Chapter 30
It was only Wednesday and she was already beat. After her shift at the coffee shop all she wanted to do was get washed up, slip into her pj’s and sleep. She tied her hair in a loose ponytail while she walked over to the bathroom but halted when she heard the sound of running water.
‘He must be taking a bath.’ She decided, ignoring the feeling in the pit of her stomach as she turned around and went back into the living room.
Once again, she stopped in mid-stride when she saw Spike come in through the front door.
Her gaze went from him, ‘If Spike’s here then who’s…’ to the bathroom, ‘… in there?’ and back again.
“Hey.” He said with a nod, setting a couple of plastic bags on the counter.
“Spike…?” She started confused.
“Yeah?” He replied absentmindedly taking out a series of small carton boxes with Chinese symbols printed on them.
Buffy walked over to the kitchenette:
“Who’s-“
“Hey!”
She turned around to find the source of the peppy greeting.
Standing in the middle of the hall, completely soaked and wrapped up in a towel was a brown haired girl. A huge smile on her face showed off her perfect teeth and turned her eyes into small slits.
“I’m Fred.”
The strong Texan accent was evident even in the small two-word sentence.
Buffy simply stared, her mouth partially open.
“I’ll be right back. Just gonna put something on. I-I mean something other than a towel.” The girl giggled, dropping her gaze and walking into Spike’s bedroom.
Shell-shocked, Buffy turned around and eyed Spike, expecting an explanation.
“That’s Fred,” was all she got as he took a beer can from the fridge and popped it open.
It took a few seconds for Buffy’s brain to restart but eventually she managed to speak while he opened the various containers and the smell of ginger and exotic spices filled the room.
“So… Fred?” She started, tilting her head and crossing her arms over her chest.
“She’s gonna stay here for a few days.” He stated taking a large bite off an egg roll.
“Oh…”
There was silence and Spike, who was calmly sipping from his beer, didn’t seem too eager to fill it.
“And she is?”
“Fred.” He replied matter-of-factly sitting at the counter and reaching for a second egg roll. “We’ve covered that, pet.”
Two minutes ticked by before Spike finally spoke, asking just as he gulped down another mouthful of beer:
“Want some?”
“No.” Buffy mumbled with a disgusted look on her face.
“Your loss.” He shrugged as he began eating from another carton.
Another couple of agonizing minutes passed before Buffy finally gave in and asked:
“How long is she gonna stay?”
No way was she going to give him the satisfaction of asking who this Fred character was. If he didn’t want to tell her, fine. She was probably just another skanky, Harmony-like bimbo that was gonna last a couple of weeks… tops.
“Don’t know.” He answered between bites.
The sound of a door opening caused Buffy’s gaze to shift from the blonde sitting at the counter to a now dressed Fred. She wore a pair of sweatpants and a grey t-shirt. Her wet hair was tied in a messy bun in the back of her head and a couple of strand escaped it to frame her smiling face.
“Hey, there! My name’s Fred.” She said, shyly outstretching her hand.
Buffy shook it reluctantly as she said simply:
“Buffy.”
“Nice to meet you.”
The girl had only spoken a couple of sentences and already the Texan accent was eating at Buffy’s nerves.
“Same here.”
“Oh, Chinese! I love Chinese!” Fred exclaimed cheerfully when she notices the boxes scattered across the counter.
“I know, pet. Got you that chicken dish you like so much.” Spike pointed towards one of the cartons with his fork.
Fred opened it and, if possible, the smile on her face grew wider.
“Mmm… I love this.”
‘He knows her favourite Chinese food?’ Buffy wondered.
“The Mexican place nearby was closed.” Spike explained.
‘Nearby? It’s like 5 miles from here?’ Buffy mentally noted.
“Sorry, luv. I guess we’ll have to make do with Chinese.” Spike apologized.
“It’s okay. I love Chinese.” She repeated picking out a piece of chicken from the carton.
‘Enough already!’ Buffy’s mind scream at Fred. ‘How many times are you going to repeat that? Maybe you need a billboard for that? You love Chinese food and Spike knows your favourite dish. I get it!’
“How rude of me. Do you…?” Fred started handing Buffy a carton.
“Oh, no thanks.” Buffy forced a smile on her face for a brief moment. “I already ate.”
She stood there for a few seconds, watching the two sitting side-by-side, eating the feast Spike had brought home before she spoke up:
“I better get washed up and go to bed. I’m kinda tired.”
“Oh, okay. It was nice to meet you.” Fred gave Buffy a large smile as she walked away. “Night.”
Buffy didn’t answer and simply made her way over to the bathroom. The moment the door closed behind her Fred turned to Spike:
“So that’s Buffy.”
“Yeah.” Spike tried to act nonchalantly and continued to eat but Fred knew him too well.
“The Buffy?”
“Yes.” Spike muttered munching on his food.
“The one that made you-“
“Yes, that’s the one. And no, I don’t want to talk about it.” He cut her off grumbling. “Now eat. You’re too skinny.”
Fred simply smiled and turned her attention back to her cartoon.
