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There were three sinks in the bathroom. The one on the far right had non-worky faucets. You could twist and twist but nothing would happen. In fact, a spider had started making a home in it on top of the trash people threw in (because the janitors had taken the trash can and forgot to put it back). The middle sink had a huge piece of chewing gum stuck to the basin and, thus, was tainted and unusable.
So Willow went to the sink on the left. Slightly dirty, but no taintedness or spiders.
The door to the bathroom opened and Cordelia walked in. She was wearing her cheerleading outfit. Of course, cause why else would Cordelia be here after school except for cheerleading? She didn't help with the Slayer stuff anymore. Not since...
Oh, yeah. Willow lathered her hands roughly. Seeing Cordelia...not an appealing idea. Except it was more than an idea cause...there she was.
"You know, they should have a different bathroom for skanky boyfriend-stealing hoes." Cordelia said cheerfully as she approached the middle sink. She had her lipstick already out.
Okay, valid point about the boyfriend-stealing part. Well, except that Willow didn't steal Xander. She just kissed him. A few times. And that was bad, yes. But...well, she'd groveled, okay? And Oz forgave her! And...'skanky'?
Willow paused with soapy hands. "That's kinda funny coming from the girl who's been drooling over Wesley for the past few weeks. Really, where's your bucket? You know...for the drool..."
Cordelia's eyes fluttered in annoyance as she applied her lipstick. She smacked her lips together. "That just means I've moved on to better things than little boy Xander."
"So, then, I did you a favor." The water washed the soap bubbles off.
"Oh, right. Big favor. Metal bar? Hospital? Remember?"
"Yeah, you got hurt. Okay, we got it. And I felt bad for you...when it happened. But it's over, and now you're all Queen Bitch of Bitchdonia to us when, you know, we used to be friends."
"Do you blame me? Who'd wanna hang out with you freaks now that I'm not shackled to Xander Harris?" Cordelia threw her lipstick back into her make-up bag.
"So, what? You were just pretending to be our friends cause you were with Xander?" Cause...not true! Definitely...well, probably not. Cause they liked each other, right? As friends, of course.
Cordelia sighed. "Is this so important to you? You know what, Willow? You, little geeky brainiac schoolgirl, won. You got your Oz. And you got your Xander. You happy?"
"No!" Willow frowned. "Not…I don't 'have' Xander, and I don't want him, and that's not what this is about anyway. Do you want an apology? Cause I'm sorry about what happened. I mean, what more do you want? Public flogging or a letter to Dear Abby or an announcement on the school intercom or...what? Cause you just seem determined to use that one little...event to not be friends with me - or...any of us, and that's just...dumb."
"I think I prefer you as a vampire. You know, at least with her I know when I see the rrrr bumpies that I can't trust her. You, though…you're sneaky." Her arms were crossed and her eyes were narrow and steely, and Willow couldn't help but feel stared down. Cause...well, that's what Cordelia was doing.
"You can trust me," Willow protested. She knew she was totally trustworthy! Except for a few minor indiscretions which meant nothing and were completely stupid, but she knew that now so...trustworthy!
"Can I? Cause I did. I trusted both of you. And Xander was supposed to be the unstealable boyfriend, and then you who I probably trusted more than - " Cordelia cut herself off. She shook her head slightly. "You weren't supposed to do that. Then I lost Xander and was a social reject because hey! Look who got cheated on! Cordelia! How do you think I could stand to be around you guys after that?"
Oh. Yeah, that was all kinda...bad. "I'm sorry," Willow said. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
"And yet, I'm still hurt. By you." Cordelia released a huff of breath and snatched her make-up bag. She was about to turn to leave.
It shouldn't be that big a deal. It was just Cordelia. Nobody else in the group was missing her or anything. And, yeah, she and Cordelia had had some...um...close moments in the past. But Willow was all Oz's now. Cause Oz was in a band! And smart! In a slacker, doesn't-like-to-show-it way, but still! So it's not like Willow needed Cordelia or anything. After all, she was stuck-up and bossy and vain and she was skanky and Willow didn't know why she even looked twice at her last year cause it's not like seeing Cordelia made her stomach go all twirly...
Except it did. So maybe Willow wasn't quite all Oz's. That was a confusing and frightening thought. Willow had accepted the whole "she might be gay" thing seeing as it was kinda hard to deny it. But it's not anything she wanted to let people know about cause...well...it would be kinda messy. So it was just easier to be with Oz, and, hey, she liked Oz so it's not like she was making herself unhappy or anything. But Cordy...
Cordy had turned her back on the most important thing in her life to be with them. And, okay, so the most important thing in her life had been her popular status which was really shallow, but it meant something. Because Cordy had genuinely liked them and talked to them and helped them and dear god what had she done? Willow had betrayed her and humiliated her and just been a bad, bad friend.
Willow grabbed Cordelia's arm before she had made it to the bathroom door.
"Cordelia, wait!"
The cheerleader turned, looking expectantly impatient. "What?"
Willow released her arm. "What can I do to...make things better? Cause I miss you, and I want to make it up to you...somehow."
Cordelia was silent for a long while. Her expression was impassive, and she studied Willow suspiciously. After some intense internal deliberations, Cordelia stepped forward to close the gap between them. She reached out and tugged on Willow's hair.
"Well, you can start by helping me study for that history exam next week." Her thumb brushed against Willow's bottom lip. "Then we'll see."
Relief and anticipation and happiness and a little nervousness all mixed and swelled together and Willow found herself smiling. She caught Cordelia's hand and gripped it tightly. "So...study date at my place tomorrow night?"
Cordelia laughed while turning to walk with Willow to the door. "See, it's that innocent schoolgirl routine. It's just too adorable to resist."
Feeling emboldened by the levity, Willow stopped before the door and stood on her toes slightly to hold Cordelia's face as she kissed her. An apology kiss. Because she owed her one. Plus, it doubled as a teaser kiss for the study date. Cordelia rested her hands on Willow's hips and pulled her body against her own.
When Willow stepped back to end the kiss, the distance between them didn't seem as great as it had when Cordelia had first entered the bathroom.
Willow and Cordy exited into the hallway. Cordelia looked over her shoulder. "I'm going out this way."
"Yeah, I gotta get back to the library. Scooby stuff," Willow shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"See you tomorrow night, then," Cordelia said. She began to walk away.
"So we're good?" Willow called after her.
Cordelia turned, walking slowly backwards to face her. "Yeah, we're good." She righted herself, and continued down the length of corridor.
Willow nodded. Good.