GOOD INTENTIONS
Author: Ash
E-Mail: aka_jay66@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, no matter how much I might want to,
and someday I'll learn to accept that.
Feedback: Would be appreciated.
Summary: Set in the time when Angelus roamed free and Willow still babbled.
When Willow tries to help Buffy feel safe, she has the best of intentions. That
should have been a warning sign right there.
Author Note: A little extra bonus this time, kind of like a late Christmas
present, but not really. *g* A drawing I did, inspired by this story, based
on photos of Willow and Angel(us)
There's a black and white version, done in pencil, and the same drawing colored
in with colored pencil. They're both at my site here:
http://xanadu-dreams.com/drawings.htm
They're at the bottom of the page, since they're my newest ones. You know, I
can't believe I haven't drawn Willow or Angelus before. I feel so ashamed. I
hope you guys like them, I had a lot of fun making them. It's an entertaining
new hobby. :)
Part Three
Willow's heart was racing as she fled towards her house. Her feet were on the
sidewalk, but her mind was still back in the cemetery with Buffy and Angelus.
He didn't seem repulsed, she thought sadly. Back to square one for me
She was glad now that she hadn't told Buffy about the spell. It would have broken
her heart.. At least this way Willow got another chance. She'd get the spell
right this time. Or the next time. Or as many times as it takes.
Her house came into view and Willow put on a final quick burst of speed that
ended when she arrived, breathless, on the porch. Fumbling her keys out of her
pocket, she leaned against the front door as she tried to sort out her house
key from the rest of the bunch. Library key, unknown key, hard drive key, key
to the music box Xander had given her when they were five, *another* unknown
key
"Here, let me help you with those." The silky voice came from directly
behind her and her keys were gently tugged out of her hands. Willow stood immobile,
staring at her empty hands. Please be Xander, she thought.
She turned after waiting for what felt like an eternity and found herself looking
at a broad expanse of black satin. Not Xander. Raising her eyes, she met Angelus'
gaze, his eyes very dark in the half-light.
"Th..thanks." Willow said jerkily, looking away from his eyes to stare
at the keys Angelus held in his hands. His large, strong, deadly hands, she
thought with a flutter of panic. Where was Buffy? "I'm okay." She
said hopefully. "Really. I can find the right one myself."
Angelus raised an eyebrow and said, "Really?" Turning away from her,
he threw the keys into the bushes beside the house. When he turned back, Willow
was halfway to the edge of the porch.
Willow squeaked as his cold hand closed around her wrist and brought her to
a sudden halt. With a frightening lack of effort, Angelus dragged her back until
she was once again standing staring at his chest. Well, Willow thought, that
didn't work - back to basics. She opened her mouth to scream.
Angelus clamped his free hand over her mouth and leaned in very close to her.
"You can scream if you want to," he whispered against her cheek. "I
don't mind at all. I'll enjoy hearing you scream, Willow. But..."
But? Willow thought.
Angelus slowly released his hold on her mouth, his hand never losing contact
with her skin as it slid down to grasp her chin. He forced her head up until
his dark eyes met her frightened ones.
"Other people might hear you scream and come to interrupt the pleasant
conversation we're having." He continued, his eyes searching hers. "I'd
have to kill them, of course. I hate pushy people, don't you?"
After a long moment he said, "Well? Aren't you going to scream?"
Willow swallowed hard and shook her head.
Angelus smiled and released her chin. "I knew you were a sensible girl,"
he said. "Now, I have a few questions to ask you and since the Slayer will
be here any minute, you have three choices. One, you can invite me in."
Willow's eyes widened and she shook her head again emphatically, still trying
not to make any noise.
"Two," Angelus continued in a calm tone. "You can come home with
me."
Yipe! Willow thought, more vampires! No on a grand scale. No cubed. She shook
her head again.
Angelus sighed. " Maybe later. I suppose that leaves choice number three,
then. We adjourn to your balcony."
That was definitely the lesser of the three evils. Wait, Willow thought. Later?
Willow nodded reluctantly, and then realized something. "Um, could I go
in through the house and meet you on the balcony in about five minutes? I'm
not very good at climbing."
Angelus just looked at her. "I don't think so." He said finally. "Either
you're trying a not-too-clever trick to get away or... you'd actually meet me.
It would be interesting to find out which, but not quite interesting enough
for me to let you out of my sight."
Willow frowned. "I'm really, really not good at climbing. I'm mind-bogglingly
bad at it, actually. The last time I tried to climb up the trellis I fell. Twice!
