Chapter 14 - Catching Up

"Cordy?!" Buffy gasped as she realised who the girl outside the door was.

"The one and only" the brunette smiled, stepping forward and grabbing the blonde in a hug.

"Oh my God it’s so great to see you" Buffy gushed, almost unabe to believe her best friend was back, for now at least.

"I’ve missed you so much" Cordelia told her frind as they came out of their hug and she came inside the house "it’s been the longest few weeks of my life since I left Sunnydale! I mean LA is totally cool but I missed having my friends, my real friends, like you..."

"Buffy...can we...?" Spike started as he came down the stairs, but he soon stopped when he saw Cordelia "Hey there" he nodded toward her.

"Hi" she replied, as they both looked at Buffy for an explanation.

"Oh, right, sorry" the blonde shook her head at her mistake in assuming everyone else knew what was going on like she did "Cordelia Chase this is my new next door neighbour Spike Hart"

Spike smiled at the beautiful brunette and although Cordy smiled back she also looked confused.

"Spike? That’s a name?" she looked strangely at Buffy and spoke in a low voice, speaking as if the boy she was talking about wasn’t even in the room.

"It’s a nickname" Buffy explained "his real name’s William but he hates it..." she turned to the bleach blond "Spike this is my best friend and old next door neighbour Cordelia Chase"

"It’s nice to meet you, Spike" Cordy nodded once and Spike did the same.

"Likewise, Cordy"

There was a moment as the two looked at each other but Buffy soon interrupted it.

"Spike, could we call off the study thing for now?" she asked finally gaining his attention "I’m sorry but I haven’t seen Cordy in a while and..."

"Oh no Buffy that’s okay..." Cordelia interupted "Don’t leave on my account" she told Spike "I mean, Buffy’s old best friend should get to know her new boyfriend..."

"No!" Buffy interrupted loudly "He is not my boyfriend!"

She hadn’t meant to say it quite so loud and forcefully but it was too late now. She was so busy with her denial she didn’t notice the hurt look on Spike’s face when she said it.

"Oh, sorry, my mistake" Cordelia said quickly, she had seen the sad look on his face even if her friend hadn’t.

Buffy turned to one frind and then the other.

"Cordy, could you just wait in the living room and Spike if you could get your stuff together from upstairs" turning back to the girl she promised she’d be no more than two seconds before bounding up the stairs behind Spike.

"Not your boyfriend?" Spike turned to face her as she came into the bedroom "So what is my title, Buffy?"

The blonde girl sighed in sheer annoyance.

"Not now Spike, please" she told him "just, not now"

Spike sighed in defeat as he picked up his books and his jacket and followed Buffy down the stairs. He thought about arguing with her, trying to make her listen but what good would it do? She opened the front door without a word and he left the same way.

Buffy closed the door with a thump and went into the living room towrads Cordelia who was sittng on the couch. The blonde sat beside her friend with a smile on her face.

"So, how are things with you?" she asked, hoping to Spike out of her mind for a while - no such luck.

"Nevermind me" Cordelia waved away the question with her hand "spill about the hottie!"

"What hottie...?" Buffy started before realising what she meant "You mean Spike? I told you, we’re just friends" the blonde found she couldn’t look her friend in the eye when she said it, but Cordy didn’t notice. She glanced at the door Spike had disappeared through and then looked seriously back at her friend.

"Is he gay?" she asked solemnly and Buffy burst out laughing like she’d never stop.

"Spike? Are you kidding?" she gasped for air as she laughed.

"Well, that’s the only way I can see that you wouldn’t want to date him" Cordelia said seriously "even then you should at least try to convert him" she pressed "I would"

"Cordy!" Buffy snapped, her laughter finally dying down "He is my next door neighbour and he is my friend, that’s all" she really didn’t want this conversation.

"Please, tell me you noticed he was hot?" the brunette countered.

"Well, yeah, I guess..." Buffy mumbled.

"You guess?" Cordelia practically yelled "Buffy the guy is stunning!"

"Could we please talk about something other than Spike?" Buffy tried not to beg too much. She didn’t want to be asked why it was such a big deal for them to change the subject, but she really did want Cordelia to let it go.

"Okay, okay" her friend relented "but I still think you’re crazy" she added quietly.

Finally, Buffy could breathe a sigh of relief as Cordy told her all about her new home and friends. She explained that her parents had wanted to go away for the wekend and since they didn’t like the idea of leaving their daughter home alone and she wanted to come back to Sunnydale to see her friends anyway, they let her stay with her grandmother who still lived there. Buffy didn’t care where she was staying or why, she was just so glad to have her best friend back, even if it was only for a couple of days.

"How are Will and Xander?" the brunette asked suddenly.

"Oh, they’re good" Buffy nodded "Willow is well on her way to being a really cool Wicca and Xander, well, he’s still Xander, he tries really hard to help with the slayage and his fighting has definitely improved" without thinking she added "Spike’s pretty much a natural and I patrol more with him than the others"

That just made Cordy laugh to herself, but she was loud enough that Buffy noticed.

"What was that for?" she eyed her friend suspiciously.

"Buffy, you spend hours patrolling with Spike?" she said, hoping Buffy would get it but the blonde gave her a distainctly lost look "In the dark? In the moonlight? Alone?" Cordy continued.

Buffy was still at a loss and with an exsasperated sigh Cordy asked her; "Is there kissing?"

"No!" her friend shouted immediatly "No, no, no....okay, maybe once" she added quietly.

"Once?" Cordelia checked.

"Okay it was twice" Buffy admitted with a slight red tint to her cheeks "but only once on patrol, the other time was at school" she added, trying to make it sound less than it was. Cordelia just grinned in satisfaction at the information she had managed to extract. In all honesty, Buffy didn’t mind that she knew since Willow and Xander knew anyway, and it was never going to happen again...

"So, what? You just changed your mind?" the brunette was intrigued as to why her best friend would give up the chance to date such a gorgeous guy. He couldn’t be annoying or stupid or anything since Buffy seemed to like him as a friend, so why not more than that?

"Yes" Buffy noddded once and Cordy shook her head.

"You sure you don’t want him?" she checked a final time.

"Absolutely" the blonde nodded again "me and Spike - friends forever, but nothing more than that, ever" she was really trying to convince Cordy but more than that she was trying to convince herself.

Chapter 15 - Planning and Scamming

"Buffy?" a voice called as the front door opened.

"In here Mom" the woman’s daughter replied and Joyce smiled when she went into the living room and saw the brunette girl there too.

"Hello, Cordelia it’s nice to see you"

"Hey Mrs Summers" the girl smiled.

"Buffy" Joyce turned to her daughter "I left your sister at her friend Janices’s house so you can get your studying done in peace tonight" she smiled at the girl before disappearing into the kitchen and Corelia frowned.

"Oh, so I guess Bronzing is out if you have to study" she said to her friend and Buffy also looked less than happy.

