He looked away from the TV then, raising a scarred eyebrow. “Why? Can’t wait to get rid of me?”
She rolled her eyes. “So not what I meant. But from what I’ve seen so far, you’re pretty good at running away from your problems.”
His eyes narrowed, and he got a cold expression on his face. “You don’t know a bloody thing about me.”
“Maybe not.” Buffy shrugged. “So, you’re staying then?” Spike didn’t answer, and she went on; “Giles won’t be back for a couple of hours.” He looked a little relieved, but still didn’t say anything. She gave him a thoughtful look. “You know, he didn’t really mean…”
Spike interrupted her before she could finish. “Yes, he did. And I don’t wanna talk about it.”
“Fine.” They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, until Buffy spoke again. “What happened in London?”
She didn’t think he would answer, so she was surprised when he spoke almost immediately. “What happened to William?” Buffy opened her mouth, then closed it again, staring at him in shock for a moment. Spike went on; “Was it a vampire?”
Swallowing, Buffy looked down at her hands. “I… I don’t…”
”…wanna talk about it?” She looked up then, and he could see that she desperately tried to fight back tears. He sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, but if that’s the case, don’t you think I have the right to know?”
Inhaling shakily, Buffy struggled to get her emotions under control before speaking. “Maybe. But…” She swallowed again, not able to remember the last time she’d actually talked to anyone about what happened to William. And it wasn’t just her; Giles and her friends avoided the subject as well. Giles probably did it because the memories were too painful, not to mention that it had to remind him of his part of the whole thing. But she suspected that her friends didn’t talk about William’s death because they were simply afraid of how she would react.
Sure, William had been their friend as well, but now three years had passed, and Xander and Anya, Willow and Tara had all moved on. Buffy knew it wouldn’t be fair to say that they had forgotten about William and everything he had done for them, of course they hadn’t, but still, they had moved on. Sometimes she wondered if she would ever be able to fully move on with her life, if she would ever find love again. She would never find someone like William again, of that she was sure. He had been one of a kind, unique. And she had loved him more than anything.
“Have you ever really been in love? Loved someone so much it actually hurts to be around that person, because you know that if you weren’t, you’d be…” Buffy hesitated, searching for the right word. “…lost?” Spike looked at her, a surprised expression on his face, then shook his head. Buffy let out a tired sigh. “I have.” She paused for a moment, then went on, her mind made up; “All right, Spike. I’ll tell you what you wanna know. If you’ll tell me what happened to you in London.”
He seemed to be thinking about it. “Kind of a long story, pet. Sure you’re up to listening? Might bore you.”
Buffy let out a snort. “I don’t get bored that easily. Have been living with Giles for years, remember?” He chuckled. “Okay, you go first.”
His smile disappeared. “Why me?”
“Because I say so.” His brows went up, and she rolled her eyes. “Please?”
Spike sighed. “Oh, bloody hell! Fine! But don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. My story won’t be pretty.”
Buffy looked him right in the eyes, a dead serious expression on her face. “Believe me, Spike, neither will mine.”
“So, um… now what?” Willow looked around the room, her eyes staying on Giles. He removed his glasses and started cleaning them.
“Yes, Giles, what are we gonna do? I bet you feel really stupid now, chasing away the Slayer just when we had finally found him. What were you thinking?” Anya sat down by the table next to Xander. Giles glared at her.
“Anya… not helping, sweetie.” Xander turned to Giles, with an apologetic look. “But seriously, Giles. I think I’m speaking for everyone when I say this is not good.”
Giles sighed, putting his glasses back on his nose. “Yes, Xander, I am aware of the inconvenience of the situation.”
“You-you don’t think he will really leave, do you?” Tara had a worried look on her face.
Willow gave her girlfriend an assuring smile. “I’m sure Buffy can convince him to stay.” She turned to Giles, her smile faltering. “Right?”
“Oh, I’m quite sure she…” Giles paused. “Maybe I should head back there.”
Anya frowned. “But Buffy told you to stay here. Probably because she didn’t want you to make things any worse than you already have.” Then she saw the look Xander gave her, and put on a bright smile. “Not that you would. Go you!” Xander put his head down on the table with a groan.
“Anya, shouldn’t you go back out into the store?” He lifted his head and gave his girlfriend a pleading look. Anya’s face lit up at the thought of potential customers, and she left the room with a happy smile on her face. Xander looked relieved, Willow and Tara amused, and Giles looked troubled.
Hesitating for a brief moment, Giles spoke. “I got a phone call late last night from Quentin Travers, the head of the Watchers Council. Apparently, they are aware of the arrival of the new Slayer in Sunnydale. He, um, he wondered when I was going to inform them about it.” He snorted. “Wanker!”
Willow looked confused. “But you don’t work for the Council anymore.”
“Right.” Xander added with a frown; “And how did they find out in the first place?”
Giles got a grim expression on his face. “Believe me, they have their ways. I just hope they won’t become a problem. The last thing we need right now is the Council running around here. Let’s just hope it won’t come to that.” They were all quiet for a couple of minutes, each of them remembering the last time someone from the Council had payed them a visit. It had ended in disaster.
TBC