Author note: sorry it's been a while but I had a very good Christmas so my
writing took place in the short period of the day after I got over a
hangover and before I started getting ready to go out again! But thank you
guys so much for the reviews! And as a treat here's two chapters, of course
if you don't like them then review and tell me, and of course if you want
to be different and mean don't bother and just read and run! Either way I
don't mind because I like writing. Okay I think I've babbled for long
enough so on with the story and a very happy new year to everyone!
*********************************************************** 'Why do we have to go again?' whined Conor.
'Because we need to do things as a family.' Answered Cordelia as she put on her coat.
'Then why do me and Fred have to go?' asked Gunn, he was with Conor on this he didn't want to go out tonight.
'Because if you don't I'll have Angel beat you up. Now stop complaining I thought you liked football.' Cordelia checked her watch.
'I do but it's raining outside and I can watch football on the television.' His voice took on Conor's whining quality.
'You can't watch Caoimhe cheer on the TV though..ANGEL!!! FRED!!! We're leaving this instant down here now. Chop chop.' Cordelia yelled up the stairs as she grabbed the car keys and shooed Conor and Gunn out the door.
They ran down the stairs. They were meeting Caoimhe at the game because she had to warm up.
******************At the game.*******************
Angel hated crowded places especially when they were all laughing and joking. It disorientated him. Cordelia grabbed his hand and pulled him towards their seats. He scanned the field for any sign of Caoimhe. He was getting fond of her but still the responsibility of caring for here was tough. Cordelia just treated her as a normal teenage girl but Angel didn't have that luxury. He knew what could happen to her if he let his guard down and something happened. Caoimhe didn't even know half of what she was to become yet and he didn't really want to be the one to break the news to her. Still for tonight he was here to watch her cheerlead.
Cordelia couldn't wait for the game to start, the last time she'd been to one was the last game she had cheered for in Sunnydale. She had changed so much since then but still loved the memories of being the queen of the school. She had been helping Caoimhe out with her cheers and wanted to see if all they're work paid off. She looked over at Angel who stared intently at the field. Probably making sure that Caoimhe wasn't taking to any guys, she thought with a smile, he was so over protective of her.
Conor sat low in his seat and pulled the collar of his jacket up so that no one would recognise him. It wouldn't do his reputation any favours to be seen at one of these school team spirit games. He looked at his watch, he was going to meet up with some guys at a friend's house to discuss starting a band. Music was something that came easily to him. Playing the drums was just using all the rhythms that he used for fighting and he enjoyed it. He could slip away after the first cheer and say he had to go to bathroom and then followed a demon or something. He knew he could convince them.
Gunn had cheered up considerably since he discovered that the game had hotdogs. He watched Fred tuck in to her fourth in a row. He loved her so much. He sighed if it wasn't for this game they could be alone some where. He hadn't really taken to Caoimhe but they could get along okay. Gunn found her a little standoffish but he knew that Fred had taken a shine to her and thus he was extra nice to the girl.
Caoimhe looked up in to the crowd as she warmed up and saw the gang from the hotel up there, all waiting expectantly to see her. 'Okay' she called the other cheerleaders over 'We're on and you guys had better be good my family are up there watching!' she led them out onto the field waving her pompoms in the air. As they all lined up she saw Cordelia jump up and start cheering and waving her arms wildly in the air. Caoimhe led the cheer 'Be aggressive, B-E aggressive, B-E - A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E. Be aggressive, B-E aggressive, B-E - A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E. Be aggressive, B-E aggressive, B-E - A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E. GO! FIGHT! GO! FIGHT! GO! FIGHT!' They all started to cheer loudly and kick their legs up on the air.
Angel watched in amazement as Caoimhe threw up herself into the splits and kicked her legs high above her head. She'd never put that much effort into training. Cordelia was so proud of her she looked like a proper captain of the cheerleading squad. Fred and Gunn just kept cheering loudly. Conor was bored. He'd seen the cheerleading squad practise a load of times. He checked his watch again and whispered to Fred that he was going to the bathroom and headed for Chris's house. Time for this kid to fly.
