A/N: You guys have been really cool with the reviewing and all. I so owe all of you major hugs. Now sit back and relax with this chapter. Enjoy!
CHAPTER 20
Fred and Angel sat across from each other in a booth in a soda shop. Angel played with the straw of his milkshake, watching in awe at Fred eating a hot fudged sundae that was even bigger than her. Fred was like no other girl Angel had ever met. She didn't care if she looked like a pig while she ate, which she did, a lot. She was also really fun to be around, even though she got hungry easily.
"What?" Fred asked, noticing Angel looking at her. "Oh." Fred wiped her chin off with a napkin. "Sorry. Sometimes I really go too far, but I was just so hungry. I hadn't even realized."
"I really don't know how you eat so much," said Angel. "I've only finished half this shake and I'm already getting tired of it."
"My father says when a girl eats enough she doesn't grow up to be a whore." Fred added when she saw the confused look on Angel's face, "Yeah, I don't get it, either." She gave him a light smile. "You should have had some ice cream. That shake can't fill you up."
"My mother made dinner," Angel shrugged. "I just wanted a better dessert. You should come over for dinner tomorrow night. I hope you like colcannon." It was Fred's turn to let off the confused expression. "It's an Irish thing."
Fred released a giggle. "I'm up for anything."
The bell above the ice cream shop suddenly went off as Spike and Dru entered, making their way to Angel and Fred's booth.
"What's going on?" Angel asked, seeing the distressed looks on his friends' faces.
"We got a thing," Spike explained simply.
Angel shook his head in puzzlement. "A thing?" Dru gave him a familiar look, making a memory spark inside of the older vampire teen. "Oh! That kind of a thing." Angel turned his attention to the thin girl on the other side of the booth. "Fred, something's come up. Can you get home OK?"
"Sure," Fred nodded, not bothering to prod her friend with information. "It's all right, Angel. Do you need any help?"
"No," Angel replied immediately. "We're fine."
Fred nodded again and watched as the three older teenagers exited the soda shop in an awful hurry.
Wesley, who still lay in bed by order of his mother, looked up to see Gunn come into his bedroom with a brown grocery bag. Gunn went to stand at the foot of his friend's bed and began taking items from the bag.
"All right, we got our Doritos, our little snack crackers with the peanut butter already in the middle, a pint of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce, of course, our strawberry soda with just a hint of orange, and Wesley's favorite, iced tea." Gunn placed everything he named on the foot of the bed.
Wesley smiled and sat up. "You really think we're going to eat all this tonight?"
"Shoot, we go try," said Gunn, taking a seat on the bed. "We gonna have you up and reading everything in sight before you know it."
"Gunn?"
"What's up?"
"Thanks," Wesley said. "You're a really good friend."
"Now tell me somethin' I don't know," Gunn smirked. Now turn on the radio or somethin', boy. This party's about to get juking."
Angel, Spike, and Dru walked around aimlessly through a cemetery. Each of them held a twig in hand, as none of them had a stake. Dru stood in the middle of the cemetery, her eyes shut, trying to focus, yet she could see nothing even attempting to enter her mind.
"Well, this was a ball of piss," said Spike. "Can we go now?"
"Dru, are you sure about this?" Angel asked.
"I saw it here." Dru opened her eyes and walked up to the boys. "Well, I didn't exactly see it. I sensed the cemetery and there was a girl."
"You called off a date for that?" Spike asked exasperatedly.
"You were the one thinking about Wesley while we were kissing." Dru thought for a moment. "Did that come out wrong?"
"Wait a minute, Dru," said Angel. "Maybe the girl you saw is around here somewhere."
Spike shrugged, "No any chit who lives near a cemetery?"
"Well, no one besides Fred," said Angel then realized it. "Wait. You don't think…?"
Dru and Spike exchanged a look; they more than thought about it.
Fred walked down the street, heading home, her hands stuffed firmly inside the pockets of her jacket. The slim framed girl couldn't wait to get home to eat some more dinner. A sundae just couldn't fill a girl up.
"Hey." Fred gasped and looked back to see a boy, only about a couple years older than her. "It's OK, relax. I saw you back at the ice cream shop with that guy. Don't tell me he's your boyfriend. He's like twenty."
Fred sighed with a smile. "No, he's just my friend." She looked at him closely. "I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. Who are you?"
The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, you know." Suddenly his face mutated into that of a vampire's. "Just your worse nightmare and all."
Fred released an echoing shriek and turned to speed down the opposite direction. The vampire boy just shook his head in amusement and chased after her. Fred glanced behind her to see that the vampire was having no time catching up to her. Fred, panicking, screamed out for help as loud as she could.
"Fred!" Angel's voice suddenly sounded.
The aforementioned freshman looked back to see the vampire get tackled by Angel. Spike and Dru joined the scene next. While Spike immediately went to help Angel with the vamp, Dru went up to Fred to ask if she was OK.
Fred nodded her reply. "Angel and Spike. Shouldn't we help them?"
"I don't think they need it, luv," Dru replied.
Angel made the vampire he fought stand up and tossed him towards Spike, who staked him with the twig he held. The vampire screamed out in pure agony before dissolving into dust. Fred watched the sight in amazement. Had that boy actually turned to dirt?
"Angel, Spike, are you OK?" Fred asked, going to touch Angel's shoulder.
Angel whisked his head around to look at Fred. "Yeah, I'm fine," he told her.
"Angel, what was that?" Fred asked as Dru went to stand next to her. "And, Spike, what did you just do to that guy with that stick?"
Angel glanced at Spike and Dru. Now what were they supposed to do, just make up some type of corny story? Not knowing any other alternative, Angel stepped up to Fred and looked her over. This wouldn't be easy.
"Fred," Angel started. "I- we are vampires."
Fred's eyes grew two sizes with disbelief. "What?"
A/N: We must all band together to save our beloved Angel, no matter what! Sign every petition to keep our boy on the air. In the meantime, though, please review!