Slowly closing the book, Giles looked up at Angel who indeed was a vampire with a soul and didn't prove to be dangerous. For the moment.

His other hand lowered ever so cautiously, letting the crossbow point down at an angle to the ground so that Angel knew he was alright to move freely.

The library was eerily quiet for what seemed like twenty minutes when Giles had searched through the Watcher's Diaries, looking for the proof that Angel had earlier stated was in there. Yet even after he concluded Angel's temporary trustworthiness the tension somehow remained as Cordelia neared Angel, ever so cautiously.

"Do you really want to help me?" Cordelia asked Angel, eyeing him so hard that even the most confident of beings would have to take a moment to collect themselves. "Or is this some trick?

Angel sighed, replying sincerely. He actually managed to not blink once as he spoke. "I wanna help."

Cordelia nodded slowly, taking in what he said and letting it settle in before she spoke out loud of her agreement. "It takes time to earn it, a lot of time. Are you up to it?"

"Yeah..." Angel nodded, a grin playing at his pale lips. "I'm up to it."

Approaching The Master with a confident saunter, Darla moved across the cave-like room with confidence that was always evident in her strides.

Licking her lips to get every last drop of blood, she let out a soft little moan at the wrestling she'd just shared with some poor victims she'd picked up the night before, and the sweet taste of their blood...it was all a pleasurable, vivid memory that both her demon and human side cherished.

Leaning against the throne-like chair, Darla casually looked at her nails, desiring to find some blood underneath them in hopes to satisfy her hunger. "An old friend has come to town," she informed The Master, her voice low and provocative.

Nodding and licking the tips of his teeth absently, The Master let out a disgusted grunt. "Yes, no matter how far underground I am and no matter the large amount of vermin surrounding me I can never miss the stench from that rat Angelus..."

"He doesn't refer to himself by that name anymore," Darla reminded her superior distastefully. "He goes by the name 'Angel'. An ironic fit for his new way of living. With that foul soul of his, he's no longer the torturous, dark vampire he once was."

Clearing his throat, The Master shifted in his seat, crossing his legs and placing his chin in his hand. "For now, Angel is of no concern to us. We will focus on the matter at hand, the fresh Slayer."

Darla put her hand on her paternal master's shoulder, dropping her voice to a low tone so that the other vampires in the room couldn't hear her, "That's the problem."

The Master's ears perked up and any remnants of eyebrows on his face rose to new heights. He grunted, nodding his head for his precious Darla to continue.

"One of the spies, picking up a new recruit, saw Angel and the Slayer speaking with one another," Darla explained, popping her knuckles before The Master brought his calloused hands to hers, stopping her bad habit.

"And by the looks of it, she wasn't planning on staking him. Not yet anyways. And any Slayer, any female, that doesn't stake Angel on the spot is bound to be enraptured by his charms."

Furrowing his brow, The Master pursed his thing, red lips in thought. "Intriguing. Find out more. No immediate action, just some surveillance to get the information we need. That Slayer is to be unharmed; when I feed on her I'd like her fresh and alive."

The cool night air lapped against Cordelia's perfectly tan, soft skin and through her long brown tresses, having them flow naturally to a gentle extent. Her hands in her pockets, she played with some lint in the pockets as she repeatedly glanced to Angel, walking beside her as they moved down the quiet road that lead to her house.

"You didn't have to walk me," she said to him, breaking the silence.

They spoke a little after they left the library, mostly about Giles' over protectiveness of her and being a little apprehensive about allowing Cordelia to walk alone with Angel. But after they got over being sarcastic and making some quick remarks, it had been unbearably quiet.

Cordelia Chase wasn't one to be quiet for long periods of time, and it became clear to Angel when he saw her desperately trying to find something to say for the past few minutes.

The ensouled vampire just shrugged, "You should stop being so stubborn and just accept a polite offer."

Shaking her head, Cordelia absently looked up at the glowing moon that illuminated the environment around her before speaking. "Look, I'm a big girl and I can walk myself home."

