'A storm in the form of a girl.' For the first time the phrase seemed to make perfect sense in his mind. It was the only sentence that could come close to describing the furious creature lying underneath him with large blazing eyes, flushed cheeks as she pulled harsh pants from her small lungs.

They stared at each other in silence. Buffy tried to speak immediately but couldn't when she felt the strangest sensation in the pit of her stomach. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore it as she started her rambling:

"You just added assault to breaking and entering bleach-boy. I don't know how it works in the Motherland, but in America you can't just go around-"

"What are you talking about?" He cut off her mini-speech, still a bit dazed. "You hit me." He glanced away from her for the first time, eyeing the fallen jug as he continued: "That bloody thing could have killed me. What's wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with *me*? You break into my apartment-"

"Break in? I didn't break in." He insisted.

"Right. Then what do you call walking into a stranger's house uninvited?" She asked sarcastically.

"I was invited."

"By who?"

"By whom, luv." He corrected, rolling his eyes for a second. "Will you Americans ever quit butchering the English language?"

"What? I'm getting grammar lessons from a thief?" Buffy huffed.

"I'm not a thief! I was invited. And as far as I know you're the one breaking in." He countered.

"Of course! Cause everyone knows that the cat suit is totally out of date and the proper outfit for breaking and entering is a single white *towel*." She retorted throwing a sarcastic glance downward to emphasize her lack of clothing.

"Oh." He mumbled eyeing her heaving chest.

"Hey! What are you doing?" She bucked under him trying to divert his attention from her barely covered breasts.

"Sorry, luv." He apologized unconvincingly as he leered at her but not before throwing one last quick glance down south.

There was an awkward silence between them as they stared at one another.

"So... you mind getting off?" She finally asked giving him an annoyed look.

'With you? Anytime.' His mind immediately replied, but instead, he opted for:

"If I let you go, do you promise not to hit me over the head again?"

She nodded, setting her mouth in a straight line.

Slowly, he let go of her arms and placed his hands on either side of her head, raising his body off of hers. Before he could get up, she scrambled out from under him and stumbled to her feet, awkwardly gathering up the towel around her.

With one free hand she batted away the hair that insisted on falling over her face and watched as the stranger slowly stood up.

"Let's try this again. If you're not a burglar, what are you doing here?" She started with both hands clutching the towel closer to her chest.

"Harm let me in." He replied.

"Harm?"

"Yeah. Blonde, about this tall, overly-cheerful, not too bright." He described.

"Harmony?"

"That's what I said."

"Oh! You're boink-boy." Buffy realised, her eyes widening.

"What?" He frowned at that.

"Nothing." She said dismissively shaking her head. "So you're Stick."

"Huh?" He raised his eyebrow and Buffy noticed a long scar running through it.

"Thorn?" She tried but his confused expression remained. "Spear? Um... Pin? Nail?"

"Spike." He cut her off when he finally realised what she was doing.

"Right." She nodded eyeing him. 'So this is Harmony's insatiable sex-toy.' Her eyes wandered enquiringly. 'He doesn't look *that* big to me.' She thought taking in his short stature. Her gaze travelled over his body before settling over his crotch; her attentions being diverted from the conversation taking place.

She shook her head when she realised the silence had gone on a little too long and looked up to find him gawking at her exposed legs.

"Hey!" She protested pulling at the towel so she could cover her thighs and consequentially causing it to come undone at the top. "Ah!" She yelped catching the material just in the nick of time.

She shot him a murderous look when she recognised the expectation on his face.

"Stop looking at me like that." She ordered.

"Like what?" He questioned cocking up his scarred eyebrow once more while his tongue traced his teeth.

"Ugh!" She said disgusted when she looked at him.

"Well, seems only fair since you were eyeing the family jewels just a second ago." He replied with a smug grin.

"Huh?" She muttered with a confused frown over her perfect eyebrows as she continued to struggle with the small towel.

When he shoved his hand into the front pockets of his jeans and thrust his hips forward her eyes widened in realisation:

"Excuse me?!" She started outraged. "I wasn't eyeing any... family jewels." She assured him, shaking her head vehemently.

"Right." He replied unconvinced. "Whatever you say, luv."

Narrowing her eyes at him, she decided to let the subject go; her attentions returning to her state of undress as one hand remained over her chest while the other continued to try and stretch the towel downwards. She let out a frustrated groan when she failed. Huffing noisily she blew her dishevelled hair off her face as she hopped her way to stand behind the couch; finally solving her dilemma.

Raising her chin high, she looked down on him even though she was shorter than him; the couch the only thing separating the two.

"Well, Harmony's not here. And I don't know when she's coming back so-" She started haughtily but he cut her off:

"I know. She just left a few minutes ago. We ran out of Johnny-bags." He said, digging through the pockets of his jeans.

"Huh?" She frowned.

"Condoms, luv. She went to get some." He explained tilting his head sideways as he seemed to have found what he was looking for.

'How gentlemanlike of you.' She was about to reply when she saw the cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" She protested.

The flame from the lighter stopped inches from the cigarette.

"What?" He asked, his gaze leaving the rolled paper to look at her.

"There's no smoking in here."

"Come again, luv?" He questioned once more, letting the Zippo's cap fall back into place and extinguishing the flame.

"You can't smoke in here." She insisted throwing him a threatening glance.

"You're kidding, right." He mumbled; the cigarette hanging off this mouth moving in accordance with his lips.

"No." She said emphatically, hugging the towel against her as she started to move. "And now if you'll excuse me..."

She trailed off, quickly making her way around the couch and across the living room with small and fast steps but came to a halt when he called out:

"Hey, didn't catch your name, luv."

She turned around to face him and she had to stop her eyebrows from furrowing in disgust when she caught him openly staring at her legs. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the strange flip-flopping of her stomach.

"Buffy." She mumbled, turning around almost robotically and practically sprinted out of the room, slamming the bathroom door closed when she reached it.

She leaned on the wood, inhaling sharply, letting her eyelids fall shut. Breathing deeply, she pushed herself off the structure and, before she could stop herself, she had the door half open and was peeking out. It lasted a fraction of a second as her eyes met the stranger's and she once more slammed the door closed.

"Freak." She muttered, walking over to the bathtub and turning on the hot water.

~+~

Spike's gaze remained on the closed door; his mind racing as it replayed what had just happened in the room.

"Buffy..." He mumbled, trying to ignore the way his stomach was flip-flopping at the fresh memory of her scent.

"Spike-y!"

Harmony's sharp voice snapped him out of his daze. Shaking his head, he turned to look at her.

"Hey." He replied unenthusiastically as he eyed the cheerful blonde that had just entered the apartment.

"I've got them." She purred in what sounded like a weird attempt to sound sexy.

"Uh?" For some reason his gaze had returned to the closed door at the end of the corridor.

"The condoms, silly." She explained.

Suddenly, Spike found himself buried in a mountain of blonde hair, strong arms gripping him as Harmony dangled herself off his neck.

"Oh. Great." He replied numbly just before her lips assaulted his.

Slowly, but surely, the image of the tiny blonde wrapped in a towel drifted into the back of his mind as his body reacted to the one attacking his.

He growled and swung her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom.

~+~

"God, yes, God yes!" Harmony's screams carried easily through the wall that separated their rooms.

"Ok, that's it!" Buffy grumbled, suddenly hopping out of bed in a fit of rage. "I gotta get out of here."

She walked over to her closet took out the first couple of shirts she could find and shoved them into a backpack. Next were the socks and underwear and not much else. She slipped into her shoes after throwing on a sweater and the nearest available jeans. In three minutes flat she was dressed and had her bag ready.

She stopped for a second scanning the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

"My purse..." She realised, walking over to her desk and picking it up.

With a loud bang, she slammed the door to her room shut. The thunderous sound stopped Harmony's orgasmic chanting for a whole three seconds before it restarted:

"Don't stop, don't stop... Ah! So good!"

Buffy growled at that, turning the key and locking her door before pounding her way across the hall, living room and exiting the apartment.

~+~

"Buffy? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me mom." Buffy announced tiredly as she dropped her backpack on the floor on her way into the kitchen.

"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming over this weekend." Mrs. Summers wondered, before pausing her dishwashing to kiss her eldest on the cheek.

