AN: I forgot this in the beginning... but now's a good time to bring it
up. This story takes place after Conner's birth and after he goes into
that Hell dimension, but before he returns.
~*~*~
"Rayne! It's time for school!" Angel called. I'd only moved in a week ago, and we were already like family. He was like the brother I never had, but a father as well. He was like an older adult friend, which he sort of was.
"I'm almost finished! It's just taking so long for my hair to dry!" I shouted over the noise of the blow dryer.
Living with Angel was nice. It was different and it was fun in ways. We talked a lot about my past. We didn't talk much about his and I left out parts that I wasn't comfortable telling. Getting into his little silver car, I felt comforted. It felt like this was how it was supposed to be. Angel started the car and 'Why Georgia' by John Mayer came on.
"Everybody's just a stranger. That's the danger of going my way. I guess it's the path I have to take."
"That sounds a lot like my life," Angel said, out of the blue. In just the same way, he left it to just hang there as the song continued.
In ways I was still afraid of him. He was still a stranger somewhat. He was so mysterious, never speaking of his past or his life. He didn't talk about how he felt or even really express feelings at all. He was very different from anybody I'd ever met. He was only comfortable going outside at night. He wore long trench coats and hats and sunglasses when he went outside in the light. He would all but run to the car or wherever it was that we were going. All the windows in the house stayed closed up and were hidden behind curtains and blinds during the day as well. The windows in his car were tinted, too. It was almost impossible to see through them.
This was very strange to me, but I never really thought much about it.
"So what's going on today at work?" I attempted to start a conversation.
"Work stuff," He said gruffly. "What about you and school?"
"School stuff," I replied. "I'm being questioned today. I don't know why they've waited so long. They're questioning me about my dad. They could've asked before the funeral."
"Maybe they think it might be easier for you now that you've had more time to deal with it," Angel said.
"That's a possibility. I guess that makes sense. I don't know what I'm going to do. I've been ignoring my friends for a while. And I dropped cheerleading. Maybe I should get back into life. When am I going to meet Cordelia?" I asked.
"Tonight, I promise. I know I've been getting your hopes up every night about that. But I promise tonight is the night," He answered. I smiled. I was really excited about meeting Cordelia. For the past six days, Angel had said only nice and wonderful things about her. Supposedly she could see things through visions. I couldn't wait to meet her... It sounded amazing.
"Alright, as long as you promise," I said as we pulled up in front of the school. "I'll see you this afternoon then." I hugged him and grabbed my books as I jumped out of the car. Then I walked up the steps to the school as he drove away.
~*~*~
I hadn't really talked to anybody in a few days. All of my friends had conveniently been avoiding me and I'd been avoiding Evan. Today however, I was going to talk to Evan again, just to let him know that everything was okay. After I went to my locker, I began walking in the direction of the library. On my way, I received many strange looks and muttered comments. Everyone was convinced that I'd killed my father and the guy that had been found in the house. That was fine to me. I knew the truth and that was all that mattered.
When I entered the library, I saw Evan sitting at the table, doing what I assumed was extra credit work or next week's homework and listen to a Discman. I advanced and tapped him on his shoulder.
Evan looked up in shock and quickly pulled off his headphones. He seemed a bit nervous and even confused. He also looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep.
"What're you listening to?" I asked. I smiled at him and he grinned back.
"It's... It's John Mayer... Room For Squares," he stuttered. I giggled and nodded.
"Awesome CD," I responded. He looked at me suspiciously, realizing that I hadn't really come for small talk.
"What is it, Rayne?" Evan asked. "You haven't talked to me since your birthday. That was six days ago. It's Friday now and you're going to talk to me?" He didn't really sound angry, just a bit hurt and confused. I knew that he really didn't understand what had been going on and that was okay. I just hoped that he'd be okay with what I was about to tell him.
"Yeah... I'm sorry about that. I was just worried that you would be afraid of me or think I was some sort of a fucking freak. My best friends have been avoiding me all week. I don't think I've seen Sandra or Maria look at me. They literally run in the opposite direction when they see me coming. They think that I killed my dad and Cyrus. It's crazy," I said, rolling my eyes.
