Home is Where the Heart Is Part 8

By *~Rachel*~

For disclaimers, summary, notes, etc. please see the first chapter.

Sorry this took so long to get out! (Hehe, shouldn't you guys be used to that by now?) ;)

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“Buffy!” Joyce Summers shouted up the stairs towards Buffy's bedroom. “Are you almost ready? Your friends will be here to pick you up in about fifteen minutes.”

“Yeah, I'm almost done. Give me five more minutes,” Buffy called back to her. “It’s not like they’ll leave without me.”

School had finally come to an end! At last, Buffy was free from the ball and chain of homework, pop-quizzes, and standardized tests. Now she could concentrate on more important things, such as taking a trip to the beach that Buffy, Spike, Xander, Willow, and Oz had all agreed on several nights ago at the Bronze.

Buffy was ecstatic. The day before, all she could think about was what a great time she and the rest of her friends were going to have. Now I can get a proper tan, she thought. The Scoobies were picking Buffy up last since because she lived at a greater distance from the rest of them. They all planned to pile into Oz's van to drive to the beach. Okay, so they weren’t exactly traveling in high-class style, but the van was the only vehicle that would hold five people and their bags.

Buffy sauntered out of the other room wearing a thin tank top and blue beach shorts with her bikini partially visible underneath. A pair of sunglasses rested on her head and a pair white flip-flops completed her outfit.

She cleared her throat before her mother turned to face her. “Okay, so…how do I look?” she asked, spinning around for her.

Joyce chuckled. "You look fine, dear." She walked up to Buffy and lightly kissed her forehead. "I know that you're going to have a great time today."

~~~

“Awesome! We’re finally here, you guys!” Buffy shouted when Oz parked the van. After two hours of driving, everyone in the van was getting restless, and with the ocean finally in sight, the entire gang was quickly becoming antsy. “This has got to be the best idea I’ve ever had,” she stated.

Spike gazed at the blonde sitting across from him and faintly smiled with joy. Buffy had been in a good mood all day, which automatically placed Spike in a good mood as well. Although he initially wasn't too sure about spending a day at the beach, when he heard that Buffy was going, Spike had jumped at the opportunity and been the second person to throw his hat in the ring for the trip.

Everyone climbed out of the van and began carrying their towels and other belongings out to the ocean. Buffy chose an area of sand and spread out her beach towel next to Willow’s. Willow pulled off her shorts and took off her tank top to reveal her one-piece dark blue swimsuit that was conservative yet elegant. She grabbed the ends of her beach chair and pulled it open and sank into the seat, beginning the process of applying sunscreen to her pale body. Oz silently sat down on her towel and opened their picnic basket, taking out some sandwiches and beginning to eat. They talked together, keeping their voices low.

Xander yakned off his shirt and looked across the horizon with a goofy grin on his features. “Ah, I love the beach. Salty air. Nice, clear water. Warm sand. Nice- oh hey…food!” he observed, pointing to a hot dog vender on the boardwalk. “I’ll be back later guys.”

Meanwhile, to the left of where Oz and Willow were seated, in Buffy and Spike's area, Buffy started unbuttoning her shorts and sliding them down her legs. Spike's eyes stared at her body hungrily as she then removed her tank top to reveal her two-piece bikini that tied on her back and sides. As Buffy sat down, Spike threw a towel at her body. “Hey!” she protested, a frown on her face. “What gives?”

“Bloody hell woman, every man with two eyes is going to be staring at you all day long!" Spike complained, wanting that job to be reserved specifically for him alone.

“C'mon, Spike, grow up," she complained as she watched Spike pull off his shirt. Oh my... Buffy thought, her eyes bulging as she stared at his flat, well defined chest.

Instead, Buffy threw the towel back at Spike.

~~~

If someone had seen Buffy and Spike at the beginning of their senior year, no one would have thought they'd end up as friends. Nevertheless, Spike and Buffy had grown close over the past year, especially after she had dumped Scott. Conversations between the two came naturally, and Buffy found that she was able to talk with him about anything, and he'd listen, providing support and advice. As further proof of this, one hour later, Buffy and Spike were still on her towel underneath the umbrella, discussing plans for college and their future.

Buffy happened to take a quick look down at the shoreline where she saw Willow and Oz strolling along the beach. They held hands, talking and pointing to things they saw along the seashore. Occasionally, Oz would lean over and kiss Willow quickly. It was clear that he didn’t want to take things too fast for Willow. They are *so* sweet together, Buffy thought.

