Buffy was back to the dorm, soaked from the sudden shower that sprang out
of nowhere. But the cold and wetness was the last thing on her mind, she
couldn't help but be obsessed with seeing-or thinking she saw Angel again.
The pain was sharp and deep every time she thought of that name. She remembered the time they spent together, the time they spent fighting, the time they spent apart while Angel was in some Hell Dimension, the time she offered her own blood for his remedy, and the time he disappeared through the smoke of the demolished Sunnydale High.
Tears stung her eyes as she tried with all of her might to keep them back and prevent her chin from trembling. A soft sob escaped her mouth and then she quickly covered her face with her hands and sank onto her bed, soaking the sheets underneath her.
"One thing that I never liked was how you always cried."
She looked up, her head snapping to her closet door. Angel was standing there, completely dry and staring menacingly at her. He held a knife in his hand and traced invisible lines across the palm of his other hand.
"What--"
"Is wrong with me? What am I doing here?" Angel asked, moving away from the closet and crossing the room to stand in front of The Slayer. "I just came back to see you suffer. I can smell it, taste it radiating from your skin, I can feel the vibrations of your heart aching and breaking. I feed on the pain of others, I feast on the pain I inflict on you."
Buffy jumped to her feet and jabbed with her right hand, this couldn't be Angel, he couldn't have lost his soul again, he wasn't there, it was some kind of shape shifter, it wasn't him! She expected her fist to swipe right through him or him to vanish instantly, instead she struck flesh.
Angel quickly grabbed her wrist and twisted her around, yanking her arm high up behind her back, causing a jolting pain to shoot through her arm. "You're loosing your edge. I bet you don't even have the muscles to shove a sword through me anymore."
But then Angel was gone, Buffy wasn't even in her dorm room. She was standing in the shower, completely dressed with the water turned as hot as it could go.
Unable to stop the sobs any longer, Buffy turned off the shower spray and sank to the wet and cold floor. Everything was wet and cold tonight, everything.
"What is happening?" Buffy asked through deep sobs, her body shuddering roughly.
It took an entire hour for Buffy to regain her feet and change into something dry, the entire time she tried to regain her composure but was unable to unstill she left the dorm building and started off for Giles' place.
The storm had cleared up, the moonlight shone down between random holes in the thick clouds that covered Sunnydale.
Drusilla was walking behind Buffy, not keeping to the shadows but walking in the middle of the sidewalk, as if she were making sure Buffy would reach her destination safely, as if she were Buffy's guardian. "Look, she is nearly broken. One swift tap and she'll shatter into a million pieces! A million pieces! And then will come the cake and the dancing and the grandest celebration the world has ever seen!"
Buffy was oblivious to all of this, she was wrapped deeply in her troubled thoughts. All she could tell herself was that Giles would have the answer, he always had the answer, always, always knew what to do, he'd make it all better, everything would be fine, he'd tell her what to kill and then she'd kill it or Willow would cast some spell and it'd all be all right, all right.
Finally, she reached Giles' front door and knocked loudly. The door opened slowly as Giles peeked out in shock to see Buffy standing there, her hair all a mess and her eyes puffy and red.
"Buffy!" He opened the door completely and embraced her, squeezed her hard and then lead her into the house. "What is the matter? What happened?"
"It was--"
"Me." Angel finished for her, a new habit that he had acquired recently, he was sitting on a chair in the living room, fiddling with his knife.
With no warning, Buffy rushed across the house, picking up a large staff on her way, screaming and crying, panicking and then stabbing the javelin through Angel's head. But he was gone before the wooden shaft was able to puncture anything.
Giles watched in amazement as Buffy sank to her knees in racking tears, shuddering uncontrollably and asking what was wrong with her. Rushing toward the Slayer, ready to calm her but she stood up, rage disfiguring her usually beautiful face.
"Get the hell away from me, Watcher!" She screamed. Giles stepped toward her and Buffy yelled at him again. "I'm warning you! If he isn't real then your not real and maybe I'm not real and it's all in my head! All in my head! Angel isn't here!" The girl looked like she was about to break into tears and Giles wished he knew what she was talking about.
He stepped even closer and she screamed and suddenly lashed out. Buffy punched him hard in the jaw and the Watcher went down.
