"Wow." Willow said, her eyes wide, looking down at the table. The group was in their usual table at the Espresso Pump, listening to Buffy's horrific story about Riley and what happened with her mother.

"Then he shows up at Gunn's party being all nice with his stupid manners and denies everything. I hated that guy the first second I saw him." Xander shook his head in disgust.

"You were about to shake his hand, being all polite and everything." Angel gave his friend a look of disbelief.

"A real man shows manners to everyone, no matter how much they despise them." Xander quickly covered up.

"That sucks, Buffy. I'll be sure to drag that bastard into an alley and fuck up his face for you next time I see him." Spike promised, digging into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette. Buffy smiled in thanks. Faith quickly put the cigarette out.

"Cancer stick." She explained before burying her face into her hands, she had the most enormous headache. Spike stared at her.

"And since when did you become the Mistress of Good Habits? I remember somebody chugging on top of table surrounded by men, I also remember someone throwing up in the bathroom for an hour after." Spike snapped. Faith took a large gulp of coffee, the bitter taste slightly dulling her hangover.

"Once in a life time thing." Faith snapped.

"That's what I said but then I ended up in bed with some chic-," Spike stopped at the death look from Faith. "So, Buffy, what the fuck is this Riley guy doing out of jail?" Quickly taking the subject off him.

"Good call." Xander gave his bleach blonde friend a sarcastic thumbs up. Spike's eyes narrowed.

"Cordy, why are you still going out with him? I think I heard him bragging about breaking up with you before the party." Spike grinned at the look of embarrassment and shame on Xander's features.

"What? I never said anything about that!" Xander denied at Cordy's look.

"But Xander, you said in the dorm room that you were going to-" Willow started innocently.

"Not the best time, Will." Xander stopped her just in time.

"Well, guess who is not coming in my dorm room for a week." Cordy glared at her boyfriend.

"What? No bed, I mean, dorm?" Xander looked mortified and he dropped his head into his hands.

"Ouch." Oz said, his only comment the whole time that they were there.

"Yes! No more walking in on them." Faith shouted in victory but quickly regretted it after a sharp pain against her skull.

"Hey, Drinking Queen, there is a table over there so go dance on it. Maybe you could get a few bucks from so guys." Cordy quipped back at the brunette. Faith simply stuck up her middle finger at Angel's sister, in no mood for another splitting headache.

Buffy smiled, it seemed like no one was really affected by the news, they all just promised to look out for her. It was like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders. They just went back to their bickering about everything as if nothing had happened. And that's the way Buffy wanted it to be. She didn't want them to feel pity and act different around her now. She was so happy that she had friends like these. The blonde closed her eyes, resting her head on Angel's shoulder. She loved the way she felt his body shake when he laughed. She loved hearing his laugh.

"Tired?" Angel whispered in her ear.

"Well, you did keep me up all night." Buffy grinned slyly and Angel shrugged.

"Glad that you told them?" Angel asked. Buffy smiled, he knew her so well.

"Yeah. I think everything will be better if I never see Riley again." Buffy said and as soon as the words left her mouth she quickly regretted it. She just jinxed the hell out of herself. Damnit!

******

"Oh my God! Is that him?" Willow hissed loudly to Buffy and pointing to some man. Buffy turned her head to look, this was the fifth time that Willow thought that she spotted Riley. It was getting a tad annoying but Buffy liked that everyone was now protective of her. Even Cordelia had her share of protecting. Buffy jumped as she saw Riley Finn standing on the other side of the mall.

"Put your hand down!" Buffy ordered to Willow who quickly did as she was told.

"That's him?" Willow said excited and nervous at the same time.

"Don't look, just keep walking." Buffy said, grabbing Willow's arm and quickly walking in the opposite direction of where Riley was standing. He appeared to be looking at the mannequins outside a clothing store. Buffy pushed them into the bookstore.

"Buffy, he is so stalking you. I bet he has night vision goggles and the whole works." Willow squeaked. It was strange to Buffy why she seemed to excited about her having a stalker.

"Right! He is stalking me because only stalkers come to the mall on a Saturday." Buffy snapped sarcastically.

Willow ignored her and poked her head outside of the bookstore to see if he was still there.

"Hey, he is gone." Willow frowned and turned back to Buffy who was looking at the vacant spot where Riley was.

"Maybe he is hiding in the clothing racks." Buffy muttered. Did she just say that? No! She was going to have a normal Saturday and hang out with her best friend at the mall. No stalkers or ex-boyfriends or weird bursts of fear and anger is going to stop her. God, she wished Angel was here. Damn girls only day.

"He is probably looking at us right now with binoculars." Willow gasped, shaking off the eerie feeling but both girls couldn't help but look around suspiciously.

"Maybe we should get going..." Willow said slowly, peering around with her eyebrows raised.

"Good idea. Okay, now slowly walk out of the bookstore and into the food court. No sudden movements." Buffy instructed and they both slowly tiptoed out of the bookstore, heading straight ahead.

"Hello." A voice came from the side of them and both girls jumped and screamed loudly. Half of the mall stopped and looked at them. Willow turned a fine red and Buffy held her hand to her racing heart. It was Riley.

"What are doing stalkin-...I mean, following us like that! Don't you know not to sneak up on people!" Willow demanded, her nervousness showing through her eyes.

"Sorry, I just thought I would actually say 'hi' without getting beat up." Riley said half-serious, he unconsciously looked around for Buffy's muscular boyfriend.

"Well, don't get to comfortable because Angel just went to the bathroom." Buffy said quickly, her skin was crawling just being near him.

