The next week passed swiftly for Buffy and her Angel. They spent most of
their time together, in the cemeteries and around town slaying the numerous
vampires that had arrived in town. She found herself wholly in love with
this Angel, in his white t-shirt and leather jacket. With Buffy, he dropped
the sneering Rebel Without A Cause persona he seemed to adopt with the rest
of the world. She realised it was just like that persona he had in the
future. It was his mask, his armour against the rest of the world. His
impenetrable blackness in the future was the same as this rebel now.
Suddenly, her heart swelled as she realised that both times, he had allowed
her to see behind it, she had pierced his defences. She knew Angel well
enough to know that the only way somebody could do this was if he allowed
it. Now, she understood better Angel's love for her. She was the only
person to get behind those defences, she was the only person he'd loved
enough to allow her to do so. Now, it didn't matter that he had left,
because she knew she had his heart.
"What are you thinking?" Peggy-Sue asked. They were, as usual sitting in the library at lunchtime. They were meant to be discussing their dresses for the dance that night, but Buffy had other things on her mind.
"Oh, was I someplace else?"
"Yeah. Is it that guy we keep seeing you with?" The girl asked. Buffy looked at her strangely.
"What?"
"That guy, I don't know his name. Tall, dark, handsome. Like Elvis."
"He's not like Elvis." Buffy said quickly. "He's way better looking than Elvis." She said dreamily.
"You got it bad, huh?" Peggy-Sue asked.
"Yeah." Buffy sighed.
"That must be nice." The other girl mused.
"Haven't you ever been in love?"
"Aside from Ricky Nelson, no." Peggy-Sue laughed.
"Ricky Nelson?"
"Yeah, the singer?"
"Oh. Yeah." Buffy bluffed, not knowing who he was.
"Totally. I can't wait until they release Rio Bravo. He's in it with John Wayne and Dean Martin. And I just love Lonesome Town."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"But you've never been in love with anyone here?"
"No. When you're the school geek, not many people ask you out on dates. Or in my case, no one." Peggy-Sue laughed nervously, trying to cover up her sadness. Buffy smiled.
"But that doesn't mean it won't happen." She said. "You're a beautiful girl, I bet there's someone out there just waiting to fall so in love with you he won't know what's hit him."
"Thanks. But tell me about your guy! What's his name?"
"Oh. Angel."
"Angel what?"
"Just Angel."
"Oh, OK." Peggy-Sue was clearly confused by Angel's lack of surname. "Where's he from?"
"Oh... Well, I met him in Los Angeles. He moved here just before I did. Weird coincidence, huh?"
"Yeah. But cool!"
"Absolutely." Buffy gushed.
"Is he a senior or something?" Willow asked.
"No, he's uh...." She groped for something. "He's at college."
"He's a college guy? That is so cool! Barbara-Ann would be so jealous. She's always talking about her college boyfriends, but Rory's sister is at UC Sunnydale, and she says that all the guys there avoid Barbara-Ann like the plague because she's so annoying!" Peggy-Sue laughed. Rory came in.
"Good afternoon ladies." He said grandly. "You're looking at the newest owner of... a car!"
"You got a car?" Peggy-Sue exclaimed. He nodded.
"Come and see it! Come and see it!" Rory was practically jumping up and down with excitement. They went out to the parking lot. It was the powder blue car that Buffy remembered Xander borrowing in senior year.
"It's great. Looks like its built to last." Buffy said, knowing he wouldn't understand.
"I'll come and get you tonight to go to the dance, if you like." Rory offered Buffy.
"Oh... Well..."
"Peg? What about you?"
"Sure!" Buffy noticed Peggy-Sue's eyes light up at his invitation. History really did repeat itself in this town.
"Is Angel taking you?" Peggy-Sue asked.
"Angel? Who's Angel?" Rory asked, perturbed.
"He's my..." She paused. Was he her boyfriend? Really, honestly? She wasn't sure anymore. Everything, including time itself was screwed up.
"Boyfriend." Peggy-Sue finished. Buffy didn't bother to correct her.
"I might be late to the dance." She said, thinking of patrol.
