Next Door

“And so there I was spluttering like an idiot trying to make up an excuse for Buffy’s behaviour while inside I was falling to mush.” Joyce laughed sappily reaching for Giles’s hand. She had been explaining how she and Giles had met for the last ten minutes but unknown to her only Giles herself and Drusilla was listening. Buffy and Spike were both lost in their own thoughts as they picked lamely at their deserts, both trying to sneak glances at each other without them knowing. Drusilla was about to reply to Joyce’s story when the beeper in her purse started to bleep.
“Oh no…im so sorry Joyce. This is the hospital.” Drusilla sighed.
“Oh so you have to go?”

“Yes im so sorry…honey I’ll see you in the morning.” Drusilla smiled at her husband giving him a long kiss as she rushed out the door. She didn’t feel Buffy’s eyes burning into the back of her head when she had kissed Spike and she certainly didn’t see the smile of happiness on her face when she disappeared out the door.
“Well thanks for a lovely dinner Joyce. It was delicious. Nice to meet you Giles. We’ll have to meet up sometime. Discuss the mother country or something.” Spike smiled as he backed towards the front door.
He paused for a moment turning apologetic eyes to Buffy as he tried to convey his apology to her.
“It was nice to see you too Buffy.” Spike mumbled not able to take his eyes away from hers.
“Likewise.” She answered quietly gulping back a lump in her throat when he finally backed out the door.
Almost five minutes after Spike had left Buffy was still standing in the hallway staring at the door he had disappeared through with an unreadable expression on her face and that’s how Joyce found her when she went to take the trash out.
“Buffy? Are you okay?”
“Yeah…im sorry I was out of it for a second.” Buffy apologised.
“No problem. Listen could you take this out while me and Giles wash the dishes?”
Buffy took the bag out of her mothers hand and nodded as she watched her mother go back into the kitchen. She stepped barely a foot outside the front door when a cloud of smoke hit her right in the face and she coughed and spluttered blinking her eyes angrily at whoever was rude enough to be on her porch smoking. Her anger faded however and was replaced by even worse than anger when she realised it was Spike who was standing there with a cigarette in his hand.

“What are you still doing here?” Buffy asked barely containing the venom in her voice. Spike flinched at the obvious anger directed at him and sighed in defeat. He bloody deserved.
“Sorry. Its just…well I just had the most nerve wracking night of my life and I needed a smoke.”
“Yeah well…it wouldn’t have been so nerve wracking if you weren’t such a bastard.” She grumbled moving off down the path dragging the bag of trash behind her. Before she knew it the weight was out of her hands and Spike was striding towards the can and dropped the trash in quickly looking back up at her.
“Thanks.” She mumbled before turning and heading back inside. Before she could get to the door however, his hand on her arm made her stop and she turned to look up at him expectantly.
“Look…about urm….Im sorry.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow at his stammering and crossed her arms telling him how unimpressive that excuse was.
“Okay okay be mad. I get that but…I mean its not as if I did anything.” He said defensively looking down at his feet guiltily.

“No…you just went to a bar, took off your wedding ring, give me a false name and hit on a 16 year old all night.” Buffy said sarcastically.
“I didn’t give you a false name. Spike is what I go by to family and close friends.” Spike sighed. It was the only thing he could deny really.
“Well I feel privileged” She snorted shaking her head.
“I am honestly sorry pet. I don’t know what came over me that night. Im never usually like that. I have no excuses and im sorry…im kinda hoping we could forget about it and maybe…well we could be friends. We have a lot in common.” Spike shrugged already knowing the girl was probably gunna run screaming to his wife to tell her how lousy he was, so he was genuinely surprised when she sighed before giving him a small smile.
“Yeah sure. Friends.” Buffy nodded.
“So you aint going to tell Dru?”
“No there isn’t really anything to tell. Not as if we did anything.” Buffy answered trying to play it cool while inside she was seething with regret. Shoulda kissed him when I had the chance.
“Thanks pet.” Spike smiled gratefully.
“So…you married young huh?…”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Joyce sighed when Giles lips moved softly over hers and she stepped closer, losing herself in it. She felt him begin to lead her to the stairs when she remembered sending Buffy out with the trash.
“Has Buffy come back in yet?” She asked breaking Giles out of his trance.
“Huh? Oh I don’t know. Maybe she’s sitting on the porch or something.” Giles shrugged leaning in for another kiss only to be stopped with a raised eyebrow. He raised his hands in defeat and headed upstairs alone to wait for her. Joyce chuckled at his retreating back and turned right back to the door. She opened it quietly and her eyebrows shot up when she saw the scene in front of her. William had not yet left so it seemed and he was sitting on her porch step talking to Buffy quietly. She was baffled and looked between the two in surprise. They had remained strangely silent through dinner and yet here they were talking like old friends. She couldn’t hear what they were saying but judging by the smiles on both their faces as they faced each other, it was a good conversation. She almost felt like she was intruding on something.