Angel just looked at her for a moment, trying to figure her out, but there always seemed to be something more to look at, to think about when it came to Cordelia. "No matter how grown-up you want to act, you're still a teenager."

Cordelia looked at him with slight disbelief, but Angel didn't give her the chance to make a remark, explaining further what he meant. "I admire you for trying to act all mature. But we both know deep down that at the end of the day all you want to do is think about boys and shop. Or whatever kids these days do."

"Kid's these days? Who do you think you are? I'd rather be young and fit then old and bitter." Cordelia exhaled, proud of her ability to keep Angel's mouth shut.

But when they walked closer towards her house, he finally spoke when he stopped walking. "Don't wanna get you in any kind of trouble. Can you handle getting there?"

"I sure can," Cordelia responded, amused when she noticed that it was about five feet to her front door. She stopped after walking up to it to turn to face Angel. She offered a small wave before moving to open the door.

Angel started to walk away, moving down the sidewalk, but he heard a soft rustling and felt a subtle quicken of Cordelia's already familiar heartbeat.

Glancing over his shoulder he discovered Cordelia was hiding her bag with her supplies in it deep within the bushes surrounding the front of her house.

Holding back a grin, he remained watching her as she wiped off some of the dirt she got on her pants from kneeling on the ground and turned to walk inside.

Angel shook his head as he scratched the back of it. His thoughts remained on Cordelia the entire time he took walking home.

Walking through the door and closing it all in one quiet and graceful movement was an accomplishment for Cordelia yet at the same time she was thankful for doing it, otherwise she might've woken up her father, who was asleep in his chair.

As she neared though, she realized he was more passed out then asleep and his breath reeked of alcohol, something that was a little more than disconcerting. Ever since moving to Sunnydale he'd been drinking excessively and it was a wonder that he was able to go to work every day and not ruin his business. It was also a wonder that he still had custody over her.

Cordelia loved her father but she was afraid of him at the same time. Afraid of the mistakes he might make. Something'll happen sooner or later and whether it'll be bad or a shitload of bad determines where Cordelia will end up next year for school. If Cordelia's mother caught wind of his drinking problem she would gain full-custody of her easily. Not that it was a bad thing.

Pressing a soft kiss on her father's forehead, Cordelia took the bottle his hand was barely grasping and placed it in the cabinet in the kitchen before heading up to bed.

He needs to stop. Or get help. Or...something.

The next day at school Cordelia was far from awake. Bags underneath her eyes were covered up by pounds and pounds of cover-up and her sluggish movements were hardly noticeable as she tried to act as casual as possible. Seeing Willow and Xander standing near a row of lockers, Cordelia took her chances and walked up to them, an apologetic expression on her youthful, pretty features. "Hey, guys. Sorry about last night."

"It's all right," Willow said to Cordelia, her voice surprisingly warm and welcoming.

But Cordelia didn't miss a beat, her worry about ditching her friends and pissing them off getting the better of her. "I got caught up, I would have called but my dad kinda got mad about me getting home late...again."

"I understand," Xander nodded, offering her his lopsided grin to assure her his forgiveness was sincere.

"I had to talk to Giles, and he tends to babble on a bit when it comes to sayin' the details," Cordelia explained, following Xander and Willow as they started to walk down the hallway aimlessly. While walking, she twirled a stray piece of hair absently, for a split second recalling the feeling in the pit of her stomach she experienced when encountering Angel. She couldn't quite recall what feeling it exactly was, though, and it pissed her off to even remember herself being so emotionally vulnerable when it came to a vampire.

No matter how much of soul he had or how cute he was, Cordelia wasn't prepared to let herself completely trust him.

"The librarian?" Willow asked, surprised. "He's nice but he never really spoke to the students. Unless they had a fine or something."

Cordelia just smiled, "Giles is cool. Pretty interesting. All he has to do is lose the tweed outfits, makes him seem older than my grandpa."

