A/N: This chapter was written by Ozlover
A/N: Yeahhh, so we're sorry if this is a boring one..it gets better, we promise!
Chapter 22- The Never-Ending Day
Oz tossed and turned restlessly on the couch. He sat up and looked at the clock on the kitchen. Three-thirty. He'd been awake for two hours, trying to fall back asleep after a loud crack of thunder woke him up. Then he'd starting thinking about Willow and couldn't manage to get to sleep.
He sighed in exasperation, layed back down and listened to the droning pitter patter of light rain on the roof. He shut his eyes in another attempt to fall asleep.
Without warning he felt a small body push against his. He recognized the feeling.
" Willow? Is that you?" He inquired of the figure. He was answered with a muffled sound.
"What are you doing here?" He asked quietly. Not that he was complaining or anything.
"I had a bad dream..."
"Yeah?"
Willow nodded. "There was scary demon clowns...a-and frogs." She added with a shiver.
"Frogs?" Oz asked gently.
"Yeah...I have frog fear." Willow admitted sheepishly. Oz smiled and put his arms around her waist.
"So you came here?" He asked.
"Uh-huh. Plus there were scary noises...I think it was just Buffy snoring, but it was scary snoring." Willow assured him.
"I bet it was." He pulled the covers over both of them and finally drifted off to sleep, praying that they wouldn't be awoken like yesterday.
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
Willow stirred in Oz's arms. She could hear rain panging on the roof and people shuffling around the room. She sat up, which woke Oz. Willow looked around and saw Xander sitting on the other couch, looking smug.
"Your current situation is questionable..." He started. Willow raised an eyebrow, confused. "Like why were you two sleeping together?" He demanded in a mock serious tone.
"Not together ..." Willow started, blushing furiously. "Shut up." She mumbled, getting off the couch and going into the kitchen. There she found Cordelia sitting at the table with a plate of bacon.
"You cooked that?" Willow asked in disbelief.
"This? No way. It's fifteen second microwavable." Cordelia answered. Willow cringed. Then again, how could she have expected Cordelia to have cooked something...an edible something...Nope. Not possible.
"So..." Cordelia started, trying to ease into conversation. "You were sleeping with Oz?" She asked bluntly, giving up on trying to ask casually.
"No!" Willow defended, blushing again. Cordelia just grinned.
"Sure..."
Just then Dawn entered the kitchen followed by a sleepy looking Buffy.
"Morning!" Dawn chirped.
"Bacon...?" Buffy mumbled groggily, rubbing her eyes. "You cooked? Why is the house not burnt down?"
"Hey! Shut up!" Cordelia crossed her arms defensively.
"Microwavable?" Dawn asked.
"Microwavable." Willow confirmed with a smirk.
After the four girls ate, they wandered into the living room. Angel, Oz, Xander and Connor were sitting on the couches, watching the news.
"Jeez. Is this ever gonna stop?" Cordelia asked after watching the TV for a few moments. Another girl had gone missing in the area.
Xander sighed. "The rapist guy must still be around. That pretty much kills my plans."
"Plans? You had plans?" Connor asked, looking over at Xander.
"Yeah, I figured we could all go to the movies tonight. See something scary." Xander answered.
"We still could." Buffy spoke up. Everyone turned to see what she had to say. "I mean, we'd just go straight to the theaters then back here, right? Seems pretty safe to me."
Everyone considered this for a moment. "You're right. It's not like we'd be wandering the streets or anything." Angel agreed.
"Now all we have to do is convince my parents..."
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
"Absolutely not." Giles answered, taking off his glasses to wipe them with the hem of his shirt.
"But we'd go straight to the movies and back. No where else!" Xander pleaded.
Jenny was silent, contemplating their request. She spoke up. "I guess it would be okay...If you all stuck together and didn't go anywhere but the theater..."
Giles placed his glasses back on and gave Jenny a dissapproving look.
"What?" She asked. "Don't you trust them?" Jenny teased. Giles looked from Jenny, to the pleading faces of the eight teenagers, then back to Jenny.
"Fine..." He grumbled, turning to walk away.
"Yes!" Xander pumped his fist in the air triumphantly.
Dawn reached over and grabbed the morning newspaper off the coffee table and opened it up. She turned past various articles about the hurricane, the rapist, lost dogs and car sales. She scanned over the movie listings for their area.
