7

Jason McKenzie sat in front of the company's computer, typing in the week's payroll. With the department store being slow, it was as good a time as any to get it done. A soft knocking on the glass of the door interrupted his work.

Looking up from the computer screen, he caught sight of the owner's daughter standing on the other side of the door. Saving his work, he waved her in, silently wondering what she wanted.

"Hi, Jason," Buffy greeted when she closed the door behind her. "I hope I'm not interrupting you."

He shook his head. "It's nothing that can't wait. What can I do for you, Buffy?"

"I sort of need a favor from you. You're in charge of the schedule, right? I mean, you decide who works what shifts, etc.?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm the manager. But I do more than that," Jason replied, trying to make his job seem more important.

"I'm sure you do. See, I have a problem and you can help me solve it."

"What problem would that be?"

"Prom. My Senior Prom is two weeks from tomorrow and I'm having a problem in the date department," Buffy said.

Jason raised his dark eyebrows. "You mean to say that a pretty girl such as yourself can't find a date? You're kidding."

"Kinda. I asked this guy I like to go with me, but he can't. It seems he signed up to work Prom weekend and therefore is unable to take me. And since you make up his work schedule, I was wondering if you could arrange it so he could have that weekend off," she explained. "You have no idea what it would mean to me if you could do that."

"Who's the lucky guy?" Jason wanted to know.

A small smile spread across her face. "Angel Riches."

Jason bit his lip. "If it was anyone else, Buffy, I'd say no problem, but Angel…I don't know. He works so many hours, it'll be hard to cover them. Even if it is only for a weekend."

"Hard, but not impossible. Please, Jason, it would mean the world to me to go with him."

"Friday I could definitely do, but the entire weekend? It's a holiday weekend. Memorial Day weekend. Big sale, it'll be crazy in the store. Not to mention that he's our best worker."

"I'm aware of that. But it's just Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'll have him back to work on Monday afternoon, I swear. You guys can work short one body for a couple of days. Please, Jason. For me?" Buffy begged.

He relented. It could be done, everything Buffy suggested. Besides, the last thing he wanted to do was upset the owner's daughter. "Okay, I'll do it. I will make sure Angel gets that weekend off, even if I have to work his shifts."

She grinned. "Thank you so much. You just made my entire Senior year."

"Glad to help. But I have a question. Why the whole weekend?"

"I have a little vacation planned for the two of us." She noticed the expression on Jason's face. "Stop it. I didn't mean it like that. It'll be purely non-sexual. Do you think you can do me one more favor?" she asked.

"What?"

"Don't tell Angel. I want to tell him myself."

***

"Why is she going with you?" Melissa asked her brother a few minutes before Buffy was supposed to be at the Riches' home.

"Because I invited her, okay?"

"Buffy Summers is not family, she doesn't need to be going to Mom's doctor's appointments. Those are personal, family things."

Angel sighed. "If it's so important, then why aren't you going?"

"I have softball practice. You know that, Angel."

"Then skip it."

"Coach would kill me. The state championship is next weekend and you know how important that is to me," she defended herself.

"Do you want to know something? Mom's health and well-being are important to me, and Buffy's kind and caring enough to want to share in that. If you weren't so god-damned self-centered, Missy, you'd understand that," Angel shot at her.

Melissa folded her arms across her chest. "Whatever. If you ask me, she's just looking for an excuse to get in your pants."

"Then it's a good thing I didn't ask you." The doorbell rang. "Must be Buffy. Be nice to her."

"I'll try, but I'm not promising anything."

Angel opened the front door, greeting Buffy with a smile. "Hi. Come on in."

"Thanks." She stepped inside, trying not to show her shock at how tiny his house was. Even though she'd driven by it many times, it seemed smaller than she'd thought. "It's…"

"Small, I know. Well, at least compared to your house."

"I like it, though. It has that homey feeling. Like a real family lives here. And there's an air of comfort; the only rooms I feel comfortable in at my house are my bedroom and the kitchen."

He took Buffy's hand. "Why don't I introduce you to my mom? She's anxious to meet you."

"Should I be nervous?"

"Not at all," he answered, shaking his head. "I've told her nothing but good things about you."

She squeezed his hand. 'First we kiss and now hand holding. What does it mean? Is Angel starting to think of me as a girlfriend? Or am I just imagining it?' "Okay. Lead the way."

As they were walking down the hall, Melissa stepped out of her bedroom. She glared at them, but said nothing. Buffy took the initiative and spoke up. "Hi, Melissa."

"Buffy." Without another word, Melissa went back inside her bedroom.

Buffy frowned. "Your sister hates me," she said to Angel.

"No she doesn't. Missy just doesn't know you."

