Hell of a Cold - (30 Parts)

[angora48]

Title: Hell of a Cold

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - I can't BELIEVE I only started watching this show this year!

Disclaimer: Whedon's characters, not mine. The story is set in mid season 2, somewhere between "What's My Line" and "Surprise" - I had to look around to find a time when all the pairings I wanted were together, and even so, I had to jump the gun a little on Oz and Willow. Spoilers from "What's My Line".

Summary: A cold starts going around the Hellmouth at a very inconvenient time.

The major players: Buffy, Xander, Willow, Cordelia, Giles, Angel, Oz, Spike, and Drusilla.

The story is mostly male, 'cause that's how I roll , but a couple of the ladies will be getting in on the tortu- I mean fun! - as well. Not all the characters listed above will be tortured, but a lot of them will be.

One more warning: this story is insanely long. INSANELY. Since I've already written it, I'll be posting one part a day (two today, because Part 2 is super short), and you can feel free to drop out any time you get sick of my almost neverending torture of the gang.

Here's Part 1!

The morning bell was still a good ten minutes away, and the usual suspects were gathered in the Sunnydale High Library. Well, most of them, anyway. “Where’s Xander?” Buffy asked.

“Beats me,” Willow said.

“Well, I don’t know!” Cordelia insisted. “What makes you think I would know?”

Buffy gave her a dubious look. “Did this interrogation happen before I got here, or was I just not paying attention?”

“Whatever,” Cordelia told her. “All I’m saying is I have no idea where Xander is, so stop asking me!”

“Yes, very well,” Giles said, quick, businesslike. “When Xander arrives we can fill him in. Now, Buffy, what’s this you saw last night?”

“Spike and his boys have been busy,” Buffy said. “I slayed three new vampires last night, and a few guys from Spike’s crowd were at the cemetery, trying to stop said slayage.”

“Unusual,” Giles said, frowning thoughtfully. “Spike hasn’t shown much prior interest in siring new vampires.”

Buffy nodded. “He’s much more the drain-em-and-ditch-em type.”

“So what does it mean?” Willow asked. “Do we think they’re planning something?”

“I’m not sure,” Giles admitted. “I’ll do some research, see if there are any auspicious dates approaching. Buffy, talk to Angel. See if –”

“If he’s heard anything through the vampire grapevine,” Buffy said. “Got it.”

“Let me know if you need any help with the research,” Willow told Giles.

At that moment, the doors swung open and Xander trudged in, looking harried and half-asleep. “Hey. What’d I biss?” he asked in a low, somewhat scratchy voice.

“Pretty much everything,” Cordelia told him as she stood up, gathering her books. “But whatever. It’s not like I care.”

Xander gave a barely perceptible nod in response. His hair had a chaotic, just-rolled-out-of-bed look about it, and he was hastily dressed in jeans and a couple layers of clashing shirts. “About the new look,” Willow ventured. “Is it… grunge?”

“You know, Xander,” Buffy said to him as they headed out of the library, “I’ve met zombies before, and I’ve gotta say, you don’t look entirely un-zombie-like.”

“Very fuddy,” Xander replied with a scowl.

“I mean seriously, have you found yourself craving brains?” Buffy asked. “We’re friends – we won’t judge.”

“Hey, I overslept, all right?” Xander said. He halted in the middle of the hallway and clapped a hand over his mouth. “Heh-uh-CHOO-uhhh!” he sneezed, bending forward.

Cordelia, who’d parted from the group, did an about-face. “Are you okay?” she asked Xander anxiously. “‘Cause, I don’t care about that, you know. But are you?”

“Doh,” Xander replied grumpily. “Buffy, ask Adegel if there are addy deebod viruses going aroud, because I’be pretty sure this cold came from hell.”

“Well, sure,” Cordelia said. “Everything knows that runny noses are demon’s biggest priority. You know, right after destroying the world.”

“You’re just a ball of warmth, ared’t you?” Xander replied. “Like a big cozy bladket.”

“Whatever,” Cordelia said, rolling her eyes. She strode away.

“I’be dot kidding, you guys – this sucks,” Xander said. “I dod’t thnk I’be godda bake it. You bight as well just kill be dow.”

