By: Jaide
Angel waited for Buffy to show up. He hadn’t seen her for a while, her being grounded and all. He noticed a group of new kids sitting around a table. Two of the girls looked awfully familiar, but he couldn’t remember where from. Just then he saw Buffy walk in. He watched as she sat down. He was about to make his way over, when the whole gang that was at the table did so instead.
Now he knew who those girls were! They were friends from LA. He’d seen her with them when he had first seen Buffy. He recognized one of the guys, too. Tyler. He was bad news. He quickly headed for the table.
Buffy was surprised to see her friends. Pike was here, too. She had missed them all, allot. Sure, they could be so, Cordelia-like, but they had grown up together.
Tyler sat down on one side of her, Pike on the other. Everyone else chose a seat, too.
"Tyler, Pike, you guys, hi! What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, happily.
Pike laughed. "Our grades have plummeted. The only way to pass is to participate in this stupid exchange thing."
"It’s not so stupid anymore," Tyler murmured, eyeing his former girl.
Uh-oh, Buffy thought. She really didn’t want a big scene like the one in LA when Pike and Tyler had fought over her. She could see the competition in both of their eyes. And not to mention, now she had Angel…
Angel who was standing across the table glaring at the two guys drooling over his girl.
"Angel!" Buffy said, standing up. Everyone turned around.
"Buffy," Angel said, trying to contain a growl. He couldn’t help but feel jealous. He was insecure about himself because of what he was. He had trouble knowing why Buffy loved him so much. And now, he had fierce competition.
"Um, oh, ok, uh, Angel, this is Pike, Chris, Jackie, Crista, and Tyler. Guys, this is my friend Angel."
Angel cringed when she said "My friend." He thought they were more than that. Buffy noticed her mistake when she saw deep hurt flicker across his face.
"Uh, my boyfriend, Angel," she said, correcting herself.
A boyfriend? Tyler thought. That was a problem. And not just a boy, he thought also. This guy was older, and very handsome.
At the same time, Pike was thinking: Good for her, Buffy deserves someone, and he seems to really care about her. Besides, Pike had a girlfriend back in LA, Karen.
Roland liked Buffy, too, but he was more interested in Christian, and Christian was interested in him, too.
Jackie and Crista were jealous of Karen, because they were interested in Pike. So the tension was built.
Tyler wasted no time in making clear his intentions. "So, Buff, haven’t seen ya in awhile. Will you take a walk with me, catch up on old times.
Well, Buffy thought. The Bronze was kind of crowded and she hadn’t seen him forever. "Sure, I’d like that."
Angel felt a tightening in his chest. Tyler glanced at him and shot him a cold smile, which Buffy missed. "Bye, Angel. So nice to meet you."
"Pleasure’s mine," Angel said under his breath. He quickly said good night to everyone else and did his disappearing act.
Now Buffy felt bad. She knew she had hurt Angel unintentionally. Oh well, she’d stop by his place later and apologize.
Tyler and Buffy headed to the park. They chatted along the way about what was happening in LA, and what wasn’t in Sunnydale.
"Let’s sit," Tyler told her, motioning to a park bench. They sat.
Angel watched the scene from the shadows.
"Buff, we’ve really missed you. I’ve missed you," Tyler told her, sincerely. That was the truth. No matter how bad of a guy he could be, Tyler knew he cared for Buffy. She was his weak spot. He had dated and fooled around some while she was gone, but he’d really missed her.
Buffy had missed him, too. Not as much during the last few months sinde Angel was around, but she really had.
"I’ve missed you, too. I mean, I never see you when I visit LA, and maybe only a few times during last summer, but…. I miss being close. You guys where my first friends in LA. We grew up together," Buffy told him, sincerely.
"Yeah," Tyler said. "We shared experiences together. First steps, first day of school, first dates, first kiss…."
She realized how near he was. His body was warm, the exact opposite of Angel’s. She needed the warmth. She didn’t resist when his lips were on hers. In fact, she kissed him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.
Angel felt numb as he watched them. The pain hit him in waves of heat. He stared in horror at them, so close, so passionate. He felt a bitter tear run down his cheek, and another. He still couldn’t move. He started shaking uncontrollably. Suddenly, he turned and ran.
Buffy pulled away quickly when she heard the sound of someone running. Realizing what she was doing, she looked around to see who was there. She caught sight of a tall man dressed in black fleeing in the direction of the Bronze.
"Oh, no!" Buffy cried, realizing who it must be.
Tyler tried to pull her back, but she pushed him away. "That was Angel! Oh, God, he must have followed me here. God, what am I going to do?" Buffy asked, upset.
"Nothing, except come here," Tyler said, trying again to pull her close.
"Tyler! My boyfriend just saw me kissing my ex, this is not the time to be seductive!"
"Think about it, Buffy. He didn’t even try to get you back. If he cared about you as much as I do, he would have tried to rip out my throat! Instead, he just ran away, crying to his mother."
"His mother’s dead," Buffy said softly.
"Oh," Tyler said. "How?"
"Vampire," Buffy told him.
Tyler sighed. He hated vampires. They were the reason Buffy had been kicked out of school in the first place.
"A vampire killed his mom?"
"His entire family," Buffy told him, leaning back into the bench.
Tyler nodded. He hadn’t realized Angel was hurt that much. "Did he ever find the vamp that did it?"
Buffy looked at Tyler. "Tyler, Angel is the vamp that did it."
Tyler jumped up, shocked. "What?!? Angel’s a vampire? But…"
"Calm down, he’s good. He killed a girl, a gypsy, and as punishment, the gypsies gave him a soul."
"Calm down? Soul or not, he’s a vampire," Tyler was losing it.
"Look, I have to go find him tell him what happened."
Tyler spun to face her. "What happened?"
Buffy hesitated. "A mistake, a big one. We can’t be together, I’m with Angel, now."
"Angel the Vampire. So what happens when you get older? What happens when he slips and bites you, he could hurt you, and how can you be together?"
She pushed him away from her. "I love him, Tyler. I really do."
She turned and ran towards his apartment.