Loving Eternally: Chapter 4
by Lisette
Legalese: See Chapter 1 for disclaimers and ratings.
As the music pulsed around him, Riley felt the bass kicking in his stomach, mixing with the scent of liquor and sweat that permeated the nightclub. Nodding his head slightly in time with the beat, his dark eyes slowly roamed over the packed club, unsure of what he was looking for - or who.
"I can't believe that they're playing a Dingo's song!" Alex yelled above the pulsing music, nodding at the group that occupied the stage. "That's so wacked! They're not even attempting to be original!"
"Is that a crime?" Riley yelled back, shrugging his shoulders as she flashed him a mock look of scandalization.
"But they don't even play this stuff on the radio!" she protested, pushing her long hair from her face.
"That's because my Dad owns the radio station," Will retorted, stirring his drink aimlessly with his straw. "He thinks that it's tacky to play his own stuff."
"Exactly. Which is why-"
Smiling ruefully at his friends, Riley tuned out the rest of the conversation as his attention turned back to the people around him. Like his mom, he loved art - painting was his life - so people watching had always been a favorite past time. You never knew who you might see.
"And what do we have here?" he muttered quietly, unconsciously adjusting his thin, wire-rimmed glasses as he watched a dark stranger join the crowd of Bronzers. The girl moved with a natural ease that spoke of belonging even as she seemed out of place amongst the others.
"Hello, Earth to Riley!" Alex sing-songed as she waved a hand in front of his face. "Whatcha watching?"
"A girl, from the looks of it," Will replied with a wink as he watched the hidden figure move throughout the crowd. Once, he caught her eye briefly before she quickly turned away, arriving at an empty table. "And a cute one at that," he added, whistling appreciatively as the dark scarf was finally pulled away, long, shining golden blonde hair tumbling free as the girl slipped out of her long jacket and draped it across the back of her chair, revealing a petite form in tight, black leather pants and small, strappy red tank.
Intrigued, Riley eyed the girl as she grabbed a drink from a passing waitress, her eyes scanning the room. "Well, I don't think that she's anything special," he vaguely heard Alex huff as his eyes locked with the stranger, sending an electric bolt through him. He couldn't say what it was, but something about the stranger captivated him and sent him to his feet. "Let's go say hi," he muttered, abandoning their table and pushing past dancing couples, not even checking to see if his friends followed.
"Well," Alex muttered, crossing her arms stiffly as she watched her friend take off. But of course, her flash of anger disappeared even faster than it came as she hopped to her feet, pulling Will along and quickly caught up to Riley as they converged upon the stranger.
"Mind if we join you?" Will asked quietly, flashing a bright grin at the girl, seeing as how no one else seemed about to. And for a moment, it almost seemed as though the girl was going to refuse before shrugging slowly, looking anything but inviting.
"Hi, I'm Alex!" Alex quickly chirped as she slid into a seat, "and that's Will and Riley," she added, nodding at each in turn.
Forcing a smile, the girl slowly nodded. "I'm B... Anne!" she countered, catching herself quickly. But if any of the guys noticed, they didn't show it as Will continued to drool and Riley stare. No wonder the girl was unnerved, Alex thought with a snicker.
"So... we're seniors at the UC here in Sunnydale-"
"I'm in the film school!" Will volunteered, interrupting Alex eagerly, his eyes lighting up as they always did when either movies or computers were mentioned.
"Oh, that's... interesting," Buffy managed, wanting nothing more than to slink away. Here she was chatting away with the kids of her best friends - and her MOM AND GILES - and Willow's son was even flirting with her. Yes, coming in was a definite bad idea - but she had to make sure that they were still there and alright. They were vulnerable out here, with no apparent idea of what the night held... especially if Spike had been right about Drusilla. Although why she would want to take revenge on the Scooby Gang for something so long ago just showed how crazy the vampire really was.
"My sentiments exactly," Alex agreed, flashing a bright smile as Will showed mock hurt, surprising Buffy as for a moment she thought that the girl had read her mind. "So, B-Anne, do you go to the UC as well?" she laughed, winking at the girl.
"Yeah, have we met somewhere before?" Riley asked, never breaking his fierce concentration.
"Um, not exactly," Buffy answered Alex truthfully, ignoring Riley for the moment as she felt his eyes bore into her. "I... I just came from France-"
"Wow, really?" Will broke in eagerly. "Your English is amazing! I don't even hear an accent!"
Absorbing that, Buffy forced a bright smile. "Thank you," she added. If they thought that she was French, all the better. "So, are you guys all from around here?"
"Born and raised," Alex confirmed, yawning dramatically, "in what we fondly call Sunny-bore, California. A place that lacks all excitement and where nothing ever happens!" she chirped, missing the shadow that flashed across the girl's face.
"Boring?" Buffy asked innocently, shaking her head slightly.
"Well, yeah," Will admitted with a small grin, "but it's not always been like this!" he quickly added as he took a sip from his drink. "A long time ago, before we were born, there used to be a lot of gang activity here," he continued truthfully in an amusing attempt to impress.
