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Secret: Angel/Elena

I'm gonna tell you everything

I'm gonna give all my secrets away

~'Secrets' by One Republic~

When she left Mystic Falls, she had thought that would be the end of it. The end of her involvement with the supernatural, with vampires, with causing the death of her loved ones… with everything.

Sunnydale was supposed to be a retreat, a place to start over. The moment her Aunt Joyce offered to let her stay with her and her cousin Buffy after hearing about Jenna's death, she leapt at the chance to escape Mystic Falls. Jeremy came too- she could tell her brother also wanted to escape the town.

The brunette had made quick friends with Buffy's friends Willow and Xander- they weren't Bonnie or Caroline by any means, but she still enjoyed their company as much as she had her best friends since she could remember.

It was during a night out with Jeremy, her cousin and friends that she first met Angel.

She had been making her way back to the table her and the others were occupying after ordering something to snack on when she unintentionally ran into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She apologized as the person helped steady her. Glancing up to properly thank them, she was taken aback by the man's appearance.

He was fairly tall- taller than her anyway- and broad shouldered, with short dark brown hair and brown eyes. He looked to be maybe in his early to mid twenties and had the looks that pointed to brooding often.

Brooding signs aside, he was definitely the best looking guy she had seen in Sunnydale yet… which was saying something after seeing Stefan and Damon back in Mystic Falls.

"It's fine." The man replied, giving her the faintest hint of a smile.

She returned it with one of her own, and began to move past him when she suddenly turned. "Elena." She said. "I'm Elena." She clarified. She didn't know why, but something about this stranger made her feel like she could at least tell him her first name. It's not like he knows where you live or your last name.

"Angel." He replied, moving past her and disappearing into the crowd, but not without a backward glance in her direction.

The others asked her what was making her blush when she finally returned, but all she said was it was a guy.

Elena ran into him more frequently, and after a few conversations realized she was developing the first signs of a crush on him. Sure, he was mysterious, cryptic, and broody, but somehow she was able to look past that.

It was shortly after coming to that realization she found out Sunnydale's secrets- and by extent, her cousin's and Angel's.

Sunnydale was really a place of mystical convergence- built over a thing called a Hellmouth, which apparently was a gateway to hell dimensions. Her cousin was a Slayer- a girl chosen every generation to kill vampires, a different kind than she was used to- and Angel was a vampire- one of those not like Stefan, Damon, or Caroline, one who had a demon inside- literally. The latter was revealed by Angel himself, on accident.

Elena had insisted on walking home by herself to help her clear her head after learning the truth about Sunnydale and why her cousin was coming home so late. She wasn't too far from her house when suddenly a figure wearing a demonic face matching the description she had been given of the demonic vampires leapt out of nowhere and lunged for her.

Before she could do anything, another figure appeared- this time putting themselves between her and the vampire. It took her a few seconds to recognize the broad shoulders of Angel.

"Angel, what are you-?" She began, but fell silent as suddenly he shoved a piece of wood through the vampire's heart, causing it to turn to dust.

He turned around, and what she saw made her take a few steps back in reflex. His normal handsome face had transformed into the same one she had just seen turn to dust… meaning Angel was a vampire.

Her brain could only focus on one thought: it didn't make sense. What she had been told of this different breed of vampires was that they were soulless monsters with no humanity- only thought about bloodlust and ending the world. But Angel had had plenty of times to kill her before, yet he hadn't. He could've let the vampire kill her, but he didn't. Why?

"Elena!" She heard a voice behind her shout, and whipped around to see Buffy heading towards her. The brunette turned back around to see Angel had disappeared. "What?" Her cousin asked coming to a halt beside her.

"It's nothing." She quickly lied. "What are you doing?"

"It's Sunnydale- you shouldn't be walking home by yourself at night. I came to make sure no vampire tries to make a meal out of you." Buffy replied.

To late- one already did. She thought, but kept silent as they walked home side-by-side.

Elena spent the next few days looking for Angel in her free time. She wanted an explanation- a reason why he had never taken the chances he had to kill her.

She finally found him in an alley outside the Bronze.

"Why?" She asked, not bothering with beating around the bush. "You had many chances to kill me already yet you haven't- you even saved me last night."

Silence. Elena began to wonder if he had somehow been turned into a statue as the minutes passed. Finally "When you become a vampire, the demon takes your body but it doesn't get your soul. That part's gone." He began. "For over two hundred years-" At this Elena raised her eyebrows- he was older than even Stefan and Damon. "- I killed people, and I did it with a song in my heart."

"But then I fed off a girl- young, pretty, like you- a favorite among her clan. The Romans- Gypsies-" He elaborated at her puzzled expression. "-decided the perfect punishment would be to restore my soul. I haven't fed on anyone since then."

For Elena, his story seemed almost like déjà vu. She'd heard something similar from Stefan- only he wasn't cursed with a soul, he just decided to start being a better person.

"Does anyone-" She began, but was cut off.

"No."

She nodded. Silence fell once again, and this time she was the one to break it. "I'll keep your secret- I promise." She said. Not sure what else to do, she turned to head into the Bronze but paused and looked back at him. "Angel… thank you. For both last night and telling me." She added, giving him a small, grateful smile.

As she entered the building, she faintly heard him reply.

"You're welcome Elena."

Alright, so not much romance- I'm sorry for that, but this was the way it went. By mistake, I realized I had five instead of four guys picked out, so Legolas (the next one- I finally chose to use him instead of Aragorn since I have an Aragorn/Elena story already planned) will be up either later today or tomorrow with Reid (Criminal Minds).