A/N *Insane1*- Heys guys! Here's chapter 6. Finally! *smirks at Mrs O*
No..Honestly we've both had heaps of work, and I had the Queensland version
of the SATs to contend with..I swear school is evil! But it's over and
chapter 6 is here for your enjoyment. This chapter, to me, isn't really a
big action type chapter..more like a progression piece, setting you up for
chapter 7 which, I'll have you know, is gonna be up really really soon.
We've actually written most of it already. But I'm not giving anything
away..aaaww damnit. Already did. Mrs O..Gag me! *Mrs O complies* *muffled*
Thank-you
A/N *Mrs O*- Yup, what Insane1 said. We both had HEAPS of work. Chapter 7 will be good cos this fic is starting to go places. It's quite funny cos we've literally written most of the fic and it seems never ending. See, I'm ranting. Just ignore me and go to the fic.and then press the review button. :D
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Cordelia brushed her short highlighted brown hair as she leant against the dresser to support her. Her ankle was feeling much better...well, that may have been the two painkillers she'd taken shortly after emerging from the bathroom. Anyway, she was sure that Angel had helped the healing process by staying with her all day and his..erm..shower scene that she had just witnessed not half an hour ago.
Cordelia smiled to herself as she got herself lost in her daydream. A sharp knock on the door snapped her out of her stupor. Cordy quickly checked her hair, wondering whether it was Angel on the other side.
"Just a minute!" She called as she limped over to the door. She opened it and was surprised to see Gunn standing there...not Angel.
"Hey" he said obviously not very pleased to see her, but he tried to put a little 'umph' into it.
Cordy was a little shocked to say the least. "Hi..." She managed to reply uneasily.
"Can I come in?" he asked, trying to get things moving.
Cordelia nodded slowly, aware of the fact that she couldn't hold her weight any longer for risk of hurting her ankle even further. "Sure..." She said finally, still unsure of why he was here. "Make yourself at home." She took a step back and gestured for him to enter.
Gunn strolled in, briefly took in his surroundings and stopped in the middle of the room, turning to look back at her.
"I suppose you have a reason for being here." Cordy added, as she watched the young man enter. She closed the door behind her then turned back to look at him, opting to lean against the counter and lifting her foot from the ground as she awaited his explanation.
"Yeah." Gunn responded. "Angel came to see me." There. That got her attention.
Cordelia clearly hesitated at mention of her new found friend's name. "I see...And you're here again because..?" She asked, that not-so-subtle hint of Queen C emerging in her tone. She forced herself to calm down. She didn't like Gunn much after what he had said to her, but she was willing to make an effort.. especially if it meant she'd see Angel again.
'Woah! Wait up!' Her conscience hissed. 'Cordelia..You're doing it again! Still ENGAGED to GROO, *remember*? Yes, you want to be with Angel..but do NOT cheat on your fiancé! Wait until you can talk to Groo and THEN chase after this guy.'
Gunn looked at her, unaware of her internal rambling, and tried to look apologetic. "I want to apologise for my behaviour yesterday. I'm sorry if I upset you..I was completely out of line." He said quickly and with as much feeling as he could possibly muster. However it was still completely obvious that he wasn't there on his own accord.
Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh..." She began skeptically. "And *talking* to Angel made you figure this out?"
"Yes. It did. He likes you." Gunn answered, hoping this wouldn't take much longer.
Cordelia wasn't impressed. "That made no difference to you yesterday." She bit at him. "In fact, I think it was *because* he liked me you got pissed off." She stopped and gave him a second to reply, but when he didn't she snarled, "Am I wrong?"
Gunn sighed. Boy, this chick was hard to crack.. "Look, I was outta line. I was angry 'cos I thought you were tryin' to take my best friend away. He's been hurt a lot. I didn't want to see it happen again. Believe it or not, Cordelia, I'm looking out for him." He told her bluntly, getting more agitated by the minute.
Cordelia didn't know what to think. She could understand what he was feeling, she really, truly could..but she still wasn't convinced. He'd been sooo awful to her...although she *could* understand why. He was looking out for a friend.
"I guess..." She began, starting to sound defeated. "I guess I should apologise as well. I mean, I could have reacted differently yesterday..." she offered, trying to make the peace. After all, he *had* come to apologise himself.
"Yeah." Gunn agreed, achieving a quick look from Cordelia. There was an awkward silence before he noticed her reluctance to place her foot on the ground. He motioned towards it. "How's your ankle?"
"Oh..." She chuckled lightly. "It's getting better...Thanks."
"I'm sorry for making it worse," Gunn added sincerely. Another small silence passed between them. He looked around at the furniture. A double bed and a chair caught his eye. He sighed, "So, Angel stayed here all yesterday?" She nodded and he looked around again. The bed still hadn't been made and the TV was positioned just so.. "What did you guys do?" He asked, before realising he didn't really want to know if they got..er..intimate.
"Yeah..." Cordelia smiled. "He was sooo sweet. He brought me movies and lots of sugar filled goodness." She stopped and marveled at the wrongness of that sentence.
"He's a good guy," Gunn said, trying to make her realise that if she did anything to hurt him...he'd-
"He is." She agreed. "I can understand you not wanting to see him get hurt."