"Yeah...." she said before she suddenly had a thought. A wicked smile crossed her face as she got up to follow her mother. Cordelia went after her,wondering what was going on in her friends head.

"Mom? Can I take my books over to Cordy’s grandmothers and study there, we have a lot of catching up to do"

Joyce turned from the cupboards where she was putting away some groceries.

"I guess that would be alright" she nodded "but I want you back early"

"Oh, that’s okay Mrs Summers" piped up the quick thinking Cordy "Buffy can stay over at my grandmas, if that’s okay with you"

"Well, I suppose that would be okay" the older woman agreed "but home before lunch tomorrow Buffy and plenty of studying, I do not want you failing math" she added sternly pointing a finger at her daughter. Buffy smiled big, hugging her mother briefly.

"Thanks Mom"

Five minutes later the two best friends were in Buffy’s room, the blonde was packing a bag while Cordelia sat on her friends bed, slowly getting covered by tops, skirts, trousers and shoes that Buffy was throwing from the closet.

"So I am right? The coming to sleep over thing was a cover?" the brunette checked.

"Of course" her friend rolled her eyes, "We’re hitting the Bronze tonight, I’ll sleep over at your grandma’s, be home by lunch and study in the afternoon" she smiled in triumph at her perfect scam.

"Sounds like a plan" her friend agreed as she spotted something shiny on the floor, just under the edge of the bed.

"Hey, what’s this?" she asked, picking up the silver coloured item and turning it over in her hands "A lighter?" she realised "Oh my god, when did you start smoking?" she hissed to her friend causing Buffy to suddenly rush over from the closet and grab the item from her friends hands.

"It’s not mine!" she snapped and on closer expression she added "It’s Spike’s, must have fallen out when he was up here..." at Cordy’s look she quickly added "...studying!"

Cordelia smirked as she stood up, snatching the lighter back.

"Tell you what, you finish packing that bag, I’ll take this next door"

"Why?" Buffy asked, narrowing her eyes, suspiciously.

"To be nice" Cordy said, unconvincingly as she made for the door "besides I wanna see what Mrs..er..."

"Hart" Buffy reminded her.

"Yeah, what Mrs Hart and her son have done to my house" she said as she made her way down the stairs and out of the Summers house. Buffy wasn’t so sure they were the real reason that Cordy wanted to go next door, but she didn’t care. It meant she wouldn’t have to go and talk to Spike and if she was staying over at the oldest Mrs Chases’s house tonight she probably wouldn’t have to see him until Monday, right?

There was a knock on the door and Spike went to answer it, since his mother had already gone out. He was greeted by the grinning brunette he had met a few hours earlier.

"Hey Spike" she smiled and he smiled back though he wondered why she was on his doorstep.

"Cordelia, where’s Buffy?" he asked, thinking it strange that this girl should be at his house without the only person they had in common.

"In the house" Cordelia replied, holding up his lighter "We found this in her room I said I’d bring it round"

"Oh, thanks" he nodded, taking it from her hand and cursing the fact that Buffy hadn’t brought it herself, that had been the plan when he accidently on purpose left it behind.

"Buffy would have brought it herself but she’s packing a bag to stay with me tonight" the brunette explained, almost as if she’d read his mind.

"Girls night in?" the bleach blonde asked, shoving the lighter into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Not really" Cordelia shook her head "it’s an excuse so we can go to the Bronze instead of Buffy having to study...actually, you wanna come with?" she added as if it was an after thought, but it had been her plan the entire time.

"To the Bronze?" Spike considered it for a moment.

"Yeah, I mean, we’re inviting Xander and Willow too and from what I hear you’re quite the Slayerette yourself these days so you should come"

"I don’t know" Spike answered, unsure as to how well he’d fit in once the old gang got back together, he was however enjoying the fact that Buffy had obviously been talking about him to her friend.

"Come on, we want you..." Cordelia paused "to be there" she added eventually with a sly smile, if Buffy wasn’t going to have this guy maybe she’d have a go herself. Her look didn’t go unnoticed and the boy in front of her was having similar thoughts. Surely if nothing was ever going to happen between him and Bufy he should try and move on...?

"Yeah, okay" he conceded "count me in"

"Great" the brunette smiled in triumph "Meet us there at seven, but don’t tell anyone I don’t want Joyce finding out and blowing a valve"

"It’s cool" he smiled at her choice of phrase "My Mum’s staying over at Giles’s tonight anyway"

"Your Mom and Giles?" Cordelia gaped, "that’s gotta be...weird"

Spike chuckled at her expression.

"Not really" he explained "since he’s my father"

Cordy just gasped and headed back to the Summers house, barely pausing to say goodbye and compltely forgetting that she’d wanted to chat to Spike longer or that she’d wanted to see inside her old house.

"How could you not tell me that Spike’s Dad was Giles!" she practically yelled as she burst into her friends room again.

"Oh sorry" Buffy covered her mouth with her hand and tried to surpress a giggle, she knew that would have been a shock, "It must have slipped my mind"

"Oh well" Cordelia sighed, sitting down on the bed again, "Spike’s coming tonight"

"What?" Buffy gasped, "You invited him?"

"Of course" the brunette rolled her eyes, "If you don’t want him..." she didn’t need to finish the sentence as Buffy stuck up her hand in an ‘I don’t care’ fashion and said;

"Whatever"

She pretended it didn’t bother her but the idea of Spike liking Cordelia instead of her actually hurt. She couldn’t be angry though, she was the one that had said friends was all they would ever be so she would deal. Everything would be fine,...right?

Chapter 16 - Bronzing

"Buffy, are you ready?" Cordelia tapped on the bathroom door at her grandmothers house and waited impatiently for her friend to appear.

"Almost" came the reply to her question and juts a moment later Buffy emerged, perfectly dressed for a night of Bronzing, in a short-ish skirt, halter top and boots.

"You look great" Cordy told her, "Out to impress someone, are we?"

"No-one special" Buffy shrugged, pushing passed her friend and heading down the stairs. Cordelia followed, not at all convinced. She had thought for a while that she’d made a mistake when she’d assumed there was something more than friendship between Buffy and Spike, but now she realised they were just in denial, both of them probably, but it seemed mostly Buffy.

As the pair travelled to the club, Cordy formed a plan. ‘Either those two get together on their own tonight or I force them together!’ she thought, and there were so many ways to do it too. Devious could be Miss Chase’s middle name when she set her mind to something and tonight she had done just that. At the same time, Cordelia planned to have herself some fun and enjoy spending time with the friend she’d missed for the past month and the new one she’d made today.

"Cordelia!" she heard her name just a few moments after she’d entered the Bronze, Buffy right behind her. She looked around and saw Willow and Xander waving madly from their spot at the gangs regular table. They got up from their seats as their friends approached and both were quick to hug the brunette they had missed.