"I know. I just had to get out of that apartment." She sighed, leaning on the counter while her mother resumed washing the plates.

"Is something wrong with the apartment? I thought you said it was perfect." Mrs. Summers said a bit worried.

"It's fine. There's nothing wrong with the apartment itself. My problem is the roommate from hell." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"H-Harmony, right?" Joyce asked, wiping her hands on the towel and turning to face her daughter.

"Yeah. Her and boink-boy."

"Huh?" Mrs. Summers frowned.

"Nothing. It's fine." Buffy shook her head trying to erase the sudden flash of the bleached man hovering over her. "Nothing I can't handle." Buffy assured her before changing the subject: "Where's Dawn?"

"At Janice's."

"Again? She spends more time over there than here."

"I know. But what can I do..."

"Tell her she can't." Buffy widened her eyes at the obvious resolution to the problem.

"Oh, Buffy. Stop picking on your sister. You used to sleep over at Willow's all the time when you were her age." Joyce countered, coming to hug her daughter. "Now tell me, how's college?"

"Painfully incomprehensible?" Buffy offered with a desperate frown which earned her a chuckle from her mother as the two walked into the living room and sat on the couch.

"It can't be that bad, honey."

"Trust me. It is. Every time I walk into a classroom I feel like my IQ just dropped 20 points." She mumbled.

"That's normal. You just have to relax and take the time to adjust to the new environment." Joyce offered.

"I can't relax! That's the point. Not with Harmony around." Buffy sighed once more. "She's either listening to loud music, or singing in the shower, or eating my food..." She trailed off as the anger started to build in her. "I left Willow's cup-a-soup in the cupboard. You can bet it's gonna be gone by Monday."

"Willow brought you cup-a-soup?"

"Yeah, I was kinda sick this week."

Mrs. Summers' facial expression showed immediate concern.

"You were sick? Honey, are you alright?" Her hand instinctively went for her daughter's forehead.

"I'm fine, mom." Buffy assured her, rolling her eyes when her mother's lips replaced her hand on her forehead. "I didn't even get a fever. I'm fine." At Mrs. Summers' sceptical glance she added: "Really!"

"You have to be careful, honey. I told you that you should take your thicker sweaters with you."

"I will. Don't worry." Buffy mumbled with a half-smile tugging at the corners of her lips. It was good to be home and having her mother pampering her.

"Now, about this problem with Harmony ... have you tried talking to her about it?"

"How?!" Buffy exclaimed. "Either she's out partying or she's eternally getting ready for going out and using up all the hot water in the process."

As she spoke she felt her blood start to boil; the memories of only one week of hell flooding her mind. She cringed at the prospect of a whole year of that torture. Buffy exhaled sharply and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You have to find a way to sit her down and solve this." Joyce insisted.

"I know... I'll do that." She paused. "On Monday." She added, leaning in to rest her head on her mother's lap. "Now all I want to do is sleep."

"Poor thing." Mrs Summer's mumbled, running her fingers through her daughter's locks.

~+~

The weekend flew by and soon Buffy found herself at the entrance to her apartment once again, with her backpack, her purse and one larger handbag filled with winter clothes. With a sigh, she fit the key into the lock and opened the door.

"Harmony?" She called out, stumbling over the amount of bags she carried. "Good, she's not home." She glanced at her watch. It read ten pm. "Probably out partying." Buffy reasoned, kicking the door closed with her heel and entering the apartment.

She made her way into her bedroom, dropping her things before she headed for the bathroom and turned on the hot water.

After a quick shower, she was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, towel wrapped around her chest, brushing her hair as she blow-dried it. When she was done, she returned to her room, put on of her nightgown and slipped between the sheets, silently praying for a peaceful night of sleep.

Two hours later...

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"More! More! More! Oh, Spike!"

"I'm gonna kill her." She growled before covering her head with her pillow.

Chapter 6

Her nose instinctively wrinkled up as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the shutters. Buffy tried to ignore them, curling up her body in the small corner of the bed that was still shielded in the shadows but soon it too was flooded with bright strings of light and she was forced to wake.

'I hate Monday's.' She thought. 'Thank God, I don't have morning classes!'

She moved slowly under the covers, letting the soft fabric caress her legs and thighs while she stretched out the upper part of her body. Squinting a couple of times, she forced her eyes to open. Rolling her neck which, for the first time in a week, wasn't sore, she stood up and slid her feet into her slippers making her way into the bathroom.

After going through her morning routine she stepped back into the hall and was surprised when she heard the TV.

'Harmony is up at 10 am? That's a first.' She thought with a frown, dragging her feet across the corridor while her hand scratched her head through the thick and unruly bundle of hair.

She froze in place; hand still on her head when she met a man sprawled on the couch, the remote resting on his t-shirt-clad chest.

"Morning, luv." He greeted, his eyes only leaving the TV screen for a second before returning.

'Right. Boink-boy is here. Great!' Her mind grumbled sarcastically while her lips mumbled her groggy: "Morning."

"Like the look." He half-mocked, pointing at her dishevelled hair.

Buffy felt the blood rush to her face, her hand instinctively dropping from her head as she quickly made her way across the room and behind the kitchenette counter.

"Though the towel look suits you better." She heard him add.

She tried to think about a smart comeback but the instant odd combination of embarrassment and disgust interfered with the task. So, she simply ignored him and opened one of the cupboards, staring at its contents for a few seconds, searching for something in particular.

'Where's my cup-a-soup?' Her mind wondered as she scanned the rest of the cabinets and found no trace of it. 'I knew it. She ate it!' She groaned inwardly. 'We really gotta have a talk once she-' She stopped her train of thought when she saw the familiar cup open and laying on the coffee table - the coffee table where boink-boy had his army-boot-clad-feet propped up on. 'He ate my cup-a-soup?!' Her mind screamed.

She was about to say something, but swallowed it down and silently counted to ten. When she was done, she continued to search the kitchenette for food other than Harmony's bags of chips and peanuts.

'She eats all my food and leaves me with her half-eaten bags of chips. Perfect.'

After a few minutes she gave up on the frustrating search and sat down on one of the stools, reluctantly munching on some chips. The only sounds in the room came either from her mouth or the TV. Her eyes drifted towards the couch where all she could see of the stranger were his feet - still up on the table next to *her* cup-a-soup - and his right elbow peeking out.

She frowned when her attention was caught by the program showing on the TV.

'Is that 'Passions'?! Harmony's bleached-wonder watches Passions? Oh, that's priceless.' She couldn't help but giggle.

"You say something, luv?" A deep, hoarse voice came from couch.

"Nope. Nothing." She shook her head, standing up and walking over to the couch.

She paused next to the armrest, hesitating on whether to sit down on the armchair of not.

'Nah. Better not. The silence would just be too weird.' She decided, starting back to her room.

~+~

Buffy killed time until her lunch appointment with Willow and Xander by lying on her bed, staring up at her ceiling as she waited for boink-boy to free up the living room or for Harmony to wake up. Neither of the options seemed to be bound to happen anytime soon.

"Bored... bored... bored." She mumbled as she wondered what to do next.

She could always go those chapters Professor Adam had asked them to read.

'Nah. I only have that class on Wednesday.' She decided.

Ten more minutes passed and she was growing increasingly bored.

"I need some TV." She said out loud, jumping off the bed and walking over to her door. Turning the knob she opened it and entered the hall. She moved closer to the living room, taking a quick peek before hiding back in the shadows.

'Yep, freak-boy's still there.' She thought. 'I can't even watch TV in my own apartment. Life sucks.' Resentfully she walked back into her bedroom.

~+~

"So I had to stay like two whole hours locked in my bedroom, because the bleached-wonder decided to slack on my couch while Harmony snoozed away." Buffy complained yet again to her best friend. "Eventually, five minutes before I had to leave to meet you here, he finally got tired of watching TV and went back into her bedroom." She drew a long breath before adding: "I hate my life. God, I wish I was living in the dorms with you."

Willow tilted her head sideways and she gave her a sympathetic look.

"Speaking of dorms, how's your roommate? Is she cool, or has she revealed herself to be Harmony-part-two?"

"No. Tara's really cool." Willow said excitedly.

