Chapter 24

Buffy anxiously bit her nails as she looked out the window. What was taking him so long… Grrr! She let out a frustrated sigh and moved to plop down on the couch. The moment she reached for the remote, the roaring of a car engine reached her ears and her heart jumped up to her throat. She immediately scrambled to her feet and hurried to the door almost crashing into a breathless teen in the process.

“Spike!” She exclaimed taking a step back and gathering herself.

He flashed her a wicked grin and slid his way closer to her. Giving her a dazed look from under hooded lids he snaked his hand into the pocket of his duster as he slurred:

“I’ve got the con-“

“Hello, Spike!”

He froze when he heard Mrs. Summers voice coming from the kitchen.

“-tacts.” He made up on the spot as he finally realised that Buffy’s apprehension was due to her mother’s arrival and not his.

“Contacts?” The older woman questioned, while Spike turned to face her.

She stood in the kitchen, a plate in one had, a towel in the other and a sincere smile on her lips.

“You’re near-sighted or something?” She asked.

“Yes!” Spike answered just as Buffy piped up: “No!”

Mrs. Summers frowned.

“Which one is it?”

The two blondes exchanged a desperate look and Buffy quickly blurted out:

“Well, it’s… hum… You know how boys are. He… He’s always wanted to have brown eyes, so he decided to get contact lens, but… hum… he doesn’t want to admit it! So… hum… the right one would be…No, he’s not near-sighted, just vain.”

Spike cocked up a scarred eyebrow at her barely comprehensible babble.

“Oh…” Mrs. Summers frowned but returned to her dishes.

“What are you doing?” Spike mouthed at Buffy, but immediately stood up straight when the older woman turned to face him once again.

“You know, Spike… You don’t have to change just to please people. You should accept who you are and not let yourself be intimidated by what other people might think of you or your… choices.” Mrs. Summers spoke calmly, a hint of compassion in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Summers. I know what I want.” He answered glancing towards Buffy, causing her to blush furiously.

“Well… good for you Spike.” Mrs. Summers gave him a soft smile and retuned to her dishwashing.

A moment filtered by before Buffy spoke:

“Well, Spike and I are gonna head up to my room for a while.”

“Ok, honey.”

The two teens began climbing up the stairs when Mrs. Summers’ voice reached them:

“Spike? Are you staying for dinner?”

“No, Mrs. Summers. My father wants me to be home early today. We’re going out for dinner, do some father-son bonding.” Spike explained.

Mrs. Summers simply nodded and the teen scurrying up the stairs after Buffy into her room.

She let herself drop on the mattress with a loud thud.

“What the hell was that all about?” The Brit asked still a bit rattled by the whole situation.

“My mom giving you gay-friendly advice.” She explained with a smirk, but it soon faded when she saw the not-so-happy look on his face. “What?”

“Do I give off some kind of… gay vibe or something?” He questioned with a serious face. When Buffy’s eyebrow furrowed he elaborated: “It’s just that even my da is starting with the same little speeches your mom just gave me back there.”

“Your father?”

Spike nodded as he slouched on the chair next to the desk.

“Well, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the black nail polish that’s giving off that vibe.” Buffy teased.

“Ha-ha, Summers.” He forced a plastic smile on his face. “I’m not kidding here.”

“I know… I’m sorry.” She quickly apologized.

“My da sat me down for two whole hours yesterday talking to me about the importance of finding out *who* I am and not letting my search be threatened by other people’s opinion of who I should be.” Spike grumbled resting his head between his hands and letting out a frustrated sigh.

“Ouch!” Buffy sympathised.

He mumbled something unintelligible between his lips before standing up straight and looking at Buffy’s alarm clock.

“Well… I better be going. Don’t want my da to think I forgot about him.” He started as he walked over to the door.

“But I thought that…” She trailed off as the flush started to creep up her neck to her cheeks, but then said in a frustrated attempt to sound nonchalant: “… it was an excuse… not wanting to have dinner with my mom and all.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not an excuse. I just remembered when I went out for… hum…” It was Spike’s turn to slightly blush.

“Oh, right.” Buffy replied with a hint of disappointment as she stood up and followed him.

She almost bumped into him when he came to an abrupt stop right at her door before turning on his heels to face her.

“I don’t look gay, right? Maybe I should lose the bleach.” He offered pointing at his hair.

“No!” Buffy answered straightaway and a little too enthusiastic. She blushed when she saw his trademark smirk curl the corners of his mouth as he took a step closer to her.

“No?” He slurred.

