"Look, Mr. I-think-I'm-Special-because-the-most-popular-girl-in-school-took-pity-on-me, you have no claim on me. Whatsoever."

"I see. Now that we're through, you're just going to take the next guy off the assembly line, no matter who he is?"

Harmony's smile mirrored Snyder's. "Actually, I think that's how she ended up with you."

Xander was an expert at hiding his emotions. So no one knew exactly how much every barb hurt. Where were Willow and Buffy? Wasn't it their job to come to his masculine defense?

He looked at the angry set of Cordelia's jaw. Okay, maybe just Buffy. If Willow walked in, Cordy was likely to draw blood. Which, in Sunnydale, was always a bad idea.

"Mr. Harris. Miss Chase."

< Oh God, rescued by Snyder. Obviously the universe was just beginning to toy with him. >

"I understand that you've been missing some classes lately, no doubt because of your affiliation with Buffy Summers." He smirked. "However, out of the kindness of my heart…"

< Did the entire cafeteria just laugh? >

"…I won't be giving you detention."

< Thank you, universe. >

"Well, not quite."

< Indian giver. >

"Instead, you will be helping with a school archiving project. In the computer lab. Your instructors are already there. Have a nice day."

They walked silently, side by side. Without an audience, the tension was overrun by guilt, so little was said. As they approached the door, Cordelia finally looked at him.

"I didn't mean for Harmony to jump in. I'm the only one who should be insulting you."

"And you're doing a bang-up job." Xander opened the door and froze, chiding himself for enjoying it when Cordelia ran into him. He'd gone too long without female contact.

"What's with you?" She brushed past him and mimicked his response. "No."

Willow and Oz looked up from their respective terminals.

Xander sighed, his brain in overdrive. < All right, Harris, think here. Willow's back with Oz. You're just friends. If you go to her, she'll know that and you'll know that, but the rest of the room's probably going to jump to the wrong conclusions. >

< Oz is smart. I'll sit with Oz. But then he'll be with her. Not that I care. But if Snyder's behind this, then I'm not going to have my grades affected by their make-out session. > Cordelia bit the inside of her lip, unsure of what was more important - her grades or acting blasé.

Oz took a deep breath. So much for his nice, quiet afternoon with Willow. < Oh goody. My two favorite people in the world. >

< Oh no. >

Xander took a deep breath. You owe me Wills, he told her with his eyes as he sat down next to Oz. "Hi."

Cordelia brushed the seat next to Willow with her hand before sitting down. "So, what torture do you have for us? I want to get it over and done with. Losers like you are nowhere in my plans for this evening."

"Don't worry, Cordelia. We don't plan on keeping you any longer than we have to."

The brunette smirked. "You have plans, Willow? Going after Angel tonight?"

Oz started to say something, but Xander cleared his throat. "So, what are you doing and why do we have to be here for it?"

"Punishment perhaps? Snyder hates that I'm in a band."

"Oh. Punishment for you." Xander nodded. "That's funny."

"Look, here's what you do." Oz demonstrated. "Just do that and then we'll be done and you can go back to whatever it is you do now that Willow's come to her senses."

Okay, that one felt like a punch to the gut. He ignored the look of triumph on the older boy's face. He probably deserved at least that. He cast a quick glance at the girls. Hopefully things were going better over there.

Willow's voice surprised Cordelia. After the Angel remark, she'd expected little out of her. But then, she sometimes still thought of Willow as the wallflower she'd been all her life until Buffy.

"I was never trying to steal him. We didn't want what happened any more than you guys did."

"Please. From what I saw, there was plenty of want happening. And it's not like the whole school doesn't know you've been lusting after him since you could breathe. As pathetic as that is."

"Guess that makes you pathetic too."

"What?"

"You wanted him too." Willow refused to look away from her computer screen.

"Temporary insanity. It's the Hellmouth. It happens."

"Yeah, that's Xander's excuse too."

Silence. There'd been whispering, now there was silence. Oz looked over at the girls, concerned.

Willow had a small, satisfied smile on her face, although he could tell from her demeanor she felt bad about what she'd said. Points for Will.

Xander made a confused noise next to him, and Oz's feeling of pride faltered. They were talking about * him,* which meant Willow was thinking about him. He turned. "What's the problem?"

Xander jumped. Had Oz caught him watching the girls? Oh, the computer. "It's blinking strangely."

Oz cast a quick glance at the screen before hitting a few keys and getting him back where he belonged. Pointing to two of the keys, he sighed. "Don't push those."

"Right-oh." Xander nodded.

Oz turned back to his screen, trying to block Xander out of his mind. Whenever he looked at him, all he could see was Willow in his arms. And that was the last thing on earth he wanted to think about.

Cordelia's eyes widened. How dare she? And that smug smile…Fine. The gloves were off.

"I'm sure he had to say something like that to you. After all, he wouldn't want to hurt your feelings."

Willow turned slowly to meet her eyes. "Hurt my feelings?"

Heedless of the dangerous tone, Cordelia plunged on. "Oh yeah. I can't imagine how often he's had to bite his tongue in an effort not to compare you to me."

"Compare me…?" Willow's teeth were clenched, her hands in fists so tight, her knuckles were white.

