After his little stunt, Spike was banned from school property for a week. He had committed enough petty crimes in the past for the school board to consider expelling him, but Mr. Giles unexpectedly pleaded his case. Therefore, a week off school and mandatory attendance at every rehearsal.
At first, things with Buffy had been fantastic. They spent every minute together they could. Each day, Buffy counted down the minutes until rehearsal started so she could see him again. Likewise, Spike watched the clock with great anticipation until the time came. On occasion, he had even driven to the school an hour early. That was something he never expected.
Besides their blooming relationship, the play was coming along extremely well. Between the many make out sessions, Buffy turned out to be an amazing acting teacher. She coached Spike on his lines relentlessly, despite his constant advances.
”Are you ready Spike?” Buffy said for what seemed like the fifteenth time.
“You know I am, baby,” he replied, leering at her. Buffy shook her head.
“Come on, read it one more time. I swear, one more time and then we can finish for the day.” He pouted and looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes. Although it was quite an affective expression, Buffy rolled her eyes without a hint of a smile.
“Buffy…” he whined.
“No, Spike. Read the lines.” His pout continued, but he finally began his speech again.
You have her father's love, Demetrius;
Let me have Hermia's: do you marry him.
I am, my lord, as well derived as he,
As well possess'd; my love is more than his;
My fortunes every way as fairly rank'd,
If not with vantage, as Demetrius';
His expressions had improved tenfold. Everything he said came as naturally as any other form of conversation to him. Buffy could not have been prouder of her pupil (and boyfriend).
And, which is more than all these boasts can be,
I am beloved of beauteous Hermia:
Why should not I then prosecute my right?
Demetrius, I'll avouch it to his head,
Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena,
And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, dotes,
Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,
Upon this spotted and inconstant man.
“Wow… that was… just wow!” Buffy exclaimed. She hugged him proudly before pecking him lightly on the cheek. The smell of her overwhelmed him however, and he grabbed her before she had the chance to pull away. Kissing up her neck voraciously, he whispered words of wanting.
“Do you know what you do to me? You’re gonna kill me, Summers,” he murmured huskily. His pants tightened around his member as she kissed him back hungrily.
“You’re not too bad yourself,” she spoke seductively as she rubbed his thigh. The urge to take her against the wall was overwhelming, despite her mother listening right upstairs. She noticed his quick intake of breath as she caressed his stomach. She stroked just above his belt buckle. “Hey Spike?” she whispered in his ear. He only whined in response. “Time to work.” She bit his earlobe softly and smiled as she walked to the other side of the stage.
Spike stared at her in confusion, unable to process her words next to her actions.
But Angel was anything but pleased. He watched the lovers day in and day out and couldn’t help the pangs of jealousy. He had no idea why a hotshot like him wanted a geek like Buffy, but something about her made his blood boil. Something about her made him think of nothing else. Despite the cheerleaders making passes at him, he only wanted Buffy. His hatred of Spike didn’t make matters any better.
During rehearsal, Angel tried to trip him up. He put stage weights in his bag, switched his own lines, etc. Anything to show Buffy how wrong Spike was for her. But the more he tried, the more Spike impressed Mr. Giles and Buffy with his so-called professionalism. He just couldn’t win.
For this reason, Angel came up with the perfect scheme. He was completely confident that it would not only separate them, but also make Buffy fall into his arms. It simply could not fail.
Two days were left before the show and Mr. Giles had them working up until midnight each night, but Buffy didn’t care. Buffy could barely contain her excitement for the upcoming performances. She had had leads before, but for some reason, this play meant more. Perhaps it was because she would perform with the man she loved and who loved her back. Perhaps the reason was simply that she hadn’t been in another play for a few months. Either way, he excitement grew exponentially throughout the days.
Buffy wished that the school would care more about the arts program, but they just acted the way the always did: indifference. The plays never seemed to matter much to the remaining student body. In fact, the more the theater kids tried to promote the shows, the less inclined they were to take part. Just as well, Buffy was pleased to be a part of it.
