Spike woke up, not at sunset as he usually did, but due to cold breeze. Not that vampires really cared about changes in temperature, but he opened his eyes anyway. Someone had removed the covers.

*Bloody buggerin’ hell!*

Of all mornings, this was the one he chose to, or maybe not to choose per se, but it was the one he had, a morning erection. And to add to the embarassing list, there was a young girl lying at his side staring at, what he usually referred to as Spike Jr., making its presence known. Although Spike always wore jeans of the tighter variety, there was no question about what was bulging in his pants. At this point, Spike did something very un-Spike like: he calmed himself down before he opened his mouth.

”See something you like?” he asked casually.

The question made Buffy shoot up and blushed a red color all over her cheeks.

” I… I didn’t…”

”No worries, pet.” He smirked. This was beginning to be too much fun.

*Stupid, stupid Buffy! What was she thinking, getting into the bed of a stranger. Of course he’d want something!*

”Do you… I mean you do…obviously…but do you… want me to….”

He arched an eyebrow. If she was suggesting what he thought she was suggesting, this was gonna lead to no good. Or probably to a lot of good, but that, in this case, meant bad.

”Do I want what, luv?”

”I just meant…I mean, you let me stay here and all…”

*Please don’t want something, please don’t want something* Buffy thought, the reality of the situation had crashed down upon her and she wanted, above everything else, just to hide. When he’d been asleep, she’d been curious, sure, but now he’d finally managed to scare her.

Spike put his hands behind his head smirking, letting her continue.

”I…Never mind.”

”Do you have any experience in this department, luv? You can’t be more than fifteen years old.”

No. Not him too. Treating her like a child. She was not a kid. So maybe she didn’t have a lot of experience, but it’s not like he knew that.

”Of course I do!”

”Yeah?”

”Uh huh. I mean yes! Of course. Loads and loads of experience! Can’t get too much of that, can you?” she said, a little bit too cheerfully.

He tried not to laugh at her as he sat up and covered his lap with the covers. It was quite obvious that the blonde girl was lying. Spike reached for his pack of cigarettes on the bedside table, put one in his mouth and lighted it with his favorite zippo lighter.

”So, what have ya done?”

”Well I… That’s none of your business!”

Spike chuckled and got out of the bed pulling one of his black T-shirts over his head.

Oh god, of course he knew she was lying, she’d better change the subject. ”What time is it?”

”Half past seven.”

It took her some time to come to the conclusion that it must be half past seven in the evening and not in the morning since it was day-time when she fell asleep.

Half past seven. At this time yesterday she’d been at a luxury restaurant with her parents, celebrating her father’s promotion. For once they have had a nice time and her parents have actually been civil towards each other. That and this trip to San Francisco over the weekend had made her believe that maybe, just maybe, they could work it out. But it wasn’t long before she found out about the truth. She felt sick. They were probably never going to have a family dinner ever again. She felt so alone.

Buffy curled up on the bed and started crying again. She knew she was acting like a total cry baby, but she couldn’t help it. Her life was falling apart.

”Oh come on!” Spike said, irritated. ”Don’t start crying again! I’ll throw you out!”

She ignored him. She had actually thought that she could keep them together, that somehow if she was the perfect, smiling, happy daughter, they would be happy too. It was naive and she knew it, but she couldn’t help feeling abandoned. Her father was leaving, didn’t he love her?

”I’m not gonna have sex with you, stupid bint! I have a girlfriend for that, thank you very much, so there’s no need to get weepy.”

Of course, Spike had gotten the wrong idea and thought that she was crying over him.
He poured himself a glass of scotch at the minibar, feeling as sure as hell he was going to need it.

”Doesn’t he love me?”

”Who?” Spike was confused. This chit was driving him crazy. Literally. And why hadn’t he eaten her yet?

”Dad! He’s leaving, moving out to God knows where! And I…I don’t think he loves me anymore!”

Spike sat down on the bed again, glass in one hand, unsure of what to do. And when he was unsure of what to do, he did the only natural thing. He spoke his mind.

”What? You want him to stay with a woman he doesn’t love just because it makes your picture of the Perfect American family?” His voice was harsh and mocking. Buffy continued to cry.

”Yes! I mean…No! But...”

”But what? Stop being so god damn selfish, will you? I’m quite sure there’s nothing you can or could have done about it! All this whining is not going to get you anywhere!” He was practically screaming at the young girl but somehow he had calmed her down.

”You mean that? There…there’s nothing I could have done?”

”Yes!”

”And Dad loves me?”

”How the hell am I supposed to know that?! You’ll have to ask the wanker.”

He was right; it was a stupid question, but one she would very much like to have an answer to.

