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I've gotten some really sweet reviews so far. Kisses to you all!!
Spike awoke late in the afternoon the next day. He had gotten in around five, and had headed straight for bed.







When he rolled over in his bed to check his cell phone for the time it read 4:00 PM. Spike groaned and stretched. It was late, but he’d had a pretty good sleep. After he’d left the diner the night before he had continued driving until he’d found a club. It wasn’t quite as big as the ones back home, but never the less, a club. He was pleasantly surprised, though, when he saw the inside. It was actually more wild and “outside the box” than a few of the ones back in his city. His fake ID got him in and Spike noticed that it was much easier to pass for twenty one in Connecticut than it was in Chicago.







Spike had enjoyed himself just drinking and chatting up any girls that caught his eye. He even got laid, by a petite blonde, in the bathroom of the place so he summed up the night to be a pretty good one. Even though he hadn’t drank too much. When he drove home he wasn’t even tipsy. That was one rule of thumb Spike never let himself forget. If he were to get in an accident his precious car could be totaled. And after what happened to his mum…







Spike just never drove drunk. He hoped the group he was meeting later was like his old gang back home. Drinking and having a good time? Sure. Racing, stealing, and betting? Hopefully. But nobody drives once they start stumbling over their own feet. That was the one and only rule Spike and his pals had abided by back in Chicago. It was pointless and stupid to risk your life and not even remember it the next day. Fortunately from what Jack had said, these people were just the type of crowd Spike was looking for, so fingers crossed.







Spike got out of bed and went to bathroom to shower and get dressed. When he was done, he would go downstairs and unpack a few things for his dad. Sure, the teenager was still pissed at his father but hey, the man was old. Spike figured he’d just go down there while his dad was gone for the day, which was supposed to be until six, and organize for him a little bit. But no way in hell was he going to help his dad out when he was home! Oh no, have to keep the pride. And Spike was still angry at his father for taking him away from the city he loved so dear.







Nope, Spike wouldn’t be organizing kitchenware for his father if he was home to see it, but the teen would do it when his old man wasn’t around.







***







Buffy had awoken around 9AM. Her day then consisted of lying around with Dawn and watching TV. Silly and completely lazy were her selected moods, but only until five, then she’d be free of her sister and could go for a nice walk around town, and probably stop to grab a chocolate muffin from Bernadette’s bakery while she was at it. Then when her mom returned at six she could maybe finally meet the mystery boy a couple houses down.







Buffy’s curiosity had peaked and now she was dying to meet this guy; mostly because she wanted to try and maybe make life easier on him and his dad. She liked Charlie the first moment she met him, and felt bad that he was having problems with his son, genuinely she did. She also felt bad for William, having to move from his home and friends. The other reason she was curious to meet this boy was because her mind couldn’t stop thinking of what he might look like! It was hard to resist the need to put a face to his name, and now it was just getting damn annoying!







It was just bordering on five o’clock. Dawn and Buffy were sitting in the living room watching an old movie called Once Bitten with Jim Kerry in it. So far it wasn’t bad. Right now the scene her and Dawn were watching was a kind of dance number done to the song Hands Off by Maria Vidal. (Buffy had taken the time to pause the movie and look up the name of the song, much to Dawn’s annoyance.)







Mr. Kerry was currently being fought over by two girls, one a vampire and the other, his normal human girlfriend. Buffy found herself rooting for the vampire chick, she had better hair. Dawn, however, was not in agreement.







“How can you say that? She’s an evil soulless vampire! She doesn’t deserve him!”



“But she needs him, that other girl can get a new boyfriend in a heartbeat.”



“So? That Countess chick you want to win is gonna turn him into a vamp!”



“So? Ya get to live forever, it can’t be too bad.”



Dawn scoffed. “It is when you can’t see yourself in a mirror, you can’t go out during the day, and you’re all pale and yucky!”



“Immortal, Dawn. Immortal.”



“… But still! Evil vampire versus pretty girl? Who do you want to win?”



“Actually the vampire is pretty, too, so... I’m at a loss.”



“Ugh. Fine.” Dawn stood. “Pause it? I gotta go pack my stuff and I wanna finish watching this tomorrow when I get back.”



“What if I wanna watch it?” Buffy inadvertently pouted.



“That’s okay. Just don’t tell me the ending.” And with that, the brown haired girl ran up the stairs to gather her things.







Buffy stopped the movie and turned off the TV. She had absolutely nothing to do but she kind of wanted to finish the movie with Dawn, so she decided she’d take her walk earlier than planned. She might as well take Dawn to Bernadette’s and then walk her over to her friend Cassie’s house before going over by the lake with her camera.







