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Revenge
by Scribs

"Angel, will you PLEASE stop figiting with your tie? It looks fine!" Trish looked at Angel sternly but couldn't keep a straight face for long. It was so cute to see a grown man act so nervous. They were riding in Angel's limo to the Grammies where being held. "I can't help it." Angel complained. "I've never been used to wearing a tie." Trish laughed. "Well, you better get used to it."

They pulled up to the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino and stepped out. Instantly, cameras were in their faces, snapping pictures for different magazines and newspapers. Ignoring the flashing lights, Angel and Trish quickly made their way up the red carpet to the doors. Once there, they were ushered to their seats near the front of the auditorium.

As they were sitting down, Angel noticed a flash of blonde hair. He turned and saw Buffy, Xander, Willow, and someone else. A man. And that man had a hold of Buffy's arm. He did not realize he was growling low in his throat until Trish pulled him down into his seat. "What is wrong with you?" She hissed. But he didn't get a chance to answer her before she caught sight of Buffy. "Oh." Angel took a deep breath to clam himself as the lights in the auditorium went out. Trish looked over at him. "Well, ready to see how many awards you can get in one night?"

Buffy held back a yawn as the announcer droned onto the next award. She didn't hear that the award was for best new female arisist. Nor did she hear when the presenter called her name until Willow tugged on her arm. She looked at her. "YOU WON YOU WON!!" "What?!" 'YOU WON!! Get up there!!" Dumbfounded, Buffy stood up among the cheers and walked to the stage.

Angel watched with unblinking eyes as Buffy made her way to the stage. She was dressed in a light blue silk dress that reached to the floor and swirled around her legs as she walked. Her golden hair just grazed her shoulders. She was absolutly stunning. And the radiant smile she had on her face as she smiled down at the man she was with was priceless. Even he hadn't made her smile like that. He watched with a heavy heart as she said her thanks and walked off the stage.

It was now time to announce the best new male artist. He hoped that it wasn't him. He didn't want to go up there feeling like this. Knowing that she was in the audience with another man, watching him. A split second later, they called his name. He had won.

Buffy knew he would win. He deserved it. As he stood up, she looked over to him. He was dressed in a formal, yet comfortable looking suit. The shirt was silk, as usual, with the first three buttons undone, but the jacked he wore over it made it look nice. Especially on him. She couldn't think of a man that would put a buisness suit and silk shirt together and make it look good the way he did.

She watched quietly as he walked up to the stage, smile plastered to his face. She could tell he was upset about something. She had seen that smile put on one too many times for her sake. He walked up to the presenter and shook his hand as he was handed the grammy. He turned toward the microphone and she held her breath.

"Well," He said. "I certainly wasn't expecting to get this. Um...I just wanna thank my friends Trish Jefferson and John Dupuis, for making me see that I actually had some talent," He looked down at the grammy in his hand. "And most importantly, I have to thank the fans. They're the ones that brought me here tonight by liking my music. You guys have always been there when I needed support and I can't thank you enough. So I'm just gonna say, thanks and god bless!"

The audience cheered as he walked off stage. When he got behind the curtain, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had come close to loosing it. He was glad that he didn't search the audience for her face. For if he found it, he wouldn't have been able to finish talking without breaking down.

When he got back to his seat, he was clamer but not quite calm enough. Trish knew something was wrong the instant he sat down. "What's wrong?" She asked him. "Nothing. Why should anything be wrong?" She wasn't fooled. "Is it because you and Buffy are up for best duet next and you will probably win it?" She prodded. "It's just that seeing her again is really hard. Especially if I see her with another man." Trish layed a gentle hand on his arm. "It doesn't matter if she's here with another man or not. All that matters is that she's still in love with you. I saw the way she looked at you when you went on stage. I don't think I've ever seen a woman more in love." The corners of Angel's mouth turned up slightly. That made him feel a little better. Taking another deep breath, he cleared his mind and waited to be called up again.

"And the winners are......Angel and Sarah Summers for, "Breathe Again"!!! The announcer said excitedly. Trish looked up at Angel and patted his hand gently as they stood up, hugged, and waited for Buffy to come down the isle for Angel to escort her to the stage.