"Yeah, he plays football and he threw his step-dad down the stairs and my boyfriend is around here too. I think he went to the music store. He had lots of muscle because he is a band. You know what they said about guys in a band." Willow said proudly, giving Riley a warning glare. Riley raised an eyebrow and Buffy almost rolled her eyes.

"No, I don't know. What do they say about guys in a band?" He asked dumbly, looking at the redhead curiously.

"That...uh...they have lots of muscle. I don't like repeating myself." Willow flustered. She held her chin up high, a look of resolve and confidence on her face. Buffy bit her cheek to stop from laughing. She was suddenly glad that Riley was polite now, back in LA, he would have slapped Willow. Instead, he just tightened her jaw and turned to Buffy.

"I was hoping that maybe we could catch up some time."

"Not likely." Buffy answered, unconsciously pulling at the shoulder strap on her purse. She was *so* glad that she had Willow there with her.

"Why not?" Riley demanded, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Buffy unconsciously took a tiny step back, Willow mimicked her movements.

"Oh look! There is my boyfriend now!" Willow said, her eyes wide as she pointed to some random blonde hair guy walking towards them. But her plan didn't work out because the guy simply brushed past them without a second look.

"Bye sweetie!" Willow called, waving the to the unknown man as he walked away. "He is probably just mad because that didn't have his guitar in. Damn store." Willow covered up quickly. Riley looked at Willow strangely and then his piercing gaze settled on Buffy. She felt uncomfortable and she wanted, *needed*, to get out of his presence.

"Well, we need to eat. Growing women, you know." Buffy excused them and grabbed Willow's arm hurrying her to the foodcourt. They quickly sat down at a table and Willow bounced in her seat.

"Did you see me? Did you?" Willow squeaked excited, a small proud smile on her face.

"I was standing right next to you." Buffy couldn't help but smile back but the uneasiness of having Riley there wouldn't leave her alone.

"I showed him! He knows not to mess with us, now and the whole fake boyfriend thing, that was just off the top of my head. Imagine what I could do if I am thinking about it for a while!" Willow flashed her a brilliant smile and Buffy chuckled.

"Thanks, Willow." She said sincerely. Willow's giddiness faded and she smiled happily and grabbed Buffy's hand, giving it a squeeze.

"What other things are friends supposed to do besides save you from stalkers from LA and make fake boyfriends? Besides, it was a blessing to have me here, if Angel or Spike were here, they wouldn't have hesitated to drag him into a dark corner and break his bones." Willow grinned.

Buffy laughed.

******

"Yeah and he was all following us and everything until I stopped him and said, 'hey mister, I don't like being followed so get the hell away from here!'" Willow said proudly to the whole gang the next day. They all managed to crowd into the small tables at the Bronze. Xander stared at Willow in awe.

"Could I have your autograph?" He gasped in astonishment.

"That really happened?" Faith said, not believing that Willow stood up to Riley after hearing all that he did.

"Something like that." Buffy chuckled at Willow's over-exaggerating but who was she to ruin her fun?

"So, he *was* following you?" Angel growled, instinctively pulling Buffy closer to him. Buffy smiled at his protectiveness. She loved when he got all possessive.

"No. He just happened to be at the mall, I mean, it was a Saturday for crying out loud. *Everyone* goes to the mall on Saturday." Buffy explained.

"Yeah right. There was some major following on his part." Willow quipped back. Buffy shot her a look but the redhead simply leaned back into Oz's arms.

"I swear to God, if I ever see that man somewhere near you then I'll rip his head off." Angel promised. Spike slapped him a high five.

"Amen, mate." The bleach blonde chuckled. Cordy rolled her eyes.

"Xander, how come you don't protect me like that?"

Xander stared at her in confusion. "From what?"

Cordy looked around the packed club and pointed to a man. "I have seen that guy here before, he is probably following me. Go beat him up." She demanded. Xander chuckled and shook his head.

"That is the bartender, no wonder you have seen him here."

"Shut up." Cordelia snapped, pulling away from him. "Anyway, Oz, how come you are not playing tonight?"

"I think the Dingoes has reached their Bronze quota for the week." Oz stated. Everyone stared at him. The musician shrugged.

"Bronze found some new talent. We will be performing tomorrow though."

"I'm VIP." Willow smiled proudly.

"I'm so happy for you." Faith drawled sarcastically.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of Spike's bed this morning." Buffy quipped, knowing she was treading on dangerous ground when she received a death look from the cranky brunette.

"She probably just walked in on me and Xander making up after our little fight." Cordy smiled cheerfully at Faith. Faith glared and clenched her fists. Spike slipped his arm around her waist to restrain her. He seemed to be doing that a lot ever since Faith got paired with Cordy.

"Somebody, please, switch dorms with me." Faith asked miserably, dropping her head in her hands. She couldn't take any more of Xander and Cordy in their dorm.

"No thanks." Angel grinned. "But you have my pity."

"Your pity doesn't help me. I need your dorm. Do you mind Oz?" Faith turned to the quiet man. Oz was about to reply before Willow cut in.

"Uh, no girl and boy dorm policy." The redhead said quickly. Its not that she didn't trust her friends, she knew Oz would never go for Faith, but she didn't like the idea of her boyfriend living with another girl.

"Damnit." Faith swore, inwardly cursing the damn policy. Otherwise, she would have moved in with Spike a long time ago instead of being stuck with the Queen C from hell.

Their thoughts were interrupted by a many screaming girls and a fast beat filling the Bronze's atmosphere. The gang looked on with amusement as Penn's voice sounded from a microphone and he danced to the music. He sounded and looked like a strange version of Ricky Martin. Cordy clapped her hands and turned to Xander.

