London Calling

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! As a reward, I swear that both Buffy and Spike will be naked sometime in the near future. Heh. Naked Spike... *Drool*

Chapter 2


Spike entered the Summers household and immediately felt as though he'd been sucked into a time warp. Everything was exactly as it was the day he'd left. Same couch, same dining room set, same dent in the wall from when he and Xander had been wrestling one day and he'd "accidently" knocked his buddy's head through the plaster.
He took a deep breath.
It even smelled the same! God, he'd missed this plaIt wIt was good to get out of London. After his problems with Drusilla... Jesus, maybe he shouldn't have invited her to the wedding after all. That situation had gotten out of control. Everything was going so well with them at first, then the cheating and the lies had started. He didn't know how much more he could take. He felt like a masochist! God, he shouldn't think about that right now. Better to just forget about it completely.
Spike entered the kitchen and helped Xander to get out the plates and silverware. Everything in the exact same spot as it was before. He grinned to himself. This was turning out to be like an episode of the Twilight Zone!
"Xander, let's just eat in the living room. There's a documentary on TLC tonight featuring three hours of wedding hijinks!" Anya pleaded.
Xander looked appalled. "Good God, No! No more, Anya! You promised after I went to that travesty of a Bridal Expo with you that I'd never have to endure that stuff again!" He paced around the kitchen. "Why don't you just have Buffy watch it with you tonight, hmm? I've got company. An actual guy!" He made an imploring look Spike's way.
Spike shook his head and chuckled. He wasn't going to get in the middle of this one.
"Buffy has some date with Angel. I told her that it was a big night with Spike being here, but she said it was some kind of fancy dinner thing." Anya pouted. "And why don't you ever take me out to fancy restaurants anymore, Xander? Just because we're getting married doesn't mean that we can slip into the doldrems of middleage! We have to be interesting and inventive all the time so our relationship won't get stale. I read it in Cosmo."
Xander sighed loudly. "Jesus, Ahn, not with the Cosmo again!"
Spike quietly left the room. If their relationship was the same now as it was in high school, this could go on all night.
The doorbell rang. He looked toward the kitchen, but the quarreling couple didn't seem to be slowing down enough to take a breath, let alone answer the door. Spike shrugged his shoulders and opened it himself.
"Where's Buffy?" Growled out a very tall, very big, very dark looking guy.
Spike did not like this boy.
"And who the hell are you?" He continued in that same annoyed tone.
He did not like this boy ONE BIT.
"Spike. What the fuck do you want, mate?" He blocked the doorway with his body and sneered.
"He's my date."
The voice of an angel drifted towards Spike from the stairwell. He turned, as if in slow motion, and at the top of the stairs stood the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
Buffy started down the stairway. God, he looked even better than she remembered... Now if she could just make it out of the house without dropping her guard.
Spike stared in awe. Who WAS this? Did Anya have some friend staying over? She walked like liquid sex. The way her hips moved as she strolled down the stairs, the way her dress rode up on her thighs, the way her golden skin glowed like inner sunshine, the way her green eyes shone... Wait a second. Green eyes?
"Buffy?!"
She stopped at the foot of the stairs.
"Hey Spike." Buffy inhaled. He smelled the same. God, it made her dizzy. She had to get out of here...
"I see you've met my boyfriend, Angel."
Spike shook himself out of his reverie and contemplated the goddess before him. This couldn't be Buffy. This woman was something else. God, THIS was the fucking Twilight Zone! If it WAS Buffy, she'd emerged from her cocoon like some sort of exotic butterfly unknown to man. And she was dating this glowery loser?!
"This guy is your boyfriend? I don't think so. He's got Date Rapist stamped to his forehead!" Spike shouted.
Buffy seethed. "Hey! You can't just walk in here and start dictating my life!" She grabbed her purse off the mantle. "I haven't seen you in years and now you're telling me who to date? Don't tell me what to do, you jerk!" Buffy started for the door in a fury. So what if Angel was grabby? Weren't all guys that way? And when did Spike get to be such an asshole? She remembered him being much calmer and put together than this hothead.
"Can we go now, Buffy? The reservations were for 8:00. If we don't get there soon we're going to lose our table. You know I hate it when we're late." Angel pushed his way in past Spike and grabbed Buffy's arm.
Spike started forward in a rush, but Buffy iceptcepted by removing herself from Angel's grasp.
"I'm sorry I took so long, but we have a guest in from out of town. Spike, this is Angel. Angel, Spike."
The men glared at each other.
"We've met." They grumbled in unison.
Buffy smiled a big fake smile. "OK, then! Let's get going, shall we?" She brushed past Spike on the way out the door.
Spike stood in the entryway for a long time, contemplating this new Buffy.
"No way in hell is she going to keep seeing that guy."

