Alright kids, power is back and I'm ready for action! I left for a trip to Gettysburg on Friday and, believe it or not, still didn't have power. I got back today and let me tell you, I have never been so happy to turn on a freaking lamp in my entire life.
Also, I am back in school and for some reason I tend to do a lot more writing during that time as opposed to between semesters. I'm hoping that updates will come a bit more frequently, but with that pesky "real life" thing going on I can't make any promises other than I WILL NOT ABANDON THIS STORY.
This one is kind of dramatic and so is the next one. Fluffy is taking a nap so I hope you all are ready for that.
This chapter goes out to Isis Nocturne of the Elysian Fields 'verse. Good luck in your new apartment and school semester!
Honorable mention: Funkyhamburger for having the best, yet completely unsettling, pen name ever.
Chapter 23.
"Buuuuff." Her eyes opened groggily as the sound of Spike's voice fluttered to her ears. "Wake up, Buff."
"Mmmm." She moaned as she slowly turned to face him. She was thrown a bit off her guard when she saw that he was already showered, dressed, and in total game face. "It isn't time to wake up."
Spike chuckled as she cuddled further against his chest. It was almost automatic when his hand reached out to swipe a strand of hair out of her face and almost an instinct that made him place a soft kiss on her forehead. "It is for me, pet, you've still got a while."
She rubbed her eyes sleepily as she tried to rid herself of the residual drowsiness from the past few nights. It had been a week since they had started the tour and the couple had slowly but surely slipped in to a fairly regular routine. They would wake up together every morning either in his bunk or a luxurious hotel room before eventually emerging and wandering around whatever city they happened to be in. Two hours before doors opened they would show up at whichever club or venue they were playing that night and go their separate ways tofulfill their individual responsibilities. After the shows they would typically go out to a late, very late, dinner at any diner that happened to be open with the rest of the bands before whisking one another away for a little private time. To say it was nice would be an understatement, to say it had been the best week of her life would be much closer to the truth.
"You sure you have to go to that meeting today?" She mumbled as her tired eyes found his.
He smiled down at her as his thumb gently caressed her cheek. "Unfortunately," he answered, "but I should be back in a couple of hours."
"Good," she said, "I've never been to Philadelphia before and I don't want to spend all of my first trip here in the hotel room."
"Sure 'bout that?" He asked with a suggestive smirk.
Buffy laughed softly as her eyes drifted closed again. "Go before I change my mind."
With a slight chuckle he touched his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. "Call you later, luv."
Without another word Spike straightened himself up, threw a hand through his hair, and made his way to the hotel lobby where the rest of Flesh of the Passions was waiting for him. He didn't want to go, these things were always a total nightmare, but it wasn't up to him. Besides, it was only one meeting, what was the worst that could happen?
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The light blue Mazda 3 drove in to lot 316 of Wavering Hills trailer park slowly and careful not to hit any of the children that were walking around, riding bikes, or playing random games between the lots. She carefully put the rental car in park and removed the key from the ignition. She pulled her sunglasses away from her face and tucked them gently in to her wavy red hair. She gave herself a quick once over in the rear view mirror before opening the car door and getting out slowly. Her designer boots hit the dirt floor as she quickly made her way over to the trailer. With a deep breath she raised her manicured hand and knocked steadily on the front door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." A rough, aging voice called from inside. Within seconds the door was open and the man inside was staring at the girl on the stairs with a look of disdain written across his features. "Well, if it isn't our little superstar. Come to mingle with the commoners?"
"Hi, Dad." Glory said quietly, head hanging slightly and eyes looking anywhere but at him.
The large man crossed his arms over his stained white shirt as he leaned against the trailer door. "To what do we owe this great pleasure?"
"I was in the neighborhood," Glory answered as one hand rose to gently rub the opposite arm, "I wanted to see you guys."
The man scoffed loudly. "Who are you and what have you done with Gloria?"
