Disclaimer: Damn, I had this really weird and special way to say that these characters are Joss's instead of mine, but alas, I cannot think of it. So this will have to do for now.

Chapter Three

"Do you really think we have to answer it?" Cordelia asked as she once again glanced down at herself and her apparel. "We were enjoying ourselves and I don't want anyone to ruin that."

"Cordelia, come on!" Angel's voice boomed through the closed door. "Open up!"

Cordelia sighed as she walked over to the door. "What is it now, Angel?" she asked through the closed door.

"Cordelia, open the door," Buffy's voice answered her. "Open it or I'll kick it down," the Slayer continued in a threat.

"Oh god," Xander exclaimed as he rushed back into Cordelia's bedroom. "She found me. I was hoping this wouldn't happen."

"Well, it did," Cordelia pointed out. "And now you have to face the truth with me," she stated as she walked over to the door. Cordelia swallowed hard as she opened the door up, her other hand instinctively reaching back and grasping hold of Xander's.

As soon as the door opened, Buffy quickly reverted to a normal position for a human to be standing so that she would not accidentally kick anyone. "Cordelia," she said plainly as she pushed right past the former cheerleader.

"Ok, you can come in" Cordelia began as she watched in amazement as Angel and Willow joined Buffy in her living room without even waiting for her to say it was alright for any of them to enter.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Buffy asked as she directed her looks and voice over at Xander. "Coming up here? It was only a little fight you had!"

"You're one to talk!" Xander yelled back. "You were the one who slept with Parker on the first actual date you two had! You have no right to tell me what to do with my love life!"

"Cordelia's you're love life?" Willow asked in disbelief as she looked over at Xander. Although she did have Tara, she doubted her feelings for Xander would ever completely disappear.

Xander nodded as he walked over to Cordelia and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Yes," he said. "I love this woman, ok? I was a complete idiot for ever letting her go!"

"Cordelia, what are you doing?" Angel asked in horror as he looked at his co-worker, noting for the first time the smallest bit of clothes she had on. He shuddered, not wanting to imagine what she had on under that coat. "I thought we agreed that men, sex, and men and sex in Los Angeles are all bad."

"Xander's not from Los Angeles. He's not bad. He's actually quite talented and I love him," Cordelia argued to her boss. "You feel the exact same way about Buffy, but you're too afraid to do anything about it 'cause it'll make you go all evil!"

"Cordelia, what Angel and I have is completely different and it's not the issue at hand!" Buffy pointed out before reverting her attention off of the man she still loved and over to her best friend. "Again I ask you, what the hell are you doing?"

"Face it, Buffy," Cordelia began. "Xander finally has someone in his life that he loves. It's not you. You're going to have to live with that."

"Xander, what about Anya?" Willow asked.

"Don't you hate her?" Xander asked Willow as he dodged the question.

"Yes, but that's not the point," Willow began. "Xander, this is Cordelia."

Xander nodded as he began growing irritated. "Yes, I'm aware of that. I know who my girlfriend is," he said as he kissed Cordelia's forehead lightly.

"Xander, you're girlfriend is over in Sunnydale at the Bronze alone and miserable all because of you!" Buffy argued back.

"Doubtful," Xander countered. "She was the one who wanted to break up. We are on a break! She was just using me whereas Cordy's not."

"You can't know that," Buffy said.

"And I also can't know why you're really with Riley. He's just an Angel substitute that you can actually have sex with," Xander argued.

"Wait," Angel began as he turned to Buffy. "You're seeing someone?"

Buffy nodded. "Yes, actually, I am," she said. "But that's not the issue. Xander, you're just miserably due to the whole Anya thing. And the fact that the ice cream truck people fired you. Cordelia's just an Anya substitute."

"She is not!" Xander yelled as Cordelia declared that she was not.

"Buffy," Xander began. "And Willow for that matter, listen. I love Cordelia with all my heart. If anyone was a substitute for anyone then Anya was the Cordelia substitute."

"Dennis," Cordelia began through gritted teeth. "A little help would be nice," she added as her phantom began pushing Willow closer to the door.

"Don't use the ghost thing again," Angel commanded. He felt something hard hit against the back of his head. "Ow!" he exclaimed as he brought his hand up to where he had been hit. "What was that all about?"

"You called his a 'g-h-o-s-t'," Cordelia pointed out. "And now if you'd be ever so kind, please--"

Before Cordelia could finish her statement, her head rocketed backwards as she brought her hands up to it, clutching her head and fighting the inclination to scream in agony. Images began racing through her mind. There was a house, she noted. Some boys that appeared to be about college aged along with girls. Then there were vines tearing through the house. Vines with thorns, Cordelia noted as she felt the prickling feeling against her arms. Then she saw a name engraved to the side of a building. Lowell.