| Captive by Noelle |
| Chapter #13 - Five by Five |
| Chapter Thirteen: Five by Five Buffy took a deep breath before exiting the rest room. She half expected Spike to be waiting for her, but found the hallway empty. He’s probably sulking in a corner somewhere, she thought to herself as she walked towards the main room of the Bronze. It was a lot more crowded than before, and she bumped into many people as she made her way back to her friends. She took a seat, noticing immediately that Xander and Anya were sitting on the couch she’d left Spike and Faith sitting at. "Where’d they go? Is there trouble?" she asked Willow, standing up and grabbing her coat. Willow and Tara exchanged a look before Willow turned back to Buffy shaking her head. "No, no trouble," she assured the blonde. "Faith, well-she kinda, she asked Spike to dance." "I’d say it’s more of a dry hump than a dance," Anya said pointing out to the dance floor. Buffy’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of gyrating hips and clinging bodies. Regaining the ability to breathe again, she caught her friends staring up at her worriedly. She quickly turned the angry expression on her face to one of disgust. "Looks like the new and improved Faith isn’t so far from the original," she muttered under her breath. "I’m sure she’s just confused," Willow said, trying to calm down her friend. "She doesn’t know Spike very well. She doesn’t know what he’s really like." "How gross, evil, and just plain wrong it is!" Xander finished. "She doesn’t know him like the rest of us." Their disapproval of the vampire hit her like a ton of bricks. What had she been thinking? This was Spike they were talking about. Evil, soulless, dead Spike! She couldn’t bring herself to respond to their defenses of the other slayer. What could she say? She was supposed to know best of all of them what Spike was really like, and yet the things she’d let him do to her... It wasn’t something she wanted to think about just then. "You’re right," she agreed. She’d known all along her friends’ opinions of Spike, but had fooled herself into believing he was different than they’d all assumed. Obviously she’d been wrong. "Someone needs to tell her," her voice trailed off as she looked back out to the dance floor. Faith was whispering something in Spike’s ear and it hurt like a stake to her heart when he threw his head back and laughed. Things had never been that relaxed between them; she should have known his interest in her was solely physical. "You feeling okay, Buff?" Xander asked, concern written all over his face. "You’re looking a little green around the gills." Buffy cleared her throat. "I’m fine," she assured him. "I think I should go, do a quick patrol before I head back home." "Sounds like a good idea," Faith said from behind her. Buffy turned around and looked at the pair she’d been watching for the last few minutes. Spike made eye contact with her, trying to read her, but she quickly looked away, closing herself off to him. "It’s okay," Buffy said to Faith. "It looks like you’re having fun. I can handle it on my own." "Don’t even think about leaving me out!" Faith insisted. "You know I can’t resist a good fight." She turned around to Spike. "You wanna come?" Buffy glared at the back of Faith’s head. One look at Buffy told Spike he’d end up being staked if he tagged along. "I think I’ll sit this one out," he told the brunette regretfully. "You girls can handle yourselves without the big bad for one night." Buffy rolled her eyes. "Like we ever need your help," she scoffed. Spike had the decency to look hurt, but she just shrugged it off. She was way past caring about his feelings. She said a quick goodbye to her friends before heading for the door, Faith following closely. *** "Spike’s pretty hot," Faith said. "Ya know, for a vampire." The two slayers were walking through their last cemetery of the night. It was a miracle Buffy hadn’t shoved her stake down Faith’s throat by now. Everything they’d talked about had somehow managed to lead back to Spike, the last person Buffy wanted to think about. "I bet he’d be a total animal in the sack," Faith continued, seemingly oblivious to Buffy’s foul mood. "He is an animal, Faith," Buffy reminded her. "Oh, don’t even!" Faith exclaimed. "I know about you and your old vamp boyfriend." "Angel is completely different than Spike," Buffy argued. "Angel has a soul. Spike can’t even spell soul." "I don’t see the big difference," Faith replied airily. "They both fight with us against evil, so they can’t be that different, right?" "Spike would be the evil we’re supposed to be fighting if he didn’t have that chip in his head," Buffy told her. Suddenly she didn’t know who she was trying to convince more, herself or Faith. "He’s tried to kill us all more times than I can remember." "I think you should give the poor guy a chance." Faith stopped turning to face Buffy. "He’s not so bad if you take the time to get to know him." Buffy’s eyes narrowed, annoyed that Faith thought she knew Spike better than she did. "I do know him. Spike, William the Bloody, master vampire, slayer of slayers? Is there any part of this you’re not getting?" she asked sarcastically. "I know who he is, I’ve gotten the whole spiel from Giles," Faith said. "I just don’t think he’s as dangerous as you all say he is." Buffy was almost thankful when she spotted a group of vampires heading their way. When they got close enough she sprang into action, taking on the first two while the other two attacked Faith. "Vampires are all the same!" she called out to Faith as she dusted the first one. Faith laughed, relishing in the kill as one of hers burst into dust. "I dunno, Buffy. I mean, I definitely want to have a little one on one time with Spike but I think he’d be the one ‘staking’ me!" Buffy snapped the second vampire’s neck clear off her head before turning to look at Faith in disgust. "There’s an image that’ll be staying with me," she muttered wiping the dust off her clothes. Faith was still fighting with the remaining vampire, throwing and blocking punches with a smile on her face. "Don’t act like you wouldn’t give it a try if everyone around you wasn’t telling you how bad Spike is!" Buffy’s eyes widened, wondering if Faith actually knew how close her words were to the truth. Just as she was about to deny it, the vampire got the upper hand, sending Faith spiraling to the ground and hitting her head on the corner of a tombstone. Before the vampire even knew what was happening, Buffy sent the stake through his back watching as he turned to dust before her eyes. She knelt next to Faith, helping up the other slayer. "Are you okay?" she asked once Faith was standing again. Faith grinned, rubbing the back of her head. "Five by five," she assured Buffy before wincing under the pain. "Think we should head back, though." Buffy only nodded, unable to form words. *** "She said ‘five by five’, Giles!" Buffy exclaimed. "That is old Faith speak!" "I can see why you’d be concerned, but I really don’t think we have much to worry about," Giles comforted her. "You said she didn’t notice she was speaking any different. I’m sure it was a complete fluke." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. "Faith’s been acting more like herself recently. I think she’s getting her old personality back." "In what way has she been acting that leads you to that conclusion?" Buffy blushed slightly, not wanting to tell her watcher about Faith’s flirtation with Spike. "Well, she’s totally loving slaying way too much, just like she used to! And at the Bronze tonight, she was acting all slutty like she used to! Not to mention using the weird phrases known only by her!" Giles actually laughed at her. "I think she’s acting like any normal girl, getting used to being a teenager. This is all new for her, Buffy. She doesn’t know how to act, so she’s probably watching others and mimicking their actions." That sounded about right. "I still think we need to tell her before she gets her memory back and tries to kill us all. Again!" "I’ll consider it," he promised. "Until then I don’t want anyone telling her anything of her past. She’s on a good path right now, and that information could reverse all our work with her." Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who's been reading the story and reviewing! |