That feeling, the one where your stomach drops into a pit, everything tingles and the threat of overwhelming nausea comes for you, that one. Sickening, almost making you want to hide forever? That's all that she could feel, could barely breathe through as she opened her phone.

With shaking hands she scrolled through all the messages she had received, one or two were sympathetic but most, they were almost enough to make her throw her phone at the wall. Quickly, she closed the texts and opened the app up to see photos of herself, back on halloween, in such compromising positions.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at the screen, she had been a little drunk that night and normally she wouldn't have done anything like that but Faith had cajoled her into it, just a bit of fun. What she didn't know was that photos were taken, THAT she never would have consented too.

"Buffy?!" She froze, she couldn't let him see this, this would make him hate her forever. She panicked and tried to hide the phone but her fumbling hands dropped it. She choked back a sob, refusing to look at him.

Angel frowned, tonight had been a great night, they'd finally confessed their love for each other and although it was maybe a little bit too soon, they'd taken the next step. When Buffy left the shower she was grinning from ear to ear and said she would only be 10 minutes to finish getting ready for bed.

As he came closer, she spun away so he couldn't see her face. He knew she was trying to hold it together, he could see the strain across her back, holding back the shudders "What's wrong?" When he put his hand on her shoulder she jumped.

The phone on the floor began to vibrate loudly as more texts came through, seeing her make a dash for it, he got there first and saw the nasty comments on the preview bubble. Reading the names that she was being called made his stomach knot "Buffy?"

Finally she turned to face him but couldn't say anything, she wailed loudly and fell. He caught her and brought her down to the floor, leaning his back against his bed. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as she cried, her small frame shaking violently with each sob. He held her face against his chest and stroked her hair soothingly, whispering that everything would be okay.

Her phone started ringing again, he saw that Willow was trying to call and had been repeatedly, so he answered. She didn't have to ask if Buffy was there, she could hear her crying "Willow… its Angel" he knew that she knew of him, Buffy had asked if it was okay to talk to her friend about them.

He heard her pause and then sigh sadly. Tell Buffy that I am so sorry and I am here for her, if she needs me. Still lost as to what in the hell was going on he asked her why Buffy was receiving nasty messages from multiple people. Willow cleared her throat. S-someone has posted photos of her online… she stopped there and let the line become silent.

Sensing that she wasn't going to add anymore to the story he thanked her for calling and managed to unlock Buffy's phone by guessing her pin- her birthday. He clicked on the app and saw what Willow hadn't wanted to tell him, he felt numbness spread through him and now understood why she was so upset.

Closing the app immediately, he locked the phone and slid it across the room, away from her and held her tight. She continued to sob loudly against him for what felt like hours, eventually she settled down and stopped shaking. He petted her head and leaned his cheek against her "Tell me what happened?"

Buffy frowned and wiped at her eyes, could he not put two and two together? She broke out of his embrace and got up to her feet unsteadily. Her voice whispering harshly "What do you want me to say? I shouldn't have got drunk, shouldn't have messed up?" She looked at him with fresh tears in her eyes "You think I'm as bad as what they're saying?"

She didn't want to repeat some of the things that some of her classmates had called her but she couldn't think straight, so she choked out "You think I'm a slut?"

Angel closed his eyes for a moment, her lost and lonely tone made him feel that much more for her. He came over slowly and ran his hands up and down her arms "No… Buffy" he locked eyes with her "I could never think that, You're forgetting, I've known you for a long time and I know you, and its not you"

Her bottom lip trembled as she started to cry again, he used his thumb to wipe away a stray tear "This isn't okay, you don't deserve that to happen… do you know who took them of you?"

Buffy nodded and wiped at her eyes "We were at The Factory on Halloween, we had been drinking a bit… I promise, I didn't know pictures were taken, I would never do that" at his insisting look she added "Parker, he would be the only one"

When he clenched his fist he could each knuckle pop, it didn't surprise him in the least. That shithead was going to find himself if some serious pain soon. The rational side of his thoughts kicked in, trying to be the dominant voice "Do you have proof that it was him?"

