Chapter 5 - Confrontations
Buffy walked through the halls of Sunnydale High Monday afternoon, searching
for her friends in the crowd as she headed for her last class of the day.
Spotting them on the other end, Buffy waved as she made her way over to
them, greeting them as she approached.
“Hey, Buffster,” Xander said, throwing an arm over Buffy’s shoulders. “How’s
my favorite girl?” Noticing the look that Buffy was throwing his way,
Xander’s eyes widened as he turned and pulled Willow to him with his other
arm. “I meant, my OTHER favorite girl.”
“Nice save, Xand,” Buffy said with a smile.
“I thought so,” he mumbled.
Buffy frowned when they neared the end of the hallway to encounter a very
heated argument between Spike and Harmony. The three friends exchanged
looks as they got closer.
“You were the one off snoggin’ some other guy, Harm, so don’t even try it.”
“I wouldn’t have if you would give me the time of day!” Harmony replied in
a high-pitched voice.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that ever since Little Miss New Girl showed up,
you haven’t been able to have a conversation that doesn’t revolve around
her!”
Buffy blushed at the assumption that it was her. There was no other new
girl in this school as far as she knew.
“You’re blowing things out of proportion, Harm. And you’re trying to get me
off the subject, which is the fact that you were the one messing around with
someone else!”
“Don’t try that with me, Spike. I saw you at the party the other night.
You were practically having sex with her on the second floor!”
“That’s an exaggeration, and you know it,” Spike said in a low voice.
“Maybe it is, but you obviously can’t stop thinking about the little
floozy,” Harmony replied, noticing Buffy standing there for the first time
and gesturing toward her.
Buffy swallowed hard. It was bad enough that she got called every name in the book by her father, but now she had to be subjected to it at school.
Turning away from the couple, she knew she saw Spike look over at her before
continuing the argument.
Xander and Willow quickly chased after Buffy, who was busy trying to fight
back the tears in her eyes.
“Buffy, don’t listen to that vacuous tramp,” Willow said, earning a look
from both of her friends for her unusual words. “Don’t look at me like
that- you know I’m right, Xander.”
“Yeah, she is right, Buff. I mean, Harmony doesn’t have a coherent thought
in her head.”
“Guys, I’m okay, don’t worry about me,” Buffy said, offering a small smile
of gratitude as she continued walking.
* * * * *
Buffy walked toward her locker after the final bell had rung, only to be
encountered by a very angry man in a leather duster.
“Hope you’re happy, Summers,” Spike said in a low tone.
“About what?” Buffy asked with a skeptical expression.
“Thanks to you, my girlfriend broke up with me.”
“Thanks to me?” Buffy asked in disbelief as she pointed to herself.
“Yeah, you!”
“Don’t even start with me, Giles,” Buffy said, lowering her own voice to a
menacing level. “I never forced you to try and come on to me at that stupid
party! I was minding my own business when you decided if you gave me a
little sweet talk, I’d just offer myself to you. You have a lot to learn
about women.”
“Maybe I do,” Spike replied. “I just thought I’d see if you were trying to
turn over a new leaf since your reputation preceded you.”
“What?” Buffy asked in confusion.
“Oh, you mean you didn’t know?” Spike asked with mock sincerity. “Yeah, the
entire school knows about what you were like in L.A. You didn’t think you
could keep your shady past a secret, now do you?”
Buffy stared at Spike for a long minute before turning and walking away.
She had plenty of quick retorts for him, but it wasn’t even worth it. He
wasn’t even worth it.
Spike watched the petite girl walk away, feeling guilty for such a low blow.
He always opened his big mouth, but it was infuriating to know that
Harmony had called it quits, and it was, in fact, his fault. He knew he
shouldn’t have taken it out on Buffy, but he was ready to lash out at
anybody, and she had the misfortune of being the first one he came across.
With a heavy sigh, Spike turned around and groaned when he looked into the
angry eyes of his father.
“Son,” Giles said with venom evident in his voice. “Might I have a word?”
* * * * *
Spike was surprised that he wasn’t being dragged into his home by his ear
when he and Giles walked through the front door.
“Sit down,” Giles said, pointing toward the couch as he walked out of the
room.
Spike felt like he was five years old again, as he sat down. His father
wouldn’t even let him drive home, lecturing him the entire way about
propriety and appropriateness in proper conversation.
He sighed as his mother and father walked into the room.
“Rupert, what’s going on?” Jenny asked as she looked at her son sitting on
the couch like a scolded child.
“He’s your son,” Giles said, leaving the room again. “I’ll let him tell
you.”
Jenny raised an eyebrow as she looked at Spike. “Wow, you really must have
screwed up if you’re ‘my’ son.”
