destructo-girl.com

I am, I am, I am,
I said I wanna get next to you
I said I gonna get close to you
You wouldn't want me have to hurt you too?

I ain't, I ain't, I ain't
A buyin' into your apathy
I'm gonna learn ya my philosophy
You wanna know about atrocity?

I know you want what's on my mind
I know you like what's on my mind
I know it eats you up inside
I know, you know, you know

I am a man, a man
I'll give ya somethin' that ya won't forget
I said ya shouldn't have worn that dress
I said ya shouldn't have worn that dress

Here I come, I come, I come
- "Sex Type Thing" by the Stone Temple Pilots from their album "Core"

"So you're finally off from being grounded?" Willow and Buffy were walking home from school. Xander had detention for, not surpringly, mouthing off at his phys ed coach. The two girls were going to wait with him in detention hall, but the same phys ed coach saw them and promptly kicked them out.

"Yeah, Mom decided to cut my punishment short since I was being so 'good'. If only she knew how 'good' I was being she'd never let me out of the house again."

"Buffy do you think you'll ever let her know what's going on? I mean, she is your mom. Shouldn't she be the first to know?"

Nodding her head Buffy answered "I think it about alot. Well, really everyday. I want to tell her, but..." she trailed off uncertainly.

"After she got past the part of thinking that I was delusional and in need of professional help, I know she would never feel any safety or security. I don't want to do that to her."

Turning around the corner into the neighborhood, Willow said "But you're the Slayer! That by definition means safety and security."

Correcting her, Buffy gently said "For everyone else Will, as long as I do my job, but not for me. Every time I walk out the door she'll worry if I'm coming back, and I can't promise her that I will. I don't want to do that to her."

Sighing Willow gloomily said "I see your point" as they reached Buffy's house. Walking up the sidewalk and into the house Willow wondered how to approach the subject of the major fight between Xander and Buffy. Even though the next day they all acted as if nothing had happened, there was a subtle tension.

But most importantly, how would she bring up the subject of Angel? She thinking about him gave her the creeps, much less talking out loud about him. Angel was a subject that Buffy would always skirt around and that could not be healthy! Willow didn't look forward to having 'the talk' as she and Xander termed it, but she HAD to do it. Buffy was one of her best friends, the only girlfriend she had, and Buffy needed her right now. Willow would just have to pull her backbone a little straighter.

Putting her bookbag down on the couch Willow sat down and waited for Buffy to come back from the kitchen. Deciding to make small talk she asked "So where's your Mom?"

Calling from the kitchen Buffy replied "She's out of town. On another business trip or something. She's not coming back until tomorrow."

While hearing her Willow was only half-way listening. Giving 'the talk' more thought she came up with the conclusion that she was just going to have to attack it like she would attack anything else. Well, maybe not quite since people and mathematical equations were different, but attack she would!

Snapping her attention back, Willow looked up and saw Buffy's head poking around the corner. "Uh? What?"

"Oh...um, Coke please." Caffeine would be a good attack booster. Now, how would she start off? Since it was a delicate situation subtleness would be best...

Giving Willow her drink Buffy plopped down ont he couch next to her and kicked off her shoes. "Why the serious look? Are you thinking about another one of those math puzzles in Scientific America?" she jokingly asked.

"No! Not quite..." Putting her drink down on the coffee table, Willow turned to Buffy and thought Okay, serenity and subtleness here. Instead she just blurted out "What's happening to us Buffy? You and Xander had this big fight and w-we just aren't talking anymore! I mean we talk but we don't talk."

Buffy never had a chance to respond because Willow plowed on with the serenity of a caffeine-induced, hyper-active toddler. "And Angel! My God Buffy, he's just...just hanging out here, waiting to strangle us in our beds and you act like he doesn't exist! You won't ever bring up his name and if one of us DOES, you find a reason to leave the room!"

"Okay...math problems are definitely not on your mind." Sitting up a little straighter, she wondered exactly how much to say. She knew what to say about the fight with Xander, but what could she say about Angel?

Every night for almost a week since her first night of grounding, he had usually met her at the cemetery. Once she was cutting through the park and he attacked her by tackling her to the ground, but every other time had been at the cemetery.

Each time they fought intensely, verbally and physically. It was the emotional fight within herself that left her feeling a little more drained each time she saw Angelus. Buffy could no longer lie to herself that his presence didn't hurt her. Each time that she saw him felt as if her heart's wounds were being ripped open again.

Even though she could hide the majority of what she was feeling on the inside, he could still see her pain and openly enjoyed every bit of it. He constantly baited her and she found it harder and harder to remain untouched by his cruel words.

When they physically fought, they fought intensely but surprisingly neither attempted to deliver a killing blow to the other.

Buffy could not explain to herself why she never went for the fatal blow, even when the rare opportunity appeared. It was her job for christsakes! Regardless, she never would. She punched him, kicked him, threw him, but she never would try to stake him.