"Spike not here yet?" Buffy tried to be casual as she asked.

"You invited Spike?" Xander gaped, "Why would you want Captain Peroxide here?"

"She didn’t invite him" Cordy snapped, "I did. Buffy made him sound like one of the gang so I figured he should be here"

"He is one of the gang" Willow nodded, giving Xander a look, "him and Xander just can’t seem to play nice together, heaven only knows why" she rolled her eyes, only too aware of why the two guys disliked each other so much. They both liked Buffy, hence forth they both saw the other as competition, well, it was more that Xander saw Spike as competition and Spike just couldn’t resist the urge to bite when ‘the whelp’ baited him.

"So, drinks" Xander said suddenly, "Sodas all round?"

The three girls agreed and the brunette went to fetch everyone a drink. He had barely left the table when the aforementioned bleached blond arrived.

"Evenin’ ladies" he smiled as he sat down in the seat, recently vacated by Xander.

Willow and Cordy replied with a respective hello and hi, but Buffy barely looked up from the table top which she was studying. He had to admit that it bothered him.

"You okay, pet?" he asked, dipping his head to try and meet her eyes.

"I’m fine" she said, finally looking up, a fake smile on her face, just as Xander returned with a tray of four sodas.

"Hey, bleach boy, you’re in my seat" he snapped at Spike as he put down the tray and the girls took their drinks and said thankyou.

"Your name on the chair is it, Harris?" Spike bit back.

"What would you do if I said yes?" the boy asked, arms folded across his chest, certain he’d won this one.

"Sit here anyway" Spike chuckled, not even bothering to turn and look at the person he was talking to. Cordy couldn’t help but laugh at their ridiculous behaviour, but Willow was not amused, fixing them both with a stare similar to a mother angry at the squabbling amongst her children.

"Would you to at least try to behave decently in public?" she snapped.

"I’ll behave decently when he does" Xander retorted, "And when he gives me my seat back!"

Cordelia rolled her eyes and decided to solve a couple of problems at once. She had found this argument amusing at first but Xander was getting loud and people were starting to look - it was embarrassing. Besides she needed to get Buffy’s attention on Spike...

"Tell you what, I’ll solve the problem" she told the standing man, "You can have your seat back because I’d like to dance with Spike" she said, turning to the man in question "that okay with you?"

"Er...yeah" Spike looked unsure but took the hand Cordelia offered and allowed himself to be led onto the dancefloor. Buffy was somewhat surprised to see her best friend and her...whatever Spike was, dancing together. It made her feel something which she wasn’t really sure of. It was like a sick kind of pain right inside of her, and she didn’t approve of it. She decided to ignore the dancers, talk to her friends and maybe the feeling would go away.

"So, Buffy, all ready for Monday’s math test?" the red-head to her left asked.

"Not so much" the blonde admitted, "But I’ll have plenty of time to cram tomorrow" Buffy knew there was no point asking Willow if she was ready since she always was when it came to school type things. Willow was the brainy-type where Buffy was the physical-strength type. Sometimes the Slayer wished she could be greedy and have the brains and the power and on top of that the ability to deal with confusing emotions and understanding of weird feelings she had sometimes, but no, life wasn’t that kind.

"Hello? Buffy? Anyone at home?" Buffy was vaguely aware of a hand waving in front of her face and zoned back in to see Xander standing right beside her.

"What, sorry?" she mumbled.

"Me and Wills are gonna dance" her male friend told her "are you coming with?"

"Er, no, thanks, I’ll just sit here and drink this" she smiled a little holding up her soda and suddenly wishing she were old enough to get something stronger. Alcohol was not something Buffy usually thought much about and she didn’t have much experience of it but she thought drunk might be a nice feeling, it had to be better than the way she felt now. She was tired and confused and...that unidentifiable feeling too.

Buffy glanced over at the dance floor. The music had recently changed to a slow song and Spike and Cordy were still out there, now wrapped up in each others arms and looking decidedly cosy. Further around, the Slayer saw Willow and Xander who seemed not as cosy but at least comfortable swaying together to the slow rhythm.

‘And then there’s me’ Buffy thought to herself, ‘Alone and bored and, God help me, I’m jealous, and I can’t even drink my troubles away like other people just because of my age!’

She realised that during all this thinking her soda had disappeared and she moved toward to bar to fetch another. As the waiter fetched her another drink, Buffy noticed a glass just down the bar from her. It appeared to belong to a man who had his back to her and his arms around a woman in front of him. Buffy shifted to the side until the more-or-less abandoned glass of what seemed to be whisky was within reaching distance. She glanced to the left and right and then again at the mans back before slidng the glass in front of her, tensing herself and gulping down the drink in one go.

It tasted disgusting and the alcohol burned as it slid down her throat, both making her cough and gag.

‘Well, that was...different’ Buffy thought to herself, lowering herself onto a barstool in front of the place where her soda had now appeared. She gulped at it, hoping to disperse of the taste of the whiskey but finding the mixture of the two flavours actually seemed worse.

She decided to give in and head back to the table to wait for her friends but halfway between the bar and the table she saw another seemingly abandoned drink or half of one at least. Buffy wasn’t sure what it was, but it looked like it would taste better than the current flavour in her mouth. Swiftly she picked up the glass and downed the contents, finding the flavour better than the whiskey but still wincing as the alcohol content burnt her throat.

Her steps seemed to waver as she finally wobbled back to the table. For someone not used to alcohol, Buffy had just consumed a lot. One whisky and half of...something else alcoholic, had rendered her semi-drunk in under five minutes!

On the up side she noticed it that dull ache inside hurt less now when she saw her friends happily dancing together, even the closeness of Cordy and Spike was less repulsive and painful now. ‘Just one more drink’ Buffy thought to herself as she scanned the tables surrounding her, ‘and I won’t notice at all’

* * * * *

After five songs, Spike, Cordelia, Xander and Willow were all officially beat and needed a drink and a rest before anymore dancing was partaken of. They found their table empty of both drinks and Buffy when they got back.

"Where’d the Buffster go?" Xander wondered aloud as she sat down.

"Maybe she went to the bathroom" Willow suggested, "I have to go anyway" she said, standing up, "I’ll check"

There was a little conversation between the remaining three Scoobies and most of the talking was Cordy telling her old and new male friends about her new home and new life, until Willow returned and announced that Buffy was not in the bathroom.

"Maybe she’s dancing with someone?" Cordelia wondered aloud, but no-one could see the Slayer on the dancefloor, "Or maybe she went after a vamp?"

"Maybe" Willow nodded, "Should we go look outside?"

