As Spike headed out the door, he paused a moment before turning on his heel. *Oh, to hell with it. I’m meeting her,* he thought. He re-entered the
club. Standing by the door he looked around trying to locate Aislin.

Spike spotted a girl in black pants playing pool. Once the amazon straightened from her shot, the vampire thanked which ever deity was available
she was wearing a sky blue tank top. A shutter ran down his spine as he turned his attention from the tall blonde.

*Never had much luck with blondes,* he thought as he continued to search. *Buffy and Harmony were enough for me. Course brunettes aren’t
much better. Gotta get me a red head. Like Willow. Wait. Where the hell did that come from?* he asked himself.

Something made his blue eyes pause on one table by the edge of the dance floor. It was one of those tall tables with just enough room for two
people. A girl sat alone. Spike ran his eyes over her back from her dark red hair, down her forest green tee shirt and her nicely curved ass encased
in black leather.

*Oh, please be Aislin,* he begged. He started to walk towards the table when she turned to look around the club. That was when he saw her face.
*Bloody hell! Willow! Can’t believe the little chit got me worked up.* He noticed Willow glance at her watch and the disappointed look on her face.
*She couldn’t be Aislin. Could she?* Spike began thinking about his conversations with Aislin. Some of the things she’d said started to make sense.
*What kind of game is she playing, anyway?* he asked himself. If there was one thing Spike didn’t like it was being made to look like a fool. Well,
he’d have the last laugh on this one. With a glint in his eye, he walked over to the red head’s table.

Willow looked at her watch again. *Damn it. He’s not coming.* With a sigh she looked around the Bronze again. She froze when her eyes landed on
the approaching peroxide blonde. “I so don’t need this tonight,” she muttered.

Spike slid into the seat next to her. “New look, pet?” he asked.

“What do you want, Spike?”

“Can’t I just come by and say hello?” he asked with a smirk.

“Fine. Hello. Now go away.”

“Kind of spicy tonight. Must be the new clothes,” he said.

“Yeah. Whatever. Look I’m meeting someone. So just...go away,” she said trying to shoo him away.

“And who is this someone?” he asked.

“Spi...” She was cut short by someone walking into the club. The guy wore a pair of plaid pants. Willow scrunched up her nose. *Yuck.*

“Doubt that’s the man of your dreams, Red,” Spike said around a chuckle.

“Spike, please just go. You can bother me tomorrow,” she pleaded.

He leaned closer to her. “Promise?” Willow just rolled her eyes.

Anya pushed open the door to the Bronze. She found Willow in a matter of seconds then she saw Spike. *Yep. Definite eye candy,* she thought as
she looked him over. *Red shirt...jeans...blonde hair. Can we say understatement?* she asked herself as she moved through the crowd to get to
their table. “Spike,” she greeted with a nod.

“Anyanka,” he replied.

The ex-demon rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the red head. “Wills, the gang is on their way here. Thought I’d warn you.”

Willow nodded. “Well, Spike, it’s been interesting. Bye,” she said. The two women headed for the exit, but stopped short when Buffy and her crew
walked inside. “Damn. They’re bound to have more questions than Alex Trebeck has answers if they see me here.”

“Especially in that outfit,” Anya added.

“There’s no way I’m making it out of here alive,” Willow groaned.

“Red,” Spike said.

She turned, prepared for one of his biting remarks.
“What?”

“Come on,” he said as he grabbed her hand. Spike motioned to the bartender who nodded and pressed a button under the bar. Anya followed
closely.

“You know the bartender?” she asked.

“He’s a vampire who actually doesn’t want me to fit into a vacuum cleaner,” he said. He lead them to the back of the club.

“Can you tell him I’m over a thousand years old so I can get a drink occasionally?” Anya asked as she dodged around a couple making out in the
middle of the floor.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he answered.

“A vampire working at the Bronze? Wouldn’t that be like a Weight Watcher’s convention in a chocolate factory?” Willow asked as she tried to keep
up with Spike’s long strides.

Anya laughed at Willow’s joke. She followed them down a hidden corridor. She noticed the light above the door turned green before Spike pushed it
open. The trio stepped into the alley behind the club.

“Now Slutty won’t go all twenty questions on you,” he said.

Willow smiled at him, but as a thought occurred to her it fell. “I owe you now, don’t I?” she asked.

“Yeah. You do,” he said with a smirk.

