An Englishman in New York
folder
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
34
Views:
6,089
Reviews:
76
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
34
Views:
6,089
Reviews:
76
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Thoughtless
A/N: Spike's song for Buffy is Thoughtless, as sung by Evanescence. This is for you, Mark, for doing something similar. I love you.
Thoughtless
Having made the journey in silence, Buffy and Spike separated once they reached the fraternity house. Locating Willow, Buffy sat down beside her and watched as Spike moved to help the other band members set up.
“Did you turn in your transfer request yet?” Willow asked, noting the strange way Buffy was eyeing Spike.
“No, and I didn’t have to. He already put in a request. I just hope I get to keep my room. I like that it has a window I can open. Some of the other rooms have metal wire and stuff over their windows and I don’t like that,” the petite blonde rambled.
“Okaaaaay…”
“I’m sorry, Will. I know I’ve been acting weird,” she admitted.
“Is it Spike?” Willow asked with concern.
“Yeah, and… Well, no, it’s more me than it is him. It’s like, he’s trying to be nice and not piss me off all the time, but everything he does pisses me off.”
Willow giggled for a moment, but then she became serious again. “You sound like grade school kids,” she teased. “You know, back when hair-pulling and shoulder-punching meant you liked someone.”
“I don’t like him that way!” Buffy countered. She couldn’t bring herself to meet her friend’s gaze when she said it.
“Whatever you say,” the redhead answered gently, turning to watch Oz set up the amps.
Two hours later found Buffy and Willow sitting on the exact same couch, watching the Dingoes play their hearts out. Willow, who had seen them rehearse, wasn’t at all surprised by Spike’s on-stage charisma, but Buffy watched with wide eyes as though seeing him for the first time.
From the Sex Pistols to the Beatles to Green Day, the band seemed Hell-bent on displaying their range, and Willow secretly likened it to what she imagined an LSD trip would be like; the audience was half-crazed, danced incessantly, and there was little conversation – almost unheard of among college students.
She’s so gone, Willow thought as she watched Buffy nodding in time with Boulevard of Broken Dreams, but she’d rather be stubborn than admit it.
“Some show, huh?!” Buffy shouted over the music.
“Yeah!” Willow answered. “Only it’s a frat party, not a show!”
“There you are!” a rather overwhelmed looking Tara said with relief.
Anya, dressed to kill in leather pants despite the seventy-degree weather, made a beeline toward the makeshift stage to be closer to Xander.
Buffy silently hoped she didn’t yell anything about orgasms into the microphone.
“Where were you guys?!” Willow demanded. Tara wasn’t big on the party scene, she knew, but Anya never left Xander’s side for more than fifteen minutes unless it was absolutely necessary.
“It’s Anya and Xander’s anniversary! She wanted to get something sexy to wear for him!” Tara shouted in answer. The normally soft-spoken girl paled visibly when she noticed that all eyes were on her. The band had stopped playing, and several people snickered. “Oh, God…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Willow patted Tara’s shoulder gently, trying to understand the strange… well, sparkage between them.
“It’s okay, Tara,” Buffy said reassuringly, glaring daggers at the nearest boy who’d dared to laugh at sweet, shy Tara. As it turned out, said boy was Parker. When he shrugged in response, she lowered her gaze to the floor.
“What me to kill him for you?” Spike, who had been in the corner fiddling with an amp moments ago, was suddenly standing in front of her with what Buffy could only call a death glare on his face.
“Um, no.” She managed a small smile as she added, “But thanks for offering.”
“You gu-guys are doing really well,” Tara stammered, still blushing from her previous embarrassment.
“Thanks, Glenda,” he replied. Glenda was a fitting nickname for her, he thought. The Good Witch.
Blushing furiously at receiving yet more attention, Tara nodded, relaxing somewhat when Willow wrapped one of her arms around her shoulders. She would have to tell her how she felt one day – just not now.
“She’s right,” Buffy agreed. “You were all… ass-kicking and name-taking.” In spite of her words, her eyes never left Parker, who was currently pulling his sad-eyed routine on one of the other girls.
“Stop starin’ at him,” Spike chided gently. “He’s not even worth it. Now will you let me kill the wanker?”
She honestly couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. He was smiling, but there was no humor in his tone, and his eyes were unreadable. “What really happened with you two?”
“That.” He indicated the boy in question, who was now bawling his eyes out dramatically while a thin brunette stroked his hair. “It’s that kind of shit right there. He’s just a –”
“He was talking about me, wasn’t he?”
“Well, yeah.”
Willow caught Buffy’s gaze and nodded her agreement before turning back to Tara.
Buffy thought she heard the two witches discussing some sort of crystal, and she shrugged it off. She would never understand that, nor did she understand why Spike would risk expulsion in defense of her. Finally, she whispered, “Thanks.”