"Damn, he has a nice ass...voice." Cordy corrected and grabbed her boyfriend's arm. "Lets dance." The couple quickly went off to the dance floor.

"New talent?" Spike turned to Oz. Oz shrugged and took a sip of his drink.

"Well, he did do singing at the talent show at Sunnydale High." Buffy reminded. Angel nodded to the music.

"Yo, B, I'm gonna get drinks. Come with me." Faith ordered. Buffy looked a little shocked.

"Uh, no thanks, I'm not thirsty." Buffy politely declined but Faith got off her chair and started walking to the bar.

"Now." The brunette snapped, leaving no room for discussion. Buffy made a worried face before leaving the circle of Angel's arm and following the dark woman. Faith turned around once they reached the bar.

"All right, I led you away because I knew the guys would make a scene but guess who is playing pool." Faith nodded to the direction of the pool table. Buffy closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to look but knew she had too. She turned around to see Riley playing pool with some random jock guys. Buffy quickly turned away from them.

"Shit." She cursed. Could it be possible that he was stalking her? Maybe he just came to see Penn perform? Did he even know Penn? Well, if he knew Gunn he had to know Penn. Buffy's head spun from all the questions. "Angel will flip if he sees him here and he probably isn't even following me."

"Yeah right. Buffy, the guy was convicted of shooting you Mom and now he suddenly appears everywhere you are? Suspicious much?" Faith snapped but then froze.

"Did I just say 'much'? God, please shoot me, I've been hanging around Cordelia way too long." Faith slapped her forehead but Buffy wasn't really worried about her problems. Her thoughts were focused on the sandy blonde haired man playing pool. Damn him. Why did he have to come in the picture when everything was so perfect?

"Should I lead him out of here? If Angel or Spike find him they could beat him up but then he would get more pissed off and probably double his stalking duties." Faith calculated.

"Yeah, that would be great. Think you could handle it?" Buffy asked. She knew that Faith was tough but Riley was dangerous too.

Faith rolled her eyes. "Please. He is a man and I'm a sexy woman. No man could resist a sexy woman."

Buffy shuddered at the thought but nodded.

"Sorry, hunny." Faith muttered, looking at Spike talking to Angel back at the table and quickly took off her shirt to reveal a lacy bra. Buffy's eyes widened.

"What the hell are you doing?" She demanded.

"Saving your ass." Faith grinned before walking over to Riley, smiling seductively. Riley immediately dropped his pool stick and stare at the shirtless brunette in awe. Buffy quickly went back to the table to distract the men.

"Hey baby." She greeted Angel with a sweet kiss, taking his mind of things for a minute. Spike snorted.

"Disgusting."

"Where are the drinks?" Willow asked, searching for her Coke.

"Drinks?" Buffy asked, looking at her strangely.

"Where is my girlfriend?" Spike added to Willow's first question. Buffy quickly thought of some lie.

"Uh, clumsy me! I spilled the drinks on Faith on the way over here and she went to go wash off in the bathroom." Buffy lied. She hated lying to her friends, especially Angel who saw through every single on of her fibs. She hated the way she was feeling lately. With everyone talking about Riley following her, she was starting to believe it. Of course she denied it at first but who was she kidding? He arrives at two places that she was at. How suspicious is that? Of course there is the logical side of things. Everyone goes to the mall and Bronze on weekends. Plus, if he was stalking her then shouldn't he be hiding? Why is he so noticeable if he was following her? God, she was going to lose her mind with all these questions.

Angel raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend, noting she was nervous but dismissed it.

"On her shirt? I bought that shirt for her." Spike cursed. Damn Coke. Buffy bit her cheek to stop from laughing.

"Yep. That shirt is long gone."

******

"What's wrong?" Angel whispered into Buffy's ear as they danced slowly on the dance floor at the Bronze. Buffy rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

"Absolutely nothing." She sighed contently. Well, it was sort of true. When she was in Angel's arms, nothing could bother her. Moments like these are what you read in the novels, they talk about everything melting into white and all she could see was him. Buffy grinned, she would be an excellent romance writer if she wrote about Angel. He was the only man that she could ever write about and she hated writing!

"Sure about that? You seemed nervous back at the table." Angel replied, pressing her up against him. He sighed, trying to focus on why Buffy was acting strange but all he could think about was her body against his. Focus, Angel.

"I'm trying to dance here." Buffy scolded, choosing to shy away from the question. She could never hide anything from her boyfriend and he knew the way to get things about of her.

"Sorry. I'm just worried, that's all." Angel assured, kissing the top of her head. "With Riley around and seeing him at the mall, its a load to carry."

"You got that right." Buffy smiled but Angel knew that it was forced.

"I want you to be able to rely on me because you know that I will do anything that you ask." Angel said, staring straight into her eyes. Buffy was the first to look away, she felt guilty that she had to lie about Riley to him. She wasn't sure what she felt about Riley. Half of her was angry and scared but the other half wanted to believe that he was a new person. Buffy knew she shouldn't have told everyone because if they started to panic then she would definitely panic. The last thing she wanted was to have a nervous breakdown so young.

"Then kiss me." Buffy ordered, forcing the thoughts of Riley away from her. She was with her boyfriend now and shouldn't be thinking about Riley. She should be thinking about Angel's lip descending down to hers. Before their lips could touch a shout of shock and anger sounded from their table.

Buffy and Angel both pulled away from each other to look at Spike throwing his jacket around a topless Faith.

"Do you have no dignity, woman?!" Spike demanded but there was a large grin on his face. Faith laughed and tossed the jacket away, showing everyone her black bra.

"You don't like it?" She asked innocently, pouting.

"I like it but I don't like that everyone else likes it." Spike glared at a couple of guys who were staring with their jaws dropped at Faith.

