Chapter 10
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:
“She said she was fine.” She shouted her reply while swinging her hips to the beat.
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. “Harm talked to her and 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.