Angel followed Buffy home, concealed in the shadows. He wondered a few times whether she could sense his presence, especially when she repeatedly spun round, her eyes roaming over where he hid in the darkness. However she continued to peer over her shoulder the whole way home, so he decided that maybe she was just the type of girl who needed to be aware of her surroundings. Once she had arrived at her block of flats safely, he relaxed slightly. Whether she liked it or not, whether she didn't want to know him because of what he was, she was a seventeen year old girl walking home in the pitch black darkness … there were worse things out there than a starved vampire.

"Sleep tight," Angel whispered to the wind.

He crossed over the road and stood surveying her window for a moment. The block of flats didn't look too appealing, not to him anyway, nor did it look like they were built in a decent area. Angel wrinkled his nose as he scanned up and down the unattractive street. It was a vile place for such a beautiful girl to live in.

Guilt gnawed at the pit of his stomach. For the last twelve years he had blamed himself for the death of the girls' Mother. It had been his responsibility to save her and her mother, though time hadn't been on his side and he had failed his mission. Well, he didn't fail the entire mission. Angel's main purpose had been to protect the girl no matter what the cost, even if it meant sacrificing himself – though he had been promised that his demise was less than likely. Yet, if he had been able to save her Mom, he would have only bought her another three years of life. She would have still died before Buffy had hit ten years old anyway. The thought that kept him awake during the day was how special could that extra three years of time been to Buffy? It would have been an extra three years to look back on with happiness.

Angel suddenly noticed Buffy stood in her window, clutching the curtains as she peered out of the window. His eyes clashed with hers.

He knew he had to give her some time before he explained to her the reason he had came to the small town of Sunnydale. The reason why her whole life would automatically change if she accepted his offer.

Buffy barely slept that night. She found that whenever she shut her eyes and begged for slumber to wrap her in its arms, pictures of the enchanted forest with her Mom's body lying limply on the floor at her feet would portray front and centre in her mind. The sticky scarlet liquid was always trickling down her neck, staining the plain forest floor. And when Buffy would reach out and gently wipe the blood away from her fingers, she would always find two deeply punctured holes in the side of her neck. This image kept Buffy sitting up in bed, clutching her head in between her hands, and praying for a dreamless sleep.

She was physically and mentally exhausted, although sleep just dodged her.

She lay on her side, her knees tucked up into her chest, as she stared aimlessly ahead of her. Buffy couldn't help but blame Angel for her blast in the past dreams. He was there that day; he sat by her five year old self as she wept for her lost Mother. Seeing him today, looking exactly the same as that day twelve years ago, must have triggered her memory. And the past was one thing she couldn't handle. Sure, she could fight and eliminate vampires and demons and every mystical creature you could think of, however she was far from conquering her fear of the past. It had destroyed her.

When the light of the rising sun broke through the gap in her curtains, tickling her face, she decided to get up. Buffy felt dead on her feet, constantly swaying as though suffering from a bad hangover and she had almost stumbled over a few times, though she always manage to find something to grip onto before she completely lost her balance. Even though she knew she had no place to be and was aware that she could actually go back to bed to catch up on her sleep, Buffy was scared of seeing the image of her Mother's dead body curled up on the forest floor. She never wanted to see that again. But it was a desire that she knew would be eternally lost.

Buffy stripped out of her clothes, dumping them in the corner of her room, before shuffling into the bathroom lifelessly. Waiting as the water heated up, she allowed herself to gaze into the mirror.

Where had the innocence in her face gone? Where was the hope that everything would eventually work its way out? It had died. Buffy looked like an average seventeen year old girl, however her eyes had a depth to them that showed anyone who looked deep enough that she'd had it tough. Her eyes were where the fear and loneliness hid. Because Buffy Summers refused to make herself look vulnerable in any kind of way.

