She glanced at the enormous clock on his dresser and lay back lazily as she realized that they still had well over an hour before they would have to be at the school. < But I'd like to check for that e-mail as soon as I can. We don't know how long it'll take to cast a reversal spell or wish or whatever… > She stretched and yawned again, trying to wake up more fully before attempting to wake Xander. With a final wiggle of her toes, she turned to tap Xander when she noticed IT.

"Xander!" she exclaimed, reaching over to shake him as the hysteria rose to chill her heart. "Xander!"

"What?" he mumbled sleepily, annoyance clearly plain in his voice.

"Xander, how do I get rid of this…. uh ….?" Her mind raced for a word that she would actually be able to vocalize. She felt her cheeks getting hot as she blushed at all the words flying around in her head. A word flew past in her brain, and she seized it before it could escape her. "Um…Problem?"

Xander rubbed his eyes tiredly as he rolled over to see what she was babbling about. "What wrong, Will?"

She bit her lip and lifted the edge of the blanket, pointing and showing him her… predicament. His eyes trailed along to where her finger pointed. < Oh. > He began to chuckle, genuinely surprised Willow's reaction had been so tame. "Oh, that. Don't worry about it. Happens every morning." He rolled back over with every intention of going back to sleep when she slapped his back.

"What?!" he asked, looking at her once again.

"How do I make it go away?" she demanded through clenched teeth and veiled eyelids.

Xander opened his mouth to deliver the comeback to end all comebacks, but then he examined the fire burning in her eyes and decided to forgo his witty answer. "Just go take a shower. It'll go away by itself."

Willow nodded once and put her hands to her burning cheeks. "Turn around," she demanded, preparing to make a beeline for the bathroom.

"Will, I've seen it before. It's my ---"

"DON'T SAY IT!" she shrieked. She glared at him, wondering how he could be so dense that he couldn't see just how close she was to passing out from embarrassment. She closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths. "Turn around," she requested again, her voice soft and measured.

Xander chuckled to himself as he flopped back over and faced the wall. "Stop laughing!" she ordered, exasperated with his lack of sympathy. She sat up at the side of the bed and prepared for her dash to the bathroom.

Watching her with his peripheral vision, Xander couldn't help himself. She kept looking down and then to the door in desperation. "Just go," he encouraged, trying to bite back a laugh.

"What's it going to do if I run?" she asked fearfully.

That did it.

He couldn't hold it in any longer and he let a loud laugh escape as he dissolved into a mass of red hair and giggles.

Willow stood quickly and bolted the room. Once safely away from his line of sight in the hallway, she called over her shoulder, "I don't know how or even when, but I am going to make you pay for this Xander Harris."

"Hey! I wasn't the one who made the wish!" he protested between giggles.

Xander snuck back into Willow's room a short while later. Willow waited outside, near the front porch. He was supposed to flick her light switch twice and then she was to go ring the doorbell as if Xander were picking her up for school -- just like any other day. Xander hurriedly showered and started dressing, not wanting to give her too much time to think of a revenge for his outburst earlier in the morning. So far, figuring out the workings of her bra and putting it on without looking down or touching anything off limits had been the biggest challenge of his day. < I SO never need to put a bra on again. >

His heart nose-dived to his chest as he heard the doorbell ring while he hopped around putting on Willow's jeans. < She not following the plan! >

He hopped over to the door and tried to listen as he zipped up the jeans. He could hear muffled voices, but nothing distinct enough to make out. < She's up to something! > Xander rushed to the closet and began searching for a shirt. < I've got to stop whatever she's doing! >

Willow waited until she saw she outline of her own body pass the window in her room before she approached the front door of her house. She still wasn't sure that this plan was going to work, but if it did, she knew it would cause acute embarrassment to Xander, which was all that mattered at the moment. She could deal with the repercussions of shocking and deceiving her mother when she got back to her own body. < I'm going to get grounded, but it will be SO worth it. >

She rang the bell and assumed what she knew was a classic relaxed-Xander pose as her mother opened the door. "Hi, Mrs. R.!"

Her mother smiled and ushered her into the house, babbling about how Willow wasn't quite ready yet. "She just got out of the shower a minute ago," she finished, leading her into the kitchen. "Would you like a muffin? I baked them fresh this morning."

