The Shadow Gallery
Chapter 1
He looked out over the small crowd and felt his lips curl in to his trademark bad boy smirk that was famous for making girls swoon. He absolutely loved playing small shows. Sure, pavilions were fun, arenas were great, but nothing would ever beat playing in a local bar with no more than seventy people watching you with hungry eyes as you sang your heart out, wailed away on your guitar, or banged skillfully on your drums. There was no better way to say goodbye before a month long break from touring than this. The bar they were playing in, The Shadow Gallery, was owned by a long time friend of his, Clem Valentine, and was the unofficial home and birthing place of the Flesh of the Passions.
There was no doubt about it, Spike Pratt lived for shows like this.
“My baby's pretty as a car crash,
sexy as a stinger of the hornet in your arm,
just another modern swinger.
Screaming 'catch me if you can',
with a cigarette in hand and it's love,
it's heavy and it hurts and it's love!”
He sang as the last notes of their final song rang out over the bar. The audience clapped and cheered as he bowed his head. “Thank you! We're Flesh of the Passions! Goodnight!” He yelled as he strummed his guitar one last time before he and the rest of the band exited the stage.
Backstage, which was honestly only separated from the front stage by a thick black curtain, was pretty bare compared to what they had become used to, but none of them cared. This was home.
“Now that's what I call a farewell show.” Oz, the bassist, said as he grabbed a beer from the small fridge and tossing one to Bob, the drummer, and Spike. He collapsed in to one of the chairs and sat his feet on top of a random box which happened to be there.
“That light I was sitting under made me all crispy, like a french fry.” Bob said as he took a long drink from the beer.
“You knew it was there,” Spike said cracking his beer open and taking a large swig, “nothing but your own bloody laziness kept you under it.”
“Oi! He's right Robert!” Oz said, mocking Spike's heavy English accent. “Now sit down and we'll see about getting you some tea and crumpets!”
Bob chuckled as Spike threw his now empty beer can at Oz's head. “We've known each other for fifteen years now, mate, since we were ten fucking years old, you think you'd be over the making fun of poor Spikey's accent by now.”
“Never.” Oz said as he threw the bottle back at Spike, missing by a long shot, but managing to hit Clem as he made his way back to them. The guys all laughed as it hit him right between the eyes before ricocheting off to the left. “Sorry Clem.” Oz said through his soft laughter.
“Oh, no worries!” Clem said, his cheery demeanor never faltering. “Great show tonight, guys, really great! Thank you so much for playing here.”
“No problem, Clem. Anytime.” Spike said.
“Really?” Clem asked.
“We'll need somewhere to practice while we're on break.” Oz commented.
“Yeah, bar's yours anytime you need it.” He said smiling. “You guys need anything? Drinks, food, anything?”
“I could eat.” Bob said, glancing at the other two to see if they were as interested as he was.
“You're always ready to eat.” Oz commented.
“Well... yeah.” Bob answered.
“I'm always starving after we play.” Spike said.
“I'll send one of my waitresses back, hang tight.” Clem said, rushing back through the curtains. He hurried his way around the bar, searching for one particular waitress, one he knew wouldn't get star struck and crazy like he knew most of them would. When he found her, she was at the bar filling drinks for one of her tables. He rushed over and grabbed the tray from her hands and began filling up the glasses himself.
“Um, Clem,” the blonde girl said, confusion clearly written all over her face, “what are you doing?”
“What table are these for?” Clem asked.
“Fifteen, why?” She asked, glancing over at Xander, the bartender with a worried look. He shrugged and kept his eyes on Clem, just as curious as the girl.
“I need you to take care of the band backstage.” He said.
“Me?” The girl asked. “I've got an eight top, that tips going to be huge.”
“Don't worry, I'll give you whatever tip they leave. I'd get Faith to do it but I can't trust her not to try anything with any of them.” Clem explained.
The girl glanced over at Faith, he had a point. The girls were friends, but everyone knew that Faith had no boundaries as far as men went. “Fine.” she said grabbing a clean tray and pulling her pad and pen out of the pocket of her black apron.
