A/N: So sorry for the lack of updates! Here's two chapters to make up for it, though. Big thanks to Allison for beta'ing these two chapters.
Chapter Nine: No Appreciation
Buffy winced in pain as she was thrown face-first into the bark of a tree. She quickly spun around, punching the vampire who had thrown her in the nose, sending him spiraling backwards onto the grass of the quad. Before the second vampire could attack, she launched herself at him.
When they stopped rolling, she found herself on top of the fledgling and instantly pulled out her stake, poising it over his unbeating heart. With one thrust, she was seated on the ground in a pile of dust.
She jumped to her feet, ready to fight the first vampire. To her surprise, he was too preoccupied in his own battle to notice her. She placed her hands on her hips, both annoyed and grateful. Annoyed won out, though, and she narrowed her eyes at the blonde vampire. Just because he saved her once didn’t mean she needed his protection now. And just because she’d had a momentary lapse in judgment and kissed him didn’t mean they were ever going to be anything more than enemies. And just because-
"Gonna say thank you, Slayer?" Spike asked, breaking through her thoughts once he’d dusted the other vampire.
One look at his smirk had her growing increasingly more annoyed with him. "I could have handled that on my own," she told him, not sounding the least bit thankful.
Spike’s face softened at her angry expression. "I know you could ‘ave," he replied, moving closer to her. "Just thought you’d appreciate some help, is all."
"Not from you." Buffy took a step away from him, turning her back to walk away.
"Not so fast, pet," he called, catching up to her in one long stride. He grabbed her by the upper arm to stop her. "We have to talk. You ki-"
"Kicked you!" As if to emphasize her exclamation, she kicked his left shin hard.
"Bloody hell!" Spike cursed in confusion. He noticed Buffy looking somewhere over his shoulder, and after he followed her gaze, he noticed Willow standing there, holding a textbook and two coffees.
"That’s right, I kicked you!" She did so again, this time directing the blow to his right shin, even harder. "And I’ll do it again if you don’t get out of here you.....you stupid vampire!"
Spike was still staring at her as though she were crazy but finally got the message. "Right then, I’ll be on my way." With one last glare in Buffy’s direction, he stalked away from the two girls.
"What was he doing here?" Willow asked, handing Buffy her coffee.
"How should I know?" Buffy asked defensively.
Willow cast her a strange look. "Sorry, just thought you guys were, ya know, talking before I came over here."
"Talking?" Buffy asked, louder than she intended. "Why would we be talking? No, we were definitely not talking!"
Willow shrugged off her friend’s strange behavior and opened the book they’d been studying from before the two vampires attacked.
***
Buffy slipped on her sunglasses, shielding her eyes from the midday sun as she exited her dorm. She had plans to meet Willow for brunch before they had psychology together. Willow had convinced her that Riley most likely would not be assisting their new psychology professor, and there was no reason Buffy shouldn’t attend the class with Willow by her side. Now, only an hour away from said class, Buffy was having second thoughts.
Only a week had passed since she’d been rescued from the Initiative. A week she’d spent recuperating, building back her strength from whatever drugs they’d been giving her. It scared her to know the Initiative was still running, even if the mastermind behind their most dangerous missions was dead.
Her thoughts, as they had been doing quite frequently over the last week, drifted to a certain blonde vampire. From what she could remember, Spike had been gentle and caring while helping her escape from the Initiative’s underground laboratory. She found it hard to believe he was the same monster who had tried to kill her countless times.
"Buffy!"
One quick look over her shoulder and she began walking faster. There was no one in the world she wanted less to do with than him.
"Buffy!" he called desperately.
She knew he was running to catch up with her, and she also knew she could outrun him without breaking a sweat, but for some reason she didn’t. Looking straight ahead, she kept her pace steady, ignoring his presence beside her.
"Buffy, can you stop so we can talk?" Riley asked, panting as he ran alongside her. When she didn’t answer, he pressed on. "Okay, you don’t have to stop. I know I made a mistake-"
"A mistake?" She couldn’t help but scoff.
"A big mistake. But I was trained to take orders without asking questions," he explained. "Professor Walsh is-was," he amended sadly, "my superior. I couldn’t just ignore the assignment."
Buffy stopped short, causing several students walking behind her to bump into each other to avoid hitting her. She rolled her eyes at his lame excuses. "I’m sorry, I thought I was your girlfriend, not your assignment. Now everything makes sense- I forgive you for kidnapping me and making me a lab rat."
Riley looked down at his feet. "I thought the Initiative was going to help you."
"Help me by drugging me and keeping me against my will?" Buffy asked incredulously. "Even you’re not that gullible." She turned to walk away.
"Buffy, wait," he pleaded, grabbing her arm to stop her.
Buffy stopped, looking down at his hand gripping her arm before looking up into his eyes. "Let go of me," she warned.
The coldness in her glare made him drop her arm immediately. "Buffy..."
Buffy stared into his eyes so he wouldn’t misinterpret her words. "No, Riley. What you did to me is unforgivable. I never want to see or speak to you again." With her head held high, she marched away from a man she realized she hardly knew.
***
It was late afternoon when Willow and Buffy arrived at Giles’ apartment. Buffy was going to train with Giles while Willow continued their research on the Initiative. Faith was set to join them, but Buffy needed to speak to Giles privately before her arrival.
"When are we going to tell her about her past?" Buffy asked before throwing a punch into Giles’ padded palms.
"I assume you’re speaking of Faith," Giles began. "I think it’s best that we don’t say anything until she’s recovered from the amnesia. She’s both an ally and an asset to us, especially now with the Initiative after us."
"It just seems wrong." Buffy kicked where she’d previously been punching. "I’m not exactly her biggest fan, but she deserves to know."
"I have to agree with Giles, Buffy," Willow interrupted. She was seated a short distance from where they were training and had been listening to their conversation while searching through files on her computer. "She’s better now. Less slutty and homicidal."
"Just because she knows what she once was doesn’t mean she’ll turn into that person," Buffy insisted. By now, she and Giles had stopped their sparring and were standing across from each other, facing Willow.
"Yes, but I still think we should hold off on telling her," Giles said.
The door to Giles’ apartment opened suddenly, producing the object of their conversation. "Hey, guys. Ready to train?" she asked with a grin.
The trio had only been training for twenty minutes when the door was slammed open. They all looked up in alarm to find Xander and Anya rushing into the apartment.
"Turn on the TV. Now!" Xander called as he crossed the threshold.
Willow jumped out of her seat, flipping on the television set in the living room. A newscaster appeared in front of a desolate area.
"Sunnydale is still reeling from news of the crime. A source in the coroner’s office tells us that the boy was stabbed with what looks like some kind of large skewer, and his body was then mutilated. Police have not named a suspect, and the killer is still at large."
"And the fun never ends," Buffy said sarcastically. "Wills, put the research on the Initiative aside. Find me a demon who attacks in broad daylight, attacks kids, and has a large skewer as part of its body. Faith and I will patrol."
"Let’s do it!" Faith exclaimed, still excited by her lifestyle.
Buffy grabbed her crossbow and tossed Faith an axe. After stuffing a few stakes in her jacket, she marched towards the door, Faith following on her heels.
"Uh, Buffy," Giles called, stopping her from exiting the apartment. "Perhaps since it’s getting dark you should bring along Spike."
Buffy stared at him in shock. "What? Why?"
"Because Spike has a knowledge of demons and might be able to help us decipher what kind of demon we are looking for," Giles explained.
"Oh." Buffy wasn’t exactly hating the idea of patrolling alongside Spike, and that in itself was the problem. "Right, good idea," she called before heading through the door and into the light of the sunset.
|
