Chapter 22
Mrs. Summers never knew what hit her. Suddenly, out of the blue, her daughter materialised before her.
“Buffy!” She exclaimed surprised.
“Hey, mom!” The blonde teen replied over enthusiastically while at the same time awkwardly trying to close the door behind her. “You’re home early!” She continued, with a plastic smile on her face.
“Early? It’s 12 o’clock.” Mrs. Summers frowned.
“Oh… Yeah, b-but you said you weren’t coming home for lunch.” Buffy stuttered, anxiously digging her nails into the palm of her left hand.
“I missed you.” Mrs. Summers gave her daughter a sweet smile before asking: “Why are you still in your nightgown?”
“Hum…” Buffy looked down at herself. “I stayed up late watching movies.” She lied.
“Oh, is Spike here?”
Buffy froze at the question. To lie or not to lie… Hum… Let’s play it safe:
“Why do you think that?”
“I saw his car parked out front.” The older woman answered tilting her head towards the lower level of the house.
“Oh…” Buffy nodded slightly, but then frowned: “How’d you know that was Spike’s a car?”
It was Mrs. Summers’ turn to blush and stammer nervously:
“I-I… I just assumed. A car parked in our driveway and you and Spike being so close lately.” She tilted her head slightly and held her breath waiting for her daughter’s reaction.
“Oh… Well… yes its Spike’s car.” Buffy answered vaguely.
“So he’s here? In there?” Mrs. Summers waved a finger toward the bedroom door.
“Yes… He’s… hum… He was… hum…” Her daughter struggled for an explanation and suddenly blurted out: “He was upset and needed to talk… you know. Teen stuff! Emotional problems, identity crises and all that… teen stuff!”
“Is he having problems at school? With the rest of the students?” Mrs. Summers questioned worriedly.
“Yes!” Buffy lifted her hand towards her mother. “That’s exactly it! He’s been having problems with the guys.” She blabbed in relief.
“Is it because of Angel?”
Buffy froze up again.
“Angel?!” She repeated wide-eyed.
“You know… Angel and he…” Mrs. Summers awkwardly tried to hint.
“Hum…” Buffy’s mind raced. ‘What the hell is she talking about? Does she know about Dru? How?’ “Yes…” She finally opted.
“Oh, Buffy I’m so sorry. Poor thing, he must feel awful.”
“Well… yes.” Buffy was still kind of edgy with the direction the conversation was taking. Since when did her mother know about the whole Dru and Angel story?
“I mean, being hurt by the person you love.” Mrs. Summers continued to sympathise and Buffy continued to nod under a furrowed brow. “You know honey… Boys at your age feel very threatened by people like Spike… they don’t understand it yet, and that might make them act… wrongly towards Spike.”
Now Buffy was lost. What the *hell* was her mother talking about? To play it safe she simply proceeded with looking intently at her mother, silently listening to every word.
“Angel will eventually learn how to deal with Spike… a-and Spike will find someone else… Someone worthy of his affection.”
‘Oh. My. God! My mom thinks Spike is in love with ANGEL? Oh, my God, oh, my God! Breathe, Buffy! Breathe!’ She commanded herself.
“But it’s good that he has someone like you to talk to.” Mrs. Summers reached out to caress her daughter’s suddenly pale cheek. “Well, I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
Buffy watched unmoving as her mother walked down the stairs. She snapped out of her daze a few moments later and turned around to enter her bedroom.
“So? Are we dead yet?” Spike anxiously asked. He was now fully dressed, except for his duster and shirt which were still bundled up on the floor.
“Not yet.” Buffy answered calmly, with a strange sparkle in her eyes.
“What happened?” Spike insisted as he watched the blonde girl slowly walk over to her bed and sit on it.
“My mom…” She started with a mischievous smile on her lips.
“Yes…”
“She thinks… hum… how do I put this in a way that will not bruise your fragile male ego?”
“Summers!” Spike angrily exclaimed as the waiting began to dig into him.
“She thinks you’re in love with Angel and that Angel hates you!” She blurted out with a peppy tone as she cocked her head sideways. She had to swallow back the chuckles as she saw the bleached teen turn various shades of purple before crying out:
“What?!”
“She thinks you’re suffering from the gay blues because of your unrequited *love* for Angel.” She let the L sound roll off her tongue in a childish tease.
“What?!” He repeated, still frozen in place, eyes wide and mouth gapping open.
“Hum… Honey? We just covered the ‘what’ part, remember?” She mocked with fake concern.
“You’re mom thinks I’m in love with that wanker?” He finally snapped out of his lethargic state of mind.
“Yep!” She smacked her lips together for the P sound as she lay back on the bed, resting on her forearms.
“With that wanker?”
She nodded.
“Personally I thought you would be more concerned with the fact that my mom actually thinks you’re gay, and not with the particular detail that you want Angel to be your hot, sex slave.” She continued to joke, but regretted it when she saw the fierce look in his eyes.
She yelped when suddenly he was on her. His hands rested on her shoulders, pushing them gruffly against the mattress, his chest crushing hers making it almost impossible to breathe.
“I thought I made it clear who I wanted to be my hot, sex slave last night.” He snarled, running his tongue over his teeth.
Buffy caught her breath as his knee brusquely pushed between hers, forcing her to spread her legs. His hand never gave her the opportunity to make a move as it snaked under her nightgown, hitching it up to quickly find her core; expert fingers parted her lips, roughly caressing the tender nub they found.
Buffy’s eyes widened her mouth opening to let out a ragged moan.
“Maybe mommy dearest would change her mind if she heard you scream out my name right now.” He purred in her ear as his hand continued to work on her.
Buffy moved her lips trying to speak, somehow the sound refused to come out. Eventually she managed to whimper:
“Spike… don’t… Ah!” She arched off the mattress as he drove one long finger into her.
“Don’t what, pet?” He asked with a lascivious tone.
Buffy struggled with the words as she felt him move inside of her, exploring and rubbing just the right spot.
“Don’t what?” He repeated this time with a less cocky voice as his own desire grew at the mere sight of her contorting under his touch.
“My mother… please… Spike… Ah!” Her trembling hand travelled down her body to reach his, still buried between her legs.
She pathetically pulled at it, not really wanting the feeling to stop.
“Please stop… please…”
She gasped when he actually pulled out of her and sat up on the mattress. Shaking her head slightly, she droopily propped herself up on her forearms. She expected him to have that annoying smirk on his face but instead, she found him looking at her under hooded eyelids.
“Better stop now. Don’t think I could if we took it any further.” He said with a faltering voice as he stood up.
Buffy sat up straight on the bed, tugging her nightgown down to cover her legs as she pulled them against her chest. They stayed in silence for a while, until Spike broke it.
“So…” He started awkwardly. “What are we going to do on Monday?”