Gunn nodded in agreement, glad that they were both on the same wavelength. "Yeah..well..I didn't want him to go through all that brooding again," He added, remembering that time with Darla...and Buffy...and of course there was that time when Buffy and Darla got in that fight...
"He looks like the type that would brood. He's got that kind of forehead, y'know?" She smiled. Gunn was really quite sweet. She had totally misjudged him. Here she was thinking he was being a jerk for no reason, when he was just looking out for his best friend. Of course she was still hurt by his comments, but it had all been a big misinterpretation..He'd misjudged her as well. The situation was really quite entertaining now she thought of it.
Gunn nodded, "Oh yeah! you should have seen it when he broke up with Buffy! Wow! He did some MAJOR brooding then..." He stopped, wondering if Angel really wanted him to go into detail about his past girlfriends.
Cordelia giggled at the older man's sudden awkwardness. "Hey...did you want something to drink?" She asked, deciding it would be best for them both if she changed the subject.
Gunn was actually tempted, but then realised that he didn't want to be all chummy with Cordelia just yet. After all, Angel had said *apologise*, not *make friends*. Plus, he had a job to do. "Uh...nah, I'd better get going. I have...stuff to do," Gunn said as he started to leave. He needed to see if this girl was for real...and he knew exactly the way to do it.
~*~*Breakfast*~*~
Later that morning, a much happier Angel sat at the breakfast table with Gunn, Lorne, Fred and Wesley. They had an array of foods in front of them, although most of it ended up on Fred's plate.
'This is great,' Gunn contemplated with joy. 'Me and Angel, back to bein' friends, just like usual.' He smiled to himself. Angel hadn't said a word about *her*. 'No Cordelia' Gunn thought with glee as he put more Fruit Loops in his bowl. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure enter the hall.
"Cordy" Angel called as he spied her. Gunn cursed at his cereal. Cordy walked over and looked at the gang.
"Angel..Hey." She greeted him happily, then looked at everyone else. "Hi..." The actress chirped with a wave. They all said hello, except Fred, who's mouth was currently full of waffles.
"Hey.." Angel replied, then half scowled at her, pointing towards her feet. "What's with the walking on your ankle?"
Cordy looked down and blushed. The shower had made it feel better. Plus the several painkillers she had taken had helped a lot. "Its better now...I promise" She grinned at him with a dazzling smile.
Angel nodded a little sceptically before grinning at her. Gunn looked at his cereal, rolling his eyes at it
"Care to join us, Cupcake?" Lorne asked
Cordelia shook her head modestly. "Oh..no....I don't want to impose-" "Sure you do..." Angel said, cutting her off and pulling out a chair from an empty table.
"There's plenty of room," Wesley added, ignoring the glares Gunn was giving him, "Plus...you're not imposing. Is she guys?"
Everyone agreed she wasn't, so Gunn nodded slightly as well. "Sure girl..." He forced himself to add. "You know you're welcome here."
Cordy flashed a grin. "Well, if you're sure...and if there's any food left after Fred's done with it.." She added in jest. Fred blushed at the comment, "Gosh, honey, how do you stay so thin?" Cordelia asked as she reached for the toast. "I have to work out for an hour to work off half a stone! How much do you work out?"
"Work out?" Fred replied her mouth full of her 5th waffle. "I'm s'posed to exersise?" The whole table laughed at Fred's reply.
Cordelia's eyes widened. "I hate you." She threw back playfully.
Fred smiled. She'd made a new friend.
Cordelia felt Angel's knee against her leg and realised that they were sitting *very* close. Any closer and she'd be sitting on his lap. 'Cordelia! Do NOT go there!' She cleared her throat. "Uh....Angel..Can you..ummm....please..erm..pass the OJ?" Angel complied and she poured some out in her glass.
She tried to concentrate on her food, or the others around her. Anything to keep her mind off Angel 'cos when she thought of angel she thought of the shower thing and when she thought of the shower thing she-
"So, what are you going to do today?" Gunn asked Cordelia, catching her by surprise.
"I was planning on emailing my little sister...but she's not that little..." She grinned and decided to explain. This was good. There was absolutely no Angel in this story. "She's 16 and is the reason I'm here...I got to tell her how great it is and thank her."
"Aww, you have a little sister. that's nice..." Gunn said, giving a 'she- didn't-tell-us-that-so-what-else-is-she-hiding' look to Angel, who didn't see it as he was too busy making goo-goo eyes at Cordelia.
"Yeah...we're really close.... Except for when she steals my clothes!" Cordelia half joked "And when she reads my diary...." Cordelia trailed off and thought for a beat. "I wonder if I hid that." She wondered out loud. "Oh, right. Never mind. I brought that with me."
"You still keep a diary?" Fred asked, swallowing the last of her waffles and moving for pancakes. "I used to...but I ended up fillin' it with mathematical formulas and stuff like that..."
"Oh yeah! I couldn't live without it! I've got a whole load of them back home. I keep them locked up in a chest under my bed at my parent's house, but my sister *still* manages to get in there!" Cordelia laughed remembering the dozens of times she's found her sister with her diary.
"So, are you gonna go down to the beach?" Angel asked the group, mainly Cordelia though. Lorne and Wes waited for Fred's reply before answering.
"Um, well, I'm looking forward to playing volleyball in the pool" Fred suggested.
"So am I!" Lorne and Wesley responded in unison, then glared at each other.
