I'll Never Love You

Chapter 3: Hey, Angel




I went home for a change of clothes and to take care of my feet.

I shouldn’t have left the mansion barefoot. I ended up slicing my feet open on a shattered beer bottle while taking a shortcut through an alley. I hobbled into the house tracking blood all over the house and even left a respectable puddle on the bathroom floor.

I picked slivers of glass out of the wounds before I took a long, long shower. Afterwards, I disinfected them and wrapped my feet with gauze and waterproof medical tape.

Checking myself out in the mirror over the bathroom sink I ran my fingertips over my lips, amazed to find I didn’t have any gashes. I distinctly remembered getting a cut on my bottom lip last night, now the flesh was unblemished. I stuck out my tongue and inspected it for a puncture. Finding nothing I moved my hand down to the side of my throat and looked for Angel’s bite mark. There was nothing on my neck, not even a faded scar.

And though I didn’t want give it much thought, because, hey, there was a whole lotta’ suppressing going on, there should’ve been some discomfort in my, um, posterior.
Okay, this was new. I’ve never been spontaneously healed after a possession before—weird.

"Well… good! Easier to put last night behind me if I don’t have cuts and holes I have to explain," I told my murky reflection in the foggy mirror. "And I’ll be walking awkwardly today because of my feet and nothing else thank you very much!"

After putting on a dark blue Polo shirt and baggy blue jeans I rummaged through my bedroom closet to find a pair of shoes big enough to fit my bandaged feet. Finding none, I ended up raiding my dad’s footwear and put on a pair of his black, steel-toed work boots. Then I left for school.

I had to tell the gang he was back. Pretty much the only reason I was going. I mean, Jesus, it was a good day when I absorbed half the stuff they tried to teach me at school! Anyone who expected me to acquire knowledge today after last night was in for a real disappointment. Because I’m going to ditch like nobody’s business after I did the Messenger boy bit.

I got to Sunnydale High School in the middle of third period. The Library was usually barren at any given time of day, but the odds of there being anyone other than Giles, Buffy or Willow in there now was nil. So I, not in a particularly subtle mood, stormed through the Library’s wooden doors yelling my news.

"Guess who’s back from summer vacation and didn’t get a nice even tan?"

And never mind how I know that.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I found Giles and Angel standing in the middle of the Library facing each other. Giles held a loaded crossbow on the vampire. G-man didn’t look too happy; he looked mighty upset in fact.

How the *hell* did Angel get here! It’s the middle of the fucking day! Vampires taking strolls during daylight hours, getting weekend passes from Hell—is nothing sacred anymore!

"Xander, get out and find Buffy. Bring her back here, now!" Giles ordered. His British accent sounded controlled but pissed at the same time. And man, you haven’t heard harsh until a British guy gets a tone like that.

Neither he nor Angel took their eyes off each other.

"Sure, Giles, but you should probably know--"

"Xander, just find Buffy! Now!"

I was in a tough position. If I left and brought Buffy to the Library the odds were Angel was going to get a nice welcome home party. Well, maybe not a *nice* party, it’d probably be a step down from Buffy’s welcome back soiree, but he’d still get some serious kissage from Buffy afterwards.

If I stayed put—stood back and let nature take its course…

"Giles, we just heard a student was killed… last… night…"

I turned around; Buffy, Willow, and Oz had just entered the Library and were standing together, with Wills in the middle. Buffy looked like she was about to faint. I swear I’ve never seen her with that expression before. Not even when Giles discovered the prophecy about her and the Master. Oz, bless his little lycanthropic heart, slid in front of Willow, and by happenstance, Buffy. He didn’t say anything or look all that concerned, but that one action said it all. Willow, clearly shocked at Angel’s sudden return, to her credit packed it away and placed a supportive arm around Buffy’s shoulders. A good thing, too, because Buffy’s knees buckled and Willow was the only thing keeping her upright.

"Angel," Buffy said breathlessly, before pulling away from Will, sweeping past Oz and then me, towards Angel. At some point she became aware of the ‘flying fatality’ her Watcher had aimed at her sweetheart’s heart. She stopped short of her destination.

Angel looked away from Giles, a mistake if you ask me, and smiled at her. "Hey, Buffy."

That area of skin between Angel’s eyebrows, right above his nose, was all a-crinkle as he gave Buff a tragic, longing stare.

Ahh, how sweet.

"He claims he’s Angel," Giles said, obviously not buying the company line. And to be honest he didn’t seem all that concerned if Angel was Angel or Angelus. G-man wanted to kill him some vampire and good for him.