“I-I like the… hair.” She stuttered awkwardly. God, why was it that every time he looked at her like that it made it almost impossible for her to say a complete sentence without stammering like an idiot.

“You do?” He continued to speak in a low voice as his hand came to rest on her hips and began to make small circle shapes there.

She held her breath for a few seconds and then nodded.

“What about the duster? Want me to get rid of that?” He asked tilting his head sideways.

“No.” She breathed. “I like that to.”

“What else do you like, pet?” He muttered as he nuzzled his face against the crook of her neck, nibbling at it and leaving small bite marks on his way up to her jaw line.

“That.” She answered between pants.

She scolded herself when she felt him smile against her skin, but her thoughts soon pooled away in a hazy mist when she felt his hand worm down her leg to slip under her denim skirt before climbing back up her inner thighs.

“We never got to finish…” He whispered as he took her earlobe into his mouth to nibble at it while his hand teasingly brushed over the cotton fabric of her panties.

“We can’t… My mom…” she started with her usual denial.

She gasped for air and almost lost her balance when he stepped away and his hands and mouth abandoned her.

“What?” She breathed as she opened her eyes.

“You’re right.” He said with a cocky smile. “Better not do anything with mom here. I gotta go anyway. Bye, Summers.” And with that he was gone.

“What?” She repeated still stunned over the ease with which he had pulled away from her. This was wrong. She was the one supposed to pull away from *him*.

~+~

Spike winced when he took his place at the driver’s seat; the tightness in his pants becoming growingly painful. He wondered where he had gotten the strength to walk out on her and rolled his eyes before starting the ignition.

“Get yourself together. Can’t let her know she’s got you in the palm of her hand. Time for her to make a move.” He told himself out loud before driving off.

~+~

Buffy shoved her food around in her plate completely oblivious to the conversation going on around her at the table.

“What do you think, Buffy?” Was the only thing she heard as she was snapped out of her thoughts.

“Huh?” She shook her head for a moment, before she looked up at the redhead sitting opposite her.

“About going shopping today?” Willow repeated.

“Oh… sure.” Buffy answered unenthusiastically.

“Buffy, are you ok?” She asked a bit concerned with her best friend’s almost lethargic state.

“I’m fine.” Buffy replied returning her attention to her plate.

“Hey pretty ladies!” Xander’s familiar voice reached the table as he set his tray next to Willow’s.

Buffy looked up, uninterested and simply nodded.

“What’s up with the Buffster?” The boy asked Willow who simply shrugged.

“Nothing’s up, Xander. I’m just a bit…” Buffy frowned when she looked up, pass Xander’s shoulder, to see Spike talking to Andrew for a few moments before the two parted ways and the bleached teen walked over to their table.

“Hey.” He greeted taking his seat next to Buffy and giving her a light peck on the cheek.

“Hey, bleach-boy. Not serving as a guinea pig for today’s lunch experiment?” Xander asked bringing a fork full of the unrecognisable substance into his mouth.

“No, thank you.” Spike winced looking at the plate in front of him. “I’ve got some things I have to take care of. Just came by to see what you guys were up to.”

Buffy watched as the two teens exchanged friendly banter but her mind was still fixed on the image of Spike and Andrew speaking. What was going on with those two?

She blinked a couple of times in surprise when Spike leaned in to give her a quick peck once again before standing up.

“See you guys tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Buffy frowned. “You’re skipping school this afternoon?”

“Told you. Got stuff to do.” He explained.

“What stuff?” She insisted, not letting him walk away.

“Just stuff, pet.” He leaned in pressing his lips against her forehead and left.

“What the hell was that all about?” Buffy wondered out loud wrinkling her forehead.

Xander was about to make some smart-ass comment, but was prevented when he felt Willow kick him under the table. She knew Buffy well enough to know this wasn’t time for jokes.

~+~

Buffy and Willow idly walked through the large corridors of the mall, occasionally throwing a glance at the passing shops.

“So…” Willow started with a bit of hesitation.

Buffy simply looked at her best friend and waited for her to ask whatever she had been trying to ask ever since they had left school.

“You and Spike… We-we never really got a chance to-to… you know… girl-talk about it.” Willow awkwardly stammered.

The blonde took in a deep breath, not knowing exactly what to tell her. She missed talking to Willow. Somehow, talking to her made everything so much clearer. She wanted to tell her about the whole arrangement but… she’d promised Spike – not a word.

“What do you want to know?”

