Prologue


It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, a chance to travel the world and get out of the small town life that she had grown up with. But as the plane touched down at Manchester Airport, Buffy suddenly felt very alone.

Her teachers had all told her what a wonderful opportunity it would be for her - to go to an English university and one of the best at that. Her father had been British and that gave her duel nationality but she had never actually visited the country. Buffy’s mother had never got along with her husband’s family and after his death when Buffy was a little girl there had seemed little reason to visit.

Buffy couldn’t really remember exactly who had suggested it first but she found herself applying to English Universities. When she got an acceptance from the University of Manchester it all seemed so exciting and exotic that she got caught up in the enthusiasm but reality suddenly came crashing down and she realised that what it really meant was that for the next three years she would be living thousands of miles from her home, family and friends.

She collected her luggage and made her way through customs scanning the crowded arrivals lounge for the pick-up the university said would meet her. She caught sight of a tall guy holding up a large white placard, on which the words ‘Summers and Rosenburg’ were written in big red letters. She waved to indicate she had seen him and moved towards the door where he was standing.

“Hi! I’m Buffy Summers,” she said, shifting her heavy bag from one shoulder to the other uncomfortably.

“I’m Chris. I’m the RA for the halls you’ll be living in for the next year. May as well put your bags down for a sec - we still have another taker, er,” he looked down at a scrap off paper he pulled out of his pocket, “Willow Rosenburg. Shouldn’t have to wait long - she was on the same flight as you. Ah, this looks like her now.”

Buffy turned in time to see a slim girl with long straight red hair coming towards them, lugging a large suitcase and shoulder bag. She thought that she recognised her from the flight and was suddenly glad to see someone else who was in the same situation.

“By the looks of things, you’re going to be sharing a kitchen,” Chris was saying, Buffy turned and frowned at him.

“A kitchen?”

“That’s right - the rooms are divided into kitchens. About 12 people share a kitchen and living area, so just hope that you get along with them all!”

“Kitchen - that means cooking, right?”

It was going to be a very long year.



Chapter 1


“Buffy, wake up - the plane’s about to land.” Buffy groaned as Willow shook her out of the deep sleep she’d been enjoying.

“What, already?”

“You call that already! I’m sure that the flight wasn’t that long a few months ago!” Willow stretched, trying to get the crick out of her neck that had formed from far too many hours in the cramped coach seats of the plane.

“Will, that was because you passed out on the way back to the States due to your hangover from Drink the Bar Dry the night before.” Buffy tried not to laugh at the thought of her friend’s sorry state at the end of the previous year, when she had decided to make use of the English law that allowed 18 year olds to drink.

“Are you ready for a whole new year then Buff?”

“Yeah,” Buffy smiled to herself, “I think I am. You know, I was really dreading this last year. I was so close to catching the same flight home, but I had fun in the end.”

“Yeah, and Riley Finn has absolutely nothing to do with this?”

Buffy blushed slightly, “well, maybe a little.”

She hadn’t been looking for a relationship when she met Riley but somehow she found one. She’d met him during Fresher’s Week looking as lost as she was, but so were most people. You could definitely spot a fresher that week, but then again there was a lot of Manchester to get lost in, and with three or four different universities in the city, then you had to learn where you were fast.

One year later and they were a definite couple. Buffy had never had a serious relationship before and this seemed to her to be everything she could ever want. Riley was an attentive, loving boyfriend and they shared everything. Whatever she wanted to do, he showed an interest in. They’d joined the same clubs and societies - not that she’d ended up going to many of them, there was so much else to do - and they seemed to spend nearly every day together. She hadn’t seen him all summer though - he couldn’t afford the airfare to California and she’d wanted to go home to spend the summer break seeing her mother and her friends back home - so they’d written to each other, emailed and talked on the phone, much to her mother’s annoyance when she saw the phone bill.

~*~*~

The taxi pulled up outside the large redbrick building that was to be their home for the next year and Buffy and Willow climbed out, looking up to survey the old Victorian building.

“You know, this would be so cool if it was actually all ours,” Willow mused.

“Yeah, but it’s not - just the basement and the first floor - though it’s as good as ours. Riley and his friends have got the second and third floors, so we’ll have the run of the whole place.”

“But wouldn’t it have been great to actually have lived here when it was new? I mean, look at the size of this place - it’s huge! I bet there would have been servants and carriages and beautiful women in long flowing dresses.”

“Yeah, whose only job was to look pretty and act dumb? Sounds just great to me,” Buffy said sarcastically. “Nah, I think I’ll stick with what I have. Xander!” Buffy’s face split into a wide grin as she beheld the guy who had just opened the front door of the house in front of them.

“Buffy, Willow - long time no see. How was summer for you guys?”

“Great, until the flight back. Now I have jetlag from hell and I know that I still have to unpack all my stuff.” Willow moaned.

“Talking of which, your boxes are in your rooms. I think my parents were glad to get rid of them. I really don’t think that when they agreed to store your stuff over the summer holidays they actually realised how much stuff that was! Anyway, come in, come in!”

All three went inside the house, through the wide oak door with its stained glass windows into the hallway with its stone floors. It would have been very pretty in its day, Buffy mused, but that was before inner Manchester became a slightly less desirable place to live and the stature of the outside of the house was spoiled somewhat by the bars at the ground floor windows. The inside, though, was really quite something - despite the fact that it in need of refurbishment.

“Right,” Xander was saying, “you remember how this works don’t you? The main staircase leads to the upstairs flat and this door here,” he indicated the white glossed door to the right of the main entrance, “is our very own front door. Here’s a key for you,” he handed a small gold key to Willow and another to Buffy, “and one for you.”

