Someone Better Than You

He was a bloody git and he knew it. William Giles had been the most ignored student in his high school in London, England. After his middle school crush, Cecile, had publicly humiliated him for his poetry, no one had really spoken to him much. Luckily though, William’s father, Rupert, was the school’s librarian, so William ate lunch with his every day.

Rupert wasn’t stupid. He knew his son was really shy, so he decided that William should learn how to have fun and be himself around people his own age. When William was a junior, Rupert took him to Miami, Florida in hopes of William meeting some friends and having fun. Even if William’s new friends lived on a different continent, simply meeting them was a step in the right direction. Now, Rupert wanted William to make new friends, but he had no idea what he was really getting both himself and his son into.

In Miami, William made two ‘female’ friends. Not exactly what Rupert was expecting to happen, but hey, who’s to complain. The girls loved his poetry and of the two of them, Drusilla seemed to be the one to truly get to William. Darla had enjoyed his company, but wanted a more outspoken, normal, kind of guy.

Drusilla had a hold on William. They even went out on a couple of dates during the week William had spent in Miami. Honestly, they spent almost every waking moment together. Rupert was appeased that William had been able to get a girlfriend while in Miami, even though the girl was a little too crazy for his own personal preferences, but he was happy for William. Yet, Rupert’s surprise was not over yet.

“Dad!!! Guess what!!!” William yelled at the top of his lungs after his last night in Miami, in which had been spent with Drusilla asleep on the beach- fully clothed.

“Yes, William. Though, I’m only two feet away from you, thank you very much.”

“SHE’S COMING TO ENGLAND!!! Dru said that she has no family here in Miami anyway and will come to London!” William was apparently very excited for he was still yelling, Rupert noticed.

Drusilla loved William for his accent. She could tell he had a muscular body, and that despite himself, he was a very good-looking young man. The only thing Dru had to do before leaving for England was to say good-bye to her best friend.

“Oh... Darla, you’ll never guess! I’m going to London to live by William! Tomorrow! I can’t wait!” Darla noticed her friend was already practicing her new British accent.

“Oh my God! You’re moving (pause) to England? Tomorrow?” Darla thought that this relationship was moving rather fast, but she knew Drusilla. She’d get bored with William soon enough. So, Darla decided to be happy for them.

“Yes, tomorrow! I’ll miss you Darla, but I’ll call soon.” With that, Drusilla left her friend alone.
And that had been it. That Spring Break of William’s junior high school year, Drusilla moved to London to be with William. Almost immediately, they fell in love. Drusilla was already 19, but William was going to be turning 18 in a year so their ages were pretty close together.
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Back in the day, as a high school senior, she was Ms. Sunnydale High. Her best friend, and boyfriend, was Mr. Sunnydale High.

At Sunnydale High School, they had been the hottest couple. Buffy Summers and Angel O’Connor were the people everyone wanted to be. They were beautiful, popular and rich, not to mention, a perfect couple. Buffy was the captain of the cheerleading squad and Angel was the captain of Sunnydale High’s football team.

Even though they both lived happy lives, both Buffy and Angel had had their share of pain in their pasts. Buffy’s parents had divorced when she was 13 and at the time, Buffy was a wreck. Luckily, Angel had been there for her. He had helped her through if by comforting her: just as she has done for him only a year later.
When Angel was only 14, he lost both his parents in a plane crash. They had gone on a trip together and their plane coming home had ‘malfunctioned’ and landed in the Pacific Ocean. Since Angel was still a freshman, he was living with his grandparents. Also, because he was an only child, he inherited all of this parent’s money, which was a lot for a Sunnydale family.

To keep each other stable through hard times, Buffy and Angel acted as parents for each other. Encouraging each other to do well in school, and make good discussions in general, brought Buffy and Angel closer together than any other couple could be. Theirs truly was a perfect relationship. They were best of friends and hottest of lovers.

That was of course, until one week after their high school graduation.
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Buffy remembered it as if it were yesterday. Even though it had been two months since Angel broke up with her, she still remembered the day exactly.

Buffy and Angel were sitting on a bench near Shady Hill Cemetery, one of their favorite places for some alone time.

“Buffy, I’ve got this problem. This is actually the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to say, but...” Angel hesitated, searching for his next words.