*Oh, goodie,* she thought sarcastically. “Well, thanks anyways,” Willow said.

“Yeah, yeah,” he replied. Willow started to walk away with Anya. “Oh, and Red?” he called, his voice echoing through the alley.

The red head paused before she turned around. She rested her hands on the bare swell of her hips in a silent “what?” pose.

“You look good in leather,” he said. He laughed as embarrassment colored her cheeks. He laughed harder as she flipped him off and left the alley.
After she was gone, he looked up to the starry sky. “Why did it have to be spicy?” Nothing he liked better than spicy red-heads.

****
“I can’t believe him,” Willow said for the hundredth time. “He just makes me so mad. Grr.”

Startled, Anya looked at her friend. “Did you just growl?” she asked.

“Maybe. Who does he think he is, anyway?” she asked rhetorically. “Oh, yeah. ‘I’m a big bad ass vampire’,” she mimicked Spike’s accent. “Major
dickhead vampire is more like it. Asshole can’t even bite.”

“Willow!” Anya was surprised by the venom in the witch’s voice. She’d never heard the meek Willow so pissed off at anyone. “Why are you so PO’d
at Spike? Seems like he was just acting like he normally does,” Anya pointed out.

“That’s the problem. Even dressed like this he treats me like crap.” She fluttered her hands in helplessness. “Spike is nothing like...Oh, Goddess. I
never met him. What if he showed up and met some other girl wearing black pants and a green tee shirt? What if he likes her better than me?”
Willow asked in a panic.

Anya had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. “Just send him an e-mail. Tell him your friends showed up and you had to bail.”

“What if he did show up and took one look at me and _he_ bailed?”

“Not possible...trust me,” Anya said with a knowing grin.

“How do you know?” Willow asked, uncertain.

“Oh, please. I’ve got eyes. Half the guys in that place wanted you bad,” Anya said as she draped her arm around Willow’s shoulder.

“What about the other half?”

“They’re gay. Now come on, let’s go home.”

****
As they cut through the park a voice called out to them. “Hey, girls.”

Willow glanced over her shoulder and spotted the vampire behind them. On instinct, she spun around on one foot and knocked him tot he ground
with a round house kick. He looked up in shock as Anya pulled a stake from her back pocket and plunged it into his chest.

Before the dust settled, Anya turned back to Willow. “Didn’t know you had it in you,” she said.

Willow just shrugged it off. “I’ve been taking some self defense classes,” she explained.

“Where do I sign up?”

“I’ll take you with me next time. Together I bet we could kick some demon ass.”

Anya looked at her only a little shocked. “You know, I never knew you knew all those words. Who taught you?” she asked with a laugh.

“Must be your influence. And maybe NoWhere_Man. I get to be myself around you. I don’t have to pretend to be good little Willow. I just wish I
could have met NoWhere_Man tonight,” she said sadly.

*I think you already did,* Anya thought to herself.

****
Buffy entered her dorm room quietly. She glanced to make sure her best friend and roommate was still sleeping. The Slayer turned on the computer
and logged on. Using her own screen name, Summers 214, she pulled up the e-mail account and started composing her message. Finishing the
short, but to the point note, the blonde racked her brain to remember his name. *NoOne..NoBody...NoWhere_Man126. And Willow says I have a
boring screen name,* she thought to herself as she filled in the address and subject lines. After sending the message, Buffy signed off and went to
bed.

Willow waited until she heard the soft snore indicating the Slayer was sound asleep. *Wonder if Riley’s told her she snores yet? She won’t take my
word for it.* Slipping out of bed, she powered on the laptop. She signed onto the system under Buffy’s name and password. *How many times have
I told you to change your password, Buff? Not to mention to use something other than your first name.*

Willow clicked on the e-mail icon and pulled up the sent folder. NoWhere_Man126 was at the top of the list. *What the fuck are you up to?* she
asked as she opened the e-mail. As she read the short message, her anger boiled over. *How dare she! That bitch!*

~I don’t know who you are and I don’t care. I know
what you’re after and it isn’t her. Stay away from
her or I will hunt you down.~

Willow fumed as she changed screen names. “You and I are going to have words, Buffy Anne Summers,” she muttered between clenched teeth. She
quickly sent an e-mail to NoWhere_Man to apologize about the Bronze and telling him to ignore the message from her bitch of a roommate. Pissed
off to the point that her hands were shaking, the red head shut down the computer and pulled on her workout clothes. She dropped some stakes
and her Holy water gun into a waist pouch and left the room. She really wanted to kill something.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky and run into Spike and I can beat the crap out of him too,” she muttered as she patrolled the campus.