Buffy could hardly breathe as she walked to where Angel was waiting for her. The song had been just a one time thing, but the song had been enough to win best duet. She had seen Trish gently pat Angel's hand as he stood up. He was nervous. But there was no way in hell that he was more nervous than she was. The pounding of her heart drowned out the cheering of fellow artists and fans as she walked up to him and he turned around.

Angel turned around as she walked up to him. They stared at each other for a few seconds before embracing. She smelled like strawberries and vanilla. Angel held onto her a few seconds longer than what he should have, but before she was able to get away, he placed a gentle kiss where her neck and shoulder met. She pulled away and looked at him. It seemed like the kiss didn't even register in her mind. She turned towards the stage and started to walk, but Angel kept stride with her, with his hand firmly at her elbow.

Both of them had smiles on, but they were just for show. Buffy didn't really want to be next to Angel at that moment, and Angel smiling to hide how nervous he was about being this close to Buffy again.

When they reached the stage, both were about to go crazy. Especially Buffy. One of Angel's strong fingers was stroking the skin before her elbow, sending invisible shock waves that shook her to the core. Angel was getting more and more scared by the second. Usually when his fingers stroked her arm, he got a reaction out of her. But now, she didn't even blink. Had he lost her?

They recieved their awards with smiles once again plastered to their faces. They stood side by side behind the microphone and Angel allowed Buffy to say her thanks first. As she moved closer to him, his hand instinctivly went to the small of her back, his cool palm pressing into her warm, smooth skin. "First off, I have to thank Trish Jefferson and John Dupuis for setting up the little scheme that led to the song. And of course, I have to thank this man beside me. Since I first met him, Angel has been a great friend to me and of course there wouldn't have been a duet without him."

Buffy stepped away from the microphone and allowed Angel to move to it. "Like Sarah, I have to thank Trish and John again. Cause if they hadn't set it up, I wouldn't have been able to be reunited with her. But I think the most thanks has to go to this beautiful woman standing beside me tonight. She was the one who agreed to the scheme and who actually pulled it off." The crowd cheered as they made their way off stage, Angel still holding onto her arm.

When they finally got backstage, Angel led Buffy to what seemed like a deserted part of the area. But when he turned her to face him, she wouldn't even look him in the eye. "Buffy, look at me." He whispered. Still, she wouldn't. He lifted her chin so she would have to look at him. "What's wrong?" "Nothing." She tried to pull away from him, but his arm was wrapped firmly around her waist. She knew she wasn't going anywhere unless he wanted her to.

"Buffy, please. What's wrong?" "Nothing. Angel please, let me go." Buffy dared a look into his eyes. But the look she found there wasn't what she had normally seen. His deep brown eyes were blazing with something that she didn't know if she liked or not. But he didn't let her go. Instead, he wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

He buried his face into her neck and they stood like that for a minute before Buffy felt something brush her bare shoulder. Then she realized what it was. His lips. He kissed his way up and down her shoulder before starting to gently suckle where her neck met her shoulder. She whimpered when she felt his strong fingers start to massage her bare back and his lips made their way up her neck to run along her jawline. But these weren't any normal kisses.

His kisses were desperate, hungry. Animalistic. "Angel, please. Stop." He didn't. "Angel. Stop it!" Using her slayer strength, she pushed him away from her and into a wall. As he leaned against the wall, dazed, Buffy took the opportunity to run to her dressing room and lock the door.

"Wil, you should have seen the look in his eyes. It frightened me." Buffy came out from behind the dressing screen dressed in the outfit she would do her performance in. "Well, he...he must have missed you." The red head answered. "I've never seen him act like that. It was almost as if he didn't have any control over what he was doing. I've never seen him act like that before." "Well, how long has it been since you've sat down and truly talked to him?" Willow asked quietly. "You don't know what he's going through. And neither do I, but that's not the point. The point is, you haven't been able to get up the courage to be within 20 feet of him for how long?" Buffy looked at her reflection in the mirror and thought about what her best friend had just said. She turned around to look at her. "I'm not the only one who hasn't had enough courage to do anything."

