Part 7
Author’s Note: Flashbacks
are denoted by brackets [ ].
**************************************
“Alan’s coming?
He can’t be. That’s not possible.”
Lydia fought the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her.
“He’s already on his
way.” Aldric had begun pacing,
running his fingers absently through his sandy hair.
This was characteristic of him when he was working out a problem.
“If he sees you, he’s going to know something’s different.”
“Maybe I can avoid him.”
Lydia knew it was out of the question, but she had to say it.
Aldric shook his head, still pacing.
“He’s coming all the way
from Australia to see you. At least
that’s part of the reason he’s coming.
You can’t not see him, they‘ll know something‘s not right.”
Aldric suddenly stopped pacing, turning to look at his sister, now
desolately staring into her tea cup. “You’ll
have to undo the bonding. It’s
the only solution.” Lydia stared
at him, stunned.
“Impossible.
That can’t be done. Not
without one of us being destroyed.” Aldric
shook his head, gesturing animatedly.
“No, no, no, most
spellcasters think that, but it’s wrong.
There are ways to negate some bonding spells without harming either
party. I’ll need to consult some
of the texts, and I’ll need the spell that you used, but I’m fairly sure it
can be done. At the very least we
can try.”
“No.”
The word was spoken quietly, but firmly.
“I won’t undo the bonding. I
can’t.”
“Lydia, you aren’t
thinking clearly-”
“Spike needs me.
To help with the prayers to the Amagandar.”
“If the vampire really
needed you, then there would be something in the prophecy about you, wouldn’t
you think?” The combination of
exhaustion and agitation fueled Lydia’s fury.
She strode to her brother and slapped him hard, leaving him completely
stunned. Out of reflex he grabbed
her hand to keep her from striking him again.
“Aldric, YOU are the one
whose always telling me that the future is uncertain, that prophecies are not
always complete! You can’t know
that he doesn’t need me.” Tears
began to well up in her soft blue eyes. “I
know he does. I can feel it.
I have to help him save them. I
can’t explain, I j-just know I d-do.” She
dissolved into broken sobs at the end, and Aldric gathered her in his arms.
He sighed in resignation.
“Very well, Lydia.
I won’t mention it again. But
this does leave us with a major problem to solve.”
He sighed again, seeing how completely worn out she was.
“Which we won’t get to the bottom of tonight.
You need to get some rest. I’ll
take the sofa, and we’ll tackle this again in the morning.”
Lydia felt too drained to do
more than nod. *Sleep really is what I need...I just hope Spike doesn’t
attempt the ritual again for a few hours. I‘ll
find a way to deal with Alan tomorrow.*
**************************************
Spike stirred restlessly in
his hiding place in the Magic Box. Tara
had left to walk a sulking Willow to class.
Giles had unfortunately found her in the loft moments after she had come
out of her trance and had subjected her to a twenty minute lecture on forbidden
magicks and their dangers. Willow’s
expression had moved between confusion, shame and annoyance throughout, her
mouth working like a fish, wanting to object but having no idea what to say in
her defense. Spike had found the
entire thing highly entertaining.
With Tara and Xander gone,
and no sign of either of the Summers girls, there was nothing to do but watch
Anya and Giles. That comedic
exercise had lost his interest hours ago. Plus
he found the spell he had used on Willow left him drained and hungry, and the
last bag of blood had only slightly taken the edge off.
The afternoon rush was over and the shop was relatively free of
customers, so he decided that it was time to move on.
There was still the sun to worry about, but the stolen Cloak of Darkness
would protect him better than his usual blanket.
Just a few feet to the sewers and he’d be home free.
Moving stealthily, he
slipped soundlessly by Giles, engaged in an animated discussion about ancient
Babylonian myth with an man who was elderly enough to possibly have known them
firsthand, then by Anya, counting money in the cash register in an almost
ecstatic state. He followed a very
goth-looking wicca on her way to the door.
No one observed that the door remained open a bit longer than normal when
she left.
A few hours later, fed,
rested, and dressed for the party, Spike contemplated his next move.
