"Oz I have a question. What was the whole purpose of this?" Buffy asked as she sucked on a lollipop.
"Well since Angel and Cordy are leaving and we're all going to college I thought this would be a great time to talk and sort of reflect on all the things we've all been through since you decided to grace our lives with your presence Buffy."
"Oh." Was all she could say.
"I guess that makes sense. I mean we don't really know each other as well as you'd think. I mean we've been fighting together for years and all." Willow said agreeing with her boyfriend.
"Yeah things like, what is your REAL name Oz?" Xander asked.
"Oh it's Daniel Osborne." He replied.
"I have a question." Willow said looking over at Angel. "Is Angel you're real name? I mean the one you had before you were turned?" She asked the vampire.
"No it's Liam." He told her.
"I like it." She replied with a smile.
"Oh I have one, I've been dying to ask since you came back. Where DID you go Buff?" Xander asked his best friend.
"Oh I was in LA and there's a side trip to Hell somewhere in there but yeah, I was in LA."
"Did you see anyone famous?" Cordelia asked.
"In hell?"
"No before the hell."
"Oh no Cor, I was kind of with the poor people."
"Wait when did you go to LA?" Angel asked, completely confused.
"After I uh…after I sent you to hell." She told him.
"Why what happened?" After he had gotten back from hell they'd pretty much tried to stay away from the topic of that day or the summer that followed.
"Well you were gone and I was kicked out of school and my mom kicked me out of the house. I didn't want to deal and I couldn't, so I did what I do best, and I ran." She told him.
"So how were you living Buffy?" Willow asked.
"I had some money that was left over from my birthday plus my dad spaces money to my account every month as allowance. With that I was able to get an apartment and then I worked at this little shit whole diner." She told them.
"Wow Buffy you were like, really doing it. That's so cool." Willow said in awe.
"So why did you come back? I mean…I'm not trying to be mean…" Cordelia started.
"Yeah right." Xander coughed.
Cordelia glared before continuing. "I'm just…if you were making a life for yourself then why come back?"
"Well I went to hell and I kind realized that…I was in the wrong place, I mean not just hell but…there were all these kids our age there and no one knew, or cared that they were missing and I realized, I had people who cared about me." She said shrugging. "So once I got out and saved a few people I came back."
"Jees Hell, Buff? Not the ideal vacation." Xander said.
"Tell me about it." She said with a smile. "So what did you guys do with out me?" She asked.
"Well, Will, Oz and I took over patrolling for you." Xander told her.
"Yeah I remember. Night Hawk." She said with a laugh.
"I went to Mexico." Cordelia told them.
"What about you Giles?" Buffy asked.
"I used my contacts to try and find you. I also had to help your mother understand your "other life"" He answered.
"Oh well I think Angel gets the prize for worse vacation spot." Cordelia said jokingly.
"Yeah a whole three months in hell, that's gotta suck." Xander agreed.
"Suck is not the word for it." Angel said dryly.
"Okay we're verging on depressing here, I vote for a subject change." Oz said eagerly.
"Good idea." Willow jumped in happily.
"How about life after High School?" Xander suggested.
"Okay I guess that'll work?" Buffy said taking a sip of her lemonade.
"I'm moving to La. No time like the present to start my road to stardom." She said with a bright smile.
"I'm going to do my "See America" tour and then come back and get a job." Xander told them.
"Good luck with that, America is beautiful." Angel told him.
"Umm…thanks man." Xander said a bit uncomfortably.
"I'm going to UC Sunnydale. I've realized no matter how hard I try I'll never be able to leave the hellmouth. I'm grounded to this place." Buffy told them.
"I'm going to stay in Sunnydale. I want to get better in the magic's and there is no better place than the hellmouth." Willow said smiling.
"I've got an off campus apartment with the band." Oz told them.
"What about you two?" Willow asked Angel and Giles.
"I'll probably still be working at the library." Giles told them.
"Angel?" Cordelia asked.
"I'm leaving. I don't know where to, but I'm going. It'll be somewhere close though. I want to be able to come and lend a hand whenever needed."
Suddenly Buffy yawned loudly. "Sorry." She said when she noticed everyone looking at her.
"Understandable, you've had a hard day fighting demons." Xander told her.
"How many hellhounds were there?" Giles asked.
"Four. Three of them were sent out before I got there. I killed the last one that was at his house. By the time I got to the school they were making their way to the gym."
"Close call." Oz said.
"Yeah but I got rid of them and we had a great time."
"The Buffster saves the day!" Xander said.
"Again." Willow added with a laugh.
Conversation continued well through the night, covering a range of topics. Finally about five minutes before sunrise they began to leave.
Cordy packed her stuff and left after saying good bye and shocking everyone by giving Xander a nice long 'thank you' kiss.
Oz and Willow packed their things into Oz's van and packed Angel in there too.
Xander and Buffy packed their things into Xander's car and left.
Giles left once he finished packing his things.
Everyone left with new found respect and understanding towards one another. By the end of the night, Xander and Cordelia had made up and decided to try the long distance thing after graduation. Slowly this time. Xander was going to take her to dinner that night.
Giles no longer saw Angel as the man who killed Jenny, but the man who was suffering for crimes he didn't commit. Xander had even stopped calling Angel 'Dead Boy' and started calling him Angel.
Buffy and Angel were on good terms. She understood why he was leaving and even thanked him for caring so much.
Everyone understood and forgave Buffy for leaving and for keeping Angel's return a secrete.
They all left the beach with a better understanding of each other and a tighter bond.
THE END
AN: Hope you guys enjoyed. I know it's short but I had written this story YEARS ago.