Angelus himself never tried to go for her neck and though he never tried to kill her, he certainly did not go easy on her. For every blow that she connected with his body, he had one to match it. At the end of each bout her body felt as if were covered in bruises from head to toe.

Each night he would abruptly pull back from their skirmish, toss a few arrogant words at her, and then disappear. She would continue her patrol, kill several vampires, half-expecting him to attack her along with the vampire(s) she was fighting. She never knew if he was truly gone or just lurking in the shadows waiting for one slip-up so he come in and end it all for her.

After their fights though, she never saw him. It wasn't until later that she realized that he was never far away, and he was always watching.

After patrol was done and she went home, she would find a note and a momento of some sort on her bed. After the first two nights of receiving his gifts, Buffy had asked Giles for some background information on his habits. Immediately the Watcher worriedly asked "Has Angelus been leaving you things? Has he started stalking you Buffy?"

Instead of telling the truth she had replied that she just wanted to study up on him. Giles had looked at her strangely for a few seconds. It took incredible force of will for her to not fidget beneath his probing look. Just when she knew that she had been caught in her bold-faced lie, he went into his office and brought back an ancient looking tome at least six inches thick.

Scanning through all the detailed entries of Angelus' habits, Buffy had immediately realized that he had changed his M.O. since the last time he walked on Earth. All the things that he had left for her had in no way been gruesome or involving pain at the sake of a living creature.

There had been no severed servant's head, not that she had one---but the fact was that there had been no head, or any other body part, nor had there been any dead animals left in a prettily wrapped box or anything else equally horrific.

Instead there had been a mixed-bouquet of thiry-nine deep violet flowers the night after her 'trophy' gift of leather pants. The note stated:

One for each delicious touch of your fist on my body.
I'll wear each mark with pride.
---A

The next night she had found a pair of sapphire studded hair pins with his note of:

I seemed to have torn out your rubberband during our fight.
I thought these would do you better justice than a piece of plastic.
---A

The night after that she had received a beautiful crystal bowl filled with strawberries and cream. His note had only one sentence:

I wanted you to know how you look and taste to me.
---A

That particular note brought an inexplicable mix of revulsion and temptation. They hadn't touched in any way since the night he kissed her, other than their punches and kicks. By him mentioning how she tasted it briefly made her want to taste HIM again to see if he was still as good as her perverse memory made him to be.

Her next gift was an antique-silver cross on a choker instead of a chain. The scrawled note simply said:

Added protection against those who would do you harm.
---A

That was also the night that a vamp almost got the chance to taste Slayer blood straight from the source.

It had been shortly after her sparring match with Angelus. She had been walking by a grouping of crumbling mausoleums when a vampire landed on her seemingly straight from the sky. In fact, he jumped off the roof of a crypt to land squarely on her.

Before she could get her bearings she felt his head come down to feed off of her. Buffy had tried to buck him off but he was firmly in the mindset of NOT getting off. Just when she felt the incredibly sharp tips of his fangs, he suddenly scrambled off her and ran away.

Puzzled by his retreat yet eternally grateful Buffy finished the rest of her patrol, mindful of the air above her. After getting his choker and note she had felt the strangest chill take hold of her body. He had been watching her this entire time. He had seen every movement she made, for all she knew he was still watching her. Even though she was exhausted, it took Buffy several hours to fall into fitful sleep in the pre-dawn hours.

The next night she had found a tube of her lipstick and a midnight-blue silk lipstick case with a small ruby clasp.

You dropped this after our assignation.
I thought you might want it back so here's a little something to keep it in.
Darling you should learn to care for your possessions as carefully as I do mine.
No matter, I'll show you what I mean.
---A

What could she tell Willow? She deserved an answer but how much of one? Looking at her friend's worried countenance, Buffy said "Even though Xander and I got into a fight, I still see him as one of my best friends. I still love him as much as I love you. It was hard to hear what had he had to say, but if that's how he feels then---I have to respect that."

Not wanting her to say what Buffy knew she was going to say she rushed on with "I know we don't talk like we used to, but I'm just going through a trippy time right now."

"Okay I'm going through a time that is trippy to the tenth power, but I...I won't be like this forever."

Reaching over Willow laid her hand on Buffy's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Gently she asked "But what about Angel?"

Disappointed that Willow didn't fall for her blatant sidestepping of that issue, Buffy knew there was no hope for it. "Angel..." Okay talk to her Buffy! Tell her what's been going on! Seeing Willow expectantly waiting Buffy opened her mouth to explain the events of the past week, but nothing came out.

"Yeah Angel. Angel has---" Suddenly Buffy bolted from the couch and stood on the other side of the room. She couldn't tell Willow the truth.

