Part 4
Angel stopped on the row just under the Scoobies, stuffing his hands into
his pockets and hunching his shoulders. "Hey," he said softly.
"Hey." Buffy stared up at him, her eyes wide. The group grew quiet.
"So, hey." Xander clapped his hands once loudly. "The return of the awkward silence," He quipped. "I can't tell you how much I really have not missed that."
Angel cleared his throat. "Xander. Willow. everyone." This was exactly why he hated going out in public. "I didn't mean to interrupt your evening. I just wanted to come over and say hello."
Buffy cleared her throat. "Well, uh, hello." She felt a wide, almost plastic smile spread across her face as she searched for something to say that didn't sound like her world has suddenly started spinning. Which, figuratively speaking, it had. No matter how much her friends had insisted he might be there, she really hadn't believed it for a second. "You're. you're not interrupting anything."
Angel smiled tightly. "Good."
"Yes," Anya quipped up. "You're not interrupting anything because we were actually just talking about you."
Angel's head snapped up, his eyebrows drawing together. "You were?"
"No, we weren't talking about you!" Buffy piped up, shooting a warning glance back at Anya. "Why would we be talking about you?"
"Yes, we were talking about him, Buffy. You said that you had seen Cordelia yesterday, and then Willow said that Angel might be here. Xander then said that he didn't want Angel to be here, but that he probably was. And then, you said that it didn't matter because there was no way Angel would be here." Oblivious to the incredulous stares her friends were shooting at her, Anya smiled brightly up at Angel. "That was when you got here. So, see, we were talking about you."
Angel's gaze traveled back to Buffy, the corners of his mouth quirking up slightly at the blush that tinged her cheeks. "Oh, I see."
"You'll have to excuse the resident vengeance demon," Xander said, jerking a thumb in Anya's direction. "She doesn't exactly grasp the concept of keeping the gossip away from the one you're gossiping about."
"That's quite all right, Anya. I've spent the last four years with Cordy. You tend to get used to it." Angel relaxed slowly at the light laughter that surrounded him.
"Honesty is a good trait to have," Anya announced pointedly, smirking at her ex-boyfriend.
"So. why did you think I wouldn't be here?" Angel asked, glancing at Buffy.
"Oh! It's not that I didn't think you would be here. It's just that, you know." Buffy cut herself off before she made a complete stuttering fool of herself. She didn't remember Angel being so direct with the questioning.
"Buffy just thought that with your business and everything you'd be to busy to come." Willow winked comfortingly at Buffy. "You don't really make it up here when there's not world in peril stuff going on."
"I guess that's true." Angel nodded, smiling to ease the discomfort that still seemed fitted on Buffy's face. "No world in peril stuff going on. Just Cordelia doing the whole high school cheerleading scene again."
"So, Angel. That's why you're here, is it?" Xander asked. "You're here to see Cordy participate in all the opening ceremony splendor?"
"Yeah." Angel pulled his hands from his pockets, crossing his arms over his chest. For some reason, the direct mention of Cordy was putting him back on the defensive.
"Did she just drag you along, or do we get to see Wesley, too?" Willow questioned, her voice soft as she took in the tension in Angel's stance. He always did seem to be a high stress guy.
"Yeah." Angel nodded. He paused for a minute, considering the confusion on her face. "Er. I mean, yes, she did drag Wesley along as well. Actually, all of us are here. I mean, all of Angel Investigations."
"It will be nice to meet your other friends, Angel," Buffy spoke up. "You've mentioned them before, but I've never gotten the chance to meet any of them."
"Yeah, well. They'll be happy to meet you, too." They finally looked at each other, but the contact was short lived as each quickly averted their eyes. Angel glanced back down toward his feet, awkwardly toeing the edge of the bench he stood on. Damn it! What was it that people talked about in situations like this?
"So, how about them Lakers," Buffy said, tone a little too strained. Damn, could this be anymore awkward?
"Yeah! The Lakers! Good!" Angel winced at his unnaturally loud voice.
"Right," Xander said. "I had no idea that basketball got you so excited there, Angel. Well, you learn something new everyday, don't ya?"