She made her way through the crowd of people and over to the stage, jumping on top of it instead of pushing her way to the stairs and made her way behind the curtain. Bob was sitting on the couch, a larger man with sandy blonde hair. The shorter, red haired man, Oz, sat on top a table that was back there while the last man, Spike, a bleached blonde, sat on a fold out chair, straddling it with a leg on either side with his head laying down against the back of it.
“Hi, can I get you guys anything?” The girl asked.
At the sound of her voice, Spike's head lifted up immediately. He looked her over, and to say he was pleased with what he saw would be a complete understatement. She was a tiny little thing, not much meat on her, but she had all the curves a woman should. She had long blonde hair that hung loosely around her face and down past her shoulders, a slight wave coming in to the ends. She was wearing a pair of black straight legged jeans and a light purple, one shoulder top. She had a black apron on, the only proof that she worked here, and was standing next to the opening in the curtain, pad and pen in hand, waiting for their order.
“Can I get some cheese fries with bacon?” Bob asked.
The girl nodded. “And to drink?”
“Jack and Coke.” He answered. The girl then looked to Oz, who was busy playing with the strings of his bass. After a few seconds of no response from Oz, Bob hit him lightly in the ribs. “Dude.” He whispered.
Oz looked up at the girl. “What's he having?” He asked.
“Cheese fries with bacon and a Jack and Coke.” She answered.
“Same.”
The small smile that appeared on the girls face as she waited didn't go unnoticed by Spike who was currently watching her like a hawk. Spike watched as the girl scribbled down what he wanted. When she looked up again, her sparkling green eyes were pointed in his direction. “And what would you like?” She asked.
“You know how to make a seven and seven?” He asked, leaning his head on his hand.
The girl raised her eyebrow at him. “Seagram's 7 and 7-up. Easy.” She responded.
Spike's trademark smirk appeared on his face. “Very good.” He practically purred. “I'll take a Seven and Seven, but what are you drinking?”
Buffy wrote his order down on her pad and cocked her head to the side. “Nothing for me, thanks.” She said.
“Yeah?” Spike asked, standing up and making his way toward her. “And why not?”
The girl, not even slightly intimidated, put her pad and pen back in the pocket of her apron before looking back up at him and crossing her arms over her chest. “Well, for one thing I'm working.” She said.
By this time Spike had made it across the room and was standing no more than a foot in front of her. “Clem's an old friend of mine,” he said, “I'm sure I could convince him to give you the rest of the night off.”
“Clem's my boss, he trusts me and I respect him,” the girl said, “and I don't think he'd appreciate me taking off so I can become another notch on your bedpost.”
Despite the fact that the girl was quite a bit shorter than him, even with the black heeled boots she was currently wearing, she had no problem being face to face with a man she barely knew. “And how do you know that's what I want?”
The girl cocked an eyebrow at him. “I know you rock and roll types. All you want is a fun time and an easy lay until the next pretty thing walks by.”
“Really?” He asked. “No exceptions to this rule?”
She thought for a moment, pouting her lips and looking off to the side as if in serious thought. “Gay?” She asked, earning herself a small chuckle from one of his band mates behind him.
“Well, I'm certainly not that.” Spike said, his smirk growing as he made no secret of looking the girl over again.
“And I'm not like the girls you usually charm in to your grimy little bed.” She said, not even noticing until now just how close his face was to hers.
“Wow, kitty's got claws,” He leaned his head down and whispered directly in to her ear. “I like that.”
“Hey, woah!” Clem's unmistakable voice broke through the almost silence of the room, cutting the tension like a knife. The girl turned away and quickly made her way over to the bar, Spike staring after her the entire way. “Is everything okay back here?” Clem asked.
“What's that bint's name?” Spike asked.
“Who?” Clem asked.
“The bloody waitress!” Spike yelled, sometimes his friend could be so dense.
“Buffy.” Clem answered. “Buffy Summers.”
Everyone watched as Spike turned, made a bee line for his pack of cigarettes and made his way out the back door.
“Do you hear that?” Oz said, jumping up from his table.
“I sure do.” Bob said.
“What?” Clem asked, looking around the room trying to figure out what the other guys were hearing.
