36: April Fools Dress Shop, Main Street, Westside Sunnydale
Closing time had finally arrived. From his vantage point across the street, Angel watched the lights go out in the April Fools dress shop at precisely the top of the hour. He’d gotten here just after nightfall and started to check out the security of the building. There was an alley behind it shared by a row of neighboring businesses, but the steel door leading from the shop was locked.
Satisfied that no one would be able to get in that way without making a hell of a lot of noise, Angel had moved around to the main street and found a shadowy spot from which to keep an eye on Cordelia. He could see her through the glass, although the mannequins from the window display kept blocking his view as she flitted around in the store clearing up merchandise.
When she finally emerged, Cordelia paused at the door, “Goodnight, Mrs. Finkle,” before taking off in the direction of the school.
Angel followed from a short distance, his pace leisurely in comparison to hers, but close enough to get there almost instantly if trouble arose. He did not really expect it tonight. Considering the thrashing he’d given Spike, he knew it would take at least another day for him to recover. As long as Spike remained bedridden, Dru was not likely to leave his side.
Despite that, Angel had maintained a vigil outside Cordelia’s grandmother’s house last night. He should have been tracking down his wayward childe instead, but he could not leave. After everything that Cordy told him, he found himself plagued by stirring feelings that had no business coming between them.
She was beautiful, vulnerable and the demon in him yearned to take advantage. That pathetic story melted his heart and roused his deepest male instincts. Angel wanted her safe and needed her close, but that frightened the hell out of him. He told himself that any real friend would want the same. To be certain that no one harmed her, especially if that someone might turn out to be him.
He knew Cordelia would probably call him a dumbass for hanging back this way instead of walking with her, but he needed the space. Somehow, she had crept into his life. Correction: barged in. One day all he could think about was Buffy and his own miserable existence. The next he was eating French fries and sitting beside Cordy at the movie theater.
It was Buffy’s fault, he decided. If she had not insisted that Cordy team up with him he would have remained perfectly happy in his own misery. Now he could not stop thinking about her infectious smile or the way his body had ached longingly at the feel of hers sprawled across him. The pain from his injuries had been nothing next to his need to plum the warmth of her mouth, to kiss her breathless.
Buffy had not even been a secondary thought in that moment. Not for him anyway. He wondered if that was what held Cordy back.
Unless the thought of kissing him was repulsive to her, Angel mused rather dejectedly, shadowing her along the sidewalk. He was a vampire, not some pimply-faced beatnik from the football team. The things he could do to her with a simple kiss would have her trembling in those high-heeled designer shoes.
Smirking at that thought, Angel stared down at her polished pink toenails as they peeked up at him from her strappy little sandals. Then it occurred to him that not only had Cordy stopped walking, she was now facing him. He heard the clearing of her throat. One foot started tapping against the pavement. Slowly, Angel let his gaze follow the length of her bare legs, up past the little figure-hugging dress to meet hers.
“You’re late,” Cordelia told him flailing her arms wide before propping her hands on her hips. “I thought you were going to meet me at the store.”
Angel closed the distance between them coming to a halt just inches away. Hands in his pockets, he resisted the urge to reach out and run his fingers through her wind-blown hair. Even now, it fluttered around her face teasing him with glimpses of her throat.
“Kinda hard to be my bodyguard if you’re not actually around to guard it,” Cordy huffed, but nudged his shoulder playfully with her fingertips.
Wondering idly what he had done to call her attention to him, he told her, “I’ve been here all along, watching you.”
“Yeah, I think that’s what set off my Spidey-senses.” Angel’s confusion earned him loud snort of amusement and eventually an explanation, “Major paranoia alert. It happens whenever I’m being stalked by big, broody vampires,” her brows arched high and then lowered as she added thoughtfully, “or certain members of the A-V Club.”
Maybe it was actually sarcasm rather than an explanation.
“What, no excuses?” she asked when he said nothing. “I suppose you prefer the creepy stalker mode to actually keeping me company.”
Angel shrugged. “It has its benefits.” The view, for one, he thought.
Now shaking her head as if she thought that was not a legitimate answer, she sounded out a soft, “Pfft! “You really need to focus on your social skills.”