They unlocked the door and went inside their new flat. Buffy recognised it from when they’d all gone house-hunting last Easter but somehow it seemed different this time, more real, and of course fewer pictures of naked women on the walls than last time when it had been inhabited by four men.

“What about rooms? Have you chosen yours yet?” Willow was asking.

“Well, Oz has been here since yesterday and he’s bagged the one downstairs next to the kitchen, which leaves the three upstairs for you, me and Buffy.”

“Ooh, bedroom choices!”

*~*~*

Several hours later found them all collapsed in the living room that was actually in the basement of the house, all absolutely exhausted and sharing a pizza. The initial scramble over the rooms had been over fairly quickly. Buffy was happy about her room - somehow she’d landed the biggest in the house. The only downside was the glaringly bright red curtains, which didn’t exactly go with the powder blue paint that was on the walls. Maybe she’d think about redecorating, but not today. Today was for pizza and gossip and sleep - much sleep. Sleep was definitely high on the agenda.



Chapter 2


The second year started quietly enough. Xander still seemed in a state of shock that he’d managed to pass all his exams at the end of the previous year and had thrown himself into his studies this year with renewed vigour and enthusiasm, though Buffy still had a hard time understanding how he could find engineering interesting. Both she and Willow had learned that this was a question best not asked or Xander would try and explain the answer to them which generally meant trying to look vaguely interested whilst he babbled on for a few hours about structural design.

Oz had sailed his way into his final year with about as much effort as he’d put into the rest of his course. He’d become one of the group early on in the previous year when Willow and he had dated for a while. A very short while - their ‘relationship’ had never really got off the ground, as Willow had found Tara and Oz had found The Band.

Everyone had decided that, whilst ‘Dingoes Ate My Baby’ was a great name for a band, it was simply too long to have to refer to and so very quickly Oz’s new obsession had been shortened to simply ‘The Band’ which suited everyone. Luckily, Oz was too involved with this to mind too much when Willow broke it to him that she preferred the company of Tara and in return Willow was relieved that Oz had been about to tell her that he didn’t have time for a girlfriend because of the intensive rehearsal schedule the Band had come up with. So everything sorted itself out and Willow and Oz decided that friends was good and had stayed that way ever since.

As for Buffy and Willow, after meeting that day at the airport they had arrived at University of Manchester Halls of Residence to find out that no only were they to be sharing a kitchen but that their rooms were next to each other. The two had clung to each other for support during the first few days of term and quickly developed into a close friendship confiding in each other about the ups and downs of their respective relationships and generally becoming inseparable by the end of the first term. After Christmas, however, they started to spend less and less time together as Buffy’s relationship with Riley developed and Willow started to spend more time with Tara. Hopefully, the living arrangements this year would mean that that situation did not reoccur - everyone was living off campus this year - Riley in the flat upstairs and Tara in a flat based in a similar house next door.

*~*~*

Buffy’s arm shot out and grabbed the offending alarm clock as it rang the next morning to signal the start of term. Not fully conscious she picked it up and threw it towards the opposite wall. As the heavy radio alarm clock reached the end of its short wire and landed on her head she was reminded that she had left her old freestanding alarm clock in California and made a mental note never to try that one again.

She got out of bed rubbing her head and made her way to the bathroom for her morning shower, praying that none of the others had got there first. Her prayers were answered and she quickly showered and dressed before leaving to make her way to the campus to register.

*~*~*

“Okay, I’ve finally found the downside of living off campus!” Buffy fumed to Andrew, the first person off her course she saw when she made it into the English building. “Do you know how long I had to wait for a bus this morning?”

“Didn’t you have to bus it in everyday living in halls last year?” Andrew looked at her, puzzled, as most of the halls at the university were at least a mile or two from the city centre campus.

“Yeah but from Fallowfield and there are sooo many more buses from there! Today I just missed the 8:12, then the 8:30 didn’t turn up and so now I have to forego my morning coffee just so I can stand in line for hours to register! What a way to start a new year - this is not a good sign!”

“Well, I don’t mind standing at the bus stop. Unless it’s raining of course then the water runs down my neck. But on a day like today when the sun is shining and the birds are singing and you can look out over fields of grass gently waving in the wind,” he sighed as he stared off into space.

“Andrew? Where exactly are you living this year?”

“Rusholme.”

“Oh. The same Rusholme that’s about 15 miles from the nearest open space that’s not been aggressively hacked by a lawn mower?”

“Er, yeah.”

“Andrew?”

“Yeah?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Well, you know…”

“No. I don’t”

“Hi guys,” a shy voice said from behind them. Buffy whirled round and smiled gratefully as she saw the girl who had just arrived.

“Tara, hi! Great to see you! Lets go over here and talk about, er, girl things!” She dragged the slightly confused Tara away from Andrew. “Thank God! What was I thinking! I think the summer break must have fried my brain - I’d forgotten how weird that guy could be! Anyway - how are you? Did you have a good summer?”

“It wasn’t too bad. Pretty boring really - spent the whole summer back in Cornwall with my family. Missed you all.”

“Well, we have to catch up as quickly as possible. I know - Oz has band rehearsal tonight - now there’s a big surprise, huh - and Xander’s out somewhere so how’s about we have a girly night? Oh, unless you’d prefer to spend it alone with Willow?”

“No - girl’s night sounds just fine to me.”

“Great, I’ll get the word to Anya and Cordy. About 8-ish?”

“Okay. Look - I’ll see you then. I have to run or I’ll miss my registration spot.”

