Author's Note: Oh my god, I am SO sorry that this update took so long! I've had so much schoolwork and I have a ton of revision and ugh, circumstances have just got in the way! Not to mention my muse just decided to run off and hide for a while. Thank you for all those who have followed, favourited and reviewed, every single one means the world!

Just One Face In The Crowd: Yeah, I would say I felt bad at the end too, but that'd be a lie! XD Thank you, I just love Giles' involvement with all the Scoobies, in how he mentors them and I wanted that to be the same with Becky too! I'm glad you liked it! I hope you enjoy this one!

Grapejuice101: Thank you, I hope you like this chapter!


Chapter Seven:
Angel: Part 1.

The Bronze was insane on the night of the fumigation party as usual and I couldn't help to admire those dancing, smiling to myself. It had been around a week since the hyena incident and thankfully Giles hadn't mentioned anything since our talk. Buffy, Willow and Xander had been all too happy to forget about it and forgive me (although in their eyes, there was nothing to forgive.) There was another incident that had been playing on my mind though since the hyena fiasco - I'd kissed girls on that first night… And I'd liked it. I kissed boys as well and of course I'd liked that but I was struggling with the thought of liking girls. It wasn't exactly the norm. And this wasn't really something I could go to Giles about this time.

I realised that Willow was talking and Buffy and I looked up, unaware of what she was talking about.

"It's a lot of fun… What's it like where you two are?" She emphasised and I gave a shrug, forcing a smile out, as did Buffy.

"I'm sorry… I was just thinking about things…" Buffy trailed off and Willow caught on.

"So, we're talking about a guy?" Willow questioned and Buffy gave a shrug.

"Not exactly a guy. For us to have a conversation about a guy, there'd have to be a guy for us to have a conversation about." She paused, head tilted to one side. "Is that a sentence?"

Willow smiled understandingly. "You lack a guy."

"I do. Which is fine with me, most of the time, but…" Buffy trailed off, sighing.

"What about Angel?" Willow asked and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Angel? I can see him in a relationship. 'Hi honey, you're in grave danger. I'll see you next month.'" Buffy muttered sarcastically and Willow frowned.

"He's not around much, it's true." She admitted and Buffy seemed to zone out, looking dreamy.

"When he is around… it's like the lights dim everywhere else. You know how it's like that with some guys?" I looked over at a pretty girl, with long blonde hair and a slim waist, smiling before realising what I was doing.

I gave a slight cough, nodding, to keep up with the conversation as Willow murmured "yeah," looking towards my brother. I placed a hand on Willow's, smiling softly; she returned it sadly. We'd never really spoken about her crush on my brother even though we both knew it existed. But since Buffy had joined our little group, she had seemed to become more open about it; at least, to us.

My idiot brother came back over, moaning about the vileness of Cordelia, which I agreed with fervently. "What're you vixens up to?"

"Just sitting here, watching our barren lives pass by." Willow spotted a cockroach, stomping on it.

"Whoa, well, let's stop this crazy whirligig of fun! I'm dizzy!" Xander's tone was high in sarcasm but I could only look at him with eyebrows raised.

"Whirligig?" I questioned and he shrugged at me, not seeing the problem. I turned away in mock disgust, rolling my eyes at him.

"Alright, now I'm infecting those nearest and dear to me. I'm gonna call it a night." Buffy slid off the stool and Xander practically pouted, asking her to stay for one more dance but Buffy declined, walking away. Xander looked crushed, as Willow held up her boot, asking about a free drink.

A figure caught my eye in the midst of the dance floor; I slipped off the stool, heading towards the dance floor, my hips swaying to the beat of the music. Cordelia and her silly Cordettes were dancing with some of the boys and I sidled past, heading towards one of the teenage boys - he had an older vibe surrounding him and his outfit was out of date. His eyes were looking around the club as if he was browsing a butchers shop.

I sashayed up to him, grinning coyly and he smirked as we began to dance, swaying to the music. "Shall we take this outside?" He murmured in my ear after a few songs and I felt the stake in my boot dig in to my ankle. I gave a flirtatious grin, allowing him to lead me out to the back of the Bronze. As we passed Xander and Willow, behind the boy's back, I gave them a subtle nod.

