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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hey, I wrote more of this three years ago (three years ago!) and never posted it. Why? I have no idea. So, enjoy. :)
Chapter 3

Spike got as far as the driveway before collapsing against the tree in Buffy's front yard. Leaving had required an astounding amount of energy, but he couldn't be near Buffy for another moment. He didn't have the patience, especially in his weakened state. His head was pounding furiously. The pain from his cuts and bruises was barely noticeable; it was the places where Buffy had touched so tenderly that were giving him fits. He could still feel the warmth of her fingertips on his torso, arms and face. It was driving him crazy.

She was driving him crazy. She infuriated him, she confused him, and he couldn't get enough. Even after his grand exit from her house, he wanted to go back. It was a toss up; he wasn't sure if he wanted to strangle her or crawl on his knees and beg for forgiveness. One thing was always constant though; he wanted her. He wanted to kiss her harsh sarcastic mouth, to feel her unbelievably strong legs wrapped around him. He wanted to leave her speechless, defenseless-he wanted
her to feel helpless for once. If she could feel just a fraction of what he felt on a daily basis...

With a new but quickly diminishing burst of energy, Spike forced himself to make the walk home. The usual ten-minute trip took three times longer. He pushed open the heavy doors of his crypt with every intention of falling on the couch and staying there for days, but his plans were interrupted by a breathy gasp that transformed into a loud sympathetic coo.

"Oh my God! Spiiike, you look terrrible!"

Please, no. Not now, he thought with a cringe.

"Harmony, ah, what a pleasant-oh fuck, I can't. Harm, what are you doing here?"

She came at him, dressed head-to-toe in bubble gum pink. Harmony, his very own sad excuse of a Buffy look-a-like. She was about an inch too short, and her hair was all wrong. At least she fit in similar clothes...sort of. She was a tad curvier, but Spike couldn't find real complaints with that. She was vampire, so it really didn't matter if she couldn't breathe in the Slayer's size two leather pants.

"I really don't need a reason to visit, do I, Spikey?"

"Yes."

"Oh, you! You're so silly," she giggled. She wrapped a hand around his arm and guided him toward the bed. "Can I get you anything, baby? Ice for your eye? Something to eat?"

"Harm..."

She hummed softly as she tucked the blankets securely around his body. "Do you need something for your head? Do you still have those pills?" Not waiting for an answer, she kissed his forehead and bounced to another part of the crypt. "Spikey, where'd your shirt go? Not that I miss it-you wear way too much black. I keep telling you that you should let me shop for you. Are you free tomorrow night?
The mall is having this amazing sale."

"Harmony."

"Yes?" she answered sweetly. In flash, she popped pain relievers into his mouth, helped him drink from a glass of water, and pressed a bag of frozen food against his swollen eye.

"What can I do for you?" she cooed before climbing on the bed and snuggling into his side. "Oh, my poor baby. Those jerks were so mean to you! Stupid humans. At least they avoided your face...a little. But vampires don't scar, right?" Smiling, she ran her fingers through his hair. "Spike, you've missed me, haven't you?"

Without considering his injuries, Harmony wiggled her way on top of Spike's body. "I've missed you so much. Let's never fight again. You'll get over your crush on the Slayer. I'll help you. Hey, I used to love Luke Perry, and I got over it."

And then she kissed him. She closed her eyes and covered his mouth with hers, still caught up in her one-sided delusions of their reconciliation.

"Oh, Spike," she gasped, not realizing or caring that he wasn't kissing her back. It was during the second kiss when Spike pushed her away. She fell off the bed with a startled cry.

"Hey! What'd you do that for?"

"Get out." He wasn't in the mood to raise his voice. "Now, Harm, and don't come back."

"B-but, but-why?"

"You must really think I'm an idiot. Oh, but wait, I am for bringing you home that first night after one too many shots of tequila."

"But-why are you being so mean?"

"You ratted yourself out, you moron. My head? The humans? God, I can't believe you hired those thugs! What did you pay them in, peanuts?"

"I don't know what you're--."

"They leaked your evil plan. It was all around town."

"What? You knew?" Harmony asked, suddenly angry. "You so did not know!"

"No, I didn't, but the Slayer did."

"No way!" She jumped up like an enraged kitten. "How could she know?
I told the guys to keep it on the down-low!"

"She knew," Spike chuckled, enjoying Harmony's distress. "She even
came to my rescue."

Harmony's eyes flashed and her lips twisted into a frown. "I hired them so you'd forget about her! You made me so mad! She's all you ever think about! You and your stupid sex games, making me dress like her in those hideous clothes-you're my boyfriend, you're not supposed to hurt my feelings like that!"

"I was your boyfriend," Spike corrected. "Harm, when I said it was over, I meant it."

"But I was supposed to nurse you until you were better. You were supposed to realize how much you needed me."

"Sorry, pet," he said, although he struggled to muster up a genuine feeling of sympathy. His head was killing him, and her scheming was the reason behind the pain.

