Pairing- W/S
Rating- PG
Summary- Willow has problems with a stalker in her class
Disclaimer- If Spike was mine do you think I’d be sitting here typing this?
Distribution- Redssoulmates, Breathe, want take have.
Notes- This has been at the bottom of my draw for over a year and has only now found its way to the screen.
Dedication- This one's for KallieRose who write feedback for all mys stories. Thanks honey.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The two girls walked into Giles’s Magic Boxes talking.
"Please Buffy." Willow pleaded almost desperately
"Sorry Will, but you know I can’t." Buffy responded not unkindly
Willow sat heavily on the couch and covered her face with her hands. Spike moved over to accommodate her. The poor little witch was a picture of misery.
"What’s up Wills?" Xander removed his lips from Anya’s long enough to register that Willow was upset.
"I have this late night lecture on and there’s this guy in it. He totally creeps me out, he sits next to me and stares and I…I think he follows me. It’s wigging me out." Willow shuddered "I asked him to knock it off but he’s just more open about it, since he figures I know anyway."
"I would come to your lecture with you Wills but I have to patrol." Buffy explained "But he’s probably just your garden variety weirdo, harmless. Weird but harmless."
"Yeah." Willow was unconvinced "Right."
As conversation turned to normal- well normal for the Hellmouth- topics about demons and decapitation, Spike turned to Willow.
"Okay pet?"
"Yeah." She smiled sweetly at the Vampire "He just is a little… you know stalk-ery and it’s kinda scary but I guess Buffy’s right, I’ll just have to deal." She grinned wryly at Spike before joining the others in their discussion.
Spike sat watching her for a while. He had a soft spot for the red-head and had done for a while. *oh Spike-y has a crush!* his demon sang to him as he stared at her shiny eyes laughing at something that Xander said.
*Do not* he replied, *do too* the demon smirked *but that’s OK mate, she is a bit of all right. Could do worse- have done* the demon shuddered at the thought of Harmony. *Willow, is more than a bit of all right.* he spat at his demon *She’s a goddess, a fire-y spitfire of temptation and…* *Poofter!* his demon taunted. *Watch it mate or…or* *or what?* *I’ll ask Red to do that my-will-it-so-spell again, you know what that means*. *Bloody hell* said the demon remembering the feeling of Slayer lips *No need to get nasty, OK, Red is a goddess, lets make her ours.*
Spike grinned as he and his demon agreed. That grin faded as he saw how blasé the Slayer was about her friends feelings. *Bet if Slutty had a problem Red would drop everything to help her sorry ass out.* He watched as Willow laughed again at Xander *she is adorable, I bet she’d make a gorgeous Vampire.* he felt himself grow excited at the thought. *oh to corrupt that innocence would be a challenge in itself.* he shivered in delight.
Willow felt Spike shiver besides her and frowned, she didn’t think Vampires got cold. She glanced at the clock and prayed that the time would crawl so she didn’t have to go to this lecture. But she was acutely aware of the ticking seconds.
~~~*~~~
Willow sat in the lecture hall fumbling with her pen Her friend, Lydia, sat next to her trying to take her mind off whatever was bothering her.
"C’mon Will. Nick might not even be here tonight, he could have been killed by a rampaging Jersey Devil."
Willow glanced up quickly to see if Lydia was joking- you never knew on The Hellmouth, no she was kidding.
"I’ll walk you home if you want." She offered
"Thanks Lydz, it’s just a weird, creepy feeling and he gives me the wig."
Willow bit her bottom lip.
"Oh yeah the guy’s a total Donnie Pfaster." Lydia chuckled
"X-files?" Willow guessed, Lydia was a total X-files phreak. She knew everything about the first five seasons and was always making references. She waited for the explanation that was sure to follow
"Donnie was an escalating fetishist, he abducted Scully to take her hair and fingernails. Nick is a real Donnie…shit." Lydia sighed and Willow’s heart sank as she realised that Nick had just come into the room.
Willow tried to ignore the creepy feeling on the back of her neck as Nick made his way over to her chair.
"Hello Willow." His voice was low and flat. Willow looked up at him, he was plain- the kind of guy you looked at but never saw- dark hair and unremarkable features. He wore a dark sweater and black trousers, just a simple, non-discript guy. *so why does he frighten me?*
He sat in the chair next to her and she gave him a tight smile. "Hey."
Lydia began humming the X-files theme tune under her breath with pointed looks at Nick, making Willow grin slightly.
"So Donnie," Lydia began eliciting a puzzled look from Nick
"Don’t Lydz." Willow urged
"Willow, what are you doing after class?" he stared at her unblinkingly "We could go out for a drink."
"I don’t drink." She said immediately "Alcohol is of the evil and a caffeine Willow is a hyper Willow, plus I kinda have to get back, Buffy worries about me." She tried to let him down lightly.