Buffy shook her head from side to side, it was her word against his and that was worthless. Angel ran his fingers through his hair, his lawyer alter ego hard at work, wanting to sort this mess up. He blinked a couple times then pulled Buffy into his embrace "We'll get through this"

Not for the first time, he was mad as hell, this situation though, wasn't directed at Buffy herself but at the actions of others who dared to hurt her. Her small hands gripped onto his back, almost clawing at him, making sure he wouldn't disappear.

Angel tilted her head and kissed her softly "I'm here for you" he could see her hold onto her emotions, doing her best not to cry again. He looked over to the clock and groaned internally, it was almost one in the morning and knew that they both wouldn't be getting much sleep.

Oooooooooooooooo

Both of their phones were switched off, so that the little sleep that they did get would be uninterrupted. When they woke up in the morning Buffy refused to leave bed and curled up, wanting nothing more than for this nightmare to be over.

Angel made his way down to make them something to eat and took both their phones with him and turned them back on, wanting to see whats the what. The only thing of importance that came from Buffy's phone was an angry voicemail from Darla asking her to come home, the rest, he would delete with her permission.

When he switched his on phone he saw numerous missed calls from Giles, tapping on his name, he brought it up to his ear with a sigh "Hey Giles"

The elder man cleared his throat and tried to remain calm "Angel, what in the hell is going on, I was alerted to images of Buffy being on the internet, I haven't looked but please tell me its wrong"

Angel closed his eyes, Giles was a great parent but he sometimes was a little old fashioned "No, its true but Giles, she didn't even know they were taken" he waited as he heard a deep exhale then nothing for a moment.

"I take it she is there with you now?" Being a rhetorical question, he didn't give time for a reply "How is she doing?"

Looking down to the ground, Angel replied "Not good" he took a drink from a water bottle that he grabbed from the fridge "She's confident on who posted them, so I'll call in a few favours with some contacts and we'll go after them" when Giles asked who and he replied Parker, he heard him sigh.

"Angel, you do know who Parker Abrams father is, don't you? He's the aide to the Mayor of the Town… there is no way he would ever allow you to tie his sons name against something like this"

Frowning, he felt the anger rise, he knew very well of the Abrams family but with the amount of trouble that Parker got himself into, being in a prominent position as he was, getting away with shit like this was commonplace "He won't get away with this"

Giles sighed once more, knowing that once Angel had his mind set on something, there was no changing it "Don't do anything rash, just think this through, get everything aligned. I'll be home tomorrow, unless you need me straight away?"

Angel shook his head and replied "No, ill keep an eye on her and we'll work through this when you're here" after they said goodbye to each other, he hung up and placed the phone on the counter and rested his elbows on the surface, taking deep breaths.

Shaking out of his thoughts, he threw a simple sandwich together and grabbed some soda's for them. When he got back to his room, Buffy had barely moved an inch and didn't bother to look at him when he returned. He sat the plate down in front of her but she remained still, once again.

Angel ran his hand soothingly up and down her back "You need to eat something…" when she shook her head he sighed and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close and kissing her temple "Buffy, I said I would be there for you and I will, give me some time and I will fix this"

Looking down at her hands she wanted to smile at his do-gooder attitude but she was all out of smiles today and whispered "I don't see how, they're out there and theres nothing you can do to take it away" she finally looked at him and saw the warmth in his eyes and felt the sting of tears.

Using his fingers, he tilted her chin and kissed her softly "Not about that but I can do something about Parker" she frowned but he kissed her again to stop her in her tracks "we'll take each day as it comes, I promise this will be all okay"

She wanted to believe him, she really did but having known what Parker continuously got away with, she wasn't confident at all. When he lifted the plate up and wiggled it at her, she reluctantly took it from him and took a bite from the sandwich "Thank you"

Angel pulled her close and laid his head against hers, he laid back on the bed and rested as Buffy finished her food.