That was one thing Buffy liked to do when she had nothing to burden her. She loved photography. Anytime she wasn’t busy she’d take her professional camera her mom bought her for Christmas over to the lake and take pictures of the water and surrounding nature. Photography soothed her; she loved capturing special moments and extreme beauty on film to be cherished forever. Call her a sap but she loved it.







Buffy ran up to her room, grabbed her camera, her cell, and some cash before calling out to her sister.







“Dawn, I’ll walk you over there! And if you want we can stop by Bernadette’s first to grab a snack!”



“Okay, sounds good! Just a sec!”



“I’ll be outside!”







Buffy walked down her stairs and slipped her camera string around her neck. She walked onto her front deck and sat down on the porch swing while she waited for her sister.







Buffy took in the beautiful day. It was sunny and hot, but not humid and a nice breeze accented the air. She took a deep breath and held it for as long as she could, just savoring the scent of summer. The sun was still up and there were no clouds to be seen. Buffy was about to take a picture of the landscape when an eager Dawn came bouncing out of the house with a small duffle bag over her shoulder.







“Kay, all ready. Let’s go.”



“Okay.”







With that, the two siblings made their way to the town square.







***







Once Buffy dropped Dawn off, she headed over to the lake. There were tons of people lying on the beach, tanning, swimming in the water, playing volleyball. But Buffy needed a quiet place; or at least one where she didn’t have to worry about being hit in the face with a Frisbee.







She found a space that was completely free of people; due to the huge bolder that lie between the livelier part of the beach and the giant rock wall that was behind that. It was the perfect little ten by ten segment of sand where she could take her pictures in solitude. She stood there for a few minutes, just reveling in the harmonious space she had found for herself.







Buffy had taken about ten photographs when her mother called her and asked her where she was. Buffy had completely forgotten about going over to the neighbor’s house and it was almost six o’clock. She hung up the phone and headed home.







***







It was six o’clock and Spike was back in his room awaiting a very important phone call. He heard the front door open and knew his dad had arrived home. Spike would never admit it, but he was hoping his father would notice the job he’d done earlier. The bleached teen had been unpacking and organizing for almost two hours and had managed to put a nice sized dent in the abundant amount of moving in that there’d been left to do.







When he heard a muffled “Bloody Hell” from downstairs he smirked, knowing his father had definitely noticed his hard work. Not that the man deserved any sodding help…



Spike’s cell phone rang and he answered it with lightening speed, exhaling when he heard the caller speak.







“Hey, Gunn.”







Spike never heard the doorbell ring.







***







Buffy and Joyce were quickly asked in and offered drinks. Charlie was in a particularly good mood. He had met a lovely lady in town, a widow, and then arrived home to a much neater and more organized house. Charlie knew William was the mystery elf behind the organizing.







At least fifty percent of the things that had needed unpacking were put away and sorted. Any boxes that had once contained the items were now neatly folded in the kitchen next to the refrigerator. He wouldn’t dare say anything to his son, he wouldn’t dare thank him. He knew William all too well. Charlie would just show his gratitude in subtle comments. And he wouldn’t bother William about coming home late without calling the night before, as he had planned to do. His son had done it a number of times before in Chicago, the only reason Charlie had been upset about it was because they were in a new environment now. He’d been worried; more than usual.







He should have known better, though; his son could take care of himself and would do as he pleased.







Once the mother and daughter were sitting in the living room with fresh glasses of lemonade, Charlie asked them what he’d done to deserve the company of two such charming ladies. Both the women had smiled and blushed just a tad at his kind words.







“We just wanted to stop by and say hello once more. I really hope we aren’t intruding.” Joyce spoke sweetly.



“Oh no, of course not! I’m delighted to see you both again. Everyone in this town is so kind. I actually went around today exploring and I met a number of very nice people.”



“Oh that’s nice.” Joyce smiled. “Did William tag along?”







Buffy smirked as she sipped her lemonade. Her mom was good at this kind of thing. She obviously wanted William to fit in here. Buffy figured it probably had something to do with the fact that her mother had once been an outcast and had told several stories of how lonely it could be. Buffy had a feeling her mom had a somewhat personal interest in William’s situation and his well being.







It was odd how mothers could be so… motherly.







“No he didn’t, but-”



Charlie was cut off by loud stomps; his son was flying down the stairs.



“What on Earth- William, where’re you going?”



