Buffy had no idea what it was that had possessed her to do what she had just done; she was shocked – to say the least – by her bold act. Beyond depressed, convinced that Spike could never be interested in her, she had told Willow that she wasn’t feeling well, and left the club.
And when she crossed the parking lot, she saw him, about to get into his car and leave. He was all alone; no skanky blonde in sight. Suddenly panicking at the mere thought of never seeing him again – which was ridiculous and not very likely, since Willow already knew who he was – she rushed over to him without even thinking.
Walking up behind him, she put her hand on his arm to prevent him from getting into the car. “You’re leaving?”
To say that Spike was surprised to see her would have been a huge understatement. She was just about the last person he had expected to see out here. Wait, she had just asked him a question, right? What was that again? “Um…”
Buffy noticed the confused look on his face and blushed. Stuttering nervously, she hurried to explain herself; “I just… I mean, I’m sorry to bother you. It’s just that I saw you at the club, and… I was actually leaving, I wasn’t stalking you or anything! Oh God, I’m so bad at this. I’m just gonna go… sorry!” She turned around to leave, more embarrassed than ever, but Spike grabbed her arm to stop her.
“Wait! Don’t go. I mean, it’s not safe out here. Let me walk you to your car.”
Buffy stopped, looking down at her feet. “I don’t have a car. I was just gonna walk home.”
Spike frowned. “Oh. Where do you live?”
“Revello Drive. It’s…”
Spike interrupted her, an incredolous look on his face; “I know where that is. It’s on the other side of the bloody town! You can’t be serious about walking there at this hour. How did you get here?”
“I got a ride with a friend. The other side of town? Really? It didn’t seem that long on the way over here.” Buffy finally looked up at him, smiling shyly.
Smiling back, Spike was amazed at how beautiful she was. “Well, actually, town’s not that big. But still, you shouldn’t be walking. Get in the car, I’ll give you a ride.”
Buffy hesitated. “I don’t wanna be any trouble. It’s ok, really. I’ll just…”
“No trouble, luv. I’m going in that direction anyway.” Spike was relieved when she finally nodded.
“All right, thank you. I’m Buffy, by the way. Buffy Summers.” She reached out her hand in greeting.
“God, I’m such a git! Sorry, completely forgot my manners. I’m Wi… Spike.“ He accepted her hand and shook it.
Buffy pretended not to notice his little slip, already knowing his real name. She remembered what Willow had told her, and was starting to get more and more curious about getting to know him. “Nice to meet you, Spike.” She smiled gratefully as he walked around the car and held the door open for her.
Xander had just finished his third beer when he realized that he hadn’t seen Spike for almost an hour. Maybe he’d left with that cute little blonde girl. Gunn had also taken off a while ago, with one of the girls he had met on the dance floor. What was her name again? Oh right, Winnifred. And Angel was still over by the bar, kissing a girl Xander vaguely remembered from back in high school – Cordelia Chase.
He was starting to get bored and decided to leave, when suddenly a good-looking brown-haired girl he had never seen before sat down next to him. She looked at him, expectantly. “This seat’s taken?”
Xander smiled politely, already changing his mind about leaving. “It is now. Hi, I’m Xander Harris. Can I buy you a drink?”
The girl returned his smile, brightly. “Yes, that would be great. I’m Anya. Anya Christina Emanuella Jenkins. I’ve been watching you for a while, you’re very nice to look at.”
Xander blinked in surprise, not knowing exactly how to respond to that. “Um…thank you? You’re not so bad-looking yourself. What can I get you?”
“Just a beer would be nice. But hurry back, will you? I think we should dance at least once before we go home together. Your place or mine?”
“So, this is me. My place, I mean. Thanks for the ride, it was really nice of you.” Buffy and Spike were standing just outside Buffy’s door.
Spike gave her a small smile. “My pleasure. Um, Buffy, would you like to…” He stopped, suddenly uncertain. He had just been about to ask Buffy if she wanted to go out with him some time, but it suddenly seemed like a very bad idea.
No, scratch that; it was a terrible idea. What was he thinking?! First of all; he had just met the girl, and of course she wouldn’t want to go out with him. Girls didn’t want to date him; all they ever wanted was a quick shag before they would run off to date guys who actually mattered to them.
For some reason, this girl seemed to be different, though. They had talked constantly in the car on the way back here, about just everything, and she had smiled at him a lot. Buffy had made it seem like she actually enjoyed being in his company, but she was probably just grateful for the ride. Why would someone like her be interested in him? She probably already had a boyfriend, anyway.
But wait, she had told him she was new here in town, and she had definitely not mentioned any boyfriend when she had told him a little about herself in the car. It didn’t matter, though; he knew that he would never be considered good enough for someone like her.
Now he noticed Buffy looking at him in confusion, clearly waiting for him to finish the sentence. “Would I like to... what?”
Spike hesitated, not knowing what to say. Much to his irritation, he chickened out; “Nothing, never mind. I should probably get going. It was nice meeting you, Buffy. Good night.” He completely missed the disappointed look on her face as he turned around to leave.
Buffy felt like screaming; she had been totally convinced that he was about to ask her out just then, but obviously, she had been mistaken. Spike was definitely interested in her, of that she was sure, but suddenly, it seemed like he just couldn’t get away from her fast enough. And now he was leaving, without even asking for her phone number?! No way!
“Spike, wait!” The words were out of her mouth before she knew what she was going to say, she just desperately wanted to stop him from going. Thankfully, he did stop, turning slightly to look at her over his shoulder.
“Um… Listen, I understand if you don’t want to, but…” Buffy swallowed, nervously. Why did this have to be so hard? The worst thing that could happen would be him rejecting her. She took a deep breath, and finally went on; “I’d like to see you again.”
TBC