It was warm out in the alley, illuminated by the streetlamp, although not by much. The boy let go of my hand and I moved a few steps forward, distancing myself from him. A vicious growl gave him away; a struck out with a roundhouse kick, which hit him in the stomach, reaching down to grab the stake from my combat boots.

"You're not the Slayer!" The vampire hissed, recovering from the kick, looking warily at the stake and I shook my head.

"No, I'm not." I agreed. "Just a girl with a stake. Do you wanna bet the odds?" I challenged and the vampire snarled, rushing at me.

I sidestepped hastily, stake whirling but the vampire knocked it out of my hands - I lashed out with a punch which he then returned, causing me to stumble backwards. The vampire advanced as my hand found the stake and he pounced; the stake penetrated his heart as he did so and he crumbled to dust all over me.

"Look at that. The odds were in my favour." I muttered to myself, getting up and sighing as I looked down at my dress; which was now covered in dust.

"Great." Xander and Willow came rushing out into the alley and I looked at them in disbelief. "Now you guys are here?!" I demanded and Willow looked sheepish.

"Willow found a cockroach and wanted a free drink." Xander explained and I raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"So, I could've died out here… Because you wanted a free drink?" I questioned and Willow smiled sheepishly.

We'd been doing this for a while now; one of us would identify a potential vampire, Xander or I would intercept them and then we'd stake them outside. It was risky and reckless and Buffy would probably kill us if she knew… But it was a way for us to improve our own vampire-slaying skills without having to endanger the Slayer herself.

I just didn't know how much longer it would last.

~8~8~

"He spent the night? In your room? In your bed?" We were all in the library the next day, gathered around the table, discussing the events of last night; Xander was distraught by the events with Angel, Willow found it hopelessly romantic and Giles was more focused on the vampires that attacked her. I just wanted to know what fighting techniques he used, as he didn't have any supernatural abilities, according to Buffy.

"Not in my bed, by my bed." Buffy emphasised.

Willow was practically gushing. "That is so romantic! Did you, uh… I mean, did he, uh…?" Willow couldn't seem to phrase the sentence but Buffy knew what she meant, grinning widely.

"Perfect gentlemen."

"Buffy, c'mon, wake up and smell the seduction. It's the oldest trick in the book." Xander stated, his jealousy shining through.

"What? Saving my life? Getting slashed in the ribs?" Buffy challenged and Xander gave her a look.

"Duh! I mean, guys'll do anything to impress a girl. I-I once drank an entire gallon of Gatorade without taking a breath." He grinned, looking proud and I grimaced.

"That was gross." I commented and he glared at me as Willow smiled adoringly up at him.

"It was pretty impressive. Although later there was an ick factor." Willow remembered, frowning.

"I just want to know what his fighting technique was like. Can you introduce us so that he can teach me?" I questioned and Buffy looked offended.

"What's wrong with my teaching?" She questioned and I stuttered to reply and apologised but she waved it away, shaking her head and laughing slightly. "It's fine, I know where you're coming from. And no." She answered and I pouted playfully. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Can we steer this riveting conversation back to the events that happened earlier in the evening?" Giles reminded us, coming to the table. "You left the Bronze and were set upon by three unusually virile vampires." He placed a book in front of her. "Did they look like this?"

Buffy confirmed it, asking about the uniforms.

"It seems you encountered the Three. Warrior vampires, very proud and very strong." Giles explained.

"How is it you always know this stuff? You always know what's going on. I never know what's going on." Willow pointed out, looking confused.

"Well, you weren't here from midnight until six researching it." Giles pointed out and I rolled my eyes at the red-head who looked somewhat guilty.

"No, I was sleeping." She admitted.

"Obviously you're hurting the Master very much. He wouldn't send the Three for just anyone. We must step up our training with weapons. Becky, you can join us if you'd like." Buffy sent me a glare and I backpedaled hastily.

"Er, actually I have classes today, some of which I really can't miss…" I stuttered but I trailed off as Buffy's glare deepened and I sighed.

"I'll be there." I muttered in resignation.

