A Touch of Jealousy (COMPLETE)

Chapter 42

“B-Buffy?” Mrs. Summers repeated; her eyes widening in shock.

The four remained frozen in place, staring at each other.

“M-mom, I can explain…” Buffy stuttered, clutching the covers tightly against her chest.

Joyce remained speechless while Giles suddenly felt the compulsive need to thoroughly clean his glasses, taking them off and rubbing them with the hem of his pullover.

“D-Da, I-“ Spike tried but was interrupted by Mrs. Summers:

“You two, get dressed. Now.” Without another word she turned on her heels and left the room, an extremely confused Giles trailed behind her.

“Oh, my God!” Buffy breathed; her gaze unfocussed as the scene which had just occurred replayed in her mind.

“It’s gonna be alright, pet.” Spike tried to reassure her, rubbing his hand on her back.

“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!” She repeated incessantly as she suddenly began to move.

Her movements were clumsy and uncoordinated as she struggled to find her clothes under the large pile scattered around her bed. Spike mimicked her actions with a little more precision and a little less trembling.

“Buffy, relax don’t-“

“Relax?! My mom and your father just caught us in bed together!” She practically shouted before adding: “Naked!”

“Yes, but-“

“What were they doing here, anyway?” Buffy didn’t even bother to hear what the bleached teen standing next to her was saying. “She is supposed to be at work. She’s not supposed be at home for another two or three hours.” She protested. Suddenly, another question popped into her head. “What is *your* father doing here? Isn’t he supposed to be at the shop?”

Spike had pretty much figured why their parents had come home earlier but, seeing the Buffy’s anxious state of mind, he decided it was best for her to figure it out on her own. So he simply shrugged.

“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!” The initial mantra returned as she pulled her jeans on and flattened her sweater against her stomach.

She glanced over at Spike to find him completely dressed and sitting on the bed.

“What are we gonna tell them?” She wondered out loud.

“I don’t think the whole ‘It’s not what you think’ speech is gonna work here, so I suggest we tell the truth.” He offered standing up straight.

“Everything?”

“Well, it would be a good idea not to mention the nights at the cabin. Or the Chase’s New Year’s Eve party. Somehow I don’t think your mom could handle that right now.” Spike explained.

Buffy let out a long sigh.

“We better go then.” She mumbled, turning the knob and walking out into the hallway and down the stairs.

The two teens reached the living room to find Giles and Joyce standing in the middle of it.

“Sit.” Mrs. Summers ordered and the two blondes obliged, taking a seat on the couch. “Explain.”

“Well…” Buffy started; her heart pounding in her chest with such strength she was afraid it might jump out. “Spike and I are… dating.”

“Dating?” Joyce inquired.

“Spike has been my boyfriend since before the Homecoming dance.” Buffy blurted out nervously as she rubbed her sweaty palms together.

“How?” The older woman continued questioning.

The two teens exchanged a glance before Buffy continued:

“We kinda started hanging out together a lot and one thing lead to another and…”

“You ended up in bed together?” Joyce offered sarcastically.

“No! It wasn’t like that.” ‘Well, come to think of it, it was exactly like that.’ Buffy’s mind reminded her, but somehow, admitting that to her mother didn’t seem like a very sane option at the moment so she mumbled: “W-we really like each other and we’ve been going out together for a while and… yes, we did have sex.” Buffy finally confessed.

“Then why did you lie to me and tell me he was gay?” Mrs. Summers inquired outraged.

“I didn’t!” Buffy defended herself sticking out her index finger. “I-I never said he was gay. You just assumed that he was because I told you I definitely wasn’t his type.”

To that Joyce seemed to have run out of ideas.

“So, you two…” Her finger pointed from Buffy to Spike and back to Buffy.

“Yes, we’ve together.” Spike spoke up for the first time.

“Well, I don’t know how Rupert feels about this but…” Mrs. Summers, who had, single-handedly, lead the inquiry up to that point, trailed off and turned to Giles for an opinion.

“Um… I… um…” He mumbled, being caught off guard by the sudden attention. Truth was there was only one question hammering in his mind: “Does this mean you’re not gay?” He blurted out with a confused frown over his eyebrows.

