The Prom
By Buffyfire

Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me, but I'm using them in a story of my creation. Okay, I kinda borrowed some themes from the show's prom, along with the title. All these things belong to Joss Whedon and his brilliance.

Part 1

Friday was a busy night at The Bronze. Being the hottest place in town, it was packed with dancing, singing, screaming high schoolers who were all celebrating the start of their weekend. On one side of this bustle was Buffy, seated at a table and lightly sipping on a Diet Pepsi. Across from her sat Larry, a tall jock who she went to school with. The two of them were laughing and talking loudly about the upcoming prom.

"So, who are you going with?" asked Buffy.

"Uh....well, I was...I'm-...I don't know," Larry said after much deliberation.

Buffy sighed and said, "Okay, let me spell it out for you. Are you taking your boyfriend, or are taking a girl?"

Larry nearly jumped out of his seat, "How did-"

"How did I know you were gay? Larry, I come from LA. I can spot you people a mile away."

"Nice rhyme."

"Thanks, so, who?"

"I haven't decided. If I can get a girl who wants to go with me, great, if not, I'm going stag. How about you? Are you going with that guy you're always in here with?"

"What guy?"

Larry gestured to the opposite end of the room, "The one over by the pool tables who's looking at me like he's gonna jump me in the street if I try to leave here alone."

Buffy glanced over her shoulder and gave a half- smile when she saw who Larry was talking about. She turned back and said, "He and I have been on hold for awhile. Look, I haven't found a date yet, do you wanna go?"

Larry gave another uneasy look back to the pool tables.

"Don't worry about him," she insisted.

He shrugged, "Okay, you have yourself a date."

On the other side of the room, a game of pool was put on hold when one of the players stopped to glare at the laughing couple.

"Stop doing this to yourself," said Xander, aligning his shot. He and Willow had warned Angel that if he stopped to stare again, they would keep playing without him. They were following through with their threat when he turned back to them.

Xander sent the cue ball into the left side pocket and cringed at his misfortune. Willow took the ball from the pocket and set up her shot as she agreed with Xander, saying, "You know she's just trying to get attention."

"Well, it's working," said Angel, "she's driving me crazy."

Angel banked the purple 6 ball then looked for the 7. As he shot, he happen to look back over at Buffy whose hand had somehow made its way on top of Larry's. He shot without looking and sent the cue ball flying off the table towards Xander.

Xander swiftly ducked out of its path, then slowly stood up, saying, "That's it, lovesick vampires have no place playing pool!"

Angel leaned his cue on the table and said, "I think you're right. I've had enough, tonight."

With that, he picked his black jacket up from the stool where he'd left it and headed out the door.

"Poor Angel," said Willow as Xander sent the 7 ball flying into the left side pocket, where it joined the 5 ball.

"Yeah, I've never seen the guy so worked up by her crazy Buffy-antics," Xander added.

"I've never seen her so willing to work him up."

Willow watched as Buffy and Larry got up from their table and headed out of The Bronze together.

"Looks like someone has a prom date," said Xander.

"Of everyone at our school, what would possess her to go out with Larry?" Willow wondered aloud.

"At least, she doesn't have to worry about getting hit on."

"Why do you say that?" asked Willow, surprised, "Larry's a pig, of course he's gonna hit on her."

"So, what time do you wanna meet next Saturday?" asked Xander, quick to change the subject, "I mean, are we all going to dinner, or do you and Oz have a separate agenda?"

Willow took her shot and said, "I'm not going."

"What? But, it's the prom. You've been excited about this since junior high. I remember, you picked out your dress the third day of 7th grade."

"Next Saturday is a full moon."

"Oh..." he trailed off, "so go anyway. You can ride with me and Cordy."

"It's okay," she shrugged, "it's just a dance."

"Will, it's your prom. You only get one, you said it yourself just last week."

"Well, this week, I'm saying, I'm not going."

"What are you gonna do, just stay at home?"

