BY:ECHIDNA

Author's Note: Thanks to Ali for betaing this fic and for supporting it! ;)

Chapter 1

“Honey! I think Willow is here!” Mrs. Summers called out from the kitchen.

“I’m on it!” Buffy bellowed back as she hopped down the stairs taking two steps at a time. “Hey, Wills!” She greeted the redhead with a huge grin as she opened the door.

“Hey! Xander, Cordy and Oz are waiting in the van. Ready for some Bronzing?”

“Sure!” The blond grinned wildly. She loved Saturday night outings. “Just let me get my coat.”

She walked briskly into the living room and picked up her leather coat that was draped over the coach.

“Angel’s meeting us at the Bronze. Let’s g-“ Buffy was cut off as the phone rang. “Hello?” She started as she picked up the receiver. “Angel, we were just talking about… What? What’s the matter? You’ve got the flu?” she paused and Willow watched as the smile on her face quickly crumbled. “Oh… Ok, then. Sure, don’t worry, just stay at home and… drink lots of fluids. No, I’ll stay home too; don’t really feel like going out if you can’t. Don’t worry, ok? Night.” With a disappointed sigh she put down the receiver.

“He’s not coming?” Willow dared to ask.

“No. Apparently he’s got the flu.” The blond answered disheartened.

“Really? He looked fine yesterday at football practice.” Willow noted.

“Must have gotten it from the guys in the locker room or something. You know, sweating and all, then cold showers and such.” Buffy tried to justify.

“Yeah… must be it.” The redhead replied unconvinced.

“Well, I’m staying then, but you guys go.” The blond said, head bowed and her lower lip jutting out for a pout.

“No way! You’re coming with.”

“Willow, I really don’t feel lik-“

“I don’t care, you need to have some fun. You know, relax through major, all night partying.” Willow stopped when she saw Buffy’s eyebrow cock up. “O-Ok, maybe not all night, seeing as we are seniors in high-school and all but… you know, partying till curfew time.” As she finished her enthusiastic speech, the redhead set her lips in a straight line to emphasize her resolve.

“Willow, I-“

“I won’t take no for an answer.”

Buffy took a deep breath and sighed loudly before speaking:

“Ok, fine. I’ll go.”

~+~

A cloud of thick smoke engulfed them as the five teenagers walked into the club.

“Ah! The ever familiar and intoxicating air of the Bronze is entering my lungs. I can die a happy man now.” Xander sighed as he sat around the nearest available table.

“I hate this place.” Cordy protested as she practically coughed her lungs out.

“Oh, come on honey. It’s the Bronze. It’s where we-“

“One more word out of you and you’re a dead man Xander Harris.” The brunette threatened.

“Okay.” A small hissing sound came from Xander’s lips as he inhaled sharply, giving his girlfriend his best ‘you’re my queen and I shall do as you command’ look. ”Shutting up now and heading toward the bar to get some much needed refreshments. Orders.”

“Soda.”

“Soda.”

“Soda.”

“Coke.” Willow piped up with a huge grin plastered on her face.

“Three sodas and a coke coming up.”

“Oh, oh… Let’s dance.” The redhead said giddily as she took Oz’s hand and practically dragged him to the dance floor.

“Ok, I think for my best friend’s sake and for all of us present I’ll make that four sodas. No more caffeine for her!” Xander quipped walking away, leaving Cordy and Buffy behind.

An awkward silence filtered between the duo. The truth was that they didn’t really know each other all that well. They had belonged to completely different groups all through junior high. Cordy always belonged with the high and mighty *in* crowd while Buffy mingled with all the rest - mere mortals. It had been that way ever since she could remember, but it had changed during the last summer. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Xander and Cordy had announced that they were an item and ever since then they had been hanging out together. Buffy had come to realise that beneath her popular bitch/queen act, the brunette was actually someone worth knowing. Cordy seemed to have vague, fleeting episodes of humanity in her and that was always a plus. But even so, they had never really gotten a chance to ever have a normal conversation.

So there they were, sitting together, staring into the crowd, trying hard to ignore the screaming silence between them.

“So…” Cordy finally ventured. “Angel didn’t come?”

“No, he’s home, sick. He’s got the flu.” Buffy answered quickly.

“Really? I just saw him earlier today, he seemed fine to me.” Cordelia started.

“Maybe it wasn’t him.” Buffy offered.

“Oh, I go to cheerleading practice every week, I’m pretty sure I can identify the starting quarterback of our school when I see him.” Cordy countered.

Buffy was about to answer when Oz and Willow returned. A strange look was plastered on the redhead’s face. She seemed even paler than usual.

“Willow? Are you ok? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. Maybe we should all just go home.” Willow replied.

“Go home?” Xander’s voice hovered over them as he set the bottles on the table. “We just got here.”

“But, we should just go. I-I’m tired and… I need to go.” Willow’s mind searched frantically for an excuse.

“You’re tired, you were just jumping your ass off on the dance floor, giggling like a madman and suddenly you’re tired and you wanna go home?” Buffy asked.

“Exactly.”

“Willow, what’s wrong?” Buffy could easily read the fear and nervousness in her best friend’s eyes.

“Nothing, lets just go.” Willow insisted as she glanced out of the corner of her eyes.

“Wills, what-“ Buffy stopped in mid sentence as she followed Willow’s gaze. Everyone in the table did the same.

“Hey, isn’t that Angel? What’s he doing with that skinny ho? I thought you two were-“

“Cordy, honey…” Xander interrupted his girlfriend. “Shut up.”

“Angel?” Buffy felt as if the ground had been ripped from under her feet.

She didn’t want to believe her eyes. Angel, her Angel, the Angel that was supposed to be home, in bed, sick, was actually out on the dance floor, arms tightly wrapped around a tall, skinny woman, whose black hair cascaded down her back as she ground her hips against HER boyfriend.

“What…” She couldn’t speak as the lump in her throat grew to the point she thought she couldn’t breathe anymore.

“Buffy, I-I’m sorry… I…” Willow stuttered clumsily as she saw the pain plastered over her best friend’s face.

Chapter II

The petite blond watched as the skanky girl nibbled at Angel’s neck while he closed his eyes in a clear sign of pleasure. Slowly, Buffy recognized her; it was the odd vapid ho that hung out with that idiot, Spike and the Goth crowd in school - Dru. As the seconds melted away, the pain gave way to anger and rage.

In a flash, Buffy was up and crossing the dance floor. With all the strength she could muster she gripped Dru by her scrawny shoulder and threw her across the floor.

“What? Buffy? Wha-what are you doing here?” Angel stuttered like an idiot.

“That’s my line!” Buffy growled. “You were supposed to be sick, remember? In bed, with a fever. Not here, groping this trashy ho while she’s sucking on your neck.”

“Hey!” Dru objected. Before she could say anything else, Buffy’s small hands were on her throat.

The two fell to the ground in a violent catfight.

“Buffy!” Willow called out. “Xander, do something?”

“What…? Huh?” The young man snapped out of his daze as his brain overrode the ‘Girl fight, cool.’ sequence of his programming and entered the ‘Buffy’s in a fight, gotta help’ mode.

Grabbing Buffy by her waist, Xander pulled her off a very bashed Dru who could barely sit up.

“Let go of me!” Buffy yelled off the top of her lungs as she wildly kicked the air and her nails dug into Xander’s hand. “I’m gonna kill you!” She continued to bellow.

“Calm down Buffy, this isn’t the way!” Xander tried to explain, but the petite blonde would have none of it.

The rage cursed through her veins, her eyes flashed brightly with fury.

“You’re insane!” Dru screamed as she finally managed to stand up with Angel’s help.

“Get your hands away from-“

“From who? From him?” Dru asked, the arrogance building up in her sharp English accent as she pointed toward the tall quarterback. “He hasn’t been yours for a long time now, sweetie. Do you really think that he would be satisfied with a puny little thing like you. Please. He’s been coming to me, to *my* bed, for months now. Guess you were… how did you put it, Angel? Hum… Frigid!” She hissed. “Did you really think that he’d stay with you? The star quarterback with some insignificant loser. Ha! I had to bite my lip every time I walked by you in school, just so I wouldn’t start laughing at just how incredibly pathetic you are.”

Buffy felt as if the air had just been sucked out of the room and she couldn’t breathe. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly as she tried to speak, but she couldn’t. All eyes were on her; she could hear the snickering and whispering in the background growing.

“Angel…” she finally managed to whisper.

He simply looked at the floor, never giving her a glance.

“I… I… I have to go.” Buffy breathed as she ran out of the club, tear threading down her cheeks.

~++++++++++++++~

The moment she passed the threshold of the large door she felt the burden of a hundred eyes on her. She felt like she was in one of those cheesy teen movies, walking in slow motion through the halls while everyone turned to gawk at her, a look of pity plastered on all those faces. She felt her stomach turn and her breakfast quickly crawling its way up her oesophagus.

She slammed her hand against her mouth and made a run for the girl’s bathroom. Once there, she entered the nearest available stall and threw herself into it. Dropping limply next to the toilet, she vomited.

“Uh… Gross!” A high pitch voice was heard from the next stall as the fairly recognizable sound of someone regurgitating filled the room.

Buffy breathed heavily, her head still hovering over the toilet as she waited for the next wave of nausea to take over. She stayed there for a few minutes, waiting for everyone to clear out of the restroom. The ringing of the bell sounded and she imagined having to face all those people again.

By now, the few students that hadn’t been at the Bronze to witness her total humiliation had already heard of all the sordid details.

“God… I hate my life.” She exhaled noisily as she banged her head against the door before standing up.

Slowly, she turned the faucet and let the water run for a while before splashing her face with the crystal liquid. She looked up at the mirror to see her pathetic, soaked expression staring back at her. She shook her head and closed her eyes for a second, searching for the courage to leave that bathroom.

“Let the slaughter begin.” She mumbled pushing the door open and walking down the hall.

“Why if it isn’t Miss goody two shoes?”

She felt the pain in her belly increase drastically at the sound of the familiar London accent. Buffy stooped dead in her tracks, but never turned to face him, instead she waited for the black clad figure to circle her and stand in front of her.

“Late for class are we? Now, what would good old mummy think of that, Betty?” The bleached teen mocked with fake concern in his voice.

“It’s Buffy! What do you want, bleach-boy?” she hissed at him.

“Me? Nothing. Just being polite.” He answered with a cocky grin.

“You? Polite? Ha!” she laughed forcibly as she restarted walking.

He followed her.

“So, what are you doing out of class?”

She stopped and turned to face him with a frown.

‘He doesn’t know?’ was the mantra in her mind as the cocky Englishman shoved his marble white hands into the pockets of his trademark black duster.

“Why don’t you ask your skanky excuse for a girlfriend?” She quipped.

“Hey! Don’t ever call Dru that!” Anger flashed in his eyes.

“Why? That’s what you call people who go around stealing other people’s boyfriends.” She held her chin up as she looked into his eyes.

“What are you talking about, you bint?” He hissed back.

“I’m talking about your *girlfriend* and my *boyfriend* having a major make out session in front of everyone at the Bronze on Saturday.” She talked quickly as the images of that evening flashed before her eyes and served to fuel her anger.

Suddenly, his hands were on her arms and she felt her back slam against the lockers. The bleached teen glared at her, teeth clenched tightly, highlighting his sharp cheekbones.

“You better take that back.” He hissed angrily.

She swallowed hard as she tried to calm her racing heartbeat.

“It’s true.” She never lost face, the words coming out washed in despise and rage.

“You’re lying!” he accused her.

“Apparently, you didn’t know your *sweet* girlfriend has been boning *my* boyfriend.” She answered back.

He closed his eyes for a second as he tried to get his nerves under control and stop himself from beating this girl into a pulp.

“You don’t believe me? Go ask your vampire wannabe of a girlfriend.” She gathered her courage, grabbed his hands and forced him to let go of her arm. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got classes to go to.”

And with that she whirled around and quickly made her way to her next class.

Chapter III

“We need to talk.” His voice was sharp and low as he grabbed Dru by her arm and dragged her to the nearest corner.

“Spike! What-“

“Is it true?” He interrupted her. “Please, tell me it isn’t true.”

“What isn’t true, Spike?” She asked with a soft voice as she ran her hand across his cheek.

He closed his eyes for a split second before gripping her hand and pulling it away.

“Answer me!” he ordered.

She took a deep breath and sighed. Making an irritated face she answered simply:

“Yes.”

“What?!” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I’ve been with Angel. I was going to tell you-“

“When? When everyone in school already knew about it and were laughing behind my back?” He growled.

“I knew you wouldn’t understand.” She sighed annoyed.

“Bloody right, I don’t! Dru? You’re *my* girl.” He said desperately.

“Not anymore.” She answered plainly.

“But-“

“It’s over Spike, I’m with Angel now. I’m sorry.”

She walked away, leaving him standing there.

Buffy dragged her feet as she walked.

“They’re all looking at me.” She grumbled.

“No, they’re not.” Willow lied.

“Willow, I’m not blind or deaf.” The blonde rolled her eyes and sighed as she plopped her tired body on the chair setting her tray on the table.

“It’ll all blow over in a couple of weeks, when they get another thing to gossip about.” Oz offered, looking at his plate and trying to identify which of the mounds were the mashed potatoes and which were the meatloaf. He had the feeling that by the end of high school all they would have would be a large puddle of unrecognisable organic matter for lunch.

“I really hope- Oh, God no!” She breathed as she saw Angel walking into the cafeteria, his arms draped across Dru’s skinny form.

“Buffy, just calm down.”

“God, I swear, by the end of the year I’m gonna break something off of him.” The blonde hissed between clenched teeth as she furiously pounded her fork into her food.

“Um… Buffy?” Oz called with his usual monotonic voice. “I’m pretty sure they don’t serve live animals in American high schools for lunch. It’s probably against a whole bunch of laws so, no need to kill it.”

“What?!” Buffy looked at her plate and realised that she had just spread the food all over the table. “Um... sorry. I think I’ve lost my ap-”

A loud banging sound was heard as the trio turned, just in time to see Angel crash into Jonathan, sending them both spiralling over the freshly waxed floor. A very pissed Spike hovered over them.

“You stay away from Dru.” He growled.

Quickly, Angel stood on his feet and towered over the shorter boy.

“Or what?” the quarterback shot back.

Spike’s answer came in the form of a punch and soon someone was yelling off the top of their lungs:

“Fight!”

Masses of testosterone driven teens screamed and cheered enthusiastically, coming to circle the fighting pair as the two exchanged hard blows.

“What is going on here?” A loud booming voice was heard and everyone turned to see principal Snyder standing by the door.

The crowd quickly dispersed to reveal two bloodied up boys frozen in position.

“You two…” He started, the intense pleasure evident as he spoke. “Are getting detention for a week. Now, move it. In my office.”

The two boys still had time to exchange a dirty look as they untangled themselves and walked after the short, bald man.

~+~

“Poor Spike.” Willow sighed as she sat on the bench next to Xander.

“Poor Spike? What about me? Publicly humiliated at the Bronze, remember?” Buffy protested as she walked around in circles in front of her two best friends.

“Oh, you too, but…Spike, well… you know, he’s been crazy about Dru ever since I can remember and to see his long time girlfriend going around smooching with Angel can’t be giving him any happy, fuzzy bunny feelings.” Willow tried to explain.

“Who cares about Spike and happy, fuzzy bunny feelings? He’s an idiot and he probably got what he deserved.” Buffy grumbled under her breath.

“As much as I love to despise that bleached foreign freak I have to agree with Willow on this one. Spike’s always been head over heels for Dru; he worships the ground she walks on. No, actually any ground in the near vicinity of that girl!” Xander corrected himself.

Buffy’s response was a heavy sigh paired with an annoyed roll of her green eyes.

“They’ve been together ever since Spike moved here, like two years ago, and you and Angel have only been dating since this summer, you can’t comp-“ Seeing the deadly look the petite blonde was shooting at him, Xander quickly added: “Ok, shutting up now for fear of seriously irreparable head trauma.”

Exhaling sharply, Buffy plopped on the bench, between Xander and Willow.

“God, I hate this school.” She grumbled.

“Buffy, you…” Willow trailed off as she saw a fairly battered Angel walk out into the patio.

Buffy and Xander glanced in the direction of the redhead’s frozen gaze to see Dru running hysterically towards the tall quarterback, wet handkerchief in her hand, ready to nurse Angel’s bleeding lip.

“Kill, kill, kill, kill…” Buffy whispered the demonic mantra, which her friends easily picked up.

The entire patio came to a screeching halt as they saw the infamous bleached Brit walk out a few moments after the quarterback. Everyone froze to see what would happen. Those who expected a big scene or another bloody fist fight were clearly disappointed as Spike simply glanced at the couple and walked away with a bowed head as he dug nervously into the pockets of his duster, clearly in need of an extra dose of nicotine.

“You can seriously tell me you don’t feel sorry for the poor guy?” Willow asked incredulous.

“Hum… No?” Was Buffy’s sarcastic answer. “I’m too occupied with hating Angel and that skanky ho to feel any sort of empathy for anyone, specially not that bleached idiot.”

“Why do you hate him so much?” the redhead questioned. She had never quite understood it.

“Ok, need I remind you the first time I met him was when he was pulling my pony tail and screaming off the top of his lungs ‘Fake blond ahead, danger, danger.’ ?”

Willow’s eyebrows came together in a painful frown as she remembered the petite blonde’s humiliation.

“Plus he’s so full of himself, and cocky and annoying as hell with that ridiculous accent and stupid bleached head. And what’s with those absurd Billy Idol wannabe outfits? Plus those bizarre combat boots and old as hell duster and… stupid accent. He’s and idiot!” she finished her clearly negative description.

“You said ‘stupid accent’ twice.” Xander noted with a grin, but it soon crumbled as Buffy narrowed her eyes at him.

“I just don’t like him that’s all. He’s made my high school life a living hell since he first came here two years ago.” Buffy stated as the bell rang and the trio stood up and walked to their classes.

Chapter 4

Author's Note: Thanks to Ali for betaing this fic and for supporting it! ;)

The days passed and eventually the looks thrown in Buffy’s direction lessened. She walked briskly through the halls, clutching her books against her chest as she looked at her watch. She sighed in relief when she reached her destination and stood quietly peeping through the hole between the large stands. She still caught the last 5 minutes of football practice, cursing under her breath the entire time as she watched the star quarterback run through the field.

