 |
 Title of Chapter: Fate Author:
Alicia08 Authors
note: Err… Sorry about the long wait. I was kinda busy cursing Mr. Abrams
for breaking my heart by tearing apart the romance that was Sydney and
Vaughn. J.J. has officially entered Joss Whedon territory. He’s on
my “You evil retched bastard, but I still love you” list. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter
3 Buffy
woke slowly, her head exploding with pain. Dizziness overwhelms her as she
garners the energy to try and pry her lids open. Failing, she sighs, spreads
out on the bed, floating in a sea of half awareness. Taking her hand to
her mouth, she wipes away the drool that threatens to stain the pillow. Turning
on her side, her eyes slowly and with some effort flutter open. Wincing,
she regretted her action and quickly closed her eyes, the sunlight peeping
through the closed blinds, sending flashes of pain to her throbbing membrane. Her
back now to the sun's rays, she cursed the sun gods, for creating the big blob
of hotness. She
felt awful. Memories of her drunken binge the night before filled her throbbing
head. She pried her eyes open once again, mentally assaulting her
behavior hours prior. Sighing loudly, she touched her temple, and slowly
clambered off the bed, but got tangled within the curtains. "What
the…," she began to curse, but was unable to finish as she fell to the
floor with a thud. "Just peachy wonderful," she groaned,
pushing herself up off the floor. "I'm never drinking again,"
she promised, walking towards the bathroom. *~*~*~*~*~*~ "How
does breakfast sound to you?" "Breakfast
sounds delightful," Angel said striding from the bathroom, a towel wrapped
around his torso, the sunlight bouncing off his glistening chest, his upper
body splattered with glints of water. Cordelia
was of course dressed. Her hair swept up, in a bun, leaving her shoulders bare,
with the exception of the spaghetti straps that held her dress in
place. She
was a morning person, while Angel was not. He looked at her and smiled.
She was easily one of the most beautiful women Angel had ever encountered, with
her glorious auburn hair, and huge brown eyes, and a model-girl figure, which
was where his initial attraction laid, the first few weeks they had known each
other. As time passed, he'd forgotten about her exterior beauty and was
captivated by her interior splendor. Cordeilia
was an amazing woman with a kind heart, but her work came first. He'd
realized this earlier in their relationship, but Angel had held on to the hope
that he would slowly move up the ladder of priorities in Cordelia Land.
Unfortunately, that never came to be. Work seemed to always ride in the
passenger seat, while he settled for the back. "I
was thinking we could take in the scenery while we ate." Cordelia sighed
and walked over to the balcony, stepping across the threshold and into the
warmth of the sun that was shining its rays down on the city. "It's
beautiful outside today," she breathed in the air, and turned to face
Angel who was now sitting on the bed, watching her intently. "So what do
you say?" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Exiting
the bathroom, Buffy slowly got dressed, the aspirin she took earlier not
seeming to have taken effect as of yet. She silently cursed herself for
indulging in alcohol the night before. It wasn't like her, but Williams’s
sudden departure was unexpected, and very disappointing. This was the
week they planned their wedding. Something she envisioned them doing as a
couple. Together.
And
now that vision was shattered. Buffy
got dressed, grimacing at the onslaught of daggers shooting to her skull with
every movement. Moaning, she flung her self on the bed, and waited for
the walls to stop spinning. "Mmmmm... 30 more minutes of sleep," she
whined, her eyelids heavy. Deciding against it, she forced herself up, tottered
over to the mirror adorned on the wall. She stood a while, admiring her subtle
beauty that stared back at her. Smiling, she reached into her handbag and
retrieved her lipstick. Once
made up, her hair loose, cascading down her shoulders, she picked up the key
from the dresser top, and made her way to the door. Sunlight, food and
coffee, should do the trick she thought. Loads
of coffee. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Buffy waited
patiently for the elevator to open on her floor, where it would then take her
down to the lobby. She sighed, and looked around taking in her
surroundings. “Wow,” she murmured. Her foul mood the night she had
checked in, made her unaware of how beautifully breathtaking the Sheraton Hotel
truly was. The
hallway went on for miles, the red carpet framing its base, creating an
atmosphere of splendor. A fairytale place where magic and happy endings
ran rampant. A
chandelier hung from the ceiling, adorned with glistening crystals, giving the
hallway a rapt ambiance. The
sound of the elevator opening pulled Buffy from her intrigue. She stepped in,
and watched the door close. Looking to her reflection that frowned at
her, she squinted her eyes. “God… I look awful,” she cursed, as she
fiddled with the bags under her eyes. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Angel
and Cordelia stepped into the elevator, once it opened on their floor, nodding
in greeting to the only other occupant in the steel box. "Buffy?