"Maybe, or maybe, I'll spend the night in the library with him. I don't know, yet."

"Does he know you're not going?"

"Yes."

"And what did he say, because he doesn't strike me as the type of guy who would let you get away with missing this."

Willow hesitated and took her shot, "He doesn't strike you as many types does he?"

"Nope, and I get the sinking feeling that he intends to keep it that way."

"He thinks I should go."

"So go!"

"I don't want to go alone to my own prom. I'd rather not go at all."

"So, find a date."

"Like who? I'm probably the only senior who doesn't have someone to go with."

"We have all week. I'm sure we can find someone."

"I know that tone of voice," Willow said, "you already have someone in mind, don't you?"

Xander gave her his slyest Xander-smile, "Maybe, I do, maybe I don't."

Oz watched all this from the stage where he was playing guitar among his fellow band members. Due to the distance he was from them and the loud music that was blaring behind him, he couldn't hear what was being said. Despite this, he knew exactly what was happening.

A few minutes later, he saw Willow leave The Bronze alone. Xander finished the game on his own, then seated himself at a table.

Soon afterwards, the band's hour was up. They packed up their equipment and departed the stage, so that the next band could set up. Upon reaching the floor, Oz was approached by Xander.

"Oz, my man, we need to talk," said Xander.

"About what?" asked Oz, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"It's about Will."

"Is this about her going to the prom?"

"You want her to go, right?"

"Of course, and I know that she wants to go, which is a much bigger issue. Unfortunately, she gave me her resolve face."

"Ouch, I know what that means."

"Is all hope lost?"

"Normally, I would say yes, but she has presented me a window of opportunity, whether she realizes it or not. You see, if we can find her a date, she'll go."

Oz thought about this for a second, then a pleasant smile appeared on his face, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Probably."

"Look, I really want her to go," said Oz, hanging onto the phone cord, "and to be honest, you're the only one I completely trust with her. I want you to take her."

Angel raised an eyebrow at this, "You're kidding, right?"

"Usually, but not now."

"This isn't a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because Buffy would kill us both. For me to agree to this would be like murder suicide. As soon as Buffy finished with her, I'd be next on her hit list."

"Why should she care? You two are still on hiatus, besides, you and Willow would be going as friends."

"Buffy won't see it that way."

"Buffy already has a date."

"What?"

"She's going with Larry. C'mon, you're the only one that Willow'd be willing to go with."

Angel sighed, "I'll think about it."

"C'mon, Willow, why not?"

"Because, I'm afraid that Buffy will try to commit justifiable homicide! Don't you fear for your life?" Willow exploded on her way into the kitchen of her small one story house.

Angel, who was right behind her, stopped her in the doorway, blocking her path, "You know you want to go, Will. Who else are you gonna go with?"

Willow folded her arms, "I just don't think this is a good, safe, sane idea."

"Why not?"

"Buffy-"

"Let me handle Buffy."

"She'll hate us. She'll think I'm mocking her or betraying her, or both! What if she thinks both?!"

"She won't, Willow. I can't guarantee that she'll be happy with the idea but I know she won't think that. I like to think that she's more mature than that."

Willow closes her eyes for a second, "Why is this so important to you?"

"You only get one prom and I think you should go."

"Whose idea was this little arrangement?"

Angel hesitated for a second, wondering how she knew that it wasn't an original thought, then simply said, "Oz."

"Oz," she mouthed the word.

"He wants you to go," Angel continued.

"So, you're doing this because he asked you to?"

"Because I agree with him, you shouldn't miss this. Besides, I wouldn't mind going, myself."

"So you can keep an eye on Buffy and Larry? I don't want to go with you if you want to be there with her. I had this conversation with Xander a couple of years ago."

"I want to go with you. You know we'd have a good time."

Willow took a second, then said, "Let me think about it, okay?"

"I'm crazy," said Willow, looking at the long blue gown that she was wearing, "I've got to be out of my mind."

