SPRING FLING (2/?)
 

Willow walked up the stairs, somehow managing to balance her book bag, her
laptop and reach into her right pocket to find her key without dropping
anything. She smiled triumphantly when she looked at the silver metal object.
She shifted her bag onto her left hip, putting the key in the lock and
opening the door slowly. Walking into the dark room, she set her bag down.
She put her laptop on the table, easily side stepping the chair and leaning
over to turn on the lamp. A soft glow soon cast over her pretty face as she
walked back towards the wall, turning on the overhead light as well. She
glanced at the closed door then her watch. It was nearly six but the sun was
still overhead. It would be dusk by seven, she decided.
 

She turned on the radio and tuned it to a classic rock station, humming
softly along to Aerosmith as she turned on her laptop and hooked everything
up. Soon, she was pecking away at the keys, trying to get a little bit more
written on her paper. She worked diligently for half an hour before she got
up and went into the kitchen. She grabbed a can of soda, pouring it into an
empty glass as she tossed the bag in the microwave. She opened a bag of chips
and started snacking as she waited for the beep. Hearing it, she poured it
into a glass and smiled when she heard the door open. Leaning forward, she
handed him the glass and watched with curious eyes as he began to drink.
 

Angel turned his head as he drank, shielding his face from Willow's
green eyes. For some odd reason, she seemed to enjoy watching him feed. He
didn't understand her at times, though that was one of the reasons he enjoyed
her company. He set the glass down, licking his lips to ensure that they were
clean of blood before looking at Willow. He smiled slightly when he looked at
her, seeing that she had opened some chips and a soda. She pulled herself
onto the counter, kicking her feet slightly as she watched him. He ran a hand
through his hair, knowing it must be sticking in every direction. He had
slept hard and longer than usual, his dreams filled with a certain enticing
redhead. A beguiling little witch that seemed to have him bewitched even
during his sleep.
 

"What?" Willow asked nervously, looking down to make sure she hadn't spilled
something on her shirt. She looked back at Angel, wondering what had drawn
his attention.
 

"Thanks," he nodded at the glass.
 

She smiled, "I thought you might be hungry."
 

"You may spoil me," he said softly, realizing that she had had his breakfast
waiting for him most days the past month or so.
 

"You deserve to be spoiled sometimes," she said with a determined nod.
 

"How was school today?" he asked.
 

"It was O.K.," she said. "I had a quiz in Calculus but I think I aced it.
Cordelia and Xander had another big break up before school but they were
making out in the utility closet before the end of the day. Let's see...I got
a little more of my paper written after school. Oh, and Buffy has a new crush
on some guy in her Lit class. Overall, pretty uneventful."
 

He smiled slightly at her ramblings, "A new crush? Something passing or...?"
 

Willow shrugged as she slid down from the counter. She took the bag of chips
and soda and walked past him, "With Buffy, who knows? She seems pretty
interested in him but she just recently learned his name. I've seen him
around and heard he's a real nice guy, so that's something. Supposed to be
real smart, which is a change for Buffy. She tends to like those eye candy
guys, great to look at with hardly any substance."
 

"Thanks," he said dryly, his lips twitching as he saw her face turn red.
 

"Oh my...I didn't mean you," she explained. "I mean, you're gorgeous but
you're smart too. Most of her passing interests are pretty faces. This guy
seems different. If she ever gets enough nerve to speak to him, who knows?
Maybe he'd be good for her."
 

"Gorgeous huh?" he smiled openly, not paying much attention to the rest of
her rambling speech about Buffy. He still cared about the slayer, but he
didn't want to spend his entire time with Willow discussing his
ex-girlfriend. There were far more interesting things to discuss with Willow
other than Buffy's love life, or lack there of.
 

"Huh?" Willow looked at him for a moment before she realized what she had
said. Her face was still red so she couldn't even blush anymore. "Oh, hush.
You know you're a hunk. Quit teasing me."
 

"Me? Tease you?" he asked innocently, moving to sit down as she made herself
comfortable on the sofa in front of her laptop.
 

"Mr. Innocent over there," she muttered under her breath, knowing from
experience that Angel loved nothing more than making her blush.
 

"What are your plans for the remainder of the evening?" he asked, watching
her save her paper and shut down her laptop.
 

She shrugged, "Dunno. Faith is patrolling with Buffy tonight and Giles is
observing, so I have the night off. I think Xander mentioned something about
eating with Cordy's parents, but with those two, who knows? My parents are in
town for the time being and I honestly don't want to be around either of them
at the moment, so I came over here."
 

"So I was the last resort," he said in amusement.
 

"Well, I didn't want to bug you so I exhausted all other options before
bothering you," she explained, knowing that he didn't need to know that she
would have come over regardless of what other plans she could have made, save
some major evil in town.
 

"You never bug me, Willow," he said quietly, not believing her in the
slightest. The two of them had become rather good friends over the last five
months since he had returned from his exile in hell. When no one else could
look at him, Willow had held out her hand and offered him her friendship. A
little over seven weeks ago he had given Willow a key to his apartment,
wanting her to know that she was always welcome in his home. Of course, his
overactive libido had brought forth images of her sneaking into his room and
waking him up in the most delicious ways. Judging from the fact that she
blushed everytime he teased her, he somehow doubted she'd take advantage of
his key in the ways he wished. "Are you hungry?"
 

Willow giggled when she saw his pointed gaze at the almost empty bag of chips
that was sitting on the sofa beside her, "Not so much anymore."
 

"Why don't you let me get dressed and we can go grab a burger," he
volunteered, glancing down at the pajama bottoms and shirt that he had thrown
on when he had smelled the heated blood.
 

"Sure," Willow said, letting her eyes linger on the unbuttoned shirt that
Angel was wearing. She had tried her best to not notice the bare chest, but
he had drawn her attention to it with his random comment. Goddess, it should
be illegal for someone to look that damn good and especially considering he
had been dead more than two hundred years. "I could always eat."
 

"Maybe we could uh," he trailed off, wondering why he was acting so much like
a school boy, "drop by Blockbuster or something."
 

She smiled brightly, "That would be very nifty."
 

"Good...great," he smiled, getting to his feet, pleased that he had made her
smile.
 

"You know, we could always just order a pizza and watch something you already
own," she pointed out logically.
 

"Would you rather have pizza?" he asked, a bit disappointed that she appeared
to not want to go out with him. Of course, he justified, she just thought of him
as a friend, as her best friend's ex-boyfriend in fact. She had no idea the
secret fantasies he had about her constantly or the way just the smell of her
could make him happy.
 

"I'd rather stay here with you," she said softly, blushing slightly as she
looked at the blank television. It was rather selfish, but here, in his
apartment, he was her Angel and she didn't have to share with anyone else.
 

"I think I still have some coupons from last time," he said, pleased by her
admission. "Why don't you pick a movie and I'll call in the pizza."
 

"Sounds like a plan," she said, moving from the sofa and going to the cabinet
that held his movies. She missed the soft look he shot her way and the way
his eyes studied her for several moments before he went into his room.

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