Disclaimer: Joss and company own everything
Summary: Fixing The Prom
AN: Third story in my Remedy series. For this series, I?ve just decided to
pick episodes at random to rewrite trying to fix Joss? mistakes.
Spoilers: Everything up to The Prom, plus the first two stories of this series.
AN: For this series, there?s no happiness clause in Angel's curse, so there
was no Angelus, and no Angel being sent to hell. However, Angel has moved
into the mansion on Crawford street. Jenny was killed, only by Spike. And
Xander and Willow never kissed, so everything's still peachy between W/O and
X/C.
AN: "Neon" belongs to John Mayer, "More Than Anything" belongs to Hanson,
"Chained to You" belongs to Savage Garden.
Rating: I'd say PG-13.
Distribution: Want it- take it. Just let me know where it?s going.
Feedback: As always, greatly appreciated.
When sky blue gets dark enough
To see the colors of the city lights
A trail of ruby red and diamond white
Hits her like a sunrise
Outside, the sky had lightened to a blue that was almost crystal clear. A newly rising sun lit the tops of the buildings, but found it hard to penetrate the heavily-covered windows of the old mansion on Crawford street. On several mornings, the owner would awake sweating, tangled in damp sheets, overtaken by his nightmarish memories. Other mornings, he would thank the heavens above to awake holding the precious beauty who had captured his heart.
On this particular morning, Angel was wide awake, carefully studying the exquisite features outlining Buffy's face. He was careful not to wake her as he inched his face closer to hers, a curious smile forming on his lips.
As Buffy went to go lay back down on top of the nice, soft spot that she had become accustomed to stretched out across Angel's body, she noticed that he was awake as well, facing her with a huge grin. "What? Do I have funny bed hair or something?"
"Or something..." he murmured, letting out a small laugh.
"Mmm...I guess we got a little carried away with the whole post-slayage nap thing," she sleepily smiles, reaching a hand up to feel the mess that was her hair. "Ohh- not good..."
"Where are you going?" Angel makes a soft grab at her arm, not willing to let her leave his side just yet.
"To go kill a cat on my head."
"No mirrors..." he solemnly reminds her.
"You know, this place isn't really girl-friendly. You'd think after all the time I spend here it would have more of a woman's touch. I mean, no mirrors, no natural light-"
"I think you look perfect," he earnestly tells her, reaching out a hand to caress the side of her face.
"Oh yeah-" she brushes off his comliment. "I'm sure I look- ok..." she shrugs, giggling as she leans closer, submitting to his touch as they laid back down together. "You know, maybe we should think about getting a few mirrors. And, maybe a drawer, you know, for some of my stuff. Because that's what couples do- they have drawers."
"Hmm. That's right..."
"That way I'd always have some stuff here for when I spend the night. You know, like after the prom tomorrow night, it would be nice to just come back here and spend some time together."
"The prom?" Angel had overheard her talking about the event with her mother and friends, but was still a little uneasy discussing it with her himself. Mostly because of her latest conversation with Willow regarding the Scoobies plans for afterwards.
"End of highschool, rite of passage thingy," she explains. "Think cotillion with spiked punch and electric slide. I can't wait to see you in your tux."
"Right..."
"Don't worry, it's at night. And lots of girls have older boyfriends. You'll blend..." she smiles up at him.
"Probably none as old as me..." he sighs, his grip around her waist loosening.
"And none as wonderful as you," Buffy corrects him, reaching over to kiss him, but surprised when he turns away. "Angel, what's wrong?"
He'd planned how he would do it for days now; he would sit her down in the lamplight- the only light he would ever be able to see her in- and tell her. "Buffy..." he would say, "I have to leave you..." But he wouldn't be able to continue; he would never learn how to let her go and would spend hours trying to convince himself that he would be doing the right thing. He was amazed, in fact, that he'd managed to fool himself for so long. This was the simple fact that had upset him most- fooling himself for so long into thinking he could ever give Buffy a normal life while at the same time fooling her too.
Often times, the nights she would stay over, he would stay up just to watch her sleep, allowing his mind to drift over the few memories he allowed himself to recall of his own humanity. He remembered the feel of the wind on a summer day- how it used to billow through his house with the smells of the town. As he would finally lay his head down on the pillows beside his sleeping love, he would see before him one final image that he would never be able to grant her- a small child laughing as she ran towards Buffy on a sunlit beach.
"Angel...?" It only now occurred to Buffy that something more was bothering him. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. You should get going, hmm?"
"Mmm...there must be a few more hours before sunrise." Reluctantly, Buffy stumbled out of the bed, heading over towards the curtain-draped balcony. As she peeled back the heavy wool, light burst out, a blazing streak radiating across Angel as he let out a moan in pain. He leapt off of the bed, fleeing the sun's harsh rays as Buffy clasped the curtain shut, turning to make her apologies.
"Sorry...guess it's later than-"
"*That's* what's wrong!" Angel's words came out more as a shout than he meant.
"Angel...honey, I'm- I'm sorry..." she managed to stammer out, still shocked by his yell.
