From Previous Chapter
Buffy got the girls ready for bed, and then laid down again staring up at the ceiling. She now knew his name was Spike, and how weird was that, but also that he had talked about her. Apparently he had talked about her in a non-negative way, or so it had seemed by what Amy said. She was so confused, but she couldn't help the little smile that graced her face as she fell asleep, a million questions scrambling around her head.
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Earlier that same night
Fred, Tara, Amanda, and Amy walked into the old barn house. They always joined the guys there after work. It was the only place they were allowed to spend time together because the girls and guys lived in separate cabins.
The girls climbed the stairs to the upper level loft with Fred in the lead. The guys were already up there waiting for them. Doyle was sitting on the couch talking with Gunn, while Wes, Spike, and Wood were standing around the pool table playing and chatting. When Gunn saw Fred’s red puffy eyes, he rushed over to her.
“What’s wrong baby? What happened?” Gunn asked worriedly.
Fred wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, and sniffled into his chest. It had been such a long and trying day, and it felt so good to just snuggle into his embrace. After breathing in his scent for a few moments to calm herself, she finally spoke.
“I tripped and spilt food on one of the CITs by accident, and she screamed at me. But I didn’t mean it, honest. It was an accident, but she was just so mean, and I started cryin’ because I felt so bad, even though it was an accident. And it just happened, but then these girls came to see me after, and told me not to worry. And then one of them told me I could join her club, and I thought that was real nice of her, and…” Fred babbled.
“Whoa. Calm down a second, baby. Relax. Take a deep breath,” Gunn said softly, yet sternly. Fred complied, and Gunn watched as she visibly relaxed.
Before Fred could start again, Amy interrupted, “Yeah, and the one with the club was your ‘favorite little chit,’ Spike.”
Spike looked up from the table at that comment. “Oi! What are you on about?” He handed his pool stick over to Wood to take his place, and walked over to where Amy and Doyle were sitting on the couch.
When he was standing right in front of them, he cocked his scarred eyebrow at her waiting for a response. Amy sniggered at the look on his face.
From across the room, Amanda rolled her eyes at Amy’s behavior, and took pity on Spike’s confusion. “Spike, you know the girls Fred mentioned?” He turned to face her, nodded that he understood, and she continued. “Well, one of them was the girl you told us about.” Spike cocked his head to the side still confused, so Amanda added, “From the docks?”
Everyone was focused on the conversation now, and saw the light bulb appear above Spike’s head. His face went through an array of emotions ranging from surprised, to confusion, then finally landed on anger. He turned back around to face Amy, glaring at her.
“What did you do?”
Amy feigned innocence saying, “Nothing,” with a falsely sweet smile. She wasn’t about to tell him anything. She was fully enjoying watching him squirm.
Spike was getting really irritated. “What did you say you evil bint?”
Nobody said anything, and silence fell over the loft. Spike was turning in circles, looking around at everyone incredulously.
Amy had a smug smile plastered on her face. From Spike’s reaction, she knew she was right in her assumptions about Spike’s liking the girl.
The silence was starting to become uncomfortable as Spike continued to fume as everyone refused to speak. No one wanted to rile him up more. To ease some of her uneasiness, Fred leaned over, and whispered in Gunn’s ear, “Amy told Buffy about Spike liking her.” She wasn’t going to rat on Amy, but she felt better after telling her boyfriend.
Gunn tried to hide a snigger, but failed. He knew Spike was going to hit the roof when he found out. He had also surmised as much, about his liking for Buffy, by how fixated Spike had become about “the girl from the docks.” He had mentioned her numerous times in the past few days since the “incident,” but his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the look in Spike’s eye when they happened upon the girls that morning. Spike had this mesmerized, glazed look in his eye as he spoke to her. No matter how much he was going to deny it when it was voiced out loud, Gunn knew Spike’s true feelings. Gunn had only known the guy for a little over a month, but Spike was an easy read, and Gunn was unusually perceptive.
That morning had also brought to light another interesting revelation: his brother was doomed. When the dark haired girl had made that comment to his brother, Wood, he couldn’t help but laugh. He knew Wood was a goner by the look in the girl’s eyes. He could tell she was the type to not stop at anything to get what she wanted. And apparently she wanted Wood. Thinking of the shell-shocked look on his brother’s face, he couldn’t help but laugh at the time, and it made him laugh out loud again.
That time Gunn got Spike’s attention with his sniggering. Spike turned away from glaring at Amy, and arced a speculative eyebrow at him.
