Series: LoveOdyssey
Distribution: Anyone who has permission for any of my other stories may have this too. Others, ask and I will most likely give permission.
Feedback: I love it more than I love Angel chained to my…um…I love and desire feedback.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to God (aka Joss), the WB, Mutant Enemy, FOX, Sanddollar, I guess UPN now too, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Songs belongs to NSYNC, who perform them wonderfully, and whoever wrote them for the group. Please don't sue, I'm only a high-school grad without a job anyways.
Rating: Same as the TV show.
Spoilers: This takes place the summer after the fourth season. None of Buffy S5 or Angel S2 has happened. Parts from BtVS's or Angel's might be mentioned, but they will be brief references with no real spoilery issues.
Author's Notes: This is my newest series. It begins a few weeks after "Restless" and "To Shanshu in LA" and goes on from there. Stories will sort-of be self-contained, meaning that none will end with huge, huge cliffhangers, but you're gonna get confused if you read some and not others. As is probably obvious from the name of the series, I had a huge inspiration for this series. I went to the NSYNC PopOdyssey concert in Milwaukee, WI on June 26, and realized for the first time just how many of their songs can be used in some way to fit B&A stories. So each story in this series will be based on and quote one of their wonderful songs. And yes, I realize that some people don't like NSYNC, maybe even hate them, but that doesn't mean you won't like this series. I'm not gonna use the whole songs or anything, and the lyrics are really very beautiful if you just listen to them and get over your dislike of the boys themselves. I hope everyone enjoys these stories.
Special Dedication: To Emma and Ryan, the only two people who have been consistently giving me feedback. Please tell me they're not the only ones reading this!
-Angel, Buffy, and Riley have a few words-

"Angel, Cordelia, Wesley." Giles greeting the AI team at the door. "Do come in, it sounded urgent."

"Mr. Giles." Wesley answered for the three of them. "Sorry to come on such short notice, but it is very urgent."

"Let me guess, end of the world?" Buffy said as she walked up behind Giles, her eyes focused only on Angel.

Angel suddenly found he couldn't speak; she had grown even more beautiful in the past six months. He didn't know how that was possible.

"Actually, yes." Wesley replied, noticing Angel was unable to speak.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Buffy asked Giles with a slight grin.

"Well, come on in guys, the gang's all here. It'll be just like old times." She avoided looking at Angel as soon as she said the last words, realizing her mistake.

"Oh, goody." Cordelia quipped good-naturedly as Buffy and Giles led the three of them in to the living room.

Willow, Xander, a girl Angel remembered Xander going to the Prom with, and a blond girl they had never seen all sat there waiting for them.

"Guys, this is Anya and Tara." Buffy indicated the two girls. "Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley." Buffy pointed them out in turn to Tara and Anya.

Tara stammered a soft hello; Anya just stared at Angel.

"You went from tall, dark, and handsome to that flake you're.." Anya abruptly stopped talking as Xander elbowed her.

Buffy looked at Xander oddly, wondering why he would stop her from insulting Riley when it was a well known fact that Xander liked her new boyfriend only slightly more than he had her old one.

Then she noticed his eyes, which were indicating the doorway to Giles' kitchen.

She spun and saw Riley standing there. It was obvious he had heard Anya's statement.

"And this is Riley." She said, looking from him to the three newcomers and back.

"Her boyfriend." Riley added when Angel looked his way.

Cordelia gave him a once over, shook her head, and walked further into the room to take a seat. "I thought you had better taste." She said softly to Buffy as she passed her.

Buffy glared at her, but didn't say anything as she sat down as well.

Angel looked at Giles and Wesley awkwardly; they still stood behind him and had heard what Cordelia said.

Then he went to take a seat, noticing only as he crossed the room that the only seat left was next to Buffy. He looked at it oddly, then walked by and went to stand next to Cordelia.

Riley flounced in and sat next to Buffy, putting an arm around her possessively.

He didn't notice just how uncomfortable she looked.

Angel glared holes in his back, which was visible to everyone in the room except Riley and Buffy.

"So, well, why are you here?" Giles asked from the front of the room, directing his question at Angel.

"Cordelia had a vision." Angel said, then briefly explained how and why she got them. "Buffy was in it, and it showed the apocalypse." Cordelia said briefly.

"The only visions Cordelia ever gets are ones where Angel's help is needed." Wesley added to the Scoobies.

