Chapter Twenty One
Buffy warily walked into the gallery. Knowing Anya’s penchant for telling everybody and their mother when someone had wronged her, she wouldn’t have been surprised at all if the girl had stopped by to tell Willow. The woman was like the Town Crier.
Willow was out back when Buffy entered and came darting out as soon as Buffy entered. Willow stared at her. “Hi.”
“Anya’s been by, huh?” Buffy mused with a nod of her head.
“She called.”
“Hate me?”
“No, Buffy—“
“Don’t pretend just because you work for me. Be honest. I’m not going to fire you or anything. You are my friend Wills. Tell me, honestly.”
Willow took a deep breath and then burst out with “Buffy, I can’t believe you did that!”
Buffy sighed, “It’s not – okay, it kind of is like that, but at the same time, it’s not.”
“What happened exactly? Can you tell me?”
“I can. What’s Anya’s version?”
“That you guys had been carrying on while she and Spike were still together.”
“Spike told her that wasn’t the case,” Buffy muttered.
“She didn’t believe him.”
“Obviously.”
Willow shrugged, “Just telling you what she told me.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound angry – I have no right to be angry, do I? Well, that’s not entirely true. You should have heard what she threw in my face!”
Willow stared at her, blinking.
“This is so high school,” Buffy sighed. “Do I take the high road and bear it in silence, or do I justify my actions?” she muttered to herself.
“Well, seeing as how I am your friend, I think you can be ‘high school’ with me.”
Buffy nodded, “Can we sit?”
“Sure. How about the floor? I brought in muffins, donuts and coffee. You want?”
“Yes.”
Willow giggled, “Which do you want?”
“All of the above. I’ll help.”
*************
“So, you guys did kiss while he was with Anya?” Willow asked, studying Buffy thoughtfully.
“Yes, we did, but I stopped it – well, the first time. The second time he kind of took me by surprise.”
“Then you kissed him and admitted you had feelings for him.”
“Yes,” Buffy said nodding and took the top half of her muffin off.
“And then you felt guilty about Doyle and Anya and told him it had to end when he came by later that night.”
“Right.”
Willow sighed, “Buffy. . . I’m not going to lie to you. It’s on the border of being sneaky and backstabbing. I mean, the corpse of their relationship wasn’t even cold before you and he—“
“Yeah,” Buffy jumped in, cutting her off, “I know. But, it’s not like I set out to have feelings for him, Wills. I didn’t want to. Mainly because of Doyle, but also because of my loyalty to Anya.”
“Why didn’t you tell her when it started then? Just said ‘hey, I kind of got a thing for Spike, could I ask him out?’”
“I didn’t think of that. I should have talked to you first!”
“Buffy, I’ve been around you for some time now. I’ve seen you be pretty much miserable for a year now. Yesterday, I noticed you’d changed. If Spike is the guy that has made you glow like you are, then who am I to say anything? I can see how Anya is upset, but then again, she told you her ego was hurt more than she really was.”
“That could have been a cover to hide her true feelings,” Buffy murmured. “You told me she thought he could have been ‘The One.’”
“Yeah, but this is Anya. You know she romanticizes relationships when they’re over, and she doesn’t have a replacement right away,” Willow pointed out.
“That is very true.”
“And really, it could be her pride that’s more bruised right now more than anything.”
“She has every right to be mad at me for keeping it from her. And even for feeling that I betrayed her. Even if they were broken up – argh!”
“Shades of gray are a real pain in the ass huh?”
Buffy nodded emphatically, “Yes. Very much so. I’m kind of the ‘other woman’ aren’t I?”
“Not so much. Well, you were when you were kissing him while they were together.”
“Not so much with the helping there, Wills.”
“Sorry. But, Buffy, the things Anya said to you was low. Even for her. I mean . . . Bringing Doyle into it and basically mocking you for crying over him all this time? She was there, she knew what your relationship with Doyle was like, she knew Doyle and she knew how much you loved him. To say those things about you and him was wrong. It was cruel. You have every right to be upset about that.”
