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.

“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 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.

Next

Review - Makes chapters come way quicker! ;)