Prologue


Author’s Note: This is my first Spuffy fanfiction, so reviews would be really nice. Really want to know if you like it or not.
Also a huge thank you to my BETA Melanie for her help. Now please continue reading.
 

“Finally! I don’t want to think about English Literature again for the next month!” Buffy Summers exclaimed as she and her two friends, Willow and Oz, entered the library of Sunnydale University.

“Oh Buffy, I’m sure you did fine. I thought it would be much harder.” Willow answered, her blue-green eyes dancing with excitement.

“So says She-Who-Knows-Everything-About-English-Poetry.” The blonde said, rolling her large, green eyes.

“Hear, hear.” Oz agreed, sitting down at the library table with Willow on his lap. Willow blushed, ducking her head so that her short, red hair concealed her face.

Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg and Daniel “Oz” Osbourne were all in their second year of college.

Buffy was twenty years old. She was a very beautiful young woman that came from a rich family; her father, Hank Summers, was a successful businessman. Buffy was smart and intelligent as well as polite and well brought up. She was very athletic and she was the head cheerleader. She lived alone in her own apartment in Sunnydale, a small town in California. Her parents and younger sister Dawn lived in L. A., a two-hour drive from Sunnydale.

Willow, also twenty, was an only child; she lived alone with her mother, Jenny, who taught Computer Studies at Sunnydale University. It came as no surprise then that Willow was interested in computers. When she was younger, Willow was very shy and nerdy. People constantly picked on her and her mousy ways. But that all changed when she met Buffy. All of a sudden, a popular, beautiful girl wanted to be her friend. Willow was now much more confident, Buffy’s best friend, and a very modern young woman with a serious boyfriend of two years, Oz.

Oz was 21 years old. He liked to change his hair color a lot, currently he had orangey-brown hair. His eyes were a deep green. Oz was also the guitar player in a band called “Dingoes Ate My Baby.” His trademark was that he was very monosyllabic.

“So, what are you guys doing over the holidays?” Buffy asked as she opened her trigonometry book.

“I don’t know. Mom says she already made plans, but she won’t tell me anything.” Willow answered.

“Where Willow goes, I follow.” Oz said, playing with Willow’s hair. Buffy smiled and was about to say something, but the opening of the library doors stopped her. Her smile widened when she saw her other two best friends, plus her boyfriend, walk in.

Apart from Willow, only Xander Harris knew everything about her. When she first moved to Sunnydale, Xander and Willow had taken her into their duo, no questions asked. Xander had been the goofy one, always making everyone laugh. He had brown hair and brown eyes and tended to dress in Hawaiian shirts and trousers. Xander came from a dysfunctional family; both of his parents were alcoholics. But he was healthy and happily dating a girl named Anya.

Anya was originally from Sweden, but she lived in the United States because her father had gotten a job transfer and brought his family with him. Anya had shoulder length blonde hair and brown eyes. She was very talkative and open-minded, always saying what she wanted to say. Most of her comments left everybody else speechless for a few seconds; mainly because she liked to talk about other people’s sex lives and money.

And then there was Buffy’s boyfriend, Liam Jones, better known as Angel. The star player of the university’s football team, Angel also came from a rich family. He had spiky brown hair and brown eyes. All the girls wanted him. As the head cheerleader and star football player, Buffy and Angel made the perfect couple.

“Hey babe.” Angel greeted her, lightly kissing her on the lips.

“Hi.” She greeted him back.

“How did the English test go?’ Xander asked, sitting down next to Anya at the table.

Buffy groaned.

“That bad?” Anya asked. “See this is why you should have taken Economics, Buffy. It’s so much more useful to talk about money than about stuffy dead Englishmen. You know, other Giles’.”

“I beg your pardon?” came a voice from the office door. “I’ll have you know I’m nothing like Shakespeare.”

“Very true. You, unlike Shakespeare, are alive and wear glasses.” Anya remarked.

Buffy snorted in laughter as she watched Giles remove his glasses and polish them with his handkerchief, a sign of frustration or embarrassment. Rupert Giles was the librarian and a kind of substitute father to all six of the students. He was in his late forties, came from England, and liked to wear tweed suits. His hair was brown with some gray and he wore glasses. He was a real bookwork who loved his job.

“Also, Rupert has a steady girlfriend, something that Shakespeare didn’t even know existed.” Said Jenny, as she walked into the library and smiled at her boyfriend.

Jenny was in her early forties. She had short black hair and she was a single mother. She was a very modern woman who was really into computers, technology, and the internet. Giles arrived in Sunnydale around the same time that Buffy did. Even though Giles hated computers, he fell in love with a woman who loved them.

“Good, you’re all here.” Jenny said, looking around and walking over to Giles. “If you could all pay attention, Rupert and I would like to tell you something.”

“What is it mom?” Willow asked.

“Seeing as you all have your exams this week, we have decided to take you all on a month long ski trip to France!”

“Wow!”

“Awesome!”

“Cool!”

“All of us?”

“Sounds good.”

“So this was your secret?” Willow asked, smiling from ear to ear.

Jenny nodded.

“We have already spoken to your parents and they all agree to let you go. We leave on Saturday morning, by plane, and three cars will pick us up at the airport to drive us to our destination.” Giles added.

“Um, Giles? Why do we need three cars to take us?” Buffy asked.

“Because you girls are going to pack so much that one whole car will be needed just for your luggage.” Angel answered.

All four girls scowled at him.

“No, actually we will be needing another car because I invited my nephew, William, to join us. And he has decided to bring his girlfriend with him as well.” Giles explained.

“So there are going to be ten of us? And five couples? An orgasm filled month!” Anya exclaimed happily.

“Filled with whatever, we can’t wait. Thanks Giles, Jenny. This is really nice of both of you.” Buffy said, smiling at the adults. The others agreed.

“So, how did your exams go today?” Jenny asked.

“Oh it was a nightmare...”


Chapter 1:

Author's Note: First of all, thank you for all the reviews, they really did make this chapter come faster. Also a huge thanks to Melanie. More reviews are always nice, so do not hesitate to write if you like the way it's going. Well, enough of that, read on!!

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to American Airlines. We hope your flight is enjoyable and our flight attendants are here to ensure your ride is as pleasant as possible. All seatbacks and tray tables must remain in the upright and locked position during take off and landing. All carry on luggage must be stored in an overhead compartment or underneath the seat in front of you. Please keep your seatbelt on until the light above you turns off. If you are seated in an emergency exit aisle and feel as though you are unable or unwilling to help in the case of an emergency, please notify a flight attendant immediately. All electrical equipment, including cell phones, two way pagers, portable CD players, laptops, etcetera, should remain in the off position until the pilot notifies us that we are at a safe flying altitude of ten thousand feet. In case of an emergency...”

Buffy took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose. She hated flying more than anything. She always got very nervous on airplanes. Watching movies like “Bounce” and “Air Force One” probably didn’t help the matter. Just her luck too, a fifteen hour flight to France.

“Giles, remind me again why we have to go all the way to France, when America has mountains as well?” Buffy asked, trying hard not to panic.

“Um, we wanted to test your knowledge in French.” Giles answered, smiling kindly at her.

“You know, there is this wonderful country called Canada just a few hours away from Sunnydale, or L.A. for that matter.”

“So Giles, how are we going to be divided into rooms?” Anya asked.

“We have rented five apartments in all. Four apartments have two bedrooms and the other one has one bedroom. You youngsters will stay in the two bedroom apartments and Giles and I will be in the one bedroom apartment. Girls together and boys together.” Jenny answered.

“Well that’s kind of unfair. I mean, what if Xander and I want to have sex? We’ll have to wait till the other person is gone, while you two can do it whenever you want.” Anya protested.

Giles turned a deep crimson and started polishing his glasses furiously. Jenny blushed as well. Willow shuddered.

“Ok Anya. Thank you very much for that unwanted imagery now stuck in my head.” Willow said.

“You’re welcome!” Anya answered brightly.

