SUMMARY: Its your pretty basic plotline of "What if Buffy hadn't been the Slayer." Would she and the Scooby Gang still have become friends? What about Giles? But most importantly, what about Angel?
DISCLAIMER: Wish they were mine, but they're not, so I have to settle with just borrowing them to make their lives soo much more happy.
DISTRIBUTION: Take it hostage. Just tell me where to send the ransom.
RATING: PG. I used the 'H' word.
FEEDBACK: Yes please..I'm a feedback junkie.
SPOILERS: General ones for the whole four seasons up to the boyfriend issue of "A New Man." Ignore anything previous dealing with Angel. All demon related topics are non issues.
DEDICATION: To Kate who has given me GREAT feedback on all the stories i've sent out in the past few days. You rock girl.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally! FLUFF!!!!!

"Buffy!" the voice called out to her over the UC Sunnydale campus, and she turned, stopping in her tracks and smiling at the voice's owner.

"Hey Willow, whats the haps'?" asked Buffy, pushing a long lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

The redhead shrugged and fell into step beside her best friend and roommate. "I was thinking of heading over to that new coffee shop on campus. Ya wanna come? Your classes are all over, right?"

"Yup, I just need to drop off a paper to my professor's office. Do you wanna come with, or meet me there?"

Willow's head tilted in thought before she answered. "I'll meet you there. I'm going to drop my books back at the room. Do you want me to take anything back with me?"

Shaking her head, they exchanged "see you later's", and Buffy continued walking toward the English building. The day was one of the perfect days that you expected from a Californian town called Sunnydale. The town itself epitomized the quiet, suburban life that you mostly saw on television. When her mom had gotten the opportunity to open up her own gallery here after the divorce, Buffy hadn't really wanted to go. Los Angeles, with its chic shops and fashions was the only place she thought she could ever live. She'd welcomed the change though, when she'd found out her boyfriend, Todd, and one of her best friends had been cheating on her behind her back.

So she'd come to Sunnydale with her mother, and had enrolled in Sunnydale High School, where on her first day one of the cheerleaders had befriended her. She'd cautiously avoided the flock though, not wanting another set of fake friends. And then she'd met Willow, and her two friends Xander and Jesse. And after Jesse's death in a car accident, the three had become the best friends, going through the hellish years of high school together.

Buffy was so caught up in her reminiscing that she didn't see the person she'd ran into. Falling unceremoniously onto her butt, she groaned and quickly apologized, the words falling short as she looked up. The guy that she'd run into was gorgeous. Tall, dark and broad-shouldered, he was ever girl's fantasy guy. She attempted to put the apology out again. "I'm really sorry; I guess I didn't see you."

He flashed her a wry grin, and stuck out his hand to help her up. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't really looking where I was going either."

Buffy smiled and took his hand, going stiff at the sensations just touching him sent through her body. Trying to hide her reaction to just that touch, she adjusted her shoulder bag, avoiding his intense gaze. "I'd better go, I have a paper due in about 20 minutes."

The nameless guy gave a small laugh. "Procrastinator?"

Buffy laughed, shaking her head slightly. "Not really. I just didn't feel like doing it. It probably wouldn't have gotten done at all it my room mate hadn't stepped in and made me do it." Smiling, she got the nerve to look up at him. "Do you go here? Not that I'd recognize you, the college is pretty big, but you look a little old to be at college. Not that being old is a bad thing, you just don't much look like the usual frat guy. Am I rambling?"

He gave her a full out smile that totally lit up his face, making her smile in response. "You are, but its okay, its pretty endearing. Actually, I'm a first year Grad student. Just transferred from UCLA."

"That's cool. So what are you studying?"

"I have my BA in Art History." She must have made a face, because he looked at her puzzled. "Not an art fan?"

"Oh no, my mom actually owns a gallery in town; not that I could tell one painter from another. I'm not much of a history fan. I like to live in the present." Buffy glanced down at her watch. "Which is quickly becoming an issue seeing as how I have 5 minutes to get my paper in. It was nice, um, running into you."

****

"What took you so long? Run into Riley?" teased Willow, talking about Buffy's boyfriend, their psychology TA in their first semester.

Buffy shook her head, hoping she wasn't blushing. In truth, after handing in her paper, she'd hung around the building, hoping for another peak at the guy she'd literally ran into. She didn't know what had compelled her to do; it was just when they had touched, she had felt, something, fall into place. "I got a little sidetracked."

Willow cocked an eyebrow, a grin coming over her face. "You met a guy; which is bad, cuz you have a boyfriend." Willow attempted to give her a look meant to chastise, but it was overruled by her curiosity. "Was he cute?"

Buffy laughed, and took a sip of her mocha that Willow had ordered for her. That's what being best friends for four years would do, you couldn't hide anything. "Tall, dark and gorgeous. I bumped into him. He's a grad student here."

"You know what he's doing! You are interested. So what's his name?"

