Things at school had been pretty tense lately. First the whole Cordelia incident, which had escalated to ridiculous proportions. She was in totally secrecy in fear of her friends finding out, and so he was often subjected to some miserable hours of being ignored or worse, ridiculed. Then there was the entire Buffy/Angel issue that made him feel totally uncomfortable and angry. Add in Willow�s recent discovery of Cordelia and her strange, strained behaviour around him, he was getting to feel the strain of the tension between him and his friends. And on top of that, Giles had received a book order from England about all these prophecies he had overlooked. He was constantly stressed and stressing the slayerettes to go hunt this, kill that and whatever, which made them all edgy and grumpy.
He was intent on getting Willow a present to show her how much he cared about her, and to make an apology of his behavior. He was strolling down the small shopping strip on the west of Sunnydale, occasionally pressing his face against the glass of shop windows. He passed by a jeweller and decided to step inside for a moment.
�Can I help you sir?� inquired a well dressed blonde woman with a lovely smile.
�Uh, yes. I�d like to look at some...� he thought for a second. Then he smiled, �Some lockets.�
�Certainly, sir. Please have a look at this selection by the counter.� She gestured at a few pieces of jewellery in the glass counter. He shuffled over to have a look. There were about five different lockets. Two were gold ovals, one with an etched bluebird. Another was a garish lattice gold heart. The next was a silver circle with engraved �21� on the outside. Lastly was a plain sliver heart.
�That one.� He pointed to the silver heart. �I�ll take it.� The sales assistant smiled.
�That�s a good choice. For a girlfriend?� she inquired politely. Xander looked up at her as she slid the tray out and took the locket.
�No! I mean, it�s for a girl. But she�s my best friend.� he explained quickly. She smiled knowingly. Then she quickly wrapped up the locket. Xander pulled out a small pile of notes he had been saving. < Willow�s special enough!> He handed over most all of his cash and took the present.
Chewing on a jelly filled donut, Xander passed by a row of shops below street level. The steps lead down to a magic shop. He walked down out of curiosity.
The windchimes on the door tinkled as he entered, greeted by a man in Indian garb.
�Can I help you with something? A spell for wealth, or a selection of worry dolls?�
Xander paused, thinking. �Actually, my friend likes spells. Do you have any spells for, I don�t know, like fixing a friendship?�
He nodded, go behind the counter to retrieve something. The shopkeeper took out a few scrolls. �This is just want you need.�
�What is it?�
�This spell brings love into a friendship. This one brings friends closer together. And this one- no, this one you probably wouldn�t want.�
�What does that one do?�
�It makes friends understand each other much better. But it is very strong.�
�That�s the one! I wish I understood what was going on between us better. I�ll take it.�
�I remind you, it is very powerful. But... yes, I think it will be right for you.� He smiled and wrapped up the purchase as Xander pulled out his wallet.
�How much is it?�
�My friend, please take it free of charge. Your happiness from this spell is my fee.�
Xander shrugged with surprise. �Thanks a lot. I owe you.� And he took the spell and left.
The man smiled slightly, waiting till the door swung shut.
�Good luck, my friend.�
Xander found Willow early the next day at school. She was reading something out of her witchcraft spellbook when he hugged her from behind.
�What are you *doing*?� Willow exclaimed without turning around. Xander swung his leg over the bench to sit next to his best friend.
�What? You didn�t think I was Oz?� he asked.
�Of course not, Xander. I remember how your hug feels.� Then Willow blushed. She faced away, hiding her embarrassment in feigned irritation.
�Hey, sorry Wills.�
She softened.
�Listen, I have something for you.�
When she turned back to face him, she saw a yellow box tied with a red bow. She looked at his curiously.
�What is this? It�s not my birthday?�
He flashed his trademark goofy grin, turning her bones into jello.
�But I felt like- I wanted to tell you I�m sorry, and, and how much you mean to me. Cause Cordy is just some sort of, well, she�s not exactly my best bud, but you�re still the most important girl in my life.�
Willow raised her eyebrows in surprise. �What about Buffy?�
He put his hands up in assurance. �Sure. I even told her I�d kill her if she let that monster hurt you.�
She felt herself melt in bliss and let her sweet smile devote itself to Xander. Willow leaned forward and hugged him. He tightened the embrace, trying to absorb any of the Willowy goodness he loved about her.
�Oh, and something else.� He pulled away reluctantly as he reached into his pocket and drew out a silver locket in the shape of a heart. Standing up, he gently slung the silver chain around her neck and clasped it behind her.
Willow grasped the locket. On the front was the engraved words �My Will� and on the back, �Your Xander�. Inside was a photo of Willow and Xander hamming it up for the camera.
�It�s beautiful, Xand.� She grabbed his arm and leant forward, kissing his cheek. �Thank you.�
Xander coughed and bit his lip, wishing he had the reflexes to have turned and kissed her on the lips. While he kicked himself mentally, Willow gently shook the box in her hands. Deciding against getting his ass kicked by Oz, he turned his attention back to his best friend.
