It's not worth it anymore
Angie slowly opened her eyes and jolted up. She was in a bed, but it wasn't hers. As she looked around her she realized that she had to be in a boy's room. Baseball posters decorated the walls and the bedspread was covered with the logos and names of various teams.
"You're awake!" A boy said as he walked into the room. He was Angie's age, average height, with reddish-brown hair, and brown eyes.
"Who are you?" Angie asked defensively.
"I'm Josh. I was in your English class, but I didn't expect you to remember. I found you in the park. You had fainted and you were hurt, so I brought you home, and my mom bandaged you up," he said.
Angie looked down at her new apparel. "Where are my clothes?"
"My mom is washing and sewing them up for you," Josh explained. "She should be done soon." He walked over to her. "What happened to you anyway?"
"That's none of your business," Angie growled.
"That's fine." Josh shrugged his shoulders.
"You didn't have to do this." Angie said lifting up the small tank top to reveal the bandage around her mid section.
"Mom, thought it best."
"Well it wouldn't have changed anything." Angie ripped off the gauze and saw a perfectly healed side.
"Holy cow!" Josh exclaimed. "That cut was really deep last night, how did it heal so fast?"
"It just did," Angie said pulling her shirt down. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get my clothes back and be on my way."
"Okay, I'll go get my mom." The boy walked out of the room.
A few minutes later a woman walked in. "Hi, I'm Mrs. Far."
"I'm Angie." Angie answered.
"My son told me that you wanted to get home," the woman said.
"Yes, Thomas will be getting worried soon if I don't show." Angie explained.
"Is Thomas your father?" Mrs. Far asked.
"No, he's just a friend. A father figure yes, but not actual father," Angie said. "I hate to be mean, but I really have to get going."
"Let me look at your side first. I don't want you to get infected or anything."
Angie lifted up her shirt. "I'm fine, believe me."
The woman gasped. "It's totally healed," she said. "But it was at least half an inch deep last night."
"I heal quickly," Angie said. "Now can I get going?"
"You're in an awful rush." The woman noticed. "That's not good for your health."
"Well I'm always in a rush, and I'm still alive," Angie said.
"Okay, well here are your clothes." She handed the Slayer her clothes. "After you're done you can come down stairs and I'll get you your coat."
"Thanks," Angie said as the woman walked away. Angie quickly dressed, and headed down the stairs. There, as promised, stood Mrs. Far with her coat. "Thanks," Angie said once again, taking her coat and putting it on. Reaching into her pockets she realized the castles were no longer there.
"Is something wrong?" Mrs. Far asked.
"The necklaces that were in my pocket, where are they?" She asked, then her hand flew up to her neck and she realized that her pendant was gone as well. "And where's the one I had on."
"The police have them," Mrs. Far said. "And they're waiting for you."
"What?!" Angie asked.
Mrs. Far opened the door to reveal two cops. Angie rolled her eyes.
"Ms. Savora if you'll come with us we'd like to ask you a few questions," one cop said.
"Great." Angie sighed as she followed the cops to their car. She sat in the back seat, not saying anything.
"Where did you get these?" The cop asked showing the seven crystals.
"I didn't steal them," Angie stated.
"That's not what I asked," the cop said. "Now where did you get these necklaces?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Angie said. "Besides one of those is mine."
"I'll ask you again, where did you get them?"
"I beat a changeling and got them back."
The cop laughed. "Kids these days."
Angie got angry and stood, sending her chair to the ground. "Look, you can think whatever you want to. But we both know that it was a tiger that stole those and not me." She leaned against the table and starred at the cop.
"Are you a Witch?" He asked.
"No." Angie said. "If I were, you would've been dead by now."
"Is that a threat?" The cop asked.
"Look," Angie said. "I don't need to steal things. Besides what use would I have for those?"
"They're a set."
"Do I look like the kind of girl who likes jewelry?"
The cop looked at her. "No."
"There you go. Now just give me my necklace back, and you can give the others back to their owners."
"Hold on a minute." He left and came back minutes later, the manager of the Magic Box trailing him.
"Oh, hey Angie," he said cheerfully.
"Hey," Angie said dully.
"Sir, is this the girl who stole your products?" The cop asked the man.
He laughed. "She wouldn't steal anything. She's probably the one that got them all back from the thief."
The cop looked at the girl. "Alright, you're free to go."
Angie held out her hand. "Necklace."
"Which one?"
"Clear."
He reached into the bag and retrieved the pendant. "Here. Now get out of here."
"I'd be glad to." Angie wiped of the pendant and put it around her neck. She picked it up and kissed it. "Zach."
"I'm home," Angie called out as she happily walked through the front door.
"Oh thank heavens," Thomas said. "After you didn't come home I was beginning to fear the worst."
"No, I'm fine," Angie said.
"What happened?" The Watcher asked.
"Well, I met up with the changeling," she said.
"And?"
"Well, I killed it."
"Wonderful." He smiled, but looking at Angie's face, his smile fell. "But?"
Angie swallowed the lump in her throat. "It got me really bad, and," she paused, swallowing once again. "It killed Zach."