"Sure. Well, we'll see you there?" Peggy-Sue asked as the bell rang.
"Absolutely." Buffy smiled. There was no way she was passing up the opportunity to go to a real sock-hop!
She brought up the subject later when she arrived at Angel's little apartment just off Main Street.
"We have more important things to think about than a dance, Buffy." Angel said. She stared at him. Only the different location alerted her to the fact that she wasn't merely reliving that nightmare conversation in the sewers.
"Angel..." She started.
"I'm a vampire! I shouldn't be at a school dance. I don't belong there." Angel told her.
"Please, Angel. I didn't really get to do any of this stuff at my old school because of demons getting in the way. Please. We don't have to stay long." She pleaded.
"Would I have to dress up?"
"No. Come as you are if you like." She was aware that it might annoy some of the chaperones, but right now, she was more concerned about getting him to agree to go.
"Fine." He relented. "Like I could possibly say no to you."
"You managed it fine last time." She muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing. Nothing. So, Charlton said by his calculations, Johanna should try her ritual in two days' time."
"Two days. Night before the full moon?" Angel asked.
"Yeah." Buffy nodded, crawling into his lap and planting kisses on his hands.
"Don't we have to patrol?" He asked, smiling in spite of himself.
"Absolutely." She said, moving up to kiss his lips. He returned it fully, before breaking away.
"Buffy, we really do have to patrol." He said. She scowled, but got up anyway.
"Well, the sooner we patrol, the sooner we end up at the dance." She said. He sat back down.
"What's the rush, huh?" He asked.
"Come on." She smiled, pulling him out of his chair.
Patrol was busy, but they arrived at the dance as it was beginning to really swing. She changed into her new dress in the girls' bathroom, and the two entered together. Peggy-Sue was sitting on the bleachers, waiting for someone to ask her to dance, and saw them come in.
"Buffy!" She jumped up and ran down to the pair. "You look great!" Buffy was wearing a pink organza dress with spaghetti straps. Angel was wearing his uniform white t-shirt, black leather jacket and black jeans.
"Angel, this is my friend Peggy-Sue. Peggy-Sue, this is Angel."
"Pleased to meet you. Buffy's been telling us all about you!" Peggy-Sue exclaimed.
"Really?" Angel raised an eyebrow at Buffy.
"She's exaggerating. I just told her how we met in Los Angeles and we both happened to move here." Buffy filled him in on his fictional history. He nodded and smiled at the redhead.
"Nice to meet you." He said. She looked as if she were about to faint, just from having the handsome man smile at her.
"Dance, Angel?" Buffy asked. He nodded reluctantly and allowed her to pull him onto the dance floor as the song Be Bop A Lula by Gene Vincent began. From the sidelines, a beautiful brunette girl watched the two curiously. The song ended, and Angel persuaded Buffy to sit the next one out. They went over to the bleachers and sat down.
"So... Do you want a drink?" Angel asked, actually wondering what the Hell he was meant to do at something like this. Most of the parties or dances he'd ever been to, he'd been there to eat. But that was before. He went over to the refreshment table to get Buffy a drink, when a brunette stepped in the way.
"Hi." She said with a bright smile. "I'm Barbara-Ann."
"Hi. Angel." He said guardedly.
"What a great name." She said. He inwardly winced. She was too perky to be believable. If only he could get back to Buffy...
"Is that for me? Thanks." She said sweetly, taking the drink from him.
"Well, actually..."
"Dance? I'd love to." She said, taking his arm and pulling him forcefully onto the dance floor. Once there, she pulled his arms around her and put her hands on his shoulders.
"I..." Angel went to tell her that he was with Buffy.
"So, how come I haven't seen you around before? I'm sure I'd remember you." She said, batting her eyelashes at him.
"I'm new." He said, wondering how to get out of this one.
"Really? That's interesting." From her position on the bleachers, Buffy was fuming. She knew that Angel wouldn't want someone like Barbara-Ann. Didn't she? She knew this Angel was different to the Angel he would later become. Maybe Barbara-Ann was his type.
"Hi Buffy." Peggy-Sue had appeared again. "I see Barbara-Ann steamrolled into Angel." She said.