"Like when that guy got a vision at Thanksgiving and you came." Buffy said, using the comment as an excuse to pull away from Riley and turn to face Angel.

~It makes me ill~
~To see you give~
~Love and attention at his will~
~And you can't imagine how it make me feel~
~To see you, with him~

Angel nodded, but didn't say anything. He just looked at her, sitting next to Riley.

Buffy sighed and turned back to the rest of the room, once again suffering Riley to put an arm around her.

~Saw you with your new boyfriend it made me jealous~
~I was hopin' that I'd never see you with him~
~But it's all good cause I'm glad that I met him~

Angel blocked out the rest of the conversation as the talk turned to what demons it could be this time, how it would happen, where it would happen, how they would stop it, etc. He just knew he would have to fight, and that was all that mattered.

His thoughts turned instead to Buffy, who sat next to Riley and looked very uncomfortable. She kept trying to edge away from him.

~Cause now I know the competition's very slim to none~
~And I can tell by lookin that he's not the one~

The tension in the room was sky-high, and Angel knew Buffy felt it as much as he did. Although the others couldn't possibly know the half of it, it all came from their connection, which had started to grow brighter again as soon as they set eyes on each other. Like a physical thing, they could both feel it. And their silence was making everyone uneasy, although they tried not to show it.

~He's not the type you said you like~
~His style is wack, clothes are bad, come on girl~
~Let him go, I want you back~

Angel watched Riley particularly closely. Underneath his possessiveness and his show of superiority, Angel could feel that he was very insecure.

He kept turning his head partway around, as if to look at Angel, but then always stopped at the last minute and turned back to the others. It was obvious that having Angel behind him made him nervous, and it was just as obvious that Buffy's distancing herself from him was starting to tick him off.

"There's a reference in here to something called the End of Days…" Giles was saying.

"End of Days?" Angel snapped, causing everyone to turn and look at him.

"Yes, um, it says that 'when the Chosen has felt the true power of her calling, the Lost One will return to her and fight at her side one last time.'"

"One last time!" Buffy was on her feet and facing her Watcher. "What the heck does that mean?"

"There's no way to know, but it also says that 'together they are powerful,'" "Alone they are dead." Angel finished for Giles, who was reading out of a book that he was translating on the spot.

"Yes, how did you.." Giles trailed off.

"We've recently found a similar prophecy." Wesley replied, pulling a book out of the bag he had brought with him from L.A and handing it to the elder Watcher.

"The Fallen One, when he achieves his destiny, will.."

"Giles, don't." Angel cut Giles off before he could finish reading out-loud from the book. "Don't read that."

"Angel, what?" Giles asked as he finished reading it in his head, then looked at him in wonder. "Oh!"

"What?" Buffy moved between the two men. "What is it?"

"Buffy, it's nothing." Angel turned to face her.

"Don't do that to me, Angel." Buffy's face was pained. "Not again."

"I don't understand."

"Don't hide things from me or make decisions for my own good. Let me decide."

"It doesn't matter." Angel insisted.

"If it didn't matter, then why can't I see it?" Buffy asked as she pulled the book from Giles.

Angel tried to grab for it, but even vampire speed was no match for Slayer reflexes, especially a Slayer in a pissed-off mood.

Buffy blocked his grab with one arm as the other brought the book into reading position. "Will live again." Buffy read out-loud. "Will become human." She noticed and read the small print next to the words.

The book fell from her hand and for a moment she said nothing as a hundred emotions ran over her face. The first was happiness, but that quickly blended into wondering, confusion, and flicked through lots of other things before settling on anger.

"When did you find this?" Her voice was void of all emotion.

"A few weeks ago." Cordelia replied when all Angel could do was look at her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Buffy again addressed Angel.

"I didn't know when this would happen, Buffy." Angel sounded so pained. "What if I told you, and then you waited your whole life for me and it never happened, or…"

"Why would she do that?" Riley could finally be silent no longer. "You just didn't tell her because you knew she had moved on, and you couldn't handle the rejection. You couldn't handle knowing that she wouldn't care!"

"Riley, shut up!" Willow snapped as she stood up and advanced a step towards him. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Buffy and Angel,"

"Are over. Done with. She's with me now, and that's how it should be. He's a monster!" Riley snapped, taking a step towards Buffy.

She spun to face him, rage on her face.

Riley looked at her and took a slight step back.

Everyone stood motionless as Buffy advanced on her boyfriend. No one knew what she was going to do.

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