She watched him from afar, as she usually made a habit of doing. He’s smiling at the brunette beauty next to him, whispering softly in her ear and causing her to giggle. William Pratt, also known as Spike to his friends, was always the object of her affections. Buffy let out yet another sigh, wishing that she was the girl on the receiving end of those smiles, but that’s all it was, just wishful thinking. She forced a smile on her face as he headed in her direction, having a feeling about what he would say.
“Hey, love, can I get a rain check? Dru wanted me to take her out tonight; I can’t believe I forgot about our one year anniversary. We can go to the movies another time, okay?”
It was hard to keep up a smile when your heart was breaking. “Sure, maybe we can do something next weekend.”
He beamed at her, placing a quick kiss on her cheek. “You’re the best, I’ll call you later.”
Buffy nodded and watched him walk away, the smile wiping off of her features. She stayed in that position, finally being ripped out of her trance at the sound of another voice.
“If you stare at him any harder, your eyes will fall out.”
Buffy shook her head, gazing at the red headed girl beside her. “Sorry, Willow, I must have blanked again.”
She looked at the blonde in sympathy. “I can’t watch you go through another year of this, Buffy. Why don’t you just tell Spike how you feel about him? Anything would be better than this.”
“I’m used to getting rejected, but I don’t think I could take getting rejected by my best friend. We’ve known each other since kindergarten. If he hasn’t noticed me yet as more than a friend, then he’s never going to. God, he probably thinks of me as a sister. Do you know what a complete slap in the face that is?”
Willow grabbed Buffy’s arm and pulled her out of the school. “Okay, it’s time for a girl’s night. What do you say about staying up all night, watching sappy movies, and pigging out on ice cream?”
Buffy shrugged. “Could we make those action movies? I’m in the mood for people getting their heads blown off, at least that won’t have me bawling like a baby into the ice cream tub.”
Willow patted her friend on the back. “Sounds like a plan.”
* * * * *
“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me, Drusilla. It’s our anniversary.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, but you leave me with no choice. I wanted to go some place nice to break up with you, so it wouldn’t seem so heartless. You taste like ashes.”
He glared at her. “What is that even supposed to mean? I’ve done everything for you, and this is the sodding thanks I get? To find out that you’ve been cheating on me, with Peaches of all people? You know how much I hate that wanker.”
Drusilla caressed his cheek. “You’re not my Spike anymore; you’ve been tainted by the sunshine. She’s all you can see, I have nothing to offer you.”
Spike knew that she was off her nut, and for once found it to be utterly annoying instead of charming. He watched her leave the restaurant, still in shock by what happened. Spike took out his wallet to pay for their meals, coming across a picture of Buffy that was taken their junior year. He trailed his finger over her beautiful face, eyes widening when Drusilla’s words came back to him. It all started to make sense to him now. How whenever he was with Drusilla, Buffy was the only one he thought of. He always wondered where she was, what she was doing, who she was doing it with. His mind was never fully on the girl that he was dating, it was always on his best friend. It was always Buffy. With that thought in mind, he threw some money down on the table and ran out into the night.
* * * * *
“I don’t know why I let you talk me into this. I just feel like sulking in my room.”
Willow pulled her complaining friend into the Espresso Pump, leading her to a table by the stage. It was a lot quieter and smaller than the Bronze, Sunnydale’s only real club. That wasn’t what Buffy needed, but maybe this was. “You need to get out, Buffy. I won’t have you spend all night moping at home. We’re going to have some fun tonight.”
A man came up to the microphone on stage, tapping it a few times before addressing the café. “All right, ladies and gents. It’s Friday evening, so you all know what that means. It’s time for you talented people out there to come up here and grace us with a song. There’s no reason for anyone to be shy.”
The audience remained silent, until Willow grabbed Buffy’s arm and threw it in the air.
The man grinned. “Come on up here, little lady.”
Buffy flung her arm back to her side, glaring at Willow. “I’m not going up there; embarrassing myself in front of strangers is not my idea of fun.”