“No, da, I’m not gay.” Spike sighed, running his hands through the thick locks of his hair.

“Oh, thank God!” Giles breathed; the relief evident as his square shoulders relaxed noticeably. “N-Not that there’s anything wrong with that, understand.” He stiffened again when he felt Joyce swat him across his arm

“Rupert, is that all you have to say?” She asked a bit shocked.

“W-well, n-no, of course not, b-but…” The shopkeeper stuttered, taking off his spectacles and once again cleaning them with his pullover. “W-what you two did was… um… wrong. I mean, misleading us like that, i-is just inconsiderate and… um… wrong and… Oh, bloody hell…I’m just happy that my son isn’t gay.” He finally admitted.

“Rupert?!” Joyce scolded. “I think we need to have this conversation alone.” She announced. “Buffy, come with me. Spike, you stay here and talk to your father.”

Buffy glanced at Spike for support and he brushed his hand over her shoulder, patting it lightly as she stood up to follow her mother into the kitchen.

The teen took her place on one of the stools while her mother remained standing across from her. They stood in excruciating silence for a while until Buffy couldn’t take it anymore and uttered:

“Look, mom. I’m really sorry. I realise what we did wasn’t right, going out behind your back but it all just happened so fast and we really weren’t together yet when all of a sudden you brought Giles home for dinner and announced that he was your boyfriend.” She pointed out as the words seem to rush out of her mouth, never giving her time to inhale properly. “A-and then we started getting along but then we fought and broke up a-and then we made up and we have been trying to tell you guys about us but it’s all been so confusing.” She came to a halt for a sharp intake of breath.

“Are you done?” Was Mrs. Summers’ simple reply.

“Please don’t be mad.” She begged with a painful frown.

Joyce let out a sigh, walking over to the refrigerator and taking out a carton of orange juice. She poured it into two glasses and handed one to Buffy.

“I’m not mad.” She reassured her daughter and the teen relaxed. “I’m just hurt.”

Buffy winced at that. She hated when her mother did that. Most of the times she would prefer having her shouting, screaming at her, anything was better than seeing the look her mother had that instant.

~+~

“So…” Giles started taking a seat on the couch.

“So…” Spike replied. He sat next to the older man, his elbow resting on his knees, his hands clamped together.

“You a-and Buffy…”

“Buffy and I…” The teen repeated.

“You-You’re…” Giles waved his spectacles in the air.

“Together?”

The shopkeeper nodded.

“Yes. We’re together.”

There was complete silence between them, the only sound breaking it came from the heel of Spike’s boot as he nervously tapped it on the floor.

“S-since when?” Giles inquired, tilting his head.

“Since before the dance.”

“Oh, that long…”

Silence…

~+~

“I thought you and I had a special relationship, Buffy. I thought that you could tell me anything. No matter what.” She paused and then added: “I guess I was wrong.”

“Mom…” Buffy trailed off.

There was a ghostly silence between them and Buffy could swear she could hear her own heartbeat.

“It’s not like you tell me everything.” She finally whispered. “You didn’t tell me about Giles until two mouths after you started dating him.

“That’s different.”

“How come?”

“First of all I am the mother and you are the daughter. Not the other way around.”

“Ah, so I have to tell *you* everything, but you don’t tell me anything?” Buffy demanded. “That’s not fair!”

“Too bad! That’s the way things are. You are still under age and-“

“I’ll be eighteen next month.” The teen countered raising her voice a bit.

“Exactly! Till then you are still under age.”

“But-“

“No, ‘but’s young lady.” Mrs. Summers warned her.

“So what? You are just going to forbid me to see Spike? Is that it? ‘Cause I’m telling you I am not going to stop seeing him.” Buffy finished by crossing her arms over her chest.

“Do you really think I would do that?” Joyce asked a bit surprised.

“Yes.” Buffy answered weakly.

“Oh, Buffy. Since when have I ever told who you could or could not date?” Joyce sighed exasperated.

“You weren’t too happy when I started seeing Angel.” Buffy noted.

“But I never told you that you couldn’t see him.”