"Lucky you." Buffy moaned using her fork to shovel her food around in her plate.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm probably paying for doing something really awful in a past life." Buffy reasoned unenthusiastically. "Maybe I was Jack, the Ripper."

Willow couldn't help but smile at that when someone in the distance caught her attention.

"Xander's here." She noted looking over Buffy's shoulder.

"Hey, guys." The young man greeted pulling out a chair to sit around the small table.

"You're late." Buffy grumbled.

"And you're in a such a lovely mood today." Xander remarked sarcastically. "What's up with the Buffster?" He asked turning to look at Willow.

"Harmony." Was her short reply.

"Oh. You're excused then." Xander reconsidered. "Sorry I'm late. I got held up at the construction site."

"You're really going through with the whole construction business. Aren't you?" Buffy wondered.

"Yep. No turning back now. I'm going to be a responsible, money-earning adult from now on. No more slacking." He announced, raising his chin proudly and filling his chest with air only to deflate it seconds later as he added: "I have to. I can't live in my parents' basement anymore. Anya says she needs a strong, independent man. Plus, she hates the fact that she can't make any noise while my parents are home, which basically equals no sex." He explained.

"Well, good luck."

"Thanks." He smiled signalling the waiter who quickly came over. "I'll have the day's special and a coke."

With a nod the waiter parted.

"So, how's Harmony making your life miserable now?" He questioned.

"By existing in the near vicinity of me?" Buffy offered with a forced smile that crumbled a second later.

"Good one."

"Thanks." Buffy mumbled. "Problem is she brought back-up."

"Huh?" Xander frowned.

"She's got a..." Buffy paused wondering what word to use next and settled for: "boyfriend now and she keeps bringing him over. I mean, he practically sleeps there. No! Correction, he doesn't sleep and neither do I." She grumbled, dropping her fork and giving up on eating the food as she leaned back on the chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

Confused, Xander turned to Willow for an explanation.

"They have sex." As the boy continued to frown she added: "Very loud sex."

"Oh." He finally realised.

"Yeah. And if that's not enough, now I have another freeloader gobbling up *my* food. Willow, he ate my cup-a-soup!"

"The one I brought you?"

"Yes." She pouted.

"Don't worry; I'll buy you a new one." Willow replied earning a half smile from the blonde sitting across from her.

"Let's just change the subject, please." Buffy asked, rubbing her temples.

"So, are you going out with Parker again?"

"Who's Parker?" Xander questioned but was promptly ignored by the two girls as they seemed to enter total-girly mode.

"Yes. He asked me to go with him to a frat party." She replied a bit shy.

"The one on Friday?" Willow wondered.

"Who's Parker?" Xander repeated.

"Yeah. You going?"

"I don't know. I'll ask Tara if she wants to tag along."

"Cool." Buffy smiled widely.

"Ok. I'll try this one more time... Who's Parker?"

"Oh! Xander, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you." Buffy apologized. "He's this nice guy I met at the library."

"Library, huh?" He wondered.

"She already went out on a date with him. Coffee. On Friday." Willow added.

"Coffee, on Friday. You're back in the dating game, Buffster?" Xander questioned a bit concerned, remembering how painfully Buffy's last experience had ended.

"I guess so." She replied hesitantly.

"Well, good for you!"

"Thanks, Xander. Are you and Anya coming to the party?"

"Doubt it. My parents are going to be out for the weekend. I'm pretty sure Anya and I are gonna wanna enjoy the parent free zone back home." He explained.

"You're parents are going out for the weekend?" Willow frowned, knowing the Harris's well enough.

"Aunt Vivian is sick, my mom wants to visit her and she's dragging my father along because she doesn't want to take the bus to San Francisco."

"Oh. Too bad then. I hear that the party is going to be amazing." Willow tried to convince her friend.

"Well, I'll just have to settle for hot-monkey sex with my girlfriend and having lots of orgasms." He said before frowning and adding: "I'm spending too much time with Anya, aren't I?"

"Yes!" The two girls replied in unison.

~+~

Buffy frowned when she opened the door to her apartment and the scent of paint assaulted her nose.

"Harmony?" She called out.

"In here." The reply came from the bedroom.

There were newspapers spread all over the floor going from the kitchen to hall an into Harmony's room.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked, cautiously walking over the old paper.

"Painting my room." Was Harmony's ever cheerful reply.

Buffy gasped when she reached the bedroom door and the pink practically jumped off the walls to attack her, forcing her to blink a couple of times. When that didn't seem to dull the ache, she rubbed her eyelids and once again opened them to be assaulted by the colour.

"Do you like it?"

'No! Get it off! Get it off!' The unrefined part of Buffy's brain shouted, but as it filtered through the rest of her socially groomed mind the sentence came out of her lips in one short and uncertain mumble: "It's bright!"

"I know! Isn't it the coolest?" Harmony asked giddily as she continued to roll the paint on one of the walls.

"I-It's really... bright." It was the only socially acceptable adjective that came to mind even though the ones at the top of her list were 'God awful', 'nauseating', 'revolting', 'hideous' and 'painful'. Yes, painful was definitely number one on that list. She was starting to develop a headache just from looking at the colour.

"You said that already." Harmony rolled her eyes as she gingerly continued to paint the rest of the wall.

"Well... it is..." She paused. 'God, this is horrible. Well, on the bright side it might scare boink-boy away. Yay! I'll actually be able to sleep in peace.'

Harmony covered the last inch of white on the wall and stood back to admire her handiwork.

She was definitely not meant to be a painter. Buffy could discern the uneven coats of paint which caused the various walls to have different tonalities of the same colour. Plus, she could identify a series of erratic strokes spread over the surface. Some were diagonal, others vertical and some horizontal. If you added the small spots in the corners where there was still a bit of white peeking out, the room was a painter's nightmare.

"Isn't it great?" Harmony asked with a huge grin.

"It's... um... original." She hesitated.

"Spike's gonna love this." She giggled.

"Yeah, I'm sure he will..." She trailed off. 'Thank God! I'm going to get rid of boink-boy.'

For some strange reason, maybe because of the thrill of knowing she wasn't going to have anymore sleepless nights over Harmony's sex life, she started to actually come to like the new look of the ex-cheerleader's room, scanning it with still squinting eyes.

Only then did she notice that every single piece of furniture was covered in newspaper.

'At least she was smart enough to cover the furniture.' Buffy wondered mentally as she stepped into the room.

She walked around, finding even more jagged strokes on the wall. She frowned when she saw a bit of white peeking out from behind her bed.

"Um... Harmony?"

"Yeah?" She replied with a big smile as she stared up at the walls.

"Did you move the bed so you could paint behind the headboard?"

"Of course not, silly." Harmony replied absentmindedly.

"Huh?" Buffy frowned confused.

"Why would I? I'm not planning on moving the bed, or the desk, so there is no need to paint the walls behind them. What did you think? That I was stupid or something?" Harmony rolled her eyes at Buffy and looked up. "Now I just have to figure out how I'm gonna paint the ceiling."

Buffy was still a bit stunned by the blonde's logic as she watched her roommate crawl up onto her desk. The material screeched a little under the sudden burden.

"Harmony...? I don't think the desk can hold you."

"Of course it can. Now pass me the paint roller."

Reluctantly, Buffy bent down and picked up the roller and the can of paint, passing them to Harmony.

She watched as the ex-cheerleader rose on the tip of her toes, her tongue jutting out the corner of her mouth at the effort to reach for the ceiling and roll on the paint on the surface.

"See, it's easy. Now all I have to do is move the desk around and paint the whole thing." Harmony rationalized just as a drop of paint fell on her face. "Ah!" She screamed. "I can't see. Buffy, I can't-"

"Stop, moving you're going to fall off-" Just as Buffy was warning her, Harmony stumbled and came tumbling down.

Reacting on pure instinct, Buffy ran across the room, just in time to have Harmony fall on top her and bring them both plummeting down to the floor.

"Ouch!" Harmony protested, still holding the paint roller in her right hand.

"Harmony..." It came out as a weak whisper. A gasp, really.

"Buffy?" She questioned when she opened her eyes and saw her roommate crushed under her.

