The alarm clock rang loudly, shattering the quiet morning air in Willow and
Buffy's dorm room. Buffy groaned and took a swing at the noisy appliance but
her fist smacked into the wall instead. The blonde groaned once again before
sitting up to nurse her wounded fist.

"Damn thing." She cursed, glaring daggers at the seemingly innocent alarm
clock. Willow woke up with ease, bouncing away from the bed in excitement.
Why Willow liked school, Buffy would never understand.

"Ahh. Morning. I love morning, its so fun and peaceful." Willow beamed at her
best friend.

"More like grouchy and bad hair." Buffy muttered, throwing back the covers.

"Don't be a spoiled sport. Morning is filled with...bagels! Gotta have those
bagels and oh, with all that cream cheese and it kinda melts when the bagel
is nice and toasty. But don't tell Oz, he might get jealous." Willow smiled,
imagining the perfect bagel. Buffy just stared at her friend strangely.

"I can have food fun too." The redhead defended.

"Are you up for Gunn's party later?" Buffy asked. "Now there is excitement."

"I'm not really a party person but I guess it will be fun." Willow said,
rummaging through her closet.

"Not a party person? Will, we go to the Bronze almost every day. Besides,
some times you just got to let go and go wild." Buffy chuckled.

"I don't do wild." The redhead almost blushed. Willow and wild are not good
things when mixed together.

"Willow, you are the most wild person I know. With the whole loving bagels
and being excited about school thing." Buffy teased. Willow just stuck her
tongue out at the blonde.

******
"At first I was afraid, I was petrified, kept thinking I could never live
without you by my side! But then I spent so many nights, thinking how you did
me wrong and I grew strong!" Xander sung loudly, dancing around his and
Spike's dorm room, looking for something to wear. Spike just glared at
Xander, sitting on his bed with his hands over his ears. Dear God, this was
*not* happening to him. Why the hell did he get stuck with this singing
ninny?

"Shut the hell up, damnit!" Spike roared, he was expecting his ears to start
bleeding with any more of this God damn singing.

"Aw, come on, Spike! Get in the spirit." Xander did a crazy dance, which
looked like to Spike that Xander was trying to swim with no water, while he
put his shirt on.

"And what spirit is that? The I'm-Gonna-Kill-Xander-Spirit?" Spike
threatened. It was too early for this shit.

"Actually, today at Gunn's party, I'm going to break up with Cordelia."
Xander pronounced proudly. Spike removed his hands from his ears and raised
an eyebrow at his room mate.

"You are going to break up with *Cordelia Chase*?" Spike threw his head back
and laughed. Xander frowned at his friend's reaction.

"Whites so funny?" The brown hair boy demanded. Spike forced himself to stop
laughing but it still took him a couple of minutes to collect himself.

"You aren't going to break up with a babe like Cordelia because you love her
*and* you won't break up with her because then she will start crying and then
Angel will kill you." Spike listed the reasons.

"Cordy is not capable of crying of a guy." Xander retorted. "Did you see what
she did to me? She embarrassed me in front of a whole pool full of people!"

"Its a good thing you will never see those people again." Spike chuckled from
the reminder of the past day.

"Half of those people go to this damn school! I swear, I can't take any more
of her. I'm about to snap."  Shifted his weight from foot to foot and waved
his hands around crazily. When Spike was about to retort Xander started up
his horribly off key singing.

"I will survive! As long as I know how to love I know I will stay
alive...something something, something, I will survive!" Xander shouted
loudly, going to take his shower.

"Your not going to survive if you keep singing that fucking song!" Spike
shouted after him. Bad start to the morning.

*****
"You try that again, bitch, and see what happens!" Faith screamed at her room
mate.

"Try what? What are you screaming about now?" Cordy snapped, turning around
to face her very pissed off room mate.

"You drank my milk, damnit!" The tough brunette yelled, holding up the empty
carton of milk, her eyes demanding an answer. Cordy opened her mouth to yell
back but slowly snapped it shut. Whoops.

"Sorry. It wasn't labeled!" The Queen C defended. Faith rolled her eyes and
threw her hands up in the air in disbelief.

"Listen, princess, there are *two* fridgerators in here! The one by my bed is
mine and the one by your bed is yours! Get it!?" Spike's girlfriend's voice
was hoarse from all the yelling. She was emotionally exhausted from living
with Cordy. She should get a transfer into a different side of the college.

"I didn't know it was crime to drink milk." Cordy turned back to the mirror,
applying more of her makeup. Faith seethed in anger, she slowly put down the
carton of milk to avoid throwing it at her room mate's head. She turned
cautiously towards her bed and threw one good punch at her pillow. Then
another one and another.

"God. Therapy much?" Cordy asked, looking strangely at Faith who was soon
pummeling her pillow.

There was a couple of pounds on the side of the wall. It was Angel and Oz,
whose room was right next store to theirs, signaling from them to be quiet.
Faith glared at the wall and pound her fist once on it, telling them she was
done with her screaming. For now.

******
After a long day of grueling classes and a lot more bickering, Angel was
more then pleased to sink into the arms of his beloved. The sad thing was
that the bickering seem to follow him even there. Angel shook his head
sighing as he laid his head down on his girlfriend's lap, they were in Buffy
and Willow's dorm room, lying on top of Buffy's bed. Willow and Xander were
sitting on the bed next to them. Angel was perfectly content and only heard
some of their heated conversation. It had to do with staying alive and crazy
girlfriends.

"You seem so tired, up to Gunn's party?" Buffy asked, running her fingers
through his thick brown spikes.

"Hmm." Angel muttered, his eyes closed. He could stay like this forever. A
shiver of delight ran through him as she giggled.

"Great answer. I totally agree."

"Hopefully everyone will come to their senses after this party. I think they
all need to separate from each other for a day." Angel said, gesturing to
Xander who was surely talking about his sister.

"Whatca mean? I think we have matured in a great sense." Buffy smiled down at
her boyfriend.

"*We* have, they haven't." Angel corrected.

"Not true. Faith is way more mature and so is Spike, with the whole not
drinking and having sex with everything that breathes." Buffy joked. "But I
do understand what you mean. I just guess that living with your sister makes
you crazy, you should know." The blonde grinned, thinking about how horrible
it must have been to live with Queen C.

"I feel bad for Faith." Angel chuckled after some more thinking.

"Ugh!" Willow shouted from her bed, startling Xander and the rest of the
occupants. "We should start getting ready we are gonna be late for the party.
Plus, you know how Gunn is. He has got maximum security with his whole gang
thing and all." Willow pointed out.

"Good point, Wills. I gotta go, today is my big day!" Xander bounced off the
bed, standing tall and taking a deep dramatic breath before leaving the room.
Angel raised an eyebrow at his strange friend.

"What's up with him?" He asked, groaning in protest as he reluctantly pushed
himself away from Buffy. He oddly felt empty.

Willow chuckled. "He thinks he is going to break up with Cordelia."

Buffy exchanged serious looks of concern with her boyfriend before they both
burst into hysterical laughter.

*****
"God damn!" Gunn shouted over the large crowd of people filling the large
house. He checked his friends at the door to make sure no one who wasn't
wanted got into the party. His friends were mostly the people in his gang who
look out for his back, he had several other scattered around the party. The
house that the party was thrown in wasn't his, hell no. He had gotten
permission from one of his buddies in a fraternity who lent their house. The
huge mansion was being filled up quickly was food, drinks, people, and
dancing. It was great.

"And they say I don't know how to throw a party." Gunn laughed to himself.
Damn straight this was going to be the most kickin' party over on this
fucking earth.

"And I thought that you were losing your touch." Angel spoke up from behind
his old friend. Gunn turned and grinned.

"Angel! Man, glad you made it." They shared a brief hug before Gunn turned
his attention to the blonde on his friend's arm.

"Hey you. What's up, girl?" Gunn greeted, looking the familiar blonde up and
down. He was blown away when he heard that those two were still together but
he knew that they had something more then just a regular crush.

"Nothing much. I'm kinda disappointed, I was expecting to get robbed again."
Buffy admitted, amusement in her eye. She remembered how scared she was when
she first had an encounter with the African American. He had held a knife to
her neck and demanded money, if Angel hadn't have come to the rescue she
didn't know what might have happened.  Gunn laughed and shrugged.

"If I knew that you were Angel's girl I wouldn't have even thought about it."
The street kid gave Buffy a welcoming kiss on the hand and changed the
subject. "Where is the rest of your crew? And your beautiful sister?"

"They are around here somewhere but don't even think about my sister that
way. Don't you have a girlfriend?" Angel warned playfully.

"Yeah. My woman is around here somewhere, also. I got to watch her, I see the
way these men look at my girl. You wait to you see her, she is a knock out!"
Gunn promised, a goofy smile on his face.

"I bet." Buffy chuckled. She generally liked Gunn, although his profession of
gang banging was not the best way to live, he was sweet and funny.They said
their good-byes and continued on to the party.

Part 4

"Woah! Slow down there, tiger." Faith shouted as she barely dodged a drunk
who flew at her, trying to grab parts that only her boyfriend can grab. Said
boyfriend grabbed the drunk by the neck and threw him behind them as they
continued into the loud party.

"It was a bad fucking idea to bring *you* here." Spike muttered as Faith
shamelessly smiled at guys but hanging on his shoulder. What a tease.

"Aww, come on. Where is your sense of fun?" Faith teased, jumping up and
wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Spike
chuckled, leaning in for a kiss but was interrupted by Gunn.

"Hey! All that freaky stuff takes place upstairs in the bedroom, not in the
middle of the damn party!" The host laughed. Faith grinned, letting the
bleach blonde go and dropping to the floor.

"What's the fun in that?" The brunette winked at Gunn.

"Damn girl! Its getting hot in here. You better watch her, Spike." The black
man aired out his shirt and fanning himself for emphasis.

"Don't I know it." Spike snapped, grabbing Faith by the hand and dragging her
away. Why did his girlfriend have to be so damn hot?

"Hey!" Willow shouted, catching Faith and Spike's attention. The both turned
around to face Willow and her boyfriend. Oz nodded his greetings.

"Hey guys. Why aren't you out there getting all wild on the dance floor?"
Faith asked the shy couple. Willow blushed, grabbing her boyfriend's hand.

"Why does everyone see me as wild now? I don't understand. Was it something I
said?" Willow looked a little excited, though.

"You crazy, Red? You are so wild in bed....I mean..." Spike teased. Willow
blushed even more, if that was possible.

"You have no proof." Willow turned to her boyfriend who simply raised an
eyebrow. "He has no proof."

"What about our video tape?" Spike mocked hurt and Faith chuckled.

"Video tape?" Willow squeaked.

"Its okay, honey, we will just burn the evidence." Oz squeezed her hand
before leading the speechless Willow away.

"God, I love teasing them." Spike sighed happily. Faith elbowed him hard in
the gut but couldn't wipe her smile away. Willow was very shy about things,
including sex, so it was pretty amusing to see her turn the color of a
tomato.

"Speaking of teasing, did you hear what Xander is going to do tonight?" Spike
couldn't help but laugh thinking about it.

******
Xander stared at his soon to be ex-girlfriend. She looked amazing tonight,
that was of course blemished because of the long hours he had to wait for her
to look like that. He believed that everyone had their natural beauty and
Cordelia had lots of it, why she put on so much makeup and the best clothes
to look good was beyond him. He would never truly understand her. He loved
her, a lot, but he could only take so much of Cordelia Chase. Xander didn't
know how Angel dealt with it since his childhood.

"Cordy." Xander called to get her attention but the party was too loud and
she was busy talking to some old high school friends. He tried again louder,
"Cordelia!"

No luck. Xander shrugged, the big break up could wait until later. Hopefully,
he still had the courage to do it. No one would believe that he would have
the guts to let a beautiful woman like Cordy go but he was going to prove
them wrong. He had been with her since junior year of high school and they
had went through countless fights but had always been together but this was
it. He was not going to be a lap dog to her anymore! No more embarrassing
outbreaks of screaming, no more kisses in the girl's bathroom and certainly
no more getting caught having sex.

Oh God, what did he think he was doing? He grabbed a cup of beer and gulped
it down, wincing at the bitter taste.

"I will survive, as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive." He
sung under his breath.

"Hey, I love that song. Got me through some tough times when the beasts known
as men tried to kick me out of their house." A pretty brunette said bluntly
who was standing right next to Xander.

"Me too! Well, not really." Xander said excited. The brunette chuckled and
held out her hand.

"Anya." She introduced herself, shaking Xander's hand.

"Xander Harris. It's lovely to meet you."  Xander flashed her a dazzling
smile, pulling the charm card. It always works.

"Don't you just hate men?" Anya snapped bitterly, looking beyond Xander at a
muscular man flirting with a couple of women.

"Yeah. Screw all the men in the world....wait, please don't do that." Xander
joked, trying to lighten Anya's dark mood.

"I mean, who do they think they are? Flirting with whoever they want,
breaking up with women because they aren't good enough or they take too long
to get dressed. I hate them!" Anya glared at the man still flirting, grabbing
Xander's drink and taking a long sip. Xander assumed macho man over there was
Anya's ex.

"Hey! We try to be good for you, women but you are just too strange! I mean
who pushes their boyfriend into a pool, causing him to flash everyone, just
because he called her fat? Is that fair? Women need to appreciate the risk
men take for them by going out with them." Xander defended his sex. Anya
raised an eyebrow to stare at him.

"I mean...men suck." Xander quickly covered up. Anya smiled in return.

"Dance with me, Women Hater." The brunette demanded, taking Xander's arm and
pulling him to the dance floor. Xander smiled in victory and wrapped his arms
around Anya.

******
"He has a death wish." Willow stared at her friend who was dancing with some
unknown women. Thank God, Cordy was no where to be seen or else she would
have a fit and probably break all the windows with her scream.

"Maybe she is just a friend." Oz wrapped an arm around her shoulder. The
couple was seated on a couch in a secluded corner, watching the excitement
pass them by. Willow loved it, just being in Oz's arms and watching all her
friends have fun and to see people dance and have a good time was her idea of
a perfect night. It was strange, she knew but she couldn't help but feel
anything else.

"Maybe." She agreed, she couldn't rule out that possibility but they were
holding each other too tight.

"Don't worry about it. Its none of our business." Oz whispered in her ear,
kissing her crown.