"She’ll be fine" Xander assured her, "She’ll probably be back any minute"

The friends continued to talk amongst themselves unaware that Buffy was in fact not that far away at all. She was still in the Bronze, over by the bar, deciding that getting drunk was fun. She didn’t care about Spike and Cordy at all, ‘not at all’ she told herself, downing the remnants of another persons drink. If she’d have been using her head at all the girl would have realised how dangerous her ‘game’ was, not only the getting drunk but drinking from strangers glasses and not really knowing what she was drinking had dangers all of it’s own. But Buffy’s now marinated brain was not even close to working full capacity as she sneak a glass of what appeared to be vodka closer to herself and drained the final drops that someone had left behind, not even sparing a thought for her friends.

"She must have gone home or something?" Xander guessed, "Or maybe she went patrolling?"

"But I don’t see why she would do that without telling us" Willow frowned.

"Don’t panic, Red" said Spike suddenly, "Wherever the Slayer is you know she can take care if herself" he assured her, despite the fact he was starting to worry himself. It wasn’t like Buffy to disappear for this amount of time and without telling anyone.

"Well, I’m gonna get a drink" Cordelia proclaimed, standing up from her seat, "Anyone else?"

"No, not me" Xander yawned, "I’m beat, I’m gonna head home"

"Me too" Willow agreed, pulling herself up off of her stool.

"Come on Wills, I’ll walk you home" Xander offered the girl his arm with a smile and she took it with a similar grin on her own face. She felt bad for it but she was almost glad Buffy had disappeared for a while, at least she’d got Xander’s attention for a while.

"What about you, Spike?" Cordy asked him as Xander and Willow left, "Another drink?"

"Yeah, why not?" the boy nodded, with a half smile. He really wasn’t happy about not knowing where Buffy was despite the fact he knew she was quite capable of looking after herself. He headed for the bar with Cordelia by his side and that was when they saw her.

The blonde Slayer was half collapsed over the bar, seemingly either asleep or semi-unconscious. Immediately Spike was by her side and shaking her gently.

"Buffy, luv, what the bloody hell happened to you?"

"Hi Spikey" the overly drunk girl giggled, "And Cordy, hello" she sing-songed.

"Oh God" the brunette gasped, "Is she drunk? Who would serve her alcohol?"

"I don’t know" Spike shook his head, "but someone must have" as Cordelia moved to the other side of her friend and fought to gain her attention.

"Buffy, when did you start drinking alcohol?"

"Just today" the Slayer told her honestly, "but it’s a lot of fun" she giggled, "I wish I’d started sooner"

"Oh God" Cordelia exclaimed again, rolling her eyes, "What are we going to do with her?"

Spike shook his head, at a loss for words or an idea. He’d never imagined Buffy could be so stupid as to get herself into such a state, and why had she bothered anyway?

Suddenly the brunette girl’s cell phone rang into life and she realised as she tried to answer it that she could not hear as the music of the club increased suddenly in volume.

"I’m just going to take this outside" she yelled to Spike as she disappeared and the bleach blond sighed, slumping down on the stool next to Buffy.

"Why’d you do this, luv?" she asked her and she tried to pull herself up straight, wavering on the stool as she did so.

"That’s none of your business" she said as seriously as she could, before bursting into giggles for no apparent reason. ‘She’s gonna have a hell of hangover’ Spike thought to himself. He had not been the most sensible of kids and in his time he had got wasted once or twice, minimum. He knew what it felt like to be drunk and worse what it felt like in the morning.

Suddenly, Cordelia returned to them with a frown.

"I have to go" she told Spike, "That was the hospital, my grandma’s had a fall and I have to get home. Can you get Buffy home on your own?"

"No problem" Spike lied, knowing he’d just have to cope, however complicated it was. Joyce would go crazy when she saw her drunken daughter and he had no doubt he might get some of the blame since he would be the one bringing her home, but he’d just have to deal. He couldn’t expect Cordelia not to go to her grandmothers aid and it would do no good calling Willow or Xander since they didn’t have cell phones and they wouldn’t be home yet.

"Looks like it’s just you and me" he whispered, more to himself than to Buffy, wishing the prospect of being alone with her was as appealing as usual, but in her drunken state, he had a feeling it was going to be less than fun.

Spike looked down at the Slayer who now had her head resting on the bar, glancing up at him. She looked beautiful as ever, he thought, despite the fact she was completely drunk out of her head.

"Hi Spikey" she smiled and giggled like a child.

"Hey now, Buffy" he couldn’t help but smile back "Come on, time to go home" he said as he helped her up off the stool. She stumbled a little but he managed to keep her upright and direct her through the crowds, holding onto her by the waist and walking behind her.

"You’re gonna take me home?" Buffy tried to turn her head to talk to him as they walked.

"Yep, time you were in bed" Spike spoke without thinking and soon regretted his words as Buffy turned around in his grasp and ceased her childish giggling.

"You’re gonna take me to bed?" she asked softly and Spike had to close his eyes as he forced several dangerous thoughts from his mind.

"Yes, to your own bed, Buffy" he said firmly "and then I’m going to my own bed" he completed as they finally exited the Bronze and started off down the street.

"Oh..." Buffy sighed, dejectedly, before asking matter-of-factly "Why is the ground spinning?"

"Because you’re drunk, perhaps?" Spike suggested with a touch of a smirk and a good helping of sarcasm.

"Nooo!" Buffy drew out the word in protest, as she stopped and turned again to look at him "Drunk is such a strong word, like a guttural Anglo-Saxon word - drunk" she explained and Spike sighed.

"Trust you to know complex sentences when you’re smashed, Slayer" he smiled down at her and she looked up into his eyes and for a moment, with the moonlight and the stars and the feelings... ‘but, she’s drunk’, Spike reminded himself quickly. He made to start moving her along again but she wouldn’t budge.

"Y’know what?" she smiled up at him.

"What is it now, pet?" he asked with frustration as he steadied her wavering form.

"You have really pretty eyes" she told him with a smile and he suddenly didn’t care if she was drunk, he just wanted to kiss her. She was making it too hard to resist.

"Really?" he asked as he leant towards her, but the alcohol finally staged a revolt with the inside of the girls body and put in a re-appearance all over the pavement, along with everything she’d eaten in the last day or so.

Spike sighed in defeat as Buffy sank to her knees on the sidewalk and heaved. This was hardly how he’d planned his night to go, not at all.

It was about half an hour later when Spike had got his Slayer off of the floor and more or less carried her to Revello Drive.

"If I take you home in this state your Mum’s gonna kill me, mine too when she finds out" Spike said more to himself than to Buffy since she really wasn’t coherent enough to understand anyway right now, "so, looks like I’m taking you to my bed after all Slayer" he smirked as he helped her up the porch steps and in through his own front door, careful to be quiet and not draw attention from the next door neighbour he was trying to avoid.

"Spike, I don’t feel so good" Buffy moaned as they went through the door "I think I’m gonna...y’know" she gestured that she meant throw up.

"Buffy, you already did" he pointed out and she looked confused when she said;

"Oh" before promptly slipping down the wall he had leant her against while he was locking the door.

