Title: Haunted

Author: Angelchica

Email: Mistyblue622@hotmail.com

Summary: Angel and Cordelia get trapped inside a haunted house and will have to face darkness, cold, ghosts, and themselves. a/c pairing of course! If Cordy can't have him then nobody else should!

Spoiler: None, do I ever spoil anything?

Disclaimer: Unfortunately these characters do not belong to me but maybe one day Angel will ;) they all belong to Joss Whedon and all that other stuff.

Feedback: As always please review! I love hearing you're reviews. That's what keeps me writing! So please review!



"I hate Halloween!" Cordelia said as she sat on the couch with a huge headache. Angel came up to her and offered her some aspirin. The truth is that ever since Cordelia got her visions, Angel didn't like Halloween either. Everything happened on Halloween. It was vision after vision after vision. So many people decide to be pranksters but then at the end they end up hurt and then there goes poor Cordy, having to feel all the pain those kids are without her even wanting to.

"Me too," Angel said as he sat down next to Cordelia.

"Where did Wesley and Gunn go?" Cordelia asked.

"Well Wesley was going to go to some Halloween party with his girlfriend and you know Gunn He's throwing that party he's been nagging about all this time," Angel replied.

"Why didn't you go?"

"I'm not really a whole lot into parties," Angel said.

"Oh, so I guess we're both stuck-Oh no!" Cordelia yelled as she grabbed her head and another vision came to her head. She almost fell off of the couch but Angel's reflexes were the best and caught her just in time. Angel looked at how much his Seer was suffering. I mean his heart broke all the time she had a vision but this was just too much. The past Halloween was the same. She couldn't go anywhere. The vision's always took their toll on that day. Angel could see by now a few tears streaming down her face and if he had a heart he knew he would be heartbroken. Finally Cordelia's head came up and Angel could see Cordelia's face.

"I hope that was the last one! I don't think I can take another one," Cordelia said as she started to cry even harder now and buried her face in Angel's chest. Angel hugged Cordelia back hoping in some way to calm her down.

"Shh, just calm down. That was the last one. You'll see," Angel said hoping that it would be true.

"I hope so," Cordelia said as she looked back up at Angel. "It was at the old mansion over on Canyon Street, you know the abandoned one," Cordelia said.

"Yeah, what happened?" Angel asked.

"I'm really not sure. All I saw were a whole bunch of people coming out of the house really scared and screaming. There were kids, lots of them. Oh gosh! There were so many. They were hurt. Bleeding! Screaming! Some were falling down and being stepped on! Some were dead. Oh, God! Angel, it was horrible," Cordelia said as she started to cry and Angel gave her a hug, trying to comfort her.

"It's ok, it's ok. Calm down," Angel tried to say reassuringly. "I'll be back quick. I'm going to go check it out."

"No, you're not leaving me here by myself. What if I get another vision! I saw what happened to all those kids and I don't want something like that to happen to you! I'm going with you!" Cordelia said as she jumped out of the couch but suddenly was hit with a wave of dizziness. Angel quickly got a hold of her before she could fall.

"Cordelia, you need to rest-"

"Angel, please, I can rest on the way there. It's gonna take at least 15 minutes. I'll be a little better by then. You can say no all you want but it won't work." Cordelia said as she went over to the door and opened it.

"So are you coming or what?" Cordelia asked. Angel just stared at her and went and grabbed his leather jacket and exited with Cordelia.

* * * * *

They had been on the road for almost twenty minutes now. Cordelia was on the cell phone trying to communicate with Wesley and Gunn but it was no use. Wesley probably turned the phone off and well who could hear a phone ring when there was a party going on? Cordelia hung up the phone.

"No luck?" Angel asked Cordelia.

"Nope. No such luck." It took them still a few minutes before they reached the mansion. Cordelia got out and quickly ran towards the front lawn.

"We're too late," Cordelia said as she looked around. There were bodies and bodies of people and kids all over the front lawn. Cordelia's eyes got teary eyed. Angel went over by her side and just looked around. Then, Angel noticed someone moving on the floor near the mansion's front door.

"Look!" Angel yelled as he ran over the young man on the floor. Cordelia followed him. The young man was bleeding to death.