"No- Buffy, I didn't mean..." He slowly approached her before continuing. "It's not you...it's me." There was a deep, studious silence before Buffy responded.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes scanning his distraught face. Angel, as if it were him who had been struck by his own outburst, averted his face sharply and stared away at some distant point.
"The other night...I overheard you and Willow talking about after the Prom."
Buffy's eyes widened as she finally realized the only place Angel could be going with this. A certain embarrassment accompanied the slayer's frown as she thought back on her best friend's news that Cordelia's parents had given her the okay for her and the rest of the Scoobies to spend the weekend at their beach house just down the coast. Unwilling to leave Angel's side, Buffy had turned down the offer, not knowing that Angel had overheard them.
"So that's what this is about," she says, slowly stepping over to the bed.
I can't be her angel now
You know it's not my place to hold her down
But it's hard for me to take a stand
When I would take her anyway I can
"That's just a small part of it," Angel sighs, moving over to sit back down on the bed beside her. "Buffy...you can't tell me that you're happy..."
"You're right..." she breathes out, much to his surprise. Sliding over to place herself in his lap, she leans forward in an attempt to kiss him. " *Now* I'm happy..."
"Buffy, I'm serious," he pulls her off of him, settling her back down onto the blankets as he stands before her. "I think we have to talk. But not now- and not here. You have to go home and get to school-"
"No. You think I'm going to be able to go to school like this? Angel, come on- you're scaring me."
"I've been thinking...about our future. And the more I do, the more I feel like us, you and I being together, is unfair to you. You deserve more. You deserve something outside of demons and darkness. I mean, look at what just happened. You deserve someone who can take you out into the light. And children-"
"Children? Can you say jumping the gun? I killed my goldfish! Angel- I don't care about any of that-"
"Today. But you have no idea how fast it goes, Buffy. One day before you know it, you'll want it all- a normal life."
"I'll never have a normal life," she cries, as she tries to find some way to edge into his pointless rant. "Angel, *you* make my life normal. Having you is what gives me something normal outside of demons and darkness. I want my life to be with you, and it's as simple as that." With a no-nonsense, determined look, she stands up to head out of the room. "Now, since we're done here-"
"We're not done," Angel races over to her, grabbing onto her hand. "Buffy- think about this rationally, will you? You know how much I love you-"
"Exactly my point. Now, if you don't mind, I have to get to school, so..." She knew she should've left right then and there, but she didn't. Instead, she turned and gazed at the cloth-covered window, slightly tilting her head to the side.
"Buffy, I'm trying to do what's right here," he urged, searching her face with pleading eyes as he took off after her down the staircase.
"What's right?!" By now, Buffy's eyes were filling with tears as they both reach the bottom of the stairs. "Angel- what's right is you and me...together. I've never known anything more right than that. You don't just give up on someone that you love."
"I'm not giving up on you!" he responds, still trying to make her understand. "I love you, and I've told you that nothing will ever change that!"
"Then what is all of this stuff about us not being together about?!"
"I just..." A heavy sigh followed as he tried justifying his case. "I don't know..."
"I have to get to home and then get to school..." Buffy absent-mindedly ran a hand through her hair. "So I hope by the time I come back here tonight to meet up for patrol you can come up with a stronger argument, because even if you can, nothing is ever going to change how I feel about any of this...especially you." Without giving him a chance to respond, she turns on her heel headed out the door. "I love you...there *is* nothing else..."
Alone with his thoughts for the next few hours, Angel wandered
throughout the mansion, fidgeting with various odds and ends. As he walked
past the couch, he took notice of the notebook Buffy had in haste left
behind after her quick departure. Picking it up, he couldn't take his eyes
off of the design that adorned it's back cover. "Hello Angel..." "Joyce..." ****** For a brief moment, an awkward silence passed between the two, until finally
Joyce spoke up. "Did I come at a bad time? I- I can come back later if you
were sleeping. You...sleep during the day...don't you? I- I mean, that's
what I've always heard about..." "No...no, come on in. You know you're always welcome here." He moves aside
to let her in, closing the door behind her as he runs a nervous hand through
his hair. "Can I get you something? I- I don't have any coffee, but-" "You don't drink coffee?" Joyce's spirits were dampened even further by the
atmosphere of the elaborate building. By it's lack of light, the certain
grim spareness that accompanied it. She almost wondered if he was feeling a
bit under the weather, considering all the other happier times she had spent
dinner with both him and her daughter at the dining room table. "The caffeine makes me jumpy. And Buffy doesn't really like it either, so I
don't usually keep any. But I've got juice, and a lot of other stuff." "If I could just have some water," Joyce asks, sitting down on the nearby
coach as Angel hurries into the kitchen. Handing her the cold glass, he
takes a seat across from her, anxious to find out why she was paying him
such an early morning visit. "So you...slept last night?" "I slept a little..." he replies. "I understand Buffy spent the night too." "She did. I know it was a school night, but we were both exhausted after
patrol." "Mmm...Buffy seemed a little tired when she came home this morning." Joyce
slowly places her glass onto the sidetable before she presses on. "She was
also a little upset..." Angel noticed her concerned glance give him a quick
once-over, until finally she reached her point. "Angel...Buffy told me
about some...things that happened this morning. That's why I wanted to stop
by. Maybe see if I could get the full story from you." "Joyce..." he took an unnecessary breath, gently rubbing the back of his
neck as he lowered his eyes towards the floor. "I didn't mean to upset
Buffy. You know that I would never hurt her-" "Oh I know that, Angel. I know..." "But...in the long-run...I think I am hurting her. I mean, you can't
honestly tell me that I'm who you pictured your daughter to be with." "Angel, I won't lie to you. I mean, a year ago I never would've believed
that vampires even existed, let alone the fact that my daughter is a slayer
and in love with one..." Angel's eyes quickly averted to the side until he
saw Joyce lean forward, addressing him with such sincerity in her eyes.
