Go TeamC/A
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CHAPTER TWO Sunnydale High School, One Week Later
Mr. Whitaker’s creative lesson on the modern legal system didn’t stand a chance of holding Cordelia’s attention today. Using the fictional title character from ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ as the defendant, half of the class was set up to prosecute Jack for trespassing, theft, destruction of property and murder. The remaining students took the stance that Jack was an innocent victim of his poor station in life and were assigned the task of defending him.
As her head buzzed with thoughts that had nothing to do with school, the chalk on the blackboard simply blurred into a fuzzy abstract. She wondered what new excuse Buffy would come up with tonight. Nearly a week had gone by since her return to Scoobiage. During that time Cordelia agreed to go along with Mr. Giles’s suggestion about focusing on their need for research. No one actually questioned her right to be there, but Giles expressed the group’s ‘mutual concerns’ about the state of her health and readiness to resume patrols.
Basically, Cordelia was convinced that Buffy didn’t want her to tag along, mainly because it would make Willow uncomfortable. Fine. She was back because she needed to be, not just because she enjoyed seeing the guilt in their eyes every time Willow or Xander looked in her direction.
That was just a perk.
One she was frequently faced with considering that the two of them also stayed in the library to help Giles out on their research project while Angel and the two slayers went out on late night patrols. It made the first couple of nights a little awkward.
Certain lying, two-faced cheaters sat on one side of the table and she stayed on the other. Giles kept popping out of his office to check on them as if expecting to find all three of them in some girly bitch-slapping fight on the floor.
Not that the thought of it wasn’t enjoyable. She was just above displays like that. “Get those hangdog looks off your faces, people. It’s depressing.” When Xander and Willow grinned in hopeful response to her perky tone, she changed her mind. “Forget it. I liked the guilt better. Resume your wallowing.”
Research commenced even though it had gotten off to a rocky start. Cordelia was quick to note that Willow abandoned the books in favor of the computer set up at another table. The usually chatty redhead kept strangely silent as she focused on her task. Giles mainly kept to his office, pouring through original documents and copies of ancient text unless he was checking on their progress.
That left Cordelia and Xander as research buddies. Neither one of them managed to stay silent for more than a couple of minutes. The dofus managed to make her forget that she was supposed to be mad at him. Too bad it caused a stitch in her side when he made her laugh. That reminded her quickly enough.
Yet they managed to fall into a pattern where they could interact without bringing up the reasons for their breakup. The week went by slowly. Despite the fact that Giles seemed pleased that they were piecing together the puzzle that surrounded the prophesy, it was boring as hell. Cordelia wasn’t used to being so idle.
It was still early in the evening last night when she decided it was time to revolt. With the whole gang there, she was back on the stairs with Angel. She’d dropped another leather-bound volume onto the growing pile at her feet. “I’ve had enough of these musty old books.”
“You’re quitting?” Buffy sounded almost eager about it.
“No,” Cordelia remembered correcting her. “Duh! I’ll patrol with you tomorrow night. You said it yourself that you need more eyes and ears out there watching for the first signs of the prophesy. I’m tired of sitting here collecting splinters.”
Even though she and Xander had struck up a cease-fire, Cordelia chose not to make a big deal out of reclaiming her usual spot at the table during the larger group meetings. Sitting next to Angel became automatic after the first couple of times. And when she rushed in at the last minute, he simply moved over to make room for her.
He’d tell her what she missed, but afterward their conversation tended to be one-sided ninety-nine percent of the time. Every now and then he’d help her out with some extended translation around one of the key words Giles had given them for their search.
Further attempts at conversation tended to result in the odd grunt, irritation or complete confusion. She was starting to think that Angel had lived in a cave for the past couple of centuries. For someone who seemed to know so much, he was clueless about…everything.
Standing up to rub a hand over the ache, she muttered to Angel, “I don’t know how you do this all of the time. You must get so stiff sitting here.”
A half-turn toward him came just in time to catch his eyes darting back up as he watched her fingers move over the curve of her bottom. “Sometimes.” Cordelia felt the sound waves close in on her, those rich male tones containing just a hint of innuendo.
