LOVE POTION #12a (1/?)
 

Willow Rosenberg sighed as she looked at the window front. Her eyes moved
over the words, a nostalgic smile crossing her lips. She remembered when this
building had been the home of an old fashioned five and dime. True, she had
been about seven at the time, but she had honestly thought it might still be
in business. She, Jesse and Xander had often spent their allowances on a
variety of toys and knick knacks that cluttered the aisles of that store.
That was the past. Today, Jesse was gone. The store was gone. It was now the
home of some massage therapy parlor. The windows were tinted and she could
see her reflection shining back at her. Distantly, she could also see the
remains of the penny candy sign that had once existed.
 

With another sigh, Willow turned away from the memory of her childhood to
look at the current condition of the street. She hadn't been in this area in
years. Jesse's Mom had often taken her and the boys to a park near here when
they had been much, much younger, and they'd usually ended up eating ice
cream at Al's. Her eyes moved to the corner, finding a used furniture store
where Al's had been. She shook her head, trying to remember why she had ended
up back on Vine in the first place. With sudden clarity, she remembered.
 

Spike. Her roommate from hell. She scowled as she tried to remember what
exactly had sent her from the house this time. Oh, yeah. He'd been watching
some very loud sports event, yelling at her every time she'd so much as moved
a chair. The living room had been full of smoke, drifting into her room
easily. She'd been unable to breathe, or so she'd yelled at him when she'd
stormed past. He'd yelled back, cursing with words she felt better off not
understanding. She still couldn't believe that she was sharing an apartment
with Spike, of all people. Looking back, she was still unsure how that had
exactly happened.
 

It had been right near the end of school, during May. She and Tara had broken
up and she'd ended up homeless. Her parents were in town, and she hadn't
wanted to move back with them. She enjoyed the freedom of living her own
life. She'd bunked at Buffy's for a couple of weeks, during finals and the
big face off with Glory, but that had become rather awkward after a while.
Giles had given up his apartment and moved in after winning custody of Dawn.
Living with Buffy and Dawn might have been fine, but adding Giles to the mix
had just been a bit suffocating. She'd seriously been considering trying to
get her own place, but she had very limited funds. As in, hardly any. She'd
been whining about it for days to anyone that would listen, and she knew they
were about ready to kill her, when Spike had mentioned looking for an
apartment. He hated the crypt, bad memories according to him. In the end, it
had been Anya that had suggested she and Spike share the cost of a place.
 

It had taken the ex-demon nearly a week to convince her and Spike that the
idea was ideal, but eventually Anya started making sense. Spike had no
interest in her, she had no interest in him, so there wouldn't any risk of
the 'unrequited love' bullshit. They got along rather well and could almost
be considered friends, so that helped a bit too. Spike had hit bottom after
his painful obsession with Buffy, and was doing his best to prove that he was
over anything he might have felt for the slayer. She was getting over a sort
of painful, sort of relieving, break up with Tara and could understand the
place that Spike had been in. So, near the middle of June, she and Spike had
become roommates. June 18. The day that would live in infamy, she thought
with a frown as she stopped in front of a video store, her eyes looking over
the titles seen through the window as she continued to be lost in thought.
 

While they might have been considered friends, they had hardly anything in
common. True, they both were night people and they did enjoy much of the same
movies and music, that was where it ended. She was rather quiet. Enjoyed
spending time reading or playing with her laptop. Spike never stayed still.
He was constantly moving and doing things. He had about two dozen unfinished,
half started projects by the end of the first week. He had a short attention
span, or else he got bored very easily. She was unsure which, but it was
annoying either way. He was constantly watching cartoons or sports or game
shows or soap operas. That was it. He'd always tap his foot on the table
whenever she tried watching one of her favorite programs, or, the worst, he'd
sit there and pick apart every single scene, from the dialogue to the clothes
to the sets. By the time he was finished, she'd be so annoyed that she would
have enjoyed anything. She'd tried getting a TV for her room, but, she had
learned AFTER moving in with him and signing a year lease, he hated being
ignored. He'd stand in the doorway, asking questions and teasing her as she
tried to watch until she'd either turn it off or just simply move into the
living room to finish watching. He was a horrid, evil person.
 

Willow continued walking down the street, moving to avoid running into
various people. Her eyes widened when she saw that an adult oriented store
had moved into the area. She glanced around discreetly before peering in the
window. Moving away, she had to wonder what some of the things she had seen
were used for. Curiosity was a bad trait, she decided, as her mind flew
forward with several interesting scenarios. Thinking back to Spike, she had
to smile. They weren't always bad times with him. True, they fought a lot,
but most roommates did. They had good moments, too. It had become a bit of a
habit since she had started back to school, for him to stay awake until she
left, often having coffee made for her in the mornings. They'd sit at the
table and discuss their plans for the day, him drinking his blood, her with
her coffee. The last month or so, he'd even started brushing a kiss against
her forehead as she left. Without realizing it, Willow's hand moved to brush
against the place where his lips touched her skin so often. He'd be asleep
when she got home, the TV still warm from his marathon watching during the
afternoons. He'd usually wake up by the time she finished her homework or
reading, and they'd have dinner then either help Buffy and the gang or watch
a movie or just listen to music as he strummed a guitar he had recently
bought and she'd read. All in all, it was rather nice. Then, he'd ruin it by
doing or saying something and there would be yelling and sarcasm and insults
until they both went to their rooms and slammed the doors. Then, the next
morning would find them in the kitchen as if nothing had happened.
 

Buffy thought it was amusing, having stayed over a few times and witnessed
their strange relationship. Dawn was just confused at how two great people,
in her eyes, could get so passionately angry with each other over silly
things. Xander and Anya didn't seem to really care as long it didn't involve
them. Willow was with Dawn, confused as hell. Everything could be going so
nice, like friendship should, then bam, he'd do something that set her off.
She'd never gone off on any of her others friends that way, but something
about Spike set her on edge. She was constantly on edge around him, even
during their good times. He seemed to be the same way. He'd be fine with the
others. Either glaring or ignoring or actually sharing conversation depending
on the person, but with her, she'd say something in passing and it would
start an all out war.
 

Willow paused in front of a window that said Madame Clara, fortune teller.
She was tempted to venture in to seek her fortune but decided that Madame
Clara probably didn't know any more about it than she did at that very
moment. Waste of time and money, she thought as she continued walking. She
had almost reached the corner when another sign caught her attention.
Startled, she looked again. Another new store. She looked up at the building,
taking in the pretty lace curtains and huge plants hanging from the front. It
looked more like a house than a business. She saw mentions of herbs, potions,
and fortunes written on the glass. She glanced to her right, looking at the
cross signs, her lips twitching as she again looked at the wooden sign in
front of the store. She couldn't resist. It was too uncanny. She had to know
if it was deliberate. Pushing thoughts of Spike and his ability to make her
so angry so easily, she started towards the front door. Let's see what this
Madame Ruth had to say about it all, she decided. She entered the building
after taking one last glance and reading the street signs, 34th and Vine.

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