"I know but..." Willow tried, worried about her friends.

"No." Oz said softly. "If Xander thinks that he could try and break up with
Cordy then let him do it. You know that they will be back together tomorrow.
They are like...a bass and a drum."

"Oh. But you could start a band without a drum." Willow argued, squeezing her
boyfriend's hand.

"Impossible. The drum gives the bass life." Oz replied with ease. Willow
thought about it for a moment before smiling happily. He could always make
her feel so much better.

"Your right. I'm overreacting."

"It happens." Oz smiled, reinforcing his embrace on his redhead. A loud shout
caught both of their attention. The couple turned to look at Faith who was
standing on top of a table, dancing and shouting. Guys circled her, cheering
her on while passing up beer.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" They chanted and Faith did as they asked, emptying a beer
bottle in a matter of seconds. She threw the beer bottle of her shoulder and
threw her hands up in victory. The men cheered, grabbing at her but she
pushed them away with ease.

"Uh oh." Willow muttered. She then saw Buffy and Spike stare at her in
disbelief.

"Come on, boys! Keep passing the drinks!" Faith yelled and more men cheered.
Buffy shook her head. She had enough of this, she quickly maneuvered through
the men surrounding her drunk friend and reached the table that Faith was
standing on. Spike was too pissed, shocked, and turned on to react.

"Faith!" Buffy hissed, getting the brunette's attention. "Faith, get down
there. Your drunk."

"Hey B!" Faith laughed. "You want to come up here? Its fun as hell!"

"What? No!" But it was too late. Men was pushing her up on the table and
Faith grabbed her hand, helping her up.

"Its B, everyone!" Faith introduced, her words slurred. Buffy looked around,
embarrassed to see men blowing kisses and winking at her.

"B! B! B!" They chanted. Buffy turned away in disgust, wishing for Angel to
seriously pummel all these intoxicated people.

"Faith, come on. Spike is pissed, how can you be drunk but tell him not to?"
Buffy hissed in her ear, kicking at guys that were trying to grab her ass.

"Back off, pig. I'm taken." She warned one of them, turning away from Faith
for a second.

"Well, where is my boyfriend? He could join the fun. Spike! Where the fuck
are you?" Faith shouted, scanning the crowd for her blonde boy toy.

"Spike! Spike! Spike!" The drunken crowd cheered and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Can you guys chant something else?" She snapped. Buffy winced as she also
looked around the crowed, still on top of the table surrounded by men, and
saw Angel standing deathly still, next to Spike, with his arms folded over
his chest with the same pissed of expression as Spike. Damnit Faith! She
grabbed her friend pulling her off the table, much to the disappoint of many
of the men.

Buffy pushed away any man that got too close and finally reached their
destination. Their pissed off boyfriends. Buffy pushed her drunk friend into
Spike before slowly turning to face Angel, who wanted an explanation about
why his girlfriend was standing on top of a table surrounded by men chanting
her name.

"Shut up." She said simply before leaning against his chest, trying to get
the feeling of the other men touching her off. Angel sighed, wrapping his
arms around her. He couldn't stay mad at her for more then a couple of
seconds.

"Explain tomorrow." He said simply and Buffy smiled against his shirt. She
watched as Spike angrily dragged Faith away, probably to yell and makeout
with her. Same old thing.

"Hey. Nice table dance, Buffy." A new voice interrupted them and Buffy turned
around quickly in Angel's arm to face Penn. Buffy's anger quickly evaporated
as she saw Angel's friend.

"I'm still expecting my payment." Buffy teased and smiled when Angel gripped
her tighter.

"What are you doing with my girl?" Angel smiled, removing an arm from Buffy
to shake hands with his old football buddy.

"You didn't tell him?" Penn mocked surprise and fear and Buffy shrugged.

"I didn't know you went to SU, Penn, I thought you were going to Yale or some
smart school like that." Angel said.

"Yeah right. I love Sunnydale, wouldn't leave it. I got accepted at the very
last second at Sunnydale University, my room mate is Gunn. Hence, why I am at
this kick ass party." Penn explained.

"Damn, you should have told me. I will stop by Gunn and yours room and we
will have to catch up." Angel promised. Penn smiled.

"Yeah, that would be great. Haven't seen a whole lot of familiar faces. Well,
I got to go, the women are waiting." Penn winked at them before disappearing
into the crowd. Angel chuckled, he was glad that Penn was here but his smile
was soon swept from his face when Buffy abruptly broke away from his embrace.

"Uh oh." She muttered.

"What?" Angel asked, grabbing her hand as she led him towards the dance floor
where another crowd was growing. Buffy jumped trying to see what was going
on, she heard Xander and Cordelia yelling. Was Xander really going to break
up with Cordelia? She wanted to see this miracle in the making.

"Here, get on my back." Angel asked, he could clearly see Xander and Cordelia
shouting being a good foot taller then Buffy. Buffy laughed as she jumped on
her back, looking over the crowd to clearly see Cordy and Xander in the
middle of a heated argument.

"What the hell do you think your doing with *her*!?" Cordy shouted, pointing
at Anya who she found dancing closely next to her boyfriend.

"I will dance with whoever the hell I want to dance with!" Xander shouted
back, defending Anya who he found exciting and cool although, he could feel
her death stares burning into his back. She did have a problem with men.

"You are my boyfriend, you don't grind with some other girl without me
getting in-between it!" Cordy shouted. How dare he try to cheat on her! She
would show him! She was sick of being held behind by Xander, who was always
telling her to change herself. She will be beautiful if she wants to, damnit!

"I'm not your boyfriend anymore!" Xander yelled, part of him regretting it.
There! He had said it. He wasn't her boyfriend anymore. Xander Harris no
longer belonged to Cordelia Chase! She did the last thing he thought she
would do.

She laughed. "Are you saying *you* want to break up with *me*?" Giggles
escaped her lips but Xander could make out her sentence. Several people who
knew who Cordelia was, laughed also.

"Why does everyone laugh when I say that?" Xander demanded. Does everyone
think of him as whipped? He will not be whipped no more!

"Because Xander, you love me and there is nothing you can do about it." Cordy
said, quite proudly. She did hate embarrassing her boyfriend, it meant
embarrassing her too. She loved Xander, she really did, but sometimes he was
just too wacky.

"See, Cordy, that's where you are wrong." Xander said, his seriousness
scaring Cordy. Was he really going to break up with her? A pang of sadness
and guilt struck her and her defensive demeanor broke. An innocent look
crossed her face along with confusion about what was going to happen next.
Xander winced at seeing her desperate face and the anger that threatened to
overwhelm her. Okay, calm down, breathe, he told himself. This was it. The
big moment that he had been waiting for. Just say the words...

"Cordelia, I think that we shouldn't break up." Xander said quickly. Wait,
that wasn't what he wanted to say. We *should* break up! Hurry, say it, take
it back! Remember, no more whipping, Xander reminded himself but it was too
late. Cordy smiled happily, launching herself into his arms.

"I don't think we should either." Cordy said, her voice muffled because her
face was firmly buried in his neck. "But if I *ever* catch you dancing with
another woman again, I will break up with you without hesitating." Queen C
threatened. Xander tried to squash down how happy he felt that he hadn't
broken up with her but he couldn't. He simply sighed and sent an apologetic
look towards Anya who glared at him, pushing past the couple.

"Just another man." Anya shook her head, walking away. Xander winced, he
liked Anya. He would have to send her a fruit basket or something. He looked
around to see the crowed quickly evaporating at seeing that there was no
fight anymore.
Cordy parted from Xander after a quick kiss, going to powder her nose and
get a drink. Gunn walked up to Xander with a brunette on his arm. She was
pretty with long brown hair, big eyes, and a pleasant smile. She reminded
Xander of a brunette version of Willow.

"Keep it up, Xand. Your making my party! By the way, this is my girl Fred."
Gunn introduced and Fred shook Xander's hand.

"Nice to meet you. Sorry about the display with your girlfriend. She is very
pretty." Fred said politely.

"Yeah, thanks. Nice meeting you." Xander said good-bye as they continued on
their way. The brown hair boy turned to look at Angel and Buffy. Angel was
obviously giving Buffy a piggy back ride. Buffy jumped off of her boyfriend
to applaud him.

"That was one tough break up, Xand. Are you okay to drive?" She teased.
Xander winced, yep, he was going to hear about this nonstop. His rescue came
in the form of a tall, sandy blonde hair man who stopped a couple steps in
front of Buffy.

"Buffy? Buffy Summers?" Xander and Angel both noticed how the blonde tensed
at the unfamiliar voice. Angel immediately was at her side as she turned
around to look at the tall man who called out her name. Xander took one
protective step closer.

Buffy gasped, stumbling a step back but was held up right by Angel's arms.
Her face turned a sheen white and she shivered in displeasure.
Ohgodohgodohgod.

"Who are you?" Angel asked, already disliking the man who made his girlfriend
so upset. She was clinging at his arm like a lifeline. He wrapped a protect
arm around her, pulling her closer.

"My name is Riley, Riley Finn."

Part 5

"Hi, Riley. My name is Xander Harris." Xander said dumbly, reaching his hand
out to shake, ignoring Buffy and Angel's reaction to the unfamiliar man.
Angel pushed Xander's hand down, making a mental note to punch him later.

Riley Finn. The name made Angel want to grab a baseball bat and beat the
blonde person in front of him unconscious. He would, but he didn't have a
baseball bat near him at the time. Angel pushed Buffy behind him and stepped
threateningly closer to Riley all in one fluid motion of instinct.

"Your not wanted here." Angel gritted out between clenched teeth, it sounded
more like a growl but Angel didn't care.  Something flickered in Riley's eyes
but went away before Angel could identify it. He clenched his fists to stop
them from itching to be thrown in Riley's face. Buffy gripped his hand like a
lifeline, taking quick shallow breaths. Angel feared she would
hyperventilate.

"Woah, tension much?" Xander said, feeling the whole room go down a couple
notches in degrees.

"Sorry, I just thought I would say hi." Riley held his hands up in surrender
and taking a small step away from the possessive dark haired sophomore. He
maneuvered his body to take a quick glance at Buffy behind Angel. Angel's
hands shot out, forcefully shoving him away from Buffy and himself. Xander
jumped back, since this was not his fight. He held his hands up, standing
between the two men, play referee.

"Angel! Bad boy, how many times have I said no pushing?" Xander scolded.
Buffy glared at Xander, promising to beat him in a bloody pulp later. Did he
have to be so thick headed?

Riley stumbled back a couple of steps, caught off guard and looked around to
see a crowd of nosey and drunk students gathering around.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" They chanted in their usual drone. Buffy's eyes left
Xander to the obnoxious crowd.

"Is that all you guys do, scream something three times?" Buffy snapped
angrily, all her emotions mixing into one confusing mess. She was shocked to
see her drunken friend, Faith, cheering with the crowd. Did she manage to get
away from Spike? Damnit.

Riley stood up taller, fixing his clean shirt, then took the time to glare at
Angel.

"What the hell is your problem? I don't even know you." Riley snapped. Angel
let go of Buffy's hand to cross his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.
Anyone could tell that he was royally pissed off. Angel wanted nothing more
than to rip his head off with his bare hands.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy gathered up her courage to speak to her
unwanted ex-boyfriend. It was so strange. He seemed so...nice, innocent.
Nothing like the abusive drunken man from LA. It caught Buffy totally off
guard. Fear and anger collided with each other with more conflicting
emotions. She swallowed a lump in throat before stepping out behind Angel,
her emotionless eyes demand an answer.

"I came to visit my friend, she goes to this school. I dropped in to say 'hi'
and then I saw you. I wanted to....give my regards." Riley said slowly. If
Buffy hadn't known better, she would have thought that Riley was a new
person. But she wouldn't let herself believe.

"Seems innocent enough," Xander tapped his chin with his fingers. "What do
you say, Sherlock?"

Angel sent him a death look and that shut up Xander's stupid and out of place
jokes. The comedian shrugged and stepped back to watch the violence that was
sure to happen.

"I meant, what are you doing out of jail?" Buffy snapped impatiently. Did he
break out? She half expected to see his face if she turned on the TV and
watched America's Most Wanted.

"They let me go, Buffy. I didn't kill anyone. The only evidence they had was
the security tape and that person wasn't me. It took them nearly a year to
figure it out, but I've changed now." Riley stepped forward, closer to her
but once again, Angel automatically shoved him back.

"Back off." Buffy's boyfriend growled. Buffy was so confused. No! She was
certain that Riley killed her mother. Damnit, what else was she supposed to
believe? Was she supposed to fall for this new Goodie Goodie act that he had
going on? What if it was true? Too many questions made her head spin and she
felt her stomach churn.

"Just fucking fight already!" Faith shouted from the crowd, a round of cheers
agreed.

"Hey! What the hell is going on here?" Gunn and his girlfriend broke through
the crowd, getting to the center of all the commotion. Gunn stared at Angel
and Buffy glaring at tall blonde haired man. Gunn automatically stepped
closer to Angel, also glaring at Riley.

"Now, who the fuck are you?" Gunn snarled at Riley, taking Angel's side in an
instant but his girlfriend looked confused and angry.

"Charles!" She snapped. Gunn's defenses went down when he saw Fred getting
upset.

"What, baby?" He asked sweetly.

"This is my friend that I was talking about." Fred said sheepishly, looking
towards Riley.

"Your friends with *him*?" Angel pointed at Riley for emphasis.

"I just came down to visit her." Riley repeated.

"You friends with a person that wants to come and mess up *my* party?" Gunn
stared at his Fred.

"I wasn't messing up the party. I just came to say hi." Riley frowned, his
tone almost whining.

"Riley, I guess you should just leave now. We will have coffee tomorrow."
Fred promised with a sweet smile. Riley nodded, smiled at Fred then turned to
look at Angel and Buffy.

"Sorry about the confusion." He apologized and then walked away.

"Oh, now your going to have coffee with him?" Gunn asked, jealous. "I see how
it is."

Fred shook her head and chuckled before turning to Angel and Buffy. "Sorry,
if my friend upset you."

"It's not you fault." Angel said politely and turned to Buffy. He gently
grabbed her face in his hands.

"Baby, are you all right? Don't be scared, I'm here." Angel cooned softly.
Buffy shook her head and buried her face in his chest, trying to make the
room stop spinning. She wanted to push Angel away so she didn't throw up on
his shirt but she didn't have the strength. She grit her teeth and swallowed
hard.