*~*~*

That night found the girls lying on the floor in the flat stuffing themselves full of pizza and in stitches over Anya’s tales of her summer when she’d gone backpacking round Sweden and met this guy called Olaf. From her description of him they’d made a very unlikely couple and Anya had had to agree.

“He was so possessive,” she complained, taking another bite of her pizza, “and he insisted on calling me Aud! I have no idea why - Anya is a perfectly normal reasonable name! But he was quite sweet at times. Oh, did I tell you about the time when he and I…” Her tale was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“I’ll go,” Willow sighed, dragging herself up from the sofa where she had been curled in Tara’s arms.

Willow re-entered the room some minutes later, closely followed by Riley.

“Hi Buffy. I thought that we could spend our first night back together since, well, we haven’t seen each other all summer.” Riley looked hopeful.

Buffy looked round the room at her friends and at Riley, “we had lunch together today and then you said that you were fine with me having a night with the girls. You said you had other things to do.”

“Yeah but that fell through and I thought that I could come round.”

Buffy looked round the now silent room wondering what to do, “Well… this is meant to be a girl’s night.”

“But she’s here,” Riley said pointing at Tara.

“And she would be a girl.”

“Yes, but also going out with Willow. So I can qualify under the going out with Buffy category”

“Erm.” Buffy looked round the room again wondering what the hell to do now. She wanted to spend time with Riley but she was enjoying the evening with her friends as well.

“I don’t mind if Riley’s here,” Tara spoke up nervously trying to break the awkward silence in the room.

“That’s settled then!” Riley threw himself onto the floor behind Buffy, put his arms round her and scooted her back into him. Buffy cuddled up to her boyfriend and handed him some pizza.

“So, Anya, what about this guy in Sweden?” Cordy tried to steer the conversation back on track.

“Oh - you go to Sweden this summer?” Riley interrupted before Anya could resume her tale, “I went to Italy - it was just great! Travelled round a lot. Went to Rome and did the whole Vatican City stuff and then went up to Naples and Venice.” He turned to Buffy, “Have to take you there some time Buffy - city of love and all that.”

“That would be great!”

“I have some great pictures. How about we go back to my room and I’ll show them to you?”

“What, now?”

“No time like the present!”

“But what about my night with my friends?”

“Oh, I’m sure they won’t mind - eh, girls? You can see your friends anytime. Come on.” With that he pulled her up off the floor and off to his flat.

*~*~

“Riley - how could you do that?” Buffy fumed as they reached his bedroom.

“What do you mean?”

“I was having a really good time down there and you just waltz in and drag me off!”

“Buff, I haven’t seen you for months! I just wanted to spend some time alone with my girlfriend. I thought you’d be happy!”

“Riley, of course I want to spend time with you but you knew that I had this planned - I ran it by you and everything! You said you had other things to do!”

“I did but then I realised how much I wanted to see you so I cancelled them. I thought you’d feel the same way. I missed you.” He sat down on the bed

Buffy sighed as he looked up at her and relented, “missed you too.”

“Come here.”



Chapter 3


It was a few weeks into term and Riley had nearly moved into the flat. Buffy had realised very quickly that the only way to ever see her friends was to make her home the social hub of the group so it had become a fairly open house. Riley was at her side almost constantly these days and, though she found it a little claustrophobic, she put it down to the fact that he loved her and that’s what couples were like.

Wednesday afternoon found them all sitting in the living room watching TV. Not that there was much on but that didn’t deter them as they watched reruns of “Grange Hill” and “Blue Peter” almost endlessly when they didn’t have lectures.

“This programme’s never been the same since they stopped saying ‘and here’s one I made earlier’,” Xander bemoaned as the Blue Peter Presenter produced a model of Wembley Stadium made completely out of used household items and poster paint.

Everyone looked up as two sets of feet tramped down the stairs and Oz appeared with a guy that none of them had met before. Buffy examined the newcomer. He wasn’t exactly tall but the way he stood seemed to make him appear tall though she wasn’t sure why. He was definitely striking and just seemed to scream ‘hey everyone, look at me’ with his cut glass cheekbones, piercing blue eyes and bleached blonde hair. She really wasn’t sure what to think.

“Hey everybody,” Oz was saying, “this is Spike - we’re working on a project together.

“Spike, this is Willow, Tara, Xander, Riley and Buffy.” Oz indicated the figures scattered around the room. The newcomer eyed the group before him and his gaze fell on the petite blonde on the sofa. He stared at her and, as she returned his gaze, he knew that he just couldn’t let it lie.

“Buffy - what kind of a stupid name is that?” Spike asked with a smirk

“Oh, and pot, kettle, black, Spike !”

“Yeah, well, at least I have a proper name that’s not all stupid.” He was thrown slightly by her quick retort and struggled for a witty comeback. He failed.

“And that would be?”

“William”

“Hah! That’s worse than Spike.” She snorted derogatively and turned back to the TV.

“Yeah, right - Betty!”

“It’s Buffy!”

“Whatever!” He threw himself down onto the sofa. “You know, this programme’s never been the same since they stopped saying ‘and here’s one I made earlier’.”

“That’s exactly what I was saying before!” Xander said to the bleached blonde without turning his head from the TV.

“Okay, speaking as one of those who don’t remember them ever saying ‘and here’s one I made earlier, may I please say ‘huh’?” said Buffy.

“Damn colonials, they just don’t understand the intricacies of English telly - Blue Peter is a mainstay of children’s TV. We were raised on this stuff and they always used to say ‘and here’s one I made earlier’ whenever they produced the finished thing.”

“I disagree with the whole mainstay thing,” Riley interrupted, “I could never stand Blue Peter as a kid.”