“I do have the right, and I am angry with her, but . . . would I have been so kind if the tables were turned? I don’t know.”
“Buffy, if the tables were turned, I know you would not use someone’s pain like that and mock them with it. That was low.”
“Anya goes for the jugular. She’s always been that way.”
“Buffy, stop defending her!” Willow admonished her.
Buffy held up her hands in surrender, “I’m sorry, I can’t help it! I keep going back and forth. One minute I’m so angry and hurt by what she said I could strangle her, and the next minute, I feel like the shit and feel that I deserve all she threw at me.” She took a deep breath. “I think my brain is maxed out on this for now. I’d really like a distraction right about now. Maybe work on something that has more black and white than gray?”
Willow smirked, “This your subtle way of telling me it’s time to get back to work?”
Buffy beamed, “Yup.”
*************
“I’m not imagining it, Spike. It really did happen,” Buffy told him earnestly later that day. Currently she was sitting Indian style in front of him on her oriental rug – or, as she called it ‘the scene of the crime’ – and Spike sat behind her, against the couch, and was giving her shoulders a massage.
“So, you think that Anya’s spread the word all over town like rapid fire already? That she even hit the grocery store and that’s why . . . ?”
“Miss Leary.”
“Miss Leary ‘tsked’ you?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “She looked at me and tsked me!”
“Sure it wasn’t the box of condoms she saw in your basket she was tsking and not Anya having blabbed all over town?”
“Oh, well, I didn’t think of that,” Buffy said, her shoulders sagging from that new, and very comforting, idea. Then she tensed again. “Well, now when Anya gets to her, she’ll be tsking me for buying the condoms to do Anya’s boyfriend!”
“Ex boyfriend,” he whispered in her ear.
Shivering in response, she nodded, “Yes, that’s right. Ex.”
“Remember that, please. I’m sure Anya will twist that around to her benefit. Seems she already did with Willow.”
Buffy yawned, “I’m going to take the high road with everyone else. I’m not going to go blabbing my side. They can say what they want, I don’t care.”
He chuckled. “Yes you do.”
She swatted his leg. “Hush up, you.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he nuzzled her neck. “We’ll face them together. I could give a rat’s ass what they say about us, Buffy. And I’ll tell them that Anya is a spoiled rotten brat who is just pissed that she didn’t get her way.”
“No, please don’t. Let me try to work this out on my own. Please?”
He sighed, “Okay. For you.”
“Thank you. I’ve had a lot of people come to my rescue, Spike. I think I need to do this battle on my own. Let me defend you. How’s that sound?”
Nipping at her neck, he murmured, “Bloody perfect. Hey, I’ve got a question.”
“What?”
“Can I sleep over again?”
She giggled, “Oh so sly, Mr. Gardner.”
“That’s my middle name, baby. So, can I?”
“Yes, you can.”
“So . . . bedroom?”
“Uh, I, um, sure. How about the guest room?” she asked, tensing up.
He furrowed his brow for a minute, pondering that. Then, it dawned on him. “Oh, I get it.”
“Yeah, I’m just . . . I’m not ready for that yet. My bedroom is . . . “
“Your bedroom with Doyle.”
“Right. Baby steps, okay?” she asked timidly.
“I understand, baby. It’s okay,” and to emphasize that he adjusted her so that she was across his lap. Leaning in, he kissed her sweetly. “Got any of those condoms upstairs by any chance?”
She laughed, “Not yet, but something tells me I will now.”
“Gonna have condoms in every bloody room,” he growled and nibbled her bottom lip. “Come on, luv. Want to make love to you before you pass out on me.”
“So romantic,” she mock swooned.
He grinned, “Just you wait, Buffy. Haven’t even brought out the big guns yet.”
She glanced down at his crotch, “I don’t know about that.”
“Minx.”
“Yep, I am,” she beamed and climbed off his lap. “Catch me if you can!” and she bounded up the stairs, Spike hot on her heels.
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