“I-I don’t know. I mean, you hated each other just up to a couple of weeks ago and now all of a sudden you’re an item?” Willow said in one breath. It was clear she had practiced her questions about a million times before actually approaching Buffy on the subject.

“I know. Weird, huh?” There was a moment of silence. God, she really needed to talk to someone about this. “In the beginning… it was more about getting back at Dru and Angel, you know?”

Willow nodded and she continued:

“But then… I don’t know, it all happened so fast. Suddenly the extremely infuriating grin wasn’t that infuriating, the bleach wasn’t that unattractive, the accent was actually turning me on… I just don’t know.” Buffy rambled out loud.

Willow smiled looking at her friend out of the corner of her eyes. Buffy paused for a second, sitting down on a nearby bench; the redhead mimicked her action, waiting patiently for her to continue.

“Oh, what the hell!” Buffy suddenly exhaled and looked straight at Willow. “I can’t take it anymore. I mean you’re my best friend and I’m supposed to be able to tell you everything, right?” Willow nodded. “Ok, here goes…” She took in a deep breath before continuing: “Spike and I made a deal. A pact. We decided to pretend being together so that Dru and Angel would get jealous and decide to come back to us… Separately! You know Dru to Spike and Angel to me?” She blurted.

Willow looked wide-eyed at her best friend, her mouth opening and closing for a couple of times, unable to speak.

“You and Spike aren’t really together? It’s all part of a plan?” She finally managed to ask.

“No, see that’s my big problem. I don’t know.”

“Huh? I’m not quite following, Buffy.” Willow gave her an apologetic frown.

“We had the plan, right. First it was supposed to be just holding hands and normal, non-touchy stuff. But then we realised it wasn’t working and that we had to get a bit more… physical in order to fool everyone, and so eventually that lead to touching and kissing and groping and apparently we both developed some *major* pent up sexual tension towards one another.” Buffy paused for a second, giving Willow the time to register all the information.

“So all the kissing and moaning and getting caught doing *it* in a classroom was fake?”

“We weren’t doing *it*, Willow. We were just… trying to see if I could get over the ‘yuck’ factor of kissing him, which, unfortunately, I seemed to have surpassed quite easily.” Buffy nervously picked at her backpack which rested on her knees.

“Oh…” Willow suddenly realised. “And now you have feelings for Spike and he doesn’t… respond?”

“Not really.” Buffy hesitated. “He actually does *respond*… hum and little too well.”

Willow frowned: “Ok, you need to fill in the blanks now.”

“Remember the Bronze? Last Friday… when Oz played? Yeah, well… I was sort of...”

“Drunk?” Willow offered.

“Yes… So Spike took me home and-“

“Not exactly… He took care of me even though, even after I threw up on him.”

“Yew!”

“Yeah, not one of my best moments, I’ll admit. Anyway… things started… hum… evolving and…” Buffy hesitated throwing a glance at Willow before blurting: “SpikeandIslepttogether.”

“What?!” Willow exclaimed causing a couple of heads to turn and look at them. The redhead blushed furiously and leaning in to whisper: “What?”

“We did the wild thing, Willow.” Buffy muttered.

“Oh…”

A moment of silence passed before Willow dared to ask.

“Well, what about now?”

“That’s the million dollar question now, isn’t it?”

“D-do you… like him?”

Buffy paused for a second and then dropped her head to her hands, her fingers furiously running through her hair.

“I don’t know.” She answered exasperated.

“Well, does he… you know… like you?”

“Another big question mark for that one too.” Buffy grumbled into her hands.

“Well, didn’t you guys talk about it or anything? I mean… You have to have said something after the… hum… event.” Willow insisted.

“Not really. We were both so tired that we just fell asleep.”

“What about the dreadful morning after?” Willow enquired.

“Mom came home. You don’t want to know how we got out of that one.” Buffy looked up from her hands and with a smirk continued: “My mom thinks he’s my new gay-best-friend.”

“Your mom thinks Spike’s gay?” Willow asked with wide eyes.

“Yep.” She nodded sitting up straight and glancing around the mall. “So anyway, Monday came and we never got a chance to talk about it and then there was the whole Dru incident.” Buffy ground her teeth together at the memory.

“Were you jealous?” Willow uttered.

Buffy immediately shot her a dirty look.

“No!”

“Are you sure?” Willow insisted. “Then why’d you give Dru the lunch shower?”

“The two of them were flirting in front of everyone! They were making a fool of me!” Buffy exclaimed.

“Buffy… It’s me… Willow?”