*Three down, four to go. The
mouse and the whelp will be at the party tonight...and my bloody lame sire’s
going to have to be last, isn’t he? Which
leaves little sis.* Spike had
overheard Giles on the phone agreeing reluctantly to watch Dawn while Joyce and
Buffy were out that night. *So the
Nibblet’s probably at home now...but so is Buffy.
Probably making herself all fancy for tonight, wearing her little robe
while she picks out something to wear, standing before her window parading her
wares for all the world to see...*
Minutes later Spike was
standing under the tree in front of the Summers house, smoking a cigarette with
the Cloak of Darkness still wrapped around him. The sun had nearly set, but he wanted to watch unobserved.
Dawn was chatting vivaciously with her mother in the living room.
Joyce seemed especially edgy, and kept moving about, whereas Dawn seemed
to be highly amused. Spike knew he
could no longer enter the house, but planned to use the spell he had used
earlier to induce the girl to come to him.
He should be watching Dawn closely for an opportunity...but there was
light in Buffy’s window. Despite
all of his best efforts, he couldn’t stop himself from constantly trying to
catch a glimpse of her. He was
startled when Giles seemed to suddenly appear on the porch and almost revealed
his presence.
*Damn, I didn’t even sense
him coming. Got to focus, mate,* he
admonished himself. Joyce had
greeted Giles warmly and they had moved back to the kitchen leaving Dawn alone
at the table, chewing on an pencil as she worked out some math problem.
Spike knew he had to seize this opportunity.
He closed his eyes and focused on Dawn, repeating the simple word in his
head that worked the spell *Gubbaghey... gubbaghey... gubbaghey...*
Maintaining focus, he opened his eyes as Dawn slowly stood and began
moving towards the front door. She
got to the door, took a step out and hesitated.
Spike realized she was resisting the spell and concentrated harder. *gubbaghey ...gubbaghey...*
One step towards him...
*...gubbaghey...gubbaghey...*
Another, she was closer, but
not close enough.
*...gubbaghey...come on,
girl...gubbaghey...*
A few more steps, she was
almost there, he could almost reach-
“Dawn!”
Spike gasped, and his concentration broke.
Dawn whirled to confront the voice.
“Mom?”
Joyce walked over to her daughter and began pulling her back towards the
entrance. Night had fallen, and she
scanned the area for danger.
“What are you doing out
here?” She asked in bewilderment.
Dawn shrugged.
“I guess I needed air, I
just felt like coming outside,” Joyce
didn’t reply, she almost seemed to be listening to something.
Dawn looked at her with a touch of worry.
“Mom, is everything...?
“Everything’s fine,
Dawn. Mr. Giles went up to talk to
Buffy. Go in and finish your
homework, I’ll be in in a minute.” Dawn
grinned.
“You just want to keep an
eye out for your dream date.” Joyce
blushed slightly but smiled indulgently back at her daughter.
“Go on, move it.”
Still smiling widely, Dawn bounced back into the house.
Joyce left the door open, but moved away towards the front of the porch.
She spoke out into the night.
“I know you’re here.
Come out where I can see you.” Spike
reeled and instinctively moved closer to the tree.
*She knows...how can she...* He
hesitated for a long moment, then came to a decision.
Removing the cloak, he moved into the light, looking up at her.
“Hello, Joyce,” he said
evenly, noting that she looked not even remotely surprised that it was him.
“You look quite fetching this evening.”
He thought flattery couldn’t hurt, and actually it was true, she did
look lovely dressed up for her date.
“Spike.”
The iciness in her tone actually made him shiver.
“Why are you here, and what do you want with my girls?”
“Well, you see,
Joyce...“ Spike had known that the question was coming, but was still
struggling to come up with an answer. The
truth was out of the question. *I
came to put a little hex on your youngest so that she won’t die in a couple
days time thus sending your older girl into an emotional spiral that will get
her killed...see, what a good guy I am?* As
he struggled to come up with another explanation, Joyce sighed.
“Oh, Spike.
This has got to stop. I
won’t have you upsetting Buffy and Dawn this way.”
“I don’t know what you
mean,” he lied, looking down at his feet.
He was unable to meet her gaze.
“We both know you do.
Buffy doesn’t want you here, Spike.
And you can’t use Dawn to get to her.