"Well, basketball is a fascinating sport." Dawn smiled widely up at Angel. "I'm partial to all the scantily clad men, myself.
"I agree," Anya straightened in her seat. "Tiny shorts on big, strong, rich men really does give that extra bit of omff to an otherwise pointless and boring game."
"Oh I don't know about that." Xander shifted to better address his ex- girlfriend. "I would say that the cheerleaders do a fair amount to bring an added stimulation to the game. Can I get a yay, Will?"
"Uh-huh! I'll give you a yay and raise you an amen, buddy." Willow grinned brightly as she gave Xander a high-five, then she turned to Buffy. "And what does the Buff have to say on the matter?"
"I'm gonna have to go with scantily clad men on this one. What kind of world would we be living in were it not for the pleasures of scantily clad big, strong, rich men?" Buffy laughed as Xander rolled his eyes at her.
"Oh!" Anna nodded excitedly. "Don't forget about the sweaty part. That's especially important!"
"Of course it is," Xander answered sarcastically.
The group dipped into an uncomfortable silence as five pairs of eyes stared expectantly up at Angel. This was just way too much pressure. It was difficult enough to come back to a place that you never really belonged, but the weight of the life he had made for himself was nearly pushing Angel into the ground. He didn't want to play with secrets the entire time he was in Sunnydale. He wasn't going to hide his life from them.
"Buffy," he spoke suddenly, turning a serious gaze toward the young woman. "Do you think that maybe I could talk to you for a minute?"
Buffy froze in her seat, staring up at Angel as she tried to grasp what he had just asked her. After a moment, she shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and stood up. "Yeah. yes. Yes, I think that would be good."
"But wait. We never got your answer, Angel," Xander said. "So, what will it be for you? Scantily clad, sweaty men or scantily clad, sweaty cheerleaders?"
Angel stopped, half turning to glance back at Xander. His eyes narrowed at the hard look on the other man's face. Angel turned back to the court and began to step down the bleachers. "I think I'd have to go with." His voice trailed off as his whole world seem to shift to slow motion.
From a door across the court a pair long, toned legs, curvy and feminine, lightly jogged out. His eyes traveled up the length, his body tightening at the sight. His gaze reached a short burgundy skirt that barely covered the round, luscious cheeks of a perfect ass as it swished with each step. The skirt was a mere scrap of material that settled low down on her hips. A flat, bronzed stomach was visible for a short minute before being covered again by a tight, burgundy and gold top.
"Cheerleaders," he squeaked as his stare reached that golden smile that brought light every day to his dark world. Her smile seemed to brighten even further as she found him in crowd and lifted her hand in a small wave.
"Ah!"
The vision before him was ripped from his sight as he misjudged the step in front of him and stumbled down. His knee banged hard against the bench, and his quick vampiric reflexes were the only thing kept him from sliding headfirst into the row of spectators.
He glanced up quickly, cringing at Cordelia's wide eyes and the laughter that was so obviously bubbling up in her. He was going to be hearing about this later.
"Angel, are you okay?" Buffy's voice came, pulling his attention away from Cordy. She wrapped her hand around his arm and helped to pull him to his feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Angel smiled awkwardly back at her. He glanced over his shoulder toward the court, expecting to see Cordelia still laughing, but her eyes were no longer focused on him and the smile was no longer on her face. Her gaze was hard and pointed and focused solely on Buffy. whom he was just leading away from the group. Shit! Angel screamed to himself as she glanced at him one last time before jogging to catch up with the rest of the cheerleaders.
"Um. did you just fall over?" Xander's words broke through Angel's thoughts.
Glancing back quickly to the group, he realized that Cordy was not the only one that had seen him fall. Smiling with what he hoped was an innocent expression; Angel shrugged, his voice coming out slightly higher than was normal. "No!"
"Angel. I think you did just fall over," Buffy told him, her words holding a poorly hidden twinge of confusion as she tried to help him wipe the dust from his coat and pants.
"Yes. We all saw you." Anya nodded, pointing down at the spot Angel had just occupied. "It was quite humorous."