Oh, God! The talk. They were having the morning after talk. She wasn’t ready for the talk, not now that her hormones were still raging inside of her.
“I-I don’t know… what do you want to do?” She threw the ball into his side of the court, forcing him to make a decision.
“I don’t know, either.” Spike shrugged sitting down at the chair next to her desk.
Silence filled the room again. Bad, extremely uncomfortable silence. Suddenly, Buffy stood up and started pacing around the room in front of him.
“Do you wanna…” She began. God, this was hard! Why was this hard? “… I don’t know? Do you wanna…” She exhaled sharply, letting her arms fall to her sides. “What do you wanna do?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged again.
“You don’t know. So whatever I choose is fine by you?” A hint of anger started to creep in her voice.
“No… it’s just… It’s not like I planned this!” He sighed waving his hand at the bed.
“Fine! You know what? We’ll just go back to whatever we were doing before.” She hissed as she continued to walk around in circles. “We’ll pretend like none of this happened and-“
She stopped in mid sentence as she turned around to find him towering in front of her.
“No.” He said in a low, angry voice.
She looked up at him, swallowing as she waited for him to say something. She watched as he closed his eyes for a second, trying to gather himself, when he opened them again shaky fingers came to brush over her cheek.
“I don’t want to pretend it never happened.” He whispered.
Suddenly, a light knock on the door was heard. The two teens immediately jumped away from each other just as Mrs. Summers’ head popped in.
“Hey! Hi Spike.” She greeted.
“Hey Mrs. Summers.” He responded with little enthusiasm.
“I ordered pizza.” Turning to Spike she added: “You’re having lunch with us, right?” She asked.
“Hum…” He looked at Buffy, trying to read her expression. He was about to answer when she stepped in:
“Yes, mom.”
“Ok, pizza should be here any minute.”
“We’ll be down in a second.”
Mrs. Summers gave them a quick smile before closing the door.
Spike turned to look at Buffy as she nervously twirled her hair.
“Well… I better get dressed and… hum… take a shower.”
“Yeah… right.” He nodded awkwardly as he watched her move towards her wardrobe and take out a grey robe before closing it.
Her feet found their way into the fluffy bunny-shaped slippers she had been wearing the night before and she slowly walked towards the door.
“You can go downstairs to watch TV. I know how you love our cable.” She gave him a soft smile and left the room.
~+~
She rushed down the stairs, her wet hair framing her flushed face as she entered the kitchen.
“Hey!” She greeted a bit nervous.
Spike looked up from his cup of hot chocolate to stare at her. She was wearing old, worn out jeans and a red turtleneck sweater. His eyes widened as his stomach turned, it felt like he had a thousand butterflies flying around in it. Glancing at Mrs. Summers he quickly looked back down into the mug he held between his hands.
Buffy sat down on the stool next to Spike and nervously tapped her fingers on the counter.
“So… Did you have fun last night, Buffy?” Her mother asked when she finished putting away the groceries she’d bought on her way home.
Buffy swallowed hard and glanced at Spike for a second but he was still immersed in staring into his cup of chocolate.
“Yeah, it was fun.” She answered anxiously.
“Good.”
A ringing sound found its way into the kitchen.
“That would be the pizza. Be right back.”
And with that the older woman walked away leaving the two teens alone.
“Did you throw away the… thingy?” Buffy immediately asked.
“What thingy?” The Brit asked with a frown.
“My mom cleaned up my room and made my bed. Please tell me you threw out the…” She leaned in and whispered. “… the condom.”
A smirk settle over Spike’s lips as he answered:
“Don’t worry, luv. I was the one who made your bed. You’re mom stayed down here the whole time. Left my duster and shirt in a plastic bag under your bed. You gotta give me a backpack later to take them home without your mom noticing. And yes, I did take care of the…” He came closer to her, mimicking her actions in a jokingly manner: “…condom.”
“You made my bed?” Buffy asked surprised, ignoring his mocking.
“Sure.”
“You made my bed?” She repeated still not convinced.
“Yeah, what of it?”
“Nothing… It’s just so s…”
“Pizza’s here!” Mrs. Summers walked into the kitchen carrying two family-sized pizza boxes.
“Mom, why did you order so much. We’re never going to be able to eat that.” Buffy protested, self-consciously rubbing her stomach; it was still a little queasy as a result of her alcohol binge.
“Nonsense, of course we are. Now eat up.”
~+~
RING!RING!RING!
One heavy arm was flung out from under the covers to hit the irritating alarm clock into silence.
Buffy groaned as she sat up on the bed. She really hated Mondays. Especially the Mondays she had to go to school and face… Spike! Her heart raced at the thought of finding him in the halls. What was she supposed to do? Kiss him hello? Not kiss him? Ignore him? What? And if they did kiss, were they kissing because of the deal they had between them or was it something else?
“God, this is extremely frustrating!” She growled as she walked into the bathroom.
~+~
‘Hum… History class. Good old, boring as hell but safely Spikeless history class.’ She thought to herself as she tapped her pencil on her desk.
She had successfully avoided the dreaded encounter between them. It wasn’t as if she was hiding from him or anything. She was just intent on walking very quickly through the halls without looking up… ever again. She just wanted to get to class in time. ‘Right, keep telling yourself that…’
She felt her heart slam against her chest when the bell rang.
‘Oh, my God! I’ve got English next! Damn it!’ She grumbled mentally as she stood up and started shoving her books into her backpack.
“You ready?” Willow asked, coming to lean on the desk next to Buffy’s.
“Just a second.” She replied, throwing her pad into the large bag and flinging it over her shoulder.
The two teens walked out of the class together and down the hall. Buffy stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him. He was leaning against her locker, his eyes scanning the crowd, clearly looking for something or… someone. She didn’t know why, but the sight of him eagerly turning his head left and right, possibly looking for… her, made her throat close up, her heart rapidly race in her chest and in her stomach… ‘Oh my God! I’m having butterflies in my stomach over Spike? Since when? Oh right, since the scorching hot sex we had.’
She inhaled sharply and continued to walk towards her locker. ‘Time for the moment of truth!’ She thought as she reached him.
“Hey!” He jumped off the locker when he saw her.
“Hey, yourself.” She said with a smile trying to mask the panicky feeling that seemed to be eating her alive.
She watched out of the corner of her eyes and waited for him to move.
Spike took a step closer and she felt her heart jump to her throat. ‘Is he gonna kiss me hello?’ She thought hopeful.
But suddenly, he moved away and leaned back on the locker. He was about to say something when he felt a heavy hand come down on his back.
“Hey, bleach boy!” Xander’s enthusiastic tone carried through the entire hall.
“Hey, whelp.” Spike grumbled, his eyes never leaving the small girl that was now opening her locker.
