Difficult Directions: Cleaning Up
by Kaoz
Angel was as good as his word and we had worked something out. A very cheap rent and all the help I wanted to get the suite in order.

“Who can say no to free labor?” At least I had gotten the place cleaned up and the bathrooms painted. Every one else was in the living room getting it painted, except for Cordelia. The princess had better things to do with her time than get her hands dirty.
I shook my head and smiled. Having her here would’ve been torture for me. I still wanted to kick her ass.

“Stupid rug!” I grunted. I had decided since I was the one who was going to live in this suite I should get rid of the rugs. I just hadn’t counted on it being stuck. It was dusty, dirty, stained and some spots looked moldy. There was no way I was going to try steam cleaning it.

“I hate rugs!” With a final tug the rug pulled up and I got a good look at was underneath.

“Shit.” Some idiot had thought it was a good idea to add a spongy layer underneath.

“Ahhh…” I groaned and straightened letting it fall. Almost half of it had come up but now I had this other layer to deal with. I glanced over my shoulder wanting to call the men for help and changed my mind. I didn’t want them to grumble about this more than they probably did already. I mean, really, who wants to spend their Saturday fixing up someone else’s apartment when they could be off doing who knows what?

“Fuck it. I can do this shit. Yes I can.” I grabbed it once more and began the tug of war with the rug and foam. After the first few tugs it came up pretty easily and then I got to the door.

“Aww, screw this!” I dropped the handful of rug and rested my hands on my hips. I swear sometimes I even wonder if I’m a blond. How could I not have noticed the rug in the bedroom was attached to the one in the living room?

“Knife. I need a knife.” I looked around the floor for one and had to go towards the kitchen. I had seen a box cutter around but I wasn’t sure where it was. There was nothing on the kitchen and I noticed this was still dirty.
As soon as the paint dries in the other rooms I’ll have to get started here. Maybe a pale green and a tile border around the counter…?
I looked in the pantry just because and saw it laying on the floor.

“Aha!” I bent down to get it and rested my hand against the wall to get up again. I know, laziness and all but hey! Working here, you know, cleaning and painting isn’t easy labor. Well, maybe a little lighter than other stuff. Point is, I got an idea just looking at the wall.
Efren’s bathroom was on the other side of that wall and I f I remembered correctly the tub was on this side which meant the pipes would be just down here…
I grabbed up the hammer that was in the bucket next to the door and began to tap on the wall. The sound definitely changed on the fourth tap. I’d hit a beam which meant the next tap would be hollow and that’s where I’d punch a hole.

“What are you doing!”

“Jesus! Would you make some noise before sneaking up on people?” I said. He’d made me jump and now he'd taken the hammer form me.

“What's going on?” Gunn stepped up behind Wesley and tried to look in. I hadn't noticed that they were both almost the same height though Wesley was just a bit taller.

“She’s tearing down the wall!” Wesley exclaimed.

“Oh, quit being over-dramatic.” I said puling the hammer out of his hands and hitting the wall again. “If I can make a big enough hole to expose the pipes I can connect a washer and dryer in here.” I looked up at them really trying to hold in my enthusiasm. Wesley still looked at me as though I had desecrated one of his musty old books, though they were interesting.

I’ll have to get in his good graces to get him to let me borrow one and teach me to read it.

Gunn on the other hand had this little frown on his face as he stepped around Wes. He took the hammer from me and opened the hole wider to look at the pipes.

“You know, I think I can split the pipes so you have a connection for that washer.” He looked at me and I couldn’t help the smile.

“Thank you.” I was a little surprised he would help me after the whole ‘bruise your nuts’ episode. I left him there and went back to my rug, box cutter in hand.

“Alright, you're coming out, even if it is in pieces.” I knelt down and cut off the piece to the bedroom then grabbed a hold of the rug. My knees were bent and I was hunched over getting ready to pull this bitch out in one move. I pushed off with my legs as hard as I could and pulled the edge of the rug.

