Chapter 2
Once he left the pond, Spike ran as fast as he could back to the camp. He knew he was taking the coward’s way out, but if he’d stayed one more second he wouldn’t have been able to leave. As it was, the temptation of going back to the pond and to his – well, at least he thought of her that way – golden goddess was proving to be too much for him. The only thing stopping him from turning back was the fact that he had to win the race for his team; the Vampires were counting on him and he simply couldn’t disappoint the only people that gave a damn about him.
As he got closer to the camp his thoughts drifted back to his angel. Was she real or just a figment of his overactive imagination? Where had she come from? He wasn’t aware that there were any houses or buildings nearby. But then again, he was relatively new at the camp and didn’t know that many places in the States, aside from Oak Ridge and LA ― where he’d lived for a few months before his mother had sent him to the camp. So for all he knew, the camp could be surrounded by a number of cities that she could have come from. He’d have to ask Xander about that. Although knowing him, the whelp would probably have a blast mocking him about the whole thing before he deigned to provide any information that might prove useful. Or maybe, he’d think it had been a hallucination. Hell! Even he thought it might have been. She was too perfect, too beautiful to be real. She must have been a nymph or maybe a fallen angel.
Five minutes later he finally saw the camp’s front gate. He quickly made his way through it and climbed up the flagpole to hang the red bandanna amidst the shouts of joy from his teammates and Snyder’s sour expression. He smiled widely to his mates in response as he realized that even with his little detour he had still managed to win the race. And, it would be the Vampires – not the Demons – that would be going to the movies in the afternoon.
“Guess we’ll be the ones goin’ to the movies after all, ain’t we?” Spike asked, smirking at Snyder.
Snyder grumbled something under his breath nodding his agreement as he conceded the victory to the Vampires. The warden tried to hide his anger because that would only give Spike one more reason to gloat. ‘Someone will have to pay for this,’ he thought. ‘And I think O’Connor might be the lucky one.’ After all, the Demon ringleader had disappointed him. Snyder had changed the rules, almost ensuring that Spike’s team would lose, yet O’Connor had failed to make good use of the advantage given him.
As the Vampires celebrated their triumph, a very out of breath Angel and his team returned to the camp. The first thing the group noticed was Snyder’s dark expression as he pointed towards the bandanna that hung from the flagpole. And then they saw the Vampires, including Spike, shouting and jumping around in celebration at the far side of the camp.
“Hey, guys! The losers are finally back!” Xander shouted. “What happened, Angel? You got a wittle lost? Spike came about ten minutes ago.”
The rest of the Vampire team started to laugh as they pointed at the very irate Angel, and without waiting for his reply they hefted Spike onto their shoulders and walked towards the barracks to get ready for their trip to the movies.
Angel was livid; he had been so sure his team was going to win. But no, bleach boy had to go and ruin his plans as he always did. And on top of that, he’d be in trouble with Snyder now. Spike and Xander better watched out, if it was the last thing he did, he’d make sure that they paid for this humiliation.
------------------
After taking a quick shower, Spike ― dressed in his usual attire of all-black jeans, combat boots and a t-shirt ― met Xander outside the car repair shop. From there, the two snuck into the forest without anyone noticing.
With Xander guiding them, they reached the pond in less than ten minutes. On their walk over, Spike confided to Xander all the details of meeting his girl.
“She was the most beautiful girl I’ve seen in my life, Xan,” Spike said as they stood along the pond’s edge.
“I really think you imagined the whole thing, Spike. Very few people know of this place, and I’m pretty sure none of them are female,” he replied, starting his way up the slope.
“There ‘as to be some place nearby…” Spike trailed off as he noticed a building that appeared to be about two miles away and pointed towards it. “What is that place? Do ya think that’s where she came from?”
Xander started laughing. “Could be. But if she did, you’d have no hope at all, man,” he said, laughing heartily as he patted his friend’s back. “That’s the Immaculate Heart School.”