“And how is our little Buffy? Hang over free?” Xander mocked.
“Don’t start, Xander.” Buffy answered with a little too much anger in her tone.
“Oh!” Xander put up his hands in a clear sign of surrender.
“She doesn’t want to talk about it.” Willow piped up.
“Thanks for the heads up, Will.” The brown haired boy replied sarcastically.
Buffy pushed her locker closed and leaned on it. She felt her stomach turn and the anger start to boil up inside of her. ‘He wants to ignore it? Fine. By. Me.’ She thought as she pressed her lips together.
“Hey, guys.” Oz showed up worming his arms around Willow’s waist before giving her cheek a light peck.
That only served to heighten Buffy’s growing rage.
“Hey, Oz. Buffy doesn’t want to talk about it.” Xander quickly warned him.
Oz simply gave him a nod and continued in silence.
“Where’s Cordelia?” Willow asked.
“Cheerleading practice. Big practice for big homecoming match.” Xander rubbed his hands together. “Are you guys going to the game? Please tell me you’re going to the game. I need company.” Xander practically begged.
“Xander, you know we hate going to the games.” Willow protested.
“Yeah, but it’s homecoming and… Cordy is gonna kill me if I’m not there to see her shake her moneymaker.” Xander explained with a pleading tone. “I thought this year you guys were gonna come, what with Buffy dating the star quarterback and all, but then there was the whole… hum…” Xander came to a conflicting stop, his mind racing to find a way to avoid the sensitive subject. One glance at the blonde duo gave him a clear message - nope, there was no way to avoid it, not now. He was dead meat, especially with the evil looks Buffy was currently throwing him. “You know what? Better not go to the game at all. Be my own man. Show Cordy who’s the boss in this relationship.” He suddenly changed the direction of the conversation, inflating his chest to hysterical proportions as he tugged at his jeans, pulling them upwards in a highly manly fashion. “Yep! I’m no woman’s man.” He frowned a little. “Ok, that sounded wrong. Worked much better for the bald Scottish chic.”
Willow’s brown furrowed.
“It’s from Sinead O’Connor’s song ‘No man’s woman’.” Oz explained before turning to Xander and adding: “And I think she’s Irish.”
“Oh! Good thing I have my musically-skilled boyfriend to help me out with the obscure song references.” Willow said giddily giving Oz a quick peck on the lips.
“She’s Irish?” Xander frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure.” Oz replied monotonically.
As the debate went on, Spike desperately tried to catch Buffy’s attention, throwing various ‘what did I do wrong’ glances at her in a feeble attempt to find some eye-contact; Buffy simply crossed her arms over her chest and angrily stared at the floor. Everyone was oblivious to the tension building between the two of them as Spike nervously inched closer to her.
“Irish, huh?” Xander repeated. “I just saw the Behind the Music on Sinead O’Connor last night and she had like this weird accent. She’s gotta be Scottish.”
“The Irish have the weird accent too. Not the same, but still weird.” Oz replied.
“Are you-“
“Fascinating conversation guys, but I really have to go to class.” Buffy cut Xander off, letting her hands drop to her hips.
“The bell hasn’t even rung yet.” Willow noted.
“Buffy, you’re not becoming Miss ‘Responsible, have to be on time every time goody-two-shoes’, are you?” Xander asked cocking up an eyebrow.
“Yeah, that’s my role, remember? You’re the funny-hot-chic; *I’m* the funny-nerdy-chic.” Willow half whined.
Buffy was about to speak when she felt Spike’s hand worm its way around hers. She froze; her heart pounding erratically as he ran his thumb over her skin for a subtle caress.
“Hum… I…” She drew a blank, all of her nerve endings focussing on the circular motion of his finger.
Thankfully, the school bell rang and she was snapped out of it.
“We better go luv, don’t want to get on Mrs. Kennedy’s bad side.” Spike uttered tilting his head.
“What? Hum… Yeah… Right.” She mumbled confused.
“Bye, guys. See you later.” Spike called out as he walked down the hall dragging a stunned Buffy by the hand.
Chapter 23:
Buffy nervously tapped her pencil on her desk as she rapidly skimmed through the pages of her textbook. Occasionally, she’d throw a glance at the bleached teen sitting next to her, but she’d quickly look back down to bury her gaze in the small black letters in front of her.
They hadn’t spoken a word after they had left the gang to head for class. They’d simply walked down the hall; her small hand wrapped in his until they reached their destination and entered the room to take their seats.
Buffy jumped up when she felt something lightly brush over her shoulder.
Spike immediately retracted the offending hand and looked at her from under a frown:
“Are you ok, Summers?” He asked.
“I-I’m fine.” She quickly answered staring back down at her book.
The bell rang causing her to jolt up again.
“Oh, you’re just fine.” Spike mocked sarcastically in a low voice as all the students around them started standing and packing their things.
‘God, this is so weird. What the hell is this?’ Buffy wondered closing her book and placing it in her backpack. Standing up, she continued her mental babbling: ‘Is this like official? Are we dating? Or is this just… What the *hell* is this? What are-‘
Buffy’s thoughts froze as she felt a strong arm worm itself around her waist. She looked up to see Spike picking up his notepad and pencil before glancing at her.
“Ready?” He asked.
He looked so at ease, so comfortable. Maybe he knew what the hell it was that they had between them. Buffy swallowed hard and nodded before they walked out of the classroom together.
“So, are you gonna tell me why you’re all jumpy?” He questioned, tilting his head as he looked at her.
It took a while for Buffy to process the information as her mind still dwelled on the thumb that was hooked on her denim skirt and the arm, which came attached to it.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear- Ah!” She cried out as someone crashed straight into them.
When she regained her balance she looked down to see Andrew on the floor, desperately trying to scramble up to his feet.
“Are you ok?” Spike asked Buffy. When she nodded, he turned his attention to the nerdy boy that had already managed to stand up.
When he finished gathering his things, Andrew looked up at the blonde couple; a hint of fear in his eyes.
“I-I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to- I’m- I-I was running and I-“ He stuttered wildly.
“It’s ok. Don’t worry.” Buffy quickly reassured him. She frowned when she saw the fear in Andrew’s eyes was mostly directed at Spike. Her gaze travelled from the one boy to the other, trying to decipher what ever it was that they were silently communicating through their eyes.
Suddenly, Andrew was off, running through the crowd of teenagers, leaving a stunned Buffy behind. She looked up to find Spike still looking into the distance, after Andrew.
“What was that all about?” She questioned.
That seemed to snap Spike out of his thoughts. Shaking his head he looked down at Buffy and shrugged:
“Beats me, luv.”
Buffy furrowed her brow, not convinced by his answer. She was about to say something when he wormed his fingers between hers taking her hand into his and pulling her down the hall.