"What the hell was that?" Xander asked, confused.

"I need to lay down." Buffy muttered, trying not to talk so much. If she
opened her mouth anymore she knew her lunch would be spewed all over the
floor. Angel nodded and looked to Gunn.

"Could we use one of the rooms?" He asked. Gunn nodded.

"Sure, but later you gonna tell me why you almost jumped that bimbo."

Angel said his thanks before leading Buffy slowly up the stairs.

"Why am I always ignored? Didn't I just ask what the hell happened or was I
saying it in my head? It's been known to happen." Xander threw his arms up in
defeat. Cordelia came back from the bathroom and looked at the disappearing
crowd and then to Xander.

"What happened?"

"Angel and his girl flipped when they saw some kid." Gunn filled in. Xander
glared at Gunn.

"How come she gets answers when I don't?"

"Stop your whining. People just see how pretty I am and they can't help but
subject to my questions." Cordy answered as if it was the most natural thing
in the world.

"Yeah and my name is Martha Stuart." Xander snapped sarcastically. Why didn't
he break up with her again?

"Well, Martha, I need to get a drink come with me." The Queen C demanded of
her boyfriend and he couldn't deny her, only because it would cost him his
head.

******

"How do you feel?" Angel asked, his eyes showing his obvious concern. Buffy
chewed her lip thoughtfully. Her years in Sunnydale were so wonderful, why
did it have to be ruined with her appearance of her ex-boyfriend who claims
he is innocent to shooting her mother.

"He was so...nice." Buffy muttered, her brow furrowed. Her thoughts were
racing, her whole being trying to cope with what just happened. Riley just
appeared out of nowhere and threw her totally off track. Why he couldn't just
stay in jail in LA or go back to Iowa? Why did he fucking have to come to
Sunnydale University? Damn this too small world. "I've known Riley to be a
lot of things but nice was never one of them. I'm confused." She admitted.

"He said he was just visiting Fred, he will be gone soon but until then, I'm
going to make sure he doesn't even look at you." Angel promised, grabbing her
hands, bringing it to his lips and kissing her knuckles.

"I'm going to have to tell the gang the whole story now." Buffy sighed, she
thought she could keep her friends in the dark about this but now it was
impossible. Angel was the only one who knew out of all of them.

"I'll be right there with you but you shouldn't worry about it. They won't
judge or pity you. Spike will probably just go on the hunt for Riley and kick
his ass." Angel chuckled at the thought and Buffy smiled at hearing his
laugh.

"Once Faith is sober, I'm sure she could help too. We could all pitch in for
a little kicking Riley's ass session. We could start a club." Buffy joked,
feeling better that she had Angel here with her. She couldn't even think
about what her world would be like without him in it.

"Are you afraid?" Angel asked bluntly after a long spell of comfortable
silence. Buffy didn't mind the question but it took her a while to sort out
her feelings and answer. Was she scared? She was angry, that was for sure but
afraid?

"Yes." Buffy spoke softly, looking down at her hands that were tightly
entwined with Angel's. There was another spell of silence until Angel pulled
her closer to him, kissing the top of her head.

"Don't be." He muttered finally.

"I can't help it." Buffy admitted. "I keep thinking about what he did to my
Mom and I'm scared he could do that again to the gang or my dad or to...you."


Angel laughed, which was the last thing that Buffy expected him to do. "I'm
invincible, like a super hero, complete with the bullet proof chest and x-ray
vision." He joked lightly. Buffy couldn't help but laugh.

"X-ray vision, huh? So you could see through people's clothes?" Buffy
grinned, pulling him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Oh yeah." Angel muttered, resting his forehead against hers.

"So that means you have been looking at girl's undergarments this whole
party?" Buffy mocked anger and shock.

"Only yours." Angel retorted, pressing his lips against hers before she had
time to reply. Buffy just sighed and melted into his kiss, pressing herself
against him. Angel moaned at the sensations of their bodies so close
together, his fingers playing with her hair. Buffy's hand snaked under his
shirt, pressing against the hard muscles of his stomach and looping her
fingers through his belt hooks. She opened her mouth in submission when she
felt Angel's tongue prodding. Their tongues met, dueling for dominance,
exploring each other's mouth. For a moment, all of Buffy's fears were
forgotten.

*****
"Wow." Willow said, her eyes wide, looking down at the table. The group was
in their usual table at the Espresso Pump, listening to Buffy's horrific
story about Riley and what happened with her mother.

"Then he shows up at Gunn's party being all nice with his stupid manners and
denies everything. I hated that guy the first second I saw him." Xander shook
his head in disgust.

"You were about to shake his hand, being all polite and everything." Angel
gave his friend a look of disbelief.

"A real man shows manners to everyone, no matter how much they despise them."
Xander quickly covered up.

"That sucks, Buffy. I'll be sure to drag that bastard into an alley and fuck
up his face for you next time I see him." Spike promised, digging into his
pocket and pulling out a cigarette. Buffy smiled in thanks. Faith quickly put
the cigarette out.

"Cancer stick." She explained before burying her face into her hands, she had
the most enormous headache. Spike stared at her.

"And since when did you become the Mistress of Good Habits? I remember
somebody chugging on top of table surrounded by men, I also remember someone
throwing up in the bathroom for an hour after." Spike snapped. Faith took a
large gulp of coffee, the bitter taste slightly dulling her hangover.

"Once in a life time thing." Faith snapped.

"That's what I said but then I ended up in bed with some chic-," Spike
stopped at the death look from Faith. "So, Buffy, what the fuck is this Riley
guy doing out of jail?" Quickly taking the subject off him.

"Good call." Xander gave his bleach blonde friend a sarcastic thumbs up.
Spike's eyes narrowed.

"Cordy, why are you still going out with him? I think I heard him bragging
about breaking up with you before the party." Spike grinned at the look of
embarrassment and shame on Xander's features.

"What? I never said anything about that!" Xander denied at Cordy's look.

"But Xander, you said in the dorm room that you were going to-" Willow
started innocently.

"Not the best time, Will." Xander stopped her just in time.

"Well, guess who is not coming in my dorm room for a week." Cordy glared at
her boyfriend.

"What? No bed, I mean, dorm?" Xander looked mortified and he dropped his head
into his hands.

"Ouch." Oz said, his only comment the whole time that they were there.

"Yes! No more walking in on them." Faith shouted in victory but quickly
regretted it after a sharp pain against her skull.

"Hey, Drinking Queen, there is a table over there so go dance on it. Maybe
you could get a few bucks from so guys."  Cordy quipped back at the brunette.
Faith simply stuck up her middle finger at Angel's sister, in no mood for
another splitting headache.

Buffy smiled, it seemed like no one was really affected by the news, they all
just promised to look out for her. It was like a huge weight was lifted from
her shoulders. They just went back to their bickering about everything as if
nothing had happened. And that's the way Buffy wanted it to be. She didn't
want them to feel pity and act different around her now. She was so happy
that she had friends like these. The blonde closed her eyes, resting her head
on Angel's shoulder. She loved the way she felt his body shake when he
laughed. She loved hearing his laugh.

"Tired?" Angel whispered in her ear.

"Well, you did keep me up all night." Buffy grinned slyly and Angel shrugged.

"Glad that you told them?" Angel asked. Buffy smiled, he knew her so well.

"Yeah. I think everything will be better if I never see Riley again." Buffy
said and as soon as the words left her mouth she quickly regretted it. She
just jinxed the hell out of her. Damnit!

Part 6

"Oh my God! Is that him?" Willow hissed loudly to Buffy and pointing to some
man. Buffy turned her head to look, this was the fifth time that Willow
thought that she spotted Riley. It was getting a tad annoying but Buffy liked
that everyone was now protective of her. Even Cordelia had her share of
protecting. Buffy jumped as she saw Riley Finn standing on the other side of
the mall.

"Put your hand down!" Buffy ordered to Willow who quickly did as she was
told.

"That's him?" Willow said excited and nervous at the same time.

"Don't look, just keep walking." Buffy said, grabbing Willow's arm and
quickly walking in the opposite direction of where Riley was standing. He
appeared to be looking at the mannequins outside a clothing store. Buffy
pushed them into the bookstore.

"Buffy, he is so stalking you. I bet he has night vision goggles and the
whole works." Willow squeaked. It was strange to Buffy why she seemed to
excited about her having a stalker.

"Right! He is stalking me because only stalkers come to the mall on a
Saturday." Buffy snapped sarcastically.

Willow ignored her and poked her head outside of the bookstore to see if he
was still there.

"Hey, he is gone." Willow frowned and turned back to Buffy who was looking at
the vacant spot where Riley was.

"Maybe he is hiding in the clothing racks." Buffy muttered. Did she just say
that? No! She was going to have a normal Saturday and hang out with her best
friend at the mall. No stalkers or ex-boyfriends or weird bursts of fear and
anger is going to stop her. God, she wished Angel was here. Damn girls only
day.

"He is probably looking at us right now with binoculars." Willow gasped,
shaking off the eerie feeling but both girls couldn't help but look around
suspiciously.

"Maybe we should get going..." Willow said slowly, peering around with her
eyebrows raised.

"Good idea. Okay, now slowly walk out of the bookstore and into the food
court. No sudden movements." Buffy instructed and they both slowly tiptoed
out of the bookstore, heading straight ahead.

"Hello." A voice came from the side of them and both girls jumped and
screamed loudly. Half of the mall stopped and looked at them. Willow turned a
fine red and Buffy held her hand to her racing heart. It was Riley.

"What are doing stalkin-...I mean, following us like that! Don't you know not
to sneak up on people!" Willow demanded, her nervousness showing through her
eyes.

"Sorry, I just thought I would actually say 'hi' without getting beat up."
Riley said half-serious, he unconsciously looked around for Buffy's muscular
boyfriend.

"Well, don't get to comfortable because Angel just went to the bathroom."
Buffy said quickly, her skin was crawling just being near him.

"Yeah, he plays football and he threw his step-dad down the stairs and my
boyfriend is around here too. I think he went to the music store. He had lots
of muscle because he is a band. You know what they said about guys in a
band." Willow said proudly, giving Riley a warning glare. Riley raised an
eyebrow and Buffy almost rolled her eyes.

"No, I don't know. What do they say about guys in a band?" He asked dumbly,
looking at the redhead curiously.

"That...uh...they have lots of muscle. I don't like repeating myself." Willow
flustered. She held her chin up high, a look of resolve and confidence on her
face. Buffy bit her cheek to stop from laughing. She was suddenly glad that
Riley was polite now, back in LA, he would have slapped Willow. Instead, he
just tightened her jaw and turned to Buffy.

"I was hoping that maybe we could catch up some time."

"Not likely." Buffy answered, unconsciously pulling at the shoulder strap on
her purse. She was *so* glad that she had Willow there with her.

"Why not?" Riley demanded, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Buffy unconsciously
took a tiny step back, Willow mimicked her movements.

"Oh look! There is my boyfriend now!" Willow said, her eyes wide as she
pointed to some random blonde hair guy walking towards them. But her plan
didn't work out because the guy simply brushed past them without a second
look.

"Bye sweetie!" Willow called, waving the to the unknown man as he walked
away. "He is probably just mad because that didn't have his guitar in. Damn
store." Willow covered up quickly. Riley looked at Willow strangely and then
his piercing gaze settled on Buffy. She felt uncomfortable and she wanted,
*needed*, to get out of his presence.

"Well, we need to eat. Growing women, you know." Buffy excused them and
grabbed Willow's arm hurrying her to the foodcourt. They quickly sat down at
a table and Willow bounced in her seat.

"Did you see me? Did you?" Willow squeaked excited, a small proud smile on
her face.

"I was standing right now to you." Buffy couldn't help but smile back but the
uneasiness of having Riley there wouldn't leave her alone.

"I showed him! He knows not to mess with us, now and the whole fake boyfriend
thing, that was just off the top of my head. Imagine what I could do if I am
thinking about it for a while!" Willow flashed her a brilliant smile and
Buffy chuckled.

"Thanks, Willow." She said sincerely. Willow's giddiness faded and she smiled
happily and grabbed Buffy's hand, giving it a squeeze.

"What other things are friends supposed to do besides save you from stalkers
from LA  and make fake boyfriends? Besides, it was a blessing to have me
here, if Angel or Spike were here, they wouldn't have hesitated to drag him
into a dark corner and break his bones." Willow grinned.

Buffy laughed.

Part 7

"Yeah and he was all following us and everything until I stopped him and
said, 'hey mister, I don't like being followed so get the hell away from
here!'" Willow said proudly to the whole gang the next day. They all managed
to crowd into the small tables at the Bronze. Xander stared at Willow in awe.

"Could I have your autograph?" He gasped in astonishment.

"That really happened?" Faith said, not believing that Willow stood up to
Riley after hearing all that he did.

"Something like that." Buffy chuckled at Willow's over-exaggerating but who
was she to ruin her fun?

"So, he *was* following you?" Angel growled, instinctively pulling Buffy
closer to him. Buffy smiled at his protectiveness. She loved when he got all
possessive.

"No. He just happened to be at the mall, I mean, it was a Saturday for crying
out loud. *Everyone* goes to the mall on Saturday." Buffy explained.

"Yeah right. There was some major following on his part." Willow quipped
back. Buffy shot her a look but the redhead simply leaned back into Oz's
arms.

"I swear to God, if I ever see that man somewhere near you then I'll rip his
head off." Angel promised. Spike slapped him a high five.

"Amen, mate." The bleach blonde chuckled. Cordy rolled her eyes.

"Xander, how come you don't protect me like that?"

Xander stared at her in confusion. "From what?"

Cordy looked around the packed club and pointed to a man. "I have seen that
guy here before, he is probably following me. Go beat him up." She demanded.
Xander chuckled and shook his head.

"That is the bartender, no wonder you have seen him here."

"Shut up." Cordelia snapped, pulling away from him. "Anyway, Oz, how come you
are not playing tonight?"

"I think the Dingoes has reached their Bronze quota for the week." Oz stated.
Everyone stared at him. The musician shrugged.

"Bronze found some new talent. We will be performing tomorrow though."

"I'm VIP." Willow smiled proudly.