She couldn't tell her how she was beginning to look forward to seeing Angelus each night. She couldn't tell her how even though it hurt her with every fiber of her being, even though she tried not to show it, she still would rather see Angelus than not see him at all.

She couldn't tell Willow how she began taking pleasure in hurting him physically. It was sounded too sick in her own mind much less how sick it would be if she spoke out loud.

She couldn't tell her that she began to feel a stir of excitement each night that she crept through her window to see what he left for her. She couldn't tell her that she wore the hair pins and the choker while she ate her strawberries and looked at the fading violet flowers, all the while wondering if he were watching her. All the while feeling a inexplicable pull to the killer masquerading as Angel.

She couldn't understand how and why she was being drawn to him herself so how could she even begin to explain it to Willow? My God he's a demon and she never forgot yet strangely at the same time she did. It didn't make any sense.

And somehow it made perfect sense to Angelus. Maddenly he seemed to know exactly what she was feeling. His insiduous comments and knowing grins were becoming more and more frequent each night.

Dammit when did she become so whiney and indecisive? Why did she feel as if she didn't know what the fuck was happening to her? Granted she didn't know, but since when did she feel so out of control of the situation?

Buffy felt disgusted with herself. Willow and Xander were only trying to help her yet she kept on pushing them away. Willow was right, things were different between them now and it was because of her. Of all the people in the world these two should be the ones she could tell anything to, so why didn't she?

Looking back at her friend Buffy tried to speak again. Before she could say anything Willow stood up and grabbed her bookbag. Walking to stand next to Buffy she quietly said "Buffy I won't try to force anything out of you. Even though I've never gone through what you're going through, I can tell you this: holding it in won't help anybody but it will end up hurting everybody."

"Willow..." Buffy held out her hand in supplication. "I'm sorry that I'm hurting you. I don't mean to, please believe me, but I-I just can't talk about it right now. It just hurts too much."

Jerkily nodding her head Willow replied "I know. I know that you don't mean to hurt anybody, but it HURTS to feel like you don't trust us anymore. Just let me ask you this: if he tries to come after one of us, will you be able to stop him?"

Buffy's face paled as she allowed the question to sink in. She didn't want to believe that nay of her loved ones were in danger, but she knew that was like living in a fool's paradise. It was what Angelus did: stalking, tormenting, and killing everyone around his victim.

Since the victim of the month was most likely her, everyone that she cared about would be the first to fall to him. She had allowed herself to forget that in the past week. Now she needed to remember that Angelus was simply Angelus. Not Angel being a sexy, misunderstood bad boy, but a sadistic manipulator who got his kicks off of other's misery.

Firmly Buffy replied "Angel will never get the chance to hurt any of you. I promise."

Seeing the sincereness in her best friend's face, Willow felt slightly ashamed for ever doubting Buffy. "I believe you." Feeling the need to alleviate the seriousness of the moment she said "Okay, quick change of subject. Do you want to celebrate your first night of freedom at the Bronze? Just us, like a girls' night out thing."

Walking Willow to the door Buffy agreed. "Okay, seven it is. Do you want me to walk you home?"

Opening the front door, Willow shook her head and said "I'm a big girl. When I need to attack, I do. Though I don't see a need to attack on my way home, but believe me, I can do it!"

Slightly shaking her head at her friend's unclear logic, Buffy just said "Oh okay. Well be on your way big girl and call me."

Closing the door Buffy spritely climbed up the stairs, went into her room and opened up her closet. Rifling through her clothes, she mentally rejected each thing until her hand pulled out a dress she had never worn before. A smile twisting her full lips she thought This is definitely what I'm going to wear tonight.

Never once did she give thought that she was again avoiding the situation about Angel. She never once thought of it as a delaying tactic. She only thought of it as a much needed night out. One that she deserved.

Right before she was all set to go, Buffy got a call from Willow telling her that she couldn't go out that night because her parents wanted to have a heart-to-heart chat about the dangers of peer-pressure. "I mean, I've only been a teen-ager for about four years and tonight they want to talk?" Willow disgustedly huffed.

"I'll be fine. Tonight will be as good a time as any to let my hair down and have a normal teenager's night."

"Giles will probably have a major lecture ready for me tomorrow, but no. I think I'll skip it tonight."

"Oh, hold on Buffy." Willow could be heard yelling "I'm coming!" before getting back on the phone and regrettfully saying "I gotta go Buffy. Have a good time for me too, okay?"

"No, I'll be fine. Besides, I think I need a little Buffy-time to myself. I'll talk to you later Willow." As an afterthought Buffy sweetly said "Have fun!"

"Oooh, it'll be a blast I'm sure. 'Now Honey, I want to talk to you about these things called drugs...' How have I managed to be half-way sane?"

Laughing she assured Willow with "Even if you're just half-way sane, that's alot better than most of us. Bye!"