I’m warning you, keep away from my daughters,”
Spike looked up at her, having a sudden flash of memory.
[Spike knew victory was
at hand, and a third Slayer was about to be notched into his belt.
The blonde was done and there was no way for her to escape.
And bonus, this Slayer had a adorable little sister who was crouching
helplessly against the wall, dazed and paralyzed with fright and hoarse from
screaming. She was to be the reward
for his triumph. He knew the shock
and pain of seeing her sister killed before her eyes would make her blood that
much more sweet. Spike raised the
two by four...and flew backward from a sudden blow to the face.
He looked up at the mother lion protecting her cubs.
“You get the hell away
from my daughters!” Joyce spit
out, and Spike knew he was in trouble. He
looked around for reinforcements and saw that the battle was all but lost.
Retreat was in order. Looking
back, he saw Buffy flanking her mother, murder her in eyes, with an equally
pissed off little sister on the other side.
“Women!”
he muttered as he made his escape.]
“You haven’t got an axe,
have you?” Joyce stared at him
for a moment, then completely astounded him by laughing.
It was genuine laughter, and Spike found himself joining in.
After the laughter died down, he cocked his head at her. “This thing
with Buffy, I love her, Joyce, but it has nothing to do with you and me.”
Joyce regarded him sadly.
“The funny thing is,
Spike, I like you. In another time,
another place, maybe if we were both alive, we might have been friends.
But here and now, I have Buffy to think of.
And you say you love her, but you almost got her killed and you’ve
frightened us all badly. You have
to go away, you can’t be around us anymore.”
Spike was surprised at how truly distressing her words were to him.
“No, it doesn’t have to
be that way.”
“Yes, it does.
Spike, when Buffy ran away, I thought I’d lost her.
When she started college, she was still around, but it was like I lost
her again for a while. Now she’s
here, and the crisis with me has past and we’ve gotten so close again.
I won’t do anything to risk my relationship with my daughter, and
she’s clear that she wants you gone. I
know that Dawn is very fond of you, but I won’t let you use her or drive a
wedge between them. If you really
love Buffy, as you say, you will leave us in peace.”
Hearing Buffy and Giles voices approaching as they descended the stairs,
she made a shooing motion with her hands. “Go
now, before Buffy sees you here! Hurry!”
Spike felt numb as he gathered up the Cloak hurriedly and vanished into
the night. Joyce watched him go,
knowing she had done what was necessary, but still feeling guilty somehow. She turned at Buffy’s approach.
“Mom, whatcha looking at?
Is there something out here?” Joyce
smiled back at her daughter nervously.
“There’s nothing.
I’m just keeping an eye out for Brian.”
Buffy smiled indulgently at her mother, but placed a firm hand on her arm
to draw her inside.
“I get it, Mom, but I
think that your date would rather make small talk with the you that still has
all your blood. Inside waiting is
the standard recommendation for Sunnydale dating.
Also, make sure this Brian guy comes into the house before you go without
an invitation so I don’t have to worry, ‘kay?”
“You’re right, honey, of
course.” Joyce allowed herself to
be brought inside, giving one more glimpse into the darkness.
*Goodbye, William. I hope you find some peace.*
Spike stood and watched the
house for a long moment before turning to head for the party.
*Goodbye, Joyce. I will find a way to get to Dawn, and I’ll save both your
daughters. I swear on my love for
Buffy.* He shook his head and
chuckled to himself. *God, I am turning into such a poof.*
**************************************
Lydia stirred restlessly.
Despite her exhaustion, she had only managed a few fitful hours of sleep.
Her mind kept straying to Alan’s impending visit.
Which meant actually thinking about Alan, which was something she had
been trying to avoid doing for some time.
She would have liked to say
that she loved Alan, but it wasn’t true.
When they had first met at Cromwell,
the school where all Watcher families shipped their children for
education, she had been a gawky, impressionable fourteen year old and he had
been eighteen, the head of his class and so attractive and charming.
Like all the girls at school, she had had a major crush on Alan, and had
swooned when he had picked her over girls so much older and prettier.