He walked casually to towards the bathrooms and then doubled back and headed out of the stadium, masked by the crowd milling around him. The cool night air was a shock to his skin compared to the heat of the crowd inside at the game. He began to jog lightly over to Chris's house.
When he reached the house his ran his fingers through his hair and straightened up his clothes. Chris answered the door almost immediately. 'Hey man, glad you could make it' he greeted Conor warmly. He led Conor to his room 'Mark and Jack are already here. This is so cool man all the chicks will be after us when we're in a band.....'
*********************At the Hotel.**************************
Angel paced back and forth in the lobby. He was antsy 'I cannot believe he left. I'm so mad at him this was supposed to be a family thing.' He fumed. 'Sit down you'll wear a hole in the marble.' Cordelia was sitting on the sofa drinking a cup of coffee. 'Besides you'll need to be rested when he turns up otherwise you won't be able to yell at him as much as you're supposed to.' She smiled over the rim of her cup. Angel collapsed on the sofa beside her. 'He is so so so dead.' He said before falling in to silence, plotting his son's punishment.
Conor opened the door gently, it was almost three am but after Chris's house they had all gone to a club to see a band. He couldn't leave, it would have been impolite. Plus this was the first time he'd really had fun out with his peers. He saw his dad and Cordy asleep on the sofa and he tip toed past them up the stairs to the landing where his and Caoimhe's rooms were. He knocked gently on her door. He needed to know how much trouble he was in.
Caoimhe was sprawled out on her bed sound asleep when he peeked in her door. He walked inside and shut the door with a soft click. 'Caoi' he called her, flicking on her light as he spoke. 'Caoi wake up!' he went over and shook her shoulder. 'What you want?' she mumbled burying her head inside her quilt, trying to avoid the glare of the light. He sat on the ground beside her bed 'How much trouble am I in?' he inquired. 'Tons, they're mega pissy that you abandoned the family activity. Now go away I wanna go to sleep.' 'When did they fall asleep downstairs?' he asked 'About ten, they were sound when I came up to bed.' 'Maybe I can convince them I was in before eleven, at least then I won't have broken curfew.' Conor mused. Caoimhe grunted in response already half asleep. Conor stood and went to leave her room, on his way out picking up her pom poms and putting them on her dresser and flicking off her light. 'Night Caoi.'
******************The next morning*************************
'What the hell were you thinking? Running off like that without a bye or leave? You could have been lying dead in a drain for all we knew. And the fact that you didn't even wait and see Caoimhe doing her cheerleading that she has been working so hard at.' Angel ranted the next morning when Conor came down for breakfast.
Conor kept his head down and looked apologetic. 'I'm sorry dad but I saw this vamp attacking this girl and then she was pretty weak so I had to take her to the hospital and I would have rang but I had no money on me and I was in before eleven but you and Cordy were already asleep. I didn't want to wake you, you two looked so peaceful.' Conor recited his practised speech.
'What was the girl's name?' inquired Angel. 'Mary Powers.' The lie slid easily off his tongue he didn't even have to think about it. Angel looked at him hard and called Cordy 'Sweetie will you ring the hospital and check if there was a Mary Powers admitted last night?' 'What hospital?' asked Cordelia. 'What hospital was it Conor?' inquired Angel.
Oh crap, Conor thought, please let me be lucky. 'Mercy hospital.' He answered, with his fingers crossed. Why couldn't his father just trust him? Cordelia's face when she came back from the phone confirmed he'd been caught out. 'I cannot believe that you tried to lie to us!' she exclaimed. 'You two knew?' he was quite indignant. Why had they tried to trick him?
'Of course we knew we did check your room you know and we wanted to see if you'd tell us the truth.' Angel stood in front of Conor 'Now this is your last chance what happened you last night?' 'I went to a friend's place for a while and then we all went to a club.' Conor sat down defeated ' I thought you guys wanted me to make friends? Wasn't that the whole point of making me go to school? So that I could learn social skills?' 'Yes but you shouldn't have just left like that maybe if you had explained to us then-' Conor cut off his father. 'You would not have just let me go you even made Fred and Gunn go last night and they only work for you!' Conor jumped up, fighting his corner. The two men stood there staring each other down.