Hanging up the phone Buffy took a last look at herself in the mirror. Her hair brushed her shoulders and soft curls framed her expectant face. She had applied her make-up with a light hand, prefering the natural look tonight except for her glossy dark red lips. Normally she always wore pink or plum lipstick but tonight she wanted to be more...daring. Yes, daring was definitely what she was wanting to feel tonight.

With the dress she had on Buffy felt daring to the extreme. It came to mid-thigh, exposing plenty of her tanned, luscious legs but not too much. The bodice was made of black velvet with thin spaghetti-straps made of the same material resting on her bare shoulders. The rest of the dress was a dark crimson with an overlay of beautiful black lace. To complete the outfit she wore black velvet strappy high heels that gave her the illusion of never-ending legs.

It was such a warm night that she didn't need to wear a coat, which suited her just fine. Buffy picked up the phone to call a cab since her mom was gone and she didn't feel like walking all the way to the Bronze in her new shoes.

Her cab took all of five minutes to pull up in front of her house and blare its' horn impatiently. What could you say about a One-Starbucks Town? It would probably take longer for her to walk to the cab than it would to get to the Bronze.

Once she stepped through the doors of the club, Buffy felt the music call to her. Perhaps it was the determined look of gaiety on her face or the fact that she was by herself, but that night Buffy did not have a lack of dance partners. For hours she danced and danced, feeling a little bit of the weight ease off her weary shoulders.

Finally midnight approached and the boy she was with asked her if she wanted him to walk her home. Feeling happy and carefree Buffy agreed. She didn't know him, would probably never talk to him again, but she felt no apprehension.

They walked out of the club and somewhere down Main Street the handsome, blond grabbed her hand and held it in his. Buffy didn't mind since it felt nice to hold someone's hand again. As they lightly chatted, he confirmed her speculation that he was a college kid and a pretty nice guy.

He really was cute, in an all-american boy kind of way, but cute nonetheless. Although he was nowhere near as attractive as Angel.

Just the thought of him stirred up her new-found sense of desire for him; no matter how wrong it was, Buffy still felt it. Her mild interest in Jeff (was that his name?) vanished as abruptly as it began.

All of a sudden as if she had magically summoned him, Angel stepped out of an alley and stood on the sidewalk several yards in front of them. His beautiful dark eyes burned with an unholy fury. Before she could utter a word, he purposely stalked towards her but instead of striking her as he appeared he would, Angel menacingly ordered Mr. All-American "Let go of her hand NOW boy."

Immediately the 'boy' dropped her hand and sputtered "Look, I-I don't want any trouble---"

Seeing the savagery in Angelus' face Buffy tried to draw his attention to her. "Angel---"

Skewering her with the full fury of his rage, Angelus growled "Shut-up! That's not MY name." Giving her a look of disgust he promised "I'll deal with you later." He then picked up his rival by the throat and flung him against a whitewashed brick wall, coldly smiling with satisfaction at the small smear of blood that streaked the dusty surface.

In less than two strides Angelus reached the crumpled, shocked boy. "Before you die, tell me something: you thought she was an easy lay, didn't you?"

Evilly smiling Angelus craftily asked "But you did think about it, didn't you?" Seeing the denial about to spew from the boy's lips, Angelus brought back his foot and solidly kicked the offending groin. Dispassionately he watched the previously pale face turn a deep violet while his rival's mouth opened and closed repeatedly without any sounds coming out. "Liar! I know you had her in your mind at least eight different ways!"

Buffy grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away from his prey, but Angelus merely shrugged her off. When he felt her punch his back, he quickly turned around, caught her fist, and pulled her body to his. Leaning down until his face was less than an inch from hers he spat "You little whore! You wear a dress that shows off your tits and ass to the whole fucking world, leaves every pup with a massive boner, knowing that your GODDAMNED body belongs to me, and now you're trying to stop me from hurting this shit?"

Narrowing her eyes in outrage Buffy firmly stated "I don't belong to you Angelus. I belonged to Angel."

"Angel. Angelus. We're one in the same babe. What's his is mine and what's mine stays mine. If you didn't want this to happen, then you shouldn't have teased us both. You shouldn't have teased him with what he could never have and you should NOT have teased me with HIM."

His hand teasingly traced the line of her hip before he flung her to the ground. Turning to the soon-to-be dead male, Angelus saw that he had gotten up and was hobbling down the street. Grimly smiling Angelus caught him easily, avidly listening to the babbled pleas of "I swear I didn't know she had a boyfriend! If I knew I wouldn't have touched her!"

"You may have not touched her, but you still would have wanted her. Yes, yes you would have. You still do boy. I bet you're wondering what kind of snatch she must have to cause me to want to kill you." Pulling back his fist Angelus let it fly into the left side of Mr. All-American's chest. The poor kid howled with agony as four of his ribs simultaneously broke.