"I'm so happy for you." Faith drawled sarcastically.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of Spike's bed this morning." Buffy
quipped, knowing she was treading on dangerous ground when she received a
death look from the cranky brunette.

"She probably just walked in on me and Xander making up after our little
fight." Cordy smiled cheerfully at Faith. Faith glared and clenched her
fists. Spike slipped his arm around her waist to restrain her. He seemed to
be doing that a lot ever since Faith got paired with Cordy.

"Somebody, please, switch dorms with me." Faith asked miserably, dropping her
head in her hands. She couldn't take any more of Xander and Cordy in their
dorm.

"No thanks." Angel grinned. "But you have my pity."

"Your pity doesn't help me. I need your dorm. Do you mind Oz?" Faith turned
to the quiet man. Oz was about to reply before Willow cut in.

"Uh, no girl and boy dorm policy." The redhead said quickly. Its not that she
didn't trust her friends, she knew Oz would never go for Faith, but she
didn't like the idea of her boyfriend living with another girl.

"Damnit." Faith swore, inwardly cursing the damn policy. Otherwise, she would
have moved in with Spike a long time ago instead of being stuck with the
Queen C from hell.

Their thoughts were interrupted by a many screaming girls and a fast beat
filling the Bronze's atmosphere.  The gang looked on with amusement as Penn's
voice sounded from a microphone and he danced to the music. He sounded and
looked like a strange version of Ricky Martin. Cordy clapped her hands and
turned to Xander.

"Damn, he has a nice ass...voice." Cordy corrected and grabbed her
boyfriend's arm. "Lets dance." The couple quickly went off to the dance
floor.

"New talent?" Spike turned to Oz. Oz shrugged and took a sip of his drink.

"Well, he did do singing at the talent show at Sunnydale High." Buffy
reminded. Angel nodded to the music.

"Yo, B, I'm gonna get drinks. Come with me." Faith ordered. Buffy looked a
little shocked.

"Uh, no thanks, I'm not thirsty." Buffy politely declined but Faith got off
her chair and started walking to the bar.

"Now." The brunette snapped, leaving no room for discussion. Buffy made a
worried face before leaving the circle of Angel's arm and following the dark
woman. Faith turned around once they reached the bar.

"All right, I led you away because I knew the guys would make a scene but
guess who is playing pool." Faith nodded to the direction of the pool table.
Buffy closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to look but knew she had too. She
turned around to see Riley playing pool with some random jock guys. Buffy
quickly turned away from them.

"Shit." She cursed. Could it be possible that he was stalking her? Maybe he
just came to see Penn perform? Did he even know Penn? Well, if he knew Gunn
he had to know Penn. Buffy's head spun from all the questions. "Angel will
flip if he sees him here and he probably isn't even following me."

"Yeah right. Buffy, the guy was convicted of shooting you Mom and now he
suddenly appears everywhere you are? Suspicious much?" Faith snapped but then
froze.

"Did I just say 'much'? God, please shoot me, I've been hanging around
Cordelia way too long." Faith slapped her forehead but Buffy wasn't really
worried about her problems. Her thoughts were focused on the sandy blonde
haired man playing pool. Damn him. Why did he have to come in the picture
when everything was so perfect?

"Should I lead him out of here? If Angel or Spike find him they could beat
him up but then he would get more pissed off and probably double his stalking
duties." Faith calculated.

"Yeah, that would be great. Think you could handle it?" Buffy asked. She knew
that Faith was tough but Riley was dangerous too.

Faith rolled her eyes. "Please. He is a man and I'm a sexy woman. No man
could resist a sexy woman."

Buffy shuddered at the thought but nodded.

"Sorry, hunny." Faith muttered, looking at Spike talking to Angel back at the
table and quickly took off her shirt to reveal a lacy bra. Buffy's eyes
widened.

"What the hell are you doing?" She demanded.

"Saving your ass." Faith grinned before walking over to Riley, smiling
seductively. Riley immediately dropped his pool stick and stare at the
shirtless brunette in awe. Buffy quickly went back to the table to distract
the men.

"Hey baby." She greeted Angel with a sweet kiss, taking his mind of things
for a minute. Spike snorted.

"Disgusting."

"Where are the drinks?" Willow asked, searching for her Coke.

"Drinks?" Buffy asked, looking at her strangely.

"Where is my girlfriend?" Spike added to Willow's first question. Buffy
quickly thought of some lie.

"Uh, clumsy me! I spilled the drinks on Faith on the way over here and she
went to go wash off in the bathroom." Buffy lied. She hated lying to her
friends, especially Angel who saw through every single on of her fibs. She
hated the way she was feeling lately. With everyone talking about Riley
following her, she was starting to believe it. Of course she denied it at
first but who was she kidding? He arrives at two places that she was at. How
suspicious is that? Of course there is the logical side of things. Everyone
goes to the mall and Bronze on weekends. Plus, if he was stalking her then
shouldn't he be hiding? Why is he so noticeable if he was following her? God,
she was going to loose her mind with all these questions.

Angel raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend, noting she was nervous but
dismissed it.

"On her shirt? I bought that shirt for her." Spike cursed. Damn Coke. Buffy
bit her cheek to stop from laughing.

"Yep. That shirt is long gone."

Part 7

"Whats wrong?" Angel whispered into Buffy's ear as they danced slowly on the
dance floor at the Bronze. Buffy rested her head on his chest, closing her
eyes.

"Absolutely nothing." She sighed contently. Well, it was sort of true. When
she was in Angel's arm, nothing could bother her. Moments like these are what
you read in the novels, they talk about everything melting into white and all
she could see was him. Buffy grinned, she would be an excellent romance
writer if she wrote about Angel. He was the only man that she could ever
write about and she hated writing!

"Sure about that? You seemed nervous back at the table." Angel replied,
pressing her up against him. He sighed, trying to focus on why Buffy was
acting strange but all he could think about was her body against his. Focus,
Angel.

"I'm trying to dance here." Buffy scolded, choosing to shy away from the
question. She could never hide anything from her boyfriend and he knew the
way to get things about of her.

"Sorry. I'm just worried, that's all." Angel assured, kissing the top of her
head. "With Riley around and seeing him at the mall, its a load to carry."

"You got that right." Buffy smiled but Angel knew that it was forced.

"I want you to be able to rely on me because you know that I will do anything
that you ask." Angel said, staring straight into her eyes. Buffy was the
first to look away, she felt guilty that she had to lie about Riley to him.
She wasn't sure what she felt about Riley. Half of her was angry and scared
but the other half wanted to believe that he was a new person. Buffy knew she
shouldn't have told everyone because if they started to panic then she would
defiantly panic. The last thing she wanted was to have a nervous breakdown so
young.

"Then kiss me." Buffy ordered, forcing the thoughts of Riley away from her.
She was with her boyfriend now and shouldn't be thinking about Riley. She
should be thinking about Angel's lip descending down to hers. Before their
lips could touch a shout of shock and anger sounded from their table.

Buffy and Angel both pulled away from each other to look at Spike throwing
his jacket around  a topless Faith.

"Do you have no dignity, woman?!" Spike demanded but there was a large grin
on his face. Faith laughed and tossed the jacket away, showing everyone her
black bra.

"You don't like it?" She asked innocently, pouting.

"I like it but I don't like that everyone else likes it." Spike glared at a
couple of guys who were staring with their jaws dropped at Faith.

"Lets dance, Billy Idol." Faith ordered, dragging him to the dance floor and
rubbing against him. Spike quickly forgot about her missing shirt and pulled
her flush against him, crushing his lips to hers.

"Well," Oz stated but had nothing else to say. Willow blushed and turned to
her boyfriend who was staring down at his drink.

"It getting strange here, lets go back to the dorm...?" Willow said slowly,
unsure if Oz wanted to or not. Oz just smiled and linked his arms with her.
The redhead smiled giddily and practically skipped out of the club with her
boyfriend.

******
"What happened with Riley?" Buffy hissed to Faith as they walked back to the
dorm with their boyfriends and Xander with Cordelia behind them. They stayed
hearing distance away from them. Buffy could feel Angel's eyes burning into
her back.

"Well, I walked over to him and he totally thought I was all for him, I mean,
yuck! Can't believe you actually went out with that jackass." Faith made a
disgusted look and shuddered.

"Faith, want to continue the story?" Buffy asked tiredly.

"So then I led him into this dark corner and he got all touchy feely." Faith
shuddered again before continuing. "But I couldn't take it anymore, he was
so...not Spike." Buffy half smiled. She could relate, every guy she saw she
couldn't help but compare them to Angel. No one came even close to matching
up to her boyfriend.

"So, I told him to meet me at some apartment complex and said that I would be
there waiting for him. Then he left the Bronze like a bat out of hell." Faith
grinned, feeling proud of her leading on.

"Hey! Secrets are no fun, lets share." Xander came up behind the two girls,
trying to get into the conversation.

"Its girl talk." Buffy explained, trying to get the rest of the story from
Faith but Xander *couldn't* know.

"I'm very feminine, you could let me in. I'm feeling left out." Xander
replied. Buffy side glanced towards Faith who took the charge.

"Fine, do you have a tampon?" The brunette asked innocently. Buffy bit her
cheek to stop from laughing at the disgusted look on Xander's face as he
quickly stumbled back from them. He turned towards the other men.

"What are they saying?" Spike asked, looking suspiciously at his girlfriend
and Buffy whispering ahead of them.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Xander muttered before returning to
Cordelia's side. Spike and Angel made a face.

******
Riley tapped his foot impatiently, gritting his teeth. This bitch was
supposed to be here a half an hour ago. Where the hell was she? Damnit, if he
ever saw that girl again he was going to rip her apart. Stupid whore. He
should have knew it as soon as he saw her without a shirt. What kind of
decent woman that sticks to her word walks around wearing a bra?

God, he hated this town. He couldn't wait until he got of here but he still
had business to take care of. He finished catching up with Fred, which was
the first reason he came to Sunnydale but then he saw her. That blonde bitch.
The one that put him in jail for a year. Being in jail for one year is like
being in there for seven. Kind of like dog years expect worse.

Buffy now had a boyfriend and friends to hide behind but he would break it
all down sooner or later but first he had to find that brunette whore who
played him. What was her name? Did he even find out her name? Damnit, he was
going to kill her.

But the first priority was to find out where to get a gun.

Part 9

The gang minus Faith, who was God only knows where, was seated outside of the
university in the courtyard. It was their usual meeting place after classes.

"And the manager was like, 'no, I do this free of charge!'" Xander finished a
lame joke that no one was listening too. Oz and Spike stared at him with an
eyebrow raised.

"Haha." Willow at least pretended to find it funny.

"Come on, guys! That's a classic." Xander defended his corny joke. Cordelia
rolled her eyes and focused on her nails.

"What are we doing tonight?" Willow asked, leaning back into her boyfriend's
arms. Her back was pressed against his chest and his chin rested on her
shoulder. Willow thought it was the most comfortable way. She could sell Oz
as the best chair in the world. But she wouldn't sell her boyfriend.

"Me and Angel got to visit Mom, right Angel?" Cordy looked to her brother but
he was occupied by Buffy. She was sitting on his lap, in the middle of a
heated make out session.

"Hello?" Cordy tried, annoyed. Angel waved a hand at her before tangling it
into Buffy's hair. "Why does nobody listen to me?"

"I listen to you, sweetie." Xander cooed, kissing her cheek. Cordy stared at
him, a smile tugging her lips.

"I will repeat again, why does no one listen to me?" Xander was mentally
debating if he should start a fight or just kiss her silly. Damn woman.

Spike looked around at the couples and inwardly felt left out. Where the hell
was his girlfriend? His eyes scanned the courtyard and he stared in shock
when he saw his girlfriend straight ahead. Spike immediately stood up, when
he saw some man grab her arm and spin her towards him. Spike quickly walked
towards them, pissed off that someone touched his girlfriend like that.

******
"Get the hell off me." Faith demanded when someone grabbed her arm, making
her drop her books. She stared at the books on the floor and then turned
around, fists ready to punch. She stopped in shock when she saw Riley Finn
looking extremely pissed off.

"Where were you last night? I waited at the apartment number." Riley spat.
His jaw was clenched and his eyes were blazing with anger. Faith caught Spike
stalking towards them out of the corner of her eye. Damnit. Buffy owed her
big time.

"I was there. You were too fucking slow so I left, but right now you better
get your hands off me." Faith said slowly and dangerously, her eyes resting
on his hand which was still gripping her eyes tightly.

"You little whore." Riley spat, pulling her with him as he walked.

"Get off me!" Faith demanded, trying to wrench her arm from his grip.
"Spike!" She yelled, tripping as Riley pulled at her, they were heading away
from the courtyard and out into the street. Riley turned to see who she was
yelling for only to see Spike's knuckles smash into his nose. Faith stumbled
back from the blonde man as he fell to the ground.

"You keep your bloody hands off my girl, mate." Spike glared down at the man,
anger flowing off him in waves. His knuckles were bleeding from when his fist
connected with Riley's nose. But the pain was worth it when Spike saw a
trickle of blood fall from Riley's nose.

"Your girl was throwing herself at me last night. Maybe you should learn how
to control that bitch." Riley spat, pushing himself up. Spike quickly went to
bend down and deliver another punch but Faith stopped him.

"Let me." She said sweetly and kicked Riley hard in the ribcage, her knee
length boots finally paid off.

"Touch me again, worm, and I won't hesitate to kill you." Faith spat and
turned around to see the gang jogging towards them.

"Jesus, Faith, are you alright?" Buffy asked, touching her friend's arm.

"You're friends with *her*?" Riley demanded, finally pulling himself up from
the ground, wincing at the pain in his ribs. Buffy froze when she saw who the
man was. Angel snarled and stood next to Spike who was glaring at Riley.

"Riley, you should really get out of Sunnydale." Angel growled. Spike raised
his eyebrows.

"So, this is Riley?" Spike crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, aint that
something, mate. This bastard had his hands all over my girl," Spike looked
towards Angel. "and he is trying to be lap dog for your girl. This slimy fuck
needs to be taught a lesson." The bleach blonde smashed his fist into his
palm, grinning. Nothing would give him more satisfaction then beating Riley
into a bloody pulp. Xander and Oz quickly took their places next to Angel and
Spike. Riley was totally out numbered and he knew it. He slowly backed up,
wiping blood from his nose, his eyes never leaving the four dangerous men.

