I Only Have Eyes For You
Disclaimer: Don't own em, u know it, i know it. done!
Rating: Same as show for this installment
AN: I am SOOO beyond sorry at how long this has taken me. My comp blew up wiv all my work on it and i still don't have a new one so i've been typing this in 20 minute installments at internet cafe's. I hope this is worth the wait i put u all thru :)
AN2: Thought's are in Italics
Prolouge
"I wanted to look my best for you."
Buffy woke with a start and looked around he dark room. The slight tinge of pink outside her window made it clear there was no point in going back to sleep. She ran a hand through her tangled hair and pressed her fingers into the sides of her head in an atempt to get rid of her headache
"I can't do this much longer."
Her sleep had once again been plagued by nightmares. Ever since her birthday she had been unable to have a proper nights sleep. Each time it was the same, a menacing figure filled with Anger and pure evil had been preying on her and her friends. Infact it had been the cause of everything bad that had happened since her 17th. Theresa, Jenny, murders left right and centre, it was there. At firsth the figure had been more a presence in her mind but in recent weeks it had begun to take a physical shape and no she could see quite plainly who it was - Angel, or rather Angelus.
In her dreams, he lover was lashing out against anyone and anything that she cared about in a way that made the worlds worst Phsycopath seem normal. The dreams were starting to take their toll and she was even having trouble looking at her lover
She got up and began to get ready for the day. At School she put on her now permanent mask, the one where she was a happy normal girl with no cares except making it to class ontime. She went through the motions but with each passing minute she knew she was that little bit closer to when she would once again enter a world where he lover was dead, and she was the one who had killed him.
Ch 1
Buffy lent against the railing while trying to enjoy the scene before here. Xander and Cordelia were dancing to whoever the featured band was while Willow was there alone as Oz had gone out of town, and at present she was looking for Buffy. Buffy avoided eye contact in the hopes her friend wouldn't keep asking what was wrong. She was so caught up that she didn't notice a guy come from behind.
"Hey."
Buffy turned around, suprise evident on her features,
"I'm Ben. We had Algebra II together last year." the guy explained
"Sorry, I pretty much repress anything math-related." Buffy joked
"Ms. Jackson? Second period? You sat in the seat three over and one behind."
Nope, no clue! "Oh! Yeah, I remember now, it's the one with the desks and the chalkboards and pencils and stuff, right?"
"That's the one." Ben chuckled
"Like a steel trap." Buffy grinned
"So, I was wondering, you know the dance tomorrow night? Are you going?"
"You mean the Sadie Hawkins thing? The deal where the girls ask the boys?"
"Yeah. And I thought maybe, you know, if you're free, you might ask me."
Someones asking ME out! "Oh, gosh...I..."
"Oh, oh, hey, hey, no, don't, don't worry about it..." Ben looked crushed
"No, no, you seem like a really great guy, it's...me. I-I'm not seeing anybody. Ever again, actually."'I gota guy!'
"Oh. That's, that's too bad."
'Yes. Real tragic...okay for you maybe.'
"Okay, well, I better..." Buffy watched him walk off,
"Sorry."
She really was sorry for him but it couldn't be helped, and besides, Ben seemed like the kind of guy who needed a stable girlfriend and at present, she was furthest from. Buffy gave up trying to pretend and blend and decided to head home, Willow caught up with her on the way out.
"Hey! You're bailing?"
"Yeah. I'm gonna stop by the library and see if Giles wants me to patrol, and then sack it."
"You've been doing that a lot. Patrolling and sacking. In fact, you've kind of been All-Work-And-No-Play Buffy."
"I play. I have big fun. I came here tonight, didn't I?" Buffy defended
"You came, you saw, you rejected." Willow glanced up, indicating she had witnessed Buffy's conversation with Ben.
"You mean that guy? What wasI meant to do, say yes but thatI have to check and see if it's okay with my boyfriend."
"True, but still, lately you haven't been yourself. For one thing you've been thinking too much. You need to be impulsive."
"Impulsive? Do you remember my ex-boyfriend, the vampire? I slept with him, he lost his soul, now my boyfriend's gone forever, and the demon that wears his face is killing my friends. The next impulsive decision I make will involve my choice of dentures."
"What! Buffy what on earth are you talking about? Your ex...Angel killing people..."
Buffy shook her head to try and clear it, her dreams were starting to affect her concious thought, not a good thing.
"Ignore that, bad dream. Look, i'm just a little tired right now, maybe I'm still getting over the flu. I'll be fine after a good nights sleep. See you at school."
Buffy walked out and headed toward the school. Willow stood staring at the spot her friend had just vacated. She vowed to talk to Giles and Angel tomorrow...not necasarily in that order. They all knew Buffy hadn't been herself for a while, even before her stint in hospital, but things were getting worse and Willow was scared for her friend.