Willow's stomach grumbled with delight as she reached for a blueberry muffin cooling on the rack. "Thanks!" She swallowed a large bite before plunging ahead with Operation Revenge. "So, when did Willow get in? I lost track of her last night."

Willow's mother grabbed her cup of coffee and sat at the table as she answered. "Oh, about ten-thirty. I heard her rummaging around in her room for a while after that. She was quiet by midnight, so she must've fallen asleep a little late." She glanced at her watch impatiently while Willow tried to manipulate Xander's face to reflect a confused expression. "She only slept in a little la-" Willow's mother looked up and noted Xander's puzzled expression. "Xander?"

"You're sure it was ten-thirty? Because I was sure I saw her and Oz after midnight at that party at Harmony's house," Willow lied.

"What?"

She let her mother put the pieces together in her head for a minute before she continued, "Yeah. It was billed as the party of the century, since her parents are out of town, but it wasn't that great. Everybody just ended up necking in corners," Willow had to bite back a smile as she watched her mother try to hide her surprise.

Xander picked that moment to burst through the kitchen door. "Hi Mom!" he greeted her brightly. Mrs. Rosenberg narrowed her eyes at her daughter. Xander glanced nervously at Willow, wondering exactly what kind of trouble she had managed to stir up. "I'm just going to grab a muffin and run, okay?" He was reaching for a muffin when Mrs. Rosenberg fastened an iron grip around his wrist.

"Willow, sweetie, can I speak to you in private for a minute?"

Xander closed his eyes and swallowed - hard. Being in trouble with his own mother was bad enough, being in trouble with Mrs. Rosenberg was a feeling akin to having just kicked a poor defenseless puppy. The guilt washed over him, even though he knew, in his head, he hadn't done anything.

He shot furtive glances to Willow as Mrs. Rosenberg dragged him into the dining room, away from Willow.

'Gotcha' Willow mouthed.

Willow waited until they were all the way down the block before she allowed herself to laugh.

"You are evil," Xander muttered, adjusting his backpack and throwing his red hair over his shoulder disdainfully. "I should have Buffy stake you."

"How long am I grounded for?" Willow asked.

"You're not. It was soooo much worse than that." Xander visibly shuddered at just the memory.

"Why-y?" Willow asked in a sing-song voice, clearly delighted that her plan had succeeded as she jogged ahead of him and began walking backwards.

"Will, your Mom doesn't want you sneaking out to go to unsupervised parties. You're supposed to stay away from bad influences like Harmony. Can't we just leave it at that?"

"Didn't she say anything about the necking?"

Xander turned a strange color of pink as he tried to step around her. "You got me back, okay? Let's just leave it."

"What happened when she dragged you upstairs?"

Xander exploded in a fit of embarrassment and anger. "She gave me the sex lecture, okay?! Now please, PLEASE, leave it alone!" His eyes pleaded with her as she laughed. "I think I aged ten years sitting there for five minutes."

"Well, how'd you think I felt this morning?" she commiserated.

"This was worse. You owe me a MASSIVE apology," he protested.

"What makes you think listening to my mother talk about sex was worse than …my dilemma?"

Xander stopped walking and threw his backpack down to the ground before bending over to open it. "You wanna know why it was worse, Will? You really wanna know?" He found what he was looking for and held it up triumphantly. "Because your Mom gave me a lecture on sex and love and waiting for the right guy. Your Mom gave a detailed speech on SAFE sex. YOUR MOM gave me these condoms! That's why."

Willow blanched immediately. "Oh, Xand, I'm sorry. I didn't think she'd…"

He thrust them back into the backpack and shouldered it in silence. They continued walking to school, quietly.

"Your Mom wasn't supposed to know anything about sex. The stork brought you and I liked it that way. I think I'm traumatized for life," Xander muttered darkly as they reached the school entrance.

"Ditto," Willow mumbled, following closely.

Buffy hopped off the table and rushed to Willow's side as she pushed open the doors to the library. "How's it going? Did it wear off yet?"

Willow shook her head sadly. "Nope. I don't really think that's going to happen."

Giles emerged from his office as she sat at the computer. "Willow?"

Willow nodded in exasperation. "Maybe I should just wear a little nametag on my shirt saying 'Hi! I'm really Willow trapped in Xander's body'."

Giles sniffed, displeased with her attitude. "You don't have to be rude." He retreated to his office.