“I just love a man who refuses to buckle when the going gets rough,” Buffy commented.

“Ha, ha,” Xander replied sourly. “I… eh… Hih-i-uh-CHUHHH!” He turned his head downward as he sneezed, the crook of his arm providing a poor cover.

“Ew!” Buffy exclaimed. “Isn’t it considered common courtesy to offer ponchos to people in the splash zone?”

“If you feel so sick, why didn’t you stay home?” Willow asked.

“Are you kidding?” Xander asked. “By bob’s a Dazi about these things. By figgers could be falling off from leprosy, and she’d still bake be go to school.”

“And on that lovely thought, I’d better get to class,” Buffy said. “Take it easy, Xander. Try not to infect the entire school.” She rounded the corner and disappeared down the hall.

“Everywod’s just so codsiderate,” Xander said sarcastically. “I dod’t doh what to say.”

“I’m sorry you’re sick,” Willow offered supportively. “But isn’t it better than being kidnapped by vampires or monsters or something?”

“Honestly?” Xander asked. “I’ll take by chances with the vabpires.” He pressed a hand over his mouth and coughed pitifully. Willow winced in sympathy.

“Hey, Willow!” Willow turned to see Oz standing by his locker. He motioned for her to come over.

Willow looked back at Xander. “I…”

“Go od – it’s cool,” Xander told her. “I’ll catch you later.”

“Feel better!” Willow said as she hurried away.

“Heh-chi-uhhh!” Xander sneezed wetly. He wiped his hand on his jeans. “Yeah. Like that’s gudda happen addytibe sood.” He sighed and headed for class.

[angora48]

And here's Part 2!

The sounds of Xander’s wet sniffles kept drawing Cordelia’s eyes away from the blackboard. Her secret – what? boyfriend? – sat slouched in his desk, doodling aimlessly as he rubbed his nose with his finger. He was looking pretty awful, and it annoyed Cordelia that this bothered her so much. When she and Xander had first kissed spontaneously, no one had told her she was signing up to give a crap about him.

But she did. Cordelia had spent the past week begrudgingly coming to terms with this idea. She cared about Xander. She liked his dorky jokes and the way he looked when he smiled, and she didn’t like it that he was sick. Xander being sick just made the whole thing ten times worse.

“Huh-chihhhh!” Xander sneezed, muffling it as best he could in the crook of his arm. His eyes flickered around the room nervously, self-consciously, but he was safe. Cordelia was the only one paying attention to him, and she looked down at her textbook when she saw his eyes heading her way.

Things were tricky with Xander. The last thing Cordelia wanted was for people to find out how she felt about him – to be honest, Cordelia wasn’t crazy about Xander finding out either – but he looked so glum and sick that she couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Some weird part of her wanted to just give him a hug and take his temperature, and that part hated acting like she couldn’t stand him. It felt like she was kicking him when he was down.

Xander coughed deeply, clapping both hands over his mouth. Cordelia watched him from across the room and got a sudden mental image of Xander in bed, swathed in blankets, while she placed her hand on his forehead. What was the matter with her?

When the bell rang, Xander sluggishly gathered his books, waiting until the initial surge of teenagers poured out of the room. Cordelia kept his eye on him, feeling frustrated that her ambivalence was quickly crumbling.

See you tomorrow! Hope you like it!

[Miss.A.Tishoo]

I love it! BTVS will always be my favourite show. Oh and, I'll give you a cookie if you infect Buffy .

[tFM!]

Yay! I love this already! Please continue!

Oh and, I'll give you a cookie if you infect Buffy .

I'll give you 10 cookies if Willow gets sick

[prisma]

Ill give you a whole bakery if spike gets it!

I love it. Cory's looking like she may be a lil cold whore. Cute

[MusicaDiabolos]

Ill give you a whole bakery if spike gets it!

I love it. Cory's looking like she may be a lil cold whore. Cute

Yeah, I'll give you my bakery too. And probably be your slave.

I just started watching this year too! I just finished the last season, it was amazing

[Bongo]

I love this! The boys from BtVS aree so cute

[angora48]

Good morning! Here's Part 3.