“Little late for a jog, wouldn’t you say, babe?” a vamp asked as he stepped in her path.

She smiled at him and quickly took him down with an uppercut and a knee to the groin. “Don’t call me babe,” she said as she thrust a stake through
his heart.

Feeling a little better she made another circuit of the commons area and dusted a couple of fledglings before returning to her dorm room.

Willow was still mad at Buffy, but at least she wasn’t over whelmed by the desire to hold a pillow over the blonde’s head.

Part 7
Buffy pushed aside the covers. She noticed Willow had a strangle hold on her stuffed frog. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she wandered to the
bathroom to grab a shower. By the time she returned to her room, Willow was sitting on the end of her bed.

Willow gave Buffy a cold stare when she entered the room. “Buffy, do you have something to tell me?” she asked, giving the Slayer a chance to
confess.

Buffy wondered what caused Willow to wake up on the wrong side of the bed. “Good morning to you too,” she said in a chipper voice.

Her chipmunk attitude grated on Willow’s nerves. “Well, do you?”

Buffy dug through her dresser. “Have something to tell you? Not anything major. Oh, I probably won’t be home tonight. Riley has a romantic evening
planned.”

Willow ground her teeth. “I’m referring to the e-mail you sent NoWhere_Man,” she ground out. Her fingernails bit into the palms of her hands.

“You hacked into my account?” Buffy asked. She was shocked that Willow would do something so devious.

Her green eyes narrowed when the blonde chose to pick on Willow’s wrong doing instead of her own. “Like it’s really hard to do when you haven’t
changed your damn password since I help you set your account up. Now answer the damn question.”

“You didn’t really ask a question.”

“Don’t push me, Buffy,” the red head said quietly.

Buffy sat across from the angry red head on her own bed. “Look, Wills. I just wanted to warn him that I knew his game.”

“What game?”

“You have to know that he’s playing you to get to me. I mean, really! Who would...” Buffy cut off her words when Willow bound to her feet and
began to pace the small room.

“What? Who would what, Buffy?” she asked in a quiet voice almost daring the Slayer to continue her train of thought.

Buffy was started to hear the venom in her friend’s voice. She knew she had to tell Willow the truth. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings, Will, but
fine. I’ll tell you. No guy wants you. You’re just Willow. I’m the Slayer. People are always trying to get to me. And they’ll use you to do it,” she said.

Willow bit her tongue to keep from saying words she’d regret later. The urge to beat the crap out of Buffy was overwhelming. *We _have_ to be in
the dorms, don’t we? Everyone would hear her yelling and come to help her. Stupid bitch.* She walked over to her closet and pulled out some
clothes. She pulled them on silently and grabbed her bag.

“I’m sorry, Willow. But it’s the truth,” Buffy said as Willow opened the door.

Turning slightly she looked at the blonde. “Have you always been this conceited?” she asked as she walked out the door.

Willow found refuge in one of the campus libraries until she felt sure Buffy was in class. Returning to the dorm she pulled out her suitcase and a
duffel bag. “I can’t believe her! Goddess! She actually thinks that’s the truth!” she yelled to the empty room. She pulled clothes out of the closet
and dresser and piled them on the bed. Stepping back she realized how awful her clothes actually were. “I so need to buy new clothes,” she said as
she packed the less offensive items into her bag. Opening her trunk she removed the most valuable of her supplies and set them in the suitcase.
She’d restock when she got settled. She slipped her laptop into her backpack. She thought about leaving the room key on the nightstand, but
decided she might change her mind about what she wanted to keep. With a sigh she sat on her bed, picked up the phone and dialed Anya’s number.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Anya. It’s Willow.”

“Hey, Wills. Wait. Don’t you have class right now?” Anya asked.

“Skipping today,” she said trying to get to the point.

“You? Skip class? Isn’t that one of the signs of the Apocalypse?” she joked.

“Oh, shut up. Look. I need a favor.”

“What can I do?”

“I’m moving out. I’ll give you details later. I was wondering if I could crash at your place for a while. Just until I can get my own apartment.”