Riley's lips twitched until he laughed. He stared at Buffy and Faith who were
standing behind their boyfriends. Buffy's hands were gripping Angel's shirt
but she stared back at him with the same rage.

"I'll being seeing both of you again *very* soon." Riley glared at the two
girls.

"Come near them and I will kill you myself." Angel threatened. Riley laughed
again before walking away.

******
"God, what a creep." Willow shuddered.

"I know." Cordy shook her head in disgust. "And did you see his clothes? Its
like he is stuck in 1996. I pity him."

"Are you alright, pet?" Spike asked his girlfriend who was looking scared and
pissed off at the same time.

"Yeah." The brunette answered curtly. Spike didn't believe her for a second.
Buffy pressed her forehead against Angel's back, breathing a sigh of relief.
She wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Damnit." She whispered. She couldn't believe that just happened. So much for
a new and improved Riley. Angel pulled away from her and she couldn't stop
the whimper that escaped.

"What the hell was that about?" He demanded, turning towards Faith and Buffy
who looked down at the sidewalk. Faith went to speak but Buffy interrupted
her.

"It's my fault. Last night at the Bronze, I saw Riley there and I didn't want
you guys to make a scene and so I told Faith to go distract and lead him
out." Buffy took the blame. It was all her fault that Faith almost got hurt
today. Why did she have to believe in Riley being Mr. Nice? She couldn't
stand the looks of anger from Angel.

"Buffy, why would you tell Faith to do that when you know how dangerous he
is? She could have been hurt yesterday or today!" Angel half shouted, running
his fingers through his brown spikes.

"But nothing happened to me. I'm fine!" Faith shouted back at Angel. She
hated that Buffy was taking all the blame. She was the one who suggested to
lead Riley on.

"I don't care! He was ready to drag you away, thank the bloody Gods that I
saw you!" Spike yelled, joining in.

"Why didn't you tell me he was at the Bronze?" Angel screamed at his
girlfriend, more hurt and worried then angry. They had to trust each other
and tell each other everything.

"I don't know!" Buffy shouted back, looking desperate and hurt.

"Well, it was just flat out...stupid!" Angel yelled back.

"When you have a stalker then you tell me how to react!" Buffy snapped back.
Xander and the others watch in dismay as the two couples took turns yelling
at each other.

"You took your shirt off for him! He saw your breasts?!" Spike shouted in
disbelief.

"Just my bra!" Faith defended.

"What bra?!" Spike demanded.

"Everyone shut the hell up!" Willow shouted loudly, causing the two couples
to look at her in astonishment and everyone walking down the sidewalk to
look, also.

"Stop yelling! Faith just got attacked, you should be treating her like a
princess! What Buffy did was stupid but I'm sure she is sorry for it, Angel!
Maybe you guys would know all this if you would just stop yelling!" Willow
screamed. Everyone became very quiet, the only thing that could be heard was
Willow's ragged breathing.

"I'm sorry, Willow." Xander muttered, even though he wasn't really doing
anything. Sometimes his friend scared him.

"That's my girl." Oz said proudly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
Willow beamed. Buffy and Angel looked at each other guilty.

"I just worry about you. You need to tell me these things." Angel sighed, his
shoulders slumped and his angry demeanor turned into concern.

"I know. I just try to handle these things on my own but every time I try, I
mess up." Buffy admitted. She looked up to see Angel staring at her, she
never realized how tired and worn out his eyes looked ever since his father
and Riley. Buffy didn't crush herself against him, holding him tightly. Angel
automatically held her tighter, closing his eyes and sighing against her
hair, inhaling her unique scent.

"Gods, I love you." He muttered against her hair.

"I love you too." Buffy answered without hesitation. Spike and Faith just
stared at each other before Faith jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms
around his neck and her legs around his waist. Her lips crushed against his
in a bruising kiss, rubbing against him, loving the friction.

"Well, now that the PDA's are done. I'm hungry. There nothing like a good
meal after getting attacked." Xander stated.

Part 10

"This was a mistake. I should have stayed with Buffy, she might get scared."
Angel cursed himself, the idea of turning the car around and going back to
his girlfriend was more than tempting.

"Ugh, for the last time, she is fine! She is staying with her dad this
weekend, remember?" Cordy snapped with a roll of her eyes. She was sick of
Angel asking if he should go back and check on the blonde a hundred times.

"Yeah, right, but what if-" Angel was cut off by his sister.

"Shut up, you puppy dog!" She shouted. Angel blinked, hurt, but didn't say
anything.

"Besides, Mom would be hurt if you didn't show." Cordy said, her tone softer.
The sibilings were driving back to their huge mansion to visit their mother
and her new boyfriend. Angel made a face. God, he hated all of the boyfriend
that she brought home. They seemed nice, sure, but he had trouble trusting
intruding father figures.

"What is this guy's name again?" Angel asked, taking his eyes off the road
for a second to glance at his sister.

"Tracy? Truman? Something with a 't'." Cordy finished, not able to remember
her mother's boyfriend's name.  "Why does she have to date someone anyway?
Its weird of thinking about our Mom going out and scoring with guys. Eww!
What if she does things with her boyfriend that I do with my boyfriend?"

Angel shuddered. "Cordy, please just stop talking."

"But think about it? What happens if one day that we are at the Bronze and
she ends up there with her boyfriend!?" The Queen C looked like she was going
to hyper ventilate and started fanning herself with her hands. "My reputation
would be ruined!"

"Calm down, Mom would never go to the Bronze. Plus, I think that it is kinda
good for her to start dating and getting over..." Angel stopped his sentence.
His thoughts all seemed to halt around his Father. Angel shook his head and
gritted his teeth, gripping the steering wheel harder. That man made his
blood boil and he never did regret pushing him down this God damn stairs.
Angel was glad that he was dead.

"You hate all her boyfriends, you are so rude to them." Cordelia side glanced
at her brother, they were almost to their house.

"They are assholes. Mom could do way better than that." Angel defended his
actions against the bastards that his mother brings home.

"Ted!" Cordy screamed out loud, making Angel jump and the car swerve
slightly. Right into their mailbox.

"Damnit, Cordelia!" Angel cursed, glanced at the broken wooden mailbox on the
ground.

"Whoops. At least I remembered that guy's name." Cordelia laughed, looking at
their broken mailbox.

"Man, your in trouble." She teased her brother who winced. Angel quickly got
out of the car to examine the damage on his vehicle. There was nothing
noticeable but he would have to wax it later. He sighed as he picked up the
broken half of the mailbox. He simply shoved it into the ground, creating a
*very* short mailbox.

"Fixed." Angel looked at his work in satisfaction. Cordy rolled her eyes and
walked up to ring the doorbell. Angel walked and stood next to her,
whispering in her ear.

"Don't say anything about that mailbox, they won't notice until tomorrow
morning."

"Whatever." Cordy grinned. Oh, he owed her big time if she didn't say
anything. A retort was on her lips when their mother opened the door. Marie
gasped and held a hand to her chest in happiness as she saw her children.
Well, they weren't exactly children since they were both in college now, but
they would always be her children to her. She gathered them in a big group
hug.

"My, Angelus, you are getting so big." Marie smiled proudly. Her son and her
had grown so close after the incident with Daniel. She was very proud of him,
he sacrificed Daniel's life to save her and his sister. Though, sometimes,
she did mourn her husband. She knew it was ridiculous and wrong but she
always feared to be on her own.

"What about me?" Cordelia whined. "Haven't I grown?"

Angel stepped inside as his mother showered his sister with hugs and
compliments. His eyes wandered around the main hallway, lots of things have
been changed. All of Daniel's, his father, furnishings or pictures have been
taken down. Angel's eyes lingered on the large marble staircase as he
recalled the details of that night. He remembered everything so vividly and
it seemed like it was happening in slow motion.

He saw his mother being choked and his sister being pushed away and he knew
he had to do something. He didn't really mean to punch his father so hard
that he fell down the stairs but he would never go back and change anything.
It was unbelievable that rage and anger he felt at someone threatening his
family. All the pent up anger and frustration at his father all finally came
out. Angel had killed Daniel by pushing him down the stairs. He was glad that
he did. Angel hated his father so much, held so much against him and he was
glad that he killed him. The feelings of pleasure at having his own father
dead scared him. He was also afraid of where that uncontrollable rage came
from. He was starting to feel that way towards Riley.

An unfamiliar voice snapped Angel from his thoughts. A plump, brown hair,
cheerful looking man smiled and waved at him. "Why, hello, son."

Cordelia stood next to him as their mother walked next to the man and held
his hand. Angel sized up his mother's new boyfriend.

"I'm not your son." He bit out.

"Angel," Marie scolded. "Children, this is Ted. He is a very sweet man and he
works for a computer company." Ted nodded his greeting with a large smile on
his face.

"Hi! It's a pleasure to meet you." Cordelia flashed Ted one of her winning
smiles. Angel rolled his eyes at his sister's cheerleading attitude.

"I hear you kids are in college. Its a big step from high school." Ted said
politely, squeezing Marie's hand.

"We are managing. Its really fun." Cordy smiled. Angel simply shrugged. There
was a short spell before Marie spoke up.

"Well, dinner in on the table, come on." She ushered everyone to the large
dinning room table that covered with food.

"I made mini pizzas!" Ted announced proudly.

******
 Angel stared hard at Ted. He seemed nice, maybe a little too nice but he saw
the way his mother smiled when he was near. She liked him a lot, it was
obvious. She seemed happy. Who was he to take that away? His mother deserved
happiness after all the shit that she went through.

"So, Angel, I hear that you have a special someone in college. Are you two
still together?" Ted asked politely disrupting an awkward silence after Marie
said grace. Before Angel could answer, Cordelia took over.

"Nothing could keep those two apart!
 They all over each other all the time! Always making out and grabbing each
other. It is so gross! One time, Oz, told me about these strange moaning
sounds coming from their dorm and-" Angel quickly kicked his sister under the
table making her stop her story and jump in the chair.

"Okay, ow! You could have just said something but no! You have to go and act
all manly and kick me. I see how it is." Cordy snapped before popping a piece
of salad in her mouth. Marie looked shocked at her son, her eyes wide. Angel
buried his face in his hands in embarrassment and shame. Oh God, she did
*not* just say all that.

"Is this true, Angel?" Ted asked in a fatherly manner. Angel took his face
from his hands only to glare at him. He didn't know him for more than two
seconds and he was already acting like his Father. His liking for Ted
disappeared. Maybe because his sister just revealed his sex life to his
mother and her new boyfriend. Damn, this dinner couldn't get any better!

"I know this might be embarrassing but I feel comfortable around you, Angel.
I hope you feel the same. Maybe, we should have a man to man talk about this
stuff." Ted said, looking seriously at Angel. He would have been a good
therapist but Angel wasn't falling for it.

"No, that's okay. I don't think that is necessary." Angel muttered, he could
feel his face burning up. He wished that he could crawl in a dark hole
forever and never face these people again. She could hear Cordelia's laughter
as she held a hand over her lips to stop her giggling.

"Can I be excused?" Angel said, looking down not wanting to meet his mother's
eyes. It would give her a heart attack if she knew all the things that he and
Buffy did.

"No, I want to talk about this Angel. We are family, you shouldn't be
embarrassed." Marie said, her shock still evident.

"Ted ain't my family." Angel muttered under his breath, thankfully no one
heard. He looked up to see his Mom lean forward and hiss quietly.

"Are you using protection?"

Angel stared at her in horror. Oh God. This was *not* happening. "Mom!" He
cried out. Cordy couldn't help it, her laughs shook her body.

"Oh, you should be laughing, Cordelia. I know what happened between you and
Xander and what Faith walked in on you two doing." Angel snapped. Time for
some payback. Cordy's eyes widened and she mentally made a note to kill
Angel. He raised his eyebrows at her twice, grinning. His mother turned to
her daughter, holding a hand to her heart.

"Oh my." She muttered.

"Maybe we should all have a talk about sex. It is a very natural thing
between two people who love each other very much." Ted explained, going into
the birds and the bees talk.

"Shut up, I know what sex is." Cordy snapped at Ted. It was the first time
she was impolite to him. Ted and Marie had the same face of horror and shock
on their face.

"I will not have that language here." Ted wagged his finger at the Queen C.
Angel bit his lip to stop laughing hysterically. This whole conversation had
gone way out of proportion. How the hell did it get to this? It was too
funny.

"Well, I think that I have been embarrassed enough today. I've got to go,
Mom. I guess  Buffy and I are going to have sex now." Angel glared at
Cordelia as he got up, grabbing his jacket, Cordy followed his example. Angel
kissed his mother on the cheek and nodded to Ted.

"Nice to meet you, Ted. Bye Mom, I will call you next week." Angel waved as
he quickly walked out the door.

Cordy mimicked his movements but as soon as she got out of the house she
burst out into hysterical laughter.

Part 11

"Cordy said what?" Buffy screeched over the phone the next evening. Sure, it
would have been easier to walk over to Angel's dorm since he was only a
couple doors away but she pissed off at him right now.

"I've only met your Mom once for five minutes, she probably thinks that I'm a
stripper or a dominatrix!" Buffy snapped, slapping a hand to her forehead in
horror. God, she would never be able to face Angel's mom *ever* again.

"At least Ted broke up with her right after the dinner after seeing what kind
of kids she raised." Angel chuckled into the phone, lounging on his bed.

"What the hell are you laughing about, Angelus? This isn't funny!" Buffy
yelled into the phone. She was mortified. Angel winced, is was never good
when Buffy used his full name.

"What as I supposed to do?" Angel asked, this was going to get him in big
trouble. Buffy needed to have a good appearance to his mother.

"Maybe you could have denied it! You practically admitted that you and I had
sex to your mother!" Buffy yelled, completely mortified. Maybe she should
send Marie a fruit basket.

"Come on, baby, it's not that bad." Angel tried to reason carefully, he
needed to get out this mess with all parts intact.

"Not that bad?! That's it. No physical contact for three days!" Buffy shouted
off the top of her head, but quickly regretted it. Was she able to handle
three days without touching Angel? Her stupid pride wouldn't let her back
down.

"What? That's not fair! It wasn't even my fault." Angel sat up quickly in the
bed. Oh God. No contact for three fucking days!?

"I love you, see you tonight." Buffy said good-bye, quickly hanging up the
phone, ending the conversation. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
Damn pride.