Xander nodded, not really taking the man into consideration as something else crossed his mind. "Anybody seen Jesse?"

"No," Willow replied, obviously just remembering that she, too, hadn't seen him yet that day. "Last time I saw him was when he left last night after getting turned down by Buffy. Again."

Cordelia groaned. "What does he even see in her?"

Willow and Xander were both speechless for answers, not really having put too much thought into it before.

"She's obviously just a cold-hearted bit-" Cordelia couldn't finish though, for a hand grabbed her and yanked her into a room, the library to be more specific.

Pushing the man who grabbed her away violently, Cordelia formed her hand into a fist and moved to pound on him for grabbing her so aggressively. But she realized it was Giles and her incredulity heightened. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

A moment later, both Xander and Willow poked their heads into the room, looking quite confused.

"Is everything all right?" Xander asked, looking from Cordelia to Giles as if he were watching a tennis match.

Giles, trying to act nonchalant, tried to shoo them away. "I may have had too much coffee but I need to speak with Cordelia alone, please."

"When you say that you really do ruin a good stereotype," Xander pointed out.

Cordelia, seeing that Giles was having some sort of panic attack, turned to Xander and Willow, lowering her voice. "I do need to speak with him. I'll see you at lunch."

Uneager, Willow and Xander both closed the door and left, leaving Cordelia to turn to Giles and look at him like he was crazy. "What's so important that you went all batshit?"

"After you and Angel left last night, as I was getting ready to leave, I remembered something that Angel had said to me and it caught my attention..." Giles explained softly, not even bothering to reprimand Cordelia for her use of language.

Cordelia looked at him with narrowed eyes, holding back a smile. "You stayed up all night researching, didn't you?"

Giles nodded, "Yes. Yes I did."

"Again, the vibe thing. You seem like a big bookworm, what with the glasses and the proper word-usage."

Giles ignored her comment and proclaimed in a loud voice, "The Master is what most vampires refer to as the ultimate vampire. Most likely the oldest vampire that still lives and possibly just as powerful too."

"Is he unbeatable or what?" Cordelia asked, placing her hands on her hips and acquiring a serious attitude as the conversation took a more dire turn.

Giles tried to hem and haw for a moment but Cordelia cocked her head at him, daring him to avoid it. "No known vampire has been able to beat him."

"Have any Slayers tried to kill him?"

"No," Giles said almost immediately. "Only few Slayers have been able to hone their powers to the extent that they were able to fight The Master. But by that time The Master had ceased using public streets as a mean for travel so she couldn't find him."

Cordelia nodded, "He's underground then?"

Giles nodded along with her, "He might even be here in Sunnydale."

Taking a step back at that, Cordelia held her hands up in a slightly defensive manner. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"You're going to have to handle The Master. Whether now or later, it'll happen." Giles explained.

Cordelia shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest and muttering her disbelief for a few minutes until she finally asked a question. "Why is he in Sunnydale?"

"In a nutshell, Sunnydale a hotspot for supernatural activity," Giles removed his glasses, biting on the end of them.

"If that's the short version than I'd hate to hear the more complicated version," Cordelia laughed, but it was a strained laugh that got caught in her throat.

Giles agreed wholeheartedly, "I haven't had near enough coffee to be able to explain it to you in full."

Cordelia broke the seriousness by pointing at Giles in an accusing manner, "Ha! So you really do drink coffee!"

It was nighttime but Angel had never been so exhausted or hungry as he rolled out of his comfortable, king-size bed. Stumbling through the dark as he rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up enough so that he wouldn't dribble blood down his front like he had done the night before and the night before that.

Walking into his kitchen, Angel focused his eyes enough so that he could grab onto t he handle of the refrigerator door and open it in one quick motion. Only to discover that the one packet of blood he had left was gone and a matter of seconds after that discover his whole body went rigid and the hairs on the back of his neck spiked up.

