"Summer days, drifting away, to. . .ahh. . .ahh. . .those summer
nights. . ."
      Willow sat beside Angel in his convertible.  He seemed to be
enjoying the movie,
especially the music.  She could see him mouthing the words as he
tapped on the dash
slightly.  She smiled to herself.  So his voice wasn't that great, he
still had the tempo
right.
      They had eaten cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes at
Swenson's.  She knew
Spike would have found it amusing, always teasing Angel for buying
fast food. She felt
a stab of guilt.
      Angel looked slightly uncomfortable, he was twisting in his
seat a little and
seemed to be distracted by something.   He settled down and drew her
close to his side,
his hand came to rest on the seat behind her.  She listened to John
Travolta  sing about
`getting friendly down in the sand', Angel pulled her closer.
      Willow's cheeks flamed.  Did Angel bring her here to. . .?
With all of these people
around?  She looked up at him accusingly.  He bent his head, she
tried to pull away but
he was too strong.  He tried to whisper something but she interrupted
by saying.
"What do you think your doing?"
      Angel's mouth curled into a confused frown.  Then he spoke
earnestly. "I have to
tell you something. This is going to shock you, Willow."
      "I doubt that." She said vehemently.  She still couldn't
break his hold.
      "Those people next to us. . .uh. . .they're having. . .well,
they're having. . .sexual
relations.  That's all I can say."
      "WHAT?"
      "Page 157." He ground out, disgusted with the sweaty mortals
writhing in the
car next to them.  "And maybe page 235.  And they're doing this in
public."
      "The people next to us are having sex?" She said.  "And
you're shocked?" She
giggled.  And here she thought he was being Mr. Seducer.  He was such
a prude
sometimes.  "This is a drive-in, Angel."
      "Exactly!  This is a drive-in, not a brothel." He grumbled.
Then, he fixed her with
a glare.  "And why aren't you shocked? Do you normally go to places
like this? And do.
. .that?"  He made a careless gesture to the van beside them.
      "It's a drive-in, Angel.  Not some wild sex party.  Everybody
knows what goes
on here. Come on, you are what - 200 and some years old?"
      "But I thought this would be-" Then he smacked the
dash.  "Spike!" Angel had
stolen the blond vampire's idea.  When the two had been trapped in
the closet, Spike
had drunkenly slurred that he was taking Willow to the drive-in.
Spike had said that he
and Willow " would have a jolly good time there." Then he'd given a
very self- satisfied
laugh.  It was obvious now what his lewd childe had in mind for poor
Willow.
      "What about him?"
      "Nothing!" Angel said quickly. Did she think he brought her
here to. . .?
      "You talk about sex and then shout `Spike'? Okay.  Whatever.
Not asking any
questions. Nope." She teased.  Then she remembered what he had
said. "Hey, how did
you know about page 235?  You read more of Dark Embrace?"
      "I was bored in the closet, darling.  I couldn't be expected
to talk to Spike the
entire time."  He smiled suggestively.  "How could I help but notice
157 and 235?
Those pages were creased, Willow.  How often did you read them?" She
had come here
willingly with him, accepting that he might make an advance. Hmmmm.
      "I have to go to the bathroom."
      "I notice that you say that when someone asks you a question
you don't want to
answer." She shrugged.  He grabbed her around the waist before she
slid out the door.
"There's a penalty for missing some of the movie."
      "A penalt-" She never got to finish her thought
      His mouth swooped down on hers.  Almost bruising in it's
intensity.  He pulled
back and admired the flush that had spread from her face down to her
neck. He stroked
the collar of her apricot satin blouse. "Soft, but not as soft as
your skin."  His fingertip
traced her collar bone, pressing lightly.  "Does it taste as good as
it feels?"  He lowered
his mouth to her neck, placing ardent kisses and laving her with his
tongue.  He could
almost taste her blood, it called to him.  Urged him to bite down and
experience
oblivion. The scent was overwhelming, he nipped her neck with dull
teeth.  Then his
demonic features descended and he gripped the back of her seat,
trying to regain
control. "I think you should go now, darling." He managed to drag
himself away from
her, hiding his face.  He was breathing heavily with effort.
      Willow made her way dazedly to the ladies room.  She had
noticed that he had
changed when he touched her. But she hadn't been frightened.  Part of
her wanted him
to bite her, wondered what it would feel like.  She decided to ponder
that particular
thought at a later time. Right now, she was going to have some fun.
She deserved it.
