CHAPTER 4
When Buffy arrived at the school two days later, she was lost in her thoughts and didn’t notice immediately the way people were staring at her.
She was still thinking about the events of the weekend. She couldn’t think about anything else anyway. Everything was replaying in her head, especially the passionate kiss they had shared. That one was imprinted in her memory like a red-hot mark. She had never dared to think that someday Spike would return her feelings. And now, for the first time, a tiny flicker of hope was blooming in her heart.
She was reaching her office when she finally realized the strange behaviour of the students. They were all watching her, some of them whispering and laughing, others looking at her with mixture of anger and envy. Especially the girls.
Buffy spotted Melissa with her friends and went to the young girl.
“What’s going on?” she asked, feeling uneasy under the scrutinizing gaze.
“You told us Spike was your brother,” Melissa said with an accusing glare.
“He is…why…?” One of the other girls handed her a magazine.
Buffy’s heart skipped a beat. She blanched.
On the front page there was a big picture of Spike and her making out on her back porch stairs.
“Oh God…” She opened the magazine to find the article. There were several pictures of Spike in his show, and one that had been taken the Sunday at the beach when he was talking to Willow. And of course, two pictures of her and Spike kissing. And a third one where they were talking (probably while she was helping him rehearse) and where she was perfectly recognizable.
She felt a sudden urge to vomit. Apparently a photographer had been following Spike all the way from L.A. and Spike and her had given him the perfect opportunity. The town of Sunnydale was mentioned, but fortunately, her name wasn’t. Although that was not really a consolation. All of the school knew, apparently, and soon enough the whole town. Or at least the people who knew her and Spike. And some of them thought…her eyes grew wide when she imagined all the consequences it would generate.
“Those pictures are false,” she managed to say. God. She couldn’t do anything else but lie about this. “It’s manipulated. I don’t know how they did it.”
“It’s really well done, then,” Melissa said, doubt coating her voice.
Buffy laughed – although she wouldn’t know why. “They can do pretty much everything now. This is just ridiculous. Spike is my stepbrother, I never lied about that.”
She could see the others were not really convinced, and most of them wouldn’t probably believe her anyway. But it was worth trying. She had to look offended, angered by that. She couldn’t show how hurt, as shattered as she was to see her one and only intimate moment with Spike exposed for the whole state – country?- to see. She was fighting hard the tears that were accumulating behind her eyelids.
“I’ll sue them. And Spike will too. I can’t tolerate this.”
“It looks so real,” muttered another girl.
“Well it is not. I’ll keep this. Now if you excuse me, I have to call my lawyer,” Buffy said in a very firm voice, leaving the group to walk toward her office. Once inside, she closed the door and leaned on it, putting her hand on her mouth, trying to control her shaking. She couldn’t cry now. She couldn’t let this reach her right now.
She said a silent prayer thanking that her father was in England and not here to see this.
She looked through the pictures again. This moment…had been the most wonderful moment of her life. Probably the most intimate too. And it was exposed in a horrible, trashy cheap magazine.
She took the receiver, intending to call Spike, but put it back. Maybe he didn’t know yet. She knew he didn’t read those things either. But there was a big chance that someone in his entourage would. What if Darla saw it?
She didn’t dare to imagine Spike’s reaction when he saw this. He would be furious. She didn’t have a lawyer, but he did. He would probably sue them. Put a denial on the front page.
But even if she had been the first one to deny it, she didn’t think she could bear to hear Spike doing the same thing. To act like all of this was a big phony..
That kiss had been the most real thing in all her life.
She took the receiver again and dialed Willow’s number.
“Hello?”
“Will, it’s me. Did you…did you see the latest edition of the Hello magazine?
Willow chuckled. “It’s not exactly my bedside reading, so no…why?”
Buffy hesitated. “Could you come over to Sunnydale High? Like now?”
“Sure. What’s going on?” her friend asked, curiosity tainting her voice.
“You’ll see. I think you have to see this.”
“In the Hello magazine?? OK…is it about that guitarist from the Dingoes ate my Baby band? Cause I find him cute. But don’t tell Xander.”
“No, it’s not. I’ll wait for you, ok?” Buffy answered, not hiding the urgency in her voice. She couldn’t tell Willow over the phone. Her friend was involved too, since there was a picture of her as well. A very innocent one, although the legend seemed to imply that Spike was sort of entertaining a harem in his hometown, all behind his pretty fiancée’s back.
Buffy sighed. No doubt she would have to face the principal at some point. She wasn’t sure he would buy the fake picture thing either. Who would be naive enough to believe that anyway?
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
“Woah. Ok…woah.”
Willow was staring at the paper with a disbelieving look on her face. She read the commentary out loud. “It looks like Spike Atherton, the hot hunk starring in UPN’ show ‘Faith the Vampire Slayer’ is having quite the quality time when he returns to his hometown of Sunnydale on weekends. Just this Sunday he was spotted chatting a sexy redhead on the beach…” she stopped, her eyes growing wide. “Hey, that’s me! I’m the sexy redhead. Oh my God! I’m sexy!” Seeing Buffy’s look, she hastily read on, “…and later that same day was obviously enjoying the ‘conversation skills’ of a cute little blonde. You go, Spike! But what will Darla have to say about this, just a few weeks before the wedding? A ‘close friend’ told us she was devastated and planning on calling the wedding off.”