"Cmon, love, aren't we going to leave this umbrella at all today?" Spike asked, whining as if he were five years old.

"I don't think so," Buffy said, not wanting to get sun burned.

Suddenly, Spike stood up and picked her up in his arms fireman style. Holding onto her tightly, he ran down the ocean and threw her into a giant wave. Buffy screamed and jumped up, wiping the water out of her eyes. “Spike!” she screamed at him. “Oh my god, you are *so* dead, mister!”

Buffy chased after him and pushed him under the water. However, another wave knocked her down, allowing Spike the opportunity to grab her again. Buffy squealed a second time as Spike tossed her into another wave. When Buffy made a motion to capture Spike, he ducked under the water and swam away. "Na-ah, love," Spike taunted as he moved away from her. "You have to catch me first."

“Come back here!” she shouted, diving under the water and beginning to swim back to him.

~~~

The sun had just finished setting as the gang met back up on the beach at their chosen site. While most of the people who had visited the beach earlier today had gone home at sundown, the Scoobies remained. After finding some dry driftwood scattered around the shore, Xander and Oz made a small campfire for dinner. As Oz placed some hamburgers on the grill, Xander sat down next to Spike and attempted to sing very off-key, “ROW, ROW, ROW your boat. GENTLY down the STREAM.”

“Xander! Shut up!” Both men yelled to him at once.

“Okay, okay.” Xander said, raising his hands in defense. “Both of you guys are so touchy.”

"Uh huh..." Spike replied, his voice sounding distracted. Xander looked over at him and followed his gaze out to the shoreline where Buffy and Willow ran around, playing with a dog. The two girls threw a frisbee back and forth, laughing when the dog jumped up in the air and catched the toy.

"Man, you've got it bad," Xander moaned. "And you two aren't even dating yet."

"Got what bad?" Spike asked, his eyes following Buffy as she walked past the sand dunes and towards the boardwalk, the frisbee in her grasp. He gazed at her until she disappeared behind a mound of sand before fully turning his attention towards Xander.

"*It*!" Xander exclaimed. "C'mon, you obviously have the hots for our Buffy, right?"

"Harris, you had better shut your mouth if you know what's good for you," Spike growled. Even though Xander knew he liked Buffy, he didn’t need to state the truth out loud.

"I keep telling you this, you'd better grab her before some other guy comes along and does," Xander suggested.

"C'mon Harris, Buffy doesn't like me. Much to my disappointment, we are just friends. Still," Spike announced, rolling his eyes at that final word.

"But it can't hurt to at least ask, right?"

"Not unless she laughs in my face! Or is disgusted, or really doesn't see anything in me," Spike rambled on.

Xander kept pushing the subject, wanting nothing more than to see his two best friends finally together. "C'mon...all those arguments you two have had? And the prom? You remember how happy she looked that night, y'know?"

"Yeah, Harris, I know," Spike glumly replied. Of course he knew, Spike had about twenty pictures scattered around his room to remind him of that night.

"The girl *must* feel something for you, otherwise she wouldn't have put up with you so long."

"You really think so?" Spike asked, his eyebrows raising questioningly. Xander quickly nodded, hoping he had finally talked Spike into speaking with Buffy about his feelings. "Fine, but don't blame me when I say 'I told you so' about her complete lack of feelings for me," he added, rising to his feet and brushing the sand off his legs before heading towards where he'd last seen his blonde beauty.

~~~

Buffy caught the frisbee that Willow had thrown seconds earlier, squinting at the dark form in the fastly approaching darkness. She passed the frisbee back to her friend when a gust of wind suddenly picked up, throwing the frisbee off the path and veering over to the left.

"I'll get it!" Willow called, running towards the frisbee.

Before Willow could catch the flying disc, however, it collided into a tall, broad-shouldered man that was walking along the boardwalk. "Hey!" he cried, rubbing his head where the frisbee had hit him.

"Oh my god," Buffy cursed, running up to Willow and the man. "I am *so* sorry," she apologized.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked, concern evident in her features.

"Yeah...as soon as this pounding headache goes away, I should be just fine," he said jokingly.

"I'm sorry," Buffy repeated. "I just...well, Buffy and frisbees are just very un-mixy things."

"That's fine," the brown-haired man assured her. "I'm sorry, I've forgotten my manners in all the concussion. I'm Riley, by the way."

"I'm Buffy," she introduced. "And this is Willow."

