TITLE: Shall We Dance?
AUTHOR: Ragna (writinggoddess@aol.com)
RATING: FRT
CLASSIFICATION: Xander/Willow friendship.
SUMMARY: Willow's all alone, and Xander thinks he knows a way to cheer her up.
SPOILERS: Set after Oz left in season four but before season five.
DISTRIBUTION: Any sites with my fic up; you all have unspoken permission. I write it, you can post it. Everyone else just keep my name on it and let me know.
DISCLAIMER: If you don't recognize it, chances are it's my own creation. If you do, I don't own it. Joss Whedon, Kazui Sandollar, The WB, UPN, et. al. most likely do. The song "I'll Feel For You" is by Semisonic and also does not belong to me.
FEEDBACK: Please send it offlist and let me know it's feedback; I do rapid delete on my account due to a lot of spam.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Just a really sweet little story...

***

Willow sat, alone, listening to depressing song after depressing song. She was alone. The simple five letter word permeated her entire consciousness, brought her spirit down and made her feel...

Alone.

Oz was gone. And not only had he taken off to go find himself, but he'd been unfaithful. Not that she really had any right to talk; she knew that what had happened between her and Xander the year before was wrong, and it had hurt Oz, but he had forgiven her, and they'd moved on. Or she thought they had, at least.

Stupid Veronica. And stupid her. She should have had more of a backbone, or at least she should have tried harder to get him to stay. That was, if he'd really wanted to stay. Maybe he really didn't love her anymore, and he left to spare her. Or maybe he was afraid he'd bite her and she'd be like him. Or maybe he wasn't afraid he'd bite her...maybe he wanted to...

The knock on her dorm room door was a surprise. Buffy had cleared out earlier that evening, saying something about giving her space and if she needed her, she had her cell phone on. But Willow hadn't called anyone...

"Hey, Will."

She looked up and saw Xander leaning against the doorjamb, his arms crossed and his legs crossed at the ankles. He stood there, looking at her.

She must have been a sight. She knew she hadn't taken a decent shower in a week; she'd just let the water roll over her as she cried. She was surprised he didn't run away because she stank.

"Um...if you want to be alone, I can jet. But I brought this for you." He uncrossed his arms and legs and leaned down to pick up a bag Willow just noticed. "Buffy said you hadn't been eating much, so I got your favorite: peanut chicken and white rice, with a side of eggrolls and two fortune cookies."

"Thanks," Willow muttered.

"And there's a video in there, and a book and a stuffed animal...and a flower, and a CD," Xander said, rummaging through the bag before looking up. "It's a cheer Willow up kit."

Willow grinned, just a tiny bit, as she took the bag from Xander. "Thanks."

"You said that already." He sat down next to her on the bed and rested his head on her shoulder. "It's going to be bad, but it gets better. Promise." He reached into the bag she was holding and pulled out the CD. "Buffy's mom let me make it at her house. Twenty illegally downloaded MP3s, two hours and three blank CDs later, this is the finished product. Cherish it with your life."

"Put in on, please?"

"Sure." Xander hopped off the bed and took the CD to the CD player, ejecting the depressing CD. He pretended to toss it behind his shoulder, and Willow smiled as he carefully slipped in his present and pressed play.

An upbeat tune floated through the air as Xander, and Xander offered his hand to Willow. She smiled a little wider as she recognized Bobby McFerrin singing "Don't Worry, Be Happy." She took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled up and led in the infamous Snoopy dance by Xander.

Maybe Xander was right, Willow thought. Maybe things will get better...