Buffy smiled and closed her eyes. Maybe some sleep would help calm her nerves.

She woke up with a start when the plane shook. Her eyes flew open.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty.” Angel greeted her, smiling from the seat next to hers.

“What time is it?” Buffy asked, looking around at the other passengers. None of them looked at all nervous.

“It’s nearly twelve o’clock Buffy. You’ve been asleep for almost five hours. We’ll be in New York in three hours.”

Buffy leaned her head back and groaned. Another ten hours until they reached Paris. This was plain torture. She felt a hand on her thigh, moving upwards. She smiled and then stopped his hand before it came too close to its destination. She opened her eyes and turned to a confused Angel.

“Angel, what are you doing?”

“I thought that was pretty obvious.” He answered.

“Ok. Look, Angel, I am on an airplane and I’m pretty much scared shitless. I don’t really want to have sex with your right now.”

Angel gaped at her, set his jaw and stood up. Buffy watched him sit down next to Oz.

“Fuck.” She muttered.

“What happened?” Willow asked, sitting down in Angel’s vacated seat. Buffy turned to her.

“I just said no to Angel.” She explained.

Willow’s eyes widened comically before she burst out laughing. Some passengers turned their heads in her direction. Her laughter made Anya walk over to them and sit down.

“What’s so funny?”

“Buffy just said no to Angel.” Willow answered, trying to catch her breath.

“Bullshit! Really? Angel wanted to have sex with you on a plane and you said no?”

Buffy nodded.

“About time.” Anya said, nodding to reaffirm her thoughts.

“Anya is right Buffy.”

“So it doesn’t make me a bad girlfriend?” Buffy asked softly.

Both Anya and Willow shook their heads.

“Of course not. Buffy, everyone knows you’re scared of airplanes. If Angel really cared about you, he’d understand your not wanting to.”

“That and you finally stood up to him. For too long, he’s had the power in the relationship. You’ve just proven to him that you are not going to pleasure him whenever he wants. Bravo Buffy!”

Buffy smiled at her two friends.

“Thanks guys. Um, listen Anya, would it be ok if Willow and I could be in the same apartment?”

“Of course. I mean I knew from the beginning that you two would want to be together if possible.”

“Are you sure?” Willow asked.

“Yes. I mean, we’re only going to sleep there anyway. The rest of the time we can still be together right?”

“Definitely.”

Anya smiled brightly at them.

“So Giles, tell us about your nephew.” Willow said, turning to Giles.

“Well, his name is William. He is 24 years old and attends Harvard. He was always a little shy, his nose always stuck in a book. I haven’t spoken to him in some time.” Giles answered.

“How long is this ‘some time’?” Buffy asked.

“Let me think. Maybe three or four years. I’m not quite certain.”

The three girls looked at each other.

“Three or four years? That’s a long time. A lot could have happened in that long. He could have changed. He could be a mass murderer for all we know. And you’re just blindly leading us to our gruesome and painful deaths. Oh God, I’m too young to die.” Anya said, turning white at her own words.

Giles sighed.

“I very much doubt that Anya. William just isn’t the kind of person who would change like that.”

“Says you. It’s always the shy ones though. They are mostly the ones who become mass murderers when they grow up. It’s cause they keep getting bullied at school so they hate a lot of people.”

“Yes, well, we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?’

“Damn right. But if you wake up dead, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Buffy and Willow chuckled.

“How long is it from Paris to wherever it is that we are going?” Buffy asked.

“Six hours by car, minimum. And it’s Les Arcs.”

“What’s Les Arcs?”

“The place where we are going. It’s a village in the French Alps.” Giles explained.

“Cool, have you been there before?” Willow asked.

“No, I haven’t been there. The hotel we will be staying in is new. It only opened this year. They have a swimming pool, a fitness room, Jacuzzi, sauna, restaurants and cafeterias. And it’s right next to the slopes.”

“Sounds really nice Giles.” Buffy said.

“I hope it will be nice Buffy. Oh and I wanted to ask you girls something. Since we are taking three cars, we need to get divided. Jenny and I have decided that one car will take four people and two cars will take three people. I will be the one who will go with three other people, Jenny will go with two other people and I wanted to ask one of you girls if you could go with William and his girlfriend.”

“I’d love to go with them, if it’s ok with you two?” Buffy suggested. Willow and Anya nodded their ok.

“Wonderful. Thank you very much Buffy.” Giles said, smiling happily at Buffy.

“No problem. If I survive this journey, I think I can handle a six hour long drive with your shy nephew and his little girlfriend.”

Giles smiled and turned back to his newspaper. Willow left to sit with Oz and Anya went to talk to Jenny, leaving Buffy alone again. She looked at her watch. Another two hours to go. Sighing, Buffy closed her eyes and thought about the holiday in front of her. A whole month without school and without worrying about anything except if her friends will like their presents or not. And she can meet new people. She was especially interested in this William. Giles’ nephew. Without even realizing it, she started imagining what he might look like, would he have glasses? Would his hair be brown, blonde or black?

“Ladies and gentlemen, we will be boarding in New York in ten minutes. Please put on your seatbelts. We hope you had a good flight and thank you for flying American Airlines. We hope you fly with us in the future. Good day.”

Buffy opened her eyes. They were in New York?

“Finally, two hours of peace.” She said to herself before standing up and retrieving her things. She followed everyone out of the plane and into the airport.

“Ok kids, we have two hours. Do what you have to do and we’ll meet at gate 6. Ok well-” Giles stopped when his mobile phone rang. “Excuse me. You can go if you want.”

Angel automatically took off with Xander and Oz. Anya and Willow left as well, leaving Buffy alone with Jenny and Giles.

“Hello? Oh, hello William…That’s wonderful...All right…Why don’t we meet at the main entrance? We’ll be the big group with three brunettes, one redhead, two blondes, a lady with black hair and me…All right. See you in ten hours. Bye.”

Giles hung up, turned to the two women and stopped at their expressions.

“What?”

“We’ll be the big group with three brunettes, one redhead, two blondes, a lady with black hair and me? What kind of a description is that?” Buffy asked.

“He’ll know us. Trust me.” Giles answered confidently.

Jenny and Buffy looked at each other, rolled their eyes and followed Giles to a cafeteria for some coffee.

Three hours later, the gang was on a plane again. Angel was still not talking to Buffy. He was sitting with the boys, heatedly discussing something. Willow and Anya noticed this as well.

“Forget him Buffy. He’s just doing this to annoy you.” Willow comforted her.

“Well, it’s working like a charm.” Buffy muttered through clenched teeth.

“Why don’t we watch the movie they’re going to put on?” Anya suggested.

“Yeah, I heard it was going to be “You’ve Got Mail.” You like that movie.” Willow added.

Buffy lightened up a bit.

“Ok. Oh, look, it’s starting.”

With that the three friends turned their attention to the screen. By the end of the movie they were all teary.

“God that movie is so naïve. But I love it anyway.” Anya commented as Tom Hanks kissed Meg Ryan at the end.

“I know. Do you think they’re going to show anything else?” Buffy asked.

“I think so. I mean we still have at least three hours left.” Willow said.

Five or ten minutes later another movie began. All three girls smiled widely as they saw what it was.

“Pirates of the Caribbean!” they exclaimed in unison.

“I absolutely love this film!” Willow shrieked.

“Hey Jenny. You wanna watch this. Trust us!” Anya called across the plane. Jenny turned around and smiled.

“I know. Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Yummy!”

“Jenny!” they heard Giles exclaim. The three girls burst out laughing. Soon, the whole plane was quiet as the passengers were drawn into the story. As the plane landed in Paris at seven o’clock, Buffy sighed in relief and sent a little prayer to whoever was looking out for her. When they were all off the plane, the gang went to retrieve their luggage. As Buffy waited for her two suitcases, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around, finding herself face to chest with Angel. She looked up into his eyes. He was frowning, almost scowling as if talking to her was the last thing he wanted to be doing. She gulped.

