? 'Bout so high," she gestured at a height a good six inches taller than the blonde herself, "dark hair, makes a lot of jokes. You've got a thing for him. I can tell. Cordelia can tell, Cordelia's yes-girls can tell."
For a moment, Willow was speechless, unsure how to respond. What finally emerged was a very weak, "yeah."
"Something else that's obvious?" Buffy paused, and shook her head. "He's a guy. Subtle escapes them. Any girl in the school could tell that you like him. But Xander hasn't figured it out. Tell him. Say something, make a move... go for it."
"What if it doesn't go well? He's always..." Willow didn't finish her thought, which was that Xander was always crushing on impossible girls, like the actresses in some of his favorite movies, or Kacey the current head of the football cheering squad, or now Buffy herself. "When he talks about the gorgeous girls, it's never me that he mentions."
"Make a move or let him go," Buffy spoke firmly, and leaned against the table. "If you make your move, you may get him. If he doesn't want you, then you'll know and you can move on, find someone else."
"You make it sound so easy," Willow mumbled, unsure if she meant 'making a move' or 'finding someone else'. But then, both were probably easy for the tanned and athletic Buffy.
Buffy shrugged, "It's not that hard. Say something, ask him for coffee, wear something to catch his eye...And if that doesn't work, it may catch someone else's interest."
Willow tried not to look disbelieving. She doubted that Buffy had ever had to worry about a guy turning her down. Or finding something interesting and eye-catching to wear. She wasn't even sure if there would ever be anyone else out there that she'd want the way she wanted Xander.
Except that Buffy was probably right. If everyone knew about her interest in Xander, and she had no reason to think it wasn't that obvious, then there were only a few possible outcomes. She could ask Xander, instead of waiting for him to notice her, and it could be great. She could ask him, and after he finished laughing, she could go away and cry for a while before trying to figure out how to move on. She could say nothing and watch him crush on every pretty girl out there. or she could give up now and try to move on, always wondering what if...
"You may have a point," Willow sighed, "okay, you definitely have a point, but it's not as easy for me as it is for you. I'm not as confident, not as eye catching, and I... It 's the sort of thing that's easier planned than done for me."
"If you don't, someone else will. He seems like a nice guy," Buffy paused. "Go on, ask him. Carpe diem and all that. What's the worst that could happen anyhow?"
Willow had no idea why she shivered at those words. Maybe it had to do with the last time she'd listened to Buffy's suggestion of 'carpe diem, 'cause tomorrow you could be dead' and ended up halfway through a cemetery with a guy who'd turned out really creepy. Maybe it was all the images running through her mind of rejection, or rejection with mocking.
"I guess I should try," Willow whispered. She added to herself, "tomorrow."
end Make A Move.