“Buffy, there you are!” Willow sighed in relief.

The petite blond jumped up hitting her head on the stand above her.

“Ouch! Willow, what’re you doing here?” Buffy grumbled as she scratched the sore spot on her skull.

“Watching you torture yourself into insanity.” Willow stated tilting her head towards the field.

“I-I wasn’t… I…” She tried to explain but it was no use, she got caught.

“You’ve been following Angel around for weeks now, you have to move on.” The redhead pleaded.

“I’ll move on when I see him on his knees begging me for forgiveness.” Buffy set her mouth in a straight line to show her resolve.

“You still want him back, don’t you?” Willow asked.

“What? No!” The blonde teen answered truthfully. “I just want to seen him suffer and grovel at my feet so I can tell him ‘You’ve missed your chance.’” An evil revengeful glow sparkled in her eyes as she spoke, clearly envisioning her moment of triumph.

“Buffy…” Willow tried to reason with her, but Buffy started walking away.

“Don’t even try to talk me out of this one. I’ll find a way to get him, and until I do I’ll just follow him!”

~++++++++++++++++~

She walked quietly several feet behind him so she would remain unnoticed. She already knew where he was going. It was Friday night, he was obviously going to pick her up. Bastard!

As the dimly lit house came into view, Buffy left the sidewalk and hid behind the tall bushes. She heard the unnatural rustle of leafs and looked up at the nearest tree.

“Oh, God! What a freak!” She whispered to herself at the sight of a bleached teen moving between branches, straining to see what was going on on the front porch of the house.

She picked up a long stem and reached up to poke the Brit on the ass. Startled, Spike lost his balance and tumbled down the tree, falling on his ass with a thud.

“What was that?” They heard Angel ask.

“Probably just the cat.” A clearly feminine voice answered. It was Dru.

Spike looked up to see Buffy cockily towering over him.

“You’re pa-“

A flash of anger coursed through him and in a blink of an eye he was up, his hand covering her mouth his body crushing hers against the tree he had just fallen off of. They glared silently at one another till Spike felt a sharp pain in the palm of his hand and instinctively pulled his hand away from her mouth.

“Ouch!” He hissed as he checked his hand for any sign of injury. Sure enough he found a small, but deep and flaming red bite mark. “You bit me!”

“You’re pathetic, you know that?” She hissed at him. “Skulking in the dark and spying on your ex.

“I’m pathetic? You mean to tell me you’re not here because you’ve been following the big poofter back there?” Spike countered tilting his head towards the house.

“I-I…”

“You think I don’t know you’ve been walking around the school following him everywhere?” He asked with a cocky grin.

“Well at least I don’t go around climbing trees and making poor little lost puppy eyes every time I see my ex.” Buffy hissed triumphantly.

“I’m love’s bitch and I’m man enough to admit it.” He confessed proudly raising his chin.

Buffy had no quick comeback for that one, so she settled for a pathetic:

“Crazed stalker.”

“I love Dru, I’ve always loved her, ever since I can remember. I’m not gonna lose her to some Yankee ponce.” He stated .

“Oh, now that’s just sad.” The blonde looked at him with pity.

“Like you’re not dying to have you’re big, greased poof back. All he’d have to do is ask and you’d be parting your knees for him.” He growled. But he didn’t have much time to gloat at his not so witty comment as he felt an excruciating pain take over his entire body as her knee connected with his groin.

“Pig!” She snorted, seeing him fall limply to the ground, clutching his privates as he repressed a much-needed howl.

She turned on her heels and walked away.

~+++++++++++++++~

Willow hugged her books against her chest as she walked side by side with Buffy and Oz. She took in a deep breath, exhaling sharply as she entered the familiar building.

“Ah… Monday! Don’t you just love it?” She asked with a huge satisfied grin on her face.

Under heavy eyelids, the blonde threw a glance in her best friend’s direction before shaking her head and sighed audibly.

“You’re in serious need of psychiatric treatment, you know that, right?”

“What? I like school, so?” The redhead shrugged.

“My point exactly. Liking school is one of the clear signs of a very obscure neurological dysfunction that destroys the part of your brain that enables you to distinguish between fun and hard, bad work.” The blonde theorized.

Willow’s right eyebrow cocked up and Buffy continued with a serious tone:

“It’s true. There’s a part of any teen’s brain where we have defined the following logical equation: fun equals good, school equals bad, bad and good are opposites therefore school is the opposite of fun. Hence,” Buffy shook her head emphatically “no happy faces and deep content sighs on Monday mornings, especially at nine am. It’s considered highly pathological otherwise.”

Willow’s brow furrowed further and she finally asked:

“Who are you and what have you done with Buffy?”

The blonde sighed heavily and replied:

“I couldn’t sleep last night. Again! So I stayed up late watching the Discovery channel. Big show on Psychology and Logics, hence the whole theory. Don’t worry, it’ll probably go away in- Spike!” Buffy stopped her explanations as a bleached teen stood in her way and blocked her path.

“Need to talk to you, Betty!” He said with a dry voice, throwing a glance towards Willow and Oz.

“It’s Buffy.” She hissed, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “And I can’t now, I have classes.” She tried to move around him, but he took a step and once again was towering over her.

“It won’t take long.” He grumbled.

It was clear he didn’t want to be there. He scanned the hall and saw the several frowns that surrounded them. It was easy to understand why. Everyone at that school knew the seething hatred that the blonde pair nurtured for one another. Obviously, they expected the usual shouting, swearing and occasional fists flying that usually developed within five minutes of the two being within five feet of each other. This time it wasn’t happening. Why? All the students wondered as they watched Buffy sigh and signal Willow and Oz to go on without her.

“What do you want, bleached-wonder?”

“Talk to you.” He explained.

“I’m here. Talk.”

“Not here.” He frowned, throwing evil glances at all the students that stared at them, before grabbing Buffy by her arm and dragging her out of there.

Chapter 5

“Ouch! That hurts!” She protested, trying to pull her arm out of his grip but failing. “Let go!” she practically screamed as they rounded a corner and reached the back of the school.

He came to a halt and let go of her arm.

“That hurt, you troglodyte.” She grumbled rubbing her sore arm. She continued a string of curses as she realised that the next day she would have finger-shaper bruises on her bronze skin from his not too delicate handling. “Stupid, idiot, foreign, brainless oaf.”

“Are we done with the cursing, luv?” He asked annoyed.

“No! You’re also a Neanderthal and stop calling me luv.” She protested again. “What do you want?”

“Dru back.” He answered simply.

She paused for a second before speaking.

“Ok, I realise you’re a bit slow and all but…” She began to speak slowly, exaggeration in the articulation of the words: “I. Am. *Not*. Dru.” She tilted her head towards him, as if trying to ascertain if he had understood her.

“Oh, Dru you’re *definitely not*.” He said with a sarcastic tone, which made the petite blonde flinch.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Let’s not go down that road.” He quickly tried to change the subject. If he wanted Buffy’s help, offending her was definitely not the way to get it. “I think we can help each other. You want your big ponce back, I want Dru, we should join forces.” He concluded.

“Two things: I would never, ever join *anything*with you and I don’t want Angel back. I just want him to contract a very painful venereal disease that involves the decaying and falling off of his private parts.” She finished her statement with a huge plastic grin.

Spike couldn’t help but wince at the description. Shaking himself out of that bad place in his mind he spoke:

“You don’t want Angel? You’ve been following him everywhere since you broke up.” The bleached teen pointed out the obvious.

“Just until I find the best way to inflict maximum pain to that cheating bastard.” She explained harshly.

Spike paused for second, pondering the new development. Annoyed, Buffy sighed and began to walk away.

“How about having him head over heels for you again?” He offered.

She cocked an eyebrow, coming to a halt:

“I’m listening.”

“I can help you get him back. Even if you show him you don’t want him, he’ll be grovelling at your feet.” He started to explain.

“Grovelling is good.” She said simply as she waited to hear the rest of the plan.

“And at the same time I can get Dru back.”

“So what do I have to do?” She enquired.

“Pretendtobemygirlfriend.” He said in one breath.

“What?!” she yelped. “Has all that bleach finally sunk into your brain and caused irreparable damage?” She questioned incredulous.

“The moment the 2 of them see us together they’ll go nuts with jealousy. Dru still loves me I know it.” Spike quickly explained.

“What about Angel?” She cocked her head.

“He never could stand seeing me and Dru happy. That’s why he’s after her. If he sees me with you, he’ll want you.”

“You’ve hit your head recently, haven’t you?” She asked sincerely.

“No. I’m telling you it’ll work. Trust me. I know Angel.”

“Trust? You? Oh you’ve definitely lost it pal.” She laughed.

Growling, the bleached teen reached into his pockets and took out a pack of cigarettes, bringing one to his lips and lighting it.

“Hey, hey, hey! No smoking!” She grabbed the cigarette, which dangled from his mouth and dropped it to the floor twisting the sole of her shoe on it.

Spike gave her an evil look, and it was clear he was doing all he could to keep himself from ringing her pretty little neck.

There was a moment of silence. Buffy scanned the outlying football field recognizing the form of the quarterback. In the distance she saw a black clad figure clapping hysterically at each successful pass the teen performed. She felt her stomach twist in disgust. Without turning to look at the bleached boy behind her she asked:

“What do I do?”

“Hang out with me. People have to see us together, holding hands, hugging and such.” Spike explained.

“No, nooooo way it hell!” She shook her head emphatically waving her arms around in a clear sign of disagreement as she turned to face him. “I’m not touching you!”

“You don’t see me hopping around singing ‘oh, joy! Oh, joy!’ either, luv.”

“Ok, deal.” She agreed reluctantly. “But we hang out with *my* crowd.”

“What? No!” It was his turn to shake his head.

“I’m not going anywhere near your monochromatic, Goth pals. No way and that’s final. We do it my way or it’s off.” Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and set her lips in a straight line waiting for his answer.

Eventually, he gave up and shaking his head mumbled:

“Fine, we’ll do it you’re way.”

“Good. When do we start?”

“Hum… tomorrow?”

“Ok, tomorrow we’re officially a couple.”

“One more thing. No one can know about our little deal or it’s off.” He warned her.

“Sure. Otherwise it would defeat the whole purpose of it, now wouldn’t it?”

“Just making sure. No telling Red, or the whelp or anyone!”

“What? Willow’s not gonna tell anyone.”

“I don’t care. No one can know.”

“But…”

“No buts, blondie.”

“Fine!” She agreed looking at her watch. “Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” she cursed. “I’m late!” looking up at him with a deadly gaze she added: “This is all your fault. I hate you!”

“Same here!” He shouted after her, watching her run to her next class.

****

She exhaled sharply as she entered the house, dragging her aching feet on the floor plopping down on the couch with closed eyes and sighing. Her heavy eyelids shot open when she heard a deep male laughter coming from the kitchen.

“Mom…” she whispered to herself, forcing her tired body to stand.

As she reached the threshold of the tiled room her jaw fell to the floor. There, around the isle, sat her mom and…

“Spike?” She asked incredulous.

The Brit muffled his laughter at the sight of the petite blond.

“What are you doing here?” Buffy inquired as she noticed the mug of hot chocolate set in front of Spike.

“You’re friend William came by to get your notes from English class.” Joyce explained standing and walking toward the counter, picking up a kettle. “More hot chocolate?”

“William?” Buffy mouthed the name and could barely refrain from laughing.

The blonde shot her a dirty look before answering her mom.

“No thanks, Mrs. Summers. I’ll just get those notes from Buffy and I’ll be on my way.”

He stood up as he spoke, walking towards Buffy and discreetly, wormed his long fingers around her arm, dragging her to the hall.

“William?” She repeated, this time she wasn’t able to suppress the chuckle.

“What?” He grumbled.

“Sorry, just forgot you were William. It’s just such a…” Buffy pondered her words. “… delicate name.”

Spike forced a plastic smile on his lips for a glimpse of a second before snarling:

“What’s wrong with William?”

“Nothing. Just forget it.” Buffy shook her head. “What do you want, bleach boy?”

“We have to talk about tomorrow.”

Buffy looked over his shoulder and noticed her mom straining to hear what they were saying. She tilted her head toward the stairs and made her way up, with Spike following her close behind.

Chapter 6

“Speak.” She said entering her bedroom.

Spike remained silent for a moment, scanning her room. A cocky grin settled on his lips as he saw a stuffed pig on her bed.

“What?” she asked annoyed.

“Nothing.” He mumbled, shaking his head.

“So, what about tomorrow?” She sighed audibly.

“We have to figure out the details.”

“Such as?”

“What do we tell your buddies?” he offered.

“That a piano landed on my head and suddenly going out with you doesn’t seem as revolting as it should?” She quipped looking up at him with a boastful grin.

“You’re cracking me up, luv.” He grunted sarcastically.

Sighing heavily, she let herself fall on her bed.

“I don’t know what to tell them.” She mumbled as she stared up at the ceiling.

“Well, we have to come up with something convincing.”

She turned her head towards him and made a face.

“I don’t think this is such a good idea anymore.”

“Oh, come on, Betty! You can’t back out now. It’s just for a few of days. If I can stand it so can you. I mean, don’t you want to have the poof grovelling and drooling over you. Just imagine him on his knees begging for you to come back to him and you telling him to get a life in front of the whole school.” Desperation was clear in his voice.

Images matching the description the blonde had made flashed before her eyes and she felt the overwhelming rush of power and vengeance course through her veins. She exhaled sharply and sat up on the bed.

“Ok! I’ll do it.” She agreed, causing Spike to sigh in relief. “But first you are definitely going to have to memorise my name. It’s Buffy. Get it through that bleached head of yours. Bu-ffy. It’s not that hard.”

He nodded and sat down on the bed next to her.

“Now… about the guys. I’ll just tell them that… I changed my mind. I don’t know. I’ll just say that…” She looked up at the ceiling as she pondered. “I got it!” She piped up triumphantly. “I’ll say that I was being mugged and that you came in the nick of time and saved me. Brilliant!” She congratulated herself.

“And you think they’ll buy it?” He asked a bit suspicious of their plan.

“They’ll have to.” She shrugged. “Now, one thing’s important, we can’t just announce all of a sudden that we are… you know…” Her index finger danced between them , alternating between pointing at him and at herself.

“Snogging?” Spike offered.

“Yeah.” Buffy rolled her eyes. “It’ll have to take time. Be gradual. Otherwise no one’s gonna go for it. I mean, everyone at that school knows we hate each other’s guts.”

“But that way it’ll take forever.” Spike protested.

“I know Willow and Xander, they won’t go for it if it’s any other way.” She insisted.

“Fine.” Spike reluctantly agreed. “So what do we do tomorrow.”

“We take it slow. You’ll sit with us at lunch. Something like that. No touching, no nothing. Just friendly talking.”

“What do we talk about?”

“I don’t know. We’ll figure it out as we go along.”

****

Joyce Summers let out a deep sigh as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. They were out of her room, finally. Thank God! She was really starting to feel very uncomfortable with her daughter being in a room alone with a teenage boy.

“So, did you get the notes?” She tried to act nonchalant about it.

“What?”

“The notes you needed from Buffy?”

“Oh, those! Yes, Mrs. Summers.” Spike answered promptly.

An awkward silence filtered between the three and Buffy was the one to break it:

“Well, you gotta go do that… thing. Don’t you?”

“Hum… Yeah! I do. Gotta go. I’m actually late.” He said quickly heading for the door. “Thanks for the hot chocolate, Mrs. Summers and good evening.”

Buffy closed the door behind him and turned to jog up the stairs when she heard her mom clear her throat in the international Mom-daughter code for ‘We need to talk’. Sighing audibly, the teen came down the steps and entered the kitchen after her mother.

“Buffy, what was your idea taking that boy up to your room? I mean, he’s a nice boy and all, but you know what I’ve told you about boys in your room. It’s strictly forbidden, I don’t-“

“Mom, calm down. We weren’t doing anything. I promise.” Buffy guaranteed. “We were just talking.”

“It doesn’t matter, you can’t have boy in your room. You never know what might happen and…”

“Believe me, nothing was or will ever happen between me and Spike. I guarantee you. I’m *definitely* not his type.” Buffy tried to explain to her mother.

“What do you mean not his type?” Joyce enquired.

“Just trust me on this one.” Buffy spoke as she recalled the strange affection the bleached teen had for Dru. She had never really understood it. It just seemed psychotic, he followed her everywhere, was constantly concerned with her well being, papering her and doing everything she asked of him. It seemed like an obsession. “I’m definitely *not* his type.”

“Oh!” Her mother brought her hand to her lips as a realisation struck her. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know he was…” Joyce pondered her words carefully.

“He is mom.” Buffy admitted, as she thought her mom was referring to his being totally head over heel over another girl.

“Oh, in that case it’s ok.” Joyce agreed as she returned to her dishwashing.

“What’s ok?”

“Him being in your room. If he’s gay he’s like a… girlfriend.”

Buffy’s eyes widened.

“What? Mom, he’s not-“

She was cut short as the phone rang. Quickly she went to pick it up, making a mental note to talk to her mom and make sure she got things straightened out.

****

Willow mindlessly shovelled her food around in her plate, her eyes scanning the cafeteria. Suddenly, they widened as she saw a certain bleached teen heading their way and eventually sitting next to Buffy, dropping his tray next to hers.

“Hey!” he greeted.

Everyone at the cafeteria froze, including Xander; his fork dangling from his lips.

“Hey!” Oz calmly replied.

Buffy braced herself as she noticed the questioning looks Willow and Xander were shooting at her.

“Hello, Spike.” She piped up in a low voice; her eyes never diverting from her plate. It wasn’t a very pretty sight, but at least it kept her safe from the hundreds of eyes that fell upon her.

“So…” The Brit tried to start up a conversation, but it seemed impossible considering the near catatonic state Willow and Xander were in.

“So…” Oz repeated. Outstretching his hand he introduced himself. “I’m Oz.”

“Spike.” Spike replied shaking his hand.

“I know.” Oz stated.

The silence at the table seemed heightened by the low whispering that now plagued the cafeteria.

“Why are you here?” Willow finally managed to snap out of her daze.

