I do not own the characters of Buffy, Angel, Willow, Giles, Spike, Drusilla, Xander, or any other known characters and/or places; I do, however, own the character of Jaely, and the following story involving all said characters.
Please tell me what you think (no flaming) - this is my first ever submission to a fanfic archive........Thanks!
Part One
THE MEETING
She lowered the sunglasses shading her dark eyes, and peered over them at the attractive young male standing no more than a foot away. He was perusing the books in the fiction section, his head tilted right so that he could read the titles. He chose a book by Kurt Vonnegut and started thumbing through it, stopping here or there whenever something caught his eye.
She non-chalantly moved closer, feigning interest in a John Saul novel. Her eyes moved over him, taking in his beauty, his full lips, his eyes which seemed sad. She glimpsed the book in his hands, and took her cue.
" 'Galapogos' -- that's a great one."
He looked up, startled, but then smiled at her. "Yeah? I'm not surprised. Vonnegut is brilliant."
"Yeah, he really is. Only he could bring humor to tragedies like apocolypse."
"Maybe he knows something we don't."
"Like?"
"Like we shouldn't take things so seriously. I mean, life is all one big tragedy anyway."
She frowned. "That's rather pessimistic, isn't it?"
"Not if you've seen what I have," he said quietly. He looked at the book she was holding. "I read that one -- it's good."
She looked down at the book. "Oh, uh, yeah. I've actually read it twice." She dumped the book on a shelf.
"Oh. So why were you looking at it?"
"Huh? Oh, um, well....my copy is really messed up and worn so I figured that I'd get another one."
"You put it back."
"I changed my mind."
He smiled at her and shook his head. "Okay," he chuckled.
"Okay?" She looked away, embarrassed. "Really, if you think I picked up just any old book so that I could move closer to you and start up a conversation, you're wrong." She looked back at him, and he was grinning. She melted at the sight. "Well, maybe you're not totally wrong."
He laughed heartily, and she did as well.
"Well, I'm glad you did," he said. "I was trying to think of a way to talk to you anyway."
"You were?"
"Yeah, but I can get pretty shy," he said, shrugging. "I'm Angel, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Angel Bytheway," she smiled. "I'm Jaely."
"Jaely? That's my favorite name."
"Really? Funny, most people have never heard it before."
"So? It can still be my favorite name." He studied her face for a moment. "Do you...do you wanna get a cup of coffee at the little cafe in back?"
"Yeah, I'd love to," she grinned, nodding.
"Great. Um, lemme just pay for this book," he said, holding out an art book that he'd been storing under his arm. "I'll be right back."
Jaely smiled. "I'll be waiting."
* * *
"So what made your parents decide to leave Boston for Sunnydale?" Angel asked Jaely, as they talked over coffee and sweet rolls, though Angel didn't touch his. "I mean a major east coast city for a small west coast town? Sunnydale's not exactly a stop in California's guide book."
Jaely laughed and bit into her roll. "My dad works for a software company and they just moved their headquarters here. Smaller overhead or something, I dunno." She shrugged lazily. "I wasn't for it at first, but now..." She smiled coyly at him. "Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing."
Angel smiled back, and carefully sipped his coffee, watching as the steam wafted up. "No, maybe not." He gazed past her, out the large window that overlooked the store's parking lot. "Hey, look -- it's pouring."
Jaely turned to look, and it was indeed raining heavily, and at a steady clip. "Great! My first week in California and it rains! Only for me."
Angel laughed. "At least it's not snow. You might be getting that in Boston right now."
"I think I'm actually gonna miss the snow,"she said wistfully. "Especially now, around Christmas time."
Angel looked down at his mug. "I haven't celebrated Christmas for a long time."
"Why?"
"It's hard when you're alone. My family...died a long time ago. I guess the thought of celebrating by myself seems worse to me than not celebrating at all."
Jaely felt almost like crying. "That's so....sad."
"Hey," Angel reached across the table and took her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lay a sob story on you. Forget I said anything, okay?"
"No, I can't forget. No one should be alone on Christmas."
"Please? I would hate to make a beautiful girl cry the very first day I met her." He smiled as an idea came to him. "Hey! They're lighting the big Christmas tree on Main Street tomorrow night - wanna go see it with me?"
Jaely beamed at him. "I would love that."
"Me too," Angel nodded. "Me too."
* * *
Buffy Summers sat down on the edge of the gravestone and crossed her legs, sighing heavily in boredom. She winced as she realized that she'd missed a spot when brushing off the snow on the stone, and that she was now being soaked in the rear.
"Damn! How I am supposed to fight my best when I'm freezing my butt off?" She stood up and looked around the dark cemetary. "Helloooo? Come on, let's get this over with? I have chemistry homework to do!"