"Sounds like fun.." Angel began, then paused, looking at Cordelia with that intense gaze of his. "How's your ankle? Do you want to play...cos if you don't I'll..."
"Oh, I am soooo in!" Cordelia answered, cutting Angel off. "My team *always* wins." She confessed with a smirk, before realising Angel was about to say something. "Why, what were you going to do?" She asked him.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well, uh...I was going to go...sight seeing,"
"Sight seeing?" Gunn scoffed, "Since when did *you* go sight seeing?"
Angel glared at his friend. "Since NOW."
Cordelia nudged him, "I didn't know you were into that. But it figures, with you being into ballet and stuff."
Angel looked horrified. Gunn and the others didn't know about that. "Uh..." he choked on his waffles. He glanced at their smirking faces. "Well, you know. I went with the guys. They made me go, didn't you?"
Fred looked at Lorne and Wesley who were shaking their heads furiously. "Awww, you guys. You really went to the ballet?" She asked happily. "I love the ballet!"
Lorne and Wesley smiled, both storing the information for later. Wesley leant towards her, much to Lorne's disapproval. "Well, you know, the Nutcracker is a classic..."
Cordelia shook her head as the men of the table looked at them quizzically. "Angel was just saying-"
Angel cut her short. "It was nothing...Anyone want more waffles?"
Fred greedily accepted. But the others saw his question for what it really was- a chance to switch the topic.
"So, I was thinking.." Angel continued. "..The Rocks de Garcia. I want to go there."
"Nuh-uh dude..." Gunn interjected. "You ain't getting' off the hook that easily. You like the ballet! My man's a Queen!"
Angel looked mortified and looked around to make sure that nobody else had heard the black man's outburst. "Keep it down and I am not!" He kicked Gunn under the table. "Anyone want to go rock climbing on the Rocks de Garcia?" He changed the subject yet again.
"I would love to, but my ankle." Cordelia mentioned, suddenly feeling the pain come up again. "Anyway...we were talking about the ballet." She added, joining Gunn's crusade.
"That was a long time ago," The now broody one protested.
Gunn looked at him and smirked. "I don't seem to remember the ballet. What exactly did we see?" Angel sun k in his chair and looked around again, Lorne and Wesley busy impressing Fred with their knowledge of the Nutcracker
"*We* didn't see anything. I thought I made it clear that I went a long time ago and-"
"No...you said you went with the guys." Cordelia reminded him.
"Darla made me go!" he said quickly, "It was me and Darla" Angel quickly covered up, quite happy with his response, even though he didn't want to talk about his ex.
"What?" Lorne's ears seemed to prick up. "I thought you said she was classless. Classless people generally don't go to the ballet..."
"Or was it Buffy....?" Lorne asked, trying to find a reasonable explanation. He looked at Angel. "Maybe you got her mixed up with Darla?"
Angel shot him a look. Not another ex! "It could have been Buffy, I can't remember..."
"Buffy? The other ex, right?" Cordelia guessed
"Yeah..."Gunn didn't sound convinced at that either. "Cos you know teenagers LOVE the ballet." He tossed back sarcastically.
Cordy's eyes widened. "You went out with a teenager?"
Angel squirmed even further. "Thanks Gunn" he muttered, before turning back to look at Cordelia again, "She was 18!"
"16 when you first went out with her!" Gunn pointed out.
"She was at the time...she's like 22 now!" Angel reassured. "And we never..." he searched for the words, complete with nervous hand movements. "Not until she.." He stopped, realising the conversation was going downhill. "It was completely legal." "I'm 22!" Cordelia said, still stuck on that piece of information. "You went out with someone who was 16? My sister is 16!"
"But *I* was younger too!" Angel insisted.
"How did you leave her again?" Gunn asked slyly. "Oh right...you just walked away!" He really wasn't helping..of course that was the plan.
"You just walked away?" Cordelia asked in disbelief. How could someone as charming as Angel, just walk away from a girl like that? An emotional teenager especially?
"And told her to stop being such a spoilt brat.." Gunn 'helpfully' interrupted.
Angel kicked his friend again. "No..." He turned to Cordy... "Well...yeah...but...It wasn't like that!" She looked very non-happy. The truth was, Angel had left Buffy because he was no good for her.
He'd outgrown her and, although he had cared for her, they were not meant to be. After the first time they'd made love, the relationship had started to fall apart. She wasn't ready for that type of commitment and he needed someone older. Someone that could go out with him and legally drink and party with his friends. But he'd stayed until she graduated.
When he told her it was better if they went their separate ways, she'd cried. She'd even said she'd not go to college if it meant being with him. With a small smile, Angel had persuaded her not to ruin her future as he knew that he wasn't a favourite among her friends or her mother.
They'd disapproved of the relationship. In fact, everyone had.
He seen Buffy a couple of times since then, but they weren't happy moments. Especially when she had childishly paraded her new boyfriend in front of him. However he'd moved on and hoped that she had as well.
Now Buffy was a distant memory..along with Darla..and he didn't really appreciate his friends' attempts at bringing them up.
"How did he leave Darla then. I guess this was pre-Buffy.." Cordelia asked. Suddenly the whole table seemed interested in Angel's love life
He squirmed in his seat again and had an idea to curb the conversation back to less argument-starting things. "Why do we need to revisit my past? I went to the ballet! I cried like a baby!" But it was too late...the damage had been done.