“Yeah, but you made that face every time he came by.”

After a beat Joyce mumbled:

“I never really liked him…”

At that Buffy chuckled. Both felt the tension melt away as the silence returned, this time a much more comfortable one.

“So…” Buffy started. “You are not going to stop me from seeing Spike?”

“Of course not. Why do you kids have to make everything into an overdramatic, modern tale of Romeo and Juliet?” Joyce wondered taking the two glasses and putting them in the sink.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Buffy jumped off the stool and swung her arms around her mother for a bear hug.

“Calm down. You’re still not off the hook.” Joyce assured when she was finally able to disentangle herself from the embrace.

~+~

The silence between the two Brits was overwhelming. Spike sat in his place, pressing his hands together, tapping his foot, while Giles nervously adjusted his glasses back on.

“Spike…” He finally spoke up. “You-You know that you should have told me about this.”

“I tried. You were too busy trying to get me to embrace my ‘true self’ as far as I can remember.” Spike explained, narrowing his eyes at his father.

“Oh, yes… sorry about that. I-I just thought that… Um… you were…”

“Gay.” The teenager offered when the older man seemed to be stuck with the word.

“Yes. Um… which apparently you are not.” Giles noted looking at his son for confirmation.

“Da, for the one thousandth time, I. Am. Not. Gay.”

“R-right, sorry.” Rupert stuttered, not able to contain the smile that spread over his lips.

The stillness returned and the tapping sound louder than ever.

“Do you mind not doing that?” Giles asked.

Spike looked down at his foot and back up at his father before stopping.

“Thank you.”

A moment passed before he spoke again:

“Do you… like her?”

“Buffy? Of course I do. I’m crazy about her!” Spike exclaimed.

“Good, cause I really don’t want her to get hurt. Not only because she is Joyce’s daughter, but because she is a good kid. She’s a very special girl and I don’t want to see her getting hurt.”

“Dad, relax, I’m nuts about her, I would never do anything to hurt her. Ever.” He reassured his father.

“Good.”

Silence.

“Who would have thought…”

Spike frowned and looked at the man sitting next to him.

“Father and son, dating mother and daughter.”

“Yeah, Freud would have a field day on that one.” Spike smirked causing his father to laugh out loud.

~+~

Buffy stared up at her mother, trying to hide the grin that threatened to take over her lips. This was just so great! No more hiding and no more lying to her mother. She hated doing that. Even though the whole hiding thing had it’s ups.

“You and Spike…”

“Yes…?”

“Y-you have… um…” Joyce struggled with the way to approach the subject as the blush took over her cheeks. “You have been having… relations.”

Buffy nodded.

“D-did you... did you take precautions?” She finally said it out loud.

“Yes, mom. I’ve been taking the pill since Angel, remember? You made me take it?” Buffy reminded her.

“Oh, yes… I just never thought… you know? I always thought it was more of insurance than actually…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” Buffy mumbled; her gaze cast down to the floor.

“It’s ok…” Joyce replied, running her hand over Buffy’s cheek. “I just hope that next time you will be able to talk to me about these things.”

“I will.” She promised with a smile as she watched her mother start to leave the kitchen. “Mom?”

“Yeah?” Joyce came to a halt and turned to face her daughter.

“What are you and Giles doing home so early?”

At the question, Mrs. Summers’ face turned bright red.

“Oh… He… um… he was just here to help me with… um… the plumbing.” Joyce stammered the answer.

“Oh…” Buffy said starting to head out to the living room again before coming to a halt once more. “Why did you go into my room?”

“Um… I… um, we… I… we needed… um…”

Hearing her mother’s incoherent babbling made Buffy frown; her brain slowly trying to grasp the reason for such embarrassment.

“Mom?”

“We better go check on the boys.” Joyce blurted out with a plastic grin as she continued to walk, leaving Buffy behind.

Suddenly, a light switch flickered on in the teen’s brain; her face immediately distorting itself for a nauseated look.

“Oh, mom!” She groaned, following her.

They entered the living room to find the two men sitting on the couch, chuckling at something that Spike had just said.