“Angel, just tell me. Whatever it is, we can make it better. We can do this together.” At this time, Buffy had still been confident that no matter his problem, that they would fix it. Still, she wouldn’t press him too hard for information, even though her curiosity had been skyrocketing.

“We need... I think... well, we should stop dating.” Angel was now trying to keep the fear out of his face. He was scared Buffy would break into tears. She rarely cried, but Angel hated to see her sad, especially when he knew her sadness was his fault. Yet, Angel believed it was best for them not to be in a long distance relationship. He still wanted to remain her best friend though; he just hoped she wanted that too.

Buffy, unlike Angel, was in shock. How could he even say it to her, she had no idea. Those were the last words she ever expected to hear from her lover’s mouth.

“I still love you... I always have and always will Buffy. I just want you to be able to experience college to the fullest. I want you to feel free to do as you please. Plus, you’ll be in NYC and I’ll still be here in California.”

“Why does that matter? I love you. I’ll never find anyone to replace you. You’re my soul mate.”
“I know Buffy, but I think it’s best for both of us to go into college single. I’m certainly not saying we’ll never get back together, but if we do, that will be then. I think we should take some time to check out ‘other fish in the sea’.”

“So now you’re looking for someone better than me. But, in the meantime, you think we should go fishing?” Buffy spat out angrily.

“It was just an expression.”

“Yeah. You’ll probably take your new girlfriend fishing. Nice romantic settings, watching the sun go down... until the canoe you rented gets a hole in the bottom and sinks.”

“I think you’re taking this out of proportion.”

“That’s because I’m upset! I was just dumped! Remember? Pay attention!”

Buffy remembered Angel looking away from her as soon as she had said it. He felt bad already, yet apparently it wasn’t enough for how he had made her feel.

Eventually, Buffy got off the bench and walked away. After asking her to stay there with him only once, Angel gave up.

She was scaring him. When she walked away from him, her face had been emotionless. She had still been in shock, he supposed. Angel thought he might commit suicide soon. He had done the one thing he vowed not to do. Since he’d pissed her off, his punishment was going to be worse than anything he could have imagined. Buffy was going to ignore him. Now all he could do as hope she’d realize that he had been the one to make the big discussion in all of this. But now that seemed to be ALL Angel had, hope.
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Buffy walked away, sobbing lightly. She couldn’t think straight, but it was apparent to her that Angel didn’t care enough about her to not have to worry about cheating on her. Yet, a small voice somewhere in her head told her Angel was right. It would certainly be easier to go into college single, but still, Buffy knew they could have worked it out.

At the same time, the pissed off side of Buffy’s mind was telling her that what Angel had said was bullshit. Most likely, Angel was already out looking for some whore.

‘Yeah’, she told herself, ‘Angel is just being a sick bastard who wanted meaningless sex.’ Of course she still loved him though. And Buffy knew he had enjoyed having sex with her just as much as she had him by the multiple orgasms they’d both had. So, he couldn’t simply be looking for better sex, could he? ‘No’, Buffy repeated to herself, they had spent many nights together and NEVER did Angel once complain about her.

Buffy was confused, to say the least. So, when she reached 1630 Revello Drive, her home, she had gone right into bed, and cried the night away.

Now, looking back at that time in her life when Angel had left her, only two months earlier, Buffy was finally feeling a bit more confident about starting a new life at New York University (NYU). For she knew college experience in New York City would bring a whole new life for her on it’s own. Just one more week and her new life at NYU would begin. Just one more week...
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Drusilla had been living in England for over a year now. She had been living in the apartment nearest William’s mansion. William’s mother had been a very wealthy woman and when she died of cancer when William was only 6 years old, she left her husband and her son all her fortune.

That was also a check in the plus column for Dru. William would always have money. He wouldn’t even have to work much, if at all. She could be ensured a happy, financially stable... ah, what the Hell, RICH life. She knew William would never leave her. He was hopelessly devoted; it was true, which was kind of sad. William gave all of his attention to Drusilla. She was his everything. And... William was ALMOST her everything. Drusilla had never been the type to settle, but maybe given time...? Possibly, but as of now, HELL NO!

William had decided to go to a university in the US. New York University it was called. He was going because he wanted to be a ‘new person’. Dru knew universities were for smart people and to her, it sounded bloody boring. Yet, she was excited about living in New York City. She for one knew there were nightclubs EVERYWHERE! Maybe, she could even turn William into the perfect guy. Well, she’d find out what lay ahead in their future soon enough.