"Lets dance, Billy Idol." Faith ordered, dragging him to the dance floor and rubbing against him. Spike quickly forgot about her missing shirt and pulled her flush against him, crushing his lips to hers.

"Well," Oz stated but had nothing else to say. Willow blushed and turned to her boyfriend who was staring down at his drink.

"It getting strange here, lets go back to the dorm...?" Willow said slowly, unsure if Oz wanted to or not. Oz just smiled and linked his arms with her. The redhead smiled giddily and practically skipped out of the club with her boyfriend.

******

"What happened with Riley?" Buffy hissed to Faith as they walked back to the dorm with their boyfriends and Xander with Cordelia behind them. They stayed hearing distance away from them. Buffy could feel Angel's eyes burning into her back.

"Well, I walked over to him and he totally thought I was all for him, I mean, yuck! Can't believe you actually went out with that jackass." Faith made a disgusted look and shuddered.

"Faith, want to continue the story?" Buffy asked tiredly.

"So then I led him into this dark corner and he got all touchy feely." Faith shuddered again before continuing. "But I couldn't take it anymore, he was so...not Spike." Buffy half smiled. She could relate, every guy she saw she couldn't help but compare them to Angel. No one came even close to matching up to her boyfriend.

"So, I told him to meet me at some apartment complex and said that I would be there waiting for him. Then he left the Bronze like a bat out of hell." Faith grinned, feeling proud of her leading on.

"Hey! Secrets are no fun, lets share." Xander came up behind the two girls, trying to get into the conversation.

"Its girl talk." Buffy explained, trying to get the rest of the story from Faith but Xander *couldn't* know.

"I'm very feminine, you could let me in. I'm feeling left out." Xander replied. Buffy side glanced towards Faith who took the charge.

"Fine, do you have a tampon?" The brunette asked innocently. Buffy bit her cheek to stop from laughing at the disgusted look on Xander's face as he quickly stumbled back from them. He turned towards the other men.

"What are they saying?" Spike asked, looking suspiciously at his girlfriend and Buffy whispering ahead of them.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Xander muttered before returning to Cordelia's side. Spike and Angel made a face.

******

Riley tapped his foot impatiently, gritting his teeth. This bitch was supposed to be here a half an hour ago. Where the hell was she? Damnit, if he ever saw that girl again he was going to rip her apart. Stupid whore. He should have knew it as soon as he saw her without a shirt. What kind of decent woman that sticks to her word walks around wearing a bra?

God, he hated this town. He couldn't wait until he got of here but he still had business to take care of. He finished catching up with Fred, which was the first reason he came to Sunnydale but then he saw her. That blonde bitch. The one that put him in jail for a year. Being in jail for one year is like being in there for seven. Kind of like dog years except worse.

Buffy now had a boyfriend and friends to hide behind but he would break it all down sooner or later but first he had to find that brunette whore who played him. What was her name? Did he even find out her name? Damnit, he was going to kill her.

But the first priority was to find out where to get a gun.

******

The gang minus Faith, who was God only knows where, was seated outside of the university in the courtyard. It was their usual meeting place after classes.

"And the manager was like, 'no, I do this free of charge!'" Xander finished a lame joke that no one was listening too. Oz and Spike stared at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Haha." Willow at least pretended to find it funny.

"Come on, guys! That's a classic." Xander defended his corny joke. Cordelia rolled her eyes and focused on her nails.

"What are we doing tonight?" Willow asked, leaning back into her boyfriend's arms. Her back was pressed against his chest and his chin rested on her shoulder. Willow thought it was the most comfortable way. She could sell Oz as the best chair in the world. But she wouldn't sell her boyfriend.

"Me and Angel got to visit Mom, right Angel?" Cordy looked to her brother but he was occupied by Buffy. She was sitting on his lap, in the middle of a heated make out session.

"Hello?" Cordy tried, annoyed. Angel waved a hand at her before tangling it into Buffy's hair. "Why does nobody listen to me?"

"I listen to you, sweetie." Xander cooed, kissing her cheek. Cordy stared at him, a smile tugging her lips.

"I will repeat again, why does no one listen to me?" Xander was mentally debating if he should start a fight or just kiss her silly. Damn woman.

Spike looked around at the couples and inwardly felt left out. Where the hell was his girlfriend? His eyes scanned the courtyard and he stared in shock when he saw his girlfriend straight ahead. Spike immediately stood up, when he saw some man grab her arm and spin her towards him. Spike quickly walked towards them, pissed off that someone touched his girlfriend like that.

******

"Get the hell off me." Faith demanded when someone grabbed her arm, making her drop her books. She stared at the books on the floor and then turned around, fists ready to punch. She stopped in shock when she saw Riley Finn looking extremely pissed off.

"Where were you last night? I waited at the apartment number." Riley spat. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were blazing with anger. Faith caught Spike stalking towards them out of the corner of her eye. Damnit. Buffy owed her big time.

"I was there. You were too fucking slow so I left, but right now you better get your hands off me." Faith said slowly and dangerously, her eyes resting on his hand which was still gripping her eyes tightly.

"You little whore." Riley spat, pulling her with him as he walked.

"Get off me!" Faith demanded, trying to wrench her arm from his grip. "Spike!" She yelled, tripping as Riley pulled at her, they were heading away from the courtyard and out into the street. Riley turned to see who she was yelling for only to see Spike's knuckles smash into his nose. Faith stumbled back from the blonde man as he fell to the ground.

"You keep your bloody hands off my girl, mate." Spike glared down at the man, anger flowing off him in waves. His knuckles were bleeding from when his fist connected with Riley's nose. But the pain was worth it when Spike saw a trickle of blood fall from Riley's nose.

