Friday, October 22, 2010 (very early in the morning)
Spike grinned when the Welcome to Sunnydale sign came into view. “You know they had to replace that sign a few years back?”
Buffy frowned. “That’s right. It was knocked down.” She turned to give him a curious look.
“I was trying to teach my cousin, Wes, how to drive a stick.”
Her mouth made an adorable ‘o’. “You’re kidding.”
He shook his head. “He still only drives an automatic.” Buffy giggled and Spike smiled at her. They were nearly back to her car. “Are you going to be okay to drive? I could just drop you at your house and help you fetch your car tomorrow.”
She laughed. “I’ll be fine. I’m not the one who spent the last seven hours driving. I really can’t thank you enough. You’re going to be exhausted tomorrow…which is today actually.” She frowned.
He shrugged. “I’ll survive. It was fun. Who’d have guessed that Buffy Summers’ kid sister was such a little rebel with a hundred causes?”
“Not me. A few years ago she was Goth and before that she was trying out for the cheerleading squad.”
He laughed. “Cheerleaders…”
“You have something against cheerleaders?”
Spike gasped. “Don’t tell me you were pom-pom girl.” When she only glared in response, he gave her another glance. “Actually, I can see that. I’ll bet you were bloody cute bouncing around with a ponytail and a tiny skirt.” He wondered if she still owned the uniform. A very vivid fantasy began forming in his sleep deprived mind and he shifted his legs in hopes of hiding the evidence. Could he get her panties off without taking off her sneakers? The thought of rubber soles pressing into his back made his fingers clench the steering wheel and a sweat break out on his forehead.
“Cheerleaders are athletes, you know? People think it’s all tight sweaters and jumping up and down, but we had to master a lot of gymnastics and dance to compete.”
“I’m sure you did, kitten.”
“Don’t say it like that. I’ll bet you were too cool for afterschool activities.”
Spike chuckled and wondered what she’d have thought of him back in high school. He glanced in her direction. “I was rather quiet in school, actually. I was mostly interested in whatever band I was playing with at the time.”
“And teasing the cheerleaders?”
“Wesley and I went to Mitchell Academy. It was all blokes, so…no cheerleaders to tease even if had been the ruffian you seem to picture.”
“Ooh ruffian…Mitchell taught you boys how to use fancy words.”
Spike laughed. “Tell me, kitten, what do you think of zombies?”
“You know, Spike, I can’t say I’ve given the topic much thought but I’d have to say I’m probably anti-zombie. I mean it would take tremendous swing to get me past the whole brain sucking thing.”
“There’s a thing this weekend, for Halloween, there’s a zombie crawl. You dress like a zombie, meet up with a bunch of other people dressed zombies at a bar and then sort of walk over to the theatre for a midnight showing of Night of the Living Dead.”
Her eyes widened. “People do that, seriously?”
His cheeks felt warm and he was glad it was dark. “Yeah, I mean it’s a thing, better if you’re doing it with a friend, I suspect. I just thought maybe you’d think it was…never mind, I don’t know what I was thinking, it was—”
“I don’t have a zombie costume.”
“Well, we’d make them. That’s part of the fun. We hit up the thrift shop and find truly horrific clothes and them we tear them up and cover them with fake blood.”
She nearly said no. It was definitely not the kind of thing she normally did. But something about Spike’s sudden awkwardness appealed to her and she decided that doing different things was exactly what she wanted to be doing. It was nearly Halloween and he was talking about wearing silly costumes, drinking beer and watching a scary movie. “Why not?” She shrugged.
“You mean it?” He gave her a cautious smile.
“Yeah, I’m in.”
Spike was still grinning twenty minutes later when he finally pulled into his driveway and stumbled into his house. He considered, briefly, revisiting the Buffy in a cheerleading costume fantasy he’d worked up earlier but felt unusually guilty about it and went to sleep instead.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Buffy stepped back and studied her reflection in the full length mirror attached to the back of her closet door. She smoothed the skirt of her pale pink dress and turned to see her profile, before leaning closer to make sure that her eyeliner was perfect. She gave herself a nod of cautious approval before walking over to her dresser to dab on perfume.
Angel knocked on her door at exactly 7:00. She smiled at his promptness and went to let him in.
He grinned broadly as soon as she opened the door. “Hey, princess. You look especially beautiful this evening. Are you ready to go?”
She nodded before rising up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Yup. Just let me grab my wrap and my bag.”
Angel waited in the doorway while she walked back to her room to grab the clutch and wrap she’d left on her bed. When she returned, he offered her his arm and escorted her down to his car. “Your dress reminds me a little of the one you wore to that Homecoming Dance. It’s about the same color, isn’t it?”
She smiled. “You remember my dress?”
