After they arrived at the club in Reno, Buffy went to the bathroom inside the building and changed into a different outfit for the night before going to the bar and sitting down, ordering her traditional Cosmopolitan. Angel eventually came out and sat beside her, ready to do damage control.
“Hey, Buffy,” he said quietly before ordering a beer. “How’s everything going?” She looked into her drink.
“What do you know?” she asked sadly. “Did he fill you in on all of the details?”
“Spike hasn’t told me anything,” he replied. “All he’s said is that you’re ‘a frustrating bird’ and that he doesn’t understand how things went wrong so fast.” She looked at him. “So I’ve got to ask- what went wrong?”
“I let him in,” she answered, once again looking at her drink. “You all told me how great of a man he could be, and I decided to believe you because you’ve known him longer. But as it turns out, he’s not such a great man and I shouldn’t have given him a chance.”
“I know that you two…formed some sort of a bond,” Angel said, carefully choosing his words. “I don’t need to know more details than that, but…I really think you two should work things out.” She looked at him. “We’re all sharing a bus together for the next couple of weeks, and I don’t want to-”
“What if I went home?” she asked, instantly liking the idea. “I’ve interviewed Xander and Oz, Spike doesn’t want to be involved with it at all, and I think I’ve learned enough. Why stay longer when it could jeopardize something here?”
“Or if it’s going to hurt you more,” he added, understanding. She nodded hesitantly. “I can’t stop you, Buffy, but before you make a rash decision like heading home so early on, promise me that you’ll really think things through. We’ve got two weeks left to go- that’s plenty of time to patch things up with him.”
“I don’t know if I really want to ‘patch things up with him’,” she replied, finishing her drink. “He said some pretty…awful things to me, and I don’t know how easy it would be to forgive him for that.”
“I’m sure it will be difficult,” he said, standing up. “And I know that he can be a major ass sometimes, but he also has the talent of really surprising people.” She looked down, knowing just how well he was at surprises. “Don’t just cut him off yet. I know things aren’t in a good place right now, but that can change, Buffy. You have the chance to make it change.” She watched him as he walked to the backstage, disappearing from view.
‘He’s right,’ she thought, sighing. ‘But I still don’t know what I’m going to do.’
* * *
After stumbling offstage, Spike grabbed another beer bottle from a table backstage and instantly cracked it open. Angel quickly grabbed it from him before slamming it down.
“What the bloody hell was that for?” Spike asked, slurring. Xander and Oz walked over to them, equally as mad as Angel was.
“You’re beyond drunk,” Angel said sternly, crossing his arms. “And you made a fool out of yourself in front of everyone.”
“So what?” Spike asked, trying to grab the bottle once again, but Angel blocked him and pushed him back.
“‘So what’?” Xander asked loudly, throwing his arms up. “We got boo-ed offstage, man! Do you know how embarrassing that is? You were off-key, didn’t know half of the words, and you insulted some woman in the front row. You sucked tonight, and the rest of us have to take the fall with you because you decided to get plastered before the show.”
“And during,” Oz added quietly. Spike looked between his band-mates.
“Maybe I wouldn’t have sucked so bad if you two wankers would’ve played the songs better,” he replied sharply. “Harris, you were off at least once in every single song. How the hell am I supposed to sing if the music isn’t right?”
“This isn’t my fault,” Xander replied, crossing his arms. “You messed up tonight, Spike. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I’m not going to take this from you,” Spike said, heading towards the exit.
Buffy walked into the backstage area, hearing their loud voices before she even walked through the door. She knew that they were fighting and rightfully so- Spike made them look horrible.
“Hold up,” Oz said before Spike could leave. “We still have our equipment onstage.”
“I don’t bloody care,” he replied. “I quit.”
* * *
Buffy was shocked, to say the least, and when she saw the panic on the faces of the three men surrounding her, she quickly followed Spike out and inside the tour-bus, figuring that maybe she could do something to stop him from making such a big mistake.
‘He can’t just throw this away,’ she thought. ‘I know I don’t owe him anything right now, but the others deserve to keep the band afloat.’
She saw him go into the back bedroom before he opened a set of drawers and began to pull things out of them.
“Why are you doing this, Spike?” she asked, leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom. He didn’t look at her as he began to throw his clothes on the bed.
“Because I’m sick of this,” he replied sternly. “I’m sick of the tour…the band…and you.” She nodded, deciding not to get upset by his words.
‘This isn’t about me right now,’ she thought, trying to mentally keep herself in check.
“You had one bad show, Spike- that’s not a good enough reason to quit the band,” she said. “You love being onstage with them, singing the songs you’ve all written together. You’ve known them for years, and they’re your friends, not just your band-mates. Why would you think of walking away from them, from this great opportunity you have?”
“Because it’s not what I want anymore,” he said, grabbing a duffel bag and shoving his clothes inside. “I don’t want to be in a band- I want to be a solo artist. That way I know all of my success belongs to me and no one else.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit selfish?” she asked, walking into the room to sit on the bed.
“I don’t sodding care,” he replied, looking at her. “This is all your fault, you know.” She raised an eyebrow.
“How is this my fault?” she asked. “I wasn’t the one onstage who made an ass of himself.”
“If you wouldn’t have pissed me off so much before, I wouldn’t have gotten drunk,” he answered. “And then I wouldn’t have screwed up as badly as I did onstage.” She frowned.
“You getting drunk was your own choice,” she said calmly. “And maybe I facilitated your decision and gave you a reason to do it, but it’s not my fault, and don’t you dare accuse me of it.”
“Shove off, Buffy,” he said sharply, closing up his bag. “I’m dissolving the band, and that’s final.” He walked to the door. “I would think you’d be happy with the change of events.”
“Why’s that?” she asked, looking at him.
“Because you get to go home and never see me again,” he said before turning and walking out, leaving the bus.
‘Maybe I get to go home, but I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again, Spike,’ she thought. ‘This isn’t close to being over.’
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A/N I'd like to say that I was shocked by the number of reviews I got after the last chapter- thank you! It means a lot to hear what you all think of the story!:)
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