She thought she would never be happier, but then she discovered the
truth. Alan‘s declarations of
love were a lie. Their relationship
had been arranged behind closed doors between Quentin Travers and her father. Geoffrey Stokes-Martin recognized that Alan Travers would
yield considerable influence, and his ambition led him to promise his only
daughter to the man in exchange for more power.
And Alan went along with the plan. Lydia’s
heart was broken, but she dutifully accepted his proposal seven years later, not
seeing that she had any other choice. She
had never been able to defy her father or the Council.
But secretly, in her heart, Lydia knew she had committed the ultimate sin
against them all. She had fallen in
love with someone else. A vampire.
It happened when she was
doing her thesis. She had
originally decided to study madness and vampires, and had been doing work on
Angelus and Drusilla. Becoming
fascinated by William the Bloody, she shifted gears.
Everyone found her dedication to her studies admirable, never suspecting
that she was enthralled by the stories of this horrible killer.
No one, least of all Alan, ever imagined that when she was kissing her
fiancee she was fantasizing about the vampire.
Only Aldric suspected that she had stronger than normal feelings, but it
was inconceivable to him that they could actually be love.
And then her fantasy had
become reality, and she was now bonded to Spike. She suddenly sat up, anticipating another spell.
Minutes went by, and the feeling went away, replaced by a wave of
sadness.
“No!”
Lydia didn’t realize that she’d cried out until a sleepy Aldric
appeared at her bedside. She took
hold of her and wiped her tears with his palm.
“What is it?
What’s happened?” She shook her head.
“I don’t know, something
wrong. We’re...he’s sad, I
think he lost a friend.” At
Aldric’s look of alarm, she quickly amended.
“Not one of the seven, some other kind of friend, someone we...he cared
about very much. But he’s
determined he’ll win her back.” Aldric’s
face was a mask of gloom.
“It’s already begun.
I‘m losing you.”
**************************************
Part 8
**************************************
“Don‘t be daft.
You‘re not losing me.” Aldric
shook his head bitterly at her dismissive declaration.
“Lydia, I love you, but I
know more than you do about these things. Bonding
spells...they change people, even temporary ones.
This has already gone too far. I
need to see the ritual you used, see if there’s still time to stop this.”
“Aldric, no!
I will not void the bonding. We
need to do this.” This time Lydia
was firm and composed, secure in her own mind that she was right.
“What I am doing, right now, is the most important thing I’ve ever
done. If we never do anything else,
we will have saved these people, and they’re good, decent people who have put
their own lives on the line again and again to save the world from annihilation.
How can you ask us to stop? If
we allow you to break this spell their lives may be forfeit.”
Aldric put his hands over his eyes, knowing he would never be able to
convince his sister to do what he knew was necessary. *Everything she’s worked for, her sanity, her very soul in
the balance...and I can do nothing to stop her.*
**************************************
The Watcher’s Council
Building was dark and quiet and bitterly cold.
This was necessary for storage of many of the antiquities and enchanted
items. There were always some
people about, but at this late hour it was quiet and had the feel of a cavernous
mausoleum, he thought gloomily as he picked up the phone and exchanged brief
pleasantries. This call was risky,
but necessary. Everything was
coming together, but they were at a critical point.
Nothing could go wrong now.
“Has it been taken care
of?” The voice on the phone was
crackling with static and barely audible. It
made him wince. *I hate those airplane phones, give me a headache.*
“Not yet, but soon.”
He had to repeat himself several times, afraid to raise his voice and
risk being heard.
“It had better be soon,
you know what’s at stake.” Despite
the gravity of the situation, he had to smile, albeit grimly.
“No pun intended, I’m
sure.” The man on the plane
sighed. He had often been told he
had no sense of humor, and at times like this he knew that indeed he did not.
Developing a sense of humor was a useless, indulgent enterprise, and he
had no interest in it.
“This is no laughing
matter. Make sure everything is
taken care of before I arrive. No
suspicion must be placed on me, do you understand?”
“Of course.
What about Lydia?” A long pause and static greeted his question, and then the
explosion of an almost shouted reply.
“You said Lydia wasn’t a
problem!”
“She has made no move to
contact either Giles or Buffy Summers, she’s being watched and the phones are
tapped. She‘s made no calls.
But if Aldric is involved, we can’t be certain...”
