Rating: PG-13
Distribution: Angel of Mine; TPWFLD; otherwise please ask.
Disclaimer: Characters don't belong to me. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: Sequel to "Look Away"
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Buffy sat in the cemetary, tears running down her face. How could everything have changed in so short a time?
A month ago she was enjoying college, she had friends, and she was facing a bright future. But an anoymous note had sent her to L.A. and she had faced her worst nightmare. Angelus had returned and his first strike against Buffy had cut her to the heart....he'd changed Willow.
Neither Angelus nor Willow were aware that Buffy had shown up or that their carefully constructed plans were crumbling around them. While they plotted their revenge against the Slayer, Buffy was making her own plans.
She waited for her moment, then struck Willow as she exited a club by herself. Willow had tried to talk her way out of the situation, but Buffy wouldn't listen. After an exhaustive struggle, Buffy staked Willow. As Willow erupted in a cloud of dust, Buffy dropped to her knees. She'd just killed her best friend, and a part of her had died too.
"I'm sorry, Willow. But this is how it had to be. You're free now, my friend."
Buffy wiped away her tears, grabbed Willow's jacket and headed to find Angelus.
Several hours later, she found him in the park, having just finished feeding. Angelus stared in shock as Buffy called him by name. His expression grew furious as she tossed the jacket at him. She knew he recognized it, and the traces of dust that were still on the material. He let out a animalistic yell, then ran into the darkness. Buffy tried to follow, but he disappeared too quickly.
It was two days later before she was able to track him down again. But this time, he didn't run. He faced her and swore she'd pay for destroying Willow. Buffy went on the offensive, which caught Angelus off guard. It was only moments later, that Angelus was destroyed.
Buffy took a few days to try to come to terms with everything that had happened before she headed back to school. When she returned, she was surprised to find Xander waiting along with Giles. The pleasant surprise turned to anger as she realized that Angelus had set her up.
When he'd disappeared from the park, Angelus had realized that his plans had been ruined. He had gotten on the phone with both Xander and Giles, and convinced both of them that Buffy had flipped when she learned of Angel's new romance. It didn't take him long to convince them that Buffy was out of control. No one knew that Angelus was back or that anything had happened to Willow. As far as they knew, Willow had moved to L.A. to be close to Angel. Her constant contact with Xander had eliminated any doubts they had.
Buffy knew she had played right into Angelus' hands from the moment he made that first call. She'd been determined to be happy for Angel and Willow, but a call from Willow had pushed her to the limit. Buffy had gotten angry and Giles had been there while she angrily yelled about Willow moving in on Angel. That incident had only served to stregthen the story that Angelus had fed Giles and Xander. Plus, they were distraught over the death of Willow, and they weren't thinking as clearly as they would normally.
Buffy had tried to tell them what happened, but they wouldn't listen. When they learned she'd killed Angel, Giles tried to calmly talk Buffy into getting help. It was obvious that she needed some time away from slaying. Buffy knew what kind of 'help' Giles was talking about and decided she needed to get away.
But as she tried to walk away, both men tried to stop her, and she used force. As she got to the doors, she turned to see her Watcher and one of her best friends staring at her like they didn't know who she was. Buffy knew then that Angelus had won. She may have won the battle, but he won the war. He had cost her everything she valued in her life.
Now as she sat in the cemetary, she knew she'd never be able to return to Sunnydale. Giles had probably already called her mother, and told her that her daughter had flipped out and murdered her ex-lover and her best friend. Then she had attacked two close friends. Her mother would follow Giles suggestion to have her commited, and she'd spend years in a psychiatric hospital. There was no way she'd let that happen.
"Damn you Angelus......Damn you to hell!!!!"
Buffy wiped at the tears, and ran for the bus. She sank into the seat as the bus made it's way out of Sunnydale. Maybe someday she'd be able to come back. Maybe in time she'd be able to convince them of her innocence. Until then, she would have to make it on her own.
Years passed, and Buffy had tried a couple times to contact Giles or Xander or her mother, but their pleas for her to come home were always accompanied with their promises to get her the help she needed. Buffy died alone, never having the chance to prove the truth to the people she loved. Fear had kept her away from her mother's funeral, and Gile's funeral. As the years went by, Buffy became convinced that Angelus had been the lucky one......he had died. Buffy survived, but it was a lonely existence. And the image of staking Willow never left her. She may have been a demon, but she had her best friend's face.
THE END!!!!!