"Yeah." Buffy said faintly. The song ended, and Angel managed to extricate himself from Barbara-Ann's clutches. He came back over to Buffy.
"I am so sorry, Buffy. She press-ganged me. I..."
"It's OK." She said, managing a smile.
"I'm only here for you." He said, sitting next to her.
"Really?"
"Really. Compared to you, she's nothing. I don't even remember her name." Angel smiled. Sensing she was still unsure, he leaned in and kissed her.
"Still don't believe me?"
"No I don't. Persuade me more." She said slyly. He laughed, kissing her again.
"We should probably do another sweep." She said.
"Yeah. It's getting close to the raising." Angel said.
"Yeah." She said, reluctance colouring her voice. She didn't want to leave this place, if she were truthful. It was a Pleasantville Sunnydale, even with the presence of demons. Everyone was polite and nice. But that wasn't her reason for wanting to stay. Angel loved her here. Angel wanted her here. Angel hadn't left her here.
"Are you OK?" Angel asked with concern as they left the gym, much to the delight of the teachers, who were glad to see the back of the older guy dressed like a rock n roller.
"You know I have to go home when this is over?" Buffy asked. After a moment, Angel nodded.
"I know."
"OK. I just..." She paused. She couldn't do that to him. She couldn't declare her undying love for him, only to leave him. For forty years, at least.
"What?"
"I, uh... Duck!" She shouted. He did and she flung her stake at an approaching vampire. Her aim was good and it exploded.
"Nice shot." Angel said, getting up from the ground. They continued walking along through the cemetery. They came out at the other end, not far from City Hall. A thought suddenly occurred to her.
"The Mayor." Buffy whispered. Angel picked up on it.
"What?"
"The Mayor, do you know the Mayor's name?" She asked.
"No."
"OK. Is there a phone somewhere?" Buffy asked. Angel looked confused, but pointed. The local telephone exchange was opposite City Hall.
"Try there."
"Good idea." She went in, and searched in her bag for Charlton's number. Finding it, she called him.
"Hello, Philip Charlton." A well-spoken voice answered.
"Charlton? It's Buffy."
"Buffy? Are you well?"
"Yes. I just... Who's mayor of Sunnydale?"
"Mayor Richard Wilkins." He said, confused by her line of questioning. "Why?"
"I have a lead on where we might find Johanna, Master Vamp before any of this needs to go down." She said.
"Very well." Charlton said, clearly not quite understanding what Buffy was on about. But then, Angel didn't know what she was talking about either.
"What are you thinking?" Peggy-Sue asked. They were, as usual sitting in the library at lunchtime. They were meant to be discussing their dresses for the dance that night, but Buffy had other things on her mind.
"Oh, was I someplace else?"
"Yeah. Is it that guy we keep seeing you with?" The girl asked. Buffy looked at her strangely.
"What?"
"That guy, I don't know his name. Tall, dark, handsome. Like Elvis."
"He's not like Elvis." Buffy said quickly. "He's way better looking than Elvis." She said dreamily.
"You got it bad, huh?" Peggy-Sue asked.
"Yeah." Buffy sighed.
"That must be nice." The other girl mused.
"Haven't you ever been in love?"
"Aside from Ricky Nelson, no." Peggy-Sue laughed.
"Ricky Nelson?"
"Yeah, the singer?"
"Oh. Yeah." Buffy bluffed, not knowing who he was.
"Totally. I can't wait until they release Rio Bravo. He's in it with John Wayne and Dean Martin. And I just love Lonesome Town."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"But you've never been in love with anyone here?"
"No. When you're the school geek, not many people ask you out on dates. Or in my case, no one." Peggy-Sue laughed nervously, trying to cover up her sadness. Buffy smiled.
"But that doesn't mean it won't happen." She said. "You're a beautiful girl, I bet there's someone out there just waiting to fall so in love with you he won't know what's hit him."
"Thanks. But tell me about your guy! What's his name?"
"Oh. Angel."
"Angel what?"
"Just Angel."
"Oh, OK." Peggy-Sue was clearly confused by Angel's lack of surname. "Where's he from?"
