Chapter Fifteen: Too Much Information
Most of their patrol had been done in silence, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. It had been a surprisingly slow night, they hadn’t come across a single vampire or demon in the last hour they’d spent searching Sunnydale’s demon hot spots.
Coming out of the sewers, they found themselves on the UC Sunnydale campus. Perfect, she thought. A quick patrol of the college grounds and then get to bed early. Thinking of getting to bed made her think of what she’d just done a few hours before in Spike’s bed. The thought made her cringe, blush and damp all at the same time.
She heard Spike’s head practically snap off his shoulders and knew he could smell her arousal. Her cheeks flamed up, hating that he could know something so intimate without her consent. Before he could make a comment, they spotted three figures walking their way.
Spike let out a low growl as the three men closed the distance between them.
Buffy held her head high. She had to admit she was initially frightened coming face to face with Forrest after what he’d tried to do to her, but now that she had her strength back she had no doubts who would win in a fight.
Riley looked at them, disgust marring his features. "What are you two always doing together?" he asked looking back and forth between them before settling on Buffy. "Are you dating him?"
"W-what? NO!" Buffy stuttered. Easily becoming defensive around these three males, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Not that it’s any of your business what I do with my life."
"I think the slayer's got the hots for Hostile 17," Forrest taunted, ripping a branch off a nearby tree. He strode up to Spike, holding the branch out in front of him as a weapon. "Why don’t we take care of him now?"
Not even needing to think before she acted, Buffy jumped in front of Spike defensively. "Don’t touch him," she warned.
"You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?" Riley asked stepping foward to stand next to Forrest.
Buffy looked down unable to meet his eyes, giving Riley the answer he’d already known. "Why don’t you guys just get back to patrolling and get out of our way?" she asked quietly, looking up but not making eye contact with either of them.
"Actually, we were out at a frat party," Riley told her.
"So that’s where all the demons were tonight," she said wryly.
"No, we’ve had beta teams out all night capturing sub-terrestrials."
"Riley," Graham warned, ever the voice of reason.
Riley hung his head, hating that Buffy always got him riled up enough to to give away confidential information.
"Oh, we know all about your little operation, mate," Spike told him finally speaking up. "We’re on to you."
"Spike!" Buffy turned her head to glare at the vampire.
Spike rolled his eyes, annoyed that Buffy insisted on speaking to these whelps when she hadn’t spoken more than two words to him all night. "Let’s be on our merry way then, yeah?" He gazed disdainfully over at the soldiers. "Growing boys need a good night’s sleep."
The three men glared at him as he and Buffy moved away from them. Deciding they wouldn’t see any action that night, she turned and headed for her dorm. Spike followed, unsure what to do next, until they reached her building.
Anger built up inside her at his thoughtlessness. "Do you ever think before you speak?"
Spike gaped at her, wondering where this had come from. Only minutes before, she’d been protecting him and now she looked like she wasn’t far from staking him herself.
"You blabbing to Riley! ‘The jig is up, mate’," she said with a British accent so bad it made him wince.
"What’s the big deal? It’s not like I told him which operation we knew about!" Spike countered.
"The big deal is you've just endangered all of our lives," Buffy told him. "You think the Initiative will leave us alone now that they know we know what they know?!"
Spike was experiencing a whole new level of confusion. "Run that last bit past me once more, pet?"
She sighed in exasperation and threw up her arms. "Never mind!" she cried turning to walk into the dorm.
"Buffy!" Spike called after her. He was surprised when she stopped in her tracks, although she didn’t turn to face him. He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and dropping a kiss on her neck. "I didn’t mean to do it. I just get so bloody frustrated when I see that wanker talking to you like that!"
Despite wanting to stay there in his arms, Buffy yanked herself free and headed towards the doors again.
In a heartbeat, he was in front of her. He put a hand on her waist, drawing her into him. "Come on, love. You know you want me," he said with a smirk.
Buffy pushed his arm away from her, looking back at him defiantly. "There seem to be a lot of people who want you these days," she reminded him. "Why don’t you see what Faith’s up to tonight?"
Spike had the nerve to laugh. "You’re still upset over that one little dance?"
Buffy looked away, not wanting him to see the truth in her eyes. "No!"
"You’re jealous," he realized slowly. All this time he’d know, deep down inside her somewhere she cared about him and now he knew the truth. She cared enough to want him only for herself, and that made him smile.
"I am not! Wipe that stupid smile off your face!" she demanded, feeling very much like a bug under a microscope. Her voice took on an edge of seriousness. "I just don’t like being played around with."
He closed the distance between them once again, dipping his head to kiss her softly. "Neither do I," he told her before wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her even closer.
She allowed him to kiss her for a few moments, before realizing they were out in the open and anyone, including Willow, could see them together. She pushed him away frantically, hard enough that he fell to the ground, before rushing inside the safety of her dormitory.
***
Buffy walked into her dorm room, exhausted from her constant emotional tug-of-war when it came to her feelings for Spike. She hated thinking about it, because then she might actually have to admit that the attraction she felt towards him was more than just physical.
She looked up to see Willow staring down blankly at a piece of paper. "Hey, Wills," she greeted removing her jacket. "Whatcha studying for? We don’t have a test in psych tomorrow, do we?" she asked nervously.
Willow only shook her head.
Buffy looked at her friend with concern. "What’s wrong?" she asked, moving across the room towards the redhead’s bed.
Willow held out the paper, letting Buffy read the letter. When she finally finished, Buffy couldn’t find words to describe the surprise she was feeling.
"Oh."
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