The next day had Buffy waking up grinning in glee and girly remembrance. She was a little sore, but her good mood outweighed that. When she passed a mirror she couldn’t help but look into it and smile softly, she felt different, but a good different. She felt simple and yet so not, she felt refreshed and also like she had just let go of something old and familiar. She felt a lot of things, and she was happy with all of them, for once all of her emotions complimented each other.
As she developed her pictures in her big dark room that was set up in the basement, four large plasterboard walls all nailed together with a thick curtain for a door, Buffy hummed and worked happily. She was excited to get these images set up and to the library. Her mother had given her nine black frames from the gallery, all Buffy had to do was develop her pictures (which she was using 20x30 inch paper for), pop them into their frames and then she’d be off to place them up in town.
Usually Buffy ended up staying at the local Moon Stream library longer than necessary. She always ended up talking to Arthur and/or Giles (the two co-owners) and usually helping them out around the place, cataloging books and taking in returns. She sort of just felt comfortable there and hardly ever left right away after arriving.
And with the whole library nerd habit she had, although she never once sat down and picked up a book to actually READ it, even WITH Giles’ constant disdain on the matter, Buffy knew that Spike would have time to speak to her mom about everything while she was gone.
As the girl finished popping the last photo into its slim wooden frame, she mentally decided that she would develop the rest of the film for the pictures in her room later on. She had to get to the library, and hopefully she could threaten Dawn into helping her carry nine frames over there.
***
One grumbly Dawn and about half an hour later, Buffy was entering the library, her sister having ditched her duty as soon as they’d hit the front door of the place. Using her back to push open the glass door, Buffy wedged her way into the book emporium and called out for Giles. She knew he wouldn’t scold her for yelling in the library, anyone who was actually there reading would be on the second level, for the first was always a little too loud.
She hauled three black frames in with her and let the door slide shut. After setting the pictures on the front desk she called out for him again and was met with silence.
The blonde went and retrieved the rest of her frames, when finally Giles called down to her from the top of the spiral staircase. “What the bloody hell are you doing down there?!” He called to her while shaking his head.
Buffy set down the four frames she was holding and blinked before smiling. “Careful Giles, your cockney is showing.” She couldn’t stop the smirk from appearing on her lips when he huffed and started clambering down the stairs.
“Buffy, you do realize you could’ve broken your back carrying those things in here on your own?!” He asked, exasperated and ignoring her smart-ass comment.
She smiled again. “Relax, Giles. I’m fine. It’s-”
“Did you bring these things all the bloody way down here from your house?”
“-not like I carried them all the way from the house on my own.” She continued with an arched eyebrow. “Dawn helped me, Giles.”
The Brit sighed. “Well, you could’ve at least called me to help you bring them inside.”
“I did! You didn’t answer so I figured you were busy upstairs.”
“You could’ve gotten me.”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Alright, I’m sorry. But they’re not even that heavy. See.” Demonstratively she picked up a frame using one arm. They really weren’t that heavy, she’d simply needed Dawn’s help earlier because there were nine of the freaking things.
Giles asked if there were any more and when Buffy replied with a no, he took four from the front desk and told her to follow him.
Once Giles showed her the window where her photos were to be exhibited she grabbed the remaining pictures and set them up. Price tags were displayed and the girl wiped down the inside of the store window.
Before Buffy set up behind the register to help out for awhile, a magazine and a coke at her fingertips, she called Spike and told him to head over to talk things over with her mom.
“She should be home doing nothing right now. The gallery’s closed today and Dawn’s at a friend’s.”
“You sure, pet? Don’t want to piss off your mum anymore than already ‘ave by interruptin her doing somethin important.”
“I’m sure. She said she’d be home probly just working in the garden or something. Now DO NOT forget about the phone call story when you go over there, okay?”
“Promise.”
“And grovel. A lot. Be all gentlemanly and polite, turn on the charm with that accent of yours.”
“Will do. I’ll be all proper like.”
“Exactly. The way you behave today is IMPERATIVE to how she’ll react.”
“’Imperative?’ Hmm, didn’t know you knew that word, dove.”
“Hey!”
“Well, just sayin, you’re not- Oh how d’you put it? You’re not ‘vocab girl’?”
Buffy pouted. “Well, yeah… fine. But you are! Well, you are with the vocaby-ness, just not with… with the girly-ness.”
“Bloody right. Pretty sure I showed you last night just how very ‘girly’ I am NOT.”
She blushed. “Bu- But point is, you can do that thing where your accent gets all proper- like your dad’s! Just be sure to do that. My mom told me she thinks your accent is cute.”
