Arezue; Desire

Chapter Eleven B: In Walks Connor

"So you're telling me she's in your shower?" Demanded Cordelia angrily. The entire AI gang sat in the lobby.

"Yes." Angel said slowly, wincing. He could tell Cordelia was mad because she was currently shooting daggers at him with her eyes. He swallowed hard.

He wasn't afraid of demons. He wasn't afraid of death. And he wasn't afraid of burning in hell for all of eternity.

But he was afraid of Cordelia's wrath. And for some odd, weirdly fucked up reason he was also afraid of Arezue's. Which one was worse he really didn't know.

"Well, I wanted to say no." Angel told her, stalling so that he could think of a better reason then 'I felt guilty' or 'She scares the hell out of me'. "But she's – she would have thought I said no because you – err – didn't want her here." He finished lamely. It was pretty much all he could think of at the moment.

"Angel," Cordelia scowled. "I don'twant her here." Angel nodded.

"Yeah but I didn't want her to – you know, hate you." Nobody had ever accused Angel, the silk merchant's son, of being smart or exceptionally witty.

"Why?" Cordelia asked. "I mean, believe me when I say, I was all prepared to be nice to her but then she attacked Fred and Wesley's been acting weird – " She frowned. "Well, weirder since he met her – "

"Excuse me." Wesley intoned but everyone ignored him – which wasn't surprising owing to the fact that nearly everyone (except Fred) was still angry with him for the mishap with the prophecy.

"– and you Angel – " She turned on him. "You act like you're all freaked by her – "

"Freaked by who?" A voice cut in. Connor stepped through the door. Angel jumped up from where he was sitting, on the sofa.

"Why are you home so early!" He demanded, momentarily panicked. Connor gave him a weirded out look.

"I always come home at this time." He grabbed a handful of cookies from the plate in Fred's lap and turned to Cordelia. "Who's freaking dad out this time?" As he was about to bite into his cookie, a voice answered his question.

"That would be me." Arezue stood at the top of the stairs in nothing but Angel's sweatshirt, toweling her hair off. "So, you must be Angel's latest accident." She glanced disdainfully at him, not even bothering to hide what she thought of him at the moment.

"Winifred, weren't you going to let me borrow something to wear?"