Angel climbed into bed a few hours after sunrise. He had spent the night trying to get the new guy at the butchers to give him his next fortnights blood supply. There had been a nice standoff between the two untill Angel had finally convinced him to call up his boss to see if it was alright. He got home an hour before dawn exhausted. He didnt need the sleep but just arguing that long with the guy had driven him nuts. He climbed into bed and shut his eyes, as he did the phone rang.
He groaned and reached over to grab the offending object, he was prepared to vent on the poor unsespecting soul at the other end but when he saw Willow's number on the caller ID he quickly changed his mind
"Willow, what's up?"
"Angel hi. listen I'm so sorry to be calling so early...er,I mean late, butI think there may be a problem."
"For you Will. that's a first."
"Well it's Buffy. she's been acting kind of strange lately. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but she's become real distant, like she's tired only not. She...she's real irritable and last night she said some things that weren't even real but she was convinced they were."
"What did she say?"
"She was going on about how you and her were ex's and that you were on a mass killing spree."
"What!"
"I know, Angel I'm so worried."
"I know she hasn't been herself, actually since just after her birthday. She's been having wierd dreams and stuff,I thought she was getting over them, but in the past two weeks, since comming out of hospital she's been distancing herself. And when we're together,I know she's not really with me."
"What do you think is wrong?"
"I honestly have no idea. keep an eye on her, see if you can get anything out of her. She's obviously trying to deal with something, we have to try and figure out what."
"Okay. Sorry again for disturbing you."
"Anything for you Willow. Have a great day."
They hung up and Angel rubbed his tired eyes. He got up again and went to the shower, there was no way he was getting any sleep.
Ch 2
Buffy sighed as she sat back down on the chair. Disapearing guns, freaked students, moving books, Snyder - to her it was all Hellmouth stuff that would eventually sort itself out. She waited another minute to be sure that Snyder was absolutly gone before exitingthe office. She noticed Giles leave Jenny's...Willows classroom but decided not to talk to him, he looked as if he had enough on his mind without Buffy telling him a book had moved from the shelf. Turning left she made her way to her next class.
It took all of two minutes for Buffy to fall asleep. She had made a mental note of the what the teacher was talking about and resolved to get Giles or Angel to explain it later.
'MaybeI should make it Giles. Talking to Angel leads to spending time with Angel which leads to staying with Angel which leads to nightmares about Angel...Giles is simpler.'
With her brain on overload she nodded off. Realising what was happenening she blinked and then frowned as she heared a woman speaking instead of her teacher
"Don't forget, your assignments are due on Friday, class."
Buffy looked around in shock at the sudden scene change, not to mention the costume change
'Eww! Halloween's come early.'
"I told Ms. Hall we'd go help decorate the gym. Who are you taking?"
Buffy's frown deepened as she noticed the flyer the girl handed over read '1955'
'Lets do the time warp again!'
"David said yes." the girls friend responded
"Oh, you're kidding! He's so dreamy!"
'For once canI stay in reality!'
Buffy watched as a boy walked up to the teacher
"Thank you, James. How are you enjoying that book I loaned you? The Hemingway."
"I like it. Very much. It's honest." He reached for her hand
'Hello jailbait!'
"Yes, it's, um... it's based on a true story, actually. He fell in love with his..."
The pair were interupted by the door opening and as they let go of each others hands, Buffy found her reality shifting
"...hours, child labor..." Her real teacher continued. Buffy re-focoused on her surroundings but was shocked when she saw what the guy was actually writting. The words 'DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME BITCH' were in stark contrast to the subject of discussion. The class began to laugh as the teacher realised his mistake
"Oh, my God!"
'Oh yea, Hellmouth High strikes again!'
"Did you see what he wrote?" One of her classmates asked in general
'duh!'
"Dismissed!" The teacher spoke before running out of the room freaked. Buffy left and headed toward the library, she bumped into Xander...quite literally...and together they walked to his locker, Buffy explaining what had happened along the way
"I'm telling you, something weird is going on."
"Something weird is going on. Isn't that our school motto?"
"Pretty much. But I don't know. This time it bugs me."
"I don't wanna poo-poo your wiggins, but a domestic dispute, a little case of chalkboard Tourette's? All sounds like Hellmouth Lite to me."
He opened his locker and a muscled green arm struck out and grabbed him by the shirt. Xander screamed as the arm pulled him, slamming him against his locker. Buffy tried to pull him away but it was too strong for her. Not detered, Buffy pulled harder and managed to free Xander, slamming the door in the process. Xander got up from his fallen position on the floor and they looked around at the reacions of the other kids. Noticing they were all staying away, good move on their part, the pair once again opened the door. Finding nothing, they quickly headed for the library, Buffy SMS'd an SOS to Angel on the way.
