Chapter 8

“If my mom was still here when you came back, how would things be right now?”

Spike thought about her question. “I’m not sure, but I know that it could never be the way it was. Too much time passed for her; I wouldn’t have expected her to still be in love with me. Besides, it didn’t take her all that long to find a new bloke,” he said, surprised by the lack of jealousy in his voice.

She scoffed. “Yeah, what a great choice that was. A complete loser that couldn’t even handle dealing with a kid, so he bailed when things got too complicated. I hope I never find someone like that.”

He smiled down at her. “I’m sure you won’t.”

Buffy cuddled up to his side, realizing just how right it felt. “We’re supposed to be patrolling now. I told Giles that we would.”

Spike shrugged. “I like holding you, just give me another minute.”

She smiled against his chest, not about to argue with that.


* * * * *


Buffy hurried to class the next day, running late as usual. She wasn’t paying attention and crashed right into another body, causing her books to fall to the floor. She bent down to pick them up, cringing at the voice that spoke.

“God, graceful much? Watch where you’re going, Pyro Girl.”

Buffy stood up and watched as Harmony walked away, followed by her sheep. She saw Willow standing there and shook her head. “You cause one accidental fire in your life and they never let you forget it.”

“Don’t let her get to you, Buffy. Harmony’s mission in life is to make everyone miserable,” Willow commented.

Buffy agreed. “Well, it’s working. I would give anything for her to be a vampire, so I can stake her and finally be rid of that twit, but no such luck.”

Willow laughed at that image. “Harmony would die without a reflection. Hey, have you seen Xander today?”

Buffy shook her head, glad for the subject change. “No, I was about to ask you that.”

Willow shrugged as they both walked to class, noticing that Xander wasn’t there.

“Maybe he overslept or something.”

Buffy nodded. “Yeah, you never know with him.”

They sat down and waited for class to begin, hoping that their friend was okay.


* * * * *


“I’ll meet you in the library, Will.”

The redhead nodded and headed in the other direction.

Buffy then made her way into the restroom. She glanced at her reflection, washing her face and letting out a breath. She heard familiar voices and went into a stall, closing the door behind her just as Harmony and another girl entered the bathroom.

“You should have seen this guy, Tiffany. He was sex on legs, and he’s in college. That’s just what I need; the boys at this school do nothing for me. I need a real man, and Spike definitely qualifies.”

Buffy’s eyes widened at that.

“What happened after the Bronze?” her friend wondered.

Harmony reapplied her lipstick. “He just got all growly and dragged lame Buffy Summers out of there. I don’t even know what that was about. He’s probably her babysitter. That would actually explain a lot. There would be no other reason for a guy that sexy to hang out with such a loser.”

Tiffany shrugged. “You don’t think he might be her boyfriend?”

Harmony laughed. “Are you serious? A freak like her could never get a guy like Spike. If they are together, they won’t be for long. He’ll forget all about Betty once I’m done with him.”

Buffy clenched her fists at her side, wanting more than anything to go out there and show Harmony just who Spike belonged to. She frowned at that thought, knowing he didn’t exactly belong to her, but she would sure as hell not let Harmony touch him. He deserved better than that flake, even if it wasn’t her. When she heard them both finally leave, she exited the stall and stood in front of the mirror. It was time for things to change.


* * * * *


“Are you okay, Buffy? You’ve been really quiet.”

She glanced up at her concerned friend. “I’m fine; just have a lot on my mind. I want to find out more about Spike’s past, what he was like as a human, stuff like that. Giles would have books about him, right?”

Willow nodded. “He might, especially if your mom was involved with him. Giles would have probably wanted to know all that he could about Spike.”

Buffy agreed. “Yeah, I have to find those books. They’re probably at the house somewhere, looks like I’ll be waiting until he’s asleep. I bet they’re in his office. I’m never allowed in there,” she said with a pout.

Willow didn’t think that was the best idea, but there was no stopping Buffy when she put her mind to something.

They both suddenly heard a sound coming from the stacks, exchanging looks with each other and deciding to check it out. What they found had both of their jaws dropping.

“Pinch me, Will. Either this is a really bad dream, or I’ve entered an alternate dimension.”

Willow pinched her arm, not able to take her eyes off of the disturbing sight in front of them. “No, you’re definitely not dreaming.”

Xander pulled away when he finally noticed them both standing there, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Hey, when did you guys show up?”

Cordelia looked embarrassed to be caught, then appalled when she realized that she was making out with one of the biggest dorks in school. “This never happened,” she told them, turning to Xander and thrusting her finger in his face. “If you tell anyone about this, Harris, I will make you regret it.” She stomped away from them, leaving Xander to stare after her in shock.

Buffy was the first one to break the silence as she gazed at Willow. “Damn, I owe you ten bucks now.”


* * * * *


“I still can’t believe it. Cordelia Chase? What is he thinking? She’s like a brunette version of Harmony.”

Spike tackled her to the ground, staring down into her eyes. “You’re letting yourself get distracted, love. Your mate is a big boy; maybe he really likes the bird. I doubt there’s anything you can do about it.”

Buffy threw him off of her, getting into a fighting stance. “I refuse to believe that, even Xander has more sense than that. Cordelia’s picked on him since the first grade,” she stated, dodging the few punches that he threw at her.

“Well, you’re not little bits anymore, things change.”

Buffy shook her head. “People like that never change; she’s a barracuda that would only end up hurting him. We have to make him realize that getting involved with Cordelia would be a really bad idea. She’s not even willing to tell anyone about their make out session, just wants Xander to be her dirty little secret. He’s better than that, and I won’t let that bitch…” she was cut off when Spike’s lips crashed down on hers.

He pulled away after a moment, touching his forehead to hers.

It took a lot of effort for Buffy to get her voice to work. “Was that because you wanted to kiss me, or just to shut me up?” she whispered.

Spike grinned. “A little of both,” he replied.

Buffy nodded. “Okay,” she said, then claimed his lips with hers once again.