Willow put the paper back on Buffy’s desk. “Well it’s a good thing Xander was at the beach with us. I don’t know how I would have explained the ‘sexy red head having an affair with Spike’ thing. God, those people are like vultures! Big, horrible black vultures.” She took the paper back, watching more closely the picture of Buffy and Spike. “How do they do it? It’s incredible. You really look like you’re kissing.”
Buffy took a deep breath. This was the first step in a series of probably long, painful ones.
“That’s because we were,” she said softly.
“Oh, ok. I didn’t think it would be possible to…what??”
“Spike and I were kissing. Those pictures are real. It’s us.”
Willow looked from the paper to Buffy, then to the paper again.
“Kissing like in ‘I help you rehearse your love scene’ or…or like ‘Big smoochies for real’?”
Buffy smiled slightly. “The smoochies part. It just happened. I didn’t expect it, and…it’ s a long story. I want to tell you about it, but not here and now. Ok?”
“Ok…but you’d better give me the long uncut version, missy. Did you call Spike about this?”
“Not yet. I don’t know…I’m afraid of his reaction. And there’s Darla…”
“Here they say she’s devastated,” Willow said with an ironic smile. “I wonder who that ‘close friend’ could be…I wouldn’t give any credit to those stupid comments. Except for the sexy redhead one.”
“Well at least you get to be sexy. I’m just a ‘cute little blonde’.”
“I’m glad you haven’t lost your sense of humour…”
Buffy rubbed her forehead. It was not even 10 o’clock and she was feeling a big headache coming her way. “I’m scared, Will. I saw the student’s reactions this morning. Those who don’t know me think I’m a little trollop who dates a TV star and lies about it…and the others…those who know me and know Spike as my stepbrother…God, I don’t even want to know what they think!”
“Well maybe it won’t be that bad…I don’t know a lot of people who read that kind of crap around here,” Willow said, but she didn’t seem convinced by her own assertion.
“The whole school knows already. I’m expecting the principal to burst in here anytime now…and people who don’t usually read that will hear about it…or notice the front page in stores…God, how am I going to face this?”
Willow put her hand on her arm. “Put your brave and resolve face on. Act offended. Keep saying the pictures are false…stick to your version. If people see you are angry and determined, they will probably believe it…and forget the whole thing as soon as the next scandal rises. Don’t play the victim.”
Buffy shrugged. “That’s not my style anyway. Urgh! I’m just glad Dad is not here to see this.”
Willow nodded. “ Knowing your dad, you’d better find a good explanation for that kiss. He’s too smart to think these are false. And by the way, I’ll wait impatiently for that explanation as well.”
“You’ll have it, I promise. Thanks Will. I feel a little bit better after talking to you.”
The young woman got up. “Don’t worry too much about it. Call Spike. You have to deal with this together. Especially considering the circumstances, which I don’t know anything about yet. For now I have to go convince my future husband I’m not having a torrid affair with the hottest TV star in Hollywood.”
Buffy smiled fondly. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“If you need anything, call us or come by, ok? Let me know what Spike said.”
“Promise.”
The redhead took off, leaving Buffy pondering about calling Spike right now or going to the principal’s office to evaluate the damages done to her reputation and her job.
She suddenly realized that she hadn’t thought for one minute what Riley would say about this. She moaned.
This was going to be a painful, horrible day.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
His eyes stayed on the paper for some time, mostly because he was dreading to meet her gaze and see the hurt and confusion that were probably there. She spoke first.
“Are those…real?” she asked in a slightly shaky voice.
This time he raised his head. He wouldn’t lie to her. He didn’t care what the others would think, but he wouldn’t lie to Darla.
“Yes…they are. I’m sorry,” he said, wishing he could find something else to say. Wishing that kiss with Buffy had never happened ? No…Surprisingly, he didn’t regret that. “Darla, I don’t know what to say. I never meant for you to be humiliated like that, I swear.”
“But why…why did you kiss her? She’s your sister!”
“My stepsister,” he corrected. “And it just happened. We were rehearsing, and…we kissed. It didn’t mean anything,” he added. Ok, now that was a lie.
“Are you sure? Because it certainly doesn’t look like it.”
He got up and came to kneel down in front of her. “Darla, honey…I’m terribly sorry. It won’t happen again. Ever. I promise.”
“Spike, if you’re having second thoughts…”
“No! Nothing has changed. I love you, and I want to marry you. I made a mistake, and I hope you’ll find it in you to forgive me.”
She nodded, seeming a little bit reassured, but the hurt was still there. He knew about her painful past experience and cursed himself for being the one to inflict that pain on her again.
“What are you going to do about…” she gestured towards the paper.
“I don’t know. I’ll probably sue them, just for the principle…” He turned his attention back to her and kissed her softly on the lips. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I love you. You believe me?”
