His eyes bored into her. She had felt them lingering on her while she was dancing. Looking around the packed room, she had sought out the source; her breath caught as she was trapped, held hostage by the most remarkably blue eyes she had ever seen. After what seemed an eternity spent lost in their fathomless blue depths, her eyes stole over the rest of the package and found it equally as enticing; his face hovered somewhere between stunningly beautiful and amazingly handsome, and he was lithe and lean with a perfectly muscled body that her hands just ached to touch.

She was drawn to him as if by magic, their eyes never leaving the other, and the rest of the world dissolved, leaving only them and the music. Somehow they came together, bodies almost touching and swaying in time with the beat, their mouths hovering so close and the air between them charged with electricity. No words were spoken, not yet, and they dared not touch, for the fire would surely have consumed them if they did!

A disturbance in the air and a commotion to the rear of the room broke the spell that had held them entranced. A boy she vaguely recognised from school came in, panting and obviously distressed. “Where’s the phone? I need to call the police, there’s some big guy out there trying to bite someone!” The boy’s face was ashen as he looked at the faces around him, begging for help.

She turned and flew out the rear entrance of the club and into the alley behind. A girl was pinned against the wall by what was probably one of the ugliest vampires she had ever seen. She grabbed his arms and pulled him off his helpless victim. "Run," she told the girl as she spun to kick the repugnant monster looming above her. Her foot connected with the creature, driving him back a short distance before he turned, his fist connecting with her cheek sending her flying into the nearby wall. They continued like this, trading blow for blow, and she absently wished that she had taken the time to retrieve a stake from her bag before flying out into the night. She placed a spinning kick to the vampire's head and followed up with a rain of rapid fire blows to the face before she was again knocked flying, this time into a pile of garbage cans.

Flipping up she again approached the vampire and, dodging a blow aimed once again for her face, caught the creature on the nose with the sharp point of her elbow before following through with a backwards strike to the back of its head. Looking past her into the shadows the vampire spoke. “Spike, give me a hand.” Ignoring the vampire's words for the moment, Buffy aimed a fierce blow to the monster’s nose, only to have her arm captured and her own momentum used to hurl her across the alley once again. Rolling to lessen the impact, she rose in time to see the creature dissolve into dust.

The dust parted to reveal white blonde hair above those amazing blue eyes and beautiful face that had held her captive such a short time before. He must have followed her out here, and in his hand was a wooden stake. His lovely face watched her with adoring wonder as he stepped towards her, and she once again found herself being inexplicably drawn to him.

A furious growl sounded from behind her, once again dragging her back from her trance, as a flash of black flew past aimed at the gorgeous blonde. Before she knew what was happening the object of her fascination was pinned brutally against the rough brick of the alley wall, a fist crashing mercilessly into his face again and again. “Angel, NO!” she screamed, but the enraged vampire ignored her, drawing back the hand that held leather lapels captured in its grasp. With the force of his rage he smashed the blonde head against the wall.

Buffy ran across the alley, her heart racing in her chest. Never had such a short distance seemed so far; her legs pumped furiously but her progress seemed as slow as if she was running through treacle. Seconds seemed like hours as she watched the helpless blonde form crumple into unconsciousness in the vampire’s hands. Finally she was able to reach out, grasping his shoulder as again she begged, “Angel, stop.” The vampire turned towards her, furious gold eyes flashing as he shrugged her off, knocking her to the ground. She watched in horror as his face lowered to the man’s neck. Reaching for the stake that had fallen from the gorgeous stranger’s hand to the ground, she surged upwards and plunged it through the vampire’s back, into the non-beating heart. A plaintive sob escaped her as she dropped the stake, and her knees buckled beneath her as she watched his dust settle slowly to the ground around her.

A soft moan caught her attention. Shuffling across the ground, she drew the blood-encrusted head onto her lap. Her fingers gently stroked the soft platinum curls as she tried to assess the damage. Buffy's eyes closed in disbelief. What had happened here? Her mind spun.

A gentle hand cupped her face, dragging her back into the moment. She opened her eyes and looked down, longing for the peace of those captivating blue eyes. Her breath caught in a gasp of denial as golden eyes starred up at her out of a terrifyingly beautiful face.  

the end