Chapter 2 - Sucker For Love

She woke up and took me by the hand

She's going to love me in my Chevy Van

He had been swinging from one extreme to the other ever since Saturday night. He would tell himself not to go on this trip and then a moment later he would throw caution to the wind and tell himself to go. His parents had thrown a fit about it telling him that he was crazy. The more they yelled the more he dug in about going. He was old enough to make his own decisions. Even if he did agree with them that it would be a mistake. Not that he would ever let them know that.

The final push to go had happened on Monday night. The girls had come by so they could all go out and pick up a few things for the trip. While they were at the store the three of them had run into Angel and Cecily.

"I hear the three of you are going away together." Angel had asked as he stood in front of them. The girls had moved to Spike’s side and told him that yes they were.

Angel had laughed. Loudly. It seemed to be his trademark to be the center of attention.

"That should be interesting the virgin and the whores on a trip. I wonder who will be more disappointed in the action. Will it be the virgin because he can't keep up with the whores or the whores who have to teach the virgin everything?"

Angel looked down at the things that he was carrying and pulled a small box out. He tossed it toward Spike. It took him a second after he caught the box to realize that it was a box of condoms. Disbelief and anger surged through Spike.

"Don't be mad, man. Of course they were mine but I think you'll need them more than me. Don't want to get the clap from those two. And if you need any advice on pleasing a woman I'll be glad to help out." Angel gave him a wink like they were old friends or something.

To Spike it was the final straw. The years of being the bunt of Angel's jokes and taunts had been building to this moment. The implication that he was sleeping with the girl he loved made him lose whatever control he had been hanging onto. Before anyone realized what was happening his fist connected with Angel's jaw. Spike briefly questioned his decision when the punch didn't take Angel down. His hand held the spot where Spike had hit while the surprise of him fighting back was evident on his face. Angel grabbed Spike by the front of his duster and swung. The two went down in a blur of fists and recoiling bodies. Angel had size on his side and Spike had pure fury pushing him on. Angel was getting as good as he was giving as they rolled on the floor. The fight didn't last long as the manager and assistant manager came to pull them apart.

They stood staring each other down. Both of them were panting for a chance to have a second go at it. Blood was dripping from Spike's nose and Angel's swelling eye was beginning to close.

"Both of you get out of my store now." The manager yelled at them as he grabbed Angel by the shirt collar and started to pull him toward the front of the store. Cecily flashed Spike a look of hatred before she followed Angel out the door.

"You okay?" Drusilla asked him as he wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand. Spike looked down at her and nodded his head.

When the assistant manger reached for his arm Spike pulled away from him so he could walk out the door on his own. Dru hurried to his side holding onto his arm as they walked from the store.

It was the knowing that Cecily would never be his and the realization that he didn't want her anymore was the deciding factor. She wasn't who he had thought she was. When she sold out for flash and popularity it made her unattractive to him. He wanted a chance to do something different. To try to stretch out of the role he had created for himself so no matter the doubts he decided he was going to San Francisco for the summer.

Tuesday morning found him in his room throwing the last of his things into his bag. His mum walked into the room as he was stuffing some t-shirts in the already filled bag. There had been another fight last night when he had come home with blood on his clothes and lipstick smeared on his neck. She came around to sit on his bed facing him as he stood at the foot of it.

"You're really going to go?"

"Yeah, looks like it."

He was still angry with her about her lack of trust in him. It was difficult for him to see her side of things. That he had always been home with no indication of this sudden change. The need to fight, to be with girls who would get him into trouble, and the need to leave like this for the summer. All he knew was that he felt trapped here. And that she was trying to keep him here.

Spike looked up at his mum as she played with a loose thread in the bedspread. Deciding to ignore her he zipped up the bag and turned to put his duster on.

"Son, I can't keep you here." He froze as she started to speak to him. "But remember that you can always come home if something goes wrong. We won't hold it over your head or try to make you feel that you were wrong. It's hard for me to realize that you are grown. And you need to stretch your wings a bit. Just be careful."