"Oh... Well, I met him in Los Angeles. He moved here just before I did. Weird coincidence, huh?"
"Yeah. But cool!"
"Absolutely." Buffy gushed.
"Is he a senior or something?" Willow asked.
"No, he's uh...." She groped for something. "He's at college."
"He's a college guy? That is so cool! Barbara-Ann would be so jealous. She's always talking about her college boyfriends, but Rory's sister is at UC Sunnydale, and she says that all the guys there avoid Barbara-Ann like the plague because she's so annoying!" Peggy-Sue laughed. Rory came in.
"Good afternoon ladies." He said grandly. "You're looking at the newest owner of... a car!"
"You got a car?" Peggy-Sue exclaimed. He nodded.
"Come and see it! Come and see it!" Rory was practically jumping up and down with excitement. They went out to the parking lot. It was the powder blue car that Buffy remembered Xander borrowing in senior year.
"It's great. Looks like its built to last." Buffy said, knowing he wouldn't understand.
"I'll come and get you tonight to go to the dance, if you like." Rory offered Buffy.
"Oh... Well..."
"Peg? What about you?"
"Sure!" Buffy noticed Peggy-Sue's eyes light up at his invitation. History really did repeat itself in this town.
"Is Angel taking you?" Peggy-Sue asked.
"Angel? Who's Angel?" Rory asked, perturbed.
"He's my..." She paused. Was he her boyfriend? Really, honestly? She wasn't sure anymore. Everything, including time itself was screwed up.
"Boyfriend." Peggy-Sue finished. Buffy didn't bother to correct her.
"I might be late to the dance." She said, thinking of patrol.
"Sure. Well, we'll see you there?" Peggy-Sue asked as the bell rang.
"Absolutely." Buffy smiled. There was no way she was passing up the opportunity to go to a real sock-hop!
She brought up the subject later when she arrived at Angel's little apartment just off Main Street.
"We have more important things to think about than a dance, Buffy." Angel said. She stared at him. Only the different location alerted her to the fact that she wasn't merely reliving that nightmare conversation in the sewers.
"Angel..." She started.
"I'm a vampire! I shouldn't be at a school dance. I don't belong there." Angel told her.
"Please, Angel. I didn't really get to do any of this stuff at my old school because of demons getting in the way. Please. We don't have to stay long." She pleaded.
"Would I have to dress up?"
"No. Come as you are if you like." She was aware that it might annoy some of the chaperones, but right now, she was more concerned about getting him to agree to go.
"Fine." He relented. "Like I could possibly say no to you."
"You managed it fine last time." She muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing. Nothing. So, Charlton said by his calculations, Johanna should try her ritual in two days' time."
"Two days. Night before the full moon?" Angel asked.
"Yeah." Buffy nodded, crawling into his lap and planting kisses on his hands.
"Don't we have to patrol?" He asked, smiling in spite of himself.
"Absolutely." She said, moving up to kiss his lips. He returned it fully, before breaking away.
"Buffy, we really do have to patrol." He said. She scowled, but got up anyway.
"Well, the sooner we patrol, the sooner we end up at the dance." She said. He sat back down.
"What's the rush, huh?" He asked.
"Come on." She smiled, pulling him out of his chair.
Patrol was busy, but they arrived at the dance as it was beginning to really swing. She changed into her new dress in the girls' bathroom, and the two entered together. Peggy-Sue was sitting on the bleachers, waiting for someone to ask her to dance, and saw them come in.
"Buffy!" She jumped up and ran down to the pair. "You look great!" Buffy was wearing a pink organza dress with spaghetti straps. Angel was wearing his uniform white t-shirt, black leather jacket and black jeans.
"Angel, this is my friend Peggy-Sue. Peggy-Sue, this is Angel."
"Pleased to meet you. Buffy's been telling us all about you!" Peggy-Sue exclaimed.
"Really?" Angel raised an eyebrow at Buffy.
"She's exaggerating. I just told her how we met in Los Angeles and we both happened to move here." Buffy filled him in on his fictional history. He nodded and smiled at the redhead.
"Nice to meet you." He said. She looked as if she were about to faint, just from having the handsome man smile at her.