“Care to share with the class, mate?” Spike asked, when Gunn said nothing.
Fred burrowed into Gunn’s shoulder, she was afraid that Spike might have overheard what she had whispered to Gunn amidst all the quiet. She did not want to be the one to tell him what Amy said.
Gunn rolled his eyes. ‘Might as well bite the bullet,’ he thought. He took a deep breath then said aloud, “Apparently, Doyle’s girl over there opened her big mouth, and told little Miss Buffy that you got a crush on her.”
Spike balked, “WOT?!... Wait a min’. Her name’s Buffy?” He shook his head back and forth for a second to focus himself. Then he turned back to Amy, and stalked towards her.
“What?” he said in a low, menacing voice. He was furious. She had no right to tell Buffy that. ‘Wait a tick. Who the bleeding ‘ell said I had a crush on the stupid girl? I don’ know what the fuck she’s yammering on ‘bout, but I DO NOT like the bird. Just because she has gorgeous hair and looks like a goddess, and… Oh bollocks,’ Spike inwardly rolled his eyes at himself. ‘Doesn’t matter. She doesn’t know her bloody arse from her elbow, and shouldn’ be runnin’ her bleeding mouth off ‘bout stuff she doesn’t know!’
While Spike was having an internal discussion with himself, Amanda, who was sitting in the corner with Tara, shouted to Amy, “Told you so.”
Spike didn’t even register Amanda’s comment, but Amy did, and turned to glare at her. Amanda stuck her tongue out at her, and gave her a smug look that clearly said ‘serves you right’.
Amy huffed, and slouched further into the couch. She looked up to see Spike still fuming at her. She didn’t see what the big deal was. All she did was tell the poor girl that Spike had talked about her. It wasn’t like she told her all his deepest, darkest secrets. ‘God! He’s so freaking touchy,’ she thought.
She huffed again at the stupidity of the situation. She held her hands up if front of her as a sign for him to calm down, and her ultimate surrender to speak.
Spike was still fuming, and Wesley, who had watched the whole scene from the pool table, laid his stick across the table, walked over to Spike, and put his hand on his shoulder as a demonstration of support. Spike visibly relaxed a bit having his best mate Wes standing next to him. He was still wound tight though, and crossed his arms across his chest to hide his clenched fists, as he waited for Amy to speak.
Amy took a deep breath, and Doyle patted her on the knee. He knew that she shouldn’t have said anything, but thought this whole thing was getting a little ridiculous.
“Look,” Amy said, “I just told the girl that you had mentioned her. She had told Fred how she’d walked into a tree to make her feel better, and I realized she was the girl who you’d been going on and on about.” At that, Spike’s jaw ticked, and Wesley gripped his shoulder harder to get him to focus, and let Amy finish. “So, I told her you’d mentioned her. She didn’t seem too upset by the whole idea.”
Then Amy got an idea and decided to continue, “She started blushing like crazy and started stammering. It was kinda adorable, in a she-def-likes-you kinda way.”
Amy smiled to herself, Spike’s jaw dropped open, and Amanda rolled her eyes. She knew what Amy was doing. She was trying to play matchmaker in her own twisted way, and hoped that this time it didn’t bite her, or the people involved, in the ass. Buffy did genuinely seem unopposed to the idea of Spike liking her, but she could have just been in shock.
Now Spike was the one stammering, “I… uh… what?” He turned to face Wesley looking confused.
Wesley squeezed his shoulder again and announced to the group, “I think Spike and I are going to go outside and get some air,” then he turned to look at Spike and said, “And clear our heads. Right, mate?” Wes implored.
Spike was still in a state of confusion, but nodded his head and mumbled, then headed for the stairs. Wes looked at Amy and shook his head, but Amy wasn’t fazed. She just shrugged her shoulders, and went back to talking with Doyle.
After Wes and Spike left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Then Gunn said in Amy’s direction, “You’re a stupid girl you know that?”
“What? I didn’t do anything. Sheesh, can’t say anything around you people,” Amy said defensively.
“Man, you know how Spike is. Why would you do that? At least don’t tell the guy what you did. Damn!” Gunn was feeling bad for Spike, but hoped he’d make the best out of the situation.
“Look, all I did was talk to the girl. So I mentioned Spike. Is the world ending? I don’t see an apocalypse anywhere do you?” Amy looked around at everyone looking for an answer. “Maybe now he has the push he needs to talk to the damn girl instead of pining over her the whole summer.”
