Chapter 14 – Old Friends
Leaving the bus station in Los Angeles and hailing a cab, Buffy was relieved when one immediately stopped for her. Sunrise was approaching, and she really didn’t want to be on the receiving end of it. Giving the cab driver directions, she stared out the window as the buildings whizzed by. Paying the driver when he arrived at her destination, Buffy gathered her luggage and made her way to the old hotel. Passing through the doors, she noticed that the lobby was empty.
“Hello?”
Turning in a circle, Buffy set her luggage down on a nearby couch and pulled the cap off her head, letting her hair spill out around her shoulders, falling down her back in soft curls.
“Anyone here?” she called, running a hand through her hair to smooth its disheveled appearance.
Seeing a movement out of the corner of her eye, Buffy turned and offered a sheepish smile to the confused man in front of her. “Angel,” she said softly in greeting.
“Buffy…what’re you doing here?”
“I, uh, I kind of need a place to crash…for a while. Was hoping maybe you could help me with that.”
“Of course. I’m sorry, I just haven’t seen you in so long and…is something wrong?”
“It’s a long-”
“Buffy!”
Turning to one of the staircases, her eyes widened when she saw Cordelia Chase rushing toward her. “It’s been forever! How are you? What’s wrong?” she asked when she got close enough to see her swollen eyes and give her a hug.
Taken aback by Cordy’s friendly demeanor, Buffy was almost too stunned to answer. This was definitely not the same girl she’d last seen prancing around, pretending to be Angel’s secretary all those years ago. The years had aged her into a beautiful woman, and she seemed to have more compassion than she had ever shown Buffy in high school.
“It’s a long story.”
“Buffy needs a place to stay,” Angel spoke up.
“Well, of course you’re staying here. Angel, take her things up to a room.”
Smiling at the bossy demeanor, her discomfort eased, somewhat. ‘Some things never change.’
“Is something wrong with Angel?” she asked Cordy once the other vampire was out of hearing distance.
“Oh, you know Mr. Tall, Dark, and Broody. He always has to find something that’s bothering him. You’re usually number one on the list of things to brood about, so seeing you in the flesh after so long…”
“Me? Why me?”
“He killed you. Well, technically, anyway. And then he sired you, and he’s scared that you hold it against him.”
“I don’t,” Buffy replied, shaking her head. “It wasn’t him…it was Angelus. I’ve figured out the difference between the two.”
“Could you please tell him that? Because he’s been moaning about it for the last decade.”
“As soon as I get a good opportunity. So, how are things between you two?”
“Great,” Cordy said as she broke out in a bright smile. “Having the soul anchored is a major plus, and he tells me he loves me every chance he gets. A girl never gets tired of hearing that.”
“Yeah,” Buffy said, looking down at the floor, feeling the weight of the past few hours finally catch up with her. “I know.”
“Oh, Buffy! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to practically rub it in your face about me and Angel. It’s just been so long since you two were together, and I just forget sometimes.”
“Cordy, it’s okay. I-I wasn’t thinking about Angel. There’s someone else.”
“Well, that’s great, but…wait. If there’s someone else, why are you here?”
“That’s what I was wondering,” Angel said, reemerging from upstairs. “What’s going on, Buffy?”
Taking a deep breath, Buffy tried to calm her nerves before beginning. “I went back to Sunnydale a few months ago. I-I thought it would be a good idea to…help out the new Slayer. I met him, and we started patrolling together. Wesley is his Watcher, by the way,” she said with a small smile.
“Wesley!” Cordelia cried. “Oh my God, I haven’t thought about him in years! How is he?”
“He’s good. Much more laid back than he used to be. He’s definitely a much better Watcher now.”
“Anyway…” Angel prodded, trying to steer the girls away from the boy-talk.
Buffy and Cordy shared a small, knowing smile before she continued. “We got really close after a while...really close,” she said, emphasizing it the second time. “And another girl came along. Claims she’s a vampire with a soul,” she said, sharing a knowing look with Angel.