"But that doesn't mean that I'm not thrilled she has you." A small smile
was shared between the two before Angel stood, beginning to pace around in
front of the fireplace. "But she deserves a normal life, Joyce," he insisted, leaning an arm over
the mantle. "I love her so much...and it kills me to know that our
relationship, our bond, exists at the cost of all her other dreams.
Children...just being able to have someone to hold her in the sunlight.
There's so much that she deserves, and so little that I can give her.
Joyce..." his eyes lifted, staring into hers with such despair, "what is she
really getting out of our relationship?" "Everything. You give her everything, Angel. All the things she's never
had before." She quickly stood, sauntering over to his still frame beside
the fireplace. "Her life is so full of complications and risks...she'll
never have a simple, normal life, Angel. Even I've come to accept that.
But...what the two of you share goes beyond all that. You, and Mr. Giles,
and all her friends give her the only normal life she'll ever know." "And you," he adds, causing the corners of Joyce's mouth to lift into a warm
smile. "You've been...incredible about everything. She's very lucky to
have you." "Well...I wish you'd come to realize how lucky she is to have you." She
watched as he moved back to the sofa, wringing his hands in front of him.
Following his lead, she sat down beside him, setting a hand on his sleeve.
"Angel...perhaps one day, your..." she searched for the right wording,
hoping not to offend him, "...situation will...change. But...isn't what the
two of you have worth more than everything else?" There was a pause. You could pluck this single moment out of all time,
Joyce thought, and still discover so much about her daughter and Angel's
relationship. Buffy was always so brisk and breezy, but Angel?she'd always
thought of him as being somewhat opaque, a reflecting surface flashing the
better parts of your own self back at you, giving you no hint of the
wonderful person that he was. Joyce observed him in silence, glancing at him confusedly tugging at
the shock of her visit and intentions. He'd always liked Joyce and took a
sort of pride in the fact that she was so fond of him as well. But never
had he imagined her to be the one to explain the significance of his
relationship with her daughter and why they would never be able to exist
without each other. Angel's pensive stare and eventual half-smile and nod
was all it took to let Joyce know she'd accomplished her mission.
"Joyce..." for a lack of word, unable to produce any further sounds from his
mouth, Angel's eyes were his only form of expression. "I know," she patted him on the shoulder before rising to her feet. "That's
what mother's are for, dear." She paced over towards the front door,
preparing to leave until she turned to face him. "So...I take it you two
will be able to fully enjoy the prom tomorrow night? I've already bought
five rolls of film," she flashes him a quick smile as she secures her purse
over her shoulder. "Absolutely. And Joyce...would you mind if Buffy spent tonight here? I
mean, I know it's still a school night, but tomorrow's Friday, and I know
she gets to go home from classes early to get ready for the prom, and-" "Not a problem, Angel. I understand," she nods, giving him a final pat
across the chest. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then." "Tomorrow night," he replies, pondering for a brief moment before deciding
to pull her into a friendly hug. "Thank you, Joyce." "Just happy I could help," she says, pulling out of their embrace to face
him. After he shut the door behind her, Angel returned upstairs, already
planning how he would apologize to Buffy once she arrived later that
evening. ****** "Angel actually said that?!" Willow had a hard time all day trying to
believe the conversation her best friend had been stressed out about.
"That's like...gosh, I don't even know what to tell you," she pouts,
noticing Buffy's worried stare. "But he's wrong though!" she quickly adds
as an afterthought. "He's so wrong! Isn't he guys?" the redhead turns to
the others sitting outside the front of the school. She received only an
appreciative nod from her taciturn boyfriend, expecting nothing less, but
still happy to see him agree with her. "Absolutely," Cordelia chimes in, receiving a confused glare from Buffy.
