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Author's Chapter Notes:
HUGE thanks to Shakes (Jess) for all her hard work betaing.
Chapter 18
“Um Hi this is Buffy Summers I am calling about the room you have to rent, If you could call me back when you get a chance that would be great,”

“What?” Spike asked.

“I’m moving out,” Buffy replied, as though it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

“When? where? Why?” Spike couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Spike, I’m at work. Can you please not make a scene?”

He could see she was embarrassed by his outburst.

“I’m not making a scene, Buffy; I’m just trying to figure what the hell is going on!” Buffy grabbed his arm and pulled him out of her cubicle, into the office hallway.

“Spike, I have only just started here. Please don’t make me known as the girl with the crazy yelling friend!”

“Have you had lunch?” he asked.

“No, not really, but I’m trying to appear-

“Great.” He walked over to Lorne, who was trying to decide which shade of black was in this season.

“Lorne, Buffy and I need to discuss some of the charity details. Do you mind if I take her for a coffee?”

“Sure, no problem,” Lorne answered, as Spike dragged Buffy out of the office.

“Spike, I can’t leave!”

“Sure you can. You don’t want to argue with your new boss, do you?”

***

Buffy was still fuming as she sat across from Spike, in the café downstairs from her office. Not even the hot chocolate and fudge brownie he had bought her could lift her dark mood.

“So, where are you moving to?” Spike asked, as he poured sugar into his coffee.

“Umm, well, I’m not sure yet. One of the guys at work knows someone who needs a roommate and I mentioned I was looking. They said they would put a good word in for me.” Buffy tried hard to make it sound as legitimate as possible.

“So, you don’t know where you’re going, or who you’re staying with. Do you know how many kinds of stupid that is, Buffy?”

“I’m not stupid!”

“No? Then what do you call moving out?”

“My only option, I can’t do it any more, Spike. Living with you and Angel is too hard.” She avoided his gaze, hoping he wouldn’t question her further.

“Angel is your brother. Surely you are used to living with him by now?”

Buffy didn’t answer the question. She couldn’t find the words to speak and in that moment, Spike got all the answers that he needed. It wasn’t Angel she wanted to get away from.

It was him.

He would give her what she wanted, he always did. Sure, most times he did it kicking and screaming, but he was powerless to say no to this girl who was currently picking the marshmallows’ out of her hot chocolate.

“My mum, she used to make the best hot chocolates with the tiny marshmallows. God, I miss them sometimes. When it’s really cold, I like to try and make it like she did.” He looked at Buffy, trying to figure out what she was thinking. “Never can. I miss her.”

“I know.” Her expression softened.

“Don’t move out, Buffy, at least not with some stranger, in some flea bitten apartment.”

“Gee, Spike, you almost sound like you care.” Her sarcasm didn’t sound quite right. She knew in the back of her mind that some part of him did care, and she didn’t want to hear that.

“I don’t,” he lied. “But, I know how important it is to have family to love and support you, and you have that.”

“I do?” Her heart picked up in pace. What was Spike trying to say?

“Yes, Buffy you have that, with Angel.”

***

“You’re back early.”

Buffy looked up from her desk to see Lorne peaking over the partition. She had left the café quickly more confused than when she had left the office. What was Spike up to? One minute he was scolding her like a child for moving out and the next, pouring his heart out to her about his mom.

“I was just out for a coffee,”

“Oh, I just assumed that you were off having a quickie, young love, and all that.” Buffy’s eyes widened.

“Spike and I are not in love, or having quickies, Lorne,” she spat out

“Oh please! I see him look at you, the same way I look at the new range of Milano Blaniks. And lord knows I have been trying to get him to look at me that way for years.”

“Lorne, Spike is straight.”

“I know, but you can’t knock a guy for trying. I mean, have you seen the cheekbones on that boy?” Lorne asked.

She had seen them, touched them, even kissed them.

“No never noticed.” Buffy tried to get back to her work.

“I mean, he needs your help setting up that charity in the same way I need his help picking out the fall line.”

“I’m sorry, Lorne, I know it was bad skipping out for a coffee in my first week. It’s just, if I didn’t get him out of the office, he was going to make a scene and I don’t really want to be known in the office as the girl with the crazy friends.”

“He was going to make a scene? Mr. Cool and Calm Under Pressure?” Lorne seemed genuinely surprised. “I have seen him take over two companies at the same time and not break a sweat. Mores the pity. What in heavens name did you do?”

“I told him I was moving out.”

“Okay, so let me get this straight. Mr. Cool As Ice goes ballistic, because you say you are going to move out and yet, there is nothing going on between you two?”

“It’s not like that. He wasn’t upset because I was leaving. It was more where I was leaving too. I don’t have many details, because it’s all last minute. We are not like that, Lorne. Trust me; it’s never going to happen.” Buffy went back to her sketchpad.

“You know what they say! Never say never,” Lorne singsonged.

“Trust me, Lorne. It’s never going to happen again.” The look of shock on Lorne’s face made her realize the mistake she had just made.





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