"We have to get him to a hospital," Cordelia said as they went over to the young man but right when they were about to help him up, the body laid still and cold. Cordelia put her hand over her mouth. Angel looked at the body. You could tell in his eyes that he was upset. Upset that they had gotten there too late. Upset that they couldn't even save one life. Then a strong wind started to blow.

"Angel!" Cordelia yelled. The wind was too strong and they couldn't overcome it. The wind picked them up and threw them inside the mansion. Cordelia landed on Angel. The door shut closed. Cordelia moaned as she tried to get up.

"Are you okay?" Angel asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Angel walked over to the door and tried to open it but couldn't. He fought with the doorknob but just couldn't defeat it.

"What's wrong?" Cordelia asked as she walked over to where Angel was.

"It's locked. I can't get it open!" Angel said as he tried one more time to open the door. Cordelia looked around the bottom floor of the mansion. It was spooky. She started walking over to what seemed to be a living room area. She entered the room and looked around. She noticed many furniture pieces covered in white sheets. Then she noticed a piano. It was dusty and there were a few cobwebs hanging on it. She put her finger on one of the keys and all of a sudden, the keys started playing by themselves. Cordelia quickly pulled away from the piano as she screamed. Angel quickly ran to her side.

"What's wrong?" Angel asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Look! The piano! It's playing by itself!" Cordelia yelled out to him a bit scared. Angel pulled Cordelia away from the piano. They turned around and saw that all the windows were opened.

"Good thing the windows are open," Cordelia said as all of a sudden they all came crashing down. One by one. Cordelia screamed. All the lamps turned on at once and started flickering. Cordelia could feel a cold breeze coming in from somewhere but she didn't know how or from where it was coming from. All the windows and doors were closed. Then everything was still and quiet. All the windows were shut. The flickering lights all went dim and turned off. Cordelia just stared into the room. She could still feel the cold breeze.

"Angel, I'm scared," Cordelia said as her voice trembled.

"I'm right here, don't worry," Angel said trying to sound reassuringly. Then Angel heard the sound of a child crying upstairs. He turned and looked at the stairs.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Cordelia asked. They both stood there for a moment and then started to head up the stairs. With every step they climbed, was followed by a loud screeching noise. They finally made it to the top. Angel could hear the child crying perfectly now.

"Ok, I think you've lost it, I don't hear anything," Cordelia said as she walked behind Angel.

"I think it's in that last room."
"Angel," Cordelia protested but followed Angel anyways. They walked down the hall. There were many rooms on both sides of the hall. Then Cordelia turned and looked into a room and noticed a mirror in it. She entered the room and forgot about Angel.

The room looked much like hers did in her old home. Before the IRS took a hold of everything. It looked exactly like it. But the mirror had Cordelia hypnotized. She walked over to it and looked straight at it.

She saw herself as a baby. She could see everything so perfectly. Then she saw herself growing up and how she always had everything she wanted. She saw herself at Sunnydale High. When she was queen of the school. When everyone bowed down to her and always followed her. How all her so called friends would agree to everything she said.

Then she saw Xander kissing Willow. That day she had suffered so much. Never had anyone deceived her the way they did. She couldn't believe he would do that to her. Then she saw herself fall. Fall into the pit where the sharp object went through her stomach.

Then she saw Los Angeles. How her life changed dramatically. There she was going from street to street looking for a job as an actress. Then she saw Angel. Her heart gave a jump to that. She saw him, Wesley, and Gunn. She saw Doyle die. She saw the first day she had gotten the visions. Then she saw herself fighting all the coming visions.

For the first time, she saw how Angel would always run to her side to keep her from hurting herself. Then she saw herself staring back straight at her. Then she saw the figure's arm come straight out. The figure was coming straight out from the mirror. Then the door shut. Cordelia turned around and stared at the door.

Angel kept on walking towards the end of the hall and didn't even notice that Cordelia wasn't behind him anymore. He headed towards the last room and entered it. There wasn't that much furniture in it. But he noticed a mirror at the room's corner. He walked up to it and looked straight at it. He stared in disbelief. There he was. Liam, was looking back at him with stern eyes. He saw his whole life flash before him. He saw Liam, the bum who would always be on the streets, drunk and always looking for a woman.

