Afterthoughts - Bad Girls

Buffy opted to skip school and go straight to see Angel. She expected to 
find him asleep which was just fine with her. She wanted to talk to him, 
to unload. He didn't have to be awake to hear her.


She entered his lair slowly. She was always afraid when she entered that 
something or someone would leap out at her, or, worst of all, she might 
find Angel hurt.


She breathed a sigh of relief to see him asleep on the floor, a few 
candles burning at the makeshift alter.


She knelt beside him and touched his arm. His black shirt had opened 
partly during sleep and she could see part of his chest. She gently 
touched it then pulled back. "Hi. God, I feel like I have loads to tell 
you." she paused. "I've just been with Faith. Wait, I don't like how 
that sounds. It makes it out to sound like we had a fling.....what am I 
saying? I was just AT Faith's, there, that's better. I was just at 
Faith's. We were talking about last night. She's so.....unpredictable, 
no, carefree. No, careless is the word. She's just.....my opposite. You 
know, we had a blast the other day, Faith and I. When we were at the 
club you came to, when we were dancing, having a good time, I felt free. 
For the first time since my sixteenth birthday, I felt like a teenager."


"I don't blame you for coming to warn me," she said quickly. "I like it 
that you protect me. I appreciate it and I love you for it. I 
just......"


"I am skipping the point. And, class, actually. Not that I care. Hooky 
has always been my fave game to play. After Slaying, I guess. I don't 
much see the point in all the graduation mumbo jumbo now. Big wow - work 
my ass off to graduate, and then I go right back to Slaying. My life 
stays the same."


"Oh God, I can't stay on the subject for five minutes."


Angel stirred, and Buffy held back, waiting until she was sure he was 
out to continue.


"I have something to tell you. It has to stay just between us. I know I 
can trust you. I, um, Faith and I, on the way to the warehouse, we kept 
running into the thugs from that gang. Faith was on this Slay fest, and 
she was going a mile a minute....and she killed a human."


Angel opened his eyes and leaned upwards. "She what?!"


Buffy hit him. "Were you faking?"


"No, I--"


She shoved him. "You were!"


She continued to swat at him and he pretended to be hurt. "Forgive me?" 
he gave her the puppy dog eyes.


She relented and kissed him lightly to resist rolling over on top of 
him. Her face fell when she remembered why she was there. She sat back 
on her heels and sighed. "What do we do?"


"Who's 'we'?" he grinned. Everything relates to sex with guys.


"Faith and I. You know, she doesn't seem to care. She's unaffected. She 
was doing her laundry when I got there."


"Where's the body?"


"Faith dumped it somewhere."


"Who was he?"


Buffy shrugged. "Just some guy. He was just at the wrong place at the 
wrong....you know what though? He was hanging out in the alley, and when 
he saw us, he grabbed my arm."
Angel's eyes seemed to be waiting for something else. She sighed.


"I know that doesn't make it okay. Still, I don't understand any of it, 
most of all how Faith is acting."


He ran a single finger down her cheek. "It'll all come together."


"I hope so."


"You should go."


"Trying to get rid of me?" she raised an eyebrow.


"What if I was?" he almost grinned.


"I still keep a stake in my dress," she reminded him with a smile.


"I just meant you shouldn't skip school."


"I already missed two periods, and I blew off my test yesterday. I don't 
care anymore."


He touched her cheek again. "Don't say that."


"It's true though. Like I said, I graduate, with everyone. Their lives 
go on to bigger and better things, I stay in Sunnydale with the Slaying. 
They follow their hearts, I follow the Vamps. Hang with the undead." she 
glanced at him. "No offense."


"None taken. Just because you're not going to Harvard--"


"Willow might," she cut him off.


"--doesn't mean you should blow off the rest of the semester."


"This is funny, coming from you. Did you even graduate?"


"No."
Buffy debated straddling Angel and pounding him 'till nightfall when 
they could go out and screw around in some secluded parking lot. She 
knew it wasn't exactly possible, but she thought she'd take her chances.


His eyes watched her as she leaned down and touched his face. She cupped 
it in her hands and kissed him from his forehead to his chin. Her lips 
met his in an intense kiss, and then she pulled away, dangling her 
tongue on his lips. His brain told him to push her away, but he just 
caved and gave in. After all, men are weak.


*****


Hours later, Buffy went patrolling without Faith, who was apparently on 
another walkabout. She saw a shadow following her and turned around 
slowly.


Xander grinned at her. "Hey Buff."


"Xander, what are you doing here?"


He twitched. "I'm looking for Faith," he twitched again.


"She's not here." Buffy started to walk away but Xander pulled her back. 


"Where is she?" Twitch, twitch, twitch.


"She's at her place waiting for you guys to finish what you started the 
other night."


Xander's eyes grew wide. "REALLY?"


Buffy grinned proudly. "Gotcha! Does Willow know?"

Run back to where I came from