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Part twenty-six....

Holding Out For A Hero


~~~~~~~~~~
"Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?"
~~~~~~~~~~


"Want to go the mall and have your picture taken
with the Easter Bunny?"

Buffy looked up from her lunch, surprised at Willow's
question. "Are you making a joke?"

"Nope." Willow sat down on the bench next to the
slayer and opened her lunch bag. "Oz wants a picture
of me with the Easter Bunny and I feel silly doing it by
myself."

"OZ wants it, huh?" Buffy gave her friend a look.

Willow nodded, opening a bottle of apple juice. "I swear
it. He says he wants a theme oriented picture of me from
every holiday of the year."

Buffy thought it over. "Could be fun."

"Come on," Willow cajoled. "It's the last day of school for
a whole week. Let's do something goofy."

Something goofy? It had been a while since she'd done
something goofy with her friends.

But...what if he came back tonight, and she wasn't there?

"I'll buy you a chocolate easter egg," Willow added.

Buffy smiled. "Okay...but the kind with the marshmallow in-
side, not the fudge."

"You got it," Willow said, biting into her sandwich.

Buffy pulled an apple out of her bag. "Let's make Xander
do it, too."

Her friend giggled. "He wouldn't ever."

"Oh, please...for a chocolate egg filled with fudge, Xander
would put ON the bunny suit and hop around the mall
singing 'Here Comes Peter Cottontail'. "

"I heard that!" Xander's voice came from behind them. "And
for your information," he added, sitting down across from
them, "I'd only do that for the marshmallow chickies."

The three friends sat and ate lunch, making casual conver-
sation. A few minutes before the bell was due to ring,
Willow and Xander exchanged a look.

"Um, Buffy?" Willow said. "As long as we're going to the mall
tonight...why don't we find you a dress for the Spring Formal?"

Buffy sighed, making a face. "Will...I already told you that
I'm not going to the Spring Formal."

She had made known to her friends, in no uncertain terms,
that she wasn't interested in going to a dance with one of
the five boys who'd already asked her. There was only one
man whose arms she wanted around her, and she was going
to wait for him.


~~~~~~~~~~
"Isn't there a white knight
Upon a fiery steed?
Late at night, I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need."
~~~~~~~~~~


"I know you don't want to go with another guy," Willow
said quickly. "I get that.." She looked at Xander. "WE get
that...right?"

Xander rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure."

"But, we were thinking, if....."

"William," Buffy supplied.

"Right," Willow nodded. "If he's not back in time to take
you...maybe you could just go with us. You shouldn't miss
it."

Buffy smiled. Willow was so sweet natured and brimming
over with good intentions. She had listened patiently when
Buffy had wept over her lover's departure, and she'd been
genuinely happy to hear the news that he was returning.

Of course, Buffy hadn't been completely up front with
her friends about just who and what William was. Before
she'd known he was coming back, it hadn't seemed
necessary to mention, as she'd been in no mood for the
endless round of lecturing she'd be in store for; and now
she wasn't sure how to broach the subject.

"I appreciate the offer, Will...but I'd feel funny tagging
along with you and Oz...."

"Oh!" Willow broke in. "No! See, we're all going to-
gether. Me and Oz, Xander, Cordelia, Amy, and Scott.
There's gonna be a limousine, one of those super stretch
ones. And we all want you to come along," she added
sincerely. "Please."

Buffy vacillated. If they were all going in a big group,
it wouldn't seem so much like a date thing. And
her mother had been hounding her about going out
and having a little fun. Even Giles had encouraged her
to accept one of the offers she'd had.

Maybe it would take her mind off the infernal ache
of waiting...just for a little while.


~~~~~~~~~~
"I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight."
~~~~~~~~~~


The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break. After
making plans to meet at the mall, the three of them went
their separate ways.

"He probably won't come tonight anyway," Buffy de-
cided as she made her way across campus to her algebra
class. "I guess I could take a night off."

Besides, she could always hit the cemetery after the
mall closed.

And, as far as the the Spring Formal was concerned, she
would make up her mind about that later. Maybe she'd
let the search for a dress make it up for her.

If she found a dress she really liked, maybe she would
go, and if not...then she wouldn't.

