Chapter 20: Plan B
The wedding day
Buffy groaned as her radio interrupted her deep sleep as it rang obnoxiously at 7:00 in the morning. She stumbled out of bed and blindly made her way to the shower, turning it on.
Yawning, she stripped her yummy sushi pajamas and stepped into to the hot water, sighing in relief as the steamy room slowly awakened her.
Buffy scrubbed her skin squeaky clean and carefully shaved her legs, lathering them up with shaving cream. She managed to avoid any nicks, which was a marvel in itself.
She reached around for her towel which normally sat on the hook, but her hand came back empty. With a frown, Buffy opened the curtain and saw the hook was indeed bare.
“Where did…?” Buffy trailed off as she glanced down at the soggy towel at her feet.
“No,” Buffy muttered, “No way.”
Bending over, she inspected the green towel. Yep, it was hers. Annoyed, Buffy grabbed Dawn’s towel, ignoring the cold damp spots and stomped down the stairs.
“Dawn!” she bellowed, walking into the kitchen. “Did you use my…” Buffy stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her. “Towel?” she finished meekly.
Spike was standing there, pan in hand, scooping eggs onto Dawn’s plate wearing her mother’s old apron. Both were staring at her wide eyed.
“Um…” Buffy began, a flush making its way up her face. The last couple of days had been so hectic; she’d completely forgotten that Spike was staying in her house. At the pre-wedding dinner the night before, Buffy had left early with a headache and was asleep when Dawn, and presumably Spike, had come home.
Now she was standing there, dripping in a damp, clingy towel that barely cleared her butt while the two sane people stared at her.
“I, uh,” Buffy cleared her throat and fixated her glare on Spike. “What are you doing?”
“Makin’ breakfast,” Spike said slowly, setting the pan back on the stove. “Want some?”
Buffy shook her head no. The eerily domestic scene made her jumpy and she backed away slowly.
“I’m just going to…” Buffy stopped and motioned to the stairs before quickly making her way back into her room.
She shut her door, leaning against it, her humiliation complete. As if their past encounters hadn’t been sufficient enough in muddling her feelings and making her feel insecure, now she had that embarrassing scene to add.
Not that, a little voice reminded her, Spike had never seen her naked. Buffy ignored that thought, pushing any images of her and Spike naked. Especially naked Spike.
She dried her hair and got dressed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. The wedding didn’t start till 5:00 pm and she still had her huge list Anya had given her a few weeks ago.
There was a knock at her door and Buffy, startled, leaped off her bed. She didn’t answer the door right away; it might be Spike she reminded herself.
“Buffy?”
Good, Buffy sighed with relief, it was just Dawn. Buffy opened the door while putting in a pair of hoop earrings. Dawn handed Buffy the phone, mouthing ‘Anya.’
Buffy took the phone and lifted it to her ear. “Hey.”
“Buffy? I was wondering if you and Spike could meet me at the City Hall, just to practice your speeches again,” Anya asked, uncharacteristically pleading.
Buffy reluctantly agreed. The only reason she was even thinking about being alone in the same room with Spike was the fact Buffy wanted more than anything for Xander and Anya to have the perfect wedding. Even if that meant doing something she’d been dreading since Spike had returned again.
“I’ll just get Spike and we’ll meet you there in an hour,” Buffy promised.
“Thanks,” Anya said gratefully, another emotion Buffy didn’t associate with Anya.
“Sure, see you soon,” Buffy said and handed the phone back to Dawn, who had heard the whole conversation.
“I’ll let Spike know,” Dawn suggested and Buffy nodded while putting her phone in her purse.
Dawn clamored down the stairs and bellowed, “Spike! You and Buffy have to go to the City Hall and practice your speech thingy!”
Buffy winced at her sister’s loud voice. “Jeez Dawn, I don’t think the people in China could hear you,” she said sarcastically.
Dawn rolled her eyes, “Whatever. I’ll see you later. Willow said she’d pick me up around 2-ish or so.”
Buffy was halfway down the stairs when she remembered Dawn possibly bringing her boyfriend to the wedding. “Hey did you ever ask Josh to the wedding?”
Dawn shook her head. “Nah. Besides, this way I can check out any cute guys at the wedding.”
Buffy shook her head at her sister, a small smile playing on her lips. Buffy knew that her teenage-self would have done the same thing. Funny, Buffy mused, how everything changes.
“Summers, you ready?” Spike asked, capturing Buffy’s attention.
She nodded, pulling out her keys, “Let’s go.” She turned to Dawn, “Be ready for Willow, ‘kay?”
“Yep,” Dawn responded and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.
Buffy avoided looking at Spike directly as they climbed into the car. She pulled out of the driveway and the pair drove off in silence.
******************************
Well, Spike thought sarcastically, this is fun. Currently, he was sitting in a car with the women he loved and neither of them had said a word since they left the house.
Out of the corner of his eye, he quickly glanced at Buffy. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly, her eyes glued to the road and her mouth pressed into a thin line. She clearly had no intentions of starting any kind of conversation with him.
“So,” Spike began, “how was the bachelorette party?”
Buffy chose not to respond, but he could see her hands grip the steering wheel harder, her knuckles white.
He sighed loudly, turning his head away, looking out the window. He wanted so badly to be able to talk to her, like before. To be able to tease her or even, hell, fight with her. Spike hated the tense silence that filled the car.
