Ch.2

            Buffy stood silently as she stared at Angel who was obviously not used to his surroundings.  "How can it be…?  I sent you to hell."  She jumped back when he made another lunge for her and she shoved him away from her.  "Ok, obviously you're traumatized or something…but I'm B-u-f-f-y"   Buffy sighed softly and ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to think of how Angel could just zap back into her life.  Then it all clicked in her head as she realized that the night before she had in a way, given the ring back to Angel and it had somehow brought him back to Earth.  She paced for a minute as she watched Angel move back and forth with her.  "Hello, are you alive in there?"  She waved her hand back and forth in front of his face and then took his arm and moved him into the living room and sat down with him on the couch.  "Can you at least say something?"  She ran her fingers through his hair and rest her hand alongside his cheek.

            Angel turned his cheek into her hand and rest one of his own over hers.  "Buffy..?  Is it really you?"  He looked into her eyes and ran a finger under her chin and brushed his lips against hers.

            "Whoa, ok, whoa…you just got back from *hell* and now you want to make with the smoochies?"  She suddenly felt like an idiot for saying that, but she just couldn't let him jump all over her.  "Angel, I'm sorry…," she said as she lowered her hand from his cheek and folded her hands in her lap.  "It's just…you're here…with me…like I've been wishing for ever since you had to go.  It's all I've ever wanted."  She wrapped her arms around him in an embrace and kissed him ever so lightly.

            "Buffy, all I've wanted is to be able to come back to you as well…I had missed you so."  He kissed her back just as lightly and wrapped his arms around her as well.  "But you have to understand the fact that you did kindave send me to hell…"

            She raised her head to look into his eyes which she could tell were filled with passion, yet had just the hint of sadness.  "I had to though, or else the whole world would have been sucked into hell…and after I sent you there, I had to leave home, Angel.  My mother and I had gotten into a fight, and she got so mad that she said if I walked out the door, I shouldn't even think of coming back…"  She lowered her gaze from him and shook her head.  "It's not the fact that you're treating this like every single moment is my fault, it's the fact that you're taking everything in the wrong direction."  She leaned back from his arms and stood and stared him down.  "Don't you even care?"

            Angel stood and looked down at her.  "Buffy of course I care, I never even so much got to tell you how I felt about you…and that's what you're not getting."  He headed to the back of the mansion where his room was located and slipped on a tank top shirt and sat down on the edge of his bed.

            Buffy watched him go and didn't even bother to go after him and try to get her foot out of her mouth from what she said to him.  "Good going, Buffy," she said softly to herself.  She made her way to the front door and stepped outside and let it slam shut behind her as she walked down the streets with her hands in the pockets of her coat.  How could he even say that to me?  He treats me as if I'm a child who doesn't know what he had to go through, but I had to go through it as well.  Is he turning this so much around so he can make it easier on himself?  Is it so that at the end of the night he feels better about himself?  Now I have another life mystery to worry about tonight, and I haven't even gone patrolling yet by myself…just peachy, Buffy thought to herself.  She made her way into the graveyard and sat down on her usual gravestone and pulled her hands out of her pockets and rested them on her knees.  She just couldn't get over the whole meeting with Angel.  "I feel like I can't even be around myself anymore," Buffy thought out loud.  "Which I probably can't.  Maybe I should just forget about anything else tonight and just go home…"  She sighed as sensing a vampire and she stood and drew out a stake.  "Me going home involves the likes of you not coming near me, got that?"  She turned on her heel to face the vamp then arched a brow when it was Angel.  "Come to give me another lecture or something?  Because if so, I'm going home to my own bed to sleep."  She turned her back on him, which she regretted because Giles always told her not to turn her back to anyone or anything.  She could almost feel his hot breath against the back of her neck as he came up behind her a few paces back, but she pressed on with walking, she wasn't about to give into him.  "Angel, I'm going home…I want to go home."  She took off at a faster walking pace as tears started to slip down her cheeks and then she took off at a run.

            Angel took off after her and caught up to her quickly with his vampire speed and brought her down to the ground, pinning her down.  "Buffy, listen to me…just please hear me out."  He fought against Buffy's struggled, but he allowed her to shift as to where the ground was pressed at her back instead of her stomach.  He looked into her eyes and brushed loose pieces of hair off her face.  "You have to understand that I can't be with you like I want to be with you, Buffy.  I'm pretty sure that you know that yourself, but you're not showing it.  You have to face the facts."