"I. no. um." What was it Cordy had said about simply gesturing not being a suitable answer? Shaking his head, Angel pointed accusingly down at the bench. "Somebody must have spilled their soda. Because. so I slipped. maybe."
"Spilled soda?" Xander's asked incredulously, glancing dubiously over at Willow who could merely shrug in return. "I guess it could have been."
Angel shifted his weight and fought the urge to wring his hands as the Scoobies continued to shoot befuddled looks at each other. The only one that seemed willing to make eye contact with him was Anya, and he really wished that she would stop smiling so widely at him.
A strong hand suddenly clapped against his back, nearly sending Angel toppling over yet again. Regaining his composure, he turned to glare at the smiling face of Gunn. "That was most definitely not spilt soda, my friend. but it was a little bit on the obvious side." Gunn raised his eyebrows suggestively and jerked his head in Cordelia's direction.
"What?" Angel's gaze traveled to the court before snapping back to Gunn. "No."
Gunn's broad grin faded as he caught sight of the group of people staring up at him. "Uh. hello."
"Hi," Buffy answered back, shooting a questioning look toward Angel.
"Oh! You all must be the Sunnydale crowd I've heard so much about." Gunn snapped his fingers and realization seemed to dawn on him. "What was it you all called yourself? God, we were talking about it just yesterday. "The scubbies or the scabies?"
The group turned as a short laugh sounded just behind Gunn. Fred stepped up onto the bench with him, her arms loaded with various snack foods. "I hardly think that they're the scabies, Gunn. Unless of course they're a contagious skin disease caused by a parasitic mite that results in flaky skin and constant itching. and really, who wants to be that?" She bumped her shoulder against her boyfriend's, an impish grin spreading over her mouth."
"Well, certainly not me, but who are we really to judge the life decisions of another," Xander returned, slapping his hand on his knee for emphasis.
The grin seemed to freeze on Fred's face as she considered his words. "Right. I guess."
"I think the word you were looking for is Scoobies." The group once again turned to take in the latest additions to their little gathering, Wesley and a teenage boy.
"Wesley?" Buffy's jaw dropped, her eyes quickly scanning over her former watcher.
"Hello, Buffy," he answered, nodding his head in greeting.
"Oh!" Fred's eyes grew wide as she turned to face Buffy. "So, you're the B- word?"
"She's the what?" Dawn questioned, her body tensing slightly at the connotations behind Fred's statement.
"Buffy. It starts with B," Gunn answered, his own gaze narrowing at the person in question.
Buffy crossed her arms, trying not to take offense to Angel's friends. "Pretty much all the time."
"Right then. I guess introductions are in order," Wes broke in, stepping forward to present the groups to each other.
"It's nice to see you guys again, and this time with out all the tragedy involved." Willow smiled.
"And, you know, for me. It's nice to get to finally meet you in the first place," Buffy added, shifting uncomfortably under Fred's scrutiny.
"Well, it certainly was fun seeing you guys again, but we should probably go find our seats," Angel said suddenly, breaking into what was sure to be another awkward silence. He let his eyes lock with Buffy's one more time. "Maybe we can find sometime later to talk."
"But, Angel," Fred interrupted his escape. "We're standing on an empty bench. It's about to start so we should just sit here." Fred shifted back at the glares that were shot her way. "Oh!" She nodded as understanding hit her. They didn't want to sit by each other. "Right."
"No." Wesley shifted to sit down in front of Willow. "The show is about to start, and there really aren't very many empty seats left. We should probably stay here."
* * *
The lights dimmed, and the roar of the crowd quieted as a voice came over the loud speaker. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the grand opening of your new Sunnydale High!"
Angel winced as a deafening bass sounded through the auditorium. The large room erupted into noise as the crowd screamed and cheered and the music bounced off the walls. Lights flashed down on the basketball court as the group of cheerleaders sprinted to find their positions.
Angel's gaze was drawn to the center of the first row where Cordelia was positioning herself for the routine. Scanning the crowd quickly, her face twisted into an unpleasant frown when her eyes met his. He smiled encouragingly at her, but she only glanced away. Her head went down, bouncing slightly to the rhythm of the music as she waited for her cue. Her pom pons were loosely dangling at her sides as her body tensed in preparation for the performance.
