Chapter 13- A Familiar Face
A/N: Yes, there are MORE skittles...teehee.
A REAL A/N: There is a little bit of violence in this chapter. Nothing big, but just a lil warning.
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"Dawn, go lock the door."
Dawn was confused, but seeing her sister's seriousness, she got off the bed and did as she was told. "Buffy, what's going on?" She asked nervously.
"Well...There's a murderer on campus somewhere. Mr. Gaffety wants us to stay put." Buffy replied.
"Even us?" Oz asked, as she motioned to Angel and himself.
"Yeah. I guess we're stuck here."
There was an uncomfortable silence. Oz and Angel began to exchange glances. Buffy caught onto this and responded like they had said something.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.
"Nothing." Angel defended.
Buffy raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Well...nothing really." Angel rephrased.
"Tell me..."
"Well," Oz started. "I kinda already knew about the hellmouth."
"Why did you let us explain the whole thing to you last night then? And who told you?" Buffy asked, obviously surprised.
"Angel told me, and I wasn't sure if he wanted me to act like I didn't know, so I just...did." Oz replied casually.
"So.." Willow said, trying to clear the awkwardness that hung in the air. "What's your story, Angel? I mean, how did you find out about the hellmouth?"
Angel cleared his throat. "Well...my parents were both killed by vampires two years ago, and I've been living with my very-strict aunt and uncle -when I'm not here, that is." He paused. "I like to fight vampires when I can, because...well, it feels like I'm avenging my parents' death. And that's a good feeling, especially to someone who could never live up to his parents' expectations...Someone like me." Angel added.
Buffy felt sorry for him. Apparently it showed in her facial expression, because Angel was hasty to say: "Don't feel sorry for me, please."
"But..." Buffy protested. "Okay...It just seems like you had a really tough life."
"I did. But I got over it, and I'm fine." Angel replied.
Buffy couldn't help but notice how cold and stern he sounded. But if he was touchy on the subject of his life, she would try not to bring it up.
Another dead silence hung in the air- until Buffy remembered something. "Hey! I have tons of candy stored up from the vending machine in the hall." She replied happily.
"Oh, yeah! She's like a chipmunk storing nuts for the winter when it comes to candy." Dawn rolled her eyes playfully. Buffy grinned slyly and hopped off the bed to tend to her secret stash. She returned carrying an armload if candy- most of which were skittles. Willow reached over and grabbed a bag.
"I want the red ones." Oz said to Willow.
Willow made a sad puppy dog face and said "But...I want the red ones..they're the best."
"Agreed. We can share." replied Oz. Willow smiled and dumped out the contents of her skittle bag onto the bed and began to sort out the red ones. Dawn came over and quickly popped the green ones in her mouth.
"Green is the best." She mumbled, her mouth full with skittles.
"What's your favorite skittle flavor?" Buffy asked Angel, who seemed confused by the others' behavior.
"Uh...I've never had one before."
Oz, Willow and Dawn looked up from their sugar-coated candy. Buffy's mouth dropped open in surprise.
"Never?" She asked. Angel shook his head. She smiled and handed him the bag.
"Try one." Buffy prodded. "Come on, do it for me." She smiled seductively. He reluctantly put one in his mouth, then smiled.
"No one can resist them." Buffy said with a grin.
"I can't argue with you there." said Angel.
Buffy gave him a dazzling smile. He thought she looked even more beautiful with wisps of stray blonde hair blowing across her face from the breeze blowing in from the open window...
The five continued to laugh and joke around, until sunset rolled around, and Buffy became nervous.
"It's eight o'clock..you'd think Mr. Gaffety would call or something to let us know if the murderer is gone..." Buffy pondered aloud.
"Maybe he's still on campus." Willow replied, looking worried. Oz wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.
There was a quiet, rustling sound outside the window. It gradually became louder and louder. Buffy's keen Slayer senses picked up the sound, and she got up to see what it was. While she was walking that way, a loud banging noise right outside the window stopped her in her tracks. It was loud enough for everyone else in the room to hear it, as well. Buffy was frozen in place, fear stricken. It was an unusual feeling to her, being the Slayer.
Suddenly, a pair of dirty, bleeding hands appeared, clutching the window sill tightly. Seconds later, a ragged face appeared. The man looked to be about thirty years old, and he had cold, lifeless hazel eyes with flecks of burning amber. They were very distinct looking. Buffy recognized them immediately...
