Chapter 5
"Bloody Hell"
"Goddamn!"
"Oh my"
"Is that really you?"
Exclaimed all the guys as we walked into the apartment
"You guys approve?" I asked grinning
"She….well" said Spike
"It's like…she's not" started Gunn
"Fred anymore" said Wesley sadly
A silence fell across the room before Wesley began to speak again
"Thank you, you have no idea how much easier this makes…..everything" he added
I smiled and nodded understanding the loss of a loved one "Well I guess we should unpack all her clothes where is her apartment?" I asked
Angel laughed "She doesn't have an apartment"
I frowned "Where does she sleep then?"
"Somewhere in the building" he shrugged
"That's terrible! Blue your staying with me and Spike" I announced upset that Angel would treat her in such an uncaring way
"Whoa Pet, it's kinda a tight squeeze already"
"Well my house has four bedrooms so she can have one of them, besides someone's going to have to be able to take me out into the daylight" I reasoned with him
"Would you like to come home with us Blue?" I asked
"That would be satisfactory, the floor of Wesley's office is not a comfortable resting place" she said
"Excellent its settled then" I grinned
Suddenly the door burst open and a green demon in a horrible blue suit who looked like he was wearing eyeliner walked into the room.
"I'm here cupcakes!!" he called
"DEMON" I hollered before charging at him and being grabbed by Angel by the back of my shirt as the demon ducked.
"Good Demon, This is Lorne he wouldn't hurt a fly he's a make love not war demon" assured Angel
"Oh umm sorry Lorne" I said embarrassedly shaking his hand
The demon smiled "No sweat, sweetie pie happens all the time and wow what a job you did on miss goddess!"
I blushed before Angel coughed and gave Lorne a pointed look
"Sorry Angelcakes I'll zip it" he said sitting down as Angel began to speak.
"Gunn told me about your inheritance, if you would like I could have it all fitted with the special glass so Spike can walk around during the day and have it cleaned by the end of the week " said Angel
"That would be great Angel I finally can move back in without worrying about it being destroyed" I smiled
"You might want to have it de-bugged we cant completely trust wolfram and harts people" he added
I giggled "Our house has that many protection spells on it, anything they try to implant will explode in their hands"
"Oh well good to know" he laughed heartily
Then from his briefcase Gunn handed Spike a document file
"In there is passports for both of you, a drivers licence, birth certificates, social security numbers and a copy of the adoption papers I might get something drawn up for Illyria to" he said professionally
"Wow Gunn, you're so clever! How did you manage all this?" I exclaimed looking through the files
He blushed slightly "It wasn't that hard when you have this law firm behind ya"
"I think it's that huge brain you have there" I said smiling and cheekily wondering what else was huge on the handsome man. As if reading my thoughts Spike pulled me away
"Ok that's your que to leave, send Blue's clothes to the house and me and the poppet will start packing" he said beginning to usher all of our guests out the front door and looking at me scoldingly.
Chapter 5
The white weatherboard house gleamed, the gardens perfectly manicured with even the front gate given a fresh coat of paint. It was double storied with large trees shading the front yard and a balcony around the top floor.
"Wow poppet you didn't tell me you lived in such a nice house!" observed Spike
I blushed "It hasn't look this good since my parents died, Angel's people did a great job"
They pulled into the garage and entered through the side down so Spike wouldn't get fried. The garage opened into the kitchen which looked as though it had been cleaned spotless. In fact as I took Illyria and Spike around the house it looked as though everything had been cleaned and put back in its place.
The upstairs contained the master bedroom with en-suite which faced on to my old bedroom as well as a guest room, bathroom, study and a small tv area in between the rooms. I put my hand on my parents door and opened it, despite being dusted and aired out it still smelt like my mother. I went into the wardrobe that was still full of their clothes and took out my father's favourite jacket I held it up against myself and inhaled his scent trying closing my eyes to hold back the tears when I heard Spike enter the room.
"Pet, I think you should take your parents room" he suggested
"But where will you sleep?" I whimpered crying a little now
Spike sat beside me on the bed and hugged me
"Your rooms a tad pink at the moment but we'll just give it a lick of paint " he replied smiling
"You're the best you know that" I grinned kissing his cheek
Illyria was very impressed with her room even cracking a smile at the sight of the bed. She was especially content when I told her "The Green Room" would give her the luck of the Irish.
It only took us a couple of weeks to settle in before it was time for me to head back to school a new nicer private school, which was highly annoying.
"Spike I don't wanna go" I pouted tugged at the pleated skirt I had to wear
"Oh but you look so cute in that uniform love" smirked Spike earning himself a middle finger.
"Hey !You wanna be grounded missy" laughed Spike
"Bite me" I said sticking my tongue out and walking out the door
"Have a good day at school Poppet" called out Spike behind me
The good thing about being associated with a ex goddess, two soulful vampires, an ass kicking lawyer, ex English watcher and a celebrity loving Pylean demon was the limousines. I finally got to ride in style to school which was quite lucky because it seemed like a high style type of place.