"It's Glory now... Dad."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He said as he moved to walk in to the house.
Knowing that this was as much as an invite as she was going to get, Glory followed her father in silence in to the trailer. She saw her mother laying on a bed in the middle of the living room connected to multiple tubes, monitors, and even an IV. Glory felt the tears well up in her eyes as she looked her over but moved further in to the room nonetheless. Her mother was completely motionless and her eyes were closed, the only thing that made Glory know that she was alive was the constant beep on the heart rate monitor that she was connected to.
"How is she?" She asked as she made her way to the well used recliner next to the comatose woman on the bed.
"Same as she has been." Her father answered as she reached her hand out to rest against the motionless one before her. "She don't know you're there."
"I know." Glory said as she rubbed her thumb softly against the back of her mother's hand. She hadn't been home in six years and, if she was honest with herself, this was mainly the reason why. She had been sixteen when her mother was hit by a car and fell in to coma thanks to a drunk driver and a terribly timed walk of the dog. The family had been strapped for money before the accident but things went nowhere but downhill from there. When she had ran away to L.A. a year later she had never wanted to look back and for the past six years she had done a fairly good job of leaving the past behind her. She would call every now and again to check up on things but it was never more than a five minute conversation. If she was honest with herself she would admit that it was the fear that had kept her away, but in the world she had created for herself she was invincible, unstoppable, and afraid of absolutely nothing.
"Why are you here?" Her father's voice shook her out of her silent musings and she immediately turned to face him.
"I told you," she said, "I wanted to see Mom."
"You could have came to see her any time in the past six years and you didn't." He said as he took a swig from a whiskey bottle she hadn't even noticed him grab.
"I was busy." Glory responded lamely.
"Bullshit." Her father spit. "You abandoned us, you left this family."
"I didn't-"
"You did!" He roared at a level that made her jump. "You ran away like a dog with it's tail between it's fucking legs to L.A. and didn't even call for three fucking years!"
"Dad, I-"
"You went out there and you made it big and still you did NOTHING to help!" He yelled.
Glory grabbed the bag from her shoulder and immediately went searching for her checkbook. "What do you want?" She asked as she found it. "How much do you need, Dad? Five thousand? Ten?"
"I don't want anything from you!" He yelled. "I don't even know you, Glory."
"Dad, I just-"
"No!" He yelled as he threw the bottle at the trailer wall. "I don't want anything from you! You are not my daughter!" She quickly jumped from her seat and made her way toward the front door. She was caught completely off guard when his hand shot out to grab her by the hair and she practically fell in to the wall as he pulled her close. "Listen to me, you little bitch." Her father growled in her ear. "You are nothing to me, you get that? NOTHING!"
Glory clenched her jaw as she waited for him to release his hold on her hair.
"If you ever come back here again," he whispered, "you'll find a shotgun waiting at that door for you, got it?" When she didn't answer he slammed her head against the wall, eliciting a slight whimper from her lips. "Got it?"
Glory nodded. "Yes."
After one last tug he released her hair and pushed her toward the front door. "Get the fuck out of my trailer."
Glory stumbled outside and back down the stairs and over to her rental car. She unlocked the doors with shaking hands and quickly got inside, slamming the door shut behind her. A single tear fell down her disheveled face and she wiped it away with a violent flick of her wrist. She pulled her sunglasses out of her hair and sat them on the bridge of her nose. With one quick shake of her head the sad, scared little girl was gone and the mask of the super diva she was had been put firmly back in place.
This didn't hurt. Nothing could hurt. She was Glory, and she was invincible.
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Spike sat in the conference room of the Eyeball Records Philadelphia office, head leaning on his fist as he slowly but surely sunk lower and lower in to the uncomfortable black leather office chair. He enjoyed touring, he really did, but having to meet with the label in every city they had an important big wig in was really a hassle.