"Your girl was throwing herself at me last night. Maybe you should learn how to control that bitch." Riley spat, pushing himself up. Spike quickly went to bend down and deliver another punch but Faith stopped him.

"Let me." She said sweetly and kicked Riley hard in the ribcage, her knee length boots finally paid off.

"Touch me again, worm, and I won't hesitate to kill you." Faith spat and turned around to see the gang jogging towards them.

"Jesus, Faith, are you alright?" Buffy asked, touching her friend's arm.

"You're friends with *her*?" Riley demanded, finally pulling himself up from the ground, wincing at the pain in his ribs. Buffy froze when she saw who the man was. Angel snarled and stood next to Spike who was glaring at Riley.

"Riley, you should really get out of Sunnydale." Angel growled. Spike raised his eyebrows.

"So, this is Riley?" Spike crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, aint that something, mate. This bastard had his hands all over my girl," Spike looked towards Angel. "and he is trying to be lap dog for your girl. This slimy fuck needs to be taught a lesson." The bleach blonde smashed his fist into his palm, grinning. Nothing would give him more satisfaction then beating Riley into a bloody pulp. Xander and Oz quickly took their places next to Angel and Spike. Riley was totally out numbered and he knew it. He slowly backed up, wiping blood from his nose, his eyes never leaving the four dangerous men.

Riley's lips twitched until he laughed. He stared at Buffy and Faith who were standing behind their boyfriends. Buffy's hands were gripping Angel's shirt but she stared back at him with the same rage.

"I'll being seeing both of you again *very* soon." Riley glared at the two girls.

"Come near them and I will kill you myself." Angel threatened. Riley laughed again before walking away.

******

"God, what a creep." Willow shuddered.

"I know." Cordy shook her head in disgust. "And did you see his clothes? Its like he is stuck in 1996. I pity him."

"Are you alright, pet?" Spike asked his girlfriend who was looking scared and pissed off at the same time.

"Yeah." The brunette answered curtly. Spike didn't believe her for a second. Buffy pressed her forehead against Angel's back, breathing a sigh of relief. She wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Damnit." She whispered. She couldn't believe that just happened. So much for a new and improved Riley. Angel pulled away from her and she couldn't stop the whimper that escaped.

"What the hell was that about?" He demanded, turning towards Faith and Buffy who looked down at the sidewalk. Faith went to speak but Buffy interrupted her.

"It's my fault. Last night at the Bronze, I saw Riley there and I didn't want you guys to make a scene and so I told Faith to go distract and lead him out." Buffy took the blame. It was all her fault that Faith almost got hurt today. Why did she have to believe in Riley being Mr. Nice? She couldn't stand the looks of anger from Angel.

"Buffy, why would you tell Faith to do that when you know how dangerous he is? She could have been hurt yesterday or today!" Angel half shouted, running his fingers through his brown spikes.

"But nothing happened to me. I'm fine!" Faith shouted back at Angel. She hated that Buffy was taking all the blame. She was the one who suggested to lead Riley on.

"I don't care! He was ready to drag you away, thank the bloody Gods that I saw you!" Spike yelled, joining in.

"Why didn't you tell me he was at the Bronze?" Angel screamed at his girlfriend, more hurt and worried then angry. They had to trust each other and tell each other everything.

"I don't know!" Buffy shouted back, looking desperate and hurt.

"Well, it was just flat out...stupid!" Angel yelled back.

"When you have a stalker then you tell me how to react!" Buffy snapped back. Xander and the others watch in dismay as the two couples took turns yelling at each other.

"You took your shirt off for him! He saw your breasts?!" Spike shouted in disbelief.

"Just my bra!" Faith defended.

"What bra?!" Spike demanded.

"Everyone shut the hell up!" Willow shouted loudly, causing the two couples to look at her in astonishment and everyone walking down the sidewalk to look, also.

"Stop yelling! Faith just got attacked, you should be treating her like a princess! What Buffy did was stupid but I'm sure she is sorry for it, Angel! Maybe you guys would know all this if you would just stop yelling!" Willow screamed. Everyone became very quiet, the only thing that could be heard was Willow's ragged breathing.

"I'm sorry, Willow." Xander muttered, even though he wasn't really doing anything. Sometimes his friend scared him.

"That's my girl." Oz said proudly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Willow beamed. Buffy and Angel looked at each other guilty.

"I just worry about you. You need to tell me these things." Angel sighed, his shoulders slumped and his angry demeanor turned into concern.

"I know. I just try to handle these things on my own but every time I try, I mess up." Buffy admitted. She looked up to see Angel staring at her, she never realized how tired and worn out his eyes looked ever since his father and Riley. Buffy didn't crush herself against him, holding him tightly. Angel automatically held her tighter, closing his eyes and sighing against her hair, inhaling her unique scent.

"Gods, I love you." He muttered against her hair.

"I love you too." Buffy answered without hesitation. Spike and Faith just stared at each other before Faith jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Her lips crushed against his in a bruising kiss, rubbing against him, loving the friction.

"Well, now that the PDA's are done. I'm hungry. There's nothing like a good meal after getting attacked." Xander stated.

******

"This was a mistake. I should have stayed with Buffy, she might get scared." Angel cursed himself, the idea of turning the car around and going back to his girlfriend was more than tempting.

"Ugh, for the last time, she is fine! She is staying with her dad this weekend, remember?" Cordy snapped with a roll of her eyes. She was sick of Angel asking if he should go back and check on the blonde a hundred times.

"Yeah, right, but what if-" Angel was cut off by his sister.

