Chapter 47: History Repeating
I know it’s been a few months since the last update–and I’m sorry about that. As I’ve mentioned before, I lost a whole HEAP of chapters of this fic (and pretty much everything else I’ve ever written) when my harddrive crashed a few years ago, which is a large part of why I dipped out of fandom. Losing all of that, was hard to get over.
The partially recovered chapters were easy to patch holes in, however, this marks the first almost entirely rewritten chapter. Like there was literally 250 words and then a vast nothingness. And the next chapter, completely wiped. I found the prospect of sitting down and starting fresh so daunting I kind of just avoided it.
Well, today I decided I wasn’t going to avoid any longer, which is why I have a fresh new update for you all. I’m determined to finish this, and step one was bridging the two chapter gap between the six completed chapters just waiting to be posted and read. Hopefully the muse will continue to co-operate. 
This chapter is unbetaed, lemme know of any glaring mistakes and I’ll fix them.
Thanks to: Amayascula, DauntlessGrace, Sunalso, -Ash-, dmf109, Merryreader, kimothyschma, Mya222, Special Squirrel, Meavepagan for reviewing the last chapter, and magnus374 for reviewing everything from the beginning. You guys are awesome.
So here goes nothing. Anyone who is still here with me, I hope you enjoy this update.
The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. By the end of that first day back most of the buzz over her accident had died down. By Wednesday it was forgotten altogether, courtesy of a new drama with the cheerleaders. This was of great relief to Buffy.
She hardly saw Spike.
Which was the complete opposite of relief.
Not that she was dying to be in his presence after the weirdness of Monday morning. But Buffy knew she also didn’t want him gone.
She missed him.
For a while she entertained the thought that maybe he was being interrogated over what happened that afternoon. But she’d seen Angel around, and why wouldn’t Snyder want to speak to him also?
Speaking of Angel, he seemed to be keeping his distance. Not quite avoiding her, if she bumped into him he’d say hello. But he clearly wasn’t as easy with her as he had been. And she didn’t know why. It felt like she’d lost a friend.
On a normal day Buffy would’ve approached him, talked to him, tried to find out why he was being all avoidy. But Spike’s absence had meant normal days had been in short supply. All she could think about…was him.
Funny how that never changed, even though the status of their relationship had.
There had to be a reason why he hadn’t been in class, but she no longer felt it was her place to ask. She saw his car in the lot each day, just no sign of him. So she’d dwelled. Of course, Buffy thought she’d done a good job of hiding the fact she’d noticed Spike was missing.
“I’m sure he’s fine, Buffy,” Willow had assured her at the end of yet another class where Spike had been a no-show.
“With how the rumour mill works in this school, if it were something serious even people as low on the social totem pole as myself…” Willow gestured to herself before continuing, “would’ve heard about it by now.”
“You’re not low on anyone’s totem pole, Will,” Buffy said with a hint of a smile.
Xander met the pair in the hall, and slung an arm around Willow’s neck. “Please tell me all of this talk about a pole involves dancing of some kind.”
“Ewww, perv!” Willow scolded, throwing her elbow into Xander’s ribs. He dropped his arm from her neck, wheezing out a laugh at the expression on her face.
Buffy slapped his arm in a show of camaraderie. “Yeah Xand, that was pretty bad, even for you.”
Xander shrugged his shoulders unapologetically. “You left it wide open, I couldn’t not jump on it.”
Willow scowled in response.
The warning bell sounded, and the trio split up to head for their respective classes, with plans to meet after school.
~*~*~
Spike was having a hell of a week. Things were… better between him and Buffy than they had been when he was ignoring her. But it was still hard to see her, and not be with her. And while he’d come to the decision that he wasn’t good enough for Buffy as a boyfriend, he’d still had every intention of remaining in her life in the only capacity he could offer her—as a friend.
However, Principal Snyder had thrown a massive spanner in the works regarding that plan.