Spike offered his mother a small smile before clasping his hands in front
of him and biting his lip.
“What’s going on, William?” Jenny asked softly, sitting down next to Spike.
“I’m an idiot, Mum,” he said, looking at the floor. “I told a girl a rumor
I heard about her, and Dad overheard, and now…”
“Why would he get mad about that? You were just trying to inform a girl
about something.”
“More like…using it against her in an argument,” he said, looking up at her
with a sheepish expression.
“William,” Jenny said in a reprimanding voice. “You were raised better than
that. Why would you do it?”
“Harmony and I broke up,” he said softly.
“Really?” Jenny asked, trying to keep the obvious glee out of her voice.
“I just happened to come across Buffy and-“
“The girl that you keep running into?”
“Yeah, and I started an argument with her because she happened to be there.”
“William-“
“I don’t need a lecture, Mum. I know I screwed up.”
“Yes, you did,” she said softly. “Is there any specific reason you would
have started an argument with that particular girl?”
“She’s the reason Harmony broke up with me,” Spike said, hanging his head.
Jenny suppressed a smile- she liked this girl even more. “And why was
that?”
Spike took a deep breath before explaining. “Harm thought I was flirting
with her or wanting to be with her instead or something like that.”
“And do you?”
"Do I what?" Spike asked, looking over at his mother.
"Would you rather be with her?"
Spike was all ready with a resounding ‘No’, but he couldn’t get the word to
leave his throat.
Jenny softly patted her son’s arm as she stood. “Maybe you should think
about that, William.”
* * * * *
Buffy quietly let herself into the house. Her father probably wasn’t there
anyway- he was usually at work this time of day, but there were the
occasional surprises. Walking up the stairs, Spike’s voice kept echoing
inside her head, ‘Your reputation preceded you.’
Walking into her room, Buffy felt anger begin to take over at the callous
use of his words.
“What does he know?” she muttered to herself. “He thinks he’s such an
expert on women. He thinks he knows me, but he doesn’t know a damn thing!”
she finished as she forcefully pulled her books out of her bag, throwing
them down on her desk.
* * * * *
Buffy did her homework, finishing it in just under two hours, when she heard
the door open behind her. Briefly squeezing her eyes shut, Buffy quickly
turned and faced her father. “Hi, Daddy,” she said softly.
“What are you doing?” her father asked, not bothering to greet his daughter
as he looked over her shoulder to the work on her desk.
“Just finishing up with my English homework.”
“You keeping your grades up?”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’re expected to attend a dinner party tomorrow night.”
“A school night?”
“Did I stutter?” Hank asked, his gaze hardening.
“No, sir,” Buffy replied quietly.
“Not that I want you to go,” Hank continued. “But it’s part of the Mayor’s
reelection campaign, and he wants to prove that family values are important.”
‘He’s obviously never seen this so-called family,’ Buffy thought but wisely
kept her mouth shut.
"Be ready to go by seven,” Hank said, walking out the door before turning
back to face her. “And Buffy…I don’t want you coming on to every man in the
room.”
Buffy felt tears spring to her eyes as she watched the door close behind
him. The first night that she had arrived, Hank had been hosting a party.
Buffy had the unfortunate experience of meeting some of his colleagues,
including the revolting Ethan Rayne.
Ethan had made passes at Buffy all night long, even when she was around her
father. Hank didn’t seem to notice or care until all his guests left for
the evening when he turned on his daughter, accusing her of being a whore and
wanting to sell herself to the highest bidder.
It wasn’t Buffy’s first experience with Hank’s dark side, but it was the
first time he had so blatantly accused her of something. To an outsider,
Buffy had only been there for a few short weeks. From Buffy’s point of
view, she had been living in this house for an eternity.
* * * * *
Buffy dressed in a black silk halter dress the next night. The hem of the
dress fell to the floor with a slit on one side that showed a generous
amount of her tanned leg while still leaving a lot to the imagination.
Styling her hair in an elegant chignon, Buffy checked her make-up before
heading downstairs. She was five minutes earlier than she needed to be, but
that wasn’t enough to impress her father, who just raised an eyebrow upon
seeing her before turning and walking out the door.
Buffy smiled when she saw Fred wave good-bye from the entrance to the dining
room. Buffy waved back and walked out the door, feeling relief when she saw
Charles Gunn standing next to the Rolls Royce and holding the door open for
her.
“Thanks, Gunn,” she whispered as she walked past him.
“You look beautiful, Buffy,” Charles said softly with genuine care in his
voice. “Try and have fun tonight, okay?”
“I’ll try,” she said before getting into the car.