“Of course I do. You were the prettiest girl there.” He’d fallen in love with her that night. She’d looked like a real princess: delicate and soft and pretty. Angel had made a command decision that night. He’d changed the course of his life, so that he could become the kind of man who could treat his girl like she deserved to be treated. He’d given up football and focused on school. He’d let his father pull strings to help him get into an excellent business program and now, only a decade later, he was on the cusp of becoming the youngest VP in company history. He was nearly there. He knew that Buffy had been disappointed by all the time he’d had to spend working for the past few years, but he was sure that she would understand when he was able to give her a big house as a wedding present. Soon he’d be able to take care of her and that, he thought, would make all the work worthwhile.
“That’s sweet.”
“I made reservations at Antonio’s.” He glanced over to her for approval.
“That sound’s perfect.”
He smiled. “You deserve perfect.”
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Spike picked Buffy up shortly after noon so they could get to work on finding suitable zombie attire. When they were nearly at the thrift shop, he turned to her and grinned. “Do you mind if we make a quick stop first?”
Buffy shrugged. “Nope. What do you need to do?”
“You’ll see.” He grinned and took a quick right turn. “So what did you decide? Did you rat out little sis?”
“Na, she hasn’t actually dropped out of school and she is nineteen now.” She smiled broadly. “Besides her naked boobies were totally on CNN and one of mom’s neighbors saw it. She is so busted.”
He laughed. “I sense that you are enjoying that a little more than you should.”
“Maybe.” She giggled. “It’s a sister thing.”
He was still laughing when he parked the car a few moments later. He unbuckled, leaned across her lap to open the glove compartment and pulled out a small black bag.
Buffy leaned as far back in the seat as she could. “Uh…what’s that?”
He sat back up and shook the bag. It jingled. “Quarters. Come on.” He opened his door and hopped out of the car.
She followed with a confused expression as he entered a bar with a brightly lettered sign that said Caritas.
He stopped at the jukebox just inside the door and looked around quickly before he began depositing quarters. Buffy laughed as she watched him push several dollars worth of coins into the machine and then enter a code without checking the offerings. A catchy, upbeat tune began and a man shouted and ran out from a back office before the deep recorded voice had completed the first verse.
We're no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
Spike grabbed Buffy’s wrist and yanked her back out to the sidewalk. He laughed as the other man ran out. Buffy looked from one to the other with wide eyes. “What’s—”
The music wafted out the open door.
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
The man from the bar, stopped just outside the entrance, put his hands on his hips and shouted. “You think you’re cute, don’t you?”
Spike laughed even harder and continued tugging Buffy towards his car. “Not as cute as you think I am.”
The other man laughed and shook his head. “You’re not my type, cupcake.” He waited until just before Spike climbed into his car to yell, “You have a scrawny ass!”
Spike sat down and frowned. “My ass is fine.” He turned to Buffy. “It is.”
She stared at him. “What just happened?”
“I Rick-Rolled him.”
“And again I ask, what just happened?”
“Oh come on, kitten. You know that song.”
She frowned. “The one on the jukebox?”
“Yeah, it’s by Rick Astley, so it’s called Rick-Rolling.”
“I like that song.”
He laughed. “Of course you do. That’s…of course you do.” He shook his head. “Point is: I just dumped enough cash into that jukebox to keep it going for an hour.”
Buffy shook her head. “But why would you do that?”
“Why not? It’s bloody funny.”
“Oh.”
He laughed again. “Don’t look at me like that. Lorne can unplug the machine if he wants. The place won’t get busy for hours yet. It’s just a little joke.”
“So you guys are like friends?”
“Yeah. He’s a good guy. Funny story actually: I was rooming with a girl a while back and she met him at a party or something. Anyway she fell for him, head over heels, right? She talks about him for weeks. Finally she invites him over to our place for a party.” Spike laughed and shook his head.
“And?”
“And he wasn’t there ten minutes before he hit on me. I nearly busted a gut. You birds have shit radar for that sort of thing.”
Buffy was sure that laughing was wrong, but she couldn’t help it. “Oh, but what about your roommate?”
“She found another bloke a few nights later. They’re still together actually.”
“Oh, well that’s nice at least.” Suddenly her eyes widened. “Wait. Are you saying that you’re…”
He choked on air. “No. Bloody hell! Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. You give off a vibe of sorts and you did seem upset that he didn’t like your ass.”
“A vibe? I don’t vibe and I don’t care what he thinks of my ass. I just happen to know that there is nothing wrong with it.”
“Okay.” She bit her lip to keep from laughing as she nodded.
Sunday, October 31, 2010 (approximately 1:30 am)
Spike gave Buffy another quick glance and barely held back a chuckle. He leaned close and whispered in her ear. “Are you certain you don’t want to leave, kitten? I don’t mind—seen this flick a dozen times anyway.”
