Love at First Sight
By: Heather
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters. They all belong to Joss and Co.
"Guys, I'm finally home." Buffy Summers called as she stepped into her apartment. When she received no reply from her roommates, she moved into the kitchen where she found a note.
Buff,
Since you were late, we went to get the pizza and movies. Be back soon.
W&X
'I guess that leaves me to set up,' Buffy thought.
As she moved to her room to change into more comfortable clothes, she began to think about the night to come. She loved the time that she spent with her friends. Willow Rosenburg and Xander Harris were her best friends from high school. After graduation
the three of them moved to LA to attend UCLA. They had grown slightly apart since moving, but they each made sure to make time for 'movie night'.
'Movie night' was a tradition that had started soon after they had moved into the apartment. It was held one Friday night a month. They just sat around talking and eating the pizza then they would all pile up in one of their bedrooms and watch movies. They did it so that they could spend time together, just the three of them. No boyfriends, girlfriends, or anyone else was allowed to attend.
'Not that I have to worry about that,' Buffy thought to herself. It wasn't that she didn't date. She dated some, but they never worked out. She just couldn't find a guy that she felt comfortable around. She hardly ever went out with the same guy more than once or twice. All she wanted was a guy that she could just be herself with, but he didn't seem to exist.
Suddenly Buffy shook her head to rid it of all depressing thoughts. She was acting silly. There was absolutely no reason for her to get all depressed because she didn't have a boyfriend. She had a great family and the best friends a person could ask for, she had a great job, and was two weeks away from starting her sophomore year at UCLA. Her life was good.
With that thought in mind, she began to pull all of their usual junk food from the cabinets and refrigerator. Just as she was finishing, Xander and Willow entered the apartment.
"Buff, you're home!" Xander said, as he sat the pizza down on the table.
"Yep, I have all of the snacks set up in my room, so everything's ready." She replied.
"Good, let's eat."
Buffy and Willow laughed at their friend, his appetite was well known. After they had gathered around their small table and gotten their share of the pizza, they began to discuss the day's events.
"Why were you so late, Buffy?" Willow asked.
"Ugh, don't remind me." Buffy whined.
"That bad?"
"No, not really, I'm over reacting. Just as I was leaving, Giles called me into his office."
"What did G-man want?" Xander asked.
Rupert Giles was Buffy's boss and also her stepfather. Originally he had been the librarian at Sunnydale High School, the school that they had all attended. That was where he met Buffy's mother and the two of them had gotten married during Buffy's senior year. Then last summer, he was offered a job at UCLA as the head librarian.
It was good for Buffy because she was able to get a job on-campus. It was bad for her because Giles always called on her to do the hard jobs. He said it was because he knew he could trust her to do them right, but Buffy thought it was just the jobs that nobody else would do.
"Well you know that we've been a little short staffed and with me cutting back to part-time in two weeks, he's going to need extra help. So, he hired somebody new for a part-time position and I have to train them starting Monday."
"Did he tell you anything about this person?" Willow asked.
'No, whoever it is, was hired through the school, so Giles doesn't know anything about it, except that they're a sophomore majoring in history. Why they felt the need to share that information and nothing else, I don't know." She replied.
"Maybe it won't be so bad," Willow said.
"Yeah, sure Will." Buffy said, not believing it for a moment. She hated training new people and Giles knew it. She decided it was time to change the subject, "So what's going on with you two?"
They spent the next hour just talking about different things that were going on in their lives. Such as, Xander's girlfriend Cordelia's latest shopping spree and what classes they would all be taking that semester. Finally, they made their way into Buffy's bedroom, where they all piled onto her bed to watch the movies.
Monday morning, Buffy arrived at the library at her usual time. She took several deep breaths before going in to meet her new trainee. Finally, she entered and made her way to Giles' office. As she approached, she noticed a tall dark haired guy inside with Giles.
'Too bad he's not the new person.' She thought to herself as she took in his appearance. She couldn't see him clearly, but from what she could see, he was good looking. He had to be six foot or taller with spiky brown hair, dressed in black pants and a black leather jacket. He looked to be around 24 or 25 years old.
Buffy knocked softly on Giles' door. She didn't want to disturb his meeting but she needed to let him know that she had arrived.
"Ah, Buffy, do come in." Giles said as both he and the stranger stood and turned to face her.
A little surprised she entered, "I didn't mean to interrupt, I just wanted you to know that I was here."
"You're right on time. We were just finishing up. Buffy Summers, I'd like to introduce you to Angelus McClowery. He's our new staff member."
Shocked, Buffy turned to face the man, and came to an abrupt halt. Good looking did not describe this man. He was easily the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. He seemed to pause for a moment before regaining his composure. "Nice to meet you."
"Um...yeah, I mean nice to meet you, too." Buffy said when she finally managed to compose herself.
Giles didn't seem to notice and continued to speak, "Buffy is going to be the one to train you Angelus. I'm sure that you will be in good hands."
Buffy coughed a little at Giles' choice of words, but covered it by saying, "I'll do my best."
"Yes, of course you will. Well, I won't keep you any longer. Buffy can start showing you around." Giles said.
"Okay," Buffy and Angelus said in unison.
Angelus opened the door for Buffy and motioned for her to exit first. As he followed her into the main room of the library, he was trying very hard not to stare at her. She was beautiful. Taking in her appearance, he decided that she was not was he was expecting. She was petite, not much over five feet tall, with shoulder length blond hair and piercing green eyes. She was wearing a loose fitting top with a short skirt and high heeled sandals.
'Nope, definitely not what I was expecting.' He thought, shaking his head and trying to refocus on his new job. Quietly he chuckled to himself as he realized that there was no way he was going to be able to concentrate. His suspicions were confirmed when she
turned towards him and he found himself lost in her smile.
"What's funny?" she asked lightly.
Deciding to go for honesty, he said, "You, you're just not what I was expecting."
Buffy knew what he was referring to, but decided to play dumb, "What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't mean anything by this, but you don't look like the library type," he said with a smile. "But then again, you seem to be the number two person around here."
Buffy laughed, "It's okay. You're right; I'm not really a book person. At first, it was just a job, but now I've been here for almost a year and I love it."
"How did you get the job?" he asked.
"Giles got me the position when he took over as head librarian." She answered.
"So you've known him for a while?"
Laughing once again, Buffy said, "Yeah, he's my step-father." When he didn't seem to be able to come up with a reply she continued, "Besides, you're not exactly what I was expecting either."
"How's that?"
"Oh, come on. Giles told me that you were a sophomore majoring in history. I was expecting some little nerdy person."
It was Angelus' turn to laugh, "He was right."
"You're a sophomore?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, I am," he answered, still chuckling. "You find that hard to believe?"
"No, well, um...I mean," Buffy stuttered, "It's just that I'm a sophomore...well, you just look older," she finally blurted out. By this time she was beyond embarrassed.
He lightly touched her arm to get her to look at him, "It's alright. I am older. I'm 24. My mother had so heath problems and I had to sit out for a few years after I finished my freshman year."
Buffy blushed, "I'm sorry. That's none of my business, I didn't mean to pry."
"You didn't pry, I just told you. I guess you're just easy to talk to," he said.
"Maybe," Buffy said and decided to change the subject. "What kind of name is Angelus?" She smiled to let him know that she was only teasing. She didn't know why
she felt comfortable enough to tease him. She had only met ten minutes prior, but for some reason she knew he wouldn't mind.
"It's Irish, my father's from Ireland." He said with a slight grimace that let her know he wasn't particularly fond of it.
She smiled, "Well, it's...interesting."
"Interesting, huh? Well I'm glad you think so, Buffy," he smirked as he stressed her name.
"Hey! It's a nickname!" she laughed.
"What's your real name?" he asked.
"I'll never tell."
He also started to laugh, "No fair. You know mine and unfortunately I don't have a nickname to hide behind."
