Holy Water

Willow clutched her books to her chest as she walked back to the dorm. She shouldn’t have stayed at the library this late, she reprimanded herself, especially with Buffy still in LA. Oh well, it was too late now, and besides, studying kept her mind off…Oz. She blinked away a tear at the thought and continued on. The paths were poorly lit, and almost no one was wandering about them. She sighed and reached up almost unconsciously to grab her small silver pentagram pendant that Xander had given her for her birthday. It made her feel a little safer, and she wished she’d grabbed a protection sachet, but it was too late to think of such things. The February air still held a slight winter chill to it, and she shivered slightly. A jacket, too, would have been helpful. She quickened her pace a little, and stepped onto the shadowed, darker path towards her dorm.
“Where are you going in such a hurry, luv? It’s such a lovely night…” he heard behind her. She whirled around as the voice began to chuckle familiarly.
“Not again.” She whispered before his lips were on her neck and she fell into oblivion. “Not again…”

“Hello, luv.” She heard mockingly as she awakened. It echoed through the room. Willow opened her eyes slightly and groaned as steel bars swam around her. Her neck stung slightly, and she put a hand to it before she realized that it had stopped bleeding. In fact, someone had bandaged it – Spike himself? She wondered idly.
“What do you want this time, Spike?” She said with a sigh, resigned to do whatever he wanted without complaint in order to get out as quickly as possible.
“Maybe I don’t want anything, luv. Maybe I want a food source. Who knows?” His mocking grin appeared between the bars as her vision began to stabilize. What beautiful blue eyes he has, she thought incoherently. “Thank you, luv.” His grin grew wider as she realized she’d said that aloud.
“Th…there’s got to be a reason you’ve trapped me here, Spike.” She said finally. “Tell me what it is, and I’ll do it. I’ve got an exam in a week, and a term paper due in two days.” He sighed.
“You know, Red, you’re no fun when you’re like this...” She growled at him. “Okay, okay. I’m trying to lure the Slayer or her poof back to town. It’s boring now, you know, no one here to fight with…”
“Then why not just go to LA for some mischief, Spike? Why here? Why me?”
“Ah, luv, you’re the fun part. If I went to LA, it would just be a fight. But see, now I’ve got you, and hey, maybe your little wolf will show up too.” At the mention of Oz, Willow stiffened and willed the tears back.
“He won’t come.” She said coldly. “He left.”
“I’m sorry, luv.” He didn’t sound like he meant it, but his eyes held a bit of respect – or was it empathy? “So, until they come, I get the pleasure of your lovely company. What are we going to do tonight?”
“I refuse to cooperate. You know, I could stake you if I really wanted.”
“Ooh, a threat. I like that. Come on, show me what you’ve got.” He smiled. Searching the room anxiously with her eyes, she came up short on stakes. “I prepared for you, witch. I heard about what happened in the Mayor’s office.” Her gaze landed on her backpack.
“Hmm…” The holy water, she thought. “I can… I can burn you.” He laughed.
“With what, luv? With fire? Sorry, I don’t see any ice around, or for that matter, any easily combustible objects, myself excluded, of course.”
“Holy water.” She said simply. He followed her gaze to the bag on the floor and laughed.
“So that’s it. You keep your witchy stuff in here, and carry your books. I see.”
“I will do it.” She said defiantly. “I can do it, and I will.” The room fell silent as Spike was left unable to respond.

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