Willow's face softened and she called after him, "I'm sorry Giles. I just--. I'm really --," she buried her face in her hands. "I just want to be where I belong."

"Amen to that," Xander chimed, walking through the library doors. "Mission accomplished," he announced, slinging Willow's knapsack into a vacant chair at the table. "Mrs. Stonan is a suspicious old bitty. Have I ever mentioned that before?"

"What happened now, Xander?" Buffy asked, rolling her eyes.

"Cordy's got a dentist appointment this morning and she asked me to drop off her history homework for her." He sat down indignantly as he spoke. "She thought you did the homework for her, Will, and got paid for the homework and delivery." He snorted. "Can you imagine? You never, ever, charge us when you do our homework."

Willow's brow furrowed as she began downloading her e-mail messages. "I didn't even do homework for Cordy lately. Figures the teachers would catch on now." She leaned in closer to the screen in anticipation. "C'mon, be there," she encouraged. She jumped back from the computer unexpectedly as Xander dove under the table.

"Xander! What're you--?!" she stopped speaking as she realized that someone had come into the library. She gulped back the words that she was about to utter and fought a giggle as she felt Xander scamper past her feet towards the far end of the table.

"Hi."

Buffy was the first to recover. "Yes? Ross. Hi!"

"Hey. Buffy? Right?"

Buffy nodded happily, her blonde hair bobbing slightly with the movement. "Yes. Buffy. That would be me, and Ross would be you." She cringed as she realized how moronic she sounded. "Are you, um, looking for a book?"

"No. I was wondering if you'd seen Willow," he bent closer to Buffy and bestowed his million-watt smile on her. "I haven't been able to find her.. She's kind of a skittish girl, isn't she?"

Buffy laughed nervously as she glanced at the seat Xander had occupied less than a minute earlier. "She, uh, she's… Haven't seen her."

He straightened and shrugged. "I'm sure I'll find her at some point today."

Willow decided to speak up. "She's kinda unavailable, y'know. She's been dating Oz for a few months."

"Oz? That short freaky guitarist guy?"

Willow bit back the words she was about to use to defend her boyfriend. Xander calling him a 'hottie' wouldn't sit well with his or Oz's reputations. "She really seems to like him."

Ross shook his head in wonder. "So, you're saying I don't have a chance, then? Against Oz?" he repeated incredulously.

Unfortunately, the object of the conversation picked that moment to saunter in. "Hey guys." Oz's eyes steeled as he gave Ross the quick once-over. "Ross. Get lost on your way to the gym?" he inquired, stepping close to Buffy in case Ross took exception to the comment. Buffy rolled her eyes at Willow.

Ross narrowed his eyes at Oz. "You really date Willow?"

Oz assumed a defensive pose, folding his arms over his chest. "Yeah. We go out. She's my girlfriend. Why?" The last word had just the hint of a challenge to it.

Willow met Buffy's eyes and they shared a look of girl-reaction-meltdown. Oz and Ross were fighting over Willow. Two males fighting over the affections of a girl always caused an estrogen meltdown amongst the female population. Willow felt love for Oz well up in her heart as she watched him stake his claim for her. < Oz is so cute. > Willow thought. < I was right when I told Xander we had to let life play itself out. >

Ross seemed to sputter for a moment at Oz's defiance. "What could she possibly see in YOU? You're short and you're weird and you wear nail polish for God's sake!"

Oz glanced at his nails. "Willow likes blue nail polish. She says I have nice hands."

"You do," Willow muttered under her breath so no one else could hear.

Ross stepped closer to Oz. "What if I ask her out and she says 'yes'?"

Oz stepped closer to Ross. The fact that he only came up to the football player's shoulder didn't seem to faze him in the least. "Never happen," he answered.

Ross huffed slightly and stepped away from Oz, towards the door. "I guess we'll see about that."

Oz watched him leave before he exhaled heavily and turned to Buffy. "If he took a swing at me, you were going to back me up, right?"

Buffy laughed and clapped Oz lightly on the shoulder. "Maybe."

"Is it safe to come out?" Xander asked from under the table.

Buffy knelt down to help him to his feet. "As safe as it's going to be, you guy-magnet."

Xander sat again. "I KNEW I should never have let Cordy talk me into that makeover." He met Willow's eyes across the table. "I'm sorry Will."