"Nice to meet you," Willow greeted, giving Riley a shy smile. "Buffy...don't you think that we should get back over to the gang? I think they were planning something like a cookout before we head back home."

Buffy smiled at Riley before turning to her friend. "How about I join you guys in a few?" she suggested.

"All right," Willow agreed, before heading away from the two.

After Willow disappeared over a sand dune, Buffy turned back to Riley. "So...are you a local fellow?" she questioned.

"Sort of. I'm originally from Iowa," Riley explained. "But I'm here for at least the next year to finish up college. I go to UC Sunnydale."

Buffy instantly brightened. "Oh, really? That's where Willow and I are going to be attending this fall. We're freshman, and you are...?"

"A senior."

Wow, I don't even *attend* UC Sunnydale yet and I'm already talking to a senior, Buffy thought in amazement. She craned her neck upward to meet Riley's eyes, cursing her shortness. Spike's not this tall, she told herself before purging that thought from her mind. No...concentrate on Riley, Buffy. "So, should I be worried about the teachers?"

"No, I'm sure you'll be fine," Riley assured her. "Just as long as you haven't signed up for psychology, anyway."

"Psychology?" Buffy repeated, the blood draining from her face. "With Maggie Walsh?" She groaned before adding, "I signed up for that course."

"I took that class my freshman year," Riley informed her. "It was a struggle to get through, so maybe I can help you out."

"Maybe..." Buffy wished, her tone filled with hope. "Look, I better get back over to my friends before they send out a search party to find me."

"All right," Riley began before bending down and picking up the yellow frisbee. "But how about one quick game of frisbee first?" he suggested.

Buffy smiled up at the polite man. "Sure." She raced back to a spot several yards from Riley and caught the frisbee. She sent the disc spinning back to him and laughed aloud when Riley fell on the sand, failing to catch the toy.


~~~


Spike gracefully dashed over a hill of sand, his eyes searching for Buffy. He had seen Willow walking back towards the group on the way over to the boardwalk, and he grinned when he realized that Buffy was now by herself. Now all he had to do was figure out exactly what to say to her.

However, the grin fell from his face when he saw Buffy tearing along the sand with a tall stranger. She was holding a frisbee, obviously playing a game of keep-away with him. He picked up his pace and ran up behind her, grabbing Buffy around the waist and spinning her around several times before taking the frisbee out of her hands and racing down the beach.

So much for telling Buffy about my feelings, Spike thought with regret. What do you know? Harris was right about something...I should have gotten to her sooner to keep some other bloke from getting there first. He turned on his heels and slowly trudged back to their camping spot on the beach.

"Look, you guys," he regretfully said when he approached the three sitting on the sand. "I think I'm going to head home now."

Xander and Oz looked up at Spike with confusion in their eyes. "What happened, man?" Xander asked. "You couldn't find Buffy?"

"Buffy?" Willow questioned. "What did he want with Buffy?" She looked over at Oz for an answer.

"Yeah...uh, things didn't go right," Spike explained, bending down and picking up his shirt and bag. "So, I think it's time to call it a night. Tell Buffy...tell her whatever you want."

"Bummer," Oz noted as Spike trudged away from the gang.

"What?" Willow asked, her confusion evident.

"Spike went to find Buffy to ask her out or something," Xander explained. "Our friend has a serious thing for Buffy. I was hoping that he'd finally tell her."

"Ohh..." Willow sighed. Then, her eyes widened as she "oooh"ed again. "Oh man, she was over there flirting with this guy...Riley was his name."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Who?" He started, "That farm-boy who is quickly approaching now?"

Willow, Oz, and Xander looked to their left at Buffy and the man beside her who were slowly approaching the small circle of friends. "Hey, guys," Buffy greeted. "I want all of you to meet Riley."


~~~


When college started for Willow, Oz, and Buffy, life seemed almost normal again. Spike had buried his feelings for Buffy deep down in the bottom of his heart, assuming that he'd never have another chance now that she was dating Riley.

Riley Finn.

Spike had started referring to him as Captain Cardboard when he found out just exactly how boring and straightlaced he really was. Willow, Oz, and Xander only tolerated Riley since Buffy was their friend, but no one in the group understood why she was dating him when Spike had obvious affection towards her.

At the beginning, Spike had hopes that Buffy and Riley's relationship would be a mere fling and wouldn't last longer than a month. However, when Buffy and Riley reached their sixth month point, Spike's hope began to fade.

Before, at least Buffy had been his friend and tolerated him most of the time, but since she now spent all of her time with Riley, he had no contact with her at all.

