Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the Buffy/Angel characters. They belong to Joss
Whedon, ME, UPN, and WB. I am just borrowing them for my own sick, twisted
and perverse reasons. ;)
Chapter 1
'Dear Buffy and co,
You are cordially invited to a big Halloween bash hosted by your friends at the Hyperion hotel on Friday the 30th October. Please arrive promptly at 7.00pm. Fancy dress is essential.
Yours,
The staff at A.I'
Buffy laid down the invitation on the table. Seated around the table where her friends who looked up expectantly at her. It was the Scooby gang's nightly meeting at the MagicBox, and the blonde felt it was an appropriate time to announce it to them.
Her face screwed up in confusion. 'Cordially?'
'It means politely,' Willow supplied helpfully. 'Probably Wesley's influence,' she added in amusement.
'So Deadboy's hosting a party, eh?' Xander asked sardonically. Buffy shot him a reproachful look.
'I'm not trying to burst your bubble, there, Buff,' he amended quickly, 'it's just that; given our experiences of creepy Halloween related incidents- I'm not sure I wanna go.'
'But it should be fun!' Tara piped up eagerly, 'dressing up is so cool! And I can meet Angel, too!' Buffy smiled gratefully at the Wicca's support.
'I've met him,' Anya chimed in. 'All broody and mysterious. Makes a girl wanna-' at that point Anya made a gesture which was so rude that the others groaned and rolled their eyes.
'Yeah!' Dawn agreed, completely oblivious to Anya's hand movements. The teenager had suddenly become excited at the thought of going to LA. Bright lights! Lots of people! Moreover, Angel! (Or Deadboy, as Xander had already mentioned. )
'Besides, ' Willow said in a bright tone. 'What's the worse that could happen?'
'You mean besides from tiny evil fear demons and some Dawn/vampire mouth- action?' Xander said bluntly.' I'm guessing..nothing.'
Buffy sighed heavily, raising her eyes to the high heavens. 'Please don't let anything bad happen,' she begged inside herself.
'What do you mean we've run out of orange streamers?' a shrill voice said ferociously.
'Cordy, honey, please calm down!' a green skinned demon with red horns said gently. 'We'll find more- I promise.' Lorne sighed: it was hard to sedate this fiery young woman.
Eyeing him beadily, the brunette growled and stormed off upstairs-probably to go and have a lie down.
From his comfortable spot in the corner, Angel smirked as he watched the whole situation. Sure, he felt pity for the berated demon, but all the same, he couldn't help but laugh at the whole incident. Feeling obliged to go over and talk to him, the vampire stood up and walked over towards him.
'You alright, Lorne?' he asked sympathetically.
'About as good as I'll ever be, Angel-cakes!' he answered quite cheerily. Angel cringed secretly when Lorne called him that name. It was the demon's pet name for him, and he had an immense dislike of it. Even so, he kept his cool as he normally did.
'Good,' he smiled.
He then took his time to sweep his eyes over the lobby, taking in all the décor. Orange and black streamers adorned the pillars; fake spiders dangled from the ceiling and wisps of fake spider webs hung in the corners. Overall, although it was not finished yet, Cordelia's effort had paid off. it looked amazing.
'Cordy's been working hard, hasn't she?' he continued admiringly.
'Like a beaver!' he gushed excitedly. 'I swear, our little cookie is one heck of a decorator!'
'Not to mention one hell of an organiser,' a voice said from the doorway. It was deep and smooth, but it was full of genuine praise. Both heads spun round to see Gunn standing there, holding a cardboard box in his arms. A figure peeped out shyly from behind him-Fred. A dainty, slim-built, doe- eyed Texan, whom the A.I team had rescued from Lorne's homeworld, not so long ago.
'Gunn! Fred! How are you?' the demon greeted warmly, sweeping the tiny girl into a tight embrace.
Angel looked behind them as if he were looking for someone. 'No sign of Wesley, then?' he inquired of the black man.
He shook his head, 'Nah, English ain't 'round- he's still shopping for Cordy.' He let his dark eyes survey the whole foyer, in search of the aforementioned brunette. 'Speaking of which, where she at?'
Lorne was quick to answer, 'She's upstairs sulking and-' his red eyes fell onto the box that Gunn was holding. They widened with delight and excitement. Half-dropping Fred, the demon released a girlish squeal before pushing Gunn into setting down the box. With a bemused look on her pretty face, Fred waved a shy hello at Angel: somehow, Lorne's behaviour had rendered her speechless.
With an equally bemused look, the vampire waved back, making the girl blush violently and hide her face with her hands.
'No, Lorne, 'Gunn chided, 'no peeping!' He was holding the box above his head, while Lorne darted about, trying to grab it.
'But I wanna see the costumes,' he whined, jumping up to reach it. Gunn simply just raised it higher, so that Lorne gave up. 'Fine!' he snorted, tone edged with contempt. The group looked on in amusement, as Lorne marched upstairs, probably to join Cordelia in 'huff-mode'.
'Well, this day keeps on getting better an' better,' Gunn noted sarcastically.
