“Buffy? Are you there?” his voice came over the line, pulling her out of her stupor.
“Hi!” Buffy said as she closed her laptop. “Spike?”
“Hi...” Spike replied, unable to keep the smile out of his voice. She was just so adorable. “Yep, it's me. Met up with some bloke named William, said I should call you...”
“Ah, right. William. Nice guy,” she told him and went to turn down the stereo so she could hear him better. “What did you think of him?”
“He was okay. Put in a good word for you though, gotta see if it's true.”
“Oh? And what did William say?”
“Well, he said that you were nice, smart, you like my music, and that you're incredibly beautiful.”
Buffy's jaw dropped. He thought she was beautiful? She started to blush, thankful that he couldn't see her through the phone. “Yeah, right. Me? Incredibly beautiful? I think he was talking about a different girl.”
“Now, now, don't sell yourself short. You are very beautiful.” Spike smiled, then switched the phone to his other ear. “So, what are you doing tonight?”
“Nothing! I mean, uhm, just talking to a friend. About school. Not about... Uh... never mind. What are you doing?” Buffy sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Why was she acting like such a spaz? It wasn't like she'd never talked on the phone to a rockstar before...
“Was thinking that I'd give you a call, see if you wanted to meet up tomorrow. Same time, same place?”
He was asking her out? Buffy could hardly contain her squeal. But she couldn't meet up with him, not at the same time. If she went at the same time, she would have to skip her biology class, and she was having a hard time in that class. Her mother would freak out if she knew. “I, uhm... I can't. Not at the same time.”
“Oh, right. School. How old are you anyway?” he asked, then instantly wanted to kick himself. “I'm such a git, I didn't mean it like...”
Buffy giggled, knowing he didn't mean it to sound rude or sarcastic. “No, no, it's okay. I totally understand. I'm eighteen. Going to be nineteen in January.”
“Okay, that's good. Well, since you can't come hang out with me during school hours, how about...”
“Oh, I can, just not during certain classes. I could skip gym class, or go out during lunch. And it just so happens that my gym class is right before my lunch class. I have an extra long break.”
“That works out perfectly, then. See you at the Espresso Pump at...”
“10:30.”
“10:30 it is,” he smiled. “By the way, who was the person you were expecting to call? Willis?”
“Willis?” she asked, then wanted to bounce with joy when she realized who he was talking about. He thought Willow was a guy, and he was curious about 'him'. That was perfect. He was scoping the grounds to see if she was single, and she was more than happy to say that she was. “Oh, that is just my friend, Willow. We were talking on the internet and I told her to call me. So I thought it was her calling, when it was actually you. Sorry about that.”
“Oh, it's no problem. Just curious, is all,” he said, then sighed as Xander poked his head into the room, motioning for him to get off the phone. “Look, luv. I've gotta go, have an interview in a bit. See you tomorrow?”
“Definitely!”
“Alright, have a good night, Buffy.”
“You too, Spike. Bye.”
“Ta, pet.”
When the line clicked off, Buffy jumped up on her bed and started to bounce, giggling and smiling like a maniac. Spike wanted to see her again! She couldn't even believe that she had met him in the first place, and now she would be able to hang out with him again. She was so filled with happiness, nervousness and excitement, she just had to call Willow, and tell her the great news. Besides, she wanted to look her best tomorrow, and who better to help her pick out an outfit than her best friend? If Spike thought she was beautiful when they met, when she'd been crying and she felt like crap, then she hoped he'd be really impressed when she put time and effort into how she looked.
She quickly dialed the number she knew by memory and waited for Willow to answer.
“So how'd it go?” Willow asked, knowing it was Buffy from the caller ID.
“Ohmigod, Willow. It was great. You wouldn't even believe who...” Buffy tilted her head in thought, wondering if she should tell Willow everything. She knew Willow wouldn't breathe a word of it to anyone, so her mind was made up. “You know what? This is going to be a long story. Why don't you come over and spend the night tonight?”
“But it's a school night!” Willow whined, wanting to get her full eight hours of sleep. Knowing Buffy, Willow would probably end up with only five.
“I promise, Willow. The story I have to tell you will so be worth it.”
Willow finally agreed and they said their goodbyes. Willow would be over in twenty minutes and that was more than enough time for Buffy to bask in the glory that was her life. She knew that there were still a million crappy things in her life, but at the moment, she couldn't care less.} in her life, but at that moment, she couldn't care less. She had a date with Spike and soon she would be gushing about it with her best friend.
Life was great for Buffy Anne Summers.
“What?!” Xander asked incredulously, leaning over toward his best friend. “You... you can't! I mean, come on! You're so gonna get busted and then who's gonna have to come and bail you out of a public crisis?”
Spike scoffed and waved his hand at Xander. “Nothing like that will happen. I'll be careful and I know that Buffy wouldn't say anything. I trust her.”
“Trust?!” Xander laughed. “You just met the girl! How the hell can you trust her so easily? She is a fan, Spike! It's not like she won't do anything to get her 5 minutes of fame, even if she has to sell you out to get it. I think you're making the wrong move and putting trust where it shouldn't be.”
Spike's nostrils flared as the words his friend said to him sank it. Spike was angry that Xander could say such things about the sweet girl Spike had met earlier, but his words also held a bit of truth. However, Spike's gut was telling him that Buffy was trustworthy and whatever he had to do to become a part of her life was worth it.
“Thanks for looking out for me, Xan. But I think I can make my decisions on my own. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an interview to get to.”
Xander watched Spike disappear behind a door and shook his head. Xander didn't want to see his friend get hurt, but he also wanted him to be happy. He was so torn about what to do and say, he decided he would just let it all play out the way it should. Maybe if something happened this time, Spike would be smarter the next time he met a girl.
TBC