"Well, I guess I'll just have to think one up for you." She said, smiling at him once again. She couldn't believe the way she was flirting with this guy, she never acted like this. It was completely unlike her, but there was just something about him that made her feel like it was okay.
Making eye contact with her for the first time he replied, "Okay, you do that."
They just stared at each other for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally Buffy looked away.
"So, did Giles give you the run down on what you're going to be doing?" she asked.
"Not really, he said that he was going to leave it up to you."
"Then I guess I should show you around first." She said as she began to walk away.
"Sounds good," Angelus replied as he followed her, and at that moment he felt like he would follow Buffy Summers anywhere she led.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hey," Willow called as Buffy stepped into the apartment.
"Hey."
"So, how was your first day of training?" Willow asked.
Buffy smiled, "I think he's going to work out fine."
Willow saw a look flash across Buffy's face as she said this. It was gone so quickly that she wasn't even sure that she had seen it, but it was enough to give her an idea. "So, it's a guy?" she asked.
Buffy nodded and headed for her bedroom to change, with Willow close behind her.
"Where's Xander?" Buffy asked.
"He said he was going over to Cordy's when he got off work. What's this guy's name?"
"Angelus McClowery"
As she said his name, Willow saw the look once again. This time she was sure that she saw it.
"You like him!" she blurted out.
Buffy quickly turned around to face her friend, "Willow, I just met the guy."
"Well, is he cute?" she asked.
Turning back around to face her closet, Buffy tried to play it cool, "I guess some girls might think so."
"What kind of girls?"
Finally Buffy couldn't stand it anymore and flopped onto her bed next to Willow and declared, "The kind with eyes."
"So he is good-looking."
"He's more than good-looking, Will. He's mouth-falling-open-with-your-tongue-hanging-out-and-drooling-all-over-the-place gorgeous!"
"You DO like him!" Willow said with certainty.
"It takes more than a pretty face for me, you know that," Buffy said, trying to hold on to what little dignity she had left. She couldn't believe that she had fallen for a guy that she had known for less than ten hours and she just wasn't ready to admit it, yet. Not even to her best friend.
"Well, what's he like?" Willow asked, dropping the other subject for a minute.
"Um, he's twenty-four and he seems like a really nice guy."
"Twenty-four? I thought Giles said he was a sophomore." Willow said.
"He is, his mother got sick just as he was finishing his freshman year and he had to get a job to help out. This is his first semester back."
"Buffy, he stayed out of college for five years to work and help out his family. That doesn't sound like 'just a pretty face to me',' Willow said.
"No, it doesn't, does it." She replied softly.
Looking at her best friend, Willow was shocked at how hard Buffy seemed to have fallen for this guy. It was all very un-Buffy-like and if she liked him this much already, then this guy was someone special.
With that thought in mind, Willow made a decision. She wasn't going to let Buffy just forget about this. As Buffy's best friend, it was her duty to make sure that Buffy didn't chicken out and let this guy get away from her and duty was something that Willow took very seriously.
~*~*~*~
By Friday, Angelus had learned his way around the library and was trained well enough to work without Buffy. What he was trying to figure out, as he sorted through the book returns, was how he felt about not working with her. He and Buffy had become very good
friends in the short time that they had known each other and he had begun to look forward to seeing her each day.
To him she was perfection. She was beautiful, intelligent, witty...definitely witty. The good-natured teasing, that started as soon as they met, had yet to stop. They were always trying to find something that would aggravate each other.
Looking up from his books, he spotted her not far away. She was standing on a ladder attempting to place a book on the top shelf, but she still wasn't quite tall enough. Not one to let a good opportunity pass him by, Angelus headed in her direction.
What Angelus didn't know was that Buffy's was thinking along the same lines as he had been. She was going to miss seeing him every day like she had this week. She was even going to miss the good-natured banter that flowed constantly between them.
She was so occupied by her thoughts, that she didn't notice how far over she was leaning until it was too late. Just as she finally managed to put the book in it's proper place, she lost her balance and began to fall.
But instead of feeling herself crash to the floor, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and stop her descent.
"Whoa, be careful Buffy," She heard Angelus say.
"Oh God, thank you. I thought I was dead. It looks like you're my guardian angel. Hey that's it!"
"That's what?" he asked as he gently set her feet on the floor, but he didn't let go of her.
"Your new nickname."
"Okay, now I'm really confused. What's my new nickname? Are you sure you didn't hit your head on the way down?" he teased.
"You said I could pick out a nickname for you. That's what I pick, Angel."
"Angel?" he asked doubtfully.
"Yep that's it from now on you're Angel."
"I think you can do better than that," he said.
"Nope, I don't think so. I like Angel, besides it fits you."
Angelus looked down at her and asked quietly, "You think so, huh?"
For the first time, Buffy noticed that his arms were still around her waist and she felt her breath catch as she looked into his eyes. The last thought that Buffy had before her mind shut down was, 'He's going to kiss me.' Slowly his he lowered his head towards hers as she closed her eyes...
"Buffy."
At the sound of Giles' voice they jumped away from each other. By the time that Giles' actually found them, they were both fully engrossed in their work.
"There you are, Buffy. I really hate to do this to you, but I have a really big favor to ask of you," he said.
"Giles, I know that tone. What's up?" she asked resignedly.
"There is a huge shipment of new titles coming in Monday and I need you to..."
"Giles, no. You can't do that to me. I hate that," Buffy said, sounding almost frightened.
"Buffy, there is no one else I trust to do it correctly. I know how you feel about this, but I have no other choice."
Buffy sighed, "You know I'll do it, Giles. Do I at least get some help?"
'Well, actually, yes. Angelus can help you, that way he will know how and maybe you won't have to be the one to do it next time."
Buffy and 'Angel' both brightened significantly at his statement, "Okay, exactly how big of a shipment are we talking here?" Buffy asked.
Giles grimaced, "I'm sure it will take you most of the week."
"Giles you're pushing your luck."
"Yes, well, thank you again, Buffy," he said before he hurried away.
"So what did I just get roped into?" Angel asked.
"Oh only the most fun you'll ever have." Buffy said with exaggerated excitement. "You have just been selected to help me unload crate after crate of books, enter them into the computer's card catalogue, label them, and then shelve them."
"Oh boy, that sounds like fun." Angel said sarcastically.
"It will be," Buffy said. As she walked away she called over her shoulder, "And just think, Angel, you get to work with me again everyday next week."
'And this is a bad, how?' Angel asked himself as he watched her walk away.
~*~*~*~
"Giles is making you catalogue the shipment, again?" Xander asked.
"Yes, can you believe it! First of all, I hate cataloguing shipment and second, it's my last week before school starts. Why do I always get the sucky jobs?" Buffy whined to her friends as she dug around in their freezer looking for ice cream.
"Is he making you do it alone?" Willow asked.
"No, Angel is going to help me." She replied, finally finding the gallon of ice cream.
"Angel? Angelus?!!" At Buffy's nod, Willow continued, "Buffy, since when do you call him Angel and why is this the first I've heard of it?"
Buffy laughed at her friend's antics. Willow had given her the third degree about every little thing that had happened over the last week.
"Since today. It's not that big of a deal, Will. It's kind of a joke."
'Oh, so he doesn't mind being called Angel?" she asked.
"It's not like everybody calls him that, just me," Buffy defended.
"Okay, sure, you two are just friends." Willow said with a knowing smile.
"We are just friends," Buffy said, trying not to think about the fact that he had almost kissed her.
"Buff," Xander said, "Take it from a guy, if he let's you get away with calling him Angel, then he definitely thinks of you as more than a friend."
Getting up and walking towards her bedroom, Buffy said, "You guys are crazy."
As they watched her go, Xander asked Willow, "Do you think that there really might be nothing going on?"
"No way." She replied.
"Well then, I think we need to bring Buffy to lunch Monday." When Willow gave him a confused look he continued, "You know, we'll pick her up at the library."