Her body clenched in reaction, a hot wave gathering force and leaving her tingling in its wake. Holy hell. Talk about letting your imagination run away with you. He was probably just talking about leg cramps and back aches.
“He’s already a stiff,” reminded Xander, calling out from somewhere behind the four-inch thick tome of the Vampyr.
No one laughed. It wasn’t that funny, but Cordelia reacted anyway. “That’s right. Undead guy. Stiffness just comes naturally for walking corpses.” She patted his shoulder in mock comfort.
Faith, who was performing stretching exercises in the middle of the floor instead of doing research, paused to glance over her shoulder at Angel. Then flashing a conspiratorial dimpled grin at them both, asked, “Think so, Cor? There’s one way to find out. I could lend you a hand.”
After a dead silent pause of five seconds, “Skank,” popped out of nowhere. Funny how it sounded just like her own voice.
Beside her, a conspicuous clearing of Angel’s throat caught Cordelia’s attention. It wasn’t that she cared whether Faith got a little taste of the truth. Recognizing her meaning came far too quickly, flashing a disturbing image of post-mortem rigidity through her colorful imagination. It didn’t help that Buffy stood just over there, her face a thunder-cloud.
The two images clashed, merging into thoughts of vampire/slayer groinyness that gave her the wiggins. A plus B equals, “Eew!”
A subtle ripple beneath her hand made her conscious of the fact that her simple shoulder pat had turned into a rub. Her fingers were spread out over ridges of rock-hard muscle and bone, smoothing across the soft surface of his sweater. She snatched her hand away and took a step back only to hop over the books piled up on the floor.
Closing his book, Angel tucked his forefinger between the pages to hold his place. Slowly, his big body unfolded from where he’d been sitting with his elbows resting on his spread knees. The move was either intended to: 1) prove he had manners by not sitting when she stood, 2) relieve a little tension from cramped muscles, or 3) give them a better view of Mr. Stiffy.
Cordelia caught her gaze drifting downward before it snapped back up to stare at his adam’s apple. Yup, she was going with explanation number two. It made the most sense considering the frequent jostling of knees and elbows as they shared the step.
It was an uncomfortable spot for more than one reason. Cordelia knew that Angel wasn’t going to pounce on her, but it was too easy to picture those fangs flashing white in the darkness as they closed in on her neck. And, hello, she liked her neck intact, thank you very much. Fortunately, from what she’d seen over the past few days, Angel wasn’t anywhere near being happy.
Buffy was keeping him at a distance and appeared just as miserable as Angel. If their misery made Cordelia feel safer she was all for sticking with the status quo. The last thing anyone needed was Angelus on the loose again.
Standing next to her, Angel made another obvious attempt to get rid of her, “You could always squeeze in at the table. Giles offered you a chair. I’m sure it would be more comfortable”
“No such luck, big guy,” Cordelia snorted. Noting that he’d actually strung three sentences together, it was clear it was important to him. It wasn’t her comfort he was thinking of. Angel just preferred to be alone despite the fact that, like her, he couldn’t seem to stay away from these Scooby sessions. “There’s even less room over there. I’ll put up with bumping elbows with you for a while.”
Cordelia felt anxious to get back into the activity of patrolling again. Being cooped up in the library like some dusty old book was starting to get to her. Now that the prophesy date loomed closer, she planned to be more involved. Nobody here was better bait. Even if it was a lame job, at least it was hers.The Cafeteria, Lunchtime
“Don’t worry about Faith,” urged Buffy as she responded to Willow’s concerns over the other slayer’s predictably rowdy behavior. She pushed her tray down the line and grabbed a carton of milk from the ice-filled bin. “I’ll deal.”
Willow wasn’t sure how. It seemed that Faith was out to cause trouble just for the fun of it. Poor Mr. Giles had his hands full trying to keep the new girl in line. Buffy and Faith were constantly at each other’s throats over everything, especially if it had to do with slaying.
Taking a chocolate milk of her own, Willow set it down on her tray as she followed behind Buffy in the line. “Speaking of dealing…I actually talked to Cordelia during our last class together.”
“How’d that go?”