"Trouble in the love department?" Willow asked as she walked into to their
dorm, she placed down her books and sat on the bed next to Buffy.

"Yeah, I just made an agreement that I can never keep." Buffy pouted.

"What is it?" Willow asked, patting Buffy on the back.

"Not to touch Angel for three days."

"What? You can't do that? We are Bronze-ing it tonight. No dancing?" Willow
asked.

"Nope. Not physical contact." Buffy pushed her head up high in determination.
It was a test and she was going to pass it. "What am I worried about? I could
do this." Buffy assured herself, looking towards Willow for support. Willow
half smiled.

"Uh, maybe you should take a rain check tonight."

******
Angel stared at his drink at the Bronze. Why did he come again? He knew Buffy
wasn't going to come but he was dragged out by Spike. His hands were aching
and he felt oddly empty all because of Buffy's stupid rule. Of course, it
wasn't his fault that Cordelia had a big mouth but he understood Buffy's
position. He would die if Giles ever found out that he has been having an
intimate relationship with his daughter.

"Aww, looks like Angel needs some happy time." Penn grinned, slapping Angel
on the back. Spike laughed, the three men seated at the table while everyone
else was out dancing. And touching each other, Angel thought.

"Why don't you just go up the bint and give her a big fat kiss and say,
'woman, I'm sick of this bullshit. I need some action.'" Spike elbowed Angel
in the ribs and Angel had to grin. That was Spike's way of handling
everything.

"That's what I would do." Penn chuckled.

"Well, whats up with the singing gig. You look like a nancy boy." Spike
joked. Penn raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I got three other gigs this week and plus, the chicks love it." Penn
grinned, looking Faith up and down who joined the table and sat on Spike's
lap.

"Chicks? I don't see any chicken here, mate." Spike growled in warning. Penn
shrugged and picked up his drink.

"Can't blame a man for trying. Well, I gotta go meet this girl in five
minutes, so later." Penn waved before walking out of the club. Angel stared
at the empty seat blankly. It would have been better if Buffy had come, even
though there was no touching. Oh God, he wasn't going to be able to survive
these next three days.

As if on cue, a short blonde took the empty seat, fidgeting nervously under
Angel's gaze.

"Hey B! Where have you been?" Faith asked, taking a sip of Spike's drink.

"Around." Buffy shrugged, biting her lip. She could feel Angel's eyes burning
into her and if he kept looking at her like that then her punishment would be
over quickly. Angel grinned, seeing her nervously move around in her chair.
Spike and Faith looked at the couple with eyebrows raised.

"I think there is too much sexual tension for my liking, so ciao." Spike
laughed, grabbing faith around the waist and leading her back to the dance
floor. Angel shook his head at the two before looking back to Buffy. Buffy
stared at him before looking back down at her hands twisting in her lap.
Angel stared at her hungrily, raking his eyes over her body.

"Stop!" Buffy ordered, shuddering in excitement. She always gave in when
Angel looked at her like that.

"I'm not doing anything." Angel held his hands up in surrender. Buffy gave
him a look before greedily taking his drink, gulping it down. She needed
anything to distract her.

"Angel!" A hurried voice shouted and Angel's head snapped in the direction to
see Gunn and Fred quickly making their way towards the table. Angel stood up,
hearing the urgency in his voice.

"Yeah, man, what's up?" Angel asked, glancing at Buffy uncertainly. She
shrugged and stood next to Angel.

"God, its all my fault." Fred shook her head, looking at them apologetically.
Gunn wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"What's done is done, babe." He comforted his girlfriend.

"What's done?" Buffy asked, nervously. She didn't like the way this
conversation is going.

"Yo, the word around my gang is that someone is trying to buy heat from one
of my boys. He had some green so my boy gave it to him-" Gunn started the
story but Buffy held up her hand, stopping him for going on.

"What the hell did you just say?" Buffy asked, confused with all of the
slang.

"Someone bought a gun from my friend, woman." Gunn chuckled at Buffy's
confused look.

"Why are you telling me this, Gunn?" Angel asked, dread knotting in his
stomach.

"Riley! Angel, its Riley that bought the gun!" Fred yelled, her guilt
obvious. "The man who sold him the gun was saying how Riley was going on
about some brunette and a blonde girl."

Angel's jaw tightened and anger boiled up inside him. Buffy gripped his hand,
gasping. Screw the no physical contact rule. She needed to touch Angel right
now, she needed him to assure her that it was going to be all right.

"When did this happen?" Angel asked urgently.

"Two days ago." Gunn sighed.

"God, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault, he said he came to visit me and if
he wasn't coming to visit me then he would have never seen you and this whole
thing never would have started." Fred muttered quickly and Buffy couldn't
understand half of the things she had said.

"Shh, its alright. We don't blame you." Buffy broke away from Angel to gather
the emotional brunette into a hug. Fred returned it fiercely before pulling
back into Gunn's arms.

"You need any backup, man, you know where to find it because you are in some
deep shit, man." Gunn said, eager to help Angel in anyway, he was debt to him
from all the times that he helped him.

"Thanks Gunn." Angel said dryly, motioning for Spike to come over by them.

"Later, man. Becareful, woman." Gunn said to Buffy, who nodded her thanks and
good-bye.

******
"God, this guy is really sick. I mean, he is really after Buffy and Faith.
Well, he would have been after Buffy but Faith just had to push her boobs
into his face." Cordelia shook her head in despair. Faith stuck up her middle
finger at the brunette, smiling sweetly.

"He might be after all of us, he saw us all that day in the courtyard." Angel
warned, looking around at his friends. Buffy was siting protectively on his
lap, her hands gripping at his leather jacket. They were still seated at the
Bronze, it was a half an hour before closing and the club was slowly being
drained of it's customers.

"Well, how many bullets did he get? If he only got two then maybe he is only
after you two and everyone else is off the hook." Xander said nervously
jumping in his seat every time someone brushed by.

"Thanks for your support, Harris." Faith snapped. She was worried but she was
doing hell of a good job not showing it.

"I live to please." He retorted back.

"Wow, I mean, he has a *real* gun. I gun that could hurt and kill people. An
actual gun!" Willow seemed a little to fascinated by the idea.

"No, Red, I was under the impression he was bought a bloody water gun." Spike
glared. Everyone seemed to be cracking under the idea of a crazy armed man
walking around with killing them on his mind. It wasn't a very pleasant
thought.

"Freaky." Oz's only comment on the situation.

"How come in the worst of circumstances you never say more than one word?"
Xander demanded to know. Oz shrugged.

"Oh." Xander said, nodding as if he learned something very important.

"We better get going." Angel said, looking around the now empty Bronze. "I
had Gunn and his gang keep an eye out for Riley, but until we know anything I
want everyone to travel in pairs."

"Aye, aye, captain." Xander saluted.

*****
Riley watched from the shadows as they all left the Bronze. His eye was the
short blonde clutching to her boyfriend, he also saw the brunette that played
him. Their time would come and he would take pleasure in shooting that Angel
guy as well. He could just kill them all for the fun of it. But Buffy would
be last. That bitch put him through so much hell, he wanted her to see suffer
at knowing all her friends were dead.

So many people to shoot so little time.

Part 12

Xander looked around the corner of the hallway suspiciously before slowly
stepping out into the deserted path. He was slowly but surely making his way
to his and Spike's dorm. It would be a lie if he said that the thing with
Riley wasn't giving him major wiggins. He even started holding pepper spray,
courtesy of Willow who was selling them to the gang for a dollar. It was a
good buy considering the recent events. It was scary to think that he was
actually after two of his best friends, Riley might even be after him.

The brown haired man slowly looked around before quickly walking to his door.
The only good thing that came out of this was that Xander felt like he was in
some cool spy movie. When Xander reached his door, he slowly looked to both
sides of him.

"I know you are out there Riley, why don't you come out here and face me like
a man." Xander threatened, inwardly praying that Riley was stalking someone
else today.

"If you say so." A low voice made Xander jumped out of his skin. Not
thinking, Xander grabbed his pepper spray, spinning around he sprayed the
first thing that came into his sight. Spike. Fortunately for Xander, the only
thing that he sprayed was Spike's new black shirt.

"Bloody hell, you wanker." Spike growled, looking down at his ruined shirt.

"Sorry, I was just...um..." Xander looked up, trying to think of something
that wouldn't embarrass himself completely. He really couldn't think of
anything.

"Acting like a dumb ass macho man?" Spike filled in.

"I would prefer a very manly wannabe." The joker forced a goofy smile
although his heart was still hammering in his chest.

"Well, if something were to happen then you are supposed to aim for the eyes,
smart guy." Spike teased, opening up their dorm door and walking inside.
Xander stared at him dumbfounded.

"I knew that." He defended, closing the door behind him.

******
 "I still don't like the idea of you being out by yourself, Buffy. When we
first moved here we were worried about gangs but this maniac is singling you
out." Giles muttered, pushing his glasses further up his nose and looking
down at his plate. His appetite was gone the moment his daughter mentioned
Riley Finn. Buffy decided to bring Angel with her and break the news to her
father over dinner. She needed Angel's emotional strength since she had no
idea what her father's reaction might be.

"I personally see to it that Buffy is with someone at all times. I even have
a couple friends looking out for her when I'm not there." Angel assured
Giles, who had become like a father to him over the years.

"I very much appreciate that, Angel but I fear that someone could not be with
her at all times." Giles sighed.

"I can also take care of myself." Buffy defended. "Remember my kickboxing
lessons. Those came in handy when I was almost mugged."

"What? You were almost mugged?" Giles's looked at his daughter in a mixture
of concern and anger. When did this happen and why hadn't she told him about
it?

"Whoops, how about a subject change?" Buffy inwardly kicked herself. She
needed to control her mouth. Giles shook his head, letting the subject drop
for the moment, he would talk to his daughter later.

"Did you try contact authorities? Police could surely help if someone is
handling a weapon and threatening to hurt someone." Buffy's father asked,
looking to Angel because he seemed to be in control of everything that
involved Buffy's protection.

"We did, unfortunately they don't have enough evidence to put Riley away for
long enough. The only thing that even says Riley has a gun is my friend's
word." Angel pushed his plate away, not interested in eating anymore. All
this talk about Riley and guns was making him sick to his stomach.

"And do you trust this friend enough to know he is not lying?" Giles
questioned further.

"I trust him with my life." Angel answered honestly.

"Very well." Giles replied, satisfied with Angel's answer. He was amazed at
how he had grown over the years. When Giles first saw Angel he was reminded
of a jock, someone that would crush his daughter's heart whenever he had a
chance but he was proven wrong over and over again.

"Plus, I got pepper spray." Buffy chimed in, she didn't like that they were
talking about her as if she wasn't there. She hated feeling defenseless but
it felt good to tell her father everything that has been going on the last
couple of weeks. "Willow sold me some for three dollars."

"Three dollars? I only had to pay one." Angel looked at his girlfriend
quizzically.

"What? My own friend ripped my off." Buffy looked outraged. "I want a
refund." She pouted and Angel chuckled, grabbing her hand and giving it a
squeeze. The blonde beamed at him in response. Giles felt like he was
intruding on a sacred moment, it would take a fool to see that this couple
was very much in love and for the first time Giles was okay with that.

"I see I have become a third wheel in my own house." Giles smiled gently and
the couple grinned at each other. Buffy winced when she looked at the clock
on the wall.

"Damn, we are late. We better get going." Buffy said to her boyfriend,
sitting up.

"Late? Where are you going at this hour?" Giles asked, he couldn't help that
some of his fatherly instincts were still strong, especially now.

"Bronze." Buffy answered shortly with a winning smile.

"Thank you for dinner, it was lovely." Angel shook hands with Giles.

"I am trusting you to take care of my daughter." Giles looked sternly at the
dark haired man. Angel nodded wordlessly before moving away so Buffy could
say good-bye.

"Bye dad, I will call you tomorrow." Buffy kissed her father on cheek.

"Alright and for God's sake, Buffy, do be careful." Giles forced a smile as
he watched the couple leave, inwardly feeling dread in his stomach.

*****
 "Girl's night out, huh?" Faith asked as Willow, Buffy, Cordelia, and herself
all walked to Espresso Pump for some late night coffee and brownies.

"Oh, come on, we haven't had one of these since...last week. That's seven
days, I feel like I'm going through withdrawal." Willow tried to get everyone
into the spirit since she had been hyped to go for girl's only day for a
week. She loved these days, they shopped and gossiped and talked about their
boyfriends, it was just like high school.

"Sometimes you really freak me out." Cordelia frowned at Willow.

"Oh come on, its not that bad. I mean, now we could flirt with guys without
having our boyfriends beat them up. It's fun." Willow beamed.

"Red, when was the last time you flirted with a guy that wasn't Oz?" Faith
asked, raising an eyebrow at the redhead.

"I've done countless times. I'm a rebel." Willow stated proudly, although she
couldn't remember the last time she flirted with a guy.

"I see right through your lie." Buffy grinned but it fell quickly. "Who am I
to be talking? I'm having major Angel missage."

"You girls are pathetic. You can't go one day before running back to your
boyfriend." Faith rolled her eyes. "We are women, the men should be missing
us. It should be just a couple more minutes before Spike calls on my cell."

"You are right." Cordy took a deep dramatic breath. "Why am I missing Xander
anyway? He doesn't even know I have a cell."

"I don't have a cell phone." Willow muttered, feeling a bit left out.

"Don't worry, we will strike against the ones that have modern technology."
Buffy smiled at Willow, for she didn't have a cellular phone either.

"Hello ladies." A deep voice sounded from behind them. Faith rolled her eyes
and turned around.

"Sorry, but we already have boyfriends and we don't date lose-" Faith stopped
when she was staring right down a barrel of a gun.

Willow made a frightened sound as she clutched Cordelia's arm, stumbling a
couple steps back. Buffy took a small step closer to Faith, giving her
backup. Faith's eyes stayed on the barrel of the gun before ticking to Riley.
Riley glared at her, then at Buffy.

"Riley." Buffy breathed out in anger and panic. She was torn between
screaming for help and punching Riley in his ugly face.

"You better get that gun out of my face, Cornboy." Faith threatened. Buffy
was amazed at how calm she looked, but she also looked extremely pissed. The
brunette's jaw was clenched and her hands were tightened into fists.