“Listen, about the plane incident…I don’t know why you weren’t in the mood. I know you don’t like panes, but I only wanted to get you to relax. We have four weeks ahead of us and I refuse to spend them fighting with you. So lets act like the adults that I hope we are, and put this whole thing behind us. Ok?”

Buffy blinked at him, tears of frustration and pain forming in her eyes. She blinked them away and nodded.

“Good.” Angel said and looked behind her. Buffy turned around. Willow was smiling at them, unaware of the conversation they had just had.

“Hi, you seemed kind of busy, so I thought I’d get your bags.” She said, indicating the bags and trolley at their feet.

“Thanks Will.” Buffy said, smiling a bit at her best friend. They put their bags on the trolley and followed Giles and the others to the main entrance. Along the way Buffy noticed phones and made a note to call her parents. They reached the main entrance lobby.

“Giles, I need to make a call. I’ll be right back.” She said, before turning around and heading back the way they had come.

She found the phones easily. The only problem was that they were all being used. No, one was free. It was kind of hard to notice, though, thanks to the kissing couple in front of it. A man with platinum blonde hair and a woman with long black hair were wrapped around each other. Not wanting to be rude, Buffy tried to move around them. That didn’t work. She tried clearing her throat, but to no avail.

“Excuse-moi.” She tried in French. Nothing. Either they weren’t French, or didn’t hear her.

“Excuse me.” She tried again.

Nothing.

“Excuse me!” she nearly shouted. That seemed to work. They broke apart. The man looked at her while the woman started kissing his neck.

“What?” he growled, while looking her up and down. She didn’t like that look, especially the way his gaze stopped in some areas longer than it should have. She could feel herself blushing under his eyes and hated him even more for it. She hadn’t blushed because of a boy since she was 14. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.

“You’re blocking my way.” She answered.

“Way to where?” he asked with a British accent.

“The phone.”

“There are other phones here you know.”

“No, really?”

“No, really.”

She almost smiled. Almost, but his sneer stopped her.

“Well, they’re being used. The one behind you isn’t.”

“Your point being?”

“I would like to use it.” She answered as calmly as she could.

“Oh.” Was all he said. Instead of moving out of her way, he brought his girlfriend’s face to his and kissed her again. Buffy gaped at them before turning on her heel and walking back to her group. She sat down with a ‘humph.’

“What’s wrong?” Willow asked. “What did your parents say?”

“Nothing. I didn’t get to talk to them.”

“Why not?”

“Because some guy and his girlfriend were having a make-out fest right in front of the phone. And when I asked them to move, he just made me all ‘aarrgghh!’”

“What did he look like?” Anya asked, joining them.

“What does it matter what he looked like?’ Willow asked her incredulously.

“Just curious. It’s not every day somebody gets under Buffy’s skin like that. My guess is that the reason she’s so ‘aarrgghh’ is cause she’s attracted to him.” Anya said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. She even rolled her eyes.

“Oh please. Like I would be attracted to-”

“Uncle Rupert!” everyone turned to the voice.

“-him.” Buffy finished, her face a mask of horror.


Chapter Two

Anya’s and Willow’s mouths dropped open. Walking towards Giles was a young man wearing tight black jeans, a black shirt, and a black leather coat. He had very defined cheekbones, sparkling blue eyes and full lips. His hair was obviously dyed, because it was impossible for someone to have hair so blonde it was almost white.

But Anya and Willow weren’t the only ones that were staring, as though mesmerized, in his direction. Angel was as well. Only his eyes couldn’t get enough of the woman standing next to the blonde. The tall, thin woman was wearing a long blood red skirt and black blouse, with a long red coat. Her face was pale, her eyes brown and her lips dark red.

It took a while for everyone to come out of their initial shocks. Giles cleared his throat.

“William?” he asked a little uncertainly.

The man nodded. Giles smiled and walked over to his nephew, embracing him like a father would his favorite son.

“Oh this cannot be happening.” Buffy muttered.

Anya and Willow finally tore their eyes away from William and looked at her.

“Please tell me that Giles did not just call that man William. Please, Willow.”

“I would if it was true. You know how bad I am at lying.” Willow answered, smiling sympathetically at her best friend.

“Oh God.” Buffy moaned.

Meanwhile, Giles had let go of William and was looking him up and down.

“What in God’s name have you done to your hair?” he finally asked.

“I dyed it.”

“And your clothing. William-”

“See, I told you! I told you that four years is a very long time. He’s changed, hasn’t he? Well obviously since you couldn’t recognize him.” Anya said, standing up and walking over to them.

Giles sighed.

“Yes, but he’s not a mass murderer now is he?”

“How do you know? Murderers don’t usually wear buttons saying ‘I’m a murderer, ask me how,’ do they?”

“She has a point.” Oz said, also joining the group.

“He doesn’t look like a mass murderer. They usually wear cloaks and carry axes.” Xander put in.

William just looked from one person to another, a bemused smile on his face. The only people who hadn’t spoken were the dark haired woman by his uncle’s side and the man openly staring at his girlfriend. He frowned. There were two people missing from the group. A red head and another blonde. He looked around and his eyes fell upon two women sitting by the wall. One of them was a redhead. And the other one was-

“I’m sorry, what?” William tore his eyes away from the blonde he had annoyed by the phone and focused on Anya.

“I asked if you were a mass murderer, William?”

“Not of late, no. And the name’s Spike.”

Anya smiled.

“Hi. I’m Anya. This is my boyfriend Xander. That’s Angel and Oz. this is Jenny. And over there is Oz’s girlfriend Willow and, well, you already know Buffy.” She said, introducing everyone.

Spike looked at the two girls by the wall. The redhead smiled and waved at him, while the blonde avoided his gaze.

“Right. This is Drusilla.” Spike said, putting his arm around the black-haired woman’s waist. “My girlfriend.” He added, looking pointedly at Angel.

For his part, Angel just scowled at him. Drusilla smiled at everyone.

“Pleased to meet you all.” She said.

Giles clapped his hands.

“Well, now that we’re all acquainted, we really should get going. The cars are waiting outside. Everyone follow me, please.”

Everybody took a trolley and followed Giles outside. It was eight thirty and December, so it came as no shock that it was dark. The fact that it was raining didn’t surprise anyone either. However, three chauffeurs did surprise Buffy.

“Fred? Gunn? Lorne?”

“Morning Buffy.” They greeted her, wide smiles on each of their faces.

The Scooby Gang plus Spike and Drusilla looked back and forth between them, trying to figure out how these people knew each other.

“Giles, how did you get these cars?”

“A gift from your father actually.” Giles answered, a bit uncomfortable.

Everyone turned to look at her. She felt her face flush. Just like her father to have to show everyone that they had money. Remind everyone who they were. She felt her eyes fill with tears and she blinked them back furiously. She really did not want to cry in front of all her friends. And especially not in front of Spike and Drusilla. Her eyes flickered to look at the two of them. Drusilla was now looking at the three expensive cars instead of at her. Spike was still eyeing her with a frown on his face. His eyes looked angry. She wondered why.

Shaking her head to clear it of thoughts concerning what Spike thought of her, she turned to Fred, Gunn and Lorne. She smiled happily as she saw her old friends after nearly two years.

“It’s really great to see you again.” She said, walking over and hugging them.

While this was going on, the rest of the gang loaded the baggage into the three cars. They were big, silver cars. Kia Sorentos. Cars that were ideal for rough terrain and lots of baggage.

“I’m riding with Fred.” Buffy announced, before moving to the last car and getting in the front passenger seat.

“Which one of you is Fred?” Angel asked, looking at the three drivers. One of them was a woman their age, with long wavy brown hair and big brown eyes. She was a round 1.70m and thin, with a friendly smile. The man next to her was black. His head was shaved and his brown eyes swept over them, as if daring them to comment on his skin color. The third chauffeur was also a man. He was white with spiky light brown hair and brown eyes. His head was bopping up and down to a song only he could hear. He looked to be the oldest of the three.

