After a thorough sweep of the Bronze including the upper level, Buffy concluded there were no obvious prophetic signs to be found. Willow explored the game room and didn\u2019t see anything unusual. Nor did Xander after scoping out the bar area. They met up back at their favorite table and waited for something to happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wonder if Cordelia ever showed up,\u201d Xander commented as he fingered through the bowl of peanuts he had acquired from the bar.<\/p>\n
Buffy shrugged. \u201cAngel can handle it on his own. I can\u2019t exactly see Cor fitting in at Willy\u2019s place anyway, so it\u2019s probably for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could have let her come with us,\u201d Willow surprised Buffy with the suggestion. \u201cShe probably knows the Bronze better than we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frowning and confused, Buffy fiddled with her drink straw. \u201cWouldn\u2019t that make you uncomfortable? Her being here, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe a little,\u201d admitted Willow. Shrugging, she glanced over at Xander. A pink tinge brightened her cheeks as she explained, \u201cI just want to put all of this past us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buffy was trying to help with that. She had made the mistake of not being able to say no when Cordelia demanded to come back. Now Plan B was in the works. It was not a sure thing, but Cor\u2019s constant tardiness was working to their advantage tonight. \u201cThat would be easier if she wasn\u2019t here. You could just forget about her. Move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cForget Cordelia?\u201d Xander let out an angsty chuckle. \u201cImpossible even if I wanted to, which I don\u2019t. I screwed up big-time, Buffy. Will and I\u2014 I don\u2019t know what we were thinking, but I like having Cordelia around.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you fight all of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
He just grinned. \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buffy sipped at her drink for a minute as she thought about everything her two friends had said. Putting it down, she propped her chin against her hand as she leaned against the table. \u201cWould you be mad if she quit?\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Willow who spoke up because Xander was too busy sniggering at the idea. \u201cTrust me, Buffy, you\u2019ll quit before she does. After the Homecoming Queen thing, I would\u2019ve thought you\u2019d understand how persistent she can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue,\u201d Buffy reluctantly conceded, but laughed at the adjoining thought, \u201cand I\u2019ve never seen anyone wield a spatula like she can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe they were right, she decided. Cordelia was back and it was not up to her to kick her out again. Especially after being the one who let her come back in the first place. As long as Xander & Willow were happy, she was happy, too.<\/p>\n
If only it was that easy to fix things with Angel.<\/p>\n
Scene 18<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe can cruise the strip or cop a squat and wait to see what happens,\u201d Faith told Giles when he pulled his car into a narrow parking slot along Main Street. \u201cYour call, Mr. G.\u201d<\/p>\n Giles cringed at the informal shortening of his name, but said nothing. He knew from experience that it would not get him very far. Faith seemed to be a bit of a wildcard, more so than Buffy had ever been. He was in no way certain how to handle her. She did not play by the rules and had a chip on her shoulder.<\/p>\n His reports to the Watcher\u2019s Council had been met with some grumbling and a warning to keep the girl in line. Not bloody likely, but he was going to give it his best shot. The fact that she was cooperating now was a positive sign in itself.<\/p>\n Concerns about Buffy and Angel\u2019s return from Acathla\u2019s hell dimension had sidetracked him for a while from Faith\u2019s training. For a while, everything seemed to be spinning out of his control. Not the least of which was his lack of focus after losing Jenny.<\/p>\n This pending apocalypse and its dark auguries might bring about the end of the world as they know it, but it provided a welcome task at a time when they all seemed to need it the most. He lauded Buffy\u2019s suggestion to a greater number of teams, though he was almost certain there were underlying motives behind it.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Angel & Cordelia had been successful in retrieving the relic last night. He had taken it home afterward for further study and it now occupied a spot on his dining room table. Some preliminary research was promising in narrowing down the identity of the demonic demigod of the prophecy.<\/p>\n As for the here and now, Giles decided to let Faith follow her instincts. He had a feeling it would not involve waiting around for anything and he was right. Faith opted for stretching their legs a bit. \u201cMain Street is only three miles long. We can check out the hot spots easier if we\u2019re on foot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAgreed,\u201d Giles said as he got out of the car. Reaching into the back seat to pull out the duffel back containing their weapons and supplies, he added, \u201cI suggest we focus on the area beginning at the corner of Main & Thousand Oaks leading toward the university. The campus and its dorms may be a likely spot.\u201d<\/p>\n That would take them from the Doublemeat Palace, past the movie theater, a couple of bars, St. Mary\u2019s Church, and a few other late-night businesses toward the northwest end of town where the university took up a large section of property outside US101.<\/p>\n Faith shut the car door with a slam and stretched her arms above her head, interlacing her fingers, pressing palms upward until her knuckles popped. She flashed a dimpled smile at Giles, \u201cLet\u2019s hope we run into trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Scene 19<\/strong><\/p>\n Now that the bar fight was over and everything had settled down, Cordelia could see that Willy\u2019s was actually a hopping place for a demon hangout. There were several types of demons she could identify right away. Most of the vampires were relaxed and in game face, but others kept to their human features.