| ~~~Part 11~~~ Oh the job was hers and Willow was questioning her sanity. It took her and Lindsey close to three hours to mop up the mess in the bathroom and clean the rest of the penthouse. It seemed the more they got cleaned the messier it got. Sophie was a force to be reckoned with. It was a miracle that she finally fell asleep, Willow was close to dropping to her knees and thanking the goddess. Was this normal behavior for a child? It couldn't be. She never remembered being so...destructive. It was unnatural. "You know you might consider childproofing your home." Willow muttered as she dropped to the couch in exhaustion. "Mmmm, after I'm finished dying I'll be right on that." Lindsey grunted. "Thank you so much for helping me clean. Still want the job?" "Of course." Willow heard her voice, she knew it was her. What was she thinking? That she had to show Angel and the others that she could do this. Lindsey leaned back, closing his eyes. "So you knew Cordelia in High School?" Lindsey had wanted to ask Willow all afternoon about her acquaintance with Angel's seer. But he had told himself to let it be. That the last time they talked about Cordelia, Willow had almost left. "Yeah, she dated my best friend." Willow thoughtlessly said, realizing that her mistake too late. Geez how Willow like of her to blow this just hours after getting the job. "She dated your beat friend? Bet you loved that." Lindsey chuckled. "Oh yeah, I handled it very maturely." Willow smiled at the memory she hadn't thought of in years. "So what was your best friend's name?" Her mind raced. She couldn't say Xander, what if they had files on the Sunnydale group? Then he'd know that she not only knew Cordelia and Angel, but also had been the one to curse Angel again with a soul. "Devin." Well so maybe Devin and her had never talked, but he had dated Cordelia and survived. "He was the president and Co-Founder of the I hate Cordelia Chase Club. I was Vice President. My other friend Amy was Treasurer." Willow thought about her little furry friend and hoped that Spike was keeping to his promise and taking good care of her. "How did Amy take Cordelia dating the president?" Lindsey couldn't help but chuckle. It sounded like a regular childhood, something he himself had never really experienced. "Umm, she wasn't around." Willow wondered why she was sharing all this information with a stranger. A stranger that happened to hate her best friends. "Your bag is ringing." Lindsey looked at her black backpack. "I'm going to get something to drink, can I get you something?" Willow nodded as she fished around the bag for her phone. "Hello?" "Willow its Angel." Willow froze, her eyes darting in the direction Lindsey had headed off in. "H-hey." "Listen I thought I'd come for a visit. I really feel bad about the way I treated you and want to patch things up." Willow squeezed her eyes shut. This could not be happening. "No that's not necessary." Lindsey was coming out of the kitchen carrying two sodas. "Willow please. I was too harsh with you. It scares me that you may think I don't consider you a close friend." Willow was having an attack of guilt. Angel sounded so sincere, as though he was truly upset about how they had left things between them. "How about I come up tonight and we go get something to eat and talk." She was tempted to tell Angel that he didn't eat, but with Lindsey in the room it would sound suspicious. Her other line ringed giving her a chance to put Angel on hold. "Hello?" "Wills it's me. Bad news and you have to promise not to turn me into a rat." Cordelia was breathless. "Gee wonder what it could be?" Willow's tone dropped above a whisper, as she turned her back on Lindsey. "No need to get all snippety with me. It was either that or have Angel arrive in Sunnyhell to see you." "Well he still wants to." Willow was close to panicking. Here she had not only Angel on one line but now Cordelia and Lindsey was just feet behind her, hearing every word she said. "You can't let him!" "I have to go, see you tonight." Clicking the phone back over, and taking a deep breath Willow tried to stay as calm as possible. "Sorry about that. Listen, I'm busy right now. I'll call you when I get home." "Willow are you sure you don't want me to come up so we can talk about this? What I did to you by not trusting in you, I feel horrible." The guilt kicked her in the gut again. "No really I'll be fine. I'll call you." Closing the phone and turning the ringer off, Willow returned to the couch, taking the soda Lindsey had brought from the kitchen and taking a long drink. "Boyfriend trouble?" Lindsey watched as Willow's face turned red and wanted to kick himself. This was why he didn't socialize with people. When he tried to reach out and just make a connection with another human he always went past some unknown boundary. "It's none of my business." Studying his face, Willow felt sorry for Lindsey. <Evil, remember he is evil. Show no mercy.> "No, it was my best friend's ex-boyfriend. He's a little over protective, and we recently had an argument. He wanted me to go back home...after my aunt died. Thinks that LA is too dangerous for me." <You're pathetic.> "Home being Sunnydale?" Lindsey chuckled at the humor of it. This guy, the ex-boyfriend thought the Hellmouth was safer than LA. The guy probably had no idea what kind of evil was living next door. "Yes. But I wanted to stick around for awhile." <Shut up idiot. Maybe you'd like to tell him about how you got the scar on your knee when you were eight. He's the enemy, he doesn't need to know all about you.> "He made me get on a bus to go home. I got off at the first stop and came back here. I'm staying with a friend." <Shut up Loser!> "He thinks you went back huh?" Lindsey laughed, and he stopped in the middle realizing how good it felt to actually laugh. "Yup. If he finds out that I'm back in LA he'll throw a fit." <That's an understatement and you know it. > "Well your secret is safe with me." Lindsey's smile fell when a loud sound came from Sophie's room. "Ready for round two?" ~~~*~~~ Angel sat staring off into space. He had just gotten off the phone with Willow and things had gone as he had planned. He had laid it on thick, knowing that she would feel guilty. But as he went on he realized he had truly meant most of what he had said. He had treated her harshly, not giving an inch. It was the thought of her spending time with Lindsey that made him see red. Willow's beauty and innocence would draw Lindsey to her like a moth to a flame. Damn that girl for not listening. When this game was over he was going to...going to... different pictures flashed before him. He wanted to yell, rant and rave for hours. He wanted to force her back to Sunnydale, make her do what he originally told her to do. He wanted to kiss those pouty lips, make her dizzy with passion. He knew this was going to happen. Deep down inside he knew that if he spent too much time with Willow he'd want her for his own. And he hadn't really spent all that much time with her. He had felt the pull every time he was around Willow after he had come back from Hell. But by carefully distancing himself from her, and forcing his attentions on Buffy, he had been able to avoid any emotional attachment with the little witch. But here she was, and his plan worked excellently. He had successfully distanced the little witch right out of his life. Now he had to figure out what to do. What he wanted. But he'd be damned if McDonald got her. |
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