*****
Xander dropped his tray on the table and let out a frustrated groan.
“Meatloaf! Yummy!” He said with fake enthusiasm.
“God! That thing looks like it’s been rotting for weeks.” Cordelia said disgusted as she brought her hand to cover her mouth.
“I know this is gonna sound very weird, but I’m gonna say it anyway.” Willow warned. “I agree with Cordy.”
“Well, I’m hungry. I can’t just eat a bar of chocolate like you two.” He said pointing at Willow and Cordelia with his fork before digging into his food.
“Hey guys!” Buffy greeted as she and Spike took their seat on the table.
“You guys are risking eating that?” Cordelia asked pointing at Buffy and Spike’s plates.
“Don’t have a choice. Didn’t eat breakfast.” Buffy shrugged and inhaled sharply before picking up her fork. She jumped up when she felt someone kick her under the table.
She frowned and looked up at Spike when she realised the pleasantry had come from him. He simply glared at her with a semi-angry look.
“What?!” She quipped.
“You’re too skinny. You gotta eat better.” He mumbled before shovelling a piece of the meatloaf into his mouth.
Buffy frowned, but inside a tingling feeling took over her stomach. ‘He’s worried about my eating habits?’
“Where’s Oz?” Spike asked between bites.
“Rehearsing for the party on Saturday.” Willow answered brightly.
“Party?” Buffy questioned.
“Homecoming?” Xander tried to remind her.
“What about homecoming?” The petite blond continued in the dark.
“The party that Cordy gives every year after the homecoming dance. This year we get to go, since I’m dating the beautiful hostess.” Xander explained as he leaned in to give the brunette sitting next to him a quick peck on the cheek.
“And Oz’s band is playing.” Willow quickly added enthusiastically.
“Oh… right.”
“I really don’t feel like going to the dance. I mean, who thinks of those horrible decorations?” Cordelia cringed at the thought. “But I guess I have to be there to accept my crown.” She sighed audibly.
“Don’t worry, honey. It’s not your fault you’re so damn sexy.” Xander winked at her.
Buffy stared blindly at her plate, her face cringing at the sight of the ungodly mush.
“Quit shoving your food around and eat.” Spike said noticing she had barely eaten anything.
“Suddenly, I’m not that hungry.” She grumbled pushing her tray away from her.
“You have to-“ The Brit started but Buffy quickly cut him off.
“Spike! Forget it, I’m not eating *that*.” She said pointing at her plate with disdain.
“Buffy-“ Spike stopped in mid sentence when he felt someone run a finger down his chiselled cheek.
Everyone’s jaw practically fell off when they turned to see Dru leaning on the table right next to Spike.
After the initial shock, the bleached teen lightly nodded as he muttered:
“Dru…”
“Missed you at the Bronze on Friday. You took off so quickly. You silly bad boy. You know you shouldn’t run out on a girl like that.” She looked at him from under hooded eyes as she lightly slapped him on the forearm, her fingers lingering there afterwards.
“Hum… Sorry bout that, I…” Spike trailed off and simply started up at her.
“Well, I hope you don’t do that again at the Homecoming dance. I would be very-“
“Hey! Vapid ho! You wanted something?” Buffy’s angered tone cut her off.
“Oh… Hi, Buffy.” Dru practically spat the blonde’s name, giving her a dirty look. “I didn’t see you there.”
“Yeah, well - I’m here.” Buffy put on a plastic smile and tilted her head at the black haired girl.
Dru looked her up and down and then turned her attentions back to the teen next to her, ignoring Buffy.
“So, Spike… About homecoming…”
Buffy’s hand came flying out of nowhere and Dru suddenly found herself covered in a brownish mush which slowly dripped its way down her long raven hair.
“Buffy!” Spike quickly jumped to his feet.
“Oh, my God!” Dru cried out in horror as she desperately tried to get the thick, slimy mixture out of her hair.
“Buffy, what are you doing?” Spike asked as he awkwardly tried to help Dru by handing her all the available napkins.
“I’m doing what she was asking for.” Buffy growled as she began reaching for her tray once again.
Spike caught her action out of the corner of his eye and snatched her wrist in a tight grip.
“Stop it!” He ordered.
Buffy looked up at him in disbelief.
“You’re taking *her* side?”
“Buffy, I-“
She never gave him a chance to answer. With a violent move of her hand she freed herself from his grip and marched out of the cafeteria.
*****
Buffy furiously stomped her feet on the floor as she walked her way home. Four hours had passed since the cafeteria *incident* but she could still feel her blood boiling in her veins. ‘He took her side! I can’t believe he took her side. Bastard!’ She cursed him in her mind as she turned into Revello Drive. She was shoving her hand into the pocket of her backpack to grip the keys when she looked up to find *his* car parked in her driveway. She stopped dead in her tracks as the rage made her stomach turn. She took in a deep breath and continued to walk towards her house.
She ignored him when she saw him exit the car and start moving towards her.
“Buffy!” He called out when she walked past him and jogged up the steps of the front porch.
Angrily, she shoved the keys into the lock, blocking out his words, entering and quickly slamming the door in his face.
“Ow!” She heard him howl as the wood hit him right in the nose. “Bloody hell!” He grumbled opening the door and entering the house. “Summers!” He called out again.
But she refused to acknowledge him, climbing to her room, taking the steps two at a time while he quickly followed her. She entered her room and proceeded to do the same thing she had done with the front door of the house, but this time he was prepared, bringing his foot up to keep the wood from crashing into his face.
“We have to talk.” He stared.
“Do you mind? I’m trying to get dressed here!” She grumbled taking off her shoes.
“Oh, sorry!” He mumbled, quickly stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.
He stood outside for what seemed like an eternity.
“Pet, are you done yet?” He asked exasperated, but had no answer. “Summers…?”
Once more there was silence. He swallowed hard and slowly moved to open the door, sneaking his head in. He frowned when he found her lying on the bed, idly flipping through a magazine, wearing the exact same clothes she had for school that day, minus her shoes.
“I thought you were getting dressed.”
“I was.”
“Then why are you wearing the same clothes?” He asked annoyed.
“They’re not the same. They just look the same.” She quipped skimming through the pages, never bothering to look up.
“You did it again.” He finally realised as he remembered her using the same ‘I’m getting undressed’ trick a few days before.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She replied apparently completely oblivious to him.
Spike sighed audibly, closing the door behind him and moving towards the bed.
“We need to talk.” He repeated.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” She said with a forced smile, her eyes still buried between the pages.
“There isn’t?”
“Nope.” She let the magazine drop to the floor as she stood up. “You’re an idiot.” She continued with a fake good humour as she walked around him and exited her room.
“I’m an idiot?” He asked raising an eyebrow as he followed her.
