Yay, high class lunch time reading! Very nice Victor.

Spike was right behind him, leaping over the row of chairs like it were a subway turnstile.

Shouldn't that be "like it was"?

The "were" is right, but the "like" should be "as though" or "as if" &c.

Subjunctive, man. Beautiful mood.

Yup, it's an "as if" rather than a "like."

And damn, does it rock.

The subjunctive always gets the better of me. It's my Achilles heel.

The "were" is right, but the "like" should be "as though" or "as if"

Yep. This is the right one. And it's fixed.

Spiralling down. Finally. Glad everyone's enjoying it, but man this is taking forever.

My slashfic assignment is soon ready for a second round of betas. Anyone interested in doing a quick and dirty beta? I'll send it out later tonight.

So my "Willow, the Vampire Slayer" drabble kept shouting at me and telling me it HAD to be a story, and I made the mistake of listening.

For four hours, while I was supposed to be working.

It's at 2,200 words now which I *think* is chapter one, and I have a sense of what will happen next -- I just need a break, and to assure myself I'm staying somewhat true to Willow's voice.

Is it okay if I post it?

Post away!

Gulp

Coming of Age

Setting: AU after Prophecy Girl
Summary: After the Master drowns Buffy, things start to get interesting for Willow.

Xander cried harder for her than he did for Jesse. He thought losing Buffy was his fault, no matter how often I told him No, no one could have gotten there in time, you tried, at least you found her body, at least Angel killed the Master . . . At Buffy's funeral, he gripped my hand so hard that all of our fingers turned white.

After the service, we stopped to talk to Mrs. Summers, who was very pale in her black dress. She was standing next to a handsome man in his forties; from photos, I guessed he was Buffy's father.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Summers, Mr. Summers. Buffy was a wonderful friend to me."

"Me too. Wonderful friend," Xander added. I could tell he couldn't say any more.

"Thank you, Willow. I just wish she hadn't … maybe if I'd kept a closer eye on her…" Mrs. Summers was about to break down in sobs.

It was Mr. Summers who comforted her. "Joyce, there was nothing we could have done. After she hit 15, Buffy was going to do pretty much what she wanted. I'm sorry we lost her, but we can't blame ourselves." He turned towards us. "And thank you for coming, both of you." He smiled apologetically, and we moved on.

I heard Giles and Ms. Calendar talking to Mrs. Summers as we walked off; they were saying what a wonderful student she was, not giving any hint they knew her in any way beyond that.

I glanced around for Angel, but if he was listening from the shade of a tree or mausoleum, he didn't want anyone to know.

The next day, he turned up on my doorstep. I was about to invite him in, but he gestured not to bother.

"I can't stay here, Will."

"Why not?"

"I tried the whole living with people thing. Look what happened. I'm going to go somewhere where I can be alone, make sure no one else gets hurt."

"Okay…" You idiot! a voice in my head screamed. We ALL miss Buffy, we ALL feel guilty … and this town needs you more than ever now that the Slayer's gone. I stood there, unable to speak.

He shoved a black velvet bag into my hand. "This is some of Buffy's stuff she left at my place. I thought you and Xander might want it."

I looked inside the bag. Nothing much; a vial of holy water, two silver crosses, a tube of lip gloss, a stake. When I looked back up, he was gone.