A fifteen year old Buffy stood on the doorstep of an apartment building. She knocked on her Watcher's door for about the tenth time. There was no answer. The sun was just beginning to set, making her antsy. There was a dramatic increase in the undead population lately, and her senses wre going crazy. She could tell they were waking. She pounded on the door again, hoping for any kind of a response.
When she received none, she decided to try the door; she was sure Giles wouldn't mind. It was open. ♦Odd...♦ She thought. She pushed the door open and slipped into Giles' apartment. It was looking slightly trashed. Giles was a total neat-freak, so it was unusual to see anything out of place. She walked in further and closed the door behind her.
"Giles?" She tried
Dead silence.
Maybe he was out... ♦ But why would he leave his door open?♦ She pondered. ♦ Maybe he's upstairs..♦ Giles had a big apartment, which included a second level. She slowly walked up the staircase. At the top, there was a hallway with about three doors.
"Giles?" She asked again. She walked past the first room, the door of which was open. Buffy looked in, only to see a dark figure exiting through the window. It looked like a big, moving shadow. Buffy could feel a sick knot twisting itself in her gut. She was too terrified to move, or make any attempt to stop it.
Then the figure looked up, revealing it's large, human, yet abnormal looking hazel-red eyes. Buffy made eye contact with it, and she would forever have the vision of it's eyes burning in the back of her mind. Then, it dropped from the window sill and she could hear it faintly hit the grass below and start running.
When the shock finally wore off, Buffy remembered that Giles wasn't the house. Or maybe...He was. The knot in her stomach continued to grow with every step she took towards Giles' room.
When she reached the door, she didn't even bother to knock. She just pushed the door aside and peered in. There he was. Confirming her worst fears.- Rupert Giles, her faithful Watcher who had been like a father figure to her, lay on his bed, one arm outstretched towards the door and where she was standing. The knife used to painfully end his life, stood erect in his stomach. At least there would be something the police could dust for fingerprints... There was fresh blood spilling over his shirt and onto the carpet below. His glassy green eyes were fixed on her. If she could manage to make it to the phone she could call the police...
Buffy snapped back into reality, just as the figure dissappeared from the window. Buffy ran up to the window and looked out. She could make out the outline of his figure in the semi-darkness, running across the campus. She felt an odd urge to jump out the window and follow him- to make him pay for what he did to her Watcher. But she knew better. She was the Slayer, but she was built for taking on demons and the undead. Sure, it would be easy to go after him...But she didn't kill humans, and she was afraid that if she went after him, she might kill him in the heat of the moment. So just stared outside until she couldn't see him anymore, then closed the window. She turned to face her friends, who were suddenly standing all around her by the window.
"What was that all about?" Dawn asked.
"Huh?" What?" Buffy was confused.
"That guy, I'm presuming he's the murderer, just tried to climb through the window while you were off in la-la land." Dawn sounded upset.
"Huh? He did...I was...Sorry." Buffy mumbled, slightly embarrassed.
"It's okay." Dawn's feature's softened. "I just thought we lost you for a second...we scared him off."
"How?"
"We...threw skittles at him." Willow replied sheepishly.
"Go you! Skittles are very versatile..." Buffy replied with a small smile. She jumped when the phone rang loudly through out the room. She reached over and picked up the phone.
There was a click on the other line. Another recorded messge.
Buffy sat there, listening to the message. About one minute later, she hung up with a smile on her face.
"Apparently the murderer was running off the campus when he ran staight into a block-ade of poilce officers and was arrested."
"Wow."
"Yeah, I guess you guys can go if you want..." Buffy trailed off.
"Sure. You can try to get rid of us, but we'll be back." Oz promised with a smile. Willow, Buffy and Dawn bid them good-bye.
"So...What really happened back there? When you were zoned out?" Willow asked.
"I think the murderer was the guy who killed my Watcher two years ago." replied Buffy.
"Oh...I'm sorry." Willow said. Buffy had told her what had happened with her Watcher when she was telling her about the Hellmouth. "How did you know it was him?"
"His eyes. I've never seen eyes like his before, and I don't think I ever will again...At least I hope not, anyway."
"Me too. That was really creepy." replied Dawn.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm kinda tired." Willow replied.
"Me too. The guys wore me out..." Buffy smiled slyly.
Buffy crawled into bed. As she feared, the image of those eyes were still in the back of her mind. She hoped they would fade away, so she could get some rest.
The girls went to sleep early- with the window shut and tightly sealed.
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Yes, I know I kinda copied Angel's real past...Except in my fic, the vamps killed his parents two years ago, not two-hundred. Please review!
Skittles, taste the rainbow...;)