“I’ve got an extra room. You can stay with me if you want. Get your butt over here,” she said before disconnecting the call.

“All righty then. Off to Anya’s I go,” Willow said as she gathered her bags and closed the door behind her.

*****
“About time,” Anya said as she pulled open the door.

“Sorry. I was walking,” Willow answered.

Anya took the suitcase from her hand and set it on the floor. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is this everything or do we need to pick up the rest of your stuff?”
she asked.

“This is the important stuff. I can get the rest later.” Willow looked around the apartment. It was small but nicely furnished. From the looks of things
it barely looked like anyone lived there at all.

“Come on. I’ll show you your room and you call tell me all about what happened.”

The two of them put away Willow’s things while she filled Anya in on the fight she had with Buffy. Anya was seething in anger by the time Willow
had finished.

“I wish I had my powers back. I’d kill the bitch. Who does she think she is anyway?” Anya asked. “Why didn’t you hit her?”

“Too populated. And while I’m pretty good against vampires, I think Buffy could still kick my ass,” Willow said as she put the last of her clothes in
the dresser.

“I know you have more clothes than that. What happened? The fashion police finally make a raid on your closet?” Anya asked.

“Something like that. Want to go shopping?”

Jumping to her feet, the ex-demon grabbed her purse off the kitchen counter. “Hell, yeah!”

Willow pulled her wallet out of her back pack. “Great. We need to make a stop at my parent’s house.”

“You mean they’re actually home?” Anya asked as she held the door open.

“Surprisingly, yes. They got back yesterday from where ever they were. Leaving tomorrow so timing is everything,” she said.

****
“You can wait here for me. Shouldn’t take long,” Willow said once Anya pulled up in front of the nice two story house. She unlocked the front door
with her house key. “Mom? Dad?” she called out as she walked back to the kitchen.

“Hi, honey,” Sheila said from the kitchen table. “What are you doing here?” she asked glancing at her watch. “Don’t you have class?”

“Not today. I’m moving out of the dorms and sharing an apartment with a friend. Anyway, I don’t have Internet access...” Willow said waiting for
her mother to jump in at the appropriate moment.

“Of course, dear.” She grabbed her purse off the floor and pulled out a credit card. “Think of it as a graduation present. You use AOL, right?” Sheila
asked.

“Yes.”

“Here you go,” she said, handing over the card. “Charge it to this. We’ll send the housing check to your checking account from now on.” Digging
into her wallet again she pulled out some cash. “I’m sure you’ll need something now until the money hits your account.”

Willow smiled as she accepted the money. *Bonus. Didn’t even have to ask for it. They must feel more guilty than usual,* she thought. She tucked
the bills into her pocket.

“I remember my first apartment. It was a tiny little place. When ever you turned around, you were in a different room. Well, anyway. I’m glad you’re
getting your own place. It will give you independence.”

“Thanks, Mom. I hate to beg and run, but I need to get going. Still have stuff to move,” Willow said. “Love you.”

“Love you, too, honey,” she said before returning to her paperwork.

Willow slid into Anya’s dark green Saturn. “Okay. Got some cash and a credit card...for Net access,” Willow said as she fastened her seat belt.

“How much did you get?” she asked as she started the car.

“Didn’t exactly count it in front of her,” Willow laughed. She pulled out the money and quickly counted the bills. “Mom really did feel guilty. I got
$500. Not to mention the money that’s sitting in my checking account.”

“You have a checking account?”

“My parents never know what to get me for presents so they’re big into cash gifts. Got so many that I just started putting them into a checking
account. Got about ten thousand dollars sitting there,” Willow said.

“How long has this been going on?”

Willow thought about it for a moment. “Since I was ten.”

“And you buy ugly clothes?” Anya asked with a shake of her head.

“Well, we’re gonna fix that now, aren’t we?”

“Dead cert.”

****
Anya and Willow entered the apartment six hours later, arms loaded with bags. Willow carried her packages into her new bedroom. “Got to learn that
levitation spell,” she sighed.

The ex-demon dropped her purchases on the floor by the door. Noticing the blinking light on her machine, she pressed play. “Hey, Anya,” Xander’s
voice said from the machine. “Research tonight. Also you haven’t seen Willow today, have you? Buffy said they had a fight and hasn’t seen her all
day. Anyways, meet me at Giles at 8. Love you, hon.”