She was so absolutely beautiful. Tall, graceful, and strong. The natural talent she had for such things as dancing and fighting shone through as her hips shook to the beat, and while he knew he was probably going to have a lot of explaining to do that evening, he couldn't stop himself from smiling.
"We are most definitely taking that thing home with us," he muttered.
"What did you say?" Angel heard Buffy ask behind him as her knee nudged his back. Turning his head, Angel's eyes were wide as he met her innocent gaze.
"Oh, I didn't say anything. er. I mean, just that Cordy seems to be doing a good job." Angel nodded at her, then turned back to the performance.
"Yeah. Cordelia always was a good dancer," Buffy agreed.
Angel watched, his ears deaf to the crowd around him, as Cordy moved. He could see the muscles in her stomach tense with each move, and the flex of her legs with each step, causing his stomach to clench also.
The roar of the crowd increased as the song came to an end and the cheerleaders stopped in their final poses. Angel's whole body tensed as Cordelia's gaze seemed to find him automatically, a glare of defiance set in her eyes as she dropped down into her middle splits, her arms spread out wide on her sides.
Good God! The least she could have done was give him some warning!
Gunn glanced over toward Angel, chuckling at the way he fidgeted. "That is one amazing woman, is it not?"
"Very much so." Angel nodded, feeling the sudden urge to laugh himself as he saw Cordelia pull herself up. The heavy mood that had followed him all day lifted as she winced, supporting her back momentarily with one hand. She could be so damned sexy in one moment, and just as cute the next.
He winked playfully when she glanced back up at him, but his smile faded as her pink cheeks seemed to flood with embarrassment and her frown deepened even further. Her eyes seem to flicker quickly behind him before she turned away for the last time, limping slightly off the court.
Glancing back, Angel felt the heavy mood return as his gaze once again locked with a pair of bright hazel eyes.
"Huh. Cordelia certainly seems all bad moody," Buffy stated, watching as she walked away. Glancing back to Angel, she smiled lightly. "I wonder what her problem is."
"Hey." Buffy stared up at him, her eyes wide. The group grew quiet.
"So, hey." Xander clapped his hands once loudly. "The return of the awkward silence," He quipped. "I can't tell you how much I really have not missed that."
Angel cleared his throat. "Xander. Willow. everyone." This was exactly why he hated going out in public. "I didn't mean to interrupt your evening. I just wanted to come over and say hello."
Buffy cleared her throat. "Well, uh, hello." She felt a wide, almost plastic smile spread across her face as she searched for something to say that didn't sound like her world has suddenly started spinning. Which, figuratively speaking, it had. No matter how much her friends had insisted he might be there, she really hadn't believed it for a second. "You're. you're not interrupting anything."
Angel smiled tightly. "Good."
"Yes," Anya quipped up. "You're not interrupting anything because we were actually just talking about you."
Angel's head snapped up, his eyebrows drawing together. "You were?"
"No, we weren't talking about you!" Buffy piped up, shooting a warning glance back at Anya. "Why would we be talking about you?"
"Yes, we were talking about him, Buffy. You said that you had seen Cordelia yesterday, and then Willow said that Angel might be here. Xander then said that he didn't want Angel to be here, but that he probably was. And then, you said that it didn't matter because there was no way Angel would be here." Oblivious to the incredulous stares her friends were shooting at her, Anya smiled brightly up at Angel. "That was when you got here. So, see, we were talking about you."
Angel's gaze traveled back to Buffy, the corners of his mouth quirking up slightly at the blush that tinged her cheeks. "Oh, I see."
"You'll have to excuse the resident vengeance demon," Xander said, jerking a thumb in Anya's direction. "She doesn't exactly grasp the concept of keeping the gossip away from the one you're gossiping about."
"That's quite all right, Anya. I've spent the last four years with Cordy. You tend to get used to it." Angel relaxed slowly at the light laughter that surrounded him.
"Honesty is a good trait to have," Anya announced pointedly, smirking at her ex-boyfriend.