"Gang activity?" Buffy asked slowly, surprised to see that all three of them seemed to believe every word that was said. Apparently they had been sheltered from the truth of everything that really went bump in the night - not that she could blame her friends for hiding it from them - more innocence needn't be stolen.
"Yep," Will agreed with a sad smile. "My mom once said that close to half of their high school class didn't survive high school - literally. But she doesn't really talk about it-"
"None of them do," Alex interrupted with a frustrated smile. "It's like the town's deepest, darkest secret-"
"And they lost someone close to them," Riley interrupted, finally driven out of his silence as he looked deep into Buffy's eyes. "My sister."
"You... you had a sister?" Buffy whispered, her face an expressionless mask.
"Yeah - she died before I was born," Riley sighed, the spell breaking as he shared a smile with his friends. "My parents never mention her, but her tomb says that she was our age when she was killed. Her name was Buffy."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Buffy mumbled, her eyes turning back to her drink as she focused on maintaining control. And as the world continued to spin on without her, Buffy felt a single tear build and sting her eye. Never mention me? Shaking her head, Buffy vaguely heard the conversation continue, making it evident that the speculation on the dark times of Sunnydale was a popular topic for the youths.
"Hey, you okay?" Riley asked, leaning forward and gently touching her elbow.
Jumping as though burned, Buffy quickly slid from her chair and grabbed her duster. Seeing the surprised looks of the others, Buffy offered an apologetic smile and began backing away. "I need some fresh air," she offered quickly before hurrying away, pushing past dancing couples and bursting out into the darkened alley.
"Gee, was it something that I said?" Will asked slowly, staring at the recently vacated seat.
"I don't know - do I have something big and nasty stuck in my teeth?" Alex offered, baring her teeth at her friends before smiling impishly.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Will countered as he finally noticed his quiet and pensive friend. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, nudging Riley gently.
"Yeah, and what was with the 'have we met before' line?" Alex laughed, brushing a wave of her raven hair from her face. "You already had her cornered! There was no need to haul out the heavy artillery!"
Shaking his head, Riley finally broke out of his thoughts and managed to laugh quietly with his friends. "Okay, so she was cute-" he began to concede.
"Hot," Will interrupted with a wide grin, running a hand through his red hair.
"But she didn't interest me like that," Riley continued, sending his friend an amused glance. "There was just something about her..."
"I think that I'm going to be sick!" Alex joked, ducking under the table, her long hair sliding forward to hide her face.
"Whatever," Riley laughed as he slid from his stool. He had to admit that after his more than bizarre behavior, he deserved that. There was just something about Anne that caught his attention. Shrugging his shoulders, he quickly reached forward and snagged his jacket. "Are you guys ready?"
"So soon?" Alex whined even as Will pulled her to her feet.
"Whenever you are," Will agreed as he followed him to the door, the three friends never noticing the dark shadows that followed after.
"Okay, Dead Boy," Xander said, running a hand through his graying hair as he settled back onto a couch, "what's the emergency?" And even as he said it, Xander felt a rush at the familiar scowl that creased the vampire's face. Sighing, he glanced quickly around the room, seeing his closest friends, and realized with a smile that some things would never change. But as his eyes rested on the faces of those that he loved most, he realized how their years had never seemed so apparent until now, when facing one who would never age. As always, his heart ached for the one that was missing.
"You haven't changed, have you?" Angel muttered, sending the man a withering glare.
"Not one bit," Willow confirmed, adjusting her glasses as she snuggled against her husband's side.
"And probably never will," Giles agreed, frowning at the man that the lanky teen had become. "Why they entrusted him with an entire police department-"
"Hey, this is emergency meeting time, remember?" Xander broke in indignantly, Anya patting his hand comfortingly. "Pick-on Xander time isn't until tomorrow night," he added, unable to resist. Smiling wryly, he couldn't help but realize that being back in this situation, this gathering of old friends, brought back so many comforting memories of other crunch sessions, getting the forces of good ready to fight the bad guys. In a way, it brought out a part of himself that he thought he had lost long ago - the youthful and jovial teen that had matured into the man and father that he was today.
Rolling his eyes, Angel noticed that once more all eyes had returned to him. Which meant that it was time to get down to business. "Spike called me."
"Oh joy! And what did that lump of good times have to say?"
"Xander!" Joyce admonished, instantly causing him to turn contrite as he saw Willow roll her eyes.
Ignoring their exchange, Angel's dark eyes locked on Giles. "Dru's heading this way, intent on revenge," he said quietly, the room instantly falling silent.
"Oh joy?" Xander muttered quietly, his voice strained this time.
"Revenge? Revenge for what?" Anya asked quickly, her eyes growing wide with alarm as they jumped back and forth between her husband and Giles.
Ignoring the question, Joyce quickly locked eyes with the vampire that she hadn't seen in so many years.. the one that was bringing back so many painful memories with his presence alone. "Is Spike coming to help?" she asked, her fondness for the bleached vampire showing once again.
"He was," Angel confirmed as he turned to stare out into the dark night beyond the thin layer of glass. "But he said that he was sending a Slayer instead."