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Chapter 12 – Mixed Signals


Buffy walked from shop to shop a week later, trying to work off her nervous tension. She hadn’t heard from Spike since she left his house the day they spent in the pool, and she was beginning to wonder if he lost interest in her.

Giles had called once, wanting a progress report that Buffy couldn’t give him. She knew he was getting frustrated, but he wasn’t nearly as frustrated as she was.

Hoping to curb her aggravation of not being able to do anything productive, she was spending her day at the mall.

Handing over her credit card at yet another clothing store, she finally felt like the edge was being taken off. Accepting the bag with her new dress, she slowly left the store, taking her time walking to the food court.

Paying for a salad and a bottle of water, she frowned when she heard her name.

“Buffy!”

Nearly turning in a full circle, her eyes widened when she saw the man running toward her.

“Buffy, hey!” he said brightly with a huge smile on his face.

“Riley…what are you doing here?” she asked, nearly rolling her eyes at her own stupid question.

“Nothing much,” he replied, taking some of her bags from her, causing Buffy to smile.

“Ever the gentleman,” she said softly, thanking him when he pulled out a chair for her at a nearby table. “So…how’ve you been?” she asked, watching as he sat across from her, still reeling from the fact that her college boyfriend was in front of her.

“I’m good,” Riley said, nodding in affirmation. “I’m moving back here, and I’m trying to get some things together for the house.”

“That’s nice,” Buffy said with a slight smile.

“So, what happened to you after graduation?” he asked.

“Um…not much,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I’m an… art dealer,” she said, using the cover story after a moment. “It’s nice.”

“That’s great,” Riley said.

The two made small talk as Buffy ate her salad, catching up on each other’s lives and exchanging flirty smiles for the next hour.

“Are you seeing anyone?” Riley finally asked, seeing Buffy’s eyes raise to his.

“Um… not… not really,” she said, biting her lip as she looked at the table.

“Would you… maybe like to go out sometime?” he asked, giving her the same boyish grin that won her over in college.

“Uh… yeah… I guess that would be okay,” she said with a slight shrug.

“Great!” Riley replied enthusiastically, checking his watch a moment later. “I better run- I need to get to the bank before they close- but what about Friday at eight?”

“Friday? Tomorrow- Friday?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright,” Buffy said, nodding as she stood up, trying to shake off the uncomfortable feeling as she pulled a business card from her wallet and handed it to him. “There’s my address. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Riley smiled as he accepted the card, leaving a tender kiss on her cheek before waving good-bye.

Watching Riley walk away, Buffy sighed as she sat down at the table, staring at her water bottle for a few moments before preparing to leave.

“Having fun, pet?”

Her shoulders immediately went rigid at the sound of the soft accent behind her.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder to look at Spike as he walked around and sat in the seat that Riley had occupied minutes earlier.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

“I was just going to say the same thing,” she replied, raising an eyebrow. “Only the American version.”

“Would that be ‘What’s up’?” he asked with a slight smile.

Buffy smiled, looking at the table to avoid his piercing eyes. “What are you doing here, Spike?”

“Saw you talking… decided to say hi. Who was he?”

Raising an eyebrow at the abrupt change in his tone, Buffy looked up, leveling him with her own gaze. “Old boyfriend,” she replied, judging his reaction, her jaw tightening when he raised his own eyebrow.

“High school?” he asked, never taking his gaze away from hers.

“College,” she replied, feeling her anger mounting. “He had to move away, and my mom was sick, so I couldn’t… we’d probably still be together today if it wasn’t for that.”

Her eyes widened when Spike immediately laughed. “That pillock wouldn’t be able to hold onto a girl like you,” he said.

“He held onto me for years,” she replied, tightening her jaw, trying to ignore the fact that Spike was obviously having her followed. There was no other explanation for him being in a mall of all places after she had spent the afternoon with her ex-boyfriend. Knowing that he must have been tipped off by whoever was following her, she felt the need to put the blonde in his place. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure how to do that.

Standing up, she quickly gathered her bags, looking up when she saw Spike stand with her.

“What are you doing here, Spike?” she asked, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

“Shopping,” he stated, gesturing around the mall.

“Shopping?” she repeated, shaking her head as she walked toward the exit. “For what?” she asked, knowing he was following her.

“For… clothes,” he replied, struggling for an answer.

“Clothes?” she replied, turning around with a disbelieving smile. “I don’t think they have Gucci.”

“Do you really think I’m that shallow?” he asked, following her as she continued out the door and through the parking lot.

“I think you’re used to having everything you want, anytime you want.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” he asked with an edge to his voice, watching her load her bags into the black BMW.

“I don’t know,” Buffy said, growing frustrated as she kept her back to him. “I guess it’s just a feeling that I have.”

Gently taking her elbow in his hand, Spike slowly turned her around. “Talk to me.”

“What’s to talk about?” she asked, looking up at him, trying to paste a smile on her face.

“How about the fact that you’re not who you pretend to be?”

Going rigid under his hand, Buffy suddenly felt short of breath, her lips parting as her eyes widened in shock. “W-what do you mean?” she asked, trying to swallow the lump in her throat that was causing the shaky quality of her voice.

