Outside Town Hall, During the Dance, Saturday Evening

[brat_inslayage]

Fresh air was a good thing sometimes; fresh air was, in Kennedy's opinion, occasionally severely underrated. So when the opportunity came up to sneak away from the dance for a little bit? That was an opportunity to snag in a two-handed grasp like it was the last Cabbage Patch Kid in the toy store on Christmas Eve in 1983... or, okay, it wasn't really that extreme, but still, she'd take it.

For perfectly innocent reasons, thank you, even if she was heading out of the building with Tara.

Because, as above, fresh air was a good thing. Plus, the space dolphins were kind of tripping her out.

[[up early for sp, for people who know who they are. >.>]]

Comments

[life_inshadow]

"How do you think they came up with space dolphins?" Tara asked, following along and craning her neck back.

The real stars were prettier.

[brat_inslayage]

"Maybe someone on student council comes from a world that has them," suggested Kennedy. "Or it's some urban legend I never heard of. Sort of like sewer alligators, only less gross?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow was also for fresh air. The dance was dancey and all, but there were lots of people and inside had gotten very warm. A few minutes outside to cool down seemed like a smart idea.

Also every time Willow looked at the mural she worried about the dolphins falling off of the edge of the water. It was upsetting.

[life_inshadow]

Tara would have answered Kennedy's suggestion about space dolphins, but she was a tiny bit distracted. She'd never seen this girl before that she could remember, but there was something about her...

"Hi," she said, softly, since it felt rude to ignore her.

[brat_inslayage]

Yeah, Kennedy had kind of noticed her, too. Which, given that it was Kennedy, might sort of inevitable. Because she had eyes.

"Hey," she chimed in with a quick smile.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Hello," Willow replied, giving the two girls a wave. "Now we're all alliterative and also very welcoming, though I suppose we could be that even more if I said something like 'happy to see you' only we've just met so I don't actually know for sure that this will be happy but I'm definitely open to the possiblility, especially if neither one of you are evil."

[life_inshadow]

"I -- I'm not evil," Tara volunteered, once she was done blinking at the stream of words. "And I know Kennedy isn't evil, so, uh ... happy to meet you?"

[brat_inslayage]

Whoa. That was some impressive babbling.

"No evil here," Kennedy said, holding up both hands. "Promise, so is assuming the 'nice to meet you' part safe now?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Since we've all said 'hi' without tripping or spilling drinks on ourselves or accidentally starting any wars, I think that's fair," Willow replied.

[life_inshadow]

Tara smiled a little behind her hair. "It helps that we don't have drinks," she said. "And the war thing, that's ... not something that happens to me that often."

[brat_inslayage]

See, now Kennedy had to ask. "Has that ever happened? The war thing over just saying hi?" She wouldn't rule it out. "Anyway, hey. Doing the whole visiting-graduate thing, right?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Not yet," Willow admitted. "But it still puts a whole buncha pressure on you when you're at a dinner and you're not sure if you have the right fork. No matter what certain adorable yet not always right people say about how wars only get started over much bigger things like trade routes or fondness for having all four seasons. And yep. Proud graduate of the blue and gold. Except for the part where there's blue and gold at home too but it's off a different kind and with less reporting squirrels, even though some of them talk."

[needsaparrot]

Some people took smoke breaks when the press of a crowd got to be a little much. Xander Formerly-Harris Carson didn't smoke --but he did have a phone.

Which is why he was pressing the glowing blue button on the front of it as he walked out of the town hall and thus took a moment to look up and notice the three womenfolk in front of him.

It was also why a twinkie randomly appeared from nowhere and bounced off his foot while he stood there with his mouth open, managing only a half-formed, "....Um."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Xander's "Um" was met by an "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" and an attempt at a tacklepounce with a hug.

[needsaparrot]

"So I guess the 'God, I hope you're my Willow' would be a little superfluous now?" he said weakly as he hugged back, or maybe squeaked weakly, because AIR.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Of course I am!" Willow replied. Unfortunately for Xander she didn't need much air to babble with. "Unless Fandom has created another Xander which I suppose wouldn't be too far out of the realm of the things that are possible but even so I know I'd be friends with that Xander too for such is the way of Xanders and Willows regardless of version or influence of Fandom. Hi! We were just not starting wars!"

[life_inshadow]

Tara brought a hand up in a tiny wave. "I'm Tara," she said. "We, uh .. were just kind of getting some air. So you guys went here together?"

Willow, she thought absently, was a funny name, but pretty.

[brat_inslayage]

It was a pretty name. And she was cute, which Kennedy couldn't help noticing.

"If not, that is one awkward greeting," she put in. "Hey-- I'm Kennedy."

[needsaparrot]

"I'm having one of the more surreal experiences of my life and that's saying something, pleased to meet you," Xander said, gaze darting warily back and forth between the other three, once he'd located some oxygen. "But only my grandparents use the full name. Most people just call me Xander."

Three, two, one... "Oh God, poor twinkie." It hadn't survived the hug very well.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"It died so the other Twinkies could live?" Willow offered, hoping for a bright side.

[brat_inslayage]

"The space dolphins are totally surreal," agreed Kennedy, oblivious to Xander's actual meaning, with an amused glance at Tara. "So is it weird for you guys, being back?"

[needsaparrot]

"You have no idea," Xander muttered. He really, really ought to shut his mouth; they were students. Hell, they were babies, and clearly didn't know anything about Sunnydale yet. "I mean, uh... it probably shouldn't be for me, I'm class of 06, but it's always a little... Fandomy. You know."

[life_inshadow]

Well, Tara knew about Sunnydale in the "it has a really cheap state school in it" sense, did that count?

"Like ... stuff following you?" she asked. "Did you get turned into a girl this week?"