"Hey- don't look so surprised. I can be sensitive too! Isn't that right,
Xander?" she turns to her own boyfriend. "Sure, Cordy. You're sensitive..." he smiles. "Whenever it comes to
fashion..." he adds under his breath, Oz being the only one who picked up on
it, sharing a small chuckle with him. "See, even Xander agrees," Willow cheers. "Who said I agreed?! This is one guy who's learned to stay as far away as
possible from the whole Deadboy/Slayer love issue." "Well...you don't count!" she snaps back at him, turning once again to her
best friend. "The point is, Angel's wrong! And I'll go tell him that
personally if you want. I can be very intimidating. Just lemme at him!" "By all means, you try telling him that, because he wasn't listening to me
this morning," Buffy sighs. "And then I come home and mom goes all postal
on me because I was upset." "What'd she say?" Cordelia asks. "Just to go to school and that she was sure things would turn out for the
best. Wait..." Buffy's mind finally clicks with the realization of what her
mother's words could've implied. "You don't think that mom would've talked
with him, do you? Maybe she put him up to this?" "No..." Willow resolutely answers her. "Buffy- you're mom really likes
Angel. You've said before how you think she's only spending more time with
you to spend time with him," she smiles. "That's true...I don't know what to do," the small blonde wimpers. "I just
hope we can straighten things out tonight." "Sure you will," Willow, the eternal optimist that she was, tried cheering
up her friend. "You have to. You two are still going to the prom tomorrow
night...aren't you?" "I don't know, Will. The way he was talking...I just hope he's still here." "He'd better be!" Cordelia suddenly shouts out. "After all the preparations
I had done to our beach house just so he can come along...ooops..." the
brunette cracks an apologetic smile as the others flash her angry stares
upon hearing her blurt out their big surprise for Buffy and Angel. "What're you talking about?" "It was supposed to be a *surprise*," Willow squeaks out between gritted
teeth. "We all kinda figured that you and Angel would be bummed about not
coming with us this weekend, so Cordy and Xander drove down the other night
to fix up the windows for Angel. Oz taped up the back windows in his van
and tinted his front ones so we could all take it down for the weekend.
Surprise..." she manages a weak smile, horribly upset that Cordelia had
ruined their plans. Buffy, a bit taken back by all that her friends had
done for her, finally passed them all a warm smile before getting up to head
into the library for some training with Wes and Giles. "Thanks guys...now all I have to do is convince Angel..." After finishing
up training at around 8, Buffy was half tempted to rush straight over to the
mansion, but resisted and instead found herself walking into her kitchen to
find her mother just getting off of the phone. "Hi honey," Joyce's voice was a little too perky for Buffy's liking. "How
was school?" "Fine...same old, same old. Who was on the phone?" "Oh- that was Angel." Buffy's eyes immediately shot up as she heard his
name. "He wanted me to tell you he wouldn't be able to make patrol tonight,
but if you wanted to stop by afterwards, he would probably still be at the
mansion." "*Probably* still be at the mansion?" Buffy's smile soon faded as her mother
confirmed what she was just told. "That's all he said, honey. You think you'll be spending the night at the
mansion? Or haven't the two of you made up yet?" "Okay- what is going on?" "What do you mean?" "Something is going on and I'm the only one left out! You talked to him,
didn't you? You probably put him up to this!" "Buffy, don't be ridiculous! I would never do that! But I did talk to
him..." "I knew it! What- what did you say?" Joyce hesitated, debating whether or
not to let her daughter find out from her or straight from the source.
"Mom...I swear, if you-" "Why don't you take a few things with you in a bag and go talk to him
yourself after patrol. I'm sure eveyrthing will be fine by now. He's had a
whole day to think things through." Not giving a response, Buffy races
upstairs to grab her duffel bag, slamming the back door behind her as she
hurries over to the mansion. After her third knock, an impatient Buffy came storming into the
mansion. She moved rapidly through the great hall, noticing that there was
something pinched and starved about the décor. Not a single book or sketch
pad was strewn about on the tables or couch. Only a few pictures were left
hanging on the walls. Even the side tables were completely bare. Through
clenched fists, Buffy began searching through some of the drawers. Seeing
that for the most part they were bare, she straightened, feeling panicky.
She decided to check upstairs, hoping against hope that she would find
some trace of him still being there. Her proof came as she walked down the
upstairs hall, noticing a few mirrors had been put up along the wall.