She shook her head to indicate it didn't matter, and returned to checking the e-mail. "Oh. OH! Here it is."

Giles, finally seeing something worthwhile happening, left the sanctuary of his office. "Is it the reversal spell?"

"Yup. Serendipity says that all I need to do is touch the enchanted object again and wish to be back in my own body. She um, strongly recommends that I do by myself or with just Xander and me in a room. She says sometimes enchanted things have a sense of humor and we may just get catapulted into other people by accident. That doesn't sound fun," she finished quietly. Her face scrunched up in puzzlement. "Enchanted object? What enchanted object?"

Giles pinched his nose, thinking. "Were you carrying anything unusual with you yesterday? A spell book, an orb, anything?"

Willow shook Xander's head to the negative. "No. I just had my backpack and my schoolwork. I didn't even have any stakes since it was daytime."

Buffy leaned in to look at the computer screen. "Do you *have* to hold it or anything when you first cast the spell? 'Cuz we weren't doing anything but talking…"

"What about your clothing?" Giles interrupted. "Were you wearing any new clothes? Shoes? Jewelry?"

Willow thought for a moment. "No. Just my overalls and my shirt." She paused as her eyes lit up. "But I had those earrings my grandmother sent me, and I was wearing that bracelet Oz gave me last week."

At the mention of the bracelet, Xander shrank into his chair slightly. < Wonder what would happen if I wished myself invisible? >

"Well, have you worn the earrings before?" Giles asked. Willow nodded. "Without incident?"

"Well, Xander spilled milk on Cordelia's angora sweater that day, but other than that, no."

"Well, then I guess our preliminary search is limited to the bracelet then." He turned to Oz. "Where did you get the bracelet, Oz?"

"I, uh, got it at that antique shop on Elm." He blushed as he spoke and Willow's eyes widened as she realized he probably paid much more for it than she'd originally suspected.

"Antique shop. Wonderful," Giles muttered. "So it could have come from anywhere in the world before that then."

"I swear, Giles, I didn't know there would be a cursed bracelet there," Oz protested. "From now on, I'm just going to buy jewelry from those safe not-demon-or-witches-or-anything-Hellmouthy-guys in trench coats on street corners. I promise."

Willow turned to Xander. "I was wearing it yesterday morning. Did you take it off last night? Is it at home?"

Xander shifted uncomfortably under her steady gaze. "Um. Will, here's the thing. I think I broke it." He immediately covered his head and waited for the reign of blows he figured she was going to bestow upon him. When it didn't come, he peeked through his hands - and wished she'd just hit him.

Willow's lower lip trembled and her eyes had filled with unshed tears. "But I can't stay in here," she said brokenly. Before anyone else could react, Xander got up from his chair and crossed around to her side of the table. He gathered her into his arms and rocked her back and forth slowly, murmuring comforting noises. When it became apparent she wasn't going to fall apart, he drew back and let Buffy and Oz administer comforting hugs of their own. He fought the fine fire of jealousy as he watched Oz wrap his arms around her. Although to his eyes it appeared as if Oz was hugging Xander, his heart knew that Oz was showering his affections on Willow. < This waiting thing is going to be harder than I thought. >

Giles was pacing, hand to his mouth as he thought, completely ignoring the scene behind him. "By broken, Xander, do you mean the chain itself is broken?"

Xander shook his head. "No, the chain's fine. One of the stones fell out."

Giles looked at his watch impatiently, "That may not matter. I really don't know." He sighed. "It's almost time for classes to begin. Do you think you'll have time at lunch to go home and get the bracelet?"

"I can drive you," Oz offered helpfully.

Xander bit his lip. They weren't going to like this next complication at all. "It's not at Willow's house. I left the bracelet at Cordelia's yesterday."

"No problem," Oz continued. "I know where she lives. We can just--"

"Cordelia may not be coming to school today," Buffy interrupted, "She has a dentist appointment."

"Oh," Oz noted, letting the ramifications of her info sink in. "So, what're we gonna do?"

"Go to class," Willow said, standing, "And hope she shows up by lunch."

Xander grabbed his backpack and Buffy began leading the way out of the library. "We'll see you at lunch, Giles!" she called over her shoulder as the four students began filing out through the doors.

"Oh, of course you will. I can hardly wait…" Giles mumbled sarcastically, heading into the stacks.