"Foolish Girl"
By; Foolinq Love
Standing silently at the window, his dark oculars watched the on-goings taking place within. He noticed how she stood there, bags under her once shining, emerald pools. Her hair was messily gathered into a bun upon her head, many strands hanging down against her soft face. Her tiers lay untainted under her nose, forming a plain line. A frilly, black shirt hung upon the upper portion of her body. And hanging from her hips was a pair of blue jeans. Her feet were bare and they appeared to be worn. Spike stood close near her, his cold body hanging against her's. Many young girls sat criss-cross upon the floor, either listening to Buffy or chatting with the girl next to them.
None of the original Scoobies could be found though. Most likely researching away in the kitchen as Buffy did the physical work. Suddenly, the girls disbursed and went down to the basement. Spike and Buffy stood alone. Angel noticed how the two became extremely close. Their lips now touching. Soul boy hung his head, now staring at the green grass under his black shoes. He kicked at it, moving away from the pain he watched through the window. The brass doorknob turned as his head did. His feet ceased in their tracks and a faint smile came across his lips. "Buffy."
Buffy looked at Angel, her dismal hues widened at his face. He suddenly looked older and wiser than he had the last time she saw him. And the Slayer knew that she herself must look older and more worn than the last time he saw her. She smiled warmly at him, for that had not changed. "Angel. It's good to see you. Um. . . What exactly brings you here to the lovely grounds of the Hellmouth?" The platinum blonde vampire moved behind her, giving his grandsire a hard stare. A cold hand fell against the girl's hip and was only noticed by the other lucky vampire with a soul.
Angel stood up straight now, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his black jacket. He gave a half-shrug, trying not to stare at where the other vampire's hand lay. "Will told me about the big battle and I thought you could use some help. Thirty-some little girls, a witch, an ex-demon, two Slayers, a vampire, and a Xander may not be enough for the First. Just adding another soldier to your troops. Actually, adding six more soldiers." He pointed back a little, towards the long road he took to reach this place. "They'll be coming soon. Just some. . . business to take care of back in LA."
The Slayer exhaled deeply and placed her hand atop Spike's. Staring at her old lover, she just simply nodded. "The more the merrier." She then turned her head, looking into the house. Glancing back at Angel, she moistened her dry lips. "Do you want to stay here? You may have to sleep on the floor, but it's still shelter. We have enough food to feed twice as many teenage boys." Angel smiled warmly at her.
"I was planning on hotel-ing it, but sure, I'd love to stay here." He began to move closer, driving Spike into the house. Angel paused once directly in front of Buffy. "You and him are together." He looked down at her with lonely eyes. He had been through so much pain and suffering in his so-called love life, he should have expected it. Cordelia and Conner, his own son, together and now, his old lover, the Slayer, and his grandsire. Could it get any better?
A deep sigh expelled from the Slayer's moist lips. "I guess you could say that now. I'm sick of denying the fact that I have feelings for Spike. We never officially 'hooked-up,' but I guess you could say that we are now." Her words halted at the look she saw on his face. It was anger mixed with betray. She immediately felt horrible for the things she had done with Spike. "But now, he has a soul and he's good. He's good and he loves me." Looking down at the ground beneath them, she continued, "That's all I want: is to be loved now."
Cold hands fell against her shoulders, making her look up at the vampire that once stole her heart. Slowly, he was giving back chunks of it or rather, handing them to Spike. "I don't care what you've done Buffy or who you're with. I'll always love you and I know that you'll always love me deep down. But, there's a war and that's why I'm here. It's not because of my feelings for you. I'm here to help you and I just want you to be happy." Slowly, she nodded in agreement and turned around, walking inside her house. Angel followed closely behind.
Once inside the kitchen, Angel noticed new faces. A blonde boy sat in the corner reading from a comic book and a brunette girl hung clung close to Willow's side. A dark man sat next to the boy, a book within his lap and a cold glare within his eye. Then, there were the old faces. Giles sitting solemnly at the head of the table, his glasses dangling from the tip of his nose as he read a book. Willow sitting straight at her computer, typing away. Xander slouching in a chair away from the table, trying to read a book. Anya flipping through the pages as she complained away to an annoyed Giles. Dawn doing her best to stay awake despite the boring factor of the book in front of her. And Faith, sitting atop the island in the middle dressed in her normal black outfit.
The leader of the pack coughed slightly and all eyes fell to her. "Angel's here and his friends'll be coming shortly." Willow's eyes brightened as she heard the announcement. Then, all the eyes fell to Angel, making him feel uncomfortable. The blonde boy narrowed his eyes at him, watching him intently.
"He looks evil to me." Dawn casually rolled her eyes at him, muttering a soft, "Shut up Andrew. He's not." Faith gave Angel a slight nod before looking back to the ground. Xander, Willow, and Giles all gave a simple wave of the hand before returning to their books. Everyone's eyes fell back down to his or her work except for that girl hanging on Willow.
The girl rose and walked over to Buffy, whispering something to her. Buffy shook her head. "No," she whispered back, "Willow got his soul back. He's good and he won't hurt you." The girl gave Buffy a daring look and returned to her seat. That girl, whatever her name was, dared to go against the word of the ultimate power in the house. Angel leaned towards Spike and asked who she was. Spike responded with, "Name's Kennedy. Her and Red have something goin' on." Angel gave a nod and watched this girl until the research party began to end and the participates slowly began to retreat to bed.