"How did he end it with Darla?" Cordelia wanted to know. No body cared about the ballet anymore.
"She tossed his sorry ass out" Gunn responded cheerfully taking a well- savoured bite of his eggs, satisfied at how the morning had turned out after all.
Cordelia looked at Angel, trying not to laugh and asked in disbelief, "She dumped you?"
"It was mutual," Angel insisted. "I'd had enough of her"
"Angel...Not the best thing to tell another woman..." Lorne cut in, chuckling at Cordy's surprise.
"Not in that sense." He quickly corrected himself. "She was...I'd had enough. It wasn't right."
"Uh huh..." Cordelia was definitely not impressed. She even crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Well in that case, I think I'm going to pass up water volleyball and rock climbing and email my sister." She got up. "Have a nice day." She smiled warmly at the others and frowned at Angel.
"No..." Angel protested. But she didn't pay any attention. Just walked away.
Angel hit his head on the table, Gunn looked at him. "Man...You really didn't handle that well." He observed a little too gleefully. "She looked pretty pissed."
Angel glared at his friend. "Oh yeah, cos you *really* helped!" He tossed back sarcastically. He wasn't too pleased with the black man at the moment. "What am I going to do?"
"Don't worry man. I got y'all tickets to the ball tomorrow night." Gunn presented Angel with two pieces of paper.
"Huh?" Angel asked, slightly perplexed. "I thought you didn't like Cordy." Angel was definitely confused.
"Yeah, well, can't stop you from goin' after her anyway." He forced a smile. "Plus, she's actually a really nice girl," Gunn said, trying to sound sincere. It was harder than he thought it'd be. Plus, the tickets weren't supposed to come into the plan until LATER. Oh well, it was just a minor change to the plan.
Angel's demeanour brightened as he accepted the tickets. He beamed at his beast friend. "Thanks Gunn," He began, inspecting the pieces of paper. "I owe you one." He stopped and looked worried.
"Ah..Angel man..What's the problem now?"
Angel glanced at his friend and handed the tickets back sadly. "If you haven't noticed, Cordelia's not exactly talking to me at the moment. There's no way she'll come with me if I ask her now."
Gunn grinned. "Don't worry..Just let me handle it."
*~*~*~*Cordelia's Room*~*~*~*
Cordelia was still fuming. It was amazing just what a jerk Angel really was. Sure this Buffy chick was her age, so she couldn't get too angry at him for the age difference, but the way he just dismissed her..and the way he'd spoken about Darla..Surely he hadn't meant it like that. Maybe she had over-reacted.
Anyway, how could she be so sure that last night she hadn't been delirious? Maybe all those thoughts about falling for Angel and leaving Groo were brought on by the shock and pain from her ankle? Somehow she knew that wasn't true, but damnit! She was angry at the man!
There was a knock on the door and she was shaken out of her thoughts. She fought the idea that it was Angel coming to apologise and silently cursed herself for thinking it at all.
When she opened the door, one of the hotel busboys smiled at her, holding out a silver tray complete with lid. She grinned at him and shook her head. "I'm sorry..I think you have the wrong room. I didn't order room service."
The boy shook his head and extended the tray even further. "No ma'am. This is sent to you, from Mr O'Malley."
Cordelia was taken by surprise as she removed the lid. There was a little place card positioned above a crisp envelope. She picked it up and looked at the elegant handwriting, then read it aloud. "Cordy, I'm sorry about breakfast. I guess I have a lot to explain. In fact, I want to do just that, so pick up the envelope and look inside." She stopped and obeyed his message. She gasped as she saw the ticket and then looked at the message again. "I have the matching ticket. If you want to come, take this one and I'll pick you up at 8 tomorrow night. If not, send it back with the busboy and enjoy the rest of your vacation. Angel."
Cordelia smiled and clutched the envelope and note to her chest. The busboy looked up at her expectantly. She grinned at him and put the lid back on the empty tray. "Tell Mr O'Malley I'll see him tomorrow night. Thank you."
"You're welcome ma'am." He replied, nodding. "Enjoy your vacation."
"Thank you..I will." She beamed, before walking back inside and rushing to choose an outfit. After all, she *had* packed for *any* occasion.
*~*~*~*Internet Café*~*~*~*
"Cool man. I told you it'd all work out." Gunn said, cradling his cell phone to his ear with his shoulder while he tapped away on the keyboard. "Sure..No problem. Look, I'm kinda busy right now.." He sighed, scrunching his face up at the message on his screen. "What am I doing? I'm..ah.." He looked around for inspiration, and his gaze settled on a pretty raven haired girl walking past. "I'm trying to hook up, so I gotta go. See ya later bro."
Gunn didn't wait for Angel's reply. Instead he hung up and concentrated on the computer screen once more. He cussed and cursed, tapping in code after code until it finally let him into the account he was looking for.
"Bingo." Gunn muttered. "Okay Cordelia Chase..Lets see what you're not tellin' us.."
