still_grrr | 190 Ficlet: The Out Crowd (Reply)

Title The Out Crowd
Author Brutti ma buoni
Rating PG
Word Count 200
Prompt 190 Free for All (mean girls/in crowd)
Characters/Pairing (if any) Willow, ensemble

Willow was never in the in-crowd. But for a while there, in preschool, she was doing okay. She liked to draw and listen to stories, and those were the cool things to do. Crayon-breakiness aside, Willow was doing fine.

School wasn’t so good. Willow liked to read and do math, and her science fair projects shone. These were not the cool things.

Now she’s been in high school for well over a year, and she’s so not in the in-crowd she couldn’t be outer. She has no girlfriends. She has guy friends, who are not boyfriends. In no way are they friends of the boy-type. Just the guys.

Cordelia loves to mention that. Loudly, in hallways and classrooms while waiting for teachers to arrive. Harmony loves to snicker. Aura pretends to sympathise, which smarts more than either.

Some nights Willow dreams of a circle of girls, their faces anonymously mocking and enjoying her inadequacies. She won’t sleep after that. Next day, she’ll be pale, quiet, even more mouse-like and unassuming.

Xander will know why. Jesse will understand. She’ll spend the day surrounded by a wall of Guy Strength, multiplying their twosome powers magically to man her defences while she can’t. Willow wishes she could repay them somehow, when their own bad days come.

But she’s just not strong enough alone.