            Buffy nodded and sniffled as she blinked back more tears.  "I know, and I'm being selfish about the whole thing.  You need your space, and I'm going to give it to you, no strings attached."  She used all of her strength and shoved him off her and stood up.  "I'm not going to accept anything though."  She wiped at her moist cheeks and made her way home before he could say anything else.

            Buffy made her way over to her locker without a run into Xander or Willow at all.  She couldn't tell them about Angel, not yet at least.  She really didn't know if she could trust him yet, especially since he had come back from Hell.  She ran her fingers through her hair and let out a soft sigh as she opened her locker and pulled out the books to her first period class that she had with both Willow and Xander.  To tell them, or not to tell them.  That is the question, Buffy thought to herself.  She made her way down the hallway that was cluttered with the students who usually made their way into class a minute or so before the bell rang announcing tardies.  She bumped into another senior and mumbled her apology and glanced up at the dirty blonde standing before her that she never had seen in her life at Sunnydale High.  "I really am sorry about bumping into you; I don't have all the screws in my head today."

            The girl smiled and giggled softly.  "It's ok; I have those types of days myself."  She held out her hand to Buffy for a shake.  "I'm Cary…and I'm new here…do you think you could show me around during lunch?  Whenever that is at least, or, how about you tell me what your first period class is."

            Buffy held up her English book and smiled when Cary had the same class.  "How cool is that?  I'll save you a seat, ok?"  Buffy put a hand to her forehead and laughed.  "God…I did it again…my names Buffy."  She stepped into the classroom down the hall and took a seat and made sure Cary had a seat next to her. 

            Cary smiled as she watched the short pretty blonde girl head down the hallway to the classroom.  Oh I'll have plans for you, and I'll find out what you are, Buffy.  I saw you last night in the graveyard stalking around like you knew the place like the back of your hand, Cary thought to herself. 

            Buffy headed to lunch with Cary and waved at Xander as she spotted him just now heading into the Cafeteria.  She looked at Cary and smiled.  "You probably don't want to know him, but he's Xander.  He was the one sitting next to me in English, and Math…and Science…we're good friends."  She headed over to Xander and introduced Cary to Xander and then headed over to wait in the lunch line while she listened to Xander jabber the poor girl's ears off.  She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair and glanced around for Willow and quickly spotted the red-head a few people in front of her.  Somehow, Willow seemed distant from her ever since yesterday, and even Oz was more distant then he usually was from her as well.  She drummed her fingers on her tray and couldn't help but wish she could use her slayer abilities to get the line to move quicker then it was currently going. 

            Cary watched Buffy closely as she half-listened to Xander talking.  She looked at Xander and gave him a sweet smile and looked him in the eyes until she felt like she had him in full control.  "Xander, would you mind being quiet?"  She looked away from him when he obeyed and rested a hand on her hip.  Now if only she could get Buffy under her control to achieve the last alignment of her plan to destroy Sunnydale and take it under her full control.  She bit her bottom lip and let her mind wander away from her current thoughts to Willow.  Maybe I can get the wretched witch to do a spell for me to get Buffy to come to me faster, Cary thought to herself.  This town is too simple and so helpful. 

            Buffy glanced over her shoulder at Cary and Xander and was surprised to see Xander doing a major zoning out session instead of talking.  She finally got to go sit at a table and was relieved when Willow came and sat down with her.  "Hey Willow, long time no talk, huh?"  She smiled at her best friend and took a drink of her Coke and shrugged when she didn't respond.  "Ok, what's the deal?  Is there something wrong with my hair or something?  Is my face horribly disfigured and you don't want to talk to me because you feel sorry for me?"  She tapped a perfectly manicured nail on the table and just decided to give up.  She looked up at Xander as he sat down.  "Xander, you have to talk to Willow here, you won't say a word."  She frowned when Xander didn't respond either.  "God, what is up with you two?"  She sighed heavily, stood, picked up her coke and headed out of the cafeteria quickly to go tell Giles what was up.  Please let him be able to talk…

            Giles paced the library floor and glanced up at Buffy every now and then when she would give him a look.  "Buffy I've never heard of a case like this, except maybe the fact that they just really don't want to talk to you.  Maybe you did something that offended them in some way.  You do have a tendency to do that sometimes."  He jumped slightly when the swinging doors burst open and Faith stepped into the library with a puzzled look on her face. 

"You wouldn't believe this chick out in the hallway…she keeps on looking at people like they have a disease or something."  Faith shook her head and plopped down in a chair and propped her feet up on the table.  "She almost looked at me, but my speed thankfully got me away."