"I didn't get it. I didn't tell him mine either, so its not like he could find me, even if he wanted to, because I'm just a college freshman and he's already out of college, and that's probably a good thing, because I have Riley."

"Right. Don't want to hurt Riley."

Buffy gave a soft sigh, her lips turning into a small frown. "What do you think of Riley?"

"Buffy you've been going out with him for about 5 months. Haven't you formed an opinion yet?" Buffy lifted one shoulder in response, and Willow propped her chin on her hand. "He's cute in that boy next door way, and sweet, and kind, and caring, and honest.."

"And utterly boring."

"Buffy."

"What? It as nice at first, with the picnics, and the walks. But lately," Buffy broke off, staring into nothing. "Its just that, I have this feeling, you know, that this isn't right. He isn't the one."

"But that's what dating is for, isn't it? To find that right one?"

"I guess so. But whenever I've been with one of the guys I've dated, there's just this wrongness to it."

"I'd say you just like the challenge of the getting of a guy, but I know you better than that," said Willow. "Lets see, Owen was what, three months? And Matt was two. Then you just did the date thing, until Scott who was most of senior year. And now Riley. You said they all weren't the 'one'."

"I know, I just figure that I'll know when it happens. Like when the mystery guy helped me up off the floor, and our skin touched, there was this weird rush." Buffy fell silent, then shrugged it off, not fooling her friend for an instant. "I probably just stood up too fast. So what's on the plan for tonight? Bronze?"

Willow noticed the change of subject, but said nothing about it. "Yup. Oz, Xander and Anya will meet us at Giles' for dinner, and then we meet up with Cordy and Riley at the Bronze."

"K. Were we supposed to bring something tonight?"

"I told Giles' we'd stop and pick up dessert."

Buffy nodded, and the girls plopped money down on their table as they left.

****

"Buffy, sorry I'm late," apologized Riley as he and about 5 guys approached the table where she and her friends were seated.

Buffy, turned, ready to forgive him when she saw the guys with him. "Um, Riley, you brought friends."

He nodded, his blonde hair falling into his eyes as he did so. "They didn't have much to do, so they came along. That's all right, isn't it?"

Buffy shifted, not wanting to cause a scene, because it really wasn't all right. She didn't really like his friends, and this night was really just supposed to be a specific group. "Uh, yea. Sure."

He grinned then, and smiled at his friends. "We're going to go get something to drink. Do you want anything?"

Buffy shook her head, and when he looked to the rest of the table, they all shook their heads as well. As soon as he was out of earshot, she groaned, her head falling into her hands.

"Does Fishboy realize you should ask before bringing people along?" asked Xander.

"What could I do? This is a public place, I couldn't just tell him that yes, I mind. I was hoping to talk to him tonight."

Willow's eyebrows shot up at that, and she exchanged a look with Oz who knew what had been going on lately. "You weren't going to."

Buffy shot her a questioning look, which turned understanding as soon as she realized what Willow was referring to. "No, at least not completely. I just want some time to work it out."

"Ok good." Willow nodded resolutely. "'Cuz you shouldn't just dump a guy out of nowhere."

"Thanks for the advice. It's not like I haven't dumped a guy in my past before."

Cordelia snorted. "You got that right, you had almost as bad a rep as me with getting over guys."

"I feel so much better now Cordy, thanks."

The May Queen shrugged. "No problem."

Buffy sighed. "Well that just ruined my night. If Riley ever leaves his frat brothers, tell him I didn't feel well and went home. I'm sorry about ruining the gathering."

They all shrugged in understanding. "We'll do something this weekend, all right? Bye guys." With a small wave, Buffy picked up her bag and headed to the door, trying to avoid Riley's line of sight. Almost to the door, she stopped short as she bumped into a long, well built body. She caught herself before she fell though, with some help by the hand that was suddenly clasping her elbow. She realized faintly that her whole being was tingling as she looked up, only to see the mystery guy.

"We really have to stop meeting like this."

Buffy grinned and laughed, self-consciously pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "We must have a lot on our minds if we haven't been paying attention to where we are going."

The guy looked at her, his eyes dark and searching. His next words were soft and light-hearted, but Buffy could swear there was something akin to worry tinging them. "Anything in particular?"

She shrugged, glancing over her shoulder to see where Riley was. She saw him at the pool table with his friends, obviously not even worried about her. "Nothing really serious. Boyfriend problems, not that you really wanted to know." Had his face fallen at the mention of Riley?

He covered it too quickly for her to really think about it, because his lips pulled up in a small smirk. "Understandable. Not that I have a boyfriend, or a girlfriend for that matter, but I've been there." He paused, as if unsure. "Uh, I was just coming in to get some coffee, but if you're leaving, could I walk you back?"

It took Buffy about all of one second to decide. His hand was still resting on her elbow, and with a slight movement, she'd tucked her hand around his arm. "I'd like that. But I don't want to keep you from your caffeine. What about we stop at the local coffee shop and get something on our way?"

She was blessed with a beautiful smile as he grinned, leading the way out of the Bronze.