Suddenly Willow caught on to what he was saying, "And maybe, if 'Angel' is there, we'll get to meet him and see what's really going on."
"Exactly."
~*~*~*~
"Ugh," Angel groaned as he entered the wrong information into the computer for the fourth time. What he was doing wasn't that difficult, but he was distracted.
For the last thirty minutes he had been watching a guy across the room blatantly stare at Buffy. She hadn't seemed to notice him so far, but Angel wasn't happy.
'What's he doing staring at my Buffy?' he thought to himself. Sudden he realized what he had just said, 'When did I start to think of her as mine?'
Finally, he decided to just ask Buffy if she knew him and see what she said.
"Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"Not that I blame him or anything, but why is that guy staring at you?" he asked.
The joy that Buffy felt at his first statement quickly faded when she saw whom he was talking about. "Oh no," she said, turning back around quickly and hoping that the guy hadn't noticed her looking at him.
"What? Who is it?" Angel asked.
"Ugh, just this stupid...," she paused when she saw that Riley Finn, self proclaimed campus stud, was on his way over, "Oh God, here he comes. Angel, you have got
to help me. The guy is gross. He's already asked me out three times. I keep telling him no, but he keeps coming back. It's like he can't believe I would actually turn him down or something." By the time she finished her little speech, she sounded as if she was near panic.
"Help you? What am I supposed to do?" he asked innocently. Now that he realized that the guy was no threat to him, he was going to have some fun.
"I don't know! Just..."
"Hi Buffy."
"Hello Riley" she said, turning around to face him.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Well, actually, we're really busy right..."
She was interrupted as Angel said, "Buffy, it's okay, talk to your friend. I'll go bring these papers to Giles."
"That's all right Angel, it can wait until later."
Giving her a sly grin as he walked away, he said, "It's no big deal, I'll be right back."
"Buffy," Riley called, bringing her attention back to him, "I was wondering if you had changed your mind about the movie?"
"Riley, we've been over this. I just can't right now, there is just too much going on in my life to get into anything like that." She answered, hoping that this would be the last time that she had to say it.
"Yeah I know," he said dejectedly, "I was just hoping that you would change your mind. If you do, you know where to find me."
As he walked away, Angel suddenly appeared beside her, papers still in hand, "Well, it looks like you handled that just fine."
Buffy glared at him, "Yeah, no thanks to you."
Angel laughed out loud at her look, "What was I supposed to do? Act like a jealous boyfriend or something. That would have looked great with that already lame excuse you gave him."
Narrowing her eyes at him, she asked, "What were you doing? Eavesdropping?"
"Yeah, basically." He replied.
Buffy finally had to laugh, "Oh, you..." she said as she playfully took a swing at him.
Still laughing, he easily caught her hand in mid-air, "You seem to have hooked him pretty good."
Giving him her best pouty look, she asked, "Can I throw him back? I don't want him."
"Who do you want?" he asked, suddenly becoming serious.
Realizing that he was still holding her had, she gently tried to pull it away, but he wouldn't let her, "Someone who wants to be with me, just because I'm me."
"Not just because you beautiful?" he asked.
"I don't know about that. I just want to be able to be myself and I want him to be able to do the same. I don't know maybe I'm asking too much."
"I don't think so, I bet you'll meet him sooner than you think."
Once again, Buffy found herself looking into his dark eyes, "Maybe I already ha..."
"Hey Buff!"
Buffy jerked her hand away from Angel's and quickly turned to find herself face to face with her roommates.
"Hey guys," she said in a slightly unsteady voice, "what's going on?"
"We are here to take you out to lunch." Willow said, glancing at Angel, who was standing behind Buffy.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Buffy said, "Guys, this is Angel. Angel these are my roommates, Willow and Xander."
They noticed that he gave her a look for introducing him as Angel, but he said nothing to her about it. Smiling at them, he said, "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too." Willow said, "You're welcome to come to lunch with us if you want to."
Angel had to fight to keep from laughing, when he saw the look that she received from Buffy, "Sorry, I can't. I already have plans to meet a friend of mine."
"Okay, well maybe next time." Xander replied.
Trying to change the subject, Buffy quickly said, "Just let me go get my purse and we can go, alright. I'll meet you out front."
As Buffy and Angel walked to the staff lounge, Angel said, "Your friends are...subtle."
"I'm sorry about that," Buffy laughed, "They're really not that bad, I promise."
He smiled, "It's okay, it's not like I'm offended or anything."
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us? I'll make them behave, I promise." She asked hopefully.
Angel sighed, "Any other day, I would love to, but I really do have plans to meet a friend."
"Some other time then." Buffy said as they reached the front door.
"It's a date," he replied.
They shared one final smile before going their separate ways.
~*~*~*~*~
Angel stared off into space, thinking of nothing except Buffy. He just couldn't seem to get her out of his mind. He couldn't believe that she had gotten to him this bad and he had only known her for a week. Nobody had ever made him act this way before, but truthfully, he really didn't mind. Love at first sight had always seemed like something from a fairy tale to him, but he was quickly becoming a believer.
"...but then the aliens brought me back because I was too skinny."
Angel shook his head, "What?"
"Where were you?" his friend laughed.
"Nowhere," Angel said, "I was just thinking about something."
"Something, huh? What's her name?"
Angel smiled, "What's whose name?"
"Whoever put that silly grin on your face."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He lied.
"Have you asked her out, yet?"
He finally gave up, there was no way that his best friend would let this go, "No."
"Why not?"
"Because I just met her a week ago."
"Oh man, this is serious!"
"Shut up, Spike," he said with a little smile.
Spike was shocked by his friend's actions, it almost looked like he was blushing. "You have really got it bad," he said, the shock evident in his voice.
When he received no reply, he continued, "So, are you going to tell me who the mystery lady is or not?"
Deciding that talking might actually help him straighten out his thoughts, he answered, "Someone I work with, her name is Buffy."
"Okay, what's so special about Ms. Buffy?"
"I don't know, I can't describe it." Angel said, once again getting that far away look.
Spike didn't know what to make of all this. He had never seen his friend this worked up over some girl before. This was going to be interesting. "Well, if she's so great, why haven't you asked her out yet? Is she seeing someone?"
"No, not that I know of."
"Then what in the hell are you waiting for?" Spike laughed.
Angel gave him a resigned look, "I don't know, I guess I just didn't want to rush things."
Once again, Spike started to laugh at his friend, "Trust me, if she's half as googly-eyed as you are, it's not going to be a problem.
~*~*~*~
By Friday morning, Buffy and Angel could finally see an end to their enormous task. It had taken them almost all week to do it, but they were down to last five crates of books.
Angel was just about to open one of them, when Buffy returned from Giles' office with a huge smile on her face.
"What are you so happy about?" Angel asked.
"Giles just told me that we can have the afternoon off if we are finished by lunch," she replied.
"Well, let's get to work then."
They smiled at each other for a long moment before going back to work. There had been an increasing number of those looks as the week had progressed. It was apparent to them, and anyone else for that matter, that they were extremely attracted to one another. They flirted shamelessly and somehow always managed to be close together when they were working. But even with all of that, he had yet to even attempt to ask her out and Buffy was quickly becoming impatient. She has definitely done her part to let him know that she was interested. It was almost embarrassing to think about how she acted around him. Pushing that thought aside before she started to blush, Buffy came to a decision. If he didn't ask he out today, she was going to take matters into her own hands.
Four hours later, they were finally finished and they made their way to Giles' office to tell him.
"Did you two finish up?" he asked as they entered.
"Yes we did and now we are about to take you up on your offer of an afternoon off." Buffy said quickly so that he wouldn't be able to take back the offer.
"Very good," he replied, "Seeing as this is your last day before classes resume, I assume that you will both be working part-time from now on?"
Angel nodded and Buffy said, "Yep, sorry Giles, but if my grades drop because I'm working too much, Mom will kill us both!"