"I'll be waiting out the front at 3.00 miss" said the driver Roger
"Thanks Roger see you then" I smiled
"Have a lovely day miss" he added as I exited the car and walked towards the large castle like building.
I walked into the giant hall way and found my way to the school office.
"Can I help you young lady?" asked the secretary
"Um I'm new today" I said nervously
"Ahh yes Miss Annabella James the principle is expecting you" she smiled brightly
I walked into the principles office and sat down in front of a distinguished looking older man.
"Miss James, nice to have you at Hillford Private" he said smiling
"Nice to be at Hillford, you have a gorgeous school Mr Tinning" I replied smoothly
"Thank you we strive for the best especially in our students" he said pointedly
"I see you came from the public school system" he said pointedly
"You should also see I am a straight A's student" I replied tartly
"Yes well our curriculum is a little different in the private system" he replied snootily
Not missing a beat I smiled "We'll my circumstances are a lot different, I'm no longer living with an alcoholic aunt and peeping tom uncle so if I managed straight A's under that pressure I'm sure I will adjust just fine to your different private system curriculum"
His face fell before he smiled contentedly "Miss James I do believe you are going to be a great asset to Hillford"
"Thank you Mr Tinning" I said still a little angry at his arrogance
He handed me a school diary and then three pieces of paper one was a map, the other a timetable and the third an list of clubs and associations at the school.
"Your Buddy is waiting outside my office to show you to all your classes" he added smiling
I nodded and left the office to be greeted by a terribly chirpy blonde girl, who was a little on the chubby side but still very pretty all blue eyed rosy cheeked, I hated her already.
"Hi I'm Katie" smiled the girl shaking my hand
"Annabella" I said a little more disdainfully then I meant to
"Well Annabella welcome to Hellford" laughed the girl as we walked up an immaculate corridor lined with polished oak lockers. I suppressed a smirk and asked "Hellford?"
She giggled infectiously "Yeah, sorry you aren't one of those rich bitches who can't take a joke are you?"
I smirked okay maybe I was hasty to my I hate this girl conclusions
"Nah I actually went to a public school but my uncle wanted me to go somewhere closer to home and more respectable" Katie nodded and led me towards a set of lockers.
"I'm here on scholarship, not that I'm a geek or anything I just have brains don't let the blonde hair fool you" she said straightforwardly
I laughed and nodded
"I'm starting to see that, so why do you hate it here so much?" I asked
We arrived at our lockers which were side by side and I noticed a count down of days on the Johnny Depp calendar that hung on her door.
"This school works on a system of cliques, money and beauty" she said in a less chirpy tone
"I'm too smart for the barbies, not smart enough for the geeks, not emo enough, not punk enough, not jock enough and not a drama nerd" she laughed
"Well I'm not any of those things either so I guess you fit into my clique" I laughed smiling at her
"Good because now you wont have to deal with newbie syndrome on your own like I did" she beamed before dragging me towards a classroom
"The one good thing about this place though, is the older boys are fineeeee" she smirked as we entered the room full of young looking boys with huge potential and snobby looking girls who looked down at me.
"Ahh Miss James and Miss Gianni nice of you to join us" smiled a sweet looking elderly lady
Katie and I exchanged the same shocked look before I was introduced to the class and took my seat next to her.
"Katie Gianni, as in Mindy and Alexander's daughter?" I whispered over to her
"Anabella James as in Caro and Dave's daughter?" she whispered back grinning
I nodded smiling slightly before turning my eyes back to the readings……hmm maybe Hillford wouldn't be as bad as it seems.
We sprinted to a secluded spot where we wouldn't be over heard underneath a tree on the grounds.