****

"So do you like it here so far?" asked Buffy, breaking the companionable silence that had fallen over them after they'd gotten their coffee's and started back to campus. Halfway there they had stopped to sit in the swings at a park.

He shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. "I think so. I'm still kinda taking everything in. I've only been here a week, and most of it has been spent in my apartment getting things together. I've ordered some pretty decent take out though."

"Not much for cooking?"

"No, I love to cook, but with unpacking and registering, I'm usually not up for cooking by the end of the day."

"A guy who loves to cook. Well that's different."

"I take it you don't know many guys that do."

"I don't know if it's ever come up. One of my best friends, Xander, loves to eat, I know that." Buffy scrunched up her nose in distaste. "Some of the things that goes in his mouth.yuck."

He laughed. "You close with him?"

Buffy nodded, sipping her drink. "As close as a guy and a girl can be without being together. At times its less than he wanted; but I can't help the way I feel. Anyway, Will would have killed me if I had. She was in love with him."

"You sound like you're close to them."

"We've been friends for four years. You? I mean, do you have any real close friends?"

He seemed to look up at the sky that was visible through the trees surrounding the park. A fat, happy moon hung in the night, shining down on them. "Not too many. I've always been something of a loner. I don't let too many people close."

Buffy was surprised. "Really? You sure don't seem it."

He gave an off-hand shrug. "You're easy to talk to." He noticed her blush, and changed the subject. "So, what were those boyfriend problems, if you don't mind me asking."

"No, its ok. Riley, my boyfriend, he's just a little oblivious. He came to the Bronze tonight with a bunch of his Frat buddies, when it was just supposed to be us and my friends from high school."

"Is it such a big deal?"

"I guess not, but my friends are kind of a specific group. We're not cliquish or cultish or anything like that; its just with college and all, its hard for us to get together."

"Its hard keeping in touch," he agreed, nodding.

"Well not really. Only one of us left really, she moved to L.A. and with her job and all, she's only able to get back occasionally. The rest of us, 'cept for Xander, all enrolled at USC. We all keep different schedules. Its easy for me and Willow, cuz we're roommates and all. Giles is the only one we have to make an effort to really see."

"Giles?"

She nodded. "He's the father figure of our group. He's the librarian at the high school, and over the years, he sorta became one of us," Buffy paused, suddenly realizing how kinky that could sound. "Its not nasty or anything. He's British," she said, as if that explained everything. "Most of us have pretty dinky home lives, so we formed our own little family."

"You found what you were lacking in each other."

"Exactly." Buffy put her empty cup on the sand beneath her, and started swinging her feet lightly. "So what about you? All I know is that you love to cook, you're an Art History major from UCLA, and you don't let many people close."

"I like to read. And I draw."

"Draw? Draw what?"

"Anything that captures my eye."

"You any good?"

"I've been told so; but its just a hobby. Nothing spectacular."

"What about family?" He seemed to freeze at that, and suddenly got up off the swing, heading toward campus. She jumped off the swing, and hurried to catch up to him, slipping her hand into his to slow him down. "Hey. I'm sorry if it was a sore point. You don't have to answer if you don't want."

He shook his head, his eyes sad. "Its all right. It just hurts to think too much about them."

"They died?"

"A couple of years ago. My mom of cancer, and my dad a few months later of heartache."

"He loved her that much?"

"Yea, they were always touching in some way. My dad always said he knew the minute they touched that they were meant."

"Wow. That's what everybody spends their life looking for. They were lucky to find each other. Have you ever felt like that? Like a person was your other half?"

"I might have. You?"

"I don't know if I've found it yet, but I want to. I've ended a lot of relationships over the years just because it didn't feel right. Wills and I were talking about this earlier actually. I think her words were somewhere along the lines of "if I didn't know you better I'd think you were a slut", which for Willow is pretty strong words."

He laughed at that, his black mood disappearing. He started back on their original walk toward UC Sunnydale campus, swinging her hand casually as they walked. "I think I like Willow. She has a way with words."

"Which works perfectly for her, 'cuz Oz doesn't use many."

"Oz?"

"Her boyfriend of about two years. He's mono-syballic."

"What about Xander and that friend that moved to L.A.?"

"Are they mono-syballic? Yea right. Cordy is a gossip queen and Xander 'butchers the English language' according to Giles. But then, Giles tells us we all do, so I don't really trust his judgment."

He laughed, and followed her lead as she headed down the campus path leading to Stevenson Hall. "This is you?"

Buffy nodded, glancing at her watch. "Oh wow. I'd invite you up and all, but I think Willow probably beat me home. I didn't know we'd talked for so long." She blushed slightly, and looked up at him. "I had fun though."

"Me too. Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight.," she broke off, surprised. "You know, I never did get your name."

"Angelus." He must have been used to the reaction to his name, because he segued immediately into a short explanation. "I was born in Ireland. My mom used to call me Angel though."

"Angel, huh? Its nice. Well, Angel, its nice to meet you. I'm Buffy."

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