You Stay with Me Trilogy:
Masquerade
by Scribs

All right. No more stalling. I promise. Here we go.

Cordelia was checking her mail when she came across a single piece of paper. It read, "Mascarade Ball on the 31st!! Wear a costume with a mask and tell no one who you are until midnight when the masks come off!!" She couldn't believe her luck!! She picked up her phone and dialed Xanders cell phone. "Hello?"

"Xander? It's Cordelia. I've got an idea."

"Why do you want me to come with you?" Angel asked. He was wary of Cordelia's actions. "Cause I have no one to go with. You always went to parties with Buffy." Angel flinched. It still hurt him to hear Buffy's name. Cordy leaned in closer. "Please?" "All right. I'll go." He pushed her away from him. "Thank you!!" She squealed. Before he could say anything, she walked out the door and was gone.

"Xand, I don't want to go. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Buffy was getting annoyed. "Until you finally give in and say yes." He replied. She had to smile. "Well I'm not going to give in. Besides, the 31st is All Hallows Eve. I need to stay here." Suddenly, Xander swept her feet out from under her. She fell to the floor and he pinned her there. He started to tickle her. She squirmed and squealed. "Say yes." He said. She just squirmed for a minute until she was out of breath. "All right!!! I'll go!!" He got up and did a little dance. "The tickle man wins again! bwhahahaha!" He ran out the door.

"Well, how did it go?" Cordy asked him. "It took a little tickling, but I got her to say that she was going to come. How 'bout on your end?" "He's coming. He thinks that he's going to be my date for the evening. So far, everything is going according to plan. Another thing you have to do, is get Willow to make the spell"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Willow said after Xander told her of the plan. "Can you do it Will?" He asked. She smiled. "Of course. All I need is the right ingrediants." An hour later, the spell was finished. "I wish I would be able to be there." Xander smiled. "Don't worry. I'm sure Buffy will tell you all about it when she gets back." Willow handed him the bottles. "Just make sure you get it on them before they get into the building. And don't worry. When you spray it on them, they won't know you did anything. The sprayers are silent." "You're the best Wil." She blushed. "Well I try. Anyway, the one for Buffy is vanilla sented. The one for Angel smells like Old Spice." Xanders eyebrows raised. "What?" Willow asked. "Buffy told me that she likes the smell of Old Spice!"

The ride to LA was made in almost complete silence. Xander noticed that Buffy was extremly jumpy and getting more and more depressed. He had hoped that going to LA would cheer her up at the thought of being closer to Angel. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. She thought that if she tried to seek him out, he would not want to be found. And if she did find him, he wouldn't want to talk to her. Ouch. Now he understood her mood.

When they reached Cordy's suite at the top of one of the most expensive hotels in LA, Cordy was standing at the door waiting for them. "Xander!!! Buffy!! It's so good to see you guys!" She pulled Buffy into a short hug. "Hey you." She purred at Xander. He looked her up and down. "Hey yourself." He pulled her into his arms for a kiss. Buffy didn't think that she had seen anyone kiss that long without breathing since her and Angel. Her face fell. Angel. "Well, Xand, go in and make yourself comfortable. Buffy and I have some shopping to do." She pushed Xander into the room with the luggage and shut the door.

Cordy took Buffy to the most exclusive shops in LA. Buffy enjoyed the attention she was getting from Cordelia and the salespeople. She had never been fussed over so much. She peeked out from behind the dressing curtain and saw Cordelia and the lady that was helping them fussing over some kind of shiny fabric. She smiled. She always admired Cordelia's style of fasion. Even though it was a little pricy. She walked out. "Well?" She asked. They looked at her and they gasped. "It's perfect." Cordy breathed.

They finally got back to the suite after sunset. When they walked in, they found Xander asleep on the bed. "And to think that he hasn't been doing anything all day except driving." Cordelia whispered. She pointed down a short hallway. "There's two bedrooms, and a seperate bathroom for each one. You and Xander can have those rooms. Just help me get him off of my bed first."

After they got Xander moved to his own bed and they said goodnight, Cordy sat on her bed thinking. "How in the world am I going to get that stuff on him?" She thought. Then she thought of something. "Of course! It's perfect!" She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

The next day, all they did was sight see. Buffy knew that there was a lot of stuff to see where her father lived, but she didn't think that there was so much! They had started out at 10:00 and didn't get back to the suite until 7:00. Cordy looked at her watch. Oh no! She didn't realize that they had been out so long!She had one hour to get Buffy and Xander out of the suite before Angel showed up. "Well, we should all go get changed." After Buffy shut the door to the bathroom, Cordelia turned to Xander. "We have a problem. Angel is going to be here in an hour to pick me up." "Why didn't you say so?!?!" Xander hissed. Running to his bedroom, he quickly changed into his costume, which was a simple gorilla suit.