Holding him up with one hand Angelus smirked with unabashed delight. "I'll let you know something: her pussy is worth killing for. Too bad you'll never know it. Hell come to think of it, you'll never get to fuck anyone, will you?"

The blond's cry of terror soon turned into a strangled choke when Angelus let his fist fly into his face, breaking Jeff's nose and knocking out three of his teeth. Maniacally laughing Angelus said "I should let you live just to see how you'll scare the pretty girls, and most likely the ugly girls, with your new look." Abruptly stopping he stated "I should but I won't. Goodbye pup."

Right before he could morph he felt a fierce blow to his arm, causing it to become momentarily numb. The numbness caused him to drop the human who deserved to be roasted over the slowest burning pit in hell.

Buffy rapidly delivered a series of blows to Angelus' enraged body, driving him back about twenty feet. When he didn't attack back, Buffy warily stopped and glared at him. "Go away Angel. You made your point you ass! Leave him alone and deal with me."

When he didn't say a word and just stood there watching her with slitted eyes, she turned towards an unconscious Jeff. Getting on her knees next to him, Buffy wanted to see just how severe his injuries were.

From the time that Angelus pushed her down and now could only have been less than a minute but it seemed like it must have been hours for him to be able to inflict the damage on Jeff's body.

Buffy felt terrible guilt. He had only wanted to walk her home because as he had said 'You never know what kind of people are out there that might want to hurt a girl who's by herself.' Why didn't she say 'No, I'll be fine'? She would have been fine. He would have been fine. Now he would need emergency care, just because he wanted to be a concerned citizen.

Reaching out a hand to his battered face, she never got a chance to touch him. Angelus yanked her up and away from Jeff. "I have to see how badly hurt he is!"

"But you can't expect me to just leave him here. I won't leave him here! Stop it! You had no right to hurt him! If you wanted to fight, then you should have fought me! He had nothing to do with us!"

Gripping her tightly by the arm Angelus pulled her along and forced her to try to keep up with his long-legged stride. Staring straight ahead he calmly said "I beg to differ lover. He has everything to do with us. I waited for our nightly exercise for hours and you never showed. I went to your house and all the lights were out. I even went over to your little friends' houses and what do I find? No Buffy. On a whim, I come here and what do I see? I see you walking hand in hand with your date. So don't tell me he has nothing to do us. He has EVERYTHING TO DO WITH US!!" The end of his lengthy tirade ended in a roar as Buffy finally forced him to stop.

"I don't owe you any explanations Angel. We're enemies remember? We don't date, we aren't a couple, we don't even pass as friends." Pulling against him Buffy muttered "I can't believe I'm having this conversation." Brittlely she ordered "Let go of me."

Without releasing his grip Angelus merely said "No" and once again resumed his determined stride. When she continued to struggle he impatiently snarled "You can walk on your own two feet or I can sling you over my shoulder, got it?"

Buffy could NOT believe what was happening. Angelus was in such a jealous demon-driven rage; he acted as if he had caught her cheating on him. Even though she didn't want to admit it to herself Buffy felt a frisson of fear.

Annoyed with herself for feeling fear she shook off his hold. "Neither. I'm going home and you can go...to wherever it is that you go." Buffy boldly tipped her head back and stared him right in the eye, daring him to dispute her.

Coming down from his bloodthirsty rage Angelus could see Buffy had no intention of docilely accompanying him to---where the hell WAS he taking her? He didn't even know. All he could do was listen to the primitive instincts that ordered him to prove to her that she belonged to HIM.

Earlier in the night he had waited at the cemetery, at the usual time and at the usual place. Time crept by on sluggish legs and she still hadn't showed. Buffy was never late so he wondered if perhaps she was engaged in battle elsewhere.

Hurrying through the streets he saw no sign of her or that a fight had taken place. Heading to her quaint house he saw that all the lights were out and her mother's car was gone. His first thought was that she left Sunnydale during the day to escape him.

That wouldn't be the first time a pretty girl had tried to escape is attentions. He ALWAYS found them though. He ALWAYS punished them severely, usually fatally.

If Buffy had left him he would hunt her down to the remotest ends of the Earth, but he wouldn't give her the mercy of ending her existence quickly. No, he would draw her life out painfully. He would have her bound and chained to his bed where he would rape and abuse her endlessly until he tired of her agony.

Agitated he hopped up to the roof and eased her bedroom window open. Climbing in he looked to see if any of her things were missing. Jerking her dresser drawers open he saw everything as is should be. Flinging the closet door open he saw that all of her clothes were still there, except one dress.

At the time he didn't give it much significance. On silent feet Angelus tread to her mother's room. Taking in the room with one glance, he saw a perfectly ordered room. Nothing indicated a panicked flight out of town. Opening up Joyce's closet he noticed that some of her clothes were missing, but nothing out of the ordinary if she was on one of her usually trips.