2 days before classes begin...

It was raining outside and according to Fox Weather, the New York City area could expect a thunderstorm later that night. But this morning, it wasn’t the storm that had Buffy worried. She would be meeting her new roommate today. Buffy had moved in yesterday morning and was already mostly unpacked and organized.

She had needed to get out of her house. 1630 Revello Drive held too many bad memories. Especially those memories of the last couple of months she had spent there when Angel had never even called her. They hadn’t even spoken since the spilt. It was the hardest time in Buffy’s life. She had been all-alone, which made becoming close to her roommate all the more important.

Buffy was starting a new life now, and was about to make a bunch of new friends. Speaking of which, Buffy was wondering just how long it would be until this girl came.

“Any second now.” Buffy told herself out loud.

As if on cue, the front door opened. A red-haired women with what Buffy decided was a kind face, walked in the dorm room carrying a box under her left arm. She set the box down and walked over to Buffy with an outstretched hand.

“Hi! I’m Willow Rosenberg. Are you Buffy?”

Surprised by Willow’s peppy and overexcited attitude, Buffy nodded her head.

“Yep. I’m Buffy Summers. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh, you too!” came the tremendously overexcited reply.

Behind Willow, two guys came stumbling in each carrying two huge boxes.

“Where do you want these, Wills?” the taller of the two men asked.

“Just set them down there for now. Thanks.”

The two men set the boxes down and then finally acknowledged Buffy’s presence.

“Hey. Are you Willow’s roommate?” the taller man asked.

“Yeah. My name’s Buffy.”

“Oh, hi Buff. Cool name. I’m Xander. This is Oz. We’re Willow’s friends. Well, actually, Oz is her boyfriend, but we’re all friends here, right, Buff?” ‘Damn, she’s hot’ Xander thought in his crazy head.

“Sure. And ‘Hi’ Oz.”

“Hey. I’d do the whole protective boyfriend thing to make sure you’re not a murder or a thief or anything, but you look safe.”

“Thanks.” Was all Buffy could say. But she sure as HELL was thinking what an interesting year it was going to be. Well, at least these strange people were nice, that’s something right? Nice, just a bit crazy; yeah, that’s what she’d continue to remind herself of. Never the less, she needed a mall trip, she decided, it couldn’t hurt to get some more new clothes for college.

Buffy knew it was weird, but she thought that new clothes would help her forget about Angel. It was almost like being a different person, a person who had never met Angel. So, yeah, it was strange, but a mall trip was perfect. Buffy decided she would ask Willow now that her friends had just left.

“So, Willow. I was wondering if you would like to go to the mall with me.”
Oh, now Willow was excited. She had been a little worried that her roommate would think she was a total dork, but this girl seemed to be nice. Plus, she didn’t get to the mall often with having guys for her best friends.
“Sure. I’d love to. Just give me a few to put some stuff away.”


There were only two days left until classes began and now that William and Drusilla had unpacked and set up their new apartment, he had one big thing left to do.

He was going to change. Not only his clothing, but his life. Which was a bit more than Drusilla had initially expected, but then again, things could turn out for the better; or not of course, couldn’t forget that though.

William wanted a new image for himself. No longer was he to be shy and stuffy like most of England; nope, he was going to be a bad ass, though he knew the extreme help of his darling Drusilla was going to be needed.

William decided to start with the mall, though he would also need to do something about his hair he knew. Luckily, Dru had already made him a hair appointment so that was taken care of. Later that afternoon, William and Dru would head out to the mall to transform him into a man that William knew would scare the shit out his father. And William couldn’t be happier.
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William and Drusilla were inside Hot Topic. William had picked out a black shirt with ‘Sex Pistols’ imprinted on the front and faded, black jeans that were rather tight in ‘certain’ places. He thought the whole idea of advertising for a band on your shirt was stupid, but maybe once he actually listened to the group, he could come to like this ‘American’ way of life.

Right now, Drusilla was checking out something on the side of the rack that William could not see. Looking at everything as he passes, he slowly made his way over to her. Then, he noticed what she was admiring.

“Dru!!! What the HELL is THAT!!” William practically yelled, clearly shocked and possibly a little scared.

“Hmmm?... Oh, Willy. Hi my precious. This is for you. It will go with your new outfits, since most of them seem to contain black. Don’t you like?”