"Sorry, Angel, but she hates me. If looks could kill, I'd be dead right now."

"Then ignore her. It's her loss."

He knocked on the last door on the right. "Mom? Can I come in?"

"It's open."

The walked in Mrs. Riches' bedroom, where she sat on the bed reading a book. "This is Buffy Summers, Mom."

She grinned and held out her hand for Buffy to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My Angel's told me a lot about you."

"All good I hope," she replied, shaking her hand.

"Every last word. You're Hank and Joyce's little girl, aren't you?" Mrs. Riches asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yes. You know my parents?"

"I didn't know your mother personally, but she was a lovely woman from what I hear. But Hank and I go way back. We actually dated back in high school."

"You did?"

"For a few weeks before graduation; we went to the Prom together. But then he went into the army and I met Angel and Melissa's father," Mrs. Riches informed them.

"That is so cool. I can't imagine my father as a teenager."

Angel's mother smiled softly. "Hank was very handsome and very popular. I couldn't believe he was ever interested in plain old me."

"You're beautiful, Mom," Angel complimented. "Missy's really lucky she inherited her looks from you and not Dad."

Buffy couldn't help noticing the bitterness in Angel's voice when he mentioned his father. "What time is your appointment, Mrs. Riches?"

She looked over at her alarm clock. "In twenty minutes. We should get going."

***

"How long has your mother been sick?" Buffy asked in the waiting room of the doctor's office.

"She was diagnosed two years ago. It was a benign tumor in her breast and she had it removed, but the doctors are keeping an eye on her just in case it spread," he explained.

Buffy frowned. "It must have been hard on you guys."

"Mom…Mom handled it well; she's a real trouper. Missy went off and did her thing and ignored it for the most part. Sometimes I think she lives in the land of denial. But we've all pretty much dealt with it in our own way."

"Is that why you work all the time? To pay off all those medical bills?"

Angel nodded his head. "Yeah. The insurance didn't cover everything so I had to cover the rest. Along with our other monthly bills."

"That's horrible."

"I know. This month won't be so bad, though. Kelley's new boyfriend gave me back my limo money, so that'll cover this month's electricity bill. One less thing to worry about."

She cleared her throat. It was the perfect time to tell Angel the surprise since he had brought up the Prom. "Remember yesterday when I asked you to the Prom and you said no?"

"Buffy, I'd love to go with you, but I just can't."

"You can. I arranged it so you'd have that weekend off," she said.

Angel gaped at her. "You did what?"

"I went to the store yesterday and explained your situation to Jason McKenzie. After a bit of convincing, he agreed to give you the weekend off. Now there's nothing keeping you from going with me. My dad already agreed to pay for the limo and I can pay for your tux. And I thought we'd spend the weekend at my dad's beach house, and if you want, we can invite Melissa and her date to join us." Buffy was frightened when he didn't reply. "Oh god, you hate it. You're mad at me."

He blinked. "No, not at all. Just shocked, I guess. Nobody's ever done something like that for me. You really thought of everything, didn't you?"

"I want to go with you. Tell me you'll go." 'Please let him say yes,' she silently prayed to whomever was listening.

"How could I say no after you went to all that trouble?" Angel asked. He leaned over, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I'd love to go with you."

Buffy beamed. It was really happening; her life-long dreams were finally coming true. "People will talk. They'll want to know what's going on with us; why we decided to go together."

"We'll tell them the truth, then."

She looked at him with questions in her green eyes. "What is the truth? What are we? Frankly, I don't have the answers to those questions. We've kissed, Angel, and we've held hands and I still don't know what's going on between us."

"Neither do I. I have these feelings for you that I never had for any other girl. It's been weighing on my mind for days now. To the outside observer, I would look like we're a couple. Dating, boyfriend and girlfriend. Is that how you see it?" Angel asked her.

"That's how I want to see it. But I don't want people to look at us and say that you're with me because you're on the rebound from Kelley. I guess I should know the answer to that right off the bat. Am I the rebound girl?"

"I don't think of you as the rebound girl, I couldn't if I tried." He sighed. "I just don't know what to do about this."

"Neither do I. But I don't want people to see us and think that it's out of pity or just because you're trying to get over Kelley. Maybe it would be better if we didn't tell anyone. At least until Prom," Buffy said. "What do you think?"

He didn't need to think about it for very long. For close to a week, he'd been getting looks of pity from his classmates and he was sick of it. Angel could only imagine the looks he'd receive if it became public knowledge that he was dating Buffy less than a week after being dumped by Kelley. Not to mention the looks Buffy would get, and he didn't want that for her. "That works for me. We'll go public at the Prom. Until then, it's a secret."

They sealed their decision with a tender kiss.