Famous Love
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I still do not own the Buffy characters.
Summary: AU. Buffy Summers and Angel O'Donovan are the two hottest names in Hollywood. But when one starts badmouthing the other, all hell breaks loose in beautiful Tinseltown.
The next Tuesday night Angel and Doyle decided to hit up LAX, a hip lounge in Hollywood. After making their way through the usual paparazzi, the guys found two seats at the bar and ordered their drinks. They hadn't even been there for ten minutes when a young woman came up to them and wrapped her arms around Angel's neck, then leaned over to his ear to whisper.
"It's been a while since you last came," the woman whispered sultrily.
Angel recognized the voice immediately and smirked while looking at Doyle without turning around.
"Yes it has," he replied.
"You've been busy I suppose."
"Yes I have," said Angel still smirking.
"Too busy for me?"
"Never," and with that Angel whirled around, grabbing the young woman and pushing her into the bar as his lips crashed down onto hers. There was nothing innocent about the kiss and the two soon began to grope at each other.
"Right, I think I'll just uhh… go over there," Doyle said as he grabbed his Guinness and left the two.
"I've missed you," the woman said once they had separated.
"You knew it was just some fun Darls, I thought we both got that," Angel said as he stopped touching the woman, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"I did. It's just been a while."
"Look, Darla, I don't think you get it. How about you just leave, 'cause right now you're starting to annoy the hell out of me," Angel said pushing her off of him.
"You're an ass, Angelus," she said.
"Yeah, and you're horrible in bed," he said with a smirk at the bartender, Gunn.
Darla grumbled and stormed out of the lounge.
"She's some piece of work O'Donovan," Gunn said as he filled up a glass of beer and gave it to a customer.
"You're telling me! For someone as easy as that one, she sure doesn't grasp the whole one night stand thing." Angel said as he took a gulp of his beer.
Once Doyle had seen Darla stomp away from Angelus, he made his way back over to where the two men had been sitting until Darla had showed up.
Laughing and shaking his head Doyle said, "Well, lad, you certainly pissed off that skanger. What'd you do to the lass?"
Angel took another sip of his beer before replying, "She was getting on my nerves."
Doyle laughed and the two quickly forgot about Darla and began to talk about other stuff.
Darla had been an easy girl to get into bed, and while she was never anything more, she in no way was ever ready to accept that. She had always been in awe of Angelus and his celebrity status. She was rather jealous too, always wanting to be that famous and well known. She would do anything, just to be seen with him. However, Angel was far from dumb and knew everything that was going on. He had been lying when he said she was bad in bed, but it was still just sex, so Angel had always been game for some fun whenever she was around. Angel had quickly moved on and hadn't seen her all summer until that night.
Gunn made his way over to where Angel and Doyle were sitting and made them two more drinks before beginning to talk.
"So, O'Donovan, you ever gonna leave Buffy alone"
"Not a chance in hell Gunn," he stated with a smug smirk.
Doyle rolled his eyes before turning to Gunn.
"Please dear God don't get him started, lad."
"She's a pretty girl O'Donovan, but she's smart as hell. She's giving back shit better than you're dishin' out. And she's makin' you look like an ass while doing it!" Gunn said laughing.
"He's right lad, got you all tied up, that one," Doyle said taking another sip of his Guinness.
"Excuse me?" Angel said turning to Doyle, angry that everyone thought Summers was the one in control
"I'm only buzzin' wit ya, cool yer jets!" said Doyle raising his hands in defense.
"Whatever. Look guys, that girl doesn't know what the hell she's doing. She might be able to throw some insults back, but what would she do if I was actually right there in front of her, talking to her?"
"O'Donovan, something tells me that she isn't like the rest of the women you hang with. She's not going to go weak at the knees and suddenly fall for you. If anything, she'd probably kick your ass. She's different, man," Gunn said walking away to deal with more customers.
Angel sat there in silence for just a few minutes, thinking before suddenly slamming his fist down onto the bar before he began to laugh hysterically.
"Are you some sort of bleedin' dope? Are you really that gee-eyed?" Doyle asked with his eyes wide open, looking at Angel as if he'd grown another head.
"Quite possibly, but that's not the point. I just thought of a way to get Summers; something she would never see coming," Angel said, smiling like a wild man.