“Just felt like sitting with the damsel in distress here.” Spike answered shovelling the food into his mouth.

“Damsel in distress?”

“Yep. Betty-“ Spike winced as Buffy kicked him under the table. “Hum… Buffy, here was being mugged on her way home and…” Spike glanced towards Xander only to realise that a fork was still dangling from his mouth. “Ok! That” he pointed at the boy. “Is really starting to freak me out. Is it normal?”

Immediately, Xander pulled the fork out of his mouth and set in on the table.

“Anyway, I happened to be passing by and was her knight in shining armour.”

Chapter 7

“You saved Buffy from being robbed?” Xander finally asked.

“Oh, he can speak.” Spike mocked sarcastically. “And yep. Beat him up real good. And he wasn’t small either. Big, beefy, six feet and a half. Huge, giant- Ouch!”

He winced as Buffy once again aimed the heel of her boot to the sensitive flesh of his shin.

“He’s exaggerating.” The blonde intervened giving the table a wide, plastic smile.

“No, I’m not. He was huge and he had a gun-“

“No, he didn’t!” She cut him off shooting fireballs from her green eyes.

“Yes, he did. You just didn’t see it.” Spike insisted.

“No, he didn’t.”

“Yes, he did.”

“No, he -“

“Someone please stop them.” Oz pleaded monotonically.

“I-I think that the important thing is that you’re safe and nothing bad happened.” Willow, ever the diplomat intervened.

The two blondes eyed each other in disgust, eventually returning their attention to their plates. The rest of the meal was spent in an awkward silence.

“Well, we better go.” Buffy suddenly stood up as the stillness finally got to her.

“Yeah. Classes and all.” Willow agreed following Buffy and leaving the three men alone to stare at each other.

~+~

“What were you thinking?” Buffy shrieked as she strode quickly down the road.

“I was just doing what you told me to.” Spike defended himself as he quickened his pace to catch up to her.

“Six feet and a half? And with a gun?” She stopped to look at him, incredulous.

“What? So I embellished.” He admitted.

“Embellish? You call that embellish?” She asked with a frown. “I think you should buy yourself a dictionary because *that* was definitely not embellishing.

Embellishing doesn’t even begin to cover it. I mean, do you honestly think that they would believe you. How dumb do you think they are?” She saw the cocky grin starting to spread over his lips and quickly added: “Don’t answer that.”

With a loud sigh she began walking again, her house coming into view at the horizon.

“I wanted to make the story a little more interesting.” Spike tried to explain himself.

“Interesting? I thought we were aiming for believable.” She snarled as she continued to make her way home without dispensing him a glance.

They walked briskly and reached the front porch of her house.

“Look, I’m sorry, alright?” He apologized.

“Sorry?” She started but he interrupted her.

“Ok, could you please stop repeating every word I say? It’s really starting to get to me.”

“Grrr…” She growled pushing the door open and entering the house.

She stomped her way up the stairs and into her bedroom with Spike trailing behind. Her hand automatically reached for the hem of her shirt when she glanced at him with an annoyed look.

“Do you mind? I’m trying to get undressed here.”

“Oh! Sorry, luv! I’ll just wait downstairs.” Spike said awkwardly heading down the hall.

~+~

Angry footsteps echoed through the house as she made her way down the stairs.

“What are you still doing here?” She asked as she saw the Brit sprawled on her couch, TV remote in his hands as he mindlessly flipped through the channels.

“You’ve got cable.” He noted without looking at her.

“I know that. It’s my TV; it’s my living room, my house. What are you still doing in it?” Her words oozed with sarcasm as she stood there, arms folded over her chest.

Spike turned his head and glanced at her before returning his attention to the screen.

“We don’t have cable at home. Da thinks TV is a bad influence. Wants me to read books instead.” He mumbled.

Buffy stomped her way to the middle of the living room, standing between the Brit and the TV.

“You’re blocking the view, luv.” He grumbled looking up at her.

“Glad you noticed, it was the point. What are you still doing here?”

Sighing audibly, Spike sat up and turned off the TV.

“Talk about tomorrow.”

“What about tomorrow? Spike, wake up. It’s over! It didn’t work.” She tried to make him see.

“Of course it did.” He disagreed.

“What reality were you in? Cause in mine people were staring at us like we were two green eyed freaks or something. Everyone knows we hate each other. It’ll never work.” She maintained.

“It’s going to work.” Spike insisted standing up.

“Ok. Which part didn’t you get? Cause I can explain it again if you need me to.”

“I need to make this work, Bet-“

“IT’S BUFFY!” she screamed waving her hands in the air and trudging her way into the kitchen, leaving him behind.

After a few seconds, the Brit was in the tiled room, leaning against the fridge.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

She just stood there, a warm mug of hot chocolate in her hands, watching him with an annoyed expression.

“I need for this to work…” he started after swallowing hard. “I-I need her back. I need Dru with me or…” The words chocked in his throat.

Somewhere, deep inside, she felt a hint of pity for the poor guy, but before she could stop herself, harsh words escaped her parted lips:

“You’re not gonna cry, are you?”

Spike froze, feeling as if someone had just punched him hard in the stomach. Looking up, he narrowed his eyes, instant anger flashing in them. Without a word, he turned on his heels and exited the house, slamming the door behind him.

She stood there for a second, a pang of regret causing her to ponder going after him. In took a few seconds, but eventually it disappeared and she turned towards the sink to wash the cup in her hands.

Author's Note: Thanks to Ali my wonderful Beta-mom for betaing this fic and for supporting it! ;)

Chapter 8

Buffy let her head fall limply to the desk, while in the background Mrs. Finch’s monotonic voice rambled on about the importance of mining being reflected in the prevalence of Crown rights over mineral wealth throughout much of Europe.

“God! Just kill me now and end my suffering.” She mumbled between clenched teeth.

As if someone had answered her prayer the bell rang out. In a flash, the petite blonde straightened up, looking wide eyed at the round clock up on the wall.

“It’s miracle!” she sang out, gathering her books and stuffing them into her backpack. “I survived! Thank God this Friday’s over”

“You really do hate history, don’t you?” The redhead asked as she waited for her friend.

“More than anything in the entire world.” Buffy answer as she walked out of the classroom followed by Willow. The small blond came to a halt as she saw the familiar bleached teen further down the hall. “Correction: it’s the second thing I hate most in the world.”

Willow sighed audibly as they made their way down the large corridor stopping by Buffy’s locker.

“So we are back to hating Spike?” The redhead asked.

“What?” the blond teen asked absentmindedly as she rummaged trough the contents of her locker.

“Hating Spike. Back on the priority list?”

“Oh, top priority! I’m definitely over my momentary lapse of reason on that one.” she nodded emphatically handing her books to Willow. “Hold these for a second.”

“Good, cause that little episode in the cafeteria yesterday just seemed… wrong.”

Buffy smiled reaching to take the books back from her best friend when the conversation going on a few feet away from them caught her attention.

“Come on, luv. Just for a second. I need to talk to you.” Spike’s begging tone made Buffy’s stomach crunch up as she turned to see the blonde teen leaning on the row of lockers lined up against opposite wall of the corridor.

She watched as the bleached Brit pleaded with an unyielding, black clad Dru.

“Please, just for a sec. I just need to talk to you, luv. Please!” He practically implored while the dark haired girl remained unaltered, arms crossed over her chest, staring annoyed into nothingness, occasionally letting out a disgusted sigh.

“Are you done yet? I told you Spike. It’s over I have nothing to say or hear from you. Get a life already, you’re starting to border on extremely pathetic.” She spat out turning on her heels to leave while everyone in the hall eyed the public humiliation of the Brit. But he didn’t care. He needed to talk to her, get some sense into that pretty little head of hers, so he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

“Please, luv…” He begged once again.

“Let go of me!” Dru bellowed freeing her arm from his grip. “I-“

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you.”

The entire hall froze in place, watching the petite blonde snake her arms around Spike’s and give him a light peck on his chiselled cheek. Turning to Dru with a wide grin on her face Buffy greeted politely:

“Hey, Dru!”

The dark haired girl’s response was a deep frown, while Spike simply gawked at the small that now held hands with him.

“Well, we better go.” She said, practically dragging a dumbstruck Spike by his hand as she made her way down he hall. “Bye, Dru.” She waved lightly at Willow as she passed her by. “Bye, Willow. I’ll call you later.”

The redhead was left behind, gawking at the odd couple, her jaw glued to the floor along with everyone else’s.

~+~

Her arms snapped away from his the moment her feet touched the concrete on the other side of the street, away from prying eyes. She cringed a bit and doubled her pace as she noticed the bleached teen still staring at her. After a few painfully silent steps she came to an abrupt halt and turned to face him.

“What?” Buffy asked trying to sound as annoyed as she could, but the dominant emotion in her was definitely unease.

He cocked his head and his lips curled to one side for a light smile. Nodding, he said softly, setting his mouth in a straight line:

“Thanks, luv.”

She was a bit thrown by his reaction, it actually bordered on sincere. This was novelty. She shook her head nervously as if trying to push down the strange feeling that crept up her spine.

“You’re welcome, but don’t expect me to do that for you again anytime soon. I can feel a strange allergic reaction coming just from touching you.” She tried to sound convincingly disgusted but failed miserably and she could tell he wasn’t buying it as his trademark smirk crept over his lips.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and restarted to walk alongside her.

“Whatever you say, pet.”

“And don’t call me pet!” She snapped at him as a deep frown settled over her eyebrows in a frustrated attempt to emphasize her discontentment.

“Sure, luv.”

There it was again! On his face! That stupid, obnoxious, cocky grin that was making her… nervous? What?! No! Stupid, obnoxious, cocky grin was supposed to make her angry, disgusted not… nervous. Never nervous. Buffy kicked herself mentally as she realised too much time had passed since his last reply for her to come up with a successful comeback. “Stupid distracting grin!” she thought to herself as she kicked a pebbled that laid in her path.

Once again they walked in a nerve-racking silence, making her fidget with the straps of her coat. Suddenly, she whipped her head around to face him.

“Why are you here?” She asked out of nowhere.

“Because my da and mom were really horny about 18 years ago?” He offered with a smirk.

“Stupid, distracting… Concentrate!” She scolded herself mentally.

“Oh, you’re funny!” She replied sarcastically.

He smiled at her and eventually answered her question, matter-of-factly:

“Walking my girlfriend home.”

Somehow, that simple phrase made it impossible for her to control her breathing and swallowing at the same time and she was practically coughing her lungs out as she choked.

“Are you ok, luv?” He asked a bit concerned as he watched her bend over, trying hard to breathe.

At his question, she looked up at him, flushed face, shooting daggers at him.

“Don’t *cough*… call me *cough*cough*…”

She wasn’t able to finish her sentence as another onslaught of coughs took over her.

“Here. Drink some of this.” Spike handed her a silver flask and without thinking the petite blonde tilted into her mouth, spilling its contents down her throat.

It took a few seconds for her brain to register the strong burning sensation that seemed to smoulder down her entire oesophagus. Instantly, she dropped the flask and restarted another coughing fit. Spike watched in panic as the petite blonde’s face changed from red, to purple, to blue and finally back to infuriated scarlet as she began to scream at him:

“ARE YOU INSANE? WHAT THE HELL WAS IN THAT THING?”

“I-“

“Do you want to kill me? Is that it? I know we hate each other but…” The anger built so far up that she wasn’t even able to construct coherent, logical sentences anymore, so she simply started to march her way down the street and up the steps of her front porch with a panicked Spike trailing closely behind.

Chapter 9

Spike watched with a deep frown over his eyebrows as Buffy, with her head tilted backwards, vigorously gargled before spitting into the kitchen sink. She turned to face the bleached teen with a disgusted look still plastered all over her face.

“God, I can’t-“ spit “get that horrible” spit “taste out of my mouth.” She whinged, moving towards the refrigerator.

She quickly picked up the first available bottle, tilted its content into her mouth, gulping loudly as the liquid passed her throat. Setting the glass on the table she waited for a second, smacking her lips together and cringing as she realised the awful taste was still in her mouth. It was no use and with a resounding sigh she plopped down on a nearby stool.

Spike remained at the doorway, leaning slightly into the wooden frame there. After a few moments, Buffy looked upwards throwing him a murderous glance.

“I hate you.” She grumbled as she smacked her lips together once more.

“Same here, Betty.” He answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

She opened her mouth to protest, but gave up half way. She was too tired. It was Friday afternoon and she’d had a full week, she just didn’t have the energy to spar with the annoying Brit. So she chose to remain there, perfectly still, occasionally letting out a sigh or two in the feeble hope that he might take a hint and simply leave. To her misfortune he did no such thing. On the contrary, in a sluggish pace, with the same exasperating grin plastered on his face, he made his way to the counter and took a stool opposite to hers.

“What do you want, bleach boy?” She grumbled as she held her head between her hands, her fingers buried in her blonde strands, her eyes staring down at the white counter. Before he had a chance to answer, she let out a heavy a sigh and looked up to stare at him under hooded eyes. “Why do you insist in torturing me? Just go. Go. Away. Be free.” She waved a tired hand at him, but he paid no attention to it.

“You know it’ll work. That’s why you helped me out today.”

“No, I helped you out because the spectacle was just so painfully pathetic, that it just wasn’t fun to watch anymore.” She replied, standing up, taking the bottle into her hand and placing it back in the refrigerator. She turned and leaned on its door as she continued: “Are you a masochist or something? Is that it? Cause I can’t understand why in God’s name you would put yourself through that embarrassing public humiliation just for her. What do you see in that skanky vapid-“

She wasn’t able to finish her sentence as the bleached teen was on his feet and towering over her small form in an instant.

“You hold your tongue when you talk about her.” He growled between clenched teeth.

A hint of fear sent a chill down her spine as she looked up at him, but her facial _expression never testified to it. Her strong, obstinate look was still on and it didn’t falter for a second, even though she couldn’t help letting out a small sigh of relief when he backed away moments after:

“Look, I’m sorry… I- Just don’t talk about Dru that way.” He finally managed to say as he moved back to the counter to lean on it.

With her hands held up in the air in a sign of surrender she moved away from him and replied:

“Fine.”

They stayed in an awkward silence for a few desperate minutes, both trying hard to find a topic that would put an end to their torment. Spike was the first to try:

“So…”

“So…” she replied.

“What about the plan? Is it back… on?” He dared to ask.

She couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“You really like her that much, huh?”

He simply nodded. It wasn’t necessary for him to say anything. Sighing once more, she shook her head as she couldn’t believe what she was about to say:

“Ok. Fine. I’ll do it.” She grumbled in a low voice.

An instant spark flashed in his eyes.

“What?” He asked incredulous.

“Are you deaf or something?”

He shook his head.

“I said I’ll do it, ok?”

In a flash he was off the counter and had his arms wrapped around her, smashing her small form against his chest in the process. Buffy froze, her paralyzed arms were glued to her sides, her blonde head popping out just over his elbows. She didn’t know what to say. She was in shock. Eventually, when she realised he wasn’t going to let go of her any time soon, she dared to pipe up:

“Hum... Spike? What are you doing?”

The simple question was enough to bring the teen down from his heightened emotions and in an instant he let her go, took a step backwards and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his duster in an awkward motion.

“Sorry. Wasn’t thinking.” He apologized.

“Next time you have an euphoria-induced brain spasm, let me know, ok?” She said with a deep frown on her forehead.

He simply nodded and slumped back onto the stool.

“Why are you sitting down?” she asked, giving him a discontented glance, a perfectly shaped eyebrow cocking up.

“Hum...” He mumbled confused. “We have to plan.”

“Plan what?”

“What we are going to do tomorrow. You know. How we are supposed to act.” He tilted his head to emphasize that he was stating the obvious.

“Oh...” She frowned for a moment, pondering which would be the limits and finally answered: “We’ll walk together and hold hands.” And with that she turned around and concentrated on washing the two dirty dishes that her mom had left in the sink.

“Hold hands? That’s it?” He asked incredulous, coming to stand next to her.

Buffy’s eyes were fixed on the plate she held in her hands. Scrubbing it incessantly as the nervousness took over.

“Y-Yes.” She replied in a faltering tone.

“Oh, come on! Dru and Angel are never going to believe it if they don’t see some snogging.” He protested.

“Hey! I’m not going to-“ She struggled with the strange word as the jitteriness seemed to affect her ability to speak coherently. Finally, she managed to yelp as she shook her head emphatically: “There will definitely be no snogging. And there will be no one watching me and... you and... I- NO SNOGGING!” Her eyes dropped to the sink. ‘Damn it! No more dishes! What do I do now?’

Spike smiled as he realised what she was thinking.

“Snogging, luv. It means making out, french kissing. Nothing else.”

“Oh...” She sighed in relief when suddenly realisation came. “Wait! You want me and you to kiss? French kiss?!”

Spike nodded.

“Oooooh no! No way! I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole, let alone let you stick your slimy tongue down my throat. Yuck.” Her face contorted and cringed in all sorts of ways as she walked about the room, nervously searching for something to occuppy herself with.

“We’re just supposed to hold hands?! They’ll never believe it and you know it!” He insisted.

“I. Am. Not. Kissing. You.” She said flatly.

“But-“

“Take it or leave it!” She stood tall, her chin held high in a sign of resolve and he couldn’t help but sigh, shaking his head as he mumbled.

“Fine... We’ll hold hands...”

Chapter 10

“What do you mean she walked away with him?” Xander asked incredulous, staring wide eyed at the redhead who walked alongside him.

“I mean she just slid her arm around his and dragged him out of school .” Willow explained for the 100th time.

“And you haven’t spoken to her the whole weekend?” The teen continued to question.

“Nope. Tried to call her but no one answered.”

“But-“ Xander trailed off as the subject of their discussion came up from behind the duo.

“Hey, guys.” Buffy greeted with little enthusiasm.

“There you are! Where were all weekend?” Willow questioned as they continued to walk down the hall.

“Don’t ask. My mom’s maternal instinct decided to kick in full force this weekend. End result, some major mother/daughter bonding overload. Had to spend the whole time going through family photo albums, cooking and baking lessons. God! She even felt the need to chit-chat about those little fornicating birds and bees. If I have to her my mom say the word penis one more time I swear I’ll shoot myself.” Buffy cringed as she remembered a few gory details.

