Xander certainly agreed with her about what to do with Spike and Buffy.
So when Nancy walked into her living room to find Buffy and Willow on her couch, eating a pizza and laughing at something on the television, Nancy's mood went from bad to worse. Way worse. Who did this girl think she was, stealing her Watcher and her friend? And couldn't they all see that she had to be evil? She was with Spike. A vampire. No one who ran around with a vampire could be a good person.
Except for her, of course, because Angel had a soul and that made everything okay. With a soul, Angel wasn't really like a vampire at all.
Nancy stood in the entryway to the living room, her arms crossed over her chest. "Willow, can I talk to you alone for a bit?"
Willow glanced quickly between Nancy and Buffy before she said, "I'm watching a movie with Buffy."
"Well, I'm sure Buffy wouldn't mind going back downstairs. Spike might be getting hungry, and it's clear from those disgusting marks on her neck what he's eating these days." Nancy rolled her eyes.
Buffy touched her neck, her fingers grazing the scar left over from the claim. She'd never given a lot of thought to the bite marks before, even when she had fresh ones. Did they really look disgusting? She shook the thought off, realizing she'd let Nancy see her vulnerable for a moment and she didn't want that. "These? Oh, they're not from feeding. They're from sex. Angel doesn't bite you?"
Nancy glared. "Angel would never disrespect me in such a horrible manner."
"Sounds to me like he's holding out on you," Buffy replied. "I mean, the orgasms from bitey sex? Oh my god. Wow."
Nancy sucked in a breath. "Go back to the basement, Buffy. I want to speak to Willow alone."
Willow looked between the two girls again, knowing a fight could very well be brewing, and that wasn't something she wanted to be in the middle of. "Can we finish the movie some other time, Buffy?" she asked, hoping she could get Nancy and Buffy to separate before things got any uglier.
"Um, yeah. Sure," Buffy said, standing. "I'll catch up with you later, Will."
Buffy saw Nancy's self-satisfied smirk on her face as Buffy walked out, and she heard Nancy turn to Willow and announce as soon as Buffy was out of the room, "You can't be friends with me and her," followed shortly by Willow's, "Okay."
Buffy tried hard to fight her tears as she went back down to the basement, but as soon as she saw Spike, they fell anyway. "Luv, what's wrong?" Spike asked, sitting up on the cot and holding his arms out to her. "Did you and Red have a row?"
Buffy shook her head as she moved into Spike's arms. "No. We were getting along really well, and it was nice. I've never had a friend my age before, and I was having a good time hanging out with her. But then Nancy came home and saw us, and she said that Willow couldn't be friends with both of us."
Spike's heart broke for his girl. He'd caught on to how much she seemed to like Willow, and he was hoping for Buffy's sake that she had made a friend. As much as he liked to monopolize her time, he knew he couldn't be everything for her. If she could find another girl her age to be her friend, Spike knew that could go a long way towards Buffy feeling more content with her place in life.
He held her against him, comforting her as she sniffled, and really wished he could get away with killing the Slayer.
"You can't be friends with me and her," Nancy informed Willow as soon as Buffy was out of the room, though, Nancy knew, most likely not out of earshot. Not that Nancy cared.
Willow shrugged. "Okay."
Nancy heard the door to the basement slam shut and smiled. That had all gone easily enough.
Then Willow started to walk out, too, and Nancy's smile morphed into a frown. "Where are you going?" she asked.
Willow met her eyes. "To go talk to Buffy."
At that, Nancy gaped. "What? But I just said…"
"Yeah, I heard you," Willow replied. "And I'm going to be friends with Buffy."
"You can't do that!" Nancy screeched. Willow winced. She really hated the sound of Nancy's voice when she used that tone.
"Why not? You told me I had to choose, so I did."
"But you've only known Buffy for a few days!" Nancy argued. "We've been friends for a year and a half. And Buffy's probably evil."
"Why, because she's in love with a vampire? So are you, Nancy, and that vampire killed someone I cared about. I really don't think you're in any position to pass judgment on Buffy for who she wants to date." Willow held her head up high. She felt proud of herself all of the sudden, finally having the guts to stand up to Nancy.
Willow Rosenberg was a girl who was tired of being bullied. So far there had been one other girl Willow's age who had been nice to her from the start and hadn't wanted something in return, and that was Buffy. Buffy had seemed to genuinely want to be Willow's friend. And not because she wanted to copy her homework or because she came as part of the "friends with Xander Harris" package.
Buffy liked Willow. And Willow liked Buffy.
"You don't dictate who I can and can't be friends with, Nancy," Willow said, feeling like she could be on a roll now. "I've spent over a year helping you with the slaying. I even gave Angel his soul back for you! And you've never even given me as much as a thank you, and I'm tired of it! I'm tired of feeling like your…like your lackey. I can't even be the plucky sidekick!"
"That isn't true!" Nancy said.
"Yes, it is! You think you're better than everyone and that we're all just here for your…amusement. You're controlling and…and manipulative! And I'm not going to play this game with you anymore!" Willow crossed her arms, her breathing almost erratic. She'd never talked to anyone like this before, always afraid she'd feel bad if she told someone the not-so-nice things that came to her mind. But she didn't feel bad at all. It felt good finally getting these things off her chest.