“Ok, fine so I was a bit jealous…” Buffy grumbled burying her face in her hands once more. “God, I hate this! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!”

“Why don’t you just ask Spike?”

“Ask him what?” Buffy frowned.

“If he likes you.”

“Oh, no! No way in *hell*, ever! No, no, no!” Buffy insisted standing up to tower over Willow, who was still sitting on the bench. “Why should I ask him?”

“Because it’s eating you up, that’s why.” Willow explained the obvious.

“Well, I’m not!” Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

“It’s your choice, Buffy.”

“Yes, it is! Thank you. Now let’s go by those damn dresses and get out of here.” Buffy grumbled stalking off.

~+~

Buffy scurried through the hall, scanning the crowd looking for a familiar bleached head between the dozens of teens zooming pass her.

“Hey, Buffy!” Willow greeted falling into stride with her.

“Hey, Wills!”

“So, did your mom like your dress?” Willow questioned hugging her books against her chest as they quickly made their way down the corridor.

“She loved it. Said I looked beautiful in black and then started crying.”

“Huh?”

“You know, came down with the whole ‘You’re growing up so quickly and soon you won’t be my little girl anymore’ speech. If she’s like this over homecoming I can imagine how she’ll be for prom.” Buffy sighed as she continued down the hall.

“Hum… Buffy, why are we practically running around in circles through the entire school?” Willow finally managed to ask when she started getting a little out of breath. “Are we looking for someone?”

“No.” Buffy quickly answered coming to a halt next to her locker. “I just needed to get a few things from my locker.”

“Right and for that you always need to walk past it about three times.” Willow noted sarcastically, raising a suspicious eyebrow. “Come on Buffy, admit it. You’re looking for him.”

“I’m not- Oh, my God! What happened to you?!” Buffy immediately slammed the door to her locker and walked past Willow towards Spike.

Willow’s eyes widened when she saw the Brit. He had a small cut in the corner of his mouth and a purplish bruise over his left cheekbone.

“Fell down some stairs.” Spike winced when Buffy ran her hand over his wounded cheek.

“Does it hurt?” Willow asked the obvious.

“What do you think, Red? Ouch!” Spike cried out when he tried to raise his eyebrow, pulling at his tender muscle.

“You fell down some stairs? That’s the best you could come up with?” Buffy asked when the fear in her subsided and the anger started to replace it.

“What?!” Spike grumbled.

“What have you-“ She didn’t have to finish her question when, out of the corner of her eyes she saw a badly battered Angel slumped against the row of lockers; a very worried Dru running her hands over his marred face, much in the same fashion Buffy had just done to Spike. “You fought Angel?!” She asked in disbelief, her eyes going from one teenager to the other.

Spike never answered.

“What the *hell* is happening Spike?” Buffy demanded. “Why have you and Angel been fighting?”

When the bleached teen remained silent she continued:

“What were you guys fighting over?”

“Luv, I don’t want to get into this now.” Spike finally spoke.

“Well, when did this happen?”

“Luv, not now.”

“But-“

“Buffy! Just let it go, ok?”

She froze. It had been the first time he had ever raised his voice at her; the look in his eyes sending shivers down her spine. She was so shocked she didn’t even hear the bell ring. Her gaze remained fixed on the boy standing in front of her even as the rest of the teens began to disband and walk to their respective classes. She was snapped out of her daze by Willow’s soft touch.

“Buffy, we better go or we’ll be late.” She heard the redhead call her.

She narrowed her eyes at Spike and nodded:

“Let’s go.”

Turning on her heels she walked down the hall and into one of the classrooms after Willow.

“Bloody hell!” Spike growled kicking the locker he had been leaning on before stalking off.

~+~

Buffy leaned on the front door of the vehicle, patiently wanting for its owner to arrive. She felt her heart jump to her throat when she saw him.

Spike froze in mid stride when he looked up to see her. Taking a deep breath he continued his approach.

“Hey…” Buffy said in a weak voice as she stepped away from the door.

“Hey.” He greeted back.

A moment of silence passed between them but Buffy eventually broke it.

“I’m sorry for freaking out over the mashed face.” She said pointing at his face.

“I’m sorry I shouted at you.”

“Considering I’ve done that about a million times I guess you’re allowed one yell. But just one!” She quickly added raising her index finder.

“I’ll try and remember that, luv.” Spike tried to smile but quickly regretted it as he felt the wound on his lips start to open.

“Are you ok?” She asked worriedly stepping closer to him and resting her hand under his ear to turn his face towards her.