“Hey! Red! We’re going to the Watcher’s place,” Anya called.

“You sound like Spike when you say that,” Willow called back. *Big, dumb vampire.* She dumped a bag out onto her bed and started sorting
through the new clothes she bought. “Let me change and we’ll go.”

“Cool. I’m just going to dump this stuff in my room,” Anya said as she poked her head in the room.

“Kay.” Willow pulled a forest green silk dress from the pile and slipped it on. She looked at herself in the full length mirror standing in the corner. The
hem fell to mid-thigh and scooped neckline showed off a decent amount of cleavage without being slutty. “Or Buffy as the case may be,” she
muttered to herself.

“Ready?” Anya asked, shaking her car keys.

“Yep.”

*****
The two women let themselves into Giles’ apartment. Willow’s gaze was immediately drawn to the peroxide blonde sitting on the couch. Spike turned
around at the sound of the door opening. He stared at her for a second before returning his attention to the television set. Anya grinned at the
daggers coming from Willow’s green eyes and aimed directly at the vampire’s head.

“Giles, we’re here!” Anya called.

*Why are you letting him get to you?* Willow asked herself.

“Thank you for the announcement, Anya,” Giles said as he stepped into the living room. He raised the cup of tea to his lips when he noticed Willow
standing by the door. “Willow? Where have you been? Buffy called and said you were missing.”

Willow smiled at him. “Not missing. I always knew where I was.”

“Buffy thought that man, uh...whatever his name is came and took you. She said he was trying to lure the Slayer...”

“Buffy doesn’t know half the things she thinks she knows,” Willow snapped. Spike snorted in the background. She turned to look at him. Seeing the
amused gleam in his blue eyes, she smiled at him. Immediately, he turned away.

*Don’t look at her, mate. Don’t even think about how she looks in that tight green dress. That silky dress that wouldn’t even come close to the feel
of her bare skin,* Spike rambled. He bit back a groan as the front door flew open and the Slayer entered.

“Giles! We gotta find Willow. I just know that NoWhere pervert took her. Although after the way she treated me this morning, I don’t know why I
bother,” Buffy sighed as she hopped up onto the desk, oblivious to the pissed off red head standing on the other side of the room.

Riley stood by the door and shook his head. Sometimes he wondered that his girlfriend had any friends at all. He looked at Willow over Buffy’s head
and sent a silent apology to her.

Willow nodded at Riley’s embarrassed look. Straightening her shoulder, she walked over to the Slayer and stood in front of her.

Buffy’s jaw fell open. “Willow!” she exclaimed once she regained her voice. “Where have you been?”

Crossing her arms under her breasts, Willow frowned at her. “So if I had been abducted you would have let them just because I didn’t fall in line and
agree with you on everything you said to me this morning? Such a friend.”

Taken back by Willow’s attack, Buffy leaned back slightly. “Well, you have to admit you were a bitch this morning.”

“And you’ve made it a career goal. I have a right to be pissed off. You e-mailed NoWhere_Man and told him to back off and this morning?” Willow
looked at the group staring at them in shock. “Did she tell you what said to me this morning? That no man would want me. That since she’s the
Slayer they all want her and wouldn’t look twice at me. Well, fuck you, Buffy!”

Xander, who had entered silently, glared at the blonde woman. Buffy’s story this morning had a decidedly different twist to it. “That’s not what you
said this morning, Buffy,” he accused.

She looked around at everyone. Giles looked extremely disappointed and even Riley looked ashamed of her. Only Anya and Spike were smiling and
she knew it was for Willow, not her. “Willow, I don’t want to see you hurt. That’s all. He would have used you to get to me. You know all the guys
want me.”

“Not all of them,” Riley said quietly before he left.

“Riley?” Buffy called, confused.

“I can’t believe I’ve put up with your conceited attitude for so long. You are such a bitch, it’s not even funny. I don’t know how Angel put up with
you for so long,” Willow said. Buffy flinched at the cut. “At least, Oz stuck around for awhile. Angel left you in the gutter, didn’t he?”

Buffy slapped Willow hard across the face and rushed out the door. It slammed shut behind her.

“She’s good at running, I’ll give her that,” Willow smirked as she touched her cheek and flinched.

“You okay, Red?” Spike asked, concerned.

“I’ll live,” Willow replied.

