A Real Man
Buffy was mad. No, more than mad. She was fucking pissed. Angel had lost his soul. Again. It had gotten to be a regular thing since Angel moved in with her. So regular, as a matter of fact, that they had moved Willow and her spell book into the guest room upstairs. But this weekend Willow was on a camping trip with some college friends. So Angel was soul-free. And he was making Buffy's life a living hell.
The dead Girl Scout on the front porch had been bad enough, but the burned I Know What You Did Last Summer tape was too much. Buffy had a feeling things were getting personal now.
She strode purposefully down the street, a stake clutched in her left hand. Angelus was sure to be holed up at the burned out factory, one of his favorite hide-outs since he and Buffy had moved in together. She made her way toward the factory, alarmed at the rate her boot-clad feet moved. Oz's van had nothing on her.
Soon she was just outside the factory door, her stake tucked carefully in her jacket pocket now that she was relatively out of danger of attack. She didn't think she'd need bother with it now; if Angelus wanted her dead it would take a hell of a lot more than a stake to stop him.
Buffy threw open the door then hurried down the steps, determined to catch Angelus off guard. As she reached the bottom of the stairs her eyes widened, then just about bulged out of her head. She opened her mouth to squeak out an alarmed, "Scott?"
Scott Hope practically leaped off of the bed, stopping himself when he realized he was fully naked. Grimacing, he wrapped a sheet around himself. "Buffy, this isn't what it looks like," he managed at last.
Buffy only made strangled noises in her throat and continued to ogle her boyfriends; former and current, as they scrambled to cover themselves. Her face was a mask of shock. Hell, she felt like she was going into shock. Everything shifted out of focus as Angelus stood, working the clasp on his leather pants.
"Hello lover," he growled, sliding into his game face. Buffy remained silent, but reached almost unconsciously for the concealed stake. "You missed all the funny, Buffy. Scott and I were just getting to know each other."
The slayer glanced down and shook her head, disbelief in her eyes and heart. "No, no. You didn't do this to me, Angel. You couldn't." She lifted her eyes to the vampire, tears stinging her eyes. "This is the demon inside you doing this, Angel. I know you wouldn't cheat on me."
Angelus laughed. "Stop kidding yourself, Buffy. I didn't need to lose my soul to cheat on you, you pathetic bitch. Just ask little Scott here."
Scott finished tugging up his jeans, then cast Buffy a guilt look.
"How long?" Buffy asked faintly.
"I don't know," the boy responded with a shrug. "A while, I guess. I didn't know he was a vampire, I swear."
"A vampire? How do you even know what vampires are?" Buffy stumbled back, then caught on to the wall for support as her boot hit the bottom step and nearly sent her sprawling.
The guilty expression returned. "Well, Xander sort of filled me in on them a couple of months ago after graduation," Scott admitted.
"Xander?" Buffy squealed.
Angelus came around to the front of the bed, chuckling. His hands slid up to cover Scott's bare shoulders. "That little pipsqueak?" he whispered into the boy's ear, just loud enough for Buffy to hear. "Aren't you glad you found yourself a real man now?" Scott didn't respond, but visibly relaxed under Angelus' strong grip.
Buffy turned away, thoroughly sickened. The tears that had built up behind her eyes spilled down her cheeks as she sprinted up the stairs, the stake in her jacket forgotten. The hurt and anger she felt at Angelus' betrayal was far more painful than anything another demon could inflict.
That thought, as it turned out, would be her last. The werewolf sprang out at Buffy before her anger-numbed brain even registered it, knocking her to the ground. Buffy struggled to push herself up, groaning as her foggy mind finally recalled the full moon and the dilemma with Oz. Her body screamed with pain as the werewolf tore into her, but she managed one last thought before passing away. "Dammit Willow."