“She didn’t bite my head off,” Willow’s smile showed her relief. That was progress as far as she was concerned. “I noticed that she was kinda lost in thought when Mr. Whitaker explained the lesson, so I brought her up to speed.”
“Ah, Jack’s trial,” Buffy nodded having already heard what to expect from another student. She had Mr. Whitaker’s government class during fifth period instead of second like Cordelia and Willow.
“Poor Jack. He got twenty to life,” Willow told her. “Nobody gives the good guys any credit.”
Buffy muttered sourly, “Tell me about it,” as she stared at the two main entrée choices. Pointing to option number one, she told the serving lady, “I’ll take the mystery meat.”
Opting for the cheese enchiladas, Willow added her request for the Spanish rice and some green veggies. After putting the plate down on her tray, she asked Buffy, “Does Cordelia seem different after her accident?”
“No. She’s just as loud-mouthed and pushy as ever.” Buffy added, “With all of the squabbling between her and Xander, you’d think they were still together. It’s hard to tell the difference sometimes.”
“It’s just…you know that she quit the cheerleading squad.”
Buffy obviously hadn’t, her eyes widening in surprise. “Really? That’s a shocker. Being head cheerleader keeps Cor in control of all the ‘pretty people’. Maybe she’s still hurting. I told her it was too soon to get back into the physical stuff.”
With a shrug, Willow had to admit that she didn’t know for sure, but explained there was a rumor that suggested Cordelia might simply have other interests.
“Like what?”
“You’ve noticed that she’s been late coming to research,” Willow reminded. In fact, Cordelia seemed to show up ten to fifteen minutes late almost every night. They scheduled their meetings right after dinnertime and usually gathered for a couple hours of research before heading out on patrol.
“So?” Ten minutes without Cordelia wasn’t exactly a hardship.
Willow glanced behind her to make sure there wasn’t anyone listening. “I heard it from Brittany who got it from her brother Brandon who’s dating Meg. Y’see, Meg apparently overheard Harmony telling Aura that Cordelia is dating some guy from Sunnydale University and that’s why she decided to quit the team.”
The lady at the register handed Buffy her meal card after deducting the price of her lunch. Willow handed hers over, waited until it was returned and then picked up her tray to follow Buffy toward their usual table. “So what do you think?” she prompted Buffy who hadn’t said a word about it.
“I think we should just ask Cordelia,” she answered, spotting her standing with her own lunch tray. “She’s over there, talking to Oz.”
Willow’s eyes darted over to her boyfriend who was casually speaking to Cordelia, both of them with smiles on their faces. She felt her stomach churn nervously. It wasn’t that Willow really thought Cordelia would try anything to put a wedge between her and Oz, especially since she’d managed to do that all on her own. It was just that her own imagination made it easy to think Cordelia might do it just to get her revenge.
“Thinking of having lunch with us today, Cor?” Willow asked rather chirpily, giving herself major kudos for making the offer. Even though Cordelia had resumed her place in the Scooby Gang for their research project, she hadn’t bothered to join them at their table in the cafeteria.
“Why not,” Cordelia shrugged, setting her tray down next to Oz. “There’s no one interesting around at the moment, so I might as well sit with you.”
No sooner were they all seated than Buffy got straight to the point. Willow had to admire her friend for not beating around the bush. “We’ve heard rumors about your latest after-school activities.”
Cordelia stopped sipping from her Capri Sun, the blood rushing out of her face for a moment before she recovered. “What I do is none of your business.”
“C’mon, give a little,” Buffy prompted her. “Xander isn’t here to hear about it, so it’s just us girls. Oh, and Oz, but he won’t say anything.”
“What’s Xander got to do with it?” Cordelia looked around the cafeteria as if she expected everyone to be listening in.
“Duh! You dumped him.” Next to Buffy, Willow squirmed in reaction to the words. Reminders that the break-up was her fault suddenly made her lose her appetite. “So who’s the rebound guy? Do we know him? I hear he goes to Sunnydale-U.”
After gaping at Buffy, Cordelia quickly recovered and simply confirmed everything they had heard by saying, “I guess there’s no such thing as a secret around this place.”
