Chapter 13

"You need to call her back." Xander said to his older brother. "You haven't even talked to her."

"I don't want to talk to her." Angel said. He looked haggard. There was the shadow of a beard on his face and his hair wasn't its usual hair-product-filled hair. He hadn't even bothered to change out of the suit he had worn the day he'd read the papers. After he had read them, he had gone straight home and ignored everyone and everything.

"Angel, I'm sure it's not true."

"Why would the photos lie? It's plain as day!" Angel kicked the table towards Xander where the picture of Orlando and Buffy kissing was displayed.

"You know damn well that it could be false." Angel just grunted at him. Xander rolled his eyes. "You just need to talk to her. Straighten things out."

"There's nothing to straighten out. She's back with him, end of story."

"How do you know? Have you talked to her? No, you haven't. All you've done is scream at her before hanging up on her. And you won't be able to talk rationally with her until you plug some new phones into your outlets. I don't think calls are coming through or going out on this." Xander held up the broken cordless phone he'd found in pieces next to the table in the foyer.

"If she wants to talk to me, she's going to have to come here and explain herself."

"Then you need to tell her that. I'm sure with all the screaming you've been doing, she's probably too damn scared to come talk to you in person."

"Leave me alone, Xander."

"What are you gonna do, throw another phone at me? News flash: You're out of phones." Angel picked up a candle and chucked it at Xander's head. Xander managed to dodge it, but just barely. "Fine. Sit here and be miserable for the rest of your life. She's famous, dude. The papers are going to write trash about her. Remember how they made her seem before? It's the same deal." Xander sighed when he got no response and walked out of the house.

His girlfriend was sitting on the hood of their car waiting. "Got another phone thrown at you?" Willow asked.

"No. It was a candle this time."

"So, he's still the same?"

"Yeah. And now he's mad that she hasn't come to talk to him in person."

"Well, he told her to go to hell last time she got through. One would think she's probably too scared. She'd probably get something bigger than a phone or a candle thrown at her."

"Yeah." Xander said, helping Willow off the hood.

Bam and Ville watched Buffy sit at the window in Ville's apartment and stare out at the snow. Jonna brushed Buffy's hair and tried talking to her, but Buffy didn't notice. Angel had told her to go to hell and ever since then, she hadn't said anything. She just sat at that window and stared outside. Ville had to carry her to bed every night, but every morning, he would wake up to find her back at the window.

"I can't take this." Bam said. "She's innocent in all of this."

"Convince Angel of that." Ville said. "I hate seeing her like this. It breaks my heart."

"Orlando hasn't even denied the rumors and Buffy's too far gone to register anything going on around her."

"Fucking jerk."

"That's it."Bam turned and headed for the door, grabbing his coat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm putting an end to this."

"How?"

"I'll call you guys later." With that, Bam was gone.

Ville walked back into the apartment and sat in front of Buffy. Jonna looked at him and said, "I'm so worried about her. She won't talk."

Ville just took Buffy's hand and held it tightly.

Bam was jet lagged and beyond tired, but he was on a mission. His best friend was hurting and no one could fix her except one person. The drive to Sunnydale was long and he got lost a few times, but eventually he managed to find Angel's office. He walked in and the woman at the desk almost screamed.

"Is Angel here?" Bam asked.

"No. He hasn't been here since his girlfriend cheated on him." The woman said. Bam assumed this was Cordelia.

"Do you know where he's at?"

"Probably locked up in his mansion."

"Where's that at?"

"What?"

"His mansion? Can you give me directions."

"She's not really good at anything but filing her nails." A man said behind Bam. Bam turned to find a tall dark haired man standing there. He looked a lot like Angel. "Hi, I'm Xander. Angel's brother."

"I can do more than file my nails." Cordelia said.

"Come on, I'll show you where he lives." Xander said, leading Bam out.

"How'd you know I was here?" Bam asked.

"I was across the street with my girlfriend, Willow. Saw a car I didn't recognize drive in and then you got out. Only one Bam Margera in this world and you're pretty unmistakable."