Three times if you count the part where I fell off the porch!"
If I have to climb up there, Willow thought, I'll probably fall on my head and
die and if I don't, he's definitely going to kill me. There's no good here!
Angelus smiled in a wholly unreassuring way. "Not a problem."
Before Willow knew what was happening, he had scooped her up with one arm and
was holding her tightly against his chest. Willow had the sudden thought that
maybe it would have been better to climb on her own and fall and die, but by
then they were already halfway up the trellis.
Willow looked down at the ground as it moved away from her in little jumps.
I could still jump, she thought. As if in response to her thoughts, Angelus'
arm tightened around her painfully, making her fight for breath. Or not, Willow
thought. Ow.
Then they were on the balcony. Angelus was still holding her. Not quite tightly
enough to interfere with her breathing now, but definitely tightly enough to
keep her from wriggling out of his grasp. Willow kicked her feet experimentally,
hoping to connect with solid ground, or possibly Angelus' shin. No such luck.
Willow pushed against Angelus' arm in a vain attempt to pry herself free. It
was like pushing against a stone wall.
"You can put me down now." Willow said, twisting in his grasp to try
and look up at his face and finding that she could only manage it by leaning
her head against his shoulder and then tilting her face up. It hurt her neck,
but at least she could see him.
She noticed that his eyes seemed slightly unfocused. He looks like Xander when
he's around Buffy, she thought. Or like Buffy when she was around shoes
"Angel?" Willow asked tentatively.
Angelus seemed to snap out of it. "No," he said in a harsh voice.
"My name is Angelus."
"Um, sure. Angelus. Could you put me down now?" Pretty please? She
smiled tremulously up at him.
Placated, Angelus smiled and lowered her to the ground, sliding her slowly against
the length of his body in the presence. Willow shivered at the feel of the satin
against her skin. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she cast a hopeful look
over at the balcony door. Maybe she could make a run for it.
Catching her glance, Angelus instantly moved to put himself between her and
the door, trapping her between him and the balcony rail with only a few inches
of space separating them. He shook his head, a smile playing around the corners
of his mouth.
"Naughty Willow." Angelus said. "Don't even think about leaving
yet."
********
Angelus could hear the blood rushing through Willow's body, every beat of her
heart calling to him, taunting him. Tempting him. The smell of blood hung thick
as fog in the air, and in his mind. Suddenly, the question of why Willow was
suddenly so attractive was not nearly as important as the question of what he
was going to do about it.
He took a step towards her and put his hands on her shoulders. That felt right,
getting closer to her. Closer to the blood. He realized that he was stroking
her arms gently, up and down, up and down. He could feel her trembling under
his palms and that felt right too. Was it fear or excitement that made her tremble?
Did he care? He decided that he didn't.
"I..I...You" Willow said, the broken sentence catching
his attention. He could almost hear her thoughts racing. No doubt she was trying
to think of something, anything she could say that would make him go away.
"I have homework due tomorrow!" She finally managed to say.
What? Angelus thought.
Willow's body stiffened and the fear seemed to melt from her. Her eyes widened,
possibly focusing on a failing grade in the middle distance, and she pushed
blindly past Angelus, heading for the door.
Surprise slowed his reaction and Willow's hand was already on the handle by
the time Angelus reached her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and jerked her
back around to face him.
"You didn't really think that I'd let you go, did you?" Angelus said
in a low and dangerous tone. He pushed the collar of her shirt aside to expose
her neck and started to lean in-
"Calculus." Willow said absentmindedly. "I...have to do Calculus."
Angelus pulled back and looked into Willow's eyes. They were still unfocused.
He snapped his fingers in front of her. Nothing.
"Willow?" Angelus said. She'd stopped trembling, he noticed. He didn't
like that. In an attempt to shock her out of her homework-induced catatonia,
he tilted her head to the side and began placing soft kisses along her neck.
The scent of her blood rose strongly from the pulse beating in her neck, making
his head swim.
"Willow?" He said, and kissed the point of her jaw. "Wake..."
His mouth traced a path along her jawbone. "Up!" Losing patience,
he nipped sharply at her neck and broke the skin. A few drops of blood trickled
from the bite and he greedily licked them away.
The taste of the blood washed over him like a black tide and Angelus was lost.
The sweetness of it, the heat of it, the *depth* was unbelievable, unbearable.
It snapped his control like a twig.
He was in game face now with no memory of shifting.. He bit down in earnest
this time, blood rushing into his mouth like liquid life; hot and right and
everything that he wanted. It was too good, he had to stop, he was losing control.
He couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop.
In one dim corner of his mind, he realized that Willow had finally returned
to reality and was struggling in his arms. Wonderful, he thought hazily. He
readjusted their positions, pushing her back until she was pressed hard against
the balcony door, trapped under the weight of his body. He braced his hands
on either side of her head and held her steady while he continued his assault.
*****
I'm going to die, Willow thought calmly. It all seemed so clear now. All the
years she'd spent on the Hellmouth, all the times since Buffy'd arrived when
Willow had been miraculously saved from the brink of death, this was why. This
was what she'd been saved for. She could feel her life slipping away - no, being
ripped away, torn away from her in blood and pain and confusion and pain and
pain and pain.
I'm going to be killed for no apparent reason by my best friend's ex-love interest
on my own balcony, Willow thought dreamily. I should have known.
In what she muzzily realized was in the best tradition of pre-death moments,
Willow found herself consumed with regret. She was never going to get to tell
Oz how she felt about him. She was never going to get to tell Xander how she
felt about *him*. She was never -
Her mental litany of might-have-beens was abruptly cut off as a remnant of reason
pointed out that something was digging into her back. What was it?
The door handle!
Willow's heart leapt. Trying desperately to be surreptitious, she moved her
hand slowly away from where it had been crushed against Angelus' shoulder. When
he didn't notice that first movement she reached behind her and wriggled her
hand into the tiny gap between her back and the door.
Her fingers touched cold metal. Stretching out her fingertips, she pressed against
the handle, sickeningly aware that it was much harder to move than it should
be. The handle didn't move. She let out a long shuddering breath that turned
into a gasp as Angelus did something -bit harder, angled in, went deeper, twisted
- that sent a white-hot shock of pain through her.
Willow tried again, this time trying to force the weight of her body against
the handle as well. When it turned a tiny bit, she swallowed a spurt of hysterical
laughter. It was working, she thought. Yes! Oh, but the dizziness was getting
stronger, she thought. It was getting harder to see and harder to feel the metal
under her hand.
She put all her strength into her fingertips and pushed.
The handle turned, and several things happened very quickly. The door flew open,
propelled by Angelus' weight, and Willow fell inside the invisible boundary.
Sprawled on the floor, Willow looked up at the furiously angry vampire trapped
outside the threshold. Demonic ridges still creased Angelus' skin and there
was red around his mouth. My blood, she thought. Creepy. She shuddered and wrapped
her arms around herself, hugging herself tightly as she tried to convince the
rest of her body that it was safe to move. Spots danced before her eyes. But
she was fine, she was sure of that. She was definitely fine.
"Willow!" Angelus said, his face like thunder. "Invite me in!"
Lifting her head slightly, Willow managed a weak, "No."
Willow thought that his eyes darkened with anger but it was hard to tell. The
world was darkening, like all the light bulbs in the room were dying at once.
Angelus had his hands against the barricade and she knew that he couldn't get
in but she couldn't seem to stop watching him.
Willow wasn't going to turn her back on him, that was for sure. Or her neck,
she thought, and giggled weakly. Not really funny, though.
"Let me in, Willow." Angelus growled. "Or... "
There was a pounding noise somewhere downstairs now and Willow could hear the
faint sound of Buffy's voice calling, "Willow? Are you okay? Let me in!"
Willow giggled again. That seemed to be the demand of the hour. She knew she
should go down and let Buffy in, but she felt so weak. She'd be all right if
she got a chance to sleep, if Buffy and Angelus would just stop *talking* to
her.
Angelus made a frustrated sound halfway between a growl and a roar. "I
don't know what you've done, Willow.." Angelus said in a low, dangerous
tone. "But if you undo it or tell anyone what's happened here, I'll destroy
everyone you've ever cared about. I'll torture Xander. I'll kill Buffy. Then
I'll torture Xander again." He smiled. "This time just for fun."
The threat penetrated Willow's pain-clouded mind and she managed to focus her
eyes again. She opened her mouth to say that she wouldn't tell, just don't hurt
Xander, please don't hurt anyone, not because of me, but found the words swallowed
up in an uncontrollable yawn.
The sound of splintering wood came from downstairs, loud in the silence, but
Angelus never took his eyes off Willow.
"Are you going to be good?" He asked.
Willow managed to nod, her eyes half-closed.
Angelus' smile widened. "Be seeing you. " He said, turning away and
disappearing into the shadows. The last thing Willow saw as she slipped into
unconsciousness was Buffy's face framed in the doorway, her mouth open in a
black O.
______
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