"You look good," said John.

"I'm crazy," she said again, then ducked back into the dressing room.

John sat back in his chair, feeling slightly irritated. He hoped that this wouldn't take long. Willow was supposed to be tutoring him in trigonometry, but had requested that they take a side trip on the way to her house so that she could find a dress. He couldn't understand why she had asked him to go along. She had plenty of girl friends that could help her.

Willow exited the dressing room, this time in a crimson dress with thin straps.

"Go with the blue one," he said.

She looked at herself in the mirror, wailed "Oh God!" then ran backing to the dressing room. Ten minutes later, they were at the cash register, Willow with the blue dress in hand.

"I get the feeling that you're a little nervous about prom," said John, as they walked out of the mall and through the parking lot.

"A little," Willow admitted, "I'm going under some extreme circumstances."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm kinda going with my friend's boyfriend- EX- boyfriend, well, he's kind of her ex. It's really complicated."

"It sounds like it. Was it your idea?"

"No, he heard that I wasn't gonna go, so he's gonna make me."

"How's your friend taking it?"

"I don't know. It hasn't really come up, which is making me nervous, because he said he would talk to her."

"Hey Will!" called a voice from behind them.

John and Willow turned around and saw Buffy parked at the end of the block. She sat cozily in the driver's seat of her mom's SUV, beckoning them to join her.

They walked towards Buffy with Willow whispering to John, "Speak of the devil."

"Is that the friend?"

"Yup."

They got into the vehicle and Buffy hit the gas saying, "Where you headed?"

"My house," said Willow as Buffy turned a corner, "for a study session."

"So, call it a hunch, but did you change you mind about the prom?"

"How'd you guess?"

"The dress, mostly. Are you taking her John?"

"No," said John from the back seat, "I'm not going."

"Why not?"

"I...have to work."

"You couldn't get the night off for prom?" said Willow surprised.

"Yeah, th-that boss of mine is a real ass sometimes. So, Willow, why isn't Oz taking you?"

"He has...family things. Besides, he went last year, so he's not missing anything."

They soon stopped in front of Willow's house and Buffy asked, "So, who are you going with?"

However, Willow was already out of the car, saying, "Thanks for the ride, bye."

John shrugged and said, "See ya."

He left the vehicle, then caught up to Willow who was already unlocking her front door.

"I'll call you," Buffy called from the SUV, then took off, shaking her head to herself and wondering, "What was that all about?"

The unexpected phone call came at 3:30. 3:30! He reached across his large bed and blindly searched for the phone with his hand. He finally found it and lifted the receiver of the simple black phone.

"What?" he sighed into it.

"Are you gonna tell her?"

"Huh?"

"Buffy, are you ever gonna tell her? You said you were going to and you haven't yet."

Angel sighed again, "Willow, do you know what time it is?"

"3:30 in the afternoon," she replied sounding very annoyed, "sorry for waking you."

"Can we talk about this later?"

"I'd say yes, but I'm afraid that you won't do it."

"I haven't seen her all week. I've tried calling her and she's never home," Angel was becoming irritated, "Look, give me three more hours to sleep, then call back. If I'm lucky, I may have the mental awareness to carry on this conversation. Until then-"

"Look, we had a deal. I'll go to prom if you talk to Buffy."

"And I will."

"Its tomorrow. You better keep up your part of the deal, because I just spent a lot of money on this dress."

"We're still on, okay? I'll talk to her as soon as I see her."

Willow was now very upset, "You better, because I'm beginning to feel all dirty like I'm lying to her or something and she keeps bringing it up."

"Willow, breathe, you sound like you're having a panic attack."

She tried to calm down, "Sorry, just call her, okay?"

"Well, I'm awake now, I'll see if she's home."

"Give her a few minutes, she just dropped us off."

Angel yawned, "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

"6:30?"

"7:00, the sun's been up late for the past couple of days."

