Disclaimer: Buffy, Angel, Willow, and all the characters recognized from BtVS, belong to Joss Whedon and everyone else who was rights to them. I made up Lynn, Jade, Daniel, Melody, Angelica, etc. I am not making any profit for this. This is just for my enjoyment and other's as well.
Distribution: My site. https://gethzerion.tripod.com/index.html. Anyone else, please ask. I'll probably say yes.
Author's Note: This story is in first person POV. You'll find out who's as you read. This idea's been in my head for months and I finally decided to sit down and write it. Please, tell me what you think!
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The Bronze was especially crowded that night. Or maybe it was the fact that I felt claustrophobic in the booth. My two best friends, Jade and her twin brother Daniel, had brought along two of their friends, Melody and Angelica, who were visiting from their old school and they kept talking among themselves, making me feel left out.
"You remember Mr. O'Mally?" Jade was saying to Melody.
Melody laughed. "That witch?" she said. "My goodness, I'm so glad he's gone."
"Kinda reminds me of Mrs. Johnson, right Lynn?"
Jade turned to me with a smile that quickly faded as she noticed that I was spaced out.
"Lynn?"
I blinked myself out of my reverie and turned to Jade. "Yeah, sure."
Jade frowned. "You know, I was thinking of dying my hair green with blue streaks. What do you think, Lynn?"
"Cool," I replied, back to staring across space.
Daniel leaned over into my ear. "I think vampires could be taking over the world right now and you'd still be staring into space," he whispered to me.
I quickly snapped out of it and hit him lightly in the arm. "Not in front of the guests," I hissed at him.
"I'm sorry, Lynn," Melody said with an apologetic smile. "Are we leaving you out?"
"No, it's okay, really," I answered. "Maybe I should just head home."
"Don't," Jade said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me back down to sit.
I suddenly noticed that her glance had gone past my shoulder. She let out a low whistle of admiration. "Hottie, twelve o'clock," she told me.
"Jade," I said with some irritation. "I have a boyfriend, you know."
"So do I!" she answered. "There's nothing wrong with looking."
I sighed in defeat and turned my head to look where she told me. There, at the entrance of the Bronze, stood a man who looked to be about thirty years old. He was tall and was dressed in a white tank top with a knee-length leather jacket and long black pants.
What called my attention, though, was the dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes that searched the room anxiously. I reached up to touch my own black hair unconsciously before Jade grabbed my arm and turned me the other way.
"You're staring," she told me.
I glanced at Melody and Angelica. "So are they!"
Jade nudged at Melody. "It's not polite to stare, guys," Jade teased.
"Look who's talking," Angelica answered.
"He was looking at you, Lynn," Daniel told me.
I risked another glance at the man... only to find him gone.
"Where'd he go?" I asked. I turned my head to look around the Bronze but he was nowhere in sight. Melody's voice brought my attention back to the table.
"Man, the guy over there is wearing last decade's style," she said. My attention once again left the table and I looked at the man she was pointing at. It was a medium-height kid, about seventeen, who was hitting on a blonde girl. "Someone should tell him that this is the year 2014, not 1998."
My eyes widened as I noticed that he was taking her outside.
"You know what guys?" I said, standing up and gathering my jacket and bag. "I'm really all partied out. Mom's probably waiting for me. I'll just head on home." I started for the door. Jade and Daniel looked at me knowingly. "See you guys tomorrow. Nice meeting you, Melody. Angelica." I nodded to both of them in farewell and jogged my way out.
I remembered what my mother told me often. Some vampires lived underground for a long time and never even bothered to change fashions as time changed. She had told me once of a vampire dressed in a 1970s outfit that she had caught hitting on Aunt Willow way back before I was even born.
As I finally reached the dark alley on the side of the Bronze, I noticed the strange man I had seen in the Bronze earlier that night standing in front of the vampire and the blonde girl, Melissa something from my History class. The vampire was leaning over into Melissa's neck.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." the man said. "And here I was, thinking you were past necking."
The vampire straightened his head and Melissa saw the horrible face for the first time. She screamed and ran to my direction.
"Gang member on PCP," I said to her distractedly. "Run and don't even think about this. Be careful who you go out with."
She nodded and ran past me back into the Bronze. I stood at the distance and watched the interaction between the man and the vampire.
"The all-mighty Angelus," the vampire said to the man. "You don't remember me? James..."
The man... Angelus, it seemed his name was, laughed. "One of Spike's ex-minions, I suppose."
James narrowed his eyes. He whispered something I couldn't hear clearly, but sounded like, "yours..."
Angelus apparently heard, though. He lunged forward and punched the vampire. I was amazed at his strength.
"I hear the Slayer's still around," James said.
That seemed to catch Angelus off guard and gave James the opportunity to attack. I watched in amazement as the fight continued. Angelus was strong, but not strong enough, because several minutes later he was knocked on the floor with the vampire on top.
I snapped out of it and ran to the scene. Quickly and efficiently, I brought out a stake and the vampire was dust in seconds. Angelus looked up, surprised to find someone there.
"I could've handled it, but thanks," he said.
I narrowed my eyes. "You were getting your ass kicked from where I was standing.
He smiled a handsomely crooked smile and took my extended hand to stand up gracefully. "Are you the Slayer?" he asked me.
I shook my head. "Naw," I replied. "There hasn't been a new Slayer in a long time.
He nodded. "So why do you do this?"
I shrugged and then frowned. Why did I? "For fun, I guess."
He raised an eyebrow. "Fighting vampires isn't exactly easy, you know. And I can think of a lot more things that are more fun that this.
He held a faraway look in his eyes, as if remembering something.
"Whatever," I said. "Who are you to come and ask questions like that, anyway?"
With a shrug, he pointed the other way. "You can leave if you want to."
I started to walk away and then hesitated. "So, your name's Angelus?" I asked him as I turned back to face him.
He laughed. "It's my birth name, and what I am known among the vampire community," he answered. "I usually go by Angel."
Sure fits, I thought. The name sounded familiar, but I dismissed it quickly. "Evelynn," I introduced myself and held out a hand to shake. "But I usually go by Lynn."
"That was my sister's name," Angel said, taking my hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Lynn."
"So what brings you to Sunnyhell?" I said and then covered my mouth. That was what my mother usually called the town. "I mean, Sunnydale."
His smile faded into a slight frown. "Not sure, actually. I guess I wanted to see how it was after all these years."
"How long as it been?" I asked.
"Fifteen years," he muttered.
There was an uncomfortable silence. I laughed nervously. "That's how old I am..."
He glanced at me but said nothing.
"So, uh, why are you known around the vampire community?" I said, trying to make conversation. I hadn't noticed that we had started walking and were almost at the cemetery.
He opened his mouth as if to answer, but closed it again. "I, uh..." he started again, but sounds of a fight interrupted him.
We exchanged glances and took off running into the cemetery. At first glance I just saw a blonde woman fighting a vampire, but as I reached into my bag to get a stake, my mind registered the fact that the only blonde woman I knew who fought vampires in the cemetery was my mother.
Angel joined the fight with my stake and staked the vampire who had cornered my mother. Finally, he looked into her face and his eyes widened. And as I turned my gaze to my mother, I saw her eyes were wide too.
"Buffy," he said.
"Angel," she said at the same time.