The woman stepped forward and smiled at everyone.

“Hi, I’m Fred. This is Gunn,” she said pointing at the black man, “and that’s Lorne.”

Gunn nodded his head at them, turned around and then went to the second car. He got in and turned on the ignition. Lorne smiled widely at them.

“Hello, pumpkins. Would whoever wants to go with me, come with me please?” he greeted them and went to the first car, got in and turned on the ignition.

“Well, my group is Willow, Oz and Anya. Angel and Xander, you and Jenny go with Gunn. William-”

“Spike.” Spike reminded him.

“Please, I will not call you Spike. That is a dog’s name.” Giles protested.

“Don’t worry, my Spike is a good doggy.” Drusilla said.

“Yes, well, you two go with Fred here.” Giles said, cleaning his glasses again, making Xander snigger. Giles shot him a look, which made Xander hightail to the car. Angel and Jenny followed him.

“Well, see you in eight hours or so.” Giles said.

“If they survive. Buffy looked like she was capable of murder.” Anya answered, getting into their car. Willow smiled and she and Oz sat next to Anya in the back seat.

“William, do be behave yourself.” Giles said, opening the car door.

“It’s Spike!” Spike answered as Giles got in and closed the door, leaving Spike, Drusilla and Fred alone.

“So, you’re Spike?’ she asked.

He nodded.

“And you are?”

“Drusilla.”

“Right, ok. Well, we’d better get going. We have a long drive ahead of us.” Fred said, leading them to the last car.

Spike and Dru got into the back seat, and watched Fred get behind the wheel. She locked all the doors, put on her seatbelt, fixed the rearview mirror and turned on the ignition. She put the car into drive and followed the other cars into the busy traffic.

“Seatbelts on please. Drivers in this country are crazy. Don’t want any accidents.” Fred said cheerfully.

Spike, Drusilla and Buffy did as they were told.

“I’m so sorry Fred.” Buffy said as they made it to the highway.

By this time, Drusilla had fallen asleep and Spike had been dozing off as well, when her voice broke the silence in the car. He kept his eyes closed but listened to their conversation. He was very interested in what the pretty little rich girl was so very sorry for.

Fred looked at Buffy and back at the road.

“For what?”

Buffy turned to her childhood friend.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“No, I don’t think I do.”

“Damn it Fred! We grew up together! You, Gunn and Lorne are like family to me, do you understand?” Buffy hissed, tears falling down her face.

“What are you sorry for?”

“I didn’t know this would happen. I never wanted this for any of you. You three don’t deserve this.”

Fred took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Why didn’t you leave after I left?”

“And go where?”

“Anywhere! Fred, you are like Einstein, only way better looking and a girl. You could have gotten into any school.”

“But I do go to school. I attend UCLA.”

“Oh, well that’s good.”

“Look, you father asked us to stay. Said that he needed us to help Dawn with her education.”

“So then what the hell are you doing here? In France, driving us to Les Arcs.”

Fred smiled mischievously.

“Wanted to see France. Always been my dream, you know that. And when Dawn mentioned you were coming here, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. We get to see you again and Charles and I can enjoy our one year anniversary in the so called country of love.”

Buffy looked sideways at Fred, her tears forgotten, a smile on her face.

“You and Gunn, huh? I was wondering when the two of you would finally hook up. You’ve been making moon eyes at each other ever since you were twelve and found out about the birds and the bees.”

Fred blushed.

“Well, at least we were taught well.” She answered.

It was Buffy’s turn to redden.

“Fred!” she exclaimed. “Well, you sure have changed. Last time I saw you, you were a shy little thing. Now, here you are talking to me about your sex life. I wouldn’t advise you to bring up sex in front of Anya, though. It’s her favorite topic of conversation. Before you even know how it all started she’ll be drawing diagrams. Pretty accurate ones.”

Spike chuckled, revealing himself. Buffy turned around in her seat to look at him with a scowl.

“Were you eavesdropping?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Aren’t you English people supposed to be polite and considerate?”

“There are always exceptions, pet.” He answered, smirking at her.

God, how she hated that smirk. Rolling her eyes, Buffy turned back to the front.

“So, on to more interesting things, how’s everything at home?”

Fred sighed, carefully changing lanes.

“Well, Dawnie is great. Her grades are brilliant, she has lots of friends and is always talking about Connor.”

“Who’s Connor?”

“Only the ‘smartest, funniest, coolest, hottest, and having the thickest boy eyelashes boy in school.’ He’s a year above her and some kind of Casanova. Dawn’s had her eye on him for quite a while now. It would be sweet if it wasn’t so annoying.”

“Ah yes, our little Dawn is joining the world of love and pain. Do you remember when things used to be so simple? You know, “eeww, boys gross cause they have cooties”.”

Fred laughed.

“You mean before you turned eight?” she joked.

“Hey! I was way older before I started being interested in boys in any other way besides punch buddies.”

“Punch buddies? I’m pretty sure you meant “hair pulling buddies”.” Spike interrupted.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Buffy snapped.

“You mean to tell me that you could punch at the age of eight?”

“Why is that so hard to believe?”

“No offense, luv, but you look like a soft breeze could blow you over.”

Fred smiled to herself. This should be a very interesting journey.

* * *

Meanwhile in Lorne’s car…

I will survive
Oh as long as
I know how to love
I know I will survive

Giles winced inwardly as Lorne hit a higher note that should have been possible for a man who wasn’t in great pain. The two girls nattering in the back didn’t help his sleep deprived self either.

I swear, if Anya mentions sex one more time, I’ll sign up for therapy sessions. He thought.


“So, do you think they’re getting along?” Willow asked Anya. She was holding Oz’s hand; he was dead to the world. It was a good thing too. He hadn’t gotten much sleep in the last week, the week of the full moon. He was always restless that time of the month. Willow smiled as she remembered just how restless he got.

“Spike and Buffy? Oh yeah, I’m sure they’re getting along just great.” Anya answered sarcastically, looking out of the window just as Fred’s car passed them by. She nudged Willow, who in turn also looked out of the window. They smiled at the scene. Drusilla was sleeping, Fred looked amused, while Buffy looked ready to shed blood. Spike, for his part, looked quite bored.

“God, I hope he didn’t question her strength. That can make her go on for hours.” Anya said.

In Gunn’s car…

“I don’t like him.” Angel said.

Xander sighed, willing himself to open his eyes and look at his friend.

“You don’t like who?”

“Spike.” Angel spat out the word as if it was poison.

“Why not? You don’t even know him.”

“Please, you can just sense that “Watch out, I’m the Big Bad” vibe on him. And honestly, who wears his hair like that?”

“Billy Idol.”

Angel just rolled his eyes and turned to the window. Slowly, his thoughts stuck on the raven haired beauty who had come with Spike. She really was something else. Something new and exciting. He had never thought of cheating on Buffy, he loved her with all his soul.

But, the darker side of him said, Buffy turned you down. You’re a man, are you just going to let her get away with that? Someone should put her in her place…

Fred’s car…

What had started out as something amusing, soon turned into annoying. Everything Buffy said, Spike disagreed with. And vice versa. And when Fred said everything, she meant everything. Whether is was food, weather, books, kings, or hell, even toothbrushes, they would argue. Right now they were arguing over who had better actors: the English or the Americans.

“Pet, please, you mean to tell me that some Nancy boy Brad Pitt is better than Anthony Hopkins?”

Buffy sighed.

“I didn’t say Brad Pitt, but you have to admit that America has more actors than England. I mean, there’s Leonardo DiCaprio-”

“Oh please, that little boy? He’s not even worth an Oscar.”

“Ok, how about Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks or Kevin Costner? All Americans, and all with Oscars at home. Beat that!”

“Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins-”

“Still hearing the same names. Just admit it, we’re better.”

“Really? How about the Harry Potter movies? They are pure England.”

“That Harry Potter movies? That’s your best defense? Those movies are highly overrated. Anybody who’s actually opened and actually read one of the books would know that the movies are complete crap!”