Over the last week he’d attended school, but had been secluded from the rest of the student body in a form of internal suspension. Apparently, his ‘stunt’ with the team—cancelling the swim meet last week—hadn’t gone over too well with the miniature dictator.
And for the last few days Spike had been paying his penance, all but locked in an isolated room, with his classwork delivered to him and no-one to talk to. He’d even been barred from training, until his suspension was over. Which meant not seeing or talking to Buffy.
There’d been mention of earning his place on the team, which Spike would happily have argued, if graduating hadn’t been brought up. That threat held him captive. Well, that, and the realisation that if he really wanted to make something of himself by attending college, there was no better time to start improving his study habits than now. And a small part of him thought that was what Buffy would want for him, what she would be encouraging him to do if they were still together. If he managed to obtain the scholarship he’d always planned on, he wasn’t going to squander it. So really, it was self motivation and a drive to succeed that kept him following the ‘no contact with the student body’ mandate.
Snyder’s punishment wouldn’t last forever. In fact, as of ten minutes ago Spike had caught up on his missed assignments, and had even begun working on a few ahead of time. Amazing what could be accomplished once the distraction of friends and a social life were removed.
A part of him, a part he refused to acknowledge, was proud of his academic achievements over the last few days.
But mostly, he was just relieved he wouldn’t have to set foot inside the small room again.
With quiet efficiency, he packed his books away and set off in search of Coach to confirm the details of the meet for the weekend.
And while it might make him a masochist for thinking so, he was looking forward to being trapped on a bus with Buffy for a few hours. It would be an exquisite form of torture, being so close to her for so long, without being able to do anything about it. But just the thought of being in her presence brought a smile to his face.
So it was with a smile he left school that day, eager to see his girl again, even if she was no longer truly that.
Because as far as Spike was concerned, she would always be his, no matter what kept them apart.
~*~*~
Buffy’s rendezvous with Willow and Xander after school was exactly what she needed. They effectively distracted her from her Spike-centric thoughts for the better part of an hour and a half.
But now she was home, by herself—which had become the new norm—which left her nothing but time to wonder.
Where has he been all week?
The thought had crossed her mind that perhaps he was avoiding her, but she’d pushed that away. They’d talked. It had been awkward, and yeah, a little painful, but they’d been in each other’s presence without it degenerating into a fight. There’d been no taunting, no accusations flung. It was almost, normal. Adult even. Like maybe they could have a platonic relationship beyond their failed romantic one.
Buffy shuddered at the thought. While she wanted Spike in her life, she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle seeing him move on. Which meant her father’s plan to ship her off to the other side of the country in a few months time was almost a blessing in disguise.
She felt traitorous even thinking that.
She’d just settled in for a night of couch-potatoing, when the phone rang. Icy dread filled her veins at the sound. If the last few weeks had taught her anything, nothing good came from a phone call. Buffy wanted desperately to let it ring. But if it was who she feared it was—her father—then making him wait would only make his mood worse.
Standing, she walked towards kitchen and with shaking fingers she lifted the receiver, and then held her breath.
“Hello?”
“Hello, pumpkin.”
Buffy’s heart sank.
“Hi, dad,” she whispered.
She tried to think of something to talk about, but there was nothing she wanted to say to him. Her relationship with her father hadn’t been great prior to her parent’s divorce, but since moving she’d had her eyes opened to a whole new side to the man.
And Buffy didn’t like what she saw.
“How’s my little cheerleader doing?”
She tried, really she did, but it was as if something inside of her snapped. She’d been living in Sunnydale for months, and they’d had this exact conversation several times already, but apparently he hadn’t listened to anything she’d said.
So that’s why when she responded, there was unexpected bite in her voice.
“I’m not a cheerleader anymore dad, haven’t been for months. You know this.”
The second the words left her mouth shock filled her, only to be quickly washed away with a sense of pride. She was nearly eighteen, and she was sick of being told how to live her life by a man who obviously had no idea what was going on in it.