"Come on, luv" he smiled, sweeping her literally off her feet and carrying her up the stairs. He’d expected her to be quite heavy, all the muscles she had being the Slayer, but she was feather light and seemed to fit perfectly in his arms. He smiled to himself, he’d had dreams about carrying Buffy to his bedroom, but this was not quite how he’d had it planned.

Spike kicked the door to his bedroom open with his foot and placed the semi-conscious girl on the bed, his bed - this was weird.

"You feeling any better yet?" he asked as knelt beside the her.

"Maybe a little" she said quietly, her eyes closed already.

"I reckon someone’s gonna have a killer hangover in the morning" Spike smiled as he dared to reach out his hand and push some stray hair from her face "Just try to get some sleep, Slayer"

He made to stand up and walk away but turned back when he heard her infectious laughter again.

"I can’t sleep with my boots on, silly" she giggled and Spike rolled his eyes, walking around to the foot of the bed and removing the aforementioned footwear for her.

"Better?" he asked, dropping the boots down by the side of the bed. Buffy shrugged and nodded a little as she glanced over at him. He kicked off his own boots and tried to get comfortable in a chair with a blanket, not the ideal place to sleep, but he’d suffer for a night for her sake.

"Now will you get some sleep, then maybe I can too" he said, closing his eyes. Just a few seconds later, he was disturbed again.

"Spike?"

"Yes, Buffy?" he sighed

"Aren’t you gonna kiss me goodnight?" she asked, innocence in every word, since she was too drunk to really know what she was asking.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea, luv" the young man told her, moving from the chair to stand beside the bed again. God how he wanted to kiss her, but he couldn’t take advantage, he did have some morals, although right then he wished he had less of a conscience.

"Why not?" she complained, grabbing at his hand and pulling him down to sit beside her "I won’t go to sleep until you do" she fluttered her eye-lashes and tried to be innocent but he knew better.

"You’re a nuisance do you know that, Slayer?" Spike asked rhetorically as he leaned over to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Buffy just giggled her drunk laugh in response and shook her head as much as she dared in her current condition

"You don’t kiss me on the forehead!" she told him "You’re not my Mom!" and with that she closed her eyes tight and pouted in preparation for what she really wanted. Spike knew what she wanted, and he also knew how much he wanted it too, and infinitely more. He leaned over her, taking in her angelic face before closing his eyes, their lips a mere hairs breadth apart. He placed the most tender of kisses on her lips, just a few seconds of contact, before he pulled away again and opened his eyes to see her smile.

"How was that?" he asked in a whisper, his head spinning from the strength of his own feelings right at that moment.

He waited for some verbal answer, but the girl didn’t have one. Her eyes opened slowly as her hand travelled up to his face, she ran her fingers across his cheek before coming to rest behind his head. She leaned up, her eyes closing again and he knew what she was doing, even if she was only half-aware. As much as he wanted to kiss her again, to be in her arms, to show her just what he felt for her...those damn morals and his annoying conscience wouldn’t let him, not like that.

Quickly but gently, Spike slid from the edge of the bed and got to his feet, her hand falling away as he moved. He turned back to the chair and blanket he would use for a bed tonight and, without looking back at the silent girl on his bed he whispered; "Sweet dreams, Slayer"

"Spike!" the young man awoke at the sound of his name being yelled through the house, loud enough to wake the dead, never mind a person just a few feet from the location of the sound "Spike!"

‘What the bloody hell?’ he wondered as he sat up and looked over at Buffy, writhing on his bed and screaming his name.

"You pick your nights to have nightmares, Slayer" Spike sighed, pushing the blanket from his body and moving over to the bed. He sat on the edge and grabbed the girls upper arms, holding her still, afraid that she would hurt herself or roll herself completely off of the bed, cracking her head on the cabinet on the way down.

"Buffy? Buffy, wake up, luv" he said, softly shaking her. He was surprised to see a smile spread across her face. Still very much asleep she calmed her movement and he moved to let go of her, but she stopped him, grabbing the hands he tried to take away Heaven only knows how she did it when she was so fast asleep but then perhaps her dream and reality were closer than he realised.

"Oh Spike" she whispered, sliding her hands up his arms.

‘She’s dreaming about me?’ he wondered, a smile creeping across his own lips. Her hands on his shoulders and the look on her face was silently begging him to come closer, but when she was asleep? That was no better, actually it was probably worse, than when she was drunk.

"Do I have no luck at all?!" he asked any forces above that would listen, it was only after he’d done it that he realised how loudly he’d not so much spoken as yelled. His outburst awoke his very own Sleeping Beauty who was somewhat shocked to find herself in Spike’s room, on his bed, with him very practically on top of her - but that had been a dream right?

"Oh God - Spike?" she gasped, looking up into his face.

"I’m right here" he told her. What would she think now?

"I just...I..." she stumbled on her words. She had been asleep, it had been a dream, but he was here and her dream, her thoughts, the feelings were still clear in her mind. He was inches away, she could just...

She was awake now, she was probably hungover but no longer drunk and there was wanting in her eyes, he knew that look, it would be so easy just to...

"William!" a voice boomed from the front door.

"Oh, bugger!" Spike cursed, getting up from the bed in somewhat of a panic. His mother seemed to have worse timing than he had luck!

"What’s going on?" Buffy wondered, suddenly very aware that her dream was most definitely over and panic was setting in as to how much of it had been reality! What was she doing in Spike’s bedroom? And why when she tried to sit up did her head protest so much?

"Just keep quiet pet" the bleach blond told her in a whisper as he headed for the bedroom door "and do not come out of this room, okay?" he said just before he exited, waiting only long enough for her reply.

"Okay, but..." she was cut off by the door closing loudly, sending another jolt of pain through her skull. She didn’t have the energy or the inclination to worry about what was going on right now, she just wanted to lie still and hope it all went away.

"Hey Mum" Spike greeted his mother as she came up the stairs.

"Will, what’s going on?" she asked suspiciously as she met him on the landing.

"Nothing, nothing’s going on" he assured her, ushering toward her own bedroom, out of the way "Why’d you ask?"

"No reason" Jessica shook her head but continued to eye her son suspiciously "You’re acting very strangely" she observed.

"I’ve always been strange Mum" he smirked "you only just noticed?"

"Very funny, dear" she smiled, patting him on the shoulder "Now, I’m going to go have a shower and get changed" she gestured toward her room and the bathroom "You wanna make a start on lunch for me?"

"Lunch?" Spike echoed in confusion.

"It’s almost eleven already William" Jessica frowned "you did notice, right?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Spike nodded his head and smiled.

"Sure, yeah. You go have that shower Mum, relax, I’ll start the food"

"You’re a good boy" she smiled, ruffling his hair as she headed for her shower.