Giles laughed along with her, "Quite right. Well then, both of you have a good afternoon off."
They said their good-byes and then made their way outside.
"Buffy..."
"Angel..."
They laughed at themselves and Buffy motioned for Angel to continue. After taking a deep breath, he said, "Do you want to have lunch with me?"
Buffy let out a sigh of relief, "I love to."
"Great" Angel said, as he led her to his car.
As they drove away he asked, "What were you going to say?"
"Oh, it wasn't important."
~*~*~*~*~
"So what are you planning to do after you get your degree in history?" Buffy asked Angel as they sat together outside of a café.
"I'd like to try for a position in a museum."
Buffy laughed, "That's it? Nothing more specific?"
"Right now, I'm just glad to be back in school." He said, smiling slightly.
Buffy sobered a little at the thought of him being forced to set his dreams aside to help his family. "I guess you are. So what kinds of jobs have you had?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood once again.
It was, apparently, the right question to ask because Angel busted out laughing, "Too many to name them all."
"Okay, so what's the worst job that you've ever had?"
"No way."
"Oh come on, tell me."
"No. Uh-uh."
"Please" she said, giving him her best pouty look.
"Come on, don't give me that look," he said. When she continued to just stare at him, he finally gave in, "Alright, come here."
He motioned for her to closer, until he could whisper in her ear.
When she heard his answer, she said, "Oh my God," before being over come with hysterical laughter.
"Okay, so not funny. See if I tell you anything again." He said with exaggerated indignation.
Buffy knew that he wasn't serious, but decided to play along anyway, "Angel, I'm sorry. Don't be mad."
Giving her a dazzling smile, he said, "Like I could get mad at you."
"You're sweet."
"No, not sweet! Anything but sweet!" he said dramatically.
Laughing, Buffy asked, "What's wrong with being sweet."
"Women always tell you that you're sweet right before they give you the brush-off."
"Now, why on earth, would I do a stupid thing like that?" she asked coyly.
"Because I'm about to ask you to spent the rest of the day with me," He replied.
"Oh, is that all? Well I'm about to say yes."
"Well then, this is turning out to be a great day," he said with a smile.
~*~*~*~*~
After an hour of walking around town, they decided to go to the park. As they walked along one of the more secluded paths, they began to tell each other about their lives. Angel told her funny stories about things that happened to him in high school and sad stories about things that had happened after his mother had become ill. In return, Buffy told him about some of her adventures with Willow and Xander. Then she told
him about her absentee father and her fatherly love for Giles.
Finally they fell into a companionable silence and just enjoyed being in each other's company. As they walked, their hands gently brushed together, causing a feeling of electricity to pass through them both. Almost cautiously, Angel reached out to take her hand in a gentle grip. Noticing his sideways glances, Buffy squeezed his hand gently to let him know that it was all right.
As they made their way back to his car, they walked past an amusement park. Buffy smiled to herself and pulled him to the entrance.
"An amusement park?" he asked doubtfully.
"I'll be fun, you'll see," she said.
~*~*~*~*~
After hours of rides and games, they were both exhausted. They walked together through the crowds of people, Buffy proudly displaying the teddy bear that Angel had won for her.
"Let's take a break from the rides for just a minute, okay?"
"No problem," Buffy said tiredly, suddenly she spotted something that seemed to rejuvenate her energy.
"Hey look, do you want to go get some ice cream?" she asked, but she was already leading him toward the cart.
"Sure," he said, content to go along with anything that made her happy.
"What flavor can I get for you?" the vendor asked when they reached him.
"Chocolate" Angel replied.
Buffy gave him a look, "Chocolate?"
"What's wrong with chocolate ice cream?" he asked.
"Nothing's wrong with it, but look at all of these flavors. So many to choose from and you pick chocolate." She replied, unable to suppress her smile.
As he reached to accept his cup from the man, he told her, "I like chocolate."
"So what will you have?" the man asked Buffy.
"Vanilla."
Angel smirked at her, "Great choice, Buff."
"I thought so." She said, accepting her own cup.
"So what are we going to do now?" Angel asked as they walked away.
"Something calm so we can eat our ice cream," She said.
After looking around for a minute, he said, "I have an idea."
He pointed her in the right direction and soon Buffy found herself standing at the base of the Ferris wheel.
"Angel, I don't know about this, I always get stuck on the very top."
"Oh, come on. It'll be fun," he said as he gently pushed her towards the empty seat.
Buffy finally gave in and sat down, in the last remaining seat. When Angel was seated, the operator started ride. After making only two rotations, the Ferris wheel suddenly came to a stop, leaving Buffy and Angel on stranded at the very top.
"I told you this was going to happen!" Buffy said dramatically.
Angel started to reply, but when Buffy turned to face him, he instead began to laugh.
"You think this is funny?" she asked.
"No, Buffy not this, you just have a little ice cream..." he trailed off as he slightly motioned to her face.
"Oh my...where?" she asked more than a little embarrassed. When she moved to wipe her face with a napkin, Angel stopped her.
"Wait, let me," he said. Slowly he leaned her, moving his hand towards her mouth. At the very last moment his hand moved to cup her cheek and he caught her lips in a gentle kiss. It only lasted for the briefest moment before he pulled back, but only slightly.
As she slowly opened her eyes, he whispered, "There, all gone."
A slow smile spread across her face as she moved close to him once more, "No, I think you missed a spot."
As their lips met for the second time, the outside world seemed to fade away. Nothing existed for them except each other and that very moment. This kiss was gentle, but filled with many emotions: passion, fire, longing...love. They were each overpowered by the
extreme feelings that were conveyed by just this simple act, but neither of them was frightened such intensity. It was as if this was the way it was always meant to be, for them to be together.
"Everybody off."
The loud voice caused them to come rushing back to reality. They were once again on the ground and being watched be several onlookers. They hadn't even noticed when the ride had once again become operational. Quickly, they stood and made their way into the crowd, both highly embarrassed, but feeling happier than they could ever remember.
"Well, what now?" Angel laughed, once they were safely away from the Ferris wheel.
"To top that?" Buffy asked, also laughing.
"I don't think we could top that if we wanted to," he said, becoming serious.
Buffy grasped his hand and turned to face him, "I don't think we could either."
Shaking her head to break the spell that he seemed to cast on her, just by looking into her eyes, she said, "Unfortunately, it's getting really late and I need to be getting home."
Looking at his watch, Angel was shocked by the time, "Wow, I guess we do need to get going. Come on," he said, pulling gently on her hand to start her moving, "I'll drive you home."
~*~*~*~*~
When they reached the door to her apartment, Buffy slowly turned to face Angel.
"I don't want this day to be over." She said quietly.
"Hey," he said, as he gently raised her head until he could look into her eyes, "There are going to be lot's more days. Just like this one."
She smiled, "No, not just like this one. I think that this is the best day of my life."
"Mine, too." He said. They just stared into each others eyes, loosing track of time as they each became lost in their own thoughts.
"I guess one of us should go here." Angel said, eventually, but made no move to do so.
"Yeah, I'll see you Monday for lunch, right?" she asked.
"I'll be there."
When she smiled at him, he couldn't hold back any longer. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. As their lips met in another searing kiss, she tightly wound her arms around his neck, trying to get as close as she could to him.
Sensing that he was about to loose control, Angel pulled back, but didn't release her from his tight embrace. With his forehead resting against hers, he whispered, "Goodnight."
"Night," she said.
Finally she forced herself to step out of his warm embrace and turned to unlock the door. Stepping inside she turned to face him once more.
Angel started to laugh, "Okay, you need to shut that door or we're going to stand here all night."
"I'm going, I'm going," she said as she slowly started to close the door. "Bye."
"Bye," Angel said, just before it closed fully.
Both stared at the closed door. Each filled with thoughts of the other and overcome by the joy that accompanied those thoughts. They were shocked at the changes that had occurred in their lives since meeting, but one thing was for certain. Their lives would never be the same.