The only ones remaining in the room were Buffy and Angel. Wow, what a coincidence. Buffy stepped closer to Angel, watching him. "You run a tight ship here. You get it all from Giles." Buffy smiled at him and nodded slowly, for it was indeed true. Giles had taught her more than her own father had. Giles was her father in a way. More and more like a father everyday.
"I bet you do the same in Los Angeles. Though you do have your own Watcher there, so you might not." Angel leaned against the wall. Wesley did play captain quite well when he wanted to. All the players in his life did. "How is Wesley doing? I heard about Faith torturing him, but from there not much was said about him. Is he still Wesley-ish?"
The vampire shook his head slowly. "Not what you'd except. He grew a beard and he now plays with guns. He was sort of evil for a while, but now he's good. On our side at least. Now, you have to tell me about you and Spike." Buffy smiled, looking down at the floor of the kitchen. She glanced back up at Angel with a guilty look upon her face.
"Yeah well, things happen over time. And, I don't know what I should be saying right now. But yes, Spike and I are together. Your being here doesn't change that." She looked up pleadingly into his eyes. "Don't make me fall in love with you again." Then, she said softly, "It wouldn't be fair to Spike." Angel put his hands upon her shoulders, looking down at her with pain and sorrow. How could she have done this to him? Be with his Grand-childe. How dare she.
Pain struck the Slayer like a lightning bolt as she saw how her ex-lover looked at her. Those hate filled pools of chocolate glared down upon her petite body. The same body that moved with Spike's in the dark of the night. The same body Spike had touched. The same body Angel had once touched with care and love. "I've always been in love with you. Always," the vampire muttered before turning his head away from her. He couldn't look down upon her anymore and see the passion burning in her eyes. It wasn't for him though, it was for Spike.
A soft sigh expelled from the Slayer's lips as she watched Angel turn his head. Was it shame that he felt? Shamed that the girl he loved refused a normal life and ran off with another vampire. Or was it just plain hurt? Hurt because she did love another man and it was driving her heart away from him. "I love you too Angel, you know that. But. . " she couldn't find the words to continue with.
"But what Buffy? I don't know if you love me. You're with Spike. I smell him all over you. I see the passion for him in your eyes. You can't hide it; you love him." The Slayer looked up at Angel and shook her head. She didn't love Spike. Where'd that come from? Spike was there; he was convenient. Angel was gone. He left her after graduation day, deciding how her life was going to turn out. What if Angel had stayed? Would they still be together?
The Chosen One looked down, thinking about what Angel had said. Was it love that stopped her from staking the bleached blonde vampire or just patience? "No. I don't love him." She grabbed Angel's face, making him look at her. "I'll always love you Angel, but I need to have a life while you have your own life off in Los Angeles. I need to have a life too." The vampire pushed her hands off him and glared down at her. A life betraying him wasn't what she needed.
"I left you so you could have a normal life. You betrayed me by sleeping with a vampire. I want you to live a normal life Buffy. Be a normal woman and do normal things." There was an accent on every normal. He grabbed her hands and looked deep into her sparkling eyes. Eyes that drove many men crazy. "I left so you could start college as a normal young woman."
"Normal doesn't fit into my life Angel. I'm the Chosen One. One girl chosen to kill things that are not exactly normal. Having a boyfriend was normal. Dreaming about marrying you was normal. Loving you was normal." She looked up into his eyes innocently. Deep down, she was still just a little girl. A little girl fighting against evil everyday without a break.
A sigh fell from Angel's lips after she finished. "Buffy, the circumstances we have aren't normal. I can't make love to you because I'll lose my soul. That isn't what normal couples have to go through. A fear of becoming intimate. I want you to be able to feel that with a human. Without fear he could turn around and drink your blood." He softly began to rub her hands with his thumbs, looking into her eyes.
"Spike would never hurt me," she whispered to him. She wanted him to believe it because she believed it. She believed in Spike as well. He loved her and would never hurt her. Yeah, maybe a few punches during one of their brawls, but nothing truly damaging. Nobody else seemed to believe that he was safe, but when she looked into his eyes, she knew he was still sweet William. "I trust him Angel. I feel safe around him."
Angel released her hands and looked down to the floor they stood upon. She was betraying him more and more. She trusted Spike, a vicious killer. Spike was the one who killed two Slayers. Why did Buffy think he was going to just let this opportunity pass? The soul? Ha! Nothing could restrain that boy. The chip, sure, it worked, but he still went against it at times and smacked people. "Sometimes, we think we trust people and then, they use it against us."
A fist smashed into Angel's face and his head rose. He glared down at the Slayer. "Foolish girl," he said between gritted teeth. He smashed into her as he left. He stomped up the stairs and into her room, where he found Spike lying on the bed asleep. A stake lay upon the table next to the bed. The angered vampire picked it up and rose it above his head. He looked down at the other vampire. He rested so peacefully, most likely dreaming of his Slayer. Yes, Buffy would always be Angel's and he needed to prove that. Spike was messing up her life, whether or not she saw it. He needed to fix it. Angel needed to fix her life to make up for burning it down.
The stake crashed down into Spike's chest, his eyes immediately opened. He looked up at Angel. His grandsire was staking him. And, he knew why. "She loves me," he screamed before turning to dust. The Slayer ran up the stairs at the sound of the scream and saw Angel holding the stake. She noticed the dust that lay upon her bed. Tears swelled with her forest green eyes. Angel turned, dropping the stake to the floor. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. She glared up at him with hurt and rage flowing through her veins. "This doesn't change it Angel. I still love him." She turned around and walked away, letting Angel's hands fall to his side. Foolish girl.