'I shouldnt have done that - stoopid habit. How didI ever do anything around this place without him! Too late now.'
They walked into the library and found Willow sitting at the table, she looked suprised and then amused,
"Xander, what happened? Did Cordelia win another round in the broom closet?"
"You're just a big bucket of funny Will. I'll have you know I was just accosted by some kind of, um, locker monster."
"Loch Ness Monster?" Giles finally looked up from his position on the floor
"'Locker' monster is what he said." Buffy corrected, "But it wasn't really a monster. It was, like, this big arm that came out of the locker, but then we opened it again, it was gone. Nothing."
"This was right after Buffy's history teacher starts doing some freaky channeling thing in class." Xander continued
"Ooh! Sounds like paranormal phenomena." Giles walked over to them, taking an interest
"A ghost? Cool!" Willow smiled
"Oh, no, no. No. No cool. This was no wimpy chain rattler. This was 'I'm dead as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore.'"
"Well, despite the Xander-speak, that's a fairly accurate definition of a poltergeist."
"I defined something? Accurately?" Xander closed the book sitting on the table, "Guess I'm done with the book learning."
"So we have some bad boo on our hands?" Buffy was almost annoyed it the simple explanation
"Yes."
"Well, why is it here? Does it just wanna scare people?" Willow questioned
"Unfortunately, he doesn't know exactly what he wants. That's,that's the trouble. See, uh, many times the spirit is plagued by all manner of worldly troubles. Being dead, it has no way to, uh, to make its peace. So it, it lashes out, growing ever more confused, ever more angry."
"So it's a normal teenager, only dead." Buffy quipped
"Well, what can we do? Is there any way to stop it?"
"Uh, the only tried and true way is to work out what unresolved issues keep it here, and-and-and, um, resolve them."
"Fabulous. Now we're Dr. Laura for the deceased."
"Only if we can find out who this spirit is.Or was."the gangconcidered the last part of his statement "Possibly school related." Giles continued
"Well that doesnt really narrow it down." Xander remarked "I mean,I don't even want to think about the number of kids killed in this place since it opened."
"Well there's way more than that,I mean it's a school. The spirit may not have even died here, they may have only had a strong connection to the place." Willow replied
"And then there's the Hellmouth." Everyone spun around as Angel came through the stacks.
"That was fast." Buffy noted
"Huh?"
"I sent you a message."
"Oh,I left my phone at home.I was comming to see Giles."
"Oh."
Angel noticed Buffy was keeping a physical distance from him, Adding that to the emotional distance already between them he knew things were most definantly not right with his beloved. He respectfully stayed away so as not to crowd her and he continued his previous train of thought.
"The person may not have nesecarily died in the school, they may have died before the school was even built."
"It's an infinate list." Willow sighed
"Maybe, but a list none the less. Willow, look for murders that have occured on the area that the school is built dating as far back as we can go and then from that we'll try to narrow it down." Buffy requested. Everyone agreed to the decision and they began the ring around to the parents, knowing they would be there most of if not all the night.
At 6pm, Buffy went to do a quick patrol of nearby area's while Willow and Xander went to get chinese. Angel wanted to go on patrol but Buffy insisted she was fine. Eventually Angel conceeded and realised it was a good time to talk to Giles. When the three teens had gone Giles turned to Angel,
"You said earlier you were comming to see me. i'm guessing it's Buffy related otherwise you wouldn't have given up so easlily in going with her."
"Giles, you know her better than anyone."
"Aside from you."
"She's been different lately...distant, as cliche as that sounds. Ever since just after her birthday really."
"What do you mean distant?"
"Well,I know she's keeping something from me. And it's something to do with her nightmares, every timeI get close to maybe figuring it out she starts to evade me. And now she's starting to say stuff that isn't true but well...I guess...I guess it could have been."
"What do you mean 'could' have been?"
"Well apparently last night she started rambling to Willow thatI was evil and thatI was killing innocent people and the like. From what I've been able to gather, she's dreaming me doing this stuff. The dreams she has let me in on, the stuffI think I'm doing in her dreams are exactly the sort of thing Angelus would have taken pleasure in doing. The first nightmare was on her birthday, remember? Jenny had done the curse and when Buffy woke up she said that she didn't know what would have happened but she was sure it would have been bad."
"I remember"
"Well the dreams have continued. the first few she told me about, she told me that she could sense maliciousness and anger but she couldn't see anyone. Since then a figure has been appearing slowly. A few weeks ago she had another nightmare and when she woke up she took one look at me, freaked and bolted.
"Ever since then she's been distancing herself. I'm worried at what these dreams are doing to her."
Giles took in this information and sighed
"I will admit she has been a little more focused in her training than usual,I didnt think much of it. I'll see ifI can find anything out. from what you are telling me this is something that will most likely not stop overnight.