"You knew that dead guy that was in your house?" Evan asked curiously. "The police questioned me and I told them that I didn't think that you knew him because I'd never seen him before."
"Thanks. That helps a lot... Won't seem as likely that I killed them. I met him that night... About an hour before they were killed..." I said. "I've been living with a friend all week. He's probably going to become my legal guardian after everything is cleared up."
"What happened Rayne? DO you know what happened?" Evan forcefully asked. I didn't want to answer. I didn't think I was ready to tell the story again, but I was going to have to. This time I wasn't going to lie to him. I nodded sadly and I could feel my face fall as my look changed from indifference to pain and sorrow. Evan motioned for me to sit down and I did so very quickly.
"He lied to me, Evan. My own father lied to me. He did this for sixteen years! But so did my mom..." I trailed off as my eyes began to water. I covered my face with my hands and I felt Evan pull me to him.
"Shh..." He whispered in my ear. "It's okay. I know it's hard. Trust me, I know that it's hard. But it can only get better." I tried to calm myself and continued.
"I had a sister. He never told me that. I lived with my grandmother for ten years! And why was this? Because my parents were afraid that it wouldn't be good for us to be together. So they get divorced and Mom takes Buffy who's now sixteen. Then I move in with Dad and only get to see Mom on my birthday!" I exclaimed, crying more.
"I'm sure Hank didn't mean anything by it. He just wanted his daughters to be safe. You know your dad got bad feelings about a lot of things and they were usually caused by something. He didn't just make things up," Evan said softly, stroking my hair. I nodded.
"I know. But he lied. Now it's too late. My mom died and now my sister is dead, too. To top it all off, my dad is dead now, too. I have nothing! I have no one but Angel now. And this crazy as power that I've got," I ranted.
"Power?" Evan asked, intrigued.
"Angela was a monster or something. Some sort of plant thing. SHE killed my dad and Cyrus. And I killed her. I'm some sort of monster killer... I don't remember what it was that they said. I remember there was this guy, Christopher though. He was... It was crazy. He said that he was a vampire," I said. Evan lifted me off of his shoulder and looked into my eyes. They were blood shot and teary and I tried to look away because I was ashamed, but he wouldn't let me.
"Rayne! You're a vampire slayer?"
"That's the term he used for it!" I cried out in excitement. I was excited that we'd rediscovered the word, not that Evan knew what it was. At that moment, the bell rang. "We have to get to class!"
I hurriedly left the library and went to my English class. The entire day went much the same as all of the other ones except that I had Evan to talk to now. He understood me, too. He wasn't the least bit angry that I'd neglected to talk to him in a week and he was willing to help me.
After school, Angel was there to pick me up, like the other days. This time, I brought Evan with me.
"You don't mind if he comes over, do you?" I asked sweetly. I really hoped that it wouldn't bother him. Angel looked a bit annoyed, but he nodded.
"The cops are already there. I don't know if they'd appreciate him being there, but I don't care," Angel said. I opened the door and pushed the seat forward so that Evan could get into the back. Then I sat in the front.
"I thought they were going to question me at school. Oh well. The funerals are tomorrow. Are you going, Angel?" I asked. He shook his head and pulled away from the school.
"I can take you there, but I can't stay. I would, but I've got so much work. Do you think you'd be able to get a ride to my office afterwards?" Angel asked.
"Sure," Evan piped up. "My mom can take her. I'm going to be there. Where do you work?"
"Angel Inc," I replied. "They named the place after him!"
"That's because I founded it," Angel chuckled. "I get a kick out of you, Rayne. You're a trip." Evan laughed in agreement and I just tilted my head in confusion.
The rest of the trip was silent, except for the Eve 6 CD that was playing. When we got to the house, we all got out and looked at the two police cars that were parked in the lot to the apartment building.
"This is my new home, Evan. It's nice. It's not as big as Daddy's house was, but it's nice and new. It's comfortable, too," I said.
Home... This was my home. This was home until I moved out or left. I couldn't see that happening unless I was to get married or get kicked out. But I couldn't see Angel kicking me out. We were happy there. He enjoyed my company and I didn't a parent. He said there was something about me... Something that reminded him of someone he'd loved once. It confused me and I left it alone. He was still a mystery to me, but I knew that one day I would figure him out or he would tell me what I wanted to know. This was home... My life... My world...
