Author's Notes: This part is pretty much again focused on Angel.we'll get to Buffy soon, promise! For those of you who read this before, I pretty much rewrote this entire part

AN2: Thanks go out to: Court, Rain, Lauren, Ashleigh, Christine, V, TK, Jenny Baby, Tariq, and Krystal for the feedback. You guys are the best, I really appreciate your comments and support!

AN3: My apologies in advance for the slight cliffhanger! I'll try and get Part 3 rewritten quickly!

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Part 2 - Old Friends

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The following day, Angel spent the majority of his time getting further settled into his life back in Sunnydale. The move had left him with an endless array of things to do. First and foremost he needed to unpack more of his belongings. He'd spent nearly and hour that morning trying to find his shaving kit. Once he had unpacked some more he decided on a trip to the market to stock his apartment up with food.

While he was out, he also stopped by the newspaper office to meet with his new boss. After touring the office and meeting a few of his coworkers, Angel had finally been able to return home. The only bad thing about moving back to Sunnydale was that he was basically starting his life all over again. It was more tiring than he thought it would be. He was just glad that he had been able to postpone starting his new job for four weeks so that he could get fully settled into his new life before tackling his job at the newspaper.

As night began to fall, Angel set about making himself some dinner which consisted of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich due to the fact that all of his kitchen supplies were still in boxes. But he didn't really care; more important things were occupying his mind.

Tonight, he planned on taking the first step in trying to work his way back into Buffy's life. Or, of course, if he was too nervous, he would just watch from afar. He would at least be able to se how she was doing no matter what he did.

Just thinking about the beautiful blonde goddess caused his heart to nearly double in pace. It had been so long since he had seen her smiling face. Too long. The anticipation within him at the prospect of seeing her was nearly overwhelming.

Eager to get his night started, Angel took a quick shower and washed off all the sweat from unpacking. He dressed in a casual pair of black slacks and a royal blue button down shirt. The shirt was chosen for a reason, Buffy had always loved him to wear blue.

He stared at his appearance in the mirror for a minute, nervously wondering if he looked okay. Was his shirt too wrinkled? Should he have worn khaki pants? Did he put enough gel in his hair? After a moment, he laughed at himself, thinking that he was acting like a teenager going on his first date.

Finally, he took a deep breath and pulled himself away from the mirror. He tried convince himself there was no reason to be nervous. After all, he wasn't even sure he would see her tonight. Sighing, he grabbed his keys off the dresser and made his way out of his apartment.

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Angel headed toward the one club in Sunnydale, The Bronze. That was where the gang had always hung out in high school. It was the best place to begin his quest to find his love. There was good chance that neither she, nor their friends would be there, but it was the only place he could think to look. Hopefully, luck would be on his side and he'd find them.

The drive to the club was short, causing Angel to think that he may have been better off walking. The beat of the music inside could be heard from the parking lot as he got out of his car. Making his way to the door, he paid the cover charge and entered the club.

The second he was inside, memories washed over him. During his younger years, he had spent an enormous amount of time there with Buffy and their friends. Hours spent on the dance floor, Buffy cradled in his arms, the friendly banter traded at one of the tables. It was all so familiar, yet so foreign. He wondered if she now spent her time there with another.

The inside of the club looked a bit different from the last time he had been there. It looked like it had been remodeled a little and redecorated, but it still had the homey, comfortable feeling that he always loved about the place.

Angel wandered leisurely around the club absorbing the atmosphere. He didn't see anyone he recognized. The crowd was decidedly younger, well younger than him at least. They were probably the current high school group doing just what he and his friends had done at their age.

After looking around for a few minutes he began to think that his old friends weren't there, but then he saw a table off in the corner with four familiar people seated around it. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. The group that he had spent so much time with years ago was still together.

Willow was practically sitting on Oz's lap. Angel had to chuckle at that. Some things never changed, they had been just like that in high school. He found himself surprised, though, when he saw that Xander was sitting with his arm around Cordelia. The beauty queen and the class clown. That was definitely something he never would have expected. The two had been friends back then, but had spent most of their time trying to annoy each other. It looked like some things had changed.

Cautiously, he made his way over to the table. Now that he was there, he wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't really thought about it. What if they hated him? Told him to go get the hell away from them? There was only one way to find out.

"Angel?" The sound of someone calling his name snapped him out of his internal monologue. Glancing up, he realized the Willow had spotted him. Pushing aside his nervousness, he walked over to their table.

"Hey," he replied, not really knowing what to say to the people he'd pretty much abandoned five years earlier.

"Well, uhh, it's been a while," Xander stated matter-of-factly. There was no mistaking the ice in his voice, or the less than warm looks from the others. And, really, Angel couldn't blame them. If he was in their position he would probably act the same way.

"Yeah, it has. Mind if I have a seat?" he asked nervously.

"Uhh, yeah sure," answered Willow, sharing not-so-secret looks with the other. None of them had expected to run into their old friend that night.

Angel sat down in the seat next to Willow. Despite the fact that the four people at the table had been his best friends, he felt like he was sitting with a bunch of strangers. He didn't know what to say to them, and it appeared that they didn't quite know how to react to him.