"I can't breathe." Buffy managed to exhale.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Harmony quickly rolled off the smaller blonde and in the process managed to splatter paint over Buffy's sweater, but the cheerleader seemed completely unaware of it as she knelt down next to her. "Are you ok? Oh, my God! You just like... saved me! I can't believe it." She half-shouted hysterically while Buffy's painful attempt to prop herself up on her elbows brought on a coughing fit as her lungs were suddenly refilled with air. "Oh, my God! Thank you so much!"

"You're... *cough, cough*... wel...*cough*" Buffy tried to speak as she sat up but a piercing pain cause her to freeze. "Ah!" She mewled holding onto the side of her ribcage.

"Are you ok?" Harmony asked worried.

"I'm...*cough*...fine."

"Are you sure? We better get you to a hospital or something. Come on." As she spoke Harmony wrapped her arm around Buffy's and was pulling her up. "I can ask Spike to drive-"

"No!" Buffy immediately halted her, still sitting on the floor while Harmony was halfway up onto her feet.

"Huh?"

"I don't need to go to the hospital. I'm fine."

"But you could have a broken rib. We have to know, come on." Harmony insisted, pulling at her arm once more.

"No!" Buffy repeated, this time with more emphasis causing the ex-cheerleader to drop her arm.

"Why not?"

"I told you. I'm fine." Buffy insisted, stumbling to her feet and biting back a moan in the process.

"You sure don't look fine to me."

"Well, I am." Buffy snapped back.

"Fine. It's your rib." Harmony shrugged.

The two stood in the middle of the room, with Harmony eyeing the shorter blonde and Buffy nursing her sore ribcage.

"Are you sure?" Harmony insisted one last time.

Buffy looked up at her. She was genuinely worried. Who would have thought, Harmony could care for anyone other than herself.

"I'm fine." Buffy replied calmly.

Harmony's eyes narrowed at her and she tilted her head.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"You're afraid to go to the hospital."

"No, I'm not!" Buffy's answer came all too quickly.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not. Now can we just go back to painting your room? And try not to fall on me again."

"Whatever." Harmony huffed giving up.

Chapter 7

One hour later the two blondes were standing once again in the middle of the now completely pink room, with the exception of the small portions of wall covered by the furniture. Of course.

"We did it." Harmony announced.

"Yeah, and we only got our clothes completely ruined in the process." Buffy half-mocked with a smile as she looked down at her jeans and jumper.

"It was worth it. Plus, this sweater is so last year." Harmony noted, looking down on herself.

"Well, we better take a shower." Buffy proposed as she began walking out of the room.

"You go first."

Buffy froze.

"Huh?" 'Harmony is offering me to go take a shower first?

"Yeah, I wanna stand here and watch the walls for a while."

"O-Ok." Buffy hesitated but eventually left the room.

After four hours the girls were bathed, dressed in their pyjamas and were sitting on the couch munching on Harmony's chips as they watched a rented movie.

"Oh, God I just love this movie." Harmony sighed, bringing the Kleenex to her nose and blowing it as the tears continued to fall.

Buffy just looked at her sideways as Celine Dion's voice began to soar while the credits rolled. After much convincing, Buffy had accepted to rent Titanic and actually watch it for the umpteenth time.

"Jack so didn't deserve to die." Harmony pouted before taking a hand full of chips and popping them into her mouth.

Buffy shook her head and smiled. She tried to move only to realise that her legs had gone numb from sitting for three straight hours. Sighing, she settled down and waited for it to pass.

"I mean, that fat cow could have just shared the stupid door. You know, ten minutes for one, ten minutes for the other. *sniff* Stupid fat cow. Poor Leo!" And a new onslaught of tears tumbled from her already bloodshot eyes.

Buffy was about to comment something when a yawn interrupted her.

"We better get to bed." Buffy realised, when she looked at her wristwatch and it read 1 am.

"You're right." Harmony sighed getting up and following the shorter blonde.

When they reached the entrance to Harmony's room, the strong scent of fresh paint assaulted their noses.

"You can't sleep here tonight. You're gonna suffocate."

"But I wanna sleep in my pink room." Harmony pouted.

"You can sleep here tomorrow. Tonight you better bunk with me." The words were out of Buffy's mouth before she could stop them.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. My bed's pretty big. It's queen-sized."

"Ok." Harmony agreed a bit reluctantly as she stared back at the door to her bedroom.

After brushing their teeth the two went into Buffy's room.

"Which side do you want?" Buffy asked when their reached her bed.

"Whatever."

"Well, I have classes early tomorrow morning so I better take this one and you take the side that is up against the wall, ok?"

"Sure."

The two climbed into bed and slid under the covers.

"Goodnight." Buffy said.

"Night."

Ten minutes later, just as Buffy was about to fall asleep...

"Buffy? Are you awake?"

"Yeah..." She mumbled.

"You're not gay or anything, are you?"

Buffy froze for a second and then a smile took over her lips.

"No, Harmony. I'm not gay. You're safe."

"Good. Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight." Buffy sighed.

She would have never guessed it but Harmony could actually become someone she could stand and even get along with. She was actually sweet and-

A strange sound coming from behind her cut off her thoughts. Buffy frowned and a second later the sound was heard again. This time it was perfectly recognisable.

'Great. She snores. Perfect.' Buffy rolled her eyes and cursed the gods for one more sleepless night.

~+~

"So, are you nervous about tonight?" Willow asked from the other side of the line.

"A bit." She admitted, smiling as she twirled the phone cord between her fingers.

"When is he going to pick you up?"

"In about an hour." Buffy tried to repress a giggle. She was just so nervous. It was her first official date since... She shook her head and pushed back the memory that made her stomach twist. "Are you and Tara coming? It's about time I meet you're mysterious roommate."

There was a moment of silence from the other side.

"Willow? You still there?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm here." Willow's awkward voice was heard. "I was just... distracted."

"Oh." Buffy frowned a bit, but dismissed the occurrence and repeated: "So are you?"

"Am I what?" Willow still seemed a bit rattled.

"Go to the party."

"Oh. Right, the party. Um... N-no, I don't think so. Tara's got this major assignment to do for Monday."

"But she's got the whole weekend. Come on, she's allowed to have some fun. It's Friday. Plus, I'm really curious to meet her. Every time we go out for coffee she never comes with you."

"Well... S-she's busy, you know."

"Okay. If you say so." Buffy agreed reluctantly. "I really wish you'd be there."

"Yeah, me to."

"So why don't you come." Buffy proposed cheerfully.

"I-I don't know anyone there."

"You know me."

"You'll be with Parker." Willow pointed out.

"Yeah, but I can still be with you to." Buffy insisted.

"Don't worry about me. I can go to other parties."

Buffy heard a sound in the background over the line.

"Well, I better leave you to get dressed." Willow spoke.

"Yeah, right. Bye, Willow."

"Call me later to dish?"

"You bet on it."

"Night, Buffy."

"Night."

She set down the receiver and let out a deep sigh as her eyes drifted toward the series of outfits she had carefully lined up on the bed.

~+~

An hour and a half later the doorbell rang.

"Oh, my God. He's here." Buffy jumped and hopped out of her room, one shoe in hand the other on her left foot. "What do I do? Do I ask him up?"

Scanning the living room she found Harmony's wet towel flung over the armchair, a bunch of glasses on the stained coffee table and...

'Are those socks or underwear?' Buffy wondered eyeing the mysterious item on the floor near the couch as she put her other shoe on and picked up her purse. 'I don't want to know.' Buffy decided.

"That's it. The apartment tour is officially being postponed for another day."

Glancing at the sink stoked up with dirty pots, pans and dishes, she added:

"A day in which it doesn't look like a bomb fell in our kitchen." Buffy muttered before pressing the button on the speaker: "I'm coming." She announced and waited for an answer.

There was silence on the other side.

"Hello? Parker? Are you-"

RING!

She jumped back when the doorbell rang again and she realised whoever was buzzing was on the other side of the door and not at the entrance of the building.

RING!

Before she could peek through the peephole the recognisable rattling of keys was heard and the door was open.

"Buffy. You're home. Why didn't you answer?" Harmony asked walking into the apartment carrying two large plastic bags with Chinese symbols marked in red.

'Probably take-out. Figures.' Buffy rolled her eyes inwardly as she watched her roommate place the bags on the counter before walking over to her bedroom.

