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Buffy walked through the cemetery, stake in hand and her arms wrapped around herself, lost in her thoughts. It had felt weird seeing Angel at the Bronze, especially since he rarely went there, unless it was to tell her danger was coming or if a crisis was happening at the popular club

"Hello, girlie," a newly risen vampire grinned

He snarled and lunged at Buffy, only to score a blow to the jaw. Disorientated by the blow, the vampire was then tripped up and staked upon landing

"Goodbye, vampie," Buffy said, without a hint of humour in her voice

The vampire burst into dust as Buffy continued on her walk, thinking about Angel and how she had seen him at the Bronze. She came to a tomb and sat on it, wrapping her arms around her knees and drawing them up to her chest, staring at the night sky

"Yo, B, whatcha doing out here?" came a Southern voice

Buffy grimaced slightly. She wanted to be alone tonight. Guess that wasn't happening

"Thought I might come out and enjoy the stars," Buffy replied, "How are you, Faith?"

"I'm good. Scored a few dustings earlier, but it's quietened down since then"

"The demon-folk know you're out and about"

"Well, we should make them really scared. What do you say, B? You look like you could use some slaying. Channel some of that angst into slaying"

"You are a violent person, aren't you?" Buffy asked

"Only sometimes, when killing needs to be done," Faith shrugged

"Well come on then, let's get down to it"

Buffy hopped off the tomb and joined her sister Slayer on the patrol, hoping that a round of slaying would get her mind off Angel

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"What can I do for you, Cordelia?" Angel asked

"I just find it interesting that Mr-I-Must-Pine-Over-Buffy is here at the Bronze with us ordinary people, drinking whiskey. What happened, Buffy dump you again?"

"It's none of your business," Angel growled, the words hitting close to home

"Was just trying to be friendly. Say, drinking all that whiskey is not gonna give you a happy, is it? On the upside, it'll be easier to defeat Angelus if he's drunk"

Angel rolled his eyes, even as a small smile came to his face. The whiskey was starting to get to him. He didn't care. He wanted it all to end. He wanted the heartbreaking pain to just finally go away. Whiskey usually helped with that

"Angel, how much have you had to drink?" Cordelia asked, slightly concerned

"More than enough," Angel replied, feeling loose now from the whiskey

"Okay, you know what? No more alcohol for you, Broodypants"

Cordelia grabbed the bottle of whiskey and slid it along the bar into the hands of a now-happy patron, who started tossing the whiskey back, sculling it greedily

"He's not gonna wake up for another two weeks," Cordelia said

"Why the hell did you do that?" Angel growled

"Don't get all snarly with me because I don't want Angelus running around. Come on, I'm gonna take you home"

"Fine, I'll go home"

Angel got up from the bar and unsteadily made his way to the door. Cordelia watched him go, seeing that he wasn't wobbling much, which could be a good sign

Cordelia cringed when Angel walked into the wall and staggered back. Okay, maybe he wasn't as good as he thought he was. Rolling her eyes, Cordelia headed over and helped Angel to his feet, noting that Xander and Willow hadn't bothered to come to the vampire's aid. Helping him out of the Bronze, Cordelia dumped Angel into her car, before taking him back to his mansion. Along the way, Angel was passing in and out of consciousness, while muttering Buffy's name under his breath. She was glad when she was able to drop him off at the mansion

"At least I still have time to have a good night"

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Buffy landed a right backhand on the vampire's face, followed by a left hook, as the vampire growled and lashed out, but Buffy blocked his arm, delivering a blow to his solar plexus, followed by plunging the stake into his heart. The vampire cried out as he turned to dust, while Faith battled against her vampire, kicking him against a tomb. The vampire grabbed a vase and threw it, which Faith dodged as she moved in, blocking the vampire's arm and punching him in the face, then forcing him back onto the tomb and ramming the stake into his heart. The vampire turned to dust, as Faith smirked and turned to Buffy, giving her a high-five

"Another two vamps bite the dust," Faith grinned, "Let's see if there's any more"

"You go ahead. I'm gonna head home," Buffy said, "Mom will be expecting me"

"Alright then. See ya round, B"

Faith headed off in search of her next fight, as Buffy headed in the direction of home. She had managed to keep her mind off Angel during the patrol, but now that patrol was over, Angel came flooding back into her mind. She couldn't help it. She was trying to keep Angel off her mind, but it was seemingly impossible. She arrived home and went for a shower, staying in there for about fifteen minutes, only getting out when Joyce knocked at the door to make sure she was okay

Buffy got dressed, feeling a little bad that she had left Xander and Willow at the Bronze on their own. She'll see them tomorrow and apologize. She headed to the window, enjoying the slight breeze coming in. but then she saw slight movement outside and narrowed her eyes for a better look

Spiky dark hair, long leather coat. Buffy slammed her window close and folded the curtains over, before retreating to bed. Angel was standing outside her home, watching her room. It bugged her that he was doing that. She didn't want to see him, talk to him or have him standing outside her home. That was annoying and she was feeling a little angry with him doing that, like some stalker

Angel stood outside the Summers house, staring at Buffy's window. After Cordelia dropped him off at his mansion, Angel slept for about an hour, before having a mug of blood, then heading over to the Summers house, the previous day still running through his mind. He knew he should move on, but he couldn't. The connection he had with Buffy was holding him back. She had all his love, but she also broke his heart. He wanted her back, but she didn't want him. He had tried to drown out his sorrows, but Cordelia had put a stop to that

"She doesn't want to talk to me"

Dejected, Angel turned his back and headed off into the night

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The next morning…

"Good morning!"

Angel groaned in his sleep, opening his eyes and rolling over to look at Cordelia. She grinned as she stood in his bedroom doorway. The vampire shot a glare at the cheerleader, before rolling back over and hiding his head under his pillow

"Yep, you're back to your normal self. All is well again"

"What are you doing here?" Angel growled, bolting upright

"You drank a fair load of whiskey last night. I was just stopping by to see if you're okay, cause I don't think the others really care. Especially Buffy"

"You know nothing of what's going on between us"

"Oh come on, Angel, it's the same crap day in, day out. You love, you cry, you hurt, you break up, you brood and you get back together again. It's so repetitive"

"Your point being?"

"I think with the way you were drinking last night, she broke up with you for good"

"I'm sure I told you last night that it was none of your business"

"Well, I'm sure you don't want to keep going on. I mean with the broody and the angsty drinking. Cause that's just not good for you. And-"

"Cordelia," Angel interrupted, "What do you care?"

"I was going to tell you to move on from Buffy. She obviously isn't worth your time. But you don't want any of my help, so I'll see you around, Angel"

She grabbed her schoolbag and left the room, as Angel groaned and fell back onto the pillows. However, he couldn't get back to sleep. He was thinking about Buffy again, but this time around, he was thinking about Cordelia's words. She seemed like she wanted to help him, but he had pushed her away. And when he did, he had caught a miniscule flash of hurt in the brunette's eyes. Angel groaned, trying to erase it from his mind, before getting up from the bed and getting about his day

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