“Aha! You walked straight into that one, cause who directed them? Chris Columbus! An American. Oh, victory tastes so sweet. You should try tasting it sometime, luv.” Spike finished, sitting back in his seat.

“Oh screw you.”

“No thanks pet.”

“God, you’re a pig.”

“Oink oink.”

“They actually let you into Oxford? What, were they being kind to the mentally unstable?”

“At least I got in. you’re stuck in sweet boring ol’ Sunnyhell.”

“You’d be surprised which schools I go into.”

“Yeah? Prolly watched “Legally Blonde” and were looking for a laugh.”

“Coming from Captain Peroxide, I won’t even take that as an insult.”

“Sure blondie.”

“Get a life, William.”

“It’s Spike!” Spike growled.

“Ooh, scary. Watch me shake in my stylish boots. Any minute now I’ll run away screaming.”

“Hope a car hits you on your way.”

“Only in your dreams.”

“Yeah pet.”

“And stop calling me that. I’m not a dog.”

“Really? Could’ve fooled me.”

“Aarrgghh!”

Yep, this was definitely annoying. Fred just hoped they’d get tired soon. Otherwise she wasn’t sure if she’d survive the next five hours.




Chapter Three

 

A/N: Thank you to Melanie for beta-ing it. Thanks to all the reviews, it’s what keeps us fanfic writers going, so keep them coming. Also, please excuse any mistakes I made in the dialogue that’s in French in the next chapter. I’m still just a beginner. And now, on to the story.
 

After another two exceptionally long hours of arguing, Buffy and Spike finally settled down. Buffy was still fuming from their last argument, Spike was disinterestedly looking at his nails, Drusilla was still asleep, and Fred was just happy that it was quiet.

As they got ever closer to their destination, it began snowing more and more until the three cars were driving at a snail’s pace. Buffy stared at the amount of snow falling outside with wonder. It never snowed in Sunnydale, so this was technically the first time in three years that she would have snow for Christmas. Spike wasn’t so interested and promptly fell asleep as well.

“So, Dawn also wanted me to ask you if you managed to join the Mile High Club on your way here.” Fred told her as they started to go up the hill that would lead them to their hotel.

“Excuse me?” Buffy sputtered.

Fred smiled.

“That’s exactly the kind of reaction I had when she asked me. I told her I’d try and get you to tell me. So, since we’re such good friends, did you?”

Buffy turned an unhealthy shade of red and muttered something under her breath.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get that.”

“No, I didn’t. Angel wanted to but...well you know me and my relationship with planes. I get really scared. So I said no to his offer. He got mad and then he just told me to forget it ever happened and to act like an adult.”

Fred frowned.

“Do you love him Buffy?”

“Do I love him? Good question. I don’t know. I think so. I mean, I care for him, I know I do. And I would never even dream of cheating on him, but he does have his bad sides. Does things I don’t agree with. But then, everyone’s like that, right? I’m sure I do things which drive him up the wall too. Do you love Gunn?”

“Yes.” Fred answered without hesitation.

“Well, I’m glad at least one of us is so sure about her feelings towards her significant other.” Buffy mumbled, turning back to the window. She stayed silent for the rest of the journey, lost in thought.

Did she love Angel? It was such a simple question, one she should be able to answer without hesitation, just like Fred did. Angel was a kind and loving man. She knew that he loved her. They had never actually said those words to each other, but she felt it whenever he looked at her. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in the way he touched her.

She often wondered if the only reason they got together was because he was captain of the football team and she was captain of the cheerleading squad. I mean, did they really have that much in common? Apart from football that is. They liked different movies, listened to different music. He liked fast food, she liked salads. He was a jock, while she got relatively good marks in school. Now that she thought about it, Angel never really got good grades in school. He probably only got in because of his football skills. They were two different people.

But we’ve been together for two years now. That’s gotta count for something…right? Buffy asked herself.

“We’re here!”

Fred’s voice brought her out of her deep thoughts. She looked out of the window. Sure enough, they were in front of a hotel. A whole bunch of hotels, actually. All of them decorated for Christmas. She didn’t have time to look around though, because she was soon pulled out of the car by a very hyper Willow.

“Ooh, Buffy. Look at it. Isn’t it beautiful? Look at all the snow. It’s just like from a fairy tale. Aarrgghh! We’re going to have so much fun here, I can tell! Oh I can’t wait to see the rooms! Come on, let’s go and check in!” Willow squealed, jumping up and down, shaking Buffy’s arm to a point where it began to hurt.

“Ok, ok, ok. Willow, calm down. Take a deep breath and concentrate. We need to get the bags first. Then we can go and check in.” Buffy told her best friend slowly. Anya giggled behind them.

“The little one speaks true, Willow. Come on, the guys have already started unloading.”

Buffy smiled at Willow and followed Anya to the cars. Angel, Spike and Gunn had already gotten most of the baggage, leaving only Buffy’s two suitcases in the trunk.

“Only two suitcases, luv? I’m impressed, I would have thought you would need an extra bag just for your make-up.” Spike commented, raising an eyebrow at her.

“There are always exceptions.” She answered sweetly, smiling at him. Spike smiled back. Then, as if just remembering who he was smiling at, the smile disappeared and he scowled. Buffy frowned at his behavior.

What is his problem? She wondered.

“Come on, come on, come on. I wanna go see our room.” Willow urged, grabbing Buffy’s arm and pulling her towards the entrance of the hotel.

“That is so not true. Legolas is so much better in the second movie.” A male voice said as they entered the foyer.

“Excuse me? He only had three or four lines! The only reason ‘The Two Towers’ was better than ‘The Fellowship of the Rings’ is because of Gollum.” A second voice argued.

There was a pause.

“Ok, good point.”

Buffy and Willow looked at each other before bursting into giggles. The two voices fell silent and two men walked into the reception area. The looked to be in their early twenties. One of them was short, even shorter than Buffy, with brown hair and brown eyes. The other one was slightly taller, with blonde hair and blue eyes, his hair a bit long, falling into his eyes. They were both wearing dark blue uniforms and stared at the two young women in front of them.

“Um…bon jour et bien venue … um…” the brunette began, searching for the correct words. He used to be so good at this.

Buffy smiled at them.

“It’s ok. We’re Americans.” She told them.

Both of them sighed in relief.

“Oh thank God. So, hello and welcome to Les Arcs 1950. My name is Jonathan and this is Andrew. What can we do for you ladies?” Jonathan asked, his face slightly red.

“Well, we were wondering if we could check in. We have a reservation under the name Rupert Giles.” Willow answered.

Andrew smiled happily and turned to the computer. He typed in a few things and whooped victoriously.

“Wow, Jonathan, look at this. Free Web Porn!”

“Ooh, lemme see, lemme see.” He looked at the two girls and cleared his voice. “I mean, Andrew, can’t you see this is not the time? Check if these two ladies have their reservations.” He corrected.

“Oh, right, that.” Andrew mumbled, blushing deeply. He typed in a few more things. “Ah yes, here it is. Rupert Giles. Five apartments. Four with two bedrooms and one with one bedroom. For four weeks.”

“That’s the one. So, can we get our keys?”

“Ah yes, of course. Here they are. Your rooms are in the other building, the one opposite from this one. The four apartments with two bedrooms are on the ground floor, which is shown as -2 on the elevator. Don’t ask me why. And the one bedroom apartment is on the floor above.” Jonathan explained, handing them five cards.

“Thanks so much. You two keep up the good work.” Buffy told them, turning to leave. “Oh, and by the way. ‘The Two Towers’ was better thanks to Viggo Mortensen.” She added, walking out of the hotel.

“She is the perfect woman.” Andrew said.

“Yeah.” Jonathan answered.

“Come on. Free Web Porn awaits!”

* * *

Two hours later, Buffy and Willow emerged from their room. All of their bags were unpacked, the presents hidden, their skis locked away in the locker room, the rooms were thoroughly examined. Their apartment, number 306, was quiet cozy and comfortable.