"Dance, Angel?" Buffy asked. He nodded reluctantly and allowed her to pull him onto the dance floor as the song Be Bop A Lula by Gene Vincent began. From the sidelines, a beautiful brunette girl watched the two curiously. The song ended, and Angel persuaded Buffy to sit the next one out. They went over to the bleachers and sat down.
"So... Do you want a drink?" Angel asked, actually wondering what the Hell he was meant to do at something like this. Most of the parties or dances he'd ever been to, he'd been there to eat. But that was before. He went over to the refreshment table to get Buffy a drink, when a brunette stepped in the way.
"Hi." She said with a bright smile. "I'm Barbara-Ann."
"Hi. Angel." He said guardedly.
"What a great name." She said. He inwardly winced. She was too perky to be believable. If only he could get back to Buffy...
"Is that for me? Thanks." She said sweetly, taking the drink from him.
"Well, actually..."
"Dance? I'd love to." She said, taking his arm and pulling him forcefully onto the dance floor. Once there, she pulled his arms around her and put her hands on his shoulders.
"I..." Angel went to tell her that he was with Buffy.
"So, how come I haven't seen you around before? I'm sure I'd remember you." She said, batting her eyelashes at him.
"I'm new." He said, wondering how to get out of this one.
"Really? That's interesting." From her position on the bleachers, Buffy was fuming. She knew that Angel wouldn't want someone like Barbara-Ann. Didn't she? She knew this Angel was different to the Angel he would later become. Maybe Barbara-Ann was his type.
"Hi Buffy." Peggy-Sue had appeared again. "I see Barbara-Ann steamrolled into Angel." She said.
"Yeah." Buffy said faintly. The song ended, and Angel managed to extricate himself from Barbara-Ann's clutches. He came back over to Buffy.
"I am so sorry, Buffy. She press-ganged me. I..."
"It's OK." She said, managing a smile.
"I'm only here for you." He said, sitting next to her.
"Really?"
"Really. Compared to you, she's nothing. I don't even remember her name." Angel smiled. Sensing she was still unsure, he leaned in and kissed her.
"Still don't believe me?"
"No I don't. Persuade me more." She said slyly. He laughed, kissing her again.
"We should probably do another sweep." She said.
"Yeah. It's getting close to the raising." Angel said.
"Yeah." She said, reluctance colouring her voice. She didn't want to leave this place, if she were truthful. It was a Pleasantville Sunnydale, even with the presence of demons. Everyone was polite and nice. But that wasn't her reason for wanting to stay. Angel loved her here. Angel wanted her here. Angel hadn't left her here.
"Are you OK?" Angel asked with concern as they left the gym, much to the delight of the teachers, who were glad to see the back of the older guy dressed like a rock n roller.
"You know I have to go home when this is over?" Buffy asked. After a moment, Angel nodded.
"I know."
"OK. I just..." She paused. She couldn't do that to him. She couldn't declare her undying love for him, only to leave him. For forty years, at least.
"What?"
"I, uh... Duck!" She shouted. He did and she flung her stake at an approaching vampire. Her aim was good and it exploded.
"Nice shot." Angel said, getting up from the ground. They continued walking along through the cemetery. They came out at the other end, not far from City Hall. A thought suddenly occurred to her.
"The Mayor." Buffy whispered. Angel picked up on it.
"What?"
"The Mayor, do you know the Mayor's name?" She asked.
"No."
"OK. Is there a phone somewhere?" Buffy asked. Angel looked confused, but pointed. The local telephone exchange was opposite City Hall.
"Try there."
"Good idea." She went in, and searched in her bag for Charlton's number. Finding it, she called him.
"Hello, Philip Charlton." A well-spoken voice answered.
"Charlton? It's Buffy."
"Buffy? Are you well?"
"Yes. I just... Who's mayor of Sunnydale?"
"Mayor Richard Wilkins." He said, confused by her line of questioning. "Why?"
"I have a lead on where we might find Johanna, Master Vamp before any of this needs to go down." She said.
"Very well." Charlton said, clearly not quite understanding what Buffy was on about. But then, Angel didn't know what she was talking about either.