Then her hand was on his shoulder turning him so that she could hug him. He wrapped his arms around her happy that she in her own way had given him her blessing to go. She told him that his stepfather had put some extra cash in his hiding spot in the van. Just in case he needed it. There were tears in his eyes as he walked out the door. Something inside was telling him that he would never return to this home as the boy that was leaving it now. Good or bad this summer would change him permanently.

It wasn't until the three of them had hit the highway that he felt himself begin to relax. The tension of the past few days drifted away in the dust behind the van. His heart became lighter the further that they went. A smile drifted across his face as he stepped on the gas and the van picked up speed. Home was becoming a distant memory in the wake of his new freedom.

A quick glance in the mirror showed him Darla curled up in his bed sleeping. She had never looked more innocent or so young than she did in that moment. He shook his head because he knew that she didn’t really like him. Her affection to him was nothing more than a means to an end. It didn’t really bother him as the feelings were mutual. She tried to come across as sweet but there was a cruel twist to her lips that made her seem old and jaded.

It was Drusilla that confused him. When he had picked them up Darla had immediately crawled into the back to sleep but Dru had come to sit in the seat across from him. Just a simple good morning was all she said. In her hands had been some magazines that she became lost in. The only other movement she had made was to change the radio to a station that played the top 40 hits. She seemed cold and distant this morning when just the night before she had been different.

After they had left the store she had told him to go ahead and take Darla home first. When they were alone she had given him directions to a darkened side street and had shown him where to park. Then she had taken him by the hand to lead him to the back of the van. Her touch had been almost gentle as she had lain down with him. But her kisses were harsh and he had to try to keep up with her. His mind was constantly going as to how to please her. She had to have known that he didn’t have a clue as to what to do but she just kept pushing him further. But yet every time his hands had tried to stray from her waist she would move them back. Finally she had broken away from him and had told him that it was only going to be kissing. When he had finally dropped her off he had felt so frustrated that he felt he was going to explode. And later at home as he wrapped his hand around himself he wondered if there was a girl out there that could love him. If somewhere there was a girl that would let him love her with all the loneliness in his heart.

He sighed as he glanced sideways at Dru lost in her magazine because he knew this wasn’t the one. Finally, she noticed the looks that were being directed her way.

“Everything okay?” She asked as she turned to look at him. A hand came to sweep back a lock of hair from her face.

“Yeah. Everything’s cool. Are you hungry? There’s a rest stop coming up.” He tried to cover up his confusion with a take charge attitude.

She nodded her head and crawled in the back to wake Darla up. He kept glancing back at the two of them as they giggled about something. Darla stretched slowly bringing her shirt up so that her stomach was exposed. As he watched she had met his eyes in the mirror and had giggled at him staring at her. He knew he had been caught as a blush crept across his face. Spike turned to keep his eyes on the road as he heard the two of them whispering. They had to have been talking about him. As hard as he could he tried not to let it bother him but it did.

They stayed in the back until they pulled into the parking lot of a truck stop. As they crawled out and made their way in to the restaurant it seemed every man around was watching the two. Spike tried to ignore the attention they were getting as they made their way to a booth in the back. He slid on one side while they sat on the other.

“Did you notice that hunk sitting at the table in the front?” Darla asked Drusilla as they looked over the menus.

“Yes, he was really cute.” Drusilla answered her as they giggled about their mutual attraction to a stranger.

Spike glanced up at them as they continued to talk about the men in the place. Although there no agreements about any of them being together he couldn’t believe they could be this cold. As Drusilla met his eyes he saw a flash of guilt in them as she realized what she had done. Darla looked from one to the other then reached a hand over to cover Spike’s.

“You don’t mind us talking about this do you? I mean since none of us are exclusive or anything.” She opened her eyes a little to try to appear innocent and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He pulled his hand away from her.