He let his mind wander back to the girl he had left alone in his bed that morning and couldn't help the smile that rose to his lips. She had only been touring with them for a week and it was already, hands down, the most fun he had ever had on tour. She apparently hadn't traveled much in her life and with every city they went to she turned in to the proverbial kid in a candy store. Things that he had taken for granted she saw as the beautiful landmarks that they were made to be. The fact that he could take her to these places, that he was the one to make her face light up like her family's Christmas tree, made these ridiculous meetings worth it.
He absentmindedly thought back to the first show she had accompanied him to back in Maryland. She had been amazed at how long the line to get in to the venue had been and even more surprised when the guys, and even the girls of Glory Wire, emerged from the bus and took a few good minutes to sign anything that was thrown their way and snap a couple of photographs for their fans. The real shocker had came when Buffy was asked for her autograph not once, but multiple times.
"You're a star." He had whispered in her ear as she went along with the requests and he could tell how much these people had made her day.
The feel of a high heeled foot rubbing against the bottom of his leg brought his attention back to the task at hand and his head quickly snapped over to the brunette sitting directly across from him. With an aggravated sigh he moved his legs off to the side of the table and out of Cecily's reach, he couldn't stand the woman and the very last thing he wanted was to have her in the same room as him, let alone touching him with those hooves of hers.
"Mr. Pratt," the man leading the meeting said, "is there a problem?" Spike pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow as his head made a quick tilt to the left before returning to the same position it had been before. The man narrowed his eyes slightly before continuing with the conference. "As you know, we like to send someone along to whatever show you may be having in our fair city and tonight is no exception."
'Christ,' Spike thought, 'another night of babysitting these gits.'
"Miss Adams has been kind enough to volunteer her time tonight to attend the show and I do hope that you all will be as kind to her as you were to me the last time around." The man said.
"Don't worry, Frank," Cecily said from across the table, "I have no doubt that my boys will show me a good time."
Spike and Oz both glanced at one another, Bob would have joined in their shared look had he been awake to notice what was happening, and both could hardly stifle their groans. Cecily coming to a show was never a good thing, even when she had just been another face in the crowd she somehow managed to stir up problems, but the fact that they were going to have to show her around and spend whatever time they weren't on stage with her definitely did not sit well with any of them.
"I'm sure they will." Frank responded. "Now, with all that being said we've managed to pull a few strings and get you on to the top radio station in Philadelphia for an interview in an hour. We've gone ahead and called you a cab so head on down to the lobby and you can all be on your way."
One by one the people that had been sitting around the table began to disperse. Oz glanced over at Bob and gave him a quick jab to the ribs and waking him instantly. "Yeah, what Spike said." He yelled as he shot awake. In the excitement that was Bob nobody had even noticed Cecily make her way over to them.
"See you tonight, boys." She gave Spike's shoulder a quick squeeze before walking out of the conference room, swaying her hips seductively the entire way.
Bob looked over at Spike and Oz and saw both of them staring toward the door with very angry expressions plainly strewn across their faces. "What did I miss?"
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Buffy had been running back and forth from her suitcase to the full length bathroom mirror for the better part of the last hour. It was going on noon and Spike was still gone, while the cat's away the mouse will play and this particular mouse liked to play with clothing. She had gotten the random urge to look especially good tonight and she could feel that she was on the edge of style glory.
Her phone began to vibrate loudly from it's spot on the bathroom sink and she quickly made her way over to it. She saw Spike's name written across the screen and took no time in answering it. "Hello?"
"Hey there, luv." His accented voice said through the phone.
"How was the meeting?" She asked.
"Same as all of the others." He responded with a sigh.
"That bad, huh?" She asked.
"You have no idea." Spike glanced down the hallway toward the little demon that was currently talking animatedly to who he assumed was her boss. "Listen, pet, they scheduled some interview for us today so I won't be able to get back before the show."
Buffy frowned to herself as she glanced at the outfit she had decided on in the mirror. "Are you serious?"
