Ch. 1: On the Road
“Buffy, pet, aren’t you ready yet? We were supposed to leave 20 minutes ago.” Spike lit another cigarette and peeked his head into her room. He sighed loudly when he saw clothes strewn haphazardly around the room and an empty bag. “Luv, we’re only going to be there for a weekend. Grab a few things, pick out a dress, and have it done with.”
“Oh, that’s easy for you to say. All you have to do is pack a suit and tie and you’re done. I have to figure out the whole outfit, undergarments, shoes, and purse before I even leave. It is not an easy thing. So don’t you go getting all pushy with me, mister.” Buffy held up another dress to her petite frame. She put it back into the closet and then pulled another one out.
“You’ll look great in whatever you choose. Really. Now can you at least give me an idea as to when we’ll be leaving? Because I told your mum I’d have you home before dinner,” Spike said as he began rummaging through the pile of clothes on the bed. He rifled through a few dresses before holding one dress out to her, a turquoise dress with spaghetti straps. “What about this one, pet? You always look great with this, and I know you like the way it flows.”
Buffy looked over at his dress and scrunched up her nose. “I’ve worn that dress so many times with my family and the people at home. I want this to be something different. And how do you know I like the way it flows?”
“I do actually listen to what you’re saying every now and then. I have my shining moments. Something different, eh? What about this here, this black thing? You wore it to that party last week, right? Looked quite the beauty, if I recall correctly.” Spike smiled, remembering the way she had danced with abandon and glittered on the dance floor, despite her slightly off timing.
“You liked that dress? I wasn’t sure if it looked good on me or not. Riley didn’t even give me a compliment. But he likes this red dress. You think I should wear this one?” Buffy said, holding the strapless tube dress up to her.
“That dress? Sorry, that dress makes you look like a ho, and we’re going to your parents’ anniversary party. Besides, Riley only likes that dress because it’s easy to take off, I bet.” Spike scowled, thinking about Buffy’s latest boyfriend. That bastard, he thought to himself. Doesn’t know what he’s got in Buffy. Treats her like a kid, like she’s his toy or something. Doesn’t really understand her, that no-neck corn boy.
“God, overprotective much? Riley’s a great guy. Very normal, totally stable, and he’s got nice arms. Besides, we’ve only gone out a few times, so he’s not even a boyfriend, so you don’t have to get that look on your face.” Buffy lightly sighed, thinking about Riley. They had met a few weeks ago, gone out on a few dates, but nothing much beyond that. She had originally thought there was sparkage, but it turned out to be the normal “hey, someone’s interested in me” sparkage and not the “hey, someone really understands me” sparkage. It was someone to be with on a Friday night, but there were also movies to watch and books to read; Riley didn’t always win that competition. She wished there were someone who really understood her, knew about all her weird quirks and passions and loved her anyways. Like her obsession with vampires--people always thought she was a little weird for wanting to know more about their mythology, but it was just something she was interested in. It’s not like she was going to pretend she was a vampire, even if she did tend to bite a little. She knew she would meet him one day, but she wasn’t always known for her patience.
Spike began putting some of her clothes back into the closet, trying not to get annoyed by her obvious daydreaming and distraction brought on by the mention of Riley’s name. He noticed one of her doodles of a little blond stick figure and a vampire inside of a heart and grinned.
“Nice doodle, luv,” he said, waving the picture in her face. Now what would Riley say about your little crush here?” He laughed as she tried to jump up and grab the paper from him. Buffy began tickling his ribs in an attempt to bring his arms down, and he began jerking away from her jabs. “Hey now, that’s cheating,” he said in between laughs. “I give up, alright? You can have your li’l drawing back.” He handed her the paper and then reached into his bag on her desk. “By the way, I picked up a little something for you on the way here. At the campus bookstore there was this new illustrated book on vampires written by that prof who has a thing for that kinda stuff. Looked pretty snazzy, so I snagged you a copy. Thought you might like it.” Spike handed her the book, its cover decorated with pictures of blood-sucking demons and their hapless victims. “Some of those female vamps are right sexy.”
“Ooh,” Buffy squealed. “I just saw this on amazon and put it on my wish list! I can’t believe your bookstore is carrying it. This is so cool!” Buffy immediately sat down on the floor amid the tossed outfits and began to flip through the book. “Oh, and they even have a section on William the Bloody. Remember him, that vamp I was telling you about with the obsession with railroad spikes?”
“Oh yeah, he seems pretty decent. But luv, we really do need to get going.” Spike pulled her up and took the book away from her. “I knew I shouldn’t have given it to you now. I just couldn’t wait till later. C’mon, choose your pretty outfit and finish packing. Don’t forget your pjs, go for the heels instead of the sandals, and use a black purse so you don’t have to switch. I’ll wait for you in the living room.” He quickly gave her a kiss on the forehead and headed out.
“Alright, alright. I’ll hurry up.” Buffy looked around at the clothes once more, chose the black dress that Spike had mentioned, threw in a few more clothes, her heels, and left the room. A minute later she ran back in and grabbed her pjs.
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!