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CHAPTER 16 -- Big Ben

Buffy slurped at her tomato soup happily. Across from her sat Ben -- her boyfriend. Yes, boyfriend. This was their fifth date in three weeks and, in Buffy’s opinion, things were escalating nicely. Ben was a complete gentleman -- nice, laid-back, calm, and reserved.

Buffy felt as if she was no longer being punished for having no social life. Her whole social circle was quickly making their way off in pairs. Willow and Tara were spending every available moment with each other. With the way it stood now, you couldn’t get one without the other tagging quietly behind. And she was immersed in the details of Anya and Xander’s upcoming nuptials. Anya had Spike stealing her back copies of Today’s Bride. It was her self-proclaimed Bible and she was no longer ever seen without a copy clutched in her arms, eager to show any unsuspecting person detailed photographs of the exact snapdragons and hybrid lilies she wanted to grace her bouquet. Finally Buffy was paired off herself. Although before, she hadn’t really minded being single in their relationship-laden group because with any free time she would have been spending with a significant other, she had been hanging out with Spike.

Thinking over the past couple weeks, Buffy realized she hadn’t seen Spike in a while. The last she saw him was a couple days prior when he had stopped by the store to pick up some sketchy details of her dream wedding. She had rolled her eyes at him, scoffing that she barely thought of such a thing for herself, then proceeded to amuse him by wistfully rattling off the exact dreamy details of her own big day. Buffy even halted the impromptu interview at one point, stopping to make sure he had noted ‘bubble gum,’ not just ‘pink’ as the color of the baby orchids.

She found herself wandering frequently what Spike was doing. They had gotten close during his visit home -- skating in the park, baking and cooking, and several trips to the local ice cream shop with Dawn. But demands of work tore them apart. She was busy at the shop fielding the unending stream of questions from Anya, forcing Buffy to eventually put her foot down and explain to Anya that, No, she could not have Wolfgang Puck cater her wedding and still be under budget. And Spike had to split his time between L.A. and Sunnydale. He had picked up a few side projects and was making a constant commute from one city to another.

Buffy and Ben’s first meeting had had the usual first-date awkwardness but they had gotten to talking about their childhoods and had found they had a similar upbringing. His parents had also divorced and he had lived primarily with his mom.

He and Spike had met in grade school, just like Spike had said. What Spike failed to mention was what brought them to be such buddies. Apparently, Spike had entered the American school system at the age of eleven, placing him in Mrs. Shepard’s fifth grade class with Ben. Spike’s mother had just passed away from complications with pneumonia and Giles had moved him and his son to the other side of the country to start anew.

Back then, Spike was quite different than when Buffy met him eight years later. He was smaller than the other boys his age, with thick glasses, and a shy demeanor. Known by his given name of William, he had been picked on for his funny accent and ability to recite Wordsworth from memory. Ben had been one of the many bullies that had pushed the new little boy around outside at recess. It was on one such occasion that little Spike had had enough and proceeded to beat the living snot out of Ben, surrounded by a circle of schoolmates chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!” After the fight, when both boys left the principal’s office, Ben was clutching an ice pack to his nose.

Ben and their male classmates, impressed by the otherwise un-intimidating William, deemed him worthy of their club, christening him with the moniker Spike. He and Ben were then inseparable for the next seven years -- both playing for the soccer team Spike was captain of -- until high school graduation tore them apart. Spike enrolled in UC Sunnydale and Ben had gone to UCLA med school.

Buffy felt sad that such a nice little boy was forced the rely on violence to earn acceptance amongst his peers. He had just experienced the tragic loss of his mother, an experience no little boy should have to go though, and he met nothing but ridicule from his unsympathetic classmates. But it explained so much of what Spike was today -- his ability to scale the emotional spectrum, callous to sweet, in a matter of minutes. It explained his climb up to her window and their night spent under the stars on the hood of his car. And it also explained, to a lesser degree, his meanness to her in college. He had been unceremoniously conditioned to strike out at anyone who threatened him -- that being tough and mean were the only way to get respect and results.

“Hey,” Ben interrupted her thoughts, “I was thinking we could go to that new restaurant over on Third Street. How about Friday?”

“Ok,” she agreed with a megawatt smile. Yes, she thought, ignoring the slight sinking feeling in her stomach, things were moving along quite nicely.

TBC





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