"But Spike, I love you," she whimpered.

"Get out."

"But...but..."

"You can find better, alright?" He rolled over and closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see her tears. "I appreciate the effort, really I do, but you deserve better."

"Heck yeah, I do!"

"Go, and I suggest you go far, Harmony. I have no problem killing vampires, especially after the shit you pulled tonight. And if you even think about coming after me and mine again--."

"You won't have worry about that! You-you slayer loving freak!"

Spike had to snort at that. She'd hit the nail smack-dab on the head. "Goodbye, Harmony," he yawned. "Shut the door on your way out, will you?"


***

The morning began normally. Buffy woke up twenty minutes before her alarm. She showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a comfortable t-shirt. It wasn't until she was getting her breakfast that Buffy realized that she was in a horribly bad mood. It was her sister that kicked it off. Buffy was raiding the refrigerator when she heard Dawn clear her throat.

"So," Dawn said, just barely stepping into the kitchen. Although she was usually asleep for another hour, she was wide awake and fully dressed. "What'd you do to Spike?"

"Mom and I heard you arguing with him," she continued. Her hands were on her hips. "He was hurt; you couldn't have tried to be nice to him? You had to bitch him out?"

"Since when did you become Spike's protector?" Buffy left the refrigerator, no longer interested in searching for food. She matched Dawn's stance and started to stare her down. "You hardly even know the guy."

"I know him! We watched TV together last week!"

"Excuse me?"

Dawn's face paled slightly, but it didn't stop her from provoking Buffy further. "Mom said I could go, and she also said that I could see him today. I'm going this morning before school."

"No."

"Mom said I could."

"Well, maybe I should go upstairs and change mom's mind," Buffy ground out.

"Don't." Dawn stepped in front of Buffy before she could leave the`kitchen. "She's not awake yet."

"I'm sure she is after all the yelling you just did."

"Please, just let me go," Dawn begged, her voice suddenly sweet. "You can come with me if you want. We'll go together."

"No."

"Why not?" she demanded, all her sweetness gone in an instant.

"Because I have no reason to see him, Dawn."

"You don't care about him at all?"

"Why do you care about him so much?"

"He-he doesn't treat me like I'm a twelve-year-old!"

"You're fourteen, Dawn, I don't think there's much of a--."

"He's nice to me!" Dawn interrupted. "He's cute and he's funny and--."

"Cute? You think Spike is cute? My God, do you have a crush on him?"

"If I did, it wouldn't matter," Dawn said, rolling her eyes. "He's a total hottie and I like him, but," she shrugged, "he's in love with somebody else. And besides, he's way way too old. I just want to check on him, alright? And I'm going no matter what you say. Mom said I could, last night, she promised."

"Damn it," Buffy whispered, her nostrils flaring. She couldn't let her sister go to Spike's crypt alone. She shouldn't be going there at all, but Buffy knew better. If Buffy didn't take her, she'd do something drastic. She'd skip school and spend the entire day fussing over her new idiotic crush. The thought alone made Buffy fume
just a little more.

"If we're going, we're going now," Buffy announced. "Get your coat. We'll pick up something to eat on the way."
***

"What happened to him exactly?"

"You mean you didn't hear all the juicy details when you were eavesdropping?"

"No."

"He was beat up."

"I figured that much, Buffy. Why was he beat up? Who beat him up?"

"A couple of guys. Human guys," Buffy added. "I don't know why they were after him, but it was planned out. They followed him, waited for him to strike first, and they took advantage of his chip."

"So, he couldn't fight back?"

"That's right," Buffy replied as she and her sister walked through the cemetery.

"Why'd you bring him home? I mean, if you don't care about him, if you hate him so much, why'd you bring him to our house?"

Buffy didn't answer. She started to walk faster.

"Buffy!" Dawn whined. She had to jog to catch up.

"No more questions, Dawn. I just want to get this over with. We don't have time to..." She froze, seeing a heap of charred remains outside of Spike's crypt. "Dawn, stay back."

"But-but what about-God, he isn't--."

"Stay back," Buffy demanded. With the tip of her shoe, she moved through the pile. She didn't see any dust, so she gathered that Spike was still among the living.

"Buffy...is that your shirt?" Dawn tiptoed closer and pointed at the ground. "Aren't those pictures of you? Hey, those are the jeans you accused me of stealing last week!"

Buffy didn't respond. She couldn't form words as she looked down at the pile. Spike's belongings-broken CDs, pages from books, and even food from the refrigerator-were mixed with her own stuff. His black shirts were tangled up with mementos from her room.

"Dawn, go home," she was able to say a minute later.

"Why? What are you going to do? What about Spike? Are you sure he isn't, well, in there?"

"Don't worry about Spike, because if he's alive," Buffy paused, finding underwear that had magically disappeared from her laundry basket days ago. "I'm going to kill him."
***





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