"Oh Angie." He put his arms around her. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," she said, even though she knew it wasn't. "I promised him I wouldn't cry."
Thomas backed away from her. "Are you going to be okay?"
Angie nodded.
"Are you sure?"
"I'll live." She turned and said, "I think."
"The castles, where are they?" Thomas asked before Angie got all the way up the stairs.
"The cops have them," she said before disappearing into her room and collapsing on her bed.
"Angie?" Meg asked as she walked into the Slayer's room.
"Hey Meg," Angie said not looking up at her friend. She was lying on her stomach, with some of the Watcher Journals in front of her, on her pillow.
"Are you doing okay?" Meg asked walking up to the bed.
"Don't ask questions you already know the answers to," Angie said.
Meg sat on the bed next to the hurting Slayer. "I'm sorry."
Angie rolled over on her side and looked at her only friend. "Don't worry about it. There's nothing you could've done to stop it." She sighed. "There wasn't anything I could've done about it."
"Do you want to go get some ice cream?" Meg asked.
"No. Thanks anyway." Angie turned back to her books.
"Angie you can't just lay here all day long."
"Why not?"
"Because there's a lot more that you could be doing."
"Like what? Getting all my friends killed, and hurt?"
"I'm not dead."
"Yet."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"They're going to come after you. And no matter how hard I'll try, there's going to be one time, just one time, when I'm going to be a second to late," she paused. "And you'll be killed."
"Don't say that."
Angie sat up, crossing her legs, Indian-style in front of her. "You should just leave, and forget about me. You've been accepted into some great collages, you should go to one. At least you'll have a decent life."
"You can have a decent life to ya know."
Angie made a small 'cha' noise and said, "Yeah right, I'm the Slayer remember, I'm doomed to a life of hell, while living on the Hellmouth, and fighting all the bad guys."
"That's not true."
"Look, I don't want to put you in danger. I want you to be able to live a happy life without the distraction of me. And I want you to live long. So go to a good college somewhere far from here and live a normal life."
"But I have a normal life."
"Your best friend is the one and only Chosen One. How normal do you call going out and staking vampires every night?"
"I don't mind it."
Angie took her friends hands into hers. "Just do me this one thing. Go out and get a good education, live a normal life. And don't just do if for me, do it for you too."
"I can't believe you're saying this."
"I want you to have the life I can't. Please do this for me."
Meg stood up and stared at her friend. "I have to think about this." She turned and walked out of the room.
"Do it," Angie called, "do the right thing and go." She once again turned toward her books and began reading.
"Angie dinner is ready," Thomas said behind the Slayer's closed door.
"I'm not hungry," Angie answered.
"You've got to eat something, you haven't eaten all day," her Watcher scolded.
"I'm not hungry," she repeated.
Thomas opened the door. "I thought you said that you weren't going to cry."
"Who said I was crying?" She asked, looking at her Watcher.
"Nobody."
"Well then?"
"Angie you need to eat."
"No I don't, I'll just go on patrol and get to bed."
"That's not good for you."
"It's not like it matters."
"But it does."
"Look, do you want me to eat, or go on patrol?"
"I want you to do both."
"Pick one."
The Watcher sighed. Defeated he said, "Do what you want."
"That's what I thought." She got off her bed, and walked passed the man.
"It's not dark yet," the man pointed out.
"So, it will be soon, and I need time to think," Angie said walking down the stairs.
"Okay." Thomas closed her door and walked down the stairs.
Ah, grand, Angie thought as she walked through the darkened streets, another night of dullness. She looked up, I hate rain clouds, they always bring me down. She walked on through the night, running into the occasional vampire here or there, but nothing exciting. Even long after she knew it was okay to go home, the Slayer walked around the quiet city. And as she did she remembered the good times she'd had with Zach, Zacharius, and Meg. She'd smile every now and again, but her heart was filled with sorrow.
Thunder sounded, and Angie looked up as the rain began to fall from the heavens.
"Zach," she called closing her eyes and inviting the rain, "I'll never forget about you." She held out her arms and allowed herself to become drenched.
"Hey," A voice called out. "Hey girl."
Angie opened her eyes and was blinded by sunlight. "Huh? What?"
"You fell asleep, it's 7:00 in the morning, you had better get home," the man said.
"Yeah, uh, thanks." She got up and leaned against the tree again. "I must've fallen asleep."
"Get goin'," the man said again. "It's not safe around these parts."
Angie walked out from under the tree. "Thanks again."
"No prob." The man waved at her with two fingers.
The next two weeks passed and Angie still wandered around in a daze most of the time. Meg had only talked to her a couple times since that day, and Angie was beginning to worry about their friendship.
Meg walked up to the girl who sat on a park bench by herself. "Hey Angie."
"Hi Meg." The Slayer smiled. "Have a seat."
Meg sat down. "I've been thinking about what you said a couple weeks ago."
"And?" Angie anticipated the answer.
"My mother thinks that I should go, so I am," Meg said, a hint of sorrow filled her voice.
"It's for the better," Angie said, then asked, "When are you leaving?"
