Caught Between Two Lovers
Part 28
It Must Have Been Love
~~~~~~~~~~
"Lay a whisper on my pillow
Leave the winter on the ground"
~~~~~~~~~~
"Hello, baby. How've you been all this time?"
"Did you miss me?" Spike ran one hand over her sleek,
smooth body. "You look gorgeous. I see someone's been
taking good care of you."
He straightened up and turned to face the lot attendant,
extracting his wallet from his coat. "She looks good. Not a
speck of rust on her, and a nice polish."
After paying the storage fee and tipping the attendant,
Spike climbed into his De Soto and adjusted the seat,
found some traveling music on the radio, then pulled out
of the lot and headed for the freeway.
It was a warm night for early April, and he cranked the
windows down to let in the evening air. His foot depressed
the accelerator, until he was doing nearly 80mph. He
was in far too much of a hurry to drive any slower.
"I'm close, sweetheart," he murmured under his breath,
touching the hard lump of the small velvet box nestled
in his coat pocket, a talisman of good fortune. In another
hour, the ring would be on her hand, and he would make
sure she never took it off.
~~~~~~~~~~
"I wake up lonely, the air of silence
In the bedroom, and all around"
~~~~~~~~~~
He crossed the city limit line at exactly 9:15. The
moon was full and white, and he felt like it was
actually smiling on him for a change.
During the time he had been incarcerated on that frigging
island, he had hated looking at the moon. All it did
was remind him of the nights he had spent with Buffy,
nights they would sit and star gaze, while he pointed
out and named as many of the constellations as he
could remember.
But it was all over now, and he was free. Free of that
bloody island prison, free of responsibility, free of Drusilla.
Their final confrontation had been unexpectedly calm. He
had actually been prepared for a scream fest the likes
of which he'd never experienced before.
Instead, she had been understanding to the point of
placidity, and he'd wondered for a moment if Lysander
hadn't been sedating her with something.
She had decided to remain on Isla Nueva for a while
longer. Too eager himself to get away, he hadn't bothered
to argue with her about it.
On his way downstairs with his bags packed, he had
stopped briefly in the room where Angelus was recovering.
The vampire had been asleep, so he'd closed the door
quietly and left.
Down in the library, he'd paid Lysander a generous
fee and said goodbye. The warlock hadn't inquired as
to where Spike was going, but he had said that Drusilla
was welcome to stay as long as she chose to.
As the launch had pulled away from the dock, Spike
had gotten the feeling that Lysander cared for Dru in
much more than a platonic way, and he'd silently wished
the fellow good luck, knowing that he would need all of
it he could get to handle her.
Turning on to Revello Drive, he could see that the
small house where Buffy lived was brightly lit. He
pulled into the driveway, barely throwing the car into
park before he was leaping out of it and running up
the front path.
Although tempted to fling the door open without
waiting, he forced himself to knock as politely as he
could manage in the force of his need to see his bride.
When the door swung open, he found himself looking
at an attractive woman who looked to be in her late
thirties. Recognizing Joyce Summers from the photo-
graphs he'd seen, he smiled pleasantly and asked if
he could see Buffy.
"She's out for the evening," Joyce informed him, giving
him a look that clearly said "Who the hell are you and why are
you asking about my sixteen year old daughter?"
Since he was uncertain of just how much Buffy had
confided in her mother, he tried to wipe the eager,
anticipatory smile off his face, not wanting it to be
interpreted as a lecherous leer.
"I'm a...friend of her's," he explained. "Been out of the
country for a while...and I..." He cleared his throat ner-
vously. "I just wanted to see how she's doing."
Joyce gave him a speculative look, clearly not con-
vinced. "Well, she's at a school function tonight," she
explained. "With some of her friends."
Spike smiled. He knew where her school was. He
could go there and surprise her, then steal her away
from her friends and greet her properly. Thanking
Joyce for the information, he turned to leave.
"Are...are you William?"
Spike stopped halfway down the front walk. Facing
Joyce again, he nodded. "Yes, I am," he admitted.
"William Hamilton."
With slightly narrowed eyes, Joyce looked him up
and down. He was quite obviously older than her
daughter had let on, and they would definitely be dis-
cussing that topic in the morning.
Still, he was most certainly a handsome young man,
and she could see why Buffy had fallen so hard for
him. Joyce hadn't probed too deeply into the particulars
of the relationship, but she had spent time on the opposite
side of Buffy's bedroom door, listening to her as she
cried into her pillow. All that had stopped suddenly a
few weeks ago, and Joyce had been too happy to see it
go to question Buffy too intently about it.
Watching this man now, Joyce could see that he was
anxious to go and find Buffy. His body language was
telegraphing that message loud and clear, as he edged
further down the sidewalk.
She tried not to laugh, and asked him if he knew where
Buffy's school was. After being assured that he did, she
said goodnight and closed the front door, shaking her
head in amusement.
Young men in love. They never changed.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Touch me now, I close my eyes
And dream away...."
