Fic info.
Confidante
Chapter Three
"Well, I met Gary at my first day of school here in Sunnydale. Incidentally, I think it was Buffy's first day, too.

"Anyway, I was going to classes, trying to stay out of everyone's way. Sunnydale is just a strange place to be. Very un-LA like. That's where I used to live.

"I was marvelling at how everyone seemed so...down-homey, when I smacked into him."

"Down-homey?" Angelus asked, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, give me a break," Katheryn snapped. "They are. I've never seen a single gangbanger in the halls of Sunnydale High, have you? Now, do you want to hear this or not?"

"Please, continue."

"Well, I walked straight into him. My books dropped, along with my folder and papers came spilling out. You know, typical first meeting stuff."

"Let me guess, love at first sight?" Angelus asked sarcastically.

"God, no!" Katheryn shuddered and gave him a look of distaste. "Love Gary? He's too...well, you'll understand, if you ever let me finish."

He made a gesture to continue and Katheryn sighed. "Okay, so I ran into him. Everything spilled. He, of course, helped me pick everything up."

"Of course."

"Then he walked me to class. I thought it was cute. You know. In a sad sort of way. I couldn't believe my parents had willingingly moved to a place that actually had guys like this.

"The next day, he saw me and started walking with me to my next class and talking to me. It was...sweet. Little boyish. Then he asked me to sit with him at lunch, which made me want to laugh. But I accepted and from there we moved onto a date and then more dates and eventually we were considered 'together'."

"Considered? Doesn't sound like you felt the same way."

"I didn't. I don't have boyfriends. I have guys that I hang out with and guys that I study with and guys that I party with. And then I have lovers. Gary doesn't really match many of those."

"Ah."

"But he wanted to be my boyfriend and everyone seemed to already assume, so I let them all think what they wanted to.

"Then he started to try to edge in on lover territory. He's not my type. He's...well...too all-American. I kept saying no, he got frustrated. I figured he'd take off soon, you know, look for some girl who'd spread her legs for him."

"But he didn't?"

"Not exactly. He came over one night and the butler let him in, recognizing him from the few times I'd allowed him over. He came into my room while I was studying.

"'Katheryn, I can't take this anymore,' he told me, pacing around my room like a hyper-active little kid. 'If you really loved me, you'd sleep with me.'

"That just pissed me off. I mean, one, that's the oldest and most feeble line in the book. Two, I didn't love him. And three? Even if I did, that little outburst would have cured me.

"I told him it was time we had a talk. I explained that it wasn't working out, that I didn't love him, and that maybe he'd be better off with someone else."

"And how did he take that news?" Angelus asked, already guessing at the answer.

"He didn't like it," Katheryn answered wryly. "Which was what I was going for. He was boring me. Annoying me. If I made him hate me, all the better. At least then he wouldn't stare at me with puppy eyes for the rest of the year.

"But here's another side to Gary, he doesn't take the word 'no' very well.

"He attacked me. Basically tried to rape me. Threw me around a little bit. I actually knocked my head kind of hard on the wall at one point. But Daddy has always said that pretty girls need to know how to defend themselves from all the perverts out there, so I'd been taking karate for the past ten years."

Angelus chuckled. "And Gary didn't have a chance."

"Something like that. I kicked him out of my room—literally—and nearly threw him down the stairs. From there, my butler took care of it."

"So why were you two going to get back together?"

Katheryn shrugged. "I don't know. He begged and I figured that there might be something more to him than I first thought. I mean, I never guessed he was the rapist type. Maybe there was something...." She trailed off and shrugged again.

Angelus laughed and shook his head. "Oh, Katheryn, I would have never pegged you for the type."

"What type?" she asked icily.

"The type to like it rough. That's why you were thinking of taking him back. The attempted rape turned you on." He got out of his chair and knelt in front of her, his cold hand settling on her knee. "Maybe it still does turn you on...."