"So. why did you think I wouldn't be here?" Angel asked, glancing at Buffy.
"Oh! It's not that I didn't think you would be here. It's just that, you know." Buffy cut herself off before she made a complete stuttering fool of herself. She didn't remember Angel being so direct with the questioning.
"Buffy just thought that with your business and everything you'd be to busy to come." Willow winked comfortingly at Buffy. "You don't really make it up here when there's not world in peril stuff going on."
"I guess that's true." Angel nodded, smiling to ease the discomfort that still seemed fitted on Buffy's face. "No world in peril stuff going on. Just Cordelia doing the whole high school cheerleading scene again."
"So, Angel. That's why you're here, is it?" Xander asked. "You're here to see Cordy participate in all the opening ceremony splendor?"
"Yeah." Angel pulled his hands from his pockets, crossing his arms over his chest. For some reason, the direct mention of Cordy was putting him back on the defensive.
"Did she just drag you along, or do we get to see Wesley, too?" Willow questioned, her voice soft as she took in the tension in Angel's stance. He always did seem to be a high stress guy.
"Yeah." Angel nodded. He paused for a minute, considering the confusion on her face. "Er. I mean, yes, she did drag Wesley along as well. Actually, all of us are here. I mean, all of Angel Investigations."
"It will be nice to meet your other friends, Angel," Buffy spoke up. "You've mentioned them before, but I've never gotten the chance to meet any of them."
"Yeah, well. They'll be happy to meet you, too." They finally looked at each other, but the contact was short lived as each quickly averted their eyes. Angel glanced back down toward his feet, awkwardly toeing the edge of the bench he stood on. Damn it! What was it that people talked about in situations like this?
"So, how about them Lakers," Buffy said, tone a little too strained. Damn, could this be anymore awkward?
"Yeah! The Lakers! Good!" Angel winced at his unnaturally loud voice.
"Right," Xander said. "I had no idea that basketball got you so excited there, Angel. Well, you learn something new everyday, don't ya?"
"Well, basketball is a fascinating sport." Dawn smiled widely up at Angel. "I'm partial to all the scantily clad men, myself.
"I agree," Anya straightened in her seat. "Tiny shorts on big, strong, rich men really does give that extra bit of omff to an otherwise pointless and boring game."
"Oh I don't know about that." Xander shifted to better address his ex- girlfriend. "I would say that the cheerleaders do a fair amount to bring an added stimulation to the game. Can I get a yay, Will?"
"Uh-huh! I'll give you a yay and raise you an amen, buddy." Willow grinned brightly as she gave Xander a high-five, then she turned to Buffy. "And what does the Buff have to say on the matter?"
"I'm gonna have to go with scantily clad men on this one. What kind of world would we be living in were it not for the pleasures of scantily clad big, strong, rich men?" Buffy laughed as Xander rolled his eyes at her.
"Oh!" Anna nodded excitedly. "Don't forget about the sweaty part. That's especially important!"
"Of course it is," Xander answered sarcastically.
The group dipped into an uncomfortable silence as five pairs of eyes stared expectantly up at Angel. This was just way too much pressure. It was difficult enough to come back to a place that you never really belonged, but the weight of the life he had made for himself was nearly pushing Angel into the ground. He didn't want to play with secrets the entire time he was in Sunnydale. He wasn't going to hide his life from them.
"Buffy," he spoke suddenly, turning a serious gaze toward the young woman. "Do you think that maybe I could talk to you for a minute?"
Buffy froze in her seat, staring up at Angel as she tried to grasp what he had just asked her. After a moment, she shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and stood up. "Yeah. yes. Yes, I think that would be good."
"But wait. We never got your answer, Angel," Xander said. "So, what will it be for you? Scantily clad, sweaty men or scantily clad, sweaty cheerleaders?"
Angel stopped, half turning to glance back at Xander. His eyes narrowed at the hard look on the other man's face. Angel turned back to the court and began to step down the bleachers. "I think I'd have to go with." His voice trailed off as his whole world seem to shift to slow motion.