When he noticed the blank look in Spike’s face, he sighed and continued. “That’s a school for girls that are studying to become nuns or something like that. I think I heard that they even make them wear chastity belts. So, if your girl came from there, I’m thinking that your chances of meeting her again are slim to none.”
“Mark my words, mate. I will meet ‘er again, you just wait ‘n see,” Spike said resolutely as he threw a last look at the school before they headed back to the camp. Even with all the odds against him, he would find the way to meet his angel again.
-------------------
Saturday afternoon
On their way over to the movie complex located in Oak Ridge, Buffy had given Willow a detailed account of the mysterious man she encountered at the pond and then asked Willow’s help to put her plan in motion. Willow’s reaction had been a pleasant surprise for Buffy ― who had expected a blown out negative or at the very least some kind of protest – after which she would have had to diligently convince Willow until the girl finally agreed. Instead, Willow had squee’d and hugged her tightly, telling her that of course she would help her. After thanking Buffy for confiding in her, the redhead launched into making some suggestions that would ensure Buffy’s plan would turn out to be completely foolproof. Of course, Buffy was smart enough not to complain when things went her way, so she just beamed and nodded happily as she listened to Willow’s excited babble.
The two girls were still laughing and joking around while they waited in line to buy their tickets for the three o’clock showing, when a bus from the Oak Ridge Honor Camp parked on the block across from the movie complex.
About fifteen boys stepped out of the bus and crossed the street marching in a straight line and goofing around like they were part of the army, as they followed a man who appeared to be their guard.
Willow giggled at the boys’ antics and Buffy joined her for a few seconds, until her eyes were drawn to the guy at the end of the line.
‘It’s him,’ she thought, gasping for breath. Even though she had only seen him for mere seconds, she just knew it was him. Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest as she drank in his image, lowering her gaze from the bleached blond hair, down to his sharp cheekbones and lean, yet muscular frame. She wished she could get closer to him so she that could decipher what color his eyes were, how he smelled or what his voice sounded like.
The line moved and Willow moved with it, pulling an entranced Buffy along with her. Noticing her friend’s distraction, she turned towards the boys, following Buffy’s gaze until she realized it was fixed on the blond boy at the end of the line. He sure was a hottie and even if he wasn’t exactly her type, she could understand why Buffy felt attracted to him.
Too quickly ― or at least that’s the way it seemed to Buffy ― the boys disappeared inside the theater. When they did, Buffy woke up from her trancelike state and turned towards the front only to find Willow’s amused look as she asked: “Was that him?”
Knowing that she’d been caught, Buffy blushed prettily and nodded. Willow smiled and winked as they advanced to the ticket counter and paid for their tickets.
Once they were inside the theater, Buffy quickly walked down the aisle, stopping halfway down as she found two available seats on the right wing. She snagged the one closest to the wall and sat down.
Willow raised a questioning eyebrow at Buffy and after sitting beside her, she whispered, “What are you doing? I thought we were going to sit at the back?”
“These seats are better,” was Buffy’s only answer.
Willow turned to her left to scan the theater and noticed that the guys from the Honor Camp were seated a few rows behind them to their left.
“Man, you’ve got it bad,” she said, giggling as she turned towards the screen once more. She glanced to her right and noticed the guilty expression on Buffy’s face, which turned the redhead’s giggles into full-blown laughter.
At first, Buffy blushed and tried to ignore Willow. But as the other people in the theater began shushing them, Buffy couldn’t help but laugh right along with her friend. After all, Willow was right – she definitely had it bad.
By the time the movie started, the girls had settled down. Willow quickly became engrossed in the movie, which gave Buffy the perfect opportunity to scan the theater – searching out for the man she couldn’t stop thinking about. She located the group easily ― after all, she had picked the seats because they were close to the group. But, she couldn’t find him anywhere.
‘Move, please,’ she thought when her search was interrupted by a guy that was leaning forward with his hands on his knees. As if the guy had heard her, he reclined back in his seat, and as he did so, she finally saw who was seated next to him. She almost forgot how to breathe as she caught a glimpse of white hair and then...
Sensing that someone was watching him, Spike moved forward in his seat and looked around the theater until his eyes locked with hers.
