“I’m telling you, guys, I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life!” Buffy slumped back on the chair next to her best friend; Willow Rosenberg. She had been standing behind the counter at the Double Meat Palace for the last four hours and was happy to be able to sit down for a moment. Willow gave her a sympathetic smile, having already heard the whole story about Buffy’s new neighbors.
Xander Harris – who was sitting at the opposite side of the table – took a big bite of his large burger and chuckled a little. “Talk about making a good first impression.”
“It’s not funny, Xander!” Buffy glared at him. “The kid gave me this whole sob-story about his parents being dead and I totally fell for it. Then his father showed up, looking at me like I was some monster, just about to kidnap the boy or something.”
Willow couldn’t help but giggle, then stopped as she saw the look on Buffy’s face. “Sorry.”
“At least he got really mad at the kid for lying like that.” Buffy took a small sip of Willow’s diet coke. “He was all ‘you’re grounded!’ and ‘do as I say!’ Looks like he’s got some temper. Probably needs it with a kid like that.” She took another sip.
“You don’t think he’d hurt the boy, do you?” Willow got a concerned look on her face.
“What? No!” Buffy frowned. “You think? No, he wouldn’t. I mean, he was totally gorgeous!” She pouted a little as Xander snorted. “Well, he was! And I know; so not the point.” Xander opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted as Buffy let out a gasp. “Oh my God, he’s here!”
“What? Where?” Xander glanced around the room as Buffy quickly hid behind Willow. He gave her a confused look.
“Is it the guy with the leather duster?” Willow leaned over the table to get a better look at the man, who had walked over to the almost empty counter. “Oh boy, you weren’t kidding. He’s a total hottie!”
Xander stared at her in disbelief. “Willow, you’re gay!”
“So?” Willow slumped back on the chair. “Doesn’t mean I’m blind.” She watched Buffy let out a sigh of relief as the blond man waited by the counter, then quickly left the restaurant with his bags of food without even looking their way. “Why didn’t you go talk to him?”
“Yeah, right!” Buffy rolled her eyes. “Why would I wanna do that? He was totally rude to me. Besides…” She shuddered. “I have a cow on my head!” She ripped the ridiculous hat off her head, glaring at the Double Meat logo. Willow smiled.
“I don’t see what the fuss is about.” Xander looked from Buffy to Willow. “The guy was not that hot. I mean, come on! Bleached blond hair and black leather? Can you say Billy Idol wannabe? Although I have to admit, I can see why some people would fall for that look. Strong and mysterious and sort of compact, but well-muscled…” He stopped with a frown. “Okay, that came out a little more gay than I intended.”
Buffy stared at him for a moment, than shook her head in amusement. “Right.” She got up with a sigh. “Time to go back to work.”
“Billy!” Spike put the greasy bags down on the table, rolling his eyes at the sound of loud music coming from upstairs. He walked over to the stairs and yelled; “Billy! Turn the bloody music off and get down here!” Then he returned to the kitchen with a sigh, convinced that the boy had heard him perfectly well the first time. Ever since they got back inside, about three hours ago, Billy had been sulking in his room.
After waiting patiently for almost five minutes, Spike finally heard footsteps coming down the stairs and a moment later, Billy entered the kitchen. “What?”
Spike ignored the hostile note in the boy’s voice. “Got us some food.” He gestured towards the bags on the table. “Burgers and fries.”
“Not hungry.” Billy turned around to leave, then stopped in the doorway. “And I hate burgers and fries.”
“That’s bollocks, since when?!” Taking a deep breath, Spike silently counted to ten. “Fine. Have it your way.” Suddenly, he was desperate to change the subject. It was bloody typical; how he was never able to have a normal conversation with his son anymore without arguing. “So…” He paused for a moment. “First day at the new school tomorrow, right? We’re leaving at seven-thirty, don’t wanna be late.”
“I wanna take the school bus.” Billy got a stubborn look on his face. “I'm almost eleven years old. You don’t have to drive me there like I’m some little kid.” Spike opened his mouth to object, but Billy went on; “I’ve already checked what time the bus is leaving.”
Of course you have, Spike thought, bitterly. Not like anyone else would bother to do it for you. He felt a headache coming up. “Billy, it’s your first day. I don’t want you to…”
“I said, I’m taking the bloody bus!” Billy glared at him. “I don’t care what you say. You never listen to me, so why should I listen to you?”
“Hey!” Spike gave him a warning look. “That’s not fair. And watch your mouth!”
Billy ignored him and headed for the door. “I’m out of here.”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Spike grabbed his arm to stop him. “What part of ‘grounded’ didn’t you get? You’re not leaving the house, until you’ve learned not to follow complete strangers.”
The boy let out a snort. “Name’s Buffy. She lives next door. She has a white cat, named Princess Leia. Anything else you wanna know?”
“That’s not…!” Spike stopped with a frown. “She named her cat Princess Leia?” He shook his head, as if to clear it. “Never mind, that’s not the blo…” Quickly correcting himself, he started over; “That’s not the point. You don’t just walk away without telling me where you’re going.”
“Whatever.” Billy rolled his eyes. “I’m going out.”
Spike crossed his arms over his chest and stepped in the boy’s way. “No, you’re not.”
“What are you gonna do?” Billy gave him a challenging look. “Hit me? Lock me up in my soddin’ room?”
Staring at him for a moment, Spike then let out a frustrated sigh. “Billy, we’re not having this conversation. I’m your father; you’ll do as I say.”
“Not bloody likely!” Billy glared at his father before storming out of the room.
Spike started to follow, then stopped and slammed his fist down at the kitchen table. A moment later, he heard the loud slam from the door to the boy’s room, and he let out a bitter laugh. Sometimes he wondered why he was even trying. He had thought that things would be better now; that he and Billy would be able to start over here in this town, away from the past. But obviously he was wrong.
He hated the fact that everything was so screwed up. So much had happened, bad things, and he had no idea how to make things right again. The way Billy was acting around him was so damn frustrating, but Spike knew that he couldn’t really blame the boy. It was his fault, not Billy’s. He groaned as he recalled the events back in LA, knowing that he had handled things terribly wrong. But he could still change things, right? Spike had to believe that. Sure, he had made a mistake, he was well aware of that. But things were different now. He could be a better man here, a better father. And Billy would never have to pay the price for his actions again.
TBC