"I was getting dressed." Buffy replied as she was about to close the door but it came to an abrupt halt.

With a frown she turned around and was greeted by the bleached blonde, clad in black from head to toe and sporting a long duster.

"Forgot about me." Spike said stepping into the apartment.

"How could I?" Buffy asked sarcastically between clenched teeth.

He stood in front of her and eyed her from head to toe. Awkwardly, Buffy hesitated between covering herself and standing her ground. She opted for the latter and added a raised chin into the mix plus an arched eyebrow.

"Going out, pet?" He asked, his eyes lingering on the cleavage the halter top had enhanced.

"Yes." She replied sternly and a little annoyed, staring him down. "And please don't call me that."

His response was to simply continue to eye her and she eventually gave up and discretely crossed her arms over her chest. A smirk pulled his lips to one side as his gaze drifted from her now covered chest to her eyes.

"Spike! Come here. You have to see my room." Harmony's called from her bedroom.

"Comin', luv." He replied, his eyes lingering on Buffy for one last second before he turned and left.

"Yes, please go, get freaked out and blinded and then leave." Buffy muttered quietly under her breath as she waited for a reaction.

"So, what do you think?" She heard Harmony question from her bedroom.

"Well, doesn't much matter once the lights are down, now does it?" He practically purred and a high-pitch squeak was quickly preceded by the dull sound of two bodies falling onto a squeaking mattress.

"Oh, for Christ sake!" Buffy gasped, rolling her eyes as Harmony's giggles carried through the open door into the living room.

Thankfully, there was a knock on the door at that exact moment.

"Parker! My lifesaver." Buffy gasped.

Turning around she opened the door.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey." Buffy replied shyly.

"Hope you don't mind. The door downstairs was left open so I came up."

"No, i-it's ok." She stuttered.

"You look nice." Parker complimented.

She instantly blushed and was about to reply when Harmony's voice interrupted her:

"Hi. Parker, right?"

Parker's gaze hovered just over Buffy's shoulder as he nodded.

Buffy turned around to find Harmony and Spike coming from the hall.

"This is Spike." She introduced and the two men shook hands.

Buffy frowned when she noted Spike's slightly furrowed brow as he seemed to reluctantly shake Parker's hand. Did they know each other?

"So you guys going out? Where to?" Harmony asked.

'Somewhere far away where I don't have to listen to you two boink like two bunnies in heat?' Buffy's mind offered, but her mouth settled for: "To a frat party."

"Oh, the one on Alpha Delta Omega?"

"Alpha Gamma Omega." Parker corrected.

"Whatever." Harmony shrugged. "Well, have fun!" She smiled widely and waved.

"We will." Buffy forced a grin on her lips.

Glad to finally be leaving, she turned around, turned the knob and left the apartment closely followed by Parker.

"Bye." Parker waved. "Nice to meet you."

Spike's reply was a simple nod as he continued to stare fixedly at the departing young man.

"I guess we have the apartment all to ourselves." Harmony leered, wrapping her arms around Spike's shoulders and pressing her body against his.

But his attention seemed to be elsewhere; his eyes lingering on the now closed door.

"Spikey?" Harmony questioned.

"Huh?" He shook his head and looked down at the blonde hanging from his neck.

"I said we now have the apartment all to ourselves, don't we?"

"Yeah, yeah we do." He replied as he tried to focus his attention on the blonde in front of him.

"So, what are we gonna do?" She grinned mischievously up at him.

~+~

"Sorry about that." Buffy said as the two entered the car.

"About what?" Parker asked.

"The apartment was a mess and Harmony and boink-boy." At Parker's frown she explained: "Spike."

"Oh, it's ok."

"He's just kind of a Neanderthal that way."

Parker smiled.

"Do you know him?" Buffy asked as the car started moving.

"No. Why?" He answered.

"He just looked at you like he was trying to place you, or something."

"Well, I don't remember seeing him. And I'm pretty sure I would, you know, with the bleached hair and the out-to-murder-you outfit." He retorted with a smile.

"I guess so." She smiled back at him as they continued to drive away.

~+~

Within 10 minutes they were at the frat party.

The house was packed with beer-loving men and clad-in-nothing women, with a live band playing in the background.

"Wow, so this is what a frat party looks like." Buffy observed, scanning the crowd.

"Cool, huh?" Parker asked, while Buffy's eyes lingered for a moment on a major make-out scene performed by two girls while a small group of guys circled around them and cheered on, ignoring the boy passed out on the floor, in the middle of the living room.

"Yeah." Buffy said a little hesitantly and Parker noticed.

"If you don't feel comfortable we can just leave." He offered with a sweet smile.

"No, no, I'm fine." She insisted, putting on a wide grin.

"Ok. Let me just go say hi to some of the guys and I'll be right back. Ok?"

"Ok." Buffy replied.

"Be right back." He reassured her once more.

Buffy stood back, observing the crowd. Five minutes later...

"Hey. Sorry it took so long." Parker said a bit breathless as he pushed through the mob to reach her.

"It's ok."

"There's this quiet place over at the office, if you want to be more comfortable." Parker offered.

"Ok." She agreed, letting him take her hand and lead her away.

They reached a more secluded part of the house. It looked like a small library or an office, with two or three stands filled with books lining the walls. There were just a few people in the room, hanging around, talking.

"There." He pointed toward an empty couch.

They walked over and sat down on the leather.

"Much better." Buffy said as the music from the other room drifted softly into the room making it possible to talk without shouting.

"I thought you'd like it." Parker smiled. "So, tell me all about yourself, Buffy Summers." He started up the conversation.

~+~

An hour later they still sat in the same couch, deep in conversation.

"It was really hard... losing my father." Parker spoke gravely. "And the fact that we had so many things to say to each other but never really did, just makes it harder, you know?"

"I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like losing a parent. I couldn't even think about it all throughout the summer... because if I did I-I would just break down..." Buffy swallowed hard at the memory. "A-and I couldn't. I had to be there... for Dawn." Her gaze dropped to an unfocussed spot on her lap.

She closed her eyes when she felt his hand cup her cheek and leaned into his touch.

"It's ok, Buffy. Just let it all out."

"I'm sorry." She sniffed, shaking her head lightly and brushing away the tears that threatened to fall. "I mean, you lost you're father and I'm here-"

"Shhh..." He soothed her. "Don't worry about it." He insisted.

She inhaled deeply and murmured:

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." He whispered back.

Slowly, they leaned closer to each other until their lips met and they kissed. His other hand came up so he was holding her face as the kiss grew deeper and more demanding. After a few seconds they parted, breathless.

Buffy's eyes were wide in a mixture of excitement and fear. 'What are you doing? What are you doing?' Her mind shouted at her. 'This is not you. You don't-'

"Do you wanna go somewhere? B-back to my place?" Parker's question cut off her reasoning.

'No!' The part of her brain that remembered the bruises from the past shouted at her. 'You're gonna get hurt again.' But before she could process all the conflicting emotions going on in her mind she heard herself whisper:

"Yes"

Without another word, he took her by the hand. The two exited the secluded office and were making their way through the crowded living room when:

"Buffy!"

She froze when she recognised the voice. Instinctively, she turned around to meet an overly cheerful Harmony with the ever black-clad Spike at her side.

"Harmony?" Buffy questioned with a frown.

Chapter 8

"Harmony? What are you doing here?" Buffy asked a bit irritated as the initial shock faded.

"Spike wanted to-" The ex-cheerleader started but was quickly cut off by the bleached Brit:

"You're mum called."

"My mom?" Buffy frowned reaching for her purse. "Why would she call at the apartment if I have my cell phone-" She stopped in mid sentence when she failed to find the device and looked up to find it dangling between Spike's fingers. "Give me that." She mumbled, snatching it from his hand. "When did she call? What did she say? Is she ok?" Her mouth quickly fired the sequence of questions while her eyes and fingers remained focused on the cell phone as she punched in the keys.

'Is she gonna be ok? C-can it... come back?' Her own voice echoed in her head while she continued to struggle with the phone; the music in the background going suddenly silent in the depths of her mind and being replaced by the doctor's monotonic voice:

'With diseases like cancer we can never say there is a definite cure. We are very confident that we removed the entire area that was affected by the tumour with a relatively large safety area...'

