Saturday Evening, Just After Sunset<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cJust come on in, Cordelia,\u201d Willow urged the other teenager who refused to set foot in the library.<\/p>\n
Cordelia asked, \u201cCan\u2019t you just talk loudly? Why don\u2019t we ever have these meetings in the student lounge where it\u2019s comfortable?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we need to be inside the library.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reluctantly, Cordelia stepped inside, noting that the others were already gathered at the large table they used for research. Her face flushed a little at the thought that it wasn\u2019t all the table had been used for recently.<\/p>\n
As it was just Giles, Buffy, Willow and Xander present, Cordelia let out a little sigh and joined them at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what\u2019s the scoop?\u201d Xander asked as soon as Willow returned.<\/p>\n
Giles was in the dark as much as the others. He couldn\u2019t recall Willow calling for a meeting before. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you everything in just a minute. We\u2019re waiting for Angel to get here.<\/p>\n
Cordelia\u2019s head shot over to the doors as if she was planning to run for the hills rather than be in the same room as the vampire. She was halfway out of her seat when Willow grabbed her arm. \u201cTrust me, Cordy. It\u2019ll be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
The brunette sank into her seat, staring at Willow in confusion. Realizing, \u201cYou called me Cordy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDontcha like it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Cordelia admitted, she liked it a lot, but there was only one person who called her by that nickname.<\/p>\n
Before the questions brewing in Cordelia\u2019s head could pour forth, Willow asked Giles to open up the book cage. \u201cI need you to get the amulet we took from that demon last week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps we should discuss defensive techniques against magic while we\u2019re waiting,\u201d Giles suggested as he got up to retrieve the amulet.<\/p>\n
Buffy didn\u2019t want to think back to that episode. The demon was dead and gone and that was good enough for her. \u201cGiles, you\u2019re acting like a mother hen; surely Slayers get a day off now and then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until you\u2019ve got it right,\u201d Giles called out from the depths of the cage.<\/p>\n
Cordelia finally dragged her gaze away from Willow long enough to see that Xander had a large pile of goodies from the vending machine piled up in front of him. \u201cWhat are you planning to do with those?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEat them,\u201d Xander was already in the process of scarfing down a Twinkie.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t complain when you start looking like the Michelin Man,\u201d Cordelia warned him. \u201cWe may have to roll you out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glancing down at the goodies, Xander commented, \u201cI can\u2019t help it. Every time I think about coming here, I get a snack attack. The cravings just start and I\u2019m not satisfied until I get here or I stuff my face with the nearest junk food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Willow took the amulet from Giles when he brought it out and placed it on the table. \u201cOh, look. There\u2019s Angel. Now we can get started.\u201d She quickly averted her eyes from the approaching vampire. It was too easy to picture him without the leather coat, shirt, pants\u2026 stark naked.<\/p>\n
The vampire walked into the library, his eyes sweeping over the group as a whole and then settling on Cordelia. The nervous look in her eyes made him wonder what was going on, but it could have been just the fact that they planned to let Giles in on their little secret tonight. Angel headed over to his usual spot on the stairs and took a seat.<\/p>\n
\u201cA week ago, we were all exposed to this,\u201d Willow held up the amulet only to have it tumble from her fingers. Xander caught it before it hit the table. The redhead let out a grumbled protest and determined that she wouldn\u2019t make another move before she got this out into the open. \u201cUgly demon\u2019s sneaky magic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buffy pointed out, \u201cThe demon\u2019s dead. I cut off his head.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEew!\u201d Cordelia crinkled her nose at the reminder. \u201cFocus much on the gross parts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoesn\u2019t bother me,\u201d Xander commented with his mouth full of peanut M&Ms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came back to the library this afternoon while Buffy and Giles were finishing up their training session,\u201d Willow explained. \u201cMy theory on the library being haunted was a bust. The tape proves we didn\u2019t have a ghost.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia gaped, \u201cTape? What tape?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the security system I activated yesterday,\u201d Willow told her noting the deep shade of red that was creeping up Cordelia\u2019s neck and flushing her cheeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill\u2019s uncle is the coolest,\u201d Xander grinned.<\/p>\n