Buffy Summers?" Cordelia screeched, eyeing the blonde with wide eyes.
"How are you?" The
screeching voice jerked Buffy out of her self disparage, and drew her gaze,
from her reflection that was cast in the metal casing in the elevator, to that
of dark brown orbs. “Err, Hi,” she replied. “Now
Buffy, are you trying to tell me you don’t recognize me?” When
Buffy gave her a blank stare, Cordelia continued. “Cordeliea
Chase”. She held out her hand and Buffy responded the same as they shook
hands. “I work with your husband. William. We met briefly at
the Christmas Party the company held last year.” Flashes
of memory suddenly bombarded Buffy’s mind. She remembered meeting
Cordelia. ‘Absolutely gorgeous’ was her initial reaction to meeting this
woman, then it was replaced by jealously. No, not the jealousy you would
think, but the jealously that her boyfriend at the time, might find the obvious
beauty that was Cordelia Chase more enticing than what she had to offer, which
in comparison was not much. Buffy
knew she was pretty… she’d gotten attention from many males to know that by
now, but her beauty was subdue. She was attractive, but not stunningly
so. “Oh,
of course. How could I forget,” Buffy smiled. “How are you”? “Great”.
Cordelia turned to Angel. “This is Angel, my fiancée,” she introduced. For
the first time, Buffy noticed the man that had accompanied Cordelia into the
elevator. A tiny breath escaped her lips as she took in the sight of
him. His eyes were enticing and so riveting that she found herself captivated
by them. It was as if he could see into her very soul. She stood
there for a while staring up into his angelic face. How long, she had no
idea. “Buffy” “Huh” “Is
something wrong?” “What?
Huh?” Reality slammed into her and she swung her gaze to the
brunette. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I… uh… didn’t sleep well last night.
Must have spaced out a bit there.” She turned her gaze once again to
Angel. “Angel is it?” She smiled. “Nice to meet you,” she
said as they shook hands. The
elevator doors buzzed open and the three exited coming to a halt in the
foyer. “So,
what brings you to the Sheraton?” Cordelia inquired. “Wedding
preparations,” was Buffy’s simple reply “Oh
yes, I completely forgot. Will did tell me that you guys were getting
married. Where is Will by the way?” “You
don’t know?” “Know
what?” “The
company requested him. Actually they requested all the executives for
some emergency meeting in San Francisco which as you can imagine, I wasn’t too
thrilled with” “Really?”
Cordelia pondered, but quickly disregarded it. “Come… join us for
breakfast.” “I
don…” “You’re
not intruding, plus I insist” *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* They
sat at a table with a great view of Central Park. They ate, they made polite
conversation and in between bites, Cordelia and Angel would occasionally
snuggle. For reasons unexplained, Buffy’s jaw would tighten at the sight. “Excuse,
Ms. Chase”. A waiter approached the table. “You have a telephone
call. It’s of some urgency I was told”. Cordelia
looked from Angel to Buffy bemused, then back to the waiter. “Ok” “This
way” Cordelia
politely excused herself and followed the waiter into the back office. Angel
and Buffy sat silently at the table until the awkwardness became
overwhelming. “So, how long have you and Cordelia been together?” “Um,
it’s going on 4 years now. How about you and your fianceé?” “About
the same” More
silence, more awkwardness “Well,
I’m afraid I have some bad news,” Cordelia said surprising them both with her
sudden reappearance. “What’s
wrong,” both Buffy and Angel said in unison. The
brunette reached for her purse that rested on her chair. “That was my
boss. Guess who is requested to go to “Tell
me you’re kidding,” Angel bemoaned. “I’m
so sorry sweetie, but it’s mandatory. I couldn’t get out of it. They need
me to leave right away,” she stated as she flung her purse around her
shoulders. “Listen, I still want you to enjoy yourself. We already paid
for the sweet in full, so it makes no sense to leave. You and Buffy here
can keep each other company,” she smiled in Buffy’s direction. To Be
Continued… |