From a door across the court a pair long, toned legs, curvy and feminine, lightly jogged out. His eyes traveled up the length, his body tightening at the sight. His gaze reached a short burgundy skirt that barely covered the round, luscious cheeks of a perfect ass as it swished with each step. The skirt was a mere scrap of material that settled low down on her hips. A flat, bronzed stomach was visible for a short minute before being covered again by a tight, burgundy and gold top.
"Cheerleaders," he squeaked as his stare reached that golden smile that brought light every day to his dark world. Her smile seemed to brighten even further as she found him in crowd and lifted her hand in a small wave.
"Ah!"
The vision before him was ripped from his sight as he misjudged the step in front of him and stumbled down. His knee banged hard against the bench, and his quick vampiric reflexes were the only thing kept him from sliding headfirst into the row of spectators.
He glanced up quickly, cringing at Cordelia's wide eyes and the laughter that was so obviously bubbling up in her. He was going to be hearing about this later.
"Angel, are you okay?" Buffy's voice came, pulling his attention away from Cordy. She wrapped her hand around his arm and helped to pull him to his feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Angel smiled awkwardly back at her. He glanced over his shoulder toward the court, expecting to see Cordelia still laughing, but her eyes were no longer focused on him and the smile was no longer on her face. Her gaze was hard and pointed and focused solely on Buffy. whom he was just leading away from the group. Shit! Angel screamed to himself as she glanced at him one last time before jogging to catch up with the rest of the cheerleaders.
"Um. did you just fall over?" Xander's words broke through Angel's thoughts.
Glancing back quickly to the group, he realized that Cordy was not the only one that had seen him fall. Smiling with what he hoped was an innocent expression; Angel shrugged, his voice coming out slightly higher than was normal. "No!"
"Angel. I think you did just fall over," Buffy told him, her words holding a poorly hidden twinge of confusion as she tried to help him wipe the dust from his coat and pants.
"Yes. We all saw you." Anya nodded, pointing down at the spot Angel had just occupied. "It was quite humorous."
"I. no. um." What was it Cordy had said about simply gesturing not being a suitable answer? Shaking his head, Angel pointed accusingly down at the bench. "Somebody must have spilled their soda. Because. so I slipped. maybe."
"Spilled soda?" Xander's asked incredulously, glancing dubiously over at Willow who could merely shrug in return. "I guess it could have been."
Angel shifted his weight and fought the urge to wring his hands as the Scoobies continued to shoot befuddled looks at each other. The only one that seemed willing to make eye contact with him was Anya, and he really wished that she would stop smiling so widely at him.
A strong hand suddenly clapped against his back, nearly sending Angel toppling over yet again. Regaining his composure, he turned to glare at the smiling face of Gunn. "That was most definitely not spilt soda, my friend. but it was a little bit on the obvious side." Gunn raised his eyebrows suggestively and jerked his head in Cordelia's direction.
"What?" Angel's gaze traveled to the court before snapping back to Gunn. "No."
Gunn's broad grin faded as he caught sight of the group of people staring up at him. "Uh. hello."
"Hi," Buffy answered back, shooting a questioning look toward Angel.
"Oh! You all must be the Sunnydale crowd I've heard so much about." Gunn snapped his fingers and realization seemed to dawn on him. "What was it you all called yourself? God, we were talking about it just yesterday. "The scubbies or the scabies?"
The group turned as a short laugh sounded just behind Gunn. Fred stepped up onto the bench with him, her arms loaded with various snack foods. "I hardly think that they're the scabies, Gunn. Unless of course they're a contagious skin disease caused by a parasitic mite that results in flaky skin and constant itching. and really, who wants to be that?" She bumped her shoulder against her boyfriend's, an impish grin spreading over her mouth."
"Well, certainly not me, but who are we really to judge the life decisions of another," Xander returned, slapping his hand on his knee for emphasis.
The grin seemed to freeze on Fred's face as she considered his words. "Right. I guess."
"I think the word you were looking for is Scoobies." The group once again turned to take in the latest additions to their little gathering, Wesley and a teenage boy.
"Wesley?" Buffy's jaw dropped, her eyes quickly scanning over her former watcher.