"What do you guys wanna see?" She asked.
"I dunno...How about i>The Skeleton Key /i>? That looks kinda scary." Buffy suggested. Everyone agreed on the movie.
"The movie doesn't start until nine o'clock tonight." Dawn said, not looking up from the paper. "What do you guys wanna do until then?"
"The beach is pretty much out of the question. The county is still cleaning up the debris." Oz said, quoting what he'd heard on the television.
"What about the pool?" Willow asked.
"Well...At the moment it's filled with dirt and debris..."
"Eww." Cordelia replied, scrunching up her nose. "We could go shopping!" The guys all groaned.
"But you always do that." Angel said.
"Hey, we're girls. It's what we do best."
"Kids?" Jenny's voice floated into the room. "Could you stay upstairs for a little while? People are coming to drain the basement, and I don't want anyone getting in their way."
"Sure, Mom." Xander replied. Just then, their was a knock on the door, and a bunch of men wearing black suits carrying various tools and supplies appeared. The teens went upstairs, but not before grabbing the PS2 and a couple controllers to bring with them. Minutes later, loud sucking noises could be heard from downstairs. Connor got up to close the door, in an attempt to drown out the noise. It sort of worked.
About an hour later, the noises stopped and the teens ventured downstairs. They peered into the basement. It was a complete and total mess. Debris was strewn about al over the floor, the couch was soggy and discolored and pieces of the wooden stairs were missing, somewhere on the floor. Xander was about to go down, when Cordelia grabbed him by the arm and stopped him.
"What are you doing?" She asked incredulously.
"I was going to go down there and check it out..." He answered, confusion written all over his face.
"How can you be so stupid?" Cordelia sighed loudly. Xander looked hurt. She softened her voice and added. "The stairs are rotten. You would've fallen right through." Xander grinned, understanding.
"See? You really do care. You just couldn't bear to watch me fall." He grinned slyly.
"Whatever you say..." Cordelia said, grinning as well.
"So, what are we doing?" Connor asked.
"Shopping." Buffy chirped, grabbing her purse from the coffee table. "We should probably leave now, you know, to beat the crowds." The girls said their goodbyes and left for the mall.
"Is it just me, or do they go shopping way too much?" Xander sighed.
"That they do." Oz answered.
"I mean, it's not like they don't have enough clothes." Xander really wished he and Cordelia spent more time as a couple, as did the other guys with thier significant other. The other guys nodded, agreeing.
"Who's up for a round of Monkey Ball?" Angel asked suddenly. The guys exchanged glances.
"Last one there has to be the pink monkey!" Connor shouted before scrambling off the couch and up the stairs, where the PS2 still was.
x0x0x0x At the mall x0x0x0x
The girls strutted along the main area of the mall, laughing at something Buffy had just said.
A man dressed in black leaned on the wall next to a store leaking with cigarette smoke and heavy metal music. The brunnette caught his eye. Tall and leggy, just like he liked them. It would be her. It had to be. Looking at her made him more impatient by the second...
x0x0x0x At the House x0x0x0x
"Why do i>I /i> have to be the pink monkey?" Xander whined as he stared with disgust at the little pink blob with a tail and eyes passed off as a monkey.
"Slow reflexes?" Oz suggested, grinning slightly. Xander glared at Oz menacingly.
"What? Pink is a good color for you." Angel added, smirking. Xander dropped his controller and pounced on Angel, starting a wrestling match between all four guys.
About two hours and a hundred smart remarks later the guys had settled down and were playing video games again.
" We should've expected to find you guys here" Buffy remarked teasingly as she walked into the room followed by Willow, Dawn and Cordelia, all with shopping bags in tow.
"Well, it's not like there's anything better to do around here." Xander mumbled.
"True." Buffy said as she sat down next to Angel. "This is soo boring." Buffy sighed after a few minutes of watching the guys play video games.
"Yeah. Let's go put our clothes away." Dawn suggested as she stood up. The other three girls sat up as well and followed her out the doors. Angel raised an eyebrow, then turned to watch Oz once again beat Connor by a hair.
Buffy and Willow went into their room and Dawn and Cordelia went into theirs.
