Chapter 27 – Why We Fight
‘How can it be possible to be shopping and still be bored out of my mind?’ Buffy asked herself as she walked out of another store.
She was moderately grateful that Angelus hadn’t bothered to tag along, giving her a brief reprieve from his smothering behavior. She couldn’t help but wonder if there was something that was being kept a secret from her- some reason that Angel didn’t want her around that day, but she wasn’t going to question it. Already having nearly enough information to put him away, she was biding her time until she could put it to the best use.
Turning into a different corridor of the mall, Buffy froze when she saw a man step in her path.
“Hello, cutie.”
Feeling her mouth go dry at the sight of him, Buffy inhaled sharply, trying to choke back the nervousness that seemed to be welling up inside of her.
“Good-bye, Spike,” she said, turning around to walk back into the main corridor, gritting her teeth when she felt his hand close over her wrist, pulling her back toward him. “Let me go,” she said in a low tone, trying not to focus on the way his hand on her skin left her aching for his touch.
“You haven’t been playing fair, love.”
The smooth tone nearly had her trembling, unsure of what he wanted. “Pray tell,” she said through clenched teeth, jerking her wrist out of his iron-like grip.
“Disappearing without so much as a good-bye,” he said, shaking his head and clucking his tongue in mock annoyance. “You should be ashamed of yourself, kitten.”
“I’m supposed to check in with you now?” she hissed, involuntarily taking a step back when Spike moved closer to her, effectively pressing her against the wall.
“Always,” he said in a soft, self-assured voice, giving her a lazy smile.
“Get out of my way, Spike… now.”
Raising an eyebrow, obviously impressed with the way she was standing up to him, Spike merely took a step closer, pressing his hands to the wall on each side of her until Buffy was effectively boxed in.
Dropping the amused smile, he stared into her eyes, seeing the anger and frustration in hers that mirrored his own. “Get out of this assignment, Buffy.”
“Mind your own business,” she replied in the same tone.
“I’m not kidding,” he said, his voice dropping even lower.
“Neither am I,” she countered with a raised eyebrow. “Get out of my life… I’m not telling you again.”
Pushing one of his arms away from the wall, Buffy gasped when she felt her back slam into the unforgiving surface. Vaguely aware of his hands biting into her arms, bruising the skin as he held her in place, she managed a slight struggle when he crushed his lips to hers.
Fighting everything inside of her that was telling her to get lost in the kiss, Buffy felt tears burning her eyes at the bittersweet reminder of what she wanted that she could never have.
Breaking away after a moment to breathe, Spike opened his eyes at the sound of her muffled sob.
“Buffy…?”
Roughly shoving him away from her, Buffy hastily wiped her mouth as she tried to get control over her erratic breathing. Nervously tucking her hair behind her ears, she battled the tears in her eyes, becoming all too aware that Spike was watching her.
Looking up to see his narrowed eyes on her, Buffy watched him tilt his head, running his tongue along his bottom lip as he considered her.
“Get away from me,” she said, her voice surprisingly strong, a direct contradiction to her chaotic emotions.
“Afraid I can’t do that, love.”
“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’m not falling for it,” Buffy said, stepping away from him, craving the opportunity that she could get away from him and disappear. “I don’t want to see you… I don’t want to know you. Stay away from me.”
Half-expecting a fist to her jaw, Buffy was surprised that he managed to hold onto his composure.
“I came here to help you,” he said, gritting his teeth around the words.
“I don’t need you. I never need you, Spike.”
“That’s how you feel?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I feel like you would only help someone who could do something for you. I’m not that person.”
“Walk away and stay away- that about it, pet?”
Tightening her lips in response, Buffy watched as he leaned in as if he was going to kiss her before pulling away and turning toward the exit.
“Good luck, Goldilocks… you’re gonna need it.”
Closing her eyes when he was out of her sight, Buffy fought the urge to bring her hands up to her face, wanting nothing more than to sob in anguish.
* * * * *
Exhaustedly walking into her hotel room an hour later, Buffy desperately tried to put the conversation with Spike behind her. She was emotionally drained from seeing him and wanted nothing more than to relive that entire conversation. Knowing it was impossible, she still couldn’t help but wish that things were different.
She didn’t want to think about the lecture she was going to get from Wesley when she saw him. The live feed was left on twenty-four hours a day, ever since she’d nearly blown her cover the first night, and running into Spike would not put her on Wesley’s good list. Especially considering she’d kissed him.
‘He kissed me,’ she told herself, shutting the door behind her. ‘It’s not like you asked him to.’
Turning around, she swallowed a gasp when she ran into Angelus’ chest, pulling back to see his narrowed eyes.
“Hello, Liz.”
Breathing steadily, she managed to offer him a slight smile. “Angel,” she replied, already uncomfortable with being so close to him. Taking a step away, she set her purse down on the table by the door. “Is something wrong?” she finally asked, turning toward him.
“Where’ve you been?”
The soft-spoken voice, coupled with the underlying possession in his tone, grated on Buffy’s nerves.
“Shopping,” she replied with an edge to her voice, turning away from him as she set her keys on the table next to her purse. “I told you that I was going.”
“See anything interesting?” he asked conversationally.
Raising her eyes to the wall, Buffy contemplated the question for a moment before shaking her head. “Nothing worth spending any money on,” she said.
“And you didn’t run into anyone?”
Buffy’s blood turned to ice water in her veins as she turned and walked toward the kitchen area. “Why do you ask?” she replied, keeping her tone light and neutral as she opened the refrigerator, grabbing a water bottle.
“I thought you wanted to be with me, Liz.”
“I-I do,” she said, turning around to look him in the eye as she spoke, forcing a smile on her lips. “Angel, you know you’re the only one for me.”