“Dontcha have enough guys around here to pick from?” asked Willow curiously. It wasn’t like there had ever been a shortage of guys eager to gain her attention.
Cordelia sipped at her drink again before answering, “There’s a huge difference when it comes to dating a man instead of a boy. Don’t you think so, Buffy? No offence, Oz.”
Being the only male at the table, Oz kept his opinions to himself, but Willow knew he was just as curious as they were to know more. Occasionally playing gigs for some of the frat parties at the university, Oz knew quite a few of the students. He asked, “What’s his name?”
“Oh look, there’s Harmony.” Cordelia suddenly pushed back her chair, picked up her tray and left without a backward glance. “Gotta run. See you tonight.”
Willow mulled over Cordelia’s disappearing act. It wasn’t like her to back off a simple question, especially when she’d normally be rubbing it in their faces. “I think she’s hiding something. Maybe he’s someone famous and she’s protecting his identity.”
A glance at Oz revealed that he had gone back to eating his lunch having already lost interest in the subject. Buffy dug into her own lunch with gusto as if their simple confrontation with Cordelia had worked up an appetite. Swallowing down her third bite of mystery meat, Buffy paused to say, “Cordelia can date anyone she wants as long as it’s not anyone I know. Boy slayer or not, she really hurt Xander when she kicked him out of the hospital.”***
Cordelia heard Buffy call her name just as she was shutting her locker. “I don’t have time to talk.”
“Your new boyfriend can wait a few,” Buffy instinctively positioned herself with her back to the exit as if guessing Cordelia would try to make a break for it.
“Say what you have to say,” Cordelia huffed at the delay as she glanced down at her watch. She’d have to haul butt to get there on time even without interruption.
There was no avoiding whatever lecture was coming her way.
“Look, I’m telling you this as a friend,” her words immediately alerted Cordelia’s inner defenses to call for reinforcements. “You’re not giving yourself enough time. Not with wanting to patrol and not with jumping into another relationship.”
“Was Scott just a distraction for you? I seem to recall that you dropped him fast enough once Angel turned up again.”
Buffy opened her mouth as if to deny it, but had no time to respond.
“Drooling over Angel is not good for your health,” Cordelia commented. “Think of the tragedy. If I end up with a zit because of the stress, it is so your fault.”
“Say what?” Buffy practically squeaked in reaction. “And that’s a tragedy?”
“I want to look good at my funeral,” Cordelia explained matter-of-factly. “That’s what’ll happen if Angelus shows up again and I don’t want people staring into my coffin and remembering the gigantic zit on my nose.”
Looking all scowly-faced, Buffy finally blurted, “Whatever.”
“Just promise not to bone your boyfriend so I can relax a little. Sheesh! Neither one of you knows when to quit.”
After a scary moment when Buffy looked like she might launch an attack, a soft admission sounded, “I did quit.”
“You quit Angel? I think I missed the memo,” Cordelia quipped hardly believing it was true. Hell freezing over had more of a chance.
“Angel was supposed to back off,” Buffy revealed her frustration over the fact that he hadn’t exactly followed along with her plan. “You’re right. We can’t keep seeing each other. It’s too dangerous.”
“Duh!”
Unshed tears sparkled in Buffy’s eyes and Cordelia honestly tried to feel sorry for her, but she couldn’t seem to manage it. Though it did shed a little light on why those two hadn’t been quite as demonstrative as they used to be.
“I don’t trust myself when I’m around him.”
“Who am I, Confession Girl?” Cordelia really didn’t want to hear this. “Tell Angel. He’s your problem, not mine.”
“Yeah.”
Cordelia had enough problems of her own without worrying about Buffy’s failed romance with Angel. Stepping around her while she was distracted, she paused only long enough to point out, “You need him around with this prophesy thing going on. Just find a way to deal with him.”***
Resurrecting an old habit, Angel followed along from the shadows as Buffy made her way down Revello Drive in the direction of the high school. She walked at a brisk pace aware of everything around her except him. That was easy enough to change. That is, if he had a clue what to say to her.