“Meh.” He waved the comment away, nodding when Dave, the greasy-haired keyboardist tapped him on the shoulder. “Gotta go, but… Just listen to the next song.” With a secretive grin, he turned back to the band, leaving Buffy confused for more than one reason.
“He likes you,” Tara said quietly as she sipped her drink. “He’s a nice guy, not like Parker.”
“Does everyone know about Parker?” Buffy asked dismally.
“N-no,” Willow said nervously. “Spike told me what happened, and I told Tara. Not even Anya knows. Do you mind?”
“No, of course not, it’s just… the band?”
“Not a word. As far as they know, he kicked his ass on general principle. When I said he told me what happened, I meant he told only me.”
“I told you,” Tara repeated. “He likes you.”
Buffy opened her mouth to reply, but she was shocked speechless instead; Spike was singing again, without the accompaniment of music, his voice suddenly pure and almost operatic.
All of my hate cannot be bound
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming
To the rest of those gathered, it was a surprising change in tune, but to Buffy, it was perhaps the best token of friendship she had ever received: Spike was singing her pain for her, as though that would somehow drain it away. When their eyes met, his questioning and almost shy, she grinned and gave him a thumb’s up; he nodded once to Oz, and then the music started.
Going through the pages of my fantasies
Pushing all the mercy down, down, down
I wanna see you try to take a swing at me
Come on, gonna put you on the ground, ground, ground
Why are you trying to make fun of me?
You think it's funny? What the fuck you think it's doing to me?
You take your turn lashing out at me
I want you crying when you're bloody down in front of me
All of my hate cannot be bound
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground
I will see you screaming
Come and fill the pages of my fantasies
I'm above you, smiling at you, drown, drown, drown
I wanna kill and rape you the way you raped me
And I'll pull the trigger
And you're down, down, down
Why are you trying to make fun of me?
You think it's funny? What the fuck you think it's doing to me?
You take your turn lashing out at me
I want you crying when you're bloody down in front of me
All of my hate cannot be bound
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming
All my friends are gone,
They died
They all screamed, and cried
Never gonna forget, never forget, how we hate the world
(Gonna take you down)
All of my hate cannot be bound
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming
All of my hate cannot be bound
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming…
As the music faded, the drunken party goers cheered, and Anya tackled Xander and all but devoured his lips in front of God and everyone, Buffy simply smiled. In spite of their constant bickering and difference, she knew in that moment that she had made a friend for life.
Thoughtless
Having made the journey in silence, Buffy and Spike separated once they reached the fraternity house. Locating Willow, Buffy sat down beside her and watched as Spike moved to help the other band members set up.
“Did you turn in your transfer request yet?” Willow asked, noting the strange way Buffy was eyeing Spike.
“No, and I didn’t have to. He already put in a request. I just hope I get to keep my room. I like that it has a window I can open. Some of the other rooms have metal wire and stuff over their windows and I don’t like that,” the petite blonde rambled.
“Okaaaaay…”
“I’m sorry, Will. I know I’ve been acting weird,” she admitted.
“Is it Spike?” Willow asked with concern.
“Yeah, and… Well, no, it’s more me than it is him. It’s like, he’s trying to be nice and not piss me off all the time, but everything he does pisses me off.”
Willow giggled for a moment, but then she became serious again. “You sound like grade school kids,” she teased. “You know, back when hair-pulling and shoulder-punching meant you liked someone.”
“I don’t like him that way!” Buffy countered. She couldn’t bring herself to meet her friend’s gaze when she said it.
“Whatever you say,” the redhead answered gently, turning to watch Oz set up the amps.
Two hours later found Buffy and Willow sitting on the exact same couch, watching the Dingoes play their hearts out. Willow, who had seen them rehearse, wasn’t at all surprised by Spike’s on-stage charisma, but Buffy watched with wide eyes as though seeing him for the first time.
From the Sex Pistols to the Beatles to Green Day, the band seemed Hell-bent on displaying their range, and Willow secretly likened it to what she imagined an LSD trip would be like; the audience was half-crazed, danced incessantly, and there was little conversation – almost unheard of among college students.
She’s so gone, Willow thought as she watched Buffy nodding in time with Boulevard of Broken Dreams, but she’d rather be stubborn than admit it.
“Some show, huh?!” Buffy shouted over the music.
“Yeah!” Willow answered. “Only it’s a frat party, not a show!”
“There you are!” a rather overwhelmed looking Tara said with relief.
Anya, dressed to kill in leather pants despite the seventy-degree weather, made a beeline toward the makeshift stage to be closer to Xander.
Buffy silently hoped she didn’t yell anything about orgasms into the microphone.