Buffy shook her head and forced herself out of her trance. Harmony's distant voice filtered in along with the banging beat and sharp guitar strings:

"I don't know. Spike was the one who talked to her." She shouted her reply.

Buffy's eyes drifted from her cell phone to Spike. There was a questioning look on his face, made evident by the slight frown that marred his eyebrows.

"She's fine." His voice was calm and strangely reassuring. Maybe it was the way he tilted his head as he spoke, or the way his eyes slightly narrowed, she didn't know, but it made her relax her shoulders and breathe out the air that seemed to be trapped in her lungs for the last minute. "She just wanted to know if you were coming home for the weekend." He continued.

It was amazing how, even without shouting, his voice broke its way through the loud music and chatter that filled the room.

Buffy simply nodded.

"I better check. Just to make sure." She said before turning around to face Parker. "Be back in a minute."

He nodded and watched her exiting the room. Parker's eyes left her parting form as she was swallowed up by the crowd and returned to the blonde couple standing next to him. For a fleeting second his eyes met Spike's, but the brown-haired boy quickly diverted his gaze to the cheerful girl at his side.

The three stood in the middle of the room, awkwardly eyeing their surroundings.

"So..." Harmony started, completely oblivious to the tension between the two men. "Decided on a major yet?"

~+~

"Hello? Mom? It's me, Buffy. Are you ok? You called me." Buffy couldn't stop the questions tumbling from her lips.

"Buffy? Is that you? I can hardly hear you. Where are you?" Joyce's voice was heard from the other side of the line.

"I'm at a party." She explained kicking a pebble off the grass as she walked away from the loud building, even so, the music seemed to follow her. "You called?"

"Yes. I just wanted to know if you were coming home this weekend."

"Are you sure you're ok?" Buffy insisted.

"I'm fine, honey."

"No headaches, dizziness, vomiting or nausea."

"Sweetie, you're sounding like Dr. Hamilton. I'm fine. Don't worry." Joyce tried to reassure her daughter.

After a brief pause Buffy finally agreed. She closed her eyes, running her hand over her face and sighing.

"So why did you call?" She practically mumbled, letting the relief wash over her. God, she hated living in this uncertainty.

"Are you coming home this weekend?" Mrs. Summers asked.

"Um... probably not. I have an assignment for next week plus, I have to do some reading. I'm probably gonna stay here." Buffy said, leaning her head forward and rubbing the back of her neck.

"Ok, then. Have fun at the party."

"I will, mom. If anything happens, call me? Ok?"

"I will. Don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine. You heard what Dr. Hamilton said when we did the last MRI."

"I know, I know. I just... worry. That's all." Buffy exhaled.

"Well, don't. And have fun. Ok?"

"I will. Bye, mom."

"Bye sweetie."

As the electronic beeping replaced her mother's voice, she let the hand that held the cell phone drop to her side. Once again she closed her eyes for a few seconds before she headed back inside.

~+~

The three continued to stand in the middle of the crowed room. Harmony chatted lively with an awkward Parker that tried hard to ignore the cold stares that Spike was throwing his way.

"Hey." Buffy greeted half-heartedly.

"Hey." Relief was evident in Parker's tone as he quickly turned to face his date. "Everything ok?"

"Everything's fine." She nodded, forcing a smile onto her lips. "She just wanted to know if I was coming home for the weekend." She explained, glancing at Spike just long enough to catch his sympathetic gaze, before diverting her attention back to Parker.

"So, do you still wanna go..." He tried but the look on her face told him there was little chance of anything happening that night.

"I'm kinda tired." Was her weak reply.

"Oh..." He mumbled disappointed. "Ok... If you're tired."

Out of the corner of her eye Buffy could have sworn boink-boy had actually smiled at her reply, but another quick glance his way caught him with a serious expression. Awkwardly, she looked away.

"I really am." She continued. "I better go home."

"Do you want me to take you?" Parker offered.

"I can take you."

All three stopped at turned to look at Spike.

"I-I mean *we*..." His index finger travelled the distance between Harmony and himself a couple of times as he continued: "We can take you home. Since I'm dropping Harmony off and all."

Buffy was about to open her mouth and reply when once again she was interrupted, this time by a very pissed Harmony:

"Hey! I thought we were going to the party! You said you wanted to come to the party."

"No, I didn't." He denied, frowning.

"Yes, you did. Right before Buffy's cell phone rang you said it would be a great idea if we came over."

Spike seemed to find no easy reply to that. His gaze met Parker's and Buffy's frowning ones before he grumbled between clenched teeth:

"Shut up, Harm."

"But-" She began to whine.

"Look, it's ok. If you guys wanna stay I can take Buffy home."

"Yes!"

"No!"

Harmony and Spike said in unison.

Parker and Buffy's frown deepened when the ex-cheerleader suddenly yelped and jumped up - an innocent look settling over Spike's face as he uttered:

"We're going."

An instant pout formed over Harmony's mouth.

"O-Ok then." Buffy stuttered before turning to Parker. "Well, I'll be going then..." She trailed off as she stared up at him.

A moment of silent drifted between them and Parker began to lean down, his lips finally grazing over Buffy's. The kiss was fleeting, lasting a mere second.

"Bye." She looked up at him from under heavy eyelids.

"Bye." He breathed.

"See you." Spike's rough voice cut the moment as he inched Harmony forward toward the door, dragging Buffy along in front of them.

Within seconds they were outside, Spike led the way, with the two girls tagging along.

Buffy came to a halt when the Brit stopped next to a slightly dented black Desoto. She had half a mind to gasp: "I'm going in that? It's not going to be able to drag us around the corner." but seeing as Spike was actually doing her a favour she bit her tongue and slipped into the backseat, remaining silent the entire drive home.

~+~

The door creaked a bit as it was flung open to let the three of them enter the apartment. Buffy was left to blindly pad the dark wall in search of the light switch as the blonde couple entered the darkened living room. She let out a silent sigh as the lights flickered on and flooded the space. Dispensing a quick glance at Spike and Harmony, who had settled on the couch, she crossed the living room.

"Thanks for the ride. I'm going to bed." She mumbled tilting her head towards the corridor.

"Night, Buffy." Harmony's ever-cheerful voice reached Buffy as she walked down the hall.

"Night." She replied before closing the bathroom door.

She let her purse drop onto the floor and leaned in on the sink, both hands holding onto the white, cold surface before the right one reached for the faucet. She scooped up a considerate amount of water and splashed it onto her tired face. Looking up at the mirror, she simply stood there, watching as an infinite number of crystal droplets tumbled down the sides of her cheeks.

She forced her eyes closed and shook her head slightly as she tried to push back the nightmarish images that seemed to haunt her since her mother's diagnosis.

"She's fine now. Nothing's going to happen." She whispered to herself before she continued with her nightly routine.

When she was done washing up and brushing her teeth she opened the bathroom door, the purse dragging at her side when, instead of the empty hallway, she found her path blocked by a black-clad, bleached Brit.

She jumped back a bit in surprise. They stood in silence for a few seconds before they started moving, unfortunately both chose the same path and ended up bumping into each other. They stopped and tried it once more, and again both picked the same side of the hall to make their way. After a few more awkward and ultimately failing attempts, they came to a frustrated halt.

"Sorry." She mumbled, dropping her gaze to the floor.

"I was... um... going to... um-" He narrowed his eyes and cut-off his own mumbling with a curt: "Are you ok?"

She looked up to find his head tilted sideways, his eyes slightly narrowed. For a second, she wondered if it was because of the sharp light that came from the bathroom behind her to sting his eyes or if it was simply of his usual mannerism.

Shaking her head she pushed back the silly doubt and focused on his question. Shaking her head and dropping her gaze once again she replied:

"I'm fine." A forced smile hovering over her lips as her eyes met his again. Seeing the doubt in his she insisted: "I'm fine."

Without another word she sneaked past him to find the door to her bedroom.

"Night." He whispered.

She stopped, hand on the doorknob, and mumbled weakly: "Night." just before she slipped into her room.

Spike stared at the closed door for a few seconds before making his way back to the living room. Silently, he dropped back into his place on the couch next to Harmony who quickly snuggled up against him. He watched the flickering images coming from the TV set, oblivious to the warm body wrapped around his.