Then he saw the night he was turned. The night Darla made him hers. Then he saw the night the gypsies had cursed him with a soul.

He then saw himself in Sunnydale. How he was sent to help the slayer. He saw Buffy and he stared at her. It was his Buffy. How he had loved her. Wait. Loved?

Then he saw Cordelia. He saw her battling vision after vision. And he felt her pain. He felt hopeless all the time she broke down crying after seeing horrible visions. Then he realized the truth. He never really loved Buffy. He was just infatuated with her. He realized that the one he loved was Cordelia. Then he saw himself in the mirror. He saw Angel looking right back at him. He was stunned. He was actually looking at himself! He could see his reflection but right at the end of that thought the figure seemed to get out of the mirror. The figure had a big smile on his face and it started to fight with Angel.

* * * * *

The figure which looked much like herself was after her. She grabbed the teddy bears that were on the bed and threw them at the figure but they all seemed to go through her. Every time Cordelia threw something at the ghost, it would laugh even harder until the ghost jumped abruptly towards Cordelia and pushed her at the mirror, making it break into many little pieces.

"Cordelia!" she heard Angel calling her name. She tried to yell out help but she couldn't. She tried to get up but a wave of nausea caught up to her. She had hit the mirror really hard. Not to mention that it had busted a part in her head.

"You always wanted it all, didn't you," the figure said. "Always wanted all the attention, all the money, the looks, the friends, the guys, everything. You didn't care if someone died as long as you got what you wanted."

"That's not true!" Cordelia said as strong wind started to blow in her face. There were things flying towards her.

"You do know the reason why you got everything you wanted right. Tell me, how many times did your parents help you when you needed? How many times did they care for you when you were sick? How many times did they come up to you and just told you that they loved you and then give you a hug?" the figure asked Cordelia. Cordy started to cry.

"Never! You know why? Because you were a disappointment. And you still are. They had high hopes from you and look at you. Working with people and a vampire who just took you in because they felt sorry for you!" the figure yelled out.

"That's not true! They care about me!" Cordelia yelled as tears streamed down her face.

"Cordelia! Open the door!" Cordelia could hear Angel trying to break down the door.

"Oh don't tell me you actually think that vampire cares about you? Just because he acts all sweet to you doesn't mean anything. You never actually had anyone love you so the minute someone treats you right, you fall for him. But he doesn't care about you. He's just using you for your visions. That's the only reason why you're still there," the figure said as she started to disappear and the wind died down. Cordelia looked around. Then she heard Angel break in through the door.

"Cordelia, are you okay?" he asked as he took a look at her head and noticed that she was hurt.

"I'm fine, now," Cordelia said as she started to get up slowly. Angel went to her side and started to help her up. "I got it!" she yelled out to him.

"Cordy, what happened in here?"

"Angel, do you pity me?" Cordelia asked him. Angel looked at her and then had a grin on his face.

"Now what makes you think that?" he asked.

"Answer me!" she yelled.

"Alright, alright. No need to yell," Angel said as he paused and then continued. "Yes. Yes. I pity you. I always have. Always will."

"What?" Cordelia asked shocked. That wasn't what she was ready to hear. Sure she was warned that it was true but she had failed to believe it. Then Angel grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Let go of me! You're hurting me!" she yelled.

"I'm not done. Not only do I pity you but I used you. The only reason I kept you at the hotel was for your visions. You don't actually think that I cared for you did you? Now, now, only a little stupid girl would believe that." Cordelia tried to break free from his grip. Then he let her go and she ran out of the room. She heard him calling after her. She started to run down the stairs. After every step, the stairs would start to break and fall down. She screamed all the way down as the steps behind her were catching up to her. She was almost down. The breaking steps caught up to her. She tripped and fell. She landed on the rug and then she saw Angel at the top.

"Cordelia!" she looked at him and noticed he was bleeding from his side. She didn't remember seeing him hurt but she didn't care. He had hurt her in every way possible. She was so disappointed in him and in her. How could she have even thought for a second that anyone would ever love her. She shivered. It had gotten extremely cold.

