Chapter Two- Angel

Disclaimer: The song is by Garbage. It's called "#1 Crush" I don't own it, I didn't write it and I'm sure as heck not gonna sing it.

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I stand on the catwalk at the Bronze, looking down on the throngs of teenagers. I watch her. I always watch her. She is dancing with her friends and she's smiling. They don't see the cracks in her smile, but I do. Maybe it's because I've lived so long and they are so young, or maybe it's because she's my soul's mate.

I don't recognize the band playing, but then my music tastes lean more towards Mozart and Bach. The band takes a short break. She and her friends sit down at a table near the edge of the dance floor. She gets a puzzled look on her face and starts looking around the room. I know she's felt me. She finally looks up and her eyes meet mine. She lights up. I could love her for that reason alone. When she looks at me she glows and I see a reflection of myself, how she sees me, in her. I walk down the steps to meet her.

We don't need words. We step into each other's arms. I am complete and I wonder how I live without this every day. The band takes up their instruments again and she pulls me onto the dance floor.

I would die for you
I would die for you
I've been dying just to feel you by my side

I will cry for you
I will cry for you
I will wash away your pain with all your tears
And drown your fear

I will pray for you
I will pray for you
I will sell my soul for something pure and true
Someone like you

See your face every place that I walk in
Hear your voice every time that I'm talking
You will believe in me
And I will never be ignored.

I remember a night she danced with Xander like this, to make me jealous, and it had worked, very well. It hadn't been hard though. I am jealous even now of the people who get to be in her life, by her side. I am jealous of Xander and Willow because they get to see her in the sunlight. I am jealous of Giles because he has a reason to see her everyday. I am jealous of every single human in this city, because she is there with them and not with me. Most of all I am jealous of GI Joe, who is noticeably absent tonight, because he gets to touch her. He gets to kiss her and he gets to make love to her, all without worrying about losing his soul and destroying the world.
She wraps her little hands around my neck and grinds her hips against mine. Her lips find the hollow in my throat and I groan involuntarily.

I will burn for you
Feel pain for you
I will twist the knife and bleed my aching heart
And tear it apart

I will lie for you
Beg and steal for you
I will crawl on hands and knees until you see
You're just like me

She smiles at me and I open my mouth to tell her to stop. She places a finger over my mouth and shakes her head. She continues to rub against me, running her hands all over my body, like liquid fire. I never even feel him sneak up on me. He takes control and I watch helplessly as he rips her throat out, drinking down her blood.

I would die for you
I would kill for you
I would steal for you
I'd do time for you

I will wait for you
I'd make room for you
I'd steal ships for you
Just to be close to you

To be part of you
'Cause I believe in you
I believe in you
I would die for you

As the song ends, he lets her body fall to the floor. I cry out in protest but he squelches my cries. He walks out of the Bronze, but no one notices the small, blond, dead slayer on the dance floor.

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I awake with her name, a strangled scream, in my throat. I am in my room in the Hyperion. The heavy drapes block out the sunlight. Everything is very quiet. Cordelia and the others must be out. I pick up the phone and dial the number I have memorized. She answers.

"Hello?"

I just listen, unable to hang to up.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

I want to say something, but there is nothing left to say, nothing she doesn't know. I would only hurt her again.

"Angel?"

I hang up.

TBC