"So..." Willow started, knowing exactly what she wanted to say to her best friend, but now knowing how to word it. "What do you think is gonna happen at the movies. With you and Angel, I mean." Buffy glanced up from a pink ruffley mini-skirt with a matching sequined brown belt she was folding. She grinned devilishly, not saying a word. Willow giggled. "I see..."
"And you know you're gonna be doing the same thing with Oz." Buffy's smirk grew and she watched Willow's face turn a pretty shade of pink.
"Shut up." Willow defended, grinning. "So, Spike's not an issue tonight?"
The truth was, Buffy had actually thought about inviting him to the movies with them tonight, but decided against it. "Nope. Tonight's all about happy Buffy time. And Angel..time." She grinned again, the thought of having 'happy time' with Angel made her tingle all over.
Outside, the gray, cloudy sky opened up and a light, steady rain began to fall. Thunder rumbled slightly in the distance; the sound slowly cascaded towards the house as the storm grew closer.
x0x0x0x0x0x0x
Connor sighed loudly and threw his controller down- Defeated again. "Oz, you're the master. How do you always beat me?"
Oz shrugged. "Practice, I guess."
Xander peeled himself off the bean bag chair he was laying on. "The girls are right. This is boring." He walked out of the door and down the stairs, followed by the other guys. A surprise awaited them. The men wearing black suits were still there, but they were in the process of gathering their tools and leaving. Jenny appeared from the kitchen.
"You kids can go swimming if you want." She suggested. "I'll bring some snacks out. You didn't have lunch, did you?"
"Huh?" Xander was clearly lost, as were the other guys. "But I thought the pool was..."
"Fixed. These guys drained it and cleaned the crap out. Too bad it cost me an arm and a leg..." Jenny trailed off before retreating back into the kitchen. She reappeared seconds later. "Oh, and I wouldn't worry about the storm. It's not close yet."
The guys exchanged glances and shrugged before rushing up the stairs in an unorderly way, tripping over one another and yelling for the girls. Two girls appeared in each of the two rooms the guys passed.
"What are you guys yelling about?" Willow asked, smiling.
"We can go swimming!" Xander yipped excitedly in a voice similar to one of a child on Christmas morning. The girls giggled at his enthusiasm.
"Okay, okay." Buffy laughed. "We're as good as there." She closed the door to the room. The rest of the teens went into their rooms to change as well. They met downstairs.
"Uh, I know this sounds stupid, but, should we be swimming during a thunderstorm?" Dawn asked, a trace of nervousness was evident in her voice. Connor placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Xander's mom said that the storm isn't that close. It'll be fine." He assured her. Dawn smiled up at him.
Within seconds everyone was in the pool, splashing and having a great time, ignoring the light rumbles of thunder that could be heard every now and then. Jenny came out and brought them some finger sandwiches, cheetos and potato salad.
"Thanks, Mom." Xander said through a mouth stuffed to capacity with food. Jenny just smiled and went back inside. Unbeknowst to the teens, Beans was plopped underneath one of the tables, eating scraps that they, usually Xander, dropped. Three cheetos fell to the ground and Beans barked gruffly and sent Connor scooting back in his chair. He looked under the table.
"It's just Beans." He sighed, his heart still racing. Angel was trying not to laugh. Unfortunately, he couldn't hold it in, and he let out a half laugh, half snorting sound. Connor reached over the table and punched him on the arm, upset that Angel was making him look like a baby in front of Dawn.
"Oww." Angel gingerly rubbed at the already redish purple mark on his upper arm. Suddenly, Angel jumped up, grabbed a writhing, struggling Connor out of his chair and tossed him ungracefully into the pool. Angel doubled over, laughing. He didn't see Connor resurface, grab his leg and yank him in. By now, everyone was laughing, including Connor and Angel. The other teens abandoned their paper plates and drinks and jumped in.
After a few minutes of mindless splashing and attacking they decided to play Marco Polo. They went through the whole 'not it' process and Buffy was it.
"Marco?" She asked, wandering around the shallow end of the pool aimlessly. Angel held a finger to his lips, making sure everyone esle saw him. He slowly crept up behind Buffy, jerking away every now and then when she sensed someone near her.
"Marco?" Buffy asked again, receiving no answer. "You guys, this isn't fair!" She whined. Angel raised his arms up, ready to wrap them around her, when...
