Wildest Times In The World (Part 2)
Christine Luland
Chapter 2
//I have fallen, I have stood up, I've had the patience of a tree
You have trembled, you have stayed still, you have tumbled like a weed
All the mountains, all the deserts, go for miles and miles around
We have driven for years now, baby, just to get back to a place we had
already found//
//Now you're driving me downtown, baby, on this rainy night
You're driving me crazy, baby, is this really life?//
//In the wildest times of the world
Oh I never thought I would be here with you tonight
In the wildest times of the world
Let's stay together in this lonely and crazy life//
"The Wildest Times of the World" by Vonda Shepard
October 31, 2017
Downtown Hollywood
7:00 p.m.
Buffy paid the driver and got out of the cab. Looking around the
streets she wondered if the people around her were dressed for Halloween
or if these were their normal outfits. Thinking back, she realized that
Southern California hadn't changed much in the years she'd been gone.
Pushing past a Dracula wanna-be she shook her head. "Not even close
pal" she muttered.
She walked down the street with no particular destination in mind. The
neighborhood seemed like a place Angel would stay; rundown and abandoned
buildings mixed with seedy clubs and topless bars. She hoped that her
Slayer sense would tingle like it always had when he was near but
realized that it had probably deteriorated like everything else as she
got older. If she had asked, Willow probably would have given her his
address, but after twenty years she was afraid to show too much interest
in front of the new Watcher. She would demand to know why Buffy was
ending a twenty-year separation after all this time, and that was a
reason she wasn't willing to share right now. Willow's off-hand remark,
a carefully veiled update, that Angel was living in L.A. was all the
information Buffy needed to start looking for him.
Hours passed as she walked. The streets became more crowded as people
came out in a frantic rush to use the excuse of the holiday to expose
their general weirdness. Once or twice Buffy felt the tickle of a vamp,
but her Slayer sense was so off that she couldn't tell if they were next
to her or four blocks away. She pushed those feelings to the side. At
almost thirty-seven she was no longer able to kick vampire butt as
easily as she used to. She continued on, waiting for that special
feeling that affected not only her dwindling Slayer sense but her heart
as well.
It was well after midnight when she finally felt, something? Looking
around she saw she was in front of a youth center. Looking at the sign
she saw that it was called Janna's Place. Crossing her fingers she
walked through the door.
A party was in full swing. Dozens of costumed teenagers danced as
Frankenstein spun records on a makeshift stage. To the one side of the
room the remains of a pizza feeding frenzy could be seen. It reminded
her of happier times in the library as the Slayerettes spent a long
night looking up the latest demon. Smiling to herself she looked
around, half expecting to see Xander eating Ho-Ho's in a corner. She
was still smiling as a counselor came to her side. "Can I help you?"
Buffy turned to see a Klingon woman staring back at her. Startled, she
was speechless for a second. Quickly recovering her voice she began to
explain her quest, hoping all the while that her story didn't sound half
as hopeless as she felt.
"You see, I'm looking for a friend of mine. I know he's in L.A. and I
can picture him being involved in something like this. In fact the name
of this center reminds me of a mutual friend we had. I know this is
crazy, but I had a hunch. The guy I'm looking for is about twenty-two
or so. He's really good looking and would usually keep to himself. His
name is Angel." Buffy finished her explanation in a rush and watched the
woman's face for signs that she was in luck. It was hard to do through
all the layers of Klingon make-up. Remarkably the woman smiled.
"Your hunches must be pretty good. Do you have any advice for lotto
numbers? The guy you described sounds a lot like the guy who funds this
place. It has to be him, how many guys have a face to match their name?
He was around here earlier; he might still be in the office in back.
I'll show you."
Buffy followed the warrior woman through a maze of dancing bodies and
into a computer room. She smiled at that. She could see a door marked
Staff Only and stopped the woman just before she knocked. "Would you
mind if I went through alone? It's been a long time since I've seen
him, and I'd like to surprise him."
Klingon woman shook her head and smiled. "Go on ahead. Hey, have you
ever known him to really smile? He seems like he has the weight of
world on his shoulders some times."
Smiling sadly Buffy shook her head and responded "Once or twice maybe.
But it's been a long time since then."
"Well maybe an old friend will cheer him up. Tell him we're gonna start
getting the kids outta here soon. It's about time all the ghosts and
goblins got home to bed. Let him know we'll take care of out front so
you don't have to interrupt your reunion. Hope he's surprised." With a
cheerful grin that contradicted her warrior salute she left the room.
Stopping for a second to take a deep breath, Buffy then reached out and
softly knocked on the door. The answering "Come in" stopped her in her
tracks. It was his voice; she had found him. Turning the knob she
opened the door and walked in. Angel's back was to her as he muttered
over a computer. "I'll be right with you as soon as I figure out what
the hell I just did here," he said. She laughed to herself as he
snarled "Compute this!" at the computer as he turned it off in
preparation for a reboot.
"You know" she said, "that would work a lot better if you had Willow
configure it for you."
Angel stopped dead at the sound of her voice. He slowly turned around
and faced her. His face was frozen. "What are you doing here?" His
voice sounded as cold as his eyes looked.
"Looking for you. I would think that's pretty obvious." Her voice was
soft as she took a step towards him. This wasn't the way she had
pictured their reunion. She had believed he would be a lot happier to
see her. But looking into his eyes, into the pain hiding behind the
ice, she knew what had happened. Knew it because it had happened to her
also. He had taken his pain and anguish at their parting and hidden it
away inside his heart. He let his heart grow cold and numb because
living with the pain would have driven him insane. She had done the
same, had kept her emotions hidden and shielded until recently, when she
took them out for the comfort they gave her at long last.
Lifting her hand she softly touched his cheek. "It's been a long time
Angel" she whispered. He continued to stare at her and as she watched,
the ice melted in his eyes, melted into a single tear that ran down his
cheek. With her fingertip, she brushed the tear away. His hand came up
and caught her hand as she went to pull it away. He held it captive and
tenderly brought it up to his lips. After a tender kiss to her palm, he
dropped her hand and reached out for her. Pulling her close he held her
tightly. And at that moment she was content to stay where she was
forever.
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