“Sorry to hear that.” Willow gave her best friend a sympathetic look and Buffy sighed.

Suddenly, looking more closely, she realised everyone in the hall was gawking at her.

“Oh God! Do I have like a giant pimple on my face?” Buffy asked in a panic, to which Xander and Willow both shook their heads. “Then why is everyone staring at me?”

“Maybe because of the weird Spike-loving event back on Friday afternoon?” Xander offered with a hint of sarcasm.

“Oh, that...”

“Yes, that! I thought we were back to “hating Brit boy’s boney ass” mode.”

“Well, we-“

Buffy wasn’t able to finish her sentence as two strong, long arms wormed their way over her shoulders to settle over her waist and a hard chest now pressed against her back. ‘A definite male chest!’ Buffy mentally noted. Before her brain had time to question who it belonged to, a low, whispering voice in her ears gave her the answer.

“Morning, luv.”

Buffy’s froze, her heart seemed to leap up to her throat, while Willow and Xander’s eyes were just about to pop out of their sockets.

“Hey...” she greeted back with much less enthusiasm.

She could feel herself blushing, her skin heating up. ‘God, this is just so strange. WRONG! WRONG! Go away! Don’t touch me! Yuck!’ A squeaking voice screamed in her head, but she forced it into the background as she put on her best imitation of a smile.

“So, how are you?” She asked as she turned her head to face him, his arms still wrapped around her, her back still glued to his front.

“I’m fine.” The Brit answered.

Buffy was suprised to find a perfectly calm and cool Spike grinning back at her. For a second she seemed to zone out and when she was back to full attention the last thing she heard was:

“...do you have now?”

“Huh...? What?” The petite blond asked, shaking her head as she realised she was still staring up at the teen who was now idly playing with the edge of her shirt. ‘Stupid distracting smirk!’ She thought as she turned to face Xander while Spike repeated his question:

“What class to you have now, luv?”

“Hum...” Buffy struggled with her memory, but for some strange, disturbing reason, the feel of his chest and his legs pressing against her back seemed to block all her thinking abilities. Thankfully, a life-saving Willow intervened.

“We’ve got History.”

“Yes! History!” Buffy repeated as the bell rang.

“Well, see you in third period. We’ve got English together, right?” Spike enquired as his arms slid away from her and his body untangled itself from hers.

“Hum...” ‘Think stupid! Think!’ she ordered her brain. “Yes, I-I think we do.”

“See you later then.” He shouted as he made his way down the hall, leaving three dumbstruck teens behind.

“What. The Hell. Was that?” Xander tried to ask as calmly as he could manage.

“Uh... It’s... Hum...” Buffy struggled. “We better get going, don’t want Mrs. Finch on our cases. See you later, Xander.” She shouted as she quickly made her way to her next class, a confused Willow trailing behind her.

“But-“ Xander was left standing in the middle of an empty hall as the two girls snuck into their class room.

~+~

Buffy stared at the small, crunched up piece of paper lying on her desk. Written in small black letters, she read:

“What was that all about?”

She looked up and to her right to find a wide eyed Willow staring back at her.

“Later.” The petite blond mouthed.

“Miss Summers!” Mrs Finch’s voice hovered over the class and everyone turned to gawk at the offending teen.

“Sorry, Mrs. Finch.”

The elderly woman nodded slightly and returned to her dull rambling about the effects of the Industrial Revolution on the social structure of the British society.

When she realised she was off the hook, Buffy turned to whisper:

“I’ll tell you later, I promise.”

~+~

The bell rang and, in a flash, Willow was standing next to Buffy, books pressed against her chest, eyes staring widely at her friend, anxiously waiting for an explanation.

“What’s happening, Buffy?” The redhead asked as her patience ran out.

The petite blonde paused for a moment when she finished packing her books and looked up at her best friend. She really didn’t want to lie, but she had promised. The teen swallowed hard and, in one low and quickly breath, worded:

“Spikesmyboyfriend.”

With that she quickly made her way to the door.

“What?!” A stunned Willow shouted after her.

Buffy never had a chance to answer as she entered the hall she bumped into someone, her books tumbling to the floor.

“I’m sor-“ She stopped in mid sentence as she finished gathering her books and looked up to find a black clad Dru staring arrogantly down at her.

“Watch where you’re going!” She snapped.

“I said I was sorry.” Buffy apologized as she stood up straight.

With a chesty turn of her head, the black clad teen walked away, leaving the two best friends alone to talk.

“Explain.” Willow said simply.

“Spike and I are going out.” Buffy tried to sound as nonchalant about it as possible.

“Since when?”

“Since... Last Friday.”

“How?”

“We figured out that we have a lot in common.”

“Like what?!” Willow promptly asked.

“Like... I don’t know... A lot of stuff. Like...”

“An intense reciprocated loathing for one another?” Willow offered with a hint of sarcasm.

Buffy shook her head as she opened her locker.

“I can’t explain it to you. We’re together now. Things changed.”

Willow opened her mouth to say something, but Buffy cut her off.

“Just trust me, Willow. I know what I’m doing.”

And with that the bell rang and the two teens headed their separate ways.

~+~

Buffy nervously tapped her pencil on her desk as she heard the teacher read the same poem for the second time. Every once in a while she dared to throw a glance in the bleached teen’s general direction and almost every time she found him scribbling something on his notebook. What did he write in that damned thing. Every Monday morning was the same thing. He’d come into class, sit in his place and just scribbled away the whole time. Could he be taking notes? In English class? Buffy shook her head as the ringing of the bell snapped her out of her thoughts. She was putting her books into her backpack when she saw someone approaching her from the corner of her eyes.

“Ready to work on your acting skills, pet? Cause you sure as hell are long way from an award winning performance. What was all that staring about back in the halls, by the way?” He asked.

“What staring? I don’t stare.” Buffy said simply as she continued to stuff her things into the bag, before turning to leave the classroom.

“Whatever.” The teen sighed as he snaked his arm around her waist.

“Hey!” she instinctively slapped his hand away from her.

“You better get used to it, luv. Our overnight passion won’t look very believable if you keep jumping up every time I come near you, now will it?” He asked tilting his head.

Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed, taking his hand in hers she dragged him out of the classroom and into the hall where everyone turned to look at the odd couple.

“They’re staring. They’ll never believe this.” Buffy said between clenched.

“They’ll believe it. Trust me, pet.” He answered her in the same fashion.

“This is a stupid plan. It’ll never work.” She grunted stopping in front of her locker and opening it.

“Will you stop being so- Your pals are coming our way.” He warned her as he watched Willow, Oz and Xander coming down the hall.

“Oh, great! More questions. God, I hate my life!” She grumbled as she closed the locker and turned to smile at her friends. “Hey, guys!”

“Hey!” Xander greeted back, eyeing Spike as the bleached teen once again wormed his hands around Buffy’s waist.

“How was Math?” Buffy asked as she tried to break the odd silence that began to form between the group.

“Painful.” Was Xander’s short answer.

“Oh...”

Silence. Incredibly uncomfortable silence. Oz was the only one who didn’t seem affected by the strange situation. He idly played with one of Willow’s auburn strands as he scanned the hall. It wasn’t hard to realise everyone was staring at the small group, especially the blond couple that was now holding hands.

A general sigh of relief was heard as the bell rang.

“Well, see you at lunch.” Buffy said as she tried to walk away from the Brit but he held onto her hand:

“I’ll walk you to your class.”

Xander threw the Brit a look. This was just... Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! And it was making him extremely nauseous. He swallowed hard as he watched the duo walk away.

~+~

They sat in silence, the entire cafeteria stared at their table.

“So...” Cordelia was the one to break the stillness. She had been waiting the entire day to ask a question, ever since Xander had told her the news it had become an itch she was just dying to scratch. So, being Cordelia, she did: “Since when are you and Buffy here going steady?”

The food that had been in Xander’s mouth was suddenly splattered all over his tray. The boy practically coughed out a lung as he heard his girlfriend’s blunt question.

“I didn’t think the food here could look more disgusting than it already did. I was wrong.” Oz stated monotonically as he looked at the mess displayed in front of Xander.

Spike frowned watching the teen sitting oposite to him, who continued to have a coughing fit. With the most serious tone in the world the Brit asked:

“Are you sure he’s house broken?”

Buffy couldn’t help a smile as a bright red Xander looked up to shoot daggers at the bleached teen. After a few moments, after drinking about a gallon of water, the brunette was able to sit up straight and actually breathe. He stood up, picking up his tray and handed it to one of the cafeteria ladies before coming back to take his place between Cordy and Willow. The growingly familiar silence was back, until:

“You and Buffy are an item, huh?” Cordelia’s voice hovered over the table, closely followed by a loud thud.

Everyone turned to see Xander repeatedly bang his head against the table, muttering something unintelligible between clenched teeth. But this time the distraction wasn’t enough and Buffy was forced to answer:

“Yes.”

“Why?” Cordelia promptly continued her interrogation.

“Why?!” Now that was a smart question. Everyone who had dared to enquire about her choice of ‘boyfriend’ had asked something along the lines of - How, not why. “Well... He and I... and...” Buffy struggled for an explanation.

“It’s physical!” Spike aka Night in Shining Armour stepped in. “She just couldn’t resist my darn sinister attraction.” He said with the most serious tone in the world. “I think she fell for me when I saved her.”

“From being mugged?” Cordelia asked as she recalled her conversation with Xander on the subject.

“Yep.”

Buffy just sat in her place, trying hard not to roll her eyes. ‘God! The nerve of some people!’ In her mind a string of curses was directed at the Brit, who now stretched his arm across the back her chair.

Cordelia frowned a little but decided to accept the explanation, especially since her boyfriend was currently kicking her in the shin under the table and the resulting ache was starting to make itself known. They continued their lunch and this time the stillness between the group didn’t seem as dreadful or as uncomfortable as before.

Suddenly, extreme silence took over the entire room as all the kids gawked at the entrance to the cafeteria. Buffy and Spike turned around to find the object of everyone’s attention and the two blondes couldn’t help but gulp as they watched Dru and Angel walk into the room. The two couples exchanged electrically charged glances as they remained perfectly still for a second. Everyone watched as the quarterback crossed the room towards the blond duo, his heavy arms draped over Dru’s shoulders. He came to a halt and looked down at the sitting couple.

“Buffy.” He greeted dryly. Turning to look at the bleached teen sitting next to the petite blond he practically spat: “Spike.”

“Angel. Dru.” The Brit greeted back with a plastic smile as he possessively put his arm around Buffy.

Silence. Everyone waited and watched.

“Buffy, I have some of your notes back home.” Angel started. “When do you want them back.”

“Keep them.” Buffy answered dryly as she felt her stomach turn at the sight of Dru pressing herself against the quarterback’s large chest. Her hands traced suggestive patterns on his stomach as she shot Buffy a dirty look. “I don’t need them.”

The teen was taken by surprise by her cold and distant tone, but soon recovered. He stood up straight and mumbled:

“Fine. Suit yourself.”

And with that he turned on his heels and left, dragging Dru with him.

Author's Note: Thanks to Ali my wonderful Beta-mom for betaing this fic and for supporting it! ;)

Chapter 11

As soon as she could, she made her way out of the cafeteria and ran as fast as she could to the nearest bathrooms, locking herself in the stall furthest from the door. She sat on the covered toilet, waiting for the adrenaline in her system to reach acceptable levels. The confrontation in the cafeteria had been too much, but she had to admit she was pretty proud of her reaction to the dark haired couple. She felt her stomach flip-flop at the memory of Dru haughtily clinging to Angel, trying as best as possible to let her know that he was now *her* property.

“Arrogant little...” Buffy began between clenched teeth when she heard a light knock on the door.

Frowning, the petite blonde bent down to peep from under the door to find to a large combat boot tapping the tiled floor impatiently. In a flash, she opened the door.

“What the hell are you-“

She was cut off as the Brit covered her mouth with his hand.

“Do you want to get me into trouble?” He asked, but before she could answer him she was being dragged by her hand out of the bathroom, down the hall and out the side door of the building to reach the back of the school.

“Why did you drag me here?” She snapped annoyed.

He ignored her and grinned wildly at her.

“Did you see Dru’s face? And the poof? God, I never thought it would work this fast. This is just bloody fantastic!” He exclaimed as he walked around in circles, rubbing his hands together.

Buffy scratched her head as she observed the bleached teen ramble on and on about how the plan was amazing and was working perfectly.

“Pretty soon Dru will be so jealous she won’t have a choice but to come back to me. God! I miss her so much!”

Something about the way he said it, the sincerity in his tone maybe, made her stomach turn and she had to fight back the urge to kick him.

“Did you drag me here to listen to your pathetic love struck ramblings, Romeo?” The petite blonde grumbled, crossing her hands over her chest and leaning on the wall.

“Listen, Betty.”

At that, Buffy made an attempt to protest, but he never gave her a chance:

“No matter what you say, or how nasty you are right now, you are *not* going to ruin my good mood. I guarantee you.” Spike promised, a goofy smile still plastered over his lips and an annoying sparkle brightening his blue eyes. “I saw what happened back there. She still loves me, I know it!”

“She practically glued herself to Angel!” Buffy retorted.

“Because she was jealous.”

“Men really like to fool themselves.” She sighed loudly.

“She loves me!”

“She doesn’t care about you! Get it through that thick skull of yours, you big oaf.” She insisted, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

“I know Dru.”

“Right. That’s why you knew she was boinking the star quarterback of the school.”

At that, the smile on his face crumbled, quickly being replaced by a strange empty look in his eyes. She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed hard. Without a word he turned to leave, but her small hand gripped him by his arm.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-“

Before she could finish he was in her face, raw anger flashing in his eyes.

“You are the most self-centred, heartless, stubborn little brat I’ve ever met in my entire life.” And without another word he stormed out of there, his long black duster swaying in the breeze as he left.

~+~

She sighed heavily, letting her fingers thread between her long blonde strands. She stared blindly ahead at no particular object or person. The feel of a light tap on her shoulder made her jump up to attention.

“Willow!” She greeted as the redhead took a seat next to her on the bleachers.

“Hey!”

The two sat in silence watching the empty football field, until the taller girl spoke:

“So...”

Buffy cut her off before she had a chance to speak any further:

“Willow, am I self-centred?”

She slowly rocked herself back and forth, hugging her denim-covered legs against her chest.

“Of course not. Why do you ask?” Willow frowned.

“Nothing.” Buffy shook her head and returned her gaze to the green field that spread before their eyes.

“What happened?” The redhead enquired.

Buffy rested her chin on her knees; her eyes never leaving the grass as she spoke:

“What about heartless and stubborn?”

“Where did you get that from?”

Finally, she turned to look at Willow.

“Be honest.”

“Well…” The redhead girl hesitated for a moment. “You can be a bit... harsh sometimes. Especially if you’ve been hurt.” Willow admitted.

Buffy closed her eyes for a few moments and then stood up.

“I gotta go. See you in Spanish, Will.”

~+~

She looked for him in the entire school; the only place left to search was the library. It was useless. He had left. Even so, she decided to give it a try. Her eyes widened as she entered the room and found the familiar black-clad teen sitting at a table scribbling in his notebook.

“Hey.” She whispered as she approached him.

He jumped up and immediately slammed the notebook shut.

“What do you want?” He grumbled.

Taking her time, she prepared to sit next to him, but the moment she bent down he was up and walking over to a wall covered with books. She sighed and walked after him.

“Ok, I deserved that.” She grumbled apologetically, but he wouldn’t hear of it as he moved along the corridor, apparently looking for a book. “Spike!” She called out a bit too loud and was immediately shushed by the resident librarian. “Sorry!” she whispered as she turned to walk after the bleached teen. “Spike!” she hissed pulling at his duster, but he continued to pretend she wasn’t even there, staring up at the shelves.

Having no choice, she moved between him and the bookcase. She held her breath as she realised that her simple motion had put her in a very precarious situation - her back pressed against the shelves and a thin 2-inch thick veil of air separated her from the boy standing in front of her.

“Will you please move?” He asked looking straight through her.

“Not until you talk to me.” She managed to say as she stared up at him.

She nearly gasped as he looked down at her, never moving away from her.

“What do you want?” He asked with a distant tone.

Buffy blinked wildly for a few seconds as she tried to get a hold of herself. ‘What the hell is happening to me?’ A voice asked in her head.

“I-I’m sorry.” She managed to stutter.

He eyed her suspiciously from under a frown.

“I realise that I can be a pain sometimes.” She started.

“Just sometimes?” He questioned sarcastically, raising his scared eyebrow.

“Hey! I’m apologising here. Give me a break, ok?”

The blond teen nodded and waited for her to continue.

“And you just caught me in one of those… sometimes. So, I’m sorry for saying what I said, ok?”

She waited for an answer but he simply stared down at her. The closeness between them was becoming unbearable and she held her breath as her heart raced. Finally, having had enough of the brain splitting tension she spoke up:

“Ok. Could you just step back a little? My oxygen blood levels are becoming an issue here.” She meant to sound haughty and sarcastic, but it came out in an awkward and faltering voice.

Nodding slightly, he stepped back but remained silent.

“So…” she started, trying hard to break the nerve-racking stillness between them, but failing miserably at it. Eventually, she gave up and let out a loud sigh before asking: “Are you giving me the silent treatment? Cause it’s really starting to freak me out.”

“You talk too much, pet.” He said simply.

“Hey!” She protested as they started to move down the corridor.

Spike continued to search the shelves for a particular book.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” She finally asked after a few moments.

“You just can’t keep quiet, can you?”

“I don’t like silence. It makes me uncomfortable.”

At that, Spike frowned.

“What?” She asked defensively.

“Nothing.” He shook his head and continued his search.

It wasn’t long before she spoke once again:

“You never answered my question. What are you doing here?”

“Reading.” Spike stated the obvious, his eyes still wandering over the mountain of books displayed before them.

“You read?”

“Ever since I was six. Isn’t that just amazing?” He asked with sarcastic enthusiasm.

Buffy forced a plastic smile on her face which instantly crumbled. They continued slowly making their way down the corridor, until he reached for a book and started skimming through it. She simply leaned on the bookcase and waited for him to find what he was looking for when they heard two whispering voices coming from the corridor next to theirs.

