|
|
"Hey, Giles, " Buffy said upon entering the library. She was dressed in the same skirt she wore the night before, but was wearing one of Angel's white shirts over it.
"Buffy," Giles greeted, cup of tea in hand. "How are you? How is Angel?"
"He had a dream last night," Buffy told her Watcher. "The dream was actually a memory. But the roles were reversed."
"I-I don't quite follow," Giles said.
"He dreamt of our night together when we...you know," Buffy said. "Only I was the one who turned Norman Bates on him."
"It may be a-a-a residual effect of the, uh, hypnosis," Giles told her. He removed his glasses and set the tea on the counter to clean them. "In, uh, Hell, you w-were the one who left him."
"So, you think he's gonna remember more, only with me as the baddie?"
"It is possible," Giles answered. The bell rang, halting any further conversation. Buffy waved and left the library, heading for her first class. She slid into the seat next to Willow. Xander and Cordelia sat side by side behind them.
As class got underway, Xander passed a note to Buffy.
I am so sorry. Angelus should have been the one to pay, not Angel. I may not like him, but he didn't deserve, by any means, to go through the hell he did. Please show this to Willow, too.
Buffy turned in her seat and grasped Xander's hand. She passed the note to Willow, then turned back to the lecture.
Willow quickly read the note, then smiled at Xander, tears in her eyes. Cordelia reached over and took Xander's left hand, squeezing gently in support.
The Slayerettes survived another tragedy.
Buffy filled her mom in on what had happened with Angel, leaving out the more personal details. When she finished, she stumbled upstairs to take a shower, then threw herself onto her bed and cried quietly until she fell asleep.
"Buffy, phone!" Joyce's call woke her daughter up. Buffy turned over and looked at the clock. It was 6:30 p.m.
"I got it," Buffy yelled back. She picked up the receiver on her nightstand. "You got me."
"If that were true, luv, then I wouldn't be calling you," a familiar, cocky, British voice said on the other end of the line.
"Spike," Buffy groaned. "How did you get my number?"
"I have all my enemies phone numbers, pet," Spike told her. "That way, I can call and taunt them unmercifully."
"Cute," Buffy said sarcastically. "Now, what do you want?"
"Um..."
Buffy rolled her eyes at his hesitation. "Spit it out, Blondie."
"You haven't run into Dru, have you?"
Buffy sat up. "Why?"
"She's runoff," Spike confessed. "One night, she started mumbling about that bloody rock and she was gone."
"Great. Just great," Buffy said into the phone. "So you think she's coming here?"
"That'd be my bet," Spike answered.
Buffy groaned again and fell back onto the pillows. "I swear, I should have staked you both when I had the chance."
"Now, now, pet," Spike said. "None of that. We made a deal."
"You weren't suppose to come back!"
"It's not my fault!" Spike yelled. "I left the country, just like we agreed."
"Only you're skanky ho didn't stay gone," Buffy complained.
"Watch it, luv," Spike said with a low voice. "Or I might take offence."
"Oh, brother," Buffy replied, rolling her eyes. She sighed. "What do you want me to do?"
"I'll be in Sunnyhell in a few hours. If you see her, please try not to stake her."
"Please," Buffy said. "We're being a polite vampire. In that case, I won't slay her unless I absolutely have no choice."
"Deal," Spike responded. "Oh, one more thing. She may be coming to free Angelus."
"Angel? But he's back...ugh. I can't believe I just told you that."
"Oh, lovely," Spike said. "Wait. You said Angel, not Angelus."
"Yeah. He got his soul back," Buffy told him. "A non-refundable one."
"Good," Spike commented. "I liked the lap dog better than the bloody demon. Anyway, don't let him dust my Dru, either."
"Don't worry," Buffy replied. "Angel's not quite the same as he use to be."
"What do you mean?"
Buffy sighed again. *In for a penny...* "He doesn't remember...anything. Not me, not you, not even the fact that he's of the un-living."
Spike laughed long and hard. "Oh, that's too precious," he finally said. "I'd better go before you tell me he's gone to wearing frilly skirts."
"Good-bye, Spike," Buffy said as the vampire disconnected. She put down the
receiver then pulled a pillow over her head and screamed.