"Shut up, you puppy dog!" She shouted. Angel blinked, hurt, but didn't say anything.

"Besides, Mom would be hurt if you didn't show." Cordy said, her tone softer. The sibilings were driving back to their huge mansion to visit their mother and her new boyfriend. Angel made a face. God, he hated all of the boyfriend that she brought home. They seemed nice, sure, but he had trouble trusting intruding father figures.

"What is this guy's name again?" Angel asked, taking his eyes off the road for a second to glance at his sister.

"Tracy? Truman? Something with a 't'." Cordy finished, not able to remember her mother's boyfriend's name. "Why does she have to date someone anyway? Its weird of thinking about our Mom going out and scoring with guys. Eww! What if she does things with her boyfriend that I do with my boyfriend?"

Angel shuddered. "Cordy, please just stop talking."

"But think about it? What happens if one day that we are at the Bronze and she ends up there with her boyfriend!?" The Queen C looked like she was going to hyper ventilate and started fanning herself with her hands. "My reputation would be ruined!"

"Calm down, Mom would never go to the Bronze. Plus, I think that it is kinda good for her to start dating and getting over..." Angel stopped his sentence. His thoughts all seemed to halt around his Father. Angel shook his head and gritted his teeth, gripping the steering wheel harder. That man made his blood boil and he never did regret pushing him down this God damn stairs. Angel was glad that he was dead.

"You hate all her boyfriends, you are so rude to them." Cordelia side glanced at her brother, they were almost to their house.

"They are assholes. Mom could do way better than that." Angel defended his actions against the bastards that his mother brings home.

"Ted!" Cordy screamed out loud, making Angel jump and the car swerve slightly. Right into their mailbox.

"Damnit, Cordelia!" Angel cursed, glanced at the broken wooden mailbox on the ground.

"Whoops. At least I remembered that guy's name." Cordelia laughed, looking at their broken mailbox.

"Man, you're in trouble." She teased her brother who winced. Angel quickly got out of the car to examine the damage on his vehicle. There was nothing noticeable but he would have to wax it later. He sighed as he picked up the broken half of the mailbox. He simply shoved it into the ground, creating a *very* short mailbox.

"Fixed." Angel looked at his work in satisfaction. Cordy rolled her eyes and walked up to ring the doorbell. Angel walked and stood next to her, whispering in her ear.

"Don't say anything about that mailbox, they won't notice until tomorrow morning."

"Whatever." Cordy grinned. Oh, he owed her big time if she didn't say anything. A retort was on her lips when their mother opened the door. Marie gasped and held a hand to her chest in happiness as she saw her children. Well, they weren't exactly children since they were both in college now, but they would always be her children to her. She gathered them in a big group hug.

"My, Angelus, you are getting so big." Marie smiled proudly. Her son and her had grown so close after the incident with Daniel. She was very proud of him, he sacrificed Daniel's life to save her and his sister. Though, sometimes, she did mourn her husband. She knew it was ridiculous and wrong but she always feared to be on her own.

"What about me?" Cordelia whined. "Haven't I grown?"

Angel stepped inside as his mother showered his sister with hugs and compliments. His eyes wandered around the main hallway, lots of things have been changed. All of Daniel's, his father, furnishings or pictures have been taken down. Angel's eyes lingered on the large marble staircase as he recalled the details of that night. He remembered everything so vividly and it seemed like it was happening in slow motion.

He saw his mother being choked and his sister being pushed away and he knew he had to do something. He didn't really mean to punch his father so hard that he fell down the stairs but he would never go back and change anything. It was unbelievable that rage and anger he felt at someone threatening his family. All the pent up anger and frustration at his father all finally came out. Angel had killed Daniel by pushing him down the stairs. He was glad that he did. Angel hated his father so much, held so much against him and he was glad that he killed him. The feelings of pleasure at having his own father dead scared him. He was also afraid of where that uncontrollable rage came from. He was starting to feel that way towards Riley.

An unfamiliar voice snapped Angel from his thoughts. A plump, brown hair, cheerful looking man smiled and waved at him. "Why, hello, son."

Cordelia stood next to him as their mother walked next to the man and held his hand. Angel sized up his mother's new boyfriend.

"I'm not your son." He bit out.

"Angel," Marie scolded. "Children, this is Ted. He is a very sweet man and he works for a computer company." Ted nodded his greeting with a large smile on his face.

"Hi! It's a pleasure to meet you." Cordelia flashed Ted one of her winning smiles. Angel rolled his eyes at his sister's cheerleading attitude.

"I hear you kids are in college. Its a big step from high school." Ted said politely, squeezing Marie's hand.

"We are managing. Its really fun." Cordy smiled. Angel simply shrugged. There was a short spell before Marie spoke up.

"Well, dinner in on the table, come on." She ushered everyone to the large dinning room table that covered with food.

"I made mini pizzas!" Ted announced proudly.

******

Angel stared hard at Ted. He seemed nice, maybe a little too nice but he saw the way his mother smiled when he was near. She liked him a lot, it was obvious. She seemed happy. Who was he to take that away? His mother deserved happiness after all the shit that she went through.

"So, Angel, I hear that you have a special someone in college. Are you two still together?" Ted asked politely disrupting an awkward silence after Marie said grace. Before Angel could answer, Cordelia took over.

"Nothing could keep those two apart! They all over each other all the time! Always making out and grabbing each other. It is so gross! One time, Oz, told me about these strange moaning sounds coming from their dorm and-" Angel quickly kicked his sister under the table making her stop her story and jump in the chair.

"Okay, ow! You could have just said something but no! You have to go and act all manly and kick me. I see how it is." Cordy snapped before popping a piece of salad in her mouth. Marie looked shocked at her son, her eyes wide. Angel buried his face in his hands in embarrassment and shame. Oh God, she did *not* just say all that.

