Chapter 23
Buffy nervously tapped her pencil on her desk as she rapidly skimmed through the pages of her textbook. Occasionally, she’d throw a glance at the bleached teen sitting next to her, but she’d quickly look back down to bury her gaze in the small black letters in front of her.
They hadn’t spoken a word after they had left the gang to head for class. They’d simply walked down the hall; her small hand wrapped in his until they reached their destination and entered the room to take their seats.
Buffy jumped up when she felt something lightly brush over her shoulder.
Spike immediately retracted the offending hand and looked at her from under a frown:
“Are you ok, Summers?” He asked.
“I-I’m fine.” She quickly answered staring back down at her book.
The bell rang causing her to jolt up again.
“Oh, you’re just fine.” Spike mocked sarcastically in a low voice as all the students around them started standing and packing their things.
‘God, this is so weird. What the hell is this?’ Buffy wondered closing her book and placing it in her backpack. Standing up, she continued her mental babbling: ‘Is this like official? Are we dating? Or is this just… What the *hell* is this? What are-‘
Buffy’s thoughts froze as she felt a strong arm worm itself around her waist. She looked up to see Spike picking up his notepad and pencil before glancing at her.
“Ready?” He asked.
He looked so at ease, so comfortable. Maybe he knew what the hell it was that they had between them. Buffy swallowed hard and nodded before they walked out of the classroom together.
“So, are you gonna tell me why you’re all jumpy?” He questioned, tilting his head as he looked at her.
It took a while for Buffy to process the information as her mind still dwelled on the thumb that was hooked on her denim skirt and the arm, which came attached to it.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear- Ah!” She cried out as someone crashed straight into them.
When she regained her balance she looked down to see Andrew on the floor, desperately trying to scramble up to his feet.
“Are you ok?” Spike asked Buffy. When she nodded, he turned his attention to the nerdy boy that had already managed to stand up.
When he finished gathering his things, Andrew looked up at the blonde couple; a hint of fear in his eyes.
“I-I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to- I’m- I-I was running and I-“ He stuttered wildly.
“It’s ok. Don’t worry.” Buffy quickly reassured him. She frowned when she saw the fear in Andrew’s eyes was mostly directed at Spike. Her gaze travelled from the one boy to the other, trying to decipher what ever it was that they were silently communicating through their eyes.
Suddenly, Andrew was off, running through the crowd of teenagers, leaving a stunned Buffy behind. She looked up to find Spike still looking into the distance, after Andrew.
“What was that all about?” She questioned.
That seemed to snap Spike out of his thoughts. Shaking his head he looked down at Buffy and shrugged:
“Beats me, luv.”
Buffy furrowed her brow, not convinced by his answer. She was about to say something when he wormed his fingers between hers taking her hand into his and pulling her down the hall.
*****
Xander dropped his tray on the table and let out a frustrated groan.
“Meatloaf! Yummy!” He said with fake enthusiasm.
“God! That thing looks like it’s been rotting for weeks.” Cordelia said disgusted as she brought her hand to cover her mouth.
“I know this is gonna sound very weird, but I’m gonna say it anyway.” Willow warned. “I agree with Cordy.”
“Well, I’m hungry. I can’t just eat a bar of chocolate like you two.” He said pointing at Willow and Cordelia with his fork before digging into his food.
“Hey guys!” Buffy greeted as she and Spike took their seat on the table.
“You guys are risking eating that?” Cordelia asked pointing at Buffy and Spike’s plates.
“Don’t have a choice. Didn’t eat breakfast.” Buffy shrugged and inhaled sharply before picking up her fork. She jumped up when she felt someone kick her under the table.
She frowned and looked up at Spike when she realised the pleasantry had come from him. He simply glared at her with a semi-angry look.
“What?!” She quipped.
“You’re too skinny. You gotta eat better.” He mumbled before shovelling a piece of the meatloaf into his mouth.
Buffy frowned, but inside a tingling feeling took over her stomach. ‘He’s worried about my eating habits?’
“Where’s Oz?” Spike asked between bites.
“Rehearsing for the party on Saturday.” Willow answered brightly.
“Party?” Buffy questioned.
“Homecoming?” Xander tried to remind her.
“What about homecoming?” The petite blond continued in the dark.
“The party that Cordy gives every year after the homecoming dance. This year we get to go, since I’m dating the beautiful hostess.” Xander explained as he leaned in to give the brunette sitting next to him a quick peck on the cheek.
“And Oz’s band is playing.” Willow quickly added enthusiastically.
“Oh… right.”
