~~~part 4~~~ "So your saying that psycho Fang left you the necklace?" Faith held the object up to the moonlight to get a better look at it. "Damn nice for a 'I want to kill you gift', don't you think?" "This is all wrong." Willow started rubbing her temples. "First I'm nominated for May Queen, which by the way should be a sign that Hell at this very moment is freezing over. Then Angelus leaves that necklace. Why? The dead fish were a better implication to how he really feels about my existence. To Angelus I'm nothing more than a tool to hurt Buffy. He really doesn't think that I'm stupid enough to think he's 'happy' for me ...does he?" "Maybe he gave it to you so you'd drive yourself insane wondering why he gave it to you." Faith joked as she handed the necklace back to Willow. "So he's trying to get to Buffy. It didn't work because she doesn't even know about the necklace. I think you should wear it." Willow shot Faith a look that clearly said that she thought the other girl to be completely insane. Turning her attention back to the fresh grave they were watching Willow wished the damn vampire would just rise. "This is taking forever." "So from the bitching and whining I had to sit through it sounds as thought you're staying in the race." Studying Willow's face, Faith almost felt badly about bring the May Queen competition up again. Almost. She didn't like seeing Willow stress over her silly beliefs that she wasn't good enough, or in the same league as those snobs she was up against. She wanted Willow to understand that she was just as good, if not better than those girls were. That with a little bolstering to her self esteem she'd dazzle everyone around her. Willow wasn't the type that could intentionally hurt anyone...well besides demons of the night, and she sometimes found that difficult. Her ability to see another's emotions and truly care how they felt made Willow Anne Rosenberg better than most people on this planet. Faith could remember when she first arrived in Sunnyhell, while everyone else made it abundantly clear that she wasn't completely trusted or by some wanted around. Willow went out of her way to soften the stinging words that were uttered by the others, or try and lighten the mood when things were getting too stressful. She did this because she wanted everyone around her happy, whether they were her friends or not. She couldn't stand seeing someone suffer when she could help in some way. People like Willow were few, in fact in all of her life Faith had never met anyone as sweet and kind as Willow. The strangest part was that Willow wanted nothing in return. "I don't know what came over me, I mean I had all intentions of dropping out, but the way Buffy and Xander were acting just rubbed me the wrong way." Willow felt tears gathering in her eyes, but refused to cry, not here in the middle of a cemetery. But damnit Buffy and Xander were making her feel as though she were some kind of heinous freak that had to be protected from the world. That no one could find her attractive. "Well what's done is done, so I say we stop dwelling and move on." Faith tried a page from Willow's book and attempted lighten the mood. "I over heard Miss Pom-Poms saying something about campaigned strategies. I think that we should start to think what yours should be." Faith really didn't have the foggiest clue as to what went on with the May Queen thing. Before she had dropped out of school, dances weren't her thing. If truth were told school in general hadn't really been her thing. "I don't know, it all seems so stupid to me. Mostly the candidates go around being nice to people they'd never give the time of day to otherwise." "Sounds like fun." Faith commented dryly. The ground they had been watching for the last thirty minutes started to move. "About damn time." Faith jumped down from the gravestone and took the stake she had hidden in her jacket out. Willow watched on as she had done several times in the past, knowing that the newly made vampire would be disposed of quickly. Faith was good at what she did, she even enjoyed it. Unlike Buffy Faith embraced being the slayer. Buffy fought being the chosen one at every step. Just as it seemed that she was finally coming to terms with it, she'd start to rebel again. "You know what you need Red?" Faith commented as she watched the vampire from the corner of her eye. "A make over. Nothing too extreme, just a lift-me-up." Kicking out with her right foot, Faith connected with the vampire's jaw. "I don't know." Willow could imagine Faith's idea as a little make over. Tattoos and nose rings, completed with an ensemble of tight black leather. Faith started chuckling, knowing exactly what Willow was envisioning. "I swear nothing too radical." Slamming the stake into her targets un-beating heart, Faith walked away without a second glance. Both girls jumped when they heard clapping coming from the shadows. Faith raised the stake in attack mode. Willow tried to hop down from the gravestone, but when she tried putting pressure onto her injured limb she cried out in pain. Angelus had been watching from the shadows, listening to the two girls from the moment they showed up that night. He had been on his way out for a quick bit to eat, but decided that he could spare a little time seeing what kind of effect the gift had on Willow. His plan was simple. Perhaps too simple, if it weren't for the fact that Buffy was going to suffer a huge amount of emotional pain he'd say that it really wasn't worth the effort. Buffy and