The opportunity to speak to Buffy without the ever-present entourage of Scoobies was a rarity. Each day seemed to widen the gap between them. Angel now cursed himself for a fool, grinding up the bitter pill of guilt and longing that seemed to be eternally lodged in his throat. Still, he followed.
Only the times when he caught her staring gave him any hope of reconciliation. It was impossible to turn back the clock and start over again. No words could ever make up for Angelus’ actions. Even if they could, he didn’t know how to ask for forgiveness and was certain that he didn’t deserve it.
No profound solution presented itself before Buffy rounded the last corner leading toward the school. Angel caught sight of Willow’s red hair shining under the street light up ahead just before Buffy called out her name, waved and ran to catch up. The boy was there, too. Even now, Xander and Willow remained joined at the hip.
Too much history had passed between them to let their indiscretion ruin their friendship. Angel figured there might be a lesson in that if he sat down to think about it for a while. Plenty of time for that. The mansion was dark and quiet.
Faith was lounging on the top step, energetically bounding up from her seat when the others appeared. They all moved indoors, Angel trailing behind unseen at a short distance. When he opened the library doors, he saw Giles unlocking the weapon’s cabinet in preparation for tonight’s patrol.
The hinge on the door squeaked as it swung shut, instantly alerting the slayers to his presence. Angel had eyes only for Buffy. She stared back like a doe trapped by a predator. He crossed the room without a word, tilted her chin and bent down to press his lips to hers.
He tried not to look smug at her reaction caught between stirring passion and anger. Sometimes words just got in the way of making your point.
Sputtering for control as Angel casually strolled over to lean against the wooden balustrade, Buffy simply commented, “Good, everyone’s here.”
Angel’s attention turned to the empty steps at his side, his gaze flicking around the room just to confirm the fact that one member of their team was still missing. Though chronically late, Cordelia always managed to show up. It sounded like Buffy was already counting her out.
“What about Cordelia?” A twinge of irritation on her behalf was a curious surprise.
“Not my problem,” Buffy turned away to rummage through a duffel bag full of supplies. “If she really wanted to patrol with us, she’d be here instead of breaking in a new boyfriend.”
Looking gut-punched by the news, Xander muttered, “New what?”
Even Angel felt a little sorry for the kid. Buffy gasped in horror at having blurted it out like that. “God, I’m sorry, Xan. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he muttered, but his eyes told a different story.
Just then, Cordelia breezed through the door dressed in a slinky top, short skirt and heeled sandals, her long hair wind-blown and curling around her face. “What a craptastic day! But I’m here now. Ooh, pointy weapons. Which one is mine?”
Buffy couldn’t believe it. What was it about Cordelia that shifted the world axis to revolve around her? Xander’s heart was crumbling into little pieces and she had the nerve to waltz in, late as usual, looking like she’d come straight from a date with her mystery man.
Grabbing the nearest stake, Buffy shoved it into her hand. “Take this.”
Trying to alleviate the tension, Giles stepped forward to discuss options for patrol. “As you all are aware, the prophesy is wrapped up in an ancient riddle. According to the Watchers Council, we are to expect several precursor events to harbinger the arrival of a demonic demi-god to the Hellmouth.”
“The new Big Bad,” nodded Buffy as she immediately shifted focus back to the task at hand.
Giles reminded them, “Each sign is unique. Some will be nothing more than a visual key, others more substantive. If we fail to note or intercept these signs, it will be impossible to determine the exact time and location of the final event. We must prevent it at all costs.”
“We’re up against a demi-god and all I get is this crummy stake?” Cordelia let out a loud, “Pfft!” and moved over to look at the other options.
Unfortunately, considering her role as Bait Girl, it was hard to hide anything other than a stake on her person. She reached for a small dagger with a bronze sheath and considered having to use it. Vampires conveniently turned into clouds of dust when you killed them, but other things had the nasty habit of bleeding.
She was about to put it down when Angel reached in to pull it out of her hand. He stood just behind her, leaning close enough that his cheek brushed her hair as he took the dagger away. “Stick with what you know.”
