Author's Chapter Notes:
Welcome to FNOWAE, just a few notes before we begin. This fic is heavily influenced by music and some chapters have a lot of lyrics in...so if this is something that bugs you, it's probably not for you.

So anyway, Buffy and Co are not mine, I've just thrown them into an AU/AH universe. Story and chapter title...also not mine, they're Fall Out Boy's. Featured song: Kate Voegele-Talkin' Smooth
'And I don't mean to presume, you don't love me like you say you do. But you're gonna have to prove that you're true and you're not just talkin' smooth' The Bronze erupted in applause as the song's final bars faded out. I stood, partially hidden in an alcove, clapping along with everyone else; wishing the girl on stage, was mine. I had been deliberately coming to see Buffy Summers sing for over a month now, after accidentally catching a performance at the Bronze one night after Drusilla, my ex-girlfriend; otherwise known as 'The Evil Queen Bitch from Hell', had left me. She justified leaving by saying I'd changed too much, which was bloody convenient because she was the one who forced me to change. Gone were my glasses, brown hair and suits; in came the contacts, peroxide hair dye and leather. At first I had resisted, but then I figured, what the hell, I'd already followed her across the pond from England to the sodding USA, changing my appearance was insignificant in comparison to that move.

So I did it, the hair, the clothes, the attitude, I even started smoking. But Dru couldn't handle the new female attention I was gathering with my new look, so she left me two weeks later, and I ended up in the Bronze, listening to Buffy Summers sing. Something clicked inside me watching that woman with blonde shoulder length hair, golden skin, and the voice of an angel. I finally realised what I had with Dru was a sham. The golden goddess on stage was the one for me.

There were two problems with this scenario. One, she didn't even know I existed, and two, she had a huge broody boyfriend who threatened anyone who so much as looked at Buffy the wrong way. She was his trophy, but he still liked to flirt with the scantily clad females who would bat their eyelashes and pout for his benefit, and he didn't even care if he did it in front of her. But Heaven forbid Buffy should be allowed to talk to any of her fans. Anyone who tried got the 'death glare' from tall and forehead.

In short, he was a bastard. Not that I could do anything about it, I was as much a pansy as any other bloke in that club. Obviously Buffy loved him, and just saw him as protective, sheltering her from being hurt by anyone, or at least, I hope she did. Love can do strange things to the mind.

And it's not like he was ever not there. Every performance he stood sentry, listening to her sing, but I don't think he ever got the meaning behind her words. She was laying herself bare for everyone to see. She sang about family, about love, and about heartbreak, and everyone empathised with her every word. Tonight's song had been an interesting one, because it suggested trouble in paradise.

I snapped out of my thoughts to the feeling of being watched. I looked up to see a flash of her fiery green eyes before they quickly looked away while her poncey boyfriend started ranting about something I couldn't quite hear. She shouted back at him, and I managed to hear the words "Screw you Angel!" screamed from her lips just as she stormed out through the exit.

He was called Angel! It was bloody priceless! I couldn't stop myself from laughing, however, I quickly stopped when I realised he was standing in front of me, looking like he was out for blood. "Find something funny?" he seethed "Well, how about you don't look at my girlfriend ever again, or we'll see which one of us is laughing"

He turned and ran out the same door Buffy had left by, with his long leather coat swishing behind him. It took a moment for me to process what just happened. Angel thought I was hitting on Buffy? Where the hell had he got that idea from? I downed my whisky, and got myself another. Getting drunk soon became my top priority, as long as those drinks kept coming, I was a happy bloke.

Later that evening, I stumbled out of the Bronze absolutely pissed, with a blonde chit called Harmony attached to my left arm, thoroughly intending to get all remaining feelings about Drusilla and Buffy out of my system.

I took her home that night, and can't remember anything else until I awoke to Harmony screeching "Blondie Bear! Get up, I'm all lonely and bored, and I don't even have my unicorns!" It was at this point I realised what a colossal mistake I had made the night before. I buried my face in my pillow, and tried to think of the best way of getting her out of my apartment as quickly as possible. I decided to use a tactic some mates of mine had mentioned. I got up, located my wallet, turned back, looked into those big brown eyes and said "Mornin' pet, how much I owe you?"

It worked like a charm. She cried, huffed and shouted at me for "being a heartless bastard", which I kind of was, and that I'd never see her again (I didn't have an issue with this). I look back now, and wish I'd let her down a little easier, but I've changed. The guy I was back then was confused, in pain, and, that night, completely pissed. I made a mistake. Not my first and certainly not my last, but a mistake nonetheless. But sometimes mistakes can push you in the direction you need to go. And my direction from that night on was Buffy Summers.


Chapter End Notes:
I hope you liked it, and will continue reading. I love feedback, so drop me a message if you feel like it. As far as posting goes, please do not post anywhere else.



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