Spike and Buffy walked through the school doors the next morning, hand in hand.
“Are you sure?” Spike asked, and his beautiful blond companion nodded confidently.
He smiled at her, touching the end of her nose affectionately, and then leaning down briefly to kiss her lips.
They were both disturbed by the sound of Drusilla’s shrill giggle of laughter.
Spike pulled away, turning around to look at her. As she stood there with that malicious look in her eyes and that hateful smirk on her face, he was forced to wonder what it was that he ever saw in her.
He turned his eyes back to Buffy; her beautiful eyes looking up to meet his. And he smiled.
She was the one.
“Oh, William…” Drusilla said, dragging his attention back onto her once more. “I see you decided to carry out our plan in private. What unkindness.”
Spike glanced back at Buffy, and saw that she had let a betrayed look mar her beautiful features.
“Plan?” she asked, her hand slipping from his.
Drusilla began to cackle, as other people began to crowd around.
“Oh goodness, how perfect!” the dark haired bitch cried, “Her misery is as beautiful as bloodshed. Spike, my darling, you’ve done a wonderful job.”
People began to giggle.
“No.” Spike said, quickly turning back to face Buffy again. “Pet, look in my eyes. Stay with me.”
Buffy glared at the floor, refusing to meet his gaze.
“You… You’re with her aren’t you?” she asked, causing Drusilla to cackle once more. “Don’t try and hide it Spike. Do you love her? Do you?”
“I do.” Spike said, and Buffy was shocked enough to finally glance up- her expression confused. What was Spike doing?
Drusilla and the others merely laughed harder at her look of bewilderment.
“You love her?” she asked, her tone was betrayed.
This wasn’t the deal. This wasn’t the deal at all! She’d asked Spike to pretend that he’d fallen in love with her. Asked him to reveal in front of everyone that, despite Drusilla’s plan, he had fallen for her, Buffy Anne Summers, and that she wasn’t really a bad person.
She’d asked him to pretend that she was somebody that could be loved.
She felt her eyes fill with tears as realisation hit her.
His plan with Drusilla had never ended. He’d allowed her to believe that it was over. That she wasn’t the horrible person everybody thought she was.
And now, here he stood before her- revealing to everyone around them his true intentions.
Drusilla. He was in love with Drusilla.
Buffy turned on her heel. No. She couldn’t stand to remain there and have herself laughed at and mocked.
He’d promised that he’d let the other’s believe that he had fallen in love with her, when he had really never had any intention of doing so.
In all her life, through everything she had suffered, Buffy had never felt more betrayed.
“Buffy, wait.”
His voice stopped her. The same voice that had filled her with hope and belief just one day ago.
Suddenly the crowd of people didn’t matter. Drusilla didn’t matter.
All that mattered was the fact that she was stronger than all of this. There was a choice hanging above her head: ‘fight or flight’, and she’d been damned if she was going to let them see her running away again.
She turned around, her eyes hard.
“I thought I could trust you.”
She neither heard, nor cared about the mocking laughter rising up around her.
“I thought you cared about me.”
“You’re a foolish little girl.” Drusilla laughed.
Buffy ignored her.
“So she’s beautiful.” Buffy said; her eyes still clashing with Spike’s. “And she’s well-brought up.” Her eyes narrowed to a glare. “What else is there about her that you could possibly love?”
“Her intelligence.” Spike replied, his tone whole-hearted. “Her strength. The beauty she holds inside of her.”
“Internal beauty?” Buffy spat, turning her eyes to Drusilla, “Is your X-ray vision broken?”
Spike shook his head. “She’s beautiful.”
“You’re an idiot.” She said, and her eyes were blurring with tears as she realised that he was serious. He really did love the girl. “But she’s a slut.” She whispered. “She’s not worthy of you Spike.” ‘Why can’t you see me? Why must you always be so blinded by her?’
“She’s not a slut.” He said, and with a start of surprise, Buffy realised that he was walking towards herself. “And she is worthy of me. If anything, I’m not worthy of her.”
The laughter began to die down slightly, as the crowd that stood around them began to realise what they were really witnessing.
Who he was really in love with.
Buffy just stared at him; her heavy-hearted mind acting more slowly than those of the people around her.
