Chapter 4: Playing Roles
A/N:This chapter was written by Ozlover. To answera question- This fic was written by two authors- Willowzlilsecret and Ozlover. Together, we share the penname- VampGrlz. If I accidentally wrote Angelzbabygrl or frenchtoast101, I'm sorry- those are our pennames at a different site. Also, the next three chapterswere written by Willowzlilsecret, because Ozlover was on vacation. Just so ya know. You asked again and you recieved again- Enjoy. ;)
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Willow lay in her bed that night staring up at the off-white ceiling. It was one in the morning and she'd woken up to Buffy singing the "Wanna Fanta?" commercial in her sleep a couple of minutes ago.
"Angel, do you wanna fanta?" Buffy mumbled into her pillow.
Poor Buffy. Willow thought. She's in love with someone who's taken. But she knew that Buffy would be able to win him away from his girlfriend. After all, no one could resist her smile.
Willow decided that she couldn't take Buffy's half-intelligible rambles, so she dragged herself out of bed. She wasn't planning on seeing anyone downstairs so she didn't bother to change out of her short, black gym shorts and black tank top that were currently playing the role of her pj's. She closed the door softly behind her and headed downstairs into the kitchen to get a snack.
She was rummaging through a cabinet when she heard a noise behind her. On instinct, she grabbed a knife off of the kitchen counter and turned around to face...
"Oops!" Willow's hand flew to her mouth when she saw Oz standing in front of her looking mildly bewildered, yet intriuged at the same time. "Sorry..."
"It's okay...I just wasn't expecting that." Oz said.
"It was some weird reflex I had..." Willow trailed off. She was obviously embarrassed for holding a knife to her crush.
"Well, it's good to be cautious." Oz said with a smile.
Willow laughed softly and continued to search the cabinet. Oz couldn't help but scan his eyes over her body. She was slender and well-toned. Her pretty red hair barely covered her back above the tank top she was wearing. Willow turned around holding a bag of chips.
"Chips? At one in the morning?" Oz asked, smiling.
"Yup. You want some?" Willow asked.
"Sure." Oz sat down at the table across from Willow and they passed the chip bad back and forth.
"You never told me what you were doing up this early." Willow said, glancing over at him.
"I couldn't sleep." Was all Oz said. There was a long silence.
"I bet you're glad to be here after driving for four days." Oz said.
"Definitely. The trip was crazy. One night, Cordy drove through this dark alley and all these creepy, homeless people surrounded the car and were trying to get to us." Willow said all in one breath. Oz thought it was cute how excited she got when telling the story.
"Then what happened?" He asked.
"Well, Cordy blasted the horn and nearly ran them all over. But at least we made it out alive."
Oz chuckled softly. "That's always a plus."
Willow told Oz more things that happened on the road trip, then they both agreed that they should be getting back to bed.
"Goodnight, Oz." Willow said when they were at her and Buffy's room.
"Goodnight, Willow."
Hearing him say her name sent shivers up and down her spine. She smiled to herself and went into the room. Once the door was closed she squealed quietly.
"There's a piggy in here..." Buffy mummered.
"Oh, shush." Willow said, still smiling.
"I will when you tell me where you were." Buffy said as she rolled over to look at Willow, proving that she was awake.
"Did Angel wanna fanta?" Willow asked slyly.
"Yeah, he did actually...Wait. How do you know about my dream?" Buffy asked.
"You were kinda sleep-talking."
"Oh." Buffy giggled, then stopped abruptly. "Don't change the subject." She said with a stern look on her face that was beginning to crack with a smile. "Where were you?" She asked again.
Willow told Buffy about how she and Oz were downstairs, and how she almost attacked him with a knife.
"It's a good statement, really." Buffy insisted. "'I love you and if you don't love me back you can die. At my hands. From a knife wound."
Willow playfully shoved her. "It was an accident. I was defending myself."
"Sure you were." Buffy said with a smirk.
Willow hated to bring it up, but she knew she had to...
"Are you gonna talk to Angel tomorrow? Or...actually...today?" She asked.
Buffy sighed. "I have no choice. I want him so badly, Will."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure his girlfriend can't, in any way, compare to you." Willow said confidently.
Buffy smiled weakly.
"Now, c'mon. Let's get some sleep. We don't wanna look like walking zombies tomorrow." Willow said, only half-joking.
The girls said their goodnights and went back to bed.
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A few hours later, Cordelia was climbing out of bed. It was still dark, but the sun would be rising sometime soon and she didn't want to miss it.