Xander's behavior towards Willow was going to make it a simple even easier execute. The only resistance he was going to find was Faith. But the second slayer had darkness in her, which if properly used could make her easy to manipulate as well. He was going to seduce the redhead. Make her feel cherished and wanted. Make her so overwhelmed by the constant attention from him that she would turn her back on her friends with little ease. What happened to her after everything was said and done was absolutely no concern of his. If she pleased him in bed perhaps he'd keep her for his own entertainment, if not then maybe he'd give her to one of his faithful followers to do with as they pleased. It didn't matter either way. Angel had been a fool by going after the stupid slut. Buffy was immature and pathetically dull. Willow had more substance in her little finger than Buffy could obtain in a lifetime. But Angel it his true form went after what was easiest to obtain. Plus having a slayer 'love' him made him feel as though he could be forgiven for his past crimes. What a joke. Seeing that Faith had disposed of the fledgling, he decided to make himself known. Walking from the shadows clapping he enjoyed the reaction he caused until he heard Willow cry out in pain. Stopping his clap in mid-stride, he frowned as the little hacker hugged her right hand to her body. Unexplainable anger went through him, and it irritated him that he felt anything at all at the redhead's pain. He had prided himself on his lack of emotions through the centuries. Where other of his kind experienced 'love' like Spike and Dru, he had been blas� about any sexual relationship he had been in. Including his back stabbing sire. Only recently he'd experienced something close to anger, and that was aimed at the slayer. But at best what he felt there was irritation that his carefully laid plans fell apart were she was concerned. But what he felt when he heard Willow's cry was anger, without any mistake. Someone had hurt her, and for a brief second he had an overwhelming urge to rip the limbs off of who ever did this to her. Calming himself down, Angelus walked out of the shadows. Seeing the shock and surprise on their faces did help a little to ease the anger that was bubbling inside. "That was truly amazing Faith. Though you've killed yet another of my fledglings." "My heart's bleeding." Faith shrugged, keeping her face clear of all emotions. Willow groaned at her choice of words, wishing that Faith would think twice before saying things to Angelus that included words like blood, or death, even sentences with the word pain should be avoided. Giving a short laugh designed to annoy the slayer Angelus took another step closer. Both girls were looking for the quickest way out of the cemetery, and this brought a smirk to his lips. "Willow did you get my gift?" Directing his intense eyes in her direction, he enjoyed seeing a blush spread from her neck to her cheeks. Nodding her head, Willow wished she had the nerve to throw the gift back in his face. Tell him to stop using her to get back at Buffy. But she could barely think let alone move with the way Angelus was staring at her. "It's for luck...not that you need it considering who you're up against." He knew that Faith was sizing him up, but when his words were spoken her eyes widened for a moment. "The only real competition is Cordelia." "Cordelia?" Both girls couldn't help but blurt out. Faith had lost a little of her stiffness, Willow's nervousness evaporated by her curiosity. "Sure. She has poise and a sense of timeless fashion. If she can keep her mouth shut long enough she could have a chance." Angelus leaned up against a tree, as both girls analyzed his words. "This is a May Queen competition, not a season in London." Willow spoke a whisper of a smile on her lips. "You talk like it's the 1890's instead of the 1990's. Now a days its posters and empty promises." "Really so who do you think is going to win?" Angelus raised a brow in question. "Buffy." Willow said with confidence. Faith groaned and rolled her eyes, not noticing that she had lost her defensive stance. Angelus lost the smirk for a moment; "Buffy's popularity depends on how short her skirts are. She's beautiful yes, but once you get past that her selfishness and stupidity its enough to give a person a headache." Faith silently agreed with Angelus's words, but damned if she'd let him know that she was on his side when it came to Buffy. "That's not true." Willow started but was stopped by Angelus. "This isn't why I came by. I just wanted to see if you got my gift, and to congratulate you again." Angelus turned to leave. "Oh by the way what happened to your arm?" His face was half hidden in the shadows so both girls lost the dark and angry expression on his face. "I tripped." Willow lied, gnawing on her bottom lip. "I'm not a fool Little One. So I'll ask again, what happened to your arm?" Faith was floored. It actually sounded as though Angelus was mad that Willow was hurt. This could work... "Buffy did." Faith answered for Willow, ignoring the betrayed look Willow sent her way. The shadows were quiet, and both girls thought that Angelus had left with out another word. "If she ever hurts you again I will show her no mercy." After several long minutes of silence and both girls were convinced that Angelus was gone they tried to gain the ability to speak. "That was different." Faith finally said, her eyes had a calculating sparkle. |
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