CRACK! Lightening struck less than twenty feet away, on the shore somewhere. A loud, sickening crack had followed, practically at the same time as the flash of lightening. Buffy shrieked and jumped into the closest thing to her- Which was Angel. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her out.
The other guys all grabbed their girlfriends. Buffy and Willow seemed to be the most shaken up. The guys quickly ushered the shivering girls inside the house just as the wind picked up.They glanced outside to see their plates fall off the tables and skitter around on the ground. The wind continued to grow stronger, picking up a few towels that had been left draped over chairs.
Then Cordelia remembered. "Beans!" She rushed outside and grabbed the dog, who was huddled in the corner, whimpering. Cordelia struggled to bring him inside, seeing as how Beans wasn't exactly light-weight. Xander went out and helped her bring him in.
"Is everyone okay?" Jenny demanded of the teens. The guys nodded. "I'm so sorry...I didn't think it was moving so fast..." She apologized.
"Don't worry about it, Mom. We're all okay." Jenny nodded and went upstairs.
"Hey." Oz said soothingly to the shaking girl in his arms. "Are you okay?" Willow didn't answer, just whimpered. Buffy was the same. Angel and Oz led their girlfriends to the couch and sat down with them. Dawn and Cordelia weren't phased anymore, nor was anyone esle, really. Xander left and returned with two fluffy forest green blankets that he handed to the dripping girls.
"What's wrong? Buffy, you were like this yesterday and now Willow is too." Cordelia asked, concerned for her best friends. Buffy looked over at Willow who looked down.
"It was just something...That happened when we were ten." Willow said quietly. Oz wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a look that prodded her to continue.
"Buffy and I were in Oklahoma, visiting her grandparents." She paused. "And there was a tornado warning. The warning sorta became a...watch." She paused again, her voice quivering.
"I remember that! I got to stay up with Mom and watch the weather channel all night." Dawn piped up, then quieted, waiting for one of the girls to go on.
"I thought we were gonna die for sure." Buffy whispered.
"We almost did." Willow said seriously. There was a long, deep silence. Buffy spoke up.
"I remember watching it come towards the house. I wasn't supposed to see it...I was supposed to be in the bathroom with Willow. They didn't have a basement." She paused, taking a breath. "I remember watching this huge oak tree, the one that I played on when I was little, just get sucked up into the blackess." She waved her arms around for effect.
"Wow." Was all anyone could say. Buffy and Willow continued to loosen up bit by bit, but were still a little jumpy whenever there was a crash of thunder. The other teenagers arranged themselves around the living room, on the couches and on the floor curled up in blankets. Oz grabbed the remote off the coffee table, which Turtle was snoozing under, oblivious to everything that had happened. He clicked the television on. It was the news. As usual. News about the rapist..as usual.
Apparently, one was still lurking around somewhere. No one had been killed lately. It seemed as though the killer was laying low for the time being.
"Well, that's a plus. We don't need any surprises at the movie theater tonight." Buffy said. She and Willow were feeling much better, especially since the thunder and lightening let up and now it was only pounding rain.
"This is sooo boring." Dawn sighed, placing her face in her hands. She perked up. "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." She kicked Connor, who was sitting on the floor by the couch she was on, right in the side.
"Oww, what was that for?" Connor asked, rubbing his side. Dawn didn't answer, just disappeared upstairs. A few moments later, the light bulb turned on. "I, uh, need something upstairs.." He got up from his place on the floor and stretched his aching legs out.
"Yeah, yeah. Just keep your shorts on." Xander grinned as he patted Connor's back. Connor looked back menacingly on his way up the stairs and the girls started to giggle.
"Ugh, what do you guys wanna do?" Cordelia asked as she absent mindedly twirled a strand of her long, dark hair around her finger.
"Well, we could always opt for the same path Dawn and Connor took..." Xander stated innocently. Cordelia reached over and smacked his arm. "Although I prefer broom closets over bathrooms. Too slippery." Cordelia smacked him again, grinning. Buffy and Angel shared a secret smile at the thought of bathrooms. A sudden slamming noise sounded upstairs.
"Oh, dear God..." Buffy buried her face in her hands, shuddering at the thought of what her little sister was doing up there. What she sort of wished she was up there doing...with Angel...She couldn't wait to get to the movie theater.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the bathroom, Dawn and Connor were really going at it.