Stopping to stare at her own shaky reflection, she was startled as she felt
two strong arms encircle her waist from behind. "You're beautiful..." Angel whispered, placing a gentle kiss to the side of
her head. "Angel..." she breathed out, turning in his arms to face him. "You're still
here." "And I'm not going anywhere," he silences her, placing his lips over her own
in a soft kiss. "Buffy, I'm so sorry. This morning, I just...I don't even
know what I was thinking, and I'm sorry. The only thing I really know is
that I'm not leaving your side for anything." He sees the glimmer of unshed
tears in her eyes, taking her by the hand and leading her further down the
hall to the master bedroom. "I want to show you something else..." As they enter the room, Angel leads her straight over to a bureau she'd
never seen before. She runs a hand along it's smooth finish, admiring its
simple design. "It's beautiful." "It's yours," he grins, stepping alongside her. "I know you said you only
wanted a drawer, but I thought you'd like this a little better." Buffy reaches up to give him a soft kiss, deepening it as she wraps her
arms around his body. Angel smiles in between kisses, laughing with her as
they both walk back towards the bed, his arms still wrapped around her as he
lifts her up by the waist, placing her onto the sheets. Buffy gasps as she
notices the wonderful array he has set-up, a large blanket with big throw
pillows, the flames of the brightly lit candles sending flickers of light
playing across his features. "Angel, this is wonderful," she smiles. "I love you..." Angel feels her
soft lips graze the side of his neck, making him jump a little. She moves
her lips across his neck, up to his waiting lips, gently sliding her tongue
into his mouth, as they share an intimate kiss. After a few minutes, she
pulls away, sitting up. "And if you ever pull something like that again, I
swear..." He sits up, tenderly taking her into his embrace, running his thumb
along her jaw. "I won't. You and I together is worth more than everything
else," he whispers, repeating Joyce's all too true words from earlier. "I
love you..." Buffy sighs as she feels Angel come to rest ontop of her. "I
love you...so much," she says, wrapping her arms around him, pulling him
down closer to her, meeting his lips for a deep kiss and a smile, as the
couple lovingly continues their gentle affirmation, falling asleep in each
others arms towards the early hours of the next morning. ****** "So where's all of your stuff?" Buffy asked, tracing random patterns across
the arm that lay around her waist. "I moved some things around in case you wanted to bring over any of your
other stuff. You know, make this place more girl-friendly," he smiles,
placing a kiss to her bare back. Letting out a small chuckle, Buffy
snuggles further into his embrace, not wanting to have to leave for school
in an hour. "I can't believe they're actually making us go to the first
four classes today before we get to go home and get all ready," she pouts.
"I mean, how do they expect us to look our best in such a short time?" "Well, you have nothing to worry about...you always look perfect." "Again with the smooth talk," she smiles into his chest. "You'll be a
regular Bond tonight in your tux. You do have your tux, don't you?" "Of course...I think your mother would kill me if I showed up without one.
She's already bought five rolls of film." Buffy tipped her head back, all the more curious to find out just what
had transpired during her mother's talk with her boyfriend. "Just what did
mom say to you anyway?" Angel could only look at her, a small smile forming
upon his lips. "Something I should've already realized..." "Whatever it was...remind to thank her." Realizing that she had to start
getting ready to check in with her mother then head off to school, Buffy
reluctantly rolled out of bed, Angel following suit behind her. As he fixed
her a light snack, the two began to make plans for the evening's big event. "Okay- Xander and Cordy will be here at around 6 with their limo..." "A limo? With- with Xander??" "Believe it or not, it was his idea to come pick you up," she flashes him a
surprised look that almost matches his own. "Should I be worried then?" "Nah- Cordy will be there to protect you," she skips over to him, reaching
up to give him a playful kiss. "Oh- that reminds me. Make sure you have a
few things packed for the weekend." "I don't understand..." "You heard Cordelia invite us all down to her family's beachhouse for the
weekend," she reminds him. "You've gotta have something more than a tux to
wear for two days." "Buffy..." he sighs, a grim bleak look threatening to break out across his
features. "Please...don't even-" "We're driving down tonight in Oz's van- Will and him sun-blocked it. Plus,
Cordy and Xand already put up some heavy curtains at the house. We've got
everything taken care of. Angel..." she grabs his face between her small
hands, urging him to look at her. "I promise, everything is going to be
great. We'll all go swimming once the sun sets and just have fun." "But I still won't be able to take you out into the sunli-" "Who cares?! I don't! I don't know why you do..." "Because you deserve-" Angel's protest is quickly silenced by Buffy's warm
lips fervently capturing his in a strong kiss. "What I *deserve* is to enjoy my prom and the weekend with my friends and
boyfriend. Now if you have any objections to that, I'd be more than happy
to beat and toss you around a little bit until you came to your senses
again, but I've got to get going to school." She races over to the couch to
grab her bag, turning to face him as she approaches the front doors. "Any
questions?" "Just one...do we have to play any more board games with Xander like we did
the last time we were all together?" "So long as you promise not to glue him to any more furniture...I'll see
what I can do." The slayer's face melted into a warm smile as she gave him
one final kiss before leaving in extreme anticipation of the prom. ****** "Ready to roll, Deadboy?" Angel couldn't help but give a slight chuckle at
Xander's remark. "Hey- you clean up pretty good..." the tuxedo clad boy
told the vampire between mouthtfuls. "Thanks. So do...Xander...what are you eating?" "Twinkie," he smiles, a smudge of cream filling oozing out the side of his
mouth. "Want one? I've got a couple extra," he says, already looking
through his jacket pockets. "No, no- I'm good, thanks. Where's Cordelia?" "Out in the limo. Something about not wanting to expose her new shoes to
the dreariness and dampness of this place...by the way..." he points over
towards the couch, noticing a single piece of red fabric peeking out from
under a pillow. "Is that your bra or Buffy's?" Looking back to see what
the grinning Xander was referring to, Angel was sure he would've blushed if
it were still possible. "I'm hoping it's Buffy's, cause if that's what you
moonlight in, that just puts the most disturbing image into my mind, and I
really don't think you want your floor covered in spongy twinkie goodness." "It's mine...I thought it might make a nice change from all the black
leather," he brushes off his teasing, gently pushing past him towards the
door. "Oooo...Deadboy made a joke! I was beginning to think I was the only one
around here with a sense of humor." "Not neccesarily...I've always thought Cordelia had a great sense of humor.