"Okay, bye."

He hung up the phone and laid back down thinking, A few minutes, I can do that.

Or so he thought. Before the few minutes were up, he had already fallen back to sleep.

"This is it," said Cordelia, admiring the way she looked in her sparkling silver dress, "I'm gonna get some tonight."

Buffy laughed from her corner of the room, "Well, you're lucky because you're probably the only one. Here, zip me."

Cordelia crossed her bedroom and finished zipping up Buffy's pink gown. Buffy walked to the mirror and stated, "I love this."

"The mirror?"

"The dress."

"Oh...yeah, you look pretty good."

Buffy absorbed this completely. A compliment from a person as judgmental as Cordelia is definitely one that should be fully appreciated.

"You wouldn't happen to know who Willow is going with, would you Cordy? She won't tell me."

Cordelia shrugged, "Hell if I know, she's probably going stag."

"I don't think she'd go unless she had a date. She acts like she's scared of me or something whenever I bring it up."

"God, she must really be going with a loser if she won't even tell you.. What time are you getting picked up?"

"Should be any time, now."

"I just gotta know, why Larry? Okay, it's not just me, everybody wants to know. He doesn't seem like your type."

"What's my type?"

"Scary vampires and the seemingly unpopular."

Buffy picked up her lipstick, "Why not Larry?"

"Because if you'd acted sooner, you could have had your choice. You were asked, right?"

"Yeah, plenty of times."

"So, why did you wait till the last second? Who were you waiting for?"

Buffy applied the lipstick with an unhappy countenance that said it all.

"God, Buffy, why didn't you just ask him?"

"He probably wouldn't want to go, anyway."

"Yeah, he would. Buffy, you're sending him spiraling into depression mode. You need to save him from it before he becomes as pathetic as you are."

"It's not that easy, Cordy," Buffy replied, completely ignoring the insults that were being thrown at her. She'd been around Cordelia long enough to gain a sort of selective attention in her presence.

"Yes it is, just tell him you want him back. He wants you back, so it works out well."

"Did...he say that?"

"It's so obvious."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

"That's probably Larry," said Buffy, "I'll see you there."

"Bye."

Buffy grabbed her coat, then left the room, leaving Cordelia alone to finish her primping.

It was another half-hour before Xander arrived and another half-hour after that before they left. When Cordelia came down the stairs, her mom, who was equipped with a Polaroid, stubbornly avoided letting them out the door.

Part 2

Willow stepped into the gym and said, "Wow." There were strobe lights and flashing colors coming from the DJ booth, balloons were scattered across the floor, covered tables were set up in various parts of the room, and a huge mirrored ball sparkled in the center of the ceiling.

She looked to her left at the elbow that was being offered, slipped her hand around it, then walked through the room with Angel at her side.

They first searched for the table that they'd been assigned to so that Willow could put down her purse, then squeezed themselves into the dancing crowd.

Buffy and Larry arrived soon afterwards, taking a similar routine as that of their predecessors. It was a half-hour later when the heat and the crowded room started to get to Buffy. She left Larry, in the midst of his football buddies, and headed to the punch bowl. When she reached the refreshment table, she was glad to find Willow there, pouring herself a cup of the thin, red liquid.

"Will," said Buffy, "you look great."

"So do you," Willow replied, as she put down her cup and hugged her friend, "Are you having fun?"

"Yes, believe it or not, Larry is being very sweet."

"I still can't understand why you're here with him."

"Well, what about you, the mystery girl? I still don't-" Buffy's features all dropped at once, "Oh God, what's he doing here?"

Willow glanced back, even though she knew perfectly well who Buffy was talking about, and saw Angel talking to Amy.

"Did they come here together?" Buffy asked.

Willow gulped and shook her head.

"Then who's he here with?"

Her answer was a small whimper from Willow, who was looking wide-eyed at Buffy, as though she might cry. Buffy understood the meaning of this look all too well.

