Joyce Summers considered herself to be a pretty hip, laid back type of person; both in her personal life, as well as motherhood. Therefore, when she pulled up to her house and found what could only be described as a ‘hunk of junk’ taking up the entire driveway she shrugged her shoulders and decided to park on the street, figuring Buffy had a friend over. The fact that none of her daughter’s friends drove that type of vehicle never crossed her mind. Putting the Jeep Cherokee into park, she climbed out and grabbed her suitcase before strolling up the walkway to the front porch.
When she opened the front door and stared at the mess her teenage daughter had managed to leave in the living room, magazines and empty food wrappers tossed haphazardly on tables and the floor, Joyce just shook her head and made a mental note to talk to Buffy about cleanliness. Leaving her bag near the door, she quickly peeked into the dining room to see if maybe Buffy was in there with friends; finding no one, she headed up stairs to locate her daughter.
As she reached Buffy’s partially open bedroom door, Joyce frowned when she spotted the reason for the open doorway; knowing full well that her daughter preferred to sleep with a closed door. Blocking the door from closing all the way was a well-worn black boot; a boot that was very much not of the teenaged daughter variety. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Joyce hesitantly pushed open Buffy’s door and stuck her head inside; instantly regretting her decision to do so.
Momentarily shocked beyond words, Joyce stood there doing her best impression of a guppy; eyes locked on the sight before her. Lying in her daughter’s bed was a man she had never seen, comfortably sleeping on his back with her very naked teenage daughter curled up against his side. Buffy’s head was resting in the crook between his shoulder and his chest, her blonde hair tousled and spread out behind her, with only a scant scrap of bed sheet covering her body.
It was this sight that caused her otherwise relaxed demeanor to become unleashed. Joyce forced her voice to come forth and shrilly shouted, “Buffy Anne Summers!”
“Just a few more…minutes…mkay, Mom?” Buffy muttered sleepily, burying her head further into Spike’s embrace. Sighing against his chest, Buffy prepared to drift off back into a deep sleep, but was jolted awake as her current position finally penetrated her consciousness.
Spike was asleep and Buffy was amazed that the rising decibel of her mother’s voice hadn’t woken him. Eyes wide open at this point, Buffy reached between their bodies and made sure the sheet covered her bare chest before sitting up to face the proverbial music. “Um…whatcha doin’ back so early?” She asked timidly; completely unsure of how to handle the situation. As she watched her mother’s eyes light up with barely controlled rage, she realized that maybe asking why she was home so soon wasn’t the best way to approach the subject.
“Young lady, “Joyce started, her voice seething with anger, “this is my house and I will damn well come home whenever I feel like doing so.” Her livid eyes bore holes through Buffy before sliding down to focus on her daughter’s bedmate. “Excuse me?! Hello? You there…in bed with my daughter!” She cried, her voice rising with every word. When she didn’t get the desired response, Joyce tossed the heavy boot she had been clutching in her hand straight at Spike; which landed with a loud thud and caused him to angrily shout, “Bloody hell!” He shouted, rubbing the red spot on his chest as he sat up. “What the…Oh, bollocks!”
“Listen, I don’t know who you are, but you need to get the hell out of this house before I call the cops.”
“The cops! Mom! You can’t do that!” Buffy shrieked, shooting off the bed in a flash with the sheet clutched against her chest. “No! I…I…he came…home…I asked him here!”
“I may be old, Buffy, but I can still see well enough to know that this man is very much over the age of eighteen; which, by the way, you are not and is illegal in this state. So, yes! He can either leave now or have a nice little chat with the police.” Joyce pointedly looked at Spike before turning around to leave the room.
Buffy was already heading to the door with only a sheet clutched around her when Spike called out to her. “Buffy, pet…don’t go make anything worse, yeah? I’ll just go for now and maybe later when things calm down; we can all sit down and talk.” Climbing out of the bed, Spike pulled on his jeans and crossed the room to take Buffy into his arms. “It’ll be all right, luv…just give it time.” His eyes searched hers for understanding before leaning down to kiss her; a soft, gentle brush of the lips.
Spike threw on the rest of his clothes while Buffy returned to the bed and perched on the edge, her eyes filled with tears and the bed sheet still clutched to her breast; it never crossed her mind that she, too, needed to get dressed. After one last lingering embrace, she reluctantly let him go and followed him downstairs where her mother was impatiently waiting by the front door.
“Ma’am, I truly am sorry for causing…” Spike started to apologize, only to be cut off by Joyce’s hand; which was placed in front of his face in the standard ‘STOP’ sign. “It’s time for you to leave and not come back; that is unless you want trouble.”
Tears streaked down Buffy’s splotched face as she watched him disappear out the front door; her heart breaking into a thousand tiny pieces as her love walked out of her life. As the heavy wooden door slammed shut with resounding finality, Buffy forced her gaze in the direction of her mother; meeting Joyce’s angry glare full on. “Mom? I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t even want to hear it, Buffy. Just go to your room. I can’t look at you right now.” Joyce shook her head disapprovingly at her crying teenager before heading into the dining room for a much needed soothing drink. “I’ll deal with you later.”
As she tearfully watched her mother retreat into the safety of the dining room, Buffy sank to the stairs where she continued to cry; that is, until she heard the telltale sounds of her mother opening the bar. Realizing that her mother was shutting her out, Buffy slowly stood up and crept up the stairs to her bedroom, where she laid down on the bed; curled up in the fetal position and sobbed into the pillow that Spike’s head had been on earlier.
Several hours later, the sun already well on its descent for the evening, Buffy crawled out of bed for the second time that day. This time, she stumbled through the partial darkness to the bathroom and turned the water on as hot as possible before climbing in. The water was beginning to turn cold by the time she got out, wrapped a towel around her body like the sheet had done earlier, and headed back to her bedroom; where she was unpleasantly greeted by her mother.