After all- she goes out with you?that's either a wonderful sense of humor,
or she's really into charity work. I'm more apt to go along with the first
scenario." Before Xander can retaliate, Angel is greeting Cordelia by the
limo. "Here Cordelia..." he says, handing her one of the four roses he was
carrying along with Buffy's corsage. "You look great." "Aww...thank you, Angel. If I would've known you'd look so great in that
tux I would've asked you to the Prom the first night I saw you at the
Bronze." "Hey- where's my rose, Deadboy?" Xander whines, hopping in beside them. "I'll tell you what...if you can go the rest of the night without calling me
Deadboy, I'll bring along all the Twinkies that I know Buffy has stashed
away in my kitchen this weekend." "You're coming!" Cordy cheers. "That's great! It'll be a lot of fun,
Angel. Well, except for the rest of these lameoids being there..." "Yeah- so long as you keep your distance from me and the glue," Xander adds,
shifting a little in his seat before mustering up his pride to make his
confession to Angel. "Look...you'll never, I repeat- *never* hear me say
this again, so you'd better have those vamp ears tuned up all the way."
Taking a deep breath, he blurts out his statement. "Imgladyourenotleaving." "What?" Angel had a pretty good idea what he'd just heard, but still, any
opportunity he could get to see Xander squirm was more than welcome. "Ugghh...I'm glad you're not leaving," he repeats, slower this time as he
rolls his eyes at having to say it again. "For what it's worth, you're
alright...and I think we all pretty much know how much you love Buffy. And
even though she's got this fine guy right here to drool all over..." he
gives a sly grin which quickly disappeared once he saw his date's angry
glare. "You're all she sees and needs. So I'm glad you're staying." "Thanks Xander," Angel finally gets out, more than a little surprised at
Xander's words. "That means al-" "Yeah yeah- don't go getting all mushy on me. This wild man's up for some
prom-partyin!" ****** "How do I look, mom?" Joyce, smiling at the fifth hairstyle her daughter
had tried on tonight, approached Buffy with open arms. "You look wonderful,
princess. Absolutely wonderful. Angel won't be able to keep his eyes off
of you...well, not that he can't keep his eyes off of you just wearing jeans
and a sweater," she laughed. "Try not to be so nervous, honey. "I know. I just want everything to go great tonight- and this weekend."
Buffy unfolded herself out of her mother's supportive arms with a start in
response to the doorbell. "He's early," she whispered, and slipped on her
shoes as Joyce made her way to the door. She smiled, and swung it open. "Hello Angel. We seem to be seeing a lot of each other these past few days,
she laughed, welcoming him in. "Well, it's certainly always a pleasure, Joyce," he smiles stepping through
the doorway. "This is for you," he says, pulling another small rose from
behind his back. "Why thank you, Angel. It's beautiful." "Speaking of beautiful, is Buffy ready?" "Yes she is," answered a finally calmed Buffy as she appeared from the
dining room. Angel couldn't pull his eyes away from her. Her sleeveless
pink dress was simple in design, but her natural beauty gave it such
grandeur. Her golden tresses just barely covered her shoulder, and her face
seemed to glow in response. "You look amazing, Buffy," he smiled, handing her the one white rose that
stood out from the others he carried, placing the beautiful corsage he
carried with him over her wrist. "Thank you, Angel." As her mother talked with Angel about their plans for
the evening, Buffy's gaze fell quickly upon him. "You two look so beautiful together. Just perfect," Joyce beamed, already
working on her third roll of film. "What's the hold up?" Xander's voice boomed into the living room. "Queen C
is bustin' my eardrums with her complaining out in the limo, and-
whoa...Buffy. Very nice..." he smiles, eyeing her appreciatively. "Not so bad yourself, Xand," she pulls him into a hug, feeling something
squishing against her in the process. "Xander- what have you got under your
jacket?" "Don't get him started," Angel warns, lacing his fingers with hers. "Say mom, grab a picture of these two-" Buffy grins, gently nudging Angel
and Xander together towards the fireplace. After a brief moment of
hesitation and debate, Xander casually slipped his arm around Angel's
shoulder in a friendly manner, passing him a sideways smile as he did the
same. After flashing a few more pictures of the three, Joyce walks with
them out on the porch. "You all have fun," she smiles, giving Buffy a
final hug as Angel offers her his arm to escort her to the limo. "Okay- so who's ready to get down with their badself!" "Xander-" Cordy snaps as he slumps down next to her. "Don't make me sorry
I'm taking you out in public! You'd better behave tonight!" "Hey- I make no promises. I'm still trying to get in some last minute votes
for class clown." "I would've thought he would win by a landslide," Angel mutters, leaning
