Chapter 6
Charlotte sat up in bed, her heart pounding again. Spike looked up from the muted television. The little TV sat on the table over by the window.
“Bad dream, pet?” he asked, concerned.
She rolled out of bed, intent on a glass of water. “Yeah.”
She is seriously trying to get me in trouble. Spike was instantly distracted by the little camisole and boxer shorts she was wearing. I knew she’d have gorgeous legs. Okay, so he should have noticed last night, but she’d been bleeding and scared, and he really hadn’t taken the time. She blushed under his perusal, remembering what she was wearing. Spike’s eyes shot back to the TV for a second.
Charlotte walked quickly to the bathroom to get her robe. This just gave him the opportunity to admire her ass in the short shorts. She reclaimed her seat on the bed, frowning.
“Can’t you just…not be male for a few minutes?” she complained.
“Hey, I happen to like being male. Much less maintenance.”
“Says the person in the room who bleaches his hair.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I’d hoped it was just the room.”
“Nightmares can happen anywhere, luv. Even when you’re awake.”
She glared at him. “That’s not funny.”
“You’re really bitchy at 4:00 AM, you know that?” he shot back.
“Asshole.”
“Oooo, that hurts…try puttin’ a little more feeling into it,” he snarked.
“Don’t wanna.” She could pout if she wanted to.
Spike sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. “You know, I wouldn’t blame you if you found another place to stay.”
“And miss picking on you?” Charlotte half-heartedly teased, leaning into him.
“As hard as that might be to give up, yes, I’d rather you were somewhere you felt safe.”
She knew that he meant it, and that made her smile. “Thank you.” Charlotte hopped onto her feet and bounced in frustration. “God, I hate this whole ‘damsel in distress’ thing! I’m not like that. I was always the girl everybody looked to because I was on top of things. I usually don’t even panic. A sheet of plywood flew off a truck and landed in front of my car on the freeway, and I didn’t flinch, but I am so out of my element with all this supernatural crap.”
“Hey, come here.” She shuffled over to stand in front of him. He took her hands in his. “We’ll fix it. That’s what we do. And if I have to guard you at night, then I will. It’s what hero types do, right?”
“Yeah…” she admitted.
“Right. You know, I had a basement apartment…it’s pretty dreary and barely furnished, but the utilities work. It’s paid to the end of the month. You can take it, as long as you don’t mind missing windows.”
“Nah, that’s okay…I’m almost done with my search, so I can handle another day or two. I’m only staying in the city to the end of June, so I should probably just find a hotel room.”
Spike shook his head. “It’ll run you more per day than renting for a month. Or, we kill your stalker and you hang out here until you have to go home.”
“A vampire who’s trying to save me money? What’s the world coming to?” she teased.
“Reformed, baby. The old Victorian in me doesn’t want to see a lady taken advantage of. And it’s the Poof’s fault you lost your building, so if anybody should be payin’, it’s him. I know he’s good for it.”
“Well, you can ask him. I still find him creepy.” She shuddered.
“You tell him that. His ego could stand to be knocked down a peg or two.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “You two sound like brothers, always ragging on each other. Maybe you should slug it out and get it out of your system?”
“Already did that. Didn’t help.” His mouth widened into a big smile. “I won, though.”
“(yawn) Good for you.”
“Okay, kitten, back into bed.” Spike turned them around and gently pushed her to sit, then lie down.
“Don’t wanna sleep,” she pouted.
“I’ll be right here until you wake up in the morning. You’ll be fine.” Spike walked back to the chair.
“I thought you were turning in for the night?”
“I’m watchin’ the telly. Now, you – with the closing of the eyes, etc. Focus on puppies and kittens, or something, and it’ll be morning before you know it.”
Charlotte took off the robe and pulled the covers over herself. “You don’t have to take the crappy chair.”
He shook his head to refuse. “Wouldn’t want to fall asleep on the job. Get some rest.” Spike turned off the light and settled in the chair, his feet on the little table next to it.
She rolled to her left side to watch him, though she could only see his outline against the light from the window, in the dark.
“I can see your eyes aren’t closed, pet.”
Her subsequent muttering sounded like “bite me”.
~+~
When she woke up in the morning, it was to see Spike slumped in the chair, asleep. His shoulders were hunched up to his ears, and his legs were splayed straight out in front of him. It looked really uncomfortable.
Charlotte got out of bed, stretched, and walked over to him. “Spike…”
No reaction. She touched his cheek with her hand. “Spike…” Okay, so he literally sleeps like the dead. She leaned close to his ear and said his name again louder. “Spike…”
He jumped, knocking her arm off the chair that she was leaning on and causing her to fall into his lap. Spike opened his eyes to being nose-to-nose with Charlotte.
“‘Mornin’, pet. Fancy meeting you here.” He was far enough forward that they both began sliding off the chair. “Oh, balls,” he muttered, right before hitting the ground, with Charlotte on top of him, hitting his head on the chair seat on the way down.
“You are really hard to wake up,” she murmured.
