By Goddess Isa
SUMMARY: I'm sure you know, but let's just say it's a sweet New Year's piece
SPOILER: Mild S4/ANGEL thus far. No Hush and no Hero have happened.
FEEDBACK: Please, I'd hate to have to Slay for it. =P
RATING: TV-PG
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters, Joss Whedon does. If he ever
decides to give them to me, that would be nice. =)
//We've got stars directing our fate
And we're praying it's not too late
Millennium\\
"Do we *have* to go to this party?" Buffy asked. She'd gone ahead and
put on the dress Willow had taken out of her closet, put her hair up and
applied glittery makeup, but she still felt uneasy. She knew the party would
be full of couples, happy ones, guys and girls that would dance cheek to
cheek and kiss at midnight.
She wanted to stay home in her new Nick and Nora pjs and sulk while
watching Carson Daly flirt with every woman in New York City.
She wanted to eat Ben & Jerry's and order pizza and feel completely sorry
for herself.
Instead, she slid into her high heels, the ones that hurt, and waited for
Willow to finish getting ready.
"You look great," Willow said as she spun around in her red velvet dress.
"How do I look?"
"Spike will die," Buffy said with a smile.
"I hope so. You ready?"
"Did you not hear my question about not attending this whole shindig?"
she asked in a whiny voice.
"Shindig?" Willow questioned. "And you're whining. Were you watching
Time Of Your Life again?"
"You couldn't pay me enough," she smirked. "I just feel like staying
home."
"Well," Willow said as someone knocked on their door. "You're not."
"That's not Spike," Buffy said warily. "I can smell Spike from a mile
away."
"Spider sense?" Willow guessed.
"No, it's his stupid cologne." she shivered. "Who is it?"
Willow smirked. "Your date."
"Tell me it's not Fish Boy."
Willow laughed. "Riley is still at the farm, remember?"
Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. Who is it?"
"Open the door and see."
Buffy did and was face to face with a nice looking Irish man in bad
clothes.
"You would be Buffy?" the cute guy asked.
"I would, and you would be....Doyle?"
"Aye, we remember each other. Pretty good for having spent such a short
time together over the visit you paid to LA in November."
"You're my date?" Buffy asked, confused.
"Escort is the appropriate word," he offered her his arm. "The limo's
outside. Willow?" he looked to the redhead. She nodded and he smiled.
"Pleased to meet you. Spike's waitin' for ya."
Willow grabbed her shrug and followed Buffy and Doyle out to the
limousine. Buffy didn't look happy but she didn't look disappointed, either.
Spike complimented both girls on their dresses and then they were off to
the Bronze. They were meeting Xander and Anya there, and even though Spike
had played Creed just to please Willow, Buffy couldn't get into a good mood.
She stared out the window, wondering what Angel was doing and who he was
doing it with.
//Some say that we are players
Some say that we are pawns
Got to slow down
'Cos we're low down\\
The party was hopping when they arrived. After turning in their fifty
dollar tickets and getting a bracelet, they entered and joined Anya and
Xander at the reserved table. Buffy pulled at her strapless silver gown and
shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She couldn't have cared less when
Cordelia appeared and whisked Doyle away to dance.
"Buffy," Willow encouraged as she got up to dance with Spike, now leaving
her alone at the table. "Try to smile, okay?? This is the new Millennium,
it's a big deal."
Buffy gave her a tiny smirk. "Better?"
"Not really. You are allowed to have fun, you know."
"I don't see how that's possible."
Willow's evil grin put Buffy on edge.
//Run around in circles
Life a life of solitude
'Til we find ourselves a partner
Someone to relate to
Then we'll slow down
Before we fall down\\
Buffy was going to leave. She'd put her shrug on, slipped back into the
uncomfortable shoes and was holding her purse.
She was standing, scanning the room for her friends to tell them good
night and wish them a Happy New Year, then she spotted him.
And she froze.
//We've got stars directing our fate
And we're praying it's not too late
'Cos we know we're falling from grace
Millennium\\
Angel stepped through the crowds towards her wearing a smile and holding
a tulip, her favorite flower. She'd never seen him in a silk shirt like the
silvery-gray one he wore that night. It suited him.
"Happy New Year," he wished her when he was close enough to be heard.
She fell into his arms and somehow, in the mass of bodies, they started
to dance.
"What the Hell is going on here?" Xander demanded when he saw them.
Buffy barely raised her head. "What's wrong, Xan?"
"You're here? With him? Dancing?"
"Not bad for a two hundred and forty-four year old vampire." Anya said
approvingly. "You don't really know me, I'm Anya."
"Angel," he said, though it wasn't necessary.
She shrugged and nudged Xander. "I like him."
"You would."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.
"He's trouble. Everytime they get together, Buffy gets hurt, or killed,
or bit or something."
//My friends are all so cynical
They refuse to keep the faith
We all enjoy the madness
'Cos we know we're going to fade away\\
"Xander, cut it out." Willow said. The four couples were now standing in
a circle, Angel and Xander staring at each other with hate in their eyes. "I
invited Angel. I thought Buffy deserved a Happy New Year. God knows the rest
of her days usually suck." she turned to her friend. "No offense."
"None taken. It's true."
"Maybe Xander's right," Angel said.
"I did *not* just hear those words!" Cordelia was completely floored at
what Angel had just said.
"No, he is," Angel went on. "All I do is hurt you. I should go."
"Go and I promise you, I'll push a stake through your back." Buffy meant
business.
"Maybe you should," Angel muttered.
"Am I missin' somethin' here?" Doyle whispered to Xander and Willow.
//And when we come we always come too late
I often think that we were born to hate
Get up and see the sarcasm in my eyes\\
"Angel, listen to me." Buffy said seriously. "The first time I've smiled
in months was when I saw you coming towards me tonight. If you leave
again...I won't survive it."
//We've got stars directing our fate
And we're praying it's not too late
'Cos we know we're falling from grace
Millennium\\
"Five, four, three, two, one!! Happy New Year two thousand!"
Everyone in the club was shouting and screaming and dancing. There were
streamers and balloons everywhere they went.
And in a small corner of the nightclub, a very happy Buffy and Angel
stood, making out, their first kiss of the New Millennium.
It marked not only the start of a new year, but a new life for the
Slayer. One full of happiness and love.
//Millennium\\