"You are not in the position to make threats, slut." Riley sneered. Faith
glared at the sandy blonde before biting her tongue before the next insult
slipped out of her lips. Riley's gaze ticked over to Cordelia and Willow who
were slowly but surely backing away from them.

"In the alley. Now." Riley snapped, his voice dangerously calm as he gestured
to the alley behind them. Buffy inwardly cursed that they had to walk near
all these buildings. The Espresso Pump was only three blocks away, for God's
sake!

Cordelia licked her dry lips, her hand slowly moving up to her purse. Willow
looked at her, alarmed and curious.

"Hell no." Faith stated. Cordelia wondered what it would take to make Faith
shut up. Riley pressed the gun hard into Faith's forehead, his hand steady
and his eyes cold. Faith seemed to freeze, not daring to breathe. Buffy's
breath caught in her throat as the night of her mother's murder flashed
behind her eyelids.

"I said, now." Riley snapped. Willow was the first to hurry into the alley,
worried for everyone's safety. Cordelia followed, holding her hand steady
near her purse. She need to reach her cellphone and then her pepper spray.
Since all of Riley's attention seemed to be focused on Faith and Buffy then
maybe she could reach them. Buffy slowly walked into the alley, inwardly
wishing for Angel or the police. Riley pushed Faith inside the darkness of
the cramped space.

Faith sprawled away from Riley to land at Buffy's feet. The blonde helped her
friend up before turning back to Riley. Cordelia and Willow were standing
closely behind them. Cordelia's hand was almost all the way in her purse but
it was hard to concentrate when Willow was squeezing her other so tight.

"Do you think you will get away with this? If you kill one of us then the
others will tell the police. You'll be in jail for the rest of your pathetic
life." Faith spat. Buffy was amazed at how much she talked back to a person
with a gun. Faith was not that smart.

"Then I guess I will have to kill all of you." Riley smiled.

"As if! I didn't do anything to you." Cordy snapped. How the hell did she get
brought into this mess? Riley looked at Cordelia for a long time, she was
halfway behind Faith so he couldn't see what she was doing. Cordy was busy
groping inside her purse for her cellphone.

Willow looked at Riley who was staring hard at Cordelia, leaning to see what
her other hand was doing. "You suck!" Willow shouted, quickly averting
Riley's attention to her.

"It's the feisty redhead from the mall. Where is your boyfriend now?" Riley
chuckled.

"Right behind you." Willow grinned, looking past Riley. He quickly spun
around to see no one there. Buffy took the opportunity to jump on his back,
wrapping her arms tight around his neck. Riley yelled in frustration, trying
to get the angry blonde off his back.

"Run!" Buffy cried out, desperately trying to hold on. The other three women
didn't need to be told twice. They ran out of the alley, Cordelia finally
grabbing her cellphone and quickly dialing redial, which was Xander's dorm.

"Help!" Willow screamed out into the empty street. How can no one be out on a
night like this?!

"Shut up, Red!" Faith snapped, grabbing Willow's arm and ducking behind the
counter of a closed outside cafe. Cordelia quickly joined them, holding her
phone to her ear.

"Who are you calling?" Faith asked, her voice ragged and out of breath from
running as fast as she could.

"Xander." Cordy answered.

"Xander? What the fuck is Xander going to do!? Call the police, damnit!"
Faith snapped.

"Shush, I'm on the phone. Besides, all the men are at the dorm playing
poker." Cordy shooed Faith with a wave of her hand. Willow spared a glance
over the counter to see an empty street. She fingered her pepper spray
nervously, inwardly giving herself a pep talk.

"That was...wow. Scary. I've never been so scared in my life. I mean, he had
a gun. A real gun, not the fake ones you see in the movies, a real one! One
with real bullets that could kill you." Willow babbled.

"I think we went through this gun talk before." Faith sighed, looking at the
street also.

"Where is B?" Faith said, quickly realizing that they were missing a member
of their group.

"She is not still in the alley with Riley...right?" Willow's voice was high
and nervous.

******
 Xander looked at his cards, grinning smugly. "Those women probably won't be
able to stand a night without us, men."

"I think Willow is independent." Oz said and threw his cards down on the
table with grimace. "I fold."

Angel copied Oz's movements, wincing, he had lost some money on that round.
Spike chuckled and threw a couple more dollars into the jackpot.

"Look's like it is you and me, Xand." Spike raised his eyebrows twice.

"Let's see what you got." Xander said, his voice quivering. He had about
twenty dollars riding on this round. It was even worse because he was
bluffing and had a horrible hand. Spike leaned over, putting a royal flush
down on the table but frowned when two cards slipped out of his sleeve and on
to the ground. Angel and Oz quickly grabbed their money, that they lost, back
from Spike.

"Cheater." Xander excused and grabbed the pile while Spike creatively cursed.
He had become an expert at cheating. He pointed and laughed at the blonde
when he put down his cards, to reveal a two pair.

"I had nothing and you just lost all your money." Xander sung, dancing around
the room. Angel laughed at Xander's horrible dancing, grabbing more of his
money back from Spike.

"Bugger off!" Spike snapped, grabbing for his winnings.

"Phone." Oz called out before clearing his voice and picking up Xander's
green phone.

"Xander and Spike's apartment." He said politely. He nodded as he listened to
Cordelia.

"Uh huh...yeah...where?...alright...sure...yeah." Oz said calmly before
hanging up the phone. He stared at it for a moment before turning to his
friends.

"That was Cordelia." Oz said.

"See! I told you she would call every half hour." Xander said, triumphantly.
"What did she say?"

"Well, it seems that Riley is after our girlfriends with a gun, a couple of
blocks near the Espresso Cup, at that one cafe." Oz stated, his voice
emotionless and his demeanor calm. Everyone seemed quiet for a moment before
racing to the door.

*****
 Buffy tightened her hold around Riley's neck, choking him. She held on
tight, his arms were waving everywhere and the gun fired. Buffy instinctively
held her head down but the bullet embedded itself in the wall. Riley gasped
for air and slammed himself back against the wall. Buffy gasped, the air
knocked out of her, her hold on him loosening. Riley took the opportunity to
grab her by the hair and flip her over his shoulder.

Buffy rolled when she hit the ground, slamming into the opposite wall of the
cramped alley. Stars blurred her vision from hitting the ground too hard. She
sucked in deep breaths but it was whooshed from her lungs when Riley kicked
her head in the side.  Buffy curled her legs up to her chest and concentrated
on breathing normally.

Riley stepped out of the alley, looking around for the other three girls. If
they got away, he was fucked and on the next flight to Mexico. They would rat
on him in an instant but it would all be worth it if he got to kill just one.
He turned back to Buffy with a grin on his face. His features were twisted
from rage and hate.

"Well, it is just you and me, Buff. Just like old times." He chuckled,
pointing the gun at her. Buffy ignored the weapon pointed at her and forced
herself into a sitting position. She felt for her pepper spray in her back
pocket but it wasn't there. It must have fallen out when she was thrown. Her
eyes searched wildly for it and saw it on the other side of the alley. She
would never reach it without getting a bullet stuck in her head.

"You are pathetic, you know that." Buffy spat. "You were nothing but a scared
little boy trying to be a men. You pushed women around because you liked the
power." Buffy stood up on her feet. "But your nothing but an ugly piece of
shit."

Riley's jaw tightened and his finger tightened around the trigger before he
calmed himself. "I know what your doing. You are just trying to go out the
easy way but I want to enjoy this for as long as possible."

Buffy closed her eyes, trying to control her fast breathing. At that instant,
she knew that she was never going to see Angel again. That thought hit her
like a slap in the face and she had to fight the tears that threatened to
spill. She would not let Riley see her cry.

"Gods, this is going to be better then killing your mother." Riley laughed.
Buffy's eyes snapped open. All the fear and sadness was gone, replaced by
hate.

"What did you just say?" Buffy bit out, her hands balled into fists.

"Hey, Fishboy!" Faith yelled, outside the alley. Riley quickly turned, firing
the gun. Faith let out a yell of surprise and dived behind the counter again.
Buffy quickly slammed her foot into Riley's groin. Riley bent over in pain,
his eyes rolling back into his head.

"You bitch!" He spat.

"You wanna see a bitch?" Buffy yelled, the anger consuming her. She grabbed
the bent over Riley by the hair and smashed his nose into her knee. He fell
back, now holding his bleeding nose. Buffy smirked in satisfaction of causing
him pain but couldn't enjoy the moment for a second later since Willow
grabbed her and pulled her behind the counter.

"Damn, nice kick, B. I didn't think you had it in you." Faith chuckled
softly.

"I thought I was gone for a second there." Buffy admitted. "Thanks."

"No prob." Faith grinned at her.

"Hello? This is not some reunion here! We got some Mr. Crazy with a gun after
us still." Cordy snapped.

"Buffy!" A shout came from a block down and Buffy instantly recognized the
voice.

"Angel!" Buffy yelled, standing up from behind the counter but was quickly
greeted by a gun shot. She screamed, instantly ducking.

"Nice job, smart girl!" Cordelia snapped, covering her head.

"The guys are here, we could make it to them." Faith said, slowly looking
around the empty street. Riley was no where to be seen but if he fired at
Buffy then he must be close.

"Or die trying." Willow gulped.

"I don't care. As long as I see Angel, I will die happy." Buffy muttered.

"I'm not going to get shot because you got the hots for my bro." Cordelia
said, tactlessly.

"Lets go!" Faith hissed, grabbing Buffy's arm and dragging her out as they
ran down the street, towards the sound of their boyfriend. Willow and
Cordelia had no choice but to follow.

"Angel!" Buffy shouted again, running as fast as her legs could take her. Her
call was answered by another shout from her boyfriend.

Willow screamed as she was tackled to the ground. The three women turned
around to see Riley straddling Willow and trying to restrain her.

"Get off of her!" Cordy shouted but Riley pushed her away. Willow squirmed as
Riley grabbed one of her wrists.

"Oz! Someone! Help!" She screamed, flipping the top off the pepper spray with
her free hand. She sprayed it right into his eyes. Riley screamed, throwing
himself off of her, holding his eyes in pain. Cordelia grabbed Willow's arm
pulling her off the ground and running away from Riley who was still on the
pavement.

"Oz!" Willow gasped in relief when she saw her boyfriend round the corner.
She threw herself into his arms, holding him tight.

"Where is he?" Spike demanded, pulling Faith behind him.

"He ruined my coat." Cordelia pouted as Xander pulled her into his arms.

"Are you alright?" Angel asked, his voice tight from worry and pain.

"Now that you're here, I am." Buffy forced a shaky smile and Angel touched
her cheek tenderly before looking down the street. Riley was no where to be
seen.

"Why does he keep doing that?" Willow asked, clutching Oz's hand.

"Because he is a fucking coward!" Spike yelled out, walking forward, looking
into the alleys.

"Yeah! What a scaredy cat." Xander joined in. "Why don't you go first,
honey?" He smiled at his girlfriend, pushing Cordelia forward. Cordy rolled
her eyes.

A shot fired in the air and everyone ducked. When everyone realized no one
was hurt, they turned towards the source. Riley pointed the gun at them,
grinning. His eyes were red and puffy, his nose was bleeding, the blood
covering his lips and down his chin.

"You bitches give me so much damn trouble." Riley shook his head. He pointed
the gun at Buffy. "And you," He smiled at the blonde while Angel glared,
pushing Buffy behind him. "you keep amazing me. You are fearless one-second
and then you cowering the next."

"I can't wait until I am finally able to kill you." The insane man laughed.

"You will never get the chance." Angel promised. "I'm going to rip you into
*fucking* pieces." He growled. Riley smiled.

"Oh. Right, the new boyfriend." Riley pointed the gun at Angel. "Well, if I
have to go through you first, then so be it."

Buffy gasped, quickly stepping out from behind Angel. He couldn't be killed
for her Angel pushed her back behind him.

"No!" She yelled, struggling against him but she was too late.

A shot fired and Buffy screamed.

Part 14

Buffy was sitting on an ambulance gurney, watching the cops, onlookers, and
paramedics without emotion. She couldn't believe that so much could happen in
only the span of a couple hours. She felt emotionally drained and empty. Why
did things in her life have to be so complicated? Why couldn't she be just a
normal girl without any problems or worries? No one answered her but she
wasn't expecting anyone to.

She watched as the paramedics rolled the body near her and she shuddered
violently, pulling the blanket that the police gave her tighter around her.
She could the bloodstain seeping through the white sheet that the paramedics
put over the body. Buffy blinked back tears, looking away.

She looked up to see Faith and Spike making out in front of the crowd and the
television cameras. She frowned at them and looked to see Oz and Willow
holding each other tightly while Xander and Cordelia who were arguing.
Everyone seemed to have someone to cope with but her.

Buffy quickly looked down again, biting her lip tightly. She wished for
nothing more than to Angel to hold her and tell her that everything was going
to be fine. She stared at the ground, the bright lights of the media were
hurting her eyes. Someone just died! Didn't they care?

A coffee cup and a hand came into her line of view and she looked up to see
who it belonged to. Buffy accepted the coffee with a smile as Angel sat down
next to her.

"Rough night, huh?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"You were there." Buffy answered, leaning against him.

******
A shot fired and Buffy screamed.

She grabbed on to Angel, tears stinging her eyes. Oh God. He just got shot,
she knew he did. He was going to be hurt and he was going to die and it was
going to be all her fault.

"Angel." She gasped, standing in front of him, checking for wounds but she
didn't find any. He didn't get shot, there wasn't even a scratch on him.
Buffy sagged against him in relief, sobbing.

"Oh my God!" Cordelia screamed. "I'm will be scarred for the rest of my
life!"

Buffy turned around to see what Cordelia was screaming about but Angel held
her head against his chest.

"Don't look." He whispered. Fear gripped her. Was one of the others hurt?

"Angel! My man! How the hell you keep getting yourself into this shit?" A
loud voice called out from behind Buffy. Buffy turned in Angel's arm to see
Gunn and Penn and a couple of other men behind them. Buffy assumed they were
members of Gunn's gang. Buffy also looked at the ground in front of the gang
members to see Riley on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood.

Willow let out a loud sigh of relief, looking away from the gruesome scene
while Oz stroked her back. Faith held a hand to her chest while Spike raised
his eyebrows.