“What do you mean you don’t believe it? Of course they’re together.”

“No, they’re not. I mean, one minute they hate each other and the next they’re walking down the halls holding hands, and sitting together at the cafeteria. Come on, it’s so fake. It’s like that episode in…”

“It’s Jonathan and Andrew.” Buffy mouthed at Spike, who had put down the book and was now listening in on the conversation.

“No way. They are so together. They’re like Princess Leia and Han Solo. The incessant sparring and banter? All a façade to conceal the undeniable animal attraction that pulls them together.” They heard Jonathan argue. “And now that they’ve realised it, they’re down major make-out lane.”

Buffy cringed at the statement, her facial muscles contorting in disgust.

“A-ha!” Andrew noted triumphantly. “There was no make-out. Ever. And that is my point. If what they have is the classic Princess Leia and Han Solo storyline then we should have witnessed some major smooching by now. But all we got was pathetic holding hands and sitting together at lunch.”

“Maybe Buffy wants to take it slow. You know, maybe she’s still hurt because of Angel.”

“Buffy? Taking it slow? Ha!” Andrew laughed. “I bet you she is just doing it to make Angel jealous. That girl’s completely head over heels for the beefy quarterback. She’d do anything to have him back. It’s pathetic.”

Buffy’s eyes widened and raw anger flashed in them.

“Why that little weasel!” She growled between clenched teeth.

She balled up her fists and began to storm down the corridor, when Spike’s strong hand caught a grip on her arm.

“Calm down.” He hissed, pulling her closer. “Beating the crap out of those whelps is not going to solve anything.”

“They think I’m… I’m… easy!” She retorted.

“Believe me when I say that you are *not* easy. There is nothing easy about you.”

Buffy stopped for a second trying to figure out if what he had said was a compliment or not.

“I told you no one would believe it. I mean, we didn’t even fool the chess club back there.” Spike titled his head towards the bookcase that separated them from the nerdy couple.

Buffy let out a deep sigh, pulling her arm out of his grip and massaging it as she pondered.

“What do you suggest we do?”

Spike paused for a moment, even though he already knew the answer to her question, he just hadn’t figure out the best way to inform her of it.

“We kiss. In front of the whole school.” He finally managed to say.

Buffy’s eyes widened.

“I can’t kiss you. If I kiss you I’ll…. I’ll probably throw up!” She replied in disgust.

“Thanks, luv.” His words dripping with sarcasm.

“But…” Her eyebrows came up her forehead in a painful frown and they remained in silence.

“She’s not dating Spike. It’s all a scam to get Angel back.” They heard Andrew insist on the other side of the bookcase. His voice was becoming clearer and it was obvious that he was rounding the corner to enter the same corridor she and Spike were in.

Without a word, Buffy grabbed Spike by the lapels of his duster and slammed him against the shelves before crushing his mouth with hers.

Spike gasped, suddenly out of breath. Her tiny hands traced erratic patterns on his chest as her lips viciously captured his, pulling and pushing in a demanding and urgent kiss. His brain went on complete overload at the feel of her small body pressing against his, her legs entwining with his as she now nibbled on his lower lip.

A high-toned squeak announced Jonathan and Andrew’s presence and Buffy pulled away to look at the dumbstruck duo. She ran the back of her hand over her moistened lips as she looked the two boys up and down. She smiled inwardly as she realised she had achieved her goal. She grabbed Spike’s hand and dragged the stunned teen out of there.

The moment she exited the library she jumped up and let out a satisfied yelp.

“Did you see their faces? Oh, God it was hilarious! Did you see it? Did you see it? Spike? Are you ok?” Buffy came down from her euphoria as she noticed the dazed Brit simply gawking. “Spike?”

“Huh? What? Oh! Yeah, yeah I saw it.” He managed to say as he shifted uncomfortably.

“It was just so cool!” Buffy returned to her celebration. “That’ll show them.”

She smiled wildly, but it crumbled as soon as the bell rang.

“Oh! Damn it! I’m late! See you later.” She yelled as she ran down the hall, leaving a bleached teen to gather himself.

~+~

Buffy dragged her tired feet across the floor as she entered the house. Plopping on the couch she picked up the remote and turned on the TV. It wasn’t long before she had dozed off in front of the flickering screen. She jumped up as she felt a soft hand run over her cheek.

“Mom!” She blinked wildly as she tried to figure out were she was. “I must have dozed off. What time is it?”

“It’s eight thirty.” Mrs. Summers informed her as she took her place next to her daughter. “How was your day?”

“Uh… a mess. I’m just so tired.” The blonde teen confessed as she leaned in to rest her head on her mother’s lap.

“How is William?”

“Who?” Buffy frowned at the name.

“William, that nice young man who was here the other day.”

“Oh, you mean Spike! He’s ok.”

“Good. I hope he hasn’t been having too much trouble in school.” Mrs. Summers wished, running her hands through her daughter’s thick hair.

“Why would you think that?”

“You know… Kids your age can be really hard on… different people.” The older woman stuttered.

“Yeah we can. But he’s not having any problems because of it.” The teen explained.

“Good.”

A moment of silence filtered between mother and daughter as they watched the screen still turned on in front of them.

“He only has problems with Angel.” Buffy spoke out of nowhere.

“Angel? You mean your boyfriend?” Mrs. Summers enquired.

“Ex-boyfriend mom. Emphasis on the ex part.” The blonde girl noted. “Yep. I never really understood why, but they never got along. They used to hang out together when Spike first moved to Sunnydale. But then, all of a sudden they started hating each other. Go figure.” Buffy shrugged as she finished speaking.

“Hum… Strange.” Mrs. Summers mumbled as her mind drifted over the various possible explanations for the occurrence.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a sharp ringing sound.

“Hello?” Buffy greeted as she picked up the phone. “Wills! Hey!” Pause. “Next Friday? Sure! Ok then. It’s a date. Bye. Goodnight Wills.” Putting down the receiver she turned to face her mom. “That was Willow. She was inviting me to go out to the Bronze next Friday. Is it ok?”

“You’ve been going out too often young lady.” Mrs. Summers noted.

“Oh, mom… Please!” Buffy begged.

“Ok, fine. But be home by midnight.”

“Thanks mom, you’re the best.”

Giving her mother a quick peck on the cheek she prepared to go upstairs when she heard Mrs. Summers call her name.

“I’ll be going out tonight. You’re dinner is in the microwave.”

For the first time since she’d woken up she realise her mother was dressed up and… wearing make up?

“Mom! You’re going on a date?” The teen asked surprised.

“Yes, I am.” Mrs Summers answered simply, as she moved to put on her coat.

“With who?”

“With whom.” She corrected as a honk was heard. “That should be him. Goodnight, honey. And don’t stay up late.”

“Mom?” Buffy was left speaking to herself as she watched her mother waltz out of the house.

~+~

“Come on, pick up!” Buffy repeated over and over again into the receiver. “Damn it, Willow!” she cursed slamming the phone down.

She paced nervously around the living room. Her arms folded over her chest as she tapped her nails on her sweater.

“My mom. On a date?” Her mind was swirling. She knew it would eventually happen, and she always thought she would be ok with it, but apparently, she was wrong. Her stomach turned at the though of her mother and some stranger going out together, holding hands, kissing… Erg! “Not going there. That’s just… scary!”

She continued to walkabout the room. Occasionally picking up the phone and dialling either Willow’s or Xander’s number, but every time she had no answer.

“Where is everybody? It’s a school night for Christ sake.” She talked to herself as she looked at the living room clock. “It’s nine pm; they should be at home by now.” She protested to the walls when the phone rang. “Finally!” she breathed in relief as she picked up the receiver. “Where have you been? I have been calling you for hours. You won’t believe what happened!” she said in one breath.

Her face turned bright red when she heard from the other side of the line:

“Hey, pet. Didn’t know you wanted me that bad. That kiss in the library left you craving, huh?”

She felt her stomach flip-flop in disgust and the anger start to boil up in her veins.

“Spike!” She hissed between clenched teeth.

“The one and only, luv.”

She could actually hear him smirking. Grrrr.

“What do want?” She growled.

“I think the question is what do you want. You were the one telling me you were calling me for hours.” He answered cockily.

“I thought you were someone else.” She answered dryly.

“Who?” The question was out of his lips before he could suppress it.

“No one.” She barked.

“Come one now, luv. I thought you were supposed to tell me everything.” He replied smugly.

“Since when do I have to tell you anything?”

“Since you became my girl.” He answered directly.

“I’m *not* you’re girl, Spike.” She growled once more. He was really starting to get on her nerves.

“Of course you are.”

“What do you want?” She asked again.

“Just wanted to know how my goldilocks was doing.” He continued with a slurred tone.

“I’m fine!” She said slamming the receiver.

Seconds later the phone was ringing again.

“Hello?” She answered.

“Not nice to slam the phone in someone’s face, luv. Especially not your boyfriend.” He started.

“You are *not* my boyfriend, Spike.” She practically yelled into the receiver.

“No need to shout love.”

Buffy sighed audibly. The sound of his voice the next second caught her off guard. Gone was the cocky, slurred voice to be replaced by a serious and almost concerned tone.

“Are you ok, luv?”

“I’m fine.” She said exasperated.

“You don’t sound fine.”

“Spike. Just leave me alone. I’m not in the mood for another one of our sparring contests. You win ok?” She was almost begging him.

There was a moment of silence before he said:

“I’ll be there in a two minutes.”

“What? Spike? No!” Before she could say anything else she got the dead signal from the other side of the line. “Oh, God no…”

Chapter 12

She groaned when she heard the doorbell ring. She forced herself up and dragged her feet across the hall to answer it. Rolling her eyes and in a tired, annoyed tone she asked when she saw the bleached teen standing at her doorstep:

“What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in?” He was already stepping across the threshold before she had a chance to answer him.

“Be my guest.” She replied sarcastically.

“Are you ok?” He questioned turning to face her.

“As you can see, I’m fine, so if you would just leave...” She said opening the front door, but he didn’t even seem to hear her, entering the living room instead. “Or make yourself at home. Whatever.” She sighed audibly.

“Cookies and cream?” He said picking up the half empty cup of ice-cream. “That bad huh?”

“I like cookies and cream.” She replied gruffly, grabbing the box from the teen’s hands.

“I bet.” Without asking, he plopped down on the couch and started to flip through the channels.

“You’re just here for the cable, aren’t you?” She questioned.

But he wasn’t listening as he intently watched the flickering images on the screen. She sighed loudly and flopped down next to him. After a few seconds she grumbled:

“That’s a stupid game.”

“Stupid? How can you say that? It’s football.” He protested, clearly offended.

“That’s not football, it’s soccer.” She corrected.

“Excuse me. This… magnificent game happens to be played using one’s foot while the ridiculous thing you yanks call football is played with everything *but* one’s foot.” He countered.

“We use our feet!” it was her turn to complain.

“Right.” He piped up sarcastically.

“American football is way cooler than this crap.” She grumbled.

“This crap, as you put it, is the number one sport in every country in the world. This crap is the *real* king of sports.” He continued to argue. “American football, on the other hand, is just a cheap rip off of rugby. Just a bunch of sissy, padded up poofs running around the field trying to get a weird shaped ball through a giant… fork thingy while banging each other’s heads together. And you call that a manly sport, ha!”

Buffy frowned and looked up at him.

“For your information, football is more than trying to get the funny shaped ball through the… giant fork thingy.” She tried to sound convincing, but failed miserably at it. It was clear that she knew nothing about the sport in question.

Spike chuckled.

“What?!”

“You know less about this sport than I do.” He burst out laughing.

Buffy frowned for a second. He was laughing? Spike does something besides smirking and grinning? Snapping out of her thoughts she continued:

“Well, I was never good at any sport so I just never got into it.” She tried to excuse herself. “But I’m sure that our football is better than your English crap.”

He didn’t say anything, simply cocked up a scared eyebrow.

“Oh, alright. So I don’t know anything about sports. Angel tried to explain football to me, but I just didn’t get it.” She confessed.

“Well, I don’t know what I can do about American football, but I think we can remedy your knowledge on soccer if you want to.” He offered.

At that, Buffy simply shrugged. Soon, and after some long and confusing explanations, the duo laid back and watched the match.

“Hey! That referee is cheating. He didn’t do anything.” Buffy shouted at the screen.

“He’s right, luv. Remember about the offside rule?” Spike asked.

“Oh… right.” She pretended to understand.

“You don’t remember, do you?” He chuckled.

“No.” She confessed in a low voice.

“It’s when the ball is passed to a player who is closer his opponents goal line than any other member of the defending team, except for the goal keeper, of course.”

“Oh, yeah. Now I remember.”

They continued to silently watch the game until it was over.

“So… What do you think about football now?” Spike asked, sprawling on the couch.

“It’s ok.” Buffy admitted.

“There is another game on in half an hour. Wanna watch?” The Brit questioned.

“Is Manchester United playing?”

“Nope.”

“No, thanks then.”

“So you became a fan of good old Man U, huh?” Spike said with a smirk.

“Not really. More like a fan of David Beckam’s legs.” Buffy answered with a huge smile.

“Should’ve figure that much. You chits always seem to go for him.” Spike sighed spreading his arms over the edge of the couch.

“Well, you should be going…” She said after an awkward moment of silence.

“What’s the hurry, luv?”

“The fact that my mom should be coming home any minute and even though she thinks you’re gay, she won’t be-“

“You’re mom thinks I’m GAY?!” Spike jumped off the couch and looked at her wide eyed.

“Well… Yes.” Buffy hesitated a bit.

“Why?!” He continued to ask outraged.

Buffy’s mouth moved, opening and closing, but her voice seemed to refuse to leave her throat.

“Well?” A flaming red Brit stared down at her, waiting for an explanation.

“She might have gotten the wrong idea when I told her I was *definitely* not your type.” She finally managed to say.

“You told you’re mom I was gay?” He started to walk around in circles.

“I didn’t tell her you were gay! She just… thought you were… you know…”

“Know what?” He stopped his circling to stare at her.

“Well, you know. The bleached hair…” she waved her hand in the direction of his head. “…and the black nail polish, kinda give out a… certain look.” She stuttered.

“Yeah! A bad ass look, not a GAY look!” He shouted.

“It’s not *my* fault that my mother thinks you’re gay!” she suddenly counterattacked, standing up to defend herself.

“You told her something!” he insisted.

“Or maybe your fashion statement is just screaming: ‘repressed drag queen in the making’.” She snapped, raising her head up high and jutting out her chin in the process.

Spike’s eyes widened, his faced quickly gaining an unhealthy scarlet shade.

“I am NOT gay.” Was the only thing that he could think of to say.

“You shouldn’t lie to yourself.” She started with a mocking tone. “Deep down inside you, you have the real you just screaming to be let out. You will feel better if you embrace your true nature.” At this point Buffy had to pinch herself to stop from bursting out laughing. The panicked look in his eyes was just priceless.

“I’ll show you my true nature.” He growled as he began to chase after her.

They went around the couch a couple of times before switching to the table, jumping over a few chairs and vases. Buffy was chased up the stairs, in and out of her mother’s bedroom, to finally end up in her own room on one side of the bed while her attacker was on the other.

“You-“ She panted wildly, with a huge grin on her flushed face. “…should be-“ Gasp “true to yourself.” She managed to say breathless.

She quickly leaped onto the bed as she saw Spike coming towards her. His arms waved around trying to catch her, but she jumped to the floor, landing on the spot where he had been just moments before. She smiled as she saw him in hers, on the opposite side of the bed.

“Those cigarettes are taking their toll on you, huh?” She asked as he started to couch.

“When” cough “I get my” couch “hands on you, Summers.” He threatened.

Her response was simply to stick out her tongue at him. She restarted running as he suddenly jumped at her across the bed. After a few moments, they were back in the same position on opposite sides of the mattress. Spike stood on the window side having, what looked like, a serious coughing fit.

Buffy panted violently as she watched the Brit turn frightening shades of purple.

“Are you ok?” she managed to ask as she pondered closing the distance between them to help him.

He continued to cough, clinging to his throat as he did so and she decided it was best to move closer. The moment she was in arms reach, he grabbed her.

“You cheating-“ She let out a loud yelp as she felt his grip around her arms. She struggled like a wild cat causing them to lose their balance and end up tumbling onto the bed. “Cheating, bleached bastard.” She said between pants as she let out a small giggle.

“All’s fair in love and war, luv.” He replied, miraculously recovered from his coughing attack.

They remained laying in bed, Spike on top, Buffy beneath him, staring at each other, both panting from the recent exertion. He smiled down at her while she pouted, having been caught.

“That’s cheating!” She repeated, still breathless.

A rebellious blonde strand found its way to cover her face and mouth and she wiggled a little trying to move it. Instinctively, Spike raised his hand and pulled it out of the way while making sure that her arms remained trapped under the burden of his chest.

Out of nowhere, realisation came to them and their closeness became uncomfortably evident. Buffy swallowed hard as she looked up at the boy laying on top of her, whose gaze alternated between her eyes and her pouty lips. Suddenly, breathing became an issue. Her breaths now came in short, difficult pants, not because of the exertion but as a direct consequence of his proximity. Her heart seemed to want to leap out of her chest and her stomach was making those strange flip-flopping motions it usually did when…

In a flash, she was up, pushing him away and causing him to fall flat on his ass in the process. Nervously, she ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it away from her flushed face. Once all the strands seemed to be in place, her hands moved toward her clothes to give them the same erratic treatment.

“You- You better go. It’s late and my-“ She started with an unease tone when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. “My mom!” She whispered as she immediately went for the door and slammed it shut. “You gotta hide!” She warned him as she frantically looked around to find a place to keep him out of sight. In the meantime, the footsteps became clearer. “The bed! Get under the bed! Now!” she ordered.

She didn’t have to tell him twice. A fraction of a second before the clicking sound of a door being opened was heard he was under the bed and out of sight.

“Hey, honey! You’re still up?” Mrs. Summers asked as she entered the room.

“Yeah!” Buffy answered as she tried to get her breathing under control. “I-I was just getting ready for bed.” She explained nodding as she pressed her lips together.

At that her mother frowned.

“Are you ok, honey?” A hint of concern was evident in Mrs. Summers voice.