“It sounds kind of like fighter planes.” Oz said, tilting his head as if trying to hear something better.
“Makes sense seeing as Spikey just got...”
“SHOT DOWN!” The two guys yelled in unison before bursting out in what could only be described as giggles.
“What?” Clem asked, still not quite understanding.
“I'll tell you, Clem,” Oz said clasping his hand on Clem's shoulder, “Spikey just got denied by your waitress.”
------------------------
Buffy stormed through the curtain and made her way quickly across the stage before jumping down and walking behind the bar. She put the piece of paper with the food orders on the window that connected to the kitchen and gave the paper with the drink orders to Xander.
Xander had been Buffy's first friend, other than her roommate, when she had moved to LA from Sunnydale and was one of the only people that she really trusted. He had been there for her through thick and thin during the last year and half and she felt she would never truly be able to repay him for what he'd done for her. He was actually responsible for her having her job, though he would never admit it. He had always told her that if she wasn't who she was, she wouldn't have gotten the job and it was all done by her, he had merely offered up the suggestion. Truth was, he had told his Uncle Clem all about her and given her a stellar recommendation and the rest was history.
“This for the band?” He asked.
“Yeah.” She said shortly.
“This last one is just the number seven...”
“It's a Seven and Seven. I guess I didn't get to write the entire thing down before the guy started coming on to me.” She said.
“Coming on to you, what?” Xander asked.
“Yeah, basically had me cornered against the damn curtain. Stupid musicians think that they can get whatever they want just because they're famous. I really don't care if your album went platinum or if your single is constantly being played on the radio, I really don't.” Buffy said.
“Hey, wait, slow down. What happened?”
Buffy gave him a general overview of what had happened and by the end of it, she was red faced and flustered, generally annoyed with what she had to deal with. Buffy could handle a lot, but she couldn't stand being hit on and being treated like a piece of ass.
“Calm down, Buff.” Xander said, wrapping his arms around the small girl in a brotherly hug as she rested her head against his chest. “How about you just go back to working on tables, I can take care of them for the rest of the night.”
She lifted her face to look at him. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Xander said, “I'll cover for you, Clem won't even notice.”
“Thanks, Xan, I owe you one.” Buffy said as she extracted herself from the hug.
The rest of her night went on without much excitement and when the clock finally hit two in the morning, she couldn't get out of there fast enough. She pulled her bag out from under the counter and made her way to the front door. She grabbed her black pea coat and made her way in to the cold night air, never noticing the bleached blonde figure smoking a cigarette at the corner of the building.
------------
It took Buffy a thirty minute bus ride and a twenty minute walk to get back to her dormitory on the grounds of Roth University. When she finally made it back to her dorm, she wasn't surprised to see Willow fast asleep. She had been set up with her roommate, Willow Rosenberg, the first semester and the two had become quick best friends and had requested to live together throughout the rest of their schooling at Roth. She looked at the clock, it was almost three in the morning. She quickly went to their bathroom, washed her face, and threw on a pair of sweat pants with a black tank top. She tiptoed past Willow's bed, turning off the light she had left on as she went, and slipped in to her bed.
As she let her mind wander before she fell asleep, she couldn't stop the thoughts of Spike Pratt from entering her head. He was attractive, there was no denying that. His bleached blonde hair seemed to compliment the paleness of his skin and made his blue eyes stand out even brighter. The tight black jeans and black shirt he had been wearing didn't leave much to the imagination as far as how fit he was, must be from all of the shows they did on tour.
Sleep came to her in a dreamless state that night and the morning seemed to come far too early. As she opened her eyes, she heard the shower going and figured Willow had taken the first shower so that she could get a few extra minutes of rest. Buffy got up, stretched out her tired limbs, grabbed her wallet out of her bag, and made her way to the lounge area to grab her and her roomie some breakfast from one of the vending machines.
“The concert was awesome!” Buffy heard the voice of Harmony Kendall practically screech from all the way down the hall. “Spike Pratt actually sang a song to me.”
“No way!” One of her 'friends' said.
