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CHAPTER 9


Angel arrived at the Summer’s apartment at six o’clock. Dawn opened the door.

“Hey Angel.”

“Hello Dawn. I didn’t expect to see you. I thought you’d be out with Connor.”

“I was just leaving. By the way, he told me he had a blast this afternoon. He thinks you’re the coolest guy in the world.”

Angel smiled. “Really?”

“Totally. Don’t forget I saw him first, though,” she told him with a playful slap on the arm.

“So what are you waiting for?” he teased back. “He obviously likes you a lot.”

She blushed but was prevented from answering by Buffy’s arrival from the kitchen. Angel noticed she was looking extremely nice. “Can you believe I still haven’t met him?” she said, tossing a glare at her sister. “I’m starting to think Dawn’s ashamed of me.”

Behind the teasing, Angel could feel her nervousness. He could also pick up the higher than usual rhythm of her heart.

Dawn took her jacket and turned to Buffy. “Seriously, you don’t want me to stay?”

Buffy shook her head. “It’s ok. Angel and I will do fine…I guess,” she added.

Dawn hugged her. “I’ll think about you every minute. And if you need me I’ve got my cell phone.”

“Thanks Dawnie. I know I shouldn’t expect too much. I just hope things won’t go too badly…”


§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

“Is this some kind of sick joke??”

Buffy closed her eyes and lowered her head. Not too badly, indeed.

It had started rather well, though. Before William’s arrival, Angel and her had discussed the best way to tell him. When William arrived, Buffy introduced Angel. They made some small talk; William asked a few questions about their ‘family’, and Angel answered carefully. Buffy could see he was also a little bit disconcerted by William’s appearance and manners.

“It’s incredible. He’s really a perfect mix between both his past selves,” he said to Buffy when William excused himself to go wash his hands.

They all sat in the living room, with beers for the guys and white wine for Buffy. She looked at Angel several times nervously, wondering when he would start. They had decided he would be the one to launch into the delicate subject.

The surprise came when Angel asked, “William, what do you know about vampires?” and the young man didn’t flinch, simply answering, “I know they exist.”

Buffy’s eyes grew wide. “You know?”

He nodded. “Last year, after leaving a restaurant late at night, we were attacked. I was with my then girlfriend, Meg and her husband. They came out of nowhere, two of them. Suddenly, a young girl arrived and killed them both after a quick fight. She left immediately after. I’m not sure what surprised us the most, the vampires or that girl.”

“The girl you saw was a slayer,” Buffy explained. “She fights vampires and demons.”

William nodded. “I read about it. After the attack, I did some research, but couldn’t find much. I read something about the Slayer, though. Chosen one, called to defend the world against the forces of darkness. To be honest, I didn’t give it much credit. I thought it was some sort of myth.”

Buffy smiled. “It’s not. I was the Slayer…the only one, until my friend Willow did a spell two years ago and all the potentials slayers in the world were called. Which means I’m kind of retired now.”
It was his turn to look shocked. “You were the Slayer? Wow…” He did seem pretty amazed, but not rebuffed by the idea. He gave it some thought before asking, “So, all those girls you were training…”

“…They’re all slayers,” she confirmed.

“Pretty impressive,” he said, looking at her with admiration. He turned to Angel. “Does that mean you’re some kind of demon fighter too?”

Angel hesitated. “Well, yes. Sort of.”

“You were too,” Buffy told William. “You helped me a lot. You even saved my life several times.”

William looked more and more pleased by the minute. Buffy’s heart swelled, hoping for a brief instant that he would take what they were about to tell him rather smoothly. It was a foolish thought, but she held on to it for a moment. She sighed and looked at Angel who nodded imperceptibly.

She took a deep breath. “There is something, though, that you should know about Angel…and about you.”

Her mouth was suddenly awfully dry and she took a sip of her wine, her eyes not leaving his face. He was waiting, watching her with a loving look in his eyes.

“Angel…Angel is a vampire.”

William took off his glasses, looked from Buffy to Angel, swallowed a big gulp of beer before asking, “What?”

Buffy got up and went to kneel beside him, taking his hand in hers.

“William. You were a vampire too. You didn’t disappear in an earthquake. You sacrificed yourself to save the world.”

Again, his blue gaze wandered between Angel and her before he burst out laughing. “Come on. That’s ridiculous. You’re not bloody serio….” He stopped, the look on their faces telling him otherwise. “You are serious,” he realized, before getting up abruptly. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”

“Spike…William. I know this must be a shock,” Angel said in a calming voice.
William turned to him with an accusing glare. “You. Did you make me a vampire?”

“Indirectly. I sired Drusilla, who sired you.”

“When?”

“In 1880”

William let out an incredulous laugh. “This is getting better and better.” He took several deep breaths before turning to Buffy with plain anger on his face. “So everything you told me about my past was a lie?”