Buffy nodded in agreement. \u201cToo bad the tape was blank.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlank?\u201d The question came from Angel who had risen from his distant spot on the stairs and walked over to stand next to Cordelia, his hand on the back of her chair. The silent support wasn\u2019t lost on Willow.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no poltergeist,\u201d Willow confirmed now daring to look straight at him even though her cheeks were flushed at the time. She hadn\u2019t lied to the others about it. They just assumed the tape was blank when she declared that the ghost was a no-show. \u201cI did make a discovery, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel gave her a stern look that nearly had Willow cringing under its weight. \u201cAnd what was that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJ-just the reason everyone has been acting so strangely,\u201d Willow managed a small squeak. Even as she answered, the vampire\u2019s hand had left the back of Cordelia\u2019s chair and was now on her shoulder, his thumb working in a little soothing circle on her upper arm.<\/p>\n
Realizing that she\u2019d better hurry, Willow swallowed down her nerves to explain, \u201cI came back to do a little research. Things have been weird this last week. For all of us. I finally realized that the amulet was the cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWeird in what way?\u201d asked Giles. He hadn\u2019t noticed anything untoward happening to him.<\/p>\n
Willow told him, \u201cYou\u2019ve been working Buffy to the bone day after day. If you\u2019re not after her to train, you\u2019re talking about training.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my job,\u201d defended Giles, standing up from his sitting position on the edge of the table. \u201cNothing unusual there. As a matter of fact, we should be reviewing those defensive techniques now instead of wasting more time talking about amulets and ghosts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSee,\u201d she pointed out. \u201cYou can\u2019t go two minutes without mentioning it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buffy sent her Watcher a pleading look. \u201cBelieve her, Giles, please. I think Will is right. Something\u2019s going on. It started that night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGeez, Buffy. What\u2019s with the rhyming gig?\u201d Cordelia asked. She\u2019d noticed it before, too.<\/p>\n
A little whine escaped Buffy\u2019s throat, her large eyes pleading and a pout forming on her pink lips.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the magick,\u201d Willow piped up when Buffy seemed reluctant to open her mouth again. \u201cThe moment the amulet zapped us, it caught us doing or thinking about something and that kinda trapped us. The spell wasn\u2019t designed so much as to harm us physically, but to affect us mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing\u2019s wrong with me,\u201d Xander protested as he opened up a small back of nacho flavored Doritos.<\/p>\n
Willow would bet her allowance that Xander had been thinking about food that night. Buffy was so close to defeating the demon that his mind had already wandered off to the after-patrol pizza party. \u201cWell maybe you\u2019re just the lucky one, Xander. I\u2019ve been a clumsy oaf every time I come in here. I can\u2019t even move without bumping into something or someone. That night, I\u2019d tripped over the root of that tree right when the demon zapped us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s quite a theory, Willow,\u201d admitted Giles. \u201cI was concerned about Buffy\u2019s use of one particular method of attack when the amulet was invoked. My mind was on Buffy and her training sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re saying we\u2019ve just been doing the things that were on our mind at the time the demon zapped us?\u201d inquired Xander now ready to admit that his thoughts were not exactly on the fight. \u201cI get it now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel didn\u2019t particularly want to draw attention to himself and Cordelia, but as they had already agreed to bring their relationship into the open after they figured out what was going on, this seemed to be the time to do it. \u201cSo do I…get it. It\u2019s starting to make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to you?\u201d Xander asked curiously. \u201cDon\u2019t tell me\u2026you bought out all of the black clothes at the mall. Broke into the local chapter of the Red Cross to raid all of the AB-negative? Practiced scowling? Cos you do that real well. Like now for instance.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was precisely what the vampire was doing until a feminine hand closed over his and pulled it down to the table, squeezing it. \u201cAngel and I ended up here,\u201d Cordelia announced to the group. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t stay away. Kept coming back every night. We were the ones who left the library in a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buffy eyed their joined hands and looked at the brunette with a vein of suspicion. \u201cSo you\u2019re confessing to being our ghost. What were you two thinking about when the demon zapped you\u2026trying to get out of our next research session? Why do I get the feeling there\u2019s something else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause there is, Buffy,\u201d said Angel as his fingers threaded through Cordelia\u2019s when she caught the darkening look in the Slayer\u2019s eyes. \u201cCordelia and I have been seeing each other for the past couple of months.\u201d<\/p>\n