"You?" she asked, her voice small.

Willow nodded and said, "He was supposed to tell you."

"He didn't."

"Obviously. Are you mad?"

"Huh? No, no you guys have fun."

"A-are you sure?"

"Yes, remember, I have a date of my own. I'm here with who I want to be, and so are you. It's fine."

"It wasn't my idea."

"He asked you?"

"Well, yeah...but Oz made him."

Larry's approach halted their conversation.

"You up for a dance?" he asked Buffy.

"Thought you'd never ask," she said, then turning back to Willow, concluded, "Like I said, you have fun. You have...a very handsome date."

Buffy then grabbed Larry's hand and pulled him into the crowd. Willow watched for a second, irritated at how guilty Buffy had made her feel. She stomped her foot in frustration, then went to find Angel. She seized his arm, yanking him away from Amy and said, "C'mon, let's dance."

"Alright, I got something slow for all the lovers out there. Keep it real."

The DJ stepped away from his booth for a second to catch a breath of fresh air. He found his assistant Chris, and said, "Hey man, get me some punch, would ya?"

Chris turned around to reveal that was, in fact, not Chris.

"Hey, I know you," said the DJ, "John, right? From the back, you look a lot like-" Before he finished, John's fist met with the DJ's face, knocking him unconscious.

"You said you wanted punch," punned John, stepping into the booth.

"You didn't tell her. I'm very disappointed in you," Willow scolded, while giving Angel the meanest, iciest stare she had in her.

"She disappeared. I tried to call her today."

"She was at Cordelia's all day."

"Did you tell her?"

"I had to, she saw you here," she answered with a yawn.

"Sorry you had to deal with that. Is she mad?"

"She says she's not, but she is."

"Sorry," he repeated.

She yawned again, "Forget it, it's too late, now."

"You tired?"

"Yeah, it just came over me like," another yawn, "a wave."

Angel glanced around the room to find that she wasn't the only one. Many of the couples had lost the energy to remain standing and were at their tables, asleep. Those that were still dancing were leaning heavily on one another. This "wave," as Willow had put it, soon reached him. His eyes became heavy and he felt a yawn in the back of his throat. As he let it out, Willow's head fell upon his shoulder.

One by one, couples around them fell to the ground; even Buffy and Larry were down. Angel looked to the table and realized that he had nowhere near the energy to get to it. He took one step, then fell backwards, bringing Willow with him. She didn't even wake up as she fell forward and landed on top of Angel, her head resting on his abdomen with one arm lying across him.

When John saw them hit the floor, as they were the last ones standing, he stopped the music and removed his tape from the machine. He kissed it, then took out his earplugs.

"Oh Lina!" he called. When there was no answer, he whistled, then called again, "C'mon Lina. Where are you, girl?"

A German Shepherd the size of a bear came running into the room and nearly tackled John.

"Whoa, hey girl, you hungry?"

Lina rubbed her muzzle against John's head and licked his face, without even rising to her hind legs.

"I thought so," he answered affectionately, petting her and scratching her ears, "C'mon, let's get you some dinner."

He grabbed the dog's enormous collar and led it through the cluttered floor. Lina ducked her head every once in awhile to sniff someone or something.

"Anything smell good?" asked John.

Lina stopped briefly when she came to Willow and Angel. She sniffed Angel for a long time, unsure of the distinctive smell that he let off. After becoming immensely confused, she moved on to Willow. One whiff of Willow's perfume sent Lina into a sneezing fit. Irritated by the two, she left to find someone else.

She approached the group of football players that Larry had been speaking with, and licked her chops.

"Good choice," John said with a smile.

"C'mon Cordy, it wasn't my fault," Xander pleaded.

Cordelia ceased her gaze of the passing outside and said, "Okay, who got caught for speeding even after I told him to slow down? AND who ran over a nail and had to make ME change the tire because HE didn't know how to do it himself? No, Xander, I think this is your fault. I also think that you're damn lucky I didn't get my dress dirty."

