Chapter 17
Buffy entered the kitchen the next morning to find her father in there. She was about to leave, until he looked up and graced her with a smile.
“Good, you’re up. Sit down for a second, Buffy. I wanted to talk to you.”
She was confused by that, but did as he said.
“I have something for you,” he stated, going into his pocket to retrieve what looked to be a necklace.
Buffy’s eyes widened. “That’s Mom’s locket, I never saw her without it.”
Hank nodded. “It was in your mother’s things when I packed up her belongings. I must have put it away with the rest of her stuff and didn’t think much about it before now. I know she would have wanted you to have it,” he finished, handing her the locket.
Buffy took it from him, clearly stunned by the gesture. She gazed down at the necklace and opened up the heart, only to find a picture of her inside. Tears formed in her eyes as she glanced back up at her father. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He smiled and felt his own eyes tear up, it being so long since he had any real conversation with his daughter.
Buffy wiped her eyes and placed the necklace around her neck, grateful to finally have a part of her mother with her. She gazed back at her father and knew that she had to try one more time to get him to listen to her; it seemed they were making some progress. “Daddy, please don’t send me to Switzerland. I’ll try to do better, I really will. I finally have real friends here. I don’t want to leave.”
Hank let out a sigh. “You really don’t want to go?”
She shook her head and waited for him to continue.
“All right, I’ll talk to Addie about it. She’ll be upset, but I’m sure she’ll understand.”
Buffy sighed in relief, but silently prayed that the step-monster wouldn’t get him to change his mind.
* * * * *
Spike was taken by surprise when Buffy pounced on him by his locker, her lips attacking his in a passionate kiss. He gently pushed her away when breathing became an issue.
“Wow, what was that for?”
She smiled. “I’m just in a good mood for once. I don’t have to go to Switzerland. My dad talked to Addie about it and she’s totally pissed off, but of course pretended not to be around him. I’m just relieved that she didn’t get him to change his mind. He actually listened to me for a change, and gave me my mother’s locket,” she claimed, touching the necklace that was resting against her neck. “I didn’t think I would see this again.”
Spike smiled as well, pressing his lips to her forehead. “I’m happy to hear about that, pet. How about the two of us go away to London after graduation? I was always planning to go back for a visit and I would love if you went with me.”
“Really? I’ve always wanted to see England.”
He nodded. “I would be happy to show it to you. My grandmother lives there, I’m sure she would let us stay with her for a bit. Dawn already has plans for the summer, so it would just be us.”
Buffy eagerly nodded. “I would like that. Are you planning on going to the homecoming dance?” she wondered suddenly.
Spike shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking about it. I was never really into dances. Why? Did you want to go?”
Buffy shrugged. “Not really, I’ve just never really been to one before, but it’s not a big deal. I suppose there’s always the Prom, but we don’t really have to go to that either. It doesn’t really matter to me, whatever you wanna do is fine.”
Spike smiled fondly at how adorable she was. “Buffy, would you go to the homecoming dance with me?”
She blushed and nodded again. “Yes, that is if you don’t mind taking me. There’s no pressure.”
He wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss to the top of her head. “No pressure at all, I’m honored to take you.”
Buffy sighed against his chest, knowing that she would be happy to stay there forever.
* * * * *
“Okay, Xan-man, you can do this. Just think about what Spiderman would do.”
“Talking to yourself, Xander?” a female voice said.
He turned around with a start to see Dawn standing behind him. “Where did you come from? I thought you were in the locker room.”
She shook her head. “I got out of gym today. Were you waiting to talk to me, or do you just make a habit of loitering outside the girl’s locker room? That’s a bit creepy.”
Xander shook his head, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “I was waiting to talk to you, but now I’m thinking that was a really bad idea.”
“Well, I’m here now. So, what did you want? Is it something about Spike?”
He took in a deep breath. “No, I was just wondering if you maybe wanted to date me.” A pause. “Wait, that came out wrong. I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me, feel free to be gentle when you let me down.”
Dawn smiled. “Why would I let you down? I’ll go out with you, Xander. It’s about time that you asked me.”
His jaw nearly dropped in shock. “You were hoping that I would ask you out?”
She nodded. “For like months now, I’m not one to make a habit of doing the asking first. I’ve always thought you were cute, and I’ve seen the way you look at me. I figured it was only a matter of time.”
Xander was speechless for the first time in his life.
Dawn snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Did I lose you somewhere?”
He shook himself out of his daze to answer her. “Can I walk you to class?”
Dawn laughed and looped her arm through his. “Lead the way, Xan-man.”
* * * * *
“I really don’t think we should be doing this. We could get in serious trouble.”
Megan rolled her eyes and again wondered about her decision to get Harmony involved. “Would you stop whining already? Everyone is out to lunch, just keep a look out and shut up. The faster you cooperate, the faster it’ll be for me to find her file.”
Harmony nodded and kept watching the front of the office, making sure that no one showed up.
Megan continued to browse through the student files, a bright smile lit up her face when she finally found the one she was looking for. “Score, the file of Buffy Summers. Now, let’s see exactly what you have to hide. I’m bound to find something in here that will make Spike think twice about choosing someone like her. Come on, we have work to do.”
Harmony nodded again and immediately followed Megan out of the office.