Stupid, stupid, stupid! Damn it, he’d known better than to believe Dru when she’d called him her one and only. It hadn’t stopped her from cheating in the first place, so why would it this time? Damned woman and her eyes, and her coos and her infidelity. He’d been a one-woman man from the beginning, knowing what type of world Dru lived in, and yet she’d still slept with that poofter ‘Chaos.’ And then laughed about it.
He needed a drink. A strong one. No, that wasn’t true. He didn’t need a drink.
He needed Buffy.
Buffy with her pretty hazel eyes, Buffy with her snarky attitude and her wide, soft smiles, and the understanding way she’d run her fingers through his hair… Buffy with hair like sunshine and skin that was soft as silk. He needed her. Needed his best friend.
Spike hadn’t seen her in over a year though. Didn’t mean he never talked to her when he got the chance. Hell, he spent more money on long distance phone calls and webcam chats that lasted for six hours then he did on the stupid school he’d been given his scholarship to. Though not until he’d discussed it with Buffy first, made sure she was okay with the idea of him being half-way across the world.
He should never have left Sunnydale. Never should have left his girl to face her senior year of high school without him around. He could have been a freshman at UC Sunnydale, which was just a 20 minute drive away from her house. But he’d wanted to try England. He’d been offered the scholarship, and he’d wanted to try it. Poncy William had been known for his smarts, after all. Not the looks though, cause what woman in her right mind would want to date a senior who still wore tweed and had glasses that had been out of style since the Victorian Era?
But then, Buffy had always thought him cute. Had told him so on a number of occasions, actually, whenever he’d been hit by a sudden depression because of his lack of finesse. She’d even gotten the entire cheer leading squad to withhold dating privileges from the jocks for the entire time they’d insulted him. Typical for his girl. Buffy had never believed in high school stereotypes, and had refused to hang out with anyone who tried to get her to think otherwise.
Mind, that was before he’d gotten suspended after fighting when some idiots had insinuated his girl was anything less than the lady she was. Buffy was one topic that had brought out the Spike in William even from the beginning, and the school populace had never dared speak a word against her again. Not when he was in hearing distance, at least.
Spike chuckled then, remembering Buffy’s reaction when he’d told her about his new persona. He’d been in England by then, had already met and been corrupted by Dru. Not that Buffy had ever thought much of her. She’d never told him why, and he had thought it odd the one and only time mentioned it. It was unlike Buffy to be judgmental, and she had never seen Drusilla in all the time he’d been with her.
FLASHBACK
“It just doesn’t make sense to me, Spike.” Buffy’s frown over the webcam was pixelated, her legs drawn up to her chest, held in place by her arms as her chin rested on her knee. “I thought you were into girls like Cecily. When did you get a fetish for vampires?”
“Oi! Don’ go knockin’ on Dru, Summers. She’s a goddess, she is.” Buffy needed to like Drusilla. He couldn’t do this if his girl didn’t like her. “Made a man out ‘f poncy ol’ William, she did.”
Buffy’s eyes widened, and she reeled as if he’d slapped her before her eyes narrowed in dark suspicion. “What do you mean, made a man out of you? Will—“
“’S Spike, luv.” He ground out sourly.
“William.” Damn. She had that look on her face. The one that meant she was getting defensive, usually of him. “I’m not talking to Spike, I’m talking to Will. You know, that guy whose my best friend that I’ve known since I was, like, six?”
He smiled. “Seven.”
“Whatever.” Knew he could get a grin, though it was gone the next second. “It’s my best friend I wanna talk to.”
He felt his heart clench in his chest, panic bringing a desperate edge to his voice. “Buffy, ‘m still me. I’m still your Will.” He wasn’t even thinking about Drusilla anymore, didn’t care to either. She could call and dump him tomorrow, and it wouldn’t be anything compared to what he’d feel if Buffy dropped him. “Nothin’s gonna change that, pet. Nothin’ in the world.”
The other blonde sighed, quirking her lips before the unhappy smile disappeared. “I know. I just…” She wouldn’t look at him, was staring off to the side.
“Buffy?” He couldn’t remember seeing her like this, ever. “Love, talk to me.”
“I don’t like her, Spike.” She wasn’t looking at him, so she didn’t see him wince. He didn’t like this, not one bloody bit. “And I don’t mean that she’s helped you come out of your shell. I just don’t like her. I don’t like that you seem to think she’s made a man out of you when there was nothing wrong with you in first place.”
Spike growled, defensive, in the back of his throat. “Yeah, like poncy William was such a cool guy.”
“William is a Great. Man. And you’ll have to excuse me for refusing to think otherwise.”
END FLASHBACK
That was the one and only time Buffy had ever expressed her displeasure with his choice of a girlfriend. But she’d listened when he talked about her, given him advice when he’d asked for it, had been honest without being conceding from the beginning about whether or not she thought Drusilla was cheating.
Silence had always been Buffy’s answer.
Course, then she’d met Peaches, and nothing could have prepared him for that reaction. For days, ‘Angel’ was all she’d talk about. How tall he was, how broad shouldered, how mysterious, how mature. Angel, Angel, Angel, Angel. Sodding, fucking Angel. Stupid wanker probably wasn’t even that good-looking. Definitely not good enough for Buffy. No man in the world was good enough for his girl.
And really, it would have been nice to have some idea as to where all this anger had come from. It wasn’t as if Buffy hadn’t dated before, and while he’d always believed in his “break her heart, I’ll break your neck” theory, something about this particular bloke got under skin. Made him scowl at angel statues, had him seeing red at just the thought of him anywhere near his girl. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he still had no idea what the wanker really looked like. Course, Buffy still hadn’t seen Dru, and Spike had been dating her far longer than Buffy had been dating Peaches.
Not that it mattered. It was still him Buffy spent most of her free time talking to, and she barely got to see Angel anyway, with him being a college junior.
Gah. Hate, hate, hate! Stupid wanker.
He missed his girl, missed her something fierce. Missed hugging her, missed sitting with her, missed sitting on her bed and laughing at cheesy Disney movies. Missed belting out the lyrics to old songs, missed falling asleep while they watched the stars, missed waking up with her in him arms. Missed kissing her hair and stroking her cheek, missed cuddling with her and holding her and antagonizing her and fighting with her and God, he missed—
He missed loving her.
Spike paid no attention to his sudden onslaught of tears. He had no need to. But the heaving sobs where new. Those hadn’t started until the other night. No idea what had triggered them, except that he had officially left Drusilla, and Buffy had been right. She was always right, and bugger all, he needed her. Needed her badly, because the tears wouldn’t stop until he saw her again.
“Buffy…”
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!