“Ih-SHUHHH!” Willow jumped back a bit as Xander sneezed unexpectedly, only half-covering his mouth.

“Sorry, Wil,” Xander said, wiping his nose on the back of his hand with a long sniffle.

Willow gave him a smile; she couldn’t stay mad. “It’s okay,” she said. “You wanna pass me the sodium chloride?”

“I’d love to,” Xander told her, “if I only could.”

“That beaker,” Willow said, pointing.

“Oh, sure,” Xander replied. “How could I forget by good old fredd sodiub chlorine?”

“Chloride,” Willow corrected.

“That’s what I said,” Xander assured her. “You just cad’t tell ‘cause I’be stuffed up.”

“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way,” Willow replied.

“Fide,” Xander said. “Then I’be delirious – I have doh idea what I’be saying.” He crossed his arms on the table and put his head down, coughing into the crook of his arm. “You’ll cobe to by fuderal, won’t you, Wil? You’ll read a poeb or sobething.”

“You can count on it,” Willow told him, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. Xander tended to get a little overdramatic when he was sick.

“Dothing too flowery, though,” Xander went on. “Su… heh-SHOOO! …Sobething that’ll get a few laughs out of ‘eb. Like a libberick.”

“Funny limerick – got it,” Willow replied.

Xander sat up, wiping his nose on his palm. “So what’s happeding with you add Oz, addyway?”

Willow smiled fondly. “We’re – I mean, we’re not really going out, I guess – but we’ve hung out at the Bronze a few times. I go to see his band play.”

“Yeah?” Xander asked. “you think you two are gudda…?”

“I don’t know,” Willow admitted. “I hope so. He’s smart and he’s funny. And it’d be so cool, you know? My first boyfriend.”

“Right,” Xander said. He cleared his throat and sniffled a few times. “So what’s the plad? Is he gudda buy it if you tell him you’re just going to the library to ‘study’, but he cad’t cobe?”

Willow’s face fell. “I hadn’t thought about it.”

“Ah, the age-old question,” Xander said. “How to keep the dew boyfriend frob dohing you hunt deebods od the side. Heh-CHUHH!” He turned away from the table, catching a wet sneeze in his cupped hands. “Ugh – talk about grossdess.”

“It could be worse,” Willow pointed out.

“Wil, I so beg to differ,” Xander replied. He wiped his hands on his pants and shoved them in his pockets. He sat quietly for a moment, watching Willow do their lab. “So, hey, library this bording! Hush-hugh beeting. What’s up?”

Willow glanced to make sure no one was listening. “Spike’s guys have been siring a bunch a new vampires,” she confided. “We think they’re gearing up for something.”

“Spike,” Xander said. “I’ve gotta say, I’be dot a huge fad of that guy.”

“He totally creeps me out,” Willow agreed.

“So, what’s happeding?” Xander asked. “How cad I help?”

“Maybe you oughta sit this one out,” Willow suggested. “Go home and get some rest.”

“Oh sure, ‘cause I can get id sobe quality R add R whed I doh Buffy’s going up against Spike,” Xander retorted. He covered his mouth to muffle a few loud coughs.

“Hey! Just relax,” Willow urged, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Buffy won’t be going after Spike tonight. We’re still in fact-finding mode.”

“Thed I’ll fact-fide,” Xander said firmly. “Whed do we start?”

[angora48]

Part 4:

Everyone’s eyes widened as Giles placed book after dusty old book on the table. “All right, let’s get to work,” he said. “You needn’t read thoroughly, but be careful not to skim too lightly – you don’t want to miss anything important.”

“Hah-SHEEE-uh!” Xander sneezed onto the floor, bending at the waist.

“And some of these volumes are quite fragile, so please don’t sneeze on them,” Giles added.

“Diligent research and copious amounts of phlegm,” Buffy commented. “Is this a party or what?”

“Let’s just do this,” Cordelia said, getting down to business. “The sooner we get done, the sooner we can go home and go to bed.”

“You do know that it’s 3:30, right?” Buffy asked.

Cordelia paused, flustered. “Well, I just… I meant… look, never mind! Can we just get going?”

“Hey, if you need your beauty sleep, no one’s stopping you,” Buffy told her.