His wandering mind was snapped back to reality by one mischievous hand that had been slowly making its way up his thigh and had now settled over his crotch. His eyes drifted down his chest to find too large eyes glancing naughtily up at him.

"Harm?" He sighed.

"Yes?" She replied innocently as her hand slipped under the waistband of his jeans.

"What are you doing?" the last part of the question came out a little weak, his eyes falling shut and his mouth forming a straight line as her fingers found their goal and seized it.

"Nothing..." She mewled childlike as her hand started pumping him.

"Harm... I don't think this is a..." His nostrils flared for a second before he continued. "...good idea."

"Why not?" She pouted stopping her ministrations, but her hand remaining warm, snuggled within the confines of his jeans.

"Cause your roommate's here."

"So? We've done it with her here." She replied simply.

Well, she did have a point, but somehow, it just seemed inappropriate.

"Inappropriate? Since when do I think things are inappropriate? Especially when said thing is sex?" Spike's mind shouted at him.

"It's just that she..." He let out a strangled moan when she began to move her hand again.

He watched under hooded eyes as she rose on the couch, flinging one leg over his thighs and straddling him.

"She what...?" She asked huskily as she gripped him harder, just the way she knew he liked it.

With that, all doubts or questions disappeared from his mind, his hands immediately settle under her hips as he stood up and carried them both staggering into her bedroom.

The bed creaked in protest at the sudden burden of their two bodies. The sound seemed to snap a state of hazy awareness in him and suddenly he was up again.

"What is it, blondie-bear?" Harmony pouted from her spot alone on the bed.

Spike's mind seemed to struggle for a few seconds before he replied curtly:

"Floor's better."

A mischievous smile took over the ex-cheerleader's lips as she almost instantly dropped the floor and was quickly met by the hungry Brit.

"Oh, God Spike!" She gasped loudly as he attacked her neck.

He tried to ignore the slight irritation that her moan seemed to spawn inside of him. That was strange. It never annoyed him before. He shook his head and continued to trail kisses down her neck, opening her shirt in the process.

"Spike, you're so-"

That did it! Before he knew it, his hand was covering her mouth, muffling her moans. He crawled back up her body and whispered in her ear.

"No noises tonight."

He watched as she frowned and could feel her pout against his hand.

"Let's try to be as quiet as a mouse, shall we?" He tried to sound naughty instead of pleading and it seemed to work as she nodded and pushed her lips together, struggling to smother the cries that formed in her throat as he continued his task.

~+~

"Oh, God Spike!"

Buffy froze when she heard it.

"Not tonight. Please, not tonight." She whispered as a mixture of frustration and anger started to build inside her.

"Spike, you're so-"

"Can't I have one measly night of decent sleep?" She growled, letting her head drop onto the pillow.

She forced her eyes shut and waited for the already familiar opera of moans and groans to carry through the thin wall that separated the two rooms, but it never came.

Frowning a bit, she opened her eyes and waited another couple of minutes. Satisfied that everything was completely quiet she closed her eyes again and fell asleep.

Chapter 9

She let out a soft groan when the sharp sunlight filtered thought the blinds to burn her closed eyes. It was just too early to get up, especially on a Saturday. Forcing an eyelid to open she glanced at her alarm clock. It read 10 am.

"Just five more minutes." She thought to herself, letting her eyes close shut and turning on her side.

But it was too late. The sun had filtered in and the annoying responsible part of her brain was already nagging her about her assigned reading for Monday. She tried to ignore it but when she felt the familiar anxiety building in her stomach and making it turn painfully she sighed and forced her eyes open.

She lay on the bed for another couple of minutes before she pushed the warm comforter aside and flung her legs over the edge of the mattress. She hissed a bit when her bare feet touched the cold floor. Squinting, she scanned the area for her slippers and put them on.

She dragged her feet across the room, automatically reaching for her towel as she made her way to the bathroom.

She frowned bit when she heard water running in the bathroom.

"That's strange...Harmony's up at this hour?" She wondered before pushing the door open as she spoke:

"Harmony why are you- Ah!" She screeched jumping at the sight of the bleached Brit standing stark naked right in front of her.

She froze in place for a few fragments of a second, her eyes wide and glassy instinctively scanning his naked form and inevitably fixing themselves over his crotch. She gulped unconsciously before her brain jump-started and the socially groomed part of it took over.

"Oh, God, I-I'm so sorry, I-I didn't- I'm-Oh, God!" She stuttered incoherently as her eyes squeezed tightly shut and shook her head as if trying to erase the recent image from her mind.

As the picture of his nude body flashed behind her closed lids, she impulsively opened them again, regretting it instantly as she was once more met by him... still butt naked. She forced her eyes shut once more and *again* the mental picture was there and seemed to now be permanently burnt in her retina.

The struggle lasted for a few more intensely awkward seconds until she finally settled for closed.

"I-I'm really sorry." She stammered nervously as she started blindly patting the sink, trying to exit the room.

"No worries, luv. I was just going in for a quick shower. Don't mind if you wanna join in."

She froze at his words -the embarrassment instantly being replaced by outrage.

"What are you-" She stopped what promised to be a long angered rambling when she made the mistake of opening her eyes.

Her cheeks, which had quickly turned pink the moment she had entered the godforsaken bathroom, now gained a frightening shade of red, as mortification and anger mixed inside her.

Awkwardly, she shook her head and closing her eyelids one last time, she growled as she blindly turned around to leave.

"Guess I'm not gonna have company."

She could actually hear the smirk in his voice as she stumbled her way out and slammed the door closed behind her.

She burst into her bedroom, huffing and mumbling a series of colourful curses under her breath as she threw the towel onto her bed and started pacing around the centre of the room. She couldn't figure out if she was mad because of the ever-present cockiness in his voice or because of her pathetic lack of a quick and witty comeback.

"Hell, any comeback would've been good."

Her hands ran wildly over her morning hair while she struggled to erase the image that insisted on flashing before her closed eyelids.

"That little annoy-"

'Well, actually not that little.' Her mind silently corrected.

"Grr." She growled. "I have to get out of here." She said to herself, getting out of her pyjamas and into the first pair of jeans and sweater she could find.

Within five minutes she was on her way out of her bedroom, her dishevelled hair wrapped up into an improvised ponytail. She was effectively storming her way across the corridor when she heard the bathroom door open. For an instant her mind debated between stopping and turning to face the bleached blonde or quickly making her way out of there, with her tail between her legs.

"Pity you didn't wanna join in, luv. It was fun." She heard him say.

'Well, so much for option number two,' she thought as she turned on her heels to find him standing just outside the bathroom, his bleached hair wet and tussled, a white towel riding dangerously low on his narrow hips.

She tried to ignore his state of undress, silently gulping before she started haughtily.

"I really don't know what your game is, but let me just be straight with you. I *do not* have, nor *will* I ever have any inclination whatsoever to join you in that-" She pointed at the bathroom as she spoke. "or any shower on the face of this planet. Not for make out sessions, not for groping fest, sex or whatever other twisted fantasies that over-bleached brain of yours might have." She paused. "I do not jump in the shower with my roommate's boyfriends - just not my style. And even if I did... you're not my type." She inhaled once she finished.

'Yay. You did it. No stuttering or gulping and with a minimal amount of bare-chest-oggling. Good for you.' Her mind congratulated her.

In the meantime, her heart skipped a couple of beats when she saw the smirk spread over his lips and he started to walk towards her until he stood almost toe-to-toe with her. He was so close Buffy was actually worried that he might get her clothes wet.

"Got you all hot and bothered, haven't I?" His tongue slid over his upper teeth, lingering on one sharp canine.

Buffy opened her mouth to protest but he continued.

"Don't worry, Summers."

Buffy suddenly frowned inwardly.

'He knows my surname? I never told him my surname. Maybe Harmony told him. Why are he and Harmony talking about me? And was that a stomach flop? Since when does my-' She stopped her hysterical train of thought when he continued to speak:

"I wasn't inviting you for a... what did you call it?" His eyebrows came together for a mocking frown. "Groping fest? That it?"

She nodded unconsciously.

"Well, you can breathe out now. I was just pulling your chain, wasn't making any indecent proposal." He paused. "Believe me, when I do..." He leaned in closer and she could feel his breath on her flushed skin. "...you'll know it, pet."