'Tell me about it,' Angel agreed wearily with a shake of his head.
Chapter 1
'Dear Buffy and co,
You are cordially invited to a big Halloween bash hosted by your friends at the Hyperion hotel on Friday the 30th October. Please arrive promptly at 7.00pm. Fancy dress is essential.
Yours,
The staff at A.I'
Buffy laid down the invitation on the table. Seated around the table where her friends who looked up expectantly at her. It was the Scooby gang's nightly meeting at the MagicBox, and the blonde felt it was an appropriate time to announce it to them.
Her face screwed up in confusion. 'Cordially?'
'It means politely,' Willow supplied helpfully. 'Probably Wesley's influence,' she added in amusement.
'So Deadboy's hosting a party, eh?' Xander asked sardonically. Buffy shot him a reproachful look.
'I'm not trying to burst your bubble, there, Buff,' he amended quickly, 'it's just that; given our experiences of creepy Halloween related incidents- I'm not sure I wanna go.'
'But it should be fun!' Tara piped up eagerly, 'dressing up is so cool! And I can meet Angel, too!' Buffy smiled gratefully at the Wicca's support.
'I've met him,' Anya chimed in. 'All broody and mysterious. Makes a girl wanna-' at that point Anya made a gesture which was so rude that the others groaned and rolled their eyes.
'Yeah!' Dawn agreed, completely oblivious to Anya's hand movements. The teenager had suddenly become excited at the thought of going to LA. Bright lights! Lots of people! Moreover, Angel! (Or Deadboy, as Xander had already mentioned. )
'Besides, ' Willow said in a bright tone. 'What's the worse that could happen?'
'You mean besides from tiny evil fear demons and some Dawn/vampire mouth- action?' Xander said bluntly.' I'm guessing..nothing.'
Buffy sighed heavily, raising her eyes to the high heavens. 'Please don't let anything bad happen,' she begged inside herself.
'What do you mean we've run out of orange streamers?' a shrill voice said ferociously.
'Cordy, honey, please calm down!' a green skinned demon with red horns said gently. 'We'll find more- I promise.' Lorne sighed: it was hard to sedate this fiery young woman.
Eyeing him beadily, the brunette growled and stormed off upstairs-probably to go and have a lie down.
From his comfortable spot in the corner, Angel smirked as he watched the whole situation. Sure, he felt pity for the berated demon, but all the same, he couldn't help but laugh at the whole incident. Feeling obliged to go over and talk to him, the vampire stood up and walked over towards him.
'You alright, Lorne?' he asked sympathetically.
'About as good as I'll ever be, Angel-cakes!' he answered quite cheerily. Angel cringed secretly when Lorne called him that name. It was the demon's pet name for him, and he had an immense dislike of it. Even so, he kept his cool as he normally did.
'Good,' he smiled.
He then took his time to sweep his eyes over the lobby, taking in all the décor. Orange and black streamers adorned the pillars; fake spiders dangled from the ceiling and wisps of fake spider webs hung in the corners. Overall, although it was not finished yet, Cordelia's effort had paid off. it looked amazing.
'Cordy's been working hard, hasn't she?' he continued admiringly.
'Like a beaver!' he gushed excitedly. 'I swear, our little cookie is one heck of a decorator!'
'Not to mention one hell of an organiser,' a voice said from the doorway. It was deep and smooth, but it was full of genuine praise. Both heads spun round to see Gunn standing there, holding a cardboard box in his arms. A figure peeped out shyly from behind him-Fred. A dainty, slim-built, doe- eyed Texan, whom the A.I team had rescued from Lorne's homeworld, not so long ago.
'Gunn! Fred! How are you?' the demon greeted warmly, sweeping the tiny girl into a tight embrace.
Angel looked behind them as if he were looking for someone. 'No sign of Wesley, then?' he inquired of the black man.
He shook his head, 'Nah, English ain't 'round- he's still shopping for Cordy.' He let his dark eyes survey the whole foyer, in search of the aforementioned brunette. 'Speaking of which, where she at?'
Lorne was quick to answer, 'She's upstairs sulking and-' his red eyes fell onto the box that Gunn was holding. They widened with delight and excitement. Half-dropping Fred, the demon released a girlish squeal before pushing Gunn into setting down the box. With a bemused look on her pretty face, Fred waved a shy hello at Angel: somehow, Lorne's behaviour had rendered her speechless.
With an equally bemused look, the vampire waved back, making the girl blush violently and hide her face with her hands.
'No, Lorne, 'Gunn chided, 'no peeping!' He was holding the box above his head, while Lorne darted about, trying to grab it.
'But I wanna see the costumes,' he whined, jumping up to reach it. Gunn simply just raised it higher, so that Lorne gave up. 'Fine!' he snorted, tone edged with contempt. The group looked on in amusement, as Lorne marched upstairs, probably to join Cordelia in 'huff-mode'.
'Well, this day keeps on getting better an' better,' Gunn noted sarcastically.
'Tell me about it,' Angel agreed wearily with a shake of his head.