There was a moment of silence, before Buffy decided he was right yet again. No more crying. She was not a kid anymore, better be acting like it. From now on there was not going to be any more moping. She sat up on the bed and decided to change the subject.

”So where’s your girlfriend?”

Dru. Where was she? Probably where he left her at Miancos, a black warlock friend of theirs. If vampires could make friends, that is. Spike knew there was a reason he hated the bugger when he started conjuring up magic playthings for his precious princess, and would have ripped the bastard’s head off if he didn’t know that the warlock could put a spell on him the second he acted on his thoughts. If there was one thing Spike hated it was magic. And especially being on the receiving end of it.

”Dru? Well…she’s not here.”

*The chit would probably not understand the need for a break when you’ve been with someone for a hundred years, not now when her parents were divorcing and all.* he thought. The truth was he tried desperately to get her to follow him to the States but she had refused.

”Did you break up?”

”No, nothing like that, she’s at a friend’s place in South America.”

”Oh.”

He knew she’d be back though. They were meant to be together forever, he and his princess. She’d come around soon enough and then they would take that trip he promised her, to Prague.

”Do you miss her?”

”What is this? 20 bloody questions?”

”Oh, oh that game is funny!”

”You wanna play 20 questions?” he asked her incredulously.

”Nah. You’re just gonna ask me a bunch of embarrassing stuff.”

”You’re right, I would. Evil, remember?”

”Yeah, whatever.”

The truth was, he was beginning to doubt his evilness when it came to this particular girl. For some reason he did not know, he had not killed her, not raped her, not tortured her even for a bit and there was nothing stopping him. The only thing that showed he was in fact a vampire was the drained porter lying in the bathtub and his lack of heartbeat.

”You shouldn’t smoke those,” Buffy said as Spike put a new cigarette in his mouth and lighted it up.

”And why is that?”

”They will kill you.”

”Already dead.”

She snorted, not believing in him. ”Well, maybe I don’t want to be a part of your little suicide mission.”

”Well, the door is right there.” He waved his hand at the door with the other hand that was not holding the harmless cig for him.

She ignored him and walked up to the mirror only to see her face swollen after all the crying with mascara smudged underneath the eyes.

”Uugh, I look terrible! Why didn’t you say something?”

When he looked at her now he could see what she was complaining about. The smeared make-up and the messy hair, but somehow he couldn’t call her ugly. In fact he found her..cute? *No, no, no, not cute. That wasn’t even a word he used, that was for puppies and babies and other not so pleasant things.*

”You look like shit.”

”And you’re telling me now?”

Spike just sat there on the bed and watched with a chuckle as Buffy tried to fix her hair. She soon gave up and headed towards the bathroom.

”Where are you going?”

”The bathroom?” There it was again. The Buffy Summers ’duh’ look. ”Is that okay with you?” she taunted.

”Umm..” Spike had just remembered the corpse in the bathtub. Sure, it would have been fun as hell watching her eyes grow big at the sight of it, but there would probably be some kind of high-pitched screaming involved, something he couldn’t stand. Or that was the reason he gave himself for stopping her anyway.

”You shouldn’t go in there. Something wrong with the pipes. It smells like shit.”

Buffy wrinkled her nose in disgust in a way that would have made Cordelia proud. Although Buffy had of course no idea who Cordelia was since they haven’t met yet.

”Eww.”

Spike was surprised at his actions. But this little game they were playing, pretending to be someone else, well he couldn’t say he enjoyed it, since all the things he enjoyed revolved around Dru, sex, drinking, killing and The Sex Pistols. And since none of that applied to Buffy, he was not enjoying himself.

”Wait, what time did you say it was?”

”Half past seven, but that was a while ago. Now it’s more like ten past eight.”

”Oh no.”

”What now?”

”We’re leaving tonight. I… the flight is at nine. Oh my god…”

”Afraid we won’t see each other again? Gonna miss me?”

”What if they left without me! My parents! They should be at the airport by now! Oh my god.” Buffy was beginning to panic and walked in circles in the hotel bedroom.

”Well hurry along then.”

She stopped. ”Right.”

”Right,” he answered. She hadn’t moved a bit.

”But I don’t want to see them now!”

”Well you have to, pet. Part of life an’ all that. Not always fair.”

”Can’t I stay here with you? Just for a while?”

”NO! You cannot!” Spike was somewhat relieved that the girl was finally leaving. He dreaded spending another night in her presence.

”But…”

”No.”

”Fine!” She turned around, a determined look on her face as she marched out of the door and out of the life of William the Bloody.

For the time being.




A/N: Sorry if I’m taking the whole divore thingy to lightly, but I didn’t want it to be more angsty than it already is, hope no one takes offence.

And huge thanks to Luxferi my beta! You're the best!

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