CONNER
He looked up at the clock for what seemed like the thousand time that night. 11pm. 'Damn' he cursed under his breath. Only half an hour had passed from when Angelus had made yet another grand exit. It seemed as though all Conner had, was time on his hands.
SHE doesn't have much time left. his conscience reminded him, as Connors thoughts drifted back to the girl in the picture. She was being tortured he knew it, she'd been missing for a whole day now. And Angelus, being the sick thing he was, wouldn't have it any other way.
The question remained though, of why he cared. There was nothing special about the sketch itself. Then why did cause him to feel ill, sick in the stomach to be exact.
Maybe it was because the girl, who couldn't have been any older than himself, was being tortured. But that wasn't true. Conner knew very well about the arts of torture. He had on more than one occasion delivered it himself . . . had enjoyed it.
His gaze wandered as he forced back his train of thinking. He caught sight of Wesley whispering ferociously to the old man who had carried the hysterical slayer upstairs. 'Giles' they called him.
Not old Connor corrected himself. Studying the man further to find that his hair had not even turned grey yet. No, not old
Fathe...Holtz had been old. He couldn't have had much longer to live even if Angel hadn't killed him.
No, not Angel Connor thought swallowing the bile of guilt that rose each time he remembered how he had wrongly tortured Angel...his real father. But along with the guilt came the self-assurance.
It was Justine's fault. If she hadn't framed Angel, then I wouldn't have... it's all her fault. And even if she hadn't, Angel deserved what he got. He was a demon...he was evil.
But the arguments sounded weak to even Connors ears. He sighed in frustration. This world was so confusing! Back in Quor-toth Hell dimension everything made sense. He was taught to believe demons were evil, humans' good. Not the other way around. He was raised to kill all demons, to rid the world of evil.
No, you were raised to be a pawn in the "Lets Get Revenge on Angel!" game, with Holtz as the host.
That voice again, it hadn't bothered him for the last 3 years, why did it start now?
He sighed again and focused on Cordelia. He hadn't spoken to her since the morning she kicked him out of his bed. At the moment she was pretending to concentrate on the magazine in her hand, but would look up every now and then to steal a quick glance at the dark-haired boy conversing with Gunn. Her eyes narrowed as the two men 'high-fived' each other and laughed.
'Interesting' thought Connor.
A tiny itch at the back of his neck caused Connor to turn and face the 3 girls that had arrived with Giles. The moment he turned back around he could fell them staring at him once more. He caught the gaze of the tall redhead as she quickly broke eye contact, turned to her comrades and said something in a low voice.
I hope its not about me Conner thought frowning. Sure enough in less than 1 min and eruption of giggles came from the trio, who eyed him like he was piece of meat.
Conner glanced at the clock once more to find that only 5 min had passed. When he turned back to the girls he found them all staring at him once more. The red head turned a deep shade of crimson and turned away giggling. Conner didn't understand what was going on.
He decided to study the girls more carefully, they were around his age maybe 1 or 2 years younger. They couldn't have been clueless to what goes bump in the night, after all they did live with the slayer from what he heard.
Conner blatantly stared at the girls as they each took turns to look back and see if he was still watching. He angled his head and frowned.
Although Connor hadn't had barley any contact with kids his age, let alone girls he found this new behavior strange. And if he was honest...somewhat frightening. The only other girl he had met was Sunny and she had been a drug-addict who had overdosed. He remembered how she had told him she took the 'medicine' when she felt sad.
He grimaced as he caught another look at the clock, time was just not his friend today. After a quick decision he ran up the stairs, Conner let out a sigh of relief when he reached the top of the stairs and ducked out of sight. He hoping the girls wouldn't see him, frankly they were giving him the creeps.
Connor made his way down the hallway to his– what used to be his room. On his way he passed by an open door. Curiosity got the better of him as he poked his head into the room.
It was large, had a sort of antique feel to it. Portraits hung on the walls and a thick burgundy curtain hung open in front of a small balcony. In the center of the room was a large 4 poster bed, covered with dark velvet sheets. It also smelled of a distinct scent Connor would have recognized anywhere. No doubt about it, this was Angles room. But that's not what surprised Connor.
The blonde women who not 2h ago had reeked of power, control...danger. Was now sitting in the center of the bed, her knees brought up to her shoulders, supporting her head. Her bloodshot eyes stared blankly at the opposing wall.
What more, the contrast of; Angel's dark sheets, to her white clothes. His large bed, to her small frame. His strong domineering scent to her week composure. Any other circumstance and Connor would have laughed at the picturesque type of view. Any other but this, the despair rolled off her in such strong waves, that Connor briefly wondered how he held his ground.
" They think I'm crazy don't they?"Buffy spoke.
Connor froze. He didn't know what to say. Emotions such as comfort among others, Connor could only acknowledge. Holtz had always said compassion was for the weak, and that anger led to survival. With that thought Connor said the first thing that came to his mind.
" Who cares, they think I'm crazy too" he offered a watery smile.
" Aren't you the one who drowned his father into the ocean?"
The smile immediately dropped from Conners face. He twisted his foot to walk out the door his face grim.
" Wait!" she called after him, " im sorry I didn't mean to..."
" Yes you did," he muttered back.
" I'm sorry" she repeated.
"Im used to it."
The silence seemed to stretch on forever. As Connor tried to regain focus .Holtz had been right, compassion was for the weak. Just as Connor made the decision to walk out the door he heard her small whisper.
" I need your help," Conner turned around to face her pleading eyes. " To rescue Dawn."