Now he was desperate to find some way to get her back, which explained what he was doing at a fraternity house at one in the morning, standing behind some bushes and spying inside. Recently, he had seen Riley leaving Buffy's dorm with a frustrated look on his features before immediately walking back to the neighboring Lowell house. Although he wasn't one hundred percent positive, Spike had assumed that Buffy hadn't yet slept with the man. Maybe there was still hope for him after all. At least it's for a good purpose, Spike reminded himself.

Spike stared past the stair banister inside, wondering what Riley was doing in a frat house that he didn't even belong to at 1:00 AM. Something isn't right here, Spike realized. Spike stealthily approached the front door and checked to see if the door was locked or not. Finding that it was unlocked, he snuck inside, heading towards the basement where he had last seen Riley head.

Standing at the top of the stairs in the doorway, he glanced past the banister, his eyes widening in shock. What the bloody hell?! he wildly asked himself.

Riley and a few other men lay in the middle of the room with several women surrounding them. Riley lay in the middle of the circle, a woman resting in his lap moving back and forth, grinding her hips against his. He moaned and rolled his eyes back in ecstasy.

Bloody hell, Spike thought, his anger rising through the roof. How dare he cheat on Buffy. Hasn't this girl gone through enough? But then his anger faded when he remembered that there was an incredibly beautiful blonde sleeping in her bed at the dorm without a clue of what her boyfriend actually did after she fell asleep. God, she's going to be heartbroken, Spike realized as he turned around and silently exited the Lowell House.


~~~


Spike sprinted from the fraternity house across the campus to Buffy and Willow's dorm room without stopping. He paused outside the door to catch his breath before quietly opening the door. He looked inside at Willow's made bed, thinking, Red must be spending some time with Oz tonight. Not wanting to surprise Buffy, he whispered her name. When he didn't get a response, he raised his volume a little bit louder.

Buffy turned from her side over to her back, the sheets slipping down to just above the swell of her breasts. Bloody hell, maybe coming by her dorm room wasn't the best idea. "Willow?" she questioned sleepily.

"It's me," Spike softly announced.

Spike! Well, that woke Buffy up. She quickly sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. "You are risking all of your parts by showing up like this, you know that, Spike?"

Spike rolled his eyes at her anger. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't have a good reason," Spike explained. "Surprisingly enough, I'm here to help you, and I - are you naked under there?"

Buffy rolled her eyes as she brought her hand up to her shoulder and tugged on the thin straps resting on her shoulders. "Get out, Spike. It's too late to be dealing with you right now."

"No, I'm serious. I mean, not about the naked part, since...well, I mean..." Spike tilted his head to stare at the blonde sitting before him.

"Get out or I will *make* you get out," Buffy threatened.

Spike lowered his voice, his tone becoming very intense. "I want to show you something," he explained.

Buffy realized that he was not joking around, and asked him, "What is it?"

"You need to see this," Spike explained. After hearing a loud sigh escape Buffy's lips, he added, "But we need to move if we wanna get there in time."

Buffy raised her eyebrows to indicate that she wasn't going to climb out of bed and get changed while Spike watched. When Spike realized what she was hinting at, he scoffed. "Oh, please! Like I give a bloody damn," he complained, turning around. He listened to the sound of ruffling sheets and held back a groan, imagining what she looked like.



~~~

"Okay, Spike...what was the big importance of dragging me out of bed at two in the morning?" Buffy complained as the two walked down a sidewalk along the edge of the campus.

"I'll show you as soon as we get there, love," Spike said.

"Fine."

"I noticed Willow wasn't in tonight," Spike commented, changing the subject.

"Yeah, she wasn't in the dorm when I got in this evening either," Buffy said. "I guess she's at a study group or something-"

"Bullocks. She's obviously with Oz," Spike explained. "Just goes to show you that you don't know jack about what's going on in your friends' lives anymore."

"What? Of course I do," Buffy complained. "Willow is with Oz, Xander is going solo right now--"

"Wrong, love...he's with Anya again," Spike corrected her. "See? You've been spending so much time with Mr. Whitebread that you have lost touch with everyone else," Spike pointed out. "Including me."

"At least I *have* a boyfriend," Buffy replied. "What have you been doing?

I've been trying to chase after you, Spike thought to himself, unable to come up with a witty comeback. Instead, he continued leading Buffy towards the Lowell House, hoping that Riley would still be inside. "C'mon, love."

"The Lowell House?" Buffy questioned as they walked up the front steps. "What are we doing here?"

