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Author's Chapter Notes:
I've been aiming for updates every two weeks or so; it is entirely due to my awesome betas that I came very close to actually getting this done in two weeks. Huge kudos to Puddinhead, Ryn, and Tennyoelf for encouragement and suggestions and generally being wonderful.

Thanks so much, also, for all the awesome comments. Feedback really does make me want to write more. I promise.

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Buffy let herself in to the house through the back door, trying to be as quiet as possible. She wasn’t quite ready to face Dawn, not with her heart thundering away in her chest—not to mention the sweaty palms and wibbly stomach. Because of the snake, of course. Her reaction had nothing at all to do with Spike, or his blue eyes, or the way he had looked at her as he leaned in for a kiss, or the way his lips felt against hers ...

Mmm. Lips of Spike.

Oh, no. Lusty thoughts about the bleached menace next door were wrong and bad. She was not going to have them anymore.

Except just then another wrong, lusty thought reared its ugly head. His blue, blue eyes, the way he'd stroked the nape of her neck— Buffy couldn't deny a certain desire to rip his clothes off and DO things to him. Dirty things that shouldn't be done anywhere near a kitchen.

Buffy strove valiantly to turn off the instant replay of the last few minutes at Spike’s house. Her brain, however, didn’t want to cooperate. She needed a distraction.

As if on cue, Dawn walked into the kitchen. Buffy nearly sighed in relief.

“Are you okay?” Dawn asked. She wore her blue fluffy sheep pajamas, and her face had been scrubbed clean of make-up. “You look a little …” She looked down and fiddled with the hem of her pajama top. “You’re mad, aren’t you?”

Buffy shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Spike’s snake just crawled across my foot.” And that’s the only reason I’m freaking out right now. Yeah.

“Oh, Drusssilla!” Dawn completely missed the glare Buffy sent her way when she hissed out that ridiculous name. “Isn’t she cool? I think she really likes me. Spike let me feed her today, and then she totally curled up around my neck, just like she does with Spike.”

Buffy sensed a world-class ramble coming on, and she interrupted her sister before she could really get going. “Sit down, please.”

The happy grin faded from Dawn’s face, and she slid into the chair across from Buffy. “You are mad,” she said.

“Well, what did you expect?” Buffy snapped. “You lied to me, Dawn.”

“What? I did not!”

“Really? So when you said you called me at work, you meant that side job I have babysitting Janice, I guess.”

Dawn dropped her gaze to the table top. “Oh. That.”

“Yeah, that. How am I supposed to trust you, Dawn?” Buffy leaned forward to catch Dawn’s eyes; her sister slumped down in her chair, her chin resting on her chest. “I don’t want to have to worry about where you are or what you’re doing.”

“Maybe if you were home once in a while, you wouldn’t have to worry about me.”

Buffy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Dawn, do you not get that I have to go to work? How long do you think we’d have a house or food if I didn’t have a job?”

Dawn scowled. “Whatever. You don’t have to work at the Doublemeat. I bet there’s lots of places you could work that would have better hours and—”

Buffy held up a hand to stop the tirade she sensed was coming. “This isn’t about me. We’re talking about you and how I’m supposed to trust you when I catch you lying to me.”

A moment passed while Dawn fidgeted in her seat. She peeked at Buffy, then dropped her eyes to her lap. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

“Half-hearted apology almost accepted.” Buffy drummed her fingers on the table. “You need to apologize to Spike. You lied to him after he did something nice for you.”

Dawn straightened in her chair, and her eyes lit up. “You think he’s nice?”

Buffy bit her tongue before she said anything incriminating. “I … maybe I misjudged him. And he really seems to care about you.”

“Can I hang out with him sometimes?” Dawn perked up, all trace of the sullen teenager she’d been for the past ten minutes gone.

It struck Buffy that she really should have talked to Spike about Dawn, as she’d intended. Instead, she’d dumped all her problems on him. How exactly had that happened? It had to be Spike’s fault; she could act like a rational adult when he wasn’t around. “I don’t … I mean, I guess, as long as Spike doesn’t mind. We can talk to him in the morning, okay?”

“What? I thought that’s what the whole ‘go home, Dawn’ thing was about—so you could talk about me behind my back.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “What were you doing over there?”

Buffy shrugged uncomfortably. “We were talking, but then there was that snake on my foot incident. I … I sorta ran out before we could finish our discussion.” Or make-out session. Stupid snake.