Uncharacteristically, Cordelia didn’t retaliate. She simply rolled her eyes and sat down beside Xander. She cracked open a book and got to work, squeezing Xander’s arm with something that could possibly be called affection.

Thus began an incredibly boring endeavor. Giles hovered about for less than ten minutes before he ran off to find a box of Kleenex. “I beg of you,” he said, setting it down beside Xander.

“Sorry,” Xander said. He plucked a tissue from the box and got up to blow his nose.

“You know, Xander, if you’d prefer to take the night off…” Giles said.

“I’be good,” Xander insisted. “And hey! Five braids are better thad four, right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if it counts when one of those brains is yours,” Cordelia said derisively.

“So glad to doh I’be appreciated,” Xander replied, rolling his eyes. He brought a hand to his forehead, wincing. “Okay, dote to self – lay off the sarcastic eyerolls whed your head is pouding.”

Buffy stared at cryptic texts for what seemed like five years – in actuality, probably about an hour. “Giles, I can’t find anything in here!” she cried.

“I don’t even know what we’re supposed to looking for!” Cordelia said, standing up. “This is so pointless – I’m going home. Come on, Xander, I’ll give you a ride.”

Xander, at this point droopy-eyed, looked over at Buffy and Willow. “You guys gudda call it a dight?”

Willow shook her head. “There’s some stuff in her that might pan out,” she said, motioning to the massive book in front of her.

“Okay,” Xander said. “Doh paid, doh gaid, right?” He turned away and raised an arm to his face. “Hesh-OOOO!”

“Gesundheit,” Buffy said, handing Xander a Kleenex from the box.

“Thadks,” Xander replied.

Cordelia stood over the table, looking tense. “Xander, I really think it’d be better it I just brought you home,” she said pointedly.

“You do look pretty wiped,” Willow observed.

“What, be?” Xander said. “Give up on you dow? Doh way – I laugh id the face of bisery!” His attempt at a bravado-filled laughed was marred by a bout of coughing; he covered his mouth after the fact. “Uh, let’s do this,” he finished anticlimactically, grabbing another book.

“Alright, Xander!” Buffy said. “Way to stick it out!”

“Fight the good fight,” Willow added.

Cordelia sighed noisily. “Fine! I don’t know why I tried to do something nice for you – it’s not like I care if you wanna torture yourself.” She stalked out of the library in a huff.

“What’s up with Cordelia?” Buffy asked. “She’s been acting even more Cordelia than usual.”

“Who dohs?” Xander said. “The bysteries of Cordy.” He tossed his balled-up Kleenex toward the trash, completely missing it by a good two feet.

“Ah – lovely,” Giles said flatly. He stooped to gingerly pick up Xander’s Kleenex and place it in the trash.

“Oh, hey – Giles!” Buffy exclaimed excitedly. “What about this? Is this something?” She showed him her book. “‘A blood ritual performed at the end of January…’”

“Yes, but it only happens once a millennium,” Giles said. “This account is from 1749.”

“So, not it?” Buffy asked.

“Not it,” Giles told her.

“Oops,” Buffy said.

“Ah-shih-Chi-uhhh!” The decidedly un-Xander-sounding sneeze caught Buffy’s attention, and she looked up, where she unexpectedly saw Willow covering her nose. “Bless you, Wil,” she said in surprise.

“Oh my, I hope you’re not catching Xander’s cold,” Giles said, furrowing his brow.

“No, I’m fine,” Willow assured them, sniffling lightly. “It’s just these dusty old books.”

“Good,” Buffy said, grabbing another tome off the stack. “We don’t want you getting sick.”

“Yes – we really don’t know what we might be facing with Spike in the coming days,” Giles said. “We want all of you in tip-top shape.”

“Hah-SHI-Uhhh!” Xander sneezed loudly into his hands.

“Though, of course, we can’t have everything we want,” Giles added with a sigh.

Have a good day, everybody!

[Miss.A.Tishoo]

More, more! Love it so far & thank you for the regular posting .

