Title: The Beggar's Gymkhana
Author: Alex Dollard
Posted: 12-26-2002
Rating: PG
Email:
Content: Angel/Cordelia, Buffy/Spike, Willow/Xander
Summary: Complete and all encompassing AU. Cordelia's been crushing on Liam Donnelly since she met him, but unfortunately an annoying little blond pipped her to the post and now he's gone off to college. Is there no hope for Cordelia?
Spoilers: BtVS 1-3
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution:
Notes: I found this a bit of a tough assignment, but I hope you enjoy it. This is unbearably sappy, frightingly sweet and unusually angst-free. I've actually started a Christmas themed sequel called 'Snowflakes in the Sun'. It was touch and go which one I posted but this one flowed a little quicker.
Feedback:
Secret Santa Fic: For C.C. Merry Christmas honey!She and Harmony had had it all planned out from seventh grade and it all went sparklingly well. She drove them to school, Stephanie and Lorena in the backseat of her cute cherry red convertible. They parked in *the* spot right infront of Sunnydale High and gracefully slid out of the car, four lovely young girls with sleek hair, flawless make up and the latest in fashion draped over their slim bodies. There was a cat like smile on Harmony's face as she tossed her golden blond hair.
"Well, here we are again," Cordelia Chase said tartly, slamming the car door and using the remote lock with a practised flip of her wrist.
"But this year we're seniors," Harmony replied, her eyes dancing as she peeled off her pale denim jacket.
"And we're gonna 'rule the school'," Stephanie joined in enthusiastically, picking up on the reference to 'Grease'. Cordelia and Harmony froze and the hapless Stephanie wilted under their stony expressions. "Ah, sorry?" She tried. Harmony and Cordelia exchanged glances and rolled their eyes, stalking towards the school.
"Well, that went well," Harmony grumbled. "Jeez, could Stephanie be more of a retard?"
"It was lame anyway," Cordelia said offhand, just as if she hadn't looked forward to that little ritual since she started at Sunnydale High.
She led the way into the highschool, acknowledging the admiring glances and the calls from her many friends. Something relaxed inside her. It was okay. She could do this. She could be queen of this school. Nothing had really changed. Really.
"Hey, look there's Buffy," Harmony pointed to the petite blond who was chatting animatedly to a geeky looking red head. "Wonder how she's going to cope with going hours until she sees Angel again?"
Thank you Harm, Cordelia commented mentally. She turned to glare at her best friend but the blond was eyeing up some nameless jock and missed the look. Cordelia looked at her watch. Wow, she thought, almost managed to go for twenty minutes without thinking about him. That's got to be a personal best.
"Hi Cordelia. Good summer?" Buffy Summers, bane of her life, asked chattily as Cordelia and Harmony approached their lockers which were situated annoyingly close to Buffy and Willow's.
"My parents dragged me to Europe," she shrugged. "I was like, beachless for a month and a half. It was awful," and Cordelia was glad for the open locker door shielding her face because not even she could lie that blatantly. She'd whined and complained to her parents but had ended up making them swear not to reveal that she'd been fascinated by the art work. It was way to humiliating to recall, Cordelia thought bitterly. "What about yours?" She asked in a bored tone, hoping desperately Buffy would let slip some Angel-gossip.
The blond shrugged. "It had its moments," she said with such a private and inner smile on her face that Cordelia wanted to strangle her.
"Angel get off to school okay?" Harmony asked curiously.
"Yeah, where's my man been at all summer?" The relentlessly cool Charles Gunn sauntered over to them. "Lookin' good Cor," he said appreciatively, eyeing her up and down. She rolled her eyes, trying to disguise how flattered she was. Charles Gunn might be repeating his senior year, but he was the best football player the school had ever seen. "I thought he was gonna go to Sunnydale Coll, but I swear, the boy's disappeared."
"Liam decided to go to school in LA," Buffy said tightly. She loathed Cordelia's nickname for her long term boyfriend and hated that it had caught on.