Not yet satisfied Angelus went downstairs and looked in the kitchen. He saw two cups in the sink and immediately detected Buffy's scent on one of the cups. The other cup belonged to...Willow? Yes, it was definitely Willow's.

Maybe Buffy had gone over to Willow's. She must have gone over to the Rosenbergs. Going out the kitchen door, Angelus noticed that the door was left unlocked. For a Slayer, she's pretty sloppy with allowing anyone to just waltz in here he distractedly thought to himself as he locked the door behind him.

Quickly reaching Willow's home Angelus could already feel that she was not here. Wanting to make sure he crept to the side of the house and peered through the red-head's window.

Through the filmy curtains he could see Wllow sitting cross-legged on her bed and talking animatedly on the phone. Focusing his heightened sense of hearing, Angelus xoomed in when he heard his Buffy's name. "I know! I know! I talked to her today but wouldn't open up! Well, what should I do? Threaten a Slayer with the threat of my oh-so-powerful fists?"

"Buffy's just going to drop the love of her life, forgetting all about him, and move on to you? Xander..."

Not paying attention to the sarcasm in her voice Angelus only heard "Buffy" and "moving on to Xander". That bitch would drop HIM for that annoying insect? An uncontrollable burst of fury flared, causing Angelus to rip the five foot hedge he was crouching behind straight out of the ground and fling it across the yard.

"What was that? Hold on Xander---" Willow had warily walked to her window to look outside but she didn't see anyone. Angelus had already left for Xander's before the hapless hedge hit the ground.

Within a span of a minute he had arrived at the Harris' fully ready to kill every occupant of the house if Buffy was there. Just as he had at Willow's, he immediately sensed that she was not there. Not even bothering to look through the windows, Angelus began to feel something that was akin to worry.

He did not want anything to happen to his Slayer just yet. Afterall, he hadn't yet fully tasted and enjoyed her. And he certainly did not want anyone else to take what was rightfully his kill.

If by the slim chance a demon or roving vampire had taken his Buffy, no torment that he would inflict on the bastard would be enough. That was an oath he would fulfill no matter how long it took.

Walking the streets Angelus felt completely stumped. Where was she? She never went anywhere without the girl and the boy---both of them were at home. The mall was closed, all the restaurants were closed, she didn't seem like the type to go to Willie's, so where in this wretched town was she?

The only place that was still open was the Bronze, but she never went alone. Remembering the missing dress Angelus realized it wasn't one of her school dresses. Immediately he headed towards the club.

When he had gotten two blocks away, he could feel her. Before he could acknowledge the strange relief he felt, the smell of blatant male arousal hit him like a crowbar.

Holding back a growl of beastial rage Angelus walked faster until he was half a block away. Ducking into an alley he waited until he could hear their steps echoing in silence. Originally he had planned to wait until they passed him so he could attack from behind, but then he caught a whiff of something that sent him from the alley.

It hadn't been evident before but it was now. Buffy had the beginnings of sexual arousal and it sure as all hell wasn't because of him.

At least that's what he thought. Little did he know that the scent he caught only started because she thought of HIM in comparison of Mr. All-American.

Now she was defiantly staring at him as if he were a cockroach that had just crawled over her dainty foot. That seriously pissed him off. Gathering a hold of his turbulent emotions Angelus adopted a mask of boredom. He had to remain firmly in control of the situations,something that he had not been when he used the unconscious boy as a living punching bag.

The past week had been very productive and he could not afford to blow all the progress he had made just because of his jealously. Buffy's defenses had cracked the tiniest bit during his week of courtship. He knew that it was becoming harder for her to see him in the strictest terms of good and evil, black and white. By not 'living' up to her expectations of what he had been (and still was), he knew that the lines were becoming blurred.

She was beginning to question herself, her beliefs, her very understanding of what constituted evil.

Before little did she know that evil exists in every creature, in some form and capacity. There is no changing that fact, any other belief is just a desperate yet impossible call for divinity.

Angelus had seen her sitting in her quiet, lonely room thinking her quiet, lonely thoughts and all the while staring at his bouquet. He had seen the obvious questions in her face 'Should I keep them? Should I throw them away?' He had seen her finally put his flowers in a large, glass pitcher on top of her mirrored dresser.

He could only allow the sweet satisfaction of his first, yet oh-so-important victory to reflect in his gaze.

He had seen her looking between her image in the mirror and the hair pins, softly chewing on her bottom lip as she silently questioned herself. Finally she hesitatingly gathered her loose hair and secured them with his gift. He had seen her trying to smother the bit feminine joy at the beauty of his pins in her hair.

He had seen her eyes widen as she had read his boldest note yet. He had seen her gaze dart between the words on the paper and his bowl of her fruit. He had seen her creep in the kitchen, so as not to disturb her sleeping mother, and stand there indecisively. Finally she opened the refridgerator door, taking another furtive look at the strawberries. He had seen the brief speculative gleam in her eyes before she had firmly buried it.

