Part 12
Cordelia entered the graveyard. Damn’t, Buffy said she was going patrolling tonight before going to the Bronze. Why wasn’t she here doing this?
Right, because the visions came to Cordy-vision girl. Cordelia was getting mad. The Powers had to know she didn’t have her warrior to tell the vision too, so why bother. For higher beings, they sucked.
Cordelia silenced her angry sigh and continued walking scanning the area for her victims.
She paused, seeing the two kids, grouping like there was no tomorrow. Then again maybe they knew something she didn’t. “Get the hell out of here.”
“Cordelia Chase?” The young girl blinked. “You’re Cordelia Chase.” The girl said with some awe.
Great. That’s all Cordelia needed-Freshmen. “Go on, get out. Necking should be done in the back seat of a car, not a graveyard. Don’t you’ll know anything? Now go.”
“But they’re our dinner.” A voice drifted through the night.
Cordelia swirled as two vampires appeared from behind a larger monuments built to honor one of the town’s founding fathers.
“Get a pizza.” Cordelia placed herself between the young couple and the vampires. She was relieved when she heard the girl scream and the sound of pounding feet leaving the area.
“Oh, are you the delivery person? I’m okay with that.”
“Pfft.” Cordelia turned, trying to keep the vamp that had remained silent in her line of sight as he started to creep around.
Cordelia felt the air swoosh and then felt strong arms grab her. She spun, using the kick Angel had taught her. The vampire fell back as the other one decided to shut up and charge.
Cordelia swung with her fist, yanking out her spritzers, stinging the vampire in the eyes with the holy water. She quickly pulled her stake from the back of her pants and lunged.
She had less than a second to congratulate herself on the dust pile, when she was tackled. Cordelia squirmed, trying to keep her neck from the vampire.
The vampire yanked at Cordelia’s collar, fangs preparing to plunge when he jerked up.
“You’ve been marked.” The vamp sniffed. His yellow eyes’ widened. “Shit, Sorry. Please don’t tell, okay. I’ll just be going.” The vampire got up immediately, pulling Cordelia to her feet, brushing at her jacket in an apologetic manner.
“There’s no reason to mention this, it was an honest mistake, word’s not out on you. Didn’t know he claimed a mortal. If I had known you belonged to him, I wouldn’t ever have tried to bite you. No way. Don’t tell, please. You might want to tell him though to make his mark a little bigger, you know more apparent, or let us know, get the word out, you know, or at least maybe you could wear lower cut shirts, just so we know right at the get go, just some suggestions to avoid this type of thing happening in the future, you know. I’m very sorry, please don’t tell,” the vampire nodded backing up.
Cordelia swung and kicked, “And the word’s not getting out on me, you dead moron, you know,” she added as her stake plunged into his chest.
Well that was very interesting. Angelus moved out from behind the trees staring at the young woman, stuffing her weapon back in her pocket, and then pulling at the collar of her shirt and jacket. Not only could Cordelia Chase fight much better than she let on, she was hiding a vampire’s mark, not a bite, but a mark.
Angelus thought about what he knew about the Xander-ass’s girlfriend, she hated all that was vampire, yet, she let her self be marked. He couldn’t believe that, some vampire must have just taken her.
Angelus narrowed his eyes. Whose mark could’ve scared that vamp off so quickly? Angelus was the only one that could scare the heebie jeebies out of the idiot dead of this town. If there was a new player snacking about Angelus needed to know. He moved quickly.
“Cordelia” he drew her name out in a mocking tone,” full of little nasty secrets aren’t you?” Angelus grinned as the girl stilled, fear erupting through her blood. His eyes narrowed again as the fear was shoved down and the teenager stared him straight in the eyes.
“Angelus, full of shit, aren’t you? Go fuck with your blonde obsession’s head, be a dear and go, I’ve had a bad night.” Cordelia smirked. And as soon as her words left her mouth, she cringed. Damn, she should’ve screamed and not talked.
Angelus studied the girl, remaining rooted to his spot, too interested at the woman’s increase of fear, to anger, to fear and now back to anger but this time the anger seemed to be directed inward rather at him.
Okay. Cordelia could fix this. She yelled to the high heavens and took off running.
Angelus started. He took off catching the girl before she got ten feet.
“It was worth a shot.” She glared, her tongue refusing to follow the plan of her brain. “Do I have to remind you that I am not worth killing? Buffy wouldn’t shed a tear, we aren’t really friends.”
