Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters. They belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc. I'm just borrowing them.
Notes: This was my first fic, so if it's crappy, that's why.

Part 1

As Buffy crouched in the grass waiting for Willow, she heard a twig snap. Slaytime. she thought. She leaped from the grass and kicked the person in the stomach. In the shadows, Buffy didn't recognize who it was. She was just about to go for the kill when the person shouted, "Buffy, hold on! It's me!"

"Willow? Geez, I'm sorry! I didn't see you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Willow replied nervously, catching her breath. "How come you didn't see me?"

"It's dark. I thought you were a vampire. You know how it is. These days I'm always on edge. Are you sure you're okay?"

Willow nodded then said, "I understand. After what happened at graduation and with Angel leaving and all, I understand. Just next time, look before you slay, okay? You scared me to death."

"I will. Thanks for being such a good friend, Willow. Any other person would have never talked to me again."

"Anytime, pal. Do you still want to study for the calculus test?"

"Sure. I can battle evil demons and study for a test on evil demons at the same time." Buffy replied, relieved that Willow hadn't blown up at her. What had she been thinking anyway?

Part 2

Two days after her encounter with Willow, Buffy drove home silently, thinking about what had happened to her in the 3 years since graduation. Her mom had finally agreed to let her drive once she promised not to run away again.

She reviewed the events in her head as she had a thousand times before, trying once again to discover where she had decided to toughen her shell. After I killed the giant snake that the mayor became, Giles handed me my diploma. Then I looked around for Angel. I saw him and he saw me. But I remembered what he had said about not saying good-bye, so I didn't go to him. We stared at each other for what seemed like and then I just watched him walk away. I didn't run after him or anything. I was so stupid!

I didn't feel my heart break as it had when he destroyed our relationship. I just felt empty. I think it was then that I decided never to let anyone or anything hurt me again. So I spent the next three years grower stronger physically and emotionally. (Of course there was that foolish mourning period where I waited for him to come back, but thank god that only lasted a year. Now I'm over him.)

I almost succeeded. I still have those dreams in which I meet Angel again and everything's perfect. In those dreams I'm vulnerable. Things can hurt me in my dreams. At least it's not like that in real life. And yet I've distanced myself from my friends. I've put up a very high wall that I'm never going to let anyone break through. Ever. Buffy knew that all her thoughts were lies. She wasn't over Angel. She never would be.

Buffy was jerked out of her reverie when something jumped at her car. Buffy braked suddenly and threw the attacker into some bushes. She got out of the car, stake in hand, and walked over to the bushes. Buffy kicked the man and he got up slowly.

It was Angel.

Part 3

"Angel?" Buffy asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"Buffy, I can explain." Angel said, walking toward her, moving to take her hand.

She stiffened quickly and jerked away. "Don't touch me." she said coldly, still grasping the stake pointed at his heart. "Just talk."

"I understand how you must feel, Buffy. What I did was unforgivable. But it-"

"Damn right it was unforgivable!" Buffy yelled, her temper rising. "Do you have any idea how long I waited for you , hoping you'd change your mind and come back to me?!"

Angel shook his head.

"A year! I wasted a year of my life waiting for you! And, you know, I loved you everyday of that year. And then one day I decided to stop caring. I stopped waiting. I no longer care for you." She fought to keep from crying. Just another white lie. . .

"Buffy, I've come back to tell you I was wrong. I love you. And I know I need to tell you why. I owe you that. Right before I broke up with you, your mom came to the mansion. She told me that if you couldn't make responsible choices for yourself, then I had to make them for you. She said that you didn't have a future with me. She implied that I should break up with you. At the time I thought she was right.

"So I broke up with you. But I was wrong. For three years I've missed you, but I was too afraid. I thought you would hate me. I see I was right. I never should have come back." Angel had been staring into Buffy's eyes the whole time he'd been talking, waiting for a reaction. When he saw none, he sighed and walked away.

Something inside Buffy snapped. The two years she'd spent hardening herself against emotional blows washed away. She was once again vulnerable. But she didn't give a damn. She almost had Angel back. But he was getting away from her! She had to tell him how she felt!

"Angel! Wait! Come back to me!" Buffy yelled. He was too far away to hear her. Well, she was the Slayer. She could fix that.

Buffy ran and leaped into the air landing a foot in front of Angel, almost knocking him over. She got up and spoke in a rush. "When the Hellmouth opened and I had to send you to Hell, I didn't do it voluntarily. You were evil and I had to stop you. I had to strike you with the sword in order to close the portal. I was willing to until you changed back into yourself. I didn't know then but Willow had cast a spell to give you back your soul. But it was too late. The portal had opened by the time you changed. So I had to kill you in order to save the world." Buffy said breathlessly. "And I have a theory about why you were brought back to Sunnydale. Shortly after you were sucked to Hell, I went to a church and said good-bye. I left this." Buffy pulled a gold chain off of her neck and showed it to him. On it was the ring he had given her.

Angel stared at it, uncomprehending.

"Did you fall near this when you came back?"

He nodded. "I fell on top of it."

"Angel, then it was me that brought you back. Me and our love." Buffy's voice faltered at the last word as she realized that she still loved him and had never stopped. "I love you." she whispered.

"Oh, Buffy. I love you too." he said quietly. "But I have one more thing to tell you. Over the past three years I've seen some pretty awful stuff. I've narrowly escaped dying, I mean really dying, several times. One day I stumbled on a spell. I didn't know what it did, so, out of curiosity, I cast it. Buffy, it turned me mortal. I'm the same age as you now. I'm finally free."

She ran into his arms, overjoyed. "Angel, this is wonderful. Now we can have a normal life together."

Or can they?

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