Her determined attitude was the main reason why no foster parents could cope with her. And, on some level, she sort of regretted for being such a stubborn child when they were only trying to care of her. But Buffy never surpassed the overwhelming grief of her Mother's death until she was finally old enough to leave the foster care system. Yet Buffy was glad that she was never fully taken in because no one would ever be able to replace her Mother and it would be too awkward for her to grow up with strangers that didn't know her – her true self.

Buffy stepped into the shower, allowing the scorching hot water pour down her body. She gratefully welcomed the relaxation that the soothing water brought, letting it wake her up into a more conscious state in order to prepare her for what was going to be an average day of wandering around the small town of Sunnydale. Buffy had long since given up looking for a job – especially as the last time she worked was at the Doublemeat Palace, which had made even her life even more unbearable – so, for now, she was just living on the large sum of money her parents had both left her. However she knew that one day the money would cease to be hers, therefore she knew that a job was on the horizon for her.

After washing her body and hair, she stepped out of the shower feeling slightly more refreshed than she had done for a while. Blood, gore and dirt were all part of the highlights of being a Vampire Slayer, though her feminine side often kicked in and she sometimes wondered why she bothered with such a job that entailed ruined clothes and god awful smells. And then she would remember that she enjoyed her job, in some strange ways, and she enjoyed making a difference.

Drying herself down, she slipped into a clean pair of underwear and pulled on a random jeans and t-shirt combo. Buffy didn't own anything designer, nor did she find the urge to care, as she was perfectly fine with wearing whatever she could afford. She could remember this one boy from her old High School named Parker who told her that she would look simply gorgeous in a bin liner. That compliment had kept her smiling for a whole week.

Suddenly remembering that she needed to make a quick visit to the corner shop in order to get some milk, she grabbed her coat, tied up her slightly damp hair, and headed out of her flat. Thankfully she only had to go down the road, through the small park and across the road. The shopkeeper, Riley, had a slight crush on her. She was able to buy anything in the store for half-price, or even free of charge if he was in a really joyful mood. Buffy occasionally felt guilty for the way he cut her slack because of his more than friendly feelings, although she wasn't the wealthiest person around and she took his kindness as a great pleasure in order to continue eating.

As she entered through the sickly green coloured gates of the park, she was greeted my small children running around, shouting and screaming in glee, as their parents huddled together over in the corner, cups of coffee in their hands as they chattered away. Also occupying the park was a few dog walkers; some running with their energetic dogs, others merely walking at a steady pace. Buffy followed the path, allowing the morning breeze to dance around her, and just as she found the other sickly green coloured gate coming into view, a large figure blocked her line of eyesight.

She looked up.

Her jaw instantly dropped as she stared with widened eyes at Angel, who was playfully smirking at her in the sunlight. He placed his long white finger under her chin and gently pushed it up to close her gaping mouth. Buffy blinked a few times, trying decide whether she was still asleep or not. She pinched herself. Except a slight sting later, she realised she was indeed awake.

"Angel?" she questioned.

"Buffy, hey!" Angel said.

"How - what - how? You're a vamp, how the hell -"

Angel silenced her as he held up his hand, allowing Buffy to see the large ring positioned on his finger. Buffy studied it for a moment.

"Nice. I think I saw that in a sale somewhere," she replied.

The corner of Angel's lips pulled upwards slightly. 'It's the Ring of Amara. Listen, that isn't the reason why I came to see you -'

"No," Buffy said, taking a retreating step backwards, "Oh no! This is my time. The only time I get to be normal until the sun goes down, I kick arse and ruin another pair of jeans."

She took another step back, shaking her in denial. Couldn't she get one moment to be normal? It was difficult enough trying to live her daily life without accidentally betraying the secret that at night she battled the forces of darkness and risked her life trying to save the small place of Sunnydale. Buffy was more than aware that if she let that secret slip, her whole life would be thrown upside down and the faint balance she had of a somewhat normal life would fail to be hers.

"I understand," Angel murmured.

"No! No, you don't understand. I'm seventeen for cryin' out loud and I can't even go to the fricken shop without vampires meeting me in the park for a cosy little chat,' Buffy fumed, allowing all her pent up frustration and exhaustion get the better of her.