Dawn hissed as Connor turned around and pushed her into the wall, none too gently, either.
"Sorry, Baby." He mumbled, nipping at her neck lightly. Dawn giggled, seeing as how she was extremely ticklish. Connor pulled back and gave her a confused look.
"I'm ticklish." She continued to giggle. Connor nodded in understanding before diving at her, kissing her fiercly. This caught Dawn off guard, but she greeted his mouth with equal force and passion. Her hands wandered to his shirt hem. She ran her hands up his chest and raked her fingernails softly down over and over again. Connor shivered at her touch and pulled her closer. Connor tried his luck doing the same. Only he reached up farther, hoping to feel her chest. Dawn pulled away quickly, her face flushed and breathing heavily.
"Huh?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't of..." Connor said hurriedly, hoping he hadn't upset or offended her.
"It's okay.. I. just really wasn't expecting that." Dawn breathed. She ran her hand through her hair once. "Maybe we should go back downstairs. They might be suspicious." Dawn said after a few seconds of awkward silence. Connor nodded, still worried that he'd overstepped his boundaries with her.
"Look, I'm sorry if I-"
Dawn cut him off with a light, sweet kiss. "Don't worry about it. It's fine." They both smiled before heading back downstairs.
"The bathroom sink's still intact, right?" Xander asked slyly. Dawn blushed slightly and Connor rolled his eyes.
Buffy glanced at her watch. "We've still got three and a half hours left 'til the movie." She really wanted to turn the topic of conversation away from her sister and Connor. Just the thought of them...It gave her a major case of the wiggins.
"We could go swimming again." Connor suggested.
"No." Willow squeaked, burying her face in Oz's shoulder. Buffy just shook her head furiously.
"Or not..."
"Ooh! I've got an idea!" Xander said excitedly.
"Does it have to do with broom closets, because--" Cordelia started. Xander cut her off with an icy glare. She shrugged and gave him a innocent smile.
"Anyway...How about the girls put on a modeling show for the guys!" Xander suggested, grinning. Cordelia rolled her eyes, as did the other girls.
"What? It's a good idea..." Xander pretended to pout.
"And what, exactly, did you plan on us modeling?" Cordelia asked skeptically.
"Well...you know...Anything...Lace is good."
Cordelia reached over and smacked him. He grinned sheepishly.
"Any i>other /i> ideas?" Willow asked. Everyone looked around expectantly. She sighed. "Back to square one I guess..."
"What about the jet skis? Aren't they in the shed out back?" Dawn asked.
"Oh yeah...We could take those out." Angel suggested.
"Jet skis means water, which means being outside." Buffy said, her eyes growing wide. Angel tightened his grip around her waist.
"I won't let you get hurt, I promise." Buffy looked up into his big brown eyes and knew he wasn't lying. She smiled.
"K. If you promise."
Everyone lazily dragged themselves from the couch and off the ground and headed outside. The beach had been cleaned up early that morning by workers the city had sent out. The girls drifted off to the shoreline while the guys headed to the shed to get the two jet skis. Angel and Connor carried one while Xander and Oz took the other.
"Man, those things don't get any lighter." Oz said, panting, as were the other guys. They sky had lightened up a bit and there was only a light drizzle of rain that made a tiny pitter-pattering sound on the water. Not that it could even be heard over the roar of the jet skis and the screaming and laughter of the eight teenagers. They stayed out for about two hours before heading back in.
"Yay! Only an hour 'til movie time!" Buffy chirped to Willow before more quietly adding: "And Angel smoochie time." Both of the girls giggled. Cordelia came up behind them.
"C'mon guys. We need to get the perfect outfits together for tonight!" She said, excited that they were getting ready to do something they'd been waiting all day to do. All four girls disappeared upstairs to shower and change.
Connor sighed. "You know we're not going to see them until five minutes before we leave, right?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Oz replied.
Xander snorted. "Women..."
x0x0xUpstairsx0x0x0
"Which skirt goes better with this shirt?" Willow asked, holding up a dark green halter top.
"Hmm..." Cordelia started, examining her choices."I'd say, go with the black demin mini-skirt and a pair of flip-flops so it's simple."
"Thanks, Cor." Willow said smiling. "You always know how to fix a fashion disaster."
