Creative Works   

Though Lovers Be Lost (Part 7)
By Amy Mina
amymina(at)yahoo.com

Disclaimer: All of the characters like Buffy, Giles, Angel, etc. belong to Joss Whedon and the Mutant Enemy Company. Characters that were seen in Extra Help Needed still belong to themselves.

. . .

Bob walked down the stairs in Angela's house. Taking a few deep breaths, he looked at the door, knowing that Angel would be on the other side. "Don't worry, Bob," said Angela. "He's not going to bite. He's till filled with guilt to do anything but sit there."

"It's that bad?"

"Yeah. I think he needs to be cheered up."

"I'll try my hardest. Thanks Angela." She opened the door, and Bob went inside. Eyes adjusting to the room, he saw Angel lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Bob slowly walked over, and shook Angel's arm. "Angel, are you there?"

Angel continued to stare off into space, so Bob pulled up a chair, and sat next to the bed. After a while, Angel finally began to talk. "Are you here to confront me?" asked Angel.

"Confront?" asked Bob confused. "Confront what?"

"I killed your sister. Don't you have something to say to me?"

"Yeah, I guess I do." When Angel didn't respond, Bob continued. "How could you think that I am still mad at you, when I just participated to restore your soul?"

Angel's head snapped to look at Bob. "You're not mad? I destroyed your life."

"And I got over it. Goodness, it has been over 200 years, I still miss them, but I moved on. It wasn't you. It was the demon."

"That is what Buffy has been trying to tell me."

"And you should listen. I know it is hard, for century's, I blamed myself for my family's death. But I had to learn that it wasn't my fault, and so do you."

Angel sat up slowly, and looked at Bob. "Buffy invited me to the prom tomorrow."

Bob could here the hidden question behind the words. "I think you should go," said Bob. "I know I have fun, and I'm sure you would."

Angel nodded. "I'll be there."

. . .

"The Titanic! Do you know how sick I am of the Titanic?" Amy complained to Beth.

"Tell someone who cares," replied Beth. "Right now we need to find a table to sit thirteen of us."

"What about Angela's boyfriend?"

"Okay, fourteen. We could just invade two tables."

"That sounds good to me," replied Xander, coming up behind them. "When is dead-boy getting here?"

"In a few hours, as soon as the sun goes down."

"I'm surprised he would want to come to a high school prom."

"I'm not," said Angela. "Buffy is here, and he wants to be with her, now, let's sit down."

After staking claim on two tables, Willow pulled Angela aside to talk. "Angela, how is Angel?"

"Emotionally distraught, but he is physically okay. Buffy is trying to help as much as she can." Angela paused and looked at Amy, nodded towards her. "Amy won't talk to him at all. He tried to call, and she hung up on him."

Ouch, thought Willow. "That had to hurt."

Angela nodded again. "It didn't help."

Angela shook her head, and watched as Amy laughed at a joke that Xander told. "I don't know how she is more upset with. Herself or Angel."

"Neither do I," replied Willow. "She seems to think that this whole mess was her fault. I can see why, but doesn't she understand that all she did was trust and love?"

"I don't think she can see past the putting her best friend in danger. She is even staying away from Alicia. She used to run up to her just to give her hugs in the middle of the day."

"I hope Angel has some fun tonight," replied Willow. "And I hope Amy can see past her own stupidity to forgive herself as well as him." Angela nodded, and they walked over to the tables. They had already started to divide. Bob, Amy, Beth, Buffy, Alicia and Pete sat at one table. Brad, Oz, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Angela and her new boyfriend, Chad, sat at the other table. Dinner was started and over before they knew it. Within the first part of the second hour, the dancing had started, and the large group found themselves out on the dance floor. After a few rounds, Buffy ran over to the bar to get a pop, and found Angel standing there.

"Hey there, stranger," she said. Opening her pop, she took a long drink, and turned to look at her boyfriend, catching him staring at her. She self-consciously lowered the pop and looked at him. "What?" she questioned.

He continued to stare at her for a few minutes before answering. "Do you know that I love you?"

She gave him a small smile and lowered her head. "Of course I do." He moved forward and gave her a long, lingering kiss. When they broke apart, she gave him another smile. "We had better behave, lots of adult eyes watching."

"I am an adult," he replied, smiling.

"That will go over real well with the chaperones."

"I don't think they are going to know the difference," replied Angel.

"Why do you say that?"

"They're all out on the dance floor dancing to "Oh What A Night." I don't think they care what we do." Buffy turned around, and chuckled at the sight of Mr. Upton, Giles, Mr. Kraus, and a few teachers she didn't know dancing in the mist of teenagers. "Should we join them?" asked Angel.

"Good idea," she replied. Joining hands, they went out unto the dance floor. Noticing that Amy and Willow were both gone, Buffy questioned Angela. Angela told her they were in the gazebo out front. Buffy gave Angel's hand a quick squeeze, and he left to go talk with Amy.

. . .

"Amy," said Willow, laying her hand on Amy's arm. "You need to forgive and move on." Amy roughly pulled her arm away. Willow sighed. How one girl could be so happy one minute, and then angry with herself the next, she didn't think she would ever understand. "It wasn't his fault," she said, trying a different approach.

"I know it wasn't his fault," she replied, her eyes flashing in anger as she turned around. "There is only one person to blame. You and I both know it."