“If need be,
I’ll handle Lydia. You handle the rest.”
The coldness of his tone seemed to drop the temperature in the room even
further, and the man shivered and swallowed hard.
“What will you do?”
Again a long static-filled pause. “Hello,
are you still there?”
“I’ll do whatever is
necessary. To stop Lydia or anyone
else who gets in the way.”
**************************************
Spike had quickly found that
the stolen Cloak of Darkness was more trouble than it was worth at a college
party. Drunken students kept nearly
bumping into him, and several frat boys had spilled their beer on him already.
He slipped out to the small porch on the side of the Commons and stuffed
the cloak behind one of the potted plants.
Straightening up, he looked around to make sure none of the students had
noticed this or that he had suddenly appeared, and was glad to see that the
porch was deserted.
*This may be a good place to
bring Willow’s girl, or Xander,* he
thought speculatively. It was
fairly secluded, and while not without risk, it was the most private place
he’d found thus far. Glancing
back inside, he saw that Buffy and her friends had just arrived together. Buffy and Willow were greeting some women, obviously chums
from school, and Xander had immediately pulled Anya to him to dance.
He was amazed at his good fortune. Tara
had wandered in his direction, and was admiring some kind of decoration that was
hanging just outside the door. Spike
stole one quick look at the other Scoobies, and when none of them were looking -
“Mmmmph!”
Tara tried to cry out when the hands unexpectedly grabbed her, but the
one over her mouth kept her from making a sound loud enough to be heard over the
party music. The coldness of the hands made panic set in.
*Oh, God, vampire, vampire, oh Willow, Buffy, anybody, help me!!!!*
She was pulled outside and
shoved behind some plants into a corner, and only then did she see who had taken
her. Her expression shifted from
terror to confusion to annoyance and back to less fear.
Spike moved his face close to hers so he could talk to her in a low tone.
“Look, I’m not going to
hurt you, you know that I can’t, right?”
At her quick nod of agreement, he continued, “I just needed to talk to
you, just for a-yeeow!!” The last
came when Tara suddenly bit two of his fingers.
He instinctively pulled his hand from her mouth and she instantly started
to scream. He jammed his hand back
over her mouth before she could manage more than a short shriek.
Spike pressed her further back into the corner while glancing around
wildly to see if anyone had heard. After
a few tense moments, he looked back at her again.
“Don’t do that again, or
I might have to bite you back.” Tara’s
expression showed her contempt for that statement. “Well, I would, if it weren’t for the bloody chip, now
wouldn’t I? Now I’m going to
let you go, promise not to scream again?”
Sudden inspiration struck. “I
need to tell you something, it’s about Willow, and it’s really, really
important.” At the mention of
Willow’s name, Tara nodded vigorously, and Spike released her.
As he reached into his pocket for the crystal, Tara grabbed his other arm
anxiously.
“W-what about Willow?
Is s-something going to h-happen?”
Spike held the Stone of Mnemosyne
in front of her face and she looked at it, puzzled.
“Is Willow-”
“You Will Forget.”
Spike picked up the fourth talisman and placed it on Tara’s forehead,
then pulled the dazed girl into his arms. As
with Willow, he felt power emanating from her, but it was not as vibrant and
strong, more like the pull of a slow flowing river.
It felt oddly peaceful. He
closed his eyes, smelling orchids laced with strawberries, and gathered himself.
Feeling Lydia’s mind had joined him, he took an unneeded breath.
“Oops, dude, sorry!
Didn’t realize this corner was in use!
My bad.” Spike turned his
head to see a boy in an atrocious Hawaiian shirt pulling an obviously tipsy
brunette coed behind him. The
boy’s face was as red as his hair. The
girl was stroking his arm, weaving on her feet.
“Well, damn right it’s
occupied! Find your own corner and
leave us to our business.”
“Keith, leshgo.”
The girl mumbled, pulling at him, and the two headed back inside.
Spike put his face back in Tara’s hair.
*Too close, too close.* He
felt Lydia’s calming presence almost immediately, and as he closed his eyes
again, he could see her face. It
was starting to feel natural to see her, as if she had always been there like
this, another part of himself. They
began to chant the petition as one.