"A week from Friday," Meg said. "I've already started packing my stuff."
"Where are you going?" Angie asked.
"I'm going to Boise State. It's not too far away, but it's far enough from here so that..." she paused, "I'm really scared."
"Why?" Angie looked at her friend confused.
"I'm going somewhere I've never been. I don't know anyone down there, and I..., it may sound funny, but even though I fought with you, I'm afraid of all the evil things out there," Meg explained.
Angie smiled. "You can take care of yourself. You're a big bad Wiccan now; I know you'll make it through."
"I just don't want to leave you. I'm perfectly fine with leaving my mom and grandma, but it's you that I'm worried about. Are you really going to be okay if I leave?"
"I'm the one who wanted you to go. Believe me; I'll feel a lot better knowing that you're out living a normal, happy life, than if you were here by my side." She hugged her friend. "But I am going to miss you."
"I'll miss you too." The two parted. "I could use some help packing my things though."
"I'd be more than happy to help," Angie said as the two girls stood and walked to Meg's house.
Soon the time came for Meg to leave. Meg had said her good-byes to her family and she now faced her best friend. The two stared at each other for a moment then hugged each other tightly.
"I'm going to miss you," Meg said with tears in her eyes. "I'm scared."
"It's going to be okay. But you have to promise to write me every month okay," Angie said closing her eyes and holding her friend even tighter.
"I promise," Meg whispered as the two pulled away from each other. She took a deep breath and wiped away her tears.
"Have fun, okay," Angie said as her friend walked toward the car. "I want to know everything about what a normal life is like."
"Okay." Meg managed a smile. "Good-bye everyone." She looked at Thomas. "Take care of her."
"I will," Thomas said as she got into the now running car.
"Bye," Meg said.
"Get out of here before you change your mind," Angie insisted.
Meg smiled and slowly she began to drive away, and everyone watched as she faded into the horizon.
"She's gone," Meg's mother said. "Angie, I have to thank you for pushing her to go to another college. She wouldn't believe me when I told her she was capable of so much more."
"I'm just glad that she listened to me," Angie said.
"What are you going to do now that she's gone?" The elderly Buffy asked.
"I'll live," Angie said with a weak smile.
"Let's go home," Thomas said.
"Feel free to stop by at anytime," Meg's mother called as the Slayer and Watcher walked away.
Meg had now been gone for two weeks, but to Angie it seemed like two years. Every day was the same thing. She'd train with Thomas, then go look for a job, and she'd patrol. She'd been offered a couple jobs, and she took one. She was now a sales lady at one of the many flower shops in town. Sunnydale was known for its many funerals, and flowers were often purchased. So she was paid rather well.
Her customers were really nice, and she enjoyed the quiet of the place. Even though she knew that half the deaths were caused because she hadn't killed a specific vampire, or demon in few cases. Life was good, but Angie longed for more. Her life seemed to have no meaning. These people grieved for the loss of loved ones that she was responsible for, and she was beginning to think that she didn't really make a difference.
As she patrolled, and killed vampires, she was still empty inside. It had been over a month and Meg hadn't written yet. Angie wondered if the girl had forgotten about her.
One night as Angie patrolled she was attacked by a band of vampires, and though she had killed every one she had let herself get beaten pretty bad. As she dusted the last vampire rain started to pour. She fell to her knees and yelled into the empty night, "It's not worth it anymore." She didn't show the physical signs of the fight but she hurt. "I'm not worth it. I've no reason to fight anymore." She laid down in the wet grass on her stomach and let the water collect around her.
"Get up Angie," Spike said from behind her. "You're not done yet."
"Yes I am," Angie said to the ground.
"No you're not love." Spike reached down and grabbed her arm, but she punched him in response.
"Just leave me alone," she demanded.
"So you're just going to lay here and get killed?" Spike asked, disgusted.
"Sure, it's not like I'm making a difference in the world," Angie said quietly. "I have nothing to fight for. If I die at least they'll get a Slayer who wants to do her job."
"Get up," Spike demanded.
"Go away Spike," Angie said again. "I'll get up when I actually have something to fight for."
"So you're going to wallow in your self pity?"
"I'm not wallowing in my self pity, I'm wallowing in my unneeded presence."
"You're needed." He crouched down beside her.
"No I'm not. There are about a hundred potential Slayers just waiting for me to die so one of them can be chosen to take my place."
Spike stood up and kicked the Slayer in the side. "You're pitiful."
Angie jumped to her feet. "What do you care? You've got everything you ever wanted."
"What does that mean?" He asked.
"Never mind." Angie turned to walk away from the bleach blond vampire.
"Come with me, and I'll give you something to fight for." He yanked her in another direction. "Besides, your Watcher said that Meg wrote; her letter is sitting on the counter."
"Meg wrote!" Angie brightened. "I was beginning to think she'd forgotten about me."
"It's hard to forget about a Slayer, believe me." Spike let go of her arm and the two walked to her house.
"Thomas," Angie called as she walked into the house. "Where's the letter?" She was in such a rush that she didn't see the girl that sat on the couch in the living room.