      She sighed, grateful she had been able to stay home today
because her classes
were canceled. A frequent occurrence on the Hellmouth.  Giles had
left a message on
the machine this morning.  Apparently a blue demon with purple spots
had been
spotted at the campus foreign film festival.  He wanted to thank her
for the information
she had provided to Buffy on the "screaming mimi demon".  He had
never seen it
mentioned in any of his texts.   Buffy was close to tracking it
down.
      She had remarked to Spike that it was amazing that their
fictional demon had
come to life.  He laughed and told her that it was no coincidence,
their demon was
quite real.   "The smelly bugger owes me `five quid' and won't pay it
back."  He had said.
Since there were no "demon bill collectors", he had decided to sic
the slayer on it.  Spike
knew once they told Angel about the thing it would somehow get back
to Buffy.
      She walked into the bathroom.  Willow crossed the room to the
sink and peered
into the dingy mirror.  She lifted her hair, searching her neck for
marks that Spike might
notice. Guilt pang!  Her skin was flushed, but otherwise unmarred.
Her lipstick was
smudged and she wiped it off with a tissue she  pulled from her small
handbag.  She
also took out a small hair brush to rid herself of the tangles Angel
had created in her
hair.  She balanced it on the sink while she closed her handbag, it
clattered to the
ground.   As Willow bent to retrieve it, she caught a glimpse of a
blond haired girl come
up behind her.  She stood up and began to run it through her hair.
      "I'm afraid it's a drive-in hazard.  Hickeys, that is."
      "Omigoddess!  Buffy!" Buffy was here at the drive-in.  Had
she seen Angel?  Had she
seen what she and Angel had just been doing?
      "Wow, Willow.  Nice handiwork.  Look at those marks." She
smirked.  "And I
thought  Riley and I were hot and heavy."
      "What handiwork?  I don't see any marks." Did Angel leave a
bite mark?
      "Right here."  Buffy touched a small abrasion on Willow's
collar bone.  She
blushed, Willow hadn't thought to look there.  "I learned to check
for those spots when
I was dating Angel. He has a thing for collar bones."
      Willow was flustered.  Her guilt clouded her ability to
think.  She searched for a
reasonable response.  "I uh, I . . ."
      "What's wrong with you? " Buffy asked curiously.  "Xander got
your tongue?"
      Willow nearly collapsed with relief. Buffy assumed she was
here with Xander.
All she wanted was to somehow get out of this bathroom, find Angel
and go home. She
needed a diversion, something to draw Buffy's attention away from
her.  Just then,
salvation walked through the door.  "Anya!" Anya?  That's not
salvation.  That's
damnation.  Did I kick puppies in my past life?  Or invent panty hose?

      "Anya." Buffy acknowledged.  Giving the ex-demon a once-
over.  She was
flushed, a couple of buttons were missing from her shirt, and a small
hickey marked her
neck.  She stared at Willow and Anya, confused for a moment.   What
was going on here?
Some sort of sick threesome?  Sanity returned.  Willow? In a bizarre
threesome with a ex-
demon?  I don't think so!  Xander had obviously lied to her, telling
her that he had broken
up with Anya. "You're here with Xander?" She asked, her voice
deceptively calm.
      Willow could only stare at the two of them, there was no
where to go.  Nothing
she could do. What if Buffy told Anya that Xander and Willow
were `dating'?  Xander would
never forgive her.
      "Yes, he took me out this evening so we could have sex at the
drive-in.  It's one
of his fantasies." She smiled happily.
      "What a prince." Buffy said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Xander had stooped
to this?  He must've rented or borrowed another car so that he could
sleep with Willow
and Anya on the same night at the same place.  Disgusting!  She
imagined him running
from one car to another so he could. . .  Her fists clenched.  How
could Xander do this to Anya
and to Willow?   And poor Wills was so hurt, she was unable to speak.
      Anya had moved to the mirror, she was applying more body
splash, to cover-up
any cabbage smell. Xander had been attentive and loving all evening.
She was so glad
that their fight was over.
      "Anya, why don't Wills and I follow you back to Xander's
car?  I'd like to say
hello to him."  Right before I kick his ass.
                             ********
      Willow noticed Anya was heading in the general direction of
Angel's car.
Goddess!! Just when she thought this night couldn't get any worse.
She moved ahead of
the other girls, hoping to find some solution.  Desperately, she
racked her brain for an
idea.  She thought she might be able to signal Angel in some way.