Turning around, he discovered much to his ultimate distaste that Darla was slowly sauntering towards him. Not only was her presence enough to righteously piss him off, but also the fact that she was holding onto his last packet of blood, teasing him purposely, was enough to have his game face form.

But he held back the urge to let his demon side resurface, tightening the reign he had on it as he firmed his jaw.

"If you want it, come and get it," she teased, running the packet of blood along her neckline, trying to tempt him.

Angel couldn't help but growl, "I'd rather not. I can last a few months if you won't simply hand it to me."

Purposely pouting, Darla leaned against the archway, not yet stepping foot inside the kitchen fully. "You used to love games."

"Get out," Angel said to her quickly and not without menace creeping into his tone. "I'm different now and you were the first to find out, the first to banish me. What was it you called me? Oh yeah, 'filthy'."

Darla didn't argue, still pouting to try and get his attention, to try and tempt him to come closer...

"It's ironic that you, a vampire who takes pleasure in killing and torturing innocents, would call me filthy," Angel said to her in a low rumble.

"You could easily come back into the fold, come back to me," Darla said to him, taking a few small steps and getting closer and closer till they were only a breath apart. "All you have to do is proclaim yourself as Angelus once again."

Firming his jaw to keep from snapping Darla's neck right then and there, Angel spoke to her through gritted teeth. "No."

His refusal wasn't a surprise but Darla couldn't help but use all her options. She had to try. "I'll do anything, I'll even..."

She leaned in and whispered something into his ear, a sly smirk on her soft, eternally young features.

Shaking his head, Angel just looked at her with a smoldering gaze. "I'm starting to feel sorry for you. You're so damn desperate to get me back that you've sunk as low as groveling."

Offended, Darla took a step back, placing her hands on her hips and looking at him as if he had said something far worse. "Are you actually going to choose that dirty brunette over me?"

"If I were given a choice," Angel muttered, his voice low and baleful. "I'd choose a piece of trash over you. And if you even try to hurt Cordelia, I'll snap your neck."

Darla grinned as he said that, as if feeling accomplished at getting something out of him. "Out of all the things that have changed about you, the biggest difference is that now you give away your emotions too well. It'll come back to bite you in that delectable ass of yours someday. And I'll remember your protectiveness over the Slayer the next time I come to the surface."

Then she left without another word, taking his last packet of human blood with her.

As people bopped slightly to the soft music, mingling with others and drinking various drinks, Cordelia, Willow and Xander sat a table in the Bronze, looking for something interesting to happen.

"Where's Jesse? I'm getting kinda worried," Willow said out loud to Xander, brushing a stray piece of her hair behind her ears and adjusting her striped sweater as she realized too late that it was quite hot in the room. "I called his house and no one's answering."

"If he isn't home, no one's going to answer," Xander reminded her. "His parents are out of town again."

A moment passed and when Xander realized that it'd be a while before Cordelia, who was obviously looking for something, would turn to face them instead of having her back to them just like she had since they got there.

"Why are we here again?" Xander whispered to Willow, but Cordelia surprisingly heard every word.

Throwing a glance back at Xander, Cordelia explained as casually as possible. "I messed up last night and wanted to make it up to you guys tonight."

While that was the truth in part, Cordelia was there for one more reason other than to hang out with her new friends. She'd been distracted by Angel the night before and didn't have the chance to have some fun and stake some vampires, saving lives and getting the addictive rush at the same time.

Xander shrugged, "If you wanted to hang out, we could have gone to a movie or gotten ice cream."

Suddenly, her senses announcing to her that a vampire was entering the room, Cordelia stood up, her eyes darting around the room in search of a target.

But at the sight of Angel, her nerves calmed down. Approaching him, she offered a small smile.

Xander watched her walk over to Angel, more than curious as to whom the mystery man was. "Do you know who that is?"

"No," Willow said, but tilted her head at the sight of him. "But he's kinda cute."

"What're you doing here?" Cordelia asked Angel as nicely as she could, her curiosity getting the better of her. No matter how glad she was that he was there with her, which was surprising enough, she couldn't help but figure that there was some reason why.