"Hello, Buffy," he answered, nodding his head in greeting.
"Oh!" Fred's eyes grew wide as she turned to face Buffy. "So, you're the B- word?"
"She's the what?" Dawn questioned, her body tensing slightly at the connotations behind Fred's statement.
"Buffy. It starts with B," Gunn answered, his own gaze narrowing at the person in question.
Buffy crossed her arms, trying not to take offense to Angel's friends. "Pretty much all the time."
"Right then. I guess introductions are in order," Wes broke in, stepping forward to present the groups to each other.
"It's nice to see you guys again, and this time with out all the tragedy involved." Willow smiled.
"And, you know, for me. It's nice to get to finally meet you in the first place," Buffy added, shifting uncomfortably under Fred's scrutiny.
"Well, it certainly was fun seeing you guys again, but we should probably go find our seats," Angel said suddenly, breaking into what was sure to be another awkward silence. He let his eyes lock with Buffy's one more time. "Maybe we can find sometime later to talk."
"But, Angel," Fred interrupted his escape. "We're standing on an empty bench. It's about to start so we should just sit here." Fred shifted back at the glares that were shot her way. "Oh!" She nodded as understanding hit her. They didn't want to sit by each other. "Right."
"No." Wesley shifted to sit down in front of Willow. "The show is about to start, and there really aren't very many empty seats left. We should probably stay here."
* * *
The lights dimmed, and the roar of the crowd quieted as a voice came over the loud speaker. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the grand opening of your new Sunnydale High!"
Angel winced as a deafening bass sounded through the auditorium. The large room erupted into noise as the crowd screamed and cheered and the music bounced off the walls. Lights flashed down on the basketball court as the group of cheerleaders sprinted to find their positions.
Angel's gaze was drawn to the center of the first row where Cordelia was positioning herself for the routine. Scanning the crowd quickly, her face twisted into an unpleasant frown when her eyes met his. He smiled encouragingly at her, but she only glanced away. Her head went down, bouncing slightly to the rhythm of the music as she waited for her cue. Her pom pons were loosely dangling at her sides as her body tensed in preparation for the performance.
She was so absolutely beautiful. Tall, graceful, and strong. The natural talent she had for such things as dancing and fighting shone through as her hips shook to the beat, and while he knew he was probably going to have a lot of explaining to do that evening, he couldn't stop himself from smiling.
"We are most definitely taking that thing home with us," he muttered.
"What did you say?" Angel heard Buffy ask behind him as her knee nudged his back. Turning his head, Angel's eyes were wide as he met her innocent gaze.
"Oh, I didn't say anything. er. I mean, just that Cordy seems to be doing a good job." Angel nodded at her, then turned back to the performance.
"Yeah. Cordelia always was a good dancer," Buffy agreed.
Angel watched, his ears deaf to the crowd around him, as Cordy moved. He could see the muscles in her stomach tense with each move, and the flex of her legs with each step, causing his stomach to clench also.
The roar of the crowd increased as the song came to an end and the cheerleaders stopped in their final poses. Angel's whole body tensed as Cordelia's gaze seemed to find him automatically, a glare of defiance set in her eyes as she dropped down into her middle splits, her arms spread out wide on her sides.
Good God! The least she could have done was give him some warning!
Gunn glanced over toward Angel, chuckling at the way he fidgeted. "That is one amazing woman, is it not?"
"Very much so." Angel nodded, feeling the sudden urge to laugh himself as he saw Cordelia pull herself up. The heavy mood that had followed him all day lifted as she winced, supporting her back momentarily with one hand. She could be so damned sexy in one moment, and just as cute the next.
He winked playfully when she glanced back up at him, but his smile faded as her pink cheeks seemed to flood with embarrassment and her frown deepened even further. Her eyes seem to flicker quickly behind him before she turned away for the last time, limping slightly off the court.
Glancing back, Angel felt the heavy mood return as his gaze once again locked with a pair of bright hazel eyes.
"Huh. Cordelia certainly seems all bad moody," Buffy stated, watching as she walked away. Glancing back to Angel, she smiled lightly. "I wonder what her problem is."