“Not exactly. I just gave you a softer version.”

“Well obviously we didn’t go to high school together, right?”

Carefully, she answered, “I told you we met in high school. I just lied about he guidance counselor job.”

William sat back, putting his head in his hands. Buffy and Angel were waiting, not daring to say anything else as long as it was not necessary.

“I can’t believe this,” he said, shaking his head. “How do I know you’re not going to jump at my throat?” he asked Angel.

“I have a soul.”

William raised an eyebrow. “So? Serial killers have souls too.”

“Well…it’s different for vampires,” Angel said, for a lack of a better explanation.

“And what, you don’t kill anyone anymore?”

“I don’t kill humans. And from what Buffy told me, neither did you when you got yours.”

Buffy opened her mouth and closed it quickly. It was probably wiser not to start with the First Evil’s trigger incident. After all, it hadn’t been really Spike’s fault.

William looked at Buffy. His eyes were full of questions and confusion, gone was the love and tenderness she had seen just fifteen minutes before. She shivered.
“If you are The Slayer, and I was a vampire, how come we never killed each other?”

“It wasn’t for lack of trying at first. Then…you fell in love with me, and I saw you change. Despite being a demon and having no soul, you willingly changed and became someone good. Someone exceptional. And that’s probably the reason why you’re back with us.”

She proceeded to explain Giles’ theory, the reward, and the memory loss. “I guess they hadn’t counted on us meeting again. You were supposed to go on leading a normal life, without a clue as to what you were once.”

“I’m starting to think it would have been better,” he muttered, and even if Buffy knew he was angry and confused, it stung deeply all the same. She held back her tears, not wanting to cry in front of Angel.

William stayed silent for a while, before asking in a toneless voice, “So, as a vampire, before the ‘becoming good’ part…I suppose I killed a lot of people?”

Angel nodded slowly. “Yes. You did.”

The young man took off his glasses and closed his eyes while pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s just bloody brilliant,” he muttered to himself.

Buffy didn’t know exactly what to add at that moment. What could she tell him? He needed to digest everything first. Besides, she wasn’t sure he wanted to hear anything from her for the moment. Timidly, she put her hand on his but he stood up like she had bitten him.

“I’m sorry, but I need to…I’ll just go.”

In three long strides, he was out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. They heard the motor of the bike roar and disappear in the distance.

Paralyzed, Buffy stayed on the floor, staring into space. “I hope he’s not going to do something stupid,” she said.

“I don’t think so. He’s just completely shocked. Who wouldn’t be? The best thing for him now is to be alone. Process everything.”

Buffy glanced at the clock and realized it had been only 45 minutes since William had arrived.

“Are you ok?” Angel asked, worried at her expressionless face.

“No. But I’ll manage.”

“What do you want me to do? I can stay if you want me too, but if you wish to be alone…”

“Do you mind?” she asked with a weak smile.

He smiled back. “What? Staying or leaving?”

“Staying a bit. I had bought something for dinner, but I’m not hungry. If you want I can prepare…”

“I’m good. And I’ll stay as long as you need me. I’m there for you, Buffy.”

“I know,” she said, coming to sit beside him, putting her head on his shoulder.

“He just need some time,” Angel went on, trying to bring her some comfort. “It’s a lot to take in, but with time he’ll realize that it’s the past, and the future is what really counts. A future with you. Who would be stupid enough to reject that? Well, except me. But if he doesn’t see that, then he’s a jerk and you have nothing to do with him.”

She chuckled sadly. “Thank you.”

To take her mind off the evening’s events, Angel told her about Connor and the afternoon he had spend with him. He tried to make it look like a ‘report’ on Dawn’s boyfriend, but the truth was he needed to talk to someone about the boy. Even if Buffy was listening, he knew she had too much on her mind to really pay attention if he was speaking too warmly about a guy he supposedly barely knew.

Buffy’s stomach growled and he laughed. “You’re sure you don’t want to eat something?”

She shrugged. “I’m hungry, but I don’t have the courage to prepare someth…”

A knock on the door interrupted her. She jumped on her feet. “Oh God. It’s him.”

“I didn’t hear the motorbike,” Angel said, but Buffy was already at the door, opening it. William was indeed there.

“You came back,” she said with a wide smile, trying not to throw herself in his arms. “I’m so glad,” she smiled tenderly to him, but he didn’t reply.

Angel got up. “I’ll leave you two alone. William…if there’s anything, here’s my direct line,” he added, giving him a paper with his phone number.

William took it, mumbling a thanks. Angel awkwardly patted him on the shoulder, and gave a quick hug to Buffy. “Good luck,” he whispered in her ear.

“Thanks.”

And he was gone, leaving Buffy and William face to face in the hall. She didn’t dare to say anything.

Finally, he sighed and looked at her, leaning on the wall. “What did you do to me?”





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