Angel gave her sympathetic eyes as he observed her from under his fringe of thick black eyelashes. He agreed with her - she was so young, too young, to have all the pressure she had on her shoulders and more than anything did he want to relinquish that unbearable feeling. Yet he had come here to drop even more pressure on her, depending on her reaction to his request, and that thought kept him awake through the day.

"Can we just go get some coffee or something, please?" asked Angel quietly.

Buffy's arms were tightly folded across her chest, showing no signs of unravelling for the next several years, as her hazel eyes stared up at the vampire in complete fury. Her top teeth sunk into her plump red bottom lip, chewing it thoughtfully whilst her mind raced ahead, imagining countless scenarios of him leading her into an alley way and killing her without a moment of hesitation. Finally, she spoke.

"I need to get milk," she replied before stepping around him and continuing on her walk.

She heard his footsteps thud against the ground behind her, however she refused to even glance over her shoulder. Buffy slipped out of the gates, checked either side of the road, before crossing and heading straight into the corner shop without even bothering to check if he had followed her.

"Hey Buffy!" Riley greeted from behind the counter, rising to his feet as he welcomed her.

She offered him a quick smile, still stewing in the pot of irritation that Angel had overwhelmed her with. Buffy headed to the back of the shop where the milk was kept, listening to Riley's usual banter as he informed her of his Mother's wishes for him to get another job. She was aware that Riley wanted to become a policeman, although he had never mentioned an interest in fulfilling that dream. She began to reflect bitterly on how he was able to have a future and have different jobs, where as all she could see in her future was the morbid cemeteries and countless mystical creatures.

"Hey, are you alright? You seem a bit … out of it," said Riley.

"I'm peachy," replied Buffy as she grabbed a pack of biscuits before heading to the till.

Riley surveyed her with unbelieving eyes, though he didn't question her. He merely scanned her items and asked for half the amount of the original price.

"Riley, I can pay the full amount," she said as she scurried through her purse.

"I know," he smiled.

She handed over a ten dollar bill, collected her items in the usual brown paper bag, and received her change. With a very forced cheerful goodbye, she left the corner shop and stepped out into the flattering sunlight.

Scanning the street before her, she registered that Angel was nowhere to be seen. Buffy crossed over the road and wandered through the park, searching for him. However, as she reached the end of the park once again, she found that he was nowhere in sight. Buffy felt a straight squirm of guilt form in the pit of her stomach - he had saved her all those years ago and she was being so plainly rude to him. Buffy crossed the road and forced herself to push past the guilty thoughts and feelings. He was a vampire for crying out loud!

A few moments later, she was walking back up her street. As she reached the steps up to the entrance of her flat, Angel stepped out on her left hand side. Buffy gritted her teeth and spun around to face him.

"I'm sorry … for being a pain … but I really need to talk to you," frowned Angel, his brow furrowing.

"Fine," snapped Buffy.

She threw open the door to her block of flats and stormed inside, listening as her footsteps echoed off the walls on either side. As she reached midway up the stairs, it dawned on her that she hadn't heard his own footsteps colliding with the laminate floor behind her. Buffy turned to see him stood at the door, his hands gliding up and down the air as though he was stroking an invisible barrier between them.

"I need to be invited in," he said from his place by the door.

Her hazel eyes searched his brown ones for a moment. Should she invite him in, putting everyone in the flat in danger? But, no. Buffy couldn't believe for a second that he was dangerous, he held too much innocence and longing in his brown eyes. She took a deep breath, hesitating for a moment …

"I invite you in."

Wow! Thank you so so so much for the reviews. I never expected this story to be greeted so warmly! I'm so thrilled you are all enjoying it!

My laptop is being a pain at the moment - my Word has messed up, leaving me with a really crap one … and now my laptop is making the most weirdest sound.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think! ;)

Thanks again for the reviews! x