“I’m a vampire,” he commented dryly. “I don’t need social skills. When it comes to people I get into two modes: bite and avoid.”
She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, a natural little move that seemed both casual, yet strangely intimate at the same time. “Not an option here, buddy, just in case you get ideas,” Cordy teased softly.
Angel hastily tried to reassure her, “I wouldn’t do that.”
“Avoid me? Pfft! Pull the other one.”
Either she had not noticed him ogling her or it was not worth pointing out. Cordelia had to be used to men staring. As long as his hands did not automatically wander over the soft curves his eyes had been exploring, Angel figured he might manage to avoid a vicious tongue-lashing.
“I’m excited about tonight.” Cordy’s enthusiasm for patrol surprised him. Then it occurred to him that this was not supposed to be a typical patrol. Not if he recalled the research appropriately, which he knew he did. The thought of stargazing in the line of duty actually had a lot of appeal considering the company.
That was one reason Angel regretted what he was about to say. It was also why he had to catch up with Cordy anyway. Now that they had reached the cut-off for the school, it was time to tell her about his plan for the night. Angel knew she was not going to like hearing it.
“You’re not going on patrol,” he said firmly as he came to a halt at the corner.
Cordelia yanked her hand away from his arm and stepped back, staring with a mix of shock and anger. Temper flaring hotly, “Since when are you the boss of me?”
“Spike and Dru are still out there,” he responded evenly. Figuring tonight was safe enough did not mean he should allow them time to recover and to plan for another attack. “I didn’t have a chance to check out their whereabouts last night.”
“I know why you’re doing this, Angel, but that doesn’t give you the right to try to push me around.” The look of disappointment on her face eclipsed her sudden anger. She sighed dramatically, “So much for your surprise.”
A long beat followed with Cordelia staring up into his eyes breaking down every shred of resolve. Dammit, how did she do that? The spark of curiosity burning in the pit of his stomach rose up to his throat as the question, “Surprise?” popped out of his mouth.
“Pfft! Like I’m even going to tell you now.” Cordy crossed her arms and glanced away, the stubborn set of her jaw indicating she was not likely to budge.
Angel knew when he was being manipulated. The question was in whether he was going to let her get away with it. “Vampires don’t like surprises.”
Cordy peeped at him from the shadowy frame of her lashes. “Huh.”
“Maybe it’s just me,” Angel conceded. “I don’t like surprises.”
“Then you shouldn’t come with me to Bev’s house,” Cordy warned and he noticed that she did not call it home. “It might be too unpleasant an experience. Faith can take me.”
“We’re halfway there. I’ll walk you home,” Angel started to head in that direction only to stop after taking two steps.
Calling out over her shoulder, Cordy told him, “Nope. Faith or forget it. I can walk myself home if necessary.”
“Okay,” Angel’s voice rumbled into a soft growl. “Faith is probably with the others at the library. We’ll stop there first.”
Seeing the triumphal sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her lips, Angel walked back to her side. Despite his irritation that Cordy was not instantly submitting to his better judgment, part of him liked that she did not. Bending her to his will was a deliciously tempting thought, a frisson of surprise shooting through him as he imagined doing so.
His hand wrapped around her slim upper arm to tug her closer. With his mouth brushing against her ear, he added, “Don’t think I won’t check to see if you’re where you’re supposed to be.”
“You’re Dru’s ‘daddy’, not mine. Go check on her if you want to,” Cordelia tried to pull out of his grasp. It was not bruising, but he did not let her pull away. Not until she had stopped struggling and then he gently released her, his open hand stroking down her arm before dropping to his side.
That defiant spark in her eyes only alerted Angel to the fact that he really did not want submissiveness from Cordy. The instant images in his head roused him until his body throbbed with it. What he did want left him aching and suffused with guilt. Angel figured he had no business wanting anything from Cordy. He should just take their friendship and forget about this misplaced lust.
Angel did his best to present a blank stare instead of the sudden hunger he felt, focusing on her eyes instead of her lips. Inwardly trying to temper his body’s reaction, he was grateful that the length of his coat hid the damning evidence from her view.
When Angel did not say anything in response to her little rant, Cordy suggested, “We could stay for the rest of Giles’ meeting. Don’t you want to know if he found out anything new about our Big Bad?”