“Darla, quit.” Drusilla looked over at her friend as Darla turned from Spike to her in surprise. They had always been a team. Use them and break their hearts had always been their motto. Dru had told her this morning what she and Spike had done last night. At first she had laughed it off because she just figured that Dru had wanted a little one on one action. But her eyes narrowed as she looked at her friend.

“Well, well, it seems that little Dru is getting a bit of a crush on the driver.” Darla looked coldly from one to the other. This feeling of being left out was not one she enjoyed. And she didn’t like this guy. Because he was the kind you fell for. The kind you put everything on the line for. If Dru went for him then it was going to be over for their friendship. Darla turned back to Spike.

“You do know that’s all we wanted you for isn’t it. A ride.” She confirmed all of his suspicions in that one sentence. It was almost a relief to know for sure. He laughed at her.

“Yeah, I did.”

He almost wished that he had a camera for the look on Darla’s face. Before anything else could be said the waitress came to take their orders. The topic switched to other things but through the meal the three of them would sneak look at the others as they tried to figure things out. Things had changed. And none of them was sure how to handle it.

Spike planned to take the girls the rest of the way to San Francisco and decide from there what to do. He had known when this had started what was what and came along anyway. If Darla was right and Dru did like him maybe it would be worth it to stay. He already knew that he could never love this girl but maybe they could just hang out over the summer and have fun. The possibility of sex was just part of it. She scared him with her kissing he would hate to see what would happen with being naked with her.

After they had eaten they had gone so he could fill the gas tank up so they wouldn’t have to stop for the rest of the trip. As he stood by the pump Drusilla had gotten out of the van and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind him. Her face was against his back.

“It wasn’t all just the ride.” She told him. “Not for me anyways.”

He ran his fingers across her arm and pulled away from her to put the nozzle back. After the van was secure he turned to her putting a gentle kiss on her lips. She pulled back from him to search his face. This was something new for her. A good boy. Someone that just wasn’t trying to get her to spread her legs and she didn’t know how to handle him.

“It’s time to go.” He held the van door for her waited for her to climb in and then closed it behind her.

Drusilla had crawled into the back with Darla when they were on their way again. They spent the rest of the trip there. Looking over the magazines or talking. Occasionally they would include him in one their discussions of music, the world and plans for college. As he listened to them he realized that they were just like everybody else with likes and dislikes and hopes and dreams. His mum always told him he expected too much from people and that was why he couldn’t make friends. He tried to fit people into slots and when they didn’t stay there he shied away from them.

Drusilla and Darla had moved out of the slot he had put them in. But instead of scaring him it was just making him accept them more. Funny they had been in school together for two years and not once had they talked. In the space of the last three days he had not only talked to them but had kissed them and learned about them. He liked it. The walls around him were beginning to break.

As they moved closer to the city the girls had come to share the front seat. Darla had to give him directions to her cousin’s place. He tried to look around him some as they moved through the streets but the hills and turns forced him to concentrate on his driving. Finally she directed him to a house that had several cars parked around it. He carefully pulled into the drive behind a new impala.

The girls practically jumped from the car before he had it in park. A man that couldn’t have been much older than them came running from the house. He picked Darla up and swung her around. Then after putting her down he gave Drusilla a bear hug. Spike moved closer to them and waited.

“Jesse, I want you to meet a friend of ours. This is Spike. Spike, this is my cousin, Jesse.”

The two of them shook hands while measuring the other up. Spike because supposedly this was where he was going to crash for a while. And for Jesse this was the guy who was driving his younger cousin across the state. But they relaxed after a quick appraisal letting the testosterone moment go. Jesse clapped Spike on the back as he suggested they get the bags so that everyone could get settled. The girls both had a couple of bags each while Spike only had the one. After they were loaded up with both of them complaining about the weight of their bags they led the way inside.