“But she’s not a good person.”
“That’s a lie. She’s a wonderful person.”
“But she’ll never love you back.”
“Well that’s up to her.”
He was standing so close to her now that Buffy had to tilt her head back to look at him.
“But I told you about…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“And you can still love…” Buffy paused, “Her,” she said softly, “After everything I told you.”
Spike touched her cheek, and Buffy flinched; understanding.
“I can try.” He said, quirking an eyebrow.
Silence echoed the halls around them, and the faces of the crowd which had gathered were blank and staring.
“Spike…”
“Buffy…”
They kissed, and not even Drusilla’s twisted out-cry could disturb them.
“You meant it?”
“I mean it.”
The crowd began to turn away. All except for a few wanton faces which watched-on.
“William, this was not the plan. This was not the plan at all.” Drusilla’s voice was shrill, and a constant annoyance to the bleached blond.
“Screw you’re bloody plan,” he said, taking Buffy’s hand and turning to face the brunette. “The only good thing that came from your goddamned plan was the chance it gave me to see Buffy for who she really is.”
“She’s a-”
“An incredible person.” Spike said. Fresh faces gathered to listen. “A wonderful mother. And a beautiful soul.”
People were smiling.
Buffy was smiling.
“I told you to pretend.” She whispered softly into his ear.
“I didn’t need to.” He smiled back at her. “You’re the one- Buffy.”
And never in her whole life had Buffy Summers felt so truly blessed.
“Come on.” Spike said, squeezing her hand. “Lets get out of here.”
………………………………………........
Spike smiled as he watched his girlfriend and mother laughing together as they went back over the gallery’s inventory that evening.
“I can’t believe you bought Harrison a sailor’s hat.” Buffy was giggling, “I’m going to show the photos at his wedding, for sure.”
“Oh Buffy, you’d have done the same!” Joyce laughed, “I saw it sitting in that shop window and I knew it was too adorable to pass up. He looks like a little sea commander with it on.”
“Still, when he’s older he’s never going to live it down!”
Joyce laughed, “Well that’s what Grandmothers are for.” She said. And she knew it was true; it didn’t matter that Spike wasn’t Harrison’s father, because she knew her son well enough to be able to say with absolute certainty, that he would be there for the rest of Buffy’s life, raising the little boy as his own.
“You’re not wrong.” Buffy said, hugging the older woman, “Although you’re far too young to be a Grandmother.”
“Ha!” Joyce Abbot said, “You’re just trying to butter me up Miss Summers, I’ve already given you permission to date my son, so there’s no need to pay me undue compliments.”
Buffy grinned, and she glanced over at Spike, who was still watching with that unveiled happy smile of his.
Joyce followed the direction of Buffy’s gaze, and she too smiled at the look on her happy son’s face.
“Buffy love,” she said, “We’re almost done here, so why don’t you get along home now. I’m sure you’re desperate to get back to that son of yours.”
Buffy smiled, hugging Joyce in thanks, and grabbing her bag from the shelf.
“Lift?” Spike asked, holding up his car keys, and Buffy nodded, though she lived no more than five minutes away from the gallery.
“I’ll see you tomorrow sweetheart.” Joyce said, “Four o’clock sharp.”
Buffy smiled, “Yep.”
Then she took Spike’s hand and let him lead her out to his car.
Six months had passed, and he was still opening her door for her.
She smiled at him.
“Want to grab something to eat before you head home?” he asked, and Buffy’s grin widened.
“You know me too well.”
“You bet I do.”
She closed her eyes, leaning her head against his shoulder as he drove through the darkness of the falling evening.
This was contentment.
This was bliss.
This was her life now.
“I love you.” She whispered.
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A/N: A huge thank you to everyone who has been with me during the writing of this fic. Every single review has helped me to type just a little bit faster, and feed-back has always been amazing. Being nominated at the Spuffy Awards is an incredible thing for me [and thank you so very much to whoever it was who nominated me- you have no idea how much it means to me!!] It’s been a lot of fun writing this story, and I’m so glad that so many people were able to enjoy it!
Anyway, thank you all again for reading, and please leave a review if you enjoyed it [or even if you didn’t! Ha!]
Lots of Love dee x x x
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