Chapter 7
“You saved Buffy from being robbed?” Xander finally asked.
“Oh, he can speak.” Spike mocked sarcastically. “And yep. Beat him up real good. And he wasn’t small either. Big, beefy, six feet and a half. Huge, giant- Ouch!”
He winced as Buffy once again aimed the heel of her boot to the sensitive flesh of his shin.
“He’s exaggerating.” The blonde intervened giving the table a wide, plastic smile.
“No, I’m not. He was huge and he had a gun-“
“No, he didn’t!” She cut him off shooting fireballs from her green eyes.
“Yes, he did. You just didn’t see it.” Spike insisted.
“No, he didn’t.”
“Yes, he did.”
“No, he –“
“Someone please stop them.” Oz pleaded monotonically.
“I-I think that the important thing is that you’re safe and nothing bad happened.” Willow, ever the diplomat intervened.
The two blondes eyed each other in disgust, eventually returning their attention to their plates. The rest of the meal was spent in an awkward silence.
“Well, we better go.” Buffy suddenly stood up as the stillness finally got to her.
“Yeah. Classes and all.” Willow agreed following Buffy and leaving the three men alone to stare at each other.
~+~
“What were you thinking?” Buffy shrieked as she strode quickly down the road.
“I was just doing what you told me to.” Spike defended himself as he quickened his pace to catch up to her.
“Six feet and a half? And with a gun?” She stopped to look at him, incredulous.
“What? So I embellished.” He admitted.
“Embellish? You call that embellish?” She asked with a frown. “I think you should buy yourself a dictionary because *that* was definitely not embellishing.
Embellishing doesn’t even begin to cover it. I mean, do you honestly think that they would believe you. How dumb do you think they are?” She saw the cocky grin starting to spread over his lips and quickly added: “Don’t answer that.”
With a loud sigh she began walking again, her house coming into view at the horizon.
“I wanted to make the story a little more interesting.” Spike tried to explain himself.
“Interesting? I thought we were aiming for believable.” She snarled as she continued to make her way home without dispensing him a glance.
They walked briskly and reached the front porch of her house.
“Look, I’m sorry, alright?” He apologized.
“Sorry?” She started but he interrupted her.
“Ok, could you please stop repeating every word I say? It’s really starting to get to me.”
“Grrr…” She growled pushing the door open and entering the house.
She stomped her way up the stairs and into her bedroom with Spike trailing behind. Her hand automatically reached for the hem of her shirt when she glanced at him with an annoyed look.
“Do you mind? I’m trying to get undressed here.”
“Oh! Sorry, luv! I’ll just wait downstairs.” Spike said awkwardly heading down the hall.
~+~
Angry footsteps echoed through the house as she made her way down the stairs.
“What are you still doing here?” She asked as she saw the Brit sprawled on her couch, TV remote in his hands as he mindlessly flipped through the channels.
“You’ve got cable.” He noted without looking at her.
“I know that. It’s my TV; it’s my living room, my house. What are you still doing in it?” Her words oozed with sarcasm as she stood there, arms folded over her chest.
Spike turned his head and glanced at her before returning his attention to the screen.
“We don’t have cable at home. Da thinks TV is a bad influence. Wants me to read books instead.” He mumbled.
Buffy stomped her way to the middle of the living room, standing between the Brit and the TV.
“You’re blocking the view, luv.” He grumbled looking up at her.
“Glad you noticed, it was the point. What are you still doing here?”
Sighing audibly, Spike sat up and turned off the TV.
“Talk about tomorrow.”
“What about tomorrow? Spike, wake up. It’s over! It didn’t work.” She tried to make him see.
“Of course it did.” He disagreed.
“What reality were you in? Cause in mine people were staring at us like we were two green eyed freaks or something. Everyone knows we hate each other. It’ll never work.” She maintained.
“It’s going to work.” Spike insisted standing up.
“Ok. Which part didn’t you get? Cause I can explain it again if you need me to.”
“I need to make this work, Bet-“
“IT’S BUFFY!” she screamed waving her hands in the air and trudging her way into the kitchen, leaving him behind.
After a few seconds, the Brit was in the tiled room, leaning against the fridge.
“I’m sorry.” He mumbled.
She just stood there, a warm mug of hot chocolate in her hands, watching him with an annoyed expression.
“I need for this to work…” he started after swallowing hard. “I-I need her back. I need Dru with me or…” The words chocked in his throat.
Somewhere, deep inside, she felt a hint of pity for the poor guy, but before she could stop herself, harsh words escaped her parted lips:
“You’re not gonna cry, are you?”
Spike froze, feeling as if someone had just punched him hard in the stomach. Looking up, he narrowed his eyes, instant anger flashing in them. Without a word, he turned on his heels and exited the house, slamming the door behind him.
She stood there for a second, a pang of regret causing her to ponder going after him. In took a few seconds, but eventually it disappeared and she turned towards the sink to wash the cup in her hands.