The entrance door opened into the kitchen/dining and living area. The kitchen was equipped with a stove, a microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator, sink, dishes and cutlery. They had one large wooden table to eat at with five chairs. The living area had a couch for three people, as well as two single sofas. There was a small, wooden coffee table in the middle of the room. Opposite from the large couch was a closet in which there was a TV. In the corner of the room was a door to the terrace.

Opposite the dining table was another door, this one leading to the sleeping area of the apartment. A small corridor joined the two bedrooms and bathrooms. As you stepped into the corridor from the living room, to your right was a door leading to the toilet. In the toilet there was also a small cupboard. Next to the toilet was the bathroom, with a shower and a sink. Opposite the bathroom was the first bedroom. It was relatively small, with two single beds and a window facing the snow covered countryside, as well as the terrace. At the end of the corridor was the door leading to the second bedroom, this one with a queen sized bed. On either side of the bed was a cupboard and above the bed was a shelf. On the left side of the room was a door leading to the terrace and on the right side was a door leading to the second bathroom, this one with a bathtub, toilet and sink.

After a long discussion, the girls had decided that Willow was to sleep in the master bedroom, while Buffy got the room with the two single beds.

Talking happily the two girls went outside to see what the hotel they were staying at looked like from the outside.

It had seven floors altogether, each with 20 apartments. That meant that their hotel had 140 apartments. But that was only their hotel, which was in fact the smallest one of the group. There were also two bigger ones, and three more were still being built.

The buildings varied in color. Some were pink; others were orange, while the rest were from pure, grey stone. Each apartment had a balcony, or terrace depending on the floor it was on, which was decorated with snow covered branches of pine needles.

The three buildings all surrounded a square, little shops and cafes facing the courtyard. There were sports shops, souvenir shops, as well as pubs and restaurants. Next to the reception room was a little cabin where the group would be picking up their ski passes. Right now, the girls were more interested in the finer aspects of the hotels: the Jacuzzi, fitness room and swimming pool.

To their surprise, they found out that the Jacuzzi was situated outside, two in front of each hotel building. The swimming pool was inside the main building, with a length of 25 m and a width of 10 m. Buffy couldn’t wait to try it out. The fitness room was also very pleasing, fully equipped with a mat, a stationary bike, bars and a stepper.

“Oh, I can’t wait to try out everything. This month is going to be really good for getting into shape. I’ve kind of been slipping in practice lately.” Buffy told Willow as they walked around outside, the snow falling in large flakes around them.

“I know, I saw you last training. How is Emily by the way? Hope she didn’t break anything.” Willow answered, smiling.

Buffy shuddered. The training Willow was talking about was still fresh in her memory. They had been practicing a new routine which included helping girls do cartwheels. Buffy was one of the helpers and accidentally threw the girl across the gym hall.

“No, thank God. She just bumped her head, that’s all.” Buffy answered.

Both girls turned around as they heard a chuckle behind them. Buffy rolled her eyes as she looked at a gleeful Spike. Great, this is just great. Another reason for him to tease me. God, why do you hate me? Buffy thought, looking up at the sky.

“How did poor Emily bump her head?” Spike asked, taking a drag from his lit cigarette and blowing the smoke in Buffy’s face, making her cough.

“None of your business.” She snapped.

“She threw her across the room during cheerleading practice.” Anya supplied, walking up to them with Xander.

Spike looked at Anya, trying to figure out if they were pulling his leg. But judging from the look on Buffy’s face, he knew they weren’t. He studied Buffy for a minute longer before bursting out laughing. The fact that her face turned even redder from his laughter, made his mirth increase.

“It’s really not that funny.” Buffy grumbled, glaring at Anya. Anya just shrugged and looked worriedly at Spike, who was now bent over trying to catch his breath and failing badly.

“It was. Anyway, Giles asked me to ask you if you could get the ski passes, seeing as you speak French the best.” Anya answered, bending down to look at Spike’s face. It was red and tears were streaming down his face.

“You know, man, maybe you should cut back on the smoking. It’s not good for your health.” Xander told him.

“No kidding.” Spike wheezed, standing up straight. “Why don’t I go and get the passes?” he suggested, wiping his eyes.

“Why? I think I can handle it.” Buffy answered, turning around and walking to the cabin. Spike followed her.

“I never said you couldn’t, but I honestly doubt the guy will understand sign language.” He protested, unconsciously opening the door for her. She walked through and rounded on him, nearly making him bump into her.

“And why would I need to use sign language? You think I can’t speak French? That just because I don’t attend some fancy British school I’m stupid? Is that what you’re saying?” she asked, glaring up at him.

“Well…yeah.” Spike answered, glaring back.

“Est tout bien?” (Is everything alright?) A voice asked behind them. Buffy jumped at the sudden intrusion and turned around. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the man standing behind the glass dividing his office from the main part of the little cabin, a worried expression on his face.

Spike opened his mouth to answer, but Buffy beat him to it.

“Oui, tout est beau.” (Yes, everything is fine.) She answered in fluent French. Spike looked at her, shocked.

“Bon. Comment peux-je vous aider?” (Good. How can I help you?)

“J’ai une réservation pour 10 passes de ski, pour quatre semaines, commençant demain. C’est sous le nom Rupert Giles.” (I have a reservation for 10 ski passes, for four weeks, starting tomorrow. It is under the name Rupert Giles.) Buffy answered, walking to the glass.

The man opened several shelves until he found what he was looking for.

“Ah oui, ici c’est. Ici, votre passe. Apprécie votre séjour et ski sans accident.” (Ah yes, here it is. Here, your passes. Enjoy your stay and ski safely.) He said, handing her 10 passes.

Buffy took them and smiled.

“Merci beaucoup. Au revoir.” (Thank you very much. Goodbye.) She said, smiling one more time and leaving. She passed Spike on her way.

“You should close your mouth, you could swallow a fly.” she told him before walking out of the cabin.

Spike’s jaw snapped as he quickly closed his mouth. The man behind him chuckled.

“She is a feisty one, that one.” He said in English.

“That she is mate, that she is.” Spike answered, shaking his head and following the little blonde into the snow.



Chapter Four

“Argh, that guy has some nerve. He had the indecency to call me stupid! Me, stupid. Do you think I’m stupid?” Buffy asked, turning to her best friend. Willow moved back in her seat, as far away from Buffy as possible. Her eyes were flashing with anger.

“No, of course not. You are very bright and intelligent. Spike was just, well, surprised?” she suggested, looking at Anya for help. Anya snorted.

“That’s an understatement. From the way Buffy described it, he was probably as shocked as Billy Crystal was in ‘When Harry Met Sally’ when he found out that it was so easy to fake an orgasm. The look on his face must have been priceless. A real KODAK moment. Too bad you didn’t have a camera Buffy.”

Buffy smiled at this, some of the anger seeping away from her.

“Yeah, his expression was funny. The kind cartoons have when they see a real cartoon babe. You know, the whole ‘jaw on the floor’ face.”

“Like I said, a real KODAK moment.” Anya repeated.

Buffy nodded, sitting down on the couch.

“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Willow asked, relieved that the tension in the room had fled.

“We ski. I already talked to Giles about it, when I gave him the ski passes. We’ve decided that we’ll be in groups of two and three. Angel, Spike and Drusilla are going to try out the harder slopes; while Anya, Jenny and I teach you guys how to ski. Jenny will be with Giles, Anya with Xander and I’ll be Oz’s and your ski instructor.” Buffy answered.

“Sounds like a good plan. How long do you think it’ll take us to learn?”

“A week probably. Skiing isn’t really hard. You just need good balance and courage. That’s all.” Anya answered.

Willow nodded, looking outside. It was still snowing. She opened her mouth to comment on the amount of snow in front of their window, when someone knocked on their door.

