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Part 2
Buffy lived in a grand Victorian-style house only a mile and a half from Sunnydale High. If it were just her, she knew she would never be able to afford it. Fortunately, Buffy had three people living with her: Stefanie, Angel, and an old high school pal, a vain girl by the name of Cordelia Chase. All of them pitched in to pay bills and house repairs, but the majority came from Angel, who had built up a sizable bank account over the past sixty years.
As she entered, Buffy looked around for her boyfriend, expecting him to at least come to greet her, but there was no sign of him. Concerned, Buffy walked to the bottom of the staircase, calling for him. After a moment, Angel called back that he was in her bedroom.
Buffy went up to investigate. She found Angel sitting on her bed half bent over, his back to her. She blushed when she saw he was shirtless, taking a moment to admire his muscles and the tattoo of a bird behind his right shoulder. Feeling amorous, she walked over and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling one side of his neck with her face.
Had the circumstances been different, Angel would have welcomed her attention. As it was, he stood, breaking out of her grasp and turning to look at her. Buffy stared up at him in shock a moment, surprised by his brusqueness. It was a sudden change from when she had last seen him two hours ago. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Angel shrugged, face clouded with a troubled look. During his hesitation, her gaze strayed to the angry red punctures that marred his chest. "Oh, my God!" Buffy said, a numb feeling descending over her. "Angel, what happened?"
He paused, reluctant to tell her the truth and thus worry her. So he quickly made up a story. "I ran into a very old friend of mine between here and the hospital," Angel said. "Needless to say, he wasn't too happy to see me."
She nodded and said, "Well, are you alright? Is there anything I could do?"
Angel gestured towards the nightstand, where a few tissues holding the small pellets lay. "Don't ask me how, but I already took care of removing the bullets," he said, reaching for his shirt and pulling it on. "Thanks for offering though."
Buffy sighed, then decided to tackle another topic. She quickly explained to Angel about Stefanie's request, then waited for his reaction.
He smiled slightly. "To be honest, I figured Stefanie would turn to me on this sooner or later... Actually, I thought it would be a little sooner. I'm surprised our resident Watcher endured it as long as he did."
"Our little secret circle is just full of surprises," Buffy quipped.
Angel gave a brief laugh, then grew serious. "Well, what did Stefanie do this time? Giles isn't on the critical list, is he?" When Buffy shook her head, her boyfriend added, "That's good. This vampire I ran into tonight... There was something weird about it. Do you think Giles would be up to a visitor? I was hoping he could shed some light on it."
Buffy nodded again. "Want me to drive you?"
Angel gave her a small smile, hoping it didn't reveal how worried he was. "It's okay," he told her. "I'll walk." He kissed her goodbye, then walked downstairs and out the front door, praying that this mystery could be resolved without involving her in the slightest...
On their way from the school library to home, Stefanie had decided to detour towards the Bronze (the town's one hot-spot) for a few hours. It was a dance club located in the bad part of Sunnydale and was a common place for vampires to show up at.
She sat alone at her usual table, eyes cast downward at the fries and soda she had ordered. Feeling blue, Stefanie casually stirred her drink with the straw, remembering a time when such things had been appetizing to her.
I can pretend that I haven't changed, that I'm still human, Stefanie thought, but reality always comes creeping in. I'll always be the same nocturnal, bloodthirsty creature I've been for the past thirty years.
Just then, Stefanie became aware that the crowd was stirring around her. She snapped alert, in expectation for her first battle for the night. But when she saw who was heading her way, Stefanie froze, an electric current running through her.
The new arrival was simply gorgeous, even though he looked out of place with the way his face was painted. The black and white streaks seemed to add an aura of mystery to him, and it appealed to Stefanie in a way she hadn't imagined possible.
As if aware of her scrutiny, this stranger looked her way, hesitating a moment before walking over and sitting across from her. Stefanie was sure her face was glowing even before he opened his mouth to speak.
"A beautiful girl like you shouldn't be sitting here all alone," he said in a deep English accent, his dark eyes shining like pearls. "Are you here by yourself?"
Stefanie took a moment to collect her thoughts, glad that at least she wasn't drooling. Slowly, she nodded, absently shoving a french fry into her mouth and chewing.
Her answer prodded Rhys to ask her to dance, rather than leave her to her miserable thoughts. Stefanie let him escort her to the dance floor, a soft, almost unnoticeable smile coming to her lips.
As if by magic, the next three songs that played were slow, romantic ones. Stefanie and Rhys glided across the floor in each other's arms, soon completely caught up in the mood. She didn't want it to end, and felt a wave of disappointment when at last he pulled away.
Stefanie watched him walk away for a few seconds, then hurried after him, gently shoving her way through the crowd. She caught up to him outside, determined not to let him get away without knowing his name.
He turned at the sound of her approach. As if reading her thoughts, he said, "Rhys... My name's Rhys."
She remained silent a moment, aware that she was shaking like a leaf, then said, "I'm Stefanie... Well, um, do you live around here, or are you new to Sunnydale?"
He smiled warmly. "I'm just passing through," he answered. "On a business trip, you might say."
Stefanie bit her lip. "Well, how long will you be around? Maybe we'll run into each other again." I hope, she added silently.
Rhys stared at her for a long moment, suddenly wishing that he could take back the last half hour. In his case, he knew, it was unwise to get involved with someone. But the damage had been done, as he realized she was already infatuated with him. "We'll see," was all he said before he turned and climbed on his motorcycle, taking off into the night...