4 days later
Buffy walked towards Angel’s house. She hadn’t seen him for days. She walked slowly down the concrete steps and shuffled her feet to his door. She didn’t hear any sounds of life on the other side. She knew he was home. She could see the light on the other side and feel his presence.
Buffy raised her hand to the door. She knocked ever so lightly, then harder.
* * *
Angel looked up. He’d been lying on the middle of his floor. He’d been like that for days. Just lying. Not caring, not feeling, but lying. His burns were bad; he’d doused his whole chest with holy water in pain and frustration.
"Angel?" came the soft voice on the other side. It was killing him not seeing her. He had to open the door. He slowly stood up, not bothering to hide his wounds. He opened the door. Her eyes went wide when she saw him.
"Oh, my God, Angel what happened?" he remained silent. She eyed the empty bottle labeled "Holy water" lying on the floor. "You did this to yourself, didn’t you?" he nodded.
"Yeah, it hurt," he was out of it, almost ready to pass out. Buffy came inside, closed the door, and took his arm.
"Come on, sit down," she led him to his bed, where he sat on the edge. She found his first aid kit underneath it, and took out some gauze. Se retrieved some water, and wet the gauze. She poured some peroxide on to it.
"No, leave them be," Angel told her, pushing her away.
"I’m not going to, now hold still," she tried to help him, but he stood up and moved away, clutching at his hurt stomach.
"Angel, come her!" she ordered. He shook his head, and backed into a wall. She watched as he slid down and buried his head in his hands. His whole body was shaking violently.
Buffy didn’t know what to do. She’d never seen him like this. She set down the gauze and approached him slowly.
"Angel? What’s wrong?" he didn’t answer. She kneeled down next to him, putting a hand on his bare back.
* * *
He couldn’t stop crying. He’d lost her, he was sure of it. Why wouldn’t she leave? Leave him to his pain? Her hand was warm and gentle on his back. It comforted him. He calmed down, just a little. He’d almost forgotten how much better he felt when she was around. She put her other hand on his head, stroking his hair. Moving slowly, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close.
He brought his head up and reached for her. He took her in his arms, into his lap and held her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest. Angel felt a whole lot better. He brought her as close to him as he could and just held her. He didn’t know how long they sat there, but it didn’t matter. He looked down and found Buffy sleeping. He smiled and kissed her head gently.
They could stay like that for a while.
* * *
Buffy woke up in Angel’s arms. They were still sitting on the floor, and he was asleep, too. She hadn’t realized how tired she was. Buffy reached up and kissed him on the cheek. He remained asleep. She checked her watch. Noon. She’d missed most of school, but she had to get to the library to let the gang know she was ok.
She carefully managed to stand without waking Angel. She made it to the door as a hand clamped around her waist. She almost screamed.
* * *
He didn’t mean to scare, her, but he wanted her to stay with him. "I’m sorry," he said as she turned around.
"It’s ok, but I have to go."
"No, please stay," he begged, looking into her eyes.
He leaned down and kissed her. Their lips were barely touching. It ended after a few moments.
"I really have to go, my mom might be worried, we’re supposed to….Oh, God!" Buffy realized she had told her mom she was moving to LA. It was final, she was leaving tomorrow!
Angel looked worried. "What?"
"Oh, no. I totally forgot. I…I’m moving. Back to LA."
* * *
Angel almost fainted. "What?" he asked weakly. She couldn’t leave, he’d just got her back!
"I’m leaving. I’m sorry, I totally forgot. My dad wants me to go back, I’m so sorry," Buffy told him.
"Change your mind, stay, tell him no, but please stay! You can’t leave me. I can’t lose you," he was about to lose it again.
"Angel, I can’t do anything. The plans are made, I’m going, and you can’t stop it."
Angel turned around and headed to his bed. He flopped onto it and pulled the curtains closed around him. It was time to brood.
"Angel, please…" she started.
"Go," he told her coldly, trying to show he didn’t care. He heard the door open and close.
* * *
Tyler was delighted to hear Buffy was coming back to LA. She’d told him about it when her mom asked her, and he’d helped her make her decision. He was even with her when she told her mom. Now, he was at her house waiting for her to show up so he could help pack. He was worried because she’d skipped school, and she wasn’t home. It was already dark.
He saw her approaching with a downcast look on her face. "Buffy, what’s the matter?" he asked her.
"Angel. We made up, sort of, and I told him about my moving. Now he’s angry again. He wants me to stay," she said sadly. Willow, Xander, and Giles had also told her she should stay, but her LA friends had said go. Pike hadn’t said anything.
"Angel’s a conceded jerk," Tyler said.