Xander seemed to sink into the seat, "Sorry."

"Let's just get there, okay? We're already like two hours late."

Within ten minutes, they were parked in the school lot. Xander looked around and said, "That's weird."

"What?"

"Where is everyone?" he asked, getting out of the car.

"They're probably inside, why don't we join them?"

Cordelia latched onto Xander's elbow and pulled him into the school. As they neared the gym, she began to understand his suspicions.

"No music," she stated with some fear.

"Something's wrong," said Xander, "let's go."

They hurried through the hall to the gym where there was supposed to be a dance going on. They entered the room and found it full of people, all of them fast asleep.

"What the..." Xander trailed off.

"That pretty much sums it up," she said, "Are they alive?"

"I don't know," he said crouching down next to a boy that he recognized from his psychology class, and searched his neck for a pulse, "Yeah, they're alive, but...asleep."

"So...wake them up," said Cordelia, sounding frustrated and afraid.

Finding Buffy, who lay on the floor a few feet from Larry, Cordelia leaned down and shook her, saying, "Buffy, wake up!"

When Buffy didn't move, she shook harder, "Buffy!"

"Cordelia!" said Xander, urgently, "Be quiet!"

"What?"

Xander was looking wide-eyed at something past her. He put a finger to his lips and said, "Walk towards me, quietly."

Cordelia stood slowly and turned around. She gasped loudly and had to utilize all of her self- control to keep from crying out.

"Oh, my God," she whispered, looking upon the largest dog she'd ever seen. And as if the dog were not enough, the fact that it was eating one of the football players only made her urge to scream grow.

"I-I think I'm gonna be sick," she murmured.

"Not the time," Xander reminded her.

However, a hand was already over her mouth, futilely attempting to keep her dinner in her stomach. Xander took hold of her arm and pulled her from the room. Once they left, John came out of hiding.

"Oh, my God!" Cordelia repeated over and over, as soon as they were out.

"Relax, Cordy. Cordy! Relax," he said, trying to calm her.

"Relax?! How can I relax when Cujo is in the next room about to devour my friends?! What are we gonna do?"

"Okay, I think Giles is in the library, he should have-" Before he could finish, Lina came barking through the door. Cordelia screamed and ran towards the library with Xander right behind her. As soon as they turned the corner, Xander heard a voice call, "Lina!" Soon after, the dog stopped its pursuit of them and turned back. Despite this, the kids kept running and soon reached the library, glad to have made it there in one piece.

"Where did it go?" asked Cordelia, trying to catch her breath.

"It got called back. Where's Giles?"

"Obviously, not here. What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know, but-" Upon that word, Lina burst in and headed right for them. Xander scanned the room quickly for anything that might be helpful, and smiled at the idea that came to him. He grabbed onto Cordelia, who was already backing away from the dog, and led her back toward the white cage. He leaned his back against it and held her in front of him for a second, telling her, "Get the tranquilizer."

"Where is it?"

"Find it!" he yelled as he pushed her away, putting nothing between himself and the growling monster before him. He stood his ground well; he didn't even jump when he felt the cage shake as a heavy weight slammed against it. As the dog crouched down to pounce, Xander edged towards the door. In the moment that Lina jumped, Xander flung open the door, releasing Oz, who mercilessly attacked the dog. Within moments, Oz had Lina torn open from neck to navel. When the dog was still, he licked his bloodied jaws, then turned to Xander. Oz lunged at Xander, but was thrown off guard by the dart that flew into his side, changing his course and sending him flying out of Xander's path. A second later, Cordelia was Xander's side asking, "Did I get him?"

Xander gave a quiet laugh, "Yeah, you got him good."

"Lina!" screamed a voice at the door.

Xander and Cordelia turned to the door and saw that it came from John who had entered the room and was running to his dead dog.

"You killed her!" he yelled, kneeling beside her.