"What? What do you mean, 'he decided to go to school in LA'?" Cordelia demanded. "Angel wouldn't just go without saying goodbye to... everyone," she protested.
"Well, I knew," Buffy snapped. "And Xander knew and Willow. Guess you weren't that important to him," she added coldly.
Cordelia almost reeled; swallowed hard against the bile rising in her throat and ruthlessly strangled the scathing response that was echoing in her head. She'd promised her father that she was going to try and be less of a 'heinous bitch'. But god, this was way difficult.
"Well," she replied, refusing to let the burn of tears wreck her make up, "when you speak to him, tell him that I... that we all," she glanced at Harmony and Gunn, "wish him well, okay?"
Buffy's eyes softened slightly. "Yeah, I will," and the bell cut off the rest of her words. "See you at practice, Cordelia," she called back over one shoulder. "And hey! Good luck!"
Practice. Cheerleading. Great. Today Alisha would be handing over head cheerleadership to someone else in the squad. They'd voted the last week of school before summer vacation and she'd managed not to think about it up until now.
"Are you worried about not getting head cheerleader?" Harmony asked as they hurried to their first class. "Don't. You've got it in the bag," she said confidentially. "I mean, the only other person it could have gone to is..." She broke off uncomfortably.
"Buffy," Cordelia finished sourly. "I know. But thanks for reminding me. Come on, we better get to Math. You know what Mr. Henderson's like when we're tardy."
*
Cordelia managed to avoid Buffy until fourth period which was history. She slipped into her seat next to the blond's, wishing that she was in the same class as Harmony for a bit of moral support. She was easily the most popular girl in the school, but sometimes it seemed like Harmony was her only real friend.
"This semester, we'll be studying the second world war," Mrs Delucci told them calmly, ignoring the conversations and the note passing with practised ease. "You may be interested to learn," and her tone indicated that she did not think this would be the case, "that we've recently had an additional ten texts on the subject donated to the library. See the new librarian, Mr. Giles, if you want more details." There was a crash. "Miss Summers, I was under the impression that cheerleaders had co-ordination," Mrs Delucci continued with gentle sarcasm, raising a laugh from the other students as Buffy flushed red and bent to pick up her pencil case and the scattered pens. Cordelia fished a couple from under her own desk and gave them back.
"Thanks," Buffy whispered, her cheeks still scarlet.
Cordelia shrugged. "'S okay," she whispered back.
Buffy gave her a grateful smile and oddly, Cordelia felt better than she had done all morning.
The door opened and Principle Flootie wandered in. "Ah, Mrs Delucci," he said, sounding surprised to find her teaching, "I've got another one for you. This is William Giles," he waved in a young man. "Why don't you sit next to Miss Summers?" He suggested. Cordelia stared. He was gorgeous and gorgeous guys didn't materialise in Sunnydale High. Apart from Angel, her inner monologue commented helpfully. He was lean and not very tall, but somehow he seemed to dominate the room. And he was so cool with black jeans and a black shirt and the black Raybans that he was slipping into a pocket. Dressed like that he shouldn't look that good, Cordelia decided critically. And he also shouldn't look that good without a tan.
"Love to," the young man drawled in an unmistakable British accent, his eyes locked with Buffy's and there was a whole level of communication going on there that Cordelia wasn't privy to. "Hello love," he said affectionately, leaning towards the blond.
"I thought..." Her voice closed up and she started again. "I thought you were going back to England?"
He shrugged. "I was. Dad got a job here, ergo, we stay. Why? You want me to go?" He asked, and the teasing had dropped right out of his voice.
"No! No, I'm just surprised to see you," she said through the shining smile on her face. "In a good surprised way," she added.
He grinned in response; a wide, open expression that reflected in his very blue eyes and seemed almost helpless. The way he was looking at Buffy... Why, it was the way that Angel looked at her. Cordelia was irritated that she couldn't see her friend's face but all she could see was Buffy's blond ponytail and the new guy's ecstatic face.