Angel blended in quite well as he stood, his shoulder pressed against a column holding up the balcony and shadowing him and Cordelia. His black, long-sleeved sweater tight-fitting around his shoulders and emphasizing his toned biceps and chest.

"I had a hunch," Angel cryptically said, arching his head down so that he was level with Cordelia, who he'd just noticed was shorter without the heels on. "I just wanted to see if you were all right."

"Thanks," Cordelia said to him with a polite smile, but couldn't fight the urge to remind him. "I can take care of myself. If you want to be of any help then go out and patrol. I got this place covered."

Angel just dismissed her stubbornness for the moment, "How'd you know I was here? The minute I walked in you turned to me."

Cordelia pursed her lips, trying to find the right way to explain it. "I get these weird tingly feelings whenever a vamp is around. Kind of like a spidey-sense."

Angel furrowed his brow at her reference, looking predictably confused.

Trying to elaborate, Cordelia looked at him with an amused expression. "You know, like Spider-man."

Xander, trying desperately to read their lips to see what they were talking about, perked up when he deciphered Cordelia's sentence. "I think she just said Spider-man..."

Sitting down on his stool, Xander, in a half-joking half-serious tone, said out loud to himself more than to Willow: "I'm in love."

But Willow didn't catch the half-joking part of his words as she slumped onto the table in disappointment. A moment passed and her eyes caught on to a familiar face over by Buffy's table. "Hey, it's Jesse."

"Well, that's good. But I'm sure he'll be leaving soon, right after the daily rejection from Buffy."

"Get lost," Buffy warned Jesse as her friends giggled, teasing her and Jesse so blatantly behind their hands. Whether she actually wanted him to leave or the influence of saving her reputation was in play, Buffy Summers was resolved to get Jesse to leave before he embarrassed both of them.

His blue eyes, normally impeccant, were brimful of mendaciousness and intrigue, underlined with a confidence that seemed so out of place for Jesse yet so fitting for his new persona. Cocking his head to the side, he smirked at Buffy. "Not a chance."

Before Buffy could come up with some sarcastic remark, though, his hand grasped onto hers firmly, yet not too tightly to injured her mortal hands. "Dance with me."

Incomprehensibly, Harmony tilted her head to the side, noting the deepness of Jesse's voice, something she hadn't detected before and obviously was intrigued by.

Buffy took notice of it and nodded slowly to Jesse, wondering to herself what the worst thing possible could be as a result of dancing once dance with him. He's suddenly got the balls, so I guess that deserves a dance...

Angel let out sigh, looking around as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "As a vampire, I sense em' too. And..." he paused, trying to choose his words right, to not jump ahead if his assumptions were wrong.

Taking notice of her vampire-friend looking around with a curious expression on his chiseled features, Cordelia snapped her finger to get his attention. "What is it?"

"I'm afraid that I'm not the only vamp in here," Angel said to her quietly, leaning in to whisper it in her ear, as his eyes never stopped moving around the room, searching for a fellow undead individual.

Nodding in agreement, Cordelia let her own eyes roam the Bronze, adjusting to the change of atmospheres from the bar area filled with neon lights to the stage where only subtle colors illuminated the area.

"I don't understand," she heard Angel's deep voice in her ear and turned to him, her voice barely six inches from his as his dark eyes seemingly drowned in hers.

Cordelia tried to ignore it, but for an instant that vanished faster than it had arrived she didn't feel lonely, different or pressured by the burden of being a Slayer. It was as if one small, undetermined glance from Angel, his dark eyes inundated with such profoundness, was enough to take it all away, to make her feel alive, important yet...simple.

As if they could go eat ice cream and enjoy a good movie with no worries, as if it were that simple.

Finally, a smirk passed across Angel's face as he finished. "Why you can't seem to find him faster..."

Hiding a blush, Cordelia elbowed him in his abdomen as she spun around. "Shut up, I already can't focus with all this music."