“Hey, grabby hands, that was mine.” Cordelia’s irritated gaze trailed after him as he stepped back over to his spot in Buffy’s shadow only to connect with the slayer herself.
Buffy really didn’t want to have to put up with Cordelia tonight. Or any night, for that matter, but for some strange reason she was determined to be here. Pushy ex-cheerleaders had no business taking part in nightly patrol if it wasn’t taken seriously. She idly wondered what it would take to convince her not to bother.
“We have only the clues in the prophesy to guide us,” Giles cut in on Buffy’s thoughts. He picked up a crossbow and shouldered a small leather container of additional quarrels. “Starting tonight over the next few weeks, during the hours immediately before and after the transition of the moon, we must be vigilant in our observations.”
“Sounds like sleep is a no-go anytime soon,” Willow gulped.
Xander squeezed her shoulder, “It’ll be okay, Will. We can nap during first period. Mrs. Tolliver usually nods off in the middle of her lecture anyway.”
“Easy for you to say,” Cordelia huffed, trying to ignore the friendly hug, “I’ve got Eagle-eyed Everson in my drama class. It’s all about focus, concentration and emoting”
“So tell her you were emoting with your eyes closed,” Xander shrugged.
“This may be difficult,” Giles agreed, “but it is necessary to cover as much ground as possible. We can’t afford to miss any of the signs. They may provide further clues.”
Buffy understood what he was getting at. “Teams?”
“Teams,” he confirmed with a nod.
“I’ll take GQ,” Faith volunteered, “if you really don’t want him anymore, B.”
Only the fact that Angel made no visible reaction kept Buffy from blowing her top. Just how Faith had gotten wind of her decision to break up with Angel took only a short leap of the imagination. Cordelia. Those two were hardly friendly, and rarely spoke a word to each other, yet somehow Cor managed to pass on the news.
While Xander was busily making a wisecrack, Willow sent Buffy a look of hurt and confusion when she realized that Buffy had kept something so important from her. Sucking in a deep breath, Buffy promised details, “Later.”
Giles didn’t bother trying to figure out what they were talking about. He was still trying to make his point. “Actually, Faith, I’d actually like you to accompany me. We can work on some of those drills we discussed.”
“Whatever you say, boss,” Faith grabbed her jeans jacket from the banister and put it on. “I’m ready to kick some ass whenever you are.”
“Er, yes, but I think the ass-kicking will come a bit later,” he pursed his lips with a wry smile. “Cordelia and Xander can also join our group.”
That left Angel and Willow, Buffy realized. Which meant that Willow would be the only one there to distract her from Angel. And she couldn’t exactly talk to Willow about breaking up with him if he was right there.
“We should try something a little different,” Buffy tried to sound casual about it. “After all, you said we should cover more ground. Why not split into three teams instead of two.”
Giles didn’t take long to agree. “We have three strong fighters here. One per group. Excellent idea, Buffy.”
She beamed a wide grin at her success. It faded a bit when she saw the almost imperceptible change in Angel’s expression, but she was resolved to avoid any situation that threw them together. It was the only way to avoid temptation.
Besides, if she was right about this, Cordelia would whirl herself into a tizzy and quit before the night was over. “Angel and Cordelia can team up. I’ll take Willow and Xander.”
“What?” Cordelia gasped in horror. “Me and him? He’s safe enough here in the library, but the two of us out there…in the dark?”
A glance at Angel suggested he wasn’t too thrilled with the idea himself, but he said nothing. Buffy could tell that he was less mad at Cordelia than he was at her for suggesting they split up their patrol in the first place.
“Better than Angel and Xander,” shrugged Buffy, drawing immediate scowls from both of them. “See what I mean. Unless you really wanted to be teamed up with me.”
“Oh.” Cordelia obviously hadn’t thought about that one.
Angel grasped Buffy’s elbow, leading her toward one corner of the library, where the others couldn’t easily overhear.
Demanding softly, “What is this?” he dropped his hold after turning her to face him.
Buffy stared at the floor, the ceiling, her fingernails, gaze darting from place to place in order to avoid his eyes. They read her too easily. “I don’t want to patrol with Cordelia.”
“You’re the only one who suggested it,” he pointed out.
