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by Theory Queen
Chapter 2: Rosenberg
Willow sat in her room alone,
crying. She couldn't remember when she'd felt so alone, with both her parents
perpetually away on business trips and now both her best friends gone.
Jesse had been bad enough; he
had been more Xander's friend than hers, and she hadn't known him well.
They had reached the point of being friends and hanging out together in
school, but hadn't yet reached the point of calling each other every day
after school like she and Xander did. Just a week before Jesse died, Willow
had begun, shyly, to tease him about his infatuation with Cordelia Chase,
telling him about the "We Hate Cordelia" club she and Xander had founded
in second grade. She had been on her way to having two best friends, but
then Jesse died at the hands of a vampire. A vampire! She had still had
trouble believing that they existed.
Willow and Xander had begun to
mourn him, comforting each other and spending much more time together.
It if had been for any other reason, Willow would have been overjoyed to
spend more time with Xander -- and maybe help him realize that he loved
her as much as she loved him.
They had gone out to dinner the
night before and were walking home when it happened. Willow shuddered at
the memory and tried to push it back out of her head, promising herself
that she'd "think about it tomorrow."
Wiping her eyes, she turned on
her laptop, hoping to distract herself from thinking about Xander. Suddenly,
she heard a knock on the door to the outside. Cautiously, she drew aside
the curtain and saw --
-- the dark-haired tall man who
had helped her escape the vampires the other night. He hadn't been quick
enough to save Xander, but he had taken on the three vampires who had attacked
them. As he fought, he had yelled to Willow over his shoulder, "Run! Leave
him, it's too late!"
"Xander.." Willow had whispered
in shock. Then one of the vampires saw her, disengaged himself from the
fracas, and walked slowly toward her. He was huge, with an evil, toothy
grin.
Willow took off running, the
vampire following her at a steady pace. She could hear his steady footsteps
as he jogged along after her. There were no houses along here, she realized
-- and knew he must have realized it first. There was only a park, a convenience
store, two gas stations, and a little church with a cemetery. Quickly,
Willow ducked aside and ran to the church. "Please be unlocked!" she begged
the front door. It acquiesced, and she tugged open the handle and went
inside. The big vampire outside snarled and rattled the door handle, but
in the end was forced to leave.
Willow cowered there in the darkness
until she finally fell asleep on one of the pews. She awoke early the next
morning when dawn streaked the sky.
Now she stood there looking out
at the figure outside her door. What if he were a vampire? her mind asked.
Then he probably wouldn't have fought off the other vampires, it answered
itself. Slowly, she pushed the door open and regarded the stranger steadily.
"Hi," the man said.
"Um, hi," Willow offered.
"My name's Angel," he said. She
was silent. He continued, "I just wanted to come by and thank you for saving
my life."
Willow blinked. "But you were
the one who saved my life," she said. "You fought off all the vampires
so I could get away."
Angel's lip quirked. "But you
were the one who distracted Luke from the fight. He was the strongest one
-- if he hadn't followed you, I couldn't have won that fight."
"But you did, though, right?"
Willow said encouragingly.
"Yeah. I got rid of the other
two, but it was Luke who was causing the problem." Angel stopped and looked
uncomfortable for a moment, then continued, "I'm sorry about your friend."
Willow's eyes filled with tears
again. "Thank you," she said in a choked voice.
Angel reached in and touched
her briefly on the shoulder, then turned to go.
"Wait," Willow said. He turned
back. "I'm Willow," she told him.
He nodded and half-smiled. "Take
care of yourself, Willow," and he was gone. Willow gently closed the door
and threw herself down on the bed. Eventually, she fell into a tortured
sleep in which Luke, the huge vampire, stalked her through her school,
and Xander got himself killed, over and over again.
She woke to another knock on
her door. This time it was one she knew, one she could answer in her sleep.
It was Xander, looking slightly the worse for wear, with bruises and tattered
clothing.. "Xander! What are you -- I mean, where did you -- ?" sputtered
Willow.
Xander grinned. "Hey, Will. Glad
you made it. I almost didn't." He looked terrible, she noted, pale and
bloody. There was a purpling bruise on his face and he had a black eye
with dried blood caked to the eyelid. "Are you okay?"
Willow nodded, not daring to
trust her voice.
"Can I come in and clean up?"
Xander asked.
Willow said, "Yeah." Her voice
cracked and she cleared her throat. Xander stepped in and looked at her
a moment before putting his arms around her. She nestled into his embrace,
once again giving in to tears. "Xander, I thought you were dead! Don't
ever do that to me again!" she wept.
He held her tight, stroking her
hair. "Aw, Will, it'll take more than vampires to take me away from you,"
he said. Her head came up and she looked at him questioningly.
He said nervously, "Um, you know
that time when you're about to die, when your life flashes before your
eyes? Well, I sort of had this... thing. I sort of realized that I wanted
our lives to be different, and I wanted you to be okay. And I wanted to
be with you, no matter what happens." He looked at her face, almost afraid
of what he might see.