She never answered, simply went down the stairs and into the kitchen. “And pray tell, why am I an idiot?” He questioned as he leaned on the doorframe.
Buffy chuckled sarcastically as she took out a glass and poured orange juice into it.
“You shouldn’t have done it.” Spike tried to rationalize.
She took a sip from the juice and proceeded with ignoring him as she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.
He groaned and rolled his eyes, searching for control as he trailed after her to find her sitting on the couch, flipping trough the channels.
“Summers, why are you acting this way?”
That did it. The anger which had been bobbling up in her finally spilled into her angered words:
“You took *her* side!” She cried out glaring daggers at him before looking back to the TV set.
“What was I supposed to do? Just let you pour your entire lunch down Dru’s shirt?” He exclaimed.
“That was an option.” She muttered between clenched teeth as her angry finger violently punched the buttons on the remote, her narrowed eyes glaring at the images coming from the TV.
“Buffy, will you just look at me? I’m trying to talk.” He exhaled.
“I don’t *want* to talk.” She replied, never so much as giving him a glance.
Suddenly, Spike snatched the remote from her hands and turned off the TV.
“Well, I do.” He growled.
“Give me that!” She ordered outstretching her hand.
“After we talk this through you can watch telly for as long as you bloody please. But now *we* are gonna talk about his.” He growled at her.
She stared angrily at him before standing up.
“Well you can just forget-“ She was yanked back down and forced to sit by Spike’s strong grip on her forearm.
“Buffy!” He snarled.
“Fine! Talk all you want. I’m not listening.” She replied crossing her arms over her chest.
“Will you stop acting like the spoiled little brat you are and just tell me what’s going on?”
“You took her side. *That’s* what going on! Why the hell are you even here? I’d think you’d be with the anorexic vampire wannabe right about now.” She started as she stood up and began walking about in the room.
“What are you talking about? I just did what I thought was the right thing. You were out of line, Buffy.” He augmented standing from his place on the couch.
“Was I? She was throwing herself at you and you were drooling all over her.” He was about to say something but she brought her hand up to silence him and she quickly continued: “And I know you are gonna say this is about me being jealous. Well, guess what? It’s not! It’s about me and the entire school seeing that you still have feelings for her an-and-“ She came to a halt as the anger seemed to erase all the words from her mind. “God, what the hell do you see in her? You talk about me and Angel and that I’m a masochist for still wanting him, but you’re the exact same thing! You’re even worse. You were actually drooling. You were- you were… God! I hate this! I hate not being able to say what I wanna say… I-I”
Spike slowly started walking towards her causing her to immediately take a step back. The few seconds that had gone by had helped her get a grip on herself and her thoughts. Her voice now was low and cold as she spoke.
“This is *not* about jealousy. *This* is about you and Dru making a fool of me in that cafeteria in front of *my* friends.” She paused looking up at him, taking deep breaths to keep from exploding.
“Buffy, I didn’t do anything. I was just talking to her. What was I supposed to do? Just ignore her.”
At his words the anger came crashing back down on her and she suddenly yelled:
“And what was I supposed to do? Just stand there while some skinny ho is batting her eyes and making the moves on my boyfriend?”
The two of them froze. She’d said it. The word they had danced around for the last couple of days – she’d said it.
“What did you say?” It was a mere whisper.
“Hum… My boy- I-I mean… You know, other people who-who think you and-and I are…” She tried to cover, bringing a trembling hand to brush away a few loose strand of her hair as she slowly backed away from him.
“Of course.” He agreed, but he continued to close the distance between them, his eyes narrowed.
“Right. So… “ She held her breath when she felt the wall against her back, her eyes glued to the floor. “… that’s why I… did the…” She was at a lost for words when she looked up at him.
“…Pouring of meatloaf all over Dru.” He completed her sentence as he took another step and closed the distance between them.
Her heart raced as if it wanted to leap out of her chest when he leaned in.
“Well!” She suddenly clapped her hands together, startling him for just long enough to slip away from him. “That’s all-“
She let out a small cry when suddenly she found herself being turned around as Spike held a strong grip on her arm.
“Why do you keep running?” He whispered.
“I-I’m not running.” She tried to laugh, but it came out as a forced chuckle when he gruffly pulled her closer to him; her chest crushed against his, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. “Let go…” She demanded unconvincingly.
“Are you sure that’s what you want, Summers?” He asked with a semi-cocky grin on his face, their closeness was getting to him and he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to restrain himself.
She opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out, so she nodded weakly. Her heart sank when she felt him loosen his grip on her and step away. They stood there, in silence, looking at each other.
“Well, I guess we-“ She began, slowly turning away from him, when she heard him mutter.
“Oh, bloody hell!”
“Wha-“
Spike was suddenly all over her, never giving her a chance to finish. His arms wrapped themselves around her, his hands erratically moved over her back, her thighs in a desperate attempt to get her closer to him, while his mouth came down to claim hers in a demanding kiss.
After the momentary surprise she managed to push him away, just enough so she could ask:
“Spike…” She swallowed hard as his lips attacked her neck, placing a series of open-mouth kissed on the tender flesh there. “What are you… doing?” She breathed.
With his face still buried in her throat he answered her directly in a husky, low voice:
“What I’ve been wanting to do since Saturday.”
And then his mouth was on hers, never giving her a chance to answer as his tongue slipped between her lips to join hers in a tug of war. Spike pressed against her, backing her up against the couch until her legs reached the edge of the sofa and she was tipped over, bringing the black-clad teen down with her.
Buffy’s hands flew under the lapels of his duster and successfully pulled the item off him as they continued to kiss. Spike’s own fingers quickly found their way to the edge of Buffy’s denim skirt and tugged it upwards as they travelled up her tanned legs.
‘Oh, my God! What am I doing? We’re doing it again. Oh, God! Oh, God!’ she thought over and over again but, apparently, her body refused to follow her mind and all its doubts. Quite on the contrary, every fibre in her seemed to know exactly what to do as her fingers quickly unbuttoned his shirt, leaving his chest bare and exposed to her nails.
Spike let out a rough growl when he felt her graze her way down his abdomen to the waistband of his jeans. Her small fingers duelled with the belt buckle there while his own hand slipped under her sweater and pulled it upwards until it was over her head and discarded to the floor. He gasped when he saw her, laying under him, flushed face, glassy eyes focussed on the buttons of his jeans, her small breasts covered in nothing but a small lacy bra. Only then did he realise he had never seen her naked. The other night… she had managed to keep her nightgown on the entire time. ‘God, she looks-Bloody hell!’ He cursed in his thoughts, his eyes rolling back in their sockets when he felt her fingers encircle him. He braced himself on his forearms, on each side of her head as she began to slowly pump him.