"Ok."

"And I so hope you're here on Buffy's behalf." Bam nodded. "How is she?"

"Miserable. She barely talks and she doesn't eat and all she does is sit in Ville's window and stare at the snow."

"She's in Helsinki?"

"Yeah."

"And Orlando?"

"I don't know. He left after the Tavastia show. Buffy had dinner with him, but it was to talk about what happened with Angel. Those pictures... They're out of context. She didn't kiss him. They're just friends. They may even be less than that."

"I figured as much." Xander got in the passenger's seat of Bam's rental car.

"How's Angel?"

"Pretty much the same. Only he throws things. Mainly phones, but he's recently gotten into candles."

"I guess that explains why no one can get a hold of him."

"Pretty much." Xander directed him through the streets of Sunnydale and up into the hills.

"Does he always act like this when a girlfriend cheats on him?"

"No. Of course, he hasn't loved anyone before Buffy. And she didn't cheat."

"I was just saying it to make a point. I know she didn't cheat. That's not B. She's a friend to everyone. I don't think she knows how to be mean. She can play an evil person in a movie, but she doesn't really know why that person's evil. That's why she doesn't play bad people, because she feels awful afterwards."

"And now that she's been made to look like the cheating girlfriend..."

"Which is a serious evil in her book."

"She's clammed up."

"Pretty much."

"God, poor Buffy. I really don't know why Angel hasn't tried talking to her. He should know that Buffy wouldn't do that to him. I guess that love really does do a number on you."

"I guess so." Bam pulled to a stop in front of a large gothic, stone mansion. "This is it?"

"Yup." Xander got out and looked back as Willow pulled in behind them. "Good luck man."

"You're not staying?"

"Please. I've had enough crap thrown at my head. Now you're here as a rep for Buffy... Uh uh. I'll probably have a couch thrown at me."

"Thanks." Xander just shrugged and walked away. Bam turned to the house and headed for the front door.

"It's unlocked." Xander called as he got in his car.

Bam opened the door and stepped in. Something crunched under his feet and he looked down to see broken phone bits lying there. Shrugging it off, he moved further into the place. In front of him was a couch sitting in front of a huge fireplace. On the couch sat a haggard looking Angel.

"Damn, Angel, you're worse than B." Bam said.

Angel looked over his shoulder. "Oh, you."

"Yeah, me." Angel didn't get up. He just turned away and looked back at the empty fireplace. "Man, would you get the fuck up? This is rediculous!"
"What's rediculous is the fact that I fell in love with her and it was all an act with her."

"Fuck you."

"Excuse me?"
"Man, fuck you. Don't talk about my friend that way. If you hadn't smashed all of your fucking phones, you'd know that she's been sitting in Helsinki staring at snow for the last few days."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Yeah! She barely sleeps and I haven't seen her eat once since that piece of shit story came out. She's not back with Orlando."

"Those pictures tell me differently."

"Those pictures are shit. That dinner? That was them talking about where they stood with each other. They're barely friends."

"Then why was he at the New Years show?"

"Because B invited him. She's too nice to let someone be alone on any holiday."

"I'm sure he was so alone."

"He was. He couldn't get back to London because of all the snow, so he was stuck in Finland. Buffy felt bad for him, so she invited him to come see the show. They haven't spoken since."

Angel just stared at the fireplace. "If that's true, why didn't she come here herself?"

"You told her to go to hell for fuck's sake! She's been so shell shocked since she doesn't eat, barely sleeps, and refuses to talk to anyone. Even Ville can't get her to open up. He's tried everything too. Buffy's mom can't get her to talk. She's so convinced that you hate her, I'm really surprised she hasn't thrown herself out of the window she's been sitting in." Angel didn't say anything. "Wow. I'm telling you your girlfriend has all but killed herself over this whole thing and you just fucking sit there." Still, nothing. "Fine. Be that way. Break her heart. I'll go back to Helsinki and tell her that you don't care anymore." Angel still just sat there, saying nothing and staring at the fireplace. Bam shook his head and walked out.