[brat_inslayage]

And Kennedy knew... really more than she should, but kept missing out on the important details somehow. So.

"Oh god," she groaned, "can we not bring that up again, because so not fun?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"I was a girl all this week?" Willow offered, in case it helped. "Actually I've been a girl all of my life. And in Xander's case I'm a girl in other people's lives too. Not that I'm the other Willow that he knows but there's a form of me that he knows and she's a girl too, unless she hasn't been but that's okay because that kind of thing happens and that's why we embrace the concepts of magic and/or hiding."

[needsaparrot]

Xander coughed. "It is possible that Bridge and I don't entirely hate when this happens." Wow, had he so not meant that to imply... the actual truth. Cough. "I mean, we get to call off work, right?"

And then fill the day with boring things like knitting. But no scrapbooking. At all.

[life_inshadow]

Yeah, that was just weird, and Tara was putting it down as an adult guy thing she did not need to know about ever.

Besides, something more interesting had been said.

"You do magic?" she asked Willow, hoping she'd heard that bit of the babble correctly. "What kind? I'm a Wiccan."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow smiled at her. "I do! I'm a witch. Though we don't talk about that very loudly at home due to people with very unfortunate stereotyping problems and a predecessor who just had to ruin it for the rest of us."

[life_inshadow]

"Ugh," Tara said, face crinkling in concern. "But, uh -- kind of typical? I can't be as open about it most places as I am here. It's just always cool to meet someone else who uses magic."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"I wish there were more magic users back home," Willow said, agreeing with her. "Well more who weren't evil and possessing of strange fetishes involving snow and candy. Then there could be comparing of notes and learning of new spells and talking to people who know more than Lucy who is of course wonderful but all she knows is what I have in no way taught her because telling her anything about magic would be wrong and make certain people cranky."

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy had been watching this whole exchange with an amused, if slightly in over her head, look on her face, but there was really only so long she could go without saying something.

"Oh, man, are you going to magic-geek out on me here?" she asked, laughing. "It's cute enough when Tara does it, but between the two of you it might be too much cute for me to handle."

[needsaparrot]

No. No wait. Seriously? No.

This was so, so wrong.

"You... and her?"

He could had words. Really.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow looked at Xander as though he'd suggested never eating Twinkies again. "What? Xander! We just met! Also there is the part where I'm married?"

[needsaparrot]

"You weren't the you or the her, which doesn't mean I'm not relieved to hear you remember that," Xander said, resisting the urge to knock his head against the brick wall a couple of times. Because dear God.

[life_inshadow]

Tara reached out for Kennedy's hand, confused both by Xander's reaction and by the slight, sinking disappointment she felt on hearing Willow was married.

"We're together," she said. "Is that -- do you have a problem with it?"

She meant it defiant. It ... didn't so much come out that way.

[brat_inslayage]

...that was, actually, kind of a bummer of a revelation, wasn't it? This was all really weird, so Kennedy squeezed Tara's hand in reassurance.

"Does it matter if he does?" Kennedy could sound defiant, and oh, look, she was glaring at Xander. That, at least, should be sort of familiar.

[needsaparrot]

"Oh for..." How far could that possibly be from the problem he had? Ah, screw it; brick wall it was. Twice.

"No, I don't have a problem with that. My husband might; you'd have to ask him."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Is it my turn to be defensive now?" Willow asked. "Because I don't feel that anyone's judging my relationship but there was some clothing uncertainty when I got ready for the dance toinght. Maybe somebody thinks my outfit is dumb?"

[life_inshadow]

"I like it," Tara volunteered, since it gave her a break from the blushing herself into a coma she'd been trying to do otherwise. "It's all Renaissance-y. I love that style."

To Xander, she mouthed, "Sorry."

[brat_inslayage]

"Not my thing, but it looks really cute on you," put in Kennedy-- what, you expected her to make this conversation less awkward? "Even if I really don't get what exactly the problem is, here."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Are you sure?" Willow asked. "I mean not about the not knowing what the problem is because I don't either, but clothing-wise I wasn't sure if maybe this was too out there, but on the other hand it's not like Narnia has an Urban Outfitters."

[life_inshadow]

Tara shook her head, also not really seeing what the problem was but happy to talk about clothes until Xander explained. "It's unique," she said. "Honestly? I usually dress more like that than like this."

Her Homecoming dress was knee-length, halter style, and silky. There'd been some persuasion from Kennedy to get her into it.

[brat_inslayage]

"Yeah, but you look great either way." Kennedy was distractedly looking between the two of them, half unfocused but sort of grinning, and-- for what it was worth-- completely distracted from the question of what the problem was now.

"Either I really slept through all my geography classes, or... something, but," she said, glancing at Willow, "the name Narnia's not ringing a bell."

If some people hadn't been distracted with the checking-out at earlier points in this conversation, they'd understand why by now, but nooooooo.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Different dimension," Willow explained. "You can get there through the forest here on the island or via select closets."

[brat_inslayage]

"Oh. Right." Although excuse Kennedy's eyebrow for twitching just the tiniest bit.

"...seriously?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Willow said. "Though we're supposed to call them wardrobes."

[needsaparrot]

"Yeah, but it's so much more fun to say my best friend is Queen of Closetland," Xander objected, while inwardly heaving a sigh of relief at the diversion.

[life_inshadow]

"She's a queen?" Tara said, then blinked rapidly at Willow. "You're a queen? Really? Was I supposed to curtsy? Oh, gosh, I had no idea."

[brat_inslayage]

...yes, excuse Kennedy while her eyebrows started creeping skyward. "And here I was about to ask if that was to differentiate from the metaphorical kinda closet, or just totally random Britishing it up."

Except thanks, Xander, that wasn't making her wonder less.

"...so do we have to call you by your title, now?"