“How could you not religiously watch this? You’ll be saying next that you never watched ‘Why Don’t You’!” Xander looked over at Riley with a look of shock.

“Nope. Well, not until the summer I took my A-levels and then I didn’t miss a show.”

“Okay, it’s official - all British people are weird!” Buffy laughed as she got up to make herself a drink.

*~*~

Spike and Oz had finally decided that their assignment couldn’t be put off for any longer and they were sat in front of Oz’s computer trying to get the whole thing finished as quickly as possible.

“Man, this is going nowhere. I gotta take a break!” Oz stood up and stretched. “You want a drink?” he called, heading for the kitchen.

“Sure.”

Oz was back a couple of minutes later and handed Spike a glass.

“Thanks.” He took a sip of the liquid and turned to Oz. “So, that Buffy chit seems alright.” He raised an eyebrow expectantly as he waited for Oz’s reply.

“Don’t even bother, man. That one is most definitely taken.”

“Oh. Right.” Spike tried to hide his disappointment. “Let me guess - that Riley bloke.”

“Yeah. Those two are joined at the hip - together almost constantly. You’d think he lived here, he spends so much time here.”

“He doesn’t?”

“Nah - he lives in the flat upstairs. Nice guy really and completely in love with her. If you’re thinking about making a move, well, don’t.” Oz looked at his friend, waiting for the confirmation he wanted.

“Hey. That’s not my style. I’d never move on another guy’s girl. Know too well how that one feels from the receiving end.” He shook his head and drained the glass he’d been holding. “Right! Back to work then.”



Chapter 4


A few weeks later, Buffy stood at the bus stop in the pouring rain, hugging her thin jacket round her body, trying in vain to regain some warmth. The one thing she hated about this damned country was the rain. It could come out of nowhere. She would never get used to it. It hadn’t looked like rain a few hours ago when she’d left for lectures and she didn’t have an umbrella with her but here it was anyway. And it wasn’t just any rain, it was that horrible, nasty rain that soaks you to the skin in seconds, worms its way down the back of your neck and drips off your eyelashes. Buffy was miserable and to make it worse her bus was late - again.

She silently cursed the fact that there was no parking on campus. She thought longingly about the little car parked outside the flat. She’d bought it last year so she and Willow could go exploring the country - usually with Xander, Tara and Riley as guides. It was always a squash to fit five into such a little car but no one seemed to mind too much and it was fun. If she could only park on campus she could be in home in minutes, warm and dry, instead of standing for what seemed like hours at a bus stop in the pouring rain, freezing cold and soaking wet. Buffy sighed and pushed her wet hair out of her eyes again, pulling her jacket further round her small frame.

It was another ten minutes before the bus finally arrived and Buffy could climb aboard, pay the fare and find a seat. She stared out of the window at the sheeting rain, wondering if it would ever stop.

*~*~

Buffy slammed the door shut behind her when she finally reached home - ‘wet and cold Buffy’ generally equalled ‘severely pissed off Buffy’ - and bumped right into Spike who was just coming up the stairs.

“Hey pet, watch where you’re going will ya - you’ll do a guy an injury!” He eyed her sodden state. “Raining, I take it?”

She growled at him, “Ha ha - very funny. Yes! Oh great observant one - it’s raining. And what are you doing here again anyway?”

“’Nother assignment. Got’em every week now, so you’d better get used to having me around.”

“And you’re always going to do them here - don’t you have a home to go to?”

“Yes, and yes. But they’re always going to be group work - that means working with Oz. Also I have a tiny little room and flatmates from hell - it’s much nicer here. Anyway, it’s hard enough as it is to drag Oz away from band rehearsals to get these assignments done without having to rely on his ability to get off his arse and come round mine - much easier to come here,” he looked down at her feet, “And luv? You’re dripping on the carpet.”

Buffy looked down to see that he was right - a definite damp patch was forming around her feet. “Fine. If this is going to be your second home you can make yourself useful - mine’s a tea, one sugar, not much milk. I’m going to have a shower and get changed - and no hogging the sofa!”

*~*~

Ten minutes later Buffy came down stairs dressed in a pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt, her feet clad in her furry bunny slippers as she busily towel-dried her hair.

Spike looked up from his position, sprawled on the couch, “Better pet? Tea’s there.” He indicated the steaming mug of brown liquid on the coffee table by his knee.

Buffy threw herself down onto the couch beside Spike and eagerly grabbed the mug, warming her hands round it. She brought it to her lips and took a sip, feeling the hot liquid travel down her throat and the heat spread through her body. “God, I needed that! How can you live in a country that has so much rain?”

“You deal with it - and you carry an umbrella.”

“Yeah. I have one, but it didn’t look like rain when I left for classes.”

“Luv?” Spike glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been here for over a year now, right?”

“Yes”

“And you still don’t carry an umbrella with you at all times in autumn?”

Buffy pouted, “It doesn’t fit in my bag.”

Spike chuckled at that. “Then I suggest you either get a smaller umbrella or a bigger bag because I hate to tell you this, but the ‘drowned rat’ look is out this season.”

“Thanks - tell me something I don’t already know! What are you, the fountain of all knowledge?” Buffy teased, poking Spike gently in the ribs.

“Oi! You stop that right now!”

“Or what?” She smirked and poked him again.

“Or this!” Spike launched himself at her, hands diving to her waist as he began to tickle her mercilessly.

“Stop it! Stop it!” Buffy gasped between laughs.

“Promise you’ll never poke me again!”

“I. Can’t. Promise. That.” She wheezed.

“Say it!” He continued to tickle her with one hand as he held her down on the sofa with his other arm.

