Author: Coopster5000
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the property of Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy.

"It's me! Tara!" Tara proclaimed laying a hand over her heart in shock. Hadn't the redhead just given her a smile ‘sexy as hell one' thirty minutes ago. "From high school."

"I'm sorry it doesn't ring any bells," said the guitaristgiving her an almost cruel smile before turning around to be face to face with Mitch. "Hey, thanks babe." she said to the bar keep. Turning back around, the blonde was still standing there in absolute shock.

"Excuse me," she asked moving by the blonde with the beer bottles in hand.

"Will..." Tara tried again reaching out for the redhead.

"Listen lady, I have women throwing themselves at me everynight. I told you I don't fucking remember you. It was just a one night stand, it ment nothing to me," With that said continued making her way back to her table never looking back to see the distraught blonde.

"O fuck Will, what just happened." Faith asked pratically bouncing in her seat. "I mean I see you standing there. Your natural sexy ass self then BAM! Tara. What the fuck"

"Yeah what you say to her," Spike jumped in a bit curious. "I mean she was all happy then a sec lata' she's a fucking depressed git." he chuckled.

"Haha, its actually pretty funny," Willow said sitting down in her chair dispensing the beer to her band members. "I told her I didn't remember her. And I how it was just a one night stand and how it ment nothing to me considering I have women throughing themselves at me all the time. And then I just blew her off," she chuckled.

"WHAT!" both Faith and Spike asked. Beer spitting from both there mouths as they were drinking when Willow was recapping her encounter with Tara.

"Well you are a mean little bugger," Spike said with a wide smile as he leaned over to mess up Willow's hair.

"Well what can I say, after she just picks up and leaves after every thing," Willow said with bitterness in her voice. The three just sat there in silence and sipped there beer.

"Okay, like the weirdest thing just happened," Tara said making her way over to her table of friends.

"Weird like instead of a dog barking he meowed or like you finally got an orgasm buddy," Anya teased the taller of the two blondes at the table.

Buffy started laughing at Anya's statement and look up at Tara. "What happened?"

"I went to go say hi to Willow, and she totally blew me off!" the blonde was close to screeching.

"Like she just walked away from you?" asked Buffy clearly upset.

"Well no." getting a quizzical look from the blonde and brunette she decided to explain. " I said hi and told her who I was after she just looked at me for like a minute then she was all like sorry doesn't ring any bells," she mocked the redhead. "Then she just left, even after I told her we went to high school together."

"Well maybe she's just acting like that because of Spike," said Anya. "He might still be mad at Buffy." Buffy and Tara just gave her a look. "Alright he is still mad at Buffy."

"No that wasn't it. She did it for another reason. I could tell it by the way her eyes were shining . Like they didn't wanna do it but yet they did. To prove something." She put her head down on the table and just let Buffy and Anya rub her neck.

"Hey I'm sorry I'm so late," apologize a rather out of breath Xander.

"Xander, why are you breathing so hard?" asked Anya snuggling up to her fiancee.

"I had to park five blocks down then I ran here, I thought something was wrong." he said explaining why he was panting.

Tara just pointed over her shoulder with her thumb to the small group which use to be their friends. The three band members were laughing wholeheartedly. Their table was covered in empty beer bottles clearly indicating to Xander that they had been their the whole time as his fiancee and her friends.

"Alright you girls ready to leave?" he asked picking Anya's purse up off the floor. A chorus of yeses came at him.

"O no the lady's are leaving," said Spike finishing off another beer. "Come on it's early and the dance floors open, show us some of your moves Buffy," Spike teased yelling out to her while grinding his hip against the air.

Once again the group bursted out in spurts of laughter.

"Come on lets go," Buffy pleaded trying to hold back tears.

"Wait, hold on,"Xander said raising a hand. He swiftly made his way over to the rowdy bunch. Cocking his hand back then letting it go, it connected squarely with Spikes unexpected jaw propelling him to the floor. "Don't ever talk about her like that again," he growled out rubbing his tender knuckles.

Clutching the table and his over turned chair for support, Spike stood up on wobbly legs. "And what are you gonna do about it ya wanker," he slurred. The alcohol haven taken over him a while ago. Slowly Willow and Faith stood too, ready to defend Spike knowing full well that he was plastered and probably would only get one hit in before falling down.

Tara cautiously approached behind Xander as not to startle him. "Xander, come on, just let it go." she put her hands on his shoulder. "Their just ass-holes anyways," this time she diverted her attention to the redhead, who just shifted her jaw and lowered her eyebrows.

"Yeah go on Alexander you wouldn't want your life size Barbie to get lonely, she might also start fucking someone else... if she hasn't already." Willow smirked at her one time friend while craning her head to the side.

Xander lunged forward but was caught around the waist by Tara. "Don't do it, please. Lets go." she gave one last fleeting look to the redhead then turned and walked out of the Bronze followed by the two other girls. Xander continued to stair at Willow not believing his childhood friend would have said something like that to him. He turned his gaze next to Spike who was swaying back and forth. After a minute he also left the Bronze.

Outside the Bronze walking towards his car Xander started mussing over how drastically his friends had changed. What had happen to his friends? What had they become? Sure their life was no picnic growing up, but he turned out just fine. Why didn't they? He grew up just like them; poor, miserable, lack of a family. And that's where it donned on him. He at least had a family growing up, not the best considering he had an absent father half the time and a mom who worked so much he barley saw her but a family none the less. But them "the miscreants" "the scum" the under wash of society" they had no one. They grew up in a foster care family together under the supervision of a man named Giles. He was related to Spike some how but Spike rarely talks to him. Bad blood he always assumed. The pieces were finally clicking together.

Early the next morning Willow sat alone in the Espresso Pump. Her chipped black nail polished fingers cradled a cup of coffee as her head hung forward with a pounding headache. As the bell over the door jingled indicating another customer. Willow groaned in agony as her head felt like it was squeezing her brain.

"What the hell got into you guys last night," asked someone plopping down into the seat opposite from the redhead.

"What?" Willow mumbled as she lifted her head, squinting against the harsh light to see who was sitting there.

"Don't play that shit with me again!" Tara yelled slamming her hands palms down on the table. Causing Willow to remove her hands from her coffee cup and grab her head while all the other early risers looked at their table where the commotion was coming from.

"Tara? What ...I ... No yelling, bad for brain remember,"Willow whimpered.

"So you do remember me?"

"How could I ever forget," Willow this time actually opened her eyes all the way an looked into the blondes sappier blue eyes as she spoke. "You were a god send." she smiled a little bit before closing her eyes again.

"You wanna explain last night then?"

"You wanna explain why you left out of the blue four years ago." she would have yelled it if her head hadn't protested against it.

"Is that why? Because I left?" Tara said angry.

"You didn't even say goodbye," Willow retorted if not a bit pathetically.

"Well neither did Buffy," Tara said protecting herself.

"Well I wasn't in love with Buffy!," Willow yelled this time standing up so fast that she knocked her chair over. Before the blonde could say anything the redhead stormed out of the coffee shop. The blonde just sat there with a stunned look on her face.

Willow open and closed the door to her dorm room with a bang, waking her roommate.

"Shit Red it's only eight," Faith growled out burring her head under her pillows.

Willow walked to her side of the room and plopped down on the bed. Laying on her back she stared at the ceiling. A feeling of numbness took over her body once again. With a sigh the redhead turned over and came face to face with the wall. Looking at all the ridges and bumps in the painted dry wall, she let out one last sigh before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.