Then she noticed the rug moving. She stayed on the rug as it was moving towards an empty fireplace. She tried to get up and right when she jumped off, the fireplace turned on. Cordelia had had enough of this. All she wanted was to go home. She went over to the windows and saw that they were all still locked shut. She looked back at Angel and saw that he was about to jump down to the ground floor. She ran towards the front door and for some reason it opened easily

"Cordelia! Stop!" Angel yelled as he jumped from the second floor all the way to the bottom. It took him a couple of seconds to recover from the jump and then ran out the door before it could shut him in again.

Cordelia ran towards the back of the mansion. She hid behind a tree and saw Angel head towards the car. She had lost him. She started to walk backwards and then ran into something hard. She turned around and noticed it was a cemetery. She looked at the tombstones. They all had names of people she cared about. She saw her parents tombstones there. She started to go deeper in and noticed the tombstones that said Xander. One had Willow, while another one had Buffy. The other one had Wesley on it and the one next to it was Gunn. Then the next tomb was Angel's.

The next tomb took her by surprise. It was her own. In pity memory of Cordelia Chase. The tears were streaming down her face. It had the date of her birth and then it had the present day's date. She looked down and saw an open coffin. This was it. This was meant for her. But she didn't want to die yet. She still had a whole life ahead of her. Or did she.

"No, sweetie, you're right, this is it." Cordelia turned around and saw herself again.

"You were right. I'm nothing," Cordelia said, "But I can still make something of it!" she yelled as she tried to run away. She ran and stopped. She picked up a huge log she found. She turned around and saw that the figure or ghost, whatever that was, wasn't following her anymore. She turned back around and there it was. Cordelia screamed. She threw the log at the ghost but it just went through her. The ghost grabbed the log and slammed it across Cordelia's head. Cordelia fell on the floor unconscious.

* * * * *

Cordelia opened her eyes. It was pitch black and she could hear someone shoveling something. Then pain swarmed through her head and remembered that she had been hit with a log. She tried to move but couldn't. She tried to move her legs but she was in something that was too small. It was too compact. She lifted her hands and put them on the roof of whatever it was that she was in but then it hit her. She was in the coffin! The shoveling must be the ghost trying to bury her alive. Cordelia banged on the coffin and yelled out.

"Help me! Help me!" she yelled out.

* * * * *

Angel was so happy that he had heard Cordelia scream but was hoping he wasn't too late. He knew he didn't need oxygen to survive but she did. He shoveled and shoveled until he could see the coffin coming into vision.

* * * * *

Cordelia was so scared. She had always been afraid of death. She didn't want to die like this. She was running out of breath. She knew her time was coming up and she was scared.

* * * * *

Angel was right about to climb down the grave when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Angel turned around quickly and looked straight at himself.

"She's mad at you, you know," the ghost of himself said.

"Yeah, I know but I don't know why. You did something to her didn't you?" Angel asked the ghost.

"I was just having some fun," the ghost said.

"What did you say?"

"That you pitied her and that you were just using her for her visions," the ghost said as he started to laugh.

"How could you do that! What did she do to you?"

"Nothing. I-"

"Cordelia's a very special girl and I love-" Angel stopped. He did it. He finally admitted it to himself. He loves Cordelia. He turned around and saw that the ghost had disappeared and then realized it. The ghost was there to make him realize the truth that he had denied for such a long time. He shook the thought away and opened the coffin and there was his love. Lying on the coffin with her eyes closed. He picked her up from the coffin and took her out of the grave. He laid her on the ground. She wasn't breathing! What was he going to do! How could he save her when he didn't even have a breath. Then he looked up and saw his ghost and Cordelia's. They were both smiling. Angel looked down at Cordelia and gave her CPR. He was breathing! He had breath! Then Cordelia started to cough. It worked!

"Angel?" Cordelia called to him.

"Yes it's me," he said.

"But you said to me-"

"Look up," Angel said. Cordelia looked up and saw a ghost that looked like Angel and she understood everything. Angel looked up and noticed that Cordelia's ghost was gone and almost in a split second, so was the other one. Angel carried his love to his car carefully. He couldn't wait to get home to tell his love how he felt about her.

* * * * *

As Angel was driving the care he looked at Cordelia. His breath was gone though by now but then he remembered back to when he had the epiphany and had saved Kate's life. How she had told him that she had never invited him in. And now he was given a chance to breathe to save his love. Maybe his redemption was near.