"Mahal"
By: Lynn
DISCLAIMERS: Making it short...NOT MINE!
SUMMARY: AU; Just another story where everybody's human and Angel, Oz, and Xander are the new students in school.
DISTRIBUTION: Are you kidding me! I NEED someone to host my fics. Just e-mail me if you want them. Previous Parts found at: http/
E-MAIL:
BETA READER: Ashley Russo (last parts un-beta¡¦ed)

Part 11

'Oh dear God. Please shut up,' Jessica silently pleaded in her mind. Nina had insisted on waiting for Angel to come home from work, leaving his sister alone with the girlfriend.

Xander was on a date with Cordelia and Oz was at Willow's house, having dinner with her parents for the first time. Connor was on his first date with Dawn and Mom was out of town for a convention.

Jessica got the bad end of the stick, she was stuck at home with major congestion and a bad cough. Not to mention, they were out of juice. Her luck sucked.

She had a terrible cold and Nina's rambling weren't helping any. 'Figures,' she thought, 'First day of Winter break, I get sick and left alone with a really weird person.'

She sat comfortably as she could on one end of the couch, her right hand fingers resting against her temple, while Nina 'entertained' her on the other end, talking about what she learned in one of her classes about phlegm build-up. The younger girl patted herself on the back for perfecting the skill of looking like you were paying attention when in actuality was totally zoning out.

The only thoughts that went through Jessica's head was that Angel was taking way too long to get home, what excuse could she use to get away from Nina, or if she should cough and sneeze on her as revenge.

Jessica knew the woman meant well , but she was trying WAY too hard to impress her. When they first met her, Nina didn't bother her too much, she was nice. Then suddenly they were alone together for the first time and Jessica was too tempted to throw something at her.

Finally, Jessica heard the blissful sound of Angel's voice calling her name. Despite how she felt, she quickly excused herself, jumped up and ran to her brother.

Angel barely got into the house when he was attacked by his little sister. She latched onto his waist and squeezed him for all he was worth. It took him a second to react; he laughed and wrapped his arms around Jessica.

"Um... hello to you, too," he patted her back with his free hand, the other hand held a full, plastic grocery bag, "How ya feeling?"

Jessica loosened her grip and looked up into his face, "Peachy, "She sarcastically said, her voice sounding hoarse and stuffy. She then smacked him as hard as she could on the chest, "What the hell took you so long?"

Angel held up the bag in his hand, "I got you your juice," he told her and handed the bag over, "And some extra tissues."

"Oh, I guess that's okay then. Thank you," she was about to run to the kitchen, but then turned back around to inform him, "Oh and Angel...,"she pointed to the living room, "she's a keeper," she said, making a clicking noise with her tongue while shooting him an over exaggerated wink.

He hung his keys on the key holder his mom just bought. (She was complaining that the boys were scratching up her bureau when they carelessly threw their keys on top of it). He glared at her, knowing she was using her sarcastic wit again, "Thanks Jess," he said with just as much sarcasm.

"You're- ACHOO- Welcome (sniffle)." With that his sister disappeared in the kitchen, the only signs of her being there were her loud sneezing and coughing.

Angel ran a hand through his hair and scratched his scalp, preparing himself to face his girlfriend. He was tired and he just wanted to be left alone. Nina just wasn't the blonde he wanted to see at the moment. He wasn't mad at her, he just felt he didn't need her company, but someone else's.

"Nina," he called out.

The blonde then emerged from the living room with a wide smile, "Hey Sweetie!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the lips. She expected a deep, passionate kiss, but Angel only allowed a peck.

"Hey. What are you doing here," he asked, putting his hands on her waist, subtly trying to put a little distance between them.

"I just wanted to see my man," she slid her hands from his neck down his chest.

"Oh, um, okay," Angel replied uneasily, "Look, um, Nina. I'm really tired. Plus, I have to take care of Jessica, she's sick. So, um, can you..."

Nina backed away, a little hurt, "Oh, yeah, um, sure."

Feeling guilty, Angel sighed and put his hands on her shoulders, "I'm sorry, I've had a hard day and I just don't want you to catch Jessica's cold."

Nina kissed his cheek and gave him a little smile, "It's okay, I understand. I can't afford to be sick anyways."

"Raincheck?"

"I'll hold you to that." Angel placed his hand on her lower back and escorted her to the door. When Nina kissed him goodnight, he had to fight the urge to back away, the name Buffy was the first thing that popped in his mind. He closed the door and leaned against it. He needed some help on this predicament and he needed some now.

"Jessica," he yelled, "Come here!"

Said girl groaned as she walked up in front of her brother, "What," she snapped, angry that he made her move.

"Can I talk to you?" he pleaded.

Seeing that Angel was desperate to talk to her about something, she took pity on him and nodded. Following him to his room, Jessica asked, "Am I getting paid?"

"I'll get you another bottle of juice," he joked, despite both of their moods.

"Deal," she agreed and then proceeded to go into a coughing fit.

Meanwhile...

It was a beautiful night. The stars were shining and the moon was full. The sound of laughing and talking from two young teenagers rang through the peaceful atmosphere as they got out of the maroon Camry.

"I let you win," Connor declared, while walking his date to her door.

"Or, you know, you just suck," Dawn retaliated, laughing all the while.

"Whatever... Think what you want, but I still think I am the master of bowling. I just felt that this being our first date and all, that you should win."