Hmmm.
She was adding up all the clues; Buffy's odd defensiveness when Angel was brought into the conversation, Angel's sudden inexplicable decision to go to school in LA and the appearance of the startlingly gorgeous William Giles.
"Oh. My. God," Cordelia exclaimed. "You broke up with Angel, didn't you?"
A sudden silence fell over the class. Buffy twisted around so fast that Cordelia was honestly worried she'd sprain a muscle.
"Cordelia? SO not the time," she bit out.
"You broke up with Angel? With Angel? What, have you like lost your mind or something?" Cordelia was dazed. "I mean, you guys were forever. Soul mates and all that. How could you break up?" Her eyes narrowed. "What did you do?" She demanded.
"What? Who said I did anything?" Buffy protested, her temper flaring up as Cordelia laid into her.
"Well, I doubt he'd have run off to LA if it wasn't for you!" Cordelia snapped.
"That is..." Buffy seemed to be struggling for words. "God, Cordelia, you can be such a bitch!" The blond looked about ready to burst into tears.
"Buffy, pet," William, his blue eyes cold and his face, moments ago so open was drawn into a frown. "Who's this 'Angel' bloke?"
"He's... nobody," Buffy tried to soothe him. "No one important."
William seemed mollified but Cordelia was just working up into it. "What do you mean 'no one important'?"
"Miss Summers, Miss Chase, I think you should take your little discussion to the principal's office," Mrs Delucci told them tranquilly. "And don't come back to my class until you can leave your personal problems outside the door. Remember ladies, we're studying world war two. Not re-enacting it. Mr. Giles, I'm sure Mr. Harris will share his text book with you." She paused to make sure that Cordelia and Buffy were packing their books up, studiously avoiding each other's eyes. "You can both make up this class in detention," she added.
Fabulous, Cordelia thought. Today just keeps getting better and better.
*
Lunch came and went without any sign of Buffy but Cordelia was determined to get to the bottom of her apparent break up and when she saw William Giles on his own for a moment, she dived in.
"Hey, mind if I sit down?" She asked brightly. He glanced up at her, paused, placed her face and his mouth twisted into a smile which was not exactly a smile.
"If you want, princess," he replied, reluctantly moving his books to one side.
She sat down, took a deep breath and turned to him. He was watching her with some amusement. "So. What do I owe the honour?" He asked lazily.
"Well, I realised that somewhere in between you walking into history and Buffy and I screaming at each other, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Cordelia," she held out her hand and she could see him battling with a smile as he took it.
"Hello Cordelia, I'm Spike."
"Spike?"
"Dumb ass nickname," he grumbled, but his eyes were more cheerful.
She cocked her head, "Buffy?" She asked curiously, smiling when he nodded. "So, you two are..." She left it open ended.
"I don't know what we are," he snapped, suddenly looking tired. "Bloody woman! First she's hot, then she's cold. I can't keep up!"
"Yep, sounds like Buffy," Cordelia agreed.
"So. Who's this 'Angel' guy anyway? Can't get a straight answer out of Buffy."
Cordelia shrugged. "He was her boyfriend. They were, like, really tight."
This was, of course, an understatement. Ever since the blond had moved to Sunnydale, she and Angel had been inseparable. Cordelia didn't think this was fair. After all, she had been the first one to see Angel on their first day at high school. If frigging Willow Rosenberg hadn't tripped her up, she would have been the one who sauntered into the high school and saw him standing with his friends. *Their* eyes would have locked and... And they'd all have lived happily ever after and Buffy could have dated Xander.
Xander and Buffy. She had to grin.
Spike was looking depressed again. "They've broken up," she told him. "And, for what it's worth, they're so not Ike and Tina," he looked blank. She rolled her eyes "I mean, they're not a couple who break up and then get back together," she shrugged. "Sounds like she's over him anyway."