Buffy hoped her cheeks weren’t flaming. Her whole body felt hot and her skin too tight as she recalled again the brush of Spike’s lips against hers. She sort of hated that snake. Spike had been just about to kiss her—and more to the point, she’d been about to let him.

Maybe she should be thanking stupid Drusssilla instead; the last thing Buffy needed right now was to do anything crazy. Especially with a bleached, pierced punk whose body was way too tempting for her own good.

“Uh, hello?” Dawn snapped her fingers, and Buffy snapped back to the conversation she’d just zoned out on.

“Oh, um, yeah, I … it’s fine with me if it’s okay with Spike,” she stammered. “But you have to be respectful. And no more lying!”

“Ugh, whatever.” Dawn stood up in a flurry of teenage indignation. “I didn’t hurt anyone, and you know what? I could have done anything I wanted today, and you never would have known. But instead I went to Spike’s, and I did my homework, and I learned how to cook something. So … so there!” She swirled out of the room and stomped upstairs with more force than one would expect from a ninety-pound scrap of humanity.

Oh, goody. Sullen Teenager was back in full force. Had she been so moody at that age? Buffy seriously doubted it. Maybe being allowed to spend time at Spike’s would improve her attitude; Dawn had been cheerful enough during dinner to make that a distinct possibility.

That meant Buffy would have to actually talk to Spike again, and that meant their almost-kiss was going to be firmly placed in the ‘things of which we shall never speak’ category. Buffy rose and made her way upstairs, even though she had the feeling that sleep would be a long time coming tonight.

An hour and forty seven minutes later, as she was still waiting to fall asleep, Buffy decided: she hated that snake.


***

Buffy woke in a foul mood that wasn't helped by the realization she'd either forgotten to set her alarm or slept through it. She rolled out of bed and glanced at the clock as she quickly gathered up the nearest clothes she could find. If they left in the next ten minutes, Dawn would make it to school on time. Buffy had a feeling that wasn't going to happen.

"Dawn, are you awake?" She called on her way past her sister's room to the bathroom. "We're running late!"

There was no sign of life from behind Dawn’s door. Buffy rapped sharply on the door and waited a moment. When she still got no response, she pushed the door open. “Dawn, come on, you need to—”

The room was empty. Buffy raised her voice. “Dawn! I’ll be ready in five minutes. Don’t forget your lunch!” She waited a moment. Still quiet. She listened and couldn’t hear any movement from downstairs. “Dawn, did you hear me?”

Buffy shrugged when she didn't get an answer. There would be plenty of time to deal with a moody teenager after she got ready. She headed into the bathroom and rushed through her routine. She was done in four minutes flat. Her hair was inexcusable, really, but there was no time for anything else, not if she wanted to get Dawn to school on time.

“Let’s get going,” she called as she headed downstairs. She grabbed her key chain from its spot by the door, then froze as she noticed that Dawn’s keys were gone.

“Dawn?” Buffy walked into the kitchen—no Dawn, but she wasn’t expecting anything else. The bowl of cereal, ready and waiting for milk, was a surprise. An apple sat next to the bowl, anchoring a piece of paper. Buffy picked it up and read the note scrawled on it in Dawn’s looping cursive.

B—I got a ride to school this morning. Hope you don’t mind. Have a good day off!!

A flower was doodled at the bottom of the page in lieu of a signature. She set the note down with a sigh. Three guesses who Dawn had conned into taking her to school, and the first two didn’t count. Buffy thought back to the night before and Spike’s offer of help. Maybe she should take him up on that. Something had to give, especially where Dawn was concerned. The fact she had done her homework last night spoke volumes about Spike’s influence on her.

Buffy nodded to herself. She’d talk to Spike, she decided. If he really wanted to help with Dawn—keeping an eye on her after school, making sure she did her homework and stuff like that—she’d be happy to pass off some of the responsibility. As long as it was very, very clear that they were nothing more than neighbors, because any more moments like last night were a complication she didn’t need. She ignored the flip her stomach gave at the reminder of their near kiss and sat down to eat her breakfast.

***

Spike stepped back from the punching bag he’d been pummeling for the past half-hour and drew in a deep breath. His muscles twanged as he stretched his arms out behind his back. It was past time for him to shake off his distraction and get home; the morning contingent of aerobics enthusiasts were making their way into the gym. He usually made it a point to be long gone before the class instructor started blaring unbearable pop music and shouting incomprehensible commands at the spandex and lycra-clad attendees. Spike unwrapped the bindings around his hands as he made his way to the locker room. After toweling the sweat from his face and chest, he slipped his t-shirt and sweatshirt on and headed out.