Angel simply snorted derisively, but mostly in friendly teasing.

Then it hit her, a change in the atmosphere, a remote pulse heightened just slightly, as a girl's would when she would encounter a cute guy and it hit Cordelia when her eyes locked on a pair moving through the crowd towards the door, the exit that would lead them to the dark, empty alleyway.

It was Buffy and Jesse.

Angel noticed Cordelia's subtle reaction immediately and looked to where she was gaping at, "You know one of them?"

Shaking her head, Cordelia responded with a slightly thwarted voice. "Unfortunately, I know both of them."

Jesse grunted as he pressed Buffy against the wall, his nose catching onto the scent that he as a vampire could only detect. Fear, confusion intermingling with her routine perfume...Buffy Summers was the smell of perfection.

Buffy struggled though, much to his distaste, with surprising strength considering she was always so afraid of breaking her nails. "Back off. You said we were going to talk..."

The way she had a catch in her throat encouraged Jesse's confidence that he was overwhelming her, something he couldn't have done before he had been turned.

Playfully tapping the tip of Buffy's nose, Jesse let out a long, cool breath along her neckline as he teased in a low, seductive tone. "You should've taken your parents advice..."

"What are you talking about? What advice?"

Jesse looked at her, his eyes brimming with gold as his vampiric features molded onto his face. "To never go out into dark, empty alleyways with dangerous boys. Especially when there's no one to save you."

With Angel following closely behind her, Cordelia shoved, elbowed and kicked her way through the crowded Bronze dance floor towards the exit she had seen Buffy stupidly go through with Jesse.

Unfortunately, Xander stepped in front of her, stopping her in her path. The look on his face was one of dumbfounded shock as he pointed to the exact same door Cordelia had been moving to. "Did you see what I saw?"

Cordelia, holding back an eye roll from impatience, crossing her arms over her chest and shifted her weight from one foot to the other, hoping her friend would get the subtle hint. "What did you see?"

"Buffy. Going out into an alleyway. A dark, empty alleyway. Alone. With Jesse," Xander explained, as if he still didn't believe it himself. Throwing his hands up into the air in exasperation, he continued. "Something's up."

"Stay inside," Cordelia ordered Xander with as soft of a voice as she could muster. "I need to handle this alone."

Xander shook his head before she even finished, "I've known Jesse longer and I can talk some sense into him. If he's going out there to force Buffy...or if he's going to get his heart broken again, then I'm going to be out there."

"What's going on, guys?" Willow asked, walking up to them with a slightly lost expression on her face.

"Nothing," Cordelia immediately lied, trying to keep her other newfound friend from becoming too curious, at least as curious as Xander was.

"Jesse's acting weird," Xander informed her, having no problem in bringing Willow into it, much to Cordelia's annoyance. "And we're going out there to see what's going on."

Firmly, Cordelia warned him once again. "I'm going out there, not you or Willow."

Unfazed, Xander turned to leave. "Stop being so stubborn."

Her frustration going past the limit, Cordelia grabbed Xander securely by the lapels of his button-up, navy blue shirt, slamming him against the wall. Yet when she spoke to him, her voice was a ghost of a whisper. "You don't want to see what's going to happen out there and I don't want you too either."

Trying to keep calm, Xander firmed his jaw to sound at least a little resolved. "I...Why...You speaking to me like that, all noble and stuff isn't making me want to go out there any less. And besides—Why does he get to go out there with you?"

Cordelia glanced back at Angel, "Because he knows how to handle this all just as much as I do."

Angel took a step forward, pulling a hand out of his pocket and raising it, trying to get their attention.

But Xander quickly cut him off, no giving the seemingly mysterious man a chance to have reason over him, "Shut up, this isn't a conversation you're apart of."

"You're right," Angel shook his head, stepping back. "I guess it's rude of me to be interrupting your conversation to say that you're redheaded friend already went outside."

With a swift kick of her leg, putting all her strength and weight into her right foot, Cordelia smashed open the door to the library, walking out with caution. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she instantly caught sight of Willow's red hair.