The End
By: Heather
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters. They all belong to Joss and Co.
"Guys, I'm finally home." Buffy Summers called as she stepped into her apartment. When she received no reply from her roommates, she moved into the kitchen where she found a note.
Buff,
Since you were late, we went to get the pizza and movies. Be back soon.
W&X
'I guess that leaves me to set up,' Buffy thought.
As she moved to her room to change into more comfortable clothes, she began to think about the night to come. She loved the time that she spent with her friends. Willow Rosenburg and Xander Harris were her best friends from high school. After graduation
the three of them moved to LA to attend UCLA. They had grown slightly apart since moving, but they each made sure to make time for 'movie night'.
'Movie night' was a tradition that had started soon after they had moved into the apartment. It was held one Friday night a month. They just sat around talking and eating the pizza then they would all pile up in one of their bedrooms and watch movies. They did it so that they could spend time together, just the three of them. No boyfriends, girlfriends, or anyone else was allowed to attend.
'Not that I have to worry about that,' Buffy thought to herself. It wasn't that she didn't date. She dated some, but they never worked out. She just couldn't find a guy that she felt comfortable around. She hardly ever went out with the same guy more than once or twice. All she wanted was a guy that she could just be herself with, but he didn't seem to exist.
Suddenly Buffy shook her head to rid it of all depressing thoughts. She was acting silly. There was absolutely no reason for her to get all depressed because she didn't have a boyfriend. She had a great family and the best friends a person could ask for, she had a great job, and was two weeks away from starting her sophomore year at UCLA. Her life was good.
With that thought in mind, she began to pull all of their usual junk food from the cabinets and refrigerator. Just as she was finishing, Xander and Willow entered the apartment.
"Buff, you're home!" Xander said, as he sat the pizza down on the table.
"Yep, I have all of the snacks set up in my room, so everything's ready." She replied.
"Good, let's eat."
Buffy and Willow laughed at their friend, his appetite was well known. After they had gathered around their small table and gotten their share of the pizza, they began to discuss the day's events.
"Why were you so late, Buffy?" Willow asked.
"Ugh, don't remind me." Buffy whined.
"That bad?"
"No, not really, I'm over reacting. Just as I was leaving, Giles called me into his office."
"What did G-man want?" Xander asked.
Rupert Giles was Buffy's boss and also her stepfather. Originally he had been the librarian at Sunnydale High School, the school that they had all attended. That was where he met Buffy's mother and the two of them had gotten married during Buffy's senior year. Then last summer, he was offered a job at UCLA as the head librarian.
It was good for Buffy because she was able to get a job on-campus. It was bad for her because Giles always called on her to do the hard jobs. He said it was because he knew he could trust her to do them right, but Buffy thought it was just the jobs that nobody else would do.
"Well you know that we've been a little short staffed and with me cutting back to part-time in two weeks, he's going to need extra help. So, he hired somebody new for a part-time position and I have to train them starting Monday."
"Did he tell you anything about this person?" Willow asked.
'No, whoever it is, was hired through the school, so Giles doesn't know anything about it, except that they're a sophomore majoring in history. Why they felt the need to share that information and nothing else, I don't know." She replied.
"Maybe it won't be so bad," Willow said.
"Yeah, sure Will." Buffy said, not believing it for a moment. She hated training new people and Giles knew it. She decided it was time to change the subject, "So what's going on with you two?"
They spent the next hour just talking about different things that were going on in their lives. Such as, Xander's girlfriend Cordelia's latest shopping spree and what classes they would all be taking that semester. Finally, they made their way into Buffy's bedroom, where they all piled onto her bed to watch the movies.
Monday morning, Buffy arrived at the library at her usual time. She took several deep breaths before going in to meet her new trainee. Finally, she entered and made her way to Giles' office. As she approached, she noticed a tall dark haired guy inside with Giles.
'Too bad he's not the new person.' She thought to herself as she took in his appearance. She couldn't see him clearly, but from what she could see, he was good looking. He had to be six foot or taller with spiky brown hair, dressed in black pants and a black leather jacket. He looked to be around 24 or 25 years old.
Buffy knocked softly on Giles' door. She didn't want to disturb his meeting but she needed to let him know that she had arrived.
"Ah, Buffy, do come in." Giles said as both he and the stranger stood and turned to face her.
A little surprised she entered, "I didn't mean to interrupt, I just wanted you to know that I was here."
"You're right on time. We were just finishing up. Buffy Summers, I'd like to introduce you to Angelus McClowery. He's our new staff member."
Shocked, Buffy turned to face the man, and came to an abrupt halt. Good looking did not describe this man. He was easily the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. He seemed to pause for a moment before regaining his composure. "Nice to meet you."
"Um...yeah, I mean nice to meet you, too." Buffy said when she finally managed to compose herself.
Giles didn't seem to notice and continued to speak, "Buffy is going to be the one to train you Angelus. I'm sure that you will be in good hands."
Buffy coughed a little at Giles' choice of words, but covered it by saying, "I'll do my best."
"Yes, of course you will. Well, I won't keep you any longer. Buffy can start showing you around." Giles said.
"Okay," Buffy and Angelus said in unison.
Angelus opened the door for Buffy and motioned for her to exit first. As he followed her into the main room of the library, he was trying very hard not to stare at her. She was beautiful. Taking in her appearance, he decided that she was not was he was expecting. She was petite, not much over five feet tall, with shoulder length blond hair and piercing green eyes. She was wearing a loose fitting top with a short skirt and high heeled sandals.
'Nope, definitely not what I was expecting.' He thought, shaking his head and trying to refocus on his new job. Quietly he chuckled to himself as he realized that there was no way he was going to be able to concentrate. His suspicions were confirmed when she
turned towards him and he found himself lost in her smile.
"What's funny?" she asked lightly.
Deciding to go for honesty, he said, "You, you're just not what I was expecting."
Buffy knew what he was referring to, but decided to play dumb, "What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't mean anything by this, but you don't look like the library type," he said with a smile. "But then again, you seem to be the number two person around here."
Buffy laughed, "It's okay. You're right; I'm not really a book person. At first, it was just a job, but now I've been here for almost a year and I love it."
"How did you get the job?" he asked.
"Giles got me the position when he took over as head librarian." She answered.
"So you've known him for a while?"
Laughing once again, Buffy said, "Yeah, he's my step-father." When he didn't seem to be able to come up with a reply she continued, "Besides, you're not exactly what I was expecting either."
"How's that?"
"Oh, come on. Giles told me that you were a sophomore majoring in history. I was expecting some little nerdy person."
It was Angelus' turn to laugh, "He was right."
"You're a sophomore?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, I am," he answered, still chuckling. "You find that hard to believe?"
"No, well, um...I mean," Buffy stuttered, "It's just that I'm a sophomore...well, you just look older," she finally blurted out. By this time she was beyond embarrassed.
He lightly touched her arm to get her to look at him, "It's alright. I am older. I'm 24. My mother had so heath problems and I had to sit out for a few years after I finished my freshman year."
Buffy blushed, "I'm sorry. That's none of my business, I didn't mean to pry."
"You didn't pry, I just told you. I guess you're just easy to talk to," he said.
"Maybe," Buffy said and decided to change the subject. "What kind of name is Angelus?" She smiled to let him know that she was only teasing. She didn't know why
she felt comfortable enough to tease him. She had only met ten minutes prior, but for some reason she knew he wouldn't mind.
"It's Irish, my father's from Ireland." He said with a slight grimace that let her know he wasn't particularly fond of it.
She smiled, "Well, it's...interesting."
"Interesting, huh? Well I'm glad you think so, Buffy," he smirked as he stressed her name.
"Hey! It's a nickname!" she laughed.
"What's your real name?" he asked.
"I'll never tell."
He also started to laugh, "No fair. You know mine and unfortunately I don't have a nickname to hide behind."
