Chapter 8
Buffy walked into the apartment with Spike. It was a few weeks later and they have grown very close. She smiled at the dark haired man that greeted them.
“It’s good to see you, Spike. Thought you would have forgotten about me. You really need to consider moving in here if you’re not living in a dorm. I could use a roommate.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, mate. Sorry I haven’t been by lately. I’ve just been a bit busy,” he explained.
The guy smiled and looked at Buffy. “I can see that. My name’s, Xander.” He held his hand out to her.
She took it after a second. “Buffy,” she replied.
Xander raised his eyebrows and let her hand go. “So, this is Buffy?” he wondered, glancing back at Spike. “I definitely approve.”
Spike smiled at his friend. “I’m sure you do.”
Xander ushered them into the apartment, where they all sat down on the couch.
Buffy got to know Xander better. He seemed like a decent guy and he loved to make jokes. She didn’t always get them, but that didn’t stop her from laughing. It meant a lot to Buffy that Spike wanted her to meet his friends. That meant he wasn’t embarrassed to be with her. She still had a lot of insecurities to work through. She then excused herself to go to the bathroom after a little while.
Xander looked at Spike when she was gone. “I like her, man. She’s a sweet girl. I’m surprised you would go for someone so young, though. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
Spike sighed and knew he was bound to have this conversation. “I don’t care about that. Buffy’s different than the other girls I’ve been involved with. This one is really special. I wouldn’t give her up for anything in the world.”
Xander grinned and took a bite out of his sandwich. “Sounds like you’re in love,” he said with his mouth full, then grew surprised when Spike didn’t answer. “Wait, you’re in love with her? I was only kidding about that.”
Spike shrugged and looked away, when he then noticed that Buffy was standing behind him. The look on her face proved that she heard what they were talking about.
She quickly ran out of the apartment.
Spike let out the breath that he was holding. “Bloody hell,” he mumbled and glanced at Xander. “Thanks for that, mate.” He took off after Buffy, hoping that he didn’t scare her away for good. He saw her walking down the street and ran to catch up with her. “Buffy, wait!” he exclaimed, grabbing her arm to stop her. He was confused at the look he saw on her face. “I can explain,” he stated and let her arm go.
Buffy took a step back from him. “Explain what? Is what he said true? You love me?”
Spike sighed and wondered how he could get out of this one. He figured that telling the truth would be the best start. “I don’t know when it happened, but it’s true. I just wasn’t planning on you finding out like that.”
Buffy didn’t know what to think. “You do know that’s crazy, right? Spike, we’ve only been dating for a few weeks. I know that we’ve known each other for years, but that’s not the point. How can you be in love with someone after such a short time?”
He thought about what to tell her. “It has been known to happen before. It happened with my parents, Buffy. My dad knew that he loved my mum from the first moment he saw her. I’m not saying that happened with me, but I know that I feel it now.”
Buffy ran her fingers through her hair and gazed into his eyes. She took a deep breath before she spoke again. “I really care about you, but this is all happening so fast. I never expected any of this, Spike. I’m only sixteen and I’ve never dealt with love before. I wouldn’t even know how to deal with it. I just think I need some time to think about everything.” She was about to walk away, but Spike grasped her hand and turned her to look at him.
“Please tell me that you’re not ending this, Buffy. I can’t lose you now. If you don’t want me to love you, then I’ll try not to. It won’t be easy, but I’ll do what you want.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I want, Spike. I’m not ending anything. I just need to be alone right now and figure out what I feel. We’ll talk later, okay?”
He nodded and let her hand go. “Yeah, take all the time you need. You know where to find me.”
Buffy nodded as well and placed a kiss on his cheek. She then turned and walked away; leaving Spike to stare after her and hope that he didn’t just ruin everything.
* * * * *
“He actually said he loved you?” Willow asked Buffy later that night as they were both sitting in her room.
“He didn’t say the words exactly, but he feels it. I think I could have reacted a little better.”
Willow shook her head. “That’s a big deal, Buffy. I would have freaked if I were you. You were right to spend some time apart.”
Buffy let out a sigh and really wished she could believe that. “I don’t think it was the right thing to do. I think...I think I do love him. I never expected any of this to happen so soon. I’ve never been in love before, but I’m sure that’s what this is. No one makes me feel the way he does, Will. He treats me like I’m the only person in the world. I don’t think there could ever be anyone else for me.”
Willow smiled and was happy that her best friend found someone. “Are you going to tell him?” she wondered.
Buffy nodded. “Yeah, I think I’m going to talk to him tomorrow. This whole spending time alone thing was stupid. I can hardly go one day without seeing him.”
Willow had to smile again. “Well, I would say that was love.”
Buffy smiled in return, but it quickly faded when she thought about telling Spike. There was hardly any pressure since she already knew that he loved her, but she had a hard time expressing her feelings. She has never been in this position before and wasn’t sure what to do. The only thing she knew was that she loved Spike, nothing else seemed to matter.