      They passed the large van that Angel was parked right next
to.  Willow bit her
lip, waiting for the shouting to begin.  Hoping for a gigantic hole
to swallow her up. Wait a
minute.  Best not to tempt fate on the Hellmouth.   For some reason,
a rhyme she had heard
once ran in her mind.  "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first
we practice to deceive."
The car came into view.
      Angel wasn't in it.  Maybe he had gone to the bathroom?  No,
vampires didn't have to
use the little boy's room.  Went to get popcorn? Willow wasn't sure
she cared at this point.
      And Buffy hadn't noticed the car either.  Willow was afraid
that she might have
recognized Angel's car.  Buffy was really angry though.  For once,
blind slayer rage was
a good thing. Willow knew that this confrontation with Buffy would
come eventually.
But it wasn't today.
                             *******
      Angel walked back to the car, holding a bag of popcorn. He
knew that Willow
loved the stuff, and he hoped it would help make up for his
inappropriate behavior
earlier. Not that it wasn't fun.  She was so beautiful, he just
couldn't resist.  He hoped
that she wasn't angry with him.  That's when he saw Buffy. And
Willow.  Standing by
his car with Anya.  But the trio was already moving on though.  He
hadn't been seen.
With a sense of relief, he went to his car and sat down, but he was
too distracted now to
watch the movie.  He hoped Willow would come back soon.  They had a
lot to discuss.
Angel tossed a popcorn kernel in the air, but before he could catch
it in his mouth, a
blue hand stole out above his face and swiped it.  "What the hell–"
      Suddenly he found himself in the middle of a tug-of-war
battle for his popcorn.
Had it just been popcorn for himself, he would have let it go. Any
demon that smelled
that bad could have whatever it wanted as long as it kept far away
from him and his
car.  But he had bought the popcorn for Willow. After a few minutes
of struggling,
Angel let go.  He would buy her another bag.  This one was starting
to smell like
cabbage, anyway.
                             *******
"Stranded at the drive-in, branded a fool. . ."
      Xander sat behind the driver's seat watching the movie.  He
was munching on
some popcorn watching that Travolta dunderhead get dumped at the
drive-in. What
loser! He laughed to himself.  Just then, two feminine hands opened
the car door, seized
the front of his shirt and yanked him out and onto his feet.
      "Buffster? What's wrong? You look real mad."
      "I am, Xander.  I'm really, really mad. And I think you know
why." Buffy
whipped him around to reveal Anya and Willow.  "Don't you think you
owe them the
truth?" Xander winced, Buffy's hand was twisting his shirt front and
pulling out chest
hair.
      Anya didn't know what was going on here but she didn't like
how Buffy was
handling her boyfriend.  "Sometimes, Xander likes it rough.  But I
will do that myself, if
you don't mind.  Put him down, Buffy."
      "No, Anya, he needs to tell you something.  Don't you,
Xander?"
      "Buffy.  Wait!  I can explain this. Privately." He shot a
worried glance at Anya.
Buffy twisted his arm behind his back. "Oww!  Buffy that hurt.
Slayer strength,
remember?"
      "Since you can't be a man and tell them, I'll do it for you.
Xander got both of you
here in two cars so he could have sex with both of you.  On the same
night! And why
did he do this?  Because he's a disgusting pervert whose only
interested in getting laid."
She shook Xander. "Now apologize!"
      "Oww!  I'm sorry!" He cried, he shot Willow a beseeching
glance.  Why was she
just standing over there? Say something! Anything!  Just as Willow
was going to speak up
and confess, Anya stepped in front of her.
      Anya walked over to him.  She had noticed the marks on
Willow, she knew
about their past history.  The girl had caused the breakup between
Xander and
Cordelia. And Xander had seemed very preoccupied with Willow,
lately.  Calling her.
Going over to her house.  "How could you?"  She slapped his face
hard.  "I cared about
you. Last night you laughed at me, called me smelly.  Like
cabbage."   She glared at
him.  "Well, I have some information for you.  When you come home
from work, you
smell like PIZZA!  And you want to know what else? You're not that
good in bed.  I
have had better. And he was a troll!"  With that she flounced into
the car, and turned on
the engine.  "Not that it would take that much to be better than
you."  She sped off into
the night.  Anya had stranded him at the drive-in.  And she had done
it in his own car.
      Xander was confused.  He had spoken to Spike on the phone
last night to get the
latest Angel report.  They had laughed about the real "cabbage demon"
but Anya must
have assumed he was laughing at her.  What was he going to do?