She gazed into his clear blue eyes, only inches away from her own and smiled. “No” she said sweetly before kicking up with her legs and neatly flipping him off her and on to the floor.

Xander and Riley chose that minute to enter the room. They both looked at Spike lying collapsed on the floor with Buffy laughing hysterically at the sight.

“You okay mate?” Xander asked, helping Spike up off the floor.

“Yeah - just learned an important lesson. Always pin her legs down before tickling that one.” He indicated, Buffy who was now trying desperately to stop laughing.

Riley walked across the room towards Buffy, patting Spike on the shoulder as he passed. “Let me give you a word of advice: don’t go for the feet. Very, very painful.” He sat down next to Buffy and laid an arm round her shoulder to bring her into his embrace. “Well done sweetie - you managed to get one over on the big bad.” The two looked at each other and both burst out laughing.

“Hey, no need to be like that about it. She just caught me by surprise, that’s all.” Spike sulked as he straightened his clothes.

“Hey man, it’s not you. It’s their private little joke. No one beats Buffy in a tickling fight. Just accept it and try to escape with some sort of manly pride left intact. And don’t go for her feet.” Xander advised before turning to the couple on the sofa. “So, what’s the plan for tonight?”

“Plan? There’s no plan” said Buffy.

“Buffy and were thinking of having a quiet night in,” agreed Riley

Xander turned to Spike.

“How about you? Up for a night on the town?”

“Sorry mate, no can do - as soon as Oz is back we’re hard at work on the latest project.”

“When’s it in for?” Buffy asked.

“Tomorrow morning.”

“How much you got left to do?” Riley asked.

“Hmm. All of it.”

“You haven’t started yet?” Buffy asked incredulously.

“Not really. I mean we got as far as organising for me to come over tonight but that’s about it.” Spike shrugged and sat down in the armchair.

“Aren’t you worried you won’t get it done?”

“Not really. At worst we’ll just work through the night. Done it before, do it again.”

“You can’t do that!” She exclaimed.

“Why not? Gets the work done.”

“But what about your grade?”

“Trust me - the mark we get will be generally the same as the one we’d get anyway. Between Oz and me, these assignments aren’t that hard.”

“So, if this doesn’t take you all night, what you gonna do?” Buffy asked.

“Walk home, most likely. Don’t have a car at the moment - totalled the last one over the summer and the student loan won’t stretch to cover another one - and the buses will probably have stopped running, so no real choice there.”

“Spike, it’s probably miles and,” Buffy pointed to the small basement window that was still being battered by the storm raging outside, “in case it had escaped your notice it is still raining out there.”

“You have a better idea?”

“Yeah - this sofa’s a pullout bed. We have spare bedding. You can sleep here.” She looked at Xander and Riley for confirmation.

“Sure, fine by me.” Xander shrugged.

“Sounds like a plan. Though this isn’t actually my house, in case you hadn’t noticed,” said Riley.

“Yeah, but as you’re like a permanent resident, I thought you’d like a say in this one.”

“Thanks sweetie.”

“No big.”

“So, back to me,” Xander interrupted the brewing moment of sickening sweetness from the couple on the sofa, “is there no one who’ll go out with me tonight?”

“Doesn’t look that way mate.” Spike commiserated.

“Nope. Willow and Tara have gone out to a romantic meal at La Tasca down on Deansgate so they’re not due back for hours and I’m sure that they won’t want disturbing when they do get back.” Buffy glared meaningfully at Xander.

“Hey! As if I would!”

The rest of the room just turned and looked at him in astonishment.

“What?”



Chapter 5


Buffy came down the next morning to find a sleeping Spike curled up on the sofa wrapped in her spare duvet. She sat down on the edge of the coffee table and watched him sleep.

When she and Riley had gone to bed he and Oz were still hard at work on their project, Oz having finally come home at around eight that evening. Not that Spike had minded waiting - he had all the gang to keep him company. In fact, once Oz did get home they still wasted quite a lot of time chatting with everybody before finally getting down to work.

As predicted, Willow and Tara had come home at about 10:00 but, after saying hi to everyone, they’d quickly disappeared off back upstairs and weren’t seen for the rest of the night.

Buffy jumped slightly as Spike rolled over and opened one bleary eye, “What time is it?” he groaned.

“Hmm, almost 10.30.” Buffy shrugged. “Did I wake you?”

“No, not really. Though I do feel like I could do with a few more hours. Thanks for the bed, luv. You were right - I really didn’t want to walk home last night.”

“What time did you finish in the end?”

“About 4am.”

“And where do you live anyway?”

“Up by the campus in the city centre.”

“God, I would give anything to live there. You must have a great place!”

“Not really - it’s a dive. Thought that living right next to campus would make up for it, and I was completely wrong.” Spike sat up and stretched.

“Yeah, but no taking the bus in the morning.”

“You really hate that, don’t you?”

“In so many ways!”

“Why don’t you get a car then?” He asked as he swung his legs round to sit on the edge of the sofa bed.

“That’s the annoying thing. I have a car but, unless it’s escaped your attention, there’s no parking on campus.”

“Oh, that’s not a problem. Just told you - I don’t have a car at the moment.”

“So?”

“Well, the flat I rent comes with a car parking space. You can park there and it’s only a couple of minutes walk to the campus. You might have to pretend you live with me if any of the other residents ask, but they won’t.”

“Really?”

“Sure.”

Buffy flung her arms round Spike and hugged him.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She exclaimed. “You’ve saved me from a life of endless torture!”

“Hey! No need to get all melodramatic on me there. It’s only a parking space!”

“To you, maybe. To me, it’s so much more.”