Drusilla was holding up what seemed to William to be a black bracelet with huge silver spikes coming out from all around. So yes, William was sure, this bracelet, of some sort, scared the shit out of him.

In the back of the store, Buffy and Willow looked up after hearing someone yell.

“Yep, another newbie.” Willow stated in monotone.

“Newbie? Sorry, but huh?” Buffy had a look of pure confusion on her face, Willow soon realized. Neither Willow nor Buffy were ‘punk’ so to speak, but they were having fun in the store.

“Yeah, that tall British looking guy over there is obviously not used to seeing punk accessories.” Willow noticed Buffy rather amused look.

Sheepishly, Willow rephrased, “Oh, well you know, in England people are generally stuffy and simply well, just British. Of course, you can’t rule out the hot British rock stars, but they come far and few in between.”

“Hmm...” was all Buffy could manage because she had just taken a look at his face. His beautifully bright blue eyes were shining like the ocean did on islands like St. Thomas. These eyes were simply magnificent, Buffy decided. And wow, those perfectly structured cheekbones that trailed down his narrow face. Wow. It was too bad he had a girl next to him. ‘Must been his girlfriend.’ Buffy thought.

Due to a questioning look from Willow, Buffy shifted her gaze from the man’s face and back to Willow. As soon as her attention was back on Willow, Willow looked back towards Buffy’s original glance and noticed that Buffy’s fixed gaze on the guy.

“Wow, you fall easily huh?”

“Fall? Over what?” Buffy was trying to hide the blush from her face.

“Hmm... Certainly wouldn’t be over a guy now would it? Especially not the hottie over there who we were just talking about.”

Buffy and Willow moved slowly to a corner in the back of the store. They were sure they were out of earshot of the couple.

“Oh, alright. I’ll admit because I don’t want to lie to my new room mate, but in my own defense I just had a very bad breakup right after high school and I’m kind of lonely. Not desperate, mind you, but lonely.”

“Awwww... bad breakup. Sorry to hear it.”

“I’m alright now. I spent the summer crying but now I’m on the prowl in a way. The guy who broke up with me was the only guy I’ve ever been with. We were soul mates. He said we could get back together after college or something but I hope to be in a great relationship by then.”

“Oh, well, I don’t really have any big breakup stories. When I was in high school I was such great friends with Xander and Oz. Then last year, Oz and I formed a bond and we fell in love. It’s a new beginning for us.”

“Aw, that’s cute. So then you guys are still together.” Willow nodded.

“Yeah, Tara actually goes here too. We decided not to room together so we could both lead our own lives in our friendship. But, we spent a lot of time together over the summer and we have a few classes together. I’m sure you’ll get to meet her soon.”

“I can’t wait.”

Buffy had been so caught up in conversation with Willow, that she hadn’t even realized the hot mystery guy’s girlfriend had moved into the dressing room and he was now staring at her in a daze.

Buffy blushed and turned her head. She may have been looking for a guy, specifically this one, but she still wasn’t used to other guys looking at her. She almost expected Angel to come an beat this guy up for even looking at her, but no; of course not.

‘Which is a good thing,’ Buffy reminded herself. ‘Angel’s gone. No more Angel. Oh, it’s going to be a tough year.’

While Buffy was deep in her thoughts, Willow formed an idea. She walked up to the mystery man.

“Hey.” She said.

“Hey.” He repeated, still staring at Buffy.

“Look, I saw your girlfriend and all, but I’m also watching you check out my friend and she likes you too, so go say hi to her.”

Without even thinking about Drusilla, he made his way over to Buffy. He tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around. Their eyes instantly locked. Buffy could have started all day into his dazzling baby blues as he into her lovely emeralds. Spike eventually collected his thoughts.

“Hey, my name’s Spike. What’s yours?” Buffy only stared at him.

"Hi, I'm Spike."

After a moment of serious hesitation, “Umm, I’m Buffy.”

Spike, who had decided at the last minute that William was no longer a ‘manly’ name, and had spontaneously decided on Spike, was in awe. Buffy? What kind of divine name is Buffy?

“Hello cutie.” How would Drusilla say this? Is this hott, or whatever? William wondered. “Peachy name, Buffy is.” Yeah, sure that’ll work. Yeah. Shit.

“Hey. So, from the looks of it, you haven’t been here before.” Buffy questioned even though she already knew the answer.