"Jesus, that scared the shit out of me." Faith admitted, taking deep breaths.

"Bloody hell, Gunn, not that I'm not thankful but what the fuck are you doing
here?" Spike asked.

"One of my boys was in an alley a block away, taking care of business, until
he heard some gun shots. I knew that one of you had to be a part of this
somehow." Gunn chuckled. Penn walked over to check the body, kicking it with
his foot.

"Well, he is dead now." Penn stated, wiping at blood on his new expensive
shoes.

"I think that's what happens when you get shot in the head." Xander muttered,
trying to absorb all the things that just happened. Gunn pushed his revolver
back into the waistband of his pants.

"You owe me, Angie." Gunn said looking at Angel, who was too wrapped up in
trying to calm a hysterical Buffy to care what Gunn was saying.

Gunn's gang looked up when they heard sirens in the background. Penn looked
at his roommate.

"Five O, we gotta run." Penn got into his car, followed by the rest of Gunn's
gang.

"Shit." Gunn looked down at the dead body of Riley Finn. "I ain't have
nothing to do with this, ya hear?" Gunn grabbed his gun and threw it to
Xander who caught it but dropped it on the ground quickly. Another shot rang
out and hit the wall.

"Woah, guns, I don't do guns." Xander said, looking down at the weapon.

"Let's go!" Penn yelled from the car at Gunn when the sirens got louder.

"You need a murder weapon." Gunn explained.

"Murder? I didn't murder anybody!" Xander exclaimed, his eyes wide with
panic.

"It was self defense, you will be the hero, besides your finger prints are
already on it." The black man laughed before getting into car and driving
off. He didn't have time to deal with cops when he already had a record like
he did.

"Hear that, everyone? I am the hero, here." Xander said proudly. Cordelia
rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Are you alright?" Angel asked, grabbing Buffy's face with his hands, wiping
away tears with his thumbs. Buffy nodded but then shook her head.

"When I heard a gun shot, I thought that he shot you. I thought I was going
to loose you, I was so scared." Buffy tried to regain her composure.

"Shh, I'm fine. Riley is dead, you never have to worry about him anymore."
Angel promised before pulling her into his arms, holding her tightly and
kissing her forehead. He was terrified when Oz said that Riley was after her.
He was so afraid that he wouldn't make it there in time. Buffy memorized the
feeling of his arms around her, sighing against his shirt. Blocking
everything out but her boyfriend.

*****
 "I can't believe that Xander is the hero in this story." Angel said, trying
to lighten the mood. Buffy snapped out of her memories of the previous hour.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Xander. I can't believe we had to tell the cops that Xander was the one who
shot him." Angel shook his head, chuckling. "The day I see Xander shoot
someone is the day when the world gets sucked into Hell."

"Don't jinx us." Buffy muttered, yawning.

"You are tired, go to sleep." Angel ordered. Buffy closed her eyes, leaning
against him. She wished she could go to sleep, she could only imagine the
nightmares she was going to have. She would have to spend every night in
Angel's bed until they went away, but that wasn't all too bad of a deal.

"Buffy!" A worried voice yelled from among the chaos around her. Buffy
quickly broke from Angel's arms to run into her father's embrace.

"Oh, good heavens, are you quite alright? You look terrible." Giles muttered,
hugging his daughter close to her before letting her go.

"Thanks." Buffy smiled dryly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Everyone is fine."

"Well, that is a relief." Giles sighed, taking off his glasses to clean them
on his shirt.

"Did the police call you?" Buffy asked.

"Actually, I saw Faith and Spike groping, would be a loose term, on the
television and I knew that you must have something to do with what ever had
happened." Giles chuckled.

"So, what bloody chap is dead?" Giles asked. Buffy nodded, looking down for a
second, reminded of how it easily could have been Angel who was killed if
Gunn arrived one second later.

Giles was glad that no one was hurt and he was glad that Riley was. That
bastard deserved everything that came to him, even death. Angel stood up off
the gurney and Giles's attention was drawn to him.

"Hello, Angel." Giles said, shaking his hand. "I'm very proud of you, taking
care of my daughter when I cannot."

Angel nodded. "Though it was Xander that shot Riley." Angle couldn't but
chuckle when he said that. He was amazed at how he kept a straight face when
the police asked him that.

"Xander?" Giles looked dumbfounded and Buffy half smiled. "That strange
acting boy?"

"The one and only." Angel answered, wrapping an arm around Buffy.

"Oh my." Giles said, his British-ness coming out more and more.

"Well, I am sure that it has been a long night, come on, Buffy. I will take
you home." Giles said and Buffy didn't argue. It has been a while since she
had slept in her own bed, though she was sad that Angel couldn't come with
her.

"Night baby, try and get some sleep." Angel kissed her gently before pushing
her towards her father. Angel watched him go and turned to Spike behind him.

"Well, I would say that this was the bloody best night of my life. The
villain is dead, I got fame and the girl. I love America." Spike laughed.

Part 15

"It was uber creepy." Cordelia sighed, shaking her head. She was standing
outside in some grassy field for some weird reason. Why did Xander always
drag her into these stupid things?

"Cordelia, now is not the time for this." Xander said, his posture was tense
and he was bouncing on his toes slightly. His eyes darted around madly.

"Like, who would ever want to kill Buffy? Well, Faith I could understand, but
Buffy? She is so...tiny." Cordy looked confused and disgusted. She
concentrated on her nails for a second before turning her attention back to
her boyfriend.

"Cordelia, sweetie, can you please step back. I think that we might be in a
little trouble here." Xander looked around nervously, his knees slightly bent
and his arms held forward.

"Can you please listen to me?" Cordy asked, annoyed. She rolled her eyes at
her boyfriend. How come he never listened to her when she needed to vent.

"Cordelia Chase!" Xander yelled, he stood all the way up and threw his arms
in frustration. At that moment, a figure flew out from in front of Xander and
tackled him to the ground. Cordelia looked down at the two men with a roll of
her eyes.

Spike quickly got off Xander, grinning like an idiot.

"You should pay attention, Harris. This is called football." The blonde
jogged off, back to his team.

Xander coughed, looking up at his girlfriend who raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you *always* get tackled?" She asked. No one else was getting
tackled. "You should really pay more attention. I thought you were more
athletic than this."

"Get up, Harris! We have to score some major goals, here!" Willow called,
yelling like a furious coach.

"That's touchdowns, sweetheart." Oz corrected his team mate. Willow blushed
but nodded.

******
The whole gang was playing football, it was the weekend and almost a month
until school was out. Only a week after the incident with Riley. They would
sit in the back of the room and recall everything, trying to find out more
interesting clues that would have helped why Riley was a complete nutcase.
Although he was dead, Buffy had nightmares for days. Willow even complained
about every noise in their dorm room, saying that Riley's ghost was haunting
her, trying to get back at her because of the pepper spray.

"Come on, team! Buffy, you need to cover Willow! It's called defense, learn
it!" Angel scowled to his teammates. Angel's team was made up of Spike,
Faith, and his girlfriend...who was glaring at him right now. Angel winced,
this game took control of him.

"Excuse me?" Buffy asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I mean...good job, baby." Angel wisely choose to complement her instead.
Buffy beamed happily while Faith rolled her eyes.

"How come I have to cover Cordelia? She don't do anything." Faith pouted,
crossing her arms over her chest.

"Just tackle her anyway." Angel shrugged. Faith grinned, rubbing her hands
together.

"Now you are talking, Angie."

"The key person was have to look out for is Willow. That red head has got
some major power behind that skinny body." Spike rubbed his chest in
remembrance. Buffy laughed.

"You're just angry because she tackled you." Buffy grinned. "I really need to
buy a camera."

"You are the one that let her tackle me!" Spike pointed a finger at the
blonde, his voice accusing and angry.

"So I was the one supposed to be tackled?" Buffy demanded. "Willow was
running at me like a freight train!"

"That is how the damn game is played!" Spike growled.

"That's it!" Buffy threw her sports cap on the ground, stepping back from the
huddle. "Come on, William. Right here, right now! I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"You asked for it, blondie!" Spike took a step forward towards her but ended
up on the ground after being tackled by Angel. Faith looked at her boyfriend
wrestling on the ground with Angel and looked at Buffy who was smiling with
amusement.

"What are you smiling about? That was my boyfriend." Faith snapped and dove
towards the blonde, knocking her to the ground also.
 
*****
The other team, Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia, stared at the other team,
wrestling and screaming with each other.  Oz raised an eyebrow while Xander
laughed at Spike and Angel.

"Maybe we should break them up?" Willow suggested.

"And miss this quality action? Hell no!" Xander sat down, enjoying the fight.
Willow and Cordelia walked towards Faith and Buffy and grabbed their hair.
Willow pulled Buffy off of Faith and on to the ground.

"Stay." Willow instructed as if she was talking to a dog. Buffy touched her
skull gingerly, Willow surely ripped out some of her hair. Oz tried to break
Angel and Spike apart but only got a punch in the stomach.

"Okay, ow." Oz said, his face showing no emotion but he stepped back. "Why
don't we give it a few more minutes?"

"Angel." Buffy whispered in a sing song voice. Although Spike and Angel were
screaming at eachother, Angel paused to look at Buffy. She smiled at him and
held her arms out. Angel looked towards Spike and then back to his
girlfriend.

"Truce?" He asked his bleach blonde friend.

"Damn straight." Spike grinned, his lip split but he looked happy. "Hadn't
had a good fight like that in years, thanks Peaches."

Angel chuckled before helping his girlfriend up, wrapping an arm around her
waist, and catching her lips in a kiss. Buffy smiled against him, wrapping
her arms around his neck, bringing him closer. Her fingers played with the
hem of his shirt, pulling at it, flustered. Angel pulled away from her
grinning.

"I wish we weren't in a public place." Buffy whined, running a finger through
her tosseled hair. Angel leaned in closed, his breath tickling her ear.

"Later." He promised. Buffy shivered.

"Interesting." Oz muttered. How come Buffy just called his name and Angel
came, but he had to get punched in the stomach? "Huh."

"Come on, bunnies, we have a game to win." Faith yelled at them, waving them
back to the huddle.

"You can try and beat us." Willow challenged her.

"Wanna put your money where your mouth is, Red?" Faith grinned at her,
raising her eyebrows.

"Ten bucks." Willow smiled happily. She had never gambled before, it was
pretty exciting. She bounced on her heels, begging Faith to make the bet
higher. Her silent prayer was answered.

"Twenty."

"Fifty."

"Deal." Faith shook the redhead's hand while a small smile playing on her
lips. That redhead was going to win her a lot of money. How could they loose
with Spike and Angel on their team. Willow was going to go down.

*****
 "Alright, I got money rising on this game, team. We are going to go out
there and kick their ass!" Willow pounded her fist into her palm.  "Cordelia,
Faith will mostly tackle you this time, so you need to be prepared. If she
starts running at you, then you turn away at the last possible second." She
instructed.

"Okay, I could do that." Cordy nodded but then frowned. "Hey! Wait, she is
going to tackle me?"

Willow ignored her and turned to Xander. "Spike will hand off the ball to
Angel and then go long, you need to follow him and intercept. I won't except
anything else. If you don't get the ball, I'm kicking your ass off this
team!"

"You are really scaring me, Will." Xander said slowly, his hand raised in
surrender. Willow turned to her boyfriend and smiled sweetly.

"Now, Oz, I *need* you to tackle Angel before he gets the ball in his hands.
He was the football captain, remember? Be careful." Willow looked at the
other team, whispering plans.

"Wait? How come his ass doesn't get kicked off the team?" Xander mocked hurt.

"Shut up, Xander." Cordelia said, bored.

"I got Buffy." Willow grinned. They all clapped and the huddle broke, this
was it. Willow's team needed this touchdown to win. Spike had the ball.

"Set, hut!" He called, throwing the ball to Angel. Spike ran out far, dodging
Willow as she moved past him. Willow looked towards Buffy who started running
the same way Spike had. She made a wild dive, knocking her friend to the
ground. They air slammed out of both of them but Willow smiled. Her job was
done. She turned around to see Faith flying to the ground.

Cordelia quickly side stepped Faith as she charged and Faith tackled the air.
Faith hit the ground with a groan while Cordelia smiled victoriously.

"Try and tackle me, huh?"

Angel looked at Cordelia who was doing a victory dance, then to his
girlfriend who was on the ground. Damnit. He looked towards Spike who was
jumping up and down and waving his hands. He was right at the touch down
line. Angel pulled back and threw the football to Spike. As soon as the ball
left his fingertips, Oz hit him hard around the chest and they both went
down. Spike had to catch this to win.

"No!" Willow screamed as she watched the ball fly in the air.

Spike had his arms stretched out in the air, jumping to catch the football.
Xander jumped in front of him, catching the ball before Spike had a chance.
Spike fell hard on his back, coughing as the wind was knocked out of him.

Xander looked at the ball in his hands. "Holy shit." He exclaimed. This was
the first time ever he caught a football.

"Run, you idiot!" Willow yelled to see Angel and Faith recovering and running
after Xander. Xander screamed before running to the other side of the field.
He narrowly missed being tripped by Faith, he was almost to the end of the
field.

"Hurry, Xander!" Cordelia screamed, jumping up and down.

Just as Xander reached the touchdown line, he was tackle by Angel. They fell
hard to the ground, rolling on their backs. Everyone ran up to them, to see
if Xander scored. They held their breath as Angel and Xander got to their
feet. The ball was past the line.

"Touchdown!" Willow yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. Xander stared
at the ball in disbelief.

"I scored a touchdown?" He muttered, puzzled. "I mean, I scored a touchdown!"


"Yay! My boyfriend is not a loser!" Cordelia shouted, jumping into Xander's
arms. Willow held her hand towards Faith.

"My fifty dollars, please." She grinned happily. Faith glared at her before
digging into her pocket.

"Damnit! God, bloody damnit." Spike yelled, slamming his fist onto the
ground.

Angel and Buffy watched the reactions with amusement. A small smile played on
Buffy's lips as she leaned her head on Angel's shoulder. Angel looked down at
her, smiling also.

"Fun year?" He asked.

"One of the best." Buffy laughed. Her laugh quickly turned into a squeal when
Angel picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Buffy demanded, her giggles escaping.

"Remember what I promised?" Angel raised his eyebrows, looking back at her.

Buffy grinned.

"Hell yeah."