Thomas walked up and greeted her. "You're all wet."
"Rain does that to you," Angie said. "Now where is it?"
"Go change and dry off before I give it to you," Thomas ordered. Angie bounded up the stairs to her room. He looked at Spike. "Do you want a towel?" Spike nodded and Thomas handed him a towel. "Thanks for finding her."
"No problem." Spike took of his long black trench coat and placed it on the back of a chair, then wiped off as much water as he could.
Angie jumped down the stairs. "Letter," she demanded.
Thomas handed it to her, and she opened it immediately.
Dear Angie,
Well college life is just as we imagined it. So much has happened, even in the short month that I've been here. The teachers down here are so nice, and so are most of the students. There's a girl down here that reminds me so much of you. And every time I see her I want to call you, just to see how things are going, but I can't.
I miss you so much. And I promise that as soon as I get the chance I'll come down and visit.
Things down here are so quiet. It's kind of weird not having to worry about vampires and stuff like that. But I sometimes wish that I were out there patrolling with you, instead of here, studying and doing endless piles of homework.
My room mate is really nice too. Her name is Jessica, and she's really weird, but she makes everything, even homework, seem so fun. I'm really glad that I got stuck with her. She also likes the mystical stuff. She hasn't found out that I'm a Witch yet. But I can just imagine what she'll do when she does. "Ohmigosh, are you seriously. That is soo, cool. Wow, a Witch, eek, that's so exciting." That's probably what she'd do.
On another note, I've met this totally cool guy. His name is Brent, and he's a super cool Warlock. He's not as powerful as me, but he's great. And he's sweet, we hang out a lot. I think I'm beginning to like him. I'll send you a picture of him as soon as I get one.
So how are things going down there on the Hellmouth? I hope things are going well- or at least as well as possible. Well, Angie I've got to go. I look forward to reading your response. Write back soon okay. I miss you, and I think about you all the time. And do me one thing okay, smile, even when you don't want to.
Your best friend,
Meg
Angie put the paper back in the envelope and grinned happily.
"Is she doing well?" Thomas asked.
"Everything is great as far as I can tell," Angie said.
"Um, Mr. Thomas?" A small voice came from the hallway.
Angie looked into the darkness and saw a female figure. "Who's she?"
Thomas looked as if he'd forgotten about the girl. "Uh, well, why don't you ask her?"
Angie looked at the girl, "Who are you?" she sounded annoyed.
She stepped out of the shadows into the kitchen, and Angie gasped. Okay, super creepy, this girl looks just like me. What the heck is going on? The Slayer looked at Thomas hopping for an answer. But he just motioned toward the girl.
"I'm Stephanie," the girl said. "And I'm your twin sister."
Angie bust out laughing.
"Angie," Thomas scolded the girl and she stopped.
"I don't have a sister," Angie said.
"But you do, and I'm her," Stephanie said.
"Kay whatever." Angie turned toward Thomas and motioned toward the hall. The two went out there. "Who is this girl?"
"She is who she says she is," Thomas said. "Spike and I checked her out before he went and got you. She is your sister."
Angie was shocked. "Why is she here?"
"To see you."
"I don't trust her."
Thomas sighed. "I guess that's to be expected, but give her a chance."
The two walked back into the kitchen. Spike walked over to Angie and said quietly. "She's not a bad guy."
"I've heard that," she said, looking at her sister. "How come I never knew about you?"
"Well," Stephanie began. "When our parents found out that they were having twins they decided immediately that they wanted to put one of us up for adoption. So when we were born they chose between us and they gave me to my adoptive parents. They didn't mention you until I looked at my birth certificate and saw that there was another name on it. Then they told me all about you. But no one knew what had happened to you, or where you were." She paused, "I finally found out that you had been in an orphanage and moved here after you had been adopted for a couple years. So I came to find you."
"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" Angie asked.
"You'll have to forgive her," Thomas cut in before Stephanie could answer. "She's never been a very trusting person."
Angie looked at Spike. "This is what I'm supposed to fight for?" She asked quietly.
"You'll get used to her," he said in response.
"How long are you staying here?" Angie asked her sister.
"As long as you'll allow me to," Stephanie said.
"Then you've already stayed too lon..." Angie started but Thomas cut it.
"You can stay as long as you like."
If looks could kill, Thomas would be dead, and so would Stephanie. Already the Slayer didn't like her. Spike jabbed her side and the Slayer looked at him in surprise.
"Fine, she can stay," Angie said.
"She'll have to stay in your room," Thomas said.
"What!? There is no way," Angie protested.
"I don't want to intrude," Stephanie said. "I can sleep down here."
"No," Angie said, "you can sleep in my room."
Stephanie smiled. "Thank you Angie, I know this is really sudden, but I hope that we can get to know each other." She walked up the stairs with a bag.
Angie looked at her Watcher. "How am I supposed to be Slayer girl, with little miss proper hanging around?"
"You can still do it," he answered.
"And keep my identity?" She looked at the vampire next to her. "She's going to wonder why Spike doesn't come over during the day."