      Buffy looked at her best friend.  "Wills, are you ok?"
        "Buffy, please.  There is something that I have to tell
you.  It isn't Xander's fault.
He–"
      "Buffy!"  Xander shouted.  "DEMON!  It's that damn demon!
He's stealing that
man's popcorn!"  He cupped his hands to help his voice carry.  " Give
it up, dude!  It's
not worth it. You can buy more!"
      Buffy turned around.  She was going to kill that screaming
mimi, she was tired of
fooling around. "Hey, drop him!  Go buy your own!"
      "Xander, I'll tell her as soon as she gets back.  And I'll
call Anya, too.  I'm so
sorry.  I tried to tell her in time."
      "Willow, I have had enough!  You can't keep doing this."
Xander looked over
her shoulder and his eyes grew wide.  "OH NO!  He's headed for the
concession stand.
He'll clear the place out!" Xander started to climb back into his car
to hide when he
remembered that Anya had taken it.  He shook his head.  She had taken
his snacks, too.
He deadpanned, "Tell me, Willow.  You're dating two demons.  Why do
they always
steal your food?"
      "Only one is a demon." She said distractedly.  "Xander, I
know you're really
mad at me, right now.  But I need to keep this a secret from Buffy
for a little while
longer.  I'll tell Anya, but please can we not tell Buffy?"
      "Sure, Wills.  But you have to ask Mr. Broody Coat to give me
a ride home." He
thought for a moment.  "And buy me some popcorn, preferably some that
doesn't smell
like cabbage."  He put a hand on his chin.  "And you will make me
cookies.  The
oatmeal chocolate chip kind.  From scratch."
      "Sure."  She smiled, grateful that he was taking this
well.  "I even know who I'll
get to help me bake."
                             ********
      In the meantime, Riley had joined in the fight when the demon
had taken his
popcorn.  He and Buffy now had the thing cornered in the ladies
bathroom.  He had
radioed Professor Walsh and the Initiative soldiers had taken it
away.  Once it was
gone, Buffy told him to wait in the car and walked back over to her
friends.  "Ok, now,
Wills, what were you saying about it not being Xander's fault?"
      "Oh, y-yeah.  It's not his fault because . . .because . . ."
Willow searched
desperately for an answer.  "We were under a. . .spell.  Remember
when I made you
want to marry Spike?"
      Buffy glared at her.  "I don't ever want to talk about that
again." She shuddered.
      "Sure.  Forget I mentioned it.  Anyway, I did another `will
it so' spell and it just
backfired. Next thing you know, Xander and I are on the floor. Surely
you noticed that
we were acting funny."  She turned to Xander.  "He didn't say
anything because he
didn't want you guys to get mad at me for messing up another spell.
We just couldn't
help ourselves.  It wasn't our fault."
      "Well, I hope that satisfies Anya.  She looked pretty mad."
Buffy shrugged.
"Look on the bright side Xander.  At least you have another car here
to go home in.
Shall I walk you guys over?  Make sure there aren't any `junior mint-
eating demons'
running around?"
      "NO!!"  Xander shouted.
      "God, Xander."  She winced as her ears continued to ring.  "
You need to get
that volume thing checked out. Soon!"
      "Sorry, Buffy.  It's just that the car might still have
lingering effects from the
spell.  I mean, it just wore off and that was the last place we were
er, together. We
wouldn't want you to get caught up in it."
      Buffy grimaced.  She had never told any of them, but Spike
and she had felt `the
urge' for a couple of days after the spell was over.  Thank God, they
hadn't acted on it.
"I'll tell you what.  Why don't I walk you over to the general
vicinity of the car."
                             *******
      Angel smiled.  He had a fresh bag of popcorn for Willow.
Though, by the time
she got back to the car, it would probably be cold.  As he tossed a
new kernel up to
catch in his mouth, he saw Buffy, Xander and Willow walking towards
the car.  He
dropped the popcorn, half of it spilling onto the seat of the car.
Angel ducked down
below the dashboard and laid down. Presently, he looked up to see
Xander standing in
front of the driver's side, and Willow by the passenger's side.
      "Xander, Willow , no more fluking."  Buffy said in a motherly
tone.
      Angel's jaw dropped.  Did Buffy  just say, `No more fuc-?
Xander and his Willow?
No.  He must've heard wrong.  He looked up at Willow.