"Giles, it is Angel. I saw… I saw him get his soul back before I… I…"

”Did what you had to do," Angel finished, still giving her googly eyes.

Rolling my eyes I stepped forward and stood next to Buffy. "It’s true, G-man. Angel is, well, still a blood sucking so and so, but he’s not Angelus."

Buffy turned to me and I saw Giles’ gaze flicker in my direction before returning to Angel. Angel only had eyes for Buffy. Behind me I heard Willow say my name; her tone was filled with confusion and who could blame her?

I sighed then said, "It’s him. We sort of ran into each other last night."

"Last night?" Buffy turned back to Angel.

Angel was looking at me, and he had that look again. Absence Guy was in the house. I was tempted to smirk because I knew what had to be going through Dead boy’s mind at that moment. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to kid around about that night. I’m Trauma boy.

"Yeah, you see after I left the Library last night I thought I’d go see you on patrol--"

"Xander," Angel broke in.

"And I found Angel running around the woods behind Montgomery Cemetery," I continued. "He was kinda crazed and he attacked me. Whoa, Giles, not soulless minion of Satan attacked me, more like I just came back from Hell and all I got was this lousy tee-shit tee shirt, attacked. Anyway, I had to knock him out. Isn’t that right, Angel?"

Angel pressed his lips together tightly and glared at me for a moment before he gave a short nod.

I think I could get used to a nice, obedient Angel.

What? I have a fast recovery time.

"Wait a minute, you’re saying you got the drop on Angel?" Willow asked.

Oh, crap. I kept my back to Willow and Oz and continued to face Giles, Buff and Angel. I may be able to pull this crock off with Buffy and the others, but Wills was going to call me on it the second she saw my face.

"Well, yeah, why not? I can do stuff you know! I got skills!" I blustered, puffing out my chest.

"And you knocked him out… with your fist?"

"Uh… no… with a stick… yeah, a big stick!"

I was losing plausibility so I quickly moved on with my tale.

"Anyway, I dragged him back to the mansion when I couldn’t find you in the cemetery, Buffy, and chained him up there. You know, to make sure he wouldn’t hurt anybody."

Apparently Buff’s thought processes weren’t running on all cylinders because she nodded thoughtfully throughout my explanation. She looked ready to buy whatever I said. Of course Willow was there to be all inquisitive for her.

"By yourself?"

"What’s that?"

"You dragged Angel all the way from the woods to the mansion by yourself?"

"Yeah, you gotta’ figure Angel for a buck eighty, buck ninety, easy," Oz added.

And aren’t you two taking the whole Scooby bit too far? I mean who do you guys’ think you are? Fred and Velma?

"And why didn’t you try and find Buffy after you chained Angel up?"

"Or stake him?" Oz added. Except Willow, everyone looked at him. Oz shrugged.

"Right, I mean that’s all you talked about doing even before Angelus showed up," Willow said following Oz’s line of thinking.

"Well, uh, you see…"




Xander floundered and I decided it was time to jump in and save the idiot from blowing "our" cover story.

"Even chained up, I’m still dangerous and Xander knew I could break out so he stayed and guarded me," I said.

"That doesn’t answer Oz’s question," Giles replied sharply, but his crossbow was lowered a little. I think he was partially convinced by Xander’s work of fiction. As far fetched as it was the fact Xander survived an encounter with me, and was vouching on my behalf, did lend some credence to the story.

"I don’t think Xander’s *that* stupid and narrow minded as to dust me before knowing if I was Angelus or not," I said.

"Hey!"

"So he held off until I calmed down and asked me who I was."

"And he convinced you of his identity?" Giles asked Xander.

"Yeah," Xander answered through his teeth. "And besides, Willow was positive the soul spell worked the day Dead boy here tried to turn Earth into beach front property in Hell."

"Anyway, Xander stayed at the mansion until morning then left after unchaining me."

"Back when I thought daylight meant something," Xander grumbled.

"And that’s why you were late for school?" Willow directed at Xander.

"That’s right," the kid replied confidently enough, but his expression was more ‘Yeah, let’s go with that.’

Giles stepped back from me then reached into his right pants pocket and pulled it out closed around something shiny.

I tensed, sensing what it was. But instead of thrusting the artifact out at me Giles tossed the crucifix to Xander. Who fumbled with the cross and almost dropped it. Xander stared at the cross sitting in the palm of his hand for a moment before comprehension dawned on his face.

"So you weren’t just happy to see me," Xander muttered.

Giles finally pointed the crossbow down at the floor, but he had yet to stop glaring at me. It was understandable. Buffy flew into my arms.

"Hey, Angel."