~*~*~
"Rayne! It's time for school!" Angel called. I'd only moved in a week ago, and we were already like family. He was like the brother I never had, but a father as well. He was like an older adult friend, which he sort of was.
"I'm almost finished! It's just taking so long for my hair to dry!" I shouted over the noise of the blow dryer.
Living with Angel was nice. It was different and it was fun in ways. We talked a lot about my past. We didn't talk much about his and I left out parts that I wasn't comfortable telling. Getting into his little silver car, I felt comforted. It felt like this was how it was supposed to be. Angel started the car and 'Why Georgia' by John Mayer came on.
"Everybody's just a stranger. That's the danger of going my way. I guess it's the path I have to take."
"That sounds a lot like my life," Angel said, out of the blue. In just the same way, he left it to just hang there as the song continued.
In ways I was still afraid of him. He was still a stranger somewhat. He was so mysterious, never speaking of his past or his life. He didn't talk about how he felt or even really express feelings at all. He was very different from anybody I'd ever met. He was only comfortable going outside at night. He wore long trench coats and hats and sunglasses when he went outside in the light. He would all but run to the car or wherever it was that we were going. All the windows in the house stayed closed up and were hidden behind curtains and blinds during the day as well. The windows in his car were tinted, too. It was almost impossible to see through them.
This was very strange to me, but I never really thought much about it.
"So what's going on today at work?" I attempted to start a conversation.
"Work stuff," He said gruffly. "What about you and school?"
"School stuff," I replied. "I'm being questioned today. I don't know why they've waited so long. They're questioning me about my dad. They could've asked before the funeral."
"Maybe they think it might be easier for you now that you've had more time to deal with it," Angel said.
"That's a possibility. I guess that makes sense. I don't know what I'm going to do. I've been ignoring my friends for a while. And I dropped cheerleading. Maybe I should get back into life. When am I going to meet Cordelia?" I asked.
"Tonight, I promise. I know I've been getting your hopes up every night about that. But I promise tonight is the night," He answered. I smiled. I was really excited about meeting Cordelia. For the past six days, Angel had said only nice and wonderful things about her. Supposedly she could see things through visions. I couldn't wait to meet her... It sounded amazing.
"Alright, as long as you promise," I said as we pulled up in front of the school. "I'll see you this afternoon then." I hugged him and grabbed my books as I jumped out of the car. Then I walked up the steps to the school as he drove away.
~*~*~
I hadn't really talked to anybody in a few days. All of my friends had conveniently been avoiding me and I'd been avoiding Evan. Today however, I was going to talk to Evan again, just to let him know that everything was okay. After I went to my locker, I began walking in the direction of the library. On my way, I received many strange looks and muttered comments. Everyone was convinced that I'd killed my father and the guy that had been found in the house. That was fine to me. I knew the truth and that was all that mattered.
When I entered the library, I saw Evan sitting at the table, doing what I assumed was extra credit work or next week's homework and listen to a Discman. I advanced and tapped him on his shoulder.
Evan looked up in shock and quickly pulled off his headphones. He seemed a bit nervous and even confused. He also looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep.
"What're you listening to?" I asked. I smiled at him and he grinned back.
"It's... It's John Mayer... Room For Squares," he stuttered. I giggled and nodded.
"Awesome CD," I responded. He looked at me suspiciously, realizing that I hadn't really come for small talk.
"What is it, Rayne?" Evan asked. "You haven't talked to me since your birthday. That was six days ago. It's Friday now and you're going to talk to me?" He didn't really sound angry, just a bit hurt and confused. I knew that he really didn't understand what had been going on and that was okay. I just hoped that he'd be okay with what I was about to tell him.
"Yeah... I'm sorry about that. I was just worried that you would be afraid of me or think I was some sort of a fucking freak. My best friends have been avoiding me all week. I don't think I've seen Sandra or Maria look at me. They literally run in the opposite direction when they see me coming. They think that I killed my dad and Cyrus. It's crazy," I said, rolling my eyes.
"You knew that dead guy that was in your house?" Evan asked curiously. "The police questioned me and I told them that I didn't think that you knew him because I'd never seen him before."