"Yeah?" He didn't sound convinced but he was looking a little happier. "I mean, I get the whole rebound thing. I wanted to take it slowly. You know, dinner and a movie? I've been hurt so maybe. Nice and slow. Get it right."
She looked at him quizzically.
"My girlfriend ditched me for her ex before I came to the States," Spike explained.
"I'm sorry," Cordelia said sincerely.
"I'm not. Not really. She was a raving loony." He grinned suddenly. "Not that Buffy isn't."
"That I have to agree with," Cordelia affirmed, admiring the difference a smile made to his face.
"Cordelia Chase. Looking evil as ever," a new voice put in.
She grimaced. "Hello Xander."
The dark haired young man sat down with a thump beside her; she glowered at him.
"Spike, Buffy's looking for you."
Spike rolled his eyes, "And it begins," he remarked. "Alright Harris, where is she?"
"Down at the pool. Come on, I'll give you the guided tour."
Xander waited while Spike gathered his things together and then dropped his head down low next to Cordelia's. "And I've got a message from Buffy for you. She says, 'Don't even think about getting your claws into my boyfriend'." He grinned nastily when he saw her shocked expression. "Always a pleasure, Cordelia," he added pleasantly.
"Go to hell," she replied sweetly.
*
The driving rain started not long after Cordelia pulled out of the Sunnydale High parking lot. The dark clouds shrouded the sky in untimely night and the temperature dropped like a stone. Cordelia switched the radio off and kept her eyes glued to the road. She hated driving in the rain at the best of times but she could barely see two metres beyond the car and there was so much water on the road she could feel her light weight convertible begin to aqua-plane.
Beginning to get anxious, she decided to pull over and call her dad for a ride.
Ten minutes with no signal on her cell phone, the rain was beginning to ease off and she decided to risk driving the rest of the way home. She preferred to take her chances with the flooded roads than sit in her car in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, when she turned the engine on, she discovered that it had shorted out and she was stranded.
"Stupid, worthless piece of junk!" She screamed, hitting the steering wheel. She flicked her hazard lights on and hoped that someone would stop.
*
Half an hour later and she finally turned the radio off because it kept playing songs that reminded her of Angel and she was damned if she was going to be caught crying in her car. The rain had finally ceased and she decided to stretch her cramped legs, navigating her way out of the red convertible with due car for the enormous puddle just outside her door.
The sky was very clear now; a pale blue shading into flame and orange on the horizon where the sun was setting. The rain had washed away the impurities in the air and she took a deep breath, feeling the clean air wash into her lungs. There was a faint, refreshing tang of brine and she suddenly felt a lot better than she had done all day.
This was immediately changed when a black Plymouth drove by and caught a huge puddle. The wave of muddy water arched into the air and Cordelia watched it almost in slow motion as it splashed down all over her, her sleek hair and her skimpy cheerleading outfit.
The Plymouth screeched to a halt.
She looked down at herself; muddy, dripping wet, pissed off beyond the dreams of man...
"Today has been the worst day in my life," she commented to her car with a dangerous tone of voice. "I've had an argument with Buffy, been sent to the principal, Angel's moved away, I lost out on being head cheerleader, killed my car and now..." she looked down at herself, "at least I've reached bottom. There is no way this day can get worse."
She looked up as the Plymouth car door opened and a tall, dark haired, achingly familiar young man got out, his face a comical mixture of surprised and consternated.
"Cordelia? Are you okay?" He asked, moving swiftly towards her and avoiding the puddles.
She closed her eyes, feeling the cool mud drip down her legs. "I'm fine," she said in a monotone. "Really, Angel. I'm fine."
*
Liam Donnelly looked with some concern at the beautiful brunette sitting next to him. She was leaning her head back and her eyes were closed. She didn't seem to notice the mud slipping down her cheek. For the first time, he was struck by her stillness. She was almost radiating calm and he never thought he'd associate that with her. He enjoyed her company - always had. Through the saga that was his relationship with Buffy, she made him laugh and diverted him.