“Yeah, he looked down at me while I was sitting at the table and said, 'This ones for the beautiful blonde angel at the table all by herself' before they played Star.” Harmony said. She was sitting on top of one of the lounge tables with four other girls crowding around her.
“Star is such a beautiful song! So loving and his voice!” One of the girls exclaimed.
“That's not even the best part! When the song was over, he jumped off stage, came over to me, took my hand, and took me backstage with them.” Harmony said.
Buffy rolled her eyes, she knew this was all a lie. She hadn't even seen Harmony at the bar and Spike Pratt sure as hell hadn't taken her backstage after the show, none of the guys had. Instead of calling her out, though, Buffy just grabbed the muffins and coffee she had bought from the machines and made her way back to her room.
When she walked inside Willow was sitting in front of the mirror, running a brush through her short red hair. “Morning, Buffy.” She said happily.
“Morning, Wills, got us some breakfast.” She said sitting the sorry excuse for food down on the table they had in the room.
“Oh, vending machine muffins! My favorite!” Willow said sarcastically.
“Yeah, yeah.” Buffy said as she went in to the bathroom.
She took a quick shower and made fast work of getting ready. She settled on wearing a pair of jeans and a dark green t-shirt and headed out of the bathroom.
“Ready?” Buffy asked.
“Yup, let's go.”
They made their way across campus, sipping their coffee to keep warm until they got to the English Building. They made their way to their classroom and took their normal seats near the window and proceeded to get out their notebooks and pens.
“So, how was work last night?” Willow asked.
“Fine.” Buffy answered.
“Anything interesting happen?” Willow asked.
Buffy looked at her best friend who was currently wearing her 'I know something' smile. “Alright, what do you know?”
“Just that Spike Pratt hit on you.” Willow said. “Xander text me last night.”
Buffy shook her head. “Of course he would. And yeah, he did.”
“And...”
“And nothing. I turned him down before running away when Clem came backstage.” Buffy explained.
“Clem saw you?”
“Well, yeah, but it's not like we were doing anything. He was just really, really close to me.” Buffy said.
“Buffy,” Willow said with a growing school girl smile, “you know how many girls would kill to even have a chance with him?”
“Well, Harmony for one.” Buffy said, a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth. “You should have heard what she was saying this morning.”
“Tell me.” Willow said.
“She was making up some crazy story about him singing to her and then taking her backstage, all of which was a total lie. I didn't even see her there.” Buffy said.
Willow laughed. “Wow, see what I mean, and there are tons of other girls who would...”
“Good morning class.” Their professor said as he entered the classroom. From that point the day went by quickly. She went to her classes and paid as much attention as she could. Before she really noticed it, it was time for her daily lunch break with Willow.
They decided to get some lunch from one of the small restaurants located in the student center like they usually did. They were sitting down at one of the tables eating Chinese food when Buffy's cell phone began to buzz loudly in her bag. She looked at the screen, pushed the talk button, and put the phone to her ear.
“Hey, Xander, what's up?” She said in to the receiver.
She was answered with two coughs loud enough to make her move the phone away from her ear. “Sorry, Buff.” Xander's tired voice said from the other end.
“You okay?” Buffy asked.
“No, I'm pretty far from okay.”
“What's wrong?”
“I don't know, I woke up this morning achy and sneezing with a sore throat and hundred degree fever.” He explained.
“Jesus, Xan, did you go to the doctor?” She asked.
“Not yet.” He said. “But I was wondering if you could take my shift tonight. I know it's your night off and you know I hate asking you but...”
“Xander, don't worry about it. Of course I'll cover for you.” Buffy said.
“Thanks so much, Buff.” Xander said, another coughing fit taking over his speech.
“No problem, just get some sleep, and maybe see a doctor.” Buffy said.
“Will do, later Buff.” With that, Xander hung up the phone and Buffy's end went dead.
“Well,” Buffy said, “so much for having a night off.”
“Xander sick?” Willow asked.
“Yeah.” Buffy said. “I'm covering for him. He bailed me out last night so I kind of owe him.” She looked at the time on her phone, she had just over and hour before she needed to be at work. “I'm going to run back to the dorm and change in to some work clothes.”
