Chapter 2
by Zzilly14
The next morning I woke up in my hotel room with a headache.
"I shouldn't have had that many drinks," I scolded myself.
After glancing at the clock which told me it was almost noon, I thought it'd be best to chill and watch some television. Three cheers for cable.
Unfortunately for me all the news channels were talking endlessly about Sunnydale and the explosion and how they weren't sure of the body count.
I was about to change to Animal Planet when Dawn lit up the screen.
"I thought we were going to die," she said. "But at the end of the day, we survived. I just wish I could say the same about some of my friends..."
I smiled softly at her. She had been through so much. Maybe she could have a normal life now.
My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Room service already?"
...
I stood outside room 314 the next morning. What the hell was I doing here? I barely knew Clem - and he was a demon for crying out loud - and here I was in front of his hotel room.
I made sure my hair was still neatly in a bun and confidently knocked on the door twice.
A couple moments passed and he opened the door, surprised and apparently very confused.
"You're not room service, are you?" he asked, staring at my black business dress.
"No, I'm not."
He stared into my eyes, trying to figure me out.
"Do I know you?"
"Not very well. We met last night..."
"Dominique?"
I beamed. "In the despicable human flesh, you could say."
"Wow... you're... wow! Now that I know it's you... wow! That's really cool! So, what are you doing here? How'd you find me?"
"That human bartender at Whedon's. I wanted to... see how you were."
The flabby demon scratched his right ear. "Oh. Well, could be better, although it's really good to see you. Um... wanna come in?"
I nodded and entered the room, hearing him close the door behind me. It was a small room - one bed, a television, a kitchenette... ugly flowered wallpaper, bland blue carpet. But he had managed to make it homey, with a picture on the TV of a black and white kitten sleeping.
"You like cats." I smiled. "Cute."
"They're delicious too." When he saw the shocked look on my face, he quickly stuttered, "But I haven't eaten one in... uh... two months!"
"I do not want to know." I glanced around the room. "So how long are you going to be living here?"
"I honestly have no idea. I want to see most of the Broadway shows first, but that could take weeks, months. And it takes money too, which unfortunately I don't have a lot of."
"Do... do you need a job?"
"If it pays me, I'd love one! Are you offering me a job? Because you can pay me as little as you want. Or as much." Surprisingly he got to his knees and pleaded me with his bright red eyes. "I'd be so grateful, Dominique."
"Get up, Clem. I'd be... honored to have you join my company."
"Really? That's great! Thank you, thank you!" He stood up and gave me a huge hug. I was frozen stiff in shock but managed to give him a few pats on his back.
"You're... welcome."
"So," he wondered after letting me go, "what will I be doing?"
...
The good news was I had a job. The bad news was that I was stuck in a cramped up dark office with no snack machine. It was terrible. I was a little mad at Dominique for the lack of food - but hey, the job paid very well, considering all I did was answer the phone.
I like talking to people, they're fun. It's just the people that called weren't very nice... I don't think they liked Dominique and her company too much.
Dominique came by a few times, smiling as I talked on the phone. She finally came in my third week to ask how the job was holding up.
"It's not too fun," I admitted, "but it makes me money. So I won't complain. Too much, anyway."She laughed. Not a big chuckle or anything, but just a nice cute giggle that reminded me of Dawn.
"Well, I wouldn't complain too much, or else you might get fired."
"You won't hear a peep out of me," I smiled.
Dominique winked as she placed a small silver key in front of me. "You get off at eight tonight, am I correct?"
"Yep."
She handed me a slip of paper. "Go there at midnight, and bring the key. You'll need it to get in."
"Get in where?"
"See you at midnight." She waved and saw herself out of the office. I wondered what I was getting myself into.
...
Having Clem working in my company was great. He didn't seem to mind taking all the complaints from dissatisfied customers. But at the same time, I felt like I was using him. It made me feel almost... guilty.
"He doesn't care, he's getting money for it," I tried to convince myself.
After sunset I glided over to Whedon's again.
"Liquor," I demanded.
The human bartender poured me a shot and set it in front of me. "Wanna talk?"
"Not to you. Anyway, I just need to loosen up a bit before midnight."
"What happens at midnight?"
"Nothing you need to know about," I replied.
He let it go and left me to my drink.
"Nosy humans," I muttered to myself.
...
At quarter to midnight I found the address Dominique had told me to meet me at. It was a large brick building that looked very abandoned.
"I'm getting a bad feeling..." I spoke aloud as I walked to the front door. As I expected, the key fit neatly into the keyhole and unlocked the door without a hitch.
Taking a deep breath I entered. The place was very dark. And really spooky. And quiet.
"I'm a demon," I attempted to say with confidence, but came out a little shaky. "I'm scarier than anything in here."
"You really think so?" I heard Dominique say in a creepy voice.
"Where are you? Can you turn on the lights or something?"
"Are you sure you want them on?"
"Please, Dominique! Turn on the lights! This is starting to freak me out!"
"As you wish," she stated. Suddenly the room was aglow and I was shocked to see Buffy and Dawn standing in the room, smiling softly at me.
"Hey!" I laughed, giving them a huge hug. "What are you guys doing here? How are you?"
"Thank your friend, Ms. Destine," Buffy said. "She arranged our flight out here, since we're leaving for England soon. Dawn's always wanted to come here anyway..."
"It's good to see you, Clem," Dawn grinned.
"I'm so glad you guys are okay. Say, do you want to go see a Broadway show tomorrow? I've heard 'Wicked' is really good..."
As we walked towards the exit, I turned and saw Dominique standing at a doorway, her face beaming.
"Thanks," I winked.
She nodded and waved goodbye. What a great gargoyle.
...
As Clem left with the two humans, I sighed... happily? Was I actually happy? Well, it did feel good to get his friends over here. Even if they were humans, they didn't seem that bad.
And the wrinkly demon himself... the way he looked at me before leaving, it was almost cute, in a way.
Was I actually attracted to him?