Back to Your Heart That I'll Never Break
By Samantha Gold

Series: Buffy Summers’ Boys

Spoilers: Just the other two in the series and incredibly mild season four.
Feedback: I am willing to beg, but I’d rather not.
Dedication: As I said before, the entire series is dedicated to Nadia. The concert was great, looking forward to the next one! ;-) (And she’s probably thinking: "Heh. What makes you so sure I’m going to take you again?" )

"That’s it, this time we’re singing different songs," Angel stated.

"Okay," Riley answered, grinning. "I’ve got the perfect song picked out!"

Angel raised his eyebrows. "Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah it is!" Riley declared. "I want to go first too."

"All right, I’ve got a song in mind, too," Angel told him. "And I wanted to go last anyway."

Riley shrugged. "Good."

*****

"Forget it, Xander, I’m not going to the Bronze ever again!" Buffy declared.

"But, Buff, don’t you want to go and, um, remember the good times we had, you know, back in high school?" Xander tried.

"Xander, give it up," Buffy told him tiredly. "How much are Angel and Riley paying you?"

Xander’s face fell. "Twenty," he mumbled.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I figured as much," she replied. "Look, I’ve been embarrassed for the past two nights straight. I’m not going!"

"Come on, Buff," Xander coaxed. "If you don’t go they’ll sing anyway and embarrass you even more because they’ll try extra hard so that word gets back to you…"

She sighed. "I can’t win, can I?" She moaned.

Xander smiled and shook his head. "You really can’t," he affirmed.

With a groan, she told him, "Give me a few minutes to get ready."

*****

"Ouch," Riley murmured.

"That was really steep," Angel agreed.

"And unfair!" Riley added. "Doubling it for the extra time and then tripling that for ‘damages’?! He’s crazy!"

"Hey, we paid it, we must be pretty crazy too," Angel cut in.

"Yeah…but Buffy’s worth it," Riley declared.

"Quadrupled and multiplied by a couple million," Angel said.

Riley just nodded.

*****

"When are they going to start?" Buffy questioned impatiently. "I just want to get this over and done with."

Xander looked around. "Apparently right now," he commented. "Riley’s getting up on stage."

Buffy frowned. "Where’s Angel?"

"Um…" He looked around the Bronze before he finally spotted Angel sitting at a table near the side of the stage. He pointed him out, "There. I guess they’re doing solos this time."

"Well, that’ll be better, right? …Right, Xander?" Buffy asked desperately.

"Uh…right," Xander told her.

The music started and Riley smiled, confident that his song would send across the best message and convince Buffy that he was the one for her.

He sang:

"From the first day that I saw your smiling face, Honey, I knew that we would be together forever. Ooh, when I asked you out, you said no, but I found out, Darling, that you’d been hurt. You felt that you’d never love again. I deserve a try, honey, just once. Give me a chance and I’ll prove this all wrong. You walked in, you were so quick to judge, but, honey, he’s nothing like me.

"I’ll never break your heart. I’ll never make you cry. I’d rather die than live without you. I’ll give you all of me, honey, that’s no lie. I’ll never break your heart. I’ll never make you cry. I’d rather die than live without you. I’ll give you all of me, honey, that’s no lie.

"As time goes by you will get to know me a little more better. Girl that’s the way love goes. And I know you’re afraid to let your feelings show. And I understand, but girl it’s time to let go. I deserve a try, honey, just once. Give me a chance and I’ll prove this all wrong. You walked in, you were so quick to judge, but, honey, he’s nothing like me. Darling, why can’t you see?

"I’ll never break your heart. I’ll never make you cry. I’d rather die than live without you. I’ll give you all of me, honey, that’s no lie. I’ll never break your heart. I’ll never make you cry. I’d rather die than live without you. I’ll give you all of me, honey, that’s no lie.

"No way, no how, I’ll make you cry. No way, no how, I’ll make you cry.

"I’ll never break your heart. I’ll never make you cry. I’d rather die than live without you. I’ll give you all of me, honey, that’s no lie. I’ll never break your heart. I’ll never make you cry. I’d rather die than live without you. I’ll give you all of me, honey that’s no lie…"

Riley finished off and walked off the stage, smiling smugly. The song had gone much smoother as a solo.

Angel glared at Riley as he stood up, but walked up onto the stage confidently while Riley took his place at the table. The music started.

"Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?" Xander asked.

"I guess not," Buffy admitted. "But Angel hasn’t done his song yet…"

"Yeah, but how could he be?" Xander tried.

Buffy glared at him. "Why did you have to say that?" She cried.

Angel waited for the right time and then he began to sing:

"It’s not that I can’t live without you, it’s just that I don’t even want to try. Every night I dream about you, ever since the day we said goodbye. If I wasn’t such a fool, right now I’d be holding you. There’s nothin’ that I wouldn’t do, Baby, if I only knew

"The words to say, the road to take to find a way back to your heart. What can I do to get to you? And find a way back to your heart.

"I don’t know how it got so crazy, but I’ll do anything to set things right. ‘Cause your love is so amazing, baby, you’re the best thing in my life. Let me prove my love is real and make you feel the way I feel. I promise I would give the world if only you would tell me girl

"The words to say, the road to take to find a way back to your heart. What can I do to get to you? And find a way back to your heart.

"Give me one more chance, to give my love to you. ‘Cause no one on this earth loves you like I do, tell me

"The words to say, the road to take to find a way back to your heart. What can I do to get to you? And find a way back to your heart.

"I turn back time to make you mine and find a way back to your heart. I beg and plead, fall to my knees, to find a way back to your heart.

"The words to say, the road to take to find a way back to your heart. What can I do to get to you? And find a way back to your heart…"

The music faded and Angel got off the stage. His smile was not smug though, in fact, he wasn’t smiling. He had managed to lock eyes with Buffy who, for once, was not banging her head against the table, and his eyes had taken on his familiar brooding look.

Buffy broke eye contact and buried her head in her hands like she had the first night. "They’re coming over here," she lamented.

"Well, maybe they just want to talk?" He suggested tentatively.

She glared at him. "They’re going to want me to make a decision!"

"And?" Xander prodded. "What’s the problem? You choose either Dead Boy or Fish Boy and you’re all set!" He snickered. "And Dead Boy plus Fish Boy gets you Dead Fish Boy… Actually, that’d be pretty accurate if they got in a fight."

"Xander! Try to pay attention to my problem," Buffy said. "I don’t want to choose. I think it’s over between Riley and me, but I’m not so sure I want to get back together with Angel either…"

"Well – " Xander started, but he stopped when they reached the table.

"So, have you finally chosen?" Angel inquired.

"We really need your decision, Buffy. We’ve been waiting forever," Riley piped up.

Buffy shook her head. "I didn’t. Why can’t you two let me be?" She asked. They opened their mouths to speak, so she raised her hand, silencing them. "A tip. Try using your own words. I hate the Backstreet Boys."

They watched as she got up and left.

"I thought she liked them," Riley whined.

Angel frowned. "She used to."

Xander looked at them both. "After hearing you two mangle all their songs? I don’t think there’s anyone left in the Bronze who could!"

"Dang it!"

THE END…THOUGH NOT REALLY

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