“I really don’t feel like going to the dance. I mean, who thinks of those horrible decorations?” Cordelia cringed at the thought. “But I guess I have to be there to accept my crown.” She sighed audibly.
“Don’t worry, honey. It’s not your fault you’re so damn sexy.” Xander winked at her.
Buffy stared blindly at her plate, her face cringing at the sight of the ungodly mush.
“Quit shoving your food around and eat.” Spike said noticing she had barely eaten anything.
“Suddenly, I’m not that hungry.” She grumbled pushing her tray away from her.
“You have to-“ The Brit started but Buffy quickly cut him off.
“Spike! Forget it, I’m not eating *that*.” She said pointing at her plate with disdain.
“Buffy-“ Spike stopped in mid sentence when he felt someone run a finger down his chiselled cheek.
Everyone’s jaw practically fell off when they turned to see Dru leaning on the table right next to Spike.
After the initial shock, the bleached teen lightly nodded as he muttered:
“Dru…”
“Missed you at the Bronze on Friday. You took off so quickly. You silly bad boy. You know you shouldn’t run out on a girl like that.” She looked at him from under hooded eyes as she lightly slapped him on the forearm, her fingers lingering there afterwards.
“Hum… Sorry bout that, I…” Spike trailed off and simply started up at her.
“Well, I hope you don’t do that again at the Homecoming dance. I would be very-“
“Hey! Vapid ho! You wanted something?” Buffy’s angered tone cut her off.
“Oh… Hi, Buffy.” Dru practically spat the blonde’s name, giving her a dirty look. “I didn’t see you there.”
“Yeah, well – I’m here.” Buffy put on a plastic smile and tilted her head at the black haired girl.
Dru looked her up and down and then turned her attentions back to the teen next to her, ignoring Buffy.
“So, Spike… About homecoming…”
Buffy’s hand came flying out of nowhere and Dru suddenly found herself covered in a brownish mush which slowly dripped its way down her long raven hair.
“Buffy!” Spike quickly jumped to his feet.
“Oh, my God!” Dru cried out in horror as she desperately tried to get the thick, slimy mixture out of her hair.
“Buffy, what are you doing?” Spike asked as he awkwardly tried to help Dru by handing her all the available napkins.
“I’m doing what she was asking for.” Buffy growled as she began reaching for her tray once again.
Spike caught her action out of the corner of his eye and snatched her wrist in a tight grip.
“Stop it!” He ordered.
Buffy looked up at him in disbelief.
“You’re taking *her* side?”
“Buffy, I-“
She never gave him a chance to answer. With a violent move of her hand she freed herself from his grip and marched out of the cafeteria.
*****
Buffy furiously stomped her feet on the floor as she walked her way home. Four hours had passed since the cafeteria *incident* but she could still feel her blood boiling in her veins. ‘He took her side! I can’t believe he took her side. Bastard!’ She cursed him in her mind as she turned into Revello Drive. She was shoving her hand into the pocket of her backpack to grip the keys when she looked up to find *his* car parked in her driveway. She stopped dead in her tracks as the rage made her stomach turn. She took in a deep breath and continued to walk towards her house.
She ignored him when she saw him exit the car and start moving towards her.
“Buffy!” He called out when she walked past him and jogged up the steps of the front porch.
Angrily, she shoved the keys into the lock, blocking out his words, entering and quickly slamming the door in his face.
“Ow!” She heard him howl as the wood hit him right in the nose. “Bloody hell!” He grumbled opening the door and entering the house. “Summers!” He called out again.
But she refused to acknowledge him, climbing to her room, taking the steps two at a time while he quickly followed her. She entered her room and proceeded to do the same thing she had done with the front door of the house, but this time he was prepared, bringing his foot up to keep the wood from crashing into his face.
“We have to talk.” He stared.
“Do you mind? I’m trying to get dressed here!” She grumbled taking off her shoes.
“Oh, sorry!” He mumbled, quickly stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.
He stood outside for what seemed like an eternity.
“Pet, are you done yet?” He asked exasperated, but had no answer. “Summers…?”
Once more there was silence. He swallowed hard and slowly moved to open the door, sneaking his head in. He frowned when he found her lying on the bed, idly flipping through a magazine, wearing the exact same clothes she had for school that day, minus her shoes.
“I thought you were getting dressed.”
“I was.”
“Then why are you wearing the same clothes?” He asked annoyed.
“They’re not the same. They just look the same.” She quipped skimming through the pages, never bothering to look up.
“You did it again.” He finally realised as he remembered her using the same ‘I’m getting undressed’ trick a few days before.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She replied apparently completely oblivious to him.