“No! I mean, yes, I come here all the time. I just, uhh, stubbed my toe before so I screamed. Yep, that’s all.” William could not believe he was talking to this beauty. Even more so, he couldn’t believe that pathetic excuse he had just made up for screaming only a few minutes previous.

“Hmm, you know, I don’t really shop here. My friend and I were just looking for some amusement. Guess we found some.”

“Yeah. Guess you did. Glad I could help with that.” Buffy’s soft chuckle brought a smile to Spike’s face.

“So, do you want to hang out sometime? Maybe we could go to a movie or something. Do you live nearby?”

“I go to NYU. I live in a dorm there, but it’s only about twenty miles away.”

“Really!? I go there too. I’m also staying in a dorm. Stevenson Hall, room 241. You should come over some time.” Buffy was anxious. This guy was extremely cute; hopefully that girl wasn’t his girlfriend.

William was overjoyed with the way this conversation was playing out. Happily, he replied, “Yeah! That would be splendid”.

“What’s that, my darling? Who are you talking...” pretending to just notice Buffy, “oh my, are you going to introduce me?”

“Oh, uh Buffy, this is Drusilla. My girlfriend?” now noticing the angered look from Dru, “Ah, yes, my girlfriend. Yeah. Her and I... are uh, well you know,... dating.” Damn it Dru, I forgot you were even here!

“Your girlfriend? Oh, well I have to go, maybe I’ll see you around campus sometime. Nice meeting you.” Why did I have to fall for the guy with a girlfriend? Oh yeah, I remember now, I’m Buffy, the Bringer of bad luck.

As Buffy walked back towards Willow William screamed out, “Buffy! Wait!” William had already made a fool out of himself for screaming out in this store, no sense in trying to stifle the noise he wanted to make to get Buffy’s attention.

Buffy and Willow turned around just as they were leaving the store in time to miss a threatening glare from Drusilla in the back of the store.

“Yes.” The last thing Buffy wanted was to piss of some guy’s girlfriend, so she really wanted to simply leave the store as soon as possible, even if he did come over to her first.

“Umm... It was nice meeting you.” And with that said, Buffy and Willow left Hot Topic.

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"He's been completely dazed all day. This girl, Fluffy or something, has him in a damned trance. You can tell his mind is elsewhere and his attention has been to the bloody stars for God's sakes! Oh, and now he calls himself SPIKE because William isn't cool enough anymore." Drusilla was beyond pissed at 'Spike'. How could he, mentally run after some dumb ass girl with a fake hair color.

"Well Dru, got to admit, Spike is a hot name; it can be interpreted many different ways." Darla gave a quiet little chuckle on the other side of the phone line.

“Now, now Darla. Hands off.” Drusilla said almost playfully with a mischievous grin upon her face.

“Alright Dru, well, good luck with Fluffy and I’ll talk to you later.” With that Drusilla hung up the phone just as William walked into their bedroom, wearing his new tight black jeans and red silk shirt, only half buttoned up, obviously lost in train of thought.
“Bloody Hell!” William jumped a little as he actually noticed that Drusilla was in the room.

“Why, hello to you to… Spike.” Drusilla spit out his new name as if it were some kind of big spider that she just wanted to step on.

“Sorry, Dru, didn’t see you sitting there.” As if that wasn’t obvious, Drusilla thought.

“Well, I’m here. And yesterday afternoon at the mall, in Hot Topic, I was there as well, its funny how you didn’t seem to notice much then either.” Drusilla was now trying to look sad and rejected, while, in reality, she felt so angry that she could just reach out and try to choke William to death, not that her small hands could actually wrap around his neck through, but hey.

“I noticed, I was just distracted by Buf… by other objects in the store. Scary place it was.” William smirked with confidence as if to hide his slight slip of Buffy’s name. There he was thinking about her again. He couldn’t get her off his mind.

She was becoming his mysterious obsession. He wanted to talk to her again, get to know her a bit more. If anything, he just wanted to see how she was doing. He was upset about Drusilla’s interruption, but it saddened him that had he been given the chance, he would have cheated on Dru without any hesitation. He didn’t even know Buffy that well, but it was like they were meant to be. She wasn’t even a form of competition to his girlfriend. She was just better.

Oh, well. William didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. If he left Dru, he would feel regret for hurting her. After all, it was because of her that he had even met Buffy in the first place. How ironic is that, because of his relationship with Drusilla, he was able to meet his possible soul mate!

