Angel and I are standing outside the observatory the next night looking out at the valley below. Angel is smoking.
"Can I have one?" I ask.
"No," he replies. "They're bad for you."
"Oh yes," I say sarcastically. "Because something bad will actually happen to me when it doesn't even matter because I'm already dead!" Angel chuckles.
"It's still a bad habit."
"Spike would let me," I grumbled.
"Well I'm not Spike. He shouldn't let you either." I scowl at him. Then Judy comes toward us. I know it's her because I can smell her.
"World ends in ten minutes," she says. Angel glances in her direction then ignores her. I ignore her completely. If I can't eat her then I have no interest in her.
"I saw you two over here. I hope you don't mind. I thought I'd say hello," she continues. Apparently she doesn't mind being ignored. That or she doesn't realize that that's what we're doing.
"Hello," she says and laughs a little. "Have you seen the show? You should. It makes whatever...problems we have seem insignificant in comparison. I mean, the entire universe explodes." Angel takes a drag from his cigarette. I glare at him because he's not sharing with me.
"Sounds exciting," he says without looking at Judy.
"Well, it's air-conditioned...and it's cheaper than going to the pictures," Judy explains. She takes a deep breath. "I had to get out of the hotel, after what happened."
"He come back?" Angel asks.
"Come back?"
"Your boyfriend."
"Oh. No. I... mean the guy in 215. You know he killed himself."
"Yeah, I guess he did."
"And I didn't get to even have one little taste," I mutter under my breath too softly for Judy to hear but Angel does. He gives me a warning glance.
"Can you imagine that wallpaper being the last thing you see before you go?" Judy asksnot noticing what's going on between me and Angel. Angel shrugs.
"Maybe it was the wallpaper that drove him to it," he replies.
"Yeah," Judy agrees. "I sort of hate it there. Well, I...I guess it's nicer than...some places."
"It's a place," I say. Judy steps closer to us.
"Listen, uh...I know you didn't want to before, but...you helped me. You did. And I...I needed to thank you for that," she says. Angel looks down. I roll my eyes.
You're not going to get him to ask you out, I think. He's got me. He doesn't need you. Angel turns to look at her over his shoulder for the first time.
"You're gonna miss the end of the world," he says. He turns away from her again.
"Right," Judy says softly. She waits a minute then turns and walks toward the observatory. Then she stops and turns back.
"I'll see you around," she adds. Then she leaves. Angel turns to look after her.
"Right," he mutters.
"No," I snap. "You won't. If I can't eat a human you should be able to be friends with one!"
"Who's the dad here?" he asks. "I can do what I want."
"And I can't?"
"No. Because I'm older than you so I make the rules."
"Well the rules are dumb," I say. Angel smiles and ruffles my hair.