Willow saw Angel walk out of the building and head to the gazebo. "Amy, I think you need to let go. Everything is about you, you, you, you. You're starting to remind me of the old Cordelia. It wasn't wrong that you loved and trust enough to give Angel the benefit of the doubt, but when you went to rescue Alicia on your own, that was stupid and self-centered, trying to make up what you thought was wrong. Then you are ignoring Angel, when you know it wasn't his fault, and you are being a real pain in the-"

"I've gotten the point," said Amy, interrupting. "You think I'm a self-centered brat, and a staking would be too good for me. Well, after the evidence you put forth, I have to agree. I am being self-centered, and I'll try to just forget the fact that my two best friends almost died because of me." Amy jumped up from the bench and walked to the rail of the gazebo. "Thank you Willow, I will be back in soon."

Willow could feel herself being dismissed like a slave, and her pity rose for the girl. Turning to see Angel standing nearby, she left, knowing that they would have a long talk. Angel walked up behind Amy once Willow was inside, and laid his hand on her shoulder. Amy ignored it at first, letting herself being consumed of guilt, and began to cry. Within a few seconds, her shoulders were wracked by sobs. After a few minutes of crying, she wiped her cheeks with her arms. She looked up at Angel, and gave him a small smile.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked. Amy nodded.

"Shouldn't you be inside with Buffy?" she asked. "I have to agree with Willow, I have been very self-centered for awhile now."

"You have," agreed Angel. Amy looked up at him, and he smiled. "Just because the demon was in charge of my body, doesn't mean I don't remember everything that happened."

"I'm sorry, Angel."

"For what?"

"For being a snob, and for being so nasty to you, the past few days."

"I'm not angry. I should be apologizing to you. I did try to kill you after all."

"Not you, the demon." Amy moved away, and he let his hand drop to the floor. "I think I'd better go back in."

"Are you going to be alright?" he asked, questioning this sudden change.

"Fine," she replied. "I'm going to move on, and never speak of this again." She gave him a small smile and headed back inside. He was about to follow, when he noticed Alicia walking out.

She walked over to the gazebo and sat down, staring at Angel. "What?" he questioned, feeling nervous under her gaze.

"You confuse me," she said, bluntly. "Before seeing both sides of you, it was hard to understand what Amy was talking about, when she mentioned her friend Angel. How could be a vampire be half as caring and gentle as she explained you to be? And then, you captured me, and that scared me to death. I thought Amy was delusional for a few hours there. And now I see the you that she explained."

"I'm sorry about what I did to you," he said, beginning to feel the guilt return. Alicia shook her head.

"Don't be. I talked to Buffy, and now I understand it wasn't you."

"You were one of the bravest prisoners I ever had," replied Angel. "Never showed fear, went along with everything, and didn't do anything to arouse our tempers. I think that is what saved you."

Alicia shook her head. "That may have had a part in it, but I honestly think God saved all of us. With as many times as we could have died, it is a miracle we all came out alive."

"It is," he agreed.

"Come on," said Alicia. "You guys don't have much longer here, and I want to get to know you all better." She took Angel's arm, and they both walked back into the building. As soon as they got there, they headed for the dance floor and joined the crowd.

. . .

"I can't believe I am going back to Sunnydale," complained Cordelia, "and I smell like a cow!"

Angel burst out laughing. He had missed the afternoon at Beth's house, but Buffy had relayed it to him in great detail. The slayer and her friends had gone over to Beth's house, just to find Amy and Beth cleaning out the cow pen. As soon as Cordelia got there, all she did was complain about the smell and actually having to set her foot inside of a barn. Beth had taken enough of Cordelia's attitude, and took a pitchfork full of hay and dung, and threw it on her. She wasn't prepared for it, and fell backwards. Beth threw another one on her, and by this time she was screaming in anger. Amy grabbed the hose, and dosed her with water. Beth's parents came out that see what was wrong, and ended up laughing as hard as almost everyone else. Cordelia still hadn't forgiven them, and Angel could see why, but he wished he had been there.

"You had it coming," replied Beth. "No one insults Bessie."

"But now I smell like her," replied Cordelia.

"I don't know," said Buffy. "I think it is an improvement." Cordelia sent a nasty look her way, and Buffy gave her an innocent grin in return. Xander gave Buffy a thumbs-ups sign behind his girlfriend's back, with a large smile plastered on his face.

"Well, we had better get ready to go," said Giles. "Time to say your good-byes."

Angel turned towards Angela and her friends. Angela extended her hand to say good-bye, but Angel ignored it and gathered her up in a hug. "Thank you."

"For what?" asked Angela.

"For taking care of them when I was so guilt ridden, and well, did nothing."

"No problem." She backed up and smiled. "Be sure to come back soon."

"Eventually," he replied with a grin. He turned to Beth, and she stuck out her hand, shook his, then back away and went over to Xander and Willow. Angel felt momentarily stung by her attitude, until he saw Amy's reaction to it. In the most dignified matter possible, she stuck out her tongue at Beth's back, and made a few hand motions. Then she turned at smiled sweetly at Angel. He laughed at her feigned innocence and grabbed her in a hug. "You are such a faker!" he said, laughing.

"But I'm good at it, and you love it," replied Amy, laughing just as hard. "Promise to keep in touch this time?"

"Of course, as long as nothing to drastic happens."

"Okay, good." She backed up and gave Buffy a grin, who had appeared next to him. "Make sure you keep this little devil in line," Amy told Buffy, pointing to Angel.

Buffy grabbed his arm. "Oh, don't worry about that, I'll make sure that he behaves himself." Angel rolled his eyes.

"Time to get in the van!" shouted Giles to the teens. As they began to pile in the van, Buffy noticed Amy handing out tissues to Angela. They all waved good-bye as the van pulled away from the curb, and settled in for a long trip.

"Dead boy," said Xander, "Do you mind sitting over there. I don't want you too close to me." Cordelia slapped Xander on the back of the head, and Giles groaned, getting ready for a long trip.

. . .

Page 7 of 7
The End

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