And she really was startlingly beautiful.
How had he not really noticed this before?
"So what brings you back to Sunnyhell?" She asked lightly.
He shrugged. "I've got some things to pick up from home. I'm not staying long," he added, missing the dismayed look on her face.
"Oh," she said briefly.
The silence was making him nervous and he thought he could smell her perfume; fresh, sweet and oddly warm. His hands were inexplicably shaking.
"Thought I'd drop into the Bronze tonight," he said, instantly astonished with himself. He didn't want to go to the Bronze, he wanted to be back on the road to LA and away from the town which held so many uncomfortable memories of Buffy.
But Cordelia would probably be at the Bronze tonight, he realised.
Okay, why did that make him sort of want to go?
Cordelia opened her mouth to say something, changed her mind and then changed it back and said it anyway. "Buffy's got a new boyfriend."
The car swerved a little.
"Oh, god, Angel," she exclaimed, hating herself. Gee, Cor, she thought, you could have broken that a little better. "I'm really sorry. I just. I didn't want you to walk in there and see them. Angel? I'm really, really sorry."
He almost managed a smile at her tone of voice. "I... ah... I knew that already," he confessed. "She called and told me about four weeks ago. Said she met someone. Wanted me to know that, you know, we won't be getting back together."
Ouch, Cordelia commentated mentally, what a complete bitch. She decided against saying this out loud on the grounds that he was probably still really into the girl. "Are you okay?" She asked curiously.
Are you okay? Angel thought about that. Well, I've just broken up with the girl I thought was my soul mate and she's already seeing someone else and I've been having a great time in LA, made some good friends, dated loads of girls and have actually been wondering why I was so crushed when Buffy and I broke up. I mean, she's great and I loved her a lot but...
But somewhere over the last couple of months the tense changed. I loved her. I don't think I'm in love with her anymore.
He didn't say any of that. "Yeah," he said instead. "Yeah, I think I am."
"That's good," and her tone of voice was sincere. "That's really good."
He glanced over at her, caught her looking at him. Their eyes locked for one burning second and they both looked away. Cordelia turned her head to look out of the window, cushioning her burning cheek on one hand and Angel kept his eyes firmly on the road ahead.
*
"And then what happened?" Harmony squeaked down the phone.
Cordelia prudently moved the receiver away from her ear. "Nothing. I mean, he dropped me off at home and asked me if he'd see me later at the Bronze," she said lightly through the huge, excited smile on her face.
Her bedroom was littered with outfits and she'd actually lost her bed under all the clothes.
"Oh, and we exchanged cell phone numbers," Cordelia added, hearing Harmony's excited yelp down the line.
"Oh my god! That is so huge! So, he drove you home, confessed that he was over Buffy, made plans to see you later and gave you his digits? Cor, it's a date! You're on a date with Angel tonight!"
"N-o," Cordelia said consideringly. "I don't think it's a 'date' date. It's more like what you get *before* a date. You know, 'I'm going to be at the place, are you going to be at the place'. That kind of thing."
Harmony, however had just remembered something. "And Alisha's sending off party is tonight. At the Bronze. Buffy's going to be there."
Cordelia's heart sank. "He said he was over her," she reminded her friend. "I believe that. I really do."
"Okay. Now say that like you mean it," Harmony said.
Cordelia sighed. "Oh god. What am I going to do? He's at school in LA. This could be one of the few times I get to see him."
"Don't go anywhere," Harmony sounded unusually determined. "I'm coming over with my new Calvin Klein top. We're going to make you drop dead gorgeous and dressed to kill."
*
Charles Gunn was propping up the bar as usual, using his height to 'scope out the honeys' as he told his friends. There was an appreciative smile on the football player's face as he watched the girls move around the room, and when one beauty caught his eye, he raised his glass to her. As Angel noted, he was raising his glass a lot more than he was drinking out of it.