"Willow is obviously just as concerned. we'll keep an eye on her, andI suggest you continue to try to reach her. While she is denying the truth from the world, things will remain the same and she'll probaly continue to try and push you away. Just be there ready to catch her when she eventually breaks."
Angel nodded and went to speak again when he heared shouting coming from outside.A few moments later it became clear enough for even Giles to hear. He got up and went to investigate, Angel figured it was a school thing and let Giles handle it. He continued to research. After a few moments he felt something go by him. narrowing his eyes he got up and moved quietly around. At the sound of a gunshot he raced out of the library. He saw Giles tackle the janitor to the floor and the gun slide out of his hand where a few seconds later it disapeared. Angel blinked but focoused on the events before him
"What's going on?" The janitor asked
"What's going on? You just shot a woman."
George began to takeeverything in, andhewas stunned by the realization that it had actually happened. He went along to the library with Giles while Angel called 911. The pair stood guard of him while they waited for the police.
In another part of town, Spike and Druscilla were being shown around a mansion by an agent who just happened to specialise in realestate for the underworld
"This is the garden."
"Wow! Look. Jasmine." Druscilla was acting like a little girl
"Night blooming." the lady informed them
"Like us. Oh, Spike, it's fairyland. Ooh!" She squealed in excitement
"It's paradise." Spike monotoned, "Big windows, lovely gardens. It'll be perfect when we want the sunlight to kill us."
"There is plenty of cover, heavy drapes and so forth. If you don't like it...It would be much more comfortable than your prevoius residence..."
"Well, our old place was just fine till Angelus went and had it burned down." Spike spat
That agent just smiled politely, she knew what had happened just as she knew exactly who it was she was showing around. She also knew the other parties involved. The comission she had recieved for selling 'THE' Angelus his apartment had set her up for life...well unlife in her case.
"Everyone needs a change at some point in their un-lives. Maybe this is yours." Spike resumed his grumbling as Druscilla continued her waltz about the garden
Ch 3
The gang had been sent away for the night while the police had combed the place from top to bottom. After being questioned, Giles and Angel had gone over the facts again, factoring in the poltergiest theory. Angel had left before dawn so as to avoid any awkward situations with Buffy, promising to return at sunset. He called Willow and asked her to let him know if anything came up.
The gang re-convened in the library to find out the facts,
"It was just as with the, the couple you encountered the other night, Buffy. The, the janitor remembered everything. He, he knew he'd killed this poor woman, but he had no idea why. Well, they-they had no intimate relationship.
"What about the gun? Did you find it?" Willow asked
"No, no. The police, everybody, we-we-we-we searched high and low. I think it's very clear what's happening here."
They looked at each other in confusion as Giles went to put some books away. Finally Xander bit the hook
"Fill me in then, 'cause I've read the book, seen the movie, and I'm still fuzzy about what's going on."
"It's Jenny."
'Woah, left field!' "What?" Buffy blinked in suprise
"You think she's the ghost?" Xander was equally shocked
"Well, don't you see? Well, she-she-she died here under tragic circumstances, a-a-and now she's trapped."
"But what about the gun? I mean, Druscilla didn't shoot Ms. Calendar."
Willow noticed Buffy get a far away look in her eyes at this statement and she realised what she was thinking,
'Angel didnt do it either!'
"The gun is insignificant. It's the violence of the thing that matters." Giles concluded
"I don't know. These fights these couples keep having, it's sort of... specific." Buffy pointed out
"She's right. It's a pattern that doesn't fit with the way Ms. Calendar died."
"Yes, well, I, uh, I appreciate your thoughts on the matter, I, in fact I... well, I encourage you to, to always, uh, challenge me, uh, when you feel it's appropriate. You should never be cowed by authority. Except, of course, in this instance, when I am clearly right and you are clearly wrong."
He walked into his office and shut the door. the gang shrugged and headed toward Willow's classroom
"This is freaky. I don't ever remember ever seeing Giles be this weird." Willow mused as she fired up her laptop.
"I know. He's usually Investigate-Things-From-Every-Boring-Angle Guy. Now he's I-Cling-Onto-My-One-Lame-Idea Guy. What gives?"
"He misses her. He can't think. Just a little more fallout from my love life."
Xander didnt pick up on what Buffy had said but Willow did. She opened another window on the screen and quickly typed an e-mail to Angel.
"Okay, but this ghost stuff is something else. Let me do a crosscheck on other shootings at the school and compare it to the list." Willow continued
"Yeah, we need some alternate ghost theories." Buffy agreed,"What do we know?" She asked a moment later
"Dog spit is cleaner than human."
"Besides that?"
"Oh, boy, we know plenty."
Willow read out the report she found about a student murdering his teacher, who just happened to be his lover
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a ghost. It is one of those two, right?"
"It all fits: the gun, the Sadie Hawkins Dance."