Sitting the plate on the bedside table, she laid down beside Angel and snuggled against him, feeling safe "Angel? Can I stay here with you tomorrow? I don't want to go to school and have everyone stare at me"

Angel sighed as he wrapped his arms around her "Don't hide, don't let them see you be upset… try to show that it doesn't bother you and we'll fix this" he closed his eyes and held her "…I have to leave tomorrow night to go back East"

Buffy choked back a sob, she knew that he was only here for the weekend but hearing him say that he was leaving after this shit show was still not something she wanted to hear "Please don't go"

He leaned down to kiss her again then whispered "You know I have to" he felt her nod against him and kiss him back "You're strong, the strongest woman I know and I'll be back whenever I can"

Holding him tighter, she nodded morosely, he kept telling her she was made of steel but really, she felt as if she was made of paper, easily crumpled or torn. Facing her classmates without his comforting presence would be difficult, they all knew who she was, sadly due to her seeking popularity, was more visibly known than she would have been last year.

Ooooooooooo

Reluctantly Buffy had went home later that night so she could have a chance to speak with Darla and try to get some sleep before going to school. She had text him goodnight and then again another plea to stay before he left to go back to Law School but he insisted she put on a brave face.

He spent the morning with Giles arranging their notes and asking for a few favours so that when all was ready, Buffy could arrange for this to be formally investigated and sent to court. Before he had a chance to call to let her know that he was leaving, she appeared at the door "Buffy?" He could tell she was trying to keep her cool was but was struggling.

Without saying anything she wrapped her arms around his waist and gripped on tight, one of his arms went around her small frame and his free hand came up to palm the back of her head "How was today?" He had text her several times but her replies were short and nondescript.

She nuzzled against his chest and mumbled "Can I go with you?" After a pause she looked up at him and he felt his throat tighten, she had a lost and lonely look that made him want to say to hell with them and take her away from it all.

Angel framed her face with his hands and sighed, he kissed her softly then shook his head. She nodded knowingly then sighed, his thumb went under her chin and tipped her head up to look at her "How bad was it?" From his own experience of high school, teenagers could be nasty as shit when they wanted to be.

She nudged him towards the stairs and led him up to his room for privacy, he sat against the headboard and let her lay against him with her legs over his thighs "It just felt so surreal, at first I tried not to notice the looks or the comments, it was like everyone was dying to say something to me but they just stared…"

When her eyes glazed over again, he urged her to continue by rubbing her hands with his thumb. She closed her eyes and sighed.


Earlier today

Although Willow had been doing her best to keep her mind off all the whispers and the looks, she felt like she needed a break from it all. She said she would just spend her free period in the library, hopefully hiding away in the stacks. Willow nodded and said she would meet her afterwards.

When out of sight from her classmates, her head drooped and her body sagged. She was so tired of trying to act strong and unaffected, it was exhausting. As she rounded the corner her heart began to beat furiously, so far today she had managed to avoid the three people who were directly involved in that post but now she wasn't so lucky.

Faiths mocking laugh pierced through the silent corridor "Well if it isn't Slutty Summers" the boys beside her snorted and looked over to see Buffy frozen in place, tears filling up her wide eyes.

Mustering up some courage, Buffy cleared her throat "Why are you doing this?" Faith raised her eyebrow and stalked over to her and circled her like a predator circling its prey.

Buffy remained still before snapping her eyes shut as Faith leaned closer, her mouth almost grazing her ear "How does he feel about you now? Surely those pictures gave him a tasty preview of you" she thrust her hips against her and cackled "No, you probably still don't do it for him, too plain and too damaged"

When she felt Faith step away she reopened her eyes to be only a few short inches away from Parker. Taking a deep breath she clenched her fists and whispered "You wont get away with this"

His cold blue eyes twinkled with delight, he looked down at her and smirked "Get away with what? I haven't done anything" he shrugged then leaned down to whisper in her ear "You do know that he's just using you, like I did… you're a mess, guys like us wouldn't be with someone like you for the long haul"

When he heard her choke back a sob he snorted in derision "Pathetic" he looked down to see her squeeze her eyes shut and smiled once more "See you around, Slutty"