When Buffy walked out of the bathroom, her hair was still down. "Cordy will you help me? I can't get my hair done." "Sure. Come sit over here." She sat down on the edge of the bed and Buffy sat on the floor. She laughed when she saw Xander. "I see that you are trying to become more like Oz by growing more body hair." "Don't tease me." He scolded. "There. I'm done." Cordelia announced. Cordelia got up, helped Buffy up, and gave her a once over. "You look stunning. Oh. You need one more thing."

She walked over to the dresser and picked up the bottle of vanilla sented "perfume" "Here. Put this on." She handed it to Buffy. After smelling it to make sure that is was satisfactory, she sprayed a bit onto her wrists. "There. Now you're all ready." She handed Buffy her mask. "Go on ahead without me. I'll be a while." She ushered Buffy and Xander to the door. "I'll see you when I get there."

Cordelia had just finished getting dressed when she heard a knock on her door. She opened the door. She wasn't ready for the sight before her. "Your mouth's open." Angel commented. Cordelia shut it and quickly regained her composture. "Ready?" He asked. "Not quite." She commented, giving him a once over. "Come in a minute." She walked back to the dresser and picked up the other bottle of "cologne". She walked back over to Angel. "Here. Put this on." Relutantly, Angel put a little on.

"Now I'm ready."

When they got to where the ball was, Cordelia gasped. She had been to a lot of parties in her young life, but this topped all of them. The ballroom was set up in an old fasioned theme with a gigantic chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Cordelia excused herself from Angel and went to find Xander. When she did, she pulled him to the side. "Where's Buffy?" She asked. "She's being a wall flower. All the songs they've played since the party started have been love songs. She's gettin really depressed." Cordelia looked at her watch. "It's only 9:30. We have to make her stay here until midnight. Then we have to get them together."

Buffy was getting extremly upset. Every single song that they had played so far had reminded her of Angel. It was then that she had noticed someone who captured her attention. It was a marine. He was standing by the punch. The navy pants with red stripe fit him perfectly. The jacket was a little snug fitting. She didn't mind that. The man had broad shoulders and a powerful chest. The medals that adorned the right side of his chest were many. The mask that he wore was dark navy blue like the pants and jacket, but it had red and white sequins adorning it. It all made a very regal picture to her.

Angel had been standing over by the punch wondering where Cordelia had gone to when he noticed a woman sitting by herself at a table. Mainly, it was the costume that had gotten his attention. It looked to be cream-colored silk made into a Elizabethan Era syle. There was a triangle of a darker shade of white that started at the woman's waist and got larger and larger until it reached the floor. The top was low cut with long sleeves that ended in a tiny tip at the knuckle of her middle fingers. The mask she wore covered the upper half of her face, and was cream colored as well. It had sequins adorning it and on the left side were small feathers. Her hair seemed to be piled up in an old fasioned twist. It was all very pretty. Another thing that he could see was that she was upset. He silently walked over to her. "I don't mean to be rude miss, but may I ask what's wrong?" The woman looked up at him, obvioiusly startled. "Oh! I'm sorry. You frightened me. What did you say?" "I asked what was wrong?" "Nothing." Angel smiled inwardly. She was acting exactly how Buffy used to act when something was bothering her and she didn't want to tell anyone. "May I sit down?" He asked. She nodded. After he sat down, he decided to have a little fun. "I don't mean to be rude, but the way you're acting now reminds me of my old girlfriend. And I don't want to be reminded of her just now."

Buffy looked, startled at the man sitting next to her. "Excuse me?" "When she would get upset about something and not want to tell anyone when they asked her, she would just say 'nothing'." "Oh. I'm sorry." She felt the man place his hand ever so gently over her own. "Don't be sorry." She was about to start talking when she heard an Irish gig start up. She watched as the man stood up and held out his hand to her. "Dance with me?" He asked.

Angel waited patiently for the woman's response. When she gingerly placed her hand in his, he smiled. He waited until she stood up then led her out onto the dance floor. He twirled her around and started into the dance. He was suprised when she matched him step for step. "Where did you learn to dance this way?" He asked her. She laughed. A laugh so very much like Buffy's. "My old boyfriend taught me. He was from Ireland." "My family was from Ireland too!" He answered. She laughed again and they danced away with the rest of the song.

