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Buffy opened her eyes groggily and then closed them, wishing she could drop off into a very deep sleep. She didn't want to get up and face the day, especially the night, for tonight was the Prom and she didn't have a date. She did have one in mind, but that had been completely and utterly dashed, ruined by a certain cheerleader. Buffy didn't know how long she had been lying in bed, dreading the day, but it must have been long enough for her mother to knock on the door and question her presence. With a groan of reluctance, Buffy dragged herself out of bed and into the shower, the one place where she could cry without her mother knowing.

"Honey, are you okay?" Joyce asked when Buffy entered the kitchen, "Are you worried about the prom tonight?"

"I guess you could say that," Buffy mumbled, "I'm the only one without a date."

"What about Angel? I know you aren't together anymore, but have you asked him?"

Buffy looked up at her mother, realising she didn't know about Angel and Cordelia.

"I…have, but he declined. We think we are truly over now."

"I'm sorry to hear that, sweetheart. Is there anyone else you can ask?"

"My only other option was Xander, but he's found someone to take. A former demon too. I guess there's Wesley, but I don't like him very much."

"What about Mr. Giles?" Joyce suggested, "I'm sure he won't say no."

"Mom, it's not my wedding, it's the Prom. I'm not taking Giles."

"Well, I guess-"

"Mom, can we not talk about it?" Buffy asked, "I don't want to think about it."

"Well, alright then," Joyce agreed, as Buffy grabbed her bag and headed for the door, "Try and have a good day today, honey," she called out.

Buffy simply waved over her shoulder as she left the house.

††††††††††

Angel checked his watch for what felt like the hundredth time and sighed as he went back to his book. It had been at least an hour and a half since Cordelia went into the room to get ready for the prom and he was wondering what was taking her so long. He had already changed into his tuxedo suit and now he was waiting…patiently.

"What is it with women taking six hours just to put on a dress? Darla was no different. Guess some things never change with time."

"Angel."

He looked up and his jaw dropped. Cordelia gave him a smile, proud that she had managed to make him speechless. Angel drank in her appearance and found that his throat was suddenly dry and he swallow to moisten it, but to no avail. She was wearing a silver, backless dress that had a single slit up along the left leg, while her hair was artfully piled atop her head and she continued smiling as she walked towards him, as he slowly got to his feet and she fixed up his bow.

"I know something's good when you've got nothing to say," Cordelia smiled.

"You look good," Angel said, finally finding his voice again.

"Thanks, darl, so do you. Now come on, the prom awaits."

Taking him by the hand, Cordelia led him out to the awaiting Plymouth.

††††††††††

The Sunnydale Hall was packed as students piled inside with their dates, teachers were standing to the sides, some of them, including Giles, applauding the students, while a live band played on stage. Willow and Oz entered the hall, amazed at how it had been transformed for this special night.

"Oh look, there's Xander," Willow pointed out, "And his date. What was her name again?"

"I think it was Anya," Oz replied, "Any sign of Buffy?"

"No, but Angel and Cordelia are here."

The couple had arrived and began moving through the crowd, soon making their way to Willow, Oz, Xander and Anya.

"Hey guys," Cordelia greeted, "Wow, isn't this just amazing what they've done here?"

"Yeah, it really is," Willow said, before motioning to the pair, "So…uh…um."

"You two together?" Oz supplied for his girlfriend, who gave him a smile.

"Yeah, we are," Cordelia replied, taking hold of Angel's hand.

"Uh…how…um-"

"It's just one of those things that happen," Angel replied, before scanning the hall, "Uh guys, Faith's here."

He pointed out the rogue Slayer, who was leaning against the hall wall, wearing a black, low-cut dress, her hair piled up into curls, as she surveyed the crowd with a bored expression on her face. Angel looked over at Giles and Wesley talking to each other by the punch bowl, seeing that they hadn't noticed Faith yet. As long as she didn't cause any trouble, he wouldn't have to deal with her. There was no need for fighting tonight. It was the students' night, Cordelia's night and he was here for her.

"Buffy's arrived," Willow said.

As she and Oz headed over to the blonde Slayer, Angel and Cordelia made their way over to the punch bowl. Buffy briefly caught sight of the couple and a look of sadness overcame her, but she replaced it with a smile when Willow and Oz approached her.

"You finally made it," Willow said, hugging her, "You look great."

"Thanks, so do you," Buffy replied, "So, is everyone here?"

"Everyone. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone, including Faith, who's over there and then we've got Angel and Cordelia over there with Giles and Wesley. Xander's by the stage with what's-her-name and-"

"Thanks, Will, I got the point. Now, let's try to have a good time."

††††††††††

The hellhound snarled and lunged, but it was caught by the throat, spun around and pulled close to the body, as its neck was then snapped, its body being dropped carelessly to the ground to join the other two hellhound bodies, as Spike rolled his shoulders, fixing up his coat as he shifted back to his human face.

"Bloody hellhounds."

††††††††††

Buffy was standing by the near-empty punch bowl, spooning herself a cup, ignoring the speeches that were happening on the stage. Although she had tried to have a good time, she couldn't help the wave of misery that came over her whenever she laid eyes on Angel with Cordelia and the way they looked at each other with affection.

"Is Buffy Summers here tonight?" came Jonathan Levinson's voice.

Buffy paused, turning towards the stage as Jonathan began making a speech about her, about she had strived to help and protect the other students from danger, giving the school the lowest mortality rate ever for the year and she made her way through the crowd, reaching the stage as Jonathan presented her with the special Class Protector of '99 Award, which was a small umbrella. Buffy accepted the award with a smile, looking out at the crowd as they applauded her, remembering all the times that she had saved them from moments of crisis. She looked out at Giles, seeing the warm-hearted smile he sent her, knowing that he was proud of her achievements and she sent him a smile back in return. Leaving the stage, Buffy went back to the drinks table, as Giles joined her.

"I'm sure as you know that I am quite proud of you."

"Thanks, Giles," Buffy said, looking at her award, "It's kinda cute really."

"Now that the awards are done, we shall begin the dance," Jonathan announced.

Buffy's face fell as she looked out at the crowd, watching as Angel and Cordelia moved onto the floor with the other couples, beginning the dance and she sighed in sadness. Just then, however, a red rose appeared in front of her and she looked up to see Spike standing before her, however, he was wearing a suit with a long coat and gave her a small, lopsided smirk.

"What are you doing here?" Giles hissed in a hushed tone.

"Told Peaches I'd be back," Spike replied, "And it's prom night. Decided to check the scene out. I see you don't have a partner, Slayer-"

"Need to rub it in?" Buffy murmured.

"And I figured you wouldn't, seeing as how Angelus is with Cheerleader, so naturally, I decided to be the hero again and now I'm here for a dance, Slayer."

"You must really be out of your mind if you think-" Giles started.

"Giles, it's okay," Buffy said, handing him her award and accepting the rose from Spike, "I can handle him and if he's just here for a dance, then that's okay."

"I promise you, pet, one dance, then I'm gone again," Spike said.

"No crazy stuff or I'll stake you," Buffy threatened, taking his hand.

"Wouldn't dream of it, love."

Angel kissed Cordelia's head as she rested it against his chest and he looked around, growling in his chest when he saw that Spike was here, but not only that, but he appeared to be dancing with Buffy. Knowing that she could handle him, Angel resisted the urge to go and kill his grandchilde, deciding to do it later away from public eyes and he turned his attention back to Cordelia, holding her close to him.

††††††††††

Yeah, I threw Spike into the prom. I couldn't think of a date for Buffy and he was really the only option I had.