"Is this true, Angel?" Ted asked in a fatherly manner. Angel took his face from his hands only to glare at him. He didn't know him for more than two seconds and he was already acting like his Father. His liking for Ted disappeared. Maybe because his sister just revealed his sex life to his mother and her new boyfriend. Damn, this dinner couldn't get any better!

"I know this might be embarrassing but I feel comfortable around you, Angel. I hope you feel the same. Maybe, we should have a man to man talk about this stuff." Ted said, looking seriously at Angel. He would have been a good therapist but Angel wasn't falling for it.

"No, that's okay. I don't think that is necessary." Angel muttered, he could feel his face burning up. He wished that he could crawl in a dark hole forever and never face these people again. She could hear Cordelia's laughter as she held a hand over her lips to stop her giggling.

"Can I be excused?" Angel said, looking down not wanting to meet his mother's eyes. It would give her a heart attack if she knew all the things that he and Buffy did.

"No, I want to talk about this Angel. We are family, you shouldn't be embarrassed." Marie said, her shock still evident.

"Ted ain't my family." Angel muttered under his breath, thankfully no one heard. He looked up to see his Mom lean forward and hiss quietly.

"Are you using protection?"

Angel stared at her in horror. Oh God. This was *not* happening. "Mom!" He cried out. Cordy couldn't help it, her laughs shook her body.

"Oh, you should be laughing, Cordelia. I know what happened between you and Xander and what Faith walked in on you two doing." Angel snapped. Time for some payback. Cordy's eyes widened and she mentally made a note to kill Angel. He raised his eyebrows at her twice, grinning. His mother turned to her daughter, holding a hand to her heart.

"Oh my." She muttered.

"Maybe we should all have a talk about sex. It is a very natural thing between two people who love each other very much." Ted explained, going into the birds and the bees talk.

"Shut up, I know what sex is." Cordy snapped at Ted. It was the first time she was impolite to him. Ted and Marie had the same face of horror and shock on their faces.

"I will not have that language here." Ted wagged his finger at the Queen C. Angel bit his lip to stop laughing hysterically. This whole conversation had gone way out of proportion. How the hell did it get to this? It was too funny.

"Well, I think that I have been embarrassed enough today. I've got to go, Mom. I guess Buffy and I are going to have sex now." Angel glared at Cordelia as he got up, grabbing his jacket, Cordy followed his example. Angel kissed his mother on the cheek and nodded to Ted.

"Nice to meet you, Ted. Bye Mom, I will call you next week." Angel waved as he quickly walked out the door.

Cordy mimicked his movements but as soon as she got out of the house she burst out into hysterical laughter.

*****

"Cordy said what?" Buffy screeched over the phone the next evening. Sure, it would have been easier to walk over to Angel's dorm since he was only a couple doors away but she pissed off at him right now.

"I've only met your Mom once for five minutes, she probably thinks that I'm a stripper or a dominatrix!" Buffy snapped, slapping a hand to her forehead in horror. God, she would never be able to face Angel's mom *ever* again.

"At least Ted broke up with her right after the dinner after seeing what kind of kids she raised." Angel chuckled into the phone, lounging on his bed.

"What the hell are you laughing about, Angelus? This isn't funny!" Buffy yelled into the phone. She was mortified. Angel winced, is was never good when Buffy used his full name.

"What as I supposed to do?" Angel asked, this was going to get him in big trouble. Buffy needed to have a good appearance to his mother.

"Maybe you could have denied it! You practically admitted that you and I had sex to your mother!" Buffy yelled, completely mortified. Maybe she should send Marie a fruit basket.

"Come on, baby, it's not that bad." Angel tried to reason carefully, he needed to get out this mess with all parts intact.

"Not that bad?! That's it. No physical contact for three days!" Buffy shouted off the top of her head, but quickly regretted it. Was she able to handle three days without touching Angel? Her stupid pride wouldn't let her back down.

"What? That's not fair! It wasn't even my fault." Angel sat up quickly in the bed. Oh God. No contact for three fucking days!?

"I love you, see you tonight." Buffy said good-bye, quickly hanging up the phone, ending the conversation. What the hell had she gotten herself into? Damn pride.

"Trouble in the love department?" Willow asked as she walked into to their dorm, she placed down her books and sat on the bed next to Buffy.

"Yeah, I just made an agreement that I can never keep." Buffy pouted.

"What is it?" Willow asked, patting Buffy on the back.

"Not to touch Angel for three days."

"What? You can't do that? We are Bronze-ing it tonight. No dancing?" Willow asked.

"Nope. Not physical contact." Buffy pushed her head up high in determination. It was a test and she was going to pass it. "What am I worried about? I could do this." Buffy assured herself, looking towards Willow for support. Willow half smiled.

"Uh, maybe you should take a rain check tonight."

******

Angel stared at his drink at the Bronze. Why did he come again? He knew Buffy wasn't going to come but he was dragged out by Spike. His hands were aching and he felt oddly empty all because of Buffy's stupid rule. Of course, it wasn't his fault that Cordelia had a big mouth but he understood Buffy's position. He would die if Giles ever found out that he has been having an intimate relationship with his daughter.

"Aww, looks like Angel needs some happy time." Penn grinned, slapping Angel on the back. Spike laughed, the three men seated at the table while everyone else was out dancing. And touching each other, Angel thought.

"Why don't you just go up the bint and give her a big fat kiss and say, 'woman, I'm sick of this bullshit. I need some action.'" Spike elbowed Angel in the ribs and Angel had to grin. That was Spike's way of handling everything.

