Part 8<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cJohnny, Johnny why are we here?\u201d Sara asked her voice shaky with confusion and building fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause, I wanted this moment to be special.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSpecial?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJohnny? You\u2019re freaking me out. We are in a cemetery after midnight \u2013 and you\u2019re not looking at me. Johnny, please\u2026tell what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you, tonight is special.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Prom Night, I know but why are we\u2026 Johnny, look at me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnny turned towards Sara letting out a snarl \u2013 or what one might classify as a snarl and revealing that what had been the face of an All-American boy now had red eyes, a face the color of white frosting and red-tipped fangs that were so huge he couldn\u2019t have closed his mouth if he wanted it.<\/p>\n
Sara\u2019s eyes grew huge, her mouth dropped open and she started to laugh hysterically.<\/p>\n
\u201cCUT!\u201d a voice boomed and a man stepped onto the set of a makeshift cemetery, lights clicked and \u201cSara\u201d stood clutching her stomach, and teetering on the three inch heels that wardrobe had made her wear, still laughing. \u201cCordelia, this is the tenth time this happened. We need to get this shot, could you possibly pull yourself together and scream next take?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia inhaled deeply, trying to steady herself but under the now bright lights the \u2018Vampire\u201d before her looked even more ridiculous and she started to laugh even louder.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia,\u201d the director admonished, his short-temper evident in his voice and posture. \u201cPerhaps you could explain just what it is that is so hysterical, and we could stop with this childish behavior and GET THE SHOT DONE.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Cordelia bit the inside of her cheek and forced her eyes away from the \u201cvampire\u201d standing next to her, rolling his ridiculous red eyes and crossing his arms. \u201cI really am. I\u2019ll get it under control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly is the problem?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia sighed, her mind working over time for what exactly to say. Not like she could say that she knew first hand what vampires looked like and the bad make up job standing next to her was just comical for her handle. Going out for a horror movie had seemed like a good idea a month ago, but now that she was here to shoot being Victim Number One for the movie\u2019s teaser, she was realizing that her first hand knowledge was actually more of a liability. She knew she should have gone for the surfer movie instead but had she listened to herself? No.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think \u2013 well you can tell it\u2019s contacts, and why does the entire turn red anyway, shouldn\u2019t it just be the iris. Also what\u2019s with the facial hair additions, and why is the make up so white. I mean vampires are pale. I get that, but they aren\u2019t walking Flour advertisements. And it\u2019s flaky and powdery \u2013 I mean look at it,\u201d she motioned toward the deep pink prom dress they had her in that had the white powder from the make up all over it. \u201cIn other words, It\u2019s just so fake that I can\u2019t really get myself to feel scared enough to even want to scream in terror.\u201d<\/p>\n
The director was glaring at her and she felt her temper start to flare, he\u2019d asked, if he hadn\u2019t wanted her to explain her problem with the scene he shouldn\u2019t have asked her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think that doesn\u2019t look like a scary vampire?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it doesn\u2019t.\u201d Cordelia said holding her ground but fighting the urge to roll her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell. You claim to be an actress, pretend it\u2019s scary and scream your empty, pretty head off the next take.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia winced and opened her mouth to tell the director just where he could go but one look into his pissed off face and she remembered she really needed the check and a movie \u2013 even a bad horror movie \u2013 on her acting resume. \u201cI will. I swear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. Let\u2019s take it from when Sara says: It\u2019s Prom Night,\u201d the director shouted.<\/p>\n
Cordelia stepped back into place, took a deep breath and decided to pretend that the fake thing front of her was a real vampire, or Daryl Epps, or maybe that reptile demon that almost ate her once. She could do it, just picture the real baddies of the world and remember real fear. It was why she\u2019d thought that a horror movie would be a piece of cake. Yep.<\/p>\n
