Chapter 4
Buffy could hardly think when Spike’s eyes met hers across the room. She could only think about how much she wanted to be elsewhere. She didn’t have it in her to face him right now, so without thinking much about it, she threw her hand up in the air.
Spike noticed and pointed to her, finding that speech was difficult at the moment.
“Can I go to the bathroom?”
He nodded and cleared his throat before answering. “Yes, but make it fast.” It was killing him to be all professional right now. He couldn’t believe that the girl he spent all weekend constantly thinking about was a student in his classroom.
Buffy hurried out of there and ran all the way to the bathroom. She found Faith just about to exit and quickly grabbed her arm, pulling the confused girl back into the restroom.
“Damn, B. Where’s the fire?”
She tried to catch her breath before addressing her friend. “The guy from the Bronze is here. He’s our substitute History teacher.”
Faith was clearly not expecting that. “Are you shitting me?”
Buffy shook her head. “Trust me; I wouldn’t make something like that up. What am I going to do? I can’t go back in there.”
Faith held up a hand to stop her. “What’s the big deal? So he finds out that you lied about your age; it’s not the end of the world. I’m sure you won’t be going to jail for it.”
Buffy blushed and suddenly found the floor very interesting. “I may have done more than that.”
Faith was happy to finally be getting somewhere. “Oh, and what exactly did you do?”
Buffy took a deep breath and looked up at her friend, finally deciding to confess. “We slept together, okay? Are you satisfied now?”
Faith laughed. “You little slut, I am so proud of you.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “This is serious, Faith. What am I going to do? Not only did I sleep with a guy that I don’t even know, but I slept with a teacher. What if he tells Principal Wood? I could get expelled.”
“Okay, you’re not going to get expelled. I doubt he would tell. His ass would be just as screwed. You didn’t even know who he was, anyway. It was just an honest mistake. And if the truth ever does come out, you don’t have to worry. I have connections here, too.”
Buffy raised her eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”
Faith shrugged and checked herself over in the mirror.
It took Buffy a moment to realize what she was probably referring to. “No way, don’t tell me you’re having sex with the principal.”
Faith smiled and walked out of the bathroom. “Fine, I won’t tell you.”
Buffy was still in shock when she followed after Faith. “You know what? I don’t even want to know. That shouldn’t really surprise me.”
“It’s called having fun, B. You should try it every once in a while. I have to admit that nailing a teacher is pretty impressive, even if he is just a sub. So, you ready to go back inside now?”
Buffy stopped when she noticed that they were back at the classroom. She suddenly felt incredibly nervous. “I don’t think I can do this.”
Faith let out a sigh. “You’ll be fine, Buffy. He might not even remember you.”
She took offense to that. “It was only two days ago. I would hope I’m not that forgettable. Besides, I could tell by the way he was looking at me that he remembers.”
Faith peeked into the room and smiled at the sight of their new teacher writing on the blackboard. “Man, he must have been a nice ride.”
Buffy glared at the brunette. “You’re really not helping. Just open the door already. I’m hoping that with a classroom full of students, he won’t even be able to talk to me. And as soon as the bell rings, we get the hell out of there.”
Faith nodded and opened the door, giving Spike a bright smile. “Sorry, I had a little trouble in the ladies room. Buffy was just helping me out.”
They were met by snickers from the other students.
Buffy felt like putting a bag over her head, but avoided eye contact with him.
Spike only nodded and motioned for them to take their seats. He would somehow find a way to get Buffy alone to talk. She couldn’t avoid him forever.
* * * * *
Buffy made it all the way to lunch without any contact from Spike. She knew that it was childish to avoid him, but she didn’t see any other options at the moment.
“Are you okay, Buffy? You’ve been really quiet,” Willow wondered.
“Yeah, B, is there anything you wanna tell us?”
She scowled at Faith, then turned her attention to Willow. “I’m fine, just didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Willow accepted her answer and took another bite out of her sandwich.
“You know, I’m actually not all that hungry right now. I’m just gonna get some fresh air,” she told them and stood up.
“Do you want us to go with you?”
Buffy shook her head and gave the red head a smile. “It’s okay; I just want to be alone right now. I’ll see you guys later.”
Willow watched Buffy walk away. “I wonder what’s bothering her.”
Faith only shrugged, but couldn’t keep the smile off of her face.
* * * * *
Buffy walked the halls of school, lost in thought. She wasn’t paying attention and crashed into a hard chest. She would have probably fallen if it wasn’t for the strong arms that were holding her. Buffy suddenly pulled away when she realized they belonged to Spike.
“Ms Summers, just the person I was looking for. Could I see you in my classroom for a moment?”
Buffy knew that she was in trouble, but only nodded and followed him into the empty room.
He closed the door once they were inside and turned to look at her. “So, you’re twenty-three, huh? Either you got held back a few years, or you just really love school.”
She took a deep breath before responding. “I’m really sorry. I wasn’t exactly thinking very clearly that night. I just wanted to have fun and pretend that I was someone else for a change. I really didn’t think I would ever see you again.”
Spike nodded. “I see, was that whole thing about not going home with strangers a lie, too?”
She shook her head. “The only thing I lied about was my age. I’ve really never done that before.”
Spike ran his fingers through his hair. “God, this isn’t happening. I could go to prison for this. How old are you? Please tell me you’re not only sixteen.”
Buffy could see the fear in his eyes and felt even worse. “It’s okay; I just turned eighteen a couple of months ago.”
He sighed in relief at the fact that she was at least legal, but that still didn’t make it right. She was his student now and officially off limits. That’s what he tried to convince himself, anyway.