“I’m fine.” He answered trying to push back the urge to wince when she ran her finger over the gash.

“Did you even disinfect that?” She question with a disapproving look.

“Yes.”

“Liar.”

“I washed it.” He defended himself.

“Not quite the same effect as disinfecting it.” Buffy retorted as she walked around the car.

“Where’re you going?”

“You’re gonna drive me home so I can clean that up.” She informed him as she opened the car door and entered the vehicle.

Chapter 25

They entered the kitchen in complete silence. Buffy pointed at the stool near the isle and Spike took a seat while she opened one of the top cabinets and reached for a first aid kit. She set in on the white surface and opened it; inside there were bandages, some cotton, a pair of scissors and three small bottles– a white, a brown and a red one; Buffy’s fingers reached for the white one first and tilted it into a piece of cotton before leaving it on the counter.

“This will sting a bit.” She warned as she brushed over his broken lip with the white fibre.

He winced for a second at the first contact, but didn’t say a word. As she worked on his injury, Buffy’s mind wondered over what had caused it. She wanted him to tell her, but she was afraid to ask, especially after his reluctance to talk about it at school.

“There. I don’t know if this will work, since it’s already infected…” Buffy muttered, her eyes never leaving the small gash on the corner of his mouth as she reached for the brown bottle and poured part of its content onto another piece of cotton, staining it blood red.

Once again she repeated the motions she had done just seconds before, slowly brushing over the wound.

“Oh, stop being such a baby.” She scolded him when he winced again.

“Hey! It hurts.” He protested, frowning.

“That’s what you get for getting into stupid fights.” She grumbled throwing the two pieces of cotton into the garbage and putting away the first aid kit.

When she was finished tidying up she turned to face him, leaning on the counter, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched him, still sitting on the stool next to the isle.

“Is that all the damage?” She finally asked, desperate to break the awkward silence between them. Why was it that there were some many disconcerting pauses between them?

“What?”

“You’re face. Was that the only damage?” She questioned.

“Why? You planning on nursing my other hidden wounds?” He started with a low voice and narrowed eyes as he let his tongue slide over his lips.

“Erg! You’re disgusting.” She mumbled looking down at the floor.

“So you keep saying.”

They looked at each other for a second before he spoke. His voice was low and serious:

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.” He apologised.

“It’s ok. I told you it’s fine.” She tried to sound nonchalant about it as she turned around to look at the sink.

In a flash, he was by her side, his fingers curled around her arms forcing her to face him.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated looking straight at her.

She swallowed hard and nodded. She felt her knees threatening to buckle beneath her when his hand travelled from her arm to her neck and over her cheek, resting there as his thumb lightly brushed over her growingly flushed skin.

“God, you’re so-“

The two jumped up when they heard the phone ring. Awkwardly, Buffy scurried toward the living room, picking up the receiver.

“Hello? Oh, hey mom. No, I wasn’t doing anything.” She lied, watching from the corner of her eyes as Spike walked into the room.

He sat on the couch and observed her as she twirled the cord between her fingers.

“Oh, ok… No, it’s… um it’s fine. Have a good time. Bye.” With a loud sigh she put the receiver back in place.

“Why the upside down smile?”

“That was my mom.”

“I gathered that much. She’s got a date, huh?”

“Yes.” She exhaled dropping on the couch next to him.

“Still haven’t adjusted to the dating system?” Spike wondered.

“Not, quite.”

Spike was about to say something when she cut him off.

“If you say I’ll get used to it, I swear I will cut something off of you.” She grumbled.

Spike’s eyes widened.

“I’m sorry.” She apologised unenthusiastically. “It’s just that I know I won’t.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“No.” She immediately answered and then looked up at him. “It’s just so weird, you know? My mom, going out with some random stranger. I mean, he could be a psycho for all she knows… O-or a gigolo!” She offered, to which Spike cocked up and eyebrow. “Ok, so not a gigolo, but a psycho, he-he could be a psycho. Do you know the kind of people who exist out there? Very, very bad people. Oh, my God my mother is dating a psycho.” She said in shock.

“Buffy, calm down. You’re mom is *not* dating a psycho.” Spike reassured her.

“How do you know?” She looked at him accusingly.

“I don’t but-“

“A-ha!” She piped up triumphantly.

“Buffy…” He tilted his head sides and gave her a disapproving look.

“I don’t want my mom to have a boyfriend. It’s yucky!” She pouted.

Spike unconsciously wet ran his tongue over his lips as he watched her. She had no idea just how irresistible she looked when she did that.

