"And this is the living room!" Mom really gets into the whole 'tour' thing. I'm surprised Angel hasn't fallen down dead after the twenty minute lecture on how to operate the microwave. "You can use the TV in here anytime you like. We keep the remote on the coffee table. You just have to press the 'power' button after making sure the cable box is on..."
Let me just tune out for a minute to appreciate Angel's dress sense. No frumpy T-shirts or baggy pants in sight. And the two shirt buttons open at the throat? Rrrow.
"... and we'll set you up a nice bed here on the couch, so you can--"
What?! Oh no, there's NO way she's getting out of this now. "Mom! Angel is our guest, and we don't have guests sleep on the couch. We've already got everything set up for him upstairs, remember?"
She's shooting me a withering glare, but I only smile back at her cheekily. "I just thought he'd be more comfortable with his own space, honey..."
Pfft. You're just afraid Angel and I will accidentally see each other in our underwear. And by 'accidentally', I mean on purpose. "Please. He'd be WAY more comfortable on a real bed."
Or cot. Just because he's a hottie doesn't mean I'll give up my down comforter without a fight. Or maybe we could share...
Oops, bad thoughts.
"Wherever you'd like me would be fine. I'd be perfectly happy on the couch if it makes you uncomfortable--" Angel interrupts.
Ahhh. I will never get over that voice, I swear.
"We've already got a cot made up with our nice sheets and everything. Come on." I grab his hand and that pleasant tingly feeling I've had in my stomach since the bus station fans out to my arms and legs. I manage to tamp down the sudden urge to lick his fingers and instead drag him up the stairs to my bedroom.
We stop in the doorway and he glances around curiously. "It's nice."
I nod absently and before I can stop myself-- "You have really big hands."
And oh GOD! Did those words actually come out of my mouth?!
"Um, thanks."
"I didn't mean that in a weird way."
"I know."
"I don't even know why I said it."
"It's alright."
"Sorry." I look around the room desperately for something to change the subject with. I end up gesturing vaguely towards the half-made metal contraption at the foot of the bed. "So, um, this is your cot."
Gah. Why don't I just throw myself out the window and get it
over with?
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Angel seemed more than willing to forgive
my little outburst, so we went downstairs to get his things. He only had one
suitcase and a duffel bag despite the fact he's going to be here for a month,
so we got it up to my room in one trip.
Mom came up before I could totally humiliate myself again and immediately started up with extremely detailed instructions on how to turn on the hot water in the shower. Apparently, 'turn the faucet in the direction labeled HOT' would not be sufficient. I was waiting for her to break out a pen and paper and start drawing a diagram, but she managed to restrain herself.
Once she left, I cleared out one of my drawers for Angel to put his stuff in and once again bravely attempted the fine art of conversation.
"Sorry about the teeniness of the room."
Angel paused in the middle of folding one of his shirts to answer. "I thought it was pretty big, actually. I have to split my dorm back in Galway with three other guys, so this is quite a step up for me."
"Dorm room? Aren't you in high school?"
"I attend an all-boys preparatory school. We have on campus housing."
I now have a mental picture of Angel wearing a cute navy blazer and a tie. And although my subconscious Dress-Up Angel likes to dance for me, he doesn't seem to enjoy wearing pants. Must be a European thing. "Do you have uniforms?"
"Not really, no. Does the high school here?"
Like I would ever be caught DEAD in a uniform. "No, thank God. Pleated skirts? SO not my thing."
He's smiling that little half-smile. Always mysterious, my Hottie
McHotness. "I don't know. I think you could pull
it off."
Okay, is he flirting with me? Because that sounded like flirting. Unless I'm just a pathetic freak who reads WAY too much into things, which is also quite probable. "So... what's it like back home?"
He looks thoughtful. And also hot. And GOD, I have such a one-track mind. "It's quieter. Slower. But Galway is a lot bigger than Sunnydale. It just doesn't... seem big, I guess. And it's nowhere near as sunny. Sometimes you can go for months without seeing blue sky."
Well, that explains the pale skin. I think I'm going to have to drag him to the beach and let him work on his tan. Maybe I can bring some lotion and offer to rub him down and--
Oh GOD. I'm becoming XANDER! Ick.
Ick. Ick. ICK.
"That sounds majorly depressing."
"I kind of like it."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I just always have." He's giving me a look. "You're not really interested in this, are you?"
PLEASE. He could be reading the phone book and I'd be interested. "Yes I am! I really am. This is me being interested girl."
He looks skeptical, but I think he's going to relent. "Well, even if you have terrible weather all day... right before evening comes, the sun always manages to dip under the clouds right before it sinks into the Atlantic. It's strangely comforting to be able to have different weather 365 days a year, but always have the same sunset."
I'm not going to say something stupid and swoony now.
Nope.
Not going to.
...
"Sunsets are pretty!"
ARGH!
"Good morning, sweetie. Did you have a good night?"
By 'good', do you mean did I crawl under the sheets and put a pillow over my head in mortification after acting like a spooge for an hour?
Because, yes. Yes I did.
"Sure, Mom."
"Are you getting along with Angel?"
Absolutely! In fact, I've already introduced him to my identical twin, Muffy the Verbally Challenged Spinster Wench. The three of us are like old pals now.
"We're great."
Despite my little bout with diarrhea of the mouth last night, I'm in a surprisingly good mood. I feel great, I look great, and I'm even looking forward to school for the first time since... well, for the first time.
We're going in a little early today so that Angel can fill out his schedule and I can give him the rundown on American public education. After all, what kind of host would I be if I didn't walk our guest to all of his classes and show him which foods (and I use that term loosely) to eat in the cafeteria?
And of course, I'll have to introduce him to all of my friends. It just wouldn't do to have him wandering around all by his lonesome without knowing anyone, now would it?
"Good morning, Mrs. Summers. Hello, Buffy."
Did I mention that Angel had just gotten out of the shower? And that I had used the soap before he did? So in some indirect and cosmic way, his soap was touching my soap, and it was a whole... soap... thing.
Um. Anyway.
He was up there, in the shower, all wet and covered in--
"Juice!" Ack! Stop saying weird things, self! "I mean, do you want some juice?"
"Please."
I got up to root around in the fridge while Angel sat down at the counter and waited. "What kind would you like? We've got orange juice and... chicken broth. And also lumpy milk that smells like feet."
"Tempting, but I think I'll have to go with orange juice."
"That's probably wise. Although if you change your mind about the milk, I can get you a fork so you can eat it right out of the carton."
Mom is giving me a look from over her newspaper. "Very funny, Buffy. I'm going to the grocery store tonight and I'll get some new milk then, okay?"
"Oh, hey! Maybe we could go to Costco and bring Angel? Then we could show him the time-honored American tradition of buying ten-gallon jars of mayonnaise."
Mom just rolled her eyes and smiled patiently. "I'm sure he'd just love that. Now, we really should get you two kids to school." She glanced over at Angel, who was drinking his juice quietly. "Do you have everything you need for your first day?"
"I think so."
"Good. If you need anything else, we'll help you pick it out tonight, okay? And I'm sure Buffy will be happy to show you where everything is at the school."
"Oh, definitely." The seat next to me in English? Check. The seat next to me in Chem? Check. The seat next to me in Algebra? Check. The seat next to--
"I appreciate it."
And I appreciate YOU in those jeans. Yowza.
"Okay then, you two! Get your stuff and let's go."
You know what? I'm suddenly filled with an intense desire to learn and better myself! If this is what Willow feels like everyday, no wonder she's got such a yen for knowledge.