Caoimhe came down the stairs yawning 'Will you two shut up! I want to sleep! Angel, I don't really mind that Conor missed my routine he can come to the game next week. See all sorted now I'm going back to bed so shut the hell up!'
*********************************************************** 'Why do we have to go again?' whined Conor.
'Because we need to do things as a family.' Answered Cordelia as she put on her coat.
'Then why do me and Fred have to go?' asked Gunn, he was with Conor on this he didn't want to go out tonight.
'Because if you don't I'll have Angel beat you up. Now stop complaining I thought you liked football.' Cordelia checked her watch.
'I do but it's raining outside and I can watch football on the television.' His voice took on Conor's whining quality.
'You can't watch Caoimhe cheer on the TV though..ANGEL!!! FRED!!! We're leaving this instant down here now. Chop chop.' Cordelia yelled up the stairs as she grabbed the car keys and shooed Conor and Gunn out the door.
They ran down the stairs. They were meeting Caoimhe at the game because she had to warm up.
******************At the game.*******************
Angel hated crowded places especially when they were all laughing and joking. It disorientated him. Cordelia grabbed his hand and pulled him towards their seats. He scanned the field for any sign of Caoimhe. He was getting fond of her but still the responsibility of caring for here was tough. Cordelia just treated her as a normal teenage girl but Angel didn't have that luxury. He knew what could happen to her if he let his guard down and something happened. Caoimhe didn't even know half of what she was to become yet and he didn't really want to be the one to break the news to her. Still for tonight he was here to watch her cheerlead.
Cordelia couldn't wait for the game to start, the last time she'd been to one was the last game she had cheered for in Sunnydale. She had changed so much since then but still loved the memories of being the queen of the school. She had been helping Caoimhe out with her cheers and wanted to see if all they're work paid off. She looked over at Angel who stared intently at the field. Probably making sure that Caoimhe wasn't taking to any guys, she thought with a smile, he was so over protective of her.
Conor sat low in his seat and pulled the collar of his jacket up so that no one would recognise him. It wouldn't do his reputation any favours to be seen at one of these school team spirit games. He looked at his watch, he was going to meet up with some guys at a friend's house to discuss starting a band. Music was something that came easily to him. Playing the drums was just using all the rhythms that he used for fighting and he enjoyed it. He could slip away after the first cheer and say he had to go to bathroom and then followed a demon or something. He knew he could convince them.
Gunn had cheered up considerably since he discovered that the game had hotdogs. He watched Fred tuck in to her fourth in a row. He loved her so much. He sighed if it wasn't for this game they could be alone some where. He hadn't really taken to Caoimhe but they could get along okay. Gunn found her a little standoffish but he knew that Fred had taken a shine to her and thus he was extra nice to the girl.
Caoimhe looked up in to the crowd as she warmed up and saw the gang from the hotel up there, all waiting expectantly to see her. 'Okay' she called the other cheerleaders over 'We're on and you guys had better be good my family are up there watching!' she led them out onto the field waving her pompoms in the air. As they all lined up she saw Cordelia jump up and start cheering and waving her arms wildly in the air. Caoimhe led the cheer 'Be aggressive, B-E aggressive, B-E - A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E. Be aggressive, B-E aggressive, B-E - A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E. Be aggressive, B-E aggressive, B-E - A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E. GO! FIGHT! GO! FIGHT! GO! FIGHT!' They all started to cheer loudly and kick their legs up on the air.
Angel watched in amazement as Caoimhe threw up herself into the splits and kicked her legs high above her head. She'd never put that much effort into training. Cordelia was so proud of her she looked like a proper captain of the cheerleading squad. Fred and Gunn just kept cheering loudly. Conor was bored. He'd seen the cheerleading squad practise a load of times. He checked his watch again and whispered to Fred that he was going to the bathroom and headed for Chris's house. Time for this kid to fly.
He walked casually to towards the bathrooms and then doubled back and headed out of the stadium, masked by the crowd milling around him. The cool night air was a shock to his skin compared to the heat of the crowd inside at the game. He began to jog lightly over to Chris's house.