"Which is tonight." Buffy trailed off as her earlier dream came back to her
"How come we've never heard about this murder-suicide thing before? When did it happen?"
"1955." Buffy murmered
"How did you know?" Willow was curious.
"I'll be back."
Buffy ran from the room and returned a few minutes later with a yearbook from 1955. She opened it to a picture of the teacher she had seen in her dream
"Okay, here's the new strangeness. I dreamt about this woman, Grace Newman, yesterday. Her and this guy." she pointed to another picture
"Jim Stanley? He's the one. He did it." Willow confirmed
"Your dreams are getting wicked accurate, Buff."
'You had to say that.' Willow castised Xander silently
"You wouldn't happen to see me coming across some big cash? Or possibly knowing the love of a woman? In a full body sense?" Buffy ignored him
"He couldn't make her love him, so he killed her. Sicko."
"He looks so normal on this picture. He was smart, too. He made the honor roll."
"Smart!"Buffy frowned at the comment
"He killed a person and killed himself. Those are pretty much two of the dumbest things you could do." Xander agreed
"I know, but... Well, don't you feel kind of bad for them?"
"Sure I feel lousy. For her. He's a murderer and he should pay for it."
"With his life?" Willow was unsure which track Buffy was currently on, Thhe ghost or her nightmares"
"No, he should be doing sixty years in a prison, breaking rocks and making special friends with Roscoe the Weightlifter."
"Yikes. The quality of mercy is not Buffy." Xander tried joking
"Whose ghost do you think we're dealing with? His or hers?" Will tried getting back on track
"Well, considering how violent it is, I'm gonna say his."
"That tracks."
"Well, I've been browsing on some of Ms. Calendar's pagan sites. Maybe I can find a way to communicate with them and... we can find out what he wants."
"Who cares what he wants? We need to shut him down before some other innocent guy goes and kills some poor nice girl and then blows his brains out all over the music room wall."
"Okay! Who's hungry?"
Willow and Buffy looked at Xander, shrugged and after Willow shut off the computer they headed toward the cafeteria.
Ch 4
With the school closed till the reptile problem could be sorted, the gang had gone their various ways, agreeing to meet later at Buffy's. Buffy headed toward Angel's with a little aprehnsion. she knew he would question her on her recent behavior and as much as her head was telling her it was a very bad idea to be going, her heart was screaming louder. She knocked hesitantly on his door.
Angel let her in and as he closed the door he prepared to get to the point but one look at Buffy stopped him. She looked scared and nervouse and unsure. Buffy fought off tears as she looked up at her lover
"Please don't. Just hold me."
Angel didnt question he just moved quickly to her and pulled her to him tightly. Buffy's resolve crumbled and with a little hiccup she broke down. Angel wanted to say something...anything to comfort her but because he didnt know the true extent of the problem he figured it was best to just say nothing. Eventually Buffy's tears dried and she drifted to sleep.
Angel whispered meaningless words of comfort in her ear in the hopes she would have a dreamless sleep. It seemed to be working untill she started to talk and kick out violently. She woke with a look on her face that Angel knew meant death to anyone who crossed her path. Angel sighed and took her hand, staring her straight in the eye he spoke calmly
"I'm not asking you to tell me what's going on butI am askingyou to trust me whenI tell you that nothing you are dreaming is real. No matter what he has said to you in the dreams, no matter what he's done, none of it is true. I love you."
Buffy allowed the kiss that she knew was coming but Angel knew she hadn't believed a word he'd said.
After sunset they headed to her house to meet up with the gang. Joyce was at a meeting so they knew they could talk freely
"Remember the plan to contact the spirit and talk to it? Scrap that plan. Buffy, you were right. The time for touchy-feely communication is passed. I've done some homework and found the only solution is the final solution." Willow stated
"Been there, seen that." Angel muttered absently. Everyone stared at him till Xander spoke
"Nuke the school? I like that."
"Not quite. Exorcism."
"Are you crazy? I saw that movie! Even the priest died." Cordelia was freaked
"What's the deal?" Buffy was prepared to try anything. Willow layed out a map of the school and they all leaned over to take a look
"Okay, see here, the balcony? That's where the original teacher died back in 1955 and that teacher last night. That's the hot spot where all the bad mojo is coming from. We need to create a Mangus-tripod."
"A what?" Cordy wasnt the only confused one
"One person chants here on the hot spot. And the other three chant in other places around the school forming a triangle. It's supposed to bind the bad spirit and keep it from doing any more harm."
"Well, I'll take the hot spot. If there's trouble, that's where it'll be."
" This ghost, this James guy, is fixating on you, Buffy. The dreams, the yearbook... You sure you can handle it?" Xander was worried for her
"Well, I'm hoping he'll show. I truly am."