“I’ll get it.” Anya said, standing up and walking to the door saying: “If you’re in search of many orgasms, all of us have boyfriends. But maybe they’ll be willing to let you join in.” she finished as she opened the door, revealing a smirking Spike. She smiled widely at him. “Spike! I meant what I just said.”

“I’m sure you did and as tempting as the offer is, I have to decline. I would, however, feel very privileged if I could escort two very charming ladies upstairs for hot chocolate around the fireplace.” Spike answered, looking over Anya’s shoulder at Willow who was blushing. She looked at Buffy and closed her eyes at the outburst she knew was going to happen, before it even came.

“Excuse me?! Two charming ladies? What am I, air?”

“Like I said, Anya, Red, shall we?” Spike asked, ignoring Buffy.

Buffy just gaped at him before standing up and walking over to the door. Spike was standing in the doorway, smirking at her.

“Get out of my way.” She told him calmly.

“Or you’ll do what?” he challenged.

Buffy smiled and raised her arm. Just as she was about to swing, someone grabbed her arm from behind. Buffy spun around, facing Willow, who shook her head, her eyes telling her to let it go. Buffy sighed and lowered her hand, glared at Spike one last time and walked to the bathroom, slamming the door. Spike watched the exchange in silence, but had the decency to wince when Willow looked at him.

“That was unnecessary.” She told him.

Spike shrugged and moved out into the hallway, waiting for Willow and Anya to join him. Anya closed the door and the three of them proceeded to go upstairs. Five minutes later Buffy arrived as well. She looked around the semi-crowded room before walking to one corner.

Willow, Oz, Xander, Jenny and Giles were all sitting around one table, playing cards. Anya and Spike were sitting and talking in front of the fire, while Angel and Drusilla were in another corner, also talking. Buffy walked to the corner occupied by Fred, Gunn and Lorne. Fred and Lorne looked up and smiled at her as she sat down.

“Hi guys.”

“Hi Buffy.” They answered.

“How have you been?”

“Why aren’t you sitting with your friends?” Gunn asked abruptly, interrupting Lorne as he was about to answer. All three heads turned to him, frowns and shock on their faces.

“Gunn!” Fred scolded him. Gunn just glared at her.

“No, Fred, it’s ok. Do you have something to say Charles? Because if you do, I’m all ears.”

Gunn just scowled and shook his head.

“Good. So, Lorne, what’s new in the world of music?” Buffy asked, smiling at the slightly older man. Lorne smiled back at her and started talking about his favorite subject. After a few minutes of sulking, Gunn joined in. soon they were all arguing good-naturedly about rap, hip-hop, pop and techno. It was just like old times. Buffy was so wrapped up in the conversation that she didn’t notice when two members of their group left the room.

Meanwhile in the other corner…

“So, what’s England like?” Angel asked, instantly cringing at how stupid that sounded. Drusilla just laughed merrily.

“England is lovely, ’cept for the weather. Sometimes it can get down right depressing, what about California?” she asked, sipping her hot chocolate carefully.

“California is great. Sunshine all year round. It’s really great for playing football.”

“You play?”

Angel nodded.

“It’s how I met Buffy.”

Drusilla smiled.

“Does she play?”

Angel shook his head, chuckling.

“No, she’s the head cheerleader. She can cheer, but doesn’t know all that much about the sport.” He answered.

“Spike plays football too. Only the one where the players actually use their feet.”

“Cool. How about you? What sports do you do?”

“Skiing and riding.”

“Are you any good?”

Drusilla smiled mysteriously.

“I haven’t heard any complaints.” She answered, setting down her cup and licking her chocolate covered lips. Angel followed her tongue with his eyes. Drusilla leaned forward and asked huskily:

“Do you want to go to my room?”

Angel opened his lips to answer, but his eyes ticked to Buffy and he shut his mouth. Drusilla followed his gaze.

“Just to talk, so we can get to know each other a bit better.” She assured him. Angel looked back at her and nodded. Drusilla smiled and stood up.

“Come to room 300 in five minutes.”

Across the room, Anya watched Angel get up and leave in the opposite direction of his apartment, frowning. Where was he going? And where’s Drusilla?

“So, Anya, you’re not a Yankee, are you?” Spike asked her, sipping his hot chocolate with those little marshmallows.

“No, actually I’m not. I’m Swedish.”

“Really? I’ve never been to Sweden.”

“You should go someday. It’s a really beautiful country. I’ve never been to England either.”

“Oh well, not much to miss. Just some red phone booths, double-deckers and polluted air.”

Anya smiled briefly before putting down her cup and looking at Spike with a serious expression.

“Spike. I know that I don’t know you that well and that it might not be in my place to tell you what to do, but I am a very open minded person, so I will. I don’t know what you have against Buffy, and to be honest I don’t really care. Buffy is one of my closest friends and I care about her. She is a good person, very caring and fun to be with. You don’t even know her, so why the hostility? To an innocent observer it may look like sexual tension, but you’re both in a relationship. I just hope that Drusilla is a better partner than Angel. Either way I can’t tell you to fuck until you work out your differences. But I am going to tell you to either give her a chance or stay away from her, because I would hate to have to hurt you.

Spike looked at her for a minute and then at Buffy. She was sitting in a corner with the three chauffeurs, laughing at something Lorne had said. He looked back at Anya and nodded.

Anya smiled happily.

“Good. That done, let’s move on to getting to know each other a little better. Tell me, have you ever thought of doing it in a threesome?”

Spike chocked on his drink, looking at Anya with wide eyes. She just watched him expectantly. Shaking his head, he chuckled.

Peculiar girl.



Chapter Five

“Willow!” Buffy sang, opening the door to her best friend’s bedroom. “Wakey wakey!”

Willow mumbled something into her pillow and turned her back on Buffy. Sighing, Buffy walked to the window and threw back the curtains, attempting to wake Willow using light instead of words. She frowned when no sunshine shone through. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned back to Willow and sing-songed:

“Rise and shine sleepy head! It’s a dark new day!”

Willow groaned and opened one eye to look at Buffy. She took in her combed hair, fitting white ski trousers and grey turtle neck and frowned.

“What time is it?” she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“7:30.” Buffy answered.

Willow’s eyes widened in shock.

“7:30?! Buffy, are you insane?! It’s the holidays! You don’t wake up at 7:30 during the holidays.”

“I know.” Buffy answered. Willow nodded her head, glad that she had won the argument and lay back down. “I woke up at 6:30. Come on, breakfast is on the table. We’re going to have to go shopping, though. We need milk, bread, cereal, butter. Maybe I should just make a whole list.” Buffy said as she walked out of the bedroom, leaving a grumbling Willow to follow her reluctantly.

She sat down across from Buffy and poured herself some coffee as she watched her best friend write a list.

“I have it all planned.” Buffy said, putting down her pen and looking at Willow.

“Got what planned?”

“The holiday. I know you aren’t as sporty as me and I don’t expect you to do everything I plan on doing. But, seeing as I am going to be your ski instructor, I’m going to ask you to do your best, ok? Cause skiing is really fun. You’ll love it! So here’s my plan: I wake up at 6:30, get ready and make breakfast. I wake you up at 7:30 and we have breakfast together. Giles said the whole group is going to meet at 8:45 in the courtyard. We go to the bus stop and take the nine o’clock bus to Les Arcs 2000. We ski till 12 and have our lunch break until one o’clock, when we hit the slopes again for another three hours. That’s six hours of skiing! Do you have any idea how much weight you can lose while skiing? Not that you need to lose weight, cause your body is perfect just the way it is.” Buffy added quickly, taking a bite from her bread with honey.

Willow couldn’t help but smile as she watched her best friend almost bounce up and down in her seat with excitement.

“You’re really looking forward to all the exercise, aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah. I haven’t skied in years. But as they say, it’s just like sex – you can’t forget it.”

Willow laughed.

“You spend too much time with Anya.”

“Maybe. But I miss it. The skiing, not the sex. Not that I should miss sex, cause Angel and I have sex so I don’t miss it. And I’ll shut up now.” Buffy finished blushing as she drank her coffee. “So, what do you say?”

