Chapter 4
Harmony and Buffy entered Cordelia’s house the night of her party.
Willow couldn’t go because she suddenly caught a cold and had to stay home.
Buffy realized that she really didn’t want to be there, but decided to make the best of it.
“Okay, there’s Cordy. I’m gonna go talk to her. You are not to speak to me when I’m around my friends, got that?”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Believe me, there’s no chance of that happening.”
Harmony nodded and walked away, pretending that her sister didn’t even exist.
Buffy looked around at all of the couples dancing, not really knowing anyone. “What am I doing here?” she said to herself and walked around, trying to stay out of everyone’s way. She looked to see if Spike was there, but wasn’t having the best luck. She saw that Cordelia was now talking to two guys and wondered where Harmony was, but couldn’t seem to care and just decided to go outside for some fresh air. She stopped suddenly when she noticed that Harmony was making out with Spike. Buffy felt tears in her eyes, running back into the house and up the stairs. She found an empty room and closed the door. She leaned her head against it and finally let the tears fall.
* * * * *
“Harmony, what are you doing?” Spike wondered as he pushed her away.
“I’m giving you what you want. I know how you feel about me, Spikey. We can get out of here and go somewhere a little more private,” she said seductively.
Spike shook his head. “I think you have the wrong idea. Is your sister here?”
Harmony looked angry at that question. “Why does that matter? She’s probably inside somewhere causing trouble. Let’s just forget about the brat and get back to what we were doing.” She ran her hands over his chest.
Spike stepped away from her. “I have to go,” he said, running by Harmony and into the house. He had a girl to find.
* * * * *
Buffy was now sitting on the bed, with her face buried in her hands. She didn’t know how she was going to face Harmony now. She only knew that she felt sick with the thought of the two of them together. She then looked up when she heard someone knocking on the door.
“It’s occupied!” she yelled and hoped they would go away. She had no such luck when someone opened the door and walked inside; surprised to see that it was Spike.
He gave her a smile and closed the door behind him. “I had a feeling I would find you up here. This is where I would be if I wanted to get away.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and suddenly felt cold. “What are you doing in here? I figured you would be somewhere with Harmony.”
Spike raised his eyebrows and moved closer to her. “Why would I be anywhere with Harmony?”
Buffy tried not to cry in front of him. “I saw you two outside. You looked pretty cozy to me.”
Spike shut his eyes when he realized she saw that. He then opened them to see the hurt on her face. He sat down next to her on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair. “She kissed me when I came here. I didn’t have much of a warning. I stopped her and I’m sure she knows that it won’t be happening again.”
Buffy looked confused now. “Why did you stop? I thought you liked her.”
Spike felt like laughing, but he kept a straight face. “What gave you that idea?”
Buffy shrugged and glanced away from him. “Harmony told me that you did. She said her friend overheard you saying how much you wanted her.”
Spike did laugh this time.
Buffy continued to look at him in confusion.
“I think I know what conversation was overheard. Her friend got it wrong, love. I wasn’t talking about Harmony.” He suddenly felt nervous, but tried not to show it. “I was talking about this other girl and I guess she got the wrong idea. I didn’t mention any names; just that she had blonde hair.”
Buffy nodded and looked away again. She was relieved knowing that he wasn’t interested in Harmony, but there was still someone else that he liked. She let out a sigh.
Spike looked at her in concern. “You okay?”
She gave him a small smile. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m just really wishing that I wasn’t here right now.”
Spike agreed and grabbed her hand, pulling her off of the bed.
She raised her eyebrows.
He only smiled at her. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Buffy nodded and let him lead her out of the room.
* * * * *
They were walking along the beach an hour later because it was a favorite spot for both of them. They managed to leave the party without anyone noticing.
Buffy figured that Harmony wouldn’t even miss her.
They stopped to stare out at the water.
Buffy took in a deep breath. “I love the ocean. I always come here at night when I know hardly anyone would be around. It’s always so beautiful at night.”
Spike agreed and glanced over at Buffy. He took a moment to stare at her, while she was entranced by the waves crashing in the ocean. He had his chance to tell her how he felt when they were at the party, but he chickened out. Instead making her think that he was interested in someone else, but he couldn’t believe that she would ever think that he was interested in Harmony. Spike could hardly stand the bint and he didn’t like the way she treated Buffy. The girl deserved better than that.
Buffy turned away from the ocean to catch him looking at her. She felt her breath catch in her throat at his intense expression. “What are you thinking about?” she wondered quietly.
Spike then realized that he had enough. It was time to tell her the truth. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and graced her with a smile. “You, Buffy. I’m always thinking about you.”