“I beseech you, Amagandar
Protect this innocent soul
From the curse that belongs
to another
Remove the affliction
Restore the life line
I beseech you, Amagandar
Let not this friend be taken
This plea I make with
sincere heart
By my words, let it be
true.”
Spike didn’t know the
witch very well, but that peaceful energy was comforting. *I know they need her, don’t let her die.* The smell of
sage and rosemary once again wafted on the wind, and Spike and Lydia sighed from
different parts of the world. It
was all coming together, and at that moment they felt like nothing could stop
them.
Willow had noticed that Tara
was missing a few minutes ago, and now the Scoobies were searching the party for
her with varying degrees of concern. Xander
and Anya stopped Keith and his girlfriend as they were coming back inside.
“Hey man, we’re missing
a friend, you didn’t see a girl out there about yeah high, dark blonde
ponytail, pretty with big doe eyes?” Anya
glared at Xander’s description.
“Pretty?
You think Tara’s pretty?” When
Xander rolled his eyes at her, she quickly added.
“Of course you do, because she is very...pleasing...I am not
threatened, because you love me.” Xander
had basically ignored this statement because he was waiting on the couple to
answer his question.
“There’s a girl out
there, I’m not sure what color her hair is, she’s making out with some
guy.”
“Thanks, man.” Xander
nodded and stepped aside to let them pass.
“That’s not Tara,
she’s very gay,” Anya piped up loudly, but the couple had already walked
away. Seeing Willow waving
for their attention, Xander took Anya’s arm and dragged her in that direction.
“Any luck?”
Willow asked, real alarm in her voice.
The others shook their heads as Buffy walked up.
“Buffy?”
“It’s a big place,
Will,” Buffy said comfortingly.
“She’s here somewhere, we’ll find her, or she’ll find us.”
Although they were searching the room for any sign of their friend, none
of them saw Spike slip back inside the party.
“Y-you don’t think, a
vampire might have, have grabbed her, because this isn’t somebody’s home,
they wouldn’t have to be invited, this is a common place, it’s called the
Commons, you don’t get more common than that, and she could have been taken,
couldn’t she, I mean she was there one second, and then the next she was gone,
and oh, God, Buffy-”
“Hey, what’s going
on?” At the sound of Tara’s voice and the feel of
the hand on her shoulder, Willow whirled and gathered her girlfriend in
her arms, giving her a very passionate, very public kiss.
Buffy sighed in relief. Seeing
Xander watching their two friends with a glazed expression, she elbowed him in
the ribs.
“Xander, come dance with
me. Before I have to hurt you, or
your girlfriend does.” Xander
tore his eyes away from the kiss to look down at Buffy, then at Anya, both
glaring at him. He gave them a
sheepish grin as Willow released Tara.
“Wow, honey, what-”
Tara began dreamily.
“Tara, where have you
been? We’ve been looking
everywhere, I thought something happened.”
“I was...mingling, and
then I went...outside, I guess I needed air for a second. I didn’t think I was out there that long.”
Tara didn’t actually remember going out on the porch, in fact she
didn’t remember arriving at the party at all.
Thinking about Willow’s strenuous denials about having a reason to go
to the loft in the Magic Box that morning, she began to wonder if something
strange wasn’t going on. *I don’t want to worry Willow about it, though,
she’s already upset. Not until I
know something’s wrong.* She let
Willow bring her to the refreshment table as Xander took Buffy onto the dance
floor. After getting drinks for
Willow and Anya, and studiously avoiding the leers of some of the more drunken
fraternity brothers, they watched Xander dance with the Slayer.
Unseen by them, Spike was watching the same thing, his eyes narrowing.
A short while later, Spike
watched as Buffy coyly approached and flirted with another man, this one the
same one he had seen her talking to at the Bronze. *Looks like another boy like Captain Cardboard.
This one doesn’t even seem that manly.
And what kind of shirt is that? That‘s
just horrible.* The boyish man
walked away, and now Buffy was all alone, waiting.
Vulnerable. Approachable.
Spike hesitated. He knew what would happen if he went over there.
Buffy was really angry with him still about the kidnapping, and that
business with Dru, and she would make sure he knew how furious she was.