“But that’s impossible,” he said in disbelief.
“That’s what I said. I asked Wes to do some research on her and he came up with a big zero, except for her age. She’s not a Slayer, and she claims she was cursed…though we don’t know by who, and apparently, neither did she.”
“Sounds a little out of the ordinary,” Angel said.
“My thoughts exactly. Earlier tonight, the three of us split up when there were two vamp attacks in different areas. I got a group of five and was barely holding on. That’s when the vamps said the strangest thing. They said they were doing what they were paid to do, and that was to take out the Slayer…me…not Spike.”
“Spike?” Cordelia asked.
“He’s the new Slayer.”
“Hottie?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh yeah,” Buffy replied with a sigh.
“Can we get back on topic please?” Angel interrupted.
“Sorry. So anyway, I stake the vamps and go and punch this Cassidy chick, who, by the way, really deserved it since she can’t keep her hands off Spike, but he gets all defensive and doesn’t believe me when I tell him what I found out. So there I am, standing there in obvious physical pain, and he just…he just…”
She trailed off as her emotions caught up to her.
“Buffy,” Angel said softly. “I’m sure that he just didn’t know what to believe. You’ve only known him a few months, and-”
“Angel,” Cordy cut him off as she wrapped an arm around the tearful Slayer. “She loves him,” she said quietly.
“Oh,” he said, with a nod before his eyes widened. “Oh.”
“I just couldn’t stay,” she said in a strained whisper. “He was being all protective with her, just because I hit her. And I was standing there with broken bones, and he barely even looked at me.”
“You’re hurt?” they both asked simultaneously.
“I don’t know. My back still hurts, but that’s normal considering how recently it happened.”
Both Cordelia and Angel immediately turned her around, not listening to her feeble protests. Feeling Angel gently probing her back, she hissed in pain when he got closer to her hips as Cordy went to get a first aid kit.
“I think it’s fractured. Looks like you’ll be fine in a day or two with the accelerated healing, but it’ll probably swell later today.”
Cordelia reappeared with the kit and pulled out some cotton and alcohol. “You’ve got a cut on your head.”
Reaching up to her forehead and feeling the gash that resided there, she sighed heavily. “Great,” she mumbled. “Just add to my night.”
“Let Cordy clean that up, and then I’ll show you to your room.”
“Thanks, Angel,” she said with a soft smile. Wincing in pain, a moment later, as the alcohol burned her skin, she exhaled as the butterfly strips were put in place.
“All set,” Cordy said, cleaning up.
“Thanks, guys. And I promise not to be here very long. I just need to figure out what to do next.”
“Buffy, you’re welcome here as long as you want,” Cordy said.
“Thanks,” she replied with a grateful smile as she followed Angel up the stairs. Following him to a suite at the end of the hall, Buffy gasped when he opened the door. “It’s beautiful,” she said, taking in the room.
“Pretty much the only one that’s fit for staying in.”
“It’s perfect, thank you!” she said, turning and giving him a hug. She felt Angel tense at their close proximity and pulled away to look up into his eyes. “Angel…I want you to know…I don’t blame you for what happened.”
“For what happened?” he repeated.
“The whole happiness clause. It’s not like you let Angelus come out and play,” she continued as she went to sit on the bed.
Angel followed her, sitting down beside her. “Buffy, I never meant-”
“I know,” she said, cutting him off. “I know it wasn’t you. You had no control, and I’m really not mad. Besides…it’s not all bad being a vampire. I mean, the whole drinking blood thing still kind of wigs me out, but that’s life…or unlife, as the case may be.”
“Buffy, I tortured you-”
“Again, with the not being you who did it.”
“I…he raped you,” he said quietly, looking down at his hands.
“He did,” she said softly, nodding as she looked at her hands and tried not to remember the days that she was brutalized while chained to the bed. “But I’m strong,” she continued, trying not to let him see how the memories were affecting her. “I healed, and I know that there’s no chance of him doing it again. I forgive you, Angel. I figure I’m going to know you for the rest of my unlife. I need you as my friend…not as a stranger.”