“Got a meetin to get- Oh.” Spike stopped mid sentence and gazed at the two women sitting in the living room. One of which was the Buffy girl. He assumed the other was her mother. Spike’s eyes focused on Buffy, though. She wasn’t just hot like he’d thought before. She was gorgeous. Now that he was finally getting a closer look...







Well, the word effulgent came to mind.







Her hair was free and loosely curled; it looked like spun gold. Her eyes were a beautiful hazel-y green color. And her legs… her legs were tan and just- Bloody incredible! God, what a woma-







Spike shook his head, forcing himself out of his haze. He didn’t have time to flirt or meet new people; he had a place he really needed to be. Like now!







Buffy gaped at the man in front of her. It was that same sexy ass stranger from the diner! If she had known her new neighbor looked like that, she would have insisted on meeting him yesterday the first time she was over, yelling and bad attitude be damned!







Given, bad boy equals no dating, but he was just so…







I wonder if he recognizes me…







“Hi, I- I’m Buffy. We’re um, neighbors. This is my mom, Joyce.” Buffy inwardly cringed at her own voice and tried her hardest to stop stammering as she gestured to her mom. A blush crept up her neck.







C’mon, get a grip Buffy! Bad boy means no boy, remember? You shouldn’t be stuttering!







Joyce held out her hand for William but all he did was look at it and turn his head to his father. “Dad, I’m going out. Be back late.” He headed toward the back door without another word.







When his dad called out to him, Spike ignored him. The teen felt like if he stayed another minute looking at Buffy he wouldn’t be able to leave. She was just too adorable with how she was stuttering and blushing, so innocent and golden, so full of life. She was just so… captivating. And he hadn’t even talked to the girl. Spike knew now that this pull he was feeling was too strong, if he went after this girl, he’d be setting himself up. He just wanted- needed -to get out of there. He needed to leave. He had a place where he was expected, and he still needed to pick up some beer on the way there, figuring it was probably the best move. Whether Gunn had just been joking yesterday or not, Spike wanted to make a good impression and alcohol helped with that.







Spike headed to the garage. It held only too cars, his Mustang and his DeSoto. His dad always parked on the street. There wasn’t anything too special about Charlie’s old Buick, other than the fact that it was in the best damn shape it had ever been in thanks to his son.







Spike hopped in his DeSoto and drove off. The Mustang was better for racing, but the DeSoto had a lot of perks. Spike had made every possible improvement on his classic beauty of a car, and he planned to show her off. Besides, he wanted to make an impression, and the DeSoto was all him. It was his baby. Of course he loved the Mustang along with all the other cars he’d stolen back in Chicago, the ones that were now still in the city with his friends, but the DeSoto was Spike’s signature. Other than the Mustang, which he’d actually inherited from a close uncle of his who had died, the DeSoto was the only car Spike had ever claimed legally. The black 1963 classic was the first and only car he ever bought.







Spike stopped at a liquor store, hit the highway, and headed for his destination.







Freedom.







***







Buffy and Joyce had left not too long after William disappeared. Charlie had given an apology for his son’s behavior and the two women had politely stated that it was fine. They changed topics rather quickly and after a few more minutes of conversation the girls headed home. As soon as they were back inside their house, Buffy exhaled sharply.







“What is wrong with that William guy?! I mean, seriously, rude much?”



“Now, Buffy, don’t-”



“What? State the obvious? C’mon mom, you can’t honestly tell me William is-”



“I don’t know what William is.” Joyce’s tone was stern. “And neither do you. Sure, his behavior was rude, but how many times have I told you not to be judgmental?”



Buffy sighed heavily. “Fine. I’m sorry. It’s just- Did you see the look on Charlie’s face when William stormed out of there? He looked so… sad and- and embarrassed.”



Joyce sat on the couch. “You’re right. He did. And that’s why I don’t think we should push anymore.”



“What do you mean, ‘push?’”



“We went over there hoping to get William out of the house. We went there to help introduce him to his new home, right? Well, he obviously doesn’t want that. He doesn’t seem to want too much contact with anyone. I think it’s just best if we stay out of things. No more hidden agendas for going over to the Pratt house. We’ll only help if asked.”







Buffy considered her mother’s words. She was right, and besides, Buffy wasn’t exactly thrilled at the thought of seeing William again. After the way he acted, it didn’t matter how cute he was, she already didn’t like his attitude.







“Shoulda known- stupid bad boy. What a jerk…”



Joyce interrupted Buffy’s muttering, not having heard her daughter utter a single word. “Okay Buffy?”



“Huh? Oh. Yeah, okay mom.”


Chapter End Notes:
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