Wood, who had been silently watching the whole time, decided to speak up. “For your sake, you better hope this girl does like him, because if she doesn’t and he makes a fool of himself? Well, let’s just say I’m glad I’m not you.”
No one said anything to that. There was really nothing left to say. After an awkward moment of silence, the group up in the loft went back to their evening of relaxation, but the atmosphere was filled with tension even with the other two guys still missing.
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Outside the barn
Wes came down the stairs, and found Spike outside the barn pacing and smoking a cigarette.
Wes leaned against the building with his arms crossed, waiting for his presence to be noticed, and watched while Spike talked to himself.
“Bloody evil bint… what does she kno’?... Stupid golden hair… wish I could just touch it…No! She’s just some idiot rich bird who doesn’ give a shit ‘bout people like us… bet Amy was jus’ lying…” Spike fumed. He paced back and forth, back and forth, until Wes started to get dizzy from Spike’s frantic movements, and stepped into his line of vision.
Wes grabbed his shoulders to get Spike to look at him. Spike was a little startled at seeing Wes. He had forgotten that Wes was going to follow him, while he was having his tirade with himself.
Spike looked up at Wes beseechingly with a what-do-I-do-now look. Wes just turned them toward the cabin, and started to walk.
Wes was Spike’s best mate, and he trusted him. They’d been friends ever since primary school. When he was 10, he ended up at the City School of London, an all boy’s primary and secondary school. Wes transferred in the next year. Spike had toughened up from the year before, always getting beat down for being a nerd. When Wes transferred in he got picked on by the same kids that had picked on Spike the year before. Spike stood up for Wesley, and took a punch in the face for him, but not before Spike got in a few good hits of his own. From that day since, the two had been best friends. Wes eventually grew out of his awkward phase when the two were halfway through secondary school, and went to university together at Oxford. Spike may look like a punk, but he was a closet literature nerd, which was a secret he made Wesley promise to take to his grave when he’d found out.
So as the two traipsed towards the campfire pit, to sit around the fire by their cabin, Spike let out a big sigh. This day was way too overwhelming for his summer vacation, and he was very much not in the mood to deal with the drama.
Wes looked at Spike when he heard his overly dramatic sigh, shook his head at Spike’s attitude, and started working on building the fire. Spike threw himself into one of the lawn chairs surrounding the fire, and looked at Wes pleadingly for advice. Spike wasn’t usually one to ask for advice, he gave it, but when it came to Wes he knew he could be a little vulnerable. The man did know all about his love for poetry and literature so what else could he do to embarrass himself?
Wes finished building the fire and sat down next to Spike. Spike had zoned out while staring into the fire. Wes saw the look on Spike’s face, and got an idea to break him out of his stupor. While they were both looking at the fire, Wes said, “Need me to get your notebook, mate, while you look at the pretty fire?”
Spike glared at Wes, and then laughed knowing that’s exactly what he was thinking. He always wrote when he was in a mood. It helped him think. Spike punched Wes in the shoulder then said, “Well, what now?”
“Not sure. Do you happen to know if you like this girl?”
“Dunno what I feel. She’s just some silly chit, right?” Spike looked at Wes impatiently for answers.
Wes gave a big sigh. “Well, my friend, that is up to you.”
“I mean, she’s gorgeous. A right goddess she is, but…” Spike trailed off.
“But…” Wesley encouraged.
“But, wot!” Spike shot up out of the chair, and started pacing. “Ok, she’s beautiful, yeah? A blind man could see tha’, but tha’s it. She’s jus’ some nouveau riche snob with only air between her ears, who thinks she’s better than me.”
“Right, and you know this because of one tiny conversation you’ve had with this girl, right?” Wes raised an eyebrow at Spike. Spike looked a little sheepish. That made him calm down, and he sat down again. Wes continued, “Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions just a bit? Calling her dumb before speaking to her is quite rude, even for you.”
“Oi, I did not.”
“Shall we refer to your ‘air between the ears’ comment?”
Spike huffed. “Well… I was ranting. I didn’ mean it, you know that? Wes nodded his acceptance. “But she does think she’s better than me,” Spike said sulkily.
“And how do you know that?” Wes inquired.
“I told you how she was up at the field. All high and mighty.”
“Are you referring to the multiple times you called her feisty and sassy?” Wes raised an inquiring brow.