"I told you. I have something I need to show you," Spike told her for the third time tonight as he opened the door and ushered her inside.

"Spike, I swear...if this is just a poor attempt to spend some time with me, then I'm gone," Buffy complained, walking through the doorway.

"The basement," Spike ordered as he stepped in behind her. He followed Buffy over to the door and watched as she opened the door.

"Spike?" Buffy questioned. "What is going on here?"

"Just go down there and look," Spike demanded. Now more than ever, he wanted to get back at Riley for doing this to Buffy behind her back.

Buffy took a few tentative steps down the basement steps. Spike followed a few steps behind her and watched her face as she gasped in surprise. "Oh god..." she breathed.

Riley, from the middle of the floor, gazed up at his girlfriend standing on the steps, a confused and shocked expression on her face. "Buffy!" He softly gasped, pushing away the woman that sat in his lap.

"Oh god..." she repeated, turning on her heel and running back up the stairs. She pushed Spike out of her path and ran out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

"Buffy!" Riley screeched, standing up and heading Buffy’s direction. "What the hell were you doing bringing her here!?" Riley shouted at Spike as he ran up the stairs.

"Showing her what she needed to see," Spike declared, smirking back up at Riley. "How dare you do this to her...how *could* you do this to her?"

"Hey, what Buffy didn't know wasn't going to get in our way." Riley told him, as if it were that simple.

In a flash, Spike released his fist and punched Riley on the left side of his jaw.

"You bastard," Spike cursed. Without waiting to see what Riley was going to say, he pivoted and stalked out of the basement, running*** to catch up with Buffy.

He didn't have to search for long. He found Buffy perching on the edge of the sidewalk with her head in her hands, crying. "I thought you should know," Spike explained, looking down at her.

Buffy raised her tear-stained face, her eyes displaying clear anger and confusion. "How could you? How could you show this to me?"

"What? Would you have rather gone another six months without knowing that he was cheating on you every night?" Spike asked in amazement.

"Maybe..." Buffy softly responded with a nervous and unsure tone. Buffy lowered her eyes to the ground before she unexpected chuckled coldly. "How come whenever some guy breaks up with me, you're always around?"

"I don't know, love. I guess I just always happen to be in the right place at the right time," Spike guessed. He bent down on his knees and took Buffy's hands, tenderly squeezing them. "Please don't cry over him, love. He's not worth it."

I rushed it, didn't I? she asked herself. Riley was just a rebound guy, and look how badly I screwed things up. Buffy choked back another sob. "I thought he was...just like I thought Scott was."

"Ahh, I see," Spike acknowledged. "I think you were just trying to convince everyone...including yourself, that you were over Scott." He waited as Buffy slowly nodded. "Look, it takes some time to get over a guy, that's natural. You aren't expected to jump right back into the dating pool right away, love."

"You are eerily perceptive sometimes," Buffy stated, making Spike lightly chuckle. "But...you understand?" Just like you understood when Scott and I broke up? she thought.

"Of course, love, I understand," Spike insisted. "What I don't understand is why you get together with these guys that treat you like shit. You deserve *so* much more than that."

Buffy snorted. "What, you up for the job?" she asked sarcastically. But when she looked across into his eyes, she noticed how sincere he looked, as if he was getting ready to say "yes." Quickly, she averted her eyes from looking into his and desperately searched for some way to change the topic.

Spike had become one of her closest friends since he had asked her to prom because he was the only one who ever knew the real reason why she and Scott broke up. And now things were so tight between the two of them.

When had things changed?

Things changed the night of the prom, A voice inside of her head clarified. The night that you realized you wanted more with him...Yeah, do you remember that? What ever happened to that epiphany?

"Buffy..." Spike began, his eyes glazing over with desire as he stared at the beautiful woman before him. No, mate...don't screw this up. It's too soon, he tried to warn himself. He moved his face closer to hers as his eyes traveled down to her lips...

Buffy saw what he was getting ready to do and quickly moved away. "I've got to go," Buffy whispered, rising to her feet and running off into the night before Spike could stop her. She was unsure of what might have happened between them if she had stayed any longer, and that's what frightened her the most.

~~~

TBC...

Thank you all for sticking with me on these long days/weeks without any new parts...thank you SO much for all the kind reviews. I really hope you are all enjoying the flashbacks. I'm having fun writing them, so I hope you're looking forward to more! (But we will check back in with Buffy and Spike in the present-day timeline VERY soon!)