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A/N again- Okay few final things to tell you: a) review now. b) Look out for a new fic from the Angelic Devils coming soon. More info later. c) The sequel to my (Insane1's) fic 'Alternate Reality or a Different Dimension' will be up in a short amount of time. Look out for it because Mrs O has been co-writing some of the dialogue with me and Star/Fyre has also given me a boost. And finally d) REVIEW PLEASE. I know I said it before, but it's just a friendly reminder. Thanks to absolutely everyone that either reviewed or emailed 'cos you are the motivation that keeps us going. ^_^
Luv ya
Insane1 and Mrs O
A/N *Mrs O*- Yup, what Insane1 said. We both had HEAPS of work. Chapter 7 will be good cos this fic is starting to go places. It's quite funny cos we've literally written most of the fic and it seems never ending. See, I'm ranting. Just ignore me and go to the fic.and then press the review button. :D
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Cordelia brushed her short highlighted brown hair as she leant against the dresser to support her. Her ankle was feeling much better...well, that may have been the two painkillers she'd taken shortly after emerging from the bathroom. Anyway, she was sure that Angel had helped the healing process by staying with her all day and his..erm..shower scene that she had just witnessed not half an hour ago.
Cordelia smiled to herself as she got herself lost in her daydream. A sharp knock on the door snapped her out of her stupor. Cordy quickly checked her hair, wondering whether it was Angel on the other side.
"Just a minute!" She called as she limped over to the door. She opened it and was surprised to see Gunn standing there...not Angel.
"Hey" he said obviously not very pleased to see her, but he tried to put a little 'umph' into it.
Cordy was a little shocked to say the least. "Hi..." She managed to reply uneasily.
"Can I come in?" he asked, trying to get things moving.
Cordelia nodded slowly, aware of the fact that she couldn't hold her weight any longer for risk of hurting her ankle even further. "Sure..." She said finally, still unsure of why he was here. "Make yourself at home." She took a step back and gestured for him to enter.
Gunn strolled in, briefly took in his surroundings and stopped in the middle of the room, turning to look back at her.
"I suppose you have a reason for being here." Cordy added, as she watched the young man enter. She closed the door behind her then turned back to look at him, opting to lean against the counter and lifting her foot from the ground as she awaited his explanation.
"Yeah." Gunn responded. "Angel came to see me." There. That got her attention.
Cordelia clearly hesitated at mention of her new found friend's name. "I see...And you're here again because..?" She asked, that not-so-subtle hint of Queen C emerging in her tone. She forced herself to calm down. She didn't like Gunn much after what he had said to her, but she was willing to make an effort.. especially if it meant she'd see Angel again.
'Woah! Wait up!' Her conscience hissed. 'Cordelia..You're doing it again! Still ENGAGED to GROO, *remember*? Yes, you want to be with Angel..but do NOT cheat on your fiancé! Wait until you can talk to Groo and THEN chase after this guy.'
Gunn looked at her, unaware of her internal rambling, and tried to look apologetic. "I want to apologise for my behaviour yesterday. I'm sorry if I upset you..I was completely out of line." He said quickly and with as much feeling as he could possibly muster. However it was still completely obvious that he wasn't there on his own accord.
Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh..." She began skeptically. "And *talking* to Angel made you figure this out?"
"Yes. It did. He likes you." Gunn answered, hoping this wouldn't take much longer.
Cordelia wasn't impressed. "That made no difference to you yesterday." She bit at him. "In fact, I think it was *because* he liked me you got pissed off." She stopped and gave him a second to reply, but when he didn't she snarled, "Am I wrong?"
Gunn sighed. Boy, this chick was hard to crack.. "Look, I was outta line. I was angry 'cos I thought you were tryin' to take my best friend away. He's been hurt a lot. I didn't want to see it happen again. Believe it or not, Cordelia, I'm looking out for him." He told her bluntly, getting more agitated by the minute.
Cordelia didn't know what to think. She could understand what he was feeling, she really, truly could..but she still wasn't convinced. He'd been sooo awful to her...although she *could* understand why. He was looking out for a friend.
"I guess..." She began, starting to sound defeated. "I guess I should apologise as well. I mean, I could have reacted differently yesterday..." she offered, trying to make the peace. After all, he *had* come to apologise himself.
"Yeah." Gunn agreed, achieving a quick look from Cordelia. There was an awkward silence before he noticed her reluctance to place her foot on the ground. He motioned towards it. "How's your ankle?"
"Oh..." She chuckled lightly. "It's getting better...Thanks."
"I'm sorry for making it worse," Gunn added sincerely. Another small silence passed between them. He looked around at the furniture. A double bed and a chair caught his eye. He sighed, "So, Angel stayed here all yesterday?" She nodded and he looked around again. The bed still hadn't been made and the TV was positioned just so.. "What did you guys do?" He asked, before realising he didn't really want to know if they got..er..intimate.
"Yeah..." Cordelia smiled. "He was sooo sweet. He brought me movies and lots of sugar filled goodness." She stopped and marveled at the wrongness of that sentence.
"He's a good guy," Gunn said, trying to make her realise that if she did anything to hurt him...he'd-
"He is." She agreed. "I can understand you not wanting to see him get hurt."
Gunn nodded in agreement, glad that they were both on the same wavelength. "Yeah..well..I didn't want him to go through all that brooding again," He added, remembering that time with Darla...and Buffy...and of course there was that time when Buffy and Darla got in that fight...