She had a point. Angel was interested in discovering whether Giles had been able to use the obelisk to further his research. It would not hurt to stay for a short while in order to get an update on the situation.
“The meeting won’t last long,” Angel nodded, indicating that it would not cause too much of a delay in his plans. “But I’m taking you home afterward.”
After a short pause, Cordy relented, “Okay.”
Upon reflection that seemed far too easy, but Angel was content to let it go for now. He reached down for her hand to tuck it back in the crook of his elbow. Her fingers shifted along his leather sleeve before settling in one spot.
Together, they walked the rest of the way to the school managing to refrain from further arguments about whether or not Cordelia would get to go on patrol. Angel listened to her chatter about her day and her life of ‘servitude’ under Mrs. Finkle’s watchful eye. He said little, but hung on every word.
“Thank God we’re here. These shoes are so not made for walking across town,” Cordy groaned in relief when they arrived at the school grounds. “I really miss my car.”
Angel asked about the Plymouth. “You couldn’t borrow it again?”
“My grandmother uses it during the week,” she explained. “Besides, I don’t have time to walk to Bev’s house after school and still get to work on time.”
She had told him that her grandmother lived on her Social Security check and little else. Beverly Quinn had never taken a cent from her daughter even during the days when the Chase family was rolling in money. Bev did have one weakness, though. “Wednesday is her bingo night, but I can pretty much use it any other night.”
He sounded almost eager asking, “Really? That car has such great lines.”
Angel automatically pushed open the library door, but his attention was still on her as they walked in. Still holding onto his arm, Cordy smacked her free hand against his shoulder. “Dork, you won’t get your hands on my chassis that easily.”
“But I like your—,” Angel stopped at the sudden sound of Giles clearing his throat.
Glancing over, he saw the Watcher standing at the head of the research table, his glasses halfway down his nose as he peered over them with a peevish expression. Angel realized they had interrupted his speech. Next to him, Cordelia snorted softly.
“Hi Giles! Sorry we’re late. Unavoidable,” she explained as her hand slipped down Angel’s sleeve to capture his hand. With a tug, Cordy dragged Angel toward their usual spot on the stairs.
Angel followed, but his gaze had moved on to Buffy who looked like she just swallowed a lemon. Her green eyes bugged out, irises surrounded by a sea of white, mouth drawn into a tightly puckered circle. Was it the fact that Cordelia had touched him, that they walked in together, or something he’d said that set off that pinched look? Whatever it was, Buffy clearly did not like it.
Slowly, her tight expression evened out. Licking her lips, she commented, “Angel, it’s so good of you to bring Cor along. We’ve been talking about the fact that it’s not safe for her with Dru and Spike in town.”
Clearly, Giles and Faith had brought the others up to speed on Drusilla’s threats. “I’ll deal with that. We came for an update. Any luck with the obelisk?” he asked Giles.
“No,” Buffy answered for him, clearly not ready to give up Angel’s attention. “The stone is still buried. When we got to the church last night there was a crowd at the ruins.”
Giles told him, “The pastor and several parishioners had gathered to assess the damage making any attempt at an excavation impossible.”
“Did they find it?” Cordelia asked.
It was Faith that answered, “Nope. They were too busy sifting through the church rubble to bother with the cemetery.”
“That won’t be the case for long,” Angel felt certain.
“That’s why Faith and I will be going back tonight,” Giles straightened up, pushing his glasses back into place. “I need to make a thorough study of that obelisk in order to narrow down the possibilities concerning the demon’s identity. The rest of you will be assigned to follow-up on tonight’s event.”
Angel rose from his spot on the stairs. “Actually, I won’t be doing that tonight. I need to get a lead on Spike and Dru.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to look for them after patrol,” Giles suggested. “I need two teams on the job. Sunnydale’s topography is such that the sky must be viewed from two separate locations to see the whole of it. Considering the current situation, I would rather not reorganize the groups tonight. Faith and I will be working at Trinity Cemetery.”
The prophecy was vague about tonight’s event. It claimed the sky would signal the identity of another sacrifice, but no specifics on how this would be done. It might be a flash of lightning, mystical event, or random stellar phenomenon.