“Dead man walking, luv.” He was trying to look anywhere but down at the display of cleavage she was showing in this position. Well…he looked once, but you couldn’t fault him for being a guy! “Interestin’ position we’ve gotten ourselves in to, pet.”
“I should move.” Why aren’t I moving?! “It’s morning, so you can finally go get some decent sleep.”
“I should…”
“Okay.” She pushed off her hands, straightening her arms, which only made where her hip bones were more apparent. Oh, god… His hiss of breath got her to move off the rest of the way with lightning speed, and Charlotte headed for the closet to pick her clothes for the day. “I’m going to take a shower and stuff. Hope you sleep well,” she rattled off, before closing and locking the bathroom door.
Spike scowled at the erection starting to push against his pants, and got up. The Poof shagging a Chaos Demon – Spike shuddered violently – that did the trick. He undressed, leaving his clothes on the floor, and pulled the covers over his head.
~+~
She was totally embarrassed. Charlotte liked to put on a good show, but the truth was, she’d never had good luck with guys. She’d only kissed three in her lifetime, not counting the ‘boyfriend’ she had when she was five. Only had a relationship with two, and both hadn’t ended well. She could do the friend thing with a guy just fine, until she started to like him, like him, then she turned into a total klutz. High school had been one prolonged experience of unrequited crushes. She could even flirt pretty well, until it was with a guy she liked…and then the word ‘obvious’ came to mind. But she didn’t like-like Spike, so it was fine. She was fine. Just embarrassed about leaning on his morning stiffie. Oh god… Her face turned red again.
~+~
Charlotte’s bite marks weren’t healed enough to be easily concealed, yet, so she was wearing another high-collared top. Thank goodness she’d bought several sleeveless, but still conservative, tops for work in spring. She didn’t need the apartment managers looking at her strangely when she was trying to make a good impression.
She also stopped in to work to update her boss on her situation and check her in-box. The orchestra was practicing outside after school.
“Hey, guys.”
“Miss Taylor! Are you coming back soon? The subs are majorly boring!”
“I’ll be back on Monday. What are you guys doing outside?” she wondered.
“The AC died in the band room again. It’s 10 degrees cooler out here in the sun.”
“Aww, I’m sorry about that. I’m sure they’ll get around to fixing it over the summer. I hope you all have still been practicing for the festival next week.”
“Yes, ma’am. We won’t let you down,” one of the First-Chairs replied.
“Great. Well, I can’t stay, but I wanted to see how you guys were doing. Be safe going home, ‘kay?” Charlotte waved goodbye, and left, still having errands to do.
~+~
“Hey, Buffy…you’re looking a little glum,” Willow said, concerned for her friend.
“I’m just bored. I can’t drive, so I can’t go anywhere here, so there’s nothing to do,” she replied, pouting.
“Well…you could talk to Spike?” Willow suggested hesitantly.
“No. He’s the one who didn’t call, so he’s the one that needs to apologize. Wasn’t it obvious that I cared?”
“Of course it was. Look how many times you saved his life that last year, for instance,” the witch said supportively.
“Exactly, so he’s a total butthead for not picking up the phone and saying ‘Hey, I’m undead again, just thought you’d want to know’. Really, would that have been so hard?” the Slayer pouted further.
“I don’t know, Buffy…only he can answer that one. We could borrow Angel’s car. I still have a valid license. He obviously won’t need it until the evening.”
“And go shopping?” Buffy said hopefully.
“Hey, we’re in Los Angeles. What else are we gonna do?”
~+~
“Dawn, come quick! A total hottie just walked through the door!” Dawn put down the magazine she’d been reading and hurried after the Slayer who’d come to get her. They slid to a stop next to the others, all smiling at the boy who’d just walked into the hotel.
“Uh, hey. Is Angel around?” he asked hesitantly. Dawn stepped forward to reply.
“He’s still up in his room, I think. Do you need somebody to go get him?”
“No, I know the way. Thanks,” he replied, with a little smile. Connor nodded to the girls and escaped up the stairs.
“Oh, my god, he smiled at you!” one of the girls gushed.
“He was just being polite,” Dawn said. “I wonder if he’s a client?”
~+~
“Dad, it’s me,” Connor said, after knocking. Angel opened the door a minute later, rubbing his hair dry with a towel.
“Hey, did I forget a meet-up?” Angel asked, confused.
“Nah, I just decided to drop by. You know there are a ton of girls in the lobby?”
“Slayers, except Dawn, who’s too young for you,” the vampire replied.
“Yeah, I noticed the Slayer part. There’s a trace detectable that’s the same as Faith.”
Angel looked proud. “I thought the same, once they were all in the same room. So, what’s going on?”
“Not much. Signed up for a couple classes so I can stay in the dorms. I like where my room’s at.”
“That’s good. If you need to work, I’m starting up Angel Investigations again. I could always use a partner…”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Okay.” Angel smiled a little.
~+~
“You went to Rodeo Drive without me? You guys totally suck,” Dawn exclaimed, when Buffy and Willow came back. Willow walked over to Angel to hand him his keys.
“Here you go. Not a scratch, as I promised.”
