Sunnydale Wholesale Beauty Supply, Chapter 29 Previous parts here: http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=tesla321&keyword=sunnydale&filter=all And one day I'll re-read the FAQ and write down how to do a cute linky thingy. When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glimpse Out of the corner of my eye. "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd. "We're just flesh and bone," Jack said, his voice still hoarse. "We're not meant for these games with magic and blood." He was drinking a mug of tea. "Except that we are, " Sunny said, arms folded. "Before we were born. Someone made us that way." "I have to get you out of this town," Jack said. "He doesn't have to bite you to kill you." "My dream---" she began. "Was a dream." Jack said. "All we know for sure is that your blood---our blood--tastes like bad magic. That's nothing to bet your life on." He leaned back, one arm braced on the kitchen counter. "You think there hasn't been witches at Sunnydale High before? I told you. Brooks' sister, Laura. She was a witch, and for all I know, she got vamped on purpose for more power. She was scary. She kept in touch with Brooks for a few years---sent him letters to my house." Sunny realized she was scratching at the scab of her bite mark, and made herself stop. Her thigh throbbed. "This Amy---if she was tapping into something coming off you, she didn't realize what she was doing. Someone did, though." Jack rubbed his nose. "There's a magic guy who's like a broker. He gets energy out of the Hellmouth and sells it somehow. Rack. I don't know if he's the guy or a front guy. I bet Amy got the spells from him." He took a sip. "So I think you need to go to India on that foreign exchange program. Stay with Meena's family." She shrugged. Could be fun. Looked like she was going to go, anyway. "Well, I have to say---and quoting you---what the fuck?" Sunny said, from behind the glass. There was a vampire on the fire escape, outside the french doors. Angelus rolled his eyes. "I wanted to talk to you." "What? Spitting my blood out and saying Ptui wasn't enough---actually, thanks for doing that," Sunny said. "I mean---" Angelus was laughing. She regrouped. "So, uh, the senior vampire of Sunnydale---" "Master Vampire is the phrase you're looking for," Angelus said, leaning on the door frame. "Let me in." "Oh, that's a good joke," Sunny said. "Well, it was worth a try," Angelus said, getting out a cigarette. "Come out, then." "You must be tremendously bored," Sunny said. "Don't you have people to eat, Slayers to stalk? Must be a lot of things the Master Vampire of Sunnydale has to do." "I have minions for that," Angelus said. "Handy, too." "No, seriously," Sunny said. She opened the door, staying prudently within the apartment. "If you want a haircut, it's downstairs." "Look," he said. "You come out here, then." "No," she said. "I'm food to you." "Not really. I think you're funny." He put his hand on the invisible barrier. "See, I can't come in." "I've seen that before," Sunny said. "No, and no. Really. Can't you find some Sunday school class to terrorize? I can't be that thrilling. And then, all those minions." Angelus looked faintly amused. "Do you know what a minion is?" "Not really." She looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "Like Dracula's girls in the movie?" "Hah. Not---" he glanced down, and dropped his cigarette on someone walking in the alley. A squeal rose from below. He snorted. "Nice bit of evil, there," Sunny said. "So---" "Oh, come off it. I'm a pedophile," he said. "You told me so." "Suave, too," Sunny said. "Focused." He trailed a finger down the invisible barrier. "Come on. The Slayer's not coming out and playing, and you know she hates me, anyway." She was staring at his long-fingered hand. "Oh, that's the way to encourage me, let me know where I am in the food chain." Just look at the hand. Don't look at his face. Don't look at his mouth. Evil. She looked up, and he broke into a grin. Evil, soulless, killer. He put his palm against the barrier. Slowly, she raised her hand to his. Down on the street, there was the dull thump of a municipal trash can knocking over and a girl's high shriek of laughter. Sunny blinked, and brought her hand to the door, and closed it. "Okay," Angelus shrugged. He touched two fingers to his mouth and blew her a kiss before swinging down the fire escape and out of her sight. "Buffy had the 'flu, and we got involved with something, but we did find where Amy had been using her mother's old books," Willow was tearing the crusts off her sandwich and eating them first, then picking the cheese out. "I'm trying vegetarian and my mom always forgets," she said in explanation. "We should just trade