"He looks like the type that would brood. He's got that kind of forehead, y'know?" She smiled. Gunn was really quite sweet. She had totally misjudged him. Here she was thinking he was being a jerk for no reason, when he was just looking out for his best friend. Of course she was still hurt by his comments, but it had all been a big misinterpretation..He'd misjudged her as well. The situation was really quite entertaining now she thought of it.
Gunn nodded, "Oh yeah! you should have seen it when he broke up with Buffy! Wow! He did some MAJOR brooding then..." He stopped, wondering if Angel really wanted him to go into detail about his past girlfriends.
Cordelia giggled at the older man's sudden awkwardness. "Hey...did you want something to drink?" She asked, deciding it would be best for them both if she changed the subject.
Gunn was actually tempted, but then realised that he didn't want to be all chummy with Cordelia just yet. After all, Angel had said *apologise*, not *make friends*. Plus, he had a job to do. "Uh...nah, I'd better get going. I have...stuff to do," Gunn said as he started to leave. He needed to see if this girl was for real...and he knew exactly the way to do it.
~*~*Breakfast*~*~
Later that morning, a much happier Angel sat at the breakfast table with Gunn, Lorne, Fred and Wesley. They had an array of foods in front of them, although most of it ended up on Fred's plate.
'This is great,' Gunn contemplated with joy. 'Me and Angel, back to bein' friends, just like usual.' He smiled to himself. Angel hadn't said a word about *her*. 'No Cordelia' Gunn thought with glee as he put more Fruit Loops in his bowl. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure enter the hall.
"Cordy" Angel called as he spied her. Gunn cursed at his cereal. Cordy walked over and looked at the gang.
"Angel..Hey." She greeted him happily, then looked at everyone else. "Hi..." The actress chirped with a wave. They all said hello, except Fred, who's mouth was currently full of waffles.
"Hey.." Angel replied, then half scowled at her, pointing towards her feet. "What's with the walking on your ankle?"
Cordy looked down and blushed. The shower had made it feel better. Plus the several painkillers she had taken had helped a lot. "Its better now...I promise" She grinned at him with a dazzling smile.
Angel nodded a little sceptically before grinning at her. Gunn looked at his cereal, rolling his eyes at it
"Care to join us, Cupcake?" Lorne asked
Cordelia shook her head modestly. "Oh..no....I don't want to impose-" "Sure you do..." Angel said, cutting her off and pulling out a chair from an empty table.
"There's plenty of room," Wesley added, ignoring the glares Gunn was giving him, "Plus...you're not imposing. Is she guys?"
Everyone agreed she wasn't, so Gunn nodded slightly as well. "Sure girl..." He forced himself to add. "You know you're welcome here."
Cordy flashed a grin. "Well, if you're sure...and if there's any food left after Fred's done with it.." She added in jest. Fred blushed at the comment, "Gosh, honey, how do you stay so thin?" Cordelia asked as she reached for the toast. "I have to work out for an hour to work off half a stone! How much do you work out?"
"Work out?" Fred replied her mouth full of her 5th waffle. "I'm s'posed to exersise?" The whole table laughed at Fred's reply.
Cordelia's eyes widened. "I hate you." She threw back playfully.
Fred smiled. She'd made a new friend.
Cordelia felt Angel's knee against her leg and realised that they were sitting *very* close. Any closer and she'd be sitting on his lap. 'Cordelia! Do NOT go there!' She cleared her throat. "Uh....Angel..Can you..ummm....please..erm..pass the OJ?" Angel complied and she poured some out in her glass.
She tried to concentrate on her food, or the others around her. Anything to keep her mind off Angel 'cos when she thought of angel she thought of the shower thing and when she thought of the shower thing she-
"So, what are you going to do today?" Gunn asked Cordelia, catching her by surprise.
"I was planning on emailing my little sister...but she's not that little..." She grinned and decided to explain. This was good. There was absolutely no Angel in this story. "She's 16 and is the reason I'm here...I got to tell her how great it is and thank her."
"Aww, you have a little sister. that's nice..." Gunn said, giving a 'she- didn't-tell-us-that-so-what-else-is-she-hiding' look to Angel, who didn't see it as he was too busy making goo-goo eyes at Cordelia.
"Yeah...we're really close.... Except for when she steals my clothes!" Cordelia half joked "And when she reads my diary...." Cordelia trailed off and thought for a beat. "I wonder if I hid that." She wondered out loud. "Oh, right. Never mind. I brought that with me."
"You still keep a diary?" Fred asked, swallowing the last of her waffles and moving for pancakes. "I used to...but I ended up fillin' it with mathematical formulas and stuff like that..."
"Oh yeah! I couldn't live without it! I've got a whole load of them back home. I keep them locked up in a chest under my bed at my parent's house, but my sister *still* manages to get in there!" Cordelia laughed remembering the dozens of times she's found her sister with her diary.
"So, are you gonna go down to the beach?" Angel asked the group, mainly Cordelia though. Lorne and Wes waited for Fred's reply before answering.
"Um, well, I'm looking forward to playing volleyball in the pool" Fred suggested.
"So am I!" Lorne and Wesley responded in unison, then glared at each other.
"Sounds like fun.." Angel began, then paused, looking at Cordelia with that intense gaze of his. "How's your ankle? Do you want to play...cos if you don't I'll..."