Suddenly, however, Spike’s ex-friends bought tickets. Seeing that the punks were buying tickets, the masses thought it would be a good idea to follow. Mr. Giles was overwhelmed with joy to learn they had sold out every performance on the second day of ticket sales. When Buffy found out, she ran to the theater to find Spike. He was waiting for her, as always.
“Spike! Did you hear? We are sold out!” she exclaimed as she ran to his open arms. She didn’t notice his now slack-jawed demeanor.
“Huh?”
“Sold out! As in, every single seat filled? Isn’t it wonderful!” Buffy pulled away a bit to see his expression, but was surprised by his sudden pallor. “What’s the matter?”
“I just… uh… I’m fine. Just, um… surprised,” he responded with a less-than convincing smile. Buffy, however, was too happy over the development to notice.
“Me too” she yelled, hugging him once more. “Oh my god! I have to go tell everyone. I’ll see you in a minute!” she yelled as she bounded out of the theater. A figure watched him collapse in a chair nearby.
It was time.
“Hey Spike,” said a far off voice. Spike looked around for the culprit and found Angel standing before him. “How are you doing? Excited?”
“Yeah… I suppose,” he said cautiously. He still wasn’t 100% onboard when it came to Angel. Not after what the ponce had done to his Buffy.
“Cause, you know, I heard it’s gonna be packed in here.”
“Heard the same.”
“I’m just glad I’m not nervous. Jeez, that could trip a person up.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Hey! Can’t a guy just make conversation?” Angel took Spike’s silence as a request to continue. “I’m just saying that when I’m nervous, I forget my lines, my blocking… everything goes haywire. Even if I’m completely prepared… I don’t know about all of those people… staring and judging me. It’s like football, you know? Except that last pass of the night lasts the entire show.” Angel seemed pleased with himself for coming up with the analogy.
“You really should have been a poet,” Spike said. Angel either missed the sarcasm in his voice entirely or chose to ignore it.
“Well, I have to be going. I’ve got a girl waiting out there for me. See you soon.” The boy stalked off proudly, whistling as he left the auditorium. He was positive that his plan had worked. He forced everyone to buy tickets for the show in hopes that Spike would get so nervous he would ruin the production. Because Angel would expect the horror, he would come out looking like he saved everyone from the audience. Buffy would come to him and renounce Spike. It really was the perfect plan.
Spike collapsed for a second time. Oh god… I really am in for it, aren’t I…
……………………
The night of the show
The cast could hear the audience murmuring. It was like the tuning of a symphony before a musical; energetic and profound. Well, not exactly profound, but definitely beautiful. Buffy clasped the velour curtain in her small hand and smiled at the audience she could not see. This was it.
Showtime.
He could hear the audience murmuring. It was like a throb, pounding in his ear and scaring him half to death. As much as he wanted to forget about Angel’s clear trick to psych him out, his words looped in his head, “…when I’m nervous, I forget my lines, my blocking… everything goes haywire. Even if I’m completely prepared… I don’t know about all of those people… staring and judging me…” He grabbed the curtain and tried to squeeze out his nervousness on the poor fabric. He glared at the audience, mocking him behind it. This was it.
Showtime.
Larry Fergusen stepped out on stage and began the play.
“Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace; four happy days bring in
Another moon…
Buffy watched the action unfold onstage from the wing. A permanent smile played on her face as she witnessed the wonder of the theater. It really was magical. A few minutes in, however, she noticed Spike, white as a sheet, clinging to the curtain for dear life on the opposite wing. She quickly picked up her skirts and quietly toed her way to the opposite end of the proscenium.
“Spike!” she whispered as quietly as she could, praying her microphone wasn’t on. He turned to face her with a ghastly expression. “What’s wrong, baby?” she said as she stroked his cheek in what she hoped was a calming way.
“I-I think there are t-too many people out th-th-there,” he stuttered stupidly. Spike wanted to smack himself out of it, but he simply couldn’t. His embarrassment over his nervousness was overwhelming.