"That's what I'm here for." Cordelia smiled, proud of her great fashion sense. She glanced over at Buffy.
"Buffy, Buffy, Buffy! What are you doing? That lip gloss does not go with the shade of your shirt color! "Cordelia rushed over to help a slightly frazzled looking Buffy. Willow smiled helpessly at the blonde as Cordelia scolded her. "I thought I taught you better..." Cordelia mumbled, shuffling through Buffy's make-up bag and top dresser drawer, which was filled with accessories and other random beauty supplies.
x0x0xAn hour later..x0x0x
The guys had taken turns showering in the downstairs bathroom, since the entire upstairs was the girls' territory. They had all changed into fresh clothes and were waiting a bit impatiently for the girls to get downstairs so they could leave. Finally, they made an appearance.
"It took you long enough..." Xander mumbled. Cordelia glared at him. "Not that it didn't pay off! 'Cause you look great..." He grinned innocently.
"C'mon." Cordelia grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out the door, followed by the other teens. They took both Oz's van and Cordelia's car instead of cramming everyone into one vehicle.
They made it to the theater ten minutes before the movie started, so they headed to the concession stand for snacks and drinks. There was a good number of people waiting in line, so Angel and Connor volunteered to get everyone a seat.
Okay, Buffy She said to herself. It's time to leave all Spike-related thoughts at the door. She knew she could handle it...Until she spotted him leaning casually against a wall by a group of arcade games and sticker machines. He was wearing a leather duster and a black shirt and pants. His piercing blue eyes scanned the area, apparently looking for someone. Buffy prayed that he wouldn't see her.
Buffy made a small squeaking noise before tapping Willow on the shoulder.
"What? Oh...not good." Willow was sympathetic for her friend. "Just ignore him, and uh...don't make eye contact."
Buffy nodded feebly and tried to squeeze herself farther into her group of friends, hoping to go unnoticed by Spike. If only she was so lucky. She'd only glanced up once, curious if he was still there, which he was. He locked gazes with her for a split second before she dropped her gaze, became uncomfortable and tried to push even further into the crowd.
" 'Ello, Luv." He said as he approached her.
"Hey." She smiled brilliantly, completely covering the fact that she wanted nothing more than to become an ostrich, stick her head deep into the ground and become dead to the world. He leaned in for a kiss and she almost backed up. Instead, she gave in and kissed him gently on the lips.
"What's the up? Are you waiting for someone?" Buffy asked with as much casualness that she could muster up.
"Actually, yes. Me and some of my mates are going to see some flick...I can't put my finger on the name. Some chop and hack thing..." He trailed off, raking a pale hand decorated with death black fingernails through his peroxide hair.
A sick feeling gripped Buffy's stomach with a ferocious stubborness. She couldn't seem to shake it off. "Um, is it The Skeleton Key?" Buffy asked, silently praying that it wasn't. I might as well kiss all my fantasties of tonight's Angel smooch-fest goodbye...
"No, that's not it...Is that what you're seeing? 'Cause I'm sure I could convince my buddies to switch shows." He offered.
"No, no. That's...That's okay." She smiled sweetly. His arms moved toward her and englulfed her inside their warmth. She sighed. He smelled faintly of cigarette smoke, possibly mixed with some other drugs. She figured it was from his creepy friends she met in the mall.
"You sure?" He asked, turning her around to face him. She nodded.
"You should go with your friends. Eat. Drink. Be merry. But not too merry. I don't know if I can handle an overly merry boyfriend." They shared a smile. Spike looked up when he noticed a bunch of kids with weird colored hair wearing all black clothing.
"There they are." He observed. He looked back into Buffy's eyes. "Are you sure, Pet? I mean, I'm sure I could--"
Buffy cut him off with a curt shake of her head. "Go." She smiled. "I'll see you later."
"Love you."
"Love you too."
With that, Spike turned and headed toward the ever growing group of strangle looking teens. He glanced back once, to find that Buffy had already walked back to her friends, and was lost in a sea of people.
When Buffy reached the group she caught Willow's gaze and made a gesture with her hands of a gun with the trigger being pulled at her head. She then stuck her tongue out and closed her eyes as if she was dead. Willow giggled and grabbed her hand and pulled her along with the others as they headed for the theater.