“What are you two laughing about?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing.” Giles quickly replied standing up. “I-Is everything ok?” He asked when he saw the disgusted look on Buffy’s face.

“Everything’s fine.” Joyce answered.

“So Buffy and I can go out?” Spike asked. The anxiety evident in his voice.

“It’s fine by me.” She started before adding: “As long as you behave. Rupert?”

“Oh, it’s fine by me.”

Buffy and Spike smiled widely at that.

“Um, Spike? Can I have a word with you?” Joyce inquired.

“Sure.”

Standing up, the teen approached the smiling woman who leaned in to whisper in his ear:

“You do anything to hurt my daughter, I don’t care if you *are* Rupert’s son; I will hunt you down and cut something off.” All was said with a wide grin on, which only served to terrify Spike even more.

‘Gee, like mother like daughter.’

~+~

“Your parents caught you?? In bed together?” Xander cried out, sprawling back in his chair while Buffy and Spike blushed furiously.

“Thank you, Xander, I don’t think the entire student body knew about that.” Buffy said, her eyes nervously scanning the room.

“Sorry! It’s just… wow! Talk about embarrassing.”

“What’s embarrassing?” Oz asked as he and Willow approached the table and took their seats.

“Buffy’s mom and Spike’s dad caught them doing the ‘wild thing’.” Xander replied casually, popping a French fry into his mouth.

At that the redness in Spike and Buffy’s cheeks intensified.

“Ouch.” Oz exclaimed monotonically, glancing at his girlfriend for a hysterical reaction, but it never came. “You already knew, huh?”

“Buffy called me last night to tell me.” She explained gingerly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Oz questioned without a hint of accusation in his voice.

“Cause I know you’re not obsessed about Buffy and Spike’s love life like Xander.”

“How could I not be? Their life is a soap opera. It’s addictive.” The brown-haired teen defended himself. “So the parents finally know, huh?”

“Yup.” Buffy replied with a smile.

“What and no drama?” Xander asked a bit confused.

“Nope. No drama. Just a very awkward conversation on prophylactics.”

“That’s no fun.” Xander mumbled earning a swat across the arm from Buffy. “Just kidding. I’m glad you guys are out of the closet. Speaking of being out of the closet…” his gaze fell over the Brit. “Your dad must have lit a few fireworks on finding out that you’re not gay.” He chuckled.

“I’m just glad I’m not going to have to listen to anymore of those ridiculous ‘you shouldn’t be afraid of being who you are’ speeches. They were driving me nuts.” Spike sighed in relief, letting his head drop into his hands.

“Poor, Spikey!” Buffy mocked, running her fingers through his hair.

“So now you two and the parents are gonna go out on double dates or what?”

“Urg! No!” Both Buffy and Spike denied in unison.

“Gotta hand it to you guys, I have a twisted family but you-“

“Hey!” Buffy protested.

“What?!” Xander defended himself. “Do you realise that if your parents ever decide to tie the knot you two are going to be like siblings?”

“Step-siblings.” Spike and Buffy corrected.

“Whatever. It has the word ‘sibling’ in it.”

“Come on, Xander, stop being a meany!” Willow came to Spike and Buffy’s aid.

“I’m just kidding. Don’t worry! Though, I can’t wait to tell Cordy about this!” Xander said rubbing his hand together.

Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter... and for the delay. It was ready by Wednesday, but RL got in the way. I got home yesterday to find that my electricity had been cut! Isn't life great? Anyway... I’ve finally got the electricity back on and that’s why I’m only updating now! I’m really sorry! :( On the plus side there is no cliffhanger!

Chapter 43

“Mom, you’re only going to be away for one day.” Buffy shouted as she watched her mother climbing up the stairs for the fourth time.

“I just want to make sure I’ve got everything.” Mrs. Summer’s yelled back from the top floor.

“The cab’s here.” Buffy announced, glancing out the window before crossing her arms over her chest and leaning on the wall.

She sighed audibly when she saw her mother racing down the stairs with one bag under each arm.

“Why are you taking so much luggage with you?” Buffy asked.

“You never know what you might need.” Joyce explained as she mentally went through her check list.