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s weird,\u201d she told Angel as they sat side by side at their table. \u201cThey\u2019re playing pool and poker and some are dancing. The music sucks, but hey, you can\u2019t have everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Angel obviously was not getting her point. He quirked his head questioningly and went back to scanning the room.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many of them. And it looks like most of them are just hanging out with their buddies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot all demons are violent,\u201d Angel told her. \u201cYour experience with non-humans hasn\u2019t exactly given you the full picture. Sunnydale tends to attract the worst of the lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Snorting, Cordelia totally agreed. \u201cThe grabby-handed creepazoid being a good example of worst. He touched me. Then I jumped on him and now that I think about it\u2026.eew! When I get home I\u2019m gonna have to scrub myself all over. Getting felt-up by demons is not my idea of fun and that\u2019s twice in two days.\u201d<\/p>\n Sitting there with Angel in vampire mode lowering his already prominent brow, Cordelia realized that he was thinking about the fact that he had touched her, too. Angel edged his hand away from its spot on the table next to hers as they both held their nearly empty glasses. He dropped it down to his knee and looked in the other direction as if expecting her to miss that little avoidance tactic.<\/p>\n \u201cNot you, dumbass,\u201d Cordelia quipped rolling her eyes. There was a difference between scaly-skinned gravlock demons, relic-invoking vampires, and Angel. \u201cI was talking about the evil demons.\u201d<\/p>\n Angel\u2019s stomach did a strange flip-flop at her words. She made it a little too easy to misinterpret that as giving him permission to touch her, not that that should actually be an issue. Especially when her hand came down to squeeze his. That and her smile made him realize he had been missing a side of Cordelia he didn\u2019t really know existed.<\/p>\n The brief warmth of her touch left a lingering sensation. He normally avoided all human contact. Buffy had been the obvious exception and see where that had gotten them. So, Angel had to ask himself what had changed over the past few days to put Cordelia on that very exclusive list. Drawing a blank, he tried to turn his attention back to their assigned task.<\/p>\n Cordelia did the same for a while, but found that her curiosity about the demons only caused them to grow bolder about staring back at her. They leered at her or looked like they wanted to make her their next meal. Even Angel did not escape their scrutiny. Though most seemed to address him as Angelus, it was clear that some had heard he was working with the slayer again.<\/p>\n Hatred burned in their eyes as they looked at him and Cordelia suddenly realized that Angel was in a unique situation. The other vampires and demons might give him some respect, but they all seemed to hate him. And it was not like there were any humans clamoring for his friendship. She did not count the random chippies at the Bronze who fawned over him from a distance, because he usually avoided them, or managed to scare them away with pure standoffishness.<\/p>\n Other than Buffy, he was not close to anyone. Not that they were ever a perfect couple considering what Buffy had told her. An angsty twinge of familiarity hit causing Cordelia to sigh saying, \u201cRelationships suck.\u201d<\/p>\n When his gaze turned toward her, Cordelia added, \u201cYou and Buffy, for instance. I mean talk about being doomed from the start, yet there\u2019s all this\u2026 this\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPassion.\u201d<\/p>\n The sound of his voice startled Cordelia who had not really expected him to say a word. \u201cTension,\u201d she corrected, \u201cand I really don\u2019t want any more details about it than I\u2019ve already got. It\u2019s just that it was kinda that way between me and Xander.\u201d<\/p>\n Angel scowled looking like he did not want details either. She rambled on, \u201cOne minute we were fighting and the next it was like we couldn\u2019t keep our hands off each other. I suppose some people aren\u2019t meant to be together.\u201d<\/p>\n The casual shrug she added was not enough to convince Angel that she did not care. \u201cHarris is a fool.\u201d Her hazel eyes brightened in response and Cordelia\u2019s smile nearly blew him away. Angel swallowed thickly.<\/p>\n Then the sparkle in her eyes turned serious as she asked, \u201cDo you ever get lonely up in that big mansion? It\u2019s not like you ever have any demon buddies dropping by to watch football games. Not even Buffy these days. She told me why she stopped seeing you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy relationship with Buffy is complex,\u201d Angel ground out the words reluctant to speak at all. He stared down at his folded hands trying to remain calm.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I got that a long time ago,\u201d she said while jiggling the last of the ice in her glass. Crunching on an ice chip, Cordelia revealed, \u201cWhatever reason she\u2019s got for teaming us up, I just don\u2019t want to be caught in the middle of some angsty revenge scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking up, Angel was frowning as he asked, \u201cRevenge?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever. Buffy\u2019s mind: scary thing. I try not to go there,\u201d Cordelia shrugged. \u201cI\u2019m just saying you can\u2019t let it get to you. When life throws you lemons make lemonade.\u201d<\/p>\n Angel did not exactly jump at her advice, but then Cordelia figured he had seen a few lemons in his day. She also noticed that he never answered her question about being lonely. \u201cLook, Cordelia\u2014,\u201d he began.<\/p>\n \u201cCordy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy friends call me Cordy,\u201d she offered genuinely. After all, it was always a good idea to befriend those more miserable than you. And besides, when he wasn\u2019t scaring the socks off her, there was just something about the big, broody vampire that made her feel safe and kept her smiling.<\/p>\n That low-browed frown was back again, a sign of confusion she now recognized. Angel finally admitted, \u201cI\u2019ve never heard anyone call you that.\u201d<\/p>\n Cordelia simply stared back letting silence, for once, make her point. If it was lonely up at the Crawford Mansion, it was just one of the things they lately had in common.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nPublic Parking, Main Street, Westside Sunnydale<\/h3>\n
Willy’s Place, A Local Demon Bar, Central Sunnydale<\/h3>\n