“I don’t like that tone, Buffy.”
Then Buffy did something she’d never done before. She scoffed. The sound escaped her before she could think of restraining it. And judging by the harsh inhale on the other end of the line, her father had heard it.
“And I don’t like this attitude.” She heard the sound of papers rustling, before he continued. “It just goes to show how right I am to insist on moving you to the east coast. Your mother always was a soft touch, always letting you get away with things.”
“Get away with what?” Buffy cried. Sure, she couldn’t say she was a perfect child growing up, but she got good grades, stayed out of trouble, and was respectful of her elders.
“Using this tone, for starters. This kind of disrespect wouldn’t stand in my house.”
“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t live in your house then,” Buffy spat in return. “Wouldn’t want to disappoint you, father.”
“Perhaps we should remedy that.”
Buffy had thought her blood chilled earlier at the sound of the phone ringing, but it didn’t compare to how she felt the second those words met her ears. He can’t be serious…
She began shaking her head in denial. “No, that’s not what we agreed.”
“And I’ve decided to renegotiate.” Hank’s tone was firm. “Obviously, I made an error of judgement when I just let your mother take you after the divorce.”
Buffy gasped. “You didn’t want me!”
“Nonsense, I—”
“You didn’t!” Buffy cried. “I begged you to stay, I begged you to try and fix things with Mom, and you just left! You abandoned me without even looking back. And now that you’ve had a change of heart I’m supposed to just, what? Accept your decision?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what you’re supposed to do.”
“No!” Buffy exclaimed.
“You will attend the meet this weekend, because I’ve arranged for some scouts to attend. Then you’ll have until the end of next week to pack your things and return home.”
Buffy was dumbfounded. He couldn’t be serious? After everything her father had demanded, and she’d bowed down to, surely, he couldn’t mean what he was saying. It had to be just a threat, if she didn’t curb her tone.
But what if it wasn’t an empty threat?
“And if I refuse?”
“You know what will happen.” He paused, as if for effect. “Your mother will be on the street.”
The guilt his words brought was almost overwhelming. But for the first time, Buffy didn’t immediately capitulate with his wishes. She thought over his threat, and then she thought, What would Mom do, if she knew?
She knew what her mom would do. She’d say, “Let him.”
There’s no way her mom would want her to sacrifice herself for them, for a house. It would mean starting over, so what. They could get another house. Or they could rent. They would figure out a way to get beyond losing the house and start fresh out from underneath the burden of his demands. They could do it. And then she wouldn’t have to leave, wouldn’t have to move across the country.
He wouldn’t have anything left to hold over her.
She could be free.
Buffy inhaled deeply, taking a moment to enjoy the sense of peace the thought brought.
“No, she wouldn’t be. We could rent.”
Her father despised renting, but to be honest, she didn’t really care about what he thought at this point.
“I’ll get a job, and I’ll help out. And I’ll get a scholarship for school.”
Buffy had already broached this topic before, but last time fear had held her back from committing to the plan, because she hadn’t wanted her mom to lose their house. But she wasn’t going to allow fear to hold her back this time.
“What on earth has gotten into you, girl?”
“Maybe I’ve just had enough of giving in to your demands, and have decided to stick up for myself for once,” Buffy spat in return.
“No,” Hank murmured. “It’s more than that. It’s that boy, isn’t it? The one from the hotel.”
Buffy bit back her response, her mind screaming, TRAP!
“Well, if you won’t be reasonable for your mother’s sake, perhaps you’ll listen for his.”
Even not seeing her reflection, Buffy knew the colour had washed right out of her skin. “What?”
The tremor in her voice was a dead giveaway, but something told her that her father knew where to press before he’d even picked up the phone. Something about the smug tone with which he spoke gave it away.
“You will come to me by the end of next week, or I’ll make certain that boy’s scholarship chances disappear. Do you hear me?”
Check and mate.
It was done. She was moving to LA.