Spike sighed audibly, closing the door behind him and moving towards the bed.
“We need to talk.” He repeated.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” She said with a forced smile, her eyes still buried between the pages.
“There isn’t?”
“Nope.” She let the magazine drop to the floor as she stood up. “You’re an idiot.” She continued with a fake good humour as she walked around him and exited her room.
“I’m an idiot?” He asked raising an eyebrow as he followed her.
She never answered, simply went down the stairs and into the kitchen. “And pray tell, why am I an idiot?” He questioned as he leaned on the doorframe.
Buffy chuckled sarcastically as she took out a glass and poured orange juice into it.
“You shouldn’t have done it.” Spike tried to rationalize.
She took a sip from the juice and proceeded with ignoring him as she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.
He groaned and rolled his eyes, searching for control as he trailed after her to find her sitting on the couch, flipping trough the channels.
“Summers, why are you acting this way?”
That did it. The anger which had been bobbling up in her finally spilled into her angered words:
“You took *her* side!” She cried out glaring daggers at him before looking back to the TV set.
“What was I supposed to do? Just let you pour your entire lunch down Dru’s shirt?” He exclaimed.
“That was an option.” She muttered between clenched teeth as her angry finger violently punched the buttons on the remote, her narrowed eyes glaring at the images coming from the TV.
“Buffy, will you just look at me? I’m trying to talk.” He exhaled.
“I don’t *want* to talk.” She replied, never so much as giving him a glance.
Suddenly, Spike snatched the remote from her hands and turned off the TV.
“Well, I do.” He growled.
“Give me that!” She ordered outstretching her hand.
“After we talk this through you can watch telly for as long as you bloody please. But now *we* are gonna talk about his.” He growled at her.
She stared angrily at him before standing up.
“Well you can just forget-“ She was yanked back down and forced to sit by Spike’s strong grip on her forearm.
“Buffy!” He snarled.
“Fine! Talk all you want. I’m not listening.” She replied crossing her arms over her chest.
“Will you stop acting like the spoiled little brat you are and just tell me what’s going on?”
“You took her side. *That’s* what going on! Why the hell are you even here? I’d think you’d be with the anorexic vampire wannabe right about now.” She started as she stood up and began walking about in the room.
“What are you talking about? I just did what I thought was the right thing. You were out of line, Buffy.” He augmented standing from his place on the couch.
“Was I? She was throwing herself at you and you were drooling all over her.” He was about to say something but she brought her hand up to silence him and she quickly continued: “And I know you are gonna say this is about me being jealous. Well, guess what? It’s not! It’s about me and the entire school seeing that you still have feelings for her an-and-“ She came to a halt as the anger seemed to erase all the words from her mind. “God, what the hell do you see in her? You talk about me and Angel and that I’m a masochist for still wanting him, but you’re the exact same thing! You’re even worse. You were actually drooling. You were- you were… God! I hate this! I hate not being able to say what I wanna say… I-I”
Spike slowly started walking towards her causing her to immediately take a step back. The few seconds that had gone by had helped her get a grip on herself and her thoughts. Her voice now was low and cold as she spoke.
“This is *not* about jealousy. *This* is about you and Dru making a fool of me in that cafeteria in front of *my* friends.” She paused looking up at him, taking deep breaths to keep from exploding.
“Buffy, I didn’t do anything. I was just talking to her. What was I supposed to do? Just ignore her.”
At his words the anger came crashing back down on her and she suddenly yelled:
“And what was I supposed to do? Just stand there while some skinny ho is batting her eyes and making the moves on my boyfriend?”
The two of them froze. She’d said it. The word they had danced around for the last couple of days – she’d said it.
“What did you say?” It was a mere whisper.
“Hum… My boy- I-I mean… You know, other people who-who think you and-and I are…” She tried to cover, bringing a trembling hand to brush away a few loose strand of her hair as she slowly backed away from him.
“Of course.” He agreed, but he continued to close the distance between them, his eyes narrowed.
“Right. So… “ She held her breath when she felt the wall against her back, her eyes glued to the floor. “… that’s why I… did the…” She was at a lost for words when she looked up at him.
“…Pouring of meatloaf all over Dru.” He completed her sentence as he took another step and closed the distance between them.
Her heart raced as if it wanted to leap out of her chest when he leaned in.
“Well!” She suddenly clapped her hands together, startling him for just long enough to slip away from him. “That’s all-“
She let out a small cry when suddenly she found herself being turned around as Spike held a strong grip on her arm.
“Why do you keep running?” He whispered.