"Well, I guess I'll just have to think one up for you." She said, smiling at him once again. She couldn't believe the way she was flirting with this guy, she never acted like this. It was completely unlike her, but there was just something about him that made her feel like it was okay.
Making eye contact with her for the first time he replied, "Okay, you do that."
They just stared at each other for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally Buffy looked away.
"So, did Giles give you the run down on what you're going to be doing?" she asked.
"Not really, he said that he was going to leave it up to you."
"Then I guess I should show you around first." She said as she began to walk away.
"Sounds good," Angelus replied as he followed her, and at that moment he felt like he would follow Buffy Summers anywhere she led.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hey," Willow called as Buffy stepped into the apartment.
"Hey."
"So, how was your first day of training?" Willow asked.
Buffy smiled, "I think he's going to work out fine."
Willow saw a look flash across Buffy's face as she said this. It was gone so quickly that she wasn't even sure that she had seen it, but it was enough to give her an idea. "So, it's a guy?" she asked.
Buffy nodded and headed for her bedroom to change, with Willow close behind her.
"Where's Xander?" Buffy asked.
"He said he was going over to Cordy's when he got off work. What's this guy's name?"
"Angelus McClowery"
As she said his name, Willow saw the look once again. This time she was sure that she saw it.
"You like him!" she blurted out.
Buffy quickly turned around to face her friend, "Willow, I just met the guy."
"Well, is he cute?" she asked.
Turning back around to face her closet, Buffy tried to play it cool, "I guess some girls might think so."
"What kind of girls?"
Finally Buffy couldn't stand it anymore and flopped onto her bed next to Willow and declared, "The kind with eyes."
"So he is good-looking."
"He's more than good-looking, Will. He's mouth-falling-open-with-your-tongue-hanging-out-and-drooling-all-over-the-place gorgeous!"
"You DO like him!" Willow said with certainty.
"It takes more than a pretty face for me, you know that," Buffy said, trying to hold on to what little dignity she had left. She couldn't believe that she had fallen for a guy that she had known for less than ten hours and she just wasn't ready to admit it, yet. Not even to her best friend.
"Well, what's he like?" Willow asked, dropping the other subject for a minute.
"Um, he's twenty-four and he seems like a really nice guy."
"Twenty-four? I thought Giles said he was a sophomore." Willow said.
"He is, his mother got sick just as he was finishing his freshman year and he had to get a job to help out. This is his first semester back."
"Buffy, he stayed out of college for five years to work and help out his family. That doesn't sound like 'just a pretty face to me',' Willow said.
"No, it doesn't, does it." She replied softly.
Looking at her best friend, Willow was shocked at how hard Buffy seemed to have fallen for this guy. It was all very un-Buffy-like and if she liked him this much already, then this guy was someone special.
With that thought in mind, Willow made a decision. She wasn't going to let Buffy just forget about this. As Buffy's best friend, it was her duty to make sure that Buffy didn't chicken out and let this guy get away from her and duty was something that Willow took very seriously.
~*~*~*~
By Friday, Angelus had learned his way around the library and was trained well enough to work without Buffy. What he was trying to figure out, as he sorted through the book returns, was how he felt about not working with her. He and Buffy had become very good
friends in the short time that they had known each other and he had begun to look forward to seeing her each day.
To him she was perfection. She was beautiful, intelligent, witty...definitely witty. The good-natured teasing, that started as soon as they met, had yet to stop. They were always trying to find something that would aggravate each other.
Looking up from his books, he spotted her not far away. She was standing on a ladder attempting to place a book on the top shelf, but she still wasn't quite tall enough. Not one to let a good opportunity pass him by, Angelus headed in her direction.
What Angelus didn't know was that Buffy's was thinking along the same lines as he had been. She was going to miss seeing him every day like she had this week. She was even going to miss the good-natured banter that flowed constantly between them.
She was so occupied by her thoughts, that she didn't notice how far over she was leaning until it was too late. Just as she finally managed to put the book in it's proper place, she lost her balance and began to fall.
But instead of feeling herself crash to the floor, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and stop her descent.
"Whoa, be careful Buffy," She heard Angelus say.
"Oh God, thank you. I thought I was dead. It looks like you're my guardian angel. Hey that's it!"
"That's what?" he asked as he gently set her feet on the floor, but he didn't let go of her.
"Your new nickname."
"Okay, now I'm really confused. What's my new nickname? Are you sure you didn't hit your head on the way down?" he teased.
"You said I could pick out a nickname for you. That's what I pick, Angel."
"Angel?" he asked doubtfully.
"Yep that's it from now on you're Angel."
"I think you can do better than that," he said.
"Nope, I don't think so. I like Angel, besides it fits you."
Angelus looked down at her and asked quietly, "You think so, huh?"
For the first time, Buffy noticed that his arms were still around her waist and she felt her breath catch as she looked into his eyes. The last thought that Buffy had before her mind shut down was, 'He's going to kiss me.' Slowly his he lowered his head towards hers as she closed her eyes...
"Buffy."
At the sound of Giles' voice they jumped away from each other. By the time that Giles' actually found them, they were both fully engrossed in their work.
"There you are, Buffy. I really hate to do this to you, but I have a really big favor to ask of you," he said.
"Giles, I know that tone. What's up?" she asked resignedly.
"There is a huge shipment of new titles coming in Monday and I need you to..."
"Giles, no. You can't do that to me. I hate that," Buffy said, sounding almost frightened.
"Buffy, there is no one else I trust to do it correctly. I know how you feel about this, but I have no other choice."
Buffy sighed, "You know I'll do it, Giles. Do I at least get some help?"
'Well, actually, yes. Angelus can help you, that way he will know how and maybe you won't have to be the one to do it next time."
Buffy and 'Angel' both brightened significantly at his statement, "Okay, exactly how big of a shipment are we talking here?" Buffy asked.
Giles grimaced, "I'm sure it will take you most of the week."
"Giles you're pushing your luck."
"Yes, well, thank you again, Buffy," he said before he hurried away.
"So what did I just get roped into?" Angel asked.
"Oh only the most fun you'll ever have." Buffy said with exaggerated excitement. "You have just been selected to help me unload crate after crate of books, enter them into the computer's card catalogue, label them, and then shelve them."
"Oh boy, that sounds like fun." Angel said sarcastically.
"It will be," Buffy said. As she walked away she called over her shoulder, "And just think, Angel, you get to work with me again everyday next week."
'And this is a bad, how?' Angel asked himself as he watched her walk away.
~*~*~*~
"Giles is making you catalogue the shipment, again?" Xander asked.
"Yes, can you believe it! First of all, I hate cataloguing shipment and second, it's my last week before school starts. Why do I always get the sucky jobs?" Buffy whined to her friends as she dug around in their freezer looking for ice cream.
"Is he making you do it alone?" Willow asked.
"No, Angel is going to help me." She replied, finally finding the gallon of ice cream.
"Angel? Angelus?!!" At Buffy's nod, Willow continued, "Buffy, since when do you call him Angel and why is this the first I've heard of it?"
Buffy laughed at her friend's antics. Willow had given her the third degree about every little thing that had happened over the last week.
"Since today. It's not that big of a deal, Will. It's kind of a joke."
'Oh, so he doesn't mind being called Angel?" she asked.
"It's not like everybody calls him that, just me," Buffy defended.
"Okay, sure, you two are just friends." Willow said with a knowing smile.
"We are just friends," Buffy said, trying not to think about the fact that he had almost kissed her.
"Buff," Xander said, "Take it from a guy, if he let's you get away with calling him Angel, then he definitely thinks of you as more than a friend."
Getting up and walking towards her bedroom, Buffy said, "You guys are crazy."
As they watched her go, Xander asked Willow, "Do you think that there really might be nothing going on?"
"No way." She replied.
"Well then, I think we need to bring Buffy to lunch Monday." When Willow gave him a confused look he continued, "You know, we'll pick her up at the library."