"So tell her I have a job," Spike suggested.
"You people are crazy. I'm not staying in the same room as her until I know for a fact that she's not evil."
"Where are you going to sleep?" Thomas asked.
"Out here on the couch," Angie said. She walked up the stairs into her room.
"Hey Angie," Stephanie said.
Angie looked at the girl, grabbed some pj's and walked out again.
Thomas walked into the room a few minutes later.
"She really doesn't like me, does she?" The girl asked.
"That's just the way she is," he explained. "Just give her some time and you'll find she's not that bad."
"I hope so."
"Don't worry. You get some rest okay."
"Okay, thanks."
Two weeks now passed and even though Stephanie hadn't done anything, Angie still didn't trust the girl.
"Why don't you trust me?" Stephanie asked as the two girls ate lunch one day.
"Because I've had a lot of things happen to me, and I've been stabbed in the back too many times by people I've trusted," Angie answered.
Stephanie looked at her twin. "I'll never betray you. I've looked for you for much too long to betray you."
"We'll just see about that." Angie ate the last bit of her sandwich. "I've got to get back to work. Thomas will be back soon, but I won't be back till late."
"You get of at six though," Steph protested. "You're store doesn't stay open that late."
"I have other things to do," Angie spat.
"Okay, see you later."
As the Slayer quietly walked into the house later that night, the voices of her sister and Watcher greeted her from the kitchen.
"I'm almost beginning to think I made a mistake by coming here," Stephanie said.
"Give her time," Thomas said. "She just needs to know that you're someone she can trust."
"But I've done everything I can think of," the girl sounded distraught.
"She'll lighten up," Thomas comforted her.
"She acts like she's the only one with problems in the world."
"It's harder for her than you think."
"She acts like spoiled brat."
Who's acting like the brat? Angie though furiously. She was in a bad mood already, she'd run into some once-upon-a-time-acquaintances-turned-vamp who didn't know when to shut up. And they had said things that the Slayer didn't want, or need, to hear.
Her fuse was short, and hearing her "sister" talk like this, made her fuse run extremely short.
"She's had a lot happen to her," Thomas stood up for the Slayer.
"She can talk to me about this stuff. Sometimes she acts like I'm not here. And I swear I just want to slap her and tell her that she's not the only one with problems."
Angie snapped. She stormed into the kitchen and slapped the girl, hard, across the face. "Don't talk about problems; you don't know what real problems are."
Stephanie, who was on the floor, looked up and said, "I didn't know you were here."
"So that makes it okay to talk about me?" Angie questioned enraged. "I don't expect you to understand me. But don't ever talk about me unless you know why I'm acting that way."
"You never talk to me," Steph exclaimed getting to her feet. "How am I supposed to know how you feel?"
"I don't need to talk to you," Angie half-yelled. "You just walk into my life and expect me to drop everything and welcome you. Well guess what? I can't and I won't."
"Angie, stop it," Thomas broke in.
Angie looked at him. "Do what you want, I'm leaving. Don't expect me back for a while."
"Where are you going?" Thomas inquired.
"I don't know," she answered as she walked up the stairs to her room, then out the door with a plastic bag full of clothes.
"Ow," Steph said as she rubbed her cheek. "She's strong."
"You have no idea," Thomas said. "Let's get some ice on that. It's going to bruise no matter what, but we can bring down the swelling."
Angie walked quietly through the night, contemplating where she would stay. "I could stay with Meg's mom. But Buffy wouldn't let me hear the end of it," she thought out loud. Then, after she saw a cemetery a thought hit her. "Spike."
As she knocked on the door, she wondered if she'd been too hard on her sister. Spike answered the door. He was shirtless and he looked surprised to see her. "Hey love."
"Hey." Angie bit her lower lip then asked, "Is it okay if I stay here for a while?"
The vampire looked at her, then he stepped aside, letting her enter. "What happened?" He asked while shutting the door.
"That stupid girl," Angie said. "She thinks she knows everything. And Thomas doesn't help."
"I thought as much," he looked at the bag. "How long do you plan to stay?"
"A couple days, if that's okay." Angie sat on the couch. "I just really need to cool off." Spike sat next to her and she looked at him. "I slapped her, really hard."
Spike looked at her in amazed. "You hit her?"
Angie nodded her head, ashamed. "I was already mad, and hearing her say the things she did pushed me over the edge."
"It's okay pet." Spike stood. "You can stay here as long as you like."
"Thanks Spike." She turned around and watched as he pulled down the sheets to his bed.
"You can sleep in my bed," Spike offered.
"That's okay; I can sleep on the couch," Angie told him.
"I sleep during the day remember. You can have it during the night, and I'll take it when I want to sleep in the morning."
"Thanks Spike." Angie stood and walked over to him.
"I hope you won't mind if I work out and watch TV," he said.
"I don't mind," Angie said. "Just keep it down, if that's okay."
"Yeah sure," Spike agreed.
Angie looked at him. "Are you sure it's okay if I stay here?"
"Yeah, it's not a problem love."
"Okay." She smiled at him. "I'm going to change and go to bed then."