“You’ve been hiding yourself, haven’t you Cordelia. Stronger than you act, less disgusted by my kind. You’ve been fibbing all this time, let’s see who’s had a taste.” Angelus’ free hand went to the collar of her shirt.
Cordelia just reacted. She kicked the vampire in the balls.
Angelus staggered back, growling into his knees. Damn that hurt. He was going to kill her.
Angelus caught the running girl again, slamming her up against a cement mausoleum. “Do that again you’re dead. I just want to ask you a question.”
Cordelia snorted. She stared at the vampire, his brutal strength squeezing her shoulders, his presence unmovable. She smirked. Angel taught her this. She swung bending her elbows, snapping the side of her palms against Angelus’ throat. She grunted in satisfaction as the vampire fell.
She turned hearing her name shouted. Christ. She looked down at the vampire staggering to get to his feet. “Get out of here or your girlfriend is going to kill you. Damn’t, Angel, get up and run.” She begged, pulling at the vampire’s heavy weight.
“Cordy? Oh god, Angelus has her.” Xander’s yell floated in the air.
“Xander, it’s okay,” Buffy at full speed.
“You said it would give me 3 seconds, it’s been at least five. Get up, throw me across the goddamn graveyard and run.” Cordelia turned to the stunned vampire.
“Dumb ass.” Cordelia said lowly, then turned and screamed. “Help me, Xander. Angelus tried to kill me.” She wailed at the top of her lungs. “Get out of here, you asshole,” she whispered to the vampire and turned, “Buffy, thank god,” Cordelia grabbed onto Buffy blocking her path to Angelus.
Angelus jumped. He didn’t know what was going on, but whatever it was he didn’t feel up to fighting Buffy just then.
Buffy disentangled herself from Cordelia, “Damn it get off me. Where’d he go?” she shouted.
“That way. Didn’t you see him? Geez, some great slayer sense you got there.” Cordelia turned as Xander ran up.
“Xander.” She wailed throwing herself in his arms. “I almost died.”
“Shush, Cordy, it’s okay, Buffy’s here.”
“Right, the great little Miss Slayette let him go again.” She blinked at the blonde that was canvassing the area trying to find the vampire.
Buffy swirled. “I could’ve gotten him if you hadn’t thrown yourself in my way. What are you doing here?”
Cordelia gulped. “I was feeling better and wanted to meet Xander at the Bronze, if it’s any of your business.”
“Like that? Here?” Buffy pointed to Cordelia’s casual way too casual outfit.
“Fashion is a ever changing thing, know it, learn it Summers and you just might be presentable.” Cordelia hmmphed and turned. “Should I even ask you to walk me back to my car.” She pouted to Xander, pulling her hair down from its ponytail spreading the long locks, hiding the skin that her collars didn’t.
Xander looked from the fuming slayer and to his waiting girlfriend. God, Cordy had gotten even better at doing that pouty seductive look.
Angelus growled as watched from the tree branches above. His golden eyes focused on the brunette that latched her self onto the moron, acting helpless. She was a fake. He licked his lips as her dark hair tumbled past her shoulders, further securing the marks on her neck from view.
Fool the moron, but couldn’t fool him. Buffy and her gang of little fighters didn’t have a clue who Cordelia really was. Angelus didn’t either, but he thought maybe it was time for him to find out.
***
“Cordy?” Xander asked.
“Um.”
“Are you all right? That was Angelus.” Xander whispered anxiously.
“Yeah.” Cordelia leaned up against her car, her eye watching the corners of the darkness for sight of the vampire. Damn. She’d screwed up. The only thing she could hope was that Angelus’ obsession with Buffy would distract him from any interest in the scene he witnessed earlier.
Right and she was buying the Brooklyn Bridge tomorrow.
“Cordy?”
Cordelia turned to her teenage old boyfriend, gently cupping his face. “Thank you for saving me, you’re really a wonderful person for a dork.” She gently kissed him on the lips.
Xander stood motionlessly as Cordy’s car drove off. He’d hoped for some major tongue gratitude and instead he got a sweet caring kiss that rocked him too his toes. He closed his eyes, his finger touching his lips. He could love that girl that just left him.
He turned as Buffy and Willow ran up to him. Xander smiled at his best friends.
“She just left?”
Xander nodded.
