Some Things Just Aren’t Meant To Be

By Felicity

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters etc. in this story, they belong to Joss Whedon, the WB, Fox, Mutant Enemy, and anyone else that actually has any legal rights to them.

Author's Notes: This takes place after "Lover's Walk" (y' know, where no one's together or happy) but before "Amends" (when some people become happy again). It's just a silly little feel good fic, so there! Tell me what you think!

Part 1

"What’s the up?" Buffy asked cheerfully, taking a seat between her friends–they sat at opposites side of the same couch.

"What’s ever the up?" Xander asked glumly.

"Wow that sentence didn’t work," Buffy remarked. "Hey! I recognized a sentence not working!"

"Good for you," Willow said, her cheerfulness forced in a major way.

"Okay, I can see that we’re all depressed here. Well I’m just not gonna let myself be depressed! Even though the only man I’ve ever loved and I can’t see each other because it’s too dangerous. I’m gonna be cheerful! I’m . . . I miss Angel!" she whined, losing the facade all at once.

"Oh yeah, that’s cheerful!" Xander muttered.

"Well at least I’m making an effort!" Buffy exclaimed, exasperated. There was silence. "Are we going to the Bronze tonight?"

"Well let’s see, it’s Friday and we’re pathetic, so probably yes," Xander said.

"We’re not pathetic," Willow put it. "We’re bad. Very very bad people, but not pathetic." Buffy smiled despite herself.

"You’re not bad. Not fundamentally anyway."

"Thanks for your extreme enthusiasm on the subject of our goodness," Xander commented.

"Very welcome," Buffy said. The bell rang. She winced and stood up. "I’m going to class now. I guess I’ll see you guys later. Don’t be too depressed!"

"Yeah, you too," Willow said, before lapsing back into guilt. Buffy eyed her friends and grimaced, then headed off down the hall. She was about to go into her next class–Chemistry–when a hand on her arm stopped her. She turned to face–a guy. Wow. A guy. And a cute guy. Who had a name. Which she knew.

"Hart!" she exclaimed, smiling. "Hi."

"Hi Buffy. I was wondering . . . I know it’s incredibly short notice, and I’m sure you have plans, but . . ."

"Yes?" Buffy encouraged.

"Would you consider going out with me tonight?" he asked. Buffy blinked, stunned for a second, thoughts racing through her head, then made herself smile.

"Actually, I’m un-amazingly planless! And I’d love to do something," she said. Willow and Xander wouldn’t care if she ditched the Bronze–they probably wouldn’t even notice. And she was going to have fun that night if it killed her. Hart smiled. He looked nothing like Angel. Which was very, very good.

"Great! I’ll pick you up at, say, seven?" he asked. Buffy smiled.

"Great! I’ll see you," she said, turning to go into class. She was a teenager in America and she had a date for Friday night!

********************

"That sounds so cool!" Jessi Drindle exclaimed, brushing back a strand of blond hair. Xander beamed.

"It was great," he said, trying to look smooth and thanking god Cordelia was nowhere nearby. She would not be impressed with stories of his derring-do. Espcially made up ones.

"Hey, there’s this really good band playing at the Rock tonight. You want to go?" Jessi asked. Xander didn’t believe his ears. Literally.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Do you want to go out tonight?" she asked. Xander still didn’t believe his ears. Jessi Drindle, pretty, at least marginally popular and most importantly not a loser, was asking him out? This had to be a dream. Xander had found that he only got lucky in dreams.

"I-uh-I-I would-would love to! Go out. With you. Tonight!" Xander exclaimed. Jessi smiled flirtatiously.

"Great. I’ll meet you there at eight, okay?" she said.

"Right. Great," Xander said, still dazed. He’d started to talk to Jessi in History and then–wham! She was asking him out! Him. Out.

"See ya!" Jessi exclaimed, giving him a little wave as she walked off down the hall. Xander waved back–or he thought he did anyway.

I have a date, he thought. *I* have a date! He turned down the hall, grinning, to go find Willow, then stopped. Willow.

"Well, she’ll have Buffy," he told himself out loud. "And she probably doesn’t want to see me anyway." With that, Xander Harris began strutting down the hall. He had a date. And Cordelia Chase could never get to him again.

********************

"So then I was like, why would I ever be jealous of you? Your purse is from Meier and Frank!" Cordelia exclaimed, laughing. The handsome young man beside her laughed too and sipped his latte.

