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Angel stared morosely out the window, occasional flashes
of lightning would
illuminate his face. Darla was gone but he couldn’t even
make himself care. No,
tonight a different blond taunted him. He remembered a
night just like this when they
were together. The first time, the only time. Angel closed
his eyes.
He could still see her, shivering with the cold and
huddled on his bed. He knew
it was wrong from the minute he touched her but he couldn’t
seem to stop himself.
And, after visiting the only heaven he’d ever known, Angel
had then experienced hell.
To this day, he was burdened by the things Angelus had
done. Striking out at the
woman he, Angel, loved. Killing Jenny Calender. Torturing
Giles. And the thoughts the
demon entertained about Willow. Well, Angelus had been
forming quite an obsession
with the young witch.
Fortunately, Angel had been spared Willow’s trauma because
the demon
couldn’t act on his torrid fantasies. She had warded him
from entering her home and
he’d stopped the nightly visits he made to sleep beside
her. He’d killed her fish to
frighten her, control her. But, she hadn’t given in,
hadn’t told the others about the lurid
drawings he had left for her. Drawings that depicted
events to come. Angel shook
himself out of his thoughts as the thunder boomed, seeming
to rumble through the
building.
Seeking distractions, he ambled downstairs, idly touching
the smooth railings,
seeking some distraction. Angel decided to warm some
blood, hoped that the
momentary satisfaction of feeding would occupy his time.
Stop the flow of self
recriminations. He waited impatiently for the microwave
timer to go off and started to
go through the freezer. Spring Cleaning! He had no idea
what Cordy and Wesley kept
in the compartment.
He found some old “lean cuisine” meals. Two ice cube
trays, and a bag of frozen
tater-tots. But, behind them, in the corner, tucked behind
some scary-looking leftovers
was a sinful pint of decadence. Angel pulled the small
pint of ice cream out to get a
better look at it. It was Godiva truffle ice cream. He
opened the drawer and took out a
small spoon. He’d always been curious about this stuff.
Cordy would eat it slowly,
relishing the taste and feel in her mouth. It must be
good.
Angel spooned up a bite and felt the cool chocolate slide
down his throat. He
nearly choked on his moan. So good. The microwave timer
went off, but it was too
late. Angel was indulging a more wicked hunger. He
carried the ice cream with him,
tucked in the crook of his arm. He got inside his
apartment and closed the door.
Going to the window once more, he set it down and spooned
up a large portion.
He just could get enough of it. Another spoonful, and
another, another. He couldn’t be
sated, couldn’t control the hunger. Soon his spoon scraped
the bottom. More. He
needed more. Angel heard a small noise. Cordelia was
downstairs.
He went to the top of the stairs. “Hey.”
“Uh, hi, Angel.” Then she noticed the small trickle of
chocolate coming from his
mouth. “Have you been eating my ice cream?”
His tongue darted out to lick the remaining ice cream
away. “Yes. Do you have
more?”
She was too bemused to be angry with the large vampire. He
looked. . .almost
happy. Cordelia was grateful he wasn’t brooding or going
ballistic, which seemed to be
the two modes Angel had. “No more ice cream. But I have a
Lindt chocolate bar in my
desk.” He bounded down the stairs. She wondered if vampires
could have sugar highs.
She unwrapped the chocolate bar and broke off a piece for
him.
He bit down. “MMM.. So good.” He let the chocolate melt in
his mouth, swirling
it with his tongue.
“Angel, it’s just candy.” She frowned at him. “Here’s the
rest.” She slapped the
remaining portion of the bar into his hands and retrieved
the folder she had forgotten to
take home with her. “See you later, Angel.” He mumbled
something that sounded like
a goodbye.
*******
Angel stood again by the window. It was still raining and
it was almost dawn.
He placed a hand on the window, he’d eaten too much
chocolate. But it was so good.
He’d even gone down to the convenience store on the corner
and picked up some
chocolate cookies and more of that ice cream. Angel
smiled, he felt sated, tranquil.
Almost as if some nameless tenstion had been released.
Some niggling bit of
information tugged at his brain, demanding attention.
He’d read that eating large
amounts of chocolate was biochemically similar to being in
love. And he’d just indulged
himself. That’s when he knew he was in trouble. Angel
fell to the floor, clutching his
sides. The pain was unbearable, excruciating. He clearly
remembered the last time he
had felt this way. No, no, no! He tried to will it to
stop happening as he continued to
writhe on the floor. And then, there was a nothingness,
Angel was no more.