“To what? You and Angel having sex?” Willow asked, puzzled.

“No, my plan.”

“Oh.” Willow sighed in relief. “Sounds good. What about after four o’clock?”

Buffy frowned and stood up, clearing away her plate and cup before answering.

“I don’t know. I reckon I’ll either swim or go to the gym for an hour or two, come here and have dinner and then I don’t know. Spend time with you guys I guess, watch T.V. or whatever.”

Willow nodded, finishing her coffee.

“Cool. I think Xander brought his XBOX, so he’ll probably be stuck in front of the T.V. with Anya breathing down his neck telling him to pay more attention to her. That, or she’ll be with me, Oz, Giles and mom. Don’t now about Spike, Dru and Angel. Do you think Angel will want to work out as well?”

Buffy tensed for a second before shrugging.

“I don’t know. We haven’t spoken since we got off the plane. I was too busy screaming – and rightly so – at Spike and he was busy with, well, I don’t know what.”

“Oh well. Thanks for breakfast Buffy. I’m going to go get ready.” Willow said, standing up.

“Ok. I’m gonna go gear up and go see Andrew and Jonathan, I need to ask them something. I’ll see you in an hour.

“Fine. Say hi for me.”

Buffy nodded, put the list into her coat pocket, took her coat and left the apartment. She walked down the hall to the locker room, looking for her key. Once there, she opened the locker, took out her ATOMIC skis and boots and proceeded to put them on. By the time she was done it was already eight o’clock. Buffy put her slippers into the locker, put on her coat, gloves and hat and put the skis over one shoulder. She held the ski poles in her left hand and made her way to the main building. She left the skis and poles outside and walked into the foyer, her cheeks pink from the cold.

“Good morning Andrew, Jonathan.” Buffy greeted the blonde and brunette in a cheery voice.

“Hi, um, …” Andrew said, blushing when he realized her didn’t know her name.

“Buffy. My name is Buffy. And Willow says hello as well. She’s the redhead who was with me yesterday.” Buffy answered, leaning on the counter.

“Oh, tell her we say thanks. So, how do you like it here so far?” Jonathan asked.

“It’s amazing! I can’t believe it’s still snowing! The snow is almost up to our windows!”

“Yeah. Do you have snow where you live?” Andrew asked.

Buffy shook her head.

“No. Sunnydale is lame that way.”

“Oh. Oh well. Can we help you with something?”

“Actually yes, you can. I have a few questions. First of all, is there a shop where we can rent skis?”

Jonathan nodded.

“Yeah. At Les Arcs 2000 there are about five different ones. They rent out the same kind of skis, the only difference between them are the prices. The cheapest one rents out skis together with poles and boots for 120€ a week.”

“Uhmh. And are there any grocery stores there as well?”

“There’s one. It should have everything you need.”

“Cool. What about the bus? When does it leave for the last time?”

“At nine from Les Arcs 2000.”

“And how long is the gym and swimming pool open?”

“Also till nine. And the Jacuzzi is active 24/7. It has warm water all day. Very relaxing.”

“Excellent. That’s really all for now. Thanks guys.”

“No problem. Always happy to help.” Andrew answered.

“Great. I’ll see you later.” Buffy said, smiling at them as the elevator behind her opened.

“Have a nice day Buffy.”

“Thanks, you too.” She said over her shoulder as she walked to the doors.

“Buffy?”

She stopped at the female voice and turned around, looking at the woman who had said her name.

“Oh my God, is that really you?”

“Cordy?” Buffy asked uncertainly.

The woman nodded. Buffy smiled and squealing the two women hugged each other.

“Ahh! Cordy! I completely didn’t recognize you! You cut off your beautiful hair! How could you?” Buffy asked, leading her friend to the couch. Jonathan and Andrew watched with interest.

“I needed a change. What in the world are you doing here, so far away from home? You hate flying.”

“I know. I’m here with some friends, taking a break from school. What about you? Are you here with your parents?”

Cordy laughed, shaking her head.

“Good God, no!” she answered, running her left hand through her shoulder length brown hair, her brown eyes sparkling. And that’s when Buffy saw it.

“Oh my God! You got married! Why didn’t you tell me? Congratulations. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks. I’m happy for me too. We’re here on our honeymoon. The wedding itself was during the summer, right before school started. We had to wait till the term ended before we could go.”

“Oh. Why? Who is he? What’s his name?”

“Because he had to work. His name is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce and he is my English professor.”

“No way! You’re married to your English professor? Cordelia, did you have an affair with one of your teachers?”

Cordelia blushed and looked down at her hands.

“Holy crap, you did! I can’t believe this. We need to talk. Are you two free tonight? I really want to meet this professor Wesley person.” Buffy said just as Willow came in.

“Oh, there you are. Come on, everyone’s waiting outside and- Oh, hi.” Willow sad, noticing that Buffy had company.

“Willow, this is Cordelia, my friend from Hemery. Cordelia, this is Willow, my best friend from Sunnydale.” Buffy introduced them.

“Hi.” Cordelia smiled, shaking Willow’s hand.

“Nice to meet you.”

Buffy stood up and smiled at them.

“Well, we should get going. See you and Wesley tonight.”

“Ok. We’ll meet here at eight?”

“That’s fine. See you then.”

“Ok, bye. Bye Willow.”

“Bye Cordelia.” Willow called back as she and Buffy walked into the courtyard. Buffy greeted everyone happily, smiling at their sleepy expressions.

“Morning all.”

A few mumbled ‘mornings’ were her answer as she picked up her skis and the group made their way to the bus stop.

“Oh, by the way Giles.” She said, turning around to face him, causing her to walk backwards.

“Yes, Buffy?”

“I met a friend of mine from Hemery in the foyer. She’s here on her honeymoon. Turns out she had an affair with her English professor. Can you believe that? That’d be like if one of us slept with you. Which I’m sure wouldn’t be a complete waste of time, but come on. So, his name is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce and I invited them to join us tonight, is that ok?”

Everyone was silent for a minute as they took in everything she had said. They had reached the bus stop, just as the bus came. The group got on and found seats.

“If he is like Giles, he must have given her many pleasurable orgasms, cause why else would she want to marry him?” Anya said finally, causing the whole bus to go silent and Giles to turn pink.

“Yes, well, Buffy to answer you original question: of course they can join us tonight.”

“Buffy smiled brightly.

“Thanks Giles. We haven’t spoken in years. Well, two to be exact. Who would have thought that she would get married before me? I always thought I would be the first one to settle.”

Throughout the whole conversation, Spike had been silent, forcing himself to be quiet and not have any comments. Not in front of Anya anyway. Spike was slowly learning new things about little miss. Summers, without even having to talk to her. Watching and listening was enough.

She looked to be around twenty. Her skin tanned, her body fit and her long blonde hair made her look like a typical stupid California chick. But if her French said anything, it was clear that she wasn’t. She also couldn’t be a total bitch, cause all her friends were great people and he couldn’t see them being friends with her if she was. It was clear though, that she was daddy’s little girl. He had to be very rich if he thought it was necessary to send three personal chauffeurs to pick them up at the airport. Her clothing also showed that she had money to spend. The thing that gave her the most cookie points, however, was how often she smiled. Her whole face lit up whenever Anya, Willow or Xander said something funny. And judging by his conversation with Anya last night, her friends cared about her and she about them as well. She seemed like a good person…so then why did he act the way he did when he was with her? Why was he such an asshole to her? Frowning, he tore his eyes away from her smiling face and looked out of the window, not noticing that he was also being watched.

Drusilla watched Spike watch Buffy, her mind on overdrive. As much as her Spike tried to hide and deny it, he liked the little blonde. She had been with Spike for three years; she knew him pretty well. She also knew why he didn’t like the blonde, even if he didn’t know it yet, or rather didn’t let himself believe it. It wouldn’t take long until he did, and when he did, what she planned on doing wouldn’t hurt as much.