"I’m sure I’m much too late–a woman of your beauty and wit must have dates lined up for months in advance–but I have to ask . . . would you like to go out to dinner tonight?" Blake St. John asked. Cordelia pretended to be thinking.

"Actually, I am free! It’s a total fluke, of course! It must be fate! This is the only night for weeks I don’t have plans and you just happened to catch me!"

"Fate indeed," he said softly. Cordelia laughed.

"Why don’t you pick me up at seven?" she suggested.

"I’d be happy to," he replied. "I’m very much looking forward to it."

"So am I," she purred, mentally rejoicing. Finally Cordelia Chase was coming back to life! She had a date for Friday night, and not just any date, but a handsome, rich, charming older man! It had to be destiny!

Cordelia made some funny comment and sipped her coffee, telling herself she was finally free of Xander Harris.

********************

Angel came immediately awake at the sound of a footstep brushing on the carpet. He sat up, grabbing the stake he kept beside his bed before he realized it was still daylight and no vampires would be visiting. So who was it? Buffy never came during the day, and it couldn’t be her anyway. She wasn’t coming back.

There was a knock and he frowned, throwing off the blanket he slept with–he never got cold, but sometimes it was nice to have something covering him anyway–and grabbing a shirt.

"Who is it?" he called.

"Can I come in?" an unfamiliar female voice called. He started buttoning his shirt.

"Come in," he called. The curtain was brushed aside, letting a burst of daylight into the room before it swung shut again. Angel blinked, letting his eyes readjust, then started when he saw the woman that had just entered.

She was gorgeous. Tall and slender, with raven black hair, ivory skin and brilliant blue eyes, she could have stepped out of a Welsh legend. Except her clothes were decidedly modern. And decidedly revealing.

"Angelus–Angel?" she asked. "Did I wake you?" Angel finished buttoning his shirt and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, this is when I sleep," he said. She winced.

"I’m sorry," she said. "I–my name’s Meara McKinley. I’ve been looking for you."

"Well you found me," he pointed out. She smiled brilliantly.

"I know. I’m a sorceress of the order of Devi . . . perhaps you’ve heard of it?"

"Not precisely, but she’s a Hindu goddess," Angel said.

"Exactly. My sisterhood has been studying vampires and we came to be aware of your . . . unusual state. I find it fascinating. I’m an expert in all spells, and I specialize in curses–that is, studying them, not placing them. Anyway, I was wondering if it wouldn’t be too much of an imposition if you would answer some questions and maybe let me examine you?" Meara asked, her blue eyes wide.

"Sure–that’d be fine," Angel said, still a bit muddled from sleep. The sorceress beamed.

"Probably now wouldn’t be the best time though," she said, eyeing him. "How about tonight? Unless you’re busy?"

"No," Angel said immediately. Busy? Give it another century maybe . . . for the moment he was definitely not on the popular list. "Tonight’s fine." It was Friday, he thought. He wondered what Buffy was doing. If she had a date. He pulled his mind back to the present. "Seven?"

"Great. It’s a date–I mean, not a date date, but–"

"I got it."

"Maybe we could have dinner or something . . . oh, you don’t eat do you?"

"I can," Angel said succintly. She smiled.

"Great. I’ll see you then. Let you get back to your rest. Sorry for the rude awakening."

"It’s fine," Angel said. "I’ll see you tonight." She departed momentarily, and he sighed, unbuttoning his shirt and climbing back into bed. Of all the things he’d guessed he might be doing that night, going out had not been one of them . . .

********************

Willow scrutinized the screen, then rapidly typed out a command to the computer. As it complied, she glanced around the computer lab and smiled at Harold Dupin, who had just looked up from his own computer. Harold was nice–a little dweebish, but so was Willow after all.

"Willow, could you help me with something?" he asked. Willow slid out of her chair and walked over to his computer, looking over his shoulder at his screen. They began discussing how to get the response he wanted out of the program and were soon engrossed in conversation. The bell rang, interupting them and Willow sighed. It was so nice and easy to lose all her problems in some interesting computer-talk. Time to go back to the real world.

"I have to go to class Harold," she said, wrinkling her nose. He sighed, then brightened suddenly.

"I have tickets to a science expo at the fairgrounds tonight. I don’t suppose you’d like to . . . I mean, that is if you think you might–"

"Are you asking me to go with you?" Willow asked, interupting. Once she might have been right there stuttering with him, but she’d grown a bit since then.