Of course, logically, William would see Buffy again. They went to the same college after all. Granted, it was a pretty big campus, but still it’s not like they were in different states or something. Well, today was the first day of classes, so he’d at least find out whether or not they shared any classes.
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Buffy was in her room pretending to be reading a book. Though she really liked Willow, she could be a little too happy sometimes. Buffy missed a high school, pre-breakup day that is. Life was simple then, it was always Buffy and Angel. They went together like two peas in a pod.

Life was more complicated now, and classes were just beginning. Already she had fallen for a hot guy with a girlfriend, who though she looked pale and thin, looked almost volatile. Buffy missed Angel. Why had he left her? Had he been willing to date her long distance for a while, she wouldn’t have even fallen for Spike in the first place.

And now she was back to the Angel problem. Though the initial shock of the breakup was over with, Buffy was left to deal with her mess and creating a new life.
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Since his breakup with Buffy, Angel had been having a lot of fun. The entire summer he had spent smashed as he enjoyed toying around with as many girls as he could find. In the many various bars he had visited with fake ID’s, Angel had almost enjoyed the fact that he had a so-called ‘reason’ to be drunk. Only problem was when he was sober. He knew he was getting drunk so he didn’t have to think about her. It was too hard, but classes started tomorrow for him. Time to deal and get back to being the real Angel.
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Next day, Angel’s first class:

“Mr. O’Connor. Mr. O’Connor! Would somebody please wake him up!”

One of the students next to Angel, a pretty girl named Harmony, started shaking Angel. She whispered “Hey gorgeous” in his ear. Angel was awake immediately, hoping that the voice in his ear had been Buffy’s like in his dream that he had been having about her. Then he suddenly remembered everything that had happened and looked up to see his professor staring at him with a great deal of anger. Due to confusion and pain, and the fact that he had had a few too many drinks last night, Angel threw up right in the classroom. Luckily for Harmony it was on his other side, where no one was sitting, currently.

Harmony screamed and jumped away from Angel with remarkable speed anyway. After running to the bathroom to get paper towels and cleaning up yet another mess he had made, Angel started putting his books back in his backpack, even as the whole class was still watching him.

“Sorry, I uh, I have to go.” Angel got up and ran out of the room. He was literally a disaster. He needed to get his act together, but that was proving to be more difficult then he had originally thought. And once again, Angel gave into the temptation of alcohol to solve his problems for him, if only for a little while.

Party Time

It had already been a month, and Buffy had yet to run into Spike on campus. Mostly she was sure, because she hadn’t had a chance to really get out much. Classes had started and work was piling up quickly, not to mention that not having Spike in any of her classes was a huge disappointment. One of her TA’s had taken an interest in her and constantly annoyed the hell out of her but she just told Riley Finn to back off. Though Buffy was lucky that Willow was a very studious roommate, and they had become close friends, Buffy was ready for a break from all the work and studying.

“So, Willow,” Buffy started, “we have been working really hard lately. You can’t really disagree with that can you?”

“Nope, we’ve been working hard, but the work just keeps on coming. You always want to do your best, right?” After noticing the dreading look of Buffy’s face she added, “Right?”

“No. We need a break.”

“Yeah I guess. Oh, I know, we can we can go to the movies or something!”

“How about the ‘or something’. There’s a party tonight on campus. Could be fun.”

“Umm, yeah. I haven’t been to any parties in a while.”

“Alright then. Tonight we let loose!” Buffy exclaimed.
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Later that night, the party:

50 Cent’s ‘In Da Club’ was blazing throughout the building. Willow was off talking with Oz while Buffy was talking to a random guy that had come her way. He was a jerk, but at least he was someone that Buffy actually recognized from class.

Parker Abrams was talking to Buffy in the corner of one of the rooms. Slowly, he started moving in to her for a kiss assuming that she was actually interested in him.

“What are doing? No. Hey.” Buffy was trying to get away from him without causing a huge scene, she wasn’t interested in him, and quite frankly he wasn’t all that hot.

“Come on Buffy. Just a little kiss.” Moving in closer, Buffy tried pushing him off her, but he was stronger. Left with no other option, Buffy yelled.

Unfortunately not many people heard her over the loud music or even cared for that matter, there were many reasons someone could be screaming.