"What the hell is that?" asked Xander.

"ItÕs a dog, what's it look like?"

"Why is it so huge?" asked Cordelia.

"It was kind of a lab mix-up."

"A lab mix up?"

"Hey, look, it was a math miscalculation. Why do you think I was getting tutoring from Willow? I had to find out what I did so I could change her back."

"What happened?" asked Xander, "You run out of kibble in the meantime?"

"Lina is a purebred and doesn't eat dog food. I've fed her steaks since she was a puppy. Unfortunately, a dog this size can't live off the small supply that I have."

"So you'd kill?"

"I couldn't just let her die! You'd do the same for your best friend."

"That is so pathetic," said Cordelia in disgust.

"Shut up!" John yelled angrily, with tears in his eyes. Xander socked John in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

"C'mon," he said to Cordelia, "Let's go clean up what's left of Davis Reed, before everyone wakes up."

They were headed for the door, when John arose from the floor and ran at them. However, before he reached them, Oz's tranquilizer wore off and he attacked John.

"Cordy, get the gun!" yelled Xander.

Cordelia, again, took up the tranquilizer and shot it at Oz. In fact, she shot him twice, just to be sure. Unfortunately, she was too late; Oz had basically ripped John's throat from his body, leaving quite a mess on the library floor.

"So much for the perfect prom night," said Xander, dragging Oz back into the cage.

"You know," said Cordelia, replacing the gun to where she'd found it, "this is a real change for us. I mean, how often do have to save everyone? Even Willow gets more action than we do."

"Is that a complaint?"

"Oh hell, no! Like I want to do more than I already am, please! Look, I nearly got blood on my dress."

Xander gave a grin when he heard this. He threw an arm around her, kissed her cheek, and said, "Never change, Cordy."

Within half an hour, they had cleaned up the messes and thrown all bodies into the furnace in the boiler room. When they returned to the gym, they were glad to find that the people were beginning to wake up.

Part 3

Willow clutched instinctively to the body that she had her arm around. She was very comfortable where she was and had little desire to move.

"Mmm....Oz," she whispered.

"Willow?" said a voice that did not belong to Oz.

Willow's eyes shot open and her face began to turn red as she looked at her surroundings. She saw the people around her waking up and rising from the ground. She finally and very reluctantly looked to the face of who she was sleeping on.

"Hi," she said embarrassed to Angel.

He simply smiled at her and asked "Comfy?"

"Very," she smiled back, then leaned her head back down to hide her face.

Angel gently rubbed her shoulder and said, "C'mon, up."

Willow groggily sat up and attempted to stand. After a second, her balance began to fail her and Angel had to catch her to keep her from falling. Yawning, they both headed for their table. Upon sitting down, Angel's head fell upon the table and Willow's head leaned against his shoulder.

"Hey," they heard Xander say, "time to wake up!"

Willow gave a little moan and looked up at him as he continued, "Wow, looks like someone's in need of a highly caffeinated beverage."

She moaned again in reply and put her head back down. A minute later, Buffy was at their table, asking, "What happened?"

Xander waited until both Angel and Willow were upright in their seats to begin, mostly to get rid of the unhappy look that inhabited Buffy's face. He explained everything from the moment they'd arrived, with Cordy filling in the small details that he'd missed.

Larry arrived at the table a few minutes later and said to Buffy, "Hey, the floor's moving again. You wanna dance?"

Before answering, Buffy glanced at Angel, who looked at her unhappily then turned away once their eyes met. She turned back to Larry, then stood and walked with him to the dance floor.

"You wanna go?" Angel asked Willow, nodding toward the floor. Her expression told him that she wasn't pleased with him, but she said, "sure" anyway.

Xander and Cordelia, realizing that they were alone, looked at each other, shrugged, then joined their friends on the dance floor.

"What's wrong now?" Angel asked Willow's unsmiling demeanor.

"Talk to her," she answered flatly.