"Oh, I am soooo in!" Cordelia answered, cutting Angel off. "My team *always* wins." She confessed with a smirk, before realising Angel was about to say something. "Why, what were you going to do?" She asked him.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well, uh...I was going to go...sight seeing,"
"Sight seeing?" Gunn scoffed, "Since when did *you* go sight seeing?"
Angel glared at his friend. "Since NOW."
Cordelia nudged him, "I didn't know you were into that. But it figures, with you being into ballet and stuff."
Angel looked horrified. Gunn and the others didn't know about that. "Uh..." he choked on his waffles. He glanced at their smirking faces. "Well, you know. I went with the guys. They made me go, didn't you?"
Fred looked at Lorne and Wesley who were shaking their heads furiously. "Awww, you guys. You really went to the ballet?" She asked happily. "I love the ballet!"
Lorne and Wesley smiled, both storing the information for later. Wesley leant towards her, much to Lorne's disapproval. "Well, you know, the Nutcracker is a classic..."
Cordelia shook her head as the men of the table looked at them quizzically. "Angel was just saying-"
Angel cut her short. "It was nothing...Anyone want more waffles?"
Fred greedily accepted. But the others saw his question for what it really was- a chance to switch the topic.
"So, I was thinking.." Angel continued. "..The Rocks de Garcia. I want to go there."
"Nuh-uh dude..." Gunn interjected. "You ain't getting' off the hook that easily. You like the ballet! My man's a Queen!"
Angel looked mortified and looked around to make sure that nobody else had heard the black man's outburst. "Keep it down and I am not!" He kicked Gunn under the table. "Anyone want to go rock climbing on the Rocks de Garcia?" He changed the subject yet again.
"I would love to, but my ankle." Cordelia mentioned, suddenly feeling the pain come up again. "Anyway...we were talking about the ballet." She added, joining Gunn's crusade.
"That was a long time ago," The now broody one protested.
Gunn looked at him and smirked. "I don't seem to remember the ballet. What exactly did we see?" Angel sun k in his chair and looked around again, Lorne and Wesley busy impressing Fred with their knowledge of the Nutcracker
"*We* didn't see anything. I thought I made it clear that I went a long time ago and-"
"No...you said you went with the guys." Cordelia reminded him.
"Darla made me go!" he said quickly, "It was me and Darla" Angel quickly covered up, quite happy with his response, even though he didn't want to talk about his ex.
"What?" Lorne's ears seemed to prick up. "I thought you said she was classless. Classless people generally don't go to the ballet..."
"Or was it Buffy....?" Lorne asked, trying to find a reasonable explanation. He looked at Angel. "Maybe you got her mixed up with Darla?"
Angel shot him a look. Not another ex! "It could have been Buffy, I can't remember..."
"Buffy? The other ex, right?" Cordelia guessed
"Yeah..."Gunn didn't sound convinced at that either. "Cos you know teenagers LOVE the ballet." He tossed back sarcastically.
Cordy's eyes widened. "You went out with a teenager?"
Angel squirmed even further. "Thanks Gunn" he muttered, before turning back to look at Cordelia again, "She was 18!"
"16 when you first went out with her!" Gunn pointed out.
"She was at the time...she's like 22 now!" Angel reassured. "And we never..." he searched for the words, complete with nervous hand movements. "Not until she.." He stopped, realising the conversation was going downhill. "It was completely legal." "I'm 22!" Cordelia said, still stuck on that piece of information. "You went out with someone who was 16? My sister is 16!"
"But *I* was younger too!" Angel insisted.
"How did you leave her again?" Gunn asked slyly. "Oh right...you just walked away!" He really wasn't helping..of course that was the plan.
"You just walked away?" Cordelia asked in disbelief. How could someone as charming as Angel, just walk away from a girl like that? An emotional teenager especially?
"And told her to stop being such a spoilt brat.." Gunn 'helpfully' interrupted.
Angel kicked his friend again. "No..." He turned to Cordy... "Well...yeah...but...It wasn't like that!" She looked very non-happy. The truth was, Angel had left Buffy because he was no good for her.
He'd outgrown her and, although he had cared for her, they were not meant to be. After the first time they'd made love, the relationship had started to fall apart. She wasn't ready for that type of commitment and he needed someone older. Someone that could go out with him and legally drink and party with his friends. But he'd stayed until she graduated.
When he told her it was better if they went their separate ways, she'd cried. She'd even said she'd not go to college if it meant being with him. With a small smile, Angel had persuaded her not to ruin her future as he knew that he wasn't a favourite among her friends or her mother.
They'd disapproved of the relationship. In fact, everyone had.
He seen Buffy a couple of times since then, but they weren't happy moments. Especially when she had childishly paraded her new boyfriend in front of him. However he'd moved on and hoped that she had as well.
Now Buffy was a distant memory..along with Darla..and he didn't really appreciate his friends' attempts at bringing them up.
"How did he leave Darla then. I guess this was pre-Buffy.." Cordelia asked. Suddenly the whole table seemed interested in Angel's love life
He squirmed in his seat again and had an idea to curb the conversation back to less argument-starting things. "Why do we need to revisit my past? I went to the ballet! I cried like a baby!" But it was too late...the damage had been done.
"How did he end it with Darla?" Cordelia wanted to know. No body cared about the ballet anymore.
"She tossed his sorry ass out" Gunn responded cheerfully taking a well- savoured bite of his eggs, satisfied at how the morning had turned out after all.