When he reached the house his ran his fingers through his hair and straightened up his clothes. Chris answered the door almost immediately. 'Hey man, glad you could make it' he greeted Conor warmly. He led Conor to his room 'Mark and Jack are already here. This is so cool man all the chicks will be after us when we're in a band.....'
*********************At the Hotel.**************************
Angel paced back and forth in the lobby. He was antsy 'I cannot believe he left. I'm so mad at him this was supposed to be a family thing.' He fumed. 'Sit down you'll wear a hole in the marble.' Cordelia was sitting on the sofa drinking a cup of coffee. 'Besides you'll need to be rested when he turns up otherwise you won't be able to yell at him as much as you're supposed to.' She smiled over the rim of her cup. Angel collapsed on the sofa beside her. 'He is so so so dead.' He said before falling in to silence, plotting his son's punishment.
Conor opened the door gently, it was almost three am but after Chris's house they had all gone to a club to see a band. He couldn't leave, it would have been impolite. Plus this was the first time he'd really had fun out with his peers. He saw his dad and Cordy asleep on the sofa and he tip toed past them up the stairs to the landing where his and Caoimhe's rooms were. He knocked gently on her door. He needed to know how much trouble he was in.
Caoimhe was sprawled out on her bed sound asleep when he peeked in her door. He walked inside and shut the door with a soft click. 'Caoi' he called her, flicking on her light as he spoke. 'Caoi wake up!' he went over and shook her shoulder. 'What you want?' she mumbled burying her head inside her quilt, trying to avoid the glare of the light. He sat on the ground beside her bed 'How much trouble am I in?' he inquired. 'Tons, they're mega pissy that you abandoned the family activity. Now go away I wanna go to sleep.' 'When did they fall asleep downstairs?' he asked 'About ten, they were sound when I came up to bed.' 'Maybe I can convince them I was in before eleven, at least then I won't have broken curfew.' Conor mused. Caoimhe grunted in response already half asleep. Conor stood and went to leave her room, on his way out picking up her pom poms and putting them on her dresser and flicking off her light. 'Night Caoi.'
******************The next morning*************************
'What the hell were you thinking? Running off like that without a bye or leave? You could have been lying dead in a drain for all we knew. And the fact that you didn't even wait and see Caoimhe doing her cheerleading that she has been working so hard at.' Angel ranted the next morning when Conor came down for breakfast.
Conor kept his head down and looked apologetic. 'I'm sorry dad but I saw this vamp attacking this girl and then she was pretty weak so I had to take her to the hospital and I would have rang but I had no money on me and I was in before eleven but you and Cordy were already asleep. I didn't want to wake you, you two looked so peaceful.' Conor recited his practised speech.
'What was the girl's name?' inquired Angel. 'Mary Powers.' The lie slid easily off his tongue he didn't even have to think about it. Angel looked at him hard and called Cordy 'Sweetie will you ring the hospital and check if there was a Mary Powers admitted last night?' 'What hospital?' asked Cordelia. 'What hospital was it Conor?' inquired Angel.
Oh crap, Conor thought, please let me be lucky. 'Mercy hospital.' He answered, with his fingers crossed. Why couldn't his father just trust him? Cordelia's face when she came back from the phone confirmed he'd been caught out. 'I cannot believe that you tried to lie to us!' she exclaimed. 'You two knew?' he was quite indignant. Why had they tried to trick him?
'Of course we knew we did check your room you know and we wanted to see if you'd tell us the truth.' Angel stood in front of Conor 'Now this is your last chance what happened you last night?' 'I went to a friend's place for a while and then we all went to a club.' Conor sat down defeated ' I thought you guys wanted me to make friends? Wasn't that the whole point of making me go to school? So that I could learn social skills?' 'Yes but you shouldn't have just left like that maybe if you had explained to us then-' Conor cut off his father. 'You would not have just let me go you even made Fred and Gunn go last night and they only work for you!' Conor jumped up, fighting his corner. The two men stood there staring each other down.
Caoimhe came down the stairs yawning 'Will you two shut up! I want to sleep! Angel, I don't really mind that Conor missed my routine he can come to the game next week. See all sorted now I'm going back to bed so shut the hell up!'