Inwardly, he noticed that none of them looked beyond him into the club as if they were on the look-out for someone or that they didn't look worried that someone else was going to be joining them at the table. And he also noted that there were only four cups on the table. Those facts could only mean that Buffy wasn't with them. A pang of disappointment flickered in his heart that he wouldn't get to see her yet, but he also thought that maybe it would be better to see the others first and possibly get some clues about her life now.

"So, you're back," Oz said in his usual man-of-few-words manner, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"When did you get back in town?" added Willow.

"I just flew in yesterday. I've been busy trying to get things settled, and I had to meet with my new boss." Angel stated as casually as possible.

"Boss? You have a job here?" Cordelia nearly choked on her drink.

"Yeah, I'm going to be working at the newspaper as a junior editor. I got lucky. Someone left suddenly not long before I contacted them and they gave me the job without even having me come in for a face to face meeting." explained Angel, his eyes focused anywhere but at the faces of his friends. He wasn't quite ready to deal with their accusatory eyes yet.

"So.that would mean you're staying in town, huh?" questioned Willow, more than a little shocked at the sudden reappearance of someone she'd once considered a good friend.

"You would assume right," answered Angel with a slight nod of his head. He didn't really mind the idle chit-chat with his sort-of friends, but part of him just wanted to jump to the point and ask about Buffy.

"Wow, that's, well, interesting," Xander said flatly. He was more than a little angry that Angel had just shown up out of nowhere after disappearing like he had.

Angel inwardly sighed. Xander's hostility was not lost on him. It wasn't like he didn't expect it, but it still stung a bit. He wondered if maybe he should just leave. It didn't appear that they wanted him around. He wouldn't know until he asked, though.

"Look, guys, I know me showing up is probably the last thing you expected or wanted. And I know there are probably some bad feelings about things that have happened in the past. I understand that. And if you would prefer it, I'll stay away from you guys and Buffy. If you think that's best, I'll keep my distance." Angel finished the sentence and exhaled the breath he'd been holding in. He then noticed four sets of eyes wide open, looking back and forth between each other. It wasn't quite the reaction he was expecting.

"Buffy?" Willow spoke softly, keeping tight reign on her emotions.

"Yeah, I mean, we didn't part on the best of terms. I would understand if she didn't want to see me. I don't want to cause trouble for her or any of you," Angel replied, not quite sure what was going on.

"Angel? Could you be a gentleman and get me another drink? Long Island Ice Tea. Please?" Cordelia asked out of the blue. It was the first thing that came to mind.

"Uh, yeah, no problem," answered Angel, getting more confused by the second. He got up to go get Cordelia's drink regardless.

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Once Angel was out of hearing distance, the four friends quickly turned toward either. Their eyes showed their surprise at not only Angel's arrival, but also his words.

"I don't think he knows," Willow leaned in and whispered to the others.

"Kinda got the same feeling," concurred Oz.

"I know none of us tried to get into contact with him, but I would have thought someone would have told him," Xander replied, a bit of anger in his voice.

"Who would have told him though? None of us have even spoken to him since he left town after graduation, and his family moved to New York about a year later. I don't think he kept in contact with anybody who knows what's gone on here," Willow summed up, her mind reeling at the implications.

"Why should he know anyway? He's the one who up and ditched his life and everyone in it?" Cordelia barked. She could still vividly remember the night they had found Buffy crying on her porch.

"Yeah.but Cordy, they were together, for like what? four years or so. He's probably still got some feelings for her somewhere even if he did break up with her and leave town. He obviously still cares about her if he's willing to stay away from us and her," Willow answered back. She didn't quite know why she was defending Angel after what he had done. Maybe it was because he was one of her oldest friends.

"Does it really matter anyway? His feelings for her, whatever they are, don't make a difference at the moment, and they might never again," Xander said with a slight hitch in his voice, his thoughts suddenly elsewhere.

"Xander, stop, we don't know that! We have to tell him. He has to know," Willow retorted sympathetically, her eyes showing sadness.

"Well, then I guess you're the lucky one since you think he needs to be told," countered Xander, not wanting to deal with Angel. He couldn't get over what his former friend had done.

"Fine," Willow sighed. Somehow she always got stuck with the dirty work. She ran a hand through her shoulder length red hair wondering how exactly she was going to tell Angel what he needed to be told. She stood up and reached for her coat, not missing the questioning looks her friends were giving her. "I can't tell him here, geez."

"Here's your drink Cordy. Sorry it took so long, there was a long line," Angel stated as he handed Cordy her drink. He then noticed Willow standing as if she was about to leave. "Are you leaving Willow?"

"Yeah.umm, sort of. Why don't we go for a walk or something.we can.talk," she stuttered slightly. This was not a conversation she was looking forward to. Something told her Angel was not going to take the news well at all. The look in his eyes when he said Buffy's name earlier had not been lost on her. It wouldn't have surprised in the least if he was still in love with Buffy.

"Uhh, yeah, ok, I guess so. I'll see you guys later then," Angel answered, his brow furrowing at the bad vibe he was getting. Something definitely wasn't right, he was sure of that. Their little group had always been on the strange side, but this was odd even for them.

The group exchanged good-byes. Well, they spoke the words to Willow and more or less mumbled them to Angel. Angel then turned and followed Willow out of The Bronze into the cool winter night. All the while his mind was frantically wondering what it was that Willow wanted to talk to him about.

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TBC.feedback.umm, please???