“I-I’m not running.” She tried to laugh, but it came out as a forced chuckle when he gruffly pulled her closer to him; her chest crushed against his, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. “Let go…” She demanded unconvincingly.
“Are you sure that’s what you want, Summers?” He asked with a semi-cocky grin on his face, their closeness was getting to him and he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to restrain himself.
She opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out, so she nodded weakly. Her heart sank when she felt him loosen his grip on her and step away. They stood there, in silence, looking at each other.
“Well, I guess we-“ She began, slowly turning away from him, when she heard him mutter.
“Oh, bloody hell!”
“Wha-“
Spike was suddenly all over her, never giving her a chance to finish. His arms wrapped themselves around her, his hands erratically moved over her back, her thighs in a desperate attempt to get her closer to him, while his mouth came down to claim hers in a demanding kiss.
After the momentary surprise she managed to push him away, just enough so she could ask:
“Spike…” She swallowed hard as his lips attacked her neck, placing a series of open-mouth kissed on the tender flesh there. “What are you… doing?” She breathed.
With his face still buried in her throat he answered her directly in a husky, low voice:
“What I’ve been wanting to do since Saturday.”
And then his mouth was on hers, never giving her a chance to answer as his tongue slipped between her lips to join hers in a tug of war. Spike pressed against her, backing her up against the couch until her legs reached the edge of the sofa and she was tipped over, bringing the black-clad teen down with her.
Buffy’s hands flew under the lapels of his duster and successfully pulled the item off him as they continued to kiss. Spike’s own fingers quickly found their way to the edge of Buffy’s denim skirt and tugged it upwards as they travelled up her tanned legs.
‘Oh, my God! What am I doing? We’re doing it again. Oh, God! Oh, God!’ she thought over and over again but, apparently, her body refused to follow her mind and all its doubts. Quite on the contrary, every fibre in her seemed to know exactly what to do as her fingers quickly unbuttoned his shirt, leaving his chest bare and exposed to her nails.
Spike let out a rough growl when he felt her graze her way down his abdomen to the waistband of his jeans. Her small fingers duelled with the belt buckle there while his own hand slipped under her sweater and pulled it upwards until it was over her head and discarded to the floor. He gasped when he saw her, laying under him, flushed face, glassy eyes focussed on the buttons of his jeans, her small breasts covered in nothing but a small lacy bra. Only then did he realise he had never seen her naked. The other night… she had managed to keep her nightgown on the entire time. ‘God, she looks-Bloody hell!’ He cursed in his thoughts, his eyes rolling back in their sockets when he felt her fingers encircle him. He braced himself on his forearms, on each side of her head as she began to slowly pump him.
She watched, amazed, as he occasionally let out small moans with his eyes closed and his teeth clenched only serving to sharpen his chiselled features. Slowly, he seemed to recover from the initial shock and was able to start moving.
It was Buffy’s turn to gasp when he leaned down and brushed his lips over her neck, while his fingers slipped between her legs. He languorously traced small circles on his way up her inner thigh until he reached the edge of her panties. Never giving her a chance to prepare he pushed the thin layer to the side and drove one long finger into her.
“Ah!” Buffy gasped closing her eyes and arching her neck into his mouth.
They both stopped for a moment and then began slowly moving their hands again. A mixture of moaned and muffled cries escaped them both as they rocked against each other’s fingers, pulling and pushing in a slow, mind-numbing pace.
As the desire grew inside of her, Buffy’s free hand came to push his away from her core, while the other lazily guided him to her entrance.
“Oh, God… Buffy…” Her name tumbled from his lips, when he felt her moist folds brush against the tip of his cook. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, pondering how to tell her…
When he refused to move his hips and slip inside of her, Buffy let out a frustrated moan and rocked her hips against his. Spike immediately rested his hands on her thighs pulling them down and away from him.
Buffy frowned and tried to look at him, but his face was still pressed against her neck. She patiently waited for him to gather himself, and remained still, watching him pull deep pants from his lungs.
“I don’t have any.” He grumbled frustrated.
“What?”
Spike moved to look down at her. “Condoms, luv… Didn’t get a chance to buy any.” He explained as he sat up and began tucking himself into his pants.
“But… We can…” Buffy started but trailed off.
They sat on the couch in silence, until Spike’s awkward voice was heard:
“I-I can go… buy some?” He half expected her to shout a string of curses at him or something, but when he didn’t hear a sound from her, he dared to look at her.
“You could…” She trailed off.
In a flash he was up and picking up his duster.
“Be back in a second.” He breathed, giving her a light peck on the lips before rushing out the door.