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About a month passed, and things were still strained between Buffy and Spike, but for the most part, she thought that they were getting better. She was starting to break down the walls she had built around her, and she found that trusting him once again wasn’t impossible- it was just going to take some time.

They had big plans for Valentine’s Day, so when her phone rang about an hour before Spike was to arrive to pick her up, she assumed it was him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be more incorrect.

“Hello, baby,” Angelus said in a low tone, causing her to shiver and instantly close herself off from feeling emotions.

‘This has to be a nightmare,’ she thought. ‘He didn’t call for weeks, and now today. My luck just keeps getting worse.’

“What do you want?” she replied sharply, deciding to skip the polite pleasantries of typical conversations and delving right into the heart of the call.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart,” he replied, practically purring. “I was wondering if I could take you out tonight.”

“Are you deluded?” she asked, becoming angry. “Why would I even consider going anywhere with you?”

“Because you and your boy-toy are no longer together,” he answered, and she raised an eyebrow, confused.

“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked, sitting on her bed.

“I saw him talking with Dru yesterday,” he replied. “They were at the Espresso Pump together, looking like old friends. In fact, I saw them leave together.” She instantly felt sick.

‘No he didn’t,’ she thought. ‘He told me he was hanging out with some of the guys at the Bronze.’ She fought back a wave of nausea. ‘Right?’

“So I just assumed that he’s with her again,” Angelus continued, snapping Buffy back to reality. “Makes sense and all, reconciling before Valentine’s Day. No one wants to be alone, Buff. And a girl like you deserves better than that.”

“Yeah, I do,” she agreed, frowning. “And since you’re not nearly good enough for me, my evening does not and will not include anything with you. Stop calling me, stop following me, and back the hell off before I report you to the police. Understand?”

“Why would I do that, babe?” he asked. “You know I love you, and you love me, too.” She clenched her fists. “Love is forever, Buffy.” She hung up the phone instantly and ran to the bathroom, finally succumbing to the sick feeling inside her as she remembered saying the same thing to Spike once before.

‘Oh god,’ she thought, leaning back against her bathtub. ‘I need to know what happened. Right now.’

* * * * *

The hour slowly passed, and when Spike finally rang her doorbell, she quickly opened the door and was presented with a dozen blood red roses. She raised an eyebrow, staring at them.

‘Is he overcompensating for seeing Dru and not telling me?’ she wondered. ‘Why else would he do something this grandiose? He’s always been a single rose or a small bouquet kind of guy, but this…this is too much.’

“Do you like them?” he asked, confused by the expression on her face. She looked at him and nodded.

“They’re beautiful,” she said, carefully taking them from him. “Thank you.”

“Is everything alright, luv?” he asked, tilting his head as he studied her. “You look a little pale.”

“I’m not feeling well,” she answered, shrugging. “But I’m fine. Let me just go put these in a vase.” He frowned as she turned and walked to the kitchen before following her.

“We can stay in tonight, if you’d like,” he offered. “I don’t want you to be out and about while feeling ill.” She took a deep breath and turned to face him.

“Where were you last night?” she asked, crossing her arms. Her quizzical tone surprised him.

“At the Bronze with Finn and Harris,” he answered. “Why?” She leaned back against the countertop.

“If I called them and asked them right now, would they agree that you were with them?” she asked. “Or would they be lying to cover up where you really were?” He raised an eyebrow.

“What’re you talking about, pet?” he asked, more confused than he was before. “I was with them until midnight. Anyone at the Bronze last night could vouch for that.” She looked down. “What’s going on?”

“Did you see Dru at all yesterday?” she asked, looking at him again. He shook his head, frowning.

“No,” he answered. “Why would I do that? I’d rather shove a stake in my heart than see her.” She smiled slightly before turning away from him again. “Where would you get an idea like that from?”

“It’s nothing,” she said quietly, cutting off the ends of the rose stems so that they would fit in the vase.

“No, it’s obviously not ‘nothing’ because you seemed mightily distressed about a minute ago,” he replied. She sighed and looked at him again.

“Angelus told me that he saw you with Dru at the Espresso Pump yesterday,” she said, studying him to see how he’d react. He clenched his fists.

“I wasn’t at the Espresso Pump,” he said, gritting his teeth. “You believed him? You honestly believed that I lied to you so that I could see her again?” She looked down. “Do you really not trust me at all, Buffy?” She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to fight the urge to cry.

“I didn’t know,” she answered sadly. “I do trust you, Spike. It’s just…I had memories from last year, from what happened when you started liking Dru while we were still dating, and it just took over. I didn’t want to believe him, but I didn’t know what the truth was. I’m sorry.” He slowly walked over to her, embracing her in a hug and kissing the top of her head. “He said it to try to break us up, didn’t he?” Spike nodded, looking at her. “He’s praying on my weaknesses, Spike. He knows that I have trust issues with men. I’m sorry. I should’ve believed you, given you the benefit of the doubt. I just got so scared.”

“It’s okay, luv,” he said quietly, grazing her cheek. “He was lying to you to take you away from me again, but I wouldn’t ever let that happen. And even if you don’t want to be with me, I refuse to let you be with someone who doesn’t deserve you. You’re better than that, Buffy.” She was reminded of what Angelus had said but tried her best to forget it.

“I want to be with you again, Spike,” she replied, sighing. “It’s just going to take some time.”

“I’ll wait forever if I have to,” he said, gently kissing her forehead. “I promise.”

It was in that moment that Buffy knew she was going to trust him wholeheartedly again soon, and even if she got hurt again, she knew that he loved her, and for now, that was enough.




A/N We know that a lot of you still don’t understand why Spike broke up with Buffy and there’s a very good reason- there is no good reason. Sometimes people (especially at the age they were) just can’t make it work, but taking a step back and a second look (from both sides) is what makes a relationship worth the time. That’s the point that we were trying to reach in this story. Is love really worth a second chance? If you love someone so much, can you put your heart out there again? Buffy runs the risk of getting her heart broken again, but what most people don’t realize is that Spike runs the risk of being used by Buffy, who realistically could just be out for revenge. These aren’t avenues that we’re going to explore or this story would get really long, but they’re both putting a lot on the line. Spike will never be back in everyone’s good graces because of what he did, but our standpoint is, could Buffy forgive him? Because when you truly love someone, you (eventually) get to the point where the past can be overlooked, not forgotten, but you move on. Thank you to everyone who is still reading and reviewing! ~ Ashlee & Allison





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