“Buffy, are you sure about this?”
She turned to address her friend. “I know this sounds crazy, but you didn’t see him when he confessed his feelings to me. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did.”
Willow shook her head. “This is a huge deal. You had every reason to react like that.”
Buffy agreed. “I know, but I just need to see him. I’ll figure it out when I get to his crypt.” She then turned her gaze on her mother. “Do you think I’m making a stupid decision?”
Joyce stared at her daughter and could tell how important her opinion was to Buffy. “I may not like the idea of you getting involved with another vampire, but I just want you to be happy. At least I know that Spike isn’t like Angel.”
Buffy nodded and accepted her answer. She glanced at Willow one more time, then made her way out of the house. She had a vampire to see.
* * * * *
Buffy entered the crypt and looked around. She suddenly had a very bad feeling.
“Spike, are you here?” she called out and got no answer in return. She was about to head down to the lower level, when Spike finally made his presence known. She placed her hand over her fast beating heart. “God, you scared me. What were you doing?”
He just stared at her, a smirk finding its way onto his face.
Buffy was confused and was about to say something else, but a new person made her put everything on hold.
Drusilla walked next to Spike, placing her hand on his back.
Buffy didn’t know what to think. She glanced back at the blond vampire. “Spike, what’s going on?”
He just continued to smile and trailed his hand down Drusilla’s arm. “Dru came back to me. She knows about my little problem and wants to help me with it.”
Buffy had a feeling he was talking about the chip. She suddenly felt her heart freeze in fear.
Spike turned cold eyes on her. “I’m leaving, Slayer. I finally have everything that I’ve always wanted. Dru is going to help me get this bloody chip out of my skull and when that happens, we’re going to paint everything in our path red. It’ll be just like old times.”
Drusilla beamed up at him.
Buffy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She thought he was telling the truth when he almost revealed to being in love with her. She couldn’t believe that she actually fell for that. She just stood there in shock and watched Spike walk away with the crazy vampiress. “That did not just happen,” she said to herself, still finding it hard to move.
* * * * *
When Buffy finally made it back home, she wiped angrily at her eyes. It would do no good for them to see that she was crying. She walked into the house and all eyes were immediately on her. Apparently the distress was written clearly on her face.
“Honey, what happened?” her mother wondered.
Buffy only shook her head, then focused on Willow. “I need you to do a disinvite spell. I can’t risk Spike having an all access pass to my house anymore.”
Willow was surprised, but just nodded in response.
Dawn, who was now downstairs, wasn’t going to accept that. “What? No, you can’t do that.”
Buffy felt more tears in her eyes as she looked at her little sister. She felt that what she had to say would be harder for Dawn. “I’m sorry, Dawny. I don’t have a choice right now. Spike could be dangerous.”
The teenager wouldn’t listen. “That’s crazy, Buffy. It’s Spike, you know he wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“I don’t know that, not anymore,” she replied softly.
Willow placed her hand on her friend’s arm. “What happened, Buffy?”
She tried not to break down when she explained. “Drusilla came back. He just left with her. I don’t know if he’s coming back, but if he does, it might not be with a chip.” She sat on the couch and covered her face in her hands.
Joyce sat down next to her distraught daughter, rubbing her back in comfort.
No one knew what to say after that.
* * * * *
Drusilla clapped her hands in glee. “My Spike has returned. We’ll be a family again.”
Spike stopped to look at his once dark princess. He knew that he was about to make a very drastic decision, but he didn’t see any other options. He gave a small smile and caressed her cheek, the side that wasn’t burned.
She leaned into his touch.
Spike then pulled the stake out of his duster pocket. “I’m sorry it had to be like this, baby.” Then, without any hesitation, he thrust the stake into her heart.
Drusilla stared up at him in shock and hurt. “William,” she whispered before exploding into dust.
Spike watched as the ashes covered the ground, knowing that nothing would ever be the same again.
* * * * *
“Well, Dawn finally went to sleep. She’s taking this very hard.”
Buffy nodded when her mother entered her room.
Willow went back to the dorms. She would show up later with the ingredients for the spell.
Joyce sat down next to Buffy on the bed. “How are you doing, honey?”
Buffy shrugged. “I’ll be okay. I just can’t believe that I was starting to trust him. He sounded so sincere, Mom. I should have known that he would choose her if she ever came back.” She rested her head against her mother’s shoulder.
“Maybe it’s not what you think.”
She then lifted her head to look up at Joyce. “How could it be anything else? I saw him leave with her.”
Joyce nodded. “Yes, but it doesn’t look like he went very far.”
Buffy raised her eyebrows in confusion.
Joyce just gave her a smile and motioned for her to look out the window.
Buffy followed her gaze and was surprised to see that Spike was standing out there. She noticed that Drusilla wasn’t with him.
“Go on, I know you want to talk to him.”
Buffy agreed and stood up. She looked at her mother, then headed down the stairs. She knew he could possibly be dangerous, but it didn’t stop her from wanting to see him. She grabbed a jacket and after putting it on, made her way outside and over to the bleached vampire. She was stunned once she got a good look at him. He looked exhausted and she could tell that he has been crying, if the redness in his eyes was anything to go by. She forgot about being mad at him. “Spike, what’s wrong?”
He then broke down and wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, burying his face in her hair. “I’m sorry, Buffy. I had to do it. There was no other way.”
She stroked his back in comfort, then pulled him away to look at her. “What did you do?”
“I tricked Dru into trusting me. I had to get her away from you,” his voice trailed off.
Buffy once again took notice that Drusilla wasn’t around. “Spike, what happened?”
He shook his head and stared deeply into her eyes. “I staked her. I couldn’t let her go. She would have come after you. I couldn’t let that happen.”
Buffy gasped at what he said. She wrapped her arms around him and let him cry against her shoulder. “God, Spike. I can’t believe you did that for me,” she whispered.
He shook his head again, glancing up at her after a moment. “I didn’t have a choice.” He gently touched her cheek and noticed the tears in her eyes that matched his own. “I love you. I know you don’t want to hear it. I know that I’m a monster, but I can’t stop the way I feel.”
Buffy couldn’t stop her tears at his declaration. She couldn’t believe that she ever doubted him. He loved Drusilla for over a century. Staking her for the Slayer had to be a huge deal. He would probably get a lot of grief from the demon world now. She took his hand in hers, giving it a tight squeeze. She wouldn’t let anyone hurt him. “Come inside, Spike.”
He was clearly shocked by her words. “I don’t think…”
She cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips. “You belong inside with us. You belong with me.”
Spike was taken by surprise again when she touched his lips with hers. It was the sweetest kiss that anyone has ever graced him with. “You’re giving me a crumb?” he asked when she pulled away.
Buffy only smiled. “How about the whole cake?”
He returned her smile. The first real one he felt that night.
She gave his hand another squeeze and led him into the house. It looked like the spell wasn’t necessary after all.
The End
Well, there you go. I actually like how this one came out. I know it’s short, but I don’t have any plans for a sequel. You never know when something will come to me, though. Don’t forget to review me. Thanks for reading=)
Author's Chapter Notes:
Yes, I know this is another version of “Crush.” I probably have a million of those, but I think this one would be a bit different from my others. It’s an idea that I haven’t seen yet, so I decided to go with it. I know the beginning will seem kinda bad, but it will definitely end well. I’m all about the happy endings, anyway. Well, hope you guys would like it. Any comments would be much appreciated=)