The next day...

Angel sat down alone in the diner near the park. He didn't have anything to do this afternoon so he went to get something to eat. Or maybe get out a little while he was alone. Then, he remembered the time he caught up with Buffy there in the diner. He kept on glancing at the door of the diner, hoping for Buffy to come in. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair and sipped on his coke.

Then he heard the door open and glanced at it.

Buffy, he thought. He smiled brightly and approached her as quickly as possible before she won't notice him. "Hi, Buffy," he said.

"Angel," she said breathlessly like she did all the time. She swallowed painfully and sighed. "Hi."

He smiled at her. But still his heart ached to see her all alone. "Do you wanna sit down with me for a while? I'm not prying. But if you want to-"

Buffy cut him off and giggled at his babbling. "I don't mind. I would like that. We've never done that before."

Angel nodded and celebrated mentally. He really was in love with Buffy and he always have been. "Great. Come on."

He took her small hand in his larger one.

They both felt a spark flow all throughout their bodies. They let out a breathless gasp in unison and looked at each other.

Angel smiled sweetly down at her and led her to the table he just left.

They sat down and didn't say a thing...

Buffy's heart was racing and she was afraid Angel might hear it. She bit her lip because she was nervous about this. She wasn't expecting for Angel to be here but he was here and she was happy about it. She looked down at her hands.

While Angel kept looking at her.

"So... what do you want to eat?," Angel asked.

Buffy looked up at him and shrugged. "I don't know yet."

"Hey, it's on me."

Buffy looked at him with wide eyes. "No. It's fine, really. You don't have to."

Angel chuckled lightly. "It's okay. Like you said we've never done this before so... let's at least get it done. For the first time."

Buffy nodded silently. "Okay. If you insist."

Angel just smiled at this beautiful creature and asked, "So... pancakes?"

"Yeah," she replied and giggled. "Okay, sure."

Angel got up from the table and ordered at the counter whilst Buffy waited for him, still nervous.

Angel got back on their table with the food.

Buffy looked up at him and smiled thankfully. "Thanks."

Angel shook his head. "No problem, Buffy. It's alright."

"Fries?," Buffy asked.

"Oh, yeah. I love fries so I got us one. You don't have to eat it if you don't like it."

Buffy chuckled. "I don't like it. I love it! So, I don't mind eating a mouthful of those."

Angel smiled at her cuteness. "You look really hungry."

"That I am. I didn't have dinner last night; lost the appetite," said Buffy, munching on her pancake while Angel watched her.

He smiled at her. He missed everything that she is. Then he realizes that he missed out a lot on her life and suddenly, he want in.

Then there's this problem with Ashley: How was he gonna get rid of her? But then again, he was gonna marry her. He didn't want to break her heart.

He pouted slightly and munched on the fries.

"Hey," Buffy said as she noticed that pout on his lips. "What's wrong?"

Angel blinked at her. "Nothing. Everything's great," he lied.

Buffy nodded in reply. "Okay. If you say so."

Then there was the silence...

Buffy nervously chewed her lower lip. She wanted to ask Angel about Ashley but what if he thinks she's jealous? Well, it's quite okay. That just means that Angel will know that Buffy still loves him. It's okay, right?

Right?

She let out a frustrated sigh and kept looking at Angel. He will never notice how in love she was with him. Now that he's going to marry that girl called Ashley.

Marriage.

Buffy always wanted that with Angel. Then she thought: TOO LATE, sister! Somebody got to your Angel first! AND. THEY'RE. GOING. TO. GET. MARRIED. SOON.

Buffy shook her head frantically. Thank God, Angel didn't seem to notice.

Well, that was what she thought. She didn't even notice her own tears forcing to come out.

Angel looked at her in a concerned manner. He leaned in closer to her and took her hand.

Buffy gasped slightly at the sensation and looked at him with her almost teary eyes. She was thankful that there were only a few people in the diner. She stared into Angel's deep dark eyes and he looked into her hazel green ones. She gulped at the feeling she was having.

"Are you alright, sweetie?," Angel asked. He was completely surprised that he had called her sweetie. And truth be told, he missed calling her that.

Buffy nodded her head lightly. "Yes," she said, barely a whisper. She was definitely lying. She didn't like lying to him but it was very obvious that she is not okay. But it was loud enough for the both of them to hear. She sounded so broken.

He had noticed that before and his heart ached for this girl in front of him. He knew he hurt her and he cursed at himself for not apologizing.

"No, you're not," he said with a shake of his head.

Angel took her hand and helped her to her feet. "Come on. Let's talk."

Buffy just let him take her away. They walked out of the diner and went to the park.

"By that look you have on your face, it doesn't tell me you're alright. And trust me I know," Angel told Buffy once they sat down on the grass under the tree.

Buffy pursed her lips together and shook her head. "I'm not. Honestly."

Angel nodded and sighed. He didn't know what to do to comfort her. He kept looking at her, trying to figure her out. He always knew what to do when she was like this... But now, he realized that he lost that ability to do so. And he was so mad at himself that he couldn't do anything to make Buffy feel good again.

He wanted to hold her. Yeah, hold her like I used to. That's gonna work. She loves it when I do that. Okay, go, Angel thought nervously. He haven't done that since that day he saw her again.

Angel closed his eyes and held her.

Buffy gasped at the feeling of his arms around her body.

Angel did the same. He felt suddenly comfortable once he held her small frame. She fit perfectly in his arms and he loved the way she did.

Buffy didn't want him to go away so she held onto his strong body and sobbed quietly against his chest.

On the other hand, Angel was busy running his hand through her blonde hair and lightly kissing it. He didn't mind doing that. He actually loved doing that when he held Buffy. It was like his instinct when it came to her. He smiled to himself and kissed her crown.

Buffy smiled against his chest and stopped the sobbing once she felt Angel's shirt wet with her tears. She pulled away reluctantly and looked up to his soft dark eyes. She smiled at him. "Thank you, Angel."

She got a sweet smile from him. "I'll always be here for you. Though not always but still whenever you need me, I-"

Buffy nodded and cut him off. "Yeah. You'll be there, right? Like you should have done the past years when you became human," she stated bitterly.

Angel looked at her calmly.

She realized what she just said and it was lame and stupid. She sighed and close her eyes. Great. Now she hurt him with her words. "I'm so sorry. God, I'm so sorry, Angel. I didn't know what I was saying and it just got to me and I'm really stupid and annoying and you must hate me very much right now," she babbled.

Angel just chuckled. "Don't be. And you're right... I should have been there. I am really really sorry that I didn't let you know first. I'm so guilty and you don't know how much I am right now. I'm really sorry, Buffy. For everything I put your through. All these years and especially now... Now that I'm marrying someone. I really th-"

Angel was cut off by Buffy. "When did you meet her?"

"Oh, I met her a year ago. At this park. We got talking and suddenly I wanted to ask her out."

Buffy looked so hurt at what he said to her. "Oh. Good. Then?"

Angel looked at her for a moment then continued explaining. "Right. Then at that moment, all I could think about was... frankly... all I could really think about was... how much I still loved you."

Buffy gaped and stared at him. "What?," she said breathlessly.