[Alexandria]

Awesome story. Can't wait for the rest. Hope buffy gets that cold

[ilovesneezing]

I loooooooove this! Buffy, cold please! This is so awesome, you've got the lingo down

[angora48]

Thanks so much for the nice comments! Here's Part 5.

It was after dark when they finally called it quits. Willow had thrown in the towel a half hour earlier, saying all the reading was giving her a headache. Now, Buffy was walking Xander home.

“You dod’t have to babysit be,” Xander protested. “I cad totally take care of byself.”

“There are plenty of extra vampires out and about, and you’re not exactly in a state of cat-like readiness,” Buffy pointed out. “I don’t want you getting a love bite from the undead just because you have to sneeze at the wrong time.”

“I dew this cold was bissing sobething,” Xander said. “Ad elebent of danger! Heh-ih-shi-uhhh!” He sniffed, wiping his nose messily.

“Buffy.”

Xander and Buffy whirled around, tense. They found Angel standing before them. “Okay, seriously, you have to stop the whole ‘appearing out of nowhere’ thing!” Buffy told him. “I’m too young to have a heart attack.”

“Have you codsidered wearing a bell?” Xander asked. Angel only gave him a quizzical look in response.

“Have you seen them?” Angel asked Buffy, all business. “The new vampires?”

“Every night this week,” Buffy replied. “And Spike’s boys have been playing bodyguard, making sure they get out of the cemetery in one piece.”

“Doh really, dod’t bide be,” Xander said. “You two catch up.”

“Are you patrolling tonight?” Angel asked.

“Soon,” Buffy told him. “I just have to drop Xander off at his place.”

“Escort, huh?” Angel said. “Is it worse than I thought?”

“No,” Buffy said. “Xander just –”

“Heh-CHI-OOOO!” Xander sneezed suddenly, stopping in his tracks. He didn’t think to cover his mouth, but he at least had the presence of mind to turn his head down.

“Are you sick?” Angel asked.

“What was your first clue?” Xander retorted.

“You’re right – you should get him home,” Angel told Buffy. “I’ll head to the cemetery and see if we have any early risers.”

Buffy nodded. “See you soon.” Angel pulled her in for a kiss, and then, as quickly as he’d appeared, he was gone.

Buffy saw Xander as far as his front door, then went out on patrol. Xander dragged himself inside, slipping off his backpack and letting it drop to the floor. His nose wouldn’t stop running – he sniffed futilely.

“Is that you, honey?” Xander’s mother called from the den.

“Yeah,” Xander replied, wincing as he raised his voice.

She poked her head out into the hallway. “You left you notebook at school,” she said, gesturing to the table. “Your friend dropped it off a little while ago.”

Xander wasn’t expecting this. “Huh?”

“Your notebook,” his mother repeated.

Puzzled, Xander walked to the table and retrieved his notebook. That’s funny – he could have sworn he had it when school let out, and he and Buffy had been the last ones out of the library. Maybe he was more out of it than he thought. He pressed his wrist against his forehead.

“You okay?” his mother asked distractedly.

“Tired,” Xander replied. He kicked off his shoes and trudged to the kitchen, where he made himself some peanut butter toast.

Later, in his bedroom, Xander half-sat, half-lay on his bed, eating toast and wondering how long he could go before he’d have to empty his wastebasket. It was already getting pretty full of Kleenexes, and he’d only started feeling sick yesterday. “Hih-Chi-uhhh!” he sneezed into the air, dropping his toast and getting a big old splotch of peanut butter on his pant leg.

“Great,” Xander grumbled. After blowing his nose and adding the last tissue to the pile, he got up and pulled off his jeans. Having no motivation to walk all the way across the bedroom to his dresser, he bent down and fished through his sea of dirty-ish laundry until he found a pair of sweatpants that seemed passable.

Once he got changed, Xander figured he should at least look at his homework, so he’d know just how much he was going to be skipping. He flipped open his math notebook, the one his mother had said he’d left at school.

To Xander’s surprise, there was a note written on the first blank page. “Feel better, you bonehead,” it read in Cordelia’s prissy handwriting.

Xander was taken aback. Had Cordelia brought this to his house? Did she actually care that he was feeling so lousy? Judging from the note, Cordelia’s sympathy looked an awful lot like her derision, but still… It was nice. Xander thought about Cordelia taking the time to write the note, and the image made him feel a little better.