“Alright, I'll see you later.” Willow said.
“See ya, Wills.” She gave her a small smile and made her way out of the student center.
---------
It was a pretty good crowd for a Monday night, the regular crowd was all there as well as quite a few people Buffy was fairly certain she hadn't seen here before. People were ordering drinks in a steady stream, she was no Xander but she somehow managed to hold her own behind the bar. She glanced at the clock as she turned to make a quick gin and tonic, it was reaching ten already.
“Buffy,” she heard Clem's unmistakable voice call from the entrance of the bar, “go send Cordelia on her break for me?”
“Sure thing.” She answered, handing the customer their drink. She skimmed the crowd and quickly spotted Cordelia and made her way over to her. She waited for her to sit the drinks she had just brought over down on her table before walking up. “Break time.” She said.
“Oh, thank God!” Cordelia practically moaned. “I have to pee so bad!” Buffy laughed as she took the small pad of paper from her hand. Cordelia turned to walk away, but then spun back around to face Buffy again. “Almost forgot, Angel's at table six.”
Buffy's heart sank to the pit of her stomach as she glanced over at table six. Sure enough, he was there, her place of business, with his friends and obviously drunk as a skunk. As if on cue he began to look around, obviously for a waitress.
“Hey, Buff, if you want me to take care of whatever it is and then go...”
“No.” Buffy said quickly, turning her head back to her friend and smacking that fake smile on her face. “No, I've got it. Can't have you peeing on the floor.”
Cordelia laughed. “Alright, be back in fifteen minutes.”
Taking a deep breath, Buffy walked up to the table. As she reached the table, she stood to the right of Angel hoping that this would keep her from having to look at him. “Hey guys, Cordelia's taking a quick break so I'll be helping you for a few minutes. Does anyone need anything?”
She saw Angel turn to face her out the corner of her eye, but she made sure to keep her focus on the other guys sitting around the table. “How about another round of beers?”
“Millers?” She asked jotting down the order.
“Yeah.” The guy said.
Buffy nodded. “Anything else?”
She suddenly felt his arms around her waist and was surprised when she was pulled down to his lap. Standing next to him definitely wasn't the best game plan. “I'll take a side of you.” He said resting his head on her shoulder.
“Sorry,” she said standing up quickly, “not on the menu. Nothing else? Good.”
She turned on her heel and took a few quick steps toward the bar before she felt his unmistakable large hand wrap itself around her wrist. She turned back around to see Angel standing behind her, goofy smile on his face and arm extended with meaty fingers wrapped around her tiny wrist.
“Where you going?” Angel asked her, voice low and trying to be sexy.
“Angel, let me do my job.” Buffy said as she tried to pull her arm out of his grasp, the last thing she expected was for his grip to tighten. Her eyes, already full of confusion and a dash of shock, shot up to meet his. “Angel...”
“Dance with me.” He said as his other hand found her waist and pulled her tightly against him.
“You need to let me go.” She said, still trying in vain to get away from the man. She closed her eyes and pushed with all of her might against his chest. He started to sway to the music, his hips rocking against hers. “Angel, stop it.”
“Come on, baby,” he said, “for old times sake.”
“She said let go.” Buffy's eyes shot open as she glanced around for the owner of that voice. It wasn't hard to find him, his brightly bleached hair standing out in any crowd. Spike Pratt stood not even a foot away from them, drink in hand, glaring daggers at the man who was currently holding her captive.
“This is none of your business, pal.” Angel slurred.
“I've made it my business.” Spike said shortly.
Angel threw an arm around Buffy's shoulders and pulled her flat against him as he turned his body to face Spike. “You know this guy?” Angel asked Buffy.
Spike moved his eyes over to Buffy and as their eyes met, he could see the panic she was doing very well to keep hidden and it just about broke his heart. He touched the tip of his tongue to the front of his teeth before taking a longer blink than usual and turning his eyes back to Angel, the anger toward the ogre-like man now at new levels. “We've met.”
“Right,” Angel said, “and why should I listen to some prick like you?”
