Note: I'm posting Chapter One and Two. I hope that I'll get some comments before I post the rest of the chapters. I see this as about five chapters. I know that my demon is a little lame. I just didn't want him to be too big bad, just bad enough to cause a little chaos for the gang. Enjoy, and please review. I'll post the rest before Friday (vacation, Yeah!!). Thanks!!
Chapter Two – Making Lists
All avoidy was right, Gunn thought to himself. He was hanging out at the local coffee shop around the corner from the office. He'd heard Angel yelling at Wesley and Cordelia, which made him turn his butt back around and leave.
Man, the two of them sure could get into some arguments. Sometimes it made his head hurt. And neither one of them would give up until Angel yelled. Which made Gunn play hardly-ever-there guy over the last couple of weeks.
Yeah, when they called him, he'd come running. But then he'd retreat to his apartment or hang out with the guys from the neighborhood. Being around the three just put him in an awful mood. At least the punching and the beheading and the stabbing put him in a better mood. Until Cordelia made some snide comment, Wesley challenged her and Angel just walked away.
Damn, what a dysfunctional group they were. It was like they were all possessed or something. Or tired of each other already. He hadn't been around the three for that long. Maybe this was how they really were.
No, he thought as he sipped his coffee and finished his pie. Something told him that it had never been this bad. Occasionally he had even wanted to put his hand over Cordy's mouth, or had wanted to shake Wesley for being so, well, Wesley. He even had wanted to kick Angel's ass a few times too. Not that Angel wouldn't have kicked his back, but it's the thought that counts.
The four of them would have to come to some kind of understanding. No more bickering, no more sleeping for twenty hours a day, no more stupid name-calling. They each had to pull their own weight at the office, so they each could keep their comments and other things to themselves.
Gunn actually had a plan of action for this one. They'd talk, they'd strategize, and then they'd lay the groundrules of their working relationships. In theory, it was a great plan. Now if just each would agree to talk civilly, then problem solved.
Wesley, slammed his door, threw his coat on his couch, and stood there with his hands on his hips. Not only had Cordelia gotten into a fight with him, Angel had yelled at the two of them, then told them to go home. Like it was all his fault. Angel always took Cordelia's side.
As he paced back and forth, Wesley thought about all that had happened in the last couple of weeks. They all were under a lot of strain, what with Cordelia's visions, Gunn's addition to the group becoming final, moving into the hotel, and Angel's inability to stay awake for more than a couple of hours at a time.
"What to do, what to do. I've got it."
Wesley sat down on his couch, pulled a pad of paper and starting taking notes. He was good at making plans. The rest of the group looked to him to have a game plan whenever they had met a new challenge. This situation was no different.
He wrote on the paper, all the cons of the relationships between the four. One, Everyone is short with everyone else. Two, they depended upon each other in the extreme. Three, all of their personalities were as different as night and day. Four, they all had different sleep schedules. Five, they rarely were in the same place at the same time. Six, Cordelia spoke her mind about too many things. Seven, Gunn was never around. Eight, neither was Angel. Nine, he had resorted to calling Cordelia really repugnant, vile names when they both got riled up. Ten, No one talked to anyone else any more.
Whew, he thought. They were one messed up crew. That would be something Gunn would say. He wrote that on the paper too. Did they really know each other all that well? Did they have such diverse personalities that it would be virtually impossible to work together as a group?
Alright, pros then, he started to write on another sheet of paper. One, they did work well together, complimenting each other's skill sets. Two, they all had each other's backs. Three, they'd all been through much chaos together over the last year and survived it. Four, they did help the hopeless, or helpless, or whatever the variety of the week happened to be. Five, they were getting rid of some nasty demons and vampires almost on a daily basis because of Cordelia's visions. Six, Angel was the champion. Seven, Gunn really was a great guy. Eight, even though Cordelia got on his nerves sometimes, he really did enjoy being around her, always knowing where he stood with her. Nine, he actually had a job. Ten, they were almost like family to him.
He wondered if each of them felt this way about the others. The only way he'd find out would be to ask.
The Taraski demon named Masella sat in the basement of the Hyperion Hotel and laughed. He'd played with the four beings, three human and one souled vampire for the last two weeks with relish. The four had made his life so much less boring than when he was in Rialto, working his mojo on an extended family from Russia. All they did was curse and grumble.
But the four upstairs were ripe for his pickings. He drew energy from their fights, their tears, and their insecurities. Not like the demon who had resided before in the hotel. That one fed on the humans' fears. He just did it for the fun. If drawing more energy was an aftereffect, well the more the merrier. He really didn't care whether they were scared or not. He just wanted them to be in conflict.
His sister had called him on his fetish, oh, a hundred or so years ago. He didn't care that it was a fetish. He just loved seeing them go at each other's throats.
The female is what fascinated him the most. This Cordelia, as the males called her, was stunning for a human. But not the kind of female any one of them wanted as a mate. He could understand that. She was outspoken, unruly, hell on wheels.
But what if she was everything to everyone? What if she changed for each male to be the perfect female? Oh, wouldn't that cause each of the males to stake out his territory. So much conflict, so much chaos. It would be so much fun to watch. He'd feed on the energy, laugh at their attempts of being normal. The three would try to kill each other by the time the demon was done with them. Then maybe he'd introduce himself to the lovely Cordelia Chase. Who knows? Liking a seven foot tall, greenish, brownish, blob might not be too hard after the games he'll play with her.