Dawn rolled her eyes then smiled, "This evening has been so great, thank you Connor."

"It was my pleasure," the two stood there on her front porch, Dawn on the top step and Connor stood on the bottom.

After a few moments, Connor dared to take a dive and climbed the two steps, moving closer to Dawn and towering over her.

'Oh my God this it! The moment I've been waiting for, for so long,' she exclaimed in her mind as Connor leaned in closer. She put her hands on his shoulders and closed her eyes when he placed a hand on her cheek.

Finally, Connor captured her lips with his, lingering there for a few moments. When they slowly parted and opened their eyes, they both saw that the other had a furrowed brow.

"That was...," Dawn started.

"Weird," Connor finished out for her and she agreed with a nod of her head. "Let me try again," he kissed her once more, only to separate from her a second later.

They both chuckled, putting a gap between their bodies. The dark haired boy wiping the lip gloss Dawn left on him.

Connor held out his hand, "See you tomorrow?" Dawn accepted the proffered hand, both exchanging a friendly handshake.

"Tomorrow," she replied with a smile, turning to enter her home. Connor watched her go inside before heading back to the car he borrowed from Xander.

Silence rang throughout the Rosenberg home, the only sound heard was the ticking of the clock and the cheerful humming of Sheila Rosenberg as she prepared dinner. Dinner she ordered, of course. Who had time to cook nowadays?

Willow sat, impatiently fidgeting, on the couch across from her dad, who sat in his recliner, engrossed in the business section of the newspaper.

After what seemed like an eternity, the doorbell rang, making Willow jump to her feet, quickly smoothing her hair and skirt.

She ran to the door and then paused to take a breath to calm herself. After a little reassuring nod, she pulled open the door.

"Hey," she greeted her boyfriend.

"Hey," he replied back.

Willow dragged him in by the hand, simultaneously calling out for her parents, only to find them standing right behind her.

"Oh, there you are. Uh, Mom, Dad, this is Oz."

"Hi," Oz said, holding out his hand, "Nice to meet you."

The big man with glasses and a brown beard known as Ira shook his hand and nodded, "Nice to meet you, too."

When Sheila shook Oz's hand, her face was full of surprise, "Y-your hair is blue."

Oz smirked, "Sometimes," he replied, scratching his blue-tipped head.

Willow kept shifting her weight from one leg to the other, "Uh, Mom? Dinner?"

"Oh yes. Right this way... Oz."

Halfway through the dinner, Ira decided to break the awkwardness surrounding the table.

"So, Oz, Willow told us you're in a band. Is it like a jazz band?"

"Rock band actually," Oz answered.

"Is that what you want to do for the rest of your life?"

"Dad," Willow exclaimed incredulously.

"No, it's okay," Oz assured her, not offended at all, "Actually, if the band doesn't pan out, than I was thinking of becoming a producer and making my own label."

"Oh, that's cute," Sheila said, Willow rolling her eyes at her mom's opinion, and Oz gently squeezed his girlfriend's hand. "So," Sheila continued, "Is Oz your real name?"

"Not, it's a nickname. My real name's Daniel Roarke."

"Roarke," Ira asked.

"Yes sir."

"Is your mother Isabella?"

"Yes sir."

"Well I'll be! I should've known, she never stops talking about you guys. As a matter of fact, you look like you have some Izzy in you."

"Thank you Sir."

"I work with your mother. Helluva woman she is..."

Willow gleamed and slightly bounced in her chair, happy that they were getting somewhere, 'Yes, finally, it's going well.'

"Okay Buffy, you can do this," Buffy said to herself as she sat in her mom's jeep, gripping the steering wheel, "Just, go up to his door, knock, and talk to him. Simple as that."

After much pushing from Willow, Buffy finally got the nerve to confront Angel about her feelings.

So, now, she was parked on the side of the street, in front of the house. She made it all the way here, now the next step was to get out of the jeep and walk to the door.

She was about to do just that, thinking of what to say to him. Just as she reached for her purse sitting on the passenger seat, she ticked her eyes to the front of the house, seeing the door open.

A frown marred her beautiful face when she saw Nina and Angel walk out the door. Her heart just sunk when the couple said goodbye with a kiss. As Nina got into her own car and backed out of the driveway, Buffy ducked in the front, not wanting to be seen by the other woman. Whatever confidence she had just went down the drain. She had witnessed Nina and Angel kiss one too many times.

Xander was walking home from Cordelia's, angrily mumbling to himself. He and the fiery brunette just had another fight. It was just another one to add to the list. They were talking about Gunn and Fred's situation, and somehow that lead to a conclusion that Xander was cheating on Cordelia.

He made a vow to himself that this was it... he was done with her, and he wouldn't be the one to cave in this time, no Siree. But deep down, he knew he was just fooling himself. He cared too much for Cordy to let her go.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his baggy pants and kicked a stone. Looking up, he realized he reached his destination. He also saw that a familiar jeep was parked next to the driveway, with a familiar blonde sitting on the driver's side. Her arms were folded on top of the steering wheel, her face hidden within them.

He walked up to the green vehicle, "Buffy?" he asked though the open window.

She turned her head with it still resting on her arms.

"Hey," he softly smiled and reached out to caress her blonde hair. He noticed the broken look on her face and offered, "You wanna go for a walk?"

TBC…