"Unfortunately." He said obviously unhappily. "I'm really sorry, Buff. I know you wanted to see the city and all that but this is my job, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."
"No," she said as she pushed her bangs out of her face, "it's okay. I completely understand."
"I'll make it up to you." He said quickly. "Tomorrow night, you and me, dinner."
"We always go to dinner after the shows." She pointed out.
"This one'll be just the two of us." He said. "We'll skip the sound check and I'll get us reservations at the fanciest restaurant this place has to offer."
Buffy shook her head with a silent smile, he was always trying to make her as happy as possible. "You don't have to do that."
"Want to, pet, trust me." He said.
Buffy laughed softly. "Okay, deal, it's a date."
"That's my girl." He said with an obvious leer in his voice. "Gotta go now, cabs here."
"Alright, I'll see you at the show."
"Right." He answered. "See you then."
Buffy sat the phone back down on the nightstand and looked herself over in the mirror. She silently mused over how he had called just when she had found the perfect outfit to knock him off of his feet with. With a shrug of her shoulders she continued to work on getting herself ready, if she couldn't shock him before the show she might as well do it after.
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Xander stood at his normal spot behind the bar washing the dishes that had been left for him from the night before. Typically he would have been annoyed at Riley for leaving his dirties behind and throwing his work off on him, but he knew it had been a busy night and understood that sometimes there just wasn't enough time to do everything. He shook off the slightly annoyed thoughts as he noticed the waitresses begin to trickle in one by one for their shifts. Clem was busy interviewing a potential new employee and Xander had been designated the task of assigning them their sections for the night so he wasn't surprised when Cordelia made her way up to the bar and sat across from him where he had put the schedule. When she continued to sit there after having obviously already seen which tables were hers, however, Xander knew what was coming.
"Can I help you?" He asked with a sigh.
"Have you talked to Buffy lately?" She asked a bit louder than was actually necessary.
Xander glanced around and noticed that she wasn't the only one with that question on their mind. Faith took no time in making her way over to the seat next to her coworker with a look of obvious interest on her face. The other two waitresses that had been scheduled that night stayed a safe distance away and pretended to wash off a random table or two, but it was more than obvious by the way they were glancing over at regular intervals that they were listening, too.
"Of course I have," Xander answered, "she texts me every day."
"Where is she today?" Cordelia asked.
"Philly," he said as he continued to clean Riley's dishes, "they'll be there for the next couple of days."
"How are things with her and Spike Pratt?"
Xander sat the glass he had just finished cleaning on the table before leaning forward with his hands resting against the sides of the sink. "You know I'm not telling you guys anything, right?"
"What?" Cordelia asked.
"You guys are constantly trying to pump me for information." Xander said as he addressed everyone in the room. "I know you guys are all wondering about what's happening on that tour but I'm not saying a word."
"But Xander-"
"But nothing." Xander interrupted. "Buffy's my friend, and I guess Spike is, too. I'm not going to go around telling everyone the things that she tells me, they have the media for that. I don't mean to sound like an ass or anything but if you are all going to try to get me to spill the inside scoop you're going to be walking away very disappointed."
"I didn't mean anything by it, I'm just curious." Cordelia defended herself.
"I get that, but you're not getting anything out of me."
The conversation was dropped when the sound of the door to Clem's office opened and the man's cheerful voice could be heard coming from the hallway. It was obvious by the way their manager was acting that whoever had been being interviewed had definitely gotten the job and everyone was curious to see who the new member of the team was going to be. When The Shadow Gallery's newest employee came in to view, however, Xander's jaw tightened and his back got slightly stiffened, Cordelia's eyes grew wide, and Faith's hand clenched in to a strong fist.
This was not going to be good.
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"I need two small rising red t-shirts, a poster, and a pack of the Passions pins."