Buffy, who had been watching the movie through the spaces between her fingers for the past hour, shook her head. “No. I’m having fun.”
“You’re certain?”
His breath on her neck made her shiver. She nodded and turned to give him a quick smile. A moment later he was watching the movie again and she was watching him. His face, like her own, was painted almost grey and there was fake blood dabbed from the corner of his mouth and down his neck. Every time she looked at him she had to fight off her teacher instinct to grab a napkin and clean him up.
They’d had a lot of fun at the thrift store and had ended up with prom couple from the 1980’s turned zombie costumes. Spike was wearing a thrashed powder blue tux and Buffy was wearing a neon green dress with big puffy sleeves and a bow in the back. She’d had to crimp her hair to do it justice. She’d been nervous at first, but there had been a couple of dozen other zombies at the bar when they got there and zombie walking through town was unexpectedly hilarious. Sure the movie was too scary for her, but she’d found the experience as a whole liberating. She loved the idea that she could do something that even she didn’t expect she’d do.
After the movie, they walked back to Spike’s car and climbed in. Buffy shivered and Spike immediately offered her the leather jacket resting on his back seat. She’d tried to argue that she’d get it messed up, but he’d insisted and she’d pulled it on.
He looked at her small form engulfed in his jacket and chuckled. “Bloody hell, you’re a tiny woman.”
“I may be small, but I’m stronger than I look and I’ve developed a taste for brains, so…” She raised her hands up and flopped them about in front of him while moaning comically.
He laughed. “How can you be this adorable while covered in fake blood and gore? No real zombies are this cute. It would completely unfair.”
“Yeah, I’m really stylin in this reject bridesmaid’s gown.”
“You’re cute—no point in denying it.”
Buffy felt her cheeks warming up and ducked her head. She wondered for a moment if he meant anything by his flirting and then rejected the idea. He knew she was seeing someone and it was ridiculous to think a man as attractive as he was needed to waste his time scamming on a girl with a boyfriend. By the time he dropped her off at home, she’d stopped worrying about it completely.
Sunday, October 31, 2010 (several hours later)
Willow looked at Buffy with big eyes from across their small table at the cafe. “You really dressed like a zombie last night?” She put down the menu and looked at her friend with surprise clear on her face.
“Yup. There were lots of us. We even tried to do the Thriller dance. Well, not Spike. I think he might be too cool to do the Thriller dance. It was…kind of awesome.”
“It sounds…yeah...wow.” Willow couldn’t help smiling at her friend. She tried to remember the last time she’d seen Buffy looking as carefree and happy as she looked just then. “So you’ve been hanging out with Spike a lot, huh?”
“Some, yeah. He’s funny and different than I would have expected. We’re friends.”
“That’s nice. I mean making new friends is always nice.”
“Exactly. It’s weird how we all stopped making new friends. It’s like as soon as school was done we all stopped talking to anyone who wasn’t already one of our friends. I think that’s dumb. New friends are fun.”
Willow laughed. “Then I’m glad you’ve made a new friend, sweetie.”
“Me too.”She smiled broadly. “Oh!” Her eyes twinkled. “I need you to help me mess with him later.”
Willow frowned. “Umm…why?”
“For fun. I can’t do it myself because he’d recognize my voice.”
“I don’t know if I’m really the right girl for this sort of thing. Maybe you should ask Cordelia.”
Buffy shook her head. “No. It’ll be easy. You’re just going to call and pretend you want guitar lessons.” She giggled.
Willow smiled. “I don’t get it.”
“You’re going to tell him that you want lessons so that you can play New Kids on Block songs. You’re going to insist that he only teach you to play New Kids on the Block songs and see if he agrees.” She grinned triumphantly.
“Why would I want that?”
“You don’t, but he doesn’t know that.” Buffy laughed. “Just trust me. It’s going to be funny.” She lifted up her menu. “What looks good? I’m starving. Turns out pretend brains aren’t very filling.”
Friday, November 5, 2010
Fred frowned and bit her lip. “But she has a boyfriend?”
Spike walked behind the register counter and straightened the baskets holding guitar picks, strings and harmonicas. “Yeah, she has a guy. It’s not a thing. We’re just friends.”
Fred nodded. “Right, okay.”
Sighing, Spike stopped adjusting his stock and looked over at her. “Look, pet. Do I like her? Yeah. Of course I do. She’s adorable. But it’s no big deal. We’re just friends.”
She nodded again and showed him her sad eyes.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’m not being a dick here. I’m not making a move on another man’s girl. I’m just—I’m just being her friend.”
“And?”
“And what? And if she’s sees that there are other options and dumps the boyfriend I’ll be thrilled. Yeah, okay?” He sighed heavily. “But I’m not…we’re just friends.”
Fred walked around the counter and gave him a hug. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
He dropped a kiss onto the top of her head. “I know. No worries. I’m being careful.”
