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I'm glad there actually people reading this and enjoying it =). Remember to review, otherwise I might think no one's interested and stop writing it =P.
Spike stared hard into her eyes for a minute, trying to figure out what exactly it was that he could make her feel. She met his gaze unflinchingly, until the intensity of the moment overwhelmed her and she looked at the floor.

“Something isn’t right here and it’s majorly with the weird,” Buffy stated, deciding a subject change was in order.

“Oh no you don’t slayer. You don’t just walk away from a conversation ‘cause it’s taken a turn you don’t like.”

“Spike, we don’t have time for this ok? We need to round up the others for some hardcore research to find out what the hell is wrong with us.”

“Pffft! Pretty obvious what’s goin’ on, luv. Bloody truth spell ain’t it,” Spike pointed out.

Buffy nodded thoughtfully, liking the change in direction their conversation had taken.

“Probably. But we need to know where it’s come from, how long it’s going to last and how many people are affected. What if it’s not just us?”

“Then Sunnyhell is about to become right entertaining,” Spike smirked.

Buffy shot him daggers with her eyes.

* * *

“Ok guys, I’m sorry, I know it’s late (at this point Anya grunted in annoyance for the third time since she and Xander had arrived) … and that I woke some of you up-”

“Ha! More like interrupted some of us who were having fantastic sex,” Anya mumbled.

Xander’s face turned the same red as his fiancé’s top. Fiancé. He really should tell the others about the engagement, he thought wearily.

“Eww!” Dawn cried.

She hadn’t been woken up by Buffy, but since she had still been awake, she had been allowed to partake in the scooby meeting.

“Ok, that was an over share, Anya. Young, impressionable ears in the room and all…” Buffy indicated Dawn.

“For the last time, I’m 15! I’ve actually known about the birds and the bees for a long time now!”

Buffy looked at Dawn.

“If you’re going to have these little outbursts all night, you can go to bed, which is where you should be anyway.”

“I’m good!” Dawn mimed zipping her mouth shut, locking it and throwing away the key.

“Ok, so as I was trying to say, something is making us answer everything totally truthfully. I’m not saying that that’s a bad thing to some extent, but there are some things that should never be said. Spike and I are affected. He came into my room around midnight-”

“Why did you go into Buffy’s room?!” Xander cut in, looking fiercely at Spike.

Spike winced as he realised he wasn’t even going to be able to lie his way out of this one.

“Well, I was hoping to have a proper discussion with the slayer about our little kiss the other night and yeah, I might’ve been looking for a shag.” He rolled his eyes at himself. He deserved whatever he got.

“You were hoping for a WHAT?!” Xander yelled, now on his feet.

Willow’s mouth was hanging open.

“You and Spike kissed?!”

“I knew it was only a matter a time before those two got it on,” Anya commented nonchalantly, inspecting her fingernails.

Dawn looked positively beside herself with joy as she cried out exuberantly “That is so cool!” and practically jumped Spike to hug him. He patted her on the back awkwardly, acutely aware of an exceptionally pissed off Xander, who stood less than two metres away from him.

“You were hoping for a what?” Xander asked again, menacingly.

Spike rolled his eyes. This was going nowhere fast.

“Yeah, all right mate, I want to shag Buffy, not exactly a secret, you stupid git.”

“You thought I was gonna have sex with you?!” Buffy cried out from her place on the couch. She looked incredibly offended and not just slightly irritated.

Spike winced. He knew how bad it sounded, but it wasn’t like that… much.

“I didn’t say I thought you would, Buffy, I said I hoped you would. Big bloody difference,” he grumbled haughtily in his defence.

“God, you are such a pig Spike. Get out of my house,” Buffy ordered, in a frighteningly calm, low voice.

Spike didn’t move.

“I don’t just want a shag with you luv, believe it or not I actually care about you.”

Buffy got up off the couch to face him. She had forgotten anyone else was in the room with them. The all watched on silently, embarrassed to be caught up in the private drama between vampire and slayer.

“If it weren’t for the truth spell, you’re right, I wouldn’t believe that. There’s a big difference between having an obsession with someone and genuinely caring about them Spike, but you don’t get that because you’re a soulless vampire. Now get out before I introduce you to the sharp end of Mr Pointy.”

If looks could kill, then Spike would be six feet under… again. He sighed, defeated. There was no way she was going to talk rationally with him in this state, with all the scoobies looking on.

“Fine. But this is far from over, Buffy. You and me are gonna hold a real conversation one of these days - one you can‘t walk away from, pet,” he retorted, stalking towards the door.

“Except that actually, you won’t, Captain Peroxide!” Xander yelled after him, as he went out into the night, slamming the door behind him.

Silence fell over the group as they turned to Buffy. She had her head buried in her hands.

“Are you ok Buffy?” Tara asked, speaking for the first time since the scoobies had gathered in the living room.

Buffy looked up from the safe haven she’d found hidden in her palms and sighed.

“I‘m really not,” she replied wearily, when it suddenly occurred to her that someone else was missing from the group. “Where’s Giles, anyway?”

Willow looked embarrassed, but it was Xander who spoke up.

“Well, you see the thing is Buff, when you asked Ahn and me to pick him up on the way, we might’ve found him in a slightly non-British… intoxicated state.”

“He was drunk,” Anya clarified for anyone who might have misunderstood Xander’s explanation.

“Giles was drunk?” Buffy said, incredulously.

Anya nodded.

“And stumbling a LOT. He wasn’t even wearing his glasses.”