"Angel! My man!" He exclaimed, clapping his friend on the back. "What brings you back here?"
"My VCR," Angel said, incurably truthful. "I left it behind. Had to wrestle it out of Kathy. She's appropriated half my stuff," he added, aggrieved.
Gunn shook his head. "Sisters," he commiserated. "Alonna's dating now," he grinned when he saw Angel's aghast stare. "I know. My little sister, out there in the big wide world."
"You're letting her date? I'm putting Kathy in a nunnery," Angel swore, picking up his beer.
Gunn looked evil. "Alonna don't know that I'm stalking her ass when she goes out with these boys."
"Do they know?" Angel asked, intrigued.
Gunn smiled. Slow and nasty. "Hell yeah." He glanced at his friend. "Heard about Buffy?" He asked.
Angel rolled his eyes. "What? That she's dating? You're the fourth person to mention it since I got in here. Look. I'm fine. Really."
"You are weirdly cheerful," Gunn observed. He narrowed his eyes. "Okay. Spill. Who is she?"
"I don't know what you mean," Angel said innocently.
Gunn put his drink down and raised his eyebrows. "You've got some little honey, don't you? What's her name? Some chick put that expression on your face, my friend. Who is she? Is she from LA? Or," Gunn's eyes widened when he saw the smug look that Angel was unable to keep from spreading over his face. "She's from here? Man, you've only been back for five minutes. Damn! How do you do that?"
"Picked her up from the side of the road." Angel grinned.
Gunn wasn't impressed. "Uh huh. Listen, man, you've gotta tell me..." His voice trailed off. "Damn," he said, low and shocked. "When that girl pulls out the stops, she really goes all out."
Angel turned to see where Gunn was pointing and saw Buffy for the first time since they broke up. Her shoulder length blond hair was curled and twisted up and her pale purple halter neck shimmered slightly. She was perched on high silver heels and leaning on the arm of a blond guy swathed in a black leather coat. She looked exquisite. Delicate. Innocent. Fragile. As if a strong wind would blow her over and he wanted to go over there to protect her. His lips twisted. Better than anyone, he knew how strong she was.
"She's always been stunning," Angel said, turning back to pick up his drink as Buffy and the blond guy were surrounded by her friends.
"Not Buffy," Gunn sounded scandalised. "Queen C," he grabbed Angel's arm and pointed towards the cloakroom where Harmony could just be seen handing her coat in. Cordelia was nowhere in sight. But as Angel scanned the crowd for her, he suddenly saw her. There was a natural lull in the music and the shift of the crowd left an open corridor. His jaw dropped.
He couldn't say what she was wearing or how she had her hair because as soon as she spotted him she smiled so wide and so happy that it hurt him to look at her.
Smiled, and started walking towards him.
"Oh man," Gunn breathed. "Oh, you lucky son-of-a-bitch."
Angel didn't hear him. Wasn't, in fact, aware of anything but Cordelia walking towards him.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hey," he knew that he must have the goofiest of goofy smiles on his face. "You look great."
"Thanks," she said, sparing a smile for Gunn who was diplomatically moving away. "So do you."
Conversation spluttered. Angel couldn't stop looking at her. How had he not noticed her before? Too wrapped up in Buffy, he suspected.
"Want to dance?" He asked quickly as the Dingoes moved into a ballad.
Her eyes were shining. "Yes, please."
He put his drink on the bar and followed her through the crowd onto the dance floor. Suddenly feeling nervous, Cordelia hesitantly put one perfectly manicured hand on his shoulder and let him take the other in his. He smiled down at her, but his eyes were a little startled when he put a hand on her back and realised that her pretty dark red top was backless save for two tiny strings which were giving him very bad thoughts.