Buffy pulled into the City Hall and parked in the back. Without a word, she hopped out of the Jeep, locking it and walked briskly into the building.
Already, Buffy noted happily, the party planners had arrived to set up the reception area with tables and chairs, all covered in a thick white cloth. Light green candles had been placed in the center of the tables and matching sashes were tied around chairs.
Buffy spotted Anya over in the corner, talking to an older man dressed in black. Anya lifted a finger for ‘one second’ and resumed her conversation. Buffy took the time to study the worn marble walls, doing her best to ignore Spike’s hovering presence.
“So what do you think?” Anya asked and Buffy glanced up, her smile wide.
“The place looks great. I can’t wait to see it tonight when they’re finished,” Buffy commented.
“Look’s good,” Spike imputed, surveying the tall ceiling.
“Okay,” Anya clapped her hands, “follow me. I have the perfect place for you guys.”
She led them up the large marble staircase to a carpeted hallway. The room was at the end of the hall and was relatively small with plush carpeting, dark wood walls, and a few chairs. There was a minuscule book shelf in the corner that looked like it hadn’t been touched in a decade or two.
“No one really goes in here. They gave me the key to use it in case we needed more dressing rooms,” Anya explained, “Now, practice.” And with that, Anya shut the door.
The two blondes stood there awkwardly, avoiding each other’s eyes.
“Well,” Buffy began and motioned to the pages Anya left, “we should probably start practicing.”
Spike nodded and grabbed the papers, handing Buffy a copy. His hand accidentally grazed against hers and Buffy jumped at the tingling sensation.
She cleared her throat, “Right. Uh. ‘I’ve known Anya since high school and Xander a lot longer…” Buffy stopped, looking up at Spike expectantly.
Spike shifted, “Um… ‘I met Xander back in eighth grade when I first moved to Sunnydale. He and I instantly became friends-“Spike stopped reading and snorted.
“Honestly, ‘He and I instantly became friends?’ I hated the bugger till junior year!” Spike protested.
Buffy rolled her eyes, “Just read it Spike.”
He glared at her but continued on. “We did everything together. We watched movies, played video games, and copied each others homework.”
Buffy picked up at her line, “Xander, Willow, and I were the three musketeers in middle school. We always hung out together. I know both of them like the back of my hand and when I met Anya, I knew they would be perfect for each other.”
Now it was Buffy’s turn to scoff, “Yeah right. Xander was going out with Cordelia then! And Anya had a major thing for Gunn, who was, of course, going out with Fred.” Buffy threw her hands up in the air, “Is there anything true in this stupid speech?”
Spike shook his head, “Doubtful.”
Buffy sighed and sat down in one of the old chairs while Spike sat across from her. “Forget about this, we’ll figure it out when we get up there.”
Buffy tilted her head back, resting her eyes. Spike watched her intently, his eyes a dark blue.
“Buffy,” he began, his voice low.
Buffy cracked her eye open and balked at the serious expression on his face.
“No.” Buffy sat up straight, looking at Spike straight in the eye, “Don’t you dare say it.”
“We need to talk,” Spike finished, ignoring her objection.
“No we don’t,” Buffy retorted, standing up. She had the sudden need to move, shake off that feeling.
“What are we going to do? Ignore it?” Spike snapped, his eyes blazing.
“Yes,” Buffy replied, crossing her arms defensively.
Spike stood up, his jaw clenched. “Right. ‘Cause that worked so well the first time.” His voice was harsh and sarcastic.
Buffy gritted her teeth, “Why do you have to make everything so…simple? A little talk and everything will be better.”
Spike stepped closer to her, purposefully invading her space. “And why do you have to make everything so damn complicated?”
Buffy spun on her heel and walked over to the door, giving it a hard tug. It didn’t budge. Frowning, she pulled harder, putting all her weight into it.
“Thought you were leaving,” Spike drawled, his eyes two pieces of cold ice staring down at her.
“It won’t open!” Buffy explained and accentuated her point with a few more hard tugs.
Spike walked over and pushed Buffy out of the way to try opening the door for himself. Buffy was too anxious to even notice.
Spike yanked as hard as he could several times, but the door remained firmly shut.
“It’s fuckin’ locked!” Spike muttered and began pounding on door, “Hey! Open the bloody door!”
Buffy jerked Spike’s arm away from the door. “You idiot,” she hissed, “You don’t need to be that loud.”
Spike, however, wasn’t listening. He bent down to pick up a piece of paper that was wedged under the door. He opened the letter, reading it before wordlessly handing it over to Buffy.
Nervously, Buffy opened the note and scanned it over. Her eyes widened and she went back to read the words more closely. Twice. Her mouth dropped open.
Buffy and Spike,
Don’t be mad! I know you’re probably very pissed at both me and Willow right now, but hear us out. We didn’t know what else to do, you guys wouldn’t talk to each other willingly so we had to find away to put you two together. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures. We just want you two to be happy.
Love,
Dawn and Willow (Xander and Anya)
P.S. Anya says to get your issues resolved before 2:30 pm.
“I’m going to kill them,” Buffy hissed.
[Reviews - 184]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 3517 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
thanks to my beta and all you reviewers/readers. It has been mentioned a couple of times that Spike would be a stripper, but no, he's not. I've read something close to that before and felt it would be stealing someone else's idea. But hopefully you'll like this twist...