The change that had come over her had been so gradual,
Willow wasn't exactly sure when it had even begun. The
sharp pain that had dwelt within her after Oz's
departure had slowly abated to a dull, distant ache.
She walked toward the Bronze as her thoughts drifted
back over the past several weeks of her life. Spike's
cautious displays of affection for her had been met
with the expected suspicions of Buffy, Xander, and
Giles. The vampire had chosen words over actions, and
her friends had finally decided he really was
interested in her, that he had no intention of causing
her pain or of using her to hurt any of them.
Spike had wooed her broken heart with what she could
only describe as uncharacteristic patience. As the
weeks passed, she had found it impossible to reject
his gentle, but persistent, advances. Last night, she
had finally admitted to both the vampire and to
herself that his feelings were reciprocated. She had
willingly given him her body and had awakened early
this morning with the calming realization that Spike
was neither a substitute nor a replacement for Oz, but
the man to whom her heart truly belonged, the man for
whom her heart had been intended from the beginning.
Willow smiled softly to herself as she entered the
Bronze and caught sight of her lover and her friends
seated at a table near the wall. They were absorbed in
conversation, none of them noticing her as she
approached.
"You talked to her this morning. Did she sound hurt to
you?" the blonde vampire asked the slayer.
"No," Buffy answered. "But I told you to get her mind
off of Oz. I never told you to sleep with her!"
Willow stopped in her tracks, the smiled fading from
her lips, and she strained to hear the vampire's
reply.
"Bloody hell," Spike grumbled. "I've been chasing the
chit for weeks! What the hell did you think was going
to happen when I finally caught her? This whole thing
was your damned idea!"
Buffy sighed angrily, "Only because she seemed to
listen to you. God knows why. She needed to get out of
that dorm, have something to do on the weekends
besides mope over Oz, and she certainly didn't want to
go anywhere with us."
"Can't imagine why," the vampire spat. "She probably
figured having her fingernails ripped out would be
more bearable than watching you kissing your latest
flavor of the week and listening to the git's ex-demon
ranting on about their latest fuck-fest."
Buffy slammed her chair back and stood up, anger
burning behind her eyes, "You had this planned from
the beginning, didn't you?"
"I did what you told me to do," he answered coldly.
"I wanted you to get her to stop crying over Oz!"
"She wasn't crying over him last night," he smirked.
The slayer grabbed hold of his collar and yanked him
up onto his feet, "You'd better start figuring out how
you're going to fix this without hurting her because
I'll be damned if you're ever going to see her again!"
"You tell her, then," he suggested, slapping her hands
away from him. "Explain to her how this little game
was your plan from the start, and how I only agreed
because you threatened to--"
"Willow," Xander whispered as his eyes suddenly
registered the small redhead standing a few feet away.
Buffy's mouth dropped open as her gaze followed his,
"Oh, gods, Will--"
She stared back at the trio, her eyes cold and
lifeless, "Look at it this way. You don't have to find
a way to lie your way out of anything, now. I got
it--all of it."
"No!" Buffy cried out as the redhead turned and flew
out of the Bronze.
***
Willow dropped her hastily-packed suitcase in front of
the dorm room door, knocked loudly, and pasted on a
smile as a tall young woman answered.
"Hi, Kerri. I heard you talking after class the other
day about about finding someone to ride home with you
this weekend. I only need a one-way ride, but I can
pay half the gas if you're still--"
"Yeah," Kerri nodded and glanced down at the suitcase.
"You're lucky you caught me. I was going to leave
straight from my evening class, but I got to my car
and realized I'd forgotten one of my bags. Looks like
you're ready, though. You won't need a ride back on
Sunday? What are you doing, dropping out?"
"Something like that," the redhead replied.
***
"She won't be here," Buffy said as she stepped out of
the elevator ahead of Xander and Spike. "I'm the last
person she wants to see right now."
"Well, we've looked everywhere else," Xander told her
as they followed her down the hall.
The slayer slipped her key into the lock and pushed
open the door.
"Not here," she announced.
Xander's eyes settled on the open closet door, and he
walked over to it and gestured to its empty interior,
"Completely not here."
Spike moved to the dresser between the two beds and
lifted an envelope that was propped up against the
lamp. Turning, he handed it to Buffy, and she took it
and pulled out the slip of paper tucked inside.
"Gone. Willow," she read the simple message, her voice
shaking in anguish.
"You damned bloody bitch," Spike snarled and grabbed
hold of her throat, stubbornly ignoring the blinding
pain in his head as he threw her violently into the
desk across the room.
"Why the hell do you even care?" Buffy demanded
angrily as he stormed toward the door.
"Because I love her," he shouted before slamming the
door hard enough to rattle the walls.
The crumpled note in the slayer's hand drifted to the
floor as she broke down in hard sobs of pain. Xander
pulled her forcefully into his arms as hot tears of
regret spilled from his eyes.
***
Spike entered the empty bedroom and stared over at the
rumpled sheets on his bed. Willow's singular scent
still hung delicately in the air. He reached for the
pillow on which she had slept less than twenty-four
hours ago. Sinking to his knees, he clutched the
pillow to him, burying his face in it as his body
shook in bloody tears of loss.
End.
read the sequal 'Seeking Oblivion'