The next morning there was a pounding on Angel's front door. He opened it, bleary eyed, to see Spike standing there. "Spike."
He stormed in, obviously furious. "Why didn't you call me when you heard Buffy had gone to that party?"
Angel sat down on the sofa, his head in his hands. "I wasn't thinking straight. I just knew Buffy was in trouble, I didn't want to waste time ringing any one else." Spike looked slightly pacified and sat down next to him.
"If those pricks ever get out of jail, I'm gonna hunt them down myself." Angel nodded. That's how he felt too. Spike looked at him. "How did it feel hitting him?"
Angel grinned back at him. "Best ever." His face turned serious. "How's Buffy doing."
"Joyce's grounded her for a few weeks and she's pretty shaken up about it. I just can't believe she was so stupid. Said she did it to fit in." He snorted. "Guess she's done a lot of stupid things lately. The party. Parker."
A flash of anger shot through Angel at the mention of Parker's name. "Hey, that wasn't her fault. You know what Parker's like."
Spike nodded. "Yeah I knew. And I still didn't stop her did I?"
Angel shook his head. That was exactly the way he felt. He should have spoken up more when he had the chance, he should have scared Parker off. Instead he just sat back and let it happen. And now he was in an even bigger mess. Spike stood up. "Anyway, Joyce wanted to know if you're coming round for dinner tomorrow night. Kathy's coming too." Angel nodded, glad when Spike left. He knew he couldn't make excuses any more, he had to face Buffy some time, he had to get back to normal. He couldn't lie, he had feelings for her and he cared about her. A lot. But it couldn't ever be anything.
Angel sat at the dinner table, talking to Joyce about new inventory they were getting the next week when he felt a small foot inch its way up his leg. He choked slightly on his drink, causing Joyce to give him a concerned look. He assured her he was fine, then shot a glare at Buffy, sitting opposite him. She gave him an innocent look, then began a conversation with Kathy, all the while moving her foot further up his leg. When she reached the inside of his thigh he quickly excused himself, saying he needed the bathroom. He had to get out of there. She didn't know just how much she affected him.
Angel excused himself early, not bearing to be around Buffy any longer, but she offered to show him to the door. They stood on the porch together, neither saying a word, before he exploded at her. "What do you think you were doing in there?!"
She gave him a coy smile. "Playing footsie with you."
He gripped her arm tightly. "Do you have any idea what that was doing to me? We've talked about this!"
Buffy shook her arm free. "No. You've talked about this, WE haven't."
She took his head between her hands and brought him down to her when he pushed her away. "No." He stormed off down the street but she was adamant.
She followed him, turning him around. "You can't run away from me. And you can't run away from this! I know you care about me." Angel wouldn't meet her eyes. "Tell me you don't care about me, Angel. Tell me and I'll leave you alone." He didn't say anything. "You can't can you?" She hesitated then wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest, happy when he enveloped her in his warmth.
"I can't pretend anymore Angel. I'm tired of pretending I don't feel anything for you."
He squeezed her tighter, then tilted her head up to meet his. "I do care about you Buffy. More than you know. I…"
Buffy gently traced the edge of his jaw with his finger-tip. "You what?"
"I love you." Her eyes widened at his words and she lifted herself up on tip-toes to meet his lips in a passionate embrace.
When they broke away she rested her forehead against his chin and whispered. "I love you." He crushed her to him, holding her.
Buffy walked back into her house, her hands shaking slightly as she joined Kathy, Spike and her mom in the living room. Kathy gave her an odd look but she ignored it, trying her best to act natural when really all she wanted to do was jump up and down, screaming with happiness. The two of them had decided not to say anything to the others, not yet. She knew Angel was still worried about Spike and Joyce's reactions, and she didn't want to ruin what they'd finally got, so she'd agreed. Besides, it'd give them more time to get to know each other.