“You like to play the role of the sophisticated, worldly woman,” he said, letting go of her arm and walking over to the car. “The one who drives a 325i BMW Sedan. The one who buys elegant dresses and attends art gallery openings. When in fact, you’re nothing more than a little girl playing dress up, who would rather be home with a book than out at a party on any given night.”

Managing to get her breathing under control, she narrowed her eyes on the man in front of her. “Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?”

“You tell me,” he replied.

“Are you mad at me about something?” she asked in exasperation.

Running a hand over his face, Spike shook his head. “I’m sorry… I’ve just… It’s been a bad day.”

Not wanting to think about the underlying truths in that sentence and what could have possibly transpired to make it such a bad day for him, Buffy took a deep breath. “Then what are you doing shopping?” she asked, hoping to catch him in the blatant lie. “Shouldn’t you be at home with a cigarette and a nice glass of scotch?”

Looking around for a moment, Spike shoved his hands in his pockets. “Just wanted to unwind, I guess.”

“Right,” Buffy replied in a disbelieving tone, turning away from him and searching for her keys.

“What the bloody hell is your problem?” he asked, causing Buffy to spin around and face him with sparks flashing in her eyes.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said sarcastically, looking around the parking lot as if the conversation wasn’t affecting her at all. “Maybe the fact that I thought you were a little different, but you really are like every other man out there.”

“What?” he asked in a soft voice, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“I just… I thought we had something,” she said, looking down at the ground before slowly raising her eyes to his, trying to smile through whatever it was that she was feeling. “Guess I was wrong, huh?” she asked, casting her eyes downward once again.

“Buffy,” Spike said softly, hooking a finger under her chin and directing her gaze back to his. “What are you talking about, love?”

“A week,” she whispered. “One week, and I haven’t heard from you. And the only thing I can think of is that you got something you wanted out of it and didn’t call, or you didn’t get something you wanted and you didn’t call. Either way…it’s the same result.”

“I…I’ve been busy, pet,” he whispered, seeing her blink back the tears in her eyes.

“Right,” she murmured, angry at herself for not being able to control her emotions. And it scared her because she wasn’t acting. “I better go,” she murmured.

Buffy’s eyes widened when she found herself pinned to the car, Spike’s arms on either side of her. Looking up in confusion, her body tensed when she felt his lips on hers.

Spike didn’t deepen the kiss, merely testing her response to him. He relaxed slightly when she hesitantly returned it before pulling away.

“Goodbye, Spike,” she whispered, lightly pushing against his chest.

Seeing that he’d hurt her with his thoughtlessness, Spike cupped her face in his hands, making her look at him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Go out with me tomorrow night.”

“I can’t,” she replied, pushing against him with more force.

“What do you mean, you can’t?” he asked, obviously not used to rejection.

“I have a date,” she said, tightening her jaw as she waited for his response.

“What?”

“A date,” she said, pronouncing more clearly. “This thing that single people do when they don’t use each other for sexual favors.”

Wincing at the description, Spike stared at her for a long moment. “Who?”

“None of your business,” she muttered, finally extracting herself from his hold and turning to the car. Jumping in surprise when she found herself pinned against it once again, she closed her eyes when she felt his breath on her ear.

“It’s your ex boy-toy, isn’t it?” he asked softly, his voice coming out in a menacing whisper that reminded Buffy of who she was dealing with.

“Why do you care?” she asked, gritting her teeth, hating the fact that she was pressed against a car with nowhere to go.

“Maybe because you’re supposed to be with me,” he replied, his tone of voice dropping even lower.

Clenching her jaw, Buffy’s eyes narrowed. Slamming her elbow into his stomach, she spun around, taking him by surprise and shoving him against the SUV behind him. “Is that a fact?” she asked, seeing the shock and appreciation in his eyes.

Studying her for a moment, Spike grabbed her wrists, jerking her forward until he was holding onto her. “Impressive,” he murmured, seconds before crushing his lips to hers.

Battling him for a moment, Buffy soon surrendered to his advances, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to her.

Breaking away with a gasp after a moment, she looked up at him with wide eyes, taking in deep breaths. “I really need to go now,” she whispered, feeling lightheaded from the kiss.

“Come over tomorrow,” he said softly.

“Spike, I just told you…”

“After,” he clarified. “Come over after.”

“It might be late,” she replied, not sure of what reaction she was trying to get out of him, only knowing that she wanted an indication of what he was feeling. She watched the indecision on his face as he battled with his dominant nature.

“I’ll be up,” he finally said, clenching his jaw to stop any other remarks.

Buffy gave him a soft smile before pulling him closer to her for a brief, gentle kiss. “Then I’ll be there.”




Thanks so much to: caatje, Lindsay, Tam, Cordykitten, Franchesca, Pam, gypsy_jin, spufette, Charlene, willowmouse, BuffyandSpikeForever, Sevvy_O, H, B, baby spikes, Bint, Caitie, Tahmoe, Mariana, Kimber, Crystal Pegasus, & 3988Akasha for reviewing!





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