"Dawn? C'mon, we have to get up now if we want to catch the sunrise over the water." She said, gently shaking the younger girl.
"Mmm? Oh, yeah...I'll be up in a sec..." Dawn said, pulling the covers over her head.
"We have to go now." Cordelia said while throwing on a white lace cami and a long, thin beige skirt.
"Mmmmmkay." Dawn practically fell out of bed, then jolted up. "I'm good." She walked over to her dresser and pulled a crimson tank top on and a pair of khaki shorts.
"Let's go." Cordelia slipped on a white pair of sandals and Dawn slid into pink flip-flops. Cordelia headed out with Dawn at her heels.
"Are you-"
"Shhh!" Cordelia held a finger to her lips. Dawn had forgotten that the rest of the people in the house were still asleep.
"Are you going to teach me how to be more secretive about my relationship with Connor?" Dawn whispered. Cordelia nodded as they slipped out the back door. She knew the sun would be rising any minute now and she wanted to be right there when it happened.
"C'mon!" Cordelia shouted as she took off running towards the beach. Dawn was close behind her. Soon they were at the water's egde and the two girls sat down on the sand, letting the cool, fresh water wash over their feet.
"We made it." Dawn said, breathing heavily.
"Look." Cordelia said, tilting her head out towards the ocean. Dawn looked and was amazed at what she saw.
The sun's golden rays were barely peaking over the surface of the ocean, giving everything a golden-yellow glow. The sun was rising by the minute. Soon the whole ocean was set ablaze with oranges, reds, pinks and yellows. The clouds in the sky were also tinted with orange and pink. The bright rays seemed to push away the blackness of night to bring forth a new day. It was the most breathtaking thing either of the girls had ever seen.
"Wow." was all Cordelia was able to say. Dawn didn't say anything.
Soon the sun had risen over the water and continued to paint the sky. Cordelia and Dawn got up and stretched their legs, getting ready to walk down the beach. It was awhile before either of them spoke. They were too taken aback by the amazing sunrise. Dawn ventured to speak first.
"So, what have you got to teach me?" She asked Cordelia.
"About being secretive about you and Connor?"
"Yes." Dawn replied.
"Okay, first off, I know it'll be hard for you, but you can't be hanging all over him."
Dawn made a disappointed sound.
"It'll be too obvious if you do!"
"Okay, okay...What else do I need to know?"
"You need to have normal conversations with him. No hard-core flirting. Or,...Any noticeable flirting. Just talk to him like you'd talk to Xander."
Dawn nodded in understanding.
"Anything else?" She asked.
Cordelia thought for a moment. "If he asks to do something with you when there's other people around, don't act overly-excited. Just act natural. That's the best advice I can give you."
"Thanks, Cordy." Dawn said, trying out the girl's nickname. Cordelia smiled and they continued to walk along the beach.
Meanwhile, Connor, Oz and Willow were at the kitchen table eating cereal. Willlow glanced at the blue clock hanging on the wall.
"Maybe I should go wake Buffy up. She wanted me to get her up early. I'll be back." Willow said as she left the kitchen and went upstairs. Oz watched her go.
"You've got it bad." Connor observed. "I can tell by the way you look at her."
"Yeah." Oz answered dreamily. Well, as dreamily as someone like Oz could.
"And everyone can tell you've got it bad for Buffy's sister." Oz replied.
"Dawn." Connor sighed. He mentally debated whether or not to tell oz that he and Dawn were going out. He decided against it. He wasn't sure if Dawn wanted people to know.
000Meanwhile, in Buffy and Willow's room..000
"Buffy..." Willow groaned, shaking her best friend gently. "Get up." It was no use. She was glued to the bed. Then Willow saw something. "Angel's outside."
"Where?" Buffy shot out of bed and scrambled to the window. No one was there.
"Hey...He's not out there."
"Huh. He was a second ago." Willow replied innocently.
"Sure..." Buffy leaned against the wall by the window and sighed. "I don't know what to do! I thought I did...but I'm so lost. Will, I don't know if I can even talk to him."
"But you have to! He likes you, I know it!" Willow protested.
"Maybe he does...But everytime I see him I'm gonna see the word "TAKEN' stamped in red on his forehead!"
"Oh, Buffy..."
Buffy was about to tell Willow that maybe she should've stayed home to avoid the drama. "I probably shoul'dve..." She was distracted when she saw that Angel really was outside. "God, he has a nice butt."
Willow was confused until she followed Buffy's dreamy gaze out the window. Buffy continued to stare.