"Where's Buffy?" Cordelia asked Xander after they finished dancing their fourth slow dance. "I don't know. The last time I saw her, she was sitting right over there." He pointed to where Buffy had been sitting. Cordelia caught a flash of white on the dancefloor. "There she is. She's dancing with... oh my god." "What?" Xander asked. He looked to where Buffy was dancing with a marine. "So she's dancing with a marine. So what?" "So what? That's Angel you idiot!" Xander spit out the punch that he had been drinking. "Are you serious?!?!" "Of course I am!! Why would I lie to you about that?" Cordelia looked at her watch. Midnight. "Let the fireworks begin."

They watched in silence as a man climbed up onto the stage where the band was. "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please. It is now midnight. It's time to remove your masks and show everyone who you are."

Buffy and Angel watched as everyone took off their masks. They turned toward each other. They still hadn't taken theirs off. "You first." Angel insisted. "All right." Buffy took a deep breath. She reached up and removed her mask. She kept her eyes closed after she put her hands back to her sides. She heard a gasp come from the marine. "What? What is it?" She asked. "It's nothing. It's just that, it's been a long time Buffy." "What do you mean? How do you know my name?" She opened her eyes. She watched as the marine took off his mask. "Oh my god. Angel?" She whispered. "Hey."

The anger that she had felt toward him over the past year came rushing forward. "What are you doing here?" "I was invited." "Oh I forgot." Buffy said sarcasticly. "A vampire has to be invited into a private residence." "Don't start that again." "What? The fact that you dumped me the night before the Prom? The fact that I love you and all you want to do is run away from me every time I say that? The fact that you are using the excuse that you're a vampire just to keep from having a relationship with me?" Angel reached for her arm, but she pulled away from him. "Don't touch me." She hissed.

She turned and started to walk away. She had to get away from him before she burst into tears. Angel looked around him desperatly. He had to do something. He saw the microphone sitting on the stage. He grabbed it. "Buffy." He said. His voice boomed over the speakers. She turned around. It was silent. He looked around nervously and licked his lips. He turned back to her. "Don't go." He pleaded. "Give me one good reason why." She hissed. He turned back to the band's leader and whispered something in his ear. The man nodded and turned back to the band. The music started to play and still no one in the room moved.

"Every endless night, has a dawning day. Every darkest sky, has a shining ray. And it shines on you. Baby can't you see, you're the only one, who can shine for me. It's a private emotion, that fills you tonight. And the silence falls between us, as the shadows steal the light. And where ever you may find it, where ever it may lead, let your private emotion come to me." "Come to me. Come to me." "Come to me." Angel saw that Buffy had grabbed a microphone and had started to sing along with him. He remained silent and let her sing the second verse.

"When your soul is tired, and your heart is weak, do you think of love, as a one way street. Well it runs both ways, open up your eyes. Can't you see me here? How can you deny?"

"It's a private emotion, that fills you tonight. And a silence falls between us, as the shadows steal the light. And wherever you may find it, wherever it may lead, let your private emotion come to me."

Xander and Cordelia stared in shock at their two friends. They had never known a relationship to be as intense as theirs. They had it hard but they always seemed to come through for each other in the end.

"Come to me. Come to me." " Every endless night, has a dawning day, every darkest sky, has a shining ray. It takes a lot to laugh, as your tears go by. But you can find me here, till your tears run dry. Oh. It's a private emotion, that fills you tonight. And a silence falls between us, as the shadows steal the light. And wherever you may find it, wherever it may lead, let your private emotion come to me. Let your private emotion come to me. Let your private emotion come to me." "Come to me."

The room broke into cheers as they finished the song. But Buffy and Angel didn't seem to notice that anyone else was in the room. They only had eyes for each other. Buffy broke into a run and in seconds, was in Angel's arms. The crowd cheered even harder. Cordelia was crying to Xander's gorilla costume.

Buffy was crying into Angel's shoulder as he picked her up and carefully carried her out of the room. When they got outside, he set her down. He was wanting to talk to her when he pulled her face away from his shoulder, but she didn't give him the chance. Her lips instantly connected with his, as if in desperation.

They kissed for a long while before Angel managed to pull her away. "I missed you." She whispered. He chuckled. "I can see that." She let out a giggle and laid her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to let you out of my sight for one second." "You don't have to." She looked up at him. "What do you mean?" "You could move here, and stay with me." "What about Sunnydale?" "The Slayer who replaced Faith can take care of it. LA needs its own Slayer. I need my own Slayer." "You mean it?" She whispered. "If I didn't mean it I wouldn't say it." He answered.

On to "From This Moment On" (Epilogue)

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