"Okay."
Angie looked at him for a minute then said, "Can you um.."
"Oh, sorry." Spike walked over to the couch and sat down while turning on the TV.
Angie changed quickly. "Spike?"
"Yeah?" He turned to look at her.
"Can you wake me at seven tomorrow morning? I have to open the shop."
"Sure."
"Thanks." She crawled under the black covers and snuggled up to the pillow. Smells just like Spike, she thought as she took a deep breath.
"Good-night," Spike said.
"Good-night," Angie repeated quietly. And soon she was asleep.
As he promised, Spike woke Angie up at seven o'clock. She dressed and headed off to work.
The two had compromised fridge space, and Angie ate Fruit and Veggies for the next week and a half, as well as bread and other no-need-to-cook items.
They had grown closer now, and they talked every day and night, whenever possible. Angie told Spike everything about the incident with the changeling, and the tragic death of Zach. And Spike sympathized with the girl. He knew what it was like to loose a loved one.
Angie sighed as she walked through the dark streets of Sunnydale. So far nothing at all had happened, and she'd been out for more than an hour. She was about to give up when she heard a scream. Excited, she flew to the scene.
Two vampires had a girl pinned against a tree and were about to feed, Angie was sure of it. She watched for a moment then said, "Hey, dinner time is over."
The two vampires looked at her. "It's the Slayer," one of them said.
"Aw man," the other complained. "And I just got sired."
"Well, now you're going to get killed." Angie rushed the vampires, and before the newborn knew it, a stake protruded from his heart.
"Crap." He dusted.
"I'm not that easy," the remaining vamp said.
Angie studied the vampire for a while. "You're not much older than that chap are you?"
"I'm quite a bit older," he spat. "I'm eighty years old."
Angie laughed. "Still young." She paused. "And stupid." She threw her stake and it hit the target.
Another one dusted.
"I wish they could be just a little harder. This is totally boring," she said wiping her hands together. She turned to look at the intended victim of the vamps. She rolled her eyes. "Didn't Thomas tell you not to go out by yourself at night?"
Stephanie stared. "No."
"Go home," Angie demanded.
"So this is what you do after work? You slay vampires?"
"That's my job." Angie started to walk off.
Stephanie followed her. "Is that why you act the way you do?"
Angie stopped and stared at her twin. "I act the way I do because of things that have happened to me."
"Things that happened because you're the, what did the vampires say? Killer."
"Slayer, get it right. And yes, most of those things are because I'm the Chosen One."
"How come you didn't tell me?"
"It's called a secret identity. I have certain rules that I have to keep, and one of them is for me to act like a normal girl."
"Oh, I guess I understand that."
"Whatever." Angie began walking away.
"I didn't want to make you hate me," Stephanie called after her sister. "All I wanted was for you to talk to me." Angie stopped. "I'm sorry about what I said. All I want is for us to be sisters."
"We are sisters," Angie replied.
"I mean real sisters. You know, the kind that talk to each other. I'm sure that if we got to know each other well enough that we wouldn't fight as much. And I don't want to fight with you. I want to be your friend, I want you to trust me, and talk with me. But most of all, I want you to love me, the way that I love you," Steph took a deep breath. "Ever since I found out that I had a twin I always wanted to meet you. I dreamed about you all the time. I wanted to meet you. When I finally tracked you down, my parents said that I had to wait until I graduated, then they would let me come.
"So I waited, and waited. And every day, every day, I would wonder what you were like. I wondered what kind of things you did, if you liked the same music as me, and who you hung out with. You know, things like that. And finally I graduated, collected enough money, and I came here.
"You were exactly as I pictured you. But you didn't act the way I thought you would. And that's what made me say those things. I expected you to hug me, and to welcome me. But you didn't, so I got angry. And when I realized that it wasn't you, but me, I had to come find you.
"Thomas said that you often walk around the city at night, so I thought I'd come find you. I just want you to know that I'm sorry, and I shouldn't have said those things. I know that now."
Angie walked up to her sister, and for the first time, really looked at her. She saw a faded mark on the girls face and said, "I'm sorry I slapped you."
"I deserved it," Stephanie said with a smile.
"No, you didn't." Angie shook her head. "And I'm sorry I didn't welcome you. You just came at a really bad time."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it's not your fault."
"So are we okay?"
"Yeah."
"Then will you come back home with me?"
Angie nodded her head. "Sure, but we have to stop by Spike's first."
"I get to see where Spike lives?" Steph sounded excited.
Angie looked her sister in the eye. "There's something you need to know about Spike."
"What?"
"He's a vampire too."
"What!?"
"He's a good guy. But don't be surprised when you see his crypt okay."
"Okay."
They walked down to Spike's crypt and entered.
"How'd it go?" Spike asked as she walked through the door.
"Same oh same oh," Angie answered.
"Boring eh?" Spike turned toward the door and for the first time noticed Stephanie. "Oh uh... hey."
"Hey Spike," Stephanie said casually.
Spike shot the Slayer a what-is-she-doing-here look and Angie responded, "I'm going back home."