“You’re going to LA. I’m pretty sure they’ve got everything we have here and more. If you forget something you can just buy it there.” Buffy noted.

“Well, I don’t like forgetting anything.” Mrs. Summers explained as she flattened her skirt against her thighs. “Ok, now, you know the rules.”

“Yes, mom.” Buffy sighed again.

“Good. No wild parties, no staying up late, no opening the door to strangers, no-“

“Mom! I know.” Buffy insisted cutting off her mother’s rambling.

“Ok, I trust you.” Mrs. Summers admitted with a sharp intake of air as she ran her hands over her daughter’s head before placing a quick peck on her forehead. “Be good.”

“Always.” Buffy said with a roll of her eyes, picking up one of her mother’s bags and opening the door.

“Remember, if there is any problem, call me. The hotel number is by the phone.” Mrs. Summer’s said before entering the taxi.

“I know.” Buffy replied. “Now go. Don’t worry.”

“I’ll be back tomorrow night.” Joyce said as the car door closed behind her. “Try to stay out of trouble till then.”

“Have a nice trip.”

“Bye honey.”

“Bye.” Buffy waved as the taxi drove away.

~+~

Buffy mumbled something undistinguishable as she nuzzled against Spike’s leather-clad arm.

“Come again?” The Brit asked with a smirk.

“I don’t want to go to classes.” She repeated, sitting up straight and rubbing her temples as she rested her elbows on the table.

“Not alone on that one.” Xander said supportively as he finished his lunch.

“I got chemistry.” Buffy protested.

“Math.” The brown-haired teen retorted simply.

“You win.” Buffy sighed audibly, slouching back into her chair.

“What’s gotten into you today?” Willow asked.

“I’m just sick of school.” The blonde moaned crossing her arms around her chest.

“Poor thing.” Spike said in a low voice as he nuzzled against her cheek.

The bell rang and Buffy moaned, cringing as she sunk further in her chair.

“We better go or Miss Thacker is gonna kill us.” Willow told Xander as she stood up.

The teen grumbled something before following her lead.

“See you guys later.” Willow waved at the couple who remained seated.

“Bye, Red.” Turning back to Buffy, Spike rubbed her shoulder. “We better get you moving too.”

“Get me moving? You don’t have classes now?” Buffy asked standing up and walking out of the cafeteria with Spike trailing behind her.

“No.”

There was a strangeness in his voice that told her that he was hiding something. She tilted her head towards his and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him.

“Dru and I are gonna work on the biology assignment during our free period.” He mumbled.

At that Buffy let a hint of a smile take over her lips.

“You don’t have to avoid talking about that, you know?” She said with a roll of her eyes.

“I just…”

“I’m ok with it.” Buffy cut him off, coming to a halt and placing her fingers over his mouth when they reached her classroom. “Now, as for more… interesting subjects…” She practically purred letting her finger trail down to the nape of his neck.

“Yeah…?” Spike replied in a similar tone as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“My mom is going to be out of town tonight.” Her eyes were wide and bright as she spoke.

“Oh, really…?”

Buffy frowned. His reaction wasn’t exactly the one she had expected. The surprise in his voice was forceful and not natural. After a few seconds under Buffy’s scrutinising stared Spike caved in:

“I already knew.”

“How?”

“You’re mom called my Da yesterday to tell him. Something about a problem with one of the shipments. Got stuck in Customs in LA?” Spike explained.

“No fun, I wanted it to be a surprise!” She pouted lightly stomping her foot.

“You keep forgetting our parents are dating.” He chuckled.

“No fun!” Buffy repeated as she turned to leave but he grabbed her by her arm.

“Nuh-uh. You were about to say something before… about your mom being out of town and that being… a more interesting subject…” Spike said with a leer as he cocked up his scared eyebrow.

Buffy simply shook her head.

“Oh, come on Buffy.” He supplied wrapping his arms around her again.

“I was going to ask if… you’d want to… I don’t know.” As she spoke her index finger traced the lapels of his duster, her eyes hooded as she looked up at him. “Maybe… Come over for dinner and… stay?”