Everyone noted her tone of voice and they almost felt sorry for the ghost to be going up against Buffy...almost. They went over the specifics again and again, Willow teaching them the incantation and at eleven they headed toward the school. Angel had gone home. he had no real need to be there and he was tired. he may have been undead but staying up for the past 48 hours had been a stretch.
The gang walked into the halls of the school, ever wary of the snakes which by now were probably everywhere not to mention the ghost they were trying to get rid of. Buffy took her natural role as leader
"Okay, we all have our places. We do the chant and light the candle at midnight exactly. Any questions?"
"Yeah, what if this mangled triangle thingy doesn't work?" Cordelia voiced everyones thoughts
Oh! I almost forgot. I made us all scapulas." Willow spoke suddenly, completely managing to avoid the question
"Okay, so we can flip the ghost over when it turns a nice golden brown?" Xander confused the word
"Scapula, not spatula. Um, you wear it around your neck for protection."
"You expect me to wear this? It smells like grandpa breath."
'It's not a fashion statement Cordy' Willow mentally rebuked "Sorry, I didn't have a lot of time. I had to use sulfur. Stinky, but effective."
"Okay, let's do this."
They walked toward the lounge
"No problem. This will be a piece of cake. Right?" Cordelia tried to lightlen the atmosphere
With a crash that had the jumping out of their skins, the doors that led them back to the outside world slammed shut
At the mansion which Spike and Druscilla had decided to move into, Spike watched as Dru dug around in the dirt
"Maybe I'll sleep underground. Dig myself a little burrow."
"What about your pretty dress, sweet? It'll get all dirty."
"Then I'll sleep naked. Like the animals do."
'Interesting idea!'
Dru rolled on her back and stared toward the roof and began to laugh
"There's a gate! It's opening!"
"What gate, pet? What do you see?"
"It's black. It wants her." Druscilla answered while bouncing excitedly
"Wants who?" Spike was curious
"The Slayer. It's time, my Spike. She's ready now. She's dancing. Dancing with death." Spike rolled his eyes
"Big deal.we can'tdo anything. Our man Angel will always protect her or whatever."
"Not this time. He can't.It's been comming for months and now it's here."
"What is it Dru, what's killing her?"
"Her dreams. She dreams of black and now it's come to get her."
Spike sat back and mused on this recent turn of events as Druscilla continued to cackle insanely
Ch 5
After their failed exorcism attempt, everyone went back to Buffy's to try and figure the next course of action. With the tea and coffee made, Giles reflected on the nights events
"The good news is none of you girls were shot. Well, we've established, based on all the parallels and-and-and Buffy's visions, that it's James' spirit."
"So what do we do, Giles? About James." Willow was at a loss
"Well, he's obviously reliving the night of the Sadie Hawkins Dance when he killed Ms. Newman. It-it's-it's common enough for a spirit to do this, to... recreate a, a tragedy."
'At least he's over the Jenny thing' Willow acknowledged
"Hey. If Sunnydale High School shuts down forever, do we automatically graduate?" Cordelia spoke randomly. Ignoring her Xander spoke,
"But why? What does he want? Actually, that's an interesting point." Xander noted, looking at his girlfriend
"He's, he's trying to... resolve whatever issues are keeping him in limbo. W-w-what exactly those are, I'm not..."
"He wants forgiveness." Buffy interupted quietly
"Yes. I imagine he does. But when James possesses people, they act out exactly what happened that night. So he's experiencing a form of purgatory instead. I mean, he's, he's doomed to, to kill his Ms. Newman over and over and over again, and... forgiveness is impossible."
"Good. He doesn't deserve it." Buffy's eyes narrowed
"To forgive is an act of compassion, Buffy. It's, it's not done because people deserve it. It's done because they need it." Giles tried to reason gently
"No. James destroyed the one person he loved the most in a moment of blind passion. And that's not something you forgive. No matter why he did what he did. And no matter if he knows now that it was wrong and selfish and stupid, it is just something he's gonna have to live with."
'Her nightmares are causing her to deal with something beyond her control' Giles mused
'You have nothing in common with James Buffy. Whatever your dreams are telling you isn't real!' Willow was concerned at how far buffy was taking this
"He can't live with it, Buff. He's dead." Xander stated in response to her previous comment. Buffy looked at them all before stalking from the room.
"Okay. Overidentify much?" Cordelia voiced the thoughts of the others
In the kitchen, Buffy put her hands in her pockets and frowned as her hand came in contact with something. Pulling out the folded paper she saw it was the flyer from the 1955 Sadie hawkins Dance. Staring at it she heard a voice surround her senses
"I need you"
Without thinking, Buffy walked out the door to obey James' will.