Buffy nodded and quickly turned to collect the items that her current customer had asked for. She opened one bin, reached down to the very bottom, pulled out a couple of small shirts, and continued over to the bin below the poster. She grabbed one of those before reaching for a pack of pins from under the cash box and turning back to her customer. "That'll be forty nine even."
The customer gave her the money before rushing off in to the crowd to secure his spot in the pit. Buffy allowed herself a small smile, she was definitely getting better at this stuff. During the first few shows she had been searching for a good minute before finding which t-shirt she needed and then a little bit longer to find the right size. It had been difficult but she had caught on fairly quickly and was now going through the line almost as fast as Amy.
They had gotten another helping hand for the second leg of the tour and both Buffy and Amy were grateful for that. He was a man named Chris with light brown hair cut in to a thick Mohawk and multiple piercings decorating his face. He was a little bit older than Buffy and was about a foot taller than her, but the two got along just fine and his sense of humor was a lot like Xander's. He had been surprised to find out that she was "The Buffy" but had gotten over that fact almost instantly and she was very happy to see that he treated her the same way that he treated Amy.
The lights went down and everyone that had been standing in line quickly dispersed and made their way to wherever they could to get a glimpse at Glory Wire. Amy quickly closed and locked the cash box while Chris did a quick inventory and made a mental list of things they needed to restock. Buffy would have been busy repositioning the merchandise on the display had a pair of arms not grabbed her through the curtain and pulled her in to the dimly lit hallway behind it.
"Well, hello cutie." Spike's voice whispered in to her ear from behind, breath gently tickling the back of her neck. Buffy turned herself around to face him before quickly finding his lips with her own. The two hadn't seen each other since early that morning so it was no surprise when what was meant to be a quick peck lingered a bit longer than it was originally meant to. "Miss me?"
"Absolutely." Buffy muttered before quickly letting her lips caress his once more before pulling away.
"My, my, my," Spike's voice said as his bright blue eyes took in her appearance despite the darkness of the hall, "aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"
"You like it?" Buffy as with a smile as she did a quick turn, allowing him to observe all of her hard work and loving the hungry look that overtook all of his features. Always one to dress for an occasion Buffy had managed to somehow squeeze in to a pair of skin tight red jeans with a pair of impossibly high black heeled boots tucked nicely beneath them. Her black tank top was covered by a leopard print scarf wrapped in a stylishly loose knot around her neck and all of it was pulled together by the leather jacket her had bought her.
"Don't think like covers it, lamb." He said as he continued to move his eyes over her form.
Buffy smiled as a slight blush rose to her cheeks and she quickly pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I didn't even see you guys come in, I thought you were going to be late to your own show."
Spike rolled his eyes as he leaned against the wall behind him. "Today was hell," he said, "the interview turned in to a full blown contest for a meet and greet that we weren't supposed to have but the label insisted on it."
"Wow." Buffy commented.
"Yeah, then we got thrown in to some photo shoot," he said, "and to top it all off they sent a rep from the label to watch us. We've all got to play babysitter and entertain this woman all night."
"Come on," Buffy said giving him a quick hit to the chest, "she can't be that bad."
"You have no idea." He said with a shake of his head. It didn't go unnoticed by Buffy when his eyes turned toward what they could see of the stage and she saw the way his body tensed as he took in the sight he saw there. She heard him sigh before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against his chest. "Sorry, luv, but I've got to get back there before she figures out that I'm not actually in the john."
Buffy laughed softly as she wrapped her own arms around his midsection. "Don't want teacher to realize you actually snuck out to see your honey?"
Spike chuckled. "Something like that." He pulled away slightly and, after running a hand over her perfectly bouncing blonde hair, looked her in the eyes. "Wait for me at the bar after the show, we'll go grab some grub and head back to the real party."
Just to show his point he grabbed a handful of her ass through her jeans, eliciting a surprised squeak from her lips before she playfully pushed him away. "Get back to work." She said as he grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled her back to him. He gave her one last quick kiss before rushing back to the green room.