The house was one of those old Victorians that were all over this city. However, this one looked like it needed some taking care of. The paint was peeling in places outside and inside. As Spike followed Jesse inside an uneasy feeling moved through him again. It seemed like there were kids everywhere in the house. As he glanced into the living room he spotted drugs and paraphernalia piled on a table by the couch. The fragrance was heavy in the air. Jesse led them up the stairs telling them that about six other people were staying for the summer. But a lot more were hanging around the place at any given time.

He stopped in one room and said this was where the girls could stay. After leaving them with their bags he led Spike further down the hall to a room with four beds in it. Each was against a different wall.

“The bed over there isn’t being used. There are some sheets and stuff in the hallway closet. Make yourself at home. When you’re settled come back down.” And with that he turned and left Spike there.

Spike slowly turned around the room taking it in. This was definitely not what he had in mind when he had visualized this stay. He didn’t mind sharing a room but it was like some kind of shelter or worse a flop house. He sighed and threw his bag on the bed and moved out to the hall to find a bathroom. It was practically across the hall which wasn’t a bad thing. After he had relieved himself he found the closet pulling out some clean sheets.

There was a noise from the room he had just left making him turn to look to see who was there. One of the kids from downstairs was in the room. At first Spike couldn’t make out what he was doing but then he realized he was going through his bag.

“Hey, that’s mine.”

The kid turned toward Spike with bloodshot eyes.

“Calm down, man. Just checking to see if you had anything good to share.” Then he laughed as if it was funny to just help himself to other people’s stuff. Spike knew he was looking for drugs. It pissed him off that he had only been here only a few minutes and someone was already trying to steal from him. Not that he had what this kid was looking for.

After throwing the sheets on the bed he pulled the zipper across the bag then picked it up. He didn’t say anything else just made his way back down to the van. He figured that when he needed stuff he would just come down to get it. To always be worrying about shit being stolen would be a downer to whatever was going on. Once the van was securely locked and the keys in his pocket he went in search of the others.

Darla was talking somewhere to the left of the house. Spike followed her voice through a couple of rooms before finding them in the kitchen.

“This dope drove us all the way here based on some kisses. Do you believe it? And get this he’s paid for everything so far.” She laughed as she told her story to Jesse and a couple of the other kids. Spike froze as she started to talk again.

“So, we figure if we just keep stringing him along we have a personal slave for the summer. What are a few kisses and touchy feelys in exchange of being taken care of?”

Drusilla looked up as she felt his stare on her. The others caught on and looked his way too. Darla just laughed and shrugged her shoulders at him.

Whatever he was looking wasn’t here in this house. With these people. They seemed too lost and already a little too dead for him. They had given up hope and innocence. He didn’t want to lose his here. Like this. So, he turned and walked out back toward his van.

“Spike, wait.” Drusilla called out to him as she ran to catch up to him. He waited by the van until she got there.

“I’m sorry that you had to hear that. Darla can be a real bitch sometimes.” She tried to explain away what had happened.

“Sometimes?” He laughed at her comment. Darla was a bitch period. There were other sides to her but she was out to get what she wanted. No matter who got hurt.

Drusilla moved closer to him wrapping her arms around him.

“Stay. For me. We can have fun without her. Like last night.” She purred at him as she moved her body against him.

He took a strand of her long brown hair twirling it around his finger. An hour ago he might have given in to the elusive promise of future sex. But he had come to realize that he wanted more than this. He wanted someone to take care of not someone he had to continually try to keep up with. When he looked in a girl’s eyes he wanted to see wonder not indifference.

But he wasn’t one to deliberately hurt someone.

“Honestly, this isn’t my scene. I’m not going to fit in. Come with me. We can find some fun somewhere else.”

Spike waited as she looked from the house then back to him. With a sigh she shook her head.

“This is me.”

A quick kiss and then she turned to go back into the house. He knew she was as scared of being with him as he was of staying here and becoming like them. It wouldn’t have worked anyway he told himself as he climbed into the van. With a final look at the house he backed out of the drive and took off.

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Chapter 3