Buffy Summers was just your average run of the mill 21 year old, living in a cozy apartment and working as a bookstore co-owner. Her Uncle Giles had made her cower when she was just 19 years old after she’d practically gotten down on her knees and begged. She loved culture and ached to know more about every single one of them. The walls of her spare bedroom were filled with books, the majority of which being about England. Buffy wanted to live there someday, part of her knew that this would probably never happen but what could it hurt to dream?

The shop was on the corner and 15th and Dobson Street, it was a medium size gray stone building which looked very inviting to those local and from afar. It had blue light-up sign above the door and large window that read “The Keeper’s Books”. As a child, Buffy always played in the shop however since she grew older and the area seemed to attract less and less couples with children, Giles removed the children’s playroom and replaced it with a far more modern computer lab for reading books online and using the small but useful card catalog.

It was a cloudy day as she walked habitually to a small desk in the bookstore, she was off today but she still loved to come here and spend time with her coworkers. Willow, her best friend, was the bookkeeper; organization was the red headed girl’s middle name. Buffy had known Willow practically since the two were in diapers. Xander took care of the online ordering that the store just implemented, he made sure customers orders were filled and shipped in a timely fashion. Giles, Buffy’s uncle and store owner constantly had his face buried deep inside the pages of a dusty old book. He was from England and often came off as a being a little too British for his own good, but really he was just an old fashion laid back kind of guy. Giles was not her uncle by blood though, but merely a very close and long-time family friend.
“Giles, what’s this about?!” Buffy questioned excitedly, holding up a flyer he’d left on her desk. “When can I call about this!?” She shook the paper back and forth like an excited child at Christmas time. “Has the program started yet?”

“Anytime you’d like, Buffy. I thought you may be interested.” The gray-haired man answered with a knowing grin. Nothing made him happier than to see her happy. Buffy had had a bit of a rough childhood starting with the absence of her father from the time she was 5 and the death of her mother only five years ago. Her sister Dawn, had just graduated from high school and moved to New York to pursue her education further. Buffy however chose to stay in Sunnyvale with her close friends as it was the only place that she really felt safe and loved.
Buffy scrambled for the phone with a huge smile that lit up her whole face and almost prevented her from speaking when the person on the other line picked up the phone. “Hello, this is Buffy Summers. I’m interested in offering my house to someone interested in seeing the city.”


Two weeks later, Buffy sat impatiently in her big oversized chair, tapping her fingers and worrying her bottom lip. Her eyes widened as she heard a car outside on the quiet little street. She’d spent endless hours preparing for this day. A day when she could finally get to know someone from England who wasn’t Giles. The girl’s name was Gemma and she was Buffy’s age and she was scheduled to live in Buffy’s spare bedroom for about a month, Gemma wanted to explore the city and work on a class Study Abroad project she was doing based on the life of a person living in California.

Buffy paced the floor, hoping everything was just right for her new guest when the doorbell rang. She straightened her shirt and adjusted her hair before answering the door with a smile; which was then quickly followed by a very confused expression. “Um… hi?” She wondered if this person had the right house.

“Buffy Summers, I presume?” The platinum blonde male stepped passed Buffy and into her warm little abode. It was almost rude, Buffy thought, and who IS this guy!? The man looked around and set down his bags. “The name’s Will, but you can call me Spike.” He winked at her which instantly made her feel just a little uneasy and she wasn’t about to take any crap from this arrogant person.

“Listen I think there’s been some mistake, Will.” At this point her arms were crossed in front of her chest. “I was supposed to share my home with a girl named…”

“Gemma,” He cut her off. “Girl had a bit of cold feet I ‘spose and they gave me her plane ticket and your address. I was next in line for a host house. No worries, I won’t bother you… much.” He emphasized with a mischievous grin.

This was just great, she thought. Not only am I stuck with him, but... well, I’m stuck with him. “Well, I guess I’ll show you to your room. I prepared it for a woman so please don’t mind the décor.” She added with absolutely no intention of sounding apologetic.

In the small but comfortable bedroom rested a twin bed with light lavender sheets and a few throw pillows. A matching colored rug with daisies as a border sat just at the base of the bed. A small television was across the room atop a 4-drawered dresser. Various little knick-knacks adorned the shelves next to her books, as she used them to create a more home-like feel.

“It’ll do.” Spike wasn’t at all bothered but the feminine look of the room. He threw his suitcase on the bed and popped it open grabbing his cigarettes and lighter and placed one in his mouth.

Buffy’s mouth fell agape. “You absolutely cannot do that in here.”

“Oh, sorry. I’m so used to just lightin’ up back at home.” He got up and went outside of the apartment to smoke his cigarette. In the mean time, Buffy called the agency to confirm her new visitor to make sure he wasn’t some maniac barging into her house only with intentions of murdering her. They confirmed Will’s name and assured Buffy that he had a clean record. She still wasn’t completely pleased; he already wasn’t being a very polite guest.