He had just parked in front of his house when he heard a rapping on the passenger-side window. Spike turned to see Dawn smiling at him. She opened the door and slid into the car.

“Morning, pigeon,” he said. “What’s going on?”

The smile dropped off Dawn’s face, and she twisted her hands in her lap. “Um, I just wanted to say, uh … I’m sorry I lied about calling Buffy last night.” The words came out in a rush.

He chuckled. “That’s okay, Dawn.” Then, thinking better of giving her a free pass, he added, “But don’t do it again.”

Dawn nodded earnestly. “Promise!” She reached for the door handle before glancing back at him. “Would you mind a lot giving me a ride to school? It’s Buffy’s day off, and I thought it would be nice if she could sleep in.”

Spike immediately squelched the thought of Buffy in bed, warm and sleepy, blond hair tousled and messy. “Sure. What time do you need to leave?”

She glanced at her watch. “Now-ish. Is that okay? I just have to leave a note for Buffy and grab my backpack.”

He nodded his assent, and Dawn flashed him a brilliant smile. She scooted out of the car and ran towards her house. She was back quickly. “Thanks again, Spike. I bet Buffy will appreciate this, too.” She started scanning through radio stations as Spike pulled away from the curb.

After only a few blocks, Spike couldn’t help but notice she kept shooting him sidelong glances. She opened her mouth, then shook her head and looked away from him without saying anything.

“Something on your mind?”

Dawn jumped. “Uh … well. I just … I had a question, and I thought I’d ask you because … I mean, you’re a guy, right?”

“Last I checked, yeah.”

“Okay, so … there’s this boy, right? And he’s really sweet, and I think he likes me, but I don’t know. He kissed me once, like, forever ago, and then I got grounded so we couldn’t hang out, but then I saw him again yesterday, and he was so nice to me, but how do I know if he likes me or if it’s just that he feels sorry for me or something?”

Spike groaned. He was not equipped to deal with the romantic entanglements of a teenager. “Wouldn’t you rather talk to your sister about this?”

Dawn scoffed at his suggestion. “Oh, please. Buffy is, like, the queen of terrible relationships.”

He probably shouldn’t give in to his curiosity, he knew that. Still, he found himself asking, “How so?”

“Well, her first boyfriend—Angel—was all lovey-dovey and super-sweet attentive guy until he got her to sleep with him, and then—”

Spike’s conscience got the better of him. “Hold up there, pidge,” he interrupted. “You sure this is a story Big Sis would want you telling me?”

“Oh!” Dawn looked abashed. “I guess … probably not. Anyway, yeah, she’s had some really lousy boyfriends.”

“I’m not exactly a poster child for great relationships myself,” he warned. “But if this boy of yours has got a lick of sense, he’ll treat you like a princess. If he doesn’t, you drop him. Got me?”

She nodded. “Do you think it would be too weird if I maybe called and asked him out? I mean, do boys like that?”

“I can’t speak for the entire male population, but personally?” Spike glanced over at Dawn; she was staring at him raptly, just waiting for any pearls of wisdom he cared to impart. “I think a girl who knows what she wants and goes after it is pretty damn sexy. Near impossible to resist, too.”

“Thanks, Spike.” Dawn nodded sagely. She seemed satisfied with his answer, and Spike hoped that meant she’d leave the topic alone.

He had a sudden attack of doubts—she’d mentioned kissing. Should he grill her about that? He tried to guess at how Buffy would handle the situation, then snickered to himself as the phrase what would Buffy do? ran through his head.

“Oh, Spike, can you pull over?” Dawn’s voice cut through his thoughts. “That’s my friend, Janice.” She pointed out a tall, thin girl standing at the next corner. As Spike slowed the car, Dawn turned to him. “That boy I was talking about? He’s Janice’s brother. So don’t say anything about it, all right?”

“All evidence to the contrary, pet, I’m not really in the habit of gossiping about boys with teenagers.”

Dawn grinned at his dry tone and shrugged her narrow shoulders. She rolled her window down as Spike rolled the car to a halt. “Hey, Janice!” she called to her friend.

The girl’s red curls shone in the sun as she glanced up and around, then her gaze settled on Dawn. Her eyes grew wide as she took in the sight of Dawn in the big, black car. “Wow,” she said, approaching the vehicle. “That’s a really cool car!”

“I know, right?” Dawn answered.

Janice leaned into the car, her brown eyes fixed on the driver. “You must be Spike,” she said. “I’ve heard so much about you.” She turned to Dawn and, in a loud whisper, added, “You’re right. He’s totally hot!”