“That’s what’ll happen if you don’t agree to team up with Cordelia,” she said. “I don’t think Cor and Xander should patrol together right now. It’s just asking for trouble.”
“Then let her go with Giles and Faith.”
That wouldn’t get the job done, Buffy realized. Faith and Cordelia might not be buddies, but they obviously got along enough to share a secret…hers. Who knows what Cor would say if she really had the time to gossip.
Shaking her head, “Not a good idea,” she explained. “Giles has a hard enough time controlling Faith without the added pressure of Cordelia tagging along.”
“I know that Cordelia has her moments, but is she really so difficult?” Angel asked her. He obviously hadn’t had enough firsthand experience to understand the real Cordelia Chase. “Surely a slayer should be able to able to handle her.”
“Think it’s so easy?”
Angel glanced back at Cordelia who stood cross-armed, tapping her toe, waiting for them to make a decision. “Easy enough.”
“Huh. You haven’t got a clue. All you’ve seen is Cordelia-Lite, the version that used to fawn over you.” Buffy suddenly realized that she was hardly convincing him to take her along. “Look, Angel, the truth is that I don’t think she can handle it. Not to mention the fact that she’s not really one of us. She should never have come back after dumping Xander.”
Angel rubbed a hand across his face as understanding hit. “You knew Cordelia would have a problem patrolling with me. You’re setting her up to quit.”
“So what if I am?” she shrugged. “It’s for her own good.”
“What if you’re underestimating her?”
Buffy pressed her lips together, trying not to look smug. “No, I don’t think so.”
If things worked out, Cordelia would call it quits. If it didn’t, the match would keep Angel from shadowing her every move. It hurt to be apart, but every time they were in the same room, Buffy wanted to do wild things with that gorgeous body.
That couldn’t happen. It wasn’t fair.
“You’re certain this is what you want,” Angel offered her one more out only to get a brief nod before she walked back to the main group.
Yes, teaming them together was ingenious, Buffy figured. Cordelia would learn to stick with her own crowd. As for Angel, there was a lesson in it for him, too. She laughed inside at the thought of those two on patrol together. He thought he had a handle on Cordelia Chase. Was he ever in for a surprise.
The idea of letting him suffer just a little bit actually brightened her mood. Buffy barely registered the thought, but it was there.
“You’re with me,” Angel said as he approached Cordelia. He reached out to lead her back toward the area where he’d left his jacket.
Cordelia jerked her elbow out of his grasp. “Hey. I don’t need guide dog.”
Dropping his hand to his side, Angel slowly curled his fingers inward until his nails pressed sharply against his palm. Opening up, his fingers flared out again as he gestured toward the stairs. “Ladies first.”
She quirked an eyebrow upward and then grinned. “That’s better.”
“Do you want to go home and change clothes before we get started?” Angel eyed the unsuitably breezy top and the expanse of those long legs showing beneath her skirt.
Glancing down, Cordelia saw nothing wrong. “I’m ready.”
“You don’t exactly blend in with the shadows.”
“Bait’s not supposed to blend.”
Angel had heard Cordelia talk about her role as Bait Girl, but it never occurred to him that she would actually want to do such a thing. “You aren’t bait when you’re with me.”
“Pfft! I’m not with you. We’re a team. Don’t expect me to do nothing,” Cordelia argued back. “I didn’t sign up for this just to twiddle my thumbs.”
“You won’t have time to twiddle anything,” Angel’s smooth voice lowered to a low growl. “We have a job to do.”
“Fine.” Cordelia tucked her hair behind her ear exposing the line of her throat to Angel’s view. His eyes darted to the pulse there, fury stirring in his veins, and it was all he could do to tamp down the urge to grab her by they neck and bury his fangs in that buttery soft flesh.
Only for an instant. The thought came and went so fast that he barely had time to acknowledge it. Angel wasn’t sure how she’d managed to get a rise out of him so quickly.
He was doing this for Buffy’s sake even if a part of him knew that she arranged it to keep them apart. That was a mistake. Patience was a game he knew very well. He could handle anything Buffy threw his way, including Cordelia Chase.