“She yelled at you, didn’t she? Damn her, what was she doing out here in the first place?” Buffy grouched. “Did you see what she was wearing?”
Xander blinked. “She didn’t yell, Cordy thanked me.” He gave another dazed smile and walked away from the cemetery.
Angelus dropped from the trees. Okay. That was sickening. What did he know about Cordelia Chase? And why hadn’t he ever noticed that she had legs that went on forever and a body that made men cry….and thick dark rich hair, that begged to have fingers entangled in its mass.
Angelus frowned. He didn’t like brunettes, did he? That question was washed away with the need to know what vampire touched and claimed her.
Part 13
Cordelia leaned on her bed. She’d bet dollars to doughnuts and the end of the world that she messed up earlier with Angelus.
She incapacitated him and then saved him. But she couldn’t let him see the marks and she couldn’t take the chance that Buffy would kill him, either. Whether he remembers who she was or not, she was noticed and that wasn’t a good thing.
Cordelia groaned. She was beginning to think the best thing to do was just leave Sunnydale. Once out of sight, Angelus’ momentary notice would be focused back on Buffy. And history could go on. Cordelia could hide out in LA for the next couple of years, then go to Margo’s party, and ‘run’ into Angel.
There wasn’t much that she had done to help or save anyone in her last years of high school. And she could avoid the literally painful break up with Xander. That hadn’t seemed to effect Xander all that much, so what would it hurt to miss out on that little drama and well, she wasn’t the only student that helped blow up the school.
Sure, Cordelia guessed that she had driven the Scoobies around alot. But if that were all it was, she’d leave Xander her car. He could be the Scooby chauffer.
Her parents, shoot, she could just call them and tell them that she wanted to finish school in LA or somewhere. They wouldn’t care and the money would run out soon enough. She would be alone. So what? She wouldn’t be once the time came to meet up with Angel.
Granted, she did not want to live through Doyle’s death, the everlasting vision trip, Dennis’ mom, the demon babies, and etc. again, but she could because in the end she would be with Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Fred and Lorne, wouldn’t she?
She startled at the sharp tap at her window. Against Cordelia’s better judgment she stood, pushing aside the curtains and opening the window. “What do you want?”
Angelus perched on the railing of the non-functional ornamental balcony. “You don’t seem that surprised to see me.”
Cordelia stared coldly at the vampire, clutching her robe closer to her neck. “That’s not really answering my question now is it?”
Angelus hopped down, standing on the narrow ledge provided. “You’re not scared of me, why? Who protects you?”
Cordelia stared at the handsome face then started to laugh, tears falling as the gasps left her throat. “Scared of you? Yeah, reassure yourself- I am. Who protects me? Oh god that one’s priceless.” She laughed, brushing away the tears, trying to calm herself.
Angelus growled. “You are marked, who did it.”
Cordelia gulped, the laugher dripping once again from her lips.
“Shut up.”
Cordelia coughed, brushing her hand against her eyes. “Sorry, that just is really…funny…and ironic coming from you.” Cordelia shook her head regaining her composure. “Did you want something or are you just here to make my night.”
“You’re crazy.”
Cordelia started to laugh again raising her hand as she tried to calm herself again. “More with the funnies and the ironic stuff. You got to stop pushing my buttons or I’ll pee in my pants.”
Angelus showed his demon.
“Oooh scary, be even scarier if you could get to me. But, oh well, eek,” Cordelia wiped the last of her laugher away, she didn’t care anymore, she had decided, she would run and catch up with Angel later.
“You aren’t what you seem. I saw you. You can fight. That little trick to the neck is only known by vampire hunters.”
“Or vampires that have been hunted.”
“The one that marked you, who? Who is in my town? Who took you?”
“Took me?” Cordelia repeated indignantly. “No one ‘took’ me. I gave myself. Met a dangerously sexy vampire, blew me away. Really not much choice, just had to have him, he felt the same.”
“Who?” Angelus growled leaning up as far as he good before the invisible barrier stopped him.
Cordelia leaned close, licking her lips. “A magnificent vampire that is capable of extraordinary acts, beautiful, mine.”
Angelus leaned back. “ I will know your secrets.” He growled jumping.
Cordelia looked out into the darkness. “You already do, just as I know yours. God, I hate you so much Angelus, will you ever just leave us in peace to be happy” her sad voice choking finally in the sobs she had wanted to cry.
Angelus stood as the teenagers crying words floated down. He really didn’t understand, but he would.