Just when she was about to give up hope and just kiss the perv, someone pulled Parker off of her. Buffy thankfully looked in the eyes of her savior to realize that he had been no one other than Spike.

“Thank you.” She managed to stammer out. “That guy was a jerk, I was just talking to him but I didn’t really like him. Plus, he breath had way to much alcohol on it.”

Spike smirked, “so you don’t like the smell of alcohol on men, but you enjoy a beer or two for yourself?”

Looking down at her hand that held a bottle of beer, Buffy looked back up at Spike and just shrugged her shoulders, “yeah, well…”

“It’s alright luv. Let’s get out of here. We can go get coffee, sound okay?”

“Yeah, sounds great. Let me just tell Willow I’m leaving.” While Buffy was off looking for Willow, Spike thought about how the choice he had just made. Though he couldn’t see Drusilla right now, she was bound to figure out sooner or later that he had left. Spike just had to remind himself that it was worth it.

An hour later or so, Buffy and Spike were sitting at Starbucks talking about everything from favorite movies to childhood experiences. They had a lot in common, which helped keep their conversation moving. Buffy had been telling Spike of how her father used to take her to the ice show when she was younger and Spike had spoke of his father, his real name William, and life in England.

“So,” Buffy started when their conversations about past Halloween costumes had ended, “what’s with that girl you were with at the mall. Is she still your girlfriend?” Somehow Spike seemed to catch her nervousness as she asked the question. Must have had to do with her head being bowed and the small voice she asked it in.

Putting his fingers underneath her chin to bring her face to look up at his eye for eye, Spike confessed.

“Look Buffy. Just a year ago, I was a complete loser. I had almost no friends and no girlfriend. My father was very worried about me. When he took me to the US on a vacation, I met Drusilla and we became involved. She moved to England with me and we were almost inseparable. We were very much in love, or at least I was very much in love with her. She changed me; I became more outgoing and started dressing more fashionably. When I came here for college, she came with me. I owe her so much for everything she has done for me, but she’s just not the girl for me. I’ve always hoped she was, but Buffy, she doesn’t even compare to you. I know I barely even know you, but please, can you maybe give me a little time to dump her and make her realize it is for the best?”

“Of course. You know, my last boyfriend and I were also very close. We were best friends when we were children and we grew into lovers, as we got older. We’ve always loved each other, but then he dumped me. He was going to college in California and thought it would be too difficult to have a long-distance relationship. So, I just wanted you to know, we are in a slightly similar situation.” Buffy offered a small smile with her proclamation, but it was enough to bring a big smile to Spike’s face as well.

“Well Buffy, I’m sorry he dumped you but I must say, his loss is my incredible gain.” Oh, what a hot smirk he has!

“Yeah. Your incredible gain. I like that.” Buffy and Spike sat cuddled in the back of Starbucks for the next few hours until the store finally closed. As Spike was walking Buffy up to her dorm he thought about kissing her. Sure there was Drusilla, but she wouldn’t have to know, right?

As Buffy was standing outside the door to the dorms, with the light shining from behind her onto her back lighting up her hair, Spike kissed her with more passion then he knew possible.

Someone then started tapping Buffy on her shoulder and reluctantly Buffy pulled away from Spike to turn around to see an angry Drusilla with her eyebrows raised, fists clenched.

“Uh, Dru baby. I think we need to talk.” Spike said looking guilty.

“No, we really don’t.” Drusilla said with an evil smile. She reached her hand out and slapped Buffy really hard, leaving a red handprint on Buffy’s shoulder.

“You bitch.” Drusilla yelled as she walked off leaving Buffy and Spike both extremely pissed off.

“Buffy, I’m so sorry. Let me see. Come on, lets get some ice on that.”

“No Spike, that’s okay go take care of Drusilla, I can take care of myself.”
Crying, Buffy ran off into her dorm room, locking Spike outside.

“Shit” was all Spike said before running after Dru.

The Dead of Night


Later that night…


The darkness of the night matched her mood that evening. Drusilla was sitting outside on a street bench quietly thinking over everything that had been going on lately with William. Her eyes were still slightly red from crying, but she was over that now. It was unbelievable for her to think about how out of control their lives had become. First, they were fine, living together and getting along better than any other couple. Then they moved back to the United States, and William had met Buffy, his apparent obsession. How he could want a blonde over a brunette was beyond her, but this Buffy girl was trouble and Drusilla was just itching for a chance to get back at her for stealing her man. While it may be true that Drusilla was bound to be bored of him soon, recent events had peaked her interest once again. Jealousy, Dru recognized it, she just didn’t have it in her to simply admit it. Revenge was on her mind, no one would take Spike away from her!