“I still love you, Buffy,” he said softly. Buffy stayed quiet as he continued, “Not in the same way it used to be, but it’s there. I’m in love with Cordy, but I do still love you.”
“I know…believe me, I know.”
“Do you think you did the right thing? Leaving town, I mean?”
Buffy looked into his eyes, searching for something she was unsure of. “Did you do the right thing when you left me?”
“Different situation, Buffy.”
“Yeah. I don’t have an answer for you. I couldn’t stick around. He was the only person keeping me there, and the thought of losing him to her…I just thought it was better to be the first to let go.”
“You can stay here as long as you need to. Whenever you feel up to it, maybe you could help Cordy and me with some cases,” he said, standing to leave the room. “And Buffy, if you love this guy, maybe he is worth it.”
“Thank you,” she said with a grateful smile. “Good night, Angel.”
“Good night.”
* * * * *
Standing outside Wesley’s house, Spike banged on the door, breathing a sigh when it finally opened to reveal a very irritated man. “Buffy’s gone, Wes.”
“What are you talking about, William?”
“Gone…packed up her stuff and left!”
“Left town?”
“Bloody hell! I don’t know!”
“Calm down and tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know,” Spike said, dropping down to sit on the couch. “She got really paranoid about Cassidy planning an ambush on her and then got mad at me for defending her and took off. But, you wanna know the real kicker? I don’t know why I defended her. Every part of me wanted to chase after Buffy, and I couldn’t. I physically couldn’t, Wes, and I didn’t even realize something was wrong until about an hour ago. I need to know what’s going on.”
“Oh dear, I was afraid of this.”
“What do you mean you were afraid of this?” Spike yelled, rising angrily from his position.
“Will, Buffy’s been worried about how close you’ve been getting to Cassidy. She doesn’t trust her, and she asked me to do some research on her.
“And?”
“Nothing came up. And believe me when I say nothing. She’s about sixty years old, give or take a few years, and other than that, it’s as if she doesn’t exist. I don’t think Cassidy is even her real name. I think she may be using some type dark magic to get you to trust her...to build some type of relationship with her.”
“Are you saying I’ve been under some kind of spell this whole time?”
“No. Not necessarily the whole time, just whenever you’re in close proximity with Cassidy. You still want to be with Buffy, don’t you?”
“You know I do,” Spike growled. “She’s gone, Wesley, and it’s all my fault, because I’m not strong enough to tell this chit to bugger off.”
“William, you wouldn’t have control over your actions. You need to be very careful. This kind of magic is what got the slayer, Kendra, killed. Although, the vampire that used it on her appears to be much more advanced than Cassidy, since you were obviously alone with her last night and you’re still alive.”
“She tried to get me to stay,” he mumbled softly, before turning his eyes to his Watcher’s. “Last night, she tried to get me to stay longer, but I knew I had to get to Buffy.”
“She’s a novice. If it is a thrall, she can only hold on to it for short periods of time. It was probably fading at the time she asked you to stay.”
Collapsing onto the couch again, Spike’s head fell into his hands as he tried to keep control over his emotions. “I have to find Buffy, Wesley. She thinks I willingly picked Cassidy over her. Bloody hell, I need some kind of resistance to this magic,” his muffled voice said. “Whatever mojo she’s worked on me, I defended the bint for crying out loud,” his voice getting louder as he looked up with bloodshot eyes.
“I think you already have a resistance.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re in love with Buffy. No matter what you might be saying out loud, you know that you’re in love with her and that helps protect you.”
“I can’t lose her.”
“William…she may already be lost,” Wesley said gently.
“She bloody well isn’t! Find her, Wesley!”
“Will, if she doesn’t want to be found-”
“I don’t soddin’ care what she wants. She has to know what really happened. I need her Wesley…find her.” Storming out of the house, Spike slammed the door behind him. He felt lost without Buffy, and he had only been without her for a few hours.
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