The moment he was gone she noticed the hallway get brighter and she turned to see Chris poking his head in through the curtain. "Is it cool to come back here now?"
Buffy laughed as she nodded at the man. "Yes, Chris, you're fine."
Chris' eyebrows raised in an innocent way as he rushed past her with one of the large bins in his hands. "Didn't want to interrupt the suck-face-a-thon."
"We were not sucking face!" Buffy said as she made her way through the curtain.
"Not what I heard!" Chris called back before making a loud slurping sound.
Buffy just laughed as she went to join Amy over at the bar. She spared a single glance toward the stage and immediately noticed the woman with curly brown hair staring in her direction, a look that could kill in her eyes as she followed her body with her eyes. With a shake of her head Buffy turned her attention back to the bar and quickly found Amy.
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Buffy had been sitting over at the bar for about an hour now. Amy had run off with some random guy a good ten minutes ago and she could just barely make her out near the back of the crowd, dancing proudly with her piece of arm candy for the night. Chris had gotten involved in a very serious game of Kings that the other roadies had started and Buffy had just been happy watching her boyfriend tear up the stage.
This venue was a bit bigger than some of the others and she knew that he couldn't see her from the stage but that didn't stop her from ogling him. He had decided to go with a more Sid Vicious look tonight with his hair spiked up on all sides and a thick, studded belt decorating his black pants that had been completely destroyed at the knees by a few too many power slides. He had a white, loose fitting t-shirt covered by a black leather jacket rolled up to his elbows. Despite the sweat that was practically drenching his face he was moving all over the stage, engaging the audience, and even crowd surfing at one point. The only thing that got her attention off of the amazing creature gracing the stage was none other than Darla Benz.
"Hey, good looking!" She exclaimed as she threw herself on to the stool next to her. "Let me buy you a drink!"
Buffy laughed as Darla made as big a scene as she could out of buying them each their drink of choice. The two had become rather close within the past week and the more they hung out, the more they got along. Every night that Passions was on stage the two would hang out and just have a genuinely good time together. Andrew would find his way out every now and again but would soon run off to play something or another on his multiple gaming systems and that was the last anyone would see of him until 'dinner'. Buffy enjoyed the new found friendship she had developed with Darla, every girl needs another chick to talk to when she's surrounded by men, and she actually felt guilty about having not trusted her from the start.
"So did you meet Cecily?" Darla asked as she handed Buffy the drink she'd ordered.
"Cecily?" Buffy asked.
Darla's eyes widened. "Spike didn't tell you?"
Buffy cocked her head to the side as she took a sip from her glass. "Not about anyone named Cecily."
Darla made a quick glance toward the stage and Buffy could see from the look on her face that she was conflicted with some inner decision. After a few seconds she sighed and shook her head. "Oh, what the hell? I've already dug myself a hole, right? Cecily is the brunette chick over there with curly hair and a bad attitude problem. She's standing on the side of the stage, red top and jeans."
Buffy glanced up at the stage and quickly identified the woman from earlier as the same one Darla was telling her about. "I saw her earlier, she was glaring at me from across the room."
Darla scoffed. "Makes sense, she's the rep the label sent out tonight." Darla explained as she took a gulp of her own drink. "She also happens to be Spike's ex."
Buffy whirled back around and looked at the woman, her blood suddenly running cold with a feeling she couldn't quite pin down. She felt the adrenaline rush through her and suddenly had a sickening feeling grow in her stomach. "He didn't mention that." She said tightly.
"I wouldn't really expect him to," Darla said, "he can't stand the girl. She's constantly trying to get back together with him and completely credits herself for their fame, apparently talent has absolutely nothing to do with it."
"What does she do for them?" Buffy asked.
"Creative consultant." Darla answered. "She basically picks out album covers and books photo shoots and stuff like that."
'Then we got thrown in to some photo shoot.'