      "Right.  No more FLUKING!" Xander shouted, he felt the need
to make things
crystal clear.  He did not want a two-hundred year old vampire pissed
at him.  Not
even one with a soul.  Especially one that wasn't chipped.  Add in
the fact that said
vampire was about to be crouched down at his feet. . . "FLUKING is
out of the
question."
      Angel's eyes widened `fluking', that was alright.  Buffy had
mentioned Xander's and
Willow's short infatuation with one another.  That's when he realized
their dilemma.
Buffy must think that Xander and Willow had come to the movies
together.  She would
expect them to get back into this car to watch the rest of the
movie.  And they had to
make sure that Angel wasn't seen by a certain blonde.  It became
apparent that Buffy
wasn't going to go away until they were settled in the car.
      Buffy smiled at her two friends. "I've got a great idea! It's
looks like the car next
to you guys moved, probably scared by the demon.  Why don't Riley and
I pull in next
to you guys?" She wasn't really in the mood to fool around  with
Riley anyway after
chasing that screaming mimi down.
      "Oh. . . we were going to go home anyway." Willow said.
      "No way, guys. I'm not letting you be alone together right
now.  What if that
spell kicks in again?  Riley and I can keep an eye on you while we
all watch the movie.
It's just about over anyhow and then we'll follow you home to make
sure you get home
alright." Xander and Willow looked at eachother helplessly and then
at the vampire
who was scrunched up on the floorboard.
      "I saw that disappointed look, guys. No more fluking -- even
one last time!"
Angel glared at Xander and vamped out.  Buffy saw Riley looking
around for her.
"Riley! Bring the car over here, okay?"  He nodded and turned in the
direction of his
car.  "Why don't you guys get in the car?  Just because I have to
stand out here doesn't
mean you do."
      Willow opened the door gingerly and carefully placed her feet
in beside Angel's
face as she sat down. Xander stepped in the car, placing his feet in
between Angel's legs.
The vampire growled.
      "What was that?" Buffy said.
      "My stomach!  I didn't get to finish my popcorn." Xander
called.  He looked at
Willow. "And I want some ice cream too. Chocolate chip ice cream."
      "We'll get some later." Willow said, trying to appease
Xander, who was getting
angrier by the second.  The poor guy had been forced to lie for her
several times and
had gotten  into a fight with his girlfriend.  She put her hand on
his arm, trying to calm
him down but he shook it off.
      Xander, knowing Angel couldn't bite him with Buffy standing
by said. "Wills,
don't you remember there being more leg room in this car?" He pressed
his foot down
hard into Angel's calf.
      Willow gaped at him. "I think that was the back seat,
Xander.  If you like leg
room so much, why don't we sit back there?"
      "Guys!  No more back seat stuff.  That spell must have been a
powerful one.  You
guys have absolutely no willpower." She shook her head and moved to
the side as Riley
pulled up next to them.  Buffy sat down in the car.
      Angel really wanted to bite him.  He really did.   In fact,
he might do that later
on. For now, he reached out and pinched Xander's leg and twisted.
      "OWWW!" Xander yelped.
      "Willow!" Buffy shouted.
      "What? He just. . .stubbed his toe." She reached down below
Buffy's eye level
and patted Angel's shoulder but said. "There, there, Xander."
      "No touching!" Buffy said.  "Do I have to sit between you
two?"
      "Yes, why don't you come over here and SIT BETWEEN US?"
Xander looked
down gleefully at the enraged vampire.
      She cringed.  "Volume control, Xander.  Get some."
      Willow interjected.  "We'll be good, I promise.  Tell you
what?  Why don't I come
over and sit with you guys?"
      Riley was amused by their antics, he wasn't exactly sure what
was going on but
he was used to general weirdness happening when Buffy was
around.  "Sure, come
over here, Willow." He put his arm around Buffy. "Why don't we all
just watch the
movie?"  Buffy gave him a look from the corner of her eye. "What?"
Her lips seamed
into a thin line. Riley pulled his arm back from around her, they
would be having a
discussion about this later.
      Willow slid into their car and shot a meaningful look at
Xander.  She had been
patient with her best friend but this was getting ridiculous.  She
knew that he was upset
about Anya, but Willow was willing to bet that Anya would find the
whole thing funny
once she knew what was going on.  The vengeance demon always looked
on the
brighter side of thing and had a surprising sense of humor.  Willow
stuck her tongue
out at Xander. Good luck with the vampire you managed to piss off!
      Xander paled as he stared down at the angry vampire at his
feet.  God, he hoped
this movie would be over soon.

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