Studying her for a moment, Angelus slowly began pacing back and forth. “There’s just one thing I don’t understand,” he said, slowly walking toward her with a finger pressed to his lips as if he was deep in thought. “If you were so devoted to me… why were you talking to Spike Reed?”
Hoping to play it off for a while, she casually took a sip of water. “Oh,” she said, trying to put an appropriate amount of surprise behind her words. “You know Spike?”
“Yeah,” he said in a low voice. “The question I have is- how do you know Spike?”
“Oh… we went out,” she said, grasping at straws. “Not long- just on one or two dates… h-how do you know him?” she asked, clearing her throat to cover up the sound of her nervous stutter.
“I think you already know.”
Tightening her lips slightly, Buffy slowly moved toward the living room as if she was trying to get away from a dangerous animal. “Do I?” she asked, her voice taking on a calm quality.
“And when the girl I want to be with is seen kissing another man… a man who I hate… it raises some eyebrows.”
“You’re having me followed?” she asked, her voice returning to its normal tone as she looked at him, dropping the façade. “I wouldn’t have thought you would be that smart.”
Buffy’s eyes widened when he reached out and backhanded her, the force of the impact throwing her into the corner of the table next to the couch. Breathing heavily as she picked herself up off the floor, Buffy could feel the blood trickling down her face from a gash in her forehead.
Spinning around, she slammed her fist into Angelus’ eye, feeling a moderate amount of satisfaction when his head snapped back.
Turning around to run for the door, Buffy cried out when he grabbed her hair, jerking her back to him and twisting her head until it was at an unnatural angle. Glaring up at Angelus as he looked at her, her eyes narrowed when she heard him speak.
“Who are you?”
“You’re so smart,” she said, gritting her teeth. “You figure it out.”
Punching him in the face, Buffy spun around when he let her go, holding his nose and groaning in pain.
Crying out when he shoved her into the wall, using his body to hold her in place, Buffy managed to get enough room, kicking out until she managed to knee him in the groin. Seeing his eyes close as he gasped for air, she shoved him away, wincing when he grabbed her arm and managed to throw her to the floor.
Whimpering when he lay down on top of her, Buffy struggled beneath him, her eyes widening when he managed to pin her wrists above her head.
“Maybe I’ll just take what I wanted and leave,” he said with a cold smile.
“Get the hell off me,” she said through gritted teeth, her lips setting in a firm line when his free hand slowly trailed down her body. Doing what she could to get him off of her, Buffy managed to hit him in the eye with her elbow. It wasn’t enough to hurt him, but she could see the rage growing in his eyes, seconds before he punched her in the face.
Swallowing back the cry of pain, Buffy renewed her struggle, managing to get a hand free from his grasp. Reaching over to grab a nearby cord, she pulled on it until the iron lamp that was resting on the table began to teeter on the edge. Seeing it fall and hit Angel on the back of the head, her cheekbone felt like it was being crushed when he punched her again.
“You bitch!”
Grabbing the lamp firmly in her hand, Buffy blindly swung, catching Angelus in the jaw, throwing him off of her and onto the coffee table next to them. Weakly rolling over onto her side, she struggled to push herself off the ground. Breathing heavily, her eyes widened when Angelus loomed over her. Screaming in pain when he viciously kicked her in the stomach, Buffy curled in on herself, shielding her body from the attack, but nothing could prevent the damage he was inflicting on her.
Gasping for air when he finally stopped, Buffy could barely see through the cloud of pain, gritting her teeth when she felt him grab her hair, pulling her until she was partially sitting and partially lying on the floor, looking into her eyes.
“I will find out who you are,” he said in a low voice. “After I kill you.”
Seeing the cold eyes boring into hers, Buffy managed a painful smirk when she noticed his soon-to-be black eye, swollen nose, and the damage that the lamp had done. “You’re not man enough,” she said in a low voice, wincing when he backhanded her, his other hand still holding her in place.
Clenching her jaw, Buffy struck out, the pointed toe of her shoe catching him in the groin for the second time. Hearing his cry of pain as he let her go, Buffy managed to push herself into a sitting position, grabbing the nearby lamp and swinging it with all of the strength she had left, hitting Angelus in the temple and sending him falling onto the couch that was next to her.
Tears of pain welled up in her eyes as she tried to get to her feet, her hand reflexively gripping her stomach, knowing she had at least one broken rib, unsurprised if there were more than that.
Hearing Angel moan on the couch, she gasped for air as she tried to push herself to her feet, never noticing when he sat up a little straighter and aimed another well-placed kick at her abdomen. Crumpling to the floor, Buffy closed her eyes, desperately wishing for some kind of divine intervention to save her.
Hearing the door swing open, she groggily looked up, groaning silently when she saw Hamilton come rushing into the room. Seeing him stop to survey the place, he ran over to his boss, helping him to his feet.
Buffy could hear fragments of the conversation, but the reality of having not one, but two men who were twice her size, both wanting her dead, was more than she could handle.
“… cops… have to go… Angel, there’s no time… now!”
Looking up to see Hamilton above her as Angelus limped from the room, Buffy stared into his eyes, waiting for his hands to wrap around her neck.
Seeing his body coil as if he was prepared to strike, Buffy turned her head away, seconds before a powerful kick rendered her unconscious.
Thanks so much to: spuffette, Denise, Elanor, Stephanie, Pari, Whitelighter354, DK, Jessica, Cordykitten, Brittany, aurlen, Melissa, Franchesca, baby spikes, BuffyandSpikeForever, Kimber, flibble, wikka tara, bluebird, H, jennybean, Carri, Becky, B, Chelsea, Stephanie 459 & Caitie for reviewing!
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Author's Chapter Notes:
This chapter may raise a few questions, but they should be answered soon.