"I thought you were going to stay here for a while," Spike said.
"I've been here for eleven days; I think that qualifies as a while." Angie said. She walked over to the bed and picked up her bag that lay beside it. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me."
Spike walked over to her and whispered in her ear, "Are you sure you want to go home?"
Angie looked up at Spike. "You sound like you don't want me to go."
Spike quickly backed away. "I never said that, now did I?"
"No, but it sounded like it." The Slayer smiled at the vamp. "Thanks anyway." She walked up to him and kissed his cheek. "I'll come back tomorrow during my lunch break and eat what little food I have left over here okay."
"Okay," Spike agreed. "I'll see you then."
"Did I see a little spark there?" Stephanie asked when they left the crypt.
"Between me and Spike? No, we're just friends," Angie answered.
"It seems like more than that," Stephanie said.
"Well, then you're seeing things," Angie pointed out.
"Right," she sounded skeptical.
Dear Meg,
I'm so glad to see that you're doing well, and that you're enjoying your normal life. Things down here are pretty normal, as far as normal goes down here. But they got super weird for a while.
Turns out I have a twin sister named Stephanie. She just showed up one day, and Thomas let her in. She looks exactly like me, minus muscles and class, and she's invaded my house. Her attitude is way different from mine, and you can tell that she's had a more formal upbringing than me. What with her always having a family, and me being in an adoption home for 14 years, then having an intimate relationship with my "Father", so we're quite different when it comes to attitudes.
So, how are things going with you and this Brent guy? I want all the details; don't leave a single thing out.
I miss you a lot, and I sometimes wish I had my Slayerette back, but all in all I'm really glad that you're happy. I can't wait to see you again, but till then I'm off slaying demons and vampires.
Your best friend,
Angie
Angie smiled as she put the letter in the mail box. She had wanted to write her friend back for a while, and now that she had finally accomplished it, she felt good. Stephanie stood behind her.
"Hey Angie?" She asked quietly. "Do you think that you could teach me how to fight?"
Angie turned and looked at her sister. "Why do you want to know how to fight?"
The girl looked at the ground. "We don't seem to have a lot in common, and I thought that if..."
"If I taught you how to fight that we could grow closer to each other."
"Um, yeah, that was the idea."
The Slayer shrugged. "I guess I could. But you have to promise that you won't complain."
"I promise. I just really want to get to know you better. We are sisters after all."
"I guess that's true." She looked at her watch. "We have five hours before dark. Do you want to start now?"
"I don't want you to be too tired for your patrol."
Angie gave her sister a, me-get-tired? look.
"Ah, never mind, I forgot that you have that special Slayer ability." She stopped for a moment. "Yeah, we can start now."
"Okay, into the basement."
The sisters walked into the house and down the stairs. Stephanie had never been down in the basement before. She knew that was where her sister trained, and it honestly hadn't interested her much.
"Holy cow!" Steph exclaimed as she saw all the weapons and equipment. "You have a whole gym down here almost."
"Nah, we don't have treadmills or Stairmasters, or any of that stuff." Angie walked over to a mat on the floor, then looking at her sister she said, "Do you have something you can change into?"
"Aren't these okay?" She looked down at her jeans and t-shirt.
"The shirt is, but go get some sweats on or something."
"I don't have any sweats."
Angie sighed. "You can borrow some of mine." She walked toward the stairs. "C'mon, follow me and we'll get you some."
"No, not like that, like this." Angie demonstrated a proper punch for her sister. Steph mimicked. "Good, now do it again." Stephanie punched the air again. "Okay, now use some force." She moved in front of her sister and held up her palms. "Hit my hands."
"Won't that hurt you?" She contemplated her question. "Never mind."
"Now punch my palms as hard as you can," Angie instructed. Stephanie hit her sister's hand. "I barley felt that, do it harder."
This continued for a while, and soon Angie tired of it. "Okay, go punch the bag, but put on the gloves first. And don't punch it too hard at first okay."
Stephanie quietly walked over to the punching bag and put on the gloves, then began attacking the bag again and again.
As soon as Angie knew her sister was occupied, she began to fight the air. Left punch, right, high kick, low kick, roundhouse. She continued the series of attacks. Her limbs flew through the air as she hit an unseen offender. Stephanie stopped her assault on the bag in front of her and watched as her sister flipped through the air, and once again began to charge her imaginary opponent.
"That's amazing!" Stephanie said wide eyed.
The Slayer stopped in mid kick and looked at her sister. "You're supposed to be punching the bag."
Stephanie ignored the comment. "Where'd you learn all that stuff?"
Angie lowered her arms, and they dangled at her side. "Some of it I just knew. But most of it was taught to me by my Watchers."
"Watchers? As in, there's more than one?" Stephanie took of her gloves.
"There has only been one at a time, but I've had two."
"Who?"
"Zacharius was the first one, and he taught me most of what I know. And then, of course, there's Thomas. He's taught me a little bit, but most of it was taught to me by Zacharius."
Stephanie gave her sister a confused look. "Who's Zacharius?"
"My first Watcher." Angie replied taking a seat on the floor.