“What?” She asked when the staring became too uncomfortable. “Oh, my God! Do I have something coming out of my nose?” Her right hand immediately came up to cover her face.

“No! You’re fine.” He calmed her. “I was just…”

“Staring?” She offered, letting her hand drop to her lap.

A soft smile curved his lips as he continued to watch her.

Buffy felt the butterflies flutter in her stomach under his heavy stare, when suddenly he was up.

“I better go.” He said all of a sudden.

“Go? Why?” She questioned confused.

“I got… stuff.” He lied, he knew that if he stayed in that house for one more minute he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from kissing her and he had decided it was *her* turn to come after *him*.

“Stuff? Again? What is it this time?” A hint of annoyance squeezed itself into her voice.

“Just stuff.”

“Fine!” She grumbled as she started to storm off out of the room.

“What do you mean fine?” He called after her.

“What is it with these secrets all of a sudden? And don’t tell me there aren’t any. You walk around school talking to Andrew and then you skip classes saying you have stuff to do and the next day you show up with a purple face.” She pointed at his cheekbone.

“Buffy…”

“What’s happening?” She insisted.

“I can’t tell you.” He answered truthfully.

“Why not?” She tried as hard as she could not to make it sound whiny and childish.

“I just can’t.”

Buffy stared in disbelief at him.

“I better go.” He said walking over to the front door and letting himself out, leaving a frozen Buffy behind.

~+~

“And he just left me there going all ‘how in the hell did this just happen?’. One moment we were talking and the next he’s out the door.” Buffy grumbled into the receiver. “I don’t know what’s happening. All of a sudden he’s gone all cryptic guy and-and…”

“Breathe, Buffy, breathe.” Willow coaxed.

“I just feel all grrr.” She growled into the phone.

“Do you want me to come over?”

“No thanks, Will. I’m sorry you have to listen to my constant moaning and groaning.”

“I like your moaning.” Realising the possible interpretations of what she had just said Willow quickly added: “In a very non-gay way, of course.”

“Of course. Well, I better go to bed then.”

“It’s ten o’clock.”

“I know, but there is nothing else to do.” Buffy yawned loudly just as she restarted saying her goodbye. “See you tomorrow, Wills.”

“Bye, Buffy.”

~+~

Buffy rolled to her side and smashed her hand against the alarm clock. Grumbling something unintelligible she sat up on the bed, clumsily brushing away the wild strands of hair that covered her face. She practically jolted off the bed when she realised someone was sitting on the mattress right next to her.

“God, mom! You scared me half to death!” Buffy yelled as she rested her hand over her racing heart.

“I-I’m sorry, honey!”

“How long have you been sitting there?” The teen questioned pressing her fingers against her eyelids and blinking a couple of times before focussing her gaze back on her mother.

“Not too long…” Mrs. Summers trailed off.

There was a moment of silence between the two as they watched each other. Buffy frowned when she saw her mother nervously fidget with the hem of her blouse.

“Mom…? What do you want to tell me?” Buffy began, tilting her head.

“Buffy, we need to talk about something.”

“Oh, my God! You’re pregnant!” Buffy exclaimed wide-eyed.

“What?!”

“You’re pregnant! I just knew it!” The teen continued without attempting to mask her anxiety attack.

“Buffy, calm down. I’m not pregnant.” Mrs. Summers reassured her.

“Oh, thank God!” Buffy exhaled sharply.

“It’s something else… It’s about… my… hum boyfriend…” Mrs. Summers paused when she heard a groan coming from her daughter. “Yes, Buffy, you are old enough to know that I have a *boyfriend*.”

“Oh, please don’t say that word…” she whined crunching up her facial muscles.

“Well, it’s what he is.”

“Fine… Whatever…” Buffy grumbled crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for her mother to continue.

“Anyway… we’ve been seeing each other for over two months now and-“

“Two months? Since when have you been going out for two months?” Buffy piped up in surprise.

“I wanted to tell you sooner, but I was afraid of how you would react.”

The two eyed each other for a while before Joyce carried on:

“We’ve been seeing each other for over two months a-and I-I’m very fond of him…”

“Fond of him?” Buffy cocked up her eyebrow, but seeing the dirty look her mother threw in her direction, she decided it was in her best interest to shut up.

“I like him Buffy… and I think it’s time… I think it’s time you two met.” She suddenly blurted out.

“What?!”

“I’ve arranged for us to have a nice, quiet dinner tonight so you two can… talk and get to know each other.” Mrs. Summers continued with a firmer tone.