"Yeah, right" he said to himself, "If only you knew"

He watched his mother disappear into the room before turning back to his own. He still had a very hungover and confused Slayer to get out of the house before his mother noticed.

On re-entering the room he found said Slayer still on his bed, but sitting on the edge by now. She looked tired, confused and generally un-Buffy like, but to Spike she looked as beautiful as ever she had.

"Time to go, luv" he said somewhat sadly, he’d love to pick up where they’d left off a few moments before, but his priority right now had to be not getting killed by his own mother or Joyce, and therefore getting Buffy out of his house, fast.

"I feel awful" the Slayer groaned, clutching her head.

"Thought you might" Spike admitted, picking up her boots for her and urging her to out them on quickly.

"Last night" she frowned, as she pulled on her footwear "I don’t remember much..." she glanced around the room and then over at Spike "oh God, I didn’t, I mean, we..."

"Buffy, calm down" he hissed as her voice got progressively higher and louder " I don’t have a lot of time to talk right now, you need to go home, because if my Mum finds you here we’re both in trouble" he explained, but she still looked panicked. He sighed "I promise, pet, last night I carried you here, took your boots off for you and we slept, separately, you on the bed, me in the chair"

He watched relief fall over her features, knowing he could have really wound her up but all too aware of the lack of time right now.

"Right now though, we really need to get you out of here" he said again, getting her to stand up and pulling her by the hand toward the bedroom door. He stood and listened for a second but Buffy would not keep quiet.

"Okay...but what happened to Cordy?"

Spike rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Her grandma had a fall, ended up at the hospital, Cordelia had to go look after her"

"Oh, poor Cordy" Buffy sympathised as Spike peeked out onto the landing. His mother was in the shower, he could here the water running. He opened the door fully and started across the landing toward the sitars before realising Buffy’s hand had slipped out of his.

"Yeah, movement of the essence here, luv" he called back to her in a whisper.

"Oh, sorry" she said, shaking her head lightly, trying to clear the fog that was inside. ‘Why don’t I remember?’ she wondered as she was dragged down the stairs and the front door was opened. The sunlight made her wince as it hit her eyes.

"Will!" Jessica’s voice called loudly from upstairs.

"Oh bugger" Spike cursed, shoving the girl beside him out of the front door "Buffy go"

"Will I see you later?" she asked just before the door closed.

"Count on it, pet" he smiled briefly before slamming the door closed and not at all improving Buffy’s headache.

"Buffy, is that you?" Joyce called too loudly for Buffy’s head to handle just as she came through the front door.

"Hey Mom" she smiled, weakly, as her mother appeared in the hall.

"Did you have a nice time with Cordy? Actually, more importantly, did you get your studying done?" Mrs Summers checked.

"Yes and well, yes" Buffy lied all too well with another fake grin, wishing she could avoid the Spanish Inquisition or rather the Mom Inquisition which was actually probably worse. And just when Buffy thought she’d got away with it and made it to the stairs.

"Where are your books?"

"My books?" Buffy winced with her back to her mother "Well..."

"Mom!"

‘Saved by the Dawn!’ Buffy thought with a sigh, maybe she was useful sometimes. Of course with her out of the house no doubt little sister had wanted to help make lunch and by the tone of that scream Buffy estimated at least half the kitchen was aflame.

"Coming, honey" Joyce called to her youngest, moving quickly to the kitchen "Wash up for dinner, Buffy, we’ll talk about it later, okay?"

"Sure" Buffy nodded, satisfied she’d got away with it, at least for a while.

The eldest Summers as glad to reach the sanctuary of her bedroom, but something was bugging her. There had to be more to last night than she could remember? She knew she’d got drunk and she knew why and how but everything else was very blurry, except for a very real-feeling dream just before she woke up.

She wondered, as she changed her clothes, why it was Spike who’d brought her home. Why not Willow since she was her best friend and a girl, surely that would’ve made more sense.

"Why can’t I remember?" she asked her reflection in the mirror as she removed last nights makeup and brushed her hair. It was the only thing on her mind as she went down to eat and her thoughts, coupled with her hangover meant she really wasn’t hungry.

"You’ve hardly touched your lunch baby, are you okay?" Joyce asked, reaching to feel Buffy’s forehead and check her temperature.

"Yeah, I..I’m fine I just..." the girl tried to think of an excuse but her head hurt too much and her stomach was turning over and over.

"I hope you didn’t eat too much junk at Cordy’s last night" her mother asked and Buffy was glad to have been supplied with an excuse.

"You caught me" she lied "there was junk food, sorry"

"Well, I guess once in a while won’t kill you" Joyce smiled a little "just don’t make a habit of it"

"Mom, do you mind if I go lie down for a while" Buffy asked as the smell of the food and the whirling in her head became unbearable "I have a headache"

"Okay, honey" Joyce said kindly as Buffy left the room "I’ll bring you some aspirin soon" she called after her.

"Thanks" came the reply as the Slayer hurried up the stairs as fast as her legs could manage in their present state.

Lying on her bed, Buffy tried once again to piece together what had happened last night.

‘Will and Xan, and Spike and Cordy were dancing’ she thought ‘then I started drinking’ that was where she hit some trouble. ‘Spike said Cordy had to go home to look after her grandmother...well that’s a blank, don’t remember that at all. Then presumably we left the Bronze, me and Spike, still blank, and he brought me back to his house so that neither of us got in trouble...’

Things were getting clearer now, bits and pieces of dialogue and actions were popping up in her clouded brain.

‘Oh God did I really say that?’ Buffy asked herself, covering her face with her hands despite the fact no-one was in the room to see her go red. But he’d done it she remembered now, one light kiss on her lips, she could feel it if she concentrated and she was glad too. After that though, she’d tried to kiss him back...he hadn’t let her, why not? Supposedly he liked her...

‘Why wouldn’t he kiss me? Bastard!’ she cursed. She’d wanted to be kissed, she remembered wanting it and he’d turned her down. Her manic thoughts were interrupted as she heard a knock on the front door and her mother go to open it. From the voice she knew it was him...

"Hey Joyce, is Buffy around?" Spike smiled to the woman he liked so much, she’d been such a friend to his mother and always treated him decently, unlike her daughter.

"Yes, but she’s not feeling too well right now" Mrs Summers explained. Spike had to admit he’d expected that, she would still have the hangover from hell he knew, but he needed to talk to her about last night.

"Oh, well, could I see her, just for a while, it’s important" he pleaded.

"Oh" Joyce smiled "is it about the big math test tomorrow?"

"Er...yeah, that’s right" he hated to lie to her but the truth would get both him and Buffy into trouble, and he hated that more.

"Come on in" the woman agreed immediately and there was s satisfied smile on Spike’s face as he entered the house. He didn’t even notice Dawn as she emerged from the living room to see him, he was a man on a mission - half way up the Summer’s stairs before Joyce had even closed the front door.