He had seen the wondered look of admiration on her etheral face as she held up the choker. It was over three hundred years old (bought a little over a century ago in Naples during one of his moments of odd humor) and the quality of craftsmanship could never be duplicated in this age.

She seemed to think so too as she reverently touched the intricate designs on the cross. He had seen her read his note, shivering slightly as she absently touched her neck.

He could only allow the menace he felt at the audacity of the now-dead vampire who had tried to take what was and always would be his to burn through him.

He had seen the puzzled look on her face as she held up her lipstick before finding the tiny case. He had then seen her carefully place the tube in its' container and lay it on the dresser alongside the box that contained his tokensof affection.

He had seen her leave the room, waiting long minutes and hating that there was no window in her bathroom. Hungrily he watched her come back in freshly showered and holding the bowl of strawberries. He had seen her strip off her clothes, put on the pins and choker, and sit there sinfully nude in front of her mirror eating her strawberries and looking at her wilting flowers.

What made her even more decadent was the fact that he could swear that she knew he was watching her.

He could only barely restrain the urge to leap through the window and claim her as his woman until the hated dawn broke free from his dimension.

Now he had most likely set himself back several steps but damned if he regretted it! He would have done it again only this time with more permanent results: like death.

"If you want to attack me then do it, but don't do it through others! Maybe you're not man enough---"

"Oh you're definitely right on that score babe. I'm not man enough but I'm demon enough." Reaching out he grazed his fingertips against the bare skin of her arm and softly warned "Haven't you learned anything yet you silly child? It's my raison d'etre to attack all others. It's what I do. If you haven't got that yet, then you're not going to last long in this game of ours."

Mutinously shaking of his hand she icily stated "I'm not playing any games with you Angel. You will NOT shred my life to pieces like you did with Victoria Stramfort, Aimee Bertrand, or Carlotta Louisa Arguello de Calderon"

Arching his brow Angelus bent his waist in a deep bow. "You've been reading about my past exploits. I was wondering how long it would take for you to bring it up. Hope I didn't make you too jealous sweetheart. By the way, her name was Carlotta Louisa Arias de Calderon."

"Whatever. We don't date, you know because you're a icky thing from hell, so that leaves me free Angel. Meaning you say nothing about it." Buffy had no real intention of dating, but there was no way that she'd let Angel dictate his rules to her.

His jaw locking in tension, Angelus tersely stated "Dating is not an option for you my sweet. You better understand that now."

Seeing the implacable look of strong will on his face Buffy spat "I hate you Angel! Do you hear me? I hate you! You won't control my life, you won't control ME! I'm not scared of you and I won't let you bully and kill off anyone who comes near me!"

"Now it's time for you to hear me: you're wrong on all counts lover. I WILL control you. You ARE scared of what I am, of what I make you feel. Listen up here Buff, I will KILL any male who comes sniffing around you."

"You played this 'game' for so long Angel, you actually believe the crap that comes out of your mouth. The difference between then and now is this: I'm the Slayer and I don't scare easily." Buffy quickly eased her body into a fighting stance, feeling in total control despite her dress and high heels. "I'm so ready to end things here and now. What do you say?

Amusedly smirking Angelus crossed his arms in front of his wide chest and snorted. "My, my. What spirit! What determination! Didn't your mommy teach you any manners little girl? You don't start a game and then walk away. You had your chance last week to end things. YOU chose to continue. It's too late now precious. Much, much too late.

"I don't think it is. I think now is as good a time as any. What? Are you chicken, lover? Scared to die? I know how you immortal types can be."

"I'll eagerly face death as long as I have you with me Buff. What? You don't feel the same?" Looking up at the dark sky, Angelus gave the appearance of deep thought. Looking back at the Slayer he pitingly said "I guess I'll just have to teach you a little lesson baby. You don't play with the devil and skip away unburned."

Frustratedly Buffy tightly said "Will you just the fuck up for once?! I'm tired of your pretty little bullshit comments! Either you fight back or you stand there and get staked! I'm not giving you any other chances Angel!"

He just slowly shook his head. "Not going to happen lover. I agree: it will end. Only when I'm ready to end it. Not a moment sooner."

Giving an inarticulate cry of rage Buffy rushed him and brutally punched him in all the same places that he had hit Jeff. When Angelus had pushed her down and resumed his attack, she had been a seeming state of shock. His rage had left her frozen; by the time she had moved her body into mobility, it had been too late for Jeff.

When he didn't hit her back, she intensified her assault on him in the hopes of getting him to fight back. He stood there stoically, barely flinching from the pain.

Despite her earlier threat, Buffy could not kill him if he just stood there passively. "Hit---me---back! Damn you! HIT ME BACK!!"