Oh god, the red eyes, the ridiculous fangs that made it so the actors could only snarl and growl \u2013 and badly too \u2013 the laughter flew out of her mouth again and the director’s scream of \u2018cut\u2019 was fresh with more anger; all directed at her. Cordelia felt her stomach fall, and a real fear started to gnaw through her, if she didn\u2019t stop this she was going to get fired. Fired from a bit part in a horror movie of all things. She inhaled deeply and faced the director. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, it won\u2019t happen again, I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was not going to lose a job over cheesy make-up.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Angel sprang to his feet, his vamp face taking over and he glared at the younger vampire in front of him who had grabbed the young woman again. The kid had knocked him on his ass \u2013 twice. And sure he\u2019d been stabbed in the stomach by the kid\u2019s lucky shot with a steel pipe, but there was no way in any hell dimension that Angel was losing a fight to some stupid cocky neophyte vampire.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaytime. It\u2019s over,\u201d Angel growled tackling the other vampire with full force, freeing the young woman from his grasped. \u201cRUN!\u201d He yelled at the girl, who just stood there staring but Angel paid no attention to the paralyzed victim. He had a kid to teach a lesson too.<\/p>\n
A dusty lesson.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Cordelia, as the victim Prom Queen Sara let out a blood-curdling scream. Her inspiration the nightmare image of her, Cordelia Chase, getting fired from a horror movie that was more likely to go straight to video than any movie theater.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Angel dusted the vampire with relish and a smile. Of course, he\u2019d pummeled the kid in the head and stomach with a lot hard kicks with his trusty hard leather boots before finally staking him. The kid had stabbed him and no neophyte, stupid vampire who couldn\u2019t handle witty banter while fighting was getting the best of him. Turning toward the victim, he changed back to his human face and stepped toward her and it was then the woman screamed out to God and fainted. Angel caught her just before she fell into a puddle of something he was pretty sure wasn’t water or any type of natural substance<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knocked out the victim?\u201d Gunn said, getting out of his convertible as Angel came toward it carrying the woman from the alley.<\/p>\n
Angel looked up at his co-worker and just glared. \u201cShe screamed and passed out. After I saved her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunn snickered. \u201cGuess you were scarier than the vamp who wanted her blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel chose not comment and shot his eyes from Gunn to the girl in his arms. \u201cHelp me get her in the back. We can drop her off at an emergency room or something. She\u2019s fine, but we can\u2019t leave her here and we aren\u2019t taking her back to the hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunn stepped forward and together they managed to put the poor unconscious woman into the back of the convertible. Angel slipped into the driver’s seat and glanced at Gunn. \u201cYou call Merle?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYep. He wasn\u2019t happy we were going to be late. Said just because the blood-sucker smelled danger doesn\u2019t mean we can miss appointments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel bit back a growl and started the car. \u201cWhatever, the stupid parasite can wait for us. Caritas has a good atmosphere. Wesley call about the other case?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat, the one you and he think are monthly ritual sacrifices of some Chaos-worshipping demon clan?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel gave him a what-do-you-think look, wondering if his night could get any worse and the sun had just set less than hour ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDamn it,\u201d Angel growled, realizing the answer was yes. He pulled out onto a main street, toward the nearest hospital. If they didn\u2019t get a lead on how and where the Ycuchbn were luring the young women they were sacrificing, they\u2019d never stop the monthly killings.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnglish will figure it out. He\u2019ll find a link, we\u2019ll get to their nest or altar or whatever and kick some demon ass.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel glanced at Gunn. \u201cI don\u2019t want more women dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI get ya, man, but can\u2019t do much until Wes does his shriek of \u2018Ah Ha!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel turned onto street the hospital was located too sharply, driving too fast in an attempt to keep his temper in control. It still hadn\u2019t been a year since Darla had taken over his dreams, and his waking hours\u2026making him obsessed with saving and then killing her. And in the end he\u2019d done neither.<\/p>\n
All he had succeeded in doing was nearly losing his soul by giving into the emptiness and had for a time lost the two people he called friends. Maybe Wes and Gunn had let him back in, but it wasn\u2019t the same and might never be so saving a few women a night wasn\u2019t enough. Angel felt like he had to stop all the evil he could find in the dark corners of LA. It was something to do, it was the right thing to do, and he could do it. He\u2019d never forgive himself for his far past or his recent past, nor would he ever earn atonement but the he could at least do something. So, there was no way he was letting any demon cult continue to sacrifice young women every month during the new moon.<\/p>\n
