Chapter 12
“Where are you going?”
Buffy turned at her father’s voice, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to get by him. “Well, I’m not grounded anymore. I was going to meet up with a friend.”
Hank took on a look of surprise at the thought of his daughter having a friend; she made a habit of keeping to herself since they moved to Sunnydale. “All right, but I want you home by eleven.”
Buffy nodded and gave her father a small smile, then walked over to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I love you, Daddy,” she whispered and left the house, leaving Hank to stare after her in shock.
* * * * *
“Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
Buffy nodded eagerly. “I know this is probably not what you had in mind for a first date, but I’m not really one for fancy restaurants. When I was little, there was this carnival by our house that would open up every summer. My mom would always take me and we would spend the whole day just riding the rides constantly and eating all kinds of junk food. That was the only time she would let me spoil my dinner,” she explained, smiling at the memory.
Spike smiled in return and took her hand in his. “The carnival it is, then. This day is for you, Buffy. I’ll do anything you want.”
* * * * *
“There’s no way I’m getting on that.”
Buffy laughed. “Are you actually scared of the ferris wheel?”
He shook his head. “I’m not scared; I just prefer to stay on the ground.”
“Trust me, you’ll love it. The ferris wheel was always a favorite of mine. I love when it reaches the top; you can see everything from up there. Please, I promise you won’t regret it,” she said with a pout.
Spike knew that he was lost. “How is it possible that you already have me whipped? Okay, I’ll go on it, but if I plummet to my death, it’ll be your fault.”
* * * * *
“You can open your eyes now, Spike. It’s so beautiful up here.”
He slowly did as Buffy said and realized that she was right as he took in his surroundings. “Bloody hell, I think I can even see my house from here.”
Buffy giggled and pecked him on the lips.
Spike was startled. “What was that for?” he wondered.
She shrugged. “You’re just cute. I didn’t realize I needed an excuse to kiss my boyfriend.”
“First of all, I’m not bloody cute. Second of all, I love hearing you say that.” He pulled her closer to his side and planted a more passionate kiss on her lips.
The ferris wheel suddenly stopped when they reached the very top.
Spike jerked away from her. “What’s going on? Why did we stop?”
Buffy couldn’t resist laughing again. He really was too cute for words. “It’s okay; they’re only letting more people on. You really worry too much.”
His gaze softened as he caressed her cheek. “Only when I’m with you.”
Buffy felt touched and kissed him softly.
They were too lost in each other to notice when the ferris wheel came back to life.
* * * * *
Spike and Buffy walked to his house hand in hand after the carnival. She wasn’t quite ready to go home yet.
“Would you like to come in for a little while? We can just talk.”
Buffy nodded and followed him into the house, only to notice that it was completely deserted.
“My parents are away for the weekend and Dawn’s staying the night at a friend’s house,” he told her.
She suddenly felt nervous. “So, we’re here alone?”
He nodded as well. “We can just stay down here and watch the telly for a bit if you want. Nothing else has to happen; I still just want to get to know you better.”
Buffy sighed in relief, but decided that she would take a risk. “Can we go up to your room?” She saw the shocked expression on his face and continued. “You know, just to talk. Dawn told me about your artwork and I would love to see them.”
He blushed and looked away from her. “They’re not really mine. I’m not really all that creative; I just admire the work of others.”
“I would still love to see them, but only if you want to.”
Spike agreed after a moment and led her up the stairs, feeling nervous along the way. He stopped once they reached his door. “I’ve never brought anyone up here before. I guess I was a bit embarrassed, but I trust you.” He opened the door and let her into the room first, following in after her.
Buffy gasped when she took in all of the paintings that adorned his walls.
“I know it’s a bit much. Most blokes my age would have band posters or naked women on their walls, but I guess I like to be different.”
Buffy shook her head, shock written all over her face. “That’s not it.” She moved closer to one of the paintings and gently trailed her fingers over it. “Where did you get these?” she wondered, turning her attention back on Spike.
“I went to Los Angeles once a couple of years ago. I was waiting with Dawn for our parents to finish up some business thing and we stumbled across this art gallery by mistake. Once I saw all of these paintings, I just knew I had to have them. It was like something drew me in. The woman that worked there was really kind, she let me have them for a very good price. Apparently, the artist wanted to remain anonymous and decided to donate the paintings to help keep the gallery in business. When she told me that it was in trouble, something inside me broke. I couldn’t imagine that place not being around anymore, even if I didn’t live there. So, I gave her a bit more than she was offering. My father was furious that I spent so much on paintings, but he eventually got over it. We have all of this money; it felt good to use it wisely for once. I went back about a year ago to see how things were going, but the gallery was shut down because the owner passed away. I just wish I could remember her name.”
Buffy had tears streaming down her face at what he said. She took in a deep breath to calm herself. “Her name was Joyce Summers, she was my mother. All of these paintings were mine.”