"That's what I would do." Penn chuckled.

"Well, whats up with the singing gig. You look like a nancy boy." Spike joked. Penn raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I got three other gigs this week and plus, the chicks love it." Penn grinned, looking Faith up and down who joined the table and sat on Spike's lap.

"Chicks? I don't see any chicken here, mate." Spike growled in warning. Penn shrugged and picked up his drink.

"Can't blame a man for trying. Well, I gotta go meet this girl in five minutes, so later." Penn waved before walking out of the club. Angel stared at the empty seat blankly. It would have been better if Buffy had come, even though there was no touching. Oh God, he wasn't going to be able to survive these next three days.

As if on cue, a short blonde took the empty seat, fidgeting nervously under Angel's gaze.

"Hey B! Where have you been?" Faith asked, taking a sip of Spike's drink.

"Around." Buffy shrugged, biting her lip. She could feel Angel's eyes burning into her and if he kept looking at her like that then her punishment would be over quickly. Angel grinned, seeing her nervously move around in her chair. Spike and Faith looked at the couple with eyebrows raised.

"I think there is too much sexual tension for my liking, so ciao." Spike laughed, grabbing faith around the waist and leading her back to the dance floor. Angel shook his head at the two before looking back to Buffy. Buffy stared at him before looking back down at her hands twisting in her lap. Angel stared at her hungrily, raking his eyes over her body.

"Stop!" Buffy ordered, shuddering in excitement. She always gave in when Angel looked at her like that.

"I'm not doing anything." Angel held his hands up in surrender. Buffy gave him a look before greedily taking his drink, gulping it down. She needed anything to distract her.

"Angel!" A hurried voice shouted and Angel's head snapped in the direction to see Gunn and Fred quickly making their way towards the table. Angel stood up, hearing the urgency in his voice.

"Yeah, man, what's up?" Angel asked, glancing at Buffy uncertainly. She shrugged and stood next to Angel.

"God, its all my fault." Fred shook her head, looking at them apologetically. Gunn wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"What's done is done, babe." He comforted his girlfriend.

"What's done?" Buffy asked, nervously. She didn't like the way this conversation is going.

"Yo, the word around my gang is that someone is trying to buy heat from one of my boys. He had some green so my boy gave it to him-" Gunn started the story but Buffy held up her hand, stopping him for going on.

"What the hell did you just say?" Buffy asked, confused with all of the slang.

"Someone bought a gun from my friend, woman." Gunn chuckled at Buffy's confused look.

"Why are you telling me this, Gunn?" Angel asked, dread knotting in his stomach.

"Riley! Angel, its Riley that bought the gun!" Fred yelled, her guilt obvious. "The man who sold him the gun was saying how Riley was going on about some brunette and a blonde girl."

Angel's jaw tightened and anger boiled up inside him. Buffy gripped his hand, gasping. Screw the no physical contact rule. She needed to touch Angel right now, she needed him to assure her that it was going to be all right.

"When did this happen?" Angel asked urgently.

"Two days ago." Gunn sighed.

"God, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault, he said he came to visit me and if he wasn't coming to visit me then he would have never seen you and this whole thing never would have started." Fred muttered quickly and Buffy couldn't understand half of the things she had said.

"Shh, its alright. We don't blame you." Buffy broke away from Angel to gather the emotional brunette into a hug. Fred returned it fiercely before pulling back into Gunn's arms.

"You need any backup, man, you know where to find it because you are in some deep shit, man." Gunn said, eager to help Angel in anyway, he was debt to him from all the times that he helped him.

"Thanks Gunn." Angel said dryly, motioning for Spike to come over by them.

"Later, man. Becareful, woman." Gunn said to Buffy, who nodded her thanks and good-bye.

******

"God, this guy is really sick. I mean, he is really after Buffy and Faith. Well, he would have been after Buffy but Faith just had to push her boobs into his face." Cordelia shook her head in despair. Faith stuck up her middle finger at the brunette, smiling sweetly.

"He might be after all of us, he saw us all that day in the courtyard." Angel warned, looking around at his friends. Buffy was siting protectively on his lap, her hands gripping at his leather jacket. They were still seated at the Bronze, it was a half an hour before closing and the club was slowly being drained of it's customers.

"Well, how many bullets did he get? If he only got two then maybe he is only after you two and everyone else is off the hook." Xander said nervously jumping in his seat every time someone brushed by.

"Thanks for your support, Harris." Faith snapped. She was worried but she was doing hell of a good job not showing it.

"I live to please." He retorted back.

"Wow, I mean, he has a *real* gun. I gun that could hurt and kill people. An actual gun!" Willow seemed a little to fascinated by the idea.

"No, Red, I was under the impression he was bought a bloody water gun." Spike glared. Everyone seemed to be cracking under the idea of a crazy armed man walking around with killing them on his mind. It wasn't a very pleasant thought.

"Freaky." Oz's only comment on the situation.

"How come in the worst of circumstances you never say more than one word?" Xander demanded to know. Oz shrugged.

"Oh." Xander said, nodding as if he learned something very important.

"We better get going." Angel said, looking around the now empty Bronze. "I had Gunn and his gang keep an eye out for Riley, but until we know anything I want everyone to travel in pairs."

"Aye, aye, captain." Xander saluted.

*****

Riley watched from the shadows as they all left the Bronze. His eye was the short blonde clutching to her boyfriend, he also saw the brunette that played him. Their time would come and he would take pleasure in shooting that Angel guy as well. He could just kill them all for the fun of it. But Buffy would be last. That bitch put him through so much hell, he wanted her to see suffer at knowing all her friends were dead.

So many people to shoot, so little time.

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