He tapped lightly once on the slightly ajar door of Buffy’s room before going inside.

"Hey Slayer, how’s the head?" he said, quietly.

"Go away Spike" she spat, laying on her side on the bed, trying to keep her back to him. He walked around the other side to see her face.

"Someone’s back to their old self" he smirked.

"What part of ‘go away’ do you not understand?" she snapped, turning over to face the other way.

"Buffy" he sighed, sitting down on the bed by her back that she was determined to keep facing him "I just wanted to make sure you were okay" he told her "Besides you should be thanking me" he added quietly.

"Thanking you?" she half-yelled, turning and sitting up too fast "For what?" she demanded to know, her arms folded over her chest as she swallowed hard and bit back the nausea.

"If you’d have come home the state you were in last night, Joyce would’ve killed you" Spike hissed with annoyance at her attitude "I saved your arse"

"So you say" Buffy said grumpily, looking away.

"Yeah, I do say" he retorted. They were, he realised, both being very childish.

"And after that?" Buffy asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"After what?" he countered with a tilt of his head.

"What happened when you took me to your house?" she elaborated, awaiting his answer with interest - a lie or a truth? Which would he offer?

"I already told you" he sighed in annoyance again "you slept on the bed, I slept in the chair"

"And?" she prompted.

He didn’t answer as he got up from the edge of the bed and wandered over to look out of the window.

"And nothing" he said eventually, his back to her. Buffy knew avoidance all too well. If he couldn’t look her in the eye, he was lying, not that she needed to work it out that way, she remembered last night all too clearly now, well, at least the parts with her and Spike and the kissing or lack thereof.

"Nothing happened that I should know about?" she asked him, no hint in her voice to show she knew he was lying "I didn’t say anything, do anything embarrassing, that I should be told about?"

"No" he answered too fast.

"Liar!" she shouted causing him to spin around and look he straight in the eye.

"You remember..." he realised all too suddenly.

"Of course I remember!" she yelled, getting off the bed in one move and standing before him, "I came on to you, twice, and both times you turned me down" she said, angrily, but there was hurt in her eyes, "I thought you liked me"

"I do, but..." he began to protest but she turned away, she didn’t want to hear it.

"But nothing, if you did you wouldn’t have run away"

"I didn’t run" he argued "I just...moved quickly" he explained somewhat lamely. Buffy sighed as she turned back to face him. Glancing between his face and the floor, she spoke much more quietly now.

"Look, Spike, I thought you liked me and you don’t, and don’t worry about it because...I don’t like you either"

"So what was last night about?" he asked, incredulously.

"I was drunk" she shrugged, as if it were obvious "you were there - call it convenience" she felt bad when she saw the pain on his face, the brightness in his blue eyes fading to dull blue-grey.

"You can be an unfeeling chit sometimes, y’know that, Slayer?" he said in a tone that should have been angry, but it just came out pained.

"Oh just get out Spike!" she shot at him, turning her back so he wouldn’t see her tears. She didn’t want to hurt him, but he’d hurt her, and yes, she kind of understood why but she didn’t want to lose face.

"I’ll go, gladly..." the bleach blond almost growled as he left "ungrateful, pain in the..."

Buffy tried to block out the sound of him stomping down the stairs and out of the front door. Tears streamed down her face as she realised how awful she’d really been to him. Why did she push him away? Why couldn’t she just let him into her life, her heart? Why did it have to be so hard?

Monday morning and, as usual, the Slayer had called next door for Spike so they could walk to school together, but he’d already left without her. Half of her felt bad and wanted to apologise for what she’d said and done before, the other half was still mad at him for one thing and another and didn’t care that he’d ditched her.

Deep in thought, the girl almost didn’t here Willow calling her name.

"Hey Buffy" the red-head beamed as she hurried to walk through the school grounds with her best friend "we lost you the other night. Where’d you go?"

"You wouldn’t believe me if I told you" Buffy half-smiled at her friend as they walked.

"Well, try me" Willow pressed, intrigued.

"I got kind of drunk" the blonde admitted and the witch’s mouth dropped wide open.

"Drunk?" she echoed, loudly.

"Geez Will, foghorn much?" Buffy almost laughed.

"Sorry, but..wow, what happened?" her friend was eager to know. Buffy was way more ‘adventurous’ than her, but to go and get drunk, that wasn’t Buffy’s style - something was wrong.

"Spike found me, took me home" Buffy shrugged "to his home" she amended "I was so out of it it took me hours to even remember what happened"

"You and Spike, together, in his room..." Willow put together to and two and got the usual five "what did happen?"

"Nothing like that" her friend said quickly, immediately on the offensive. She knew that look on Willow’s face all too well "well, not really anyway" she amended "but I don’t want to talk about it please, I just want to concentrate on this math test, God knows I didn’t study much, I should at least concentrate now" she pleaded, in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

"Okay..." Willow conceded, before adding "but you would tell me if something happened, wouldn’t you?"

"Of course" Buffy nodded to her best friend "but it didn’t" she said, somewhat sadly and Willow couldn’t help but notice the disappointment in her look and tone. "If anything had of happened" the Slayer quickly covered "you would know, what with Spike being dead and all for daring to touch me"

"Okay..." Willow smiled slightly, knowing that was an out and out lie and one she would do something about...

"Hey Xan" she said to her other best friend at lunch, before Buffy arrived in the cafeteria, "We meeting at the Bronze tonight?"

"Sure thing, Will" the brunette nodded, stuffing too much food into his mouth as usual.

"Seven thirty, okay?" she checked.

"Sounds good" Xander replied, showing off the contents of his mouth, much to Willow’s disgust.

"Hey guys" Buffy greeted them as she joined them at the table, she smiled but her heart wasn’t in it.

"Something wrong, Buff?" Xander checked.

"No, just the math test was way hard, especially when I didn’t do much studying" she sighed.

"Is that all that’s wrong?" Willow asked, knowing that Buffy wouldn’t be this down over just one test. But Buffy said that was all it was and the red-head pretended to agree with her. What really gave it away was when Xander asked ‘Where’s Captain Peroxide today?’ and Buffy got even quieter and more weird.

Willow knew, even if Xander was too oblivious to notice, that Buffy and Spike should be together and that if they both just came out and said it, that they really liked each other, they could be so great together.

‘And they will be great together’ Willow thought to herself with a satisfied smile, ‘If everything goes according to plan, I’ll have them together before the night is out’

Spike checked his hair in the mirror, slipped on his jacket and made his way out of the front door. He was headed for the Bronze, which wasn’t abnormal at all, except for the fact that he was going to meet Willow, alone.

He’d only been home from school a few minutes when the phone had rung and it had been the girl he called Red.