“Buffy? William?”

The two blonde heads snapped around when they heard their names and they jumped up and apart as if burnt which made Joyce’s eyebrow travel even further than before so it was in danger of travelling into her hair.
“Mom! Hey. I was just taking out the trash and bumped into William here. We were just saying goodnight. Goodnight Mr O’Connor. Night mom.” Buffy rushed before scurrying off upstairs leaving a guilty looking Spike and a bewildered Joyce. She gave him a questioning look but he simply shrugged and tried for an amused expression. She must have accepted it however as she just laughed and walked back to her door.
“Kids Huh?” She laughed not noticing the effect that sentence had on Spike as she closed the door behind her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“You have got to be kidding me.”
Cordelia stared at her friend with clear disbelief on her face.
“Im not kidding. He’s married and he’s my neighbour.”
“Well what a lousy scumbag!” Cordelia snapped.
“Cordy! Keep your voice down! And he’s not a lousy scum bag. Yeah he lied abut being married but its not as if he did cheat on his wife or anything.” Buffy shrugged.
“No maybe not but I don’t care about her! I care about you. He led you on and he’s married….wait. Is Angel married to? Oh god please say no.” She begged her eyes as wide as saucers.
“Relax Cord. Angel’s single.” Buffy laughed swigging from her bottle of water. They were half way through an exercise video and Buffy’s knees already felt like jello. Cordy slowly made her way to the window and snuck a peek through it into the next doors back yard, earning a laugh from Buffy. Cordelia wasn’t the kind to let things go and since she had been predicting that her and Spike would be getting horizontal soon she must have been seething that she was wrong for once. A sudden squeal made Buffy jump in surprise and before she knew it she had an excited Cordelia jumping up and down in her face.

“AngelAngelAngelAngel.”

Before Buffy could even ask her if she had lost her mind she found herself being pulled out of her house and over towards Spike’s. Her eyes widened when she realised their destination and she tried to pull away, digging her heels into the ground.
“Cordelia what are you doing!? I cant go over there! Im in my work out clothes! What the hell!” Buffy growled the entire way but it was too late and she was already on Spike’s porch and Cordelia had knocked.
Buffy froze when the door immediately opened and her jaw dropped when she saw Spike standing there practically naked. He was only wearing a pair of swimming shorts and he had obviously just been in the pool because he was glistening from hundreds of droplets of water and his hair was a mass of wet curls.
“Buffy. Buffy!”
Buffy finally managed to shake the fog that had settled over her and turned to look at Cordelia.

“What?”
“You were staring.” She said in disbelief. Buffy glanced at Spike and seeing the amused smirk on his face she turned bright red and looked down at the floor.
“Just got lost in my thought is all.” Buffy mumbled defensively.
“Not that im unhappy to see you two but is there a reason you came over?” Spike asked curiously.
“I have no idea. Cordelia babbled your brothers name a few times before dragging me over here.” Buffy said truthfully. If Cordelia was gunna embarrass her then she’d do the same back and she smirked when she saw Cordelia shift uncomfortable. Spike didn’t say anything however and just chuckled.
“Well yeah he is here. We’re out the back do you two want to join us? We’ve got a barbeque going and the pools nice and cold.” Spike smiled trying not to seem too eager. The thought of Buffy in a bikini sent him into a tailspin and his mouth went dry just at the thought.
“Oh my god really? That would be so cool. Come on Buffy lets go get our costumes.” Cordelia grinned squealing excitedly as she headed back towards Buffy’s at break neck speed. Buffy just sighed and shook her head following after her friend.
“Buffy. When you come back just walk right through the gate okay? We’ll be by the pool.”
And with that Spike disappeared back into the house.