After several minutes of her one-sided battle Angelus finally subdued her physically, holding her struggling body tightly to his. "Ssh, baby. Ssh, ssh" he soothingly whispered in her ear.

Buffy eventually settled down, holding herself stiffly agains him. Clenching her eyes tightly she felt such an acute pain in her heart. She was being held by Angel's body, but by Angel's demon. The lonely weeks of still needing Angel and only having Angelus brought a sting of tears.

Tipping her face with one finger Angelus' dark gaze beckoned her to stare deeply within their cold, hard depths. "Don't test my promises darling. If you value the lives of the pitiful people you're sworn to protect, don't test me."

Huskily Buffy said "Don't threaten me Angel. You go after anyone and I will stop you."

Twisting his lips into a smile Angelus dipped his head down until his mouth hovered over her suddenly trembling lips. "I would never threaten you my precious one. Never. I only promise." Awaiting for the unwilling arousal to stir Buffy's blood he allowed his mouth to remain poised over hers...

Gently smiling, his mouth captured her sweet glossy lips and fiercely devoured her in a blatantly carnal kiss. Buffy moaned desperately into his mouth, instictively fighting against his seduction yet feeling a wicked rush of keen desire for him. The same desire that rushed through her as she helplessly stared at his well-shaped lips.

It was the worst sort of betrayal she could ever do against Angel, but she craved his body so much. And the demon felt so good.

Angelus' cool hand roved over her backside, squeezing her in his large hand, making her cry out against his mouth. Her essence, her life-force allured him as no other had ever done so. Even Druscilla, when she had human, had never had such a powerful impact on his senses.

He longed for this one girl with all of his unnatural being. He longed for her incessantly. It seemed that with each night the desire grew stronger. He wanted her so badly, that he could barely remember that this was just a show of domination.

Instead he felt himself sink to his knees, bringing her pliant body with him. They were practically in the middle of the street, yet he didn't care. He just held her on his lap so that the pebbles wouldn't dig into her knees.

There was nothing more important on Earth to him than this moment. He purred with triumph when Buffy began kissing him back. Her small hands began to knad his shoulders as she aggressively thrust her tongue into his mouth. His every sense centered on her: her small moans of delight, her steady writhing, her rapid breathing, and her glorious blood.

Her blood was quickly rushing through her body, reaching every area with an increased flow because or her body's arousal.

He had to move her. He would not let their first time be in the middle of goddamned Main and Elm Streets. Although a little exhibitionism would be sexy...

Pulling back from her, he gazed at her flushed face with his heavy lidded dark eyes. "Baby I want you. Now."

Buffy could only stare at his face with a glazed expression. She saw his mouth move, but couldn't quite comprehend his words. He was simply too beautiful. Normally she never thought of that word applying to a man, but it fit her Angel perfectly.

Running his hand over her breasts, he squeezed each one tightly. Murmuring in a voice thick with lust he said "I should burn this dress. I don't want you to ever wear anything like this again lover. It shows all your curves, all of you, to anyone who looks at you. I want to be the only one who sees her.

Her haze of blind desire began to recede as she remembered her Angel. This was not Angel. How could she put it in the back of her mind? It was Angelus. Smug, violent, murderous Angelus who would try to kill her one night.

No! How could she calmly think that he would ever have the chance? How could she even for one second think that they would ever have sex?

"You'll be a good girl, won't you? You won't show your ass off to someone else, will you?" Taking her silence for agreement, Angelus moved closer to kiss her again.

Grunting with surprise he looked up to see a chillingly calm Slayer standing over him. "Don't ever think that you will ever touch me again. Don't ever think that you can even talk to me. And don't ever think that you can tell me what to do. That includes my clothes, my dates, my fucking life. Got it?"

Never giving him a chance to respond, Buffy pulled back her foot and delivered a Slayer-size kick straight to his groin. Angelus immediately howled with rage and most importantly: pain.

He dropped to his side and held his still-stiff groin as the agony of her vicious kick seemed to intensify with each hateful second. Opening an eye he spat "Bitch! You'll pay for this! I swear to all that's unholy: YOU WILL PAY!"

Coldly smiling Buffy said "I'm sure Angelus. Oh by the way, that one was for Jeff."

Not even dignifying his insult with a comment, her icy eyes stared into his, the burning hatred smoldering in his gaze. "I meant what I said Angel. You go after anyone, I go after you. You kill anyone, not only do I kill you, I kill all of yours. Spike, Druscilla, all of them. I trust that I'm making myself crystal."

Turning around Buffy left Angelus laying on his side in the street, confident that he would not retaliate. At least for now. When he did, she would be ready.

Reaching Jeff's still unconscious body, she glanced back and saw that the street was empty. It was as if he had never been there. She only had to look down to see perfectly that he had been there.

He left his mark on them both; some would fade and others would linger. But he would not be forgotten.