Buffy, who had just paid for the pizzas and was about to leave, turned around with a frown when she heard someone call her name. “Xander? What are you doing here?”
Xander looked confused for a moment, then nodded towards the pizza boxes she was carrying with a nervous laugh. “Um, I’d say, the same as you.”
“Right.” Buffy suddenly felt a little stupid and forced a laugh as well. “I just meant…” She stopped as she noticed the dark-haired man standing behind Xander, watching her with a curious look on his face. “Um, hi?”
“Oh, sorry. Jesse, this is Buffy, And Buffy, this is Jesse, a friend of mine.” Xander paused. “We work together at the construction site.” Another pause. “I did tell you I started working there, right?”
Buffy nodded, vaguely recalling him mentioning something about a new job a while ago. “Yeah. Nice to meet you, Jesse.”
The tall, slender man smiled at her. “You too.”
“So…” Xander glanced at Jesse before turning back to Buffy. “How are you?” He laughed a little. “I mean, I know I just saw you a couple of hours ago, but…” Leaving the rest of the sentence hanging, he just shrugged.
“Oh, I’m fine, thanks. You?” Buffy suddenly felt like her head was spinning. Had it really just been earlier today she had ran into Willow and Xander at the Double Meat Palace. After everything that had happened tonight, that moment now felt like years ago.
“I’m good.” Xander looked a little nervous again, and they were both silent for a moment, nobody seemed to know what to say next.
Buffy was starting to feel really uncomfortable, something she had never thought she’d feel around Xander a couple of weeks ago. But things were different now. She looked down at the pizza boxes in her arms, trying to come up with an excuse to leave without being rude; she didn’t want to stay here and make with the small talk, right now she just wanted to get back to Spike. “I should probably…”
“Buffy, wait.” Xander gave her a pleading look and glanced at Jesse again, who seemed to take the hint.
“Oh, um… I’ll just go see what’s taking so long with our pizzas. Excuse me.” Jesse gave Buffy another smile and headed towards the counter.
Forcing back a sigh, Buffy tried to recall if she had seen a microwave at Spike’s place. Because by the look of things, the pizzas would be cold before she would make it back. She gave Xander a questioning look. “What is it?”
“Nothing, I was just…” Xander hesitated, clearly not sure of what to say. Then he glanced at her two pizza boxes with a small chuckle. “Well, either you’re very hungry, or…”
This time, Buffy was unable to hold back an annoyed sigh. “I’m spending the night at Spike’s place, Xander. Do you have a problem with that.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally he shook his head, holding his hands up in an apologetic manner. “Of course not.”
“Good.” For a moment, Buffy was tempted to say something more. After all, Xander had been one of her best friends for a long time, and she hated how strained things had been between them lately. But now, Xander actually seemed to be trying to make amends, and there was nothing she would like more than for her best friends to get along with her boyfriend. Still, she really wanted to get out of here.
Xander seemed a little disappointed by her reaction, but quickly covered up. “Right, I’m not gonna keep you anymore, then.” A pause. “Still on for the Bronze tomorrow night?”
Buffy frowned, but then remembered how she had promised Willow and Xander to meet up with them at the popular nightclub the following night. She hesitated for a moment. “I’m not sure, there’s been a lot…” Noticing the disappointed look on his face, she forced a small smile. “Maybe. We’ll see.”
He looked at her for a moment, then nodded. “Sure.” Then he put on a smile himself. “Better go, you wouldn’t want your pizzas to get cold.”
“Right.” Buffy nodded as well. “I’ll see you around then. Bye.” She quickly turned around and left the pizza place, eager to finally get back to Spike.
”So, William… Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
Spike took a deep breath, desperately trying to stay calm. He wasn’t a little kid anymore; there was nothing Ethan could do to hurt him now. Besides, this was his apartment, he didn’t have to let the man in. Struggling to get his emotions under control, Spike tried to convince himself that he was the one who was in control of the situation. Of course, deep down, he wasn’t so sure. He crossed his arms over his chest, hoping his fear wouldn’t show. “Not bloody likely.” Ethan’s eyes narrowed, and he swallowed. “How did you…?”
“Find you?” Ethan laughed. “I have my ways. In fact, I’ve been around for a while. Paid your mother a little visit earlier.” He paused, watching closely for Spike’s reaction to his words. “So, have you seen her lately?”
“Don’t you see? I was wrong and now I will be punished. And so will you.” Drusilla let out a soft whimper. “They made me see what really happened and I was wrong.”
Spike’s eyes widened as he recalled his mothers last words to him. Suddenly they didn’t just seem like crazy ramblings, like he had thought. Drusilla had known Ethan was around, she had seen him. Now he forced the image of his mother’s terrified face to the back of his mind, and gave Ethan a cold look. “She’s dead.”
“Really?” Ethan raised a brow, but didn’t seem too surprised. “Well, she always did take the easy way out, didn’t she?” Then he laughed. “By the way, I’m still waiting for an invite. We have a lot of catching up to do, don’t you think?”
Snapping out of the shock, Spike stared at him in disbelief. “You’d have to be crazy if you think I’d…”
“You know, I ran into your little friend outside.” Ethan interrupted him, a smug look on his face. “Such a pretty little girl. I would hate if something happened to her, wouldn’t you?”
Spike glared at him, furiously, as the meaning of the man’s words started to sink in. “Touch Buffy, and I’ll kill you!” He realized that he sounded a lot more confident than he really was, but he meant every word.
Ethan, who had been grinning, stopped abruptly and his face turned cold. “If that’s the way you want to do this, fine. I’ve tried to be nice, but the game ends now. I’m going to come in, and you are not going to stop me.” The smug look was back. “Am I right?”
For a moment, Spike didn’t know what to do. Then he finally took a step back. He realized that Ethan meant what he had said; he wouldn’t think twice before using Buffy to get to him. And he couldn’t let that happen.
“Wise decision, son.” Ethan entered the apartment, looking very pleased. He walked over to the couch. “Mind if I sit down?” Without waiting for an answer, he sat down and leaned back, putting his feet up on the table.
Closing the door quietly behind him, Spike remained standing. “What do you want?”
Ethan just looked at him for a moment, not saying anything. Then he sighed. “Did you really think you could run away from me?” Before Spike could answer, he went on; “You never should’ve left. But you did, and now I’m afraid you’ll have to face the consequences.”
Having heard those exact words all too many times before, Spike desperately tried to remember that he was an adult now and this man no longer a threat to him. He rolled his eyes. “Is that so? Guess what? I’m not afraid of you. You can threaten me all you like, but you can’t hurt me anymore. You just…” His voice trailed off as Ethan suddenly got up from the couch and walked over to him. He inhaled shakily, forcing himself not to back away.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Ethan glared at him for a moment. Then a cruel smile appeared on his face. “Let me put it this way. The question isn’t whether or not I could still hurt you. The question is how much, and in how many ways.”
TBC