Spike took a breath, raised an eyebrow and rocked his head back and forth as if to say 'here we go again'. He took a swig of his beer and sat it down on the table next to him. “Either take your hands off the lady, or I'll have to make you.”
“Yeah?” Angel asked, a small chuckle escaping his throat. Spike was a few good inches shorter and not nearly as muscular as Angel. “How are you planning on doing that?”
Without any warning whatsoever, Spike's fist crashed in to Angel's face. Angel shoved Buffy away from him and gave Spike the perfect opportunity to grab him by the arm and spin it painfully behind his back. She stumbled sideways before her ankle rolled and she fell to the floor. As she fell to the ground, she heard a loud popping sound just before a loud yell erupted from Angel as Spike's other arm wrapped tightly around his throat.
“Kind of like that.” Spike said quietly from next to his ear.
“Alright, alright!” Angel choked out. “I give!”
“You come near her again,” Spike said so calmly it was terrifying, “and I'll break your fuckin' arm. Got it, mate?” Spike roughly shoved Angel away from him. “Now, sod off ya wanker.”
Angel fell face first to the ground and only then did Spike notice the crowd that had formed around them. He turned around and held his hand out to Buffy. She looked up at him from her place on the ground for a moment, as if trying to decide if it would bite her or not. After a few seconds, she placed her hand in to his and let him help her to her feet.
Angel saw the little display as he scrambled to his feet. He stood up and quickly adjusted his clothing before turning back to Spike, shoving a finger in his face. “This isn't over!” He yelled. Spike's characteristic smirk appeared on his face as Angel turned to walk away. All of a sudden he stopped, grabbed a drink off of a table, and threw the cold, pink liquid straight at Buffy before finally storming off.
Spike quickly shed the dark red button up he had been wearing over his normal black tee and wrapped it around Buffy's shoulders, shielding her soaked white shirt and bright blue bra from the curious eyes of the bystanders. She glanced up at his face then, green eyes meeting his icy blues, before she pushed her hands through the arm holes in the shirt and covered herself completely. She ran a quick hand through her hair, a nervous habit, as a rosy blush ran across her cheeks.
Glancing around, he noticed that the crowd still hadn't dissipated. “Piss off! Nothing more to see here!” He yelled. Slowly but surely the people went back to whatever they had been doing, leaving Buffy and Spike free from prying eyes. “You alright?” Spike asked quietly.
“Yeah, I'm fine.” She said lifting her booted foot and rubbing her ankle with her hand.
“You hurt your ankle?” Spike asked.
“It just twisted a little, no biggie. Happens when you wear boots to work, call it an occupational hazard.” Spike smiled warmly at her, almost surprised that there weren't tears running down her face.
“Buffy!” Cordelia's voice yelled as she rushed up to her, Clem following in suit. “What the hell was all that about? I came back inside and saw Angel throw a drink at you!”
“True girlish action.” Spike commented.
“Right?!” Cordelia practically yelled in agreement with him.
“Are you okay?” Clem asked.
“Yeah, I'm okay.” Buffy said not wanting to upset Clem.
“She hurt her ankle.” Spike said quickly, earning an almost angry look from Buffy. Spike raised his eyebrows at her. “What? It's true.”
“I'll be fine.” Buffy said.
“Can you walk?” Cordelia asked.
“Yes, guys, I'm fine.” Buffy said, the attention she was getting making her a little uncomfortable.
“Why don't you take the rest of the night off?” Clem asked.
“I can't do that,” Buffy said, “I don't want to screw anyone over.”
“We can handle it.” Cordelia said. “Half of the crowds already gone anyway thanks to your friend... who are you? You look really familiar.”
“Spike Pratt.” He said quickly.
“Spike Pratt? Flesh of the Passions Spike Pratt?” Cordelia asked.
“One and only.” He said monotonously.
“Nice.” She said with a dashing smile. “But anyway, Buff, you really should go home. If you don't I'm going to baby you the rest of the night and not let you do anything anyway.”
“Can I get some service over here?!” Someone yelled from the unmanned bar.
“Ass hole.” Cordelia whispered. “I'll be right there! I'll see you later, Buff.” With that she rushed off to the bar to find her peeved customer.