“Come on, Buffy. You have an amazing voice, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You should sing that new song you’ve been working on, it’s really good.”
Her cheeks flushed. “You know I’m not ready to perform that one in public, I don’t think I ever will be. Besides, it’s not finished.”
Willow rolled her eyes. “I saw it laying on your dresser, looked finished to me. Now, go up there. You see this expression on my face, you know what it means.”
Buffy sighed, knowing she was lost when Willow put on her resolve face. “Fine, but if this goes really bad, it’ll be your fault.”
Willow nodded eagerly as Buffy finally headed up to the stage. “I’ll take full responsibility.”
Buffy positioned herself on the stool that was put there, smiling shyly at the man that handed her a guitar.
Willow prayed that she wouldn’t pass out, turning to the entrance of the café to see someone familiar walk in. She shot out of her seat and made her way over to him. “Great, I’m glad you could make it.”
Spike nodded. “I got your message. What was so important that I had to meet you here?”
Willow took his hand and settled him in a table at the back. “You’ll see,” she whispered, as they both gave the stage their full attention.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this, but there’s a first time for everything. I don’t let anyone hear me often, but this song was written for a good friend. It helps my nerves knowing that he’ll pretty much never hear it. Okay, here goes nothing.” Buffy started to strum the guitar, taking a deep breath before she sang.
Will looks at me; I fake a smile so he won't see
That I want and I'm needing everything that we should be
I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about
And she's got everything that I have to live without
Will talks to me, I laugh cause it's just so funny
That I can't even see anyone when he's with me
He says he's so in love, he's finally got it right
I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do
Will walks by me; can he tell that I can't breathe?
And there he goes, so perfectly
The kind of flawless I wish I could be
She'd better hold him tight, give him all her love
Look in those beautiful eyes and know she's lucky cause
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do
So I drive home alone, as I turn out the light
I'll put his picture down and maybe
Get some sleep tonight
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only one who's got enough for me to break my heart
He's the song in the car I keep singing and don't know why I do
He's the time taken up, but there's never enough
And he's all that I need to fall into
Will looks at me; I fake a smile so he won't see.
Spike was stunned into silence, never before seeing or hearing anything so beautiful in his life. Her make up was darker than usual, which gave her a sultry look. Her blonde hair hung loose in curls, framing her face just perfectly. She was truly a vision. Spike broke out of his reverie when the crowd burst into applause, glancing at Willow and knowing by her nod just who Buffy was singing about. He took a deep breath as he stood, slowly moving over to the stage.
Buffy’s eyes widened when she stepped down after handing the guy back the guitar, Spike being the last person she expected to see there. She looked around and noticed that Willow was nowhere in sight, somehow having a feeling that she was responsible for this. “What are you doing here?”
Spike had no words. He wanted to tell her how amazing her performance was, how gorgeous she looked, how much he had always wanted her, but none of that would come out. All he could do was wrap his arms around her waist, and crush his lips to hers in a soft, yet passionate kiss.
Buffy was taken by surprise, but eagerly returned the kiss, putting all of her feelings into it.
Spike broke away when breathing became an issue, touching his forehead to hers. “You were wonderful up there,” he whispered.
She was finding speech to be very difficult at the moment, but he helped her out.
“Did you write that for me?”
Buffy blushed, but wasn’t about to deny it. “Every song I write is for you.”
Spike felt touched, kicking himself for wasting all that time with girls that really didn’t mean all that much to him. The only one he wanted was right here in his arms.
“What about Drusilla?” she wondered.
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “She’s history, we broke up tonight. She was cheating on me, but I don’t even really care. I realized that my heart belongs to another, it always has.”
“Oh,” she said. “That’s me, right?”
Spike chuckled at how adorable she was. How could he even think about being with anyone else? This girl was it, and he was about to show her just how much she meant to him. Spike kissed her again; there was nothing else in the world except for them.
* * * * *
Willow smiled as she watched her two friends from the back of the Espresso Pump. The life of a matchmaker was never easy, but she was just relieved to get positive results.
“It’s about damn time.”
The End
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!