Still, the dance wasn't for another week, so there was
always the possibility that he'd get there in time to
take her.

That would be perfect. He would look drop dead gorgeous
in formal wear. Although William normally dressed casually
in jeans and button down shirts, when he took her some-
place nice he looked like he'd stepped right out of the
pages of GQ.

She remembered one night in particular. He'd picked her
up just as the sun went down, then drove her all the
way to Los Angeles to see 'Phantom of the Opera'.

He had been wearing a charcoal gray suit, with tiny pin-
stripes, a raspberry colored shirt, and a burgundy silk
tie.

She'd been pestering him for days about giving her a
picture in exchange for the one she had given him, and
she had decided that night would be the night she'd get
what she wanted.

Coming down the stairs with her hands hidden behind
her back, she had waited until he stood up to adjust
his jacket, then whipped her Nikon out and snapped the
photograph just as he glanced up at her.

Not trusting Fotomat, she had brought the film to
school and asked one of the kids in the photography
class to develop it.

She kept the 8X10 hidden at home, but carried a 4X6
copy in the back of her notebook. Opening it now, she
smiled at the image looking back at her.


~~~~~~~~~~
"I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure, and it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than like

Larger than life..."
~~~~~~~~~~


If she could walk into that dance on William's arm,
every girl in the place would be pea green with
envy.

She was still picturing it that evening as she crossed
the street to where Xander and Willow waited at the mall
entrance.

"You look nice," she said to Willow. "Very Easter-ish."

Her friend was wearing a powder blue sweater, and a
plaid skirt in various shades of blue. She smiled at Buffy,
pleased at the compliment. "You, too."

Buffy had chosen to wear a pale pink cotton sundress,
with a halter top, tied at the back of her neck. Her hair
was loose, held away from her face by a pink hairband,
and she wore tiny pearl studs in her earlobes.

"Gee, Xander...you look nice, too," Xander interjected. "Why
thanks, Xander. Just a little something I threw on at the
last minute."

Buffy eyed him up and down. "Yeah, it looks like it," she
said, grinning.

"Meanie." He pulled the door open for the girls. "Let's go
ladies. That rabbit ain't getting any younger."


~~~~~~~~~~
"Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me"
~~~~~~~~~~


"That's it....that's the dress."

Buffy stopped and joined Willow in front of the
dress store window. "Oh...that really is nice,"
she said softly.

The gown was white, with a high waistline. Sleeveless,
with a form fitting bodice, the satin and chiffon skirts
floated around the legs of the mannequin on the slowly
revolving turntable.

As she devoured the dress with her eyes, her
only thought was how much William would love to
see her in it.

Okay, NOW...she had to have it. Even if she decided
not to go to the dance, she still couldn't stand the
idea of someone else wearing her perfect dress.

"Buffy," Willow said in her best 'no nonsense' tone of
voice. "You have to try that dress on. It's calling to you."
She gave Buffy a gentle push. "Listen," she added,
steering her friend into the store. "Buffy! I was made for
you! Come and slip into me."

"All right, all right!" Buffy laughed, pulling her arm free. "I
guess it wouldn't hurt to just try it on."

Xander plopped down on a small sofa next to the
fitting room, watching as the girls hunted down a sales-
woman.

When they were told that there was only one dress
available..the one in the window..they held their breath
waiting to find out what size it was.

Willow squealed with excitement when the saleswoman
came back and informed them that the dress was a size
4.

"See?!" she said, turning to Buffy with a huge smile. "Your
size. That's a sign."

"Keep in mind," Xander added. "Signs on the Hellmouth
can have more than one meaning, and not necessarily
a good one...what?" he asked when Willow glared at him. "I'm
just saying...."

Buffy ignored him, following the saleswoman into the
fitting room area. Five minutes later, she was standing
and twirling in front of the three way mirror. Losing herself
in her imagination, she pictured William striding into the
store and seeing her, then sweeping her up into his arms,
and carrying her off into the warm night air.


~~~~~~~~~~
"Racing on the thunder
And rising with the heat
It's gonna take a superman
To sweep me off my feet

I need a hero..."
~~~~~~~~~~





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