lunches, always," Sunny said. "My uncle is a vegetarian so I have no freakin' idea what these sandwiches are. If I didn't get good tips, I'd be starving." She pushed her crumpled paper sack towards Willow. "But, hey, main thing, no distortion of the temporal flux, right? And I so have got to stop watching Next Generation with Xander. The science doesn't---Ooh, pickled carrots and ginger." "Maybe you should fix us up," Sunny said. She absently rubbed the top of her thigh. Willow gave her what could only be called a look of great restraint. "I'm kidding," Sunny said. "What happened to that really cute guy, Brooks? Did you two break up?" Oh, you know these vampires, Sunny did not say. "He moved." Sunny was sitting downstairs in the closed barbershop, using Jack's printer to finish a term paper. Someone knocked, hard, on the small window above the couch, and the prickling of her scalp told her who it was. She climbed up the back of the couch and pulled the blind back. "Go away," she called. There was a girl yelling, "He'll kill me if you don't come out," and Sunny fell onto the cushions, scrambling to get her feet under her, and then she rolled onto the floor. She ran out into the barbershop, and looked around wildly before grabbing at something on Meena's stand. Outside, in the alley, feet on cold asphalt. Angelus stood leaning against the wall, in fangface, with his hand over the mouth of a short blonde girl. He had his other hand on her head and Sunny knew he could snap the girl's neck in a blink. "Let her go, Angelus," Sunny said, panting. "Thought that would bring you out," he said. He did something with his hand and the girl closed her eyes, whimpering like a puppy. Sunny came up to them. "Stop it," she said. She slashed her left forearm with the razor and fuck, it still hurt like a motherfucker! "I'll bleed on you." Angelus' face went to human, and he tossed the girl to the ground. She sprawled there, sobbing. "Run, stupid," Sunny said, her bare toes curling at the sensation of something sticky on the asphalt. "Jeeze, I'm not gonna stand here in garbage all night." Angelus gave a bark of laughter. The girl scrambled to her feet and ran, but he ignored her. He straightened up and got a cigarette out and lit it. Then, he pulled a woman's scarf out of his pocket and held his hand out. Sunny hesitated, and found herself yanked almost off her feet and shoved aganst the wall. He tied up her bleeding arm, cigarette dangling from his lip. "Too tight," she said. He glanced up briefly. "Seriously, if you live long enough, you're gonna need therapy. This do-gooder impulse is fine for Slayers, but this shit's stupid." Angelus let go of the scarf, slightly. "Stopped the bleeding." He let go of her arm. "Well, I'm here," she said, loosening the scarf. "Whatcha want?" He glanced around. "C'mere," he said, and tugged her out of the wind into the delivery area of the furniture store. She rubbed the bottom of her foot on a piece of cardboard, hoping it wasn't dogshit. Angelus picked her up under her arms and set her on the low wall around the basement stairs, pulling her legs around his waist and dipping his cool mouth onto hers. "You just wanted to make out? " she murmured. "Shut up," he said genially. "God, you're warm." "Living," she said, arching her back as he ran his hands down her sides. "Shut up," Angelus said, "or I'll bite you." She laughed, and wound her arms around his neck as he kissed her, so slowly that she almost groaned in frustration. As if showing her that he could be careful, he slowly teased her mouth open with tiny flicks of tongue, then scraped his teeth along her neck and jaw. His fingertips brushed the mark on her thigh, and even through her cotton skirt,she thought she was feeling the hot needles of his fangs. Her eyes opened, wide, and he was looking at her without mockery as he brushed his thumb back and forth over the scar. "This ties us together as long as you live," he whispered. Then he shifted his hand, and had one finger on the scar and the other right where she wanted it. She let go of his coat with one hand and traced his mouth with the other. He nipped gently at her fingers,then sucked one into his mouth. The lights at the end of the alley kept going in and out of shadow, painting his face light and dark. She thought she would faint. She knew she was going to explode. "Angelus, the Slayer---the Slayer's at the high school," called someone. "Whoops, gotta go," he said. "Evil never sleeps. But you will." And he did something, Vulcan-pinched the artery in her neck, because the lights went out. "Jesus," said an annoyed voice in her ear, "can't leave you alone for a fuckin' minute without finding you face down in an alley." She opened her eyes. "Brooks," she said, dazed.