“I’m fine!” Buffy replied a little too enthusiastically. “I’m fine!” she repeated with more calm.

The teen held her breath, carefully watching the changes in her mother’s facial expressions as she walked around the room. Finally, a soft, understanding smile settled on the older woman’s mouth.

“I know why you’re acting like this.”

“You do?” Buffy asked incredulous as she dared to throw a glance in the bed’s direction to check if Spike was still out of sight.

“Yes.” Mrs. Summers started as she sat down on the bed and patted the mattress next to her for Buffy to take a seat. When the petite blonde did, she continued: “You’re upset about me going out on a date.”

The teen let out a sigh of relief.

“I know it feels weird now, but you knew it would happen sooner or later. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it and just kind of announced it without any previous warning, but I was worried about how you’d react and I just didn’t know how to tell you. I tried to talk to you over the weekend but… I couldn’t.” Mrs. Summers confessed.

“Oh, that explains the mother/daughter bonding overload.” Buffy realised.

Mrs. Summers smiled and nodded.

“I hope that you can understand that I’m a single woman now. I’ve been alone ever since your dad and I got divorced and I think it’s time to move on now.”

“Don’t worry mom. I’m ok with it.” Buffy said after a moment of silence.

Under the bed, Spike held his breath and tried as hard as he could not to make any noise. He watched as a pair of legs moved away from the bed towards the door. They stopped for a second and he heard Mrs. Summers’ voice:

“Goodnight, Buffy!”

“Goodnight, mom!”

The door was then opened and she was gone.

The teen jumped up as, out of nowhere, Buffy’s head popped under the mattress.

“You gotta get out of here.” She stated as he crawled his way from under the bed.

“No kidding, Einstein.” He grumbled as he patted his duster.

Buffy moved towards the window and opened it.

“Go!” she ordered.

“You want me to jump out the window?!” Spike asked incredulous.

“Use the tree, genius.” Buffy replied with an annoyed tone.

“In case you haven’t noticed, the branches have been cut. And unless I’ve miraculously acquired some major Carl Lewis skills, I’ll never make that jump.” Spike countered sarcastically.

Buffy popped her head out the window and noticed that, in fact, the branches had been cut. ‘Damn winter trimming.’ she thought.

“Well, you can’t go through the stairs. My mom will hear you.” She noted as she started pacing around the room.

After a few moments of silence she plopped down on the bed exasperated.

“We’ll just wait for you’re mom to fall asleep.” Spike suggested.

“You don’t know my mother.” Buffy forced a smile on her lips. “Ever since my rebellious pre-teen, middle of the night escapades she has become a true watch dog. She hears *everything*. And I mean everything. One noise from me and she’s at my door.” She sighed as she let her tired body drop from the sitting position to a sprawled out one on top of the mattress.

“I guess I’ll just have to spend the night here.” He said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“You wish!” She spat.

“I don’t actually. With my luck, you probably snore.”

“I do *not* snore!” She replied outraged sitting up on the bed and furrowing her eyebrows.

He simply smirked and leaned on the window as he shoved his left hand into the pocket of his duster and fished out a pack of cigarettes.

“What-“ realising she was speaking a little too loudly she rephrased in a hissing voice: “What are you doing?”

“Having a smoke?” He stated the obvious with the cigarette dangling from his lips as he prepared to light it.

Instantly, Buffy was up and stomping her way over to him, but before she could take the small cylinder from his mouth he grabbed it.

“Oh, no you’re not!” she protested as she jutted out her chin in defiance, looking up at him.

“Oh, come on. I have been smoke-free for two hours now. I need a fag!” he pleaded as he brought his eyebrows together for a painful frown.

“No!” she insisted.

“But-“

“You will not smoke that crap in *my* room, and that’s final.” She was unrelenting.

“Just one, please. I won’t be able to sleep otherwise.”

“That’s your problem.” She snapped, turning around and making her way to her bed.

“Bitch.” He murmured.

“I heard that.” She said as she pulled the sheets.

Turning around she eyed him.

“What?” He asked with a furrowed eyebrow.

“Do you mind?” She questioned drawing circles in the air with her index finger signalling him to turn around.

Sighing audibly, the Brit faced the window as he waited for her to get unto her pyjamas. He heard a series of sounds, shuffling and shambling until Buffy’s whisper reached his ears:

“I’m done.”

He turned to catch a glimpse of Buffy’s Yummy Sushi pyjamas as she tucked herself under the sheets and turned off the lights.

Frustrated, he shoved the cigarette into the pack and placed it on her table as he took off his duster. Buffy remained in her bed, eyes partially closed as she pretended to sleep. She watched as he unbuttoned his shirt, murmuring a string of curses under his breath. He sat on the nearby chair and started to unlace his boots. The socks were off and he was up again, his fingers finding their way under the cotton fabric of his white t-shirt and pulling it over his shoulders. Buffy held her breath as she observed the semi-naked boy under the dim moonlight. She gazed, as if entranced, committing to memory every lean curve and arch of his chest and abdomen. She drew hard breaths into her lungs as he walked in circles for a few seconds, his hand running trough his now dishevelled blond hair, down his shoulder for a quick hug and then settled over his belt and started undoing it. When he continued to unbutton his trousers, Buffy jumped up.

“Wha-What do you think you’re doing?!” She asked in a faltering tone.

“Getting ready for bed?” He once more stated the obvious, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

“You’re not gonna get naked in my room!” She protested but, somehow, her resolve didn’t seem very convincing.

“I always sleep naked.” Seeing the straight line of her mouth he shrugged. “Fine, it’s your bed.”

Buffy didn’t even have time to process what he had just said as he made his way to her and started to pull on the covers.

“WHAT do you think you’re doing?” She repeated loudly as she grabbed as much of the sheets as she could and covered herself.

“Once again - getting ready for bed.” He answered her as he reached for the covered once more.

Quickly, she moved back, dragging the fabric with her.

“Not in *my* bed!” She replied wide eyed.

“I’m supposed to sleep on the floor?”

“Of course!”

“Bloody hell!” He protested. “I’m not-“

A clicking sound was heard followed by footsteps.

“My mom! Quick! Under the bed!” She ordered.

Instantly, Spike dropped and started to crawl under when she hissed:

“Your clothes! Spike!”

He was up and gathering all his things including his boots which he managed to shove under the bed, but by the time he tried to crawl under it himself, the doorknob to the room was being turned. Without a second thought, he threw himself onto the bed. He glued his body against the petite blonde’s in the desperate hope that her mother wouldn’t notice the extra volume under the fluffy covers. Buffy gasped and immediately held her breath she watched the door open and her mom’s head pop in.

Chapter 13

“Buffy, are you ok?” Spike heard a worried voice ask.

He held his breath, drawing himself nearer to Buffy’s now trembling form as the sound of footsteps let him know that Mrs. Summers was coming into the room.

Buffy froze, her stomach seemed intent on doing those distracting flip-flops as she felt his body cling to her form.

“I-I’m fine!” she managed to say in a nervous stutter.

“I heard a noise. What happened?” Mrs. Summers enquired taking a seat on the mattress next to her daughter.

The teen swallowed hard, her mind a haze as her heart raced in her chest and her hands became sweaty.

“N-Nothing happened. Must have been from outside.” She answered tilting her head towards the window.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of red on her table. ‘Oh my God! The cigarettes!’ Her mind screamed at her as she watched her mom get up and walk over to the opened window.

“Mom!” She instinctively shouted.

Mrs. Summers stopped in her tracks and turned to face her child.

“What, honey?”

“Leave the window open, I’m kinda hot.” She made up the excuse in a moments notice.

In the meantime, Spike remained frozen under the covers. His bare chest glued to Buffy’s right thigh, his legs twisted around the rest of her leg, positioning her foot in a very, very awkward place. His arms wound around her waist while his head rested on her partially bare stomach.

“You’re not coming down with something, are you?” A concerned Mrs. Summers asked walking back over to the bed and placing her hand on Buffy’s forehead. “You do feel kind of warm…”

“I’m fine!” She piped up nervously. “I-I’m fine.” She repeated with a little less anxiety.

“Are you sure?”

Buffy felt Spike move under the covers, his hand brushing over the inside of her thigh as he tried to make himself a little more comfortable. It took all of her strength to keep from gasping, her facial muscles contorting as she tried to repress the urge. Her mind seemed to drift for a second. All she could think about was that she had a semi naked boy in her bed, clinging to her right leg under the covers.

“Buffy?”

Her mother’s voice finally seemed to penetrate the thick fog surrounding her brain.

“Ah! What?!” She mumbled as she was snapped out of her daze.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to get you anything?” Mrs. Summers repeated.

“I’m sure, mom. I’m fine.” The last word came out in a high-pitch tone as she felt his warm breath on her stomach.

She closed her eyes to prevent her mom from seeing her rolling them back in their sockets.

Under the covers, Spike tried to push back the little voice in his head that beckoned him to touch her or maybe just to brush his lips over the exposed flesh of her lean stomach, just once… ‘Concentrate, concentrate…’ He kept repeating in his thoughts not realising he was starting to pant.

Buffy thanked whatever gods there were out there that her mother had her back turned to her when Spike’s breath became more evident on her tummy. She tried to repress the urge to move abruptly, but eventually ended up wiggling her toes in the process.

Spike’s eyes widened as he felt something quickly brush over his groin and couldn’t help letting out a deep groan.

Buffy froze when she felt something hard against her toes.

“What was that, honey?” Mrs. Summers stopped at the door and turned to face her daughter.

“Um… I-I said: Goodnight, mom!” Buffy lied.

With a soft smile, Mrs. Summers turned the knob, opening the door. Before she exited the room, she whispered:

“Goodnight, honey.”

And she was gone.

Buffy and Spike remained frozen in place until they heard the clicking sound of another door opening and closing. Complete silence filled the room only broken by the quick and short pants coming from the petite blonde.

She held her breath as she felt him crawl his way from under the covers, his arm lightly gliding across hers.

“That was close.” He breathed sitting next to her, on the bed, his legs still under the sheets.

She stared wide eyed at him, sometimes daring to throw a glance at his bare chest.

“Are you ok, luv?” He finally asked.

Then, something unexpected happened. Actually, considering it was Buffy, it wasn’t unexpected at all. She brusquely pulled at the sheets, shoving him off the bed with her shoulder, causing him to topple off the mattress onto the floor.

“Hey!” He protested.

“Stay out of my bed!” She hissed in a low voice, careful not to wake her mother once again.

The Brit remained on the floor, staring wide eyed at the petite blonde who looked back at him with a defiant chin jutting out.

Anger flashed in his eyes as he got up and grabbed the edge of the covers and pulled them off her, then proceeded by snagging one of Buffy’s pillows.

“I get the covers.” He said laying down on the floor next to her bed and pulling the sheets over himself while he rested his head on the pillow.

Without a word she got up and snatched the covers from him, setting them on the bed.

“Those are mine, I’ll get you something else.” She explained as she turned on the light and opened her wardrobe.

She looked through it for a few second and grabbed something. Walking back to him, she dropped them on his lap.

“There.” She grumbled, climbing onto the bed and covering herself.

“Are you kidding me? Scooby-Doo sheets?” The Brit protested in a low voice.

“It’s all I’ve got. My mom keeps the covers in a cupboard in the hall.” She explained as she closed her eyes and turned her back to him.

Reluctantly, he picked up the sheets. He gasped when he spread them out. They were miniscule, reaching as high as his waist. If he wanted to cover his shoulders he would have to keep his feet in the cold or the other way around.

“Bloody hell! This thing’s baby sized.” He complained.

“What did you expect? Those were my sheets when I was a kid.” She grumbled never bothering to face him.

“Bugger all!” He grumbled as he covered his legs with the small fabric.

A few moments of silence managed to filter between them before Spike’s whispering voice was heard:

“Are you still up, Betty?”

“It’s BUFFY!” She hissed between clenched teeth.

“Sorry.” He said with little conviction.

Silence.

“Buffy…” He called again.

“What?” She grumbled.

“What do we do about tomorrow?” He enquired as he stared up at the ceiling, his hands resting on the back of his neck as he laid on his back.

“What about tomorrow?” She replied with an annoyed tone.

“You’re mom, if she walks in… won’t be a pretty sight.”

“I’ve set the alarm. We wake up before she does, wait till she’s out of the house and then we can leave and end this nightmare. By the way, you are never setting foot in my house ever again.” She grumbled, her back still turned to him.

Minutes later…

“Buffy…”

“Spike?” She mumbled.

“Yeah?”

“Go to sleep.”

“I can’t. All I can think about is having a fag.” He lied.

“Think about something else, cause you’re *not* smoking in my room.”

Silence…

“Luv?”

“What!?” She exhaled sharply, turning around to face him. “What do you want this time?” She moved to the edge of her bed and looked down on him. She couldn’t help biting her lower lip at the sight of his bare chest bathed in moonlight.

“What about school?” He enquired looking up at her.

“What about school?” She sighed trying to sound as exasperated as possible.

“You know…”

“It’s one in the morning, Spike. Trust me, I don’t know.” She grumbled as she glanced at her alarm clock.

“The library… what we agreed on?” He managed to say without giving away his unease.

Buffy felt her whole body tense up at the recollection. She ignored it and replied:

“We already did it, so… no need to talk about it anymore.”

She quickly lay back on the bed, facing the ceiling.

“Oh, come on. You know it’s not going to work. We might have convinced the nerdy kids, but not the rest of the school.” He protested, turning on his side and propping up his head on his left hand.

When he heard no answer he called her name.

“I’m here.” She mumbled. “I’m thinking.”

Minutes passed and Spike grew impatient.

“Buffy? You done thinking?”

“Fine! We’ll do it. Tomorrow. During lunch break. Now go to sleep.”

Buffy tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach and settled down to sleep. But slumber never came. She tossed and turned in bed, the strange sensation of anxiety strangling her, making it hard to breathe, to move, to think, to do anything at all. She moved to the edge of the mattress and glanced down at an apparently sound asleep Spike. She returned to her nervous flipping over under the covers until she heard him mumble in a low voice.

“What’s the matter, luv?” He asked as he realized he wasn’t going to get any sleep if he didn’t make her stop moving around.

“Nothing.” She quickly lied.

“Then why are you tossing and turning?”

“I’m just… trying to get comfortable.” She retorted.

“You’ve been trying to get comfortable for an hour now.”

“I-… It’s just that… maybe it’s not such a good idea.” She dared to say.

“What is?”

“The… plan… and kissing.” She hesitated.

“You chickening out?” He chuckled.

“I *am* not!” She sat up on the bed to look down at him, pulling the sheets around her small form.

“You’re chickening out.” He teased.

“I AM not!” She insisted.

“What is it luv? Afraid if you kiss me you won’t be able to keep you hands off of my tight little body?” He continued his mockery.

“Ha! As if!” The anger growing in her helped her get over the nervousness racing through her.

“That’s it, isn’t it? You’re afraid you won’t be able resist me.” He continued to tease.

“Spike, I could kiss you anytime, anyplace, if only I could repress the intense urge to hurl I have every time you are within two feet of me.” She snapped. But her harsh words lost most of their sting at the sight of her nervous pulling and pushing of the sheets.

Spike smiled and sat up on the floor.

“Prove it.” He challenged her in a low voice.

Buffy’s eyes widened as he crawled his way into the kneeling position and set his hands on the mattress on each side of her. She gazed at him, cocky grin over his lips, a defiant sparkle in his eyes.

“Ha!” She managed to snap out of her daze. “Nice try! I’m not that easy.” And she forced a plastic smile on her lips.

“Believe me luv, I’m not trying to trick you into kissing me. I’m just afraid that tomorrow you’ll go all Al Gore on me, in front of the whole school.” He retorted.

Buffy widened her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows, clearly offended.

“Come on, pet. You gotta admit, every time I try to touch you or even go anywhere near you, you freeze up.”

“It’s because of the hurling factor. I told you.” She pouted.

“Get over it if you want to fool anyone.” He snapped a bit offended.

They looked at each other for a few moments, in silence, until Buffy broke it. With a loud sigh and patting the mattress, signalling him to sit.

“Come here.” She mumbled reluctantly.

“What for?” He grumbled.

“If I’m supposed to not freeze up, I better get used to having you near me.” She stated the obvious.

He stood up and plopped down on the bed with a loud, annoyed sigh. They sat once more in silence until Buffy spoke:

“Well… are you just gonna stand there? Touch me.” She ordered.

“What?!” Spike choked.

“I’m supposed to act natural when you touch me, so…”

A mischievous grin spread over his lips as he eyed her suggestively.

“Not *that* kind of touching!” She immediately stepped in.

He pulled his mouth to one side in a wicked version of a smirk and then nodded. Slowly, his fingers ran over a strand of hair which fell over her face and neatly placed it behind her ear. They then proceeded with making their way down to her shoulder, over her collarbone to reach her neck and cup her cheek. He moved his whole body closer to hers, as his other hand traced circular pattered over her right arm, down to her hand. He felt her tense up when he snuck it around her waist and drew her closer to him.

“See? This is what I’m talking about.” He complained, dropping his arms to his sides and sighing audibly.

“I’m sorry.” She said with a pout. “It’s just…” She took a long deep breath, closed her eyes and continued: “Ok! I’m focusing. Try again.”

It took a few moments, but she soon felt him move around her and take his place behind her, spreading his legs on either side of her. His hand brushed over her golden locks, pulling them over her left shoulder, exposing her neck. Instinctively, Buffy tilted her head baring her right shoulder to him. She felt his arms encircle her, bringing her back closer to his chest, until she was leaning on him. His hands rested on her waist idly playing with the edges of her shirt. Buffy couldn’t help but smile as she remembered him doing that just the day before. But the smirk soon crumbled and she froze as she felt his lips lightly brush over her shoulder. He stopped as he felt her tense up, and waited for a few seconds. Silently, she gave him permission to continue and he returned his mouth to the tender flesh at the crook of her neck.

At first it was soft and almost imperceptible, but it soon grew in intensity as he lightly suckled at her skin, his teeth nibbling as he made his way up to her earlobe. He took it into his mouth and his grip immediately tightened around her waist. Lost in the feeling, she relaxed and her own hands came into play as she caressed his bare arms. A low sigh escaped her parted lips as he continued his ministrations and she leaned against him for support. His lips left her ear to trace the edge of her jaw as she turned around to face him when suddenly he backed away.