"Willow-"

She punched his arm and said, "Go!"

"She doesn't want to talk to me."

"Yes she does, and I think you want to. You obviously want her back, why don't you try? What are you afraid of?"

"This isn't my call. She doesn't want me back."

She punched him again, "You've been apart for five months. Look what you've reduced her to! She's trying to make you jealous and she's using LARRY to do it! I'd say she wants you back," another punch, "You're also making me turn violent, so you need to go over there before I hurt my hand from hitting you so much."

Angel looked over at Buffy and caught her watching him. When Willow turned back, Buffy quickly looked away.

"See," she said, "I'm not the one you should be dancing with."

"Look," said Larry, "if you'd rather be with him, you can go. I won't take it personally."

Buffy smiled at him, "No, he's just a little distracting, that's all. I like it here, really."

"Okay, now you're lying to me. C'mon Buffy, you know you want him."

She shrugged, "I just don't think he wants me just yet."

Willow hit him again, "Go! See, what I told you? You're making me violent!"

"Will-"

"Angel, if you don't go, you'll never resolve this."

"I'm not going over there," he said determinedly.

"Fine," said Willow, pulling away from him, "then you're gonna have to find someone else to dance with."

She walked away, leaving Angel looking very displeased. She headed for the opposite side of the room where she'd seen Buffy and Larry dancing, and was surprised when Larry parted from Buffy and headed in her own direction.

He approached her and said, "I guess we had the same idea."

She took his arm and said, "Aren't we smart? C'mon, if we give them a second to think and they'll try to catch us."

Buffy watched as Willow and Larry disappeared, arm in arm, into the busy crowd. She took a long moment, then looked over to Angel, who had a steady gaze on her. After some hesitation, she walked slowly toward him. He took a few steps in her direction and met her in the center of the room.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Hey," he answered.

"Y-you look great, but your tux is a bit wrinkled," Buffy felt herself get more and more nervous.

"Uh-yeah, Willow fell asleep on me- Oh, that sounds wrong."

Buffy smiled uneasily to match the almost-guilty grin on his face.

Taking note of her anxiety, he said, "Do you want...Dance with me."

She didn't say a word but, wrapped her arms around his neck. They danced for awhile and when the song changed, Buffy, recognizing the soft piano of the Sarah Mclachlan ballad, smiled to herself. She was about to comment on the nature of the song, when Angel spoke up.

"I miss this," he told her.

She nuzzled herself against his shoulder and said, "So do I."

"Look, Buff, this is stupid. Why are we doing this? We broke up months ago, but we've hardly even spoken since then."

Buffy lifted her head and looked him in the face, "I know. I've been going around getting everyone to play psychologist for me just so I could figure it out. It didn't help and I'm sick of it."

"So, what do we do? I'm sorry to remind you that being just friends hasn't worked for us."

"So, I noticed. I just wish things could be how they were. It was so much simpler, before."

"But, we can't just go back."

"No, we can't, so what do you propose we do?"

"This has to stop. No more lying, or hiding things, or using the locals to make each other jealous."

Buffy smiled softly to herself, "Is this a plea to get back together?"

He smiled back, "Not quite, I think we could use a few more days to dwell on everything. This is a plea to make peace."

After his proposal soaked in, she replied with, "I'm glad one of us did."

She leaned her head back down on his shoulder and tightened her arms around his neck.

Xander and Cordelia watched this from the table where they sat with Willow and Larry.

"It's about time they got back together," said Xander.

"Yeah," agreed Willow, "maybe now, they'll both stop moping."

"I hope so. You should have seen the way she..." Cordelia went on to tell them about the conversation that she'd had with Buffy while they were at her house. She stopped when she realized that no one was paying attention.

All eyes at the table were transfixed on the couple in the center of the room, who danced with closed eyes and foreheads pressed to each other. A smile was spread across Buffy's face as she thought about the irony of the last line of the song.

You're in the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here.