Chapter 27
Riley stopped the car in front of Buffy’s house.
Buffy didn’t move for a few seconds, then looked up and felt more tears form in her eyes when she saw Spike walk out of his house. She suddenly got out of the car and ran over to him, Riley not that far behind.
Spike was confused when he saw her get out of another man’s car, even more confused when she attacked him in a big hug. He wrapped his arms around her and could tell that she was crying. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
All she could manage was a shake of the head.
Riley finally caught up to her and gave Spike a smile. “She had some trouble at school. I was just giving her a ride home.”
Spike nodded and wondered what could have happened. He was about to ask her again, when Dawn and Harmony came out of the house and noticed Buffy.
“What happened?” Dawn wondered, moving over to her sister.
Spike shook his head. “I don’t know yet. Could you two take her inside?”
They just nodded.
Spike let Buffy go, only to have her cling to him tighter. “It’s okay, love. I just want to talk to your friend here. I’ll be right inside.”
She managed to release her grip on him after a moment.
Dawn and Harmony each grabbed one of her arms and pulled her into the house.
Spike then turned back to Riley once they were gone. “What happened to her?” he asked, hoping that this other man wasn’t responsible for the way she was acting.
“It looked like this guy was getting rough with her outside of the school. I’m new here and I didn’t really know who he was, but it didn’t look like he was a friend. I hate to say this, but it looked like he was trying to rape her.”
Spike felt pure rage at the thought of anyone touching Buffy in that way.
“I tried getting her to talk in the car, but she wouldn’t say anything. She’s pretty shaken up.”
Spike took in a breath to calm his nerves. “Thanks, mate. I’m glad you got there when you did. My name’s Spike, I’m Buffy’s boyfriend,” he introduced himself and held his hand out.
Riley took it after a second. “Riley Finn, nice to meet you.”
They dropped their hands.
“You have yourself a great girl there.”
Spike agreed. “Yeah, I should probably check on her. Thanks again.”
Riley nodded and watched Spike make his way over to Buffy’s house. He really hoped that she was okay.
* * * * *
Buffy went to hug Spike again when he entered her room.
He returned the embrace and sat down on her bed, pulling Buffy down with him. “It’s going to be okay, baby. I’ve got you now,” he told her soothingly.
“I was so scared,” she whispered.
Spike nodded and held her tighter. He gave her a few moments, then finally pulled away to look at her. “Who was he, love? Is this the bloke that sent you the necklace?”
Buffy nodded as well and took a deep breath before she explained. “It was Warren Mears. He’s in a few of my classes. I helped him out last year when a few guys were picking on him. He seems to think that we’re meant to be together from that. I always knew he was weird, but I never thought he was crazy. I didn’t think he would actually try and hurt me. I heard that he once built a robot girlfriend. I never really believed it, but now I’m not so sure. He seems pretty desperate. He said he wasn’t finished with me. I don’t even want to think about what he would do next,” she finished shakily.
Spike took everything in. “You have to report this, Buffy. He’ll never leave you alone if you don’t.”
Buffy agreed and wiped her eyes. “I don’t want to go to the police, but I can talk to Principal Wood tomorrow.”
Spike figured that was better than nothing. “Okay, but I’m going with you. I’m sure he wouldn’t try anything with me around.”
Buffy shook her head. “I can’t have you do that. You have your own classes to deal with. I’m not even sure how I would explain you being there.”
Spike tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll tell them that I just decided to visit. A lot of graduates come back to visit their old teachers. I can miss one day of classes, this is more important. I don’t want you out of my sight.”
Buffy gave him another hug. It was great to have someone that cared about her like that. If it was possible, she loved him even more. “You’re too good to me,” she claimed and rested her head against his shoulder.
Spike put his arm around her. “No one hurts my girl,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “But if I see him, I won’t be held responsible for what I do. You may need to hold me back.”
Buffy laughed at that.
Spike was just glad to cheer her up a little.
“I’m pretty sure you can take him.”
He agreed. “You’re damn right I can. I remember that ponce from last year. He was always walking around with his nose in a book, caused a few accidents that way. Those are the ones you usually need to look at for. It’s always the quiet ones.”
Buffy nodded and decided to change the subject. “So, Riley seems nice. There’s no telling what could have happened if he didn’t show up. I don’t even want to think about it. I can’t believe I actually thought that he was the stalker. I think he might have a crush on me, though.”
Spike grinned and didn’t know how to break this to her. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don’t think you’re the one he’s crushing on. Trust me, I can always tell. I saw the way he was looking at your sister when she came out of the house.”
Buffy instantly pulled away to stare at him. “Wait, are you saying he likes Dawn?”
Spike laughed and shook his head. “No, I was talking about Harmony. Yeah, I wouldn’t really believe it either,” he explained when he noticed the shocked expression on her face.
“Wow, I never would have guessed. Riley seems a lot smarter than that, not that I think Harmony’s stupid or anything. She can actually be smart when she puts her mind to something, every now and then. She just doesn’t seem like his type. You know, this could actually be a good thing for her. She needs a guy like him. Maybe I could set something up; things went well with Faith and Tara.”
Spike placed a finger on her lips to quiet her. She could sometimes go on forever. “I think you just need to worry about yourself right now. If it’s meant to be, it has a way of working itself out,” he claimed, removing his finger.
Buffy nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. My mom will be home soon, so you should probably go. I’m hoping everything with Warren will just go away tomorrow. I don’t need her to know about it. This is the last week before we’re out for winter break. I just want to have a peaceful holiday. I won’t let some creepy guy ruin everything.”
Spike smiled and gave her a peck on the lips. “That’s the spirit. Don’t forget, I’ll be going with you tomorrow.”
She wasn’t about to forget.
He gave her one more kiss, then left the room.
Buffy watched him go and lay back in her bed. She really hoped everything would work out, but felt a lot better knowing that Spike would be with her.