Chapter 14- A Concerned Friend

Angel and Oz walked down the school hallway in silence. It wasn't the kind of comfortable silence that two friends shared. It was the kind of awkward silence that most people dreaded. To Oz, Angel seemed more distance than usual. Neither of the men talked much, or showed emotion, but Oz was smart, and could tell that something was up with him. Maybe Oz would talk to Buffy later...

It was 6:30PM and Buffy was stretched across her bed trying to concentrate on her latest assignment. She tapped her pencil against her temples trying to come up with a starting sentence for her essay. The soft, murmuring of rain in the roof was making her sleepy. She was alone. Willow was at the library, getting some books for a research paper of her own, and Dawn was out shopping at the mall with her new friends. She had told Buffy that she wanted to buy a new outfit for some thing that she was going to on Saturday night. Dawn had assured it was an on campus thing and that she would be safe, so Buffy gave her some of the money her mother had left with them.

Buffy smiled softly, glad that her sister was fitting in and making friends. They had only been at the school for two weeks, but Buffy felt comfortable there as well. Soft knocking on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in." She replied.

The door opened and Oz appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, hey." Buffy sat up. "Are you looking for Willow?"

"No, actually. I wanted to talk to you about something."

Buffy nodded for him to go on.

"Well, I've been noticing that Angel's been acting odd. He has been since we left here last night."

Buffy sat quietly, thinking. "You know, I don't think he said anything after we saw that creep in the window."

"He didn't. I'm kinda worried about him. He won't talk to me about whatever's on his mind, so I figured he might talk to you." replied Oz.

"Maybe...I can probably go talk to him sometime tonight. I need to atleast get a starting sentence to this" Buffy motioned disgustingly to her paper. "Were's Willow when you need her?..."

Buffy noticed how Oz's face lit up at just the mention of her name. It was the first emotion he showed since entering her dorm...Actually it was the first emotion she'd ever seen him show.

"Well, I'll see what I can do." Buffy said kindly.

Oz smiled. "Thanks. Come to our dorm when you're ready. It's number 213. I'll make sure he's there." He paused at the doorway. "Oh, and tell Willow I said hi" With that, he was gone.

Buffy glanced at her clock. She would go see Angel at seven. She had half an hour to to come up with something-anything to start her paper with.

♦♦♦Meanwhile at the mall...♦♦♦

Dawn, Shauna, Casey and Jaime strolled through the mall, stopping in just about every store. They had already walked through half the mall and if you looked through Dawn's wallet, it would show. She had only bought two things so far: a purple babydoll top from Aeropostale and Cali Flare jeans from Hollister. They were really nice clothes, although they did a number on the cash supply Buffy gave her to use.

The four girls walked into Claires for accessories. Dawn was looking at a rack decorated with colorful rings when a thought occured to her. She already had a ring. That one she found in the dresser drawer in her dorm. It would match her outfit perfectly.

♦ At least it'll save me some money. I don't wanna go back to Buffy completely broke...♦ She thought. Jaime walked up to her, holding a pair of gold dangle earrings.

"What do you think?" She asked.

"They're nice. Really pretty." Dawn told her honestly.

"K, I'll get them. Thanks." She quickly dissappeared in the crowd, probably going to pay for the gold accessories.

Dawn pulled her wallet out of her black denim purse. She opened it and sifted through the money she had in it. She had stared out with a very generous one hundred and ten dollars and was left with a grand total of twenty-four dollars. Lunch had cost her fifteen dollars, bringing down her money count as well. She hoped Buffy wouldn't kill her when she got back...

♦♦♦Back at school...♦♦♦

Buffy shifted nervously from foot to foot in front of room 213. She knew she had nothing to worry about, but...If something was wrong with Angel and she could get him to tell her, she knew it would be something she didn't want to hear. At least she had one thing to comfort her: Willow had come back fro the library and helped her start her paper. ♦ What would I do without her?♦. She smiled, thinking what a great friend she had in that shy, red-head.

Realizing she had been standing infront of the door for three minutes, she decided to make her presence known. She slowly brought her fist to the door and banged on it.

"Come in." Was the only reply. She couldn't tell if it was Angel or Oz who had said it, but she walked into the room. Both Angel and Oz were there. Oz stood up.

"I'm gonna go...see Willow." He smiled and threw a 'good luck' look Buffy's way. He left the room. Buffy felt a knot tighten in her stomach.

"Uh, hey." Buffy greeted awkwardly.

"Hey." He returned.

" I just came by to see-"

"I know," He cut her off. "Why you're here. Oz told you he was concerned right?"

"Yup." Buffy gazed at her feet and rocked nervously on her heels.

"I know more than I let on." Angel said with a grin.

"I guess so." replied Buffy. "So, are you gonna tell me what's on your mind?" She asked hopefully.

"On one condition."

"And what's that?" She asked.

"No interruptions. If I'm going ot say it, I want to get it out fast. No stopping."

"Okay. Agreed. Now what's up?" She asked.

He patted the empty spot on the bed beside him. She walked over and sat down. "Where do I begin?..."

♦♦♦♦

Yesss, another cliffhanger. Hey hey hey now! What did I say about throwing things? Yes, that means you, ... ;)Thanx to everyone who had reviewed so far, I'm glad you like it! I'll do my best to update soon. :)