“No way,” Dawn piped up. This night just kept getting more and more interesting.

Anya nodded again. “Way.”

“Was he alright, should we have left him alone?” Tara asked, the first to show concern for the watcher’s state.

“He might be swearing off alcohol for life in the morning, but I’m sure the guy will live, albeit with one mother of a headache,” Xander replied.

Buffy sighed again. “Ok, I’ll fill him in tomorrow.”

Xander raised his eyebrows.

“And when exactly are you gonna fill us in, Buff?”

“I thought the rest was pretty self explanatory. We think there’s a truth spell over us - well, me and Spike at least. We don’t know how many people are affected. We need to find out where it’s coming from so I can make with the slayage.”

Everyone missed Willow’s look of realisation, followed by a pang of guilt when she realised she must’ve screwed up her spell. Everything had been all drama, drama, blah, blah, Spike up ‘til this point. The thought hadn’t even occurred to her until now. She shrank down into her chair, panic rising in her throat. This was bad.

“Ok, we’ve covered that Buff, I was referring to the Spike saga. Since when do you make out with Spike?” Xander questioned, refusing to let it go, despite the fact that it really wasn’t any of his business.

Buffy cringed, wishing she could just crawl under a rock and die - for the third time.

“Since he’s the only person who can make me feel alive,” she blurted.

Willow’s look of guilt doubled tenfold. It was her, after all, who had brought Buffy back from her grave. It was her who had pulled her best friend from Heaven after making the assumption that she was stuck in hell. She looked Buffy in the eyes, whispering her apology.

“I’m so sorry Buffy. I should have-”

“You know Wil, no offence, but I’m kinda tired of the ’I’m so sorry’ line. You guys have no idea what it’s like to be where I was and then to be pulled out of that and thrown back into… this. It’s the… worst… It’s… I’ve…” Buffy trailed off quietly.

A lone tear fell down Willow’s cheek unnoticed.

“Yeah, ’cause being here with your friends and your family is just so horrible, I can see why being around us would be hell to you!” Dawn yelled and ran upstairs.

“Dawn!” Buffy made to run after her, but Tara held her back.

“Just give her some time, she’s trying to understand.”

Buffy nodded, closed her eyes and counted to ten, then opened them once more.

“Ok, can we please stop asking me questions about Spike and being dead and just concentrate on the actual problem here?”

“You don’t think kissing Spike is an actual problem?” Xander asked in disbelief.

“Maybe it is Xan, I don’t know. But either way, it’s my problem.”

“I think it’s kinda cute,” Anya chimed in. “Plus, Spike is hot. What woman would deny a man with those cheekbones?”

“Anya!” Xander yelled in frustration.

She shut up.

“Buffy, I’m all for your privacy and everything, but Xander has a point,” Willow spoke up, watery gaze fixated on the carpet. “This is Spike we’re talking about.”

Tara felt inclined to speak up for Spike, since no one else was.

“What you do is your choice Buffy, besides, he’s done a lot of repenting in the last year.”

Buffy shot Tara an expression of gratitude.

“Ok, so now that we’re done discussing my sex life-”

Xander opened his mouth again. “Buf-”

“I SAID, now that we’re DONE discussing my sex life, can we start with the research, ‘cause this whole thing is giving me the wiggins. Not that I have anything against speaking the truth or anything, ‘cause hello, honesty is the best policy, but there are… certain times when it’s better to keep your mouth shut,” Buffy cut Xander off.

“How should we figure out who is under this thrall?” Anya asked thoughtfully.

“I know how,” Willow said softly, her eyes narrowing slightly at Tara, as she turned towards her. “We start asking each other some personal questions. Tara, baby, I know something is up with you lately, you’ve been so closed off to me. What’s going on?”

Tara’s mouth opened before she’d even begun to think of a response.

“What’s going on? Do you think I’m stupid Willow? That I wouldn’t figure it out? We had a fight and you used magic on me to make me forget!”

Everyone looked as shocked as each other at this personal revelation from Tara. Willow looked worst of all.

“Tara, I-”

“Forget it. I don’t w-want to hear any excuses or ‘I’m sorry’s, ‘cause I don’t think you really are sorry. You’d do it a second time, I know you would. I can’t believe you would even consider playing with my memories after what I went through last year. You’re relying too much on magic, Wil, and it’s s-starting to really scare me.”

Tara looked down at the coffee table, tears in her eyes. Everyone else in the room was beyond uncomfortable.

Willow was crying.

“I never meant to invade your privacy, Tara, all I wanted was for the fighting to stop. We were arguing over nothing. I’m so sorry baby,” she sobbed.

“Using spells is n-not the way to form a healthy relationship, you need to talk things through. It takes work and you just keep taking the easy way out of everything… I-I think we need to take a break Willow. I feel like I don’t know you anymore. I can‘t even trust you,” Tara whispered, her tears finally spilling over.

“No Tara, pl-”

Willow reached for her partner, but Tara pulled away.

“I’m sorry, I ju-just… need to be away from you, until you sort some things out.”

Tara stood up and turned to leave the room, finally looking around at the faces of her peers.

“You want to know how many more of us are affected by this truth spell?” she asked. “This should up your tally.”

She turned back to Willow solemnly.

“If I stayed here long enough for you to cast another s-spell on me to make this fight disappear… would you do it again?”

Willow couldn’t look her lover in the face when she spoke.

“Yes,” she whispered.

As the front door closed behind Tara, Willow dissolved into sobs.





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