Spike bit his lip, his eyes narrowed at her. The extremely tempting proposal turned even more appealing by the shy and nervous way in which she issued the invitation.

“Are you saying you’re going to cook for me, Summers?” He asked suggestively.

“A-actually no.” Buffy replied a bit embarrassed. “I can’t cook. But I’m an expert at ordering Chinese. How about it?” She lowered her gaze to his chest.

His index finger came under her chin forcing her to look up at him.

“I’d love to.” He agreed before kissing her.

The sharp sound of someone clearing their throats forced them to break apart.

“Miss Summers, we’d love for you to join us, if you ever manage to finish saying goodbye to your boyfriend.”

“Oh, sorry!” Buffy mumbled as she awkwardly moved away from Spike.

“I’ll see you-“ Spike was cut off when he felt an arm link around his. He turned his gaze to see Dru clinging to him, her head resting on his shoulder.

“There you are, my sweet prince. I’ve been looking all over for you. I was afraid you were hiding from me, you naughty boy.” The black-clad girl purred in a babyish tone as she lightly swatted him across the chest.

Buffy simply stared at the couple as her stomach turned violently.

Spike winced at the look on her face.

“I’ll see you later, ok?” He asked.

She simply nodded.

“You have theatre rehearsal today?”

Another nod.

“I’ll go be at your house at seven, ok?”

“Miss Summers, are you coming?” The teacher’s serious tone caused Buffy to jump up a bit and she turned on her heels to enter the classroom.

~+~

She hummed completely out of tune as she spread the newly ironed sheets over her bed. She tugged and pulled at them, stretching them over the mattress so that there was no mark, leaving the surface unmarred. She let her arms drop at her sides as she inspected her bedroom. She smiled at the strategically placed candles around the bed, over her nightstand and by the windowsill. She picked one up and brought the wax near her nose before inhaling sharply.

‘Ah, cinnamon and vanilla! Perfect combo!’ she thought, chuckling a bit as her gaze drifted over to her alarm clock. ‘Hum… ten past seven. I wonder why he’s late. Maybe he’s just freshening up so he’s all yummy for me.’ She wondered.

At that moment the doorbell rang and as she practically hopped her way down the stairs. The wide grin that danced over her lips soon crumbled to pieces when she was greeted by Chen from the local Chinese restaurant. She forced a ghost of a smile back on her face as she quickly paid the boy and took the various boxes he handed her.

She took her time taking the food out of the carton containers and transferring them into her bowls and dishes before placing them on the table. By the time she was done it was seven thirty and the phone rang. She raced to answer it:

“Hello?”

“Hey, Buffy, it’s me.” Spike’s voice came from the other side of the line.

“You’re late.” She scolded.

“I know I’m sorry.”

“Well, you are going to have to make it up to me *big* time.” She tone immediately switched from the harsh one of the first reply to a soft enticing purr.

“Erg…About that…” Spike hesitated a bit.

“Is something wrong?” A frown quickly settled to mar her eyebrows.

“It’s just that…”

“Is mommy’s little dog going to take much longer… mommy’s not happy…”

“Is that-” Buffy practically choked in disgust when she recognized the semi-insane voice coming from the background. “Is that Dru?”

“Yeah, we had to-“

“What is she doing at your house at seven thirty at night?” She demanded trying to calm herself down.

“That’s what I was trying to explain to you.” He grumbled. “Dru couldn’t make it this afternoon and we weren’t able to work on the assignment so we are making up for it now.” He quickly explained.

“What do you mean she couldn’t make it? She was with you when you left me for chemistry class.” Buffy continued questioning, her voice growing louder and louder as the image of Dru clinging to Spike’s arm flashed before her eyes.

“Yeah, well you know Dru.”

“No, I don’t. Explain it to me.” Her tone was dripping with harsh sarcasm as she heard Dru’s insane giggling on the other side of the line.

“Well, she suddenly remembered she had something to do and-“

There it was again! The giggling! What was that chromatically-challenged ho giggling about? What was she doing? God, she hated this, she really did. No matter how much she tried to stick it in her head that she was ok with it she definitely wasn’t, especially not right now.