At her gasp and Xander\u2019s strangled choke as he chomped on chips, Angel revealed, \u201cWe decided to hold off on telling everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia pointed out, \u201cThat was my idea. I didn\u2019t know what you guys would think and I asked Angel to keep it between us for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cY-You\u2019re dating?\u201d Buffy\u2019s eyes shimmered, overly bright. \u201cOh. Well, that\u2019s\u2026 great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone at the table could tell the Slayer thought it was far from being great, but she was doing her best to control her emotions. Having given up Angel, she could hardly blame him for choosing someone else, but the expression on her shocked face made it clear that Buffy never in her wildest dreams imagined that person to be Cordelia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t how we intended everyone to find out,\u201d Angel confessed. \u201cI\u2019m sorry if that hurts you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019d been talking to Buffy, but Angel\u2019s gaze slid over to Xander whose glare looked deadly. \u201cI went to see Cordy in the hospital. Things just progressed from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deathglare turned to cloudy guilt and resigned acceptance. Xander told them, \u201cI guess you\u2019re the reason Cor has been so happy lately. That\u2019s\u2026cool with me. Just no going all evil on us and I won\u2019t have to stake you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy soul is secure,\u201d Angel revealed slowly. He really hadn\u2019t wanted to get into that, but since Xander had brought up the possibility of Angelus, it might be better to talk about it now. \u201cSomething Willow did, I imagine. I found out the hard way during my little stay in hell when they tried to rip it out of me and couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Willow hadn\u2019t a clue as to what she did or didn\u2019t do that might have secured his soul. She\u2019d done her best to translate the rest of Jenny Calendar\u2019s notes prior to invoking the gypsy curse that returned the vampire\u2019s soul. Maybe she\u2019d missed something.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, dunno what I did, but I\u2019m glad,\u201d Willow gave him a little closed-mouthed smile and added, \u201ccos things do seem to be all secure now.\u201d<\/p>\n
No sign of Angelus, she added silently. Not that what she\u2019d witnessed appeared to equate to perfect happiness. Far from it; they were both upset over the whole thing, but Willow got the impression they\u2019d already tested out that theory more than once in comfier locations.<\/p>\n
Looking over at her best friend, Willow decided Buffy was going to have a hard time with this. Even though she had been the one to break up with Angel, the fact that she had kept him close suggested that she still cared for him.<\/p>\n
Giving her ex up to Cordelia Chase shouldn\u2019t have been as much of a shock as it was considering that the cheerleader had never denied finding him attractive, but the reality still hurt.<\/p>\n
Getting back on track, Willow further explained, \u201cThe amulet\u2019s spell was designed to lure us to its location so that the demon could bump us off one by one\u2026 assuming he had been able to escape as originally planned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExcept that Buffy killed it and we took the amulet,\u201d Cordelia nodded her understanding. \u201cGiles brought it to the library and that\u2019s why we\u2019ve been stuck coming back here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou couldn\u2019t leave until you\u2019d done what you\u2019d been thinking or doing at the time of the initial spell,\u201d Willow nodded with a grin. \u201cI get clumsy, Buffy\u2019s does the rhyming quip thingie, Giles is all focused on training Buffy, Xander constantly thinks about food and you two\u2026 were obviously thinking about each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Xander leaned forward on his elbow, cupping his chin in one hand as he looked at Willow. \u201cAre you sure that security tape was blank?\u201d<\/p>\n
Blushing ten shades of red, Willow glanced toward Cordelia who wasn\u2019t exactly pale herself. The brunette was quieter than she\u2019d ever seen her, though, which was kinda scary. Maybe she was saving it all up for a private Willow-bashing session. Oh, that would be fun. Maybe as fun as having teeth pulled, Willow figured, so not.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said, Xander,\u201d she told him still feeling the need to be utterly truthful, \u201cthere was no poltergeist. Angel and Cordelia came and they left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing now,\u201d Cordelia jumped out of her chair at that comment.<\/p>\n
Angel pulled her close, whispering into her ear, \u201cI don\u2019t think Will meant it quite like that. We arrived<\/i> in the library. We left together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inwardly cursing the direction of her own thoughts, Cordelia realized he was likely right about it. Willow hadn\u2019t even blinked when she said it, so it was doubtful that the girl was making a snide remark about the goings-on in the library. Even if she had caught everything on camera.<\/p>\n
Cordelia seriously doubted Willow had gotten past watching the kissing stage before she\u2019d tuned off the television. \u201cCan we get on with destroying the amulet? That\u2019s what we\u2019re here for, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight,\u201d confirmed the witch who let out a little sigh as Cordelia seemed to turn her rising fury toward something constructive rather than take it out on Willow. \u201cBuffy, you wanna get a hammer or mace out of the weapons cabinet and do the honors?\u201d<\/p>\n