“Tonight’s the sky thing?” Xander actually sounding relieved, “You mean this isn’t the one where we have to go to the zoo? I don’t like that place anymore.”
Buffy dragged her gaze away from Angel long enough to comment, “I thought you didn’t remember anything about those hyenas.”
“Uh—,” Xander glanced over at Giles looking a little desperate.
“I’m certain he doesn’t,” Giles spoke up. Redirecting the subject back to tonight’s assignments, he wanted to make certain that Angel was going to follow through with his appointed task. “One group will stake out Saunder’s Field,” he informed them. The field was a large gathering spot for townspeople who used it to view the annual Independence Day fireworks. “And the other will be at Shady Hill.”
Though Angel wasn’t happy about the delay, Giles obviously thought it necessary. “I’ll take the hill. It’s in our territory,” he nodded toward Cordelia.
“Angel doesn’t want me tagging along,” Cordy pointed out as she rose to her feet. Walking past him, she headed over to the table, sitting on the edge next to Faith. Noting the Slayer’s amused expression, Cordelia told her, “I’m not exactly stay at home gal. Thumb twiddling is not in the Cordelia Chase handbook.”
Faith offered, “Then come with Giles and me.”
“And crawl through the dirt to dig up some old stone thingy?” Cordelia scrunched up her nose. “I don’t think so.”
Angel’s thunderous expression diminished slightly until Willow suggested, “Cordy, you can come with us if you want to. It’ll be fun. The four of us sitting out there in that big old field waiting for something to happen.”
That sounded about as exciting as watching clothes drying. Buffy did not look thrilled with the idea, but wasn’t opposed to anything that gave Angel a night off from Cordelia. Those two had looked a little too friendly when they arrived. “You should stick with us.”
A strangely smug feeling hit Angel as he told himself he knew exactly how Cordy would respond to the offer. There was no way in hell she’d set herself up to spend hours alone with Buffy, Xander and Willow. Since that would be her last option, she would have no choice but to do as he wanted.
“Okay,” Cordelia accepted the offer contrary to his belief. “I’d feel safer with a Slayer around, anyway, just in case Angel’s wacko relatives decide to show up.”
Stunned, Angel could not believe she was saying that. He glared at her from across the room until she turned her gaze to his. Those hazel eyes drew him forward like a magnet glittering with defiance, curiosity and a hint of excitement. Her glossy lips were pursed into a smug little smile that he wanted to wipe away with his mouth.
Without really thinking about it, Angel moved swiftly. He was in front of her, hands on either side of her thighs, delighting in the sharp gasp she breathed in at his sudden closeness. Offended by the idea that Cordy thought she needed to have a Slayer around, Angel needed to know whether that was really how she felt. “You think I can’t protect you?”
“You obviously don’t think so,” Cordy answered slowly. “Otherwise you wouldn’t want me to stay away from you.”
Blurting, “That’s not…,” Angel’s voice trailed off. “Fine.”
“Fine?”
“You can come to Shady Hill,” he told her and inwardly cringed at her squeal of delight. Cordy flung her arms around his shoulders, squeezed tight and then gave him a strong push as she jumped down from the table. “It should be safe enough, but you’re not coming with me after that. I don’t want Dru or Spike anywhere near you.”
“Yeah, well that’s one thing we do agree on, big guy,” she patted his shoulder.
Faith held up a hand for a high five. “I guess my time wasn’t wasted, after all, Cor.” She added a wink.
“What are you talking about?” snapped Buffy.
“Nothing,” Cordelia and Faith answered back instantly.
Angel was a little confused about it too, but Buffy’s reaction got his attention. He had sensed it when he first came in with Cordelia. She was jealous of Cordy. And that meant her feelings for him weren’t completely dead. Those big eyes were full of hurt and anger when he looked at her, but they both stood their ground.
Guilt stabbed deeply as he felt Cordelia’s hand on his arm, but was it because he enjoyed Buffy’s jealous reaction or that he wanted Cordy’s touch? Hell, he wanted more than that. Just the thought of it made him want to roar. His hand found the curve of her waist, fingers splaying wide.
Cordy seemed a little surprised when he touched her, but did not pull away. “If I’m going on patrol, I really do need to stop by the house. This dress wasn’t designed to survive grass stains.”