“Ok?” It was the first thing she heard when she finally tuned back to listen to Spike.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear what you said.” Buffy apologized pressing her fingers against the bridge of her nose.

“I asked if it would be ok if I came back later to- Dru will you stop doing that?”

Ok, that did it! Buffy practically felt her head exploding.

“Don’t bother.” She said harshly. “The food’s already cold anyway so you better not come at all.”

“But, luv we can still-“

“Forget it, Spike. I’ll see you tomorrow ok?”

“But-“

“Spike, I said forget it, alright?”

There was a moment of pause and a sigh of frustration was heard before Spike’s beaten down asked:

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come over?”

“I’m sure.” She replied with a strong tone.

“Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Whatever.” Buffy grumbled before slamming the receiver down.

Spike let out another heavy sigh when he heard the busy signal and put the phone down. He ran his hands trough his thick curls before looking up at his living room. He scanned it a couple of times but failed to find Dru. Grumbling something incomprehensible he pushed himself off the chair and stood up.

“Dru?” He called out but there was no answer. “Dru?” He repeated and this time he heard giggles coming from the upstairs.

With an annoyed frown over his eyebrows he climbed up the stairs to find that the sound came from his bedroom. He inhaled sharply before pushing the door open and entering. He found her sitting on the windowsill staring blankly out into the dark night.

“Dru?” He called again.

“My sweet, dark prince came…” She purred, slipping off the windowsill and practically hovering her way towards him. She looked like a wildcat on the prowl as her long nail dug their way across his t-shirt-clad chest.

“Dru… What are you doing?” He asked, closing his eyes for a second.

She never answered him. Instead, she let her head fall to the crook of his neck and let her face nuzzle there.

Her scent surrounded him, her soft skin brushed against his. It was hard to admit it but, at that moment, he, somehow, missed her. He fisted his hands at his sides and asked:

“What do you want, Dru?”

“Don’t you miss playing...? Mommy wants to play…” She whirred as one long finger sluggishly trailed down his stomach to reach the waistband of his jeans.

That did it! In a flash his hands were gripping her wrists hard and pushing her away from him.

“Go home, Dru.” He said in a low, harsh voice. “I don’t want to play.”

“But… the whispers in my ear tell me-“

“I don’t bloody well care what those sodding whispers in your ear tell you.” He growled pushing her out of the room and dragging her down the stairs. “Get out!” He finally said when they reached the main door.

“It’s that witch!” She hissed, narrowing her eyes. “She’s been weaving nasty, little spells around your pretty head. Trying to push you away from me, trying to make you stop loving me.” She clawed her way around his form, her hand waving around his head as she spoke in a babyish tone: “But I know you still love me… Mommy knows.” She said with an insane smile as she pushed away from him and walked over to the door. “You’ll realise it… I know you will.”

“It’s over, Dru.” He was barely able to say. There was something about her that still got to him. It was hard to erase his first love, especially since it had lasted as long as it had.

“I’ll see you on the other side of the storm, my prince.” Was the last thing she said before she closed the door.

Spike simply sighed and leaned against the wood for a few minutes before it suddenly opened on him. He quickly moved away to see him father coming in.

“Hey, Da.” He greeted with little enthusiasm.

“Hello, William.” Giles automatically replied. Seeing the strange look on his son’s face he stopped for a second. “Is everything alright?” He asked.

“I’m fine.” He mumbled as he dragged himself up the stairs.

“Since I came home a little late I thought I’d order out instead.” Giles shouted up at his son.

“Whatever. I’m not hungry.” Spike grumbled as he continued on his way up to his room.

The older man frowned. There was definitely something wrong with his son if he wasn’t at least relieved that he wasn’t going to have to eat his father’s cooking. And what was he doing at home? Wasn’t Joyce out of town? He would have figured that the two teens would have jumped at the chance of having a whole house for themselves. ‘Something is definitely wrong.’ Giles thought as he started looking through the phonebook.

~+~

Spike hung up the phone for the fifth time that night. Why wasn’t she picking up? He rolled to his side to be greeted by his old ‘Sex Pistols’ poster. He closed his eyes for a second but his quest for sleep was cut short by a light knock on the door.