Buffy looked at Faith and then at Giles.  "What did this 'chick' look like exactly?  It might be this new girl named Cary.  She did seem kind of…odd to me when I met her earlier." 

Faith bit her bottom lip as she tried to think of what she looked like.  "Well, she had dirty blonde hair down to her shoulders…and a crappy fashion sense…"  She shook her head and laughed.  "I mean, she had on high-water jeans and a tank top…where's the leather and the love?"

            Buffy perked up then and smiled.  "That's Cary alright…and she probably thinks I'm some dumb blonde, but haha!  I'm going to figure her out and crush her little hopes and dreams of taking over Sunnydale!"  Buffy slammed her hand down on the desk.  "Even if it kills me."

Buffy walked around the graveyard slowly and glanced over her shoulder to make sure Faith had her back covered.  "You really didn't have to come out here with me tonight, Faith.  I'm sure you'd rather be wishing you could dance around in the Bronze in your little outfits."  Buffy slipped a stake from the waistband of her jeans and gripped it in her hand as she scanned the area around her.  She felt like someone was watching her, making a note of her every move.  She held up a hand to stop Faith and gave her a motion of being ready for a fight.  Buffy could feel every muscle in her body tense when she heard a rustle in the bushes.  She stepped over to them and quickly reached her hand into them and pulled out whatever was watching her.  She let go of her grip and jumped back when it was Cary.  "God!  What are you?   You shouldn't be out here right now."  She drew her stake back and stuck it in her back pocket.  "If the graveyard keeper knew of you stalking around here like you're doing, you'd be dead."  She folded her arms over her chest and thought up an excuse for her own presence.  "My father works here anyways, and he told me to look around for lurkers and to me, you're lurking."

Cary arched a brow and tried to make Buffy look into her eyes and sighed softly when she wouldn't meet her gaze.  "Look, Buffy…I was just here because I needed to visit my grandfather…he was buried here."  She pointed over to a gravestone and placed her hands on her hips.  "So do you have something to say about that?"

Buffy looked at the gravestone.  "He doesn't have the same last name as you, and you said when your mother got divorced, she made you change your last name to her maiden last name, which would be Shamus."

            Faith looked at Buffy and then at Cary.  "Buffy, give her a break.  Maybe she really did come here to visit her grandfather."  She winced when Buffy gave her the evil eye.  "Maybe she didn't then."  Faith looked over Cary's outfit in disgust and went and sat down on a tombstone and ran her fingers through her hair and watched the two bicker back and forth like two little old ladies.  Can't we just patrol for vampires and not for people that obviously are freaky?  She's probably just some wacko who can't get a boyfriend and who seriously needs to rethink her hair and clothes, Faith thought to herself.  She looked over her shoulder as a vamp tackled her from her perch.  "You guys aren't much for giving a girl a warning are you?"  She quickly pulled out her stake from her back pocket and slammed it into the back of the vampire and flipped up and took a fighting stance.  "Buffy!  We have serious company!"

Cary took the opportunity to shove Buffy to the ground and take off at a sprint.  She ran until her lungs burned and until she was away from the graveyard.  So you're the slayer then, Buffy?

Buffy took her stake out from her pocket after she got up and watched Cary run off.  "Loser..."  She lunged into the vampire pack and spin kicked one to the ground.  "Where the hell did all of these guys come from?"  She staked one and didn't even bother to brush the ash from her pants. 

Faith shook her head and staked a vamp and then threw one over her shoulder, flipped behind him and staked him through the back.  "I don't know...I was hoping you would know…maybe Cary has something to do with it, especially if she turned Xander, Willow, and Oz to freaks."

"They aren't freaks, Faith…they just don't have verbal skills anymore."  She threw triple punches into the gut of vampire then round housed him and staked him.  "Faith I think we're outnumbered, there's just too many of them!"  She looked around her and panicked when she didn't see Faith.  "Faith!?"  She grunted when a vamp slammed her to the ground and pinned her.  "Get off me!"  She could just see her life flash before her eyes when he lowered his gaping jaws down to her neck.  She opened her eyes and saw Faith draw back her stake.  "What happened?"  She dusted herself off and quickly got up and looked at Faith again.

"Some asshole grabbed me and took me over to a bush…but then I got the upper stake into him."  She grabbed Buffy and took off running with her.  "We might as well take off now before they realize that we were outnumbered and they come after us or something."

"We have to get to Giles, Faith…as soon as we can."

"You think I don't know that, B?"

Cary snickered as she watched Buffy and Faith run by the alley she had been watching from.  "Oh yes, go to your Watcher and make him tell you the things you don't even want to know."