“Oh, my god,” Dawn muttered. Her cheeks flushed brick red, and she squirmed in her seat. She shoved Janice, and the other girl backed her head and shoulders out of the car. “Could you be any more obvious?”

Janice simply shrugged and continued to stare at Spike. He was tempted to tell her to take a picture, but he had the feeling she’d be only too happy to take him up on the offer. If there was one thing he didn’t need, it was a hormone-bomb of a teeny-bopper running around with his picture on her cell phone.

“Does your friend need a ride to school?” he asked Dawn, making sure to pitch his voice too low for Janice to hear. He was mightily relieved when Dawn shook her head.

“I’ll get out here. We can walk the rest of the way; it’s only a few blocks.” She slid her arms into the straps of her backpack and opened the door. “Thanks for the ride.”

“You’re welcome, sunshine.” He watched Dawn and Janice saunter down the sidewalk, where they met up with a small group of girls who were heading in the same direction. The lot of them put their heads together, all talking at once. Then every single girl turned rapt eyes toward him. Janice waggled her fingers at him.

Spike gave the girls a curt wave, which set a fit of giggles tearing through the group, and peeled away from the curb.


***


“Oh, my gosh, Dawn, who was that?” Bethany gushed.

“Is he your brother?” Lisa asked.

Dawn grinned as she glanced around at the bevy of intrigued faces surrounding her. “Oh, Spike? No, he’s just a friend,” she said, cool as a cucumber.

There was a collective sigh and coo from the girls. “Wow, that’s so cool.” Nevaeh, who hadn’t spoken to Dawn since the day she’d had her meltdown at school, sounded impressed. “He’s got a really awesome car, too.”

“I know,” Dawn said. “He’s teaching me how to drive.” Okay, so that was a lie. But she bet if she asked really nicely, he’d be willing to teach her, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch.

“How do you know him?” Molly stood with a hand on one hip and a skeptical look on her face. She and Nevaeh were best friends, so she hadn’t been very friendly with Dawn the past couple months, either.

“He’s her neighbor,” Janice said dismissively. “She’s totally got a crush on him.”

“Shut up, Janice!” Dawn hissed. “God, I do not.”

Molly rolled her eyes and linked arms with Nevaeh. The other girls, like always, took their cue from those two, and the group moved as one down the street. Janice shrugged apologetically and hurried to catch up with them.

Dawn trudged along behind them, a scowl on her face. The attention had been nice for the whole three minutes it had lasted. Now she was, for all intents and purposes, invisible again. She was used to that; it just sucked, was all.

“Come on, Summers,” Janice called. “We’re gonna miss first bell.”

Dawn glanced up and saw that the other girls were already heading into school; Janice was half a block ahead of her and gesturing for her to hurry. She took a few quick steps, then came to a stop. “I don’t care,” she said to herself. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized how true they were. She didn’t care if she was late for school—in fact, she didn’t care if she never made it to school again. It was a stupid place full of stupid people, and she didn’t know why she had to bother. She made up her mind right then and there she wouldn’t.

“See you!” she yelled at Janice. Then, with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face, Dawn headed away from school as quickly as she could.


***

When the doorbell rang, Buffy nearly dropped the plate she was washing. She was pretty sure she’d never heard that sound in this house before. It was a far cry from the days of living at home, when she and Dawn both had a constant stream of friends in and out of the house. Joyce had always encouraged them to invite anyone they liked to their house; she seemed to naturally befriend and mother everyone who came through her door.

Buffy blinked away the sudden tears that stung her eyes. She rinsed the plate and set it in the drain rack. The doorbell pealed a second time as she walked to the door. Buffy yanked the door open to reveal Spike standing on her doorstep. An unlit cigarette dangled from his lips.

“Morning, kitten,” he said. He plucked the cigarette from his mouth and tucked it behind his ear. “Hope I didn’t drag you out of bed.” Spike leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, as he looked her up and down. His lips curled up in an amused grin, and Buffy realized she’d been patting at the mess that was passing for a hair-do this morning.

She dropped her arms to her sides. She didn’t care how messy her hair was; it didn’t matter one little bit what Spike thought of her. She really shouldn’t have to remind herself of that. “No, I was just doing the dishes.”

They stared at each other for an awkward moment before Spike straightened up. “Mind if I come in?” he asked. “Thought we could talk.” He took a step forward, and Buffy hesitantly moved aside to allow him entry.

