I had to get us out of there. I noticed that Spike looked like he was ready to pounce on Xander, and not in an 'I want to kill you' way, but in an 'I want to shag you, pet' way. I had to diffuse the situation so we could run like hell. I glanced up at Angelus and my mouth almost dropped. He was watching me the same way. "Angelus," I said softly, fidgeting uncomfortably. Now I know why Buffy loved him so much. I'd seen him give her those looks, but I'd never seen them head on. They were amazing. Dark and filled with passion. . .

"Yes, Little One?" Angelus replied, smiling at me. He licked his lips. Oh, damn, Angelus wanted me. Somehow, that thought doesn't upset me as much as I know it should.

"Ok, you call me Little One, back home, that's cool, but I'm not sure if I like the way you are looking at me. You are only supposed to look at Buffy that way."

"Buffy?" Angelus scowled. "Who the hell is *Buffy*?"

"Now you said way too much," Xander hissed, nudging me. "We can't tell them about that stuff!"

"Never mind!" I cried. "Just kill us now, forget we exist!" Gypsies. Mention gypsies. "Oh! And um. . .remember, gypsy girls are *really* tasty!" I closed my eyes and waited for death.

Angelus' laughter rang through the street. "I like this one. I think we should keep her."

I opened my eyes, glaring at him. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that I was dealing with Angelus, Master Vampire and Killer. I was just enraged that he thought he could keep me like a common item. "*Keep* me? What the hell does that mean?" I spat. No one was going to *keep* me. I didn't care who he was.

Xander put his hand on my shoulder, shifting uncomfortably. "Wills, remember, this is the Badass. You know, vamp without a soul. This isn't. . .this isn't Peaches we are talking to."

"Peaches?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow. He glanced at Angelus and laughed. "Peaches. I like it!"

I blinked in surprise, then looked over at Xander. He was staring at me with the same shocked look I know I had on my face. "Ok, this is too wiggy for me," Xander said.

I sighed. "Maybe we should talk. But no funny business," I growled, pointing my finger at the two vampires. "I don't want to become Vamp Willow. It's very unbecoming on me." I shuddered at the thought.

"I'm just not smelling enough fear here," Spike said calmly. "Maybe if we show them our true faces. . ."

"No, I like her. I told you that, William," Angelus said. "Come on, let's go. . .sit. Talk." He smiled at me, his eyes dancing in amusement. It was so strange to see him like this. I'd never seen Angel this happy, even when he was with Buffy. And Angelus was too busy trying to kill us to look happy.

"Oh, god, Wills. I thought that meeting Deadboy the first time was unnerving. Now we are going to go sit down and talk to him. Angelus. Willow, do you realize what this means? He can *kill* us! And Spike!? Oh, god, don't get me started on Spike. Sure, when he came to Sunnydale for Dru and kidnapped us. . ."

*-*-*-*

The words were out of my mouth before I even thought about it. "Sure, when he came to Sunnydale for Dru and kidnapped us. . ."

The next instant, Angelus was squeezing my throat in a punishing grip, and my feet are probably six inches off the ground. I gasped, trying to get air to my lungs. I grabbed his wrists and tried to pull his hand away, but of course, the bastard was so much stronger than me.

His face was inches from mine, eyes yellow, teeth sharp. "Dru?" he hissed. "What about Dru?"

"Stop," I gasped, feeling my eyes bug out of my head. I really thought I'd die, right there. I couldn't breath, I couldn't feel my body, I was dying. I kicked out, trying to reach him, but it was useless. He was too far away.

"Put. Him. Down. Now." Willow demanded. I figured her eyes were flashing in anger.

Angelus glanced at the redhead. "She's such a spitfire. I'm keeping her."

"Not if you don't put him down," Willow demanded.

That meant. . .if Angelus spared me, then he'd get to keep Willow! "No!" I choked. I didn't want Angelus to keep her. She was much too good to become a vampire slut!

Angelus threw me down. I gasped, taking deep breaths. Willow dropped to her knees next to me, running her fingers through my hair. "Are you ok?" she asked softly.

I closed my eyes and leaned into her comforting touch. "Yea, I think so. . .only mild bruising of my throat, thanks."

She chuckled. A smile tugged on the corners of my lips.

"So, this your lover?" Angelus asked. I could hear the jealousy in his voice. I knew at that moment that if he thought we were, he'd have no hesitations in killing me. Dead. And that was something I surely didn't want to happen. Thank god Wills and me weren't lovers.

Willow sighed. "No, he's not. Just a friend. Come on, let's go talk."

Angelus led us to a pub down the street from where we were. Spike dropped back with me and ran his hand along my arm. "You know, pet, I think you are one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen."

I glanced at him. "I just never figured you for a. . .uh. . ."

"A what?" he asked, his eyes flashing yellow.

"A Poof," I whispered softly. I winced, waiting to die.

Spike's laughter caught me off guard. I opened my eyes. "You aren't killing me," I whispered.

"No, you intrigue me. I want to know where you're from." He waggled his eyebrow. "And it's been such a long time since I've pounded into a mortal. . .so tight and warm. . ."

I shivered at the thought. "Yep, ok, um. . .yea." I didn't know what to say! Spike was coming on to me! "Uh. . .Willow. . ."

Willow glanced back at me, shrugging. She had her arm interlocked with Angelus, and he was telling her about the beauty of the England countryside.