~+~
“Oh god! I feel like I ate a whole chicken!” Fred groaned holding her stomach as she sat on the couch.
Spike threw her a sceptical look from the corner of his eyes.
“What?”
“You barely touched the second carton.”
“Not everyone can be a freak of nature like you and have a bottomless pit for a stomach.” Fred countered.
“You gotta eat more.” He grumbled.
Fred simply tilted her head and rolled her eyes.
At that moment the sound of running water coming from down the hall ceased and Fred noticed as Spike instantly tensed up.
“She really gets to you, doesn’t she?” Fred asked.
“What?” Spike muttered in a vain attempt to sound oblivious to the meaning of her question.
He kept his eyes fixed on the television set, but after a few seconds of feeling Fred’s intense gaze on him, he sighed and, turning to her, grumbled:
“What, Fred?”
“Nothing.” She half giggled hugging a throw pillow against her chest.
He stared at her, his raised eyebrow demanding an answer.
“It’s just that it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you react this way with anyone.”
“And what way might that be, pet?”
She pursed her lips together:
“Tense, fretful, ‘Oh my God the water stopped running she’s gonna come in here any second.’-way.” She smiled. “Very William-like.” She summarized.
“I’m not tense. And don’t call-“
He stopped in mid-sentence when he heard a door opening. He waited a few seconds before it was clear she had walked into her bedroom.
“Oh, you’re not tense at all. Spike, I haven’t seen your back this straight since… well, since never.” She mocked.
He simply sighed and stared at the flickering images coming from the TV screen.
~+~
She sat on the bed, running the brush through her blow-dried hair for the umpteenth time when she finally decided to go into the living room. She wasn’t checking up on Spike, she was simply… going to get something to eat.
Walking out, she felt her stomach crunch up at the sound of a high-pitched giggle coupled with a deep, male laughter coming from the other end of the corridor. He was laughing, actually laughing. She had never made him laugh; the most she’d gotten from him was a chortle.
Pushing back the feeling she walked into the living room to find the two sitting on the couch watching TV. He was on one end; overly-cheerful-Texas-girl – that’s what Buffy had decided to call her – was on the other, apparently trying to suffocate a pillow against her chest.
“Hey.” Fred greeted between laughs.
Buffy nodded and walked into the kitchenette; her brain tried to recall what ridiculous excuse it had come up with for her being there.
‘Right. Food, I want food.’ It remembered, and Buffy proceeded with opening the fridge and exploring its contents.
A yawn was heard followed by Fred’s voice:
“I’m beat. The bus ride was endless.”
“You better get some sleep.” Spike replied.
“Yeah.”
Buffy’s ears picked up the sounds that told her Texas-girl was getting off the couch and walking towards the hall.
As she reached the corridor Fred stopped and turned around:
“Spike?”
“Huh?” The Brit sleepily turned to look at her.
“You coming?”
Every single muscle in Buffy’s body contracted causing her to freeze in place at the words she heard; her eyes staring blankly at the inside of the refrigerator.
Spike on the other hand continued on the couch, a confused frown on his face.
“Pet?”
“Are you coming to bed, Spike?” Fred’s voice was calm, contrasting with the myriad of hand gestures she was making at Spike, who continued sprawled on the couch, completely mystified.
Fred widened her eyes at him and he finally, reluctantly, got up and followed her into the bedroom.
It took a couple of seconds and the cold coming from the open refrigerator to get Buffy out of her stupor. She inhaled sharply, and tried hopelessly to swallow the lump that had instantly form in her throat.
‘You’re fine. You are fine.’ He brain told her. ‘Just because they are sleeping in the same room doesn’t mean they are…’ The feel of her stomach painfully contracting stopped that train of thought. ‘And even if they were…’ Another stomach cramp. ‘You don’t care about that. You just don’t care.’
“I don’t care.” She voiced out her thought as she walked back to her room.
~+~
When the door closed behind them Spike spoke:
“Most of the time your bizarre reactions are actually quite entertaining, but I gotta confess pet, this one I just don’t get.”
“You’re sleeping on the floor.” Fred announced taking one of the pillows and throwing it on the floor.”
“And not on the couch because…”
“It would defeat the whole purpose of making Buffy jealous, now wouldn’t it?” Fred explained adding two blankets to the pile on the floor.
“That’s not gonna work, luv.” He tried to discourage her.
“We’ll see.” She replied getting under the covers. “Could you please turn off the lights when you’re done?”
Spike stood in the middle of the room for a couple of seconds before he moved to flick the lights off. Reluctantly, he lay on the floor between the blankets.
“I guess I’m sleeping with clothes tonight.” He teased with a smirk.
“You guess right,” was the reply that came from between the sheets.
~+~
She frowned when she looked at her alarm clock and it read 7 am. It was time to get up and she hadn’t slept for a second. For some strange reason her ears kept alert to any noise that might have come from the other side of the wall that separated her room from his. Not a sound was heard all night.
Mumbling something under her breath she got up and started going through the usual routine of getting dress for classes.