"Meet me at the Bronze at seven, okay?" she’d said more like an order than a request, and that wasn’t like Willow at all, she was usually so quiet and shy, Spike knew whatever she needed to see him about it had to be important. He agreed immediately, worried that his good friend might be in some kind of trouble and also feeling guilty that by avoiding Buffy all day he had also not seen the red-head, or the whelp.

"Hey, Spike" the witch called him over with a smile on her face as soon as he entered the club. He went to sit beside her, now seriously confused. She looked too happy for there to be a problem, so why was he here, alone with her? Only one thing made sense but they’d agreed from the beginning that friends was all they’d ever be, he liked Buffy and she liked Xander too much for things to be any other way.

"Hey Red" he smiled, nervous but trying to hide it, "what’s up?"

"Nothing’s up with me" she smiled, before cutting immediately to the chase "What’s going on with you and Buffy?"

Spike sighed, finally getting it.

"What did she tell you?"

"Doesn’t matter" Willow shrugged, passing her friend one of the two sodas she’d just ordered for them "I wanna hear your side"

Spike sipped at his drink, before taking a deep breath and looking down at his fidgeting hands in his lap.

"I love her" he admitted, in a quiet voice, that sounded nothing like the Spike that Willow was used to "more than I’ve ever loved anyone and it scares me half to death how much I want her but..." he sighed again "she keeps blowing hot and cold on me, silly bint drives me crazy..." he laughed in spite of himself before explaining about two nights ago and exactly what he had done and not done, followed by Buffy’s reaction on Sunday morning "...I guess I know the truth now though" he finished sadly "she’s never gonna feel the same way about me as I do about her"

Willow had to bite her lip so as not to laugh when she replied to his little speech.

"You two really are ridiculous, you know that?"

"Hey, I’m bearing my innermost here, Red! A little sympathy wouldn’t go amidst" Spike complained. How dare she laugh at him when he was opening up to her in a way he found really hard with most people? He thought she was supposed to be his mate!

"I’m sorry, I am" the witch quickly apologised "but you really have no idea, do you?"

"About what?" Spike asked, looking back at her.

"Buffy!" she exclaimed as if it should be obvious, "She loves you!"

"Yeah, right, like hell she does" the bleach blond scoffed, gulping at his soda for something to do.

"Spike..." Willow shook her head, beginning to think her efforts were hopeless.

"Did she tell you?" Spike said suddenly "Did she actually say it?"

Willow’s silence told him what he’d expected but dreaded.

"Thought not" he said sadly, looking away once again.

"Spike, she didn’t have to" his friend protested, putting a hand on his arm to get his attention "it’s just so obvious!"

"Not to me it bloody isn’t!" he said, flinching his arm away.

Willow thought for a moment. How could she make him see what was so obvious to her? Maybe there was a way...

"When you were in kindergarten" she started, eventually, "was there a girl that you liked?"

Spike looked at her like she’d just grown another head.

"What the bloody hell has that got to do with anything?" he wanted to know.

"Just answer the question, I have a point I swear" the red-head urged him and with a sigh he gave in.

"Yeah, there was a girl, blonde kid, Darla"

"And you liked her?" Willow checked.

"I just said it, didn’t I?" he snapped back and Willow physically jumped.

"Okay..." she drew out "so you liked her, what did you do?"

For a moment Spike looked wistfully thoughtful and a smile crossed his features that had looked so angry a second before.

"Pulled her hair, called her names and nicked her chocolate biscuit at break time usually" he said as if he were proud of it.

"There you go" Willow smiled in triumph, but Spike still didn’t get it.

"Er, not following here, pet" he admitted and Willow let out yet another sigh.

"You were mean to her because you liked her" she said as explanation.

"And Buffy...?" Spike started, piecing together the information "Oh" he said in sudden realisation.

"Yes" Willow nodded, relieved to finally be getting somewhere, she never knew getting Spike to understand would be so complicated, but then getting Xander to notice her had been practically impossible so, ‘it must be a guy thing’ she surmised.

"I know it’s childish" Willow admitted as Spike’s mind reeled from the shock "cos I mean we’re older now and we should technically be more sensible but, Buffy had a rough time with her last boyfriend and being the Slayer puts a strain on all her relationships with everybody, not just guys"

Spike looked over at her, with surprise and a little guilt. He hadn’t really considered any of that, he’d just wanted Buffy to care about him like he cared about her. He never thought that she might feel the same and just have trouble showing it

"She lashes out cos it’s her way of dealing" Willow said seriously.

"Should’ve known that I s’pose" the bleach blond admitted "Guilty of striking out when scared myself...not that I get scared a lot" he added too quickly.

"It’s okay, Spike" Willow laughed a little "I’m not going to tell anyone anything about you that would ‘damage your street rep’" she air-quoted with a grin.

"Y’know Red" he gave her a lop-sided smirk, "You’re alright"

"Well, you’re not so bad yourself" she told him, smiling back, "Only wish my own love life was as easy to figure out" she added, quietly, but he heard every word.

"I thought things were better with you and Harris?" her friend said, a little confused. Had the two not danced with each other most of Saturday night and then left the club together too?

"So did I" Willow admitted "and they are, I mean, we danced a lot at the Bronze and he walked me home and it was really sweet" immediately her eyes glazed over and she was in her little fantasy dream world that was all about Xander Harris "Sometimes he looks at me and I think he knows, he knows how much I love him and he feels the same and I’m going to get my fairytale ending..." she sighed, dejectedly, knowing her dreams were not real "but life’s not a fairytale and just when I think he might kiss me or tell me he loves me or something romantic, he..."

"Cracks a joke?" Spike guessed.

"Yes!" Willow pointed a finger and yelled.

"Will, he’s probably scared" Spike was slightly concerned to realise that himself and the Whelp had something in common, both afraid of some stuff that they feel "You know the Whelp, he can fight demons as good as any of us" he admitted "though don’t tell him I said that" he added, quickly, "but demons inside are harder to beat"

"He doesn’t need to be scared of me or how he feels about me" Willow protested.

"You were scared about telling him how you feel, why shouldn’t he be the same?" came Spike’s reply and Willow knew he was right. She smiled somewhat evilly as she had a thought.

"How come you figured all that out but you didn’t see that Buffy loves you?"

He smiled, knowing he’d been stupid but that his friend was only teasing him, not meaning to be nasty at all.

"Easier to see when it’s not you, I guess" he shrugged.

"Good point" Willow agreed, realising she’d been the same, noticing Buffy and Spike’s love-dilemma, but not really understanding her own.

"Looks like we both have stuff to work out with certain people" the red-head sighed yet again, sipping at her soda.

"Yeah..." Spike drew out the word, realising he had a long feelings-related talk to have with the girl he loved, not something he was looking forward to, but something he had a little more confidence in now he was pretty certain Buffy did love him.

"No time like the present" he said more to himself than to Willow, before touching her arm to gain her attention and pointing toward the doors.

"Look" he said simply and she did, just as the two people they’d been discussing entered the Bronze.