Buffy snapped her head up. "Angel is not a jerk and he’s not conceded. He’s the most caring guy I know and I love him!" she yelled.
* * *
Angel felt numb. He was standing behind a tree near Buffy’s house. He’d come to say goodbye and caught the conversation. She loved him? He felt awful for the way he acted. He loved her, too.
"He’s always been there for me when I needed him and you never were there! You were off two timing me with Crista! You’re the conceded jerk!" he heard her yell.
"What about the Bronze a few days ago. It looked to me like he was two timing you, or did you even notice, you were too busy flirting with me?" Tyler said.
Buffy was literally shaking with anger. "Flirting with you? I don’t think so! I never wanted to get back with you, I don’t need you," she boldly stated.
He stepped up to her. "Then what was that kiss about?" he asked smugly.
She paused. "It was a mistake. It should never have happened, it didn’t mean a thing to me."
"Oh, really? So if I were to kiss you again, it wouldn’t have any affect on you, is that right?" he asked.
"That’s right," she said softly.
"Then why don’t we find out?" he said, stepping even closer.
Angel was torn between running home or ripping apart Tyler’s throat. He decided to stay where he was. He didn’t want Buffy to kiss him, but it would be the only way he could tell if Buffy was his.
* * *
Buffy wasn’t sure what to do. She knew she didn’t feel for him, but she didn’t want to kiss him. It was the only way.
"Fine," she reached up grabbed his neck, and kissed him. He tried to deepen it, and she let him, just a little. She felt nothing!
* * *
Angel was shocked. When was she going to let go? He was about to rip them apart when Buffy pulled away. Willingly. He hoped to God she didn’t feel anything.
"Well?" Tyler asked.
Buffy shook her head. "Goodbye, Tyler."
Angel had never felt so relieved. He watched as Tyler walked away, and resisted the urge to stick out his tongue when Tyler spotted him. Buffy did, too. "Take care of her," Tyler told him.
"I will," Angel said. Buffy walked over to him and rested her head on his shoulder as Tyler walked away.
* * *
Roland headed over to Christian’s locker. It was their last day in Sunnydale, but Christian had decided to stay.
"Chris!" he called to her. She turned around and smiled.
"Roland, hey! What’s up?" she said, closing the locker. They headed down the hall.
"I wanted to ask you, if you would go to The Bronze with me tonight?" he held his breath waiting for her response.
"I thought you’d never ask!" she said grabbing hold of his hand.
"So is that a yes?"
* * *
Tyler found Jackie in the hall. "Hey, Jackie, how you doing?"
"Fine, you?" she replied.
"I’m ok, kinda bummed," he said.
She smiled. "Me, too. I kind of like it here. I met this really cool guy, his name is Luke. He is so fine!"
Tyler smiled. He was happy that she was happy. They headed towards their next class as she told him about Luke.
* * *
Crista headed towards Pike who was seated at the cafeteria table. "Hey, Pike."
"Crista, hi," he smiled warmly as she sat down. He realized how pretty she was.
"What’s for lunch?" she asked, dreading the answer. Cafeteria food was not her favorite.
"Same old, same old. Hey, I was wondering if you’d like to hang out tonight, at the Bronze?" he asked.
"What about your girlfriend?" she asked, not really caring about his girlfriend at the moment.
He shook his head. "We broke up on the phone last night. She found someone else."
Crista grinned. "So have you!"
* * *
Xander, Willow, and Buffy sat on a bench eating lunch.
"So, Buffy, how’s Angel?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, is he ok?" Xander added. The girls looked at him. "Pretend I care," he said, using that line a second time on the same subject.
"He’s fine. We have a few issues, but I think it’ll be good."
"So you’re not moving?" Xander asked.
"Nope, actually, it was dad who called it off. Mom was wigging him out too much and he just took on a new account at work, so he wouldn’t be around much."
"Good. Oh, I forgot, Christian is staying, and Crista and I are going to be e-mail pals. She’s really smart," Willow said cheerfully.
"Yeah, she is. She was hiding it all in LA, though," Buffy said.
"She’s going to introduce me to her friend she met on the net, Sha. She sounds really cool," Willow said.
"Sha? What kind of a name is that?" Xander asked.
"Well, it’s short for Shantell, but what kind of a name is Xander?" Willow asked.
"It’s short for Alexander. What kind of a name is Willow?" Xander asked evenly.
Willow thought for a moment, "Well, Buffy is strange, too."
"Well, who would name their kid Rupert? Or Cordelia? Or Angelus?" Buffy asked.
"Or Aphrodesia, or a girl Christian?" Willow added.
"Let’s face it, we have the weirdest names," Xander said.
The End
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