“So, is this how you planned on thanking me for letting you finally stay home by yourself?” Joyce demanded, her voice slightly slurred from the gin she had consumed to soothe her nerves. “One weekend, Buffy! I was only gone for two days and you’re already out acting like a dog in heat. How do you expect me to ever trust you again?”
“I wasn’t acting like a slut, Mom. I…I’ve known, Sp…er, William, for a while now.” Figuring it best not to use the nickname he favored since Cordelia’s mom had most likely mentioned it to Joyce; Buffy mentally thanked her lucky stars that her mother had been too busy lately to take the time to meet Evie’s newest conquest. “I…I love him, Mom.”
“Love!? What do you know about love, Buffy? He was just using you for sex. That’s what all men do, and then they leave. That’s what they’re good at, and nothing more.” Joyce ranted; sloshing gin and tonic over the edge of the glass she was holding; causing it to spill onto Buffy’s carpet. She paused long enough to eyeball her daughter, “You know what the really sad part about all this is, Buffy? I came home a day early today to take you shopping for new school clothes since my work was already complete. Plus, I didn’t want to miss your first day as a senior. Nice to see what caring for you got me, huh?” Not caring about the fresh wave of tears spilling from her daughter’s eyes, Joyce started to leave. “Needless to say, you’re grounded. No parties, no Cordelia and certainly no Bronze until further notice. It’s to school, cheerleading practice and home; that’s it. Is that clear?”
“Clear.” Buffy whispered as her mother left the room. Wiping furiously at the tears on her cheeks, she rummaged through the dresser until she found her favorite Yummy Sushi pajamas. After getting dressed and running a comb through her wet hair, which she tied back in a bun, she decided to appease her mother by cleaning her room, but decided against changing the sheets right away since they smelled like Spike.
A pleasant hour of silence passed before her mother stumbled up the stairs, obviously on her way to bed, but had a change of heart and decided to stop by Buffy’s bedroom for another round of yelling. Figuring the best way to handle her mother’s mood was to stay quiet; Buffy meekly nodded along in agreement with Joyce until she gave up, left the room and slammed her bedroom door behind her. Buffy stood there, shaken, for a moment before climbing into bed and allowing the calming scent of Spike to help her drift off to sleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night, a quiet yet persistent tapping on her bedroom window roused Buffy from a fitful slumber. Flipping on the bedside lamp, Buffy gasped when she spotted a shock of white hair at her window; which she quickly unlatched with a luminous smile. When Spike regained his footing after almost tumbling into her bedroom, Buffy threw herself at him; relishing the feel of having Spike back in her arms. “Ohmygod, I missed you so much!” She whispered, tilting her head back to kiss him. Buffy’s face fell with disappointment when Spike untangled himself from her grasp, a frown marring his handsome face and without accepting her kiss. “What’s wrong?”
“Evangeline and Cordelia were just returning home when I got there, and well, I left her.” He explained, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching out to Buffy. The past few hours alone, driving aimlessly through the streets, had given him a lot of time to reflect on the situation that he had left Buffy in earlier and breaking the conclusion to her was going to be the hardest thing Spike had ever had to do. “We need to talk.”
“Huh…seems like we were already sorta like doing that.” Buffy replied, trying to be upbeat and cheerful even though those four words that Spike had just uttered were never a good sign. Crossing her arms across her chest protectively, Buffy backed away from him and stood by the closet. “Well?”
“I know this is goin’ to hurt, luv, but I don’ think we should see one another for a while. At least until you’re older, yeah? That way no one can tell us that what we have is wrong.” Spike hesitantly stepped towards Buffy, whose chin was trembling and eyes shining bright with tears once again; but stopped when she backed away from his reach. “Buffy, kitten…there’s just so many years between us and I think you need to take some time to experience life before we settle into a heavy relationship. Plus, with your mother…I know how close you two are and I don’ wan’ to come between you. Please say somethin’, luv.”
“Ok, so obviously not your ‘love’ as you have made very clear in that uber heartwarming speech you just made. And, who made you the Grand Poobah of Buffy’s Life Decisions? Nobody, that’s who!” Buffy sighed loudly, her body shaking with anger and resentment. “I guess my mom was right, you only wanted sex. Does it make you happy that you were my first? Gonna go strut around with your chest all puffed out proudly?”
“Buffy…please, just try to see this from my perspective!” Spike pleaded, bridging the gap between them; where he tried his best to pull Buffy into his arms.
With all of her might, Buffy shoved Spike away from her and cried, “Get out! Just go! That’s what you’re good at right?! Leave me alone!” When he tried once again to console her, Buffy slapped him across the face; leaving a red welt on his cheek. “Go away before I scream. This time, I’ll let my mom actually call the cops.”
Dejectedly, Spike turned away from her and headed for the open window. “I never meant for this to happen, Buffy. You have to believe me.”
“I don’t have to trust anything you say, Spike. Leave, please.” Buffy replied before Spike sighed and disappeared out the window into the night. Shaking, Buffy crossed the bedroom and tore the sheets from her bed, not wanting any reminders of Spike, and then crumbled onto the bare mattress in a heap of tears and sniffles.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
OHMYGOD! Thank you so much for all of the great reviews! **Warning** I will say, however, that there is some MAJOR angst in this chapter. Please do not hate me. As I have said many times, I love a good angsty story and love to write them as well. There is a method to my madness, just be patient and wait it out. On the upside, see how quickly this update got out!? That's a result of getting reviews! Hint/Hint! LoL! Have a great weekend everyone!