"C'mon, he'll see you!" Willow giggled as she tried to tug Buffy away from the window. Buffy finally dropped her gaze and followed Willow to the door.
"You know, I am gonna talk to him today." Buffy said with resolution in her voice.
"Wow. It's amazing how one look at his butt can change your whole attitude." Willow smiled.
"What can I say? It was nice." The girls giggled and headed down to the kitchen. By this time, Xander had joined them at the kitchen table.
"Why so giggley, girls?" Xander asked.
Buffy and Willow just exchanged glances and continued to giggle. Dawn and Cordy came in ten minutes later. Connor tried not to stare. Dawn looked gorgeous. Her crimson shirt really set off the color of her lips...Ok, he had to stop. He was staring. Connor tore his eyes away from her and cleaned the place where he'd been sitting at the table. He had something to ask Dawn, but he decided he would wait until they were alone together.
"Where's Angel?" Dawn asked, when she realized that someone was missing.
"He's outside doing who knows what." Xander answered.
Buffy nudged Willow's arm lightly, smiled and said. "I'm gonna go for a walk."
Willow smiled knowingly and silently wished her luck.
Buffy headed out the back way of the house, through the sliding glass door that led to a wooden patio overlooking the beach. She spotted Angel immediately and slowly walked over towards him. She inched up so that she was standing next to him. She hoped he didn't notice her.
"Hey." Angel said softly. Buffy was surprised to hear his voice. She hadn't heard him speak once while she was there.
"Hey." She returned. There was an awkward silence.
"When is your girlfriend coming?" Buffy asked nervously.
"Who told you?" He still hadn't turned to look at her.
"Well, Xander told Willow and she kinda told me." Buffy replied.
"She's coming in a week."
"Oh." Buffy said, trying not to sound disappointed.
There was another long silence.
"Why are you out here?" Angel asked.
"I wanted to find out if you could talk." Buffy lied. She could tell Angel was smiling.
"I don't mean right here. Why are you here on the Atlantic Coast. It can't be because you're looking for love." He said, finally turning a little bit to look at her.
"Well, Willow asked...Wait. Why can't I be looking for love?" Buffy asked, repeating his words.
"It doesn't matter..."
Buffy wanted to know badly. She had an idea...maybe he really did like her...She wanted to push him until he told her, but she didn't want to upset him.
"I'm gonna go further along the beach to where the snack vendor is. You wanna come?" She asked.
Angel shook his head. "But I'll be waiting here until you come back." He said, never taking his eyes off the sparkling, blue ocean.
Buffy smiled as she walked along the beach to where Willow took her yesterday. She entertained herslef with the idea that she and Angel would fall in love and he would dump his girlfriend for her, just like Willow said. Soon she was standing at the counter of the little snack cart.
Buffy scanned the display of snack foods. "Uh, I'll take two large bags of blue doritos, a bag of mini-pretzels, a large bag of cheetos and a small bag of plain chips, please." Buffy said.
The bleach blonde man that was facing the register turned around to face her. "That'll be thirteen forty-nine." He said with a slight British accent.
Buffy was caught offguard by his piercing blue eyes. "Uhh..oh!" She pulled fourteen dollars out of her pocket and handed the bills to the man.
"Your change is fifty-one cents." He handed her the change. She was strangely mesmerized by his eyes...
"Thanks, um, William." Buffy said, reading his name-tag.
"Huh? Oh." He chuckled. "No one calls me William. But the git I work for wouldn't let me put 'Spike' on the name tag."
"Spike? Is that a nickname?"
"Yeah. I don't know where it came from, really." Spike said. Buffy smiled. She has a pretty smile... Spike observed.
"Oh!" Buffy exclaimed when she realized that she hadn't introduced herself. "I'm Buffy." She stuck out her hand and Spike shook it.
"Pleasure meeting you." Spike looked around. There was no one in line and he didn't see a guy that was looking for her...
"So, are you from around here?" He asked.
"No, actually. I'm from Southern California. Sunnydale. I'm just staying here with my friend. A-and her family." Buffy stumbled over her words. Spike told her that he was from England, and that's where his parents lived. He was in the United States trying to make a living. "Yeah, see what a good job I'm doing?"
"You've gotta start somewhere." Buffy replied.
"That's true..."
Buffy leaned against the cart and the two of them talked as if they were old friends. Then Buffy glanced back at her watch. They'd been talking for over an hour! And Angel was waiting for her back on the beach. She felt like Cinderella, having a good time, then suddenly having to rush away with no explaination.
"I-I have to go now." Buffy said, grabbing the snack food that had been sitting on the counter.