over to give Buffy a quick kiss. "Hey, I heard that! If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times-
leave the humor to an expert like me!" ****** We were standing all alone By the time they reached the gym, they were all laughing and blushing-
already having an awesome time. As the music blasts
throughout the crowd, Angel and Buffy slowly make their way over to Willow
and Oz, hand in hand as Cordelia and Xander follow from behind. "Buffy- you look awesome!" Willow cheers, pulling her best friend into a hug. "So do you. How's the prom?" "Strangely affecting," Oz grins. "I got all teared up when they played 'We
Are Family'. " "Everything's perfect," Will says, suddenly passing an eye to the stunning
vision who's hand was firmly clasping Buffy's. "Angel...you look great in
your tux." "Thanks," he passes her a half-smile, handing her the single rose he had
left. "You look wonderful, Willow." "Thank you..." she tries hiding her faint blush, turning instead to face her
date, proudly beaming from ear to ear. Sweet temptation rush all over me The friends walk through the huge group of dancing seniors, which
wasn't as bad as Angel had expected, finally meeting up with Wesley and
Giles on the other side of the gym. "Whoa- G-man! lookin' good in the
monkey suit," Xander smiles, giving him a pat on the back. As the
englishman sighs, looking to the oblivious Wesley for help, he pulls Buffy
off to the side. "How do you all expect to put up with him for an entire
weekend?" "We've managed before," his slayer giggles, watching in amusement as her
goofy friend began dragging Cordelia onto the dancefloor. "So long as we
can keep him and Angel from torturing one another, everything will be
peachy. I can't wait for him to see the ocean, Giles." She turns slightly,
looking on as her date was busy talking with Oz. I feel the magic all around you "So Angel's going?" Giles' eyes held an uncertainty that Buffy immediately
picked up on. "I take it you've already...made preparations?" "Of course. He'll be fine, Giles. Besides, this is our big chance to make
him feel like he really belongs. You know...normal like us. Well...as
normal as we all get," she chuckles, half-tempted to go save Cordelia from
Xander's two left feet on the dance floor, but deciding to see Angel's moves
first. She immediately grabs his hands, pulling him out to the dance floor.
He chuckled and shook his head at her, knowing full well he'd probably look
like as big a klutz as Xander was dancing to the fast-paced rhythm of the
current song, but suddenly not caring. Buffy. Is this fate, is it my destiny "Have I told you how..." Buffy was at a loss for words, subconsciously
dancing even closer to Angel as she noticed the hundreth girl that was
shamelessly checking him out. "...incredibly sexy you look in that tux?" "I'm gonna have to take your word on that," he leans into her ear, trying to
speak up over the blaring music. "If you don't believe me, I would think having every girl's eyes all over
you would give you a pretty good idea." "What are you talking about?" "Okay- how can you be so perceptive when it comes to everything else except
the effect you have on the female population? Let me explain it to you,
honey...I don't think there's a girl at this dance, including Will and
Cordelia, who hasn't undressed you with their eyes," she gives him a sly
smile, loving the feel of his hands grasping her around the waist to pull
her in closer. "I could say the same things about every guy in here who thinks they're
worthy enough to feast their eyes on you," he smiles as he traces his hands
alongside her bare shoulders and arms, feeling her slight shiver in
response. I feel the magic all around you The song faded as Xander's moment to shine was approaching. Dragging
Cordelia along behind him, he raced over to the other Scoobies, wanting to
share his glory with the friends who had put up with his antics for so very
long. As his classmate took to the stage, Xander's eyes widened in
anticipation, already preparing an acceptance speech as the announcement was
being made. "And the award for Sunnydale High's class clown for 1999 goes to...Jack
Mayhew." With his outlandish balloon crown and ensuing happy-dance, Jack was a
sight to behold. As he breezed past a shocked and disappointed Xander, the
others did their best trying to console their distraught friend. However,
Cordelia, as usual, made no attempt to hide her amusement at her boyfriend's
loss. "Expert in humor, huh? More like the king of fools!" she laughed, noticing
that Angel and Oz seemed to share her sentiments as they expertly held back
their own laugher. "Please! Anybody can be a prop class clown!" Xander whined. "You know,
none of the people who vote for these things are funny!" "And according to them, neither are you," a grinning Angel smirks, giving
him a pat on the shoulder, for a brief second actually feeling sorry for his
loss. As Buffy and Angel followed Willow and Oz over to get some punch, a
nervous Jonathan took to the stage. "We have one more award to give out.