Her eyes were on level with his throat and he ended up looking at the top of her head. He was happy enough just swaying in time to the music with her in his arms, her warm, lithe body brushing against his, but he wanted to talk to her. Wanted to tell her that it felt weird, that it felt like something was going to happen, that something was happening that he hadn't expected. That he was still studying in LA and she was still in high school in a different town. That, really, there was no way this could work but something made him want to try. That the fights he and Buffy had had were so awful that the last thing he wanted to do was to get into a relationship again. That he was probably still rebounding from Buffy and that jumping into a relationship with one of her friends was probably the worst thing he could ever, ever do.
He wanted to say that he didn't really care about all of the above because he felt excited and breathless and free in a way he hadn't for nearly a year.
But mostly what he wanted to do was kiss her.
So he did.
He gently cupped her face in one hand; looked into her gleaming hazel eyes, stroking his fingers over her satin like skin. Her lips, slick with lipstick, were slightly parted and he could feel her breath against his face. He leaned in and watched, touched, as her eyes closed helplessly and her hand closed on his shoulder. His mouth touched hers briefly, just a brush of mouth on mouth and then returned, pressing more firmly, catching her lower lip between his, licking the flavoured lip gloss from her mouth as he swept his tongue lightly across her skin. She shivered in his arms and he cradled her against him, feeling her hand touch his cheek as she pressed herself closer to him; her body touching his from chest to hips. Cordelia sighed and opened her mouth under the insistant pressure. She tasted fresh and sweet and Angel was already addicted to her tiny, breathy moans and the feel of her in his arms.
Very gently, he eased back.
"Hey," he said softly, stroking a strand of dark hair away from her face. Her eyes were huge and more open than he could have ever imagined.
"Hey," she whispered back, blushing furiously. He was charmed by the flush in her cheeks.
"You okay?" Angel asked as she curled into him, sliding his arms around her back and gently stroking her warm, soft skin.
"My senior year didn't exactly start well," she noted, leaning her head on his shoulder and talking directly down his ear. "I had a flaming row with Buffy, got sent out of history, my overtures of friendship towards the new guy were misinterpreted, I didn't get head cheerleader and my car broke down. But," and she pulled back to look him in the eye, "if I could make a wish and change anything, I wouldn't," she told him sincerely. "Well," she amended, "I would have changed getting covered in mud. But apart from that, nothing," she added hastily as he started to laugh.
"If wishes were horses," he teased.
She grinned and looked over his shoulder to see Harmony gesturing at her. "I'm just going to powder my nose," she said, gently disentangling herself from him. He nodded, but before she was out of reach, he leaned in and kissed her hard enough to leave her breathless and flushed.
"I'll be at the bar," he told her.
*
In the restroom, Harmony was wild with excitement.
"Oh my god! This is so huge! You and Angel!" She squealed, jumping up and down.
"I know!" Cordelia said excitedly.
"Well? Is he a good kisser?" Harmony demanded.
Cordelia's eyes went dreamy. "Oh, yeah," she said, catching Harmony's envious gaze and both girls dissolved into laughter. They were leaning against the counter; Harmony's purse lay open and she had been touching up her makeup. There the sound of flushing water and one of the cubicles opened to reveal a pretty, dark haired girl. She smiled absently at Cordelia and took out a dark lipstick, carefully repainting her mouth. The other two girls waited in silence for her to leave so they could continue gossiping about Angel.
"Hey, cute necklace," Harmony said to the girl, seeing it in the mirror as she brushed her shining hair.
"Thanks," the girl said politely, "it's a family heirloom."
Cordelia frowned. "Hey, do you go to Sunnydale High?" She asked curiously. "'Cause you look kinda familiar."
The girl smiled distantly. "Transfer student," she said briefly.
"Well, it's nice to meet you," Cordelia said brightly, feeling very charitable and well disposed towards the world. "I'm Cordelia and this is Harmony."
"Hi," Harmony offered.
The girl's smile tightened slightly and then she relaxed and the smile was ever-so-slightly disturbing. "I know. We've met before but only briefly. My name's Anya."
End.