“Aaa! Ooph!” the stupid thing hadn't been as stuck as I thought and now it lay covering half of me in its filthiness. I blew hair out of my face and looked up to find Wesley staring down at me, a paintbrush in his hand. I smiled waving my fingers at him.

“I think I need to sand the floors.”

««««« »»»»»»

There really was no change in my routine except that the temp job was over and Angel had a son. Yeah, so weirded out by the sudden appearance of his very pregnant and homicidal baby’s momma. Finding out Angel was a vampire sort of made sense why all his broodiness now. Though having a very pregnant vampire craving the blood of innocents didn’t make me feel all that comfortable what with Efren being all innocent and conveniently available. I was still having trouble understanding how he couldn’t stay away from Darla even after he saw her vamp face! I swear that kid has some morbid bones in his little body…

Spending a couple of days at my sisters house hadn’t seemed like such a bad idea. Though I felt relieved to be back at the Hyperion. After all, this was my home now.

Funny how that feels so natural. Even Cordelia seems to have mellowed out some with the arrival of Conner. I swear that baby has made her more human than even she knows. Then again I guess I’d be a bitch too if I had these blindingly painful visions sent to me.

“Can’t imagine being used by the PTB or any one else like that.”

“Oh, its not ‘using’ if you help people.” Lorne said. I snorted derisively.

“I don’t care how you phrase it, they’re still using her.” I sat back in the fluffy chair he had in his suite. After the blowing up of his second club Lorne had pretty much given up on the idea of re-opening his club since Angel inc. kept blowing it up. I turned to him.

“So, your really not going to open another club?”

He shook his head and sighed before taking another sip of his drink. This time it was some yellow mix. He’d offered me one but I declined and drank some coke. Alcohol is so not my thing. I did wonder how he never got drunk with all those drinks he kept downing throughout the day.

“I swear your like some bottomless well, Lorne. How do you drink all those concoctions of yours and not get drunk? Ugh, I can’t even stand the taste. Well, maybe but I really don’t like alcohol. Especially beer.” I made a yuk face and stared down at the rug.

“Bottomless…hmm.” Neither of us said any thing for a while, we just sat there sipping at our drinks and thought. I don’t know about him but I was thinking how comfortable I was sitting there doing nothing for a girl who had no job again and not a lot of cash saved up. That was thanks to all the furniture I’d bought for my new apartment. Most of it was paid off and my credit cards were clean which meant I could use them all up again.

Damm. What a vicious cycle this is.

Still, I was in no hurry to go out and get another job. No, this was good, for now.

“So, what was my future like?” I looked up from under my lashes to see a small smile on Lorne's face.

“Loosen my tongue with liquor and get your future told?” he chuckled. “It was a love song. The one you sang.”

I nodded thinking about it. It was a very old love song, one I hadn’t thought of or heard in a while.

“What made you sing it?” Lorne asked.

I straightened up in my couch from the comfortably curled up positions and set my glass on the little table.

“It was the only one I knew.” Which was true. I really didn’t know any songs by heart except for that one and only because it-well, it didn’t matter why anymore.

“What does it mean? The song.”

I stared at him a moment. What did it mean? So many things depending on who you asked. It was a love song and love was different for every one. There were different kinds of love but what it meant for me was mine and I didn’t want to give that to any one else.

“All the time we spent together, you and I, Made our hearts blend into one eternal sigh, As a flame that lingers on, So that after you are gone, You'll think of me.

If you ever took your love away from me, I'd be happy just to have the memory That, since we've been so complete, Like a dream that must repeat, You'll think of me.

I have never tried to own you. I have nothing; I leave vanity behind.
But, when love comes, it's forever. For a poor fool, there can be no other kind.

Many years may come and go, as time goes by. Who can say if love will last, or merely die? But, no matter how things go, There is one thing that I know: You'll think of me.”

I didn’t really sing it just sort of thrummed it together though I stumbled here and there with my translation.

“Hmm. I think I like it better in spanish.”