�Okay, open it open it!� Xander said excitedly. Willow smiled at his enthusiasm and looked at the box in her hands. She tugged at one end of the bow, unravelling it in a few motions. The box was opened and she set the lid aside.
�A scroll?� She gave him a puzzled look. Then a smile perked on her face. �A spell scroll?�
He nodded, slapping his thighs with his palms. �Yeah, and it�s a spell of the good.�
Willow slipped off the tie and unrolled the parchment. Reading the inky words quickly, her smile grew.
�Friendship through all means? Let�s do this spell now.�
�*Now* now?� Xander looked over at the parchment. The words seemed to dance on the old paper, and he nodded.
�Okay, now we�re supposed to alternate the line, except the last, where we say it simultaneously. I�ll start,� she volunteered.
�Times of trial,�
Xander piped in the next line.
�Times of tribulation,�
�Joined from the beginning,
Joined till the end,
In this blessed bond of soul and trust,
In this blessed bond of trust and soul,
A cure-all in love or life,�
And the finally line, the both closed their eyes and spoke:
�Be blessed in me.�
And bright light unseen encompassed the two friends. A sudden whirlwind spun their souls and minds, settling in moments.
Opening their eyes as the warmth dissipated, they made a shocking discovery.
They were both looking at her own body through the eyes of the other.
�What the-� Xander stopped speaking as he hear his words through a familiar voice. He clapped his hand over his mouth. He watched as his body looked down at himself in shock.
�Xander, what did you do?� Willow said deeply, panic in her new voice.
�Uh, I�m guessing some Hellmouthy stuff really made that spell powerful.�
�The spell! How can we reverse it?�
Xander picked up the pick of paper. The ink seemed somewhat blurrier. �It doesn�t say. I didn�t get a satisfaction guarantee or anything like that.�
�What are we going to do? Tell Giles, or, or we can get Buffy to help us, and-�
�Oh yeah, tell Giles and stress him out even more. Maybe I can just talk to the guy who sold me this spell,� he suggested, trying to calm Willow down. He scratched his head, surprised at the feeling of the long hair through his fingers.
�Lets go now, since first period hasn�t started.� And the first bell rang.
Xander grabbed Willow�s hand, running for the front entrance while the other students hurried to get into their classrooms. They reached the front gate when an authoritative cough interrupted their exit.
�Harris, Rosenberg, I�m sure you two weren�t just about to leave school grounds during class.�
They whipped around to face Principal Snyder. A disdainful expression commanded the two students to step back into the school.
�Not at all, Principal Snyder. We, uh, forgot to get our science project on African elephants. Forgot the elephants, and we have to go get them. Or we�ll miss the science fair and the elephants will get, hungry. Not hungry in the alive sense. Okay, I�m done now.� Xander cringed inside out.
�Rosenberg, you get more like Harris everyday,� he remarked, biting every word. He frowned. �Get to class.�
The students exchanged quick glances, then hurried off towards the hall.
They attended the rest of first period, and exchanged meaningful glances. Buffy looked between the two, getting more confused. The slayer thought it was rather unusual that Xander and Willow kept making eyes at each other. She�d grill Willow after class.
As soon as Chemistry was over, the exchanged bodies dashed out of class, quickly walking down the corridor together.
� We�ll go straight after school, I promise. Meanwhile, lets try to survive class,� Xander said, rubbing his new petite hands together.
�Well, we know each others schedules pretty well, but here�s my timetable.� Willow handed over a piece of notepaper. Xander quickly jotted his down too. �At least we have French and Chemistry together.� He nodded in agreement.
�And the plan is: go through the day like normal, maybe even like you�re having an off day. Don�t tell *anyone* at all, including Buffy and Giles, and avoid talking too much to people. After school we�ll meet at the gates, then go straight to the antique and oddities shop. We�ll reverse the spell, no worries. Okay, Will?�
�Under absolutely *no* circumstances can you go to the toilet! Promise me, Xander.� Willow pleaded with her strange new voice. Her eyes were wide and panicky.
�Uh, that�s going to be really hard. But I�ll try. Same to you.�
�Please promise me!�
�Oh, all right. Just be warned, I don�t have a Depends on me.� he joked. She half-smiled, but her eyes looked overwhelmingly worried. �Hey, don�t sweat it, Will. Today�s gonna be a breeze.� He assured her and gripped her arm tightly. They stood for a moment in silence.
�Oh no!� She cried suddenly.
�What is it?�
�You have Gym soon. I mean, I have Gym soon. Do I have to go into the locker room?� Willow cried out in worry.
�Hey, don�t stress. Here comes Buffy. Act normal.� Xander whispered as he spotted the smiling blonde walking towards them, a brown bag swinging off her shoulder.
�Normal me or normal you? Because I-I don�t think I can do normal you.� Willow whispered frantically.