"I cant believe you're here!" I exclaimed excitedly hugging my childhood friend
"Me neither, hey I'm sorry bout you folks Caro and Dave were awesome people" she smiled sympathetically
"Yeah, they were….how's Mindy and Alex though I haven't seen them since I ended up in Martha's clutches" I asked changing the subject and suppressing my tears
Katie became un-characteristically sombre
"Dad's coping, since she passed away last year" she said quietly
"Oh fuck Kat I didn't know, how I mean Mindy was always so um so" I began
"Full of life? Cancer takes that away pretty fast" she said bitterly
"The only thing that gets me through is knowing she's transcended you know and that she's always watching" she added softly
I sat and nodded enveloping her in a hug, she pulled away and beamed at me
"You have no idea how good it feels to have another wiccan sister around" she beamed
I laughed "Hmm well I've only just started practising again with some help from Wes I focus more on the slayer side now"
He eyes almost popped out of her head "You're the slayer!!" she squealed
"A slayer, all the potentials were awakened so now there is heaps of us or so I've been told" I replied nonchalantly
"Ok I want to know everything!" she exclaimed excitedly
"It's kind of a crazy story, mostly because the uncle I'm living with is really a vamp who earned his soul for some slayer, died saving the world for her, came back as a ghost trapped to his grand sire…. Angel a mega hottie vamp again with a soul, became corporeal, saved me from a vampire nest that made dinner out of Martha and Gordon and now looks after me while working with and against evil law firm Wolfram and Hart" I explained in as little detail as possible
"Will is a vamp? Girl now I know your messing with me!" she laughed
"I am dead serious chickita! Trust me its some crazy shit"
"Ok I'm not reading your lying but you got admit it's pretty unbelievable, but do tell bout the sexy Angel vamp" she said smirking
"One stop reading my aura, Two when did you start reading aura's and Three It's not only Angel who is the hottie round the office"
"One I'll never stop, Two about two years ago and Three please explain" she said cheekily
'Picture this Tall dark hair, piercing eyes, perfect skin and impeccable hygiene and dress sense as well as a hero complex and brooding side….That's Angel basically angry and angsty sex on legs, Then we have a scruffy almost tortured blue eyed, intelligent ex watcher who has a killer English accent, is softly spoken and has an awesome ass……That's Wesley, Then there is Charlie Gunn everyone calls him Gunn but I call him Charlie to piss him off, in the dictionary under hot chocolate you see Gunn, Those are my three boys Spike is more like my uncle so it's weird describing him…….."
"Sweet as cockney accent, piercing blue eyes, bleached hair, a penchant for black and leather as well as killer cheekbones and what I assume would be a rock hard bod" purred Katie
"How do you……" I asked
"Obviously some major mojo went down to make you a believable niece" she replied
"Obviously" I replied dumbstruck
"Come on girl as much as I'd love to keep chatting bout the sex god's in your life we really got to get to class" she laughed helping me up and dragging me towards the next class"
Before I knew it the day was over and me and Katie said our goodbyes and I headed towards my limo.
"Hi Roger" I greeted the lovely old driver
"Good afternoon Miss how did you enjoy you first day?" he asked opening the door for me
"It's wasn't that bad actually" I smiled
"I'm glad miss" he replied before driving off down the busy LA streets.
We arrived at Wolfram and Hart and I headed off to Angel's office.
"Do you have an appointment" asked Harmony snottily
"Do I look like I need one" I replied icily before heading into the office
I was greeted with the sight of Angel, Spike, Wes and Gunn who for once was in jeans and not a suit (looking a lot more normal) going through some weapons.
"Hello how's my boys" I asked grinning
Spike walked up to me and kissed me on the forehead
"How was school poppet?" he asked
I slumped into a nearby chair "Yeah quite good actually, One of my old friends actually goes there she's a witch too, you know she knows you??" I said still a bit shocked
"That's wonderful Bella, she can help you with your practising more then I can" said Wesley
"I know it was cool and she reads aura's too! So Charlie what's with the new threads?" I asked cheekily
"Girl these are my street clothes, I ain't getting no Gucci suit dirty while fighting the big bad"
I stood up and went towards the weapons picking up a sword
"Sweet what are we killing?" I asked excitedly
"We aren't killing anything" said Angel with finality
"What no fair, I wanna come" I whined
"Poppet it's to dangerous" said Spike
"Besides, you can patrol the cemetery tonight" added Angel
I threw myself in a nearby chair "I'm sick of patrolling, You Vamp's are too easy" I growled
They all laughed and Wesley ruffled my hair "Don't you have some homework?" he asked
"Well yeah but"
"No buts Lorne's coming over to get you so can study, then he'll give you dinner before you go patrol" said Wesley
"I don't have much study though and it wont even be dark when we finish dinner" I protested
"Hmm well maybe Illyria can train with you for a while" said Wesley
"What! That's out of the question" exclaimed Angel
"Why? Illyria needs to blow off some steam and a slayer needs training Angel" insisted Wesley
"She's 13 years old and Illyria is a god!" persisted Angel
"Come on blue wouldn't harm a hair on her head, I think it's a great idea Wes" said Gunn winking at me
"Thank you Charlie, see Angel it'll be fine" I assured him
"Well its fine with me but if she does anything……" said Spike warningly
"You know she wouldn't she's a pussy cat with me" I replied rolling my eyes
"You're just agreeing because it keeps her off your case!" exclaimed Angel
"Do you live with her? I think I know Blue a little better then you and where do you get off trying to tell me how to raise Bella!" said Spike angrily
I stood between the two vampires as there ego's began expand and their fangs started to poke through.
"Whoa boys lets not make this another Spike V Angel show down, I need to train, you are busy, Blue's free and can teach me some kick ass moves, I'll hang with Lorne for a bit, Do my homework, Train with Blue and then go Patrol…..OK" I commanded
Angel relented "Ok but if it turns out badly….."
"You can say I told you so" I replied grinning and pinching his cheek obnoxiously which earned me a slight smile only I could seem to get out the of the old brooding vampire.