By: Ivory
Buffy lived in a grand Victorian-style house only a mile and a half from Sunnydale
High. If it were just her, she knew she would never be able to afford it. Fortunately,
Buffy had three people living with her: Stefanie, Angel, and an old high school pal,
a vain girl by the name of Cordelia Chase. All of them pitched in to pay bills and
house repairs, but the majority came from Angel, who had built up a sizable bank
account over the past sixty years.
As she entered, Buffy looked around for her boyfriend, expecting him to at least
come to greet her, but there was no sign of him. Concerned, Buffy walked to the bottom
of the staircase, calling for him. After a moment, Angel called back that he was
in her bedroom.
Buffy went up to investigate. She found Angel sitting on her bed half bent over,
his back to her. She blushed when she saw he was shirtless, taking a moment to admire
his muscles and the tattoo of a bird behind his right shoulder. Feeling amorous,
she walked over and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling one side of his neck with
her face.
Had the circumstances been different, Angel would have welcomed her attention. As
it was, he stood, breaking out of her grasp and turning to look at her. Buffy stared
up at him in shock a moment, surprised by his brusqueness. It was a sudden change
from when she had last seen him two hours ago. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Angel shrugged, face clouded with a troubled look. During his hesitation, her gaze
strayed to the angry red punctures that marred his chest. "Oh, my God!"
Buffy said, a numb feeling descending over her. "Angel, what happened?"
He paused, reluctant to tell her the truth and thus worry her. So he quickly made
up a story. "I ran into a very old friend of mine between here and the hospital,"
Angel said. "Needless to say, he wasn't too happy to see me."
She nodded and said, "Well, are you alright? Is there anything I could do?"
Angel gestured towards the nightstand, where a few tissues holding the small pellets
lay. "Don't ask me how, but I already took care of removing the bullets,"
he said, reaching for his shirt and pulling it on. "Thanks for offering though."
Buffy sighed, then decided to tackle another topic. She quickly explained to Angel
about Stefanie's request, then waited for his reaction.
He smiled slightly. "To be honest, I figured Stefanie would turn to me on this
sooner or later... Actually, I thought it would be a little sooner. I'm surprised
our resident Watcher endured it as long as he did."
"Our little secret circle is just full of surprises," Buffy quipped.
Angel gave a brief laugh, then grew serious. "Well, what did Stefanie do this
time? Giles isn't on the critical list, is he?" When Buffy shook her head, her
boyfriend added, "That's good. This vampire I ran into tonight... There was
something weird about it. Do you think Giles would be up to a visitor? I was hoping
he could shed some light on it."
Buffy nodded again. "Want me to drive you?"
Angel gave her a small smile, hoping it didn't reveal how worried he was. "It's
okay," he told her. "I'll walk." He kissed her goodbye, then walked
downstairs and out the front door, praying that this mystery could be resolved without
involving her in the slightest...
***
On their way from the school library to home, Stefanie had decided to detour towards
the Bronze (the town's one hot-spot) for a few hours. It was a dance club located
in the bad part of Sunnydale and was a common place for vampires to show up at.
She sat alone at her usual table, eyes cast downward at the fries and soda she had
ordered. Feeling blue, Stefanie casually stirred her drink with the straw, remembering
a time when such things had been appetizing to her.
I can pretend that I haven't changed, that I'm still human, Stefanie thought, but
reality always comes creeping in. I'll always be the same nocturnal, bloodthirsty
creature I've been for the past thirty years.
Just then, Stefanie became aware that the crowd was stirring around her. She snapped
alert, in expectation for her first battle for the night. But when she saw who was
heading her way, Stefanie froze, an electric current running through her.
The new arrival was simply gorgeous, even though he looked out of place with the
way his face was painted. The black and white streaks seemed to add an aura of mystery
to him, and it appealed to Stefanie in a way she hadn't imagined possible.
As if aware of her scrutiny, this stranger looked her way, hesitating a moment before
walking over and sitting across from her. Stefanie was sure her face was glowing
even before he opened his mouth to speak.
"A beautiful girl like you shouldn't be sitting here all alone," he said
in a deep English accent, his dark eyes shining like pearls. "Are you here by
yourself?"
Stefanie took a moment to collect her thoughts, glad that at least she wasn't drooling.
Slowly, she nodded, absently shoving a french fry into her mouth and chewing.
Her answer prodded Rhys to ask her to dance, rather than leave her to her miserable
thoughts. Stefanie let him escort her to the dance floor, a soft, almost unnoticeable
smile coming to her lips.
As if by magic, the next three songs that played were slow, romantic ones. Stefanie
and Rhys glided across the floor in each other's arms, soon completely caught up
in the mood. She didn't want it to end, and felt a wave of disappointment when at
last he pulled away.
Stefanie watched him walk away for a few seconds, then hurried after him, gently
shoving her way through the crowd. She caught up to him outside, determined not to
let him get away without knowing his name.
He turned at the sound of her approach. As if reading her thoughts, he said, "Rhys...
My name's Rhys."
She remained silent a moment, aware that she was shaking like a leaf, then said,
"I'm Stefanie... Well, um, do you live around here, or are you new to Sunnydale?"
He smiled warmly. "I'm just passing through," he answered. "On a business
trip, you might say."
Stefanie bit her lip. "Well, how long will you be around? Maybe we'll run into
each other again." I hope, she added silently.
Rhys stared at her for a long moment, suddenly wishing that he could take back the
last half hour. In his case, he knew, it was unwise to get involved with someone.
But the damage had been done, as he realized she was already infatuated with him.
"We'll see," was all he said before he turned and climbed on his motorcycle,
taking off into the night...