The room immediately felt smaller. It was silly, really. Spike wasn’t a large man, by any standards. He stood barely a head taller than Buffy herself. But there was something about his nervous energy and ample attitude that sucked all the air out of the room. Buffy watched him prowl about. He walked to the fireplace and examined the family photos that hung above the mantel. His hands tapped a rhythm against his jean-clad thighs. He picked up the Kokopelli statue, turned it over twice, and replaced it on the mantel. Next he plucked a purple glass butterfly—one of Dawn’s keepsakes—from its place beside Kokopelli.

“Spike. What did you want to talk about?” She made her tone deliberately icy. Rude, yes, but there was no help for it; she didn’t want any repeats of last night. That way lay nothing but trouble.

He quickly put the butterfly down and turned around. “Gave Dawn a lift this morning.”

Buffy nodded. “I kind of figured. It had to be either you or her friend, and I can’t see Janice making that much effort this early in the morning.”

Spike let out a snort of laughter. At her curious glance, he said, “Met her this morning. She’s … bold.”

“That’s a word for it.” She smiled at his exasperated expression. “Thanks for taking Dawn to school.”

“No problem. I was out and about anyway.” He moved across the room and came to stand in front of her, almost too close for comfort. “Did you think any more about last night?”

Buffy gulped. His eyes were just as blue as she remembered. “Last night? I don’t … I mean, we didn’t … What about last night?”

The way he chuckled at her obvious discomfort made her want to punch him. Or kiss him. But she wasn’t doing either of those things, she reminded herself, because they were both bad choices.

“You took off, is all. And I didn’t think we were nearly done.” Spike edged a little closer to her. Buffy instinctively backed up until she felt a wall behind her back.

“There was more to … do?” How on earth did he manage to make her feel like a schoolgirl with just a look? Admittedly, he had that whole smoldering, sexy eyes thing going on, and with his hair all ruffled and mussed like that, he exuded a sort of just-rolled-out-of-bed charm. It wasn’t fair.

“I thought you were going to let me—”

“Let you what? Kiss me? Because that’s so not what was going to happen. I was ... I was just upset, or I never would have—” She broke off when Spike’s shoulders started shaking with laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“I was going to say, I thought you were going to let me help you.” He arched an eyebrow. “But nice to know you’d never unless there were extenuating circumstances. Does a fella’s ego good.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Buffy protested.

“Ah, so you would, then?” Spike leaned in towards her, a teasing smirk on his face. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear; his thumb dragged slowly down her jawline, and a shiver skated down her spine.

Buffy was tempted to let him continue what he was doing. She’d own up to a certain amount of curiosity about him—about how he’d move, how he’d taste, how he’d touch her. No. Bad, bad Buffy. With great effort, she tapped into an inner resolve and planted both hands on his chest in order to push him away. “Will you stop? You know that’s not what I meant, either.”

He shrugged and jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Your loss, pet,” he said with a smirk.

“I’m sure. You’re god’s gift, right?”

“Nah, wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if I were.” Spike looked at her, an intent and serious gaze that she found difficult to hold. Then he nodded, as if he’d gotten the answer to some unspoken question, and took a step back. “Just wanted to let you know the kid got to school safe and sound this morning. You have a good day, love.”

Buffy felt a sting at the dismissal in his words. She reached out and grabbed his arm when he started to walk away. “Spike. Thank you. I … I’m really happy Dawn has another adult in her life that she can trust.”

Spike smiled at that, a genuine, warm smile that was completely different from the grins and smirks he’d favored her with so far. “That’s … well, that’s something, Summers,” he said. “Maybe you moving in here wasn’t such a bad thing, huh?”

“Maybe not,” Buffy agreed. She returned his smile before releasing his arm. “Spike, if you … if you’re serious about helping with Dawn—”

“I am,” he said.

“Okay.” She took a deep breath and looked up into his clear blue eyes. “I meant what I said last night. I can’t do this, I feel like … like every choice I make for her is something else she’s going to hate me for. But you— Maybe it’s because you’re not family, she doesn’t have to live with you or anything. But I think … I think you could …” Oh god, she was going to have to say it. Best to just do it and get it over with. “Youcouldbeagoodinfluenceonher.”

Spike laughed. “My, my, how things have changed.”

“Don’t make me change my mind,” Buffy warned, but there was no heat in her voice. Was she flirting with him? She was a little afraid she might be.

He sobered at her words. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said. “Truce, then, yeah?” He held out his hand. Buffy took it without hesitation, and they shook on it.





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