“Right,” Spike looked at her as though she’d just grown an extra head.

“I really owe you for this one.”

Spike’s face lit up, “Does this mean I get to win the next tickling match?”

“I don’t owe you that much.” Buffy got up from her perch on the edge of the coffee table and walked towards the kitchen. “But it might stretch towards getting you a cuppa. What’s your drink?”

“Coffee - black, three sugars.”

“Caffeine freak!”

“Don’t you just know it baby.” Spike said with a leer.

Buffy ignored him and walked off into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with two steaming mugs.

“What is it with you and tea?” Spike asked. “I thought all Americans drank coffee and tea was the preserve of us Brits.”

“Yeah, well, it was Xander last year. Made me try it and I got hooked I guess - not as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Oh.” Spike took a sip of his coffee. “So, where’s Riley? You two seem to be generally joined at the hip at the moment.”

“He had an early class. And we’re not joined at the hip. We just spend a lot of time together.”

“Yeah, almost all day, every day.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that!”

“I never said there was, did I? No need to get all defensive.”

“I’m not getting defensive!”

“And that’s my cue to change the subject.” He took a long sip of his coffee. “You got lectures today?”

“No - only have to be in Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays but I have an assignment due in a couple of weeks so I have to go to the library to read up on it.”

“See, that’s the beauty of my course, it’s not high on the whole reading and research thing. There might be a lot of assignments but at least they’re not all essays that have to be several thousand words long.”

“It’s really not that bad. I don’t mind doing them, though the amount of reading that I have to do sometime gets to me.” She looked at her watch. “Crap, it’s getting late. I really should go or I’ll be in there all day. Is it still alright to park at yours?”

“Of course. Tell you what - wait ’til I’m dressed and give me a lift. I’ll show you where I live and where to park.”



Chapter 6


Parking at Spike’s soon became a habit for Buffy. If any of the others were heading into uni at the same time they would take advantage of this as well but generally it was just Buffy, as her lectures seemed to clash with everyone else’s.

She was especially grateful for the routine that day. The weather had steadily worsened through November, the frequent rain steadily getting colder and, on the days when it didn’t rain, frost generally covered the ground in the morning. This had been one of those days. She’d had to scrape the ice off her car that morning before heading in and she had had a full day of lectures and seminars but at least she’d avoided freezing at the bus stop.

She arrived back at her car to see a white scrap of paper pinned to her windscreen by the wipers, gently flapping in the light breeze. She leaned across the car and rescued it, unfolding the paper to read the words scrawled on it:

Come on up.
Kettle’s on.

-- Spike

Buffy smiled and walked towards Spike’s flat.

“Finally!” He exclaimed when he opened the door and let her in. “I thought you’d’ve been here hours ago.”

“When did you put that message out there?” Buffy asked, shrugging off her coat as she followed him up the stairs.

“Around lunchtime.” He shrugged. “Thought you finished early on a Tuesday.”

“That’s Thursday.”

They stood awkwardly at the top of the stair for a minute. Buffy had never actually been into his flat before and Spike hadn’t really thought she’d respond to his impulsive invitation.

“Well. Tea then.” Spike interrupted the silence.

“Please.” She followed him into the kitchen and lent against the worktop as he made the drinks.

“Here you go,” he handed her a mug. “I’d recommend we take these into my room. It’s only us here at the moment but the others will be home in a bit and I really can’t face them.”

“They can’t be that bad.” She said, following him out of the kitchen and back along the corridor.

“That’s what I thought when I moved in but I soon changed my mind. No, I generally avoid them. It’s best that way. Here we go,” he opened the door in front of them and gestured for Buffy to enter the room. “This is me.”

Buffy looked round the small room. “I see what you meant when you said that there wasn’t much space.” She stood in the middle of the room looking for somewhere to sit. Finally she gave up when she realised there were no chairs and sat on the single bed, propping her back up against the wall. Spike sat down a little further along the bed.

“I s’pose if you were trying to be optimistic you could call it cosy,” Buffy ventured, sipping her tea.

“And if you weren’t it would be cramped.” Spike grumbled.

“Ever the pessimist, aren’t you?”

“Oi! I prefer cynical or realistic if you don’t mind.”

“Whatever.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their drinks.

“I didn’t think you’d come.” Spike eventually said in a voice almost quiet enough to be a whisper looking determinedly down at his mug of coffee.

Buffy looked at him, puzzled. “What made you think that?”

“Dunno. Glad you did though. ‘S nice to have you here.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes.

She looked at him, intently staring at the contents of his mug, and frowned. “You can be really strange you know,” she stated. “Really, really weird. Why wouldn’t I come up? You’re a friend, you invited me round, and so I came. That’s a normal thing you know.”

Spike raised his eyes and looked at her in earnest, “So you’re saying I’m a friend?” he asked tentatively.

“Of course.” Buffy wondered where this was going.

“So, in that case I’m not just an annoyance that’s always hanging round your house, like you keep calling me?” A smirk started to form on Spike’s face.

Buffy realised that she’d just been cornered into losing her favourite way of winding the other blonde up. “Okay, I admit it. You’re okay.”

“Just okay?”

“So, maybe I quite like having you around.” She mumbled.

Spike’s smirk erupted fully formed now, “Knew I could get you to admit it!” he crowed triumphantly.

“Oh, god - I’m never going to hear the end of this one, am I?”

Buffy took another sip of her drink and shivered slightly.

“Don’t you have central heating in this house? It’s freezing in this room!”

“Ah. And we add yet another downside of Casa del Spike to our ever-growing list. No central heating.” He shrugged. “I’d love to say that you get used to it, but you don’t. I have the redeeming feature of an extremely thick duvet.” He indicated the bed covering and lifted up a corner. “Help yourself.”