She watched, amazed, as he occasionally let out small moans with his eyes closed and his teeth clenched only serving to sharpen his chiselled features. Slowly, he seemed to recover from the initial shock and was able to start moving.
It was Buffy’s turn to gasp when he leaned down and brushed his lips over her neck, while his fingers slipped between her legs. He languorously traced small circles on his way up her inner thigh until he reached the edge of her panties. Never giving her a chance to prepare he pushed the thin layer to the side and drove one long finger into her.
“Ah!” Buffy gasped closing her eyes and arching her neck into his mouth.
They both stopped for a moment and then began slowly moving their hands again. A mixture of moaned and muffled cries escaped them both as they rocked against each other’s fingers, pulling and pushing in a slow, mind-numbing pace.
As the desire grew inside of her, Buffy’s free hand came to push his away from her core, while the other lazily guided him to her entrance.
“Oh, God… Buffy…” Her name tumbled from his lips, when he felt her moist folds brush against the tip of his cook. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, pondering how to tell her…
When he refused to move his hips and slip inside of her, Buffy let out a frustrated moan and rocked her hips against his. Spike immediately rested his hands on her thighs pulling them down and away from him.
Buffy frowned and tried to look at him, but his face was still pressed against her neck. She patiently waited for him to gather himself, and remained still, watching him pull deep pants from his lungs.
“I don’t have any.” He grumbled frustrated.
“What?”
Spike moved to look down at her. “Condoms, luv… Didn’t get a chance to buy any.” He explained as he sat up and began tucking himself into his pants.
“But… We can…” Buffy started but trailed off.
They sat on the couch in silence, until Spike’s awkward voice was heard:
“I-I can go… buy some?” He half expected her to shout a string of curses at him or something, but when he didn’t hear a sound from her, he dared to look at her.
“You could…” She trailed off.
In a flash he was up and picking up his duster.
“Be back in a second.” He breathed, giving her a light peck on the lips before rushing out the door.
Chapter 24:
Buffy anxiously bit her nails as she looked out the window. What was taking him so long… Grrr! She let out a frustrated sigh and moved to plop down on the couch. The moment she reached for the remote, the roaring of a car engine reached her ears and her heart jumped up to her throat. She immediately scrambled to her feet and hurried to the door almost crashing into a breathless teen in the process.
“Spike!” She exclaimed taking a step back and gathering herself.
He flashed her a wicked grin and slid his way closer to her. Giving her a dazed look from under hooded lids he snaked his hand into the pocket of his duster as he slurred:
“I’ve got the con-“
“Hello, Spike!”
He froze when he heard Mrs. Summers voice coming from the kitchen.
“-tacts.” He made up on the spot as he finally realised that Buffy’s apprehension was due to her mother’s arrival and not his.
“Contacts?” The older woman questioned, while Spike turned to face her.
She stood in the kitchen, a plate in one had, a towel in the other and a sincere smile on her lips.
“You’re near-sighted or something?” She asked.
“Yes!” Spike answered just as Buffy piped up: “No!”
Mrs. Summers frowned.
“Which one is it?”
The two blondes exchanged a desperate look and Buffy quickly blurted out:
“Well, it’s… hum… You know how boys are. He… He’s always wanted to have brown eyes, so he decided to get contact lens, but… hum… he doesn’t want to admit it! So… hum… the right one would be…No, he’s not near-sighted, just vain.”
Spike cocked up a scarred eyebrow at her barely comprehensible babble.
“Oh…” Mrs. Summers frowned but returned to her dishes.
“What are you doing?” Spike mouthed at Buffy, but immediately stood up straight when the older woman turned to face him once again.
“You know, Spike… You don’t have to change just to please people. You should accept who you are and not let yourself be intimidated by what other people might think of you or your… choices.” Mrs. Summers spoke calmly, a hint of compassion in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Summers. I know what I want.” He answered glancing towards Buffy, causing her to blush furiously.
“Well… good for you Spike.” Mrs. Summers gave him a soft smile and retuned to her dishwashing.
A moment filtered by before Buffy spoke:
“Well, Spike and I are gonna head up to my room for a while.”
“Ok, honey.”
The two teens began climbing up the stairs when Mrs. Summers’ voice reached them:
“Spike? Are you staying for dinner?”
“No, Mrs. Summers. My father wants me to be home early today. We’re going out for dinner, do some father-son bonding.” Spike explained.
Mrs. Summers simply nodded and the teen scurrying up the stairs after Buffy into her room.
She let herself drop on the mattress with a loud thud.
“What the hell was that all about?” The Brit asked still a bit rattled by the whole situation.
“My mom giving you gay-friendly advice.” She explained with a smirk, but it soon faded when she saw the not-so-happy look on his face. “What?”
“Do I give off some kind of… gay vibe or something?” He questioned with a serious face. When Buffy’s eyebrow furrowed he elaborated: “It’s just that even my da is starting with the same little speeches your mom just gave me back there.”
“Your father?”
Spike nodded as he slouched on the chair next to the desk.
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the black nail polish that’s giving off that vibe.” Buffy teased.
“Ha-ha, Summers.” He forced a plastic smile on his face. “I’m not kidding here.”
“I know… I’m sorry.” She quickly apologized.
“My da sat me down for two whole hours yesterday talking to me about the importance of finding out *who* I am and not letting my search be threatened by other people’s opinion of who I should be.” Spike grumbled resting his head between his hands and letting out a frustrated sigh.
“Ouch!” Buffy sympathised.
He mumbled something unintelligible between his lips before standing up straight and looking at Buffy’s alarm clock.
“Well… I better be going. Don’t want my da to think I forgot about him.” He started as he walked over to the door.
“But I thought that…” She trailed off as the flush started to creep up her neck to her cheeks, but then said in a frustrated attempt to sound nonchalant: “… it was an excuse… not wanting to have dinner with my mom and all.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not an excuse. I just remembered when I went out for… hum…” It was Spike’s turn to slightly blush.
“Oh, right.” Buffy replied with a hint of disappointment as she stood up and followed him.
She almost bumped into him when he came to an abrupt stop right at her door before turning on his heels to face her.
“I don’t look gay, right? Maybe I should lose the bleach.” He offered pointing at his hair.
“No!” Buffy answered straightaway and a little too enthusiastic. She blushed when she saw his trademark smirk curl the corners of his mouth as he took a step closer to her.
“No?” He slurred.
“I-I like the… hair.” She stuttered awkwardly. God, why was it that every time he looked at her like that it made it almost impossible for her to say a complete sentence without stammering like an idiot.
“You do?” He continued to speak in a low voice as his hand came to rest on her hips and began to make small circle shapes there.
She held her breath for a few seconds and then nodded.
“What about the duster? Want me to get rid of that?” He asked tilting his head sideways.