"You've treated Buffy terribly since she got here," Willow continued. "You talk about her behind her back to Xander all the time, and you don't even know her. And the things you were saying earlier today about her mother? I sat here and listened to you say her mother probably deserved to die. You're always talking about the burden of Slayerhood and how no one understands, and then you can just stand there and say those things about another Slayer before you? One who died doing her duty? That isn't right, Nancy, and I don't want to be friends with someone who thinks it is!"
"The Council killed her mother!" Nancy yelled at Willow. "The Council is good, so if they killed Buffy's mother, then she had to be bad."
"Get out of my house."
Willow and Nancy turned towards the stairs, taking in the sight of an unkempt, less-than-sober Giles. "Giles…" Nancy gasped in shock, the sight of her Watcher like that throwing her.
"Get out, Nancy. Now. Go."
Nancy's eyes filled with tears, and Willow had to fight the urge to gag. That's something else she'd picked up on with Nancy. Whenever one of the guys said or did something she didn't like, she started crying. Willow was sick of it, and apparently so was Giles.
"I will not stand for Joyce's memory to be defiled in such a way in my home. Leave now."
More tears. "Giles…"
"Leave!"
Nancy jumped, but did what he asked this time, turning around and walking out the door.
Almost as soon as she was gone, Giles stumbled, almost falling down the stairs. Willow ran up to him, steadying him.
"I believe I need to…rest," Giles said. "The room has begun to spin just a bit…"
"Come on, Giles. Let's get you to bed," Willow said, helping the man into his room and to the bed. She took off his glasses and set them on the nightstand, then asked, "Are you going to be okay?"
Giles nodded slightly. "I believe so. Thank you, Willow." His eyes closed, and Willow tip-toed out of the room and back down to the basement.
"Buffy, what's wrong?" Willow asked when she came down the stairs and saw Buffy leaning against Spike, crying.
Buffy sniffed. "Willow? What are you doing down here?"
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Willow replied.
"But I heard what Nancy said…about how you could only be friends with one of us." Buffy sounded so sad when she spoke, and Willow noticed Spike gently stroke her shoulder, comforting her. She was more convinced than ever that she'd made the right decision.
"She did. And I told her I was friends with you."
Buffy's mouth dropped, Willow's response obviously not the one she was expecting. "Me? But…why?"
Willow shrugged. "I like you better." A wry smile tugged at Willow's lips. "You may not have noticed this, but Nancy's sort of, um…a B-I-T-C-H."
Buffy snickered. It was a stark contrast to be around someone who had to spell out curse words after spending so much time with Spike, but she found Willow's relative innocence endearing. "That did come to my attention. Where is she now? I heard someone leave—did she storm off?"
Willow shook her head. "Not exactly. Giles kicked her out."
"He what? Really? Why?"
Willow looked down, blushing a little. "She said something mean…about your mom."
"Let me guess, another round of 'The Council killed her, so she must've been evil.'" Buffy said.
"You don't believe her, do you, Buffy?" Willow asked, looking up again. "Because I don't think it could be true at all. If Giles loved your mom that much, she had to have been a good person."
"I don't believe her," Buffy insisted, Willow's words of comfort warming her. She barely knew the redhead, but Willow had touched her with her concern, the way she'd seemed to genuinely care for her well-being in a way Buffy wasn't used to. "My mother was a good person—and a good Slayer. The Council is the bad here."
"If there's anything I can do to help you, Buffy, I will," Willow said. "I'm not sure how much I can do, but, I'll try. I'm good with computers. And…and I'm trying to be a witch, though I'm not much of one."
"You shoved Peaches' soul back in. That's quite a bit of mojo to work, Red," Spike said, speaking up for the first time since Willow had joined them in the basement. "Just don't go cursing me now. I've heard what makes that one break, and something tells me my girl wouldn't appreciate that much." He winced as Buffy elbowed him.
Willow giggled. "Peaches… I'm sure he'd love that nickname."
"Better than some of the others I have for him," Spike replied.
"Where is Giles now?" Buffy asked.
"He's drunk, I think," Willow replied. "But I helped him to bed." She frowned. "Sort of weird, helping my high school librarian to bed after he's had too much to drink."
"Is he all right?" Buffy asked, sitting forward. "Does he need…"
Spike put his hand against her leg, stilling her. "Pet, best thing for the Watcher right now is sleep." Buffy relaxed, realizing Spike was right.
"I should be getting home," Willow said. "It's getting really late."
"You shouldn't walk home alone," Buffy replied. "Especially not on the Hellmouth." She turned to Spike. "Honey, would you see that she gets there all right? I would, but…"
"You don't want to leave Giles," Spike filled in for her. "Got it." He stood up. "Come on, Red. Looks like you got yourself an escort tonight."
Willow regarded Spike nervously for a moment. It was one thing to trust him enough to be around when they were in the house, but walking alone with him at night?
Sensing her hesitation, Spike said calmly. "I won't hurt you. You're someone my mate cares about, and that puts you under my protection."
Something about his tone made Willow decide to take a leap of faith. "Okay. Good night, Buffy. I'll come by tomorrow after I wake up, okay?"
"What day is tomorrow?" Buffy asked, her nose wrinkling.
"Sunday."
"Oh. Thanks. I sorta…lost count."
"It's okay," Willow replied.
"Good night, Willow."
"Good night." Willow gave a little wave before she walked off with Spike, and Buffy watched her mate and her new friend go up the stairs.
Just a reminder that this will be the last chapter of this fic for this week, but I'll have a new chapter for you on Monday.
Please review!