“Shhhh,” she said as she hugged him tightly. “Everything is going to be fine. You’ll see.” Her calming words didn’t seem to make a dent in his feelings. “Ok, Spike, look at me. You are amazing. You have done this a zillion times, with and without me. You know the words and your blocking. What could go wrong? What, you miss a line? So what! These people won’t know or realize that! Besides, these people are here to support you. They are here to see you perform, whether that means you are amazing or not. They aren’t waiting for you to fail. Well… a lot of them are, so that might actually be the case… So show them wrong! Show them the man you can be, the man I know you are, and shove it in their faces.” A hint of a smile shown on his face, but was almost immediately replaced by his internal anguish.
“Spike… look,” she forced him to look at her. “Remember when you sang to me over the loudspeaker?” he nodded jerkily. “That meant a lot to me. And do you know why?” he shook his head. “Because you let yourself go. You finally opened up and let this ‘badass’ persona go. You could finally be yourself because you found a reason to. Even though you had to humiliate yourself, you had a reason that meant more. Am I still your reason?” There was a hint of nervousness in the question. Spike held his palm to her cheek and gazed at her in awe.
“Of course you are… I love you,” he said softly. She blushed and smiled adorably. He kissed her softly on her full, luscious lips.
“Then perform for me. Pretend I’m the only one out there and it’s all for me. Ok?” He nodded happily as the color returned to his cheeks. Buffy kissed him once more before padding off to her side of the stage.
I am so in love with that girl, he thought.
When Spike walked out to perform, he felt more confident than ever before. He didn’t notice the pained expression strewn across Demetrius’ face because he was too focused on how beautiful Buffy was as she glided across the stage.
As the play came to a close, Spike had an idea.
“My lord, I shall reply amazedly,
Half sleep, half waking: but as yet, I swear,
I cannot truly say how I came here;
But, as I think,--for truly would I speak,
And now do I bethink me, so it is,--
I came with Hermia hither: our intent
Was to be gone from Athens, where we might,
Without the peril of the Athenian law….”
Spike looked around happily and winked at Buffy.
“But…” the other cast member blinked awkwardly at the change in lines.
“But!?” Demetrius exclaimed, irritated beyond reason.
“But…” Spike continued, “as I lay in starlight this night,
As the dawn realizes the sunrise,
I knew it could not be-“
The audience, at least the ones who knew the play, gasped in unison.
“For she,” Spike pointed at a very surprised Helena.
“For she is the one for me,
Yes Helena is not meant for thee,” he then pointed at a furious Demetrius.
“I once lay in slumber, awaiting a morning
I never knew would come, could come
But then, beautiful Helena, in her fair
Came upon me like a gust of air
Breaking my sleep and breathing it in
Yes, now I know at once what can never be severed
That I love Helena, now and forever.”
Spike brought Buffy to the edge of the stage and watched the emotions play over her face. In the heat of the moment, a very pissed off Angel strutted off the stage. The audience laughed obnoxiously at the brunettes’ huff puff. Willow (Hermia), who was never one for adlibbing, ran off the stage in the opposite direction. While Buffy felt badly for both parties, her brain more or less shut off as she gazed into Spike’s cerulean eyes.
“You know you’ll never get another part after this little stunt,” she whispered.
“I don’t plan to,” he whispered back before kissing her passionately. He only broke apart when the ‘awws’ and hooting from the audience became unbearable.
“Why?” she whispered.
“Because now I have my reason to be who I want to be,” he whispered back. “Oh dear Helena,” he projected once again, “my heart is now true as steel… whatever that means.”
“It means thy love is as strong as the metal,” she replied happily.
“Then my love is ten times, twenty times, one hundred times stronger than steel. You are the reason I have strength of heart.”
“I am your reason?”
“You are all of my reasons.” When they kissed a second time, the audience roared with approval. The couple faced them with glorious smiles and bowed together.
When they stood up again, Spike whispered in her ear, “Maybe next year they’ll do Romeo and Juliet.”
THE END
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Final chapter! I finally sat down and finished it! Thanks everyone who commented and stayed with this story, I cannot thank you enough. I hope to write a new story soon (the second I have time, that is). I hope you all enjoyed it and will follow my next story! Thanks again!
Chapter End Notes:
By the way, I wrote the "extra shakespeare" lines. I know they aren't even close to as good though :)