Part 5

Part 5

Buffy stood in the middle of the crowded cafeteria, glancing back and forth between her regular seat and an empty table across the room. After a few seconds of inner debate, she decided that the empty table was the lesser of the two evils. Buffy cast her 'friends' one final glance, then walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Then, she turned her thoughts towards her *other* problem.

The three people who possibly had the knowledge to blow her secret wide open.

She had been looking for them all day, but so far, hadn't been able to find them. Although, that was possibly a good thing, since she still wasn't sure what she was going to say. In an attempt to figure that out, Buffy started a list of the things that she knew about each of them, which, admittedly wasn't much.

The one that had recognized her was Gunn, or more precisely, Charles Gunn. She was shocked that he even knew her name since he was a senior. He was two years older than her and, therefore, they didn't interact much. She had seen him hanging out with a few different people a couple of times, but he really wasn't a part of any particular group. He seemed to like to keep to himself.

The girl was Gunn's sister, Alonna. Buffy knew a little bit more about her since they were both sophomores. Alonna hung out with some of the more popular kids, so they had met a few times, but they had never really talked much. Like her brother, she seemed to be a bit of a loner. The only person that Buffy had seen her with regularly, was her with her boyfriend, Pike.

He was someone that Buffy knew almost nothing about. All that she knew was that his real name was Patrick Cooper, but he preferred to be called Pike. This was his first year at Hemery, so she hadn't had many chances to meet him.

Deep in her thoughts, Buffy was startled when a voice asked, "Are these seats taken?"

Looking up quickly, Buffy saw the very people she had just been thinking about, looking at her expectantly.

"Umm, no. Go ahead." she stammered in response.

They each grabbed a chair and seated themselves around the table. Once they were settled, the three of them just looked at one another. Buffy observed that both Pike and Alonna seemed to look to Gunn as the person who would start the conversation.

After a moment of silence, he finally asked Buffy, "Why are you over here all by yourself? Don't you usually sit over there?"

The question wasn't what she had been expecting and, therefore, caught her off guard. She looked in the direction that he pointed, and sighed, "I can't deal with them right now, I just need to be...away."

Alonna looked at her quizzically, "Did you guys have a fight or something?"

Wariness of the strangers giving way to annoyance, Buffy said, "I missed a stupid dance committee meeting Saturday morning and you would think that I had committed one of the deadly sins. They've been on my case all morning. If I'm way over here, I don't have to listen to them. It's not like they really care if I'm around anymore anyway."

"You know, it's understandable that you would miss the meeting," Gunn said. "You must have been tired."

"Tired?" she asked, caught off guard once again. Suddenly, Buffy didn't like the way this was going, "Why would I be tired?"

Gunn looked at her seriously, "Oh you know, I just figured that all of that fighting you did Friday night would be tiresome. It seems like that would really take it out of you."

"Oh that," she replied with a nervous smile. Trying to play it down, she said, "That was no big deal. We just came along at the right time and must've scared them, because they all ran away. None of them put up a fight."

"Oh, it was just some sort of gang attack?" Pike said, speaking up for the first time. "That's funny, because they sure looked like vampires to me. Do you know what I found even funnier? The fact that you *knew* that's what they were and you weren't scared of them."

"Vampires?" Buffy repeated suspiciously, doing her very best to play the part of the dumb blond.

"Yeah, vampires," Gunn replied matter-of-factly. "What we want to know is what you were doing?"

Looking into the three serious faces, she realized that they weren't going to back down. Somehow, they knew of the existence of vampires and because of that, they would never accept one the lame excused she had to offer.

Giving in, she asked quietly, "How do you know about vampires?"

"Ok, if that's how you want it, I'll go first," Pike said with a sad smile. "I've got this friend, his name is Benny...or his name was Benny. A few months ago, Benny disappeared for a couple of days. I was beginning to get worried when he suddenly turned up at my window. There was only one tiny difference, had acquired a new set of fangs."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said immediately.

She always felt regret when she heard that someone had been changed or killed. Since finding out that she was the Chosen One, she considered it her responsibility to keep the public safe. Angel tried his best to comfort her, but despite his warnings that she couldn't protect everyone, it still hurt.

Pike nodded, "So, now you know about me, it's your turn."

Taking a deep breath, Buffy began her tale. Giving them the 'In every generation' speech that Angel had first given her, she told them about being the slayer. When she had finally finished, she half expected them to tell her that she was nuts and run away.

They simply nodded.

"Who was the guy that was with you?" Alonna asked.

"Um, that was Angel," Buffy stammered. She didn't want to tell them anything about Angel. It wasn't her place to tell them about his life, he was the only one who could do that. "He's a friend, he helps me sometimes."

That seemed to be the opening that Gunn was waiting for, "We'll help you, too"

Shocked, Buffy shook her head, "No! You can't!"

Motioning for her to be more quiet, he asked, "Why not?"

"It's too dangerous, you'll get hurt," she answered.

"Angel helps you, doesn't he? Why is it safe for him, but not for us?" Alonna asked.

Buffy remained silent, stuck in her own lie. There was no way she could tell them that Angel wasn't normal, but she had to try and dissuade them.

"He's fought them before, he knows what he's doing," she said finally.

"If you teach us, we'll know what we are doing too," Pike said determinedly.

"No," Buffy repeated, "I can't let you put yourselves in danger like that. I don't have a choice; I'm the Chosen One. You do have a choice. None of you have to do this, enjoy your life. No one deserves to see the things that I face every night."