“But, mom… I don’t want to meet-“

“Buffy, this is very important for me.” Joyce insisted. “And I would appreciate it if you did me this favour.”

Buffy pouted as she listened to her mother, but seeing the fear in the older woman’s eyes made her heart melt and eventually, she nodded and sighed:

“Fine… I’ll be a good little girl. I’ll meet him.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Buffy. I’m so proud of you, honey!” Mrs. Summers brought her hands together for one single clap before leaning in and placing a kiss on Buffy’s cheek. “I’ll see you after school.” She waved as she stood up and left the room.

“Great… just great.” Buffy mumbled as she climbed out of bed.

~+~

“So you’re gonna meet your mom’s boyfriend?” Willow asked as she sat next to Buffy on the bleachers.

“Don’t call him that, Will.” Buffy grumbled as she squinted, her eyes scanning the football field. She was sure Spike had gym class during that period.

“What? That’s what he is, right?”

“Yes. But it just sounds… *wrong*! Very wrong!”

“Well, what do you want to call him?”

“How about the evil he-man who wants to steal my mom away from me?” Buffy offered with a forced grin.

“That sounds good. But it’s kinda long.” Willow joined in the sarcasm.

“Yeah, but still better than *boyfriend*.” Buffy practically chewed the word out as she continued to search the field.

She felt her heart jump to her throat when she saw a herd of teenagers coming from the locker rooms to flood the field.

“Oh, there’s Xander!” Willow piped up and the teen slouched his way after the rest of the group. “Doesn’t he look yummy in his grey shorts?” She mocked as both girls cringed simultaneously.

Xander looked up at the stands and a huge smile lit up his face as he waved at them and they returned the greeting.

Willow watched from the corner of her eyes as Buffy scanned the small crowd on the field.

“He’s not there.” Willow said in a low voice.

“Huh? What?” Buffy shook her head and turned to face her best friend.

“Spike… I talked to Xander… He skipped classes today.”

“Oh…” Buffy tried to sound nonchalant about it.

“You worried about him?” Willow asked after a short pause.

“No.” The blonde answered straightaway, but seeing the smile on Willow’s face she grumbled: “Ok, so I’m a little worried.”

“I’m sure there is a good reason why he hasn’t been telling you stuff.”

“He better!” Buffy said with a threatening tone.

The two sat in silence, watching as Xander was barely able to do four sit-ups in a row.

“It’s just that…” Buffy started out of the blue. “He’s just been acting so strange and…” She trailed off feeling a bit silly. “He’s… hum… distant…”

Willow didn’t say anything. She knew her friend needed to talk and so she remained in silence, hugging her knees.

“Ever since… you know, *that* night… he hasn’t tried anything.”

“Has he been pulling away?” Willow had to ask.

“No… he just hasn’t been very… you know…”

The blank look on Willow’s face told her she would have to elaborate on the subject.

“He hasn’t tried anything…” Buffy grumbled. “Well, he does start… but we never get to finish.” Buffy said frustrated. “It’s either my mom coming home, or the phone, or an impending fight…”

“You want to get to… finish?” Willow questioned.

“I-I… Oh, who am I trying to fool – God, Yes!” Buffy exclaimed burying her flushed face in her hands.

Willow couldn’t help but giggle.

“It was amazing!” Buffy sighed getting a dreamy look on her face. “You know how I used to say that sex wasn’t all that was cracked up to be in the movies…” Willow nodded. “Well, I lied! It *is* all that’s cracked up to be!”

“So… it was good?” The redhead questioned.

Buffy bit her lip and then nodded enthusiastically. The two girls giggled wildly as they continued their conversation.

“What about you and Oz?” Buffy was finally able to ask once she regained control over herself.

“We’re still waiting for the right moment.” Willow answered with a low voice and a grin on her face.

“I’m sure it’ll be amazing for you too.” Buffy assured her leaning into her friend and giving her a light shove with her shoulder.

~+~

Buffy let out a deep sighed as she dragged her feet across the threshold and let her backpack drop to the floor on her way to the couch.

“Hey, honey!”

Buffy sat up straight to see her mother standing in the hall.

“Mom, you’re home early!” The teen noted.

“Yes, I wanted to make sure everything was perfect for tonight.” Mrs. Summers explained, unable to hide the anxiety from her tone.

Buffy stood up and walked over to her mother.

“Everything *is* going to be perfect. Don’t worry.” She assured her before wrapping her arms around her for a hug.

“I’m glad you are taking this so well.”

