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Running from the Inevitable by The Enemy of Reality
 
Chapter seven
 
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A/N: Thank you so much everyone who has left me a review!!! Love you!

Wonderful betas: All4Spike and BlodyHell


Chapter 7


Sleep was of the good. Of the best, really. So why was her mom obnoxiously shaking her shoulder?


“Just five more minutes, Mom,” she muttered and tried to plunge right back into sleep. Or she would have if it weren’t for someone still shaking her hard enough to make her teeth rattle.


Her eyes popped open, heart hammering.


“What!” she said, glancing wildly around. Why was she in a car?


“Wakey wakey, Slayer.”


Oh, right. She and Spike were temporary traveling companions. And he looked way too entertained by her momentary disorientation.


“Geez, could you wake me up any gentler?”


He bit his lip. “I thought you liked it rough.”


Groaning, she climbed out of the car and closed the door. “Really. Predictable much? And can I just say ‘icky’?”


“If you say so,” he said, amused and proceeded to swagger towards the lobby of a small motel like he owned it. She wrinkled her nose and followed him. Ritz, it was not.


She watched him dig a few crumpled bills out of the front pocket of his jeans and toss them on the counter in exchange for keys.


The walk towards their room was short and fortunately innuendo free.


“Home, sweet home,” Spike said sarcastically as he stepped over the vampire friendly threshold, slid out of his duster that he’d wrestled back from her and folded it over a nearby chair. He had nice shoulders, for a bloodsucking fiend.


“How far away are we from Sunnydale?” she asked.


“Not by much. We’d be there in a few hours if it weren’t for my sun affliction.”


“So it’s your fault,” she pointed out. “Go figure.”


“Aren’t you tired? You should catch a few winks. Stop giving me a headache.”


“Nope, no can do, Spikey.” She collapsed on the motel bed with a blissful sigh, listening to him moving around the room and fiddle with the curtains to avoid flamey death when the sun came up in half an hour or so. “I’m hungry.”


“Well, so am I. You offering?”


She replied by picking up a pillow and throwing it at his head with deadly accuracy.


“You know, you keep throwing pillows at me instead of kicking me in the head… I might get funny ideas.”


“Kicking your ass would require me actually bothering to stand up and walk over to you.” She toed off the slippers and drew a blanket to cover herself before rolling onto her stomach.


Spike sat down on the twin bed next to hers. It was that exact moment her stomach chose to growl. Loudly. Embarrassed, Buffy burrowed her face in the remaining pillow. Anytime now Spike would make a scathing remark or make fun of her.


But it never came.


She lifted her head just in time to see him reach to the night stand to pick up the phone.


“What are yo-”


He lifted his hand palm up. “Shh.”


Then he asked the person on the phone—probably the receptionist—for a phone number on the nearest take away pizza place. Her jaw dropped.


Five minutes later, Spike put the phone back on its cradle and turned on the TV.


“Do you think they’ve got pay per view porn here?”


“You are not watching porn with me in the same room,” she said dryly and propped her chin up on her crossed arms. “You ordered a pizza. For me.”


He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and shifted on the bed. “Who said it’s just for you? I happen to like junk food.”


The amount of thanks she was due to say to him was starting to get pretty ridiculous. So she smiled and said instead, “Then you’re going to have to race me for it. You have no idea what you just got yourself into. When it comes to pizza, nothing stands in my way.”


He arched a brow. “You don’t say. Is that a challenge?”


“You’re so on.”


*******


Buffy lay on her back and rubbed her stomach. “Ugh, I feel sick.”


“Bloody hell, Slayer, you practically inhaled the thing.” He stared down at her in awed astonishment from his sitting position with his back leaning against the bed. “You weren’t kidding.”


She stared longingly at Spike as he reached out to pick up the last slice, happily munching on it. Which was actually the second slice he managed to steal from the whole box before she got her hands on it. If only she weren’t bursting at the seams already, she might even fight him for it. The melting cheese stretched from the slice to Spike’s mouth until it finally snapped and landed on his chin. He pulled it into his mouth with relish and licked his lips.


“You eat like a pig,” she said.


He sucked the sauce off his fingers, the cheekbones even more prominent at the motion. “Correction… I eat like a man.”


She shrugged. “Same diff.”


He swallowed and inclined his head in appreciation. “Touché.”


Suddenly something occurred to her. “Aren’t you uncomfortable wearing those boots?”


He glanced down at his stretched out legs. “Uh, guess so.” Then he pulled the boots off. By the time his gaze landed on the yellow heart socks, Buffy was giggling like a crazy person and pointing at his feet that were currently only inches away from hers.


He chuckled and shrugged. “What, Slayer? My diverse fashion sense too much for you?”


She snorted, which only made her laugh more. She didn’t remember the last time she laughed as much as she did in the last couple of days with Spike. She hadn’t even thought of Angel… until now. She sobered a bit.


“What’s with the sudden frown?” He cocked his head to the side, regarding her. “Lactose intolerant?”


“What? Ew… no,” she said, wrinkling up her nose. Better steer the subject into less Angel polluted waters. “So, what happened with the socks? It’s quite an interesting choice.”


“Don’t rightly remember, to be honest. Must have been somewhere between the first and… the indeterminate number of bottles that followed.”