"I mean kissing you must have been quite a shock after my…expertise? And anything else, well, I can only imagine what a disappointment that must have been for him."

Willow took a deep breath in an attempt to keep hold of her fury. "Disappointment?"

"I mean, you're obviously…inexperienced. And with Xander being used to me…"

Willow's heart tightened. Oh God, Xander had slept with her? "Well Cordelia, who else could equal your considerable experience?" Her eyes glistened with angry tears. "Other than Traci Lords, of course."

Oz and Xander jumped up as Cordelia's slap rang through the room. Willow was holding her cheek, the tears she'd been holding in, spilling over.

Oz ran over, beating Xander to Willow by seconds. "Baby? You okay?"

She shook off his hand and slapped Cordelia in return.

Xander jumped forward and grabbed Cordelia by the arms. Oz did the same to Willow. "Okay girls, let's take a breather here."

Oz wrapped Willow in a hug. "Want to let us in on what's going on here?"

Cordelia shook off Xander's hold. "Don't touch me. Ever." She stormed to the door. "Do whatever you want. I'm not going to stick around with you losers anymore."

They all three jumped as it slammed shut. Willow sighed heavily and stepped back from Oz. "Well, I think that went well. I don't think I messed that up at all. Maybe I could work at a suicide hotline and help people end their lives."

Xander stood by helplessly. "I'm sorry Willow. This is all my fault." He walked back to the computer, his heart heavy. He didn't belong anywhere anymore. There wasn't a place for him here. Buffy loved Angel. Willow loved Oz. He was just…

"Xander." Willow came over and sat next to him. She took his hand, causing him to look up in surprise. She hadn't touched him since the reprimand the night at the Bronze. "We both made a mistake. And Cordelia paid a higher price than most of us, physically and with her reputation. And I know you feel bad. But you have to forgive yourself."

"That's easy for you to say, Will. He's forgiven you, so you can forgive yourself, move on. She's," he gestured to the closed door, "never going to forgive me. So what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to find peace and get past this whole damn mess?"

It wasn't until he stopped that he realized he'd been yelling.

Oz walked over to join them. The look on Willow's face brought back the feeling he'd had that night. But he'd come to terms with the fact that she was always going to love her best friend. But she loved him too, so he knew what he had to do.

He placed a hand on Xander's shoulder. "I didn't just forgive Willow."

The look of hope on Xander's face almost brought tears to Oz's eyes. God, what the hell had this guy been through? Suddenly, the younger boy's flippant attitude and intense desire to please and be liked made a little more sense.

Willow squeezed Xander's hand. "I've forgiven you too Xander - forgiven us."

He looked in her eyes and saw the rest of the message. She'd forgiven, but she'd never forget. He took a deep breath. "Thanks." Closing his eyes for a moment, he gathered his thoughts. "Well, Cordelia's grades are at stake here, not to mention my own pathetic ones. So, we'd better get to work so she doesn't have an excuse to hate me even more."

Willow walked back to her computer, her thoughts swirling. Well, maybe one good thing had come out of her argument with Cordelia. Nothing was back to normal, but at least it was a little less uncomfortable. Instead of sitting down, she changed course and left the room.

Entering the ladies' room, she sat on one of the sinks. "Cordelia?"

Silence.

"I know you're hurt and angry. And what I said probably didn't help. I doubt an apology will make any of this better, but I am sorry. For hurting you, for making you feel…betrayed. For…"

"Shut up." She walked out of the stall and leaned against the door. "You think your pathetic little group matters to me?"

"Yeah. I do. Because we don't care what you wear or who your friends are. All we care about is who you are and what you do."

"You don't care at all."

"If we didn't care, would this be so hard? Would it hurt so much?" Willow rubbed her eyes. "Xander cares about you. I care about you. And if I could take it all back, I would. So would he." She got off the sink. "The Scooby gang just isn't the same without you."

Xander looked up as Willow left. He swallowed uncomfortably and turned back to his computer. "So, you and Will are okay now?"

"I don't think that's something we should talk about. We've never been friends. We're never going to be. We'll put up with each other because we both love her, but that's about it. And that's stretching it."

"Okay. Good." Relief washed over him. He didn't want to be indebted to him for his forgiveness. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"But," Oz turned to look at him and Xander swore he saw something not quite human in his eyes. "You touch her again, well, watch out for the next full moon."

Xander swallowed. His friends really needed to stop dating the supernatural. Pretty soon it was going to be dangerous to his health.

They worked in silence; all three determined Snyder would have no cause for complaint. They easily fell into their research patterns, complimenting each other styles. Giles would have been proud.

The door opened and they all looked up, expecting Snyder. Instead, she stood there. Makeup perfect, every hair in place, not a sign of upset.

"Do…do you need my help…still? Because if not, I have better things to do."

Willow smiled. "The more the merrier." She gave herself a mental pat on the back. Yay me.

Cordelia strode over to the computer as if she belonged there. Xander smiled. Maybe she did.

She looked up, catching his smile.

It faltered under her gaze, his brown eyes growing sad.

"Eating your heart out over there, Harris?"

"Yeah. I am."

She smiled as though everything was right with the world. "Good. That's exactly how it should be."