Anya pulled her keys out of her pocket. “Well, I guess this research night is over. Willow, come on. Let’s go home. Xander?” she said as she walked
to the door.

****
Willow looked at the television without really seeing the movie playing. Xander and Anya cuddled on the couch. Restless, Willow went into her room
and changed into a pair of leather pants and a blood red tank top. Twisting her hair up into a clip, she grabbed her waist pouch filled with slaying
supplies.

Anya glanced up when the red head entered the living room. “Going out?”

“Yeah, I need to burn off some of this energy. Now I kind of know how Faith felt,” Willow answered as she slipped on a loose leather jacket.

“Do you want us to go with you?” Xander asked. He played with his girlfriend’s hair.

“Nah.”

“I don’t know if you should be going out alone,” he said.

“Willow can take care of herself,” Anya said as she snuggled into his arms. “Have fun.”

“Thanks,” Willow said as she closed the front door behind her.

****
After have a drink at Willy’s, Spike walked back to his apartment. He saw a flash of red hair out of the corner of his eye as he passed the park.
Turning he spotted Willow fighting a pair of vampires. *And doing a damn good job of it, too,* he thought as she flipped one onto his back and
dusted him. The second fledgling tried to attack her while her back was turn. Spike moved closer to help her when she slammed her heel into his
kneecap. The vamp fell to the ground clutching the broken leg. She quickly turned and thrust her stake into his heart.

“My, my, Red. Didn’t know you were a fighter,” Spike said as he leaned against a tree.

Willow turned and saw him smoking a cigarette. “Well, Buffy’s either at Riley’s trying to beg forgiveness or back at the dorm pouting. Someone had
to patrol,” she said. Her heart raced from the workout she just had.

“So, who’s this NoWhere_Man?” he asked.

“Just some guy I was supposed to meet last night when Buffy interrupted,” Willow said. She turned to go home.

“Bloody rude Americans,” Spike said to her retreating form.

Willow turned back around. “What?” she asked.

Spike walked over to her. “You always this charming, pet?”

“Usually more so.” Willow left him to stare after her. A pleased smile lit up her face.

Spike hurried to his apartment so he could continue the conversation.

Part 8
Willow turned on her laptop and logged on. A quick scan of her e-mail showed nothing exciting, but her buddy list made her smile. NoWhere_Man
was on-line.

Aislin1328: Hi. Sorry about last night.

NoWhere_Man126: That’s okay. No harm done. Interesting e-mail from your ‘friend’. Is she paranoid or just stuck up?

Aislin1328: Six of one; half a dozen of the other. I apologize about that, too.

NoWhere_Man126: I don’t really care about that e-mail. Besides it’s not your fault.

Aislin1328: I still can’t believe she did that.

NoWhere_Man126: It’s times like this that you find out who your real friends are.

Aislin1328: Dead cert.

NoWhere_Man126: lol. So what else is up with you?

Aislin1328: Changing the subject?

NoWhere_Man126: Yep.

Aislin1328: Kay. Well, after a major blow up this morning, I moved out. I’m living with another friend (someone I can trust) We went
shopping...which I doubt you want to hear about.

NoWhere_Man126: Depends. Did you go to Victoria’s Secrets? Might wanna know...

Aislin1328: lol. Typical man.

Willow blushed at his comment and cleared her throat as she remembered all the bits of satin and lace she picked up at the famous lingerie store.

****
Spike sat back as he listened to Willow talk about her day. He was glad her mood seem to be improving. Spike knew he like the witch, had for a
while, but now he wondered if there might be something more. *I’m so whipped. Damn Peaches. Haven’t figured out how, but I know, somehow, it’s
all his fault.*

****
Willow loved this. At the end of a bad day just talking to him helped lighten her mood. No pressures, no expectations, just two people talking about
idle happenings through out their day. She wished she could have met him, but Buffy ruined that.

*Wonder if we should try again?* she asked herself. She debated the merits of doing that and finally decided to leave things as they were. At least
for now. They chatted until Willow heard a knock on her door.

Anya pushed open the door. “Willow, you going to bed in the near future?” she asked. “Not that it’s any of my business, but I thought you had an
early class tomorrow.”

“Huh?” The red head glanced at her alarm clock. 12:14 AM. “Oh, shit.”

“Yeah, I know,” Anya said as she sipped her glass of water that prompted the visit.

Willow turned back to her computer.