"Thanks. That helps a lot... Won't seem as likely that I killed them. I met him that night... About an hour before they were killed..." I said. "I've been living with a friend all week. He's probably going to become my legal guardian after everything is cleared up."
"What happened Rayne? DO you know what happened?" Evan forcefully asked. I didn't want to answer. I didn't think I was ready to tell the story again, but I was going to have to. This time I wasn't going to lie to him. I nodded sadly and I could feel my face fall as my look changed from indifference to pain and sorrow. Evan motioned for me to sit down and I did so very quickly.
"He lied to me, Evan. My own father lied to me. He did this for sixteen years! But so did my mom..." I trailed off as my eyes began to water. I covered my face with my hands and I felt Evan pull me to him.
"Shh..." He whispered in my ear. "It's okay. I know it's hard. Trust me, I know that it's hard. But it can only get better." I tried to calm myself and continued.
"I had a sister. He never told me that. I lived with my grandmother for ten years! And why was this? Because my parents were afraid that it wouldn't be good for us to be together. So they get divorced and Mom takes Buffy who's now sixteen. Then I move in with Dad and only get to see Mom on my birthday!" I exclaimed, crying more.
"I'm sure Hank didn't mean anything by it. He just wanted his daughters to be safe. You know your dad got bad feelings about a lot of things and they were usually caused by something. He didn't just make things up," Evan said softly, stroking my hair. I nodded.
"I know. But he lied. Now it's too late. My mom died and now my sister is dead, too. To top it all off, my dad is dead now, too. I have nothing! I have no one but Angel now. And this crazy as power that I've got," I ranted.
"Power?" Evan asked, intrigued.
"Angela was a monster or something. Some sort of plant thing. SHE killed my dad and Cyrus. And I killed her. I'm some sort of monster killer... I don't remember what it was that they said. I remember there was this guy, Christopher though. He was... It was crazy. He said that he was a vampire," I said. Evan lifted me off of his shoulder and looked into my eyes. They were blood shot and teary and I tried to look away because I was ashamed, but he wouldn't let me.
"Rayne! You're a vampire slayer?"
"That's the term he used for it!" I cried out in excitement. I was excited that we'd rediscovered the word, not that Evan knew what it was. At that moment, the bell rang. "We have to get to class!"
I hurriedly left the library and went to my English class. The entire day went much the same as all of the other ones except that I had Evan to talk to now. He understood me, too. He wasn't the least bit angry that I'd neglected to talk to him in a week and he was willing to help me.
After school, Angel was there to pick me up, like the other days. This time, I brought Evan with me.
"You don't mind if he comes over, do you?" I asked sweetly. I really hoped that it wouldn't bother him. Angel looked a bit annoyed, but he nodded.
"The cops are already there. I don't know if they'd appreciate him being there, but I don't care," Angel said. I opened the door and pushed the seat forward so that Evan could get into the back. Then I sat in the front.
"I thought they were going to question me at school. Oh well. The funerals are tomorrow. Are you going, Angel?" I asked. He shook his head and pulled away from the school.
"I can take you there, but I can't stay. I would, but I've got so much work. Do you think you'd be able to get a ride to my office afterwards?" Angel asked.
"Sure," Evan piped up. "My mom can take her. I'm going to be there. Where do you work?"
"Angel Inc," I replied. "They named the place after him!"
"That's because I founded it," Angel chuckled. "I get a kick out of you, Rayne. You're a trip." Evan laughed in agreement and I just tilted my head in confusion.
The rest of the trip was silent, except for the Eve 6 CD that was playing. When we got to the house, we all got out and looked at the two police cars that were parked in the lot to the apartment building.
"This is my new home, Evan. It's nice. It's not as big as Daddy's house was, but it's nice and new. It's comfortable, too," I said.
Home... This was my home. This was home until I moved out or left. I couldn't see that happening unless I was to get married or get kicked out. But I couldn't see Angel kicking me out. We were happy there. He enjoyed my company and I didn't a parent. He said there was something about me... Something that reminded him of someone he'd loved once. It confused me and I left it alone. He was still a mystery to me, but I knew that one day I would figure him out or he would tell me what I wanted to know. This was home... My life... My world...