~~~~~~~~~~
Spike turned into the parking lot of Sunnydale
High School at 9:42. It took him four minutes to
find an available parking space. Just when he was
ready to park his car in the middle of the grassy
expanse of lawn, an El Dorado pulled out of a space
on the far east end of the lot, and he zipped into
it.
He could hear the music blaring, and he headed
straight for the gymnasium, weaving his way through
the parked and waiting limousines.
There were a few kids milling around outside, and
he could see from their formal wear just exactly what
sort of function the school was holding. There was a
sign, hand lettered in silver glitter paint, announcing
a welcome to the Spring Formal.
Pulling open the double doors, he scanned the room,
searching for his little slayer. She didn't seem to be
sitting at any of the tables, though he spotted her
cute little redhaired friend at one, sitting with a couple
of kids he hadn't seen before.
Moving a bit further into the room, he picked up Buffy's
scent easily. Happy beyond the telling of it, he started
towards where he felt her to be.
But when he saw her, saw what she was doing, all the
joy that had been intoxicating him vanished.
His bride was dancing in another man's arms, and he was
so ragingly jealous that he could barely stand it.
When he saw who she was dancing with, his vision
blurred over with an angry red haze. That boy...that god-
damned boy...the one who'd tried to put his hands on her
that long ago night they had met.
She had moved away from him then, but she wasn't
doing that now. The boy leaned over and whispered something
in her ear, and she looked up into his eyes and laughed.
Taking a firm hold on his temper, Spike watched as they
danced together. The look in the boy's eyes was filled with
tenderness and Buffy....
Buffy looked happy. Smiling and laughing...and happy.
He had been gone too long, and she had gotten tired
of waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~
"It must have been love,
But it's over now
It must have been good,
But I lost it somehow
It must have been love,
But it's over now
From the moment we touched,
Till the time had run out."
~~~~~~~~~~
Spike wanted to scream. To tear the walls down.
To kill....
With a monumental effort, he willed himself to keep
control. To keep his demon from exploding from inside
of him.
"She'll be dancing when you find her. Then, you'll
have your answer."
Drusilla's enigmatic words echoed in his ears.
And so, he had his answer. It wasn't a demon wanting
to kill her that Buffy was dancing with. It was a boy that
just plain wanted her. Judging from her smile, she was
finally returning those feelings.
His unbeating heart felt as though it was cracking open
in his chest. The pain he was feeling wasn't mitigated
one ounce by the knowledge that he probably deserved
it.
He had left her without a word of farewell, had simply
vanished from her life. Whether there'd been a reason
for it or not, he had deserted her with no intention, at
first, of ever coming back. Then, taking the coward's way
out, he'd informed her of his actions in a letter.
Even after sending the second letter, the one asking
her to wait for him, he had taken too long to come back,
and she had given up on him.
He was too late.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Make believing, we're together
That I'm sheltered by your heart
But in and outside, I turn to water
Like a tear drop in your palm
And it's a hard winter's day
I dream away..."
~~~~~~~~~~
Unable to watch another moment, Spike swallowed
the ache in his throat that was threatening to strangle
him.
He turned his back, walking swiftly towards the
exit, not noticing...or caring...that he was bumping
into people as he went.
Banging open the double doors, he practically ran
from the gym, not slowing down until he reached his
car.
When he got there, he placed both hands on the
trunk, letting his head hang down and closing his
eyes.
But no matter how tightly he squeezed them shut,
the image was burned into his brain, refusing to go
away and leave him with some kind of peace.
Her smile. Her sweetness. Her love. Given to another
man.
For the first time in more than a century, he felt like
crying.
~~~~~~~~~~
"It must have been love
But it's over now
It was all that I wanted
Now I'm living without"
~~~~~~~~~~
Violently wrenching the car door open, he threw
himself inside and closed it hard enough to rattle
the window.
As he sat clutching the steering wheel with one
hand and fumbling for his keys with the other, he
stared straight ahead, wondering where the hell he
was going to go.
For so long, his only purpose had been getting back
to Sunnydale and to Buffy. He hadn't looked beyond
that goal, except in his foolish and vague fantasies
of making a life with her.
Those dreams were dead now, as dead as he was
himself, and they'd died presenting him with no alter-
native...no "Plan B."
Right now, the only thing he knew for an absolute
fact was that he had to get as far from this town as
he possibly could.
Since he had no desire to go south where Drusilla
was, he would go north and lose himself there. For
a while, anyway.
Twisting the key in the ignition, he gunned his car's
engine. It's roar of power split the night, followed
by a screech of tires as he dropped it into reverse
and backed out of the parking space.
~~~~~~~~~~
"It must have been love,
But it's over now
It must have been good
But I lost it somehow
It must have been love,
But it's over now
From the moment we touched
Till the time had run out"
~~~~~~~~~~
TBC.....
(If you don't want to know what happens
next, for better or for worse, stop reading here.
If you want a sneak preview, head south)
(Next chapter is the one you want. My
right hand to God, it's the happy-happy-joy-
joy chapter)
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