“No.” She breathed. “I like that to.”
“What else do you like, pet?” He muttered as he nuzzled his face against the crook of her neck, nibbling at it and leaving small bite marks on his way up to her jaw line.
“That.” She answered between pants.
She scolded herself when she felt him smile against her skin, but her thoughts soon pooled away in a hazy mist when she felt his hand worm down her leg to slip under her denim skirt before climbing back up her inner thighs.
“We never got to finish…” He whispered as he took her earlobe into his mouth to nibble at it while his hand teasingly brushed over the cotton fabric of her panties.
“We can’t… My mom…” she started with her usual denial.
She gasped for air and almost lost her balance when he stepped away and his hands and mouth abandoned her.
“What?” She breathed as she opened her eyes.
“You’re right.” He said with a cocky smile. “Better not do anything with mom here. I gotta go anyway. Bye, Summers.” And with that he was gone.
“What?” She repeated still stunned over the ease with which he had pulled away from her. This was wrong. She was the one supposed to pull away from *him*.
~+~
Spike winced when he took his place at the driver’s seat; the tightness in his pants becoming growingly painful. He wondered where he had gotten the strength to walk out on her and rolled his eyes before starting the ignition.
“Get yourself together. Can’t let her know she’s got you in the palm of her hand. Time for her to make a move.” He told himself out loud before driving off.
~+~
Buffy shoved her food around in her plate completely oblivious to the conversation going on around her at the table.
“What do you think, Buffy?” Was the only thing she heard as she was snapped out of her thoughts.
“Huh?” She shook her head for a moment, before she looked up at the redhead sitting opposite her.
“About going shopping today?” Willow repeated.
“Oh… sure.” Buffy answered unenthusiastically.
“Buffy, are you ok?” She asked a bit concerned with her best friend’s almost lethargic state.
“I’m fine.” Buffy replied returning her attention to her plate.
“Hey pretty ladies!” Xander’s familiar voice reached the table as he set his tray next to Willow’s.
Buffy looked up, uninterested and simply nodded.
“What’s up with the Buffster?” The boy asked Willow who simply shrugged.
“Nothing’s up, Xander. I’m just a bit…” Buffy frowned when she looked up, pass Xander’s shoulder, to see Spike talking to Andrew for a few moments before the two parted ways and the bleached teen walked over to their table.
“Hey.” He greeted taking his seat next to Buffy and giving her a light peck on the cheek.
“Hey, bleach-boy. Not serving as a guinea pig for today’s lunch experiment?” Xander asked bringing a fork full of the unrecognisable substance into his mouth.
“No, thank you.” Spike winced looking at the plate in front of him. “I’ve got some things I have to take care of. Just came by to see what you guys were up to.”
Buffy watched as the two teens exchanged friendly banter but her mind was still fixed on the image of Spike and Andrew speaking. What was going on with those two?
She blinked a couple of times in surprise when Spike leaned in to give her a quick peck once again before standing up.
“See you guys tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Buffy frowned. “You’re skipping school this afternoon?”
“Told you. Got stuff to do.” He explained.
“What stuff?” She insisted, not letting him walk away.
“Just stuff, pet.” He leaned in pressing his lips against her forehead and left.
“What the hell was that all about?” Buffy wondered out loud wrinkling her forehead.
Xander was about to make some smart-ass comment, but was prevented when he felt Willow kick him under the table. She knew Buffy well enough to know this wasn’t time for jokes.
~+~
Buffy and Willow idly walked through the large corridors of the mall, occasionally throwing a glance at the passing shops.
“So…” Willow started with a bit of hesitation.
Buffy simply looked at her best friend and waited for her to ask whatever she had been trying to ask ever since they had left school.
“You and Spike… We-we never really got a chance to-to… you know… girl-talk about it.” Willow awkwardly stammered.
The blonde took in a deep breath, not knowing exactly what to tell her. She missed talking to Willow. Somehow, talking to her made everything so much clearer. She wanted to tell her about the whole arrangement but… she’d promised Spike – not a word.
“What do you want to know?”
“I-I don’t know. I mean, you hated each other just up to a couple of weeks ago and now all of a sudden you’re an item?” Willow said in one breath. It was clear she had practiced her questions about a million times before actually approaching Buffy on the subject.
“I know. Weird, huh?” There was a moment of silence. God, she really needed to talk to someone about this. “In the beginning… it was more about getting back at Dru and Angel, you know?”
Willow nodded and she continued:
“But then… I don’t know, it all happened so fast. Suddenly the extremely infuriating grin wasn’t that infuriating, the bleach wasn’t that unattractive, the accent was actually turning me on… I just don’t know.” Buffy rambled out loud.
Willow smiled looking at her friend out of the corner of her eyes. Buffy paused for a second, sitting down on a nearby bench; the redhead mimicked her action, waiting patiently for her to continue.
“Oh, what the hell!” Buffy suddenly exhaled and looked straight at Willow. “I can’t take it anymore. I mean you’re my best friend and I’m supposed to be able to tell you everything, right?” Willow nodded. “Ok, here goes…” She took in a deep breath before continuing: “Spike and I made a deal. A pact. We decided to pretend being together so that Dru and Angel would get jealous and decide to come back to us… Separately! You know Dru to Spike and Angel to me?” She blurted.
Willow looked wide-eyed at her best friend, her mouth opening and closing for a couple of times, unable to speak.
“You and Spike aren’t really together? It’s all part of a plan?” She finally managed to ask.
“No, see that’s my big problem. I don’t know.”
“Huh? I’m not quite following, Buffy.” Willow gave her an apologetic frown.
“We had the plan, right. First it was supposed to be just holding hands and normal, non-touchy stuff. But then we realised it wasn’t working and that we had to get a bit more… physical in order to fool everyone, and so eventually that lead to touching and kissing and groping and apparently we both developed some *major* pent up sexual tension towards one another.” Buffy paused for a second, giving Willow the time to register all the information.
“So all the kissing and moaning and getting caught doing *it* in a classroom was fake?”
“We weren’t doing *it*, Willow. We were just… trying to see if I could get over the ‘yuck’ factor of kissing him, which, unfortunately, I seemed to have surpassed quite easily.” Buffy nervously picked at her backpack which rested on her knees.
“Oh…” Willow suddenly realised. “And now you have feelings for Spike and he doesn’t… respond?”
“Not really.” Buffy hesitated. “He actually does *respond*… hum and little too well.”
Willow frowned: “Ok, you need to fill in the blanks now.”
“Remember the Bronze? Last Friday… when Oz played? Yeah, well… I was sort of...”
“Drunk?” Willow offered.
“Yes… So Spike took me home and-“
“Oh, my God, Buffy! He didn’t take advantage of you or anything, did he?” Willow squeaked a bit worried.