Angel was restless as his tired body tried to obtain the rest it needed, but while his body was tired his mind was quite active. His concern for Buffy was taking over his soul. He knew what Angelus was capable of and for Buffy to be experiencing an imaginary shadowy version of his demon counterpart was making Angel's skin crawl. He had no idea how to stop what was happening to her. He didnt even know why it was happening. Angel rolled over again and opened his eyes. He got up to get a drink but as he did he began to sense a presence in the room. standing very still he took an uneeded breath and felt out with his senses.
"What do you want?"
"You!" came a quiet whisper that didnt seem to have a point of origin
"Why?"
"Please. I don't wan't anyone else to die."
"Well no one's going near the school for a while with your boyfriends reptiles everywhere."
"He has her."
"Her...You mean Buffy. She'll be okay, she is stronger than anyoneI know. It would take a lot to get to her..." Angel trailed off as he realised what he was saying.
"She wants it to end. Please help."
Grace had no need to continue, Angel was already out the door and on his way to the school. He got to the school and blinked in suprise at the wall of wasps. Sensing Buffy inside, Angel walked confidently toward the buzzing insects. Having no pulse was a plus in many circumstances, this being one of them. The insects had no interest in him and he was able to enter the school through the library. He headed out into the halls and noticed Buffy looking at the trophy cabnet. He knew that Buffy was under the Spirits thrall, but he also knew that the only real way for that to happen so easily was for Buffy to want it. With the wasps all around the school, no one would be able to stop Buffy killing herself like James did if the scene managed to play out.
'Killing yourself is not a way out my love!'
The thought that Buffy's soul yearned for such an escape hurt so much he began to feel quite angry
"Fun fact about wasps.They have no taste for the undead." Angel sneered, his anger making him become sarcastic."Not that a sting would do me any damage, it's just... tonight's special. I wanted to look my best for you."
Buffy spun around at the final comment and for a moment, realisation shon in her eyes before she resumed her trance like state
"You're the only one. The only person I can talk to."
"I thought that was true, but you havent exactly been Miss Forthcomming lately Buff."
"You can't make me disappear just because you say it's over."
"I never did say it was over Buffy. In fact...I just want you to be able to have some kind of normal life. We can never have that, don't you see?" Angel suddenly changed his speach as Grace took over
"I don't give a damn about a normal life! I'm going crazy not seeing you. I think about you every minute."
"I know. But it's over. It has to be!"
Angel dropped the hand he had been using to caress buffy's cheek and he started to walk away. Buffy gave chase as the scene from 43 years previous repeated again.
"Come back here! We're not finished!" Buffy stated angrily. She grabbed Angel by the arm and turned him to face her,
"You don't care anymore, is that it?" Buffy demanded
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter what I feel." Angel cried
"Then tell me you don't love me! SAY IT!"
"Is that what you need to hear? Will that help? I don't. I don't. Now let me go."
Angel tried to breake out of Buffy's grasp. Somewhere in his subconcious, Angel knew what was happenening and he fought uselessly for control
'This isn't right. Please stop this. Grace! James! This isnt going to help. oh please. I love her so much' He pleaded helplessly
"No. A person doesn't just wake up and stop loving somebody! Love is forever."
'Angel, I'm sorry.But this has to end, for my sake. I killed you. You don't know it butI did. It has to stop.'
"I'm not afraid to use it, I swear! If I can't be with you..."
"Oh, my God!" Angel turned and started to run down the hall
"DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME BITCH!" Buffy yelled after him. they ran till Angel stopped by the balcony, "Stop it! Stop it! Don't make me!"
"All right." Angel turned toward his lover, "Just...You know you don't want to do this. Let's both... just calm down. Now give me the gun."
'Please Buffy. give me the gun. PLEASE!'
"Don't. Don't do that, damn it! Don't talk to me like I'm some stupid..."
The gun went off in her hand and Buffy looked on in shocked fear as Angel fell backward over the balcony.
She went to the edge and looked over to see Angel lying dead on the pavement. She stepped back slowly, the shock of seeing her lover dead overcame the logic that Angel was a vampire. She walked slowly toward the music room, the room where James had many happy memories of being with Grace
Outside, Angel opened his eyes. Realising what had happened and remembering what came next in the scene, he ignored the pain from the gunshot and lept up to the balcony he had fallen from, eager to get to his beloved. Grace helped as much as she could in the hopes that this time, she would be able to stop James from doing the unthinkable.
In the music room, Buffy/James turned on the record player and as the music started they looked in the mirror. Buffy's reflection was that of James back in 1955'. They looked down at the gun in Buffy's hand and Buffy began to lift it toward her head
'I'm can't do this anymore. I'm sorry my Angel.'
She continued to raise the gun to her head but a hand reached from behind and pushed it back down. Buffy spun around to face Angel
"Grace!" 'Angel!'
"Don't do this." 'Oh please Buffy don't do it!'
"But-but I killed you."
"It was an accident. It wasn't your fault." 'There is a ghost who's gonna get his spirit ass kicked though.'