She nodded “Well, if you promise never to do it again…because there’s no way I’m going through this again, Spike. So you’d better make up your mind at what – who – you really want.”
“It’s you,” he answered immediately. He had never doubted that before.
So why did he now?
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Buffy watched the student leave her office and was glad when no other followed. At least that one had come to see her for a real problem and not because she was the latest trendy attraction.
More than once she had been tempted to take her bag and leave. But she wasn’t a coward, and hiding at home wouldn’t resolve anything. The principal had called earlier to say he would be late, but that he wanted to see her in his office in the afternoon. He had been nice and polite as usual, but she had heard a certain tension in his voice. She really wasn’t looking forward to her meeting with him.
Once again she put her hand on the phone, intending to call Spike. And once again she didn’t do it. Not a coward my ass, she thought bitterly. It was stupid because she really needed to hear his voice, but at the same time she was afraid she would break into tears if she did.
The phone rang. She picked up the receiver, hand shaking.
“Buffy Giles, Sunnyd…”
“Buffy, love, it’s me.”
“Oh Spike, thank God you called!” As expected, a flood of tears rushed to the surface but she valiantly restrained them. She knew he hated to see or hear her cry.
“It’s that bad, huh?”
“It’s been kinda hard, yeah. I told everybody they were fake pictures, but I’m not sure they believed me.”
“Stick to that version,” he said, once again echoing Willow’s words and she had to smile. “Buffy…I’m sorry. I had no idea that photographer had followed me to Sunnydale. I should have known there was always a risk.”
“Well, we gave him quite the show,” she said, laughing slightly, and Spike was relieved to hear it. Of course he couldn’t see the tears running along her cheeks.
“Spike…do you regret what happened?” she asked softly.
There was a slight pause, and then he said, “No. I don’t.”
She closed her eyes, a warm wave overwhelming her. “Me neither. Even if it’s a living Hell here right now, I wouldn’t change one second.”
“We have to talk about this, Buffy. As much as I wish it could be, it’s not as simple as that.”
“I know. What…what did Darla say?”
“She’s the one who showed it to me actually. But she was great. She…understood.”
She understood?! Wow. Talk about the perfect girlfriend.
“Well, I hope it will go as smoothly with Riley,” Buffy said, but she knew it was wishful thinking. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach at the thought of the probable confrontation that was to come. “Also, we’d better find a good explanation for Dad. I’m afraid he’ll hear about it sooner or later.”
“Don’t mention that. I would say bugger all to what other people might think – except for Darla – but then I think about Rupert and I feel like peeing in my pants. And that’s not a metaphor. I can be there this afternoon if you need me,” he added, glad he had elicited another little laugh.
Oh God, yes I need you.
“No. I’ll be ok. I’ll manage. I promise.”
“Are you sure? You don’t want me to come and talk to Riley?”
She rolled her eyes. Guys could be so dense sometimes. “Somehow I think it would only make things worse. I’ll deal with it. And like Willow said, very soon there will be another scandal and they’ll forget about us.”
“I’ll call you back tonight, ok?”
“Yes, please.” She didn’t like the pleading in her voice but she couldn’t help it. At least she wasn’t crying anymore.
“Just…call if there’s something…anything.”
“Yes, I promise.”
“I’ll give you Joss’ s office phone number. There’s always someone nearby to answer.”
“Ok. Do you think I could make some money out of it?” she joked, hoping it would ease his concern.
He chuckled. “Probably not much. You have a pen?”
She wrote down the number before hanging up. She was feeling a little bit better now that she had talked to Willow and Spike. She wasn’t alone in this. Maybe people would believe they were fake pictures. Maybe Riley would believe it too. Yeah, right. And there were things much more serious going on in the world. Who was she to whine because she had been caught kissing her famous stepbrother and was now making the front cover of a trashy magazine? It happened to Britney Spears or Jennifer Lopez every week. She was a grown up, she could deal with it.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
“I can’t deal with this,” Buffy muttered a few hours later.
She was sitting in her car on the supermarket’s parking lot. After leaving the school, she had remembered she was supposed to do some grocery shopping, since there was nothing left in the fridge. She had pondered for a moment the idea of skipping it and just staying safely at home starving, but decided against it.
She was not a coward, and she was an adult.
Bad, bad idea.
The supermarket was the closest one to her home, where her father and Joyce had been shopping for years. Absolutely everyone there knew her. And knew Spike, of course. Some of them probably even believing Spike and her were really brother and sister.
Which would explain the horrified looks she got as soon as she stepped in the store.
She put on a brave face, trying to ignore them. Her heart was beating fiercely, and her ears were buzzing. To the few people who came to talk to her, she lied like she had done all day and gave the same speech. She was seriously getting tired of it. A part of her wanted to shout ‘Yes, I kissed Spike, and I love him, and if you don’t like it just go to Hell’, but she knew that wasn’t a very reasonable option.
She started the engine and drove back home. It was over for today. The day had been awful beyond words, and nothing could get worse now.
She stopped in her driveway and saw Riley pacing on her front porch, the paper in his hand.
Or maybe it could.
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