“First of all, nothin ‘bout me is cute, Goldilocks. Second’ve all…” He sighed a little. “I’ll be sure to keep my ‘tone of voice’ all gentleman-like, so ya don’t ‘ave to worry alright.”
“Right.” She nodded her head in self affirmation. “Well, call me when you’re done and I’ll see you soon okay? I already told her that there was a chance you’d be coming over today to talk to her. Afterwards, as long as you and my mom are all with the rightness again, we can meet up later.”
“Hope you mean ‘we’ as in just you and me, love. Cuz if you’re up for it… my pals are gatherin tonight.”
“Ooh! At the circle you mean?”
“S’right. An if we can, then I’d like to bring you there later on.”
“Okay, sounds fun! I’ll call Willow and ask if I can sleepover tonight. Just let me know what happened with mom after you talk to her, and if everything’s clear, then we can do what we planned on doing before the whole punchy Angel debacle.”
Spike chuckled and smiled slightly. “Sounds perfect. I’ll be sure to be right good mannered when I speak with your mum later.”
She replied. “Good.” Then Buffy pouted in faux sympathy through the phone. “But if my mom still decides that she hates you…” Suddenly she beamed sweetly. “Then I’ll just sleepover at Willow’s and we can invite over some hot guys to party with!” She added in a chipper voice, grinning evilly.
The girl heard a bang on the other end of the line and stifled a snicker.
Spike retrieved the phone from where he’d dropped it after tripping over his own feet. “You bloody well will not!”
Then she laughed. “God, I love doing that to you!”
***
An hour later, after Spike finally got off the phone with his girlfriend, the bleached boy found himself standing nervously outside the front door of the Summers’ house.
He was fidgeting a little, kept stuffing his hands in and out of his duster’s pockets. He wasn’t afraid or anything, just… wary.
He really didn’t want to piss Joyce off more than she already was, he couldn’t lose Buffy. Especially over something so bloody stupid as punching a git with a big mouth.
With a deep breath the teenager knocked on the door, hoping the knock itself didn’t sound too demanding or was too soft to be heard.
Five long agonizing minutes later, Spike knocked again. After another painful wait, he frowned and decided to go around the back. The desire to just run on home and put this whole thing off to another day was strong, but he felt it better to just get the conversation over with.
When the man approached the back door he could hear laughing from the other side. Either Joyce was a little on the barmy side, or she wasn’t alone. Maybe Dawn was home after all. Oh well, he was here now, might as well just talk with Joyce and hope that she didn’t let Dawn take part in the conversation. Not that Spike actually thought she would, but you never know.
He quickly raised his hand to knock on the back door when he heard a male voice inside. Spike frowned, hard.
Hadn’t Buffy said that her mum was single, and that Hank Summers, infamous NON-father, was dead? The boy heard another feminine giggle and then a male chuckle to follow it.
Reality hit Spike in the face like a very cold splash of water, and then the door in front of him opened up.
Spike stood there, eyes wide with his hand still posed in the air ready to knock. Before him was Buffy’s mum with a taller man, around the same age as Joyce herself, hugging the woman’s waist.
Joyce froze, along with the male holding her. She blinked a couple of times before shaking her head.
“Oh- U- um, William! H- How nice to see you. Uh…” She turned toward the person behind her who was frowning a little and suddenly remembered that Buffy had said something about her beaux coming over today to talk. Crap. This was awful.
“I- I forgot Buffy said you might be coming by today… Um, this- this is Drake.” The female gestured with her hand to the brunette gentleman as she slowly removed his hands from her waist and stepped out of his clutches.
The man nodded in greeting, although the handshake and frown he offered the too stunned to talk teenager was anything BUT friendly.
Spike’s eyebrow arched after he pulled his hand away. Suddenly, he really didn’t feel right about being here… “Um, nice to meet you.” The Brit turned his head to face the female. “I- I should leave. I- didn’t mean to bother you when you had company, Mrs. Summers.”
“No!” Joyce’s answer seemed to shock both the gentlemen. “Please William, please stay. Drake was uh, just leaving.” She turned toward the man and offered a look which said that it would probably be best if he depart for now.
Drake nodded and gave Joyce a chaste kiss on the lips before offering his goodbyes and whispering an “I’ll call you later” into the woman’s ear, which Spike didn’t manage to miss.
After the front door sounded Drake’s departure, Joyce exhaled a little shakily and smiled warmly, if not nervously, at the boy in front of her. “Please come in, William.”
Spike really just wanted to leave and pretend that he hadn’t seen what he now had. He wanted to rewind time and undo everything that had just happened. He didn’t want to have witnessed all of this.