“Yeah?” He grumbled.

“Dinner is on the table.” Giles announced, opening the door.

“I’m not hungry.” Was Spike’s short reply.

“Of course you are.” Rupert insisted, entering the room and walking over to his bed.

“Just go away, Da.” Spike mumbled, turning on his stomach and burying his face in his pillow.

“You stop this nonsense this instant and come downstairs now.” Giles said with more authority.

“I don’t-“

“William, you have had a fight with Buffy and you don’t want to talk about it. That’s fine! But I’m not going to let my son go to bed starving because of some silly fight with his girlfriend. Now go get washed and be downstairs in two minutes.” Giles demanded before he walked out of the bedroom and down to the living room.

Within five minutes the teen was slouching into the room and onto a chair. Not even the sight of pizza on the table brightened his mood as he brought one piece into his mouth and took an unwilling bite off it. The two men sat in silence as they ate their dinner. Giles was the one to break it:

“Would you like to talk about it now?” He asked.

“No.” Spike replied simply, without bothering to glance up at his father.

Giles nodded and continued eating. When the teen was done, he stood up and was about to go upstairs when the older man’s voice halted him.

“William, it’s you’re turn to do the dishes.” And without another word, Rupert stood up and walked into his study.

Spike grumbled a thousand curses under his breathe as he started picking up the plates and bringing them into the kitchen.

~+~

He rubbed his hands hard against his closed eyes as he slowly made his way up the stairs. He was tired and all he wanted to do was sleep. He knew he wasn’t going to be abl. He. He hated fighting with her. And worst of all, he didn’t even know if the conversation they had had on the phone could qualify as a fight. The fact that she wasn’t answering her phone told him that it had probably been one.

Sighing audibly, he pushed the door to his bedroom open. He never even bothered to turn on the lights; the frail moonlight coming from the open window was enough for him to find his way around the room. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and flung it towards his dresser, proceeding with undoing his belt and unbuttoning his jeans. When he was fully undressed, he dragged his feet across the floor and let his tired form drop onto the bed. He sat there for a few seconds, contemplating what had happened that day and wondering what he had done wrong. The thought that he could have been laying in her bed right now, with his arms wrapped around her waist, sent a shiver of regret down to his stomach. It was all Dru’s fault, he finally decided as he lay back on the bed and curled under the covers.

~+~

Awareness crept up on him when he felt the weight on his mattress slowly shift. His heart started slamming hard against his chest as all sorts of grotesque and terrifying scenarios ran through his sleep-clouded mind. Someone was in the house, in his room and now slowly crawling their way into his bed. His palms grew sweaty when he felt a female form press against his back. A very recognizable, very naked form, followed by an equally familiar scent. *Her* scent. His heartbeat increased, this time for a different reason as light fingers found their way over his stomach to trace unrecognizable patterns on the tender skin there.

A hot mouth assaulted his neck and he couldn’t help but growl when a wet tongue slipped through the maze of his ear. A gasp escaped his parted lips and his eyes closed shut when the hand, which had been dancing over his abdomen, ventured further down his body to wrap itself around his hardening cock. He clenched his teeth at the combined sensation; the warm tongue playing with his ear and neck and the small fingers that pumped him in a slow, vicious pace. He tried to resist the urge to turn around and respond, his hands fisting themselves around the white sheets under him, practically ripping them as he attempted to keep his hips from trusting into the hand that was sliding up and down his length.

The sound of a soft moan in his ear and two small breasts pressing against his back were his undoing as he suddenly turned on his back and crushed his lips against her parted ones. Without asking for permission, his tongue seized the opportunity and invaded her mouth, hungrily lapping and pushing inside as his hand rested on the back of her head and pressed her against him.

Soon, breathing became an issue and the woman now hovering over him pulled away, panting violently as she let him trail hard kisses down her neck.

Spike ran his teeth long the tender column of her throat, inhaling sharply the scent that now surrounded him. The scent he loved… her scent…

“Dru…” He mumbled against her skin.

Author’s Note: Please, please don’t kill me. Just believe in the Spuffyness!