This is unbelievable! The never of him! Of her! I have made him the god he is, without me he would still be off living with Daddy-dearest or something. That Buffy is unbelievable, interfering in our relationship! And now what, William, no, it’s SPIKE now, thinks we need to talk! Well screw that! It’s my time to talk, and he’s going to have to sit down and listen until he agrees with me. Look at him, walking over here; just him and all his glory.

“Dru baby, just hear me out. I am so sorry…” Spike started the best way that he could think to. It was not like he didn’t feel bad about everything and he knew he was acting stupid and immature, but he had just felt so strongly about his feelings for Buffy that he couldn’t control himself.

“Hear you out? I think not. I’m done hearing you out. I asked you before if you had feelings for her and you denied it. What about us? We are perfect together! Besides, without me, you would have spent you’re entire life as if you were dead; buried inside your mansion with Daddy!”

Oh crap, Dru’s really not taking this well, of course what else could I have expected?

Truthfully Spike whispered to her, “You are correct. Before I met you, I was just a scared little boy. You were able to break me out of that, give me the courage to live freely. I’ll always be extremely grateful to you for that, but I’ve fallen head over heels in love with someone else. I would never compare her to you, because you have done so much for me. So all I can say is thank you, I’m sorry, and I hope one day you’ll be able to understand and find someone that will love you back as much as you do them.”

“Well William. This is not over yet. The girl has a temporary hold over you, but you’ll come running back to me… and then it will be too late. You had your chance with me and if this is how you want it, this is how you’ll get it.” And with that, she was gone; leaving Spike with the dreadful possibility in his mind that Dru may due something harmful to Buffy.

Sitting on her bed crying, with an ice pack over her shoulder that Drusilla had slapped, Buffy thought about her life. She wondered how Angel was doing; she wondered about what she was going to do about Spike, and she wondered about Drusilla.

Angel, she figured, was probably great, unfortunately. She still missed him, she had always been so sure of him, never doubted him. And here is Spike, he’s hot, he’s nice, and he’s interested in Buffy. But, he had a girlfriend in which he seemed pretty damn devoted to. There was no way Buffy wanted to get in the way of them, nope, none at all. Then again, what if he really was the one for her; was she just going to give him up without a fight?

Screw Drusilla, righteousness, and all other things good and right, Spike was the one for her and she was not going without a fight to the death! Or whatever…

After an hour of searching for Spike, Buffy gave up and decided to hit one of New York City’s hottest clubs by herself; figuring she could use a nice escape root from her life and maybe make a new friend or something, just anything other than staying in her room. This idea however, did not turn out as planned and she ended up at a trashy club called The Fish Tank.

Basically, the place smelled like fish, but not just any fish, dead fish. A color ball was hung from the center of the ceiling of the dark building, as there were not many other lights. The walls were painted in a dark purple with a layer of glitter of some kind painted on top. In the center of the dance floor danced the now drunken blonde surrounded by a few horny guys all at least a foot’s length away from her; for they feared being violently shoved onto their ass like the previous guy who had gotten to close to her.

It may have been a vulgar place, but Buffy was making the best of it. She was working through the pain and confusion, getting lost in the music and dance; using alcohol as her path to a place far away from her life. The world around seemed like a blur, good and evil, pleasure and pain, peace and war. Then she saw him. He was sitting in the back corner, passed out with his head on the table. He looked so pale, awful even. Yet at the same time, like an angel that had fallen down from heaven.

Angel. He was here. Buffy stopped dancing; there she stood in the center of the dance club in New York City staring at him, he had come to her. She walked over to him; was he real, or was she just really out of her mind? She gently touched his face, “Angel?” she softly called.

Nothing. No response. His face was so cold, pale. It clicked inside Buffy’s head, which bolted upright as if she had just been shot. With super human speed, she put two fingers lightly against Angel’s neck; no pulse. He was dead. Shock was once again taking over her body, but as soon as she regained focus, she was suddenly sober and a scream was let out that could have startled the whole city. Breaking down into tears, the next few hours were such a blur for Buffy that she missed the sinister smile of a girl silently walking out of the club.