He slammed on the brakes and glanced at Gunn. \u201cTake her in. I\u2019ll wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunn gave him a look but then just shook his head, as he got out, moved to the back and picked up the poor woman from the alley that had fainted from fright. \u201cWhen I get back, I hope you\u2019ve stopped driving like a crash test dummy out on a mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel ignored him and closed his eyes and decided to breathe, hoping the inhales and exhales would calm him down, so he didn\u2019t accidentally kill Gunn, or wreck his Plymouth.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Cordelia stood in front of her freezer, staring at the two containers mocking her from inside of it. Frozen low-fat yogurt or tasty yummy double chocolate fudge ice cream? She knew what she wanted, she wanted the ice cream, covered in chocolate syrup and whipped cream, and she wanted to eat the entire thing in one sitting.<\/p>\n
Hadn\u2019t she earned it? Putting up with a cranky director, a bad actor in the worst vampire make-up she\u2019d ever seen \u2013 and she\u2019d seen a lot of bad monster make-up since starting her acting career. Granted this had been the first part she\u2019d gotten in a monster movie, because of her penchant to crack up at the so-called \u2018horror\u2019 fiends. Was it her fault she\u2019d grown up on a Hellmouth? No. Her parents for some odd reason had chosen to live in Sunnydale. The why of that would always make her wonder? In fact she sometimes wondered if her father had worshipped a demon of some sort and Buffy had killed it, thus causing her family\u2019s financial woes.<\/p>\n
Cordelia huffed at herself, pulled the ice cream out of the freezer and finally closed the door. What the hell did it matter? She only wanted the movie because a rising star was the heroine of the piece. She was only going to be in it for two seconds, screaming and that was if she got lucky and didn\u2019t cut her out. Even during the final three takes where she\u2019d managed to scream at the end, with the last \u2018scary snarl\u2019 of the \u2018vampire\u2019 she\u2019d ended up giggling. The fake teeth were so screwy, fangs on the top and bottom, they barely fit the actor\u2019s mouth, and how the heck was he supposed to suck her blood? She shook her head and furrowed her brow.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe positive, Cor,\u201d she told herself. \u201cYou will be in the movie, you will be victim number one. And you can claim to have done a movie that whats-her-face has done. Damn it what is her name? I never even get to see the movies with all the up-coming actors anymore, I don\u2019t even know their names?\u201d Cordelia slammed her mouth shut and stared at the still unopened canister of ice cream. \u201cAnd I\u2019m talking to myself. I\u2019m going loony.\u201d<\/p>\n
On cue, as if agreeing with her statement her phone rang. Cordelia looked over at it and sighed. \u201cNot answering it unless it\u2019s a call back for a real movie, or a television series.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia? It\u2019s Lisa. I just wanted to warn you, Darlene is on the warpath. Clients got upset you weren\u2019t around; she couldn\u2019t remember crap or find certain things. Pretty sure she blew a few deals. So she\u2019s pissed at you, blaming you for her lack of people-skills. Does she even have Interior Design skills? Well, if I were you I\u2019d show up early tomorrow and not leave until late. She was making noise again about not working things around an actress’s career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia closed her eyes and resisted the urge to scream. Once she was sure she wouldn\u2019t scream or worse breakdown crying like a girl, she grabbed a spoon and took off for her living room with it and the ice cream.<\/p>\n
Flopping down on her couch, she flicked on her TV and flipped stations until she landed on what looked like a cheesy movie of the week. It was better than nothing she decided, loading up her spoon with melting chocolate with chocolate chunks of fudge throughout, she smiled inhaling the aroma. \u201cCome to me, baby,\u201d she whispered to the spoon just as there was one sharp knock on her door.<\/p>\n
Looking toward the door as it swung open; the spicy, expensive smell of her boyfriend greeted her a second before she found herself looking at his face. He smiled and gave her a quick wink. \u201cThought I\u2019d surprise you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia smiled, telling herself that it was really sweet and the only thing better than chocolate had to be a loving boyfriend. This was good. \u201cI\u2019m glad!\u201d She said, standing up from the couch.<\/p>\n
Alec smiled again, put down his briefcase and met her halfway with a small kiss hello. \u201cIs that ice cream?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia winced. \u201cI know I shouldn\u2019t eat it\u2026 I just\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should give up acting and then you could eat all the ice cream you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia laughed. \u201cSure, you want to date a girl as round as the ice cream container herself?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just saying that you don\u2019t need to act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia bit her tongue. This was a normal argument between them, he just didn\u2019t understand. No one from his social set, or her old social set did. \u201cI do need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to get upset over auditions and eat too much ice cream?