What's This?
Chapter One
Friday, December 15th.
(Six months after Soundtrack for the Night)
What's this? What's this?
There's color everywhere
What's this?
There's white things in the air
What's this?
I can't believe my eyes
I must be dreaming
Wake up, Jack, this isn't fair
What's this?
Buffy watched the whiteness of her breath billow out and disappear into the air. It was that time again. That time when Christmas was so close, yet so far, the air was so cold, yet not cold enough to snow, a time when the holiday promised the world but had not yet delivered.
It had been five full days since she had seen Spike and she was getting antsy. They were both busy people; she was finishing up papers and research; he was also in college and trying to manage his band at the same time. Their time was a precious entity, juggled ever so precociously and, more often than not, threatened to fall to the ground and shatter rather than give them both a breather, a second to spend together.
But it was Friday and Fridays were Spike time, according to Buffy. And Spike's apartment was where she was headed for right now in the middle of a more crowded than usual Subway. Everyone around her was grabbing onto large shopping bags, Christmas gifts, and were wrapped into puffy ski jackets, protecting them from the biting air of New York City.
Thankfully, the ride wasn't long and the moment she emerged from the warmth of the underground and into the chilly city, she whipped her trusty cell phone out of her pocket and pressed Spike's speed dial.
She sighed when it rang twice and forwarded her to his voicemail. It was something she was getting used to. He never had time nowadays. Her lips curved up slightly when she heard the voicemail intro they had recorded together… remembering how fun that was. They definitely needed an update.
"Hey," she chirped after she heard the beep, "I'm just calling to let you know I'm coming over right now… I can't wait to see you! Bye!"
She hung up and immediately dialed his apartment number. Silently, she crossed her fingers, trying to telepathically get him to pick up his phone. No such luck. Four rings passed again and yet again, she was subjected to his voicemail. She flipped her phone shut and stuffed it into her pocket.
………
Buffy let herself in with the key to his apartment he had given her. She flipped on the lights and trudged in, dropped her bags on the beaten old couch in the living room, and perused the room, assessing the damage two guys could do to a small, two-bedroom apartment within one week. As expected, the mess was mostly Spike's. Oz's books, clothes, and CD's were all sorted neatly, folded, and put into clean piles whereas Spike's junk was thrown every which way, landing on any and all surface areas…
She sighed and shook her head.
"Spike?" Buffy called out, carefully making her way across the war zone that was their living room to Spike's bedroom and shoved open the door, looking for her boyfriend. No boyfriend. Hmm.
He was probably still at the studio recording… or at the library studying, though the chance of that was slim to none. Grudgingly, she worked through the room, picking some of his clothes off the floor and piling them into a garbage bag to set out to the Laundromats.
After fifteen minutes, neither Oz nor Spike had returned, so she grabbed a few books from her bag and set them on the kitchen counter to start studying for her finals. Just as she was about to engross herself in a grueling chemistry problem, she caught sight of a ripped sheet of notebook paper taped crudely onto the refrigerator door.
Hmm… she hopped down from her stool and walked over to read it.
Buffy - Late day at the studio. Sorry pet. I'll be back around 5, maybe a little later. There's a pile of clothes on the floor to go to the laundry's, I forgot to pick it up earlier… you know how I am, ever the irresponsible, yeah? Oh, and check my messages for me, please? I'm expecting a call from my boss. You're the BEST, babe. - Spike.
She rolled her eyes. Who am I, if not his slave? Buffy just shook her head and turned to the message machine by the land phone. She grabbed a pen and a pad of paper before settling herself down to listen to his seven new messages. Joy.
First message. Hey, man! It's Clem. Bowling night on Saturday, don't forget, dude. Beep.
Second message. Yo, Spike and Oz. It's Dev, did Clem call you about bowling night? Well, if he didn't, it's SATURDAY, okay? Leave your ladies at home, especially you, Spike. This is a BOY'S night out. We're gonna play some games, have a few beers, check out a few - . Beep.
Buffy scowled and scrawled down 'Bowling, Saturday, No Buffy' on her pad while waiting for the next message.
Third message. Uh.. hey… was that the beep? I think that was the beep. Hey man! Uh, it's Luke. We're goin' to the beach this weekend. Yeah, don't ask me. My girl's crazy. Oh yeah, speaking of girls. Are you still with that one chick… what's her name? Betty? Bethy? The real smothering one - Beep.
She stared at the machine in shock. Smothering? Was she smothering Spike? Did she not give him the space he needed? What was this?
Fourth message. Spike! Hey, mate, what's going on? I never see you anymore, dude. You keep saying you don't have time… is it because of the girlfriend? Because, man, when my girl was all up on me and keepin' me from my friends, I just dropped her like a bomb, man, if you know what I mean. What's with her, anyways? I never met her before… didn't you say something about leaving her? Want some help with that, man, 'cause I got this rockin' rejection hotline number from this dude and - Beep.
What the fuck? Buffy furrowed her brows and bit furiously at her bottom lip. Maybe checking Spike's messages wasn't such a good idea…
Fifth message. It was a girl. Hey, Spike! Last night was really, really fun… I had such a good time. I can't wait until the 22nd. We're meeting at Starbucks, right? Because that would be totally cool. I'm so excited to see you….
The other two messages were other random messages from more friends… no boss… nothing but friends who thought she was a smothering girlfriend and some girl who… was excited to see him.
Buffy dropped her pen and pad and just sat there, numb. Who was that girl? And what was she to Spike? And what was she doing last night with Spike?
She remembered trying to call Spike the night before, but ended up getting his voicemail, which was getting to be the norm. Was there something going on? Fear grabbed hold of her heart and ate at her insides as she played and replayed his messages over and over again in her head.
Note*: About my other fics... I'm halfway through chapters with all of them, but I'm kind of hitting a slight mental block... everything's outlined and planned out chapter by chapter, but it's just... frustrating right now. Maybe after finals, my head'll clear up enough for me to post up a worthy update.
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!