Spike entered the room about 5 minutes later with a smug grin on his face. “So, what do you do for fun around here?” He asked inquisitively.

Oh so sorry you’re bored already, she thought to herself. “Well, I have to work this evening, so I’ll be heading out in about two hours, so please do continue to make yourself feel right at home.” She very unattractively flopped onto her chair and flipped on the television, no longer feeling like the desire to be a good host.

“Oh great, what’s on the telly today?” He said on the matching couch and acted as though they’ve been best friends forever. It annoyed Buffy to death. She surrendered the remote to him, honestly she didn’t feel much for TV but it would be a welcome distraction.
Before she knew it, they were watching reruns of some soap opera on BBC. If this is what he wanted to do, she thought, he may as well have just stayed in England.

She yawned and got up, “I have to go down to the book store now, I’ll see you in about four hours, there’s plenty of food in the fridge.”

-

“Willow, he’s so unbelievably rude! I don’t know if I can take it. Having some strange man in my house, especially while I’m not there, it’s just weird. And he smokes; he even tried to smoke in my house! Can you believe it? I really should kick his ass.”

Buffy had been taking Tae Kwon Do to learn how to defend herself just in case the situation arrived. “Listen Buffy, no need to jump to harsh conclusions yet, I’m sure he’s fine, he’s probably just as nervous about this as you are.” Willow was trying to support her friend, but she really felt Buffy wasn’t giving him a fair chance. “If you want, go on home early and I’ll finish up here, I’m sure Giles won’t mind.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I should go back, I guess I was just so disappointed in his initial behavior that I just wanted to be away from him, but since I’ll be sharing my house with him I guess I’d better learn to be nice even though he really is annoying me.” She gathered up her things and headed back home, two hours earlier than planned.

As she entered the front door, she was taken by surprise. The house was filled with the aroma of dinner cooking in the oven. She stepped into the kitchen, wondering where Spike was. The table had been set for two and she actually began wondering if he’d already found himself a date or if he was cooking for her. “Oh hey, Buffy.” He emerged from his room.

“What is this?” She asked, motioning to the table and wine glasses.

“Well, I wanted to apologize to you for earlier. I wasn’t very friendly and I’m sure you weren’t very happy with me. So I got a few things from the market and thought I’d make you a bite to eat and we could talk properly and what not.” He looked down at his feet a bit nervously.

She nodded. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” A smile graced her lips, completely unforced. “Well, I’m going to go wash up and I’ll see you for dinner.” Walking to the bathroom she was almost in awe of the complete 180 he’d taken since this morning. The way he spoke was even a little different, it was softer, more like the way Giles spoke.

Buffy showered and tied he hair into a loose ponytail. She didn’t bother with makeup or anything fancy like that. Just some body spritz and a comfortable outfit. From the hallway she could see that dinner was done and a few candles were lit. God, what was he trying to do? Make nice or seduce her? Regardless, she made her appearance. Dinner looked amazing.

“Thought you were trying to stand me up, Blondie.” He joked. “Everything’s all set and I’ve got desert baking now, won’t you ‘ave a seat?” Will pulled out a chair for her and then took a seat himself. He poured her some wine and held up him glass for cheers. “To a new friendship.”

“To a new friendship.” Their glasses lightly clanked and they began with dinner.

Dinner was quiet and relaxing, their conversations jumped from family and friends to likes and dislikes. He has baked a peach pie for their desert and he insisted they have it in the living room. He’d brought a movie for them to watch, a film called Two Worlds about two very different people who were thrown together by fate. He didn’t believe in fate, but he hoped that the film would help her to warm up to him.

“So tell me, Buffy, where are all the pictures of you and your significant other? A bird like you really cannot be single.” He hoped his question didn’t come off as pushy or implicative to her.

“Actually my boyfriend left me for the military about 5 months ago. He thought it’d be better if we went our separate ways and didn’t try to make it work long distance.” Her voice was a little sad, but he could tell she was for the most part over it; her sadness came from nostalgia and memories.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. Know how you feel though, part of the reason I’m so bloody bitter is ‘cause my Dru left me for another man two months ago. Got all posh with me, sayin’ I wasn’t good enough for ‘er or some tiddle toddle like that. To hell with her, I say, I’m better off without. You know if it’s meant to be, then it’ll be.” Watch your big gob, Spike, he thought to himself. Don’t want to piss her off… again.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Riley was very clingy, it’s almost relieving to have him gone. I have a little bit of freedom now. “ She seemed as though she wanted to say more, but refrained.

Spike could tell there was more to the story than she led on. He really didn’t want to bring up bad thoughts if she didn’t want to talk about them. For now, he’d just sit back and enjoy the movie with her and hopefully they could become better friends. It was never easy to live with someone who loathed you and she seemed a bit more at ease now.

“Thank you for dinner, Will.” She changed the subject anyway.

“Please, call me Spike.”