Stunned, Willow pulled away and
stared at him. Then she hit him in the shoulder, not hard, and began scolding
him. "Xander, I've loved you since before we could walk! What do you mean,
you 'sort of realized?' And the next time you want to have an epiphany,
couldn't you just sort of go for a walk in the park or something? You don't
need to almost die and scare me half to death, you know!" She threw herself
into his arms again, but backed off at his moan of pain.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I forgot that
you were... wounded. I hurt you. I'm sorry! You risk your life to save
me from vampires, and all I can do is yell at you and hurt you. Here, let's
get you cleaned up." And she led him to the bathroom and provided him with
soap, a washcloth, a shower, and some privacy. She gave him a t-shirt and
sweatpants to put on when he came out, which he did gratefully.
He came out, a little shyly,
and sat on the bed next to her. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Willow said.
They sat in uncomfortable silence for a minute. "Now what happens?" she
asked finally.
He hesitated. "I'm, uh, well...
I'd like to kiss you. Do you mind?"
"I... don't mind," Willow said
breathlessly. Their lips met in a sweet, chaste kiss. The second one was
just as sweet but slightly less chaste, and the ones after that were quite
passionate. Willow came up gasping for air -- then she looked at Xander
and screamed. His face looked... deformed, with brow ridges, like the vampires'
faces! She backed away from him, still screaming.
"Damn!" Xander swore. "Willow,
I didn't want you to see this! I just got carried away. I won't hurt you,
I swear!"
When he made no move towards
her, but just sat there with his deformed face looking glum, Willow began
to calm down a little. "But you're... I mean, they made you one of them!"
She kept her distance still, but relaxed slightly.
"Yeah, they did, but it isn't
all bad. I've been hanging out with Jesse again, even. But I would never
hurt you, Willow. What I said was true -- I did have an epiph- epin- um,
a realization about what I felt for you. I was almost dead, and then I
saw you there, and I realized how much I care about you. I couldn't stand
to have you turn me away, even if I am a... well, a different sort of guy
than before."
Willow took a few trembling steps
forward, then stopped. "Xander, I -- um, I need to think. Would- would
you be willing to give me some time? Come back tomorrow night, and we'll
talk some more then."
Xander nodded, his face morphing
back to its human facade. He gently touched her shoulder and started for
the door. He opened it, then stood there for a moment with his back to
her.
"What's wrong?" Willow asked.
"You know what?" Xander said.
He turned around quickly, with the fangs and ridges appearing quickly once
again. He grinned, showing off his fangs. "I don't want to wait!" He grabbed
her shoulders and sank his teeth into her throat.
Willow didn't even have enough
breath to scream. Her eyes widened and she clutched Xander's shoulders
convulsively. There was a shadow moving at the door, and she pushed Xander
away as hard as she could, catching him off balance and sending him back
a couple of paces. Recognizing the shape of the man who had visited her
earlier, she ran to the door and slid it open.
"Can I come in?" Angel said swiftly.
"Yes, you idiot! Augh!" Willow
cried as Xander grabbed her again. "Help!" she sputtered.
Angel ran into the room and knocked
Xander away from her. Then he proceeded to beat Xander up. He smashed the
boy's head against the wall, punched him in the face, then grabbed Willow's
desk chair and shattered it against the floor. It broke into pieces, and
he took one broken leg and brandished it at the newly made vampire.
Xander had some vague memory
of Jesse telling him to watch out for wood, that it was one of the things
that could kill him. He had been backed up into the wall, but the door
was nearby, and he took a chance and ducked out. He ran.
Willow collapsed onto the bed
and looked at the wreckage that had been her bedroom. She looked up at
the dark-haired man and said, "Thanks." before she fainted.
When she came to, most of the
damage had been cleaned up except for a few slivers of desk chair on the
carpet. She had a cool cloth on her forehead, and Angel had taken off her
shoes and put her to bed. He was leaning against the glass doors, waiting
for her to wake.
"Hi," he said softly.
"Hi," she replied. "Is -- is
he gone?"
"For now," he said. "That's what
I stayed to talk to you about, Willow. You won't be safe in this house
at night ever again, and neither will your parents. Once you invite a vampire
into your home, he has total access from there on."
Willow's face went pale. "What
should I do?"
"I would suggest leaving and
never coming back, myself. This is not a good place to be, Willow, and
it's getting worse. You and your family should leave town tomorrow morning,
or you'll probably all be dead by vampires within a couple of weeks."
"But I can't just pack up and
leave. I have school. My parents have jobs."
"Then you'll all die, and soon.
Please, trust me on this. Listen, I'll stay here until dawn, so your friend
doesn't come back, but after that you'll have to leave if you want to live."
Angel disappeared out the door and closed it gently behind him.
Willow started to cry.