"If I remember right, I read some where that he was the one that adopted you." She joined her sister.
"He did."
"So he was you father. What happened to him?"
Angie swallowed, I knew this was coming. Great, now she's going to find out just how screwed up her sister really is. "Well, he..., I..., we kinda... Forget it, it's not important."
"Did something bad happen to him? Was he killed?"
Angie looked at her sister, then back down at her hands. "No, he's quiet alive. But he was taken away."
"How come?"
Angie studied her sister's eyes, then shifted her eyes away. "Zacharius was never really a..."
"Angie are you down there?" Thomas' voice traveled down the stairs.
"Yeah," Angie called back. "What do ya need?"
"Would you come here for a moment, I'd like to speak with you in private," the Watcher answered.
"Okay, be right there." She quickly stood and walked up the stairs. "What's up?"
Thomas took her away from the basement door. "I have some bad news."
"Since when was that new?" she asked, but then she noticed the sadness in the man's eyes. "What's wrong?"
Thomas sighed heavily. "Buffy, she, well she..." He searched for words. "She took a nap this afternoon, and, well, she never awoke."
Angie was filled with shock, she took deep breaths and her mouth went dry. "Buffy's..." She could barley allow her self to say the word, "dead?"
Thomas nodded. "She went peacefully in her sleep. I know that you were very attached to her, and I thought I should tell you. Mrs. Summers wants you to go to her funeral."
"No," Angie's eyes brimmed with tears. The once indestructible Slayer was gone?
"It's going to be hard, I understand. But she was old, she needed to die," Thomas attempted to comfort the girl.
Angie's body began to shake, and again she spoke the word, "No." She looked at Thomas with red, grief stricken eyes, then darted up the stairs to her room.
The funeral was three days later. The pews were filled with her broken family, and friends. Willow, Xander, Mrs. Summers, Meg, and Angie all hugging each other, and holding hands. Spike stood in the shadows in the back, trying to hide his grief, and his tears.
They all sniffed through the talk from the preacher, and soon Xander and Willow stood. They had been asked to talk, and they needed each others strength.
"Buffy was unlike any other person I'd ever met," Xander said quietly. "I can still remember the first time I ever saw her. I fell instantly in love. Little did I know that this one person would change my whole perspective of life."
"She was the strongest, most amazing person in the world, and I still wonder how she made it through all she did. From high school, to slaying demons and vampires, to dating vampires, to college, to saving the world countless times, she was always there for those around her. No matter how hard it was, she always made sure we were okay," Willow explained through tears.
"Buffy had an impact on everyone she met. Sometimes it was bad, but most of the time it was the best thing that could happen to a person." Xander squeezed Willows hand.
"She always wore a smile, even when the worst was happening. She heightened people's spirits without even trying. She was truly the best friend anyone could ever have."
"She was smart, in more ways than anyone could imagine, and though most people didn't see that, she showed it to us, and it was the best thing in the world."
"It was always hard, seeing the silent pain that she went through. Knowing that she was the one the fate of the world rested on. But during all of it, she stayed strong, just for those around her. Even after dying twice, she still stood tall, and stayed strong."
"There are so many thing's that Buffy did, and we could go on forever about how wonderful she was, because she truly was wonderful. No one could ever replace the way she made us feel, and no one could have more space in our hearts, than she."
"So Buffy, as we say good-bye, we want you to know that we love you, and we are so grateful to have had you in our lives. And even though things were really weird most of the time, we enjoyed the time we spent with you."
The two looked at each other, then said in unison, "So Buffy, rest in peace." They hugged each other and returned to their seats.
Meg's mother was the next to talk. Mrs. Summers wasn't actually Buffy's child. She had married into the family. Buffy's son, Tyler, had changed his name back to Summers after the death of his father, and later, married Meg's mother. After having Meg, Tyler left on a business trip, and was killed. He left his daughter, mother and wife to fend for themselves. And because of that, Mrs. Summers had become close to Buffy.
She didn't know much about the past of her mother, but Mrs. Summers' talk was full of love, and understanding for the woman.
Later that day, Buffy was laid beneath the ground, finally able to rest at last. No fear of being resurrected.
Spike stood under the shade of a large pine tree, hiding as much as possible from the setting sun. He was angry and sad at the same time. Willow and Xander had noticed him, but they didn't acknowledge them, for they too were growing weary of their long, trying lives. Angie however was different; she walked over to him, and watched the grave diggers as they filled in the hole around Buffy's casket.
"I can't believe it's over," Spike half-whispered.
"I know what you mean," Angie said in the same hushed tone. "She's really gone."
Spike punched the tree and drew blood. "It's not fair."
"Spike!" Angie exclaimed when she saw the blood trickle off his hand.
"It's not fair," he said again, grief filling his voice.
"She's happy now Spike, what more can you ask for?" Angie asked.
Tears fell down the vampires face. "I loved her."
New tears streamed down Angie's face as well. "I know you did, we all did."
The two embraced each other for a long time and Spike's blood dotted the Slayers black dress.
Well that's all for this chapter, please review, and I'll see you later.