Buffy gratefully climbed under the duvet at the bottom of the bed as Spike did the same at the top. They sat there is companionable silence, each sipping their drinks, glad of the warmth in the otherwise cold room.

Buffy finished her tea and sighed slightly, looking at her watch. “Is that the time? I really have to go.”

“Already?” Spike looked at her as she moved to climb out of the bed.

“Yep. Have some work to do on my next paper tonight and Riley’s coming round.”

“You two going out tonight then?”

“No. He’s just coming round.” She stood up. “This was nice. Maybe I could come round again sometime?”

“Sure. I’ll make sure to leave you a little note again next time I’m in.” He smiled.

“Great. I’d like that. Well. I guess I’ll see you next time you’re round ours?”

“And that would probably be tomorrow then.”

“Oh, right. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then. I take it you’ll be wanting the bed again?”

“Probably. Gonna be another all-nighter by the looks of things.”

“Fine - one bed booked for the night! If you’re lucky I might feed you as well.”

“Ooh, aren’t I the lucky one? Or not.” He frowned as a thought occurred to him. “Can you actually cook?”

“Yes! I’ll have you know that I have mastered the ancient art of stir-fry.” She watched the slightly sceptical look appear on Spike’s face. “Okay, okay. So I can throw some meat and veg into a pan with a sachet of flavouring. I’ll have you know it’s very good.” She nodded affirmatively. “Riley likes it.”

“I’m sure he does, pet.” Spike grinned at her. “That would be great - thanks. Tomorrow night then.”

“Sure, see ya then.”

Buffy turned and left with a smile on her face.

*~*~

Riley was waiting for her when she arrived home.

“I thought you’d be back an hour ago - where’ve you been?”

“Oh, Spike left a note on my car asking if I wanted to come up for tea. He wasn’t kidding when he said that he had a really small room, you know. It’s tiny.” She shrugged off her coat and wandered into the kitchen. “You want a drink?”

“No thanks.” Riley followed her in. “You were at Spike’s?”

“Yeah, we had some tea and chatted for a bit.”

“Oh.” Riley looked down at the small woman. “I missed you.” He pulled her into his embrace.

“Yeah,” she smiled slightly and pulled herself out of the hug, “missed you too. I thought you weren’t coming over until later? Not that I mind,” she hurriedly clarified, “but you know that I have work to do on my latest paper tonight. I’ve been putting it off for days now and I need a good grade on this one or I’ll have to ace the exam and I really don’t want that kind of pressure come summer.”

“I just came round to say ‘hi’ really. I know that you have all this work to do at the minute. And then you weren’t here so I thought I’d wait ‘til you got back. But if you’re too busy to spend time with me…”

“Baby, you understand, don’t you? How about you come round at about 8:30 tonight? I should be done by then, okay?”

“Okay. I’ll see you later then.” He kissed her softly and then turned to leave.

Buffy watched him go and then sagged back against the worktop. Riley had been spending more and more time at the flat these days and, as a result, her grades were slowly slipping. She just didn’t seem to be able to get anything done. And her friends weren’t too happy about it. It had been weeks since she’d been out with them. She knew that Riley wouldn’t stop her going out with them; it was just that he got this hurt puppy look on his face whenever she said that she wanted to spend time with anyone else. She hated that look and the guilt it made her feel, so she put off doing anything other than being with Riley.

Chapter 7


Buffy trudged through the first snow of winter. It hadn’t snowed at all last year and she’d been told that to have deep snow in early December was almost unheard of. When it had started snowing the day before, Buffy was intrigued, having only seen snow before on skiing trips. But she had to admit that driving into the city centre this morning for lectures hadn’t been fun and she really wasn’t looking forward to the drive home.

She had to laugh when she got back to the car to find a miniature snowman sitting on the bonnet, complete with pebbles for eyes, a stub of pencil for a pipe and a little origami paper hat on its head. She shook her head and smiled as she read the now familiar note that this time was scrawled on the remaining space.

Come on up.
Kettle’s on.

-- Spike.

It had become a familiar message over the last month and Buffy couldn’t deny her sense of disappointment on the few days when the note had been missing. She wasn’t sure what it was about her time with Spike that she looked forward to. He was usually abrasive and more often than not they ended up arguing, but at the same time she never felt that she had to watch herself round him. She could give as good as she got and never had to worry about him taking offence, the way Riley did.

That stopped her train of thought. Why was she comparing Spike to Riley? There was no comparison. Riley was sweet and lovely and adored her. And he was her boyfriend and Spike could never compare to that. She would never want to compare Spike to Riley. Spike was a friend. That was all, just a friend. And a friend of Riley’s as well. Riley, who was her boyfriend.

She shook off the train of thought before it got too confusing and went over to the door of Spike’s flat. It was ajar, so she pushed it open and climbed the stairs.

“Hello?”

“Up ‘ere pet!” Spike’s voice travelled down the stairwell. “I’ve just put the kettle on and I’ve made some toast. Thought you might be hungry.”

“You know, you really shouldn’t leave the door open. I could have been anyone.”

“Nah.” Spike appeared at the top of the stairs, plate in one hand and a couple of steaming mugs in the other. “Knew it was you - saw you get to the car.”

“Oh.” She accepted the proffered mug gratefully and warmed her hands round it as she followed Spike into his room, taking her now customary place under the duvet at the foot of his bed.

They sat there for a moment but Buffy broke the silence.

“You going to the Christmas Ball this year?”

“Nah, pro’bly not.” He shrugged. “It’s usually crap anyway. Will be going to the summer one though - that’s usually a laugh.”