"Y-yes," Harold stuttered. Willow smiled. Well that was one way to get out of Friday night misery.

"I’d love to," she said. Buffy and Xander would still have each other after all, and having a break from Xander was probably a very good idea. Plus Oz might be at the Bronze, and as much as she wanted to see him, she didn’t want to watch him all night and feel guiltier and guiltier and more and more regretful of her past actions. Harold was staring at her in disbelief.

"You want to go?" he asked. Willow nodded.

"It sounds like fun!" she said cheerfully. He just grinned. Willow grabbed her bag.

"I’ll meet you there at 7:30, okay?" she asked.

"Super!" he exclaimed. She smiled brightly and left for her next class, wishing deep inside that she’d be spending the night with Oz, but glad that she at least had something to do.

********************

"Rupert?" Mr. Hindley called as he entered the library. "Rupert, where are you hiding now?" The librarian emerged moments later, adjusting his glasses.

"I-I wasn’t . . . wasn’t hiding," he said, looking up from the book he had open in his hands. Mr. Hindley, the Sunnydale High drama teacher smiled.

"Good. I have a question."

"F-fire away," Giles said, setting the book down on the counter and facing the other teacher.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" he asked. Giles blinked, taken aback. Mr. Hindley continued on quickly. "I was asking because my cousin just moved to town and I thought maybe you’d take her out for dinner. You two would get along."

"You cousin?" Giles echoed. Mr. Hindley nodded.

"She’s a doctor. Loves to read. Her name’s Kristin. Kristin Reynolds."

"I-I believe I–"

"Great," Mr. Hindley said, smiling broadly. "She’ll meet you here at 7:30, is that okay?" Giles nodded, stunned. The drama teacher smiled and thanked him before leaving. Giles watched the door, trying to figure out what had just happened. When Buffy entered he hardly moved.

"Hey, Giles," she said. He didn’t even blink. "Giles? G Man? And you haven’t told me to shut up now so I’m beginning to get worried."

"Hmm?" he asked finally. She rolled her eyes.

"I just wanted to tell you that I have a date tonight, so I’ll go patrolling late, after it’s done," Buffy informed him. He looked at her for the first time.

"You have a date?" he asked. "With Scott?" Buffy frowned.

"Remember the whole dumping me thing?" Buffy asked. "Ring any bells?"

"Oh, right. I’m sorry."

"That’s okay," Buffy said blithely, perching on a table. Giles looked down at the book he’d been reading before Mr. Hindley had come in, then looked back up, thinking of something.

"You’re not going out with Angel?" he asked, alarmed.

"Of course not!" Buffy exclaimed. "You think I’m an idiot? This guy Hart asked me out. He’s fairly dollsome, and seems pretty nice."

"Well, I wish you a pleasent time," Giles said.

"Me too! So what are your spectacular plans for this lovely Friday night?" Buffy asked.

"I-I believe I have a date," the Watcher said, frowning. Buffy blinked.

"Repeat that one for me. You have a date?"

"It’s not that impossible. Actually it’s rather a blind date. Mr. Hindley’s cousin," Giles said, still frowning.

"You agreed to a blind date with Hindley’s cousin?" Buffy asked.

"It wasn’t really an agreement so much as . . . he didn’t really ask," Giles said. Buffy wrinkled her nose, then smiled brightly.

"Well, I hope you have a wonderful time!"

"I’m sure I will," Giles said in his most sarcastic tone. "I’m really not looking forward to it." Buffy laughed and jumped off the table, heading for the library door.

"Well I gotta book. See ya later!" He nodded absently, contemplating how very much he was not looking forward to it.

********************

"Come on man, loosen up!" Devon exclaimed. "She’s only a high school student."

"If you recall, so am I," Oz pointed out, not looking up from his guitar.

"Whatever. So she cheated on you. Time to move on," Devon advised. "Find someone else. You’re in aband. Lots of girls’ll go for you."

"Yeah I’ve heard that."

"Take Cori Latham."

"Cori Latham?"

"She’s blond, gorgeous, sure you’ll never get a word of sense out of her, but what difference does that really make? And I can promise you she’d easy."

"You tried her out?" Oz asked.

"No! Of course not man! Not me personally . . ."

"Thanks for the thought, but no thanks. I need some time," Oz said, adding silently, I need Willow. Devon shrugged.

"Whatever. But she’ll be at practice tonight along with the rest of the girls," he pointed out. Oz sighed and turned his attention to his guitar.


On to Part 2