"What's going on, Jesse?" Willow asked, her voice so small that she came off helpless.

Seeing as to where her eyesight was focused to, Cordelia confirmed that Jesse, his face hidden in the shadows, was standing with one arm wrapped around Cordelia's waist, keeping her close to him and his other hand gripping her neck dangerously tight.

"Willow..." Cordelia said her name as softly as possible, hoping not to make any sudden movements to make Jesse try and hurt Buffy but also to not startle her friend. Cordelia placed her hand on Willow's shoulder and gently pulled back, hoping her friend would get the hint and back up. "Back up, alright? Let me handle this."

A deep laugh echoed along the alleyway and Jesse, shifting his weight slightly, revealed part of his smile, his pointed teeth barely visible but visible still. "You're the new Slayer in town, aren't ya? Because if you are, then I'm here to prove to everyone that Slayer's are for dusty old books geeky, bifocal-wearing English virgins who have no lives."

"Pretty accurate description, considering..." Cordelia pushed Willow back, stepping in front of her and making sure every single movement she took was as unnoticeable as she could manage.

Removing her jacket, Cordelia threw it over her shoulders into Angel's waiting hands, who never once broke his gaze on Jesse, his firm jaw and gritted teeth enough proof that he was fighting a million urges not to snap the monsters neck on the spot.

"You sure you don't want me to handle it?" Angel asked Cordelia as she continued to stand her ground between Willow and Jesse.

As if it were that simple, Cordelia just shook her head. Angel didn't miss a beat, though, taking a step closer to Cordelia, a step too far for the readied Slayer. "Don't take another step."

"You sure you wanna do this in front of his friends?"

Xander looked from Cordelia and Angel, far past lost. "What the hell are you guys even talking about?"

"Take em' back inside," Cordelia said, glancing back at Angel for a moment, her eyes locking with his. "It'll only take a minute."

Buffy, on the other hand, was far from calm as she struggled in Jesse's tightening, death-grip. Looking up at the monster that looked so much like the Jesse she grew up next door to when she was younger, she couldn't help but speak with an emotional voice. "What's going on, Jesse? Why are you doing this? I-If you're mad...I'm sorry."

"He's not the Jesse you guys know," Cordelia said, her eyes narrowing to slits when she looked at the vampire and the distance they had between them, trying to configure how long it would take to get from where she was and to where Buffy was being choked to death.

"He was fine a few days ago," Xander said frantically, grabbing Willow and pulling her farther away.

Angel sighed, "A lot can happen in a few days."

Jesse just laughed, not once loosening his grip on Buffy's neck. "I'm a little tight on the schedule front and I need to get this done before I get too bored."

Cordelia snorted, "Cause then it's no fun, right?"

"Buffy's fun no matter what," Jesse admitted, licking Buffy's ear and visibly taking pleasure in hearing her whimper. "This is far more personal than anything I'll ever do as a vampire."

Taking the only opportunity that she saw was coming, Cordelia put all her weight forward and jumped forward, lessening the gap between them in .5 seconds. Grabbing onto Jesse's right wrist and twisting it to a painful angle, Cordelia pointed to where Angel, Willow and Xander stood, the look in her eyes enough to tell Buffy to go to them.

Absently running into the hunkier man's arms, Buffy grabbed onto Angel like he was her lifeline. "What the hell is going on?"

"Shh..." Angel mumbled to her, not tearing his eyes away from Cordelia as she skillfully punched, kicked and confused Jesse into being cornered against a wall.

Spinning her right foot around, knocking Jesse further into the wall and yanking the stake from her belt, by the time Cordelia was back on her two feet, she had her stake ready and a moment passed before it plunged into Jesse's chest without hesitation.

Letting out a long breath of relief, Cordelia slipped the stake back onto her belt as she slowly turned to face her friends, and Buffy.

All three looked at her with the exact same gape mouthed expressions.

TBC...