“You’re not going? I thought you would have been flicking through your little black book for a willing date.” Buffy grinned at him over the rim of her mug.

“Oh, yeah, ‘cos I’ve got ‘em lining up round the block, right?” Spike asked sardonically.

“Well, I thought…” Buffy looked surprised.

“Nah.” Spike rallied slightly. “Not that they wouldn’t be if I’d let them, of course.”

“Oh, of course.” Buffy agreed trying not to smile.

“It’s just that, well, I haven’t really much felt like dating since Dru.”

“Dru?” Buffy frowned as she tried to remember if he’d ever mentioned the girl before.

“My ex. Don’t talk about her much these days.”

“Well, if you don’t want to…” Buffy was intrigued, but she didn’t want to pry into her friend’s life.

“It’s okay. She was my everything. We were together almost from the day we started uni here. Lived together last year. I thought everything was perfect, couldn’t be better. I thought we’d always be together.” His brow darkened. “I was wrong. Found out at the end of last year that all the time she’d been cheating on me. Carrying on with all kinds of different guys. And you know the worst of it? Everyone knew. Everyone except me! And no-one saw fit to tell me!”

“Spike.” Buffy shuffled down the bed and took Spike into her arms. “It must have been awful for you.” She stroked his head as she felt him sob slightly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

Spike sniffed a little and raised his head to look at her, wiping a tear from his cheek. “It’s okay. I guess I needed that really, bit of a rant y’know.” He forced a smile then frowned. “But if you tell anyone about this girly crying thing…”

“I know, I know - you’ll be forced to kill me.” She smiled at him and let her arms drop but remained lying beside him on the bed.

“Exactly. It’d hurt the image.” He nodded resolutely.

“Image?” She laughed at him. “What image?”

“Oi! Less of that please, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Her laughter subsided into a small chuckle, “Guess I just know you too well for the whole leather and black denim thing to wear with me. You’re just a cuddly puppy.” She mussed his hair playfully, leaning on one elbow over him.

“God! Why do I put up with you girl?” Spike groaned, pushing her away from him and onto her back on the bed as he desperately tried to restore some order to his now chaotic hair.

“Because I’m so wonderful.” Buffy said matter-of-factly, hazel eyes twinkling with amusement as she looked up at him from where she was lying.

“Right, of course, how could I ever forget?” He replied derisively.

*~*~

They were still lying next to each other on the bed, amiably chatting three hours later when Spike looked up at the clock on his wall.

“Pet? It’s getting late. Not that I want to kick you out or anything, but isn’t Riley usually waiting for you to get home.”

Buffy shrugged. “He can wait. He knows where I’ll be so he won’t worry. I’ll just tell him we lost track of time.”

Spike frowned and looked at the girl snuggled under his duvet.

“Is everything all right between you two?”

“Of course. Everything’s fine. Why shouldn’t it be?” She asked. She seemed to be genuinely surprised that he felt the need to ask.

“Well, you do seem to be spending more and more time over here lately. When you first started coming round it was for a quick cuppa and then you just had to get home because he’d be worried, but now you always seem reluctant to leave.”

“Everything’s fine. Really.” She suddenly looked uncomfortable, as if this was the first time that she’d realised that she was lying next to him, in his bed, under the covers. “But you’re right. I guess I should be going.”

With that she sprang out of the bed, slipped on her shoes and hurried out of the flat, still pulling on her jacket. Spike looked after the retreating girl, a look of concern on his face.



Chapter 8

“Buffy?” Willow turned to her friend as they sat in the departure lounge of Manchester Airport, waiting for their flight back to the States for the Christmas vacation to be called. “Is everything going okay between you and Riley?”

“Huh?” Buffy looked up from her magazine, slightly startled at Willow’s sudden question. “Where did that one come from, Will? I mean, of course everything’s all right with us. Why shouldn’t it be?”

“I just get the feeling that…” Willow trailed off.

“The feeling that what, exactly? First Spike and now you - why is everyone convinced that Riley and I have problems all of a sudden?” Buffy snapped.

“Hey! You don’t have to get like that! You just don’t seem to be as happy around Riley as you used to, that’s all.”

“Just because I don’t fawn all over him all the time doesn’t mean we’re having problems. Riley and I are fine, don’t worry about us.”

“Then why are you spending longer and longer at Spike’s every time you go into college?” Willow asked carefully.

“Are you suggesting that there’s something going on with me and Spike?” Buffy laughed at the thought. “I can honestly say there’s nothing going on between us; nothing could be further from the truth.”

“I know there’s nothing going on between you two, don’t worry. And Riley knows that there isn’t either, but you seem to be putting off coming home in the evenings. Is it Riley? Is it the rest of us?”

“Oh, Willow.” Buffy suddenly realised that her friend was really worried. “It’s nothing like that, honestly. It’s just that Spike and I get chatting and lose track of time. And you’re usually busy with Tara anyway, and Xander has his own friends. Oz is never there.”

“And Riley…?” Willow probed.

“…I see every day when I get home. You know he’s always there waiting for me. I’m not avoiding him if that’s what you’re trying to get at. Honestly, I’m not.”

Willow didn’t look convinced, but she let the subject drop. What she hadn’t told Buffy was that they were all concerned that her relationship with Riley was going through a bad patch. Hell, even Xander had noticed it, which must mean that it was glaringly obvious to the whole world. The whole world, that was, with exception of the two people it involved - Buffy and Riley were totally convinced that everything was fine.

“Maybe it is.” Willow muttered to herself as their flight was called and the two girls headed home for the Christmas break.

Next