*~*A Touch of Jealousy*~* By Echidna
Chapter XI
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.
“
“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:
“
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 XII
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. “You do realise we’re on the second floor,
right?”
“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 XIII
“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 do to 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.
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