“Well, I have no choice, if you like him…” Buffy shrugged as she walked past her mother. “I’ll take a shower.”

“Ok, honey.”

~+~

She let the warm droplets race down her back as she leaned her forehead on the wall and inhaled sharply. Reluctantly, she reached for the faucet and turned it, the string of water cascading on her coming to an abrupt halt. While one small hand ran through her soaked hair, the other reached for the white towel.

A cloud of smoke flooded the hall when she opened the bathroom door and headed down to her bedroom. She let her tired body drop numbly onto the mattress as she stared up at the ceiling, her stomach doing strange flip-flopping motions at the thought of meeting… it. She cringed as she pictured a disgusting forty year-old, bald man wearing a myriad of golden strings around his neck as a black mass of chest hair peeked from a half open silk shirt.

“No… mom would never be that desperate.” Buffy tried to convince herself.

She was snapped from her thoughts by the sharp ringing sound coming from the phone on her nightstand. Rolling on the bed she reached for it.

“Hello? Hey, Wills.” She greeted.

“So, is he there yet?” An anxious Willow asked.

“Nope. But he should be here any minute now.” Buffy grumbled as she looked at the alarm clock.

“Well, you know I’ll be here waiting for you to call and tell me all about what an absolutely horrid person *it* is.”

Buffy couldn’t help giggling at the name they had finally chosen for the stranger who was dating her mother.

“Don’t worry! I’ll keep you in the loop. I’m sure after tonight I’ll really need to vent out a bit.” The blonde reassured her.

“I’ll be waiting.” Willow responded with a peppy tone.

A moment of pause filtered between them before the redhead asked:

“Any news on the British front?”

“No.” Buffy answered in a low voice. “I think he skipped classes all day.”

“Are you gonna call him?”

“No!” She answered immediately.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, Willow.” Buffy grumbled.

“Ok... Talk to you later then.”

“Later.”

“Bye.”

Buffy let out a deep sigh as she set down the receiver and stood up to investigate her wardrobe.

“What to wear…” She wondered out loud as her fingers travelled over the sweaters and jumpers.

Eventually she settled for the casual look. If she was going to have to endure a night of seeing her mother making lovey-dovey eyes at *it*, she might as well feel comfortable.

She let the towel drop to the floor as she slipped on her panties, quickly followed by her old, worn-out blue jeans. Stumbling her way to the dresser, she searched the various drawers until she found what she was looking for.

With the blow-dryer in one hand she let her head fall and started brushing her hair. After a few minutes she stood up straight, watching in the mirror as her hair cascaded down her back. Satisfied with the end result, she put the dryer away and reached for her turtleneck sweater. A light knock on the door was heard.

“Yeah?” Buffy’s voice was muffled by the red fabric as it slipped past her jaw.

“Buffy? Hurry up, they’ll be here any minute!”

“Ok, mom!” She grumbled before her eyes lit up and she frowned: “They?” She asked out loud as she put on one of her shoes.

She mumbled something unintelligible when she looked around the room and failed to find the rest of the pair. She froze when she heard the doorbell ring.

“Oh, God! It’s here!” She braced herself before dropping to her knees.

She looked under the bed, the dresser and finally under the wardrobe:

“There you are.” She said triumphantly as she grabbed the missing shoe and put it on.

Taking in a deep breath she headed for the door and made her way downstairs. She almost tripped on the last step when she saw who was standing in the hall nervously running his hands through his hair.

“Spike? What are you doing here?” She asked as he turned around, a desperate look plastered on his face. “What happened?”

“Buffy, is that you?” She heard her mother call from the living room.

Awkwardly, she pulled at the sleeve of his duster, dragging him closer to the staircase and away from the living room.

“Hum… Spike this isn’t a very good time for this. My mom is expecting company and-“

She was cut off by the sight of her mother entering the hall.

“Mom!” She jumped up. “Spike was just leaving…” She trailed off when she saw a man walk in after Mrs. Summers. “Mr. Giles?” She frowned recognising him. Then turning to the blonde teen still standing in front of her she questioned in a low voice: “Spike? What’s you’re father doing here?”

When she didn’t get an answer she looked back at her mother. She watched as the older woman blushed furiously, her gaze buried in the wooden floor. She felt the air being pushed out of her chest when she saw Mr. Giles rest his hand over her mother’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Mom?” She managed to breathe as realisation hit her.

“Buffy… I-I would like you to meet Rupert Giles…” Joyce swallowed hard before she added in a faltering voice: “… my boyfriend.”

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