It took a second for her to perceive the loss of his touch, but eventually she did. She blinked wildly as she tried to focus her foggy eyes on him.

“What?” She breathed.

“I heard a noise.”

They sat in silence, waiting for another sound, but it never came. They exchanged a quick glance and all the awkwardness of the moment came flooding in. Buffy frantically ran her hands through her hair as she struggled to find something to say.

“Well… I-I guess… we’re… done.” She managed to stutter.

“Yeah.” Spike desperately tried to sound nonchalant and calm about the whole situation but all of a sudden what to do with his hands became an issue as he tried shoving them into the back pockets of his black jeans, awkwardly stumbling out of the bed.

“Well… Goodnight then.” She stammered as she watched him laying down on the floor.

She pulled the covers over her shoulders, nuzzling against the pillow. She held her breath as she recognized a strange scent over her sheets and all around her - his scent. Once again, she struggled to find slumber, but this time she wasn’t alone. On the floor, lying spread-eagle, Spike stared up at the ceiling, his mind wandering in the clouds, unable to fall asleep.

It was going to be a long night.

Author's Note: Thanks to Ali my wonderful Beta-mom for betaing this fic and for supporting it! ;)

The song in this chapter is Elisa’s Dancing and I’d really recommend you to download it and listen to it while you’re reading this chapter, especially the part where it’s mentioned. ;) Plus it’s a cool song!

Chapter 14

Buffy repressed a groan when she eyed the alarm clock and it read: ‘Four a.m. It’s 4 am and I’m still up.’ She thought. For the third time that night, she carefully rolled over to the edge of the bed to check on her uninvited guest. ‘Sound asleep. Bastard!’ She cursed in her mind. She cleared her voice loudly and glanced at the pale boy. He never moved.

Spike kept his eyes closed, in the vague chance that sleep might come to him, but it didn’t. He was still wide awake, his mind plagued with indecent thoughts of the obnoxious blonde sleeping just a few feet from him. ‘Get yourself together, man. What the hell are you thinking? Sure, the chit’s not bad, but not worth losing a night’s sleep over.’ He mentally scolded himself as he felt his body start to react at the mere recollection of what had happened earlier that night. Sighing, he turned on his side, making sure to rest his back against the freezing wall. Maybe that would cool him off.

“Bloody hell!” He jumped up into sitting position as he felt something metallic sting his lower back.

Looking at the floor, he found a remote and picked it up. He didn’t have much time to inspect it as the lights were flipped on and an apparently sleepy Buffy moaned:

“What was that?” She forced her voice to sound drowsy and hoarse.

Spike blinked a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to the strong light that now filled the room. Before he could answer, Buffy snatched the remote from his hands and piped up, suddenly wide awake:

“That’s where it was.” She said as she placed the remote on her nightstand. “I was looking for that.”

Gradually, the sound of a piano filled the room. The two blondes turned to see the stereo - it was lit up.

“Must have turned it on.” Spike explained as slowly a soft female voice flowed in key with the instrument:

Time is gonna take my mind

and carry it far away where I can fly

The depth of life

will dim

my temptation to live for you.

The two blondes stared at each other for a glimpse of a second and then Buffy jumped and reach for the remote.

“No!” Spike called out.

She stopped and turned to face him. She found him with a serious look on his face

If I were to be alone

silence would rock my tears

'cause it's all about love

and I know better

How life is a waving feather

“I wanna hear it.” He said.

Buffy cocked up a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

“You? Wanna hear this?” She asked suspicious, pointing at the stereo with the remote in hands.

“Why not?” He questioned innocently.

“Mr.-Bad-Ass-Billy-Idol-wannabe wants to hear a sappy song?” She chuckled.

“I can do sappy. There are many layers to me, luv.” He explained.

“Oh! Tons, heaps of layers!” She said sarcastically shaking her head.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Come on, Spike. You’re a guy! You only have layers when you wanna convince girls that you’re sensitive.” She mocked while the song grew in intensity in the background

So I put my arms around you

Around you

And I know that I'll be leaving soon

Spike furrowed his eyebrows in a clear sign of hurt.

“I’m just being honest.” She said with a smile.

“Ok, so maybe you are right.” He finally admitted with a grin of his own.

My eyes are on you, they're on you

And you see that I can't stop shaking

The two blondes froze, staring intensely at each other, as they realised that they were having a civil conversation without the usual banter or sparing. The music continued to play in the background and a chill ran down Buffy’s spine. She shook her head as the moment became too much and looked down at the sheets avoiding his piercing gaze. She regretted it the moment she did it as the lyrics wheeling around them described her actions.

No, I won't step back but I'll look down to hide from your eyes

'cause what I feel is so sweet and I'm scared that even my own breath

Oh could burst it if it were a bubble

And I'd better dream if I have to struggle

Awkwardly, Buffy sat up straight and started playing with the remote in her hands while the frail voice coming from the stereo soared haunting heights.

So I put my arms around you around you

And I hope that I will do no wrong

My eyes are on you they're on you

And I hope that you won't hurt me

“So…” She started never daring to glance up at him. She froze when she realised he was standing up and coming to sit on the bed next to her. She remained still, holding her breath has he reached for a loose strand of her hair and slowly pushed it behind her ear.

I'm dancing in the room as if I was in the woods with you

No need for anything but music

Music's the reason why I know time still exists

Time still exists

Time still exists

Time still exists

As he leaned in something inside of her snapped. She jumped up and was standing by the bed in a flash, her voice over enthusiastic and high-pitched:

“Ok! I think we’ve practiced that enough for tonight!”

The Brit teen stared at her under a furrowed brow until he understood what she meant.

“Well, we-we better get some sleep, tomorrow being a school day and all. And-“ She spoke quickly and awkwardly as she searched for the remote, which had somehow slipped from her hands and was lost between her sheets. “Ha! Found it!” She said triumphantly, standing up straight and holding her prize.

So I just put my arms around you around you

And I hope that I will do no wrong

My eyes are on you they're on you

And I hope that you won't hurt me-

Silence once again filled the room as she pushed the off button. Buffy set the remote on the nightstand and stood beside the bed looking at him with a plastic smile on her face. Clearly embarrassed, Spike stood up to take his place on the floor once again.

“Well… Goodnight.” She piped up as she snuck under the covers, but she had no answer.

She felt something tug at her racing heart, but ignored it, closing her eyes and forcing herself to fall asleep.

The hours passed and soon it was seven am and the alarm clock rang. Buffy’s hands reached up and pressed the off button. She yawned audibly, pretending to have slept the entire night, as she moved to the edge of the bed. There he was, laying on the floor, curled up into a little ball pulling at the blanket to cover himself as much as he could.

“Spike…” She called softly, but had no answer. “Spike…” She whispered once again, this time reaching for him and lightly pushing him.

“Hum…” She heard him mumble as he turned his back to her.

“Spike… Wake up… My mom’s gonna be here any minute.” She said climbing off the bed and sitting on the floor next to him.

Her hands rested on his arm, pulling at him to turn him around as she spoke. Eventually, he did but he was still fast asleep. She watched as he nestled his face against her thighs. He looked so peaceful, so… non obnoxious.

Instinctively, she ran her fingers over his sharp cheekbones leaving her thumb behind to caress the amazingly soft skin there. She caught her breath as he nuzzled against it, his lips curling slightly up for a lazy smile. She heard him mumble something in his daze and she leaned in to hear him whisper in a drooling tone:

“Dru…”

Her eyes grew wide as she felt her stomach twist in disgust. In a flash, she was up and shaking him gruffly:

“Wake up!”

“Hum… What?” The Brit blinked wildly as he tried to ascertain where he was. A deep furrow marred his eyebrows as his sight focused on the petite blonde violently walking around in circles. “Oh, God… It wasn’t a nightmare.” He grumbled with a hoarse voice.

“Get up, get under the bed and don’t get out of there until I tell you!” She said simply before she opened the door and walked out of the room, leaving a dumbstruck, sleepy teen behind.

~+~

The moment the front door closed and she was sure her mother was out of the household, Buffy raced up the stairs. She stopped abruptly when she reached her bedroom. Taking in two deep, long breaths, she turned the doorknob and entered the room.

“Spike?” She asked when the bleached teen was nowhere in sight. “Spike?”

She walked in and headed for the bed, bending down to check under it. Nothing.

“Spik-“

“Bah!” Two jabbing hands were on her waist as a loud voice filled the room.

“AHH!” She screamed off the top of her lungs, twisting around suddenly, her right knee hitting its target right on the spot.

It was Spike’s turn to howl - in throbbing pain. Buffy’s fingers automatically went for her mouth, her eyes widening as she watched the bleached teen laying on the floor wailing while his hands were buried between his legs.

“I-I’m sorry.” She stuttered, frozen in place, her eyebrows wrinkled in a painful frown.

“Bloody hell, woman!” He yelled, still lying on the floor, his face the picture of agony.

“I-I..” She stammered as she kneeled next to him.

Immediately, he jumped back, fear coming over him.

“Just stay away from them!” He ordered between howls.

“Well… “ She said outraged as she stood up. “You-you shouldn’t have grabbed me like that.”

“It was a joke.” He protested as he tried to get up to his feet but failed. “I think I’ll just stay down here for… a while.” He said as he sat back down, leaning on her table.

“Suit yourself. I’m going to take a shower.” She replied as she stalked out of the room.

~+~

Spike waited patiently on the floor, still nursing his sore parts when he heard the door squeak. He turned to see Buffy’s drenched head pop in.

“Turn around.” She ordered.

“What?! I can barely move here, luv, and you want me to turn around?” He asked, cocking up an eyebrow.

“Well then… Close your eyes.” She insisted.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen a girl wrapped up in a towel before, you know?” He said sarcastically, annoying smirk on.

“Do you wanna get kicked again?” She questioned innocently as she put on her sweetest, fake smile.

A hint of fear flashed in the teen’s eyes before he closed them. He heard sloppy footsteps entering the room and a faint scent of vanilla hit him. Instinctively, he inhaled a little deeper and the aroma surrounded him. He was about to attempt to open his eyes when he heard:

“You open your eyes and I swear you will leave this room with a vocal tone higher then ten Michael Jackson’s put together.” She threatened.

Swallowing hard, he kept his eyelids closed shut, patiently waiting for her signal. He listened carefully to the shuffling; the sound of the wardrobe door opening and closing a few times and then there was silence.

“Buffy?” He asked as a frown settled on his eyebrows.

“Keep your eyes closed.” She commanded.

“They’re closed!” He replied shrugging.

He heard more shuffling and then felt heavy covers being dropped on him.

“Hey!” He protested.

“Don’t peep!”

The minutes crawled by and nothing.

“Are you ready?” He finally asked.

“No.”

“You haven’t even picked out your clothes, have you?” He questioned, a hint of exasperation in his voice. There was a pause. “Buffy?”

“No, I haven’t.” She finally said in one breath and the teen under the covers groaned.

“Will you hurry up, woman?”

“Stop calling me that!” She snapped.

“What? Woman?”

“Yes! I have a name, it’s Buffy!”

“Whatever, pet.”

“Grrrr…” He heard her growl.

Another ten minutes passed and Spike restarted the conversation.

“So… What was that whole thing with your mom?”

Silence.

“Buffy?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” She growled.

“Her first date after your da?” Having no answer he continued. “It’s ok to feel kinda weird about it.”

A furious stomp broke the silence.

“It was kinda strange for me too when my da first started going out.”

The stillness returned and Spike was about to continue when Buffy mumbled:

“You’re parents are divorced?”

“My mom died when I was a kid.”

“Oh…”

An uncomfortable silence returned but was soon broken by the Brit still hidden under the covers.

“It’s normal, you know? For your mom to want to go on with her life.”

“I know.” Buffy admitted reluctantly.

“You’ll get used to the idea. Who knows, you might even like the guy.”

“Never!” Was the petite blonde’s immediate response.

Spike couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It’s not funny!” She protested with a pout.

“You’ll-“ cough “You’ll-“ cough “Can I come out from under this thing? Breathing is becoming a problem.”

His answer came when the covers were swiftly lifted off him. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light, after a few seconds his sight focused on the short blonde girl standing in front of him. She wore low cut jeans and a light-blue turtleneck sweater.

“All that time for that?” He frowned as he got up.

“What’s wrong with this?” She protested as she opened the wardrobe door and looked at herself in the mirror.

“Nothing. It’s fine!” He immediately jumped in between her and the mirror. “Let’s go!” He continued as he dragged her out of the room by her arm.

The first thing the bleached Brit did when he stepped out of the house was light up a cigarette, which immediately earned him a look from the short blonde who walked next to him.

“Don’t look at me like that.” He warned her as the smoke flowed out of his mouth.

“That’s disgusting.” She retorted, making a face. “I’m not kissing you today.”

“A-ha! I knew you’d chicken out! Gotta say- good excuse, luv.”

“It’s not an excuse, I just don’t want to have a bad taste in my mouth.” She explained as she looked down at her feet.

“How do you know it tastes bad?” He asked her with a smirk, his eyes on her.

“It smells bad, it tastes bad. That’s my motto.” She replied pushing her lips together. The weight of his stare starting to get to her.

“You’ll never know till you actually taste it.” He said as he suggestively ran his tongue over his lips.

“I already did, remember!” Her face contorted for a disgusted look.

“Tell you what, I’ll buy a pack of breath mints before lunch. Happy?” He suggested as they continued to walk down the street.

“How about we just postpone the kissing scene for tomorrow and you don’t smoke till then?” She looked up at him with hope in her eyes.

“Nice try, pet. It’s today or never.”

“Hum… Never?” She quickly opted giving him a plastic smile.

“Come on, luv. We’ve talk about-“

“Ok, ok. No need to bring on the whining skills, I know you’ve got them.” She grumbled.

“That’s my girl.”

“I’m not your girl, William.”

“Don’t call me William.” Seriousness dawned in his voice.

“Don’t call me pet or luv or woman.”

“Deal.” He agreed.

They continued to walk in silence for a couple more minutes till Buffy sighed and grumbled:

“Why didn’t you bring your bike?”

“It’s in the shop.” He answered.

“I hate walking.” She continued to protest as the high school finally came into view.

“Gotta say I agree with you on that one, pet.”

“Thanks… William.” She said with a fake smile as he looked at her from under a frown.

They walked up the steps to the main door of the teen-filled building and entered the halls. They reached class 209 and the two teens stopped.

“This is me.” She said as she played with the cover of her history book.

Spike awkwardly nodded as he shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. Buffy’s gaze bounced off the walls and scanned the entire hall as she tried to avoid the bleached teen standing in front of her. She froze as she saw Angel and Dru walking towards them, the quarterback’s heavy arms draped over the black clad teen. Spike followed her eyes and swallowed hard as the couple quickly approached them.

“Well… bye.” She uttered quickly as she turned around to enter the classroom, when she felt herself being pulled backwards by her left arm.

Before she could register Spike’s arms around her or her chest pushed against his, his lips came down to crush hers in a demanding kiss. She froze, feeling his hands slip under her sweater to caress her lower back for a split second before he pulled away from her.

“Didn’t taste that bad, did it, luv?” He whispered in her ear before he walked away.

Buffy was left behind, completely dumbstruck, staring at the parting teen as he strolled pass Angel and Dru.

“Dru. Angel.” She heard him greet them before Mrs. Finch’s high-pitched voice pierced its way through the haze that engulfed her.

“Miss Summers are you planning on joining us anytime soon?”

~+~

Buffy yawned loudly as she walked out of the classroom after Oz and Willow.

“Buffy, I knew you didn’t like Spanish, but I had no idea the subject bored you so much.” The redhead noted as they walked down the hall.

“I just didn’t get much sleep last night. That’s all.” Buffy explained in a low voice.

“Bummed over your mom going out on a date, huh?” Willow gave her best friend a sympathetic look.

“I’m adjusting.” Buffy mumbled.

“Hey guys!” They heard Xander’s booming voice as he approached.

“Xander, you don’t have to shout.” Cordelia grumbled as they all walked towards the cafeteria, suddenly, Buffy stopped.

“What’s up, Buffster?” Xander asked.

“I-I don’t think I’m hungry.” She stuttered awkwardly.

“Are you going on one of those stupid ‘eat nothing and get anaemia’ kind of diets?” The boy questioned.

“No, you guys just go along and I-I’ll join you later.”

“Buffy, you really should-“

Before Willow could say anything else, Buffy had whirled around and was steadily walking down the hall. Willow and Xander exchanged a concerned look.

“What’s up with the Buffster?”

“It’s her mom.” Willow began as they entered the cafeteria. “She- Spike!” The redhead jumped up as the bleached teen appeared in front of her out of nowhere.

“Hey, red. Where’s Buffy?”

“She wasn’t feeling well. She doesn’t want to have…” She wasn’t able to finish her sentence as the Brit turned around and left. Willow instantly pouted. “Why’s everyone running from me?”

“I won’t.” Oz piped up, worming his arm around his girlfriend.

~+~

Buffy walked idly down the hall as she made her way to the football field when someone grabbed her by her arm and dragged her into an empty classroom.

“Spike.” She jumped when she saw him and asked nervously: “What are you doing here?”

“You’re not getting off the hook that easy.” He said tilting his head as he leaned on the door, blocking her way out.

“Wh-What are you talking about?” she stuttered.

“Buffy…”

“Well… We already kissed, so… no need to do it in front of the whole student body anymore.” She blurted out.

He remained silent giving her a disapproving look, watching as she tried to excuse herself:

“I-I mean, we’ve achieved our goal, right? We kissed, people know we kiss. We are officially perceived as a kissing couple. Goal achieved. No more kissing required. End of kissing talk.” She ended her rambling taking a deep breath and waited for his reaction.

Without a word, he walked over to her and she instinctively stepped back until the back of her legs hit the edge of a desk and he was able to close the distance between them. He towered over her as he questioned in a low voice, a smirk on his lips:

“Why does the thought of kissing me make you so nervous?”

She froze for a split second, before jumping up and awkwardly slipping away from him to quickly put the table between them.

“Nervous? I’m not nervous.” She tried to sound as sure of herself as possible, but failed as her voice came out in a squeak.

