Spike went to The Little Green Tavern and sat down on a stool, ordering a beer as soon as the bartender looked in his direction. He buried his face in his hands and took several deep breaths, trying to ignore the anger that was coursing through him.
‘I lost,’ he said to himself. ‘I lost to Buffy.’ His beer appeared in front of him, and he grabbed the glass, practically gulping down the liquid. ‘Not that I deserved to win - her cheesecake looked wonderful and those cookies were to die for- but I’m supposed to be the best chef in town. Me. Not her, a bloody newbie.’
“Thought I’d find you here,” Xander said, appearing beside Spike and sitting down. “We got second place, you know.”
“Sorry I wasn’t there to find out,” Spike muttered, finishing the beer quickly. “Want one? On me.”
“It’s too early in the day to drink,” his friend replied. “Well, for me, at least. Time has no meaning for you when it comes to alcohol.” Spike glared at him. “You never used to be like this, man. Over the last few days, you’ve been drinking as if your life depended on it.” Xander sighed and looked down. “Is this because of Buffy?”
“Why would it be?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because she beat me?” Xander nodded. “No, that’s not the reason at all.” Xander studied him, tilting his head. “Fine, that’s part of it.”
“But that only explains why you’re planning on embarking on a drinking binge right now,” the brunette man said. “And last night was about Buffy, too, wasn’t it?” Spike looked away, clenching his jaw. “Guess the girl really does drive you insane.”
“What’s your point, Harris?” Spike asked, looking at his friend once again.
“Maybe you’ve got some underlying feelings for her,” Xander suggested, and Spike scoffed before signaling to the bartender that he needed a refill. “I’m not blind, Spike. There’s been more fire in you since you met her, a fire you’ve never had with Lily.”
“Not following you around that bend, mate,” Spike said, smiling graciously at the bartender when he handed him a new glass of beer.
“Do you truly love Lily?” Xander asked. “With every fiber of your being?” Spike looked at him, confused. “Does the idea of not having her around in the future choke you? Can you really picture yourself marrying her?”
“I’d tread very lightly, whelp,” Spike replied in a low tone. “You’re talking about my fiancé.”
“Yeah, and I damn well have the right to, being best man and all,” Xander said, crossing his arms. “Spike, you’ve been suspicious of Lily for a while now.” Spike gripped the glass in his hand so tightly that he thought it might shatter. “What if I told you I’ve been suspecting things, too?”
“Don’t you dare,” Spike said sternly, standing up. “Don’t sit there and try to convince me to leave Lily and have a go with Buffy.”
“Who said I was going to?” Xander asked, smirking slightly. “The Lily thing, yes, but I wasn’t going to mention Buffy. You did that all on your own, buddy.” Spike slapped money down on the bar and scowled at Xander before storming out of the bar.
Xander smiled to himself and grabbed Spike’s glass, drinking from it.
‘Looks like I might not be best man for a while,’ he thought.
* * * * *
When Spike arrived at his apartment, he was stunned to see Lily sitting on his couch, waiting for him. He put down his keys and raised an eyebrow, tensing up as she approached him and took his hands in hers.
“I thought we weren’t meeting up until later,” he said quietly.
“I think we need to talk,” she replied, looking into his eyes. “I can’t marry you.” Spike felt a wave of nausea go through him before he pulled his hands away from hers, taking a step back.
“Why not?” he asked in a choked voice, doing everything in his power to not tear up.
“I’m in love with someone else,” she said, looking away.
“Is it someone I know?” he asked, surprised when she nodded. “Who?”
“Charles Gunn,” she said, her eyes returning to lock with his.
“My bartender?” he asked loudly. “Since when?”
“Come on, Spike- wasn’t it obvious?” she asked. “You saw him and I at the bar just last week.” He remembered it after a moment and closed his eyes, clenching his fists. “I’m sorry, Spike, but it just wasn’t working for us.”
“How can you say that?” he asked, upset. “Things were going great for us.”
“No, they weren’t,” she said calmly. “You’ve been spending way too much time at the restaurant over the last couple of months- we hardly see each other.”
“Do you want to see the restaurant run itself into the ground?” Spike asked sharply. “It was your father’s place long before it was ever mine.”
“And I’m sure Dad loves to see how much it’s flourished since you took ownership of it,” Lily began, sighing. “But I’m not going to stay with you just for Chantarelle’s.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” Spike said, looking away in an attempt to reign in his anger. “On today of all days.”
“I’m sorry,” Lily said, walking to the door. “Oh yeah.” She handed him the key he had given her to his apartment. “Maybe you can give it to someone you’ll be willing to take time off of work for.” He watched her go before throwing the key across the apartment and covering his face in his hands, stopping himself from screaming.
“Son of a bitch!” he shouted angrily, grabbing his keys and leaving the apartment.
* * * * *
Buffy walked into The Little Green Tavern that night and was greeted by Rupert Giles, who congratulated her on winning the competition. While she was thanking him and going into detail about how the day had went for her, she noticed a man at the bar who was ordering a beer from the bartender. She sighed as she realized who it was.
“If you’ll excuse me, Giles, I see a sore loser at the bar,” she said, giving him a sheepish smile before walking over to the man and sitting beside him. “Hello, Spike.”
“Well, if it isn’t Miss High and Mighty,” he snarled. “Need someone to knock you off your throne?” She could smell the alcohol radiating off of him and grabbed his arm.
“Come on, blondie- let’s get you home,” she said, pulling him up to stand as Spike put money down on the bar to pay off his tab.
“Not bloody likely,” he replied, trying to pull away from her but not succeeding. “Let me go!”
“It’s time to sober you up,” she said, leading him towards the door and out into the night air. “Keys, please.”
“Why? So you can drive me insane?” he asked, glaring at her. “Already done that, Goldilocks.”
“I’m taking you home,” she said, pleased when he gave her his set of keys. “We’ll leave your car here for the night- you can get it tomorrow if your hangover doesn’t keep you incapacitated all day.”
“Whatever you say, princess,” he mumbled, following her towards her car. “Why are you helping me?”
“It’s the least I can do,” she said, sighing. “After a long day like today.”
“You don’t even know the half of it,” he replied, becoming angry as he thought about Lily.
“No, I suppose I don’t,” she said, looking at him. “But I’ll listen if you need to rant.”
“Yeah?” he asked, surprised when she gave him a sincere smile.
“Yeah.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! I hope you stick with me to see what happens now that the competition is over and how Spike and Buffy will begin to grow closer;) Enjoy!