“I’ve never been drunk,” she admitted.


His eyebrows almost shot up to his hairline. “Never? You’re yanking my chain, aren’t you? Surely even such a goody two shoes like you must have had a taste of the wild side.”


“There’s not even a chain to be yanked… stupid saying doesn’t make any sense,” she muttered and sat up, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. “It’s not like Mom would just hand me the liquor, you know. And I’d get grounded for at least a year if I came home wasted.”


He shook his head ruefully. “Oh, Slayer. One day, I’ll drink you under the table.”


“Getting drunk with a vampire… sounds like a safe plan,” she said in a voice heavy with sarcasm.


It would be a terrible, dangerous plan because she might actually find him attractive.


Like you don’t already.


Shut up, brain.



“If I wanted to off you, I would have done so already, alright?” And he actually looked a bit hurt. That shouldn’t make her feel bad, but it did, which naturally made her lash out.


“Well, excuse me for being paranoid. But you were trying to kill me the whole past year! You sent the Order of Taraka assassins after me!”


“Well, yeah, but… actually I don’t have an excuse. At least I haven’t tried to kill you recently, have I? Had you all drowsy and delicious smelling right under my fangs and never even took a nibble.”


He thinks I smell delicious?


She had nothing to say to that.


“Oh….shit,” she said, remembering something. “I should call Giles! I bet he’s out of his mind with worry.”


“Or he’s throwing a party, happy you lot gave him bit of a free time for a change.”


She sent him a threatening glare that she’d perfected over the years of slaying. But this was Spike, not some pimple faced fledgling, so his eyes sparkling with amusement really shouldn’t have surprised her. And the fact he was cute when he did that? She had to stop noticing such things.


Realising she’d been staring at him, Buffy shot to her feet, sat down on his bed and picked up the phone. Giles answered after a several rings, his voice groggy with sleep.


“Hello?”


“Giles! Hi. It’s me, Buffy.”


She heard his sheets ruffle. “Buffy? What on earth are you calling me for at… half past four in the morning? Is there an apocalypse?”


“Umm… no? Just thought I’d call you because I didn’t want you to worry about me, which obviously… you haven’t. Sorry.”


“I always worry about you, Buffy. I just thought you took some time off after… so you would…”


“You can say his name, you know.”


“Ah, yes,” Giles said. “Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”


I’m with Spike and I almost died twice, but he saved my life. Instead she said, “We might have a problem. These Amazon chicks are after u-… me. After me.”


There was a grunt on the other side of the line then squeak of the bed springs as Giles probably sat up. “Amazon, you say. Fascinating.”


“Not so much.”


“And they’re after you? They a-are very vengeful from what I’ve read. Persistent. Once they’ve set their eyes on you, it’s hard to get rid of them.”


Buffy’s shoulders sagged. “Great. I'll take care of it, I guess.”


“Are you going to be okay? Do you need my help?”


“No, I’ve got it. I might have to tail them, so tell my mom I’m peachy keen in case she comes home sooner than me,” Buffy said. “I’ll update you as soon as I can.”


“I’ll tell her. Call me if you need help. I mean it.”


“I will. Thanks Giles.”


“You’re welcome,” he said. “Good night, Buffy.”


“Good night.”


Spike poked her in the calf to get her attention. “What was that all about?”


“He hadn’t even noticed I was missing,” she mumbled.


“Hey, now.” He awkwardly patted her knee. “Thought you wanted some time off, didn’t he?”


Compassionate Spike was so not something she could deal with right now.


“I’ve got a plan,” she said.


“Lay it on me then.”


“Okay, plan A is you driving me home and me hoping they’ll only come after you.”


“Never pegged you for a coward, Slayer.”


She pursed her lips in irritation and continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “And plan B is we divert them to a secluded location and fight. Giles said they’re persistent and I assume once you pulled me into this whole crappy situation, I’ll have to count on them coming after me as well.”


Spike tucked the tip of his tongue against the front teeth, thinking. “So you figure we have a better chance joining forces rather than taking them on our lonesome.”


He was expecting a reply? Now? Damn that evil tongue. With great effort, Buffy tore her eyes away from his wicked mouth. “Y-yes.”


Spike suddenly sprang to his feet and clapped his hands. “Right then. I’m itching for some action.”


The overwhelming grin spread across his face was both annoying and a little contagious. She bit it back as well as she could.


“Don’t get overly excited. It’s not like we can go out right now.”


“Oh, cheer up. Don’t tell me you don’t crave some rough and tumble.” He waggled his eyebrows.


“Of the fighty kind! No other… stuff.”


“Someone’s got a dirty mind,” he sing-songed and traced his long artistic fingers down his chest. Helpless, her eyes followed the motion without her consent.


“Don’t even try to pretend you weren’t being all Mister Innuendo guy.”


“Not like you’ll ever know,” he said, turning on his heel to disappear inside a small bathroom. “Gonna take a shower now. Try not to miss me too much.”


“Jerk,” she muttered.


His only reply was a deep laugh that tugged at her very core. The sooner she was away from the strange temptation Spike seemed to represent, the better.


TBC


A/N: I wouldn't mind knowing if you liked or not. Just saying. ;)
 
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