Suddenly Willow caught on to what he was saying, "And maybe, if 'Angel' is there, we'll get to meet him and see what's really going on."
"Exactly."
~*~*~*~
"Ugh," Angel groaned as he entered the wrong information into the computer for the fourth time. What he was doing wasn't that difficult, but he was distracted.
For the last thirty minutes he had been watching a guy across the room blatantly stare at Buffy. She hadn't seemed to notice him so far, but Angel wasn't happy.
'What's he doing staring at my Buffy?' he thought to himself. Sudden he realized what he had just said, 'When did I start to think of her as mine?'
Finally, he decided to just ask Buffy if she knew him and see what she said.
"Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"Not that I blame him or anything, but why is that guy staring at you?" he asked.
The joy that Buffy felt at his first statement quickly faded when she saw whom he was talking about. "Oh no," she said, turning back around quickly and hoping that the guy hadn't noticed her looking at him.
"What? Who is it?" Angel asked.
"Ugh, just this stupid...," she paused when she saw that Riley Finn, self proclaimed campus stud, was on his way over, "Oh God, here he comes. Angel, you have got
to help me. The guy is gross. He's already asked me out three times. I keep telling him no, but he keeps coming back. It's like he can't believe I would actually turn him down or something." By the time she finished her little speech, she sounded as if she was near panic.
"Help you? What am I supposed to do?" he asked innocently. Now that he realized that the guy was no threat to him, he was going to have some fun.
"I don't know! Just..."
"Hi Buffy."
"Hello Riley" she said, turning around to face him.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Well, actually, we're really busy right..."
She was interrupted as Angel said, "Buffy, it's okay, talk to your friend. I'll go bring these papers to Giles."
"That's all right Angel, it can wait until later."
Giving her a sly grin as he walked away, he said, "It's no big deal, I'll be right back."
"Buffy," Riley called, bringing her attention back to him, "I was wondering if you had changed your mind about the movie?"
"Riley, we've been over this. I just can't right now, there is just too much going on in my life to get into anything like that." She answered, hoping that this would be the last time that she had to say it.
"Yeah I know," he said dejectedly, "I was just hoping that you would change your mind. If you do, you know where to find me."
As he walked away, Angel suddenly appeared beside her, papers still in hand, "Well, it looks like you handled that just fine."
Buffy glared at him, "Yeah, no thanks to you."
Angel laughed out loud at her look, "What was I supposed to do? Act like a jealous boyfriend or something. That would have looked great with that already lame excuse you gave him."
Narrowing her eyes at him, she asked, "What were you doing? Eavesdropping?"
"Yeah, basically." He replied.
Buffy finally had to laugh, "Oh, you..." she said as she playfully took a swing at him.
Still laughing, he easily caught her hand in mid-air, "You seem to have hooked him pretty good."
Giving him her best pouty look, she asked, "Can I throw him back? I don't want him."
"Who do you want?" he asked, suddenly becoming serious.
Realizing that he was still holding her had, she gently tried to pull it away, but he wouldn't let her, "Someone who wants to be with me, just because I'm me."
"Not just because you beautiful?" he asked.
"I don't know about that. I just want to be able to be myself and I want him to be able to do the same. I don't know maybe I'm asking too much."
"I don't think so, I bet you'll meet him sooner than you think."
Once again, Buffy found herself looking into his dark eyes, "Maybe I already ha..."
"Hey Buff!"
Buffy jerked her hand away from Angel's and quickly turned to find herself face to face with her roommates.
"Hey guys," she said in a slightly unsteady voice, "what's going on?"
"We are here to take you out to lunch." Willow said, glancing at Angel, who was standing behind Buffy.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Buffy said, "Guys, this is Angel. Angel these are my roommates, Willow and Xander."
They noticed that he gave her a look for introducing him as Angel, but he said nothing to her about it. Smiling at them, he said, "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too." Willow said, "You're welcome to come to lunch with us if you want to."
Angel had to fight to keep from laughing, when he saw the look that she received from Buffy, "Sorry, I can't. I already have plans to meet a friend of mine."
"Okay, well maybe next time." Xander replied.
Trying to change the subject, Buffy quickly said, "Just let me go get my purse and we can go, alright. I'll meet you out front."
As Buffy and Angel walked to the staff lounge, Angel said, "Your friends are...subtle."
"I'm sorry about that," Buffy laughed, "They're really not that bad, I promise."
He smiled, "It's okay, it's not like I'm offended or anything."
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us? I'll make them behave, I promise." She asked hopefully.
Angel sighed, "Any other day, I would love to, but I really do have plans to meet a friend."
"Some other time then." Buffy said as they reached the front door.
"It's a date," he replied.
They shared one final smile before going their separate ways.
~*~*~*~*~
Angel stared off into space, thinking of nothing except Buffy. He just couldn't seem to get her out of his mind. He couldn't believe that she had gotten to him this bad and he had only known her for a week. Nobody had ever made him act this way before, but truthfully, he really didn't mind. Love at first sight had always seemed like something from a fairy tale to him, but he was quickly becoming a believer.
"...but then the aliens brought me back because I was too skinny."
Angel shook his head, "What?"
"Where were you?" his friend laughed.
"Nowhere," Angel said, "I was just thinking about something."
"Something, huh? What's her name?"
Angel smiled, "What's whose name?"
"Whoever put that silly grin on your face."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He lied.
"Have you asked her out, yet?"
He finally gave up, there was no way that his best friend would let this go, "No."
"Why not?"
"Because I just met her a week ago."
"Oh man, this is serious!"
"Shut up, Spike," he said with a little smile.
Spike was shocked by his friend's actions, it almost looked like he was blushing. "You have really got it bad," he said, the shock evident in his voice.
When he received no reply, he continued, "So, are you going to tell me who the mystery lady is or not?"
Deciding that talking might actually help him straighten out his thoughts, he answered, "Someone I work with, her name is Buffy."
"Okay, what's so special about Ms. Buffy?"
"I don't know, I can't describe it." Angel said, once again getting that far away look.
Spike didn't know what to make of all this. He had never seen his friend this worked up over some girl before. This was going to be interesting. "Well, if she's so great, why haven't you asked her out yet? Is she seeing someone?"
"No, not that I know of."
"Then what in the hell are you waiting for?" Spike laughed.
Angel gave him a resigned look, "I don't know, I guess I just didn't want to rush things."
Once again, Spike started to laugh at his friend, "Trust me, if she's half as googly-eyed as you are, it's not going to be a problem.
~*~*~*~
By Friday morning, Buffy and Angel could finally see an end to their enormous task. It had taken them almost all week to do it, but they were down to last five crates of books.
Angel was just about to open one of them, when Buffy returned from Giles' office with a huge smile on her face.
"What are you so happy about?" Angel asked.
"Giles just told me that we can have the afternoon off if we are finished by lunch," she replied.
"Well, let's get to work then."
They smiled at each other for a long moment before going back to work. There had been an increasing number of those looks as the week had progressed. It was apparent to them, and anyone else for that matter, that they were extremely attracted to one another. They flirted shamelessly and somehow always managed to be close together when they were working. But even with all of that, he had yet to even attempt to ask her out and Buffy was quickly becoming impatient. She has definitely done her part to let him know that she was interested. It was almost embarrassing to think about how she acted around him. Pushing that thought aside before she started to blush, Buffy came to a decision. If he didn't ask he out today, she was going to take matters into her own hands.
Four hours later, they were finally finished and they made their way to Giles' office to tell him.
"Did you two finish up?" he asked as they entered.
"Yes we did and now we are about to take you up on your offer of an afternoon off." Buffy said quickly so that he wouldn't be able to take back the offer.
"Very good," he replied, "Seeing as this is your last day before classes resume, I assume that you will both be working part-time from now on?"
Angel nodded and Buffy said, "Yep, sorry Giles, but if my grades drop because I'm working too much, Mom will kill us both!"
Giles laughed along with her, "Quite right. Well then, both of you have a good afternoon off."