Buffy sighed. “Are you sure you don't need me, Clem?”
“Absolutely.” Clem said. “Don't even clock out, I'll pay you the rest of the night.”
She couldn't argue with that. “Okay, thanks.” With that she walked off and made her way to the employee lounge to grab her coat and purse, Spike watching her as she went.
“Good thing you were there, right?” Clem said with a laugh in his voice.
“And where were you while your waitress was getting manhandled by Captain Forehead?” Spike asked, not bothering to mask the annoyance in his voice.
“I was in the back store room, getting an order ready.” Clem defended.
“And you don't have anyone here to watch out for them?” Spike asked.
“Well, usually Xander's here and he's pretty good with security.” Clem said.
“And when he's not this happens? You know how blokes get when they get a bit of booze in em.” Spike said.
“I'm upset about this, too, Spike, but sometimes these things happen.” Clem explained.
“Yeah, well not on my watch.” Spike said before turning and storming out of the bar's front double doors.
When Spike got outside he walked a few steps down the sidewalk before pulling out his pack of smokes and trusty lighter. He quickly lit one up and took a long, slow drag as he leaned against the brick wall behind him. He rested his head against the wall and let the cold night air caress his face as the toxic fumes of the cigarette filled his lungs again. It was strangely calming after all the drama the night had produced, and all over a girl he barely even knew.
“Hey.”
Speak of the devil.
Spike opened his eyes and looked down at the beautiful blonde standing next to him. She truly was a sight. Her eyes somehow seemed brighter and the light hit her hair in just the right way to make her look like an angel in the moonlight. She was wearing a black pea coat that reached half way to her knees with a dark pair of straight legged jeans tucked in to her heeled knee high boots.
“Hey there, love.” He said lifting his head from the wall.
“I, I just wanted to, uh, thank you, you know, for tonight.” Buffy stammered.
Spike shrugged. “Any other bloke would have done the same thing.”
Buffy leaned against the wall next to him. “No, they wouldn't have.” She said looking down at her feet.
“Look, Spike-”
“Buffy, I-” they both started at the same time.
Buffy smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Go ahead.”
“I just wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I was completely out of line.” Spike said.
“No, I was kind of a bitch, too.” She said.
“I right deserved it, love. I should never have come on to you like that. Just sometimes after a gig, I get cocky, ya know? I get a big head being on the stage and sometimes I can get a bit out of control.” He explained. “Need someone to put me in my place once in a while.”
“I get that,” she said, “it must be some type of rush up there.”
“You have no idea.” Spike said, a smile lighting his features. “But I am sorry, I was a right git and deserved every bit of bitchy Buffy.”
Buffy let out a small laugh. “Well, I think you more than redeemed yourself tonight.”
“Really?” Spike asked. Buffy nodded. “So we're good then, yeah?”
“Yeah, we're good.” She agreed. They sat in a comfortable silence for a minute before Buffy spoke again. “Well, I should get going.”
“Can I catch you a cab?” Spike asked.
She shook her head. “I can only afford the bus.”
Spike narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “No.”
“No?” She asked.
He took one last puff of his cigarette before throwing it to the ground, exhaling slowly, and stomping it out with his foot. “How 'bout letting a new friend drive you home?”
Buffy smiled. “Okay.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
AN: I know a lot of you are going to be peeved that I haven't updated The Entity, but rest assured that I have not abandoned that story. This one has been in my mind for quite some time and my muse has decided to cooperate with me and let me write it. I am a firm believer that if your heart isn't in the story, then you shouldn't be writing it. The last thing I want to do is cheat my readers or myself out of what will surely be a wonderful ride with The Entity by writing half-assed chapters.
That being said, this is my new story and I hope you all enjoy it. I have a lot of wonderful plans for it and if you stick with me, it'll be a great adventure through the wonderful world that is Spuffy.
Love and Lust.
-T.
That being said, this is my new story and I hope you all enjoy it. I have a lot of wonderful plans for it and if you stick with me, it'll be a great adventure through the wonderful world that is Spuffy.
Love and Lust.
-T.