* * * * *
Ten minutes later, Buffy was walking into the Mayor’s mansion on her
father’s arm. It almost made her sick being this close to him. Her nerves
were practically shattered as Richard Wilkins came to greet them.
“Hank, it’s always good to see my favorite lawyer,” Wilkins said with the
suave attitude that kept him in office. “And who is this exquisite young
lady?”
“Richard Wilkins, meet my daughter, Buffy,” Hank said, putting on his false
pride as the Mayor shook Buffy’s hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my dear.”
“You, too, Mr. Mayor,” Buffy said with a smile.
“Well,” Wilkins said. “I must be off to greet the rest of my guests, but
Hank, I expect to talk to you later.”
Buffy followed her father into the ballroom of the mansion, surprised when
she felt herself nearly toppling over in her heels.
Turning around, Buffy’s mouth dropped open when she saw Spike standing
behind her, an equally surprised expression on his face.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Spike stared at her for a moment as if he wasn’t sure it was her before
answering. “My Dad is friends with the Mayor. He always drags me along to
these things. You?”
“Same,” Buffy said softly when she noticed the older, attractive couple
walking up behind Spike.
“Son, aren’t you going to introduce us to this lovely young woman?”
“Sorry, Dad,” Spike mumbled, briefly taking his eyes away from Buffy as he
looked over his shoulder. “Buffy Summers, meet my parents, Rupert and Jenny
Giles.”
Buffy smiled as she shook hands with Rupert before turning to the friendly
woman to her right. Jenny surprised both Spike and Buffy by enveloping
Buffy in a warm hug. “I’ve heard so much about you,” she said softly as she
pulled away to look at Buffy.
“I don’t know if that’s good,” Buffy replied with a smile.
“Oh, it was,” Jenny said, laughing when she saw Buffy’s skeptical look.
“You have to read between the lines.”
Buffy was about to respond when she heard her father calling out to her from
across the room. The Giles family all noticed the crestfallen look on
Buffy’s face before she turned and motioned to her father that she would be
right there. Turning around, Buffy pasted a fake smile on her face as she
looked at the two adults. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. and Mrs.
Giles.”
“Oh, please just call me Giles,” he said with a wave of his hand.
“And I’m Jenny. None of this Mrs. Giles business.”
Buffy smiled at the warmth that the woman seemed to radiate as she began to
walk away. She gave a quick nod to Spike, who was still staring at her,
before making her way over to her father.
“Who was that?” Hank asked in a low tone as he pulled Buffy to a more
secluded area.
“Rupert and Jenny Giles.”
“The librarian at your school.”
Buffy shrugged, even though it wasn’t technically a question. “And the
other one?”
Buffy turned and noticed that the Giles family were all discreetly watching
her interaction with her father. “That’s their son, Spike.”
“Spike,” Hank said with a scoff. “Sounds like a guy you’d date.”
“I’m not dating him,” she replied, trying to keep the defiant tone out of
her voice, to no avail.
“No?” Hank asked with a disbelieving tone. “I guess he’s just one of your
conquests then.” Buffy visibly flinched at the statement as Hank
continued. “Don’t embarrass me tonight, and don’t even think about talking
to any of my clients or coworkers.”
“Dad, I wasn’t-“
“And make sure you don’t go slutting around in your hooker dress, either.”
“You bought it for me.”
Buffy realized her mistake as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Yes,
she was proud of herself for standing up to the man, but pride had nothing
on fear.
Hank roughly grabbed Buffy’s arm, apparently not caring who saw, as he
spoke. “Don’t you dare speak to me in that tone, young lady.”
“I’m sorry, I was just meaning that it was in with all the dresses that were
there when I moved in.”
Hank let go of her as he took a few steps away. “Don’t test me, little
girl,” he said in a low tone. “You are nothing to me.”
Buffy watched as her father turned and walked away. She swallowed the lump
in her throat as she made her way to the open French doors at the back of
the room, needing a few minutes to herself.
Once outside, Buffy took in deep gulps of the cool night air as she looked
at the elaborate patio, leading down to a beautiful swimming pool with
flowers floating on the glassy surface.
“Are you okay?”
Buffy turned and was surprised when she encountered Jenny standing next to
her, with a sympathetic look on her face.
“You saw?” Buffy asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yeah,” Jenny said, resisting the urge to take the tiny girl in her arms and
give her some much needed mothering.
“I’ll be fine,” Buffy said with a firm nod.
“Buffy, are you sure you’re safe where you’re living?”
“I’m safe,” Buffy said, trying to put enough resolve into her voice to make
it sound more believable. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle whatever
comes my way.”
A/N I know Spike's not very likeable right now, but he will have some redeeming qualities later, I promise :-) Thanks for reading!
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