"I've already lost one friend; I don't want to lose anymore. I know that we aren't 'super strong' like you, but I don't see how it could hurt to have extra backup."

"Yeah," Gunn agreed, "The way I see it is this; we are going to fight them. The only question is are you going to help us."

"Let me think about it," Buffy sighed. "I'll talk to Angel, see what he thinks and I'll let you know tomorrow."

Alonna saw that the boys were about to protest. Knowing instinctively that Buffy would never agree if they pushed further, Alonna quickly said, "That sounds fair enough. So, Buffy, what do you do when your not saving the world?"

~*~

"So, what do you think?" Buffy asked, then quickly jumped to the side as Angel attempted to knock her feet out from under her.

She had been telling him about the scene that had occurred at lunch, while the two of them were sparing. Over the last few months they had become almost equal in combat skills. Their many training sessions had caused them to fall into a routine, so it was relatively easy to keep the conversation going while they trained.

"It sounds like this Pike has a reason to fight," Angel said, now dodging a punch from Buffy. "Now that he knows there are people who fight the demons, you may not be able to stop him trying."

At his statement, Buffy stopped and stared at him, "Angel, are you crazy? He'll get himself killed!"

Deciding that it was time for a break, Angel walked off the mat and motioned for Buffy to follow him. He picked up a bottle of water and a towel and handed them to Buffy, while he tried to figure out how to explain his thoughts to her.

Once they were both seated comfortably on the floor, he said, "It's guaranteed that he'll get killed...if he's alone. But, if he's trained correctly and in a group, he'll have a better chance. Isn't that better than the three of them going out there alone and unprepared?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," she sighed. "Are you suggesting that we train them?"

Angel shrugged, "Why not? It will be safer for them that way. Besides, if they're around, you won't be alone anymore."

"I'm not alone," Buffy smiled, "I have you."

"You know what I meant," he replied, not looking at her.

Buffy could have sworn that she had embarrassed him with her comment, although that hadn't been her intention. She decided not to comment on it and asked, "So, we're doing the group thing now?"

"I think that's our only option," he replied.

"Ok," Buffy said, "What are we going to tell them about you? How are we going to explain to them why you are so strong?"

"For now, I'd rather not tell them the whole story," he answered honestly. "We'll figure it out as we go along. Why don't you bring them by here tomorrow after you get out of school? It will give me a chance to meet them, and maybe we can explain a few things."

Standing up, Buffy said, "Ok, if that's what you want to do."

Angel nodded and accepted the hand that Buffy offered. She pulled him to his feet and together, they moved to finish their workout.

~*~

"This all seems so weird," Alonna commented as they walked away from the warehouse.

Buffy smiled gently, "You'll get used to it...or maybe I should say, learn to accept it. I don't know if anyone could really get used to it."

The two of them glanced back at Gunn and Pike, who were trailing along behind. They had to fight to conceal their mirth at the image the two sulking guys made.

At lunch that day, Buffy had told the three of them that she and Angel would train them. So, as previously decided, the group had gone to the warehouse to meet Angel after school. The five of them had talked for a little while, before Gunn and Pike decided that they should prove themselves. They wanted to show that they were as good as anyone else in a fight. Unfortunately, Buffy and Angel had quickly shown them that they had a lot to learn. Neither of the guys had been hurt, but their egos were sufficiently bruised.

Because of their previous knowledge of Buffy superior strength, they weren't really bothered by her ability, even though she was a girl. It was the fact that Angel had easily batted away their attempts to best him that had them in a huff. Of course they had no way of knowing that he also possessed extreme strength. Angel hadn't wanted to embarrass them, but the two of them had to be shown that things were going to be tough.

Angel still hadn't completely made up his mind on what to tell them about himself. The more the teens were around, the more differences they were sure to notice. But for now, he just couldn't chance their reaction. Once they had become accustom to the way things were, he and Buffy would find a way to tell their new friends about his...lifestyle.

Abruptly Alonna asked, "So, what's up with you and Angel?"

"What do mean?" Buffy asked, giving her a quizzical look.

"Don't look so innocent," Alonna laughed, "There are definite sparks there."

Buffy shook her head, "No, it's nothing like that. We're just friends."

Even as she said it, Buffy couldn't help but think back to that night at the movies. She had been so sure that Angel was about to kiss her. Now that she had time to think about it, her certainty was fading. They had been together almost all weekend, but he hadn't made any move to try again. Nothing was different; he had acted the same as always.

Basically, the whole situation had her confused.

"Ok," Alonna replied, deciding to let it go for now. She and Buffy still didn't know each other very well, although she intended to change that. Through her whole life, she had never really had a close friend, except for her brother, and later Pike. There was something about Buffy that made Alonna think that the two of them could become good friends.

Once that happened, Alonna planned to find out what was going on between her new friend and the tall, handsome man that she had just been introduced to. Anyone who spent any time with the two of them would be able to feel the undercurrents that they produced. Their feelings were obvious, but they seemed to be oblivious.

Right then, Alonna decided that she would be the one to open their eyes.

Glancing at Alonna, Buffy smiled. It was nice to have someone to talk to about Angel, even if this particular conversation was a little embarrassing. Over the last six months, she and Angel had become the closest of friend, and yet she couldn't tell anyone about him. It had been a very difficult situation.

Looking around at her new friends, Buffy smiled once again. Maybe this change wouldn't be so bad, after all