"Well, you feel like sharing anytime soon?"
"Her premier! It's tomorrow night! She'd never expect me to be there!" Angel exclaimed.
"You're a bleedin' looper, that's what you are lad! Wes would have yer head faster than you could say bejappers!" Doyle shouted.
"He wouldn't if I merely said I wanted to get some publicity."
"We all know that's the last thing you need right now Angelus."
The two men sat in silence both thinking of what would happen tomorrow night.
"Looks like I'm going to a movie premier tomorrow Doyle!"
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Buffy sat in her limo on the way to the El Capitan Theatre, the location of the movie premier for her latest movie, Midnight Sky. Twirling a piece of blonde hair between her fingers out of habit, she looked out the window and watched all the people walking past. Sometimes she envied people who could just walk along on their way to wherever they were going without getting hounded by people constantly. But then, she would just remember it was all just part of the job…a job Buffy loved. She was pulled from her thoughts when Xander's cell phone rang.
"Harris," answered Xander before listening to the voice on the other end of the call.
"What the hell do you mean he's there? What is he doing?"
Buffy felt as if she was suddenly going down a very large hill...on a very fast roller coaster. She knew exactly who 'he' was. She realized she would come face to face with the jerk that had started the whole summer fiasco between them.
"Buffy, if you want, I can have the limo circle around a couple of times," Xander said once he had clicked off his cell phone.
Buffy thought for a second, but then decided not to let Angelus ruin her movie premier.
"No, just pull right up, He's not going to win this time Xand," Buffy said sitting up straight with a determined look on her face.
Once the limo pulled up to the curb, Xander stepped out holding the door for her. Buffy took a deep breath and calmed down a little, as she plastered a smile on her face and stepped out of the limo.
The surrounding crowd went insane. Flashing lights were easily blinding her and the press and eager fans lining the street were all screaming her name.
Buffy barely had time for her compulsory wave to the crowd, before Xander directed her towards the star-hungry Media The first reporter was from US Weekly.
"So, Buffy, what made you interested in playing the role of Eve in this film?" the reporter asked placing a microphone right in front of Buffy.
"I just really fell in love with the script after reading it, and could relate to Eve as a character. And of course finding out Orlando Bloom would play opposite of me was definitely a plus! We had met briefly before and he was just a complete sweetheart!" Buffy answered with a laugh.
"What was Orlando like to work with?" the reporter asked.
"He was a blast. You know, he kept us laughing all day and…" Buffy began answering the question but when she went to move a piece of hair out of her face, she recognized the man she was dreading the most to see.
Angelus was standing no less than twenty feet up the red carpet wearing a blood red dress shirt with the upper buttons open and dark dress slacks. He was in the middle of answering a question when he looked up and looked straight at Buffy. He smirked and winked at her before continuing the interview. Buffy swallowed and quickly finished her interview with US Weekly before grabbing her body guards and walking across the street to sign autographs and take pictures with all the fans that had come. In reality, Buffy just wanted to get as far away from Angelus as possible.
After taking twenty minutes to spend time with the fans, Buffy crossed the street again and made her way down the red carpet. Without thinking too much about Angelus, Buffy smiled for the photographers and began to forget about the annoying actor.
Buffy was wearing an absolutely gorgeous midnight blue Chanel dress that ended just about her knees. The dress itself wrapped around Buffy's neck and dropped down leaving her entire back open. Her Jimmy Choo shoes were of the same color as her dress and allowed her to be much taller than she normally was. To top off the outfit, she wore a pair of stunning diamond loop earrings from Harry Winston. Buffy felt sexy and that was what kept her going through the countless interviews.
Finally finishing with all the press, Xander led Buffy inside to her seat right next to Orlando. Buffy never looked around the room as the movie played, knowing Angelus was somewhere close waiting for any opportunity to intimidate her. Even after the movie was done, she spent most of her time with Orlando and Kate Bosworth before leaving early.
By the end of the night, with the exception of seeing him on the red carpet, Buffy hadn't run into Angelus once and for that she was both happy and disappointed. On one hand she was glad he hadn't ruined her night, but on the other hand she wished she had run into him, just so she could have shown him up. "Oh well," she thought as she stepped out of her limo to go inside her house, "I'm sure I'll run into the jerk sometime."