***

"No way in hell is he going to start telling me what to do!" Buffy muttered to herself on the way up the walk to her house.
The night had been a total disaster from start to finish. Angel had been moody all night, and he'd kept putting his arm around her and touching her thighs in the restaurant. She'd hardly even gotten to eat, she was so busy planning defensive maneuvers against his octopus hands! She couldn't even remember why she'd started seeing the lunkhead in the first place.
"Because he's the quarterback of the UC Sunnydale football team, and everyone wants to date him!" She told herself as she unlocked the front door.
They'd been together ever since she'd started college. Being on the cheerleading squad meant that she spent a lot of time at football parties, and that meant mingling with the jocks. At first, she'd felt so wonderful. Loser Buffy hanging with the elite of Sunnydale! Who'd have thought it? After spending any serious length of time with that crowd, however, she discovered it was hard to keep interested in anything they said. Everything was always football this, cheerleading that. Or Keg Parties! God! That was all Angel could ever talk about.
She cringed.
One of the main reasons she'd refused to do it with Angel was because of the monster reputation he had on campus for being a ladies man. She didn't know what kind of thing she might pick up from him!
She strolled into the kitchen and pulled out a tub of ice cream from the freezer. God, she was starved. A few hundred calories couldn't hurt, could they?
Spoon in mouth, she contemplated Spike's return. He was just as good looking as ever. That accent, the hair, those eyes... he still had that magnetic pull that made her turn to mush in 30 seconds flat. She still hated him, however. He'd hurt her feelings irreparably when he hadn't come back. If dating Angel pissed him off, then she would go out with him every night of the week!
She closed her eyes and growled out, "Stupid jerk."
"Ah, talking about your boytoy again, pet?"
Buffy whipped around at the sound of his voice. Great. Just what she needed. She pointedly went back to eating her ice cream and proceeded to completely ignore his presence.
Spike came around the counter and pulled up a stool. "I see you still like mint chocolate chip. Care to share it?"
Buffy shrugged indifferently. "Whatever."
He picked up a spoon and dug in, covertly watching Buffy eat. God, she even made that look arousing!
"So, how was your date with What's-His-Height?" He questioned.
Buffy glared. "Not that it's any of your business, but it was terrific. Angel is very considerate. He took me to the most expensive restaurant in town!"
Spike smirked. "And I'm sure he was the consummate gentleman the entire evening."
Buffy smiled craftily. "Actually, no - he wasn't. That's part of what I like about him."
Spike frowned menacingly. "What? I'll kick that guy's teeth in!"
"You will not! Just shut up and stay out of it!" Buffy seethed, throwing the empty ice cream container into the trash. "Why do you feel like you have the right to have any say in my life?"
"Because you're my friend's sister! Why have you turned into such a bitch all of a sudden? You used to think I was terrific, remember? You told me once that I was your best friend." Spike shouted, hands on the countertop.
Buffy eyes turned cold. "Yeah, well we both said a lot of stuff. And I don't need advice from someone who never even cared enough to come and see me for three years."
Spike's gaze softened. "Buffy, I was very busy. Finishing school, working with my Da, being with my girlfriend..."
Buffy's teeth set on edge at the mention of his girlfriend. "Well, I'm sorry all of that was so important you had to miss my graduation! I can see how little I meant to your life." She turned and stormed up the stairs.
Spike stared down at his fists on the counter. God. Maybe he was an asshole for not visiting as often as he'd said he would. He'd promised he'd move back, but then Drusilla had come along... and everything had changed.
He sighed wearily.
All he knew now was that this Buffy was something to be reckoned with. Someone he wanted to spend more time with. Someone he wanted...
Spike paused, mid-thought.
He grinned.
This Buffy was someone he wanted.