Chapter 4
Angel sighed loudly, taking a sip from his coffee and glared at his watch through his sunglasses. He had been at this damn airport for what seemed like an eternity, and he was getting beyond impatient…
The evil thought of just abandoning the girl all together crossing his mind once or twice.
Finally! The Gate doors were opened and the plane’s passengers began to spill out into the terminal. He took one more sip of his coffee, removing the makeshift sign bearing Buffy’s name from under his arm, holding it up in front of him.
His breath suddenly hitched in his chest, not exactly sure if he was still breathing and at the moment, not really caring…as quite possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen bounded out of the gate. She looked around briefly for a moment, before her eyes locked on him.
She’s coming towards him, oh god she’s coming towards him! Her long, golden blonde hair flowing behind her in waves, the tiny halter top she wore bared a bit of midriff, toned and tanned, shapely legs jutted out from beneath her skirt, strong, powerful, confident looking legs…
Angel took a rather nervous sip of the coffee as she stopped in front of him, smiling brightly, her hazel eyes twinkling a bit. God, this girl was perfect…
“You’ve changed, dad.” She smirked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“Buffy?” Angel asked, a tinge of disbelief in his voice. He set the coffee and the sign down on a nearby chair in the waiting area, and removed his glasses, swiftly tucking them in his pocket.
She paled suddenly, recognition hitting her full on. “A-Angel?”
“Your dad had a meeting and he couldn’t make it. I’m your poor substitute I’m afraid…” He smiled, trying to be as charming as humanly possible. His plan, seemingly working as a dreamy look swept over Buffy’s face.
“That’s fine.” She nodded, regrouping herself, be calm…play it cool… “I should get my bags…”
“You bags! Right, sorry, I almost forgot…I just…can’t get over how much you’ve grown up, Buffy.”
She smiled warmly at him, the leering look in his eyes not at all lost on her.
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She could feel it, his eyes casually drifting off of the road to give her a once over every now and again, yet Buffy stoically continued to look out of the window. She didn’t want Angel to see her as the dorky little girl who melted at the sight of him. She was twenty-one after all, and she was going to act like it, dammit! But, that didn’t mean that the little girl in her wasn’t doing backflips…
Buffy turned away from the window, briefly catching Angel’s stare. He chuckled softly, smiling sheepishly.
“Sorry.” He shook his head. “I just can’t get over how much you’ve changed. I think I half expected a nine year old with skinned knees to walk off of that plane.”
“Hey, you’ve changed too…” She laughed.
“Really?”
“Yeah, well, you’re taller for one. Obviously, you’re using hair gel nowadays…”
Angel laughed, the sound sending small tingles down her spine. Being back in Sunnydale was now suddenly not so bad…
“Plus, the total lack of a British accent is new.” Buffy smiled.
“I figured, I’m an American now, might as well drop the accent. Although, dad and Spike were none to pleased with my decision.”
“Spike?” Who the hell is Spike?
“My little brother, William. You remember him don’t you?” Buffy nodded, a frown slowly setting on her face. Of course she remembered, how could she possibly forget that whining snot machine.
Angel pulled the Jaguar somewhat recklessly in the driveway of the Summers’ home, quickly jumping out and rushing around to the other side of the car to open her door. Buffy looked up at the large, imposing houses, side by side, memories flooding back all at once.
“I’ll get your bags.” Angel said, cutting into her thoughts. “Thanks.” She called back absently, as she made her way up the walk. It was like nothing had changed in twelve years…
“You must be Buffy!”
Well, almost nothing. She smiled forcefully at the young woman standing in the doorway, she’s practically young enough to be her sister… “Yes, I’m Buffy.”
“I’m Tammy, it’s so nice to finally meet you!” She squealed, bolting towards her. “It’s nice to meet you too…oh!” Buffy’s voice was tentatively cut off by the bear hug Tammy pulled her into.
“Hank’s told me so much about you! He should be here shortly, his meeting just ended.”
“That’s great.” Buffy said, stepping away from her, taking in a much-needed breath.