Cordelia looked at Angel, trying not to laugh and asked in disbelief, "She dumped you?"
"It was mutual," Angel insisted. "I'd had enough of her"
"Angel...Not the best thing to tell another woman..." Lorne cut in, chuckling at Cordy's surprise.
"Not in that sense." He quickly corrected himself. "She was...I'd had enough. It wasn't right."
"Uh huh..." Cordelia was definitely not impressed. She even crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Well in that case, I think I'm going to pass up water volleyball and rock climbing and email my sister." She got up. "Have a nice day." She smiled warmly at the others and frowned at Angel.
"No..." Angel protested. But she didn't pay any attention. Just walked away.
Angel hit his head on the table, Gunn looked at him. "Man...You really didn't handle that well." He observed a little too gleefully. "She looked pretty pissed."
Angel glared at his friend. "Oh yeah, cos you *really* helped!" He tossed back sarcastically. He wasn't too pleased with the black man at the moment. "What am I going to do?"
"Don't worry man. I got y'all tickets to the ball tomorrow night." Gunn presented Angel with two pieces of paper.
"Huh?" Angel asked, slightly perplexed. "I thought you didn't like Cordy." Angel was definitely confused.
"Yeah, well, can't stop you from goin' after her anyway." He forced a smile. "Plus, she's actually a really nice girl," Gunn said, trying to sound sincere. It was harder than he thought it'd be. Plus, the tickets weren't supposed to come into the plan until LATER. Oh well, it was just a minor change to the plan.
Angel's demeanour brightened as he accepted the tickets. He beamed at his beast friend. "Thanks Gunn," He began, inspecting the pieces of paper. "I owe you one." He stopped and looked worried.
"Ah..Angel man..What's the problem now?"
Angel glanced at his friend and handed the tickets back sadly. "If you haven't noticed, Cordelia's not exactly talking to me at the moment. There's no way she'll come with me if I ask her now."
Gunn grinned. "Don't worry..Just let me handle it."
*~*~*~*Cordelia's Room*~*~*~*
Cordelia was still fuming. It was amazing just what a jerk Angel really was. Sure this Buffy chick was her age, so she couldn't get too angry at him for the age difference, but the way he just dismissed her..and the way he'd spoken about Darla..Surely he hadn't meant it like that. Maybe she had over-reacted.
Anyway, how could she be so sure that last night she hadn't been delirious? Maybe all those thoughts about falling for Angel and leaving Groo were brought on by the shock and pain from her ankle? Somehow she knew that wasn't true, but damnit! She was angry at the man!
There was a knock on the door and she was shaken out of her thoughts. She fought the idea that it was Angel coming to apologise and silently cursed herself for thinking it at all.
When she opened the door, one of the hotel busboys smiled at her, holding out a silver tray complete with lid. She grinned at him and shook her head. "I'm sorry..I think you have the wrong room. I didn't order room service."
The boy shook his head and extended the tray even further. "No ma'am. This is sent to you, from Mr O'Malley."
Cordelia was taken by surprise as she removed the lid. There was a little place card positioned above a crisp envelope. She picked it up and looked at the elegant handwriting, then read it aloud. "Cordy, I'm sorry about breakfast. I guess I have a lot to explain. In fact, I want to do just that, so pick up the envelope and look inside." She stopped and obeyed his message. She gasped as she saw the ticket and then looked at the message again. "I have the matching ticket. If you want to come, take this one and I'll pick you up at 8 tomorrow night. If not, send it back with the busboy and enjoy the rest of your vacation. Angel."
Cordelia smiled and clutched the envelope and note to her chest. The busboy looked up at her expectantly. She grinned at him and put the lid back on the empty tray. "Tell Mr O'Malley I'll see him tomorrow night. Thank you."
"You're welcome ma'am." He replied, nodding. "Enjoy your vacation."
"Thank you..I will." She beamed, before walking back inside and rushing to choose an outfit. After all, she *had* packed for *any* occasion.
*~*~*~*Internet Café*~*~*~*
"Cool man. I told you it'd all work out." Gunn said, cradling his cell phone to his ear with his shoulder while he tapped away on the keyboard. "Sure..No problem. Look, I'm kinda busy right now.." He sighed, scrunching his face up at the message on his screen. "What am I doing? I'm..ah.." He looked around for inspiration, and his gaze settled on a pretty raven haired girl walking past. "I'm trying to hook up, so I gotta go. See ya later bro."
Gunn didn't wait for Angel's reply. Instead he hung up and concentrated on the computer screen once more. He cussed and cursed, tapping in code after code until it finally let him into the account he was looking for.
"Bingo." Gunn muttered. "Okay Cordelia Chase..Lets see what you're not tellin' us.."
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A/N again- Okay few final things to tell you: a) review now. b) Look out for a new fic from the Angelic Devils coming soon. More info later. c) The sequel to my (Insane1's) fic 'Alternate Reality or a Different Dimension' will be up in a short amount of time. Look out for it because Mrs O has been co-writing some of the dialogue with me and Star/Fyre has also given me a boost. And finally d) REVIEW PLEASE. I know I said it before, but it's just a friendly reminder. Thanks to absolutely everyone that either reviewed or emailed 'cos you are the motivation that keeps us going. ^_^
Luv ya
Insane1 and Mrs O