‘It’s her! She’s here,’ Spike thought, elated. He didn’t dare look away, scared that the vision before him was a dream and she would suddenly disappear. He wasn’t sure how he knew that this girl was the angel he saw at the pond this morning, he just knew she was the one. He gazed lovingly upon her face and hair illuminated by the light flowing from the screen. It was her, and she was looking at him with eyes filled with wonder.
When their eyes met, the same electrical undercurrent that they had felt before passed through them, leaving them both gasping for air.
Unable to tear her eyes away from his, Buffy couldn’t help thinking that this was supposed to happen, that they were meant to be together. There was no other way that this would be happening otherwise. One look at him and for the first time in her life, she felt… complete. Like nothing else mattered anymore, just him. She needed to be close to him and be able to discover all she could about him. She was more convinced than before that she had to make her plan work so she could meet him up-close and personal. Nothing less than that would do.
The more he looked at her, the more Spike wished that he was free to get up and walk towards her, take her in his arms and escape somewhere where they could be alone.
‘There has to be a way to make it happen,’ he thought. ‘And I will find it.’
Xander, who was seated right next to Spike, started to squirm in his seat.
Wood, who was in charge of the group, noticed his movements. He leaned over the guy that was seated beside him and asked quietly, “What’s the matter, Harris?”
“I gotta pee.”
“Damn, Harris! I told you that you had to go to the can before coming into the theater!” he whispered angrily.
“I didn’t need to go then.” Xander explained.
“Ok,” Wood let out an aggravated sigh and stood up. “Everyone up. If Harris goes to the can, everyone goes.”
Several disappointed groans were heard and angry looks were thrown towards Xander.
“Sorry, guys,” he said bashfully.
Spike was so engrossed looking at his girl that he hadn’t notice what was happening until Wood practically hauled him up from his seat.
“Come on, Taylor. We don’t have all day.”
He smiled apologetically towards Buffy and with a heavy sigh he followed the rest of the guys to the exit of the theater.
Buffy smiled sweetly at him when he threw her a last longing look. But once he left the theater, she couldn’t contain the pain that was tearing through her heart anymore and began sobbing quietly.
Willow had noticed the staring contest going on between Buffy and her guy from the beginning and decided that she wouldn’t meddle, so she pretended to be paying attention to the movie. Buffy deserved to have some happiness in her life and if this guy made her happy, she’d support her all the way. God knew they had enough things going against them already. She was startled out of her thoughts when she heard the commotion made by the boys as they got up and left the theater. Imagining how crushed Buffy would feel by this, Willow was already turning towards Buffy when she heard the first choked sob. She hugged her tightly and rubbed her back as she whispered comforting words to Buffy, who cried quietly in her shoulder.
“Come on, Buffy, wipe those tears,” Willow said, taking a handkerchief out of her pocket and giving it to Buffy. “We have to go back to school, we have a lot to do.”
When Buffy stared at her questioningly, Willow added: “I’m talking about the plan. You remember the plan, don’t you?” she waited until Buffy nodded. “We still have tons of things to do if we want to make it work and we do, don’t we?”
“We sure do,” Buffy smiled through her tears and hugged Willow tightly. “You’re the best friend a girl could ask for. You know that, don’t you?”
Willow beamed at her and nodded. They got up from their seats and after Buffy threw one last longing look to the place where her guy had been seated, Buffy and Willow left the theater.
--------------------
When Spike and the rest of the guys returned fifteen minutes later, he immediately looked over to where his girl had been seated. When he didn’t find her, he quickly scanned the theater to see if maybe she had switched seats. He had to give up when Wood scolded him and ordered him to sit. He plopped down in his seat and held his head between his hands in despair, trying as hard as he could not to cry. She had left and he had no idea when or if he would ever see her again.
tbc
[Reviews - 136]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 4170 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
Author’s note: Thanks again to Lu, Chris, BuffyandSpikeForever and Brat. I’m so happy you liked the beginning of the story, I hope I don’t disappoint you with the rest. :)