"Oh, it is my fault. How could I..."
"Shhh. I'm the one who should be sorry, James. You thought I stopped loving you. But I never did. I loved you with my last breath." 'You have to know how much i love you. Your dreams meant nothing!'
Buffy let out a few sobs. Angel reached up to cradel her face with his hands. Buffy lent into the familiar touch
"Shhh... No more tears." he whispered as he lent in for a kiss. With their arms wrapped around each other, James' and Graces' Spirits finally left this world for the next. Buffy and Angel broke off the kiss and looked at each other
"Angel?" Buffy breathed softly before breaking down in tears. Angel caught her as she fell and continued to hold her as the pain that had been building since her birthday gave way to the truth that Angel loved her.
They only pulled apart when the gang burst into the room, each in a state of panic.
"Are you alright?"
"We heard a gun?"
"The wasps are gone."
"Who got shot"
"Are you sure you're okay?"
They all spoke at once. Buffy motioned toward the door and they all filed out and headed toward the library without either Buffy or Angel actually speaking. Buffy helped Angel move, the pain from the gun coming back in full force. Once they had assured themselves that Buffy and Angel were fine and that there had been no other victims, Willow, Cordelia and Xander went on a search of the school to make sure it was back to normal while Giles dressed Angel's wound. Buffy sat in Giles' office contemplating the nights events. Half an hour later everyone returned
"Everything seems normal. Not a snake, not a wasp." Willow confirmed
"Yep. School can open again tomorrow." Cordelia stated without giving much thought to the comment
"Explain to me again how that's a good thing."
"I'm drawing a blank."
Giles gave a small smile and walked into his office to check on his Slayer
"Are you feeling any better?"
"James picked me. I guess... I guess I was the one he could relate to. He was so sad."
'No wonder he could relate to you. I hope this gets my happy Buffy back.' Giles was still very concerned but Buffy seemed to be in a state of almost acceptance. He went and sat next to her
"Well... they can both rest now."
"I still...A part of me just doesn't understand why she would forgive him."
"Does it matter?"
"No. I guess not."
Giles layed a comforting hand on her arm and looked up to see the gang and Angel standing in the doorway. Giles nodded slightly and Willow, Xander and Cordy all smiled and bid everyone goodnight before heading home for at least an hours sleep.
Angel took Buffy's hand and together they went back to his apartment. Angel had talked briefly to Giles and they both decided to give Buffy a day off. Giles would handle Snyder and with Joyce out of town, she wasn't an issue.
At the apartment, Angel made Buffy a cup of coffee and sat her down. he knew she would talk eventually but he was prepared to wait, time wasn't a factor. Eventually Buffy started to talk and once she started she couldn't stop. She told Angel all about her dreams, everything since her birthday and how different everything was with Angelus in the loose. Angel listened quietly till she was done. He'd had no idea the true extent of what had been plaguing her and now that he did know, he was so proud at how long she had been able to deal with it.
"Buffy, I'm pretty sure that you've been dreaming of an alternate reality...a reality that should have happened in a sense. Remember Jenny telling us that the curse had been done just in time. What you've been dreaming is what would have happened if it hadn't been done, and that's a result of luck more than anything. ButI want you to understand, even if that had of happened, WhatI feel for you wouldn't have changed. That's why Angelus was so cruel and why he has caused you so much pain in your dreams, the amount of damage he inflicts on a person is equal to that amount of love I feel for them. So you see, the worse it is the more i love you.
"But also in saying that, NONE of it actually happened. it could have, but it didn't!. It's JUST dreams, nothing more. It has absolutly no impact on reality if you don't let it. I have no idea if Angelus will ever again walk this earth. But if he doesI know you'll be able to deal because you have in essence lived through it. If that time does come, remember what I've told you, his hate and rage is so strong because my love is equal or greater than it.
"I love you Buffy Anne Summers. And if Grace and James have taught us anything it is that there is nothing on this earth more powerful than love, even death can't defeat the love two people can share."
Buffy sat quietly for a few moments before looking Angel squarly in the eye, went over and kissed him soundly. One thing led to another untill a few hours later they lay in each others arms, exhausted but content.
For the first time in four months, Buffy slept peacefully and without the hint of nightmares. She knew the nightmares would most likely return but for now, The love Grace and James had for each other, The love Angel had for her and her for him would keep her going. She would survive.
Spike growled deeply as he watched Druscilla dance off in search of a late snack. he rolled himself around till he was sure she was gone, then he stood up and took his anger and frustration out of the chair he no longer needed
He paced back and forth before heading out himself. He had places to go, people to scare into helping him...or kill for refusing.
"Payback's a bitch Slayer!" he mumbled, "And the fun is about to begin!"
The End...Or is it!
Reviews
You guys are so wonderful, i love you all :)
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