“Not exactly… He took care of me even though, even after I threw up on him.”
“Yew!”
“Yeah, not one of my best moments, I’ll admit. Anyway… things started… hum… evolving and…” Buffy hesitated throwing a glance at Willow before blurting: “SpikeandIslepttogether.”
“What?!” Willow exclaimed causing a couple of heads to turn and look at them. The redhead blushed furiously and leaning in to whisper: “What?”
“We did the wild thing, Willow.” Buffy muttered.
“Oh…”
A moment of silence passed before Willow dared to ask.
“Well, what about now?”
“That’s the million dollar question now, isn’t it?”
“D-do you… like him?”
Buffy paused for a second and then dropped her head to her hands, her fingers furiously running through her hair.
“I don’t know.” She answered exasperated.
“Well, does he… you know… like you?”
“Another big question mark for that one too.” Buffy grumbled into her hands.
“Well, didn’t you guys talk about it or anything? I mean… You have to have said something after the… hum… event.” Willow insisted.
“Not really. We were both so tired that we just fell asleep.”
“What about the dreadful morning after?” Willow enquired.
“Mom came home. You don’t want to know how we got out of that one.” Buffy looked up from her hands and with a smirk continued: “My mom thinks he’s my new gay-best-friend.”
“Your mom thinks Spike’s gay?” Willow asked with wide eyes.
“Yep.” She nodded sitting up straight and glancing around the mall. “So anyway, Monday came and we never got a chance to talk about it and then there was the whole Dru incident.” Buffy ground her teeth together at the memory.
“Were you jealous?” Willow uttered.
Buffy immediately shot her a dirty look.
“No!”
“Are you sure?” Willow insisted. “Then why’d you give Dru the lunch shower?”
“The two of them were flirting in front of everyone! They were making a fool of me!” Buffy exclaimed.
“Buffy… It’s me… Willow?”
“Ok, fine so I was a bit jealous…” Buffy grumbled burying her face in her hands once more. “God, I hate this! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!”
“Why don’t you just ask Spike?”
“Ask him what?” Buffy frowned.
“If he likes you.”
“Oh, no! No way in *hell*, ever! No, no, no!” Buffy insisted standing up to tower over Willow, who was still sitting on the bench. “Why should I ask him?”
“Because it’s eating you up, that’s why.” Willow explained the obvious.
“Well, I’m not!” Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.
“It’s your choice, Buffy.”
“Yes, it is! Thank you. Now let’s go by those damn dresses and get out of here.” Buffy grumbled stalking off.
~+~
Buffy scurried through the hall, scanning the crowd looking for a familiar bleached head between the dozens of teens zooming pass her.
“Hey, Buffy!” Willow greeted falling into stride with her.
“Hey, Wills!”
“So, did your mom like your dress?” Willow questioned hugging her books against her chest as they quickly made their way down the corridor.
“She loved it. Said I looked beautiful in black and then started crying.”
“Huh?”
“You know, came down with the whole ‘You’re growing up so quickly and soon you won’t be my little girl anymore’ speech. If she’s like this over homecoming I can imagine how she’ll be for prom.” Buffy sighed as she continued down the hall.
“Hum… Buffy, why are we practically running around in circles through the entire school?” Willow finally managed to ask when she started getting a little out of breath. “Are we looking for someone?”
“No.” Buffy quickly answered coming to a halt next to her locker. “I just needed to get a few things from my locker.”
“Right and for that you always need to walk past it about three times.” Willow noted sarcastically, raising a suspicious eyebrow. “Come on Buffy, admit it. You’re looking for him.”
“I’m not- Oh, my God! What happened to you?!” Buffy immediately slammed the door to her locker and walked past Willow towards Spike.
Willow’s eyes widened when she saw the Brit. He had a small cut in the corner of his mouth and a purplish bruise over his left cheekbone.
“Fell down some stairs.” Spike winced when Buffy ran her hand over his wounded cheek.
“Does it hurt?” Willow asked the obvious.
“What do you think, Red? Ouch!” Spike cried out when he tried to raise his eyebrow, pulling at his tender muscle.
“You fell down some stairs? That’s the best you could come up with?” Buffy asked when the fear in her subsided and the anger started to replace it.
“What?!” Spike grumbled.
“What have you-“ She didn’t have to finish her question when, out of the corner of her eyes she saw a badly battered Angel slumped against the row of lockers; a very worried Dru running her hands over his marred face, much in the same fashion Buffy had just done to Spike. “You fought Angel?!” She asked in disbelief, her eyes going from one teenager to the other.
Spike never answered.
“What the *hell* is happening Spike?” Buffy demanded. “Why have you and Angel been fighting?”
When the bleached teen remained silent she continued:
“What were you guys fighting over?”
“Luv, I don’t want to get into this now.” Spike finally spoke.
“Well, when did this happen?”
“Luv, not now.”
“But-“
“Buffy! Just let it go, ok?”
She froze. It had been the first time he had ever raised his voice at her; the look in his eyes sending shivers down her spine. She was so shocked she didn’t even hear the bell ring. Her gaze remained fixed on the boy standing in front of her even as the rest of the teens began to disband and walk to their respective classes. She was snapped out of her daze by Willow’s soft touch.
“Buffy, we better go or we’ll be late.” She heard the redhead call her.
She narrowed her eyes at Spike and nodded:
“Let’s go.”
Turning on her heels she walked down the hall and into one of the classrooms after Willow.
“Bloody hell!” Spike growled kicking the locker he had been leaning on before stalking off.
~+~
Buffy leaned on the front door of the vehicle, patiently wanting for its owner to arrive. She felt her heart jump to her throat when she saw him.
Spike froze in mid stride when he looked up to see her. Taking a deep breath he continued his approach.
“Hey…” Buffy said in a weak voice as she stepped away from the door.
“Hey.” He greeted back.
A moment of silence passed between them but Buffy eventually broke it.
“I’m sorry for freaking out over the mashed face.” She said pointing at his face.
“I’m sorry I shouted at you.”
“Considering I’ve done that about a million times I guess you’re allowed one yell. But just one!” She quickly added raising her index finder.
“I’ll try and remember that, luv.” Spike tried to smile but quickly regretted it as he felt the wound on his lips start to open.
“Are you ok?” She asked worriedly stepping closer to him and resting her hand under his ear to turn his face towards her.
“I’m fine.” He answered trying to push back the urge to wince when she ran her finger over the gash.
“Did you even disinfect that?” She question with a disapproving look.
“Yes.”
“Liar.”
“I washed it.” He defended himself.
“Not quite the same effect as disinfecting it.” Buffy retorted as she walked around the car.
“Where’re you going?”
“You’re gonna drive me home so I can clean that up.” She informed him as she opened the car door and entered the vehicle.
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