The Brit knew that what he’d just discovered was going to cause serious problems for him- probably in the near future. He could feel what was going to be asked of him, felt himself being deposited between the proverbial rock and hard place as he stepped through the Summers’ doorway.
He could feel the anxiety start to consume him as he sat down on one of the stools in the kitchen and Joyce tensely began playing with her hands.
Oh Spike really wished that this wasn’t about to turn into what he already knew it would…
***
Sure enough, an hour later and he was caught in the bloody middle.
Right after Joyce had handed him a chilled drink from the fridge and the teen was drumming his fingertips nervously against his leg, lost for how to start the conversation, that’s when Mrs. Summers spilled it.
From the woman’s nervous babbling, Spike learned that Drake and Buffy’s mum were dating. They had been for a month and a half now, and Buffy didn’t know.
Joyce had started speaking very fast, talking about how she didn’t want Buffy to get hurt and that she felt the teen might not accept a new man in her mother’s life. Mrs. Summers didn’t want her daughter to meet Drake until after she and him had been a couple for a good while, she wasn’t sure if Buffy would understand or not.
Spike just sat there, listening. The second Joyce had ended her little tale the young man simply nodded. When he’d looked up and met the lady’s nervous expression with a confused one of his own, he knew she wanted him to say something.
And the first thing to come out of his mouth?
“I’m sorry about the Angel incident.”
He still really didn’t know why he’d offered such a dim-witted fucking topic change.
Just as Spike was internally slapping himself over and over again for bringing up such a subject at that moment, Joyce surprised him by smiling.
Immediately she seemed to take on the role of understanding friend/stern mother figure. With a quick apology from her (for yelling at him and not allowing Spike to finish explaining himself the other day before kicking him out), and a strict order not to allow any violence anywhere near Buffy in the future, the entire Angel fiasco was dropped.
The thing that Spike had worried himself silly over, the whole conversation he’d planned to endure so as to keep Buffy in his life, the whole bloody interrogation he was suspecting Joyce would inflict- Didn’t happen.
And why…?
Joyce, a moment or two later, asked Spike to do what he’d KNOWN from the start she would sooner or later ask of him. (This was the part he’d been dreading.)
“Would you mind um… not mentioning this to Buffy? Everything with Drake I mean? It’s just not time to tell her yet.”
The words still rang like a gong in his brain. Unforgiving syllables whose threatening traps he couldn’t escape.
And Spike, no matter how much he stuttered and explained that he didn’t feel right about lying to Buffy, still had to, in the end, concede to Joyce’s terms. When the woman whipped out the “This is between me and my daughter” card, a man was pretty much helpless.
And she also managed to mention the Angel thing, just to remind Spike of how kind she was being on the matter; which he knew she was. Mrs. Summers was being very gracious about the whole thing. Most likely because she’d been caught in the act with her boyfriend and was feeling guilty over possibly hurting her daughter’s relationship when she herself was LYING about having one.
Spike didn’t believe for a second that Joyce was using her attitude towards the Angel incident as blackmail to make sure the Brit kept his mouth shut. Buffy’s mum wasn’t like that, and he knew that. However, Joyce was trying to GUILT him into cooperating, trying to let him know that SHE’D been sympathetic, understanding… so why couldn’t he?
She had stared at him, as if begging him to oblige, and the first thing that popped out of his mouth was a bloody agreement not to mention a word to Buffy.
He didn’t fucking WANT to agree to it. This wasn’t his business! He didn’t want to even KNOW about it! He wasn’t- He shouldn’t be involved! This was-
Sod his bloody luck!
Joyce politely told him she had to get to house cleaning or some such, the boy wasn’t sure; he was barely listening to her. He was too much in a haze of disbelief, only well enough aware of things in order to smile respectfully and say a farewell.
Spike left the Summers’ home, feeling damned.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I WANT TO DELIVER GIANT BASKETS FILLED WITH TONS OF MINI CHOCOLATE REESE'S (cuz those are SO the best kind) TO YOUR LOVELY HOMES! Thank you everyone so much for the reviews, they helped me to crank out this chappie sooner than I thought I would!
I really hope you all continue to enjoy this fic! Here's #25 my lovelies, I hope everybody had a great Easter!!
I really hope you all continue to enjoy this fic! Here's #25 my lovelies, I hope everybody had a great Easter!!
Chapter End Notes:
Whadya think?? I know it was kinda short but I felt this chapter needed to end there.
Next one will be comin soon, just gotta get it started- Reviews help with that!!!
(and yes, that was my shameless bribing)
Next one will be comin soon, just gotta get it started- Reviews help with that!!!
(and yes, that was my shameless bribing)