“Yea,” Spike said sheepishly, again.
“Right. I seem to recall you saying you liked that about her. Admired her spirit, I think it was.”
“Yea, so…”
“Well, I believe then, that you have your answer to what your feelings are towards the girl.” Wesley smiled to himself and crossed his arms across his chest very satisfied with himself.
Spike sighed and threw his hands in the air. He stood up and started to pace again. “Fine. I like the chit, alright. She’s gorgeous and feisty and passionate. She’s everything I look for in a woman,” Spike fumed. “You satisfied with yourself?” Wesley just gave him a smug smile.
Spike flopped down in the chair again and said, “Well, now what do I do, oh wise one?”
“That my dear friend, again, is up to you?”
“Great.” Spike slumped down further in his chair. He had no idea what to do. Sure he liked the girl, but what the hell did that mean. Did he want to date her? Court her? Spike cringed as his inner William made an appearance in his thoughts. ‘Court her? Pfft. Who talks like that? Poncey bugger.’ She definitely wasn’t just some conquest, of that he was sure. This morning solidified that fact. He loved how feisty she was, when he was ogling her. He didn’t feel bad, but loved her reaction. It turned him on even more. The fire burning in her eyes definitely got his motor revved up. So now what was he going to do? Go after the girl? It wasn’t like there was a chance for him to get to know her. It was against the rules for the maintenance staff to ‘fraternize’ with the girls… but then again he’d never been one to follow the rules. “Rules were meant to be broken,” Spike said out loud to himself, but loud enough for Wes to hear.
Wesley looked over at Spike curiously, having no idea where that comment came from.
“Sorry, mate. Just thinking out loud.” Spike paused, then added, “You know maybe we should invite the girls over.”
At that moment Gunn and Fred walked into the campfire area, and Gunn added his two cents saying, “You still talking about Buffy?” Spike shrugged, and then Gunn added, “Figured you’d be done by now.”
“Oi!” Spike shouted.
“Nothing personal, guy.” When he saw Spike nod he said, “So you were trying to think of a way to invite the girl over?” Spike shrugged and nodded again. He really didn’t have a game plan, but he knew he couldn’t just let this one walk away without trying. There was just something about her.
All of a sudden, Fred squealed with excitement. That was also the same moment that the rest of the group joined Spike, Wes, Gunn, and Fred around the fire.
“Why is Fred squealing like a pig?” Amy asked.
Amanda scoffed at her as she sat down with Tara next to Wesley by the fire. “Rude much?”
Everyone turned to look at Fred waiting for her to state the reason for her squealing. The smile on her face got bigger as she said, “I know how we can get Buffy to come over!” With that everyone glanced at Spike, who glared at them, daring any of them to make a comment. When none came, everyone turned back to look at Fred as she continued, “Well, why don’t we invite them over for game night on Friday? The girls and I can invite Buffy and her friends to come over tomorrow night at dinner.” Fred scrunched her face up in thought for a minute, then she said, “It’ll be like a thank you for coming to see me tonight, wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Just out of curiosity… who are these other girls you mentioned?” Wesley inquired.
Amy was the one who answered that question. “That’d be Willow and Faith. I think one of those girls might’ve been that infamous brunette, Robin,” Amy said with an evil smile. She loved watching the boys squirm.
At that everyone turned to look at Wood, who visibly paled. Gunn burst out laughing at the look on his brother’s face, which looked very similar to the look he had on this morning. Gunn walked over to his brother trying to put a very serious look on his face, and clapped him on the shoulder saying, “Good luck with that, man,” and then burst out laughing again.
Gunn’s laughter was infectious and although Wood was still a little freaked at the idea of seeing that girl again, he joined with Gunn and everyone else’s laughter, albeit nervously.
“So is that a yes? Can we invite them over? Oh please? They seem real nice,” Fred pushed.
Everyone looked around at one another gauging each other’s reactions. No one really seemed to mind breaking that rule, so when everyone nodded and started idly chatting again; they all missed the half smile that crept upon Spike’s lips.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Ok so this has actually been done for a few weeks but i was trying to have a few chapters ready before i posted. that didn't work because i'm having a lot of trouble with chapter 6. It's two thirds written i'm just having severe writers block so here is the long awaited ch. 5. Hope you like. Thanks to my amazing betas Pagan and Lissa. Xaph for the banner and disclaimers are in chapter one
Chapter End Notes:
so reviews would really help my writers block :) please help a poor writer out :)