“Eh… ah… heh-Shooo-uh!” Not physically, of course.

[ilovesneezing]

haha awwww Cordy....sweet in her own way!

[Miss.A.Tishoo]

Aww, I always liked Xander/Cordelia. Thanks for the update, looking forward to more .

[angora48]

Hey all! Here's Part 6:

“Eh-chiooo!” Willow rubbed her nose and shut her locker door with a sigh. There was no escaping the fact that she’d caught Xander’s cold. She hadn’t slept well last night, and this morning, her head felt cloudy and stuffed up. He throat was a little bit sore.

Willow’s stomach leaped nervously when she saw Oz approaching her locker, wearing the closest thing the even-tempered boy had to a smile. “Hey,” he said. “What’s going on?”

Willow shrugged. “Dot a lot,” she said. No reason to tell a cute boy she was feeling crummy.

“You have any plans for tonight?” Oz asked. “We could go to the Bronze.”

“Dot sure,” Willow told him. Her nose was starting to run; she tried to wipe it as discreetly as possible. “I bight have to go to the library.”

Oz smirked slightly. “That’s your idea of a good time, huh?”

“Well, doh,” Willow said. “I just… I uh, I tutor Buffy add Xander sometibes. I’d idvite you, but they work better whed there aren’t addy distractions.”

“Gotcha,” Oz replied. “Hey, are you okay?”

“What?” Willow asked.

“You sound a little funny,” Oz pointed out.

Busted. “I, uh… I’be fide,” Willow said quickly. “Look, I gotta go – bathroob – see you later.” She hurried off.

Willow rounded the corner and nearly collided with Xander. “Whoa! Where’s the fire?” Xander exclaimed.

“Sorry,” Willow said.

“What’s up?” Xander asked. He turned his head away and coughed into his fist. “You seeb kinda…”

“I’be just dot have a very good day,” Willow told him.

“Already?” Xander asked. “Isn’t it a little earl– wait. What’d you say?”

“What?” Willow asked.

“What you said just dow,” Xander prompted.

“I’be dot having a good day?” Willow said with a puzzled frown.

Xander nodded in recognition. “That’s it,” he said. “You’re sick!”

“Doh, I’m dot!” Willow argued self-consciously.

“Oh, doh?” Xander replied. Willow heard the congestion in his voice and saw his point.

“Oh,” she said. “I guess I’be a little stuffed up.”

Xander slung his arm over her shoulder. “Wil, that sucks – I’be sorry,” he said.

“Yeah,” Willow mumbled, sniffling unhappily.

“You have a headache?” Xander asked.

“Uh huh,” Willow admitted.

Xander sighed in commiseration. “I doh the feeling – tough break, Wil.”

“It’s okay,” Willow told him. “I dod’t feel too bad.”

“You say that dow,” Xander warned. “Hah-CHOOO!” He clapped a hand over his mouth, bending double as he sneezed.

Willow winced. “Bless you,” she said.

“Thadks,” Xander replied. “I gotta get to class. Take care of yourself.”

Willow gave him a tired smile. “You, too.”

The fun is spreading!

[The Sneezster]

It is! Oh boy!

[Miss.A.Tishoo]

It's spreading very nicely, can't wait to see who it inflicts itself upon next lol.

[ilovesneezing]

omg omg I looooooove this!

[tFM!]

Yay! Willow sneezes! I love this story

[Alexandria]

Awesome thanks for updating. Nice that willow got the cold maybe oz will take care of her. Still really want buffy to get that cold

[angora48]

Good morning! Part 7.

Buffy tapped her foot against the leg of her chair, restless. She and Angel had killed five vampires last night, most of which were newly sired. It didn’t seem fair to be stuck in school all day, when her fangy foes were plotting something and she didn’t know what. She’d have to talk to Giles. She supposed he’d want her hitting the books again after school. She made a face just thinking about it.

“Hey, Buffy,” Oz said, sliding into the seat beside her.

“What’s up?” Buffy replied.

“Nothing,” Oz told her. “Listen, is there something going on with Willow? She seems kinda down.”