“Me too.” I smiled faintly and just sat there.

“You should train with Angel and Cordelia.”

I looked up at that with a frown. Even though Cordelia had mellowed out towards me some what I didn’t want to be in her presence more than was absolutely necessary.

“Are you kidding? We can barely be in the same room together let alone have sharp implements meant for warfare in our hands.” I shook my head and laughed, not a happy giddy sound.

“She got all territorial on me when I was helping Angel with Conner and when I tried to show her how to change his diaper she went all snooty with her nose up in the air!” I shook my head. “No. Not a good idea. Not at all.” I said.

“You’re going to need it for what's coming.” Lorne set his drink in his lap and looked at me. Really looked. For a moment I was afraid I’d never catch my breath again. Something in his demeanor definitely made my skin crawl.

“It’s not the PTB who sent you here, sweetie but still, your in for some serious hurting.”

I sat up uncurling my legs from under me and set my feet on the floor. “So, what?” I asked. “I go with Angel like a good little champion and have him teach me so I can be used against the evil monsters by the PTB or some such higher being?” I stood up and began to pace.

“I won't be used.” No, I wouldn’t. I was done with that and no matter what I would rebel.

“You have to understand something,” Lorne sat up and waited for me to look at him and I took my sweet time doing it too. I had an idea of what he would say but when he did it just felt worse than I thought it would.
“Sacrifices will be made. Difficult ones and not willingly, at first.” Lorne seemed to turn inward as if he were seeing all our futures. “Its gonna hurt, bad. Just know that it will get better and things will work out in the end.”

I waited.

Lorne sat impassively staring at me.

“That’s it? There’s nothing else in my future?” I asked. I could hear the sarcasm in my voice camouflaging my trepidations about the days to come.

“You should prepare for the physical pain. It’s the only one you can control, any way.” Lorne got up and walked to the other room. The door closed behind him softly and it was worse than if he'd slammed it.

“What does that mean?” but there was no answer.

««««« »»»»»»

Downstairs everyone was gathered around Fred and the lap top. While I was holed up in my suite checking out the new Angel inc. website. It looked nice, good, really. For living 5yrs in Pylea Fred sure got used to using the internet and computers quickly enough. I‘d swear the girl had never fallen into that portal if she hadn't told me the story.

The more time I spent with these people the more this weird demons and hell beasts seemed normal.

“What the-? I could swear the office line was 0129.”
Then it occurred to me one of the brighter idiots downstairs had messed up. Curiosity got the better of me and I dialed the number. It rang three times before any one picked up.

“Fabrizio’s Pizza.”

I tried not to laugh. “Herm. Um, yes. Can you say that again please?”

“Fabrizio’z Pizza, what you gonna order lady?”

“Umm, sorry. I got the wrong number.” I managed to hang up just before I fell over giggling.

««««« »»»»»»

Then next morning we went downstairs and found Angel giving out assignments. I waved good morning to them and ushered Efren to the double doors leading to the garden. I was hoping none of them would start talking about the site because I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold myself in check not when it was this good.

“Oh, Hi!” Fred waved to us as she approached. “Where you off to?”

“Aahh, back there.” I pointed to the doors and at the sun shining down in the garden. Fred smiled sweetly and I knew now that it wasn’t fake. She really did smile innocently at almost anything.

“Isn’t it great? We just keep getting hit!” Fred said. I looked at her confused then I understood she was talking about the web site. I couldn’t help my self.

“Has anyone ordered a pizza yet?”

“Ha, ha. Why don’t you come down here and answer some of these calls?” Gunn walked by us carrying a stack of folders. Once he was past I leaned to Fred.

“Some one’s drooling all over you, Fred.” I winked and followed Efren out the doors.

Why would I stay inside when it was so nice out and I had a 7yr old boy with a day off from school.

Damn holidays. Why cant they ever have ‘em on the weekend?

««««« »»»»»»


This is only the first post. Please be patient and all reviews are welcome. Thanks so much guys.


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