********
Angelus scowled from a safe distance at the sunlight
streaming into the room.
What had Soulboy done now to screw up his unlife? The
annoying cheerleader was in
the other room, happily yakking on away on the phone. And
then there was Wesley,
the ex-Watcher. An ex-Watcher! Don’t forget about Gunn,
the vampire hater. Did
Angel really loathe himself this much? How could he
surround himself with these
tiresome mortals? Angelus shook his head, his soul had
really done it this time. It was
a good thing he was here, he’d soon correct all of it’s
little mistakes.
Angelus was hungry too. And that didn’t help matters,
because he couldn’t eat
the humans. Not yet, anyway. Angelus was a vampire with a
plan. The last time he’d
gotten control of this body, he was furious with the soul.
He hadn’t been able to look
past his anger. He had been hasty in some of his decisions.
Like trying to suck the world
into hell, for example. With a couple of years of
perspective under his belt, Angelus
was able to see the flaws in that idea. He knew exactly
what he wanted to do now.
First, he had to get to Sunnydale. Without the human
flunkies if possible. Next,
get some minions. Then, insinuate himself into the
slayer’s world once more. Devil
help him, he was prepared to date her if necessary. Then,
he’d look up his old pal,
Spike. And torture his trecherous childe until he begged
to be put out of his misery.
Angelus smiled then, he was just coming to the best part.
He’d pick off the Scoobys,
one by one. Except for his Willow. And, only revealing
his true identity to the soon-to-
be-deceased, Angelus would “help” the slayer capture the
“rogue vampire.” Lastly,
he’d kill the Watcher and Slayer. All that would be left
would be his Willow.
He grinned. His Willow. He’d been thinking of this for
two years as well. He
should never been so got up in his angry vengeance that he
ignored the little witch.
He’d make her fall in love with him. Make her beg for his
forgiveness for giving him
his soul back. He wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes he’d
made with Dru. No, this one
would keep her sanity.
Angelus wasn’t even interested in looking up Darla. She
hadn’t even been able to
get Soulboy happy enough to restore him to his body. If he
didn’t know better, he’d
say that his sire had begun to form an attachment to his
souled alter ego. Disgusting!
She should have thrown him out when he’d come crawling to
her in China. Maybe
even staked him when he refused to sire her.
The ex-cheerleader poked her head in his office. “Angel,
I just had a vision.”
“Oh?” He said. Hmm. “Why don’t you come in here and tell
me all about it?”
Had the Powers That Be decided to interfere. Give the girl
a head’s up on the demon
inhabiting her boss?
“Buffy’s in trouble. Her mother’s dead and I think you
should go to her.”
“Ohhh. Well, sure. Why not?” He almost smiled. Sometimes
the PTB had a
wicked sense of humor. A nasty demon in Bolivia? They’d
give you a vision. One in the
office next to yours? Just silence.
“Well, I’d better go check that out. Thanks. I’ll leave
as soon as it’s sundown.”
He smiled at her. Then he looked “broody”. Soulboy would
be unhappy about his
little “soulmate” mom being dead.
“It’s so good to have you back, Angel.”
“Believe me, Cordelia, it’s good to be back.”
*******
Two hands seized Willow and spun her around. She struck
out with her fist and
encountered a rather large male chest “Angel?”
“Willow.” Angelus leaned in closer.
“You must have heard about Buffy’s mother.”
“Oh, yes. Such a terrible tragedy.” He bent his head,
looking thoughtful.“May I
come in, Willow?”
Willow invited him into her parent’s home. She was
staying home for the
weekend. Somehow, being with her parents seemed more
important now. She wanted
to know them better.
They went to her room and Angelus crossed to the bed
immediately. He lay
down and put his hands behind his head to stare at her.
Willow was a little
disconcerted by this behavior. “What can I do for you?”
She said. Angel always had a
reason for seeing her.
“Can’t a friend simply visit another friend. Besides, I
wanted to offer you my
comfort. If you’re feeling upset, you can always cry on my
shoulder.”
Willow stared at him. “Shouldn’t you be comforting
Buffy?” What’s wrong with
him?
“She has Giles and Dawn. And you need someone, don’t you,
Willow?”
“No, I’m fine.” Giles had mentioned that Angel had
undergone a personality
change due to some experiences he’d had with his sire,
Darla. But Willow had no idea
that they were this drastic. If she didn’t know better,
she’s say that was Angelus lying
on her pillow.