“Thank you,” he replied. Relief flooded his features. The Plymouth was his baby, and he’d been lucky to find her intact after they’d had to abandon it in that alley. A new coat of paint had been needed, though.
“That’s what happens when you sleep in, Dawnie,” Buffy retorted, sticking her tongue out at her sister. Dawn rolled her eyes.
“Guess who’s not getting anything when I go to Paris,” she shot back.
“Brat.”
“Bitch.”
“Girls, please. If you’re going to argue, take it outside,” Angel said.
They glared at him in unison, then retreated to their opposite corners.
~+~
Charlotte didn’t get back until well after dark. Spike was pacing in the lobby when she walked through the doors.
“Where’ve you been?!” he demanded.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I drove down to my mother’s so she could see in person that I’m fine. I’m old enough to be out on my own after dark, Dad.”
“Don’t take that bloody tone with me. For all I knew, you could’ve been lying in an alley somewhere,” he retorted, getting right in her face.
“I won’t make the same mistake twice, so I’m fine, thank you. If I need your help, I’ll call,” she said defensively.
“Excuse me for caring,” he responded snidely. Spike leaned in to growl in her ear, “See who’s not there when you have a nightmare tonight.”
Her eyes narrowed into angry slits. “You bastard!” she hissed. Charlotte stepped around him to head to their room. Both vampires in the building heard the door slam.
“Way to go, Big Bad,” Dawn muttered. Spike glared at her, then stormed out of the building, coat billowing behind him. I think I’ll do some damage control, she thought, and went up to Charlotte’s room.
~+~
“Hey, Char? It’s Dawn. Can I come in?”
“Down here, Dawn,” Charlotte said, from Spike’s room. The teen arched a brow, but decided not to question the room change for now.
“Whatever he said that pissed you off, he didn’t mean it. Spike has a protective streak a mile wide, so he can be a real ass when he’s worried.”
“Doesn’t matter. I already decided not to impose here any longer.” Charlotte moved around the room packing her things.
“Oh. You found a place, then?” Dawn asked, disappointed.
“Yeah, a sublet for a month, for only half the normal rent. It’s $250 less than my apartment was. I can move in tonight.”
“Wow…that’s great luck. Do you need any help?”
“You can get my stuff out of the bathroom, if you want. I didn’t bring much up here, so it’s not going to take me long to get it all back in my bag.”
Dawn walked over to the bathroom, then paused. “Charlotte?”
“Yeah?”
“I hope you’re still going to come around. I don’t know how long we’re here for, but I enjoy talking with you,” she admitted.
“I’ll come see you, you can count on it. I want postcards from Europe, too,” she promised.
The teen smiled. “Okay. Cool.”
They finished quickly, then Charlotte carried her bag downstairs.
“Hey, Angel…thanks for letting me stay these few days. It really helped.”
“You’re welcome. Try not to meet any more vampires at night,” he advised.
“Oh, I intend on being very careful. I know the warning signs now. I’ll drop by again before the Slayer group leaves.”
Dawn and Willow escorted her to her car. Charlotte tossed her bag in the back seat, then gave the girls hugs.
“You sure you don’t want to wait for Spike to get back?” Dawn suggested.
“Yeah…I’m sure I’ll run into him again, and he’s done more than enough to help me. You have my cell number, so call when you find out you’re leaving. We’ll do lunch again.”
“Bye, Charlotte. Take care.”
Another round of hugs, then Charlotte got in her car, and pulled out of the garage. She looked forward to a peaceful night of sleep.
~+~
Spike got exactly two miles away from the hotel in the Viper before he felt like a complete wanker. That wasn’t enough to turn around, though. He wasn’t going to beg forgiveness of a chit he’d only known a few days. If anyone deserved that, it was Buffy, the woman he’d loved for years. He still didn’t know how to talk to her. There was so much to say, and he couldn’t decide what went first.
So, he needed to think.
~+~
Charlotte picked up the keys from the manager and let herself into her new place. The renter had left furniture, so she only needed to find space for her personal things. There was a new mattress on the bed, still in plastic – that was a plus. She’d stopped at the storage yard to pick up her box of dishes and utensils, and her sheets. It was definitely time to do laundry tomorrow.
She made sure the doors and windows were locked, cranked on the AC, and got ready for bed. The week had been exhausting.
“Home sweet home.”
~+~
The look on Dawn’s face when he walked into the Hyperion made his stomach drop.
“She left, didn’t she?” he said in a neutral voice.
“She found an apartment today. She was only back to pick up her stuff, anyway.”
“Nah…she could’ve waited until morning. Well, is your sister around?”
Dawn shook her head. “Out on patrol. She wanted to teach the girls how to spot vampires in a club.”
“Ah, going to be a late night, then. Up for poppin’ in a movie?”
“Sure. I’ll even make popcorn,” she offered. Just like old times.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Yes, this will be a Spuffy story here. Yes, there will be an alternate ending at FF.net.
Thanks to everyone that's expressed liking Charlotte. I really like her, too. :)
Thanks to everyone that's expressed liking Charlotte. I really like her, too. :)