Buffy felt her heart skip a beat as she remembered his words from earlier that night. "So she was with them all day today?"
"Probably," Darla answered, "she always tries to shove herself in to their publicity shit. Anya absolutely hates her for it. Actually, everyone hates her. Even Bob hates her."
Buffy took her time looking the girl over from her safe spot at the back of the venue. She was a small girl, probably the same size as Buffy, but that was as far as similarities went. Her hair was medium length, curly, and a dark brown color. She had large eyes and, honestly, an ass that she would kill for in the jeans she was wearing.
"She's... cute."
"Yeah," Darla said sarcastically, "that's about all she has going for her. The only reason Spike dated her was because of the ties she had to the label and... I should stop talking now."
Buffy couldn't help but inspect the way that this Cecily girl was watching the band. She had an almost smug look on her face as she watched Spike flaunt around the stage like the rockstar he was. Her smile grew when she turned to look at the crowd and judge their reaction. Buffy knew it was impossible but it almost seemed as though she was smirking at her in a way that would make her own boyfriend jealous. Unable to take anymore analyzing of the scene in front of her without risking losing her calm, Buffy turned back around and returned her attention to her drink.
Darla watched as Buffy downed the liquid courage in just a few large gulps before pushing the glass away from her and ordering another. She could tell that she was upset and couldn't help but think that it was her fault. On one hand she should have kept her mouth shut, but on the other hand Buffy did have a right to know. This conversation had been doomed from the very start, Darla had just been the catalyst to make it happen sooner.
"Buff," Darla said as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "are you okay?" Buffy didn't answer, she merely took the drink from the bartender and began to quickly suck it down. "Do you want to get out of here? There's a nice bar right down the street we could-"
Buffy slammed her now empty glass down on the counter. "Let's go."
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"Thank you, Philadelphia! We'll see you tomorrow night!"
Spike ran off of the stage and quickly took the small towel that was handed to him. He wiped the sweat off of his face before taking his shirt off and quickly throwing another one over his shoulder. They had about ten minutes before the kids that had won the meet and greet would be ushered back and all Spike wanted to do was change. He quickly rushed in to the green room and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge as he began to unbutton his pants.
"Don't you think you should buy me dinner first?"
Spike spun around quickly and was more than a little bit surprised to see Cecily sitting on the long leather couch on the opposite side of the room. He buttoned his pants back up with lightening speed before throwing on the clean shirt he had acquired. "What are you doing in here?"
"Just writing up my report." She said as she motioned toward a clipboard sitting to her left. "I noticed your merchandise booth was moving a bit slow, can you shed any light on that?"
Spike glared at the woman sitting across from him. "Don't start this."
Cecily gave him her best look of faux innocence. "Start what?"
Spike tore the lid off of his water bottle and threw it in to the trash can. "You know what I'm talking about."
Cecily's smile grew sinister as she took in his obviously anger. "So it is true, you did hire your hussy."
"I'm warning you, Ces," Spike said slowly, "you watch your mouth or so help me-"
"You'll what?" Cecily asked. "You already have more than a few black marks against you, Spike. One bad word from me and I can make all of this go away, no more band, no more touring, nothing."
"You wouldn't." He growled.
"Try me."
Spike sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall behind him. "What do you want, Cecily?"
She stood slowly from the couch and began a leisurely walk over to him. "Isn't that obvious?"
"What happened between us was a long time ago," Spike said with aggravation obvious in his voice, "it's over and you need to sodding get over it."
"Oh, come on Spike." She said softly. "That little spark never goes away." Spike watched as her hands move to lay gently against his chest as her fingers fiddled with the bullet at the end of the chain around his neck. "I'm the one who made you, you wouldn't be anything without me."
"Cecily." Spike whispered as he leaned his head down closer to hers.
"Remember all the fun we used to have, the things we used to do?" His hand found the back of her neck and he pulled her closer, his lips finding her ear as her eyes fluttered shut.