“Where were you guys?!” Willow demanded. Tara wasn’t big on the party scene, she knew, but Anya never left Xander’s side for more than fifteen minutes unless it was absolutely necessary.
“It’s Anya and Xander’s anniversary! She wanted to get something sexy to wear for him!” Tara shouted in answer. The normally soft-spoken girl paled visibly when she noticed that all eyes were on her. The band had stopped playing, and several people snickered. “Oh, God…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Willow patted Tara’s shoulder gently, trying to understand the strange… well, sparkage between them.
“It’s okay, Tara,” Buffy said reassuringly, glaring daggers at the nearest boy who’d dared to laugh at sweet, shy Tara. As it turned out, said boy was Parker. When he shrugged in response, she lowered her gaze to the floor.
“What me to kill him for you?” Spike, who had been in the corner fiddling with an amp moments ago, was suddenly standing in front of her with what Buffy could only call a death glare on his face.
“Um, no.” She managed a small smile as she added, “But thanks for offering.”
“You gu-guys are doing really well,” Tara stammered, still blushing from her previous embarrassment.
“Thanks, Glenda,” he replied. Glenda was a fitting nickname for her, he thought. The Good Witch.
Blushing furiously at receiving yet more attention, Tara nodded, relaxing somewhat when Willow wrapped one of her arms around her shoulders. She would have to tell her how she felt one day – just not now.
“She’s right,” Buffy agreed. “You were all… ass-kicking and name-taking.” In spite of her words, her eyes never left Parker, who was currently pulling his sad-eyed routine on one of the other girls.
“Stop starin’ at him,” Spike chided gently. “He’s not even worth it. Now will you let me kill the wanker?”
She honestly couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. He was smiling, but there was no humor in his tone, and his eyes were unreadable. “What really happened with you two?”
“That.” He indicated the boy in question, who was now bawling his eyes out dramatically while a thin brunette stroked his hair. “It’s that kind of shit right there. He’s just a –”
“He was talking about me, wasn’t he?”
“Well, yeah.”
Willow caught Buffy’s gaze and nodded her agreement before turning back to Tara.
Buffy thought she heard the two witches discussing some sort of crystal, and she shrugged it off. She would never understand that, nor did she understand why Spike would risk expulsion in defense of her. Finally, she whispered, “Thanks.”
“Meh.” He waved the comment away, nodding when Dave, the greasy-haired keyboardist tapped him on the shoulder. “Gotta go, but… Just listen to the next song.” With a secretive grin, he turned back to the band, leaving Buffy confused for more than one reason.
“He likes you,” Tara said quietly as she sipped her drink. “He’s a nice guy, not like Parker.”
“Does everyone know about Parker?” Buffy asked dismally.
“N-no,” Willow said nervously. “Spike told me what happened, and I told Tara. Not even Anya knows. Do you mind?”
“No, of course not, it’s just… the band?”
“Not a word. As far as they know, he kicked his ass on general principle. When I said he told me what happened, I meant he told only me.”
“I told you,” Tara repeated. “He likes you.”
Buffy opened her mouth to reply, but she was shocked speechless instead; Spike was singing again, without the accompaniment of music, his voice suddenly pure and almost operatic.
All of my hate cannot be bound
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming
To the rest of those gathered, it was a surprising change in tune, but to Buffy, it was perhaps the best token of friendship she had ever received: Spike was singing her pain for her, as though that would somehow drain it away. When their eyes met, his questioning and almost shy, she grinned and gave him a thumb’s up; he nodded once to Oz, and then the music started.
Going through the pages of my fantasies
Pushing all the mercy down, down, down
I wanna see you try to take a swing at me
Come on, gonna put you on the ground, ground, ground
Why are you trying to make fun of me?
You think it's funny? What the fuck you think it's doing to me?
You take your turn lashing out at me
I want you crying when you're bloody down in front of me
All of my hate cannot be bound
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground
I will see you screaming
Come and fill the pages of my fantasies
I'm above you, smiling at you, drown, drown, drown
I wanna kill and rape you the way you raped me
And I'll pull the trigger
And you're down, down, down
Why are you trying to make fun of me?
You think it's funny? What the fuck you think it's doing to me?
You take your turn lashing out at me
I want you crying when you're bloody down in front of me
All of my hate cannot be bound
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming
All my friends are gone,
They died
They all screamed, and cried
Never gonna forget, never forget, how we hate the world
(Gonna take you down)
All of my hate cannot be bound
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming
All of my hate cannot be bound
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming…
As the music faded, the drunken party goers cheered, and Anya tackled Xander and all but devoured his lips in front of God and everyone, Buffy simply smiled. In spite of their constant bickering and difference, she knew in that moment that she had made a friend for life.