The rest of the evening was an anticlimax after the amulet\u2019s destruction and their discovery of Cordelia and Angel\u2019s relationship. The pair had gone off together soon afterward. Giles had made his apologies to Buffy for overworking her and driven off after guiltily suggesting keep patrol to a minimum tonight. That left Willow trailing along with Buffy and Xander who were as talkative as scarecrows.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s any consolation, they really do love each other,\u201d Willow piped up when the silence grew too thick to bear. Maybe she was lucky her friends were too caught up in their own thoughts to ask just how she knew that so convincingly.<\/p>\n
Buffy shook her blond head, denial still clouding her heart. \u201cI can\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Xander wasn\u2019t so sure he was going to accept this so easily. No matter what he had told Cordelia about her being happier lately. \u201cCordelia can usually handle guys, but this is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Angel,\u201d Buffy murmured in agreement, placing the vampire in a whole different category.<\/p>\n
Xander groused at the thought of his ex-girlfriend being in love with Angel. \u201cI hafta see it with my own eyes. Make sure he\u2019s treating her right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing is believing,\u201d quipped Willow, \u201cbut you\u2019re not getting your hands on that tape.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a whine, Xander put his arm around her shoulder, \u201cC\u2019mon, Will, it\u2019s my right as the ex-boyfriend. As your best friend? As a concerned citizen interested in poltergeist sightings?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPerv,\u201d Buffy slapped him in the arm eliciting an exaggerated howl of pain from the teenager.<\/p>\n
Willow smiled indulgently, \u201cI\u2019ll give you the tape, Xander.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised both of her friends who stopped walking long enough to gape at her. \u201cReally?\u201d Xander asked trying not to sound too excited about the possibility of finding out exactly what when on between the vampire and Cordelia in the library last night.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, you can have it,\u201d Willow promised. \u201cIn fact, we can all watch it together if you wanna come over my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cT-that sounds okay,\u201d Buffy agreed despite the fact that Xander suggested there was a lot more on that security tape than she wanted to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Willow had already learned her own little lesson in minding her own business and this seemed like the right time to share a little wisdom with her best friends. A smile curled her lips knowing that the only thing Xander and Buffy would get to see on that tape was Saturday morning cartoons. She\u2019d set her VCR to record over the tape just to make sure it never fell into the wrong hands and to avoid the temptation of ever watching it again.<\/p>\n
Too bad that keeping the details to herself meant she\u2019d never find out the answer to her little question about vampires. Buffy would not be too happy about it if Willow asked her. Hmm. Maybe that was something Cordelia would tell her.<\/p>\n
Miss Cordelia Tact-Is-Just-Not-Saying-The-Truth Chase would probably fess up if she knew the answer. Besides, Willow was just curious\u2026 scientifically speaking, of course.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
The television screen flickered with the closing credits of the late-night movie. Curled up on the couch in her sitting room, Cordelia and Angel didn\u2019t move despite the end of the film. His arm was around her shoulder and she was sidled up next to him, her head on his chest.<\/p>\n
They sat there for the longest time in silence. Slowly, Cordelia lifted her head and found him to be watching her, his dark eyes just soaking up the beauty of her face.<\/p>\n
His fingers traced the line of her jaw, \u201cWhat\u2019s bothering you, Cordy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWillow. It\u2019s just the fact that she has that tape,\u201d Cordelia clamped her teeth over her bottom lip and tugged worriedly. \u201cOne day she could turn evil or just decide to resume her role as President of the I-Hate-Cordelia-Club and publish that tape on the internet. Geez, can you imagine the humiliation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it wasn\u2019t my best performance,\u201d Angel shocked her with his answer. His mouth curled into that trademark smirk.<\/p>\n
Cordelia blurted out a belly laugh at his joke, \u201cOh really? That\u2019s a mighty big ego you have there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWanna find out?\u201d Dark eyebrows quirked upward playfully. Angel added, \u201cI owe you for the past few days. Rushing things in order to get out of the library is not my idea of the right way to make love to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
With her heart beating a happy tune, Cordelia was swooped over Angel\u2019s shoulder in one strong move. He even managed to grab the remote and shut off the TV before carrying her through to her adjoining bedroom.<\/p>\n
Laughing as he tossed her down on the bed, Cordelia grinned up at him as Angel started to unbutton his shirt. \u201cThis is the right way?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are countless right ways to love you Cordy, and I plan to try every one,\u201d he told her quite seriously, love and lust mixing in the midnight gleam of his eyes.<\/p>\n
End.<\/b><\/p>\n