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
That Friday Buffy decided to go shopping in the afternoon. Later in the night she was having dinner with a friend at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and so she figured she could go a bit early and shop around on Rodeo Drive. After giving her keys to the valet parking attendant at Two Rodeo Center, Buffy made her way to one of her favorite boutiques, Ferragamo. Salvature Farragamo was one of her absolute favorite designers.
Walking inside the store and placing her sunglasses on the top of her head, she was instantly welcomed by a woman, in her mid-fifties, with grey hair and very fancy classy clothes on.
"Good Afternoon Ms. Summers. How can I be of your assistance?"
"Oh I'm good Stella, thanks. I'm just looking around today," Buffy said with a smile.
And with that Buffy began to make her way around the store. Spotting a beautiful green dress, Buffy decided to try it on in the dressing rooms towards the back of the store. After slipping the magnificently made dress on her slim figure, she opened the door and stepped out to see how it looked in the mirror.
" Lookin' mighty fine, Summers," a voice said.
Turning around, Buffy came face to face with Angelus O'Donovan. He was dressed casually in a white dress shirt and jeans. Any other woman would have thought he looked drop dead gorgeous, but all Buffy saw was a cocky ass.
"Not so bad yourself, O'Donovan," Buffy said snidely.
"Yeah well, what can I say?" Angel said raising his hands looking very smug. He could tell Buffy had been caught off guard by his appearance and relished with that knowledge.
"Nice stunt you pulled Wednesday. Too bad your lame excuse of an attempt to cause some drama failed miserably," Buffy said.
"Too bad you ran away before things could get interesting." He threw right back at her.
Buffy was getting mad…very mad. All the bottled up anger and stress that had been building all summer, thanks to Angelus and the press, was suddenly unleashed."
"Who the hell do you think you are? Showing up at my premier and actually trying to get things started on the red carpet?" Buffy screamed, not caring if there were other customers listening to her.
"Things change Summers, you just gotta be ready to roll with the punches," Angel said, calmly and collected; a complete opposite of Buffy's fuming anger.
"That's rich O'Donovan. What's so damn entertaining about my life that just seems to interest you so much," said Buffy.
"The very fact that you're yelling at me in this lovely boutique. You've got guts Summers, something I never once considered. You see, at first you were just an easy target for me to pump up some good ol' press, but then you started to give it right back, something I daresay I overlooked. You intrigue me," Angel said with a sparkle in his eyes watching Buffy intently.
"I'm touched, really. But stay the hell outa my business or I'll make you life not even worth all the hookers you could pay for," she said smoothly, trying to bring down her anger.
"What you jealous, Summers? I'm sure I could fit you in my busy schedule if you really wish," Angel said smiling.
"Is that your new line Angelus? Is that what gets all the girls to go weak at their knees these days? See, unlike them, I actually have a brain and can think for myself, but thanks," Buffy said before going back into the dressing room to change out of the dress.
"Ouch, you slay me with your words. It's a pity we didn't get to chat after the premier, Buff," said Angel stressing the last word, "because I really would have enjoyed to give you some feedback," he continued sitting in one of the chairs near by, tapping his fingers against each other.
"And to think…I actually slept that night without your input! It's a miracle!" Buffy yelled from the dressing room.
"Oh Zack, we can't ever be together, you know that, no matter how much it rips us apart inside," Angel said mimicking Buffy, but then switched back to his normal voice. "That scene nearly killed me Summers. It was a true heartbreaker."
Buffy came out of the dressing room with the dress flung over her arm. She walked right past Angel, without so much a second glance, and stood at the register where Stella was waiting for her.
"I'll take this please, Stella," Buffy said with a forced smile.
"Certainly Ms. Summers."
Angel came up and leaned against the counter in a rather provocative manner.
"Glad you decided to get that. Really brings out your eyes, Buff," he said with a smirk at Buffy.
When Stella turned away to pack up the dress, Buffy turned to Angel and with all the anger she could muster up said quietly, "Go to hell!"
"There you go Ms. Summers. Thank you for shopping at Ferragamo today," Stella said with a smile.
After Stella had handed Buffy her new dress over the counter, Angel smoothly turned around so that he was behind Buffy with both his arms against the counter trapping her within his grasp as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"Save me a seat, lover."