"I could walk you." Still with the not blinking and it was beginning to unnerve Willow. Her panic button flared up a couple of notches.
"Wow now there’s something I’d like to see everyday." Lydia enthused staring at the front of the hall but Willow ignored her, she was going to get this over and done with, damn it.
"Actually Nick, I don’t think so." *not a chance in Hell!*
"Why Willow?" Nick asked
"Yum, yum, yum." Lydia whispered "Hottie alert."
"Lydz not now." Willow said exasperated "Look Nick I can’t go out with you, I can’t."
"I want to know why."
"And I want to know why you’re moving in on my girlfriend." Said a voice
Willow looked up at the shadow towering over her.
"SPIKE?"
Spike looked at the shocked expression on her face, he’d seen the panic on her face as Creepo boy moved in and this was much better.
"Hey pet, sorry I’m late." He ducked his head and planted a kiss on her upturned lips lingering as he figured he might as well make the most of his opportunity.
Mindlessly Willow returned the kiss *What was Spike doing here? Why was he kissing her?*
Spike backed away and Willow fought the urge to moan
*Why did he stop?*
Spike glared at Nick who sat with his mouth open at the display. It was a primal look first shared when men in loin cloths bashed each other over the head with sticks, it said "move, or be lunch."
Nick moved and scampered to the back of the hall and Spike sat himself down in the vacated chair and turned to Willow with a lascivious grin.
"So what class are we in then love?"
"World History." She answered automatically then shook herself "Why are *we* here?"
"To learn?" he teased and leaned back and stretched kicking the person in front. They turned to complain and Spike fixed them with his best Big Bad expression and they realised that the seat over there was much better. "I always wanted to do the College thing, get me some education." he continued as if never interrupted.
Willow gaped at him, he looked so out of place, the delinquent, proverbial bad boy. Delicious, Virile and bad through and trough. She agreed with Lydia- total hottie.
She was elbowed by said friend who coughed none too discreetly.
"Oh Lydia this is Spike. Spike this is Lydia."
"Hey." Lydia grinned at Willow’s friend, he was such an explosion in a honey factory and by his expression totally into Wills. Bout damn time too.
"Hi Love." Spike looked at her, she was pretty in the same subtle way Willow was. She had red-brown hair and dark rimmed glasses and a mischievous grin. "What’s the story with ‘im." He pointed over his shoulder.
"Nick? Total Donnie Pfaster." She stated
"Really?" Spike chuckled "Not a Duane Barry?"
"Like Aliens would want anything to do with that freakazoid, even the CIA have standards." She shuddered
Willow’s jaw dropped "You know X-files?"
He shrugged "Doesn’t everyone?"
The chatter around them faded as the teacher entered the room.
Willow’s mind tried to process the fact that Spike was sitting next to her in class.
"Good evening class." The professor gave the generic greeting before leaning casually against the table and staring at them all.
"Hey, so tonight we are talking about Boxers. Not the dogs or WWF but Chinese guys." He waited for the class to chuckle which they did reluctantly "Can anyone tell me why there was a rebellion?"
There was a silence and then a quiet voice whispered
"Isn’t that *his* job?" there were assorted titters.
The Professor glared
"Anyone?"
More silence and then
"Uprising." Spike said
"Excuse me?"
"Most Chinese called it an uprising. See they were miffed about European influence in China so they rose against anything tainted by the rest of the world." Spike leaned back "They didn’t see it as Rebellion, just ousting of foreign parts that didn’t belong."
"R-right." Edged the Professor warily. He was a lean wimpy kind of know-all, the kind that get their lunch money stolen all the way up to College. He’d told the Students to call him Jay- thinking he would be cool but he’d always be a nerd and guys like Spike intimidated him.
"OK so a society of nationalists rose up to fight European influences, who instigated the uprising?"
"Well the Boxers were already established right? But the Empress at the time used them to aid her cause. Dowager Tzu Hissy or something, like that." Lydia said then asked "Did the nationalists have a name other than the Boxers?"
"Huh?" Jay looked blankly at her
"Well normally groups like that give themselves a name to empower them, roundheads, Lionheart’s, Boyzone." The students laughed "Did the nationalists have a name for themselves?"
"Uh not that I’m aware of." Jay stuttered
Spike turned incredulous to Willow "You sure this Wanker is a Professor?" he peered over to Lydia as Willow blushed and the class tittered again.
"They called themselves the I ho Ch’û an," his Chinese was perfect "That’s righteous Harmonious fists in English. They felt that by working together they’d succeed." He glanced at Jay in disgust.
Falling back on the time honoured teacher defence "Well if you know so much perhaps you’d like to come up here and teach the class."
"Glad to mate." Spike stood up and swaggered over to the front of the class. Willow blushed harder and ducked down in her chair as Jay gaped like a goldfish. Spike perched on the edge of the desk and fished in his pockets for a cigarette.
