PART 3

Buffy was dancing with her friends at the Bronze, carrying on watching her watch: there were few minutes to 11 p.m., she had to invent something.
“ Well guys, I think I’ll go back home!” she informed everyone.
“ So soon?” Willow commented .
“ Yeah Buffy, the night is still young, you should know it better than us!” Xander exclaimed.
She smiled.
“ It’s only that I feel a bit tired, I had a hard day. See ya tomorrow, ‘night guys!”
“ ' Night Buffy!” they greeted her in unison.

Due to the stalker he was, Buffy was sure that Spike was already in her room, that he had let in from her window.
Instead, she found him behind the tree near her house, smoking a cigarette.
“ Hello cutie!” he greeted her, tossing the cigarette.
“ Were you waiting for me like any normal guy?” she asked surprised.
“ Well, what’s wrong? Can’t I act like a normal guy?”
“ You’re not normal!”
“ Neither you, pet!” he sneered.
“ Touché!” she smiled.
“ Anyway, normal or not, are you going to come in?” she said, opening the door.

Meanwhile, the two couple at the Bronze were sat, talking about Buffy.
“ It’s not right, she always misses the fun. We should ask Giles to let her patrol less; after all, Spike can do it, that’s what she said!” Willow commented, hugged to her boyfriend.
“ Well, maybe she doesn’t trust him enough to let him do it alone and she’s right!” Oz said, caressing her hair.
Xander broke the kiss with Anya to speak.
“ Yeah, we can’t expect anything good from Dead Boy Jr.!”
“ Anyway, I’m worried for Buffy, she seems so odd, she is kind of careless..” Willow said.
“ So careless she has even forgotten here her jacket!” Anya exclaimed, picking it up from the floor.
It must have been slipped from the bench.

Spike and Buffy wanted to reach her bedroom, but they ended up on the sofa one upon the other.
He put his lighter and packet of cigarettes on the other sofa and he took off his coat.
“ Well, less trouble than usual tonight: you don’t even wear the jacket!” he observed chuckling and he tried to pull her tank top off, but she sprang all of a sudden.
“ Damn! It’s true! I forgot it at the Bronze..”.
The bell rang at the same time.
“ It must be my friends who came here to give me it back!” she said, getting nervous.
She took his coat and threw it at him.
“ Run to my bedroom, I think they won’t go there; if they do.. you know where the window is!” she ordered and he disappeared.
She opened the door, trying to look relaxed.
“ Hey guys, come in!” she invited them.
“ Buffy, you forgot..”
“ I know, Will. In fact I was about to go back..”
“ Lucky for you, you don’t have to!” Xander informed, giving the jacket back to her.
“ Thank you so much!”
“ So, how are you?” Willow asked.
“ Oh, I fell better; maybe I just needed a bit of relax!” she explained, inviting them to sit.
After all, she couldn’t kick them out!
Sitting, Xander felt something under him and Buffy remembered too late what it was: Xander held a packet of cigarettes and a lighter and he was watching Buffy questioningly, as the rest of the group.
Without thinking twice, she snatched the packet and the lighter from his hands.
“ Ok guys, you’ve found out everything!” she said, opening the packet and putting a cigarette in her mouth, lighting it.
“ I’ve begun a week ago and it seems that I can’t stop!” she explained, taking a draught and starting coughing like mad.
“ Buffy, I can make a spell to make you stop!”
“ Thank you, Will (coughing), but it’s something I gotta (coughing) do by my will power. I think I can do it!” she said, holding the cigarette between her fingers.
“ I mean, it’s so unhealthy, I’ll quit right now!” so, she tossed her cigarette, stepping it under her shoe.
“ Alright! That’s the spirit!” Anya incited her.
“ Please, don’t say anything to Giles and most of all to mom! I‘ll try my best to never do it again!” she begged them.
“ Well, now we’d better go.. maybe I should take these with me!” Willow said, taking the packet.
“ No!” Buffy yelled, thinking about Spike’s reaction.
Willow watched her, blaming her with her eyes.
“ I mean, it’s too easy if you do that for me. You’re treating me like I was an addicted! This is a battle I must fight alone. You can leave here that packet, I promise, you’ll never see me smoking anymore. Plus, I wanna be the one to throw it away, it will prove to myself that I won!” Buffy justified, taking it gently from her friend ‘s hands.
“ Ok, Buffy. But if you try..”
“ I won’t, you can trust me, Willow!” she assured, opening the door.
“ Thank you all for the visit. See ya tomorrow; I’ll be the same old Buffy you know and love, no more smoke for me!” she guaranteed once again.