"Are you okay? 'Cause you seem okay..." Willow whispered to Buffy when they sat down in the cushioned seats.
"Well, I know I'm gonna feel guilty if I do anything with Angel tonight..But I'm so pumped, Will. I've been waiting all night for this." Buffy grinned.
"I hope everything works out the way you want." Willow flashed her a special best-friend smile. The kind that let the receiver of the smile know that they've got a friend who's always going to be there. Buffy squeezed Willow's hand quickly.
The lights began to dim and the audience's voices hushsed to a mere murmer as the previews began to play. During that ten minutes, all the guys sat together, as did all the girls. Of course, that all changed when the movie started.
Willow surprised everyone by being the first to stand up, walk over to the guys, yank her boyfriend from his seat and disappear from sight into another row of chairs. Cordelia soon followed, catching Xander, who was preocuppied counting how many blue gummy bears he had, completely off-guard. Dawn was next, taking Connor to a dark corner somewhere. Buffy shuddered at the thought. Man, was Dawn growing up fast...
"Hey."
Buffy jumped slightly, surprised by the sudden voice. She smiled in return. Breathe Buffy, breathe.
"So..." Angel started quietly.
"Yeah..." In, out, in, out...
Suddenly Angel reached over and took both of her hands in his. "Would you be incredibly offended if I kissed you right now?"
"Offended? No. A little shocked maybe--"
He cut her off with a long, lingering kiss. He lifted a strong, yet gentle hand to her cheek and caressed her face slowly. The kiss deepened and he picked Buffy up and carefully placed her in his lap. He stroked her hair, her back and her cheeks. She let him slip his tongue into her mouth and explore it fully. She was in a state of pure, Heaven-sent bliss.
x0x0xBack at the housex0x0x
"Wow, that was better than I thought." Connor said when they walked through the door.
"Yeah, better than I thought..." Buffy mumbled dreamily, but loud enough for the others to hear. Cordelia nudged her arm. "The movie! Was...good. Better...Than I thought, actually." She finished lamely. Her cheeks began to burn. Willow rescued her by grabbing her arm and dragging her upstairs. Cordelia and Dawn, both giggling ran upstairs after them. The guys could hear girly squealing and what sounded like excited, repetetant jumping. About ten minutes later, the four girls returned downstairs, looking jittery and bubbly to say the least. Everyone gathered in the living room and Xander turned the TV on, but they quickly lost interest with everything that was on, and decided to head to bed.
"I call the bathroom first!" Dawn said, before sprinting up the stairs with Buffy close behind.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!"
"Oh, goodie." Cordelia muttered before trudging up the stairs. "I better have enough sink and mirror space to apply my moisturizing face mask!" She threatended.
"Well, we're off. Be good." Xander stared at Willow mock-sternly. She blushed and looked down. Xander moved forward and gace her a quick hug. "G'night" He said, before heading upstairs. A few moments later, Connor and Angel followed him.
That left Willow and Oz. Oz sat down on the couch first, then pulled Willow on top of him so that she was sitting in his lap.
"Have I told you lately that I love you?" Oz mumbled the words of some old love song into Willow's hair. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Ya know...That movie we saw was pretty scary." Willow said sweetly, pulling back to look him in the eyes.
"Agreed." Oz gave the slightest nod.
"I might get nightmares." She replied simply. Oz sat up a little straighter, catching on to what she was getting at.
"Nightmares are of the bad."
"They are. So, maybe I should just...you know...stay down here tonight?" She asked innocently, hoping he'd say yes and not think she was desperate or anything.
"Seems reasonable." He gave her a small half smile. "Seeing as how you'd come down anyway."
"Right. I might trip or something in the dark, so...This is good." Willow smiled.
"Very good." Oz corrected, kissing her lightly on the lips.
"Better than very good." She grinned. He leaned into her neck and mumbled:
"I love you."
"I love you too." She whispered back, hugging him tighter. He let go of her for a moment, to grab a blanket off the back of the couch and two pillows off the floor. He reached over and turned off the lamp that sat on a stand next to the couch.
"Night." He said sleepily. She muttered something unintelligable, already half asleep.
The teenagers fell alseep to the soft murmer of the rain falling, just as they'd awoken to it. They were completely unaware of the events that would befall them the very next day.