“Just go on in and make yourself comfortable. Liam, uh, do you need some help with those?”
Angel quickly shook his head, male pride evident on his face. “No, Tammy I got it!” He called out. Shit, what did this girl have in this trunk, a body? He grunted loudly as he yanked the trunk out of the tiny compartment, letting it fall to the ground.
Tammy slipped an arm around Buffy, guiding her into the house. “Come on, I want to hear all about you. So how’s college?”
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“No! No, this is all wrong this is not the menu I wanted for tonight!” Cordelia screamed in frustration, pacing the kitchen.
“But Ms. Chase…”
“I want everything changed, start over! You people will not ruin my engagement party!”
“See here, what’s with all the yelling…” Giles asked, breezing into the kitchen. “Oh.” He sighed. “Cordelia’s here, explains everything.”
“Giles, I told you we should have heard a caterer to do this, but no…you said ‘let the kitchen staff take care of it’ and now everything’s ruined!” She whined loudly, stomping her expensive heel encased foot.
Giles shook his head soundly, wondering why he had even encouraged his son to date the WASPY annoying creature. “What’s the problem…”
“The problem?!” She shouted, tossing her long brown hair. “The problem is that I very specifically said caviar and not Swedish meatballs, and look…meatballs!”
“Oh dear, that is grounds for whining and screaming.” Giles rattled off sardonically, rolling his eyes at the spoiled girl.
“Dad, you’ll never guess whose here!”
“Baby!” Cordelia shouted happily, rushing over to Angel, throwing her arms around him.
“Hey Cordy.” He said absently, unwrapping himself of her. “Dad, you won’t believe whose here!”
“Who? Do you plan on telling me or just shout about how much I won’t believe…”
“Buffy Summers.” He smiled, a glossy look sweeping over his face, a look Giles knew all too well.
“Little Buffy?” Giles asked, cleaning his glasses. “I take it she’s not so little anymore…”
“Buffy? Who the hell is Buffy?!” A look of pure jealousy radiated off of Cordy’s face, fueled by her fiancé’s virtual lack of attention to her and the mention of another woman’s name. What the hell kind of name is Buffy anyway? “What the hell kind of name is Buffy?!”
“She uh, was sort of a friend of mine, use to live next door when we were kids.”
Cordelia nodded, rolling her eyes. “Oh, fascinating.” She said flatly. “While your trip down memory lane sounds fun, I actually have work to do, putting the finishing touches on our engagement party.”
Angel smiled, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a kiss. “I’m sorry. Need my help?” Cordy giggled, playfully hitting him on the chest. “No, I think it’s best you stay out of it.”
“Hey, I should ask Buffy if she’d like to come…” He mused, letting go of his fiancée. “I’ll be back in time for the party.” Angel said the words like an afterthought as he rushed out of the door, leaving Cordelia standing there scowling.
“Ilsa, get rid of those goddamn meatballs!” She shouted, leaving the kitchen in a blur.
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Tammy was sweet enough , but if she spent another second with her, her head would explode. Buffy had managed sneak away to the backyard for a little privacy. It was almost surreal looking up at the oak tree where she spent many a night, and had the well-concealed scars on her legs to prove it.
She smiled, nostalgia washing over her, she couldn’t resist any longer and jumped up, capturing the lower branch, preparing to lift herself up.
“Still climbing trees I see.” Buffy dropped to her feet quickly at the sound of his voice, smiling somewhat embarrassed.
“Angel.”
He slowly made his way over to her, standing dangerously close. Buffy could feel her heart begin to race from his closeness, and promptly swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.
“I spent a lot of nights in this tree…” She chuckled softly. “Watching you.”
“Is that so?” He smiled, did he just move even closer, great, now she’s breaking into a sweat…
“There’s a, a party at my father’s house tonight. He would love it if you came.”
“I’ll do my best.” Buffy said, her voice dropping to a whisper. Angel smiled softly, gently brushing his lips across hers.
“Great. I’ll see you tonight.”