Part 14

Kathryn had been suspecting that something was up for the past few days. Now that she had finally been released from being grounded, she'd expected that Angel would be willing to spend his time with her. Instead, he came up with the lamest excuses like his mum having the flu or that he his father was having guests for dinner or something like that. Whether they were true or not, Kathryn didn't know, but she could just feel that something was up. He was her longest lasting boyfriend so far and she wasn't about to let it fizzle out all by itself just because she had been grounded and had been under close surveillance for the past few weeks.

**Could he be cheating on me? No, he's smarter than that. He knows what will happen...unless...no, don't go there...** Kathryn was being paranoid and she knew it. Besides, it was the Homecoming dance tonight and everything was perfect. The only things missing were the corsage that Angel was sure to bring and the Homecoming Queen crown. Her dress was immaculate, her makeup was flawless and her hair was absolutely perfect (and so secure that she could sleep, ride on a motorcycle and go bungee jumping without it falling out of place). Her hairdresser made sure of that after the incident not so long ago with Spring Fling.

Kathryn smiled in content at the sound of the doorbell's chime. *ding dong* Kathryn busied herself in checking that she had everything—lipstick, powder press, her coke crucifix, mini perfume spray, keys, and a few condoms...just in case.

By the time Joyce had called up the stairs to announce her boyfriend's arrival, Kathryn had taken her shoes out of the box and put them on. After all, she wasn't in that much of a rush. It was traditional to make the guy wait while you get ready, even if you've been ready for over an hour and have just been sitting around, waiting for them to arrive. Kathryn checked her reflection and decided she really did need that necklace after all. She'd been undecided until she checked her whole outfit just then and was certain that she needed the extra accessory. A simple chain with a pendant on it in the shape of a crown; it'd been part of her birthday present from Angel.

She descended the stairs gracefully in a pale green, sparsely embroidered, one shoulder dress with accents of red fabric scattered among the flowing silk satin skirt. It was absolutely beautiful and had cost a pretty penny, but with the money she'd saved from her large allowance, she was able to afford the expensive designer couture gown. She wore an elegant vintage-style brooch—which had belonged to their grandmother—from which five short strands of pearls hung. It worked well with her outfit and her feminine hairstyle—which also had a few pins in it which had pearls on them. And to finish it off, she had found a shawl in a slightly darker green than her dress; the colours contrasted and complimented each other and made a beautiful combination which went well with her dark hair and fair complexion.

"Wow...I mean... You look terrific," Angel gushed. He had always been attracted by her looks; there was probably only one man in the whole town who wouldn't be mesmerised by her stunning looks and that person would be Hank Summers. But that would be exaggerating it just a bit too much. Angel was certain some of her teachers wouldn't nor would her uncle, Mr. Giles...and hopefully not his own father.

"Thanks," Kathryn replied simply, and kissed him tenderly on the lips.

Angel wordlessly offered the corsage that he'd bought for her along with a dozen blood red roses that Kathryn had decided went well with her dress but would have to stay at home. She handed them to Mai Lee to put into a vase for her and had even given her a slight smile for her efforts.

"The limo is waiting outside but since Buffy needed a ride as well, I kind of offered to..." Angel gulped. He, Kathryn, Gunn, Doyle and Cordelia had decided to all share a limo and split the cost. When he found out that Buffy still needed a ride and that she didn't want to take a car or get someone to drive halfway across town just to pick her up, he'd offered to give Buffy a lift there as well. The others were completely fine with it and Angel had made it a point to not consult Kathryn on the idea either. She would have reacted in a very not-good way. Just like she was now...

"What?" her eyes widened as Angel shrugged apologetically. Kathryn threw her hands up in frustration. "Fine...whatever." Kathryn flung open the door and hurried to the awaiting limousine, eager to get out of the chilly evening weather.

Buffy didn't waste time with pleasantries when she'd arrived in time to see Kathryn walking as fast as she could to get away from Angel. Buffy had opted for a pale violet dress—much simpler than Kathryn's—with a tight-fitting bodice, full skirt, spaghetti straps and an elaborate beaded flower motif along the hem of the skirt. The bodice had been decorated sparingly with sparkly silver rhinestones that started out densely near the top and fizzled out gradually up to her waistline.

Not long after, they were able to leave; an uncomfortable silence hung among them all the way to the Bronze. There was no doubt it was because of what everyone knew and Kathryn didn't.

*****

The Bronze was packed with students who had already arrived and dressed in formalwear. Kathryn had no doubt that she would be the best dressed girl there not just because of her clothes but because of having Angel on her arm dressed in a tux. A tux that made him look even hotter than usual. **Very drool-worthy...who would want Brad Pitt when you can have Angel? Not that they can, cos I'm having him all to myself...**

Kathryn immediately spotted Harmony talking to Randall Clark—one of Angel's loose circle of friends from being in the football team. Cordelia and Kathryn left the rest of the guys to talk to her, for what reason they talked so much, Angel still didn't know. They always seemed to be either talking or shopping...and for a moment Angel wondered if they should be considered shallow.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Buffy, letting him know that she was going off on her own. Her eyes told him that she wanted him to tell Kathryn—just as they'd discussed just the day before. It was killing him. On one hand he had the most popular, beautiful girl in school (although also the bitchiest). The wet dream of most of Sunnydale High's male population despite her cruel tendencies and bad attitude. On the other hand he had her twin—the nice, sweet, innocent, blonde (a pet preference of Angel's ever since he was fourteen), less popular version yet just as pretty. It was supposed to be the easiest choice in the world...but sometimes the simplest things could turn into the most complicated things if you think hard enough about it.