Spike was confused at her sudden change of attitude. he knew he was going out on a limb, but he really liked her...
"Can I atleast have your phone number?" He asked.
"Uh..." Buffy was going to say no, but she had really enjoyed talking to him...So she agreed and gave her cell phone number. And he gave her his apartment phone number.
"Bye!" Buffy called back to him as she jogged down the beach back towards where they were staying.
"Bye." Spike gave a small wave to her retreating form.
When Buffy approached the area around the house Angel was nowhere to be seen. Buffy smacked her head with her hand. "You had him...Why did you do that?" She continued to hit her head with the palm of her hand. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." She stopped before entering the house. Willow was lounging on one of the couches.
"Buff, you're head's all red..." Willow was confused. "What happened? Why were you gone so long?"
Buffy told her what had happened with Angel.
"That's great! I knew he likes you!" Willow gushed.
"There's more." Buffy said, almost ashamed of what she did. She told Willow about how she met Spike and exchanged phone numbers.
"Oh boy. So, do you still like Angel?" Willow asked, concerned for her best friend.
"I don't know! Yeah...kinda...I'm more confused than ever, now!" Buffy buried her face in her hands and groaned.
"C'mon, let's go down to the beach." Willow said. "You need to get your mind off of guys."
"Okay...Where's Dawn?" Buffy asked.
"She's with Connor on the beach somewhere." Willow replied.
"They've been spending alot of time together." Buffy noticed. Willow just nodded. "Where's your lover?" Buffy asked slyly. Willow blushed.
"Shut up...And he's down by the beach too, playing football with Xander."
"And Cordelia?" Buffy asked.
"She's tanning...and watching Xander and Oz play football."
"Why are you inside?" Buffy asked.
"I was waiting for you." Willow answered.
"I'm glad somebody did..." She said, thinking about Angel.
"Let's get changed."
Buffy and Willow changed into their bathingsuits, put sunscreen on and headed outside.
"Uh-oh, here comes trouble." Xander said, watching Buffy and Willow come running around the patio giggling. Oz looked over. They were poking each-other in the sides, then laughing. Willow jumped off the patio deck with Buffy right behind her. She poked Willow who screamed and started laughing.
"Hey, losers, get over here!" Cordelia called to the two giggling girls. Cordelia was laying on her back with her dark sunglasses covering her eyes. Buffy and Willow sneaked up on either side of her and poked her in the side. She jumped up and shrieked.
"Get back here!" Cordelia got up and the three girls engaged in a tickle war. Xander and Oz looked on in amusement.
After fifteen minutes of running around and poking each other, the three girls collapsed on Cordelia's over-sized towel, on which the three could easily fit.
"That's it? You're done now? And it was just getting good too..." Xander joked. The girls alternated between swimming, laying on the towel and even playing football with Xander and Oz. They only stopped to eat lunch, which was sandwiches that were thrown together at the last minute.
A few hours after lunch the girls plus Xander and Oz were sitting on the towel trading old stories.
"Remember when we all took ballet together?" Buffy asked.
Cordelia and Willow nodded. "Yeah, and then we took tap dancing."
"And we would always get in trouble because we wouldn't dance how we were supposed to. We were too amused with the click-y noises that our shoes made." Everyone laughed.
Meanwhile, farther down the beach dawn and Connor were walking alongside the ocean.
"So..." Connor started. "There's gonna be this party tomorow might at this beach house down a little ways, and...well...I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go with me?" He asked hopefully. Dawn had told Connor that she didn't want her friends to know about them just yet, and she feared that going to a party with him might reveal it.
"I'll think about it..." Dawn said, smiling. She looked out at the setting sun. She had seen the sun rising over the ocean and now she could see it setting. She hoped that Cordelia was watching it too.
"I guess we'd better be getting back to the house." Connor said, not really wanting to leave.
"Yeah." They turned around and headed back towards the house. Dawn could feel her fingers brushing up against Connor's. Finally, she gave in and took his hand in hers. They walked the rest of the way with their fingers laced tightly together.
After dinner the eight friends went out to the beach for a swim under the stars. When everyone was back inside and in their rooms Connor pulled Dawn aside to talk.
"So...did you ever decide if you want to go to the party with me tomorrow night? Oz's band is gonna be playing, so Willow can come too." Connor asked, practically begging her.
"Yeah, I think I will." Dawn answered. Connor smiled and they hugged each other tightly. Connor finally released Dawn and walked up to his room. Dawn waited a mintues, still getting over the rush of being in Connor's arms, then ran up to her room to tell Cordelia the good news.