"Right so it was the nineteenth century, China's emperors had watched as foreigners encroached further on their land. These bleeding foreigners had forced China to make humiliating concessions and they had beaten imperial armies again and again, so as the next generation came around the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi was having none of it. Smart bird she was decided she’d had enough of these poncy Europeans…"
"Why?" someone from the back asked
Spike lit his cigarette and took a drag "Well love, Euro influence crept in and the chinks reckoned their culture was being undermined by Brits and Yanks, Japs, Frogs, Russians- you name it, they were there, each taking slices of China carving it up like Sunday roast. They were right and it was damn shame too, they were damn good swordsmen- all that martial arts crap on T.V doesn’t compare. Poetry it was but they soon learnt that those who live by the sword get shot by those who don’t."
The class erupted into laughter and Spike shot a look at a shocked and obviously impressed Willow.. He preened a little.
"Now the Bint in Charge wanted ‘em out. And there was a secret society in the North where they had a famine called the Fists of Righteous Harmony got a lot of members and were called Boxers because they did Martial arts. They believed they had Magic that made them impervious to Bullets and that some dead Spirit soldiers would help them in their cause." He shrugged
"Each to their own, although at first they wanted to overthrow the Empress, the craft bint got everyone to support them and set them loose on the foreigners. So in 1900 thousands of them went about on a spree, they attacked missionaries and Chinese converts. Then they moved to the cities attracting more recruits as they went. Beautiful it was, the whole sky lit up with fire." he stared into space "Both European and American legations in Beijing were besieged and begged the Empress for help, she said she’d stop the "rebellion" but did bugger all."
The class sat spellbound as Spike weaved his tale
"The Boxers were out for blood, any Christian influence was to be stamped out. Chinese Christians were murdered by the thousands. The streets ran red with blood and screams filled the air day and night. Creatures of the night came out to feed on the corpses, such a banquet." Spike reminisced
Willow coughed loudly reminding Spike of his audience.
"Pretty soon it was a free for all and killing and looting was random. After two months the other governments sent in troops and racked up a higher body count than the damn Boxers. They looted the capital and even ransacked the Forbidden city. Bloody Philistines, then good old US of A called for that "Open Door" policy in all parts of China."
"What happened to the Empress?" Willow asked
"Well sweetheart," Spike drawled out the endearment
"She fled the country dressed as a peasant, she returned later but the Power of her government was gone." Spike sat back and smoked his cigarette thinking quietly
The shrill bell broke the spell and a clatter of books and chatter the class left. Most stopped to thank Spike for an interesting lesson.
Willow sat in her chair still stunned, the class had gone so fast with Spike’s sexy voice and she’d hardly noticed the time fly.
"Earth calling Willow." Lydia waved a hand in front of her face "Are you missing nine minutes?"
Willow shook her head "I’m fine." She gathered her books.
"I didn’t know you had a sexy, brainy hottie for a boyfriend," she paused "I didn’t know guys could be both cute and clever."
"I Don’t… Spike isn’t…" she tried to form a sentence
"Soon will be." Lydia promised with a grin
"Hey pet, you OK?" Spike sauntered over and grinned at her
Willow’s stomach flipped "Uh sure."
"Hey Spike, wicked job, sure told Jay." Lydia enthused
"Way cool, now I’m bailing. X-files’ on soon, you OK getting home Wills?"
Willow looked at Spike "I’m good, see ya later."
Spike waggled his fingers "Bye Love." He turned to Willow "How was I?"
"Actually Spike I’m impressed you were very good and tell a killer story, I thought Jay was gonna have a coronary."
"I did live through the Boxer Rebellion, killed my first Slayer there." he held out his hand.
"I remember" Willow took it and Spike laced their fingers together.
"Spike, why did you come here?" she was serious
"I heard you talking to the Slayer about that jerk giving you the creeps and wanted to help out."
"Why?" Spike suddenly became very interested in the intricacies of concrete
"I like you- a-a lot." He said quietly
"Oh." Willow hesitated surprised "Can I tell you a secret?"
"Sure." He sounded slightly disappointed
"I like you too, a lot." His head snapped up and he locked eyes with her
"Really?" his gorgeous blue eyes were filled with hope
"Really." She bit her lip shyly
"I’m going to kiss you know."
"I’d be disappointed if you didn’t." her eyes closed.
His lips descended upon hers as his arms wrapped around her waist pulling her in close. She opened her mouth to gasp air and his tongue snaked in tangling with hers. After a moment he pulled away so she could breathe
"A-are you coming to another class?" she asked as she pulled him closer
"Sure, I need to teach that Jay a few things." He murmured against her lips.
"Mmm." She closed her eyes again loving the feel of his cool mouth against her skin.
He chuckled and kissed her again.
"I knew I’d like college."
the end...