"I've got to tell you something, Ces," he whispered in her ear as the butterflies in her stomach threatened to overtake her, "you make me sick." The hand that had been sweetly placed behind her neck quickly grabbed the back of her hair as he firmly, yet not violently, pulled her away from him and made his way over to the green room door.
"What?" Cecily asked in obvious shock.
"And for the record," Spike said as he completely ignored her question, "I would never hit a woman, but Darla would. You ever talk about my girl again and I'll stop holding her back. Dog will hunt."
"When did you become such a fucking ass hole?" Cecily yelled, still standing in the same exact spot.
"I've always been bad, baby, and you had nothing to do with it."
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"But why wouldn't he tell me something like that?" Buffy asked as she downed yet another drink. She and Darla had been at Central, a popular bar with strong drinks and good music, for over and hour now and the two had each had more than a few. Buffy's words had begun to slur about two and a half fuzzy navels back and Darla was to the point where she couldn't feel her fingers.
"Maybe he didn't want you to worry," Darla said, "she's really no big deal. Shows up to a couple gigs here and there and then disappears until the next time we're in town."
"But he lied, Dar."
"No!" Darla said as she pointed a finger in Buffy's face. "He omitted the truth, not the same."
"You know it's funny," Buffy said with a laugh, "there was a time when I really thought you were the one I'd have to worry about being my competition."
"I know!" Darla exclaimed. "What was up with that?"
Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. You guys had dated before and I mean, look at you, you're freaking gorgeous and have legs like a gazelle. You're so... so graceful."
"I'm also gay!"
Buffy's glassy eyes widened. "No way."
"I swear to God." Darla said as she raised a hand. "Queer as a three dollar bill."
"Oh, my God!" Buffy said excitedly. "I had no idea!"
"Most people don't." Darla said as she finished her drink and ordered two more. "Spike and me, we joke all the time about me stealing you."
Buffy's laugh was much stronger than the particular joke needed and she could feel the heat coming off of her face. "At least you know I like blondes."
"That's part of the joke!"
Both girls laughed and continued to carry on as two new drinks were sat in front of them. They began to work on draining them when two shots were handed to them by the bartender. Buffy looked down in confusion at the swirling clear liquid in the tiny glasses. "We didn't order these." She said in a way that she thought was quiet.
"Those gentlemen down there did, miss." The bartender said.
Darla and Buffy glanced down to where the bartender had pointed their attention and saw two attractive men looking back down at them. Buffy watched as Darla gave a cute wave before quickly taking the shot. "What are you doing?" She asked as she grabbed Darla's arm. "You're not interested in them, you're a lesbian."
"Yeah," Darla said as she grabbed the one meant for Buffy, "but it's rude not to accept presents."
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The meet and greet went by quickly but, despite his best efforts, Spike definitely was not himself. He had let Cecily work him up, yet again, and he hated himself for it. He walked out to the main bar of the venue and was surprised when he saw that only Amy and Chris sitting there.
"Hey Spike." Chris said as he made his way over to them.
"You guys seen Buffy?" He asked.
"We were about to ask you the same question." Amy said as she turned to face him.
Spike's brows furrowed as he looked down at the girl. "What do you mean?"
"She never came back after break." Chris answered.
"We just figured she went somewhere with you." Amy chimed in.
"No one's seen her since our set?" Spike asked.
"No," Amy answered, "the last I saw she was sitting over here getting drinks with Darla."
"Yeah," Chris said, "I saw them walk out together during Time and Again."
Spike took out his cell phone and typed in her name. The phone rang four times before the call went to her voicemail. He pushed the end button and quickly redialed her number only to find the same thing happen all over again. He typed a short text message that simply read 'call me' before shoving his hands in to the pockets of his jacket and making his way out of the venue.
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Next chapter is DRAMA. DRAMA. DRAMA.
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