When she was sure they all were on their way, she went upstairs to her room.
“ Have you heard everything, haven’t you?”
“ Yeah, I’ve also seen that. I couldn’t help watching, it was a so funny show!” Spike laughed.
“ Fine, ‘cause now you owe me a lung!” she burst out, throwing the packet and the lighter against him.
“ Sorry pet, I’ll be more careful!”
“ I wish! I don’t fancy smoking, it’s your habit, not mine!” she said.
“ Fine, ‘cause I never want to see you smoking anymore, it’s not good for you!” he said seriously, his hand flowing through her hair.
“Don’t worry! I won’t bloody do it anymore!”
“ Uh! Are you stealing my words, now?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Buffy smiled.
“ Shut up and kiss me!”
“ Come here, Tobacco-Girl!” he said, kissing and taking her in his arms.
And between kisses, they ended up in bed.

Buffy fell asleep in his arms, Spike watched her for a while, then he looked at his watch and got up.
“ Wher ya goin?” Buffy slurred half asleep when she felt only the mattress under her hand.
“ Sunrise is near, pet. I must go!” he explained, fastening his jeans.
“ Stay!” she said, opening her eyes and watching him.
“ I’ve closed every window and I don’t plan to receive any visit tomorrow. Mom won’t be back ‘till tomorrow night, so there’s no reason to leave now. Plus, I miss you, William!”
“ I’m right here, baby!” he replied puzzled.
She smiled.
“ I miss you the day after! Awaking in your arms, watching you sleeping.. I miss that!” she confessed, while he came back under the sheets with her, smiling and holding her tight.
“ You have no idea of how much I hoped you would have said that!” he whispered, kissing her forehead.
“ I’ll stay, but now sleep sunshine, ok? “.
Her only answer, she snuggled happily against his chest, putting an arm around his waist and closing her eyes.

The morning after she was happy to wake up in his comfortable arms.
And as she used to do, at sunset she went to her room, watching Spike sleeping for a while, she could have watched him for hours.
Then she decided to awake him pressing softly her lips to his.
“ Hun, I must go and you ‘d better go, too. Mom will be here in a couple of hours. I promised I would have spent the whole night with my friends at the Bronze, I’m sorry. Anyway, can you do the patrol alone, can’t you?”
“ Sure! Kicking bad-demon-ass is the second best way to spend my time..” he said, playing with a lock of her hair.
“… the first one is you!” and he sealed his lips with hers.
She smiled, kissing him back.

She spent a nice and quiet night with her friends, and they were happy to notice that she hadn’t smoked anymore.
At the end of the night, instead of coming back home immediately, Xander decided to go to the Graveyard to meet Spike.
He arrived there while he was dusting a vampire.
“ So, it’s true: now you play the Good Hero!” the brunette exclaimed.
“ Hey, don’t get the wrong idea, I’m still evil!” the blond clarified.
“ Anyway, what the bloody hell are you doing here?”
“ I don’t trust you! I don’t understand why you are helping Buffy so willingly!” Xander commented, narrowing his eyes.
“ I don’t do that willingly, I have no choice! It’s dust or be dusted, and, if you don’t mind, I bloody prefer the first chance!” the vampire justified.
“ Then, you know.. I could take an enormous advantage of this situation..” he added with an evil sneer.
“ What do you mean?” the brunette asked nervously.
“ Simple: if I spend so much time with Bu.. the Slayer, I’ll end up to know every single move of hers, even her weak point.
It’s normal stuff between mortal enemies, and you have no idea ‘bout how much heat there’s between me and the Slayer!”
“ Heat?!” Xander repeated in disbelief.
Spike didn’t even realize what he had said.
“ Have I just said ‘Heat’? Bloody hell, I mean ‘Hate’, HATE, lots of bloody hate!” he clarified immediately.
“ Have you heard that noise?” the bleached blond asked, looking behind a bush.
“ It must be another demon!”
“ I didn’t hear anything and..” Xander replied, looking at the same direction, but when he turned Spike was nowhere to be found.
“ He must have gone insane!” he said, coming back home.

TBC





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