"In the meantime, Buffy you should stay at ours until these Samurai guys are history." Xander commented and I whirled around to face him, hands out in a 'what' motion.

"What?" Buffy questioned, just as confused as I was.

"Ah-ah-ah, don't worry about Angel, Willow can run to your house and tell him to get out of town fast." Xander explained and I raised an eyebrow.

"Xander, we don't have a spare room. And I am not sleeping on the floor. Besides, I thought a vampire needed an invitation to enter a person's house?" I asked Buffy and she gave a shrug.

"Never decided to put it to the test."

"Angel and Buffy are not in any immediate jeopardy. Eventually the Master will send someone else, but in the meantime the Three, having failed, will offer their own lives in penance." Giles explained and I grinned at the blonde.

"Hey look, you killed the Three by surviving them." I pointed out and she rolled her eyes at me, smirking.

~8~8~

The weapons cabinet was open and Buffy was admiring the deadly instruments as I hung back, twirling my stake in my hand idly.

"Cool! Crossbow." She grinned, coming out of the cage pointing the weapon randomly - I ducked and she glared at me. "What can I shoot?" She asked Giles excitedly, who took it from her hands with a slight frown.

"Um, nothing. The crossbow comes later." He put it back as Buffy slouched and I smirked, to which she maturely replied by sticking her tongue out at me.

"You must first become proficient with the basic tools of combat." Buffy and I rolled our eyes as Giles spoke. "And let's begin," he exited the cabinet with two large poles. "With the quarterstaff. Which, incidentally will require countless hours of vigorous training." He handed the Slayer one. "I speak from experience."

Buffy looked bemused as I tried to hide my giggle with a cough. "Giles, 20th Century? I'm not gonna be fighting Friar Tuck." She pointed out.

"You never know with whom or what you'll be fighting." Giles stated, whilst putting on head pads and gloves. "And these traditions have been handed down through the ages. Now, you show me good, steady progress with the quarterstaff and in due course we'll discuss the crossbow." 'So English,' I thought to myself as he instructed Buffy to put on her pads.

She gave a small laugh, surprised by the statement. "I'm not gonna need pads to fight you."

Giles seemed affronted. "Well, we'll see about that." They both got into position, Buffy clearly a bit awkward on how to handle the weapon, as Giles shouted, "en garde!"

There was a pause, and then Giles made a mild thrust with the quarterstaff which Buffy parried, still mildly unsure. Giles made another offensive mood, the pace increasing and she blocked it, the sound of wood hitting wood echoing throughout the library. She took the offensive, knocking Giles' staff to the floor and punching him in the face - I winced, as the Slayer whacked the staff into his back before using it to take his legs out from underneath him. The Watcher fell flat onto his back, breathing heavily. Buffy stood smugly above him, leaning casually against the quarterstaff. I hopped off the table from where I was sat, placing the stake next to me.

"Good. We'll move onto the crossbow after Becky's turn." Giles stated weakly, as I gave him a hand up - he passed me the staff and I looked up, startled, looking from him to Buffy.

"I'm not fighting you?" I asked hopefully and he laughed, shaking his head before going to stand by the table.

I smiled nervously at Buffy who grinned smugly at me. "This should be fun." She teased and I frowned, glaring.

"You have an advantage, Slayer." I pointed out, emphasising her title and she moved forward without warning, striking out with the staff - I blocked it, pushing her away. I met her next blow before it connected with my side, using her offensive tactic to my own advantage, by pushing her staff away and throwing her off balance. I used her momentary unbalance to sweep her legs out from underneath her by use of the staff but she did the same to me from on the floor. My back hit the ground with a thud and I groaned.

"You win." I lamented, being able to feel where my bruises would be.

"Good fight though, Becky. You'd probably beat a vampire in a fight. MIght just have to keep your guard up a bit more." Buffy pointed out, as she helped me off the floor and I raised an eyebrow.

"Probably? Well, thanks for the vote of confidence." I teased; she rolled her eyes, grinning.

"Well, it's not as if you're planning on fighting any vampires soon, is it?" She questioned; I swallowed, forcing a smile onto my face and shaking my head.

"No, of course not." I lied.