Aislin1328: Yikes. Didn’t know how late it was. I got an early class so I’d better go. Talk to you tomorrow?

NoWhere_Man126: Of course. Night, Red.

Aislin1328: Night.

Willow signed off as Anya stood smirking at her. “You got it bad,” the ex-demon said before returning to her own bedroom.

The redhead opened her mouth to deny it, but she really couldn’t deny the truth.

****
A few days later...
Willow shoved her book bag into her locker and pulled out her work uniform. Although she didn’t really need to work, the young witch found she
enjoyed waiting tables in the small cafe and working twenty hours a week gave her a sense of normalcy in her abnormal life.. Quickly, she
undressed, slipped the polyester dress over her head and zipped it up. She tied the apron around her narrow waist. As she slipped her order pad and
pencil in the pocket, she noticed a slip of paper inside. Removing the paper she read the note.

Willow, I’m gonna stay over a Xander’s tonight.
Later,
Anya

“Fun,” she muttered as she pushed through the swinging doors of the break room.

****
Spike tucked his hand into his duster pocket searching for his cigarettes. He glanced into the small cafe window. He saw a flash of red and he
stepped closer to the window. *Willow?* He noticed her tacky pale blue uniform. *She works here?* he asked himself. He was about to continue on
to the Watcher’s when he noticed how annoyed she looked.

****
“Do you want fries or a baked potato with that?” Willow asked as she tried to move out of reach of his hand. Debra and Anya had both warned her
about Bob. While he was a regular customer, he was a grabber. She’d waited on him the other day and came home with a bruise on her ass.

The red head heard the bell over the door ring and looked up from her order pad. She saw Spike enter the restaurant. The distraction gave Bob the
opportunity to cup his hand over Willow’s butt. She jumped back a step, breaking contact. Spike gave a low growl as he walked over to the table.

“Hey, baby,” Spike greeted with passionate kiss.

Willow could taste cigarettes as his tongue made a probing sweep of her mouth. When he pulled back, she blinked, stunned. “Hey, Spike,” she said
breathlessly. *What the hell just happened?*

“Willow,” Greg, the night manager, called. Willow walked to the kitchen. He’d seen the incident.

Bob looked up at the bleach blonde standing over him. The icy blue eyes gave a stern warning and he could swear there was a flash of gold in his
eyes. Spike made sure the human understood what would happen if he touched Willow again.

When Willow returned to the table, she had her backpack. “Ready?” Spike asked. She nodded and the two of them left the restaurant. “Didn’t get
you in trouble, did I?” he asked.

“No. Greg’s the new manager and told me he would have Bob banned from the restaurant until he could behave. The old manager wouldn’t do
anything about him even after all the waitresses complained about him,” she said. She looked over her shoulder and saw the six foot eight man
discussing appropriate behavior with Bob. While Greg was a mountain of a man, Willow knew he was just a big teddy bear and wouldn’t hurt a fly. He
just looked like he’d rip someone’s head off. She giggled.

“What’s so funny, Red?” Spike asked.

“Nothing,” she said as they walked down the quiet street. “Honest,” she added, when he looked at her with his eyebrow raised, not quite believing
her.

“So, you work there?” Spike asked. “Never knew you had a real job.” He took her bookbag so she could pull on her jacket.

“Just started a few days ago. Anya works there too, but she works the day shift,” she explained. She glanced up at him then back at the pavement
beneath her feet. Her mind kept running over the kiss he’d given her.

Mistaking her look as one of disgust, Spike pulled her to a stop and lifted her chin to look at him. “Why?”

Confused, her brow crinkled. “Why what?”

“Why do you hate me?” he asked.

“It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the fact that you’ve tried to kill me on several occasions,” she said. She tried to decipher the look
that crossed his face. *That couldn’t be regret, could it?* she asked herself. “Truthfully I don’t hate you. Even when I was locked in a closet with
Cordelia for a damn night.”

Relieved, Spike chuckled and slung an arm around her shoulders. “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”

“You don’t need to do that, Spike. I can take care of myself,” Willow protested.

“I know that. I figured you could protect me,” he said.

She rolled her green eyes. “Okay.” They cut through the park to get to Willow’s apartment. “You know you really don’t have to walk me home. I’m
sure you have more interesting things to do.”

"Nope. I'm free tonight."

"Kind of hard to believe."

"I feel like giving all those women a break," he said seriously, but had an amused glint in his blue eyes.