“Really?” Buffy asked. “Not that I know of. I haven’t seen her this morning.”

As if on cue, Willow walked in at that moment. “Wil, over here!” Buffy called.

Willow’s eyes made brief contact with Buffy’s, then looked down. She veered off and took a seat a few rows off from Buffy.

“That’s weird,” Buffy said. She leaned across the aisle. “Hey, Wil – are you mad at me or some–?” The loud clatter of the morning bell cut her off, and she turned to face Mrs. Lennix, disappointed.

On the excitement scale, American Lit. fell way below slaying vampires with Angel, and Buffy was soon out of her mind with boredom. Since there was no chance she was going to pay attention to the lecture, Buffy focused her thoughts on her friend. She couldn’t pass a note – Mrs. Lennix had eagle eyes – but she watched Willow curiously and tried to figure out where the cold shoulder had come from.

Mrs. Lennix was going on about Washington Irving when Willow started to cough. At first, Buffy didn’t think anything of it, but then she coughed again. And again. And again. And Buffy knew what was going on.

Willow wasn’t being noisy about it – not like Xander at the library yesterday. She buried her face in the crook of her arm every time she had to cough, and Buffy could tell she was trying to keep them quiet, but it was clear she couldn’t stop. Buffy knew that awful feeling and felt bad for Willow, whose face was beginning to flush as her eyes darted about with self-consciousness. It wasn’t long before other people noticed Willow’s predicament and started to snicker.

Still, why had Willow blown Buffy off? They always sat together, and she knew Willow had seen her. Why… Oh, wait – it wasn’t Buffy. It was Oz. Oz and Buffy were sitting right next to each other. There was no reason to hide a runny nose from friends, but a cute boy was another matter. If Buffy was sick, all snotty and gross-looking, she’d barricade the door to keep Angel away. Poor Willow – the cat was out of the bag now.

Mrs. Lennix finally looked up from her notes, sighing. “Willow, do you need a drink of water?” she asked.

Willow nodded, red-faced, as she rose from her seat. “Sorry,” she mumbled as she rushed out of the room. Buffy watched Oz’s eyes follow Willow as she left.

Willow had had quite the laundry list of suck. Having a cold was bad enough, but Buffy was sure Willow was mortified at disrupting class and probably wanted to crawl into a hole after embarrassing herself in front of Oz.

Mrs. Lennix had just started to lecture again when Oz’s hand shot up. “Yes?” she said.

“Can I use the bathroom?” Oz asked.

Mrs. Lennix sighed heavily. “Hurry back,” she said. Buffy watched Oz jump out of his seat and head into the hallway.

* * *

Oz ducked out of the classroom. He looked down the hall and found Willow by the drinking fountain, standing with her back against the wall. “Hey,” he said quietly, walking toward Willow.

Willow looked up, startled, and Oz saw that her cheeks were wet. “Oz,” she said, wiping her eyes hastily. “What are you doing out here?”

“Bathroom,” Oz told her. He drew closer, gently touching her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I wasn’t crying,” Willow assured him quickly. “I just – I couldn’t stop coughing, add it bade by eyes water.”

Oz nodded. “And you’re all right now?”

“Yeah,” Willow mumbled. “Just, you doh – ebbarrassed.” She gasped a little and brought her hands to her face. “Eh-hih-chiuhhh!”

“Bless you,” Oz said.

Willow turned her head to look at him. “I’be sick,” she admitted with a sweet, sad sniffle.

“I’m getting that,” Oz told her.

“I’be sorry – I’be all gross,” Willow said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Oz said. “I’ve seen grosser. “You wanna go back to class?”

Willow coughed, just once, into her hand. “Id a bidit,” she said.

“Sure,” Oz replied. He turned and stood beside her, leaning against the wall. Waiting until she was all right.

[tFM!]

Awww, cute chapter

[MusicaDiabolos]

Soooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Willow and Oz are right up there in my favourite couples, although Willow by herself is also unreasonably adorable Great chapter, thanks for the quick updates!

[Alexandria]

Totally loved it. Thanks so much for updating it. Cannot wait for the rest. You rock!!!!!!!!!!!!