The fire would be in her eyes as she told him to stay away.
Her nostrils would flare ever so slightly with distaste.
He closed his eyes, a small shiver of anticipation running through him.
The image of Lydia’s face frowned at him disapprovingly. *This has nothing to do with your prophecy, pet.
Stay out of it!* he thought to her.
He wasn’t sure if she could understand him, but the image went away.
Spike licked his lips and headed over to her.
He watched her for a few moments before stepping up next to her.
She turned and looked at him stonily, with the hatred he had known he
would see.
“Small world.”
Spike smirked. She stared daggers at him, saying nothing. “Oh dear, if
looks could stake. Are you having
fun, pet? Trolling for your next
ex? Gotta say, you could do
better.” *Ah, yes, there’s the
fire, the hatred, God I love you Buffy.*
“I told you I wo-”
“You think I was gonna
leave town? Free country.
Free party.” He reached into a nearby snack bowl nonchalantly.
Maybe he could actually get her to grab him, push him, hit him, touch
him. “You want me to leave you can put your hands on my hot tight little body
and make me.” He popped a piece of the snack in his mouth and chewed, waiting.
*Hmmm, salty.*
“Get away from me.”
Buffy’s spit out the words through teeth clenched as tightly as her
fists. She was maintaining control,
not moving towards him. Oh, well. Another
time. They stared at each other a
moment longer, then Spike inclined his head and moved away from her, enjoying
the knowledge that she would watch him go.
When he looked back, though,
he was disappointed to see that the stupid boy in the stupid shirt had come
back. *Drat. Oh God, is that...his number?
Buffy don’t take it!* He
saw her take the scrap of paper tentatively, he could tell she was nervous but
interested. They talked for a bit
more, then Buffy smiled at the loser. *That’s it then, two can play this,
Slayer. How will you feel when I
hook up with a bird of my own?* He
moved through the crowd hastily, approaching an extremely attractive girl
standing where he knew Buffy would have a good view.
“And who are you, darlin’?”
he asked loudly, looking across the room at Buffy. *Ah, you looked, Buffy, you can’t help yourself.*
The pretty girl looked at him earnestly.
“I’m April.
I’m looking for my fella.” *Quaint
turn of phrase, this is a queer bird. But
she’s certainly pretty enough to make Buffy squirm.*
“Maybe you just found
him,” he answered in his sexiest voice.
“Really?
Where?” Spike leaned in to
her and whispered in her ear.
“Why don’t you let me be
your fella, luv? I’ll kiss you
for days and make your blood boil.”
What happened next was a
blur. The girl pulled away from him
snarling, and grabbed his shirt. His
feet left the ground, he heard her shout something about not being her
boyfriend, and then he was flying through the air. He felt glass shatter as he flew through the window, and
landed hard outside. He winced at
the feel of new cuts on this hands and face.
His hand automatically went to his pocket to make sure his magick
possessions were safe. Assured, he
stood shakily and looked back through the now empty window frame at the girl and
the gaping partygoers behind her.
“Bloody hell!
You threw me through a window!” He
stared at her incredulously. “What’s
that about?”
“You cannot make those
suggestions to me. I have a boyfriend. Warren is my boyfriend.”
Spike began to feel angry. Buffy
had rejected him, this weird girl had thrown him through a window, the Watcher
had somehow gotten stuck in his head. It
was all too much.
“Know what?
My bleedin sympathies to Warren!”
He limped away with the little dignity he had left, heading for his
crypt. *That’s it.
I’m calling it a night. There’s
still two days left to get this bleedin prophecy averted, and I don’t know if
I even care to do it anymore. Like
Buffy deserves to be happy after the way she’s treated...bloody hell!* His mind instantly flooded with the painful images of three
deaths, particularly Dawn’s, and Buffy’s tearstained face.
He was driven to his knees in anguish.
“I’ll save them!
I will! For God’s sake,
stop it!” He cried out into the
night, and the feeling instantly went away.
He took a moment to gather himself, then stood up and traveled the rest
of the way home without exhibiting any emotion at all.
Somehow he knew that half a world away, Lydia was weeping for the both of
them.
**************************************