Buffy ran out of the house with no idea of where she was going or what was wrong with her.
The pain was sharp and deep every time she thought of that name. She remembered the time they spent together, the time they spent fighting, the time they spent apart while Angel was in some Hell Dimension, the time she offered her own blood for his remedy, and the time he disappeared through the smoke of the demolished Sunnydale High.
Tears stung her eyes as she tried with all of her might to keep them back and prevent her chin from trembling. A soft sob escaped her mouth and then she quickly covered her face with her hands and sank onto her bed, soaking the sheets underneath her.
"One thing that I never liked was how you always cried."
She looked up, her head snapping to her closet door. Angel was standing there, completely dry and staring menacingly at her. He held a knife in his hand and traced invisible lines across the palm of his other hand.
"What--"
"Is wrong with me? What am I doing here?" Angel asked, moving away from the closet and crossing the room to stand in front of The Slayer. "I just came back to see you suffer. I can smell it, taste it radiating from your skin, I can feel the vibrations of your heart aching and breaking. I feed on the pain of others, I feast on the pain I inflict on you."
Buffy jumped to her feet and jabbed with her right hand, this couldn't be Angel, he couldn't have lost his soul again, he wasn't there, it was some kind of shape shifter, it wasn't him! She expected her fist to swipe right through him or him to vanish instantly, instead she struck flesh.
Angel quickly grabbed her wrist and twisted her around, yanking her arm high up behind her back, causing a jolting pain to shoot through her arm. "You're loosing your edge. I bet you don't even have the muscles to shove a sword through me anymore."
But then Angel was gone, Buffy wasn't even in her dorm room. She was standing in the shower, completely dressed with the water turned as hot as it could go.
Unable to stop the sobs any longer, Buffy turned off the shower spray and sank to the wet and cold floor. Everything was wet and cold tonight, everything.
"What is happening?" Buffy asked through deep sobs, her body shuddering roughly.
It took an entire hour for Buffy to regain her feet and change into something dry, the entire time she tried to regain her composure but was unable to unstill she left the dorm building and started off for Giles' place.
The storm had cleared up, the moonlight shone down between random holes in the thick clouds that covered Sunnydale.
Drusilla was walking behind Buffy, not keeping to the shadows but walking in the middle of the sidewalk, as if she were making sure Buffy would reach her destination safely, as if she were Buffy's guardian. "Look, she is nearly broken. One swift tap and she'll shatter into a million pieces! A million pieces! And then will come the cake and the dancing and the grandest celebration the world has ever seen!"
Buffy was oblivious to all of this, she was wrapped deeply in her troubled thoughts. All she could tell herself was that Giles would have the answer, he always had the answer, always, always knew what to do, he'd make it all better, everything would be fine, he'd tell her what to kill and then she'd kill it or Willow would cast some spell and it'd all be all right, all right.
Finally, she reached Giles' front door and knocked loudly. The door opened slowly as Giles peeked out in shock to see Buffy standing there, her hair all a mess and her eyes puffy and red.
"Buffy!" He opened the door completely and embraced her, squeezed her hard and then lead her into the house. "What is the matter? What happened?"
"It was--"
"Me." Angel finished for her, a new habit that he had acquired recently, he was sitting on a chair in the living room, fiddling with his knife.
With no warning, Buffy rushed across the house, picking up a large staff on her way, screaming and crying, panicking and then stabbing the javelin through Angel's head. But he was gone before the wooden shaft was able to puncture anything.
Giles watched in amazement as Buffy sank to her knees in racking tears, shuddering uncontrollably and asking what was wrong with her. Rushing toward the Slayer, ready to calm her but she stood up, rage disfiguring her usually beautiful face.
"Get the hell away from me, Watcher!" She screamed. Giles stepped toward her and Buffy yelled at him again. "I'm warning you! If he isn't real then your not real and maybe I'm not real and it's all in my head! All in my head! Angel isn't here!" The girl looked like she was about to break into tears and Giles wished he knew what she was talking about.
He stepped even closer and she screamed and suddenly lashed out. Buffy punched him hard in the jaw and the Watcher went down.
Buffy ran out of the house with no idea of where she was going or what was wrong with her.