“Good.” She pulled away and gave him a big smile. “So you are coming for dinner on Sunday. No excuses. Rupert is bringing Anya again and Wesley is having a conniption. I need moral support. Pregnant ladies aren’t supposed to get stressed. It’s bad for the baby.”
He laughed. “Well played, pet. You know I can’t do anything that might bother my little niece or nephew in there.” He gazed curiously at her midsection. “How much longer do we have to wait?”
“Five months. Also stop staring at my stomach like you expect it to pop out like an alien in a Sigourney Weaver movie.” She rolled her eyes.
Spike’s eyes widened. “That’s a bloody dreadful image to put in a bloke’s head, pet.” He shook his head and frowned at her.
“Sorry.” She smiled sort of bashfully. “Ever since I started showing, it feels like everyone keeps giving me these creepy anticipatory looks.”
“Right. Don’t look at Fred. Check.” He made a show of looking away.
She giggled and swatted his arm. “Very funny. Anyway, I was mostly just checking about Sunday, so I should get back to my errands.”
Spike was just about to give Fred a pout and complain that she only visited when she wanted something when the little bell on the shop’s front door jangled to announce that they were no longer alone. He looked up, expecting to be irritated by a browser, and saw Buffy carrying in his jacket and a foil covered dish. He smiled. “Hi, love. I wasn’t expecting a visit today.”
“Sorry. Are you very busy? I just wanted to drop off some stuff.”
“Not at all. Just feeling very lucky to get visits from two pretty girls today.” He walked around the counter and gestured towards Fred before holding out his hands to take his coat. “You remember Fred.”
Buffy nodded. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you again.”
Fred smiled back. “Hi.”
“The drycleaner said he’d never had to remove fake blood from the inside of a leather coat before, so that was fun.”
“You didn’t have to get it cleaned. I’m certain the fake blood was the least of my problems.”
Buffy arched an eyebrow. “Good friends dry clean before they return. If you ever borrow my coat, I’ll expect it cleaned when you bring it back.”
He chuckled. “I’ll try to remember that.”
“Here.” She pressed the foil-covered dish into his hands.
“What’s this?”
“Apple Crisp. I’m practicing baking recipes before I do them with my class. I figured you bachelor types are always looking for food, right?”
“Yeah.” He grinned before nodding towards Fred. “Except on Sundays, of course. That’s when Fred feeds me. She’s a brilliant cook.”
Fred giggled. “Nice save.” She held out her hand to Buffy. “It was nice seeing you again, but I was just on my way out. Will I see you at the Bronze next Saturday?”
Buffy shook her hand before frowning slightly. “Umm…” She looked to Spike for help.
“It’s not a big thing.”
Fred sighed. “Spike’s going to be playing. He hardly does lately. You should come.” She gave her another smile and turned to give Spike a quick hug good-bye. “I’ll see you on Sunday. Come early.”
He laughed. “Yes, Mum.” He and Buffy both watched Fred leave the store.
“You’re playing at the Bronze next Saturday?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll just do a single set.”
“Oh.” She nodded.
“I mean, if you wanted to come that would be…of course that would be great.” He ran an anxious hand through his hair.
“Cool. Can I bring a friend?”
He nodded. “Yeah, yeah…you gonna bring your boy?”
“I was thinking my friend, Willow. She and I used to go to shows but haven’t in a while, so…”
“Is that the bird you got to call about lessons?”
She gasped. “How did you know that was me?”
“She called back later to apologize. Very polite, that one.”
Buffy giggled. “Of course she did.” She shook her head.
“I’ve gotta give you credit for the try though—had me going for a bit.”
“Yay!” She grinned.
“Yeah.” He grinned back.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I have an extra long chapter for you all today. :) In the middle of this chapter, you will finally get to meet Angel. I'm interested to see what folks will think of him. No worries-the Angel scene is brief and surrounded by Spuffy fun. ;) Also, I suspect people are going to start growing impatient with Buffy soon, please give her a chance. Thank you.
Also-I haven't said it in a little while, but I still don't own any characters that were created By Joss Whedon and the Mutant Enemy crew. If I did I would be doing something other than writing fanfiction. :) This story is not intended to infringe on any coyrights and is not written for profit. Please don't sue me. That said, it is my little story and I like knowing where it goes, so please ask before reposting. (Linking is obviously fine and awesome.) Thanks.
Also-I haven't said it in a little while, but I still don't own any characters that were created By Joss Whedon and the Mutant Enemy crew. If I did I would be doing something other than writing fanfiction. :) This story is not intended to infringe on any coyrights and is not written for profit. Please don't sue me. That said, it is my little story and I like knowing where it goes, so please ask before reposting. (Linking is obviously fine and awesome.) Thanks.
Chapter End Notes:
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