"Oh, yeah," Willow said sarcastically. "And do these women actually exist or are they just figments of your imagination?"

"Women are always after me. It's the bad boy look," he said, grinning even wider.

Willow just rolled her eyes. "You're definitely delusional, dead boy."

"You've been hanging with Xander too much."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Suddenly, Spike stopped. "Vampire?" she asked.

"Besides me? Yes," he said. He smelled the air to track their prey and knew immediately who it was. "Willow," he said. "Give me one of those stakes."

Willow pulled a wooden stake out of her bag and tightened her grip on the crossbow she borrowed from the Watcher.

"Thanks, pet," Spike said as he stepped forward.

"Spikey!" an all too familiar voice squealed. Willow rolled her eyes and just stared at the blonde vampire dressed in pink.

"Harm," Spike said painfully.

"I knew you'd come back to me," she said triumphantly. She leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

Willow tried to hold back the urge to vomit. *I can't believe he used to live with that,* she thought.

Harmony stepped back to pout when Spike didn't return her enthusiastic kiss. Then she noticed someone else with her platinum baby. "Willow," she
said. She took a couple of steps closer to the red head. "What's mousy, little you doing here…alive?"

"Getting ready to dust your sorry ass," Willow replied as she raised the crossbow to Harmony's chest.

Spike looked at Harmony and smirked. *She's toast.*

The bolt left the bow and cut through the whiny vampire's heart to imbed itself in a tree three feet away.

"Bitch," Harmony said as she exploded into dust.

"Takes one to know one," Willow replied as she reloaded her weapon.

"Good shot, luv," Spike said.

Her breath caught in her throat as she looked into his eyes. She had to close her eyes and give herself a mental shake to rid herself of her
confusing thoughts. "Thanks."

"Remind me never to get you pissed at me," he said as he slung an arm around her shoulders.

“Okay.” They continued to walk in silence to her apartment. Once they reached the building, Spike insisted walking her to her door. He gave her his
best “I’m so sweet and innocent, won’t you invite me inside?” look. Willow gave her head a shake. “Would you like to come in?” she asked.

“Love to, pet,” he said with a grin.

Willow dropped her bag on the couch and tossed her keys onto the kitchen counter. She noticed the light flashing on the answering machine. She
pressed the play button.

“Willow? It’s Buffy. Before you delete this please just listen. I wanted to say I’m sorry. I should never have said those things. I never meant to hurt
you, Will. Please call me.”

Willow erased the message and turned to Spike. “Well, I’d offer you a drink, but my fridge isn’t vampire friendly.”

“That’s okay.”

She looked around for a minute. “Um, why don’t you make yourself at home. I need to take a shower. I always feel greasy after work.”

Spike tried to keep the thought of Willow showering out of his mind. “Kay.”

When Willow headed to the bathroom to clean up, Spike wandered around the small apartment and poked around. He found the CD collection and
sat on the floor to investigate. “Sarah McLachlan, chick music; Jewel, chick music; Meredith Brooks, chick music; Beatles, hello. Rubber Soul.
Figured Red would do research on Nowhere Man. What else do you have in here?” Spike asked as he reached for another stack of CD cases. “Sex
Pistols? Bodies, Problems, Liar, and No Feelings. Surprise, surprise,” he muttered to himself. He pulled a disc out of its case and put it in the player.

Willow stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She heard music coming from the living room. As she towel dried her hair she
hummed along to the familiar tunes. Something was nagging at the back of her mind. She pulled on a pair of boxer shorts and a tank top. She found
Spike sitting on the couch singing along to the music.

“He’s a real nowhere man. Sitting in his nowhere land. Making all his nowhere plans for nobody. Doesn’t have a point of view. Knows not where he’s
going to. Isn’t he a bit like you and me,” Spike sang softly.

Willow stared at him as things began to click in her head. *He called me Red. Only Spike calls me Red.* “What are you doing?”

Spike glanced up at her. “Nothing. This is just my favorite song. Can’t help singing along. I know I can’t sing, but oh well,” he said with a shrug.

“Nowhere Man is your favorite song?”

He looked her straight in the eye. “Yep.”

“You bastard,” she said between her clenched teeth.

“Huh?”

“You’re him. You’re NoWhere_Man126. Goddess. That’s your age. You fucking bastard!” she yelled.

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