Is Buffy Summers here tonight?" The gym filled with murmurs, the anxious
crowd looking amongst themselves for the small blonde they'd all often wrote
off as a misfit. "Did- did she, umm..." Buffy's head finally turned
towards the stage, looking on as he continued. "This is actually a new
category. First time ever. I guess there were a lot of write-in ballots,
and, um- the prom committeeasked me to- to read this," he stutters, fumbling
through his jacket for the sheet of paper. Buffy turned to her friends, looking for some sort of explanation as to
what was going on. "We're not good friends. Most of us never found the
time to get to know you. But that doesn't mean we haven't noticed you. We
don't talk about it much, but it's no secret that Sunnydale High isn't
really like other highschools. A lot of weird stuff happens here..." "Zombies!" one eager student shouts out. "Hyena people!" another cries. "Snyder!!" the third receives a few hushed laughs from the crowd. Jonathan
gives his own slight chuckle before continuing. "But whenever there was a problem, or something creepy happened, you seemed
to show up and stop it. Most of the people here have been saved by you, or
helped by you at one time or another. We're proud to say that the class of
'99 has the lowest mortality rate of any graduating class in Sunnydale
history." A huge round of applause erupted from the crowd. Angel turned to
his side to see Buffy begin to blush, still unclear as to what was really
going on. "And we know at least part of that is because of you. So the senior class
offers it's thanks, and gives you, uh, uh, this." Jonathan turns to grab
the small pedastal, slowly popping it open to read it's inscription. "It's
from all of us. And it has written here, 'Buffy Summers...Class Protector." Buffy's beaming features floated down the cleared aisle, extremely
surprised and overwhelmed by her classmates' actions. Gently taking the
award that Jonathan handed her, she turned to face the crowd, still in an
uproar of cheers. Finally making it back to her friends, she was swept up
in a giant hug by all of them. "Alright Buffy," Oz was the first to speak up. "Way to make a scene." "That was so cool," his date giggles, taking the small umbrella from her
best friend to take a closer look. "I'm so very proud of you, Buffy." Giles' pride was evident as he gave her
another hug, quietly rejoicing in the admiration and love he had for the
girl who'd come to be more of a daughter to him than a slayer. "And so am I..." Angel wraps her up in his own hug, placing a gentle kiss on
her forehead. The friends were so busy celebrating Buffy's big moment that
they almost succeeded in drowning out Xander's complaints. "Buffy gets a golden umbrella...Jack gets class clown honors...even the
girls got roses from Angel. And what do I get, huh? When do I ever get
something good?!" he whimpers, his sulking face finally getting to Cordelia. "Uggh! You get *me*!! Isn't that enough you big baby?! Now come on- let's
dance!" This time she drags his unwilling frame out to the floor to begin
swaying to the gentle, slow song that had just started. "May I have this dance?" Angel gives his date a wide smile before leading
her wordlessly out to the center of the gym. Clasping her small hand in his
own, he wraps his other arm around her waist, his hand gently caressing the
folds of her dress. I love you more than anything These feelings I hold inside "So what do you think of your first prom experience?" Buffy looks up with a
huge smile across her face as Angel pulls her closer. "Definitely not what I expected," he grins. "But it's been great...can't
help but feel bad for Xander though," he steals a glance at the
still-pouting Xander, starting to feel sorrier for Cordelia for having to
put up with more whining. When I look into your eyes That I love, you more than anything These feelings I hold inside Angel felt Buffy lay softly against his shoulder as he brought one hand
up from her back and placed it gently against her head, brushing against her
hair and tucking it back behind her ear. The room seems to go silent as all
he can think about is how much he loved holding her soft body in his arms,
knowing he'd never be able to leave her. "I don't know how I could ever go on if you ever left my arms," he whispers
against her neck, pressing his lips against her smooth skin. "That's never going to happen," she emphasizes, pulling his lips down to hers, delighting in the feeling of his mouth devouring hers. When I, think of life without you I'd do things that can't be done I love you more than anything... The song ended as softly as it had begun and the couple remained trapped in one another's embrace. Until Cordelia's sharp voice called them
to attention. "If we don't leave now I just might tie up Xander and shove
him in a locker!" "You know," Xander approached them from behind, his pouty face slowly
returning to it's usual smirk. "You'd think you'd be a little more
sympathetic!" "You lost class clown- big freakin' deal! Isn't it enough that we all think
you're a big goofball?! Now are we going or not?" Not wanting to put up
any argument with Queen C, Angel and Buffy roamed the gym to grab Willow and
Oz. Giving their last goodbyes to Giles and Wesley, the friends quickly
changed out of their formal attires and gathered into Oz's darkened van, all
set for two days to relax together. ******
Go to the Next Part
You were leaning in to speak to me
Acting like a mover, shaker
Dancing to Madonna
Then you kissed me
And I think about it all the time
And I think about it all the time
Passion desire so intense
I can't take anymore
It's bringing me to my knees
Like a wannabe
I've gotta be chained to you
When you looked into my eyes
Felt a sudden sense of urgency
Fascination casts a spell
And you became more than just a mystery
And I think about you all the time
That I think about you all the time
I no longer pretend
To have my hand on the wheel
It's bringing me to my knees
Like a wannabe
I've gotta be chained to you
Than anything, I do
And I'd give anything
And everything I have
Just to be with you
Are emotions I cannot hide
These feelings will not subside
I'd give anything?anything
I see something special about you
And when I hold your hand
You seem to understand
Than anything, I do
And I'd give anything
And everything I have
Just to be with you
Are emotions I cannot hide
These feelings will not subside
I'd give anything, anything
It brings me, it brings me right down to my knees
Cause I, I can't imagine life without you
You are the thing...
The thing that keeps me holding on
I'd fly to the moon and around the sun
If you'll just say that I'm the one
I'd do anything
More than anything...