Kathryn was the kind of girl he was supposed to date—the popular one. Buffy however... At least it wasn't like the whole 'Romeo-and-Juliet' deal. (Although Cordelia had informed him that Kathryn knew a guy in gang that owed her a favour. Angel hadn't asked why and was sure that he didn't want to know.)

Angel was dreading having to make a decision. He was hoping for a miracle to happen to get him out of it. Already he was having a nagging feeling that it wouldn't be secret for much longer. It was bothering him even more than that inkling of a feeling that he could already have fallen in love with one of them...

*****

As well as having a DJ, the Dingoes were going to make a brief appearance. Apparently it was Miss Hancock's idea to have them play "because of their popularity among the student body" but a few people reckoned that it was because she was a closet Dingoes fan.

It was getting to the time to announce who the students had picked as Homecoming King and Queen. Cordelia waited anxiously with Harmony and the large group of Cordettes who had made an appearance.

"Good luck, Buffy," Willow whispered to her.

Buffy gulped and smiled uncertainly, "Thanks for your help."

Xander had his mouth full of finger food and tried to say 'good luck' as well, but it came out sounding more like "mmph hrrph". Spike and Faith were so caught up with each other that they hadn't noticed anything going on around them for the past half an hour. Which was pretty much a common occurrence for the two of them.

Kathryn stood next to Angel with a confident grin on her face. After all, she'd always taught herself to always be confident in herself and project an outward appearance as such. Although it didn't always work when her temper got the better of her, it'd been pretty successful the last few times she'd tried it. Kathryn gripped Angel's hand tightly and looked for reassurance but instead found him in a state of deep thought and hardly in tune with his surroundings.

Devon took the microphone off its stand and accepted the envelope from Miss Hancock, who was grinning at him awkwardly from in between the wings.

Experience had taught him to not worry about making mistakes and did his best to act as if Homecoming Queen wasn't one of the most important popularity contests at SHS.

"Hey, guys, the moment we've all been waiting for," Devon said casually and waited for the crowd's cheering to die down. "First of all, I'd like you all to give a big round of applause to Miss Hancock and the organising committee for doing such a great job with the...organising this year." He rattled off a few thank yous that had been put into his script by Miss Hancock before getting to the important stuff.

Sunnydale High's Homecoming King and Queen 1998.

"In this envelope, I hold the names of this year's Homecoming King and Queen," Devon held up the cream coloured envelope in his hand with a red foil sticker holding down the flap. He tore it open and read the names on the card inside. "You would not be surprised to hear that Angel Ferguson is our Homecoming King but I know you *will* be surprised to hear that our Homecoming Queen is none other than..." Devon paused dramatically and the tension in the room was so thick it could probably be sliced with a knife. "...Buffy Summers."

Kathryn's face fell at the mention of her sister's name and hardly even noticed that Angel had left her arms. She closed her eyes briefly and regained her composure. She ignored the balloons and confetti falling from above and the voice of Cordelia saying her name again and again. Instead she kept her eyes glued on the tiara on Buffy's head and the smiles on both their faces.

She hardly even noticed the chanting of the crowd around her. Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss. Kathryn's eyes widened in realisation and kept her eyes glued as their lips met. **Bitch. Get your lips off my boyfriend and that crown off your little blonde head.** Kathryn started to storm toward the stage in the midst of her rage.

She felt two strong hands on her shoulders holding her back. Cordelia.

"Let me go!" Kathryn hissed.

"No. Kathryn, what is your problem? Whatever it is, get over it," Cordelia said calmly and forcefully sat her friend into a chair.

"My problem is that my *boyfriend* is kissing my *sister* in front of the whole grade. And he's enj-" Kathryn paused. **Oh my God. The fucking bastard...** "He...he's cheating on me," Kathryn said with eyes wide open in realisation. "He'll pay for that."

*****

As soon as she could, Kathryn dragged Angel outside, away from everyone else so that they could have a private conversation.

"You know, I never expected this from you," Kathryn said bitterly.

"What?" Angel asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you cheating on me with my sister. Of all people."

"Look. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you what you want to hear. I'm not going to deny the truth. But it didn't mean anything-"

Unbeknownst to Angel, Buffy had followed them both outside and was currently standing behind him.

"It didn't mean anything, huh?" Buffy could feel the tears welling up and wished that she could just pinch herself and wake up and discover that it was all a dream. That winning the Homecoming crown was just a figment of her subconscious imagination.

"No! I mean, y-...no. I mean...I don't know!" Angel knew that this was the moment he'd been seizing himself up for all this time.

"Well then decide now, Angel. Who's it going to be? Me...or Buffy?"