They said their good-byes and then made their way outside.
"Buffy..."
"Angel..."
They laughed at themselves and Buffy motioned for Angel to continue. After taking a deep breath, he said, "Do you want to have lunch with me?"
Buffy let out a sigh of relief, "I love to."
"Great" Angel said, as he led her to his car.
As they drove away he asked, "What were you going to say?"
"Oh, it wasn't important."
~*~*~*~*~
"So what are you planning to do after you get your degree in history?" Buffy asked Angel as they sat together outside of a café.
"I'd like to try for a position in a museum."
Buffy laughed, "That's it? Nothing more specific?"
"Right now, I'm just glad to be back in school." He said, smiling slightly.
Buffy sobered a little at the thought of him being forced to set his dreams aside to help his family. "I guess you are. So what kinds of jobs have you had?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood once again.
It was, apparently, the right question to ask because Angel busted out laughing, "Too many to name them all."
"Okay, so what's the worst job that you've ever had?"
"No way."
"Oh come on, tell me."
"No. Uh-uh."
"Please" she said, giving him her best pouty look.
"Come on, don't give me that look," he said. When she continued to just stare at him, he finally gave in, "Alright, come here."
He motioned for her to closer, until he could whisper in her ear.
When she heard his answer, she said, "Oh my God," before being over come with hysterical laughter.
"Okay, so not funny. See if I tell you anything again." He said with exaggerated indignation.
Buffy knew that he wasn't serious, but decided to play along anyway, "Angel, I'm sorry. Don't be mad."
Giving her a dazzling smile, he said, "Like I could get mad at you."
"You're sweet."
"No, not sweet! Anything but sweet!" he said dramatically.
Laughing, Buffy asked, "What's wrong with being sweet."
"Women always tell you that you're sweet right before they give you the brush-off."
"Now, why on earth, would I do a stupid thing like that?" she asked coyly.
"Because I'm about to ask you to spent the rest of the day with me," He replied.
"Oh, is that all? Well I'm about to say yes."
"Well then, this is turning out to be a great day," he said with a smile.
~*~*~*~*~
After an hour of walking around town, they decided to go to the park. As they walked along one of the more secluded paths, they began to tell each other about their lives. Angel told her funny stories about things that happened to him in high school and sad stories about things that had happened after his mother had become ill. In return, Buffy told him about some of her adventures with Willow and Xander. Then she told
him about her absentee father and her fatherly love for Giles.
Finally they fell into a companionable silence and just enjoyed being in each other's company. As they walked, their hands gently brushed together, causing a feeling of electricity to pass through them both. Almost cautiously, Angel reached out to take her hand in a gentle grip. Noticing his sideways glances, Buffy squeezed his hand gently to let him know that it was all right.
As they made their way back to his car, they walked past an amusement park. Buffy smiled to herself and pulled him to the entrance.
"An amusement park?" he asked doubtfully.
"I'll be fun, you'll see," she said.
~*~*~*~*~
After hours of rides and games, they were both exhausted. They walked together through the crowds of people, Buffy proudly displaying the teddy bear that Angel had won for her.
"Let's take a break from the rides for just a minute, okay?"
"No problem," Buffy said tiredly, suddenly she spotted something that seemed to rejuvenate her energy.
"Hey look, do you want to go get some ice cream?" she asked, but she was already leading him toward the cart.
"Sure," he said, content to go along with anything that made her happy.
"What flavor can I get for you?" the vendor asked when they reached him.
"Chocolate" Angel replied.
Buffy gave him a look, "Chocolate?"
"What's wrong with chocolate ice cream?" he asked.
"Nothing's wrong with it, but look at all of these flavors. So many to choose from and you pick chocolate." She replied, unable to suppress her smile.
As he reached to accept his cup from the man, he told her, "I like chocolate."
"So what will you have?" the man asked Buffy.
"Vanilla."
Angel smirked at her, "Great choice, Buff."
"I thought so." She said, accepting her own cup.
"So what are we going to do now?" Angel asked as they walked away.
"Something calm so we can eat our ice cream," She said.
After looking around for a minute, he said, "I have an idea."
He pointed her in the right direction and soon Buffy found herself standing at the base of the Ferris wheel.
"Angel, I don't know about this, I always get stuck on the very top."
"Oh, come on. It'll be fun," he said as he gently pushed her towards the empty seat.
Buffy finally gave in and sat down, in the last remaining seat. When Angel was seated, the operator started ride. After making only two rotations, the Ferris wheel suddenly came to a stop, leaving Buffy and Angel on stranded at the very top.
"I told you this was going to happen!" Buffy said dramatically.
Angel started to reply, but when Buffy turned to face him, he instead began to laugh.
"You think this is funny?" she asked.
"No, Buffy not this, you just have a little ice cream..." he trailed off as he slightly motioned to her face.
"Oh my...where?" she asked more than a little embarrassed. When she moved to wipe her face with a napkin, Angel stopped her.
"Wait, let me," he said. Slowly he leaned her, moving his hand towards her mouth. At the very last moment his hand moved to cup her cheek and he caught her lips in a gentle kiss. It only lasted for the briefest moment before he pulled back, but only slightly.
As she slowly opened her eyes, he whispered, "There, all gone."
A slow smile spread across her face as she moved close to him once more, "No, I think you missed a spot."
As their lips met for the second time, the outside world seemed to fade away. Nothing existed for them except each other and that very moment. This kiss was gentle, but filled with many emotions: passion, fire, longing...love. They were each overpowered by the
extreme feelings that were conveyed by just this simple act, but neither of them was frightened such intensity. It was as if this was the way it was always meant to be, for them to be together.
"Everybody off."
The loud voice caused them to come rushing back to reality. They were once again on the ground and being watched be several onlookers. They hadn't even noticed when the ride had once again become operational. Quickly, they stood and made their way into the crowd, both highly embarrassed, but feeling happier than they could ever remember.
"Well, what now?" Angel laughed, once they were safely away from the Ferris wheel.
"To top that?" Buffy asked, also laughing.
"I don't think we could top that if we wanted to," he said, becoming serious.
Buffy grasped his hand and turned to face him, "I don't think we could either."
Shaking her head to break the spell that he seemed to cast on her, just by looking into her eyes, she said, "Unfortunately, it's getting really late and I need to be getting home."
Looking at his watch, Angel was shocked by the time, "Wow, I guess we do need to get going. Come on," he said, pulling gently on her hand to start her moving, "I'll drive you home."
~*~*~*~*~
When they reached the door to her apartment, Buffy slowly turned to face Angel.
"I don't want this day to be over." She said quietly.
"Hey," he said, as he gently raised her head until he could look into her eyes, "There are going to be lot's more days. Just like this one."
She smiled, "No, not just like this one. I think that this is the best day of my life."
"Mine, too." He said. They just stared into each others eyes, loosing track of time as they each became lost in their own thoughts.
"I guess one of us should go here." Angel said, eventually, but made no move to do so.
"Yeah, I'll see you Monday for lunch, right?" she asked.
"I'll be there."
When she smiled at him, he couldn't hold back any longer. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. As their lips met in another searing kiss, she tightly wound her arms around his neck, trying to get as close as she could to him.
Sensing that he was about to loose control, Angel pulled back, but didn't release her from his tight embrace. With his forehead resting against hers, he whispered, "Goodnight."
"Night," she said.
Finally she forced herself to step out of his warm embrace and turned to unlock the door. Stepping inside she turned to face him once more.
Angel started to laugh, "Okay, you need to shut that door or we're going to stand here all night."
"I'm going, I'm going," she said as she slowly started to close the door. "Bye."
"Bye," Angel said, just before it closed fully.
Both stared at the closed door. Each filled with thoughts of the other and overcome by the joy that accompanied those thoughts. They were shocked at the changes that had occurred in their lives since meeting, but one thing was for certain. Their lives would never be the same.
The End