"Buffy."
Startled, she spun around and came face to face with Angel.
"Angel -- not exactly the vamp I was expecting but you'll do." She grinned at him, and watched him brush some snow off his pant cuff. "What's up?"
"Nothing. I was going home and I saw you waiting here. Slow night?"
"Guess even vampires like to stay in and watch television on nights like this."
"Maybe you should just go home and forget about it tonight."
"Can't. Giles said that Spike had a guy coming here tonight to dig up a grave for something." She shrugged. "And so, the Slayer's work is never done."
Angel sat down on the grave where Buffy'd been resting, and looked up at her.
"I met a girl tonight."
Buffy's heart sank. She had loved Angel from the moment she had met him, but the Slayer wasn't supposed to fall in love with a vampire. Even ones like Angel, with a Gypsy curse, who had souls and didn't prey on humans. "You did? Is she -"
"No, I don't think so."
"Angel, you know it's risky. She has to find out, for her own protection."
"I know, but-"
They heard a noise nearby, and saw something run past in the shadows.
"I think we have company," Angel said, jumping to his feet.
Buffy sighed. "Why, oh why can't I be a normal teenager? All I want is to hole up at home tonight, gorge myself on an extra-cheese pizza, and watch Melrose Place, but nooo! I have to be out here dealing with the not-so-greatful-dead!"
Angel was vamped out when she looked back at him. "Ready?" he asked, in the mood to pounce.
"Ready," Buffy nodded. "Come out, come out wherever you are!" she called in a singsong voice. "I have a nice juicy stake for you!"
* * *
"I am so totally bummed," Buffy told her friends Willow and Xander, the next day. "I mean, I know that I can't have Angel, but I don't want anyone else to either."
"I know how you feel," Willow said, looking longingly at Xander. "It kills when you want a guy who's - "
"Dead?" Xander, chimed in. "Man, what is it about that guy that chicks dig so much? Is it the tormented, undead thing? Because I can do that."
"Xander!" Buffy excalimed. "Be serious! The love of my life is possibly on his way to loving someone else!"
"And that's a bad thing in this case? Buffy, the guy is so -- whoa! Who is that?" Xander looked past Buffy and Willow at the girl walking up towards the school, her arms full of books and loose paper.
"Oh, that's the new girl," Willow said. "She's...new."
"Yeah, Wil..I got that. What's her name?"
"Jaely Marcel. She just transfered from Boston."
"Ah...an east coast babe. I knew she had a special look." He turned to Buffy and Willow. "I will see you ladies later. I'm about to go make myself the official welcome wagon for our new classmate."
Willow watched him go sadly.
"I know Willow...it's hard being in love with one of your best friends." Buffy sighed and leaned on her knees. "Almost as hard as being in love with a vampire."
* * *
Xander plopped down next to Buffy, later that day, in the cafeteria.
"Well, I invited our little Bostonian friend to the Bronze tonight. She says she'll be bringing someone along, but at least she's coming."
"You mean she met someone already? Geez...some girls don't waste time."
"Now, now, Buffy. Green is so not your color."
Buffy rolled her eyes at him, and then turned to see Cordelia, the school bitch - though sometime friend of Buffy, Willow, and Xander - standing beside her.
"So Xander, I saw you trying to make a play for the new girl today. You think that she hasn't heard about your overwhelming loserness in Boston?"
"Oh, Cordelia, how you wound me. Lucky for me though, they just came out with an antedote for bitch bites. One application, and you're protected for life." He turned to Buffy. "Want some? It really comes in handy when all those wild Cordelias are running around."
"Ha, ha. But really, Xander, you should let the poor girl settle in before you pounce."
"Don't you have a school nerd to damage for life?" Xander asked.
Cordelia ignored him. "Buffy, you going to the Bronze tonight? I hear pretty-boy is gonna be there."
"Angel? Who told you that?"
"Jaely, or as she's known to you Xander, Latest Victim."
"Jaely knows An -- oh no." Realization hit her hard.
"No, tell me this is not true!" Xander also knew what it meant. "Jaely was talking about Dead-Boy???"
"Would you stop calling him that?" Buffy demanded. "I can't believe this! How am I supposed act normal to this girl, when she is one-step away from stealing my vampire!"
"Oh, yeah Buffy -- I'm sure that's her intention exactly."
"Well," Cordelia said happily. "Now that I've spread my cheer around, I'll be going. See you guys later!"
"I really hate that girl," Xander said, as she flitted away.
"Oh please," Buffy replied. "If you and she ever stop fighting long enough to breathe, you'd be on each other like Giles on a textbook."
"That is so not true."
"Whatever."
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