And with that she was left standing in the middle of the corridor, frozen in place as he brushed past her and entered Harmony's bedroom.

~+~

Buffy sat at one of the various table in the Espresso Pump, tapping her nails angrily onto the smooth surface while she stared into her cup of coffee.

"Hey." Willow's drowsy voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up to find the redhead taking a seat opposite her. "What's up?" She asked with a yawn, but before Buffy could reply she added: "Buffy, what's wrong with your hair?"

The blonde's right hand self-consciously reached for an unruly string of hair and placed it behind her ear. "Didn't shower."

"Oh." Willow paused for a second before asking: "What did Harmony do this time?"

"Not Harmony. Harmony's evil boinking-machine."

"Kept you up all night again, huh?" The redhead asked, muffling another yawn.

"No, I was actually able to get some shuteye last night. I seriously thought that things were starting to look up, you know?" Willow nodded and Buffy continued sarcastically: "That was until I woke up today and decided to take a shower only to find boink-boy standing stark naked in the middle of my bathroom."

"Stark naked as in-"

"Comfortably wearing his birthday-suit." Buffy cut in.

"He was completely naked?"

"Yes, that's the meaning of the expression 'wearing his birthday suit'." Buffy replied grumpily.

"Sorry. It's still a bit too early for my brain." Willow fought against the urge to stretch out.

"Early? It's eleven. You're usually up and solving algorithms by nine." Buffy noted with a frown.

"Yeah, I know. It's just that since-" Willow stopped herself for a second before continuing: "Since college my internal clock is kinda... broken."

Buffy paused a little before leaning in on the table and looking her best friend in the eyes and asking

"Willow? Are you ok? You've been strange lately."

"S-strange? Me? Why would you think that? I-I'm fine. It's just... college life. That's all."

The blonde seemed unconvinced.

"So, what about naked boink-boy?" Willow said, trying to change the course of the conversation.

"Oh, don't remind me." Buffy growled, burying her face in her hands. "That man is the single, most excruciatingly annoying creature in the universe. I mean, there I was awkwardly trying to look away and he just stood there, like everything was just... peachy! And then he goes all like: 'No worries, luv. I was just going in for a quick shower. Don't mind if you wanna join in.'" Buffy sighed audibly and returned to her normal tone of voice as she growled: "Grrr! I hate him."

"Oh, my God! He invited you for a shower?"

"Yes!"

"And you went?"

"NO! Willow?!" Buffy cried out.

"Sorry." The redhead mumbled up, sinking into her chair.

"Ew! Just the thought of it makes me wanna hurl." Buffy shook her head. 'Stupid flashy image. Go away!' She mentally screamed.

There was a moment of pause before Willow hesitantly leaned in and asked:

"And?"

Buffy frowned, not understanding her best friend's question.

Willow sighed at that and elaborated:

"Are Harmony's annoyingly orgasmic screams true?"

The furrowed brows remained for another three second on Buffy's face before her eyes went wide and her eyebrows rose high on her forehead.

"Willow!" She scolded.

"What?!" The redhead piped up innocently.

"You've been spending time with Anya, haven't you?"

Willow shook her head and set her lips in a straight line while the blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Actually, I can't blame her this time. Haven't seen her in weeks. I think Xander's hiding her until she is properly socially groomed."

The two girls laughed but, as Willow's eyes remained fixed on Buffy, she was forced to mutter:

"He's not *that* big. He-he's... um... above average."

Willow remained silent, simply arching a perfect eyebrow in an effort to make her friend elaborate on the subject.

"*Well* above average." Buffy caved in and then instantly shook her head. "God! I can't believe I'm having this conversation."

Willow giggled at that as she watched a flushed Buffy pick up the cup of coffee and mumbling: "But he's still thorn at my side." before taking a sip.

"A *well* above average thorn."

"Willow!" Buffy cried out.

~+~

She prayed a silent prayer as she turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open to find the apartment swallowed in flickering darkness, the only light coming from the partially closed blinds and the small TV set.

She felt hope rise in her chest. It wasn't the first time Harmony left the house with the TV on. Slowly, she made her way to the living room and found the couch empty.

Buffy let out a sigh of relief.

'Thank God! They're out.'

She just didn't want to deal with facing the blonde duo.

After a quick lunch with Willow, she had spent the rest of the day in the library, just to avoid coming home and finding... him.

Letting her backpack drop along her arm from her shoulder to her hand, she reached for the remote and turned off the TV. The horizontal threads of light coming from the blinds of the two large windows were the only lighting in the room.

"Hey, I was watching that!"

"Ah!" Buffy yelped, jumping up, her heart racing as she turned around to see Spike coming from the corridor, holding a pillow against his chest.

She was frozen in place, her eyes were wide, following him as he walked past her, snatching the remote from her hand and literally dropping his weight on the couch. It screeched under the sudden burden, but he ignored it turning the TV back on and staring at it intently.

Buffy remained still for a few more seconds, waiting for her heart to slow down and for her mind to absorb what was happening.

"W-what are you doing here?" Buffy mentally slapped her forehead at the stupidity of the question. Of course he was there, lately he was always there. "I mean, where's Harmony?"

"Went out to get us something to scoff." He replied, his eyes never leaving the TV set.

She frowned, but seeing as he wasn't looking at her she spoke:

"And the translation to English would be?"

"Eat, luv." He replied.

"Don't you have a home? Don't they miss you there?" she questioned annoyed.

This time he looked up at her; he narrowed his eyes, his tongue coming out to moisten his lips as he ignored her reply and asked: "Wanna join in?"

"Ugh!" Buffy replied, her eyes closing; her nose instantly wrinkling up in disgust. "You're revolting."

"Maybe it's just your mind that's not all wholesome and clean. Ever think of that?" He rebutted raising his scarred eyebrow at her.

"My mind is perfectly clean. I don't know if I could say the same for yours, though. God knows what's going on in there." She continued with her sickened expression.

"Bet you'd like to know, wouldn't you?" He said lasciviously.

"No, thank you. I like sleeping at night. Not a fan of nightmares." She retorted, forcing a closed smile onto her lips before she turned on her heels and started to leave but stopped in her tracks when she heard him:

"How's Mr. Sensitivity?"

With a frown, she turned around. He was still sprawled on the couch, bathed in the flickering light coming from the TV but his eyes were now focused on her.

"Who?"

"Lover boy." He explained.

It took her a few seconds to comprehend what he meant.

"Parker?"

"Yeah, him." He sneered.

"Not that that's any of your business, but I wasn't with him today." She replied.

His eyes widened in ridicule.

"Could've sworn you would've gone running back to good, old college boy after this morning." He narrowed his eyes: "Get that nice 'I'm-in-control' feeling back."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, finally walking back into the living room to stand next to the TV set.

"You know what I'm talking about, Summers."

Buffy froze when she felt her stomach turn.

'Oh my God! Not the stomach-flopping again! Why does it keep doing that every time he says my name? Stupid stomach!' She pouted inwardly before her attentions returned to the man practically lying on the couch.

"No, actually I don't. But then again, that wouldn't be a surprise, seeing as you rarely make any sense." She retorted, raising both her eyebrows, setting her lips in a straight line and crossing her arms over her chest.

His response was a smirk as he slowly sat up straight.

"What happened to you, Summers?" He asked. Strangely enough, he seemed genuinely interested in the answer to the question.

"What happened to me? Hmm... That's kinda vague. Gonna have to elaborate on that one." She said sarcastically.

"To make you so afraid." He explained, looking up at her with narrowed eyes, as if he was trying to read her.

She didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit.

"Afraid?" She forced out the word hidden in a chuckle. "I'm not afraid. Why would I be afraid?"

"Right, that's why you're going out with pseudo Mr. Nice-guy." He contoured.

"I happen to like run of the mill, *non-psychotic*, nice guys." She replied.

"You like them because they're safe."

She was about to reply when he rose to his feet and walked around the table to stand before her. Looking down, he tilted his head, as if he had read something in the way she held herself, the way her arms tightened over her chest, maybe the hesitant expression in her eyes. She didn't know but her entire body seemed to freeze up when he uttered:

"Because you've been burnt."

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