Angel had remained backstage since his performance was coming up soon. He had stayed in the dark corner for a while, trying to gather his thoughts. What had he just tried to do? He had foolishly thought that one moment alone together would erase everything bad that he had ever done to her. All he had wanted was to hold her in his arms once more and kiss her soft lips. To hear her sweet voice talking to him in the soft, whispering tone she had always used with him To see her bright eyes shining up at him full of love for him. But she had run away from him in fear. What did she think he was going to do to her? Then it entered his mind. "Oh god," He thought. "She thought that I was going to...." He ended the thought there. He couldn't bring himself to finish it.

Clearing his head of any other thoughts, he was about to go to his dressing room when he caught a glimpse of someone on the catwalk. The person was dressed in solid black and was holding something in front of them. He remained in the shadows and watched the figure for a few minutes. He saw the figure set down a box. He wasn't thinking that anything serious was going to happen, but then he remembered that Buffy's perfomance was next. Narrowing his eyes, he climbed silently up the ladder.

The person smiled silently to itself. "Soon," He thought. "Soon it will be all over." He smiled again as he looked down at the box he had been holding. He slowly opened it and began to put the contents together.

As Angel was climbing up the ladder, the lights went out, signaling Buffy's performance was about to start. He had wanted to watch her performance, but he wasn't about to let this person do anything to ruin it. Right before he reached the top of the ladder, he caught sight of Buffy and he froze. If he had any breath in him, it would have been knocked out of him the instant he saw her. Her hair was now crimped and she was wearing a skin-tight black leather cat suit with a leather jacket on over it. To top it of, she had 4 inch spike heeled boots on. His jaw dropped when he caught sight of the front of her costume. The top of the cat-suit had been turned into a halter top with a silk ribbon going up the middle of it. That was the only thing holding it closed. "Good Lord." He thought. "Slayer turns Vamperella." Shaking his head, he turned back to the figure on the catwalk as Buffy stepped out onto the stage to begin her performance.

She had never felt so powerful in her life. Willow had dared her to wear it. She was at first relutant to wear it, but know that was the only thing she wanted to wear while she sang this song. It fit so perfectly with it. She crept out onto the stage in the darkness and imagined the look on Angel's face when he saw her in the outfit.

The music started playing and Buffy started moving her hips along with the beat, letting the music flow over and through her body. She opened her eyes and began to sing. "I'll tell you somethin. I am a wolf. I like to wear sheeps clothin. I am a bonfire. I am a vampire. I'm waitin for my moment."

Overhead, Angel was close enough to the figure to see what it held in its hands. A rifle. "You really should learn it doesn't pay off to play with dangerous toys." He quipped. The figure turned around and stared at him. "This isn't any of your buisness, O" Connor." The man hissed. Angel spared a glance down at Buffy who was below them. "Actually, I think it is. Know why?" He motioned down to Buffy. "She's my buisness." The man took a wild swing at him with the butt of the rifle but Angel quickly dodged, sending the man to the floor of the catwalk.. The fight was on.

"You come on like a drug. I just can't get enough. I'm like an addict comin at ya for it. And there's so much at stake, I can not afford to wait. I never needed anybody like this."

The man quickly recovered and belted Angel across the face, then sending an uppercut into his stomach. Angel doubled over, but in doing so, managed to grab ahold of the man's hair. Angel pulled, bringing the man down to his level. By this time, he was vamped and clearly pissed. "You really should have payed attention to your parents when they said, it's not nice to fight."

As soon as the word fight was out of his mouth, Angel rammed his fist into the man's nose, hearing a resounding crunch in return. That done, he rammed the man's entire head against the railing of the catwalk.

"I'll tell you somethin, I am a demon. Some say it's my weakness. I have my reasons, call it my defense. Be careful what you're wishin. You come on like a drug, I just can't get enough. I'm like an addict comin at ya for it. And there's so much at stake. I can not afford to wait. I've never needed anybody like this."