“Just admit it.” He said plainly, leaning over on the desk.

Buffy immediately stepped back.

“Admit what?”

“That you’ve got the hots for me, pet. It’s only natural.”

“Ha! You’re funny!” She chuckled, but the uneasiness was still clear in her voice.

Spike remained in place, just smirking at her.

“Stop that!” She protested.

“Stop what?”

“That grinning thing. It’s disconcerting.”

“Oh! A big word!” He mocked widening his eyes while she narrowed hers.

She stood up straight, crossing her arms around over her chest.

“What do you want?” She grumbled.

“Why are you afraid to kiss me?” He finally asked seriously.

“I’m not afraid, just disgusted.” She retorted.

“Come on, Buffy…” He sighed audibly plopping onto a nearby desk.

“Oh, fine, let’s do it.” She said crossing the room and sitting on the table opposite to him, her eyes closed as she pushed her lips together.

She waited and nothing. Finally, she opened her left eye to find Spike shaking his head at her.

“What?” She asked bringing her shoulders together.

“You…” He started pointing at her, before turning his finger on himself. “Kiss me.”

Chapter 15

Buffy’s eyes widened at his short statement.

“What?!” She exclaimed as her legs dangled off the desk.

“You heard me, Summers.” He gave her a cocky smile and his scarred eyebrow rose up high on his forehead.

She was about to protest, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times as a frown settled on her forehead, but soon realised it was no use.

“Fine. Let’s get this over with.” She exhaled sharply as she jumped off the table and closed the distance between them.

“It’s so nice to feel wanted.” He said with a sardonic tone, which earned him a forced smile from the blonde teen that now stood in front of him.

A moment of silence filtered between the two of them and Buffy took in a deep breath, closing her eyes and pausing before opening them again. She slowly moved in, leaning into the bleached teen who still sat on one of the desks when suddenly, she backed away.

“What?!” The bleached teen gasped, with a frown as he watched her walking around in circles.

“Still haven’t gotten over the ‘yuck’ factor.” She mumbled as she stopped to face him.

He simply looked at her with an annoyed expression plastered on his face.

“Take your time, Betty.” He grumbled, emphasizing the last word.

In a flash, she was standing in front of him, cheeks flushed and anger flashing in her green eyes.

“It’s Buffy! How many times do I have to tell you? Buffy, Buffy, Buffy!” She almost screamed. “God! You know, I don’t know why I’m doing this.” She waved her hands in the air as she started rambling. “I don’t think seeing Angel grovel at my feet is worth all the effort. You’re just so… so…” She struggled to find the right word.

“Sexy?” He offered with a grin.

“Grrrrrr…” She growled in his face. “I hate you.” She said between clenched teeth.

“Ditto.” Spike answered with a plastic smile.

Once again, she sighed audibly as she frantically struggled with her hair, pulling it away from her face and curling it behind her ears. She shook her arms at her side as if preparing for a race. Spike simply smiled. Closing her eyes once more and inhaling sharply she tried to calm herself. After a few moments of silence she was able to do so. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked down on him for a few seconds before quickly running her tongue over her lips to moisten them and leaned in. She could feel her heart slamming violently against her ribcage, her knees threatening to buckle from under her, the palms of her hands soaked as she tilted her head sideways and closed her eyes. Her mouth barely brushed over his bottom lip, for a first innocent contact. She pulled away, just a bit, to breathe in before she returned to her task. This time, she parted her lips, taking his lower one between hers, pulling lightly at it as the kiss built up.

He remained frozen, his arms at his sides, partially supporting his weight on the desk, while she kissed him. He let out a deep groan as she sucked his lower lip into her mouth as if wanting to devour it and instinctively wrapped his arms around her, gruffly pulling her towards him until she was between his legs, her arms crushed against his chest. His left hand slowly made its way from her lower back to the crook of her neck, cupping her face to deepen the kiss.

Buffy’s heart skipped a beat when she felt his tongue gliding over her mouth, as if asking permission to enter. Before she could even process the information, she was parting her lips, letting him in. A moan escaped her as they fought for dominance and the kiss intensified.

They pushed and tugged at each other’s clothes as teeth and hands came into play. Buffy’s fingers curled around the collar of his shirt, bringing him closer to her while she leaned into him. They battled away and light moans occasionally filled the empty and silent classroom. Eventually, as lack of oxygen started to become an issue, Spike was forced to pull away from her. He looked at her from under hooded and dazed eyes, his forehead resting on hers as he tried to speak coherently:

“Think you’re…” gasp “Over…” pant “the ‘yuck factor’?” He managed to ask her between gasps, his gaze alternating between her eyes and her swollen lips.

“Not sure…” She inhaled sharply closing her eyelids, trying hard to control her breathing before uttering: “Better make sure.”

“Better safe than sorry…”

Buffy nodded in agreement as his hand hungrily snaked under her ear to pull her toward him for another kiss.

She had time for a short breath before he once more crushed her lips with his; his tongue slipping inside of her mouth with ravenous urgency. His hands slid down to her thighs, hooking under them and pulling her skywards as he stood up; her legs instinctively wrapping themselves around his waist.

Buffy was so lost, she didn’t even notice she was being carried across the classroom and set on a hard surface. She partially opened her eyes to quickly glance down and realised she was sitting on the teacher’s desk with Spike nestled between her legs. She let out a deep groan as he nibbled his way across her jaw, towards the sensitive spot just below her earlobe.

Spike inhaled sharply and buried his nose in her turtleneck sweater for a second as her scent surround her him. The sound of her gasping sent chills down his spine and his grip on her thighs tightened as his tongue caressed the tender skin of her neck.

Suddenly, a sharp, high-pitched sound pierced through their combined haze.

“Wha…” Buffy tried to ask, but it seemed impossible.

“Hum…” She heard him moan as his mouth glided across her chin to reach her lips once more.

“Sp-“ She wasn’t able to finish the word as he kissed her once again. “Spike…” She gasped when she had a chance. “The…” kiss “Hum…” kiss “The… ah…” She gave up and leaned in to deepen the kiss.

Once again, their moans and gasps filled the room and they were lost in a blinding haze when, suddenly, loud, gossiping voices broke the stillness. The noise lasted for a few moments before coming to an abrupt halt. Buffy opened her eyes for a split second and they grew wide when she saw the door to the classroom wide open and a crowd of teens standing dumbstruck at the threshold. It took a while for her to recognize them but, eventually, she did. The short, gawking boy, whose hand still rested on the doorknob, was Jonathan, the teen next to him Andrew. The girl, who was still too shocked to close her mouth, was Harmony and the black clad figure right behind her? Who could it be, if not - Dru!

Buffy froze, wide eyed, staring back at the mini-crowd gathered at the door. She was still too flabbergasted to realise a certain bleached teen was still nibbling at her ear.

“Spike!” She called out, pulling at his duster.

There was no answer besides a deep groan.

“Why are you guys standing there like a bunch of idiots?” Angel’s voice hovered into the room as he made his way through the crowd. “Dru, honey, what going-“ He stopped in mid sentence as he witnessed the same spectacle as the others.

“Spike!!!” Buffy screamed pushing him away with such strength that the Brit stumbled backwards and only didn’t fall flat on the floor thanks to a desk behind him.

“Wha’?” He asked with a husky voice.

There was no need for Buffy to answer his question as he soon turned to see the group of teens standing at the door.

“Oh…” He managed to say; his gaze flying from the crowd to the flushed blonde still sitting on the desk.

“I… We… I and- I” Buffy struggled with the words, trying to find an explanation for the event. “I…” She tried once more, but was unsuccessful.

Her heart raced as everyone eyed her. She felt exposed, dirty. God, she felt… She had to get out of there. In a flash, she jumped off the table and was running out the door, pushing her way trough the teens, trying hard to ignore the look on everyone’s faces.

Spike was left behind, being now the centre of attentions. In complete silence, he stood up straight, shoved his hands into his pockets and started to leave the room when a strong hand gripped his arm. He turned around to see a seriously pissed off quarterback staring down at him. Angel was about to say something when Dru leaned into him and whispered something into his ear. The dark-haired teen remained still for a few seconds, pondering what to do.

“Got something to say, mate?” Spiked asked between clenched teeth.

Without a word, Angel let go of his arm and the bleached Brit stormed away while the small crown started to disband.

~+~

“Buffy!” He shouted as he watched her run down the hall.

Her response was to increase her speed as she opened the main door and exited the building.

“Buffy, stop! Buffy!” He yelled after her.

She didn’t answer, just continued to jog her way down the street.

“Buffy! We need to… talk!” He began coughing as he was almost catching up with her when she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and faced him with a murderous look on her face.

“What?!” She snapped while she watched the bleached teen bend down and rest his hands on his knees as he gasped and panted violently.

“I-“ cough “Why are you running?’”

“Why?!” She yelled. “Did you see their faces? Did you?”

“Yeah! I thought that was the point!” He said between gasps as he stood up straight, his hand resting on his stomach.

“The point?” She practically screamed.

“Yeah! Make them believe that we’re together.”

“And that I’m some kind of kinky slut that likes doing it on the teacher’s desk.” She shouted.

“Come on. They’re not going to think-“

She cut him off:

“Of course they are!” She howled. “I mean, everyone was there! By now the whole school knows!”

“You’re exaggerating, luv. There were just a half a dozen kids there.”

“Half a dozen? Did you even see who was there? Every group in that stupid high school had a representative there. The nerds, the fashionably, bubbled-gum-brained cheerleaders, the jocks… God, even Dru was there to represent the freaky black-clad outcasts. But that’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

“What?!” He asked confused as the blonde teen continued to scream off the top of her lungs.

“You probably planned the whole thing. God! How could I be so stupid?” She gasped as she brought her hand to her forehead. “You planned the whole thing! God! I hate you, so much, I-”

“Ok.” Spike decided to step in. “First of all - will you stop shouting for a bloody second, woman? I think you’ve just pierced my eardrum.” He protested, sticking his finger into his ear as he cringed. “And second, how the hell would I plan the whole thing? I didn’t even know you weren’t going to eat at the cafeteria.” He pointed out, but she was so enraged, she couldn’t even see straight.

“I know you did. Just admit it and I won’t have to kill you; just cause you enough physical harm that will leave you paralysed from the neck down.” She threatened with a flame in her eyes.

“Buffy, listen to yourself. I could have never done that. Even if I was *that* much of a prick, I wouldn’t be able to do it.” He tried to explain when she whirled around and started to walk away. “Buffy…” He breathed as he walked after her, but she came to a halt once again.

“Don’t come anywhere near me, ever again.” She hissed between clenched teeth and walked away.

~+~

Buffy entered the house and, without a word, stormed up the staircase and entered her bedroom. Slamming the door behind her, she flung herself on the bed. In a few moments, a light knock on the door was heard.

“Honey…?” Mrs. Summer’s soft voice filled the room as she entered it. “Are you ok? What are you doing home so early?” She questioned as she came closer to the bed and realised her daughter was crying. “Oh, honey, what happened? Buffy…”

“It’s ok, mom. I just wasn’t feeling so good so I came home.” Buffy quickly answered as she sat up straight and hastily wiped the tears from her flushed face.

Mrs. Summer’s looked at her from under a frown.

“It’s true, I’m fine. I just have this horrible headache.” Buffy lied rather convincingly.

“I knew you were coming down with something.” The older woman exhaled sharply as she rested her hand on her daughter’s forehead. “You’re kinda warm.”

“I’m fine, mom. I’m fine.” The teen insisted, running her hands across her face and pulling the rebellious strands of her hair behind her ears as she leaned on the headboard of the bed.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to catch something.”

Buffy nodded with a weak smile and Mrs. Summer’s stood up and walked over to the door.

“Well, I’ll get you an aspirin and some vitamins, just to make sure. Do you want some hot-cocoa?” She offered as she stood at the threshold.

“That’d be great, mom.”

The moment the door was closed Buffy slammed her head against the headboard as she let out an audible sigh. She ran her fingers over her face as she contemplated what had happened only half an hour ago. ‘God, how could I be so stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Now everyone in school’s gonna think I’m a slut that does it on the teacher’s desk.” She let out a deep groan, closing her eyes and trying to erase the thought from her mind. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid!’ she continued to insult herself in her mind.

“It’s all *his* fault!” She finally said between clenched teeth. “God, I hate him soooo much! I’m gonna kill that bleached idiot! Kill, kill, kill…” She continued as the anger built up inside of her. “You kiss me.” She said with a mocking tone. “I’ll give him the ‘you kiss me’. Grrr….”

She slumped down on her bed and curled herself into the foetal position as she stared out the window. Soon, the screeching sound of a door opening was heard and light footsteps followed.

“Thanks, mom.” Buffy started as she turned around. “I don’t know- Spike!” She exclaimed as she saw the bleached teen standing by her bed holding a tray. “Get out!” she immediately hissed.

“Now, luv don’t want to-“

“I don’t want to hear it. Put the tray down and get out!” She raised her voice slightly.

He obeyed to the first part of the command, setting the tray on the nightstand, but ignored the second.

“Are you hard of hearing?”

“I’m not leaving until you tell me why you’re acting this way.” He replied in a low, calm voice that made her nerves act up.

“Because… I… Hum…” She struggled for an explanation and finally hissed: “Cause the entire school thinks I’m a ho and it’s all you’re fault.”

“My fault? How is it my fault?” he asked defensively.

“You were the one who caused it. You with you’re ‘You kiss me’ speech.” The last sentence was said with a high-pitched semi-whining tone.

“No one forced you to do anything, luv. Actually, as far as I can remember you seemed more than willing.” He replied with a mocking tone, but the partial grin on his face soon crumbled as he saw the rage flare up in her green eyes. “Look, so they saw us snogging, it’s not like the entire world is going to fall apart.”

“You just don’t get it, do you? People will-“

“Will what?” He interrupted her. “We weren’t doing anything wrong!” He sighed audibly.

Buffy remained still, trying to find a reason for her rage, but couldn’t find any. He was right; there wasn’t anything wrong with what they had done. Sure it bordered on the kinky, but so what? They were teenagers; they were supposed to do dumb things.

“Luv, just calm down and-“

“Don’t call me that.” She warned him.

“Sorry.” He apologized sincerely.

They exchanged a look of truce and silence filtered between them. Finally, Buffy spoke:

“Did you see the look on Angel’s face?” She said with half a smirk.

“Yeah, the wanker looked like he was about to have a fit.” Spike replied with a grin of his own as Buffy’s smile grew.

“I never knew a person could turn that green.” She chuckled as she started to relax.

“Did you see Dru? Man, she looked like she as about to pop with envy.” He laughed out loud.

Something about the way he said it, maybe the sparkle in his eye as he spoke her name, made the subject a lot less funny to her. But, she ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach and continued in a low voice:

“Guess, the plan is working, huh?”

Spike’s smile seemed to dim at her question: “I guess.”

“Who would have thought they would fall for it?”

“Yeah…” Spike breathed as the tension between them grew.

“Well… I guess you’ll have Dru with you in no time.”

“Yeah.” He paused for a second and swallowed hard before forcing the words out. “And you’ll have Angel.”

“My own personal slave.” She said with a mocking tone and a smile. “Let the good times roll.”

Spike simply smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets. After a few moments of silence he finally decided to speak:

“Hum… Summers?”

Buffy looked at him as his gaze travelled from the floor to meet hers.

“Are you still…” He paused, waiting for her to answer, but it was clear she didn’t understand the incomplete question. “Are you still… in love with him?”

Buffy frowned a bit and tilted her head, but didn’t answer.

“Hum… I’m sorry; I shouldn’t be asking this, I’ll just be going.” He spoke quickly and awkwardly as he headed for the door. “Your mom’s probably going to worry about you having a boy in your room all this time and-“

“She thinks you’re gay, Spike.” She said with a devilish grin.

“Don’t remind me.” He grunted as he turned the knob and prepared to leave when Buffy spoke:

“Hum… Spike?”

“Yeah, luv?”

“Me and the guys are going to the Bronze on Friday. Wanna come with?” There was a hint of insecurity in her tone and when he didn’t answer immediately she quickly added: “Totally on a ‘make Dru and Angel face the green-eyed monster’ basis, of course.” He remained silent. “Dru will probably be there… would be fun to see if she pops this time.” She continued with a weak smile. “Or maybe not, it’s your-“

“I’ll be there, Summers.” He interrupted her with a low, calm voice.

“Oh…” She breathed. “Good.” She said shoving her hands into the back pockets of her jeans as her feet fumbled with the edge of the carpet.

“See you tomorrow, Betty.”

“See you tomorrow, William.”

She watched as the bleached hair disappeared behind the closing door and held her breath. A sharp ringing tone snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Hello?” She asked as she picked up the phone.

“Buffy?”

“Hey, Willow!”

“Are you ok?” An extremely anxious and nervous redhead questioned from the other side of the line. “I mean people are talking that you and Spike were doing the nasty on Mr. Gulliver’s desk. Is that true? What happened? Are you ok? Did Spike do something-“

“Willow, Willow. Slow down. Breathe. That’s it. Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale.” Buffy coached. “And no, I wasn’t doing the *nasty* with Spike. We were just… you know…”

“No, I don’t. That’s why I’m calling. Oh, and by the way, Xander had a heart attack when Harmony told him that she had walked in on you and Spike stark naked in-“

“What?! God, I’m gonna kill that bleached airhead.” Buffy grumbled between clenched teeth. “I wasn’t doing anything. We were just kissing, Willow. That’s all.”

“A-are you sure?” Willow hesitated.

“I’m pretty sure. I mean, I *was* there and all, you know?” Buffy replied sarcastically.

“So-sorry, I-I didn’t mean to-“

“It’s ok, Wills. No need to go on stutter mode.”

“So, you’re ok then? I was just worried about you. You left school and didn’t say a thing, I thought…”

“Nothing bad happened. I promise. I was just a bit… embarrassed out of my mind! Couldn’t really take the whole Gestapo-like inquiring and gawking.”

“I understand. Will you come to school tomorrow?”

“Yes, don’t worry. Ok?”

“Ok. Bye.”

“Bye, Willow.”

Author's Note: Thanks to Ali my wonderful Beta-mom for betaing this fic and for supporting it! ;)

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