\u201d Alec asked, looking back at her after hanging up his jacket in the closet. \u201cCordelia, sweetheart, I don\u2019t think so. You could, you know move in with me. Get rid of this tiny apartment, in this questionable part of town\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia furrowed her brow. \u201cI\u2019m not going to live with you, Alec. Don\u2019t start that discussion up again\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Alec frowned and he walked around her and started to massage her shoulders. \u201cI just think it would be a good step in the right direction for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which means he doesn\u2019t want to shell out the money for the ring, until he\u2019s sure he\u2019ll enjoy sex at all hours and sharing a bathroom with you<\/i>, a voice in the back of Cordelia\u2019s head told her. \u201cAlec, don\u2019t,\u201d she whispered, falling into the trap of his hands. He was an expert at shoulder massage, she had to give him that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could take care of everything, Cordelia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need you to take care of everything, Alec. I have a job and my acting career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alec sighed. \u201cYou know, I realize after your father\u2019s problems that you had to become self-sufficient for awhile. But you have me now, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already had a bad day, Alec. Must we fight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to fight,\u201d Alec moved them both over to her couch and turned off the television. \u201cWhat happened at the audition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t audition. It was a shoot. That horror movie I told you about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alec rolled his eyes, and Cordelia had to fight the urge not to snort. Alec didn\u2019t believe in anything he couldn\u2019t see. Demons, Santa Claus, Easter Bunnies, God. He thought her going after horror movies was ridiculous, he didn\u2019t understand the cult following that so many had at all. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vampire make-up was horrendous\u2026 they looked like white walking doughnuts and the teeth! There was no way those teeth could suck blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alec laughed. \u201cSweetheart, what do you know about monster make-up?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia stiffened in his arms at the condescending tone in his voice. \u201cWhat is that supposed to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just mean, what do you know about monster make-up?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know plenty!\u201d She shot back.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout beauty and how to enhance it with regular make-up. But not make up for make believe creatures.\u201d Alec touched her face. \u201cI don\u2019t mean to make you more upset, but really if you find it all so fake why do you want to act anyway? Live with me, Cordelia. Quit this silliness, quit that job where they give you nothing but trouble. I love you; I can give you everything you\u2019ve ever dreamed of, that you deserve. You don\u2019t have to take care of yourself anymore. Sweetheart, come on move in with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia screamed and shoved Alec\u2019s hands off of her and then she took off to her bedroom slamming the door closed. Once it was closed she looked at the doorknob and quickly locked it. What the hell was wrong with him? She\u2019d asked him more than once to shut up about them living together. God, he\u2019d been in the apartment less than fifteen minutes and how many times had he ignored her wishes. Who the hell did he think he was? Didn\u2019t he get the fact she wasn\u2019t going to live with him? It wasn\u2019t a hard thing to swallow. He wanted her forever and ever, he had to go out and get her a ring\u2026 which she was seriously wondering about accepting now.<\/p>\n
She sat down on her bed, ignored Alec\u2019s calls and knocks on the door and held her head in her hands. This was supposed to have stopped, going to Sunnydale and remembering why she\u2019d left was supposed to have stopped all the restlessness brewing inside of her about her life. But instead, instead it hadn\u2019t helped at all. Sometimes it felt worse, like it was getting worse and worse everyday.<\/p>\n
The most confusing thing of all was she hated her job, her apartment, and the acting was more of a frustration than a fulfillment but the idea of giving it all up made her feel nauseated. Alec would take care of her, he had a great apartment, more like a penthouse really \u2013 he had money, he would buy her anything she wanted, and he wasn\u2019t so bad of a guy. He talked to her, let her whine and he was trying to help her feel better. So what was the problem?<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia? Sweetheart? Cor, come on let me in?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at the door, pictured Alec behind it, still in his three-piece suit looking like a model for a business magazine. He was perfect: good-looking, rich and like most men completely clueless. She should get up and open the door and apologize. She wouldn\u2019t say yes though, but she should apologize for being so weird about it. Right?<\/p>\n
Cordelia stayed on the bed.<\/p>\n