The man recovered and, using the pipe above the catwalk, held himself up and mule kicked Angel in the chest. That pushed Angel away and the man got in several more punches.

"You are a secrect. I need posession. I like to keep you guessin." Buffy was sure she heard a commotion above her, but she didn't pay any attention to it as she continued to wow the crowd with her sexy movements. Though she didn't search the crowd for him, she could imagine the look on his face as he watched her. Absolute wonder and amazement at the sight of the once young girl that had knocked him flat on his butt in that alley the night they met.

"You come on like a drug, I just can't get enough. I'm like an addict comin at ya for it. And there's so much at stake, I can not afford to wait. I never needed anybody like this. Oohh" The man came in with a swift kick to the back of Angel's head. Angel didn't even flinch. He backed up and hit the man's already bleeding face with a swift roundhouse kick. But not before the man got off a shot with the rifle. The shot hit Angel in the chest. Angel doubled over in pain as the man sped off down the other side of the catwalk.

"When I"m not sure what I"m lookin for. (Show who I am.) When I'm not sure what I"m lookin for. (show who I am) When I'm not sure, what I'm livin for. (Show, who I am). When I'm not sure, what I"m lookin for. (Show who I am.) When I'm not sure what I'm livin for. When I"m not sure what I'm lookin for. When I'm not sure what I'm livin for." The crowd stood up and cheered as Buffy took her bows.

Angel couldn't do anything as he watched the man turn around and face him again. He saw the man smirk and take out a knife and walk back toward him. The man walked up to him and squatted down to face him. "Don't ever think about getting in my way again." The man hissed. With that, the man reached over and slowly sliced into Angel's cheek with the knife. Angel hissed in pain as the man stood up and walked away.

As Buffy made her way off the stage, something dropped onto her cheek. Her hand reached up to wipe it off and when she brought her hand away, her fingers were red. Startled, she looked up and saw someone leaning against the railing of the catwalk. She put her fingers to her tongue and found that it wasn't paint, it was blood.

She quickly went over to the ladder and climbed up. When she reached the catwalk, she saw that the person was a man. "Are you alright?" Buffy called out. The person turned to face her and she gasped. "Angel!?" He turned away. She ran over to him and knelt down beside him. "Hey," She whispered. "Are you alright?" He didn't answer her. She reached around and gently took his face in her hand and he hissed in pain.

When he hissed she pulled her hand away quickly. She looked down at it. It was covered in blood. "Oh my God, Angel.." She took ahold of his chin and turned his face to face her. A long cut ran down his cheek and ended just above where her fingers were. She also noted that there was a large amount of blood on his shirt as well. She stood up and pulled on his arm. "Come on. I need to look at those where there is actually light." He let her lead him to the ladder and she helped him down the ladder and to her dressing room. "Just how did you get shot and get cut?" She asked as she gently dabbed at the cut on his cheek. He looked at her in the dim candle light. "There was somone on the catwalk as your performance started. I went up there and saw that the man had a rifle in his hands and so I fought him."

She looked away from him as she picked up a pair of tweezers. She sighed "All right. That thing has to come out. Ready?" He nodded and she gently started to push the instrument into the hole in his chest that the bullet had made and started to dig around for the bullet. He squirmed and groaned in pain.

She held out her hand. "Here. I can take more than the chair." He gently placed hid hand in hers and she gave a gentle squeeze of encouragement. He nodded and she started to probe again. Instantly, his hand gripped hers tightly. A few minutes later, she brought out the bullet. "There. It's out." She gently started to cleanse and bandage it.

He looked at her with raw and unconditional love in his eyes. "Don't look at me like that, Angel." She said coldly "Why not? It's what I feel." "You made it clear that you didn't want to be with me the night we broke up. Now that I've gone out and actually gotten a life outside of slaying, you want to be together again. I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. But now it seems that we've switched sides of the subject." "I love you." She stood up and walked to the door and looked back at him. "I'm sorry, Angel. But 'I love you' came too late."

And with that, she walked out the door, leaving Angel in her dressing room, wondering if he was ever going to get her back or was he going to spend and eternity of lonliness with out her?

Onward

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